#so much for getting sick at the slightest breeze as a kid

[m-i-n-a-m-i]

The easiest way to update your immune system (aka get sick) is to take care of kids that go to a school/nursery. They carry new viruses every week and WILL infect you.

[laiiaaa]

WHEN RAFE CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF YOU

Soft sounds of the waterfront waft in through the open doors to Rafe’s balcony, filling the room with a gentle breeze that flows through the loose fabric of the white button-up you snagged from the floor and leaving a chill on your skin. He lays in bed beneath you, his hips between your thighs as you smooth your hands over his warm, tanned skin and trace the love bites left over on his chest and collarbone. 

His hands stay on your thighs and at your hips, fingers dancing beneath the hem of your lace panties. “You’re so beautiful,” he says, smiling up at you to drink in the sight of your messy hair and swollen lips, a terribly love-drunk smile on his face. “I wanna stay like this forever, you know?”

“Yeah?” You lean down to lay chest to chest, arching your back as one of his hands smooths over the curve of your ass and rests at the small of your back. Your hands curve gently to cup his jaw, and you take in his flushed cheeks and hazy eyes before you hum into a kiss. “You wouldn’t get sick of me?” you ask, words spilling from your lips into his.

He scoffs. “Are you kidding? I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Oh, really?”

Rafe—rough around the edges, snarky little thing that he is—doesn’t know whether anything could feel as good as seeing that giddy expression on your face when he spills his heart on the floor. So of course, he can’t help but quip back “Really” as his hands work beneath what is oh so clearly his white button up, what with the fabric pooling at your arms and swallowing your shoulders. He can’t help it when his hands hold your firmer, pressing you tighter to him like it’ll bond you together eternally (he’s sure he’d be the happier one at that, even if you begged to differ). He can’t help it when, having your fingers trace along the contours of his face, trailing from between his brows to his nose and to his lips, he nudges your hand away just to steal another smile-ridden kiss from your mouth. 

He murmurs something sweet—“And if it ever were possible,” he starts, a near toothache ringing through his jaw that resonates so deep into his chest he can only call it love, “I’d cure it myself.” He almost wants to laugh the words away and clean that slate, cringing at the thought of being so…sappy, but there’s clarity in the grin you shoot back at him. The hands that were once pulling you closer relax in knowing you’re sticking around, and they soften to resume leaving invisible shapes in your skin.

“You’re such an idiot,” you giggle, tucking your head into the crook of his neck and pressing the slightest of kisses to that blessed place.

“Only for you—and I’m perfectly okay with that.”

“Even if I tell all your friends?” You drag one hand down his chest, and stop when you reach his heart. You swear it beats a little faster, a little stronger, a little louder when he’s with you. “Tell ‘em you’ve gone off the deep end?”

“You can tell the whole world whatever you want, baby—” his arms circle around you, as if trying to memorize to the finest detail what it’s like to feel the adoration flowing from his fingertips stick to your skin and leave you welded together— “It’s not gonna change how much I care about you.”

And with the way his lips press oh so gently against your temple, the care with which he pulls a blanket over your shoulders, the dedication that stays hidden in his words, you know he's honest. And with your breath against his skin, those quiet little hums of sheer comfort that reach his ears, he knows—without any words—that you believe him.

[lustastarte]

♤ young & beautiful | jocaesar ♤

genre: angst/fluff (mentions of smut, no details)

joseph visits caesar every year for his birthday, yet each year, the goodbyes get easier and easier

published: 2020

song: young and beautiful - lana del ray

Joseph sat on the ground, squinting at the sunny, cloud laced sky. It was a particularly beautiful day, and he was glad he chose to meet Caesar then. He played with the grass and walked around, picking a bouquet of flowers for his best friend, and the one he loved the most. They've always's known it was right for them to be together, but the rest of the world thought differently. They may not be together in this life, but they will be in the next.

Joseph smiled when he spotted the other man sitting in the shade of a large white jasmine tree. He waved and sighed when sitting in front of him.

"I'm too old to be picking you flowers," Joseph laughed, rubbing his back and placing the bouquet on the ground between them. He appreciated the beautiful smile on the blonde's face, sunlight speckled across his nose and high cheeks, his signature markings highlighted by the nearly white locks of hair hanging off his forehead. Caesar didn't talk much now, but Joseph didn't mind. He never understood how Caesar avoided aging, he didn't look a day past 20, yet here they were, celebrating his 71st birthday in secret. He even had a special glow to him, as if made of gold.

"You still look as perfect as ever... I really missed you, Caesarino." Joseph grinned mischievously at the face he received from the older man. Caesar snorted and shook his head, then turned his attention back to Joseph, who knew what he wanted to hear.

I've seen the world, done it all

Had my cake now

Diamonds, brilliant, and Bel Air now

"I almost didn't get to make it this year," he admitted. "I went around the world, Caesar! I saw Japan and even Egypt!"

Caesar's eyes widened, then he furrowed his eyebrows.

"We- Well, my grandson, his schoolmate, a French guy, a dog, an Egyptian friend of mine, and I had to travel to Egypt to save Holly. There are these things called stands," Joseph paused to breathe. "-and you get sick when developing one, but Holly wasn't doing well at all. So we went to Egypt and ended up battling Dio! Oh- Don't look at me like that! I'm not kidding," he giggled.

"Really, I'm not! He stole grandpa Jonathan's body! Yeah, that's what I said," Joseph responded to Caesar's wide eyes and head jerk forward. "It was crazy as hell, man!"

The two laughed together as Joseph leaned his back against the tree and Caesar laid his head on the younger's shoulder.

"We lost the schoolmate, my Egyptian friend, and the dog, but they fought hard... yes, I know, I know I can deal with it but I'm not sure about Jotaro... He lost three good friends at 17, it's hard just losing one..."

They sat there in silence until Caesar turned his face up toward Joseph's with a nostalgic glint in his eyes. Joseph happily sighed and looked up toward the sky. 

Hot summer nights, mid-July

When you and I were forever wild

"Do you remember when we were young? The way we would- Okay, I won't say it," Joseph gave in to the blonde's stern look, but couldn't help reminiscing.

During the night, the empty, gaping hall grows still like a machine that's powered down. The bright airiness of Roman days fade, and darkness falls over like a downy comforter. All that's left is the low oil lamp lighting that throws short, yellow ochre beams across the polished floor, reflecting in some of the antiqued oak and glass cabinets. Not even a breeze disrupts the papers stacked upon the dusty lacquered desk, yet the slightest thought of movement momentarily blocks the low light, as a sheer swirling mist, with its soft, blurred edges, seeps through microscopic pores in the wall. The sort of movement that's seen on the ill-defined peripherals of anthropoid vision, the kind that breeds insomnia-instigating insinuations of monsters lurking in the dark, towing shadows along as if they weren't immovable. 

Joseph and Caesar stop in the shadows, their bodies shifting to solid in a sudden, dizzying rush. They press back against a cold stone wall deeper in the darkness, where it would have been absolute, save for the warm, dusty hue cast by the hanging oil lamp. Joseph closes his eyes, Caesar focusing on who, or what, could be emitting the unnatural pulsing. It was like ripples, ocean waves through the seemingly solid marble floor, vibrating under their feet, up through their bones and coming to a rest as a dull rumbling in their chests, their heads. They looked at one another in terror — Would they be caught? Surely Lisalisa and Suzie Q couldn't be awake at this hour — and attempted to calm themselves.

They stole out into the darkened, marble-laced rotunda which marked the centre of the building, the towering, vaulted ceiling gaping like an empty void, a black hole overhead. Silvery slants of moonlight pierced the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a magnified cross-hatched spotlight on the shivering teens. They gave it no more than a glance as they slipped past and out of the building with nothing more than the wind off the aged quilts they carried with them and the slight murmur of their bare, worn-out feet on the marble.

Giggling to one another, they ran across the courtyard and into the dark, yet comforting woods. Caesar grabbed Joseph's hand and guided him to a clearing, where they would lay for the next hour staring at the stars and talking about everything and nothing all at once. Falling in love could no longer explain this. This was like being flown into love at Mach 1, ear-splitting, eye-catching love.

"Joseph?"

Joseph turned to the moonbeam bathed boy laying next to him, raising an eyebrow and smiling.

"I... I think-," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I think- Joseph, I think I'm in love with you."

"You mean that?"

"I have been for a while, I just... tried to forget it. I'm sorry if this ruins our-"

Joseph leaped across the quilt, pulling Caesar into an intense, yet gentle kiss. He slid one hand into the other's soft, light hair, and softly placed the other on his chest. The kiss seemed to last for hours, their lips tingling as they pulled away and snickered quietly, foreheads pressed together. Caesar pulled the other quilt over them, the night breeze becoming a nuisance. They shared many soft kisses, before Joseph spoke.

"Do you want to- you know-? Tomorrow isn't promised, especially not now, and I want to give you all of me..."

Caesar nodded. "Come here."

Sloppy, uncoordinated kisses, tongues and lips crashing together, nervous touches, reassuring words, awkward attempts to be comfortable, shaking bodies, nerves begging to be lit on fire for the first time. Clothes hitting the dew-covered grass, hot, rapid breaths mingling with cool, steady breezes, locked eyes, comforting caresses. Slow, gentle movements, quiet, desperate noises piercing the air, tight grips, clasped hands, declarations of love, beautiful forms, coming together as one under the stars. Nothing had ever felt so good, so right, in every sense of the word. 

The crazy days, city lights

The way you'd play with me like a child

Even the worst training days were better with one another. When they finally got to eat, they sat in the floor of Joseph's room and talked as if they were lifelong friends. Caesar ate slowly, and Joseph ate quickly. Both were nowhere near messy eaters, but the blonde tended to have to wipe his chin down more often than the brunette, mostly due to Joseph's flirtatious antics. 

The wildest cities seemed much tamer when they were together. They could tackle anything, they were the definition of a superior team. When Caesar would describe his idea of an adventure to Joseph it would send chills down his spine, make his body tingle. He wanted to backpack his way across India, sail up the Nile in a small wooden boat and keep a journal of it all, trek through the dense Amazon and climb the towering Mount Everest. He wanted to explore rural China, dog sled in the arctic, tour all of Russia and deep sea dive. Joseph's idea of adventure was trying a new supermarket with Granny Erina, a different café in the city, or a new outfit.

Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?

Will you still love me when I’ve got nothing but my aching soul?

Joseph flipped through the wonderful memories in his mind as he rested his head upon Caesar's shoulder.

"Caesar?"

The blonde turned his head toward Joseph.

"Do you still... do you still love me?"

The other flashed an angelic smile and nodded.

"I'm glad, I feel the same."

Caesar ran a soft, warm hand through Joseph's graying hair as the two drifted off to sleep.

I know that you will

In their deep sleep they become young again. They dream of things past, things that will never be again. In Caesar's dreams he has comfort, freedom and love. Sometimes Joseph can be visited by those he lost. For those perfect hours of sleep, Joseph and Caesar are whole once again. Sometimes Joseph has nightmares, but those are getting fewer and far between now that life has settled back into a rhythm. Joseph truly looks forward to turning in at night, he has thick duvets and the finest pillows, everything luxury. Not to mention, it's just one more way he can see Caesar, be it real or fake.

I've seen the world, lit it up as my stage now

Channeling angels in the new age now

When Joseph woke up, he was laying down next to Caesar with his head on his chest. They stayed there for a moment, just savoring one another's company.

Joseph snorted quietly. "You know the last time we got to spend some actual time together was before we fought the Pillar Men... I've missed this."

Caesar nodded and looked down, lifting Joseph's chin and planting a gentle kiss on his lips.

Hot summer days, rock and roll

The way you'd play for me at your show

It was the hottest summer on record in Italy, yet Lisalisa had them training harder than ever. Heat licked at Caesar's sunburned face and coiled around Joseph's limbs like a great, hungry hot-blooded serpent. The ground smoldered and sent up a disorientating haze, as if looking through water. Even the birds overhead were silent and the grass stood still as if too hot to move. The one day they had a break, they decided to go find a small lake or creek to cool off in, anything to get away from the heat. They ended up water fighting like children and slowly kissing one another in the shallows, taking advantage of the privacy. They sang their favorite songs and danced with each other, which is such a freeing feeling after the hardships of training. 

And all the ways I got to know

Your pretty face and electric soul

And there Caesar sat, with his feet in the clear, cool water, drinking in the radiant heat of summer. He let his eyes close in a way that appears restful, as if inviting, calling Joseph to imagine what his daydreams consist of. In that way, with such calmness, collectiveness of souls, content to dwell in that ever memorable moment, that they felt the joy of each other's company. Joseph stares at the blonde, a stupid look on his face, giving away how hard he had fallen. He looked away for a second and he found himself falling backward into the creek, Caesar having tackle-kissed him.

When he comes, tell me that you'll let him in

Father, tell me if you can

Caesar used to pray each night, and every night he would ask God to save them both a seat in the clouds, next to one another. He thought about death a lot, much more than normal because of the situation they were in. After he'd pray, he would smuggle cigarettes and beer into Joseph's room, and they'd go to the roof. Staring at the stars and sneaking drunk touches and smoky kisses, talking about their future together, holding hands and playing footsie, giggling like children. Times like these, when the world wasn't ending or they weren't fighting for their lives are the times Joseph would cherish forever. 

He's my sun, he makes me shine like diamonds

It always amazed Caesar how happy and carefree Joseph stayed, even in old age. He often thinks about the summer in Rome, how beautiful Joseph looked in the radiant, deep glow of the sunsets, how perfectly his hair caught his bubbles. He was proud to be the man who made such a perfect man smile and laugh like never before. Just the thought of it made Caesar shiver with pride and love. Joseph was more than just a friend, more than a lover. He was Caesar's world, a spot no one before him had been able to fill. 

Will you still love me?

Conversations neither of them had ever considered having with anyone else, conversations they wouldn't even have with themselves.

"Jojo?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you still love me even if we don't win this fight?"

Joseph grabbed his arm. "Caesar. I will love you until the end of time."

Will you still love me?

"Are you still going to love me when I'm not as pretty?"

"Caesar, I promise I'm always going to love you. Always," Joseph cooed, running his hand through the other's soft blonde hair. 

Will you still love me?

Joseph opened his door to find a crying, shaking, anxious Caesar carrying his pillow. The Italian dropped the thin cushion and latched himself onto Joseph as if his life depended on it.

Joseph wrapped his arms around the blonde. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Caesar said nothing, he only began sobbing, clinging harder to Joseph than before. He tried to take in a normal breath, but could only get sharp gasps and wheezes out.

"Come in here," Joseph pulled him into the room. "Go sit down, I'm gonna get your stuff for you."

Joseph picked the pillow up and grabbed a blanket and a water bottle on his way to his bed. He tossed that stuff at the foot of the bed and climbed up next to Caesar. It was dim, as all the lights were out, but Joseph could see the other's form. He pulled the other into his chest, laying them both down and slipping the comforter over them.

"What happened, love?"

"N-Nightmare- You we- weren't there- I-" Caesar began to sob again, a cry of absolute pain leaving his throat. Joseph held him against his chest tightly and stroked his back, reassuring him softly. 

"It's just a nightmare, it won't hurt you. I'd never let it."

The older boy just nodded and pulled him as close as possible, holding tightly to his shoulder blades and breathing in his scent. Something about that smell, that body, just makes him feel safe and secure. 

"J-Jojo?"

"I know what you're thinking and my answer is yes. I will always love you."

Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?

Joseph grinned at Caesar when he finished thinking, planting a kiss on his cheek. He was full of joy, until his grandson's beat up SUV could be seen making its way through the field.

Jotaro climbed out of the car and beckoned for Joseph. The old man stood up with some trouble, bones popping like bubble wrap. 

The blonde looked up at him, gaze full of love. "I have to go soon..."

He pulled Caesar into a strong hug, beginning to tear up.

"Gramps, come on- What are you doing?"

"Telling Caesar goodbye. I won't get to see him for a while."

"There... There isn't anyone there."

"Okay, great one funny guy. He's right here."

Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul?

Joseph hugged him tightly one last time before leaving. He wiped the tears from his cheeks as he stood up, bending down to kiss Caesar one last time for the year. 

"Goodbye Caesarino, I'll see you next year. I love you. I always will," Joseph muttered shakily before stepping back, watching the grand, marble tombstone lose it's magnificent lustre as Caesar's angelic form disappeared, materializing into golden bubbles before floating away.

Joseph observed how the bubbles floated away before turning to his grandson.

"Let's go home, Jotaro." He began walking toward the car, but just before reaching it, a gust of wind hit him from behind. Joseph whipped around as fast as an old man possibly could. In front of his face sat a large, golden bubble with a replica of Caesar's headband inside. Gingerly, Joseph reached out to grab it, and once in his hands, it popped.

The man let out a choked sob as he held the headband against the side of his face. Immediately he wrapped it around his head and turned his face up toward the sky, smiling.

"Thank you, Caesar. Remember, forever." A couple tears slipped from Joseph's eye as he climbed into the passenger seat. 

I know you will, I know you will

"Jotaro, have you ever loved someone? Someone you couldn't have?"

Jotaro gave him a side-glance. "Why are you asking?"

"I just don't want you to make the same mistakes I did," Joseph said, taking a deep breath. "If you love someone, don't let anyone stop you from being together. Please."

Jotaro harshly breathed out of his nose. "I think it's a little too late for me. But what are you even talking about?"

Joseph furrowed his eyebrows and looked out of the window at the passing landscape. 

"I fell in love with someone I wasn't allowed to have. We snuck around in secret up until the day-," Joseph closed his mouth and bit his lip, taking deep breaths in.

"Gramps- You don't have to keep going, I think I understand."

"Thank you," Joseph looked over at his grandson. "It still hurts even now... Which is why I'm worried about you-"

"I'm fine." Jotaro quickly shut himself down, he didn't want to talk about his own feelings on the subject. "But are you fine?"

Joseph sighed and touched the replica headband on his head. "I am now."

Will you still love me when I'm no longer beautiful?

Each year on Caesar's birthday, Joseph was there, in the same spot. He talked to him throughout the year but this was the only time he could see him. He picked a bouquet of wildflowers, he sat next to the grave, and kissed the tombstone before he left, promising to be back. The last time he departed however, at the ripe age of 91, he kissed the large marble slab and said, "See you soon, Caesar. I still love you, by the way," before Jotaro walked him back to the car.

Later that year, Joseph Joestar passed away peacefully in his sleep. He woke up in a strange room, where a woman was waiting.

"Oh, finally! Can you tell me your name sweetheart?"

Joseph smiled awkwardly. "J- um- Joseph Joestar... Where am I?"

"The welcoming room for the afterlife! Here is where you would normally be given a place to stay and meet your friends, but I believe you already have a home!"

 Joseph furrowed his eyebrows. "Huh?"

"You already have a house! Someone requested you live with them," she smiled.

He shook his head in amazement.

"Are you ready?"

Joseph nodded, a grin covering his restored face. He was 18 again, and he felt amazing.

The woman walked him out of the door and the first people he laid eyes on were the crusaders that had passed.

"Avdol! Polnareff! Kakyoin! Iggy!"

"Who-?" Kakyoin and Polnareff whipped around, but didn't recognize him. Iggy stood still until Avdol charged forward.

"JOSEPH!" The two held onto each other, and once the others realized who he was, they too joined the hug. 

"Mr. Joestar! You look so young!"

"Thank you, Kakyoin, you're very kind."

"So you really DID look like that in the 1940s... wow," Polnareff's mouth dropped open in awe as he circled Joseph, who was holding Iggy, trying to get his used to his younger form.

"JOJO! JOJO!"

The crusaders began to look around for Jotaro, yet when they turned back around, Joseph was sprinting full speed at a blonde they had never seen before.

"CAESAR!" Joseph tackled the older man, their lips colliding, and their bodies immediately attaching to each other. They cried tears of joy until they heard a woman's scolding and a man's laughing.

"Joseph! Have some manners!"

"Get a room, lovebirds!"

"G-Granny Erina! Speedwagon!" Joseph got up and ran to them, grinning from ear to ear.

"Jojo, do you wanna see your house?"

Joseph nodded, looking over at the blonde. He waved goodbye to his family before turning his attention back to Caesar. They locked hands and the older man led Joseph through beautiful cobblestone streets and colorful houses before turning into the driveway of a small, light blue house. Caesar opened the door and pulled Joseph in.

"Welcome home," he said, smiling brightly.

"Where- Where do you live?"

Caesar smirked. "That's the thing... you get to deal with me forever~"

"I have no complaints," Joseph laughed, kissing the other softly, running a hand through his blonde hair.

Joseph used to fear dying, but now, he'd rather be dead than anything. There's nothing he would take to leave this place. He was finally where he was meant to be; Caesar's arms. And once again, both have been returned to their original forms, once again young, beautiful, and in love.

[willowser]

touya dabi isn't as smooth as he thinks he is.

the first time you catch him, you're in the parking lot, halfway from your car to the long, concrete flight of stairs outside the apartment building. whenever he would come before, when you could sit on the steps and wait for him to arrive—his lone figure would always manifest across the street.

near a convenience store, one that's been closed for years and yet still remains, on the outside of your little gated community. where exactly he was coming from, you never knew, but he would give a half-ass jog across the road and hop the fence and stand before you on the steps, arms out like he was coming home after a long stint away.

you suppose he was. at least that's how it felt to you.

it's not a coincidence that you spot him there now, leaning against the wall as the sun starts to set. hiding in the growing shadows well enough, but still visible where he stands, where he's always stood. it's only been a few weeks since you've seen him and you wish he was closer so that you could read between his lines, find the truth in them. despite everything, you ache for him, for this; it must be tearing him to bits, even if he won't admit it.

today was your first appointment. it's early, but things are as fine as they're supposed to be, you assume. nothing major to report. healthy. fast heartbeat. a little grape-sized thing.

touya dabi doesn't want you to see him, but you raise a thumbs-up high in the air anyway.

money appears under your mat a week or so after that, fat stacks of ¥5,000 bills.

it makes you angry at first; touya dabi made it very clear that he will have no part in this. with it. that didn't surprise you in the slightest, which is maybe why you avoided him once you found out. locked the doors and the windows and didn't answer any numbers that read unknown caller. at least that way it was your choice not to see him, and not because he was jumping ship.

the whole exchange was ugly. the kind of fight that makes your stomach sour, has you wanting to go back just so you could argue against whatever points he thought he was making. has your eyes watering, stinging with the memory of it all.

but this is unexpected. it. not that you don't have a support system and some savings in the bank, but being a single mother wasn't exactly predicted in your forecast and it's his damn kid, after all. if he wants to fork over all his earnings—however he gets them—to try and mitigate some of his own guilt, well, then, that's his choice.

meanwhile, you're gonna buy a bitchin' crib, one that attaches to the side of your mattress.

you start showing a little after three months, and touya dabi starts creeping closer.

he doesn't wait near the store anymore and instead moves inside the gate. he must watch you when you have your back turned because you don't see him until you're inside, moving to the window as slowly as you can so as not to alert him with your shadow.

not ever in the same spot. all you get is the flash of his coat, trailing his ghost as he turns and high-tails it, or the edge of his boot that he doesn't realize is sticking out so much. sometimes it's just the sound of a clicking lighter, the low burn of a cigarette end. a white-haired figure in the distance, gone with the low breeze.

one night, when you're feeling sick and lonely and the reality starts to bite at your edges, you open the blinds and take your time with mindless things; cleaning the glass in a tight tank-top, shuffling through mail in the clear view, poking at your belly button, trying to imagine what the little thing will look like.

you don't see him that time, but his hurt echoes inside you.

touya dabi can't stand it after the baby shower.

a friend helps lug all your gifts up the stairs, helps to stack them neatly in the office that was emptied when you found out. it's a lot of big things, like some animal-shaped-diaper creature and tons of wipes and a high-chair and an overload of stuffed animals. you go half-way down to thank them, bid them goodnight, and when you return to the room, he's sitting there.

on the floor with his legs out in front of him, facing the presents like they're his next battle. touya dabi is even wearing a pink party hat, one of the paper horns tucked between his lips like a cigarette.

you look at him and he looks at you and he blows it and the silly sound would make you laugh, if your heart wasn't beating so fast in your chest. you're stuck between a lot of emotions, but you've been picturing this moment every night for months, and the one thing you want to make clear to him is:

"if you don't want her—"

"i never said that."

it's the first words he's spoken to you in a long time, and they come out just as angry as the last ones did. a snap, furious, suddenly. in turn, it makes you just as mad.

your face screws up, and so does his. "okay, well you heavily implied it, then, when you insisted she wasn't yours."

touya dabi throws his hands in the air and shakes his head at you, like you're dumb. "how does that make any fucking sense? even if it's not mine, i didn't say—"

"she is yours, asshole—"

"don't start with the names, baby," he's quick to shoot off the floor, even quicker to yank the hat off his head. "you don't wanna fucking go there with me."

you're stuck between a lot of emotions, but the strongest is heartbreak, and to see him yell at you and be so fucking angry is harder than you imagined it would be. you thought you'd be strong enough by now to stand your ground; instead your voice comes out as a whispered plea. "get out."

touya dabi runs a harsh hand over his face, pinpricks of blood tearing into his skin before he crushes the hat in his fist and tosses it to the floor. he opens his mouth like there's something he wants to say, but he doesn't.

he just leaves. just like last time. just like always.

it becomes routine.

the quiet creak of the floorboards is him in the middle of the night, the soft click of the door latch when he closes it as he steps into the office. sometimes he pokes around in the things you begin to unpack, sometimes he leaves his own stuff; the clean stack of bills, a princess doll you've seen advertised on tv, a gel thing you put in the freezer for her to gnaw on and—surprisingly—medical stuff.

kid's cough medicine, a thermometer, pedialyte, diaper rash cream and other skin lotions, that sucky bulb thing for snot.

"i was early."

this is the second conversation you have with him, when you're nearing six months. he doesn't turn around to look at you, just watches the mobile your mom bought as it spins, splashing little fishies onto the wall.

"and small and—sick all the time." touya dabi lets out a bitter little laugh, and the rasp of it makes your heart throb. "probably the shittiest baby ever, so—" his teeth click together hard. "good luck with that."

you shrug, even though he doesn't see it. "we'll figure it out."

"we?" like a cat, his back curls, all his hair standing on end. you never see the flame, but smoke swirls his palm. he still doesn't look at you. "we who? don't tell me you mean that fuck that's over here all the time."

the admission should maybe surprise you, but touya dabi has always been—particular about you. about sharing. you can only imagine how he feels for the baby in your tummy. probably will go nuclear if she ever calls someone else 'dad'.

you can't help but to roll your eyes. "no, we as in her and i." it only relaxes him a little bit and you shuffle on your feet, clearing your throat to make way for all the words you wanted to say to him last time. "you can't—" already, your voice breaks and your eyes sting and his back curls all over again. "you can't just pop into her life every other month because you feel bad, dabi. so, you're either in or—you're out."

that has him peeking over his shoulder at you, eyes shining in the moonlight filtering through the windows. glowing, you could say. "now you're gonna keep me from seeing my kid?"

it's—beyond the most infuriating thing you've ever heard and so you have to laugh, just once, as you wipe your eyes. "oh, so she is yours now?"

he sighs, goes back to watching the mobile, and is quiet for a long time. almost like he's considering it—but you know better. "well, she ain't here yet, so i got time before i have to scram."

and you swore you wouldn't do this, wouldn't beg for him, but the tears won't stop—even though he mutters out a quiet "i can't—just—don't cry, i can't—"—and something swells in your throat and your chest aches and—

"you don't have to be out, touya." you hate how pathetic it sounds, but you wouldn't care if it meant he would stay. "we can figure it out, together. as a—"

"this is my mom's number." touya dabi talks so loud over you, he's practically yelling. eyes on the floor as he holds out a piece of scrap paper, a name scrawled across in his neat handwriting. "if you wanna tell her, then—she'll probably wanna know, or whatever. my sister too, she'll—"

he never finishes and he never looks at you, just shakes his head at the carpet.

dabi visits one last time before she arrives.

you find him where he always is, where he was the first time he accepted what was to come; sitting on the floor of your daughter's room, smiling, almost, at the neon stars plastered to the ceiling. in his hands is a set of photos from one of your ultrasounds—nothing new, just somewhere in the middle of your pregnancy—and he holds it with the very tips of his fingers, like he's afraid of touching it anymore than he has to.

you sit beside him, heavy with a baby and standing on sore, swollen ankles. "you can have it, if you want. i have plenty."

and you'll take plenty more, in the future; he just shrugs, attempting to look indifferent and yet looking anything but. you expect him to to deny you, like he's resisted all things, but his bottom lip pouts out more than he probably means for it to, and he just fingers one edge carefully.

"hope you got a name picked out."

"i do," you lean into him and he lets you, even accepts the tiny kiss you press into his warm shoulder. "do you want to know what it is?"

"no," he sighs and makes a face, though you can't be sure if the annoyance that flashes over him is meant for you, or himself. "best not to."

a set of tears stings your eyes that you know will show in your voice, so you just nod, letting your head fall to his shoulder. it draws out another heavy breath from him, a shaky one that he holds too long, before he finally rests his mouth against your hair. you can feel the flare of his nostrils, the grind of his jaw; if he could cry, you think he would be. he would have, since the beginning.

very quietly, you tell him, "she won't be anything like you," and when he nods and grits his teeth and clears his throat, you capitalize, take advantage of all the affection he'll show by taking one of his hands in your own. "she'll know love and patience and kindness, and i promise i won't ever try to make her into something else."

she won't know fear, not until she has to, not until you can help it. she won't ever have to know what it's like to grow up without a roof over her head, or food in her little belly. you won't let her be a tool, a stand-in, something you throw away in place of someone else.

all that he had to go through. all that's made touya dabi.

she'll never know that hurt.

"yeah," he whispers. "good."

when he moves his head, you move yours, propping your chin up to see him better. touya headbutts you lightly, squeezes your hand in his own, pinches at each of your fingers.

"is there anything...you want her to know about you?"

he doesn't bother to hide his frown now, though he shakes his head at the floor and looks away. it pulls on what little holds him together, tugs on him in ways that shouldn't, that you wish wouldn't, and he stares at the set of photos in his hands and tells you, "i never said that i didn't want her."

[mlmxreader]

Laid Back | Sierra Six x m!reader

Anonymous asked: I bet you're sick of writing for six now lol but I can I get a "It's just... it's nice to see you relaxed for once" With six x male reader please. 🏎

summary: you and Six finally get to go on a real date, and although it's not common to see him relaxed and laid back, you can't deny that you love it.

tws: swearing, smoking, alcohol consumption

Sat on the wooden bench with his back against the wall, Six could feel himself relax a little as he kept one hand on the cold beer bottle, watching you roll cigarettes, bathed in the pale yellow pub lights; it was warm, and although the breeze was cool and welcoming, he still couldn't keep his hoodie on. His tattoos on show and his shirt a little tight, he couldn't help but to smile when you kept checking him out; years of dating, of putting up with his job, only to end up moving in with you. Claire was safe, at home with one of your family members and their children - he didn't need to worry about anything happening to his little sister, at least.

It wasn't like anyone was on his tail anymore anyway, as far as his enemies were concerned he was very much dead, and it was highly unlikely that they would spot him in the sleepy village anyway. The biggest threat was accidentally drinking a wasp if it fell into the bottle; there was no need for you or Six to worry about anything else in the slightest. The pub speakers were playing a mix of both good and bad pop songs from the eighties, nineties and early two thousands the football had ended an hour ago and most of the fans had gone home or across the road to get kebabs and burgers; it was quiet, and Six could finally put his mind at ease.

It certainly helped that he thought you looked like the most handsome in the world, wearing a shirt with the logo of a heavy metal band that he knew you liked, ripped jeans and scuffed up converse trainers. He thought you looked fucking great, and he was thankful that you were his boyfriend, he really was; he couldn't keep his eyes off of you. He was struggling more and more to bite back his smile when you checked him out, and eventually he gave up; he couldn't even remember the last time he had been like this. Relaxed, laid back. Happy.

Six was fucking happy.

He supposed it probably helped that you were, too; years of worrying about him, wondering when you would get a call from Fitzroy to tell you he was dead, waiting on edge every time Six had a job. You didn't need to worry about that now, you didn't have to worry about getting that call, the news that he was dead in a ditch somewhere; you were relaxed, a pouch of tobacco and a packet of filters and a packet of papers to your left and a beer bottle to your right, you were smiling and openly reaching out to hold his hand every now and then. You were relaxed, laid back. Happy.

As happy as he was.

"Y'know, I'm glad we came out today," you hummed, sliding one of the cigarettes across the table. "I can't remember the last time we went for a date and it's just... it's nice to see you relaxed for once."

Six hummed as he nodded slowly, taking the cigarette and putting it between his lips before he lit it, taking a long drag and wincing a little; he had forgotten that you didn't like the same tobacco that he did. But he could live with it, it wasn't exactly bad. "Yeah, it is."

"I hope Patricia's coping well with Claire and the kids," you admitted. "Do you think we should call and ask?"

He shook his head, there was no reason to check in; the pub was only down the road from the house and, if anything did happen, it wasn't exactly like you needed to drive for hours to get back. "They're probably fine, (y/n)."

"Probably," you frowned a little, but then shook your head, taking a swig from your beer and sighing heavily. You checked your phone, but there were no notifications so you shrugged and stuffed it into your pocket, leaning forward and taking Six's hand from the bottle, daring to lace your fingers with his as you smiled.

You didn't feel the need to keep talking, you didn't feel the need to fill the silence, only daring to hum softly when the pub speakers started to play 'Lovefool' by The Cardigans; between you and Six, silence was more than golden, and was about as comfortable as a freshly made and changed bed after a shower. Silence was preferable to constant talking, and when you met his gaze, you couldn't help but to grin, biting at the inside of your lip; you dared to take the cigarette from behind your ear, letting him light it for you as you took a drag at the same time he did.

If you had gone to a club, you wondered if Six would have asked you to dance, but if you were honest, you didn't really care that much; happy to be in his presence, happy to be his boyfriend. Content to just sit there, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes and only daring to talk every now and then, otherwise more than content to be in a comfortable silence together; it was rare to see him so relaxed, so laid back. Not even daring to glare at people who walked past, not even staring in the direction of people loudly and badly slurring along to songs stuck in their heads.

Six cleared his throat, shifting in his seat and biting at his lip. He could feel his stomach start to growl, and he knew that the pub kitchen was closed. "I'm gonna go get something across the road, you want anything?"

"Y'know that veggie burger I had last time?" You waited for him to nod before you said, "would you be able to grab one for me?"

"Sure." He replied, getting up and flicking his cigarette aside, although he stopped at your side, bending down to kiss your forehead as he smiled and dared to hum quietly to himself.

"I love you," you told him gently. "Be quick though, yeah? I'm starving."

if you liked this fic, REBLOG IT - you SHOULD reblog it; spam likers WILL be blocked. as will blogs that refuse to reblog or to give feedback. if you don't wanna reblog, then you'll get blocked; reblogging is the BARE MINIMUM. don't just "like", REBLOG

[zmediaoutlet]

happy wincest wednesday! in honor of spn turning 17 this week, do you have any headcanons about sam and dean when they were teenagers? could be the way they celebrated their own birthdays with each other or anything really

haitch-dub-dub to you as well!!

let's see, Sam and Dean as wrinkly smelly jizzy pizza-faced teens --

Dean taught Sam to drive in the Impala and was an absolute bitch about it right up until Sam panic-stomped the brakes because he accidentally turned on the windshield wipers and didn't know what to do, and Dean bitched at him about that too but then turned into Patient Dean, which is basically one of his Sailor Moon forms

Sam was seriously a terror about jerking off for a while there, like stiffed up at the slightest breeze or Carls Jr ad or his 6th grade algebra teacher Mrs Sweeney who had the jowls and the ropy gross arms but whose tits really were -- er -- anyway, and he tried to be circumspect but when you're jackin' it thrice a day it's tough, and so Dean learns to be really careful about when and how to open doors and starts developing a loud coughing stomping habit when he's coming in so Sam can flush-faced hide anything that needs hiding. Like he rags on Sam for it at first but it's not like he doesn't get it. It's just embarrassing, man.

Dean's 18th birthday kinda passed without much notice, and he didn't graduate on time because he had all those failing grades and, anyway, he was there to look out for Sammy -- and then he enrolled in a few schools that fall along with Sam, and it sucked, frankly, and he dropped out eventually because it was just stupid, wasn't it? Not like he needed school, he wasn't gonna get to go to college. And Sam can take care of himself, after all; he beat up that bully kid Dirk, he can handle things. So--not so exciting. But then--when Dean turned 19, he wasn't in school anymore and Dad gave him the Impala, because if he wasn't going to mess around with school anymore, and all of a sudden the horizon was all wide and free and they went on a joyride, hitting a c-note on the speedometer with Sam shrieking in the passenger seat, the little dork.

Before Sam goes to college, before he tells anybody (whether or not Dean already guessed), he spends senior ditch day with Dean, in an arcade, and they absolutely destroy the leaderboard on Lethal Enforcers and eat themselves sick at Taco Time and Dean waggles his eyebrows at Sam until Sam sighs and lets Dean drop a glug of whiskey into his Dr Pepper and he looks at Dean's shoulders and hips and his weirdly perfect ears, and then sucks a shot of boozy Dr Pep into his lung and chokes and Dean thumps him on the back and tells him he's not allowed to die before he graduates. Sam agrees, wheezily, that that would suck.

[darshy]

yandere.genderbent.marinette x reader x (slight) yandere.adrien

contains: fighting, cursing, MC is so annoying to me, yandere.adrien is dumb too, marin is actually not that bad, CHARACTERS ARE OVER 18

Marin puffed out his chest and pushed his fringe back. Through the mirror, his reflection was smirking back at him. His muscles were bulging underneath his white blouse, and a cute dark blue bow tie was as straight as it could be around his neck. Next to the mirror laid some flowers; roses, specifically. They were a light pink in colour.

Still, as the attractive man smoothed down his shirt, and ran his fingers through his hair, his bluebell eyes couldn't find what you were talking about.

"You know," you picked up a chip, licking some of the salt off of it. Marin's eyes watched the pink muscle with interest. "You're pretty, pretty, Marin." Marin pushed his lips together to hold back a whimper. He could feel his whole body heating up; he probably looked as red as a tomato. He was, actually.

"Thanks." He stuttered out eventually, slouching his shoulders the slightest bit once he was done. You stood and walked over to your window, opening it and welcoming the breeze. Marin was pretty much steaming. It was getting concerning.

"Yeah, yeah," you waved your hand once you sat back down, then reached for another potato chip, "I'm just saying. I'm pretty sure that Chloé is even falling for you." Marin jolted up, a green visage rising on him. "Chloé..? I don't.." "Pfft- I'm joking, Marin! I'm joking! Désolé! Désolé*!" You repeatedly apologized to Marin's wobbly figure. His hand covered his mouth and his other held his stomach. To you, he just randomly got sick. But internally, Marin couldn't fathom being with Chloé. That was just..disgusting! Adrien could take her!! Marin had you.

"-ude, you look fine." Nino said, punching Marin's shoulder. Marin almost punched him back -- which would be twice as hard -- but noticed it was his friend playing around. He blinked,

"Ah, yeah, thanks."

"Yep." Nino patted his shoulder and turned away, talking to his girlfriend, Alya. Marin then sighed and glanced back at the mirror. Bluebell eyes gazed back at him, and Marin noticed how different he looked. Since he started being Ladybug (it was a dumb name he came up with and it just stuck; he couldn't change it now), Marin slowly grew muscle. Before, he was the shy, scrawny kid struggling to speak to his crush. Now, he looked like a model and could kill people with his bare hands.

…

'Did I just think about killing people?!' Marin screamed inside his head. His face showed absolute horrification from his thoughts.

And then Adrien basically appeared out of nowhere with a: "Yo!"

Marin jumped back and covered his mouth, only fretting more once he saw Adrien. The blond flashed him a creepy grin, "How are you? You look a bit scared." At the back of Marin's mind was annoyance. Everyone else saw the 'perfect' side of Adrien; Marin saw his demon.

"I was scared by your face; it's a bit ugly, you know?" Marin snapped and huffed, dragging his fingers through his hair again. It was slightly calming his nerves, but he was still on edge. Adrien didn't like him; Marin knew that. Marin didn't like Adrien, and Adrien knew that.

You didn't know, however.

Adrien clicked his tongue, "That's rude. You took the words out of my mouth." Marin glared. Adrien glared back. Tensions were growing around them.

But Marin shook out of it and turned to the mirror, looking at himself one last time, before grabbing the flowers. Adrien merely watched before plucking a pink rose right from Marin's hand.

"You don't mind, do you?" Adrien asked, mock heavily lacing his voice. Marin felt his stomach twist and turn, adrenaline rushing through him much like how he feels when going against an Akumatized victim. He made a disgruntled expression, "Please give it back."

"Oho- who's the lucky lady? Or lad. I don't judge." Marin's fingers curled and his face flushed an angry red. He repeated himself with a bit more grit,

"Please give it back."

Adrien shrugged and made a motion to give back the flower, only to rip off the flower from the stem with an: "Oops."

It seemed that over time, Marin only got agitated more easily. And this took the cake.

A blinding red washed over Marin's vision and he immediately flung forward, throwing himself onto Adrien with a cry. Adrien narrowly dodged each punch thrown his way and threw his own kicks and punches. After a while, the two boys were on the ground, rolling. They both held each other's necks and squeezed as hard as they could, neither intending to lose.

"Get off me, you ass!" Adrien coughed and sputtered, then kicked Marin in the groin. The black-haired boy fell onto his back, rolling out of the way of a kick that was aimed at his head. This repeated until Marin reached a door. He yanked it open, slid in, then slamming it shut, shoving things in front of it. He looked around a bit, mentally counting how many pounds were sounded from the door. It would surely break soon.

"Tikki," Marin whispered with a hoarse voice, "spots on."

"But Marin-!" She couldn't finish and was sucked into the Ladybug miraculous earrings.

Now changed to his alias, Ladybug slid open a convenient window, taking his yo-yo and Spiderman-ning out of there.

He had one destination in mind.

"-em coming!" You hollered, quickly throwing on your hoodie that had a tuxedo printed in the front. As you popped your head through the hole and opened your apartment door, you were engulfed in thick arms. And tears.

"Uh, uhh-" You blubbered against a bicep. Someone was crying into your shoulder, dumping flowers on your head, and hugging you so tight you could barely breathe. It was kind of awkward.

"Oh (y.n)! I'm so sorry! Adrien just.." And the person went on and on and it was finally when you recognized them as Marin. Your friend.

Your friend who was crying about Adrien and flowers.

Your friend who had you in an inescapable hug.

"Um, Marin, we can go eat or something." You quietly suggested. You were no good at comforting people so you decided to offer up your favourite things in hopes that Marin would like them too and would stop sobbing all over your shoulder. Thankfully, Marin nodded, probably rubbing his snot into your hoodie, but you didn't care. He was your friend.

Getting him some hot chocolate, changing into a new hoodie, settling onto the couch, and putting on a movie, you two snuggled next to each other. You never knew that Marin was quite the cuddle bug.

"(y.n)," Marin turned to you as a kissing scene was playing on the screen. You turned to him, "Yeah?"

Marin knew it was impossible for him to say his feelings, nonetheless, ask for a kiss, so he decided to go for it. It..wouldn't be harassment, right? Nor you non-consenting. Marin saw both women and men kiss others without giving so much a warning in the movies, it should be the same in real life, yeah? Marin then could practically hear Tikki cheering him on.

As Marin leaned in close, his eyelashes fluttering closed and lips puckering, a sudden bang was heard on the door. You jumped, nearly smashing your head against Marin's, before standing and treading over to your door, grumbling along the way. Marin watched, disappointed, but there was pink in his cheeks. He felt your breath against his face!!

Marin pressed his palms against his cheeks, boyishly smiling while in a daze. He couldn't wait until the day he would actually marry you!

Until Adrien fucking Agreste walked in with a limp, you holding onto the blond's arm to help stabilize him. Pulling out a chair, you pushed him into it before muttering that you were going to get a first aid kit.

...

"Fuking cockblock." Marin muttered angrily, pulling the yellow blanket he had over his head closer to his face. He, too, was injured, but hid it well with some of your clothes.

"Oh please. It's not like they were sucking your dick, right?"

Right at that moment, Adrien might as well have ripped out Marin's heart and stomped on it. That's what it sure felt like to Marin.

"Of..of course not!"

After that, it went a bit silent. It turned out that you had to go to the drugstore to find a medkit because you didn't own one. Marin would make sure you would own 20 in the future.

"I really don't like you, Marin." Adrien blurted. Marin's eyes focused back on him, noticing the blond holding a photo in his hand. Marin rolled his eyes, "Well, I don't like you either." "Good." Adrien said, rubbing the photo of you, Marin, and Adrien taking a picture. In the image, Marin was holding your hand, nearly pressing it against his chest. Adrien felt anger bubble up inside him the longer he looked at it.

So Adrien wiped his mouth with the back of his mouth, glaring at Marin with hate and disappointment. His next words nearly stopped Marin's heart:

"You know, Ladybug, you shouldn't change out in public. Nearly everyone can see you." Then, Adrien pointed at himself, grinning so wide his cheeks were burning,

"That's why you shouldn't have changed in that room. You should be more like Cat Noir-

-more like me."

A pungent odour wafted around your quaint apartment and you, swearing on Jack Sparrow's grave, could not find the culprit of the stench.

You pulled off your clothes and changed into pyjamas, lying flat on your bed. You turned your head to your nightstand that had a lamp and a rose. The smell was the most powerful in your room, and yet you still couldn't find it.

Reaching up, you twisted a switch and darkness surrounded you. You sighed and closed your eyes, drifting off to dreamland.

And by your window sat a person wearing dark red, their bluebell eyes catching the sight of the pretty rose on your nightstand. In the moonlight, it shined and showed its true colours.

"Red is so pretty." Marin sighed, and, on your nightstand, the blood-red rose's colour seemingly dribbled off the petals and onto your unsuspecting face, leaving a tiny red dot.

Blood red was pretty indeed.

[snowywrites]

Doki Doki Literature Club Girls x Reader

summary: you spend the day at the amusement park with the rest of the Literature Club! (it's recommended to read these together in order because they are connected, but if you prefer then you can read just whichever one you want to. Reader is intended to be female.)

full word count: 7.7k

Sayori

It was a gorgeous Saturday morning in town. The sun was shining high overhead in the pale blue sky, but the fluffy white clouds drifting by here and there were enough to ensure that it wasn't too hot. There also happened to be a nice, soothing breeze out, you note to yourself as you gaze out your open window to the neighborhood. A perfectly lovely day.

Well. That was enough of that, you muse to yourself as you slide your window closed again and pull the curtains in front of it to avoid any of the cheery sunshine washing into your room- it created an awful glare off of your computer screen which made it hard to watch your anime.

Content with your decision to stay inside today and catch up on your favorite shows, you walk over to sit down at your desk and turn on your computer. That's as far as you get before the doorbell rings, however.

You ignore it for now, assuming someone else in the house will go answer it. Then you suppress a groan of frustration when you recall that you're home alone for the better part of the day, a big reason why you had set the date aside to stay indoors and enjoy some peace, quiet, relaxation, and anime.

The doorbell rings again and again, much more insistent now; it almost could be playing a song of some kind. "I'm coming!" You call as if the visitor can hear you, grudgingly hopping up and hurrying downstairs. The doorbell just keeps ringing, and you don't even check the peephole to see who it is before you open up because the sound is really starting to grate on your nerves and you just need it to stop as soon as possible.

Your neighbor and somewhat-best-friend Sayori is standing there, and she looks a little shocked to see you, despite this being your house. She slowly presses the doorbell one last time, and you resist the urge to sigh heavily.

"Hi, Sayori. What's up?" You question. It's been a minute since you two have visited outside of the Literature Club, so you're making an effort not to act as annoyed as you feel for being so rudely disrupted. She could have at least texted a message saying she was going to be dropping by- then again, this was Sayori. Odds were, she had been walking by heading to the store or something and spotted your home, causing her to make the impulsive decision to bug you.

Her eyes brighten and a wide smile replaces her startled expression. "Hey, Y/N! It's Saturday!"

You stare at her for a moment. "Uhm...yeah, it is." You aren't entirely sure what she's expecting from you- maybe an invitation to come inside? Sayori's sort of a pain to watch movies or shows with, though. She's such a chatterbox and can't really focus on one thing for long at all, so whenever she does tune back in, she's got a million dumb questions that she'd know the answer to if only she'd bothered to pay attention. Nonetheless, you offer, "Did you wanna hang out? I was about to watch some anime, and you can join me, if you'd like."

Your words don't seem to come as any shock to Sayori, and she shakes her head firmly. "Y/N! I figured you were shutting yourself up in here. It's seriously a nice day, let's get out and have some fun!"

So much for compromising! And you'd even been trying to be nice, sheesh. "But I-" You frowned, trying to come up with an excuse for why you couldn't go out today, eventually settling on the truth since it was easiest. "I was just looking forward to some downtime, maybe next time though, okay?"

Instantly Sayori is pouting, acting like the exact same little kid you first met years ago rather than the almost-adult she was. "We've had this talk before, I don't want you becoming a total NEET! You can watch your shows tomorrow, but we really should enjoy this day, I bet it's gonna rain tomorrow! I mean, the rain is fun too, but-"

You're visibly defeated. "Okay, okay, lemme just grab some money. What'd you have in mind?"

Instead of calming down now that she's gotten her way, Sayori gives an excited little bounce, clapping her hands together. "Thanks, Y/N!" She grins at you, radiating warmth and energy. "I was thinking the amusement park!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The amusement park was in town for another few days, and you had yet to go to it, but you doubted you were missing out on much. It was crowded with people, as expected, and you recognized a lot of other people from your school even in their casual clothes. It made you absently wonder if any of the other girls in the Literature Club were here today...

"Hey, did you hear me?"

Sayori's voice shakes you out of your thoughts, and you look over at her. "Oh, sorry. What'd you say?"

She doesn't seem upset in the slightest. "I said, we have to go on the roller coaster!" She points excitedly across the park where you can see the top of the coaster. A lot of screams and a long line are in that direction, and you do your best not to look nervous.

"R-Roller coaster? Isn't there anything else you want to do first?" Trust Sayori to immediately pick the biggest attraction in the place. You're a tad surprised she isn't already hungry, to be honest, though you two did just enter the park.

"Coaster first!" Insists your best friend, taking your hand and beginning to drag you off towards the ride in spite of your clear hesitance. "And then probably food! I'd hate to get sick, you know?"

You can't help but smile. It was likely the most responsible thing you'd ever heard Sayori say, and one which you were grateful for considering you two would obviously be sitting next to each other. It helps you to relax a little bit too, but as you join the line with her, you can feel your anxiety starting to mount yet again the closer and closer you get.

Sayori is chattering away, but you're trying to block her out because she's babbling about all sorts of things. You wonder suddenly if she's trying to distract you...but quickly brush that assumption away. It would be nice, but Sayori just tended to talk a lot all the time, this wasn't new.

After what feels like much too short of a time, it's your turn to ride the roller coaster. Fear grips you, much as you don't want to admit it. You shoot a panicked glance at Sayori, who was humming cheerfully to herself. She meets your gaze, and her hum falters, tapering off. She gives you a reassuring and oddly quiet smile, taking your hand. It's different than before, when she'd been pulling you through the park. This time, her grip is steady but not demanding, allowing you to pull away if you wanted to do so. It's also possibly the only time you can recall ever seeing your best friend look so...shy.

It's more comforting than anything she could've said, and you give her hand a squeeze to thank her. The two of you enter the roller coaster in seats next to each other, and a worker comes along to help the two of you strap in properly. Your heart feels like it's about to burst out of your chest, and you're assuming it's just because of the roller coaster adrenaline, nothing more.

The ride starts and you close your eyes shut tight, keeping a death grip on Sayori now; you can hear her breathless and excited laughter even through the sounds of the other riders screaming and whooping. Many twists and turns, sometimes slow and sometimes fast yet always nerve-wracking, and a particularly terrifying drop-off later, and the ride is over.

You blink open your eyes, stunned to realize you're still in once piece, and leap out of the coaster as soon as possible, tearing your hand out of Sayori's. She doesn't seem all that worried about it, fortunately. She climbs out onto the solid and safe ground next to you, and you bite back a giggle. Her hair is so crazy and windswept and sticking out in all directions from the ride, but then you figure yours probably is too, and self-consciously try to pat it down.

Unlike you, Sayori doesn't appear concerned with her appearance, her cheeks flushed with delight and invigoration, not embarrassment. "That was so much fun!" She cheers, spinning around you as if she still had too much energy to contain. Then she paused, practically glowing as she looked at you and you only had a heartbeat to notice that she was very close in your personal space. "Thank you so much for coming with me, Y/N."

It was such a genuine and vulnerable statement that you were briefly at a loss for words, trying to read the uncharacteristically intense emotions shining in your friend's blue eyes. "I- it was, sure, it was a lot of fun, Sayori..." You trail off awkwardly, stepping back a pace to escape the close proximity.

Sayori opens her mouth to say something else, but a gasp comes out first as her attention fixes on something behind you. "Can you buy me some pizza? Pleeeeaaaaseeeee? Pretty please?! I'm really hungry now!"

The moment is over with that, and you wince at her childish request. "Pizza sounds good," you relent, causing Sayori to squeal with excitement and rush off to the food stand. You're giving in a lot today, and you aren't sure why, honestly. It wasn't like this was more fun than staying home and watching your favorite shows, right? Although, you did enjoy Sayori's company. There was a reason she was your kind-of-best-friend after all.

Oh, well. You can think about it later. For now you might as well try to have a nice time while you were still here. You follow after your puppy-like friend, spotting her at one of the tables just outside of the food stand talking with someone sitting there. With a start, you recognize the violet long hair of your fellow clubmate, Yuri.

Approaching, you start to greet them, but Sayori interrupts you before you can. "Yeah, Y/N/'s here too!" She pointed at you brightly, and Yuri tenses up, looking up at you like a deer in the headlights, which confuses you. Yuri had seemed perfectly calm before now- sure, a little shy, but now she was the stuttering and nervous girl that you were most familiar with from the Literature Club.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Yuri

You smile, giving a tiny wave. "Hey there, Yuri." Of all the people you might have expected to see here at the amusement park, Yuri was perhaps at the bottom of the list. You would have assumed she would be like you on a Saturday, preferring to stay at home. Except she would be reading novels or writing most likely, not watching anime or reading manga.

You're partly right, because on the table in front of Yuri is an open book instead of anything to eat. How she was able to focus with all the conversation of groups of people swarming around, you had no idea.

"Y/N," whined Sayori after Yuri just gave you a slight nod of greeting, "My pizzaaaaa, please?"

You laugh, waving her away. "I'm going, I'm going, hush! Yuri, did you want anything?" You offered politely.

Your clubmate seems to shrink in on herself, allowing her long dark hair to fall so that it hid her face from your view a bit. "Ah-! Uhm, that's okay, thank you, though." Sometimes you weren't sure how she could write just long and beautifully-worded poems when she seemed to struggle so much with the simplest of phrases spoken outloud.

You accept this and go to buy yourself and Sayori a slice of pizza each, and end up buying Yuri a sweet tea too just because, well, you would feel weird and rude to eat in front of someone else if they didn't have anything. You make your way back over to the table where Sayori is talking to Yuri, her arms flailing around in wild gestures, and you get the suspicion that she's telling Yuri all about the roller coaster ride. Quick to intervene, you set the tray with the food and drinks down on the table, leaning towards Sayori threateningly. "What exactly are you talking about?" You inquire sharply, eyes narrowed.

Sheepishly, Sayori swipes one of the plates with pizza on it to take a bite and shrug, using the food as an excuse not to reply.

Huffing, you distribute the stuff you bought between the three of you, turning to Yuri to protect your reputation. "For the record, I was totally not scared," you promised her.

Yuri is slightly more comfortable now, you think, and there's a tiny glimmer of faint amusement and sympathy in her violet eyes. "I believe you," she murmurs back, so quietly that you almost were unable to catch that. She blinks at the drink that you placed in front of her, apparently having to take a second to process what it meant. And then, completely the opposite of Sayori, her head snapped towards you and her gaze was now wide. "Oh-! You- thank you, Y/N, but- you really, didn't have to, go through the trouble...!"

You tuck into your meal, taking your time in replying while Sayori scarfs down her own food, curiously glancing between you and Yuri as if studying the interaction. "It's no worries," you say after a short while. "I would've felt bad otherwise since me and Sayori have something." You turn your attention to the forgotten book in front of Yuri. "Sorry if we bothered you, by the way! We didn't mean to interrupt your reading or anything."

Sayori bobbed her head in an enthusiastic agreement since her mouth was full and she couldn't say anything.

Once again, you worried that you'd said the wrong thing because Yuri's reaction was much the same as the last time you'd said anything. "That's- that's okay, really! It wasn't, important, and I was..." She seems to give up, seeming helpless and frustrated with herself, only able to take a sip of her drink in defeat.

Sayori finished with her food, standing up abruptly. "Thanks, Y/N!" She chirps, apparently not effected by your and Yuri's awkwardness. "I'm gonna go check out some other stuff, so you should have fun with Yuri!"

Her words catch you off guard, and before you can react or suggest the three of you find something to do together, Sayori is already racing off somewhere, waving over her shoulder at the two of you. You watch as she slams into someone as she wasn't paying any attention to where she was going, and shake your head as she profusely apologizes to them. "Oh, Sayori," you sigh a little dramatically to Yuri. "What are we gonna do with her?"

The other girl bites her lip like she's trying to hold back a laugh. "It's nice that you look after her," she speaks up quietly.

"Ah- I mean, somebody has to, right?" You chuckle to yourself as you resume eating.

Yuri is fine with silence, which doesn't really surprise you. She opens her book back up and starts to read after a minute or two, and you're content too to just finish up your pizza and do some people-watching.

Eventually when you do finish, you throw away your trash and then rejoin Yuri, who's politely closing her book again and standing up as well. She's calmer now, as if reading and not having to engage in conversation for a little bit has recharged her, which you're happy for. "Uhm..." She begins timidly. "Would you like to walk around the park with me?"

You aren't used to Yuri initiating anything at all, and in the space of your bewilderment, she hurriedly continues, "It's okay if you'd rather not-! I only thought..it might be fun, but I understand if..." The last part is more of a mumble.

"Sure, Yuri, I'd love to!" You try to reassure her as smoothly and swiftly as you can in order to avoid hurting her feelings any further or even risking her fleeing. Yuri was such a sweet person, and you'd never want to say no to her and have to see her awfully sad expression, you reflect. "We can head...that way." You pick a random direction and start walking, Yuri following you meekly. She walks near you, but also just a step or two behind, and when you try to slow down so you guys can actually walk together, she stops altogether. Deciding you can't do anything about it for now, you continue the trek, absently looking around at the various stands, games, and rides as you pass them. "I wasn't expecting to run into you here, to be honest," you comment.

Yuri's silent for a beat, causing you to wonder if she was even going to say anything back to that. She finally does, thankfully. "Admittedly, this isn't the sort of place I might usually spend a weekend at." Her words are low and carefully-chosen as usual, like she's cursed to overthink even the barest minimum of small talk. "But my parents insisted I come here."

An amused smile quirks up your lips as you glance back at her. "So you brought a book instead of arguing with them?" You deduct. "Clever. I would've brought a manga or something, but Sayori was impatient to get here. She's always trying to drag me out my house and make me socialize. Take the Literature Club, for example."

Yuri gives you a tiny nod. "It's kind of them to care about us," she says. "I do sometimes wish they could understand me better, though."

"I get that," you agree. "Even if they're a pain sometimes, you love them anyway."

Yuri evidently agrees, but something causes her to stop walking. You pause too, going back to join her. Her attention is on an attraction nearby, a 'haunted house' sort of place. She doesn't look like she had any idea it was here, and you recognize interest and anticipation on her face, which makes you happy- you might be getting a little bit better at reading Yuri, the more time you spend with her.

She reluctantly focuses back on you, and you sense she's about to apologize and continue walking, so you speak before she gets the chance. "We can go check it out, if you want?"

Your clubmate lights up for a moment before wincing. "We don't have to, if you wouldn't like it," is her answer. It's honestly not annoying, mainly because Yuri makes indecisiveness, shyness, and doormat-ness look really, really cute.

"It might be fun," you laugh, guiding her across to the entrance. It looks pretty stereotypical, and you recall going to one of these kinds of places with Sayori one year for Halloween when you were much, much younger, probably like 11 or 12. The line isn't long at all, which is also a bonus. When you two are given the all clear to go inside, you and Yuri enter the narrow, dark hallway.

You're suddenly quite aware of how close Yuri is as you walk- instead of trailing behind, she's right at your side now, pressed up against you since there's not a ton of room in this corridor. She doesn't seem to notice, too enraptured (ha, maybe you were hanging around her too much) by the thrill of what scares might await them to pay you much mind.

Talk about making a girl feel self-conscious. Despite being around the same age, Yuri was so much more...mature than you, to put it politely. It was nice in a way too- you felt safer than if you were by yourself, at the very least, since she was taller than you and so close to you.

The haunted house wasn't too scary, like you had assumed. The actors were great though, and at some point one of them lunged out towards you from a secret passageway and it startled you so badly that you ended up leaping backwards and pressing back against Yuri, your eyes wide and your heart hammering so loudly you bet the violet-haired girl had no trouble hearing it.

You stared tensely at the 'monster', needing a moment to collect yourself and remember how to breathe again. It's Yuri that manages to bring you out of it, which is so sweet of her since you all but crashed into the poor girl. She wraps her arms around you in a very gently hug, resting her chin on your hair. Where did all that confidence come from, anyway? It may have been the really dim lighting, you think to yourself- you can hardly see each other, so that could've given Yuri some boldness. Either that or she was finally getting comfortable around you!

The actor slowly recedes away, and you stay perfectly still for a minute longer than necessary. Finally, you clear your throat, awkwardly disentangling yourself from Yuri, who hops away from you quickly too, and even in the near-pitch black you could swear that she's blushing like crazy as she tries to stammer out an apology.

You shake your head, smiling nervously even though she can't see it. "T-Thanks, Yuri."

Okay, so maybe you had lied a little bit about it being 'not too scary.'

That was the last of the real scares, and you gladly spring out into the sunlight of day again, stretching your arms over your head. You look back to see Yuri hovering back in the darkness of the haunted house- was she okay? You ask your thought outloud.

"Y-Yes! I'm sorry. I'm coming..." She grudgingly steps out to join you in the real world, and you realize with a sense of deep sadness that she's not meeting your gaze anymore again. Great, just when you finally thought you were starting to make some progress on being friends with her. "That was a nice time, thank you very much, Y/N-" Those next words are blurted out and spoken so fast you're shocked she doesn't stutter over them. And the next thing you know, she's gone, disappearing into the crowds and leaving you alone and more than a little disappointed and confused.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Natsuki

You sigh to yourself as you wander around the amusement park, scanning around to see if anything piques your interest. You were also sort of hoping to see Sayori, considering she was responsible for dragging you here and now she'd ditched you, but you also wouldn't mind bumping into Yuri again to hang out. Something told you that Yuri had been pushed to her social interaction limit for the day though.

A loud, squeaky, angry, and oh-so-familiar voice causes you to head towards it and check out what's happening. As you thought, it's Natsuki, another of the girls in the Literature Club. She's standing at one of the game stands with her hands on her hips and leaning towards the guy running the game in an aggressive stance. You note that the game is one of those ones where you have to throw some darts at a balloon, and if you can pop one, you can get a prize. The prizes line the wall behind the man (more like disinterested teenage boy, but close enough), and they all are varying degrees of fluffy and cute stuffed animals. You never were a fan of amusement park games because they were more often than not rigged more than a claw machine.

You get a little closer so that you can hear better.

"...completely unfair! I hit that balloon, you and I both saw it!" Hisses Natsuki at the worker. It was too easy to compare her to a puffed up and angry kitten, you muse to yourself.

The boy shrugs. "Look, kid, if the balloon doesn't pop, then you don't get a prize. That's like, our only rule."

Fury flashes across Natsuki's face, and you resist the urge to laugh. Natsuki did look pretty young, but she was around your age, and probably this guy's age too. "Don't call me 'kid'!" She exclaims. "I won, fair and square! Just because it didn't-"

The argument was starting to draw in other bystanders, not just yourself. And you realize with a flicker of fear that you can see the worker reach for his walkie-talkie like he's going to call in security. Security on Natsuki, for god's sake. Ridiculous.

To prevent her from possibly being forcibly removed from the amusement park, you hurry over and place some money down on the game stand stable. "Can I try?" You interject. Even though you're not looking at Natsuki, you can feel her flinch away from you and sense her hostility and surprise at this new turn of events.

The boy running the stand regards you boredly, but you're relieved to see him put the walkie-talkie down. "Sure. That'll get you three tries."

Beside you, Natsuki scoffs. "As if you can hit one of them!" She grumbles. "It's not as easy as it looks." By how frustrated she was acting, you could guess that she'd been here the better part of the day attempting to win. But which prize did she have her eye on?

"Maybe not, but I can give it a shot," you say lightly. "Which one are we after?" You question her.

Natsuki glares at you fiercely, and you can see she's got a blush that matches her hair. Grudgingly, she points towards one of the bigger stuffed animals, a white bunny rabbit near the very top. "It's- it's not for me!" She informs you at once. "I wanted it for- for a friend. That's all."

'She's a terrible liar.' Nodding, you turn your attention to the man and tell him, "If I win, we get the bunny. Deal?"

"Means you've gotta shoot the purple balloon."

Of course, the purple balloon is at the very top of the wall of balloons. Fantastic. You don't have too much hope that you'll actually be able to pop it, especially when you see the kinds of darts he hands over to you. First of all, the tips are so blunt and dull that you can 100% believe that Natsuki did hit the balloon with one, but it wasn't nearly sharp enough to even hurt someone if they tested it against their skin. Second, the weight of it felt wildly uneven in the palm of your hand. The shape of the dart just wasn't sufficient enough to propel it through the air like it should have. This was precisely why you never would waste your time or money on this...but you couldn't exactly back out now, not with Natsuki's intense magenta eyes watching you like a hawk. If you didn't at least make an attempt, you'd never hear the end of it at the Literature Club, and it might cause you to lose what little respect Natsuki had for you. Which never seemed like a lot to begin with.

"C'mon, we've got a line now," sighed the worker, unimpressed with your examination of his faulty darts. It wasn't his fault they sucked, anyway. You were so focused on aiming your first dart that you didn't see the angry glance Natsuki cast at the boy.

You pulled back your arm and flung the dart at the balloon. It was pretty pitiful, you couldn't deny that. It sailed off away from the wall of balloons and landed outside of the game stand on the grass somehow.

Natsuki huffed a sigh, her arms crossed. But when the worker snorted and tried to hide his laughter, the little pinkette sprang closer like an affronted pomeranian. "It's not her fault these darts are total crap!" She snapped. You would never have expected in a million years for Natsuki of all people to jump to your defense and try to protect your honor.

She catches your wide-eyed gaze and then looks off to the side irritably. "Keep- keep your eyes to yourself," she growled under her breath.

You fortunately have the sense not to tease her about it. You have a better feel for how the darts travel through the air now, so you pick up the second one and aim again before sending it sailing. This time, it manages to hit the purple balloon target, but it simply bounces off the surface of it and clatters to the ground.

Natsuki opens her mouth to potentially blow up on the man, but you press a finger to your lips in a silent plea to ask her to be quiet. Now you have to take the brunt of her righteous fury in only a single expression, but she doesn't say a word.

One chance left.

You pick up your final dart, judging the distance from here to the balloon and considering the best angle to throw it. After a bit, you finally shoot your shot- and the resounding pop! catches you and all the bystanders by surprise.

What remains of the purple balloon flutters uselessly in the breeze. The worker still cares nothing for this, just goes to pluck the stuffed rabbit toy down from the prize wall.

You turn to beam at Natsuki, pleased with yourself. You've managed to surprise her, you can tell, and when you're handed your prize, you offer it out to Natsuki with a bright smile. "That was fun, huh?"

She stares at the bunny rabbit, still trying to process what had just happened. Slowly, as if she believed it's soft, fake fur was poisoned or something, she reached out to take it into her arms. Her face is growing more and more red by the second, and she buries it into the plush doll as if to hide herself or maybe try to regain her composure. Probably both.

The worker clears his throat loudly, indicating the two of you are still holding up the line, so you and Natsuki swiftly step to the side and start walking through the park. You're a little concerned she might trip over something or into someone since she's still hiding her face in the rabbit's fur and can't see where she's going, so you stick close to her in case she needs a hand to steady her. So much for 'letting her fall next time.'

When you can't handle the awkward silence any longer, you say, "Er, Natsuki...? Are you-"

She straightens up, cuddling the rabbit close to her. "It's fine!" She squeaks. "I- I mean- that was-" She's truly struggling here, and it makes you feel guilty. "You did okay," she manages to at last get out.

A twinge of unexpected hurt flashes through you. You'd privately been hoping that she would be impressed and grateful, but you guessed you shouldn't have ever thought those words might even be in Natsuki's vocabulary. "Oh..." You didn't mean for it to come out so forlorn, but you couldn't help it. "Yeah, thanks." You turn away from her, fighting back your disappointment. "I guess I'll see you at the club after school Monday, then-"

As you take the first step away, however, you feel Natsuki's hand dart out to grab your arm and force you to stop. "Wait!" Her voice is high-pitched with some frantic emotion you can't place a name to. "W-Wait, Y/N- I only meant that-" She huffs, stomping her shoe on the ground in obvious exasperation that you could only hope wasn't directed at you. "I-" God, it's a train wreck not just for her, but for you to witness too. "Thank you-!" The words have to be practically dragged out of her, so she tries again. "...Thank you."

You wait in confusion to see if there's anything else she's going to add, but when she doesn't, you tentatively reply, "Uhm...no problem-? I mean, you're always bringing cupcakes and stuff to share with everyone, so I just was hoping maybe I could try to return the favor and get you something." You pause. "I mean, get you something that you wanted to give to your friend." Best to try and fix any potential mistakes that could get you yelled at again.

Those words had some kind of effect on Natsuki, that was for sure, but you had no idea if it was a good kind or a bad kind. She's gazing up at you silently, seemingly frozen in place. Something snaps her back to reality, for she at last releases your arm, hugging the rabbit again like it could support her. "I guess...you can be really sweet sometimes instead of just a pain in the ass," she mumbles. You're about ready to be offended until Natsuki slowly holds out her bunny towards you, refusing to look at you. You're extremely befuddled and not sure what to expect when the soft nose of the plush bunny rabbit is touched gently against your cheek in a gesture that's very much like a feather-light kiss. "S-Stupid."

You feel like you're too paralyzed to respond in any kind of way, and besides, Natsuki's already brushing past you and stalking off, not giving you a moment to react anyway. You stand there for what feels like a long time after she's gone until it feels like you might have just imagined what happened there at the end.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Monika

Your day at the amusement park was drawing to a close, and suffice to say, you were thoroughly exhausted by everything that had happened. You stop to rest at one of the benches that was sort of away from the throngs of people who were starting to leave the park to head home, so at least the crowds were thinning out. Sayori had insisted you guys come here today, since it was Saturday and all, but she'd ditched you what feels like forever ago, and then you'd run into all the other members of the Literature Club- well, almost all of the other members, that is.

You let your mind drift as you sat there, leaning back into the wooden white bench and staring up at the sky. The yellow light was starting to fade as the sun slowly began it's descent into the horizon line. The amusement park would be closing in maybe an hour or so, you think to yourself as you let your eyes drift shut. You should really go and try to find Sayori so you can walk home together with her...not that the streets weren't safe in the evening, but it was entirely possible your friend could get lost or distracted and end up wandering around town for hours when she should be home. But you were honestly worn out from hours of walking around and socializing...

Right when you've finally gotten comfortable enough that you think you're dozing off out of reality and into a well-deserved, dreamy nap, there's a voice from right beside you that scares you enough to make you jump and snap your eyes wide open.

"Hi, Y/N! Fancy meeting you here."

Aaand, now you'd come across all of your Literature Club members- sitting on the bench beside you with her hands folded neatly in her lap was Monika. You've never seen her in anything besides her school uniform before, but the casual white and mint-green floral spring dress matched both her signature white bow and her eyes nicely at the same time. You hadn't even heard her walk up or sit down, which was kind of odd, but not odd enough for you to really think anything of it.

"Ah- hi, Monika," you greet with a small smile, trying to relax and not look as out-of-sorts as you felt. You run a hand through your hair, exhaling quietly in what was almost a sigh. "Yeah, I wasn't planning on leaving the house today, to be honest," you say in faint amusement. "Sayori sort of dragged me here to hang out."

Monika tilts her head to one side with a pleasant smile in return to you. "I see." She glances around as if she's expecting to see Sayori racing towards the two of you and calling loudly, her arms up in the air to get both of your attentions. But you and Monika are mostly alone. "So you spent the day with her?" The question is casual, and you don't think much of it at all.

"Uhm, not the whole day. We spent a little time together before she ran off somewhere...I bumped into Yuri and Natsuki today too, actually. Oh, but I was sort of thinking I should go try and find Sayori so we could head home."

Monika's emerald green gaze flicks away from you as a breeze ruffles her hair and yours. She doesn't respond for a moment, but you see that her friendly smile has faded somewhat now- and she looks...it's hard to say. Monika looks- gosh, you wish you were half as smart and descriptive as Yuri sometimes- wistful? Was that the word? Contemplatively wistful? She speaks again and it rouses you out of your daze. "So you were just about to leave." The Literature Club president flashes you an apologetic glance before rising gracefully up from the bench. "I didn't mean to bother; I can see you're tired, Y/N. I should get going too."

She doesn't seem sad, not necessarily, but you get the sense that something is a little off. Maybe it's the time of day affecting her mood? It's that weird hour where the day is technically over, but not quite yet- and there's a regretful longing permeating the atmosphere, the only way you could describe it might be like the feeling a high school kid gets on a Sunday evening, in spite of the fact today was Saturday, meaning the weekend wasn't over yet.

You move to stand up as well, a little clumsier than Monika. "But- there's still a little while before the park closes. If there was anything you still wanted to do here, I could come with you, if that sounds alright? Unless you were really going to leave, that is. I'm not so tired that I'd miss hanging out with you- outside of school, I mean."

There's the slightest hint of hesitation, and you're unable to decipher Monika's feelings right now. If you were to guess, you might say she's conflicted. Just as you're positive she's going to politely decline, her warm smile returns. "That would be nice," she says, and you realize you've been holding your breath.

"Okay, cool!" You brighten up and begin to walk through the amusement park with Monika.

She has her hands clasped behind her back and she's looking around to admire the scenery around you both while you do your best not to stare like a weirdo at her. "So, uhm...were you wanting to go on a ride or...?" You ask after a little while of silence.

Monika hums, but you don't think she's actually considering your suggestion. "I wouldn't ask you to wear yourself out anymore. When I first saw you on the bench, I thought you might have been taking a nap." While her tone of voice is casual, you can't shake the sense that there's an undercurrent of something else in those words. Almost like she's accusing others of making you tired or something. You're probably just imagining it.

Briefly, you wonder why she joined you if she thought you were asleep.

As if reading your thoughts, your club president continues, "Sorry if I disturbed you, Y/N." She slows the pace while you assure her that it was okay and she had done no such thing, stopping eventually to gaze upwards.

You follow suit to see the Ferris wheel towering above your heads. "I haven't been up there today," you comment thoughtfully. "Is it a pretty view?"

Monika dips her head slightly in assent. "I think so, yeah. Coming?" She leads you over to the man who is seating people in each of the carts, and he warns that this is the last go-around. "We understand, thank you," Monika says to him, and while she's just as charming, you think you know her well enough now to tell that this is her feigned politeness, like her guard is up.

He grunts and allows the two of you in one of the carts, shutting the glass door behind you.

You actually aren't scared at all. Well, you guess you are a little apprehensive at being in this small space alone with Monika, but you tell yourself you're being ridiculous. She's your friend, isn't she? So there's not a thing in the world to be nervous about...

The cart starts to go up into the air, and you stay standing while Monika takes a seat. Your hands press against the glass as the two of you climb higher and higher. The city is there, with all it's buildings and roads, but beyond it is... you can't really see what's beyond the city, and this confuses you. Shouldn't there be...something? Instead of just, blurry darkness? You blink several times and then brush at your eyes with the back of one hand like your sight is trying to deceive you. But when you look again, you still see only the murky black of nothingness beyond your city.

Monika's voice so near to you gives you a start- you'd been so dumbfounded by the missing scenery that you hadn't heard her stand up and come closer to you. Instead of watching the outside world, you sense her eyes are fixed intently on you. "What do you think?"

It's almost a relief to tear your gaze away from the glass. Her expression is rather closed off but serious, and sort of searching yours. You wish, not for the first time, that Monika was less of a mystery to you.

How to respond? "It's- strange," you manage to say.

The brunette leans impossibly closer to you, alight with surprise and near-disbelief as she presses, "What do you mean strange, Y/N?"

Feeling awkward and pressured, you find yourself taking a step backwards from Monika to get some space between you two. 'She'll think I'm crazy if I say it looks like we're floating in the middle of nowhere-outer-space in the middle of like a black hole or something.' "J-Just that-" You can see something akin to desperation written on her now, like she's trying to silently plead with you to answer her question sincerely. You fumble on the words, unused to this sort of intensity. "Just that...the town- it looks- different from up here..." Each word is stiff and awkward, you're really an awful liar, maybe even as bad as Natsuki.

Fervid disappointment seems to shake Monika's entire being, and she pulls back away from you, looking outside of the Ferris wheel cart again and far off into the distance. She's starting to become composed again and when the cart makes it last lap around and comes to a slow halt at the bottom, she turns back to face you and she's her usual self again: friendly, sweet, and bright. "I understand. Thank you, Y/N." The door to the cart opens and Monika moves to step out, offering you her hand to help you out.

Your breathing feels a little labored, and it isn't until later that you realize you'd actually been afraid. Not of Monika, more of the fact that you'd never once seen her behave anything like that before. It left such an impression on you that you were positive you hadn't imagined it. You do end up accepting her hand though, and you wonder if she can feel it's slight tremble.

One thing you weren't sure if you had imagined was the weird end of the world thing surrounding your city. Maybe there was something wrong with you. But you couldn't really think about that now.

"I told you it was a pretty view," giggled Monika. "You seem surprised. Didn't believe me?" She teased gently.

"Oh-! Oh, no, it isn't that! Like I said, it just was, er... different than I expected, is all," you murmur, glancing away- Monika's still holding your hand, but you don't have the heart to pull it out of her grasp.

You don't end up having to make that choice, since she jumps away from you at the yell of your friend Sayori. You see her bounding over to the two of you, just barely managing to hit the brakes and skid to a halt before colliding with you. She does however manage to shower you with dust and pebbles, to which you just press a hand to your forehead to quell a headache.

"Y/N! There you are! I was looking all over the place for you!" Sayori exclaims. She then waves at Monika, as bubbly as ever even though she should've, theoretically, gotten rid of some of that excess energy at the amusement park today. "Hey, Monika! Thanks for looking after her," she laughed.

Monika nods, much to your indignation. "My pleasure, Sayori. I'd better head off, then. I'll see you both after school for the club Monday!" She walked away, waving her farewell for a moment.

You didn't realize you were watching her go until Sayori's hand flailed in front of your face to get your attention. "Hey, we are going home together, aren't we?" She insists. "Otherwise I wasted soooo much time trying to hunt you down, Y/N!"

"Right, right, sorry. Of course we're walking back together- I was looking for you too."

Sayori pouts a little. "Did you think I'd be on the Ferris wheel?"

You grin. "Did you just use sarcasm, Sayori?"

She shakes her head quickly to deny it. "No, never! But am I wrong?"

"Okay, so maybe I did agree to spend some time with Monika," you confess with a shrug, allowing Sayori to pull you away towards the amusement park exit.

Sayori frowns, an unusual look for her. But it isn't a sad frown- it's a concentrated one. She was studying you with determination. "Did something happen? You seem a little out of it!" Amused, she pokes your cheek. "Fess up, Y/N! Do you have a crush on our club president? You have to tell me if you do! We're best friends!"

Sheesh, as if Sayori could ever keep a secret. But she was completely off base with that guess. "No," you answer her calmly. "I guess I...had some kind of epiphany."

".....what's an epiphany?"

'Ohmygod.'

[idontblushsrry]

How the Jujutsu Kaisen Characters Smell

A/N: Absolutely no one asked for this but I have thoughts and now yall have to hear them. Btw gonna put a keep reading because I’m trying to cover as many jjk characters as possible so it’s gonna get long.

Warnings: Spoilers if you’ve only seen the anime or haven’t read the manga up to the Shibuya Arc (relatively minor but you’ve been warned)

Itadori

He’s nowhere near the best smelling but his scent isn’t awful 

He sweats a lot so he takes showers a minimum of 2x a day

Overall his smell isn’t that bad, he just smells like outside 

5/10 points for effort but he always smells like he just got done rolling around in grass

Fushiguro

Fushiguro smells like the suave ocean breeze body wash with an undertone of pen ink 

His smell is very nice, it’s not the most remarkable but it’s not stinky

Middle school Megumi was definitely a hot mess that smelled solely of axe body spray and other middle schoolers he beat up (Tsumiki tried her best but there was only so much he’d compromise on)

After he started attending the Tokyo school, Maki threw out his axe and made Gojo buy him actual cologne/scented body wash

7/10 smells like a friend (points reduced because he used to use 3 in 1 body wash)

Kugisaki

Kugisaki is very much clean

She keeps up a beauty regimen and doesn’t play when it comes to upkeeping it

She has this light floral scent because of that; it varies between cucumbers and roses

Her body wash is also consistent with the smell of her beauty products

One thing about Kugisaki’s smell is that it does change completely depending on what products she’s using

Although, if she were to be completely clean with no scented products, she’d have a smell that’s a little bit metallic because of the nails and a little pumpkin-y

10/10 points because she sets the standard

Gojo

Smells like the inside of a guys car

He smells like bergamot and cedarwood mixed with a hint of leather

Overall he smells nice and it’s frustrating because his scent lingers. It’s so distinct that even when he’s gone, his scent will stay behind just to taunt you

9/10 minus one point for being Gojo

Maki

She’s very particular about hygiene 

It mainly stems from 1) her upbringing and 2) the level of cleanliness needed to clean all the weapons she uses regularly

She smells of metal polish, lavender with a hint of patchouli, and a slight undertone of rust

10/10 overall very strong scent but it’s so uniquely her that it’s calming 

Inumaki

This makes no sense but I feel like Inumaki smells like the sandwich part of a deli

Specifically that fresh baked bread and sliced lettuce smell

It can be a bit nostalgic at times especially because the smell in general occurs in a lot of places 

10/10 because bread smells good

Panda

It’s canon that Panda smells like the sun but we can get more specific

Panda does smell like the sun but I think he smells like a freshly cleaned room with the curtains open

The smell is like air freshener mixed with the sun

The air fresheners he smells the most like are: morning and dew, wood, pine, pet odor eliminator

10/10 no explanation needed

Yuta

Smells like teen spirit

Pre-jujutsu high (and before he was sent away to Africa); Yuta smelled like deodorant

He smelled like wayyy too much old spice, it was pretty bad

Post trip to Africa (idk which country he went to), Yuta smells of shea butter, frankincense, and charred wood

8/10 the crimes of pre jujutsu high Yuta will not be easily forgiven

Nanami

He smells like the blue Ralph Polo Lauren cologne

No I will not take criticism

He also smells a bit like the wrinkle spray people use when ironing clothes

10/10 we been knew that Nanami looks good, smells good, and dresses good

I don’t even like that cologne but for him...

Shoko

Love Shoko but her smell isn’t the most pleasant

Literally smells like cigarettes and alcohol with the sterile smell of cleaner to top it off

She’s an icon but her smell can be overwhelming at the best of times and suffocating at the worst

5/10 some people might like it but it is not for me

Utahime

Her scent is very foresty, either pine or spruce, with an undertone of gree tea

Her scent is a bit muted too so you can only really smell it if she’s really close or if you’re hugging her

It’s not a bad scent though, it’s the type that immediately sets you on ease

10/10 smells like a warm hug

Mechamaru(spoilers)

He’s a robot what’d you expect???

Jkjk Pre-Shibuya he smells really sterile and clean due to his condition

His robots obviously smell like metal and wiring

Post-Shibuya arc(or yk during technically): He smells kind of like nothing

There's the slightest smell of sparks from his cursed technique and the hint of mojito’s smell lingering, but otherwise he smells like absolutely nothing

6/10 the lack of smell is a bit off putting

Miwa

I can’t explain but I feel like Miwa smells like banana and vanilla

Like Mai and Momo tricked her and she ended up actually liking the smell

6/10 not the worst but not the best

Mai

Mai smells really heavily of metal and gunpowder

Obviously brcause of her cursed technique but she ever expected it to stck to her like it does

She doesn’t make any active effort to change it though because she thinks it makes her seem cool and mysterious

4/10 because while it DOES make her seem cool and mysterious, she scares locals

Momo

She definitely uses bath and body works perfume (tempted to say she uses the glittery versions but alas)

She loves using all the candles, lotions, and perfumes because of how girly they make her feel; has a collection that’s probably on a rotater

Definitely uses sweet pea above all

Tries to get Mai to try some of her fragrances but she has a 30/70 chance of getting her to agree

7/10 another scent that’s not for me

Todo

He has a really intense cleaning regimen and is never caught lackin in the smell department

He gets all the more embarrassed when Yuuji smells stinky next to him and will always make Yuuji shower if thr boy stinks

Other than that, he smelled of an ocean-y cologne before Takada-chan released her perfume collection

Now all he talks about is how he smells like the perfect husband for Takada

Takada’s perfume is really light a floral (along the lines of rose + vanilla) and if Todo runs out, he tries to steal it from Momo’s collection

9/10 minus a point for being a simp

Noritoshi

Smells really clean except for when he’s using his cursed technique

On average, Noritoshi smells like the clean linen spray/ clean laundry

When he uses his technique, he smells like blood and when he uses his technique to “dope”, he smells like sweat

Usually he smells like clean laundry though, he’s very picky about how he smells and hates the smell he gets from using his technique

10/10 for keeping clean

Naoya

If you think this man washes his ass...

Sorry but he’s a little too busy being a misogynist 

Naoya saw the term gooch grease and was like “wow someone gets it!”

-400/10 I’m sick of talking about the ways this man smells like a popped neck pimple

Mahito

Only person that smells worse than Naoya

If Naoya smells like a popped neck pimple, Mahito smells like a literal sewer

He smells like sewage, garbage, rot and decay, melted plastic,etc.

Not only does Mojito’s body stink, his breath stinks, hair stinks, just everything stinks

Jogo and Hanami can’t tell since they don’t have noses but everytime Geto gets a whiff, he dies a little inside

-21982913293237932392379319210391090320323019/10 GET BACK. GET BACK. GET BACK.

Sukuna

Pre-death; he smelled like blood 9 times out of 10 

The other 10% of times he smelled like incense or jasmine but you’d never smell it for long

Post-death; stinky funky and rotten

I’m sorry but 1) he’s a mass murder who literally sits atop a mountain of skulls 2) he’s technically dead and only exists thriugh his fingers

If you think that man smells like anything other than rot and grave wax...

-2/10 be glad he got a higher score than Mahito

Choso

I love Choso with every ounce of my being 

That being said, he smells like a scab

Scabs don’t even have smells but somehow he smells like one 

Alright I’m done slandering him

3/10 because I didn’t have the heart to give him anything lower

Geto(spoilers)

Pre-Gojo angst: Geto was the best smelling sorcerer in the world

He was very meticulous about his grooming routine and showed Gojo how to care for himself w/o the aid of servants

A king of self care and personal grooming 10/10

Post-Gojo angst: Geto really stopped caring about his appearance

He’d keep clean to set a good example for his kids, but he didn’t really see the value of looking decent

Probably says “I refuse to use the technology of monkeys”

Even though Mahito smells worse, Geto does still hang around Mahito and that’s gonna rub off

2/10 take a shower man, sea water doesn’t count as cleaning yourself

Junpei

Junpei smells like dandelions/picked grass and cigarettes

Cigarettes are obviously because his mom smokes them so frequently the smell sticks to him

The dandelions/ picked grass smell is because Junpei spends a lot of time outside 

Out of boredom or a need to keep his negative thoughts at bay, Junpei started picking at the grass

I do think he eventually started weaving flower crowns made of dandelions and strips of grass

6/10 because I feel bad for him

Toji

This man...

As much as I’d like to pretend he smells good, he has a drooling worm hanging off him and  probably owns like one outfit

That being said, he’s not as stinky as Naoya or Mahito (or even Sukuna), because he does clean himself when he has the chance

It’s just that he spends his money so quickly that he kinda forgets sometimes

Although he usually has no problem finding some woman who’d be more than willing to put him up in a hotel room

His smell is musky but it’s not funky

He smells like a guy right before they start to get stinky, it’s a delicate balance

4/10 he’s a lil funky but it kinda feeds his image

[the-and-sign-anon]

On The Borderline

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x Squaller! reader (platonic), Inej Ghafa x Squaller! reader (platonic)

Word count: 2,421

Masterlist

Change was the only constant in life. You knew that as well as anyone. That didn’t mean you had to like it. You were fairly confident in saying you hated it, actually. You hated when your parents took you from Ravka to Novyi Zem. You hated when they got sick and died, leaving you alone at the age of eight. You hated learning to survive, working the fields for four long years until you could afford passage on a ship that sank in the middle of the True Sea. 

The first change you ever welcomed was the band of pirates that pulled you from the driftwood you’d spent two days floating on and took you in as one of their own. The captain in particular had an unavoidable soft spot for kids with fire in their eyes, which you had an abundance of. On this unsavory ship, you discovered your Grisha nature and embraced the call to the winds. Another Squaller taught you all she knew, while others on board trained you in combat and general thievery. 

It was completely by chance that you ended up in Ketterdam. Your crew’s ship, the Firebird, docked for three days in Fifth Harbor. You were new to the country and were instructed to stay with at least one of the crew at all times. The last thing anyone wanted was for their spitfire junior Squaller to go missing in a place like that. Which is, of course, exactly what happened. 

It turned out your honorary big brother, nicknamed Flint, the most rambunctious Inferni you’d ever met, had made port in Ketterdam before and left on less than good terms. The two of you were cornered in the Barrel by half a dozen Dime Lions. Even with both of you staying on guard, you stood little chance of escaping the encounter. Flint did his best to protect you, but by the time the gang left, he was bleeding out and you were beginning to develop bruises over your entire body. 

“Flint, please. Don’t go.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, little breeze. I don’t think I’ve got much say in it now.”

The loving nickname only made the tears in your eyes gather faster. 

“I don’t know the way back. You have to lead us back home.”

“I’m sorry.”

The last two words he spoke would haunt you for years to come. You stayed huddled next to his body for hours as you tried to push away your tears. It was there that Kaz Brekker found you. He was thirteen and you looked no older than him, but far softer and innocent. He would have passed you by, everyone else in the Barrel had, but something about your quiet sniffles, the slightest breeze that swirled around you in your grief, caught his attention. 

“Miss?”

You sniffled again and looked up with unspeakable pain in your eyes. 

“Please don’t hurt me.”

Kaz made no move to approach you. 

“What happened?”

Your grip on Flint’s cold hand tightened and it wasn’t hard for Kaz to put the pieces together. Despite his better judgement, despite everything he’d learned about fending for himself and stepping over others to get ahead, Kaz wanted to help you. Maybe it was because he saw some fragment of Kaz Rietveld in the pain so clearly written in your eyes. Maybe it was the way you seemed loath to touch anything but the stiffening fingers of your lost family. 

“Follow me.”

“Why?”

“Because your other option is to sit here in this alley and freeze.”

You grudgingly got to your feet. Kaz took notice of the oversized shirt you wore, cinched around your waist with a thin piece of rope you’d found on the Firebird. Your pants were rolled up to your ankles and your hair was kept back with a stained red bandana. Kaz led the way to the Slat and you followed silently, looking back for the first few minutes at the body of your dearest friend. 

“Where are we going?”

“The Slat.”

“What for?”

“To get you out of the cold. Do you always ask this many questions or have I done something to earn an especially irritating walk?”

You shut up after that and wondered about your crew. Surely they would be worried about you and Flint. Maybe Feodora would gather a few others and come looking for you. You could hardly imagine how they’d all react to the loss of Flint. And how would they find you, now that you’d followed this strange boy with gloves and a menacing glare?

When you reached the Slat, Kaz ushered you in and went to see Per Haskell. You were left standing near the door, arms wrapped tightly around you. A few of the Dregs gave you odd looks, but most ignored you entirely. You were grateful for that.

It took a bit of convincing, but Kaz secured you a place among the Dregs. With your Squaller training and willingness to finish fights, you endeared yourself to the rest of the gang rather quickly. If Kaz was Dirtyhands, the terrifying enforcer with legends to rival Pekka Rollins, then you were the headwind, strong willed and stubborn, but soft when you wanted to be. You and Kaz balanced each other and had a common goal; destroy the Dime Lions and their leader, brick by brick. 

You passed years this way. Despite Kaz’s protests and thinly veiled worry for you, you tagged along on the Ice Court heist. Being on the open ocean again was equal parts terrifying and liberating. You could never forget your fear and pain when your ship sank, but the memory was tempered by the loving voices of your old crew. The freedom you’d had with that ragtag family of pirates felt mirrored by your new landbound family. 

After the fall of Van Eck, the destruction of the Dime Lions, which you made sure of personally, you were left wondering what was next. You hoped to remain in Ketterdam with Kaz. He wouldn’t admit it, but he liked having you around and trusted your judgement. You’d grown so accustomed to working side by side that neither of you really considered that it might change. 

And then Inej came to you with an offer. She wanted to hunt slavers and you supported that dream. She asked if you supported it enough to join her on her first voyage as she learned the ins and outs of sailing. With Kaz’s encouragement, you did so. The first few days went smoothly. You helped her memorize protocols and orders. You taught her as best you could the things that came in time on the sea. And then you came across another ship. Its familiar flag and the name emblazoned on the side brought your heart into your throat. 

“Y/N, what is it?”

Inej studied the ship, but it was completely unfamiliar to her. 

“Be careful.”

“Do you know that ship?”

You couldn’t respond. You knew the flag. You knew the paint, the figure perched in the crow’s nest, but the new name was what had you reeling. In bold white letters, the words Little Breeze stared back at you across the waves. 

It took too long and no time at all for the two ships to approach each other. Neither drew weapons or readied cannons. When the Little Breeze came up beside you, a figure moved from the sails and caught the wind, drifting over to land on the deck in front of you and Inej. 

“Feodora.”

For a few seconds, she looked surprised. If you weren’t so torn apart at the sight of her after all this time, you might have taken pride in it. You’d rarely managed to surprise her in your time together. Then recognition bloomed on her face. 

“Y/N? Our little breeze…”

You nodded the slightest bit and she smiled like the sun after a storm. When she took a step closer, you tucked your hands in close and she stopped. Even when you were young, you’d curl in on yourself to keep your space. 

“So… this is where you’ve been all this time?”

“Only recently.”

Inej was still a bit lost. She knew little about your life before arriving in Ketterdam. Kaz had never been willing to tell her or anyone else, having determined that it was your story to share as you saw fit. You snapped out of your thoughts and glanced over to your friend. 

“Inej, this is Feodora. She’s the Squaller who taught me all that I know. My first and best teacher. Feodora, this is Inej Ghafa. She’s my best friend.”

You both knew that title truly belonged to Kaz, but she was more than happy to share it. 

The two women nodded to each other and Feodora turned back to her ship. She made a few hand gestures and a cheer went up from the deck. With an encouraging look from Inej, you caught a breeze and set foot on the deck of the ship you’d believed you would never see again. Feodora stood beside you and the crew surrounded you both. You were bombarded with questions, which you spent hours trying to answer.

“Now, now. I think our little breeze has grown tired. Everyone, give her some space.”

Feodora leaned against the railing beside you. She could see how it all weighed on you. 

“You renamed the ship.”

“We thought it only right. We all missed our sweet little breeze.”

“I… I’m sorry we lost him.”

“Flint spent a long time outrunning his worst choices. They were bound to catch up to him eventually. We all just wished we’d had someone else looking after you. We might not have lost you both then.”

You nodded softly. It had been in Flint’s nature to cause problems. To pick fights he couldn’t win. You’d all known it, but he’d been your partner anyway. He’d done his best to look after you. 

“Did you ever find him?”

“The next morning. Sent off to the Reaper’s Barge. There was nothing else we could do. But we could never find you.”

“I met a boy. He helped me.”

“Brekker. We’ve heard of him.”

“He’s not so bad. People just don’t know him. Not really.”

“Well, if anyone can find a soft spot in someone like him, it’s you.”

You both smiled and chuckled. 

“I guess that’s my real talent, huh?”

“Absolutely. Wars could be ended if only you could meet both sides and ask them kindly to stop.”

You looked up at the sweeping sails and swinging rigging. You’d missed this ship. These people. 

“You’re welcome to join us again, you know.”

“Do you have the authority to say that?”

“I took over as captain when Inga retired, so yeah.”

You laughed and smiled at the thought of Inga relaxing in some little house on a beach somewhere without a care in the world. 

“Congratulations. But I don’t know…”

“We won’t force you. I just want you to know it’s an option.”

She didn’t say it, but you could feel her hope. Feodora wanted her fiery little breeze back. She wanted to sail again with the fierce, startlingly innocent girl she’d pulled from a wreck all those years ago. But you weren’t that little girl anymore. The girl she’d known wasn’t jaded. She’d been hurt, but she was still bursting with hope. That girl had died in the alley in Ketterdam with Flint. 

You knew you couldn’t go back. You wouldn’t. You’d come too far. So you pushed off the railing and pulled Feodora into a short hug. By the time she could respond, it was over and you were stepping back, starting to create the distance that would separate you forever from the world you’d been forced to leave. 

“I’m working with the Dregs now; they’ve taken to calling me a headwind. If you make port in Ketterdam again, we aren’t hard to find.”

“Wherever the wind blows, little breeze.”

“Wherever it blows.”

You told Inej what you could about your afternoon aboard the Little Breeze. You could only share the whole story with Kaz, the only person who could understand it completely. So you tucked it away in the back of your mind while you kept teaching Inej. When your trip was over and you pulled back into Fifth Harbor, you were glad to be back on solid ground.

That same night, you curled up in a chair by the window in Kaz’s office. He sat on his bed, his gloves tucked away for the night. He listened intently as you recounted everything to him, interjecting only when he wanted to know more details. When you were finished, he pondered how to respond for a moment. 

“I didn’t make the wrong choice, did I? I just… I don’t think I could go back to being their little breeze. No matter how much I love them, I can’t let go of all I’ve learned, of the people I’ve come to love here.”

“The only person who can determine if your choice was right is you. It’s your life, your path to follow.  But because you’re asking me, I think you made the right call. The person you were when you made port here for the first time couldn’t have survived Ketterdam for long. That shadow is just that. A part of your past that you can’t take in your hands and carry with you.”

You gave him a lazy smile that made him glad for the night he’d found you and replied in a mock awed tone. 

“You are awfully introspective, Mister Brekker. Maybe you should be a philosopher at the college.”

You both let out little snickers at the mere thought. 

“Maybe I should save you the trouble of worrying and just push you out my window.”

“I can catch a breeze, come back up here, and slap you with your own gloves.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Neither would you.”

Of all the things in your life that changed, you cherished the relationship you had with Kaz. He’d become a part of you, of who you were and who you’d someday be. You couldn’t have imagined as a child what your life would hold. You never could have dreamed that you would sail the True Sea with pirates and Grisha, be part of an impossible heist, and find family wherever you went. Your father had always told you that home was where the heart was. You had determined that your home was where the wind carried you.

[wri0thesley]

whoops i wrote a thing based on your thing

(vague mha spoilers ahoy)

"There should only be two heroes on patrol that day," Hawks insists, adjusting his coat tighter around himself and looking at the poor excuse for a safe house Dabi had directed him to. The outside of this hellhole is falling apart, and the inside isn't much better. The floorboards creak ominously with every step, the windows rattle with the slightest breeze, paint is peeling off the walls, and he can't count the number of suspicious stains on the ceiling (Is that one water? Mold? Blood?). Despite looking on the verge of collapse, the living room is surprisingly tidy. It's obvious that someone has taken up the challenge of making this place barely livable, and it certainly wasn't the burned lunatic beside him.

"What are their quirks?"

Hawks came prepared, already having tipped off the Hero Commission about who to assign. "Water and metal." Dabi slams his fist on the pockmarked table in front of them, clearly annoyed that it's a poor matchup for him, and the rickety construction of this death trap makes half the room rattle.

"Well that's just fucking convenient, isn't it?" He sneers at the hero and narrows his eyes. "It's almost like someone planned it to-"

"Dabi?"

Hawks jumps in his seat, startled by the new voice. He'd assumed they were alone; Dabi didn't seem like the type to trust his random side pieces enough to have a meeting with them in hearing range. He turns automatically to get a better look at you, and freezes.

You're cute, he notices first. Hair disheveled and wearing an oversized night shirt as you walk out of the dark bedroom, rubbing sleep from your eyes and trying to hide a yawn. "It's late, come back." You finally notice the hero sitting on your couch and your body stiffens with concern. He watches you put a hand instinctively over your stomach and fuck, he can't stop the horror from flickering across his face as he realizes how swollen your belly is. No way. No fucking way.

“Yours?” He mouths the question silently, and his stomach drops when the villain smirks and gives a little nod. He’s going to be sick.

Dabi stands and walks over to you, resting a stapled hand on your shoulder to turn you back around. “Doll,” he coos in a voice oozing with fake affection. “You shouldn’t be up, you know it’s not good for either of you.” He taps the swell of your stomach and the innocent, trusting smile you give him makes bile rise in Hawks’ throat. “I’ll be done in a bit, okay?” You glance back at the man in your home as the father of your child practically shoves you through the doorway. “He’s not gonna do anything, I promise.” He makes sure the door is firmly shut before returning to business, a sickening grin on his face. “The fuck are you looking at?”

Hawks fights back the urge to vomit. “Didn’t figure you for the dad type, is all. Congratulations.”

Dabi doesn’t even try to hide his laughter. “You’re smarter than you look, bird boy. Soon as that kid’s out of there, I’m done.” Hawks makes a sound of disgust and Dabi rolls his eyes. “What, like I’m just supposed to stick around and raise it? Happy little family with daddy reading bedtime stories in between bouts of arson?” He cracks himself up.

He doesn’t realize it, but it hits a nerve and the hero’s jaw clenches so hard his teeth might crack. It hits too close to home for him, watching some poor fool with too much sympathy for the wrong person ruin their life trying to be helpful. He knows firsthand how hard that that kind of life is, how badly it can fuck up a kid, it’s almost a relief hearing that the piece of shit doesn’t plan on staying.

“Might as well get what I can out of this arrangement,” Dabi goes on, ignoring the obvious discomfort. “You see how big those tits are? Turns out they’re real overachievers in the milk department, poor thing’s practically begging me to suck it out.” He licks his scarred lips at the thought of it. “Pussy’s still great too, shame the little bastard’s gonna pop out and ruin it.” He sighs, almost regretful at the thought.

Hawks squirms, thoroughly uncomfortable at the conversation and avoids eye contact. “Yeah, sure. I’m just gonna head out and we’ll figure this out later. It is gettin’ pretty late, gotta be out there early tomorrow and keep up appearances, y’know?”

Dabi stares at the bedroom door. “Whatever,” he says without a care until he suddenly turns to him with a sickening grin. “You want a turn before you go?”

Hawks’ eyes widen and he waves off the offer. “I...you want...no. Uh, no thank you.” His face feels hot as he turns to leave, ignoring the unforeseen tightness in his own pants at the invitation. He doesn’t want to think about why the idea is so appealing to him.

Dabi’s quickly distracted and heading back to you. “Your loss, pigeon.” He doesn’t notice Hawks dropping a feather under the couch, he sure as hell won’t be the one cleaning under there later, along with a phone number you can call for help if (when, really) you need it. “Hey doll, rise and shine. Daddy needs to get his dick wet.”

Hawks makes sure to slam the front door loudly, but he can still hear your quiet protests already turning to breathy whines as he makes his way out. There’s a sinking feeling in his guts when he takes flight, wondering if you’ll really be okay the next time he'll see you.

[vincess-princess]

war?

Fandom: Motley Crue Characters, pairings: minor Nikki Sixx\Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Tommy Lee, Mick Mars Rating: Teen so far, may change in the future Warnings: displays of extreme radiation poisoning, violence, unreality (so far) Summary: The boys go into a post-nuclear war-themed quest room, but is it really just a quest room?

idea by @dopefreshprincess, thank you so much for giving me inspiration <3

Chapter 1/?

Word count: 8059

“Wow!” Tommy looked around, eyes sparkling with excitement. “This is sick!”

Nikki did not reply, as did the others were gaping silently at the landscape extending in front of them. Escape room managers always tried to assure them of the reality of the experience, but the layout of all the escape rooms they visited before could be usually proved fake, sometimes by smallest of details. Not this one, though: the desolate, ravaged, post-nuclear war landscape looked uncannily real. They could even feel the hot breeze in their hair, bits of sand carried by it scraping their skin.

A desert sprawled in front of them, the ceiling that imitated the sky painted pale orange, no clouds, the lamp replacing the sun emitting so much heat Nikki could already feel droplets of sweat sliding down his back. Here and there bare, skeletal-looking trees stretched their branches up towards the sky – they barely reach the group’s waists, but trailed along the ground for meters. The only other plant around was spiky grey grass with frail stems. Nikki kneeled in front of one of them, trying to understand how it managed to grow through a completely dry, hardened soil. Wait, that’s a fake, he reminded himself. It was probably made of rubber and just stuck into the ground, it didn’t need no water.

Nikki reached out and tried to tear the plant out of the ground, but quickly drew his hand back with a hiss. The stem had little hair-thin thorns, sharper than needles. A few of them pierced through his skin and got stuck in his finger. Fuck, those sure as hell weren’t rubber.

“Huh?” Vince turned his head, distracted from fascinatedly observing the location by Nikki’s hiss. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” Nikki said quickly, knowing how sharp-tongued Vince was. “Just got a splinter.”

“Are you gonna survive?” Vince inquired in a serious tone, but with a sly smile on his lips.

“I hope so,” Nikki muttered, trying to be angry at the mocking smile Vince shot him and failing miserably. “Careful with these things. They’re damn realistic.”

“Told you, these guys make the best escape rooms I’ve ever been in,” Mick said. He was the only one to remain relatively unimpressed, though his gaze lingered on the sand dunes a little bit longer than needed. “It’s gonna be a real survival quest, so buckle up.”

“Ain’t no quest too hard for us,” Tommy grinned. “Let’s set a world record on this one, lads.”

“Hell yeah!” Vince joined him, eyes sparkling. “The harder, the more fun!”

Mick rolled his eyes in exasperation. “That’s why you two absolutely can’t have nice things. You’re on a thin fucking ice, Sixx,” he added, side-eyeing Nikki.

“Hey, I haven’t even said anything!”

“I know you well enough.”

Nikki huffed with annoyance, but purely to keep face. He knew, of course, that Mick was right.

“Are we setting off at last?” Tommy was practically jumping with excitement. “Come on, come on, you snails!” he waved his hands in an inviting gesture. “Could you speed up a little?”

“We ain’t in a hurry,” Mick cut him down, but carefully stepped off the platform that took them to the location. The platform rose up swiftly and disappeared in the sky. Nikki traced it with his eyes. They would not be able to call it back, only in an extreme emergency, and the level of emergency was going to be decided by the quest room staff, who were supposed to watch the travelers constantly. In reality, though, when Nikki peeked into the security room half of the cameras weren’t working, and the only guard there was too busy playing his new Nintendo switch. So they couldn’t really count on staff; from now on they had to complete the quest to get out. Usually it added to the thrill, but now Nikki’s guts felt uneasy at the thought.

“Hm.” Mick stomped his foot on the ground. “The sand is very thin. We shouldn’t have any problem walking.”

“Then let’s walk!” Vince called, fidgeting in his place. “I wanna see the destroyed city replica! Is it gonna have real radiation there?”

“You ask me? Boy, I’ve never been here. I can only tell you what Chris told me, and he never mentioned it. Everything is possible. Do you even know where the city is?”

“It’s gonna show up eventually anyway, no?” Vince tilted his head. “The quest zone is not that big.”

“Why are you so sure?” Mick raised an eyebrow. Nikki could feel frustration radiating off him. He probably wanted to make every second of this adventure worthwhile instead of speedrunning it. “Besides, you ain’t getting to no goddamn city without supplies and gear.”

“Aren’t they in the backpacks?” Vince frowned, then pulled his backpack off his back. The easiness with which Vince tossed it around was suspicious, like it carried no weight whatsoever.

Nikki weighed his own backpack with his arm and a cold shiver ran down his spine. How could he not notice how light it was?

Meanwhile, Vince had already opened his bag, and his eyebrows arched in surprise.

“There ain’t nothing there!”

“The hell-“ Nikki pulled at the zip and tore the backpack open. His bad feeling proved right - it was empty.

“Mine too!” Tommy shoved his hand inside, feeling the material up as if trying to find secret pockets there. The thin, chip fabric of the backpack couldn’t hide any pockets within it even with the most intricate design.

“Same thing”, Mick pursed his lips, having checked his. “Shit’s getting interesting.”

“The hell we’re gonna do without supplies? We are in a desert!” Tommy exclaimed, throwing his backpack to the ground with frustration. “We paid for an empty backpack?!”

“What, the quest suddenly too tough for ya?” Mick snorted, but then his face softened at Tommy’s helpless expression. “Relax, kid. They ain’t gonna let their clients die. We’ll probably find supplies along the way.”

“They probably aren’t gonna just lie there in the middle of a desert, though,” Nikki said. He could understand Tommy’s disappointment – the quest from the average difficulty just switched to expert, and Tommy was never the one to enjoy meticulous resource-gathering instead of fighting and cracking codes. He, however, didn’t seem to share Tommy’s feelings – instead, he could feel anticipation building up in his chest. This was gonna be a real test of character, and he was gonna show everyone he could pass it. Especially Vince.

“No shit, Sixx,” Tommy murmured, still worked-up, but relaxing slightly. “Then where the hell are we supposed to find them? We don’t even have a map.”

“Hey, quit whining,” Vince joined in. He didn’t seem to be upset in a slightest, though his flippant smile disappeared from his lips. “Nikki is right. We gotta find a city or some settlements. They must be full of lost stuff. And we’ll get a shelter from the heat.” He wiped sweat off his forehead, caught Nikki’s gaze and smiled with corners of his mouth. When he turned away, Nikki smiled back.

“Well, I’ll look at y’all after a couple of hours walking through the desert,” Tommy muttered indignantly, but didn’t continue his rant. He went to a big rock a few feet away and plopped onto it with a grim expression. Mick, Nikki and Vince exchanged looks.

“Okay, so what are we doing now?” Vince asked in a low voice. “I’m already thirsty. Where’s that city of theirs? Mick?”

“Don’t ask me,” Mick waved his hand. “I haven’t been here before, remember? I just know that it exists. I don’t think it’s that far away, though. The zone can’t be bigger than a day or two of walking. The building didn’t look that big to me from the outside, at least.”

“These plants probably have some water in them, like cactuses,” Nikki nodded at the grey spiky grass. “You could try sucking on them-“

“No, thanks, I’m not that desperate,” Vince interrupted him, rolling his eyes. “So what, we’re looking for a city?”

“Well, you’d rather stay here?” Mick raised his eyebrow. “No? Good. I swear, a little bit more of this senseless talk and I’m leaving without you.” He turned his back to them and headed forward, not sparing them a single look.

“Why is he so pissy?” Vince muttered to Nikki.

“Angry because of the supplies?” Nikki shrugged in response and looked back at Tommy, who was still sitting on the rock with his back turned to the rest of the world. He seemed to hunch, looking at something on the ground. “Hey, T-bone! We’re leaving!”

“Uh-huh,” Tommy murmured, not paying them any attention. What, was he refusing to come with them?

Well, that was getting ridiculous.

“T-bone!” Nikki approached him and not so gently slapped him on the shoulder. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah,” Tommy looked up at Nikki distractedly. “Nik, do you think this map is supposed to have enemies?”

“I’m gonna be disappointed if it doesn’t” Nikki grinned. “But probably not in the middle of a desert. Maybe in the city. But we’d be supposed to find weapons for them, wouldn’t we?”

“Yeah,” Tommy nodded and rose up from his rock. “Where we going?”

“Looking for the city,” Vince said from behind Nikki’s back. “We’re pretty sure it’s somewhere close.”

“You’re sure,” Tommy made a dissatisfied face. “Okay, if you’re so sure, let’s go there.”

“You’re such a pain in the ass today,” Vince told him, but with no malice in his voice. “How’d you survive in a real apocalypse? Y’know, when there are no supplies lying around, prepared specifically for you?”

“Well, there ain’t gonna be no apocalypse in my lifetime,” Tommy shook his head, picked up his backpack and headed after Mick, who was already a tiny silhouette against the orange skies and seemingly had no intention of waiting for them.

The thin layer of sand was easy to walk on, and their heavy boots prevented them from getting sand between their toes. What they weren’t preventing them from, however, was the heat. The lamp imitated the sun a little bit too well; as it traveled across the sky (Nikki wondered if it was fixed on a rope or if some mechanism did the moving), it became hotter and hotter. Soon their jackets were off, and their t-shirts were soaking wet.

“How long has it been? Two hours?” Vince asked, fanning himself with his stupid cowboy hat that Nikki hadn’t managed to talk him out of wearing. “I swear, if we don’t find water soon, I’m gonna drink my own piss.”

“I can offer you another, much more nutritious fluid-“ Nikki was interrupted by a backpack flung at his face and barely managed to duck in time. “Hey, you could’ve just said no!”

“I’d rather die of thirst,” Vince promised gloomily, but before he turned away, Nikki caught a glimpse of a smile on his face. He sped up to catch up with Mick. Nikki didn’t want to march forward alone, so he slowed his pace, waiting for Tommy.

“What kind of enemies do you think we’re gonna encounter?” Tommy asked him, somewhat anxious.

“No clue, dude,” Nikki said carelessly. “Some mutated rabid rats? Mad scavengers? I hope it’ll be mad scavengers. The robots we were shooting last time were too predictable.”

“And the weapons?” Tommy didn’t seem relieved by his words in a slightest.

“I hope paintball guns – so you can see when you hit someone, y’know. Laser guns are too glitchy.”

“You think it will be just actors?” Tommy shot him a glance. Nikki frowned. Why was he so worked-up anyway? They were on a quest, they were supposed to have fun, not worry.

“Of course. Do you think they’re gonna release actual animals on us or something? That’s just a game.” Nikki shook his head at Tommy when he opened his mouth again, no longer willing to answer weird questions. “Come on, let’s catch up with those two. Or they’ll find loot earlier than us and will take all the alcohol.” He grabbed Tommy’s arm and pulled him forward. Tommy followed, like a puppet obeying every twitch of its master’s fingers.

Half an hour later, literally nothing changed. The sky was the same sickish orange; the sand was crumpling under their boots with barely audible crunching sounds. The tension was hanging in the air like fog, enveloping their little group whole, getting more and more thick. The frown on Mick’s face deepened with every their step.

“I swear, if I knew how fucking big it would be…” he began.

“Hey, hey, no need to apologize,” Nikki interrupted him.

“I wasn’t,” Mick flashed him an irritated glance. “I wanted to say I’d tell Chris to stuff his recommendations up his ass. I fucking knew he’s a survival games junkie. He gets a kick out of harsh conditions. Unlike me.” He stopped so suddenly Tommy almost collided with him. “That’s it. We’re making camp here.”

“Not that we have anything to make that camp with,” Tommy murmured, but wilted under Mick’s stern gaze. “You can sit on your backpack,” he suggested hastily. “Or on that rock over there-“

“Um, guys,” Vince, who wandered away during their conversation, spoke up from where he was bending over to the rock Tommy offered Mick to sit on, “you need to see this.”

“What’s that?” Mick shuffled towards him. When his gaze landed on the rock, his eyebrows flew up. “Holy shit.”

Mick and Vince’s troubled faces evoked a bad feeling in Nikki’s gut. The feeling of wrongness that hatched in his stomach ever since they discovered the backpacks were empty raised its head again, making him shiver. He almost didn’t step forward to look at the rock, almost turned away. Almost.

Run, the rock said in uneven, shaky handwriting, probably done with chalk, probably in a hurry. Run.

“What the hell?.. Nikki raised his head to meet Mick’s gaze, knowing he had no explanation for this, but still nurturing a stupid little spring of hope that the smartest of them, the oldest of them would be able to explain it. But Mick’s face showed nothing but bewilderment. And… what was that?

Tommy approached them quietly from the back, read the inscription and inhaled sharply through his teeth with a hiss. He said nothing. It was weird, but not weirder than this entire fucking thing.

“It’s a joke, right?” Vince said in a shaky voice. “It must be a joke.”

“I’d love to tear off the arms of whoever wrote this and shove them up their ass,” Mick muttered disgruntledly. “Not funny at all.”

Nikki just nodded, kneeling in front of the rock. He rubbed the word with his thumb, wanting to see if it could be erased easily. His thumb got a little dirty, but the writing remained intact. Nikki licked his finger and tried again, to no avail.

“That’s not chalk,” Mick said, frowning. “It would erase. Why the hell didn’t Chris tell me about this shit? Maybe he did it?..”

“I don’t think so,” Tommy said suddenly. “It looks old.”

“And the sky is orange here, do you think it really is in real life?” Mick cut him off angrily. Tommy bit his lip and stared at the ground, fidgeting with something in his hands. “It’s probably just a prank by another visitor. Well, good job, asshole, now you’ve got everyone worked up.” He turned his back to the rock. “Dunno about you, but I’m not gonna stand around this goddamn rock all day. We still need to get supplies somehow.”

“Yeah, right,” Nikki nodded, getting up and lining up with Mick. “Let’s go, guys. It’s getting late.”

“I’ve heard deserts get super cold at night,” Vince remarked. “We better find a shelter by the time the sun sets.”

They set off again, but the decisiveness that floated in the air when they just entered faded. Instead the tension and frustration returned, and there was a new one now - fear. The latter was completely illogical, Nikki tried to persuade himself, but all in vain – the icky cold lump in his stomach remained, gaining more thorns the more Nikki thought about the writing on the rock. Fuck, he definitely needed a drink. He could only hope the supplies would have alcohol – they usually did, allegedly for medical purposes.

Nikki didn’t know how much time passed. Maybe half an hour, maybe more. It was hard to determine with the sky the same orange color, the “sun” invisible behind thick clouds. Eventually, though, it began to get colder – Nikki only realized that when he caught Tommy shiver. Already sulky, Tommy now looked like a ruffled chick that just fell out of the nest.

Nikki was already thinking about suggesting calling it a night and making camp where they were when Vince broke the gloomy silence.

“There’s something ahead.”

Nikki squinted, staring forward. Against the sky, now reddish as the “sun” was setting, was a group of silhouettes.

“Those might be just mountains,” Mick said, barely trying to cover the exhaustion in his voice.

“They’re too upright for mountains,” Vince shook his head. “The sides are too flat. And anyway, that would be better than spending the night in the middle of a fucking desert. My throat is dry as a fucking sandpaper.”

“Whatever,” Mick threw his hands up. “We ain’t got nowhere else to go anyway.”

They headed towards the shadows in the distance. Although none of them was ready to say it, reaching something after an entire day full of sand already felt like a small victory. They might even find a cave to sleep in there, Nikki mused. Now even a rough rocky mountain soil was better than getting sand in their asses.

But as they drew closer it became clear those were no mountains. Though destroyed and decayed, those were buildings. Soon they reached a road – battered and covered in sand, but a road nevertheless.

“Hell yeah!” Vince smiled triumphantly. “Told ya we’re getting there!”

“Okay, okay, don’t forget to mark this date down. It’s not often that you turn out to be right,” Mick grumbled, but relief in his voice was obvious. Vince rolled his eyes, but did not say anything in return – maybe didn’t want to spoil the mood. Even Tommy cheered up. They sped up to reach the city before the night set.

It turned out to be farther than they imagined, and when they did reach the city, it was already night. Just as Vince said, the heat was soon replaced by freezing wind, so they weren’t feeling picky and headed to the first building on their way. The left half of it lay in ruins, concrete mixed with metal, crooked metal rods sticking out of the walls that were still standing. Nikki touched the concrete – it was cold and coated his fingertips in dust. The right half, though, remained relatively unharmed, apart from shattered windows. It even still had a door intact.

“With our luck, I won’t be surprised if the door is locked,” Mick muttered as he touched the door handle with uncertainty. It easily yielded under his touch. He carefully pushed the door.

A musty smell enveloped them, the dust in the air making them cough. It was dark inside, and the windows didn’t provide enough light to make out details – the night was moonless, and there were no stars in the sky, - but this just made the image more uncannily real. How did they make the dust covering the floor look like it hasn’t been touched in ages while the building probably had visitors the very night before them?

“I can’t fucking see anything,” Mick grumbled somewhere ahead. “Should’ve brought headlights.”

“There must be at least some loot in here,” Nikki tried to cheer him up. “Maybe there’ll be flashlights.”

“There might just as likely not be any,” Mick sighed. “But at least we won’t have to sleep in a freezing wind. Though it’s not much warmer here either, those goddamn windows-“

A loud crash followed by a yelp interrupted him. Mick and Nikki shot each other alerted looks and sprinted towards the source of the sound. In the corner of the room, there was a hole covered by a thin sheet of metal – apparently not strong enough to hold a man’s- Vince burst into the room, waving around a metal rod in his hand that he probably pulled out of a broken wall, - not strong enough to hold Tommy’s body weight. Nikki plopped onto his knees and peered into the hole. Vince grabbed him by the collar, to make sure he wouldn’t fall. It was so dark down there they couldn’t even see the floor.

“Drummer, you alright?” Mick called out anxiously, staring into the darkness of the hole intensely. A second of silence felt like an hour, Nikki’s heart skipped a bit. Then Tommy spoke from down there.

“Yeah… I think.” They listened intently to the rustling and creaking from down there as Tommy tried to get on his own two feet. “I’m al- oh, shit!” something heavy fell onto a metal sheet with a loud clatter.

“T-bone?” Nikki called again, but received no response. A little lump of anxiety in his stomach reminded of itself again as it began to unravel. “Tom, fucking say something!”

“Fuck,” Tommy finally hissed. “My knee hurts as shit.”

“Broken?” Vince tried to catch a look of Tommy, but the view of the hole was obstructed by two dark messy heads.

A few pained breaths later, Tommy replied. “No, I don’t… think so.”

“Can you stand?” Nikki jumped up, looking around the room for a ladder, or a rope, or, at least, a wooden bar to put into the hole. But the room was barren, apart from a few chairs looking like they would turn to dust the moment they’re touched, ruined bookshelves with burned black books scattered across the floor, and a broken computer standing on the only remaining desk.

The desk had three drawers and a cabinet. The cabinet was locked. The drawers were mostly empty, one even had a couple of dead cockroaches in it. Nikki almost overlooked a little cylindrical object in the corner of the lowest drawer. He carefully touched it. The surface felt like cheap plastic.

Upon closer inspection it turned out to be a flashlight. Nikki fidgeted with it for a bit and found a button, which he carefully pressed. The first couple of seconds it wasn’t lighting up Nikki’s heart skipped a bit; but then a weak ray of light shone through the dirty glass.

“Guys! Look what I found!” He dashed back to the hole, where Mick and Vince still stood, quietly discussing something. Tommy’s voice from down there joined them occasionally.

“A flashlight?” Mick raised an eyebrow. “And that’s all?”

“Well, do you want a stage projector instead?” Nikki snapped back. “This is better than nothing. Tommy, can you walk?”

“Not sure,” came a muffled reply. “Gimme a sec… Ouch.”

“So no?” Nikki frowned.

“Well, I can stand, but it hurtsб” Tommy reported. “Not sure about walking. I can’t see a thing, and there’s so much debris here, I don’t wanna break a leg on one of them.”

“Well, then I’ve got you covered, pal.” Nikki showed him a flashlight. Tommy squeezed his eyes, trying to make out what Nikki was holding. Then he beamed.

“Man, that’s great! It’s definitely a part of the quest, so we’re on the right track! Give it to me, I’ll try to look around.” He caught the flashlight thrown by Nikki. “Eh, man, they could have put better props here. This one looks like it’s from a gas station.”

“What, you think they would give you top-tier gear here?” Mick raised his eyebrow. “Be thankful for what you have.”

“Hey, don’t be so bitter,” Vince stood up for Tommy. “For all the money they get, they could have bought better props as well. This thing looks like it may kick the bucket at any moment.”

Nikki decided not to listen to their banter anymore. “Look for a ladder, or at least a rope,” he told Tommy and moved away from the hole to walk one more time around the room in case he missed something. He tried to sit in a chair, but it cracked so threateningly under him he decided not to tempt fate. Then he turned to bookshelves. Books were often used to hide clues; maybe that was the case here as well?

However, most books were burnt and battered. Nikki opened one, but the pages were so dark the text was unintelligible. Some of them were glued together, others torn. It was just another fucking prop, Nikki realized, flinging the book into the wall in frustration. Just a waste of a good book-

The book crashed into the wall and fell onto the floor, pages flying around. One of them was significantly lighter than the others. It landed right next to Nikki’s feet, as though inviting him to pick it up.

Well, Nikki rolled his eyes, for sure that wasn’t supposed to be a clue or something like that, not at all.

He picked up the piece of paper and turned it upside down. On it a few numbers were written, in ornate, neat handwriting. Must be a password or something. But for what?

Nikki turned around, and his gaze fell on a seemingly dysfunctional computer. Why did he assume it was dysfunctional first hand?

Nikki carefully touched the keyboard sprinkled with dust. They really did a good job making everything look old and abandoned. He pressed the space key, then ran his fingers along the keys, pressing many at once – no reaction. Then he reached out for the turn-on button. Also no reaction.

Oh well, it wasn’t going to be as easy as this, after all. Nikki stuffed the paper piece in his pocket and returned to the hole, where Mick and Vince conversed lazily. Judging by the occasional streaks of light landing on the walls, Tommy was exploring down there.

“Oh, hey, guys, it’s pretty nice in here!” he shouted, attracting their attention. “Is that a fucking potbelly stove?”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Well, I’ve only seen those in movies but it does look like one. And what are those…” his voice quietened for a few seconds as he was fussing with something. “Guys! There are sleeping bags here!”

“Really?!” Vince would have dove into the hole headfirst if not for Mick who grabbed him unceremoniously by the collar. “Hey, what the fuck, man?!”

“Who the fuck is gonna drag you two up then? My back won’t let me, you want Sixx alone to do it?”

“Well, if there are sleeping bags, then there must also be a ladder or something,” Vince muttered, ashamed. “Isn’t it clear that’s a checkpoint?”

“No, it isn’t,” Mick cut him off. “Not until we find a lad-“

“I found rope!” Tommy’s jubilant voice rang through the building. Mick, stopped mid-sentence, pursed his lips.

“Hey, Mick, do you think I should start a notebook to mark down when I’m being right?” Vince patted his shoulder, grinning. Mick shook his hand off.

“Bring it here,” Nikki said, looking around for something to fix the rope on. The table seemed sturdy and heavy enough, but they all were grown adult men as well. Nikki headed over to the table and tried to move it, to no avail. Maybe it was screwed to the floor for this very purpose.

“Hey, we can fix the rope to the table over here, if it’s long enough,” he suggested.

“Might work.” Mick glanced towards it and nodded. “Though I’m not a keen rope-climber…”

“Me neither,” Nikki tried to reassure him. “I always failed at it on the P.E. lessons”

“You had rope climbing on your P.E. lessons?” Mick raised an eyebrow. “Wow. Schools sure have geared up since I graduated.”

“We also jumped a bench,” Nikki recalled, “and did pull-ups on a bar. Oh how I hated it.”

“Y’all are spoiled,” Mick murmured. “All we had were a ball and the teacher’s whistle. A volleyball net, if the school was fancy.”

“Hate to interrupt your sweet chatter.” Vince suddenly appeared behind their backs. He already held the end of the rope in his hands. “But if I don’t get into a sleeping bag within five minutes, I’m gonna riot. You checked the table?”

“Yep, seems trustworthy.”

“Mick, your time to shine,” Vince offered him, the only one among them knowing how to tie a reliable knot, the end of the rope.

“You forgot a magic word,” Mick grumbled but kneeled in front of the table. “There are rope traces on this table leg already, so it must be the right way.”

“Are all clients supposed to hurt themselves falling through the floor?” Nikki wondered, kneeling beside Mick. He loved watching his rope work, though never managed to do it quite like him.

“You wanted adventure, you got it,” Mick replied, his fingers quickly working.

“Well, yeah, we all know it’s just an imitation,” Nikki shrugged. “A pretty good one, but still.”

“There wouldn’t be one if all those people didn’t actually want it to come true, even in part.”

“Well, I don’t,” Nikki resented. “I don’t want the world to fucking burn to the ground. And all those people don’t, too. They just want to… I dunno. Feel like movie protagonists for a while?”

“Movie protagonists always have a purpose. They don’t go out into the wild just because they love the wild that much.” Mick finished the knot and got up, cutting their conversation short. Nikki tried to follow him but hit his head on the tabletop.

“Ouch!” he fell back on his knees, checking his head for damage. Just as he reached for the sore spot on his head, he noticed a wire that was running along the wall of the cabinet and sliding into a hole on the floor. The wire was connected to the computer. Oh, so they need to fix it in the basement for the computer to start working, Nikki realized. That the computer was supposed to be turned on he had no doubt, or there wouldn’t be a password in the book.

“You alright?” Vince asked when Nikki crawled from under the table and got up. “We don’t need any more injuries here.”

“I’ll survive,” Nikki promised. They headed towards the hole where Tommy already stood with the flashlight, waiting for them.

“Wait a sec, I’m gonna move all those debris away,” he hurried to clear the floor under the hole, stumbled on something and hissed in pain. “Shit! I hope there’s a first aid kit somewhere here.”

“If you still can walk, then it’s not that serious,” Mick told him. “Not a fracture or a broken bone at least. Gonna heal in a couple of days.”

“Yeah, but where are we gonna get these couple of days?” Nikki murmured so that Tommy wouldn’t hear him. “Our time here is limited. We can’t just waste it waiting for him to recover.”

“What are you gonna do then, send him back?” Mick snapped. “Let him hobble through the desert alone, with no supplies?”

“Well, no, of course not,” Nikki mumbled ashamedly. “But we could… I dunno… investigate the location while he heals his ankle?”

“Yeah, and he totally won’t jump after us on one leg the whole way,” Mick said sarcastically, diminishing Nikki to a puddle on the floor. He didn’t bring the topic up anymore.

Vince was the first to descend, carefully sliding down the rope. Tommy, beaming, waved the flashlight around, demonstrating the room so proudly he as though had decorated it himself. A smile slowly widened on Vince’s face.

“Come look!” he called them. Nikki climbed down the rope so fast he burned the skin on his palms. Mick wasn’t that eager to follow; quite on the contrary, he stood up there looking around for a few seconds and then hurried out of sight.

“The hell he went to-“ Tommy began, but Mick was already back, dragging something clanging with him.

“We are gonna attract the entire local wildlife with the light and the voices,” he explained, breathing heavily. “Better cover up.”

“Oh, Mick, c’mon!” Vince laughed. “Who are we gonna attract? Actors are all at home sleeping at this time.”

“Some of them work night shifts,” Mick reminded as he carefully lowered his legs into the hole and wrapped them around the rope. He grasped the metal sheet he brought and drew it over the hole, leaving only a small crack. “And some of them aren’t people,” he finished once his feet were firmly on the ground.

Vince huffed, but did not continue the argument. And Nikki was thankful to him for that.

The shelter they accidentally discovered was small but neat. It was a little bit warmer here, without the wind, but the walls still couldn’t really protect from the cold. They were probably drywall, but they did look appropriate for the location - like old, weathered-down concrete. Even the smell was authentic, dusty and heavy. Four sleeping bags were laid out around the potbelly stove in the center, looking old but functioning. A pipe ran down one of the walls with a very convenient tap in the middle. Every now and then a drop of water fell down from the tap onto a small wet spot on the floor. In the corner there were some boxes piled up on top of one another, and in the other – wooden crate. The entire location was poorly lit by groups of green, toxic-looking mushrooms in the corners and on the ceiling. They looked so real Nikki had to grab and feel the material of one to confirm it was rubber.

“Were you in a real apocalyptic setting, this one could have burned off the skin on your fingers,” Mick muttered.

“Glad we aren’t,” Nikki said, words coming out a little bit strained. “Though there probably wouldn’t really be mushrooms glowing with radiation. Is that even possible? Won’t it just kill them, like any other living thing?”

“Nature always finds a way,” Mick said, kneeling on front of the potbelly stove and peeping inside. “Jeez, this one belongs in a museum. And we need coal or wood to light it up.”

“There were carton boxes in the corner,” Nikki nodded towards them. “What about a lighter? I hope we won’t have to use a flint or something.”

“I have one,” Tommy said from the corner where he examined the crate, fingers carefully running over the lid. He “I had to take out my sigs, but they didn’t notice the lighter.”

“That’s technically cheating,” Vince said lazily, already sprawled on a sleeping bag. “But practically you just saved us a lot of trouble.” He sat up, his shoulders twitching from cold. “Damn, it’s freezing here. Gimme the lighter.”

Tommy threw it over his shoulder in Vince’s direction, missing by a few feet at least. Vince caught it nevertheless – probably the only time his baseball school team skills were put to use.

“Don’t burn the entire basement,” Mick advised half-heartedly as Vince trudged to the boxes in the corner. Vince grumbled something unintelligible in reply.

The cracking sound from the other corner distracted them.

“Guys, I think I found supplies,” Tommy said, holding up the lid of the crate that he had just opened.

“What’s there?” Mick and Nikki rushed towards him. Vince looked at the box he held in his hands for a second, dropped it and joined them. “Any food?!”

“Well, those feel grainy,” Tommy brought a plain fabric bag to his eyes, dug his fingers into its sides. “Cereals, probably.” He put it back, picked up some other package and shook it. “Those sound like crackers.”

“Three cans with corn,” Nikki reported, rummaging in the other end of the crate. “And, uh, ramen,” He dug out a familiar-looking box. At least they removed the plastic wrapping that they have on in stores.

“Any fruit, veggies?” Vince peered over their shoulders. “No? Well, we aren’t gonna last long on such a diet.”

“We aren’t gonna stay here long either,” Nikki reminded him. “What did you expect from a post-apocalyptic setting, an all-you-can-eat buffet?”

“Nothing, man,” Vince retreated, “I’m just saying, we’ve seen plants and trees on our way here, some edible plants could as well survive too- uh, nevermind.”

“That’s all good and stuff, but where are we supposed to put them? I haven’t seen any plates here.”

“Over there, in the corner,” Mick headed to the farthest, most poorly lit corner of the basement, which Nikki overlooked at first, and with a clang pulled out a pot, rather old and battered, but seemingly without any holes. “But these need to be washed first, or we all will get poisoned.”

“I’m busy with the fire,” Vince immediately said, grabbing the box he dropped and holding it in front of himself in a protective gesture. “Tommy can do it. Or Nikki.”

“Guys, there’s something else beneath the food,” Tommy said, pulling out a yellow box with a black wire. “Some device?”

“Oh!” Mick’s face lit up for the first time during the day. “That’s a Geiger counter, if I’m not mistaken. Since we’re in a post-nuclear war wasteland, it’s gonna prove useful.”

“Does it work from the batteries?” Tommy turned it over in search of a switch. “Because there might be problems with electricity here.”

“It’s supposed to,” Mick took the box and examined it as well. “The limit for this one is 5000 mSv – uh, what are mSv? – and I have literally zero idea how dangerous it actually is. Did anyone read up on the theory before the quest?”

He received only confused mumbling in response.

“Do you think anyone else who completed this quest did?” Vince finally said defensively. “I’m pretty sure they weren’t experts on radiation either.”

“That does not excuse our ignorance,” Mick sighed. “Well, 5000 is a big number so if there is this much radiation, it’s not safe.”

They fell silent for a second, only Tommy kept rummaging in the crate. Finally, he fished out something with a victorious yell.

“Knew it would be here!” He waved a piece of paper in front of their faces. “Vince is right – they wouldn’t have given us this thing without explaining how it works. There are some numbers here – I guess radiation levels, but I can’t see them, it’s too dark.”

“Gimme,” Mick immediately snatched it from Tommy’s hands, receiving an indignant yelp in response. “Shit, I can’t see a thing either. Vince, what’s up with the fire?”

“This damn carton doesn’t want to burn,” Vince said from where he was kneeling in front of the potbelly stove. “It just chars.”

“Lord, why do I have to do everything myself,” Mick raised his eyes to the moldy ceiling. “Hold this and don’t let go for dear life,” he handed Vince the piece of paper. Vince pressed it to his chest in an overplayed protective gesture. A few curses later the carton finally caught fire from the lighter, and the flame started strengthening slowly but surely.

“Now, gimme.” Mick grabbed the paper and brought it closer to the fire, maybe a little bit too dangerously close. “Yeah, drummer was right. So, 2 mSv is what a person receives daily, 100 is what radiation workers receive in 5 years, 1000 causes cancer in 5% of people exposed… doesn’t sound too dangerous to me. 5000, though… kills a half.”

“Shit,” Vince commented laconically. “So anything above 1000 is a big no-no, we get it.”

“Pretty much,” Mick nodded. “How much is here, I wonder. Turn this thing on.”

Nikki reached out and pulled the switch. The arrow wandered a little over the bar, but never ventured into even remotely dangerous areas and finally stopped on 12 mSv.

“Well, that’s a little more than usual but still not much,” Mick concluded. “But we should be careful when advancing into the city. It’s supposed to have suffered a nuclear blast, and radiation will go up the closer we are to the center.”

“You think it will ever reach the limit on the counter?” Tommy asked, anxious.

“Don’t think so.” Mick waved his hand in the air. “But we gotta check it frequently, just in case.”

Nikki, who was silent all this time, finally spoke.

“I mean, it’s nice that y’all are enjoying yourself so much, but can we at least stop pretending that there’s actually radiation? This thing just shows what it’s programmed to show. There ain’t no radiation neither here nor in the city center. Where the hell would they get it from?”

Mick raised his eyes, examining Nikki with his piercing gaze. He wasn’t angry or disappointed – thoughtful, rather.

“Well,” he finally said a few seconds later, “there are two things to this. First – when in Rome, do as Romans do. Second – how do you know the radiation isn’t real?”

“How?” Nikki frowned, surprised by Mick’s answer. Mick’s, who was the most sensible of them all and the least prone to stupid illusions. “Because this ain’t real post-apocalyptic wasteland, and these walls are built out of drywall, the sun is a lamp and the mushrooms are made of rubber!”

“And what is radiation made of?” Mick asked. “No, really, how can you fake radiation well enough to deceive a Geiger counter? Because the counter is very real, we’ve been given those at school”.

“Well, then it’s programmed to show what it shows,” Nikki retorted. “And we can’t actually prove it’s not lying.”

“Nor that it is,” Mick replied. “Of course, this is all just a big game of pretend, Sixx. But it doesn’t matter that everything here is fake. We’re gonna take the counter with us anyway; even if it’s lying, its data will show us what places to avoid, since it’s been programmed, as you’re claiming. It was left here for a reason.”

“I guess,” Nikki sighed, turning away. He didn’t know how to explain that their interest and excitement was a little bit too fake in its genuineness. He knew how quests worked. He has completed them many times. A couple of riddles to solve, a couple of actors dressed as zombies to “kill” with laser guns. The ultimate satisfaction upon reaching the end – and after that, all-encompassing boredom again, again, until the next dose of adrenaline.

And this one is going to be just the same. Should be just the same.

Oh god, please let it be just the same.

“Anyway,” Mick broke the silence first. “I’m putting this thing in my backpack, but we’re gonna take it out regularly to check radiation level. Now, I don’t know what about you, but I’m hungry as hell, and the dishes question still stands.”

“Nikki should do it,” Vince said immediately, receiving an “et tu, Brute” look from Nikki. “Since he’s such a wet blanket.”

“Yep,” Tommy quickly counted the odds and sided with the right people. Nikki shot him a death glance. Tommy smiled sheepishly, but didn’t take his words back.

“Well, then go on, Sixx,” Mick handed him the pot, and Nikki wanted to put it on his friend’s head. With a loud bang. “We’ll sort out the rest of equipment while you’re busy.”

The water from the tap was cold, but seemed clean and only smelt a little of metal. Nikki rinsed the pot and the plates he was handed, not quite thoroughly, but the others were too hungry to notice. Meanwhile, Vince and Tommy dug out of the corner three empty plastic bottles, tastefully rumpled to look old, but nevertheless functional. As hard as they tried, they couldn’t find any cutlery, though. Apparently, desert rogues in a post-apocalyptic landscape were too down-to-earth to eat with spoons.

Soon they were sitting around the potbelly stove watching the water heat up terribly, terribly slowly. Nikki never paid attention to how much time it takes to heat a liter or two of water. This fire was no match to his electric kettle back in his apartment. But that was probably why kettles were made anyway.

“So, what do we have?” Mick spoke again. He didn’t seem to like the role of a leader much, but this quest was like no other – without him, the other three would have probably given up by now. “Three packages of cereals, four packs of crackers, three cans of corn which we’re gonna eat right now, a pack of noodles, the Geiger counter, a flashlight, sleeping bags, a pot and four plates and three water bottles.” He sighed. “And not a single medical item. That’s not much. Drummer, how’s your leg?”

“Hurts,” Tommy said honestly. “But like, more in a dull, pulsating way. I can bear it. I can walk even. I won’t make you wait, I promise.” He was nervous, his eyes darting between the other three, checking their reactions. “Just don’t send me back. This quest is so much fun, I don’t wanna miss it.”

“Okay, okay,” Mick raised his hand in a calming gesture. “Nobody was going to leave you behind anyway, right?” His eyes stopped on Nikki, and a frown was sent his way. Nikki huffed and turned away.

“Thanks, guys,” Tommy said with visible relief. “I took one for the team to find this amazing place, after all.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a hero,” Nikki reassured him distractedly. He was getting cold: he could feel how icy the floor was even through the fabric of the sleeping bag. “D’ya wanna light up the fire a little bit? It’s freezing here.”

“You can try, but I tell you, that won’t be enough,” Mick shook his head. He was sitting hugging himself on the sleeping bag, his feet propped up right against the stove for more warmth. “These boxes don’t burn hot enough. We’re gonna need coal or lighter fluid. Which we don’t have.”

“Sucks,” Vince murmured, for the first time in a while. That was strange – he was usually the most talkative one of the bunch, challenged only by Tommy.

Nikki leaned in to him, examining his face anxiously. Vince looked at him tiredly from under his eyelashes, but didn’t move back. His lips were of sickly bluish color, his fingers grappling the folds of his jacket, fruitlessly squeezing them together, unnaturally white.

“Are you alright?” Nikki whispered to him. Vince jerked his head towards him, a sarcastic retort ready to drop from his lips – but then, a tired sigh replaced it.

“Is that really so noticeable?” he whispered back. “I mean, you guys don’t seem to be bothered by it much. But Nikki, man, I’m gonna turn into an ice statue soon. I can’t feel my toes already.”

“Shit,” Nikki ran his gaze across the room again, hoping to find something, anything that could help. But, apart from the trash in the corners, discovered nothing new.

“Get in the sleeping bag,” he said finally. “At least put your feet in it. And take my jacket. Corn’s gonna be done soon, a nice hot meal will warm you up. And we’ll put together some kind of tea after that-”

“Hey, chill, man,” Vince smiled slightly. Nikki felt the tips of his ears warm up. “I ain’t taking your jacket, I don’t want you to freeze to death. Just… I dunno. My hands are so cold…”

“Here,” Nikki moved so close to him their knees bumped together, gently wrapped his hands over Vince’s wrists and guided his hands under his jacket, where his body warmth collected. They felt like ice chunks even through his t-shirt. Vince sighed with pleasure and closed his eyes. Nikki caught Tommy chuckle quietly and made a scary face towards him. Tommy raised his hands in pretended surrender.

Everything was okay. Everything was going to be okay.

The corn was consumed in tired silence. Thanks to the potbelly stove, the room did warm up slightly after a while, and a meal after a long day of walking made them all drowsy. By the rules, they should have left a guard up, but none of them dared to suggest it, afraid of being the one picked to watch. And what could get them in a basement of a destroyed building in the middle of a desert?

A lot, it turned out later, but that night they slept soundly, still happy in their ignorance.

[anxiousstark]

I’ve Been Waiting For You | Mitch Rapp

Warnings: PTSD and mentions of past trauma. Nothing hard to be honest.

Word Count: 1206

All Rights Reserved. The author, me, don’t allow any type of copy or adaption.

BIG MASTERLIST | TW REWRITE | MIATCHEMBER  | KO-FI

Mitch took shallow breaths as his fingers were interlocked with yours, clutching your hand tightly. You wanted to whine, his strength being surreal for you. But you held yourself, knowing all the intrusive thoughts that were strangling him.

"Mitch," Your soft voice was a mere whisper, but he had heard you, squeezing your hand to let you know that he needed a couple of minutes to calm down. "We don't have to take every step today." Your thumb rubbed the back of his hand. "We already stepped on the sand! And bare feet!" You couldn't see his beautiful eyes as his eyelids were tightly pressed against each other. "We can come back whenever you feel ready and take another step."

Mitch wanted to cry, feeling so loved in that terrifying moment. Since you met him, he has been working every day to be a better person. "I want to do it now." He opened his eyes, shifting his gaze to you.

"Baby," Your free hand went to his right cheek, softly caressing it, giving him even more comfort. "You are shaking. I don't want you to get sick." You pouted out of frustration. If Mitch Rapp had had a simple past, he wouldn't be so traumatized, wounded, and terrified. He always tried to hide his fear, but you knew better, knowing every sign that would let you know that he was having a hard time.

"I promise that if it gets worse, I will tell you." His free hand came up to your view, showing his pinky finger. You used to have that habit since you were a small child, and some people thought that you were too childish to ask for a promise to be sealed. Mitch did think you were fucking nuts and a strange woman the first time you asked for a pinky promise. But now, he was always asking for it, knowing that pinky promises were unbreakable for you.

You interlocked your pinky with his. "Alright." You offered him a smile, which disappeared quickly as he rapidly moved your body behind his when he heard some screams coming closer to where you guys were. "Mitch, baby. Look at me." When his nervous glance stared deep into your eyes, you placed your hand on his chest, a warning assuring him that he had to take deep breathes and relax. "They were just kids."

When Mitch's breath slowed down, he peered back, seeing four kids running around with water guns, laughing and giggling like crazy. If only he could enjoy the beach as much as they did. But even the slightest sound made him suffocate, thinking that he would lose the love of his life, again.

Your fiance nodded his head. You led him to a not-too-crowded space on the sand, placing your towels and bags there. Both of you sat on a big black towel, bodies squeezed together even though there was enough space. Your eyes were focused on him while he glanced around, observing how everyone was thrilled to be on the beach. He was able to distract himself, as he noticed that it was a wonderful day. The sun was shining at the right amount. The sand wasn't burning, and there was a dainty breeze that dried his sweat.

"Want to eat something?" He nodded his head, his gaze snapping to you. He watched as you sought inside the backpack, taking out some sandwiches and conserved fruit you had cut a couple of minutes ago before coming to the beach. You also took out two water bottles, handing one to him. "It's that lemon water you like." You offered him a grin.

A similar grin appeared on his mouth, and before you could take a bite of your sandwich, he leaned over, kissing you as hard as possible, which surprised you. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mitch Rapp." You pecked his lips, flustered.

"Wait until your dad knows that I'm on the beach." He chuckled, taking a bite of his sandwich and a big gulp of his lemon water. "He isn't going to believe it." He moved around, grabbing the bag from between your legs and searching for his phone. As soon as it was on his hand, his right arm placed itself on your shoulders. He took a photo of both of you. "Just in case he doesn't believe me."

It was true. He took the picture in case Stan wouldn't believe him. But Mitch had a little secret, something he was keeping from you. You would get to know that secret on your wedding, but Mitch Rapp was taking pictures of everything that terrified him or gave him negative feelings. Because in every one of those pictures he was with you, feeling safe and robust enough to fight two bears with his bare hands.

He smirked at the picture, putting his phone back into the backpack so he could try to enjoy his surroundings and to keep the phone from getting sand all over it. "Okay, I'm ready." He swallowed, glancing at you again. Your confused expression made him continue. "Water," He glimpsed back toward the sea. "I want to get into the water."

"Y-You sure?" He nodded his head, standing up and helping you do the same. His somewhat shaking hands grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. You tried not to drool at the sight of his glorious body, but it didn't work as he grabbed your jaw and neck, biting your lower lip. Flushing, you took off your light dress, revealing your swimwear. Mitch's jaw hung wide open, and he winked while whistling, making you fluster even more. "Stop." You giggled.

The tension came back as you both started walking to the water, stopping just before the water would graze his feet. "Okay, okay." He mumbled to himself, closing his eyes and stepping forward. His hand was tightly squeezing yours again.

"Mitch," He heard your voice, but it seemed so far. However, you were even closer than before. "Mitch!" Your tone sounded excited, and you clutched his hand even harder so he would open his eyes.

Slowly letting his eyelids open, he noticed his surroundings. You both were farther from the people back at the sand. And as he looked down, the water was up to his waist. His mouth was agape. He thought it would feel worse, that the water would come up as fast as possible, drowning him and making him remember all those horrible memories he was trying to push to the back of his head. "I-I did it?"

"Yes! Mitch you did!" You tried to jump from excitement, but the water made it a little challenging. "You fucking did it, baby!" You let his hand go to hold his face. Not a second thought before your lips were tightly pressed against each other.

"I did it!" His arms wrapped around your wait, swirling you the best he could. "Oh my god, I did it!" He was laughing so loud. "Baby, thank you so much." His lips touched every part of your face, and on the privates of your home, they would travel to other places, showing you how grateful and lucky he was to have you.

.

.

Taglist: @og-baby-ob14​ - @siwiecola - @linkpk88​ -

People in bold means I can’t tag them.

[dreamii-yume]

Not a request! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡  Just Yume trying to dive into darker topics and kinks, that’s all lol Just a heads up in case the whole concept becomes a little too uncomfortable~  (b ᵔ▽ᵔ)b

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

Lilia had been watching over his Darling for a very longtime, from beginning and all the way until the end. He had seen both her tears and her smiles, heard every cries and laughter, everything. He was with her throughout the thick and thins of her life. Yet, his Darling had always been a bar that he could never seem to reach no matter how high he could jump. She wouldn't let him, the world wouldn't let him, even a part of himself is preventing him from doing so.

He's sick of it all.

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

It happened in the darkest of the night, in the middle of nowhere, in a no-named town.

Lilia stood high at the top of a bell tower as his menacing red eyes looked down on the chaos that was erupting before him. A gentle breeze blew on his hair so peacefully in contrast of the horrors that was happening from beneath. A mischievous smirk forms on his lips as he watched the flames engulf the houses of the unfortunate villagers, all running for their lives. Green flames roared intensely with no sign of stopping, destroying everything in its way. Bodies soon laying down on the ground one by one, quickly losing what little strength they have left either from a severe injury or the flames that caught up to them.

It was a heart-breaking sight, truly. Lucky for our protagonist though, it takes a lot more than disruption of harmony to break his heart.

Satisfied with view he got, the ancient fae jumped down from the tower, only to land ever so gracefully on the ground, his cloth having not a single wrinkle in them. Lilia looked around, the nonchalant smirk remaining on his face as his eyes observed every single thing around him. He found the green flames swallowing the poor humans' home pretty, like a sight of a bonfire in a camping trip. He walked around without the slightest bit of concern for the screams of anguish the people around him was letting out. Lilia even had the nerve to skip ever so cheerfully, humming as if he was walking around in wonderland.

Until, his sharp ears had heard it. A different kind of sound, buried deep within the terror around him.

Lilia stopped to look around, eventually following where he thinks the sound was coming from. It was quite the walk, he had to go through the corners of many burning houses with all its twists and turns, not to mention avoiding any flaming debris coming down at him. He couldn't really fathom it himself why exactly he was following this sound even after realizing what it could be. Perhaps it was the boredom finally getting to him that a single cry was enough to make him this curious? Even if he knew that he was risking the possibility of disappointment in the end, Lilia always thought of how it wouldn't hurt to try.

Finally, he reached a place far back from the center of the town, a cute little isolated house that was also unfortunately destroyed by the green flames. It had become quite the ruin, deteriorating far quicker than the other houses in the town, sparks of flames still remained to decorate the edges. Lilia approached the wreck of a house, finally coming into terms with a large of debris standing in his way. There was no doubt about it, this was where the sound of an adorable blabbing nonsense was coming from, or rather, underneath this material. With almost no effort at all, Lilia lifted up the debris like that of a window shutter and the price revealing itself to him.

Lilia blinked. It was just what he thought it would be.

A baby tucked neatly in a basket, covered ever so lovingly with a warm blanket. The creature sucked their own thumb as they stared at him curiously with big doe eyes.

Unlike other children in this size he's seen before though, this one smiled innocently upon seeing him, blissfully ignorant of their current situation and their once called home. They laughed, an adorable squeal coming out of them as they must've thought that Lilia was the seeker of a game of hide and seek. The fae was actually astonished on what kind of miracle had befallen on this one human baby to be able to survive such catastrophe. What incredible luck, the universe must've really wanted this poor child to keep on living, even if it's just for a few more minutes. Lilia couldn't help but to return to his usual, laid-back smile as he placed his free hand on his hips, careful to keep the heavy concrete from falling onto the baby.

At least he wasn't disappointed.

"It's unfortunate, isn't it? For us to have met like this." Lilia said, even if he knew that children at this age wouldn't understand any words he'll say. Finally, his hand grew tired of the debris' weight and eventually just threw it in the other direction. The tremors of it falling on the ground reached the child, causing them to laugh once more. Lilia stepped forward and crouched down to have a closer look at the baby who was reaching out for him with their cute, little hands. He chuckled and let them hold one of his fingers as some sort of entertainment.

The baby was very cute, with large (E/C) eyes staring back at him and plum rosy cheeks. Lilia also had come to the realization that the child was most likely a female considering how she was wearing such a cute, puffy dress and headband around her head. Her hair was already a bit longer, giving Lilia the conclusion that she must be at least close to a year old by now. Lilia also paid attention her little basket, it serves as her bed as a few toys were just laying around. Finally, Lilia noticed words written in the hem of her blanket, most notably, her name.

" '(Y/N)', huh..." Lilia read, looking back at the child, who actually responded well at the sound of her given name. He chuckled and brushed his hand on her puffy cheeks. "That's a wonderful name."

Suddenly, Lilia's ears perked as heavy footsteps were heard behind him but the fae did nothing but continue on playing with the giggling child. He didn't need to turn around to know whose presence was looming over him. "Malleus." Lilia called, closing his eyes as he unfortunately has to pull away his hand from the baby, earning a disappointed gurgle. He stood up from his spot before turning around and sure enough, it was the same horned fae that he expected it to be. "Have you had your fun? Are you ready to head back home?"

Malleus silently crossed his arms, not saying anything but his body language was enough for Lilia to understand his response. He then turned his attention towards the cradle of sunshine that his supervisor was so focused on. "A human child...?" Malleus exclaimed, blinking as he raised an eyebrow at the older fae. "Don't tell me that you're going to bring home another one?"

"Well...What can I say?" Lilia shrugged as he gently carried the baby in his arms, removing her from the basket. He smiled widely, his fangs shining under the moonlight as he joyfully spun the child. Lilia looked at Malleus with a cunning look in his eyes, something that the horned fellow had to sigh at. He brought the child close to his face, nuzzling in her warmth before giving her a slight tickle in the tummy, making the child laugh whole heartedly. "You know how much of a soft spot I have for children."

Lilia then brought the child close to Malleus, as if he was flaunting her to him. "See how adorable she is~? I found her under the rubble here and isn't it a mystery on how she survived this long?" He said, excitedly as the child matched his enthusiasm. Malleus merely grunted at his supervisor's behavior, watching him play with the kid in his arms. "I've always wanted to know how it's like to raise a girl, you know~? Like my very own little princess~!

"Besides, wouldn't Silver be delighted to have a sibling this cute?" Lilia said, listening to the child's gentle laughter, like that of bells ringing. "I personally think it'll be fantastic."

Lilia stared brightly at the child, like an angel given to him by God himself. She was certainly worth keeping, worth raising.

A child desperately spared by the universe, only to befall in the hands of someone like him.

No one was quite sure whether it was a blessing or a curse.

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

Lilia raised you in a strange but ever-loving manner.

You were placed in a castle so grand, deep within the Valley of Thorns. You were protected, cherished, and loved by not only Lilia, but Malleus and Silver as well. Malleus soon grew fond of you like how Lilia had been the first time and had found himself unable to refuse your invitation to play with him. Silver had treated you like how a brother would, much like what Lilia instructed him to do so. You had no one to fill up the mother role in your very circle but when you already have three eccentric members in your family, what more could you ask for?

Lilia admits that he may have spoiled you a little more than he did with Silver. He would give you anything you would ask him for, even things that you never explicitly asked him about but still somehow, he knew you wanted. It was a bad habit he got from parenting you, but he couldn't help himself especially whenever you would give him those irresistible pleading eyes of yours. To his surprise however, you grew up just fine, you didn't hold any spoiled traits that he was dreading to see. You grew up wonderfully, having remembered all the kind manners and respect that Lilia had specifically engraved in your brain.

Lilia couldn't have been prouder.

"Me and Silver played Knights today! He was so cool! Swinging his sword with a swish and then, bam!" Your little mouth that had just learned how to talk, babbles on and on while making exaggerated hand movements. You were all tucked in your bed, completely dressed in your pajamas with Lilia beside you. He rests his cheeks on the palms of his hand, chuckling at your story. "You should come play with us too, Father! Malleus-sama said he would play as the dragon next time!"

It was already past your bed time but thankfully, Lilia wasn't that kind of overbearing parent that makes a fuss just because they're children aren't sleeping at the right time. Truth to be told, he loved the nights where he got to talk with you like this, hearing stories from you when he was away. "Oh my, that Malleus said that? How controversial~!" Lilia gasped, putting on a fake surprised expression just to entertain you. When he heard you giggled, that's when he returned to his usual, laid-back smile. "I'll come by when I get the chance, alright~? I'll make sure to be the knight who saves you, Princess~"

You giggled once again when Lilia playfully tapped your little nose. "Eh~? But Silver's already playing the knight! Father can't take over his role, silly~!" You said. "Father is better off just playing as Father!"

Lilia puffed his cheeks. "So you prefer Silver being your Knight over me~? How mean, I'm hurt~!" He faked a cry with no visible tears but still enough to pull on your heartstrings. "Did Silver finally became the replacement to the number one spot in my little Princess' heart, I wonder?"

Blinking, you quickly sat up and frantically shook your head in panic. "That's not true! Father is still number one in my heart!" You declared, eyes sparkling in innocence as you laid your head onto him, giving him a big hug. "Silver's a great knight, very cool and amazing, but that doesn't mean he can replace Father!

"I still love Father the most~!"

Lilia couldn't help but smile, feeling genuine warmth in his chest as he stared lovingly at your innocent self. He stroked your hair before leaning down and hugging your small frame in return. You grinned, prompting him to give you a light peck on the forehead, a symbol of deep love between father and daughter.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

This was your daily life. Comfortable, sweet, and wholesome, being well-taken care off by Lilia himself. You and Lilia built your relationship together as family until it grew so strong that things like being unrelated by blood does not matter anymore. He was your beloved father and you were his precious treasure, a jewel hidden away from the public's eye. You thought of how lucky you are, how your relation to one another would forever bloom as that of a parent and a child.

Lilia thought of the same thing as well.

…Until he, the wise ancient fae, who lived for who-knows how long, had made a grave mistake.

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Continue the spice~?

I hate how unnecessarily long this got...It probably got boring right at the end so, I’m very regretful about that.  <(￣ ﹌ ￣)> I didn’t know how to save it aaa- This drained me all of my creative energy way too much lol I’m currently working on three Sinfics at once and the next one is requested so, don’t worry~!  (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

[annabethy]

under the mistletoe, watching the fire glow: day 5

Character A and Character B are co-workers, but they barely know each other. But they both have to work through the holidays,, percabeth

Annabeth finds herself staring out the window in front of her desk instead of doing any actual work. She’s been trying to pay attention to the glowing computer in front of her, but she’s accepted the fact that it’s not going to be happening tonight.

She’s too entranced by the snow that is falling outside. It’s a magical sight on Christmas Eve, with the colorful lights of Central Park that she can see from out the window, and the families moving around together. She’s always loved living in the city, but days like this make her fall in love with it all over again.

Her attention is brought back to inside the building as someone coughs. It brings her mood back down as she is reminded that she’s stuck here on the one night that she wants to be home. She didn’t have to work, but she was already struggling to get by and really needed the money.

She sighs, looking back at her computer. She’s not entirely sure what report she’s writing up, but she supposes she has all night to figure it out, and–

Someone coughs again, much more insistent, and she stiffens. The last thing she needs is to get sick, but the coughing persists from right behind her.

She turns in her chair slowly, eyes seeking out them out. She finds a guy she recognizes staring at her from the desk behind her, and she blinks. “Do you need something?”

His mouth drops slightly. “Uh– no.”

With that, she tries to turn back around, but then he seems to choke on his own air.

“What?”

He searches for words, but then all he can come up with is, “I’m bored.” “I’m sorry?” Annabeth is only slightly annoyed, but she is much more amused now because he’s looking at her pleadingly, but she doesn’t have the slightest clue as to what he’s asking her.

“I really don’t want to work anymore,” he says. His green eyes seem to stare into her soul, and it reminds her of the lights right outside the window in front of her. She is tempted to look back outside, to see if his eyes were brighter than the lights, but she restrains. “I get that,” she says, “but I don’t see what you want me to do.”

“Come steal snacks from the break room with me.”

“And get fired? No thanks.”

“There’s like five people here, and none of them care.”

“Do you even know me?”

He shrugs. “I know you’re least likely to kill me out of everyone here. They all have, like, kids and families so they won’t have fun. But it’s Christmas! Do you know what that means?”

“No.”

“It means we have to drink all the eggnog and get drunk, so come on.”

He doesn’t leave her much time to consider it before he’s hopping out of his chair and walking down the quiet corridors. Annabeth is smart enough to know that it’s probably not the smartest idea to get drunk at work, but if she doesn’t get caught, then she’s fine. And if she does get caught, it means she can quit this job that causes her physical pain. There’s no losing, she figures, so she gets out of her own chair, lightly chasing after him.

She catches up as he’s rounding a corner, and she looks around at the empty desks, one or two with people looking as miserable as she’s sure she looked. It’s kind of creepy working so late because the lights are all off, the only things glowing being people’s computers. It all has an eerie vibe to it, and if she wasn’t with this person she still doesn’t know the name of, she would not be caught dead walking around by herself.

He leads her into a breakroom on another floor, flicking the lights on. She blinks as her pupils adjust, and then she’s standing there as he goes to pull something out of the fridge.

He holds it up above his head like he is about to sacrifice it to the gods. “Eggnog!”

She just nods slowly. “You brought alcohol to work.”

“It’s not possible to do this job without being wasted,” he says.

“I do.”

“I’m sure your life is miserable.”

Well, he isn’t wrong.

He begins to pour the drink into two separate paper cups that she’s sure the company picked up from the dollar store. As he hands it to her, she has to say she doesn’t think she’s ever seen people drink out of paper cups. And as she sits onto the couch beside him that is pushed up against the wall, she is reminded that she still doesn’t know his name.

She takes a deep gulp of the eggnog. “What even is your name?”

“I’m not sure I should tell you. You might tell the boss I get drunk at work.”

She rolls her eyes.

“I’m Percy. Please don’t report me.”

“I’m Annabeth. I’m going to report you.”

Percy just gives her a lopsided smile, like he can sense the lie. “Seeing as you’re going to get drunk with me, I think I can report you back.”

“Hm.”

They fall into a silence just long enough for it to become awkward. While she doesn’t hate him, she still doesn’t know him either, and there is not anything she can think to say in this moment. Instead of speaking, she takes this time to look at him. His eyes are trained on something in the distance, so she gets to take in his face, his hair, his torso without judgement. She finds that she quite likes what meets her eyes.

“So,” Percy starts, turning his attention back to her. She quickly averts her eyes. She doesn’t know if he caught her staring, but he doesn’t say anything if he did. “How’s life?”

She snorts, taking another sip. “Not great.” “That’s simply not an acceptable answer. It’s Christmas, so life must be spectacular.”

“You caught me. I’m just faking my awful life. I’m secretly rich and am only speaking to a peasant like you to blend in.”

He touches over his heart. “How sweet.”

“Unlike this eggnog,” she says, lifting it to her nose like she was an eggnog connoisseur. “What did you put in this?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest. I just put enough of every drink ever so that when you blackout, you see God.”

“Oh.” She shrugs, gulping down the rest. “Sounds good.”

Percy smiles, and she suddenly feels the rush of heat down her back. She isn’t sure if it’s from the alcohol taking quick effect or something else. She holds out the cup for a refill and brings it back to her lips.

“Careful,” he says, “Drink too much and it really will knock you right out.”

“At least you’re here with me to get caught by D in the morning.”

“Serious question. Do we know what D stands for?”

“Dick?” she offers.

“Yes.”

Annabeth shakes her head fondly as she kicks off her shoes so that she can curl her socked feet underneath her. Despite the heat that has been trickling down her spine each time he gives her a look, the building is actually really cold. She shivers slightly, and Percy frowns.

“Are you cold?”

“Only a tiny bit,” she lies.

Percy sets down his drink like it was his prized possession before he pulls his sweater over his head. He doesn’t even give her time to protest before he’s chucking it at her.

“This is your jacket,” she says, tossing it back.

“I’m not cold,” he says, shoving it back to her.

“You’re seriously going to let a stranger wear your jacket?”

“We’re hardly strangers now, Annabeth. We’re best friends.”

“Oh, wow. That’s a big jump.”

“Yes, well, we’re drinking eggnog on Christmas together, so.” With that, Percy pouts his lower lip. “Please put it on?”

He looks so cute like that that she can’t resist. She gives Percy her drink to hold as she wrestles it on, and she nearly sighs in its warmth. She can still feel the body heat from Percy, and it’s surprisingly not as weird as she would’ve thought. It smells really good too, reminding her of the breeze at a beach, of a stormy night, and now, of him.

“Better?” he asks smugly.

She pulls the sleeves to over her fingers. “Shut up.”

“So, Annabeth, tell me about yourself.” He nudges her knee with his foot. “Why are you working overnight on Christmas?”

She shrugs. “Needed the money.”

“No one to go home to?”

“Other than family I’d rather not see? No.”

He gives her a sympathetic glance. “No one special?”

“You mean an extraordinarily sexy, funny, smart husband?” She laughs incredulously. “Absolutely not.”

“Today’s your lucky day! I know just the person for you. They check off all of those qualities.”

“Who?” she asks, disbelieving. “Me!”

She blows a raspberry in his face.

“Okay, I have to admit I’m not the smartest person out there, but I do think I’m not totally ugly.”

He’s not totally ugly. Quite the opposite, in Annabeth’s opinion. She’d never tell him that though.

“Worst comes to worst, you can always marry me.”

“What? You don’t think I can be one of those Hallmark characters who find the love of their life on Christmas?”

“Newsflash baby, we are those Hallmark characters. Meeting on Christmas Eve, working until Christmas day? Love story if I’ve ever seen one.”

She looks at him skeptically.

“Fine,” he says. “Let’s make one of those pacts. If we’re both still single by, I don’t know, midnight? Then we marry each other.”

She looks at the clock on her phone. “You’re giving me one hour to find the love of my life before I’m forced to resort to you?”

“Yes. That’s plenty of time.”

“Sure,” she says, laughing.

“I mean, you’re already wearing my sweater. If that doesn’t make you wife material, I don’t know what does. Besides, it wouldn’t be terrible to marry me. I know you like my body.”

The looks he’s giving her lets her know that he did see her staring at him earlier. She smacks his arm. “You asshole.”

“What?” he says defensively, rubbing his forearm.

“Why didn’t you say anything!?”

“It didn’t bother me! Besides, I think you’re, like, really attractive too!”

She leans back. “So that’s why you want to marry me in an hour? So no one swoops in and steals the love of your life?”

“Precisely.”

Annabeth quickly learns she likes talking to Percy. He’s so easy to get along with, and he’s constantly getting her to laugh so hard she can’t breathe. He’s also really sweet and selfless, and he looks amazing in the midnight haze, and as they slowly both get closer and closer to being totally wasted, it just gets better.

She has no idea how she never knew his name before now because they’re practically best friends already. She feels like she’s known him her entire life. It’s so natural and perfect, the tense feeling long gone.

At some point, Percy falls over her, squishing her into the cushions of the couch. Her drink falls somewhere out of her hand, but that’s okay because she’s already half a bottle deep, and she’d much rather hold him in her arms anyways. Her fingers trace over the lean muscles of his back as he dies of laughter in the crook of her neck. She also quickly learns that Percy’ love language is touch, especially when he’s drunk. He’s an affectionate person, which is good because he balances her out perfectly.

Percy’s weight drops completely as he gives up on holding himself up. She isn’t sure how long they spend like that, sprawled out on top of one another, but she doesn’t care. This is a carefully constructed Christmas feeling she is too scared to destroy.

At some point though, she looks down to check the time on her phone.

11:59

She pokes Percy in the neck to get him to stop chucking into the cushions, and she waits until the clock strikes twelve. When it does, she’s lacing her fingers in his hair so she can pull him up to look her in the eyes.

“Hey, pretty boy,” she giggles, “It’s twelve.”

“Merry Christmas!” he yells a bit too loudly.

She’s laughing so hard that it comes out silent, and she can’t breathe. “No!”

“Oh! You mean the whole marriage thing?”

“Yes, silly,” she says.

Percy’s head drops back to the couch cushions. “So did you find the love of your life, or do you have to settle for me?”

“I think I may have found the love of my life,” she says.

Percy whines into the couch miserably.

“I’d hardly call it settling, though,” is what she says, and Percy’s head suddenly jumps back to meet her eyes.

Percy’s eyes flicker down to her lips, and she wants it so badly. She doesn’t care that they just met because this one hour with him has been better than the past twenty years of her life spent with anyone else.

So she whispers, “You may now kiss the bride,” and Percy takes her breath away.

[aomine-ryo]

Umm, scenario again please!! So tatsuya isn't that good with directions and he has a fem s/o who isn't good with directions, too. So, like prompt is: what happens if the class has a field trip/camping and both get lost, etc. Thank you again ahhh ❤️

Scenario: Getting lost at a camping trip with Himuro

Every year, your school hosts a camping trip for the second years to help them develop survival skills like map reading, first aid and decision-making amongst other things. Whilst this was the premise for the trip, most of the students just saw it as a fun outing rather than a learning experience and you weren’t any different; you were just excited to spend time with your friends and Himuro.

So there you were, at the campsite fumbling with the tent after the long hike you took to get there. The teachers made you split into groups during the drive to the start point and you had to work together to get to the site, using a compass and a map. Thankfully, you had a few smart people on your group that were good with maps so you didn’t have to do much but follow them.

Once everyone had finally arrived at the site and had their tents pitched up, the teachers said that you were free to do as you please as long as you didn’t go too far.

“Hey Y/N, I saw a lake on the way here that looked really cool. I don’t think it’s too far, do you want to go there together?” Himuro asked you while you were finishing up with putting your things in the tent.

“That sounds lovely,” you smiled at your boyfriend. “Are you sure you know where it is though?”

“Yeah, it’s just down that way I think. I’ve got my map and compass just in case,” he said, waving the folded piece of paper in the air.

“Alright then, let’s go,” you said, shoving your phone in your pocket and walking off into the woods with him.

“So how was the hike up here?” Himuro asked you.

“It was kinda fun actually. I still don’t understand how to read that damn map though so I’m counting on you.”

“Fair enough. It’s kinda difficult to understand,” Himuro agreed.

After a few minutes of walking, you finally reached a clearing that led to the lake. “Woah, it’s gorgeous,” you said breathlessly as you looked out at the water that twinkled under the orange and pink skies.

Both of you stood there mesmerised for a few moments in silence as you took in the view in front of you. The light breeze formed small waves in the turquoise waters before caressing your face and brushing through your hair. You didn’t realise how captivated you were with the sight until you felt Himuro’s fingers smoothly intertwine with yours. You flashed him a soft smile before squeezing his hand as a way of showing your gratitude.

“I knew you’d like it,” he smiled as his raven hair danced in the breeze.

“Are you kidding me? I love it! Thanks for bringing me here,” you said, looking into his dark eyes.

“Well it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t bring a pretty girl to a pretty place, you know?” he chuckled as your cheeks began to heat up and your grin grew dorkier.

“Shut up,” you laughed out of embarrassment as you looked away.

Himuro’s other hand reached for your face and tilted your chin up so that you were looking at him once again. At that very moment, the most beautiful thing was not the lake you stood in front of, nor was it the colourful skies; it was the way your boyfriend looked at you ever so lovingly before softly pressing his lips against yours.

The two of you hung out at the lake for some time before finally deciding to leave before the sun set and it got too dark to see. You began walking in the direction you came from, not really paying too much attention to where you were going because you assumed Himuro just remembered the way back without needing to refer to the map. But after about ten minutes of walking, he stopped in his tracks and pulled the paper out again, looking at it with a contorted expression.

“What’s wrong?” You asked him.

“We’ve been walking for quite a while. We should’ve gotten back by now, don’t you think?”

“I guess so? I wasn’t paying too much attention though. Do you think we took a wrong turn somewhere?” you replied, looking around to see if anything familiar caught your eye, but to no avail as everything just looked the same.

“Let’s just head that way and see where it leads, because I think if we keep going straight we’d end up further away,” Himuro suggested as he pointed to the right.

“Yeah that sounds smart,” you nodded as both of you proceeded to change directions.

Little did you know, that if you just kept walking for about two minutes more, you probably would’ve found a sign pointing to the campsite.

Eventually, it got too dark, so you had to switch on your phone’s flashlight to navigate your way around. “Tatsuya, are we lost?” You asked, your grip on his hand getting tighter.

“I don’t know,” he said, though he was quite sure it was the case. He just wanted to prevent you from getting too worked up by trying to remain somewhat positive.

“Should we try getting back to the lake and trying again?” you suggested.

You both turned around to see if going back was even an option. “Which way would the lake be exactly?” Himuro questioned, looking out into the darkness.

“Now what? Do we just die here?” you said, trying to remain calm though the shakiness in your voice said otherwise.

Himuro let out a small chuckle, bringing you the slightest bit of comfort as he gave your hand a reassuring squeeze. “We won’t die here, Y/N— I know that much at least,” he said before pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Do you have any signal on your phone?”

You looked at your screen to check. “Nope.”

“Okay, I did tell Atsushi before we left so hopefully someone’s looking for us. In the meantime, let’s just walk around to find some signal so we can make a call. How does that sound?”

“Yeah okay, let’s do that,” you nodded before the two of you continued to walk around.

After aimlessly walking for a while and not finding any signal nor the campsite, your hopelessness and fear began to kick in.

“Tatsuya, I’m scared. It’s really dark. What if we don’t make it back?”

“Hey, don’t say that. We’ll make it back, just hold on a bit, okay?” he said, his soft, calm voice never losing its composure.

“We’ve been walking around forever. I don’t think any longer is going to make a difference,” you said as tears began to well up in your eyes. Your feet were aching, you were hungry and your phone’s battery was going to die at any moment because the flashlight drained most of it— it only made sense that you’d have an emotional breakdown right about now.

“Well I don’t see what else we can do other than walk around though,” Himuro said.

He did have a point. But you really wished that it wasn’t true. You were sick of walking around like this. It didn’t help that you hated the dark too. So you just began to cry, taking Himuro by surprise.

He immediately wrapped his arms around you and hugged you tight, combing his fingers through your hair because he knew you liked it when he did that. “Hey, come on, don’t cry. We’ll be okay. I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

There was a moment of silence as you cried into his shoulder. “So, if we run into a bear, you’re going to fight it or something?” you said sarcastically through the tears.

“Exactly. I’d totally win in a fight against a bear,” Himuro joked, making you chuckle as the tears slowly began to stop.

In all honesty, Himuro was also losing his hope on making it back, but he didn’t want to bring it up. He figured that it would just be chaos if both of you were like that, so he decided to take the more optimistic role. In a way, pretending to be hopeful did create some actual positivity within him so it wasn’t all that bad.

Himuro finally pulled away from the hug and placed a soft kiss on your forehead. “You’re strong. We’ll get through this together. I’m sorry for getting us lost in the first place though,” he said.

“It’s alright. It’s not like I would’ve done a better job anyways,” you replied with a small smile.

Himuro decided to check his phone again and he was quickly greeted by something that made his face light up. “Y/N! I have signal!”

“No way! So we’re not gonna die?”

“Exactly. I told you!” Himuro beamed.

Himuro’s first call was to Murasakibara, who seemed to have not notified anyone about your whereabouts because he’d simply forgotten that Himuro had headed off to the lake. He did end up telling the teachers that you two were lost and after about ten minutes of searching, you finally managed to be found not too far away from the campsite.

Of course, both of you did end up having to endure a stern talking to from your teachers, but it didn’t really matter to you because you were just glad that you made it back. And to be honest, if Himuro wasn’t there by your side like he was, you definitely would’ve lost your mind.