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enhyupn · 4 years ago

Text

start of it!

pairing: jungwon x fem!read (ft a little sunghoon)

disclaimer: there might be a few mistakes here and there since it’s not fully proof read. swear words are mentioned too!

word count: 7.1k+

genre: fluff, angst if you squint, best friends to lovers!au, rich kids!au, slow burn kinda?

a/n this took a while to write but i like how it came out :) i think i got a little carried away but it’s fine i suppose!! i hope you enjoy this longer than necessary fic :]

jungwon and you were always together, then and now. maybe being the children of two most influential families korea helped that, the constant underlying jealousy between the two families made for some interesting dinners. you two were the stereotypical rich kids, top of the class, class president and extremely involved in school. your image was the type other chaebol families would use to compare their children to. maybe that’s why every time you stand at the top of your class to make announcements, all you get are sneers from your classmates as they not so subtly laugh at you. it was inventible nonetheless, if you were in their situation you’d do exactly the same. it didn’t help that you were strict and blunt with your classmates, staying true to the cold and distant chaebol child stereotype.

jungwon the next class over however, was incredibly popular with the people in his class and even yours. you didn’t know how he did it, balancing his studies, taekwondo and still maintaining a good relationship with his class? you looked up to him immensely, even with your parents constantly reminding you that jungwon wasn’t your friend but a pawn from his family to get information on the company. obviously you never believed them, how could jungwon get information from you when all you talk about normal things. normal things like tv shows, books and his taekowndo matches. you wouldn’t know what to do with jungwon, he was your other half and you’d never be able to function properly without him.

dinner was never comfortable at your house, the silence only being broken up by the clattering of utensils and chewing didn’t even help the gloomy and dark aura your father always seemed to radiate. you were the only child and the heir in training to take over the family company. everyone around you had high expectations for you, being number one in everything you ever did allowed people to believe that you were going to skyrocket your family’s company to the number one spot.

“y/n, how was school” your mother always tried so hard to make conversation with you and your father every day. as much as you wished to be close to her, you couldn’t help but feel forced and awkward whenever you replied to her.

“it was good, we got our ranks today” you slowly chewed on the piece of duck you were served, not having the heart or energy to tell anyone that you never really liked the taste of it.

“i’m assuming it’s first place” your father butts in, the serious look in his face never fails to make you flinch in your seat.

“yes father, first place in my class and in school” you couldn’t help but gulp at the mood of the dinner table.

it was always like this after exam season, tension so tight that it was suffocating to be around. even the maids and butlers around the place hated being around your family every time results were announced, the thought of what would happened if you ever got anything lower than first place was terrifying.

“wonderful” a nod from your father was enough for your maids to stop holding in their breaths.

not even a good job? you had grown to learn that your father wasn’t someone that praised others easily. sadly, you had to learn it the hard way. countless memories from your past of you desperately wanting your father’s attention and praise flashed through your eyes. even so, it still hurt every time he wouldn’t acknowledge your achievements.

the ice rink was your special place, second to jungwon undoubtedly. still, you loved being there. it made you feel so free and happy, like all your worries had disappeared whenever you skated. you weren’t the only one that loved the rink, jungwon adored the moments when you would show off a new move you had finally nailed. the look of you being so carefree made him feel overjoyed, knowing he was the only one that could see you like this.

“jungwon did you see that?” a radiant smile appearing on your face after you landed an axel. the sound of your slightly hitting the rink’s barrier slightly scared you before looking up again at the boy.

“yes, and i’ve also seen the other five times you’ve done it” the pout formed on your face from his teasing only brought a larger smile on his face. jungwon’s face suddenly twisted into a confused look as he suddenly remembered a conversation you two had the previous week. “weren’t you struggling on that last week? i remember you telling me that”.

“oh i was!” the pink tinge from your cheeks due to the cold temperature in the air added to your cheerful chatter. “but sunghoon helped me with it”.

“sunghoon?” the name sending an unsettling feeling throughout jungwon’s body. the boy shook it off when he had made eye contact with you once again, your eyes wide with spirit. it was a shame that your classmates couldn’t see this side of you, the cold and scary y/n unironically melting when on the ice.

“sunghoon’s a really talented figure skater in my class!” the admiration in your voice and eyes churned things in jungwon’s stomach. “his triple axel is the most beautiful thing jungwon, you should really see him in action. he gave me some tips and they really worked!”.

“that’s great” jungwon couldn’t understand why he couldn’t feel as elated as you were. shouldn’t he be happy? his best friend perfectly landed something they were working on for a while and he couldn’t even be sincere with his praise? no, it was that boy sunghoon. that’s what was getting him annoyed and bothered, was it jealousy?

“look there he is!” you showed jungwon. the boy had proportions that were perfect, he towered over you and had undeniably incredible looks. jungwon watched as sunghoon’s eyes shined in delight when noticing you. the boy skated over quickly to you in excitement, anyone could tell that he was over the moon to see you.

the jealous feeling jungwon had in him only grew more watching you two. when sunghoon’s skates accidentally took him at a too fast of a pace, you lightly bumped into you. the countless apologies he spit out while you laughed loud and glowing at his ridiculous accident only made jungwon chew his cheek in spite. the unnecessary skin ship you two made didn’t help too, you were holding onto sunghoon’s shoulders in an attempt to stop him from falling again. that’s when jungwon had enough.

“y/n” he called out, catching the attention of the both of you. you turned around holding the same smile you gave sunghoon.

“jungwon?”

“i’ll get going now, dad wants me back home” a pretend smile placed nicely on his lips for you to not suspect something was wrong with him.

“sure!” the corner of your eyes crinkled, you lifted up your hand to wave him off. he was incredibly thankful that you weren’t observant enough to catch his cheerful facade. “tell him my father wants to have dinner with him again too!”.

“i promise”

standing from his seat he lifted his hand to wave you off. the disappointment in his eyes becoming more visible when he realised that you had already turned around. the dejected frown on his face showing up when he caught a glimpse of the boy beside you, laughing and chatting with you with a wide grin. you too having the exact same grin.

you were always the same at school, a blank face while in class and during after school activities. your parents always told you that school was never the time to make friends or have fun, it was for preparing yourself in the future. they drilled into you that everything you did in school would only add to you in the future. if you were to ever fail or do anything that was the opposite of what you were meant to be doing, you would inevitably ruin your future. the unimaginable amount of pressure your parents had given you slowly turned you from crying silently at night in your room to dealing with it with a blank stare on your face.

the only thing that made everything the slightest bit bearable was jungwon, you met him during breaks and lunch and even walked with him to your after school programmes. the feeling of being isolated by your class could only be ignored when you were with him.

“i don’t get how you do it” you stared at him in admiration. jungwon was practicing his taekwondo as you watched him, it was a routine you had every morning before school started. the boy chuckled as he continues doing his warm up.

“says you, you’re number one in our school plus you skate pretty too. everyone would love to be you”.

“no! that’s different” a growing blush tinted your cheeks, the small compliment makes you shy due to the fact jungwon never compliments you. “i don’t get how you balance taekwondo, your social life and still get good grades? plus have a good relationship with your family”.

“oh” jungwon’s smile faltered at the mention your parents. he always has felt guilty knowing the fact he can’t do anything to help you besides distract you from your parent’s extreme expectations. “i don’t know, maybe i’m just lucky” he tries a joke to keep the mood up.

“so it’s luck?” your laugh giving enough confirmation to jungwon that you weren’t affected by his comment.

your phone ringing distracts you from the conversation you and jungwon were having, even scaring you a little in the process. the bright expression coming from your face made jungwon notice that it definitely wasn’t a call from any of your family members. letting himself breathe again with the positive mood in the air, he decides that he needs to stretch before testing out any moves.

“sunghoon!” suddenly maybe the mood wasn’t so positive for jungwon. you turned to jungwon mouthing it’s sunghoon! happily as he tried to share the same excitement you had. “no i’m not busy”, you looked over at jungwon sending him an apologetic look as you stood up from your seat. “i’ll just be outside jungwon!” you covered the microphone as you told him before quickly walking outside.

what was that about? jealousy was creeping up behind him even if he didn’t notice. he never wanted to feel possessive when it came to you. truthfully, he was waiting for this day. the day that someone saw past your shy personality disguised with a cold and blunt front and saw you. he couldn’t stop the lingering feeling in his stomach, he hated it. but who was he to think about your relationships with other people?

that’s when he remembered the smile on your face when you mentioned him, the glee in your voice and expression when you were around him. you two were even close enough to call each other out of nowhere? maybe that’s when it clicked in jungwon’s head, did you like sunghoon? you were entitled to like anyone you wanted to, it shouldn’t be jungwon’s problem if that person just so happened to be sunghoon.

but why did the thought bother jungwon so much?

from the way you were dressed people would think that you were attending some special dinner with the president. however, your prettily styled hair and your best outfit and shoes seemed to only be reserved for the yang family. there always seemed to be an unwritten rule between the two families that you had to go all out when visiting each other, however you and jungwon just suspected if it was just a way to show off all the newest jewellery and clothes subtly.

there you two were, standing by the side of your parents in the hallways of your house. the size of it was unimaginable, maybe even being the length of an average apartment in a middle class area. the hallways was adorned with expensive paintings and sculptures being used to write off taxes, a large rug that might of costed more than your high school tuition placed right in the middle of it all. it was visible proof that your family was disgustingly rich, just how your parents wanted it to look.

there wasn’t an answer to why the two families stood in the hallways to speak when you had an equally, if not larger living room a door away, the room also being adorned with expensive paintings with a large tv nobody in the house used. jungwon and you always had trouble staying serious while your parents spoke to one another. you two would usually mouth things to each other, not even understanding what was being said. the small grins you two held were enough that if one of you let out a laugh, the two of you would be on the ground laughing your heads off.

“the food’s ready” your cook interrupted your father’s reply to jungwon’s parents. your father sent him a small grin and a nod as he signalled everyone with a extended arm to the dining room.

the dining room gave a view to the kitchen, it was like a performance for everyone in the kitchen whenever you had guests over. your favourite activity to not bore yourself besides talking to jungwon, was watching your cook plate everything while your parents conversed about business or what type of wine they were having that night.

“steak again” jungwon joked quietly at your side. you two always sat beside each other, while the parents talked the whole night you two would try and not cause a huge mess. it usually ended up a mess, remembering the time you two dropped roast potatoes all over the ground in an attempt to entertain to each other. now when you two are finished eating you are excused to go back to your room where you two can actually talk.

“be thankful it isn’t salmon” you giggled quietly. the memory of jungwon’s parents scolding him at the dinner table for not eating his salmon reappears back into your heads, the thought of it making you laugh a little louder than you were. “sorry” you politely said, noticing the silent glare your father had sent you for making a ruckus at the dinner table.

“i would of answered properly if you weren’t laughing silently about it in the corner of my eye” the main reason why the memory was so funny for the two of you was the fact that the reason he was scolded was due to the fact he couldn’t even attempt to pick up the piece of fish without you two laughing. you two were incredibly easy to make laugh as there is nothing more entertaining than your best friend doing absolutely nothing.

in the corner of your eye you noticed your father staring at you and jungwon, while at the same time participating in the conversation the adults were having. it was unsettling, knowing that in the next five or so minutes he’d ask you a question regarding anything to seem like his family is better than anything the yangs do.

“y/n” an automatic faux smile was placed on your lips when you heard his voice. placing down your cutlery before turning to him you captured the sickly sweet smile on your parents smiles, a sign they were trying to milk your achievements out one by one.

“yes father” the pitch in your voice going a little higher than what jungwon usually hears, but was used to it due to the many times he’s heard you talk to your parents.

“we were just talking about the fact that you’re starting out figure skating!” the tone in your fathers sudden cheery voice was so obviously fake to you, he never liked the fact you took precious time off to practice figure skating rather than studying to get into a seoul university.

“i am” you turned to the yang parents with the innocent well put child facade. “i started six months ago, my trainer told me that i was improving at a great speed!”.

“how beautiful” jungwon’s mom commented, “i’m sure jungwon’s watched you skate before, right sweetheart?”.

“they’re very graceful on the ice mom” the flattery turned your cheeks a soft rose colour. you turned to him to give a thankful smile, not noticing the growing red on the boy’s ears.

you turned around to glance back once again at your father, the look of his smug grin made you want to get up and leave. you hated feeling like just a trophy to show off to others, you longed for the feeling of being praised for the person you were.

“i’m sure jungwon’s doing excellent in school” your mother continued, looks like they’re about to hit them where it hurts.

“not as well as your daughter i’m afraid” a bitter smile was obviously placed on his father’s face, teeth gritting as he let it out. “jungwon’s told us quite a lot about y/n’s rank in school, number one right? a terrific achievement”.

“yes, it’s a shame that jungwon can’t seem to reach the same” jungwon’s mother continued. your father took a sip from his glass of wine. what was it and using your children as weapons to bring down one another? in the corner of your eye you could tell jungwon didn’t feel comfortable with any of this at all, he stiffened his body as you chewed slowly on his steak.

“he’ll get there some day” your mother was simply just adding fuel to the fire, it made you feel terrible for your best friend. you looked over to see the boy’s blank stare, the small frown on his face made it seem that it was almost begging you to go comfort him.

“can jungwon and i be excused?” you knew that you two needed to get out of there immediately, you weren’t going to let your parents excuse any of this. “i feel a bit queasy from the steak, jungwon can keep me company”.

“do what you wish dear” your father let out quite bitterly. you bowed in response before standing up, placing your hand on jungwon’s hand. you shook it a little as a way to signal him that you two were about to leave.

the oh he let out was all you needed to know that jungwon was going to follow you up to your room. you watched as he bowed for everyone in the room, before silently following you as you gripped onto his hand. the mood you two were letting out was unreadable, was he thankful for you? or was he completely and utterly embarrassed at the fact you did that.

“thank you” he whispered behind you, the warmth in his hand was all you needed to feel the comfort you were longing for at the dinner table.

“don’t sweat it jungwon” a smile forming on your face as you turned towards him. “it was suffocating being in there anyways”. he laughed to himself, understanding what you were saying as you dragged him forwards once you reached your room.

your room was unnecessary big, like every other room in your house. your bed was double the size you actually needed and you had a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. your ceiling also had hand painted flowers decorating it, simply adding to the beautiful chandelier. there wasn’t any expensive paintings or rugs in your room however, just a large vanity as well as a desk and a huge bookshelf with every book imaginable. you also had framed pictures of you and jungwon as children dotted around your room.

“look” jungwon picked up a picture of you two when you were in first grade. you were crying while jungwon was right beside you laughing, beneath you two was a broken sandcastle who you could distinctly tell who it belonged to. “i was so evil as a kid”.

“tell me about it” you looked at the picture in admiration. “i swore to myself that day i would hate you for a million million trillion hundred years” a chuckle left your mouth at the loving memory. memories with jungwon always left you happy, even the ones that weren’t as nice to experience firsthand.

“and this one” he picked up another picture. this time it was you and him maybe around three years ago at your family’s lake house. “you ignored me for the rest of the trip after i did this”. the two of you were on the balcony as he lifted you from the legs up, the scared look in your eyes made it obvious that the whole thing was a surprise. you were fond of that memory, you realised something that day about jungwon you never realised before. the thought of dating your best friend popped up in your head for the first time when that picture was taken. the thought horrified you so much that you ignored him for days on end after, making up the excuse that you were mad at him for scaring you that.

“look at my face oh god” the pink tint coming back to your cheeks remembering the story behind that picture. “that day i started—”. you shut yourself up quicker than expected.

“started what?” jungwon looked at you confused. you start curse yourself in your head for your mistake.

never in your many years of friendship could of prepared you for this. the you three years ago was exactly the same, except the fact that three years ago you found out you had feelings for jungwon and now you were about to accidentally spill the beans about those exact same feelings.

“it’s nothing” you shook your head dismissively . trying to distract yourself, you looked at the corner of your eye and noticed a picture of you two at your middle school graduation. your features softened at the happy grins on your faces, both holding a pretty bouquet of flowers the two of you gave each other. “i love this day so much, look we’re so happy”.

“our graduation?” jungwon moved closer to you to get a good look of the photo. “we look so cute”.

turning around to jungwon with a grin of being reminded of the special, you stopped abruptly. noticing how close he was you stepped back quickly, in a quite panicked manner. his eyes widened noticing your frantic moves, unsure why his stomach was churning at your panicked face.

“sorry” you play with the hem of your sleeve, embarrassed at the fact you were so close to him. you feel you face heating up and you weren’t so sure if you were blushing at the fact his face was almost touching yours or embarrassed by the way you staggered away from him. “you were really close to me”.

“sorry did it make you uncomfortable?” jungwon asked you with a concern expression on his face. you couldn’t tell him the reason you were so panicked was because your crush was so close to you. “i’ll be more careful next time”.

“no! you’re fine” a reassuring smile spread across your face in an attempt to calm him down.

the awkwardness following that incident was undeniable. you sat on your bed unsure what to say to make conversation with him, the problem was that you two usually had a lot to say. the situation right now was not how the two of you usually acted, the voices in your head silently yelling at you for being dramatic at the fact jungwon was so close to you.

jungwon on the other hand couldn’t stop replaying the image of you being so close to him. an unfamiliar feeling kept reappearing in his stomach, he’s never looked at you in this way ever. maybe the feeling sunghoon gave him was similar but at the same, it was far different.

“i don’t think— be careful” in rich kids fashion, jungwon was playing tennis with his equally as rich friend ni-ki, a transfer student in his class studying in korea until he graduates from a seoul university. a big emphasis on seoul due to the fact every rich child in korea have parents almost begging them to get into a seoul university or an ivy league.

the ball accidentally almost hitting jungwon rolls behind the boy, he could feel the exhaustion finally catching up on him from the non-stop moving he had done. he holds a hand up with a drained expression signalling his friend that he was done for maybe another thirty minutes or so.

“as i was saying...” ni-ki walked towards the tired boy holding out a water bottle. he quickly grabbed the drink from him before taking a large gulp, wiping off the excess water from the sides of his mouth. “hey! don’t drink all of that”.

“sorry” an exasperated gasp escaped jungwon’s mouth as he tried to catch up with his breathing. “carry on”.

“i don’t think you have the right to be jealous on who y/n likes” ni-ki takes a sip from the water bottle he took back. “isn’t kinda weird too? that you’re jealous about all of this”.

“i’m not jealous” he corrected him. “i don’t know, that sunghoon guy gives me a bad feeling”.

“that’s definitely jealousy” ni-ki let out a laugh looking at him. jungwon sent him a scowl before taking back the bottle from him. “anyways i thought you always had a thing for them” he starts to say as jungwon takes yet another sip, the boy looks at him in a confused way before pulling the bottle away from his lips.

“what are you trying to say ni-ki?”

“what i’m saying is that you can never go a day without mentioning y/n” he raised his eyebrow to try and convince him further. “plus you look at them with hearts in your eyes, and the fact you’re so bummed out about this sunghoon thing just confirms my suspicions”.

“i’m not following” jungwon looks back at ni-ki with a blank stare. the younger rolls his eyes before lightly hitting him on the shoulder. “no, seriously”. the boy sent him a glare before sighing.

“are you genuinely this oblivious or you just don’t want to tell me you like y/n?”.

“what do you mean like?” the word like seemed so unfamiliar to him at that moment. of course he liked you, you were his best friend. although from how ni-ki was speaking, he understood that he wasn’t talking about the best friend sort of like.

“you romantically like them” ni-ki said it casually, “here, i’ll ask you a question and you, silently, in your mind answer it. i want you to do it silently so you can have a realisation of some sort”.

“what do we need questions for—” he was quickly shut off by ni-ki’s shhhh as he continued his conversation. rolling his eyes at his friends antics, he quickly shuts up before listening to what he was trying to say.

“do you think about y/n when they aren’t around?”

yes? isn’t this normal though

“do you miss them when you aren’t with them?”

yes? again, isn’t this a normal thing?

“do you get happy when they achieve things? like you want to hug them or like... that thing people do why they lift someone up and spin them around”

yes?

“do you get jealous when other people get more attention than you?”

yes...?

“when you see them do you get butterflies?”

sometimes, i do definitely get nervous though

“i feel like all of those should more or less answer your question on if you like y/n or not” ni-ki finished off his short quiz. jungwon gave him a puzzled look, he thought everything he had mentioned was a normal thing that every feels with their best friend.

“aren’t these just normal things?”

“i mean they’re just the basics jungwon” he started out saying, “everyone’s different when they have a crush”.

“so that could mean i have a crush on you?” the joking smile placed on jungwon’s lips only made ni-ki roll his eyes at the corny joke.

“i’m flattered honestly but i’m sadly not y/n”

the sunset was a pretty shade of pink and orange, it made you feel light and at a sense of peace watching it. the thought of taking a picture suddenly appeared in your head, quickly reaching for your phone in a frantic action before the sky changes in colour. you felt embarrassed at the fact you were standing at the end of the sidewalk patting the sides of your coat in an attempt to find your phone, a confused expression spread across your face.

“aha!” you felt a familiar shape in the back pocket of your jeans. lifting up the object, you felt it slipping slightly. your eyes widened noticing a small thud behind you on the ground. turning around to reach your phone in hopes it wasn’t broken in any way, you noticed a familiar figure hovering above you holding out your phone in his hands.

“you dropped this” a playful tone rolled off sunghoon’s tongue. you happily take it off his hands before looking back up at him.

“sunghoon!” you beamed gleefully at him, “i thought you went home already?”.

“no” he rubbed the back of his neck, “i missed my bus so i had to wait here for a while. turns out there was an accident twenty minutes away so everything’s delayed”.

“oh no” you frowned at his words. your brain scanned through all the possibilities you could do to help the boy, your eyes lit up having the realisation on the perfect solution. “do you wanna walk with me? where do you live? i can just tell my friend that he doesn’t need to pick me up”.

“no no it’s fine y/n” sunghoon waves his hands dismissively. “you don’t have to do that, plus i bet you’d rather walk with your friend”.

“don’t be silly” you chuckle as you unlocked your phone, pressing jungwon’s contact you typed in many apologies telling him that you can’t walk with him since you’re walking with sunghoon. “i already told him”. your phone lights up again, a notification showing a reply from jungwon saying a simple okay.

“he doesn’t seem very happy” sunghoon stares at the notification. he looks back at you with seriousness in his eyes, “isn’t this the jungwon you and i were talking about?”.

“well yeah” you avoided eye contact with him, embarrassed that you were probably about to get scolded. not only does sunghoon help you with training but he also helps you in your love life. you two have probably talked more about jungwon than actual figure skating, sunghoon always sighing at you for once again not being able to tell him your feelings. “he’s been like that ever since last week, i thought this was normal. don’t boys also have puberty mood swings?”.

“what happened last week?” you two started to walk towards your destinations. sunghoon luckily lived quite near your house, well if you count just twenty minutes away from the gate of your gated community. you two have walked home together before, the action usually having a romantic undertone but you two never felt that way. you always have seen sunghoon as a friend, understanding that he’s never really given you the same feeling jungwon does. it goes the same for him, he sees you more as a younger sibling than anything.

“well, he started acting a little weird when you called me that morning”

“the morning i asked you how you and jungwon were doing?” sunghoon raises an eyebrow.

“yeah” you nod, confirming his guess. you let out a sigh before moving on to your next point, “and you know when i told you about that thing that happened when his face was really close to mine?”.

“the one where it was really awkward?”

“you didn’t need to mention it was awkward” you shiver in embarrassment remembering that night. “and yeah, after that he wasn’t really the same. plus do you know the weirdest part?”.

“what happened” sunghoon chuckled at your embarrassed pout silently to himself. you turned to him with your eyes wide and hands in the air about to animate your following words.

“his friend messaged me, his friend! the transfer student nishimura riki” your nose scrunched in confusion and frustration. your arms too also expressing your frustration. “his message was so weird too!”.

“what did it say?”

“i know who likes you” your frustrated expression was even more prominent. “it was so childish! i even replied with a question mark and he just sent me a sticker of a cartoon animal giggling!”.

“maybe he does know who likes you” sunghoon raises an eyebrow.

“he wouldn’t, nobody likes me” you frown at your own words. “he’s probably just messing with me like everyone else at school”. sunghoon stops in his tracks when he realised your miserable mood.

“hey—” sunghoon bent down a little to get a look at your face. “what’s wrong?”.

“it’s— it’s silly” you wipe your tears away. you weren’t expecting yourself to cry on an evening like this, especially not on the day you were walking home with sunghoon on.

“no y/n it’s okay” sunghoon looked around the area to see if there was anywhere to sit down at. noticing a bench near the two of you, he held onto your wrist bringing you to sit on it. “you can tell me anything y/n, i hope you know this”.

“i know” you sniffled, sadly smiling at the situation at that moment. “it’s just that i’m so tired of everything. jungwon acting weird with me was just the tip of the iceberg. i can’t help but think if i did anything to make him act like this”. sunghoon listened in silence, nodding at your words as he watched you in pity while tears streamed down your face.

“the fact that my classmates still ostracise me even though i try so hard to get to know them hurts so much. even though my parents tell me school isn’t for making friends, i desperately want to. i mean jungwon was there to help but like what i said before, he’s being really distant” the pace of your tears slowing down. “plus what his friend said didn’t help, it just felt like i was just the pit of a joke i wasn’t even aware of”.

“y/n i don’t know if i should say this but i think jungwon really—”

“y/n?” a familiar voice cut off sunghoon’s words. “are you okay? why are you crying?” you look behind sunghoon and realised it was jungwon saying all those things. you watched as his concerned expression warped into a furious one, his focus on sunghoon’s hand still on your wrist. you felt your eyes widen as you quickly shook off his grasp, standing up from the bench as you wipe the excess tears on your face.

“what did he do to you?” his words directed at you but his glaring eyes didn’t leave sunghoon. the realisation that jungwon misunderstood the whole situation dawned over you. taking a step forward you tried to open your mouth in an attempt to calm him down, only to be stopped by sunghoon who had his arm extended out, blocking your path to jungwon.

“i didn’t do anything” sunghoon explained calmly. he turned to you before looking back at the enraged boy. “i understand why would think that but honestly, it’s you two who need to have a talk, a long talk” he chuckles silently to himself before standing up.

“i wasn’t done talking to you—”

sunghoon gave him a smile before patting his shoulder, “just listen to what they have to say”. you watched as he waved you two off as made his way home. you stared at sunghoon’s walking figure in shock, not sure if you were entirely thankful he left you with an angry jungwon.

“did he do something to you y/n?” he made his way to you in a panic, his eyes scanning you to see if there was anything wrong with you. “i swear to god, i knew there was something wrong with him” he tried to look at your face, your head facing the ground blocking his view. “hey, look at me” his voice softening as he tried once again to get your attention.

“i’m sorry” tears welled up in your eyes again as you made eye contact with him. you couldn’t understand why you were crying, maybe it was all the emotions building up to this moment. even so, you were incredibly happy that jungwon was so concerned and even came to look for you. “sunghoon didn’t do anything, i was just venting to him”.

“y/n... did something happen?” his worried eyes looking hard into yours.

you played with you fingers as you tried to think hard on what to say next, is this the right time? i mean, in all honesty you had nothing to lose. in fact it was the perfect moment to confess your feelings, well after you explain everything to him.

“no” you sniffled, wiping away more tears you turned to him with a small smile. “let’s get home, shall we?”. he looked at you with bothered feeling, noticing it you frowned. “maybe i should tell you” you quietly let out, a silent chuckle following it.

“please tell me why you were crying y/n” his soft voice had hints of distressed tones in it, he was so visibly concerned about you. it’s possible that’s when you were reminded why you love jungwon, he cared about you so much that it felt like he could do anything for you. you gulp before opening your mouth, instantly closing it when words couldn’t come out. “hey... y/n?”.

“i can’t explain” that’s when you opted out of telling him how you felt. you thought that he already cared about you as a best friend, if he didn’t like you back. it was break down everything you had. you sigh before facing him once again. “we should really get going—”

“when— when you sent me that message, telling me you didn’t need me to walk you home because of sunghoon, it made me so upset and mad” he laughed to himself, the stutter in his words making him realise how nervous he was. you jump a little in shock when you realised his hand found its way to yours. the warmth of it soothed you, a pink tinge finding its way to your cheeks, an occurrence that always seems to happen whenever you were with jungwon.

“i stayed home sulking about it, messaged ni-ki about it and he was so mad at me” his eyes looked sincere, the pink tinge suddenly growing into a red one. “he told me if i didn’t, and i quote, get my ass there and walk you myself, he’d tackle me onto the ground”.

“i don’t get why you’re telling me this—”

“so i did” he continued, not stopping to explain anything to you but his own story. “i got up from bed and started travelling on the street you usually walked home on. i don’t know what i was expecting, but seeing you cry on that bench with that sunghoon guy beside you made me incredibly upset. i thought he did something to you! i can tell that i misread that completely”.

“jungwon” you speak up. you had no idea why he was reciting any of this, what was this even leading up to? a grin lights up on his face, the feeling his hand squeeze yours lovingly confusing you even more. “please tell me what your telling me-”

“i like you y/n” a sudden serious tone appearing. “not even like, i’m probably in love with you”. the shocked look on your face made him laugh endearingly, he pulled your hand lightly to bring you closer to him. “i mean it, honestly. it took three days of me thinking about what ni-ki had told me to even realise it”.

“so he wasn’t lying” you let out, still not recovering from the shock. you slowly move your head up to catch a glimpse of jungwon’s face, who quite literally snapped you back into reality. “wait, you like me really?”.

“yes!” he laughed as he pulled you into a hug, sending butterflies to your stomach. “why? do you not like me back?”.

“no!” you look at him in surprise. “wait! i do like you, it might be love too. i figured it out three years ago, when we were at my lake house”.

“three years ago?” the surprised look on his face slowly morphed into an endeared one once he caught you looking up at him with a cheesy smile. “you win with that one i guess”. the smiles on you both of your faces didn’t seem to falter while looking into each other’s eyes, the warm-cold breeze and the lightly tinted pink on both your cheeks adding to the scene.

“are we dating now?” he jokes as he takes out leaf from your hair.

“when did that get there” you place your hand on the spot the leaf was on. laughing it off, you look back up at him. the feeling of you in his arms still made your stomach flip, in a good way of course. “and yes, i suppose so?”.

“so now i can tell my parents i’m dating the smartest person in the country, as well as the prettiest?” he squeezes you tighter in a loving hug.

“so you’re just with me for my brains and looks?” sarcasm dripping from your words as you let out a loud laugh. “i’m kidding jungwon, yes you can tell them if you want to”.

“what are you gonna tell your parents?” a curious grin placed on his face.

“i’m dating my three year long crush”.

“as if they’d believe i’d be their precious child’s crush” he laughed as he loosened the grip on you. holding out his hand, you realised quickly that he wants you to hold it. “let’s get you back home before your parents send the police to look for you”.

“sure” you take his hand as you two walked down the street. both your sides looking as if you two were glued together from how the space was closed between the two of you, leaving no gap in between.

you always dreamt about your high school love story, even with your hectic schedule crushing you down everyday.

what you never expected was that your best friend was the start of it all.

#enhypen angst #enhypen scenarios #enhypen imagines #enhypen x reader #enhypen fluff #kpop angst #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop fluff #kpop x reader

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dreamescapeswriting · 4 years ago

Text

The Best Of Both Worlds ~ PJM [Request]

WORD COUNT: 2.2K

GENRE: Jealous, established-relationship, fluffy ending,

PAIRING: Jimin x Fem!Reader

A/N: I didn’t make this as angsty/jealous as I think you would have liked as i don’t know I just couldn’t seem to make the reader SUPER jealous of Army 😅 hope this is okay though!

Sipping on the wine in front of you, you tried to keep your head clear as you stared down at yourself as you continued to wait alone in the hotel restaurant for your boyfriend but he was a no show. Tonight was supposed to be about celebrating your birthday but it looked as though Jimin had passed out in his hotel room, which you didn't really blame him. The boys were on one of their largest tours yet and were performing almost every night in a row with not many breaks today they had performed in one of the biggest venues in Amsterdam. If Jimin had gotten back to his hotel room and passed out on the bed forgetting about tonight you weren't going to hold it against him since you knew just how much he loved this life. The boys and preforming meant everything to him so you wiped your mouth on a napkin and began to get ready to leave the small private room you were in. It had been decorated with party banners by some of the hotel staff, candles filled the small table you and Jimin would have been sitting on and the napkins and plates matched the dress you were wearing. A simple rose gold sequin wrap midi, nothing too fancy since you were just sitting in the restaurant for the night.

"Would you like someone to escort you to your room?" The waiter who was supposed to be privately serving you and Jimin tonight asked as he walked over to you. Looking a little worried that you were leaving without Jimin coming down to see you, they all knew what was supposed to be happening tonight since they were all informed on who would be inside of the room and why it was a private function.

"No, that's okay. I'm fine. Thank you." You smiled reassuringly at him before slowly making your way towards the elevators outside in the halls, waiting for them in silence when your phone vibrated inside your clutch. A couple of people came to join you waiting for their ride and you continued to ignore your phone, figuring it was just twitter with people wishing you a happy birthday so you ignored it until it went off again and again and then again. It started to seem as though it might have been something important so you slipped it out of the bag and your eyes widened.

[BTS] Starting Live: Jimin

Was written across the screen followed by a lot of army you were following on Twitter freaking out about Jimin suddenly going live after a performance that night. Sighing to yourself that Jimin would ditch you for something else you rapidly pushed the button to the elevator doors wanting nothing more than to go upstairs and crawl into bed. The people that had joined you at the doors gave you a weird look for hitting the button so quickly but you didn't care. The only thoughts you had in your mind were the thoughts of Jimin standing you up on your own birthday for his fans and it was starting to make you feel uneasy inside and it wasn't a feeling that you were used to.

It wasn't that you were jealous of Jimin always spending so much time with Army and that he was always wanted to be with them or do something for them. You weren't a jealous person, you knew how much army meant to each of the boys and just because you were dating Jimin didn't mean that was going to change. You and Jimin had been dating for almost four years now so you were used to a lot of things that he would do with Army. The holding hands and being cute at fan-meetings, the always looking out for them but the one thing that always seemed to annoy you was when he put them before anyone else. Sometimes even putting himself at risk just to make sure that Army was having a nice time or wasn't going to be upset with him. It was something that you used to ignore since they were his fans and you were one of them but there was an incident where Jimin had gotten too sick to perform and instead of resting like the doctor had ordered him to do he spent the night on Vlive to fans. Evidently, he got worse and had to cancel another show but still attempted to go onto Vlive until you fought with him to stop. Forcing him to give up going live until he was 100% better, he thanked you in the long run but at the time he hated you for taking the chance to talk to his fans away from him. Tonight you figured it would be different, you thought he'd fallen asleep or forgot because of how much pressure he was under lately but as you looked through the stream it seemed as though Army were concerned for the same thing as you. Out of curiosity, you slipped into the Vlive when the elevators were empty and looked through the chat, a lot of Army was confused as to why he was spending time with them on today of all days when they knew it was your birthday. Your relationship with Jimin had been out for a year and there were a few people that didn't like the news but mostly Army had been accepting of the two of you being together. For the most, it looked like Jimin hadn't noticed any of the questions regarding you so you backed out of the video and headed towards your room.

"Hey, where's Jimin? I figured you guys would want more time in your private-" Jungkook stopped talking as soon as he saw the look on your face and your phone in your hand, saying nothing as you simply showed him the video of Jimin talking to everyone right now.

"I'm sure he's just preparing a grand entrance...G-Go and sit back downstairs and I'll go and get him," Jungkook pleaded with you but it was already too late, you were already too annoyed from the thought of being stood up by your own boyfriend.

"I'm going to go and shower and get into bed. Goodnight Jungkook," You said defeatedly as you continued walking down the hall in the direction of your room which was four doors down from Jimin's. The two of you never shared a room since BigHit wanted Jimin to be on his best behaviour but just because BigHit ordered two rooms didn't mean they were both always used until now. Normally you would sneak into Jimin's room at night or he would sneak into yours so you didn't have to be alone but tonight you wanted to be alone. Tonight you just wanted the rest of the world to go away.

After having a shower while blasting out loud music you walked into your room to see Jimin laid on the bed, a guilty look on his face with a shy smile.

"What are you doing here?" You questioned, wrapping the towel around your body as you walked towards your suitcase to find something new to change into. You were still cross with him for not showing up and just because Jungkook had gone to get him it didn't mean he was going to be so easily forgiven.

"Babe. You can't be mad at me...I wanted to speak to Army." As he said this it only seemed to make you angrier and the pit in your stomach began to grow with worry as you turned to look at him. Hands clutching onto your towel as you stared at him, wondering if he meant that as a real excuse or if he was just saying it to wind you up.

"You're not serious right?" You questioned him as you picked up a baggy shirt, some shorts and underwear to change into when you'd gotten back into the bathroom.

"They mean everything-"

"I know that! But I thought- I thought maybe I would be a little more important on today of all days," You mentioned as you walked back in the direction of the bathroom but Jimin scoffed in disbelief of you,

"Just because it's your Birthday?" You stared at him as the question left his mouth, you couldn't believe it.

"You stood me up on purpose? You just decided that...Today you didn't want to celebrate your girlfriends birthday you would rather spend it with Army who get all of your time and attention anyway?" You snapped out rudely, realising how angry and jealous you sounded as soon as the words left your mouth but you couldn't help it. The thought of him suddenly not wanting to spend time with you was starting to weigh down on you more and more. Jimin stared at you as he started laughing a little,

"You're jealous of my fans?" You shook your head at him, he clearly didn't seem to understand why you were so upset so you slammed the bathroom door. Hoping that he would get the unspoken message and leave your hotel room before you came back out and went to sleep.

Jimin was still sitting there when you came out of the bathroom, you were dressed and ready for bed. Choosing to ignore him as he tried to get you to keep talking to him or start back up the fight from before.

"I can't believe you're actually jealous of them." He mocked as he made his way over to the door of your hotel room, you were going to continue to ignore him but it felt like you finally had to say something.

"You know what," You sat up in the bed as you announced to him, he turned to look at you with his hands on his hips waiting for you to continue with what you were saying.

"I am! I'm jealous of the fact that my boyfriend would much rather spend his time with his fans than me on my birthday." You admitted out loud and to yourself for the first time as you continued to rant to him,

"Does it make me the jealous Bitchy girlfriend?! Probably! But you know what, I'm sick of being made to feel like the second option Jimin. You always put them first before everything and for almost four years I've put up with it but this...Tonight..." You were tearing up as you stared at him. Not believing that you were actually having to fight for his attention to be on you,

"I thought it would be different. I thought that maybe you would want to spend time with me but it feels like you don't. It feels like I am constantly begging with you to try and get you to spend time with me." It felt good to finally get all of it off your chest but by the look on Jimin's face he didn't look impressed,

"You are not constantly begging for me to spend time with you, we always spend time together!" He yelled out but you shook your head at him,

"When was the last time we spent time together that wasn't forced? The last time you actually asked me to be with you?" As Jimin thought about your question you nodded at him sarcastically,

"Exactly. Because it's me...Always putting the effort in and never seeing it back Jimin...You organised tonight and I thought maybe it would be your way of telling me you were going to spend more time with me." You admitted not caring anymore if you sounded like the needy clingy girlfriend, you just wanted to want to have your boyfriend want you. Was that too much to ask? As Jimin thought about it more he began to realise you were right, he couldn't remember the last time he'd willing spent time with you or took you out somewhere alone with him and he began to feel bad.

"Babe I didn't know it was bothering you this much..." You rolled your eyes and laid back down against the sheets, wanting nothing more than for him to leave but he didn't. He stalked back over to the bed and got under the covers behind you, kissing your shoulder as he wrapped his arms around your waist.

"One night isn't going to fix-" He cut you off by kissing you again when you turned around to speak to him, when he pulled away he cupped your face in his hands and smiled weakly.

"I promise to make things better...I know it's not going to sound real but I will," He whispered as he kissed you over and over again,

"We'll start having dates twice a week...Just the two of us...I promise." He repeated over and over again as he leant his forehead against yours and smiled weakly,

"Jimin I don't want you to think I was being clingy-" He cut you off again as he shook his head,

"I shouldn't take our relationship for granted, you're just as important to me as Army and I should learn to love you both and keep you both in my life...And I will. The best of both worlds." He whispered before kissing your nose softly and smiling at you,

"Now get some sleep, I'll order room service in the morning and we can spend the whole morning and most of the afternoon watching movies or doing whatever you want." He assured you as he stripped out of his shirt and got comfortable on the bed behind you.

Tagline: @lyoongx @mitzwinchester @fan-ati--c @taestannie @rjsmochii @kneel-begyourpardon @innersooya @sw33tnight @sweeneyblue1 @jin-from-the-block @acciocriativity @that-anxious-bisexual

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sneezefiction · 4 years ago

Text

please don’t go

Ushijima x Reader - Scenario

@moonlightaangel‘s event request: “congrats on reaching 600 followers!! 🥰 can i request ‘please don’t go’ with ushijima, if it hasn’t been requested yet! i need some angsty feelings in my life”

a/n: mmmm angsty Ushijima is my aesthetic :,,)) i also messed around with some flashback formatting, so i hope you enjoy!!

warnings: angst, breakups

wc: 1640

---

“Please don’t go.” It’s a soft, tearful whisper.

“I thought you would understand, y/n. We had established this.” His reply was blunt. Like a dull knife to the chest, digging deeply only to pull right back out, leaving you gushing and writhing at his words.

“Please don’t.” Your cry reached his ears this time.

“I need to focus.” He sighs, twinging with guilt.

Why didn’t you understand? Had you not known that his career would come first? Above everything else?

Or had he misspoken at some point, giving you the false assurance that this relationship would work forever? That he could always treat you as though it were possible to balance both you and his life’s work.

“Then I won’t distract you! Just don’t leave me. Please.” You begged, knees painfully falling to the cold floor, but your cries fell on deaf ears.

He remains resistant to change. Without accommodations. Nothing left to give or take.

“Maybe someday, y/n. But this isn’t working out for me anymore. I have to leave for now.” Ushijima’s response is icy.

He meant for those words to somehow be heartening. Promising, even. That maybe this was just the wrong time and place for a relationship. Where time could ebb and flow and someday he would be able to draw you back into his life.

Yes, there would be a day where you could take priority.

Because he wanted you… but not above his first love. Not above his skills and lifestyle. Not enough.

Volleyball comes first. Plain and simple.

And for that, he wouldn’t compromise.

---

White, crisp linens and fresh lemony scents.

Fluffed pillows fitted with new covers and soft patterns. Feather filled duvets. Curtains drawn to keep out the early morning light.

Everything has stayed clean, clear, and Pristine. Even the dust particles, dancing around the room, have always seemed to find their own peace, settling mildly in gentle formations.

You sleepily blink open your eyes, rustling your arms over the bedspread to what should be a happier sight. Soft pillows hugging your sides, the gentle birdsong outside your window, a conceivably delicious cup of coffee to be made in the kitchen.

Yes, you should be filled with contentment. You were safe. Physically you were fine, and nothing was on your checklist for today.

In fact, things had appeared fine for months now...

Yet all you notice is who’s missing.

There’s no longer a delicate divet where his dozing head used to lay. The scent and shape of the pillow had only recently dissipated thanks to your citrusy laundry detergent and the slow passing of time.

You don’t awaken to a recently showered, olive-green eyed boyfriend. You could still picture the water droplets, hanging freshly on the tips of his tufts of hair. How the towel draped around his neck, over his shoulders, catching the drips and drops as they fell.

That warm smile he shared with you before placing a chaste kiss upon your forehead, caressing the side of your face. It was pure. You can almost feel the ghost of his lips. Still lingering. Mocking you.

You were liberated from his presence… but you never wanted to be.

Being absorbed in his chaotic life had kept you busy, but you had never minded it. There was never a doubt in your mind that volleyball would be his first priority. That he would follow his passions. His plans. His abilities.

You just wanted to tag along. To sincerely celebrate his victories and mourn his losses. Supporting him and holding onto him when he needed it. Yes, he got home late at night, left early in the morning, and only connected with you on his very few off days… but you cherished every second of it.

Because you loved him. You poured your soul into watching him flourish and thrive. It made you feel whole.

However, eventually, to Ushijima, you started to rival volleyball, becoming a distraction. He had made space for you in his already complicated life. And at first, it was a welcome change. A breath of fresh air to his methodical and planned out character. You were complex, bringing new perspective and sunshine into his typically boring apartment. Beautiful in a natural, yet eye-catching way. Furthermore, you somehow knew how to keep up with his hectic pace along with his gruff personality.

In every aspect, you were perfect.

Expect one.

You were a diversion from the life he had in mind.

And even though you never pushed him to give you more… he longed to give you more of his attention. More time. To share his success with you. To love you deeper. To give you what you deserved. Because you are a profound being… and it burdened him to have to choose between his two greatest desires.

But, as most things do, these thoughts of love and devotion go unspoken, coming out all wrong. Mangled, unemotional, and misrepresented. Looking back, Ushijima wishes he’d been able to express it to you with empathy. To erase the tears that followed his brutal narrative. But softness isn’t his strong suit… and he needed you to know that, as powerful as he was, he wasn’t strong enough to balance you and volleyball.

---

“Ushijima, if you leave…” You take a deep breath, tears slipping down your face, “... you have to promise me you’ll never come back.” You choke out, your request came out in a sobering snarl.

For a moment, you question your own words- but your dignity was on the line.

“You can’t just break up with me and expect me to be there when you get back. I’m not disposable, you know?”

His body goes rigid. He hadn’t meant it that way.

You meant more to him than words could express… so why couldn’t he get it out clearly enough? How could he make you understand the gravity of his choices?

“...Y/n, it doesn’t have to be like that. I just need to concentrate right now.” The alarm, though subtle, shines in his eyes.

His usually composed, confident figure began to show cracks of uncertainty. He didn’t want you out of his life… Not at all.

He just needs you out of his mind for the time being. Just until he had things settled. You could come back at some point and he could love you so well. Just the way it was supposed to be.

But clearly he’d struck a deeper chord. He’d selfishly assumed you would wait for him. You weren’t some prized pony.

You’re a person. Someone with worth, plans, and dreams, just like him. He’d failed to acknowledge just how demeaning the truth of his actions were. But it’s too late.

You haven’t replied and the pain is etched intricately across your face.

“Okay, fine.” He breathes in deeply, letting out one final exhalation of defeat, “I... I’m sorry, y/n.” His brows furrow in deep, conflicted thought, but his mind is made.

He won’t be back.

---

Ushijima’s life hasn’t changed much.

It’s the same old routine. The standard, grueling workouts. Typical volleyball practice, group meetings, finances, paychecks, physicals, doctor’s appointments, fan meet-n-greets.

The usual.

But there’s a void settling like glacial frost in his soul. A snowy blue that seemed to melt into his bones, slowing him down.

He didn’t go a week… a day... a minute without thinking of you.

Even now, lying in bed, the room cloaked in a tranquil darkness, you rest on his mind.

It’s not just the emptiness of the bed or the lack of physical touch. It’s the bitter, clawing memories of what he’d done to you and your gentle spirit. His body is frigid and forever frozen in the recurring visions of his foolish explanations, by how heartless and indifferent he’d seemed.

He’ll never get over the venomous tinge to your words.

You’d felt used.

He’d never meant to make you feel that way.

But since he moved out of your apartment, everything has felt glaringly hollow. The icy, barren tundra he crosses every time he realizes he won’t come home to your sunbeam smile and those thoughtfully lit candles, wears on him. How you would lavish him in comforting words, lulling him into a restful sleep.

Ushijima hardly remembers the last time he slept well.

Those dark circles under his eyes follow him everywhere. His whole team can see the exhaustion seeping into his execution of serves and spikes. He’s never struggled with his game performance before, but somehow the crashing reality of you leaving him has broken his patterns and systems.

He’s weary from searching for an answer to his emotions. Your warmth gave him life… and with that gone, what was the point of all of this?

And then it struck him, the realization sinking its needle-sharp claws into his soul, shredding it in seconds.

He’d found something far more valuable than any unique skill. More remarkable than the legacy he’d built as a world-class volleyball player. Someone who wanted to be with him just for the sake of… love.

And for the first time since he was young, he lets a tear slip into his white pillowcase.

Just one.

But it’s for you.

Because in chasing after what made him feel known and alive...

He’d lost the only person who had ever wanted to show him that he was important all along. The only person who was satisfied with his bizarre schedules. Someone who expected nothing more than gentle kisses and weekend dates.

But you were right.

You aren’t dispensable. Nor are you someone to drop for the purpose of picking up later, like loose change on a sidewalk. You deserved to be cherished. Held tightly. Given the love that you offered others.

He wishes he’d listened when you’d pleaded with him to stay. That he’d thought it through and functioned on more than just logic and reasoning. If only he’d known what it really meant to choose you.

Because if you were here now, he’d be the one begging,

“Please don’t go.”

---

tags: @cherryonigiri, @yams046, @kaidasen, @miss-rin

(comment or send an ask to be added to my general tag list)

#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #ushijima x reader #ushijima #hq #ushijima scenarios #ushijima imagine #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagines #haikyuucreations #hq ushijima #hq scenarios #hq imagines #shiratorizawa #haikyuu angst #haikyuu fanfiction #600 follower event #sneezefiction

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alaskasmonsters · 4 years ago

Text

Let your hair down | Nishinoya Yuu

stumbling into noya with his hair worn down was a wecome distraction to your little homesickness problem

pairing: nishinoya yuu x fem!reader

w.c: 3.989

warnings: mentions of homesickness

a.n: in this house we ask for kiyoko’s hand in marriage (if you’re wondering why homegirl is mentioned so much), also noya with his hair down is so pretty i’m in love.

You were never able to sleep when you were away from home.

It made you a little embarrassed, since only children would get homesick as soon as one night into sleeping elsewhere but their own house.

You were only glad none of the boys knew about it, you didn't think they'd tease you (okay maybe Tsukki would....Tsukki definitely would) but you still didn't want them to know that their first-year manager was being such a baby about something this mortal.

You were already the youngest amongst them all, even younger than Kageyama who's been the baby of the team before you got recruited by Kiyoko to be the follow-up manager of the boy's volleyball team when her and the other three-years would leave next year. You didn't need them to think of you as not only the youngest but also the most vulnerable of the squad. They didn't need to know you were being an actual baby, and only because of a 5 day long training camp away from your hometown.

Everyone seemed to be so unbothered about sleeping elsewhere, most of the boys were more excited than anything to be away from their parents and house rules for a few days. None of the girls you had gotten to know better during breaks and extra training the boys had were nervous either.

Which made you feel like the biggest wuss.

It wasn't long before bed-time now, all of the girls and you had already gotten ready for bed and changed into your nightwear, yours consistent of boxers and an oversized hoodie (nights in tokyo were a lot colder than in karasuno), and gathered around to talk before finally hitting the sack.

You had snuck out of the room, though, when nobody was paying much attention to you. The anxiety of spending your first night this far away from home was slowly crawling its way under your skin and started to nag at your bones.

You didn't want anybody to notice and thus decided to get a snack; maybe some food would calm you down.

You thought you remembered seeing this vending machine with a few chocolate bars and soft drinks near the bathroom and it wasn't long until you found it, it being the only source of light illuminating the dark corridors of the floor.

And you’ve been being right. There were a variety of different snacks you could choose from, chocolate bars, chips and pretz biscuit chips even (which was your favorite).

You pressed the button with the right number, watching the snack you loved so much being slowly inched forward by the mechanism before it dropped down, ready for you to pick up.

You bent down, lifting the metal hatch and grabbing for the chips, already feeling a little better at the thought of the familiar snack in your hands, when there was a plodding noise from behind you startling you.

You didn't have time to see what it belonged to, neither did you have time to be scared, as there was a sudden voice suddenly coming from right behind you.

"You're hungry, too, huh?"

A startled scream escaped your lips instinctively before you could hold it back and you twirled around in your spot, wide eyes settling on the person who had so cruelly decided to sneak up on you while you were deep in thought.

As you recognized him, it startled you almost as badly as his sudden appearance had, not because you didn't expect him to be the one plagued by hunger after his several servings at dinner, but because you hadn't expected him to look so different.

"Sorry, i didn't mean to startle you," the boy apologized, giving you a soft smile and you nodded at him, your eyes still glued to where his hair was supposed to be.

Nishinoya Yuu, also known as the bane of your very short existence (at least that's what you had nicknamed him) was standing in front of you with his hair let down.

Usually the volleyball team's very own libero, wore his hair gelled up in spikes, with only one bleached strand hanging into his face. Just the right fit for his loud and a little rough personality.

Now, though, due to the shower he must have had, judging by the still wet hair and the towel he had thrown over his shoulder, his usual spikes were gone, his hair instead was falling down in sleek strands, making his features look a lot softer.

And so much cuter.

Okay, no, stop that right now.

The reason why you liked to call Nishinoya the 'bane of your very short existence' was because of thoughts like that.

You tended to swoon over the boy mentally; a boy you've barely held a conversation with that had consisted of more than three sentences.

You didn't know why Noya had caught your interest, not that he wasn't handsome, no he was incredibly cute, but you didn't really know him that well. Other than that he was very good in volleyball, the most enthusiastic person you knew (well, ignoring Hinata of course) and utterly enamored with Kiyoko.

Who wasn't?

Tsukkishima was probably the only member of the volleyball team that didn't get flustered around the third-year manager.

Even you couldn't help the nervousness you've felt around her the first few times you've talked one on one.

She was just amazing.

"Oh, hi Noya-san," you greeted him sheepishly, noticing in embarrassment that you've just stared at him in silence for way too long.

At least you two were familiar enough for you to call him by his nickname.

To be fair, it was probably inappropriate considering how little you two had actually talked to one another, but after he hadn't corrected you when the nickname first slipped from your lips (completely unintentionally) a few weeks ago, you had just decided to keep using it.

"Hi, y/n-san, what have you....aw, you've got the last pack," Noya pouted gesturing to your hand and you were embarrassed to admit how long it took you to understand what he meant.

You looked down into your hand, momentarily forgetting what you were holding (surprise, it was still the pretz biscuit chips), and then back to the vending machine to realize that the pack of chips you were holding had actually been the last in the row.

Why did a crush make you so stupid?

"Oh...sorry. Did you want to get the chips?" you asked dumbly.

Noya let out a laugh, shaking his head as he waved his hands around in front of his chest.

"What, haha, you don't have to apologize. I'll just get something else," he told you, still chuckling lightly.

You watched the way his cheeks crunched up and the corners of his eyes crinkled in fascination. Now that his hair was hanging into his face his laughter was even more precious.

"We can share."

You had blurted that out before you could stop yourself.

Noya looked at you in surprise and you felt your cheeks burn up in embarrassment.

Since when did you find it so difficult to function around him? Normally you weren't acting this smitten. Yes, you were always a little nervous around him, but never did it go as far as blurting out thoughts uncontrollably.

You blamed the hair, it was definitely the hair.

Noya's eyes lit up in excitement at your suggestion and his eyes wandered down to the chips in your hands, looking at them like they were a precious treat, before going back to your face.

"Really?" he asked happily.

You couldn't help but smile back at him, your cheeks flushing a little bit more as he stared at you with twinkling eyes and a beaming smile.

"Yeah, sure."

You opened the bag before holding it towards Noya to underline the offer. He reached inside to get out a huge chunk of chips to stuff it all in his mouth in one go. It made him look like a chipmunk and you couldn't help but giggle at his antics, your eyes once again wandering to his natural hair.

You fished out a few biscuit chips as well, nibbling on the snack absent-mindedly. You wondered if his hair felt just as soft as it looked like if you ran your fingers through it.

"Is anything on my face?" Noya asked suddenly, pulling you back from your weird thought process.

"What, no, i don't think so, why?"

Why did you have to stutter around right now?

"You're staring at me," he pointed out, grinning cockily when he noticed the blush on your cheeks deepen.

"Oh...it's just," you shrugged, looking down at the bag of chips in your hands awkwardly, "Your hair looks different."

For some reason Noya's cheeks were tinted pink now, as well. You noticed when you looked up at him through your lashes to see if he was totally put off by your comment or not.

He looked more embarrassed than you had expected.

Why that was you didn't know. Did he not think you would notice?

"Oh, yeah...i've showered," he stated matter-of-factly, as if you haven't already figured.

His hand reached upwards to scratch his neck and he looked away from you and your staring eyes.

Wait, was he embarrassed because of his hair?

When that thought hit you panic followed almost immediately, flooding your stomach with full impact. You had made Noya uncomfortable. He probably thought you meant different in a bad way! You totally fucked this up.

"What, no!" you shouted, cringing at how loud your voice had gotten and you quickly tried to adjust the volume to the quiet atmosphere of the corridor. "I...i didn't mean it looks bad or anything."

You waved your hands hastily around if only to bring your genuine intentions across.

He shouldn't think you didn't like his hair! That was the last thing you wanted.

"It looks good, i mean. I was just surprised, is all."

Did you just say his hair looked good?

The deepening blush in his cheeks was answer enough.

You just said his hair looked good.

Way to go, y/n.

"Oh...thanks, y/n/n-san."

Noya was smiling again and it managed to calm a little of your anxiety down, just enough so you were only slightly on edge again.

If you weirded him out, at least he knew how to hide it well.

The two of you stood there eating in silence for a few minutes, the only sound audible was the rustling of the bag and cracking of the chips once in a while. It was nice. You didn't know Nishinoya was someone who could just be quiet for a little, he seemed like such a high energy loud guy usually.

"So tell me, y/n/n-san," the libero started, his voice suddenly serious as he stared at you intensely. You swallowed thickly, wondering what suddenly changed his mood. He looked so determined. You expected the worst to come but then... "WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SHARE A ROOM WITH OUR LOVELY KIYOKO-SAN?"

His hands clenched to fists at his side and his eyes sparkled.

You just stared at him. Then you started laughing.

"You're such a weirdo, Noya-san,” you told him, shaking your head in amusement.

He just grinned, looking almost proud he made you laugh with just being goofy.

"But uhm...it's alright, i guess. I mean, she's really nice! Extremely nice! The other girls are, too," you told him but your thoughts drifted off to the topic of sleep when the room you all shared in training camp was brought up again.

If you couldn't sleep than you'd be useless for the next few days. You wouldn't be able to help the boys with their training as well as before and you'd disappoint them and Kiyoko-chan.

You'd disappoint Noya.

"Hey...you don't sound so happy," the boy noticed, his features etched together in concern as he was eyeing you, "do you not like it here in Tokyo?"

Shit! You didn't mean to let your panic flow into your words and worry him.

"It's nothing, Noya-san! Don't worry."

"You can tell me!" he insisted, pointing a thumb at his chest. "You're our manager now, too! Means you don't just take care of us, we take care of you, too."

Are you crying internally? Maybe.

"It's just kinda stupid...you'll laugh," you try to wave it off, hoping Noya would just let the topic rest when he noticed you didn't want to talk about it.

He was Noya, so he didn't.

"I won't!" he insisted, a determined look in his eyes.

You had to look away because your cheeks were flushing again. The thought of just telling him goodnight and leaving crossed your mind, but you knew now that Nishinoya was aware something was bothering you, he would not let it rest.

You contemplated whether or not to tell him, avoiding his eyes that were still fixated on you. His stare made you feel all dizzy.

"I'm just a little homesick," you mumbled, fumbling with the half-empty bag in your hands.

You hoped that explanation was enough for him, the thought of telling him the real reason you were feeling upset made your heart drop to your stomach.

You didn't want to sound like a child, especially not in front of a boy you had a crush on.

"Oh....why would you think i'd laugh about that? It's okay to miss home!"

You gulped, eyes trained on your panda socks (ups, how embarrassing) as you tried to build up the courage to continue.

"It's not just homesickness," you swallowed thickly, the nervousness crawling at your throat. "I've never slept anywhere but home because I was too scared. My mom always had to pick me up from sleepovers because I'd start crying...."

The silence that followed after was unbearable. You wished for nothing else but a hole to open up and swallow you all at once.

Nishinoya must think you were being a total baby.

And he would be right about that. You were being a total baby. What 15 year old couldn't be away from home for a night? You were pathetic.

"And you've still decided to come to Tokyo with us? y/n/n-san, you're so badass!"

You looked up in shock at the libero's words, not believing what you've heard him say. Noya was gaping at you, his eyes wide in admiration and excitement.

"Wha-what?" you choked out.

"You're really brave if you knew you would be scared and still decided to come with us to Tokyo!" Noya explained, grinning widely.

You stared at him. When he said it like that it sounded so easy, like there was no other way to see it. Like you were in fact a badass for deciding to join them for trainingscamp.

You lowered your gaze in embarrassment when you remembered that you really weren't.

"I don't...i don't know. Don't you think it's weird?" you asked quietly, glancing at Noya.

"Nah, everyone is scared of something," he reassured, eyeing you with seriousness, "I used to be scared of anything when i was a kid until my grandfather taught me not to be."

"Oh."

Noya’s face lit up.

"I can try to teach you, too!" , he exclaimed excitedly, already clenching his fists in determination, staring at you with glowing eyes.

You gave him a thankful smile. Noya-san was always so nice to everyone and it warmed your heart he wanted to help you with your fears.

Although you doubted you could be taught to be less of a scaredy cat.

When you told him that Noya only shook his head, already having decided on making you his project it seemed, as he grabbed your wrist and grinned at you.

"Let's try!"

His voice held the same tone as when he told his team to trust him with a particular difficult serve and you had no other choice but to nod in defeat.

There was no way you were able to change his mind at this point.

His face lit up a little more at that. Or maybe you were just imagining things now.

"What happens if you try to sleep anywhere by home?" he questioned, turning very serious.

You shrugged, trying vehemently to ignore Noya’s hand gripping your wrist.

"I get scared."

"Why?"

You let out a heavy sigh, looking down at the floor once more. You wish you knew. Maybe you could actually do something against it if you did.

"Fears aren't rational, Noya"

"No, but think about it. Why do you think you get scared?" he asked, squeezing your skin between his fingers in a reassuring way.

You took a moment, racking your brain for possibilities or origins of your childish fear. Why didn’t you like sleeping anywhere else than home?

Did you miss your parents? Yeah, sure, but that wasn’t it. What else could be a reason that you couldn’t sleep anywhere but home? Maybe you didn’t feel as safe?

Was it because you didn’t feel safe without your parents there? Was ist because your own home provided a safety you trusted in more than with other places?

...Yeah, that must be it. Home was a safe place and anywhere away was just too far away.

"I...i don't feel as safe as home. I mean, it's so far away," you explained, looking up at Noya again, who was studying you with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Mh," he hummed, removing his hand from your wrist to instead stroke his chin in thought.

His features looked even softer illuminated in the blue light, you noticed. Especially with his hair worn down. He just looked...cuter like this.

He should definitely wear it like this more often.

“I have an idea, come on,” Noya yalled out suddenly, cruelly shaking you out of your daydreams involving him.

Before you could protest Noya had already grabbed your wrist once more and started pulling you into the direction of the staircases. The bag of chips had fallen out of your hand due to your surprise at his actions, sadly floating to the floor.

You were pulled up the stairs, deciding to go along with it, because well, for one it was Noya and you’d probably go along with everything as long as he was the one to ask you. But also, you were curious what exactly the boy’s idea was and where he planned to bring you.

The both of you climbed up the stairs in a breathtaking tempo, all the stairs, way up until you’ve arrived at the rooftop.

Noya pushed the door open with his shoulder, not letting go off your hand (since when was he holding your hand?), as he turned towards you and gestured for you to go first. A wide grin stretched across his face.

The cool night air hit your legs as soon as you stepped outside, a strange contrast to the warm palm against yours. The difference of temperature made you shiver slightly.

You looked around, hoping to see why the libero had brought you to this place in the first place, but saw nothing of significance. Turning to look at Noya again, you raised your brows in question.

He was still holding your hand, you noticed with a downward glance. The boy followed your gaze, noticing the prolonged contact of your skin, too, and quickly let go. His cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink.

Noya scratched his neck, awkwardly laughing a little, before he looked away from you again.

“Uh, you like astronomy, right?” he asked, voice quiet.

You gaped at him.

“You know that?”

You hated how breathless your voice sounded. Because him knowing that...was Noya paying attention to you, more than you thought?

He looked confused that you’d even ask such a question.

“Of course, you’re always talking about it.”

Your heart swelled at his words, chest growing warm at the thought that Noya cared enough to know about the stuff you were interested in.

Your cheeks heated up against your will.

“What’s your favorite star, y/n-san?”

You didn’t even have to think about that.

“Sirius,” you uttered, smiling softly, “it’s the brightest star in the night sky. I can see it from my bedroom window.”

Noya’s face lit up at your answer. He turned his gaze upwards, his eyes searching the night sky eagerly.

“Which one ist it?” he asked, sounding so excited your heart squeezed in your chest.

You smiled, finding it endearing how intrigued he looked to be. Maybe he was just trying to cheer you up like this. Maybe this was his grand idea.

You didn’t mind it one bit.

You stepped beside him, raising your arm to point in the direction of Sirius. Noya scooted closer, resting his head right next to your shoulder to directly follow the line of your finger.

You felt one of his soft strands tickle your cheek and you flushed when the urge to reach out and care your fingers through his hair overcame you.

“That one,” you whispered, trying hard not to get lost in the soft and open expression on his face.

Noya’s eyes searched around for a bit before they settled on a spot. Judging by the wide grin on his face he had found the star you’ve been talking about.

“See, you can see it from here, too. You’re not as far away from home as you think.”

He didn’t even turn to look at you when he said those words, eyes still focused on your favorite star.

You froze, letting the words sink in, slowly turning your head to now openly staring at him.

“Pretty sure you can see it from the girl’s room as well.”, he shrugged, nonchalant.

Your arm fell to your side, and your body moved so you were completely turned towards Noya, eyes wide and open.

You didn’t know why but for some odd reason that made so much sense for you, and with the reassurance that you could look at the same star from up here as from your room your chest felt so much lighter.

And Noya, Noya was just acting so casual, like he hadn’t just turned your world 180°, like he hadn’t made you fall in love with him a thousand times harder that moment.

Looking at him now, shadows dancing across his face, the light of the moon and the stars illuminating his features, that stupidly cute smile still on his face as he continued to look up at the stars, you were glad you had agreed to Kiyoko to become a manager for the team.

You shook yourself out of your stupor, realizing you’d just stared at the boy for several moments. Noya thankfully hadn’t noticed since he was still looking at the stars.

You bowed down deeply, startling Noya, who flinched terribly and blinked down at your hunched form in confusion.

“Thank you so much Noya-san! I feel so much better,” you shouted, putting all your gratefulness into it.

The boy started stuttering as he waved his arms wildly, staring at you with a panicked expression. He had pressed the back of his other hand to his cheek to hide the redness in them.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you don’t have to thank me,” he protested, his voice raising several pitches.

You straighten up again, a soft smile on your lips as you looked up at Noya, who’s face had turned full on pink.

Adorable.

“I mean it,” you told him, smiling widening. “Thank you.”

Noya returned your smile, relaxing again. His hand reached to scratch the back of his neck and he looked away almost bashfully.

“You’re welcome.”

You felt like the remaining days of training camp would be no problem to you now. And not only because of your favorite star in the night sky. But also because of your favorite star standing in front of you.

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu oneshot #haikyuu x reader #nishinoya yuu x reader #nishinoya x reader #nishinoya oneshot #nishinoya fluff #haikyuu fluff #nishinoya yuu oneshot #nishinoya yuu fluff

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shiroi---kumo · 3 years ago

Text

.: An Unlimited Curse :.

He doesn’t know how he managed to leave but he’s not about to waste his time thinking about it when really the only thing he needs to focus on right now is getting as far away as possible.

Words 2.6k Pages: 6 TW;; Death. Torture, Manipulation, Abuse, Objectification, Possession, Depression, Guilt, Grief, Injury, Trauma

It’s been a year since he’s come to this place, to this Wonderland as they called it. He didn’t understand it at first. He didn’t understand how this place worked or functioned. He didn’t understand how Wonderland came to be but soon it was all made clear. There was a promise that if he behaved himself and helped that damnable child keep order here in Wonderland then his own piece of Misterica could be restored to him. There was a promise but the crowned prince of the promised world wasn’t about to fall for such a blatant lie. All of resided in Misterica had been swallowed by that damnable darkness and his world was reduced to... well he doesn’t know what it was reduced to but he knows it was no more.

He kept his head down regardless. Even if this world was made of lost souls who still remained within the remnant of their previous world. Even if this world was stitched together like the fabric of the universe with one world added at a time. Even if that were so, that doesn’t means Misterica was a part of it. Much less Windaria for that matter. Both places he called home were gone now. He couldn’t be bought so easily. There was a way to buy the prince however. A way to his ever bleeding heart. A heart bred to lead. A heart raised to serve his people above all else.

If these souls were lost then they were his people now, for he was just as lost as they were. In turn he would protect them. He would protect them however he could and if that meant trading his pain for their safety then he would do just that. He would submit to that monstrous child if only to spare one mother, one father, one sister, one brother, one child. If his own agony could spare one life, then it would be worth the pain. He could withstand it. He would learn to withstand it. He would force himself to bear it. He would become stronger than he’d ever been in the past because he would learn to swallow his fear.

He had to. He had to do that if he were to survive. He had to swallow the one thing that motivated this monster if he were to keep on living. But he would always keep on living. While he was caught here, a bird in a locked cage he learned another thing. While he learned of the world around him, he learned of himself as well. He learned one very important thing. He cannot die. No matter what that beast did to him, he still woke up there after. No matter how cruel that monster was. No matter how much he felt like that demon was going to break him in half. No matter the punishment, he would wake there after. He would lie gasping for air in a pile of his broken body on the floor until his frame had healed enough that he found the strength to lift it. No matter how the session ended, he would wake there after.

Even when that vile monster wrapped his neck and pulled just a little too hard. Even when he swears he felt his neck snap. He doesn't remember anything after that round of punishment. He doesn't remember because the world suddenly stopped when the pressure became too much. He was screaming out in agony when his tremolo suddenly ceased without warning. It took him a while to realize what happened. It took him awhile because he still hasn't quite figured out what that word meant yet.

But when he woke that strange man, with that strange mask was over him with an unreadable expression but far too much glee in his tone for his words.

"Oh?" He'd sounded. "It seems my assumption was correct. Lord Makenshi is unlimited."

He could only stare at him with confusion in green eyes when the man, Oscha, leaned in close - too close -up and sounded again.

"Lord Makenshi, are you not aware of what happened?"

The prince shook his head.

"You died. How many other times have you cheated death I wonder? The power of an unlimited is truly an amazing feat."

He knew. He knew in that moment. He doesn’t understand how he became to be one of these unlimited or how many of them there were but he knew one thing. It was a curse.

He was raised to believe he was special because he was Misterica’s White Prince but that prophecy failed to tell them all the truth. Their precious White Prince was not special he was cursed. How was he supposed to bring about salvation when everyone around him were fated to do nothing but die when he himself could not.

He’s lost them all. He’s lost his mother, his father, his brother - and Tanári Szél and Tanári Aura too. Such a strange family for Misterica’s White Prince but it was his family just the same. He loved them and he missed them every day. He just needed to get out. It seemed impossible to do so. He needed to get out and get as far away from this place as he could. It was impossible however when that strange masked man and that annoying plant like woman seemed to watch his every move.

He needed to get out. He couldn’t take it. He couldn’t take it one second more. He couldn’t take being called by that pint sized demon for only Tiamat knows what.

He just needed to bide his time, and bide his time he did. He played dead. He played dead this time and let that beast think he’d killed him again. He cut out his screams. He ceased moving. He swallowed down his agony and made his frame drop limp. He let the mist build in his lungs until it burned.

He forced himself to bear the pain like an unmoving doll. He faked his death this time and he let that masked man drag him out of the room only to be throw wherever while his body worked to repair the damage. He bided his time and he waited until they thought he was good and dead for several days and that was when he ran.

Fled in the night under the cover of darkness. He may have been a pure white soul but still the darkness could dampen his glow. He thought it stopped a year ago. He thought he stopped when... they died. No longer was he a little moon in the night. He just needed to get away. He needed to be moving as fast as possible if only to spare himself from the devil incarnate.

How far did he fly? How much land did he cross? He hadn’t seen Wonderland with his own eyes because he was trapped in that castle from the moment he arrived. He was trapped and held prisoner. He didn’t know the terrain. He didn’t know the land or more over, the lands. He didn’t know anything about this place except for what he’d been told. The people of these lost worlds that he’d traded his life for more times than he cared to admit in this past year. He’s lost it all, so he’ll be lost with them. If he can be with them, then he can protect them and he can do so at the full scope of his wrath.

The Earl will know true fear because he will stand against him, Maken drawn and ready for war. He will go to war with the devil, himself, because what else does he have to lose?

There’s a body in his vision. There’s the form of something black in the corner of his sight and there’s pull in his chest that’s begging him not to ignore it, even though his mind is screaming that he needs to find safety above all else. He needs to find safety first - red hair. That person had red hair. His breath hitches in his throat and he’s bringing himself down to land. Words escape him the closer he gets to the ground and the dark form’s details are made clear.

“Tanári Szél!”

It’s a sense of relief and worry all at once. His feet are on the ground by the collapsed form. Jade eyes are taking in the sight of that face. A face he knew so well and before he realized what he was doing, his hands are at the other’s shoulders trying to shake the other man awake with a desperation he hasn’t felt since he told himself he needed to kill his own heart to survive.

“Tanári Szél wake up! Wake up! You need to wake up! I need you to wake up! Please wake up. I can’t take being here alone anymore.”

There’s a hard shake from Misterican hands and a desperate plea from their own. Jade eyes are pleading as the prince tries again to no avail. Again he shakes his would be family, desperate to see any kind of life. There’s a groan. A groan and for the first time since they were last together, there is hope reviving in long since dull green eyes.

Slowly the Windarian in front of him began to stir and Valkoinen Pilvi sat hopeful in front of him, waiting to see the blue seas he missed the way the Moon missed the Sun. But where there should have been deep blue there was only red. Deep, blood like crimson and Windarian fangs bearing from parting lips. A growl, and a hand swiping forward as if to claw at the one who woke him.

The Prince could only move backwards so fast, and narrowly does that hand miss him when it lashes out. What’s happening to him? What’s wrong? He’s acting possessed like something is controlling him - like that blood red Gun Dragon. Like Bahamut himself is still tainted.

He thought he killed them. He thought he killed Tanári Szél if only to release him from this torment but it seems that in all the time he spent trying to save the lives of the people here - all his pain and all his torment weren’t enough to save his only remaining family. Tanári Szél was still trapped in that hellish torment and there was nothing he could do about it.

A growl, a snarl - like a wild animal - a hand clawed in his direction and the prince moves backwards again to get out of the way. What does he do? He can’t leave him like this and he can’t go back. He most certainly can’t go back. That same hand is reaching, moving down towards the holster on his teacher’s hip and the swordsman knows he has to act and he has to act now. Hopefully, he’ll forgive him when he wakes.

He’s moving in a flash, mask flooding away as he closes the gap between then to hug the man as close as possible while using that dragon like strength of his to pin the elder’s flaring arm to his side. There’s pain in his voice as he speaks. He knows what he has to do but he doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want ...

“Tanári Szél I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”

A deep breath and a low exhale. The space around them filled with mist so thick there was nothing else to breathe and all the prince could do was wait. Wait as the elder took in several breaths and soon crazed red eyes closed and he collapsed in the Misterican’s arms.

... to be alone again.

He was alone again. He had no one all over. Now he needed to find a place where he could sleep. He needed to find a place where they could hide. He just needed Tanári Szél to rest and then he would be better, right? But for how long? He needed Tanári Szél to sleep and then he would be well again, wouldn’t he?

“Have you seen him?” A voice sounds off in the distance. A village perhaps? His ears can pick up the sound from much further than his eyes can see. “A young man. White hair, dressed in pure white.”

His face pales. He knows that voice. He’d know her voice anywhere. He can feel his heart racing in his chest as he pulls his comrade close. He doesn’t have time. If they find them... if they .... The Earl knew....

He should have known that viper wouldn’t let it’s prey get away so easily. He should have known. He should have known that he’d send them out looking for him. His precious Lords of Gaudium.

Pilvi can only scramble so fast as he lifts his Teacher from the ground and flies. His eyes are looking for anywhere he can hide him, so they don’t get their hands on them both. That monster can’t have them both. He won’t let that monster have them both. He’s panicking and he’s not thinking straight.

A town of buildings made from roots and branches, over grown trees? He can hide him there for now. He can hide him there where there seems to be no one else around.

“He’s a very important comrade of ours and we just want to make sure he’s safe.”

He can hear her in his ear no matter how far away he gets. She’s closing in on him. Lying to the people to find him.

Gently does his land, and gently does he place his counterpart against a tree. Another deep but worried breath before the prince exhales for a final time. A blanket of mist to make sure the other stays in a deep deep slumber for a long time. He can hear her voice still. He can hear the chattering of the people from what he assumes is the next town over.

“Rest now, and I’ll come back for you. I promise. I’ll come back for you, Tanári Szél ... For now, sleep.”

He won’t let that monster have them both so he must make sure she can never find him. He must get as far from here as possible. He must....

"If you can’t tell me where he is, then I’ll just burn this place to the ground.”

His heart bleeds for them when he hears her threat. His body is moving before he can reason with himself to stop. What was he going to do? Attack her? Cause a scene? Go to war for this village and possibly get more people killed?

He’s sinking down from the sky as he feels her eyes on him. He returned to her without even putting up a fight.

“Oh there you are ‘kenshi darling.”

His mask is enough to hide his disgust for her overly affectionate nature, as he allows himself to hover over to her.

“Come along now, we must go back home. His Excellency is quite upset and wants you home as soon as possible. So let’s go darling.”

He’s trapped. He’s trapped again as he returns to the halls that have become intimate with his screams. He’s trapped again and he’s returned to floors that know the taste of his blood. He’s trapped again as he’s sent in alone to face the devil with pale eyes and pale skin. Alone, he stands before that child again. Alone.

He’s alone again.

“Oh. There you are.” The boy sounds as he turns to face the White Prince. “Welcome home, Little Cloud.”

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vs-redemption · 4 years ago

Note

Omg can I get scenarios about how you think Fatgum and Mirio would react if they found out that their crush thought they didn’t like them?? 😭😭 ty!!!!! ❤️

From Cindy: Wowzer! I really liked this request but it took me a couple days to get some ideas worked out in my head. I’m happy with the way they turned out, and I hope you are too anon!!

A Crush?! (Fatgum x Reader) and (Mirio x Reader)

FATGUM

When Taishiro Toyomitsu first opened his hero agency in the lively city of Osaka, his first priority had been to hire a cook to work there. Because his quirk relied heavily on the amount of fat stored up in his body, it was important to have a constant source of food available. Snacks and small meals between and during patrols did little to keep him fully powered, so finding someone who could meet his extreme dietary needs was of the upmost importance.

The first few people he’d brought onto his team hadn’t worked out so well. Even though he had no complaints about their food, they just couldn’t seem to keep up with his immense appetite. They got too caught up in the presentation, plus the portions were just too small. When the BMI hero finally hired you right out of culinary school, he was relieved to find your approach to his food conundrum much more satisfying.

He never had to worry about going hungry when he got into his agency anymore. Not only did you made sure there was plenty of food readily available for him, but you also kept his diet balanced with healthy foods that contained enough calories to fatten him up for his patrols. The food itself kept Taishiro’s stomach happy and full, but the effort and care you put into your work definitely started having an effect on his heart too after a while. Your dedication to keeping him in top shape drew his attention until he found himself starting to look forward more to seeing and talking to you than even eating your delicious food.

Taishiro wasn’t the type to lie to himself about his feelings. He knew perfectly well that he’d developed a little crush on you. He wasn’t exactly sure how to go about confessing though, or if he even should. His schedule didn’t leave much time for dating, and he didn’t want to start something if he wasn’t going to be able to dote on you the way he was starting to desperately want to.

Little did he know, on the other side of things, you were struggling to deal with the feelings you had for him too. You had always thought your boss was a nice guy, but after seeing his jolly and friendly behavior every day, you couldn’t help the crush that had creeped up on you. You tried your best to put it out of your mind, assuming there was no way a great hero like Taishiro could return your feelings. It wasn’t as if he did anything to make you feel otherwise. He was as kind and encouraging to you as anyone else you’d seen him interact with. It was just that you knew the nature of your job made your personality come off a bit too overbearing to really spark a romance. You constantly berated yourself after each and every interaction you had with him, physically cringing as you remembered the nagging comments you’d made.

“I know you need the calories for your quirk, Taishiro, but don’t forget to eat some fruits and vegetables too.”

“Eat another bowl of rice, Taishiro. You never know when you’ll need that little extra push when fighting a villain.”

“Taishiro, don’t forget to take the leftovers with you in case you get hungry out there! It’s better for you than all that street food you’re always picking up on patrol.”

When you thought about it, you really pestered him way too much. Sure, it was your job to feed him, but still, he was a grown man. He didn’t need you bothering or lecturing like he was some kind of kid. The only reason you even acted the way you did was because you cared and worried about him, but how it came across was probably annoying and patronizing. This is why you were confident he’d never like you the way you liked him.

Eventually, the combination of your feelings for him and the concern over his impression of you becomes too much and you decide to confront him. You get to the agency early one day and make him some fresh jelly filled donuts.

“Hey! You hardly ever make stuff like this!” Taishiro chuckles, “What’s the occasion?”

“It’s my way of saying thank you for putting up with me,” you shrug awkwardly. “I know I’m a bit of a nag sometimes.” Your words take the hero by surprise.

“I don’t think you’re a nag at all!” He sounded upset to hear you say that. “I hope I never gave you the idea that I did.”

“No,” you shake your head. “You didn’t… I just figured you were nice to me just to be polite.”

“What?” Taishiro shakes his head, “You couldn’t be further from the truth. If I’m being honest, I’ve actually developed quite the soft spot for you.” You look up into his eyes, a feeling of hope spreading through you.

“Yeah,” Taishiro laughs and scratches the back of his head bashfully. “I guess you could say I have a bit of a crush on you.” The conversation had definitely taken an unexpected turn, and you couldn’t be happier.

“I…” You hesitate for a moment but then give in. “I have a crush on you too! I have for a while. I never dreamed you could feel the same way.” The smile that stretched across the hero’s face warmed your heart.

“How could I not feel the same way?” He chuckles while patting his large belly. “I’ve never met anyone else who could keep both my stomach and my heart so full.” His words were music to your ears. And now that you both were on the same page about your feelings, you could sit down together and start discussing important questions about the future, like where he was going to take you on your first date.

MIRIO

Getting a job as a server at the mundane little diner on the outskirts of town had only meant to be a temporary gig to help you save up some extra money for school. Your campus was just a short train ride from the restaurant, and your apartment was even closer. It wasn’t glamorous or anything, but it paid the bills. Besides, it was just a stepping stone in the path to your dream job, so you were more than willing to deal with it until a bigger more fulfilling opportunity came along.

What you hadn’t expected after starting the job was that you’d be terrible at it. You didn’t realized how bad your short term memory was until you found yourself forgetting people’s orders, or taking meals to the wrong tables. If that wasn’t bad enough, you also had a hard time balancing plates of food and were always dropping glasses and silverware accidentally. Luckily, your boss was a pretty chill and forgiving person and hadn’t felt the need to fire you yet. You really didn’t want to go through the trouble of finding another job, so you continued doing the best you could each and every day.

A few weeks after being hired, you started to feel the tiniest bit more confident about your abilities as a server. At the very least, you were getting better at remembering orders. Thankfully, there were a lot of regulars that got the same things every time which made your job easier. You were just starting to get into a comfortable routine when life decided to throw you a curveball. There was no way you could stop yourself from tripping over your own feet and almost spilling some poor customers breakfast all over the floor when you saw the pro hero, Le Million, walk into the diner with one of his hero friends. Thankfully you managed not to fall on your face or drop any food. Your relief was short lived, however, when Le Million walked right over and took a seat at a table in your section.

You knew it was going to be a disaster as soon as you walked over and forgot what you should even do. Being so close to Le Million was triggering a meltdown in your brain. He was your favorite hero and you honestly had a huge crush on him. Having him looking right at you with those cheerful blue eyes and wide friendly smile was extremely overwhelming.

“Uh…” You stood there blankly with the pen and pad in your hand.

“I think we’re going to start with something to drink!” Le Million speaks up with a light laugh which sparks you back to life.

“Ok, right!” you shake your head and try to focus. “What’ll you have?”

“I’ll have coffee,” he says before gesturing to his companion. “I think you usually take hot green tea right?” The friend nods so you write the order down.

“A hot green tea and a coffee for Le Million,” you mumble without meaning to.

“Oh, I’m on my lunch break!” he corrects you with a grin. “So, you can call me Mirio.”

“Right,” you nod excitedly. “Mirio”

You do your best to function as you continue to serve him. You somehow bring black tea instead of green, but Mirio just waves off the mistake with a wave of his hand. You swear you write down the correct order for him word for word, but humiliation consumes you when his friend points out that there were tomatoes on his hamburger even though he’d asked for none. You offer to bring him a new plate but he tells you it’s unnecessary. He doesn’t even pick off the tomatoes before taking a huge bite.

When Mirio and his friend finally leave, you feel yourself deflate. You were thankful the embarrassing experience was over, but part of you wished you’d made a better impression. The universe must’ve been out for you because the next day, it decided to grace you with a second chance. Mirio walked back into your diner with his friend, taking the same table as the day before. You tried to do a better job at serving him this time but you still fumbled a few things. This continued for a few weeks. For some reason, Mirio kept coming back and sitting in your section. You had no idea why since he must be sick of your horrible service by now. You tried to think of a logical explanation for a while, but always came up empty.

“Um, Mirio,” you tell him one day as he hands you the money to pay for his bill. “I know I’m not the best server in the world, so you don’t have to sit in my section every time.”

“But then I wouldn’t get to talk to you!” Mirio replies instantly, looking taken aback by your words.

“Oh,” you hadn’t expected a response like that. “But I always mess up your order.”

“That’s all right!” Mirio perks back up, “As long as you keep doing your best, that’s what matters! Plus, I’ve been sort of biding my time, looking for the right moment to ask for your number. I think you’re really cute.” He winces a little bit as if preparing for rejection. The confession startles you and you somehow end up missing his hand while giving back his change, causing coins to scatter across the counter. Mirio just smiles and helps you pick it all up.

“I can really give you my number?” you ask in shock once the money is back in his hands.

“Yeah!” He assures you, “As long as I’m allowed to call it!” You felt yourself blush, but managed to stay calm enough to grab a napkin and scribble your number down. Mirio thanked you before heading out with his hero friend to go back on patrol. It was less than a minute later when your phone buzzed in your pocket with a message from your hero crush.

It said, “I can’t wait to see you again tomorrow!”

You’re still in a state of shock as you hug your phone to your chest. You’d initially taken the diner job as a way to save money for school, but maybe fate had brought you here for something else entirely.

#mirio x reader #fatgum x reader #taishiro toyomitsu x reader #bnha x reader #mha x read #togata mirio #Taishiro Toyomitsu #bnha #mha #writing requests #cindy's writing

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prettywordsyouleft · 4 years ago

Text

Something For You

Pairing: Jackson Wang x female reader

Genre: fluff / roommates to lovers

Warnings: implied nudity through bathing

Word count: 1855

Jackson couldn’t watch you hobble about in good conscience anymore. It had been going on for days now, and each time he saw you, it seemed that your legs were barely coping with the strenuous activity you were enduring.

“I’ll be fine,” you told him whenever he questioned your unusual gait, the grimace mixed in with your smile not convincing him in the slightest. You were definitely in pain, the gasps of air and the deliberate effort it took for you to get out of a chair only concerning him further.

He knew your office moving buildings was going to be exhausting, but Jackson wondered if you were doing too much. Had you not hired movers to lift the heavier items? Surely it would be cost-effective to employ manpower than run yourself past the point of no return.

Deciding he had to do something – anything – for you, Jackson stopped by a pharmacy on his way home. Armed with various muscle soaks and topical creams, he waited for you to return to the apartment you shared. Dinner was being served up when you made your way through the front door, struggling to get up the step into the living area.

Shaking his head, Jackson came over and helped you before clucking his tongue at you. “Enough, Y/N.”

“Huh?”

“You need to rest.”

“There’s one more day of-”

“You won’t survive another day of this,” he pointed out, and your gaze lowered knowingly. Jackson sighed before pushing a smile onto his lips. “I cooked dinner.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“Were you going to stand here after doing all you have today and fix yourself something nutritious?” he wondered, and your brief look in his direction confirmed his suspicions. “Ramen is not going to help you recover back your energy!”

“Thank you,” you mentioned as you allowed him to help you over to the table where a pasta dish sat waiting. It took you some angling of your body before you managed to sit down comfortably enough, and then you eyed the food with interest. “Woah, you went all out!”

“Hardly. Maybe I need to cook more often around here if you think this pasta dish is me putting on a good display of my cooking skills,” he boasted, and you giggled, a sound he hadn’t heard from you all week. It fuelled Jackson on, ensuring you spent the meal smiling the whole time. Although you had only been housemates for a short period of time, you were special to him. And after you had helped him get over a cold last month, watching you suffer now made him determined to return the favour.

It also just pained him far too much as a fellow human to see you struggle.

After dinner, you headed into your bedroom, and Jackson waited twenty minutes before launching into phase two. He started running you a bath, adding a generous amount of the muscle soak to the water. The bubbles overfilled the tub, and he was satisfied with how inviting it looked.

Knocking gently on your door, Jackson then entered your space, finding you at your desk, slumping over your laptop with evident distress from how much your back hurt. Jackson came to your side and shut the lid down. “I said rest!”

“Jackson! I have to find some time to work too!”

“Not tonight. You’ve done enough.”

“I’m too sore to go to bed and sleep right now,” you mumbled in response, and he nodded, helping you to your feet.

“I know, which is why I did something for you.”

You glanced at him curiously. “What?”

“Come with me,” he urged, helping you into the bathroom and the pointed to his efforts.

However, your reaction wasn’t what he had hoped for. “Oh. A bath.”

“I stopped by a pharmacy and picked you up a muscle soak,” he explained and whilst your eyes flashed with gratitude, you still didn’t seem overwhelmed. Perhaps you were too tired to show such emotion.

“I’ll leave you to enjoy it. Make sure you stay in there until the water cools off!” he enthused, shutting the door behind himself.

Jackson hoped it would relieve some of the tension.

The following morning over breakfast, Jackson eyed you carefully. You seemed to be ambling along with a little more ease, and this brightened his mood tremendously. You had gone to bed right after the bath last night, so he didn’t have a chance to ask if it helped until now.

You glanced up at him and smiled awkwardly. “I mean, it helped. Thank you.”

“Why do I sense a but in there?” he asked cautiously, and you bit at your bottom lip. “Did I overstep my boundaries as a housemate?”

“Oh no!” you gushed, waving your hands about dismissively. “It’s just… I don’t really have baths.”

“Ah.”

“It’s nothing traumatic, so don’t worry. I’m touched you thought to help me as you did. I don’t understand the concept of baths, though. I mean, what do you exactly do in them?”

Jackson frowned. “Well, you lay there and relax.”

“You and I both know I don’t know how to do that well,” you replied with a chuckle, shaking your head softly. “I sat there, and for a bit it was nice, but then my brain got bored with laying there and I started to overthink about things. How long do you wait it out?”

Jackson stared at you for a moment in silence, and then a snort left him. It was followed by a loud bout of laughter until he had to hold onto his side and try to calm himself down when he noticed your arched eyebrow. “I’m sorry. I’ve never heard anyone complain about how to take a bath before.”

“Well, my points make some sense. You see in the movies everyone is covered and soaking with pure happiness, drinking wine or reading a book. I don’t drink wine, and wouldn’t the book get wet if you lay down to cover yourself properly? Maybe it’s because I’m not as thin as those in movies. I definitely had to move around to keep parts of my body that were exposed warm in there.”

“You’re serious.”

“Completely,” you responded, and Jackson’s humour eased. He hadn’t ever thought about it. He had just taken a bath when his body required it and not really contemplated what it would be like for others.

“So it didn’t help you at all?” he wondered, slightly dejected. He had hoped you would feel better from it.

You sighed heavily. “That’s the problem I’m faced with. It did. My legs didn’t hurt as much to get out of bed this morning. So I guess I now need to learn how to enjoy a bath until I feel better.”

“I can help you,” he offered, and you cocked your head to the side with his words. Jackson grinned. “Not physically. But maybe I can give you some distractions to allow the soak time to not end in a rumination session.”

“Really?”

“Sure. If it’s helped even a little, it’s worth trying again, right?”

That night, you came home and had a bath. Jackson had recommended you listen to a podcast during the session, and it appeared you lasted longer in there. The following day, you had another and mentioned after that you had played with the bubbles for a bit as you once had as a child.

You seemed more relaxed within the bathtub.

And your legs, once swollen and hard to maneuver, were starting to look better from what he could tell. Jackson was pleased his efforts had helped with some of the recovery.

You smiled brightly at him when he returned home from work the next evening. Jackson gaped at you and then back at the door. “Since when do you beat me home from work?”

“Since I listened to your advice and took the afternoon off. And I had another bath.”

He smirked. “I thought you weren’t a bath person?”

“Well, that muscle soak really helped ease the pain. I figured it was worth getting through my discomfort if it meant I could function again.”

“So I did something right by you?”

“Don’t you always? You’re the best housemate I’ve ever had,” you told him genuinely, and Jackson was surprised that your compliment made his stomach erupt in flutters.

Blinking several times, he wondered if there was more to how special you were to him now.

“I’m going to run you a bath. I need to do something for you!”

Jackson chuckled heartily as he slowly moved through the house. It was ironic how years ago he had been the one to convince you of the magic in relaxation for your aching body in the bathtub. Now, he didn’t even have to say much to hear the tub filling up regularly. You poked your head around the corner of the bedroom door and grinned at him. “I put a lot of muscle soak in. I thought you said you were fit.”

“I didn’t realise that playing tennis against a pro would hurt this much,” Jackson lamented, and you pouted, walking towards him and reaching out for the bottom of his sports tee, lifting it over his head as gently as you could.

Jackson hissed as his shoulders dropped too quickly, and the pain seared again.

“You poor baby,” you cooed, and Jackson nodded, relishing in the special care you were giving him in his time of need.

It was out of compassion that the pair of you had gone from housemates to something more intimate. He had helped you when you suffered from pain moving office, and then you helped him when he got stressed out. With each time that you did something for the other, you grew closer, and soon it was at a level where you loved on each other through the hardships and highlights that life threw at you both.

Just as right now, your adoration was evident as you led Jackson down to the bathroom.

He eased into the tub with several groans, and you ran your hand repeatedly through his hair, hoping to relax him further. It was working, as was the muscle soak on his weary body.

“Can I get you anything?” you asked, and Jackson nodded once. “What do you need?”

“You.”

“I’m right here.”

Jackson nodded towards the bathtub. “It’s big enough for us both to share.”

“You are sore,” you pointed out and rolled your eyes when he pouted dramatically. “Seriously?”’

“I’m sure I’ll feel much better with your comfort in here with me.”

“Are you after a massage, Jackson Wang?”

He grinned. “That would be nice.”

“I’ll make sure you pay me back when it’s my next bout of body issues,” you warned as you started to strip off your clothes, stepping into the tub and moving close enough so you could work on the knots in his shoulders.

Jackson stared at you for a moment before shifting close enough to reach your lips, kissing you passionately. When he pulled away, Jackson smiled up at you. “I like baths better when they’re with you.”

_________________

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some-dr-writings · 4 years ago

Text

V3 Boys x SHSL Toy Maker

Shuichi Saihara:

· Shuichi was surprised by how much he had began to rely on you. He didn’t entirely depend on you, but with you life was certainly much easier.

· Shuichi liked your toys, thought of them as cute, but there was never any he was particularly attached too unlike how Kaede likely would be with a toy piano. Even as a child he much preferred reading to anything else, it was his lifelong hobby. He still cherished any toys you gave him though. However, that changed one day.

· It was just a day like any other, Shuichi was in his office discussing being hired by a family for his services. Their pet capybara had gone missing and everyone was upset, especially so were the young children who were distraught and began to bawl. Their parent desperately tried to calm them, but when all attempts had failed, they just started apologizing to Shuichi, who to their confusion was searching through the drawers of his desk. He then squatted on the ground, a few action figures and little stuffed toys in hand, making some comical voice gaining the children’s attention who quickly joined in on playing. After an hour or so, once Shuichi was finally able to pry himself from the fantasy land without upsetting the children, his character haven fallen under a sleeping curse, he got back to his client to discuss the job. When they were to leave, the children refused to part from the toys and Shuichi said it was alright for them to keep the toys. Seeing how good Shuichi was with the children and having toys his client asked if Shuichi had children of his own.

· That question really stuck to him as he searched for the lost pet. He didn’t dislike the idea of having children with you. If you were up for it maybe… it was something to consider. He did become rather fond of the thought though when he had returned the capybara home. He was invited in and found the children so happily playing with your toys. It also hit him in that moment how much joy your work brought, much like how his own work had those children crying with joy to see their furry companion had returned.

· Something about that moment changed him, made him want to rely on you. Your kindness in gifting him your work was able to ease the pain of others. He began to keep a stuffed toy or action figure on his work desk instead of hiding them away, so he could be reminded of you all the time, and to cheer up any more hurt children who came his way. In a way, all your toys were very special to him now, all of them held some personal meaning, showing you both just wanted to make people happy… Maybe that was why he fell so hard for you back at Hope’s Peak, you both had the same dream.

Kaito Momota:

· You made nothing but space for Kaito. Glow in the dark space themed stickers, star and planet projectors, star chart globes, wooden spaceship puzzles, anything space you could think of you made for Kaito. Your boyfriend adored every last one of your gifts, all of them proudly displayed in his room. Kaito always got so giddy when you gave him something, he always showered you in affection in return, Kaito just found it natural to give you affection much of the time, but he was especially so after getting a gift, he had to give you something in return after all!

· After giving Kaito another gift, with that bright grin Kaito lifted you off the ground, spinning around, hugging you close as he flopped onto his bed. “Hey, Y/N. Teach me how to make toys.” “Huh? You? Make toys?” “Hey! What’s with that look!?” “Nothing, I’m just surprised it all.” Kaito huffed, slightly miffed at your response. “So, Kaito Momota, the man with his head up in the stars, why would you want to learn?” “To be with you! And everyone plays. Humans play, dogs play, cats play, birds play, everything plays so if I ran into any aliens I could make them some earth toys!” “……… Fine. It would be nice to have you in the workshop for a day.” “A day!? What do you mean a day!? Wait… you believe I’ll master your craft so quickly?” “No. Like your training you won’t keep it up.” You snickered seeing you successfully had gotten a ruse out of him. “I’ll show you!” And with that you successfully ignited a determination in him to prove you wrong and he’d actually keep up on training with you… for a while at least.

· You underestimated how much of an effect you’d have on him though. There were times when he slacked off in practice or following your teachings, but he never quit entirely. “You seriously thought I’d quit!? Do you even know me! I am Kaito Momota, Luminary of The Stars! I can do anything I set my mind too!” He then presented you some wooden blocks he was working on for you to examine “… Besides, if you think that lowly of me… Then I just have to prove you wrong or you need to raise your standards! You deserve the best boyfriend, and if I’m not that yet, then I’ll become that! It won’t be hard for me! Even when we’re apart and I’m in space I’ll still be the best boyfriend! Or husband! I just have to keep working at it! Just you wait and see. If I’m somehow not now… then I’ll just have to become someone more reliable for you.”

Ryoma Hoshi:

· It was a day like any other, you were hidden away at the back of the store in your little workshop, whittling away on a wooden doll when you heard a knock, knock, knocking on the door. “Come in!” You kept working for a few moments, finishing that last line as not to forget it later before turning to your guest. “Ryoma!” It caught the man off guard for a moment how brightly you smiled upon seeing him. “Hey.” “So, what brings my favorite person here?” You were confused seeing what appeared to be a snapped stick and some string. “It’s probably not cool to ask you something like this, and during work hours at that, but-” “wait, the cat toy broke again!?” “Yep.” You took the pieces, spreading them across your desk. “I knew these things were cheep, but I thought it’s at least last longer than the last one. None of the cats even play roughly, so how?” Baffled you scanned over the pieces. Ryoma stood beside you, watching as you looked over where it broke, mumbling something about materials and cost. “Think you can make one that won’t break.” “Think I can!? Who do you think you’re talking too, of course I can!” “Heh, yeah, I should have known.”

· Ryoma didn’t like distracting you from work, but he rather enjoyed helping you with it. It was always so relaxing helping you gather materials, or to try to mimic your movements and follow your instructions, or to simply watch you. You were always so detailed, yet still found beauty in simplicity, everything you made was perfect.

· “Hmm… aaaaaaaaaand done. This should do!” You passed it to Ryoma, who looked over your completed work. “Thanks. I’m sure they’ll love it.” “Tell Cheese and the rest I say hi and that I love them.” “Heh, I’ll be sure to do that. Thanks.” “Actually.” You stood up, taking off your apron. “My break will be soon, and as boss I can make the executive decision to take off early. I’ll just stay in a little later today to make up for it. Mind if I tag along? Lunch with my favorite cats just sounds lovely.” “You can tag along any time with me.”

· Life could be rather rough after having served his time for Ryoma, but he had you and his cats, the only anything that brought stability and joy back into his life. It always hit him just how much your company meant in little moments like these.

Rantaro Amami:

· No matter how far Rantaro had went in his search he always carried around several of your toys which reminded him of you. One for each of his missing sisters. Something he knew they would like. Rantaro was fearful at times, what if they had changed so much he didn’t know them anymore? If they didn’t like one toy hopefully another would do, the toys were there simply to bring them joy, or to help calm them should they be coming from a stressful situation. Even if none appealed to their taste, surely your work could still draw out a smile, it had been able to do so for so many others, including himself so surely they would still help. And if it somehow didn’t then at least he had them around for his own sake, hugging them close at night when dark thoughts seeped in or when that homesickness crushed him like a boulder.

· It was not often you traveled, almost always needing to be making something to fill up your little shop, it got lots of traffic and often things sold out so you had to try to quickly restock, you didn’t have much time for anything else, but at least you were happy making toys, it was good. Truthfully Rantaro preferred it this way. He was scared that if you were by his side during his search, he’d let you down just like he had with all his sisters, losing you and being unable to find you again. At least, even if it hurt to be apart, he knew where you were. It was a bit of an unrealistic fear since you were an adult who could take care of themselves and you had a phone and knew his number, but… it was still a real fear which had festered deep inside of him. He couldn’t lose you as well. He treated your toys like you in a sense, making sure he always knew where each was, and made sure to not leave any behind when traveling.

· Even if it was only for a short time Rantaro would always return to you. Since you were usually busy all you could really do together was have him watch you work or teach him something you thought he’d find useful while making something like teaching him how to sew. Rantaro always indulged in these times together. He absolutely loved you, and though he liked your toys, they were nothing compared to actually being with you. Soon though the search would continue, at least he had more precious memories along to keep his spirits high.

Gonta Gokuhara:

· Gonta loved all of your toys! He found it amazing how you could turn a single piece of wood into a functional little car or some such. You offered to teach him since he was so fascinated. It was a long process with many injuries along the way, fingers pricked on needles, cuts from carving tools, pinches, even burns, but no matter come what may Gonta never gave up and continued to learn your art! It was something important to you, and Gonta wanted to understand it, if he could understand it, then he’d understand you better, and Gonta wanted to learn as much as he could about the person he loved!

· Though it would not be fair for you to be the only one to be teach so Gonta would teach you all he could about his beloved insects! Gonta wanted you to know him better too after all. Gonta would take you out for walks and such to find some bugs and tell you everything he knew about them. He also thought it good for you to get out of your work shop more often and get some sunshine. All his lessons seemed to have some payoff when you gifted him a realistic looking figure of his beloved bugs.

· Gonta always showed off his gifts to his forest family when he got the chance. He didn’t get to see them often but when he did he’d regal them with everything he had done, including his time spent with you, he even tried teaching them what you taught him, but it never ended well.

· Gonta kept all of your gifts perfectly displayed in his room, making sure to take care of them to not let them fade due to time so they could last even a little longer.

· Gonta was a diligent student eager to learn more, he wanted to be a gentleman after all and Gonta thought that a gentleman should want to understand all things and continue to learn and grow always! He was going to be the best person he could be to make his family proud, and now he had you his partner, he wanted to be the best partner he could be for you! Not only was he growing but learning under you also gave him an excuse to spend more time with you which admittedly at times was more important to him.

· After leaving Hope’s Peak, when Gonta began teaching others of bugs he’d actually use the models you had gifted him as examples. With time you had only become more invaluable to him. You were the only one for him, without a doubt.

Kokichi Oma:

· Kokichi served as a… rather interesting source of inspiration. He practically insisted on being your muse for some reason unknown to you. He’d giddily drag you around town on a whim going wherever. On these excursions Kokichi would buy something seemingly random only moments later asking if you could make something out of it, even goading you into it if necessary. It were as if he were challenging you to think outside of the box. He’d take you to botanical gardens, museums, theme parks, whatever was new in town and asked if you could make a toy based off of something from one of those attractions. You were never short on ideas with him around, that was for certain.

· Kokichi also insisted that you both play with your toys, saying there was no point in making them if you never enjoyed them yourself. He’d take you back to times of being a child, playing pretend, making up stories for the toys, building pillow forts to be castles and whatnot. Often this exercise would give you more ideas, even some improvements, and all the while you were taking quick notes Kokichi would cry out for you to return to your fantasy land with him.

· On occasion Kokichi would commission you to make spy gear for D.I.C.E. Toys with secret compartments that could shoot lasers and sleeping darts and act as walkie talkies, and explode moments after a recorded message was played with a tracking device and maybe even a gps to find some fast food place should they get hungry and maybe even- and the list of things a single item had to accomplish went on, and on, and on. They were large requests, but Kokichi would always insist that only you could accomplish this and no one else. You’d usually give in at some point and take on the request. You always had to adapt, Kokichi always adding or taking out what he wanted at any given time, but in the end he was always satisfied with the product. Coincidentally these requests always came whenever you were losing confidence and when you were struggling with a certain skill which would be a pin point in making the toy work such as wiring.

· Kokichi in his own way was just always looking out for you, making sure your work never felt like work, that you were always having just as much fun as others had playing with your toys.

Korekiyo Shinguji:

· Korekiyo always found great joy in examining your crafts and asking you about them, your inspirations you had, if any for making that particular item, why you used the particular materials you used and whatnot. Most everything was anthropology, and that included your toys. Korekiyo wished to learn how you interpreted this era. He knew without a doubt how your craft would be preserved for eons, future anthropologists studying them, and he wanted an idea of sorts how others might see your work, it was all to beautiful to not be displayed in a museum one day. Kiyo loved having discussions with you, about your distaste for the thought of your work being preserved. To you, your toys were made to be played with and enjoyed so the thought of them being sealed away was disappointing. The pair of you could endlessly discuss the possibility thinking of something new to add to the conversation from such differing points of view. Kiyo was in awe and fascinated by your perspective, he simply had to learn and understand it more!

· When you were becoming unmotivated for your work Kiyo would take you to a museum or even show you his personal collection of artifacts, show you long forgotten toys or others items, perhaps seeing what cultures of the past had crafted could inspire you in the present which it often did, more so Kiyo speaking so thoroughly about it all, a word or phrase in particular capturing your interest and you dashing off back to your work.

· On occasion Kiyo would even try to study how you work, your techniques and such, comparing to what he knew from the past. You even tried teaching him since to you watching something and partaking in an activity were completely different things. Again more discussions ensued from your hands on approach and Kiyo being the observing anthropologist. He so loved these discussions seeing how differing your points of view were, yet you still loved one another and could not want for anyone else.

· You were able to learn and experience so much than you could or would not have on your own without the other. In a way, you were perfect opposites, just similar enough in nature at your core, both wishing to understand one to bring joy the other knowing the past for the future.

Kiibo:

· Though Kiibo had told you on multiple times he had a childhood and grew up like any other human being you were still surprised to see how fond Kiibo was of your toys even getting nostalgic, recalling times when he had similar playthings as a child, Doctor Idamashi even taking time out of his busy schedule to play imaginary games with Kiibo. He was always so tender with the objects, you always put so much time and care into every last one, making sure each was up to your standards and excepting nothing less, working tirelessly till it was… like how Idabashi always worked so hard, all for Kiibo’s sake. Even if your work was not specifically for him, he still held all your efforts so dearly.

· Kiibo however had some… issues with your more electronic toys, like the robot dog, or the futuristic robot dog, or the little robot dog, or the robot dog on wheels, or the robot dog with a toy gun attached to it’s back, or the robot cat, or the futuristic robot dog on wheels… There was a big demand for robot dogs and you always delivered them, much to Kiibo’s chagrin, especially when you were testing them and playing with them and giving them all your attention. You’d try comforting Kiibo by saying he was the only robot for you, but that only ever made him more upset.

· On occasion you’d find Kiibo indulging his inner child, playing with one of your toys only for him to immediately clam up and get embarrassed, his face heating up and flushing a bright pink and his face covering clamping shut in an attempt to cover it upon realizing you had seen him. You’d join in on the fun, Kiibo eventually loosening up and playing again. Kiibo thought it silly, but Kiibo found this fun. It took him back to a time when he was just happy and wasn’t aware of the harsh robophobia the world festered. He could just enjoy himself and feel like a person, forget troubling thoughts, like you thinking he was a mere toy, he could be a child with you and just enjoy your company. Both of you just being human. In a way, it was like you were now apart of his childhood, there for the good times. Kiibo truly loved you, and maybe… just maybe moments like this would get you to see he truly was a person too, so you could love him in the same way.

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emy-loves-you · 4 years ago

Text

Snakey Days

This was written for the Sanders Sides Unpopular Ships Challenge, Day 3: DLAMP!

(yes, I know it’s late, but I’m posting it anyways)

Summary: When Janus gets exhausted, he turns into a tiny snake. Luckily he has 4 wonderful boyfriends to take care of him.

Pairing: DLAMP

Word Count: 1859

Thomas was a very busy man.

This was just a fact of life. He had a lot on his plate, between video production, supporting his friends and family, and so much more. Sometimes it wasn’t even the big things that overwhelmed him. The small things that he did, like sending Nico a “good morning <3” text every day or cleaning up the apartment, would sometimes pile up when he didn’t expect it and quickly overwhelm him. Those were the times when Janus was forced to step in and force Thomas to take a break, to spend some time taking care of himself, mentally and physically. And while those breaks were important, the fact that Thomas tended to wait until he was ready to implode before listening to Janus had a few negative consequences. One of them was that it took all of Janus’ energy, leaving him for a few days in a far simpler, but less functional, form.

Such as today, when one of his boyfriends had found him curled up under the blankets in his snake form.

Janus hadn’t even realized that he was in his serpent form until that moment, too exhausted to realize that the feeling of scales on cool sheets wasn’t just on his face anymore. Janus had practically melted at the feeling of warm fingers on his cold scales, before groaning as he realized what that meant. He would be stuck in this form for at least a day before he could change back, maybe even longer since Thomas was so stressed yesterday. Luckily they weren’t planning any videos soon, so Janus had nothing on his schedule that he couldn’t do in snake form. And if he did, his lovely boyfriends would gladly do the tasks for him.

Speaking of boyfriends, Janus lazily flicked his tongue out, trying to figure out who was currently rubbing the back of his head. He picked up the familiar scent of paper and ink and inwardly smiled, letting out a quiet hiss. Logan chuckled, “I had assumed this would happen. Would you like to eat today?” Since they were in Thomas’ head, they didn’t technically need to eat and sleep, but they still ate meals together and slept in their own rooms. Sometimes Janus would want to eat as a snake and they would summon him a nice juicy rat to have. But Janus didn’t want that awkwardly full feeling today, so he flicked his tongue out twice, his little code for ‘no.’

Logan nodded and loosened his tie before picking Janus up, guiding him up to his now exposed collarbone. Janus wasn’t a very big snake, barely big enough to wrap himself once around his boyfriend’s neck, but he sleepily managed to settle himself on the warm skin. He loved being able to feel his boyfriend’s body heat against his cold scales, and he let out a small hiss as a ‘thank you.’ Logan chuckled, the movement causing Janus to practically melt against his skin. “I hope you won’t get too upset at being moved around today. We’ve all got some personal projects to do today, so you’ll be moving around between the four of us.” Janus just hissed in response, already expecting it. One day he would convince his boyfriends to all take a self-care day together.

Janus stiffened slightly when Logan stood up and started moving, but he relaxed immediately afterward. Logan wouldn’t let him fall, Janus was sure of it. It had taken a long time to trust the Logical Side like that, just like it took a long time to trust the rest of his boyfriends. But Janus was glad that he did. Before he admitted his little problem about being stuck as a snake sometimes, he would spend these times stuck on his bed, freezing cold and unable to get up. Now he was always nice and warm, lazily draped over one of his boyfriends.

Logan stepped into the kitchen, where their other 3 boyfriends were already serving breakfast. Patton was the first one to notice the Logical Side standing in the doorway, and ran over to pull him into a hug. Janus let out a weak hiss before he got too close and Patton stopped, just then noticing the tiny snake hiding under Logan’s shirt. He smiled softly, his voice now dropping to a quiet murmur. “Oh baby… lazy day today?” Janus just flicked his tongue out in response. That was the main issue he had with this form; he couldn’t communicate or show any facial expressions. He could tell them that he was annoyed, or happy, or whatever else he could be feeling. He also was so tired in this form, so even if he could communicate, Janus wasn’t too sure that he would.

Patton giggled softly before reaching up to kiss Logan. He also gave Janus a little boop, making him hiss again. The Moral Side spun back to the kitchen, speaking in a much softer tone than he had before Logan showed up. “Janus is having a snakey day today, so we won’t need another plate.” Roman and Virgil both looked up at Logan, staring at Janus hanging off his neck. Roman gave a soft smile and Virgil nodded, but they didn’t speak as they finished setting the table. Janus tended to get really big headaches when in snake form, so they always made sure to speak softly as they went throughout their day.

Breakfast was quiet, with Janus hanging off of the Logical Side’s neck while everyone else ate. They were quietly planning their schedule for the day, while Janus started to doze off. He didn’t startle when Logan got up, hissing softly as the Logical Side went to the living room to watch a documentary.

Logan didn’t touch Janus much when he was in this form, worried that he would accidentally harm him. But Janus didn’t mind, happy to snuggle up against his boyfriend. He hissed indignantly when they started watching a snake documentary. The Logical Side chuckled, rubbing the back of Janus’ head in a placating manner. He hissed again, relaxing fully. This was one of the few times where he wished he was a different animal. Maybe he could be a cat, so he could purr and stretch himself out on their laps. Oh, to be a cat…

Janus didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until he woke up later, now resting on a heat rock. He poked his head up from where he was laying, watching as Roman and Patton built a currently unidentifiable Lego structure, the tie-wearing side nowhere in sight. Janus let out a weak hissed and felt a flash of irritation when neither of his boyfriends looked up. Maybe he should ask them to put a bell on his tail. Then at least he’d make some noise.

It took several hisses for Roman to look up, smiling brightly. “It looks like our Sassy Serpentine is awake!” Janus hissed in response, trying to convey his irritation at being ignored. The creative side chuckled, apparently picking up on Janus’ mood. “Logan had to go plan this week’s schedule, and we didn’t want you to be jostled around on us.”

Patton held his hand out and Janus slithered onto it, wrapping himself around the father figment’s wrist. Patton chuckled and used his other hand to gesture towards the Legos. “Hey Ro, why don’t you keep building this while Janus and I watch. I’m better for moral support anyways.” Janus hissed and nudged his boyfriend’s wrist with his head, upset that he was talking bad about himself. Patton didn’t seem to understand (or maybe he did but was ignoring the subject. They’ll need to talk about that later) and giggled. “What? That was a good pun!”

Roman rolled his eyes fondly and went back to building the Lego structure, which was soon revealed to be the same Disney Castle Lego set that Thomas had. He was telling little stories every few minutes, fueled by Patton’s giggles and Janus’ hisses. Patton would occasionally move the snake up to eye level and kiss the top of his head or rub his nose against his snout. Janus would respond by tickling the Moral Side’s face with his tongue or nudging him with his head.

Eventually, Roman and Patton had to leave, and Janus was escorted to Virgil’s room. Virgil was about to take a nap before dinner, and Janus was glad to join him. He loved sleepy cuddles in either form, but he couldn’t cuddle with most of the others in this form because they tended to roll around in their sleep. Virgil, however, didn’t, so Janus could cuddle with him whenever he wanted.

Janus didn’t like to pick favorites, but Virgil was definitely up there in terms of cuddling. He was warmer than either of the glasses-wearing sides, and barely cooler than the absolute inferno that was the Creative Side. And his hoodie was so soft, it was amazing to feel the fabric against his scales. He loved to nuzzle his snake-half against Virgil’s shoulder in his human form, and right now he easily fell asleep on Virgil’s chest, underneath his hoodie.

A few hours later, he woke up to people whispering. He stayed still and listened.

“C’mon my dark and stormy night, dinner’s ready.”

“I can’t.”

Roman huffed impatiently. “Why not? And where’s our scaly beloved?”

The fabric around him shifted, and Janus assumed that Virgil was pointing at him. “He’s sleeping on my chest. There’s no way to get up without waking him. I can’t leave.”

Roman chuckled. “Yeah, you’re screwed.” There was a smooching sound, and Janus assumed that Roman had kissed Virgil’s forehead. “I shall tell our beloveds of your unfortunate predicament. You are our noble sacrifice, and I will never forget you.”

Virgil started sputtering and Janus would’ve been chuckling if he could. Instead, he slithered up to the Anxious Side’s neck, nudging his chin. Virgil froze, looking guilty. “Sorry J, did we wake you?” Janus hissed, sticking his tongue out twice. No, he lied. Virgil relaxed, smiling softly.

Roman made grabby-hands and Virgil rolled his eyes, handing Janus over. Roman wrapped the snake side around his neck and Janus let out a long drawn out hiss, the closest thing he could get to a sigh in this form. Roman’s hot skin felt like bliss to the cold-blooded serpent, and Janus was almost asleep again by the time the Creative Side sat down to eat.

Dinner was a short affair and soon they were all sitting on the couch, watching Disney movies. Janus forced himself to stay awake for a few minutes, committing the image to memory as he always did. Eventually, his tiredness and the warmth of Roman’s skin won out and he slipped into a peaceful slumber.

A few hours later, Janus shifted back into his human form, still asleep. He was laying in Roman’s lap with his arms around his neck, murmuring softly. His four boyfriends smiled softly, each one giving him a kiss on the forehead before turning back to the movie. They all ended up falling asleep on the couch, cuddling together around their favorite snake.

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Taglist: @bisexualdisaster106 @self-taught-mess @arodynamic-enby @sanderssides-angst @whatishappeningrightnow @idont-freaking-know @cute-and-angsty-princess @artsy-enby09 @girl-who-reads @drarrymalecsolangelo @count-woe-laf

#tsus challenge #dlamp #janus sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders

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jaskiersvalley · 4 years ago

Note

Your writing is DEVASTATINGLY lovely, thank you for sharing it with us!

Catch me tearing up at this, Nonnie. You are far too lovely and kind. Have a little thank you ficlet which I hope you enjoy <3

If you haven’t played Witcher 3 or read the books, this will contain major spoilers about Ciri!

To say that Geralt wasn’t friendly could be taken as a bit of an understatement. Somehow Jaskier had either missed that memo or he straight up didn’t care, sticking around until he became part of Geralt’s everyday landscape. Then Ciri came along and Geralt stopped fighting destiny. They were in Kaedwen when another figure turned up at their camp, looking dishevelled and exhausted. Cahir had been running north, away from Nilfgaard and hoping to help protect Ciri. Not that Geralt was having any of it, he gruffly tried to warn off the interloper on their camp.

“It’s you!” Ciri exclaimed. “I see you in my dreams.”

Politely baffled, Cahir offered her a hesitant smile. “I only know you’re Emhyr's daughter and I firmly believe that under no circumstance should you fall into his hands."

Being everyone's friend, Jaskier struck up conversation with Cahir. However, Geralt couldn't help but feel like they were being fooled, given a sob story of someone who grew to resent the empire they led an army for. It was just too perfect, like something Jaskier would make up to sing a heart-warming song about to bring everyone together on a dreary night. Still, Geralt wasn't in the habit of being aggressive with humans if he could help it. But he could still make things unbearably awkward so they didn't stick around. That had always been the case (with Jaskier being the exception) so Geralt kept to his tried and tested method.

Nights were spent on the cold forest floor. While Geralt would meditate and keep guard, Jaskier curled up with Ciri under all the blankets they had in an attempt to keep warm. It was too risky to have a fire. Only, Cahir wasn't allowed to curl up with them, even as he passed over one of his own furs when he saw Ciri shivering. That night, Geralt watched as the rather strange human huddled against a tree, tucked under as many of his paltry belonging as possible to stay warm. Even more strangely, he slept as if he trusted Geralt to keep him safe for the night.

"How long will you travel with us?" Ciri asked innocently a few mornings later. She didn't seem to notice the way Cahir was flexing his hands to try and get some heat back into his fingers. Not that Geralt cared, he had seen the hand flop out from under a cloak as Cahir had turned in the night. It served him right, the fool that he was for thinking he could just travel with a Witcher and his family of choice and Destiny.

"I don't know," Cahir replied, the honesty raw in his voice.

Ciri didn't waste time, smiling at him as she declared, "You should come with us! Geralt said Kaer Morhen is big, so there will be room for you too."

Such simple, childish logic. Geralt wished Ciri hadn't opened her mouth though. Judging my the hesitant look Cahir was casting him, it was quite evident the invitation wasn't taken to heart. Until Jaskier joined in too.

"Yes, come with us! It will be nice to have another boring old human among the beefcakes of Kaer Morhen." He must have seen Cahir looking at Geralt because Jaskier scoffed out a laugh. "ignore his sour demeanour. He's just a grouch until he gets home."

The trek to Kaer Morhen was slow and several times Geralt wondered whether he could guide then in a way that meant he could keep Ciri on Roach, a hand on Jaskier and if, by some mishap, Cahir slipped, they could all say it was an accident. However, Geralt had a moral code that was better than that, as much as he cursed himself for it. But they made it to Kaer Morhen as a quartet. Introductions were made swiftly and Geralt showed everyone to rooms. Jaskier would share with him, Ciri would be near by. However, he led Cahir to a further part of the old keep and opened the door to room that was still functional but it was definitely not, by any definition, nice. To Geralt, the further Cahir was from him and his family, the better.

"This is your room."

He didn't expect the large eyed awe and gratitude.

"You sure? I thought you'd put me in a communal room."

There were no communal rooms but Geralt didn't want to say that. Instead, he shrugged. "This room is yours now."

It wasn't like it had much, a lumpy, straw filled mattress, a rickety chest of drawers and a fireplace. Not much more would fit in there really. Yet Cahir seemed almost overwhelmed by it.

Everything Geralt tried to do to make Cahir less eager to stick around seemed to backfire. The pass was still open and Geralt hoped Cahir would try to go back to his masters and perish along the way. One less threat to Ciri that way. However, Cahir eagerly took to kitchen duties, saying he wanted to earn his keep. He also willingly joined in with training, even sharing some of Nilfgaard's fighting styles and dirty tricks with the others.

All of Geralt's pushing had an interesting side effect. While Cahir tried to give him space while living up to expectations, he got closer to the other Witchers. Especially, Lambert and Eskel. However, like with most things not in his immediate interest, Geralt decided to stick his head in the sand about it. It didn't concern him so it wasn't his problem.

He was making his last rounds of the keep, something he didn't feel the need to do quite so often anymore. However, a soft, very human snuffle from the stall next to Roach had him suspicious. Silently peering into the stall, Geralt's eyebrows rose to see Cahir under his cloak, curled into some straw.

"Something wrong with your room?"

The words startled Cahir and he jerked, staring wide eyed at Geralt. There was straw stuck in his hair.

"Sorry. No. The room you gave me is very nice and really generous of you." That should have been an absolute lie but Cahir didn't seem to be anything but honest. So Geralt stayed quiet and allowed him to fill the awkwardly lengthening silence. "It was so quiet, I'm not used to it. The army is noisy, even when it sleeps. And I missed the stars. It's been years since I've spent more than a couple of nights indoors at a time."

Life on the road was something Geralt could understand. But it sounded like maybe Cahir had been without creature comforts for a lot longer than a Witcher. At least Geralt had a home to return to. With Nilfgaard's aggressive spread, he could easily imagine Cahir being at the forefront of that. That realisation didn't sit well with Geralt, it gnawed away at him for some reason. So he did the only thing he was capable of, he grunted and left.

However, the next day he mentioned the encounter to Eskel, hoping that he or Lambert would have a better solution. They did, but not the way Geralt had hoped. He was the one to much out the stables that week. Mostly confident that the others had sorted his little problem, Geralt didn't think much of the noise he was making. At least, not until he walked past what should have been an empty stall. Twin sets of amber eyes glared at him from within. More straw had been piled into the stall, a few more throws and furs brought in too and Cahir was nestled between two Witchers, sleeping more soundly than Geralt had seen him before.

That should have been the worst of it but, that night, Geralt found his partner missing from their shared bed. Assuming Jaskier was singing to Ciri, he crept closer, puzzled by the silence. Her room was empty too. There weren't many places they could have gone, so Geralt headed down to the kitchen, determinedly not panicking. A Witcher didn't panic, especially not in his own home. He only encountered Vesemir who looked over him once.

"Ah, you're here. Take this to the others." Geralt was handed a tray of six steaming mugs. Vesemir was holding a seventh. At the hesitation in Geralt's posture, he rolled his eyes. "Take that to the stables."

Something akin to dread curled in Geralt's chest as he approached the stables. He hadn't been good to Cahir, so he wasn't likely to be welcomed into the group. So he'd just put the tray down and make a hasty retreat.

"Drinks!" Jaskier declared with a cheer and the others in the stall all seemed to brighten too. It looked quite cosy in an odd way. Ciri was between Jaskier and Eskel but she wormed her way out to grab a drink, eyes closed as the steam wafted over her face.

"You have the best ideas, thanks," she declared.

One by one, Geralt handed out the drinks until one more was left on the tray. Everyone stared at him until Cahir took pity.

"We have room for one more if you'd like to join."

Hesitant, Geralt settled down and let out an "oof" as Jaskier snuggled in on one side and Ciri vigorously claimed his other. It was nice, a little odd but not as alienating as Geralt had feared. Though Cahir's words had been a little bit of a lie, as Geralt found out the following year. There wasn't room for just one more. Because, against all odds, they managed to somehow squeeze in a Cat Witcher that Lambert had dragged home too.

#geraskier #lambskel #lambert/eskel/cahir #mentioned lambert/eskel/cahir/aiden #geralt of rivia #jaskier #cahir mawr dyffryn aep ceallach #lambert #eskel #vesemir #tldr: geralt is an ass to cahir who is still grateful

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softly-savage-mint-yoongi · 4 years ago

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Heat Seekers I

Genre: Dark Cyberpunk AU Pairing: Chanyeol x f.reader Words: 5k Fic Warnings: Dead Dove: Do Not Eat. I’m serious people. If any of the chapter warnings are uncomfortable or triggering for you, please do not read this. Do so at your own discretion. Lots of angst and hurt, eventual smut. Chapter Warnings are below the cut. Author’s Note: There are some specific things in this fic that I’ve personally experienced, and some that I have not. Please understand my intention with this fic is a way of healing not just for myself but hopefully for others who unfortunately have experience with these types of situations. I did a lot of debating about whether or not I should even post this fic, and have spoken to a few individuals about it. Ultimately, with the intent of healing and moving past such trauma, it’s been decided OK to post. Please take my warnings seriously.

Chapter Warnings: Metaphoric descriptions of statutory rape. Assault, sexual assault. Gaslighting. Attempted murder. Brief mentions of substance abuse and prostitution. Minor character death.

You always believed there was no such thing as Heaven, but surely there was Hell. Several iterations of the grotesque and horrific afterlife; because humanity is a plague and that is what each of us deserved.

Perhaps in your younger days, you didn’t know it… no, even then you knew. Deep down inside you remember nothing of happiness or blessing. No memories of a person’s presence, actions, or words doing anything considerably good for anyone else. Certainly not without a motive. Certainly not out of empathy.

Before you could walk, throwing yourself into the repetitive ease of programmed machines and technology brought you peace. Technology is predictable and massively accessible to anyone. Technology is your comfort.

Electricity became nearly free and unlimited after the revolution that ended the War on Power in 2045. So long as the sun rose every day, there was never a shortage, and the resulting surge of technological advancements that boomed, as a result, have made most fairly new tech obsolete.

Sustainable, economic, and eco-friendly power became the way of the world. Wind energy became the norm. Buildings were now made from fiberglass solar panels, stronger, taller, and widely available, so every surface collected energy from the sun. Window glass collected heat to use in the winter, eliminating the need for natural gas heat altogether. More room for technology to grow. More surface area on the ground for parks and forests. Resorts built above an ocean’s surface harnessed the energy of the currents moving below their supports. Anything that wasn’t hovering in midair could collect energy from earthquakes and natural disasters alike, as long as humankind was lucky enough to have built something that could capture the energy and withstand the storm. The earth was well on its way to healing by the time you were born in 2051, and although humankind flourished along with it, the world was still a dangerous place. Corporations rose even higher and politics declined, dissolving into a place wrought with criminal activity and fear. Yes, humans were healthier, stronger, lived longer if they were lucky. But was that really such a good thing? Your parent would throw anything she didn’t find valuable at you whenever you locked her out of the apartment, and she was too weak to force her way inside. You were smart enough to know you would be no match in the likely event someone tried to break in, so you had to defend yourself. You wear wary of the men she brought inside, always idly wondering if any of them were your father, but so few of them ever returned.

You don’t remember ever knowing you even had a father before that, unknowing until she told you about sex and what makes a human child when you were four. Not that you’d asked and not that she would care to speak to you when she was anything other than suffocatingly drunk.

In a room that was barely such, the feeble plywood walls held together as if by magic and the curtain strung up as your door sagged so low it only served to be a nuisance to your agenda. Outdated machines and technology stacked high around the walls, most were scrap parts for your projects.

You dedicated every day to sitting in the same spot, surrounded by computers and machines, and learning what makes them function. The finite possibilities, yet the scope of their differences, is something that brought you peace and kept the gears in your own head turning. Sometimes, you would pretend and daydream as if you were an android yourself. You were not lucky enough to be born as one with artificial intelligence.

You attended virtual school whenever you felt like it, or at least you knew the basics. Your parent didn’t care. She nearly pretended like you didn’t exist, which suited you just fine. From the time you were five, she began leaving you alone at home. You knew how to pull the cracked plastic stool over to the counter and get yourself some goldfish crackers or something else simple. You weren’t allowed to use the stove even though you’d repaired it twice, but the microwave was fine.

You knew how to bathe and how to use the restroom and clean up after yourself because you had to. There was nobody else for a long time. Days came and went when you weren’t sure if she would ever come back, only for her to come banging on the squeaky front door or crashing through it slurring her words and waking you from a fitful sleep to wipe at your tear-stained cheeks in the middle of the night. The notion of your tears on her behalf was always something unpredictable and confusing to you. Why would you cry over such insignificance, you sometimes wondered to yourself.

If she stopped coming back one day you would figure it out. The nice man across the street from your apartment building ran a tiny tech store and he always had a smile for you and something that needed fixing. Most days he would ask you math problems as something he called a “lightning round” of questions for an extra quarter for every right answer. Surely the three dollars he gave you for what your fixed every time was enough to put what little food you needed in your stomach.

By the time you were eight, the habits you and your cohabitant fell into became routine. You became accustomed to sleeping during the day while she was out, setting your school live feed on record so you could watch it later. At night, while trying to drown out the sounds of her screaming or sex or shattering bottles, you would work. In the world you knew, the industry wasn’t as slow as it used to be. Too fast-paced for most new phone models to make it past their six-month mark before it was time to stop manufacturing and making capital, moving onto the next one. From what you understood, a new model of home security cameras could go on the market one day and be in the clearance pile before you got your next paycheck. Security tech became your playground after a few years, and you didn’t have enough money to buy anything. It never bothered you that you were always a step behind the latest tech because you had to wait a week until the latest model began showing up in dumpsters. It was never your intention to be faster than that. By the age of ten, you knew your priority was survival and in order to do that, you had to protect yourself with whatever means necessary. You had six different checkpoints in security on your living space not long after you became familiar with it. An additional four security cameras had been installed by your own two small hands around your building as well, at the entrance, elevator, your floor’s hall, and in front of your flimsy front door. All secretly controlled by you, without the knowledge of the outdated model of AI that ran your front desk, passively named Al- born of the building owner’s lack of creativity or care. Probably both.

You spent your days alone, in the tiny, insufferable hole in the wall place called your ‘home’. Where, as the years propelled to 2063 on your twelfth year, you chose to ignore most of the other inhabitants of this world. On a worn-out and broken faux leather armchair, perpetually stuck in the reclining position. Where you sat to work and where you slept and where you held your breath at the groaning sound omitted from its cushions every time you moved. You kept fixing it whenever it would break, dumping you from the side of it with a ‘plunk’ as the bars jumped off their tracks. You scowled every time they snapped the tracks completely. You worked to hone your skills in the world of technology, tinkering and learning every detail of every machine you could get your hands on from the dumpster behind your building. Sometimes if you were lucky, the building owner would forget to pay the trash removal services and it would pile up for weeks. Heaps of smelly trash were a small price to pay if it meant you could hit the jackpot and take several trips up and down the rickety old elevator with your arms full of tech.

Those were your happiest memories. Your body felt like jelly by the time you finished sorting through it all and bringing it up to your stash, carefully removing casings of microcomputers or game cartridges to get to the gold inside.

Everything was fine and although you couldn’t say you were content with your life- you didn’t hate it. You loved the freedom to be left alone and the peace of your tinkering tech. Perhaps a little impatient to grow up, but with every passing year, you celebrated quietly to yourself during the days you had been told your birth date fell. Somewhere between these seven days, you pulled up the same app on every smartphone you had in your possession and ran quickly around your makeshift room trying to blow out twenty digital candles in one big breath- careful not to trip over small piles of tech as you went.

It became a blur after you turned twelve. Somewhere along the timeline not long after that, a man started showing up to the apartment and threw off the balance you had so carefully maintained. You never knew his name, but you remember his face, his cologne, and his voice, and the way his eyes sparkled with something that sank in the pit of your stomach the first time you laid eyes on him. Most of all, even now, you remember him in your restless nightmares and the raw feeling of vindictive rage that in your weakest moments, reminds you that you’re alive, if only by the boiling heat of your blood rushing through your ears. In those moments, when your vision goes fuzzy with the desire to see him suffer and rot miserably in the deepest pits of hell, preferably bleeding and screaming.

You remember him from a time past, standing in the kitchen with your parent, one of her arms curled around his thick neck and the other raised in the air, his fingers closed around her slim wrist. The suit he wore looked expensive, and their bodies were slowly bending over the kitchen table in a strange dance, waiting for her back to snap and flatten against the wooden surface. Their eyes flashed to yours for less than a heartbeat as you walked to the refrigerator, laughing at something that lulled in the silence.

The next time you saw him he had fed your cohabitant something so toxic she passed out on the floor beside the couch. Then he spoke to you. In his deep baritone, he sounded like he smoked too many cigarettes too often. Or drank a bottle of razor blades.

“Pretty little thing ain’t ye?” he asked, dipping his head through the curtain that thinly veiled your world from outside eyes.

You ignored him, choosing to pretend as if the headphones situated on your head were actually producing audio. So he hit you.

Then he hit you again, screaming at you for ignoring him and calling you a bitch, whatever that meant. You heard it slung at your parent enough to know it was derogatory.

You didn’t even scream, you remember. Very clearly you sat shocked, but tears spilled down your cheeks from the pain alone. The heat you felt on your cheek, swelling and rough as if you’d fallen off a motorized bike and gotten road rash on your face.

Your fingers rose and you can recall them vividly, shaking as they reached to touch at your cheek and the hiss of pain as you recoiled from yourself.

Then, you try not to visualize it, but it won’t go away. You remember the feeling of his hand grabbing yours as it froze in midair, yanking you from the protection and warm affection of your old faux leather chair. It growled as he ripped you from its grasp in protest, pulling you so hard the force nearly dislocated your shoulder while he simply tossed you on the floor.

You remember the feeling of his fingers pulling at your clothes and then pain. Extreme pain, so brutal and fast it took your breath away. Your face throbbed as his palm fit perfectly across your whole skull, pushing your head onto the rough wood planks below.

You screamed, but you don’t remember if any sound came out, or if it was just that nobody cared that you did so. You screamed and cried, trying to crawl away as he grabbed at you. There was a ‘whoosh’ feeling as the air was ripped from your lungs when something burning sunk, forcing itself a home of darkness that never should have been between your soul and your corporeal form.

And then nothing.

You remember waking up to the sharp scent of blood, confirming it when you saw it on the floor around you, glistening and wet in the faint glow of computers. You remember the pain that shot between your legs as you tried to sit up properly, groaning as fresh tears worked down your cheeks. The cry that left you rippled pain across your face, too, and you remember crawling yourself over to your beloved chair and leaning against the comfort of its worn fabric as you reached for any of the smartphones you had.

For the first time ever, the brightness of a screen made you flinch back in the darkness. Persevering, you opened the camera and turned it to selfie mode, inspecting your face in the digital reflection. Your right cheek was fat and red, and two purple circles were clearly left in the wake of where his gaudy rings hit your skin. The stain on your skin crept up below your eye.

You made yourself calm down enough to quell the sobs wracking your chest to softer whimpers and tears to help the pain in your cheek stop.

It happened again some unknown weeks later. Your parent so stoned and drunk she passed out blissfully somewhere else and he came to you again. Your begging did you no good, and you were no match for his strength. Why hadn’t you run the moment you could stand on your legs again after the first assault? Why hadn’t you hauled every piece of your tech and saved dime from your bank account or gone to the nice old man across the street for help? Deep down, you knew. You were confident enough to know he would find you and smart enough to know he would kill you when he did.

The second time, you wished you had a gun or a knife. Not just cameras to catch him in the act. Or something that would make him stop and leave you alone. It was just as bad as the first, except this time you didn’t pass out. You did your best to stay still, compliance your only weapon in hoping he goes away that much sooner if you let it be over with. It still hurt just as bad, and he still left you in a puddle of white and red wetness on the floor. The scent of blood made you dizzy.

For the first time in your life, you begged. You begged the adult that raised you and fed you until you could do it yourself. For just once you desperately wished to talk to her and confirm. To make her do something to save you. You were terrified you wouldn’t be able to save yourself, and if this were the last thing she would ever do for you, if it were the last time you would ever see her, you would be grateful if she would just do something to save her daughter.

Hopelessness and an unending free-fall of terror are what you received. You were stronger than she was, and nearly her height by now, with a young healthy body not wrought with substance abuse. You forced her to sit still and keep her eyes open. To keep watching the video even though you couldn’t watch it yourself, barely able to weather the sounds coming from the captured footage.

When it was over, you hadn’t realized you were crying. Your vision blurred when you opened your eyes, with wet cheeks that felt the rush of air as you maneuvered in front of her and gingerly knelt on the floor to beg at her knees. You gathered her hands in her lap, struggling to hold them as you repeated your pleas.

She ignored them, literally shaking and gasping for breath and telling you it wasn’t real. Telling you it never happened. When you forced it upon her and threatened to go to the police with it she pulled your hair and screamed at you. Screamed that you were an idiot and that he would kill you both because didn’t you know who he was? Didn’t you know the power that man held over so many? No, you didn’t.

And it suddenly dawned on you, she was just as scared. She was scared and terrified and unable to grasp any semblance of control over what that man did anymore. She was a fool to think she ever did, and you were a fool to have a sliver of faith in her. So you left to clear your head, much to her cries not to. Born out of anxiety, fearful you would go to the police.

You walked farther than you thought you could as you attempted to regain the strength in your legs. Slowly, and by the time you returned the sun had fully set, but an orange glow caught your attention from the rooftop, one floor above yours. Wisps of smoke, too. Odd, nobody ever went up there.

A single stray cord and a plastic piece of backing laid on the floor between the elevator and your door, and your heart sunk back down all fourteen floors. You were out of breath and the pain between your legs was searing by the time you shoved your way through the metal door to the roof.

Sitting on the ledge was a gaunt, familiar face. She was smoking a cigarette, watching the flames and smoke from three rust-stained barrels. Inside of them was most of your tech. Your cameras, a few handfuls of smartphones, seven computers, gaming consoles, tablets.

You barely remember what happened after that, but you know it was a lot of screaming and a burn when you attempted to kick one of them and stomp out the flames. That day was the catalyst that made you take action, planning to escape from hell. If there was no chance to be saved by someone else, you would have to do it yourself.

Racing the clock on a high of anxiety, you only prayed that for three days he wouldn’t show up. You only needed three days.

On the afternoon of the second day, you hadn’t realized you were alone in the small apartment of your old and outdated building. You were too busy working like lightning to beat an imaginary deadline on your heels. You hadn’t noticed she had left until you came out shortly to use the restroom and find some crackers.

There he was at the kitchen table, the cheap metal legs of the chair bowing under his mass. You froze, watching him in shock and briefly you let your eyes wander around the living room to realize she wasn’t there. His voice was low as he told you she passed out in the elevator hours ago.

The chair made a horrible scuffing sound as he stood up, and you flinched. It didn’t matter once he took your wrist in his grip, and he made you suffer once more.

Something unhinged him this time, and even through the pain and nausea and the attempt to make yourself faint just to not have to live through it, you felt it. Felt the psychotic shift in his brain as he laughed at your pain.

It broke something inside of you. Escape. Do not let him do this to you. Definitely do not give up and let it happen. Retaliate. Fight. Get away. Run. Live.

You barely recall how you came to the conclusion, or how you stomached the grotesque way, when he leaned over your back, you turned your head. How you took the easiest thing to reach- his right ear lobe- between your teeth, and mangled him for all you were worth.

The gratification was immediate as he sprang from you, shoving you forward and holding his head. You remember no pain in that moment, and smiling with adrenaline, breathless but with lungs full of oxygen at the same time. You bolted before he could come back to his senses, grabbing your bag from your chair, thankfully nearly complete, and ran out, fixing your clothing along the way.

He tried to get up fast enough to stop you, lunging for you with one hand as you made it into the hallway, but whatever adrenaline you were on was potent, and your senses were razor sharp. You ducked his hand, hearing him barrel into the wall with his momentum as you made for the elevator.

You watched in slow motion the hopeless rage morph onto his stubbled face, knowing he wouldn’t catch you in time. Letting go of his ear, you saw it maimed, the bottom half missing, an obvious mouth-shaped crest bleeding heavily onto the floor as he reached instead to procure a gun from his jacket.

Although your heart leaped at the sight of it as the metal door creaked open behind you, his hands were messy, and the gun slipped from his bloody grip.

Turning to get on, you hesitated for just a second when you saw her there, passed out in the corner of the elevator. You shoved the button for the lobby as hard as you could, planning to rip the wires from the panel behind Al’s desk the moment it reached the bottom. It would give you enough time to get away as he descended the stairs.

You remember watching her sleep, but an eerie sense of foreboding grew in the intimate space the lower the elevator went, despite the beauty of golden hour cityscape from the window that served as the back wall of the capsule.

It took a few moments for you to realize the sun looked odd against her skin. Her hair didn’t catch the rays, nor did her lips hold the same color or fullness of your own, a feature you had in common. She looked sick.

An unfamiliar emotion welled in you. Some concoction of fear, sadness, and a heavy sense of solitude congealed in your chest and your throat as you crouched beside her quietly, afraid to make a sound.

Hesitantly, you touched her shoulder, immediately recoiling at the unnatural stone of her form, refusing to be pliant under the gentle press of your fingers. Swallowing the bile that rose in your throat, you grasped her shoulders, shaking her. Her body slid further down the wall when you let go. It remained there on the floor in an unnatural and rigid stillness, heavy.

You tripped as you receded backward, falling against the smooth metal of the door. Terror overcame you and a bewildering sense of lonely unknown stood towering before you in your mind’s eye. Not that you expected to ever see her again. Not that you expected to care, you hated her. But you hadn’t wanted her to die.

“Mom,” you remember choking up her title in reverence, the one and only time in your life you’d ever said the word.

You groaned with pain, suddenly powerless without the adrenaline that was just coursing through your veins. Everything hurt. Your vision, your head, your body, your heart. You were going to throw up. But you’d be damned if you did it before you escaped. You were so close. Just a little further.

Your mouth watered with the impending expulsion of your gut, but you managed to fall backward out of the elevator and stumble to your feet, feeling heavy as you trudged past Al’s inquiry of your health to the panel, ripping every wire out with your fist.

Just once you threw up beside the revolving door of your building before entering. You staggered through it after, feeling a rush of fresh air that told your very soul it was over.

You did it. Now you just had to make sure you survived, but you were good at that.

_________________

April, 2072

You pursed your lips, scowling at the bitter, sour flavor of the lollipop settled on your tongue. Leaning to the right, you lifted your hand from the grip of your bars, reaching through the thickness of your helmet through the open visor and whipping the candy from your mouth with a grimace.

You slowed, unable to afford a littering fine if you just threw it to the wind behind you, even though you wanted to rebel in that way. Too many high-tech cameras on the city streets to get away with anything unless you had the money to pay off the cops.

Which, unfortunately, you didn’t.

Twisting forward to squeeze the brake, you let your bike lull into a quiet purr as you pull off onto a quiet road, looking for the correct receptacle. You let it crawl forward, along the curb, and over a storm drain so you can lean over and drop the candy into the trash. For a moment, you lick your lips, pulling your backpack around to rummage through the bag of lollies inside for a better flavor.

While you search for a strawberry- your favorite- you weigh the pros and cons of just buying a bag of strawberry flavor instead of the assortment. Price, for starters, you scoff to yourself, remembering to pluck the sour apple wrapper from your pocket to toss into the trash. Exclusive flavor bags are more expensive, but you don’t waste as much by throwing out every god damned green apple you pluck from the bag.

Frowning when you come up empty-handed, you take the second-best choice, unwrapping the dark red of a cherry lolly when a presence catches your attention. A man, tall and thin, clothed in dark colors standing still against the bustle of the city. There’s a black baseball cap on his head, pressed down over dark red curls that peek out at the edges.

He’s wearing square, dark-tinted sunglasses that block out his eyes, with ears that bow out from his skull, and you briefly register that he’s built the same all around, in large proportions, from his hands to his face to his towering height.

Even in the late afternoon, his visage glows with artificial color as he basks in the light of a large television displayed in the storefront window. Although his attire tells you he’s trying to conceal his identity, he doesn’t seem to stick out, going ultimately unnoticed by the people passing by him.

His face is turned towards the television as a news channel covers a fire at a large corporate building from last night. It shows impressive plumes of flame and thick smoke, even darker than the night sky, glowing faintly with billions of lights.

The man watching the television bounces a short stick between his teeth, but you can’t tell what it is from this distance. You notice his face moves, the apples of his cheeks rising high as he smiles wide, easily a head above the crowd.

The sound of sirens from the recording of the fire dins away to the sound of an audio clip taken from a phone call. A man’s voice, clearly distorted with an autotune. Raspy, dark laughter, and a bitter promise to chase someone to hell.

A small part of you is smug, rooting for the villain even, and his vicious words to whomever the message are, or was, intended.

The sun is starting to set, and you hate having to watch the skyline glitter with the golden light as you drive on. It’s an unwanted and unnecessary memory, unforgiving in the distance of your timeline.

Luckily, you enter the undercity just as the light grows intense, escaping into the sleepless neon of your world. Into the black market and the tech industry, rife with people who thrive on a never-ending night, as if their veins are made of glass and filled with inert gases to make them glow just as brightly as the buildings here.

You’ve got a lead from a friend of sorts. Someone who you’ve got a history with from your days at the bordello, and who kept you alive once upon a time when you first came to the undercity, terrified but determined to forget yourself and be born as someone stronger, smarter, better.

He’s never given you bad intel before, so long as you could get to it before a clan or a faster loaner. Luckily, you have a natural gift for hacking and the latest model of ‘unhackable’ Hyperbikes are no exception to your deft fingers.

You pull up outside Blue House, scanning the digital bulletin for the job he mentioned. You press your finger to it, holding your breath for the marquee to inform you whether it’s still up for grabs, or if it is unfortunately for you- in progress.

A smile cracks your lips when the green light pops up, and you whip your glove off when the prompter asks to scan your left thumb. A second passes as the soft blue light moves across your finger, chirping in confirmation when it’s done.

You don’t even care what the job is- but Chan promised it would be something you could do. All you remember is hearing a payment sum that could put good food in your stomach for a month straight. The only question you had was why a tech hacking job was showing up on a brothel’s bulletin board.

Ultimately, what was one more undercover prostitution job? You were familiar with the work that came through the bordello, and its basic services. In the last two years, you’ve moved away from it little by little, having made some waves with your work as a hacker in the undercity. Your moniker started to be whispered across the shadows as the underdog, a genius ‘for the people’ hacker that put bad men where they belonged. Only Chan knew you by two names. The rest of the world only knew one.

The name Maneater.

#heat seekers #chanyeol x reader #chanyeol fanfiction #dead dove do not eat #exo fanfiction #chanyeol angst #exo angst #chanyeol fic #exo fic

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firelxdykatara · 4 years ago

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Reader anon here with a thought!

Do you like love triangles? I personally don't, there is something about them that is incredibly frustrating lol. Same thing for harems, though there are some that do it tastefully 😌 so I can't be too upset by them.

It honestly depends on the love triangle and the way the author writes all three relationships (and, for any genuine love triangle, there should be three relationships--they don't all need to be romantic, but there needs to be an existing and strong relationship between all three points on the triangle, otherwise I'm almost certain not to be at all invested), how they are presented, and what the narrative purpose of the love triangle is.

Ironically, one of the best examples of a love triangle done well (at least... to a certain point in the story, which I'll explain in a bit) happened in a television show that is fairly notorious for turning to utter shit in the latter four seasons and alienating pretty much the entire fanbase, to the point where most of us dipped well before the end and everyone celebrated news of the show's cancellation.

I'm talking about The Vampire Diaries.

(under a cut because i went on a LOOOONG ramble about tvd and why that love triangle worked initially and then why it failed, and then i talked a bit about another love triangle that was pretty weak and failed almost from the outset in OUAT but was ultimately axed in favor of the stronger relationship and character being given focus, and what all of this means for how i feel about love triangles in general)

While this is still very much a case where I only shipped one side of the triangle, hated the other, and couldn't wait for it to be resolved so that I wouldn't have to deal with the side I disliked any longer (the writing was on the wall as far back as season 1, no matter how in denial a certain portion of the fandom remained right up until the series finale) the development of the triangle itself and how it affected all three characters and their relationships with one another was done very well for most of the first four seasons. Damon and Stefan were brothers, with a bloody and complicated history and relationship, and they both fell in love with this human girl--Stefan almost instantly, because she looked just like Katherine and he found himself... (and here I'm going to be as fair as I possibly can to him, but if you want my full anti stelena rant I have many of them prepped and ready to go) following her, at first to make sure she wasn't Katherine, and then inserting himself into her life to protect her. Damon, on the other hand, took much longer, because he was still in love with (and trying to rescue) Katherine, and so when he did fall in love with Elena, it was because of who she was, not because of some idealized 'Not Katherine' pedestal he placed her on the instant he met her.

(I swear, I swear I'm trying to be fair to Stefan, it's just very hard.)

The thing is, Elena was in love with Stefan almost from the jump. (And one of the reasons I never really shipped stelena is because that kind of insta-love with very little conflict that isn't manufactured by the plot just isn't compelling for me, and I fully jumped ship about halfway through s1 when Damon and Elena took a road trip together. It's a long story, but that remains one of my favorite episodes in the entire show and it marks the beginning of their actual journey together.) Stefan showed up at a time when she desperately needed someone, and to his credit he did help her through her early depressive spiral--in large part because Elena's recent trauma (survivor's guilt due to her parents dying in a car crash from which she was the only survivor) meant that finding out Stefan was immortal and could not die and would not leave her resulted in her getting fiercely attached.

He was safe, he was stable, she could rely on him. But she could not grow with him, because for him, she was essentially a morality pet/the anchor to his humanity, and that meant that he could not accept when she began to grow out of her need for him. The fact that this coincided with her becoming a vampire only made things worse--because she settled into being a vampire much more easily with far less strife than he'd ever managed, and an Elena who enjoyed being a vampire in ways Stefan simply couldn't could no longer function as the idealized reminder of humanity he was desperate to cling to.

Damon, on the other hand, was the one who fell in love with Elena--not Not Katherine. He never put her on a pedestal, he never asked more of her than she could give him--when he realized how deep his feelings for her ran, he made her forget his confession because he knew he did not deserve her and he didn't want her burdened with his feelings when she was still in love with his brother and was always going to be. Elena's growing feelings for Damon coincided with her growth from a depressed and suicidal teenage girl into a young woman who began to realize that it was ok to want things for herself--to be a little selfish, to take what she wanted, to admit what she wanted. And, again, the fact that this coincided with her transformation into a vampire (although her growth within her relationship with Damon began well before that), meant that Damon's reaction to Elena-as-a-vampire was thrown into sharp relief against Stefan's--because he accepted her where his brother couldn't.

Ultimately, this led to Elena fully outgrowing her feelings for Stefan, and accepting, nurturing, and reveling in her feelings for Damon. The triangle was resolved, all three characters had growth separately and in their different relationships, and they could then move on from there along their different paths. Stefan could have had some truly excellent character growth involving moving on and finally living for himself rather than trying so hard to be this perfect brooding tortured vampire because he was the Good Brother, since there was no longer any need for that Good Brother/Bad Brother dichotomy. They'd both grown past it, as characters individually and as brothers together.

Unfortunately, where TVD ultimately failed (and this coincided with the way the show utterly lost the plot in terms of storylines, character arcs and cohesiveness and became an unsalvageable mess) is in refusing to let the love triangle die.

What should have happened is that once the love triangle was resolved--Elena growing as a character and moving on from her immature first love and fully embracing her feelings, as an adult, for her much more adult relationship with Damon--they abandoned the love triangle premise and let all three characters continue to grow outside of it. Damon and Elena should have been allowed to grow together and explore their relationship, Stefan to figure out where he still fit in their lives--as Damon’s brother, and one of Elena’s closest friends who she still loved dearly even though she was no longer in love with him--and then explore relationships of his own outside their family unit as he finally began to fully move on and grow out of his own overly idealized feelings for Elena.

Instead, what wound up happening is that the stelena side of the love triangle kept being teased--probably to keep the avid stelena shipping contingent invested in the story, hoping for ‘another brother swap’ as was lampshaded in one of Nina’s final episodes before she left the show (and, indeed, many of them remained utterly convinced that stelena would be endgame, right up until the series finale)--and rather than growing together, delena fans were constantly hit over the head with how ‘toxic’ Damon and Elena were for each other (even though this ran contrary to everything we’d seen in the show to that point, including having Damon regress repeatedly for, presumably, no reason other than to never let fans forget he was the Bad Brother and always would be, and Elena just couldn’t help but love him anyway), and all three characters and their relationships wound up suffering horribly for it.

That is an example of a love triangle that had a very promising foundation and development, right up through what should have been a resolution, and the reason it is generally looked on so unfavorably in fandom circles is because the show refused to move on from the triangle organically when the story needed it to, because it had already served its purpose.

For an example of a love triangle that, in my mind, simply didn’t work from the very beginning, I’d say my go-to example is from Once Upon a Time--the short-lived love triangle between Emma, Killian, and Neal. I think the first stumbling block there was that there weren’t really three relationships that mattered. Technically, Killian did have a connection to Neal--because they’d met in Neverland, prior to Neal remaining in the Land Without magic--but it functioned more as a backdrop to explain why Killian knew him when they got to Neverland again in the story, and why Neal didn’t trust him. It wasn’t actually developed as anything outside of that brief flashback, and they didn’t have any connection in the present outside of one episode where they essentially fought over Emma and she (rightly) got angry at them for it. There was no real exploration of who they were to each other outside of the fact that both of them had feelings for Emma, so it really was just one woman torn between her feelings for two different men, and with no real stakes attached to her choice.

The other problem with this particular triangle is that one side of it was... conspicuously weak. While Emma’d had a full season and a half worth of interactions and development with Killian--where they went from enemies, to grudging allies, to Killian openly acknowledging that he hadn’t ever believed he would be able to love again until he met Emma--she had... very little to support her potential relationship with Neal outside of their history. History which consisted of then-young-adult Neal knocking up underage Emma (she was 17 at the oldest because she was still in Juvie when Henry was born, and he was already ten years old the day she turned 28; so she was either 16 or very newly 17 when she got pregnant) and ensuring that she got sent to prison for his own crime, at which point he didn’t see her again until she was nearly 30. When he did see her again, he treated her incredibly poorly, up to and including getting angry at her about the fact that she didn’t tell him that Henry was his son--even though he had no right to that information, because Emma was in prison because of him at the time she found out, and she had no clue that he was in any way connected to the Fairy Tale world until she was helping Mr. Gold track down his son and it turned out to be Neal.

A big point is made, throughout the early seasons especially, about Emma’s walls and how much difficulty she has trusting people--and a great deal of that stemmed from Neal’s betrayal. This could have been the foundation for a story of healing and growth and two people coming back together--however, with the way Neal treats Emma in the present and how little closure she actually gets for what he did to her in the past, it comes across more as ‘well, she never did get over her feelings for him, so maybe he still has a shot even though she has no real reason to want to be with him now’.

Killian, on the other hand, never doubted Emma’s abilities and always had the utmost trust in and respect for her (after they became allies), and it was obvious that this is something Emma experienced very little of in her life. It’s notable that the first episode where they really interacted is the one in which Emma’s history with Neal is revealed, and it very deliberately paralleled and contrasted with her interactions with Killian. This already presented him with a leg up on the love triangle once Neal did show up, because Neal was the reason for a lot of the walls Emma had built around her heart, and it wasn’t until meeting Killian that she finally began to let some of them down.

I think that the show recognized this, and it pulled something that is actually a very frustrating pet peeve of mine--rather than write out the story that makes sense and have the main point of the love triangle make a choice and stick to it, the third point of the triad was simply written out. In this case, Neal essentially killed himself via his own stupidity, allowing Emma to angst about losing him without actually having to tell him she wasn’t in love with him and wasn’t going to choose him. (Veronica Mars pulled something very similar with the Logan/Veronica/Duncian triangle in season 2--rather than admit within the narrative that her relationship with Duncan was built on flimsy feelings of infatuation bc of their history, and a ‘stability’ that didn’t really work for who Veronica was at her core, he simply got written out of the story, running away for Plot Reasons and never forcing Veronica to confront the fact that she wasn’t actually in love with him and hadn’t been for quite some time.)

I think that in OUaT, the love triangle could have worked if a relationship between Killian and Neal was not only established in the past but developed in the present--Killian was in love with Neal’s mother centuries earlier, and something I’m actually really upset we never got is the two of them talking about Milah and maybe Neal getting some closure for his mother’s abandonment and someone apologizing to him for what they put Baelfire through as a child--giving stakes to Emma’s choice beyond ‘one of them will be all uwu sad that he wasn’t picked’. It also would have worked much better if we were given any reason for Emma to still have feelings for Neal in the present beyond the history they shared, which caused Emma nothing but pain for the last decade and change. If Neal had treated her more fairly--if he’d treated her like someone he actually cared about and even still loved, rather than blaming her for things that were his own fault and undermining her belief in her own abilities, among other things--then their relationship might have been strong enough to stand on its own opposite Emma’s relationship with Killian. I don’t think it ever would’ve been a relationship that appealed to me, personally, but then I could have at least enjoyed watching the three of them grow together and seeing all of their relationships grow and change.

So, ultimately, TL;DR: I do like love triangles, conceptually, but there are a few requirements they must meet for me to feel anything other than irritated at the inclusion. One: there must be at least three equally important relationships between the three characters. If it’s just one character torn between her (or his, but it’s usually a woman) feelings for two unrelated people, that can be compelling for a short time but ultimately I’m going to be left feeling frustrated by her refusal to just make a damn choice and put me out of my misery. Two: there should be some sort of development in each relationship which makes the presence of the triangle narratively significant. Why is it important for one character to have conflicting romantic feelings for these two other people at the same time? What purpose does it serve either their character arcs or the story as a whole? While I am both a Bangel and a Spuffy shipper, I’ve never considered Angel/Buffy/Spike to be a love triangle--they are very different relationships that she had at very different points in her life, and while her feelings for Angel never really went away (and do cause some angst for Spike near the end of btvs) they are never really competing for her affections in any meaningful sense. If that competition does exist, there needs to be a compelling reason why. And, as a further addendum to this point, I need to at least understand why the main point of the triangle is invested in each relationship, even if I don’t ship it and actively dislike or even outright hate one side of the triangle. (I loathe stelena, but I’ve always understood why Elena was in love with him in the beginning of the show, for example. And before s5/s6, I was really pleased with how the show handled her feelings for him and finally allowed her to grow and move on from them.)

And finally, three: the triangle needs to be resolved at some point--and, when it is, it needs to stay that way. Where TVD ultimately lost me (aside from the ridiculous plot contrivances and rampant character assassination) was the refusal to let the love triangle die a natural death when it is what the story called for, and all three of their characters, their relationships, and the show as a whole suffered massively for it. So, when the primary point of the triangle makes a choice--particularly if she had made one choice in the beginning of the story, but it was clear that she was ultimately moving towards choosing the other side as she grew and her feelings and relationships grew and changed with her--let that be the end of it. Move on to exploring what that choice means for the main pair and the party not chosen, sure--maybe explore their feelings about not being chosen and how that affects their relationships with both of the others afterwards--but don’t constantly tease the possibility of the ‘losing side’ getting back together just to keep shippers invested. It’s only going to hurt your show and make everyone look callous and stupid.

Alternately, a final possibility: make it an ot3 instead. But again, if the other three conditions aren’t met (particularly number two, and its addendum; if I don’t understand why the main point of the triangle is in love with both other points, an ot3 is unlikely to resolve that issue and I’m only going to wind up resenting it), then this won’t work, because it’s just going to wind up a lopsided and stilted mess of a relationship that leaves me wishing the offending point of the triangle had been killed off just so I wouldn’t have to keep hearing about them.

#tvd #delena #anti stelena #ouat #captain swan #anti swanfire #reader anon #oh man i rambled for days lmao im sorry #i hope this answered your question #on love triangles

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