#so he put me in a tree and started trying to lead it away lmao

[riseandfallofsecunit]

oc questions!!! 1 and 50 :)

1. Your first OC ever?

Ooooo I’m not 100% certain, but I think it was a pair of twins whose names I can’t remember. I wrote and illustrated a short story about them when I was in first (second? third?) grade. I remember that they got lost in the woods, ran away from a skunk, and rolled down a hill in a hollow tree log. I think it was probably inspired by my second grade woods explorations if I wrote it around that time.

Then I probably made a ton of warrior cat characters lol……. But I don’t have any of my old notebooks around and I don’t remember their names. I mostly just liked writing all the names down and designing them and then not doing anything with them.

Then later on I had a bunch of lacrosse/basketball guys, but none of them were really fleshed out characters. There was definitely some gay stuff happening with them but I didn’t write anything down so idk what it was!! Some of my earliest digital art + the one animation I made is of them:

50. Give me the good ol’ OC talk here. Talk about anything you want

Say less….

SO basically, the only OCs I really actively have rn are from my HumanComp story. The main character is V-12 (pronounced Vetelki in the Anadmor language (the Anadmor are a militaristic imperial civilization that create Biocomposites like V-12, which are AIs installed in human bodies)). After 27ish years of ~tragic backstory~ Vetelki is disconnected from the Anadmor network via signal disruption, then some changes to their hardwiring (post being blown up, long story), by the people indigenous to the planet the Anadmor is currently trying to “settle” (colonize). They need Vetelki to be able to access the Anadmor network and collect evidence for their petition before the High Court (name pending) since the Anadmor were wrongfully given legal possession of the planet in a post-war treaty that the people on the planet literally had nothing to do with. At the point I’m at writing their story, Vetelki is dealing with being a person for the first time (sound familiar? lol….) and experiencing all the fun human emotions and sensations for the first time, since those were being suppressed by their original programming.

Anywayyyy here’s Vetelki and their two self-appointed (well I guess technically it is actually Imeni’s job to handle them but w/e) human besties:

Tysm for asking!!!! I love rambling in case you couldn’t tell

[disasterofastory]

‌👀Oh is your request box is open? If I may, could you maybe do a piece where Thranduil is trying to court reader but she's too focused on her food? Lmao. And maybe we can pretend that a corsage type flower was a courting gift in Silvan elves culture, so Thranduil try to do it for reader since she has many Silvan elves friend, hoping reader notice his intention. Btw thank you

Dinner Thranduil x Reader Warnings: none

A/N: Thank you for your patience! I hope you will enjoy it. :)

You've never been in his room before. You never had the reason for it until now. And you don't understand why you are feeling so nervous about it. You shouldn't. It's just a room, and Thranduil is your friend. There is nothing you have to worry about.

It will be fine.

"It will be fine," you breathe out, forcing a shaky smile on your face as you knock on the tall wooden door. You are not even sure what you should do. Should you knock again? Or just enter? Does he hear you? Maybe you should really knock again just to be sure. "Y/N," the elf greets you with a slight bow of his head. His impossible blonde hair falls over his shoulder. "Hey," you reply. Without your notice, your smile becomes genuine. The nerves relax in your body. "I hope I'm not too soon." "You are just in time," he says. "Come in."

His room is much bigger than yours with a similar style. The bed is huge, with soft blankets and pillows. One of the nightstands is full of books and papers. A mirror stands next to the door with a beautifully crafted wooden frame. "I thought we could have dinner on the balcony," Thranduil says after a few moments, giving you enough time to look around to your heart's content. While you are busy getting familiar with his space, he watches you the whole time. Your hand touches one of his books on his desk. Your finger smooths over the title. Your hair is tied in braids, and the silver embroidery on your dress glints in the light as you move. The long skirt highlights your height, and the leather belt adores your waist perfectly. "We will eat outside?" You ask, turning your attention to the balcony. "Oh, Thranduil," you gasp. "It's beautiful." "It is," he hums in agreement. You don't notice his gaze on you. "Shall we?" He asks, putting his large hand on the small of your back to lead you to your seat.

The balcony is just wide enough to give enough space for a small table and two chairs. Lush, green leaves run all over the wooden railing and the tall, slim columns, framing the view of the woods that are covered in an orange hue by the slowly disappearing sun behind the trees. "Thranduil, this is truly beautiful," you break the silence. Your eyes still scan the view with awe as you sit down. "I don't even know why you don't spend your every time here," you add jokingly. "I can't rule from a balcony," he smiles, sitting down in front of you. "It would be worth a try."

"And you asked for my favorite," you gasp again, looking down at your plate. "What is the occasion?" "It's… I-" "And it's delicious!" You groan between two bites. Thranduil opens his lips to say something but decides against it and smiles. "I'm glad you like it."

"And where is Legolas?" You ask him after a while, looking back into his room. "He won't be mad because we eat without him, right?" Thranduil's usually hard expression softens at your worry. "No," he says. "I told him it will be just the two of us because-" "Where is he? He came back from the woods already, right? It's getting darker." The elven king's teeth clench for a second. His chest swells with the words he can't say out loud. With a deep breath, he nods to chase away your worries. "He is in his room."

"So," the elf starts again after a while. "I asked you to spend dinner with me because-" "It's not your wine, is it?" You suddenly ask him. "It too… spicy." "I asked for the dwarves," he replies. His voice is tense. He really doesn't want to talk about the dwarves right now. "I know how much you like it." "It's really sweet of you, Thranduil," you smile at him. "I-" "Can we not talk about them?" He snaps, making you freeze with your glass in midair. Your eyes widen at the sudden change in his mood. "Sure," you murmur. "I'm sorry, I-" It seems like it's his turn not to let you finish your sentences. A heavy sigh leaves his lips as he closes his eyes for a second. Even though you are familiar with his moods, he doesn't want to ruin the night because of his impatience. You deserve better than him shouting his confession. "Thranduil," you say softly, reaching out for his hand. "Are you alright? Did I do something?" And now, he feels bad. He squeezes your hand in his, lifting it to his lips to kiss your soft skin. "You did nothing wrong, Y/N," he says. His voice is calm and collected. "I apologize for my behavior." "Don't worry about it," you smile at him to make the frown between his thick brows disappear. "I am the one who should apologize. I know I was rude. I just… Everything is so beautiful and… I feel nervous," you confess, biting your bottom lip. "I don't know why."

Silence falls on you for long minutes. None of you say anything as you wait for everything to calm down. Looking back, you feel a bit embarrassed because of your behavior. No matter how much you thought you were calm and relaxed, the small knot in your stomach didn't let you enjoy your night with Thranduil completely. You made a fool out of yourself.

"I just wanted to make this night special for you," Thranduil begins, and this time, you press your lips into a thin line to stop yourself from saying anything. "I'm sorry if I ruined it." You squeeze his hand to argue. He ruined nothing. "I have to tell you something." You nod. He laughs. "What? Now you won't speak?" You grin but say nothing. You just watch the curve of his lips and the brightness of his eyes. Happiness looks really good on him. After another deep breath, he confesses. "I want to ask your permission to court you." Your mouth falls open with shock. "What?" You gasp. That one world is barely louder than a whisper. The knot in your stomach starts to burn with full force. "I really like you, Y/N," he explains. "And if you give me permission, I will…" "Yes!" You snap, then jump on your seat. "I mean… And now I'm rude again. I'm sorry! Please, continue!" Amusement shows on his handsome face instead of frustration. "I will show you how much you mean to me if you let me." "Can I speak now?" You whisper. "Yes," he laughs. "Please, Y/N, talk. I start to miss your voice." "I like you too," you tell him. The words leave your lips with a slight tremble. Nervousness and excitement bubble in your chest. "And I would really like to see where it goes." "Good," he smiles. "You want to go for a walk in the garden? It's not too late for that." "Could we stay here?" You ask him. "I really like the view from here." "Of course, Y/N, whatever you want."

Thranduil only hopes this view becomes a part of your daily life when you move in with him.

[ohbo-ohno]

tagged by @ceilidho in wip wednesday, and while i do tend to lose any focus when i post about something, i do still love attention. so here we are <3

i'll tag literally anyone who sees this and wants an excuse to try it for themselves :)

ceil shared a ghoap thing so i will too - this is 1.2k from a pwp wip that honestly might be a little too dark/weirdly kinky for me to comfortably post on tumblr lmao, it's way more geared for twitter ghoapers. it's got the same caliber of plot as the absolute worst pornos you've ever seen.

(also i can't remember if i posted part of this before, someone tell me if i have and i'll post a different wip lmao)

The knock comes late at night, frantic and loud in the otherwise silent forest. 

If Simon were asleep, it would've woken him. As it is he's just disturbed from his late night cup of tea. It's an annoyance certainly, but not one he's uncomfortable ignoring. The whole reason he moved to the little cabin in the woods was to get away from people, he's not above pretending not to hear a knock at the door.

But his guest is persistent. They go on knocking for at least ten minutes, an incessant pounding at his door.

Ghost's lip curls in a snarl as a headache starts at the base of his skull. Decades in the military have left him easily irritable and with aches and pains all across his body, quick to flare up at the slightest aggravation - and the knocking is quickly becoming far more than a slight aggravation.

He finally gives in a full ten minutes later, throwing his mug into the sink without checking to make sure it didn't break and storming to the front door. 

He throws it open with a scowl, growling "What?!" down at the idiot on his front doorstep.

Said idiot happens to be an attractive young man, tall in his own right but just barely eye-level with Ghost's throat. He's heaving where he stands, sweat soaking through his white shirt and leaving it nearly translucent.

"Oh thank God," he gasps, one hand coming up to grasp at his heart. "Please, sir, I need help. Someone's- someone's chasing me!"

Ghost cocks an eyebrow, glancing over the boy's shoulder. It's possible that someone could be hiding behind a tree out in the forest, but he doubts it. Something tells him if this kid was really worried about someone chasing him, he wouldn’t stand still making all that racket on Simon's porch.

“Why should I care?” He gruffs, setting his feet wide and glaring down at the boy.

“Thank- what?” He makes an aborted movement forward, then freezes with his foot mid-air. “What do you mean why should you care?”

Simon doesn’t bother repeating himself, willing to wait him out.

“Wh- of course you should care!” The boy’s voice rises, and he looks indignant. “You would just let me die out here?”

Ghost almost smirks at that, just barely managing to wrestle down his amusement as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Yeah? You gonna lead the killer right to yourself, then?”

The boy has the audacity to look confused, a little angry twist to his lips. “What are you talking about?”

“All that pounding and shouting. Almost like you want to be found, huh?”

The kid scowls more deeply at that, abandoning the scared little boy act with ease. “You fuckin’ jackass-”

“Watch it,” Simon snaps, entirely unwilling to put up with disrespect on his own property. “Let me guess - I’m supposed to let you in, then you try to knock me out and rob me blind?”

He nearly pouts at that, sullen little thing, crossing his own arms across his chest and glaring at Ghost’s throat. “You don’t know that.”

A laugh rumbles from Ghost’s chest, almost against his will. “Oh, yes I do. You think you’re the first dumbass kid thinkin’ he can take advantage of an old man living alone?”

The kid glances up at his face, tracing his expression. “Don’t look so old to me.”

“I should. Must be at least fifteen years older - what are you? Twenty?”

Another pout and a quiet, “Nineteen.”

Ghost whistles lowly, resting his shoulder on the doorjam. “Nineteen. When you were born, I was sneakin’ booze into the barracks.”

His scowl grows. “So? You’re old, what, you want a trophy?”

Oh, Ghost already knows this one is gonna be fun. He rarely indulges in brat taming these days, but when one presents himself so easily… well, he sees no reason to resist. Not out here in the middle of nowhere, no one around for miles to hear the boy scream.

He takes another look at the kid, now that he’s not planning on throwing him off the property. He’s got a bit of bulk, probably just recently started working out, and there’s a cocky energy coming off of him. Ghost would bet this is far from the first time he’s robbed someone with this little ruse, probably thinks he’s the smartest burglar in town. Too bad he chose the wrong man to try and trick this time.

Ghost straightens from the doorway, rolling back his shoulders and standing tall. The kid isn’t short by any means, but compared to Simon he’s practically little. Odds are he’s still got some growing to do, but for now Simon gets to enjoy the way he can loom over the teenager.

“No one ever taught you to respect your elders, boy?”

Oh, the kid doesn’t like that one. If he were a dog, his hackles would be fully raised, but he’s left settling for curling his lip back in a snarl. “You think just cause you’re old I have to respect you?”

“I think you’ll respect me because you’re on my property. That, and I don’t think you’ll like what happens if you keep the attitude up.”

The kid flushes, either from rage or the innuendo. “Who the fuck do you think you are? You think just because we’re out here alone you can say whatever you want to me?”

“‘Course not. We’re out here all alone, which means I can do whatever I want to you. And I will, if you don’t get off my property.”

The kid looks him up and down, then visibly steels himself. Ghost bites back a smirk. He’s not used to being underestimated, but he finds he doesn’t mind when it means getting to see the kid play at being his equal.

“What do you think you’ll do if I don’t go?”

Oh, Ghost can’t wait to beat the attitude out of the little shit.

He doesn’t let the kid see how much the rudeness is getting to him, intentionally keeping his face flat and unimpressed. “What’s your name, kid?”

That permanent scowl doesn’t shift, even as a flash of confusion crosses his face. “...John.”

Ghost nods. “Alright, Johnny. If you don’t get off my property, I’ll take you over my knee and teach you what your daddy should’ve.”

It’s nearly impossible to keep from grinning when Johnny’s mouth pops open in surprise, the flush creeping further up his neck. “You- you’ll- who do you think- you can’t-”

Ghost reaches out like he might slap Johnny, instead snaps right in front of his nose, sharp and loud. “Spit it out, boy. I don’t feel like listening to a kid learn how to speak all night.”

Johnny’s letting himself get worked up, and not doing a good job of hiding it. His teeth grind and he shifts from foot to foot, like he’d like to try and attack Ghost. He’s apparently smart enough to know how idiotic that would be, and Simon finds he’s almost disappointed. Wonders idly if he can provoke the kid enough to save himself a chase.

[oldiesstationlover11607]

PLEAAASEEE make the yellow star sticker torchbearer SO idea a fic oh my GOSH!!

literally such a cute concept (only if u want to btw dont feel pressured lmao) -🩷✨

Star Stickers - Torchbearer!Josh x Reader

Warnings: none hehe

Word count: 2325

A/N: RAHH I'VE BEEN SO EXCITED FOR THIS ONE :)

The night air was crisp as I crept out of the tent, trying not to make a sound. The stars above mirrored the gleam in my eyes, and I clutched the tiny yellow star stickers in my hand, determined not to let my excitement betray me. I turned to Clancy, who was already crouched outside, waiting for me. His eyes were wide, mischievous. We were in this together.

“Ready?” he whispered, his voice barely audible. It was nights like these that made being away from family in Dema easier. 

I nodded, biting my lip to keep from giggling. “Do you think he heard us?”

Clancy’s grin spread wider, his face illuminated by the moonlight. “Oh, he’s dead asleep. There’s no way he heard us.”

The Torchbearer had no idea what was about to happen. He was asleep in our tent, completely unaware of my mission. I had been obsessing over these little yellow star stickers for weeks, slapping them on everything: my water flask, the edges of the maps, the side of Clancy’s tent—practically anything that stayed still long enough. There was something about their simplicity, their brightness, that felt like a quiet rebellion in this muted world of ours.

Tonight, though, was the ultimate prank. I had saved my best stash of stickers for this very moment. Clancy had suggested we wait until everyone was asleep, and the camp had finally grown still. Now, the only sounds were the distant rustle of trees and the quiet crackle of the dying campfire.

“Okay,” I whispered, “let’s start with the tent.”

We both crept toward the Torchbearer's tent like kids sneaking around at midnight, trying not to wake the grown-ups. Clancy handed me a few stickers, and I stuck them around the edges of the tent flap, tracing the outline of the entrance.

“Perfect,” he mouthed, nodding approvingly as I added a few more to the sides of the tent. It looked like the stars had fallen from the sky just to bless this tent with their presence.

Next, we tiptoed toward the supplies. Clancy, being a little taller than me, reached up and stuck a star on top of the stack of crates. I followed his lead and pressed one on the side of a water jug. Every piece of equipment was going to sparkle by morning.

“Are you going to put any on him?” Clancy whispered, and I froze, considering it. The idea had crossed my mind, of course.

“He’d kill me,” I whispered back, my heart racing at the thought of Torchbearer waking up mid-sticker attack. But then again, I couldn’t resist the image of him standing there, covered in bright yellow stars, completely oblivious. I stifled a laugh and nodded. “Yeah, I’m doing it.”

Clancy's grin stretched even wider, and we both crawled toward the entrance of the tent. With the utmost care, I peeled back the flap and peeked inside. There he was, fast asleep, his chest rising and falling in the soft glow of moonlight filtering through the fabric. He looked so peaceful, so serious—even in his sleep. But soon, he would be a constellation.

I motioned for Clancy to stay put while I carefully stuck the first star on his forehead, right between his brows. It stuck perfectly, the bright yellow standing out against his tanned skin. I added a few more on his cheeks, and by the time I finished, his face looked like the night sky.

Clancy had to bite his hand to keep from laughing out loud. We retreated from the tent, and I couldn’t help it anymore—I let out a quiet snort of laughter, which Clancy quickly mimicked.

“We’re gonna get in so much trouble,” I whispered, my stomach aching from holding back my laughter.

Clancy nodded, wiping a tear from his eye. “Totally worth it.”

As we continued placing stars everywhere—on tents, supplies, trees around the camp—I couldn’t help but imagine the look on Torchbearer's face when he woke up and realized what we had done. But the best part was that he wouldn't even know right away. It would be slow, gradual. The realization would hit him in stages. And Clancy and I would be there for every moment of it.

By the time we were done, the camp looked like a whimsical playground of stars, with the tent at the center being the brightest beacon of all. We snuck back to our own tents, barely able to contain our excitement.

“Tomorrow’s going to be hilarious,” I whispered, pulling my blanket over my head to muffle the inevitable giggles that would surely wake the entire camp if I wasn’t careful. Clancy shot me a wink before disappearing into his own tent.

The next morning, I woke up early, my heart thumping with anticipation. It was still dark, the sun just beginning to rise. I lay there for a few minutes, watching the Torchbearer sleep peacefully. Clancy was already up, sitting by the campfire, which had been rekindled. He looked at me, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

“He’s still asleep,” I whispered, getting up and moving to sit next to him at the fire.

“Not for long,” he whispered back, settling next to me.

We didn’t have to wait long. The soft rustle of the tent flap was the first sign, followed by the unmistakable sound of Torchbearer’s heavy footsteps as he emerged. His face was a perfect canvas of yellow stars. I had done an excellent job, if I did say so myself.

Clancy tried to keep a straight face, but as soon as Torchbearer rubbed his eyes and turned toward us, it was over. He snorted loudly, his whole body shaking with laughter. I bit my lip, trying not to join him, but the sight was just too much.

Torchbearer blinked at us, confused, his brow furrowing. “What’s so funny?” His deep voice, still rough from sleep, only made the whole scene more ridiculous.

Clancy was practically falling over, tears streaming down his face. He couldn’t speak. I, however, managed to hold it together long enough to stand up and approach him, pretending to inspect his face.

“Um…you’ve got something…right here,” I said, pointing to his forehead.

Torchbearer frowned, swiping a hand across his face. When he looked at his palm, one of the star stickers was stuck to it. He froze, staring at it for a moment before his eyes darted to me, then to Clancy, who was still doubled over in laughter.

“What the—” he began, but then he saw his reflection in the side of the water jug nearby. His eyes widened in disbelief as he slowly realized the full extent of what had happened. His face, his clothes, his entire tent—everything was covered in yellow stars.

I couldn’t hold back anymore. I burst out laughing, clutching my sides. The look of utter confusion on his face was priceless.

“Really?” he asked, deadpan, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he pulled another sticker from his sleeve.

Clancy had fallen off the log he was sitting on, rolling in the dirt, unable to breathe from laughing so hard. I was barely any better, tears of joy streaming down my face as I gasped for air.

“It really is your color Torchy,” I laughed, running into his arms.

Torchbearer wrapped his arms around me, still blinking slowly as if he couldn’t believe this was happening. “I knew you two were up to something. Should’ve known it would involve…this.”

I wiped my eyes, still giggling. “Consider it an upgrade. You’re a constellation now.”

Torchbearer gave me a long, unimpressed stare before a slow smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He shook his head, sighing. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to get you back for this. Yet.”

“Is that a promise or a threat?” I teased, grinning up at him.

“Both,” he said, brushing another star off his shoulder. “Definitely both.”

Clancy finally managed to catch his breath, sitting up and wiping dirt off his clothes. “You’ve got to admit,” he said between gasps, “it’s a pretty good look for you.”

Torchbearer raised an eyebrow at him. “Says the guy who’s got stars on his tent.”

Clancy looked back at his tent and saw the trail of stars we’d left behind. His grin faltered for a moment, realizing that he hadn’t escaped unscathed. “Touché.”

Still chuckling, I motioned for Torchbearer to sit by the fire. “We thought you'd appreciate a little lightness after…you know, everything.” I didn’t need to elaborate. Life in this camp was tough, and the weight of the mission was always pressing down on us. There was so little room for laughter, for joy.

Torchbearer’s expression softened as he sat down next to me, the remnants of the stars still clinging to his face. “I suppose I can’t argue with that.” He ran a hand through his hair, dislodging another sticker, which fluttered to the ground.

Clancy, still chuckling, handed him a mug of water. “Consider it a morale boost.”

Torchbearer took the mug and glanced between the two of us, his gaze lingering on me for a moment longer. “You two are something else,” he said, shaking his head with a smile that was impossible to hide now.

I leaned in closer, still grinning. “Admit it—you love it. You’re the star of the camp now!”

He laughed, a deep, rumbling sound that echoed in the quiet morning. “I suppose I can roll with it for now.”

As the sun continued to rise, the camp began to come alive. One by one, our companions emerged from their tents, their sleepy faces transforming into expressions of surprise and amusement at Torchbearer’s star-studded appearance.

“Wow, someone really got into the spirit of things!” one of the newer recruits called out, a playful grin on his face.

“Don’t even start,” Torchbearer shot back, but he was smiling, clearly enjoying the attention. I exchanged a glance with Clancy, and we both struggled to contain our laughter.

The camp buzzed with excitement, a mixture of laughter and playful jabs at Torchbearer’s expense. I watched as he slowly accepted his fate, throwing back his head and laughing along with everyone else. The stars had worked their magic, drawing everyone into a moment of shared joy that we rarely experienced.

“Alright, alright, everyone settle down!” called out one of the senior members, trying to regain control of the situation. “We’ve got plans to discuss for today’s mission.”

As we gathered around the central fire pit, I could see Clancy trying to stifle his giggles every time he looked at Torchbearer. I felt a warm glow in my chest; seeing him like this, smiling and at ease, made all the trouble worth it.

“Okay, so what's the plan?” Torchbearer asked, shifting his attention to the map spread out in front of us, carefully avoiding the laughs directed at him.

“Well,” Clancy began, “we’ll split into two teams. You and I will take the north path while the others scout the south. Sound good?”

“Sounds good to me. Just don’t let me fall behind because I’m too busy laughing at your face,” Torchbearer teased, leaning over the map.

“Hey! You’re the one with stars all over,” Clancy shot back, pointing dramatically at Torchbearer’s forehead. “I’m just here to help you coordinate your new look.”

Torchbearer chuckled, rubbing the star on his forehead as if testing its adhesive qualities. “Maybe I should start a trend.”

I rolled my eyes, unable to help myself. “If anyone can pull off a star-covered face, it’s definitely you.”

“See? Now we’re all getting in on it,” he said, smiling at me. “But next time, you better believe I’m getting my revenge.”

“Challenge accepted,” I said, grinning back.

As we moved forward with the planning, I watched the banter flow between them. It felt like magic, the way laughter and connection blossomed between all of us. There was a lightness in the air, a sense of camaraderie that made the weight of our mission feel a little less heavy.

After discussing the details, we broke off into smaller groups to prepare. Clancy and I exchanged a look, silently agreeing to meet back up at the water jug later. I grabbed a few extra stickers from my bag, intending to stick them on anything that could use a little extra cheer.

As I wandered around the camp, I spotted Torchbearer talking to a couple of other team members. His laughter rang out, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. I had known he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders; I had seen the burden in his eyes countless times. But now, he seemed lighter, unburdened, and it made my heart swell.

“Hey!” I called out, catching his attention as I approached with a handful of star stickers. “You need some more?”

He chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “Why not? Let’s cover the whole camp in stars.”

I beamed at him and began placing stickers on his arms and shoulders, giggling with every new addition. “You’re becoming quite the star of this place. People might start looking to you for guidance on how to sparkle.”

“Or maybe I should be the one guiding you on how to not look ridiculous,” he countered, a playful challenge in his eyes.

“Never!” I said dramatically, throwing my hands up. “Ridiculous is my brand.”

As I stuck the last star on his collar, I stepped back to admire my handiwork. He looked so happy, and I couldn’t help but feel satisfied that we’d managed to create this little moment of joy.

“Alright, you’re officially the most colorful leader this camp has ever seen,” I declared, raising my arms in victory.

“Fantastic,” he replied, laughter bubbling beneath the surface. “Maybe I’ll start a fashion revolution.”

With our spirits high, the day continued to unfold with laughter and camaraderie. The stars we’d stuck around camp and on Torchbearer had transformed our environment into something magical, something vibrant.

//

REQUESTS OPEN

[animeomegas]

I have another drabble! This time with Izuku! Tho I'm now realizing I don't actually say his name lmao

Adventurer's Kit

Summary: One day while on an adventure, you find a boy in the woods. (Child!Izuku & Child!Reader, Reader is a rather ambitious 5 yr old and an escape artist and their Appa has trouble keeping up with them lmao)

It was a sunny day in the summertime, and you were on an adventure.

Your Appa had warned you not to go too far from your house, but there were no fun things by your house. Only old people and quiet streets. So you decided to walk to the park your Appa had taken you to last week. Besides, you were a big kid now. You turned 5 two whole months ago!

At the park, you had seen all sorts of kids running around and playing at a super cool playset. But your Appa had dragged you away before you could play, which was totally unfair and very mean. You could no longer wait to join all the kids. Especially the big kids. They looked cool.

You followed the path you remember walking alongside your Appa until green trees surrounded you. You hummed a song you'd heard on Appa's radio as you walked, swinging your adventurer's kit at your side. As you paused your steps, trying to remember the next part of the song, you heard crying from a little farther ahead.

Oh no! Crying meant someone was sad, and while Appa said that being sad was okay sometimes, it was still bad most of the time! You scrambled forward towards the sound of distress.

You stopped in front of a kid who looked to be about your age, wearing big red shoes and a yellow sweatshirt. His face was hidden in his knees, only his green hair really visible. His scent was a yucky mix of pain-sad-scared and you knew you had to fix it.

"Are you okay?"

The boy's head popped up, and his tearful eyes made your heart feel all achey and wrong.

"I-I hurt my knee."

"Can I see?"

Slowly, he extends his knee with a small hiss of pain, and the pain-sad-scared smell grew stronger. Your face scrunched up at the yucky smell, and you try to make it go away with your happy-content-safe smell. The boy's eyes fluttered shut at the smell and he sighed. Slowly, the pain-sad-scared started to fade away.

You sit down next to his leg and pull out your adventurer's kit. Appa was right to add so many bandages in there!

"... What's that?" the boy asked softly.

You beam and show off the box proudly. "It's my adventurer's kit! I take it with me whenever I go outside, like Appa said to. It's got food, water, bandages, socks, wipes, and a bunch of other stuff you gotta have for adventures!"

"Do you have the superhero bandages?"

"Mhm! I can give you some for your knee!"

The boy's smile brightened at the mention of superheroes. "Do you have All Might?"

"Duh, of course I do!"

"Can I have some?"

"Yeah!" You take out the package of assorted hero bandages and pick the All Might ones. Carefully, so you don't hurt his scrap, you put the bandages on his knee.

The happy grin that the boy gives you makes all the warm feelings flood your chest and you can't help but return the smile. "Oh, here! Since you were very brave, you get a candy!"

You take one of the best candies from your kit and place it into the palm of his hand. It's also your favorite kind, but you don't mind sharing with him. Since his smile makes you have warm feelings.

"Ah, thank you!"

"You're welcome! Now, where are you going? Are you on an adventure like me?"

"No...I was playing on the playground, but I thought I saw a butterfly and so I chased it. But then I went too far and I don't know where I am." The bad sad-scared smell started up again, but luckily you could fix it.

"Is it the one with the blue slide?"

"Yeah!"

"That's where I'm going, so I'll take you there!" You stick your hand out for him to grab. He takes it and you lift him up to stand.

You squeeze his hand tight and don't let go. You don't want the warm feelings to go away quite yet, and holding his hand makes the warm feelings so much warmer.

"I'll lead the way, prince!"

"Eh? Prince?"

"Yeah, caused I saved you! Like how knights save princesses in stories."

"Are you the knight?"

"Of course!"

The boy giggled and squeezed your hand back. "Okay, knight."

(Cue Inko sobbing and hugging Izuku the moment they arrive back, and once she's calmed down, asking where Reader's parents are. Then cue Appa running towards you in relief and the berating you for running away again.

I have a couple ideas for what happens after, if you're curious ;) )

-Ghost Anon

This is so unbelievably cute, Ghost Anon, I'm crying 🥺🥺

I'm immediately invested and I have to know that they become best friends and then fall in love. Tell me, Ghost Anon! Me and the people need to know!!!

You're so good at writing children as well, Ghost Anon, the All Might plasters and the dialogue, so cute 😍😍

Thank you so much for sharing your work with us, Ghost Anon! It was amazing <33

[linuxealcipher]

"I have cried for, I will die for, how I care" for the ask game!

Lmao ok, we Startin off strong.

This will be featuring my Scales upon Skulls au

Hurt comfort 

Warning for light descriptions of gore, self harm, and blood. 

1357 words

Technically no beta, Technically. 

It was early morning, the sun not yet touching the sky. Snow covers the ground in splotches, trees crips and cold draped in white. There was little movement at the start of the woods, most creatures resting while birds awoke to sing. They flew away as two sets of feet began to crawl through the brush. One wore soft leather boots, trying to ward off the cold chill of the ice. The other had padded scaled feet, yet one of the three limbs held no scales or flesh past the elbow. Torn and limp flesh covered by yellow scales led to tendons barely holding on. Bones barely seemed to hold together as they moved throughout the snow. Every now and then one seemed to snap off before maroon colored webbing seemed to pull it back into place. The human would flinch every time it happened. The crack was unpleasant to say the least. 

“You don’t have to follow all the way you know.” Sun’s voice was soft as the first light of morning finally climbed over the mountains. “You’re getting cold.” The human laughed softly, their cloak pulled tighter around them. 

“I’ll stay warm enough, we should worry about you more Sunny.” They smile at him, patting his muzzle softly. Sun let out an indignant huff, a cloud of water vapor curling around his head. 

“I am not to concerned over my well being, as you seem to forget I cannot be killed by the cold.” He dug his talons into the snow to prove his point. The human's smile fell a little as they looked at the fleshless limb. There was a moment of uncomfortable stillness before Sun began to move again. He couldn’t help but glance at the leg himself before looking away in disdain. He had before always thought his golden scales were beautiful, yet the ones leading to his leg had dulled and darkened into Something he found hideous. A deep reminder of the curse Eclipse had put on him and Moon. The human caught up to him quickly, pulling him away from his thoughts. 

“How much longer now?” They brushed their hand against his wing, the warmth of their hand almost burning hot to the thin membrane. Sun shuttered, not realizing how cold they had gotten before pulling them closer to his body.

“It shouldn’t be much farther now, just past these next few trees.” He looked towards the sun in the sky, basking in its warmth. His eyes closed as he relaxed in the light, scales shimmering in the light a little. His moment was ruined by the soft sound of giggling from beside him. 

“So do you always pose majestic like that?” Their voice is teasing as they lean against his side a little. “Basking in the glowing warmth of the morning sun and not my blazing warmth my dear? Oh how you wound me.”

“More like a little candle on the shelf.” Sun chuckles, grinning at them as they let out an offended gasp. They are about to say something before Sun freezes, the strong metallic sting of blood hitting his nose. Of course he was used to the smell of blood, but the scent of this blood reminded him deeply of Moon with an undertone of rain it seems to have.

“Sun? Sun what’s wrong?” They didn’t get a response as Sun bolted forward, snow scattered to the air. He made it a good few yards before the bones of his arm gave and sent him toppling into the ground. A loud snarl of frustration and hatred for the limb left him as the maroon strings gathered and pulled his bones back together. The panicked footsteps of the human quickly catch up as they move next to him.

“don’t take off like that!” 

“Moon- Something is wrong with Moon!” He was quick to get up again, moving as quickly as he could without relying on his bony leg. The burning sting of metallic only got stronger the closer to his home he got. Fear sunk into his skin, as blood splotches stained the snow at the start of the hollow tree they lived in. It was still warm as he passed it, avoiding touching it directly. He called into the tree, panic bleeding into his voice as he looked around. Blood trailed deeper in, towards one of the root rooms. Sun stumbled In quickly, eyes wide when he finally spotted Moon, huddled in the corner. Moon’s claws were digging into the scales of his face, blood pooling around the deep open wounds acros his muzzle and cheek. He digs his talons deeper into the wound at the sight of Sun. Sun let out a small cry of agony as he stumbled forward, pulling Moon’s talons away from his face. The human slowly steps into the room, eyes widening in horror as they see the wound. 

“Moon- moon what happened!-” Suns voice is frantic as he tries to clear the blood away. His talons twitch and he flinches away as a splotch lands on his bony hand. “Moon, what did you do….” Moon only cowers further into the corner, looking down at his bloodied hands. 

“I look- ….I look too much like him” his voice is weak as his talons dig into the skin of his arms. Sun gently pries them off, pulling Moon’s talons into his own. The human had moved over to them now, taking their undercloak to try and wipe away the blood gently. 

“Moonbloom,” they reached up, trying to coax him closer, “we need to clean your wounds” Sun nods in agreement with them, hands shaking a little. Moon curls his lip a little, growling before lowering his head. Gently they take his head in their hand, rubbing away the blood as much as they can. Moon winces as they carefully wipe away the blood around the wounds themselves. 

“you don’t have to clean it….. Eclipse’s curse won’t let any infection kill me anyways” his voice is bitter, talons flexing as he looks at Sun's arm. Tears slowly gathered in his eyes. A small snarl leaving his mouth. Sun hisses softly, looking away.

“It still hurts doesn’t it?” Their voice is soft as they continue to clean the scratches. They reach up and rub his other cheek, pulling him closer and resting their forehead against his. “Just because you can’t die doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still take care of yourself Moonbloom” they kiss softly between his eyes. They could hear Sun shift behind them before his head rested on their shoulder.

“Why?” Suns voice is weak, eyes staring off into the distance. “No matter what we do we can’t escape the curse, we can’t live our lives how we planned. The only way we can get back at Clips is to just give up ....” Moon leans into their touch, nodding a little at Sun’s words. His face burned a little as the tears started to slip into his open wounds. 

“You guys….. That not- …. that's not what you should be thinking at all.” They direct the tears away from Moon's wounds, resting their hand there as their other rests on Sun’s cheek. “I know you don’t want to live forever, I wouldn’t either, but you shouldn’t just let yourself fall apart. We can work to undo your immortality but not if you both give up.” 

“It took Eclipse years to even figure out how to gain immortality.” Sun’s voice is annoyed as he moves closer to them. Moon closes his eyes, talons digging into the dirt.

“We have an eternity” He tries to joke, voice falling flat. “You'll help right?” He presses closer to the human, tail curling around both them and Sun. 

“I will die for this cause my dear dragons,” there was a small smile to their voice, eyes closed as they kissed both Sun and Moon's cheek. 

“You care too much for us when we will outlive you….” Sun mutters, wrapping his arms around them. 

“I do, I care so much for you two. Oh, and I’ll never stop caring.” They stayed that way, all wrapped in each other’s embrace. 

Context!

This is for an Au I haven’t posted much about yet, Scales upon Skulls. In this Au Eclipse, Moon and Sun all lived together, protecting each other. While on a hunt Moon came in contact with an infected rabbit that gave him what Sun and Eclipse originally thought was some sort of rabies, later finding out it was a curse by a demon using rabbits to spread it. (They find out through The Sunrise Bear, Fready, who had his friends infected with the same curse) the curse supposedly took years, but in a panic Eclipse, had decided to use ancient magic that other dragons had previously discovered to make the three of them immortal, hoping that would give him more time to help Moon break free from the curse. He did this without asking Sun or Moon. Moon at this point had stopped talking to sun, and was reacting violently to anyone coming near him. Eclipse had to drag him and restrain him as he used the magic to make them all immortal. What he didn’t expect was for the immortality to cancel out the curse. Sun and Moon immediately asked him to remove the magic but he didn’t know how, but started declaring that immortality would be great. Sun and moon took this as he just wanted the immortality, that saving moon was just a side effect. They got into a huge argument before trapping Eclipse in a cave, leaving him there to rot as they tried to figure out how to undo what they began to call Eclipse’s curse.

[lagncx]

ch:3 down by the river(???)

I do want to say that you are of the taller side than astarion body type 4 fr lmao also I’m sorry if someone doesn’t like it! Tw: abuse!!! Torture!!!

——-

  You groaned, your eyes opening and vision blurry. It took you a while to see the figure in front of you. It was some guy who had one eye, but the other was fake, you cursed under your breath, and you got caught. “Did you rest well?” The man asked, sharpening a dagger not even looking at you. “I mean other than the back pain from that horned bitch that tied me to this tree I slept like a babe.” You laughed looking around your eyes, stopping seeing Astarion lying on a bedroll in a trance you frowned and rolled your eyes looking at the torches “Hm, you enchanted the torches with sunlight? Smart.” You looked back at the man “Let’s start with greetings, my name is Wyll.” You yawned “Y/n…” 

  “I know…” you raised a brow, looking at Tav who approached you and Wyll they  untied you “Don’t try anything or I’ll take a sword to your heart.” You cracked your neck sighing in relief “Right. What do you want?” Tav grabbed your arm leading you to the campfire where The wizard was “Hello, I'm Gale and it’s nice to meet you, your friends? Not so much. But I asked Tav to bring you over so we can take care of…that.” He pointed at your face, you raised a brow. “When I blasted you, you fell face-first into a rock and it got you good.” Tav explained, “I don’t want your help.” You pulled your arm away “I’m not asking.” Gale frowned.

   “Oh, and I’m just supposed to let you put that gooey shit in my eye?” You laughed and Gale just chuckled “I can make you.” You scoffed “You can’t make me do-“You felt yourself struggling to talk your chest though empty was hurting your throat tightening. You fell on the ground curling up and gasping. “Gale what in the hell’s are you doing?!” You heard the voice of Astarion yell as he came to your side “That’s not me!” Gale responded, trying to cast lesser restoration on you but it had no effect. Astarions hand grabbed your face and you pulled away struggling “Don’t!…t-Touch me!” You couldn’t feel your body and you tried to bite him but he just grabbed your chin pulling you “Look at me!” You turned to him looking at his face, your eyes big, he started to breathe, directing you “Breathe with me.” You wanted to fight him to punch him and behind him was a River. Why not just push him in there and drown him? “Y/n..” He pulled you back into your senses “Breathe and tell us what’s wrong” You opened your mouth but someone beat you to speaking.

 “You're taking your sweet time birdie. Bring Astarion home. Or I’ll have your heart as my next meal.” Cazador invaded your mind, you were taking too long. So long he decided to pull your heart from wherever he locked it away just to pinch it with his fingers. Little fucker. You grabbed Astarions wrist pushing it away. “I’m fine.” You said standing, and making eye contact with Tav they looked saddened but stayed silent. You walked off wanting to be alone but Gale had pulled you with him so he could dress your face wound.

—— 

You were Obeying Gales orders to sit and relax. You had a hand on your chest, you or him? Everyone for themselves this was not the time to show mercy. If it was you and before it Was you Astarion would not show you any mercy he would’ve hunted you proudly. “You. Come with me.” You looked up and it was Tav they had a bottle of wine with them walking towards the water you followed “So who was that in your mind?” You looked at Tav “How do you…it was Cazador. It's the same vampire master that used your companion, Astarion. That abused him. Tortured him I’m Sure! He told you all about HIS struggles!” You laughed “He did, but I want to hear yours.” You went silent, why do they even care? “And if it’s a long list. I have all the time in the world.” Tav sat down patting a spot next to them. You stayed standing. “go on help me understand.” Tav looked up at you and you sighed thinking back to the day the torture, the thing Cazador called training started.

——-

  267. Two hundred and sixty-seven licks Cazadors right-hand man, Godey gave you straight to your stomach, your stomach and chest bare unless you count the blood that ran down it. At 20 you were still screaming and crying, your arms still chained up and your wrist cut down to the bone by the rust. At 100 you stopped reacting. Which Cazador caressed your cheek and drowned you in praises for. He was talking about how you were special. Like he said he needed you, Needed you to tie up loose ends and instead of bringing him prey you would kill as many unimportant civilians as ordered capture any runaways, protect him from all harm. Godey the sadistic skeleton stopped after 267 and unchained you for the first time in weeks…months? You fell face first into your blood arms too numb to catch yourself “What shall I do with them, master?” Godey chuckled pulling you around like a ragdoll. “Put them with the other prisoners soon. We'll reintroduce them into society when they stop searching for our little bird when the phoenix family tree has dried up and died. soon.” He laughed, sucking up all the joy he got watching your eyes looking everywhere you were so gone he loved it. Godey threw you into the cell you looked at everyone surrounding you a man kneeled to you his eyes blood red glowing as he started squeezing a rat its blood falling into your mouth “Drink it it'll help.” Your nose was filled with its smell it was making your mouth water and filled your senses and your mouth opened on instinct “There you go.” You shook feeling the burn of the cuts on your chest pain turning into adrenaline making you jump up you looked around backing into the corner “Stay away from me!” You yelled picking up a glass shard and pointing it at the frail cellmates. Your tongue slid against a sharp tooth knicking it.

   “Ow.” you hissed your mind didn’t click then..how had you survived such torture but now that your senses were heightened though your body felt cold as a corpse. Your gears were twisting. You used the glass to look at your teeth. Fangs two above two on the bottom you pushed your fingers against the tooth your breathing quickened your eyes watered “Welcome to the family” Some spawn said scoffing at your pathetic figure. “Hush, that's rude!” a woman said. Your breathing and sobs turned into growls crushing the shard in your hand. You looked up at the spawn and one of them embraced you as you grieved over your loss of well, everything.

    For centuries you were stuck there then Cazador grabbed you and let you stay in the home. You got a room that belonged to a “run away spawn”, who had to be Astarion. You sat on the bed, your body sore and still bare chested though you didn’t care sense everyone in the home looked empty like you did walking past you like a ghost. You sat there looking at a painting on the wall that looked extremely like Cazador laying down with a body behind him…’what a narcissist’. You thought, a knock at the door caught your attention, cracking open, a little girl holding folded clothes popping her head in “hello, I brought you clothes, master said you would need some and father said this should fit you.” She smiled but she didn’t have red eyes, she didn’t smell of hunger, she smelled of cold river water and tulips with a hint of cinnamon. You internally questioned how you could smell that on her so…affectively. Her hair was long and blonde wavy. She hopped on the bed next to you smiling, her eyes looking down a few times at your chest, seeing the wounds and cuts “thank you.” You whispered and she looked back up at you “what’s your name?” You asked “Victoria, my pa is Leon.” 

  From then on you were a vampire soldier, your heart taken from you, a slave to Cazador. Forced to see yourself on missing pages then you faded away another legend, another cautionary tale. But you found some good, you made it your job to feed the prisoners trying to atone for all the atrocities you committed for Cazador.

——-

Tav looked at you “There’s not much after that.” You laughed, “I’m surprised your nose could smell that.” You looked down at a piece of grass on the edge of the stream “Cazador would blind me, put fear into me making me guess what I was smelling and beating me if I got it wrong it was supposed to help with my hunting, that’s how I knew Astarion was here, without his heart beat, rosemary he always smelt like rosemary.” Speaking of that Astarion was walking towards you both “it’s time for me to go then.” Tav patted your back leaving nodding at Astarion. You avoided looking at him, your hands shaking “Y/n.” He said sitting next to you. You kept silent “I wanted to say this, If you’d turned up earlier I would’ve had no second thought about killing you, but being with this group they’ve taught me that that’s not always the answer that there can be a different way, someone cares. And I want to be that for you. I know what it feels like to be a slave for Cazador, to have your body…” he stopped breathing for a while “taken from you.” You felt a hand on your leg making your eyes slam shut you felt heat rush over your cold body, rage “If you stay, and help us find Cazador. We could kill him, get rid of him once and for all so we could be free.” Your eyes opened bright red and you grabbed Astarions wrist nearly breaking it he grunted pulling against you but you weren’t budging as you stood pulling him up with you “We? We?! There is no we, you just want to use me.” Astarion pulled away, pushing you back, drawing some attention. “No I’m not, I understand your unwillingness to trust me but I’m trying to help you and everyone stuck there.” He threw his hands up and they smacked down on his sides. His face screamed desperately for something…trust. You laughed “oh yea? And how do I know when you ‘kill’ Cazador, like you even could. How do I know you, the spawn that lured everyone in just to ruin their lives using his body, his charm, that fucking angelic beauty!” You grabbed him by the throat “won’t use that damn ritual on himself. And bathe in the blood of his fallen sisters and brothers. No…no! I am not falling for that look!” You let him go, he stood next to the water and the river behind him and you looked back at the camp. “…Listen, you don’t have to obey him. You’re with us, together we’ll kill him and you’ll be free.” He saw the way you looked, tired…beaten. He was going to move back when you grabbed his arm “…sorry Astarion but, you don’t know what I could lose.” You pushed him into the River screams coming from his companions, as you jumped in after. You grabbed Astarions shirt as he struggled against you “let me go!” He pushed you into the water the current pushing you under but you resurfaced gasping for air “Stop fucking fighting.” You yelled 

    “No! I will never stop fighting. I’m not going back.” He yelled, punching you. One thing Astarion was not was weak.

 You both slammed into a rock. Astarions shoulder got most of the impact “Fuck you!” He yelled “Tav said be patient and you’d come around! I should’ve killed you.” He was tearing up, he was scared. You pushed him into a rock slamming his head and he fell unconscious. You sighed, holding his head on your shoulder. 

——

The water left you at moonrise and you pulled yourself out dragging Astarion onto the sand. You laid on your back catching your breath. You closed your eyes. Now what? How are you supposed to get back to Cazador through this fucking curse and this cult. 

  “I wouldn’t swim in this weather but, we all have our moments” you sat up with blade drawn eyes met with a tan man who’s hair was neat and clothes were nice too nice and his smile, haunting. “No need to be so on edge. I’ve been watching you, I’m Raphael.” He put his hand out revealing a bell “you’ll need this.” You looked down at his hand then at him “please, take it.” You shook your head “I don’t even know you.” You scoffed “Oh but your master does. So take it. Or I’ll force it into your throat.” You snatched it, backing away from him, your back against Astarions body. “Careful, try not to wake up the man. He has a strong spirit. It will be entertaining to see which one of you will break.” He laughed and he disappeared, your throat clogged with his ashes he left in his dramatic exit. 

——

The bell granted you protection from the curse but what, no who? is Raphael. Took you some thinking as you dragged astarion towards Baldurs gate but then it hit you… Slowly since your heart the very source of that powerful hawkish eye was ripped from you. He’s a devil, devilishly handsome too. What would Cazador be doing making deals with him? And for what? Maybe the ritual who knows, who cares. All that matters is getting home and with full hands. 

‘Fuck you godey.’

@chaoticgoodstuff @beepersteeper

——

erm I’m not a writer

[alloftimeandspacetosee]

Mewtwo's Marked

in which we meet Ax, who is the protag of my yellow nuzlocke. This is part of the roleplay rewrites!! which is possibly why some of the writing is. awkward. on grounds of three people writing it and my only doing marginal editing lmao.

~

 Arlette blinked awake, lifting her head from her sister’s side. Aurora shifted, curling around Harpy with a murmur. Arlette frowned, hearing sounds that were at odds with their surroundings. She turned and caught sight of Soise in the forest, stalking past with her nose in the air.

 “Soise?”

 “There’s something strange out here,” she replied distractedly. “Nothing big, I think.”

 “Alright.” Arlette prodded her sister. “Come on, wake up y’lazy sod.”

 “Bugger off, ‘let.” Aurora yawned and sat up, stretching.

 Arlette looked around and spotted the rest of the group emerging from their tents. “Hey guys.”

 Nyx was on her knees beside Mia, trying to wake the trainer up.

 Aurora smirked. “How’s everyone?”

 “Good morning.” Zlata waved to them. “I’m fine, just–” She covered a yawn, “Still a little drowsy.”

 Hohenheim chirped, looking up from the remnants of the food from the night before.

 “He’s not though, clearly.” Zlata smiled at him.

 Aurora scrambled to her feet and reached across for some food. “What’s the plan now, once she’s revived?” She nodded to Mia.

 “I’m not sure,” Zlata said. “I suppose we could go back to Vermilion and orientate ourselves from there.” She poured herself some tea.

 “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m heading north. Gonna have a quick explore before I take on the gyms,” Mia said, somehow still sounding chipper despite everything, drinking the tea Nyx handed her. “Thanks.”

 “You could come with us, if you want?” Nyx smiled, turning to help Warren pack away their tent.

 “Nah, I think I’ll be alright. It’s been fun, anyway.”

 “Whatever works.” Arlette shrugged. “I’d rather not go inland for a while yet, though.”

 “Doesn’t bother me.” Aurora grinned, pouring herself a cup of tea.

 “It was good to meet you then, Mia. I wish you best of luck on your journey.” Zlata started to pack up her tent.

 “Thank you for your help as well. I’m not sure what we would have done if you had not showed up,” Ryun added, bowing his head before going to help Zlata.

 “It was no problem.  As if I wouldn’t have helped Warren! He’s such a softie!” She wrapped her arms around him tightly.

 He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder, looking more relieved when she let him go. “Thanks for waking me up.”

 Nyx handed her a small satchel. “Here, in case your pokémon get sick and all. You’ll be able to heal them right up.”

 “You are like the mum of the group, aren’t you!” Mia hugged her and leapt onto Slick, giving the group one last shower of sparks before taking off into the trees.

 Warren stooped to let Purella scamper up onto his shoulder as they finished putting away their tent.

 “Where else is there we can go from here, anyway?” Aurora asked, holding her cup carefully in one hand as she closed her bag and lifted it onto her back.

 “Down to Fuchsia or Lavender, both by coastal paths. Or to Celadon?” Soise shook herself, padding out of the bushes.

 “Or I believe we can hire a boat out to Cinnabar and Seafoam.”

 “Isn’t Cinnabar a volcano?” Nyx asked, feeding Rem a cube of dried berry.

 “Fuchsia and Lavender are apparently good towns. I never really liked the sound of Saffron, my father always made it sound so busy,” Zlata said. “Yes, it is. Should not be a problem for you, though, since you’re Lavaridge-born.”

 “Well…” Nyx tilted her head. “Is it a lot like Lavaridge?”

 “More touristy, but just as fertile with the berries and all.”

 “Berries?”

 Rem squeaked from Nyx’s shoulder, shaking her head.

 Nyx laughed, shrugging. “Lavender seems good then. Lead on!” she said to Arlette and Aurora. “You know the region best.”

 Arlette grinned. “Right… yes. From our many visits to Kanto.” She returned Harpy to his pokéball and swung her bag onto her back.

 “Rarely is better than never.” Nyx smiled.

 The group left the clearing and found the path beside the sea heading east. Soise turned her head, glancing back into the forest, and almost crashed into someone walking along the path.

 “Hey!” The woman stepped back hurriedly out of her way. “Watch where you’re–” she snapped, before her eyes lit on the twins. “Oh. Might’ve known.”

 “Ax.” Arlette smiled. “Long time no see. How’re you doing?”

 “You haven’t seen Kyirin anywhere, have you?”

 “Your… the gengar, right?” Aurora frowned. “Not recently.”

 “Right.” Ax glanced around distractedly. “More people you’ve corrupted?”

 “Sort of.” Aurora shrugged. “Nyx, Warren, Ryun, Zlata, Hohenheim. Guys, this is Ax.”

 “Ax, nice to meet you.” Nyx nodded.

 Warren kept his distance, but lifted a hand to wave at her.

 “Glad to meet you.” Zlata bowed to Ax before turning to the twins with a smirk. “You say you’ve rarely set foot here, and yet you seem to bump into people you know.”

 “Yeah… that happens. Travellers and all.”

 Ryun lowered his head in acknowledgement as he greeted Ax cautiously. Hohenheim approached her and gave a welcoming chirp as he examined her.

 “What’s up with Kyirin this time?”

 “She… ah, something about darkness and the GhostLord.” Ax frowned. “I didn’t quite understand it myself.”

 “That will’ve been who was wandering around this morning.” Soise glanced back at the forest. “She was in the forest.”

 “Who’s Kyirin?” Warren frowned, glancing at Nyx.

 “My gengar.” Ax crouched as a pikachu with a shorn tail ran out of the forest towards her, letting it up onto her shoulder. “She wanders off rather a lot.”

 “The rest of your team off looking for her?”

 “Yeah.”

 Kera snorted and cleaned one of her ears.

 Ax glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. “Yes, but… she did help us, Kera.”

 Nyx frowned. “Can you speak to that pokémon?”

 Warren looked around warily and released Vamp, who narrowed her eyes and pricked up her ears. Dante’s nose twitched as she looked around, and though Ryun stroked her, she didn’t relax.

 “It will be alright. It’s daylight,” he said to Warren.

 “Yes.” Ax nodded. “And – well, I don’t think you’ll be in any danger from Kyirin. She’ll just be curious… why was she wandering around your group?”

 “Complicated.” Aurora shrugged. “If I’m guessing right, anyway.”

 “Ah… this is your trio member?” Ax glanced at Warren.

 “Nyx, not Warren.” Arlette smiled.

 Nyx frowned, moving to stand by Warren.

 “It’s fine,” Arlette murmured. “She’s like us. Sort of.”

 “What do you mean, if I may pry?” Zlata asked carefully.

 “They know?” Ax flicked a glance at the twins.

 Arlette nodded.

 “Legendary blessed,” Ax said. “Sort of.”

 “Sort of?”

 “I don’t have a mark like yours, for a start.”

 “Is it Darkrai or Cresselia?” Warren asked. “They don’t come with marks, they aren’t as fancy as all the rest of them.”

 Nyx swatted him around the shoulders. “Not exactly, you didn’t see your form, I think you are the fanciest.”

 “That’s true, not all legendary blessings leave marks. It can’t be so bad, can it?”

 Ax shrugged. “It’s neither of them. Or even a proper legendary, really.”

 Kera nibbled at her ear as Ax frowned.

 “Mewtwo. He’s my legendary.”

 “Mewtwo? How… how does that work?” Nyx asked. “How is he your legendary?”

 “He may not be a proper legendary, but he is still powerful so it counts. It’s very unusual though. By all accounts, Mewtwo hates humans,” Zlata remarked. “What happened, if I may ask?”

 “He needed someone to break him out of his prison. I just happened to be the one he chose. It’s not a true blessing, I don’t have anything like you guys do. I can just understand any pokémon I catch.”

 “Oh… I think I understand.” Nyx nodded, beginning to frown. “What prison?”

 “Maybe too many questions,” Warren mumbled. “What could keep Mewtwo prisoner? He’s supposed to be really powerful.”

 “Cerulean cave. It was… I don’t know. There were things keeping him in place.”

 “Understanding your pokémon must help, though. I can understand a couple of my team as well.” Nyx gestured to Rem. “Like Rem, but she’s quite mouthy.”

 Ax glanced at Rem and her face fell marginally. “Nice – nice rattata.”

 Kera nudged at her neck, purring.

 “Shut it or you’re walking.”

 Rem squeaked happily and scrambled down to the ground, rushing towards Ax. Ax shuddered and automatically stepped away from Rem. Kera chewed on her ear, whispering something. Rem squeaked angrily, arching her back as she started to growl at Ax.

 “Rem!” Nyx hissed.

 Hohenheim clicked his beak, watching Rem and Ax. Kera jumped down to face Rem, fur rippling as her shorn tail twitched behind her.

 “Kera, don’t bother. It doesn’t matter.”

 Kera looked back up at her, whining.

 Rem snapped, fur frosting with ice as she faced down Kera. Hohenheim hissed and got between the two pokémon, blocking their view of each other. Kera hissed back at Rem, puffing up her fur even though there’s no sign of electricity.

 “Kera. Leave off.”

 Kera snapped something back at Ax, who sighed.

 “You can’t fight for me, we’ve been through that!”

 Rem shrieked and charged Kera, grabbing on and sinking her teeth into the pikachu’s paw.

 “Rem, stop!” Nyx shrieked.

 Ryun grabbed Rem in his gloved hands, pulling her away from Kera and giving her back to Nyx. Kera snarled and chattered furiously at Rem, not seeming to care about the blood beeding on her paw.

 “Kera, hush.” Ax crouched down, picking up the pikachu. “I should go, I guess… supposed to be meeting my brother.”

 Rem struggled, firing an ice beam at Ryun. Ryun leapt back as Dante ran forward with a mouthful of embers and growls as she snarled up at Rem.

 “Rem!” Nyx twisted her away. “Ryun, I’m sorry. Rem, calm down now!”

 “Dante, calm,” Ryun said to her. “It’s fine. I was asking for it anyway.”

 “You’re not hurt?” Zlata glanced at Ryun.

 “No, I’m alright. Really.”

 “Alright.” Zlata nodded, watching him for a moment longer before she turned back to Ax. “Your brother?” she prompted.

 “Yeah. He doesn’t leave home much, but I’m working on that,” Ax answered absently, wiping the blood from her pikachu’s paw and checking the bite.

 “Maybe you could convince him, travelling can be very interesting.” Warren nodded.

 “I agree. It’s better than staying at home, at least.” Ryun nodded.

 Zlata smiled. “My older brother is like that, but my younger brother is the complete opposite. He left home as soon as he could.”

 “I’d love to get him to come travelling with me, just for the company.”

 “Yeah… much better travelling with people.” Arlette nodded, glancing at Aurora. “Even if it is just your twin.”

 Aurora stuck her tongue out at her sister, easily dodging the hand reached out to cuff her.

 Ax smiled, stroking Kera. “Should be able to get him this time.”

 “You have bribery?”

 “Of the best kind.”

 “Like what?”

 “Some pokémon. I mean, technically they’re mine, but he can look after them for me, even if he doesn’t battle.”

 “What kind of pokémon?” Nyx asked.

 “Eevee and a cubone.” Ax looked up as a charizard roared from above them. “And… I think they have her.”

 Keyare landed beside Ax, growling something as he gestured into the woods. A blastoise waddled out, holding something firmly in its jaws – the gengar. As it saw the group, it wriggled free and darted into Nyx’s shadow, grinning up at her.

 “Kyirin,” Ax snapped. “Get back.”

 Nyx stepped away from the ghost, Warren taking her shoulders as Vamp slipped in front of them. Keyare snarled at the ghost, and Ax shook her head, returning it to its ball.

 “Sorry. She’s… kinda terrible.”

 Keyare grunted, the rest of Ax’s team appearing from the woods. She returned them to their balls, shoving them into her bag.

 “I should be going, then. Sorry for the bother.”

 “You could walk with us until the path splits,” Aurora suggests.

 “And have those two fighting the whole way?” Ax gestured between Kera and Rem.

 “She won’t be any trouble at all. She will sit on my shoulder and be quiet all the way, else I am going to put her into my bag for the rest of the trip.”

 Rem froze and slumped in Nyx’s hands.

 Nyx placed her roughly back on her shoulder. “She won’t be any trouble.”

 “Might as well.” Warren shrugged. “Our group seems to be getting more popular anyway.”

 “If you’re going in a similar direction to us, you might as well. Especially if you would like company,” Zlata said.

 “Well… Fuchsia is in the other direction, but Keyare’s pretty fast.” Ax stroked Kera. “The company would be nice.”

 “As long as you are prepared for legendary attacks,” Nyx murmured, passing a chunk of berry to Rem to keep the rattata quiet.

 Hohenheim leapt in front of Ax with spread wings, pretending to hiss at her.

 “I’m sorry, Ax. He’s still very young,” Zlata said, bowing to her.

 Ax grinned. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” She smiled at Hohenheim, extending her hand. “I’ve never really seen a legendary this young before.”

 “So… shall we move on, then?”

 “If that’s ok.”

 “You might see some more on your time with us.” Nyx looked up to the sky. “How many have we met now?”

 Hohenheim rested his head against Ax’s hand, crooning as she began to scratch his head.

 “Lugia, Cresselia, and Darkrai,” Zlata said. “But there could be more.”

 “You’ve met Lugia?” Ryun looked at Zlata.

 “Yes, a while back. It was fun.”

 “I shouldn’t have been surprised.” He smiled.

 “Yeah… but they’re drawn to you guys.”

 “Apparently.” Arlette shrugged. “We’re just legendary magnets or something.”

 “Maybe legendary blessings draw them.” Nyx smiled.

 “Perhaps. Though I cannot imagine why that would be.”

 They started to walk along the path away from Vermilion as a group, Keyare bringing up the rear.

 “How come you’ve been travelling then?” Warren asked.

 “I work on the ferries now, and before that I started travelling because of Kera and my brother. Just got leave for a break.”

 “Must be quite tiring working on the ferries, they always seem so busy when I travel on them,” Warren said.

 “You just hate people.” Nyx smiled. “But… yes, it’ll be nice having another person to travel with, another sort of legendary blessed.”

 “It sounds like your brother is quite important to you,” Ryun said, sounding sad.

 “I didn’t really know him until we met again in Fuchsia,” Ax replied. “It makes you want to hang onto someone.”

 “You didn’t know your brother until that late? How come?” Nyx asked.

 “It’s lucky you met him.” Ryun smiled, though it looked melancholy. “Even if you did not grow up together, you have each other now.”

 Zlata put her hand on his shoulder, giving him some comfort.

 “Dad skipped out on mum when we were young, took my brother with him.”

 “That sucks.”

 Nyx swatted Warren on the shoulder. “It must have been quite a shock for you. But, a good shock. It seems like you care for him, despite how long it’s taken.”

 “And he’s your brother. He’s still important.”

 “Yeah… kinda makes up for the rest of the trouble.”

 “You don’t get quiet travels either?” Nyx asked.

 “Did you travel with these two as well?” Warren gestured to the twins.

 “Hey!”

 “We don’t bring all the trouble!”

 “You should be proud of your trouble magnetism.” Nyx laughed. “Most people probably have boring travels… defeated this gym leader, saw a pidgey.” She grinned. “Us – yeah, discovered another of us is blessed and preened a baby Ho-oh.”

 “No biggie.” Arlette smirked.

 “Boring can be good as well, though. Must be nice to actually have a quiet moment once in a while.”

 “Nothing much is happening now though. At least, nothing too out of the ordinary,” Zlata said to Warren. “We should enjoy it while it lasts… until something inevitably out of the ordinary will happen to us.”

 “Quiet travels are overrated anyway.” Aurora shrugged. “What the hell do people do without all the legendary banter?”

 “Talk about the weather?” Warren suggested. “I wonder what the next big event will be then.”

 “Lavender seems like it could be eventful,” Zlata replied.

 “Ah… yeah, that’ll be interesting.” Ax nodded. “It was when I went through, anyway.”

 “How many times?”

 “Eh… well, two times things have happened. I go more often than that.” She looked to the side, frowning.

 Kera nuzzled at her neck, purring.

 “May I ask what things happened?” Ryun asked, turning to Ax. “Unless they were very bad.”

 “There was possession by malevolent ghost.”

 “How come?”

 “Courtesy – or because of – Mewtwo.”

 “Really? His blessing doesn’t seem all that good. Not that mine is that helpful.”

 “It has its uses.” Warren smirked. “Ow!”

 Nyx punched him in the arm. “One more chance, that’s all you’re getting!”

 “I’m sorry.” Ryun winced, shaking his head.

 “Please keep it to yourself.” Zlata glared at Warren.

 Warren bowed his head, still smirking.

 “T’be honest, none of our blessings are all that helpful,” Arlette said, shrugging. “Pain in the ass is what they are, most of the time.”

 “Just slightly. Still… can’t change the wind you sail with.”

 “We can adjust our sails, though.”

 “True enough.” Ax shook her head. “Doesn’t make the crossing any less rough.”

 “How long ago was it this happened?”

 “About… four… five years ago?” Ax frowned. “I forget.”

 “Four years would match up with when we met you on Cinnabar.”

 “Well… it’s long past now.” Nyx smiled.

 “You have to keep living with it.” Ryun nodded. “It’s not changeable now.”

 Kera snorted, rolling her eyes.

 Ax laughed. “Kera agrees with you, by the way. About leaving it in the past.”

 “And well she should.” Arlette grinned, reaching up to stroke Kera. “We’re the sensible ones in this case.”

 “Do… do you know anything about Mewtwo?” Nyx asked. “Besides the blessing he gave you.”

 “Why?” Ax glanced at her. “But… not really. He kept – keeps – himself to himself.” She lifted the pikachu from her shoulder and passed her across to Arlette.”

 “Is he still after revenge?” Nyx asked carefully.

 “Who said he was after revenge?”

 Arlette frowned, glancing between the two of them. To the side, Zlata shuddered and shook her head.

 “Well, if he’d been locked away in that cave and all…”

 “It would make sense.” Ax nodded. “Not as far as I know. I think we got it.”

 “Who was he after?”

 “Who d’you think?” Arlette asked.

 “Well… yes, but – it wasn’t too bad, was it?”

 “Considering it was when he was mind linked with me rather than free, no.” Ax frowned at Nyx. “He was just fired.”

 “Giovanni?”

 “Yeah. Though the official stuff just says he’s retired, of course. Why d’you care?”

 “No reason,” Arlette said quickly, making a sharp hand gesture for Nyx to stop asking. “Curiosity and all that.”

 “You’re mind linked with Mewtwo?” Zlata asked, looking up. “How, exactly?”

 “Oh, he laughs and occasionally helps out with information and getting places. I think it’s the reason I can understand my team, as well. In return, I help calm him down.”

 “That’s good, such an anger wouldn’t help anyone. Especially not a pokémon as powerful as him.” Nyx looked up. “How did you get him fired?”

 “Mewtwo recognised him and we got him caught up in the whole Team Rocket thing, even though they’ve been out of it for ages.” Ax shrugged.

 “It’s… surprising he wasn’t punished more,” Nyx said.

 Arlette shook her head, wincing.

 “Well… it was resign and go quietly, and keep his gym leader reputation intact, or get a shit storm. The region wasn’t too keen on him not going quietly, considering how it would reflect on them.”

 “That would make sense.” Aurora nodded, flicking a glance towards Zlata and Ryun.

 “Why the interest, anyway?”

 “It really doesn’t matter.”

 “Probably best to keep the full version for now.” Nyx shrugged. “Giovanni–”

 “Nyx. It doesn’t matter. Let it go,” Arlette interrupted her.

 “Why? It’s not anything to be ashamed of.”

 “Count the facts. Mewtwo. Not the biggest fan of Giovanni. Ax has a link to said disgruntled legendary.”

 “It’s not a link I can close, either. Anything I hear, he hears, pretty much.”

 Nyx considered them and nodded. “Fine, then.” She walked ahead, with Warren.

 Ax sighed. “Sorry.”

 “Don’t worry about it,” Aurora murmured. “It’s still a bit of a sore point around here.” She glanced pointedly at Zlata.

 “Right.” Ax turned away, pulling herself up onto Keyare’s back.

 “You… don’t have to leave,” Arlette said.

 “No… it’s probably best. I’ve my brother to meet and drag out, anyway.”

 “Good luck with your brother, then.” Ryun bowed his head. “And with your journey.”

 “Thanks.” Ax nodded. “Kera.”

 The pikachu jumped across from Arlette’s arms and the charizard caught her, handing her to Ax.

 “Some other time.”

 “Sure.” Ax nodded as Keyare spread his wings. “See you.” She took off.

 The twins waved after her until she was only a speck in the sky, and turned to walk after the rest of the group.

 “Can we go over the ‘when to stop talking’ guidelines now?”

[watchmegetobsessed]

Tastes Like Strawberries - Harry Styles

a/n: oh this one is a long boi and might not be the end??? i’ve been working on this fic for days and i have an idea for a possible second part, but i wrote this one so it has a fulfilling ending so it can stand as a oneshot as well! i barely just started working on the sequel, we’ll se how it’ll turn out, maybe it goes to shit lmao but whatever, it’s still a nice and whole story without a second part! this is my V-day gift to you all, have this nice professor!harry fic as if it was a box of chocolate! 🍓 🍫 🍬

special thanks to @pastequeharry​ who put up with my constant rambling and whining while i was writing this, you are a hero, his is dedicated to you!!

pairing: professor!Harry x Reader

warning: sexual content, abusing relationship, it’s got smut, angst, lot’s of banter and all that jazz!

word count: 21.4k

masterlist

There’s just a handful of things to know about Professor Harry Styles and that’s because of one of those very few known facts, the first one being that he is a highly private person. He rarely talks about himself or any aspects of his life, he always makes sure to keep it as professional as possible whenever he is teaching.

Second, he is easily the smartest professor to ever walk on campus, but he doesn’t like to brag about it. You never catch him showing off how much he knows, how big of a genius he is, you’ll just start to realize from the way he teaches and approaches certain topics, how he interacts with others and tries to pass his knowledge down to his students. He is brilliant and he should have all the credits for it, yet he still chooses to keep it to himself.

Third, and it’s the most well-known fact because to see this you just need to have a pair of eyes, he is undeniably the most handsome man to ever teach or if you’re being more precise, walk the hallways of the university. No football crazy, alcoholic fratboy or dreamy looking indie guy from the library can live up to what Professor Harry Styles is. With a face clearly carved by the angels, a nicely built but not too muscular frame, and occasionally displayed tattooed arm that makes you wonder what other artworks his stylish outfits are hiding, there’s no man like him and every female on campus agrees with that.

His lectures and courses are jampacked with sighing and heart-eyed college girls, daydreaming about the man who is solemnly just trying to teach the things he is so passionate about. But it’s not just the students, Professor Styles has managed to charm the female professors of all faculties, you can see them wander by his office way too often, they take any opportunity to talk to the man and try to seduce him. It’s unknown if he is oblivious to the effect he has on women or he chooses to ignore every and any attempts, but this is what leads us to the fourth fact.

Despite all the effort and energy that’s been put into his case by every single woman on campus to break the walls the professor has built around himself, he never let any of his students or colleagues to even think they could be romantically linked for real. Professor Styles keeps his distance and turns down any offer that could be mistaken to anything that doesn’t fit in the professional boundaries.

Anytime a student puts on the slightest flirtatious act towards the professor, he either rejects it straight away or ignores it completely and blatantly, making it his clear answer that he is not interested and then he goes back to teaching. You’ve seen it yourself, having him as one of your professors first year of uni, you fell for him just like every other girl in the lecture hall, dreaming about him in ways you probably shouldn’t think of a teacher while he was just casually talking about his grading system and how he is going to build up the lectures throughout the semester. Some brave girls who you assume were highly celebrated by boys in high school took the courage to openly flirt with him, but he didn’t even flinch before shutting all attempts down, not even a blush appeared on his perfectly cut cheekbones.

You thought of ways you’d try to seduce him yourself, but you never actually tried. You never had the balls to actually give it a go and then suffer from the worst embarrassment of your life when he rejects you. So you kept it all to yourself, only entertaining yourself with your elaborate plans about the seduction of your professor.

Second year passed without any classes with Professor Styles, you had only occasionally seen him come and go, rushing down the hallways holding his notebooks to his chest, a steaming cup of coffee in his other hand as he was heading to his lecture hall that you just knew was filled with girls. You always took a moment to yourself to admire his outfit. He has a tendency to pair odd items and make them look like the most put together fit ever that only he can pull off. However, you and your girlfriends always loved to tease him between each other for his grandpa-like sweaters and vests he seemed to love dearly.

“He confuses me, because I want him to fuck me on his desk but also, I feel like he is about to ask me what periodt means because he is too old to understand slang these days,” your friend, Nat said once when your little group was lounging under the huge oak tree between classes and the professor rushed past you, disappearing in the building without paying any of you a look. He wore a pair of beige slacks and a striped sweater, a wrinkly grey shirt peeking from under it at the bottom. The colors and the style overall once again gave you that old people feeling, but then you looked at his handsome face and couldn’t care any less about whatever he was wearing.

The most intimate way you ever saw him was a few days after your twenty-first birthday the summer before your last year of uni started. You just got back from your hometown, the first person to arrive back to your shared flat with Nat and Eden, so you had a few days on your own. You decided to redecorate your room so you took a trip to IKEA, taking your time looking through the set up rooms, just wandering around as you try to figure out what you really want to buy. Walking through the living room section you spotted the professor and first, you didn’t even recognize him.

He was wearing a pair of bright yellow shorts and a short sleeved shirt with floral prints on it, a pair of white framed sunglass on top of his head, keeping his unruly strands out of his face as he was eyeing a couch, seemingly deep in his thoughts. You stopped in your tracks, seeing him in such a casual and everyday setting. For some reason, he seemed like a completely different person.

A woman was there with him and as you walked closer you could hear a fraction of their discussion.

“I don’t know, Gems. Do I need a couch this big?”

“Looks comfy and I like the color. It would also fit in the space just right, I think you should get the bigger one if you have the space for it,” the woman put her two cents in and you wondered who she could be. Girlfriend? Just a casual friend? Maybe fiancé? She did have a ring that could easily go as an engagement ring so you couldn’t tell for sure.

As you were about to walk past you suddenly took the courage to say hi.

“Hello, Professor Styles!” you greeted him with a warm smile and his eyes flickered over to you from the couch in question. One thing you always admired about him is that he never forgot the faces of his students and as he looked at you, you knew he recognized you even if he didn’t know your name specifically.

“Oh, hello,” he nodded in your way.

“I like the couch,” you commented before slowly moving on. “Have a nice rest of your summer!”

“You too, Y/N,” he called after you and it took you by surprise that he remembered your name. Your lecture he taught had almost over a hundred students in it and you weren’t the most active one to stand out that easily, yet he still remembered you more than you were expecting.

That small encounter kept you thinking about him for way longer than you probably should have, especially because you knew you’d have a lecture with him again in the upcoming semester. Your daydreams about him made their way back into your mind as you spent the last days of your summer mostly with your friends. It got you thinking that if you managed to get him to remember your name, maybe you would give one of your plans a go and shoot your shot. He wouldn’t be teaching you in your last semester so you wouldn’t have to face him after he rejects you.

And this is how you came up with your little scheme.

On your last Sunday evening before school starts, you, Nat and Eden sit in the floor of your living room, drinking some white wine as a way of saying goodbye to the carefree summer moments and getting back to the working days of being a senior at uni. Professor Styles came up completely randomly and you let it slip that you’ve just seen him recently at IKEA with a woman and it all led to you admitting that you’ll finally shoot your shot at the professor. Nat and Eden both did the same already, however their attempts were completely ignored and they always bugged you to give it a try yourself, being the only one in your group who hasn’t tried to seduce the professor yet.

“I’ll tell you, but you can’t tell me it’s stupid because I actually think it’ll be funny and a little bit genius,” you tell them before you start sharing the details on your plan.

“Just spill the beans already!” Eden pokes you before she reaches for the bottle and refills her glass.

“Okay, so you both know I took this psychology class last semester for extra credits, right?” The nod and you continue. “The teacher told us about this thing called classical conditioning or they call it pavlovian response too. The guy, Pavlov, did an experiment where he paired the feeding of dogs with a bell ring and after a certain amount of time the dogs started salivating at just the sound of the bell, because they remembered that it’s connected to food. The teacher said this is literally one of the easiest tricks to pull on people.”

“Oh, isn’t this one of the things Jim did on Dwight in The Office?” Nat asks furrowing her eyebrows.

“It is!” you nod, glad that they are understanding the base of your plan. “So, I’ve heard that Professor Styles loves strawberry flavored candies. I thought that I would bring some every day when I see him and offer him some. Slowly, he’ll pair the candy with the thought of me and he’ll get excited when he sees me because he’ll think I have candy for him and it will hopefully work the other way around and he’ll think of me when he is eating strawberry flavored candy that’s not from me.”

Your friends blink at you for a moment, processing what you just shared with them before Eden takes a huge sip of her drink.

“This is the most ridiculous but also the most genius thing I’ve ever heard,” she nods holding her glass up towards you.

“I can’t believe you will pull a psychological experiment on Professor Styles,” Nat shakes her head with a soft chuckle.

“It’s not a blunt way to get closer to him and if he accuses me of trying to flirt I can just say that I’ve been only sharing candy with him, I literally did nothing,” you point out, pretty proud of your solution to your deep fear of having to take his rejection publicly.

“If you get a Noble for this shit, make sure to thank us in your speech,” Eden laughs and you promise to do so when the big moment comes.

Monday morning you make a quick trip to Target and buy a big bag of strawberry flavored candies, probably enough to last for the whole semester, and then you make your way to campus. Following your first lecture you meet up with Eden who also signed up for Professor Styles’ lecture this semester, so the two of you make your way towards the lecture hall together.

“I really can’t believe you are doing this,” she chuckles when you get the candy ready as you near the room. The professor is always the first one in the lecture hall so you know you’ll find him there already.

“You can’t tell me it’s not a funny plan,” you smirk at her. And just as you walk in, you immediately spot the professor sitting at the desk at the front, going over the syllabus before the start. “Save a seat for me,” you tell Eden who just laughs and makes her way up the stairs along the desks.

Grabbing the pack of sweets from your bag you walk up to the professor, feeling confident with your plan. He lifts his head up when he notices your arrival and your eyes meet with his green ones.

“Hello, professor. Would you like some candy?” you simply ask with an innocent smile.

Professor Styles stares at you for a moment before his eyes move down to the candy in your hand, the opening of the bag facing him in a welcoming manner.

“I, uhh… what flavor?” he curiously asks and you can barely push down your smirk.

“Strawberry.”

“Oh. I’ll… take one, thank you,” he nods, hand reaching into the bag as he grabs just one single candy, unwrapping the package before he pops it into his mouth. “Thank you,” he nods again with a delightful smile.

“Of course. Did you buy the couch?” you ask, taking slow steps away from the desk as he keeps his eyes on you.

“I… did not. Bought another one,” he admits shortly and you know you’ve reached the limit. If you ask more, he’ll get suspicious, so you just nod smiling before walking up to the spot Eden has reserved for you. When you sit down, you catch the professor paying you one last glance before he returns to what he was previously doing.

“You are a genius, because now we can watch him suck on a fucking candy for the next few minutes,” Eden mumbles quietly, making you laugh.

“I knew this would be a good plan,” you sigh, satisfied with the work you’ve done. Now it’s just a matter of time.

Every Monday and Wednesday, you arrive with the same bag of candy to the lecture hall, walk up to Professor Styles and offer him one. And he always takes one. The first few times he seems hesitant when he spots you approaching him, but he slowly grows used to your tiny act of kindness that occurs every time you see him. On week three you expand the plan. You usually have lunch with Nat on Thursdays since you both have a break between one and two pm. The two of you try to take advantage of the warm early autumn days and sit under the pergola that’s near the building where Professor Styles’ office is as well. It’s mere coincidence, you only like that place because it’s close to the lecture hall you have to go to after lunch, but you notice that the professor emerges from Building C around one thirty, walking back to his office probably after one of his classes. The sidewalk runs directly next to the pergola so it gives you a chance to bring the candy out one more time every week. You nicely greet him when he is nearing the two of you and then hold out the bag, asking if he wants some. He always takes one and thanks you with a sweet smile that leaves you a tad bit blushed.

“I can’t fucking believe your plan is working,” Nat chuckles in disbelief on one occasion when the professor just disappeared in the building, probably happily unwrapping his candy of the day.

“It’s funny, innit?” you grin at her proudly.

Frankly, this is just a fun experiment for you. You don’t actually think that the professor will think of you differently even the slightest. You might be able to plant the thought of you in his head, but that doesn’t instantly mean that he’ll start fancying you and actually do something about it. It would be ridiculously naïve to think it’s going to be you who breaks through the wall that hundreds of women had already tried to knock down.

Week six is what brings the breakthrough. After long consideration and discussion with Nat and Eden, you decide to test if the experiment has been successful. You offer one last candy on Monday, but Wednesday brings the change. You go to lecture without candy. Well, you have it on you, but you decide not to ask him if he wants some.

Walking into the lecture hall, as always, he is already sitting at his desk, flipping through the pages of a book when you walk up to him with the intention of asking him a question on the paper that’s due next week.

“Professor Styles?” you softly speak up, catching his attention. “Can I have a question about the paper?”

“Of course,” he nods and you can’t tell just yet if he was expecting the candy or not.

“I was wondering if I can use a diagram to visualize my results at the end. I have a brilliant idea to summarize the data with one.”

“Sure, just make sure to give credit wherever it’s due, if you are using someone else’s work for the diagram.”

“Definitely,” you smile at him and wait a moment. That’s where you see the anticipation in his eyes.

His gaze flickers down to your hands and then to your bag where you always carry the candy and when his eyes meet yours again, you see him swallow hard.

He was expecting the candy. Not only expecting, but he started salivating when he saw you, thinking that he would get the candy from you as always.

“Is… that all?” he asks, the slightest hint of hope appearing in his tone, probably waiting for you to pull the bag of candy out of your bag and offer him one. But it’s not happening today.

“Yes, thank you very much,” you nod smiling widely before you turn around and walk away, a shocked and triumphant look appearing on your face once he can’t see it anymore and when Eden sees you, she gasps.

“He fucking expected the candy, didn’t he?!” she whispers at you in shock and you nod frantically, still not believing your plan worked.

“You should have seen the anticipation in his eyes, he really thought I was gonna offer him some!”

“Oh my God, this is hilarious!” Eden laughs covering her mouth as the lecture hall starts to fill up slowly.

Turning forward, you see that the professor is sitting behind his desk, the book that had his attention before your arrival is long forgotten in front of him, now he is staring ahead of him with slightly furrowed eyebrows, deep in his thoughts.

Is he thinking about you? Or why he was expecting candy from you?

You see him reach for his water bottle and he takes two big gulps probably to wash away his need for the candy before he narrows his eyes and at last they find you in the auditorium. You tilt your head to the side innocently smiling, as if you know absolutely nothing about anything. You keep eye-contact, forcing you not to be the one who breaks it and he is intimidating. You feel like he can read your mind as he stares at you and when he finally turns his gaze back at the book, you exhale sharply.

The lecture goes down just as usual and when the professor dismisses the class you decide to put the cherry to the top. Walking down between the desks you grab a candy from your bag and while the professor is talking to a girl who also had a question about the paper, you place the candy to his desk next to his book. He doesn’t see you walk out and you don’t see him when he finds it, but something is telling you he figured you out. No way a man as smart as him doesn’t realize what game you’ve been playing with him.

Sitting under the pergola on Thursday you are deep in discussion with Nat, helping her with a task sheet she has to turn in after lunch but she completely forgot about it. As the two of you are trying to do the seemingly endless sheet, you don’t even notice the professor walking from Building C, as always, but he spots you.

“No, I don’t think that’s even a thing, you can’t write that,” you tell Nat, but she shakes her head.

“I don’t care if it’s a thing, I just want to fill in the whole thing so the teacher doesn’t think I finished it in twenty minutes before class,” she mumbles, scribbling down her answer as you just chuckle at her.

Suddenly, you see a pair of dusty Vans appear in your sight and as your eyes move up, you are facing none other than Professor Styles, standing right in front of you, holding out his hand with his hand turned upwards, a cheeky smile tugging on his lips. His appearance takes you by surprise and for a moment you just dumbly stare down at his palm, then up at his eyes.

“Very smart. Pulling a pavlovian on me with my favorite candy,” he speaks up, dropping his hand as he cocks his head to the side. Nat looks up from her sheet with wide eyes as you stare at the professor with blushing cheeks.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, professor,” you tell him with a knowing smirk.

“Of course. You know, it took me a moment to realize yesterday, but I wanted to let you know that… I think it was clever.”

“If I knew anything about what you’re talking about… I would say thank you. But I stand up for my innocence.”

“Surely,” he chuckles softy. “Have a great rest of your week,” he then nods before turning around to walk away, but you quickly reach into your bag and grab a candy.

“Professor Styles!” you call out and he turns back just in time to catch the candy you throw in his way. He glances at it in his palm before his eyes snap up to you again, smirking at you shortly before he disappears in the building.

“Okay, call me stupid, but I could feel the sexual tension between the two of you,” Nat says as soon as the professor is out of sight.

“Don’t be silly, it was just… a joke and he liked it.”

“He called you clever, Y/N!”

“No, he called my trick clever.”

“But you came up with it so you’re clever too. Say whatever you want, but I actually think you have a shot at him.”

“I definitely don’t,” you laugh shaking your head and you genuinely believe it. Nat scoffs before she gets back to her sheet, but not without having one last thought about the situation.

“We’ll be laughing at how you brainwashed him into liking you when you’ll be dating for years, living together and all that shit.”

You’ve made some very questionable choices in your dating life prior. Like when you dated a boy in high school and let him take your virginity at the back of his mom’s minivan just to break up with your right after that, or when you briefly dated the guy you met at the mall, but it later turned out he was gay and he used you as his cover up in front of his family. But the worst decision of all was dating an egoistic forty years old loser who just freshly got divorced and went after you at some tacky bar you were at with your friends.

The time you spent dating Victor is way less than the time he has been bothering you, trying to make you go back to him when you’ve actually told him you don’t want anything to do with him anymore. You broke up with him just before you went home for the summer and he didn’t take it well, even drove up to your hometown and showed up at your parents’ house drunk, begging for you to take him back. He never stood a chance, not after that one time he slapped you across the face during a fight the two of you had. You tolerate a lot of things but not violence and you don’t believe him when he says it was just a onetime thing. There’s no guarantee he won’t hit you ever again and you are definitely not waiting around to see if he told you the truth.

On this particular late October evening you are searching through your whole room looking for a book you know you have, but can’t seem to find anywhere. It’s your holy bible about research methodology and you need it for your thesis work, but it seems like the small apartment has completely swallowed it.

“Didn’t you leave it at Victor’s? You were working on that long essay when you were dating him, saw you use the book all the time,” Eden tells you when you ask her if she’s seen it anywhere and then it clicks.

She is right, now you remember leaving the book at his once and you completely forgot to pick it up after things got nasty between the two of you.

“Damn it,” you growl in annoyance.

Not feeling like calling him, you send him a quick text, hoping he still has it and hasn’t burned it after one of your fights.

Y/N: Hey, I think I left my research methodology book at yours. You still have it?

Victor: I do.

Y/N: Cool, can I drop by to pick it up?

Victor: I’m leaving for work, you can come to the bar if you want it.

You sigh in defeat. Victor is a bartender at a place that’s all the way across town, takes almost an entire hour to get there, but you are left with no other choice.

Y/N: Okay, I’ll see you there.

The raining has finally stopped this morning so you feel better leaving the house than you would have if it was still pouring. You take the bus and travel across town, feeling anxious to see Victor again. Last time you met him he cursed you out and threw his phone at you, barely missing your head. You promised yourself you wouldn’t go near him again after that, but it seems like you can never get completely rid of him.

Students rarely come to this part of the town, it’s way too far from campus and has nothing to offer that can’t be found closer to the dormitories or the school’s buildings. It’s not entirely your scene either, the bars around here are liked by older generations, not by people your age, this is another reason why you don’t like coming around here.

The bar where Victor works is a place where they have different local bands perform every Friday and Saturday. It’s not a tacky nook with creepy dudes, they actually have prices on the higher end, not something you can necessarily afford with your part time job’s paycheck from the small accounting office near your apartment where you work as an assistant on your free afternoons.

Walking into the place you immediately spot Victor behind the bar and you take a deep breath before you walk up to him.

“Hey,” you call out for him, taking one of the stools along the bar.

“Hey. Long time no see.”

“Happens when you break up with someone,” you respond with a little spice and he frowns at your words. “Can you give me the book?”

“I’ll have a break in ten, can you wait for that or you have something extra urgent shit to do, as always?” You can tell he is still bitter from how things ended between the two of you, but you’ve learned not to care about it. His way of dealing with the breakup is not your responsibility, no matter how hard he is trying to prove it wrong.

You roll your eyes but nod, knowing well there’s no use to fight him. Ten minutes is not the end of the world. Busying yourself on your phone, you try to stay unnoticed and luckily, Victor can’t keep chatting with you, because customers keep coming up to him and ordering drinks. When he finally has his break he tells you to follow him to the back.

“So how have you been?” he asks as you walk down the hallway that leads to the small break room, there’s an office at the end and some kind of changing room you guess for the bands, along with a storage.

“Fine.”

“You really gonna be a bitter bitch and not talk to me?” he asks you, giving you a disgusted look, but you know it’s just the anger talking from him.

“Victor, I didn’t come here to talk, I just need my book!”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t answer my question.”

“I answered it! I’ve been fine, now give me the damn book!” you growl, losing your patience with him, but he is seemingly in the same shoes.

“When will you stop being a bitch and just drop this ridiculous act, Y/N? I’ve been after you for months yet you keep ignoring me!”

“Did it ever occur to you that I’m ignoring you because I don’t want anything to do with you? Victor, it’s been months, just… move the fuck on! Go cry to your ex-wife or something, I don’t care!”

You didn’t mean to snap, but he always brings the worst out of you. From the corner of your eyes you can see movement at the other end of the hallway where the changing room is, but you don’t get to pay much attention to it, because the next moment Victor grabs you by your arm and yanks you towards him.

“Don’t fucking talk to me like that! You ungrateful slut, I swear…”

There’s little you can do, he is twice as big as you are, his grip on your arm so strong there’s no doubt it will leave a mark. Your heart is racing as you try to pull yourself out of his hold, but he doesn’t even bat an eye at your attempt.

However, before he could drag you into the empty breakroom to do god knows what, he is stopped by a voice.

“Hey! Let her go!”

If you weren’t shocked enough at his violent reaction, now you are definitely think you’re going nuts, because it’s none other than Professor Styles who is now nearing you with a hard expression on his face, two other guys following right behind him and though none of them are bigger than Victor, he knows he can’t just start a fight with three men.

Your chest is heaving when the professor finally reaches you and Victor’s hold lets go of you, making you fall back a little.

“You perform here twice and think you’re some kind of rockstar?” Victor spats at the professor, but you’re a little lost in what’s really going on. Professor Styles gently grabs your wrist and pulls you behind him, eyes never leaving Victor’s burning gaze.

“You alright?” one of the other two men asks and you nod, not finding your voice to actually speak.

“Get the hell out of my sight before I call the police on you,” the professor answers in a calm yet threatening voice

Victor takes a second to himself, thinking about the choices he has before he turns around and disappears in the breakroom, slamming the door behind him, leaving you in complete shock about what just happened.

Professor Styles then turns around, his eyes soften at seeing how shaken you are and quite frankly, you feel like you are in a bad and quite weird dream.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” he asks, clearly worried about you and you just shake your head no.

“I-I’m fine, I think,” you mumble out of breath.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” the guy who asked if you’re alright suggests and you nod in agreement, following them kind of blindly, the three of them keeping you in their little circle as you walk out to the bar and they don’t stop until you are out of the place in the cold night air. You slowly come back to reality and process that Professor Styles just saved you out of fucking nowhere from your abusive asshole ex. That’s what you call a plot twist.

You finally take a moment to look at the other two guys, they both look the same age as the professor, or maybe a little older, both of them are rocking some facial hair, the one that asked you seems a little more open while the other one quite reserved but friendly looking.

“What… What were you doing back there?” you ask, turning to face the professor. He clearly seems upset, but you’re not sure if it’s entirely because of what happened with Victor back then or because you are standing outside some random bar on a Saturday night, definitely crossing his personal boundaries he keeps so high at school.

“We played here tonight, was just about to leave when I saw you.”

“You have a band?” you ask, shocked at the detail.

“A pretty good one,” the talkative guy chuckles. “I’m Adam, nice to meet you. This is Mitch.”

You shake hands with them introducing yourself as well.

“Y/N is… my student,” the professor adds as if he is clearing the air for his bandmates, a kind of warning for them.

From the direction of the parking lot two women emerge, laughing on something as they walk up to the four of you, both of them eyeing you curiously.

“Hey boys, who is this pretty girl?”

“Sarah, Charlotte, this is Y/N, she is my student. Y/N, these are my other band mates, Sarah and Charlotte,” the professor introduces you as you shake hands with them quickly.

“I-I’m sorry I interrupted your time with your friends, professor,” you shyly apologize, feeling like a complete intruder all of a sudden with all his bandmates around you.

“Interrupt? Sweetheart, that dude was about to do some unforgivable things to you, don’t apologize for needing help,” Adam snorts. “You’re lucky we were there.”

“What? What happened?” Sarah asks in confusion.

“Just… my asshole ex got a little too violent when I didn’t want to chit-chat with him,” you admit with a defeated sigh.

“Oh shit, but are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” you smile faintly, though you still can feel his grip on your upper arm. “I, um… I better get going, I guess. Thank you for… the saving,” you say, a little lost about what should be said in this situation.

“You’re leaving? We were just about to go to a much better place, why don’t you come with us, forget about your ex a little?” Charlotte offers and you catch the professor’s panicked look for a split second.

“I, um… I don’t think I should, but thank you.”

“Why shouldn’t you?” Sarah questions.

“Because I know how Professor Styles hates to mingle with students outside of lectures and I don’t want to cross any lines,” you truthfully admit. The professor furrows his eyebrows.

“I don’t hate mingling with students,” he states.

“Well, you are surely not the most reachable professor on campus,” you chuckle lightly. “But it’s fine, I understand it. So I’ll just head home.”

“Come on, Harry. Let her tag along for just one drink!” Sarah begs and seemingly everyone would be happy to have you join for a little. The professor’s eyes meet yours, as if he is contemplating whether he should say yes or let you go home. When he finally speaks up you’re more surprised than when you realized it was him saving you from Victor.

“I guess you could use a drink after what happened in there,” he says, the tiniest smirk showing on his lips as your eyes shoot up.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, come on,” he nods and your little group heads down the street.

Turns out the place they were heading to was just two corners down, so they left all their stuff at the minivan at the parking lot for the time being. You slide into an empty booth, Adam and Mitch go to get the first round, so it’s just the three of you girls and the professor.

“So you’re in one of Harry’s lectures?” Charlotte asks with a warm smile.

“Yeah, for the second time, actually. Had him in first year, now it’s my fifth semester and I had no doubt I have to take his class if I have the chance.” You pay a glance at him, but he is staring at his hands on his lap, you can’t tell if it’s because he is uncomfortable with you there or if it’s something else.

“It’s so funny, because we’ve heard that he is known to be a good teacher but we never actually heard it from one of his students,” Sarah chuckles. “What’s he like?”

“Sarah, you enjoy talking about me when I’m very much present?” he scoffs, giving her a look, but she just shrugs innocently.

“Come on, I bet even you’re curious about what your students think of you. Now is your time to find it out!”

“I think Professor Styles knows very well that he is one of the best, if not the actual best,” you truthfully say and see him raise his eyebrows a little.

“What makes him so good?” Charlotte questions.

You glance at him again, as a way of asking for permission if you can answer. You definitely don’t want to make him even more uncomfortable by talking about him when he is right next to you. He looks into your eyes, and his expression tells you that he wants to hear your answer as well, but he quickly adds:

“You don’t have to answer, Y/N.”

“It’s not a secret,” you admit it with a smile. “Professor Styles’ lectures always leave you with a question to think about until next week, he is great at getting into your head without you even noticing. He explains the most complicated things in so simple ways, it should be taught,” you say with a soft chuckle. “I think his enormous knowledge about many different fields in science and just life in general is amusing, anyone can learn something from him, it’s guaranteed.”

“Wow, where is this academic genius side of yours when you’re around us, or we only get to see the dad joke version of you?” Sarah teases him and you can’t push down a laugh, imagining him cracking dad jokes feels so alien but still kind of fitting for him.

“That’s what you get when you’re a nosy little thing,” he retorts with a small smirk. He then turns to you, and as Sarah and Charlotte are laughing on something, he lowly tells you: “You can call me Harry outside of school. Feels weird that you call me professor when my friends are around.”

“You sure?”

He nods and you spot a small smile on his lips. He must be getting used to the feel of you being there, but you still don’t want to push his limits too much.

“Can I ask you something?” he questions, leaning back in his seat.

“Of course.”

“If your ex is this aggressive, why were you there with him?”

His question is surprising, you didn’t think he would ask you something personal, but you guess it’s a valid question after he just saved you from Victor.

“I wanted to get a book back that I left at his place. Didn’t even get to the point where he could have given it back,” you mumble under your breath.

“What book?”

“Just this… research methodology book, wanted it back for my thesis work, but I guess I’ll have to buy a new one,” you huff bitterly.

“Is it the one written by William Scott?”

“Y-Yeah, it is. You know it?” you ask, but then realize it’s a bit of a dumb question. He probably knows every academically important book you will ever come across.

“I actually have it myself,” he nods. Just then, Mitch and Adam return with the drinks and you thank them for the beer, already reaching for your money to pay, but Adam shakes his head.

“It’s on me, don’t worry.”

You watch as Mitch sits beside Sarah, curling an arm around her shoulders and though you couldn’t have guessed that they are a couple, seeing them like this it actually makes sense, they look cute together.

You take a sip from your beer, trying to join the conversation Sarah and Charlotte are having, when your attention is pulled back by Harry.

“I can… lend you the book, if you want.”

“Oh, you don’t have to. I’ll just get a new one.”

“No, really. I think I even have two copies, I can give one to you.”

“I couldn’t ask you that, prof—I mean Harry.”

“You’re not asking,” he smiles at you softly. “I probably won’t need both, so why not put the extra into use?”

“Okay, but I’ll pay for it,” you insist, but Harry shakes his head.

“No need, one of them was a gift so I didn’t pay for it either.”

“Well… if you’re sure about it, I would love to have that extra copy, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So Y/N, what do you study exactly?” Adam questions, pulling you out of your little discussion with Harry.

“I’m majoring in anthropology, but I’ve been taking some psychology classes on the side just because I’m interested in the topics.”

“And what is Harry teaching you?”

“Had him for intro Sociology lecture first year, now I’m in his Methodology of Cultural Anthropology class.”

“All these subjects with their GY endings, I don’t know how you two put up with science on this level,” Sarah huffs in amusement.

“The names sometimes sound fancier than the subject itself,” you tell her smiling.

“But I bet you need to be quite smart to study these stuff on this level you are at.”

“Oh, it’s just a bachelorette degree, I wouldn’t say I’m that smart,” you chuckle shyly.

“She is totally toning it down,” Harry speaks up, catching everyone’s attention. “I know students tend to take my into Sociology class for just some extra credits so I always give them two options for the semester. They can either write a two pages long review of any article related to the topics talked about at lecture and get their strong C with the bare minimum, or actually participate and do a research of their own and turn in an at least seven pages long essay about their chosen topic. Y/N turned in an eleven pages long paper on the history of death sentences in the U.S. in the last fifty years and how society is thinking about it nowadays. It was easily one of the best works I’ve ever read and it was just an intro class.”

“You remember my essay?” you ask in complete shock.

“Of course. As I said, one of the bests I’ve read,” he nods confidently.

“So you’re like… on Harry’s smart level, actually?” Sarah asks, tilting her head to the side and you can feel yourself blushing.

You’ve always been said to be the smart kid at school, but you never thought it to be true yourself. In your book, you were just doing your absolute best, soaking in whatever knowledge was thrown in your way. You never actually understood how someone could just not study for an exam or not do an assignment, because you always felt like it was your duty to do the best you can. You thought yourself to be more of a hard-working student rather than a smart one.

“She is definitely a bright one,” Harry agrees, his eyes meeting yours as a small smile appears on his lips and you think that this is the biggest compliment you’ve ever gotten. “She actually tricked me with a psychological experiment and I didn’t even realize it,” he laughs and you can’t hold your smirk back.

“What? What did you do?” Charlotte asks, dying to know how you played Harry.

“Have you heard of the Pavlovian response?” you ask looking around and you can tell it rings a bell for all of them.

“The one with the dogs and the bell?” Mitch asks and you nod.

“Wait you did that on Harry?” Adam laughs with wide eyes and you just nod with a sly smile.

“I just offered him strawberry flavored candies every time I saw him. Took me six weeks to build up the response but he actually started expecting it whenever he saw me,” you tell them chuckling to yourself.

“And I only realized it when she stopped with the candy and I felt this massive feeling that something was missing,” Harry adds shaking his head with a soft laugh.

“Okay, that’s hilarious,” Sarah snorts clapping her hands together. “Y/N, I adore you, you’re brilliant!”

“It was just… an experiment,” you shrug shyly.

The night carries much faster than you realize. One drink turns into three and before you could realize, it’s already past midnight. Eden texts you, asking where you are since you said you’d just get the book and go home right away, but it’s been hours.

Y/N: Don’t freak out, but I’m at a bar with Prof. Styles and his friends. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow!

Eden: HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME NOT TO FREAK OUT AFTER READING THIS???!?!

Y/N: Lol, chill. Nothing extra is happening.

Eden: It’s already extra that you’re out with him.

Realizing how late it is, you decide you better get going, since it’s a long way back home. When you tell the little group that you’re about to head out, they all agree that it’s time to part ways and leave, so you all slowly make your way back to the parking lot.

“Do you know where the bus stop is back?” you ask, narrowing your eyes, trying to spot where you should be heading.

“You want to go home by bus at this time?” Harry asks.

“Well, I surely won’t pay for a ride, I live almost an hour away from here.”

“An hour?” he frowns. “I’ll take you home, come on,” he tells you, heading towards the minivan.

“What? No need. The bus is fine,” you protest, but he shakes his head.

“You are not taking the bus at this hour, not under my watch,” he simply states and you raise your eyebrows at him.

“Didn’t realize I was under your watch,” you tease him and it seems like your comment caught him off-guard. “Don’t piss your pants, I was just joking,” you tell him, and thought for a second you feel like you are being way too comfortable around him, his smile quickly smashes your doubts.

Sarah, Mitch and Charlotte all take an Uber since they live near each other and Adam is picked up by his wife, so when everyone is off to their own way, you and Harry get in the van and head to your place.

“How long have you had the band?” you ask, in need to break the silence that’s been weighing down on the two of you. “If you don’t mind me asking,” you add quickly when you see him.

“About four years. Used to have another one, but we parted ways.”

“And what do you do in the band?”

“I, uhh… Well I mostly sing but I also play the guitar.”

“You know, I’m not that surprised you can sing,” you chuckle to yourself sinking further down in your seat.

“How come?”

“You have a voice that’s great to listen to at lectures, makes sense that you can sing as well.”

You take a moment to look at his hand that’s gripping the steering wheel, he is the kind that drives with one hand on the wheel, the other one on the shifting gear. He makes it look so easy as he steers the wheel whenever he is turning a corner while his other one easily moves around the shifting gear, his tattoos are peeking from under his rolled up shirt sleeve. He catches you staring and you feel a blush burning on your cheeks as you turn your head to the other side. Maybe you shouldn’t have drunk that third beer…

“Am I really seen that rigid by the students?” he speaks up after a while and you turn back to face him.

“What do you mean?”

“You said I’m known about not mingling with students.”

“Well, you don’t mingle, do you? But it doesn’t mean you come off as rigid. More like… closed-off. Private.”

“I know I should be a little friendlier, but I just…”

“You don’t have to explain yourself, I think everyone gets it why you’re like that.”

“Do they?” he arches an eyebrow.

“Well, you’re obviously a ladies’ favorite, but it doesn’t sit well with you being a person of some sort of power. It’s clear that you don’t want anyone to get the wrong picture about you. I’ve seen how bluntly girls are flirting with you, some of them are quite scandalous if you ask me,” you huff to yourself. “I totally get it that you don’t want even just a rumor to spread about you.”

“Didn’t think I was that obvious,” he admits, running his tongue over his lips.

“Don’t worry about it, you’re still a highly fancied professor, in all means,” you tell him with a warm smile.

“Does this mean you also fancy me?” he suddenly questions and your lips part at his words. He quickly realizes how ambiguous he just sounded. “I mean, am I one of your favorites? Where do I stand in your chart of professors?”

You can’t tell for sure because of the lack of lighting, but you could have sworn there’s a light blush on his cheeks as he corrects himself. Because of this, you don’t know for sure if he really meant it academically. Either way, the answer is the same.

“You’re my favorite,” you confidently state and your eyes meet for a moment before he turns back to face the road.

The rest of the ride is pretty quiet, you keep giving him directions to your place until you finally arrive a little before one am.

“Well, thank you for the ride,” you smile at him, grabbing the door handle.

“See you on Monday,” he nods shortly and watches as you get out of the can.

“Yeah, see you, professor,” you smirk before shutting the door and walking up the stairs and disappearing in your building.

“Was that Professor Styles in the fucking minivan?!” Nat throws the question at you the moment you open the front door.

“Jesus, why are you still up?” you sigh, shutting the door and shimmying yourself out of your coat.

“Because we were waiting for you!” Eden rolls her eyes. “So, care to tell us what the fuck just happened?” The three of you get comfortable on the couch and you give them a quick rundown of your evening from meeting Victor through being saved by Harry right to him offering to drive you home and they listen to you with wide eyes in complete shock that you just spent your entire evening with the most handsome professor on campus who also happens to be the most private as well.

“If I didn’t see him sitting in that van with my own eyes I would straight up think you’re lying, but I saw his tattooed hand over the windshield,” Nat gasps, processing the story.

“I know, I still feel like it didn’t happen, but it did.”

“And what is he like around his friends? What are his friends like?” Eden questions, hugging her knees to her chest.

“He is pretty much just like in lecture, just jokes a little more and he has a looser vocab. His friends are hilarious, I really got along with Sarah.”

“I know you still think it won’t happen, but I actually think you have a shot at him, Y/N,” Eden points it out and you just chuckle.

“Why, because he saved me from my douche ex?”

“No, because he let you stay for the night with him and his friends. This is literally the first ever time a student hung out with him.”

“It’s not that big of a deal, Harry is a reserved and private person—“

“Harry?!” they gasp at the same time.

“You are now just casually calling him Harry?” Nat asks with ogling eyes.

“Well, yes, he asked me to, because it felt weird that I was calling him Professor Styles with his friends around.”

“Okay, I’m giving it… let’s say, he seems to be moving pretty slow, but y’all will be fucking in about six months,” Nat bluntly tells you and it makes you laugh.

“Oh, sure, whatever. I’m gonna shower and head to bed, you two don’t get too crazy with your fairytales,” you wave at them before disappearing in the bathroom.

The rest of the weekend goes by uneventfully, outside of the pathetic attempt from Victor to get you to talk to him, but you’ve had enough of him for a life so you finally block his number and hope you won’t ever see him again.

Both you and Eden oversleep on Monday morning, skipping your early morning lecture and already being late for Harry’s class as well, so you barely make it to Harry’s class in time, just sprinting up the rows, flopping down to your usual seats when Harry starts the lecture. It all goes as usual as if nothing really happened during the weekend, Harry doesn’t seem to be bothered by it at all. Glancing over at his desk you spot the book he promised you and you can’t hold your smile back. Still grinning, your eyes accidentally meet with his gaze and he stops for a heartbeat as if he is questioning why you are so smiley, but you just shake your head and he carries on before anyone could suspect a thing.

“I gotta run, my favorite TA is having his office hours now and I have a few questions for him. See you at home?” Eden asks once the lecture is over and you are getting ready to leave.

“Sure, have a good day!” you call after her and she sings a ‘you too!’ before running out of the room.

You pack up and head down between the rows, Harry spotting you right away and you go up to him without him even asking you to.

“Hey, sorry we were a little late to class this morning,” you tell him and he just shakes his head kindly.

“No worries. How… is your arm?” He furrows his eyebrows, his gaze wandering down to your forearm where Victor grabbed you on Saturday.

“Oh, it’s fine. I just have a little bruise,” you shrug, because it really isn’t that big deal, but you can tell Harry is still outraged by what happened.

“M’sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. Would be worse if you weren’t there,” you smile at him kindly and he nods to himself before turning to his desk.

“I, uhh, I brought the book we talked about,” he shyly says grabbing it from the desk. As people are exiting the room you can feel the glares on yourself, most of them are probably trying to figure out why Harry is talking to you for so long, but you don’t pay much attention to them as you take the book he hands you.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to pay for it?”

“No need, keep it, it’s yours,” he shakes his head with a small smile.

“Thank you then.” You slide the book into your bag before looking back up at him. “Well, I’ll see you on Wednesday, professor,” you smile warmly before heading out.

“See you!” he calls after you before you close the door behind you.

The week carries on as usual, you are working on papers that needs to be turned in before the fall break so you spend some extra time at the library, using every bit of free time you have so you finish everything on time.

Things go back to kind of normal with Harry, he greets you in the mornings when you walk into the lecture hall and other than the warm smile he occasionally gives you, nothing has changed.

Friday however brings a surprise, but not from Harry. You’re sitting at work in the afternoon, typing away on your computer, filling in some sheets when you get a notification on your phone from Instagram.

Sarah Jones is now following you!

You tap on her profile but see that it’s private so without a second thought you request following. Luckily, she approves you only a few seconds later and you gain access to her posts, quite a few of them featuring Harry on them.

Photos of birthdays, weekend getaways, band practices and performances, Harry makes a lot of appearances on her feed and you find yourself scrolling all the way down until you reach the first few posts from 2016. Just as you are about to leave her profile you get a message from her.

Sarah: Hey Y/N! Charlotte and I’ve been talking about you recently, loved having you with us last Saturday! Want to grab a drink with the two of us this weekend?

Y/N: Would love to, but I’m not sure Harry would like the idea…

Sarah: He won’t be there and besides, who is he to tell you who you can and can’t hang out with?

She is right. You enjoyed spending time with them as well and Harry has little to no word in if you want to meet up with his friends or not. This invitation has no connection to him being your professor.

Y/N: Alright, I’m down!

 This is how your friendship with Sarah and Charlotte starts. You meet up with them on Saturday and have an amazing time, they are definitely fun people to spend time with and though at first you feel hesitant to get closer to them, you soon forget about your doubts and just enjoy your time with them.

Your little girls night goes so well that they invite you out for dinner on Wednesday with Mitch joining the little trio. You learn that he is a quiet but hilarious guy, he and Sarah make a great couple, you think.

“We have a gig this Saturday at Green Light, want to come?” Charlotte asks at the end of the dinner.

“Okay, I really don’t think Harry would be a fan of that idea,” you point out, feeling like it’s surely over the lines. He still doesn’t know about you meeting some of his friends without him and you’re not sure how he would react if he did.

“Harry can fuck off, not everything is about him. We are inviting you as our friends, he just happens to be in the band as well,” Sarah rolls her eyes, clearly not as bothered by the situation as you are.

“I just don’t want to make him uncomfortable.”

“He is a big boy, he’ll get himself over it, don’t worry. So, are you coming?”

“I guess, alright,” you nod with a soft chuckle.

 Next week you contemplate telling Harry that Sarah invited you out for their gig, but at last you decide against it, something is telling you he would try to talk you down and now you’re pretty hyped to see them perform. So you keep quiet and just brace yourself for the worst when Saturday comes.

You don’t overdress for the occasion, decide to wear some light washed mom jeans and a simple sweater tucked into it, a casual look for a night out.

Even when you’re on your way to the place you are having second guesses whether it’s a good idea or not, but you tell yourself it’s not that big of a deal and if Harry flips, you’ll just tell him you came for Sarah and Charlotte.

As you get off the bus and walk towards the place, you immediately spot the little group of three next to Harry’s minivan, Sarah waving in your way as you become visible in the streetlights.

“There she is!” she beams happily and you just chuckle at her.

Harry is standing with his back facing your way but seeing Sarah’s reaction he turns around and you swear for a moment you think he is about to faint when he spots you.

“Hey everyone,” you smile as Sarah pulls you into a hug and Charlotte does the same.

“Hey, if it isn’t our little trouble seeker!” Adam teases you and you just roll your eyes at him before shyly glancing at Harry who is standing on your left, awfully quiet and deep in his thoughts since your arrival. He feels your eyes on him and his gaze meets yours and just by one look you can tell he is pissed.

Just as you thought.

The group chats a little longer outside before Adam suggests they head inside and get ready for their start and you are just about to follow them, but Harry keeps you back.

“Y/N, can we have a word?”

Staying back you nod, hiding your hands in your coat’s pockets as you look at him, lips curled into your mouth.

“What are you doing here?” he questions, eyebrows knitted together and he looks so damn intimidating, the neon lights from the front of the building tinting part of his face green, but you think red would suit him better with this look.

“I… came to see the band playing, what do you mean?”

“Is this your sneaky way of trying to come after me? Because I thought we had a very clear discussion about my thoughts regarding situations like this and you seemed to understand it.”

He comes off way angrier than you think he should be. Yes, it might be uncomfortable for him to see you here, but the tone he just hit is way too harsh for your liking and professor or not, you are not letting anyone talk to you like that when it’s completely not relevant.

“Okay, calm down. First of all, I was invited here.”

“By who?” he spats.

“Sarah and Charlotte, we met last weekend and had dinner this week as well. Had a great time and they asked me to come tonight as well, so get off of your high horse, I’m not here for you.” You can see the change on his face as the information sinks in and he realizes he accused you wrongly, but you’re not quite done with him. “But if I was here to see you, why does that bother you so much? You can’t avoid meeting students every minute when you’re off-campus. If I came here because of you, it shouldn’t affect you this much if you weren’t worried about something else than me just being here,” you point out and he furrows his eyebrows at you. “If I didn’t know better I would think you’re afraid to be around me because you actually like me, huh!” you tell him with an innocent yet suggesting look. His eyes widen and the confidence in himself quickly vanishes from him, replaced by anxiety and nervous looks as he realizes the meaning behind your words.

“I-I, that’s not—I’m not—“

“Take a breath before you pass out, Harry,” you sigh, dropping the hard act. “I didn’t come here for you and if you want to know I actually thought a lot about canceling because of you. But I genuinely like spending time with Sarah and Charlotte so I’m here as their friend.”

Harry stares back at you, completely defeated, regret filling his green eyes. You feel a little guilty for snapping so hard at him, after all you do understand his point of view, but you genuinely don’t think it’s as big of a deal as he makes it to be.

“I-I’m…”

“It’s fine, okay? Let’s just… move past it, alright?” you suggest and he nods as the two of you head inside, joining the rest of the group.

You stay behind while they are waiting for their time to perform, keeping some distance from Harry so he can’t accuse you again, but you occasionally look his way, catching him already looking at you, but you just can’t tell what could be possibly going on in his head. When it’s time for them to go on stage, you go out to the actual bar area and sit by the counter, not too much at the front but close enough to see everything that happens on the stage.

When they start playing you can’t take your eyes off Harry. His energy behind the microphone just knocks you off the stool and you watch him completely mesmerized as if he has put a spell on you. It feels like he turns into an entirely different person on stage, nothing like the man you see at lectures every Monday and Wednesday. He sings perfectly on key, putting some extra charm into the songs with his little additional tunes whenever he is not singing a line.

But what makes it absolutely impossible to look away from him is because he keeps staring at you, eyes locking with yours for way too long every time he catches your gaze. You try to ignore it, but it’s quite hard when his eyes are basically burning into you, it leaves you breathless.

Once the concert is over you order yourself two tequila shots quickly, because something is telling you that you’ll need the boosting if you want to face Harry after his little performance.

But for your surprise, when you join the band again and get near him, nothing really happens. It seems like Harry has come to peace with your presence in his little group of friends and he actually treats you like you’re part of the circle.

The six of you occupy a table at the back of the bar to spend there the rest of the evening and it’s all good, it seems. A harmless night out with a bunch of friends, nothing extra. Harry actually strikes up conversations with you involved and you feel like you’ve overcome a banter finally.

“Do you need a ride home?” Harry asks at the end of the night when everyone is about to head home.

“Only if it’s fine by you.”

“Wouldn’t offer it if it wasn’t,” he smiles shortly before the two of you say goodbye to the rest of the group and head to his van that was previously loaded with their stuff.

The ride back to your place is now much shorter, it takes less than ten minutes to arrive and you are just about to say goodbye when he speaks up.

“I want to apologize for the way I reacted to your arrival earlier tonight. It was… unnecessary.”

“It’s fine, I’m sorry for what I said after that too.”

“You shouldn’t be,” he shakes his head, staring down at his hands in his lap.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that you shouldn’t be sorry for saying something that’s true.”

It feels like all air is knocked out of you as his words process and you stare at him with parted lips and raised eyebrows. When he finally looks up at you, he looks so lost and tortured, you feel the urge to hug him, but you stay still as he continues talking.

“I got mad because I do like you and seeing you outside of school is very… confusing for me. And this is why I’m gonna be very straightforward with you now. I can tell Sarah and Charlotte like you a lot and they are stubborn, they won’t see the situation from my point of view and I’m no one to tell you if you can hang out with us or not. But what I can most certainly tell you is that nothing will happen between us. I’m very serious about this, Y/N. You are very much welcomed to spend more time with us, but I want you to know that it won’t go further than this.”

For a couple of moments you’re only able to stare back at him, blinking completely frozen at his sudden confession. You could tell tonight has been a turning point of some kind, but you were not expecting this speech from him at all and now you are at a complete loss of words. It takes some time before you actually find your voice.

“Okay,” is all you can breathe out, nothing more, but it’s pretty much all you have to tell him. You won’t go against his will and force him to do something he doesn’t want. He deserves the respect.

He nods shortly, seemingly still very torn about the situation and you figure it’s better if you just leave now.

“Thank you for the ride,” you quietly tell him opening the door. “Good night.”

“Good night, Y/N,” you hear him before you shut the door and walk into your building, feeling like you’ve been just hit by a pile of bricks.

Unlike the last time when Harry brought you home, Nat and Eden are not waiting for you in the living room. Nat is probably already asleep and Eden went out for a date earlier and she hasn’t been back. You don’t bother to turn the lights on as you walk inside, just kick your boots off and hang your coat before collapsing onto the couch, just staring into the darkness, Harry’s words repeating in your head again and again.

“… I do like you and seeing you outside of school is very confusing for me.”

“… nothing will happen between us. I’m very serious about this, Y/N.”

“… but I want you to know that it won’t go further than this.”

Harry, your professor, The Harry Styles admitted that he likes you but also told you pretty forward that nothing is ever going to happen between the two of you. It still feels like a fever dream and you’re not sure how you are feeling about it just yet. Hanging out with him was already quite overwhelming, but you were not expecting this confession from him at all.

What are you supposed to do with this information? If he is so set on not taking any further steps, why did he even share it with you? He could have just easily keep his thoughts and feelings to himself and get away with it without you ever figuring it out. It doesn’t make sense.

For the first time in your life, something Harry Styles said doesn’t make sense. That’s new.

Following Harry’s confession you truly have no idea what to do, so you just go with the flow. He seemingly stays the same when it comes to you, friendly, but still keeping his distance. Nothing changes in the lecture hall, he just occasionally asks if you’re alright and you are guessing he only wants to know if you are having any trouble with Victor, but you haven’t even heard from him since you’ve blocked his number and you hope it’s going to stay like that.

You meet up with him and the band a few times outside of school and it’s not necessarily awkward, but you can tell he is keeping his distance from you, he never sits next to you or has one-on-one conversations with you, only if it’s necessary. The only time he dares to be alone with you is when he sometimes offers you to drive you home. You usually say no at first, but he insists, so you end up sitting in silence in the car until you arrive home, say goodbye and end of story.

No one in school even suspects that you’ve made your way into Harry’s group of friends, only Nat and Eden knows about it but they swore to keep it a secret, but you didn’t tell them about Harry’s confession. Whatever it is that’s happening between you and Harry, you would never put him into a situation he is trying to avoid so badly. You sit in his classes like everyone else, but while all the other girls are drooling over him, trying to get just slightly closer to him in any way possible, you sit in silence and think about the precious times when you get to see him outside of school.

Even with him being so distant towards you, you can’t help but slowly start falling for him. He doesn’t have to talk to you or be direct to you, it’s enough that you see him as himself, you see him with his friends, how he acts whenever he is not teaching, standing on the podium. And he is an amazing person, there’s no doubt about that.

The semester is gradually moving forward, once you get back from fall break, you basically move into the library, studying for your exams and finishing up all your papers. December arrives pretty fast and before you realize, the whole town is decorated with lights and Christmas trees everywhere, the shops are trying to lure customers in with all the sales and the Christmas shopping officially starts.

One weekend, when there’s only two weeks left of school before everyone heads home for the holidays, you and Nat go for a shopping trip, trying to buy every gift in time so you don’t have to worry about that at least last minute.

Wandering around the mall you naturally take a trip to the bookstore, always ready to buy something new to read. Nat dives into the cooking books wanting to get one for her mother while you’re just aimlessly looking through the shelves. As your eyes are running through the titles in the psychology department, you stop at one particular book, pulling it off the shelf as you can’t help but smile to yourself.

The secrets of Classical Conditioning.

You flip through the pages and though it doesn’t seem to be a groundbreaking work, it’s just explaining Pavlov’s experiment and further uses of it, you still decide to buy it.

That evening you sit at your desk, the book open in front of you, a pen next to it as you try to think of something to write into it. At first you just wanted to give it to Harry as it is, but you figured it would be a nice gesture to write a few words into it he could always read when he opens the book. After some consideration, you finally grab the pen and start writing.

-

Dear Harry,

I will always think of you whenever I hear of Mr. Ivan Petrovics Pavlov or Classical Conditioning. Thank you for another amazing semester and I’m happy I got to see you without standing on a podium. You are an amazing man, never change.

Happy holidays,

Y/N

-

Last week of school, you go to the Wednesday lecture, the last one of the semester with the book sitting in your bag. All through the 90 minutes class as Harry is having an open discussion about the lecture with the students, you keep debating whether you should give him the book or not. When the lecture is over and Harry wishes everyone happy holidays, you grab it from your bag and holding it to your chest you wait until there’s only a few people in the room. Eden has already left to hand in a paper so you walk down the rows on your own, eyes on the man behind his desk who is now packing up his papers and notes, getting ready to leave.

“Harry?” you faintly speak his name, grabbing his attention as he looks up at you from behind the desk. You glance down at the book in your hands and before you could change your mind, you place it down in front of him. “This is… for you.”

His gaze wanders down to the book, then back at you as he stares at you in awe, obviously surprised by the gesture.

“What’s this for?”

“Christmas gift?” you answer unsurely with a nervous chuckle. “I just saw it at the store and… thought of you.”

“Y/N, I can’t—“

“Yes you can and you will,” you roll your eyes at him, tired of hearing all these negations from him. He can’t, he won’t, he shouldn’t… for once, he definitely will if it’s on you. “Take it as my payment for the book you gave me.”

His eyes soften at you before he looks down at the book again, reading the title before he chuckles to himself.

“Thank you, Y/N,” he then finally says, accepting that you won’t let him return the gift under any circumstances.

“Have a nice Christmas, Harry,” you smile at him shyly, hands holding onto the strap of your bag as you start walking away.

“You too,” he faintly says and turning around you start walking, but then he stops you. “Y/N, wait!”

You stop in your track and face him curiously. He seems hesitant, stepping away from the desk, walking closer to you but still keeping some distance between the two of you.

“Do you… have plans for New Year’s Eve?”

“I, uhh—No, not yet.”

“If you happen to be back in town by then… Sarah is having this little get together. I have a feeling she already invited you, but if you said no because of me, I want you to know that it’s fine by me. Would be nice if you could come.”

He is right, Sarah did invite you over, but you kindly declined thinking Harry wouldn’t appreciate if you spent it with them. You wanted to give him a breather, have a night with his friends without having to avoid you all the time, but it seems like the situation has changed for him.

“You don’t have to invite me just because I gave you a gift, Harry.”

“It’s not about that,” he shakes his head softly. “I can tell you are getting along well with Sarah and all the others. I want you to know that I would never stand in the way and you are very much welcomed at any and all events.”

He seems and sounds genuine, you don’t see any sign of him just saying it because Sarah asked him to or something. No, this definitely came from him.

“Okay, I’ll… think about it,” you tell him with a warm smile. “See you around,” you wave at him before walking out of the room.

You don’t get to see his reaction to the words you wrote into the book and for a while, you’re not even sure he saw it. Maybe he took it home and put it on his shelf without even having a look into it, but two days later, when you’re already packing, getting ready to go home for Christmas, you get a notification that at first confuses you.

Breakfast is now following you!

You open Instagram with furrowed eyebrows as you go to the profile that just followed you. It’s a small account and private, of course and you almost close it thinking it’s just someone random when you see that it’s followed by both Sarah and Charlotte.

Could this be Harry’s profile?

The username is colazione8, it doesn’t give away much but now that you are thinking about it, it’s perfect if he wanted to stay unnoticed by his students that surely can use Instagram way better than him.

You tap on the follow request button and anxiously wait for an approval, hoping that the person behind the account is still online. You wait and wait, slowly losing hope but then the notification finally arrives. Your request has been approved.

You tap on the profile vigorously and three pictures appear in front of you. One is a picture of some random building, the first ever posted is a plate of nicely served breakfast of some sort and then there’s one that features the person you were desperately hoping to see.

It’s a picture of Harry sitting at a big dining table, a glass of wine in front of him as he is squinting his eyes towards the camera. You zoom into the picture just to make sure it’s him, but his features are clearer than daylight, it really is Harry that just followed you.

You’re still stalking his very private and not too eventful profile when you get a message from him, making your heart skip a beat.

Harry: Hey! Just wanted to thank you again for the gift, it’s really thoughtful. Read what you wrote in it… thank you, Y/N.

Y/N: I meant every word. Thank you for everything you did this semester!

It takes a few minutes for a response to arrive from him.

Harry: Are you already on your way home?

Y/N: Not yet, leaving tomorrow morning.

Harry: If I drop by your place in 20, can you come down for a sec?

Y/N: Sure!

Though your response seemed totally cool, you started panicking right away. What does this mean? Why is he coming here? Are you in trouble? You couldn’t be, you didn’t do anything wrong.

You quickly change out of your worn-out sweats and stained shirt, putting on a pair of jeans and a black hoodie, not wanting to see him looking like a total wreck. You sit on your bed, anxiously checking your phone every ten seconds to see if he has messaged you and those twenty minutes never seem to pass.

Then your phone finally chimes again.

Harry: I’m here.

Y/N: Be there in a sec.

You jump into a pair of trainers and grabbing your keys from the little sidetable you have in the hallway you storm out of the apartment, running down the stairs. As you walk out you stop in your track for a second, for some reason you were expecting the minivan, but this time, it’s a black Range Rover that’s parked in front of your building and Harry emerges from it the moment you step outside.

“Hey!” he smiles at you, shutting the door before he jogs around and you notice the little gift bag in his hands.

“Harry, is this what I think it is? Because you shouldn’t have, really,” you tell him right away as he stands in front of you, glancing down at the little bag in his hands.

“What? So you are allowed to give me a gift, but I’m not allowed to do the same?” he asks with a cheeky smile.

“But you already gave me one!”

“That wasn’t a real gift, so no,” he shakes his head, too stubborn to let it go. So instead, he nervously glances down at the little bag before handing it to you. “Here. Happy Christmas. But you can only open it when I’m gone, alright?”

“Why?”

“Just… please,” he breathes out and you not, keeping your curious hands to yourself.

“Alright. Well, thank you, Harry.”

“Sure. Um, have a great winter break and… I’ll see you around,” he smiles, walking around the car back to the side of the driving seat.

“You too, Harry. See you!”

You see him drive away as you walk back into the building, basically running up the stairs to your apartment, dying to see what’s in the little bag. Once you are locked in the safe haven of your room, you throw yourself to the bed and reach into the bag, finding a small box. One that’s usually used for jewelry. You pull it out with shaky fingers and take a deep breath before opening it.

Inside sits the cutest little silver ring you’ve literally ever seen. It’s thin and very detailed, tiny little strawberries lining next to each other and that’s the whole ring. Just the little strawberries, but it’s still the cutest you’ve ever seen. You put it on and it fits perfectly on your ring finger, holding up your hand you take a good look at how it sits on your finger. You’re in love with it.

Rolling to your back on the bed you stare up at the ceiling with a heavy heart aching for a man you know will never be yours, but you just can’t help it. The heart wants what it wants, right?

Reaching for your phone you type him a quick message

Y/N: Harry, thank you so much! It’s beautiful! But you shouldn’t have bought me anything!

Harry: I’m glad you like it :)

Y/N: I love it.

He doesn’t respond, just likes your message.

Christmas is always the same, especially because your family just never had those juicy dramas that could ruin any family events. Holidays have always been quiet and loving, pretty predictable. It’s good to be home again and spend quality time with your loved one, though your mind keeps wandering to a particular someone.

Sarah mentioned that Harry has traveled home to his mom and sister and from time to time you catch yourself thinking about what he could be possibly doing at the moment.

The only interaction between the two of you is when you post a photo with your sister and brother at Christmas dinner and he likes the photo, but nothing more. He doesn’t post or add to his story so you are left with your own elaborate fantasies of what he could possiblybe doing at home.

Sarah convinces you to spend the New Year’s Eve at hers and you are accepting the invitation a lot easier now that Harry has told you he is fine with you joining.

Just one day before the 31st you get back to your apartment and spend the second to last night of the year spiraling about the whole situation with Harry. Where are you two standing as of right now? Was his gift a gesture with a deeper meaning behind it?

You can’t step over the fact that you are not his student anymore. He has officially graded you and you’ve received your credits for his class, the ties are off, but he situation might still be risky and you doubt Harry is willing to change his mind about what he told you earlier. He made it clear that nothing will ever happen between the two of you, however you can’t help but feel a little hopeful that the new semester might bring a change into that.

After two hours spent in front of your closet and at least three mental breakdowns you finally decide to wear a black turtleneck dress which is just the perfect mixture of modest and sexy at the same time. You feel anxious to see Harry again, not sure how to act around him following your little gift exchange. There’s a chance he’ll just shut himself off once again and avoid you all night, you can’t tell.

Sarah’s place is already buzzing by the time you arrive, several guests are lounging in the living room and kitchen, some soft music is playing and it appears that everyone is enjoying the evening so far, judging from the laughter you hear from time to time.

“I’m so glad you came!” Sarah envelopes in a tight hug when you arrive.

“Thank you for inviting me. Here, brought some snacks,” you hand her the grocery bag you picked up on your way, not wanting to arrive empty-handed.

“Oh, you are an angel, some on in, make yourself home, take whatever you want to eat or drink!” she gestures around before bringing the bag into the kitchen.

The cozy home is already filled with a lot of people you don’t know, but you also spot Charlotte and Mitch right away so you take the safe spot in their little circle. You try your best to stay present in the conversation but you keep glancing around, looking for one particular person.

And then you finally see him. Harry emerges from the little hallway that leads to the bedroom and bathroom with Adam, seemingly deep in conversation as he nurses a beer in his hand. His checkered slacks and vintage printed t-shirt makes him appear so casual, if you didn’t know him you wouldn’t even guess that he is actually a professor.

Harry laughs at something Adam just told him and his eyes glide around the room until they find you standing near the kitchen. He stops in his track, gaze running down your figure before it returns to your eyes and he seems to be in awe, like he doesn’t entirely believe it’s you he is seeing even though he knew you’d be coming. There’s nothing you want more than to run across the room and throw yourself into his arms. You spent way too much time thinking about him during Christmas and seeing him in the flesh now is a mixture of feelings you can’t really describe just now.

Neither of you leaves the conversation you are in the middle, but you keep glancing towards each other. You’re nervously moving the strawberry ring around your finger, feeling his burning gaze on your figure all the time. You haven’t taken it down since he has given it to you, it partially made it harder for you to stop thinking about him, because the jewelry was quite a loud reminder every time you glanced down at your hands.

Two drinks later your sister calls you, as always she wants to say happy new year before the lines get hectic at midnight, so you move out to the small balcony facing the street as you talk to your sister. The spicy night air feels amazing on your heated up skin, the turtleneck dress was a good choice, but it’s definitely getting hotter with each drink, especially with Harry’s lingering eyes as well. When you end the call you decide to stay outside a little longer, take a few moments to yourself.

You jump a little when you hear the sliding door open and you’re surprised to see Harry walk out.

“Hey, thought you might need this,” he smiles softly, holding a blanket in his hands.

“Oh, thank you,” you mumble and let him wrap it around your shoulders. It provides just enough heat that your lips are not shaking anymore from the cold.

“What are you doing out here alone? Not enjoying the evening?”

“I am, I was just on the phone with my sister.”

“She’s older than you, right?” he asks and you tilt your head a little looking at him.

“How do you know that?”

“I, uhh… You have a lot of pictures with her on your Instagram,” he admits with a nervous chuckle.

“Have you been stalking my profile?” you tease him, but he clearly takes it way more serious than you intended it to be.

“No, I swear it’s not like that, I just—“ he stammers but you cut him off placing a hand on his arms that are crossed over his chest.

“Harry, I was just teasing you. It’s fine,” you assure him, giving him a gentle squeeze before you are about to pull your hand back, but his hold stops you. He takes your hand in his, gently bringing it closer to his face as he examines the ring sitting on your finger.

“You’re wearing it,” he breathes out, a small cloud emitting from his pink lips as his thumb softly runs over the ring.

“Of course. I told you I love it.”

You can’t ignore the shiver that runs down your spine at the feeling of his warm palm against yours, his thumb delicately running over not just the ring, but down your finger as well before he lets go of your hand. You already miss his touch.

“So, how was Christmas?” he asks clearing his throat.

“Good, nothing extra. What about yours?”

“Same, went home to the family.”

“Do you often visit them?”

“Not as often as I would want to, but I’m trying to go every couple of months.” Harry turns towards the street, eyes running along the not too busy road that stretches past Sarah’s building. His hand comes up to the railing, fingers slightly drumming on it. “How come you didn’t bring anyone tonight?”

“Well, my roommates are still home and I also didn’t think you’d like the idea to have another student of yours around.”

“Right, yeah,” he nods, but you can tell something else is still on his mind. “So… no boyfriend to bring?”

You give him a puzzled look. Is this his way of asking if you are seeing anyone at the moment? Because if it is, it’s kind of ridiculous.

“No, not really. I guess you can say I’m not looking for one actively.”

“How come?” he asks with raised eyebrows, his body turning towards you as he leans against the railing. You give him a ‘really?’ look. You think about getting a little sassy and teasing with him, but then decide to just be straightforward instead.

“Because I’m kind of into my Methodology of Cultural Anthropology professor.”

Harry’s lips part as his eyes pierce into yours and for a moment you really think that he is about to flip, tell me how dare you say such thing to him and curse you out, but a second passes and his gaze softens as he lets out a shaky breath.

“Y/N…”

“What? I just answered your question,” you innocently shrug, looking away from him. Despite this long and weird game the two of have been playing these past months, this is the first time you openly admitted that you have a thing for him.

“You know how complicated it is and I told you that nothing can happen.” He shakes his head in defeat, a hint of disappointment in his tone, but it just grinds your gears.

“What, so you can ask about my dating life but I can’t say that I’m into you? How is that fair?”

“That’s not the same.”

“Well I think it is. Both are highly inappropriate to bring up in our situation, don’t you think? Yet you’re trying to put all the blame on me.”

“Alright, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. Let’s just… forget about it. I really don’t want to fight with you.”

“Because you’re afraid I might actually win?” you sassily reply, crossing your arms on your chest.

“I’m just trying to do the right thing, okay? Would you… let me?”

“If you haven’t realized it yet, I’m trying really hard to stay in my lane, but you’re not making it any easier.”

“I’m trying too, okay?” he growls, clearly losing his calmness at this point. “I’m really fucking trying, Y/N, but it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do!”

“You’re the one making it hard!”

“It’s not my fucking fault I can’t stop thinking about you!”

“Well it’s not my fault either!” you snap at him, both of you raising your voice, the rest of the party oblivious about the screaming match the two of you are having on the balcony. “If you’re so set on not letting anything happen, why do you come to me and act the opposite?”

“The opposite?!”

“Yes! It’s not quite appropriate to gift your student with a ring or ask them about their dating life. Or is it all new information to you?”

“You started with the gifting!”

“So what? You could have just left it there, but you didn’t. It’s not that it didn’t make me happy, but don’t try to put all the blame on me for saying something when you’re already crossing the lines.”

Harry stares at you with a hard look and you’d pay great amounts to actually read his thoughts at this moment. His jaw clenches as he exhales sharply, eyes turning away from you, as if he couldn’t even bear to look at you.

“Make up your fucking mind,” you growl under your breath as you push your way past him and walk inside before he could get a word out.

For a well-respected, educated and smart man, Harry can act pretty fucking stupid, you think. He is not being fair and you will not apologize for anything you’ve said. If he doesn’t want anything to do with you, he needs to stay in his lane and not dance on the line, poking the sleeping lion. He doesn’t get to fuck around and then put all the blame on you, that’s just not how it works and he needs to learn that.

In the last hour that’s left until midnight you mingle with the guests and try to keep your thoughts of Harry at bay, though it’s quite the challenge since he lingers around you, keeping his eyes on you all the time, as if he is trying to piss you off or something, but you’re determined to be a mature adult and keep your composure.

You’re getting tired of this game and you’re not sure anymore if you are willing to wait around until Harry makes his mind up. Not when he doesn’t keep his own rules at least.

“Come on,” you mumble to yourself as you’re trying to open up a new bottle of wine, but the screw just wouldn’t move, no matter what you do. A hand reaches forward and wraps around the neck of the bottle, interrupting your pathetic misery.

“Let me help you.”

You let Harry take the bottle, biting into your bottom lip as you turn around and watch him easily open the bottle you’ve been fighting with the past ten minutes, he grabs your empty glass from the counter and fills it.

“Thank you,” you mumble when he hands it back and you take a sip right away. He places the bottle to the counter, fingers strumming on the surface before he takes a deep breath and speaks up.

“Y/N, I’m sorry.”

“For what exactly?”

“For the way I acted. You were totally right, I called you out for things that I did myself too, that was unfair of me.” He clears his throat, leaning against the counter with his back side as he crosses his arms on his chest. It brings out how toned his arms really are and you give yourself half a second to drool over that before you take another sip from your drink, forcing yourself to keep your thoughts under control.

“Thanks for acknowledging it,” you mumble, not sure what to say exactly. The two of you stand like that in silence, eyes roaming the guests, something clearly weighing down on both of you, but it’s hard to name and address it.

You can tell he is overthinking, the gears are almost visible, turning in that smart head of his, but you don’t want him to go into depths he shouldn’t. He really is making a bigger deal out of the situation that it already is, but it’s going to wreck him.

“Okay, I want to know, what was the worst way someone tried to flirt with you?”

Harry turns to you with a puzzled look, but you just sip on your wine, waiting for his answer.

“Um, I don’t… really keep track of it.”

“Oh come on,” you give him a look. “I know you have a story. I wanna hear it!”

Your eyes meet and he is searching in yours, trying to figure out what’s the sudden change in your mood when an hour ago you were ready to throw him off the balcony. Truth is you are just frustrated, because the situation feels so impossible. You never had to deal with such an amazing man, knowing he is into you as well, but you just can’t have him. The struggle is hard for the both of you but you can’t blame him entirely. Hating on him because he is not willing to take a risk that could easily ruin his entire life but at least his academic career is just not fair and you won’t put him through that.

Harry sees where you’re coming from and he shoots you a thankful smile before it turns into a smirk as he looks down at his hands.

“Professor Davids from the department of linguistics asked me to be her date for her ex-husband’s wedding.”

“What?” you gasp with wide eyes. “For real?”

“Yeah,” he chuckles. “She started swinging by my office all the time, trying to chat me up and then one day she asked if I wanted to go with her, that we would be staying at this nice hotel and all… she really thought it was a good idea.”

“That’s very awkward,” you laugh, entertained by the thought that Professor Davids would go so low when it came to dating. “I assume, you declined the invitation.”

“Faster than ever,” he chuckles making you laugh even louder. “Okay, your turn.”

“What?”

“I told you an awkward story, now it’s your turn.”

“Um, the worst was probably a promposal I got.”

“A promposal?” he asks with a puzzled look, his forehead creasing as he pulls his eyebrows together.

“Yeah, when they ask you out to go to prom.” “Oh, yeah. Didn’t know it had a specific name.”

“Because you are way too British,” you tease him and he just gives you a narrow-eyed look, but you can see the smirk hiding on his lips. “Well, anyway, I was dating a guy senior year, but this other one was convinced he could win me over and take me to prom. He brought a fucking mariachi band to school and gave me a serenade in the middle of the hallway while my boyfriend was standing next to me. He asked me to prom so confidently at the end of the song, like he actually had a shot but it was so painfully awkward,” you laugh at the memory shaking your head and Harry joins, finding it quite entertaining.

“He really did that to himself.”

“He did, I felt bad a little, but what was I supposed to do?”

You slip into telling more and more awkward stories, staying in the kitchen you create a little bubble, the rest of the guests don’t seem to exist as you enjoy yourself with Harry. This is the most carefree and loosest you’ve ever seen him around you and you quite like this version of him. So easy to talk to and even funnier than his usual self.

A little before midnight Sarah runs around with champagne, filling everyone’s glass, getting ready for the countdown. You and Harry join Charlotte, Adam and his wife in the corner of the living room as everyone is slowly getting excited for the last moments of the year.

Looking around you see a lot of couples, holding hands, hugging, clearly planning to snog the moment the clock hits midnight and when you glance at Harry on your right you’re convinced he is thinking about the same thing.

You’re not naïve, you don’t think he is going to kiss you, but you still allow yourself to play with the thought just a little. He is standing so close to you, just the tiniest move and you’d be touching him, skin to skin again, feel him under your—

The thought is abruptly interrupted when you feel his warm palm wrap around your hand, your whole body freezing and for a split second you think it’s just an accident, that his touch will disappear before you could even blink, but it stays there. Harry maneuvers his fingers until they are laced together with yours and he keeps a firm hold of your hand, hanging between the two of you, staying hidden because you’re standing close to each other. Your breath catches in your throat and you’re afraid if you dare to move he’ll let go of your hand.

Another version of yourself would laugh hysterically at how worked up you are right now just because he is holding your hand, but the you that’s actually in the moment is about to burst just by this small touch. You have absolutely no idea what it means or why he chose to do it, but you don’t really care about it. You just want to absorb all the heat you feel coming from him where his palm meets yours, fingers braided together tightly, as if he is trying to keep you next to him, like he thinks you are about to disappear and it’s way of anchoring you to him, but truth is you don’t want to go anywhere.

“One minute, everyone!” Sarah sings in excitement as she turns on the TV and puts a huge clock on the screen that’s counting the seconds as well. You shyly glance to the side, finding Harry standing motionless next to you and when he notices you looking, his eyes meet yours. He looks terrified, like a lost little boy and you can’t tell if he is afraid of your reaction or because of what his actions might bring on him. But you want him to know that you are completely okay with where it’s heading.

“Ten! Nine! Eight!” The countdown begins and you inch closer to Harry so you’re pressed against his side, his body heat radiating into your skin even through the layers of clothes you two are wearing.

Harry leans down the moment you lift your head, his face is so close, it wouldn’t take much for you to finally kiss him, do the one thing you haven’t stopped thinking about for months.

“Y/N…” he breathes out and it’s a tortured plea, he is begging you to stop him from doing something he might regret, but you are dying for him to finally sin. You want him to give it up already, you have absolutely no desire to be the burden that keeps him in his lane. You need him to cross the line and stay there.

“I’m not stopping you, Harry,” you tell him quietly, the urge to close the distance between the two of you is burning inside you.

“Seven! Six! Five!” the countdown continues, but it all tones out, you can only see, hear and feel Harry.

“We can’t,” he whines, closing his eyes as he exhales shakily.

“We can, we just shouldn’t,” you correct him, his eyes snap open and meet yours again. You can tell he is so close to finally giving in and let his feelings and desires take control and you will not try to stop him.

His face inches the tiniest bit closer and his forehead is almost touching yours now, you can see every curly eyelash that frames his gorgeous green eyes that are now filled with fear and nerves.

“Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!” Everyone screams together as the clock finally hits midnight while you just stare at Harry holding your breath, praying that he is finally ballsy enough to take this step.

“Harry, please,” you beg, not too proud of it, but you just can’t take it any longer. His hand is gripping yours tightly as he closes his eyes again and for a second you think that it’s gonna happen. He is going to give up the act and finally kiss you.

But right when the moment is burning the most… he pulls back and your heart sinks.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, his hand lets go of yours and it feels like your arm is ripped off, tears are welling in your eyes.

“Yeah, me too,” you mumble under your breath, chugging down the champagne before making your way through the living room, determined to leave as soon as possible.

“Y/N, wait, where are you going?” you hear him calling after you, but you don’t stop. You get rid of the empty champagne glass and grab your coat from the rack, storming out of the apartment as if you had somewhere to be.

Tears are streaming down your cheeks as you run down the stairs, almost tripping over your own feet. You hear the other pair of feet running behind you and Harry calling after you, but it’s not stopping you.

You push the front door of the building open, but it’s heavy, so it slows you down just enough that Harry can grab your wrist when you are about to start running down the street.

“Y/N, don’t go, let me explain!”

“No!” you snap at him. “I don’t fucking want to hear your explanation! I’m done, Harry! I’m fucking done! I was trying to be patient and respectful, I didn’t want to make it worse for you and let you do your thing, but you kept dancing back and forth and I can’t keep doing this, so I guess I’m sorry too.”

You’re choking on your own words that echo from the walls, the street is almost entirely empty, the world is still celebrating the new year while you’re at your breaking point. Harry stands in front of you, defeated and panic all over his face as he listens to you.

“I will not sit around and let you play your little games any longer, because you can’t make up your mind whether you want me or not.”

“Y/N I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life!” he snaps, throwing his hands into the air. “That’s the problem! This shouldn’t be happening, but I can’t fucking stop thinking about you, I can’t stop wanting you!”

“Then do something about it!” you beg through your tears.

“I can’t!”

“Yes you can!” you scream at him. “You can but you probably just don’t want me enough to actually do it! And it’s fine, but—“

You don’t get to finish your rant because Harry firmly grabs your arm, yanks you towards him and with one swift movement, his lips are crashing against yours.

It all happens so fast but your body reacts before your mind could process what’s really happening, fists bunching a handful of his sweater as you pull him against you, his hands flying up to your face, cupping them confidently as he kisses you hard and demandingly.

It’s like a fucking dam that’s been broken, everything you both kept bottled up and under control just breaks loose and it’s a kind of a wild fight for trying to devour each other now that all lines has been crossed an blurred into nothingness.

He is the dominant one, but you do some pushing and pulling on your own as well. You’re forced to take a few steps backwards, back arching at how forcefully he is pushing forward, lips smacking against each other over and over again, his tongue meeting yours, swirling and dancing around with yours, a shameless moan escaping your mouth.

His hands roam down your sides and you jumps when they reach the back of your thighs, legs wrapping around his waist. He keeps you up easily, fingers digging into your flesh where your butt meets your thighs and this angle allows you to be completely pressed up against him and feel every single inch of his body that burns for you.

It’s beyond anything you’ve ever imagined, you’re not sure it’s because of the build-up that led to this point or simply the chemistry you two got, but it blows your mind, making you question how you could go this long without ever kissing him.

“Harry, I want you,” you moan when his lips move down to your jawline, kissing and biting on the soft skin, tasting you wherever he can reach.

“I want you too, Y/N,” he breathes out resting his forehead against yours before kissing you again.

“Take me home then.”

“Are you sure?” he pants as you run your fingers through his hair and tug on his gently, earning a whimper from his perfectly pink and swollen lips. You love this satisfied dew on his face, especially because you know it’s because of you.

“Never been more sure about anything in my life.”

You unwrap your legs from around his waist and return to the ground, but not without him leaning down to kiss you once more before he grabs your hand and starts pulling you down the street. You spot his Rover right away and start sprinting, Harry following you right behind with a carefree laugh.

Settled in your seats he starts driving, but you can’t keep yourself away from him. His hand that’s not on the steering wheel is gripping your thigh as you lean over the console and start kissing his cheek, jawline and the corner of his mouth as one of your hands runs down his chest until it reaches his pants.

“Love, if you move further down we’re gonna crash,” he warns you with a shaky breath. “I drank a little too and I’m already fucking gone from kissing you, if you touch me I’m gonna lose it.”

You giggle, pressing one last kiss to his lips before sitting back in your seat. You need every bit of your patience and self-control to stay modest on the way back to his place. Hands gripping his you bring it up to your lips, kissing his knuckles gently as he speeds down the empty streets. It’s still barely over midnight, everyone is still celebrating, oblivious to how important this moment is to the two of you.

You really thought this would be the end. When he pulled away at midnight all hope was lost for you and it broke your heart to know that he will never choose you over his better judgment.

It’s your first time at Harry’s but you don’t really care to look around as the two of you make your way inside the townhouse, lips already melted together as you stumble through the dark hallway, not wanting to let go of each other. You successfully make it into his bedroom and Harry turns on the bedside lamp while you’re already eagerly getting rid of your coat and shoes. He does the same, clothes start to litter the hardwood flooring hastily, but neither of you is thinking about them. Harry scoops you into his arms once again, kissing your lips passionately as he bunches your dress up at your hips until he can finally grip the end of it and pull it over your head.

“Oh shit!” you giggle, the turtleneck getting stuck on your head for a moment before you’re free from it.

“That big head of yours,” he chuckles kissing your forehead.

“Shut up,” you smack his chest gently, pushing him down to the bed so you can straddle him, knees on his sides as you sit on his lap, lips meeting again.

He throws his hands up when you start pulling his t-shirt up and once the fabric is off of his body, his arms wrap around you, pulling you close to his chest. Your skin meets his and it feels heavenly, only little clothing separating the two of you at this point.

Harry scoots backwards and then throws you to the mattress, getting on top of you without your lips ever parting. His hips are pushed against yours and you can feel everything through the thin material of his slacks. Without even knowing you grind your hips, your core meeting his erection in the movement and he moans uncontrollably at the sensation.

“Fuck, Y/N,” he breathes against your lips and you can’t push your smirk down at his reaction.

“Yeah, fuck me, Harry,” you tease him before your lips get occupied once again.

His hands work fast. He unclasps your bra without you even noticing, the straps falling from your shoulders before he gets rid of it, throwing it across the room as if it did something against him. When his hungry eyes fall down on your naked chest you see the same kind of torture in his eyes that was there when he was fighting with himself before.

“Harry, stop thinking,” you tell him, fingers massaging his scalp as you lace them through his hair. “It’s fine, we’re fine.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he questions again and you pull him down for a reassuring kiss.

“One hundred percent. I want this. I want you.”

“Oh God, I want you so bad,” he whines again, lips kissing down your jawline, neck and collarbone before they attack your breasts.

He cups them, licks and bites them, making you a whimpering mess underneath him every time his tongue meets your hot skin. This man will be the death of you. As he moves down your body, his fingers hook into the waistband of your panties and he glances up at your for reassurance once again, you nod eagerly, lifting your hips so he can easily glide the fabric down and off of your body. Harry sits up, eyes burning down on your naked body lying in front of him as he undoes his own pants, pushing them down his long legs until they join the rest on the floor. You push yourself up when his hands move to his boxers, you want to be the one to take them off. He gladly backs his hands off when you reach out and start tugging them down. He kneels on the bed as you pull the fabric down and his erection finally becomes free, making you ache for him immediately. Once the boxers are out of the way completely you want to reach out to touch him, but he stops you, hands wrapping around your wrist before they could reach him.

Your eyes snap up to meet his darkened gaze, questioning why he stopped you.

“Y/N, I… If we do this, there’s no going back,” he breathes out with a pained look. You push yourself up to your knees so you meet his height, hands cupping his cheeks as you pull him into a sweet kiss that he hesitantly but returns.

“I know what you think about us, Harry, but I assure you, that I’m completely fine with it. But if you don’t want it to happen, we can just… lie here. I’m fine with that too. Kissing you was already such a gift for me,” you smile at him, gently pecking his lips.

“I just don’t want you to wake up and regret it. I’m not pushing you, right?”

“If anyone, it’s me pushing you,” you chuckle softly, a small smile tugging on his lips as well. “You didn’t push anything on me, alright? We are both adults and it’s completely fine. We’ll figure out the rest, I just want to focus on you now. Can I do that?”

Harry nods, still looking a little unsure, but you can tell he is starting to settle in his mindset. It’s not just him that worries about the other regretting something. You know how torn up he is about anything that’s about you and though you want him more than anything, you still don’t want to push him into doing something he is not entirely comfortable with.

“Do you want this?” you softly ask, pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“I do. I’m just—“

“Then it’s all good, Harry. We both want it, nothing else matters for now,” you tell him, wanting nothing else than to finally see him enjoy himself entirely. “Lay down for me,” you tell him, feeling like you taking the lead is a good idea now.

He does as you asked him to, lying down on the mattress, head sinking into his pillow as he blinks up at you, watching you swing a leg over him before settling to sit on his thighs.

“Can I touch you?” you ask, wanting to make sure he feels completely comfortable with you. Pleasing him is your number one priority right now. He nods, lips parting as he watches your hand reach out and wrap around the base of his erected length. He whimpers under your touch, his eyes fall closed when you gently pump him a few times, his cock fits so well in your palms, like pieces of a puzzle.

Leaning down you kiss his fern tattoos on each sides of his hips before placing one to his leaking tip, sliding your hands to the base before you slowly and gradually take him into your mouth.

You’re not planning to make him cum with your mouth, but you’ve been dying to taste him and it’s just as good as you imagined. The way his body reacts to your touch, the noises that leave his kissable lips, this man is completely out of this world and you want to explore every inch of his body.

You bob your head a couple of times, just enough to wet his length and work him up for what’s coming next. When you let him go of your mouth and you move a little up on his body so that his cock can be lined up with your hole, you look at him to see if he is still down to continue. One hand holding his cock, the other one flat on his naked chest, you ask him a question with your eyes that he answers with his hands squeezing your hips.

“I have the implant. Do you want to put on a condom?” you ask him at last.

“I trust you,” he breathes out. “Do you want me to put one on?”

“I want to feel you,” you tell him shaking your head.

“Okay,” he nods so it’s settled.

Leaning down you peck his lips one last time before you push the head inside and then slowly ease yourself down on his throbbing length.

“Oh fuck!”

“Harry, oh my God!” you both moan at the sensation of him finally entering you. You’ve had your fair share of sexual intercourses throughout your life, but none of them felt this good. None of them pleasured you this good so fast and easily, just the feel of him being inside you is making you lose your mind.  

You start off slow, wanting to feel him just right, get used to his size, but as soon as you feel more comfortable, you pick up a faster pace. His fingers are digging into your flesh at your hips as he holds onto you for dear life, panting and moaning at your motions. He glides in and out of you perfectly, setting your senses on fire practically.

“Harry, you feel so good,” you gasp, getting lost in the feeling. Sex has always been a good experience for you, but with Harry it’s a whole different story. As if he just opened a completely new world you never even knew about before.

“Yeah? You’re gonna cum for me?”

“Yes! Oh fuck!”

Harry pushes himself up, an arm coming around your back as he easily flips the two of you over, your back gently hitting the soft mattress. He holds himself up above you, lips crashing with yours as he starts to do the work this time, thrusting in and out of you, his hips smacking against yours forcefully as you both nearing the end.

“You’re making me lose my fucking mind, Y/N,” he cries out, head falling to the crook of your neck and you wrap your arms around him as a shield, holding him tight against you.

It doesn’t take long after that. He is hitting just the right spots, making you moan his name over and over again as your orgasm slowly devours you and washes over your whole body while he is still relentlessly moving.

“Harry! Oh… Fuck!” you gasp, legs and hands shaking and you clench your muscles around him, throwing him over the edge with you. He falls out of his rhythm, his cock twitching inside you as he moans against the hot skin of your neck, coming undone in your arms.

Nothing has ever felt this intense and mind-blowing and you’re now sure you’re addicted to him, there’s no turning back, not that you want that.

He collapses on top of you, still inside you, his body weighing down on you heavily, but it feels just fine. You run your arms up and down his sides, kissing the side of his head as you are both trying to catch your breath. It takes a few minutes for him to come back to reality with you, he lifts his head and moves to the side so he is not crushing you anymore, but an arm remains thrown over your abdomen. His vibrant green eyes are shining like never before when they meet your tired gaze and cupping his face in your palm you pull him in for a slow kiss where you finally have the time to actually taste him without the rushing of your own needs and urges.

“How are you feeling?” you softly asking, knowing well how major this was for him. You wouldn’t want him to spiral and start to self-destruct because of what just happened.

“I’m feeling fine,” he murmurs lowly, his fingers dancing on your naked side. “Just still a little torn if I did the right thing.”

“You worry too much. We did nothing wrong.”

“Not sure everyone would agree with that.”

“Fuck everyone else,” you chuckle and a smile tugs on his lips as well. “I will not feel bad for having the best sex of my life with a hot as fuck man I’m really into,” you bluntly tell him, earning a smug grin.

“Best sex of your life, huh?”

“Not even ashamed to admit,” you nod into the pillow. “How… was it for you?” you shyly ask, afraid his answer might disappoint you. But Harry pulls you closer until you’re pressed up against his chest, his lips capture yours, kissing you fiercely, making your heart skip a few beats for sure.

“Fucking amazing, baby. Probably the best I ever had too,” he admits, lips brushing against yours as he speaks. A satisfied sigh leaves your lips as you nuzzle against his chest once he has rolled to his back.

Silence comes over the two of you, you’re listening to his steady heartbeat, mindlessly drawing patterns over his chest. Lifting your head your eyes meet his and you can tell he has been thinking hard about what this all means for the future now.

“I’m in,” you simply tell him.

“Huh?”

“If you are thinking that I might not want to do this with you, that I just wanted a good fuck, that’s not what I think of this. If you want to give us a chance, I’m totally in.”

“You think we can make it work?” he quietly asks, his voice barely more than just a whisper.

“Of course,” you smile at him warmly. “You don’t?”

“I do, I’m just… there are so many things that can go wrong.”

“Then… we’ll make them right.”

Harry breathes out through his nose, clearly having a hard time to take it as easy as you do and you wish you could magically make all his doubts go away.

Sitting up you put your hands on each of his sides, looking down at him determined to bring out his confidence in the two of you.

“We just have to be patient and careful until I finish. Then we are basically free. That’s just one more semester. It could be way worse, we can make it work for a couple of months before we can finally do whatever we want. That doesn’t sound that bad, does it?” Harry shakes his head, reaching up he tugs your hair behind your ear before running his fingers down the side of your face.

“So we are really doing this?” he breathes out, a small smile on his sweet, pink lips.

“Well, I’m surely not giving up on this, we came a long way to be here,” you chuckle. “Question is, are you gonna give up on us? On… me?”

“Hell no,” he chuckles softly as he shakes his head. You smile down at him and leaning down you peck his lips tenderly.

“Then… we really are doing this.”

SEQUEL: 🌊 AN OCEAN AWAY 🌊

-

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed it!

[tommiruewrites]

Hi could i have a headcanon of the marauders including snape and malfoy being emotional and you comfort them.

Comfort Headcanons ✩ requested? - yes ✩ prompt(s) - none ✩ summary - just some short angst + fluff headcanons with you comforting the marauders era students ✩ tw/cw - slight mentions of past trauma (not detailed) ✩ a/n - my first ever request so i hope this is what you had in mind! ngl im not the biggest snape fan so I hope i didn't totally butcher it lmao. tried my best <3

you can also read this on ao3 ₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚ ♡₊˚·˚

JAMES POTTER: ♡ You'd be walking on the grounds during a free period and hear shuffling and sniffling from behind a tree ♡ When you go to see where the noise is coming from you don't see anything at first, but you still hear the muffled noises coming from in front of your feet ♡ Bending down to sit on your knees, you look towards the sound coming from the seemingly empty space ♡ It's obvious he's trying to make as little noise as possible. ♡ "James?" ♡ After a few moments of silence, the boy slowly pulls off the invisibility cloak to reveal his hunched form leaning against the tree, eyes puffy and tired and face stained with tears ♡ "Do you wanna talk about it?" ♡ That question, while appreciated, would make him start getting upset again ♡ He would probably pull you into a hug until he calmed down and then rant and ramble off about what was bothering him ♡ It's unusual for James to get upset, let alone upset to the point of tears, since he's a generally happy and optimistic person ♡ He's usually the friend to make sure everyone else is happy and smiling, so he tends to put his own feelings on the backburner ♡ That makes it all that much stronger when he gets too overwhelmed and can't keep it in anymore ♡ He also tends to invalidate his own feelings and experiences because "they could be worse", so if he's crying and getting emotional it's probably been building up for a while ♡ You also probably wouldn't have noticed any change or signs leading up to it considering James honestly didn't either ♡ In future he would always come to you before getting to that point, if possible, which you wouldn't mind especially since he was always    there for you when you needed it

SIRIUS BLACK: ♡ You'd notice that he's been acting strange and distant all day ♡ He's usually an extremely chipper and energetic person, so it's not too hard to spot the mood change when his smile doesn't reach his eyes and there's a lack of bounce in his step ♡ He'd try to cover it up with jokes and sarcasm, but it wasn't hard to see through for anyone that knew him ♡ You'd notice he was missing from the great hall at dinner because "he didn't feel well", and go off to find him ♡ After a while of searching you'd end up finding him sitting on the quidditch pitch alone and probably smoking  ♡ You would walk up cautiously, making your presence known but staying quiet and slow as to avoid disturbing him ♡ He wouldn't move or even acknowledge your presence until you were sat next to him, offering you a smoke ♡ "What's wrong, Pads? You've been down all day." ♡ He would try to hold it together and keep his cool, denying anything was the matter, but his uneven and wavering breath would give him away ♡ "You can talk to me you know, Sirius." ♡ That would do it ♡ He never was the one to like physical touch because of his upbringing and family environment, but over time he's grown to love it  ♡ It's what makes him feel the most loved and seen, since he never was able to experience it growing up ♡ He honestly did a full flip and is now probably the most physically clingy one out of all of them ♡ Still, he had a hard time opening up and being the one to initiate it, so you would pull him into a hug ♡ He would hold you so tight and cry into your shoulder ♡ You'd try to calm him down by whispering reassurances and gently running your fingers through his hair ♡ "It's okay to cry sometimes, Pads." ♡ "It doesn't make you weak." ♡ "Do you want to tell me what happened?" ♡ He would probably have been upset over a particularly aggressive letter from his parents ♡ He wouldn't talk too much about it, not wanting to get emotional all over again, and would instead just spend the time sitting and talking with you and allowing himself to let it go for a while ♡ You'd make jokes with him, making it your mission to get him to laugh ♡ After that night Sirius would be especially close with you, finding that your closeness always seemed to bring him comfort

REMUS LUPIN: ♡ common room "studying" after hours ♡ Remus usually seemed pretty unbothered by most things, not really letting small things get to him ♡ However, there was always an exception for the day before and after a full moon when his behavior would change  ♡ The day before the full moon he would be very loving and clingy, and much more soft than usual with everyone ♡ Then the day after the full moon he would be the exact opposite, still experiencing the fading effects of the full moon.  ♡ After the full moon was when his emotions really started to beat him up ♡ He would always feel extremely guilty for all the trouble he caused ♡ He'd also feel extremely insecure, more than usual, and self-loathing ♡ He hates his lycanthropy and always blamed himself for any minor inconvenience or problem that happened around the full moon ♡ Remus, however, is extremely good at controlling and concealing his emotions, so it's much harder to catch him spiraling  ♡ One late night after tossing and turning without being able to sleep, you'd finally decide to go into the common room. ♡ The further you descended down the stairs, the more you could make out the sound of faint sobs ♡ You slowly entered the common room, seeing a crying Remus, who had stayed back to "study", sitting on the couch curled into himself and hugging his knees up to his chest. ♡ You'd softly make yourself aware to avoid startling him too much ♡ "Oh, Remus..." ♡ He would immediately jump to straighten himself up, wiping his face clean and plastering on a fake smile ♡ "What are you doing up at this hour? I thought everyone had gone to bed." ♡ "Couldn't sleep." ♡ You'd go to sit facing him on the couch beside him, and he'd back away slightly ♡ After the full moon he was always afraid he would hurt someone, so he tended to distance himself ♡ "The full moon's over, Remus. You won't hurt me, I promise." ♡ "Don't be so hard on yourself." ♡ "It isn't your fault." ♡ You didn't need him to tell you for you to know what was running through his head ♡ "You don't have to talk if you don't want to, but I'm here to listen if you need me." ♡ He'd start to slowly let his guard down a bit more, causing him to start crying slightly again ♡ He didn't talk, he just cried on your shoulder and allowed you to be close to him, and it was enough

PETER PETTIGREW: ♡ He could honestly be emotional about many things since he's a very sensitive person and feels very deeply ♡ He also gets easily overwhelmed and anxious which can cause him to break down ♡ You would go up to the dorms to grab something you'd forgotten to hear crying coming from his room ♡ You'd slowly open his door to find him curled up in a corner of his dorm crying  ♡ "Oh, Peter, what's the matter?" ♡ You'd go and sit with him and hold his hand to try to ground him ♡ "Just breathe" ♡ You'd make jokes with him, knowing it was the best way to get him to calm down and come to his senses  ♡ After he finally calms down, he'd mumble out apologize for being a burden ♡ "You never have to apologize for having feelings, Peter." ♡ "You are not a burden. I care about you." ♡ Honestly just hearing that you care about him would make his heart melt ♡ You'd offer for the two of you to go down for lunch, which he of course would happily agree to ♡ He would sit by you in the great all, still holding your hand and squeezing it lightly whenever he started feeling overwhelmed  ♡ After that it was like a secret code; Whenever you would notice him starting to become anxious you would hold his hand and lightly squeeze it three times. ♡ He's forever grateful to have someone in his life who didn't think he was a burden.

REGULUS BLACK: ♡ After-hours you decided to sneak up to the Astronomy tower to get some fresh air and clear you head ♡ Little did you know that it was Regulus' regular spot ♡ As you approach the top of the stairs, you see Regulus standing hunched over the railing ♡ You'd slowly walk over to him, trying not to startle him ♡ "Didn't know anyone would be up here" ♡ He would immediately jump up and turn away to compose himself, stuffing an open letter into his pocket ♡ "I always come up here." ♡ When he turns back around you can see his slightly red and puffy eyes that he would try to hide ♡ "Reggie, are you alright?" ♡ "Has something happened?" ♡ He would try to avoid questions by saying this along the lines of "nothing I can't manage" which is obviously a big fat lie ♡ It takes a lot for him to trust people ♡ He also hates emotions since he grew up in an environment where they got him punished ♡ "I don't want to pressure you, but I want you to know that you can tell me anything." ♡ "My lips are sealed" you'd say with a stupid motion of locking your lips shut and throwing out the key to try to lighten the mood ♡ Which kind of worked since it brought out a small laugh ♡ The two of you would end up talking and laying down next to each other, looking at the stars ♡ He'd finally (after much mental contemplation) decide to talk ♡ "It was a letter. My parents." ♡ You sit up to face him and give him your full attention ♡ The two of you would talk for hours, him feeling comfortable enough with you to open up about his home

SEVERUS SNAPE: ♡ You'd accidentally stumble upon him curled up in a corner or nook somewhere in the dungeons or an empty hallway ♡ He would most likely be crying after being picked on by the marauders and co. or after seeing lily and james together ♡ "Sev?"  ♡ I feel like you would have to be very close with him for him to even consider letting you see him emotional and not lash out at you to leave him alone ♡ He definitely is not one for physical touch so you would keep a comfortable amount of space between the two of you ♡ Even still he'd immediately brush away any sign of tears, masking his vulnerability with anger  ♡ Severus puts on a front of confidence but he's extremely insecure  ♡ He'd make consistent remarks about how he deserves the poor treatment he receives and worse or how he's too ugly or not confident enough to deserve lily ♡ "Don't talk about yourself like that." ♡ "Nobody deserves to be treated that way." ♡ "You deserve love too, you know." ♡ He wouldn't believe you at first, and knowing him you already knew that ♡ "I care about you y'know. I'm not just saying these things for my own sake." ♡ He'd brush it off and never bring it up again after that day ♡ He would never admit it, but your words really meant a lot to him, and he would always consider you a friend

LUCIUS MALFOY: ♡ Lucius very rarely showed any emotion ♡ He thought that they made him too vulnerable ♡ So him getting emotional was extremely out of character for him ♡ His version of getting emotional is definitely more anger than sadness ♡ He'd go and find you immediately after whatever made him upset happened ♡ Once he finds you sitting in your dorm reading a book, he'd start ranting and rambling about it ♡ pacing back and forth, hands angrily combing his hair out of his face, literally just extreme dramatics  ♡ and you'd hang on to every word, nodding along and responding when necessary ♡ after he finally finished his rant and calmed down, he would be absolutely exhausted ♡ because being that emotional takes a lot out of you yk ♡ head lay down on your lap, letting you play with his hair and basically just reflect on everything he talked about ♡ he would be in awe that you remembered everything he talked about ♡ you would cover all the bases and basically just confirm that hid feelings are valid ♡ he would absolutely adore you for putting up with his dramatics

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I hope I didn't disappoint! Let me know if you want me to do a version with the girls :))

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 305: Worst Intervention Ever

Previously on BnHA: Shinomori, whose name took me an entire week to memorize, was all, “nice to meet you Deku, I’m ten feet tall, do you want to know how I died?” and without waiting for an answer explained that he kicked it from old age at forty thanks to good ol’ OFA. Deku was all “wait a minute, then how come All Might, who’s fifty-five and is definitely dyeing his gray hair, is still alive?” First and Shino were all, “we really have no fucking clue but we think it’s cuz he’s quirkless, JUST LIKE YOU!” So basically, since quirkless people don’t exactly grow on trees these days, Deku is probably going to be the last user of OFA. The chapter ended with Nana being all, “psst, Deku, about my grandson. Uh, can you kill him?” which is sure to lead to a very interesting conversation this week.

Today on BnHA: Nana And The Gang are all “so, Deku, how can we put this delicately. The thing is, we’re pretty sure that AFO really fucked my grandson up, so on the off chance you can’t save him, how would you feel about, you know... [throat slitting gesture].” Deku is all “idk you guys, I kinda feel like he’s really just a traumatized child at heart and he’s in a lot of pain and stuff and so I should try to help him.” The Vestiges are all “BUT WHAT IF YOU CAN’T” and Deku is all “BUT I WANT TO TRY, DAMMIT” and the Vestiges are all “well when you put it that way, we, uh, were just testing you, so congrats, you passed!” The chapter ends with First being all, “ANYWAY SO WHY DON’T YOU TWO SHY BOYS STANDING OVER THERE IN THE SHADOWS COME SAY HELLO” before we CUT AWAY FOR ANOTHER WEEK, goddammit.

seriously, Nana

just... have you met Deku?? look, if you really want Tomura dead, just sic him on the U.A. first years and tell Shouto and Honenuki that it’s a training exercise

oh my god lmao

we’re too far away to see Nana’s face here so I will just assume that she turned and is staring DIRECTLY INTO THE CAMERA for this one line lmao. “I just wanted to clarify in case anyone felt inclined to take my dialogue out of context and spend an entire week complaining about it”

oh my god?! are you all purposely trying to make me sad??

someone stop me before I launch into an impromptu rant about all my Tomura feels. WHY IS NOBODY STOPPING ME. oh my god but yes, exactly. he’s just in pain all the time. this is exactly why I think Tomura has such high redemption potential even though so far he seems to lack so many of the redemption arc essentials such as feeling remorse, wanting to change, and taking responsibility for his actions. the reason why I’m willing to overlook all that in his case is because Tomura has essentially had zero agency his entire life. AFO molded him into a killer by making sure he was in constant mental agony, and making it so that the only thing that even slightly relieved that agony was killing peeps. like, please don’t think I’m making excuses for him or anything, but if you take a child and manipulate their existence to make it virtually impossible for that child to grow up as anything other than a killer, and basically never give him the chance to be anything else, then no shit he’s gonna be a killer?? he’s basically never had the choice not to be. it’s never been an option for him. anyways I feel like I am EXPLAINING MYSELF SO BADLY but nonetheless I am prepared to die on this hill

anyway so now Nana is all “that’s a rhetorical question btw because Our Hearts And Minds Are One so we can feel everything you feel bro.” so yeah, that’s interesting

now Banjou is getting started on the “let’s try and talk Deku out of wanting to save Tomura because it’s insane” part of their OFA Mystical Space Void Reunion agenda

look, Banjou, I feel you, I really do. you guys don’t think it’s realistic that Deku can defeat Tomura without killing him. so if it’s a choice between killing Tomura vs letting Deku and everyone else in the entire world die, then duh, you think Deku should kill him. I get it! and if this were a real life mass murderer I’d totally agree with you. but the problem is that this isn’t real life, this is a sympathetic shounen villain with a tragic past who might as well have FUTURE REDEMPTION ARC RECEIPIENT stamped on his forehead at this point

so First is all “look, there’s absolutely no doubt my brother has fucked this kid up good and proper by now”, which, again, fair

though, that’s kind of exactly my point though. everything that Tomura is, everything he’s done, he’s done because of AFO. AFO has so effectively shaped his personality and his worldview by this point that it’s all but impossible to penetrate that. he’s AFO’s puppet. but the problem is that rather than treating him like a victim, you all are treating him like a casualty. like he’s already a lost cause. but good luck trying to convince Deku of that

WHOA WHAT, RANDOM SUPER-IMPORTANT AND BIZARRELY UNRELATED EXPOSITION DROPPED IN JUST LIKE THAT??

way to still not reveal Sixth’s name, btw. THE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW, DAMMIT. but also so this confirms something we basically already knew already, which is that not even AFO can steal OFA. it literally can’t be taken away by anyone unless the owner wills it. SO SUCK ON THAT AFO YOU EGG

(ETA: so I have no idea why this was omitted from this translation, but apparently the Sixth’s name was revealed as “En”, which is obviously not his full name but at least it’s something. also he most likely has a fire or smoke-related quirk based on the kanji used, 煙.)

so Banjou is saying that Deku’s “lack of an iron will” could be a disadvantage against AFO. hahaha what?? Midoriya “I’ll break all of my bones without blinking an eye just to protect someone” Izuku lacks an iron will? do tell

he says this is going to be a test of Deku’s determination. well yeah, no shit. but just not in the way you guys think

OH HELLO AGAIN

darker hair again here! but I don’t trust the contrast in these scans at all after last week. his coveralls are way darker than they looked before too, and you can clearly see he’s standing in the shadows now

(ETA: yep, once again the raw shows that his hair is considerably lighter than what’s shown in these scans here. although there’s no mistaking now that his hair is consistently being colored in this slightly darker shade, and it’s not just the lighting.)

anyways lol First was saying something about how AFO can’t steal OFA, and they’ve spent all this time cultivating it as the ultimate weapon against AFO, and blah blah blah. go on then, keep lecturing

NANA GODDAMMIT NONE OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT

girl what?? you did everything in your power to protect your family, and AFO, fucked up man that he is, targeted them anyway. there is one person and one person only to blame for what’s happened to Tomura, and that potato-faced asshole needs a good kick in the balls

NANA GODDAMMIT DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE

SO HELP ME GOD!! I WILL GIVE YOU THE BIGGEST HUG YOU’VE EVER HAD!! THAT IS A THREAT

so now Nana is all “I’m just going to call my grandson a Thing to ensure that fandom has only the freshest, grass-fed no-hormones-added discourse this week”

I don’t even need to drop into the tags to know exactly which specific people are going to respond to this, and what kind of posts they are going to write lmao. everyone’s all caught up in the “that thing”, and meanwhile I’m over here completely hung up on this “nay” that’s appeared out of NOWHERE you guys. look at that. she really said “NAY”

Nana, my love, my dearest, I feel you girl I really do. but he’s not an unforgivable manifestation of pure evil, Deku is exactly right actually, he’s a boy in pain. you guys need to stop questioning Deku’s shounen protagonist instincts here and just let him work his sparkly magic. “let’s try and convince Midoriya Fucking Izuku that he can’t save someone” is a plan that is NEVER going to turn out well you guys

“DEKU GODDAMMIT WHAT IF WE CAN’T SAVE HIM” lmao it’s like an intervention

“DAMMIT DEKU JUST ADMIT YOU HAVE A SAVING PEOPLE PROBLEM!”

RED ALERT IT’S ANOTHER CLOSE-UP OF THE BACK OF MISTER TWO BON CLAY’S HEAD OMG

(ETA: I was too distracted with freaking out about Two and Three to really appreciate how ridiculously handsome First looks in this panel. but on my second readthrough it stood out so much that I had to go back and add an extra bullet point just to talk about how hot he is. look at him. wtf.)

THAT IS DEFINITELY AN UNDERCUT. THE PLOT THICKENSSSS. also those are fucking exhaust vents on Mister Three’s neck. MISTER THREE COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE RELATED TO THE IIDAS, PLEASE TELL ME YOUR SECRETS I’M DYING OVER HERE

so now Deku is launching into what will undoubtedly be a “saving people problems require SAVING PEOPLE SOLUTIONS” heroic counter-speech!

I mean, they can already feel the “lol nah I’m gonna try and save him” feelings running through him lol. ~OuR hEaRtS aNd MiNdS aRe CoNnEcTeD~ and all that. this is just a formality, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love a good shounen protag speech

oh wait hold up, do you mean to tell me that the whole “hearts and minds are connected” thing I was just mocking just a paragraph ago actually allowed Deku to feel what Tomura was feeling?? like literally feel it??

YET AGAIN these Tomura feels are pounding on my front door you guys?? they just will not quit?? people my house is already full of feels, does it look like I need you to sell me any more of them?? -- what do you mean, they’re free??

AW YISS THAT’S IT DEKU. THAT’S SOME GOOD SPEECH RIGHT THERE

I appreciate the contrast here between the Douchebag Triumvirate of Overhaul, Muscular, and Stain versus the Misguided Twosome of Gentle and La Brava. never let it be said that Deku doesn’t know the difference between a redeemable villain and an unredeemable one

OH NO -- OH MY GOD

someone please help me I need directions to the OFA Spooky Galactic Nebula Realm in this fictional Japanese manga land. it’s not on google maps. I need to give these two babies a big hug and wrap them up in a blanket and treat them to some McDonalds Happy Meals please help

other things: (1) ENDEAVOR CHILLING OUT IN DEKU’S “PEOPLE I HOLD DEAR” PANEL LMAO NEON DISCOURSE EXTRAVAGANZA, (2) “ONE FOR ALL IS A POWER TO SAVE, NOT TO KILL” I’M ABOUT TO CRY DEKU I LOVE YOU SO MUCH HOW IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO FEEL ALL THIS LOVE, (3) [SLAMS HANDS ON TABLE] THERE’S YOUR MOTHERFUCKING IRON WILL!!!!!!!! -- I’m sorry, please don’t call security, I’ll be good

I just randomly remembered that Deku is still saying all of this in his muffled “FMMPHHMMPHMM” voice and I’m somehow cracking up lol. so actually it’s a very good thing Their Hearts And Minds Are Connected, otherwise they’d no doubt be all, “...what?”

(ETA: so I completely missed this on account of it literally not being visible in the scan at all, but in the raw you can clearly see Baby Kacchan and Baby Shouto fanboying over All Might in two of these panels, and excuse me, ma’am??

thank you very much Deku for including them in your montage, particularly since you’ve never seen Baby Shouto before lol. amazingly accurate image you managed to conjure up, all things considered.)

SDKFJLSKHG -- AS IF ON CUE???

HE’S SO ADORABLE HELP?? Trippy Space All Might looks like he’s about to cry, and First is all “don’t crack a smile... you have to be Firm and Serious here... dammit, don’t smile” omg

anyways! YOU GO DEKU. “MY QUIRK MY RULES, BITCHES” damn, son

KLJLKKHLG TRIPPY SPACE ALL MIGHT LITERALLY ACTUALLY IS CRYING ALL MIGHT HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

“I JUST... [CLENCHES FIST] REALLY LOVE SAVING PEOPLE” FUCKING HELL LMAO THIS IS THE WORST INTERVENTION OF ALL TIME

Deku is literally all “sure, maybe I’ll have to kill him, but have you guys also considered, MAYBE NOT??” it’s no use Nana he’s too powerful

LMAO FIRST

“like I’ve been saying this whole time, you should definitely try saving Shigaraki Tomura.” “but, uh... First, didn’t you just -- ” “shut up”

(ETA: clearly it’s not just his brother who inherited those smooth-talking genes.)

so now Deku has turned back into a sixteen year old and his clothes have gone missing again. just OFA things

dskljdlsklgk

yes... sure... “testing” you...

HEY

FIRST OF ALL, DAMN YOU HORIKOSHI YOU MADE NANA CRY. even if I’m pretty sure they’re actually tears of happiness/relief. and SECOND OF ALL, “TELL MY BOYFRIEND I SAID HI” DJSKDLKJJL ANYWAY MAYBE GRAN, NANA, AND MR. SHIMURA WERE IN A THROUPLE

[SCREAMS]

WHY WOULD YOU END IT THERE?? WHY WOULD YOU END IT THERE!!!!!

(ETA: and two-to-one odds that we cut away to some other scene once they finally start to turn around next week. I’M CALLING IT NOW. giving myself a week to brace myself for the rage.)

fucking hell. well if anyone needs me I will be adding Horikoshi fucking Kouhei to the list of irredeemable villains, peace

[its-deputy-caleb]

hellllooooo amigo

so I was wondering if you could write a lil fic about Micah mentioning his birthday is soon but not expecting anyone to care about it but then the reader surprises him with a present and Micah’s like :O

I’ve had this idea stuck in my head for the past week lmao but if it ain’t your thing or if you’ve done something similar before then don’t worry about it my g :)

howdyy amigo <33 so i had all these good ideas and then i was writing and the creative block hit HARD so i high key hate this and its a mess but i hope i pulled through in the end and i kinda went a little off topic but oops enjoy anyway :0

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You never really gave a thought to Micah’s birthday. Not because you didn’t want to celebrate it but simply because he never mentioned it to you. It wasn’t really a tradition to celebrate a gang members birthday although the group would never pass up a chance for drinking. Mostly those celebrations were reserved for big scores.

For some of the special members of the gang however, there were celebrations. On Dutch’s the whole gang would practically feast and party for the entire week and for Miss Grimshaw Javier would perform while Sean gave a right old toast. Dutch even insisted on a party for Molly and you laughed at Karen and Mary Beth who whined the entire night about “Miss fancy pants needing her own royal party”.

Of course even for the other members you’d notice when it was their birthday. You’d seen when close friends of Arthur leave gifts beside your own at his tent and for Jack’s birthday John and Abigail tolerated each other enough to spoil the boy with gifts surrounded by family.

That’s why you thought it was rather odd when Micah, your sweetheart never told you about his birthday. You thought he may have damn well forgot it when you overheard him one night with Bill.

He was mumbling into a bottle of whiskey, half on his way to passing out when he mentioned he was getting too old with another birthday coming up in a few days. Of course the bastard wouldn’t tell you, for all his boasting he’d never been one for parties or celebrating.

So with that in mind you spent the rest of the night formulating a plan to at least celebrate his birthday between the two of you.

-

You’d learnt from Bill the next morning, who wasn’t nearly half as drunk (or hungover) as Micah that his birthday was in exactly three days.

So that left you with three days to formulate just how you’d surprise the man you’d come to love so dearly for his birthday.

Coming up with a celebration was relatively easy— he wasn’t one for crowds, he enjoyed your company and only yours alone and he loved a good whiskey so naturally you’d take him away from the gang’s camp and head down to the Dakota river for the night.

It was finding a good gift that had you tearing your hair out. It was hard trying to find something that would be personal enough for Micah to appreciate when the man in question held few personal belongings, and naturally a new revolver was completely out of the question.

-

You decided to give up on your mission to find him a gift after nearly chewing Swanson’s ear off for singing while you were trying to think and rethink your gift.

So with a new formed headache you headed into valentine to purchase a nice and rather expensive whiskey for tomorrow night.

On your way out of the general store you noticed a beautiful Dutch Warmblood horse trot into the stable behind his owner. The horse had a large white spot over his leg and it couldn’t’ help but remind you of Baylock.

Bingo.

Smiling to yourself you put the whiskey in your saddle bag and walked into the stables to buy Micah his birthday gift, one you’re sure he’s going to love more over any new jacket or gunbelt.

-

Micah’s day went about relatively normally for the most part, waking up together with a kiss and a coffee but you couldn’t help be slightly more affectionate than usual.

You’d spent most of the day together, Micah talking with you while you did chores and you talking with him while he (reluctantly) sat on guard duty. All the normal things about the day went on and you kept your secret until the sun was just about to dip over the mountain.

Micah was leaning against a tree, sharpening his knife when you came up to him and wrapped your arms around his neck. You played with the ends of his hair, taking in the sight of him as he holstered the knife and wrapped his arms around you.

“I’ve got something for you.”

You leant forward and placed a soft kiss to his cheek, smiling against his skin at the curious sound he made.

“Hmm? You sure that something isn’t right here in front of me sweetheart?”

You giggle softly as Micah tries to pull you in closer for a proper kiss, deciding to indulge in his wishes for once. It was his birthday after all.

Pulling away from the surprisingly tender kiss, you give him a gentle smile as you untangle yourself from his arms.

“Common, let me show you.”

You take Micah by the hand, almost dragging him to the other side of camp by the horses which drew the attention from a few of the gang members but you didn’t have a care in the world as anticipation grew.

Leading him over to Baylock who is newly saddled, you watched as Micah stared blankly at it before tentatively bringing a hand up to feel over the soft premium leather.

The saddle was all black to match Baylock’s coat with white inlay in the seat and silver on the horn. All of it was the finest quality at your request and even the bedroll was a finer cotton than most.

Micah couldn’t help the smile that broke out onto his face and he turned to you looking like a kid on Christmas.

“You get this for little old me?”

Your own smile matched his as you wrapped your arms back around his neck once more.

“Well I thought since you’d never ever want another revolver and there isn’t much more you love than those guns and Baylock that you’d want a new saddle for him.”

Micah brought you in for a tight hug after that, managing to lift you slightly as you clung to him for dear life. He looked up at you from your new position.

“Sweetheart there ain’t nothing I love more than I do you—“

He sets you back on the ground, leaning in for a kiss but letting your noses bump and your foreheads touch.

“—worth more to me than any ol’ revolver, I love you.”

You close the gap between the two of you, melting into each other as you feel just how much Micah is in love with you.

“I love you too Mikey, and happy birthday— do you like it?”

The look you give him is one of hope and he can’t help but nod and wrap his arms tighter around your waist.

“Course I like it, but yer didn’t need to pay for this. Looks real fancy.”

Micah looked over the saddle once more, his eyes beaming as he saw how well it complemented Baylock’s coat. He was impressed, of course by the gift but because you had cared enough to get it for him and it only confirmed the feelings he had for you.

“Who says I paid for it?”

You saw Micah smirk at your comment and give a low evil laugh.

“That’s my sweetheart I know and love.”

Of course this time you had paid for the saddle, one of the few items you were willing to pay for but that didn’t mean the two of you didn’t steal practically everything else.

You pull away from Micah and hoist yourself up onto Baylock’s saddle, holding your hand out to a very confused looking Micah.

“Common you, I’ve got a nice bottle of whiskey and two glasses waiting for us.”

-

Down by the river you and Micah were perched up on a large rock that was floating in some shallow water by the river bank. You’d hidden the glasses and whiskey in a tree and the two of you were now laughing together as you drank through it slowly.

Your head was resting under his chin while his arm that wasn’t holding his glass was draped over your shoulder. The moonlight reflecting off the water was more than enough for the two of you to see as he topped up your glass for you.

“Gosh so how old are you now?”

Your words were light and charismatic, the two of you giggling about all sorts of things that night. Micah looked up in contemplation, humming as if he was trying to remember.

“Ehh must be close to forty now— thirty nine I think.”

You whistled, only to cut yourself off with a small laugh as you raised the glass to your mouth.

“You are getting old Mr.Bell, the next thing you know I’ll be able to outshoot you.”

“Sweetheart you can already outshoot me…”

Despite the lighthearted tone of the conversation, you noticed how Micah got uncharacteristically quiet.

“Micah? Are you alright?”

You sit up to face Micah, noticing the flush on his cheeks which wasn’t the fault of the whiskey and the way his attention was on sloshing the liquid in the glass.

“I am gettin’ old sweetheart, at least in terms o’ outlaws—“

“Micah what are you saying?”

You stare at him confused, completely unprepared for what he says next.

“— ‘m saying that i love you and yer the only one I’d ever wanna grow old with.”

Your eyes widen, in fear? in hope? You weren’t quite sure, maybe it was shock at the fact Micah Bell had said he wants to spend the rest of his life with you.

“B-but I thought you didn’t want redemption!? I thought you never wanted to leave the gang, this life!”

Micah shakes his head, putting down your glasses and taking his hands in yours as he squeezes them to reassure himself more than anything.

“I didn’t— I don’t. Oh hell I don’t know what I want but I would throw it all away for you, if its what you wanted.”

He seems to regain some of his confidence after a deep breath and he waves his hands in front of you as he tries to formulate what he wants to say.

“Ya’know have a house and all that…”

You smile gently, your heart melting at the thought that Micah would give up everything for you. You lean forward, taking his hands and threading your fingers before kissing him.

The kiss depends as you momentarily forget where you are and you both start to let your hands wander lower over each other until Micah knocks the glass of whiskey over.

Pulling back from where you’d almost crawled on top of him, you smile sheepishly and sit back down on the rock. This time you sit between Micah’s legs so his arms can rest in your lap and his head can rest on your shoulder.

“Well a house and all that can wait since I’m perfectly happy growing old with you robbing and thieving our way across the plains.”

Your head rests against his own as you feel him litter soft kisses over your shoulder and neck.

“Sounds like something I could get used to.”

Micah whispers his words against your skin and the two of you enjoy the peace and each other’s company. Your hand gives his own a reassuring squeeze, letting your eyes close as you relax and listen to the sound of the river flowing.

“As long as I have you and get to celebrate a hundred more birthdays with you, I’ll be the happiest person in the world.”

Micah squeezes your hand back, sitting up so you could get comfortable against his chest as he rests his chin on top of your head.

“Not sure ‘bout a hundred but you have me for as long as this world lets me darlin’”

You hum sleepily, getting closer and closer to sleep as you listen to his gravelly voice.

“Promise?”

“I Promise”

[tweedlydumbtweedlydoo]

Rafe Cameron x Routledge!reader

Requested by @shanetoo​ / Summary: You’re the pogue princess, aka John B’s little sister, and Rafe has fallen head over heels for you. How will Rafe react to his newfound feelings, especially when he sees you as Kie’s date to the Midsummer party?

A/N: You’re John B’s twin in this one. I hope you guys like it! xx 

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**MASTERLIST**

Requests: OPEN {CLOSED}

I am currently taking requests for:

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Elijah Mikaelson

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Rafe Cameron

********************************************************************************************NOT MY GIF, CREDIT TO OWNERS

“Hey it’s the pogue princess.” Rafe announces as he walks up to the bar at the country club.

You roll your eyes at his nickname for you as you walk up to the bar, “What would you like Mr. Cameron?”

He leans against the bar, “bourbon, neat.”

You nod and begin making it. Remembering what your brother told you, you knew kooks were horrible people, but this was your work and you had to be nice to them, especially if you want to keep your job. You knew the Kooks were supposed to be the world’s worst, but Rafe was always nice to you. You really had no idea why, so in return you were nice too. Plus he was handsome with his hair slicked back and raybans around his neck. “How’d you do today?”

“Shot a 92. Better than last weekend.” He glances over his shoulder, Topper and Kelce would be in here soon and he didn’t want this conversation to end. This is what he looked forward to every weekend. He’d play a round of golf, then come in here and get a drink and talk with you while Topper and Kelce went to the locker room to change. It was the only safe place he knew he could talk to you without it being questioned.

You nod, “Yeah you shot… what a 117 last weekend?”

“Yeah,” he chuckles, “it wasn’t a good day on the greens.”

You laugh a little and slide the drink over to him, “$8.50.” (really not sure if that’s a good price for a bourbon at a country club?? Lmao)

He hands over a $20 bill, “Put the rest in the tip.” He gives you quick wink and takes a sip of his drink, “You always make the best.” Pointing at the drink he walks out to the back patio where Topper and Kelce were waiting.

~

You were John B’s little sister, he knew that. He shouldn’t feel this way toward you, a kook, but you can’t help who you fall for. Why was there the pogues vs kooks anyways? He wished it was nonexistent so he wouldn’t have to worry about someone finding out about his feelings for you. You felt the same way about him, but he was a kook. John B and the pogues would kill you if they knew about your feelings for the kook king, Rafe Cameron. You wished they would at least give him a chance.

“Please come with me?” Kie begs. She’d asked you to be her date to the Midsummer’s party, but you were supposed to work the party.

“Kie, I’m working the party.”

“Take off for the night, they have plenty of bartenders working that night.”

You sigh before agreeing, “I don’t have anything to wear though.”

“It’s a good thing you have my closet!” She motions to her closet, “let’s pick you out something.”

~

Kie fixed your hair and your make up. You’d chosen a slim baby pink dress and a pair of wedges. She slipped a pretty flower in your hair, “There. You look gorgeous!”

She turns you around in the chair so you can see yourself in the mirror and you didn’t even recognize yourself. You weren’t a pogue tonight, you were a kook. “Thank you, Kie.” You smile, “I love it.”

“Let’s go see what the pogues think.” You and Kie descend down the stairs where the pogues are waiting. JJ is in his serving tux, John B was helping Pope and his dad with the grill and was dressed in shorts and black shirt, matching with Pope.

John B looks around your shoulder, “Does anyone know where my sister went?”

You roll your eyes and hit him in the chest, “Asshole.”

He chuckles and wraps his arm around your shoulder, “You love me! Now just because you’re going to this party with Kie, doesn’t make you a kook. So, no boys, especially kook boys. Me and the boys will be watching you.” He does the finger motion with his eyes.

You groan, “Seriously, John B? I’m literally only a few minutes younger than you. I don’t need a chaperon.”

“Gotta keep an eye out for my baby sister. Sorry not sorry.” He gives a shrug.

~

The first place he went to when he arrived with his family was the bar, but you weren’t in sight. He could have sworn you told him you’d be working the party. It honestly put him in a bad mood. He stood with Kelce and Topper, sipping his drink, when Topper tapped him in the chest, pointing behind Rafe, “Isn’t that Routledge’s sister?”

Rafe turned around so quick and there you were, walking arm and arm with Kie. He’d only ever seen you a couple times outside of the bar and that was at the boneyard, but even then, you were in your country club uniform, coming straight from work.

“Dude, she looks hot.” Topper comments, “I didn’t know a pogue could look like that.”

Rafe’s fingers tightened around his glass, “Topper, shut the fuck up.”

“I’m just saying. I bet you I can get her to come home with me tonight.” Topper laughs.

“You’re with my sister remember?” Rafe snaps, “There’s no you trying to get her to come home with you tonight.” Rafe watched as you and Kie made your way through the crowd, dancing to the music. You’d caught the eyes of a few other kooks. They were already looking your way. He throws the rest of his drink back and starts heading your way, but another guy has beat him to it. He decides against it and heads back to the bar.

You had glanced around for Rafe but still hadn’t spotted him, so you decided one dance with this one guy wouldn’t hurt. After the song ended, you were quick to slip away from the guy, “I’m going to find my friend.”

His grip tightened, “Come on, let me take you inside?”

“I’m good-”

“She said she’s good man. back off.” Rafe gives the guy a little shove and the guy lets go of you, rolling eyes before walking off.

You look up at Rafe and he runs a hand through his hair, smoothing it back. “Thanks for that.”

He nods, “Yeah. Yeah of course.” He flashes his signature smile, “I thought you were working tonight.”

“Kie invited me so I got someone else to cover my shift.”

He nods, “Well, you look beautiful.”

You blush, glancing down at your dress and then back at him, “Didn’t know I could wear anything else besides khaki’s and a white polo, did you?”

He chuckles, shaking his head, “No.”

You laugh, “It’s Kie’s. I didn’t have anything nice to wear.”

“It looks great on you.” He runs his hand over his chin and then scratches the back of his neck, “I um better go. Dinner should start be starting soon.”

You nod, “Yeah. I better go find Kie.”

The two of you part ways. He goes and sits with his family, you go to sit with Kie and her family.

~

Soon after dinner, the Cameron’s are asked to speak and then Ward takes Rose to the dance floor to dance. Topper does the same thing with Sarah and Rafe stands off to the side. He hadn’t brought a date, didn’t really care too.

You watch the Cameron’s, talking quietly with Kie, saying how pretty Rose dress was and that’s when you see Rafe standing over to the side. He didn’t have a date to dance with?

He knows he looks stupid up here while his whole family is having some dance with their partners, so his eyes start to scan the crowd, and there at a back table was you. He could see you and Kie leaned in close, talking over the music. He knew he was probably going to get looks for this, but at this moment he didn’t care. Screw the pogues vs kooks. Screw the kooks. Screw what people would think. He wants to dance with you. He makes his way across the dancefloor and straight to you at the table. He holds his hand out to you, giving a smile, “Would you like to dance?”

People around you gasped, especially the kook girls surrounding you. You were a pogue and Rafe picked you out of the crowd to dance with?

You know people were looking, especially your brother and pogues, but you didn’t care. Screw them. Your hand fits into his and you smile, “I’d love too..” Standing from your seat, he leads you to the middle of the dancefloor, pulling you close. Your hand is in his, the other on his shoulder and his other hand is on your lower back.

“People are staring.” You whisper, glancing around.

“Let them stare. They’re just jealous of you.” He whispers back. His forehead goes to yours and both of you close your eyes in content, as the two of you sway to the music. Your brother was going to kill you.

As the song ends, there’s some clapping for Ward and Rose, but you and Rafe don’t pull away as quickly as the rest.

“Want to get out of here?” He asks, pulling away to look at you.

Biting your lip, you nod, “My brother is going to kill me.”

He chuckles, “Don’t worry I’ll protect you.” He leads you away from the party and toward the beach. Slipping off your heels, the two of you start across the beach.

“Y/n Routledge!” You glance back to see John B making his way out to the beach after you, anger written all over his face.

“Shit!” You and Rafe laugh as you two break into a run, heading toward the parking lot, leaving John B in the dust. Rafe pulls you through the line of cars and straight for the tree lines. He puts you between him and the tree and puts a finger to his lips. You hold back a giggle as you hear John B yell again.

He laughs quietly looking down at you. Suddenly, it’s like the world stopped turning. He brings his hand up to cup your cheek and gets lost in your eyes. The two of you are breathing heavily, looking into each other’s eyes, but he doesn’t lean in.

“Kiss me, you fool.” You whisper, wrapping your arm around his neck and pulling him to you, pressing your lips against yours.

He kisses back passionately before finally pulling away for air, “I’ve wanted to do that for weeks,” He whispers against your lips.

Both of you smile into the kiss and you nod, “I was getting tired of asking about your golf game. I didn’t care.”

He chuckles, “I hate bourbon. It’s the only drink I could think about when I saw you a couple weeks ago and you asked what I wanted.” He then pulls you back into a kiss.

Your brother was definitely going to kill you.

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[adhd-disaster-willie]

you’re the one that brings the sun; chapter 2/6

Chapter 1

Warnings: Swearing, mention of death (very brief, not graphic)

Notes: Yes it is six chapters now lmao

---

Alex is one month, 4 breakdowns, and probably $100 worth of coffee (even with his employee discount) into his first semester of college and more than prepared for his daily screaming into a pillow session. He stumbles into his dorm, but comes to a screeching halt as soon as the door closes behind him.

“You’re painting the walls.”

Willies spins around, narrowly avoiding falling off his step stool, and gives Alex a lopsided grin. “Wonderful observation,” he quips, hopping down with a paintbrush still in his hand.

“You- you can’t do that.” Alex gapes at him, dumbfounded.

“Ah, can’t I?” Willie raises his eyebrows, smiling. His cheeks are flushed and his hair has been haphazardly pulled up, flyaways falling to frame his face. Alex shakes himself from his reverie. This is not the time to be admiring Willie, idiot.

“No- that’s… that’s against the rules,” Alex says desperately. “The RA lives like, right next door.”

“He’s colorblind,” Willie reassures Alex. “And a homophobic asshole.”

“He’s- what? I…” Alex runs his hands over his face, breathing in deeply. “Okay. Okay. Uh, why are you painting the walls?”

Willie settles into the couch, humming thoughtfully. “I was working on that one essay but couldn’t focus because-” he waves his hands around his head vaguely, like that’s supposed to explain his thoughts. “-and then I remembered that there was a sale at Home Depot so here we are.”

Alex looks up at the wall, trying to ignore the anxiety clutching at his chest like mistletoe to a tree. It’s fine, it’ll be fine. “Why blue?” His voice comes out much less calm than he’d hoped.

“It’s my favorite color,” Willie replies like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m only painting that one wall anyway, the sale was just for the mini paint buckets. I think a pop of color is nice, y’know?” He jerks his hands in the direction of the wall, grinning.

“You’re gonna have us killed,” Alex states simply. “I’m gonna be expelled and have to crash at Julie’s again and I won’t have a college education and the band is gonna fail and I’ll be uneducated and living on the streets.”

“Woah, hey.” Wille stands up, face knitted with worry. He sets a hand on Alex’s shoulder, steadying him. “Dude, I didn’t know it would freak you out. Shit, uh, I can paint over it. Really, it was stupid and impulsive.”

Alex shakes his head. “No, no it’s fine. It’s just-” In for 4, out for 8, deep breaths Alex. “Just stupid anxiety, I’m overthinking.”

Willie tilts his head to the side slightly. “Yea? You sure you’re cool with it?”

And he really is… cool with it, at least sort of. Apparently there’s an override switch in his brain that makes it so of something makes Willie happy, Alex can’t help but be okay with it. Huh. That’s new.

“Um…” Now that his brain is less foggy, Alex is realizing that Willie is like… really close. “Uh, yea. Just… don’t go painting any murals in the bathroom.”

Willie laughs loudly, throwing his head back and bouncing slightly on his heels. Alex’s gaze rakes over his face, golden sunlight seeping through the window and dancing across Willie’s cheeks. There’s a certain comfort to the way the sun comes through the window each evening. Miraculously, their dorm is positioned in an odd way that gives them a west and east facing window; and the way the light drapes over Willie is different at sunset compared to sunrise. It’s looser, makes him look free and like he keeps the sun right in his pocket, only letting it out when Alex is near. Stupidly, Alex thinks he wouldn’t have much trouble forgiving any future bathroom murals. One month, they’ve known each other for a month and Alex is already waxing poetic about him. He scolds himself internally.

“Tell you what,” Willie starts, stepping back and gesturing vaguely. “I’ll buy you a coffee to make up for it.”

“Dude it’s like 5pm,” Alex reasons, but his resolve is already dwindling at the sight of Willie’s playful grin.

“And? It’s the weekend.” Willie tosses an arm over Alex’s shoulders, sticking his bottom lip out in a dramatic pout. “It’s just coffee.”

“Remind me what happened last time you drank coffee.”

Willie sighs mournfully. “We do not speak of the carnation incident.”

“Right,” Alex chuckles. “Okay. Fine. But no more painting the walls.”

“Aye aye captain!” Willie gives a theatrical salute before waltzing out the door with Alex at his heels.

5:30pm in late September means it’s just chilly enough to wear jeans instead of shorts and just sunny enough to see light slipping through the trees and grass. Willie seems to be a magnet for the sunlight, leading it in a subtle dance as they walk across campus. Alex follows the way his hair sways in the light breeze, painted in a sheet of gold and bronze, like it’s been dipped in a liquid campfire. He wonders if his heartbeat is synced to the rhythm of Willie’s feet, marveling at how each step seems to send a ripple through Alex’s entire body. It’s unfair, the way the evening sun makes everything seem softer and more poetic, and Alex thinks that he could write an entire song about the way Willie glances over at him with a teasing smile. In a- a friend way of course. Because everyone thinks about how beautiful their friends look while walking. Of course.

Willie turns to Alex with his head tilted slightly. His expression is frustratingly unreadable. There’s blue paint brushed across the bridge of his nose and his left cheekbone, like his skin is stained with bits of the sky and Alex has a weird urge to bring his hand up and brush it away, but also a weird desire for that paint to be there forever; it suits Willie. His eyes, shining amber in the light, glance over Alex’s face and Alex feels like he’s being put under a spotlight except Willie’s the only person in the audience. Willie finally speaks his mind, his voice gentle. “Your hair looks golden in this light”

Alex feels his entire face go pink and he almost squeaks “You can’t just say those things!” But his tongue seems to be caught in the back of his throat so he opts for a mortified smile before turning to focus on the sidewalk right ahead of him. Willie doesn’t elaborate, or pressure Alex into responding, and they lapse back into a comfortable silence.

It isn’t until they’re just outside the coffeeshop that Alex comes to what is probably a mildly important realization. Bobby’s working right now. Bobby, Carrie’s cousin who’s known Alex as long as Luke and Reggie have, occasionally plays with the band, and has been involved in too many conversations about a certain long-haired skater. Alex’s stomach fills with an unmistakable dread at this thought.

“Alex? You good?” Willie bumps their shoulders and shoots him a smile that’s soft around the edges. “You can just get tea if you’re that anxious about the coffee.”

“No,” Alex chuckles, attempting to mask his stilted breathing. “It’s fine, coffee’s a good idea anyway. I need to stay up and practice that one horrible drum solo my professor insists I perfect.”

“And you have to do that tonight?”

“Yea, the band has a gig on Sunday so Luke’s probably gonna lock me in the studio to rehearse all of tomorrow.”

Willie giggles bubbily, his eyes squinting in the way that makes Alex’s stomach flip. Alex opens the door and a stupid piece of his mind itches to grab Willie’s hand to pull him in. He doesn’t.

Alex likes his workplace. The lights are warm and drape like a blanket over the building, the walls are decked in posters and paintings and vinyls, the windows are clothed with too many plants to count, and the chairs are the type you can just melt into and fall asleep. If he was still religious, he’d thank god for the fact that he was able to score a job here instead of a stiff, concrete chain store. The place is owned by the sweetest middle-aged lesbian couple who like to bring their cats by and let Alex take home leftover food when he has the closing shift. He likes it, and finding a customer service job Alex enjoys is like finding a needle in a haystack. And yet, his whole body is buzzing with nerves. He loves Bobby, he does, but the boy is just as fond of teasing Alex as Luke and Reggie are, and of course Willie had to pick right now.

Willie’s grinning as soon as he processes his surroundings. “Dude you didn’t tell me this place was so cool!” He grips Alex’s forearm excitedly and Alex’s entire brain just… short circuits. He’s sure Willie’s gushing about the mural on the back wall, because he has the awestruck and giddy expression he always gets when talking about art or skateboarding, but Alex’s brain is not registering a single thing Willie says.

Alex hears a loud and deliberate cough and is swiftly pulled from his mind, realizing three things: He is blatantly staring at Willie with a smile he doesn’t even want to see, Willie is still holding onto his arm and rambling, and Bobby is looking on with an expression that tells Alex that there is most certainly a new picture on his phone that will make for wonderful blackmail material.

“Alex, who could this be?” Bobby asks, and of course he’s the one with a scary good poker face because Alex almost believes that he truly is clueless.

Willie lets go of Alex’s arm, a cruel trick of the light making it look like he’s blushing. He gives Bobby a wave. “That’d be me. I’m Willie, Alex’s roommate.”

“Oh!” Bobby smiles innocently. “The famous Willie!”

“Famous?” Willie cocks an eyebrow at Alex. “You talk about me, hotdog?”

“Hotdog?” Bobby gives Alex an expression identical to Willie’s, but laced with mischief instead of fondness. Alex has an inexplicable urge to flee.

“Let’s just get our drinks,” Alex squeaks, herding Willie up to the counter and sneaking a death glare at Bobby on the way over.

“Hmm, and what’ll that be?” Bobby asks, making a point to plaster on his customer service smile.

“Medium cold brew with cinnamon almond-milk foam for me and a medium green tea for Willie, decaf.”

Willie looks at Alex incredulously. “You know my tea order?”

“It’s- it’s all you drink!” Alex squeaks defensively, picking at the collar of his shirt because when did it get so warm?

Bobby snickers. “Okay, one pretentious-ass cold brew and a horribly boring tea.”

Willie goes to pay, chuckling under his breath.

“Your drinks should be ready shortly, by the way Alex, I like this one,” Bobby snickers.

“Oookay!” Alex blurts, dragging Willie from the counter in hopes that he didn’t hear the last bit of Bobby’s sentence. His cheeks are burning as he directs them to his favorite corner of the shop. There are two chairs nestled in the corner, partially hidden by a rickety bookshelf and a wall of plants that hang down and will occasionally brush against the chair’s occupant. In the mornings, the sun shines through in a way that makes the chairs perfect for curling up like a cat seeking warmth. Alex sinks down into the seat nearest to the wall with a contented sigh and shuts his eyes, humming softly. “This is my favorite chair,” he mutters, eyes still closed.

“Hmm.” Willie’s response sounds odd, so Alex cracks open one eye only to find Willie sat in the chair beside him, elbows on the armrest closest to Alex, his chin resting in his palms. He’s looking at Alex with his lips curled into an almost wistful smile and suddenly Alex feels awfully overwhelmed. “It’s a very nice chair,” Willie says, leaning back to relax his head against the cushion and swinging his legs over the arm rest. Alex almost mourns his gaze, but he quickly shakes that feeling. It’s silly.

A gentle breeze drifts in through the window, which is always open slightly at this time of year, when it’s not too hot and not too cold out. Alex’s nose wrinkles, feeling the plant hanging above his head dance across his face in response to the wind. He hears Willie giggle beside him and he whips around, definitely not pouting. “What?”

“You made a face,” Willie responds, gesturing to his own face and mimicking Alex’s previous expression. “It was cu- it was uh, funny.” Willie goes red for a split second, but Alex writes it off as the heat and is about to ask if he wants the window closed when Bobby comes walking up, drinks in hand.

“I’m obligated by contract to warn you, Willie, that Alex with caffeine past 3 is never a sight you want to behold,” Bobby says, handing them their drinks and pulling up a chair to sit across from them.

“There is no such contract,” Alex protests. “And you’re exaggerating.” He takes a sip of his coffee, glaring at Bobby from behind the cup.

“Maybe not a formal one.” Bobby turns to face Willie now. “Seriously, caffeine at night makes him emotional for some reason.”

“Liar!”

“No dog movies when Alex has coffee at night, he’ll be sobbing for hours, even if the dog lives.”

“Noted,” Willie says, laughing. Alex contemplates kicking Bobby.

“Hey Bobbers, remember that time when you tried jumping an electric fence half naked because you got caught sneaking into a pool at night to impress a girl?”

Bobby blinks, his expression uncaring. “You cannot embarrass me,” he says. “I have no shame whatsoever.”

“Of course you don’t,” Alex grumbles.

“Anyway, as I was saying, Willie-”

“We should get back before dark!” Alex interrupts. He grabs Willie’s hand and all but shoves him from the shop, shouting at Bobby the whole way to prevent him from saying anything more to embarrass him.

Willie looks up at Alex, clearly amused, and they begin the walk back to their dorm. “Bobby seems nice,” He says nonchalantly.

Alex groans loudly. “No, no he’s terrible. He is one of my best friends and I despise him.”

Willie nods, sipping his tea. “Your friends are all pretty cool.”

“Yea… yea they’re great.” Alex pauses, sighing. “I don’t know where I’d be without them. The streets, probably,” Alex snorts bitterly at the last bit. It doesn’t cross his mind that Willie hasn’t been filled in on this. He doesn’t want to get into it. Willie seems to get the hint, brushing the confusion from his face in favor of looking up at the sky.

“I’ve always wished I was better at landscape paintings,” Willie whispers, his tone practically reverent. “Some people can just… capture every detail and emotion in- in sunsets and what-not. And it’s- it’s insane!” He gestures wildly with his hands as he talks, tea threatening to spill everywhere. “I can do abstract just fine, it’s my favorite. But my landscapes are always so… bland. I wish I could paint the feeling behind it as much as the plain details.”

Alex has seen his landscapes, and thinks them far from bland, but he doesn’t say anything. Willie has a way of turning the most horrifically boring pieces into storms of color and emotion, and Alex thinks that each brushstroke holds a piece of his soul. But he keeps his mouth shut.

“The sunset is nice,” Willie says. “I love when the clouds are pink like this. My mom used to-” he laughs nostalgically, remembering something. “-she used to tell me stories about the clouds. They all had their own personalities and lives and families. She would sit at her easel, painting the clouds, and I would be at her feet just… absolutely mesmerized.” There’s a certain shine in Willie’s eyes that Alex hasn’t seen before; it’s bittersweet and sort of disconnected. “And somehow… somehow she could show the cloud’s personalities in the paintings. I wish I could do that. She was the one who made me love art; I remember when I got my first skateboard, I stayed up for hours painting the bottom and I was so proud of it. And after I grew out of it she... she hung it on the wall above the mantel and would tell everyone who saw it how awesome it was”

Willie’s taken on a new demeanor, and Alex realizes this is the first time he’s spoken about his parents. “She seems amazing,” Alex mutters, voice quiet like he’s afraid of breaking something.

“Yea,” Willie replies. “She… she was.” He lets out a shaky breath. Oh. “She was a single mom, I never knew my father, never had the chance to ask about him. She died in a car crash when I was 14, I’ve lived with my uncle Caleb since.”

“Oh. Willie I-”

“It’s fine. I miss her, but it’s been four years y’know? I’m not… shrouded in grief like I used to be.” He gives Alex a genuine smile to prove it, and bumps their shoulder together. “C’mon, we’re almost home.”

Home. Home used to be Luke and Reggie and Julie, now… now Alex isn’t quite sure. College still feels new and different, and he often feels like his doesn’t belong. His dorm doesn’t feel much like home, it feels like a hotel room, like he’s a guest. But Willie… Willie feels more like home than anything in that dorm. Willie and his stupid blue wall and his long rambling and loud laughing. Home is Luke and Reggie and Julie and Willie, and that’s completely and utterly terrifying to Alex.

---

Chapter 3

chapter 4

chapter 5

chapter 6

Notes: This chapter was gonna be longer but I felt like that was a good place to leave off. I hope you liked it :)))

Taglist: @thatsanewflavor @spookiest-sapphic @dovesgrangers @julie-n-phantoms @frostknyte @thegaylink @nervousmiracletrash @crummycassidy @fairygclds @reallyintrospectivepeople @madsmax-37 @swamp-acad @kat-maybe-not @sunsetcurve123 @lookingthroughmirrors @queer-fandom-enby

[shtern-and-art]

Alfhfkdpgn that comic gave me forest boys brain XD.

Skeppy makes Bad mad n after he's jus minding his business in the forest but he swears the animals are mocking him XD. He doesn't think much of it until he snaps his head round the next time he sees one and catches a dear on two legs imitating an exaggerated version of his walk, lmao.

Does Bad have a favourite animal in the forest? I was jus thinking about him being really fond of a little wolf cub n calling it Rat (hehe) and she keeps tormenting Skeppy whenever he's around.

This comic/story makes me so happy :D. When Bad and Skeppy become friends, do they pull kinder pranks on each other? I know Skeppy used to put up things that made Bad mad but does he change that after befriending him?

Ooooooo. Do they get each other gifts? Sorry for all the questions, it's just so much fun to think about!!! Loving everything about it so far!! <3

Aaaaah forest boys, yesyesss, that’s what they are :DDD And don’t worry, thank you for the questions! It’s so cool to see people are interested in this story! It’s me here who’s worried that my answers are always so long, cuz I like to talk about all of this too :D

Anyways! Animals definitely act up on Bad’s behalf, they respond to his mood, and he can even control their behavior a bit! So, yeah, Skeppy gets harassed by snappy birds and rude racoons if Bad is upset with him.

But, dang, the deer encounter straight up murdered me, I just had to do a little comic about it :D It’s about the pranks too, I'm gonna publish it a bit later!

Here's a sneak peek for now:

See under the cut for the stuff about Rat and the gifts!

__________

About Rat: she’s there, and even plot relevant! :D It’s good that you reminded me about it, I gotta add more about her the next story notes post.

To put it shortly – she is the previous “host” of the spirit of the forest! She was a normal wolf (a wolf puppy) many, many years ago, but becoming one with the will of this specific forest turns you color scheme white/black. So she was guarding this lands long before Bad came around. Due to this, Rat is smarter that a normal wolf, but she still is mostly an animal.

She somehow survived the Lead Up and The Incident, when the will of the Forest latched on Bad, and she’s still hanging around, watching over him from semi-distance. Also she can still shapeshift into various sizes and species, and has some other spn-traits and abilities she can use to torment Skeppy :D

Bad is not sure why she’s still around, not dissolved in the forest life, like she should’ve. And why she insistently keeps him company sometimes. Maybe, disappearing takes a long time? Maybe, she just got attached, because he helped her – small, weak, and awkward like a baby rat – after the whole forest spirit switching happened? Or there is something more to it? (there is something more to it, oh yesss :DDD)

__________

And oh, the gifts, yes, I thought about that! Both Bad and Skeppy are quite awkward with that at first, because, like, what can they even give each other, apart from the company? What do they have, that the other might want? They do lead quite different lives. But at the very core they’re still similar, and desire to share something, and brighten the others day in return is there. So, Bad shows Skeppy all the secret places in the forest – hidden springs, and little caves under tree roots, places people have trouble getting to, or maybe don’t even know about. At some point, Bad starts leaving Skeppy little pretty trinkets and lost jewelry he found – shiny and semi valuable things people lost in the woods over the years. Just like a crow :D

And Skeppy gathers the litter in the woods – broken glass from beer and vine bottles, little scraps of metal and rocks he found lying around… And makes improvised windchimes out of them, and hangs them near the clearings deep in the woods. They strum gentle melodies over the rustling of leaves, and reflect stray sun bunnies to the places where, usually, the light can barely reach. They remind Bad of Skeppy a lot.

It’s like a piece of him is always there, even if Skeppy himself is away in the town – working or hanging out.

After a while, the new rumors spread in the town. That sometimes, if you walk alone in the deeper parts of the forest, you might hear distant, beautiful melodies flowing with the gusts of wind; and see bright, impossible lights changing shapes, dancing between the trees. People who try following them inevitably get lost, of course.

With Skeppy around, and with him and Bad getting closer, the woods become weirder… in a scary way, yes. But in a beautiful, slightly melancholic way too.

Also Skeppy definitely buys Bad new cassettes and batteries for his music player :DD

---

In The Dark - masterpost

[tsukifanbase]

Obey Me! Brothers Visit MC During Autumn: Lucifer, Mammon, and Belphie

Authors Note: i'm thinking I might make this a series, like at the beginning of every season just something similar to this 👀 sorry I haven't written much lately! school's taking up pretty much all my time nowadays-- anywhosie, enjoy! [ also s p o i l e r s] (oh btw this is gonna take place after mc leaves devildom for the summer, before they come back to devildom) lmk if yall want pt 2 with the other characters

Warnings: fluff, bruh absolute just fluff everywhere like so much, mb a lil bit of angst but that's what all my writing is like so hehe

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

Lucifer

- i feel like lucifer would’ve visited you in the human realm before

- like probably sometime over the summer, but he hadn’t seen you in a while and he was starting to miss his favorite human :(

- not like he’d ever admit to that

- i don’t think luci would really be the type to wait until you summoned him for something, if he wants to make sure you’re okay, he’s gonna come see you lmao

- anyways

- lucifer had been staring out the window for quite a while- he had been doing paperwork, but somehow even when you were in a different realm, you managed to disrupt him

- he chuckled to himself at that thought, then sighed

- you had been rather difficult to focus around, always getting yourself into trouble

- luci couldn’t catch a break when you went to RAD

- he missed you

- a lot

- lucifer glanced back at his desk, where he had been working just moments before

- his eyes landed on an unsigned piece of paper that had your name on it

- you could come back home if he got you to sign it

- in truth, lucifer hadn’t really thought about finding a way to get you back to devildom. he certainly missed you, but the idea that he could actually arrange your return just hadn’t hit him yet

- until three days prior, when the sheet with your name on it appeared on his desk

- lucifer had a sneaking suspicion who put it there

- it was diavolo let’s be real

- the real mystery was why lucifer hadn’t gone to bring you the permission slip already

- he had waited- it had been three days, and he couldn’t make up his mind if he wanted to go give it to you

- lucifer didn’t want to put you in the position of having to choose between your life in the human realm or your life in devildom

- but he missed you

- and so, luci checked his watch to make sure it wasn’t three in the morning, then grabbed the permission slip before making his way outside 

- it would be okay to be selfish, just this once, right?

- lucifer arrived at your home at four in the afternoon, you weren’t there

- so he found a way to open the door, bruv you hid the key under the doormat he didn’t really have a hard time lmao 

- you walked into your bedroom at nearly quarter past four and immediately flopped onto your bed

- you didn’t even notice that lucifer was watching from your desk in the corner of your room

- he walked over to you and stared at you

- bro he literally didn’t say anything, he just waited ahaha thats not creepy

- lucifer crossed his arms over his chest and you finally looked up 

- your eyes locked and you quietly asked, “luci?”

- lucifer narrowed his gaze at you and answered you with an, “mhm?”

- and then you freaked out, because honestly you half thought you were hallucinating or something, you jumped up to give lucifer a hug

- don’t get me wrong here, i have the intense feeling that lucifer doesn’t like hugs, but i also have the intense feeling that you and the occasional brother are the exception to that rule

- so

- when you clasped your arms around him, luci barely hesitated in returning the gesture

- he pulled you close, like he never wanted to let go again

- you eventually pulled back to ask why he had come to visit you

- it wasn’t like he didn’t visit often, just usually he had a reason to, even if it was just because he wanted to check up on you

- oh and all that nerve luci had about being selfish for once in his lifetime, yeah that was gone XD

- so your question kinda caught him off guard, like it just seemed like he forgot because for a hot sec he was just staring at you like, ‘uh huh im sorry what was that?’

- when he didn’t answer, you took the lead

- “do you wanna go to the fall festival with me?”, you asked, a bright grin spreading across your face

- and obviously luci knew what a fall festival was, he just didn’t really see your request coming

- but i mean he nodded so lmao

- pretty soon y’all were walking down the street, stopping at random carts at the festival to look at autumn themed stuff

- luci didn’t have human money, so every time he showed a vague interest in something and you offered to buy it for him, he would start squabbling about not wanting you to spend your money and blah blah

- you’d wait until he started walking away from the cart and then buy it for him anyways ;)

- somehow along the way, lucifer suggested you guys hold hands to stay together in the crowd uh huh yeah right lmao

- it was nearing the end of the festival when you remembered there was a park down the street, so you turned to luci and asked, “mind if i show you something?”

- he agreed and you guys started walking down the street, and lemme say the park kinda blew lucifer’s mind

- he was aware that leaves on trees changed colors depending on the season, but he wasn’t expecting how beautiful they were 

- yellows, and oranges, some red, here and there

- and then he turned to look at you

- right at home, where you belonged

- wearing a shirt luci was pretty sure you stole from him, sipping warm apple cider

- the most beautiful thing in that entire park was you, he was sure of it

- lucifer felt the permission slip crinkle in his pocket, and he made up his mind about showing it to you

- he wasn’t going to

- “lucifer, are you okay?”, you sounded concerned, and you brought the hand that had been holding his own to brush a piece of his hair out of his face

- lucifer smiled at you, really smiled, and then replied, “yes, my dear, i’m quite all right”

Mammon

- ok so u guys remember when about two minutes ago i said lucifer wasn’t the type to wait until you summoned him

-well let’s give mammon some credit where it’s due

- he triedd to wait until you summoned him

- bb is many things but he is not patient XD

- ok lets get into it

- mammon was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling

- he wasn’t really thinking about anything?? but he had been sitting there for like an hour lmao

- asmo and satan were standing in the doorway like, ‘is he okay? does he need a doctor?’

- since usually when people think of mammon they do not think, ah yes his normal activity of... doing nothing?

- then out of nowhere, mammon sat up and his brothers quickly fled the scene to avoid being caught lmao

- mammon got a big grin on his face, and he strut out of his room to go bother you

- he had gotten into the habit of going to find you whenever he was bored or lonely

- he arrived at your bedroom, and just before his fist hit the door to knock, he realized that you weren’t in there

- that you weren’t even in devildom

- mammon barely hesitated before spinning on his heel and heading to lucifer’s office

- he wasn’t even really conscious of what he was doing, but mammon knew why he was about to go ask to visit you

- he needed you, more than he ever truly realized

- when you arrived at your apartment that afternoon, you were greeted by your landlord in the lobby, he informed you that there was a strange man sitting outside of your apartment, who was insisting that he needed to see you

- you practically dropped the grocery bag you were holding, nodded to your landlord, thanked him, and then began sprinting towards your apartment

- mammon was sitting in front of your door, staring down at his hands, he didn’t even notice that you had walked up to him

- you immediately noticed something was off with him, so you dropped to your knees to bring him into a hug, “what’s wrong?”

- he smiled to himself as he wrapped his arms around you, “nuthin'”, now that you were with him

- after you both relished in being reunited, you hopped up and grinned at him, “you’ve got perfect timing!”

- you went to unlock your apartment door, and pointed at the grocery bag that you had abandoned on the floor- it was full of apples

- mammon stood and picked up the bag for you, “apples?”, he questioned, he wasn’t really familiar with human cuisine but it seemed a little bit strange to just buy a massive bag of apples

- “i’m gonna make desert!”, you opened the door and walked into your apartment, then closed the door behind mammon, “and you’re gonna help me”

- the smile you gave him made his heart melt

- he had missed you so much

- “pfffff, why would i do that?”, mammon’s cheeks were flushed red, he crossed his arms and looked away from you, trying to hide his embarrassment 

- you were grabbing something out of your cabinet, it looked like sugar, “because”, you smiled at him 

- “what kind of reason is that-”

- he helped you make the apple pie lmao

- mammon lifted a bite of the pie up to his face to look at it, “what even is this?” 

- he wasn’t asking in a mean way, he just genuinely didn’t know what he was looking at lol

- “just try it! i promise you’ll like it!”, you told him from the kitchen, you were putting away ingredients

- mammon huffed, and you gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse

- “if you try it, i’ll give you a present”, he immediately tried the dessert

- greedy boi

- mammon thought it was delicious, but he wasn’t about to tell you that, “i guess it’s alright, now you’re gonna gimme something?” 

- you nodded and walked over to where he was sitting, “hey, what’re ya doin’?”, you gave him a peck on the cheek

- mammon fell silent for a second, and then his face burst into flames as he watched you grin and return to putting things away

- and honestly that was the best gift you could’ve given him

Belphie

- ok so im sorry but belphie is definitely the type of demon to wait for you to summon him

- i don’t make the rules XD

- he is tired boy, and while he may love and care about you a lot, going to the human realm takes a lotttttttt of energy lmao

- like he has to walk allllllll the way to lucifer’s office and ugh just like no too much work

- so anyways lmao

- you hadn’t really planned on summoning bel at all

- you were lying in bed, a lazy morning like so many you had shared together

- this one was more beautiful than any you had ever experienced before

- the leaves were changing colors just outside your window, the sunlight of a late morning breaching your bedroom through the leaves, and hitting your face

- the weather had gotten colder recently, so you had added more blankets to your bed to accommodate

- or maybe you were trying to make up for the loss of your cuddle buddy

- either way, you were wrapped securely in blankets

- and everything seemed perfect

- except you were missing the best part of sleeping in, of staying in bed until the early afternoon

- you were missing your best friend

- so you decided to change that

- you barely had to think about how to summon him, one second, he wasn’t there, and the next, belphie was lying on top of you

- he was sleeping, as usual

- bel clutched you tight in his sleep, mumbling something about missing you under his breath

- he was dreaming about you

- because as little energy he had to go visit, that didn’t mean that belphie didn’t miss you

- in fact, nearly every day since you left devildom, bel had complained to beel about how cold his bed was

- bel had trouble sleeping for a while after you left, unbelievable, but true

- he had grown so accustomed to falling asleep every night to the sound of your breath, your scent, your warmth

- belphie opened his eyes mid afternoon, he realized why he had been sleeping so soundly when he glanced down to see who he was hugging

- your eyes were closed and he assumed you were asleep

- bel sighed blissfully and hugged you tighter, pressing a kiss to your head

- “i missed you”, he mumbled into your hair

- “i missed you too, bel”