#staycation inside a vacation

[just-jordie-things]

california - nanami kento

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ 10k follower event special! ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

word count: 10k warnings: swearing, jjkverse trauma summary: nanami kento left jujutsu society behind years ago. (y/n) spent that time moving on, thinking she'd never see him again. then she stumbles across a letter that suggests otherwise... more info: slowburn friends to seperation to lovers, reader is annoyingly angsty being seperated from nanami tbh but who wouldn't be ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

[ i shouldn’t have done it but i read it in your letter // you said to a friend that you wished you were doing better //  i wanted to reach out but i never said a thing ]

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On her good days, (y/n) didn’t think about her time as a student at Jujutsu Tech.  She was able to complete her assignments, help train a few of Gojo’s students, and complete her paperwork at a decent time, all before leaving for the day at a semi-decent time.

On her good nights she’d have a glass of wine after a simple dinner, take her time with her skincare routine before bed, and fall into a dreamless sleep, until her alarm inevitably woke her up to start it all over again.

A good day came once in a blue moon- and after a google search one night after a couple extra glasses of wine, she thinks a good day might rival the frequency of a blue moon.

Every task of every day seemed to go by in a hazy blur, and if you were to sit down and ask her how her day was, she’d struggle to answer the specifics of the question.

“Fine,” She shrugs back at Ieiri Shoko when she asks her one afternoon.  “Yours?” 

“You don’t look fine,” Shoko dodges the redirected question with her candid response.  “You look like you haven’t slept in ages” 

She’s not wrong, and (y/n) knows she doesn’t look great.  Getting an average of four hours of sleep each night, on top of having a highly physically demanding job, the body could only handle so much.  The bags under her eyes had bags, and since losing her only tube of chapstick, she hadn’t found the time to stop into the convenience store and pick up another one.

“That’s why you’re the doctor” (y/n) mumbled back.

She hadn’t sought out Shoko’s company, but she was the only one of her colleagues that she didn’t actively push away.  Even if the smoke from her cigarette made her the tiniest nauseous after quitting the habit years ago.  She was different from the others.  Not overbearing, and never too chatty.  If she was held at gunpoint and forced to answer, (y/n) would tell you that Shoko was the closest thing to a friend that she had.

Only at gunpoint, though.

“You ever thought about cashing in some vacation time?” Shoko muses.

She finally turns away from the burnt out sorcerer, leaning back against the outside wall of the infirmary and puffing on her cigarette.  (y/n) had stepped out for some fresh air- which really meant a break from Gojo pestering her while she did her reports- and just so happened to run into the old… friend.

“Nowhere I want to go” She answered lamely.  Shoko fights the urge to roll her eyes.

“Well some downtime would do you good.  Like a staycation, you know?” 

“Don’t think it’s in the cards, Sho,” (y/n) sighed, pushing off the wall and turning to head inside.  “Besides.  There’ll still be curses roaming around, won’t there?” She asks, glancing back at her, only to find the woman frowning.

One thing about Shoko? She didn’t express much.  Since their school days, she’d mastered holding a neutral face, never quite letting anyone know what she was thinking.  Maybe it was just the way she coped with everything.

“There’ll always be curses” Shoko replies before (y/n) could disappear back inside.  

She catches her just as she’s stepping over the threshold, freezing up when she speaks because even with how badly she wants to be done with the conversation, she can’t bring herself to shut Shoko out.  Not completely, anyways.  And not literally.

So she sighs, and doesn’t glance back at her when she forces more words out from between her teeth.

“Then I guess I’ll always be busy”

Shoko doesn’t say anything else before the door’s sliding shut and (y/n’s) gone.

It was the longest conversation they’d had in months.  If you could even call it a conversation.

They used to talk all the time, sneaking out to smoke or crashing in each other’s rooms with a stash of magazines and R-rated movies.  They used to be actual friends.  But that was a lifetime ago and as far as (y/n) was concerned, completely unattainable now.

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“Can’t tonight, got big plans with Shoko,” (y/n) says, popping a piece of strawberry taffy in her mouth.  She’d stolen it from Satoru’s stash just a few hours ago, keeping it safely hidden in her pocket until he was no longer around to catch her savoring it.  “Yaga gave me an assignment first thing in the morning, but we could hang out after?” 

Nanami Kento knows that the candy she was rolling over her tongue didn’t belong to her, and he knows he’ll probably have to lie to his obnoxious upperclassman once the idiot notices a piece has gone missing.  He’s not above lying, but he certainly doesn’t enjoy it.  Especially to the face of the strongest sorcerer.  But when (y/n) produces another parchment wrapped piece from her pocket and passes it off to him, he takes it for the price of that lie.

“Tomorrow works,” Nanami agrees softly, peeling away the wrapper of the green sweet.  “We should probably study for the upcoming exam-” 

“Sweet! Taffy!” 

Another voice interrupts the conversation, and it’s no surprise to see Haibara Yu bounding up to the two of them.  With stars in his eyes and a face splitting grin, neither (y/n) nor Nanami could be annoyed with him for butting in between them with an outstretched hand.

“Sorry, Yu,” (y/n) frowns, holding up the empty wrapper from her piece between her index and middle fingers.  “Fresh out” 

Just as Yu turns to his other friend, Nanami’s already popped the key lime flavored piece into his mouth.  The bright grin on Yu’s face falls into a dramatic frown.

“It’s Gojo’s anyways, go ask him for a piece” Nanami says gruffly, raising his eyebrows in a pointed stare, silently telling his colleague to take the hint and leave them be.

Yu’s obvious in the way he opens his mouth and nods along.  He thinks he’s being smooth when he stammers out an excuse about ‘having to be, uh, somewhere’ before scampering off and giggling into his hand.

“Great, he’s totally gonna tattle on me now” (y/n) groans, but something about the idea of a confrontation with Gojo Satoru himself makes her smirk with excitement.

Nanami recognizes the look and as stupid as it would be to go toe to toe with the Six Eyes user over a few pieces of taffy, his lips twitch in amusement seeing the mischievous look on her face.

“He won’t,” He assures her.  “I’ll just pick some up for him next time I’m in town” 

“No no,” (y/n) shakes her head, smiling softly at him for the gesture.  “No need.  I’ll just snatch more next time,” 

Nanami knows he should be gently prompting her not to steal from their fellow classmates, but he knows that lecturing her will get him nowhere, and he’s not in the interest of making her lose whatever deluded interest in him she’d already taken up.

Deluded, indeed.  Kento has no clue what it was about him that (y/n) had grown so attached to since his enrollment at Jujutsu Tech, but for some reason unknown to him, she sought out his companionship, time and time again.  She often asked to be training partners, and then studying partners, and overtime it morphed into real friendship.  Although he had a habit of suggesting boring activities when she offered him her free time- like right now.

“And we’re not studying.  That’s not fun.  I want to do something fun” (y/n) half-scolds him playfully for the ridiculous idea he always came up with.  It was almost routine at this point.

After his terrible idea, she’d come up with a wildly outlandish one.

“Let’s sneak into a hotel and pretend we’re guests so we can use the pool!” 

To which Kento promptly turned down with a bewildered look on his face.

“Absolutely not” 

And then they could find a compromise between the two, which was always the normal, reasonable option.

“Hang out in the shopping district and not buy anything?” 

It was like clockwork.

With the plan agreed upon, conversation would move on to something else as they’d slowly wander back to the dormitories.  Nanami knew it wasn’t fair to stall when she had plans with Shoko for the night, but she wasn’t exactly rushing the two of them either.  And maybe he was a little deluded himself, thinking maybe she wanted to talk to him for a while longer, just like he did.

By the time they reach the girls’ building, they’re stopped out front, and she’s still going on with a story about the last curse she exorcized and how ugly it was.  It had him laughing, more so than that day Gojo got his ass handed to him by Yaga during training, and the deeply buried selfish part of him hoped she’d keep standing there and talking to him all night.

“So blue, hairless, sticky globs aren’t your type I take it?” He half jokes as she goes on dramatically about the nasty curse that was the cause of her new record for longest shower.  

It’s only a joke, believe him, Kento didn’t know the first thing about flirting.  As far as he was concerned, no one had ever flirted with him before, and he was pretty certain he’d also never partaken in the act.  But there’s a look that flashes across (y/n’s) features that he’s never seen before, something between amusement and what he thinks could be calculation.  Her head tilts at a small angle as a slow smile creeps over her face.

“No, no.  I’m only into the gloomy, blonde, unattainable types,” She tells him boldly.

For a moment he thinks she’s joking back at him, but realization strikes him and all the blood drains out of his face, before rushing back up and heating up his entire neck and face.  (y/n) must notice, because she giggles, and finally turns towards the dorms.

“Shoko’s gonna come snatch me any minute if I keep her waiting like this, so I better go,” 

She’s talking again before he can think of anything to say- or come up with any thought at all, really.  But if it makes things awkward, she doesn’t show it.  In fact, the grin she’s wearing could rival Haibara’s.

“But I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

And Kento could only manage a shaky nod of his head as he watched her go.  He barely even waves back at her when she bids him a good night.

Once inside, (y/n) bolts to Shoko’s room with a bright red face and a girlish eagerness to tell her all about the little interaction.

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On her worst nights, she lays awake on top of her covers, staring at the same peculiar spot on her ceiling that she swears she’ll wipe off in the morning, and more often than not, it takes multiple hours before she falls asleep.

And the sleep is not relaxing.  Her muscles remain tense, hands in fists and knees clutched tight to her chest.  She’s lucky if it’s dreamless.  Otherwise, she’s plagued with the memories of every mistake of her past.  The worst of all of it, is the image of Haibara Yu’s lifeless body in the infirmary.  He’s half covered by one of the shitty, stiff white sheets, and no matter how long she waits with bated breath, he never wakes up.

By the end of the nightmare, Yu’s always dead, and Kento always leaves.

It doesn’t matter if things play out differently than they had in the real memory.  It doesn’t matter if she lets him walk away, or if she begs kicking and screaming for him to stay.  The ending stays the same.

He leaves, and he never comes back.

Some nights he tells her that it’s her own fault, that she wasn’t there to change things.  Some nights he doesn’t even say a word.  (y/n) doesn’t know which is the lesser of two evils, because sometimes, just sometimes, it’s such a comfort to hear his voice again that she could forgive him for the nasty things the image of him would spit at her.

Even when she’d jolt awake with limbs that ache and tears staining her pillowcase, she almost wishes she could go back into the nightmare, just to see him again for a few minutes longer.

On the nights you can’t go back to sleep, she finds herself pulling up the contacts list in her phone and staring at his number.  It might not even be his number anymore, he very well could have changed it in the last ten years.  But it’s a phone number with his name attached nonetheless.  She’s never called it, never texted it, even in her worst states, blackout drunk or breaking down on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night, she’s never made the mistake of reaching out to him.

They had a silent agreement after all.  To never reach out again.  To completely remove themselves from each other’s lives.  To become total strangers.  At least, (y/n) was sure that was what happened between them.  No other explanation ever presented itself, and again, it wasn’t like she could ask. Gojo liked to say people just drift apart, sometimes.  She thinks he’s a liar, and maybe a bit of a coward, but she’s never said it to his face.  Drifting apart happens over time, she thinks.  Drifting apart feels natural, even if it hurts a little bit.  Normal people drift apart after life gets in the way, with work, or maybe kids, or some other roadblock that comes about with life.  

Sorcerers didn’t drift apart.  Or maybe it was that they couldn’t drift apart.  There would always be something that kept them tied together, even if running around somewhere far from one another, it was like they’d always be interconnected.  The society of jujutsu sorcerers was so small, it should be impossible to drift apart.  

There were only two ways to escape it.

The obvious and most frequent cause was death.  It was hardly talked about, and perhaps there was a written code never to address the mortality rate of jujutsu sorcerers, but the numbers didn’t lie.  This life was not for the weak, and certainly not for those who feared what was on the other side of life.

Haibara Yu fell victim to it before he got the chance to graduate, and she kept it to herself, but (y/n) believed his passing to be the beginning of the end.  As much as she hated him for dying, she could forgive him for drifting apart, as Gojo coined it.  She’d forgiven him a long time ago, while knelt over his grave with near-frostbitten hands pressed into the marble stone marking it.  She’d forgiven him between choked out sobs, before pleading for his forgiveness in return.  

Death was a sweet, cruel escape from the lives sorcerers lived.  Sweet to those it claimed, releasing them from the horrors they faced in their everyday lives in the name of doing something for the greater good.  Cruel to the people left behind to mourn them, counting down the days that pass until the same fate would claim them as well.

But perhaps (y/n) was a pessimist in her natural state, always finding the worst in every situation.  She knew this about herself.  The problem lied in the fact that pessimism was just too easy to explain away everything wrong with the world.  

Because if everything wrong in the world had a larger, more complex reasoning than that of it’s simply bad because that’s the way the world works, then how could the work of any amount of people be enough to fix it?

Then there was the other cause for drifting apart.  And perhaps this reason is why Gojo deflected with his choice of wording, because it was defecting.  Which is what Geto Suguru did when he renounced jujutsu sorcerery, after slaughtering an entire village of people and then his parents.

If death was sparsely spoken of, defecting was taboo.  The difference being no one wanted to speak of the treacherous act and those who committed it.  Geto Suguru wasn’t the only one in the history of jujutsu to turn his back on sorcerers and become a Curse User, but he was certainly the most recent, and the acts he committed had been crueler than what was seen by those in the past.

So much so that when her mind drifted off to him, (y/n) found herself straightening up and finding any other topic for her brain to hyperfocus on.  It felt wrong to even conjure up the image of his face in the privacy of her own mind.  Sometimes the paranoia wrecked her so much she feared Gojo’s Six Eyes would catch her in the act of reminiscing on a past where everyone was still around, still happy, still alive.  Now on the rare occasion she lets herself think of those times, there’s a black blur where Geto once was, leaving Gojo and his idiotic grin alone, even in the back of her mind.

Even right now, with her mind drifting off while Gojo had been speaking to her, her posture suddenly stiffens and she’s sitting straight up in her chair, tuning back into whatever he was rambling on about.

It wasn’t often she found herself in Gojo’s office, much less speaking with him, but he’d requested a one-on-one with her and even if she’d declined it, he would’ve tracked her down.  Her actually showing up was a courtesy only to herself.

The surprise on Gojo’s half-covered face when she actually appeared at his door wasn’t hidden at all.  In another life, she would’ve teased him for the way his jaw dropped open.  In this life, she’d stood silently and motionlessly at his door, as if her stillness would’ve let her go undetected, even with his Six Eyes.

At first the meeting consisted of talk about a Special Grade curse popping up around Kyoto that the other school’s resources hadn’t been able to exorcize.  It actually seemed like an important talk for a good fifteen minutes.  But at some point Gojo had derailed and when she tuned herself back in, he was going on about a bakery in the shopping district.

Her brows furrow, giving herself away in that she hadn’t been listening for a good few minutes, but Gojo continues on with a story about bread.

“Sorry to interrupt,” She interrupts unapologetically, “But what does this have to do with the Special Grade?” 

There’s a flicker of confusion on Gojo’s face, but then he grins and laughs too loud.  He adjusts himself in his seat, which he’d been leaning across improperly but in a way that was just so him.

“My bad!” He says through his cackles, and next thing she knows, he’s rummaging through the doors of his desk- which looked like it cost more than her monthly rent.  He’s muttering a string of disgruntled curses as he digs through a few drawers, pulling some papers out, only to drop them on the desktop and going back to his search.

(y/n) already knows that whatever he’s looking for, he won’t find in that desk.  Her eyes wander the pile accumulating in front of him.  From file folders to loose pieces of notebook paper to envelopes and what she thinks might be bills, there’s not a chance any of it is useful to their current conversation.  Or perhaps useful at all, Gojo had always been notorious for doing his reports late- if at all- and she had a feeling everything in front of her now was just junk.

“Gojo?” She calls softly when he switches to the column of drawers on the other side of the desk, only to continue his messy search.  He doesn’t respond, too lost in the disorganization of it all, so she calls his name again, a little more firmly this time.

He jolts upwards, staring at her with his undivided attention from behind the black fabric of his blindfold.  (y/n) impatiently raises a brow at him.  It takes a real effort to not start tapping her finger against the desk in a display of her growing irritation.

“What is it you’re looking for?” She shakes her head, wondering why she even has to ask.

“The reports from the Kyoto school!” He claims, “I could’ve sworn I put them back in here after I- aha!” 

The sudden change in demeanor when he hollers and snaps his fingers makes her flinch, just a little bit, but enough for Gojo to mumble an apology as he rounds the desk.  (y/n) stands, expecting to follow him out of the room, but he waves at her dismissively in order to keep her put.  

“I left them in my classroom!” He shouts as he makes his way to the door.

(y/n’s) brows furrow, and her mouth drops open to scold him for keeping such documents in a public place, but before she could, he’s admitting something worse.

“I was showing my students earlier as an example piece!” He says it like he’s proud, but the way (y/n) looks at him, you’d think he just admitted to running over her cat.  “Be right back!” 

She lets out a huff when he’s finally gone, whether it's from deepening annoyance or relief to have a break, she’s not sure.  But she turns back to the desk as she waits, only to be met with the mess he’d made.

With a glance to the clock on the wall, she realizes that in the thirty minutes of this meeting, only half of it was spent discussing a work-related matter.  The other half was… well fifteen minutes of her life she just won’t get back, she supposed.

It might have been overstepping, but she figures organizing the piles left on Gojo’s desk was a better use of her time than the last few minutes had proven.  So with another sigh she gets to sorting.

It’s a lot of piles she creates, but at least there’s a reason for the mess, and at least she stacks everything neatly.  The tallest stack is the random pieces of notebook paper- some are grocery lists, some are doodles, and some are notes that actually seem important, like recollections from assignments that he’d need to add to his backed up reports.  The other piles are separated into files of previous reports, assorted envelopes, and then a stack of miscellaneous pages she couldn’t make heads or tails of.  Either way, Gojo would be obligated to feel some appreciation for her work here.

She works in silence and mindlessly, barely giving even the strangest of papers a second glance once she determines the proper placement for it.  But then she comes across an envelope-enclosed letter.

It’s been opened, which isn’t the oddest thing about it.  What makes it stand out is how neatly the flap was detached, not a single tear in the rest of the envelope.  Unlike the other letters, which were tucked away in shredded envelopes.  They’d likely been ripped open by impatient fingers.  This one was in perfect condition.

Curiously, she flips it over in her hand, but the only thing written across the front of it is Gojo’s name, in neat, straight handwriting.  There’s no addresses, and no stamp.  This letter was hand delivered.  

With a single glance to the open door of the office behind her to ensure that Gojo wasn’t returning at that very moment, she lets her curiosity get the better of her.  She’s not sure who she assumes this letter is from, or what it’s contents are, but the mystery of it has her opening the flap and plucking out the folded paper inside.

Even the folds are neatly creased, folding up the single page into a rectangle that fits perfectly inside of the envelope.  Whoever the letter was from clearly had an eye for the organized, unlike the recipient of said letter.

With great care she opens it up, holding the page between her fingers gently, afraid that a grip too tight could fold the page and soil it’s perfect condition.

Her eyes scan over the words quickly.

Gojo Satoru,

If you’re reading this, I suppose I mustered up the courage to actually deliver this to you.  I’m sure that was no easy feat.  I will try to keep this concise, as I’ve thought about writing this to you many, many times.  Now that I’m actually doing it, I hope I can follow through.

(y/n) touches her fingers to lips as if to suppress the small gasp that escapes her.  Could this have been from Geto Suguru? The thought makes a chill run down her spine, but against her better judgment, she keeps on reading.

Straight to the point.  Life as a salary man is no better than life as a sorcerer may have proven to be.  I’m making more money, I’m told I should feel joy in my successes, and I am successful, but there is no joy.  I fear that without doing something for the good of the world, I won’t feel joy at all.  

I fear I’ve made a grave mistake.

No, this couldn’t have been from Geto, right?  With her deductions from the next few lines, (y/n) was growing confused at the point of view of the writer.  

But who else was close enough to Gojo to write him a letter? Utahime? But it seemed as though the writer was a man.  She chewed on her lip as she continued scanning over the words.

When I left Jujutsu Tech, I truly intended to never come back.  I believed that in a world full of curses, and shit, that there was nothing anyone could do to make it a better place.  For as long as sorcerers and non-sorcerers exist, their counterpart will always be curses.  After Haibara, I believed my existence made no difference in jujutsu society, therefore leaving me no place in it.

I was wrong.

With wide eyes, the hand remaining on the page began to tremble, shaking the thin paper in the slightest and making it a bit more difficult to read.  The gears began to fall into place, and (y/n) had a sneaking suspicion that this letter wasn’t from Geto Suguru at all.

More than that, I foolishly miss the things that once were.  I miss feeling like I’m making a difference in the world, even if it’s minimal.  I miss helping people.  I even miss using my Cursed Technique.

And admittedly, I miss (y/n).

This time when she gasps, (y/n) presses her entire hand against her open mouth.  It does little to stifle the noise. 

I wish I could say that leaving was the right path for me, that I’m doing much better than I really am, but it would all be lies.  I’m worse off than I’ve ever felt in my life.  Turning my back on sorcery, and on (y/n), was a choice I’ll regret for the rest of my life.

The last time we spoke, you asked me to come back.  You told me if I ever wanted to, that you’d make the arrangements.  I’m sure you remember that I promptly told you to fuck off.  I apologize.  You were only trying to help, and for once, you were right.

I suppose this is me saying that I want to return.

Whatever means necessary, if I have to relocate to Kyoto, or start the process completely over, I’ll understand.  I only ask two things.  One, is for you to pull whatever strings you have in order to make it happen.  I owe it to myself, to jujutsu society, and I owe it to (y/n).

The second ask is for you not to mention this to her until the decision is final.  If I’m unable to return, no matter the reason, I don’t want her to know of the arrangement.  I simply can’t have her thinking I’ve abandoned her a second time.  I would rather she remember me as a deserter than a coward, as dreadful as that is.

I’d appreciate your discretion, and your aid.  You have my number if you have any questions.

Finally, and slowest of all, her eyes drift to the signature neatly slanted at the bottom of the page.  Her heart had previously been racing in her chest as she read the entire page in record time, but it suddenly plummets deep into her gut as her suspicions are confirmed.

Nanami Kento.

Her thoughts are so jumbled that all she can do is glance across the letter as if she would catch something new, as if she hadn’t already taken it all in, in it’s entirety, likely committing most of it to memory on her first read.

After Haibara… 

… I was wrong…

… I miss (y/n)... 

… lies… worse off… regret… 

I appreciate your discretion…

“Ah, you found that, huh?” 

When she turns to Gojo Satoru, who was standing in the doorway with a folder in his hands for an unknown amount of time, (y/n) doesn’t feel any shame in going through his things and reading a private letter that was very clearly not meant for her eyes.  All she can do is stare at him, the evidence of her crime still in her hand.

She doesn’t say a word.  She doesn’t move.  Her hard gaze sets on him and it’s enough for him to know she’s demanding an explanation.

“He really didn’t want you reading that, y’know,” Gojo closes the door behind him this time, crossing the room and tossing the found folder on top of the freshly organized stacks of paper on his desk.

Emotions bubble up inside of her that she can barely get straight.  She thinks she catches the tail end of desperation, which quickly morphs into rage, and then it burns into something completely unrecognizable.

“Too late now, though, huh?” 

He has the nerve to grin, like he was amused by the entire thing.  If her entire body wasn’t frozen stiff, she might’ve grabbed him by the collar and demanded a proper explanation from him.  She might’ve threatened him if she had to.

Instead, all that comes out is,

“How long did you keep this from me?” 

His smile falters, but he doesn’t quite frown.  Just regards her with a neutral expression as he keeps calm.  She hates that he had to be put through something so traumatic that he was forced to learn to keep his cool.  In another life, she would’ve gotten all the information out of him that she’d need just from his initial reaction.  Now, she has to dig and prod at him until he unwraps every layer and tears down every wall he’s created to protect himself.

What she doesn’t know, is the most twisted part is he’s thinking the same thing about her.

“Couple weeks” 

“Weeks!?” She doesn’t mean to yell, her voice raises against her will, but she doesn’t apologize for the lack of professionalism.

“If you recall, you weren’t exactly supposed to be in the loop-” 

“That’s bullshit, Satoru!” This time, she has every intent to yell, before she slams the page down on the desk with enough force to have a small breeze ruining the stacks of pages.  

Neither one of them comment on it, but the way Gojo’s eyes slide slowly from the new mess she created before going back to her, speaks volumes.  She ignores it.

“How could you keep this from me?” 

“(y/n)-” Gojo barely has the time to let out a sigh before she’s shouting at him again.

“I deserved to know about this!” She’s jamming her finger into the letter hard enough that it hurts when she hits the oak desk underneath but she pays the throbbing no mind.  “When did this happen? When is he coming back?”

“It’s… it’s still sort of up in the air,” He says quickly, as if he were unable to keep himself from indulging her in some of the details.  “But it’s not solid yet, and you never heard a thing-!” 

“Satoru,” (y/n) touches her fingers to her forehead as she sighs.  “He’s clearly not doing well, what’s going on? How long have you been talking with him?” 

He’s told her too much already, and he knows that if Nanami were to find out that (y/n) got her hands on this letter, he’d probably be throttled.  If (y/n) didn’t beat him to it, that is.

“We’ve been talking for a while…” Gojo sighs, dropping himself into his chair and doing his best to avoid the bewildered and hurt expression that she’s currently wearing as she glares at him.  “Look (y/n) it’s not like I was hiding this to upset you, alright? Nothing was set in stone and if it didn’t work out I didn’t… I just didn’t want to see anyone get hurt” 

She scoffs, her head shaking at him in disbelief.  Gojo frowns.

“You should take some time to sit with this,” He suggests, before reaching across the desk to push the letter towards her again.  “You can take it, if you want” 

Scoffing again, she snatches up the page.  Her brows furrow as she tries to make him aware of just how disgusted she is by this entire ordeal, but the way her lips wobble and her eyes begin to fill with tears gives her away.

However she’d never break in front of Gojo Satoru, so without a word she turns her heel and storms out of the office, making sure to slam the door shut behind her.

Her hands tremble so much that the page quivers in her hold, creating the only sound in the barren corridor.  Her movements halt when she realizes she’s alone in this space, and finally, a small broken gasp escapes her throat.

Willing herself not to cry, she tilts her head back and squeezes her eyes shut tight.  It seemed that the emotions she’d suppressed and buried all those years ago were finally bursting at the seams to be let out.  All of the anger, the loss, the disappointment- it clawed its way out of the hole in her chest and made it’s way up her throat.

With only a hard swallow and the strong will to keep herself from breaking down right here, she pushed it all back down.

She’s not sure what compelled her to pull her phone out of her pocket and hurriedly tap until she’s scrolling through her contacts list.  But it’s as if her hands are working on muscle memory alone as she stops her scrolling under N and is clicking on Nanami Kento’s name as if it were normal to reach out to him.

Once his contact information sits before her, however, she freezes on the spot, thumb hovering over the screen.  All that’s there is a phone number and an old school email she’d never removed from the page.  He doesn’t even have a photo, as she’d added his number to her contacts before smartphones gave you the option to add a contact picture.

What, was she supposed to call him now? After all this time? Her thoughts grew bitter as she stared at the screen.  He never reached out to her, not once, not after promising he would.

And yet, Gojo Satoru had kept in contact with him? 

Her phone is locked and back in her pocket in two seconds before she’s marching herself out of the building and heading towards anywhere that she’d consider far enough away from the Special Grade Sorcerer.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

The day Nanami returns is hectic.  His arrival isn’t the only thing to blame, in fact, (y/n) could have almost forgotten about it completely.  Almost.

She’d been sent off on back to back assignments, nasty curses popping up one after another and with the shortage of Jujutsu Sorcerers, she couldn’t exactly turn it down.  

Even once they��d been exorcized- which wasn’t an easy feat- she’d returned to campus only to find Gojo had unsurprisingly abandoned his students for long enough that she’d stepped in and helped guide their training exercises.  They were good students, and for the most part were able to take care of themselves, but every once in a while Panda would goof off a bit too much and once he and Inumaki were distracted, Maki was bound to get looped in as well.  Other than that, she had no complaints about subbing in for their teacher.

And once it was all said and done and she could finally go home and start her unofficial routine, she was reminded of the reason she’d been so on edge today to begin with.

Nanami Kento stood at the grand main entrance of Jujutsu Tech.  Alongside Gojo Satoru and Principal Yaga, but their presence registered a few seconds later.

Tunnel vision took over against her will, blurring away the other bodies, and then the entire surrounding area, until there was only Nanami Kento in her sights.  If it weren’t for him, and knowing that it was simply the effect he had, she might’ve thought that the long day was getting on top of her and she was passing out.

He looked so different and yet exactly the same.  

He’d clearly grown into himself.  His hair was styled differently, no longer hanging over his forehead in that gloomy teenager way.  He seemed a bit taller, a bit broader, and simultaneously just as handsome as she remembered, and even more so.

It was hard to tell how long she’d been standing there, frozen in place, but when she’s finally caught, it feels like it’s been hours.

It’s Nanami who sees her first- although she’s convinced deep down that Gojo knew she’d been there all along- and the look on her face makes her stomach twist with an unpleasant emotion.

He doesn’t react right away, as if he doesn’t recognize her, but just as quickly as the thought crosses her mind, his expression morphs.  His eyes widen, and his jaw opens, but he doesn’t call out to her.  Instead they both stand in place, a good ten feet apart, staring at each other as if for the first time.

More hours pass.  It isn’t until Gojo turns towards her with the widest shit eating grin she’s ever seen that she’s broken from her daze.  He waves her over, and she thinks he said something, but her feet are carrying her towards the group before she could actually listen to what he was saying.

Her eyes don’t leave Kento for even a second.  Not a single stray to acknowledge her colleague or principal, there was nothing that could pull her attention away.

It takes a deep breath before she could actually find her voice.

“Welcome back, Nanami” 

It comes out quieter than she intended, soft enough her voice almost fails her completely.

There’s the smallest of smiles on her face, genuine, but the confusion is still there in the way the corner of her lips twitch with discomfort.

It’s painfully silent between the group of four, she wishes someone would just say something, because she still can’t tear her eyes away from Nanami and the longer they stand there like that the more she worries she’ll combust.

Nanami doesn’t appear to have the same level of discomfort as her.  He seems completely unphased as he stands among them.  With his hands tucked casually into his pockets, and his expression unwavering in it’s neutral position.

As (y/n) begins to take notice of just how unmoved he is by standing here now- after everything, after he fucking left her here, after the letter- her discomfort grows into utter displeasure.  With the silence that had settled between them since her approach, it was terribly obvious.  Her nose twitched, her hands curled into stiff-knuckled fists at her sides, and her posture was so pin-straight it must’ve hurt, seeing as she didn’t usually stand so square.

“Just in time (y/n), we were just discussing Nanamin’s little welcome back party,” Gojo speaks up and finally (y/n) tears her fiery gaze away from the man that could hardly stand to avoid it.  “You should come by.  Tomorrow night after work,” 

The look on her face doesn’t change even once she’s turned her attention towards Gojo, and he winces a bit the longer her eyes bore into him, but he continues on anyway.

“Everyone will be there, Shoko, Ijichi, even Utahime’s coming by,” 

He makes it hard to find an excuse to say no, but (y/n) chalks that up to his personality.  Since she’d found that letter a couple of weeks ago, he’d taken it upon himself to pester her and over-involve himself in her day-to-day.  This wasn’t unlike him, she just hadn’t seen the behavior in quite some time.

“I’ll send you the address and you can come by, hm?” He’s nodding at her in confirmation before she can come up with a decent reason why she can’t go.  Her teeth are sinking into her cheek as she gives him a small nod of her head.

“Yeah.  Sure” Her words are as sharp and strained as she appears while speaking them.  She gives a tight lipped smile to the three of them, and is walking away before she could get herself roped into anything else.

Her fists curl and uncurl at her sides as she briskly makes her way off the campus.  It takes an effort not to break into a sprint.

Which is odd, because with the way her heart is reacting, she wanted nothing more than to turn back around and run towards him.  Instead, with ragged breathing and misty eyes, she couldn’t get herself away fast enough.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Feeling yourself shut down was an odd sensation.  She always thought that if something traumatic happened to her, she’d leave her body for an unknown amount of time while her mind works to process the heavy emotions.

Instead, it was like a weight was being set on her shoulders.  Slowly pushing- and she knew it would crush her, she knew that soon this weight would be too much to carry, and she feared what would happen when it finally crushed her.

It feels as if there’s a giant pair of invisible hands holding her in place, keeping her frozen in the morgue.  Another fear settled in the pit of her stomach- that those hands would hold her here forever.

Her eyes feel dry, despite all of the tears today.  She forces herself to blink a few times every time they start to feel dry again.  The long periods of staring without blinking was starting to go from irritating to painful.

“(y/n),” 

Kento’s voice is a shock to her system, making her tense up before relaxing as she glances back at him, where he’s sat against the furthest edge of the room.  She’d almost forgotten he’d been there too.  Her heart breaks for the thousandth time that day seeing him press his face into a damp cloth.

“I can’t take this anymore” 

She completely turns around then, although it hurts to turn her back on Haibara, she couldn’t bear to let Kento feel like he was alone in this moment.

The dryness in her eyes starts to go away as her tear ducts begin to swell.

“Kento…?”

Her voice cracks, and her throat tightens up on her so fast that the rest of her question dies on her tongue.  She’s left standing there with nothing to say, nothing to offer.  That is, besides her presence and this trauma they shared.

He drops the rag, revealing sunken eyes paired with dark semicircles, frown lines already prominent at the corners of his mouth.  He looks how she feels- utterly wrecked.

When he looks at her, the numbness in her limbs is replaced with an icy chill.  The invisible claws on her body tighten and lock in place.  Even if she knew the right thing to do, the right way to comfort him, she can’t move a muscle.

It feels like ages before he sighs, and finally explains himself.

“I’m leaving,” 

For his voice barely rising above a whisper, the simple words are loud and clear.  And even though the numbness settles over her rigid body again, (y/n) assumes her face must have betrayed her as she stares back at him, because he suddenly looks startled as he watches her react to the news.  Kento pauses, and clears his throat before he speaks up again.

“I… I have to,” He breathes out, an admission he’d not yet shared.  All the higher ups needed to know was that he was dropping out and would be joining the workforce.  They didn’t exactly care about the details.  “I… I can’t take this anymore.  I’m not…” 

The words die before he ever really considers admitting the full truth to her.  (y/n) was a strong and endlessly talented sorcerer.  How could he admit to her that he just didn’t have what it took to be as strong as her?  This past week had felt like test after test of his will, and at the end of it, Nanami decided to quit while he was down for the count.  He couldn’t bear another loss- after Haibara, after Geto- it seemed it was only a matter of time before he witnessed the death of everyone he’d ever cared about.

He doesn’t voice any of this.  Instead, he just shakes his head at her before he stands.

“I’ve already packed my things, and let the higher ups know” 

(y/n’s) mouth opens and closes a few times, small gasps of disbelief coming in between her bouts of silence, but it takes a few tries before any words could come out.

“L-leaving?” For as quickly as her mind is running with this news, her words struggle to catch up.  Her brows furrow as she struggles to find the right thing to say amongst the mess of thoughts in her head.

“I have a few interviews lined up,” His hand rubs the back of his neck and he has to turn himself away from her as he continues.  It’s cowardly, and he knows that, but he wanted this all to come from him.  Only him.  “I’m not cut out to be a Jujutsu Sorcerer.  Not… not like this” 

She wants to tell him that’s not true, that he’s a fantastic sorcerer.  Even if it means screaming at him in order for him to truly understand just how firmly she believed he belonged here.

Maybe the state of shock she was in was too great to properly articulate her thoughts.  Or maybe she didn’t want to put more pressure on his choice by fighting for him to stay.

Either way, she doesn’t say a word.

Her mouth shuts and the tears in her eyes cling to her lashes with every blink.  All she does is stare at him, and hope he’ll say something that will give her a sense of comfort with his bad news.  A silver lining, a bright side.

Instead, Nanami Kento makes her a promise.

“It’s not like I’m just… disappearing,” 

He glances back at her with great uncertainty.  He’s never seen her cry before today, and he thinks it would break him completely if he was the cause of more tears.  

“You know?” 

His voice is a mumble, but he knows she hears him.  He knows because her lips wobble as she tries to keep them from frowning, and eventually she presses them into a tight line.  

“Anytime you want…” 

He trails off, because he’s never done this before, and he’s not exactly sure what he’s supposed to say to convince her that if she ever needed anything he was a phone call away.  Ironically, these are words he’s been trying to tell her since the day they met, but even now his throat gets that tight and scratchy feeling, and he chokes on them for the umpteenth time.  His fingers flex outward, straining and trembling as he tenses the muscles in his hand to it’s fullest extent before he shoves it into his pocket and bites down on his cheek.

“I promise, alright?” 

(y/n) swallows the lump in her throat, seeming to understand what the parts he’d failed to say.  She was always better at reading between the lines than he was, but today especially, Kento feels like he’s failing her.

The feeling is so disgusting in his gut- hot, and churning in his insides- that he has to close his eyes to keep himself from looking at her again.

“Okay,” Is all (y/n) can manage to say at first.  It’s quiet, her voice strained and raw and harsh to his ears despite her whisper.  “You too, Ken” She adds after a few beats pass.

He hopes she knows she means it, that she promises it too.

If he does, he doesn’t indicate so.  

That’s the last time she sees him before he leaves Jujutsu Tech, and it’s the last time they’ve spoken.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Social events weren’t (y/n’s) comfort zone.  Maybe once, when she was younger, she would have been eager for such a party.  All of her friends, the people who she loved most in this world, her makeshift family, in one place seemed so enticing at one time.  

Now, it feels like a karmic punishment.

The way her stomach twists into knots despite only nursing her second drink, the way her skin pricks with anxious goosebumps anytime someone wanders too close to her and appears as though they wanted to catch up, it all starts to feel too much.  It makes her sweat, and before she knows it she’s checking the time on her phone every five minutes.  Then soon, every two.

Don’t get her wrong- she tried.  She really did try.  She hung around while Gojo and Utahime were fighting over a game of darts, and even though she didn’t partake she was there when the new kid, Takuma, ordered a round of shots for the group, she even sat and listened to as Nanami talked about his time as a salaryman.  She wanted to appear as present as possible, even though she was far from her own mind.

It was just too hard, wasn’t it? To sit there and pretend like there was something to celebrate, that his return was the greatest news of the year.  All it did was resurface ugly, buried feelings, and that mixed with just a couple of drinks created a pit in her stomach that only grew as the night went on.

Like an emotional black hole that would suck her up from the inside out.

Nanami had spoken about how the workforce wasn’t right for him, that it was full of selfish assholes who lacked basic human compassion, that it took and took and took and never provided a sense of fulfillment.  The longer he spoke about the toxic environment, the more (y/n) felt the weight of it all on her shoulders.

Nothing had changed.

With a lame excuse mumbled to Shoko beside her, she swallowed down the last of her drink and left the table.  Shoko wasn’t even given the chance to say anything- or ask her to repeat whatever she’d just missed- before (y/n) was walking right out of the bar.

Tokyo was cold this time of year, the light breeze enough to nip at any exposed skin, instantly making her nose and cheeks red.

It’s not pleasant, but it’s welcomed.  Even with her arms wrapped around herself to preserve her fading body heat, the cool air felt good sucked in between her teeth as she began a breathing exercise that she hadn’t done since she was young and afraid of the career path she was on.

Not as afraid as she would be taking up a normal job in the city, working amongst vultures and hyenas and vile men that made high grade curses look a little more innocent, but, still.

She’s too lost in her focus to hear the pub door opening and shutting behind her, so when someone speaks, she looks surprised as she turns towards them.

“Hey,” 

It’s quiet, but enough to draw her back to the chilly reality.  Nanami Kento stands there with one hand in the pocket of his coat, the other extended towards her.  He’d brought her coat out to her.

“You left that inside.  Too cold to walk home without it, yeah?” 

He’d spoken quite a bit tonight- or at least, a lot for him- and yet this was the most he’d actually spoken to her.  It makes her stomach twist in that way that was once pleasant, but tonight? She thinks it might make her sick.

“I wasn’t going home” 

She takes the coat, shrugging her arms into the sleeves and wrapping the front around herself as snug as she can get it.  It’s not as much of a relief from the cold as she’d hoped.

“Looked like it” 

His words aren’t sharp, they’re not accusatory, they don’t hold a hint of malice.  But she almost wishes they had, because the defeated way he says it feels worse.

Her eyes shoot towards his, and for a split second, he thinks this is the moment she snaps.  This is the part where she calls him out, for all the terrible things he’d done to her.  He braces himself, flinching just a bit as he holds his breath and waits for what he deserved to be handed to him.

(y/n) sighs.  Her shoulders slump downwards and a frown takes over her lips shortly after.  The disappointment in her gaze is more brutal than anything she could have screamed at him.  He wishes she would just scream at him.

“You should go back.  Gojo will freak if you ditch your own party, you know”

She turns away from him again because she has to.  She’s not brave enough to hold his persistent stare.

“I don’t want to” 

“Well I don’t want you to-” She stops herself before those emotions could force themselves out.  With a sharp inhale, she clamps her mouth shut and shakes her head, waits for the heat in her throat to be bearable enough to talk through.  “Just… just go back inside, Nanami” She sighs out the non-threatening demand, hoping he’d turn around without another word and disappear.

Hearing her call him by his surname felt like a knife to the back.  Not that it wasn’t what he deserved, he understood why she called him that, and he didn’t exactly expect to hear her call him Kento, or Ken in that sweet voice she used to- always delighted to see him, always smiling when his name would fall from her lips before her entire face would light up.  Hearing Nanami followed by her eyes darting to look at anything but his was like a punishment.

“I don’t want to do that” He repeats himself, and she wants to be upset with him for how calmly he speaks, because he makes it seem so easy, while she’s standing there like a ticking bomb trying desperately to slow down time.

“It’s freezing” She tries to argue.

“I don’t mind the cold”

“I’m not great company right now” 

“I’ve never thought that” 

With the mental timer still ticking, she spins on her heel, her brows furrowed as she regards him with a pitiful sort of glare.  All of the sadness she’d been trying to shield with anger was on full display.

“You left me,” 

It finally comes out in the heat of the moment, and as soon as the words are spoken she wishes she could take them back- she’d do anything to pack them back up in the box of ugly emotions and bury it somewhere new where no one could ever find it- but it’s too late now.  They hang in the air between them like a taunt over her head.

“You promised that you weren’t disappearing,” Her voice cracks and the strain of her voice gives away the tears in her eyes but even in her humiliation she can’t stop herself.  For a moment, she’s completely out of her body, looking down at herself as she shoves a finger into his chest and begins to properly cry.  “And then you did” 

The words are barely audible, spoken through such a shaky whimper that any other person in the world wouldn’t have been able to understand her.  But Nanami Kento knew exactly what she was saying.  He’d heard her say this all before, almost every night during the nightmares that plagued his sleep.

“(y/n)-” 

He doesn’t get the chance to say anything, because her dam had already been broken, and there was nothing she could do to stop the rush of all the pent up emotions now.  All the energy they’d drained out of her all these years came flooding out, and it was bound to take him out with her.

“And then you wrote ‘toru that fucking letter,” 

She doesn’t have the ability to yell anymore, but even the whispered confession is enough to shut him up.  His eyes go wide, and his mouth opens but he has nothing to say.  If she read that letter, then there was nothing for him to say.  She already knew everything he’d been hoping to keep from her.

Which, thinking about it now, it was foolish of him to believe keeping her in the dark so they could start fresh would ever be the outcome of all of this.  He should’ve known Gojo would dangle that letter in front of her like an enticing piece of gossip rather than the deep felt note it really was.  He winced and stared down at his feet for a moment as he recalled everything he’d said with the confidence of privacy.

“What was I supposed to make of that?” (y/n) whispers, and it doesn’t sound rhetorical, with the way she stares at him with those wide, teary eyes, but she’s speaking again before he can even come up with a response.  “I know you didn’t want me to see it and- and honestly a part of me wishes I hadn’t, maybe this would b-be easier, but…” She sniffles as she begins to stammer, her head shaking again in the hopes it would make her words more clear and concise.  “But I did see it and it’s not easy it’s- it’s really hard” 

He’s not sure what compels him to be so bold, but when she uncrosses her arms to aggressively rub the tears off of her cheeks, Kento reaches out and takes her wrist before she could defensively cross her arms again.  Her eyes go wide from the surprisingly gentle action, but she doesn’t try to pull away.

“It is hard.  It’s my fault that it’s hard,” He tells her softly.  

Seeing the tears still swelling in her pretty eyes makes his throat start to close up, and he can’t help but be reminded of the last day he’d seen her.  He’d been the cause of her tears then, too.

“I’m sorry, (y/n).  I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just… I was young, and what I thought was right was so foolish-” 

“A complete idiot” She mumbles weakly.  He nods back at her in agreement.

“I know,” He murmurs, and the warmth that the softness of his voice ignites in her chest is bound to spread through her and weaken her knees soon enough.  “I meant it all, though.  What I wrote.  I missed purpose.  I missed… you,” 

I missed you too sits on her tongue like lead.

“I should’ve written to you directly, I know that now, and if I could take it back I would but… when I wrote that letter, I still wasn’t sure if I’d…” He trails off, his eyes glancing around as he tries to find the right thing to say, which might have been useless, seeing as he’d been saying all the wrong things for most of his life.  “I didn’t know if I’d be strong enough to come back.  Strong enough for you.  I… (y/n), I left because I wasn’t strong enough to stay.  I didn’t… I couldn’t put you through that again” 

It’s messy, and it takes a moment for her to process it all, but slowly, it all clicks into place and she finally starts to understand what his motivations were in all of this.

“Kento…” She sighs, and it’s not quite like old times, but it does ignite an old spark in him that makes the corner of his mouth quirk upwards for just a brief moment.  “I didn’t need you to be any stronger than you already were,” 

Her fingers tremble as she slides her arm out of his hold, only to ghost the pads of her fingers over his palm.  Even after the years spent away from jujutsu sorcery, the palms of his hands still bore the rough calluses of a man wielding a weapon.  Her eyes darted towards his hand as she made contact with it, eyeing the way he offered his open palm to her, but made no move to take her hand.  He waited.

“I didn’t need you to be anything,” She murmured, glancing up at him then.  Her hand hovered over his still, but the pounding of her heart still caused it to shake.  “I just wanted you safe.  If that meant leaving then- then fine, but not knowing how you were, if you were okay, if you were happy, I… I hated that” 

She had her other hand wrapped around his heartstrings, he was sure, because the tugging on them was relentless and painful.  Kento had to clear his throat before a choked gasp could come out of it.

The urge to apologize over and over, until I’m sorry are the only words he knows how to say, until his throat is bloody and raw, strikes him so hard he almost actually does.

“(y/n),” 

Her name is murmured so softly his lips barely moved, breathed out so gently it was stolen and silenced by a sharp gust of wind that cuts between them.  Finally, her hand falls into his, as if the weight was too much for her to hold anymore.  Her fingers clasp around his palm as if muscle memory took over as soon as they touched, as if seven years apart meant nothing at all when it came to them.

“I’m not asking you to forgive me,” His eyes flicker in between hers, and he can’t stop his free hand from reaching out, hesitating only a moment before the cool pads of his fingers brush away the tears still stuck to her cheek.  “But… I don’t want to lose you again.  I left because I couldn’t stand to lose you and I… I did anyway, didn’t I?”

It’s like the final thread keeping her heart afloat is snapped, and it shatters as it crashes in her stomach.  Something escapes her upon that impact, something between a gasp and a sob, and it has Kento pressing his entire hand against her face, cupping her cheek and hoping he could provide even an ounce of the comfort she deserved.  This was all because of him, after all.  A knot forms between his brows and she frowns deeply as he takes in all of the hurt she’s feeling, taking responsibility for every second of it.

“No,” She breathes out, her head barely shaking with the protest.  “I loved you, Ken,” She confesses, and she’s not sure if it relieves a weight on her chest or makes it worse, but she runs with it.  

There was nothing left to lose, they’d made enough mistakes already, one more couldn’t hurt, right? 

“I- I still love you, I’ll always love you,” She starts to stammer but there’s not a single pause in her voice.  “Whether you stay or leave, that doesn’t just go away” 

The pad of his thumb presses a little harder into her cheekbone, and he moves in closer, staring at her intently as he takes in everything she said, basking in it, in all of it’s melancholy and sweetness, in the relief of after all these years, finally knowing how she feels.  Finally knowing that he’d never imagined things, that his feelings were reciprocated.

“I loved you, too,” He murmurs, and with the hand that’s still holding hers, he squeezes, maybe tighter than he should have, but he needed to make sure this wasn’t another cruel nightmare that he’d wake up from any second now.  He lets a beat pass just to be sure.  “I still love you, too” He repeats.

She sniffles, gasps quietly, and then the smallest of smiles begins to stretch across her lips.

When she leans forward, he brushes his lips over the crown of her head before he presses his forehead into hers.  His eyes fall shut and he keeps his hold on her secure.  It was still freezing out, the cold had settled in all of his limbs by now, but he needed to be with her here just a little bit longer.

“You don’t know how much I missed you, Ken” She mumbles, the tip of her cold nose brushing into his as she pressed a little bit closer.

He chuckles, and it’s not a humored laugh, more bittersweet and regretful, but it warms her heart just to hear it anyways.  When he whispers back to her it’s so sweet that she melts away completely.  Her shattered heart is welded back together solely through the power of Nanami Kento’s gentle presence and even gentler words.

“I think I have a pretty good idea, sweetheart” 

[ cause this is crazy love // i’ll catch you on the flip side ]

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

xoxo ~ jordie

[luxurysystems]

hi again lux!! Ur local Vice City DJ coming in with another hit for the Money Inc AU ... Blue Morning, Blue Day by Foreigner!! Would love to hear ur thoughts :3c

"Somehow We Keep It Together"

[Money Inc. x Vice City AU- 1019 words]

Summary: Ted doesn't realize how much he's been pushing Irwin until the latter starts becoming increasingly hard to get a hold of.

[6:38 am, Ocean Heights Apartments, Ocean Beach, Vice City]

It was unlike Irwin to mess up on a job.

A shaky hand, a twitch in his trigger finger.

Recently, deals have been going south and Irwin hated to admit how it was starting to affect him. He always fancied himself as a machine, or something close to it– unrelenting, unstoppable, averse to mistakes other people would make.

But still he needed rest.

His head turned, shying away as the morning light hit his eyes; it served as a reminder that he too can bruise, hurt, and fail.

Three cups of bitter coffee were gone; a couple of cigarettes were reduced to smashed filters in a crystal ashtray. His gun sat beside the pristine white mug and saucer. Unused in three days, it looked so odd laying down on the table. The handle caught a bit of the sunlight and reflected onto his glasses. It was practically begging for something to do.

He took a long drag from his third morning cigarette, sighing through his nostrils.  Ruffling a hand through his tousled hair, he looked down his balcony beyond the palm trees to observe the citizens of Vice City start their early morning routines.  Joggers, rollerbladers, and tourists started to populate the sidewalks. God— so many tourists…

Irwin thought about taking a vacation, but then the pressing issue of a potential destination escaped him. He was technically already in paradise– Vice City: the place where you could do and get anything your heart desired.  His desire was simple: a night of uninterrupted sleep. Just one.

He settled on a week-long “staycation”.  He just needed to retreat, be away from demands, prying eyes, and—-

*click*…*creak*

Irwin grabbed his gun as soon as he heard his door open, pointing it at the door and squinted, ready to kill whoever stepped foot inside.  His cigarette was rigidly clamped against his sealed lips.

”Whoa…hey, big guy, it’s just me.”

Irwin still had the gun pointed forward despite registering the gruff low voice as Ted.

”Is that how you greet someone in the morning? You’re not picking up your phone, I feel like you’re avoiding me.”  Ted held his hands up in a half-hearted surrender. He knew Irwin wouldn’t kill him. Maybe.

He wore his white linen suit and a collared shirt with buttons that were there as a suggestion– his worst Sonny Crockett cosplay yet.

There was an uncomfortably long pause before Irwin set the gun back down on the coffee table and scoffed. Irwin cursed himself; he had forgotten that he gave a spare key to Ted months ago. Damn it. He’d have to cross out wallowing alone in self-pity off of his day’s to-do list.

”What do you want?”  Irwin inquired without moving out of the corner chair. Lighting another cigarette was tempting to him…

”Blech. You look horrible.” Ted cooed as he sat in the chair opposite Irwin.

His eyes scanned the disheveled accountant up and down. As the sun continued to rise, Ted was able to see more of his face.  Dark circles, days old stubble, the messy hair. Despicable…yet, still handsome. There was something so endearing about Ted’s bluntness that Irwin couldn’t help but appreciate. 

“You could use some sunlight...” Ted waved a hand in front of his nose, trying as hard as he could to direct the smoke away.  “…and some fresh air.”

”No. Leave.”

”You’re still mad about the meet-up? You shouldn’t be. I was able to retrieve most of the product.”

”It’s not that. I don’t care about your arms dealing.”  Irwin scratched between his eyebrows with the back of his thumbnail; he felt a strong headache coming on. “There were more casualties than necessary, Ted.  You just had to…provoke them.”

”They were going to cheat me. I would have lost a sizable fortune—“

“They could have killed you—“

“—-I knew you were watching me.”

There was a pause.  Irwin wasn’t expecting this curveball of a reason.

”You…shouldn’t abuse that.”  Irwin stammered, looking away from Ted’s stare. “Luckily Tommy was able to back me up but-…fuck it, whatever.  Profiting from an embargo is worth more than your stupid life, I guess.”

”Watch it.” Ted hissed.

”…”

Whenever Ted dragged his tongue along the insides of his cheek, it meant that he started to get ticked off. Ted hated it when he felt like his money making dealings were dismissed and belittled, as if he wasn’t trying to make enough for the both of them.

Irwin would sometimes trail off in a way that highlighted his regret, like going after Ted’s bounty was the correct choice and he wasted it.  Irwin’s life might’ve stayed consistent, stayed sensible if only he just—

Ted stood up. He reached his hand into his inner breast pocket and pulled out an envelope. The corners were bulging, stressed and ripped from the stack of cash stuffed within. Dropping the envelope carelessly onto the table, almost knocking over the mug, Ted scowled as Irwin looked up at him.

”Your cut. A little extra thrown in for saving my ass. Again.”

Irwin blew smoke in his direction. A displeased look washed over his face.

”What? Not enough?”  Ted crossed his arms.

”This plus a week off. If you want to work, that’s your choice. Ask Tommy if can play guardian angel for you.  But leave me out of it until then.” 

Ted’s shoulders slumped.  “A week?  I already told Carrington that we’d—“

Irwin turned his head away, uninterested in whatever job Ted booked for the both of them. The sun shined brighter, lighting up more of Irwin’s appearance– he looked so tired. So worn. Those sleepless nights were starting to manipulate his features. Ted noticed a slight tremor in Irwin’s right hand…

”Fine.” Ted conceded. “One week. But you better—“ He paused as he saw Irwin bounce his leg up and down in annoyance.

“Just…take it easy. Take care of yourself.”

”…”

Having enough of the silent treatment, Ted turned away.  Already guiding the door closed, a small “…because I need you” escaped his lips and echoed in the hallway.

[x]

[emberfrostlovesloki]

Criminal Minds July  Prompt List - Summer Vacation

All photo credits at the end

Good evening loves! We made it to June and Happy Pride Month! Here are some more Summer Prompts for July. This prompt list is inspired by the always amazing, @imagining-in-the-margins, who always make the best prompt lists. Her current prompt list can be found here (linked). I won’t write for all of my prompts, but I might for a few. I decided to go with a theme for these July Promts and it is Summer Vacation, and there are a few in here that I am very excited about.

The rules for using these prompts are that there are no rules! You could use any Criminal Minds characters, OCs, reader inserts, etc. You could draw, write, make mood boards, or imagine anything else. I have included 31 prompts for each day of the month. I also get inspiration from plain old words, so I’ve included 10 Summer words that might inspire something. Lastly, I’ve included a few dialog and art prompts too. If any of these prompts inspire you to create, I’d love to be tagged to see what you have made. This is all just for fun. I wish everyone a great start to the month. Please know I’m proud of you wherever you are right now - Love Levi ❤️

You can find all the prompts below the cut

General Prompts

Characters A and B plan their first summer vacation together as a couple. 

Character A accidentally picks up Character B’s matching suitcase at the airport. What they find inside is a surprise. 

At a wedding on the beach, a fem presenting member of the BAU catches the bride’s flower bouquet and makes eye contact with Character B. 

At a wedding on the beach, a masc presenting member of the BAU catches the bride's garter and makes eye contact with Character B. 

A swimming suit mishap at the pool leaves Character A in an awkward position until Character B comes to the rescue. 

Spin the bottle with any members of the BAU when they might have had a bit too much to drink. 

After an incident last year with fireworks on the 4th of July, the BAU received an in-service on fireworks safety from the department. 

Character A finds a piece of jewelry they really like at a market but doesn’t want to spend the money on it, so Character B buys it for them as a surprise. 

Explain what Emily’s ‘Sin To Win’ story is. 

Character A finds out that they need to wear glasses and feels insecure about it, but Character B lets them know that they are as beautiful as they have ever been. 

Spring Break with the BAU. 

A member(s) of the BAU must go undercover at a summer frat party. 

While on a road trip, Character A looks over at a sleeping Character B and realizes they are in love with them. 

Character A learns how to surf, Character B is their instructor. 

For Character A’s milestone birthday, the team goes skydiving. 

Character A has a secret hobby/talent that Character B discovers and supports. 

Character A eats a popsicle in a ‘certain way’ in front of Character B to make them flustered. 

Jack catches his teacher with an ‘adult drink’ at dinner and asks Aaron if they can have that?  

Characters A and B decide to spend some money and have a staycation at home. 

When Character A gets misgendered at a water park, Character B is quick to step up and support them. 

Character A learns how to rollerskate during the summer and Character B can’t stop taking pictures and videos of them. 

Character A gets kidnapped by an Unsub on their vacation and the team comes to save them. 

Character A sees Character B without their shirt for the first time because it’s just so hot. 

Character A and B make icecream with a BAU kid. 

BAU water balloon fight. 

Crossover BAU and NCIS case. 

Only one bed troop with Charater A and B. 

Character A loses something special and Character B tries to find them something else. 

Character A and B are having a rocky patch in their relationship, so they take a week apart and realize just how much they need each other. 

Characters A and B announce a pregnancy to the team. 

A BAU kids first dance where Characters A and B get over involved. 

Word Prompts

Heatwave

Drunk

Chapstick 

Cherries 

Sleep 

Files

Snow Cone

Lake 

Alone 

Risque 

Dialog Prompts 

“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” 

“Alright, who put on “Last Friday Night’ by Kary Perry?” 

“No, no, no __________, no more adult juice, let’s get you some water instead.” 

“... Thanks for the offer, but I don’t drink. Could you get me a _________ instead?” 

“Hey kiddo, it’s time to get up. Remember we’re going to Disneyland today.” 

“Well, sorry to tell you you’re tires not going to take you any farther. Would you like me to put on your spare for you?” 

Art Prompts

Any BAU character with a silly sunburn. 

Any BAU member in funny sunglasses. 

Any CM character at the beach. 

Any CM kid on their last day of school.

Text Break Banner by @cafekitsune

Taglist: (🩷) @tgskitten @geminitapestry @silk-spun @alicewonderao3

Want to be added to my tag list? Please check out this post (linked) 

Want to send in a request? Please check out this post, CM Request Post (linked)

Photo credits

Top: Left (@whoisspence) Center (@honeyrosepetals) Right (@flowersforfrancis)

Middle: Left (@cocaineheartz) Center (@littlecarmine) Right (@earlydawnings-blog)

Bottom: Left (@earlydawnings-blog) Center (@autumncottageattic) Right (@emilyinsuits)

[miss-americana-reputation]

writing comfort for @oneforthemunny bc i need some rn

🐙 prompt- mafia!eddie

🐙- domestic blurb!! any of the dad!eddie’s take their kids to stay with wayne for a mini vacation (or staycation if they’re in hawkins). I love grandpa!wayne and dad!eddie make my ovaries cry.

a/n- i hc reader and eddie have a daughter phoebe. and ofc uncle wayne makes an appearance.

—————

“hey.” eddie smiles as wayne opens the door. “hi.” wayne softly laughs. i smile as he brings me and eddie into a tight hug.

phoebe pulls on wayne’s legs and he bends down, with his knees popping and he slightly groans, and picks her up. “hi.” she smiles. “hey buttercup.” he smiles at her.

we all head inside to the small trailer. we sit down on the couch and catch up, steering away from the conversation of eddie’s work.

halfway through, with the warm feeling of homely vibe of the trailer and the nice warmth throughout, i feel my eyes droop. “you okay?” eddie whispers to me. “fine, just tired.” i hum out. “okay.” he nods.

“daddy.” phoebe smiles. “yeah?” he asks. “there’s a pond. can we check it out?” she asks. “um, how about just you and pop-pop, me and mommy are gonna take a nap.” he explains. “okay!” phoebe smiles.

“wanna go check the hall closet for the gear?” wayne asks her. “yes.” she smiles and leaves. “listen. i love phoebe, but i swear to god, if you make another grand baby in this trailer, i’ll reek hell on you,” he explains. “especially because i’m giving you the bed.” he adds.

“got it.” eddie nods. “mhm. i’m actually just exhausted.” i agree. “okay.” wayne says. “found it.” phoebe smiles, running empty handed. “okay. let me go grab it and you stay.” he gets up.

“daddy? are you coming?” she asks. “no, me and mommy are gonna take a nap.” he nods. “okay.” she smiles.

“so. you wanna focus really on the elbow and wrist.” wayne tells olivia. “okay.” she smiles. “you like the one i got for you?” he asks her about the barbie fishing rod he has.

“you still play with those barbie’s and bratz?” he asks her. “yeah, and webkinz.” she answers. “got it.” he nods. “so how’s your daddy doing?” he asks her. “good. he’s been busy.” she answers, legs swinging.

“oh. how’s mommy?” he asks. “she’s good. she got me a new barbie and webkinz.” she smiles. “that’s nice.” he smiles.

he notices that her small line is pulling. “here. bring it in, bring it in.” he encourages and she does, getting a small fish. “i got one! i got one!” she cheers. “good job. here, let me get a picture.” wayne sets his down and pulls out his camera.

he snaps a picture of her holding the squirming fish. “here, let’s release it.” wayne says, reaching for the line. he throws it back and they continue the cycle.

“having fun?” eddie makes them both jump. “hey.” wayne nods at him. “daddy! daddy!” phoebe runs into his arms. “yeah?” he says, holding her against his chest. “i caught one!” she grins. “really? do you still have it?” he asks.

“no. grandpa wayne said it’s catch and re-release.” she explains. “oh okay.” he nods. “where’s mommy?” she asks. “she’s still asleep.” he explains. “okay. can you stay?” she asks. “okay. wanna sit in my lap or i can still on the ground?” he asks. “lap.” she nods.

he nods and puts her on his lap. wayne is really the only one fishing as eddie and wayne talk while phoebe listens.

———

[saraminia]

This or That

Thanks for the tag @rainbowcoloredpalmtrees 🩷

used book or new? read with coffee or tea? collect books or pass them on? read outside or inside? classics or new releases? e-book or audiobook? historical fiction or dystopian? the smell of a book or the feel of worn pages? short chapters or long? Earth or invented world? read alone or book club? poetry or short stories? movie or tv show adaptation? read on a sunny day or rainy day?

hardcover or paperback? bookstore or library? bookmark or receipt? stand alone or series? nonfiction or fiction? thriller or fantasy? under 300 pages or over 300 pages? children's or ya? friends to lovers or enemies to lovers? read in bed or read on the couch? read at night or read in the morning? keep pristine or markup? cracked spine or dog ear?

barbie or oppenheimer // ketchup or mustard // crinkled fries or curly fries // robots or dinosaurs // silly hats or silly socks // spring or autumn // vacation or staycation // day or night // board games or video games // books or movies // money or love // milkshake or iced coffee // waffles or pancakes // chocolate or candy // beach or pool // laundry or dishes // take-out or dine-out // fantasy or sci-fi // lays or pringles

Tagging @ramonaflow @flowertrigger @a-noble-dragon @obsessedwithdavrick @stargazer56

@queenmabcreates @chelle-68 @mammameesh @sohypothetically @olinsghost

@thisbuildinghasfeelings @jamilas-pen @acidgrime @themightybalthazar @maryp50

@hippolotamus @orangesnlavender @jesuisici33 @wildaloofbutton @mrs-f-darcy

[mostlyinthemorning]

This or That

Thanks for tagging me @chelle-68

used book or new? read with coffee or tea? collect books or pass them on? read outside or inside? classics or new releases? e-book or audiobook? historical fiction or dystopian? the smell of a book or the feel of worn pages? short chapters or long? Earth or invented world? read alone or book club? poetry or short stories? movie or tv show adaptation? read on a sunny day or rainy day?

hardcover or paperback? bookstore or library? bookmark or receipt? stand alone or series? nonfiction or fiction? thriller or fantasy? under 300 pages or over 300 pages? children's or ya? friends to lovers or enemies to lovers? read in bed or read on the couch? read at night or read in the morning? keep pristine or markup? cracked spine or dog ear?

barbie or oppenheimer // ketchup or mustard // crinkled fries or curly fries // robots or dinosaurs // silly hats or silly socks // spring or autumn // vacation or staycation // day or night // board games or video games // books or movies // money or love // milkshake or iced coffee // waffles or pancakes // chocolate or candy // beach or pool // laundry or dishes // take-out or dine-out // fantasy or sci-fi // lays or pringles

Tagging @carolrain @blackandwhiteandrose @weathereyehorizon @missgeevious @dinnfameron

[cosmicdreamgrl]

this or that ✨

(saw @senor-hoberto doing this and it looked fun so why not lol)

used book or new? read with coffee or tea? collect books or pass them on? read outside or inside? classics or new releases? e-book or audiobook? historical fiction or dystopian? the smell of a book or the feel of worn pages? short chapters or long? Earth or invented world? read alone or book club? poetry or short stories? movie or tv show adaptation? read on a sunny day or rainy day?

hardcover or paperback? bookstore or library? bookmark or receipt? stand alone or series? nonfiction or fiction? thriller or fantasy? under 300 pages or over 300 pages? children's or ya? friends to lovers or enemies to lovers? read in bed or read on the couch? read at night or read in the morning? keep pristine or markup? cracked spine or dog ear?

barbie or oppenheimer // ketchup or mustard // crinkled fries or curly fries // robots or dinosaurs // silly hats or silly socks // spring or autumn // vacation or staycation // day or night // board games or video games // books or movies // money and love // milkshake or iced coffee // waffles or pancakes // chocolate or candy // beach or pool // laundry or dishes // take-out or dine-out // fantasy or sci-fi //lays or pringles

tagging: @cordiallyfuturedwight @jkvjimin @aprylynn @epiphanytear @hvseoks

@rjshope @raplinenthusiasts @aaagustd & @yooboobies if you want to :)

[shadowredfeline]

Part 2 of my P-Pal’s Staycation trip.

The views look so amazing and I do like seeing the pool at night. And it’ll be just like being a mermaid looking at the night view sky as well as for the sunset. And those wooden seats look nice, much like the backyard furnitures I find in a furniture store like Home Depot and Lowes. And nice thing it has different tv stuff like Netflix and YouTube, every time I go on vacation, they have like Cable TV, and it’ll be hard to find what channel plays the three game shows like Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and Family Feud. And with that Popeyes meal, my brother went to get Popeyes chicken a few weeks ago, and since my brother will be graduating high school in 2 days after he passes and finishes his finals. And once he graduates high school, he can either get ready for community college, or start his modern life with me.

The trees look nice and I hope the holes don’t show any bugs inside cause it would be a stinker if there were bugs in it. But I’m sure there’s not and might have birds inside instead.

But anyways, the views of those places look super nice and I bet that trip will be something the Ramcats, the Speedsters and the Rabbits should do. Alongside bringing their loved ones and have Alex, Mari, Luna, and Deev going.

[hvseoks]

this or that ✨

tagged by @cosmicdreamgrl 💖

used book or new? read with coffee or and tea? collect books or pass them on? read outside or inside? classics or new releases? e-book or audiobook? historical fiction or dystopian? the smell of a book or the feel of worn pages? short chapters or long? Earth or invented world? read alone or book club? poetry or short stories? movie or tv show adaptation? read on a sunny day or rainy day? hardcover or paperback? bookstore or library? bookmark or receipt? stand alone or series? nonfiction or fiction? thriller or fantasy? under 300 pages or over 300 pages? children's or ya? friends to lovers or enemies to lovers? read in bed or read on the couch? read at night or read in the morning? keep pristine or markup? cracked spine or dog ear? barbie or and oppenheimer // ketchup or mustard // crinkled fries or curly fries // robots or dinosaurs // silly hats or silly socks // spring or autumn // vacation or staycation // day or night // board games or video games // books or and movies // money or love // milkshake or iced coffee // waffles or pancakes // chocolate or candy // beach or pool // laundry or dishes // take-out or dine-out // fantasy or sci-fi //lays or pringles

no pressure tags: @micdrophobi @princehoseok @oumoumimi @taehyunghobi @btsjk-biased

[iheartchv]

🌴STAY-CATION🐢

Summer Vacation themed challenge, hosted by: @leosgirl82 @turtle-babe83 and @thelaundrybitch 💗💙❤💜🧡

Prompt(s): “Well, that didn’t go as planned…”

//Taking the weekend to myself must've worked; I tried to get this done what with little time and motivation I had :3 hope you enjoy it~🌴🌈 💖

You had been waiting for this. It was the reason why you endured your school/work place all year. Vacation.... you needed one badly.... You saved up money for it, and now that you were ready, your dream vacation slipped from your hands. All the spots were filled, and other vacation spots were out of your budget.

"Ugh! Why??" you whined. Your heart felt crushed... no, it felt like your entire soul was crushed. All that time and sacrifices you made to go on vacation.. wasted.

You texted Donnie saying that your vacation was cancelled... you weren't going anywhere. When you explained, he said he was sorry to hear that, and that if there was something him and his brothers could do to make you feel better, they'd do it. You didn't want to sound rude or anything, so you texted him back that you'd think about it.

Setting your phone down beside you, you sighed as you flopped backwards on your bed. So much for getting your hopes up... Well, you could use the vacation time and be off for a week/ home for the summer...

🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴

Later you heard taps on your bedroom window. You looked and saw Leo... and Donnie, Raph, and Mikey. You rushed to open the window.

"What're you guys doing here?"

"We heard what happened, so I thought-"

"WE"

"-we, but mostly me, thought that we'd bring the vacation to you."

The notion touched your heart. You smiled at the turtles. "Awww, guys, you didn't have to."

"True, but we wanted to."

"What kind of friends would we be if we left you all sad and moppy?"

"So... are you gonna let us in?" Leo asked with a smile.

You stepped out the way so they could all come in in a turtle pile. You then put your hands on your hips. "So, what do you have planned?"

"You'll see." Mikey grinned.

🌴🗽🏙🌇🌆🌃🗽🌴

So far your staycation was going great. The first night was a sleepover movie night that included pizza and other goodies to snack on. The next night was to go swimming at one of the public swimming pools after closing. That night was when you noticed (Leo/Raph/Donnie/Mikey) acting unusal; he suddenly acted shy toward you, and not even able to look you in the eye for more than a second, like his attention was elsewhere. You decided to question him before they went home.

~♡~♡~

"Hey, (L/R/D/M), I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, what is it?" he asked.

"Did... did you not like my swim suit? Was it ugly, was it..."

"No, no, it looked good on you, it's..." He sighed. He looked like he was struggling with what he wanted to say next. His eyes locked with yours, and they seemed to soften. "You looked really good," he smiled sheepishly. "Don't ever doubt if you look anything less than that. Take it from me," he then said with sad looking eyes.

Your heart skipped a beat hearing that. Why did being here alone with him, and hearing him tell you that, make you feel... tingly inside? He was your best friend for quite sometime now, and these feelings never been here before... You blushed and replied,"Thanks," with a small smile. You notice the look in his eyes and replied,"You look good, too... for a mutant turtle."

He gave you a small smile back, one that he always gave you, and it made your heart race this time. Surely you couldn't be... "Well, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Okay. Bye~"

As he ran to jump to the top of a building he waved back at you. You waved back and felt butterflies in your tummy. You replayed his words in your head, and you couldn't stop your heart from pounding so hard or the thoughts that ran through your mind at a millions miles. You haven't felt this way about anyone since your junior high school days... you had a crush on him... You tried (to no avail) to get some sleep for the next day of your staycation.

🌴🗽🏙🌇🌆🌃🗽🌴

The last couple of nights was going to be spent with just (Leo/Raph/Donnie/Mikey). He didn't have any plans in mind, so he let you pick what you two can do; he was fine with your choice. You thought about it for a minute. "Maybe we can watch the sunset?"

"Sure thing." He smiled at you, and your heart raced. He picked you up and held you close to him as he was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, reaching a pretty high point where you could see the bright orangish colored sun start to disappear. You both sat on the edge of the building and watched the sky change colors.

The sky was beautiful, but this time it was more beautiful than any other time before. Watching the sunset was how you and (L/R/D/M) bonded, till the dawn broke. You looked over to him, and a dorky smile crossed your face. He looked... so magnificent, so heroic in the sun's rays. It seemed fitting for a hero of New York. You broke the awkwardly silence between you.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

He looked over at you then, and then quickly looked back at the setting sun, looking bashful. He'd be blushing if turtles could. His heart thumped hard in his chest. The way the sunlight caught in her eyes and hair... he just thought you looked beautiful, more gorgeous than the sunset...

You then said, with a small blush on your cheeks,"You know, we haven't done this in a while... I wish we could do it more often..."

"Yeah, me too. I miss how we used to stay up all night and just, ya know, hang out... Didn't have a care in the world."

He didn't notice you moved closer to him. He was aware of you now, he could feel the warmth of your body beside him. His eyes looked back and forth between you and the sky.

"I've always felt peaceful watching the sunset, but since I met you, having you watching the sunset with me feels... even more peaceful... like I'm in my own world... our own little world..." he softly smiles.

Your heart felt so warm and fuzzy, your belly filled with butterflies. You pressed your head against his forearm, resting it there as you saw the last bits of the sunset colors disappear. "If I could, I'd stay here forever."

He gave a soft chuckle. "So would I, y/n." Getting past the tingly butterflies in his stomach and heart, he put an arm around your shoulders, holding you to him. "...So would I."

Feeling you so close to him, and his arm around you, you never felt so safe, so happy, so... There were so many emotions bubbling inside you. But joy, happiness, and an ever growing love bloomed in your heart for (Leo/Raph/Donnie/Mikey). You couldn't imagine a life without him, or ever not him and his brothers, along with their friends and Master Splinter. You felt like you belonged with him and their little family...

Tag list:

@turtle-babe83 @tmntspidergirl-deactivated20230 @leosgirl82 @angelcatlowyn @annaliaandtheturtles @pheradream-15 @cowabunga-doll @bluesakurablossom @darksaphire2002 @foreignbrunette @greenprincess @half-shell-bo @lady-maria-the-wolf225 @moonlightflower21 @narwals14 @nikitaboeve @nittleboo @raphaelsrightarm @southernblossoms @thelostandforgottenangel @white-masked-beauty @roxosupreme @kawaiibunga @captain-kinda-trash @yumefuusen @sivy-chan-blog @artsolarsash @crazedtmnt @raisin-shell @sacredwarrior88 @leosgirl82 @egg-on-the-run @ashleighclark98 @dilucsflame33 @tkappi @happymoonangel @allybutton @android-cap-007 @androidships007 @turtallyawesome @doctorelleth @crazysarah-98 @phd-in-fuckery @angelicdavinci

If you do/don't wanna be tagged, let me know please c:

[bluestar22x]

Hi! My fellow Pedro Scout!🤗 Asknado incoming! So… Vacation time with your favorite Pedro boy. Who is it? Where do you go? Is it a surprise or something planned?

x

Favorite Pedro boy is Joel. [But I love so many, so unfair.]

I'm very much a planner, so if it was pre/no outbreak (I'd sure hope it was no outbreak lol) I'd just insist on planning a vacation and give ideas and let him pick one out of three or something. I feel like Joel would be one who wouldn't think of ideas and would need encouraging to take a real vacation (not just his regular hikes with Sarah). I'd probably need Sarah for back up; she'd be coming with (would get her own room though). Leading ideas would be beach time or a stay at a horse ranch.

If post outbreak, staycation. I wouldn't wander far from Jackson. This girl is not taking patrols. I contribute inside the town.

[thehaemanthus]

tangled cable car wires (3/3)

It’s still July 23 where I’m at! 

Delighted to present the final chapter of this fic for the ACOTAR Writing Circle, organized by @azrielshadowssing. Had so much fun doing this event, and learned that I can write passable smut on demand if needed (though I think the readers will be the final judge of that). 

Thank you to @thelovelymadone and @bennylavasbuns​ for setting me up for success with your previous chapters! I hope this last chapter is a happy, sweet, sexy, and most of all funny ending because I can’t hear someone is six foot five inches without shaking my fist at the sky at the inconvenience of living next to such a height

Enjoy!

Elain was soaking wet, exhausted, out 50 bucks because she stupidly hopped into a taxi to escape her nemesis, and, oh yeah, really fucking horny.

She dumped her things just inside the door to her apartment, stripping her clothing there too before hustling to the washing machine. The wet pile of clothes landed on top with a splat.

Getting settled at home kept her mind off of other things. Elain had planned to get some take out, watch a movie or two, light a scented candle and maybe even take a bath. Now she had to start a load of laundry, dry off her work bag and pray nothing was too damaged, take a shower, then make her own dinner.

Not a very auspicious start to her coveted staycation, but maybe she could still fit in the bath. And relax. Relaxation only. No errant thoughts about an inconvenient tall, tanned, red-headed menace who apparently liked her—

Nope! No thoughts about his hands on her ass or the way he had felt between her legs. Strictly off limits.

Maybe she would pen in an appointment with her vibrator after a bubble bath. Orgasms were relaxing, right?

Elain eyed her phone, suspiciously silent after texting her sisters. They had nothing productive to say about her momentary lapse in judgment. Elain had needed to tell someone, feeling like it was a secret burning her throat. The cab driver hadn’t been an option, but maybe telling Feyre that her son’s godfather nearly fucked her in an elevator wasn’t the smartest thing.

But what else was she meant to do?

Dressed in a large t-shirt and leggings, Elain twisted her hair up into a bun and wandered into the kitchen. The whirls and hums of the washer filled the apartment, punctuated by the sound of the storm outside. Rain fell steadily, accompanied by the rumble of thunder.

A perusal of her pantry revealed very little. The fridge, even less. Elain had planned to go shopping the next day, spending the morning at the farmer’s market getting all sorts of fresh produce to experiment with. She had a list of recipes to try during her vacation, part of a plan to decide what to cultivate in her own garden.

Oh, everything was going absolutely wrong, and it was all Lucien’s fault! As always!

The loud shriek from her apartment’s buzzer made her jump. No one ever used it. If it was a friend, they sent a text. If it was a delivery, it was left downstairs.

Elain tiptoed to the intercom, pressing the button to speak. “Hello?”

“It’s me.” An awkward cough. Elain suddenly felt very warm. “Um, Lucien.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Can you let me up?”

“Why are you here? How do you know where I live?”

“Elain, I can barely understand you through this thing.” That was true. The system seemed to have been installed when the apartment was built and left alone after that. “Let me up. I have food.”

Oh. In that case. Elain pressed the button to buzz him in for a few seconds. She stood by the door, wondering whether she should open it or wait for his knock. Then she remembered she wasn’t wearing a bra under her shirt and she dashed to her bedroom in search of a sweater.

Lucien’s polite but firm knock came when she was stumbling down the hall, shoving her head through the neck hole. “Just a second!” Elain rightened herself, smoothing down her hair and straightening the sweater before opening the door.

“Hi,” Lucien held up a paper bag with a familiar logo. “I got your favorite.”

Her eyes narrowed. “How do you know what my favorite is?”

“I called in a favor with Feyre,” he said. “Cacio e pepe, bruschetta, butternut squash ravioli, and the house salad?”

Elain crossed her arms. “I don’t like cacio e pepe.” Well, that wasn’t entirely true. But it wasn’t her favorite!

“Yeah, well, I do. Let me in?” Lucien raised an eyebrow.

She was tempted. However. “How did you find out where I live? What HR rules did you violate?”

“Elain, I hardly have to violate HR rules when Feyre is one of my best friends,” Lucien sighed. “Now, please, let me in.”

She could grab the food and lock him out. It would serve him right. But she had a feeling in the tussle for the bag, he would win or the food would become a casualty.

Elain stepped aside. “Fine. Kitchen is over there.”

She snuck glances at Lucien as he unpacked the bag and she took out dishes and silverware. His long hair was damp from the rain, but he looked much the same as he had before they parted ways earlier that evening.

“Did you go home at all?”

“No,” Lucien shrugged, taking a seat and helping himself to the food. “I’m starving.”

Elain’s stomach grumbled. Sharing a table with Lucien wasn’t super appealing, but she was hungry too. Reluctantly, she sat across from him at her tiny round four-seater and served herself. It was quiet except for the sound of their eating and the occasional request to pass a dish or a napkin.

She waited for Lucien to say something. He was the one who came over, he must have a reason. If all he wanted was to pick up where they left off, he would’ve spoken before he started dishing out the food.

“Eat, Elain,” he said without looking up.

She scowled. “I am.” Asshole.

“You’re spending more time glaring at me than chewing,” he said. “And you’re going to need energy for what I have planned.”

Elain sputtered. “Excuse me?”

“I want you,” he admitted. His fiery gaze made her squirm. “I also want you happy and able to keep up so—” He waved his fork at her then shoveled more pasta into his mouth.

“I didn’t realize this was a quid pro quo,” she seethed. “Food for sex?”

Lucien flinched a bit, coughing as he choked down his food. “Food for talking. Which I think will lead to sex.”

“Cocky.”

“Elain, your thighs were wrapped about me like two hours ago,” he pointed out. “I want you. You want me. I’m going to feed you, clear the air between us, and then do what I should have done years ago.”

“Which is?”

“Show you how much I care about you.”

Elain sniffed, stabbing her salad. “I see no reason why we can’t eat and talk.”

Despite herself, she was curious. Lucien had been a real menace. He had to be a true idiot not to realize how his actions back then bothered her. Maybe he thought they had a friendly rivalry now, but Elain’s real dislike of him wasn’t just going to go away.

“I told you I liked you,” he started. “And I was stupid about the way I went about it. I must still be a little stupid, because I didn’t realize what I was doing was bothering you that much. All this time, I thought I was making you better, Elain. I wouldn’t give critique to any other colleague that way, but we have a history. You never told me to stop.”

She opened her mouth to argue then had to abruptly shut it. Was he right?

Maybe. Every criticism, every suggestion did actually make her work better. Even if Lucien wasn’t right all the time, he made her think and defend her decisions. He needled her, sure, but she gave it right back.

A mature adult would have told him to stop, would have said she didn’t appreciate his comments or even gone to a supervisor. She didn’t, was never even tempted to.

Elain frowned, taking a bite of her ravioli so she could stall. Finally, she said, “This is how you normally charm people? You bicker with them?”

“No, that seems to be a you-thing.” Lucien leaned back in his chair with a chuckle, rolling his sleeves up. And damn her if those forearms didn’t make her a little hot. If he noticed, Lucien didn’t say anything. “I am sorry for the pain I’ve caused you. And I’m here with dinner and dessert to say that I still like you, Elain. A lot.”

“Dessert?” she asked, as if that was the most important part of the conversation. He brought out a container of tiramisu. Elain hummed in approval, but didn’t say anything else.

What now? An obscenely tall man sat across from her, finishing the dinner he brought her for the chance to confess that he’d like to get in her pants. Okay, and he probably wanted to…what? Date her?

Elain mopped up the remnants of the sage browned butter sauce with a piece of bread, plate clean. “You busy on Saturday?”

“Uh, no,” Lucien said.

“I was planning to see a movie by myself, but I supposed you can tag along.” Elain stood, clearing the dishes from the table. “I’ll buy the tickets, you buy us ice cream after.”

She didn’t think Lucien was that stunned, though she didn’t hear an answer from him as she started loading her dishwasher. Instead, she heard the sound of the fridge opening and closing. Then two very large, very warm hands were on her hips. Elain’s damp hands froze in midair.

“I’d love to see a movie with you Saturday.” His breath stirred the top of her head. Damn, he was too tall. “I’ll take you out for dinner too, someplace where we don’t have to do the dishes.” Lucien’s nose trailed down her neck. “But what about now, Elain?”

“I didn’t get dessert,” she said breathlessly.

“I put it in the fridge.” He kissed her neck and she nearly melted. “Midnight snack. If you aren’t too worn out.”

Elain could never back down from a challenge Lucien put in front of her. She spun, using his body for balance as she popped onto her tiptoes. He leaned down, meeting her halfway in a passionate kiss. Their first encounter had been savage and angry, but this one was just desperate.

Lucien’s hands wandered to her ass, giving it a firm squeeze. Elain squeaked into his mouth and retaliated with a nip. His hands traveled a little further down, and this time she didn’t hesitate in gripping his shoulders and jumping.

Face to face with him, Elain grinned. “I could get used to this view.”

“I hope you do.” It was the typical smug answer she would expect from him, but without the mean edge.

Lucien’s little smile was so sexy she had to kiss him again. Her hands combed through his silky hair, enjoying the handfuls that slipped through her fingers. Lucien groaned, stumbling a bit before he placed her on the counter. Once again she was a little shorter than him, but he quickly fixed that by bending to kiss from her jaw down her neck.

“How do you always smell like fucking flowers?” he groaned.

Elain wiggled on the counter, grabbing her sweater and t-shirt and pulling them off at once. Lucien helped her tug the material over her head and the bundle got tossed on the floor.

“Fuck.” Lucien wasted no time in cupping her breasts, thumbs flicking over her nipples as he watched her reactions. “I’ve fucking dreamt about your tits.”

Elain laughed breathlessly, head tilted back and heart pounding as each caress sent electricity between her thighs. “You have not.” She kicked him. Gently.

“I’ll tell you all about it.” He practically buried his face in her chest, murmuring against her flesh between kisses. “You can decide what we reenact.”

Any thought of joking flew out the window when he took her nipple in his mouth and sucked, teeth gently biting down. Elain cried out, nails digging into his shoulders as he lifted his head, teeth scraping against her sensitive skin. She dragged his mouth back to hers, opening his mouth to hers. Lucien’s hands went back to her breasts, unable to leave them unattended for even a moment.

“Shirt off,” she gasped, hands clumsily pulling at the material where it was tucked into his pants. Together they wrestled the shirt off, then Elain attacked his belt. Her efforts were thwarted when Lucien tugged her closer, ass nearly hanging off the edge of the counter. Again, she felt his cock against her core, hot and big and all for her.

Lucien lifted her again, walking out of the kitchen. “Bedroom?”

“That way,” Elain pointed while she took her turn in kissing his jaw, eager to taste every inch of that bronze skin. She traced the edge of his ear with her tongue and he nearly ran them into the door frame.

Abruptly, Elain felt herself fall. She landed with a bounce on her bed, staring up at the giant rubbing his cock through his pants as he gazed at her.

“Come here,” she held out her hands.

Lucien took off his pants and boxers, and Elain sat up like a spring. She was never really one to call dicks pretty or anything, but his was too enticing to ignore. One hand gripped the base as her tongue darted out, licking a broad stripe up the underside.

“Fuck!” Lucien cursed. His hand landed on the back of her head, before he snatched it away. “Elain, later.”

“Now.” She glared up at him then resumed her work. She warmed up by licking him, then took the head in her mouth and swirled her tongue. She took Lucien’s hand and put it back on her head, but though it stayed there it was frozen. Lucien’s cock was so thick her mouth burned with the stretch. His cursing and babbled praise punctuated the roaring in her ears.

“Enough, enough, Elain.” Now his hand fisted her hair, tugging to get her off. She released him with a pop and a pout. “Shit, I already know I’m going to embarrass myself and come too soon, you don’t have to make it harder for me.”

“I think you’re plenty hard.” She didn’t get the chance to laugh at her stupid joke before Lucien pushed her back on the bed, kissing her thoroughly. She shivered and moaned at the feeling of so much hot body on hers, the way his muscles rubbed against her soft curves.

Lucien impatiently kissed down her body, dedicating just a bit more time for her breasts. He nibbled on the skin above her waistband before Elain squirmed and started to peel off her leggings herself. They joined the pile of clothes on the floor.

He kneeled on the floor, pulling Elain to the edge of the bed by her hips. Her gasp of surprise turned into a cry of delight when Lucien licked her pussy, no teasing or agonizing build up.

She never understood the true meaning of eating out until that moment. Lucien devoured her, hands digging into her skin to keep her hips down, to keep her cunt accessible to his mouth. She couldn’t close her legs, couldn’t wiggle away from the assault.

“Lucien,” she gasped. “I — oh.”

His response was a groan. That was fine. Why use his tongue for words when it could keep circling her clit, flicking as his lips coaxed every drop of pleasure from her body?

Elain gripped his auburn hair, shivering at the way it brushed against her thighs. Lucien grunted at a particularly rough tug, but he didn’t tell her to stop. She arched against the bed, cries getting louder until Lucien reached up, tweaked her nipple, and she broke.

Practically sobbing through the aftershocks, Elain’s grip on Lucien’s hair loosened as he brought her down with slow licks. With one final shudder, Elain nudged his side with her foot. He rose, wiping his smirking mouth with the back of his hand. The sight made her core clench again.

Elain rolled on the bed, stretching to open the drawer of her nightstand. Behind her she felt Lucien climbing on the bed. He kissed her shoulder. Then he swatted her ass.

“Hey!” Elain abandoned her search for a condom to glare.

“Sorry,” he said, not looking very sorry at all. “Too tempting to resist.”

While he kneaded her ass, Elain rooted through junk until she found condoms. Together, they wasted no time in rolling it on Lucien.

“This okay?” he asked when he found himself hovering over her.

Elain wiggled a bit on her back, smiling as she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Perfect.”

He leaned down to kiss her sweetly. “Tell me if I need to go slow or anything.”

“You’re going too slow right now,” she grumbled, pulling his body towards her. “I’m ready.”

Lucien’s eyes on her were intense, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away as he lined himself up and slowly pushed into her. Elain’s eyes fluttered and her breath got caught in her throat. She was entranced by the hard line of his jaw, the way his lips pressed together as he slowly rolled his hips and penetrated deeper and deeper. The stretch was exquisite.

When Elain thought he had no more to give, Lucien proved her wrong. She made a choked sound, throwing her head back.

“Elain?” he grunted.

“Keep going.” She bucked her hips. One of his giant hands held onto her thigh, the other arm supporting his weight as he completed a few more gentle thrusts—and then she knew she had taken all of him.

Elain moaned. “Holy shit.”

“That good, huh?” Lucien’s voice was strained as he moved steadily, head falling.

She didn’t give the smug asshole a verbal answer, choosing instead to grab his face and place a sloppy kiss on his lips. Elain purposefully flexed her inner muscles around him to jerk Lucien out of his controlled movements. It worked. With a groan, his hips snapped against her, rhythm slowly increasing.

“Elain.” He lowered his body more, at her urging. “Fuck, Elain, you…”

She could only respond with her cries of pleasure, arms and legs holding him closer.

With a growl, Lucien reared up. Elain whined, but he ignored her as he knelt and hauled her back on his cock. Her back arched, heels digging into the mattress. In this position he could fuck her with more power. She gripped his wrists where his hands were clamped on her waist, needing something to grip. Lucien’s gaze jumped from where they were joined to where her breasts bounced wildly.

Elain bucked. “Lucien…I need…”

He brought his thumb to her mouth. She sucked, nipping his salty skin before he pulled it out. Lucien rubbed his thumb against her lips, smearing her spit. He looked entranced for a moment before he brought his thumb down to her clit. A few circles, then Elain was flying apart.

She screamed, flying with pleasure until her body went limp. Lucien kept a steady pace until she began to come down, then he moved faster and faster. Head thrown back, biceps flexed with the effort it took to keep her on his cock, Lucien thrust deep one more time before coming with a cry. His hips jerked in a few more powerful thrusts before he released his grip on her.

Elain was undone. Her chest heaved and she was sure she was an unattractive splotchy red. Her tug on Lucien was weak, but he leaned over her without much coaxing. The kisses they shared were sweet and sated, unhurried.

“Lemme get rid of this,” Lucien murmured. Elain hummed, pressing one more kiss to his lips before pulling back. They cleaned up quickly, falling back into back wordlessly.

Well, mostly wordlessly. “Let me know when you want that tiramisu,” Lucien murmured against the back of her head.

Elain giggled. “Maybe tomorrow.”

“I can’t convince you to go for round two?” He brushed aside the hair on her neck, brushing his lips from the sensitive skin there down to her shoulder.

“‘M tired,” she sighed. “Tomorrow.”

“Bright and early then,” he said. “Some of us don’t have vacation.”

“Sucks for you.”

He chucked. Elain was almost asleep when he spoke again.

“Elain…”

“What?” she grumbled.

“I don’t want to leave you but…”

That woke her up. Elain rolled onto her back, swiping her hair out of her face. “But?”

“But I do have to work tomorrow and…” He looked very sheepish. “Elain, I don’t fit on your bed.”

She sat up, ready to berate him for being stupid. But the words died in her mouth. Unless he curled up, his feet did hang off the bed. He could perhaps sleep diagonally and fit on her bed, but not when she was in it.

“Never mind,” Lucien said. “I’ll be fine for one night.” He kissed her cheek and lay back down. Elain got up. “Elain?”

“Get dressed.” She pulled a tshirt and then found a backpack, stuffing it with a change of clothes. “You can have your bed and your round two if you make me breakfast in the morning.”

“Are you sure?” He looked much too sexy splayed in her bed, bedsheet just covering his hips but leaving plenty of muscled body for her to peruse.

Oh yeah. She could go for a round two.

“Hurry up.” She bent and threw his pants at him. “And don’t forget my tiramisu.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

[necer0s]

More personal shit under the cut

I’m so fucking pissed right now. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that at least part of my vacation should be spent relaxing, right? At minimum, one full day should have been free. But because my family has delusions of living out some city-person-ass farmer fantasy, instead I spend the entire week driving up the country for eight hours, boiling down maple sap into syrup, fixing up a shitty chicken coop, hauling heavy shit around, tossing cover crop into muddy fields during pouring rain, doing dishes that no one else can seem to be assed to do, and then drive eight more hours back home just in time to go back to my actual job. And on top of all that, I’m supposed to pretend like I’m excited for the most shitty half-assed birthday party imaginable where I get handed book 3 of a series that I’ve never heard of in my life. I am literally going to burn that book. No joke, I am going to put it with all the brush in my backyard that I could have been getting rid of if I didn’t have to put up with my family’s bullshit, And I am going to burn it. I have never burned a book before in my life and normally I would find the concept appalling, but right now it sounds like the only reasonable form of catharsis available to me. Because I can’t scream at them, I can’t shout at them, because then I’m the one who’s overreacting! I’m already the one who “didn’t get my nap today” and obviously that’s the only reason why I’m so cranky, it’s not at all because I’m in actual physical pain from lugging around too-heavy bags of seed or because the one thing I actually wanted to do with my family (play a single fucking game of Illimat) never happened. No. Obviously I’m cranky because I didn’t get my nap. As though I didn’t try, because I know better than any of these assholes just how screwed over I’m going to be when I have to adjust back from days to the night shift. As if I’m not the one who was told the wrong days to take off so that I spent ten days working in a row for no reason, and now I’m getting screwed on the other end as well. It’s infuriating. And all of it, all of it, has to stay inside or only come out in tiny little joking complaints. Because anything else would be too much and would become a whole thing where everyone else gets to tell me that they’ve had it worse, actually, and really they worked much harder than I did, and blah blah blah blah blah. As if I weren’t the only one who doesn’t actually give a shit about this nonsense farm vacation house. I’d be perfectly content taking my every vacation from here till forever as a staycation, but no. The family wants to raise and slaughter chickens, and make their own maple syrup, and have a tiny orchard of fruit trees, even if all of those cost more in supplies alone— not even the time and labor— than would be spent on just buying those products at a grocery store. And so here I am. Lying in bed, waiting to go home so I can go back to work with barely a day of rest, stewing and venting on the internet because nowhere else is available. Fuck. Fuck this, fuck them, fuck it all.

[stargazer56]

This or That

Thanks for tagging me @a-noble-dragon and @saraminia!

used book or new? read with coffee or tea? collect books or pass them on? read outside or inside? classics or and new releases? e-book or audiobook? historical fiction or and dystopian? the smell of a book or the feel of worn pages? short chapters or long? Earth or and invented world? read alone or book club? poetry or short stories? movie or tv show adaptation? read on a sunny day or and rainy day?

hardcover or paperback? bookstore or library? bookmark or receipt? stand alone or and series? nonfiction or fiction? thriller or fantasy? under 300 pages or and over 300 pages? children's or and ya? friends to lovers or enemies to lovers? read in bed or read on the couch? read at night or and read in the morning? keep pristine or markup? cracked spine or dog ear?

barbie or oppenheimer // ketchup or mustard // crinkled fries or curly fries // robots or dinosaurs // silly hats or silly socks // spring or autumn // vacation or staycation // day or night // board games or video games // books or movies // money or love // milkshake or iced coffee // waffles or pancakes // chocolate or candy // beach or pool // laundry or dishes // take-out or dine-out // fantasy or and sci-fi // lays or pringles

I am several days late getting to this, so open tag for anyone who hasn't played and would like to!

[btsjk-biased]

this or that ✨

tagged by @hvseoks 💞

used book or new // read with coffee or tea (neither, cause I read without drinking or eating anything) // collect books or pass them on // read outside or inside // classics or new releases // e-book or audiobook // historical fiction or dystopian // the smell of a book or the feel of worn pages // short chapters or long // Earth or invented world // read alone or book club // poetry or short stories // movie or tv show adaptation // read on a sunny day or and rainy day //

hardcover or paperback // bookstore or library // bookmark or receipt // stand alone or series // nonfiction or fiction // thriller or fantasy // under 300 pages or over 300 pages // children's or ya // friends to lovers or enemies to lovers // read in bed or and read on the couch // read at night or read in the morning // keep pristine or markup // cracked spine or dog ear (neither) //

barbie or oppenheimer // ketchup or mustard // crinkled fries or curly fries (neither, cause I think I have never seen or tried any of this fries) // robots or dinosaurs // silly hats or silly socks // spring or autumn // vacation or staycation // day or night // board games or video games // books or and movies // money or and love // milkshake or and iced coffee // waffles or pancakes // chocolate or candy // beach or pool // laundry or dishes // take-out or dine-out // fantasy or sci-fi // lays or and pringles

tagging @yooboobies @vminsos @jinstronaut @hopegguks @hyyhhope (no pressure, only if you want to) and anyone who wants to do this too! 💜

[sohypothetically]

This or that...

I was tagged by @saraminia. Thank you!

I always have a lot of trepidation about this. Making choices means limiting things and I struggle with that. So here we are:

used book or new? read with coffee or tea (more tea than coffee) ? collect books or pass them on? read outside or inside? classics or new releases? e-book or audiobook? historical fiction or dystopian? the smell of a book or the feel of worn pages? short chapters or long? Earth or invented world? read alone or book club? poetry or short stories? movie or tv show adaptation? read on a sunny day or rainy day?

Give me ALL the books. All of them. I'm like a book dragon. Used or new, classics or new releases, short chapters or long. I tend to collect books if they are romances or horror. Other genres I pass on. I have a pretty good collection of YA and poetry, and a copy of Frankenstein with a forged autographed inscription.

I have marked up one book that wasn't for a class. IT. GNO has an entire bit in the notes about how much that book impacted me.

I prefer under 300 pages now because I like to dabble. I struggle with wanting to read all the books and spending too much time makes me feel like I'm missing out.

As for enemies to lovers or friends to lovers, I don't care. I just want to WANT the couple to get together. Nothing is worse than a book where I don't care about the characters.

hardcover or paperback? bookstore or library? bookmark or receipt? stand alone or series? nonfiction or fiction? thriller or fantasy? under 300 pages or over 300 pages? children's or ya? friends to lovers or enemies to lovers? read in bed or read on the couch? read at night or read in the morning? keep pristine or markup? cracked spine or dog ear?

barbie or oppenheimer // ketchup or mustard // crinkled fries or curly fries // robots or dinosaurs // silly hats or silly socks // spring or autumn // vacation or staycation // day or night // board games or video games // books or movies // money or love // milkshake or iced coffee // waffles or pancakes // chocolate or candy // beach or pool // laundry or dishes // take-out or dine-out // fantasy or sci-fi // lays or pringles //dogs or cats

I tag:

@xforeverlark @norbertsmom @ondogsandguys @katnissdoesnotfollowback @dracoisalooker76 @icbiwf @raptorkin @braidedpoetry @lilacrosemary @ntfbscott @fairfield-sun @katnissmellarkkk, @gargantummonkey @kcnorthbear

And anyone else who wants to play!