#my little tangerine has grown up another year

[seveniee777]

Sweet Little Tangerine

24 years old! great luv to the world’s cutest ever birthday boy 🥰

🎵: Tangerine by Glass Animals/Arlo Parks

[goodlucktai]

where nothing hurts and nothing breaks

one piece word count: 3k written for the its pirates server sake exchange ! my other giftee was @incomprehensi-bull who asked for zoro and sanji interaction. sal i really hope you enjoy this <;3 title borrowed from safe by banners

read on ao3

x

“Remember,” the pretty girl with tangerine-colored hair says for the fifth time, her smile a fixed, gritted thing on her face, “Sanji is very small right now. The Devil’s Fruit effect isn’t going to wear off for another week at least. If you try to roughhouse with him the way you usually do, he will get hurt, and I will kill you with my hands. Understood?”

“You could try,” the green-haired man replies mildly. 

“Why are we leaving Zoro in charge of babysitting again?” the man with the long nose says, to no one in particular. “I mean, we can all agree that this is going to be an absolute disaster, right?”

Zoro scowls, but the skeleton says, “Right,” at the same time the man with the long white hair and bright orange horns says, “I mean, yeah,” and everyone else nods along. 

Yonji would have been furious to be made fun of in any capacity. Sanji holds his breath and waits for Zoro to snap at the rest of them, to use his size against everyone smaller than he is, but all he does is lean back against the railing and cross his arms. He looks unbothered to the point of falling asleep standing up.

It’s weird. 

“I’m not a baby,” Sanji thinks it’s important to point out. He’s eight years old, which is a lot of years. He thinks his years are longer than most people’s, because he hasn’t felt like the little kid he used to be in ages. That little kid grew up when mama died.

“We know,” the tall woman tells him, her eyes very gentle. She always looks at Sanji like she understands him completely. It’s nice, even if it makes him feel kind of sad. He wonders if she had big brothers who hated her, too, or if it was just her dad. He thinks it wouldn’t be polite to ask, so he doesn’t. “You’re practically a gentleman.” 

“Sanji can come shopping with us if he wants!” the reindeer says eagerly. He’s sitting on the robot’s broad shoulder and pats it like he’s inviting Sanji up there, too. They’re both small enough that Sanji could probably fit even without asking the rabbit-girl on the robot’s other shoulder to get down to make room. 

Weathered yellow fills his vision as the brim of a worn straw hat slips over his eyes. 

“Nope, it’s Zoro’s turn!” the captain replies brightly. That’s Luffy, with a scar under his eye that curves like a smile, and arms that don’t really look strong but can hold Sanji forever without getting tired. Sanji tips the hat back in time to look up at Luffy’s grinning face. “He and Sanji will have fun today and tonight they can tell us all about it!” 

Everyone heaves a sigh, but no one argues. Luffy doesn’t throw his weight around like Captain Chas on The Orbit does, but he’s very stubborn in a way that reminds Sanji of the spoiled little kids on the cruise ship who get underfoot at dinner and demand dessert before all their vegetables are gone. In similar fashion, Luffy mostly gets his way because his crew loves him too much to deny him. It’s a strange sort of authority for a pirate captain to have, but it seems to work for them just fine. 

Sure enough, Zoro’s shoulders go back just a little, and he levels Luffy with one unblinking dark eye. Accepting the terms and conditions. 

Sanji tries not to be nervous. It isn’t fair to compare Zoro and Yonji just because they look similar. 

Zoro looks like the kind of person Yonji is going to grow up to be—has grown up to be, somewhere else in this strange future Sanji is living in—and he seems to enjoy scathing arguments as much as Yonji does, too. But he hasn’t hurt anyone smaller than him that Sanji has seen. 

In fact, the smallest member of the crew clambers around on Zoro like he’s a walking jungle-gym, and scolds him viciously when he doesn’t take care of himself, and looks up at him with round, bright eyes all the rest of the time. Chopper acts as though Zoro is among the very last people in the world he would ever have cause to fear. 

Sanji’s so used to being afraid that he hardly knows how else to be. The people here who call themselves his real family make it hard to be, though. He absorbs their brightness and silliness and fondness every day and slowly learns how to stop holding his breath. 

The Sunny is docked for the day at a busy, bustling resort island, with enough lights and billboards that you can see the shine of it for miles across the water. There’s a big map on the wharf, twice as tall as Franky, that notes all the places of interest—shrines up in the mountains, a sprawling sea-side spa to the west, an amusement park further inland, the bright green and yellow loops of a rollercoaster visible above everything else, and hundreds of shops and restaurants scattered all in between. 

The Strawhats—that’s who these pirates were, who Sanji himself was, apparently—split up in twos and threes where the road forked but Sanji and Zoro didn’t even make it that far, because there was a market selling produce and all kinds of fresh fish and local goodies right there in the port, and Sanji only had to cast one curious look toward a cart towering with brightly-colored fruits for Zoro to start walking that way. He clears a path for Sanji through the bustling crowd like it’s nothing. 

“If you buy more than you carry, don’t cry to me about it,” Zoro says in the same indifferent tone he says everything in. 

“I won’t!” Sanji promises, not sure if he means he won’t buy that much or he won’t cry about it. 

He was given money—real, actual Bellies—and told in no uncertain terms to come find Nami if he ran out. He doesn’t see how he could! There’s so much in the bag she gave him! 

He says as much to Zoro, half-afraid to spend it all just in case it was a mistake. Zoro replies, “Our grocery budget is half of what it usually is while our cook is on vacation. We’re eating simple.” He nudges Sanji’s head with his elbow without taking his hands out of his pockets. “We don’t usually survive off sandwiches and eggs and soup, you know.”

Sanji figured that must be true, because of how grand their ship is, and because his grown-up friends seem to have fun taking turns cooking meals but they’re just clueless enough in the kitchen that it’s obvious they don’t spend a lot of time in there.

“I can cook,” Sanji says for what feels like the hundredth time. “I can cook for all of you.”

“What part of ‘vacation’ did you miss?” Zoro tells him without missing a beat. “Shut up and look at that weird fish.”

Sanji looks before he can help it. That sure is a weird fish! He forgets to keep arguing his case in favor of darting over to ask the fishmonger a dozen rapid-fire questions about their catch that they answer cheerfully. 

Contrary to what he said before, Zoro carries all the shopping. The vendors hand the goods over Sanji’s head every time, even though he’s the one forking over the gold for it. The swordsman is very big and strong, and probably all those parcels and purchases weigh absolutely nothing to him, but it’s the principle of the thing. 

Sanji tries to imagine Yonji carrying anything for him at all just to be nice. The daydream falls apart instantly, because Yonji only ever took things from Sanji to break them. 

“Do you promise you’ll give it back?” he musters the courage to ask, clinging to the cookbook a kind old woman just sold him, unwilling to let it go without making sure. She had smiled and said she was certain her family’s recipes would be in good hands with him and Sanji doesn’t want to prove her wrong before he gets a chance to even try. “You have to promise.”

Zoro gazes down at him with that inscrutable look on his face he’s worn all day. He could probably take the book from Sanji pretty easily but he doesn’t yank it away or twist his wrist until he lets go. They just stand there, sizing each other up. Sanji’s nerves mount with every second but he doesn’t back down.

Yonji would have hurt him already and laughed about it. The first mate of the Strawhat crew simply says, after enough time that Sanji knows he’s taken it seriously, “Promise.”

Surprised, Sanji lets the book go, and watches it get tucked away in an oversized tote bag with the rest of his little treasures. Then Zoro just stands there looking at him, one eyebrow higher than the other, waiting for Sanji to go chasing after the next thing that catches his eye.

Back on the Sunny, Zoro was goaded easily into fights with his friends, and seemed short-tempered any time he wasn’t napping on the grassy deck or drinking from bottles Sanji wasn’t allowed to touch. He didn’t cause problems on purpose, the way Sanji’s younger brother enjoyed doing, but he seemed to have sharp edges and Sanji didn’t know how to get close to him without getting pricked. 

But he thinks about how Chopper looks at Zoro. He thinks about the mice in the castle that would run from his siblings but cozy up in Sanji’s hands. Animals know. And then he thinks about the way Luffy trusts Zoro, how he doesn’t have to look to know Zoro will be right where he needs him. Everyone on the crew is quick to tease him and make fun and none of them are scared. 

Zoro could have gone with Luffy and the others, but he’s spending the day with Sanji instead. He hasn’t even been mean about it. Sanji abruptly feels really bad about not handing the cookbook over right away.

“My brother has green hair,” he blurts, then stares at the cobblestones beneath his shoes in acute mortification. Why did he say that?

“I know,” the swordsman says, the last thing on earth Sanji expected him to say. “I heard all about your brothers.”

He says it like he’s not impressed by them in the slightest. It’s a weird way for someone to talk about Sanji’s brothers—they’re the best, they’re everything they were supposed to be, and Sanji is the one that went wrong. 

Abruptly, Zoro points at a bench. “Go sit. I think your blood sugar is getting low. If you pass out on me, I’ll never hear the end of it.” 

Sanji finds himself bundled onto the bench with the tote bag in his lap. Zoro set it there as if it was a paperweight that would keep Sanji from blowing off somewhere. That was kind of annoying! Sanji isn’t a baby and he isn’t gonna run off by himself, he’s not stupid. 

But the swordsman is only gone for a few minutes when Sanji’s attention is grabbed by something across the street. There’s a grizzled-looking man lounging in the shade of his stall, flicking through what looks like a waterlogged ledger. There are a bunch of crates and cages stacked around him that are empty—except for one. 

There’s a distressed bird crammed into a cage so small that it can’t move except to shuffle in place, its head ducked so that its long narrow beak doesn’t hit the bars. It’s making a harsh ticking noise, high and tight and anxious. Sanji shoves the bag off his knees and jumps to his feet, weaving through the crowd and ducking down to his hands and knees before the man behind the stall clocks him. He crawls the rest of the way to the birdcage and lifts it down from the cart into his lap. 

The bird stops vocalizing, looking up at him with darting black eyes, its chest heaving. Sanji whispers, “I know how you feel. Let me help.”

But there’s a lock on the cage, and even as Sanji tugs at it, he knows it’s useless. He’s decided to just take the cage away with him when a fist closes in the back of his jacket and he’s hauled all the way off his feet.

He yelps, flailing in midair, and only barely manages not to drop the bird. 

“The hell do you think you’re doing?” the man asks, sounding more bewildered than angry. He wrenches the cage out of Sanji’s hands and then drops him. 

Sanji lands with an oof on the street, and he automatically curls his limbs in, making himself a smaller target. If he tucks his fingers into fists and hides them under his arms, there’s less of a chance his brothers will break them just for fun. He curls his hands into fists but he doesn’t hide them. The fear is in the back of his mind, but it’s not the loudest thing in there. He’s lived on the Sunny for days now where bravery and goodness come before everything and he must have absorbed some of that, because he’s shaking under the sharp eyes of a big, unfriendly stranger, but he still says, “You should let it go.”

“What was that?”

“You’re not taking good care of it,” Sanji says, louder, “so you should let it go.”

The man’s mouth twists in an unkind sneer. “And I should just toss my Bellies into the Blue while I’m at it, eh? That’s not how it works, whelp.” 

The bird is moving around in the cage again, making that dry clicking noise again and rucking its orange and blue feathers up in its anxious bid to get free or somehow create more space. Sanji remembers being tossed behind bars, no respite and no rescue and no one left in his life who cared if he was hungry or cold or afraid. He can feel the metal helmet that encased his head as clearly as if it’s still there. He remembers crying so hard it made him lightheaded, clinging to those bars and wishing he was anything like his siblings, if only so he was strong enough to save himself.

“It’s not your bird, it’s its own bird,” Sanji shouts. “It wants out!” 

The man shifts his weight. Maybe he was going to step forward, or turn around and go back behind his stall, or maybe he wasn’t going to move at all. Sanji will never know, because at that moment a shadow falls over him, and he knows without having to look that Zoro has come back. 

“There a reason he’s on the ground?” Zoro asks. He almost sounds conversational. “Hope it’s a good one.”

The man obviously feels much differently about giving Zoro the same attitude he gave Sanji. He hesitates to answer right away, staring up at the swordsman the way that little bird probably stared up at him when he stuffed it into that stupid little cage. The way Sanji looks up at Judge and hopes for anything else besides what he knows is going to happen.

“He started helping himself to my wares,” the man settles for saying. “Maybe you ought to teach him a bit about how the world works before you let him loose on it. He’s gonna get himself into trouble running his mouth at the wrong guy.”

Sanji is waiting for the moment when he’ll have to defend himself, to make his case, but it never comes. Zoro doesn’t even ask what happened, he just plants himself like a tree in the middle of the confrontation and lets Sanji shelter safely in his shadow, as steady and immovable as the castle walls of Germa Kingdom.

“And are you the wrong guy?” Zoro says, very interested in the answer. He’s got some grilled skewers in one hand and the tote bag that Sanji abandoned in the other, but even without easy access to the swords at his hip, he is not a person anyone would want to get on the wrong side of. That grumpy sleeping dragon that lounges lazily on the deck of the Sunny is gone and the creature left behind is wide-awake and hungry.

Speaking a little faster, the man says, “Look, mate, I’m just trying to make a living here. If I gave away my beasts every time a tender-hearted little brat teared up over them, I’d be out of business.”

Zoro just says, “He’s eight years old and already more of a man than you’ll ever be. You put your hand on him, and you still have your hand. That is more good luck than most people get in a lifetime. Make it count.”

Sanji is not actually surprised when the man snatches up his ledger book and the handle of his cart, ready to make tracks. The bird is left behind, and Sanji picks himself up and hurries over to scoop the cage back into his arms. The bird makes a sound at him like something is rattling in his throat, but it sounds slightly calmer than before. 

When he looks up at Zoro, he finds Zoro already gazing back down at him. He holds out the birdcage and says, “There’s a lock. Will you help?”

“I could break it open, but it might cut itself on the metal. It’s not safe to let it out here, anyway,” Zoro says. “Let’s head back home and get Usopp to pick it open. For now carry it in one hand and eat some of these, tough guy.”

Sanji agreeably accepts a skewer of grilled squid and walks close enough to Zoro that he bumps into him every couple of steps. The bird sticks its beak through the bars and snaps at one of the curly tentacles, sneaking a bite so cleanly that Sanji laughs in sheer delight. He shares the rest of that skewer, as well as the next one Zoro passes him with pieces of tender zucchini and shrimp. 

“Didn’t know you liked birds,” he says.

“I don’t really,” Sanji says. “I just like this one. Do you know what kind it is?”

“Robin will,” Zoro replies with the unremarkable certainty in his nakama that Sanji is still in the middle of learning. “What makes this one so special?”

“We understand each other, that’s all,” Sanji says. He focuses on keeping the hungry beak away from his fingers when he adds, “I was in a cage, too.”

Zoro stops walking. Sanji doesn’t want to look up at him and see the face that he’s making, because then he won’t be able to force the truth out. And he wants to. He feels safe enough to do that now, for the first time since he woke up in this strange, bright, wonderful, silly family. He thought it would be Luffy he told, or Robin, or little Chopper, but it’s not any of them. 

It’s Zoro. The one who lets his siblings crawl all over him and poke fun and start fights, and only ever turns his teeth on any person outside their family who means them harm. The one who never steps in where he isn’t wanted, but keeps careful watch for the moment that he’s needed. Of course it’s him. 

“My brothers are mean to me,” he admits in a whisper. “Yonji likes to hurt me. I’m sorry I thought you were like him. You’re not.” 

There’s a moment of stillness, the two of them standing in an out-of-the-way corner, the noise and bustle of the market all pushed into the background. And then, without warning, for the second time that day, Sanji is lifted right off his feet. He squeaks in surprise, but he’s settled on Zoro’s shoulders a second later, and grips at his green hair to steady himself with the hand that isn’t clutching the birdcage. 

He stares, wide-eyed, out at this view he’s never been given before. 

“Next time we see your brother, I’ll beat him up,” Zoro says without preamble. “I won’t stop until you’re satisfied. And that’s a promise.” 

Sanji hugs the bird closer, and breathes in a deep lungful of air that tastes like salt and brine and certain freedom. He can see the ocean from here, and their colorful ship bobbing on the water, waiting for them no matter how far away they wander. 

“But you’re on your own with Nami when she sees that bird,” the swordsman adds plainly. 

Sanji holds the little bird a little closer and smiles. He understands his nakama much better now than he did even earlier this morning. Zoro might say one thing, but he really means another. Sanji is not on his own at all. Maybe he hasn’t been on his own in a long time. 

(A week later, with the Devil's Fruit effects finally negated, Sanji is searing scallops in the kitchen, following one of the recipes in his new cookbook, and Zoro is day-drinking at the table, and Stella the common kingfisher is sticking her nosy beak into spice jars where it doesn't belong.

Sanji says, “I’m releasing you from your promise.” When Zoro glances at him, he adds, “You don’t have to beat up my brother. I’m more than capable of doing that myself.”

For a moment, the swordsman doesn’t speak. He and Luffy can have entire conversations in a few seconds of absolute silence, but Sanji is not quite there yet. He waits with newfound patience for Zoro to come to whatever decision he’s making, rewarded when Zoro says, “No, I’m going to. I have it on good authority that he was mean to a friend of mine.”

Sanji scoffs and looks away, busying himself with the food, so that no one sees his helpless smile except for the obnoxious little bird that his present friend harangued Nami into letting him keep.)

[smol-blue-bird]

anyway, here's another fun Girl Scout memory nobody asked for: one time my mom built the Challenger Disaster out of waffles and oranges in a weird, failed attempt to earn me a badge

Basically, my girl scout troop (inexplicably) went on this trip to a fancy resort in the Poconos (I have absolutely no idea how we afforded this in hindsight), and this place had an activity called "Breakfast Wars" where you had to make a breakfast to fit a specific theme, and at the end, all the breakfasts would be judged and the winner would get a prize. I don't know why, but we were told that the winners would also get a patch for their vests at the end (I have no idea if this was a real thing Girl Scouts did or if we were just allowed to stitch random patches onto our vests--we never really followed the rules anyway). The theme of the weekend was "80s," so everyone was making big chunky cell phones, and scenes from movies, and girls with wild hair and neon makeup and shoulder pads. But our moms were like "we can't do that, that's too stereotypical. We have to pick a theme nobody else will do."

So they picked the CHALLENGER DISASTER.

Us kids, obviously, barely knew what the Challenger Disaster was. So we just kind of sat there and quietly helped while our mothers assembled an assortment of waffles, pancakes, and fruit into an exploding space shuttle like it was no big deal. They got, like, really into it. I remember them literally peeling a tangerine and using the peel for the fire, which, in hindsight, is absolutely nuts. I have no idea why any of these grown adults thought this was a good idea.

Regardless, the end product came out looking very cool (I wish I could find a picture, it was insane), although it was probably also extremely tasteless, BECAUSE IT WAS THE FUCKING CHALLENGER DISASTER MADE OUT OF WAFFLES. And we were so proud of it, too, because we didn't know what it was! We were like, ten, we were not alive for the Challenger Disaster!

Anyway, eventually the competition ended and the judges came around, and the kids were supposed to be the ones doing the talking, so the judge was like "what's your breakfast about?" and my poor friend just said "THE CHALLENGER SPACE SHUTTLE." And I wish I could have saved the look on that judge's face, because it was incredible. Imagine being that employee. Imagine hosting a fun little cooking competition at your cute bougie family resort and making it 80s themed, and then walking around to look at the entries and having a group of elementary schoolers proudly present their waffle recreation of a tragedy that killed 7 people. Why did our mothers put us up to this? Why did they not tell us what we were making?? Were they so desperate to create a truly innovative 80s breakfast that thought the Challenger was a good subject for this competition? Why did they think waffle art was a good medium for depicting this???? It has been over ten years and I'm still baffled.

Needless to say, we lost the competition, and we didn't get the patch. But—and here's the best part!—our moms were surprised by this! They were like "we obviously had the best and most innovative design," and it's like, yeah, maybe, but obviously they're going to give the prize to the kids with the giant waffle cell phone and not the kids with the fucking waffle CHALLENGER DISASTER???? My mom was like "that was rigged, we should have won," which, ?????????? WHAT MADE YOU THINK ANYTHING ABOUT THE WAFFLE CHALLENGER DISASTER WAS APPROPRIATE

[lfcology]

are you afraid of the dark? | charlie weasley

summary: Part of a new series where I write about Harry Potter characters helping/reacting to the reader and their fears. This is about Charlie and the reader back at The Burrow for the first time in years. Reader has hid her fear from him but finally has no choice but to talk about how she’s scared of the dark.

pairing: Fem!Reader who is a Dragonologist x Charlie.

word count: 1.6k

warnings: None besides the fear of the dark and mentions of food.

A/N: This is my first fic here! Please Tell me what you think!

*

It seemed foolish – having one of the most feared jobs in the wizarding world yet being afraid of the dark. It was something you hid well, no one ever picked up on the fact that you always had a light on when the sun went down. And, if they ever were to ask a question, you were able to cover it up with a little white lie. It wasn’t something that posed you as a real issue until Charlie Weasley entered your life. You two had been friends during your time at Hogwarts, in the same year and both loving magical creatures. As the years went by you two found yourselves smitten with one another. He, just like you, was enamoured with the scaley, temperamental beasts that were dragons. It took a bit of persuasion from Hagrid (who insisted his two favourite students would make a perfect pair) but Charlie asked you to Hogsmeade and the rest was history. You two got accepted as apprentice dragon trainers in Romania together and after years the spark of infatuation you two felt grew into genuine and strong love.

Your fear of the dark was never a topic that came up. Working with dragons meant being awake during their most active hours – the night. Their fire lit up the darkness of the sanctuary and when you two finally got the time to sleep, it was daytime, the sun provided all the light you needed to have your fear dissipate. The only time, after years of being together, Charlie noticed you acting strangely about the topic was the winter of 1995.

It was the first year you were spending Christmas at The Burrow, having such a hectic work life meant you and Charlie opted to spend most holidays in Romania. Molly trusted the two of you not to have any funny business go on and let you share Charlie's childhood bedroom with him (despite the no girls in the bedrooms rule that was put in place years before). After working the night shift for so long the pair of you welcomed a warm home, comfy bed and a hardy nap with open arms. Molly hated to wake you two up but hours later she came in to let you two know dinner was ready whenever you two wanted it.

"Morning." Charlie joked as he stretched his aching limbs out.

Evening was coming closer and as you looked out the window you saw that the last moments of sunlight for the day were illuminating the bedroom in a golden stream of light. Charlie Weasley looked utterly ethereal from his spot next to you. His tangerine coloured hair rested ever so gently across his forehead from where he'd decided to let it grow out. The constellations of freckles speckled his face almost perfectly despite being so randomly placed – It was as if the sun had personally come and kissed them upon his skin. Photos were pinned around the room showing him both before and during his time at Hogwarts and looking at the man in front of you now your heart swelled. He had grown into such a wonderful human. His jaw filled out and was stronger as if a symbol of the confidence he felt in himself. Charlie had grown up but lost none of the boyish charms he had when you fell in love with him. He donned a couple more scars than when he'd left England all those years before but he still fit into The Burrow like a glove.

He ran a calloused hand through your hair and pressed a kiss to your forehead before sitting up and cracking some of his bones in an attempt to wake up more. You hummed contently and kissed him softly before putting on a signature Weasley sweater (gifted from Molly after only dating Charlie for 2 months).

"Well, looks like Sleeping Beauty and (Y/N) are finally awake." Fred teased from his spot at the kitchen table.

He and George were tinkering with what you assumed was another invention of theirs as Charlie lovingly smacked the back of their heads. You smiled at the brotherly moment before taking a seat and having plates mounted with food placed in front of you just as quickly as you blinked. It was delicious, just what you needed to start a much-needed vacation. The cosiness of The Burrow mixed with a full tummy had you lulled into a sleepy stupor. Charlie continued chatting with his siblings, most of which were home from school for the holidays, as you leaned into his side. Between the couch beneath you two, the muggle Christmas song playing somewhere in the house and him stroking your shoulder: it felt like home.

After a few more stifled yawns from Charlie, Mrs Weasley sent you both back to bed in hopes tomorrow would bring more family time. Coming back to Charlies room felt different. The curtains were still open but with only the waxing crescent moon in the sky to provide light it was eery. You tried to remain calm despite feeling your fear rising in your throat. Charlie was around and surely that would give you enough comfort to fall asleep without a hitch, right? You slipped off your sweater knowing Charlie produced heat like a campfire and slid into bed in hopes of a quick and dreamless sleep. The Burrow, despite how strange it seemed, was silent. You assumed someone had cast a silencing charm on the room for you two to rest peacefully but right now it only fuelled your fear more. You laid motionless for the most part, Charlie snuggled up as usual with his arm around your waist as you stared at the ceiling. You were tense and after a few kisses to your neck from the boy didn't gain your attention he sensed something was off.

"Goodnight my love." He said trying to gauge your reaction before mentioning something.

He pretending to sleep, listening intently to your breathing and analysing the tenseness of your body beneath his arm. You, on the other hand, paid him no attention. How could you when fear clouded your vision more than the darkness itself. You felt as though the room was filled with evil beings and creatures just waiting for their moment to attack. It sent a shrill fear down your spine and your breathing picked up dramatically making Charlie frown and sit up. With the flick of his hand, he wandlessly cast a charm to turn on his bedside lamp.

"Hey..." He muttered softly to get your attention.

Your eyes were wide and glazed over, you were on high alert and even as you looked around the room and saw it was only old Quidditch merchandise around and not monsters you didn't relax. Charlie held your hand ever so gently making your eyes snap down to him where he gave you a calming, reassuring smile. It wasn't a very different look than what he'd give to a wounded animal.

"Hi..." You replied trying to seem normal.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he looked around the room in an attempt to see what had startled you so much.

"Yes, just thinking-" You tried to reassure but he only furrowed his deep brows at you in disbelief. He could easily tell on your face that you not only were lying but something was most definitely worrying you.

"C'mon, tell me, Princess." He said with a frown. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

You sighed knowing you couldn't hide your secret much longer. You felt more at ease now that the light was on but as you stared at it you wondered what Charlie would think once he knew your secret. "'S nothing." You shrugged but he once again wasn't having it.

"You're a terrible liar." He teased trying to lighten the mood but when you didn't give him so much as a smile, he knew it was serious. Sitting up straighter and clearing his throat he held both your hands in his larger ones. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" He asked as you bit your lip and ducked your head in shame.

His head followed yours and he tried to meet your eyes again which made you smile slightly as he resembled a child wanting answers. "I'm afraid of the dark." You finally muttered.

He tried to hide his shock but couldn't help but let out a surprised giggled which only made you pout more. "You said you wouldn't make fun..."

"I know and I'm sorry for laughing but-" He shook his head in disbelief. "You work with arguably one of the scariest animals in the world but you're scared of the dark?"

You fiddled with the hem of the blanket as you tried to think of a way to explain it. "It's not so much the dark itself that scares me." He leaned down in bed again and rested his head on his hand to give you his undivided attention. "You and I know better than anyone what kind of stuff hides in the shadows..."

He nodded and stroke your hair back away from your face once you laid down with him again. "You should have told me earlier. You know I wouldn't mind sleeping with the light on. Hell, we do it every day considering how messed up our sleep schedule is." He said referring to your night shifts.

"I didn't want you to think I was silly." You said with a shrug.

Pecking your lips softly he turned over and flicked the light off again before grabbing his wand from the nightstand and casting a nonverbal spell. Before your eyes, a baby dragon sprouted from the tip of his wand and was glowing a gorgeous warm white. It flew around the room exploring, not much different than the babies you work with on the regular.

"Ronnie used to have trouble falling asleep so I would make these little guys for him." He explained.

You didn't feel scared anymore. Between the light that the dragon illuminated as it pranced around the room and the strong arms of Charlie around you, you felt sleep calling your name.

"I'm always going to be here to protect you from whatever hides in the dark," Charlie said just above a whisper as the baby dragon settled gently on the bed between you two. "Even if it means a little light in my eyes." He teased making you smile and peck his lips as a wordless form of showing your love.

It didn't take long for you to fall asleep, then the dragon, and lastly Charlie. He watched over you to make sure you were safe and comfortable before resting his eyes. By the time you woke up the sun was out, the dragon was gone and your tangerine haired boyfriend had you protectively in his arms. You had no fears when Charlie was around.

[hunflowers]

Golden

Word Count: 15.3k

Requested? I don’t remember, but you always can here :)

Mood Board

A/N: Lord, have mercy SHE’S FINALLY HERE!!!!! My baby Golden is finally out to the public and can I just say how fucking relieved I am to post it. I love her, I hope you do too <3 little warning: there are mentions of panic attacks in here, and a heart condition (that i did my best to research on) so if you’re uncomfortable, pls don’t read. 

special thanks to my soul baby @stylesloveclub​ for being my biggest support system with this, she’s dedicated to you <3

for anyone reading this, please reblog! it really helps us writers out. okay onward friends!!! lemme know how i did and if you like it *nose boops*

Water. The ocean. Waves. The tide.

Symbolic of life, birth. Can be used to wash away even the most troubling of sins.

O’ahu, Hawaii, home to some of the best surfing destinations in the state, in the country, in the world. Also home to one of the best surfers in the state, in the country, in the world. 

Y/N didn’t coin herself that. Not that she’s complaining about it, but she doesn’t surf for the title. She surfs for the freedom. She feels the most alive when her toes dig into the sand as she runs towards the warm, salt oblivion, her novelty yellow and blue surfboard tucked under her arm.

Her whole life she had been surrounded by water. When she was a baby, she always wanted a bath. When she was a toddler, she always wanted to stay in the kiddie pool. And then she got into surfing, and well, the rest is history so-to-speak. Her parents never got themselves involved in the sport professionally but more as a recreational activity. And it was even how they met, so really there was no stopping surfing from flowing through Y/N’s blood.

Her backyard was the ocean, so growing up, it was really the only thing for her to do. It’s what all the kids were doing, and Y/N was no different. She met her best friends on the beach when they were five years old, practicing the basics of surfing, like getting up on the board and finding their balance with the Earth.

Kalani and AJ, two of the best surfers Y/N will ever meet, and two of the purest souls to ever grace her life. They’re madly in love with one another. Have been for as long as they’ve been friends -- so coming up on sixteen years. Y/N is in awe of their relationship, she really is, but being a third-wheel isn’t exactly something she signed up for. Though, she kind of expected it when growing up.

They tried countless times to set her up with someone, but time and time again their matchmaking skills have failed, and Y/N is tired of them pitying her. No, she may not be in a long term relationship, but she hardly has time for a relationship anyway. Especially with competitions coming up, she needs to keep herself focused on surfing rather than some boy who will probably end up breaking her heart.

Well, that was her intention anyway.

October 27th, the first day of the best months out of the year.

And it started just the same as every other year. Y/N woke up at the crack of dawn and threw on her lucky white bathing suit before throwing an apple down her throat. Her surfboard was perched up against the back patio railing, and she swiftly tucked it under her arm as she made her way down the shore, being greeted by the luminescent sun that was swarming the sea in a shade of tangerine and lemon.

Jogging knee deep into water, Y/N sunk her hand just below the surface, swaying it back and forth, taking a deep breath as she felt the cool texture swarm her body. Exhaling slowly, she threw herself down onto her board, paddling onward into the great unknown. The familiar sound of the crashing waves causing her to flinch for a brief moment before comforting her ears as she watches the restless ocean ahead of her, a smile washing over her face as she could basically see her future ahead of her.

Today marks qualifying day, and obviously if she marks as qualified, she moves forward to the Vans Triple Crown. She’s been training all year, her body practically a prune with how much she’s been in the water. But, a minute can’t go to waste, so up until the very last second where she has to head to the north shore, she’s gonna remain in the water and build her intuition with how the day is going to go.

Last year, Y/N had to cut her time short when she was hospitalized the night before the first competition. So, she was all more determined to win the championship that is rightfully hers. Well, in the women’s division at least. Last year was ripped from her right when it was under her nose and she refuses to have a repeat of it. 

After her hospitalization, everyone was convinced she’d never return to the water. Despite the ocean being her second home, everyone figured she would turn away -- avoid the embarrassment last year brought upon her. But, it only made her stronger and more determined to prove everyone wrong. No matter how frightening it really was.

Her first wave of the day had her coasting along smoothly, starting her out easy as waves progressively got bigger with the tide. When she got out into the water, the sun had just broken past the horizon line, yet by the time she left, the sun was nearly at its peak in the sky. Her skin felt raw, yet her body was running on adrenaline as she scoffed down the lunch her mom had made her before they banded into the family van and headed to Sunset Beach on the north shore.

Y/N’s heart raced in her chest, her leg bouncing subconsciously but furiously as she watched the landscape pass her by through the window. Her typically calming music wasn’t even working as she ran through multiple scenarios in her mind of what could go wrong today and how her day, her week, month, even year could be ruined.

Once outside of the van and on the beach, her parents pulled her close into a tight, warm hug, whispering words of encouragement in her ears, knowing just how important this was for her. Surfing and competitions had always been important to Y/N, but following last year’s downfall, this day was going to make or break whatever is left of her both physically and emotionally.

“Y/N!” she heard her name being called from the distance, the three of them immediately letting go of one another as they exchanged sheepish smiles.

“Y/N!” Was called out again, causing her to turn around and see Kalani running straight for the three of them, waving her arms in a drastic manner to gain her best friend’s attention. “Oh my -- I ran so fast, wow, I need to calm down,” Kalani breathed out, closing Y/N into a firm embrace.

“Save your energy for the waves, babe,” Y/N laughed, wrapping her own arms around Kalani’s frame. The two of them were never inseparable, it was kind of like they were actually glued to the hip together ever since they were children. And a lot of people were surprised they remained best friends through the years, what with both of them always competing in the same surfing competitions battling for the first place spot. And they knew this could be a strain on their relationship, but they decided ever since they were seven years old that they weren’t going to let surfing get between them. No matter what, they were always proud of each other for everything they’ve accomplished and are each other’s number one fans.

Thing is, Y/N tends to snag that first place spot a lot of the time, and Kalani always just misses her, earning her the second spot, right beneath her. But, Kalani has grown to accept that Y/N is better at the sport, and that’s nothing for her to be ashamed of. She’s managed to get a few of her own first place wins, and in her eyes, that’s good enough. She can’t live her life being jealous of her best friend because that’s not healthy, and anyway, surfing is much more Y/N’s livelihood than it is her own, so she’s fine with being second best -- despite what others may think.

Tugging her board off the top of the car, Y/N tucked it beneath her arm as she walked hand-in-hand with Kalani to wherever her family had set up camp on the beach. “Where’s AJ?” Y/N wondered, as she looked out into the water and saw no one out in it.

“The boys are starting soon, so he’s with Nav,” Kalani said, finally stopping in front of her parents and younger brother, and AJ’s older brother.

“Y/N!” They greeted, getting up from their chairs to kiss the girl on the cheek before greeting her parents. “It’s so great to see you back here,” Kalani’s mom smiled, pinching Y/N’s cheek before plopping herself back down under the sun.

They all began to catch up with one another since it’s been awhile they’ve all gotten together, all of them falling into old habits as if it hadn’t been months since they were last together. Y/N tried to engage in as much conversation as possible, but her mind tended to wander off as the guys started lining up in the water and making their way out. Her throat dried up and her palms were sweating -- and not from the heat -- as her nerves kicked in. Her memory began to cloud her vision as she stood abruptly and quickly walked away from the group, her heart picking up again.

Her breaths shortened as her mind blurred, and all she wanted was to curl up on her bed and calm her mind. She felt someone’s hand on her back, and immediately she could tell it was her father by the smell of his cologne. Once she was far enough from people, Y/N could feel tears well in her eyes as short images flashed across her eyes, cutting each inhale of breath in half -- which caused her to panic even more as she couldn’t breathe properly.

Last year ruined her, and she absolutely despises that this is considered her normal day-to-day routine now, her body shaking with fear as she feels herself collapsing from the inside, out. “Y/N, honey, can you hear me?” She thinks she hears her father say, but is undetermined with the intense white noise that’s swarming her ear drums.

“Count with me, c’mon, backwards from ten.”

But, all her mind could focus on was her body sinking lower and lower beneath the surface of water.

“Ten… Gotta count, c’mon you can do it, nine.”

“Eight,” she murmured, reaching out to grasp her dad’s shirt tight in her fist, just to make sure that he was really in front of her. She needs to be reminded that last year is her past, and that no matter how forward it is in her mind, it’s not her present anymore and she’s not drowning. “Seven.”

He took her hands and held them to his chest, “Six, keep going.”

“Fi-” she gulps, swallowing the lump in her throat, “..five.”

She makes it all the way down to zero, her body visibly relaxing and mentally as she hesitantly looks around to see no one watching the little event. “Do you want to go home?”

Y/N looks up to her father, shaking her head in response as she sniffles her nose and brushes away the one stray tear that has cascaded down her cheek. “No… I can do this.”

He cocks his head to the side and purses his lips, slowly nodding his head. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he turns them back in the direction, walking with her slowly as she continues to gather herself. “You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone, Y/N. Everyone knows you’re an amazing surfer.”

“I think I just need to prove it to myself,” she stated, dragging her feet through the sand like a child so it slowed their arrival time back with the group. She can only imagine that her mom had informed everyone already of what was happening, and the last thing she wants is their sorry eyes and pathetic spouts of pity that she knows she’ll wish they just kept to themselves.

Y/N knows she’s broken. She’s not the same girl everyone knew this time last year, but she doesn’t need to be reminded of it every time she steps into a room. What happened last year was serious and she understands that people are worried; But all she wants is for everyone to forget about it. Including herself. She thinks the thing that’s causing her the most trepidation now -- rather than in the morning or all year long -- is the fact she’s now back in front of a crowd again, eyes trained on her like hawks watching prey, waiting for something awful to happen again.

The only thing missing is the popcorn as they watch this free entertainment.

When they finally came back to everyone, Y/N noticed the guys had started paddling out. Everyone was talking amongst themselves, dismissing her presence as she sat herself down back in the sand, and a breath of relief escaped her lips. The tension was there, but everyone ignored it for her sake, and Y/N couldn’t be more grateful.

“Go, AJ!” Kalani cheered, pumping her fist and shouting a few hoots and hollers afterward. Dom, AJ’s brother, let out a few ear screeching whistles, the kind with the fingers in the mouth, joining in on rooting for his brother. 

Watching the guys out there solidified to Y/N how real this really is, and soon her veins were pumping with excitement again instead of dread as she cheered on her best friend. He was going to qualify, they all were and they knew that, but it's always fun to get excited about the possibility of moving forward and winning the titles and earning the trophies.

All the other faces that surfed alongside AJ were mostly familiar, their names ringing bells as the announcers spoke of them, but there was one that Y/N hadn’t ever heard before. It’s the same cycle of people every year, yet this guy was fresh. And the only reason she’s curious as to who he is, is because he’s good. Like, really good.

Kalani can’t exactly remember if she’s heard of him either, shrugging to Y/N’s wonderment, “I don’t know. Maybe AJ knows.” His pink surfboard and pink wet shirt stuck out as he was a sight for sore eyes, and Y/N grew a little resentment towards him as he pulled out a few advanced maneuvers, gaining everyone’s undivided attention that used to be on AJ.

“Who is that?” Y/N’s mother questioned, looking around to see that no one knew the answer. 

He was a mystery yet he radiated this vibrant energy as the guys finished their rounds, walking off with grace in his step as he laughed at something Nav -- one of the three’s friends -- had said. The girls bid their goodbyes to their families as they headed over to where the guys were before their rounds. AJ immediately came running over to them, hugging Y/N and Kalani simultaneously before giving his girlfriend a quick kiss on the lips. “You did great,” Kalani smiled, keeping her arms wrapped around his center.

“Alright, not in front of me,” Y/N grimaced, looking away from them. Immediately her eyes landed on the new surfer, still talking to Nav, and she was quick to turn back to AJ to ask who he is. “Hey, who’s the new guy?”

Looking over his shoulder, AJ saw who she was talking about before realization dawned on him. “Oh, that’s Harry. He’s from England. A really nice guy, I bet you’d like him,” he winked, causing Y/N to look at him with squinted eyes and pursed lips.

Kalani nudged his side, giving him a weird look. “What? I’m just saying.”

Then, speak of the Devil, Nav and this Harry guy came walking over, joining the three as they stood around waiting for the announcement that the girls could head out. Y/N wasn’t exactly paying attention to her surroundings as she continued to calm herself down for the impending near future. It wasn’t until Harry had stood in front of her, that she was knocked out of her own thoughts.

She looked up at him, making eye contact and briefly getting her breath caught in her throat. When he was far away, it was hard to make out his facial features or what he exactly looked like. But being right in front of him, she was merely astonished at his beauty, but more so his green eyes that reflected the perfect amount of sunlight. His wet, brunette hair rested against his forehead and seemed to be drying a bit curly.

His head tilted slightly, an amused smirk inching up his face as he watched her reaction. Something tells her he’s used to this kind of reaction. “M’Harry.”

His hand came between the two of them, waiting for her to grasp it in a firm grip. Y/N was hesitant at first but finally took his hand and shook it gently while greeting herself before dropping her hand back down to her side. “Y/N.”

This is insanely awkward. Especially because her friends are just watching the exchange silently, as if they weren’t allowed to speak while the two introduced themselves.

Harry has heard of Y/N. It’s hard for anyone involved in the surfing business to not have heard of her. Aside from the jarring news from last year, she’s an excellent surfer and her name is always spreading around like wildfire. She’s part of the reason Harry decided to delve more into the professional surfing world, because he’s been itching to meet her.

Y/N is attractive, anyone with eyes knows that, but Harry wanted to meet her only because of her expansive skills in the water. Standing in front of her, he can’t deny her undying beauty -- and if he weren’t such a gentleman he’d probably be trying to woo her this very instant. But, her looks aren’t what draws him to her, and he decides to not think with his dick for once.

Before he gets the chance to say something else to her, they get notified that the girls should start heading out for their rounds. Y/N and Kalani grab their boards and tuck them under their arms before bidding their goodbyes to the boys and scurrying off to join the rest of the girls.

“Whipped already?” Nav jokes, wrapping his arm around Harry’s shoulders and leading them to the sand where they’ll watch.

Y/N steps her toes into the water, basking in the cool feeling wrapping around her toes and surging up her body. She rolls her neck feeling it crack softly before rolling her shoulders back and taking in her umpteenth deep breath of the day. Her and Kalani looked at each other, nodding with smiles on their faces before they walked deeper in the shallow water until it reached the middle of their thighs before dropping their boards down and paddling out.

At the sight of a small wave heading toward her, Y/N dipped herself beneath the water just to wet her hair. It felt refreshing again to feel the salt coax her skin for the second time that day, as if it never left. When she greeted the air again, she could immediately feel the rays of the sun bouncing off of her skin, illuminating her in a heavenly glow, like the star she is. The spotlight is on her as she aims herself for the peak of the impending wave, nabbing the first ride of the girls’ round.

Back on the beach, her mom’s fingers were crossed, her dad’s breath was caught in his lungs, and Harry’s eyes were fixated on her figure as she jumped up on the belly of her board. Her legs kept her balance against the rough matter below her. Due to the steep wall of the wave, Y/N had to act quick and rational in order to keep control, and started off with an off-the-lip, which kept her parallel with the wave before she moved herself down and carved herself back into the energy zone. 

Because it was a smaller wave, she could only go on for so long before she tipped herself off the board and fell down into the water. Everyone waited with bated breaths and kept their eyes on the area she sunk beneath the blue, before sighing in relief to see her head pop back up. Harry could see the joy wipe over everyone’s faces, replacing the worry that was once there as they hugged one another. He could tell Y/N has such a good support system, and it only urges him more to want to be a part of her life.

Of this life.

❊ ❊

“You guys did so good! We’re so proud,” Y/N’s mom gushed as she pulled her into a warm embrace -- a hug that holds more meaning than just being proud. Her mom was relieved. Grateful. Happy. She’s able to hold her daughter one more time, and that’s all she could ask for. “It’s going to be a good year for all you kids.”

Y/N felt like she was on cloud nine. She was elated, overjoyed, ecstatic, riding such a good high. Her comeback couldn’t have gone any better and she’s just so, so happy. Arriving at the beach she was nervous and anxious and was two seconds away from caving to her fears and running away. Now, as she walks arm-in-arm with her best friend away from the water for the night, she’s laughing a genuine laugh and her veins are currently pumping excitement rather than nerves. 

AJ locked his arm over her shoulders, the three of them linked just like they always are as they head towards Y/N’s family van. But, instead of like other times, this time they have a tag-a-long trailing behind them. It’s sort of like a tradition where after every competition, all of the families join together and head to dinner at their usual restaurant. Nav couldn’t come because he had his own family matters to attend to but Harry was more than willing to accept the offer. He says he came to Hawaii alone and that he had nothing better to do, but his intense stare on Y/N when he accepted the offer says that’s not the only reason he was so quick to join.

It was also part of the tradition that they ride together in the van, 1) because it was the most spacious vehicle where they were able to ride together and 2) because Y/N’s parents are pretty fun to be around. They blasted the best music and made the best jokes, causing not one dull car ride. When they filed in, AJ and Kalani pushed themselves to the back seat, leaving Y/N and Harry to sit in the separate middle row chairs.

“Oh! Harry, I’m sorry, I forgot to ask. Does your family want to join us? They’re more than welcome to,” Y/N’s mom looked over her shoulder in the passenger seat.

He cleared his throat, looking up from his phone and sitting up a bit in his seat, an uncomfortable look on his face. “M’here alone, actually.”

Before anyone could ask any questions, AJ clapped Harry’s shoulder, saying, “We’re your temporary family now, man.” Despite being competitors, it seems the two of them really hit it off and AJ genuinely meant what he said about being Harry’s family. Though, everyone knows the main reason he said it was to diminish the rising tension.

“Thanks, mate,” Harry returned, fist bumping AJ. And during the little exchange, Harry caught eyes with Y/N, catching her eyes wandering around his profile and facial features, causing her to look away quickly and look out the window as if the view was something spectacular. She could hear him snicker quietly, and just when she thinks the coast is clear, she slyly looks back at him just to find out he’s already staring at her.

They really love staring at one another apparently.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Y/N and Harry were pushed to the back of the group -- not really by choice but somehow it ended up that way -- and neither of them really made any moves to break the silence between them. Y/N because she was nervous, and Harry because he wanted her to be the first to speak. And it just so happened that when they were sat at a table, they were left with the last two remaining chairs that also happened to be right next to each other. Y/N couldn’t figure out if they were doing this on purpose or it was by coincidence, but she can tell Harry doesn’t mind.

She’s not one to be nervous around guys, but there’s something about Harry and how he is so blatantly interested in her that makes her wary of talking to him. Kalani sat across the table from her, and when they made eye contact, they had a silent conversation about how Y/N should grow the balls and actually talk to him. Of course Y/N refused, which earned her a kick to the shin in retaliation, which then caused her to let out a yelp of pain and made everyone look at her confused and worried. 

“Sorry, hit my knee on the table,” she brushed it off, glaring at her best friend the moment everyone turned away and continued with their own conversations. 

Being as slick as possible, Kalani directed her eyes to Harry when he wasn’t looking so Y/N could see her, before turning to AJ and talking to him about something completely irrelevant. Again, Y/N and Harry were stuck in this silence. She’s not exactly sure why she can’t just start a conversation, but he’s kind of intimidating and she’s afraid of embarrassing herself, especially in front of her family. 

Pursing her lips and looking down to her lap, Y/N finally turned to give Harry her attention, noticing how he was staring into space, looking completely lost in this foreign setting. “So, uh, where exactly are you from?”

Harry was quick to turn his head to Y/N, waiting and waiting and waiting for the moment she would say something. “A small town in Cheshire. Northwest of London, if that helps.”

“That’s a pretty far trip to take alone,” she nods, licking her bottom lip before gently biting down on it. As much as she thinks of herself as an independent person, she’s also an extreme homebody and could never imagine going anywhere without anyone by her side, whether it be family or friends.

He merely shrugs in response, “M’better off alone.”

Y/N cocked her head to the side while looking at him, letting his words sizzle inside her mind as she tries to overanalyze him in the mere hours she’s known him. She turned her gaze down to her hands that were intertwined in her lap, mulling over her next words to say. She doesn’t know him, but she knows the feeling of being alone. And being alone, no matter how appealing it could sound, never works out in the end. People aren’t meant to live alone. It goes against the natural order of life, and just hearing him say he prefers being alone breaks her heart just the tiniest bit. “No one’s better off alone. Everyone needs someone eventually.”

Little does she know, is that she is his someone. Or, at least that’s what Harry’s hoping. He thinks he’s crazy for being so enthralled by someone so suddenly and so strongly, but Harry’s always been one to trust his gut. His plushie but toned gut was screaming at him that this girl is just meant to be in his life. Maybe meant to be his, but he won’t push his luck. “Guess we’ll have to wait an’ see.”

They both smiled softly at one another, a small blush creeping up Y/N’s cheeks for the umpteenth time that day. “I guess we will.”

❊ ❊

It had been a little over two weeks since qualification day. Her days hadn’t changed much in regards to her schedule; Waking up at the ass crack of dawn and heading straight into the water and staying in practically until the sun was set. But, there was one slight shift in her day, and that was the now familiar face of Harry popping in everyday, either physically or in her mind.

It was safe to say Harry was quickly adapting to the three friends, merging with them seamlessly; As if he had been part of this little group since he was a child. It’s not like any of them minded, especially AJ because he was happy to get another guy around. Their friend Nav wasn’t exactly a permanent part of their little group because he belonged to everyone and no one, but Harry stuck around them like glue and AJ was so grateful. 

Y/N’s grateful because now she isn’t a third-wheel.

Harry and her aren’t exactly buddy-buddy, but it definitely helps having someone else around for movie night so Y/N isn’t stuck watching her best friend’s all cuddled up together and hearing the occasional kiss they would share.

Though, Harry has made it known time and time again that he really wants to be buddy-buddy with her. And Y/N’s not exactly sure why she won’t give him what he wants, but for some reason she loses all comprehensive skills and becomes a blubbering, nervous mess around Harry whenever he brings up his interest in her. So, she’s successfully avoided all buddy-buddy conversations with him by bringing up mundane things instead. Like, why she decided to paint her nails blue, or why she absolutely despises white socks.

She thought she was doing a pretty skillful job too. But, after the first two times she avoided giving a yes or no answer to going on a date with him, Harry purposely would ask her just to hear what other obscure distractions she could come up with. He loved hearing Y/N talk, and without her knowing, he was getting to know her piece by piece, inch by inch, and he was loving it.

Though, a guy’s ego can only take so many rejections before he gives up completely. And just when he was ready to call it quits and accept that she wasn’t interested in him like he was her, the unexpected happened.

Y/N agreed to a date.

Well, kind of.

It was time for the Hawaiian Pro. The official first event of the Vans Triple Crown. It was taking place at Ali’i Beach Park in Hale’iwa, one of the most intense surfing spots filled with waves of  many different faces. Of course, this is when Y/N’s nerves really started to kick in. Qualification day isn’t anywhere near as filled with people as the actual events are, and her nerves have seemed to kick it into high gear. It doesn’t help that the Hawaiian Pro is when her life changed a year ago. She could hear people whispering about her, wondering if she’s going to wipe out again or if this time she’ll stay under the water. Her mind was already frenzied enough, but nothing completes the cycle like a panic attack and the embarrassment of many on-goers witnessing said panic attack.

She almost backed out. How is she meant to be the best when her body is afraid of taking its final breath? The tide was high and the waves showed no mercy. How is she meant to challenge that? How is she meant to control the water beneath her when she can’t even control her own thoughts?

It was getting to be too much for her. This entire time leading up to the Triple Crown she’s denied her fear and her anxiety, telling herself she’ll get over it. She’s been doing good all year, so what makes now any different? But it is very different. The calm atmosphere of her backyard is no match for the rambunctious setting of the Triple Crown. And she’s a fool for thinking differently.

So, she was panicking.

Y/N couldn’t even get up from her seat in her parent’s van because she was so shaky. Her father held her close, easing her back to reality and away from her tortuous mind. Of course, he offered to drive them back home and away from the competition, telling her again that she didn’t have to prove herself to anyone. But, she declined again. Because she needed to prove it to herself. She’s stronger than her mind lets on, and she needs to make sure she knows that.

When she slid off her board and sank her toes back into the warm sand after a very successful first round, landing her in the lead spot, she was finally able to breathe again.

People congratulated her on her comeback, astonished to see her doing better than ever before. Her parents embraced her with love and elation, so beyond happy to see her laughing and smiling and enjoying herself now that she’s progressing forward. Kalani of course is her number one supporter, practically jumping on her and screaming in her ear about how happy she is for her best friend.

Everyone was making their rounds hugging Y/N, and then it was Harry’s turn. They didn’t exactly embrace like the rest of them had, but he threw his arm over her shoulders and pulled her to his side, squeezing her to him softly before looking down at her and saying, “Absolutely wicked, love. Gotta teach me some of y’fancy moves.”

“You sure? They’re really only meant for the pros,” she teased, biting at her bottom lip to conceal her laughter as he scoffed.

“”Ey, no one likes a narcissist,” he shoved her shoulder softly, rolling his eyes as her laughter rang through his ears. “But, whaddya say? M’gonna need a good teacher if I wanna make it to the big leagues.”

Y/N simply shrugs without really thinking much into it, “Sure.” Her mind didn’t exactly process what she had agreed to until later that night, before she dozed off into her temporary slumber. Her eyes shot open and her body sat upright as an over dramatic gasp was inhaled into her lungs. Her mind had been all over the place with the competition that she didn’t realize that she had agreed to being alone with Harry for the first time since they'd met. Immediately she texted and called Kalani, to which she got laughed at in return.

“Kalani, this isn’t a laughing matter!”

A few miles away, Harry was snuggled into his bedsheets, a bright smile stretched across his face as he reveled in the idea that he finally was going to be alone with Y/N since the first time they’d met. His heart was jumping and his stomach was fluttering as he envisioned her pretty face behind his eyelids before he drifted off into his dream with her. 

“It so is! C’mon, Y/N, what have you got to lose? You have the same interests, he’s funny, he’s hot, and he clearly is into you. Enjoy something outside of surfing for once.”

Enjoy something outside of surfing for once.

That’s the thought that stuck in her mind, lingering around as she finally fell asleep, and then when she woke up, and when she was eating breakfast; And doing her chores; And hanging out with Kalani; And eating dinner; And then falling asleep again. Y/N didn’t even realize she had spent so much of her past year focusing on her career and health that she hasn’t done much of anything else.

She’s so grateful to be alive, but she’s hardly given herself the chance to live again.

Before her accident, she was always up for adventure and was always the life of any party. After her accident, she hasn’t even been to a party. She hasn’t been in a relationship in years, she hasn’t gone on a date in a long time, and she can’t even remember the last time she’s had sex or kissed a guy. She’s been so focused on her redemption, that she can’t remember the last time she was genuinely happy.

Going on this date, but also not a date -- but also clearly a date -- with Harry just may provide her with that. And she owes it to herself, to her past self, that her accident isn’t going to shape her life anymore.

Plus, she really enjoys Harry’s company. And even if she doesn’t show it so bluntly like him, she really likes him too.

The next day, Y/N and Kalani had gone out shopping, enjoying a nice girls day out. They had bought a few new varieties of swimsuits (as if they didn’t have enough) and a few other types of clothes, got some lunch, and even found time to watch a movie. And they did all of this right up until the moment Y/N decided it was time to text Harry. 

She wasn’t sure how to go about this, because she’s never really asked anyone on a date before, or followed up with plans (?) about a date. Kalani kept urging her to just rip the bandaid off and to get it over with, saying something along the lines of, “You’re not getting any younger. Plus, I think he’d slip right off his board at the sight of you in that new yellow suit you got.” It was just a simple bikini, but it showcased the majority of her skin that essentially left little to the imagination.

But, the thing is, whenever Y/N gets into the water around people, she can’t help but cover her torso with a wet-shirt, insecure of the imperfections that lined her skin. It’s rare she can bear to look at her skin, so she only assumes no one else would want to either. So, she’s not so sure he’ll fall off his board at the sight of her, but the thought is nice.

Y/N pulled out her phone and hovered over his contact for a good amount of time before Kalani grew impatient and snatched the phone from her friend’s hand. They wrestled around with each other to try and gain custody of the phone, but finally in the end Y/N was able to hold her phone tight in her hands before declaring, “Okay! Okay! I’m texting, I’m going.”

Kalani peaked over Y/N’s shoulder as she watched her type the allusive message to Harry, a proud smile carving over her lips as she watched her break down a barrier she had subconsciously put up. It isn’t by any means important to be in a relationship or to have a boyfriend, but Kalani knows deep down that Y/N was wishing to have that special connection only a relationship could provide -- a connection outside of the realm of friendships.

“There,” Y/N huffed, shoving the screen of her phone in her best friend’s face.

hii, if you’re still up to learn from a true professional, I’m available tonight :)

It wasn’t even ten seconds later that she got a reply.

Shit, I’ll be your best student, babe. I know a perfect spot, I’ll be at yours in an hour.

It was kind of amusing to Y/N that he said he knows a perfect spot, as if she hadn’t been living on this island all her life and practically knows it like that back of her hand. But, that miniscule thought was pushed to the very depths of her mind as panic coursed through her as she realized what she was getting herself into. She’s going on a date, not a date, but also a date with Harry, and a small hour wasn’t enough time to gain her composure. 

Fuck.

❊ ❊

It’s no surprise to Y/N when Harry shows up to her house a minute early. She’s half convinced that he had been waiting outside of her house for the past fifteen minutes until he finally stepped up on to the porch of her house, knocking rapidly on the door. It wasn’t an emergent knock that caused some sort of panic, but it was a frantic knock that screamed ‘let’s get the show on the road.’

When she opened the door, both of their breaths were robbed from their lungs. Y/N essentially looked like she always did but something about her glowed differently to Harry; maybe it was because she’s his for the night. For his eyes only. Just him and her. He was awestruck. 

Harry essentially looked like he always did but something about him radiated differently to Y/N. The same little smirk was nestled in its usual spot, but this one held a different meaning. It looked the same, but maybe it was different because it was just her and him tonight. He’s hers for the night. For her eyes only. Y/N was nervous.

Y/N left her board out on her porch so she wouldn’t have to walk around back when he got here, but she was silently wishing she didn’t so she’d get just a couple more seconds to get herself together. She just kept chanting, “It’s not a date!” in her head, in hopes it would make her feel better.

It didn’t.

Harry saw her board and tucked it under his left arm as he threw his right one over her shoulders guiding her his mode of transportation. It also wasn’t a surprise to Y/N to see Harry rolling up in a light yellow Jeep; the top down and the doors off, typical of any surfer dude, no matter where they originate.

“Her name’s Betty,” he smiled, walking around the back and giving her a quick tap on her rear end before stepping up to straddle Y/N’s board safely and securely.

Sliding through the empty passenger door to take her seat, Y/N was greeted by a familiar smell, a smell she could only associate with Harry. And even if she could never admit it, she loved it a lot. It was mouth-watering and intoxicating, and simply put, it was Harry. Even with the open atmosphere of the car, it was still drenched in this specific smell, and Y/N can’t help but giggle at the image of Harry spritzing whatever cologne into the car before arriving at her house.

A few moments later, Harry slid into the driver side, placing the sunglasses that were sitting on the dash over his eyes, shoving the key into the ignition and starting them on their journey to whatever beach he had envisioned. On the ride there, over the course of a few right turns and lefts and different exits on the highway, Y/N surprisingly had no idea where they were going. Did she think maybe he was gonna murder her? A bit. But, she felt comfortable around Harry. So, she felt it in her gut that she was going to come out alive from this… event.

When they got to the beach, it was about thirty minutes from Y/N’s house, and she had no idea where they were. They had to walk a short path to meet sand and ocean, but once they made it past the clearing, Y/N was in awe of the site ahead of her. People could think that seeing the ocean every day ruins the peaceful and magical aura surrounding it. But, Y/N never gets sick of greeting it. The sun was beginning to set, and the water was glowing with a yellow-pink hue by the horizon that blended into a bright blue by the shore. The cliff sides around them guarded the little alcove, feeding into the tranquil atmosphere.

“How did you find this place?” Y/N wondered as she kicked off her sandals, and shimmied her shorts down her legs before kicking them over her sandals. The yellow bottom of her bikini was visible, and she turned her head just as Harry took a large gulp at the sight of her in front of him; Just for him. Her blue wet-shirt stayed on though.

It piqued Harry’s interest as to why she never took off her shirt. He understood for the competitions, but even when it was just a casual outing, just him and her, or them and their friends, she always kept it on. It wasn’t his place to ask, but he wished she would’ve broken this barrier down just this once. Just for him. “Tha’s a secret for me to know and you to maybe find out.”

Y/N let out a giggle - why? she didn’t know - and turned her attention back to the boy that brought her here, her eyes nearly popping out of her head as she caught Harry taking off his white t-shirt, now only clad in his little pink shorts next to his little pink board. His skin looked extra dewy, and his tattoos seemed to glint under the setting sun. Before she could devour him with her eyes, she picked up her board and took it with her, running down to the water and shouting, “C’mon slow-poke, gotta get in the water before the sun sets!”

It wasn’t a surprise to Y/N that this didn’t keep on track of a teaching lesson. Harry doesn’t need to be taught, he’s amazing on his own. He pulled off his own tricks that Y/N didn’t even know the name of, and she was asking him to let her in on his little secrets. He locked his lips in return, throwing the imaginary key somewhere over his shoulder, “Y’think I’m g’na tell you? I’m far too narcissistic to let you beat me at my own game.”

“Who said I’m gonna beat you?”

“Have you met you?”

There’s a reason Y/N’s name circulates throughout people’s brains, why her name is common in any Hawaiian household, why Harry was itching to meet her. She’s good at what she does. Insanely good that it’s kind of concerning. Not everyone can come back from a life-altering experience, but Y/N took those stereotypes and crushed them beneath the tail of her infamous yellow surfboard. She reveled in the doubts and came back stronger than ever. Of course she would beat him at his own game. She’s the only one who could.

There wasn’t any telling how long they had been riding wave after wave, in the water with no one else but just each other. But, the sun almost halfway past the horizon line was a good giveaway. They were probably nearing the two hour mark, and they knew they couldn’t stay out here all night, but Jesus, how they wished they could. Y/N wasn’t expecting to be so content, thinking this would be some strange, awkward, uncomfortable time they would want to forget about the moment they left each other’s sides.

It’s the opposite.

Just for him. Just for her.

They both laid on their boards, limbs sprawled out and dangling into the water as their bodies shut down in exhaustion. Y/N can’t remember the last time she went so long without taking at least a ten minute break. Her body was most definitely not used to it as she felt her back mold into her little yellow board, accepting the relaxation. When she finally opened her eyes back up, she turned her head to the side, admiring Harry’s profile as his arms were pulled over his head, the skin of his torso being stretched, which also stretched the ink that adorned him.

Y/N got lost in the mirage that is Harry, that she didn’t even realize he had turned his head and caught her ogling. It wasn’t until he cleared his throat that her eyes snapped to his, heat traveling up through her body and rushing to her cheeks. “M’eyes are up here, love.”

“Uh- right. Yeah, I know.”

“Cool. Hey d’y’wanna play twenty questions?” He asked, sitting up to straddle his board and paddling himself around so he was facing her. 

Y/N squinted her eyes, “Are we children?”

“I mean, I guess not. Doesn’t stop my five year old humor though,” he smiled, kicking his foot up to splash her with an inkling of water as his childlike, petty comeback. “You ask first.”

Y/N pushed her hand through the water to spray him in an ounce of sea salt before turning her head back to the sky, contemplating her first question. “Mm… favorite color?” She already knew the answer.

“And you asked me if we’re children? C’mon, darling, know you wanna know more than tha’. Pink. What was your first impression of me?” He wiggled his eyebrows, even though she couldn’t see his face. This has been one of those things that’s been nagging at the back of his mind ever since they first met. Their first encounter wasn’t awkward per-se, but the fleeting moment of introduction wasn’t exactly one worth remembering either. But, Harry was always going to remember it. And depending on Y/N’s answer, he hopes she will too.

At this, she turned her head back to Harry, hand covering her eyes as the sun glared at them over the reflective water. It was a sight to behold, seeing Harry glow in the golden hour light. “Intimidating. But, also unique,” she began, moving to sit herself up and paddle her board around so she was now facing him. “You remind me of a singular cloud in an otherwise clear sky. You’re not meant to be there, yet you’re not out of place.”

Harry sat for a moment, staring. Completely in awe. Head over heels. Never would’ve guessed those words to be the ones tumbling from her lips. It was the way she didn’t hesitate in her sentence, as if those words had been formulated a while ago and just now was she able to spew it from her wordbank. Just for him. “Fuck, that was beautiful. Your turn.”

“Do you really think you’re better off alone?”

Harry pursed his lips, looking off into the distance for a brief moment before shrugging, “I do. But, I don’t. If it comes down to going back to my family and friends from home or being alone, I’ll choose being alone.” And he wanted to sprinkle in the little bonus that he doesn’t feel alone when he’s around her, but something tells him that’ll just turn her away. “What’re you so afraid of?”

It’s a brash question Y/N wasn’t expecting to be thrown at her so suddenly. She has a mix of answers, and there’s a specific one flashing in her mind like a bright, neon yellow sign, but she’s not certain how comfortable she is with telling him yet. Though, she notices that whatever question she could throw his way, he’d answer it truthfully, not scared of opening himself up, just for her. She wants to be brave like that, and maybe she can be, but she’s not sure how.

It comes as a surprise to her when she does say, “I’m scared of going through everything that happened last year all over again. Everyone’s afraid of dying, or at least most people are, but experiencing death… there’s really no coming back from that. ”

“Experiencing it?” He looks at her wide-eyed.

“What, you haven’t heard of what happened last year?” She looks at him, eyebrows scrunched. 

“Only know you had some accident. No offense, but I didn’t really bother myself with reading the fine print,” he shrugs, running his pruney fingers through his salted hair. He didn’t know if he wanted to read it, especially not with the sudden news that apparently this very alive, lively girl in front of him… died? He doesn’t think he could stomach reading about that.

Y/N hasn’t met a single person who hasn’t heard about what happened to her. Or at least the details of it. In reality she doubts anyone outside of Hawaii knows of her existence, but in her world it was the biggest news to affect the state in a while -- aside from, like, actual serious matters, her accident was up there on the news.

She evades his second question though, not wanting to cough up the traumatic details of her past; not yet at least. “Well, it’s my turn anyway. Why surfing?”

“I could just look it up, but I get it; you’ll tell me when you’re ready,” he gave her a playful look, pursing his lips while giving her a pointed stare. “It’s different. England isn’t known for surfing. It’s known for rain and football. But, with every possible detail of m’life, I wanted to make sure I was different. My dad wanted me to become a professional footy player, so I said no. M’mum wanted me to go and get a degree and a real job. I didn’t want that. So, I turned to surfing,” he swung his arms around, gesturing to the vast sea and the board below him.

“Plus, it’s given me an excuse to leave home and come here. And y’know, so I could meet you.”

Y/N felt a small blush creep up her skin again, her eyes shooting down to her lap and her feet that were distorted under the water. Harry’s infatuation with the girl isn’t a secret, but anytime he purposely makes it known, it’s like a little secret that she’s unsure if she’s supposed to know or not. “Meet me?”

Harry kicked his foot up again so water would splash at her. “Uh-uh, my turn,” he laughed, shaking his head. He knew she thought she was slick at the way she bit her lip, containing her laughter. If she wants to play by the rules of the nonsensical game, then so will he. “Sunrise or sunset?”

“Sunset. Favorite song?” She wanted to reel back from the serious talk for a moment.

“Too many to choose from. Favorite movie?” He wanted to know every nitty-gritty detail about her.

She pondered for a moment, “Mamma Mia.”

“No shit! Me too!” His mouth dropped in shock, his hand flying up to his chest. 

“Really?”

“No,” he shook his head, immediately blocking the massive splash he sensed coming. 

Y/N rolled her eyes, huffing at him whilst crossing her arms over her torso, “Are you always so insufferable?”

“S’my middle name, babe. You hungry?” He laid himself down on his board on his belly, paddling himself to face the beach, ready to make a head start for the beach. Y/N hummed a response, following in suit and settling her stomach against the belly of the board and pushing herself to land. “Cool, let’s go get something to eat then I’ll take you home.”

Y/N’s legs felt weak, yet appreciative back on the sand. It felt like she was walking on Jell-O as she went to pick up her towel and clothes. Looking down to her shirt, she knew it was out of the question to let him see her take it off. And she could turn her back so he wouldn’t see her front -- whether or not it’s clad in a bikini top -- but even then her heart raced at the thought. She held her t-shirt in her hands and thought it over for a moment before blurting, “Could you turn around please?”

Harry looked up from checking his phone quickly, tilting his head in confusion before looking down to the shirt in her hands. The dots are connected and the bright neon pink sign in his head is telling him to listen to her, and not to question it. So, he doesn’t. Just for her. It’s still unbeknownst to Harry why she never takes her shirt off, but he knows better than to think with his dick, and accepts her wishes, turning his back to her. 

Y/N lets out a small breath of relief, grateful he didn’t question her on it. She’s quick to rip off her shirt and pat dry her wet skin before hastily throwing on her dry one, giving Harry the OK to turn back around. 

“Sorry, I just… I’m not comfortable with anyone seeing my, uh, my scar,” she mumbles, nervously moving her hair from one shoulder over to the other. Harry shrugs in response, picking his board up from the ground and wrapping his arm around her shoulder as they began their walk back to his car.

“You don’ have to explain yourself to me, babe,” he smiled down at her, squeezing her to his side softly.

Y/N looked up at him, and she’s sure that if she could see herself right now, her eyes would be twinkling in delight, with adoration. Just for him. “Thank you.”

They didn’t say anything else for a few minutes, walking the distance to his lonesome Jeep in peace. The silence gave Y/N time to think and to mull over all of the gushy feelings she was feeling inside about the guy beside her. She had no reason not to like him, realizing it was only fear that was pushing her away. But, this night displayed a soft side to Harry that she fell head over heels for. His smooth, easy-going approach to life, mixed in with respect for her, and a hint of witty humor was enough to tell her how she truly feels about him. And she’s scared, not because she’s afraid, but because she’s not.

Y/N can find herself easily opening up to Harry quicker than she has anyone else because she trusts him. She can just tell he’s got nothing to hide, so in-turn she wants to be the same. She doesn’t want to cower away, but revel in happiness. Because she deserves it.

Harry quickly secured the boards back into their previous spots before sliding into the driver side and whisking them away from their little getaway. The wind swept through their hair and chilled their still slightly wet skin, causing goosebumps to trail up Y/N’s arm as chills raked through her body. This time around in the car they both were more laid back, not singing along to the songs playing on the radio but rather just listening and taking in the blissful atmosphere they’ve created.

There’s been one question dancing across her mind though ever since he brought up the little game of twenty questions. It was the first one to pop up in her mind when she was thinking of something juicy to ask. She didn’t want to ask it though, in fear of what his answer would be. But, now she’s not afraid. She’s curious though.

“Is this a date?” She queried, turning the volume of the radio down a bit so he could hear her and vice versa. 

Harry glanced at her through his peripheral, one eyebrow cocking up on his forehead, “Is the sky blue?”

“I mean, right now it’s like orange-blue,” she retorted, looking at the newly sun-ridden sky that blended shades of orange into the usual night blue. 

“Brainiac. There’s your answer. It’s however you want to look at it,” he digressed, reaching over to pat her thigh - in more of a friendly manner rather than sensual.

She appreciated his answer, absolutely adoring the fact that he wasn’t putting pressure on her about anything. It was hard to comprehend just how nice he truly is, and how someone could be so perfect. She couldn’t see a flaw in his looks or his personality or his morals, and all she could wonder was how someone like him could possibly like someone like her. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you, Harry.”

He side glanced at her again, this time raising both of his eyebrows in puzzlement, “I’ll take tha’ as a good thing?”

“It’s good. It’s… it’s a good thing.”

❊ ❊

The two of them had discussed where they wanted to go, neither of them wanting to decide and going back and forth with one another, saying, “No, you decide,” “No you.”

Y/N was never good at decisions, especially mundane ones like where to eat. She always lets Kalani decide because she could eat anything, and it’s her friend that’s the picky one. But, Harry is the same way. Whatever is put in front of him, he could probably eat (except for pickles, he absolutely hates pickles).

They settled for pizza. And it was going to be Harry’s first time trying a slice of Hawaiian.

Y/N hates Hawaiian slices, finding the sweetness of the pineapple and the savor of the ham unsettling atop her pizza. It sends her taste buds into shock and her mind into a meltdown. But, she insisted he try it, because how could someone be in Hawaii and not try its state-named slice?

They sat at their little table in the corner of the restaurant that was alongside a window, giggling to themselves as they played a little game of eye-spy, waiting for their food. For some odd reason, Harry was really good at this game, always picking the hardest of objects to point out, always stumping a frustrated Y/N.

“You’re cheating.”

“How the fuck am I cheating?”

“Dunno, you just are.”

And in retaliation to her accusation, Harry pointed to her shirt, stating she got a little soda on it, causing her to look down to her chest and see nothing but finger as he flicked her nose. “Too easy. Sore loser.”

Y/N huffed, sticking her tongue out at him. The playful banter between them was the best part of their days lately. Before Y/N even realized her feelings for Harry, she always looked forward to what they would bicker about -- in a friendly matter of course. Now, she constitutes that to just wanting to see him because she really enjoys his company, and him. 

It’s been a long time since she’s felt this way about anyone, and she’s sort of glad she gets to feel this way about Harry. He’s an enigma, but a good one. She’s totally transfixed by him and she never wants this euphoria to end. He radiates this bright and bubbly energy that lifts her mood whenever she’s around him, and she’s afraid of losing that. But, she chooses not to dwell on the what-if, instead completely basking in the present and his gooey aura of happiness. 

When the food finally came out, they both were quick to stuff their faces, their stomachs practically turning inside-out from how hungry they were. It came to no surprise to Harry that he was absolutely in love with this Hawaiian slice, already looking forward to ordering two more. 

Y/N looked at him a tad worried. He was scoffing down three slices as if there were no tomorrow, all within a matter of two minutes. She was slightly worried he was going to reach over and take her dinner, because that’s how hungry he seemed to be. But, he should know better than to get between Y/N and her food. Like the one time he tried to take some of her fries, to which she punched him in the shoulder and then took them back.

“Hey, y’gonna eat that?” He points to her not yet touched slice of pizza, earning a glare that could kill in response. “Cool, you are, just making sure. Can’t let precious food go t’waste. It’s my turn for a question right?”

Y/N thinks back for a second to determine if he’s right or not, remembering she did ask a question last. She nodded her head before biting into her little piece of heaven. 

“Was it hard getting back in the water?”

She brought her napkin up to her mouth to wipe away the drop of sauce she felt on her cheek, mulling over her answer. “Kinda. I knew I had to eventually because it’s all I know, it was just a matter of when. My parents were terrified, and I mean I was too but I can’t let that dictate my future. I love surfing and nothing is going to take that away from me.”

Not even something as horrifying as death could take her away from her true love. Not until she’s truly six-feet under, riding silver waves in the silver palace. 

“Do you think you’re going to stay here? In Hawaii?” Y/N wondered, taking a sip of her Coke.

“Got nowhere else to be,” he shrugged, mindlessly tapping his fingers on the table in an arrhythmic pattern. “Home is where the heart is, right? Well, think mine’s here right now.” Across from her. Just for her.

Home is where the heart is.

“Does it count if my heart isn’t mine?”

Last year, Y/N was going about her day like she always did. She was fine, in tip-top shape just like she had been for the past twenty years of her life. The bright sun was out and shining over all of the surfers and onlookers, and it seemed just like every other regular day. She was paddling out into the water, and the perfect, golden first wave was approaching her. She pushed herself up onto her feet, balancing her body, in tune with the wave, executing a nearly perfect opener. Then, she felt her chest tighten and her body suddenly felt weak. Breathing rapidly grew difficult, causing her to instantly panic. She fell off her board, plummeting into the water, trying to gasp for air but choking on the sea that swimmed down her throat. 

Feeling herself sink as her chest was on fire was the last she remembered. The baby blue sky blended into black and that was it. Her life was over. 

Kalani was the one who went in after her, screaming for help as her best friend was blue in the face and not moving. 

Y/N suffered a heart attack. Apparently, she had a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, that went unnoticed all her life. On this day, her heart had thickened extensively, making it difficult to pump blood to the rest of her body. The strain on her heart caused it to give out, right when she was feeling the high of riding a solid wave. She was pronounced dead for a total of forty-five seconds before EMT could revive her. Supposedly she’s lucky to be alive, because if not treated basically instantly, there’s a slim chance of survival. But, she was able to stick it out until the hospital.

Her heart was in brutal shape, so she was sent to the top of a donor waiting list. Y/N and her family are forever grateful for the team of doctors and nurses that stuck by her side, knowing she wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them. Or her sheer luck.

Y/N felt a little crazy for feeling so comfortable spilling all of this information so suddenly to Harry, but at the same time she didn’t. And the best part about it is that none of it seems to freak Harry out. Nothing about who she is or how she is scares him. And that’s what makes her feel so comfortable. “My scar, it’s from a heart transplant. I had a heart condition all my life apparently. Then suddenly one day, it couldn’t handle it anymore, so it gave out. A girl named Shauna’s heart is keeping me alive right now.”

Harry didn’t blink for a whole minute.

He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, trying to come up with something, anything to say to the girl across from him. But, he had nothing. He didn’t know what to say.

His silence was a little concerning to Y/N, making her wish she could just be swallowed whole by the ground below her. Was it too soon to drop the HT bomb? He was bound to find out eventually, and she figured it was best to rip the bandaid off on her own time rather than someone else telling him or him looking it up on Google. 

She’s kicking herself over it. 

Harry cleared his throat, taking a sip of his water before licking his lips and leaning back in his chair. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

Y/N merely shrugged, “Don’t be. Shit happens. Who knows, if it never happened we may not be here now.”

Harry raised his eyebrows, his signature small smirk back on his face in its usual spot. He raised his glass, leaning it forward a bit toward her, stating, “Cheers to that, babe.” She raised her own glass and clinked it against his, a smile on her lips as she sucked up the remaining bit of her soda through her straw. She’s happy he didn’t turn and run away.

Cheers to that, babe.

By the time they both filled their guts to the point of feeling overstuffed, mindlessly chatting and spending time together, it was already past ten o’clock. The time had passed them by like it was nothing, but they weren’t necessarily complaining. The older couple next to them were though. Y/N had to pull Harry out of the restaurant before he bit the woman’s head off for how rude she was. That’s when they knew it was time to skedaddle.

Then they just drove around for another hour before Harry figured it was time to bring her home, much to his dismay. But, when her head lolled against the passenger seat headrest and her eyes would softly shut in exhaustion. He wanted desperately to reach over and tuck the loose strand of hair that fell out of her ponytail, behind her ear. He wanted to reach over and place his hand on her thigh as they drove down the highway, softly squeezing her skin before teasingly inching up towards her hidden gem.

Is it too soon to be in love?

It was like a slap in the face when Harry parked in front of her house. Reality stuck its nose into their little wonderland bubble, and unfortunately, they couldn’t push it back out.

Harry hopped out of his seat, unfastening her board from the trunk and tucking it under his arm as they walked side-by-side to her front door. He gently placed it down where he had initially found it earlier on, tucking his lips into his mouth as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

“I uh… I guess this is it. I had a really ni-”

“I’ve got one more question before you leave me,” he interrupted her little speech, stepping impossibly closer to her, barricading her between him and the banister on her porch. It wasn’t hard to notice the long stares at her shiny lips that glinted in the dull yellow glow of the light by the door. He purposely took extra time to rake over the features of her face before finally meeting her eyes. 

Y/N swallowed nothing but air as she softly bit at her bottom lip, “Yeah?”

She already knew his question.

“Can I kiss you?”

He already knew her answer.

Y/N slyly looked at him, bringing her hands up, a bit hesitant to rest on his shoulders. “I thought this wasn’t a date.”

“Sky’s blue.” Y/N looks up at the sky and notices it’s dark blue hue, twinkling stars layers on top, surrounding the fullest, brightest moon. It was a beautiful sky, perfect to share a first kiss under.

He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers as his hands came up to her hips. Her eyes fluttered shut, waiting for the climactic moment to overcome them, the air of the night chilling up her spine.

But, then she felt fiery, red hot as their lips locked together in a soft kiss. It was as soft as they felt towards one another. This giddy, slow paced, admiring kiss that had their insides melting but their hearts pounding. This kiss is exactly how Y/N images Harry. A pale yellow that’s not harsh on the eyes, that resonates happiness. Harry imagines it as a hot pink, one that takes his breath away and captures his mind.

It wasn’t long before it turned heated, Harry’s tongue sweeping into her mouth, and one of his hands travelling further south to grab hold of the flesh of her behind. Y/N let out a soft moan into his mouth as her hands tangled into his mound of curls, tugging softly on his roots.

Then the disturbing image of either one of her parents opening the front door at any moment flashed across her eyes, causing her to pull back, kissing his bottom lip softly before trailing her thumb over the swollen skin and opening her eyes to look into his gaudy, green ones.

The sounds of their breaths mingled together as tired smiles adorned their faces, little giggles leaving each of their mouths as they basked in what just happened. All Harry could think was, ‘It’s about damn time.’ All Y/N could think was, ‘Why did I ever push him away?’

“My turn,” she spoke after a few moments, standing up straighter and fixing her shirt around her body. “Pick me up tomorrow?”

A wide, shit-eating grin spread out across Harry’s face as he ran his hand through his mangled curls. “Sunrise. If y’not in this exact spot in the morning, m’knocking the door down and dragging you out by y’hair.” He hopped down off the porch, completely skipping the steps as the adrenaline of their first kiss kicked into his system.

“Sunrise,” she agreed.

He hopped back into the driver’s side of his Jeep, throwing his hand up in a goodbye wave as he sped away, already counting down the seconds until he would see his golden ray of bright and bubbly sunshine again. He’s not so sure if he’ll be able to fall asleep.

Y/N didn’t have that same problem. The moment she landed on her bed, her eyes shut faster than the speed of light, her last conscious thought being of Harry. Her smile never leaving her face. 

❊ ❊

Meeting at sunrise had become part of their routine. Not always to surf, but just to be together. Sometimes they surfed at their little alcove, other times they would watch the sun from her backyard, snuggled up in blankets on the beach. Or, they would surf, get breakfast, then fall back asleep in his bed until a more decent hour of morning.

But, their day always began at sunrise. It would be the equivalent to say that it also ended at sunset, but sunset was always too soon to part ways. 

This wasn’t an everyday occurrence, mostly at random. Except for Sundays. Sundays are specifically their day, as per request of Harry. How could he be in love with a girl that coined yellow as her color, that had a smile as bright as the huge burning star, that claimed golden hour was prime sun time, and not deem Sunday as their day? He didn’t put any second thought into it.

Despite their sort of fast paced first date, they’ve been taking things slow, truly getting used to the feel of one another over the course of the next couple of months. It wasn’t until a month later that Harry popped the question, officially making Y/N his forever buddy-buddy. Well, not necessarily forever, but they both know it’s basically forever.

Harry never wants to be alone again.

It wasn’t until the night after they became official that Y/N finally took her shirt off in front of him. She was going through one of her episodes, and Harry was the only one around who could help her. He managed to calm her down and bring her inside her house - that was empty because her parents had gone out for the night - and get her to the bathroom so she could take a shower.

Initially, he was going to let her get in by herself, knowing her boundaries in regards to her body and not seeing it. But, when he saw how worn down she looked, he whispered words of reassurance in her ear, asking her permission to help get her in the shower. He wasn’t thinking with his dick, he just wanted to help the girl that didn’t know how to help herself.

Y/N looked him in the eyes, nibbling softly on her bottom lip before averting her attention to her chest for a few moments. She trusts him, and if they’re bound to work out, she needs him to be comfortable with seeing all aspects of her both mentally and physically. Which includes her scar. 

So, she nods her head in agreement.

She lifted her arms and allowed him to remove her shirt, immediately feeling self-conscious. She couldn’t look him in the eyes as she stepped out of her shorts and underwear, going into the shower to avoid any lingering stares. Harry was quick to follow behind her, shutting the curtain after him. That’s when Y/N turned around and completely broke down, the tears that have been building behind her eyes finally pouring out. Harry wrapped her in his arms, letting her cry her eyes out for however long she needed.

When she stopped, Harry washed her hair, washed her body, washed away her bad thoughts, then washed himself as fast as he could so he could get her into her bed for the night. She snuggled up to his side, enjoying the warmness of his body that contrasted her cool ones. 

That night when her parents came home, they spotted Harry’s Jeep in front of their house. Though when the house was eerily quiet, and found the door to her bedroom slightly ajar, they peeked inside and saw the two of them fast asleep. Parents usually would get angry at the sight of their child in bed with someone of a different gender, but not Y/N’s parents.

Over the last two months, they saw their daughter break back out of her shell, slowly returning to her former self, and all because of Harry. They saw how happy she became whenever he was around, or they’d overheard happy she was when just talking about him to Kalani. How could they ever get angry at the fact that Y/N was happy?

With the blossoming of their relationship taking place at the same time as the Vans Triple Crown, word got around fast and soon enough they were the star couple leading the ranks in their respective divisions. The world -- or really the surfing world, because no one really pays attention to professional surfers, was in awe of them. They were the hype of the news, of the town, of the state. Rightfully so, because they’re awfully cute. 

It came as no surprise to everyone when the two were crowned the champions. The press went wild with this one, stating there was some scam happening behind the scenes, because what were the odds that this new star couple could both win? Or, how could Harry, a newbie, shoot his way up to the top in just one year? Or, how could Y/N dominate with her physical ailments? 

There wasn’t a hoax and there wasn’t any cheating. They both were just that good.

The day of the final competition, they may have worked just a little harder to land the championship title. Harry had picked Y/N up and they traveled to their secret hideaway bright and early in the morning. After being out at a party the night before, the two were in no shape to get in the water already, opting to snooze under the shade of a cliff on the beach for a little while. 

They didn’t sleep for very long before they got wrapped up in one another, indulging in a morning session of intimate love. They slept for maybe an hour before Y/N was ready to get her swim on, but Harry was the biggest sack of lazy mush that morning. He didn’t want to get up for nothing. He was laying down on his surfboard, completely comfortable under the shade. Y/N tried tugging on his arms to get him up, but he wouldn’t budge, a half-sleepy and dazed smile on his lips.

At one point he tugged her back, causing her to land on his lap, legs straddling his hips as her face crashed into his chest. His arms wrapped around her back, securing him to her as he said, “See? Isn’t this so much better than physical activity?”

“C’mon tubby, we got shit to do,” Y/N giggled, but Harry just held onto her tighter and nuzzled his cheek to the top of her head.

He hummed, “S’comfortable here.”

Y/N didn’t know what else to do, so the only maneuver left was bribery. Harry’s no different than any guy in the sense that once sex is brought into the mix, his ears perk up and his dick stiffens. So, Y/N was going to use that to her advantage. “If you get up, you can fuck me all night tonight.”

Harry was quick to sit up, her still in his lap, eyes squinted in suspicion. Y/N bit her lip to refrain from laughing, but she was mentally patting herself on the back. His hands shifted down her back to grab onto the flash of her behind, pulling her center closer to his and building up a bit of friction. “How about right now and tonight?”

“I can’t be exhausted for today, H,” Y/N rolled her eyes, moving to get herself off his lap, but he kept her grounded.

“You don’t ‘ave to get in the water now. You’ve practiced, you’re prepared, you got this. The championship is practically in your hands already,” he disclosed, peppering kisses up the side of her neck, a few across her jawline, and then landing on her lips.

Even if that may be true, she doesn’t want that to stop her from putting effort and time into winning. “Harry…” she started, getting lost in the feel of his lips suckling a lovebite right in the crook of her neck, her most sweet spot. He lifted his hips up slightly, pushing against her heat, eliciting the smallest moan from her mouth.

“Bet y’soaking your suit. Can I see?”

They only have a limited amount of time before they need to get to the Northshore at Ehukai Beach Park for the competition. It was about a forty-five minute drive alone. But, Harry’s lips and fingers were way too persuasive, so Y/N nodded her head.

“Good girl.”

He lifted her up so her back was now against the belly of his pink board, her legs immediately wrapped around his broad shoulders as he placed a chaste kiss to her clothed core. She whined as he hooked his fingers into her bikini bottoms, dragging them tortuously slow down her legs. His eyes immediately attracted themselves to her glistening slit, her wetness practically inviting him in. “So fucking pretty, baby.”

Harry’s hands pushed her legs as far apart as they would go, licking a fat stripe up from her little hole to her sensitive clit. Y/N threw her head back as he focused his attention on her clit, swirling his tongue around the little bud before sucking it into his mouth. She was a whimpering mess, but that earned her a smack on the ass and a first warning from Harry.

“No one’s around. Let me hear you loud and clear,” he gave her a pointed look, keeping their eye contact as he went a little further south, pushing the tip of his tongue into her cunt. Y/N tried closing her legs around his head but Harry just pushed them open further, keeping a firm grip on her thighs that were bound to leave bruises. Bruises just for her. 

Her jaw fell slack, moans tumbling past her pink lips louder and louder. Her nails dug into his shoulders, most likely leaving scratches he’ll find later when they’re stinging in the shower. Just for him.

Y/N was growing restless as he inserted his middle and ring finger inside of her, pushing and pulling them at an intense pace that caused her toes to curl in the sand by his hips. When he managed to push his index finger in alongside the other two, Y/N began to see stars at the stretch of her walls.

“So tight f’me. Imagine it was my cock instead. Would feel so good and full, but you’d be too exhausted for later, hm?” He cooed, letting her adjust to the extra digit inside of her before fucking her harder and faster than before. He kissed up her tummy that was visible from under her shirt before landing his forehead against hers.

His free hand grabbed a hold of her jaw, making her face him which caused her eyes to open up quickly, locking eye contact with one another. “S’a shame. M’so hard, like a fucking rock. But you’ll be too tired.”

Teasingly, Y/N nodded her head in agreement, earning a hard glare from her lover. At this, he stopped the movement of his fingers, slowly pulling them out of her. Y/N’s mouth opened wide, her eyebrows scrunching in confusion as Harry sucked his fingers past his lips, indulging in her sweetness that tasted like a little sliver of heaven. 

“Wh-wha…?”

“Close y’mouth, Y/N. Gonna catch flies,” he smirked, reaching over for her bikini bottoms and sliding them back up her legs until they were nestled against her soaking wet, throbbing pussy. “Said it y’self. Can’t be exhausted for the finale today, gotta be quick on your feet and coasting the gnarliest waves. C’mon slow poke, gotta get some practice in.”

So, Y/N was pissed off to say the least. And because of this, she was extra determined to push herself as far as she could to come out on top today. Harry on the other hand, well he was just mad that he had an insane hard-on that his own girlfriend didn’t want to tend to. He should’ve expected his little stunt wouldn’t go over nicely, but the look on her face when he stopped was absolutely priceless.

When it was announced that Y/N and Harry had won in their divisions everyone was beyond elated at the news, cheers and hugs and kisses spread all around the group. Though when it was their turn to congratulate each other, they looked at each other, small smiles on their faces before they turned to make conversation with someone else. That didn’t stop them from reaching for one another though, slyly interlocking their hands together.

They were whisked away quickly for pictures, holding their trophies high in the air, the biggest smiles on their faces. Y/N’s parents were cheering them on, more specifically her because they were so proud she was able to take her life back. Y/N could cry at the sight of her mother being a blubbering mess, and her dad’s admiration sparkling across his eyes. Though, with the support of her family, Y/N’s mind couldn’t help but wonder about Harry’s family, and how they couldn’t support their son with what he loved. 

With this, Y/N squeezed his hand harder, and despite the cameras around them, she leaned up on her tiptoes and placed a kiss to his lips, the clicks of the cameras and the chatter of the crowd increasing. But, neither of them cared as they looked at one another, full of love.

Because that’s what this was. Love.

It didn’t matter that they had only met a little over three months ago, only dating for two months. They were in love. And that’s all that mattered.

Going out to dinner that night, they hardly left each other’s sides. They were being that obnoxious clingy couple that no one likes being around, but they didn’t care. Because they both knew they were in love. An unspoken love that didn’t have to be announced because the whole world knew, and so did they.

“Cheers to the love birds! And for the love of God, could you stop looking at each other like that,” AJ gagged, causing everyone to laugh before they clinked glasses.

When they left the restaurant, Harry and Y/N hopped into Betty, driving around for a little while before they decided to stay at his for the night. It was when the wind was blowing in her hair again, the moon shining above them and shining through her hair, his hand gently on her thigh, squeezing softly in contrast to that morning, that Harry truly felt it. This love that he has for this girl. Love that’s meant just for her. Her, and only her.

This gushy feeling was put on hold for a little while though the moment they walked through the door of his apartment. Y/N was bent over the arm of his living room couch, her one leg bent and on the armrest beside her while the other was trying its best to keep her steady on the ground. Harry’s fist was wrapped up in her hair, proving to make it more difficult for her to keep her balance. Though she wouldn’t want it any other way. 

“What’s the matter, babe? You said I could fuck you all night.” Harry’s hot breath coated the shell of her ear, “Y’tired?”

She gasped at a particularly hard thrust that felt like it had hit against her cervix, trying to get the word No out in between her moans and whimpers. 

“Hope not. Had me aching all day for your tiny cunt. M’gonna need a few hours to really appreciate it.” She could feel his menacing smirk against her skin as he again thrusted so far deep inside of her, her one leg gave out. If it wasn’t for Harry holding her up, she would’ve fell right over, too weak to even try and get back up.

They went twice on the couch before Harry helped her get to the shower, where they did it again. And then when they finally cleaned themselves, they got into bed, where they did it again, but this one could be classified under love-making. It was slow and sensual and sweet, just like them. Harry paid extra attention to her scar, trailing down the tissue with soft kisses as they softly climaxed together.

It was a little past midnight at this point, and they were both extremely tired. Y/N was on the brink of dozing off into dreamland before Harry interrupted her exhaustion. 

“We never finished our game of twenty questions, did we?” He murmured, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Y/N lazily opened her eyes, shaking her head, “Don’t believe so.”

“Think it’s my turn,” he hummed. “Do you love me?”

There was silence for a brief couple of seconds, making Harry think Y/N had dozed off before answering his question. But, Y/N just needed those seconds to collect her mushed thoughts inside of her mushy brain before giving him a coherent and valid response.

“Yeah. I do.”

Harry smiled, probably the biggest he’s ever smiled, leaning down and taking hold of her face and smashing their lips together in a ceremonious kiss.

“Sick. Ditto, Sunshine.”

[queenofanime]

New Parent!?

(Atsumu Miya Writings)

Part two here

"And you remember when Shoyo-kun received that spike perfectly"

"Can you believe Kageyama still doesn't acknowledge it. Kageyama Baka, Baka!"

" Shut it human-tangerine"

"Oh, or when Ushijima hit that jumping serve in the last game?"

"It was more like a home run"

In this very moment part of the MSBY Black Jackals and part of the Schweiden Alders were having a small gathering. A little party, reminiscing high-school years and moments of youth, not that they were old or anything but oh boy, how time has changed.

The said party was being held in non other than Atsumu Miya's apartment. Being a professional Volleyball player did have its advantages, since the apartment could be considered a mansion with the latest technology.

All men were talking and laughing when the sound of the doorbell interrupted them.

"That must be the pizza!" yelled Bokuto who until now was complaining about being hungry

Lazily, Atsumu grabbed the spare change from a corner table and headed for the door.

As soon as he opened the door, his brown orbs were met with other cold brown orbs, just like a mirror; and it wasn't the pizza delivery guy.

There at the other end, stood a girl. She couldn't have been older than 16 really. The air she radiated was vaguely familiar. Her clothes were messy and disheveled. Her hair unkept.

"May I help you?" asked the blonde. His eyebrows scrunching down in confusion.

The girl didn't respond, in fact, she just stood there analyzing him, taking in every detail. Her gaze roamed from one feature to another. Letting out a sigh, she then took a crumbled paper out of her dirty torn up backpack and handed it to him.

Atsumu seemed to hesitate for a second. Fidgeting with the paper, he took in the information that was handed to him. Since the paper was a little deteriorated, the writing was hard to read, but ultimately he understood the gist of it. The paper was non other than a birth certificated and a parental blood test.

His breath grew heavy, his hands trembled ever so slightly. He shifted his vision to the girl once again, looking for any sign of a prank or joke, but he was only met with a poker face.

"...Hey dad"

Was the last thing he heard before passing out.

***

Of course, after the commotion the twin had just pulled, the six people left in the living room went to check up on his friend immediately, and were met with quite a sight.

A grown ass man spread in the floor completely knocked out and a teenage girl (who resembled the grown ass man) holding her laughter to the best of her abilities and failing miserably.

The pizza long forgotten.

***

Time seemed irrelevant. Atsumu was sited in the head chair of the dining room staring directly at the child who was sited in the opposite side of the table. Her gaze never wavering. Both of them subconsciously began a silent staring contest. Neither one of them backing out. This only made Atsumu realize that the girl was just as competitive and a sore loser like himself.

A few minutes passed before he broke contact with her to see the crumbled paper spread out in his hand.

What in fact was killing the man was the simple fact that he could not remember the child's mother. He remembered knowing she was pregnant. He remembers telling her to abort it. He remembers the fight, the tears and the yelling. Yet... he can't seem to remember her. Looking back, he was only 17, so of course his sense of responsibility was nowhere to be seen. Oh but karma never seems to forget does it.

Tension was high in the air. Bokuto and Hinata were sited in the table as well. Even with their social skills and bubbly personalities they didn't seem to know what to say.

Hoshiumi, Ushijima and Kageyama were siting in the living room, trying to avoid whatever the hell was happening. Still the tension was very much present.

As for Sakusa; he was minding his own business in the kitchen. Preparing a peanut-jelly sandwich for Bokuto who was still starving.

"You have no idea who is my mother do you?" (Y/n) finally spoke.

Atsumu narrowed his eyes at this. She had seen through him quite easily. But admitting, that in fact, he didn't even remember her name was a no no. "I do know who your mother is. How horrible of a human being do you think I am."

"Define horrible." remarked the girl. "Now, what's the name of my mother?"

By now, everybody was looking at Atsumu. Hinata even had pleading eyes. Praying that his team setter knew the name of said woman. With a defeated and frustrated sigh, the man openly admitted the truth. (Y/n) snorted at this.

"Her name was Ava Kim" She then stated. The setter scrunch his eyebrows at this revelation. God, how could he forget Ava. Such a simple name. Plus she was beautiful and hot.

Sakusa perked his ear at the use of past tense. "Was?" He then proceed to ask.

"She's dead." Without even bothering to look at him, the girl responded with a straight face. "Died 11 years ago."

Regret, sorrow, guilt, you name it. Miya Atsumu was feeling every overwhelming emotion. He didn't even knew that Ava had died.

"You are just 16 and your mother died when you were 5, what the hell were you doing?" Asked Kageyama, a little too blunt.

"Foster care, but you wouldn't know how that feels now would ya?" Answered (Y/n) with the same bluntest as him. "I got tiered of it, so I ran away."

This was quiet a dramatic situation, painfully awkward and incredibly frustrating. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Now that must be the pizza!" yelled the owl.

"How is it, that after three peanut-butter jelly sandwich you are still hungry!?" asked Sakusa completely bewildered.

"Oh did you guys order pizza?" (Y/n) asked. A little glimpse of happiness could be seen. For the first time she seemed to let her guard down and show a little of enthusiasm. With her reaction to food, she might as well be Bokuto's secret love child.

It didn't take long for (Y/n) to devour her plate. Sad eyes, filled with petty stared at her. She must have been starving for just how long?

Obviously the party was cut short and soon everyone left, leaving a tangled, almost broken relationship behind.

"Look it's late kid. I've left a new toothbrush and some clean clothes in one of the guest rooms, which now will be your room. We can have a proper talk tomorrow."

The girl only nodded, she too was very tired. Leaving the dirty dishes in the sink, she headed up stairs without a word.

[missallsundaes]

Usopp is my favorite character! And I was so excited to see that you love him too 🥰 there aren’t many stories about him and I was wondering if I could ask that you write another when you found the time? Maybe something smutty? Or fluffy? Or both after he and reader reunite again after the time skip? Where he’s confident now that reader will notice him but obvi they already did ♥️

UHM I love Usopp so fucking much you are so valid he's one of my fav characters of all time.

SO rereading your request after I got an idea, I realized that you asked for… a hook up post time skip but like. I couldn’t not do a big fluffy “i missed you so much” reunion after two years so they have a prev relationship but returned with Usopp being more confident and reader learning things about themself haha.

This is so fluffy and so gushy but also nsfw. It’s cringe worthy sweet because I’m a fucking sucker for Usopp and I want him to be happy.

This turned out so much longer than I meant for it to, bc I was just going to do a drabble but here’s this 1900 word fic, haha.

TLDR: MUSHY fic bc Usopp deserves happiness.

NSFW undercut but it's just like.. Very loving emotional sex. No real kinks but there is crying during sex, but not written to be kinky.

______________________

“USOPP!” You screamed, running at top speed, past all of your other crew mates and straight into the arms of your boyfriend. Sure you were happy to see the other Straw Hats, but there was only one man who your heart beat for, and finally after two years apart, here he was.

He braced himself for your hug and you felt him lift you up and spin you around in his arms, “[y/n] oh my god I missed you!” He was all smiles, kissing across your face and holding you as close as he could, your feet still far from the ground.

His arms were more defined, muscles you weren’t used to feeling, flexing against your body to hold you up. “Wow you’ve been busy,” You smiled, kissing him back, hands finding their way to his strong arms. “Are you sure this is my Usopp?”

He laughed, setting you down, smiling the bright smile you missed so much, “What, you don’t remember all of this?” He joked, flexing both of his arms for you, acting out mock scenes of strength and showing off the rippling muscles that you didn’t quite know that you were into until well, just now.

You touched his exposed chest, fingers lingering over hard abs, “Well maybe I just forgot how absolutely strong my brave warrior was..”

You smiled at him, raising your chin to kiss his soft lips. Your words causing him to blush a bit, clearly melting at your praise, before returning your kiss, his arms wrapping around you again, hands in the small of your back to hold you close to him as he deepened the kiss passionately, clearly he had missed you just as much, ached for you just as much. These past two years had been hell, but finally everyone was back together.

“Get a room you two,” You heard someone laugh from behind you, and you suddenly realized how handsy you were being, how absolutely embarrassingly clingy you were being, causing you to flush a beet red.

The party the first night back on the Sunny was, no contest, one of the most fun nights you had ever had with your crew. Sanji had prepared a feast so big that even Luffy was having trouble by the end of the night, everyone catching each other up on the years apart and enjoying being with their family again. Everyone had grown so much in two years, both in visibly noticeable differences and emotionally. Everyone was still who you remembered, but matured. You supposed the same thing could be said about yourself, even though you couldn’t point out in yourself what had changed.

Drinks had flowed freely, Brook providing the most excellent of tunes, laughter and familiarity unbounded. How you had missed this. More than you realized. Just being together, being a family and feeling comfortable.

It was getting late now, and your head swam a bit from the drinks in you, despite how much you had eaten to soak it up. Cuddled up under the tangerine trees on the deck you were wrapped in Usopp’s arms, sitting between his thighs, his face pressed between your neck and collarbone comfortably, occasionally leaving kisses. He hummed in tune to the music on the deck below, Brook playing the piano and singing, Luffy and Sanji had drunkenly joined in singing along, not keeping the tune nearly as well.

“I missed you so much,” He said, arms squeezing you tightly, like he couldn’t get close enough, “I was so worried about you, I wish I could have just heard your voice.”

“C’mon, Uso,” You smiled, leaning against him and holding his arms under yours sweetly, “I’m a big girl, you know I can hold my own.”

“You’re even more beautiful than the last time I saw you,” He said, the tone in his voice so honest and clear with you, even tinged with the slur of his drink. “I must be the luckiest man sailing the seas.”

Your face was flushed, thankful for the darkening sky hiding it, “Shush you, it’s just the drink talking.” You patted his arm with your hand, as if to shush him.

“I mean it, you’re so gorgeous, you’re everything I’ve ever dreamed about my whole life,” His voice broke a little and you felt hot tears on your shoulder, “I was worried you wouldn’t wait for me the two years, I’d die if you realized how much better you were than me.”

“No no, none of that!” You said, spinning around suddenly, bumping noses with him as you turned, “You’re so much more than what you think of yourself.” You locked lips with the marksman, kissing deeper and more brazen than you meant, the passion getting to you.

His lips parted, and you took the opportunity to slip your tongue between them, his hands finding your hips as he deepened the kiss. Has he always been this good at kissing? Or was it the drink? Or how much you had missed each other's bodies?

“If we snuck off to the rooms, no one would notice,” You whispered, lips still touching his lips as you spoke. You smiled as you watched the blush spread across his cheeks, one thing hadn’t changed at least, he was so easy to fluster.

Your hand trailed down his chest, lingering on his waist, teasing at the last section of exposed skin before his trousers.

He tried to stutter out a reply, but ended up just nodding his head quickly as a response, lifting you up in a quick motion, carrying you bridal style down to the cabins below deck.

He set you down gently on the bed, treating you like a princess, kissing you and trailing those kisses down to your neck and chest, unbuttoning your blouse and kissing your breasts gently, always using such a soft touch with you.

“You’re so gorgeous,” He whispered against your skin, “So perfect.”

He climbed into bed next to you, hands slipping under your trousers, touching your body over your undergarments, his lips finding yours again, kissing you as you found your hands exploring his body. It would take some getting used to the new terrain under your fingers, where he was such a beanpole before, he had obviously trained so hard over the last two years, and his body was so familiar but so different.

Kissing and fondling quickly becoming more heated between you, he unbuttoned his coveralls, kicking them off his legs to the ground below the bed. You followed suit in quick succession, tossing your blouse aside and kicking off trousers to join his on the floor. His hands wrapped around your back to unhook your bra without breaking the kiss, you slipping your arms free of the straps and letting him toss it away.

His strong hand, more rough than you remembered, found its way to your heat again, slipping his hand under your panties, fumbling a bit in the moment before finding your clit with a gasp from you, some things hadn’t changed, really. His fingers slipped down your slit to find the moistening of your opening, dragging your slick back up to your clit to make his movements smoother, rolling your clit in circles under his fingers.

His mouth left yours, to trail kisses to your neck, leaving gentle marks against your skin, adjusting his weight on the bed until his mouth was at your breasts, his other hand cupping a breast to his mouth, a flash of tongue against your nipple before he sucked it into his mouth, kneading the soft flesh in his calloused hand.

“Usopp, please,” You moaned under his ministrations on your body, “I want you.”

You felt him freeze a bit, always easy to fluster, always easy to shy away. You stifled a laugh, “C’mon Uso~” you purred, arching your back and adjusting your legs to press your thigh against his member through his boxers, feeling the damp of his precum even through his underwear. “Please?”

“W-well I can’t very well deny such a request from a Goddess, can I?” He said masking a stutter and sliding your underwear from your hips before pulling his off and adjusting.

You looked down, eyes widening, “Usopp I know.. I keep saying you’ve grown but.. Did your dick.. Get bigger?” There was no doubt to you that there was at least another inch on your boyfriend’s length.

He looked down, having not thought about it before, “Uh.. oh.. Maybe?” He laughed, “Not too scary for you I hope.”

“No,” You said, wrapping your hands around his neck and pulling him down on top of you, “Just be gentle with me, it’s been a while even without the extra size..”

“Always,” He said, kissing you again as he slid his length into your waiting sex, letting you adjust to his cock as he did. Fully inside of you he gave you a moment to adjust, “Ready?” He said, and you nodded, eyes half lidded and biting your lip.

He started thrusting against you, a steady pace, his hands firmly gripping your hips to piston his hips against you. The air between you was hot and heavy, full of your desperate breath, your mouths barely separating except to let moans slip between your lips. Your hands found his hair, slipping your hands to the back of his head, fingers threaded through his thick curls, gripping him closer to you as his pace quickened from the passion between you.

It wasn’t long before you felt the familiar feeling of an orgasm building within you, taut like a rubberband, ready to snap with each pump of his hips into you, his pace steady but getting sloppier as he neared his own orgasm.

You wrapped your legs around his waist, holding him closer to you, his pumping action now more shallow but hitting you deeper, rubbing that sweet spot inside you that you swear he wasn’t long enough to hit the last time you were together, and god it was driving you crazy.

“I’m going to cum, Usopp,” You moaned against his lips, arching your back against his chest and pressing your sex into him desperately.

“Come for me, baby,” He moaned, pulling you into him rhythmically, “I’m close too.” His confidence in telling you to come for him was all it took to push you to that edge, feeling your orgasm take over your body you moaned his name loudly, fingers gripping in his hair for dear life.

Your body tightening on his cock was all it took for him to release his own orgasm, pumping inside you until your own orgasm had subsided, then pulling out to splash his slick jizz across your stomach, secondary pumps splashing lower, covering your body in his seed.

His lips met yours again and you felt tears splash your cheeks as he let his body fall into yours, curling up next to you to hold you close to him. “I love you so much, so so much,” he cried, huge tears pooling in the corners of his eyes.

You felt your own tears pooling, threatening to spill over your lids. “Shuush, don’t cry Usopp,” you trailed your hand across his cheek lovingly, “I love you so much, you’re my everything.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” He said, looking into your eyes with all the love and devotion in his heart.

“I could say the same thing, my darling.” You said, kissing his nose, “We’ll never be apart again.”

[laws-yellow-submarine]

Uhhhh hi? Lol I dunno if anyone remembers this, but this past May I mentioned I was going through quite a lot, and at the time I had a Hazel-focused Mother's Day angst one-shot half-written, that never got finished.

Well, it's 3:30 am, and it's finished! 😃 this was written on my phone, so it may not be well edited, and I can't guarantee it's 100% in character; but it was cathartic as hell. I won't be including this in Together With Fruit (it just doesn't fit anywhere), but I will say it's 100% canon to Hazel’s character/story. That being said, you don't have to read it if you don't want to - it's a little heavy, imo, and I won't be offended if people skip it.

But without further ado, I present: The Problems with Mother's Day

TW/CW: Parental angst, estranged parent relationships, mentions of death, feelings of inadequacy (if I need to add anything lemme know!)

Word Count: 2,052

-------

From the moment Hazel opened her eyes, she knew it was going to be a long day. The skies were cloudy, the waves choppy, and her roommate’s face was about ten inches away, smiling a little too sweetly.

“Ahh!” she yelled, jumping back in bed. “Nami, what the hell?!”

“Oh good, you’re up!” Nami chirped at her, doing nothing to alleviate the suspicion in Hazel’s gut. “I need a favor!”

“I told you before: if Luffy gets his head stuck between the railings, it’s better to just leave him there or he’ll never learn his lesson.”

“No, no, not that, silly!” Hazel glared further at the young woman, suspicion thoroughly piqued. “See, it’s Mother’s Day! Normally, Nojiko and I have a tradition of cooking a big breakfast, but since she’s obviously not here, I was wondering if you’d like to join me?” and then she flashed the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes Hazel had ever seen. Which was saying something, considering how often Ace had tried to use that on her when they were kids. 

There was just one issue.

“It’s Mother’s Day?” Hazel groaned, rubbing one hand over her face. Nami took her groaning as a sign of tiredness, and enthusiastically nodded her head.

“Please, Hazel? My sister and I do this every year, and I’d really like to share it with you!”

Guilt gnawed at Hazel’s gut. How could she possibly say “no” now?

“Sure, Nami...just,” she sighed, “give me a second to get dressed.” And then Nami let out a squeal, of all things, hugged the purple-haired girl around the shoulders, and bounded up the stairs.

Left alone, Hazel took a deep, shuddery breath. Then she took another one. Then another, on and on until they became steadier, and the world didn’t feel like it’d swallow her up right there. She stood up, padding over to the closet the girls shared, and quickly threw on a plain t-shirt and shorts; something she wouldn’t be upset about getting messy. She threw her curly hair into a messy ponytail, squared her shoulders, and with a firm nod of her head, she followed after Nami.

It was early, enough so that the sun had barely peaked over the horizon. With all the clouds in the sky, the seascape remained a rather dull blue, the orange of the sun’s rays blocked from view. Even Sanji, who normally woke up pretty early to get a start on breakfast, was still nestled deep in his hammock down below.

“How’d you manage to secure the kitchen for the day?” she asked as she entered the galley, deftly catching the apron Nami tossed her way.

“I told Sanji-kun I had something special planned, batted my eyelashes a bit, and he was convinced to sleep in for a day,” Nami explained, pulling the last of the ingredients from the fridge and setting them on the counter. “I’ve got the pancake batter covered, if you wanna get a start on the bacon!”

Hazel slid up to the counter, eyeing the array of food and utensils the navigator had set out. It had been a while since she'd made bacon - Luffy had a habit of stealing the still sizzling strips from the pan - but she dutifully set to work at the stove as Nami chatted on.

"One year, Belle-mere wasn't able to afford our usual breakfast ingredients, so Nojiko and I had to improvise," the younger woman was saying as she steadily dribbled pancake batter onto the skillet. "We snuck into the tangerine grove and picked as many as we could find, but we stuck to the smaller ones so they wouldn't be missed." Hazel hummed in acknowledgement, gut churning. "Nojiko set up an entire tray of tangerines cut into different shapes, but when Belle-mere tried to eat? Her face puckered up like this!"

Nami's face scrunched into an expression that resembled a dried up pufferfish, cheeks sunken in and eyes screwed shut, before she bust out laughing at the memory. Hazel smiled good-naturedly, piling more bacon onto the plate beside her, and Nami launched into another story.

"Oh! And then there was the year I tried to make the pancakes by myself for the first time! Normally that was Nojiko's job, but I convinced her to let me try," the navigator said, eyes far away as she expertly flipped another pancake. "The entire kitchen ended up covered in batter! I'm not even sure how it happened - I thought Belle-mere would be furious! I was so scared I hid in the closet, but I didn't realize I'd tracked flour behind me." Nami shook her head, smiling. "Belle-mere opened the closet door, took one look at me, and grinned this huge grin. She said it was the 'best year ever'..."

Hazel bit her cheek as Nami sighed wistfully. "Belle-mere was always saying that: it was the 'best year ever', no matter how much we ruined breakfast."

"Hm."

"Hazel, are you ok?"

"Huh?" Hazel glanced at her in surprise, then quickly resumed her task, tension coiling in her gut as she nodded. Just breathe, Hazel…

"Are you sure?" Nami asked, worry ringing in her voice. "You don't seem to be having much fun."

"I'm fine, Nami," Hazel grit out, flinching back as a drop of grease jumped out at her.

"No you're not! What's wrong?"

"Look, I said I'm fine, alright?!" Hazel snapped, turning from the bacon to glare at the young girl. "I just don't really give a shit about Mother's Day!"

Nami's gasp was accented by the galley door opening, their crew's footsteps halting as Hazel’s statement hung in the air. All at once, her anger fled, replaced quickly with burning shame at Nami's watery gaze. Swallowing against the lump in her throat, and the warmth growing in her cheeks, Hazel muttered a quick "sorry" before bolting from the room.

The others watched her go, breakfast momentarily forgotten, until the familiar thwap thwap of their captain's flip flops broke the silence, punctuated by Luffy’s excited cry: "Sanji! Food!"

--------

"I just don't get it!" Nami yelled as she sat at the table, anger, embarrassment, and guilt all warring within her. Hazel still hadn't returned to the kitchen. "It's just Mother's Day. It should be a day to celebrate!"

"I'm sure Hazel-chan has her reasons, Nami-san," Sanji said around his cigarette, unhappy that "his girls" were at odds. Luffy scratched under his hat. 

"What's Mother's Day?"

Luckily for him, Luffy was used to the incredulous stares his crew often bestowed on him. Even Zoro was looking at him like he'd grown a second head. Wait. Could he do that?

"Even you should know what Mother's Day is," Nami scolded the boy as he inexplicably began to pull at the skin on his shoulder.

Luffy shrugged. "Nope!"

"It's the day you celebrate your mom!" Nami was met with a blank stare. "You know, the one who provides for you, even if it means she goes without."

"The one who encourages your dreams, and loves you unconditionally," Sanji added, a wistful look in his eye as he flicked his cigarette.

"The one who tells you stories, and tucks you into bed at night," Usopp chimed in, face alight with happy memories.

But Luffy merely raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Hazel already has a birthday, I'm supposed to give her two parties?!"

And then the room grew silent once more as the weight of his question settled on the others' shoulders. Nami felt her stomach clench, threatening to evict a breakfast she hadn't even eaten as she realized what had happened. She pushed herself to her feet, rushing out of the kitchen with barely a word to the others.

She had to find Hazel.

-------

Nami found her standing against the railing, on the complete opposite side of the ship. Hazel’s arms were crossed in front of her, the wind blowing through her loose, purple curls as she gazed out at the sea. The navigator approached slowly, suddenly nervous now that she was here. But before she could utter any apology, Hazel beat her to it.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. That wasn't very fair, and you didn't deserve it."

Nami's brown eyes snapped up to the other woman's face, still not facing her, and swallowed against the growing lump in her throat.

"I'm the one who should be sorry," she said, leaning on the rail beside her. "I should have asked you first. I shouldn't have assumed you'd be OK with it."

Hazel shrugged. "You had good intentions, at least. It's the thought that counts."

"Is it?" But Hazel didn't answer, and the two slipped into a heavy silence broken only by the crash of waves against the hull. "What happened to her?" Nami finally asked, shoulders tensed as she waited for the older woman to either answer or scold her.

Hazel only sighed. "Honestly?" she clicked her tongue, shrugging her shoulders and biting her lip. "No idea. Don't really remember her."

"But if you don't remember…" Nami started, eyes lighting up as an idea struck her. "Then she could still be out there somewhere! Maybe we'll find her-!"

"I hope she's dead."

The finality of the statement struck Nami dumb, mouth hanging open in shock at the woman's deadened expression. There was no waver in Hazel’s tone, no room for any doubt that she meant it. "What…?"

Hazel laughed through her nose, a bitter sound. "Sounds horrible, right? Especially today of all days? But it's true." Hazel’s jaw clenched, her fists curling around the Merry's railing. "If she's dead, then it wasn't a choice. If she's dead, then she didn't decide to -! She didn't just -!" Her shoulders shook, breaths coming out in ragged gasps, unable to finish the statement.

Nami reacted without thinking, pulling the shaking woman into her arms without hesitation. Hazel's voice broke, heartache echoing between them as she gasped out: "why wasn't I enough?"

"Now you look at me!" Nami cried, pulling back to lock her eyes onto Hazel’s. "Don't you ever think you aren't enough! Just look at everything you've done! We're all here because of you, Hazel!"

Hazel rolled her watery gray eyes. "You're here because of Luffy - I'm just emotional support." But Nami shook her head.

"Luffy may have brought us together, but he only got to where he is because you supported him! He thinks the absolute world of you, he loves you - we all love you! And you've done all of this without her! Screw her!" Hazel dissolved into a new round of tears, and Nami pulled her back into her warm embrace. "New tradition: from now on, let us show you how much we appreciate you, whether that's through breakfast together, or leaving you the hell alone."

Hazel choked out a wet, shaky laugh, fingers clutching tightly to Nami's t-shirt as the tears flowed through her. Finally, they subsided, and as she leaned back Nami helped wipe the remaining tear tracks away. Hazel took a deep breath, then another, feeling lighter than she had all day. Then, her stomach growled.

"I think I'm ready to go back to breakfast," she murmured, too drained to be embarrassed. Nami just smiled, linking their arms together as she led the way back to the others.

When they entered the galley, the pair were separated when a rubbery figure launched itself at Hazel. Luffy wrapped his limbs around his sister, squeezing so tight it was a wonder she didn't break a rib. "Hazel! Sanji made you coffee! He wouldn't let me try it but I did anyway - how do you drink that stuff?!"

Hazel just smiled at his rambling, wiggling her arms free of her brother's embrace, surprising the boy when she hugged him back (almost) as tightly, and kissed him on the forehead. "Heeey!" He whined, pulling away to angrily rub at the spot she'd kissed. "What was that for?!"

"Nothing, just…I'm proud of you, Luff." The boy's face broke into a grin.

"Shishishi! I'm proud of you, too! Now, let's eat!"

Finally, the Straw Hats gathered around the table, digging into their meal with an excited frenzy. Sipping her coffee, Hazel nudged the woman beside her. "Thanks, Nami," she said, smiling easily after the events of that morning. "But, for future reference? On Father's Day, you may just wanna let me stay in bed."

[bloomyn]

you can be the cherry on top

Helloo! If its okay can I request prompts 16 and 27 from the random prompts with Ushijima where the reader introduces some spontaneity into his life, teaches him to take risks and go off a routined lifestyle like going for a drive at 2am to a convenience and like cheating a game at an arcade or something ? And he actually kinda enjoys the thrill of going out of his comfort zone and wants to get to know her more ! Thankyouu srry if it doesnt make sense😊

pairing: ushijima wakatoshi x reader

tags: fluff, strangers to friends to lovers, breaking records ; fixing hearts, learning to live a little

warnings: none

tendou screeched.

“wakatoshi! you’re never going to beat the high score.”

olive - colored eyes narrowed, focusing on the screen in front of him. it was stupid game, nothing more than something he would’ve played as a child but it was the score board that ticked him off. 

1. ‘ur mom’

2. ushijima

3. ushijima

4. ushijima

5. miracle boy sa to ri!!!!

“wakatoshi let’s head back to the dorms. it’ll be fine, you can’t beat the high score so what.” 

the taller man scowled.

-

you’ve grown to hate the oak brown of the desk in front of you. the imitation wood has glared at you every second of everyday for the past three years and you might throw up if you have to look at them for another second. when you drop your forehead against the desk no one pays mind, you’re sure their all bored out of their minds too. it doesn’t help that the sickly gray walls of the classroom love to tease the tangerine sunlight that’s blocked by the thick window curtains. 

being a teenager is horrible. 

being a teenager stuck in a classroom with possibly the most boring people in the world is catastrophic. 

you could care less about modern japanese literature, you’re more worried about the sweat that’s pooling under your arms and the back of your thighs and..have they fixed the ac in your dorms yet?

outside of the window you could see a student jogging, it wasn’t surprising, he was always there. purple tracksuit, you had called him, always the same outfit at the same time, every single day.

how boring

-

“[l/n] please do not take my advice lightly, entrance exams are coming up and it is very important that-”

you nodded your head, “yes sensei i know, trust me, i’ll figure it out!”

your homeroom teacher sighed. “just, please. shiratorizawa wants to make sure that all our students succeed.”

plastering on a fake smile you started stepping backward slowly, “yep, mhm, i understand.”

“just go.”

“thank you bye bye!”

you rushed out of the hallway, passing through the classrooms and out of the gates of shiratorizawa academy. thankfully, the streets were pretty much empty save for the occasional student or cat making their way down the street. 

the arcade was visible for miles. blinding lights that lit up the block and the smell of sweaty seats that lingered for ages. 

yum.

 you waved a hello to the attendant and made your way to the back, searching for your high score (you couldn’t help it, seeing ‘ur mom’ on top the scoreboard was almost intoxicating), only to find a boy (man? maybe.) pounding harshly at the keys. you almost wanted laugh, watching this mountain of a man get so frustrated at what was no more than a child’s game. 

“you good there buddy?” you teased, making your way next to the boy. he only grunted in response, his fingers wrapping tighter around the consoles and eyes narrowing themselves, focusing solely on the screen in front of him. 

leaning against the side of the game you sighed, pretending to flick dirt out from your fingertips. 

“you know,” you drawled lazily, “ i have the high score.”

the boy froze, you could practically see his back stiffening at the sound of your words. a cold chill ran down your spine at the mere sight of his face (or more specifically the look on his face).

on the screen the “game over” flashed loudly, displaying the score board, and by the consecutive list of ‘ushijima’ underneath ‘ur mom’...

“oh, are you ushijima?”

he nodded stiffly. “you have the high score. how?”

you grinned cheekily, ignoring his obvious disbelief and disgruntlement, “wanna watch me play? i’ll blow your score out of the water. i promise.”

ushijima smirked, “show me.”

you started the game up, playing just as usual, you know; following the rules. behind you ushijima crossed his arms. you weren’t doing anything special, in fact he was pretty sure you were moving slower than him how could---

and with a quick flick of your fingers in an unknowable combination, the screen was cleared of the ‘bad guys’, and “NEW HIGH SCORE!’ bounced around on the screen. you licked your lips, whipping around to see his reaction and oh, it was so much better than you’d expected. 

“good game right?”

slowly, the taller man closed his eyes, “how?”

should you tell him the truth? you wondered. it’d be so much more fun if you lied instead; leaving him frustrated and flustered over your effortless ability to wreck his scores. 

“cheat code.” you breathed lazily, “it works for a lot of games actually, it’s really common.”

“you...cheated?”

you almost rolled your eyes, “it’s just a game ushijima, don’t tell me you haven’t cheated at a game before?”

his silence spoke for him.

had this man had any fun ever? at all? even a little?

“come on ushi-kun, live a little why don’t you.”

your persistence was refreshing. maybe it was because he had only just met you and you had no idea who or what he was like that you would push him like this. he knew was blunt, there was no point in lying or drawing the truth out. but you seemed to be immune to that. 

so he held out his hand, asking for the coin.

“i can try to be more exciting.”

besides him you blew air out of your lips, “ i don’t want you to try and be more exciting, just like,” you paused, looking him up and down. “what do you do for fun?”

“volleyball.”

“and when you’re not playing volleyball...”

“i’m at school.”

you really had to think of different response besides groaning. begrudgingly you held out your hand.

“come on.” you huffed.

tentatively ushijima placed his hands in yours. “will i regret this?”

“i’d be insulted if you didn’t”

-

so you were breaking into your own school. well, it wasn’t exactly breaking, just sneaking into the closed volleyball gym. 

“it’s locked.”

rolling your eyes you shoved your hands around in your pockets, hoping that somehow you’d have a bobby pin, and voila! you smirked, whispering a ‘got it!’ before jamming it into the lock. 

“this would be a lot easier with a key.”

suppressing the fattest eye roll you could possibly think of you turned around, 

“obviously it-- oh.”

behind you ushijima held up a single bronze key, matching the same company as the one on the lock. oh.

“you play for the volleyball team?”

he nodded.

“wait you go to this school?”

-

this was not fun anymore. holy shit this was not fun.

a screech left your throat as you dodged another one of ushijimas serves. you thought volleyball was all fun and games, this was a nightmare. 

“i thought you wanted to play?” he quirked, tossing the ball up one more time.

“yeah, play. not die!”

you dove to the floor barely dodging the ball. on the other side of the net ushijima was smiling, laughing almost. 

at least one of you was having fun. 

-

“god ushijima do you enjoy torturing yourself?”

ushijima tossed a towel to you, while continuing to sip from his water bottle. 

“hm?”

grimacing, you wiped the sweat from your forehead onto the towel. 

‘geez, this guy hasn’t even broken a sweat’ 

“why volleyball?” you breathed softly.

“my father taught me how, he used to play for shiratorizawa.”

you nodded along, “that’s cool.”

an icky silence spread over the two of you as cooled of from your unintentional work out. you smiled to yourself, it was fun though, even if your bones seemed to be in danger. 

“something wrong?”

you blinked a couple times before looking up. had you accidentally made a face? (your mother had made it point to call you out whenever that ‘pinched look’ arrived) 

“no? what do you mean?”

this time you were frowning, but of course ushijima didn’t notice (or simply just didn’t care).

he set his water bottle down, “you look disappointed.”

scoffing you tossed the towel back to him. “i’m not.”

“i don’t believe you.”

this man. 

so you shrug. “ i don’t know, just feels like the day has so much potential and instead i’m going to end up laying by myself in a dorm where the ac doesn’t work.”

“it’s only 7:22.”

you sighed, “yeah but it’s too late to do anything and too early to go back to the dorms.”

in his mind ushijima had two options:

1. leave and maybe never talk to you again

2. stay and, not have any regrets about what you were going to do or if you were going to do anything because he wanted to be there, not to be with you, but to have fun, yeah to have fun, he needed to have more fun. 

“come with me.”

-

ideally ushijima would’ve whisked away in his new car and driven you into the sunset while listening to your ‘don’t cry just vibe’ playlist. 

unfortunately the two of you were broke third years who had no form of personal transportation and had to worry about missing volleyball practice the next morning. 

so you were on the train. 

“ushijima where are we even going.”

he hadn’t given you an answer for at least 15 minutes prior to asking so you jabbed a finger into his chest.

“answer me.”

peering down at your figure he nodded his head. “i can’t tell you.”

already you were starting to receive some stares from the others from the train so you dropped the subject. i mean you had been the one to tell him to live a little. god he didn’t even know your name! he wasn’t gonna kidnap you, no, but he could! especially with those serves--

“we’re here.”

-

“i only come here during school breaks but, i figured now might be an appropriate visit.”

the moon hung heavy over the dips and curves of the hills. the small lights flickered in and out, lanterns most likely, setting the scene. wonderful. 

“well.” you huffed, “aren’t we just full of surprises today.”

smiling at your words, ushijima motions upward.

“step there. you’ll have a better view.”

ah, so he was going to push you off the cliff and they would never find your body. that’s how this was going to go down. 

“just so you know ushi - kun, if any murderers coming running at us--” you take his hands, wiping a fake tear off your face, “i would die for you, i would sacrifice, my life so you could escape.”

“you just met me.” he deadpans.

stepping up on the rocks you extend your arms out. wind swept underneath them, the sounds of the hills working in tandem, your mind was gone, too absorbed in the view.  “i know.”

-

“does it still feel like a waste?” 

this time you shook your head, “here with you? absolutely not.”

-

two weeks later:

“you stole a car.”

those are the first words he speaks when he finally sees you again. after your little moment at the hills you’d disappeared for two weeks. he was starting question your existence. but here you, waiting for him at the front of the school swinging car keys between your fingers.”

“technically,” you start, “it’s my aunt’s and i’m just borrowing it.” 

you can’t describe the look he’s giving you. you can but, it wouldn’t accurately describe whatever he was feeling. “so are you getting in or what.”

“i have volleyball practice.”

you hold up the little bronze you’ve stored in your pocket. “not anymore you don’t”

-- he forgets to ask if you even have your license yet. (it’s fine, it’s you we’re talking about)

.

.

.

you don’t immediately start dating after that. it takes three more spontaneous tokyo roadtrips and six almost ushi - abductions for him to ask you out. and when he does, you beat him to the punch. 

“well.” you say, poking his chest a bit. “who else am i gonna drag to the arcade at 3 in the morning?”

(he says yes.)

[stuckonstarker]

Ocean’s Gift

King Anthony Stark longs for something more. Tonight he will have his deepest desire granted.

| mentioned/implied abuse | 

King Anthony Stark sits on the throne. His throne.

It’s silent and cold in the throne room. It’s silent and cold across the kingdom.

The silence began with Maria and Howard Stark’s murder. The coldness began with Anthony’s coronation.

The silence is noticeably absent from Anthony’s mind, though. His thoughts race a mile a minute as he tries to comprehend his parents’ death.

Nausea rests heavy in Anthony’s stomach. He knows the throne is not where he belongs. He’s never wanted the title of king, but his father made him train for it.

When Anthony was younger he would dream of running away from his princely duties. He didn’t have a clue where he’d run to. But that didn’t stop eight-year-old Anthony from staring out his window into the starry night, looking for an answer to a question he didn’t know he had.

Despite the lingering resentment Anthony has toward his father, the death of his parents hurt. 

It feels like a rug has been pulled from underneath his feet. Anthony can hardly bear walking past their portraits everyday. Being reminded that he’d never see them again.

The murderer still hasn’t been found.

The kingdom’s people are growing anxious. With the murderer on the loose and Anthony as their newly appointed king, the people are going through many changes. 

They don’t believe in Anthony’s ability to care for a kingdom. That’s all anyone ever talks about anymore. Either the murder or the incompetence of the new king.

He agrees with them.

There are few things Anthony is good at. Running a kingdom doesn’t make that list by a longshot.

It’s due to a number of factors, but mostly, Anthony longs for more. Wistful thoughts have plagued him since he was a young child.

He’s always felt like there was something - or someone - greater out there waiting for him.

His father told him that those were tales. Howard told him many things but most importantly:

“Stark men are made of iron, Anthony, we do not cry. Do you understand?”

Young Anthony nodded, a stuffed animal held tightly in his grasp.

“Answer me when I talk to you,” Howard commanded.

“I understand, father,” Anthony said, voice small with fear.

Anthony shakes his head, hoping to shake the memory away from his forefront. 

Howard was a cruel man when he was alive. The way he treated Anthony and Maria was an open secret. But the man was a good king. That’s the only thing people have focused on after his death.

What a great king Howard Stark was.

They never see Anthony crying into his duvet wondering why he was never good enough.

The sky is filled with stars.

They reflect in the ocean like little sparks of silver.

Anthony looked out with a big smile. His stuffed animal held tightly to his chest. 

He wondered who else might be looking out into the night sky. He wondered if he’d ever meet that person. He wondered if that person would love him just as much as he loved them.

Anthony hates silence.

It breeds thought. Thought breeds remembering. Remembering breeds pain.

Anthony hates silence.

Sometimes, though, when all is silent, he can hear something - or someone - just beyond the ocean shore.

He ignores it most of the time. But it appears whatever is calling to him has grown tired of being ignored.

This time, when Anthony hears it, it’s loud and distinct.

It’s a song.

Anthony’s quite unsure of the lyrics, or even what song it is, but it’s beautiful nonetheless.

The notes are delicate in the air. The singing is soft and consoling.

It sounds like someone calling out to him. But he doesn’t know why.

Anthony turns to his guards. They look unphased. He briefly wonders if they hear it too.

Anthony asks, “Can you hear that?”

The guard waits for a second then replies, “What are you hearing, Your Majesty?”

“Someone singing,” Anthony answers.

The guard shakes his head, “I do not hear singing, Your Majesty, I can go look if you wish.”

Anthony hesitates, the soft singing fading away, before he says, “That won’t be necessary, I think I’m just a little tired.”

The guard nods.

The singing is gone. 

Silence takes its place.

Anthony stares at his hands, quite unsure of what he should do next or if he should even do anything at all.

There’s a quiet desire in his heart to run to the ocean and meet the voice. To travel the seas until he finds what was calling to him.

The desire steadily grows stronger.

But Anthony can’t go past the kingdom’s walls.

He’s the king, after all, and - no matter how much he may hate it - it is his responsibility to take care of the kingdom.

Maria would want Anthony to be the kind-hearted king Howard couldn’t dream of being.

So, for now, Anthony sits on his throne.

But, he doesn’t have to stop dreaming.

He can still dream of a life where he runs to the ocean and finds what he’s looking for. Anthony isn’t sure what that is, yet, but he hopes one day he will find out.

Then, the silence is shattered with James Rhodes’s entry. His footsteps are heavy, the ring around the throne room.  

James has a glint of pity in his eye when he looks at Anthony, ever since his parents died.

It sends a sick feeling through Anthony’s stomach. His fingers are shaking. He can’t get them to stop.

“Yes?” Anthony asks.

James bows, “I am worried about you, Your Majesty.”

“You don’t have to address me like that,” Anthony says, “you’re one of my closest confidants.”

James doesn’t falter, “It’s only befitting. You are the king.” 

No response.

James sighs, “I am worried about you, Anthony. I don’t want to see you befall an unfortunate fate.”

“That would be a shame,” Anthony says.

His eyes are distant, his fingers absent-mindedly tapping against the throne’s armrest as his left leg bounces.

Anthony’s mind feels as if it’s filled with fog.

He says, “James, will you do me a favor?”

James hesitates, “What is the favor?”

“If anything should happen to me,” Anthony begins, ignoring the unpleasant expression on James’s face, “I trust only you and Virginia to take care of this kingdom.”

James nods, “Of course. But, may I ask, why would anything bad happen to you?”

“You may not ask that,” Anthony says.

James sighs and, after another tense moment of silence, leaves.

Anthony’s heart pangs with guilt, but he knows it’s for the best. He’s not sure of how he knows.

He’s not sure of much these days.

Anthony often wishes he were a better friend to James. The man certainly deserves it after all Anthony’s put him through.

James was the only person to ever understand Anthony’s yearning.

Well, he didn’t really understand it, but he accepted it.

Anthony hates how his heart drags him from the kingdom. There are many people who deserve more than he can give. His desire for more has built a brick wall between him and the ones he loves.

James’s footsteps fade into silence.

Anthony is alone. 

He sits in the throne room, silently contemplating the future.

He looks out of the window, the sun is beginning to set.

Anthony decides to head to his bedroom where he can fear the future more comfortably.

The long corridors that lead to his bedroom are lined with intricate golden details. The walls are covered with ocean-view windows.

It’s one of the only things Anthony appreciates about his castle. 

Sometimes, when he is desolate, he’ll look out to the ocean tides as they crawl against the shore and he’ll hear them speak. 

He doesn’t know what they say and, yet, he can still understand them.

Anthony’s bedroom is grand; decorated with deep reds and golden accents, he has only the finest silk sheets with a beautiful tapestry.

His room is one many people would envy, but it only feels Anthony with a deep sense of emptiness. 

He doesn’t focus on that for long, though, as he changes from his royal attire to satin silk pajamas. It is considerably more comfortable and much more befitting for a crisis, Anthony thinks. 

He sighs, stepping out onto his balcony. 

The spring air is fresh, crisp against Anthony’s face. He inhales, he feels much more at home when he’s overlooking the ocean’s breeze.

The sky is a sunset of tangerine to a deep, royal purple. It’s beautiful to look at and Anthony briefly ponders who else might be gazing at it.

Stars dare to peek out from the sky.

He envies the stars, so high above, he wonders if they see everything. He wonders how much they know and if they would ever be willing to share that knowledge.

Soon enough, the entire sky is encased in a diamond sky.

Anthony peeks down below, where the ocean calmy rests. The night sky makes the ocean black, but stars bounce off the water’s reflection giving the ocean a glittering appearance.

He longs to go out into the world, to be freed from the pressures placed on him. The shackles of the Stark name had dug into his wrists for years and he wished to be released.

There is a dull ache in his heart.

But Anthony’s heart never mattered. It didn’t matter to his father or mother, or to the kingdom, so it certainly doesn’t matter now.

Late at night, though, with the moon as his only witness is it still a sin to long for something more?

He takes in a deep breath and looks down at his hands, white from the gripping the railing so hard. 

The sky above him is fully overtaken by the night.

Anthony prefers the night. It’s calmer. The bustle of the town slows to a halt, the overwhelming noises of the day mellow out. All the bright, oppressive colors soften to gentle flame-lit pastels. 

He can hear the waves below him slowly turn into a melody.

The silence morphs into a gentle lullaby. The voice is calling to him softly, consoling his pain and healing his wounds.

The longing to chase after the singing leaps up into Anthony’s throat, choking him with its intensity.

His heart screamed for him to run to the ocean. Anthony wanted, he wanted so viciously that it scared him.

It’s a faint hum that’s carried from the ocean. It’s calling to him.

The words aren’t distinct but they comfort Anthony. It speaks to his soul. For the first time, he feels complete.

The fog from his mind lifts.

Anthony reaches out and whispers, “I can hear you.”.

The singing grows faint.

Anthony can still hear it, but it’s slowly becoming a distant memory. It ignites a spark of panic in his chest. He can’t bear to lose another thing he loves so.

Anthony whispers, “Tell me what I need to do.”

The singing fades to silence.

The world freezes. The tides halt, the stars lose their twinkle, and the air is thick and restrictive.

There is only silence.

Anthony looks out into the darkness.

He’s searching for an answer or, even, a question to ask.

He feels himself begging for something, a sign to continue.

Then, he hears it again. A small song gifted from the ocean.

It has a vice grip on Anthony’s heart. It drags him closer and closer to the sea without him moving. It’s promising freedom.

Anthony listens.

“What do I do?” Anthony asks. 

The song fades into an angelic voice that whispers: “Follow me.”

Anthony nods, following the singing voice into the darkness.

It feels like walking through a dream.

Every step he takes is light in the nighttime air.

The darkness around Anthony fades into a blur as the singing becomes his flame. It’s like there’s a magnetic pull that’s dragging him to the ocean shore.

Slowly, the singing begins to fade and the world around Anthony defines itself.

He realizes that he’s on the shoreline, water creeping up to his bare feet.

Anthony takes an anxious step back.

Through the distance, the ocean is singing to him. The song is carried through the waves.

Anthony squints, trying to see through the foggy horizon.

Through the mist, a human figure appears. They’re walking on water.

As they come closer, Anthony is able to see their features. 

It appears that they are actually a he.

And he is gorgeous, with curly brown hair and wide, brown eyes filled with playful intelligence. His lips look soft and plush to the touch with a pink tint. 

He smiles, setting Anthony’s heart aflame.

“Who are you?” Anthony asks.

He says, voice like a harp, “I am Peter, a water spirit. I am here to grant your heart’s desire. Whatever that may be.”

Peter walks up to the very edge, where the ocean meets the land, and then beckons: “Come closer.”

Anthony hesitates, but steps closer submerging his feet in the water.

Peter smiles wider, placing a hand on Anthony’s chest. It feels surprisingly warm having Peter’s hand on his chest. It sends butterflies fluttering through his stomach.

Underneath Peter’s hand, Anthony’s chest glows a bright neon blue.

Anthony smiles, “It doesn’t normally do that.”

Peter smiles, saying, “I know what you desire, Anthony Stark.”

Peter pulls his hand away from Anthony’s chest.

The loss of contact nearly makes Anthony whimper.

Then, Peter leans in and his soft lips press against Anthony’s own.

Suddenly, it feels like heaven has opened up for Anthony himself.

The kiss is chaste, but it’s filled with a gentle longing that Anthony’s been searching for. Anthony’s hands come up to caress Peter’s face.

Peter moans into the kiss, then pulls away.

“Come with me,” Peter whispers.

The words echo in Anthony’s mind but he doesn’t think he could ever say no.

At a loss, Anthony merely nods.

Peter raises his hand and covers Anthony’s eyes.

*

The sun is slowly rising on a small cabin in the middle of the forest. It overlooks a lake with glittering water.

Inside said cabin are two lovers.

“Tony,” Peter said, his voice was stern but there was a smile on his face, “you’re going make her spoilt.”

Tony shakes his head, “Nope, she could never be spoilt.”

And there’s the lovers’ daughter, Morgan.

She smiles, “I would never ever in a million years dream of being spoilt, pa.”

Peter shakes his head in faux-exasperation, “You two are too much.”

Morgan says, “Like you aren’t the most dramatic person ever.”

Tony snickers, hiding his smile behind a half-burnt cupcake.

“First of all, shouldn’t you be grounded?” Peter begins, “also, I am not the most dramatic person in the world. That award goes to your father over there.”

Tony nods, “Yea, kinda offended you didn’t think of me first, Maguna.”

Morgan giggles, “I think you’re both equal.”

“Okay,” Peter says, “now I’m offended.”

Tony couldn’t think of a place better than here. It was his home.

Sometimes, though, he’ll walk outside at night and look up at the starry sky and wonder. Then, Peter will walk up to him and lay his head on Tony’s shoulder. And they’ll look up at the stars together.

And they’ll wonder together too.

[sapphicdalliances]

Dear Chocolatier,

thank you so much for being here!! my sincere apologies for the lateness and messiness of this letter! sorry about my incredibly inconsistent capitalisation! it has been updated on the 8th of january, and may receive more updates this week.

I’m a simple bitch with simple tastes; here is a general summary of my preferences, and fandom-specific notes and prompts can be found further down!

I very much enjoy:

Fics that are short, but imply a longer, deeper verse; since this exchange is for short fics, but some of my prompts seem expansive, I just want to give you carte blanche permission to dip into an AU, splash around in it, and simply not provide additional details.

Comedic tones, slice-of-life, lighthearted fun, any amount of improbable romcom tropes

Am also on board with misunderstandings and drama as long as there is a happy ending!

I’m deeply okay with AUs, and most likely would be down for any modern, romcom, fantasy/fairytale, gender swap, or remix/crossover AUs you feel inspired to explore! My favourite settings include mundane/urban fantasy (witches! werewolves!), anachronism-stew-with-magic western fantasy jumbles, and disney’s Tangled.

Writing tropes I love:

Proposal fic

Wedding fic where the couple getting married is not the main couple

Outsider/third character POV of the main couple

Exes who are still in love/getting back together

Friends-with-benefits-with-feelings/did a bad job keeping it casual

Shipfic where two or more couples are contrasted

Oblique declarations of love/saying i love you without saying i love you

Provision and caretaking (acts of service!)

Aggressive matchmaking/wingmanning by an enthused friend

Hanahaki, or any other improbably dramatic instances of Cannot Spit It Out

Arranged marriage/fake marriage/fake dating

Epistolary fic

Regrettably I also love a/b/o, especially the kind that emphasises on scent safety and contains little to no actual sex

Art tropes I love, if you offered art:

Art where the characters simply look fond.

Fashion remixes – street fashion, cultural/traditional clothes, festival clothes, renfaire-esque clothes, beach photoshoot, get wild with it

Putting animal characteristics on one or both of them

Botanical motifs + celestial motifs

When plants grow directly out of people

The thing where character A is focused on something they’re doing or seeing, and the character B is focused only, wholly, desperately on A. please… the Gaze

Depictions of intimacy where faces are partially or fully hidden, but the body language is gentle

Characters SLEEPING next to each other, or comfortably doing separate activities in each other’s presence

If you wish to get frisky with your fills:

Yes!

Go for it!

I don’t have strong top/bottom preferences (and usually enjoy it when they switch or are otherwise generally equitable) so whatever you’re in the mood for is fine!

Kink tropes I very much enjoy include oral, restraints, praise kink, when proud characters cry during sex because they love their partners so much, and xeno tropes.

I love non-horny sex scenes; comedic, silly, charged, fraught, or simply affectionate exchanges that happen to include sex are my favourite. Feelings are the real kissing disease.

But like, if you wanna get horny about it.

Chase your bliss.

They simply must be in love.

I’m not as into:

Kidfic

First person narration

Soulmate AUs specifically

Kink wise, my only major squicks are incest, teacher/student, and public sex/getting caught, but i’m also not super keen on daddy kink, toilet stuff, or anything with blades or needles.

In general, please avoid:

Character death or serious/permanent injury

Animal abuse or death

Infidelity

Hopeless or downer endings

Fandom specific info:

Haikyuu!!

changed my life, cured my depression, what can be said about it? truly one of the most important series to me of all time. all musings on craft and creativity aside, let’s focus on the TRUE LOVE!!

i’m all caught up with the manga and supplementary materials!

suggested prompts: - sakuatsu, being mean to each other on purpose vs. being soft to each other by accident - kagehina or iwaoi dealing with LDR - kyouhaba are forced to cooperate on an innocuous, preferably wholesome task, such as gardening, or finding the owner of a lost dog, and it goes approximately As One Would Expect - bokukuroo + overheard phone conversation: and you've slept together how many times now? hmm. yeah, that's not technically a bromance (not in a no-homo way, just in a we-are-both-so-stupid-and-like-each-other-so-much-way) - actually that overheard phone conversation would work for any of these ships.

suggested prompts, art-specific: - festival clothes!! - put some wings on some of them. now it's bird romance, which is for birds - (i lied, this isn't art-specific at all, wingfic is always welcome in any of its forms) - just pick up your whole boyfriend and carry him like that. maybe even kiss him.

Or please do remix it with any of my general tropes listed above!

Oofuri

suggested prompts: - Hanai and Tajima really. struggle to get together. for like a bunch of years probably? Tajima copes with it by patiently processing his emotions in a healthy way and enjoying some casual dating. Hanai copes with it, as he does all things, by not coping - The ways Abe and Mihashi learn to take care of each other… Mihashi cooking 4 Abe… T_T

Promare

i simply think the twink and the himbo are in love.

Ace Attorney

favourite klapollo dynamic goes like this:

klavier: *genuinely and sincerely in love with apollo, in a very soft way* apollo: *furious* he's mocking me. why are you like this? klavier: I enjoy your company apollo: FINE, KEEP YOUR SECRETS

also consider: - what if klavier was a big ol golden retriever and apollo was just an angry liddol bunny. like, think about it

Or please do remix it with any of my general tropes listed above!

Wotakoi

I love that this series has three couples in different stages of a relationship: one who’ve been together for years and love each other like well-worn grooves; one who have history but have only just recently begun a relationship and are discovering each other anew; and one who probably will not bring themselves to share a kiss for another 27 calendar years.

Narumi/Hirotaka: Honestly, the main couple of a series usually goes over my head a bit, but the more i thought about these two the more wretchedly fond of them I became. The thing I think of the most is how Narumi taught him how to smile as a child; how she did things that meant nothing to her, so easily does kindness come, but that meant so much to him; and how now that they are grown, he does things for her that take no effort, but shake her foundations. I think theirs is a love that grows quietly; something that cannot change the world, but can change them.

Koyanagi/Kabakura: My thoughts on these two are not complex, but they are deeply positive. I love how huge their personalities are, and how they fit around and against each other; I love the implication that despite their endless bickering, they are not an on-again-off-again kind of relationship, and have instead chosen each other over and over again for ten straight years. I love that despite everything, they are kind to each other, first and foremost; they find ways to apologise and to take care of each other, and treat each other gently in private.

Kou/Naoya: I love every ship in this manga equally but perhaps I love Kou/Naoya more equally than the other two? They are just so kind and so silly, and so sweet to each other in exactly the way both of them didn’t realise they were missing. I think about Naoya being told that Kou is “okay with being alone”, and realising that “okay with it” and “have accepted it” are different, and taking his little baby steps to fix it. I think about Kou giving Naoya every last drop of patience he’s trained himself not to accept, and doing so because it simply makes her happy. My only concern is that they are both bottoms. I don’t have a solution for this.

suggested prompts, fic:

- accidentally dating ft. Kou and Naoya, or, “and you’ve made out how many times now? Hmm. Yeah, that’s not technically a bromance.” - 5 times Hirotaka and Narumi almost, almost kissed, and 1 time they did; the unresolved romantic tension may kill me and it would be worth it - what Hirotaka and Narumi taught each other (apart from the more mundane gaming and life skills, i believe that she taught him how to smile and be loved by others, and he taught her how to be loved by herself!) - smutty domesticity ft. Koyanagi and Kabakura — a lazy Sunday, laundry in the sun, fucking on the couch, everything easy with familiarity - (addendum to above: pegging)

suggested prompts, art: - festival clothes - someone’s getting married - naoya: *hands kou a tangerine* *hands kou a tangerine* *hands kou a tangerine* *hands kou a tangerine* *hands kou a t - red string of fate motifs

Or please do remix it with any of my general tropes listed above!

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun

seowaka: they are idiots, and they like each other very much, but they do not know. i love a tall crying boy and his short but much more powerful girlfriend.

chiyo/nozaki + chiyo/nozaki/mikorin: im rooting for her in the face of such overwhelming stupidity. one himbo is difficult enough to seduce but two. chiyo is a hero and a woman of rare courage. i like the pair and the trio equally; again, if you go with trio, it’s important that they all love each other please!

suggested prompts: - 5 times any of these ships went on a date without realising, and the time they realised - urban fantasy AU where Waka is a hapless monster hunter and Seo is an annoying but deeply harmless werewolf who’s been terrorizing his town?? - fairytale AU where Seo believes she must rescue the prince from the tower and deliver him back to the kingdom capital, and the prince, who had not realised he’d been kidnapped, thinks Seo is a usurper from a rival kingdom who must be supervised all the way back to the kingdom capital to be served her justice

suggested prompts, art-specific: - festival clothes… - nozaki carrying chiyo, who’s carrying mikorin - (seo carrying waka) - waka sleeping peacefully in seo’s presence… :’(

Or please do remix it with any of my general tropes listed above!

we made it through all the fandoms.

Thank you for making it to the end of this whole disaster; I hope at least one of the prompts sparked joy! The most important thing to me is that whatever you end up doing, you are able to enjoy the process at least somewhat, and deliver a creation that you like! I can also be found on twitter at @hawberries_ (for art) and @popplioikawa (for general ramblings). If you need some more inspo, I recommend going through my art tags for the selected ships because I put a lot of Opinions into my fanart.

[birdcoorner]

COLUMBID SPECIALISTS, I HAVE A QUESTION...

My frustration and anxiety about this has reached its limit.

I have two female ringneck doves, a white pied (Ambie), and a tangerine (Orion). I rescued both back in July 2015. They’ve bonded to one another, and are still together now. 

In November 2018, I began to notice Ambie losing feathers right below her beak/neck area. She’s had molts like that before, so I wasn’t concerned. Into the next year (2019), I noticed the patch growing bigger. Nothing was growing back, so I did some research, and read that the feathers sometimes take a while to grow back in. I gave it more time. 

What tipped me towards assuming something was wrong was when Ori started forming a bald spot on the back of her head. I reached out to their vet. And the vet said “it happens, and sometimes, there is no reason.” There were no bugs, or mites, and the fecal samples came back clear of parasites, ringworm was a primary concern. They never showed sickness symptoms, and were lively and well. 

I was frustrated with that answer, reluctant to believe there was simply “no reason”. So I reached out to another vet, in late 2019 who had known the birds well from when I first got them. Also, a specialist in columbidae... I was hopeful. They both had thorough examinations, fecal samples tested, and some extra nutritional supplements to potentially cover any essentials they weren’t getting enough of. 

Tests? Negative. Examination? Nothing noteworthy. Overall? Happy, healthy, pest free, parasite free, but getting more patchy. Ori’s head patch has grown, and Ambie’s neck patch has remained at large with little to no signs of regrowth. The vet didn’t seem terribly concerned, since they were doing just fine otherwise. But I mean... my birds are balding.......

Time to seek specialist number three! July 2019, I sent a message to the Ramsey Loft (theramseyloft(dot)tumblr(dot)com.) She’s wonderful. But even she wasn’t sure what it could possibly be, mentioning she hadn’t had experience with something of that sort.

She was the last one I mentioned it to. I was too frustrated to see or ask anyone else, and just gave up. They flap and fly, and perch, eat, drink, run around, take naps... there is just NOTHING out of the ordinary aside from the patches! 

So, I had a new thought... They’d been patch free three years into living together... it started so late. But what if they are over preening? Or plucking one another?

Ori always preens around Ambie’s neck, and Ambie always preen around Ori’s head. 

I started putting that in my head as the justification as to why they are looking the way they are. And I sat with it for a good while, a good year.

But I just let them out, watched them relax, and just... lost it. I’m losing my mind.

I started thinking about their ages. Ambie is about six now, and Orion maybe around eight. But even that research didn’t come up with feather loss being a thing in aging doves. I just... am running out of personal options, before I go to another vet.

They say don’t ask the internet for opinions. I’m just so tired of re-reading the same articles that say “it’s a molt!” “cocks pluck hens sometimes!” “parasites, or mites!” No. It’s not any of that! And I have tried separating them already, and all they did was panic when they couldn’t see each other. I can’t do that to them, they’re getting too old for that kind of stress.

So, Tumblr... anyone who may be able to give me another possibility that hasn’t crossed my mind... can you please tell me what I’m missing? There are no mites, no bugs, no parasites, no signs of illness. They have hard-shelled eggs, good droppings, high energy, alertness, and a good appetite.

This was April 2018.

This is Ori just this evening, March 2021.

This is Ambie, March 2021.

I’m desperate, and irritated, and just want to take care of my little birds...

[rosenthalfm]

hey guys , libby here ! way too late to this fun lil party , and here to present you with only the bare minimum of a backstory , and the shell of a personality . ugh ! my mind ! i had so many ideas for the rosenthal’s bleeding heart , but alas ... i struggled to put most of it into words . ig that’s what happens when you decide to create a brand spankin’ new muse . here’s to hoping she’ll flesh out better in interactions than she did in this lil intro post . but now , without further ado , i present to you my environmentalist in the making ! and if you want to plot hit that lil heart and i’ll be breaking down the door of your discord in a real hot minute !

。· . ˙ ☀ ⌈ kelsey merritt + cis female + she / her + the black sheep ⌋ yo , have you meet that POGUE , sadie rosenthal , yet ? — no ? well , to give you a little heads up before you do , they’re a TWENTY-ONE year old , WAITRESS AT DORO’S DINER AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES STUDENT , and have been living in coston for TEN YEARS . since i’ve known them , they’ve reminded me of MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS WITH A STRANGER , MELTED ICE CREAM DRIPPING DOWN FINGERS DECORATED WITH TINY GOLD RINGS , TANGERINE PEELS DROPPED INTO A WINE GLASS , A WINDOW WIDE OPEN TO THE GLARE OF THE MORNING SUN , WHITE LINEN PANTS AND ALWAYS BARE FEET . usually they’re quite ALTRUISTIC & ECCENTRIC but just make sure you keep an eye out for them around town because i heard can be quite FLIGHTY & ORNERY as well so here’s hoping they aren’t the ones to undo this whole peace pact they have going on this summer . but just between you & me , i kinda hope it all falls apart . the rivalry keeps this whole boring town interesting . ✏ libby, twenty, she / her, cst

𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

sadie rosenthal had been conceived on a yacht anchored in the south of france , or perhaps on one of the white beaches right where the tide ebbed and flowed , where the water began to froth , where the land met the sea ( the specifics were buffudled , but all that mattered was that she was ). think : sunkissed limbs tangled together in a fervid frenzy that burned hotter than the summer sun , water-woven hair , and foaming waves stretching around knotted bodies like a blanket . think : two strangers drunk off a shared bottle of dom pérignon . think : lust mistaken for love . sadie had been born the dampened finger that extinguished a scorching flame , this wailing and pink thing , who entered the world choking on her own saltwater tears ,  had bound two unwilling strangers together for life . 

she had aged right where she had been brought into being , along the edge of the sea , where the sweeping sky muddled with the waves ( should she lie with her back flat , the two were interchangeable ). it was there that she had grown to feel most at home , toes curling into the warm sand as she flipped through pages upon pages of heavy books that looked rather odd in her tiny and tremoring grasp . sadie rosenthal had always felt more like a cracked cone oozing melted butter pecan gelato , or fior di latte , or whatever sweetened flavor had slipped from someone’s clutches and been left to fester , than girl ( she was but a brief blip of joy , not unlike the sticky and sand riddled treat . but where the two differed was that she had always been unwanted ). 

reared only partially ( and even that choice of word was a bit too generous ) by a cutthroat stockbroker who read more like a caricature plucked right off the pages of a wolf on wall street than an actual man , she had taught herself from a young age that simply being aubrey rosenthal’s offspring did not permiss her his love , learned to live off his fleeting affections and fleeting presence. raised only a wee bit more by a woman who read more like an new author’s unfinished , unedited first draft ( the kind of flourishing prose that possessed no meaning further than surface level prettiness , the kind of prose that publishing houses aplenty would reject ), sadie felt more adult , more complete ,  at age twelve than she imagined adrienne almonte might ever be . but while she might have existed in a world of her own , at least her mother was there . manic and messy , an abstract artist , who smeared paint across canvases that littered every corner of their little chateau by the sea , across the wallpapered walls , the busts and books that lined the shelves , but there . her father had only left mere pieces of himself throughout their house , his smoked cigars left behind in all the little nooks and crannies , his festering glass of scotch on his bedside table , another on the group near his armchair in the study , crooked portraits of the three hung haphazardly upon the walls , but he only showed face for weeks at a time before returning to his real family . 

it wasn’t until her father’s first wife had begun to question exactly where he had been wiring all that money to ( soon after , filing for a divorce ), that he had moved his replacement family into his real home . and sadie had come to the sudden realization that she found it much easier to love her father from afar . 

a microscope was not needed to assess the damning damage that had turned aubrey rosenthal into the shell of the man he once was , the hoax that sadie had grown to adore . she had cut out clippings in a magazine that highlighted the family-man and his benevolent streak , tucked them into her books and used them as page markers , felt her heart swell knowing that the man who had birthed her was so good . no , she might not have been apart of the family in question , but one mistake ( yes , she is considered a mistake . he knows that , and she knows that ) made in the heat of the moment didn’t make him bad . it was all that deceit , all that rot , his fraudulent manner guised by his generous donations to charities that he had barely researched , that turned sadie’s adoration into disgust . she decided then and there that her goodness need not be contingent on saving face , that she could make her mark on the world without the copious sums of money and the page six articles . 

𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑑𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑠

sadie has always felt out of place , a tad bit too posh to truly fit in with the pogue’s ( a side effect of her plush private school education and bottomless bank account ), a wee bit too rugged to truly fit in with the kooks ( she’d always felt as if she had been more gilded than gold , tarnished by green hues of patina . vintage and second hand in the way that might have caused them to turn up their noses ) . she had been born unto a great deal of money , but she had been kept tucked far away from high society , like an ugly secret blooming beneath the surface . and while she spent her days claiming that she didn’t have money , her father did , that didn’t stop her from funding her own college with the checks he wired into her account in place of an apology . 

she’s always had expensive taste , and though she lives in a small beach shack far from her family’s large second home on figure eight island , it’s furnished rather lavishly . though she purchased it all herself ( waitressing is great money when it’s not being placed aside for college ). It’s all a bit bohemian luxe , with vintage morroccan rugs lain over the cracked flooring , faux ( of course ) mongolian fur littered throughout the space ( though it looked great , it wasn’t the best interior design choice for a girl who spent her days on the beach ), large and small , but all antique and all ornate  mirrors nailed into the walls , bright jewel toned colors and far too many old books stacked on every open surface . it looked a bit like something that might be seen in an anthropologie catalogue.  

she’s thrifted almost all the clothing , and books she owns , making for quite an eclectic taste in clothing and novels . 

her love for the environment had began the moment she picked up her first cracked and worn coffee table book , flipping through pages upon pages of images of the rainforest . she substituted story books for all of mother’s coffee rimmed table books , skimmed through them with the same fascination other girls her age might have read eloise at the plaza with . by the age of eleven she was reading the pages of environmental ethics books , not fully understanding but knowing that she wanted to . 

she’s a pescatarian , finding it a bit too difficult to eat meat after the many documentaries she had viewed over the years . luckily , it was no difficult feat finding good seafood so close to the water . 

[knybits]

A Murder of One

Chapter: 

5

Summary: 

Kanon is stuck in time while Akiko speeds through it almost inhumanely. Kanao and Akiko both perform in their own life changing test

Previous Chapter | Origin | Next Chapter

Akiko always remembers her patients. 

Undoubtedly, her first patients are Kanon and Haruki as well as Giyuu back in March. 

Then Nakaha at the Butterfly estate, then Umiko the next day. 

Her most difficult patient during the spring is a soldier with two broken ribs and their right ulna sticking out. 

Summer, Akiko remembers sweating as she patches up another soldier with head trauma. 

Fall’s most difficult case is a punctured lung. Akiko actually receives her first piece of advice from the doctor, and they had to work together for the case in order to save the soldier’s life. 

Winter is hard because Akiko loses her first life. 

The soldier has a burst aorta, and Akiko can’t save them in time even with three other doctors in the operating room with her. 

She has to work again the next day, fixing broken bones and creating antidotes for a few dying soldiers. Aoi tries to reassure her that she did her best, and that she’s still become a better doctor than eight months ago. 

“But I’m not a doctor,” Akiko states later on that day, staring at a pair of scissors in her hand. Aoi looks at her with furrowed brows, a bit mad at Akiko’s attitude. 

“Well you’ve seen enough to be one.” 

Akiko cuts an inch of her hair off that day. 

On the anniversary of the Kamado deaths, Akiko wears black again. 

She also visits Haruki, who still hasn’t woken up from his coma. 

“Anything today?” Akiko asks as she walks into another room of the Butterfly Estate. Kanon is sitting by Haruki’s side, unmoving and staring at his body without a will to live in her eyes. 

Kanon’s hands aren’t rough like they used to be, and it’s Akiko’s hands that are rough now. 

Kanon’s been left back in time, and Akiko’s time has sped up. 

On New Years, Akiko doesn’t have a single patient. She’s glad but she’s restless, waiting for Aoi to burst into her room to tell her that another soldier is bleeding out onto the operating table. 

Kanon leaves Haruki’s room for what feels like the first time, closing the kitchen off from everyone else to use. Aoi is beyond mad, but when Akiko rests a hand on her shoulder and shakes her head, Aoi decides to stay put in the living room. 

Everyone is sitting under the kotatsu, Shinobu asking Akiko about her studies while Sumi, Naho and Kiyo giggle and eat tangerines. Aoi listens to Shinobu and Akiko talk about patients, and Kanao doesn’t say a word as per usual (Shinobu told her to take a break from blowing into the gourd). 

“Dinner,” a stoic voice shakes the girls, and they see Kanon with bowls of toshi-koshi soba for the New Year. 

Shinobu smiles, standing up to help Kanon with the tray. When the bowls are passed around, Shinobu take Kanon’s hands into her own, moving delicately to make sure Kanon doesn’t crack. 

“How lovely! I suppose this allows you to be our chef now?” 

Kanon doesn’t say anything, glancing over to Akiko instead. Aquamarine meets gold, and Akiko finds herself nodding to Kanon. 

Almost as if to only mirror movement, Kanon nods too, and she’s ushered to sit by everyone under the kotatsu; all eight girls enjoying toshi-koshi soba, tangerines, and mochi as they listen to the temple bell ring all throughout the night. 

Spring comes and goes, and it’s been a full year. Akiko hasn’t once seen Giyuu come to visit the Butterfly estate, and Akiko asks Shinobu almost daily to see if she can get Giyuu to come. But Shinobu smiles and tells Akiko that Pillars are always busy. 

So Akiko resets dislocated joints, she stitches deep gashes, she cuts off arms and legs, she learns to make medicine and she learns how to stop an arterial bleed. 

She sleeps late at night after making her rounds on patients. She wakes up early to the cawing of Shinobu’s crow and Aoi stating the injuries of whoever has been lugged into the Butterfly Estate. 

Akiko’s hair is cut shorter and shorter, her limbs grow longer and her voice starts to feel like velvet. Her eyes remain the same color, yes, but they spark differently now. 

Shinobu can’t place a single emotion behind Akiko’s hues, and she wishes she has her blessed eyes. 

Because Akiko knows when Kanon is about to break next to her little brother, or when Aoi is having trouble with a patient, or when one of the three girls are too stressed for a situation, or when Shinobu is about to collapse with exhaustion. 

Haruki doesn’t stir and whenever Akiko checks on him, she knows that he won’t wake for a long time. Kanon stays by his side when she doesn’t cook, and looks the most tense as she watches him. So Akiko advises Kanon to just stay in the kitchen to keep her mind off her brother. 

“Why.” 

“Huh?” 

Akiko blinks owlishly at Kanon, heart beginning to hammer in the chest as Kanon’s dead eyes bore into her own. 

“Well, you’ll get better if you cook, okay?” 

“What kind of an idea is that?” 

“Don’t think too much of it!” Shinobu’s sickly sweet voice breaks the tension and Akiko jumps to find Shinobu seated right next to her. 

“Doctor’s orders!” 

Summer tumbles into fall, and Akiko’s hair is up to her shoulders now. She hasn’t cut it in a while, and it’s finally grown longer. She thumbs it, overlooking the garden as Kanao trains for the day. Aoi is hoisting newly washed sheets, and the three girls are chasing another butterfly. 

“Tomioka-san! How nice of you to visit!” 

Eyes wide, Akiko scrambles from the engawa as her body goes cold despite the overbearing heat. 

Footsteps thunder down the hallways and Akiko nearly falls over the hems of her kimono. A dead ocean meets dirtied topaz and the air is sucked out of the room. 

“My! You ran rather fast now didn’t you?” Shinobu laughs and soft footsteps come from behind Akiko. 

Giyuu turns his attention to whoever is behind Akiko instead before taking his shoes off and walking into the estate. It’s Kanon he walks up to, her hands holding a tray of tea and some wagashi. 

Akiko almost lets him brush past her, but her thought of mind snaps back into place and it’s not all white noise anymore. 

“A year and a half…” 

The footsteps stop. 

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” 

A crow caws and Akiko closes her eyes, turning her face to the floor as tears dribble out of her eyes. 

“...Most likely.” 

Akiko looks to see a crow perched on Shinobu’s arm, and she doesn’t leave her room for a week. 

Fall dances into winter and Akiko’s hair brushes her ears. It’s grown longer since she hacked at it back when the leaves started to color orange and red. Akiko relapsed in her room until Aoi dragged her out at the end of the week. 

Akiko’s hands are littered with small cuts now, but she’s finally picked her rhythm back up again and works tirelessly as ever. 

Demons that are stronger during the winter season begin to pop back up, and Akiko finds herself treating more frostbitten fingers. She has to treat a soldier of hypothermia, who also goes into cardiac arrest on the table. 

But that’s all said and done, and Akiko eats a bowl of ramen with Kanao under the kotatsu. No words are exchanged, as always, but Akiko sees that Kanao is itching to speak up. 

“You don’t need to flip a coin to talk to me, y’know,” Akiko says, blowing on her ramen before slurping it up. Kanao stares at Akiko before flipping a coin anyway, and it lands heads. 

Akiko raises a brow when Kanao opens her mouth, but even so she still seems to be struggling. So Akiko starts first, asking what Kanao flipped it for. 

“Uhm… If I should do what you said…” 

“And?” 

“I’ll… I’ll talk to you.” 

Akiko smiles before nodding her head, “Good.” 

Two years later and, finally, there’s progress between the girls. 

The snow outside is nearly melted away and Akiko finds herself sitting in front of Shinobu. 

Aoi called her in the middle of treating a bed ridden patient, telling her that Shinobu requested her, and Akiko had to clean her hands before rushing to Shinobu’s room.

The fish tank in the corner of the room catches Akiko’s attention, but there isn’t much to look at. 

“I’ll be observing you today!” Shinobu says lightly, and Akiko tilts her head in confusion. 

“Is this because Kanao left for Final Selection?” 

Akiko doesn’t get a real answer, only a close eyed smile, before Aoi bursts into the room. 

“There’s around 12 demon slayers in the garden right now! Kakushi just brought them in! Akiko, let’s go!” 

Akiko finds herself in the garden, pulling her white robe on as Sumi, Naho, and Kiyo run besides her. Aoi takes the liberty to start prepping as many rooms as possible, opening beds and gathering supplies. 

“Naho, call for four- no, six doctors from town. Run, send a crow, get a kakushi to do it, whatever you need to do. We need as many people to help, alright?” Akiko orders, and Naho breaks off from the group to call for Shinobu’s crow. 

“Sumi,” an idea strikes Akiko, “go grab the ribbons in my room. Four colors. Cut them at arm's length.” Sumi rushes off to fulfill her orders, and Akiko continues to run to the garden. 

Akiko doesn’t even bother slipping sandals on when she makes it to the garden, and there’s indeed 12 injured soldiers. Kakushi are panicking a bit, but Akiko points to one standing nearby to come and explain the situation. 

“A task force of 20 soldiers was sent to kill the new lower six demon. We gathered as many bodies as we could, but the other eight were clearly dead. Here are all the people we have left,” they explain, and Akiko glares. 

“Under whose jurisdiction were you allowed to announce a death?” She demands an answer, and other kakushi nearby back away in fear. 

“I-It’s just… When we checked, they weren’t breathing-” 

“Were their heads decapitated? Was their body set in rigor mortis? Dependent lividity? Was there intense bruising on the bottom of the body?” Akiko presses on, seething with anger and some of the kakushi leave, rushing away in the same direction. Akiko assumes it’s where the attack took place. 

“All bodies must be brought here, and that’s final from this day forth,” her voice calls the attention of all the kakushi, and she’s mildly surprised when they bow their heads to her, chanting, “Yes ma'am!” 

Akiko nods to herself before overlooking the mess of soldiers, Sumi returning to her side with a bunch of ribbons in her hand. With quick thanks, Akiko takes the ribbons before placing her hands on her hips, yelling over all other noise. 

“Demon slayers that hear my voice, walk to me!” 

A good half are able to make their way to her, and Akiko nods her head before looking at Sumi and Kiyo and directing them to deal with the seven slayers. They’re the least injured, so the small girls can handle their injuries with next to no problem at all, but they’re given white ribbons to tag the demon slayers with. 

Aoi comes running up to Akiko and Akiko points out the soldiers that were able to raise their heads but were unable to move. 

“Aoi, gather the help of some kakushi and get the ones that are bleeding profusely into a room. Treat their main complaint, tie these blue ribbons on them, and above all don’t do harm,” Aoi nods with her orders before rushing to the four soldiers clutching their injuries. 

Akiko herself runs to the last soldier on the floor, who doesn’t move and continues to bleed from her head. Her chest barely rises and Akiko works to remove her clothes. There’s another bleed from her stomach and Akiko quickly pats the girl down, noting four broken ribs and a punctured lung as well as a head injury. 

She ties a red ribbon onto the girl’s leg, then commands two kakushi to transport the girl to an open room and to await further orders. Akiko moves to help Aoi to pat down the last soldier, only finding a broken leg and intense bleeding from his back. 

The doctors rush in, and Akiko breathes a sigh of relief before sending a few off to rooms where badly injured soldiers remain. The last remaining doctor awaits orders, and Akiko leads him back to the garden. 

“More patients are on their way. It’s your job to tag them either white, blue or red. White means minor injuries, then can comprehend questions and can move. Blue, they can’t move but they’re conscious. Red, the worst case. Black if they’re dead.” 

The doctor is quick to understand that he’s allowed to announce time of death, and Akiko rushes back into the estate to begin her job. She sees Shinobu from the corner of her eye, unmoving and observing Akiko’s work like she said she would. 

Akiko is in hell.  

The girl battles between life and death with Akiko, constantly going into cardiac arrest and requiring Akiko to drain her lungs of blood before fixing the punctured lung and broken ribs. She works for hours and hours, a kakushi nearby to help though not too knowledgeable with medicine. 

Akiko makes do. 

A few times, either Aoi or Kiyo or one of the doctors would slip into the room, announcing a death or the stabilization of a soldier. 

Akiko is glad to hear that there’s far more life saving than life losing. 

Nine hours later and Akiko has stabilized the girl. 

She instructs the kakushi to transport her body to a bed in the medical ward before yelling for someone to clean up the mess. 

Then, she walks into another operating room to take over, asking for the status of the patient before telling the doctor that she can take over. 

Four hours later and she’s onto her next patient, a soldier brought in that was assumed dead back at the attack site. 

Time of death, 3:27 AM. 

The next soldier is lucky enough to be alive, and Akiko operates for 11 hours with another doctor. 

Akiko gives more orders and Sumi finds herself rushing to town for more bandages and gauze. Aoi is told to mix wisteria essence with water and ginger to give to patient seven. A cardio thoracic surgeon is called in and both Kiyo and Naho are ordered to help the doctor in room five. 

Two soldiers are brought in. 

Time of death, 2:51 PM.

Akiko works on the next patient for four hours before announcing time of death, 7:43 PM. 

By the end of the four days of hell, Akiko has six deaths on her hands, two that need to be closely monitored, and the rest sleeping on the beds in the medical wards.

 Akiko falls asleep by the bedside of a random soldier, her mind and body hitting the brakes and exhaustion falling onto her like a bear.

And still, she smiles, because she dealt no harm. 

its been 2 weeks since i started murder of one!! fat thank you to every thats hanging in and continuing to read this :,,) 

timeline wise, tanjirou has completed his own training (like akiko) and theyre both testing. i lowkey mention this by mentioning kanao’s own final selection taking and i hope yall caught onto that :,,) 

I PROMISE TANJIROU WILL BE PUT IN AND THINGS WILL HAPPEN 

and when they do,,,, :)))) 

[ediblegardenspointloma]

In My San Diego Garden and Kitchen

Just a few of the dozens of Satsuma tangerines we’re harvesting this month. The abundant citrus crops likely reflect with rains of last winter. And this season we’re far ahead of our usual rain totals so the tangerines are especially juicy. The recent cold nights sweeten the fruit and we are smiling, just like my little neighbors.

Continuing with the color orange to brighten our winter days.

I was late in thinning the carrots this year. It was a pleasant task for the interval between the holidays. Time for reflection as I work.

The bunnies get the smallest ones and all the greens. My friend picks up garden leftovers for her rabbits and brings me bunny poop for my compost pile.

The mesclun lettuce has thrived with a favorable mix of sunny, warm days and cool, rainy ones.

Various critters have been nibbling this season so I’ve resorted to covering the tender lettuces.

The heirloom baby leaf kale in a container is doing well. I harvested what was left and then fertilized to prompt resurgence of the tender, mild kale.

The limes on my patio tree are literally falling off and I noticed that my kumquats are beginning to turn. The navel oranges are a story for another post.

Thyme and rosemary gathered for Christmas dinner.

I forgot to snap a photo of the calla lilies before I sent them home with my son after Christmas. I think this little six-pack of seed grown ‘Marvel of Four Seasons’ lettuce will be my blog bouquet this week.

[kimjongdaely]

The Wizarding World of EXO [Chapter 5: Kim Jongdae and the Dragon’s Egg]

Hogwarts!AU

All EXO members

Summary: Welcome to the Wizarding World, ten years after the Second Wizarding War. Now, nine students at Hogwarts each have their own story to tell, secrets to discover and identities to grow.

Chapter 1│Chapter 2│Chapter 3│Chapter 4│Chapter 5│Chapter 6│ Chapter 7│Chapter 8│Chapter 9│Chapter 10│Chapter 11│Epilogue

“What’s that?” Jongdae asks, body practically sprawled over the wooden table as he tries to get a better look at something round and smooth in the fire.

“A dragon egg.”

Jongdae gasps, snapping towards Hagrid with wide, shocked eyes. “A dragon egg? Hagrid, that’s dangerous!”

“I know, Jongdae.” Hagrid merely answers, focusing entirely on the dragon egg. “But I let go of my baby once, an’ I ain’t ‘bout to do it again!”

“Once?” Jongdae replies in a squeak. “You mean it happened before?”

“Eh, a long time ago with Harry, Hermoine an’ Ron.”

“You’re kidding.”

Hagrid turns to him with a brow raised, a little confused. “I’m not.”

Jongdae’s jaw is practically touching the table now. “You—With Harry Potter—”

His best friend throws a pebble at him, hitting him in the side of the head and making him yelp. “Moving away from the fact that this exact thing happened to Harry Potter many years ago, what are you going to do once that dragon hatches?”

Jongdae rolls his eyes at his best friend, a Ravenclaw, and therefore feels like she’s always the smarter, mature one. They’ve known each other for four years now, always together. He knows her better than anyone, and vice versa.

Hagrid tugs at his beard, looking down. “Eh, I’m not sure.”

“Hagrid, a dragon will cause a lot of chaos—”

“I’ll keep it in the Forbidden Forest.” Hagrid cuts her off with a wave of his hand. “It’ll be fine.”

“No it’s not. This is a dragon that will grow up and possibly destroy the school.” She says flatly, more irritated than actually scared of the possibility.

Jongdae rolls his eyes at her. Sometimes she worries way too much. “Don’t worry, Hagrid said everything’s under control—”

There’s a crisp knock on the door just then, and the three of them freeze immediately.

“Hagrid? It’s almost curfew time and I want to see if there are any students with you.”

Oh gosh it’s Professor McGonagall. They are screwed.

Both students turn to Hagrid who swallows thickly, nervously calling back to her. “Ah, er, just a moment! I, er, spilled my drink!”

With a terrible excuse to buy them some time, Hagrid pushes the scalding hot egg against Jongdae’s chest. Thank goodness for the thick robes he’s wearing, or he would’ve burned himself.

“Jongdae! Quick! Take the egg an’ run!”

“I—” Jongdae splutters, eyes wide as Hagrid hands him a pair of smaller mittens in order to properly hold the egg. “What?”

“The window!” Hagrid points frantically at the windows of his little hut. “Quick!”

“Hagrid?” Professor McGonagall’s muffled voice sounds again and Jongdae can feel himself jump out of his skin.

“Hurry.” His best friend hisses as she pulls him over to the window, which is angled away from the doorway to allow them a successful escape. They hop out just as Hagrid unlocks the door, letting Professor McGonagall in to ensure all students are back in Hogwarts for the night.

The night helps disguise them as they scurry back to Hogwarts and once they’re safe in a deserted hallway, Jongdae holds out the egg from where he was clutching it against his chest. “Holy crap. Did he just give me the dragon egg?”

“Yes.” She answers without hesitation. “And you’re going to get in a hell lot of trouble if you get found out, you know that right?”

Jongdae gulps. Growing up in a muggle family meant he’s never experienced something remotely like this. “What do I do?”

“Put it in a fire.” She says solemnly. “It might die if you don’t.”

“So you want me to hatch it?” Jongdae hisses in disbelief.

“It’s a freaking egg, Jongdae. It either hatches or dies.” She hisses back, and they jump when they hear footsteps echo.

“Fine.” Jongdae whispers urgently. “We need to go.”

And then they go their separate ways, heading back to their dorm. Jongdae heads quickly to the Hufflepuff common room right next to the kitchens, tapping in the code against the barrel. Once he’s in the common room, he breathes out a sigh of relief, heading straight to the fireplace and carefully, with the mittens protecting his hands, places the egg within the fire.

“Alright, buddy. Hopefully no one will come out in the middle of the night.” Jongdae murmurs before tiredly heading towards the round door that leads to the male’s dormitory to get a good night’s rest.

Jongdae couldn’t sleep properly throughout the entire night. He has a freaking dragon egg in his house common room and he was worried someone might get up in the middle of the night, or the dragon might hatch.

So he ended up waking up way too early, heading out to the common room and breathing in relief to find that, indeed, the egg is still there. The fire had died down quite a bit, so Jongdae grabbed some more firewood, whispering, “Incendio.”

A jet of fire shoots from his wand to the fireplace, making the fire brighter, scarlet and tangerine flames licking across the surface of the pale egg.

“I’ll have to get you out when the others wake up.” Jongdae sits down in one of the chairs, exhausted from the lack of sleep. “I don’t even know if I want you to hatch or not.”

Suddenly, there’s a soft cracking sound, almost as if the egg is responding to his words. Jongdae lets out a quiet gasp, rushing over to the fireplace and grabbing is mittens from his robe, slipping them on to take the egg out of the fire. He places it carefully on the floor, watching in fascination as the egg cracks, a small dragon popping out.

It’s a tiny baby dragon, about the size of his hand with beautiful, pearly scales that reflect the light streaming in from the windows. When it opens its eyes, blinking up at Jongdae, its eyes are pupil-less, but seems to change color with every turn of its head.

“Wow.” He breathes out, tentatively holding his hand out and to his surprise, the dragon climbs on his hand, letting out a soft squawk. “You’re beautiful.”

It squawks again, almost endearingly, and Jongdae lets out a soft chuckle. With his other hand, he rubs the top of the dragon’s head. It seems to enjoy that as it rubs back, almost like a kitten, though its scales are quite hard and rough. No doubt they’ll hurt when it’s full grown.

And then his stomach drops. He just hatched a dragon! What is he going to do? How will he be able to hide it from his house-mates? From the professors? What if he gets suspended because of this?

He gulps, beginning to tremble at the thought. Sure, he’s broken some rules before, but they were small rules like using Skiving Snackboxes—which was only on one occasion. It did work like a charm, though.

“What am I going to do with you?” Jongdae mumbles to the dragon, stroking it’s neck.

“Do with what?” A door from the third year dormitory opens, revealing a student he recognizes as Oh Sehun, pureblood. His hair is a mess from sleep, and he leans against the rounded doorframe—which looks quite difficult to do, actually—raising a perfect brow at Jongdae.

Jongdae immediately slips the dragon into his robe pocket, the one where he also happened to keep his wand, and takes that out instead. “M-My wand! It keeps disobeying me. What am I going to do with it?”

Sehun scrunches his nose. “Are you sure you bought the right wand? If you bought it from Ollivanders, it should be right, but…”

“Haha…yeah, maybe I should go get it checked.” Jongdae stands up a little too quickly, shuffling out of the common room. “Uh, anyway, I have to go! Have a good day, Sehun!”

He slips out of the common room before Sehun could say another word, and he breathes out in relief. He looks around the hall, seeing no one. Is he even allowed to be out so early?

He’s not sure what time it is, but it should be about five or six in the morning. Breakfast doesn’t start until seven-thirty, which means he’s got quite a while to go.

Slightly terrified, he scurries through the halls as quietly as he can, heading towards the Ravenclaw dormitory. She would know what to do—or at least have more of a plan than he does at the moment.

Along the way, he hears footsteps and his heart leaps to his throat as he quickly finds somewhere to hide. He ducks into another hallway, pressing himself flat against the wall in hopes it’s not a professor, or that the professor won’t see him.

“Jongdae!”

He recognizes the voice as she whispers his name.

“Oh thank goodness.” Jongdae breathes out, having never felt so relieved to see her. He hurries to wrap his arms around her, squeezing her tightly against him.

She lets out a soft squeal in surprise, before hugging him back. “You okay?”

“No.” He answers solemnly, taking out the baby dragon from his pocket. “It hatched.”

She blinks, leaning forward to take a better look at the dragon. The dragon’s pupil-less eyes stare back, before it sneezes and lets out a flame of vivid red flames, searing her tie.

She backs off immediately, yelping as she pats the flames away. “It’s an Antipodean Opaleye.”

“Ah Anti…opal—what?” Jongdae asks, eyes squinting on the dragon wiggling about on his hand, which is quite ticklish since its claws aren’t that sharp yet.

“An Antipodean Opaleye.” She repeats. “It’s a breed from New Zealand and lives in valleys. Usually, it doesn’t attack people.”

“Oh.” He says back dumbly. “So…what should we do?”

“We need to send it away.” She answers sternly, walking out to the courtyard and towards Hagrid’s hut. “If we get caught, we are so dead.”

The dragon squawks in protest, and Jongdae puts it back in his pocket as he runs after her. “But—I mean—It’s cute.”

She stops abruptly, turning towards him with a brow raised. “Cute? Cute? Jongdae, that dragon will grow up and even though it’s not very aggressive, it’s still dangerous.”

“Well, yes.” Jongdae sinks his teeth into his lower lip, a pout appearing on his lips. “But…I kind of…you know…”

“Jongdae.” She says, tone hard. “You’re not…attached to it, are you?”

Jongdae says nothing, merely looking down.

“Jongdae!” She cries out in exasperation. “You can’t! Trading dragon eggs are illegal! Hagrid will be in trouble, and we will be in trouble! We could go to Azkaban!”

He blinks, pouting harder. “Well, yes, but—”

“What are you two doing?” Filch asks furiously, stomping over to them. They gulp, and Jongdae puts a hand in his pocket, trying hard not to alert the dragon.

“We just woke up too early, sir.” She answers, trying to sound as calm as possible. “We were just taking a stroll before breakfast.”

Filch narrows his eyes suspiciously on them, eyes darting between them. “Students never wake up early. Confess; what are you two up to?”

“Nothing, sir.” Jongdae replies. “I swear.”

Filch obviously doesn’t believe them, so he grabs their arms, dragging them away. “You two are coming with me. You’ll answer to Headmistress McGonagall.”

Jongdae gulps, glancing at her who looks a little too pale. They don’t speak as they’re dragged to the Headmistress’s office. Professor McGonagall is sitting at her desk, writing something when they enter.

“Headmistress, I caught these two snooping around in the courtyard—”

“We weren’t snooping around!” Jongdae’s best friend corrects sharply. “We were strolling because we woke up too early.”

“And is there a problem with that?” Professor McGonagall asks Filch, a brow raised, though her quill doesn’t stop.

“Well—I—they looked like they were planning something—” Filch stammers, his hold loosening on their arms.

“And did you see them planning something?” McGonagall presses.

“I—No.” Filch looks red, like he’s about to explode. “Sorry to bother you, m’am.”

“That’s quite alright.” Her eyes train on the two students. “You can leave now. I’ll have a word with them.”

Filch seems to perk up immediately, thinking they’re in trouble. He practically skips out the door.

“Professor—” Jongdae’s best friend starts, trying to explain, but Professor McGonagall cuts her off.

“You are not in trouble—at least not for the reason Filch says. But it is strange for you two to be up so early. Is something going on?”

Jongdae glances at her, gulping. Slowly, she nods and Jongdae steps forward, hands digging into his pocket. “Professor…Um, I got a dragon egg…and it hatched…” He fishes out the dragon, holding it out on his palm. It shakes its body, expanding his wings and flapping a few times, though it can’t fly yet.

Professor McGonagall looks surprised, even horrified as she stares at the dragon. “You…You remind me of someone.” She massages her temple, taking in a deep breath.

Jongdae sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, nervous.

“We’ll have to send it back to its natural habitat, or a dragon sanctuary. We sent one away quite a years ago, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Professor.” Jongdae squeaks out. “Would it…would it be possible if…if I could…keep it?” He stutters out nervously, terrified of her reaction. His best friend elbows him, making him wince, throwing a glare her way.

“Keeping a dragon?” She asks, surprised at the request. “That’s a very dangerous thing.”

“I—Yes, I understand.” Jongdae can practically feel himself shrinking. “But…maybe it can stay in the Forbidden Forest and…If it gets out of control we can send it away.”

Professor McGonagall frowns. “That’s a very dangerous risk, Mr. Kim. A risk we may not be able to take.”

Jongdae pouts, deflating. “…I understand.”

“Perhaps.” Professor McGonagall says suddenly, thoughtful. “But perhaps it can help keep the Acromantulas at bay. Ever since the Second Wizarding War, we’ve been having trouble keeping them away. Perhaps a dragon may help. If it can be controlled, that is.”

“So you’ll give it a chance?” Jongdae exclaims, a bit too excited.

Professor McGonagall lets out a soft laugh, nodding slowly. “Yes. But the first signs of danger and I’ll send it away. Train it well, Mr. Kim.”

“I will!” He beams, his grin so big it feels like his face might break apart. He turns towards her with absolute glee, and once they leave the Headmistress’s office, he practically throws himself on her, squeezing her tight. “She let me keep it!”

“Gah, Jongdae!” She gasps. “I can’t breathe!”

“Sorry,” he apologizes, though the silly grin is still on his face. “Just too happy.” He takes out the dragon, stroking it’s head and it squawks at him affectionately. “You can stay, little guy. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely take care of you.” He presses the dragon against his cheek, letting it nudge him.

“Well,” she speaks, making Jongdae turn towards her. She looks a little upset, a pout on her lips. “Looks like you found a new best friend.”

Jongdae lets out a grin at this, taking a step towards her and wiggling his brows. “Aw, are you jealous?”

She huffs, turning away. “No.”

Jongdae chuckles, enjoying this way too much. He can see how her cheeks are a bit redder than usual.

“Don’t worry.” Jongdae assures. “No one can replace you. Because,” he moves so that he’s standing in front of her, and in one swift, smooth motion, leans in to press a quick kiss to her lips. “Because I love you.”

Oh, how he wishes he had his phone so he could take a picture of her expression after that.

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A/N: Haha this chapter was fun to write as well! I loved researching about dragon and dragon eggs. Writing these helped me learn even more about the Wizarding World. I’d love to hear from you guys!

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