#once u can walk on the bag and all the resources that come with it

[jrueships]

you asked, you shall receive (also forgive me this is gonna be hella long but also it's ur fault bc u asked for it)

so what i was thinking of was that before the season even starts, hollywood thinks he's gotten over the whole qb-wr-breakup thing quite well. it's been more than a year since he got traded, he got a whole season down with his new team, so he thinks it's all gucci leading up to opening week.

this confidence comes crashing down on him though when the season actually starts, and he sees lamar & obj chopping it up better than they ever did (this is just a bold prediction laced w a lil hope from me but don't mind it). it doesn't help that lamar has really good chemistry with the rest of his brand new receiver core as well, with rashod and especially that rookie zay flowers (who's already been called a "better hollywood" before). it nags at hollywood's pride to see his ex (lmao) thrive without even thinking of him, to the point where he rants to kyler whenever the ravens do something (aka hating because they're good). he tries to keep his feelings at bay until week 8, but inevitably fails once the game rolls around and lamar has that same great chemistry with his receivers (especially obj, but he's like The Notorious B.O.T.T.O.M. so it doesn't matter)

the game goes how the game goes, but after the fact, they do the ole shake hands pat on the helmet thing and hollywood is zoned out most of the time. when he gets to lamar, he tries desperately to avoid eye contact, avoid seeing the shimmering lights of victory (another bold prediction but shhhh) in lamar's eyes. lamar doesn't carry that air of somberness and melancholy that he did during the preseason game last year, he looks like he's moved on from the trade for real and something about it bothers hollywood. basically, the roles are flipped from last time and hollywood hates it lmao

this is mostly from holly's perspective but if you want i could expand a lil more on lamar's side of things (i do think this all messed holly up more than it did lamar but maybe that's my bias as a ravens fan lol)

KARMA KARMA KARMA KARMA!!!!!!! I LOVE IT.

^^a good remind of my thoughts to hone in the irony

YES THOOOOO I LOVE IT. BECAUSE IT'S HOLLYWOOD'S 'BLAME IT ON THE BUSINESS. IT'S JUST BUSINESS. IT'S NOTHINF PERSONAL KID, HEH.' coming back and EGGING HIM ON THE FACE x10 OVER. Like he already got the shell of it with the whole thing accidentally hurting lamar's feelings and then relationship with the organization for a bit.. but those could be not exactly excused.. but have their damage diminished by the necessity cause of business. Hollywood's not the bad guy... the BUSINESS is! Hollywood's not responsible, doesn't need that weight, can't bear the weight anyways... the BUSINESS IS! the business CAN!

... and now, the business is Actually playing a role, without Hollywood forcing it to. Now, it says 'you know what? You want us to play the bad guy? .... Aight. Check this then.'

Quarterbacks need new wide receivers after their old (trustworthy) (best friends) Ditch them, so. All business did was get Lamar some. All business did was step up where Hollywood couldn't because business holds the power and the responsibility and Hollywood? Does not.

And if one of those wide receivers happen to be THE notorious B.O.T.T.O.M, old dirty bastard O.B.J?

That's just business, baby.

As it's .. 'apparently' always been. So why have the nerve to complain now, marquis? Hm? Seems a bit . Suspicious .

And clearly, Lamar is doing okay. No, more than ok, Better. He's doing WAY Better. And that's what was wanted, right? By business, anyways. And by personally, it should be too. By good people. And business isn't good people... so why does it get the positives? The Bad Guy?

... maybe because it wasn't.

At least in the beginning, anyways.

But Hollywood doesn't wanna think about that. And he doesn't want to think about how funny he feels about seeing Lamar so happy now... WITH OTHER PEOPLE, i mean. That's the problem. The ONLY problem. It's with other people. He's happy when Lamar's happy because he loves lamar and hes the kind of good person that loves that his lover is happy. He can do that. He doesn't have to FORCE himself to be good. He's not a bad person, no- fuck. He's not . Selfish. IT WAS THE BUSINESS. OKAY? IT WAS AN EXECUTIVE BUSINESS DECISION ON HIS PART. for his CAREER.

So he's not sore at all about leaving. He's not sore about some 'better Hollywood' on the- HIS old team now. He doesn't care about some new young wr core. And obj will probably pull some diva shit soon enough or whatever. He. Presumes anyways. Or... hopes, moreso- NO FUCK. HE DOESN'T HOPE. THAT WOULD BE- it's just- well. I mean. If something WERE to happen then well- so be it...........

Anyways. It doesn't matter. He doesn't. He doesn't care. Because clearly. Lamar doesn't either, anymore.. and hollywood Definitely doesn't care about that....... because if, and this is an IF, he METAPHORICALLY DID . . he would miss it. He would miss it like a horrible person would AND HE DOESN'T ! BECAUSE

HOLLYWOOD

ISN'T

A

HORRIBLE

--

.

[worldheadcanons]

hi! could u do romantic + platonic hcs of india, australia, america & canada with a tropical country! reader? 💞

☆ them with a s/o who’s a tropical country!

starring. . . gender neutral, tropical country!reader and india, australia, america, + canada.��

author notes; matthew’s part might be a bit shorter compared to the rest, sorry! here are some songs that i found myself listening to a lot while writing this!

— dogtooth by tyler the creator, the theme from big wave by kaiyo (a little niche but it’s a banger), alcohol free by twice (shows in alfred’s bit oops!), i want you by savage garden, leão de bronze by quinteto ternura, and premier gaou by magic system.

not really a playlist for this piece but songs that i recommend you all listen to! 

> kabir!

— he goes into tourist traps willingly. he wholeheartedly goes into little shops just to get scammed by buying overpriced silly trinkets. kabir just likes having them. you didn’t know this about him at first though, so it worried you in the beginning when he’d come to your country and waste money in various tourist traps. one day you pulled him aside, telling him bluntly that he was throwing money away on useless items. kabir simply laughed, shaking his head. “i know,” he replied, chuckling a bit, “it’s fun though. and i like the cute toys.” ever since then you’ve just let him do as he pleases. occasionally you’ll scoff or roll your eyes as he insists on going into a trap shop. at this, he simply teases that he’s just “supporting your economy” and that you should be happy he’s spending so much money. 

— even as friends, he dotes on you a lot. it’s not very parental, more like a sarcastic older brother type of caring. is your economy okay? need help with resources? kabir will complain about how you’re less mature than he is while working hard to help you fix whatever issues you’re facing. he also makes sure to check on you, the person. you’re more than your country and sometimes you need a reminder of that fact. if you’re ever trying to get out of a work meeting, just give him a call. he’s got the perfect excuses ready for you to use. its just his way of showing his care and appreciation. 

— kabir really enjoys sharing food with you, like seriously. oftentimes for lunch after meetings you’ll bring a bag full of your favorite foods and he’ll do the same. the two of you will switch bags and try out new things. of course, there’s always lunches where someone doesn’t like something. everyone has different tastes. it’s not the end of the world though. eating and talking together has allowed the two of you to get even closer, so the tradition doesn’t end even once you’re in a relationship with kabir. he’ll even get jealous if you offer food to other countries, especially countries like china or england. 

— he has one of the best beach bodies known to man. okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but he is extremely attractive. it’s hard not to feel giddy as he comes out of the changing rooms shirtless with some swim trunks and flip flops. being a long-standing country, kabir has been around for a while and it shows in certain ways. still, he’s hot. he doesn’t hesitate in teasing you for looking at his body. it’s okay, because you can tease him for the same thing! he’s not the type to stare  but trust and believe he’s enjoying the sight of your body the same way you’re enjoying his. 

— he pays attention to the little things, especially when you start talking about your country and your history. you’ll be strolling with kabir, musing about how the coastal city you’re walking in used to be a major trading port maybe two or three centuries ago, and he’s just listening. he may not speak much but he nods his head in acknowledgement. in his eyes, understanding a person's history is vital to understanding the person themselves. that’s not the only thing he pays attention to though. he notices other things like body language too. he notices when another country has said something insensitive to you and he won’t hesitate to step in and stand up for you. kabir also notices when you’re eyeing something in a window of a shop— you can consider it yours, by the way.

— he loves holding your hands and hugging on you. kabir loves to pamper you in public but behind closed doors he’s a complete drama king. he’s not above whining or pouting when he’s mildly upset. if you’re cooking then he’s there, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your neck while muttering sweet nothings. if you’re reading then he’s in your lap, quietly asking if you’ll read aloud so he can listen. he’s considerably clingy but he’s also considerably charming and cute so he gets a pass.  

> brett kirkland!

— for your first visit to his country he takes you out on a huge aquarium date. the aquarium you go to is of course the sea life sydney aquarium. brett talks a lot during the date, passionately informing you about the marine animals there. when you reach the shark exhibit he decides to take hold of your hand, even if you’re not scared. he sizes up the sharks before turning to you and joking about how he could take them in a fight. or at least, you think he’s joking. you hope kirkland’s joking.. he’s happy to have you in australia, but he’s really happy to be showing you the sea life. it’s something that he figured the both of you could enjoy. your country’s surrounded by water.. his country’s surrounded by water.. it just makes sense. at the end of the date he’ll buy you both souvenirs from the gift shop. for the next date, brett’s thinking whale watching would be fun. 

— when he’s visiting your country, he loves to match outfits with you. he’s used to hotter temperatures so his closet matches your weather for the most part. cheesy matching couple shirts are definitely a thing with him, though if you say no he won’t continue to push it. even if you two have completely different fashion styles, kirkland’ll try to make his outfit coordinate somewhat with yours. it’s just something he finds to be cute.

— brett is the type of boyfriend to call you at one am talking at the speed of light about some sort of incident he’s gotten himself into. he loves calling you when the two of you are apart. hopefully you’re fine with hearing him ramble on the phone about nothing and everything at the same time. he’s also the type of boyfriend to sneak out of work with you, slyly leaving a meeting in london so the two of you can explore around and enjoy each other's company. kirkland takes full responsibility whenever you’re caught in the act, though his mischievous glances at you are a clear sign that you’ll be sneaking out again like rowdy teenagers sometime soon. he’s the type of boyfriend to think of you as the best thing to ever happen to him. he’ll kiss your hand and pretend to be a gentleman, smiling as you laugh at his behavior. 

— he claims that you’re his good luck charm but brett’s just a lucky man in general. occasionally his luck will rub off on you and you’ll call him to talk about it. he likes to say that his love for you is just so strong that even when you’re apart he’s there making things better for you. it’s cheesy but when you walk along your capital city one day and find a large amount of money just barely hiding in the crack of a sidewalk, you really do start to believe it. it’s not logical in the slightest but hey, it’s sweet.

— he is naturally touchy. kirkland has one hand on you at almost all times. especially when it’s the two of you out on a date. what can he say? you’re a catch! he’s sure that if he didn’t hold onto you, someone else would try to steal you away from him. though he’s not easily jealous, he doesn’t enjoy the thought of someone trying to flirt with you. typically he just holds you by the waist. if you’re ever uncomfortable just talk to him about it— brett never wants you to suffer in silence, so trust me when i say he appreciates it when you speak up. he believes firmly in talking about your issues and working through them together. the two of you can find a nice compromise that works for both of you.

— kirkland loves playing on the beach with you! please, please take him out to one of your beaches so he can play volleyball or go surfing or build sandcastles. he’s a pretty outgoing person too, so it’s easy for him to find friends at the beach. if you want to just sit out in the sand and relax, that’s fine with him! he’s not one to sit still for too long but he’ll try to come check on you in between playing on the beach. 

> alfred f. jones!

— he loves going to the beach with you and walking along the beautiful sandy shores that your country is filled with. jones absolutely adores the feeling of the sea breeze hitting his face and running through his hair as he plays beach volleyball or builds sandcastles. the waves are perfect for surfing, an activity he’ll undoubtedly try and partake in. alfred’s no stranger to beaches of course. he has plenty of his own back home. however your beaches are so pretty with such clear water and gorgeous sand almost 100% clear of trash. he’s almost jealous about how well taken care of your beaches are. your citizens seem to care about keeping beaches healthy just as much as you do.

— he gets a ton of tiktoks about food from your country, specifically the fruits. every so often he’ll try to play expert and will grab fruit and eat it raw right off the plant. jones isn’t dumb enough to eat something poisonous, but it’s still a little embarrassing. especially considering no natives of your country actually eat fruit right off the plant. he enjoys eating all sorts of cooked meals that are favorites in your country. he’s not afraid to try new things so if you recommend him something a food, he’ll definitely check it out.

— alfred falls for nearly every single tourist trap he happens to see. though he’s your friend, he’s still technically a tourist to your country. it’s something you failed to notice at first until one day while visiting he left you and came back with an armful of little souvenirs. they were useless and you told him that but he didn’t seem phased. jones told you that he’d treasure them until the day he died. basically, he’d treasure them forever. it was cute so you let it slide that day, but from then on you made a note to keep him away from tourist traps. he’d probably go broke if you didn’t keep an eye on him. the souvenirs alfred did manage to sneak off and buy were used to decorate the personal homes he had around america. they were accompanied by keepsakes from japan, denmark, and a few other places.

— inviting you over to america is a whole different can of worms. really, jones is not sure which state he should show you first— maybe hawaii or cali because they’re somewhat similar to your country.. maybe new york or maybe even florida.. actually no, not florida. never florida. maybe arizona or new mexico (you’ve seen breaking bad, right?) or alaska so that you experience the snow. the decision process isn’t made easier when you comment on going to new york and arizona in the same day. alfred has to explain to you that his country is huge and going to all the states you wanted to see in the same day was simply impossible. there’s a lot of american things he wants to show you as a sort of thank you for showing him your country.

— the two of you make a pretty cute couple as boyfriend and girlfriend. it’s a little jarring at first, since he’s very american and occasionally ignorant on issues concerning your country but jones isn’t above learning to be better. as long as you call him out on his bullshit then he’ll change because really, he does love you. fully and wholly, he loves you. he shows his love when he visits your country and instead of playing on the beach he helps you pick up trash. alfred shows his love when you come to america and he waits at the gate, running and hugging you as soon as he sees you. he shows his love when he takes you to basketball and baseball games and kisses you even when you don’t appear on the kiss cam. 

— jones is obsessed with the drinks from your country. he finds that both the alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks are delicious. they seem to come in an endless combination of interesting flavors. they always leave him wanting more. when he sees you during breaks in between meetings, he’ll occasionally beg for a sip of what you’re drinking. he’ll ask to ‘waterfall’ from your cup, giving you a strong dose of puppy dog eyes so that you give in. if you manage to stay strong, it’s not the end of the world— alfred will just ask you to bring a drink for him next time. if you give in though, he’ll happily give you a bone crushing hug before tasting some of your drink. ah, so refreshing!

> matthew williams!

— williams really enjoys learning about your local wildlife, especially if you have a species that’s native solely to your country. he’s very invested in wildlife conservation and protection in general, so hearing about the plants and animals that are protected here in your country is pretty cool! he wouldn’t mind visiting a few centers or zoos in general and seeing the animals up close. if you do end up taking him there, be prepared for a lot of picture taking. matthew actually prints out some of the pictures he takes of the two of you together, framing them in his bedroom. it’s nothing big, just a small framed picture or two on his nightstand. in general, he’d bond a lot with you over wildlife conservation.

— you two dress like complete opposites due to the differences in weather. it’s a little jarring when either one of you visits the other’s country because both of you always underestimate the difference in weather. at this point, it would be more productive for you to have two closets— one for home and one for canada. williams doesn’t complain much about the weather even when he’s not properly dressed for it. he just sits and suffers silently until you notice and make him change into something more fitting. 

— he sometimes worries you’d like his brother more than him. i mean.. alfred is the more outgoing one out of the two.. it just feels like you guys are total opposites. you’re a tropical country meanwhile his country is pretty cold.. every so often matthew thinks of the two of you as too different for each other, not really realizing that you two have a decent amount of stuff in common. even if you were complete opposites, opposites attract! you love him just the way he is. you’ll have to remind him of that every so often. give him a good talk and a few kisses to the cheek or a nice hug. he’ll feel just fine after that.

— williams would absolutely love to take you out to go ice skate on a frozen pond or play in the snow. he wants to be the one to introduce you to these things. even if you’ve already been in the snow before.. maybe he could reintroduce this sort of stuff to you. he finds the whole idea of a snow day with you to be romantic.

— stereotypical but please go to a hockey game with him. please please go to a hockey game with him. the first hockey game you go to with matthew is a special event. he makes sure to get you both the best tickets he can. of course, you’re both decked out in merch for the team he roots for (don’t worry about not owning any, he has plenty to share). he even goes as far as to ask for good luck kisses before the match. every time his team scores he cheers his head off before hugging you and thanking you for your luck. even if his team loses, williams is just happy to have gone out with you— though next time he will be asking for two good luck kisses instead of just one. actually, how about a kiss for every member of the team? he’s sure they’ll win then. 

— he definitely enjoys your sunny weather though he’s a bit shy about his body. he doesn’t suffer too badly with his self image, but matthew gets self conscious every now and then. usually this doesn’t hold him back though. once he sees you waiting for him he puts his fears aside. as long as you love him and his body then who cares what someone else thinks? plus it would be improper to keep a lover waiting. especially when you look so good in your swim outfit.. of course he’s joining you in having fun on the beach. 

[roguetargaryen]

Piel Canela - Tommy Miller x F!Reader 

Chapter 2 - The Other Miller

Author’s Note: This is my first full fic that I am writing so I know there will be grammar errors. Also, this may be a slow start but the story will progress. This is an alternate universe where there is no outbreak, and it also takes place in the game timeline in 2013. Let me know what you guys think, and I hope you guys enjoy it.

Word count: 2247

Series Masterlist

Over the next few weeks, y/n was getting used to almost having a daily routine once she finished up unpacking and settling in. Sure there were changes she wanted to make in her home and furniture she wanted to buy, but she was starting to become content with her new life. Time in Austin was going really well for y/n. The family bakery was going great for them and was beginning to be the talk of the town. They had a great opening day, and y/n was surprised Joel and Sarah came along, since he is a workaholic. It was nice to see him a bit more relaxed, which y/n always teased. “Joel, stop being so tense and relax.” “I am relaxed.” “Uh huh. Those creases around your eyes say otherwise.” After her initial encounter with Joel, they were starting to build a really nice friendship. Both Joel and Sarah really made her feel welcomed in the neighborhood, and along with her family, they made the transition better. Joel was also appreciative of y/n for offering to help with Sarah after school or even on the evenings when he had to work late. However, it wasn’t easy at first when y/n offered to help. Joel being Joel declined at first stating it wasn’t her responsibility. Y/N didn’t mind especially when she and Sarah would end up having a great time being in each other’s company. Sarah was a gem. She was a very polite and smart girl and she could see why she was best friends with Emily. Sarah was also the reason Y/n was able to meet some of her other friendly neighbors on her block. The Adlers always greeted her with a smile and offered her company. They were fond of visitors and told her stories of their lives that reminded y/n of her times with her grandparents. Then there was your neighbor Denise who was very helpful and resourceful. She knew their neighborhood really well and always had a beautiful garden that y/n admired. Y/n and Denise started to trade flowers for fresh baked goods sometimes when y/n was trying out a new recipe and in return, Denise would get her a bouquet of fresh flowers for her kitchen. Things in her life were really starting to turn over for her. 

 Except for today. Waking up on the wrong side of the bed doesn’t even begin to describe the day y/n was having. Not only did she wake up late but she spilled her coffee on herself on her way to work. To add to her eventful morning, she got a flat tire two blocks before arriving at the bakery and without realizing she left her keys to the bakery at home. She called Kelly, who allowed her to take the day off to get herself situated. “I owe you big time. In fact I’m taking your shift tomorrow.” “Y/N that won’t be necessary “ “Please? It’s the least I can do.” Once y/n left the bakery she made her way home taking the bus. She wanted to change and ask Joel for a ride to the auto shop. As soon as she got to her front steps panic started to rise. She was digging through her bag trying to fish out her house keys and then proceeded to dump all of her belongings out on her front steps trying to find her keys. “This is really just the topping on the cake!” She expressed and realized to top off the events of her day she left her house keys at the bakery when she was helping Kelly. At this point she wanted to just crawl into her bed and not come out the rest of the week. After collecting herself, she decided to take a bit of extreme measures in her own hands. She began to walk around her house to check if at any chance she left a window open or unlocked not realizing she had a spectator watching from across the street in a pick up truck.   

Tommy Miller pulled up to his brother’s house much later than he wanted, or at least he should have. He was starting to develop a migraine and the bright sun was not helping. He always tells himself that he won’t be drinking much the night before but that’s a lie he doesn’t want to admit to himself. He can already hear it in Joel’s voice and today he doesn’t want to deal with it. He takes a sip of his coffee trying to get as much sober making a face because it’s essentially not to his liking. He had no choice as he scrambled to make one this morning while also trying to run out of his place as he can to try to get to Joel’s on Time. He lets out a long sigh recalling the conversation he had with him earlier that morning. “Tommy, where the hell are you? We can’t be late on this one.” “Shit! I know I’m sorry I’m leaving now. I uh..I had a rough night.” “Tommy, I can't keep waiting on you. This is the last time I let this slide. Now I’m gonna go take Sarah to school then deliver the pieces. I’ll meet you at the house at 10 to pick up the tools. Don’t be late!” Before Tommy could respond Joel hung up. With a heavy sigh he made his way to his truck and sped down the road. He arrived at Joel’s a quarter after 9am and now he sat in his truck waiting for his brother to arrive. What he didn’t anticipate was for his morning to get any more eventful than his already bad morning. Across the street he spotted a young woman spilling out the contents of her bag all over Joel’s neighbor's house. He had never seen this woman and from the last time he remembered an older couple in their 80s lived there. He witnessed her walking to the front of the house and started peeking inside the windows before she started testing what he assumed was trying to see if the windows were open. He didn’t think too much of the situation since it looked like she was having no luck, that is until she climbed up the porch banister and started using her legs to push on the windows. “What in the hell?” He questioned as he got out of his truck and slowly made his way over. Now why does someone have the nerve to try and break into someone’s home this early in the day? He thought to himself. His thought was interrupted when he heard a soft “yes” come from her. It appeared as she succeeded too because she was able to open one of the windows and she had yet to notice him. He was standing a few feet away from the banister when he spoke loud for her to hear, “That’s called breaking and entering!” The woman in question let out a yelp as she was startled by him and she lost her footing. Without realizing, Tommy’s instincts kicked in and he bolted forward catching her before she could hit the ground. “You okay?” Tommy asked a bit apprehensive that he was asking about the well-being of a potential robber, a very pretty one he thought as he helped steady her.  Y/n was a loss for words. she tried to comprehend what just happened and who was this stranger holding her. She craned her neck back to get a good glimpse at her ‘savior’ but no words came out. He had tan colored skin, almost cinnamon, dark curly hair, broad shoulders, and the most chocolate brown eyes she was getting lost in. When he spoke he had this rich, husky voice that if he weren’t holding her she would definitely hit the ground. “Ma’am? You okay?” “Ma’am? I’m not that old am I?” At that y/n wanted to really just faceplant to the ground. However that caused her ‘savior’ to chuckle and untangle himself from her, steadying her in the process. “No you don’t look old. Now if I may ask what are you trying to break in that house? You trying to rob an elderly couple?” He asked. “Rob? Do I look like I could really rob a house?” She couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Well from where I was sitting it sure looked like it. I know the couple that lives there.” He ran a hand behind his head feeling a little sheepish. “No. It’s not like that. You’ve got it all wrong. I live here.I moved in a few weeks ago. I um. I just locked myself out of my house.”

“Sorry to assume. I’m Tommy.” He extended his hand to her to offer a shake. “Tommy Miller.” She extended her hand out to shake her hand and he could have sworn he heard a little gasp leave her and it felt electric. He even took a little more time in really looking at her. She had the prettiest smile that reached her y/c eyes. He could help but smile back. Her hair was up in a loose bun with a few strands falling in front of her face and he wanted to just wisp them away. He noticed a bit of flush on her cheeks and that only made him smile more. She cleared her throat and said,  “Joel’s brother right?” She hoped her little hint of excitement went unnoticed. “You know my brother?” “Well we are neighbors. Speaking of, is he home?” “No, I am actually waiting for him.” They stood there in a bit of a silence before he spoke again. “So my name was brought up?” She giggled and nodded. “Really? Hopefully all good things sweetheart.” Y/n couldn’t help the flutter she felt in her stomach and he spoke again, “uhh so um why did you end up breaking into your house?” “I forgot my keys with my sister in law and I wanted to get out of my coffee stained clothes. I-I’ve been having a rough day. I wanted to ask Joel for a ride back into town…” “I can take you.” He wanted to smack his forehead at how forward he was being but there was something about her that was drawing him in. 

Before she could speak their attention was drawn to Joel’s car pulling into his driveway. “Come on. It really isn't a problem if I’m offering. Besides, we are headed that way anyways.” Tommy walked ahead over to Joel who said nothing but started helping load his truck. “I thought you were working today?” Joel commented as he looked up and caught sight of y/n. “Let’s just say the universe had other plans. I got a flat and my car is at this auto shop.” She states as she hands him the business card. “I actually was coming over to ask for a ride there but I didn’t want to ask if you are working.” “Like I said it’s no trouble!” Tommy shouted from the garage, missing the glare Joel shot his way. Y/n, however, caught it but brushed it off. “We have to drop this off first and then Tommy can take you.” Y/n nods her head and hops in the back of the truck.  On the way to town, y/n explains her day and how Tommy caught her breaking and entering her home, hoping at least she could crack a smile from Joel but he stayed quiet. The rest of the car ride is quiet until they arrive to Joel's destination first. Y/n could tell he had an irritated demeanor but didn’t want to press any further. Once the truck was unloaded she stepped out of the truck to move to the passenger seat where she also caught the last bit of their conversation. “Tommy seriously. You better come straight back here. Now I bought us some time but this is it. Once you drop her off, come straight back here.You hear?” Tommy nodded quickly and got back in the truck. It wasn’t a long drive and before she knew it he pulled up in front of the shop. “Oh hold on” Confused, y/n watched as he got out of his truck and jogged to her side only to open the door. She flashed him a smile as she got out. “Tommy, I can't thank you enough.” “Don’t mention it. Besides, if you ever need help with anything don’t hesitate to call,” he finished with handing her a piece of paper with his number written on it. “Thanks. I will keep that in mind.” She placed the piece of paper in her tiny pocket in her purse so that she wouldn’t lose it and made her way to the door of the shop. Just as she grabbed the handle he called out to her, “wait you uh pardon my manners um what was your name?” “I didn’t give it to you.” She said with a smirk as she walked inside. Tommy watched her disappear through the door and leaned against his truck for a moment. He had it and he was determined to figure her out. Maybe Joel could help him. “Oh shit Joel!” He got back in his truck and made his way back to his brother's.

[jujutsubabe]

Library

Synopsis: (This is set when Gojo and Getou were in highschool) You are all in the library trying to practice presentations but Gojo can’t stop being distracting.

(I mean,,, no ship tbh? Kinda platonic reader insert but u can take it as Gojo flirting)

Word count: 1.7k

—————

A library is supposed to be silent, filled with studying and well focused people. It’s a place meant for peace and quiet, so everyone there can get a good grasp on their subjects without any distractions.

The library is known for being the best place to work in, you are surrounded by peers and books and computers of all kind. The amount of resources is unlimited, mixing alone and social time all into one setting, a beautiful design.

However, if you mix a quiet respectable place with three idiots, you tend to get the opposite of what a library is supposed to be.

The library was filled with your quiet snorts and giggles as you sat in the back of the room, you putting your hand over your mouth did nothing to silence you as you shook.

Gojo bit down on his lip as he tried to contain his laugh as well, waiting for the right timing to say another dumb joke.

You felt the stares of a few of your peers, but couldn’t help from giggling in your corner. It was one of those rare moments where you felt air escape your lungs in a good way, the crunching of your sides was a ticklish feeling. It was so carefree and fun, a simple memory you would keep every time you entered a library.

You turned to Gojo at the same time as him, trying to put on a serious face but when you saw his struggling one you couldn’t help but crack a huge smile and fall back into your lap cackling. He turned away snickering to his side as well.

You had been here for what felt like hours, you trying to go over your presentation but barely getting through the first slide with how Gojo suddenly wanted to be a comedian. Not letting you catch a break each slide.

It didn’t help that you were already behind in your presentation, he just fed into your procrastination. Making this workload ease into other hours of your day, it seemed like the only thing you could do for the day was work on this presentation.

Getou rested his chin on his hand, “You egg him on when you do that.”

“I know!” You wheezed, “But its so—so hard, I can’t focus.”

Gojo leaned in to whisper something else but Getou tilted his head, “Satoru, you’re a distraction.”

He pulled back, fixing his sunglasses with a wide grin. The class clown couldn’t help but make light of such a boring atmosphere, what was he even supposed to do in here? (Study Gojo… study…)

Picking on you two was way more fun than doing his fifty-billion already missing assignments.

“What?” He looked over his glasses, “It’s not my fault I’m this funny.”

“No, he’s right!” You took deep breaths, pulling into your center, “He’s right, let me try again and don’t distract me!” You pointed with a warning intent.

He grinned at you, playing on his innocent expression, which didn’t come across as very genuine.

It was like he called for attention to himself just by entering a room. No one could ignore him. So imagine how much harder it would be to ignore him if this giant ray of sunshine was sitting right next to you, pestering you every second.

“So,” you skimmed over your notes, “for this presentation, I wanted to research how the possible extinction of polar bears is such a condenen— conquential—conquista-- conse-”

“Are you trying to say consequential?” Geto asked.

There was a slight moment of silence, maybe half a second before, like a burst of a bubble, Gojo snorted and turned his head to the side giggling away. It didn’t help that his laugh was so contagious. It was like a yawn, when one person did it everyone else did.

Geto looked away, covering the slight curl of his mouth. He tried his best to be the mature one in the group but sometimes Gojo broke down that expectation with something as simple as giggling like a child.

Him trying to not smile mixed with Gojo’s actual laugh made it so much harder to not give in yourself. These two really couldn’t stop goofing around, no matter the situation.

You forced a frown, “Guys, It’s not funny!”

Gojo made a look at Getou, and Getou let out the lightest huff of air before shaking his head. “You’re right. Continue.”

“Thank you,” you cleared your throat, getting your notes in order, “I think it’s important to note that a big factor that could lead to their extinction are greenhouse gas em… emm...emnio—”

You squinted at the page, pulling it closer, you ignored Gojo’s pestering smile beside you. If you even looked at him you knew this would be all bad, he had a way of pulling you from work and not letting you get back to it.

Getou tapped the paper, “What’s wrong?”

You slid the paper to him, “I don’t know how to say that.”

He pulled the paper to his face with a slight frown. He blinked a few times, trying to not let confusion seep onto his face. With a little bit of inspecting, he eventually slipped the paper across for Gojo to help.

Gojo blinked back at the paper, a smile curling onto his face, “Is this your handwriting…?”

Getou hid his face while Gojo’s smile widened into a grin, then a chuckle, then a full on laugh, the both of them snickering onto themselves. You rolled your eyes, as Gojo banged his hand on the table like he saw the funniest thing on the damn planet.

These two were rolling over themselves over your sleep filled handwriting! It wasn’t even that funny!

You scoffed as the two went into hysterics over your handwriting, trying to fight off the smile crawling it’s way onto your face. It took so much to not give in.

It was all fun and games until a few students started to share a few looks from across the room. A few glared your direction, some actually leaving the place for a quieter place to study. No one seemed to enjoy your table's joy the same way you all were.

The three of you were being a nuisance to the quiet work environment, contradicting the point of a library with your presence. But why was laughing in the library more fun than laughing in your room with each other?

Was it the concept of breaking the rules that tickled you? Or maybe it was the hysteria of working on something for too long without breaks, forcing you all into taking a different kind of break.

None of you noticed when a select few students got up to talk to the teachers about you three. Whispering to the side and pointing a teacher your direction.

Your head popped up when you heard the light tapping of heels and keychains coming your direction. A more than pissed off adult looking straight towards your table.

You shook Gojo and grabbed his arm, “Dude shut up! Shut up the teachers coming!”

Before you could grab yourselves together, the teacher already arrived by your table, tapping on the desk until she got your attention. “I’m going to need you all to quiet down or leave. You’re being a distraction.”

Gojo quirked a brow, opening his mouth, but you spoke up before he said something disrespectful.

“Sorry.” You nudged the guy next to you, “We’ll be more quiet.”

She pursed her lips as she did a once over of you all, definitely memorizing your faces. You lot were making this poor lady do more than needed on her shift. She probably couldn’t wait until you guys messed up again so she could kick you out for good.

“Thank you.” She did a last sharp look before she eventually turned, walking away to the front desk again. Full hawk eyes on your table.

You turned around to the group, trying to regain composure. It was so awkward having her stare and know that you had to be on your best behavior. Everyone sat silently, no one even moving.

Until Gojo leaned back in his seat, twisting his head to look at you. You tried your best to not look at him…you could literally feel his stare through your head. He was insufferable.

…However, you couldn’t help the curiosity and slowly turned your head to meet his eyes. Just one look and his face flooded into a winced grin, already trying to hold back laughter with a squeaking sound from him.

With that, your composure broke and you released a set of giggles while Getou covered his mouth. Just like that Gojo won, he ate this attention up, releasing his own dumb fit of laughter.

You guys really couldn’t go a minute in silence could you?

Getou smiled and stood from the table, “Were not getting anything done. Let’s get food.”

You nodded, you were surprised it took this long for someone to realize that. This was a highly anticipated break you put off for too long, not realizing just how much time was wasted goofing off until now.

“I want ice cream!” Gojo slung your bag over his shoulder.

You blinked between the two as they gathered their belongings, starting to disperse from the table. You were still getting yourself together, scrambling with your things as the tall pair strided to the exit. “Guys wait up!”

They very much did not wait up, if anything it seemed as though their pace got quicker. (Gojo even looked back before grinning that sinister smile of his and walking faster.)

When you darted out of the seat, you just so happened to glance back at the table.

It had a few balled up sheets of paper under it, (that Gojo made and threw at the both of you) the chair’s weren’t pushed in, and if you looked closely you could see a few doodles sprawled along it.

For some reason, the table setting that would definitely piss off that teacher, made you smile. It showed proof that you and your friends had been there, that a few teens were messing around and having fun before they left.

Which you did, you made a good memory today. Those small moments of laughing at dust with friends, warmth from being so happy, comfort from having a tight bond.

It was all you needed, and all you wanted to remember anyways.

[kuroopaisen]

the in-between | i (kuroo tetsurou)

➵  it took you and kuroo 24,000 words and 69 pages of pure behemoth far too long to learn that love was never singularly defined. it can be both striking and understated, sudden and unhurried, gentle and all-consuming. and most of all, it can be anything else in-between.

wc: 9k (part 1 of 3)

warnings: f!reader, good old f2l (do i write anything else?), depictions of anxiety & depression, cursing

 a/n: i cannot thank @w-yuren enough for all the love and care she poured into beta-ing this :( i’m honestly so touched you worked through this absolute monstrosity w me (and put up w my incoherence) ren u deserve the world <3 (also @jupiturde erin ilysm thank you for reading this over So Many times you’re incredible!!) 

m. list | ch. 1 ↠ ch. 2 

"I'll help you," Kuroo sighed. "On one condition."

The scant bit of confidence you’d worked up was starting to crumble. You clenched your fists, steeling yourself. At this point, you're willing to do just about anything.

"Manage the volleyball team for a while."

Your face fell. "What, really?"

"Mhm," Kuroo nodded, still slouched over his desk.

"You're kidding, right?"

He shook his head. "Nuh-uh."

This wasn't quite how you’d expected the situation to go. And quite frankly, you were just upset that you were even in this situation in the first place. But, who wouldn't be?

Begging Kuroo Tetsurou to help you with chemistry wasn’t a situation you’d envisioned yourself ending up in. But, something had to be done about those abysmal exam marks. Your grades in everything else were fine; good, even. Certainly high enough to earn you your spot in Class 5. But that chemistry grade was something to be concerned about. Your homeroom teacher had warned you as much on the very first day of the school year.

And for the handful of weeks since, you’d been driving yourself mad trying to think of a solution. Hard work had only gotten you so far, and none of your friends felt they were competent enough to tutor you. You needed help – desperately.

So there you stood, in front of the desk of a boy you’d never had a proper conversation with before, asking for his help – all while uncomfortably aware that this was cutting into his lunch break.

You hadn’t quite known what to expect from this interaction. You weren't really friends, after all; you’d been vaguely aware of him over this past year and a bit, but knew little, if anything, about him. All you knew was that he was topping the grade when it came to chemistry, and therefore, turning to him in this time of need might help.

You hadn't expected this ultimatum.

"Why?"

It was a genuine question.

"Hm?"

"Why ask me to be your manager?" You asked, tilting your head at him. "I know nothing about volleyball."

"You'll learn."

You frowned. "This is the only way you'll tutor me?"

"It's not the only way," Kuroo shrugged, raising an eyebrow at you. "But it'd certainly bump it up my priority list."

The worst thing was that it didn't even seem like he was trying to be a dick.

Right, you thought. Pros and cons.

Cons: being a manager would eat up a lot of your time. Presumably. Maybe. You didn't have any real idea.

Also, it would mean spending a lot more time around sweaty boys. That sounded kind of gross.

And what time did practice finish? Walking home after sunset was always a little scary. Certainly scary enough to stoke a bit of anxiety.  

More importantly, it sounded like responsibility. Maybe you were overestimating just what being a manager meant, but it sounded like there was plenty of stuff you could mess up.

Pros: it'd look really, really good on your college applications.

Just like a passing chemistry grade would. Which you weren't going to get all on your own.

“It doesn’t have to be for long,” he offered, raising an eyebrow at you. “Just a couple of months. And I’ll be your resource to use as you please.”

You blinked at him, baffled at his choice of phrasing.

“How about you just drop by practice this afternoon?” He suggested, balancing his chin on his fist. “You can get a feel for it.”

You sighed.

“Alright.”

You were willing to do just about anything, after all.

✧ ✧ ✧

Teenage boys, no matter how polite or kind or accommodating, are always scary in packs.

That little revelation came to mind as you pressed yourself meekly against the wall of the gym, watching a gaggle of boys running back and forth, jumping and hitting and shouting. Part of you wanted to melt into the wall, hoping that none of these giants would pay you much attention.  

You’re painfully aware of one of them staring at you; a first-year, judging by his use of honorifics. He’s tallish, but not enough to be scary, with close-cropped hair and grumpy eyebrows. There’s a certain intensity to him – he seemed like the sort of person with too much tenacity for his own good. 

And yet, he seemed terrified of you. Was he the sort of boy who couldn’t talk to girls?

You smiled to yourself. Such dichotomy in one personality, huh?

There was another boy that caught your eye. A quiet one, with chin-length black hair who seemed to want to sink into the ground. He didn’t look like the sort of boy you’d expect to find on a high school sports team. He was a little shorter than everyone else – except for Yaku, who’d greeted you quite amiably when you’d first arrived.  

But Yaku seemed like he wanted to be there. Like he enjoyed it. This kid? He looked like he just wanted to melt into the shadows. He always flinched whenever anyone called out to him. Hell, he seemed to flinch even when someone so much as looked at him. Was he okay? Should you ask if he’s okay? Should you point him out to Kuroo? But Kuroo had already spoken to him a few times…

Well, checking in with people’s well-being would be part of your job as a manager, right? It’d be your duty to make sure that the club members were doing okay. 

But practice was still going. You’d have to put a pin in that thought.  

The third years were frightening, as expected. But, you felt as though your upperclassmen would always be somewhat scary. The captain had traded a handful of words with you – hellos, nice to meet yous, a what are you even doing here – but he hadn’t made any particular point to help you out.

That job was left to the coach, who, thankfully, seemed quite kind. You had said very little to him, but you could tell that he loved his job just from the serene smile that graced his face as he watched his team go at it.  

Practice was over before you knew it. The sun was setting outside the windows, the sky blushing orange. You bit your lip. Maybe you’d be able to get home before it got too dark…

You sighed, turning your gaze back to the gym floor. Maybe you should try talking to one of the boys… Yaku had always been friendly. Maybe he’d tolerate a conversation with you? Oh, what about Kai? He’d been very quiet, but he seemed nice… There was Kuroo, too…

You pressed your lips together, eyes scanning over the gaggle of boys in front of you as your mind ran through the pros and cons all at once.

You frowned. The third years were yapping at that quiet boy; whatever they were saying, it didn’t seem exactly friendly. You froze. Should you do something? Was this normal? Was it a problem? He looked terrified – not that he showed it outright, but it was in his eyes.

Kuroo was standing behind him, saying something to one of the third years. You couldn’t quite hear them, but Kuroo’s expression was… cold. Not confrontational, just unyielding. Whatever he’d said, the third years stalked away.

You watched closely as Kuroo’s expression softened as he looked at the shorter boy. He looked concerned. Were they friends?

“Oi, manager chick!”

You cringed. It’s one of the third years – not the captain, but someone you’d noted had quite the nasty serve.

“Help clean up!”

“Right!” You gave a quick half-bow, your head flicking around almost frantically as you looked for something to do.  

You settled for collecting stray balls, rushing them back to the ball bins. All the while you watched the sky darken beyond the gym windows – and with it, your anxiety began to blossom.

By the time you were picking up your bag to go home, the sky was positively black. You bit your lip as you stared out the gym windows, your eyebrows a little furrowed.

“Hey.”

You looked up, a little startled. Kuroo, forehead slick with sweat and cheeks tinged red from exertion. You resisted the urge to scrunch up your nose. Being this close to a sweaty teenage boy wasn’t high on your priorities list.

“What’d you think?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck with a towel.

You shrugged. “Seems intense.”

“But you don’t hate it, right?” He smiled. It’s hopeful. Almost pitifully so.

You bit the inside of your cheek. In truth, you didn’t. There’s something quite fun about watching them play volleyball up close. They all got so into it. It was always nice, watching people care about something so deeply that enjoyment seeped through every part of their being.

“We’ll see,” you said. “Maybe I’ll come back tomorrow.”

He smiled brightly at that half-promise. Brightly enough that you knew you didn’t want to let him down.

This side of him was already a far cry from that trickster-like figure you’d negotiated with this morning.

“Hey, uh…” He cleared his throat, one hand finding its way to the back of his head. “I was wondering… did you need me to walk you home? I know it’s getting kind of late, so…”

You felt something that’s not quite elation, but certainly a bit more intense than relief. Tokyo’s a safe enough place, yes, but that fact’s never enough to quell the anxiety you’d always felt from walking home in the dark.

“If it’s not too much trouble.” You tried to make your smile look relaxed and natural, but you knew some hint of tension had made its way in there.

“Cool,” Kuroo said, giving you a little nod as his eyes scanned your face. He relaxed his shoulders a bit, slouching down a little. Was he… trying to make himself smaller? “But, uh… where do you live?”

By some miracle, it’s not all that far from his place. You caught the relief on his face, even if he made an effort to hide it. Would he really have walked you all the way to your house, even if it wasn’t in the same area?

He didn’t give you time to think about it, turning around and waving a hand in the air.

“Hey, Kenma!”

Your brows rose instinctively as the shy kid scurried over, head hunched down and hands stuffed into his pockets.

“This is Kenma,” Kuroo smiled, nodding at him. “He’s my next-door neighbour.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” you smiled, tilting your head at him.

“Yeah,” Kenma nodded in a quiet response, not quite able to meet your eyes. You didn’t press it. You offered him your name quickly, a bit like an afterthought, but Kenma gave you a little nod in recognition.

“You guys ready to go?” Kuroo looked between the both of you, tilting his head at the door.

You glanced over at Kenma. He didn’t glance back.

“Yeah,” you nodded, relieved that you wouldn’t have to walk the dark streets on your own.

✉

[YOU] 7:21 PM: hello! Is this kuroo?

[Kuroo] 7:34 PM: you got it

[YOU] 7:36 PM: thank goodness! I just wanted to say, thank you for walking me home today. I was a bit worried about it, but I didn’t want to impose

[Kuroo] 7:38 PM: not a problem. I’m more than happy to do it again tomorrow

[Kuroo] 7:38 PM: since you are coming to practice, right?

[YOU] 7:40 PM: Sure :)

✧ ✧ ✧

Kuroo Tetsurou hadn’t been what you’d expected.

For one thing, he’d actually made good on your deal. You’d half-expected him to bail on tutoring you – though you couldn’t exactly say why. But, you supposed it would be hard for him to dodge the ire of his club manager. Regardless, he dedicated most afternoons to helping you study.

You’d meet up in the library before practice and you’d always start with chemistry. He was actually kind of good at explaining the concepts to you in a way you understood, without all the bells and whistles. He had a way of simplifying the concepts to their bare bones. That’s not to say that it wasn’t difficult; you still felt like you’d been left far, far behind. But, Kuroo was something of a comfort.

Somehow, you’d end up working on other subjects. Apparently, Kuroo’s surprisingly bad at literature. He was doing well enough, but it was something he just couldn’t wrap his head around. Maybe you’d been a bit gung-ho about offering your help, but you were just glad you finally had something to offer in this arrangement. Even though you were still managing the volleyball team, overwhelming as that could be sometimes.

But, you’d made a deal, and the whole manager business was less scary than you’d first thought. And you felt that with time, you’d get the hang of it. Maybe.

More often than not, your study session before practice wasn’t enough time to cover all the content you needed. So, sometimes, you’d continue it after practice, holed up in the library until you got kicked out. Kenma usually stuck with you guys, sitting in the corner with whatever game console he’d brought that day.

And without fail, Kuroo walked you all the way to your house every night. And during those walks, you talked. Rather animatedly.

“What I’m saying is that the divide between the arts and the sciences is arbitrary,” Kuroo shrugged, raising an eyebrow. “When they work together, incredible things happen. Genuine art happens.” He cocked his head at you, that perceptive grin of his spread across his face. “You’d really disagree with me on that?”

“I didn’t say I disagree,” you grinned. “I’m just surprised that you’re not one of those sciencey people who thinks that the arts are worthless.”

He scoffed at that, shaking his head. “Excuse you. I’ve got more nuance than that.”

“Sorry for doubting you,” you giggled.

“You better be.”

The thing you’d been most surprised about, above everything else, was just how enjoyable it was to talk to him. How easy it was to get lost in a conversation that most of your other friends might get bored by. It’s not that your other friends treated you badly, but Kuroo had a way of naturally drawing out your thoughts, and he usually treated them with enough respect to engage with them. Of course, there were times when he loved to tease, and you’d learnt to not take it too personally.

Kuroo Tetsurou was far more interesting than you’d first given him credit for. And you felt kind of bad for that. You’d known he wasn’t just some dumb jock – he wasn’t topping chemistry for nothing – but you hadn’t expected him to be so… clever. So playful. So fun to talk to.

You were beginning to feel that maybe, just maybe, he was someone you could end up being quite close to.

✉

[YOU] 10:41 PM: hey, kuroo?

[Kuroo] 10:46 PM: what's up?

[YOU] 10:47 PM: i was just wondering, why did you ask me to become manager?

[Kuroo] 10:48 PM: oh ahaha

[Kuroo] 10:48 PM: i thought having an extra pair of hands around would help the coach out a bit

[YOU] 10:48 PM: wait really

[YOU] 10:48 PM: that's it?

[Kuroo] 10:50 PM: ??????

[YOU] 10:51 PM: you were so seedy about it!

[Kuroo] 10:51 PM: was i?

[YOU] 10:52 PM: i–

[Kuroo] 10:53 PM: :)

✧ ✧ ✧

“Kenma wants to quit.”

Your head shot up, turning to Kuroo with wide eyes. “What?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, one hand raking through his hair. “The third years have been giving him a really rough time.” He bit his lip, glancing at you. “You’ve seen it yourself.”

You swallowed. “I hoped I was just being too sensitive, but…”

Kuroo groaned, running a hand down his face. “They’re such assholes.”

You bit the inside of your cheek, unsure of what to say. The third years had almost made you want to quit in the early days. They were scary, sharp, unrelenting. But they’d left you alone pretty quickly once you’d settled into the thrum of your responsibilities.

Kenma hadn’t been so lucky.

“Is he okay?” You murmured, brows knitted together. “I mean, I know he’s getting picked on, but is he… is he… I don’t know…”

“I get it,” Kuroo sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know. He doesn’t really talk about that sort of stuff.”

You set your pen down on the dining table, shifting in your chair to face him directly.

Practice had been cancelled for the afternoon, and Kuroo had bustled you out of school before you even had a chance to ask why. You’d been surprised when he had asked if the two of you could study at your place that afternoon – and some part of you had dreaded what your parents might say about you bringing a boy home – but you’d conceded. He’d seemed stuck in his head; something not unusual for him, but he’d been just withdrawn enough to pique your concern.

This must’ve been why.

“I just don’t know what to do,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. “I don’t want to push him too hard or anything, but I don’t think he’s making the right choice.”

You bit your lip.

“Why?” You asked, feeling bold.

“Huh?”

“Tell me why you don’t want him to quit,” you said. “Other than the obvious.” You sat up a little straighter, grabbing your notebook and picking up your pen. “We can brainstorm together.”

“Other than the obvious?” He tilted his head at you.

“You know,” you shrugged. “I know you want him to stay around because he’s your best friend, but... there’s more to it, right?”

“Well…” Kuroo swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck as he leant back in his chair.  “We’re not gonna get very far without him.”

You scribbled that down quickly. “Why’s that?”

“He’s a good strategist,” Kuroo said carefully, “And he’s great at running through all the potential outcomes on the spot. And nobody on the team’s as observant as he is.”

You bit the inside of your cheek as you transcribed. You weren’t narcissistic enough to think you knew Kenma better than Kuroo did. Nor did you want to presume you were closer to the second-year than you actually were. But you wanted to help.

“Why don’t you… explain that to him?” You asked, peering down at your notebook.

“What do you mean?”

“Like… just tell him the logical reasons you want him to stick around,” you shrugged. “I think he’d respond well to that.”

“I guess…” Kuroo pursed his lips, looking at you with a frown.

“What I’m trying to say is that… maybe putting it into terms that’ll resonate with him is the best way to go.” You weren’t quite sure if your point was getting across. You just had to hope that he understood.

“I get you,” he nodded, crossing his arms. “I dunno if it’ll work though.”

“He’ll listen to you,” you mused, propping your hand on your chin.  

“Huh?”

“It’s obvious you mean a lot to him,” you shrugged. “Even if he doesn’t really use his words to express that.”

Kuroo blinked at you, a touch of pink to his cheeks.

“I mean, he’s stuck it out with volleyball this long, hasn’t he?” You smiled at him, watching his cheeks grow even pinker. “That’s because of you.”

He cleared his throat as he looked down at his lap. It was strange to see him so… speechless. He was the sort of person that always had a comeback. You were never able to get a one up on him. Sincerity, however, seemed to be his hamartia.

“I just… I wanna go as far as I can with this team,” he admitted, scratching the back of his neck. “You know, me and the other second years… when we first joined the team, we were asked about our goals.”

He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “We all said that we wanted to win nationals.”

He wasn’t quite sure why he was telling you all this. He didn’t know where it came from. But he knew he’s grateful to be able to just talk. To share this with someone.

“Yaku and I used to fight all the time,” he smiled sheepishly, casting his gaze at you.

“I can see that,” you giggled. There was always a little fire between the two of them; it’d given you a good laugh many times.

“It was kind of stupid, but… we got over it. We learned to work together,” Kuroo sighed.

“I feel bad for poor Kai,” you smiled.

Kuroo laughed. “Yeah…” He sighed as he leaned over the table, resting his chin on his folded arms. “Nekoma used to be hot shit, you know.”

“Did we?” You asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Made it to nationals a couple of times. But, we sort of… fell off. We haven’t been as good as we could be for a while. And… I want to change that.”

He pressed his lips together, his brows furrowing. “We can’t do that if we don’t work together. And I know that sounds obvious, but… we need to focus on our teamwork more. We’ll only be great if we all learn to rely on and trust each other. We’ve gotta make the best use of all our strengths while covering our weaknesses.”

You nodded, making a little noise of agreement. You couldn’t help but smile as you listened to him. This side of Kuroo – this genuine, honest one – was quickly becoming your favourite.  

“Sorry,” he chuckled, sitting up straight. “Didn’t mean to ramble at you there.”

“No, no, it’s fine!” You shook your head. “Ramble all you’d like.”

He quirked an eyebrow at you for that, but he was smiling.

“Hey, Kuroo?” Normally, you wouldn’t have thought to ask the questions that were currently poking at the back of your mind. But he’d just been so honest, so open with you in a way he’d never been before. Maybe it was okay to be a little bit curious. Just this once.

“Hm?”

“I have a genuine question,” you said, folding your hands in your lap.

He looked at you, pouting a little.

“Why volleyball?”

He bit the inside of his cheek, brow creased ever so slightly. Usually, he’d just dodge a conversation like this; not because he was particularly embarrassed by it or anything like that, but because he didn’t want to talk about himself too much. He didn’t want to be rude and dominate the conversation.

But, you were asking. And, you seemed genuinely interested.

A little bit of sincerity wouldn’t hurt, right?

“My family moved here when I was pretty young,” he said, shrugging. “And I didn’t really… know how to make friends. Before I moved, I’d been part of a volleyball team. All my friends were on it, and… I had to move away from them.”

It was a little strange, trying to pull up all these memories. And trying to condense them was harder than he’d expected. “When I first met Kenma, we just played video games. I didn’t really… know how to talk to him. But he agreed to play volleyball with me, and that made things so much easier. I had something to talk about.”

You smiled to yourself, the image of a shy little Kuroo more endearing than it should be.

“I even convinced him to go to a weekend class with me,” he smiled, looking down. “You know, I even remember when I first met Coach Nekomata.”

“Huh?” You frowned.

“The old coach who used to work here. Rumour is he’ll come out of retirement sometime soon,” he smiled. 

You nodded, even though you didn’t quite understand. 

We bumped into him at one of those classes,” Kuroo said. “He told me, ‘do what you love, and success will come.’ I still think about that.”

Do what you love, and success will come. Yeah, that definitely sounded like something that’d resonate with Kuroo.

“Anyway, I joined the team in middle school, and that made it a lot easier to make friends,” Kuroo shrugged. “I don’t know. I love volleyball. Have for as long as I can remember. It’s fun. And… it helped me connect with people, even when… even when I couldn’t find the right words.”

He looked at you, a bit more tentative than usual. But, you were smiling, your chin propped up on one of your palms as you listened to him talk.

“Believe it or not, but I was a really shy kid.” He didn’t know why he’s still talking. And honestly, he’s a little embarrassed by it. But, you’re still listening. And for that, he’s grateful.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” you grinned.

His eyes widened a little. “Huh?”

“You think so much,” you mused, looking upwards. “But, like… in the way introverts do, you know?” You blushed, looking down at your hands. “Well, I mean… I tend to overthink everything I say, right?”

“No, really?” Kuroo gasped, covering his mouth with one hand.

“Shush,” you shot him a half-glare, suppressing the urge to stick your tongue out at him like a child. “It’s just that… I see a little bit of that in you, too. Not… massively, but it’s there.”  

You couldn’t quite read his expression. It wasn’t one you’d seen before. And honestly, he wouldn’t know how to describe it himself. He was caught between the relief at being seen, at being understood, and the embarrassment of being called out. People didn’t tend to pick up on that part of him – and yet, you had.

He wasn’t used to being the one getting read.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, “I really didn’t mean to ramble so much.”

“Oi,” you giggled, “I said it’s fine, didn’t I?”

He raised an eyebrow at you.

“It’s nice that you care so much about the game.” You were smiling at him. Nothing unusual. But the look in your eyes was so genuine, so bright that he could feel his face burning up from looking at it.

“Yeah,” he smiled, breaking eye contact with you. God, he really didn’t know what to do in conversations like these. “Anyway, should we get back to chem?”

✉

[closet introvert] 9:22 PM: so

[YOU] 9:25 PM: so

[closet introvert] 9:25 PM: i think i’m gonna try to talk to kenma after school tomorrow

✧ ✧ ✧

If there was one thing you were fairly decent at as manager, it was looking after the first and second years. Bit by bit, you’d worked up an adequate rapport with each of them, and you had most of their personalities sorted out. Most importantly, you knew what to do when they were down.

You just had to let Yaku rant – let him shout and gripe and swear, and he’d be okay. Kai liked a constructive conversation, had in soft, measured tones, and offering a solution or two. Yamamoto wanted fire and conviction, a challenge to do better, to be better. Fukunaga liked a distraction, something to take his mind off of whatever was bothering him. Kenma liked to be left alone to sort things out for himself – but you were permitted to make him a care package or two.

You’d known Kuroo long enough by now to know that he was rather reticent when it came to his own feelings. He wasn’t the sort to talk about them upfront; you had to peer at the silences and the spaces between his words to find out what he really meant. You had to look at his behaviour; he was never too straightforward. That sort of thing seemed to overwhelm him.

That presented a bit of a problem. If he didn’t want to talk about his feelings, he simply wouldn’t. He’d deflect the conversation, or downplay how he was feeling. Sometimes he gave you bits and pieces, but he rarely spilled his true thoughts and feelings. They were exceedingly difficult to draw out of him – he had to offer them up himself. And most of the time, he bounced back pretty quickly from his more melancholic moods on his own.  

But not today.

Kuroo wasn’t exactly loud. At least, not in the same way Yamamoto was – or that rambunctious wing spiker from Fukurodani. It was well within Kuroo’s abilities to be obnoxious, but he wasn’t loud. But even for him, he was being uncharacteristically quiet today.

Practice had gone fine, as far as you could tell. Nothing had gone obviously wrong, and nobody had gotten injured. From your perspective, things had even gone well. Admittedly, your knowledge of volleyball didn’t run particularly deep just yet, but you were trying your best.

Kuroo was usually so bright after practice, always grinning or cackling at something despite his exhaustion. Half the time he’d point things out to you, explaining certain moves they’d practised or formations they were trying out.

But today, he’d just picked up his bag dourly, waiting at the door for you and Kenma to leave. He’d said very little on the walk to the train station when usually he’d be rambling about something or other. You and Kenma exchanged a look; he was just as concerned as you were.

And just like you, he didn’t know how to breach the conversation.

“So… how do they even work?” You asked, blinking down at Kenma’s DS screen.

You couldn’t stand the silence for much longer. And you knew that a sure-fire way to get Kenma talking was by asking him about video games – especially optimization.

“EVs are gained by defeating specific Pokemon,” Kenma murmured. “If you defeat a Pokemon with naturally high HP like Chansey, you’ll gain EVs towards your own HP. However, you can only gain 252 EV’s towards any one stat.”

You nodded, opting to let him ramble. Usually, Kuroo would’ve led the conversation between the three of you. But, you’d valiantly taken that task up yourself today – and the easiest way to help things go smoothly was to get Kenma on a roll.

“You can gain a maximum of five-hundred and twelve total, so realistically you can only optimise two stats at a time,” he continued, eyes still glued to his screen. You took a moment to glance at Kuroo. He was staring out the window of the train, his expression worryingly forlorn. Was he even listening?

“IVs are a Pokemon’s innate capabilities.” Kenma was still going. You made an affirmative noise in the back of your throat, nodding. “A Pokemon with a high attack IV will have a naturally higher attack stat than a Pokemon with a low attack IV, even at the same level.”

On the one hand, it was nice to know that Kenma was comfortable enough with you to ramble like this. It was also nice to see Kenma talking freely; a rare and precious sight.

On the other hand, it just made you more stressed about Kuroo. He hadn’t breathed a word the entire ride. He hadn’t even taken a moment to gaze fondly at Kenma while he was rambling. And he always did that when Kenma was on a roll.

You managed to ask enough questions to fill the distance to Kenma’s house. He was speaking more than usual. That much was obvious, yes – but even for a Kenma that was geeking out, this was unusual.

And with the way his gaze kept flicking to Kuroo, you knew it was because he was truly, deeply concerned.

Kuroo still made somewhat of an effort to say goodbye to Kenma, despite his mood. The usual “make sure you don’t go to sleep too late, okay?” and “make sure you drink enough water, so you don’t get a headache.”

But before Kenma walked through his front door, he looked at you. And when you looked back, he held eye contact. Then he looked very pointedly at Kuroo, who was staring up at the sky. By the time you turned to look at Kenma again, he was already scurrying through his front door.

“You ready?” Kuroo asked, now looking at you.

You nodded, half-jogging to join him on the street. Even today, even when it seemed like he just wanted to go home and sleep, he was still walking you home. Sure, your house wasn’t all that far from his, but he still went out of his way every night, just to make sure you felt comfortable.

That quiet thoughtfulness was part of who he was. You’d seen him direct it at Kenma all the time.

The same Kenma who’d just sent you a silent plea.

The Kenma, who never looked you in the eyes for longer than half a second.

The Kenma, who had just asked you to speak to his best friend.

That was all the push you needed.

“Hey, Kuroo?” You murmured.

“Hm?”

“Are you okay?” You asked.

Kuroo looked at you, one eyebrow raised. He was torn.

Should he really burden you with this? Was it right for him to worry you again?

But you’re looking at him with such genuine concern, such genuine care. And the advice you’d given him when he was worried about Kenma had been both helpful and effective. And surely, you wouldn’t have asked that question if you didn’t want a proper answer, right?

Fuck it, he thought.

“I feel like I’m not measuring up,” he sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “My blocking hasn’t been improving. And I don’t know why. I’ve been trying to work on my read blocking but I just can’t get it down. I can’t even fix the problem because I don’t know what the problem is.”

He took a deep breath, his steps slowing to a stop. “I convinced Kenma to stay on, but I’m not a team-mate he can be proud of.”

“Kuroo…”

You looked at him, cloaked in the shadows of the street. His gaze was cast at the ground, his brow furrowed and the smallest of pouts on his lips. You wanted to hug him, but you weren’t sure if that’d help.

You didn’t quite know what to say. You knew what it was like to get caught up in your own insecurities – you were sure most people did. You knew he couldn’t see himself the way you saw him; tenacious, hard-working, passionate.

“You’re being too hard on yourself,” you murmured. No, that was too soft – too wishy-washy. “I know that it… seems kind of silly for me to say, but you are.”

You clenched your fists to steel yourself, taking a step closer to him. That got his attention – he looked up at you, eyes slightly wide.

“You feel like you’re not measuring up, or that you’re not improving… but I don’t see it that way.” It was true. You watched him push himself harder each and every day, improving little by little. And when he wasn’t, he’d learn from those mistakes.

“It must be easy to lose yourself on the court, but from where I’m standing… you’re improving every day.” Your eyes searched his face, looking for any indication that your words were having some kind of impact.

“And… you don’t need to be the world’s best middle blocker, you know?” You said, tilting your head at him. “You’re good, Kuroo. And you know you’ve got space to improve – that’s your strength. That makes you a team-mate worth being proud of.”

He was staring at you, eyes still wide. The dim light of the street hid the blush on his cheeks. For that, he was thankful.

“Uh…” He felt like he should say something. But he didn’t quite know what. ‘Thank you’ would’ve been the natural response, but those words just wouldn’t come.

“Sorry,” you blushed, your nerves finally catching up with you as you looked away from him. “I didn’t mean to… push your boundaries or anything like that, but… if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

Had you overstepped his boundaries? Had you made him uncomfortable? Those questions plagued you for the rest of the way home, Kuroo still quiet and reticent at your side.

You hadn’t overstepped his boundaries at all. Kuroo just couldn’t find the right words, even as you closed the distance to your house.

In all honesty, he’s touched. Touched that you cared so much. Touched that you reached out, even though he could tell how nervous you were. Touched that you were paying that much attention.

As he walked through the door of his own home, he couldn’t get the image of you looking up at him so resolutely out of his head.

He’d have to thank some deity above for the fact you were bad at chemistry, wouldn’t he?  

✉

[japan’s okayest tutor] 10:57 PM: hey so uh

[japan’s okayest tutor] 10:57 PM: i just wanted to say thanks

[japan’s okayest tutor] 10:58 PM: for listening to me be all emotional like that

[japan’s okayest tutor] 10:58 PM: i put a lot on you but you were really nice about it

[japan’s okayest tutor] 10:59 PM: so yeah

[japan’s okayest tutor] 10:59 PM: thanks

[YOU] 10:59 PM: NO! DON’T APOLOGISE!

[japan’s okayest tutor] 10:59 PM: !?!?!?!

[YOU] 11:00 PM: honestly, i don’t mind! and i’m happy to listen :(

[YOU] 11:00 PM: i’m here if you need to talk to anyone, okay?

[japan’s okayest tutor] 11:04 PM: you too

✧ ✧ ✧

You were alone.

Your sobs were the only sound fracturing the fragile silence of the empty gym as you slumped against the wall, your knees brought up to your chest.

Why did you have to fuck up so bad? You’d managed to survive your first year with no drama, the only cause of concern being your studies. They were overwhelming enough  to deal with on their own. You’d certainly felt down about your grades and whatnot before, but those ruts were a little easier to pull yourself out of. ‘They’re just grades,’ you’d try and tell yourself. ‘You can improve next time. And they don’t define you as a person.’ Even if you didn’t quite believe any of that, it was nice to have some rhetoric to at least attempt to counteract those thoughts.

But now? Now you truly felt alone. Like no-one cared about you.

You felt like you deserved it. Like anyone who cared about you was wasting their time. Like you were taking up their time and attention undeservedly.

It was all too overwhelming.

The pain choked you. Every thought, every feeling you’d been trying to fend off for so long ripped through you like an arrow.

Fuck, why couldn’t you just hold yourself together? Why did you have to be so weak?

You let go. And you cried. And cried. And cried.

The sound shattered the vacuous silence of the gym. You weren’t sure how long you’d been sitting there, letting your sobs rack through your body.

Your throat was sore.

Your eyes stung.

You were alone.

And you deserved it.

“Woah.”

You froze. You knew that voice.

“Hey.” Kuroo knelt in front of you, his hands finding their way to your forearms. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He was knelt in front of you, eyebrows knitted together as his eyes roamed your face.

You shook your head, squeezing your eyes shut. Shit, why was he here? Why hadn’t he just headed home?

You didn’t want anyone to see you like this. You didn’t want to worry them.

Kuroo’s arms found their way around you, coaxing you gently towards his chest. You collapsed into him, burying your face in his chest.

Fuck, that didn’t help at all. Your sobs came with more voracity, rawer and harsher than they had been.

He just held you, chin propped on your head and one hand rubbing your back. He didn’t say anything; he knew you didn’t need that right now. He knew that in moments like this, it was nice just to be held. To feel like someone’s there.

And then slowly, breath by breath, everything seemed to calm. Your sobs grew softer and softer against his chest, his gentle hums setting a new rhythm for your fractured mind. He was grounding you; each touch, each sound was an attempt to bring you back down to earth. You could tell it wasn’t the most comfortable position for him, crouched awkwardly in front of you while holding you to his chest, but he stayed. 

He stayed until your breathing had levelled out, and your grip on his shirt had loosened.

“There you go,” Kuroo murmured, letting you go. He shifted to sit next to you, and you immediately missed his warmth. You found a little comfort as he looped an arm around your shoulder.  

You took a long, shaky breath. You weren’t sure how long you’d keep it together for, but you were glad for the reprieve.

“What are you doing here?” You sniffed, rubbing your nose with the back of your hand. He shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t have made him worry about you.

“You didn’t show up for our little study session,” he said, eyebrows knitted together. “I tried texting you, but you didn’t respond. And I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

Shit. You’d forgotten to tell him you’d ‘headed home early.’

“I was worried about you,” he murmured, giving your shoulder a squeeze.

You swallowed roughly, the guilt bubbling up in your chest.

“I’m sorry–”

“No.” Kuroo shook his head. “Don’t apologize. If you need to get it out, you need to get it out.”

You bit your lip, looking down at your hands. Your knuckles blanched pale as you clenched the fabric of your skirt.

“And,” he swallowed, “if you need to talk to someone… I’m here.”

Your breath caught in your throat as you felt everything rush back. The fight. The loneliness. The insomnia.

Kuroo didn’t need to hear this. And you didn’t want to burden him with this.

But God, you needed to talk to someone.  

“I- I had an argument with Hana,” you sniffed, fingers playing with the hem of your jacket.

You could barely remember how it started. Something stupid, probably. Something immature. But it had blown way out of proportion, and she wasn’t speaking to you anymore. You’d been spending your lunchtimes alone, behind the gym or in an empty classroom. You didn’t have the strength to face the rest of your friends, nor did you know what she’d been telling them.

It had struck at the worst possible time, too. The usual anxieties about grades and the future had been compounding recently. You’d been a bit more down than usual, and this whole Hana debacle had exacerbated that. You were usually able to manage feelings like this, finding ways to keep your head above water.

But not this time.

“I just,” you swallowed, squeezing your eyes shut. “I just feel like something’s missing. And, and I’m… there’s… there’s this gap in my heart, and I don’t know how to stop feeling so empty.”

You took a deep breath, feeling it tremble through your body. “But… but I also just feel so numb.”

And all of it, even the numbness, was overwhelming. No matter how desperately you tried to distract yourself, you couldn’t. Nothing worked. You’d lost too many nights sitting at the bottom of your shower, letting the water run down your back as your mind ran in the same repeating circles.

You were exhausted.

“And part of me,” you swallowed, your throat rough and dry as your emotions tried to hammer themselves into something coherent. “Part of me feels like… like it’s wrong to feel like this.”

God, that felt stupid. Stupid, but true. On top of everything, you felt defunct.

And frankly, you couldn’t say why. Was it shame? Guilt? Something else?

“Hey.” Kuroo’s voice was low, almost soft as he wrapped an arm around your shoulder. “You’re gonna feel what you’re gonna feel,” he murmured, “You shouldn’t feel guilty about that, okay?”

He felt you tremble as you tried to take a deep breath.

He knew that your pain wasn’t a one-to-one reflection of his own. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to understand exactly what you were going through.

But he knew what it was like to be a small child, so afraid, so alone, without an understanding of what was really going on around him.

He knew what it was like to feel as if something was missing, like there was a constant gap in your heart. He’d felt that way when his parents had split up. He’d only been a kid, too young to properly comprehend why that had been happening.

All he had known was that his family had crumbled to pieces around him. And then his mother was gone, half a world away with little more than a kiss on his forehead as a goodbye. He hadn’t been ready for it. He had felt like he might never be.

That feeling of separation had followed him, even into his teen years. It was quieter now, a half-whisper on the bad days. Usually, he could ignore it, setting his mind to more productive concerns. But, it never quite disappeared.

Kuroo knew what it was like to be lonely.

And he hated seeing you go through the exact same thing.

Lonely. Afraid. Probably hoping that someone, somewhere, would acknowledge your pain.

That was the worst part. Wanting your suffering to be known. Wanting someone to look at all of it, to see it for what it was. But no matter how palpable that desire was, how desperately you wanted it, it was too terrifying. To speak up was to be a burden. To speak up was to expose yourself to pity; and that was always the last thing you needed.

Pity’s useless. All you were asking for, all you really wanted was understanding. Acknowledgment. To have someone see.

He knew exactly what that was like.

“You, uh…” The sentiment caught in his throat, somehow both persistent and reticent.

“You don’t have to do this alone.”

They were the very words he’d wished someone had said to him all those years ago. The words he’d wanted someone to offer him, a child who didn’t know how to reach out. To cry out for help.

And in that moment, with his arms around the manager who had looked after him and his boys so well, Kuroo felt that call.

✉

[passable at best] 8:30 PM: hey

[passable at best] 8:30 PM: how are you feeling?

[YOU] 8:45 PM: alright

[YOU] 8:45 PM: i ate dinner and i’ve just been watching youtube

[YOU] 8:46 PM: and i’ve been drinking a lot of water

[passable at best] 8:46 PM: i’m glad to hear that

[passable at best] 8:46 PM: make sure you get an early night, yeah?

[YOU] 8:47 PM: i’ll try

[passable at best] 8:47 PM: and if you need anything, please text me

✧ ✧ ✧

"Come to the temple with me."

The surprise was evident on your face. You’re glad he couldn’t see you. "What… just us?"

"Yeah." There's a pause. An almost painful one. "I couldn't get Kenma to leave the house, so…"

You pretended you weren’t disappointed. If anyone could see you, they wouldn't be convinced.

"Oh, well, uh…" Your fists curled into your nightgown. "Sure."

"Great!" You could hear the smile in his voice. It's the one you like best; full of sunlight, pure and whole. The one that reached his eyes. "I'll, uh… see you at eight?"

Usually, if someone had called you at seven-thirty in the morning, you would've simply ignored them. But when you’d seen that it was him, you’d answered immediately. The lack of hesitation was almost frightening.

There was no reason that your fondness for a certain Kuroo Tetsurou should scare you. You just knew that you adored the guy. In less than a year, he’d become one of your favourite people. And, he’d been such a solid support for you. Of course you’d go to the temple with him.  

But as you stood at the temple steps, swallowed up by a coat and two jumpers, you wondered if anyone was worth being this cold for.

“Sorry I’m late.”

You glared up at him, nose embarrassingly red.

“What?” He groaned, hands dug deep in his pockets.

“It’s cold.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“It’s eight in the morning.”

“Hey,” he grinned, reaching up and ruffling your hair with a gloved hand. “You could’ve said no.”

You huffed. Unfortunately, he was right.

“Well, I’m touched,” he chuckled, looking up at the sky. “It’s a nice morning, though.” He looked back down at you with a grin. He was far too peppy for this hour of the morning. “You ready?”

The walk up the steps was almost laborious, given just how cold it was. Your breath misted in front of you as you told each other about your first dreams of the year; he’s still regaling a tale about Kenma turning into a dragon with five heads and chasing him through the streets of Tokyo by the time you reach the fortunes.

You tried to shake off the superstitious jitters as you carefully chose one of the knots on the string. Kuroo showed much less care.

As you read the fortune written out on your strip, you let out a surreptitious sigh of relief. You looked at Kuroo, tilting your head.

“What’d you get?” You sniffled. You hoped you wouldn’t get a cold from this.

“Bad luck,” he said, turning the strip towards you.

You snorted. “Oh, ow.”

He shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal.” His expression said otherwise; it was that half-grimace he had whenever he didn’t want to admit he was wrong. Or that Bokuto had done something cool.

“Really?” You grinned, tilting your head at him. “You’re not bothered by it at all?”

“Alright, what did you get then?” He peered down at you, puffing out his chest.

“A little luck.” You held your strip towards him, and he scowled.

“Bad luck’s more exciting,” he mumbled.

“Don’t be mad about it,” you smiled, nudging him with your elbow. “God just likes me more.”

“Oi,” he huffed, ruffling your hair with a cold hand.

“Hey!” You wacked his hand away, but he just cackled.

“Anyway, you’ve forgotten the most important part of a temple visit,” he yawned, looking back at the fortunes lined up on the strings.

“Hm?” You frowned.

"You gotta make a promise," he sniffled, his fortune scrunched up in his hand.

You pouted, your hands dug deep in your pockets. A promise, huh? Did he mean a wish? You weren’t about to argue the point. He’d win it, anyway.

“You go first,” you mumbled, a little embarrassed by the fact that nothing was coming to mind.

He paused, staring at you for a moment. You squinted back, perhaps half as a challenge.

"Hm," Kuroo puffed his cheeks out, looking up at the sky for a moment. "I promise… to always be there for you. No matter what."

You blushed. What sort of promise was that? And why did it make you feel like… this?

Thwump!

You were only half aware of it as you punched him in the stomach.

“What was that for?” He wheezed, hands clamped on his stomach as he stumbled back a few steps.

“You can’t say things like that!” You whined, feeling the colour in your cheeks growing deeper.

“Why not?” There was something a little too genuine in his frown.

“Because I was going to say something really lame!” It was only eight-thirty in the morning, and Kuroo had already worked his way under your skin. And you weren’t entirely sure he’d meant to. “If I knew you were gonna say something like that, I’d’ve said it back.”

He raised an eyebrow at you. “You still can, you know.”

“Oh.” Yeah. You could.

That was all he needed. In an instant, that familiar grin was once again adorning his face, and he was towering over you. A little closer than maybe was appropriate.

“Is that… a blush I see?” Oh, he looked far too pleased with himself. You had half a mind to punch him again.

“Shut up,” you huffed.

“Aw, have I made you all embarrassed?” He grinned, ruffling your hair. “I’m sorry,” he said, the words spoiled by his fake pout.

“If you don’t shut up, I won’t say it,” you threatened, glaring at him as resolutely as you could. The weird twang in your chest made it more difficult than it usually was.

He shut his mouth immediately, eyes a little bigger and much more expectant than usual.

“Kuroo Tetsurou–”

“Are you about to propose?”

“You know what? Nevermind–”

“No, no, no! I’m sorry!” His shoulders were slouched towards you, head tilted to the side and a bright smile on his face. “I’ll shut up.”

You took a deep breath. It certainly felt a bit like you were trying to propose to him. You shuffled that thought out of your mind as quickly as you could. Once again, Kuroo had put you in a situation you hadn’t quite anticipated.

“No matter what comes, and no matter how irritating you are–”

“Hey!”

“–I promise that I’ll be there to support you,” you managed to say, cheeks flaring and fists clenched. “I… really care about you.”

You couldn’t bear the look he was giving you. It was the look you’d give something you positively adored – something you believed would bring nothing but light to your life. It was a look so full of affection that you felt like you might shatter beneath it.

He reached out and wrapped you in his arms, pulling you gently into his chest. You snuck your arms under his jacket, circling them around his waist. You’d done it mostly on instinct, but you weren’t upset about it. It’s warm, and it’s nice, and you didn’t want to question it. 

There’s too much to worry about – studies, volleyball, the fact that it’s really not all that long until you’re third years. That took precedence. Whatever’s going on here – whatever this was – couldn’t take priority.

All you knew for certain was that you loved Kuroo Tetsurou. In what way didn’t matter. And this in-between, this unnamed space was comfortable. And, as far as you could tell, it belonged to both of you. If he didn’t want to say anything about it, then neither did you.

✉

[i can be your angle] 5:21 PM: hey hey

[YOU] 5:21 PM: hey hey hey!

[i can be your angle] 5:21 PM: no don’t do that

[i can be your angle] 5:21 PM: anyway, i just wanted to make sure you’re practicing appropriate after-cold care

[YOU] 5:21 PM: why do you always have to phrase things Like That

[i can be your angle] 5:22 PM: no idea what you’re talking about

[i can be your angle] 5:22 PM: anyway, drink a tea or two, stick a heat pack (or seven) in the microwave, and rug up

[i can be your angle] 5:22 PM: can’t have you going and catching a cold

[hack3rwitch]

hope you all had really beautiful full moons last night, or whenever u ended up celebrating ♡

i've been working my way through a bit of heartbreak that i was putting off dealing with, and it actually felt nice to take a long walk with the dog and allow myself to confront it mentally and emotionally, instead of distracting myself. i have found that i am really shit at sitting and meditating, but as soon as i'm walking or driving for more than a few minutes, i can slip into a meditative state easily and stay there for hours as long as i keep moving. (apparently this is not uncommon in people with adhd.)

last night after our long walk and an even longer nap, i lit my full moon candle and then remembered i had planned to try and connect with my ancestors, so i lit the candle dedicated to them on my altar and tried to speak to them and straight-up did not know what to say >.<

i'm not really very connected to most of my living family anymore because tho they are as loving as they know how to be, they are not accepting, and subscribe to an incredibly close-minded brand of Christianity/Catholicism, so part of the journey of self-discovery i went through during my mid-twenties was realizing and accepting the fact that once i stepped outside the bounds of what they deemed acceptable, they would never fully love me for me, and would always see me as broken or fallen or mislead in some way. and i had to be ok with that, and it felt worth it to me to let go of those family ties to embrace who i am and how i actually want to live. what i realized last night, however, is that i have now devalued family ties in general to the extent that i dont feel even the smallest connection to my own ancestors. so this is going to take some work on my end :/

after a minute or two of hemming and hawing i did thank them for the ways they've helped me without my knowing it, and for being present to me even when i couldn't feel it, and then i sprinkled a bit of copal dust from the bottom of the incense bag onto the flame of the candle as a small offering, and asked them to send me any messages they had for me in my dreams. and o my WORD did i have dreams last night o.o dreams of my childhood home and church and school, of danger and salvation, of fear and joy and adventure. i woke up this morning with my head spinning trying to remember all the pieces, and then fell back asleep and dreamt some more! soooo i think they liked the copal or at least appreciated the effort lol i'm looking forward to doing more work with them, and incorporating them into my practice more and more over the weeks and months to come.

if you have any tips or resources that have helped you with ancestor work, especially if your roots are slavic and germanic, please send them my way either on this post or in my DMs; i would love to hear them!

[starryseung]

can u write a seungmin smut wherein he's a school nerd?🥺 pls i love your writings sm♥️

kim seungmin + smut

☾ 

word count; 2.7k words warnings; oral (giving), car sex, kinda dumb plot but yeah haha

Tutoring

“Hey y/n! Look at this, come quick!”

Your best friend Taehwa, held up her phone, showing you the new class seating arrangement. Your teachers had suggested for a while now, that only a few students were socializing with the rest of the class in group projects, and so, they decided to shuffle the positions you all were usually seated in. A few other girls from your class gathered around, hoping they would find a seat next to the queen bee.

Who, you may ask? You! Of course.

(a/n: this is so cringe wtf)

The girls that were previously huddled around you slowly started moving away, cursing few words in disappointment. You take a good look at the excel sheet, cocking your eyebrows at the list. You were seated right next to Kim Seungmin. The biggest nerd of the school. He was quiet, always glued to books, was rumored to be a virgin, but no one cared. And the fact that the school’s nerd™ was seated right next to the school’s queen™, you knew you were going to have some serious fun. 

••••

The first day rolls about pretty well, better than you’d expected, at least. You realized just today that you and Seungmin shared almost all classes. However, you realized, above all the things he was good at, he undoubtedly sucked at literature. He seemed to never get the hang of all the allusions, metaphors, imagery, symbolism, and even lucid things like the poetic devices or similes in the piece of literature given to him. At least, there was something he was bad at!

Nevertheless, your teacher paired you up together so that you could tutor him to fill in the dents he was lacking in. You happily agreed, feeling pride and honor that you were going to be tutoring The Kim Seungmin. Today was your first day tutoring him, so during your recess, you decided to hoard all resources for him so that it would be easier for the poor boy to understand the complexities of the subject.

The library was rarely packed, including today. You quickly find a spot in the near end where you and Seungmin could peacefully study, isolated from all the commotion at the front of the large hall. You flipped through a few pages, opening your laptop so that you could be ready for whenever Seungmin arrives.

You hear footsteps, and you look up to look at Seungmin with an apparent friend, someone you’d never expect to be with him. Hwang Hyunjin— the school’s prince. You two were… good friends. You two were paired for a Chemistry project a year ago, and after that, you stopped contacting him, until he started dating Taehwa six months ago. Nothing had gone wrong between you two though. It was just the usual teasing and insults thrown at each other since he was your best friend’s boyfriend. But now that you learned that he was friends with Seungmin, you were a little confused, to say the least.

Hyunjin looks at you and laughs in shock. “You’re going to be tutoring him! The world is finally ending! Come on Seungmin, I’d even believe that the sun rises in the west then believe that this dumbass is going to tutor you!”

“Excuse me. You can see who the dumbass is after he aces every test in Literature with the help of this dumbass!”

“Silence, students. This is a library.”, the librarian glares at you two, placing a finger at her lips to emphasize her point. You two bow at her and Seungmin waves away his friend, who glances at you and pokes his tongue out at you cheekily before leaving. You ignore him, acknowledging Seungmin walking towards you, his previous toothy-smile faded and replaced with the usual simper. He sits next to you and places his bag down, straightening up for the tutoring. You decide to inquire about Hyunjin later on and stick to tutoring for now. 

Shortly after, when Seungmin starts to get the hang of the sixteen-page document in front of him, he sighs in content and leans back in his chair. You decide to strike the iron when hot and reach out to ask him subtly.

“So… You hang out with Hyunjin?”

He giggles softly, taking off his glasses. 

“Yeah. I can have friends too, you know.”

You think he thinks you think nerds can’t have friends? Well, he was right somewhere along the lines, but you had never seen him with Hyunjin, who was the parallel opposite of him. 

“N-No! I meant, you,” you wave your hand up and down him, and then point a thumb in the direction Hyunjin had left in with an expression of disgust, “friends with… him?” 

He laughs this time, finding it hilarious how you seemed to be astonished at the bond between the two males. He puts his glasses back on, stretching his arms and legs after being in the position for so long, the grin not leaving his lips. Leaving your question hanging in the air, he closes his notebook, picking it and getting up while slinging his backpack across his shoulders. He starts taking small steps away from you, turning mid-way to declare with a smirk,

“It’s getting late. I’ll see you tomorrow, y/n. Thanks for the help.”

••••

The next few days advance, and you’re quick to grasp that Kim Seungmin was a two-sided coin. The smirk he would toss at you spoke a story that his innocent looks would dare reveal. You knew you had to up your game to show him you were more daring than he believed you to be. You and Seungmin were meeting up at the library for the past week, and today you knew just what to do. At the end of the day, you message Seungmin to meet you at the same spot, to which he replies with a ‘sure’. 

“Seungmin! Here!”, you whisper-yell, catching the attention of Seungmin as well as the tall man walking next to him. Hyunjin bares you a look, smirking as your eyes meet. You smile back in return, and Seungmin shoves him, making him leave your field of vision. You giggle and drag back the chair for Seungmin, pulling back a few books to start teaching him. You don’t miss the frown lingering on his features, but just like before, decide to trouble him later on.

You start with lessons on allegories, explaining each paragraph simultaneously from the chunky book in front of you two. He nods and hums attentively, asking doubts somewhere where he thought you were going briskly. He seemed to understand everything so to test him, you hand him a small exercise to fill in some basic literary terms. You start surfing on your Instagram feed, occasionally glancing at him to see if he was answering correctly. After a while, he huffs and hands you the piece of paper and you take it from him.

As you start skimming through the answers, you inquire, “What’s with the frown, huh?”

“You’re doing it on purpose, yeah?”

You giggle, eyebrows raising at his sudden change of demeanor, “Doing what?”

He doesn’t even try to explain himself and instead, crashes his lips onto yours. You press your palms against his chest in a failed attempt to push him away, but lean in to kiss him further. Things had taken a sudden swerve, but you definitely didn’t mind. Your movements are halted when Seungmin wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him. 

You shift to his lap, wrapping your hands around his neck to deepen the kiss. His grip on your hips never falters, and you gasp into the kiss when he pushes you down on his crotch. Either it’s the heat of the situation, or the fact that you were doing it in the school’s library, but you started to feel hot all over. You start grinding down on his hips, a low groan erupting from him. He bites down on your lips, shoving his tongue between your lips.

You whine softly when his arms rub up and down your sides, nails digging into the flesh of your waist. You reach your hands lower to press against the rising tent in his jeans, and he grunts into the kiss. You smirk —realizing that behind all his strong and innocent character, he’s all putty in your hands— and grab his length through the thick layer of jeans. He whines and loosens his grip on you, throwing his head back. 

He grips on you tightens when he hears footsteps near the aisle of books right next to you, but resumes his actions once the sounds move further away. 

“Hey! What’s going on!”

A voice booms from a couple of feet in front of you two. You gasp and stand up, fixing your skirt and tousled hair. The librarian looks down at you two from her glasses, nostrils flaring. 

She posed an option to you: Either call up your parents and get them to pick you up, or sit in detention until 3. You two obviously chose the latter,but even so, it didn’t help that she had you two sit in detention after school for around two hours.

“This is my first time here, in detention”, the boy speaks up softly, cautious of the teacher almost dozing off in front of you. 

“Me neither, and this is so exhausting. I can’t wait to go home,” you huff out, holding your head in your hands. 

You look up at the old man sitting on the desk ahead, and notice he’s almost snoozed. You quietly pick up your bag, motioning Seungmin to get up too. He looks up at you wide eyed, contemplating if he should be doing this after all he’s already done. 

Nevertheless, it doesn’t take much to convince him, and soon enough you two are out of the building. 

“I can drop you home if you want..?” you inquire, as if asking for a chance of an apology. To your surprise, Seungmin immediately agrees. 

Of course, he had other plans.

You get in the car, revving up the engine to life. You turn on the air conditioner and sigh, mouth agape as you calm down from the recent fiasco. Seungmin chuckles softly at your state and runs a hand through his hair to push them back. 

You unbuckle your belt and lean up to him from the driver’s seat, kissing his jaw and nipping at the soft skin. You feel his hands wrap around your waist, carefully pulling you towards himself, which was possible thanks to your rather spacious car. You settle between his legs, lips not leaving his. 

You unbutton his pants and push them down, looking at how his cock strained against the fabric of his boxers. You took your sweet time, grazing your nails against his shaft, squeezing the tip between your fingers.

He bucked his hips, craving for some action. You give in to him, pulling his boxers down, and his length springs up. Your mouth waters at the sight of his angry red tip, and you quickly shuffle out of his lap so that his length is right in front of you. You lick a strip from the base up, and he groans, mouth hanging  open in pleasure. You note his response as a key for you to go ahead, and so, you suck at a spot right under his tip, licking at the vein jutting out across the length. Seungmin’s grip shifts towards the soft cushion of the seat, nails digging into the leather. 

You quit teasing and lick your lips before wrapping your lips around his tip, slowly taking him in. You go down on him, devouring every inch each second, and once his length touches the back of your throat, you swallow around him, your muscles pressing against different spots of his shaft. He gasps, accidentally thrusting up into your mouth harshly. You quickly clasp your hands on his thighs and push him down, and he mumbles a soft “sorry”. You look up at how fucked out he looks, mumbling incoherent profanities and ‘oh god’s every now and then. 

A sense of pride swells in your chest when you realize you were going to corrupt him, and the fact that you were going to do it in the school’s parking lot made you go crazy. You swallow around him once again, lying your tongue flat against his shaft. He whines from above, upset at the restraints your hands provide that stop his movements. You feel his dick twitch inside your mouth and you release his length with a lewd pop, replacing it with your hand. You pump your hand up and down his length, the other rubbing small and harsh circles on his slit. 

He releases his cum in spurts, coating his length and your hand in his juices. You grab a tissue from the box placed on the dashboard and wipe up the mess he made. He reaches out his hands to pull you up into a kiss. The kiss was still passionate, but more heated, considering the situation. 

“Being bold now, are we?”

He shakes his head, muttering a small ‘no’. You cock your head to the side, buy he does nothing and instead holds both your hands behind your back, slightly tugging your hair, as if experimenting with everything he had available. You groan when you feel his hands run up and down your panties under your mini skirt. His fingers press your hole through your panties, and you try your hardest to stifle a bubbling moan when he grinds his hips against yours. 

You throw your head back, the intense feeling coursing through your veins. Seungmin doesn’t waste a moment and pushes your panties aside, stuffing you with his fingers. You moan aloud, not afraid of being caught anymore. His digits pump in and out of you, curling them inside you every other second. You feel blood rush to your cheeks when you hear the squelching sounds of your arousal which slowly drips out of you and creates a mess on his fingers and jeans. 

You grip the base of his cock, giving it a few pumps before aligning it with your heat. His fingers leave you immediately, and he slowly pushes his length into you. 

Grunts and groans leave both of you, and you arch your back when he is inside you upto the hilt. You gyrate your hips on him, pushing him deeper in. His grip tightens on your waist, and he starts thrusting into you steadily. Each thrust feels deeper, harder. There are a million sensations swallowing you whole, and your legs feel weak and your mind goes haywire.

The cramped space of the car doesn’t help much, and the car windows start steaming up. Your breathing turns erratic, hips giving out. You can feel your oncoming high, and your movements stutter before you spasm around him, walls convulsing around his cock buried in you. You feel your abdomen loosen up, your juices flowing out freely.

Seungmin doesn’t stop. He continues thrusting into you, the overstimulation pushing you over the edge. Just when you feel you can’t take any more, Seungmin thrusts into you one last time before his orgasm washes over him. You lie on top of him, a sheen line of sweat covering the two of you alike.

Both of you come down from your highs, the sensations taking a while to leave your minds. Seungmin is the first one to nudge your shoulder, and you take the hint and get up slowly, cautious of the roof close above you. You grab a few more tissues and clean yourself up, handing over the box to him to do his business.

You pull down the car windows and drive out of the place. A smile never leaves the boy’s face, and you giggle at his expression, deciding to ask him about the things amusing him. 

“What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing. I guess that was… fun?”

—

a/n; so this one’s kiiiinnnnddaaaaaa longer than usual??? it took my like 3 blocks and 5 days to actually finish this off,,, so it isn’t proofread hahaha 😔✊

[hatsukeii]

@justanne Ilysm you know that right

This is the best idea I’ve gotten in a while

Pixel hearts // Kenma Kozume x Reader

Word count: 2.1k+

Warnings: Cursing, but nothing more because this is a crackpot of fluff

Summary: It all started with a pixel heart, and the rest was chaos.

“Dude, hold on, I’ll send you a heart.”

“Waiwaiwait why? Those are way too hard to earn, pudding-chan you don’t have to!”

The class was dead silent, the classroom filled with boredom as students listened to their literature teacher ramble on about some Shakespearean bullshit. Kenma’s classmates paid no mind to the blond as he fiddled away on his switch, earphones in. Literature was boring enough on its own, however it was simply a pain in the ass to have the oldest, most physically crippled teacher on campus teach them. There was no doubt Kenma wouldn’t listen in class. He had other resources that could help him ace this subject like he always did anyway. What mattered more, was his farm that he had spent months building. In order to maintain its pristine condition, he had to water the crops, feed the animals, clean out the stables, furnish the barn, then visit other farms to collect social points, all while fending off critters and monsters from his own. It was quite the hectic schedule for sure, but in the end, it was all worth it.

“Bear-san, take it as a way of me sending my never ending love to you.”

Blushing, you peeked up from your lap, scanning your eyes around the classroom. Almost everyone had their nose in their phones scrolling through social media, texting each other, even watching some... interesting stuff. Your math teacher looked completely uninterested, sitting at her desk as she marked papers, not even sparing a glance at the students. The class was supposed to complete the entire worksheet that was on the projector screen, yet no one seemed to even have something as basic as a pencil in hand. Pressing your earbud deeper into your ear, you gulped down a mouthful of saliva, praying not to be seen with your console under your desk. Seeing the red pixel heart pop up on the screen, your actual heart melted, a dorky smile plastered on your face. Pudding-chan was always a nice person, gifting you with crops and animals, and this time a heart, the hardest known currency to earn in game, accompanied by his flirty way with words.

“Ah, I can already feel the blooming love in my heart, oh dear, please catch me when I fall-”

“What on Earth do you think you’re doing in my math class young (Y/N)?”

Fuck.

Stopping in the middle of your sentence, your heart dropped as you peered up, only to be met with the furious, unrelenting glare of your math teacher. Other students stared, their phones suddenly gone as if they were never using it in the first place. A couple of boys snickered from the next row, earning an irritated look from your extremely annoyed teacher. In your ear, you could hear Pudding-chan’s voice, now laced with concern. You mentally apologised for not being able to respond with your fuming math teacher confiscating your console.  

“Bear-san? Is everything okay?”

All he heard was a yell, before you were disconnected from the discord call. Cold sweat gathering at his temples, he thought of all the worst case scenarios. Were you kidnapped? Did your family take your console away and beat you? Oh shit, were you in an abusive relationship? Crap, were you being arrested? Was he never going to see you online again? Were you leaving him forever? This wasn’t the usual Kenma who was calm, analytical, and collected. You were the only other friend he had apart from Kuroo, there was no way he wasn’t worried out of his mind. The bell rang from the speaker across the classroom, signalling the end of class for students. Shoving the switch back into his bag, he grabbed his phone. Your status on discord now replaced with a grey circle, Kenma sighed in distress. Maybe you were just taking a break from gaming. Wait, that wasn’t a good thing either. Who was he going to game with then? You were the only person that managed to appeal to him in game, if you weren’t there, he’d be all alone in the world of Chubby Cows. He wanted you to stay with him. He knew he only enjoyed this dumb game because he was only able to talk to you whilst playing the game. If he lost you, he would seriously consider quitting the game and just never gaming again. He was about to sling his bag over his shoulder, when his teacher’s voice rang through the classroom.

“Class, we will be conducting a compulsory bag check. Students, please kindly unzip your bags and stand behind your chairs with your hands on your desk.”

Kenma’s eyes widened at the tricky situation that dawned upon him. Gaming devices were strictly prohibited in Nekoma High. He was only able to hide the switch from his teachers for so long because they never conducted bag checks. However, now that his console was comfily stuffed in his bag, there was no running from his inevitable outcome. Their literature teacher circled the classroom, checking every bag thoroughly. Not one tiny pocket was left unchecked. Teetering back and forth, the teen fidgeted with his fingers, watching as the teacher looked into the biggest pocket of his bag. Remembering that he put his switch in a hidden pocket of the bag, he sighed in relief. Squinting, the old man shuffled around his belongings, before walking away without any suspicions. 

That was when a notification decided to pop up on the console.

Hearing the cheery chime of the notification, the teacher looked back, digging his hand in and checking through Kenma’s bag again. The man harshly unzipped the hidden pocket, pulling out the red and blue switch. The class landed their eyes upon the blond, occasionally giggling at how bad Kenma fucked up this time.

“Mr. Kozume, what is the meaning of this?”

“Sorry.”

The bald teacher cradled his face in his hands, never once letting go of the console.

“That won’t be enough. Detention after school in the principal’s office with me. Don’t expect to get your console back if you even think about skipping it.”

“Yes, Mr. Nakamura.”

Zipping his bag shut, the blond pulled the strap over his shoulder, before grabbing his phone.

Familiar numbers were dialled on the screen as Kenma held the device up to his ear. 

“Yello- Oh, Kenma? What’s up buddy?”

“Hey Kuroo, I can’t come to practice today, sorry.”

From the other end of the line, Kuroo perked his brow.

“Huh? Why is that?”

“Mr. Nakamura found my switch. I have detention after school, so I’m gonna have to skip for today. Sorry.”

Sighing, the third year smiled softly, rolling his eyes a bit.

“As expected from Kenma Kozume, the game addicted teen. I’ll see you tomorrow, and don’t worry about practice.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

With that, Kenma ended the call, before grabbing his stuff and leaving in a frenzy. 

“Ah, young (Y/N), take a seat next to Mr. Kozume.”

You rolled your eyes, slamming your backpack onto the desk as you gave the old teacher a stink eye. Just mere hours ago, you were happily gaming with your online love interest- no, friend. Now, you had to sit through another two hours of nothing but schoolwork. From next to you, Kenma sunk in his seat, completely done with everything that had to do with this day. The both of you stayed silent, waiting for Mr. Nakamura to say something.

“Both of you are to finish the work missed during your maths and literature lesson respectively. If you finish before two hours, you shall stay in this room until the time is up.”

Groaning out of frustration, the two of you went to grab your worksheets from the teacher’s desk, before heading back to your seats and plopping down. Sneering at the jumble of algebra and equations that awaited solving, you ripped a pencil out of your pencil case, starting on the questions. Oh you were gonna finish it. You were gonna finish it at such a terrifyingly quick pace that your pencil would break. Anything to shy away from the horror that is maths. It didn’t matter if you still had to sit there for another hour or two, just anything to stop the torture.

“Yo.”

The pencil lead beneath you snapped in half as you stopped abruptly. Looking to your right, you were met with a pair of golden irises.

“What’re you here for?”

Shuddering at the memory, you composed yourself before answering, head hanging low in embarrassment.

“I got caught playing video games in class, you?”

Chuckling to himself, Kenma didn’t even wait to reply.

“Hm, seems like we’re both in similar situations. Mr. Nakamuda over there found my switch in my bag during the bag check. What game were you playing?”

“U-uh-”

You stuttered upon your own words. How were you supposed to tell him you played some stupid game like Chubby Cows? He was cute, definitely, and you didn’t want to look like a tasteless idiot in front of him. First impressions matter, you know? How were you going to explain that you had no friends in real life, but only had one close friend (that mind you, you were kind of whipped for) in game? Was he going to think you were a pathetic loner? Oh god, was he going to spread rumours about you being a basic weirdo-

“So what game was it?”

To hell with it.

“Chubby...Chubby Cows... PLEASE DON’T MAKE FUN OF ME, I SWEAR I’LL DO ANYTHING JUST DON’T TELL PEOPLE PLEASE THEY’RE ALL GONNA THINK I’M STUPID AND CHILDISH AND-”

Kenma’s eyes lit up as he took in this new information.

“Chubby Cows? You play it too? Oh my god, and I thought I was the only one in this school that played it! Too bad, I only have one friend ingame, or I’d be able to start my own cult!”

Responding with just as much enthusiasm, you rambled on, Kenma listening to every single word.

“Oh my god! Yes! It’s so underrated! Deadass it’s kinda dumb but like it’s so cute! I also have a friend in the game, he’s super cool, you should add me and we can play together sometime! It’s gonna be so much fun if you, me, and him started a cult together! Add me, what’s your username?”

You grabbed your notebook and a coloured pen, ready to jot everything down.

“Oh, mine’s puddingheadboy, what about yours?”

You let out a gasp, surprising Kenma. This was him? This was the one person you’ve been playing with all along? He was right in front of your nose the whole time? 

“Wait... pudding-chan?”

Furrowing his brows in confusion, Kenma tilted his head, waiting for you to explain.

“Wow, a nickname already? That’s what my friend calls me too-”

“DUDE! IT’S ME! BEAR-SAN! HOLY SHIT, YOU WERE IN NEKOMA ALL ALONG, HOW COULD I HAVE NOT GUESSED?”

The blond’s eyes widened in realisation as a grin spread across his face.

“Wait, you’re bearoncrack? Seriously?”

“YEAH!”

Kenma could not believe what he was hearing and neither could you. To think that fate somehow brought the two of you together was absolutely insane. Who would’ve thought that the world was such a small place? The two of you were practically shaking with excitement at this revelation, when Mr. Nakamura decided to ruin the mood.

“What are the two of you clambering over? There’s still thirty minutes to go, zip it and get to work.”

Rolling your eyes, you continued to work on the worksheets. This dude was a literature teacher? Seriously? He really just used the word clamber wrong, what a dunce. You were only halfway through the pile of math worksheets that was presented in front of your desk, but holy shit were you feeling absolutely fantastic now that you finally found out who your online friend of half a year was in real life. Feeling a piece of paper hit your head, you glanced towards the floor to see a crumpled paper ball. Picking it up, you read the contents of the note.

“(Y/N), right? I’m Kenma.”

Smiling to yourself, you grabbed your pencil, writing “Yeah, it’s great to finally meet you pudding-chan.” Under his text, before folding the paper back into an airplane and throwing it back at the blond. Seeing your response, Kenma went a light shade of pink, goofily smiling as he wrote something down hastily. You bit your lip in anticipation waiting for his response. To your excitement, you received a reply almost moments later, this time the ball of paper landing on your worksheet instead of the side of your head.

“I was wondering if you wanna go out sometime, I can’t wait to get to know you better, internet buddy Bear-san:D Maybe that way I can send you a pixel heart in real life><”

Tags:

@sunshines-and-tatertots @izzyphantomgamer @just-another-bored-writer @burnt-snot​ @bokutokoutarou​ @trashcanweeb​ @tiger1719​ @justachillgirl​ @inlwlevi​ @talks-a-lot-of-stuff​ @random-fandomlover​ @kaylacinderella​ @agentvicinity​ @sakusasgarbage​ @skyeackermans​ @ewfilthymundane​ @poppirocks​ @eleiaisagoodgirliswear​ @tiredgr3mlin​ @kuroo-thought-of-a-better-un​ @macaronnv​ @mariechan123​ @artsamber​ @itmekisuu​ @emsvegetables​ @sneezefiction​ @shoutsukii​ @xonfusedsoul​ @burnt-snot​ @iwaigroomi @swingflamingoat

Feel free to comment to be added to the taglist:3

Waaaaa Anne I hope you’re happy lmaoo 

Btw I hope you enjoyed reading this thing and if this flops oh my god I will cry thank you have a great night.

This goes in the short kings clan:3

[wickxdangels]

Seamus Finnigan Imagine; Blow it up.

Helloo! I’ve been a little offline because i’ve been dealing with writers block for a bit but slowly trying to conquer it, so that’s why i haven’t been posting much lately. I’m back today with another HP imagine, it’s not that long but it’s cute :) love you all! hope you enjoy it xx

Pairing: Seamus Finnigan x Reader

Warnings: None I believe

Request: Can you do a Seamus Finnigan imagine where he's got a crush on a Slytherin in his year who's best friends with Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley and good friends with the rest of the Gryffindors so she's commonly defending her friends from her housemates but she never cares what they say about her but Seamus does and it causes him to eventually blows up (pun intended)? Can't wait for your writing to come back!

Being an Slytherin can be difficult sometimes…not only because of your pureblood stuck-up parents, who only care about what people think of them, but you also had to endure sharing the same common room with idiotic assholes who you could swear had only one braincell left to work with.

That was Y/n’s case.

It was known that those in Slytherin were cunning, ambitious and resourceful, often leaders who proved to be a role model for many. Yet she often would think how someone like Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle made it.

Probably the sorting hat sorted them in Slytherin out of pity, she thought.

“Merlin’s beard! You two don’t have anything better to do? Like I don’t know, brewing your bloody potion!? We are literally in the middle of class! And if Slughorn hasn’t said anything it’s because he’s dead asleep!”she complained as pointed at the Potions professor who was literally asleep and almost snoring in his chair, then she stared at them rolling her eyes as the rest of the people in the classroom muttered things like ‘finally’ ‘yes, someone said it’. They weren’t exactly liked in Slytherin… or Hogwarts in general to be honest; she still tried to figure out how Draco put up with Tweedledee and Tweedledum here everyday.

“What’s got your knickers in a twist, blood-traitor?” Crabbed replied, a smirk playing in his lips as him and Goyle looked at her with their usual mean stare.

“You know, instead of coming up with lame comebacks as usual, you two should really try and at least work once in class. You two don’t want to be held back, right? Don’t go around feeding those rumors if you know what I mean..” she snickered, holding down a laugh as Ginny besides her managed to control hers as well.

Rumor has it that those two got held back, so when we all got here for our first year at Hogwarts, they were already repeating it. She didn’t know if those rumors were true after all, but they kinda looked older than they seemed to be. Their mental age anyways, remained the same or even younger.

“You know, you should really try to control that mouth of yours. Your mud-blood friends won’t always be there to have your back and you know that.” he replied, looking at Ginny and Luna before raising his brows at her, they were really trying to scare her.. too bad they looked to dumb to even spark any kind of imaginary fear.

“I’m not even the slightest bit scared of both of you. I know you two don’t do anything without Draco and we both know Draco won’t be laying hands on me anytime soon..” she muttered, squinting her eyes at them. “So, as his minions you two should know better. Now, shoo!”

“You little bitch—” Goyle tried to come up with better insults before someone stepped in the delightful convo they were having.

“You really should know better than to insult a lady, mate.” the Gryffindor, whose specialty was pyrotechnics said. “And it also seems like she’s the one winning here.. why bother to keep going and embarrass yourself further, huh?” Seamus commented with a chuckle on his lips.

In the back, while everyone was very much busy with paying close attention to the conversation they were having, Dean Thomas softly walked towards Crabbe and Goyle’s desk and dripped a mysterious liquid inside of it before walking back to his place again and throwing a little paper towards the professor who suddenly woke up

“Finnigan, shut up. This isn’t with you.” Goyle sneered at him.

Seamus looked at Dean who just nodded, he then stared back at Goyle and Crabbe. “You know, one day everything will come back at bit you in the arse… or blow you up, who knows..” he commented, shrugging as he then walked back to his shared place with Dean.

“Kids! I hope those potions are going good! Now, last step it’s to add some of red liquid besides the cauldron and you’re all set!” Professor Slughorn said as he waved his hands to the students, signaling them to proceed, ignoring the small argument going on.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum just gave Y/n and Seamus a stink stare before going back to their posts, Y/n looked back at Finnigan with a grateful smile on her lips and flushed cheeks as he just winked at her before bumping arms with Dean and waiting for their small mischief to happen.

So, while everyone was dropping in their liquids, the two Slytherins leaned in to see their potion that was turning a weird color.

The rest of the class stared at their own cauldrons as they emitted a soft mist.

“Okay, kids! I see that all of your potions got the soft mist it’s supposed to emit! Now, that's..—” sadly Slughorn couldn’t finish his sentence about doing a good job cause suddenly all that could be heard in the classroom was a big and loud boom!

A grey cloud of smoke covered pretty much the entire desk belonging to Crabbe and Goyle, the students closest to them were coughing and swiping away the smoke as Y/n looked in curiosity to them, before looking back at Seamus, who was currently high-fiving Dean with a victorious look on their faces.

“That’s not how it’s supposed to turn out..” Slughorn commented while stroking the back of his head. “I would like to see you two in my office, the rest of you can go.” he added, both boys who had their faces covered in grey dust coughed as they walked behind the professor, blaming each other for what had happened.

The rest of the class quickly got their bags and left, Ginny ended up leaving with Luna as Y/n stayed behind. She quickly grabbed her bag and approached Seamus and Dean’s desk, both of the guys were still laughing and grabbing their things.

“That was quite the explosion..” she said with a smile on her lips, looking at the guys who chuckled with her. “I believe a thanks is in place to you two.”

“It was actually Finnigan’s idea.. and I have to leave, I’m late for my Quidditch practice..” Dean quickly explain with a smirk before looking at both of us and leaving.

“I kinda knew you were behind it.. after all you’re the who’s got a way with explosions..” Y/n said as he looked at him.

“Well, what can I say?” he smirked looking back at her. “They had it coming, they’re always a pain in the arse to you.” he commented with a shrug and a lopsided smile on his lips. “I just had to step in for my favorite Slytherin.”

That very last sentence made her flush once again, her cheeks felt warm as she looked down for a moment before lifting her eyes to stare at his face, she softly got closer to him and deposited a sweet and soft kiss in his cheek, dangerously close to his lips. “Thank you, Seamus. I really appreciate that, no one has stood up for me quite like you have.” she confessed with a shy smile.

The boy in front of her was now sporting red cheeks as his hand rested on the place she had just kissed. “U-uh, yeah, absolutely! Whenever you need someone I’m your guy!”

She giggled at his words before giving him one last look and walking outside the classroom as Seamus sat down on the chair for a bit.

“Okay, next goal… ask her out.”  

He said to himself as he chuckled, before walking out of the classroom to meet with Dean and talk to him about what had just happened.

[self-proclaimed-chaotic-good]

Four Letter Words | Cassian Andor x Reader (Oneshot)

Words: 1817

A/N: Another Cassian fic idea I got because why not.

Summary: You and Cassian meet years after you left the Rebellion and buried feelings resurface. Could this be your second chance, or will the two of you let it slip away again?

-

“Jyn, we need to pull back,” Cassian said into the earpiece as Jyn continued to wade through the busy street.

“But we’re so close,” Jyn muttered, standing on her toes to look for the informant.

“There are stormtroopers patrolling the area. They must have relocated before they could get caught.”

Jyn huffed. “They could have at least informed us… wait.” Her eyes narrowed as she spotted a figure herding someone that matched the informant’s description into an alleyway. “I think I found them.”

She started to move in despite Cassian’s protest. He sighed, checking his surroundings before going after Jyn. The pair weaved in and out of the crowd before disappearing onto a cart. They rode away, the figure, hiding their features with dark blue clothing, turned around and spotted Jyn. They tilted their head before lifting a hand and making a come-hither motion with their fingers.

“They’re baiting us,” Jyn said with frustration as the cart pulled into the main road.

“Who?”

“There’s someone with the informant. It could be a trap…”

“But we’re not going to run in without a plan,” Cassian said firmly.

“We’ve run into dangerous things without a plan before, Cassian. We came out alright.”

“She’s right, Cassian, though, I will say that the chances of it being a trap are high,” K-2SO inputed.

“Only one way to find out.”

-

You pressed yourself against the cool mud brick walls of a building as stormtroopers marched pass, waiting a few beats before making your way across to Tilly. She was a frequent presence in the local market who knew everyone and all of their trading routes. She had noticed that there was a disruption in one of the trademen’s routine, shipments that were never used in the public market. Tilly wanted you to check it out before sending a message to the Rebel Alliance once it was confirmed that the tradesman were in cahoots with the Empire. So, you immediately sent an anonymous tip to the Rebellion to meet Tilly.

“Thank the maker you’re here, (Y/n),” Tilly weeped, not wanting to stay on the desert planet any longer. She wanted to wait for the rebels, but there was an increase of patrols that were making her anxious.

“Don’t worry, Tills, I’ll get you out of here” you assured her before guiding her away.

“What about the rebels?”

“Don’t worry,” you said again, “They’ll find us. I have a lot of faith in their capabilities.”

It wasn’t until you led Tilly onto one of the moving carts did you see a woman looking at her, followed by a familiar man in a blue parka. You smiled, gesturing for the two of them to follow. 

It felt like hours until the cart had finally reached outside of the city where the loading docks were. You jumped down first and helped Tilly down before leading her to one of the small shacks nearby. You greeted the mechanic inside before sitting Tilly down in the back.

“We’re going to have a chat with them, then we can decide who’s going to take you to safety,” you told her.

“Thank you,” Tilly said squeezing your hands.

You were immediately greeted by a blaster as soon as you walked out of the shack. You raised your hands up slowly before revealing your face. Cassian frowned, but lowered his blaster, gesturing for his companion to do the same.

“Jyn!” Cassian ordered when she didn’t let up. She sighed, lowering her blaster to her side. He turned back to you. “What are you doing here, (Y/n)?”

“Cassian, you know this person?” Jyn asked.

“I’m an old friend,” you said, smiling at Cassian.

“You left the Rebellion,” he stated.

“Oh, is (Y/n) (Y/l/n) here?” K-2SO asked through the earpiece. Cassian ignored him.

You rolled your eyes. “Let's take this inside, huh?” You opened the door for them and gestured for them to go in. “Tilly’s inside.”

Jyn stepped forward cautiously, nodding at the mechanic who had been minding his business the entire time, before finding Tilly sitting in the back. She rushed over to her, making sure that this stranger wasn’t dangerous. You closed the door behind you and followed Cassian to join the others. Tilly had already been spilling everything she knew about the trade routes and the person making deals with the Empire while Jyn sat and tried to absorb it all.

You stood to the side with your arms crossed, your head leaning against the wall. Without even realizing it, your eyelids began to droop.

“You look exhausted,” Cassian said.

“Always know how to strike up a conversation, Cassian,” you muttered, glancing at him, “You look exhausted, too.”

“That’s what happens when you’re fighting for freedom from the Empire.”

You rolled your eyes. “No matter the cost, right? While you guys are fighting up there with your council that keeps playing safe, the politics between the officers, and the low resources, I’m down here with the others, keeping people who are caught in the middle safe.”

“Is that why you left?” he asked, leaning on the wall next to you.

You shifted so you were side by side. “Is there another reason you think why I left?” you raised an eyebrow, challenging him. You wished he’d just spit it out.

“We’ve got the information,” Jyn said, grabbing Tilly, “We have enough time to drop her off to the nearest Rebel outpost.”

You nodded. “Well, looks like my job here is done,” you said, pushing yourself off the wall and hugging Tilly. “May the force be with you.”

“And also with you,” she said, hugging back.

You pulled away and made your way towards the door. “I’ll go out first and make sure no one follows you.”

Jyn narrowed her eyes. “Wait, how do we know you’re not going to rat us out?”

“Fine. Cassian and I will scout the area, then you can take Tilly to your ship,” you tried to compromise.

“Fine,” Cassian agreed.

Jyn grabbed his arm and pulled him on the side. No matter how many years it had been, it always bothered you to see people that physically close to him and him being comfortable with it. You tried not to be insecure about it, but when you used to go on undercover missions with him, you’d sometimes get jealous that he would show any amount of interest on the target more than he ever did with you in private. He was your best friend and you continuously had been emotionally compromised when he’d get hurt during missions.

The sound of Cassian walking out first snapped you out of your thoughts. Jyn walked up to you with fire in her eyes.

“If you hurt Cassian-”

“Trust me, Jyn,” you said with all the sincerity you could muster without giving everything away, “I would never hurt Cassian, even if he pointed a blaster at my head.”

With that, you walked out. Cassian had been waiting for you on the side, his blaster out and ready. The two of you scanned the area the best you could in a pattern that your bodies remembered. When it was all clear, you headed back to the shack and told them it was safe.

The three of you walked towards the U-Wing with Tilly in the middle. As you got closer, you could see the ramp slowly lowering, revealing a familiar Imperial droid. Tilly gasped, but you placed a hand on her shoulder assuring her that he was safe.

“I always knew that we’d run into you, (Y/n),” K-2SO rambled, “The chances of that were very likely, seeing as you became a hired mercenary of sorts. Cassian has been checking for reports on you every now and again-”

“That’s enough, Kaytwo,” Cassian snapped before letting Jyn lead Tilly into the ship. He lowered his head as he turned to you. “Good work-”

“I’ll see you guys around,” you said quickly.

“You were never good at goodbyes,” he said, a small smile on his lips.

“No.”

“That’s why you left without a word,” he continued, stepping closer.

“So, Jyn… are you and her…,” you trailed off, clearing your throat.

Cassian smirked, taking another step forward. “No, no, we’re not together. She’s a good friend, but she’s not…” He took a deep breath and sighed. “She’s not you, (Y/n). No one can come close.”

“I can’t go back, Cassian,” you said firmly, “I don’t think I can go back to following orders like that. That’s not for me. I want to help people on my own terms in my own way.”

Cassian nodded. “I know, and I’ve learned my lesson about following orders. Sometimes you just have to do what you feel is right, not what you’re told. It’s different now, (Y/n). You’re always welcomed back.”

You hummed. “Good, well… I’ll get back to you on that.”

“I hope you do this time.”

Cassian was now inches away from you, the closest he had been in years. You missed him. He pulled you in and held you close and you immediately wrapped your arms around him. You didn’t want to let go. You didn’t want him to go. He was your best friend. And you were completely in love with him.

You pulled away and stepped back. “I’ll be seeing you around, Captain,” you said, forcing a smile while you gave a mock salute.

Cassian nodded. “I’ll see you around, Lieutenant.”

He slowly turned and made his way over to the U-Wing. Each step he took was another second where you could have ran after him, yank his arm to turn him around, and tell him how you feel. He could hear his heart beating louder than his footsteps as he neared the ramp, silently hoping that you would do just that. But he shouldn’t expect you to. Not when he missed his chance on that night when he saw you leave. He merely stood and watched in the shadows as you took off, leaving the Rebellion and him behind.

The ship was silent as he set his bag down and shrugged off his parka. An object fell out of the pocket, drawing Jyn’s attention. She leaned forward from the bench and picked it up. It was a dark blue braided bracelet with a small piece of metal tied to it. A hand grabbed it from her before she could read the engraving.

“It fell out of your pocket,” Jyn said before turning back to Tilly.

Cassian ran a thumb over the braid until he reached the piece of metal. It read “Hope” on one side, and your initials on the other. He smiled as he tied it around his wrist, then climbed into the cockpit.

“Want to know the probability of us running into (Y/n) again?” K-2SO asked. Cassian raised an eyebrow. “It’s a lot sooner than we think.”

“I hope so.”

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Kong: Skull Island- Brothers

Pairing: Eventual Reg Slivko x Irene Conrad Brown (OC)

Jack Chapman x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

James Conrad x Irene Brown (brother-sister relationship)

Summary: An ex-mercenary and his younger adopted sister get themselves into a mess because they want money from the US government

Warnings: cursing, crying, etc

Word Count: 2777

SAIGON, VIETNAM

I caught the ball as it bounced back from the wall. James had gone out for the night, and he refused to let me come with him. It was already enough that he had brought me out to Saigon with him. The hotel room was cramped, with one bed, a wooden chair, and a TV that didn’t work perched atop a large dresser with drawers that only pulled halfway out. James and I kept our stuff in bags anyway. I had finished reading The Time Machine, and only read halfway through The Island of Doctor Moreau because it was rather horrifying. James told me he’d be back rather late, so I was to lock the door and go to sleep at a reasonable time.

I sighed deep as I threw the bouncy ball again, only this time it bounced onto the floor instead of onto the bed. I let it go and rolled onto my stomach. James had been decommissioned for the past week and a half, but he didn’t want to talk much about the war. It was understandable. I had never been to war, but I had seen things as simple as photographs that had shook me to my core. I couldn’t imagine what being out there fighting would be like.

I realized my body was falling asleep while my mind was still running, which was unsurprising. James and I had spent the day exploring the city. He had almost forced me into picking something out from a store, because my birthday was coming up soon. I responded with a cheesy classic.

“All I want is for you to stay home.”

He ate that one up. James had basically been taking care of me since I was barely a teenager. That was when my father married his mom. My father had died a year or two after, and his mother three months after, of grief. I was thirteen by the time that happened, but James was much older. He could’ve taken me to an orphanage or left me on my own. He took me in instead. He joined British Special Forces three years after he brought me to live with him. He was decommissioned two years later, which brings us to today. I had been living basically on my own for that time, but somehow my brother always found a way to make sure I had enough of everything to get by.

I jerked up when I heard the door open.

“You didn’t lock it?” Blue eyes squinted at me.

“I was going to, I promise. I’m not even asleep yet, Jay.” I stifled a yawn.

He gave me a deadpan face, locking both locks on the door as loudly as possible. His face softened as he pushed me over, making room for himself to sit down next to me.

“What’s up?” I could tell something was bugging him.

I felt my heart drop to my stomach. He wasn’t going back to war, was he?

“Irene, listen … you know I’ve been decommissioned.” He trailed off, picking stray hairs off the blanket as he avoided my glances.

“Yeah, and?”

He sighed, contemplating something. I scratched at my finger, increasingly nervous.

“I’ve been offered a job.” He blurted.

I looked up. Why was he so slow about telling me that?

“Where?” I heard the weak sense of betrayal in my own voice.

He looked up to meet my eyes. I felt like I was on the verge of holding back tears as he stuttered.

“A-ah-an island. An uncharted island in the South Pacific.” He averted his gaze back down.

I paused before speaking, more aggressive than I wanted to be. “You’re ex-special forces, what do they need you for? Who even needs you?”

He sighed. “It’s a group of scientists, Ire. Look, they need me to be their tracker, essentially. It’s only supposed to take a week, and I could leave you wi-”

“No.” I stopped him, feeling my own face contort into one of despair.

“Irene.” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“You did not already say yes.” I felt the tears well in my eyes.

His face mirrored mine, sadness and what was probably regret on his features.

“Jay, you’ve only been back a week, and you’re leaving again?” I cried.

“Irene, I didn’t think it would upset you so much.” He pulled me to him, hugging me.

I slumped against him and whimpered. If he was going, he was taking me with him. I would guilt him into it if I had to.

“Irene, I’m so sorry.” He mumbled, rubbing circles on my back.

I curled up tighter. “James, please don’t leave me.”

“Bitsy, I-I…” He trailed off.

I pulled back far enough to look up at him.

“Take me with you.” I urged with tear-stained cheeks.

He met my eye, which was a mistake on his part. I frowned again, letting my shoulders drop. He sighed through his nose before finally breaking.

“Fine. I’ll tell them you’re good with jungles and animals.” He let his hand drop on the bed.

“And?” I smiled a little.

“And that we’re a package deal.” He narrowed his eyes at me.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I threw myself at him, hugging him tightly.

He hugged back with a grunt, taken off guard by my excitement.

“We’re leaving in a few hours, so pack up whatever’s lying around.”

I finally pulled away from the hug, ready to shove my toothbrush and two books into the bag.

“And the island might be extremely dangerous. So when we get there, stick to me, okay?” He was serious about that part, because he grabbed my hand and practically made me promise.

I nodded. “Okay.”

He broke into a smile. “Now pack and get some sleep, I have a feeling you aren’t going to like the plane ride.”

BANGKOK, THAILAND

“James Conrad. This is my younger sister Irene. I need her skill for the biological aspect of tracking.” James spoke to the blond man in a Landsat uniform.

“Oh, no. You can’t bring her with you.” The man answered rather snarky.

“I don’t think you understand. We’re a package deal. If she can’t go, you don’t get me.” James reached back to grab my hand, which I gladly gave with a squeeze.

The man eyed me before sighing. “Fine, whatever. You take responsibility for her.”

James scoffed. “Of course I will. She’s my sister.”

The man rolled his eyes, but James just pulled me past, pushing me ahead of him and holding onto my hand.

“Jay, I don’t know which way we’re going.” I mumbled back over my shoulder.

He pointed ahead, “Follow the soldiers.”

I caught sight of who he was talking about, the group of tall men dressed in army green. I followed loosely, but I stopped when they did. I looked back at James, then to the man that was standing at the start of the boat’s ramp.

James took my hand again, this time leading the way. I stood off to his side as we waited for the men to finish talking to him. As they began to walk away, and James approached the man, one of their hats fell to the ground. I bent down to pick it up before the wind could take it away. I realized how close I was to the guy who’s hat it was once I stood up. I bit my lip, suddenly anxious.

“Here.”  I pushed the hat in his direction.

He grinned toothily before taking it. “Thank you, miss.”

I felt my cheeks heat up, but I was sure that he couldn’t see considering it was dark and he was at least half a foot taller than me.

“Slivko, stop flirting with the girl and get! We’ve got things to do!” The man that James had been talking to yelled.

The guy, who was more likely my age than actually a man, winked before scampering off, following the rest of the army men. James pulled on my wrist, breaking my attention.

“You’ve just gotta stick with me, but other than that Colonel Packard over there don’t care that you’ll be joining us.” He explained.

I nodded, following him up the ramp and avoiding the glare of the colonel.

                                                            ***

I leaned against the same wall James leaned against. I scratched at my wrist, uncomfortable around all the Landsat people and the soldiers. I wasn’t sure what we were waiting on, and the loud cranking of the projector in the middle was making my skin crawl. James noticed this, and ruffled my hair.

“This should only take a few minutes, and it’s just a briefing. After this you can hole yourself up in the room if you want to.”

I scoffed and pushed his hand off, narrowing my eyes at him. “I don’t want to hole myself up. I’m just a little antsy.”

“Almost done, Bitsy.” He motioned at the man who had taken his place at the front of the room.

“Hello and welcome. I’m Landsat Field Supervisor, Victor Nieves.” He had an awkward posture, but smiled anyway as he pointed to the blond guy from earlier.

“This is my colleague Steve Woodward, our data wrangler.” There was a light chuckle from the Landsat team, but James remained stoic and I noticed a few soldiers roll their eyes.

The projector cranked again. “Our expedition takes us to a place every nautical trade route known to man has avoided for centuries.”

An image of an island popped up, shaped somewhat like a skull.

“As our satellites show, the island is surrounded by a perpetual storm system, allowing it to remain hidden from the outside world.”

That doesn’t sound right.

I felt James shift his posture, but my eyes remained on the projections as they changed.

“But with Colonel Packard’s helicopter transport, we will be the first to break through to the other side.”

My eyebrows furrowed. This sounded very much like something out of a twisted horror movie.

“We’re also pleased to be joined, for the first time, by the resource exploration team, led by Mr. Randa and accompanied by biologist Miss San and geologist Mr. Brooks.”

“Aren’t those the guys that hired you?” I whispered over my shoulder at James.

“Yeah.” He whispered back, eyes still narrowed.

He didn’t like this either.

Nieves continued, “Our focus will be on the island’s surface, theirs, what lies beneath. Mr. Brooks.”

The man with glasses stepped up to the front of the room.

“Simple, really. We’ll use explosions to shake the earth and create vibrations, helping us to map the subsurface of the island.”

The projection changed again.

“We’ll fly in over the south shore and then strategically drop seismic charges to better help us understand the density of the Earth.”

I hadn’t exactly gone through any type of geological science in high school, but I understood the words “seismic charges” and it raised some concern.

“You’re dropping bombs?” James spoke up.

All eyes turned to him, including mine. I would’ve never actually spoken aloud in a room full of people, but James didn’t care. And I trusted him to make sure things were safe before getting involved.

“Mmm.. S-scientific instruments.” Mr. Brooks countered.

“You hear that, boys? We’re scientists now.” A voice called from the rows of soldiers.

Even though he was sitting low in his chair, I could tell it was the one that had dropped his hat earlier.

Slivko, I think?

The soldiers laughed, but the Landsat people didn’t seem amused. I’m sure James would have laughed, had Mr. Brooks not dodged his question about the bombs.

“You guys are not scientists.” Steve muttered.

I rolled my eyes.

“We’ll then land and make basecamp for ground excursions led by Mr. Conrad and Miss Brown.” Nieves gestured our way.

I glanced up at James. He met my eyes, his face softer now. I shot a face at him, one screaming “I am definitely not a tracker!!” He only shook his head.

“Major Jack Chapman.” Nieves stepped aside.

My eyes snapped up.

Before my father had married James’s mother, he had dated a few women. One of those women had been Elise Chapman. They dated for a few years, during the prime of my childhood. Her son Jack had become my best friend. My dad moved me away after a few years, never really telling me what had happened between them. Jack and I would write each other letters, but after a few years he stopped answering. I hadn’t talked to Jack in two years.

But here he was now, about to tell us whatever it was he had to tell us about this possibly lethal island.

He stepped up and took the pointer from Houston, “All right, once on this island-” he caught my eye.

I shivered, seemingly unable to pull my eyes away. James clasped a hand onto my shoulder. He knew all about Jack, just like he knew about every detail of my life.

Jack snapped himself out of it and started talking again.

“Once on the island, the storm’s interference will block all radio contact with the ship. That means we’ll be by ourselves.”

The projector again. I swallowed hard.

“Three days later, the refuel team will meet us here on the North end of the island. That may be our only safe departure window for an unknown period of time.” He glanced back my way.

“So, tip for everybody. Don’t miss it. Please.” His eyes came back around, but it seemed that James caught him this time.

Jack looked away, and he didn’t look back again.

                                                           ***

“James, where are you going?” I asked as he turned to leave the room.

“I want to check something out. Why don’t you stay here, catch up with Chapman?” He tried to pull himself from my grip.

“James, I haven’t seen him since I was a kid.” I grabbed at his wrist again.

He sighed and faced me, hands on my shoulders. “It’ll be okay.”

I bit down hard and closed my eyes, sighing hard through my nose.

“Okay.” My voice was quiet.

“I’ll see you up in the room later?” He patted my cheek.

I nodded, slowly letting go of his wrists.

“Be careful.” I mumbled.

He kissed my forehead. “Of course, you too.”

I heard someone clear their throat from behind me. I breathed hard before turning myself around.

“Hey Irene.” Jack stood there, a gentle smile on his face.

I looked up at him. “Hey, Jack.”

“How’re you, kid?”

I broke into a grin, unsure of what else to say. He gingerly pulled me into a hug.

“I missed you, ya know.”

I hugged back, nodding even though I knew he couldn’t see it. “I missed you too.”

“Colonel told us ‘Conrad’, but I didn’t even think it could be your brother.” Jack finally pulled away, hands on my shoulders.

I only shrugged. “I didn’t exactly think I’d see you here either.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “You haven’t grown since you were twelve, have you?”

“Shut up.” I shoved him, laughing.

We both quieted down quickly. I sighed, twiddling with my fingers.

“How’s Billy?” I asked. Last time Jack had written to me, Billy was four years old.

Jack perked up at the mention of his son. “He’s doing good. Gracie’s sent me a few photographs. I can show you later if you’d like. He looks just like his momma.” He gushed.

“Well I would hope so. Jack, you’re uglier than a dog. I would feel bad if the poor kid looked like you.”

It was a teasing lie, of course. Jack was what I considered pretty, with dark hair that he always styled up at the front, tiny freckles that you could only see if you were close enough, and eyes that switched between shades of green like nobody’s business.

He narrowed his eyes at me. I narrowed mine right back before breaking out into another fit of laughter. He messed my hair up.

“Where’d your brother go? I was planning on introducing myself.” He hesitated on the word brother, but forced it out anyways, looking around the room.

I wasn’t exactly about to tell him that James had gone to snoop around the ship, so I just shrugged again.

“Not sure, he told me I should stay and talk to you. I don’t really think you need to formally introduce yourself, though. He knows all about you.”

Jack nodded. “I see. Do you wanna meet the rest of the boys? I’ve got a feeling they’ll just love you.” He extended his hand to me.

I smiled and took it. “Sure.”

Previous: N/A

Next: Photographs and Flirts

[rainsonata]

Into the Night

Fandom/Pairing: Elsword; TTrAT Rating: K Word Count: 1,442

Summary: Time Tracer spends another sleepless night with his ambitions set straight, but Arc Tracer disagrees. He can take care of himself, really!  

AO3 Link

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Author Note: FIC FOR BUN, FIC FOR BUN, FIC FOR BUN, FIC FOR-

HERE YOU GO, @mymastermine. HERE ARE TRACER BABIES BECAUSE THEY’RE CUTE AND WE NEED MOAR OF THEM. Thank you for the fic exchange, I am always happy to accept them u w u.

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“You’re still up?” Arc peered into the living room.

Arc walked around with a white shirt depicting a pink cat and a pair of lavender boxers. A white fringe flopped over one side of his face as the tracer walked in to find Time occupying the loveseat in the living room.

Time sat curled up on a couch and rested his elbow over the coffee table. After scraping enough money from missions and other miscellaneous jobs around town, he and his counterparts were able to afford a small house, merging and converting two rooms into labs. The living room served as a home station for the three of them to meet at the end of the day, although Time had been spending less time there as the days dragged on and the experiments became longer. There were tests he wanted to run before taking the first leap to see if the years of research have finally paid off.

The time traveler raised his shoulders and cried in response to a pair of cold hands pressed against the nape of his neck. Time stretched his arms to untangle Arc’s arms away with blurry eyes, his face all pink and flustered. Arc pouted and crossed his arms with a small huff.

“How come when Psych does it, it’s fine?” Arc feigned sadness, “but when I do it, you pull back and act like my arms are jellyfish?”

“Psych will hug even if I tell him not to,” Time said.   

“But I can’t do it?” Arc sighed and pulled out Dynamo to show the digital display reading 2:41 AM. “Anyway, it’s late. You should sleep.”  

“That’s cute coming out of you,” Time snorted. “When did you become meticulous about sleep?”

He saw the strange places Arc had fallen asleep in, including the one time he fell asleep in the cabinet where they kept their rice. The scientist woke up in a daze, confused as to why Time made him get off so they could prepare dinner. Psych was less discreet and howled with laughter until Arc stomped his foot. It was like living with children, Time chuckled at the fond memory and smiled.  

“At least change your clothes,” Arc mumbled.

Time didn’t reply.

The time traveler sat slouched over, tucking his head in with one eye peeking past his white bangs. Time clutched his fingers around his pen as he dabbled into his journal with tired eyes. The heavy bags in his eyes were threatening to shut down as he forced themselves open with little success. He squeezed his eyes shut as he fought to squeeze out the numbers he needed for the last set of equations.

His mind spiraled down a twisted staircase of exhaustion, numbers falling past him as he closed his eyes. The codes he found in the burnt libraries in Feita, it wasn’t enough. All of them were utter trash and unworthy of being glossed over when Allegro directed him to the half-collapsed buildings buried deep in the valleys occupied by demons. Their faded pages flaked into dust as the smallest touch. The luckier ones contained codes once used in the Nasod War before the others were discovered and lit up in fear of being used to advance the Nasod race. Stupid, really. Nasods and their creators always had files backed up containing vital data and resources.  

It became uncomfortably warm where Time stood. Heat rose from where Time stood, a maze of bookcases enclaved in glass in a feeble attempt to protect them from destruction. Flames burst from behind him, eating away the pages and pages flown out, all of them depicting the same numbers and symbols in a desperate furry to be completed. Ink blotched out from the books’ contents and spilled over Time. Black ink pooled around the time traveler as he laid on the floor with his eyes staring back up to see a starry sky, unable to move.  

Glass broke from the side window. Shards went flying in his direction and crushed into millions of smaller pieces on the floor. There was the sound of a man chuckling darkly against the thin walls of the ruined building echoed around him. The shape of a man in a lab coat shifted his glasses up in a silhouette through the opaque window.  

Time crawled on his fours to stand up and gasped. A shadowed figure hunched over between the bookcases. Steam emitted from its nostrils hallmarked by electric blue fur standing up like bristles, a demon whispered about by the irrational archeologists and wary soldiers from the Feita camps. Time could only see its lower jaw lined by jagged teeth and the creature standing on hind legs.

“Time?”

He and the demon turned to the sound of his name.

“Time!”

He fluttered his eyes open to a pair of identical eyes clouded with frantic worry. Arc hovered over him and shook him by the shoulders, letting out a stream of ‘Are you ok?’ and ‘Time, I’m here’.

Time sat up to find himself cold in sweat and wrapped by a bundle of blankets. Opposite to him was a pile of blankets and pillows identical to his set up. Huh? He heard Arc’s words, but they seemed so far away. Did Arc stay with him the whole time? His eyes trailed over to the coffee table and the sheets of paper piling on the floor. The ink has dried, but he didn’t finish them…

“You were crying in your sleep,” Arc said. The researcher pressed his hand against Time’s forehead, so cool to the touch compared to the rest of Time’s body. “Was it a nightmare?”

Of course, it was, Time thought with shame. That was Father’s voice from the nightmare, his figure looming over and casting doubt into his ambition to achieve his goals. The nightmares were becoming frequent and there was no end to it. He didn’t tell Arc, of course. He didn’t want to make the other see him as incapable of sleeping through the night, but he knew Arc didn’t like it when he kept secrets from his counterpart.  

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel like it,” Arc sighed. Wrapping his arms around Time’s shoulders, he leaned over to kiss the top of the time traveler’s head, moving his lips and pressing them over Time’s sweaty forehead. He looked at Time and smiled, “I can make you tea. That might help you relax.”

“You don’t have to…” Time turned pinker than he already had. 

“It’s okay to take care of yourself,” Arc said with sadness. 

“I know that,” Time mumbled. 

“If you don’t…” Arc broke into a toothy grin, “I’ll paint your nails pastel!”

“If you can catch me,” Time scoffed. 

Arc was forgetting he had the ability to disappear into dimension pockets. Time looked at his alternate for a sign that the other was joking. What kind of petty threat was that? The researcher beamed and pulled out five different colors of nail polish from his oversized cat pockets - where in the name of El did he get those? The researcher snickered when he saw Time’s flabbergasted expression. 

“Psych picked them out for me,” Arc smiled. “He said he’ll help me if you try to run away. I think the pink would look good on you” 

...wonderful. 

Between that or accepting Arc’s worrywart tendencies it was obvious which one to pick. Time looked down but nodded.   

“I guess...” Time sighed, “I’ll have some tea.”

“So considerate of you,” Arc teased. “We’ve known each other for how long?”

“Four months,” Time counted with his fingers.

“Yet it’s like we’ve known each other for our whole lives,” Arc laughed.

Time snorted at the terrible joke. It was clear that Psych’s humor was rubbing off and that Arc was trying to cheer him up from the earnest smiles. They were sincere gestures, one that reminded Time of a simpler time when he was a child. He rubbed the spot where Arc had pressed his lips over, hiding his pinkened face with his long sleeves.

His mind grew alert as he watched Arc over to the kitchen. Time kneeled down to pick up the papers at his feet and frowned. Some of them were littered with drawings of cats and the demon monsters they fought in Feita. Did Arc draw these? Time sighed. His counterpart really was a child, and yet…

Time smiled when Arc returned minutes later with a platter with two identical cups and a tea kettle for the two of them to drink over a discussion about their latest research. He didn’t mind if every nightmare ended with this routine.      

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Collecting starfish and trying to make a difference 

Years ago I read a story about starfish. Basically, a woman comes across hundreds of starfish that were washed into the sand. So one by one, she begins throwing them back in the sea. While doing that, someone walks by and questions why she’s trying to save the starfish if they’re gonna get washed up again at some point. 

What difference does it make?, the passerby asks. 

For that one starfish I just threw in the sea, it means everything, says the woman.

I don’t know why but that story always stuck to me. When people ask what I want to do in life, I say that I want to help people. When I think about helping people, I think about the starfish story. A little goes a long way. I won’t be able to save the world or make a huge impact on a community but at least I can do something for one person. And for that one person, it makes a difference.

I don’t want to be a hero, I just want to be there for someone who needs a shoulder to lean on. I won’t make waves, but at least I can create ripples.

Pearl, Marianne, Fran, and Mike are visiting the camp for a much needed break after everything going on at Hollywood University. Coincidentally, the beach is full of starfish seashells so Isabelle and I arranged a seashell event. Since the universe tends to work in strange ways - at least according to the way I see it - I think it’s a sign.

For almost five years Jamie had been building an entourage of actors, writers, musicians, and other media professionals who are affiliated with the Hollywood University - Peace Coast campus. A bunch of friends like Ally-Nicole Sinead, Celinda Sharma, Vincent Yang, Lenie Langbrook, Quentin Toledo, Arabeth Liao, the Kayode triplets, the Sala cousins, Pearl, Marianne, Fran, and Mike - and tons of others - were part of that group. 

What makes Jamie’s entourage stick out from other entourages in the university is how diverse it was. The other entourages are predominantly white, straight, and able bodied, which says a lot about the culture of the campus. The university as a whole prides itself for being inclusive, but is it really? 

Don’t get me wrong, the university did make some strides in terms of diversity and inclusion when it first started out - particularly in terms of the LGBT community. But as it began to grow, it began following the money and sidelined the voices that they once aimed to amplify. That, along with various missteps involving the treatment of various POC figures is what caused people like Jamie and Pearl to become disillusioned with the university.

It’s such a shame, especially when you’ve got a bunch of talented people who are constantly ignored in favor of someone mediocre because of their ethnicity/background/sexual orientation, etc. There’s also blatant favoritism, which sucks as well. 

Technically Jamie’s entourage isn’t really an established thing anymore as it hasn’t been active in over a year. But others still refer to it as such because everyone still hangs out together, even after they’ve moved on. So even though the entourage has disbanded, it doesn’t seem like it. That says a lot about the community Jamie built with her entourage.

Pearl and the others joined the entourage about three years ago. That was shortly before things really started to change so their experiences have been a mixed bag. On one hand, they got to meet a bunch of cool people and experience great opportunities but at the same time have to deal with the university’s bullshit regarding their performative activism.

While criticism of how the university pats itself on the back for being so diverse has been going on for years, shutting down the Hollywood U/Starlight Theatre program is what caused things to blow up. Starlight Theatre is run and owned by a black Asian woman and most of the performers happen to be POC and/or LGBT as well as most of the people in the program.

The university claims that budget issues is what prompted them to shut down the program as they felt they could use that money for other resources that better fit the university’s vision. Enrollment in the program has reportedly dropped, which Pearl says is not entirely true. While the cohort has gotten smaller, it’s important to note that in recent years, most of the staff and students are white. 

So it’s no surprise that most of the entourage has left the university over the past two years. Considering how many of our friends have been screwed over, I don’t blame them for leaving. 

The amount of bullshit from the university is far too long to list off so I’ll only mention a few big ones. Shutting down the theatre program’s a big thing as Pearl and Marianne are part of the faculty. And before that they were severely underpaid and under credited as well as ignored over their white colleagues. Marianne had resigned last semester on a sour note after getting fed up with the higher ups. Pearl was tired of their shit too but chose to stick around because she wanted to make a difference and the students loved her.

Three West End and Starlight actors who were in Jamie’s entourage - Mariah Huang, Killian Bhandari, and Hayden Pettinelli - have been outspoken about their mixed experiences with the university and the theatre program. You have three professional actors being underpaid and ignored as well as being told flat out that they were hired so the faculty looked more diverse. They also had to deal with microaggressions from colleagues as well as poor communication with the higher ups. With the entourage being disbanded, they left the program shortly after.

Jenny, Clarry, and Lyndi have said that their college experience has been mixed. While all three have received great opportunities for their futures, they feel like they have to work at least three times harder than their white peers. Lenie and Rika feel the same, and as both are half white, they have their own issues with how they’re treated. Quentin Toledo, Tiffani Monaco, Adrie Castalucci, and Vincent Yang have issues about accessibility accommodations as the university has been less than accommodating to those who need it. Ally-Nicole Sinead, Beatrice Sala, Arabeth Liao, Celinda Sharma - and many other WOC - have criticized the misogyny that runs rampant in the university. Steven Fischer and Mike Shafir are among many who have spoken out about antisemitism. Fran Raleigh, Elliott Marchand, Maura Zeigler, Colleen Anantha, and countless others called out the university for homophobia and transphobia. And the list goes on and on.

At some point these people have been called ungrateful for criticizing the university and equate it to biting the hand that feeds you. Well, most of these people are already successful on their own and the reason why they came was to make a difference. While the university initially had good intentions, it’s clear where they stand in the long run. While they have made strides in terms of diversity and representation, the last few years feels like a backwards slide. 

They say that attendance has gone down in certain groups and I wonder why. Could it be that a lot of people don’t want to be involved in a place that underpays them, treats them like shit, force them to deal with those who only want to work with them for woke points, and not be given the credit they rightfully deserve?

So what’s the big deal?, some may ask. Why is representation and diversity so important? Well, to answer in the most simplest terms, it’s because we exist. We deserve to be heard and for our stories to be told. We are not stereotypes or caricatures, we are people. And just giving more roles to POC, LGBT, and/or disabled actors isn’t going to solve everything. The whole entertainment industry has its issues so giving people jobs for the sake of diversity won’t fix things, especially if we continue to be undermined and fucked over.

The reason why people like Jamie, Pearl, Marianne, Fran, and Mike stuck around for so long  - because they wanted to help others, to provide opportunities for them to shine. In a way, it’s kinda like trying to singlehandedly throw hundreds of starfish back in the sea with their own hands. 

Some may say it’s futile and there’s no point because it is what it is. But why does it have to be that way? If the current system is bullshit, why not take it apart and build a much better one? You don’t have to put on a grand gesture to make a difference. You might not be able to save the world, but you can save someone’s world. And that will cause a ripple effect that will spread into small victories.

[imagine-organization-xiii]

Can I get a prompt for Xigbar going on a road trip with his s/o? It can be both sweet and spicy >;) but whatevs you want. I just love me some space pirate.

It’s been 84 years……… but this is finally here! Also on AO3 here. If you like the story, make sure to go drop me a Kudos over there!

Shoutout to @nopantssaturday for her smut-skills. She’s a queen, so go give her some love.

Day 1:

When Saix originally gave you this assignment, he said that the task needed to be finished with patience, intelligence, and not a small amount of luck.  Your immediate thought, though you didn’t voice it aloud, was then why the hell did you choose us?

It was easy enough in theory.  Travel around to certain locations looking for potential recruits and potential keyblade wielders.  Look for spots that would be useful to the organization and places with lots of resources that could be used.  All you needed was a map and a car and a few supplies and you would be good to go.

But then you looked over at your companion and you immediately deflated.

Once Saix had turned away and left the room, Xigbar immediately grinned and exclaimed, “Road trip!” and, as you watched him load your bags in the back of your given vehicle, whistling to himself, you wondered for what seemed to be the fortieth time why Saix thought it would be a good idea to pair you together for this mission.  Xigbar was skilled at what he did, that much was perfectly clear, but his intelligent was sorely lacking and his patience? All but nonexistent.

The sound of the trunk slamming shut stirred you out of your thoughts and you glanced over to wear Xigbar was walking toward you. “Ready to head out?”

You sighed, tossing him the keys.  Well, at least the trip would be interesting.

Day 4:

“Listen, we’ve already fucking discussed this,” Xigbar scolded, swatting your hand away from the radio.  “Driver picks the music and whoever is in shotgun shuts the fuck up.”

“We’ve been listening to the same album for nearly two days.  If we don’t change the music, I’m literally going to jump out of the car and walk all the way back to the Castle that Never Was to tell Saix that our mission was a bust because you couldn’t stop being an idiot. Now change the music before I rip the entire radio out of the fucking car.”

“Fine, if you’re going to keep bitching about it.” He reached over and fiddled with a few buttons until the station changed to a commercial promoting a nearby restaurant.  “Happy now?”

“Thrilled.” You glanced down at the map in your hands and followed the route you were taking.  “Get into the right lane.  You need to take the next exit.”

“What? No, I don’t.  We have another ten minutes until we reach the exit.”

“No, the exit is right here.  You’re going to - and you just passed up our stop.  Fantastic.”

Thirty minutes later, after having to listen to an indignant Xigbar tell you that he knew where he was going and how he sure as hell didn’t need to ask for directions, you finally convinced him to take a U-turn to head back to your actual destination.

“Look, it’s a road trip!” he exclaimed, nudging your shoulder happily.  “It’s all about the unexpected, right?”

“I could actually kill you right now and feel no remorse.”

Day 12:

You were starving, utterly tired of bottled water and granola bars and fast food.  You needed a warm meal, or at least something halfway decent before you completely shriveled away and died in the passenger seat of the car.  Xigbar wasn’t much better.  You can tell that the cramped quarters and the continuous driving was beginning to get to him, so he didn’t even complain when you suggested that you stop in the next town to get food.

It was a small town, one of the ones you never have any business stopping in unless you were one of the locals.  There was a laundromat, a tiny, family owned grocery store, a hairdresser, a gas station, and what appeared to be a bar/restaurant that was the only place completely lit up at this time of the night.  The rest of the view was nothing more than long stretches of highway and grassy flat fields, almost as if the entire place was a ghost town.

You didn’t care.  Xigbar pulled into a parking space in front of the bar, right next to a group of shining motorcycles, impatiently waiting for you to stretch out your sore muscles before joining him.

The bar was surprisingly noisy with a group of leather clad bikers scattered around a single pool table and taking up two of the tables, and with what you assumed were locals from the area in several places along the bar. Several people watched you with suspicion as Xigbar immediately went up to the bar and you took an empty table in the corner with the entire room in your view.  Xigbar returned with two large mugs of beer that was threatening to topple over the rim of the glass, and slid one over to you.  “I ordered us burgers; yours with onion rings and mine with fries.”

“Thank god,” you muttered, taking a whiff of the alcoholic drink in front of you.  “Wow, this smells like piss.  They really scraped the bottom of the barrel for this cheap shit.” And yet you drank a huge glug anyway, eager for anything that wasn’t bottled water for the first time in over a week.

Xigbar frowned at his own glass.  “If this is the best that they have on tap then I’m wondering how they haven’t gone out of business.”

They had to have something better than this, you thought to yourself.  “I’m going to order some shots. You want anything in particular?”

He carelessly waved you away and you slid out of the booth, unaware of the various eyes that were trailing after you.  You placed an order of two shots of the best whiskey the bar had to offer – which wasn’t saying much – when someone stepped up beside you and ordered a group of shots of his own.

“Hey there,” the man said, giving you a wide and what he apparently thought was an enticing smile.  It made you cringe internally.  “What’s your name?”

“Not interested.”

“Aw, don’t be like that,” the man said, but there was a horrific and dangerous flash behind his eyes that made you shift away, even though you knew you would be able to snap him like a twig before he ever laid a hand on you.  He reached out, as if to put his hand on your shoulder, when a tall presence stepped up behind you.

“Hey there, babe,” said Xigbar, wrapping his arm around your waist a little too tightly for you to be completely comfortable.  “Who’s your friend?”

“No one important,” you said.  As if he was waiting for the perfect moment to arrive, the bartender approached with four filled shot glasses that you gathered in your hands.  Intending to ignore the other man and just head back to your table, you turned away, but then the world stopped when you felt a hand slap you directly on the ass.

You stiffened, turning to stare in blatant shock at Xigbar who immediately realized what happened.  Suddenly he grinned, showing a row of straight white teeth.

“Oh, man.” He shook his head, laughing to himself.  “He has no idea what he just did.”

Wordlessly, you handed three of the shot glasses over to Xigbar, tossed the remaining one down your throat, then turned back to the man.  He was grinning and sending suggestive looks over at his laughing friends that were huddled in the corner, watching the scene unfold, and didn’t even notice you reel back your arm, clench your fist, and aim straight for his already crooked teeth.

The sound of your fist hitting his face echoed through the loud bar as he was knocked completely off of his feet, stumbling backwards into the barstools, tripping, and crashing directly onto the hardwood floors.

Silence surrounded you.  The man, who was crumpled on the floor and apparently completely unconscious, didn’t move a muscle.  His friends were in the corner, frozen with shock. A group of girls in the corner of the room suddenly started chuckling and raised their glasses to you.

“Does anyone else want to try to slap my ass?” you shouted to the room as a whole, not caring about the weird and slightly terrified looks you were getting.

The bartender raised an eyebrow, but sighed in resignation.  “Well,” he said.  “At least you didn’t make a complete mess.”

“You want me to throw him outside to get him out of the way?” you asked, reaching out to snatch another one of the shots out of XIgbar’s hand.

“Nah,” said the bartender, waving a hand carelessly in the air.  “He’ll wake up eventually.  Just leave him there.”

You shrugged and followed a grinning Xigbar back to your table.

Later, when the two of you had climbed back into the car and were ready to get back onto your journey, Xigbar turned to you and gave you a mischievous grin.  “That was so hot.”

You shoved him away, but couldn’t help the smile that reached your mouth.  “Oh, shut up.”

Day 23:

“I don’t want to be the person who says I told you so, but I fucking told you so.”

From where you sat with your legs dangling out of the passenger seat of the car, you watched as the hood of the vehicle slammed shut to reveal Xigbar’s disgruntled face. His lips formed muttered curses that you couldn’t hear as he trailed around the side of the car.  You couldn’t imagine what was going through his head at that moment, but it couldn’t have been kind in the slightest.

“Stupid piece of shit, vehicle,” he hissed, kicking the wheel as he passed it.  “I’m going to kill Saix when we get back.”

Tensions were high.  You had been stuck in a tiny car with each other for almost a month and it was getting to you.  You had been unsuccessful in your mission so far, living off of shitty fast food and gas station coffee for much too long, and now with a car that had decided to break down, you were both reaching the literal end of your patience.

“Look,” you eventually said, allowing him to pull you to your feet, “there was a little motel a few miles back and it’s starting to get late. Let’s pop over there, rent two rooms, and get a bit of rest.  Then we’ll come back and deal with this disaster in the morning.” You paused, looking up at the sky.  “Besides, it looks like it’s about to rain and I don’t know about you, but jump-starting a car in the rain sounds like a very bad idea.”

Without another word - which was a good thing because it probably wouldn’t have been anything nice - Xigbar waved his hand and opened up a portal that you knew would lead directly to the motel.

“If you think that i’m going to be a gentleman and sleep on this cum-stained floor, then you’re out of your damn mind.”

You surveyed the room with a look of distaste and rolled your eyes.  “I wouldn’t dream of you ever having a gentlemanly bone in your body.  Besides, I’ve shared a bed with worse.”

“Really?  Worse?  Where do I happen to fall on that list?” Xigbar’s eyes rove up and down your body lazily as he flops down onto the bed, arms behind his head.  He seemed completely unstressed at the idea that the motel only had one room available with only one bed, as if he had been in this situation before.  On thinking about it, you realized that his life was wild and he probably had.

“In the top five, easily.”

“Hm.” The eye that you could see from where you stood near the side of the bed fell shut.  “I’m flattered.”

“You really shouldn’t be.”

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence - at least, for you. Xigbar seemed to be completely at ease as he lounged on top of the beds comforter, even in his stiff organization attire. That can’t be comfortable, you thought. But you quickly decided that his comfort was not your concern. Why did you care anyway? You had more pressing matters to deal with, like getting out of your own gross clothing.

“I’m gonna go see if this shower is as dirty as the floor,” you said as you picked up your overnight bag and the cleanest looking towel you could find. Well, they all looked clean, but who could be sure?

“Is there room for two?” Xigbar called out as you frowned in distaste at the somewhat dirty bathroom and the tiny shower.

“Not really,” you said thoughtlessly.  There was a small beat of silence as your cheeks heated.  “Not that I would let you in the bathroom with me anyway, but this shower is tiny as shit.  It doesn’t even look like there’s room for one.” You looked into the shower. It was certainly tiny. A standing shower with a curtain that was too small to even hide behind.

“Well, we could always get real close together to save on water..” Something about the way that those words came out from the other room made your insides twist. It was… huskier than the way Xigbar normally spoke. After a second of processing your reaction you quickly scrambled to turn on the water of the shower to muffle out what had just happened and to definitely pretend that you hadn’t heard him speak.

“What was that? I can’t hear you over the water!” You shouted back at a needless, exaggerated volume. You shut the door that successfully separated you from Xigbar and started to shed your cloak. As you slowly unzipped, you tried to process what had just happened. What the fuck was that? You thought. I have never heard that neanderthal talk like that. And especially not to me. What is he up to? What did he do to ME?

It had been a while since anyone had come even close to talking to you like that. It must be that. You’d been in this car for almost a month and it made you desperate. Problem solved. No other explanation was needed. You shed your coat and hang it onto the back of the bathroom door. After removing the rest of your clothes, you slide into the small shower. It was cramped. Too cramped. There was no way that more than one person could have joined you in this tiny thing, even if you had wanted to have a little fun.

You quickly reeled back and mentally scolded yourself for even entertaining those sorts of thoughts, but it was too late. Suddenly your mind was jumping through random scenes like something from a trashy porn.  The sensation of two wet bodies rubbing against each other with the water pouring over them. The clashing of wet lips and water sliding down your back. Fingers pressing into your hips hard enough to leave bruises.  Your body shivered with anticipation as your mind went deeper and deeper down a rabbit hole of lust and desire. Your body ached for physical contact. Your hand reached up and grabbed your breast as your mind wandered even further into places it really had no business being. Between the feeling of your hand and the sensation of the flowing water, you can’t help but let out a quiet and contented sigh, but as soon as the quiet noise left your mouth, there was a swift knock at the door.

Xigbar’s voice was loud and sharp over the soft pounding of the water against the shower floor.  “Everything okay?  You’ve been in there a while.”

“U–Y-Yeah Everything’s fine!” You quickly stuttered out, cringing at how high-pitched your voice sounded. You need an excuse. NOW. “I was starting to fall asleep because the water was so warm.”  Nice recovery.

“Well… uh. Okay. Well. I’m gonna go to bed then.  Try not to wake me up when you get out.”  You let out a silent sigh of relief as you hear his voice fade and he moves away from the door. That was close. Too close. You really were desperate. As soon as this crappy mission was over, you vowed to yourself that you would re-download KeyGrindr on your gummiphone. Because this couldn’t keep happening.

You stepped out of the shower and dried yourself with one of the hotel towels. Out of your bag you pulled a new set of underwear and your pajamas. You secretly wished that you had packed better pajamas than your shorts and your “I went to Agrabah, and all I got was this Tshirt” T-shirt. But it would have to do.

You quietly opened the door and the light from the bathroom flooded into the now darkened motel room. Xigbar was already under the covers, probably still in that stuffy coat that he never seemed to take off, and was turned away from you toward the wall. Huh, He must have been more tired than I thought. You turned off the light to the bathroom and blindly felt your way to your side of the bed, trying not to bump into any stray pieces of furniture. You pulled back your covers in the dark of the night and climbed into the bed.

From the other side of the sheets you could hear Xigbar’s slow, even breathing. It was.. Oddly soothing. Even though the man could be a total brute sometimes, you still found yourself briefly soothed by the endless rhythm of the man’s breathing. Briefly. Once again your mind drifted back to your thoughts in the shower and the way Xigbar called to you. It made your insides feel like fire, an emotion you had never felt about the rogue before. You tried shifting into a comfortable position to help you doze, but sleep doesn’t come.

Suddenly your nose is assaulted with the smell of aftershave. Or maybe it was soap. The smell was alluring. How did you not notice this scent before? You suppose that you had never been close enough to notice. As your eyes adjusted to the darkness, you realize that Xigbar is no longer wearing his leather coat. Actually, he wasn’t wearing a shirt at all. Oh my God he’s in his underwear! All of a sudden you felt the heat rise in your face, thankful that the darkness was hiding your flushed skin and that he was still asleep to not hear you panicking.

Or… maybe he wasn’t still asleep.

Xigbar turned over toward you, blinking sleepily in the dark.

“Sorry,” you said softly, your voice puncturing the stillness of the room.  “Did I wake you?”

“You’re fidgeting a lot.” He said, running a hand over his tired face.  “And why are you whispering?  We’re the only two people in here.”

“I don’t know,” you replied, quickly feeling sheepish.  “It just feels like you should whisper in the dark, you know?”

He didn’t respond at first, the silence of the room taking over once again, but this time, the silence made you nervous, flustered. Why were you acting like this?

After another moment, Xigbar smirked. “Oh really?”, Even in the dark, his eyes glinted golden and your heart skipped. “And do you have… experience, with conversations in the dark?” There it was again. That purr, the husky tone of voice he used earlier. Was he just playing? He must be just joking. Yeah.

“Well…” You might as well play along. “I do have… Some… experience…” as you speak, you bring your hand up to push your stray hair behind your ear. Some might call your action flirtatious, but you were just doing it to push the hair out of your eyes.  There was definitely no other reason whatsoever.

Then, he made a noise. Something that sounded like a growl. Or a moan? You weren’t sure. “Well, Doll, do you have references? I can’t share a bed with someone that doesn’t have good references.” Oh now he was totally messing with you - Wait. Did he just call you Doll? Had he ever done that before? You didn’t remember and you were much too busy calculating your next move to figure out if he ever had.

“Well I could provide you with an entire resume,” you found yourself inching closer to him in the  center of the bed, ”but I don’t think that you would be able to handle some of the finer details.”

Xigbar matched your movement with his own and soon you were both crossing the invisible divide in the middle of the bed. His golden eye was entrancing. It was almost like it was pulling you in even closer. Even in the dark you could see the lust-glazed look.

“Try me,” he growled.  You two were close now. Insanely close. You could feel the heat of his skin as your heavy breaths mingled in the small space between you. You body was completely aflame, aching for physical contact. This suddenly wasn’t a game anymore. And in an instant, lips collided, bodies made contact and brushed against each other. You weren’t sure who made the movement first or if you both moved forward at the same time. The kiss was rough and steamy, but didn’t last more than a couple of seconds. Both of you were breathing heavily. A kiss like that could take the wind out of your lungs and make you forget your own name.

“You have no idea how long I wanted to do that.” Xigbar gruffly whispered. “All month… All damn month you were such a fucking tease. And you didn’t even realize it.” You kept trying to catch your breath and looked into his eyes. Man, that was..something. But it certainly couldn’t end there because you sure as hell wouldn’t let it. You were already in way too deep, so why not continue?

You swung a hand behind his head and pulled him into another tight embrace, digging your fingertips into his neck. As you pulled each other closer, you could feel the sharpshooters frame against your own. You took the hand that was behind is head and ran it down his chest. Under that coat, he was lean, but muscled. As your fingers ran down, you could feel the different scars that dug into his skin. The kiss ended as Xigbar looked down at your hand and smirked. “Like what you see there, Doll?”

That cocky bastard. “Eh,” you shrugged. “It’s alright, I guess. Not the worst man to share my bed, but you’ve yet to prove yourself as one of the best.” You smirked back at him. Xigbar’s grin widened as he pushes you onto your back into the bed.

“Not the worst, huh? Well I guess I’ll need to change that, you minx.” His hands pushed you down further into the bed as his lips crash into yours again. Tongues soon collided and danced together, taking in the delicious feeling. Soon, you feel his calloused hands wander down to the hem of your shirt. “Heh.. Nice shirt.. Though I think it’s going to look nicer on the hotel floor..” His fingers curled underneath the fabric of your tacky tourist tee as he gently pulls it up over your head and throws it away to somewhere on the floor.

“That was a terrible line, even for you,” you said, chuckling.

“Hmm..” He hummed in admiration. Xigbar placed a hand over your covered breast and gently kisses the exposed, soft flesh peaking from the top. He then kisses slowly up your breast to your shoulder, and then to your neck. You let out a soft gasp as he nibbles at the sensitive flesh. Sensing your reaction, you could feel the sharpshooter grinning against your skin. “Jackpot.” He whispered into your ear, the soft gruffness in his voice causing you to shudder. His lips returned to the tender spot, massaged the flesh with his lips accompanied with small love bites, which caused you to gasp and moan under each movement. You could swear you heard him chuckle to himself into your neck before he bites down. Hard.  You gasped out in shock as he sucked on your neck with a harsh nip of his teeth. After a moment, he pulled away and looked down at his handiwork. You didn’t need a mirror to check. From the way your skin tingled as he pulled away, you knew there was a big, dark hickey on your neck.

Xigbar let out another chuckle and looked down at you underneath him. As fun as this was, you couldn’t let this cockiness of his last a second longer. You mustered all of your strength and swiftly pushed the sharpshooter onto his back, straddling his waist from above. You could feel the heat radiating off of his body as his hard length pressed into you through your underclothes. You looked down at the man beneath you as you swiftly unhooked your bra and flung it across the room, never breaking eye contact. Never before had you seen his jaw drop so blatantly.

“Well damn, if that’s not the most gorgeous rack I have ever seen.” he mumbled as his hands start reaching up towards your now exposed breasts. But before they reached their destination, you smacked his hands away. He sharply inhaled at the slap, then released it with an irritated groan.

“Uh uh uh, loverboy,” you teased as you wagged your finger at him. “Not just anyone gets to enjoy these. You’ve got to prove yourself worthy first.”

“Oh?” Again, the cocky grin returns, “And how would I be able to prove myself worthy?” His hands slid upward and gripped your thighs as he spoke. This… gives you a thought. A devious thought.

“Well, I have a few ideas if you think you’re up for the challenge… “ You rose to your knees and slowly removed your panties, sliding them down your legs and off onto the floor with the rest of your clothing. You now hovered over him, bare and wanting, sliding your body up towards the top of the bed. Xigbar’s hands were still clutching your thighs as he slowly guided you until your body hovered over his head.

You place your hands on the headboard to hold yourself in place as you slowly lower yourself. You felt his lips placing long, tender kisses along the inside of your thigh. You let out a breathy moan and he slowly makes his way upward, leaving the trail of kisses behind. Slowly. Slowly, he moves, each second more and more agonizing than the last. As he reached the place you deeply desired him most, he turned direction with kisses back down your leg, causing you to let our a whining moan in the process.

The kisses stopped as he pulled away and looked up at your flushed and wanting face. “Oh, I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Was there something you wanted from me? Why don’t you just tell me?” He places another kiss on your inner thigh, dangerously close the your wet aching core that a whimper escapes your lips.

“You know what I want, so maybe you should get to work and stop messing around before I get bored.” With your retort, you lowered yourself just a little further, urging him to continue, and Xigbar let out a low growl that sounded much more dangerous than the one from before.

“Hnng alright, babe, but only because you asked so nicely.” You rolled your eyes with a scoff, but as you are about to let it out, his lips make contact to the one place you desire most and that scoff turned into a breathy moan. You couldn’t help yourself. The rogues tongue glides against your folds, drawing shapes and curves you didn’t even know possible but a vigor that you had never seen. He lapped at you like a man starved, cherishing every moment. You felt goosebumps form on your arms as he continues. You could feel the inner windings of your body getting tighter and tighter as his tongue quickened its place. It just felt so good that you didn’t want him to ever stop. You started moving your hips in tandem against his mouth as he worked, the spring winding tighter and tight. You felt like you could burst from his tongue alone. Who was this man? As your body’s cork wound itself tighter and tighter, you were about to burst. You were close. You were so close. You could feel your orgasm getting closer and closer. The sounds your body was making were those you had never heard before. But as your muscles started to quiver, on the verge of your release, everything stopped.

“F-Fuck…” You stuttered out, breathy and desperate.

You let out an aggravated moan as you felt his hands on your thighs push you up. You could hear the man beneath you letting out a low chuckle, clearly amused with himself. What a cocky bastard.

“What is it, Princess? I didn’t prove myself worthy?” he teased.

You looked down at the sharpshooter, a glint of mischief in his eye. “You’re not in a very good place to be teasing right about now…” you smirked, swiftly attempting to reach backwards and grab at his length.

“Oh am I?” And in one swift motion, you were flipped onto your back again.  His lips crashed back into yours and you could feel the taste of you on his tongue. It was unexpected and made a shiver go down your spine. As your lips locked, his hands reached down and shimmied himself out of his own boxers. You were in the heat of it now, lips locked as you felt the heat of your bare skin rubbing against each other. Xigbar soon parted your legs and rested himself in between them, his cock positioned at your entrance. He moved his lips from yours and looked up at you with that one gold, glistening eye.

“You ready for this, dollface? After this, there’s no turning back. You’ll never be able to fuck another man again without thinking about what I’m about to do to you..”  He was a dick, but if this was how he was gonna ask for consent, you’d take it.

“Hmmmm…” You slowly pondered, giving the man in your bed a cheeky smirk. “AM I ready?” You sat in the silence for a moment, savoring the anticipation and annoyance on your lover’s face. “Well, hmm .. yes, I Guess Ss–OH!” But before you could even finish your comeback, Xigbar had taken that ‘yes’ and ran with it, gripping your hips roughly and pushing himself inside you with a great force to the hilt. The first thrust, in your opinion, always seemed to be the best.  You both let out a moan in unison at the relief and overall ecstasy of coming together. After a second of savoring that moment, the rogue started to move himself again, slowly at first, pumping himself in and out of you.

The pace was slow and deep, but agonizing. You knew what you want, and you wanted it as soon as he could give it. You bucked your hips in to match his thrusts, but it didn’t help much. “Xigbar…” You breathed, throwing your head back into the pillow. “Please… couldn’t you go a little faster?”

He looked down on you, matching your gaze with his own. “Oh? Was that a please I heard? What has made you so… docile, my little poppet? Was it… This?” Suddenly Xigbar changed his pace, slamming into you quickly and harshly, causing you to moan out in delight. This is what you needed.  He continued to thrust into you at a maddening pace, feeling your body take his blows. He felt so good. Ridiculously so. Feeling his body slam into you like this was something you had been craving for quite some time.

All of a sudden you felt one of his hands leave your hip, pressing itself against the bundle of nerves that had yet to be touched. His fingers covered in your own heat, he massaged and played with your clit, matching the rate of his own thrusts.  That spring in your stomach was winding tighter and tighter as Xigbar quickened his pace. You moaned out his name as you reached that peak, hoping that he wouldn’t stop. Though if Xigbar stopped this time, he may not make it home to base alive. But as you feel your orgasm coming closer and closer, there is certainly no sign of him stopping.

“Doll, I’m close… Come for me….” The devilish man grunted out. His thrusts became harder and faster and you could feel your orgasm coming closer and closer/ Your orgasm comes in waves of pleasure, your muscles spasming as you gasp and your vision goes white.  And then, there was one final moan, one final thrust as you feel the sharpshooters seed pour into you. And then… time seemed to have stopped.

Xigbar looked down at you, the deep lust in his eye now replaced with exhaustion.. “Hah… hah… so…” He slowly pushed himself up, off and out of you and onto his side, leaving you feeling what was left of him drip out of you. “How was that? One of the best?”

You take a second to catch your breath before responding.. “Hmm,… well it certainly was an interesting experience…” You paused. “But… there was room for doubt. I think we might need to do further testing before I can make a formal decision.” You grinned. “Further experimentation.  Just so I can be sure.”

“I’m totally fine with further experimentation - you know, being the scientifically inclined man that I am - but you know as well as I do that that was the best damn lay you’ve ever had in your entire life.”

“Well, we’ll see about that. We’ve still got a lot of road to cover, and you never know. I might just find someone better.” You smiled as you turned onto your side, getting comfortable.

“Oh we’ll just see about that, sweetheart…” Xigbar retorted, only to turn and find that you had already fallen asleep. A tiny bit of masculine pride swelled in his chest that he pushed you to the point of falling asleep that quickly. He watched you as your chest slowly rising and falling, taken by the sweet raptures of sleep.  It was relaxing. You looked so peaceful and it even seemed to ease his weary bones.

Maybe it was the feeling of ease that you gave him, or maybe it was the post-sex atmosphere messing with his brain, but he some found himself speaking to you in a hushed voice. In nothing but a whisper he grumbled out his thoughts, low enough as to not wake you from your slumber. “When I said that I had been waiting for this, I meant it…. You always.. I dunno. You get it. You get me. I’m not good at this mushy crap but you know what I’m saying….  I’m no Prince Charming by a long shot and I’m not gonna lie and say that I am.. But I hope that you could learn to like someone like me eventually.”“He chucked lowly to himself. “Hell maybe even love me. But that’s a real longshot.”

Xigbar then rose from the bed, deciding that he should probably go shower after all of the mess you two had gotten yourself into. He looked down on your sleeping form one final time. Why was it that he couldn’t tear his eyes away? Usually once he was done, he was done. This was… different somehow. He needed to get into that shower. The water could probably clear his head. But before he turned to the small bathroom, he gently reached down and pulled the motel comforter up over your shoulders, ensuring that you stayed warm. “Ah…well.. Goodnight. I’m just glad you’re asleep to hear all of this soft crap. Can’t have you thinking any less of me, now.”

After a moment of silent steps, you heard the soft click of the bathroom door. Your body shifted under the blanket and you pop your eyes open. What… What the hell was that? You thought. You didn’t know. Hell, you didn’t know if all of that really happened. Maybe you were dreaming. That must have been it. You fell asleep and dreamt that he just said those things. All the same, you still could swear you felt a deep pang in your chest, almost where a heart used to be. It was a painful pang, as if your body was longing for something that it couldn’t have. But at the same time, it almost felt warm.

[serfuzzypushover]

White Baron

A/N: So eh- Hero!Flug au huh? I wrote this a while ago and forgot about it- I'm working on the next chapter rn so yay qwq There're probably going to be around 7-10 chapters of dis- Anyway- The story is about Flug, who still goes by Kenning, during his time as a hero in training with his brother Goldheart uwu. Hope y'all enjoy! QwQ

Chapter 1

"Well? Do you like it?" The older brother asked. Kenning gave a small smile. "It's great.." Today was his first day training as a hero. He admitted, he was a bit nervous. It was always his brothers goal to become a hero, but as for him, he just wanted to be a pilot. All these hero/villain stuff never seemed that appealing to him. As much as their parents made it out to be at least. Goldheart, Kennings brother, was already at the end of his training and was now a full time hero, while he was just starting out. "I'm glad you do!" He heard him say.

The 16 year old looked around at his new room. Nothing special. Just a room with a bed, a desk and a door leading up to a bathroom he assumed. 'At least it has windows..' Kenning thought. "I'll let you get settled in and remember to be in the flying district around 3." Goldheart ruffled his brothers dyed brown hair. "H-hey!" Kenning complained. Goldheart just chuckled and got out of the dorm.

Kenning sighed and got straight to 'fixing' this place. He covered his bed with some blue airplane bedsheets and got rid of the old pillow, replacing it with his own. The desk was soon covered in metallic parts and wires, straight out of Flugs backpack. He set his toolbox right next to it, and placed his books, most of which were about planes, on one side of the desk. He put up motivational posters on the walls and even set a sitting pillow on the desk chair. And last but not least he placed in a family photo. He remembered taking that picture with his parents and brother. He had just defeated a villain and the whole city was cheering for him. He left the picture down and looked around his improved room.

The boy admired his job and checked the time. "I've got an hour or two to spare.." He told himself and flopped to bed. He was too tired at this point and since he had time, a nap didn't sound like a bad idea. He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

He woke up a bit later than he wanted but still made it on time for the session. He sat down on the grass like the rest of the heroes in training and waited. They all wore black jumpsuits with strings of color at the sides. Kenning was yellow and so were of two other students. One of them was a tall woman. She had large dark wings, a bit darker than her skin and what seemed to be demon horns and a tail. The other was a smaller male, a bit shorter than himself. Nothing was too special about him it seemed. He had his hair in a bun and had light skin. They seemed to be talking and Kenning approached them.

"Um.. Hello! We eh.. We seem to be in the same team, huh?" He asked anxiously. "Yep! Yellow Team for the win!" The girl said excitedly. "I'm Ursula! And this is Shaun." She introduced herself and the boy next to her. "Hey! I know you!" Shaun stated. "M-me?" Kenning asked, confused. "Yeah! You're Goldhearts brother, right?" Kennings shoulders shank. "Oh.." He let out disappointed. "Y-yeah that's me..." "Wow! I can't believe we have Goldhearts brother on our team!" Ursula said. "If you are anything like your brother then we are going to be the greatest team here!!" Kenning tried to smile at them. "What kind of powers do you have?" "O-oh.. w-well uh- Oh hey look! That must be our teacher!" Kenning said as he saw a man approach them.

'That was close..' He thought as everyone was starting to form a line. He stood between his teammates as the man started talking to them. About the basis of flying and that its one of the most difficult powers to control. Then he told everyone to show of what they can do. Each one of them started flying either with wings or with powers. Until it came Flugs turn. He reached out for his backpack and after securing it to his chest he pressed a button, making airplane wings pop out of the sides and the bottom of the backpack to open, revealing a turbine underneath. He was about to take off when the teacher stopped him.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" He asked his with his arms crossed. "U-uh.. taking off?" He asked nervously. Did he do something wrong? "I can see that! But this is a 'hero' academy! Not jetpack school! If that were the case we'd take everyone in!" He sighed in annoyance, placing his hand on his head. "What your name?" At this point everyone was staring at them."E-er.. K-kenning Slys sir.." He stumbled out. Before the teacher could react a figure landed next to them. "Is there a problem Teach?" The looked up.

"Goldheart Slys.." The teacher started. "I assume you know mister Kenning over here?" He pointed at the young man standing nervously next to them. He landed and the rest of the hero noobies were now surrounding the hero. "That's my brother you're referring to, yes." Goldheart simply said. "And I don't see him using his own resources to help him keep up with the rest of the class, a problem." Kenning tensed. Was he TRYING to embarrass him?! "Goldie it's oka-" He trying to get him to stop. "So what if he doesn't have powers? He's great at other stuff!" "GOLDHEART!" Kenning basically shouted at him and looked around in fear as everyone else was whispering at eachother. His eyes were starting to water as his body trembled. "Kenny? Is something wrong?" He heard his brother ask and reach out to him. He shot himself away from him and started running back to his dorm, trying his best not to hit anyone with his open wings on his way there. He heard his name being called but he kept running. Once he reached his room he shut the door and locked it. His tears finally fell down his face. He curled up in his bed, hugging his pillow. He decided to skip the rest of the sessions for today. And he cried himself to sleep.

Kenning woke a few hours later at the sound of a door knock. He dragged himself up and unlocked it. It was his brother. "Heeey Kenny.." "What." He replied while glaring at him. "I.." Goldheart started. "I'm sorry.. I was trying to help-" "Oh shut up! Will you ever stop making these stupid excuses?!" Kenning yelled at him. "I'm not 4 anymore! I know when you're lying!" "Kenny-" "Stop. Calling me. That!" He clenched his fists. "It's just like every other time! It's always the fucking same!" "Please don't swear-" "Doesn't matter if we are with mom and dad or in front of a whole class!" Hot tears rolled in Kennings cheeks. "You just want me to be miserable, don't ya!?" Goldheart didn't answer as the door was closed with a slam in front of him.

Kenning grabbed his bag and started packing his things. Even if he managed to get Goldheart off his chest he was humiliated already, why would he want to stay? After he was done with all his stuff inside the backpack he hesitantly opened the door. His brother was nowhere on sight. He headed for the exit, not talking to anyone he passed. After he was out he activated his backpack and flew off.

He headed back to the city and after half an hour, landed right outside his house. He hesitated. No. He wasn't going inside. Why would he bother if he was just going to get yelled at. He clenched his fist and walked away from the house. He didn't know where he was heading but he kept moving forward. "Ugh.." He let out. "Why is he such a showoff!?" He asked himself while kicking a tree to ease off his anger. He mumbled some curses and sat down on a bench. The sky was turning dark but Kenning thought he might as well just stay here. He lifted his legs onto the bench and hugged them tightly. From the corner of his eye he saw slight movement coming from his backpack. He shot up his head and saw more moving. He hesitantly reached out for it and was startled when a cat jumped out from behind it right in front of him. "O-oh.." He laughed a bit. "So it was you who scared me huh?" He asked the feline as it meowed back with a purr in its voice. It curled up to his legs and relaxed on his lap. "Aww!" Kenning couldn't help but say. He started petting the cat. This day wasn't turning out that bad after all.

The cat then looked straight at him. It's deep orange eyes looked at him in fear, but the cats body was relaxed. Kenning moved his hand. "E-eh.." The cats face started slit in half and hundred of insects made their way out of its skull. The boy screamed and tried to drop the cat- no- that thing out of his lap. It was at the floor now and Kenning couldn't help but place his hand over his mouth to not throw up. The incests started forming a figure. The boy looked in fear at the man that was now taking form in front of him. He had dark blue skin and wore a suit. Kenning could see a cane in his hands and a black hat covering his head.

[saintlavrents]

Date [t.h]

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Prompt: “You’re not as boring as I thought you’d be.”

Summary: Maybe going on a date wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Words: 1,216

A/N: hi three posts in 2 days ok. this is my last post of 2018. i hope id get to write even more in 2019 and improve my writing lol (english isn't my first language so bear with me). happy new year everyone. and this is my entry to @spxderbarnes‘ writing challenge. hope u like it.

(gif isn't mine, again)

“I’m not going, Mel. I don’t want to go on a date with someone I barely even know!” Y/N stressed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Melanie had been pestering Y/N to go out on dates a lot over the years they’ve lived together, but she always refused to, as she hasn’t got much luck when it comes to love. This time, Mel had set Y/N up with one of her close friends, Tom. Y/N had heard about him and even saw him a couple of times here and there but never exactly got to know the guy.

“C’mon, Y/N. You haven’t dated in a long time, plus it’ll be fun! Tom’s not that bad of a guy.”

It was true, the last time Y/N dated someone was in the sophomore year of college and that was years ago. The relationship didn’t end well and that was kind of the reason why she stopped going on dates and refused every time Melanie tried to set her up with someone.

“It’s easy for you to say. You actually know the guy.”

“C’mon, Y/N.” Mel paused, her face lighting up as she had just thought of an idea, “Okay, how ‘bout we make a deal? If this goes badly, I’ll stop pestering you to go on dates and I’ll stop trying to set you up with my friends.”

Y/N groaned, even though she did not want to go, the thought of Mel not nagging her about her love life ever again sounded very appealing. Honestly, she was getting sick of how Mel’s constantly bugging her about her love life.

“Alright, fine. One date.”

Mel cheered in triumph, “I’ll text you his number and you can ask him yourself about the details.”

-

Saturday night finally came, and Y/N was about to actually go on the date. As much as she dreaded it, she would be lying if she said there wasn’t a small part of her that felt kind of excited. Tom was about to pick her up in less than an hour and had told her this morning to dress casually. Mel was currently putting on some light make up on Y/N’s under eye to hide the bags and a little nude colored lipstick on her lips, so she doesn’t look too pale.

“All done.”

Mel walked over to Y/N’s wardrobe and rummaged through it before taking out a light blue mid-thigh length dress that Y/N rarely wore.

“Put this on.” Mel tossed it over to Y/N and left her to dress herself.

Mel closed the door behind her before going over to the couch and turning on the TV as she waited for Y/N to come out once she was done. Y/N, on the other hand, was getting more nervous as the clock ticks. Part of her was keen on not wanting to go, but there was also a part of her that was still hoping to find some romance. I’ve got nothing to lose, right? She thought. She took her handbag and exited her room.

“So, how do I look?”

“You look great, Y/N.” And with that, as if on cue, the doorbell rang, signaling Tom’s arrival.

“Thanks.” Y/N let out a tightlipped smile towards Mel before heading out the door to greet him.

“Uh, hi?”

“Hello. You look great.” He smiled.

“Thanks. You too.”

“Shall we go?” Y/N nodded at that and they left the apartment building to get into Tom’s car.

The first few minutes of the drive was silent, since neither of them knew how to converse to each other. To be fair, they were merely acquaintances, so awkwardness was bound to happen at some point.

“So, where are we going?” She asked, breaking the silence.

“To the movies and if you’re hungry after, we can grab some dinner, is that okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course.” Y/N nodded.

They pulled up at the movie theatre not long after, then they went straight to the ticket booth to get two tickets to one of the movies that was currently showing. Y/N went to grab her purse when Tom stopped her.

“My treat.” Tom said to Y/N before paying the cashier.

“You don’t have to.”

“But I want to.” They left it at that and walked into the studio and did not speak to one another during the movie.

After about two hours of the movie, they both got up and out the theatre, heading straight to get some food.

“What do you want to eat?” Tom asked Y/N as he drove out of the theatre.

“I’m fine with anything, to be honest.”

“Alright.” Tom then drove to a diner not that far away from the theatre.

“They have great burgers here.” He told her, and she just nodded in response.

They both looked over at the menu for a good fifteen minutes before settling on ordering a burger for each of them to the waitress. They thanked the waitress after she had jotted down their orders and watched as she walked away from the table.

“So, Y/N, tell me about yourself.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything. Just tell me something.”

“Well, I’m Y/N, I’m twenty-three. I was born and raised in [insert place]. I enjoy music, reading, watching movies a lot. I work as an editor in Silver Publishing. What about you?”

“I’m Tom and I’m twenty-four. I’m a native of southwest London. I work with Mel in the Human Resources department. My interests are acting, dancing and singing.”

“Didn’t peg you to be interested in acting, singing or dancing.” Y/N mused.

“Well, I used to love it as a child. I was the lead on a play called Billy Elliott.”

“No way!”

The food arrived in front of them and they both took bites of their burgers. “It’s really good!” Y/N exclaimed.

“Told you.”

Apparently, the more they talked, the more they found things they have in common. He found that she used to love theater as well, as a child but found new interests as she grew up. She found that he also loved movies as much as she does. He found that she has an older brother and she found that he had three younger siblings. After much eating and talking, they came to the topic of their favorite movies and the best movies of all time.

“Footloose is definitely one of the best movies ever.” Y/N stated.

“No. It never was.”

She gaped at his response, “I’m offended.” She said as she placed a hand on her chest, faking hurt. And they both laughed. It’s been a while since she actually laughed and found a connection with someone.

The date ended with Tom driving Y/N back to her place. They had been sitting in silence for about five minutes, as the radio played some soft pop ballad. He was the first to break the silence.

“When Mel first told me about you, she told me that all you do is read and that you never want to go out and so I kinda thought you were a boring person. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“But you know what? You’re not as boring as I thought you’d be.”

“You’re not that bad either.”

“What do you say we do this again sometime?”

Y/N smiled and turned to him. “I’d like that.”