#my friend wanted to come so i met up with her and she came to coles with us

[01zfan]

contact pt. 2

ex!shotaro x ex!reader | 10.6k words

the part two literally two people asked for. i can't help that i can't get shotaro out of my mind especially THIS shotaro.

contains: breaking up, exes with benefits, miscommunication, mushy gushy stuff, and comfort from not busy diners and soup-and-sandwich specials

contact: part 1 | part 2

You didn’t meet Shotaro on purpose. 

You met him on an impromptu journey of self discovery that lead you to the diner off campus. You thought you’d devise a plan to become a person that put themselves out there in the comfort of the place you went to nearly every day. Craft yourself a new personality over the best soup-and-sandwich lunch special the town had to offer, one of the few places that was so uninhabited you often got the entire place to yourself. 

The closest thing you had to a friend was Giselle, the part time server that had mainly night classes. Your opposing schedules made it so you could never really hang out, but you admittedly preferred it that way. You two had an unspoken acknowledgement of the fact that your lives were total opposites. On Giselle’s Instagram you found out that she was involved in nightlife and other things beyond your single dorm. On your Instagram she found out you were never going to go to a party even if you seemed to really consider an invitation. 

You liked the relationship you had with her currently, small doses of you in the form of sitting at your table between stretches of dead periods in the diner or when she was on break. That was probably the manifestation of another problem you had, but that was neither here nor there. What mattered was that you had uncharacteristically built such a rapport with someone to the point that they knew your name, what spot in the diner you liked, and what you were going to order. 

Giselle brought you your food and sat across from you in the booth seat. She messed with the end of her high ponytail. Being friends with Giselle was easy. She didn’t hide anything, you didn’t know if she even knew how to. When you started at her blonde roots down to the cotton candy pink hair carding through her fingers you wanted to ask if it was damaged. When she sighed heavily you knew something was wrong. A perfect opening for conversation, so you didn’t have to force her to sit in silence with you.

“Long day?” You asked.

“Long week.” She answered.

“It’s only Tuesday.” You said.

“Tell me about it.” Giselle sighed again, putting her head in one hand as her other continued messing with her hair. You turned your plate towards her, offering the other half of your cranberry chicken sandwich. Giselle reached forward and dug her fingernails into one half to tear it into two pieces. She took the smaller portion. “I can’t wait for this week to be over.”

You nodded your head knowingly. If anyone had the right to be tired, it was Giselle. Between her involvement on campus, her work schedule, and her nightlife you didn’t know how she did it all. 

“When are you off work?” You asked.

“In like twenty minutes. But,” Giselle brought her hands to her eyes and rubbed them profusely. “Shotaro is coming so we can talk about. Something.” She said.

Giselle had the habit of thinking you knew the same people she did. More often than not she would mention someone’s name in passing, each time you would have to remind your friend you very much did not know who the person was. So when Giselle mentioned Shotaro, the one who was in her financial analyst class, you still shook your head.

“I’ve never met him.” You said.

Before Giselle could tell you an unimportant fact as if that would jog your memory, the tiny bell above the front door went off. Giselle turned around before you could peer over her shoulder to see who came in. She checked her watch, turning the loose band on her wrist so she could see the time.

“You’re early.” She chided.

“Had to get here before you left like last time.” He said.

Shotaro’s hand went to Giselle’s shoulder and squeezed it affectionately. You didn’t even get a chance to assume that they were together before he was already looking to you with curiosity. You don’t know why it made the hairs on the back of your neck raise, but you’d come to find out that being at the receiving end of Shotaro’s attention would always make you feel that way.

You didn’t meet Shotaro on purpose. 

Giselle always made sure to emphasize that when she told the story of how she brought you two together. She became your self-appointed love guru and wing woman when she told Shotaro about you like you weren’t sitting right in front of them. She patted herself on the back for keeping the conversation going when you would get nervous and stop talking. She always bragged about how she was able to set up a date between her two friends right before the dinner rush at her work.

Because you met Shotaro through Giselle, and you met in the diner you always came to, he became the de facto third person in previous duo with Giselle. Purely on technicality, and it made sense because the two ran in the same massive social circle, and the diner was one of the few places you ventured to in your small bubble. So more than Giselle saw Shotaro through mutual friends and school mixers and non-school parties she saw him with you, shoulders touching as he whispered playfully in your ear or leaned over to show you something on his phone. 

Seeing you two together was such a common occurrence that when you showed up to the diner without him in tow, she knew something was off. When you stayed focused on your food instead of looking up at her, Giselle tried her best to be neutral.

“Where’s Shotaro?” With her eyebrows raised she leaned down to try and get you at eye level with her. “Haven’t seen him in awhile.” She said.

Her hesitancy made you think she already knew the answer. Still you focused on your food and not her, looking directly at your caprese sandwich.

“We broke up.” You answered simply.

Giselle’s eyes went wide. You were so silent it was almost overshadowed by the rest of the chatter in the diner, and you provided no other explanation. You just continued to eat your food, looking at the your plate instead of your worried friend.

“Woah.” When you only nodded in acknowledgment you felt the overwhelming concern come from your friend as she simultaneously tried to mask it. You cleared your throat and pushed your food around your plate as Giselle sputtered in front of you. “What happened? Are you okay?” She asked.

Only then were you able to look up from your food. You looked right past her to watch a couple walk by your booth to be seated. You nodded, turning your focus to the bell above the front entrance past Giselle.

“I am.” You answered. 

When you had nothing else to stare at, you went back to your plate. You messed with the edge, feeling the need to prove yourself more than the need to eat.

“I broke up with him. In case you didn’t know.” You added.

You could argue that Giselle’s shocked reaction was part of the reason you called it off.

“What happened? I thought everything was going well between you guys.” She said.

There were no secrets you were keeping from her about your relationship with Shotaro, if anything you were keeping how good you had it hidden away. There was no one else in your life that was so willing to put their lifestyle on hold for you. No one who wanted to give up their weekends outside to be inside up with you, no one that was as patient or caring or warm and gentle. No one was considerate of your heart to never break it, even if you were ill-matched.

But there was the overwhelming burden that started becoming unbearable when you realized you were pulling Shotaro further and further away from his life. You had no right to keep him inside, to stop him from enjoying his youth. 

You didn’t even know that it was weighing on you so heavily until you dropped the bombshell. Randomly on a Friday night, right when Netflix asked if you were still watching and Shotaro’s phone lit up with another message from his friend asking where he was at.

“I think we should break up.” You said casually.

“Sure babe.” You could feel Shotaro’s chest vibrate against your back as he silenced his phone. 

When you didn’t reply and when you didn’t press Yes, I’m still watching his demeanor completely changed. He froze behind you, peering over your shoulder to try and get a good look at your face.

“Wait, you’re serious?” He asked.

When you still didn’t respond Shotaro got up from his spot behind you completely. You both sat up your feet dangling over the edge of the sofa as he looked at you confused. Too many times you felt like you were trying to play catch up with Shotaro. You had to constantly learn his new friends names and the birthdays and the hangouts and the parties and the cool restaurants you had no idea about. You felt sick satisfaction seeing him try to catch up to you for once. 

When your words finally settled and Netflix went back to the homepage he let out a slow breath.

“Can I ask why?” 

You felt yourself grasping at straws as you tried to find the reason. He was with you on a Friday night instead of going out to the party his friends spent a week telling him about. They were still holding out hope, not knowing that the thing indirectly keeping him in was you. You couldn’t bring yourself to answer him, that you were somehow yearning for something you couldn’t explain when you were doing fine on your own for so long. You only shook your head and repeated the sentiment.

“I just think we should break up.”

“I want to know why.” Shotaro pinched the bridge of his nose. He was always so patient with you. 

Not having an answer made everything worse. Walking out without saying a word was arguably even worse. You did both while Shotaro followed you around his apartment, trying to get you to talk to him.

Even the morning after the funeral you didn’t have an answer. Your body woke up in Shotaro’s bed before your mind did, surging yourself forward like you were in a nightmare. 

For a moment you panicked, blindly reaching for your phone that wasn’t there as you took in your environment. When you saw the familiar curtains and relief sunk in. But then when you really realized where you were, you panicked again.

“Good morning.”

Shotaro’s shirt was on your body, you were on his bed underneath the comforter he bought because he knew you always ran cold. He spoke to you slowly, looking at you from his desk. He eyed you from his office chair like you were unpredictable. He must’ve been right in some way, because being underneath his gaze made you want to bolt out his apartment through the window and lunge at him from your spot across the room. You tried to feign calmness, stretching like you didn’t just wake yourself up violently from your sleep. You rubbed your eyes and forced a yawn, trying hard to not look Shotaro in the face.

He picked at the bottom of his shirt, the one you were wearing last night before everything transpired between the two of you.

“Should we talk about last night?” He asked.

The way he asked it told you he already knew your answer. You still shook your head, looking down at the indent you were making on his mattress.

“Probably not.” You said quietly.

“Are you going to stay for breakfast?” He asked.

Same helpless infliction in his voice when he asked the first question. You shook your head the same, eyes on your pile of clothes neatly folded next to him.

“Probably not.” You repeated.

Shotaro nodded slowly. He knew you entirely too well. He turned away from you in his chair to face the dimly lit screen of his laptop. He started writing in his journal and typing, while you brought your legs closer and closer to your body. His room seemed a little colder, the floor was freezing underneath your feet when you slid off his bed. You padded around his room heel to toe, like you were trying your hardest to not make your presence known. But Shotaro always noticed, he always looked out for you in a way that made you panic. That’s why instead of continuing to ignore you for your sake he stopped typing on his computer when you reached forward to grab your neatly folded dress. 

“You can borrow my clothes.” Shotaro said.

You nodded silently before fully grabbing your dress. You didn’t know if Shotaro wasn’t looking at you as some sort of punishment for you avoiding to look at him but you admittedly felt grateful. The way he didn’t follow you through the space made it that much easier to leave without looking back.

There was three days of radio silence before either of you reached out. 

You fully intended to wait for Shotaro to tell you to bring back his clothes, or wait for a time in your schedule during the day to return his belongings. But after you called your mother and she guilt tripped you for leaving the wake without introducing Shotaro to all of your extended family you felt shitty. Then you went and bombed your exam that you were too emotionally drained to study for. Then it got unbelievably gloomy after your last class when you forgot your keys to your dorm. You sat in the lobby of your building, waiting for RA to come back from dinner so you could actually access your room. You felt that same sinking feeling you did outside of your mother’s house when you called Shotaro that night. You felt the same sense of overwhelming wrong that you just needed something to go right, or to completely top off the terrible day you were having by being rejected by him. 

You sat in the vinyl chair as you thought about your options. You leaned back in the seat and replayed the awful day you had. Your mother calling you rude for leaving the wake early. Your teacher recommending you to come by for tutoring. Realizing when you turned your locked door that your key was waiting on the other side. Your day made you reckless, you nearly slammed your fingers on the glass screen of your phone as you typed in Shotaro’s memorized number.

hey

can i come over?

it’s ok if you say no.

You waited in the lobby of your building, watching people come in and out. You envied those who had their keys ready to go in their hands, and the ones that seemed to have their lives together.

taro: what are you coming over here to do?

nothing

only going to stay an hour

taro: doors unlocked.

When you went over to Shotaro’s house a second time, there was less talking. Once you came through his door, Shotaro quickly filled in the unsaid gaps of your impromptu visit.

You take partial blame for the way you framed your text. Telling Shotaro you were staying only an hour made it seem like your visit was a hookup, squeezed into your very busy schedule. You didn’t get the chance to tell him you were waiting for your RA to unlock your door as you two stumbled through his apartment. 

Shotaro had his hands on your face as you blindly navigated the space, his lips on yours were bruising and almost rough as your legs hit the back of his couch. When you almost fell he pulled you tightly against his body, pulling a gasp from your already depleted lungs. You breathed hot air into his mouth, and drew the breath he was trying to take in through your nose. Still no words were said as you trusted him to guide you completely, your only job was to impatiently push open the door to his bedroom when he pressed you against it.

Instead of kissing you down to his bed gently like he had done all those times before, Shotaro turned you around. Before you could catch your breath he bent you over, the side of your face pressing into his mattress while your feet were still planted on the ground. The new position and Shotaro’s strength made you croak out a choked gasp.

Before you broke his heart, he was never like this with you. He never went straight to devouring you like he was now. He never put a strong hand on the back of your head, pressing it further into the mattress as his other hand felt you up. With widened eyes you tried looking behind you, but anytime your head moved out of place Shotaro would push it slightly harder into the mattress.

“Is this okay?” He applied the lightest of pressure behind his hand again and you drew in a breath. Your fingers started helplessly messing with the stitching of his bed. Shotaro’s hand that wasn’t palming on the back of your head grabbed your ass. “Is this okay?” He repeated.

Something about speaking seemed entirely too much. The small sounds you made during sex was always an indication to Shotaro that you liked what he was doing, that you wanted him to continue. Like your labored breath and the way you were gripping his sheets for dear life wasn't a big enough sign, you nodded your head against Shotaro’s palm and preened your ass backwards. But silence wasn’t enough. You felt Shotaro’s front press to your back, his body temperature making you sweat even more. You writhed underneath him, pressing your back further against his front.

“Use your words.” You could hear the sternness in his voice as his hand left your ass. “Communication is important.”

The second part of his sentence was quieter than the first. It also left something in the air between the two of you, something that had to be cleared by you swallowing your nerves and getting the courage to speak.

“Yes,” You breathed out. “It’s okay.”

Your dynamic in bed changed that night. Shotaro was no longer the sweet doting boyfriend but the energetic fuck buddy that was seemingly on a mission to bring you to tears. With a hand on the back of your head and his handprint swelling on your ass he kept you there for what seemed like an eternity. No sweet coos, no kisses on the lips. What was supposed to be an hour stretched to four as Shotaro bit your shoulder and grunted into your ear, asking you over and over again if this was why you came over. By the end of the night you were saying yes and more until your voice was raw.

You convinced yourself that this was another reason why you two had to break up. The way Shotaro fucked you now seemed to be the way he preferred. Throwing you around, pushing your body into positions he wanted. He needed someone to fuck rather than being the gentle and patient one throughout your relationship. He must’ve been holding back for your sake, and judging by the way he wore condoms and was constantly trying new things on you, you assumed other girls around campus were getting the same treatment. You convinced yourself that he wanted to try new things on you so he was ready for the countless girls that were probably waiting for him to be on the market again.

You forced yourself to be indifferent. When he would fuck you on the couch like you were just some hookup instead of carrying you to bed, you convinced yourself that it was just sex, and sex could be had anywhere. Anytime jealousy tried to consume you at the thought of Shotaro being with other girls, you told yourself that he didn’t deserve to be tied down by you. You were happy to be his willing guinea pig, even if the thought of him scrolling on Hinge or Tinder made your heart drop. Letting yourself be used was the least you could do after not even giving him an answer as to why you two had broken up in the first place.

Shotaro became accustomed to your arrangement quickly. After getting the confirmation to his question I’m guessing you want this to be a secret, right? he never asked again. He never asked if you were going on dates (you knew he already knew the answer) or if you were going out for the weekend (once again, you knew he knew the answer). You didn't ask him if he was seeing other people (you didn't want to know the answer) or if he started going out on the weekends again (you hoped the answer was yes, but you hadn't seen him on any of Giselle's Instagram stories and you two seemed to meet up on Friday and Saturday nights more than any other day of the week).

Outside of the space in his apartment you two were still broken up. Giselle was able to successfully drag you to Anton and Sungchan's place for the monthly movie night after telling you how much everyone missed you. On the big gray sofa you found yourself in the middle of tension. Quiet glances towards you and Giselle who was desperately trying to distract you from the quiet glances and the silence that surrounded Shotaro. You knew that your place in the friend group was linked to Shotaro, and your relationship was hailed as the one that was going to make it. There was a tension that came with everyone choosing their side in the "divorce" (Giselle on your side and everyone else on Shotaro's. Once again, you don't fault anyone, and you denied any well wishes or condolences people sent to your inbox).

Just when the nerves were were becoming too much and Giselle left the sofa to go to the bathroom, Shotaro came up to you. He sat next to you on the large sofa, leaving just enough room for one person to fit in between the two of you. He smiled at you and you smiled back. How was he not thinking about the position he had you in hours prior? How was he not showing any signs of mental distress when you felt like you were about to explode?

“How are things?” He asked, just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. He wasn’t being coy, Shotaro was genuine as he kept space between the two of you. You had to dig your nails into your thigh to stop you from closing the distance. Being here was cruel really. Putting yourself in this position was self-torture. You could feel everyone staring at you, the rest of the noise in the apartment fizzled away as everyone continued staring at you two.

“They’re great. Things are great.”

Shotaro smiled and settled into the couch, then as if on cue everyone else started flocking to the living room. People got comfortable on the floor and the sofa. Shotaro made extra room for Sungchan to fill the space between the two of you, and Giselle sat on the other side of you.

You would’ve loved to watch the movie the same as everyone else. When Shotaro’s friends would laugh along to the dialogue, or whisper before being obnoxiously shushed you were too busy staring at Shotaro. The changing scenes of the movie made him too visible to you, He was lit perfectly, and the darkness in the room provided you with just enough coverage to take your peaks. 

You spent way too long trying to figure him out. You didn’t know what was happening during the movie or what it was about. You were too busy thinking about all the other movie nights when he’d be stuck to your side like glue, a hand permanently touching your thigh or holding your hand. 

Now he wouldn’t even look at you. He stayed trained on the movie, only looking away to scold someone for talking or to reach forward and grab the snacks on the coffee table. He didn’t look over to you when you would laugh, or when Sungchan would look between the two of you from the sides of his eye. Shotaro didn’t give you anything, even when Sungchan inevitably drifted off to sleep right before the final act. 

No one would’ve noticed if he even looked at you from the corner of his eye. If he just turned his head towards you when he was laughing. From your side of the couch it really did seem like nothing was happening between the two of you. You were going over everything since the funeral. When you ghosted him for three days to show back up under false pretenses. Last week when you showed up in the middle of the night unannounced. Meeting up with him after you went to the diner. You had to make sure you weren’t dreaming. You had to make everything was real, if he just looked at you the way he always used to you’d know this was real. 

But Shotaro didn’t look. He only shifted in his spot on the couch when your fingers dipped underneath the collar of your shirt to run over that splotch of skin by your collarbone that Shotaro sucked raw. He only stretched his arm along the top part of the couch over Sungchan’s slouched body to bring his hand behind your head. 

And you said nothing. You only leaned deeper into the couch as slowly as possible so your head could rest in his hand. You only stayed pressed uncomfortably against the couch so Shotaro’s fingers could massage your scalp. 

After the movie you made sure to leave first. You were thinking about the secret display of affection as you narrowly avoided drinks and a talk about the movie by leaving the same time Giselle did. Shotaro had the same excuse, talking about a shift at work that didn’t exist. After he said he was leaving, everyone else followed suit. If anyone thought it was weird that you two were leaving at the same time, they didn’t let it be known. Shotaro’s friends only bid you a goodnight and safe travels as you scurried out of the apartment while he still gathered his things. 

“You left in such a hurry I thought you actually had something going on tomorrow.” Shotaro said when he opened his door to you.

“It wasn’t a complete lie.” You reason.

Shotaro closes and locks his front door behind you and leans against the door. He gestures towards your overnight bag hanging off your shoulder. You shake your head and bring the strap closer to your body.

“What do you mean?” He asks.

You almost tell Shotaro that you have plans to study in the diner tomorrow. Breaking up with him forced you to bear through your weekly study dates alone. Putting your backpack in the place Shotaro always sat barely helped. You had also heard through the Giselle grapevine that he created his own study group and they occupied the biggest table in the library on Saturdays. You don’t understand how he could bare being around so many people while trying to get work done. But he also used to tell you he couldn’t understand why you liked being alone so much. 

“Nothing.” You said, shaking your head.

He didn’t press it any further. He stopped trying to coerce information out of you a long time ago. If Shotaro tried asking a question he let you avoid it the first time you deflected. He would only lift his shoulders and let them fall, mimicking the nonchalant attitude you tried to exude. 

He made it hard for you to feign indifference when he backed away from his door, giving you just enough space to walk through.

Shotaro started making you lead him through his apartment recently. After he’d walk behind you to turn the deadbolt lock he would just stay there. Shotaro would look at you from behind, and you didn’t dare to look over your shoulder at him. Being still behind you forced you to step further and further into his place unless you wanted to stand in the entryway all night. You took off your shoes and took your first step in, and Shotaro mirrored your step.

The shreds of dominance that Shotaro gave you made everything even more confusing. The suspension of control was supposed to be the appeal and the reason you were here. When life was too stressful or demanding you would come here to give the authority of your life in someone else’s hands. You came here to not worry about anything, but it was hard to keep your brain off when you had to make decisions to actively avoid an awkward atmosphere. Shotaro making you walk into his apartment instead of pulling you in forced you to make a decision with each foot you decided to put in front of the other. 

The responsibility made it feel like you were walking on a tightrope. You didn’t know if the next step would be the wrong one, if he would scold you for walking towards the couch instead of his bedroom. But Shotaro’s silence gave you nothing. You had to make sure each step was confident, even if having the ball in your court made your heart drop. Shotaro didn’t stop you when you walked past the couch in his living room, or when you gently twisted the handle to his bedroom. He let you lead him all the way to his bed, where he looked unsuspecting and you felt like you were going to explode.

“Did you like the movie?” You asked.

Shotaro nodded his head. He gently guided your purse off of your shoulder and set it on his computer chair.

“Did you enjoy it?” He asked.

You truthfully couldn’t remember what the movie was about. Each time you tried to recall what was on the screen your mind only went to Shotaro’s hand inconspicuously massaging your scalp. You had your eyes on him more than you did the movie. Still you nodded your head, trying to find a proper segway to the reason you came here tonight. Shotaro again was no help. He stood next to his bed in front of you. His hands didn’t even cross the space to touch you first. You had to be the one to make the first move again, taking a step forward until you could press the palms of your hand to his shoulders.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

Lately you’ve been thinking about your mom telling you about that shell you were stuck in when she called you after the wake. You came out of your shell in front of the person who knew you best you felt like you regressed to something even worse than before. When you were asked what’s wrong, you used to answer with contention or shrug it away. Now, when Shotaro asked that question and brought his hands to your arms you felt tears prickle your vision. You couldn’t say it even if you could put it into words. You just lightly pushed at his shoulders, until he got the hint and started lowering his body.

Shotaro let you push him down until he sat on the edge of his bed. With you looking down at the crown of his head, it was manageable. The overbearing heat spreading across your body from embarrassment and an incoming cry turned to confidence, for a second you believed you had an upper hand in the situation of what’s wrong. 

You brought your hand to rest on the top of Shotaro’s head, trying to touch him the same way he did in Anton’s apartment. You weren’t caressing him lovingly, you weren’t offering the affection you swore your arrangement was supposed to be void of now. You were simply testing the waters. Running your hands through his hair was foreplay, nothing more, nothing less. When Shotaro preened into your hand the same way you did on the couch, he was simply returning the favor. 

When you felt him beginning to look up, the exhilaration shifted to nerves and before he could even make eye contact with you, you were already going down to your knees. His hands gripped the edge of the bed a little tighter. You hesitated the same time he did before he spread his legs wider. Regardless you kneeled on the hard cold ground, slotting yourself between his legs. 

Instead of touching his head, your hands rested heavy on his thighs. Shotaro spread himself further to give you more room, and you felt the air in the room shift. You continued rubbing your hands up and down his thighs, looking at the bulge in his pants instead of him. Being in this position was already enough torture. You prayed that Shotaro would give you a break this one time, that he would just tend to your silent cues of what you wanted to do. But his hand went from the edge of the bed to your chin, and you felt his fingers apply the smallest amount of force to tilt your head upwards.

Looking up at him had the opposite effect on you. Everything in you shriveled up when he held such intense eye contact.

“Tell me what you want.” He said.

Don’t read too much into it. Don’t acknowledge the somber look in his eyes or the pang in your chest. Just reach forward until your hands touch the belt of his pants.

“Can I—” He refused to let you off easy. He only raised his eyebrows, forcing the rest of your sentence from your dry throat. “I want to suck your dick.” You asked.

You don’t know how Shotaro said yes after the words tumbled so awkwardly from your lips. When your lack of sex appeal made you cringe, it made Shotaro’s hands undo his belt quickly. The buckle knocked against his hand but Shotaro didn't show any sign of pain. He set the belt next to him and you watched his hand go to the button on his pants next. Your hands waited for him to stop doing the work, and you took the time to compose yourself from going over the way you asked to suck his dick a million times. You tried to be in the moment for him, because you spent so much of your actual relationship doing everything but that. You shuffled on your knees, and moved your hands to work his pants the rest of the way when they got to his mid thigh.

While you pulled his pants down the rest of the way, Shotaro started palming himself over his briefs. The same ring you gifted him—the only one he seemed to wear these days—stared at you as he touched himself. You pressed your nails into his thigh, letting out a shaky breath you didn’t know you were holding. He let out a breath too, and you pulled away from the sight to look at his face. Shotaro was already looking at you—but maybe he never looked away to begin with—as his head lulled to the side.

“You see what you still do to me?” He sighed.

If lust wasn’t actively replacing all of your sane thoughts, you would’ve asked Shotaro what he meant by emphasizing the word. You could only swallow a mouth full of spit and nod your head.

“I see it.” You looked back down to his hand. He stopped palming himself to grip it over the fabric of his underwear to really let you see. His dick twitched in his hand when his other cupped your chin. Your nails scraped Shotaro’s waist when they went underneath the elastic of his briefs, and he raised his hips from the bed to let you pull them down.

His dick sprung straight up before you could even get his underwear down to his ankles, and it continued to twitch as he gently pumped himself. Shotaro forced you to take it slow, you matched his pace of fully undressing him as you felt the nerves over your body. Shotaro only took his hands off himself and your face to take off his shirt. 

When his briefs were beside you, your hand reached forward to grab him. He was hard and already wet in your hands. When the nerves became too much Shotaro leaned back slightly on the bed. You stayed focused on his dick as Shotaro adjusted himself on the edge of his bed. Again you felt his fingers scratch against your scalp, but they didn’t push. Just having him touch you made the courage come back. You inched closer and Shotaro poked out his tongue to wet his lips.

“You got it.” He assured.

You nodded to Shotaro again before bringing him closer to your mouth. You licked the underside of his tip first, a flat tongue against him as he sighed above you again. When you took him all the way to the back of your throat Shotaro’s hand tightened, trying to pull your head back. He always did that, trying to always stop you from gagging or getting ahead of yourself. Feeling Shotaro still handle you like you were made of glass made you take him just as deep again. 

“Fuck.” Shotaro whispered. 

Hearing him curse underneath his breath made you feel like you were doing something right. His grip on you loosened and you took him deep again, and when you gagged he didn’t pull you back. He only spread his legs a little further apart and you scooted closer, ignoring the pain in your knees from the hardwood floor. But Shotaro pulling you off of him paled in comparison to his hands clasping over yours that were pressed to his thighs. 

When his thumbs started gently caressing your hands, you needed more. Maybe if he fucked your mouth it’d get rid of the tender feeling in the air. If he fisted your hair instead of moving to cup your cheeks it would be easier. If he told you that he knows you could suck dick better than that instead of cooing at you and telling you everything felt so good you’d be less distracted. Even when you purposefully lose your rhythm and grazed your teeth along a vein his hands didn’t guide you. He only sucked air through his teeth when you gagged again after taking too much.

“Slow down baby.” Shotaro says gently.

His hands cupped your cheek to prevent you from taking him so deep. You don’t even know if your attempts are even bringing him close to the edge, or if this is more for your benefit that his. There had been too many times you looked up to see Shotaro staring at you, more enveloped in you than what you were doing to him. Back then you were satisfied with his focus on you, but now you just wanted his head to lull to the side in bliss. You wanted to hear him curse because of how well you were taking him, and hear his toes crack and feel his thighs shake.

You can’t take it when you take a brave glance upwards to see him looking down at you. His eyes are locked on the same spot his thumb rubs over on your cheeks, then your earlobe that he lightly pinches with his fingers.

“So pretty.” His hand moves to your hair, massaging your scalp the same way he did during the movie. When Shotaro finally catches your eye before you go back down, his hand on your face becomes a little rougher. He doesn’t stop you from taking him to the back of your throat again. “Have you always been this good at sucking dick?”

You nod when you feel his tip heavy on your tongue. Even though it feels like his words are solely for your benefit they play in the back of your head to stop you from gagging and letting more spit dribble from the corner of your lips. Shotaro hums when he sees your resolve, and you blink your watery eyes. 

“All for me, huh?” 

You nod with his dick in your mouth. When you looked up again Shotaro finally had his head tilted back. He let his leg lose it’s bend and found a new angle to slowly thrust into your mouth. You accommodated to him immediately, ducking your head lower to meet his hips. You felt Shotaro’s hand loosen on your head to wipe the drool seeping from the corner of your mouth. He went back to looking at you now, bottom lip caught between his teeth.

Even though your pace remained the same, he sounds significantly more lost than before. You hadn’t even gotten to the part where you were supposed to gently rubbing the sensitive inside of his legs to get him even more bothered. But when you nod your head Shotaro moans again, and before you can take keep going he lifts your head off of him. 

You’re still blinking away the tears in your eyes and breaking the line of spit with your tongue when Shotaro starts pulling you up. You can’t stop yourself from pouting at not finishing the job as you were getting the hang of it and he was so visibly close. His dick was red and angry when he pulled you up, slapping against his stomach before going back to being upright. You can’t even tend to him before he brings you up to eye level. You’re still attempting to blink away tears when he grabs you by your chin and pulls you in.

When Shotaro’s soft bitten lips press to yours, you realize how long it’s been. Even though he put such an emphasis on how important communication was in your new arrangement, there was plenty that was left unsaid. No talking about why you broke up, no talking about why you came back, and no kissing. You two came to the silent agreement that kissing made everything too real, it was too intimate for the arrangement you currently had. Pressing your lips to his was too reminiscent of the kisses you shared before you broke up with him. He pressed into you the same way, and tilted his head before letting his tongue push into your mouth. You reacted the same way too, parting your lips and letting your tongue press against his.

You two were like that for awhile. Like no time had passed or like you two were doing it for the first time again. Shotaro worked extra hard in the moments you came to your senses. Feeling him pull you deeper made you forget everything. This wasn’t a bad idea when he pulled you by your waist onto the bed with him, and it wasn’t a bad idea that he was maneuvering your body to be underneath his. 

When Shotaro pulled away you followed after him. Your lips were still parted, your tongue in the same place he left it when your eyes fluttered open again. He was already looking at you, your glossy spit was still smeared across his lips when he smiled at you. You were too busy trying to hide the look of surprise on your face to do anything else. He rubbed his fingers over your expression before you could change it. You were trapped underneath his body and his soft gaze that was so much harder to bare than the hunger he had in his eyes earlier. He looks away from you when he reaches to his nightstand, pulling a condom from the top drawer.

“I don’t know how you still do this to me.” He said quietly.

There’s that still again. It’s persistent, it’s emphasized each time it leaves his lips. Shotaro kisses your lips again before you can ask him about it. He gently pushes your pants down your legs and you quick them off until you hear them hit the floor. You wrap your legs around his waist quickly, falling into the normal operations of the past two months. But instead of Shotaro bringing his hands to restrict both of your wrists he intertwines his fingers with yours.

Your hand hesitates, fingers sticking out straight between his. Shotaro looks at your rigid hand then to your eyes.

“I just need you.” He’s sincere. His voice almost breaks when he pulses his grip on your hand. The way he looks down at you makes you ignore everything else until you’re nodding your head to his request. Shotaro’s lips curl into a smile and his thumb rubs at your cheek. “In the way we used to do it. Please.” He begs like nothing happened between the two of you. You clasp your hand around his like it's another Friday night of you holding him captive in his room instead of letting him enjoy his youth.

“Okay.” You should feel terrible for doing this.

He doesn’t take off his ring to slip it into your mouth. He kisses you again as his hand drags down your body. Shotaro is the one who guides your legs around his waist as he situates himself between. He’s teasing when he rubs his tip across your clit, it causes both of you to moan into eachothers mouths. 

As Shotaro slides in, he holds your hand tight. You feel it being pressed into the mattress beside your head before he slowly rocks into you. Both of you are careful, knowing you’re liable to say something you definitely shouldn’t. But the way he slides back in feels like the first time, and when he goes to your neck to let out a sigh of relief you feel it.

“It’s like no time has passed.” Shotaro’s voice is barely held together, like he’s one step away from moaning directly in your ear. He pulls away from your neck to look at you. You close your eyes fast, but you’ve been in this position enough to know. The scene is painted perfectly in your mind, and you can feel his breath fan your cheek as he continues to talk. “Like that night never happened.” He says.

This isn’t dirty talk. This isn’t him telling you that you’re tight or wet, or that you sound so pretty. You should tell him that this is going to far, but it feels too good. You’re already feeling that knot in the pit of your stomach. The closeness and feeling Shotaro’s heart beat against your chest is making everything feel too intense. 

You’re not ready to rebuff his advances. There were many things you could’ve said back to him in this moment. He was giving you an opportunity to say something back without having to even look at him. With his face buried in the crook of your neck and his hand holding yours tightly to show support, Shotaro was opening the door wide for you. You were silent, he pulled his hips back and pushed back into you until a strained moan fell from your lips.

“Do you miss me?” He continued.

He was desperate. He ground his hips against yours and you could feel him in your stomach. You arched you back off the bed again, nodding pitifully, holding his hand so tight you thought you’d break it.

“I miss you, Taro.” You say immediately.

“Don’t leave this time.” He said.

Before you could say anything else, Shotaro hooked your leg in his arm to open you up more. You were compensating the deeper spot he was hitting by digging your nails into whatever you could. His face pressed into the side of yours made it impossible to focus on anything else but him. He was looking down at you, biting his lip trying to hold on just long enough to hear your response.

You shouldn’t have opened your eyes. You should’ve kept them screwed shut until you came. You could blame everything on being theatrics of getting you to finish, but when you opened your eyes and saw how sincere Shotaro looked, it was impossible. You were the only thing he was looking at, so locked into your facial expressions like this was about you instead of him. There was no use in hiding your moans, or how close you already were to your orgasm. You just held him tight so he’d do the same to you, pushing your hips upwards to meet his movements.

There’s no words. Just the two of you moaning, making the bed creak, and holding on so tight. When you’re already on the verge Shotaro is right there, hanging his head low to whisper into your ear.

“I’m close.” He says.

“Me too.” You say back.

Like you two were still a couple, you came together. Shotaro always said it was romantic, so you made a point after you broke up to always cum before or after him. But this time it wasn’t on purpose and unavoidable when he sped his hips up. You were moaning into his ear and then crying, pulling him closer as your legs wrapped around his waist. Shotaro was rutting into you then he stopped, hand on your waist holding you in place. He grunted like he was really cumming inside of you, holding you in place while he panted in your ear. This was too real, too reminiscent of how it was before you ended things. He even stayed on top of you for a beat, coming back to Earth as he realized the both of you went too far.

Shotaro rolled off of your sweaty body to lay on the bed next to you. You stared at the ceiling as you caught your breath. This was definitely worse than the night of the funeral. Then you could blame it on the fresh emotion of breaking up with your ex and the overwhelming presence of your mother. But having intimate sex after pretending you two were solely here to fuck was worse. Significantly worse when Shotaro couldn’t even find the words to cut through the silence. The two of you just stared at the ceiling, hands that were just holding eachother looking for something else to hang onto.

You could barely bring yourself to look out the corner of your eye to Shotaro. He was matching your breathing, one hand resting on his chest while the other pushed sweaty bangs from his face.

“My mom asked about you.” You say.

Shotaro turned to face you and you averted your eyes back to the ceiling. He’s silent for a moment, tapping on his chest like he’s trying to find the words.

“Terrible thing to say after we had sex.” Shotaro laughs to the ceiling. “But what’d you tell her?” He asked after a beat of silence.

“That you’re doing well.” You answered.

You told yourself Shotaro’s heavy sigh was because he was still trying to catch his breath. He got up from laying on the bed and sat on the edge, his back facing you. He didn’t say anything else when he ran his hands through his hair again.

“Why would you tell her that?” He asked.

You got up after him, looking at the back of his his head. 

“Because you are doing well.” You answered.

Shotaro turned back to face you. His eyebrows were knit together and he tilted his head to the side. You should be looking at the ceiling light.

“How would you know that?”

You really should be looking at the ceiling light. Because Shotaro keeps his eyes on you and looks upset, you can’t bring yourself to look away. You’re gormless, mouth agape while he fully turns to face you.

“I mean. You haven’t had an actual conversation with me since you broke up with me.” He reaches to the ground and pulls his shirt over his head. You should be getting dressed too. What you came here for is done, but you’re still in the center of the bed. “The only time we actually speak is when we are having sex.” He adds.

Shotaro gets up from the bed and pulls his sweats up his legs. You start looking for your own clothes, they have to be somewhere near your body. You know your bag is still on Shotaro’s computer chair, the S charm he bought you still hanging off the bag.

“I thought you preferred for it to be like this?” You said.

“You think I want the person who broke up my heart to come over just for sex and then just pretend I don’t exist?” 

Shotaro’s bewildered expression makes you turn and face him. There’s no hiding the pain on his face, the confusion in his expressive hands. You have nothing to say.

“Why would I want the girl that broke my heart to come over just to break it again and again and—”

“I didn’t break your heart.” You say quietly.

Shotaro has to force eye contact between the two of you by propping himself up on his elbows. He looks at you confused and angry.

“How can you tell me that? You broke up with me and wouldn’t even tell me why. Then you call me outside your mom’s house after a funeral and it seems like you miss me and you need me but then after it’s like you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.” You say quickly.

“Then tell me why we broke up.” The anger fizzled out somewhere. Shotaro is on the bed, looking at you. He’s so desperate, his hand reaches out and grabs yours to hold it tight. He shakes your hand when you don’t answer, and you can see that heartbreak he was talking about earlier. You find your clothes fast, locking onto them before pulling your hand out of his. “Please.” He begs.

“I don’t think we should sleep together anymore.” You say.

Before Shotaro can say a single thing you’re getting dressed. He follows you wordlessly around his place just like the first time. Anything he says falls on deaf ears. The only resistance was when he stood in front of his computer chair, stopping you from grabbing your bag. But after a moment he handed it to you, and you were gone.

November was colder than you thought it would be. You had to bring your jacket close to your body to try and preserve some warmth. Leaving Shotaro’s apartment even after he was calling for you made you forget that nights were cold. You were aimless suddenly when you made it out of his apartment complex. You should’ve shuffled home in the cold to spend another night alone, coming to terms with the fact that your relationship was over. But the other way like a honing beacon the lights inside of the diner were still on. It wasn’t that late after all, and Giselle was working. There was the soup and sandwich special and still the chance to reinvent yourself. So you shuffled across the gravel and then the grass and then the intersection to the warm yellow lights. The cream of mushroom soup and reuben sandwich special etched on the a-frame outside was like a honing beacon. 

You opened the glass door to an empty diner. Giselle sat behind the hostess stand, on her phone until the overhead bell chimed. She grabbed menus and prepared her customer service voice before she looked up and realized it was you. 

“Here kinda late?” Giselle asked.

The door slammed closed because of the wind behind you. Giselle said a fact, you were never here past the midday lunch special. You never came to the diner outside your window, you never really left your dorms this late into the night either. 

“I was wanting some soup.” You say.

Giselle said nothing else as she guided you to your designated booth. The cup of water and her hand lingering on your shoulder was some form of silent support, and she was heading to the kitchen instead of sitting down with you.

You were watching the rim of your glass and people filtering in and out of the diner. There were barely any people, there was never any people. Only stragglers, people studying late tucked into the corners near the outlets. People sitting at the bar drinking coffee even though it’s nighttime. A completely different crowd than what you’re used to. Being surrounded by people means you’re not alone, and that’s a feeling that’s been eating at you more than usual. So you people watch. You look at the workers behind the counter and the glimpses of Giselle’s pink hair you see behind the swinging door. You hear the bell above the door ring while you’re looking at the back of someone, trying to read their dimmed computer screen.

“I figured you’d be here.”

When you turned around Shotaro was standing next to the booth, dressed in a long coat. He was wearing his slides and socks, something thrown together. It was obvious he wasn’t concerned with dressing for the weather or for style as much as he was concerned finding you. He was still wearing his sweats and sleep shirt and out of breath as he motioned to the other side of the booth.

“Can I sit?” He asked.

You nodded and Shotaro slid in. He took off his coat, shivering from the incoming draft as he settled into the seat. You tried to seem as calm as he did, mirroring his look around the cafe.

“This is where Giselle introduced me to you.” He says.

“This is where you came to talk to Giselle about that project and I just happened to be here.”

You’re playing with the straw in your cup when Shotaro shakes his head. He laughs to himself and looks at the table, running his hand over the top before putting it underneath.

“I used to sit in that back corner over there.” Shotaro points to the part of the diner you’ve never looked at. Someone occupies the space there now, sitting in an stool hunched over as they type away on their computer. You preferred booth seats over stools, so you never paid attention to that side. You’re stuck on the person you’re looking at, not even turning when Shotaro starts speaking again. “You used to come in here so often and order the soup and sandwich special.” He says.

You try your hardest to remember the times you’ve looked over your shoulder. Trying to remember the other table Giselle would always sit at before she started sitting at yours. You try to remember her friend she would mention on occasion, each time you’d tell her you didn’t know him.

“I had to beg Giselle to introduce me to you. She said you wouldn’t like me almost a million times.” He laughs and you see his hand go back up to mess with his eyebrow. A nervous tick that Shotaro always forgot was a nervous tick until he noticed your eyes staring at his hands. “I insisted I just needed her to introduce me to you and I could handle it. But I got so nervous she had to do all the talking for me.” He says.

Finally you turn back to Shotaro. You have to blink to see him clearly. 

“Why are you here right now?” You ask. 

Your voice is quiet, and so close to breaking. Shotaro leans closer, experimentally reaching his hand across the table. You shouldn’t grab it, you really shouldn’t grab it. But his palm facing upwards looks so comforting and you haven’t touched him outside the context of the bedroom in so long it feels like the first time. You let his hand completely clasp over yours and you look at him the same way he looks back at you.

“You haven’t talked to me. I just want to know why.” He says, just as quiet.

You don’t know why you’ve kept it a secret for this long. You couldn’t come to terms that you broke up with him for a ridiculous reason, or that you were in the wrong. You would’ve thought that he’d move on by now, and those girls you convinced yourself he was seeing would’ve cleared his mind. But he looked tortured for the first time in his life. His eyes were pleading and he was wearing the clothes he wears to bed in public. Withholding the reason why you two broke up was the thing that kept him here. You were trapping him again, unknowingly leveraging a breakup with sex. 

“I didn’t want to stop you from living your life.” You look down at his hand, still holding yours tight. “You stopped going out because of me and you stopped seeing your friends too.” You said.

When Shotaro scoffs you look up at him. He’s shaking his head like he can’t believe it, holding your hand tighter.

“Who says I stopped going out because of you? Maybe I just got tired of going out.” His other hand is on top of the table, motioning towards something. “I’ve been going out for as long as I can remember.” He says.

“What about your friends?” You ask.

“What about my friends? I see them everyday.” He says.

When you start shaking your head, Shotaro leans close, until the edge of the table stops him.

“I stay in with you because I want to. I still see my friends, and I still live my life.” His other hand wraps around yours. “I want to live a life with you in it. Come out with me, or we can find a new place together if you don’t want to be holed up inside. But I don’t see the harm in doing that on a Friday instead of going to a club I’ve been at a million times.” 

When you try to open your mouth to speak, you can’t get the words out. When tear wells in your eyes then rolls down your cheek you have to look outside, anywhere but at Shotaro. You can’t escape him when you see his reflection in the glass window, or when he looks at you even in the reflection. Your other hand wipes away your tears, laying flat on the table.

“I meant it when I said I miss you. I miss you. So much. I should’ve told you how sorry I was the night of the funeral.” You say to the glass.

You see Shotaro nod in the reflection. 

“I missed you too. I prefer this instead. Communication is important.” He smiles.

You smile too, turning back towards him. You wipe away more of your tears, fighting that lump in the back of your throat. 

“Next time we break up though, please kill me instead. My heart can’t take losing contact with you again.” Shotaro says.

Before you can ask him the question you already know the answer to—the burning question of if you’re back together—Giselle comes around from the back of house with two sandwiches. She talks about how she’s the matchmaker and how sick you two make her until the diner closes.

[writingwithciara]

across the hall; part 3 -quinn hughes-

summary: y/n moves in across the hall from quinn and in an emergency, she leaves her five-year old daughter in his care

word count: 3.1k

pairing: quinn hughes x reader, toxic ex-boyfriend x reader

notes:

"what the hell are you doing here?" y/n looked from abby to andy before shielding her daughter from him.

"i came to see my daughter." andy bent down and looked at abby. "hi there princess."

"how did you find me, andy?" y/n was reaching for her phone. "i left you behind for a reason. not for you to come follow me here."

"i have my ways, y/n." he was standing straight up now, over a foot taller than y/n. she was always intimidated by him and it worried her. "aren't you gonna invite me in?"

"you shouldn't be here, andy." y/n slowly inched her way to the door while clutching abby behind her. she handed her daughter the keys and stood by her while she unlocked the door. when abby made it inside, y/n closed the door and faced andy again. "you really should go."

"look, i know i was a terrible person in the past. but i've changed. honestly."

"i don't believe you. now please leave."

"i'm serious, y/n. what can i do to prove it to you?"

"that's up to you to figure out." she sighed and turned back towards her door.

"y/n, wait up." quinn called from down the hall. he jogged up to y/n, not registering that she wasn't alone. "i grabbed a puck for abby."

"you didn't have to do that, quinn."

"it was your first game and it's the game winning puck." he handed her the puck with care. "i don't know if you remember, but-"

"it's the game winning puck from the game winning goal that you scored." she looked up at quinn and smiled.

andy, who couldn't stand there quietly anymore, cleared his throat. "babe, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"no. i don't think i want to." y/n opened her door slowly but stopped when she heard andy continue the conversation with quinn.

"hey man. i'm y/n's boyfriend, andy. and you are?"

"quinn." he looked between y/n and andy with a raised eyebrow. "wait, boyfriend?"

"ex-boyfriend." she turned to face him. "he's abby's father."

"oh. okay." quinn stuck his hands in his pockets. "well, it was nice to meet you, man."

"no. no it was not." y/n shook her head then pointed a finger at andy. "i think it's time you left now."

"alright. but i'll be back tomorrow." he kissed her cheek and walked down the hall.

y/n headed into her apartment and, unsurprising to her, quinn followed. he set his hockey bag by the door and looked at her.

"are you alright?"

"of course. why wouldn't i be? it's not like it's an everyday thing where your toxic ex shows up on your doorstep months after you decided to get as far away from him as possible." she looked at quinn. "i'm sorry you had to see him."

"i'm sorry i didn't ask you guys to stick around the arena after the game. this could've been avoided."

"don't blame yourself, quinn. you are a good person. and the EXACT opposite of that jackass." she chuckled dryly and turned the puck over in her hands. "i can't believe i fell for that man years ago. i was so stupid back then."

"no, you were a teenager in love. it happens to us all." quinn crossed the kitchen to come stand in front of y/n. "plus there's a bright side to your relationship."

"i supposed there is. if i didn't need to get away from him so badly, i never would've moved here and never would've met you." y/n smiled up at quinn.

"well, i was thinking about abby. but yeah. this friendship is another bright side i suppose."

"of course abby is the brightest side to it. she's my baby girl." y/n glanced down the hallway and sighed. "whenever i think of how horribly i was treated in the past, i look at abby and everything i went through before her seems totally worth it."

"i agree. she's an amazing little girl."

"she loves you, ya know? sometimes i think she loves you more than she loves me."

"no she doesn't. she could never. you're her mother and that's an immediate win over everyone else."

"thanks, quinn. not just for everything tonight. but everything you've done for me since we met. i owe you huuuuge for it all."

"it's not a problem. you're my best friend. i'm just happy making you happy."

"awe quinn." y/n smiled and slid him a glass of water. "i'm really thankful for you."

"as am i for you." he smiled and sipped the water. "it's getting late so i should head out. if andy bothers you tomorrow, do not hesitate to text me. i'll be over here in a second. do you understand me?"

"yes sir." y/n smiled and walked with quinn to the door. "see you later, quinn."

when the door was closed, y/n kept replaying quinn's words over in her head.

i'm just happy making you happy.

why was he so perfect for her and why did he have to come into her life when she was still in the middle of healing herself?

she threw herself down on her bed and groaned loudly. abby, who was sitting in her own room, walked in. "are you okay?" she asked.

"oh, honey. i'm fine. just thinking about some stuff." y/n turned to face her daughter. "come here." she made room for abby to join her on the bed. "i'm sorry about your dad. he shouldn't have just shown up."

"it's okay." abby smiled and looked at her hands. "what do you have there?"

"oh. quinn grabbed it for you. it's the puck that he won the game with." y/n handed it to her. "and he even signed it for you. how thoughtful."

"I love quinn. he's so much fun."

"more fun than me?"

"of course not, mama. you're the funnest."

"i love you, munchkin."

"i love you too. always and forever."

y/n smiled as abby slowly drifted off to sleep. she didn't even bother moving her from the bed and taking her to her own room. instead, she just cuddled her close and fell asleep with her daughter by her side.

the next morning when y/n woke up, she was expecting to have a text from her boss asking her to come into work on her day off. but when she rolled over to check it, there was nothing from him.

there was, however, a text from andy that was received nearly 40 minutes ago. see you in about an hour, it read. she groaned and turned her phone upside down so she didn't have to look at it any longer.

before she had a chance to get out of bed and decide how she was going to avoid andy for the day, there was a knock at the door. abby opened her eyes and y/n got out of bed to answer the door. quinn stood on the other side with a big smile on his face.

"good morning." he leaned against the wall. "i was just about to head out to breakfast and wanted to see if you lovely ladies would like to join me."

"that sounds like a great idea." y/n grinned. it was the perfect excuse to avoid andy. "as long as we can get ready and leave within the next 10 minutes."

"well, you look good right now so it shouldn't take too long."

ignoring the sudden intense burst of butterflies in her stomach, y/n kindly smiled at him. "thanks. but it's abby i'm more worried about. she doesn't like getting her hair brushed. and i don't want to argue with her in such a short amount of time."

"want me to try?"

"you?"

"yeah. i've been told i have an amazing gift when it comes to reasoning with children."

"okay. then, be my guest." y/n closed the door when quinn stepped in. she followed behind him as they headed down the hall to abby's room. just as quinn was about to open the door, y/n ushered him to the next door. when he gave her a raised-eyebrow look, she explained. "she slept in my room last night."

"oh okay." he opened the door and abby, who was sitting up in the bed, rushed off the mattress to give quinn a hug. "hey, sweetheart. i'm taking you girls out for some breakfast. but your mom tells me you don't like getting your hair brushed in the morning."

"i don't. i hate it."

"understood." he chuckled and bent down to her level. "how about this...if you let one of us do your hair in 5 minutes, we can go to the store and pick out a toy, or whatever else you want to do."

"a toy sounds nice." abby smiled and looked at her mom. "can quinn do my hair?"

"that's up to you. but you gotta get dressed in 5 minutes." y/n smiled as abby nodded and ran to her room. she then turned to quinn. "can you do hair?"

"i'm a natural, as you can tell." he smirked and gestured vaguely to his own hair, which only looked like he crawled out of bed and ran his hands through it a few times. but yet, she had faith he would make abby's hair look amazing.

"okay. i trust you." y/n smiled and walked out of the room. "abby, quinn's gonna do your hair while i get dressed, alright, sweetie?"

"okay." abby walked out and dragged quinn to the bathroom.

y/n got dressed and smiled. she had only known quinn for a month and he was already a better father figure to abby than andy was. and it scared her just how close abby had gotten to quinn.

now with andy in their lives, y/n had no idea if they would have to leave to get away from him again. and the idea of severing her daughters connection with quinn, felt like a knife to her own heart.

5 minutes later, y/n was standing in the doorway of the bathroom as quinn gently and calmly brushed through abby's wild hair. he set the brush down and carefully braided it. when he was done, y/n just stared at him through the mirror. he looked up and caught her staring, causing him to smirk.

"what do you think?"

"i think you did a great job, quinn. better than i probably would've." y/n smiled and checked her phone. "okay. we ready to go?"

"absolutely." quinn grabbed one of abby's hands and she used her free one to grabb y/n's. to any outsider, they would look like a typical family. but that was far from the case.

the three of them ventured out to quinn's car and to nobody's surprise, they found it was parked next to y/n's. she reached in and pulled out abby's seat before carefully setting it up in quinn's backseat. she strapped abby in before climbing into her own. quinn shut her door and walked to the driver's side.

"what restaurant are we going to?" abby smiled and looked out the window.

"wherever you want to go." quinn glanced up in the rearview mirror and smiled while he listened to the places abby was listing off.

y/n looked out her own window and they were pulling out of the parking garage just as andy was getting out of his car. luckily, he couldn't see y/n because quinn's windows were tinted. but she saw him and he had a couple of bags hanging off his arms. she couldn't tell what they were but she had a feeling they didn't look like they were meant to be a good thing.

"you alright?" quinn asked as he drove.

"yeah i'm fine." she offered him a smile. "after breakfast, what are you doing?"

"i have no plans for the day. why?"

"would you maybe want to catch a movie with us? abby and i were planning to see that new animated movie-"

"we were?"

y/n ignored abby and looked at quinn "and since one of the restaurants are close to the theater, i figured we could kill two birds with one stone, right?"

"fair point, i suppose." quinn smiled. "of course i'd love to join you."

"great." y/n looked out the window and figured she could use the movie to stall as long as possible so andy would get tired of waiting and just leave.

at the restaurant, a little old couple walked by their table. the lady stopped and smiled.

"my, what a lovely family."

"thanks, but-" y/n began but quinn reached across the table to hold her hand.

"thanks. you guys are the goals we strive for."

"oh, did you hear that marvin? we're what the kids call 'couple goals'. isn't that cute?"

"yes mel. it's so wonderful to hear, darling." he grabbed her hand and as soon as they were out the front door, quinn let go of y/n's hand.

"sorry. i thought they were gonna judge if they found out you were a single mother that looked like she was on a date."

"times have changed, quinny." y/n smiled and watched the waitress bring their food to the table. as she was setting the plates down, she winked at quinn.

usually, he enjoyed what little female attention he got, this act made him uncomfortable. couldn't the waitress see he was with someone? instead of flat out rejecting her, he smiled kindly but focused his attention on y/n and abby as the waitress walked away.

"she was cute, quinn. seemed interest too."

"not my type, honestly." he just shrugged and pulled the top part of the wrapper off abby's straw for her.

abby thanked him before shoving one end of it in her mouth and blowing the rest of the wrapper directly at y/n's face. it hit her cheek and quinn laughed.

"who taught you how to do that?" y/n raised her eyebrow, knowing that it was probably quinn who taught it to her. her suspicions were confirmed when the two of them shared a look over the table that pretty much read 'oh. busted'. y/n just shook her head slowly and smiled. "thanks for that, quinn."

"you are most welcome." he replied just as sarcastically as y/n had. he watched as she looked out the window. her gaze went across the street to the movie theater. "everything okay?"

"huh? oh yeah. i'm just thinking what movie we're gonna see."

"i thought you said we were going to see the new animated one, mama."

"right. yeah we are."

quinn looked over at y/n while abby colored on the placemat. "hey, are you sure everything is okay? i don't want to pry but you've been a little off today."

y/n knew she couldn't hide around quinn. so she sighed and told him what she saw this morning. "i saw the devil as we were pulling out of the parking garage this morning."

"oh no. is that why you wanted to get out there as quick as possible?"

"yeah. he texted me this morning and said he was stopping by. i don't know if you know this but i have a hard time of saying no to him if we're left alone."

"if you want, we can come up with plans to make sure you have no time to spend around him while he's in town."

"i would love that, honestly. but i'm gonna have to face him eventually. i just didn't feel like doing it today."

"well after breakfast and the movie, we're going shopping. but after that, we could grab dinner & do whatever you want to do while we wait it out."

"thanks, quinn. i appreciate it."

the rest of the day went by smoothly. while they were shopping, quinn ended up buying abby whatever she asked for, even though he had only promised to get her one toy for getting ready fast this morning.

when they pulled into the parking garage, y/n couldn't see andy's car so she let out a breath.

"everything okay?"

"yeah. i think so. i don't see his car anywhere so he must not be here."

"well, let's head up and see if he's actually gone." quinn grabbed the bags from the trunk and followed the girls to the elevator. he kept an eye on them when they walked out onto their floor. andy was nowhere in sight.

"thanks for today, quinn. i needed a relaxing day."

"no problem. always happy to be here for you when you need help."

"i know." y/n smiled and let abby into the apartment. she stood in the hallway with quinn for a moment. both of them were silent for at least 2 minutes before quinn spoke.

"i should let you go and get abby ready for bed." he opened his door but turned around before heading in. "you go back to work tomorrow, right?"

"yeah. from 2 to just after midnight. why?"

"well, i was wondering if you wanted me to watch abby. i mean, i have a game and will be at the arena pretty much all day but i feel like it'll be a fun experience for her. you can come too, if you want. before you have to go."

"what time do you go to the arena?"

"9 in the morning."

"okay. i'll meet you there then. you sure it's okay with everyone that abby will be there?"

"oh yeah. she can sit on the bench during the morning skate & bella will be there during the game so she'll be in good hands."

"then you technically won't be watching her, will you?" y/n smiled, causing quinn's eyes to widen.

"technically, no. but i will be responsible for her. i promise she'll be in good hands all day. if you trust me."

"relax. i trust you, quinn." y/n squeezed his hand and smiled. "we'll see you in the morning."

"can't wait." quinn headed into his apartment while y/n went in hers. he couldn't help but think back about what just happened in the hallway. she really trusted him. it had been a while since anyone had put their trust in him the way y/n has the past month he's known her.

he couldn't wait to get to the arena in the morning.

----------

tags: @alwaysclassyeagle

[opheliachoi99]

My Oh My! 𖤐

MICHAEL KAISER X READER

ABOUT : Your cousin Isagi has introduced his teammates to you, and one person caught your attention. Is he an insane walking black flag or the literal opposite?

note : I'll still post guys! It's just that university is killing me recently T^T Enjoy!

— You were just peacefully reading a novel, as Isagi suddenly showed up in your room bringing exciting news.

"WELL IF IT ISN'T MY FAVOURITE COUSIN!" Isagi sarcastically spoke "What is it now.. You're literally just ruined my day." You rolled your eyes.

"Hey hey, I came here to tell you some news—" "Yoichi.. Aren't you training in what you call that place blue block?" You teasingly squint your eyes.

"Correction. "Blue Lock". And yes I am training, but I came here to tell you my news related to my training.. I want you to come visit! There's a day where visitors are allowed! I want to introduce my team to you" You were speechless from the sudden news Isagi had carried for you.

"Woah woah, slow down. Visitors? Why me though?" You asked "Oh c'mon! You're always staying inside your room. Go get some fresh air, touch some grass. Your skin has barely felt sunlight!"

"Yoichi, you're exaggerating. I'm coming, I did not say I wasn't accepting your offer" You sarcastically scoffed. "REALLY? YES!! Chigiri is also inviting his sister, you two will surely get along!" You simply snickered "Okay okay, slow your horses down. When exactly?"

"Tomorrow!"

— Time Skip —

As you arrived to the headquarters of Blue Lock, you noticed that they're not only Japanese men here, but also foreign men.

"Goodness, good thing I never failed my English.. Perks as mixed blooded." You sighed in relief "Hey! You must be Isagi's cousin!" A cute red haired girl approached you "Ahh yes! Hello! And you are?"

"Koyuki! Chigiri Koyuki" She smiled "AHH! You must be the sister Isagi told me about! Nice to meet you!" You bowed "Yes! I'm Hyoma's sister" You both smiled.

"There you are!" Isagi said as he was sweaty from his practice "I see you've met Chigiri's sister" He said as he bowed at Koyuki "You guys can come in now, don't mind us being so sweaty and stuff, we just finished training" He awkwardly laughed "Intense training indeed." You and Koyuki laughed.

As you guys entered the headquarters, you saw a lot of players, and all laid eyes on you and Koyuki "Uhh.. Yoichi, where are the other visitors?" You asked in a concerning tone.

"お姉ちゃん!" [ O nēchan ] Chigiri called out to Koyuki "Hyoma!! Where are the other visitors..?"

"About that... They invited their friends and family, but... Most of us here are foreigners, so traveling was one of the major problems.." Isagi explained "But what about the Japanese?"

"Busy, had reasons." Chigiri replied "So basically only you and Isagi's cousin are the visitors here" You and Koyuki stared at each other and awkwardly smiled. "Sure.."

— Time Skip —

You and Koyuki had been talking with each other while staying in the bleachers, and she was talking so much, yet you felt shivers down your spine as the boys were staring at you two, leaving you anxious.

"Uhm.. Koyuki, the boys are staring at us.." You tried to calm yourself down "I know. I just tried to talk alot to release my nervousness" She awkwardly laughed.

"Why weren't we informed that it was only the two of us.." You rubbed your nosebridge from despair.

"They're all so hot too.. Help me.." Koyuki gripped my wrist, and you tried to calm her down.

While you two were lowkey panicking on spot, Isagi and Chigiri was surrounded by the boys.

"Yo! Chigiri, who's the cutie? Is that your sister?" Otoya slung his arms on Chigiri's shoulder flirtatiously.

"Oh not today Otoya, I don't want you playing with my sister's heart, no." "Oh please, I just wanted to get to know the gal" Otoya winked.

"Isagi, is that your sister?" Ness asked "No, she's my cousin. Why?" "Uh, nothing she looks foreign, like not purely Japanese" Ness added, without knowing someone from behind was eavesdropping Ness and Isagi's conversation.

"Oh, yeah she's not purely Japanese, my aunt, which is my mother's sister had married a German, so she's half German. But she's staying here in Japan because their home is still in progress, it's a big place." Ness was astonished "So that means we can interact with her easily since she can speak German" "Correct."

"WOAH REALLY? That's interesting..." Aiku popped up "She's really pretty too" Bachira added.

"So a hottie and a cutie as the visitors of the day.. I'm BLESSED!" Otoya rejoiced "Shut up!" All of them yelled at Otoya.

— Time Skip —

As the day is finally over, everyone had done their post-stretching. "I'll be back, just gotta grab my water bottle in the locker room" Isagi reassured and you simply nodded.

You grabbed your novel you were still reading it halfway of it, a large figure appeared in front of you.

"Was liest du, hübsche Dame?" [ What are you reading, pretty lady? ] You startled yourself, "Excuse me?" You look up to find a very intimidating looking man "You heard what I asked, or you did not understand a single thing I just said?" He cockily stated.

"Ja, ich verstehe dich" [ Yes, I understand you ] You coldly replied "Guess Yoichi's wasn't lying" He chuckled "Why would he be lying anyway? And who are you?" You asked as you closed your novel.

"Michael Kaiser, 19, German." He spoke bluntly "And you are Yoichi's cousin, who is half German. Age?"

"He told you?" You simply sighed "18."

"Wie schön~" [ How lovely~ ] He chuckled. You simply felt awkward since a random guy approached you out of the blue, but you couldn't deny, he was ravishingly handsome.

"So you're German huh? From where?" "Berlin, you?" "Same" He smirked "What a small world, visitors can visit here anytime you know, didn't Yoichi tell you that?" You shook your head.

"You should visit sometime, y'know to see us play" He offered "Well—"

"Kaiser.." Isagi interrupted "Let's go" You nodded "Nice meeting you Kaiser, I'll be on my way now." He just gave a salute and said "Come back tomorrow, see us play" He winked flirtatiously. "This guy.." Isagi groaned.

— Time Skip —

As Isagi took you home, you couldn't help but ask "Yoichi.. Who's Kaiser? He suddenly introduced himself to me and he knew I was half-German. How?"

Isagi furrowed "I think he eavesdropped our conversation with Ness earlier, he's a devil, don't be with him. He's insane on-field. Everyone is targeting him, because of is mad skills in soccer. He's known as "God's Chosen Emperor" he's also a walking BLACK flag, not red, but BLACK"

"You're exaggerating again" You chuckled. "His a.k.a is basically just a translation of his name, Michael means "Gift from God", while Kaiser means "Emperor" and I saw a glimpse from his hand. He has a tattoo?"

"It goes all through his left collarbone, girls find it "hot" AÆUGH-!" You laughed "I don't know if your disgusted or possessed"

"But yeah, he's right you should come back tomorrow, visitors starting today can visit anytime" You nodded "Sure, I am pretty bored in my room most of the time. See ya Yoichi!!"

— Time Skip —

It's been a month since you've visited Blue Lock, and you seemed to develop a relationship with Kaiser, but somehow what Isagi said is kinda true, since he does have a flirty and cocky attitude, but you weren't there to judge him, you were happy to have a friend. Isagi didn't like it at first, but at some point he laid low, he's only observing Kaiser. If he does something below the belt, then that's the time he'll punch the shit out of him.

The game was intense as it was Bastard Mūnchen and PXG, and at some point you admired Rin. You've been keeping an eye on Rin, every single move he makes, you observed it crucially.

Koyuki, on the other hand, had her eyes laid on Aiku. She was head over heels over him ever since they had the opportunity to visit Blue Lock.

You were confused where to cheer from, since both of the teams has your favourites.

Kaiser noticed you always staring at Rin. Somehow, he felt something.. Something desirous.

"Kaiser! Now!!" Isagi yelled, Kaiser went back to his senses and took over the ball. Rin was after him, and as he saw Rin, he felt his blood boiling, not because of the game, but something else.

"Get the fuck out of my way." Kaiser sternly said and scored the goal. Bastard Mūnchen won.

"GOAL!" The team cheered. You felt happy for Isagi, and Kaiser's team, but you saw Rin frustrated. You wanted to approach him but you couldn't, he was too intimidating. You simply sighed.

"We won, schatz" You turned to see Kaiser taking off his jersey and placing in on your back "Ew! Sweat alert!"

"Don't be so dramatic, you're lucky I gave you my jersey fresh" He proudly spoke. But you didn't realized you were staring at his tattoo. "Wow.." "What? Like the view?"

"What—? Ew no! I was just admiring your tattoo, that's all." You defended. "Only my tattoo? Liebe gotta be better than that"

"Why are you calling me names?" You raised a brow, "Why not?"

You were about to reply but you froze as you saw Rin approaching towards your direction "Hey Kaiser, you had the guts to speak to me like that?" Kaiser took his extra shirt from the side and wore it "Why not? Bothered?" He smirked "You are so mad at me, why? Is it because I almost took your spot?" Rin added.

"Look kid, don't sprout your attitude towards me like that, why so mad? I only said you're in my way. Unless..." Rin was about to pounce at Kaiser when you and Isagi broke the fight before it even started.

"Hey enough, it was a good game. No hard feelings" You advised "It was NOT a good game to start with." Rin scoffed as he walked away, you felt offended from what he said. Kaiser, on the other hand felt pissed "He's fucking lucky to be praised yet he gave a cocky attitude in return, tch" He said and walked away.

You were confused, trying to figure out what he meant.

— Time Skip —

When you visited again, you noticed Kaiser leaning from the main door, waiting for you.

"Kaiser! Waiting for someone?" You asked "Yeah, you." "Me?" Without hesitation he grabbed your wrist and brought you to a place somewhere from the area.

You felt awed when you saw how beautiful the view was, "Kaiser.. This is beautiful.."

He sat down in the green grassy field, tapping the spot next to him. You sat beside him, and went silent for a while, just adoring the heavenly view.

Kaiser suddenly clears his throat to break the silence between you two.

"You like Rin huh?" He playfully scoffed "Rin? Oh, he's a cool guy" You replied. "Cool? How so-?" He asked.

"The way he plays, he has potential. His face card too, insane" Kaiser just responded with a hum. "Why'd you ask?" You raised a brow.

"So you like LIKE Rin?" "Hey I was asking the question!" He went silent. You soon noticed the vibe. You chuckled, his face was covered by his long hair, as you tucked his hair in his ear, you spoke "Why would they think you're a walking black flag?"

He suddenly looked at you "I mean look at me.. What do you expect? Tsk. Kinda understand why you prefer Rin"

You laughed so hard "My oh my... Michael.. I cannot fathom your words at all! Please don't assume. Actually... I like someone else.."

"Pardon? Is he not from blue lock?" "No? He is here." His face looking confused "Here? Where?"

"Right in front of me" You smiled.

He went silent for a moment "Wait, me?" You laughed "Yes, you" "WAIT, ME?"

"YES, YOU DUMMY!"

"But, I thought—" "Yes, I like Rin, but not romantically silly, just adoring his skills on-field" You explained "What about my skills? I'm better than him" He smugged. "I adore more than your skills." His eyes glimmered.

"The first time when you interrupted my reading session.. I was shocked to hear someone German at that moment, and I looked up seeing you, I was mesmerized, I never thought I would see another German in Japan somehow" You chuckled.

"But didn't you listen to them? I am a "Black Flag" yet you still—" "And so what? You may look like one, but you aren't one."

Kaiser's eyes widened, it was his first time hearing those words from someone "I know you had tragic times back in the past, I can see it through your eyes" His haughty look soon softened.

"Everytime I see you on-field, I was like "My oh my.. What a man.." You thought I was only looking at Rin? Think again."

Without hesitation, he kissed you. It was sudden but ardent. "No need, I was reassuring before I would throw these feelings away." He snickered. You went speechless.

"Hello? Schatz? Wait- can I finally call you that?" You were still in shock, yet you managed to reply through a nod.

Kaiser was jumping for joy in the field, his cocky, and arrogant aura, gone. The blue lock boys were eavesdropping from afar.

"Since when does Kaiser act like this?" Kunigami coldly asked "His inner child finally came out" Ness smiled.

Isagi was looking at you, observing. But him seeing you happy, made him happy too "Out of all men my cousin would end up with, Kaiser was the least on my list, but- here we are." He scoffed.

Kaiser carried you and spun you around "Danke, dass du mich liebst" [ Thank you, for loving me ] You simply smiled "No, thank YOU, for approaching me." You both laughed.

You sighed. "My oh my, my micha.. It was always you since day one. Ich liebe dich.."

Fin

[avifaunaa]

Natasha + R rambles [ htwswy ]

Authors Note: I’m a little tired from posting that monster of a chapter for Rio yesterday — so until I regain some brain juice back I’ll share some little cutsie rambles about Nat/R from the htwswy-verse! I know you guys love this fic a lot so if you want to know more about it please know my anons are open!

Masterlist

Summary: N/A | rambles

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Fem!reader

Content Warnings: a tiny mention of self-harm, but other than that none! Mostly humor, fluff, the good stuff.

• Natasha and you probably get another cat not long after you guys get super duper serious — Liho was so pissed

• Out of the two of you, believe it or not, Natasha’s likely less likely to start an argument and more likely to find a solution to one.

• It actually took a while for Yelena to warm up to you despite whatever we think we see in chapter 1. Natasha is her sister and nobody is good enough for her sister until she can decide they are. “A while” is actually six months — making the offhand Yelena-like comments even when she agreed to your attempts to reach out for hangouts to watch Studio Ghibli movies.

• When she does decide you’re perfect for Natasha [ “I’m glad you approve,” you told the blonde blandly as you sat across from her at breakfast, oatmeal untouched and eyes uncaring, “but we’ve been dating for a year now.” She pointedly ignored you, as she usually does. ] she goes to Natasha herself and says so.

• Natasha wasn’t amused.

• Natasha who doesn’t seek out cuddling at bedtime immediately due to her fear of what could happen if she’s tangled up with you during a night terror. Short of flinging you into the wall and making Tony pay a hefty repair fee, you weren’t sure there was much.

• She admired the size of your balls, honestly, considering she could kill you.

• You laughed at her despite the severity of the situation she felt — whereas you didn’t. You didn’t think she’d be able to before waking up.

• It turns out you were right — she always ended up awake with you somehow touching her. On top of her chest, curled up against her, spooning her, spooning you.

• When Natasha sat you down and told you the full story about her history — from the Red Room until the defeat of Thanos — you didn’t seem to know how to take it. But you did know how to respond to her opening up: you took care of her. You disappeared only to return with a dangling Liho in your arms and plopped her into Nat’s lap while you gathered various items for a lazy day on the couch.

—> “I need you to say something,” Natasha finally admitted after you hadn’t spoken about it for a few minutes, television murmuring in the background as she stroked Liho’s soft fur. “Just tell me what you’re thinking?”

—> You lifted your head off her shoulder to look directly at her. “I think,” you started slowly, picking at your leggings, “that you’re one of the bravest people I have ever met and the good you do in the world despite the amount of wrong it has done to you is a feat that I will always admire and love you for.”

—> It was a beautiful response — and not an “I’m so sorry” to be found in there either. She kissed you just to tell you how much it meant to her. That her past didn’t change how you in her eyes. As your partner, your fiercest protector, and your best friend.

• Natasha Romanoff who comes home busted up form missions and you hackle like a cat and fuss over her, poking and prodding each wound, demanding to know where they came from and “why the fuck did you come see me before going to Cho?” and only when did she notice you were in near tears did she stop coming to you before going to Cho.

• Natasha who finishes trying the coffee menu at her normal spot and approaches you about how it makes her feel.

—> You bring a list of suggestions for other local places in the city to start going to

—> It’s cute how she worries about never going back — but you make a promise that for every new place you try you always go to the usual spot once a week

• Natasha who notices your ticks and understands when you work as a way to self-soothe or self-harm.

• This causes her to visit more frequently and break the streak of the period you work so you can go to bed, or eat some food, take a shower — whatever it takes to get you away from the lab.

• Natasha who introduces you fully to the team. She looks entirely too proud of herself, eyes so lovely and soft, and you as Thor slams down the hammer and dares you to play the game nobody ( but Steve Rogers, but Thor conveniently leaves that out ) can win but him.

—> Natasha comforts you when you go :( after ten long minutes of attempting to peel that stupid hammer off the table while everyone eggs you on, knowing full well it won’t happen

—> “It was not a game you were excepted to win — none of us can,” she assured you.

I LOVE THESE IDIOTS SO MUCH CHAT

[annab-nana]

hi! for the sleepover requests: rafe + "i told my friends i'd go on this stupid double date with them." "and that's my business because..?" "..i don't have a date."

oh babe this sounds so good! hope you enjoy it :))))

warnings: not proofread, mentions of drinking, minor swearing

❀ masterlist ❀ - come join the february sleepover ୨♡୧

"here he comes," your friend, sabrina, noted when she spotted the tall blond making his way over. she took the last swig of your drink before taking the empty cup and getting lost in the crowd, leaving you alone in the corner of the college party. you let out a small huff at her quick exit. you were alone, soon to be with rafe when he got over here, and were without any liquid coverage to get you through the encounter.

"hey sweet stuff," rafe drawled, earning the eye roll from you he was looking for.

"what did i tell you about calling me that?" you bit as you crossed your arms over your chest and leaned back against the wall behind you.

he pursed his lips and furrowed his brows, pretending he was off in deep thought, but you knew the organ between his ears wasn't capable of such deliberation. "i don't remember anything about 'sweet stuff'. i do remember you saying words i can't repeat about some other names, though," he said through a smug smirk that you so desperately wanted to slap off his face.

"go ahead and add 'sweet stuff' to that list," you told him firmly. "did you need something? because i'm here to have a good time and last i checked, that's impossible to do with you around."

rafe let out a deep chuckle, his blue eyes shining in the neon lights of a beer sign hanging haphazardly on the frat house wall. "you make it so hard to sweet talk you, you know?" he quipped before continuing into why he came over in the first place. "so you know how tomorrow is valentine's day?"

your stare told him you heard him and knew of tomorrow's festivities.

"well, i told my friends i'd go on this stupid double date with them," rafe spoke with a sigh, his eyes gazing hopefully into yours.

you didn't see why he was telling you this and quite frankly, you didn't care. "and that's my business because..?" you trailed off.

rafe paused before continuing. "..i don't have a date."

you couldn't hold back your laughter. it started as an escaped giggle that grew into a hearty chuckle, a full-on belly laugh at his expense. and if he didn't look so earnest, you would've kept on. but your laughter fizzled out, and you wiped your eyes.

"oh shit, you're serious," you mumbled.

his short nod cemented your words.

"why are you asking me? we aren't exactly besties. it's not a good idea but that's kind of your thing, isn't it? bad ideas," you told him in confusion.

a dry chuckle left rafe's lips. "believe it or not, you know more about me, so you're the best fit."

that part made you feel for him for a second, and that small second of weakness cost you. "why couldn't i have met you at college like everyone else?" you grumbled before nodding and giving in. "fine."

rafe's eyes widened ever so slightly. then that stupid smirk made a reappearance. "dress cute. i'll pick you up at seven. see you later, cupcake," he whispered when he leaned forward into your space before walking away.

"don't call me cupcake!"

come join the february sleepover ୨♡୧

remember to support writers & reblog :)

turn on notifications for @annab-library to be notified when i post something new or join the tag list here!

tag list: @marjorie189 @fiction-is-life @bradleybeachbabe @drewsephrry

[witchygagirlwrites]

Together

Jay Halstead x Reader

You push people away. It's how you cope. Only a chosen few has managed to stick around. Jay is going to prove he's not going anywhere.

You were pulling away. You could feel it and knew Jay could too. The problem? You didn’t know how to not pull away. That little voice in your head that was so damn sure and strong when it came to work was so damn quiet and uncertain when it came to yourself. You loved Jay. You knew that with every fiber of your being but that damn little voice kept whispering “He can do better than you and he's going to figure it out”

As much as you didn't want to lose him as your lover, the thought of losing him as your friend hurt worse. He'd always been there as a cornerstone when you needed him.

When Voight suggested changing partners around you'd seen the fact that Jay wanted to argue written plainly in his eyes but you spoke up and said “I agree Sarge. It's good to switch it up every now and then”

You were partnered with Adam, Kim with Jay and Hailey with Kevin. It was a big change from the usual team but all of you worked well enough together, had for years.

While you were all gearing up to roll out you saw Jay move towards you so you turned towards Hailey “Upton, check that rear strap for me?” She smiled “Of course” and readjusted it slightly then asked you to check hers too. At least by her asking you it didn't just look like you were avoiding Jay, even if he looked like a kicked puppy when you met his eyes.

“Everyone knows what you should be doing. Come home in one piece” Voight said looking around at all of you. You each nodded in turn. You grabbed your long gun then winked at Kim “Don't worry babe. I got your fella’s back” she grinned “I know you do. I got Jay's”

You smiled slightly and Kevin cleared his throat “and Hailey’s got mine if yall care” your smile turned into a full grin as you cut your eyes at him “You know I care Atwater. Anything happen to you I'm fighting the ferrymen to bring you back myself” he grinned “My girl” and bumped his shoulder against yours.

Voight shook his head but you saw a small grin “Do your damn jobs” with that he dismissed you so you rolled out. It was a quick snatch and grab. You wouldn't say nothing should go wrong because you knew your job, anything could go wrong but it should be fairly easy.

The snatch and grab went down just as planned thankfully. Six arrests were successfully made.

You were walking out of the precinct when you heard Jay call your name so you stopped and turned to see him walking towards you with one of those smiles that always made your heart flip “Hey baby. You want to go get a drink or some food or something?”

You shrugged “I'm kinda tired honestly. I was going to just go home and crash” he nodded “I can bring takeout?” He looked so damn hopeful but that voice in your head wouldn't shut up for two fucking seconds screaming about how bad it's gonna hurt if you let yourself love him as deeply as you wanted to just for him to walk away.

“It's fine honey. Um raincheck for tomorrow?” He nodded, his face falling slightly. “Ok, did I do something?” You shook your head “No, why?” he motioned back to the precinct “I've seen you stand toe to toe with Voight over trying to make you partner with anyone else and today you agreed. You haven't wanted to go out or let me come over in days. Baby is there someone else?”

Your eyes widened slightly “What?” He shrugged “I don't know here. I mean we were doing good, I thought. Is it because we had sex? Are you pulling away because of that?” You shook your head, trying not to let your eyes tear up “No Jay, of course not. Sex with you is fucking amazing”

He grinned slightly “Then why have you barely let me kiss you all week?” You shrugged and opened your mouth to say something then clamped it back “I don't want to talk here. Can you grab the takeout?” He nodded “I'll be over in a few ok?” “Ok” he took a step closer and when you didn't pull away he pressed a kiss to your temple.

You sat on your couch, waiting for Jay to knock. When he did you were up and on your feet without thinking. You opened the door to let him in and he walked in carrying the takeout bags “I got Chinese”

He walked into your kitchen as you closed and locked the front door and you heard him putting the take out trays across the counter and throwing the plastic bag into your recycling bin before he walked back into the living room, shedding his jacket and walking over to you.

He stopped just shy of you and raised one eyebrow, silently asking permission. You stepped closer to him, slipping your arms around his waist and he pulled you against his chest “There's my girl. I was wondering where she went”

You cut your eyes up at him “I'm sorry I pushed you away Jay. It's just I think I realized I was falling in love with you and I freaked out because I don't even know why you're with me and…” you were cut off by him kissing you like he was a drowning man and you were the last taste of air.

You moaned lightly against his lips and when he finally pulled away both of you were breathing a little harder “You love me?” He asked and you nodded “I do” he grinned “Good, because I love you but get it straight from here on there will be no pushing me away. You try to push me? I'll grab you and pin you to a wall. We're in this together” you chuckled lightly “You just used you pinning me to a wall as a threat. That is a fantasy Halstead”

He smirked “Oh yeah? Well baby I can make that reality right now. Just tell me you love me one more time” you smiled “I love you Jay” he groaned lightly and leaned down far enough to pick you up, forcing you to wrap your legs around his waist “I've went the last week and a half barely touching you. I'm making up for it tonight”

[vanilladollette]

Pleaseee any male x gyeong seok  no one has wrote anything for him with a M reader

Waiting For You

Pairing: Park Gyeong-Seok x Male reader Summary: Park Gyeong-seok, a devoted single father, never considered dating again until he met you, his daughter's daycare teacher, whose kindness and patience gradually broke down his walls, leading him to finally ask you out—only for you to reveal you'd been waiting for him to do so all along.

Word Count: 1.3k

Author's note: none

Gyeong-seok never imagined himself dating again. It wasn't just that he had no time—though, between work and raising his daughter, time was a rare luxury—but because he had convinced himself that no one would want to date a man with a child from a previous relationship.

Not that he blamed them. Dating a single father was a commitment beyond romance; it required patience, understanding, and a willingness to embrace a child who wasn't theirs. Even if he did meet someone who could look past that, would they ever love Na-yeon as much as he did? Could he trust them to stay? To be someone she could rely on?

It was easier not to try. Easier to focus on work and his daughter, to push aside loneliness and tell himself he was fine. He had Na-yeon. That was enough.

At least, that’s what he believed—until he met you.

The decision to enroll Na-yeon in daycare had not been an easy one.

Gyeong-seok had done everything he could to balance work and fatherhood, but there came a point where he had to admit that it was becoming too difficult. Bringing Na-yeon to work had been an option for a while, but it became clear that watching over her while managing his duties was stretching him thin. He needed help.

That was how he found himself sitting in front of a desk, filling out forms with tired but steady hands, occasionally glancing at his daughter as she clung to his arm. She was still young—barely four—but observant. She could tell something was changing, and she wasn't sure how to feel about it.

“You’ll be coming here during the day from now on,” Gyeong-seok explained softly, turning to her once the paperwork was done. He smoothed a hand over her dark hair, his heart twisting at the slight pout on her lips. “Appa has to work, but I’ll come pick you up every afternoon, okay? You’ll make lots of friends here.”

Na-yeon pressed her lips together, clearly considering his words before looking around. “Are you staying, too?”

“No, sweetheart.” He exhaled quietly. “But I’ll always come back.”

She didn’t look convinced.

That was when you entered the room.

“Na-yeon, right?” you said with a warm smile, crouching down to her level. “I heard we have a new friend joining us today.”

Na-yeon eyed you warily at first, her small hand tightening around Gyeong-seok’s sleeve. She didn’t trust easily, not when it came to new environments, but you had a certain warmth about you.

“You know,” you added conspiratorially, “I happen to know where we keep the best toys. And the snacks. But I only share them with my favorite people.”

That earned you a reluctant stare, then a small, curious glance toward her father. Gyeong-seok gave her an encouraging nod.

“You can go with him, sweetheart. It’s okay.”

After another moment’s hesitation, she slowly let go of his sleeve, allowing you to take her hand instead.

That was the first time Gyeong-seok noticed the way his heart beat just a little differently when he looked at you.

It became routine.

Every morning, Gyeong-seok would drop Na-yeon off before heading to work, and every afternoon, he would return to pick her up.

At first, it was simple exchanges—short greetings, polite smiles. But as time passed, the conversations became longer. Some mornings, when Na-yeon was feeling extra clingy, you would help soothe her with a gentle voice and a distraction. Other times, when Gyeong-seok arrived in the afternoons, you would tell him little stories about her day, how she had made a new friend or insisted on only eating the strawberry-flavored snacks.

It didn’t take long for him to realize that you genuinely cared. Not just as part of your job, but because you truly enjoyed working with children.

And—though he wouldn’t admit it out loud—he found himself looking forward to those moments with you.

Sometimes, work kept him late.

He hated those days the most—knowing that Na-yeon would be waiting for him, that she might feel abandoned even though he tried his best. But every time he arrived late, breathless with apology, he always found you waiting with her.

You never left her alone.

“She’s been fine,” you would assure him with an easy smile, even as Na-yeon clung to his leg and buried her face into his pants. “We read some extra stories while we waited.”

It should have been a simple kindness, but to Gyeong-seok, it meant more than he could say.

Maybe that was when his resolve started to crack.

Maybe that was when he started to hope.

Gyeong-seok wasn’t sure when it started—when his thoughts began lingering on you even after he left the daycare, when he started noticing the way his heart felt lighter in your presence.

It could have been the way you were always patient with Na-yeon, never treating her like a burden. Or the way you smiled when you talked about her progress, proud as if she were your own. Maybe it was the way you waited for them on the days he was late, never complaining, never making him feel worse than he already did.

Whatever it was, it snuck up on him.

And now, he was standing outside the daycare with his hands stuffed into his pockets, trying to ignore the nervous thrum in his chest.

Today, for once, he wasn’t late. He had made sure to wrap up his work early, determined to pick Na-yeon up on time. But even as he walked inside and found her coloring with the other children, his focus was on you.

This was ridiculous. He was a grown man—a father. He wasn’t some shy teenager trying to ask his crush out for the first time. And yet, as you approached with your usual warm smile, he found himself hesitating.

“She had a good day,” you told him, nodding toward Na-yeon. “She was a little quiet this morning, but she opened up after storytime. Oh, and she insisted I save her an extra strawberry snack for tomorrow.”

Gyeong-seok huffed a soft laugh. “That sounds like her.”

You chuckled, then glanced at him, head tilting slightly. “You okay? You look like you have something on your mind.”

Damn. You were too perceptive.

Gyeong-seok inhaled sharply, glancing away for a moment before finally gathering his courage. “I was wondering… if you’d like to get dinner sometime. With me.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then, your eyebrows lifted slightly, surprise flickering across your face before your lips curled into a small, knowing smile. “Oh?”

He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I know I’m not exactly… the most ideal person to ask out. I have a daughter. My schedule is unpredictable. I probably won’t be the easiest person to date. But I—I like you.” His voice was steady despite the nervous edge in his stomach. “And I’d like to take you out, if you’re interested.”

For a moment, you just looked at him, your expression unreadable.

Then, you grinned.

“You know, I was starting to think you’d never ask.”

Gyeong-seok blinked. “You—what?”

You shrugged, amusement dancing in your eyes. “I like you too, Gyeong-seok. And yeah, I’d love to have dinner with you.”

His heart did something strange in his chest—something warm, something unfamiliar. Relief mixed with something dangerously close to happiness.

Na-yeon suddenly tugged at his sleeve, looking up at him with curious eyes. “Appa, can we have strawberries for dinner?”

You laughed, and the sound was enough to make his decision feel even more right.

“Well,” you said, glancing between the two of them, “how about we start with dinner first, and then maybe—just maybe—I’ll tell you where to get the best strawberry desserts in the city?”

Na-yeon’s eyes widened with excitement. “Really? Appa, can we?”

Gyeong-seok chuckled, finally allowing himself to smile fully. He met your gaze, something unspoken passing between you.

“Yeah,” he murmured. “That sounds perfect.”

[clarisse0o]

The Mayor - Chapter 33

Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle

Alternate Universe: Mayor and Architect

Words: 1000

Masterlist

———————————————————————

We were at Alexia and Olga's place this Saturday at noon. Marion, Alexia, and I had been inseparable during our studies, getting up to all sorts of mischief. She was beyond thrilled to meet little Jeanne for the first time.

"She’s beautiful, this little one! Honestly, Alexia, I never would’ve bet on you being the first one to become a mom!"

We all laughed together. Of all of us, Alexia had been the most unstable for many years.

"So, what have you been up to since you arrived? Did you go out yesterday?"  

Marion answered Alexia’s question.

"Not even! We had way too much to talk about. This morning, Lucy, the mayor, dropped by, and we went to the market with Ona..."

I locked eyes with Marion, signaling her blunder. I’d forgotten her knack for putting her foot in it.  

It’s an understatement to say Alexia was utterly stunned.

"Lucy Bronze came to your place?"

I quickly tried to salvage the situation.

"Yeah, she did! Can you believe it? She happened to be in the neighborhood and had an urgent request about cooking..."

"And she just shows up at your place like that? She doesn’t have a phone?"

"She knew my address, so she felt free to drop by..."

I was floundering. Realizing her mistake, Marion jumped in to help:

"And this afternoon, we’re going to the Pride Parade, just like old times! Come with us, Alexia!"

Alexia pouted dramatically.

"Olga’s not here this afternoon, so motherhood duties call!"

"Bring Jeanne along; she’ll get a taste of real life!" I laughed.

"Sure, at three months old! What a godmother you are!" she exclaimed, adding, "Take pictures, girls, and bring the action—just like we used to!"

To say the afternoon was festive would be an understatement. We joined a group of my friends and soaked in the sunny day with the parade, music, and a few beers. Marion was her usual wild self.  

At the end of the parade, she dragged me onto a stunning float, where we danced, sang, and laughed even more. The parade concluded in the main square amidst a packed crowd.  

Smiling, with Marion’s arm around my neck, we cheered at the crowd while grooving to the music.  

Suddenly, my gaze met piercing blue eyes. Blue and black in that precise moment. It was Lucy, standing on the steps of City Hall in the official stands. I was sure she had seen me; for how long, I couldn’t tell. I smiled at her—a smile she didn’t return as she turned her gaze away. My heart sank.

That evening, we ended up at a nightclub downtown, the atmosphere still electric from the day. Alexia managed to join us with other friends. It was a night filled with laughter, reunions, and cocktails. But I couldn’t stop thinking about Lucy.  

I grabbed my phone, replying to her morning message and trying to clear the air.

 She’s not my girlfriend; she’s a high school friend. Nothing ever happened between us. 

Her response was almost immediate.

 I really don’t care, Ona. Do what you want. 

Right in the gut, Ona. Her ego, always her ego.

 I don’t know. Your look earlier wasn’t exactly friendly... 

Her response came quickly again.

 It wasn’t necessarily about you, Ona. You’re not the center of my world. I was in a foul mood all day with the planning and security. 

I was sure she had been looking at me. Maybe it was the beer...

 Fine. I’m at Shaman now. Can I stop by if you’re at City Hall? Or anywhere else? 

 No, I don’t have time. 

At least that was clear. Disheartened, I got up and rejoined my friends on the dance floor.

---

The next morning, I woke up with a massive hangover. We had partied until 6 a.m., dancing, singing, and drinking all night—a fantastic evening full of laughter with friends.  

It was noon, and Marion was still sleeping.  

I grabbed my phone, scrolling through it, when I stumbled upon my conversation with Lucy—a nightmare unfolding before my eyes. Messages I’d sent during the night stared back at me:

 3:30 a.m.: Come onnnn, don’t be mad, I’m coming to see you :) 

 4:00 a.m.: You know, it’s okay if you don’t care about me. We can still hang out. 

 5:00 a.m.: You should coooome! We’re dancing, great vibes, you’d love my friends! 

The messages were exactly as written, complete with typos and mixed-up letters.  

I had completely forgotten sending them after Lucy’s last message before midnight. The utter shame.  

Of course, she hadn’t replied.  

When I explained the situation to Marion, who had just woken up, she burst out laughing.

"You kept shouting, ‘I’m going to City Hall!’ I had to hold you back!"

Panic surged.

"Now that you mention it, yes, it’s coming back to me! Wait, did I say anything about Lucy?"

Marion grinned.

"No, nothing like that, don’t worry! It was just City Hall. What a night!"

"You’re telling me. Though I forgot a golden rule: turn off your phone when you’re too drunk! The shame..."

"Come on, forget about it! Let’s go get brunch, Ona, to soak up all those cocktails!"

Marion left town at 5 p.m. after some final hugs. I went home, exhausted from the weekend.  

Lucy still hadn’t written back. We had planned to meet the next evening for an exhibit, 50 kilometers from the city.  

I mustered up my courage and decided to call her. She picked up.

"Yes?"

A curt  yes . I didn’t expect anything less.

"Lucy, it’s me. How are you?"

"I’m fine."

Ever so expressive.

"I wanted to apologize for last night’s messages. Really. I don’t know what came over me. I was a bit too..."

"Drunk, I imagine?"

"Yes, you imagine correctly. A bit too much!"

A silence fell, which I decided to break.

"I wanted to ask, are we still going to that exhibit tomorrow?"

"Yes, we are. I’ll pick you up at 6 p.m. at your place, okay?"

"Great, sounds good. And I wanted to..."

"I have to go, Ona. See you tomorrow."

She hung up.

[thelonestarinthesky]

³. ᵒⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒˡᵒʳᵉᵈ ᵐᵉᵐᵒʳⁱᵉˢ ᵖᵗ ¹

⁺₊✦₊　　

pairing: senku x f!reader

chapter 3 of 2/2-i.senku

a/n: I'll be posting requests soon

⁺₊✦₊　　

Hanging out with the [H/C] haired girl wasn't actually half-bad; sure, she was annoying, but she had a passion for whatever Senku was reading or working on.

Since she was homeschooled, Senku always came over after school, not even bothering knocking, which Byakuya has tried to get him to at least be polite every time he dropped him off.

[Name] didn't really mind, she had grown used to waiting for the doors to the mansion to burst open after 4. Senku strolled inside like he owned the place before dragging her to the library to finish off where they started. While he was reading, she would be drawing on a piece of paper, and once he was done, she would sit quietly as he yaps along about what he learned.

The [H/C] haired's butler poured the juice into his cup as the girl munched on her cookie, listening to him.

"....anyways, my teacher at school asked us what we wanted to be when we were grown-ups. Obviously, I said I'm going to space." He says seriously. "But I'm going sooner than that." Senku looked proud at this.

"An astronaut?" [Name] says quietly, thinking of Byakuya.

࿐⸻༺ ෆ ༻⸻࿐

With Christmas coming along, [Name] had managed to walk to Senku's house, which was behind her home. With enough begging, her father had managed to help Byakuya move out of the apartment complex he and Senku lived in and into a bigger home.

Her butler had tagged along and when she rang the doorbell, Byakuya answered the door. "Oh, [Name]!!" He says cheerfully. "Senku isn't home yet, I'm guessing he's hanging out with his friend from school."

Taiju met her a couple of days ago after Senku had managed to sneak her into his school after classes were done. The three went to the park where Senku was using a magnifying glass to burn a paper using the sunlight hitting the glass.

Letting the two in, Byakuya lead them to sit down in the living room.

"I didn't see your car outside." She asked him. The man sighs sadly, clearly dejected. "I sold it." He says.

The [H/C] haired and her butler flinch at this. "I used the money to buy things for Senku; ever since he's been reading those books at your house, his interest in Science has grown a lot more."

"...." The girl looks up at him before looking down at the floor ahead of her.

Suddenly, getting up from the couch, "[Name] don't get up so fast-," she tugs on her butler's arm, "I changed my mind, let's go home, I haven't started on any presents." She exclaims.

Saying goodbye to Byakuya, the two left the Ishigami residence in a hurry.

"Grandpa Joel, I haven't started on Senku present." She says the older man who opens the door to her small craft room in her home.

"Also, I want to use my allowance to buy Byakuya a new car."

Grandpa Joel blinks at this, clearly taken aback by this. A 7-year-old wanting to buy a car is crazy. Luckily, her father was away for work so she could let one of the workers buy it using her card without him knowing.

Her butler has been by her side from the moment she turned 2, along with a nanny but she wasn't that close to her as she was with Joel. The old man was a loyal worker of her father for years, and so, he was entrusted with [Name] since then.

For Senku's present, she wanted it to be special since he was her very first friend.

"Grandpa Joel, I want to build a robot for Senku." She says proudly. "I know it's not gonna be perfect like my father's but I want this Christmas to be special." Joel looks down at her, clearly seeing how determined she is, not that he is surprised; she grew up to be very isolated from children her age, born into a wealthy family, setting her apart from those who were born in a lower class.

"....I'll help you, dear." He says, smiling as she beams with the biggest smile on her lips, one he's seen more now ever since Senku came into her life.

Once Christmas came along, [Name] opened the door for the Ishigamis and Taiju. With a warm greeting, she leads them to the living room, a large decorated tree in the corner with so many presents underneath.

After spending time together playing games, Senku watched as the girl started to give out presents to the workers of the mansion. Taiju got his gift soon after, then Byakuya, who she led outside to show him a brand new car of the newest brand.

"Here you go!" She says happily, handing him the keys.

Byakuya's mouth dropped to the floor as the girl hugged him before grabbing Senku and dragging him back inside the house while everyone else was simply frozen with shock.

Gathering his present, the [H/C] haired girl suddenly felt shy; the robot she was supposed to build him wasn't done yet, so she prepared something smaller for him. Fidgeting nervously, she handed him a small box that was wrapped neatly.

"It's not much, but I hope you'll use it for science." She says flustered.

Senku pulled a black card from the box. He read what was on it, and he was surprised. "....this is." He mumbles.

"I get an allowance from my father every month...and since you're my best friend, I want to share it with you." [Name] was flustered at this, the older girl was shaking from being way too nervous to see his reaction.

"Please use it well if it's going to benefit science. There's no limit."

࿐⸻༺ ෆ ༻⸻࿐

Senku was sitting in his room, thinking hard. The old man had brought him a ton of Science equipment for Christmas but he wanted to create something special for the [H/C] haired girl using it.

"[Name] really loves fireworks, the ones that sparkle on the stick, she told me that they remind her of the stars." He had asked Byakuya for what she would like, and the answer was pretty straightforward. A rich girl like her can get anything, but fireworks were her favorite...

His birthday arrived sooner than he expected. [Name] came over with a cake, and Taiju tagged along as well, holding a box in his hands. He asked about it, but Taiju simply told him that it was heavy for him to carry.

Singing happy birthday to him, Byakuya pushed the girl to his side.

"Just because it says Senku's name on the cake and present doesn't mean we can't sing for [Name] too!" He says Senku looks at her, seeing her flustered.

"So, happy birthday to Senku and [Name]." Joel, Byakuya and Taiju said happily.

That day, he learned that they shared the same birthday. When he asked her about it years down the line, she had simply answered that it was his day, she could've celebrated it a day after to make sure the day was about him.

Sitting down outside, the two were looking up at the stars before Senku was given a tiny box. Opening it, he found a small robot inside that resembled him. "I did my best, although Grandpa Joel helped a lot."

Seeking over to see his reaction, her eyes widened when she saw how in awe he was; his red eyes had the same sparkle every time he spoke about science, but they held something else she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She felt her cheeks heat up, her heart skipped a bit as she continued to stare at him as he examined the robot that was the size of his hand. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest the longer she stared at him, and she blushed even more when he looked up at her with a gentle smile.

masterlist taglist- @frootloopscos @itsnotsh1v4n1 @lovingyeet @kazuubaby @yn7857 @foulbreadpaenut

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.211 Snake in the grass

I tossed and turned all night, plagued by vivid, terrifying nightmares that left me feeling exhausted and on edge. I'm surprised I didn't wake Sophia. A heaviness sat on me like a thick sweater, so I sat on the edge of the bed, reminding myself of Sophia's words: I'm okay, we're all okay. If I ever needed a yoga session before, it's now. But when my little lady finds out I did it without her, she'll be upset. I want her to sleep. Between our travels and our traumatic night, we all need rest today. I went downstairs so I didn't disturb Sophia and hopped on Social Bunny to see everyone's Winterfest pictures. No sooner than I sat, Maira sent me a text with two pictures in it. No context. Just two extremely random pictures that raised all kinds of questions.

All my alarms blared. This snake duped my friend, and I wanted to knock some sense into him. I didn't need this kind of energy today. My finger was just about to hit the call button when her face popped up; I never answered a phone call so quickly.

"Maira what the hell??!!!"

"Calm down, Luca. Let me explain."

"Why would you send me those?? Why not just call and THEN send the pictures??"

"I wanted to surprise you!"

"Well, I'm not surprised! I'm concerned! Who is this man?? And why are you both in white?! Please tell me you didn't marry him!"

"I can't do that."

"MAIRA!"

"Well, if you'd just listen!!"

"FINE!"

They met about a week ago and eloped yesterday, and it took everything I had not to scream. Yes, I see the irony of being upset about this when I moved into Sophia's house after one date. But Maira is someone I care about, and she has a history of men trying to take advantage of her. It also reminded me of Alessia's situation all over again. I kept saying to myself, I don't need this right now and muted myself so I could take deep breaths. But as her story came together, I calmed down. Oliver O'Keefe is his name, but he didn't sound like a snake at all. Honestly, he sounded like a proper gentleman. Maira is super clumsy and tripped while walking up some stairs at a restaurant. Oliver was coming down on the other side and helped her up. The next day, she went back to the restaurant, and I'm sure you guessed it; he was there. They arrived around the same time, and she invited him to dine with her. Turns out he's a big foodie and was obsessed with the restaurant. They had hilarious conversations and learned a lot about each other. She wanted more, so she gave him her number. To her surprise, he called a few hours later, saying he wanted to make sure she got home okay, and that she wasn't sprawled out at the bottom of anymore stairs. Funny. I gave him points for that one. They talked for the rest of the night—the rest of the week, actually. She invited him out every day, and he always left her wanting more. They had chemistry, but she cared for him in ways she's never cared for anyone. I could tell even in her voice that she had stumbled upon something special. She kept her feelings to herself for a while because it seemed crazy to have fallen in love that fast, but she couldn't deny it for long. Earlier this week, she invited him to her place to confess. She told him she'd understand if he didn't feel the same and needed to step away, but he confessed to feeling the same. He respected her and didn't want to put her off by making a move too soon. Needless, they had an amazing night, if you know what I mean. The next few days were quite epic, too. Finally, on Winterfest Eve, he invited her to an address in Chestnut Ridge. She felt special because he'd never asked her out before. She got dressed up, thinking it was a date spot, but when she arrived, it was just an old ranch. He acquired it long ago and restored it gradually until it was move-in ready, but he didn't want to live there alone. And he wasn't looking for a roommate, either. He wanted a companion to fill the space with love; Someone to enjoy the journey with him; A partner worthy of being a mother to his children. He wanted a wife. He wanted Maira.

I was all smiles by the time her story was over. My dreams for her had finally come true! I always wanted her to open herself up to love, and I wanted a worthy man to see her. He sounds worthy, but I'll reserve judgment until we meet because he could still be a snake. Predators don't strike right away. She invited us to hang out with them for New Year's Eve tomorrow if Sophia and I didn't have anniversary plans. I told her we had just gotten back in town and weren't gonna do anything for a while, and we'd be happy to swing by.

[omarfor-orchestra]

.

[idk-what-to-put-here-123]

I've actually had a really good day today for a change

[werehounded]

You know I was thinking. Since I was a ten year old and boys would ask me out as a joke, cos I was the fat autistic ginger nerd who no one wanted to be friends with, and they found that hilarious, up to being rejected recently by hookups in the past few months cos I'm not far enough in my transition or I'm too fat or too ugly or too much for some people, I've dealt with rejection and people laughing at me instead of loving me my whole pre teen-adult life.

Just thinking of damage done by a cis and heteronormative world, and how queer love is so healing and joyful and wonderful, and how I feel, at nearly 33, ready to commit to someone and be in it for the long haul because they like me DESPITE all my flaws. They love me for me and I love them for them and they're wonderful to me. They've never said an unkind word to me (and i believe them wholly that they never will and never have to anyoen else either). They've never asked anything of me that is unreasonable or I can't do. They've not laughed or run a mile when I talk about access needs like my chair, their only request being that they can still hold my hand while I show them off to the world.

It's been six months of 'getting to know you' and having fun together indulging in shared fandoms and writing together. For me, it's been about four-three months of pining and wanting. A little less time wishing and not daring to hope because I'm definitely punching above my weight lmao.

Idk. Something something queer love is being seen at your worst and not being judged. Queer love is joy, and happiness. Queer love is healing past trauma and being in it *together*. Queer love is everything.

And you know what for the first time in a long long time I'm gonna do some linocut guidelines and get them printed and transfer them to blocks and make some heartfelt art. Because they inspire me. They're my Muse, my love.

Bonus ramble in the tags about former unrequited and toxic 'love'.

[ostwitchsheart]

Why did my brain randomly dump story lore on me. Do you really want me to make a sad one piece ripoff

[lilworms]

things + words in tags

[acourtofquestions]

KINGDOM OF ASH (by SJM)

Chapter 48

THE FAMILY REUINION🥹😆😭🫶& MY SOULLL

But when they reached Princess Hasar's battle tent, when they had all gathered around a map of Anielle, they had only a few minutes of discussion before they were interrupted. By the person Chaol least expected to walk through the flaps.

A moment later, Chaol was glad he was sitting down.

Nesryn breathed, "Holy gods."

Chaol was inclined to agree as Aelin Galathynius, Rowan Whitethorn, and several others entered the tent.

They were mud-splattered, the Queen of Terrasen's braided hair far longer than Chaol had last seen. And her eyes ... Not the soft, yet fiery gaze. But something older. Wearier.

Chaol shot to his feet. "I thought you were in Terrasen," he blurted. All the reports had confirmed it. Yet here she stood, no army in sight.

Three Fae males-towering warriors as broad and muscled as Rowan—had entered, along with a delicate, dark-haired human woman.

But Aelin was only staring at him. Staring and staring at him.

No one spoke as tears began sliding down her face. Not at his being here, Chaol realized as he took up his cane and limped toward Aelin.

But at him. Standing. Walking.

The young queen let out a broken laugh of joy and flung her arms around his neck. Pain lanced down his spine at the impact, but Chaol held her right back, every question fading from his tongue.

Aelin was shaking as she pulled away. "I knew you would," she breathed, gazing down his body, to his feet, then up again. "I knew you'd do it."

"Not alone," he said thickly. Chaol swallowed, releasing Aelin to extend an arm behind him. To the woman he knew stood there, a hand over the locket at her neck.

Perhaps Aelin would not remember, perhaps their encounter years ago had meant nothing to her at all, but Chaol drew Yrene forward. "Aelin, allow me to introduce"

"Yrene Towers," the queen breathed as his wife stepped to his side.

The two women stared at each other.

Yrene's mouth quivered as she opened the silver locket and pulled out a piece of paper. Hands trembling, she extended it to the queen. Aelin's own hands shook as she accepted the scrap.

"Thank you," Yrene whispered.

Chaol supposed it was all that really needed to be said.

Aelin unfolded the paper, reading the note she'd written, seeing the lines from the hundreds of foldings and rereadings these past few years.

"I went to the Torre," Yrene said, her voice cracking. "I took the money you gave me, and went to the Torre. And I became the heir apparent to the Healer on High. And now I have come back, to do what I can. I taught every healer I could the lessons you showed me that night, about self-defense. I didn't waste it-not a coin you gave me, or a moment of the time, the life you bought me." Tears were rolling and rolling down Yrene's face. "I didn't waste any of it."

Aelin closed her eyes, smiling through her own tears, and when she opened them, she took Yrene's shaking hands. "Now it is my turn to thank you." But Aelin's gaze fell upon the wedding band on Yrene's finger, and when she glanced to Chaol, he grinned.

"No longer Yrene Towers," Chaol said softly, "but Yrene Westfall."

Aelin let out one of those choked, joyous laughs, and Rowan stepped up to her side.

Yrene's head tilted back to take in the warrior's full height, her eyes widening-not only at Rowan's size, but at the pointed ears, the slightly elongated canines and tattoo. Aelin said, "Then let me introduce you, Lady Westfall, to my own husband, Prince Rowan Whitethorn Galathynius."

For that was indeed a wedding band on the queen's finger, the emerald mud-splattered but bright. On Rowan's own hand, a gold-and-ruby ring gleamed.

"My mate," Aelin added, fluttering her lashes at the Fae male. Rowan rolled his eyes, yet couldn't entirely contain his smile as he inclined his head to Yrene.

Yrene bowed, but Aelin snorted. "None of that, please. It'll go right to his immortal head." Her grin softened as Yrene blushed, and Aelin held up the scrap of paper. "May I keep this?" She eyed Yrene's locket. "Or does it go in there?"

Yrene folded the queen's fingers around the paper. "It is yours, as it always was. A piece of your bravery that helped me find my own."

Aelin shook her head, as if to dismiss the claim.

But Yrene squeezed Aelin's closed hand. "It gave me courage, the words you wrote. Every mile I traveled, every long hour I studied and worked, it gave me courage. I thank you for that, too."

Aelin swallowed hard, and Chaol took that as excuse enough to sit again, his back giving a grateful tinge. He said to the queen, "There is another person responsible for this army being here." He gestured to Nesryn, the woman already smiling at the queen. "The rukhin you see, the army gathered, is as much because of Nesryn as it is because of me."

A spark lit Aelin's eyes, and both women met halfway in a tight embrace. "I want to hear the entire story," Aelin said. "Every word of it." Nesryn's subdued smile widened. "So you shall. But later." Aelin clapped her on the shoulder and turned to the two royals still by the desk. Tall and regal, but as mud-splattered as the queen.

Chaol blurted, "Dorian?"

Rowan answered, "Not with us." He glanced to the royals.

"They know everything," Nesryn said

"He's with Manon," Aelin said simply.

Chaol wasn't entirely sure whether to be relieved. "Hunting for something important."

The keys. Holy gods.

Aelin nodded. Later. He'd think on where Dorian might now be later. Aelin nodded again. The full story would come then too.

Nesryn said, "May I present Princess Hasar and Prince Sartaq."

Aelin bowed—low. "You have my eternal gratitude," Aelin said, and the voice that came out of her was indeed that of a queen. Any shock Sartaq and Hasar had shown upon the queen bowing so low was hidden as they bowed back, the portrait of courtly grace.

"My father," Sartaq said, "remained in the khaganate to oversee our lands, along with our siblings Duva and Arghun. But my brother Kashin sails with the rest of the army. He was not two weeks behind us when we left."

Aelin glanced to Chaol, and he nodded.

Something glittered in her eyes at the confirmation, but the queen jerked her chin at Hasar. "Did you get my letter?"

The letter that Aelin had sent months ago, begging for aid and promising only a better world in return. Hasar picked at her nails. "Perhaps. I get far too many letters from fellow princesses these days to possibly remember or answer all of them."

Aelin smirked, as if the two of them spoke a language no one else could understand, a special code between two equally arrogant and proud women. But she motioned to her companions, who stepped forward. "Allow me to introduce my friends. Lord Gavriel, of Doranelle." A nod toward the tawny-eyed and golden-haired warrior who bowed.

Tattoos covered his neck, his hands, but his every motion was graceful. "My uncle, of sorts," Aelin added with a smirk at Gavriel. At Chaol's narrowed brows, she explained, "He's Aedion's father."

"Well, that explains a few things," Nesryn muttered.

The hair, the broad-planed face ... yes, it was the same. But where Aedion was fire, Gavriel seemed to be stone. Indeed, his eyes were solemn as he said, "Aedion is my pride." Emotion rippled over Aelin's face, but she gestured to the dark-haired male. Not someone Chaol ever wanted to tangle with, he decided as he surveyed the granite-hewn features, the black eyes and unsmiling mouth.

"Lorcan Salvaterre, formerly of Doranelle, and now a blood-sworn member of my court." As if that weren't a shock enough, Aelin winked at the imposing male. Lorcan scowled. "We're still in the adjustment period," she loudly whispered, and Yrene chuckled.

Lorcan Salvaterre. Chaol hadn't met the male this spring in Rifthold, but he'd heard all about him. That he'd been Maeve's most trusted commander, her most loyal and fierce warrior.

That he'd wanted to kill Aelin, hated Aelin.

How this had come about, why she was not in Terrasen with her army ... "You, too, have a tale to tell," Chaol said.

"Indeed I do." Aelin's eyes guttered, and Rowan put a hand on her lower back. Bad— something terrible had occurred. Chaol scanned Aelin for any hint of it. He stopped when he noticed the smoothness of the skin at her neck. The lack of scars. The missing scars on her hands, her palms. "Later," Aelin said softly. She straightened her shoulders, and another golden-haired male came forward. Beautiful. That was the only way to describe him. "Fenrys ... You know, I don't actually know your family name."

Fenrys threw a roguish wink at the queen.

"Moonbeam."

"It is not," Aelin hissed, choking on a laugh.

Fenrys laid a hand on his heart. "I am blood-sworn to you. Would I lie?"

Another blood-sworn Fae male in her court.

Across the tent, Sartaq cursed in his own tongue. As if he'd heard of Lorcan, and Gavriel, and Fenrys.

Aelin gave Fenrys a vulgar gesture that set Hasar chuckling, and faced the royals. "They're barely housebroken. Hardly fit for your fine company." Even Sartaq smiled at that. But it was to the small, delicate woman that Aelin now gestured. "And the only civilized member of my court, Lady Elide Lochan of Perranth." Perranth. Chaol had combed through the family trees of Terrasen just this winter, had seen the lists of so many royal households crossed out, victim to the conquest ten years ago.

Elide's name had been among them.

Another Terrasen royal who had managed to evade Adarlan's butchers.

The pretty young woman took a limping step forward, and bobbed a curtsy to the royals. Her boots concealed any sign of the source of the injury, but Yrene's attention shot right to her leg. Her ankle. "It's an honor to meet all of you," Elide said, her voice low and steady. Her dark eyes swept over them, cunning and clear. Like she could see beneath their skin and bones, to the souls beneath.

Aelin wiped her hands. "Well, that's over and done with," she announced, and strode to the desk and map. "Shall we discuss where you all plan to march once we beat the living shit out of this army?"