#mimic having multiple ears basically | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hairstevington · 27 days

Text

sooner or later, will i realize?

(Non-binary!Nancy Wheeler)

Summary: Nancy didn’t feel right. Not necessarily wrong, just not right. She didn’t feel like she was the person living her own life. How crazy was that? (Or, the one where Nancy has a gender identity crisis)

WC: 4.8K

Warnings: Gender identity, non-binary character, no romance, references to and established Steve/Nancy (they break up), no upside down, no one dies, Eddie has a crush on Steve but alas this is not a Steddie fic for once, the pOwER of FRiEnDShIP

A/N: For the lovely @marvel-ous-m on their birthday. A long, long time ago I promised you Nonbinary Nancy, and by golly I keep my word! Much love to you, my dear. Thank you for being an amazing friend, a ride-or-die support, a listening ear, and the inspiration for this. I hope you like it ❤️ Ao3 link here

May, 1983

“Nancy Wheeler, will you go to prom with me?”

Steve had made a whole show of it. He was standing in front of her in the lunchroom, roses in hand, his baseball teammates behind him with wide grins and excited energy.

How could she say no?

“Y-Yes,” she said with a small nod.”I’d love to.”

There that word again. Love. He smiled as he kissed her, the sweetest torture.

Nancy never felt like she fit in. Not at home - where she constantly felt like she was trapped in one of those family sitcoms her dad snoozed along to on Saturday mornings. The ones her mom deemed unrealistic despite always attempting to mimic them. Nancy’s parents didn’t seem to like each other, let alone love, and it was the kind of environment where she felt like she just had to play the part of a good daughter that studied and never spoke out of turn, other than the occasional snide remark to her brat of a brother.

Not at school - where she constantly felt like she was meant for bigger and better things. Her GPA was perfect, all the teachers loved her, she was in multiple extracurricular activities, she helped tutor kids who weren’t doing so well in school, basically everything that was expected of a straight-A, perfect student.

Not in her relationship - where she constantly felt like she wasn’t feeling the things she needed to be feeling. Not that she didn’t like Steve! It wasn’t that. She loved him. Well, she told him she loved him. She did love him - um, theoretically - but what did love even mean? What was it supposed to look like? She wanted to be the perfect girlfriend, and Steve treated her as such, but the whole idea of it made her feel uncomfortable. She wasn’t somebody’s girlfriend. She didn’t know how to do that. There were no strict rules, and she didn’t feel like she was good at it, but Steve loved her anyway - the kind that was real, not theoretical - and that made her feel so much worse.

And most of all, she didn’t feel like she fit into herself. It didn’t make a lot of sense to her, but she couldn’t stop herself from being frustrated. Sure, she could be exactly what the world expected her to be, and she was doing it flawlessly, but something was missing. The life she’d curated, the person she’d been, and all the work she’d done didn’t mean anything.

Nancy didn’t feel right. Not necessarily wrong, just not right. She didn’t feel like she was the person living her own life.

How crazy was that?

It didn’t make sense, and she figured she was just a teenage girl. She’d grow into this life. She’d grow into herself. Feeling lost was all part of it.

But still, she wanted more. Or…less. Or…what did she want, exactly?

Not knowing drove her mad.

She had to carry the roses around for the rest of the school day, and she stared at them at each desk as the periods went by.

There were a half dozen in the bouquet. One could easily be taken and plucked, petal by petal. I love him. I love him not.

But she didn’t want to ruin something so beautiful, so she continued contemplating and accepted she wouldn’t get an answer anytime soon.

“Aw, that’s so sweet, honey! We’ll have to go shopping!”

Nancy’s mom was over the moon about her daughter getting a date to prom. Even though Nancy and Steve had been dating for long enough that it had basically been a guarantee. It was Steve’s prom, actually, since Nancy was still a sophomore. So, not only was she going to a big social event where she was expected to act the part of doting, fancy girlfriend, she also wouldn’t have any of her friends around to soften the occasion.

“Mom, do I have to?” Nancy whined. “I can just - I have other dresses. I’ll wear one of those.”

Mrs. Wheeler furrowed her eyebrows. “You don’t want to get a new dress for prom? Who’s daughter are you?”

It was a joke, but that didn’t matter. Nancy was failing the Good Daughter test.

“You’re right,” she said, her lips pressed into a thin smile. “That sounds great, mom.”

That Saturday, they went to the mall. Karen Wheeler was nice and all, but she could be a bit frustrating at times, so Nancy brought Barb as a buffer.

Nancy’s mom stuffed a pile of dresses into her arms. “Here, try these on.”

Nancy looked at the poofy dresses in her mother’s hands. There was enough tulle to swallow her whole, if she wasn’t careful.

“I think I might get lost in there,” Nancy muttered to Barb. Barb chuckled.

“Just - humor me?” Mrs. Wheeler said, holding the dresses out further to encourage Nancy to take them.

When all was said and done, Nancy picked the simplest, cheapest dress she could manage to be seen in. It was a pale pink, just past her knees.

Her eye caught a pantsuit on the rack in the corner, and she couldn’t stop looking at it. A part of her always imagined she’d be wearing one of those once she was older - the journalist that rocked powersuits. That felt right. For once, she had an image of herself that she liked.

“You’d totally rock the suit, you know,” Barb said.

Nancy rolled her eyes. “Girls can’t wear suits to prom.”

Barb shrugged. “Yeah, but my point stands.”

It was weird how being fully supported by her best friend still made her sad.

Prom was fine. Steve was exactly what every teenage girl wanted in a boyfriend. He was charming, popular, and handsome. He snuck a flask in so they could drink, which helped Nancy feel slightly less awkward around the upperclassman.

He liked the dress. He told her he thought she was beautiful no matter what she wore, though.

(Nancy wondered how he’d feel about the suit, but she didn’t ask in fear of him changing his mind).

As she was drinking punch, Steve pulled her onto the floor for a slow dance.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” she said quickly, a reflex.

“Do you?” he asked back.

His question was genuine, but not judgmental. He was asking it as if he would accept either answer for what it was.

“I -” she stammered. “Why are you asking me that?”

Steve shrugged, his hands still at her waist. “Dunno, I guess I just - things have felt different between us lately. Are you having a good time here? Cuz if you’re not, we can bolt. I’m almost out of whiskey anyway.”

He was almost saying the right things.

Nancy pressed her lips together and nodded. “It’s okay,” she said. “It’s your prom, you deserve to have fun with your friends.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Nance,” he teased, shaking her gently. “When are you gonna learn that you’re more fun than any of my friends?”

She had no idea how that could possibly be true, and yet she believed him. Well, she believed that he believed it. It was just that Nancy wasn’t Steve’s type. He’d never dated anyone like her before. He didn’t care about grades or college or his resume. He didn’t go shopping for a tux with his dad - instead, he just grabbed one of the many suits he already had in his closet from over the years.

She bit her lip and decided to tell the truth - or, perhaps the whiskey did.

“Do you ever feel like things are just - off?” she asked. “Like, lifewise, I mean.”

His grip on her hips loosened as he shrugged again. “No, not really.”

That was the moment Nancy realized something. He didn’t get her - probably never would.

“I’m not feeling well,” she said as she pulled away. “I’m gonna head home I think. But you should stay!”

He looked disappointed. “Nance…” he said.

She just shook her head and smiled, letting him know that he could let her go. “Have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

A kiss on the cheek and out into the night she went. Steve would never understand, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

They broke up not too long after that.

September, 1983

Nancy’s junior year was going to be a big one.

First, she had college to worry about, but that was what she’d spent her last five or so years preparing for. She knew she’d get into any program she wanted, really.

This was good. This would be good. College would be different.

It had to be different.

She didn’t even notice being single, really. Honestly, it was for the best. She was way less stressed when she only had to focus on her own problems. Well, her actual problems plus the ones that came from the person she was pretending to be. It was a whole mess in her head and she had no idea how to deal with any of it.

She talked to Barb about it a few times. Barb said what Nancy kept telling herself - that’s what being 17 is like, and eventually it will get easier.

Nancy was too busy studying and doing extracurriculars to do too much tutoring, but her science teacher said that if she tutored this one other student, she’d be excused from having to write the final lab report. This assignment was notoriously a monster, and Nancy hadn’t been looking forward to it. So, when the opportunity presented itself…

“That sounds great,” Nancy told Mrs. O’Donnell. “Who’s the student?”

“Well, he’s a bit of a problem in the classroom, to be completely transparent…” her teacher said. “He has to retake his senior year, and the faculty thinks that maybe you could help him develop some better habits.”

Oh, so now she was supposed to act like freaking Mother Teresa?

“Okay,” she agreed with a smile. “I’ll do my best.”

October, 1983

Eddie was an academic disaster.

O’Donnell had really buried the lead. Not only did he have no idea what was going on and no intention to pay attention in class ever, but he also never did his homework, never had his textbooks, and never stopped talking.

Their tutoring relationship consisted of meeting after school twice a week, which meant that for two hours a week Nancy had to try not to pull out her hair or strangle him.

And then, when he miraculously got a C+ on his first test, she felt somewhat fulfilled. Evidently he did as well, because he started working minutely harder after that.

“What if we did this whole study thing at the diner or something instead of this stuffy room?” he asked her. “You know, to celebrate.”

Nancy’s jaw went slack. “I, um. Well, I don’t know if that’s - I’m not really looking to date right now.”

Eddie laughed. “Pssh, don’t flatter yourself,” he said. “I’m not asking you out, Wheeler, I’m asking if you’ll let me buy you a milkshake or something as a token of appreciation for maybe being the reason I graduate this year. Would that be acceptable, your highness?”

It still sounded like he wanted to date her. To her, anyway.

“That’s fine,” she agreed. “But I’m serious -”

“Respectfully,” Eddie told her, “I have zero interest in you like that. You’re very much not my type, and I’m digging the whole bachelor thing I’ve got going on right now.”

“Sure,” Nancy said, dubiously.

And then, they went to the diner, where he chewed with his mouth open and talked about his club instead of biology while Nancy sipped on her milkshake.

She didn’t care much for him, honestly. He was just a guy, but at least he was honest. He also lacked subtlety at all, which was how Nancy clocked him checking someone out behind her immediately.

“So, how’s that bachelor life treating you?” she teased.

“What?” he asked, snapping himself out of whatever thought he’d been having. Nancy smirked then turned in her seat to find out who he’d been looking at.

Instead, all she saw was Steve was on a date with a pretty girl - one who looked like she wasn’t pretending to be what he needed. She turned back in her seat.

“Oh,” she said.

“What?” Eddie repeated, more confused than ever.

She shrugged. “Nothing, just my ex over there.”

Eddie looked at her, then at Steve, then back at her. “Jesus Christ, I forgot you and Steve dated.”

“You know him?”

“Everybody knows him.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before responding.

“Right,” she said. “Well, anyway, let’s get back to studying.”

Eddie groaned. “I thought we had an agreement.”

“To study at the diner?”

“Well, yeah,” he replied, “but I figured I could distract you enough that you’d forget about the studying part.”

“That’s literally why we’re doing any of this,” she reminded him.

“Woooooow,” Eddie said back. “And here I thought we were friends.”

Nancy scoffed. “Why?”

Eddie just laughed. “Because you do shit like that,” he answered. “I dunno, I like that you’re no-nonsense. No-Nonsense-Nance. Say that five times fast.”

“I’d rather not.” Eddie opened his mouth, so she cut him off. “I’d rather you didn’t, either.”

He chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Whatever,” he said. “What should I call us, then? If we’re not friends, I mean. Or dating, as you’ve made clear multiple times now.”

“I don’t know, I just tutor you,” Nancy told him. “Why do we have to label it at all?”

Eddie smirked as he popped a french fry into his mouth. “I just wanna know who I have to thank when I’m accepting my Nobel Prize for best in biology, or whatever.”

Nancy eyed him, dubiously, but played along. “I’m glad you’ll be prepared, but maybe focus on a diploma first.”

Eddie laughed, then threw a fry in her direction. “Alright, smartass,” he said. “Anyway, I’m not a labels guy, either.”

“No?”

“No,” he confirmed. “I’m a bit too outside of the box for them.”

For a fleeting moment, Nancy wondered if maybe would understand her the way that no one else seemed to. For whatever reason, for all that he was, she thought that maybe he’d get it. He clearly didn’t fit in, just like her - not in their small town. He was just a lot louder about it than she was.

And then, wildly enough, they actually did become something like friends.

It happened after a few more weeks of tutoring and occasional trips to the diner. Nancy went to Eddie’s home to help him study. At first, she’d balked at the idea, telling him she wasn’t looking for drugs or anything, to which he just laughed and said, “It’s not a drug den, Wheeler, it’s a trailer.”

She replied, “with drugs in it.”

And he said, “well yeah, obviously.”

He made her laugh. He was funny! He was silly and dramatic and everything Nancy had never been. It was freeing to be around him.

And then he started bringing up Steve. Like, a lot.

November, 1983

“What was it like?” he asked. “Dating him?”

Nancy shrugged. “It was nice.”

Eddie winced as if she’d just dragged Steve across the coals. “Oof. Nice? Must have been awful.”

He lit a cigarette, which Nancy scrunched her nose at. He rolled his eyes and put it out.

“It wasn’t awful,” she clarified. “It was just - it wasn’t right.”

“What wasn’t right about it?”

Nancy sighed. “Why do you want to know?”

Eddie shrugged, reaching for the cigarette again from muscle memory but stopping himself.

“My curiosity has killed enough cats to fill a cemetery, Wheeler,” he told her. “I mean, it’s King Steve. The guy everyone wants. Cool, popular, athletic. And he chose you, for some godforsaken reason.” Nancy glared at him, causing him to laugh. “Listen, you know I’m kidding, right? You’re cute and smart and ambitious and talented and all that crap.”

“Cute?” Nancy repeated, kind of hating that he had put that adjective first.

“Once again, not hitting on you,” Eddie said with a grin. “It just seemed mismatched to me.”

“And who’d be the right match?”

“For you?” he asked. “Fuck if I know.”

“For Steve,” she corrected.

Eddie clicked his tongue to his teeth. “I dunno. A blonde, perhaps.”

Nancy giggled. “A blonde?”

“Yeah, a blonde,” he echoed. “With, ya know.” He gestured in front of his chest, implying Steve’s perfect match would have enormous breasts.

“Okay, gross,” Nancy said back. “I’m not, like, one of the guys, you know.”

“Never said you were,” he replied.

But the weird thing was, Nancy felt more comfortable around Eddie than she’d been feeling lately around even Barb. Maybe it was because she felt like she still had to keep appearances up with Barb, or something.

“Can I tell you something personal?”

Eddie looked at her as if the question was ridiculous. “Uhh, yeah,” he said. “Be my guest.”

Nancy looked down at the glass of water in her hand (actually, the water was in a mug, but whatever), mustering up the courage to try to say out loud the things she couldn’t even think about coherently.

“Sometimes it feels like there’s something wrong with me,” she said. “Like I don’t fit in anywhere.”

Eddie leaned forward in his chair, intrigued. “Really?” he wondered. “But you’re, like, the perfect image of the brainiac teenage girl.”

She shook her head. “But I’m not.”

“Huh,” he said, furrowing his eyebrows. “So who are you, really?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “Do you know who you are?”

“Depends on who’s asking.”

“I am.”

He took a deep breath. “Fine,” he began. “I’m a freak, Wheeler. I don’t fit in either, you know. And people know that - I make sure they do - but I’m not being entirely honest either. Like, I am and I’m not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he continued, “that I’m yelling all kinds of bullshit all the time so people can’t hear what I’m really thinking.”

Maybe they weren’t so different after all.

“I understand,” Nancy said.

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “I feel like I’m acting all the time. Even at home. It’s exhausting.”

“What about right now?” he asked. “Are you acting?”

She took a moment to think, despite already knowing the answer.

“No.”

She hadn’t even realized it until he asked, but yes. It was the truth.

“Me neither,” he said.

Huh.

January, 1984

Nancy got paired up with someone in her class for a partner project. They both had to read a book and present about it. Nancy notoriously hated group projects, and this one was about to be even worse, because she recognized who she was assigned to work with.

It was the girl Steve was with at the diner.

“Robin, right?” Nancy asked as she sat down.

Robin looked unimpressed. “Yeah,” she replied. “We’ve met before.”

“Oh,” Nancy said. “Sorry.”

This was going to be horrible. Her ex boyfriend’s current girlfriend? Did the world HATE HER?

“I’ve already read the book,” Robin said.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Me, too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

So, the worst part about all of this was that Nancy couldn’t even be mad at Robin. She was actually really smart and lovely.

Ugh. Annoying!

“Wait, Robin Buckley?” Eddie asked after hearing Nancy complain about it for a hot minute. “Yeah, no. Her and Steve aren’t dating.”

Nancy put her hands on her hips. “How could you possibly know that?”

He shrugged. “People say all kinds of shit and think I’m not paying attention. It’s my superpower.”

“I thought your superpower was ticking me off.”

“That too.”

She rolled her eyes. “So, they’re not dating, but he’s spending all this time with her?”

Eddie gestured to the two of them. “If you haven’t noticed, friendship exists, Wheeler.”

Okay, yeah, he was right. But that didn’t mean he had to be so smug about it.

“This is a Barb conversation, isn’t it?” she asked.

“I fear so,” Eddie replied. “Actually, I don’t fear. Please talk to Barb about this, because I’m well out of my element. Come back if you ever have a question about Tolkien or how long to microwave leftovers.”

She battled a smile. “Okay, fine.”

Eddie grabbed the back of his neck, nervously. “Uh, I actually did wanna talk to you about something, though.”

She raised her eyebrows. “What?”

“I just feel like I haven’t told you yet, because I didn’t think we’d be friends, and now we’re friends and the longer I don’t tell you the more I feel shitty about it, so -”

“Eddie,” she interrupted. “What is it?”

He took a deep breath, then let his hands fall to his sides with a slap. “Okay, so you know how you dated Steve?” Nancy eyed him, irritated. “Right, of course you’d know that. Okay, so we talked about it once and I said I thought his type was blondes. And then I never brought it up again.”

“Right.”

“Okay, so,” he continued. “Maaaaaybe I’d much prefer his type to be gangly long-haired metalheads who live in trailer parks.”

Nancy blinked a couple times.

“What?”

“Half the town has already figured out I’m queer,” he explained. “I figured maybe you’d heard something by now, and - and I’d rather you hear it from me.”

She blinked some more.

“Nancy, say something?”

Some more blinking, then finally -

“You like Steve?”

“Oh, yeah. Bigtime.”

“Since when?”

“Pretty much since the moment I laid eyes on the beautiful bastard. Not that we’ve ever hung out, or anything.”

This was a lot to process. She didn’t care about Eddie liking guys, and honestly she didn’t care about him liking Steve, but she couldn’t help but see all the pieces coming together in her head, like a puzzle that had taken months to be solved.

“Ohhhhhh,” she said.

“Ohhhhhh?” he echoed. “Is that, like - are we good, or should I start running? If you’re gonna come after me, I request a thirty second head start.”

Nancy shook her head with a light laugh. “I’m not going to come after you.”

“Good, cuz you’d win,” he said, throwing some finger guns in the air.

Nancy had forgotten she’d told him about how good of a shot she was. Whoops.

“Exactly,” she replied with a smirk. Now, back to the conversation at hand. “It’s okay, that you - um - that you like Steve. I’m not mad, or - I mean it’s weird, don’t get me wrong, but it’s okay.”

“Weird?” he repeated, his eyebrows raised in amusement. “I tell you I’m into your ex boyfriend and all you have to say is it’s weird?”

“What else am I supposed to say?”

Eddie threw his hands in the air. “I dunno!” he shouted. “It’s just not - I mean, normally girls would stick their noses up and walk away, tell me I’m a pig, call me all sorts of things. You’d have every right to do that, by the way. I mean, just while I’m laying it all out there, I am basically in love with Steve Harrington. Well, as in love as a guy can be with another guy he barely knows. Anyway, I don’t know why you’d still wanna be my friend, honestly, because any other girl would never get over something like this.”

Hmm.

The thing that stuck out to Nancy after all of that - besides Eddie saying he loved Steve - was the repeated word girl.

Normal girls.

Any other girl.

She cleared her throat. “Well I’m - I’m not -”

Nancy didn’t have an end to that sentence. It merely existed as a feeling, not a thought.

She sat down on the couch, and Eddie quickly followed suit.

“What is it?” he asked. “Did this fuck everything up? Just tell me, man.”

Man.

The deepest breath she’d ever taken.

“I don’t feel like a girl,” she admitted. “I never have. Something has always felt wrong about it, and I don’t understand why.”

She picked at the threads on her skirt and wondered if her whole world was about to stop.

But it didn’t.

“Do you feel more like a dude?” he asked, genuinely.

She shook her head. “No, not really. I don’t feel like anything.”

Eddie stared straight ahead with a pensive look on his face before turning back to her.

“I’m gonna be so fuckin’ real with you dude,” he said. “I have no idea what you mean.”

Nancy chuckled. “Me neither.”

“Like,” Eddie continued as he leaned back on the couch. “What’s being a woman even supposed to feel like?”

Nancy shrugged. “That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out,” she replied. “What does it feel like to be a man?”

He truly thought about the question, then shrugged back. “I mean, I pee standing up.”

Nancy rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I just - I’ve never told anyone that before.”

“No one?”

“No one.”

Despite Eddie’s confusion and occasional assholery, Nancy trusted that this secret wouldn’t leave the trailer.

“Well,” he said. “You don’t have to be anything. I mean, not exclusively.”

Nancy looked at him, confused. “How would that work?” she asked. “Like, what does that even mean? Why am I feeling like this?”

She put her head in her hands, then felt a soothing hand on her back.

“Everyone is different, Nancy,” he said. “There are no rules. Even if there were rules, that shit is made to be broken. You can be whatever you wanna be.” For a moment, his words actually did bring her some comfort, but then he added - “Oh, unless you’re diverging from societal norms - then you’ll be a freak. But other than that.”

Nancy choked out a light laugh at his joke.

“You don’t even have to be Nancy,” Eddie continued. “You could pick a new name. Like - ooh, what about Falcon?”

Nancy sat up again and looked at him as if he were crazy.

“What? No!”

“Or…Wheels?” he suggested. “That’s part of your name already, and it’s neutral.”

“No.”

“Hotwheels.”

“Absolutely not.”

“What? It’s a compliment!” As he kept throwing ridiculous names out there, Nancy felt herself relaxing. “Damn, I really thought you’d like that one. Okay, hmm. What about, Little Body, Big Perm?”

Nancy scoffed. “We have the same hair,” she told him.

“Incorrect,” he insisted. “Mine is way more metal.”

“I’m not trying to be metal -”

“What about Prissy McNoFun?” he teased. “I feel like I’m really onto something there.”

Nancy rolled her eyes. “How about I just pick out my own name?” she asked. Then, she realized the silent agreement that maybe a nickname was something to actually consider. “I mean, not yet,” she backtracked. “But someday, maybe.”

Eddie nodded. “Aye, aye, Falcon.”

April, 1984

Nancy stopped wearing long skirts and started wearing jeans. Eddie had given her a couple of shirts to borrow, but she mainly wore them at home. He exclusively lent her ones that were relatively free of devil imagery, but the man really had a certain style to everything he owned.

Nancy and Robin got an A on their project, and Nancy found herself not feeling mad about whatever relationship Robin had with Steve anymore.

“Hey, can I say something that you’ll maybe hate?” Robin asked after class. Nancy nodded. “I really wanted to dislike you. You broke my best friend’s heart and all that.”

Nancy smiled. “I wanted to dislike you, too.”

Robin chuckled. “I never heard your side of things.”

“About the breakup?” Nancy asked. “I’m sure Steve covered it.”

“He doesn’t even know why you did it,” Robin informed.

“I didn’t think he’d understand,” Nancy said back.

Robin shrugged. “He’s more understanding than you know,” she replied. Then, with raised eyebrows, she added - “I like your new look, by the way.”

Robin left after that and disappeared down the hall, but as Nancy looked down at herself she realized she liked her new look, too.

She was getting closer to that thing that she’d always been searching for.

Nancy did tell Steve, eventually, and Robin had been right - Steve was a lot more understanding than ever anticipated. He even offered some of his own clothes.

Eddie graduated. The year after, Nancy and Robin graduated. Nancy and Eddie had kept in touch, but weren’t seeing each other every day like they’d used to. It didn’t matter though, because Eddie would always be the one that held the door open to a new life.

There weren’t really words for it, but somehow Nancy found other similar people at Emerson. It took some time to really figure it all out, but the trick was not restricting anyone into any particular role or gender or category.

December, 1986

Nancy went back to Hawkins for the holidays, and met up at that diner with Eddie.

“Lookin’ sharp, Wheeler,” he said with a grin.

Nancy smiled. “Please, call me Falcon,” they joked.

And so it was. Nancy finally felt like they fit in.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Check out my masterlist for other fics if you liked this one!!

#nonbinary #nancy wheeler #writing #st fic #eddie munson

5 notes · View notes

themelessadhdthoghts · 6 months

Text

Jazzy Animal Stuff

A group of platypuses is called a paddle.

When referring to multiple platypuses, you can also say platypus, platypi, or platypods.

Since platypuses are such weird creatures, people originally assumed platypuses sweat milk. (They do not)

Platypuses have a poisonous gland which means they can be venomous.

pigeons have a special feather that makes a funky noise when they fly, to alert other pigeons of possible danger nearby.

there are blue bees called blue carpenter bees. The honey they make is a similar consistency to peanut butter. They live alone and aren't very aggressive. They don't make wax

Bees dance to communicate

Bees breath through their skin and drown in the rain.

Bees fight invading wasps, not by stinging them, but by aggressively hugging them until they overheat.

Beehives are usually made facing east so they can get the sun to warm them up in the morning.

Female bees get rid of male bees by starving them and dragging them out of the hive while beating them.

Female bees kill drunk male bees

Bumble bees live in the ground

rosy maple moths don't have mouths, and the adults die in a matter of days. The larvae have a venomous sting!

Comet moths have a mouth and guts, but neither work so they only survive for a week.

The Arctic woolly bear moth is the longest living moth, and can live for up to 7 years in the wild.

Luna moths have scales on their wings that reflect light

rabbits are not rodents, but lagomorphs.

They don't have toe beans, so if you shave their feet their basically just walking on bone. Don't shave rabbit feet

snub noses monkeys sneeze in the rain due to their upturned noses.

Luna moth caterpillars deter predators by making clicking noises and regurgitating a gross fluid as a warning.

The North America Walnut Sphinx caterpillar can scream at a volume of 80 decibels.

jellyfish are the longest living multicellular organasim on earth.

ferrets like to be swung. I wrote this last year, I'm not quite sure what this means.

the babies are born so young they don't even have fully formed faces.

They are absolutely miniscule, and the only real feature they have are claws to cling onto the mother's nippels for milk.

Around 30-40 of them are born at the same time, but only 4 of them survive. The mother eats the babies that die off at the beginning.

They got their name from their ears, which go bright red.

cats mimic the sounds of their prey sometimes, like chirping at birds when they're trying to hunt them.

snails can sleep for up to 3 years.

giraffes have the same amount of vertebrae as humans.

horse stomachs are the same size as a football and their stomachs can explode if they eat too much.

Horses die really easily. This can be from lying down for too long (their lungs collapse) running for too long (heart faliure) breaking a leg (you have to kill them if this happens).

Horses sleep standing.

Horses have an almost 360° field of vision.

Horses are just really weird. My friends wonder why I'm scared of horses, but the face of a medium sized horse is like. A third of my dad. Ans my dad is t a l l.

pika's are not rodents, but lagomorphs, which make them more closely related to rabbits then mice.

They are also known as 'screaming hares' since they make a screaming noise.

Also I'm like. 90% sure pikachu was based off of a pika so. Say hi to your cousin pichaku.

seagulls can feel grief, happiness and guilt.

There is a small claw halfway up their lower leg that let's them sit on high ledges without falling off.

Both seagull parents take care of their eggs.

Seagulls can drink both fresh and salt water.

There are around 50 types of Seagulls.

Seagulls are extremely smart.

I love seagulls.

#guess what my hyperfixation in 2022 was lmao #adhd rambling #animals #animal facts #platypuses #platypods #rabbit #rabbits #seagulls #horse #horses #tasmanian devil #jellyfish #ferret #moths #luna moths #bees #i want the bee peanut butter #no i dont

1 note · View note

monstermains · 2 years

Text

Music math for kids

#MUSIC MATH FOR KIDS TV#

You can use a jingle to memorize multiplication tables, as the melody can help make the information more familiar. Writing a quick jingle is a great way to encourage the memory of different math concepts. The beginning steps to algebra recognize these mathematical relationships that create patterns and realize that things can change over time. This expectation of future sound opens the door to discovering early math concepts such as sorting orders and categorizing systems. As children begin to understand a tune, they anticipate next. Therefore, children can learn to mimic a beat to translate simple patterns by listening and moving. The beat and chorus of a song provide a model for sequences and patterns. In early childhood education, the benefits of music include a boost to skills as varied as vocabulary development, gross-motor skills, empathy, phonemic awareness, active listening, and even early math development. This is why music can be an extremely useful tool in the classroom.

#MUSIC MATH FOR KIDS TV#

From the day they arrived in this world, children hear lullabies, rhymes, songs on the radio and TV their tiny ears become familiar with it. We know that music is a more effective and entertaining teaching tool. There are various ways to get 'the music' into math, we’ve listed a few of them below. Music enhances the retention of mathematical knowledge, and incorporating musical activities, can help children make the most out of opportunities to strengthen their basic math skills. How to Integrate Music to build Mathematical Skills He strengthened the communication between the two hemispheres of his brain, increasing his brainpower. He would concentrate on the problem at hand, utilizing his left brain, while playing the piano or violin activating his right brain. She says, "Rhythm is, after all, 'the subdivision of a beat.' It is about ratios and proportions, the relationship between a part and a whole - all material from math classes."Įinstein would play the violin when he was stuck on a problem. Also, the students who studied rhythm were found to have the biggest gains. In one of her recent studies, Frances Rauscher, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, found that the mathematics test scores for preschool-age students increased for those who received instruction in rhythm singing or piano. Both rhythm and melody can be understood mathematically. The relationship between music and math goes back thousands of years to the origins of music and civilization. Gottfried Leibniz, philosopher and mathematician. "Music is a secret exercise in the arithmetic of the soul, unaware of its act of counting."

#Music math for kids

0 notes

azureaqua · 2 years

Text

Oh my, She did it again! (a.k.a Ikevamp artbreeder edits, this time - Pt. 1)

Well, well.... I've been kind of inactive for a little while. You might wonder what I worked on? This. And many other writing projects, but mainly this.

Am I impossibly slow? Yeah, I am.

(It's clear that if I have a writing block, then I just go to artbreeder lol.)

— But this time I really tried to make them the most realistic! I also (kind of) learned to use the 'race' filter in artbreeder, since all of these guys are legit European/Asian history figures. So I figured it would be appropriate.

Btw, this one gets multiple parts as well!

↓

Part 2 here!

• Arthur Conan Doyle

(He was fairly easy, to be honest. I was surprised. Other than his hair shape and hair color, I like it very much! But I think even those don't make that big of a difference. I tried to put a greenish tint into his hair? It's really faint. But other than that I like the little, sly smirk that makes Arthur Arthot. I also tried to make one where he has his glasses on, but it changed his hair and face a little bit, since the program is like this, so it doesn't look that good... Plus, I tried to draw on his ear cuff, but you can't really see it.)

• Theodorus van Gogh

(Now, Theo wasn't as smooth as Arthur. In my opinion his face isn't that hard to capture; he has strong, manly features, harsh eyebrows, an intense stare and maybe pursed lips? But it's not THAT easy to make him look genuinely good. Also, to make him similar to Vincent - or vice versa -, so not just their blue eyes match, but some other characteristics too. His hair is off, again, but it's really hard to make the exact hairstyle come true in these edits, but Theo wasn't even the hardest one here..!)

• Vincent van Gogh

(I could say the same to him as Theo, basically. His features are fairly easy to grasp and his design isn't complicated, but they're still brothers! The first prototype I had for him was good, but way too different than his younger brother. So, since I was done with Theo by that time, I mixed his face into it and it actually got better! Now, he has a stronger jaw, like Theo, and the curve of his mouth and eyes are similar too! All-in-all, I'm more satisfied this way! This has that angelic glint though! I also almost forgot to draw on each of their earrings oof.)

• Dazai Osamu

(...Well, he's the only Asian in the mansion other than Sebas (and canonically MC) so to be honest I don't know what to think. He looks Asian, but his features still feel way too generic? I edited his eye color and hair a little bit, to make him look more like the game design. But it still feels off. I'm not an expert on Asian faces and features, probably because I'm European and because I didn't know what to do more with him? The full picture doesn't look that bad, but I can't help and feel that something's missing oof. Plus he has a bit of and elf ear, unintentionally. His smile is nice though!)

• Isaac Newton

(I struggled with his hair color more than his features. I mostly looked at their 'profile pictures' in the game, and Isaac has that semi-glare, uninterested expression there, so I tried to mimic that in the first place. But his hair, ugh, that wasn't smooth at all. While I edited his eye color later, I thought I should do something about his hair, but in the end I left it as is. It's not bad, it's just way darker and more brown-ish, than the original design. But I don't hate it! I think it's cute.)

• Sebastian / Akihiko Satou

(He was a fairly easy and fast edit, just like Arthur. He's Asian, I'm not an expert on his features, and the game didn't do justice for his Japanese genes, if I might add. But of course it's a game, and I was the one who chose to go after a more realistic design! In general I was just lucky that most of the residents were European lol. But I like him too! I think I could've worked a bit more on his stern stare, and maybe his mouth, but changing the lips' shape is difficult in artbreeder, so I left it at that. But hey, he came out pretty handsome!)

• Napoleon Bonaparte

(He, too, was kind of a struggle as well. I had made two semi-finals, before this one. But I still think I didn't do his game avatar and European origin enough justice. But his face stands out in my opinion, so I'm satisfied with it at the same time! It was impossible to edit the white ends on his hair and I didn't wanted to do it after anyway lol. I don't think it's that bad without those. His eyes are not as nice 'emerald green' colored than in the game they like to call it, but they are piercing! And I think I captured his stare well!)

Part 2 coming soon! The purebloods and the others will be there!

There's still more to uncover!

248 notes · View notes

thecreaturecodex · 3 years

Text

Xenomorphitude

Or: Rating the Xenomorph Knock-offs of D&D and Pathfinder

The xenomorph of Alien, Aliens and a bunch of other movies that aren’t very good is one of the most distinctive film monsters. Which means it’s one of the ones that’s most widely copied, ripped off and cited as “inspiration”. Multiple monsters with decidedly xenomorph-like characteristics have appeared in D&D and PFRPG over the decades. Here’s a survey, in loosely chronological order.

Xill

This is included mostly as a formality. The xill isn’t inspired so much by Alien as by Alien’s own inspiration. Voyage of the Space Beagle is a SF novel collecting multiple short stories, one of which features the “ixtl”, which lays its eggs in a crew-member and cannot be killed with conventional weaponry, so is launched into space. The “xill”, first appearing in D&D 1e’s Fiend Folio, is a take on that monster, although it gives them weapons and makes them explicitly sapient. It was promoted to the core Monster Manual in 3.x, which is why it appeared in Pathfinder RPG (and has ended up more prominent there than in “real” D&D for the last 15 years.

Oddly, the xill’s most recent appearance in D&D is in the 5e Mordenkainen’s Folio of Fiends, a semi-canonical book written by Mike Mearls and sold online for charity. The xill’s appearance in that book is the most xenomorph like yet. And yet, it’s said that they abduct people to the Ethereal Plane for “unknown purposes”. It’s to lay eggs in them, guys. We know this.

Xenomorphitude: 2/10, included mostly for completeness sake. 6/10 for that 5e version.

Yitsan

Appearing in the Spelljammer Monstrous Compendium II, this is visually and mechanically a straightforward take on an Alien ripoff (although I love the pointy ears!). Unlike the original, the yitsan isn’t a parasitoid. Presumably the authors of the book realized that in D&D, a character that gets something latched onto them from a mysterious egg is going to get cure disease at the first possible opportunity. Instead, its eggs mimic gold coins, so the PCs will be happy to take them aboard! Xenomorphitude: 8/10. Pretty darn xenomorphy.

Hivebrood

This is a Mystara monster. They seem to be a slantwise take on the Tyranids of Warhammer 40,000 as much as a conventional xenomorph clone. They reproduce by implanting their larvae into humanoids, the hybrid stage of which is called the broodling. These broodlings psychically transmit their skills to a controller, which can then grant them to the various warriors of the hive. Interestingly, they’re neutral in alignment as opposed to some variation of evil.

Xenomorphitude: 3/10. If not for the broodlings, I’d peg them as just another colonial insect species, like the formians or aspis.

Kythons

Moving now into 3rd edition, these guys are definitely stolen from the Tyranids, as they were originally written to give Monte Cook an excuse to use Tyranid miniatures in his D&D game. They win points for flagrancy of the ripoff by laying eggs that look like “wet stones”—but these can also supply weapons instead of just new individuals! Hey, that’s a thing the Tyranids can (sort of) do! They also don’t have a Queen Alien, instead mutating into “slaymasters” or “slaughterkings”. Because the Book of Vile Darkness is nothing if not subtle.

Xenomorphitude: 7/10. You look at these guys and go, “oh, it’s a xenomorph”, but they have enough tricks to keep you on your toes. Most of these tricks were stolen from a different xenomorph ripoff, but still.

Grendelspawn

Appearing in the d20 Modern Urban Arcana book, they basically have no flavor text except “yeah, they kill indiscriminately. The hunters protect the queen”. Apparently they can be trained as guard animals. Weyland-Yutani had the right idea, it seems.

Xenomorphitude: 10/10. Take this one to the bank, boys. It’s just a xenomorph with eyes. The most interesting thing about it is how brazen it is.

Kruthiks

The kruthiks seem like a way to water down the kythons to make them palatable to publish in a more mainstream book than Vile Darkness. They come in three basic varieties, although the largest being a “hive lord” wasn’t established until 4th edition. They have also been getting progressively less like a xenomorph in appearance, with the 5e version being decidedly more reptilian:

Xenomorphitude: 5/10. Basically the most generic “yeah, it’s a xenomorph but…” I can think of.

Essence Reaver

From the Secrets of Sarlona book in Eberron, these creatures are described as being “wingless dragons” that hunt down psionics users and drain their mental energy before eating them. Looking at their stats, only the presence of a barbed tail might make you think “xenomorph”, but then you get to that illustration!

Xenomorphitude: 3/10. You got your dragon in my xenomorph! You got your xenomorph in my dragon!

Akata

I’m using the Starfinder illustration because it’s better, but these alien tentacle dogs appeared before Pathfinder RPG split off from D&D 3.5, in Children of the Void. Their bite infects people with their worm-like larvae, which turn them into slug-tongued zombies until the tongue breaks off and grows up into a new akata.

Xenomorphitude: 1/10. I had to be reminded that they’re supposed to be xenomorph analogues. The zombies remind me more of Night of the Creeps.

Lunarma

Tentacled parasitoids from space, the lunarma seem to be the crossover of the Venn diagram between “xenomorph” and “metroid”. I do like the barbed defense ability—the fact that fighting a xenomorph in melee will get you killed by its passive defenses is something that gets ignored by most ripoffs and clones.

Xenomorphitude: 4/10. Different enough to be its own thing, similar enough to make the inspiration clear.

The Hive

Appearing in Horror Adventures for Pathfinder, the Hive creatures have a proper queen/warrior/larva caste system and a parasitoid life cycle with a twist. If you get infected with the larvae but cured, you can start to mutate into an aberrant creature, making use of the Corruption mechanics introduced in this book. It’s the rare xenomorph ripoff that takes inspiration from the later movies (namely, it appears to be “what if Alien: Resurrection made a little more sense?”).

Xenomorphitude: 9/10. About as blatant a ripoff can get without making copyright lawyers’ ears perk up.

#i'm currently converting the kythons and got inspired #xenomorph #alien #aliens #gore tw #creature design #creature development #D&D #pathfinder rpg

768 notes · View notes

afuntimepartyy · 2 years

Text

*Makes your team dark members cats*

anyways hi guys!! yeah hi, quick disclaimer out of the way that none of these designs are striving to be like... realistic in anyways, more so im just turning them into feral cat designs because its funny!

anyways with that out of the way! woo lets go!

So!! heres the three together, which also helps give their heights! despite being turned into cats i decided to give some of them some traits they had prior, like shadows general quill shapes on the fur, as well as the same basics for the chest fur! meanwhile rouge kept her ears looking similar to a bat, and omega was.... really hard to keep much. but i tried to give them very large claws to keep his typical hands in reference (as well as trying to make the head shake vaguely like omegas) ill also go a little bit in detail on the design process here because i tried to fit multiple things in mind here, as well as little ideas that came with the designs!! (in a simplified form, of course) first up!

Rouge!! -tried to keep her ears pretty big, to keep that bat look -ALSO made the shape (vaguely) of a bat nose above her cat nose in the form of a marking! keeping the bat stuff there but also pretty vague so it dosent tear away from looking like a cat too much -The darker markings were to very vaguely look like her usual outfit. -also side fur!! still vaguely looking like her base design with her hair as well

Shadow!! -made his fur vaguely resemble their quill designs, as well as the general red/orange markings while edited a bit here. -vague shadow the hedgehog symbol for a scar on their hind leg! -chest fur kept that his base design ALSO has! -the red stripes on his base designs arms and legs are also translated here -vague torti/calico designs going on here with the back markings?? i do not think i ended up translating that much well but its there!

omega!! -tried to keep the basic shape of some of omegas base design, large wrists/hands and so on so fourth!! -scar on shoulder also is supposed to be vaguely like omegas symbol on the base design. -purposefully tried to keep the colors close to shadows, to mimic slightly how base shadow and omega have matching color schemes -since this version likely dosent. have guns or anything, completely lacking the robot traits, theyre just super bulky to show they are still very much powerful, its omega afterall -MARKING ON TOP OF HEAD!!! was supposed to mimic how omegas face is like in the base design, with the darker almost black markings supposed to mimic the face, with the eyes being red. -basically tried to reverse shadows colors with omega, instead of black being the base, its the red/orange as the base. all in all, im not the biggest fan of how omega turned out, but i HONESTLY dont know where else i could go with them, so ill settle with what i got.

bonus doodle of the designs for reading, thank you for going through my rambles for these guys lmao

#team dark #sonic fanart #sonic au #rouge the bat #omega sonic #e 123 omega #shadow the hedgehog #shadow sonic #rouge sonic #team dark au #cats!!!!!#i turned you furrys into cats im so sorry guys #blargh very mixed feeling on omegas design it comes off really silly to me #but thats probably because turning omega into a cat at all is a silly concept especially if keeping the shape lmao #anyways #digital art #my art #designs #character design

39 notes · View notes

bangtansocean · 3 years

Text

Letters: Part 01.

Synopsis: Good things never last long, and unfortunately, his promises were a little too good to be true.

⏤𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐: taehyung x reader // slight yoongi x reader

⏤ au: [Historical Fiction, soulmates au]

⏤𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Heavy Angst, smut, fluff

⏤𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: mature content [18+]

⏤Word count: 3.1 K

Chapters: 01 l 02 l 03

click here to go back to master list

___________________

“With love, Taehyung.”

Fragile hands slowly fold the dainty piece of paper back into its envelope as you let out a disappointed sight. At least he is doing okay, you try to convince yourself. Deep inside, you were very happy for Taehyung. He was given the opportunity everyone dreams of, working for the royal family. Since you two were little, Taehyung would always talk about his dreams and go over all the plans he had for you both.

“...And when I’m older, I’m going to become friends with the royal family, the prince and I are going to be like brothers.” nine year-old Taehyung tells you with a smirk, squeezing your hand as you walk through the field of daisies on your way back home.

“They are going to give me a title, and some land! From there, I will be able to build us a house where we can move in together! But I have to ask your mom if we can get married first, of course.” He teasingly bumps his shoulder to yours as you giggle, being flustered by his words. “You look so beautiful when you get all shy and your cheeks get rosy.” He says sweetly, looking at your now red face that’s gazing at the ground you are walking on, too afraid to look into his eyes that seem to carry the entire universe.

Taehyung has been your friend ever since you have memory, and he has been your crush since then, too. You went to the same park and lived fairly close to each other. Your mothers were friends, and they would always take you to the market to buy candy and new books for Taehyung. He would always invite you over so he could read you his favorite books, and even taught you how to read and write; which is something you were very thankful for, since girls were not allowed to go to school in your area, and you eventually grew a big passion for reading thanks to him.

“You know, y/n.” little taehyung starts, letting your hand go to pick some flowers from the field, and giving them to you with a small grin but a very serious gaze. “I want to be with you for the rest of my life,” he says, now smiling, showing you a smile that had some teeth missing. “I want to take care of you, and make you happy. To be by your side in any shape or form,” you can feel the tears starting to build up in your eyes.

Taehyung and you were so young, yet you felt so much love and care for each other it was overwhelming at times. How could such small bodies carry so much emotion? How could you feel so in love at only eight years old? “ I-...I just want to make sure you always have a smile on your face. You look so pretty when you smile.” he continues as he reaches to dry the tear that has fallen from your glistening eyes. Rubbing his thumb delicately on your cheek, he wipes the tears off your face with a comforting smile. “You deserve to be happy, and cherished and taken care of... like a princess!” he exclaims with a lighter tone, making you smile while you rest your cheek on his hand.

“You told me I was already a princess.” you pout, making his heart skip a beat.

“And you are one” he says as he leans closer, leaving a tender kiss on your cheek. “You’re my princess.” he whispers close to your ear. He meets your eyes once again, sealing his confessions with one look, you know, he really means it. “But one day, I’ll make you a real princess, and I’ll be by your side when it happens, I promise.” He reaches out to hold your hand once again as you continue to walk back home, the comfortable silence filling the space between you two all the way to your doorstep.

“y/n, dinner’s ready!” the faint voice of your mother brought you back to reality. You took one last glance at the envelope before placing it inside the dark green box, next to his other twenty three letters he has written you since he left, five months ago.

You close your eyes for a second and shake your head trying to get out of your soppy thoughts and emotional state. You took a few deep breaths trying to calm yourself a little, knowing your mother will bombard you with a thousand questions about Taehyung, and the last thing you wanted to do was cry in front of her.

Once you felt strong enough for what was coming, you left your room and walked the long hallway towards the kitchen. Your mother is humming a song while she serves the cold bean soup she made on two bowls, turning to you when she feels your presence in the room.

“How's Taehyung doing? Everything alright?” she asks, concerned look on her face.

“He’s alright, you know he always dreamed about working for the royal family, so he is doing really well, he even became close to the prince.” you tell your mother excited. Your mother smiles at the news, giving you a plate of soup and pointing towards the table, taking the other plate with her and sitting right across from you.

“Oh thank heavens!” your mother laughs. “I knew Taehyung was always destined to be someone big! Next thing we know, Prince Yoongi will grant him a lord title!” she laughs again, shaking her head in disbelief. “I always knew he was eager to be the best he could be, but I never thought he would make it so soon!” your mother is now blabbing about all the crazy plans Taehyung had shared with your mom throughout the years. You can’t really focus on what exactly she is saying, but you keep nodding at her while you eat your food. “...I can’t wait for you two to get married, you are going to give me the loveliest grandchildren any old woman could ask for!” you choked on your food as she looked at you with a hopeful gaze.

“Mom!” You cough trying to recover from her last comment.

“I’m just saying! Taehyung is a very handsome guy, I’m surprised you guys haven’t tied the knot and sealed the deal yet, if you know what I mean.” She winks at you while she takes a spoonful of soup to her mouth that is now decorated with a perverted grin.

“Mother!” you gasp at her bold statement, dramatically dropping your spoon on your plate. Your cheeks turn a scarlet shade.

“I’m just joking!” she laughs. “I’m glad you guys are waiting until marriage, I think it's very honorable of both of you to do so.” she says on a higher pitch mocking you once again, but this time, instead of replying, you just nod. You feel your body heat up from the embarrassment as you slowly take the spoon to your mouth, humming as a response to her words without taking your eyes off your soup.

She knows you guys have had sex, or at least have taken things further than a few innocent kisses. Your mother is a very smart woman, and you, a terrible liar. There have been many times she heard Taehyung's laugh coming from inside your room at unholy hours, followed by you waking up the next morning with multiple ‘mosquito bites’ all over your neck and chest. She has always rooted for the two of you to end up together, and out of all the guys in town who have tried to court you, Taehyung is her favourite.

“Good thing you are going to be able to see him soon, don’t you think?” she asks you, looking at you with soft teary eyes. Is she going to cry? You try to analyze her words and the question takes you by surprise. What does she mean by soon? You frown in confusion.

“But he is not coming to town until next month…” you tell her quietly, moving your soup around the plate with the spoon, quickly losing your appetite. She would never joke about this kind of thing, would she?... No, she wouldn’t. Your mother was a crazy lady, but she would never play with your emotions like this.

She sees the distress in your face as you try to understand her last statement. Abruptly, she stands up from the table and slowly turns to grab the handful of letters that came in earlier today, Taehyung’s letter being one of the ones that arrived within that same batch. Your mother takes a golden envelope from the bunch and stretches her hand towards you.

“Taehyung’s letter is not the only thing that came in today for you.” she shakes the envelope in her hands, inviting you to take it.

Still confused, you take the envelope and slowly open the fine and expensive paper that was decorated with golden detailing on the corners, only to be found with a letter addressed to you.

“Dear Miss y/f/n”

It is with great honor that we contact you to inform you that we have received your application letter, and to congratulate you for being selected to work in the royal kitchen as our new maid and kitchen helper.

We hope to see you around the castle before the week is over, so you can start your training. We look forward to meeting you, and to have you in court to serve our beloved royal family.

Safe travels and see you soon,

The Royal Kitchen.

___________________ ___________________

“If you have any questions or need anything, come find me in my chambers, but only if it's before 2am, after that I can’t guarantee I’ll be of much help!” you both giggle. “Welcome to the team Miss y/n, I’m excited to have you around.” Seokjin exclaims as he finalises the kitchen tour.

“Thank you so much, Chef.” you bow as he turns around and walks towards the oven, where today’s bread is being baked for lunch.

“Oh darling, call me Seokjin. We are basically bound together for the rest of our lives now, we better get comfortable with each other.” he winks at you and laughs when he sees you looking around the kitchen, not knowing what to do as you hesitate to offer your help. He can read right through you, so he decides to talk again.

“Hey, Jimin.” Seokjin calls the guy who had just finished stocking the bags of rice in the kitchen storage. He turns around with a smile, wiping his sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist.

“Yes, sir!” Jimin exclaims jokingly as he mimics a soldier's salute. Seokjin loud laugh blasts again through your ears. This man's laugh could kill a whole army by how powerful it is. Seokjin shakes his head at his best friend's antics, throwing his towel over his shoulder.

“Why don’t you show y/n around? maybe take her to a quick tour around the gardens before we have to go upstairs to serve the royal lunch, then we can show her around the castle together.” He shifts in his place, feeling a little anxious, hoping Jimin will show you around and help you get more familiar with the castle. Jimin 's eyes sparkle at Jin’s offer. He's excited with the idea of getting to know you more, and hopefully making a new friend in the castle, which makes him smile even wider.

“Would you like that?” Jimin turns to you with a smile plastered on his lips, waiting for your answer. You nod and smile back as Jimin shakes his fists excitedly like a little kid which makes you and Jin laugh. He is so adorable. “Well then, let’s not waste more time!” he walks towards you and interlocks your arms together once you are close enough. He guides your bodies towards the kitchen’s back entrance. “See you in a few hyung, bye!” he waves his arm without looking back at Seokjin, who is too concentrated on decorating dessert to notice you guys leave.

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

“And this is where most of the soldiers practice combat, the little house to the right is where most of the weaponry is,” he points at the little white room that is protected by multiple security guards, a few servants walking in and out of the place. “That's basically all there is. There’s also the royal garden over there,” he points to the left where you can see a small path that leads to a golden gate that’s decorated by a few roses. “But we are not allowed to go in unless, ofcourse, we get invited by the royal family.” he shrugs his shoulders as you nod once again, trying to process all the information Jimin has given you the last 10 minutes you’ve been walking around the gardens.

The sudden sound of the rosy gate makes you both turn around again. Jimin's eyes grow bigger, and he immediately bows. He greets the people who are walking towards where you are standing, and it takes you too long to realise that the two tall handsome men are walking your way. He hits your elbow a few times trying to get you to react and bow too, but you are unable to move because of the hazel eyes that now look at you with a shocked expression, not believing the sight right in front of them.

“y/n?” Taehyung's voice comes out in a higher pitch, almost sounding like a squeal. He finds himself in an internal turmoil. He wants to throw himself at you and hold you in his arms, but he is too scared to even move, thinking you are a product of his imagination and you could disappear as soon as he tries to approach you. Why were you here?

“You must be new in the castle,” The voice next to Taehyung causes you to snap your head towards the other man, a very handsome and tall man that is smiling brightly at you. “I’m-...”

“Your majesty, please forgive her. She must be in disbelief to be in your presence.” Jimin blurs out rapidly, making the handsome man laugh as Jimin bows repeatedly, clearly scared that your ignorance could cost you both your lives.

“It’s okay Jimin, you don’t have to apologise for her.” He turns to you again as he smiles and bows to you. Both Taehyung and Jimin watch the scene unfold before then, not believing their eyes. Jimin shakes his head, unable to understand the situation, why is the prince bowing to you? “I’m Min Yoongi, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss y/n.”

You recognise the name, and you curse at yourself, your first day here and you already fucked up, great job y/n.

“Your majesty!" you exclaim, your voice coming out little louder than expected. "I apologise for my rudeness, it won’t happen again.” You bow, cursing at yourself in your head once again. You can’t bow forever, can you? You sigh as you find the courage to stand straight to face him, you feel your face heating up, your cheeks now tinted red from the embarrassment. “It’s such an honour to meet you.” your voice comes out in a whisper.

Yoongi laughs once again. She’s cute, he thinks. “It’s an honour to meet you too y/n,” he repeats. “And call me Yoongi, please. Let’s be comfortable around each other from now on.” He winks at you as you feel your body heat rise once again. Is the prince flirting with you? Right in front of everyone? Jimin feels like he is about to faint. Has he missed some important information about you? Why did Taehyung know your name? and why is Yoongi being so casual with you?

“Thank you, your ma-... I mean, Yoongi.” you reply shyly with another bow.

While you and Yoongi were exchanging words, Jimin could decipher there was something wrong with Taehyung, his eyes watering from the second he saw you. Jimin doesn't understand what was going on, but it doesn't take a genius see Taehyung was trying really hard not to cry and had a million questions for you. He could figure out that maybe you guys knew each other, and by the way Tae was staring at you, he concluded you guys had unfinished business, and it was best to leave you guys alone to talk.

“Is everything alright Tae?” Yoongi asks, noticing his friend tense up at his words, still in disbelief that you were right in front of him. Overwhelmed by emotion, Taehyung shifts in his place uncomfortably letting out a loud sigh.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” he says quietly. The air starting to tense up, a very awkward silence washing over the four of you. Jimin clears his throat causing everyone to turn to him, he might as well save you from your misery.

“Your majesty," Jimin starts, "I was showing y/n the gardens since she is new here. We were just about to go back to the kitchen to serve the royal lunch, but I just remembered she hasn’t been able to see the lake.” He clears his throat again, looking nervous. “Maybe Taehyung could show her the area? I’d be honoured to escort you to the diner so we can begin to serve lunch for you, Your majesty.” Jimin ends his sentence with doubt, scared of what the prince could reply.

Yoongi notices the stares you and Taehyung exchange, understanding Jimin’s intentions right away. “Sure, Jimin... that sounds like a plan.” Yoongi smiles faintly at you. “I hope to see you around often, Miss y/n.” Yoongi reaches for your hand, kissing it before he turns towards the gates, inviting Jimin to walk with him towards the castle, leaving you and Taehyung alone.

As soon as the two guys were out of sight, you felt Taehyung's strong arms embracing your figure, squeezing you so tightly it was hard for you to breathe. He lets go of the hug, and holds you by your shoulders to be able to face you, his eyes showing a worried expression.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t you get my letter? I told you I was coming home to visit in a few weeks!” Taehyung whispers, holding your face between his shaking hands, meeting your gaze with teary eyes.

“The royal kitchen needed some extra hands, and they offered me the position.” you whisper back. He leans in, leaving a short but sweet kiss on your lips. You smile at him as he moves back. His face scans yours for a second, trying to understand the words that just came out of your mouth.

"Wait, so you work here now?" He asks as he reciprocates your smile. you try to nod, his hands making it hard to move your head, making you both giggle.

“Yeah, you don’t have to send me letters anymore, I’m here now.” He crashes his lips onto yours again, this time welcoming your kiss with passion and excitement.

Taehyung sighs between kisses. He imagined something bad had happened back home, and that your visit was intended so you could deliver the bad news. Thankfully, he was wrong. You had applied for a job in the castle to be able to be closer to him, and to make some money to support your mother back home.

“Okay,” he nods before kissing you again, “No more letters.” He promises against your lips as he wraps his arms around your waist.

He interlocks your hands together as he guides you towards the lake, stealing kisses along the way until you arrived at the beautiful lake that’s hidden behind the castle’s maze. You talk about everything and anything, too intoxicated in each other’s presence. Taehyung feels he is on cloud nine, still trying to process the fact that you are now working in the castle right next him.

But good things never last long and unfortunately, his promise was a little too good to be true.

#bts fanfic #bts ff #bts ffs #bts x reader #taehyung x reader #taehyung fanfic #historical fanfiction #taehyung x you #taehyung smut #taehyung fluff #taehyung x y/n #kim taehyung fanfic

91 notes · View notes

kreidewaltz · 4 years

Text

top of the castle | t.k.

pairing. tsukishima kei x f!reader

about. your only goal is to be on top of everything. every change he gets, he pushes your buttons and does things that stirs something inside you. it's totally not your heart beating wild in your chest.

word count. 6.3k (this is my baby)

genre & warnings. fluff. angst. swearing. sky castle and highschool au. lots of swearing. happy ending. parents are kind of a jerk. subtle pining. enemies to lovers. bestfriend!kuroo. film major!tsukishima and y/n.

author's note. ik i posted this super late but here it is!! this is part of the promptly yours collab by issy :D ty for being understanding kisses you !? this is my first time writing an e2l go easy on me pls :( quick overview: sky castle is a neighborhood for the rich, and they do everything to be ahead of the other families! big thank you to @rintsuru for beta-ing this mwah i'll edit some stuff here tomo :') reblogs & feedbacks are appreciated ty <3

part of the promptly yours collab ✪

“during the dinner, entertain the guests, and kaa-san will be proud of you.” your mom says whilst brushing your hair multiple times. she sends you a threatening smile in the mirror which forms annoyance in your mind, yet a fake smile ghosts your lips. you clench your fist on your pockets, fingernails digging hard into your palms. last night she came to your door, unannounced, and mentioned that she’ll be having a private party after sending your applications to SNU Medical School.

“time to relax after working hard, a reward too for the parents.” you recall her saying, while running her fingers on your head before she shuts the door. the excitement evident in her movements when you hear the repetitive clicks of her heels. you play with the hem of your pajamas as you mimic your mother’s voice in distress, huffing after while you cross your arms on your chest. if she sees you roll your eyes or heave a disappointing sigh, expect a lecture about manners that'll go on for a few minutes.

when you entered middle school, she started to be strict and always repeated that you’re “only going to be successful when you’re on the top of the castle”. the metaphor she often forces in your mind—enjoying your success and growing money. watching other people force their way to the entrance, but this is where her persona morphs into something sickly sweet. she uses her shit ton of money to compromise, and those people leave as if they never disturbed your castle. in her eyes, you’re the embodiment of an independent, hardworking, and stepping on others kind of student which is something you want to erase.

“sit straight, act interested, act modest—”

“bring down the rivals, except kuroo.” you cut your mother off while a subtle smirk appears on your face, running your makeup brush on your powder blush before putting it to your cheeks. she stops for a moment, the silence makes your palms sweat on your school blazer, but relief washes over you when she murmurs okay, good. the moment is interrupted when your dad screams on the other side, assuming that he’s finding her and checking the table set-up for approval. she gives your shoulder a harsh squeeze before leaving you alone in your room, looking at yourself in the mirror.

“bring down tsukishima.” raising your brows, you try to keep yourself sane because people saying his name irks you. his stupid voice and looks down on you just because of the height difference. he looks down on you when he’s done harm to you years ago, and to the Hara family. when the school year started, you had no clue that he attended Yongsan School for Seoul. his presence immediately annoys you to your bones and when he talks, you have the urge to tape his mouth and watch him struggle and enjoy that he’s suffering. when he enters the room, you almost stand up from your seat and protest but you keep your lips shut. attempting to bottle your resentment and continue with the basic introductions and orientations for the school year.

what he did in middle school is the main factor why you resent him.

“your highness!” he yells as soon as you enter the classroom, sending tsukishima a sarcastic smile before you sit comfortably. you try your best to not be grumpy at eight in the morning. good thing that the teacher isn’t here, or you’re in for another lecture about that you should get along and be humble with your classmates.

lame lame lame.

“yeah, i’m a princess hm!” you point a finger at him while you put on a grumpy expression before putting your hands on your waist. huffing a few seconds later, you look through your bag and prepare your cute notebook and pencil. you begin to check the schedule for the day on the first page before reviewing the past few lessons, skimming it with attention that you mentally practice yourself, and clench both of your fists in excitement when you got the right answer. you cross your legs while checking your notes, eager to start the day because you're feeling productive, and seeing the stamps of stars on the first page makes you ecstatic.

“hara y/n, did you hit tsukishima?” your teacher’s voice is stern which scares you, but what frightens you is your mother hearing about the issue. you fiddle with your fingers as you rub your eyes, desperately trying to hold the tears threatening to fall. you and tsukishima are left alone in the classroom, with the teacher sitting across from you. the beautiful sunset view from the window is giving you temporary solace, releasing a sigh before answering.

“no, sensei! he- he hit me!” your voice unintentionally going higher, not realizing that you’re getting defensive. you stand from your chair and stare at him, fuming with anger when you see the smirk forming on his face. the teacher sighs in disappointment since he knows you’re one of the top students this year. your attendance streak is all green, never missing a day. what they don’tknow is how your mother forces you to always go to school no matter what happens, that school is the only path to success.

i hate tsukishima, hmph.

“she did, sensei. you saw her holding the book.” your patience is on thin ice because he has the audacity to lie in front of the teacher when he knows he did it. he slaps the book against the back of your desk and you feel the impact on your shoulders, resulting in a high pitched scream and break the momentum of your classmates writing and your teacher narrowed his eyes at you, shaking his head in displeasure before writing on the blackboard. then you hastily grab the book he's holding and about to throw it on his desk but gasps echo on the room. from their perspective, you're about to hit tsukishima with his book while he's looking across, focused on the discussion that's interrupted.

"you hit me with the book!" frustration slowly seeping out while you bounce on your desk angrily. your pigtails get tangled which fuels your irritation. life likes bad boys, you thought while mocking him by copying his expressions, forgetting for a moment that your teacher is watching you make faces on your own. tsukishima waves his hand, fisting his other hand to put it in the pocket of his purple jacket. the loud bell rings and ends the discussion, and you sulk on your seat while he prepares his things. your teacher walks out of the classroom to call your mom, you assume, because of the way he takes a glimpse at you while holding his phone to his ear.

i don't want to go home.

“i didn’t do it!” you keep repeating the same sentence as you set a foot in the house. your small hands clutch the strap of your backpack tight, agitated on what she’ll have to say on what happened. your teacher called your mom and had a quick discussion while you bowed to your mom before going home. the awkward silence caused you to grab your backpack and stand behind her, looking down on your shoes to distract yourself. when the both of you entered the car, she didn’t spare you a glance, even on the rearview mirror. the good thing is your favorite song is playing which soothes your worries temporarily. but the car ride was mentally exhausting and your nervousness kept boiling in your chest.

"the one time life is well! and you had to do that." sitting on the edge of your bed, disappointment and frustration join forces in your head while you clench your fist tight. tears trail down your cheeks freely and you have to grip your shorts so you wouldn't explode. hearing her sigh loudly makes you look at your hands to distract yourself from thinking while you sniffle quietly to yourself because your mom tells you to mask your true feelings with other people.

"i'm your princess! i didn't do it!" bouncing on your bed to defend yourself while she doesn’t say anything. she goes to your study table and grabs some of your books and pens. you looked at her in distress, tears forming in your eyes, since your mom's punishments are something you avoid if you have the chance.

“ah long time no see! come in!” your mom cheerfully greets when you see the Oikawa family entering the house, bowing down in respect with a sickly sweet smile plastered on your face. he acts like a prince charming when he bows, trying to charm your mother. she acts as if she’s swooned by his alluring smile before she rushes the family to enter the extravagant room, eyeing oikawa while he fixes the buttons of his school blazer. you and oikawa had a while you’re flipping the pendant of your necklace, the loud banter on the stairs a few meters away gets your attention.

“oh! kuroo looks dashing as usual!” she clasps her hands together, the gold rings on her fingers clashing and creating light noises which only you could hear. after they pick up on your mother’s voice, kuroo abruptly stops arguing and casually puts his right hand in his pocket. his mother gives you a soft wave and pecks your mother on the cheeks. you’re not in europe. the thought comes to mind while they chit chat. his father comes to the dining table, leaving you with kuroo for a few minutes. you extend your other leg in the front, putting your hands on your waist, and when you catch his monotone gaze. kuroo looks to the side while the tip of his ears slowly become red.

“ah! i’m glad our parents are okay.” you whisper in front of him while you pat your cheeks and put on your serious expression because your mother always tells you to act elegant when there are guests. a sympathetic smile appears on his lips, knowing why you changed your face in seconds—because you have a reputation to hold.

“mhm, okay talk to you later.” he says before lightly bumping your shoulder with his fist which you return with the same force while a smile dances on your balmed lips. the both of you don’t notice his mom’s gaze softening because of your brief chat.

“yuuji! you should’ve brought your vest!” your mom giggles when she hears the voice of the Terushima family. her covers her mouth with her hand (also her way of showing off her accessories). his mom’s voice is pretty loud so you hear her clearly when they’re on the stairs. a childish whine leaves his lips while his almond eyes begin twinkling in excitement seeing the grand decoration on the entrance. “oh hi y/n! pardon me, and yuuji.” his mom is always enthusiastic and humble.

you raise a brow when you notice the piercing on terushima’s ears. “you pierced?” you point a finger at his ear before the smirk on his face grows, knowing that you’re not allowed to get pierced or tattooed under your parent’s household.

“yeah, you want one?” he leans in with a teasing smirk on his face and slowly licks his bottom lip, and you get a glimpse of his tongue piercing. a tsk leaves your lips before you push him away with your clenched hands. your mom intrudes in your conversation and pulls you to her chest. your mom’s thoughts about you not listening to her and actually getting piercings are running like a hamster on a wheel. his mom covers her face with the palm of her hand, thinking that she won’t get used to terushima bragging about his piercings and possibly influencing his friends to get one. your mom giggles about him and repeatedly pats his back, escorting the Terushimas to their seats at the table—a long and wide one she bought for this day, and a few hours later, the cleaners will struggle to put the furniture back on the basement.

“ah n/n! wait for tsukishima, alright?”

your mom waves her fingers with a smile plastered on her face, leaving the entrance in your hands. going rebel sounds intriguing but you decided to go against it. you intertwine your fingers together and put them behind your back, walking around back and forth along with an occasional twirl because the black skirt whirling is satisfying for your eyes. annoyance bubbles in your chest when she mentions his name, and the fact you’ll escort them all the way to their seats at the table. relief courses through you when she picks their seats further away from your vision.

good, i can’t stand his golden eyes at—

“dear y/n, always elegant like her mother!” your dad mentions while the food is being served. the maids delicately hold the plates even though the appetizer only consists of green leaves, a drizzle of oil and other vegetables mixed in. a confident smile comes to your face while the boys giggle along with their parents, knowing that they nudge their waist to go with the flow and attempt to be your parents’ right hand and be their disciple. kuroo kicks your feet under the table while a subtle smirk on his face, and before you could misunderstand his intentions, he eyes the other parents then quickly rolls his eyes after. the clanking of the plates and forks begin to ring your ears and you immediately connect the clues on what he likes to say.

look at them, trying to get on your parents’ side.

you lightly slap his knee with your foot to get his attention, and you successfully do so while not realizing that about to take a bite of the vegetables. while kuroo thinks about embarrassing himself, again, despite that your parents and the other boys are lost in their own conversations, you take a big bite of everything that’s on the plate, not noticing your mom’s stern gaze on your figure. when he’s finished fixing his hair, he raises his brow while you cross your arms over your chest, nodding in defeat while rubbing your forehead, mimicking those disappointed adults you’ve seen in dramas. he covers his mouth while his eyes crinkle, controlling the laugh he desperately wants to let out. you massage your shoulder for a moment because it’s getting uncomfortable but you have to keep your act—act like you have your shit together in front of the guests.

“oh! oikawa-kun, how’s the japanese lit for you?” initiating a conversation between your rivals while the parents reacted quietly to themselves, as if they’re going to witness harsh exchange with words until emotions overtake your head. this is the sky castle, you think while straightening your posture, satisfied when you get a glimpse of him jolting on his seat before putting on his charming facade and entertaining your question.

“easy peasy! bet i’ll get a perfect score.” he runs his hand through his hair, fixing his school blazer and acts mighty with the other people around.

terushima begins to tease him by making faces to push oikawa’s buttons, and you tap your mouth with the tissue before dropping the bomb and witness his face morph to dread. “you know that i check the papers too, right? you’ve got three mistakes already.” bring down people so you can walk forward, you think while oikawa’s eyes are large like the globes you use for geography class. you loosely intertwine your fingers as you press your cheek on your palm. your mom peeks at you, amused, at your actions that she fights the urge because a smile is threatening its way on her deadpanned face since the beginning of the dinner. the other parents whisper to themselves, especially Oikawa’s parents who look at you with distaste occasionally when they talk. the maids are astonished with your attitude since you're a sweetheart, in the time where your mom is out and does her daily shopping to further decorate the house.

as the dinner continues, you're mentally patting yourself on the back for doing a great job to keep your castle undisturbed. you didn't notice the blonde fighting the urge to smirk to himself because it's the first time he witnessed you being brazen. he takes a big sip of the water, stretching his hands and resting it on his back as he catches your eyes which widens his smirk. resulting to strengthen your rage—and the fact that you're enjoying how attractive he looks.

ugh, let's get this over with.

“what? never expected me to be on top?” a condescending tone laces your voice as you cross your legs, the exhaustion you carried throughout the dinner is dissipating when you rest your back on the chair. feeling a certain pair of golden eyes piercing your soul, you intentionally ignore the sweating of your palms and curl your toes inside your shoes because you keep moving as long as you feel his eyes focused on you. the sassy persona you’ve worked hard lasting long is crumbling, as if tsukishima is taking his time to disassemble the pieces.

“finally we’re away.” terushima whispers to no one before running his fingers on his hair. all of your parents settled on the tea room as your mom calls it to chit chat and relax for a few hours and you know she'll subtly brag about your achievements in school and the furniture around the house that are only available to the rich she quotes.

"away from our parents who force their dreams to us? hell yeah." oikawa added before stretching his neck, the table erupting into laughter because what he said is the truth.

"hey! too mean." narrowing your eyes at him and seconds later you realized how contradicting you are. you scold the brown haired for being mean (when he only said the truth) yet you call oikawa earlier on the dinner for having three mistakes on the test of film studies. the silence stopped you from saying something further so you sit back, looking at the lights and decorations hanging on the wall so you won't embarrass yourself further.

we're even i guess, oikawa whispers under his breath before looking at you, his smile not reaching his eyes. you slap your cheeks while you're looking hard at oikawa, not noticing how the blonde plays with his fingers before looking at you, his eyes glimmering of mischief. since tsukishima knows what pushes your buttons and he always uses it to his advantage.

"stop the good girl act. you feel that way too, idiot." he cleans his glasses with his vest while his eyes narrow and look at you. as you look up and stare at him, you’re perplexed seeing him without his glasses and get amazed on how golden his eyes are. while your arms are flat on the table, his words earlier came back crashing on your head. good girl.

“good girl act, huh? why? you want me to be a bad.. bad girl tsukishima-kun?” you retort back quickly, and you’re pleased with your counterattack since hearing low whistles and gasps beside you fueled your ego. you raise your brow with a mocking smile on your lips to taunt tsukishima even more, intentionally ignoring the repetitive beating of your heart. you felt kuroo kicking your ankle under the table but you dodge his kick since you didn’t want to be bombarded by his remarks because you know he’ll never let you forget about this moment.

“and what if i do, princess?” he raises his brow in return, resting his chin on his palm while cocking his head to the side, amused with your response but he wouldn’t let you know that. you’re obviously dumbfounded, hating the way he uses that nickname casually in a conversation. the uneasiness you’re feeling doesn't go away when you feel eyes on you, eagerly waiting on what you’ll have to say. you clear your throat and you’re about to say something when-

“okay! y/n you got ice cream?” terushima jumped in the conversation before the tension rose on the table. at first you’re bummed when he cuts you off suddenly but you’re glad because you’re not going to talk to tsukishima after this. nope, you keep repeating to yourself. you nodded and led the way to the kitchen, slapping your cheeks lightly with your fingers to snap out of it.

“y/n, suck it up and do the first move.” kuroo murmurs louder to mortify you before taking a bite of the ice cream from the glass, his smug expression makes you want to punch him right there. you playfully kick his chair while you mindlessly mix the spoon on the glass, the ice cream melting as time ticks by.

“what- i’m not- you jerk!" their eyes fall on you since your voice tends to get loud when you defend yourself, and you forget about that while kuroo annoys you on purpose. you grumble shut up under your breath, cupping your cheeks while a frown takes over your face. you angrily grab the scooper to get more desert, also denying the thoughts running in your mind and shake your head in the process while whispering no, that can't happen!

"you're screwed, my friend." kuroo waves his spoon in front of you and you grit your teeth in annoyance while a frown takes over your face. a part of you wants to give in and admit you’re feeling something for him but you’ll stick on what you’re good at-denying. you pout in defeat and sulk in your seat, your eyes falling on tsukishima sitting in the corner. he’s in his own world, taking a bite of the ice cream and repeatedly tapping his foot on the floor. you assume it’s because of the music he’s listening to because of his tangled earphones put on. when he caught your gaze you turned away a little late meaning he saw you. shame clouded your head and desperately try to distract yourself from him, and look at oikawa acting high and mighty, anything, so you won’t spiral back to your thoughts full of tsukishima.

“the hell!? no i’m fin-” he waves his hands and doesn't listen to your stalling, since he knows you’re doing that to convince yourself and not him. you scowl at him and cross your arms together, chanting to pull it together since you get aggressive when someone’s caught you so you cross your arms together and clench your fists. (you thought you’ll have wrinkles earlier than others because of how much you’re frowning).

“i saw what happened, don’t even.” he cocks his head to tsukishima’s direction with a grin on his face and he knew he conquered victory between the banter. you sent him a sarcastic smile before checking the others chat to themselves and hear the faint laughter of the adults in the other room. your mind starts to imagine what it's’ like to talk to your crush.

no didn’t say that!

“this is fun.” he added, which deepened your scowl and you clearly heard the teasing tone laced on his voice. you roll your eyes playfully while he ruffles your hair, and you’re bummed because you know he is right. don’t pull the bad girl card, he murmurs and twirls the ends of your hair. your thoughts halted when you heard the two words that brought you back to the situation earlier. you hold your breath while stretching your arms straight on the counter, hurriedly thinking of a witty response.

“hey! he looked good…” you closed your eyes quickly then you got a glimpse of tsukishima smirking and the way the nickname, princess, rolled off his tongue is making the tip of your ears faint red and sensitive. where’s the y/n that hates tsukki with all her guts? kuroo whispers and laughs hysterically after which caught the attention of the others. you know he’s teasing you for fun since you two often have light hearted banters. the urge to punch him in the face crosses your mind because there are times he knows and you know he’s right, it’s on you not wanting to admit it. his hand ruffles your hair once again before smoothly interrupting oikawa’s bragging, while your thoughts go on an overdrive in your head.

"miss pres! wait for me!" you stopped in your tracks and waited on the right side when you heard akari jogging to you. a dejected pout appears on her lips. she hangs onto your arm and grips it tight, catching her breath because you didn't wait for her outside after the film classes ended.

purposely digging her nails as her payback, because you didn't wait for her outside after the film class ended.

"damn, it's hard being the best friend of the student council president." she says with a defeated tone while fixing her skirt. your face scrunched up in response before walking together on the hallways. akari begins her rambling about the upcoming output your professor mentioned. you tightened your hold on the folders, frightened that the stack of folders will slip out of your hold since fate can be cruel, you muse while pushing the folders close to your chest.

"i can carry folders too, you know." her laughter echoed in the hallway when she saw your reaction! furrowed brows, a pout on your lips before you hesitantly gave half of the folders in her waiting hands. before you could explain what the folders are, you hear her gasp when she sees the title, in bold letters—CLASS 3 FILM STUDIES TEST RESULTS. she overheard you and the professor and learned that you're also checking the papers because professors trust you that much. akari likes seeing you lose your cool in public so she lifts the side of the folder. though it gets exhausting, you endure akari and her antics since despite her teasing she knows her boundaries. she's a good friend because holding the titles student council president, and top student scares away potential friends you could have. students gossiping about your family and status doesn't make things easier. so when she approached you in the library and blunty said you're taking her seat, you're grateful despite interrupting your study session.

it's safe to say that you didn't give each other good first impressions.

"miss pres, faculty room right?" akari's voice breaks your train of thought and wonders how you didn't hit anyone along the way since you take a few turns before seeing the faculty room.

"mhm."

“kari! let’s go back! i can convince sensei.” you whine quietly and stomp on your feet, you’re definitely ignoring your heart about to jump out of your chest when you see a glimpse of a blonde in front of the faculty room. after the party you held a few days ago, you didn’t pay attention to him and avoided him at all costs because you’re trying to figure out if feeling something to your rival is a big deal or not. you tighten your hold on the papers, a pout coming to your lips while akari is amused on what’s happening right now. she’s clearly not expecting you to go to the other way and avoid confrontation with the blonde.

“he’s there! i can’t face him!” you added and jutted your lips into a pout. in your head, you could roast him with other people because you have a perfect reputation to keep. she sighs for a moment while you stand there, she transfers all the folders in her other hand before smacking you in your arm. a shriek leaves your lips, not expecting your friend to hit you in the hallway. you knew you lose the disagreement when you see her as if she’s saying really? i’m done with you through her face. she puts a hand on her waist while she steps on the floor. a habit of hers that you noticed through time. you fix your hair that’s blocking your sight before nodding your head.

“fine… whatever.” you narrow your eyes and point a finger on her direction, acting like you’re threatening her but it didn’t have an effect at her. both of you silently walk towards the faculty room and finally see tsukishima in all his glory. he’s slightly slouching in front of the door because of his height. you quickly look at the other classrooms, acting as if you never saw him and ignore your heart beating at a quick pace. you’re in front of the room, just behind him and realize how tall he is. he looks back and catches your gaze before he smirks and waves at the professor inside. (they are clearly victims of the good boy facade he puts, you think). akari whistles to herself before going inside and gives the folders to your professor while you follow behind.

“ah thank you y/n! and akari. you can have your lunch now.” you bow quickly and smile before you shut the door gently. you fix your blazer and pat your skirt before going to the cafeteria with akari. on the way she keeps teasing you about how you daydream of tsukishima when you’re in class. she keeps mentioning his smirk when you’re eating and you almost choked on the food, since yes, maybe his smirk is attractive you think, maybe, you repeated.

“how’s life with rich people?” she whispers since she accompanied you to the library because you’re planning your scenes already and what emotions you’ll pick for the montage output. you stopped writing and closed your notebook, and rolled your eyes playfully because you know what she really wants to ask.

“i know you’re asking about oikawa, so go.” you say while crossing your arms on the wooden table, and stretch your back after writing for twenty minutes. on the time you’re working, she’s humming random songs and twirls her pen on the papers she brought, scribbling lines and occasionally add doodles on the paper.

“tsk, at least i’m proud of it.” she comments while you gasp, wondering why kuroo and her keeps forcing you to admit you like him. it wasn’t that you’re uncomfortable, your answer remains the same, you have a reputation to take care of.

“anyway! i heard you were mean to him.” she adds while burying her head in her open book, it’s obvious that she’s bored but she accompanied you nonetheless. you stopped twirling your hair and you processed what she said. how did she know, you lamented to yourself while your brows furrow.

“terushima… he doesn’t shut up. he might’ve mentioned that.” akari massages her scalp while looking at you, she’s attempting to relieve the minimal pain she’s feeling in her head. you continued to write on how the scene will go but your sentences ended in scribbles. you’re terribly annoyed that terushima talked about the party even, it wasn’t necessary, you thought while biting your lip.

“agh! whatever. it’s the truth.” you cried out after contemplating for a few minutes. you lean back on the chair, drinking from your water bottle to hydrate yourself once in a while. you sigh in satisfaction when the cold water goes to your chest, awakening your sleepy eyes. the silence helps you gain your focus and plan your outfit and makeup on the montage, but akari breaks the silence with a question.

“yeah sure.. the truth. so when are you gonna admit that you actually like tsukishima, huh?” akari prompts her elbow while a cocky smile goes to her face. you hum and stopped writing, utterly confused with her expression.

“well i like him but- what?! you and kuroo should be locked away somewhere.” you rambled after realizing her true intentions of why she asked that question. you kicked her foot slightly under the table to get back at her. she hisses slightly while you bow quickly to apologize. you sigh before grabbing your phone and usher akari to take a selfie in the library, even though her face looks funny on the picture, you’ll still keep it. while she looks through the photos you took, you look at the window and many thoughts keep overlapping but one thought stands out. should i finally admit that i have a crush on him? what if he doesn’t like me though? those are the thoughts you pondered on on the way home and the next few months.

it’s been five months since those thoughts spiralled on your head, almost haunting you every night. this day marks the start of vacation, no more school work to do and you’re not pretending to be a good student on campus all year. it's been a few months since you passed the montage output and you remembered how your professor’s mouth is open while watching yours, it boosted your confidence. you picked unrequited and longing which seems two complicated emotions to work on a montage but that’s what you like about it. when you did your shoot months ago, you couldn’t forget the horror on kuroo’s face when he saw the smudged make-up on your face while your dress looked elegant.

you waved him off that time and continued to film the flowers dancing to the wind, the group of birds flying high, and you accidentally filmed tsukishima walking away while the sun hit his direction and it created a warm yet nostalgic vibe. that time he didn’t give you insults or anything but god, he was cocky. kuroo and oikawa noticed how things changed on the two of you, because normally they’d be seeing you going at each other’s throats. but you did your own thing, and you didn’t complain about filming him and instead he saw you giggling to yourself while looking at the camera. the black haired finally connected the puzzles together and came to a conclusion: you’ve come to terms that you like tsukishima.

“i really like him! believe me.” you defended and hugged the pillow laying on the couch. you invited tsukishima to your house to convince your parents that you like each other even though you’ve been together for a few months already. when you often walk with your boyfriend (calling him that still makes you blush), you always see oikawa and kuroo snickering to themselves, and you teased kuroo that he replaced you with another. sadly, your mom didn’t like the idea and she went to another country to calm down, you think. that time you realized where you got your sulky attitude from. your dad acts casual and asks questions one at a time. you’re grateful because you couldn’t handle many questions at once and the accusations you’ll hear from your mom isn’t what you wanted right now. your dad giggles when you act pouty and defensive, while tsukishima bounces his leg to relieve the slight to little nervousness he has, he convinces himself. it didn’t help when kuroo grip his shoulder tight and give a little speech on how to protect you and show how to care.

“she does… unfortunately.” he whispers the last word which infuriates you and hits his head with the pillow lightly. your dad didn’t hear what he said so he glares at you, shaking his head, as if he’s saying not to hit your boyfriend. you pout and cross your arms, and give him the face that’s supposed to threaten people but it doesn’t work for him. (one time, you realized you’re friends with people who have resting bitch faces).

“do you want me to be your enemy again?” you threaten him but you fail because a big smile goes to your face. you fix the hair clip on the back of your head to keep your hair away.

“sure if it means i can see you be angry but look cute.” he retorts back and while you're about to explode, from your peripheral vision you see your dad giving him a big thumbs up and an awkward wink. he sends him a nod and acts cool.

"hmm, now i get why you like each other y/n." your dad comments he pats the space beside him. tsukishima gently rubs your lower back before letting you go, even though his heart is beating wild in his chest. you sit beside your dad before tightly embrace him, relieved of his reaction to your new relationship.

"thank you dad. we'll protect each other, don't worry. you can kick him if he broke up with me though." you whisper the last part so the blonde wouldn't hear you (he's suspicious based on the narrowing of his eyes and the gaze you feel at the back of your head). he pats your back while giggling lightly and stand up. he enjoys seeing you lost in your world and see the genuine happiness glowing in your eyes. this is something he should've done sooner, he thought because all these years you're caged in this house, alone and lonely.

“tsu-ki-shima-kun, let’s go?” you tease him because he once told you that calling him like that stirs something inside him. you giggle and look to him softly, an indirect way of asking permission to loop your arms together. you respect his boundaries, always, even though it didn't seem like it a few months ago. he nods and pushes his glasses, and you loop them while seeing his ears down to his neck go a little red.

“hey, let’s go to the library. it’s quiet there.”

you get out of the house and wave to the idiots (kuroo and oikawa) as you call them before going to the library with him. you had nothing to study for and you knew why he wants to go there, with you, you just know.

this is the sky castle, the place where you bring down people to walk forward. but after thinking about it, walking together with tsukishima doesn't sound bad.

143 notes · View notes