#thankfully it’s almost fall break (I work in a school)

[shiningstarr15]

Ok brain I know we’ve been through a lot of heavy anxiety and shit lately and our energy is depleted but my motivation is NOT so I’m gonna need you to do me a favor and WORK WITH ME

[pineconepie]

I got many requests for this as soon as I released the Hugo writing, so consider this technically part 1 XD this shows your backstory with Hugo, and everything leading up to the first writing!

TW: Parental yandere, drugging without your knowledge, forced infantilization, mentioned murder, implied stalking

When you first started your job as a barista at the local cafe, you thought Hugo was nice. Funny, charming, charismatic... easygoing and someone who could be relied on to teach the ropes.

He had a lot of (endearingly) cheesy dad jokes prepared, got along with basically everyone, and was very open-minded in general. You felt like you could always go to him for things, judgment-free.

For a while, you felt lucky to have such a kind boss.

It started getting strange on your first month of working there.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" you gasp. Beneath your feet, were broken glass pieces of the once-whole coffee mug. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone in the shop but you and Hugo, for closing time. You drop to your knees to pick everything up, too frantic to recall safety protocols.

You slice yourself on one of the larger fragments.

"Ow..." you mumble.

"Hey, hey! Let me see." Before you realize it, Hugo is kneeling beside you and clasping your hand. The cut bleeds and drips from your fingertip. "Ah, yeah, that's pretty nasty. We better patch this up." He pulls you to your feet, guiding you to the break room. "We'll fix the glass in a second, 'kay? I don't want you freaking out over it. You know how many times I've broken plates or cups in this place?" He shows off a few small, but noticeable scars on his hands.

"Okay," you relent. "Sorry again, though..."

"I said not to worry about it!" Hugo sits you down. "Sit tight, I'll be right back." He heads towards the supply closet and digs through until he pulls out a first aid kit. "See? All will be well in no time."

While you aren't upset about breaking the glass, you are a bit embarrassed by him having to tend to your wound, despite the kindness behind the gesture. It's really jut a small cut, and even though there's a decent amount of blood and it's painful, it's not like you're in critical condition.

"This is nothing," you joke nervously.

"Any injury is still something," he counters. He patches it up, making an almost soothing shushing noise whenever you hiss or whine in pain. He finishes it off with a gray bandaid, with little cartoon characters from a show you remember from your childhood. He chuckles at your confused stare. "Out of normal bandaids. Hope that doesn't offend your 'big-kid' status."

He sounds like he's joking. Something you've noticed, is he usually is.

"So I won't need any amputations, doc?" you try to play along with him.

"No, but I prescribe lots and lots of rest, and no more being around glass cups for a few days," he says sagely. "Doctor's orders."

"Glad the prognosis is looking favorable."

"It sure is! Now go home, I'll take care of everything. See you tomorrow."

Sometimes he strikes you as a bit odd, but you don't really think much of the interaction.

...

Just a few weeks later, your friend, Weston, comes to visit. His dad is a friend of Hugo's, and they've known each other since grade school.

Something you've noticed, is whenever he comes to make conversation, or even just order something, Hugo is somewhat... passive-aggressive, towards him.

Kind, yes, but oddly curt, as well. The complete opposite to what he's like with most other people, especially you. It makes you wonder why the older man seems so snippy towards someone who hasn't caused problems at all.

You take your break, sitting across from Weston. "How's it going?"

Weston smiles. "Pretty well, I got a bonus off my paycheck, which was pretty awesome." He glances over at the counter, where Hugo is serving another customer, but keeps gazing your way. His eyes narrow whenever they fall onto Weston. "Isn't Hugo kind of... weird?"

"Weird?" you echo. "In what way?"

"I dunno..." His face scrunches up slightly. "He just doesn't like me. Before, he didn't really have an issue with me. Even gave me discounts on things. But then when I mentioned that you're fun to hang around, suddenly he's... just kind of an asshole. I swear he even overcharges me sometimes."

"I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding," you say, frowning. "Hugo likes everyone, I don't know why he wouldn't like you."

Weston snorts. "Yeah? What a saint, that guy." He rolls his eyes. "There's something off about him. That's just what my instincts are telling me. I don't know, maybe they're wrong."

"I'm sure they are. Are you sure it isn't because he's also super tall, covered in scars and tattoos, has big muscles and kind of a deep voice? Honestly, if he wasn't so sweet, he'd probably intimidate me," you laugh.

"I'm not old fashioned like that, it takes a lot more than that to intimidate me..." Weston crosses his arms over his chest. "Just keep an eye out for yourself, alright?"

"I'm sure there's nothing to keep an eye out on."

How ironic that turned out to be.

...

"(Y/n)," Hugo says one morning. You look up from where you're cleaning the tables. He smiles, but it looks a little forced, like he's trying to find his words carefully. "I think you should reconsider hanging out with that Weston kid. I know his father, and I know how much trouble he can be."

You try to hide your shock. "I've known him for a year, he's never been any trouble before."

"Yes, but this is different," he tries to reason. "I can't go into detail, but he's a much worse person than he lets on. You shouldn't hang out with him."

"Why not?" you counter defensively. "If I shouldn't hang out with my friend, I'd like to know why."

Hugo purses his lips, but decides against whatever he initially wanted to say. "Just trust me, okay? Please?"

You hesitate. You don't see why Weston is such a bad influence on you. You barely even see him outside work! Does he know something you don't? "Alright," you end up saying. "I'll try not to interact with him."

He breathes out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, bud." His hand reaches out and pats your head. "I know I may just be your boss, but you're still precious to me. I just want to protect you, okay?" It's supposed to reassure you. And for now, it does. You want to believe it.

"Thanks. I care about you too, Hugo."

As you say the words, however, you catch the split second where something flashes in his eyes. Something unreadable and indecipherable. But just as soon as it comes, it disappears without a trace. "After you're done wiping those tables, you can call it quits and head home for the day."

The moment passes, and you return to cleaning the table, forgetting the unease within moments.

...

It's been a full three months since you started working at the cafe, now.

Even though Hugo still acts a little protective (bordering on possessive) for a boss, you can tell how much he genuinely cares, and therefore overlook it.

You'd like to believe it's his way of showing he sees you like family. And in truth, the company is great. He cracks jokes constantly, can converse on just about any topic, and always has advice, somehow.

Today, however, you're struggling to keep up the charade. You ended up getting a cold, and feel so groggy you nearly overslept through the alarm.

Still, the last thing you'd want to do is burden others. So, you show up regardless of how crappy you feel physically.

"(Y/n)? Are you sick?" Hugo asks, stopping mid-pour to get a closer look at you.

You're wheezing and coughing so badly you can hardly breathe. Your skin feels hot, and sweat beads down your neck. "No," you argue half-heartedly. "I just feel under the weather." Your loses color when you try to suppress a much-needed cough, only to have it wrack your entire frame violently. "It's nothing contagious, don't worry."

He looks unamused, pausing his pouring to walk up to you, placing hand on your forehead. You hadn't realized how much your head throbs until now, but the pressure eases slightly with the contact.

Hugo sighs deeply, pulling his hand away. "Okay. You're going home."

"But—"

"Nah-uh-uh!" His finger boops your nose. "I'll call someone to take our shifts."

"Our?" you ask incredulously.

"Yes, ours, you muffinhead," he grins. "I gotta take care of my favorite employee, don't I?"

You blink. "I thought I was your only employee?"

"I have other employees, for your information!"

"I never see them..."

"Well, that's because—" He pauses. "Wait! No distracting me!" You giggle. He rolls his eyes in good nature, helping you pull on your coat. "Let's hurry before that fever of yours worsens."

And that's how you find yourself curled up on his couch, while he makes soup in the kitchen. His place is quaint, but nice. The walls are beige, with wooden floors, a fireplace crackling off to the side.

Everything here is tidy. Cozy. Reminds you a bit of his personality. A dog-eared book lays on his coffee table, along with a newspaper and some coasters.

Somehow, you feel at peace here.

The door opens, revealing the taller man carrying a tray with him. On it, there's a steaming bowl, and a cup of your favorite blend of tea.

"Ah, you're awake," he notes, sounding pleased. "I wanted to make you something nice and homemade, but I don't have ingredients for the few dishes I'm good at. So, this totally-not-canned-soup will have to do." He winks, placing it beside you, then places his hand against your cheek. "Wow... after this, maybe a lukewarm bath will do."

"What do I gotta do to convince you that I'm fine?" you wheeze out.

Hugo gives you a deadpan look. "I'm so sorry for assuming you're sick judging by the obvious fever, constant coughing, and the fact you look like a zombie straight out of The Walking Dead. My greatest apologies!"

You snort, playfully swatting at him. "Jerk."

"Hmmm..." His thumb strokes against your forehead. "Yes. I'm absolutely a jerk for wanting you to get better. Absolutely, I'm one hundred percent an awful, horrible jerk." He helps you sit upright. "Now, drink the broth of the soup, and I'll draw up the water." Without waiting, he heads towards the bathroom.

Your stomach rumbles, so you listen and begin to sip at the soup. For some canned soup, it tastes really delicious. Although, admittedly, you're so starved, anything would taste phenomenal.

Slowly, you chow down on the meal, which consists of vegetables and noodles, but you're still too nauseous to properly stomach it, so you opt for mostly sipping the broth.

Hugo returns to your already devoured-soup. "Good job, you finished it. I'm so proud."

At first you think he's teasing you again, but when you look at his face, he's actually genuine. Huh. Weird. "Thank you," you say slowly, still wrapping your head around it.

He helps you upstairs and leaves you to it once inside the bathroom.

When you finish, there's a pair of pastel green pajamas left for you, exactly your size.

It's a little weird that he'd have this on him, but you're too exhausted to question it now. Putting it on, you immediately enjoy how soft the material is.

"How are we feeling now, champ?" he asks when you enter the living room again. It seems like he's already cleaned your dishes up. Oh well. He sits on the sofa reading, but puts his book aside when he spots you.

"Much better," you admit. There's a beat of silence before you decide to add, "thank you, by the way."

Hugo's eyebrows raise slightly. "Aw... you're welcome. I'm glad to help. Your work uniform is in the washing machine, by the way. Since you wore it when sick, I thought it was a good idea to clean it." He pats the spot next to him.

"Why are you doing this? I know I said I'm not contagious earlier, but there's still a chance I could be." You awkwardly sit next to him.

"I have a pretty solid immune system, thankfully, so I highly doubt I'll get anything from you," Hugo reassures. His arm wraps around you snugly. "And besides, my heart just couldn't handle imagining you being alone at home. I'm just nice like that."

"Doubtful," you tease. "I'm pretty sure you just enjoy bossing me around outside of work."

"You're still on the clock technically, buttercup, so I think you shouldn't sass your employer like that," he muses, reaching over for the remote. "TV time now. How does Looney Tunes sound? I loved that stuff as a kid. Do kids still watch that?"

"How old do you think I am?"

Hugo pretends to think about it. "Six?"

You stare blankly at him. "Are we really gonna act like you don't know my exact age and birth date?"

"I'm kidding, obviously. Goofball." He squeezes you a bit, kissing the crown of your head. "Cartoons, yes or no? Because if no to cartoons, I'm just going to choose an animal documentary."

Well, it's not like you have to pay for any streaming subscriptions or anything here... might as well abuse it. "Cartoons are fine."

"Thought so."

By now, the medicine he gave you is kicking in. The effects of the fever and illness are making you sluggish and lethargic, but definitely less than before.

Somehow, Hugo picks up on it and adjusts himself so you're both cuddled up under blankets together. One episode goes by. Then two, then three.

And soon enough, you're asleep again.

...

Not long after, when you're feeling well again, work turns back to the way it was earlier. Hugo is somehow slightly more overbearing, but not necessarily in an obnoxious way. Still, it's definitely more noticeable compared to before.

Weston still stops by the cafe regularly, but you're slightly more curt to him. You're not sure if you even believe Hugo, but you like your job, and would like to keep it.

You still hang out with Weston outside of work, since Hugo wouldn't know, but somehow, the next morning when you show up at your job, Hugo is glaring daggers at you.

"What?"

The tall man leans against the counter, arms crossed. "Did you hang out with Weston again?"

You frown. "No... but even if I did, how would you know?" Maybe lying isn't your strong-suit, at least not with the look Hugo is giving you. You've never seen him look truly angry.

So angry that there's actual fear pooling in your gut.

Hugo runs a hand through his messy hair. "You just never know when to stop, do you? How many times have I asked you not to hang out with him?"

"Hugo, come on, you can't dictate who I hang out with. I can handle myself just fine. Now please, let me just do my job. People are staring."

"Keep up with this attitude, (Y/n), and we'll have problems."

"If you're going to fire me, might as well do so. I'm close to quitting myself." You don't actually mean those words, but the way Hugo stiffens up tells you that he believes them without a shred of doubt. Suddenly, all his anger evaporates, replaced by hurt. "I'm... sorry. I didn't mean that. Let's just... get back to work. I'll make the cake batter for tomorrow, okay?"

You've never been great at smoothing things over between others, nor resolving conflict, and you suppose this time is no different. While you feel somewhat bad, you also don't like him having complete control of who you associate with.

Hell, you're still wondering how he even knew about Weston; there's no possible way for him to know unless he's following you...

You shiver at the thought.

...

Slowly but surely, your life starts tumbling downhill, outside of Hugo being passive-aggressive on the occasion.

Your power keeps going out randomly, sometimes several times a day. You keep getting sick, sometimes what feels like a small cold, other times much more, to which Hugo is always insistent on taking care of you, just as he did a few weeks ago.

One day, however, when you arrive home, you walk inside to the sound of water overflowing onto your floor.

Then, come to find out, repairing it will cost a fortune, and that's on top of needing another place to crash. You tried asking Weston, but given how strict his parents are, who he is currently living with, that isn't an option.

Which means the only option is...

"(Y/n)? Hi, kiddo, what's going on?"

You suck in a breath. "Hi, Hugo, do you have a minute?" When he confirms, you continue. "This is embarrassing to say, but recently I've had some issues with my plumbing at home. If I give you money, can I temporarily crash with you? Just until it's fixed up?"

"Well, duh! You don't need to pay me anything. You know what? How about you pack your things? We can move it all in one trip using my truck. Then I'll set up everything else for you and order us dinner."

It's strange how willing he is to take care of you like this. But at this point, you have no options.

"That sounds fantastic, thank you."

"No problem. Anything for you." He hangs up.

You exhale after putting the phone down. Something about his tone of voice sounds almost smug, but you shake it off. Still, it doesn't explain why you can't shake off the sinking feeling growing inside you.

...

Hugo sets you up with your own guest room. "If you need anything, ask me," he says. "This can be a fun experience! Don't worry about your apartment. Once we get it all fixed, you'll be able to go back to living there! But, uh... no rush on moving out," he jokes.

Except it doesn't land as a joke. There's some serious intent behind that request. That pleads with you to stay forever. It chills you to the core. Hugo, oblivious to it, keeps speaking.

"—feel free to use my shower or anything. Any food I have, you can help yourself. Make yourself at home."

"Will do. Thanks, Hugo."

"Don't sweat it."

It's almost unnerving how happy he is to have you staying with him. It reminds you of how ecstatic he was about you staying over when you got sick. He seemed genuinely saddened by you leaving to return to your place.

If you were paranoid, you'd wonder if somehow, he orchestrated these things... but that'd be insane, right? There's no possible way that he would purposely sabotage your home in hopes you'd come live with him.

That's crazy. That would never happen. It couldn't possibly happen.

There's nothing to worry about. Or so you desperately hope.

...

You feel like you're going insane. At this point, it has been over a month since you've stayed with Hugo.

And yet, none of the plumbers Hugo suggests can seem to fix the issue. Each time, it results in some excuse about not having the proper materials, or being short-staffed, or simply ghosting you altogether. None of them can seem to pinpoint the root of the problem.

"Any luck?" Hugo asks when you put your phone away. He's in the kitchen cooking while you're relaxing on his couch, watching TV.

"No. Gosh, I'm sorry, it feels like I'm intruding forever," you apologize. "I'm tempted to just look for a new place, and cut my losses..." Admittedly, the longer you've stayed, the harder it's become to live here. It's gotten worse than it was at work. Constantly keeping tabs on you, controlling who you hang out with, when you go out...

It feels so claustrophobic, like you're trapped by him. At work you can clock out, but living with him... you're literally trapped at home.

"If you want..." Hugo sets down the spoon he was cooking with, walking over to you. "You could always stay here permanently."

You stare at him.

"It's... it's not a big deal," he assures. "Think about it. You pay rent for somewhere to stay, bills, etcetera, and it adds up fast. Here? I wouldn't charge you a single thing."

You pinch the bridge of your nose. "As tempting as it is... I think I'll pass. I can take care of myself, I think it'd be a little weird..."

Hugo deflates slightly, but bounces back to his normal cheerful self. "Okay! Well, whatever you want, kiddo."

But something tells you it won't be that easy to escape from him.

...

After that conversation, the sickness starts again. Except, this time, Hugo acts far stranger.

At first it's nothing concerning; taking your temperature and bringing you medicine.

It's all standard stuff. But as time progresses, and the fever refuses to leave, he insists on hand-feeding you, which makes you extremely uncomfortable, especially since he treats it all like you're some toddler incapable of doing things themselves.

Then comes the clothes.

They're all pastel colors, mainly baby blue and beige. All covered in sheep and teddy bear patterns. He's decorated your "room" without asking for your input, and once again, it's all in childish patterns and designs.

Like something a five year old would prefer. You tried telling him as much, only for him to laugh it off and keep adding more of the things.

You try not to think about it too hard, chalking it up to him having poor taste or a lack of awareness, but there's an odd suspicion lurking in the back of your mind that something is seriously wrong here.

That thought stays with you, until the next day, when you wake up early. You trudge into the kitchen, to see him hunched over, back facing you, pulling something out of the cabinet and into one of the sippy cups he insists on giving to you ("you're sick, I don't want you spilling anything!").

Something is very, very wrong.

"Hugo?"

His shoulders stiffen. Then he slowly turns around to face you. He flashes a smile. "Hey, buddy, what are you doing up so early?" He discreetly pushes the cup behind him.

You walk closer. "What are you doing?" He moves his arm to block access behind him.

"What do you mean? It's early, kiddo, you might still have a bit of a fever." He tries to rest a palm against your forehead, but you jerk away.

"Don't," you snap. "I'm not a child. Why are you acting so strange?"

A flash of irritation crosses his face, gone in seconds. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm making your breakfast! Aren't you hungry?" Again, he reaches out towards you, and when you pull away again, the irritation returns.

"What did you put in there?" you demand. "Are you poisoning me?" As soon as you speak the question, you immediately feel guilty for it.

This is Hugo. Your boss, but someone who has protected you and kept you safe and content since you started working with him years ago. There's no way he'd poison you, right? He loves you.

He loves you so much, he wouldn't hurt you, right?

"You're sick, sweetheart, still delusional from the fever, maybe." He rests the back of his palm on your forehead this time, humming contemplatively. "I can get you some ibuprofen and a cool washcloth."

"I don't want anything from you!"

He drops all the niceties, snapping at you with a scowl on his face. "You will shut up, go back upstairs, and get your ungrateful butt back into bed."

You do so, only because his clenched fists are quivering at his side.

For hours, you can't sleep. Your mind is racing too quickly, anxiety prickling along every corner of your body. The thought that Hugo is drugging you — somehow — sends nauseous waves through you.

When you can't take it any longer, you grab your backpack. It's almost sunrise when you creep down the stairs, careful to miss the ones that creak.

It's stupid, but you need to confirm your earlier suspicions. You take a hesitant detour to the kitchen cabinets, the same ones he was pulling things from earlier this morning.

Flicking on the flashlight on your phone, you wince from the bright light in comparison to the dim room.

When your eyes adjust to the glare, you shift aside boxes and containers. You find nothing concerning, except...

Your breath hitches, pulling out a small orange bottle.

Acepromazine? You pocket it, intent to search it up later, but for now you just need to get out of here.

You expect him to stop you at any second, but by some miracle, you find the front door key where he always keeps it, and slip out the door.

Never have you felt eager to pay for a hotel room.

...

The next day, your phone blows up with texts and calls from Hugo. You ignore every last one of them. But guilt begins to worm its way into your gut as you listen to the voicemail messages left from him.

"(Y/n)... where did you go? Buddy, I don't know what I did to drive you away from me, but I can promise it will never happen again. Just tell me why you ran off like that, did I scare you?"

"Hey. (Y/n), call me back, okay?"

"I know you're mad at me... I'm so sorry for scaring you earlier. Please, please come back, okay?"

"Was it because I raised my voice? I know how sensitive you are... I really shouldn't have scared you like that..."

You know you need to go back to work, tell him you're quitting, and leave it at that. You want to just ignore him altogether, but the fear he might be able to take legal action against you looms over your head.

You thought the contract was stupid, saying you had to give a two weeks notice before quitting, but you thought he just did that for practical purposes.

Did he have this entire thing planned out?

No. Maybe you're jumping to conclusions. Still, that nagging doubt doesn't fade.

You haven't even looked up what the medicine is yet. Part of you is hopeful that maybe you were just making things up in your head, and perhaps they belonged to him, and just happened to be in there... people sometimes kept their medicine in the kitchen, right?

Yet you can't deny what you saw.

He even knows where you live. He knows you first and last name, and a bunch of personal information that he could definitely use against you.

...

You give it a week of no communication. He calls and texts you too many times to count daily.

Despite your instinct to avoid Hugo, the intense fear he inspires in you makes you drag yourself back to the coffee shop. It once had cozy, warm vibes, but now it's the equivalent of hell for you.

The jingle from the bell above the door catches Hugo's attention from where he's wiping the countertop. When he notices you, he brightens.

"(Y/n)! Where have you been?" The words tumble from him. He wraps you up in a tight hug, one that used to be comforting. You can't find yourself to reciprocate, not anymore. "I've been worried sick!"

You swallow down a snide comment. It would do nothing but escalate the tension that already hangs thick in the air. "Look, I—"

"I know, you're probably still upset about that morning, huh? No worries, I got so caught up in the heat of the moment. I can be an old dummy, can't I?" He's smiling, but you can tell he's on the verge of hysteria, trying so desperately to hide it behind his grins and friendly act. "Thank God you're okay. You're okay, right? No one hurt you?" He anxiously looks you over. "Let me get you something to drink! How does—"

"No!" you cry out. Thank goodness there's no customers right now. You clear your throat at his obvious worry. "I mean... no, thank you. I came to give this to you." You hand him a sheet of paper.

Hugo laughs, not taking it. "Why don't we sit down? Most employers wouldn't allow their employees to take a whole week off. Please, just—"

"Most employers also wouldn't try to drug their employee!" you cry. Your heart is thumping rapidly within your chest.

"(Y/n), don't raise your voice at me. Can we just talk about this? This was a big misunderstanding."

"No! I know what I saw! What was even your goal?! Were you trying to kill me?!"

He freezes, hand halfway from reaching toward you again. "Kill you?" He laughs humorlessly. "Oh, baby, no. Is that what you've been thinking? No... no, no..." He shakes his head. "No wonder you were terrified! You should have communicated that to me instead of hiding away all week..."

The pet name causes your skin to crawl. "What else could you be drugging me for, then?" you whisper hoarsely. Tears are pricking the corners of your eyes.

"(Y/n), honey, please don't cry. I swear it was not my intention to hurt you," Hugo coaxes. "Just to help you."

"Is that so?" You pull out the bottle of pills. He tries to grab them from you, but you take a step back and pull out your phone, searching it in. Your worst fears are realized when the page loads and shows what it actually is. "This is for animals... you have no pets, so you can't even lie your way out of this!"

A flash of fury burns in his eyes. His shoulders square up, and he narrows his eyes. "Okay, yes. Yes. You got me there. But it's not what it looks like, I promise."

"You were dosing me! Why? Why would you do that to someone? You're sick. You need help!" you scream at him. Hot tears sting your cheeks now. This is worse than you ever imagined. "It's an animal tranquilizer! No amount of explaining could do this! Screw my two weeks notice, I don't care anymore!"

"Don't walk out this door!" Hugo shouts. "You just cannot accept the fact someone loves you, can you?! I am so sick of this back and forth, this tug-of-war you keep dragging us through. I only want what's best for you, I have given you so much, and you repay me by running away, shutting me out, screaming at me! And after all my efforts... I'd even resorted to drugging you just to spend more time with you!"

"Oh, wow, what a sweet thing of you to do!" you say sarcastically. You turn your back to him and open the door. His hand slams the door closed. "I will call the police on you if you don't move."

Hugo grits his teeth, frown deepening. He releases his grip on the door handle, and steps away.

For a moment, you hesitate. The way he's staring at you fills you with a deep sense of dread. Like maybe you're making a horrible mistake. He took you in, gave you a home to stay in when you had nowhere to go. Gave you money and necessities. Protected you from harm.

You shake away those thoughts and open the door. Before you even step one foot out, you feel something sharp plunge into your neck. Gasping, you stagger backwards, almost falling to the ground, if not for Hugo.

"I had a feeling you'd show back up," Hugo mutters. He wipes hair away from your sweaty forehead, shushing you gently as you start to panic. "No need to be scared, kiddo."

"Wh...What...?" You try to focus on his face, but your vision starts to swim in and out. Your eyelids feel heavy.

"There we go, nice and easy..." His hand cups your cheek. "You're going to feel a bit sleepy, okay?" He takes a moment to put the cap back on the needle, then pockets it, along with the syringe. He coos at your eyes fluttering shut. "I know. It's scary, but I'd never hurt you. You're just confused." He hoists you up with a grunt, carrying you outside.

"Why...?" Your throat feels dry and raw. Sleep has almost taken over.

"I love you. I love you so, so much, but sometimes you can't let people take care of you. Let people protect you." He helps you in the backseat, pausing to smile at you, pushing some bangs away from your sweaty forehead. "I know you act like you hate me, but surely deep down, you realize you need me. Why else would you willingly come back?"

"It wasn't like... that..."

"Shhhh... enough. Close your eyes now. I'll wake you up when you're safe and sound back home..."

...

When you wake up, you're still in the car, but pulled up to his house. Panic sets in, making you tug on the straps of the seatbelt, trying to undo the buckle.

"Whoa! Hold on, bud, what are you doing?" Hugo turns around in his seat, expression stricken with surprise. "You weren't supposed to wake up yet. Damnit." He tries to grab something out of his pocket, but you manage to unbuckle yourself from the seat, scrambling to the other side of the vehicle, away from him.

You reach out to the opposite door and unlock it.

Right before you can swing it open, however, it suddenly clicks and refuses to open. Child safety lock. "No... no..."

Hugo sighs and shakes his head. "You're really stressing your Papa out, you know that?" He doesn't wait for an answer as he gets out of the car and walks around to your side, opening it up. He reaches in towards you, but you flail backwards. "Easy, easy... you'll hurt yourself moving around like that. Please, listen to me."

"Why are you doing this?!" you cry. Your fingers clutch at the cushions desperately. "P...Please, Hugo, let me go... we can forget about all this and pretend like nothing happened. Please..." Sobs shake your body, and you curl into yourself pathetically. "I want to go home!"

"We are home, honey. And even then, I wanted to do this the normal way. But you didn't want that," he soothes.

"Drugging me is not the normal way!" you snap, your fear turning into fury.

He sighs, this time not bothering to reply. You scream in shock when he tries lunging for you, a new needle prepared, but you manage to slip out from the other side, ignoring the way you collapse upon landing. It doesn't matter. Getting away from Hugo does.

You scramble to your feet and begin booking it. Behind you, you can hear him calling after you.

He doesn't live close to any civilization, but you still hope that maybe someone, anyone, will come to your aid.

"Help!" you cry. Your vision swims. Everything hurts. You push through, knowing stopping means you'll be doomed forever. "Please help!"

A few more seconds of running makes you nearly faint, leaning against a tree. The bark cuts into your palms painfully. Your stomach is doing flips inside of you, twisting into painful knots.

"(Y/n)! Get back here this instant!" Hugo yells.

You force yourself to keep going. Everything seems like its closing in around you. Each inhale makes your lungs burn with effort. Where are you going?

Does it really matter? Nothing matters besides escaping this madman.

You run out onto a dirt road, not paying attention to your surroundings, not until the loud noise of an engine makes you look up.

The last thing you see is the glimpse of headlights before everything goes black.

[bitterie-sweetie]

Fake it til you make it

Pairing: Jeonghan x reader Genre: fluff, fake dating WC: 6.5k Warnings: alcohol A/N: yes it's about vday buuut it's actually for @syuperseventeen's bdayyy!!! surprise surprise! happy birthday nat, i hope this year is even better and filled with many things to look forward to <3

Your Valentine’s date with Jeonghan is coming up and yet the only thing on your mind is how to break up with him. Of course breaking up with someone is difficult, but you’d argue that what’s more difficult is breaking up with someone you never even dated.

Jeonghan is a prankster. 

Growing up, you’d often be on the receiving end of his pranks at school. Third grade “initiation” had you drenched in water after he told you to pin a cup against the wall with a straw, and in ninth grade you had tears streaming down your face after eating an entire scoop of wasabi—not the matcha ice cream he said it was. Then there was the time he did something to make your first crush hate you, which, in hindsight, was a good thing because the guy turned out to be a total asshole. 

It wasn’t Jeonghan’s fault entirely when you were too willing to fall for his pranks because being the target of a prank meant having his attention, and that’s something that you wanted. Jeonghan had a way of making everyone feel special, and his attention was a limelight that you never wanted to step out of. 

Honestly, you might’ve kept up with it if he kept going. But then that fateful day came and it was like you were suddenly on his side, working with him instead of being the victim to his antics, and you’d say that that’s what has kept the two of you together after all these years. 

Well, at least until now.

“Hey,” you greet in a rush, looking around the table at everyone and seeing that you’re truly the last one to arrive. Usually, you’d give that place to Lee Chan; he’s the most popular of your friend group and almost always has a prior appointment to your meetups. “Sorry I’m late. My train was delayed and—oh, did you already order for me?” 

Jeonghan slides a sealed bubble tea across the table and sets it in front of your seat—the one empty chair right beside him, no less. When you glance at him questioningly he shrugs and tilts his head towards the crowd at the front. “The line was too long so I ordered yours with mine. Hope you’re feeling like your usual today.” 

Indeed, the sticker on the cup shows that it’s your go-to order. “Aw, that’s so sweet of you. Thanks, babe.” 

Today’s meet up with your friend group is the first of the year and it’s also the first time you’re seeing everyone since Chan’s wedding… including Jeonghan. You would’ve spent Christmas and New Year’s with him had he not cancelled on you, and now that bit of distance has manifested into a larger uncertainty for you over the past while. Even now, the ‘babe’ seemed to come out awkwardly, sticking to your throat.

“Wow, you guys are actually disgusting. I hope you know that.” Seungkwan makes a face at you, and beside him, Soonyoung nods a few times in agreement. 

You plaster on a smile. “It’s okay to just say you’re jealous.” 

The only response you get is an eye-roll from Soonyoung, and then everyone moves on, thankfully. Mingyu asks you what you’ve been up to so you talk about your recent promotion at work and some new habits you’ve started in the new year, and when you sense that the conversation is starting to approach the territory of your future with Jeonghan, you gently steer it towards Chan. After all, he’s the one that got married just a few months ago, and you know he would never miss the chance to talk about his amazing honeymoon and how great this new chapter of his life is going.

There is truly nothing like adult friendships and its quarterly updates. 

Once there’s a bit of a lull in the conversation, Jeonghan turns to you. “What are you doing this week?” 

“Oh, this week?” Your heart speeds up tenfold at the uncertainty of what might come next. “Hmm well, it’s Valentine’s Day.” 

“Yeah, exactly.” He nods and much to your relief, there’s a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. “So I’ll see you for our date then?” 

“Of course, babe.” 

“Can’t you guys do this somewhere else?” Soonyoung says as he stares daggers in your direction. You totally understand and sympathize with that though; today you’re turning up the sweetness more than usual to compensate for the distance you actually feel, unfortunately at the expense of your friends.

Jeonghan completely ignores Soonyoung’s complaint and doesn’t even look his way. “That’s good,” he says, leaning back in his seat and almost looking relieved at your answer. “I was afraid my darling might not have time for me anymore.”

“What? No way. Did you have anything in mind for our date?” 

“Hmm, yes but it’s a surprise. I’ll text you the details later.” 

“Well, uh, I have to run,” Chan says, slowly getting up from his seat. The rest of you hardly bat an eye, having gotten too used to his busy schedule. “It was nice seeing everyone. You guys should come over for my housewarming once everything is set up.” 

Mingyu stands up too. “Oh, I actually have to go too; got a dinner with Wonwoo later.” 

…On second thought, perhaps you overcompensated a bit too much with the cringe. Soonyoung and Seungkwan leave soon after getting a call from their roommate, Seokmin, and then it’s just you and Jeonghan at the table. Still seated side by side, your arm occasionally brushing against his. 

“How have you really been?” he asks in a low voice. 

“Decent, I guess, despite the winter blues and all. It’s pretty much what I said earlier.” You shrug when he remains silent. “Why do you ask? Do I look depressed or something?”   

“No,” he shakes his head with a laugh, “not depressed, exactly, but I wanted to see if you’re as sad as I am about not seeing each other in so long.” Then he leans in a bit closer, as if to whisper a secret. “I missed you, darling.”

It’s times like this when you feel like he’s toeing the line. There’s a small smile lingering on his lips and a softer look in his eyes, not at all like the overdone sweetness to the point of sarcasm from before, but you can never tell if he really means what he says or if this is just part of the act. 

Regardless, it makes your face feel hot and it makes you unable to look directly at him. 

“Oh… yeah,” you say, trying to make a quick recovery. “It’s too bad we missed out on the holidays but at least we get Valentine’s Day.” 

“Yup, that’s exactly why I have something special in mind for that day. I want to make it up to you, darling.” 

You give him a smile and then go to take a sip of your drink, and that’s pretty much the end of the conversation. Despite saying he misses you, it’s interesting how he doesn’t explain why he bailed on the holidays in the first place, and you don’t know whether you should ask about it at this point.

Or if you should even be curious about such a thing. 

Jeonghan pulls you out of your thoughts with a brush of his hand on yours. “It’s getting dark. Let’s head out?” 

You agree and then let him hold your hand, lace his fingers with yours, and then lead you out of the shop. He doesn’t let go until you cross the parking lot and get to his car. It’s strange, you think. You can’t seem to recall the last time the two of you held hands so naturally like this especially when there’s no one else around. 

In fact, when the two of you are alone, the sickening sweetness is always toned down but not completely dropped. Now, Jeonghan’s smiles are softer around the edges like they’re less exaggerated, less of a performance, and when he calls you darling, his voice is quieter and isn’t at all coated in the sticky honey you’re used to. When he hugs you goodbye at your door, it’s a loose hug and almost has a degree of uncertainty. 

Jeonghan steps back but lingers just for a second. “I’ll see you in a few days for our date, darling.”

“Of course,” you put on a smile, “I can’t wait, babe.” 

He waits until you get into your building before giving a little wave and then heading on his way. 

After you close the door behind you and collapse onto your bed, you heave a sigh and finally let the smile slip from your lips. So there would be a Valentine’s date this year after all; the anticipation makes your heart speed up the slightest but at the same time makes you all the more anxious. You thought that he really would end things today, and if not, that you should be the one to do so. But seeing him after so long, feeling the way the warmth of his touch lingers on your skin, basking in the brightness of his smiles, you simply couldn’t utter those words. 

Perhaps Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be the right time to do it either, or maybe your date won’t end up happening for whatever reason. You know that this is something you have to do, but the question is how exactly would you go about doing it? Because there is one major problem. 

You’re not dating Jeonghan at all. 

One moment in high school is what started this whole thing.

It was eleventh grade drama class—which Jeonghan thought would be fun to take as an elective—that resulted in the two of you being cast in the school play. Although neither of you landed a role that was remotely close to important, Jeonghan decided to have fun with it and improvise during your one minute of screen time and that somehow turned your insignificant cameos into a beautiful romance that had the audience rooting for you. 

And that very moment somehow managed to embed itself so deeply in your relationship with Jeonghan that it became a long running joke to this day. 

Today you’re sitting across from Soonyoung and Seungkwan again, with Mingyu beside you this time. Almost an exact replica of last week’s meetup, but Chan already has plans and Jeonghan is very obviously missing—something Soonyoung points out immediately.

“Wow, no Jeonghan today?” he says loudly even before the hostess is out of earshot. The people at the two tables nearby glance in your direction and you start to regret coming here at all. “We really won this one. Y/N, we should do this more often.” 

You definitely should not. “Um, yeah. Totally.” 

Last week’s meeting with your friends is what gave you the idea to consult with them about your situation. You first suggested the idea to Mingyu, and then used the prospect of free food to get Soonyoung and Seungkwan to come out, and naturally, Chan is busy so it ends up being the four of you at brunch. Which is better on your wallet, you think. You get the feeling that this quarterly meetup can totally happen more often if you were to make this offer every time. 

As for what you’re about to ask… well, truthfully, you still don’t know if you should even do it. You’ve gone so many years without saying a word that it’d simply be odd to ask now, plus you would run the risk of making everything weird. But if you don’t do it, you would only end up making it weird anyway because how much longer can you go on pretending?

Besides, it’s not only you and Jeonghan who are prolonging this inside joke for way longer than it should’ve lasted. All of your friends should be in on it if they treat the two of you like a couple too. 

The waiter comes by to take your orders, and you try not to wince at the entire list that comes out of Soonyoung and Seungkwan’s mouths. Mingyu gets the least, seemingly knowing that something is up if the worried glances he throws your way is anything to go by. 

Once the waiter leaves, that’s when the small talk stops and all eyes turn to you.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Soonyoung asks with a goofy grin. “Since Jeonghan’s not here, does that mean you need help with Valentine’s Day plans or something?” 

Beside him, Seungkwan has the complete opposite expression as he eyes you warily between sips of his americano.

You take a huge swig of water like it’s liquid courage, and then go for it. “This is going to sound weird…” you start, trying not to notice the way Seungkwan tenses up as if bracing for your words, “but I wanted to ask you guys what my relationship with Jeonghan is.” 

Silence. Complete, dead silence. 

Soonyoung freezes like he’s in a photograph while Seungkwan’s hand holding his americano hangs in mid air as a drop of the drink dribbles down the side of his lip. 

“Sorry, what?” It’s Soonyoung who recovers first. “I think I heard that wrong.” 

You shake your head. “Just tell me.” 

“You’re asking us what your relationship with your own boyfriend is?” 

“Boyfriend—exactly!” You have to hold back all the thoughts you have on the topic. “Yeah, that’s what I mean. So you think he’s my boyfriend? That we’re dating?” 

Soonyoung frowns but it’s Seungkwan who answers, exasperated. “Y/N, what are you trying to say here? Are you trying to say you guys broke up? Or do you think we don’t know you well enough and this is a test? Can you say whatever it is directly—” 

“Jeonghan and I aren’t together.”

There, you said it. Your biggest secret is out.

It should make you relieved to finally let out the secret you’ve been harbouring for years or it should at least alleviate some of the weight on your chest, but it doesn’t. The silence in the wake of your confession only closes in on you and makes it all the more suffocating.

“Any—anymore?”

“No. We were never together.”

The bit of silence from earlier repeats itself. Maybe you should become a speaker or presenter with your ability to draw such reactions from a crowd.

Seungkwan noisily sets down his drink and then leans forward with a frown. He’s still in denial, that much is obvious, and he narrows his eyes as he asks, “Is this a joke? A hidden camera? Are you trying to prank us like Jeonghan—”

“No, I’m completely serious. It’s really not what it seems, and this is why I’m asking you guys what you see us as because at this point I don’t even know the answer myself.” 

With a deep breath, you tell them the truth about this entire thing.

You tell them about the high school play and your impromptu acting, and how that led for the two of you to become the famous couple at school afterwards. Sure, it might’ve been a good thing because that meant your acting was believable. But to two people who were interested in just about anything except love at that age, it was annoying and gross. 

After the show when the shippers wouldn’t stop, the two of you decided to do what you do best—pull a prank. You spent that Valentine’s Day together as a joke and acted extra disgusting to mock couples while making fun of how stupid people were to believe whatever you showed them. In twelfth grade, the two of you did the same for Valentine’s Day and then even went to prom together as a joke. 

In recent years, however, the annual joke of a Valentine’s Day date has turned into his Christmas and your Lunar New Year, his cousin’s graduation, your coworker’s housewarming, and Lee Chan’s wedding. It’s made you on a texting basis with his sister and it’s made him familiar with all your favourite food spots and go-to orders. It’s turned him into someone who’s simultaneously as distant as an acquaintance yet closer than a best friend. 

And so, here you are, living an entire lie because you and Jeonghan had the whole world fooled.

“That’s insane,” Soonyoung says when you finally finish the story, unable to look your way and instead, stares into his drink with how mind blown he is.

Seungkwan, on the other hand, remains a bit skeptical. “Okay, but then what was with all that PDA?All the kissing? Is this some sort of situationship?” 

“Oh, um.” Immediately you can feel your cheeks heating up. You didn’t think this far at all but now it seems like the entire truth will have to come out. “All of it was fake. We’ve… never actually kissed.” 

That drama class has taught you more than you needed to know about manipulating angles and the audience’s perception, and Jeonghan is very good at it. Your fake kisses were often just a trick of the angle or occasionally using the thumb trick, and having seen the evidence captured in photos over the years, you know how convincing it can look.

Now, it’s embarrassing to admit for reasons you never would’ve imagined. Admitting to pulling a childish prank like this is one thing, but the realization that you and Jeonghan have faked it for so long without ever once making it real has you feeling almost dejected.

“I always knew Jeonghan was crazy but I didn’t know he’d be *this* crazy.” Soonyoung now has his head in his hands and is staring off into space. “This is the most insane story I’ve ever heard. I’m not sure if I should be happy for you or sad.” 

You give a wry smile. “Yeah, well, I get why you would think we were together though. You met us in college and wouldn’t have known about what happened in the past so I guess there would never be a reason to question it.” 

Beside you, Mingyu clears his throat and you turn to look at him. He’s been so quiet throughout your story that you were too busy focusing on the reactions of the other two, but looking at him now, his reaction is entirely different. Mingyu isn’t as surprised as he is concerned. “Actually, Y/N, a few years ago…” he says hesitantly, “there was a time when I asked him if you were actually dating.” 

“You did? What did he say?”

“He didn’t deny it.”

“Well, we all know how he loves to be ambiguous and leave things a mystery.”

Mingyu shakes his head. “No—see, that’s what I thought too, but it was different that time. At first he didn’t deny it, but when I pushed a bit more, he said that you’re dating. In actual words and with the most serious look I’ve ever seen on his face.” 

This is news to you. You always assumed that they were all in on the joke and would’ve never guessed that anyone actually asked Jeonghan, but the fact that he answered that way is all the more baffling. 

“I don’t get it. Why would he tell you that?” 

“Yeah, so,” Soonyoung says, “from then on we all thought that was fully confirmed, and he never said or implied otherwise.” 

“Right…”

Mingyu nudges you gently. “Y/N, are you telling us about this now because you’re planning on stopping the act? Has it been bothering you? Or did something happen?” 

“Is that why you wanted to tell us today?” Soonyoung lets out a dramatic gasp and leans all the back in his chair, hands over his mouth. “Don’t tell me—are you going to stop the act because you have a crush on someone?”

“What? No, definitely not. It’s not that, it’s—” 

Here’s the next part of your big secret being revealed, something you weren’t entirely ready for but you tell yourself that this needs to happen. 

It’s because of your feelings for Jeonghan. Your very real, very genuine feelings that have nothing to do with this prank.

Truthfully, you can’t pinpoint when you started feeling this way, much like you’re not sure how this joke was able to stick around for so long. It could be the most recent development—when your friend tried to convince you to hop on a dating app, all you could think about was how wrong it felt because you already had Jeonghan. Or maybe it was the Valentine’s Day just before college graduation when he leaned in so closely you thought he was going to kiss you, for real this time, and then only realizing much later that you were disappointed that it wasn’t real. 

Or perhaps it started way back, to the time he asked you to prom—he said he didn’t have a date only for you to later find out he’d already rejected two promposals from other people. All for your fake relationship, supposedly.

And now, for you, what has started as a harmless prank has turned into something much more than that over the years. 

Everyone looks like they're at a loss for words after that part, and even Soonyoung has lost his enthusiasm after hearing it. “Shit, that’s…” he starts. “Okay, yeah, I’m definitely sad for you.” 

Seungkwan and Mingyu have similar sentiments but you wave them off, eager to lighten the mood again after such heavy topics. The food on the table has been long finished and you’re beginning to feel like you’re overstaying your welcome when there’s a crowd waiting at the front of the restaurant. “It’s fine, it’s whatever. I just wanted to get this off my chest today so that I can figure things out before I see him in a few days.” 

A while later, you finish paying and then all head out together. 

The conversation continues to replay itself in your head, and you realize there is one thing you’re curious about. You turn to Mingyu. “By the way—Mingyu, why *did* you ask Jeonghan if we were actually dating?”

Mingyu stops mid-stride and freezes like a deer in headlights, clearly not expecting your question at all. “I—um, I was asking for a friend.” 

“A friend?”

“Yeah, Chan.” He nods a few times in a row. “I thought Chan had a crush on you and I was trying to help him out.”

Strange, seeing as you’ve probably interacted with Chan the least among your friend group. He’s simply too booked and busy to hang out with you, and has been all throughout your college years together. 

Oh, and he’s married.

“Like, before he met his wife?” you ask.

Soonyoung starts to cough furiously from where he is a few steps ahead while Mingyu’s cheeks redden the slightest bit. 

You vaguely remember the first time the two of you did this, and how it wasn’t anything like how it’s going now. 

Tonight is the night you’re supposed to go on your date with Jeonghan, and you’ve been buzzing with nerves since the night before. You have no idea what to expect for tonight since all he told you about it was to show up at his apartment, and that in itself was slightly concerning as you’ve never been to his home before nor has he been so secretive about any plans. Usually the two of you would be going to a casual place or would have the schedule shared ahead of time if it was a more formal event that needed preparation. 

Jeonghan buzzes you in when you arrive and before you can say you’ll wait for him in the lobby, he tells you to go up to his unit. Again, a bit strange. You do as he asks though, and then even go to knock on the door when there’s no sign of him coming out.

When he opens the door and steps aside, that’s when everything clicks—you’re not here so that he can get his car and take you to your date location. This *is* the date location.

Beyond the doorway, you can see that his apartment is completely decorated. Rose petals line the sides of the hall and lead to the dining table, covered in a deep red tablecloth and perfectly set for your meal. Beside it, a large bouquet of roses rests at the center of the sideboard surrounded by a row of flickering candles which light up the space.

Even without knowing what his home normally looks like, it’s obvious that all this would’ve taken a lot of effort to set up.

“Jeonghan, why did you prepare all this?”

He gives you a dazzling smile. “Because my darling deserves the best, of course. I told you I was going to make it up to you for cancelling Christmas.” 

“Babe, that’s too sweet of you. You really didn’t have to.” You try to return his smile but it doesn’t come easy when this whole situation is overwhelming. Then you let him take your coat and then guide you to the dining table where everything is set up. 

Only when you’re seated do you realize that his response doesn’t answer your question at all. 

The scent of the roses fill the room and looking at them gives you a pang in your heart. This is what the two of you used to make fun of—these big, romantic gestures, and the couples that willingly eat them up. Now it’s as if the tables have turned and you don’t know what to think. 

If this were in public, in front of your friends or other people, you would’ve said that it was another funny gesture that Jeonghan put up for the sake of making them cringe. Because the two of you were the perfect joking, prankster couple, right? 

Now that it’s just you and him here, it confuses you as to why he’s going to such lengths for a joke when it’s something that no one else would see, when there’s no audience to watch his performance. 

You watch as Jeonghan busies himself in the kitchen, serving the food that he’s prepared and pouring the wine into glasses while glancing your way every once in a while. He looks pleased, you note, and he should be if he got his space to look this beautiful. But you can sense that there’s something else too, almost like a nervousness that sits on his shoulder every time he breezes past you and makes eye contact for the briefest second.

After everything is ready, he finally takes a seat across from you and the dinner begins.

Making small talk is easy at first; you comment on your surprise at this type of date, talk about how cold it’s been lately and how it sucks that your company is forcing you to go back into the office. You ask him how his holiday went and how his family has been, and mention how cute his sister’s new puppy is after seeing a post about it on her social media. 

You know you’re just delaying the inevitable. Somehow you get the feeling he knows it too, judging by the way his answers are shorter than usual and how your conversation feels so superficial. So this time after there’s a lull in the conversation, you decide to go for it.

"Jeonghan, um…"

"Hmm?" He looks at you and waits for you to continue, but you don't. Or rather, you can't. "Ah, you're going to comment on how good this is, right?" he says instead, as if supplying you with a way out.

You're all too eager to grab onto it. "Wow, you read my mind." An enthusiastic nod, a slight look of surprise. "It's amazing. Did you make all this yourself?"

Jeonghan shakes his head and then follows up with a sheepish smile. "Partly. The rest is store bought."

Another nod, and then it just ends there again. Seated in this spot with the soft lighting of flickering candles cast against the wall and the heat of Jeonghan's gaze on you, the feeling of discomfort only grows. It's hard to remember what the two of you were like before, during the days when everything seemed so silly–when each move was a clearly defined act between two actors and the world was your stage. And most importantly, when each smile he showed you didn't send your stomach into somersaults or your mind into a loop of second guessing. 

The air is so heavy and stifling that you grab your glass and down a large gulp of the wine. At least when you're drinking, you wouldn’t have to speak, whether that might be responding to him in a way that gives away all of your thoughts, or completely spilling them out yourself. Maybe the alcohol will also drown out some of your anxieties and–

"Hey, slow down." Jeonghan glances at you with worry. "We have all night."

You set the glass down, albeit a bit reluctantly. "Right, sorry. This wine is just so good."

Yet another lie, but what's one more at this point? The wine is much too sour and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. You would've much preferred a soda or bubble tea, and drinking something fancy like this during such a fancy occasion makes you feel like you're pretending to be someone you're not.

Which is exactly what you're doing, isn't it? You've been living a lie this entire time.

You briefly wonder if Jeonghan feels the same way—the two of you have never properly spent time alone in complete privacy, and to have your first time be in such a formal atmosphere must feel strange. But if he's uncomfortable, he makes no sign of showing it. Or maybe he's always been the better actor of the two of you.

“You know, since you mentioned seasonal depression, I was thinking that for Christmas this year we should go somewhere. Somewhere warm and sunny to get away from the cold.”

“Oh, this year?” you repeat stupidly when you can’t quite believe what you’re hearing. Jeonghan wants to continue this thing? And here you were, thinking that he was about to end it at any moment for the past few months. “Um, yeah. That would be nice.” 

“Or it could be a fall trip. Your parents have been wanting to go see the leaves change colour, right?” 

There’s no hint of sarcasm on his face and no playful twinkle in his eye, and even though no one can read him very well, you know enough to tell that he’s being serious. You also know that what he’s saying makes no sense at all.

“Right, yeah. They’ve been wanting to do that.” 

“Y/N, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” you reply automatically, and then reach for another long gulp of your drink. “Yup, all good.”

Jeonghan frowns, a tiny crease appearing between his brows. “Are you sure? If you want to talk about it, I’m here to listen.” 

It’s strange, the way he looks at you. Jeonghan, who dances around questions and deflects easily with humour and only shows people what he wants them to see, now has worry filling his eyes as he waits for you to continue. As if he *knows*.

You doubt Soonyoung and Seungkwan would have spilled your secret so easily, but there’s a great possibility that the two of them would be unable to act normal around him after what they learned, and unintentionally hint at the truth. Then there’s the other possibility that Jeonghan knew way before any of this. Because maybe he—

No, you don’t want to think about that.

“It’s just that,” you say, having to force yourself to pause and slow down your thoughts before something terrible comes spewing out. A slow inhale, a shaky exhale. “Why are we here, Jeonghan?”

His frown deepens, but now it’s turned into confusion. “What do you mean?”

“What are we doing? This date has been nice, but I’m just very confused over why you put so much effort into this when there’s no one else around to see it. Weren’t we doing all of this as a joke? As a prank? Pretending to be a couple so that we can fool the world since that’s exactly what they wanted to see, but joke’s on them because we’re not?” 

Jeonghan watches you silently with an unreadable look on his face. “Is that how you feel?”

“’Well, yes, because isn’t that the truth? And now, we’ve been doing so much together that it doesn’t feel like a joke anymore. How can it be when your mom is offering to give me homemade side dishes? Or—or when Chan’s wife was there, smiling at us on her wedding day like she wished we’d be just as happy as they are?” You pause to look at him and then proceed to look away. “How long are we going to continue lying to the world? Because I can’t stand the guilt.”

The last part of that may be true, but it’s not the full truth. 

“Yeah, you’re right. We don’t have to keep doing this.”

“W—what?” You stare at him, dumbfounded. 

Jeonghan sighs deeply and then meets your eyes, but then quickly looks away. “Yeah, we should’ve left this in high school. The joke has kind of gotten old, hasn’t it?” 

You have no idea what he means by any of that, but it feels like you’re better off not knowing. The tension in the air is thick, and even when you imagined your fake breakup hundreds of times in your head, this is not something you could have predicted. It’s as you’re on a precipice, and one wrong move will delete all those years, all that time you spent with him. 

And the worst part is that you don’t even want to break up.

“Jeonghan, look. I know all of this is supposed to be a joke, but why is it that it feels like you really do care?” One last deep breath before you make the jump. “And why is it that I *want* you to care?” 

That has him stunned for a second, so much that the expression is obvious on his face in a way that almost never happens. 

“Wait, what? I do care. No, I get that we started all this for fun back then, but that’s not how I feel about it now. Everything we’ve done is real—trust me, I wouldn’t have brought you to my family if that wasn’t the case. And I never thought I was lying to them. It’s exaggerated, yes, and much too dramatic, but I’m not a good enough actor where all that can be based on a complete lie.” 

You braced yourself for the final blow, only to be completely confused over his words. “What are you saying?” 

“Y/N, it’s always been real to me. All of it.” 

“But—but I thought you wanted to stop all this when you cancelled our plans for Christmas. Why did you do that?”

Jeonghan opens his mouth a little but then closes it again. “Do you remember last year at Chan’s wedding when you caught the bouquet?” 

You nod but don’t hide your confusion about where this is going.

“After you caught it, everyone was looking at you… and then at me. It was like they all expected us to be next, because well,” he shrugs, “everyone thought we were together. And that’s when I realized that this is more than simply feeling like it’s real. We were turning it into something real.”

“So you called off Christmas because you wanted to stop doing this? Because you hated how it was becoming real?” 

“No,” Jeonghan shakes his head. “The opposite. I was afraid of how much I liked that it felt real. That day at the wedding, I—I wanted to kiss you for real, Y/N. Not have to fake it.” 

“Oh…”

“If we did meet up for Christmas, I don’t know what might’ve happened. I thought it was safer to stay away for a bit and gather my thoughts.” He hesitates slightly and you can see the pained smile he has on. “But one day into the holidays and I was already regretting my decision.” 

You don’t know what to say to that. Your mind is hardly listening anymore when it keeps on repeating Jeonghan’s words like a broken record, screaming to you that it’s real, that all of it is real. That you’re not the only one who’s been feeling this way, and that you won’t need to stage a fake breakup for your fake relationship. 

“Are you okay?” he asks, breaking you out of your thoughts.

“I’m just—are you sure all this is real? Jeonghan, are you being serious?”

He breaks into a tender smile. “Don’t you remember? I already answered you back then, Y/N.”

“What do you mean?” 

“You asked me if I’d be your darling, even if thousands of miles may separate us, even if—” 

“—if the paths we walk may crumble,” you finish off. “Or something like that. I actually have no idea what we said back then.”

Those were the lines in the play that you did back in high school, the very lines that the two of you conjured out of thin air one day and the very moment that started this whole thing. 

“Yeah, that,” he says softly.

“Hmm, so, babe,” you put on your usual mockingly sweet tone, repeating the line that you said on stage many years ago, “are you going to kiss me?” 

Jeonghan holds back a smile like he can’t contain his happiness, and follows with his line without missing a beat. “If that’s what my darling wants.”

The smile only widens when he gets up from his seat and you go to meet him halfway, and it’s the last thing you see when he leans in closer and closer. Jeonghan gently slides his thumb between his lips and yours as he closes the distance, like how it was done the very first time, but this time you can feel it as he slowly moves it away. 

Then you’re kissing him, actually kissing him for real for the first time. His lips are soft and warm, and the bit of hesitance between you seems to completely melt away as you wrap your arms around him and he pulls you closer. You let yourself drown in his scent, the warmth of his touch, and the loud pounding of your heart now that you no longer have to be paying attention to the reactions of the people around you. Nothing else matters anymore, all that matters is what you have now.

You spend the rest of the night catching up, whether that’d be stories over the years of shared memories, or creating new memories to make up for the lost time. He tells you he loves you and that the trip suggestions were very much real, and the two of you laugh over how you’ve become the exact couple you once mocked. It’s easy to understand them now though, you think as Jeonghan gives you a sleepy smile as you’re cuddled up on the couch.

“Oh yeah, I wanted to ask something,” you say, and he looks at you in alarm at your abruptness. “Why did you tell Mingyu that we were together?”

Jeonghan stays silent for a bit, narrowing his eyes as if having difficulty recalling what you’re talking about. Then he finally answers. “Oh that?” He chuckles. “That was because I didn’t want him to think he had a chance with you.”

[sinfullyrosey]

Pushing Your Buttons

Lilia Vanrouge X Fem!Reader

Warnings: Fingering, Orgasm Denial, Oral, Semi-Public, Misuse of Magic

Got like three people in my inbox asking for more General Lilia, but I don’t do requests and this fic has been sitting unfinished for months now. So, no general fae, but current papa bat using phantom magic to mess with his favorite little, magicless human.~

I just realized I have written a male reader, gn reader, and now fem reader for this old fart. The triangle of smut is complete.

Also, I apologize in advance for my terrible text speech skills. I personally don’t type like that normally and struggle to do so for fic purposes.

You were slowly going insane. Absolutely bonkers. Throw you in a padded cell and lock away the key levels of mad. Couldn’t even concentrate on the simple tasks given to you by that aggravating crow without your mind immediately buzzing from the searing hot sensation between your nether regions.

Simply ignoring it had become impossible by this point. It has been nearly an hour now since it all started and nearly an hour have you suffered at the hands of that old bat. Running all over campus, delivering papers and whatnot, all the while your pussy is being played with like some handheld controller!

Another whine slipped past your clenched teeth once more as a particular spike of pleasure shot through you and made your stomach twist even tighter. You faltered, almost tripping on nothing along the pathway, and decided to stop and steady yourself as those fingers worked at your wet folds.

You heaved a shaky sigh and began to rummage through your school bag for your phone. Pulling it out, your knees buckling when you felt yourself growing wetter, the feeling of something dripping causing you to panic. So far you had been good to keep yourself together and, surprisingly, the fingers had been rather merciful, only occasionally grazing along your slit or palming at your mounds for only a few seconds.

But now they had just gotten bolder and more persistent, lingering longer against your folds, spreading your lips and pressing around your entrance. Sharpened nails playfully raking along your thighs or pinching your skin. At one point they even groped at the spot where your thighs and butt cheeks meet and suddenly squeezed them, making you yelp and startle the hallway full of confused students.

Thankfully, you were in a more secluded place on campus right now, free from the leering eyes of male students as they watched you slowly fall apart.

With trembling hands, you tapped on your messaging app to type up a response to the culprit behind your cruel torment.

‘Lilia plz knock it off’

You waited patiently for a reply. With some relief, you felt the hands temporarily release themselves from you, presumably to type a response back. A break that was short lived, however, as the moment your phone dinged from the incoming reply, you once again felt the hands begin to rub at you. This time, much rougher, and with purpose.

‘Now, why ever would I do that little one? The fun part has just begun.~’

As soon as you finished reading his text, you suddenly let out a pitched moan when you felt his thumb gently press down on your previously neglected clit. Your walls tightened as he rolled the sensitive nub in circles, fingers spreading your pussy open to play with the folds as your whole body shook.

You could definitely feel yourself dripping now, clear slick running down your thighs and soaking the top part of your thigh highs socks. You clutched the helm of your skirt, trying to pull it down and cover more of your front in embarrassment. You were really hating that he had removed your panties earlier on when he first started to tease you. Being so exposed an unable to keep from soaking yourself in your own mess was making everything so much worse.

You typed frantically the best you could while trying to ignore the sensation of his skilled fingers

‘U and ur stupid magic fantom hand thingys are drivin me crazy!!1’

You could only muffle your squeals and moans the best you could, looking around to make sure you were still alone as you stumbled over to somewhere with a bit more privacy. With the insistent prodding and palming of your pussy, you could only find a bench to sit down on to prevent yourself from falling and hurting yourself.

‘Oh, I just love to push your buttons dear! And this little one of yours is my absolute favorite to push and play with! So small. So cute. Just like you!~’

You let out a needy whine as he playfully pinched the puffy bud between his fingers, gently tweaking it and making your body tense up from the delicious sensation.

‘And it elicits such adorable sounds from you too.~’

Your legs trembled and shook as you spread them out more, giving him better access to your needy hole that was just dripping in anticipation for him. Two of his fingers easily slipped past your entrance, pumping themselves inside you at a leisurely pace. Waves of euphoria were crashing down onto you as your vision grew hazy from the pleasure.

The wooden bench was stained from your juices as you continued to leak from where you sat. you clutched onto the bench ends the more that coil twisted and tightened under his ministries. You were panting and moaning as his fingers found that special, spongey spot in you and began to abuse it with each pump.

All your previous responsibilities were long forgotten as Lilia fingered you with his magickly-produced phantom hands. His thumb still pressing and circling your overly sensitive clit as he worked you towards an orgasm.

Your toes were curling in your shoes, head thrown back as you felt yourself slowly approach your much anticipated release. Your body was impatiently bouncing slightly in the seat, moving to meet his own thrusts and pounding harder into your G spot. Your eyes closed tightly, vision blurring, and breath quickening when you felt yourself on the edge of pure euphoria.

And all at once, it suddenly stopped.

The phantom hands ceased their movements, slipping out of your warm hole, leaving your walls to clench along nothing. The coil was left to relax and simmer down, but still tight from the brink of release that was stolen from it. You blinked blurrily, vision still spotty as your head came to the conclusion of what just happened. Your pussy fluttering and still leaking, but empty and unsatisfied.

“Wah-?!” You slurred.

You quickly looked down, lifting up your skirt to see that the hands had completely disappeared. Your stomach dropped, panic rising as you stumbled to reach for your phone that you had tossed aside when you first sat down. Your eyes scanned to see if he had left anymore texts or if he was in the process of typing, only to see it completely silent. Your fingers quickly tapped away in desperation as anger flared within you at this cheeky old bastard.

‘Lilia wat the fuck?!1!’

You seethed as you saw the bubble with three little dots appear, indicating he was typing and very much still around, hands available, yet not putting them to good use. Like giving you that much deserved orgasm!

‘Oh my, just a few minutes ago you were telling me to “knock it off” and leave you be?’

‘Lilia Im literally going to explode’

You could just hear him chuckling at your response from wherever he was right now. You let out a huff, rubbing your thighs together to get some sort of relief, but to no avail, so you gave up. You were just about ready to call him to give him a piece of your mind when another text popped into chat.

‘Best be on your way and finish your errands. Don’t want to keep you waiting any longer now, dear.’

To end off his text and further punctuate his point, he used the phantom hand again to promptly flick your reddened clit, sharp nail scraping against it and sending a sudden shock wave of pleasure bolting to your core and causing you to double over. Your cunt clenched around nothing and you let out a desperate keen.

You glared angrily at his text, a few tears building up from frustration as you aggressively tapped away on your phone. You may be too pissed to call this irritating fae to yell his ear off, but you weren’t angry enough not to send him a few choice words.

‘plz plz plz PLEASE just let me cum already Vanrouge!!1 im horny im stressed and im about ready to make my way to diasomnia and whoop ur old creaky ass you fae fuck!1!!’

You continued to glare at your phone screen, waiting for your annoyingly charming fae lover to respond to your rather childish, but justified outburst via text.

‘Alright, if you insist.~’

Success.

You grin in victory, spreading your legs in anticipation of his hands lavishing you once more and finally rewarding you with the well-deserved orgasm. You felt the phantom hands on your thighs once more, spreading you further.

And then you felt the sensation of something warm and wet slowly lapping over your slit, spreading your folds and grazing over your sensitive clit. You let out a loud gasp, body tensing at the realization of what he was doing.

Your eyes widened as his phantom tongue began its torturous pattern of slowly lapping along your folds, before reaching your clit and sucking on it briefly, then starting all over again. You could feel your juices leaking out of you once more with each suck and lick, your phone dinging with incoming texts.

‘You taste absolutely divine, my dear. Still just as sweet and juicy as last time.~’

He made a point to dip his tip into your clenching cunt, lapping up your slick, then sucking up your release messily. You let out soft moans as your body convulsed under his touch.

‘In fact, I think I’ll enjoy this meal for a little while.~’

It was the sharp sensation of a pair of fangs gently nibbling on your poor clit that finally had you losing your mind as your moans grew louder and body helplessly approaching your orgasm once more. But every time you reached that edge, he would slow down or stop briefly until you settled down once more.

‘After all, you never clarified when to make you cum.~’

[demigodsanswer]

Percy had a girl on almost every side. Sophia was on his left, Nella his right, and Olivia was strapped to his chest, snoozing away. Fate had given him and Annabeth something of a break in their twenties, but now their thirties were a chaos of their own making. Literally.

They'd all gathered on his and Annabeth's bed to keep Percy company before bed time. Actually, he shouldn't be letting Olivia sleep like this. If her sisters woke her up (which was likely), she'd never get back to sleep on time. But he needed one of his girls to be relaxed. And the four-month-old's soft weight on his chest was calming.

Percy wished he could say the same about the presence of his other two girls. Nella tugged a bit of his hair roughly into a clip while Sophia, the oldest and most coordinated at four years old, braided a bit of his hair. Percy tried not to let their pushing and pulling and brushing and braiding distract him from the absolute mountain of Latin midterms he had to grade. The other Latin I teacher, an old man who looked exactly like you'd expect, had suffered, but survived, a heart attack a week before midterms. Percy already had a lot of exams to grade on his own. And now, he had double that.

His eyes barely skimmed over students' translations, looking for key words, sufficient length, and reasonable English and/or Latin grammar, depending on the direction. He'd always been an easy grader, but now he was giving out points for just about anything.

While he focused on Latin, Percy's hair had become the unwilling source of entertainment for his four and almost-three year old, while Olivia, only four months, and Max, their beagle, had the right idea. Both were snoring away. Percy was keeping a close eye on the clock. Twenty more minutes. Then bed time. The girls were fed, bathed, and dressed in pajamas.

He missed his wife.

Annabeth had been called in as a consultant on a New Roman shrine that was under construction. Seemed that, even in their Roman forms, the gods remembered the great work she did on Olympus and wanted her and no one else. Thankfully the gods had little concept of human money, and Annabeth had been able to secure a few years-worth of private school tuition as payment. There was no turning the gig down. Even if it meant leaving her four-month-old behind with a big kiss and freezer full of breast milk.

One more week, Percy reminded himself. Two weeks without Annabeth. He could handle all the technical parts of parenting no problem. But what was he supposed to do when the girls cried because they missed their mom, except join them with a lamentable "Me too!"?

Annabeth was dying out West too, he knew. Every picture of her babies was responded to with some variation of: "Stop, I'm at [important event] with [actual god], and I'm going to cry."

Percy typed a brief comment to a student about the genitive case and hit submit, hoping they didn't feel too bad about their C+ grade.

Nella gasped suddenly, the sound loud in his ear.

"What?" Percy asked, his hand flying to his head to make sure he hadn't suddenly lost a patch of hair.

"I have to go potty!" Nella announced loud enough to wake Olivia.

Olivia started crying as Percy said, "Okay, go, go," helping her climb off the bed. Nella scurried into Percy and Annabeth's bathroom. It didn't have the kiddy potty seat attached like the girls' bathroom did, or a step-stool in front of the toilet, so he had to lift her on, and hold her so she didn't fall in, all while trying to sooth the still-fussy baby attached to his chest.

"All done!" She announced after a minute.

"Great," Percy said, helping her down. "Wash your hands." They did have a little step stool by the mirror. It was the first time he got to see himself. He had a bunch of glittery clips on Nella's side, and several padawan braids on Sophia's side. Some were tied at the ends with rubber bands, some were holding on for dear life on their own. Percy smiled.

"High five," Percy said, holding up both hands to congratulate the recently potty-trained girl on not peeing in his bed. Nella jumped, gave tow high fives, and landed on her feet on the floor. "Sophia," he said as they walked back into the room, "help your sister clean this hair stuff up."

The girls set to collecting their accessories.

"Do you like your hair?" Sophia asked.

"It's perfect," Percy promised. "Should we show Mommy?"

There was a chorus of "Yes!" from both of them. Even Olivia cooed, looking up at him, wide awake gray eyes waiting for Daddy to face time her favorite person. (Percy hadn't been keen on Olivia as a name. But when she came out with big, gray, owl eyes, wider than even Annabeth's in her baby pictures, they took is as a threat sign from Athena. "I think this means the next girl's name has to be horse themed," Percy said. Annabeth laughed, but Percy had found the perfect name: Rosalind. Rosie, for short, he imagined.)

Both girls brushed their teeth and got under the covers. They'd started sharing a room when Olivia was on the way, giving their baby sister her own nursery. If they had one more baby, which was the plan, it would probably mean finding a bigger place.

Annabeth answered the face time on the first ring.

"Hi girls!" She said. They called every night. It was only five in California, so she was still in her work clothes, hair pulled back off her face.

"Hi Mommy!" The girls said in unison. Percy had gotten Olivia out of the baby wrap so she could face forward. He waved her little sausage arm at the phone and, in a falsetto baby voice said for her "hi Mommy!"

Both girls got a few minutes to ramble to Annabeth about their days, before they asked her: "How was your day?" And Annabeth got to tell them about all the cool things she designed.

"And what did you girls do to Daddy's hair?" Annabeth asked at the end of her story.

"Do you like it?" Percy asked, tossing back some of the braids.

"Oh it's beautiful," Annabeth promised. "What do you think Livy?" Percy had come up with that nickname, and it seemed to be sticking. The Latin teacher's revenge for his daughter's olive-themed nickname.

Olivia vocalized a few non-specific sounds.

"She likes it!" Nella announced.

"Of course she does," Percy said.

"Alright girls, it's time for bed," Annabeth said. They blew kisses to each other, before Percy walked himself, Olivia, and Annabeth out of the room, with a "good night, love you sweet peas," to his older girls.

Back in the bedroom, Percy rested Olivia in her bassinet before walking his phone into the bathroom to start undoing his daughter's masterpiece.

"I miss you," Percy said, unclipping a sparkly barrette that had somehow become hopelessly tangled up in his hair.

"I miss you too," Annabeth said with a sigh. "I have to have dinner with Venus tonight, and the last two times we've met, all she does is talk about you. I swear, she's putting some love magic on me when she does it, because by the end I'm so ..." Percy was familiar with what horny Annabeth looked like -- bit lip, pink cheek, deep breathing -- and this was it.

"This is a new story," Percy said with a smirk, trying to look hot, despite his dumb little braids.

"I've been here a week and my vibrator has already died," Annabeth said.

Percy laughed. "Well, I'm sleeping next to an infant, so you're jerking off for two."

"I am," Annabeth said, her voice almost solemn in its seriousness. She touched her breast then. It wasn't meant to be sexy, but Percy felt a bit of a thrill anyway. He missed her. "Gods, the amount of breast milk I've had to dump ... do you guys have enough?"

"We're doing fine," Percy promised. Annabeth was bent down out of frame. When she came back in, she had her breast pump and was undoing her shirt.

"The New Rome nursing rooms are great," she remarked as Percy's gaze fixed on his wife's breasts, swollen and heavy.

"If I tell you we're out of breast milk, think they'll let you come home early?" Percy asked.

Annabeth laughed. "No," she said, "it's the gods were talking about. We'll be set for a decade after this week."

"Two weeks of abstinence, financial and educational security for our kids," Percy said, weighing each option on a hand. He lowered the "security for our kids" hand. "Ah damn, guess that is more important." As if he'd ever pick something else.

They stayed in silence for a few minutes as Percy finished undoing his hair, and she finished pumping. Sure, there was plenty to say. He wanted to hear about her day, she would want to hear about his and the girls. But for a moment, they stayed quiet, enjoying an almost meditative calm they'd found a way to cultivate over the years.

"I told Lady Diana that we wanted four children," Annabeth said as Percy carried her back into the bedroom. "She gave me her blessing. So we should be careful when I come back, unless we want Irish twins."

"I think technically just enough time has passed that they wouldn't count as Irish twins," Percy said with a smile. "What would we name a fourth one?"

"Well, Oliver was always my favorite boy's name, but I think that's out," Annabeth said.

"Absolutely," Percy agreed. "What about Chase?"

"I like it, but I still use that last name professionally. People might think I named my son Chase Chase," she pointed out. "What if it's a girl. Any ideas?"

Alright, here was his chance. Dock the boat.

Percy pretended to think. "Rosalind is pretty," he said. "It's from Shakespeare."

"Oh that's nice," Annabeth said. "Does it mean something?"

"'Beautiful rose' in Latin," he said. Of course, the Germanic origins of the name meant "gentle horse," but Annabeth didn't speak German.

"I love that," she said.

"Rosie for short," Percy said.

"Rosie," Annabeth cooed, "gods that's so ... Oh Venus is gonna have a field day with me later tonight."

"What?" Percy asked.

"I mean --" Annabeth flushed and laughed at her own poor phrasing, "she's going to use this miss-my-husband naming-my-babies energy to get me all riled up. I think she feeds on it, really. Like a lust vampire."

"One more week," Percy said.

"Tell your swimmers to really focus on XX. I'm a bit attached to Rosie already," Annabeth said.

Percy smiled. Success.

[altkys]

=͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜... 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙃𝙤𝙯𝙞𝙚𝙧 [ 𝘼𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙨, 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙤, 𝘾𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣 ]

@aroundsometimes

AHHH I’m so, so sorry this took so long, school started again and it hit me like a bitch 😭😭

Hope you enjoy this Diluc piece, I definitely didn’t. I also hope I captured the vibe of the song correctly (once again, definitely didn’t) but that’s ok. Sorry if you didn’t want this to be a romance, I tried to keep it a generic as possible in case you didn’t, and finally, thank you for being my first ever request!!

Anyways, enough of my yapping. On with the show.

❝ That I'd be Anywhere that you are That you are ❞

Diluc is busy. Between duties as the infamously dubbed ‘Darknight Hero’, or everyday ones as Master Diluc or Angel Share’s bartender, his schedule is always packed. Regardless of the circumstances, it’s always taken his utmost effort to keep his day running smoothly without fail.

Of course, the universe has other ideas for the pyro user, because the one day all he’s doing is tending to the vineyard, you crash his plans. Quite literally.

You fall out of the sky, landing on one of the empty wooden carts — and thankfully not getting impaled on a fence. It takes a single glance to see the ice encrusted on your feathers, stiffening them up and weighing them down. Work of the Fatui, Diluc’s mind supplies immediately. Scum.

He moves to help — why wouldn’t he lend a hand to those targeted by the same filth he has been? Especially when the issue can be fixed so quickly with his vision and resources?

Unfortunately for him, it’s you that’s the problem.

“Don’t touch me.” You practically snarl and crawl away, wings arching as you tremble from the effort of keeping them extended in what he assumed was an attempt at keeping him at arms — or wings — length.

The action exposes your very human torso and legs, barely covered by a few stray feathers and scraps of surprisingly clean cloth, like a much more respectable hillichurl. But Diluc keeps his eyes on your face, excluding a simple glance for weapons and other injuries.

How strange. His face feels hot— hotter than usual as he meets your piercing gaze.

“I’m not going to—“

“Quiet.”

He’s cut off by your voice, it’s sharp and clipped, but just soothing enough to lull him into silence. If it were nicer words you were saying, perhaps he’d be… hypnotised. In a way.

He takes the brief moment to take you in, eyes flickering to your wings — broken and covered in small holes that can only be from the shards from an icy explosion, and to your eyes — cold and guarded as you stare him down, as if he’s the one who tried to hurt you.

The silence stretches in between the two of you, both locked in a staring contest and neither making a move to break it. It’s almost like you’re both trying to gouge each other’s soul simply by looking.

With more effort than he thought necessary, Diluc gets his mouth to move. “I hardly believe you can order me, when it’s my property you’ve crashed into, while injured.”

Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say.

You practically hiss at him, your wings flaring to full size as you stumble backwards and try to bring yourself back up — to your feet, rather than on your knees.

“I don’t care.” Your voice is almost too hoarse to be heard over the pounding of blood in Diluc’s ears. 

You’re in pain, obviously, and the strain of speaking must’ve hurt more than it would’ve done any good. He has to resist the urge to rush over and help. You wouldn’t appreciate it, judging by your reaction to his approach before. Though he admits it was rather… insensitive.

“You are a fool, not to fear me.” You’re swaying when you take a step forward, one of your legs nearly giving out as you drag your legs. “I’ve crushed men under my fingers like they were nothing but ants, hunted them for sport. Torn them apart.”

Diluc doesn’t back down, staying silent in his position as he reaches back, summons his claymore—

And promptly throws it to the side. Out of arm's reach. It’s clear you aren’t going to last much longer, and he’d rather not have his eyes scratched out when you awake.

Your gaze, although slightly hazed over from what Dilic can assume is a concussion, flicker to his blade, then back to him. That same piercing gaze that had him frozen in place moments before, except now it’s more… confused. More wary, as you shift to stand still, no longer trying to make a break for it.

“What are you doing?” There’s a waiver to your voice, and your wings shake slightly, like you’re struggling to hold them up — which you are.

It’s not like there’s immediate trust. You’re still cautious, ready to fight until passing out, but you’re also smart enough to know you won’t last long enough to do real enough damage to escape.

So you’re still as Diluc takes a few steps forward.

“I can help you. Just let me.”

For someone who has fought for their life dozens more times than a normal human could ever wish for, the words come out easily. They’re true in a way, a promise he’s willing to keep. Though the words are much more sincere than usual, a gentle tone he usually never uses, except for—

Your wings fold around yourself, shaking slightly and trembling from the effort. “No.”

But your wings droop and the sound is loud in Diluc’s ears as you stagger forwards again, eyes half lidded. It’s only a few more moments before you collapse, body almost hitting the dirt instead of his arms as a shaky breath rattles your lungs.

He doesn’t hesitate to catch you in his arms, scooping you up bridal style and making sure not to hurt you any more than you already are. He’s careful, almost too cautious, like he’s holding a bomb instead of an injured person.

Despite you being far from human, you’re light. Almost too light, which doesn’t bode well — has it been a while since you’ve been able to eat? Was it just your wings that are heavy and make you seem bulkier?

He knows birds have light bodies to fly, and though you look healthy and human, it could apply to you.

“I don’t trust humans.” You grit out, trying to squirm out of his hold, and Diluc is somehow compelled to agree, even through surprise. Why not monsters? Though, with your wings it’s clear you are one yourself, Diluc has always subconsciously thought of you as more… refined. Perhaps you’re more humanistic than they are.

He ignores how his first thought was more ‘beautiful’.

“Well,” Diluc lets a crude, bitter smirk twist his lips as he looks down at you. “It’s a good thing I’m called an inhuman bastard then.”

“Hurt me and you die.”

Despite the sleep threatening to pull you under, you remain awake as he treats you, intent on making good on your word. But…

He's gentle. Not enthusiastic, nor openly interested in becoming friends, but there’s a subtle tenderness in his hands as he works to gently thaw the ice, so as to not shock your wings.

Some maids come in, trays of steaming, hearty food piled onto the plates. Mond’s finest, you’re sure. They look happy as well, to be of service. As if being at someone’s beck and call was worth celebrating. You don’t understand it.

Diluc assures you that you don’t need to.

“What are you?” He asks absentmindedly as his hand holds a steady flame near the edge of your wing, never extinguishing despite the vapour behind produce from the ice. 

It’s clear Diluc doesn’t mind being in the dark as to your species, but it’s equally obvious to him that you’re fighting to stay awake. So, talking helps. And he’d rather a passé you now, than an aggressive one later.

… and he couldn’t deny the curiousity, not to your origin, but you in general. “I’ve never seen someone half bird before.”

Your shoulders stiffen, teeth clenched together at his question. It takes several seconds for you to decide whether to answer, gaze dropping to your lap as you try to ignore how your cheeks are starting to heat up.

It’s not fair, that he can rile you up in a way you’ve never felt before. You’ve always been… distant from other beings. You’re not used to this.

Maybe it’s the fever talking. The sickness has you less than eager to argue.

“A harpy.” You rasp, voice hoarse from the effort of getting the words out. “One who mimics the eagle.”

“I thought so.” He nods, eyes flicking to you before studiously turning back to your icy  feathers. 

“Really?” You scoff, tearing off a piece of chicken with a claw and shoving it in your mouth to keep yourself awake just that little bit longer. “Didn’t think harpies were common in the city of freedom.” Or Teyvat.

“Not harpies.” Diluc corrects softly. He picks up a fork and arranges a bite, holding it up to your mouth when you swallow your previous. “Eagles.”

“You like them?”

“I have one as a…” Diluc struggles to find the right word, his brain suddenly all too focused on the way your lips wrap around the utensil. “A pet, of sorts.”

Your eyes glimmer with something positive for once, whether it’s the carefully prepared food or the mention of another eagle, he doesn’t know. But… well, he’d like for that look to stay for just a little while longer.

“Would you like to meet him?” He chances to ask.

“Yes.” You nod. The speed almost makes you dizzy.

You try to keep the eagerness out of your answer, but that one word comes out in a flurry, more like a plea than an agreement. It’s almost embarrassing, how much you want to see him. The eagle, that is.

You ignore the way Diluc’s lips quirk up, as if he’s trying to hold back a smile. 

You’re soft with the bird, paying Diluc no mind as he continues to heal your wings. It’s barely ten minutes when he’s done— and sure, the meal you were supposed to eat had been fed to (name), and you’ve already succumbed to sleep, but Diluc can’t find it in himself to care.

When you wake, it’s awkward. Humans had always been untrustworthy, and suddenly one shows up and puts that entire worldview on its head.

It’s not as if you suddenly trust all of humanity, you convince yourself, just that this one happens to be an outlier. One who saved you and fixed the one thing that made you able to live as your species.

The next time Diluc visits you, this time holding a tray himself, he’s met with a stammered, awkward apology from a very much healthier harpy. It’s… almost cute.

From then on, your relationship is much better. The status of acquaintances is quickly upgraded to friendship when you sample the food he’s brought you, finally able to appreciate the quality now that you weren’t half dead.

Of course, you’re not made to be kept inside. You go your separate ways not long after, but you pop in occasionally, though without warning, as it’s much more fun to see his surprise when you appear.

From strolls through the vineyard to Diluc neglecting his customers so he can engage in rare conversation with you in Angel Share, it’s rare for the townsfolk to see Diluc so happy and not think ‘where’s the harpy?’ 

Your conversations are sweet, with the common banter and occasional awkward side hugs and chivalrous gestures. So, when Diluc sees you fight, manipulating anemo to your will without the use of a vision, he’s shocked, unable to focus on anything but your agile form expertly manoeuvring through the enemies and striking them down.

When he hears you fight, he doesn’t. Bor does he hear the end of the continuous apologies from you— it’s not your fault you didn’t realise how fragile human ears were. 

“Sorry, sorry.” You say sheepishly, head bowed as you bob up and down on the cart Diluc pushes you on. The exact same one you crushed when you first met. It’s fixed now, and just slightly nicer looking than the rest.

“It’s fine.”

Diluc waves a hand, eyes glancing between you and the road as his voice stays level. Though, on the inside, his head is pounding, blood rushing through his veins until he can hardly focus on anything but the sound of his own heart. 

It rings in his ears like a bell, loud and obnoxious. He’s thankful that no one has seen him yet — who knows what the townspeople would think if they saw their reclusive ‘Darknight Hero’ in such a state.

Then again, his maid (Adelinde) walking in on him getting splashed with grape juice to carefully make a certain bottle of liquor — one you may or may not be currently indulging him — which is also just as humiliating.

He doesn’t exactly do camaraderie.

“If you say so.” You hum, raising a wing to block the sun. A stray feather floats down into his hair, and Diluc silently thinks it would make a good keepsake. “… Thank you, Diluc.”

He blinks, eyes wide and confused. It’s kind of adorable. “Why the sudden gratitude?”

You shrug, averting your gaze to the sky. If you were to maintain eye contact any longer, shyness would be inevitable. “Just felt like it.” 

“… You don’t need to thank me.”

And he means it. Despite how you had practically barged into his work, injured and distrustful and ready to rip his throat open, he looks forward to your strange, unannounced appearances.

Sometimes he’ll find himself zoning out, wondering if you’re doing well, how your wings are healing up or just staring at the ceiling in his office, contemplating the way your eyes shone as you met his gaze.

You’ve managed to worm your way into his head… and perhaps his heart. One he had thought died with Crepus. 

“From the very bottom of my heart, I thank you too.”

[sakuraryomen01]

Valentino /Sukuna Ryomen x Fem! Reader/ .12 [Tense, be warned]

warnings: asshole sukuna, college prep. school (aka bitch u at an expensive ass school), former friends to lovers, slow burned love, yuji is sukuna's little brother, OOC Sukuna, a tense morning/ fight with sukuna (there r a lot of swapping povs in the first half i'm so sorry if it's confusing), y/n going on a date-ish with Nickolas, seeing yuji again, make-up attempt by sukuna, falling asleep together on the couch

reader: female reader; 23 years of age, college prep.

plot: It's been years since you've moved from country life, since you've forgotten about all the things you used to love about your hometown and where you grew up from... you didn't think it'd chase you to college in the city after almost a decade..

words: 8.222k

fanfic masterlist: .o1 .o2 .o3 .o4 .o5 .o6 .o7 .o8 .o9 .10 .11 .12 .13 .14 .15 .16 .17 .18 .19 .20

a/n: Hey guys, it's been a while huh? Sorry for the long ass break (literally been a year since I last wrote, I think) but I hope I can make it up to you! I'm currently working on some things in my personal life that I hope will go smoothly, but since it's been so long, I decided to come back!! I hope to finish my Valentino fanfiction sometime soon along with Tiger Twins and Sex Exercise! Thanks for waiting on me, I've just been so busy... @@;

. . .

Thank you for reading this! Enjoy!

↞↞↞ ♡ ↠↠↠

Sukuna couldn’t remember much from the night before. Just some late night drinking, a few annoyed shouts in his dorm. And then blank. But, that didn’t explain what he was doing on someone else’s couch right now.

Your couch, specifically.

Not on it either, on the floor next to it. 

A cooking pot for curry or big stews rested next to his head. Smelling of vomit and the alcohol he had consumed prior to even making his way over to your place. His brow was covered in a cold sweat as he tried to move a few of his fingers, all of them asleep either under his warm cheek or on the carpet next to him.

What the fuck happened?

“Morning.”

Sukuna’s body ached at the meer tone of your voice, struggling just to roll over and see you standing over him. Hands on your hips, pj’s wrinkled and messy, hair done up in the messiest bun he’s ever seen before.

Competing even with a side hoe’s messy handlebar…

“You gonna eat breakfast or what?” You say, voice stern and annoyed. “I’m not going to wait for you all day, y’know? Got classes.”

“....what..?”

“Haa.. Say what again and you’ll end up outside.”

Now, while you seemed royally pissed off, Sukuna was surprised that you hadn’t kicked him out the moment he had… touched you. It was hard to really compute the situation from his spot on the floor, seeing as seeing the melons on your chest filled your top pretty good. Wonderful sight actually, he should probably stay on the floor.

“Up in five minutes.” With a stomp, you and your melons walked back into the kitchen. The smell of sizzling bacon, eggs and toast wafted throughout the dorm room. The warm aroma of waffles cooking in a fryer made Sukuna’s stomach churn.

From hunger or the hangover, he chose not to dwell on which.

Taking a good few minutes to actually sit up, clutching his veiny hand onto the couch’s seat for dear life, the fluffy haired punk took a good deep breath. His lungs filled with the sweet smell of a home cooked meal and instantly he began to drool. Salivating at what your cooking could possibly taste like. 

Probably bad, Sukuna thought to himself, eyes barely able to open.

“The omelet and waffles are ready!” The sounds of clinking silverware and plates followed made Sukuna’s stomach growl even louder. Pain developed from the intensity of the churning in his gut, forcing him to stand to his feet and trudge ever so slowly to the kitchen. 

The shuffling sound of his socks alerting you rather quickly to the ever nearing male that has entered into your dorm. His tall frame nearly towered over you, thankfully it wasn’t like Gojo. Spatula scraping against the skillet as you put four strips of thick bacon on the plates between the eggs, waffles and slabs of sausage patties. Both plates next to two large cups of OJ. Grease and grizzle dribbling down the sides of the meat and mixing with the oil from the skillet and egg.

“Grab one and sit,” You usher Sukuna over to the small coffee table, putting away the cooking supplies and grabbing your own plate. “I’m gonna put on some news.”

“Don’t put that on,” Sukuna retorts, following after you and resting himself on the couch with you. Muttering to himself as you flipped between channels, justifying that you only needed to see the weather for the next few days.

While it wasn’t what it used to be, the meal reminded Sukuna of back home. Days when you, him and Yuji would be waking up the morning after a sleepover at your house. The glaring but gentle glow of the sunlight pouring between the blankets of a poorly built fort by you with the help of your father.

Sukuna remembered the soft feeling of plush animals on his cheeks, the warmth of the rays beating down through the blanket that hung overhead. He remembered the feelings he had when he was young– how his head never felt like it sat right on his shoulders when he sat up, the way his chest ached when he looked down at your sleeping form. Always with your hair a mess and your face littered with wrinkle marks. 

That irritating throb he’d feel just by seeing you so calm and relaxed..

You were always the second one up, no matter which brother woke up first, you were always there to bug the other into an early wake. While your habits were always strange, Sukuna found them endearing. Following in your steps silently as you wandered about the large home you used to roam with your small hands clasped around a stuffed animal. The sight of small, yawning, eye rubbing you was too cute. Making Sukuna laugh to himself at how you contrasted during the day when you were full of energy; always wanting to talk to him about different flowers and the garden while he liked to annoy you with beetles he found.

I tell her to let go of the past and here I am reminiscing on it.

“Sukuna? Are you even listening to me?” You shout with your lips in a tight pout. Hair slowly falling from your frazzled bun, gracing across your shoulders and back. Sukuna’s maroon orbs trailed over your figure as his brows began to furrow. Strange, you did change a lot since your previous encounter.

Did you get a haircut recently? Maybe a new body wash.

“Sorry,” Sukuna replied with a flat tone, rubbing morning crust from his eyes and turning his attention to the television. Once displayed news was now playing some random sitcom, something you often watched back home with your folks. “I was thinking of something– it’s not important though.”

“You always think of something else when I’m talking to you!”

When you didn’t get a reply, you let out a strained sigh and continued scarfing down the remnants of your breakfast. Piling waffle, sausage and egg into a small sandwich-like bite, covered in syrup and butter. Like a starved animal you devoured every morsel that remained on your plate. Only stopping to take a sip from your cup of OJ every few minutes or so; it was a miracle that you hadn’t begun choking yet.

Surprisingly, Sukuna was taking his time to eat. Maybe he was too tired to be how he normally is around food: ravenous. 

After you had finished gorging on your meal, you stole a glance at your watch and stood abruptly face, startling the man on your couch. “What are you doing now?”

“I am gonna be late for my meet-up with Nick,” You start, hurrying to wash off the plate and fork in the kitchen, quickly drying your hands off on a rag. “We have to go over our project ideas again before finalizing one.”

Sukuna’s brow twitches up slightly, his gaze watching you as you rush around the apartment gathering your things. That Nickolas guy, right? Yeah.

Did you have to bring that guy up now?

“I’m busy eating, y’know?” He utters under his breath, currently chewing the length of a sausage link. Pressing his dark brows together in a mixture of a pout and glare. “Don’t try to ruin my appetite. Your food tastes good, for once.”

You let out a strained sigh as you make your way to the bedroom, grabbing your bag and shifting through your previous notes into a binder. Making sure to pack some additional pens, pencils and erasers coupled with some notepads. While normally you always rushed out to study, you were in a rather big hurry today.

To try and escape a talk about the previous night..

Last night flashed through your mind over and over. From the hot and steamy breaths to the harsh, yet gentle caresses across your body. It was hard to pretend, to ignore the events. Acting as if nothing happened between you both. Did he even remember what he did? With how wasted he was, you guessed not. How irritating.

“I don’t get him,” You mutter to yourself, pausing your movements. A million and one thoughts continued to flash through your mind. All that time, all his annoyance with you. Just to turn around and pull a crazy stunt like that. And for what? To lure you back in?

To make you think of only him? What kind of an idiot does he take you for?

After a few moments of pondering, you brushed it aside. No matter what you did now, Sukuna either didn’t want to talk to you, or pushed you away. What point was there in trying to rekindle something that he didn’t want in return? The thing you should’ve come to terms with long ago.

You finished packing your things before slinging your bag over your shoulder, heading into the living room to see Sukuna huddled over the sink. Washing the dirty dishes, scrubbing mindlessly at the sticky syrup on the plates and juice in the cups. It was an odd sight, and somehow sweet.

“Leaving?” He muttered, lifting a plate up to look over it. Voice low and unusually quiet compared to normal, it sent a shiver down your spine.

“Yes.”

The air became tense at the sound of plates clinking together in the dish holder. Running water turned from a constant stream to a pitter patter of droplets as Sukuna turned the sink’s knob, wiping his hands off on a small hand rag next to it.

“..Don't you,” Slipping a hand into his pocket, Sukuna let out a sharp grunt. His free hand coming up to scratch at his nape, disheveling already messy hair. “Don't you want to talk about.. it?”

“Not particularly.”

Shit, this is harder than he thought.

“I figured you'd wanted to, since you're always going on about wanting to talk to me. Not in the mood? Or is this new guy important now?”

The question was returned with a confused brow lift. “More important?” 

Sukuna never felt so frustrated and annoyed, even after such a good meal right in the morning as a hangover cure. He could tell something was just off. You were avoiding him, barely taking glances at him. Just focusing your eyes forward.

He didn’t understand what happened last night to get you to act like this with him, but frankly it’s irritating. Especially with how big this aching throb going on in his chest was. It was an odd feeling he hasn’t had for a while, and he couldn’t tell if it was just his regular annoyance with you or.. Something else.

“He’s not ‘more important’,” You say, shaking your head, squeezing the strap of your bag before turning to the door. “My education is and I’m trying my best.”

“Stop looking away from me!”

Before Sukuna could blink, his hand was wrapped around your wrist. Squeezing just enough for a numb throb to course through your hand. It was like a blur, one moment he was next to the kitchen counter and the next he was near toe to toe with your smaller frame. Eyes wide and brows furrowed, a small vein pumping across his jugular. Your expression only mirrored his, but with a mix of fear and befuddlement.

Don’t make that face with him.. He hates it.

“What’s gotten into you?” A mumble escaped your lips, your pretty little lips. The cute, plump flesh he’s imagined often recently. Along with your eyes, making him dizzy at how they’d roll like your hips; having him start to wonder what your dazed and blissed out look must’ve been–

 “Sukuna!”

Barely a flinch, just a quick blink of the eyes as his face relaxed, mirroring yours near perfectly. Taking in the moment, Sukuna looked down at his hand. The large, calloused palm and fingers grasped onto a smaller and delicate wrist. His own massive compared to yours, decorated with the black bands of his tattoo. So, so different you’ve become.

Without a word, Sukuna stepped closer. Refusing to release your wrist but instead letting his hand glide down to meet with yours. What was he doing? He doesn’t know. He thought he didn’t need you. He doesn’t. 

“Kid–”

“Don’t start with me!”

His marooned orbs lift from your connected hands, his fingers barely gripping onto yours. Why does he do this? It’s frustrating. Feeling his warm hands, how gentle they contrasted to the night before. How he’s behaving now to when you first reunited. The questions wouldn’t come out, the intensity only building brick by painful brick in your mind.

You can’t take this type of torture, this pain.

“I’ve had to deal with you since I first tried talking to you,” You start, feeling a burning sensation in your eyes, a sharp throb in your chest. Face downcast, your reddening eyes barely able to focus on the small connection between the both of you.

His hand reached for yours, holding your fingers like they were delicate porcelain unlike before. When he didn’t so much as let you care for him when he was sick. Reminding you constantly that every little kiss, gentle caress, it was an accident. That nothing he showed was true, pure.

The mere fact he came wobbling to your door the night before black-out drunk was proof enough that this was the same event all over again.

“You’re telling me not to get attached then turn around and kiss me! Tell me that it means nothing but you hold me close as if I’m going to run away from you! I can’t stand it, I can’t stand you.”

You could feel it, your heart tearing in two. The connection you craved was never there. It fizzled away like bubbles in a tub, gone after enjoyment for a little while. Too different to try, too different to change. If only you realized this sooner. It was only until you lifted your gaze to look up at him that you felt your tears dripping. You probably looked like some child having a fit, but it didn’t matter.

You were tired of it.

“All you’ve done is make me feel confused and upset,” It felt like venom saying these things. Poison. A poison meant to destroy your heart. So tense, it felt like it wasn’t beating at all despite its thunderous beat pumping in your ears. “I’m sick of feeling this. Before I knew you were here, it was easier. I was focused on more than my heart and how it felt all the time.”

“Brat.”

“I was able to pay attention in class, it didn’t feel draining being around people–!!”

“Y/n!”

In an attempt to pull you into his embrace, Sukuna grabbed your hand and brought you to his chest. Hooking his large arm around your nape to press your weeping face into his chest, to try and silence your cries. But you fought back, slipping your hand from his, breaking what little hope Sukuna desired to have between you. To think before he didn’t give even an ounce of a fuck when he first arrived.

That there was no care in the world before, but seeing you now. Seeing this hurt he’s caused, the shameful tears. It was enough to make him want to snap– to scream, to punch a hole through the wall –but he instead opted to bring you into his space. You coddle your head into his chest, trying to rub gentle and therapeutic circles with his thumb into your neck even at the awkward angle.

What does he do? What can he do?

He’s never felt so impulsed before, so inclined. It wasn’t in his nature to feel this petrified, this conflicted.

“Y/n, stop sobbing,” Sukuna muttered into your ear, trying to hold you in place as you continued to fight and squirm against his hold. “You don’t look as pretty when you cry like this.”

“I don’t care how I look to you!” You shot back, managing to push him away from your trembling form. Your hair became a mess before him. Looking more and more deranged by the second as you tried to calm yourself, failing all the while. “It’s not your place to look at me.”

A mix of surprise and shame fell across Sukuna’s brow, a clash against his annoyed gaze. You could tell he was unsure of what to do. He never was sure how to comfort someone, even you when you were a kid. His hands clenching and unclenching into fists be his sides, arms tensing with each flex of his muscles. His mind raced a thousand miles an hour at thoughts of what to say before they were fogged up by your hand on his jaw.

Yanking his face being pulled down to become eye level with you, your fingers digging into the meat of his cheek and forcing his lips to pout. Exposing a few of his teeth along with a sweat droplet on the side of his temple. He looked like a lost cub desperate for his momma to come save him.

Pathetic looking.

“I’m tired,” You repeated, your cheeks beginning to dry as the tears stopped. “I’m tired of the back and forth. Of embarrassing myself for you.”

Sukuna could see your mind begin to ease, to feel reassured with itself. The calm eyes despite the redness. It worried him. He had the right to worry, you wanted to let him go.

You released your grasp on his chin, his hand coming to rub at the pinkish imprints on his cheek, his gaze never leaving yours. Stuck in a stiff silence until you began to reorganize yourself, fixing your hair and wiping your eyes, your sniffles the only sound Sukuna could hear. “You don’t have to leave if you’re still feeling sick, but make sure to keep to yourself.”

Not another word was spared as you turned to the door, no glance back to see his expression as you opened the door like you’ve done before. Just a quiet exit of your home, leaving Sukuna and his muffled thoughts behind. While the ache in your chest was still present, there was no longer a weight on your shoulders. Letting you leave freely, to attempt to go back to your day to day.

Traversing down the hallway, looking for your phone in your pocket to call your classmate for a meet-up. To try and at least calm yourself before having to return to a, hopefully, empty dorm.

Sukuna was speechless, still, quiet.

Staring blankly at the door that blocked his sight from you, to chase after you. It was like an alarm in his head going off, feeling regret. Like the sting of bitter before the sweet, Sukuna wanted to run after you. Yet he stood in his spot, like a lost puppy waiting for his owner. Except it felt like it would be longer than a day, it’d be another 12 years before he could see you.

To see how you’d changed, to talk to you, to hold you in his arms.

Why didn’t he do that at first? Why was he so bitter before again?

“Brat..” He muttered to himself as if you’d hear it and come running back to him. How could he expect you to do that when he’s done nothing but blow you off that whole time. “Y/n.”

All those letters he sent, all of them with no responses. It seems so petty. He held onto that fact for so long, as if it was your fault. For trying to make a life for yourself, he held it on you. And now that he’s seen the extent of what he’s done, he’s left quiet in your home.

The muffle of the TV blasting some random show in the background to mix with the throbbing in his ears.

“..Don't.. leave again.”

↞↞↞ ♡ ↠↠↠

The soft hustle and bustle of the library was mind numbing.

It felt as if you were listening to music that wasn’t really playing, it was a hallucination of a melody. A sweet melody, one that you used to listen to but you didn’t know the name. Or if it was a meal you hadn’t eaten but you desired so bad, had no money to even afford to pay for it at a store you loved. Hard to pinpoint what feelings were swirling in your head, but they weren’t any good.

That’s why, when you heard the soft tap of your partner’s shoes and a small “hey” from behind you, your shoulders relaxed instantly.

“Whoa, are you okay?” Nickolas asked, his head tilted just enough to let a few strands of hair fall gracefully from his shoulder. His slight accent is like a sweet, honey contrast to Sukuna’s from that morning. “If you missed me so much you could’ve called.”

“Nick,” You mumble weakly, trying to hide the fact you had indeed missed him even though you met not so long ago. “It’d be rude of me to, especially when you’re busy.”

In the little time you had shared together you learned quite a lot about your new friend.

He was a part-time employee at his grandfather’s mechanic’s shop, though he did most of the work just to help as his real passion was cooking. Nickolas enjoyed making carne asada fries with sour cream and extra jalapeno on his lunch breaks at work whenever he had the chance. Not only did he love the good smells and the tasteful bites that came with cooking, he loved the math behind it, the science. Always thinking that his next meal could be a perfect equation each time, 

Pastries were a little harder for him, but Nick always loved a good challenge.

“I’m not so busy nowadays,” He said, interrupting your train of thought momentarily as he sat next to you. “Abuelo isn’t at the shop most of the time and I’m not allowed to run the place without him. He got sick.”

“Ah, sorry,” You reply, sitting up in your spot and bringing out your notes. “Is he gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, he’ll be fine. He just pushed himself a little too much one day and needs rest.”

You continued to catch up for a few minutes before Nickolas brought up the night before, leaving a bitter taste in your mouth at the mention of it, but you obliged. Telling him that Sukuna was still resting at your place with a hangover and to not worry too much, it was a common occurrence.

“I hope so,” Nickolas flipped a few pages in his notebook as his laptop sat, booting up for the next hour-long discussion about your shared upcoming project. “When I saw him, he looked pretty out of shape.”

“He’s always out of shape.”

Nickolas was surprised by the retort, quickly turning to scan your face. Instantly noting the frustrated look and red eyes once more. “Something happened, didn’t it.. Was it me?”

The quiet shake of your head worried him, but it’s not like he could pry all that much. He turned his attention from you to the books that were sprawled out in a manner of minutes for the project. All the notes, all the studying. It must’ve been draining for you. So, without a second thought, Nickolas lifted his books and began snapping them closed, much to your surprise.

“What are you doing?”

“We are going out, I’m not in the mood to study right now.”

He left you jaw dropped and mind fumbling for words: What?

Nickolas stood from his seat at the table and began doing the same to your notepads and pulling pencils away from your grasp. Placing your things in your bag and gently resting a soft hand on your shoulder to shake you, to bring you back from whatever land you were visiting and back to Earth.

“Let’s go out today,” He said, a smirk playing on his pierced lips. “I’m really hungry. Missed lunch because of my professor.”

“Uhm,” What were you going to say? No? It’s food. “Sure, let’s.. Let’s get something to eat.”

Nickolas finished packing your things rather quickly, leaving you stunned as you followed behind him out of the library. Walking past a few small groups of friends and lone students studying for classes, leaving the calm atmosphere into the bustling noise of the main entrance area. Brushing aside your confusion, you were actually glad deep down. A break from school, a break from Sukuna, a break in general.

It was a desire you never really got to enjoy since you were so busy trying to make the most of your parent’s sacrifices to even get you into the school.

“I will warn you, my tastes are on the extreme end,” Nickolas blurted, letting his bag hang from his shoulder and he lifted his hair. Tying it up into a tight bun while some loose strands rested behind his ears and some draped across his forehead. “Hope it’s not that big of a problem.”

“Not at all.”

The both of you continued to talk about food as you made your way to the parking lot, chattering like birds on a line about different kinds of BBQ shops that were nearby, along with a large buffet that you visited frequently. Right as you reach the lot, you see a familiar figure walking down the sidewalk with a bike at his side. 

Fluffy pink hair, a jersey hanging over his shoulder and noticeable scars under his bright honey eyes. It was Yuji.

Quickly he spotted you, a smile lifting the corners of his lips as he picked up his pace. Letting his hand temporarily leave its spot on one of the handles to wave at you. “Y/n! It’s been so long since I saw you!”

You could tell that he’s been working out recently, his arms and chest looked more toned than before. It made you giggle at the contrast of the brothers. One was a baby-faced sweetheart and the other was a really dickhead. Somehow, they continued to have similar builds and features (no matter how many tattoos Sukuna got).

In moments you were in his arms, his little teases and giggles echoing in your head as you caught up. Leaving Nickolas to get his motorcycle ready to ride, climbing onto the seat and starting up the engine. The roar of it alone sends vibrations into the concrete ground underneath the powerful machine. Its cold, black paint job was decorated with a silver ghost flame design and the rims shining bright to match. 

Yuji took no time to waste as he introduced himself to the rider, giving his same boyishly adorable smile as always. “I’m Itadori Yuji! Are you guys about to go somewhere?”

“Yeah,” Nickolas hummed, leaning forwards on the steering and letting his weight move the heavy machine beneath him slightly. “I’m about to get some BBQ and maybe.. Some boba.”

Yuji smiled even brighter (somehow even beating the sun) before turning his attention back to you. His face turned from real cheerful to a concerned look in seconds, reaching a hand up to trace the line of your jaw. “What’s wrong with your eyes? Tired?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” You mumble, brushing Yuji’s arm away, trying to force a soft smile that’d deter him from prying. But by the look on his face, Yuji wasn’t about to give up.

“I was going to come visit Sukuna for a bit to tell him about my classes, but clearly I need to talk to him about something else.”

“Yuji, really, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Clearly it wasn’t going to work talking Yuji down from a discussion with Sukuna, you eventually gave up. There was no fighting him, not like you really had planned to. You were done with fighting for now, it was draining.

“Other than that,” Yuji said, giving your hair a tussle before giving you a side hug. “I gotta go anyways, I’ll call you tonight once I’m home. They’re letting everyone out on holiday early since our semester tests were so high.”

“That’s good.”

You returned the hug with as much strength as you could muster, earning a back rub and a quick peck on the head. Yuji was gone just as soon as he had arrived, admitting that he was in fact about to run late for another class at the moment anyways and wishing he could join the both of you, before rushing off into the campus. Off to find his misbehaving brother– as he put it– and leaving you alone once again with your Economics partner.

“He’s a go-lucky kinda guy,” Nick’s voice rang from behind you, a smirk on his lips. “I’m assuming that’s your boyfriend or something?”

You pout, folding your arms over your coat. “I couldn’t imagine dating Yuji. He’s much too sweet.”

“I see.”

His hand lifted in offering, nodding to the small seat behind him. “Hop on, it’s gonna get dark before you know it.”

You take a second to glance back at the area Yuji disappeared to, not seeing him anywhere. He must’ve been in quite an actual hurry to disappear so fast. Looking away, you took Nick’s hand. His fingers holding onto yours in a warm squeeze, smooth and strong compared to Sukuna’s thick and rough ones. It was a change that you didn’t think you’d need.

Nick guided you behind him onto the bike, handing you his (much too big) helmet and pushing it down over your hair. He gave it a few pats and lifted the visor. “Make sure that’s on tight, okay? Don’t want a pretty thing like you falling off.”

Your cheeks deepened in color, thankfully it was covered by the helmet’s rim. After checking on your posture and a few things on his bike, Nickolas guided the wheels backwards. Turning ever so slightly to face the exit of the parking area, looking over his shoulder back at you with a smile.

“Might want to hold on, Y/n. Motor’s aren’t exactly a four wheeled tin can.”

There was some hesitation as your arms guided their way around his waist. Your cheeks continued to burn underneath the safety of the helmet, guarding your flustered expression from all eyes. There was a quick tap as Nick closed the visor for you and revved up the engine. Kicking off the bike and turning out to the street, leaving you to your own devices in the passenger seat.

Clinging onto his robust waist in a desperate attempt to keep yourself steady on the moving monster.

The sounds of traffic and the radio started to clash as he drove farther and farther away from campus. The lights dimming in the background as street lights and nearby signs started to fill your sight. In your chest you started to feel lighter, even if you were clinging onto Nickolas to calm yourself and stay steady, the feeling of relief started to wash over you.

You slowly started to lift your head as cars started to pass by you, taking a deep breath and resting your cheek on the driver’s shoulder. The smell of the city made you miss the scent of the Sticks, of your old home and the Willow Tree. Even the old barn that the elders of the village warned not to visit in fear of ‘evil spirits.’

The flashing lights contrasted the millions of stars that would shine so bright in the middle of night. Stars alone in the Sticks felt like a magic show to young you. Your mother had always teased and said that a bunch of fireflies flew too close to try and reach the moon and got stuck in the sky, leaving their lights to help guide others to it in their stead.

“Moths have gotten lost up there too,” She would say, laying next to you in your old backyard. Pointing to different formations that the lights made, giving you tickles and kisses all the while. “They think the moon is like a giant light, they want to be with it so bad they’re willing to fly up towards it no matter the cost.”

Your mind continued to wander, remembering random things you got to do while you were living in that small village. Trees that grew alongside the streets of the road could never quite grow as big as the Willow Tree either.

“There’s magic that keeps it so tall and proud,” Your father’s cool tone always hummed, letting you rest in his lap as he read you another book. “It doesn’t like wilting, even in winter.”

You always loved their stories and tales, and had fun making them with them. 

All the while Sukuna was there too, it was like bliss.

Although he was mostly brooding at his young age, he liked to play pranks on you and Yuji. Always chasing you around and messing with the family cat. Bringing presents for your parents and sitting to listen to the stories in the books they lent to you. 

He was so cute back then..

Compared to now, You thought to yourself, feeling the breeze begin to still as Nick made a turn. Pulling into a somewhat busy parking lot of a buffet restaurant. He’s a different kind.

“Alright, Y/n,” He said, parking in between a truck and some SUV a family must’ve owned before turning back to you. “We’re here.”

↞↞↞ ♡ ↠↠↠

Enchiladas, red beans, rice, and peppers sat on your plate. Warm, covered in cheese and sauce covering the food while Nickolas’s was different. It was carne asada fries, extra peppers and sour cream on the side. Obviously.

“Dig in, my stomach’s growling!” He chuckles, not wasting any time helping himself. Letting you giggle and mess with him about the way he eats, but only returning the jokes as you begin to eat.

It made you forget about the day, about the project, about everything. Letting your head relax and your brain go blank, it’s been so long since you’ve been able to. Getting to know each other more, talking about your favorite topics. You could’ve sworn that that morning was just a bad dream, a small dent in your day. And it was all thanks to Nickolas for trying to cheer you up. You were gonna have to repay him somehow over this, letting him see you in such a state was hard to recover, but it’ll work itself out.

“The food here is better than I thought,” You muffled through a mouthful, chewing quickly as if you were both in the middle of an eating competition. “I’ll have to ask Yuji if he’d like coming here.”

“Mgh, he looks like the type to eat anything as long as it’s good,” Nickolas responded, gulping down some water to combat the spice of the cheese, eating a morsel of bread before continuing his food shoveling.

“You’d be surprised, he’s really picky.”

You and Nickolas continued to talk and eat, standing to grab more food, talking the day away in that little buffet. Splurging and going to get dessert a few times until your stomachs were practically bloating with too much to carry. It was fun, exciting. It felt almost like how home felt.

Comforting.

“Are you sure we can get boba? I think I’ll vomit!”

“I want strawberry milk tea, Nick. Besides, you offered. It’d be really rude of me to pass up on free boba!”

“Who said it’d be free!?” Nick questioned, holding you by the hip and guiding you towards the restrooms. Offering his arm again as you stumbled all full of food and treats on the way so that you wouldn’t fall and make a fool of yourself. “I’m already paying for the buffet.”

“I’m just kidding, Nickolas! And I would rather split.”

Nickolas managed to get you to the women's restroom, holding you against the wall and waving a hand at you. Dismissing your attempts to pay with mock offence. “My abuelo taught me to pay and treat a woman right, I’d be going against everything I believe in!”

Despite how you wished to stay and continue arguing, Nick guided you into the bathroom and left. Promising to wait nearby for you so that you wouldn’t feel alone, but you saw through a crack in the door that he had pulled out his wallet and begun lifting some money from his pocket. You shook your head and waddled into the nearest open stall, locking the door to use the facilities.

Once you had finished, you heard your notification sound from your purse as you were washing your hands. It was from Yuji, and as promised, he had had a talk with his brother.

The reminder gave you a bit of a clenching in the jaw, but you were fine. You felt better, you were better. Maybe you’d approach the situation with fresh eyes.

↞↞↞ ♡ ↠↠↠

Yuji– 10:59am, Saturday: I got him to talk a lil, so be wary. He’s quiet too, what did u say to him?

You– 1:13pm, Saturday: I said some pretty rude things, I’ll apologize to him later.

Yuji– 1:20pm, Saturday: Don’t tell me the both of you have been fighting!! 😡

You– 1:23pm, Saturday: It was just the one fight, I promise. I’ll make it up with him when I’m home.

↞↞↞ ♡ ↠↠↠

You and Nickolas left the buffet, arms linked as you climbed back onto the motorcycle and made your way to a drive-by boba store. The day felt like a big blur from all the excitement. In between boba and the food you visited little gacha shops and comic stores, geeking out about idols and enjoying some other assorted snacks with each other. A drive that cleared your head and made you forget all about the worry and stress of the last few months.

Feeling more like it was a quick stop rather than a day on the town as you both continued down to this small park. It was clearly a park for small children and their parents, but in the evening, it was free range for anyone. 

The swings creaked from the slightest movement, putting you and Nickolas into a fit of giggles. 

“You got cream on your nose,” He says, reaching over and cleaning the messy cream off your face. Bringing his thumb to his lip and licking it clean, leaning back and washing it down with another sip of his drink. Looking up at the sky and gazing at the little stars that were visible, the rest hidden in the glow of the street lamps. “It’s pretty at night, isn’t it?”

“Mm,” You nod, resting your head against the metal chain and turning your gaze up to the sparkling dots in the sky. The memory of your mother flashed through your mind again, making you smile.

“My mom says that stars are fireflies that got stuck trying to reach the moon, or something like that.”

“Oh? My momma said they’re our family watching over us.”

The both of you hum at the sentimental meanings of the stars, reflecting and enjoying the growing cool of the evening breeze. It gave your arms goosebumps across your skin, making you rub them out of instinct. Your movements of course weren’t avoided from Nick’s eager eye. He placed his cup onto the ground and took off his jacket, wrapping it around your shoulders, patting your back absentmindedly.

“You should’ve told me you were cold,” he muttered, returning to his previous seat on the swing. Letting his heels push him back and forth in the rocky spot. “A small hoodie like yours isn’t gonna keep you warm and toasty, Y/n.”

“Haa, I was fine, Dad.”

“Your papa would say the same thing, no fighting about it.”

You let out a sigh, pulling the jacket over your shoulders and covering your body. The jacket was warm and it smelled nice, like an old cologne some rich business man would wear. Chanel? No, it can’t be that, he doesn’t look the type to use it.

As you pondered the scent, sniffing and nuzzling into its confines, Nickolas redid his bun. Tying up tighter than before so as to not let it blow loosely in the wind and blind you on the way home. His golden gaze moving from the stars to you. Watching you closely as you leaned against the swing’s tether, the jacket draping over you perfectly. It brought a smile to his face seeing you so content, so relaxed in his company.

Down right cute.

“We should head home, yeah?” He said after a while of admiring the area and chatting for another hour or so. Just as the sun went down and the moon was beginning to shine in the sky, you were guided yet again to the bike at the curb after you tossed the empty boba away. Helped up onto the back seat and joined seconds later by your partner.

You reach up, patting a gentle hand on his shoulder and resting your head on it. “Thanks for taking me out, Nickolas. It really helped me.”

There was a silence as the engine came to life once more, probably the last time of the night, before Nick turned to look back at you. His near glowing golden eyes shining with glee, “Not a problem, I’m happy to help any time.”

One final push away from the park and you were back off to campus for the night, and strangely you weren’t all that nervous to see Sukuna again. He had probably left the dormitory already, leaving things clean as they were before and back in his own. Trying to catch up and maybe take space he wanted after the fiery morning the both of you shared.

If he was there, by some wild chance, you’d try and talk to him. For Yuji, of course.

After a twenty or so minute drive, Nickolas parked his bike in the same place it was before. Hoping off the bike and turning to help you off. Letting his teases get the best of him and poking fun at your messy helmet hair, patting it down and rubbing his fingers gently through the strands before linking arms with you again.

Walking the sidewalk to the girl’s dorms, Nick had to hold you up as you had begun feeling tired. That, and you just weren’t used to the amount of attention he was giving you. Making your brain go into a foggy overload and wanting a good night’s rest to process it all.

Nick was forced to take you inside, getting odd whispers from your neighbors as he sheepishly tried to explain the situation only to be teased about it. The scene looked embarrassing enough, but you were indeed just sleepy, and Nickolas was going to go home right after.

“Alright, Y/n,” He says, taking his coat from around your shoulders. “I gotta go now, so go ahead and get some sleep. Try and relax your stomach tomorrow too, it’s stuffed from all the food we had.”

“It’s only ‘cuz you’re a glutton,” You teased, standing up on your own (with the help of the wall) and fitting your key in the slot of the door lock. Looking back at him, you flashed Nickolas a toothy grin. “We should do stuff like that more often, I think you’ve made me a glutton too!”

Nickolas chuckled at this, a pink tint on his cheek as he scratched at his nape. “Oh no, I guess I have to take responsibility for you now? What a shame.”

You both parted ways, giving good nights and best wishes as you entered your dorm and he turned to the hallway. Getting teased by your nosy neighbors along the way as he got to the exit, leaving you alone in your dorm with…

Sukuna?

You had turned once inside to see a big lump of blankets and pillows, that had belonged in your room originally, on the couch. Covering a snoring, messy pink haired mass, a stuffed animal barely poking out from under a large, banded tricep. The cute bunny face and ears distorted into a strange shape under the weight of Sukuna’s arm.

“You’re still here?” You asked his sleeping form, stepping over to the couch and taking a seat next to his stomach. Gazing down at him, reaching to brush your fingers across his scalp, tickling near his nape so much that he stirred in his sleep. “I thought you’d be gone by now.”

“..I only leave when I feel like it.”

You flinch, seeing Sukuna’s dark eyes begin to open. Peering up at you from underneath his arm, tired and cold. “You were out for a long time.”

“I was with Nickolas,” You start, returning the calm stare, furrowing your brows together before looking around the living area. Taking in the mass amount of things he has strewn about: more plushies that you kept near your bed, some little doodles on paper you saved for later projects, and some blankets mixed with pillows. “I thought I said to keep my place clean.”

“It’s clean, you’re imagining shit.”

The fight from that morning returned to your mind at the snippy comment, making you clench your jaw and rub the bridge of your nose, exhaling to let out the bite back. “Still, what are you doing here? Don’t you feel better?”

“...No.”

Well that was odd.

“Do you need ibuprofen? I have some Advil, I think.”

Sukuna’s head shook, messing his hair up even more. He was looking like a giant cat that just got denied good food or a cuddle with its owner. It was kind of a sweet sight to be witnessing. You let out a strained sigh and lean back against his stomach, hearing his grunt in compliance from underneath your weight.

“Was Yuji tough on you?”

“That lil’ shit should be lucky I even gave him an ear to listen to his moaning.”

“I take it you weren’t too happy then.”

A small silence followed as you both rested on the couch. Somehow, this moment reminded you of when he needed help home. How he was dazed, barely noticing what you were doing for him until he needed a shower. The way he lifted you into his bed for the night after the both of you bickered over where you’d be staying for the night. (While you would never admit it, you did like that night’s rest.)

Sukuna noticed your smile, the way it was so perfectly crooked.

“Why did you steal all my stuffed animals?” You asked, returning your gaze down to his level.

His eyes narrowed momentarily as he decided how to answer the question. Eventually he lifted his arm and pulled the stuffed bunny from his grasp, holding it out and staring at it. Sukuna didn’t utter a word as he messed with the plush stomach of the toy, letting out a soft murmur.

“I missed.. Your smell.”

You were caught off guard, brows rising at his response. Since when did he say things like that?

As you were left to ponder on what to do with the mess, Sukuna dropped the bunny and sat up, lifting the blankets that covered him and pulling you once again into his hold. You let out a small yelp and tried to fight back, but were too tired to really push him off or yell. So, as you were wrapped up in Sukuna’s leg, arm and the comforter, you took a deep breath.

Under the weight of Sukuna’s hold, your body started to register that sleep was imminent and slowly forced you into a dazed state.

“Y/n,” Sukuna muttered as you turned into him, pressing your face into his chest, letting your hands fall between your thighs to keep warmth. You murmured out a grunt while you got comfortable. 

While your eyes had closed, your snores starting to grow, Sukuna was left awake by himself. His arms coming to wrap around you as he had the doll, nuzzling his nose into the scalp of your hair and taking a deep breath, inhaling your scent, the scent he wanted close the whole day that he thought he could sub with a plush toy.

Shameful, needy– these are things he didn’t want to be.

He breath came out in a huff, brushing against the shell of your ear. “I want to work on my math tomorrow.”

“Sure.. jus’ wake up at a decent time.”

As sleep overtook you, you could barely register what was said. The warm embrace of the man you had hated from that morning being the one thing that made you feel most at ease in your sleep. It was strong, firm; made you feel as if you were on cloud nine. 

In mere moments you were asleep, cuddling into the same arms you wanted to be away from that morning. Deep down, you were still irritated with Sukuna. You didn’t want to hear out whatever excuse he wanted to spill, if one at all. But right now, you just wanted rest.

That day was probably the most calming day leading up to the Willow Tree trip.

↞↞↞ ♡ ↠↠↠

a/n: holy shit was this a lonnnnggg time waiting and a longggg time writing!! i'm glad i'm finally getting back into the swing of things with my writing, I really hope you enjoyed reading all 8k of this chapter (longest chapter i've ever written to date!!) Seeing as it's been a while, I think my style has changed a lil so sorry it's a lil odd. anyways, thank you for the long asf wait but i hope you really liked this one! pls feel free to put suggestions in the comments and submissions! i also updated the taglist as best i could!

Chapter Song Theme: – Figure You Out -- VOILA (Lyric Video)

taglist: @mageyboo , @mzladyd , @mysticwonderlands , @sukunastoy , @sukunaspersonalfleshlight , @kawaiipenguin20 , @k-indie , @okkotsufav , @cafeinthemoon93 , @pulchritxde-blog , @bontensbunny , @deepinballs , @kleeboomed , @fiierytearzx , @wo-ming-bai , @instantgalaxysheep , @watyousayin , @z3r0art , @sukunaobsessed , @lik0 , @domainofmarie , @the-moongoddess , @dark-n-dirty-duchess , @agentdedf1sh , @sukunastoy , @lyn-soso , @bao-yu-sarah-morningstar-wang-9 , @heyitstacy , @lost-in-tokyo , @marksassybanana , @bozos-r-us , @p-3-4-ch , @misslauravillanueva , @chaoticqueen33 , @dxxny -loves-u , @l0tus-in-l0ve , @jiordeci , @opossum0-0 , @gumisgirl , @mommasbigd , @fallenlostarchives , @infinitivesearch, @t4ters, @n4muqr, @huuuhwhaat, @jiordeci, @chaeryred, @purplebee21, @hisheadismountfuji, @voyager1fan, @ichibaba, @brandydel, @berrylovesstuff, @whispersofbeskar, @dontcare1331

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[6ix9inewiturmom]

Long day- matt Sturniolo

Summary: You had a long day at work and matt gives you some lovin to help with your long day :)

Warnings: SMUT, P in V, parsing, oral (fem receiving), unprotected sex, cream pie, use of Y/N, Dirty talking, Degradation, aftercare!

A/N: I LOVE SWEET MATT!! ITS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!! ignore the song, i couldn’t find one so since he knows sm about bags

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Today has genuinely been the worst and longest day of my life. I’ve worked front desk at a salon for the last year and a half now, i had people coming in asking me about what to do for their hair type, karen’s complaining about their hair, just overall horrible, im just the front desk lady for right now i cant really tell these fucking people what to do, make a damn appointment. Matt and I have been together for 3 years, and have been dating to the public for a year and a half, when i graduated cosmetology school. thankfully after this cursed wednesday evening i was on my way to Matt and i’s house that we also share with his triplet brothers. i pull into the driveway and make my way to the door and unlocking it.

“Baby?” i yell walking up the steps.

“he’s been in his room playing video games streaming for like 4 hours” nick says shooting me a quick smile before looking back at his phone.

i knock softly on the door “jesus christ im streaming guys” matt slams his head set down on his table and opens the door “Wha- oh my god Y/N i’m so sorry i thought it was one of them” he says quickly changing his tone giving me a soft peck on the lips.

“it’s fine” i breath out giving him a smile walking into his room.

“tell the stream Hi, baby” he pulls my hand into frame making me force a smile onto my face.

“hi everyone” i awkwardly wave to his camera watching the chat go absolutely crazy when i entered.

“okay well i’m gonna end this cause the mother of my future kids just got here” he says making a smile appear on my face.

he ends the stream and turns around facing me almost analyzing me.

“why do you keep looking at me like that?” i roll my eyes and make my way to our shared closet pulling out a pair of his sweats and a T shirt of his.

he walks towards me leaning against the door frame “all of your clothes in that closet and you still choose to wear mine, but to answer your question you seem off” he says softening his tone.

“i’m fucking fine matt, damn, all on my ass for nothing” i groan out pushing him out of my way and falling on the bed scrolling on my phone.

“umm okay” he huffs sitting down next to me on the bed “so how was work?” he says breaking the silence of tiktok playing in the background.

i groan “it was long i guess” i place my phone on the bedside table and turn towards him.

“you guess?” he questions giving me a soft smile.

“find it was so dreadful, answering calls from people who can look up these answers on google, and oh my god i had this karen come in and” i laugh softly “and she literally accidentally tried this hair mask and fried half her hair and blamed it on me, knowing i’m just the front desk representative, then on top of all of that this lady yelled at me for eating carrots at the front desk” i say while he’s staring at me passionately listening to everything i have to say.

“did you say anything to that lady who yelled at you?” he asked while looking in my eyes as passionately as he can.

“my manager heard her yelling at me calling me ‘unprofessional and rude’ and ended up almost calling the cops on her for causing a disturbance” i smile back at him.

“well it sounds like to me you need a little distraction from your long day at work eh?” he smirks leaning into me as i playfully roll my eyes and lean into him crashing his lips onto mine smiling into his kiss.

he softly places his hand on my cheek pointing his tongue out a little begging to explore my mouth, i slightly open my mouth as his tongue dives into my mouth immediately taking dominance from my tongue and intertwining with mine. his hand travels from my cheek to my breast giving my bare breast a gentle squeeze causing a soft whimper to escape my lips. his hand travels down to my waist and toying with the waistband of my his sweatpants.

“can i?” matt pulls away and softly asks me.

i smile and playfully roll my eyes “yes matt you can”

he carefully crawls on top of me tapping my waist as a signal to lift my hips up. he pulls my pink lacy underwear and pants down together in one throwing them on the other side of the room.

“such a pretty pussy” he says softly running his slim fingers in between my wet folds collecting my arousal onto his fingers “and so wet” he smirks back up at me.

“matt” i drag his name out in a whine, “please don’t tease me” i stare desperately into his eyes through my eyelashes.

“Only because you asked so nicely my love” he smiles at me leaning down and starts placing mouth kisses directly into my clit flicking upwards with his tongue.

“Oh fuck Matt” I moan out placing my hand on top of his head and pulling at his hair causing him to grunt through my pussy sending vibrations through me.

“You like this hm?” he smiles and shoves his fingers into my hole curving them slightly upward and making me go absolutely insane.

“Yes!” I chant repeatedly.

My walls tighten around his fingers and my clit spasms between his teeth. “Someone’s close eh?” he smirks leaning his head upwards while moving his fingers in and out while reaching my sensitive clit with his thumb making figure 8 movements around my bud.

“S-so close Matt” I cry out arching my back off the bed and rolling my eyes back.

“Uh-huh? You close?” he taunts smiling at me and immediately thrusts his fingers into me touching my G-spot so easily.

“YES- FUCK MATT” My hips twitched upwards “FUCK I'M GONNA CUM” I scream out bucking my hips up.

“Come on baby, cum for me” his voice softens looking down at me coming unglued from just his fingers with amusement in his eyes.

With just his words, the knot in my stomach broke and cum dripped down from me and onto his fingers.

He lightly tapped my leg “I ain't done with you just yet, sweetheart” he said smirking at me.

“Matt I don't know if I can take another one..” I said out of breath still coming down from my very intense orgasm.

“You know your safe word, Y/N,” he says ripping his shirt off. “And you never have to be afraid of using it, I'll stop immediately you know this.” he pulls his sweatpants and boxers off in one freeing his hard cock and slapping his stomach.

he crawls over me placing my legs on either side of his hips and slowly agonizing using his tip to slide through my wet folds teasing me.

“Matt,” i whine “please fuck me”

“Patience sweet girl, patience” he smiles at me slapping his cock on my clit and making me jerk upwards and squeal.

He slowly puts his tip into me then removes it and slowly enters it again and removes it before roughly bottoming out into me gripping the headboard for support making his knuckles white.

“Oh Matt” i moan out.

He rolls his hips deeper into me smirking down at me “You like this hm? God, you feel so fucking good wrapped around my cock, and taking it so fucking well” he groans out.

My legs wrap around his waist forcing his body to get deeper each time he pushes himself into me making my eyes roll back into my head causing me to see starts, My moans become hoarse from the strain on my voice.

“Aww has my gorgeous whore gone dumb? Can't talk? What happened to all that attitude you had earlier?” he grabs my chin between his thumb and index finger.

“Uh huh, uh huh” i bite my lower lip and nodding vigorously.

“Words or I stop” he thrusts his hips deeper into me and maintains his violent thrusts.

“YES MATT FUCK- RIGHT FUCKIN THERE” I finally answer him with a strain in my voice.

My response only made him thrust into me deeper and faster. My cervix spasms around his cock signaling how close i am making a long groan exit from his lips. “Hold it”

He rolls his hips and pounds his hips into mine “Matt” I drag out his name with a moan.

“Come on, you got it” he nods his head continuing to thrust and abuse my cervix.

“S-so f-fucking close” I whisper scream out.

“Cum” he buries his head into my neck moving his hips in a way that kisses my cervix making me release all over his cock creating a white ring around the base of his cock.

His thrusts become sloppier as he releases into me painting my once pink walls a nice white color and slowly pulling out watching a mixture of his cum and mine slowly fall from my hole.

He vaults to his bathroom quickly so no one catches a glimpse of him or me in our naked state to grabs a warm cloth and slowly runs it down my legs cleaning him and me up before lying next to me placing my head on his chest.

“I'm sorry for the attitude I had earlier, I just had a rough day and shouldn't have taken it out on you,” I say “Thank you for lighting my mood up” I smile facing the TV drawing small circles on his stomach.

“Hey don't worry about it, we all got bad days baby, I'm just glad you're good now, that's all that matters to me” he softly says running his fingers through my hair and massaging my scalp and falling fast asleep in Matts arms.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A/N Pt 2: HEY LOVES!! Sorry I haven't been so active in trying to recover from being violently hungover for the last 2 days LMFAOO… I HOPE U GUYS ENJOY!! i promise ill be active more!!

[ageofbajabule]

Miracle

Alt!Jake Kiszka x Female Reader

Word Count: 6.8 K

Warnings: Drug use (marijuana, coke), Alcohol consumption, Partying, Oral Sex (F! & M! Receiving) Unprotected Sex, Depression, Abandonment, Lying, Crying, Arguing, Fluff.

Author’s Note: Please note that this is an Alternate Universe! And it is fiction, if any of the warnings are potentially triggering to you then I suggest you move along and avoid this fic. (Also, please note that I would never ever depict any of the guys to be like this. We don’t know who they truly are and again this is simply fanfiction.) This is inspired by Bad Omens song Miracle off of their The Death of Peace of Mind album. Also picture credit to the lovely @holybananafuck she did an absolutely stunning job on bringing Miracle Jake to life🤍

Going to parties wasn’t typically your vibe. However your dorm roommates bribed you into going as it was the first big party since coming back from summer break. You would much rather be at home listening to your favorite bands, or painting your next masterpiece. You had taken it upon yourself to get a degree in Art and Philosophy. In hopes to become an Art teacher or a tattoo artist.

You didn’t need a degree of course to be a tattoo artist, but learning different techniques in art helped your creative mind. You had started an apprenticeship at your favorite tattoo shop. Abby had taken you under her wing to train you, she absolutely loved your portfolio. You had already been teaching yourself since your senior year of high school.

You had purchased a tattooing machine set, an insane amount of ink, needles, and of course tattooable practice skin. Abby had said within the next year you could have all of the training necessary completed before becoming an official tattoo artist for her shop. Getting the degree was a back up plan in case your tattooing career didn’t end up working out for you.

After getting ready, you had finally opted on wearing a red lace bodysuit, paired with black ripped jeans, and your Doc Martens. You grabbed your black and gray flannel as well, putting it on as the early fall was a little chilly. Being satisfied with how you looked, you and your friends left. The party thankfully wasn’t at a frat house, instead at Xavier’s house that his parents left him for the weekend.

You typically hung out with what others would typically say is “alternative people”. And there was nothing wrong with that, you liked the people you surround yourself with. It was a comfortable friend group you had come to know. However tonight there was a new face at this party, one you hadn’t seen before. Yeah you never went to parties, but you still almost knew everyone from going out bowling.

Walking past the mysterious man, you had pulled your friend Maddy to the side.

“Who is he?” You grabbed a cup making yourself a vodka soda.

She giggled softly, “That is Jake… He’s majoring in music I believe. And he’s been trying to get his band going… But other than that, there isn’t much to tell about him. All I’ve heard is that he’s good in bed.” She smirked, making herself a drink.

You weren’t really looking to have a hook up. But he drew you in, and couldn’t put a finger as to why. You nodded, taking a sip from your drink.

“However, I don’t think he’s one to settle down… Guess he likes the party life.” She shrugged.

Maddy ventured off to find her boyfriend while you stood off the side, watching Jake from a distance. He wasn’t that tall, but he was gorgeous. His hair rested just upon his shoulders, a chestnut brown. Tattoos traveling all over his arms, his shirt was a little torn by his chest revealing a chest piece to you. His hands adorned with rings, and his ears gauged, a small hoop in his nostril and an eyebrow ring.

He was your type, but you tried to steer away because most times it didn’t end well for you. But your feet were telling you otherwise and suddenly you were in front of him.

He turned to face you, smiling softly.

One look at your eyes, and I cave in…

“Sorry, Hi. I’m Y/N…” You said shyly, sticking your hand out.

He chuckled softly, shaking your hand. You could feel the calluses on his hands. A guitar player perhaps. “I’m Jake, it’s nice to meet you.”

“I’ve never seen you around before? Are you friends with Xavier?”

He raised an eyebrow to you, “Yeah, good friends actually. Although it's funny, cause I’ve never seen you around before…”

You felt your cheeks warm, “I’m not typically one to party often.”

“A shame, it's nice to see such a pretty girl…” He mumbled, but you caught on.

You blushed, shaking your head lightly, “I’m not pretty. You’re just saying that.”

“I mean it…” He looked up at you with a twinkle in his eyes. He pulled a rolled joint from his flannel front pocket. “Wanna smoke?”

You nodded, as he led the way to the backyard of the noisy house. He sat down in front of the bonfire that was lit, weirdly enough no one was out back. So it was just the two of you. He placed the joint between his lips, bringing a lighter to light the end of it. Once it was lit, he took a couple puffs before handing it over to you.

You smiled softly, saying a thank you to him as you took a couple hits. Coughing slightly, you passed it back to him. “So tell me a bit about yourself.” He spoke with a bit of raspiness to his voice.

“Well, I’m attending university to get a degree in Art and Philosophy. While also doing an apprenticeship at my favorite tattoo shop. I hope to be a tattoo artist, and my sponsor thinks if I keep doing what I’m doing I’ll land a position for myself in no time.” You smiled softly, running your hand along your thighs nervously.

Jake nodded and smiled taking in what you had told him. “That’s amazing. I’ll have to check your work out sometime.” He smiled, taking a drag from the joint.

“So what about you?” You pulled the joint from his hand. He smirked softly.

“Music major, although I’m trying to get a band going with my brothers.” He grinned, shaking his head.

“A band, that’s really cool. Do you guys play often?” You took a drag, starting to feel the effects now.

“We have some gigs lined up to play at bars. Nothing crazy.” He shrugged, taking the joint back, finishing it off.

“You should see us sometime.”

“I’d like that…” You smiled softly.

The rest of the night you and Jake completely hit it off. The two of you had a lot more in common than you thought. And Maddy wasn’t lying when she said he was a party dude. The two of you played pong most of the night and kept winning every game. Eventually the two of you ventured off walking around the streets of the local frat homes as parties were starting to die out.

“Uh, did you want me to walk you back to your dorm?” He asked nervously.

“You don’t have too. I’m sure you want to get back to yours.” You felt your cheeks flush.

“No, I want to make sure you get back safely.” He smiled at you.

“Okay, it's just a couple blocks this way.” You smiled softly as you pointed in the direction.

He made sure to stay on your side, keeping you from stumbling into the street. As the two of you were still a bit drunk from your night out.

After a bit of walking you finally reach your dorm building as he walks with you up to your dorm room. Right outside your door.

“Well this is it.” You smiled at him.

He smiled softly, “Well I’ll leave you to it. It was nice meeting you Y/N.”

“You too Jake. I had fun tonight…”

“Uh, do you want to trade numbers?” His cheeks flushed.

You nodded, handing him your phone, as he switched yours out with his. After putting in your number, he finished putting his in yours.

“I’d like to get together again.” You grinned at him.

“Yeah of course. Have to get you to come see a gig.” He chuckled.

Then he leaned in closely, your breath starting to speed up as your lips touched. His lips are soft, satin and warm. It was a sweet small kiss.

One taste of the life, now I crave it

Then he pulled away, “Fuck. I’m sorry…” He chuckled nervously.

“No! It’s okay…” You blushed. “It would probably be best to leave it at that…”

He nodded, backing away slowly. “I’ll see you around love.” He said in a playful British accent.

After the small goodbye you retreated into your now empty dorm. You figured your roommates would be out for the rest of the evening and return in the late morning. So you decided to text Jake.

You: Thanks for walking me home. I appreciate it. And I’d love to see you play one night.☺️

Jake⚔️: Of course, I wouldn't have let you walk back all by yourself. And definitely! We have one coming up soon.

And that was the last you heard from Jake… You would reach out for the next few weeks hoping to hear back from him. But he completely ignored your messages. Maddy had told you that he probably wanted a hook up and since he didn’t get any he just dropped you.

You heard of him attending parties, and pretty much picking any chick he could find and leaving the party with them not too long after. Maddy had told you, she saw him snorting coke right off some chick's breasts the other night at a party. Making you see red, why were you even remotely upset?

Because you felt the two of you had a connection? But, maybe you had misjudged him.

It was Halloween weekend. All sorts of parties were going on this weekend so you were bound to run into Jake at one of them. You had different costumes to choose from. And the first night out you opted into a slutty nurse. (How original.)

Maddy helped pull your costume together by applying fake blood to it, and making sure your boobs perked out. You had gone for a dark makeup look and grabbed your wristlet. “Tonight, just forget about him! Clearly he’s missing out.” Maddy smiled at you softly.

“Don’t worry, I’m over it.” You lied through your teeth as you spoke. You weren’t over it, you still thought about how soft his lips were. How the two of you connected over music and wrecked ships. He was different to you…

Upon arriving at Xavier's house Maddy had left your side going and found Travis right away as she always did. You rolled your eyes playfully and went to the keg to get yourself a cup. You eyed around seeing if there was any sign of Jake. But alas no luck.

You ventured around, participating in drinking games as well as taking shots as you got further into the party.

Then you heard a familiar laugh, your ears perked up following the sound.

Coming to the outside balcony you see Jake dressed in a pirate costume with his arm wrapped around another girl, as he does a line off the table. You felt your blood boil…

It’s not too late to die for a reason

Jake’s eyes traveled towards you after he hit his line. His eyes widened as they locked with yours. You sucked your teeth nodding at him raising your cup then taking a long sip from it. Walking away from the scene, making way towards the bathroom down the hall.

Hearing footsteps tailing you, you felt your heartbeat grow faster.

“Y/N! Slow down.” Jake yelled for you.

You growled, “Why, Jake! Obviously you have no interest, you haven’t spoken to me in weeks! I’ve reached out and received radio silence.”

Jake groaned, “Things are just complicated.”

“Complicated my ass… You seem pretty fucking occupied with Slutty Nun back there.”

“As opposed to you being a Slutty Nurse?” He chuckled.

“How fucking high are you right now?” You grabbed his jaw looking at him closely.

“Don’t fucking start.” He pushed your hand away from his face.

“What else did you do besides coke? Are you on fucking molly, xanax?” You shook your head.

“What’s it to you?”

“Because Jake, you are trying to make something of yourself and taking this route will just make it worse.” You shook your head in disbelief.

“Listen just because you have your life together doesn’t mean I do, or that I have too.” He rubbed his nose.

“Wow Jake…. I thought you were different from others. But you just proved me absolutely wrong.”

“Honey, if you thought you would get something from me… It would’ve been one night and done.” He was standing dangerously close to you now. Smelling the hint of tobacco and teakwood off of him.

“Maybe I should’ve made it worth your while and did something that night.” You bit back.

“Why can’t you do something now?”

You giggled loudly, “After you’ve clearly been with another chick this whole night?”

Fall down on the sword you were swinging

Jake, wrapped his hand around your waist pulling you close. “Come on…”

I wanted to dress a blade up in red, with both of our necks

You melted into his touch pulling him into the bathroom. The alcohol had made you desperate for him. You were so drunk your anger you felt towards him had vanished making you vulnerable to him.

“Tell me you want this…” He held your face in his hands softly.

“I want this…” You pleaded to him, pulling him in for a heated kiss.

He wrapped his hand around your neck pulling your hair with his hand as his tongue slipped into your mouth. Tasting the whiskey on his breath. You melted into him, moaning softly into him, earning a groan from him as he locked the bathroom door.

You tug him closer to you, resulting in him lifting you up to place you on the counter. He pressed you against the mirror, trailing kisses down your neck leaving sloppy wet kisses.

“Jake…” You whined out, feeling the heat between your legs.

Like he knew what you needed, his hand moved to your clothed pussy. Pulling your thong off in a swift action stuffing them into his pants pocket.

“Fucking crying for me, aren’t you sweetheart…” He kissed your lips sloppily and his two fingers collected your slick, feeling how wet you were for him. “God… you’re gonna be the death of me…”

He licked his two fingers, humming contently before getting down to eye level with your cunt. He wrapped his lips around your bundle of nerves making you yelp, as your hands reached down to grip onto his hair.

He starts kneading his hands around your ass, pulling you closer to his face. Shaking his head back and forth like a starved man, lapping you up.

“Oh fuck…” You whine, as your back arches as you lean your head against the mirror.

Jake then slips two fingers, pumping and curling them at a steady pace. Grazing that spot that is ever so sweet inside of you. You felt yourself getting closer.

He pulls away for a brief moment, still pumping his fingers. “Come on angel, give me it. Drown me in it.”

Something inside of you snapped, as he reattached his mouth. He went into a frenzy, continuing to eat you out bringing you down from your high. He lapped up every inch of you, pulling away from your convulsing body, his lips glistening from you.

You pulled him up by his shirt grabbing his face to kiss him roughly, tasting yourself on him. Humming against his lips. He rutted his hips against you, feeling his hard, hot thick self pressing against you.

You pushed him back slightly, hopping off the counter. Pushing him against the counter, going onto your knees you undo his pants pulling them down to his knees, springing his cock free. Throbbing, the tip red and leaking with arousal. Taking your hand you wrap it around him, pumping him slowly, taking your thumb and rolling it over the tip as he shudders beneath you.

“Don’t be a tease baby.” He looked down at you, his eyes bloodshot and filled with lust.

Giving him your best doe eyes you smile softly, licking the tip slowly and languidly before taking him into your mouth. He groans as his head rolls back, as he relaxes against the counter.

Teasing him slowly, by flicking your tongue around his head, then took him far enough for the tip of his cock to hit the back of your throat, beginning to bob your head. His hand reached to gather your hair from your face. Letting out a moan against him, causing him to buck his hips causing you to slightly gag but you continued on breathing through your nose.

After a little while of bobbing your head and using your hand to pump the rest of his length. He eventually took control by grabbing your hair. “Just let me know if it gets to be a bit much. Tap on my leg.”

You nodded at him, as he then began to fuck your mouth. Feeling tears spill out the side of your eyes as he kept driving into your mouth, succumbing to his destiny. He was in an absolute haze. “God your mouth is fucking perfect…”

Somehow you managed your breathing to keep yourself from gagging, you hollowed your cheeks out as he kept thrusting. Eventually you felt him twitching, hearing him groan and watching his face contorted in pleasure he finally released down your throat. As you take every last drop of him, making sure to remember his distinct taste.

Jake eventually pulls back, cupping your cheek as he looks down at you. “So fucking beautiful.” He picked you up kissing your lips softly, getting a taste of himself.

The door then rattled as someone was trying to get in.

“Bathrooms occupied!” Jake yelled as you gathered yourself.

“Come on man you’ve been in there forever! Stephanie’s getting all fucking weird dude and asking for you.” A guy yelled back to him.

You looked at Jake as you stood up, adjusting your costume. “I guess you better tend to Slutty Nun…” You scoffed.

“Y/N, don’t do this. We can-“

“No Jake, this. This was obviously a mistake…” You felt your head throbbing. You then exited the bathroom quickly vanishing from the party.

But I wasn’t able, and I wasn’t stable, I guess

Jake’s POV

You felt like you were drowning, planning all these gigs. Trying to maintain your grades, and keeping up with whatever you had going on. The only things that kept you afloat were your music and drugs…

“Jake, come on dude! Get your fucking shit together.” Your youngest brother smacked you on the side of your head.

“Yeah, cause that’s gonna solve all my fucking problems man!” You cracked your neck, standing up slowly.

“You have been late to practice every fucking time we schedule it. And the gigs you’ve been slacking off man. You fucking wanted this, and now you’re throwing it away. What is your problem?” Sam got into your face.

“My problem! You want to know what my fucking problem is!? Its fucking everything. Everything I’ve ever worked for I just fuck up Sam, I don’t have brains like you, Josh or Danny. I just make stupid fucking mistakes and deal with the consequences all on my own. And I’m just a fucking mess.” You pushed him back. Causing Josh and Danny to intervene.

“Yo man, walk it off.” Danny called out.

“No, you know what. Fuck this, and fuck you guys.” You packed your guitar up and left the studio. Driving to god knows where, whichever girl was wanting to fuck you was all you could think about. Of course you thought about Y/N but you pushed her into the back of your mind. All that would be is heartbreak and disappointment.

She didn’t deserve that from you. She needed better and you couldn’t offer that to her, not with your fucked up mentality.

But nevertheless I’m fucking depressed

Another party you were off to. Travis was throwing one this time around, you knew it probably wasn’t best to go considering Y/N would probably be there. But so fucking what. You were so far gone it wouldn’t have mattered. Just as long as you had your bump, booze and a girl by your side.

Throughout the night you kept yourself busy, drowning in your sorrows. Getting a bump whenever you could, and flirting with all the girls that came through. Like you were testing the waters of who would come home with you tonight.

You were so far gone, you could barely stand straight. You ended up sitting on the lounge chair on the deck outside. Lighting up a blunt, smoking it by yourself, while some of your buddies eventually joined you. The four of you bullshitted, then out of nowhere you could hear her. You bit your lip nervously, standing up telling the guys you were just getting another drink.

Making your way into the house, you accidentally bump into her. “Jesus christ!” She yells.

You both look at each other. “Jake…”

“Y/N…”

“I um. Wasn’t expecting you here.” She wrapped her arms close to her chest.

“Don’t worry, I won’t waste your time darling. Going to get myself a drink and maybe another bump or a fuck.” The drugs and alcohol were taking over.

“Real classy Jake. Don’t you think it's time you grew up?” She scoffed.

“I’m grown baby, what’s the harm in having fun?” You smirked.

“Getting fucking high on god knows what and drunk every night is not having fun Jake. You bailed on your last gig.”

“Keeping tabs on me now?” You looked at her with wide eyes.

“Not keeping tabs, Josh asked me to come out. We are lab partners, you know.” She rolled her eyes.

“Look I don’t give a shit. You’re not shit…”

You watched her face get red as her eyes welled up with tears. “Jake I honestly wish you the absolute fucking worst. You are so fucked up… What is wrong with you? How can you think this is okay?” She was starting to get loud with you.

“I’ve been fucked up, you didn’t notice from day one. Haven’t you heard the stories? I’m a fucking mess baby… And no one is ever going to change that. I’m not going to give you what you’re looking for… I don’t do relationships. So stop fucking trying to fix me.” You yelled into her face. Causing her to cower back and she began to sob quietly to herself excusing herself from you.

You punched the wall beside you, screaming to yourself. How much more of a fuck up can you be…

So you stormed off and found some passable looking chick that was down to just fuck. You didn’t care you needed to blow off steam. Get your mind off things, off of her. And this was the way you went about it.

I hide it with sex, and drink till it's fatal

It’s so fucking painful

It’s a mess

The next few weeks you just drown your sorrows with booze, drugs and any chick that was down for whatever with you. Eventually Josh was fed up with you fucking your life up. Waking up with the worst hangover ever. Josh came barging into your room.

“Alright man, I’ve been letting shit slide for too fucking long. You need to sober up. This isn’t fucking you man. What has got you all fucked up?”

Your head was pounding as you adjusted to the real world. “She’s got me fucked up… She’s so.”

“She’s got you fucked up? You got her fucked up!” He was angry. “She called me last night fucking crying, I could barely understand a word out of her. Do you like fucking up the good ones Jake?”

“Of course not!” You felt yourself getting angry, not at your twin. At yourself.

“Then what the fuck is your deal?”

“I need help man… I need something…”

So give me something beautiful

So give me something else

“Jake… you have to want to help yourself… I can’t just.” He sighed.

“I can’t lose her.” You choked out.

“I honestly think that was the last straw…”

“Josh. Please, I need to get better. For us, the band. For her.” You were crying now.

“Well, what did you think was going to happen acting like that?” He sighed sitting beside you.

“I think I love her. But I just, I’m scared. Is that how it’s supposed to be? Am I supposed to be scared of this feeling…”

“Brother… I think you are scared from something actually working out for once. She is… She is exactly what you want in someone. And, man- you need to get your act together.” He rubbed your shoulder.

“So help me…”

I need another miracle

I really need some help, I need a miracle

Her POV

Spring semester had started, you were focused on your apprenticeship. Excelling in it, just as you suspected. You had grown close with Josh, becoming quite close even with the hurt Jake had put you through. Josh had apologized for his brother's actions even though it had nothing to do with it. As Jake was his own person and could own up to his own actions.

“Just come to our show Saturday.” Josh smiled softly, paying for your guys’ coffee.

“Josh… I don’t know.” You sighed quietly.

“I swear on my life. It will be worth it. And Jake… He. He’s better.” He beamed.

You looked at him with a serious look, but there was hope in his eyes. Hope that you would go, in not just support of him but the rest of them.

“Fine. But if Jake does some fucked shit, I’m a goner.” You had a serious tone, grabbing your coffee as it was called.

“I promise, he’ll be on his best behavior.” He smiled softly. “And besides, I want you to meet this guy I’ve been seeing… His name is Ethan. And I want to know what you think of him.” He blushed talking about this new guy to you.

“Okay, well now you just have to fill me in on everything!” You giggled softly as the two of you went on your daily walk.

Who’s left when we’re all for the taking?

Saturday came, you had opted to wear jeans and a t-shirt for the gig they were playing at the local bar. You didn’t want to wear anything flashy as you were going in support of your friends' band.

When arriving at the bar, you decided to start a tab getting yourself a Tequila Soda. You opted to sit at the bar with the perfect view of the stage. Seeing Danny and Sam finishing up on setting the stage up. While noticing Josh out of the corner of your eye, you waved to him with him waving back.

In a couple of minutes the guys hit the stage, as you watched them step onto the stage. You felt your heart start to beat quickly when you noticed Jake had actually made it. You drank the rest of your drink asking the bartender for another, as the guys started out their show.

Throughout their set, you paid close attention to Jake and how he played. You haven’t been able to see them just yet so you were mesmerized by his skills. You knew Josh had a beautiful voice from the times you’ve hung out. But you didn’t know Jake was amazingly talented.

Although in the back of your head all you could picture was how he had treated you. And how fucked up he was the last time you saw him, it had you wondering if he had gotten his act together. Or if he was still the same old prick you were facing the last two times.

No lives left to bet on obeying

Once their hour long set was finished, Josh had rushed over to you embracing you into a hug. “I’m so glad you came! What did you think?” He pulled back, raising an eyebrow.

“You guys are amazing! You didn’t tell me the talent you all had!” You playfully punched his arm.

“Jake has. Something’s changed, and honestly I think it makes us sound better.” He smiled softly.

You gave a hurt smile, that you knew he wouldn’t pick up on. And order the two of you a drink. “So where is this lovely Ethan?”

“He should be coming back soon, he went to the bathroom before I came over here.” He smiled while taking his drink you got him.

“Over here!” Josh flagged him down to join you two.

“Sorry, it was crowded as fuck over there.” Ethan giggled softly, embracing you into a hug. “I’m Ethan, you must be Y/N! Josh always talks about you.”

“The one and only. Best lab partner ever! But also the bestest friend.” You smiled softly. You were happy to see Josh glow with him, yet you felt a pang as you were missing out on something like that.

For the next hour you learned a lot about Ethan and came to find that he was going to school for film. Which was one of the many reasons Josh was so interested in him. Ethan had even offered to be one of your clients for when you can start tattooing on actual clientele which would be relatively soon.

Suddenly you felt a tap on your shoulder, looking over to see it’s Jake. You took a deep breath smiling softly.

“Hey… Is it okay if we, uh. Talk?” He scratched the back of his neck.

“Sure…” You stood up from the bar stool telling Josh and Ethan you would be back.

What are we calling it?

You felt your nerves practically shaking. You were scared, excited, and had all these emotions going at the same time. The two of you decided to step by the one area that wasn’t as crowded in the building.

“So um.” He started nervously.

“Before we continue I just want to make sure… You’re sober right?” You felt bad for asking, but wanted to make sure this wasn’t going to be another bad evening.

“I’ve cut out the hard drugs… I’m just smoking and drinking now. But I’ve barely had anything tonight.” He looked at you with honesty in his eyes.

“Okay… go on.”

“Look, I know I haven’t been the best person out there… And I know I’ve completely avoided you, abandoned you and was overall and outright dick to you. And that wasn’t fair to you…” He took a deep breath.

What does it cost?

“I was just… In over my head, when you found me. I didn’t know how to handle myself, or what to feel or how to feel. I’ve been broken for a very long time. And I just…. I love you to death-” He looked at you before you cut him off.

“But I’m drowning…” You sighed softly, looking into his sad eyes.

He tilted his head with tears threatening his eyes, stepping closer to you. He grabbed your hands, lifting them into his.

What are we calling it?

What does it cost?

“Jake you… You have put me through so much… And-“

Suddenly his lips crashed into yours pulling you closely to him. As you kissed him back passionately cupping his cheeks with your hands, as his wrap around your waist.

So give me something beautiful

The two of you separated from one another slowly, taking a breath. As you steady yourselves, looking at one another.

“You have to mean it Jake… You can’t just throw love around-“

“I do mean it! I- I’ve been cleaning my act up since. Josh practically knocked sense into me… I just. I’m stubborn and a fucking handful.” He gave a sly smile as he chuckled. “I just… ever since. Fuck I don’t even want to speak of her really. I just never believed I could love again… yet here you are.”

“Like I’m some sort of miracle…” You giggled softly looking at him.

He shook his head, smiling softly. “Yeah… like a miracle. Come on… Let’s get out of here.” He grabbed your hand.

“Wait! I have to tell Josh.” You looked at him with pleading eyes.

“Fine, I don’t want him thinking I scared you off again.”

The two of you walked back to the bar together standing beside Josh. “Hey, we’re gonna leave. Everything’s alright.” You whispered to him, smiling softly. “Now you have a fun evening with Ethan, and it was so lovely meeting you!” You hugged the both of them before closing your tab out and leaving the bar with Jake.

“You and Josh must’ve gotten really close, huh?” He smiled softly, walking you to his car.

“Yeah, we have. He’s honestly one of my best friends now…” You smiled softly as Jake opened the door for you to get into his car. Getting into his car you put your seatbelt as he gets around to the other side.

The drive back to the apartment he and his brother shared wasn’t too far from the bar. And surprisingly wasn’t too far from your dorm room either. The campus had everything relatively close to one another, which was a nice advantage.

After Jake parked his car, he got out helping you out of his car. The two of you walked up two flights of stairs before coming to the door of his apartment.

“I apologize if it's a mess… Partially my fault. But we’re managing.” He chuckled, taking his shoes off, as you did the same.

“It’s fine really. At least you have your own place. I stay in a shitty dorm.” You giggled softly.

“So…”

“Well, you have me here. All alone…” Speaking in a sultry tone.

“That I do…” He smiled pulling you close to him and he pecked your lips softly. Before pulling you in for a deeper, heated kiss.

You reciprocated back, wrapping your arms around his neck as he hoisted you up carrying you to his room. Giggling against his lips softly, he placed kisses against your jawline. As he got into his room he shut the door laying you on the bed softly.

He trailed kisses down your neck, as your hands played with his hair. You felt a flood of arousal to your panties, his hands went underneath your shirt, toying with your bra as he unhooked it, removing it while pulling your shirt off as you assisted him.

“You’re so beautiful…” He smiled, capturing your lips again, while using his one hand to massage your breast while the other toyed with your nipple. Eliciting a whine from you. That same nipple he latched his mouth, licking and nibbling at your hardened nipple.

“Fuck, Jake…” You left out a quiet moan.

“Don’t be shy baby, it’s just us…” He smiled softly, encouraging you.

Tugging his shirt off, you can see his bulge through his tight black jeans. Just wanting to be set free, you started to undo his buckle to help make the process quicker. After a little bit of back and forth shared kisses the two of you were finally completely bare in front of one another. You blushed as you covered yourself up slightly with his comforter.

“Baby…” He tilted his hand crawling over to you. “S’just me… You want to treat that pretty pussy nice?” He smiled softly, lowering himself as he peppered kisses along your stomach.

You nodded as a whimper escaped your lips. “Treat it real nice…”

He smiled softly, kissing the inside of your thighs leaving marks behind. Once he nestled himself, he licked a slow stripe causing you to shudder. After his first taste back he hummed, “I’ll never get over this…” Attaching his lips to your bundle of nerves, he continues to lick and flick his tongue. Earning nothing but profanities and cries of his name.

He then moved down a little to nestle his nose right against your clit as his tongue was prodding your entrance. He continued to fuck you with his tongue as he shook his head back and forth causing you to get closer to your orgasm. You felt your legs start to wrap his head, but he used his hands to hold them as he kept lapping at you.

“Oh, god. I’m…” You tilted your head back as your orgasm rippled through you. Your legs began to shake, as Jake licked every drop he could get. Before coming up and kissing your lips softly.

“I could get used to that…” You giggled softly, caressing his cheek.

“I’ll do it whenever you want, however you want, angel…” His cheeks were pink as he smiled at you. He went to the night stand to grab a condom.

“Wait.”

He looked at you, raising an eyebrow, “What’s the matter?”

“I’m on the pill, and I’d much rather… Feel all of you.” You blushed.

He smiled, retreating back, and looking at you. “You’re positive you want to do it without it?”

“Unless you’re not telling me something?”

“I’m as clean as I can be.” He chuckled softly, “I’m always prepared.” He lined himself up with you, tapping his cock against your sensitive clit before pushing into you.

You placed your hands on his arms as he slowly dragged his cock into you. Letting you adjust to him, feeling the slight burn from the stretch. After a little his thrusts became a steady pace to help ease you. You could feel him throbbing and pulsing inside of you, earning a moan from you.

“You feel like heaven…” He groaned as he brought his head down to kiss your lips softly. You groaned against his lips as his pace picked up. You wrapped your legs around his waist pulling him in closer as his hips snapped with purpose.

“Fuck” You moaned out again, as his mouth moved to suck on your tit licking and bitting at the nipple. His thrusts became more harsh as he fucked you harder, hearing you skin meeting one another as it bounced off the walls.

Jake eventually pulled back, to watch where you two connected, watching as he fits perfectly with you. He slowed down to do long languid thrusts watching you fall apart on him. He spits directly onto your pussy, taking his thumb rubbing circles causing you to go into your second orgasm of the night.

After letting you come down, he then pulls out earning a whine from you, as he smiles softly. “Come on baby… I want to watch you.” He sat against his headboard, while you straddled his lap taking him to line yourself up before sinking down onto him.

The two of you make an audible groan from the feeling, his hands placed firmly on your hips, kneading into your skin as you start to ride him making figure eights with your hips. Placing your hands on his tattooed covered chest. You could see the finer details of the work he’s had done.

Jake sneaked his one hand up to your breast, pinching and rolling your nipple between his fingers. Eliciting a whine from you, causing you to bounce on his cock.

“That’s it angel… Just like that.”

He lifted his legs slightly to start thrusting up into you. So as you would come back down, he would hit that right spot inside of you.

“Can you give me one more?” He kept thrusting into you, as he groaned nearing his.

“I- I don’t know…” You felt your legs growing weaker.

“Yeah you can. Come on…” He encouraged you, holding you flush against his chest as he started fucking into you. Wrapping your arms around his neck as he rocked into you. Your clit was brushing against his pubic hair just right, bringing you to the brink of your last orgasm he was able to rip through you.

“That’s my girl…”

His girl, you pulsed around his cock as you rode your orgasm out. He wasn’t too far behind as you could feel him twitching.

“Where, baby?” His breathing was labored.

“Inside…” You looked into his eyes, both of you completely fucked out.

His eyes rolled back as one final snap of his hips, he stilled inside of you filling you up making you more full then you were. He rested his head against your chest, kissing it softly.

Lifting his face with your hands you kissed his lips softly. And he responded back with an even deeper kiss.

“I love you…” You mumbled against his lips.

“I love you.” He murmured, smiling against your lips. He pulled away slowly looking into your eyes. “Thank you… for being patient with me. And giving me a proper chance.”

“Thank you, for being honest… It means more than you’ll ever know.”

“I’ll be honest for the rest of my life. I’ll never hurt you ever again.” He rested his head against yours.

“My little miracle…”

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Taglist-

@ignite-my-fire @sinsofstardust @char289 @gretasfallingsky @thecoldwind @holybananafuck @thunderstomp-and-tequila @myleftsock @hi-hi-hello11 @brujamagik @fkfearandliveyourlegend @itsafullmoon @wagnerbrainrot @gretavangroupie @gretavanmoon

[earlysunshines]

i fall in love too easily

kindergarden teacher!sana x fem!reader.n (pt.2)

summary: your niece has access to too many romance movies and sana thinks she's in love with someones mother.

wc: 3.2k

warnings: mentions of food

pt. 1, pt. 3, pt. 4

a/n: hi! I hope you all enjoy this! I'll try to update this little series as fast as I can! I have been a bit busy, but I'll try my best. I have some ideas for it, lot's of fluff, lots of wlw pining-ish idk.

anyways, enjoy!

(again, this whole thing is inspired by @soliarus, their take on the prompt is adorable, go check it out!!)

-

You check the watch on your left wrist, it reads 3:11 pm, meaning Hana would be out in 4 minutes.

You had just got off your 7 hour shift and were worried that you’d be late to pick up your niece, luckily, the school was only a seven-minute drive away. 

You fiddled with the collar of the white button-up shirt that you still had on from working, and you wonder to yourself whether anyone would care how dressed up you were, at least, compared to the casually dressed parents, grandparents, and guardians around you. You anxiously waited for the moment when the bell would ring, and you waited for when the kids would be spilling out the entrance doors to reunite with their parents.

You checked your watch again and it hit 3:15 pm, and a loud ring of the bell was heard.

It was only a minute later that you started to see groups of kids being led out by various teachers. You scanned the area for a bit, and thankfully you were tall enough to see over some of the parents’ heads, so that you could see your little niece standing with a group of kids, 

You also saw her teacher.

You made your way over to the area where Hana was, and Hana seemed to notice you first because she was already running toward you with her arms out. You wonder how the hell a four year old could make you lose your balance, and you might have to consider her signing up for football due to the way she almost made you fall as she came into contact with your lower body from the hug,

“Y/n!” She grinned, and you kneeled to match her level and give her a proper hug, “I missed you y/n!”

“I missed you too sweetheart, you seem happy.” You say, and you brush some of her hair out of her face,

“Ms. Minatozaki is so nice and sweet, she let us paint and she gave me more stickers for being good! They're sharks too!” the little girl beams, making you smile,

“Is that so?”

“Yes! Does this mean we can go to the cafe? Please? I was good I promise.” Hana pleads, tugging at your rolled sleeve. You hum as you think to yourself,

“Hmm, we’ll have to ask Ms. Minatozaki to make sure, won’t we?” You respond, and you’re really just saying that as an excuse to talk to your nieces' teacher again.

You glance over to where Sana is, smiling and waving to a set of parents and their kid. Her eyes light up with surprise and delight as they meet yours, her cheeks slowly turning a shade of pink, though, you don't notice.

Sana bids a final goodbye to the parents and the kid before you and your niece make your way over to the beautiful young teacher.

“Y/n! It’s lovely to see you again.” Sana greets you, and you feel that warmth in your chest again, your heart skipping a beat.

She still looks as beautiful as she had in the morning, maybe even prettier. That voice of hers is still soft and sweet when she greets you with joy, and her face lights up the same way.

“It’s great to see you again too.” You say, and you subconsciously fix your shirt and dress pants to look more presentable. A smile finds its way to your lips, and Sana’s too. There’s a small moment of silence as you gaze at each other, and you feel that warmth in your ears again, and this time it’s slowly spreading to your cheeks.

You clear your throat and tug at your collar, “How was Hana today?” You say, breaking the slight tension in the air. 

Hana looks at her teacher with puppy eyes as she hopes to get a good answer, and Sana giggles to herself softly,

“She was very good today, she was really helpful too,” Sana says, Hana lets out a big sigh of relief.

“Is that so?” You question, and Sana hums in response,

“She helped me put the paintbrushes back, she’s a sweet girl,” Sana explains, and Hana tugs at your hand,

“I told you! I told you I was good, so can we go to the cafe? Please?” Hana pleads, and you nod at the little girl, then bring your gaze back to the woman in front of you.

“I guess we should get going then…” You begin, your gaze tearing away from Sana reluctantly to look back down at the girl beside you, “Why don’t you say bye to your teacher, Hana?” 

Hana nods and you watch as Sana crouches down to meet the girl's level, patting her head and ruffling it a little before Hana hugs the teacher, and for a moment you think to yourself: gosh, I wish that were me. 

You steal another glance at the young teacher before Hana goes back to you to hold your hand and tug you away. The last look you and Sana share has a sense of longing and an unspoken desire to get to know each other more, and you finally wave to her with a smile, and she gives you that adorable grin back to you and your niece.

-

“Alright, let’s get going.” You say before taking off Hana’s small school bag and putting it in the front seat, then lifting her up to put her in the carseat in the backseat of your dark green Mercedes. You close the door and make your way to the front seat to start the engine, 

“Buckle up!” the little girl exclaims from the back seat, and you laugh, 

“Of course, I wouldn’t forget the most important step.” You respond with enthusiasm.

You click shuffle on the playlist that you and Hana had made months ago, and a jazz favorite of yours starts playing. You turn down the volume so it turns into a faint melody in the background as you drive, and Hana starts to hum along.

You park near the cafe in your usual spot and grab Hana’s bag from the passenger seat, then open the door for Hana to jump out. The little girl’s smile widens immediately as she spots the exterior of the cafe, and rushes over to the entrance, and you have to run after her.

“Hana wait! Be careful!” You call out, hurriedly shutting the door and fumbling with the keys in your hand to lock your car, all whilst running after the excited five-year-old.

You two enter the cafe and are immediately met with the familiar and inviting atmosphere. The air is filled with the scent of freshly baked pastries and the scent of espresso shots being pulled, and you can hear the gentle chatter and laughs being shared in the cozy cafe.

There are a few people present in the cafe, though it’s not too busy at the moment. You spot a few adults in their work clothing sitting and chatting at the table for four near the window, sipping on their americanos and lattes. The dim corner to the right is lit up by a small lamp hanging from above and is occupied by a trio of high school students laughing, and they seem to be treating themselves to a small cake. 

You scan the area and your look shifts over to where the familiar baker and barista are. The baker notices you and stops what she’s doing to wave,

“Ah, Y/n! You’re back, did you miss me that much?” Dahyun jokes, “Oh, and you brought my favorite customer too.” She adds, redirecting her gaze to meet Hana. Hana gives the dark-haired woman a big, gummy, and toothy smile before going to hug the woman as she walks out from behind the counter,

“Ms. Dahyun! I had my first day of school today! My teacher says I was good!” Hana boasts, and Dahyun laughs before ruffling her hair up a bit,

“Wow, I’m impressed. Hmm… maybe I should give you the special treat I prepared then.”

“Please please please please please please-”

“Alright, alright. A special treat for my favorite customer coming up!” Dahyun says cheerfully. The shorter woman heads behind the counter, and you lift Hana onto the chair thats pushed under the marble surface.

You make your way to where the taller barista works, and he’s busy measuring the coffee grinds for an espresso shot. He furrows his brows as he takes a small portion of the ground coffee out from the portafilter,

“Chaemin,”

He jumps a little and you laugh,

“My god, don’t do that.”

“My fault, can I use the steamer real quick? I need to make something for my niece.”

“You’re giving espresso to a five-year-old?” Chaemin says in surprise, he turns his body to you fully and raises his brows and looks down at you in disbelief,

“Of course not, she’s already a handful without the caffeine. I’m just gonna make her a hot chocolate.”

“I see, okay.” He says, bringing his attention back to the portafilter and tamping the coffee grinds, “By the way, where’s Johnny? I thought he would be the one taking Hana to school, you know, since he's her dad and all.”

“He had this last-minute business trip. He complained about it a lot, but he’ll be back in two days.”

You and Chaemin exchange a few more words, creating some small talk whilst you make the hot chocolate, and Dahyun has already given the giddy five-year-old her cream-filled croissant that has a variety of fruits inside, along with a drizzle of milk chocolate. 

“I made it just for you, I even added extra strawberries and chocolate since you like them so much,” Dahyun says, pushing the plate toward the girl.

“Ms. Dahyun you’re the best! It looks really yummy! Thank you thank you thank you!” She says excitedly, and Dahyun pats her shoulder, 

“Anything for the young scholar.”

“You never make me anything like that.” You mumble as you make a design with the steamed milk and chocolate,

“You’re not a scholar; in fact, you lack a lot up there.” she jokes, pointing to your head.

“Ouch.” You respond, looking at her with a pout and setting down the hot chocolate with the latte art and giving it to Hana from across the counter. Hana smiles and looks at the drink and pastry eagerly, but just as she is about to dig in, you pause her,

“Phone eats first.” You say, forcing her to pose and smile for the family group chat, she groans in response before Dahyun encourages her to grin for the camera, giving her a thumbs up.

You sit beside Hana and watch her eat while you hold your head in your palm, smiling at her. Dahyun goes back to rolling whatever dough for whatever pastry she was working on before, and you scroll through the family group chat, talking with your brother and mom.

“These are so good, thank you Aunt Y/n,” Hana says with a mouth full of the pastry,

“You should thank Dahyun, but I’m glad you like them. Also, don’t talk while you have so much food in your mouth!” You scold playfully before taking a sip of the iced americano Chaemin had made you. Hana sticks her tongue out at you and you pinch her nose lightly, making the two of you laugh.

“Aunt y/n, can I ask you something?” Hana mumbles after gulping down the bite she had taken,

You raise an eyebrow, “What is it?”

“Do you… Do you like my teacher?”

“Of course, she’s sweet and takes good care of you, I’m fond of her.” You answer before taking another sip of your coffee,

“No, do you like like her? Like in the movies?” And Hana’s directness nearly makes you choke on your coffee,

“W-what? Why- where did this come from?” You question, sitting straight up. Chaemin overhears the conversation and his eyes land on the two of you,

“You like your nieces' teacher?” He says in disbelief, a hand on his hip and a brow raised. You look at your co-worker and then back to your niece,

“N-no, it’s not like that,” You start, trying to keep your voice and tone relaxed (Chaemin and the little girl aren’t fooled), “She’s just nice, we’re just friendly. She’s your teacher, of course I’m going to be friendly with her.”

“Ok, then why did you look at her like that? You looked all lovey-dovey and your ears turned red!”

“Oh? What is this I’m hearing?” Dahyun interjects, and you shoot her a glare before looking back at your niece,

“I- no, It’s not like that! We just met Hana, don’t be ridiculous.” You say defensively, and Hana’s smile grows, it makes you uneasy.

“Your ears are turning red again, just like in those cartoons and movies!”

“What movies are you watching? You’re like, five! Shouldn’t you be watching some normal cartoons? Like something with mermaids or superheros or something?” You say, and now you’re getting more defensive as Dahyun and Chaemin team up with Hana to poke at you.

You roll your eyes at them, but there’s a small smile that tugs at your lips as you think of Sana.

You do not believe in love at first sight, that’s something out of a Disney movie and love is much more complex than that; however, you cannot deny that the woman that will be teaching your daughter every day is one of the most beautiful woman you’ve seen. You think about her stupidly cute smile and contagious laugh, the way her nose scrunches when she would do both, and the way she held your hand when you greeted her. Her soft, unique, and beautiful features sit in your head for a bit, even as you're being teased and poked at.

You think to yourself a bit more and you won’t admit it, but this woman did have an effect on you, and you were scared that it would be harder to hide the more you saw her.

“Look, I just think she’s a nice person okay,” You say, and you begin(or at least try) to change the topic, “Anyways… how was your first day of school? What else did you do?”

Dahyun laughs at your attempt to change the subject and decides to give you a break by going back to what she was doing, and she also gives Chaemin a cheeky look. You ignore their stupid little exchanged looks and give all of your attention to the little girl,

“You were right Y/n, I made a friend! Her name is Jiyeong, she’s taller than me by this much,” and Hana shows you the height difference by pinching her fingers down, except there’s a space in between that you would assume is an inch, “Also,” Hana begins, “Ms. Minatozaki read us a story, she’s super nice. She smiled and laughed a lot, she has such a nice smile! She smiles like a princess," Hana adds, and you really agree with that statement. Hana thinks to herself a bit, "she also helped everyone with their paintings, she’s so cool! I like her a lot.” She states.

You grin at the girl and take her empty plate, pushing it to the other side of the counter for Chaemin to take, “I’m really glad you made a friend, I told you my genes were passed on to you!” You mess with her hair, “And I’m glad you like Ms. Minatozaki, it’s important that you have nice and caring teachers.”

“And pretty teachers too, right?” She teases, and you laugh, messing with her hair once more,

“Alright smarty pants, Finish up your hot chocolate so we can get going.” You sigh, rolling your eyes playfully before going over to where Chaemin is behind the counter to wash Hana’s dish. 

-

“How was work?” Jihyo says as she backs up her car out of the parking spot in front of the school. Sana has always taken the bus or gotten a ride from her friend, she doesn’t drive, it’s always been like that. This year Sana is lucky as she’ll most likely be getting regular rides back home from not only her best friend but also the mother of one of her students (and one of the drivers of the century). 

Sana sighs and smiles, then sets her head down against the headrest of the passenger seat, “It was really good, the students this year are great. Your daughter did great too.” Sana starts. Jihyo smiles and looks at her daughter from the internal rearview mirror, 

“I’m glad Jiyeong was good,” Jihyo starts, “Jiyeong, sweetheart, how was school?” 

“Ms. Minatozaki is nice, and I made a new friend.” The little girl in the backseat responds, “Her name is Hana, she’s cool and nice, I like her a lot. We promised to be best friends this year!” 

Sana tenses up at the mention of Hana, and she thinks of the girl’s captivating mother. Sana starts to zone out whilst Jihyo talks with her daughter, and she thinks about the young-looking mother she had met. She replays the memory of shaking the woman’s hand and thinks about her cheery grin, as well as her caring nature. She daydreams of the look the woman had given her this morning, and the friendly greetings they exchanged had remained in her mind for a bit of the car ride back.

Her heart sinks a little at the thought of you being her student's mother, and she tells herself to compose herself, there are always others, right? (but none that were as cute as you.)

“Alright, we’re here. Jiyeong, say bye to your teacher.” Jihyo says, putting the car in park at the front of the apartment complex. Sana smiles at Jihyo and steps out of the car, closing the door and waving at Jihyo and her daughter through the window,

“Thank you Ms. Minatozaki! See you tomorrow!”

“Bye Jiyeong, I hope you have a good night. You too, Jihyo, thank you again.”

“It’s no problem, your place is on the way to our house anyway, have a good night Sha.”

Jihyo waves again before rolling the passenger seat window up again and driving away, Sana turns and walks into the building.

The young teacher unlocks the apartment door and sets her bag on the hook to the right of the door, takes off her shoes, and finds herself wandering over to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. 

She leans against the counter in her work clothes, staring at the cup of tea in her hand.

“I really have to talk to Jihyo about this.” She mumbles, taking out her phone and clicking on the woman’s contact. She lets out a small sigh thinking about how the hell she’ll survive the year while having to see your pretty face so often, and having to interact with someone so charming.

The phone rings for a bit before it’s answered by the woman that had dropped Sana off at her home, and the woman sounds like she’s opening the door to her house.

"Sana? Hello? What is it? Everything okay?”

"Jihyo,"

"Yes?"

“On a scale of one 1-10, how bad is it to have a crush on your students' mother?”

[cloverdaisies]

# ART CLASS 𝜗𝜚𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

JI CHANGMIN x reader

˗ˏˋ description:ˎˊ˗જ⁀➴ৎ୭ : your crush on your art professor might be affecting your grades, he was just perfect but you’re just a student. how you accidentally fell in love with art class for the wrong reasons…

˗ˏˋ genre:ˎˊ˗જ⁀➴ৎ୭ : fluff, unrequited to lovers.

˗ˏˋ word count:ˎˊ˗જ⁀➴ৎ୭ : 5.5k+

˗ˏˋ notes:ˎˊ˗જ⁀➴ৎ୭ : this was once 10k+ but oops, is a bit of an indulgent fic i can’t lie, i hope you love it as much as i do, so here’s some changmin brainrot to feed ur delusions, massive thank you to @juyeonszn for helping me get over my plot blocks, ily. proof reading in progress!

Mondays, the worst day of the week. That was for certain, considering you had a two hour class that morning with a professor that would draw over your weeks worth of work with sharpie. Thankfully, he’d already announced his leave and you wouldn’t had to deal with that anymore. Every morning you’d get the bus to university dreading the next class, headphones on trying to drown out thoughts of how you were going to survive your degree in these insufferable conditions.

“Today you have a lesson with your new professor, who’ll be taking over for me. He’s very well educated and I’m sure he will be able to fill in the gap after my leave.” Your old professor rambled on as if his low marking and reckless actions with felt tip pens would be missed.

You weren’t necessarily paying attention, more focused on your pencil work in the sketchbook than you were on the front of the class. Ears suddenly perking up at the voice you heard from the front of the room, it was a cuteish tone, at the same time mellow and calm - a voice that could put you to sleep that sat just on the right octave to make you fall in love with it.

“Hello everyone, I’m professor Ji and will be taking over the introduction to Fine Art module going forward. I look forward to getting to know you all and seeing your work. Today we will be starting a new project for your mid term evaluations, it will be a multimedia piece with a theme of your choice. Make it mean something, do what’s true to you.” Professor Ji stated, already he sounded as if he knew exactly what he was talking about. It was a breath of fresh air and his intellect was almost making you dizzy.

No y/n, you can’t be getting a crush on your professor this can only end in tears if you find out he’s already happily married and settled in life.

“Any questions?” He asked looking around the room with his thick black rimmed glasses, leant against the wall with his hands clasped in his blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

“Are you married?” Someone asked from the back of the room triggering a boisterous laugh to break out across the classroom.

Professor Ji sighed and rolled his eyes, clearly contemplating his response a bit taken a back by the question. Especially in a university classroom, where everyone’s an adult, it was such a high school question, but who could blame them for asking?

“Do I look that old to you?” He responded with a chuckle, holding a hand over his chest like wound had opened over his heart. Oh and he’s funny. This literally couldn’t get any worse, he just seemed perfect.

After that the class began to start their projects, however for some reason you just couldn’t overcome the creative block in your mind on what to do. As you were sat twiddling your pencil and scratching out ideas in your planner you felt a presence appear behind you.

“Struggling?” Professor Ji appeared over your shoulder with his hands behind his back, briefly looking down at your empty page before back at your embarrassed expression.

“I guess you could say so.” You laughed as if you were begging for hole in the earth to collapse and swallow you into non existence. You watched as he smiled sympathetically thinking of a way to help you, dragging a stool and bringing it closer to your workspace. He’d done this to every student, going around to check on your progress unlike your previous professor who didn’t really care less.

“Let’s see.” He scratched his head for a moment, tapping his pencil on the table. “What are you interested in?”

You blushed internally, the question on completely professional terms but almost sounded like something someone would ask on a first date - at least in your delusional state of mind.

“Well I usually focus on work that expresses feeling, like this piece I did on stress.” You showed him a previous piece of work you did for the class, the abstract work compelling him to the phone screen.

“This is really creative. I love the way you used colour here, it’s abstract but so detailed. I think you’ve definitely found a style there —” He paused for a moment realising he didn’t know your name.

“Y/n.” You slightly smiled at him, trying to make yourself seem less like an awkward mess in front of him or mask the fact, that you totally weren’t staring at him the entire time he’d been looking at the phone.

“Y/n. I definitely won’t tell you what to do! But something similar will definitely have you sailing through this module.” He smiled, the cute line peaking at his dimples which could of had you squealing right there like some sort of wild animal.

As he walked over to the next table you couldn’t help but wish he’d stayed longer, his presence was unfortunately addicting. It’s the way his eyes lit up seeing your work, his passion for his work, his intellect, his welcoming aura, it had you in some sort of chokehold you hadn’t felt in years.

You took his words on board, an idea suddenly crossing your mind in a quick flash. Sure it wasn’t the best idea considering your current situation, but all the emotions you’d depicted so far were negative. Something within you was scratching at your brain to illustrate the feeling of the fear of love, knowing you were good at painting the feelings you genuinely felt.

Beginning to map out your idea in your planner, the new wave of creativity certainly didn’t go unnoticed by your professor as he looked over at you working away with a smile.

Then you hit a wall. You didn’t like using anything other than acrylic paint, every other form of media just for some reason seemed to irk every single creative bone within you.

“Any progress?” Professor Ji passed your table for the last time, as the lesson would soon be drawing to a close.

“Yeah I have an idea. However, I hate working with anything other than acrylic.” You expressed, your ears turning a bright pink as he grazed your arm to take a look at your planner.

“Well I think this is a great idea.” He laughed politely, readjusting his glasses with a light push. “I’d love to discuss this more thoroughly in office hours with you, if you’d be up for it?”

“Sure. When?” You asked completely composed, your mind rattling through ideas for the piece whilst trying to block out any thoughts of the man next to you. He smiled for a moment, flicking through your scribbled notes with a pen.

“Today, 5-6pm. Think of the things you want to discuss before attending and I’ll be happy to help. It seems you’re a really talented artist. You just need a push in the right direction.” He replied, his friendly register doing nothing to help you out of the sick spiral you were falling down. You smiled as he walked off to the front of the classroom to close the lesson, unable to pay any focus to the words falling from his mouth as you flipped around your ballpoint pen and chewed nervously down on your lip - the venom of adrenaline circulating your body like a wildfire from the interaction.

The class began to pack their things, snapping you out of your silly nightmare daydreams packing your sketchbook and planner. You pushed your pencil behind your ear, planning to pack it away into your pencil case at some point but not necessarily revising that idea. You slung your bag over your shoulder with a sigh, about to leave door without looking back, your bed awaits.

“Don’t forget to sign your attendance guys.” Professor Ji pointed to the clipboard on the back of the door greeting everyone on the way out with a warm smile.

You quickly went to check your bag for the loose pencil you could have sworn you just had, not remembering where you’d placed it, frantically searching the bottom of your bag for it not fussing to open the case of pens in front of you.

“Are you looking for this?” Professor Ji, took the pencil from behind your ear with a chuckle. Thankfully, being the last to leave was on your side today, no one seeing the god awful embarrassment on your face.

“Thank you, that’s so stupid of me. Sorry.” You laughed off the embarrassment, grabbing the pencil from his hand and signing your name on the sheet as he continued to laugh. “Stop laughing.” You looked over to him, holding back your own giggles as he only laughed more.

“Sorry I can’t help it. See you later y/n.” He chuckled as you left the classroom with a idiotic smile glued to your lips, the door closing behind you. You could have screamed right there and then due to the shear torment of embarrassment.

As soon as your head hit your pillowcase, the room felt as if it was spinning, so many thoughts drowning that brain of yours they were turning it into nothing but mush. You felt your eyes shuttering closed, slumber gradually taking over your body.

┈ ・꒰ ୨୧ ─ ・┈ ・ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ୨୧ ꒱ ・┈

The persistent beeping of the alarm on your bedside table triggered you to rise from your nap like something out of the walking dead. You could have used more sleep, but you seriously needed to attend Professor Ji’s office hours otherwise your project was never going to be finished.

You got ready, your head clouded with looking good for your literal university professor. You shook those thoughts out your head fairly quickly before sliding into your boots and setting off out the door. The winter semester brought in dark nights, it was cold outside, so cold you could see your breath in a thin smoke as you waited at the bus stop.

Presenting your pass to the driver, thoughts circulated your head like a manic steam train running a track as if it was the F1 , you can’t fall for your prof, it would only end in tears when he doesn’t reciprocate those feelings. Staring into the steamed windows of the bus out on the dark night, you sighed the faint sound of music playing through your headphones as comfort.

You pressed the stop button, nervously making your way down the bus aisle as it came to a halt. Making your way to the arts building on campus, you inhaled an anxious sharp breath before reaching the hallway of offices. The office still had your old professors name engraved in a silver board on the front of the door, hesitantly you knocked awaiting an answer. The door handle turned, your stomach flipping and performing handstands.

“Y/n, come in.” Professor Ji smiled, walking into the office with a confident stride, the place littered with boxes seemingly needing to be unpacked. The office was lit warmly with a lamp stood in the corner behind the desk. He sat in a spinning chair at the polished desk nearly placed towards the centre of the room.

“So explain your plan.” He leant forward as you sat in one of the chairs opposite him, you pulled out your portfolio the chunky folder highlighting a collection of your previous projects.

“So, since I’ve done a lot of work on emotion, I thought I’d tackle something more complicated. So I wanted to do the fear of falling in love.” You explained showing him a colour palette you put together in class, it showed colours from a deep scarlett red to a sapphire blue. “The only issue is I don’t know how to use any other media than acrylic.”

“Hmm. So you’re a painter?” He asked watching you nod before beginning to speak again. “Have you ever tried oil paint?”

“Only briefly, I don’t really have the funds to buy oil paints though.” You laughed, thinking the suggestion was silly considering how expensive oil paints could be on your student funds.

“Thought so, that’s why I’m offering you use my resources for this project. Here.” He pushed a set of untouched oil paints across the table, as if they’d just been bought. You looked at him with confusion, you thought this had to be too generous, you’d never had any teacher care so much about their students.

“I mean thank you so much but why?” You couldn’t help but chuckle at the gift, it wasn’t necessarily too expensive nor was it meant anything but a professional proposal.

“I know what it’s like to be a student. Plus, someone like you could really benefit from it, your work with acrylic is to not be transitioned into oil paint.” He passed on a genuine smile, a smile that radiated a positive energy you’d never felt. You looked down at them, still in a state of shock he’d go out of his way to buy such a thing for you. “I was also thinking, since 1 to 1 mentoring is setting back up with the new semester, would that be something you’d be interested in? I happened to stumble across your notes from your old professor and he noted you seemed very stressed with your work load.”

“Yeah that’s true, but I can handle it!” You tried to smile, however upon hearing the comments you couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed in front of the likes of Professor Ji and his intellectual level in art. It felt as if you were being told you were slacking or left behind. “I don’t think I need any extra help.”

“Are you sure? I mean when I was in your year I also went through 1 to 1 mentoring for the same issue. I wasn’t always at the level I am now.” He sympathised with you, trying to catch eye contact as you looked down at the table.

“Okay. I guess it can’t hurt.” You sighed, still avoiding the glare of his brown eyes across the table, a silence lingering as the grandfather clock ticked on in the background.

“That’s great to hear. So it will be out of university grounds. Purely because the university won’t let me book a space in the week, I was thinking maybe a café? Of course on a completely professional basis, there’s a few other students needing the extra help too. I’ve got one more slot, are you free Wednesday at 10am?” He rambled on slightly, the thin biro in his hand hovering over the page beneath him. He pushed up his glasses and looked at you expectantly, your many thoughts being interrupted by his gaze.

“Uh, yeah that’s my day off so I guess.” You replied with a shrug, sitting back in the chair as you watched him messily scribble in his planner. “Do you have any pieces you’re working on at the minute?” You had no idea why you asked him, however something in you was desperate to ask.

“I’m just doing research at the moment into the baroque period, I would love to have the time do a piece of my own. It’s been a while.” Prof Ji seemed happy you asked, a small grin lighting up his cheeks as he spoke about it.

“Hopefully you can clear some time soon, I’d love to see what you make yourself.” You laughed, almost forgetting you were in a professional space as you let the words slip from your lips.

“Agreed. You’re free to go, see you on Wednesday morning.” He concluded the meeting politely, seeing you out the warm lit room through the tall chestnut door.

“See you then.” You replied, feeling heat rising to your cheeks as you noticed his arm over you keeping the door open, thoughts spinning through your dizzy head feeding your delusions like a sickly candy.

┈ ・꒰ ୨୧ ─ ・┈ ・ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ୨୧ ꒱ ・┈

After then, every other class had you spacing out with a mind full of Professor Ji, thoughts of his paint covered glasses, rolled up shirt sleeves, sweet smile and messy short hair. You often smiled to yourself, the words of every other prof passing through one ear and out the other - drowning softly into the background of your daydreams.

Wednesday seemed like a century away, you found your weekend dragging by Monday felt like an entire week and so did Tuesday. The night before, you’re sat planning your outfit as if you were going somewhere incredibly important the next day. Scrolling tiktok to cancel out your nerves for the next day, although it wasn’t a date, it was a completely professional meeting. You couldn’t shake the thought of it being a café setting, somewhere where you’d get to know someone for the first time, somewhere where you’d ask someone their hobbies, stare at each other across the table- you were getting carried away, but how couldn’t you?

The weather was on your side the next morning, the sun shining through your small apartment building window, the temperature outside not too warm but not too cold either. You carefully got dressed into the clothes you picked the night before, fixing your appearance in the mirror with a smile. Hopefully the effort wouldn’t look strange to him, after all you weren’t trying to look like the weird student with the crush on the teacher, nooooo that’s not you! It was and you couldn’t deny it.

You couldn’t help but twiddle your thumbs on the bus towards campus, palms coating themselves in a thin layer of sweat, your stomach churning in anticipation. You thanked the driver, walking towards one of the many on campus café where you’d agreed on meeting. It was a sunny day, therefore a considerable amount of people had taken to having picnics on the campus green, most opting to sit outside the café with their iced drinks and books.

You spotted him immediately, sat on one of the small tables with his laptop, scrolling away through his laptop and sipping at his iced latte with pouty lips.

"Hey." You smiled walking up to the chair in front of him with a smile, he returned the smile closing his laptop and putting his drink aside on the table.

"Y/n, lovely to see you. How are things coming alone? Do you want a coffee?" He asked picking up his wallet and signalling towards inside of the cafe.

"I can get my own! And I can't say I've done much, I've been pretty distracted the past few days." You laughed, trying not to be too suspicious or act embarrassing in anyway. He looked at you momentarily, eyes wavering across your outfit and perfectly styled hair.

"You look nice, are you going somewhere after this?" He asked, for the second time heat flooded your cheeks, your ears probably lighting up bright pink.

"No." You didn't know how to respond, if anything you were too stunned to speak, trying to gargle up words out of the jungle rattling in your brain. "I just had some extra time to get ready this morning."

"Glad I'm not keeping you from getting anywhere." He chuckled a mischevious smile on his lips, "I'll get the coffee, what are you wanting?"

"An iced matcha would be nice." You blushed, your voice barely coming out above a whisper as all your dreams of a man all seemed to be coming true. He was so mature but at the same time had a man-child charm, he believed in chivalry and was always there to give you everything you needed. In your sick fantasy, he was your prince, the older man that would save you from the horror of the boys your own age.

As he nodded, politely exusing himself to get your drink, you felt your phone buzz in your pocket, reaching to grab it, a text from your roommate lit up the screen. 'Wanna go to the bar tonight?' You hadn't been out in a long time, too busy in work and exams to dare leave your mess of a bedroom: seemingly procastinating work was always more important than your own happiness and social life. 'Sure' You replied, after all you deserved some fun after everything.

Professor Ji returned with your drink, you graciously thanked him and slid your phone back into your pocket. He turned the pages of his planner to the notes about your project he'd written earlier.

"So have you started sketching out your linework yet?" He asked, repeating his little habit where he pushes up the middle of his glasses to the top og his nose since they always slid down slightly everytime he loked down.

"No... Sorry, its been a hard few days. I'm not even sure where to begin." You replied awkwardly, with all the thoughts of him you'd completely forgotten all aspects of the project or the fact it was due sooner than anticipated.

"That's okay, we can always start now, that's if you brought your sketchbook." He laughed lightly, not trying to put you in some pit of self doubt when you were already struggling to hit a pencil to paper.

"Yeah I did actually." You reach to grab your large portfolio bag, grabbing your sketchbook and opening it to the page where your moodboard for the piece was. You had practiced some sketching, feathered lines and doodles scattered across one of the pages. He reached across the table, looking at the drawings with a keen eye.

"Pass me a pencil." He asked, holding out his hand as you gave him one of yours, watching as he began to draw in the corner. "Instead of feathering your lines so much, try to get a firmer line like this so its easier for you to follow the precision of the paint."

He drew the heart balloon you'd drew in the corner, of course in a much nicer way which was soul crushing for you, but you followed his guidance and he nodded in approval. Of course, he could'nt admit it, but Ji himself was feeling some sort of gut feeling, perhaps guilt as he felt himself begin to get nervous around you. He thought it was endearing, the way you followed his movements and laughed nervously when you accidentally made a mistake quicly erasing it. However, he would absolutely never, his self control was a much tougher obstacle to tackle and he wouldn't let it fall for anyone.

You carried on discussing placement and ideas, not long until you had an minitaure layout of the page for your project all sketched out. The hour had flew by, and you almost forgot about your drink, too focused on him and his words to comprehend the time.

"Thanks for today, oh, and the drink, Professor Ji." You began to pack up your things, your pencils going neatly slotting into their case.

"Of course, just call me Changmin by the way, the professor thing is too formal even for a classroom." He felt himself cringing, why would he say that? He did mean it but, it felt even weirder that it was you saying it and not the other students.

As you left, he took off his glasses for a moment palms flattened over his face as his thoughts ran over all the events of the past hour, raking his fingers through his hair. Although he did think everything you did was in some way magical, he understood that he could not loosen the boundary between him being your tutor and you being his student. It simply couldn't happen. Ever. That thought would torment him until you either went away or he had to leave himself.

┈ ・꒰ ୨୧ ─ ・┈ ・ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ୨୧ ꒱ ・┈

For the next few hours, your daydreams had become an even more delusional hell than before. Your memory floated over the fact his hand had touched yours briefly as you handed him the pencil, the warmth of his fingertips lingering over your knuckles. As you grabbed your bag, getting ready to meet your friends you simple’s could not shake the thought of today, the chemistry between you both, the tension. It was all a bit much to handle.

You met your friends at the bar, regardless of the messy state of mind you were in. You got a break from work conversations for once, being able to stay up late and drink as much as you wanted as the sports played in the background of the bar. For the first time you felt as if this was normal university life you were living, however the huge disadvantage of not drinking in a long time is that after a couple of drinks you were irresponsibly and irrevocably drunk.

“Get home safe y/n.” You friend smiled, you two bring the last people in the bar as your roommate and her boyfriend had already left much earlier.

“You too.” You smiled before turning around and trying to walk in a straight line, the narrow alley of the street proving difficult as you accidentally wandered into the wall.

On a late night convenience store trip, trying to shake his irreplaceable thoughts. Changmin couldn’t get a wink of sleep with the pool of guilt sitting in the pit of his stomach at the idea of you. He left the store with a few snacks, figuring if he couldn’t sleep he may as well watch a movie or something to pass the time.

As if the world was against him, he noticed a familiar figure stumbling down the street, sighing as he recognised you, clearly not being in a state where you can get home safe unless you lived extremely nearby.

“Y/n?” Your ears perked up at the familiarly sweet voice. A voice of concern as you looked up to see your professor, Changmin stood in front of you with a glint of worry in his eyes.

“Oh…. hiiiii…. Sorry I must look like a mess right now.” Barely able to string out a sentence you giggled and hiccuped pushing a strand of hair behind your ear. Oh goodness… how you’d regret this in the morning.

“Can you get home safely? How much did you have to drink?” He asked frantically, gasping as you almost stumbled over his palms landing on either arm to support your body.

“Yes. You’re so funny…. I just need to get the bus.” You slurred your words going to walk past him, before you were stopped by him blocking your path.

“There’s no buses from here at this hour it’s 3am! I can’t take you home because I’ve drank myself. You can sleep on my couch if you want but if you go to walk home, I’m walking all the way with you.” Changmin stated, watching your eyes light up all giddily as you began jumping up and down.

“OOOO, What does your place look like?!” You squealed the curiosity getting you way too overexcited in the drunken state you were in

“Come on then, you had lectures in the morning you need be more careful.” Changmin let you link your arm into his, despite the berry pink shade rising in his cheeks he hoped you’d wake up in the morning and forget all about the way you were acting towards him for your own sake.

His apartment was a humble excuse for a studio, not too big but not inconveniently small either. There were band posters and some of his original art work hung on the walls across the room where there was space. It was lit warmly, he seemed to hate fluorescence of ceiling lights and much preferred dotting smaller lights with thrifted lampshades around the room.

“You have the bed, I’m gonna stay awake for a while.” He pointed to across the room where his neatly made bed was just waiting to canon balled, the mountain of pillows looking so unrightfully comfortable. You collapsed into the sheets without any arguments, failing to see the relieved smile as he sat down in front of the television.

You soon drifted off to sleep, every little mumble, little breath was heard across the room by him. He struggled to shake the thoughts of you, after all that’s what was keeping him up in the first place. He’d only made his situation worse, he couldn’t fall in love with you no matter how attractive he thought you were. Every time he shut his eyes he saw you, and now you were across the room the thought was haunting him. So he laid across the sofa awake, into the hours of the early morning until he just couldn’t keep them open anymore. Even in his dreams, the pictures of you danced like paintings across his brain.

┈ ・꒰ ୨୧ ─ ・┈ ・ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ୨୧ ꒱ ・┈

Of course leaving your professors house hungover at 8am on a Thursday morning, wasn’t the proudest moment of your life, it certainly was an experience. You’d never been mortified of your own actions, god knows what you said to him, you couldn’t remember blurting anything you shouldn’t of. However as you showed up to your lectures for the next 3 weeks he didn’t talk to you, nor did he help you with your project or take you to any cafés for your mentoring.

Your one to one sessions now took place in his office, to him it was easier to make the difference between love interest and student in there. You could tell the difference, he wasn’t as friendly, he was ice cold and this only made you more embarrassed.

After a few weeks you finally mustered up the courage to ask him.

“Why are you being so different with me?” You asked confidently, watching him avoid making eye contact and ignore the question as if he never heard it. “You owe me an explanation.”

“Do I? I’m just trying to maintain a professional relationship with you.” He shrugged continuing to check through your sketchbook, you couldn’t look at him without beginning to shake, the confidence in your voice wavering.

“What do you mean by that?” You retorted, confused to why that was suddenly so serious, when had HE ever been unprofessional, after all weren’t you the problem?

“I mean what happened those few weeks ago, was wrong. I’m your lecturer nothing more.” He placed his palm on the desk looking at you with a serious glare, eyes wavering suspiciously.

“Changmin?” You were hesitant to ask, “Do you have feelings for me?”

There was silence, you wished you could swallow your words back into your head but you were too late. He stared at you with a panicked expression, then one of disappointment before beginning to speak.

“I can’t Y/n, you’re just a student. You’re my student, I don’t want to lose my-”

He knew he was hurting himself with his own words, it was so clear he’d been pushing himself away from what he wanted and that was you.

You interrupted him with a kiss, it took a moment before he reciprocated standing up straight and pushing your back into the wall behind you. It was passionate desperate, as if every emotion, anger, frustration, love that was so forbidden - he’d just let it go. He couldn’t fight it anymore.

Pulling his face away from yours, you looked at him with teary eyes, all the emotions bursting out as your own feelings began to conflict.

“I’m sorry. That should have never happened.” He quickly backed away, holding his lips. You shook your head violently not able to produce a coherent sentence.

“No. I’m in… I can’t say it. Don’t hate me.” You still couldn’t think of the words, you didn’t want to frighten him or push him away. You were scared he wouldn’t be able to love you back, he’d hold his career over you.

However that singular tear that fell from your eye, was gently wiped away by his thumb. Wrapping his arms around your head and bringing you to his chest. He sat himself on the desk, lifting you on to his knee to comfort you.

“It’s okay, I’m in love with you too.” He whispered into your ear, only causing you to sob more as his own tears were wiped away by a hearty chuckle. “I guess we’ll have to figure out the work stuff before I can fully be able to love you like I want to though."

You smiled up at him in the ambient lighting, as he rocked you in his arms against the warmth of his chest you were content. The dimples in his cheeks sending your stomach swarming with butterflies, as you pushed your glasses up his nose for him.

That’s how you accidentally fell in love with your art professor.

┈ ・꒰ ୨୧ ─ ・┈ ・ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ୨୧ ꒱ ・┈

[dewywrites]

school play shenanigans! — isaac x theatre member reader

ᴡᴀʀᴅʀᴏʙᴇ/ᴄᴏꜱᴛᴜᴍᴇꜱ:

you were backstage helping isaac get into his costume

his shirt looked a little loose, so you grabbed a safety pin and leaned over by his waist

despite the background chatter, the two of you were silent

when you grabbed the shirt to tighten it, your hand touched his waist and it was like electricity ran between the two of you

you felt shy, but held up a confident act. you just had to do your job, and you were behind him. he couldn't possibly see your warmed face.

"alright, i've fixed it," you said as you stepped away

he turned his head back and smiled, heading off to his scene

five minutes later, he approached you again, tugging and gesturing at the shirt

"sorry, the pin seems to have fallen out. you think you could fix it again?"

ᴍᴀᴋᴇᴜᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀɪʀ:

isaac sat in front of the vanity as you were working on him

you grabbed some hair spray since some strands were falling out of place

"don't mind this, i just don't want it getting in your face," you whispered as you cupped your hand over his eyes, spraying the can

his skin was warm, but you tried to ignore the contact

once you finished, you removed your hand and decided to start working on the makeup

you grabbed light red lipstick and applied some to his lips

despite your intense focus, you couldn't help but notice through the corner of your eyes that he was looking up at you, almost as if he were analyzing your face

you glanced for a second and made eye contact. you looked away, heart starting to beat faster

"the stage lights wash you out, so that's why i, um, have to put some makeup on," you stammered trying to break the tension

"oh, i don't mind at all. you're really good at this, you know?"

you were taken aback and had no clue what to say, when the director was your saving grace

"hurry up now, we're going to start!"

isaac looked disappointed, but then said, "i guess that's my cue to go. i'll see you around, yeah?"

you had to admit that you were maybe just a little bit disappointed too

ᴄᴏꜱᴛᴀʀ:

it was the opening night of the play. fate was on your side, as you and isaac had gotten the lead roles

you knew the moves and lines. the audience was loving the show, and everything was going well

that is, until it was time for the big confession

the other characters left the scene, leaving you and isaac alone, facing one another closely

"i love you," he spoke, intently looking into your eyes

you opened your mouth to recite the line, but nothing came out. your mind blanked

this was the first time you messed up. all the previous practices were perfect, yet something was clearly different about this one since you stood there flushed and speechless

was it because there was an actual audience now with all their eyes on you and isaac confessing, even if it was just an act? but how could it be with the soft way he was looking at you?

then again, the rose colored stage lights shining on his face weren't helping one bit

the line still wasn't coming to you, and you were pretty sure isaac could tell. he knew he had to improvise

he pulled you in and closed the distance between your faces, turning your heads away from the audience.

your heart beated faster as he pulled away. you knew you couldn't continue in a daze, and thankfully snapped out of it, returning back to your professional self for the rest of the show.

afterwards, a lot of people came up to you, complimenting your work. throughout this, you couldn't get the kiss out of your mind. when he held your face, he put his thumb between your lips to make it seem real. you still felt his touch on your face

you looked over at isaac and overheard danny talking to him

"i see you used my acting tips. i really thought you guys kissed," he said to isaac

"yeah, i got caught up in the moment and decided to do that as improv."

"but i do wish we actually had kissed."

a/n: i'm sorry i took a little long on this! i got busy with exam season. i wrote the first two in under twenty mins, but got stuck on co-star for so long. (i did not plan on it being that long ahh) still, i'm glad i was able to finish it. i'm happy with how it came out and i feel so accomplished!! i hope you enjoyed it. if you'd like me to expand on any of these to make them a full oneshot let me know! feel free to also tell me which one was your favorite :))

[love-hs28]

Masterlist

I'll come back to update this every time I make a post!

OBX

JJ Maybank

You're the strongest person I've ever known JJ’s had another fight with his dad and needs some comfort and help cleaning up. hurt/comfort

Give me the chance to explain You had been giving JJ the silent treatment all day and he can’t figure out why. It only takes you accidentally hurting yourself while cleaning for the two of you to see eye-to-eye. angst/hurt/comfort

Catch me if I fall You learn the hard way that alcohol and an empty stomach don’t work well together, and adding partying to that mix was probably not a good idea. Don’t worry though, JJ is there to catch you when you fall. comfort

Your camera roll dating JJ Maybank

Under the Stars You and JJ lay on the boat one night, in your own little world a few feet away from the rest of the group. JJ kept you company, though, by making up ridiculous stories about constellations. fluff

Your camera roll dating JJ Maybank pt. 2

Your Camera roll dating JJ Maybank pt. 3

MCU

Peter Parker

Late Night and Close Calls You and Peter sneak a bottle of champagne from one of your dad’s - Tony Stark’s - parties at the Avengers Tower. Giggling and hanging out in your room, one quiet moment leads to you almost confessing your feelings to your best friend. fluff

Your camera roll dating Peter Parker

TASM

Peter Parker

You can let it out, I'm right here Having to stay after school for Chemistry help wasn't the most ideal situation to be in after having a bad day. And coming home to Peter being so nice makes it almost impossible to hold your emotions in. hurt/comfort

You need to rest. And relax. And come lay with me. A long, exhausting day of work means you hadn't had time to eat anything all day. The consequences of this catch up to you while at home with Peter, but thankfully, he's there to catch you, just like always. hurt/comfort

Stranger Things

Steve Harrington

Thank you, this is all I needed. You come home to Steve having a rough night, but all he needs is a few sweet moments with you to make up for his awful day. hurt/comfort

I hope you're ready to lose, Harrington. A competitive game of beer pong with Steve leads you to become a bit drunk, but the best kind; giggly, playful, and flirty. And Steve, of course, knows exactly how to take care of you when this. fluff

Eddie Munson

You're gonna do just fine, I promise. Chemistry class had never been your strong-suit, and an upcoming test leads you to break down while trying to study an impossible unit. hurt/comfort & fluff

Under the Spotlight Corroded Coffin was playing a massive gig tonight, and you, the drummer, were feeling an unusual sense of stage fright. Eddie, of course, was thankfully there to talk you down from it. hurt/comfort & fluff

[captainsophiestark]

The 60s

Klaus Mikaelson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2023!

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries/The Originals

Day 9 Prompt: "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Summary: Klaus wiped the memory of the love of his life after hundreds of years together to try to protect them from Mikael. Now, however, his ex has their memories back is going to find their boyfriend. Even if he is in someone else's body.

Word Count: 2,215

Category: Angst, Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

I was going to kill Klaus Mikaelson.

Unlike the other thousand people who'd probably had that thought in the last week alone, however, mine was actually justified. For hundreds of years, Nik and I had been together, happy, and in love. We'd wandered the world together, side by side, having each other's backs through thick and thin. Out of everyone in the entire world, I was the only one he'd always trusted, completely, without a doubt in mind.

And then Mikael had shown up one time too many.

Nik and I had faced him a few times, and he had firmly held the spot of 'my least favorite Original' for literal centuries. We'd always come out shaken, but fine, until about a hundred and fifty years ago. That time, he'd gotten Nik cornered, so I'd jumped in to save him. Mikael had almost killed me instead.

We'd managed to both make it out alive, thankfully, but Nik had been foaming at the mouth with nerves and fear. I'd tried to calm him down, but it hadn't worked. He'd gotten too scared, so for the first time in our entire relationship, he broke my trust. He compelled me to forget him, and to go somewhere else, far away, where I'd never be put in danger by him and his family again.

It had worked, unfortunately for me. Until recently, when something had happened to break the compulsion and bring my memories back. At first, I'd been terrified that it meant Nik had died. But, after a little investigating and compelling of my own, I realized he'd been body-hopping with the help of witches. Something about it must've shaken his compulsion loose, and allowed me to remember.

It hadn't taken me long to track him down to Mystic Falls, Virginia. I couldn't help being a little proud of myself for finding him so quickly; it helped that I knew him well. I'd arrived in Virginia last night, and managed to track down Nik's exact location and hiding place just as quickly. He'd apparently taken over the body of a history teacher at the local high school. Who would I have been to miss that opportunity?

With a little more compulsion, I'd convinced the front office staff to let me into the teacher's history class. I found a seat to one side of the classroom, then settled in to wait for Nik to show up. I almost blew my cover when, a moment later, the spitting image of Katherine Pierce walked through the door.

I knew he'd come to town for the doppelgänger, but it was still surprising to see someone who looked just like Katherine. Apparently, that lie we'd planted about the Curse of the Sun and the Moon had been working out pretty well. She sat on the other side of the room from me, flirting with another vampire and sitting with her witch friend. I sighed, already ready to leave the classroom, when Nik finally walked in.

The teacher, Alaric Saltzman, was tall, with brown hair, and dressed in something I could almost see Nik wearing normally. He strode through the open door with a "hello class" and went right to his desk like it was any other day. I snorted.

"What... are we learning today?" he mused, flipping through his history book. He hadn't looked up once; hadn't had a chance to see me yet.

"With the decade dance tonight we've been covering the sixties all week," a girl in the front chimed in. Nik looked up.

"Right. The sixties."

For the first time, he turned, and I thought his eyes might finally find me. Instead, they found the doppelgänger—Elena—like a heat-seeking missile.

Understandable, since we didn't think she existed. But still annoying.

He glanced from her to the open classroom door, then turned to the board. I huffed a sigh and rolled my eyes. What was he gonna do, just grab her and run? Much too obvious for his style, and we both knew it.

"The uh... the sixties," he started, mentioning the decade for the third time now as he turned around to write the same words on the board. "...I wish there was something good I could say about the sixties."

I covered a snort with my elbow. I almost raised my hand to say something like "Maybe they would've been better if you'd still had me with you", but that was also too sloppy for my style. Too many students asking questions, seeing me, and too many enemies possibly getting hints about Nik.

"They actually kind of sucked," Nik continued. "Except for the Beatles, of course, they made it bearable."

His eyes strayed to Elena's witch friend, and my heart squeezed in my chest. Nik was recounting memories that didn't include me, when I should've appeared in almost all of them. The hurt was only semi-manageable because I wasn't looking at the love of my life's face while hearing this, too.

"Uh, what else was there? The Cuban Missile... thing. The uh... we walked on the moon, that was, uh... Watergate."

"Watergate was the seventies, Ric," Elena chimed in with a fond smile. "Uh, I mean, Mr. Saltzman."

"Right," Nik continued, a familiar edge to an unfamiliar smile. His eyes never strayed from Elena. "It all kind of... mushes together up here. Sixties, seventies. Thank you, Elena."

I watched him teach the rest of the class in a way that could only be described as 'playing with his food'. He said Elena's name another time or two, savoring it in a way I recognized as him relishing in victory. I was happy to see him happy, but the added side effect of him being so wrapped up in doppelgänger nonsense meant that he still hadn't noticed me.

I tried not to let it get to me. Especially since it had given me the best opening I could've asked for to scare the daylights out of Nik and get just a little bit of payback.

Once the bell rang, I stood and hovered at the edge of the classroom. Nik dismissed everyone and said goodbye to the class, saying a special, specific goodbye to Elena and watching her leave. It wouldn't have been terribly obvious to anyone with no reason to suspect 'Alaric' was not who he said he was, but it was ridiculous to me.

Nik moved to the door to look out into the hallway as the classroom emptied of every single student except for me. He watched Elena go, his back to what he thought was an empty classroom, giving me exactly the opening I wanted. I crossed the room quickly but quietly, using all of my vampire skills to keep him from noticing me until I was right next to him, almost shoulder to shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I said, right into Nik's ear. He'd jumped and spun around at the first word, but now stood frozen, his mouth open in shock as he stared at me. I grinned. "You know, whatever you were planning to do to the doppelgänger. At school. In a human body. While she's surrounded by supernaturals. That's just a bad idea."

"Y/N..." he breathed, voice barely above a whisper. Then, he surged forward, wrapping me tight in his arms and spinning me around in a hug. He moved backwards into the classroom, and I slammed the door with my heel just to avoid any prying eyes.

Nik finally pulled back, eyes wide and a vague smile on his face, like he was happy but didn't actually believe this was real. I smiled back at him, even though he didn't quite look like my Nik, and gave his hands a reassuring squeeze.

"How... how is this possible?" he asked, his voice still quiet, like any loud noise might shatter the moment. "How are you here?"

"I still don't totally know. But I think, when you moved into this... teacher body... it was enough for your compulsion on me to break."

Nik's face fell immediately, as it should have. I frowned, the immediate happiness of finding Nik having worn off.

"I can't believe you did that to me, Nik," I said, taking a step back from him. "It was supposed to be the two of us, through everything. Against everything. No matter what. How could you betray that?"

He gave a frown of pain, taking a half step towards me before thinking better of it.

"You don't understand. My... Mikael... almost killed you. If I'd been the cause of your death-"

"Okay, first of all, you would never be the cause of my death. You know how I know? Because you would never kill me." I stared at Nik long and hard, and although he looked away from my gaze quickly, I never did. "Second, the only person who would've been the cause of my death was Mikael. You are not responsible for a bad person trying to kill me."

"Unless that bad person is trying to kill you to get to me." He said it quietly but firmly, looking up at me with a rueful smile from lowered lashes, like he'd just said some checkmate truth we'd both been avoiding. I put a hand on my hip and glared.

"Actually Nik, no, it's still not your fault. It's the bad person's fault. That's it. And before you start telling me it's your fault for dragging me into it or whatever, I could've left. I didn't want to, and I still don't want to. I've seen every level of crazy your life has to offer, and I'm signing up for all of it.

"And Nik, before you try to tell me how much you'd miss me if you lost me, you did lose me! By letting fear drive you to compel me out of your life. And I also lost you. I guess I've been generally content for the past hundred and fifty years, but I've never been totally satisfied. Because something is missing. I've known total and complete happiness, and it's whenever I'm with you. This immortal life isn't worth living without you, Nik. Don't try to tell me it is."

He stared at me for a few long moments, then pulled me to him again. Unlike the first hug, this time our feet stayed planted firmly on the ground, wrapped tight in the strong hold of each other's embrace. I sighed as Nik rested his head against mine, moving his mouth right next to my ear.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Y/N. I shouldn't have done that to you. I was just... terrified at the thought of losing you."

"I know. But Nik, we're nothing if we're not together. I need you to promise me you won't do that again. The two of us, side by side, for eternity. That's it, alright?"

He pulled away, hands holding my arms tight as he stared me straight in the eye.

"I give you my word."

Slowly, a smile spread across my face, a new warmth growing in my chest. Not once, in hundreds of years, had Nik ever broken his word to me. We were going to be okay.

He grinned back at me once he noticed my smile, then leaned in to kiss me. I stopped him, jerking back a bit, and he gave me a concerned look.

"I love you, and I am so happy to see you again, but I'm not kissing you until you're back in your own body. I have no interest in kissing this rando you've possessed."

Nik grinned, and although it wasn't his body or his smile, I swear it looked exactly like it was supposed to.

"Fair enough. I don't think I want you kissing this 'rando' either. What do you say we get out of here, and do what needs to be done so I can get back into my body, break my curse, and kiss you properly?"

"...Not in that order, right?"

"No, not in that order."

"Then deal."

Nik smiled and took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as we headed towards the door together. I had no idea what the next part of his plan was, but once I was caught up to speed, I knew we'd be putting it into action shoulder to shoulder again, and all would be right with the world.

"You know, you're a shit teacher," I mused as we headed off into the high school together. Nik shot me a look as he kept leading me towards whatever destination he had in mind.

"Do you remember much interesting information to teach children about the sixties?"

I shrugged. "No. But I could probably fake it better than you. Watergate."

"I was in Australia, Watergate was a low priority."

"I was in Greenland, so... checkmate."

He just shook his head, a smile finding its way onto his face all the same. I was the only one in the world Nik trusted endlessly, the only one who could find him in a matter of days no matter where he was in the world, and the only one who could get away with giving him shit with absolutely no repercussions. And now that I had him and my memories back, I was never letting him go.

****************

TVD/TO Masterlist: @elenavampire21

[natspookie]

when you show up

an, hello anon! thanks for the req, hope you’re doing well and life gets less angsty for you:)

made reader a lil nerdy and smart here hehe and this is kind of a comfort fic for me toooooo (inspired by tasm 2)

natasha rushed through the halls, excitement filled to see you. her ap class, captain of the cheerleader squad, and extra circulars were all weighing down on her shoulders.

you had more work than natasha, badly needing a scholarship. with 4 ap classes, captain of debate team, part of school council, and varsity of volleyball, you had been tiring yourself out. hence, natasha’s plan to let you relax today, the start of your one week break.

she hadn’t seen you since tuesday, it was friday now. but you never failed to send her a little text to ask about her day.

natasha went to your favorite bakery, getting your favorite pastries, starbucks for your favorite coffee/ tea, the makeup shop right beside that to get that blush you had run out of, and got herself some jelly for her pb&js that you loved. you were always there for her, now it was her turn to show up.

natasha had already shooed away your kind roommate, wanda, setting her up with her friend who wanda happened to have a crush on, vision.

natasha used the key you gave her to your dorm and started setting up. it was nearing 6pm when she heard your keys jingle.

you shut the door and looked up to see natasha fixing the night light on your bedside table.

“nattie” you sighed, dropping your bag on the floor and jumping on her, giving her a bone crushing hug.

“i miss you too, darling” natasha laughed “waittt i’ll be back i just need to shower, im really sweaty” you kissed her cheek “i already have that fluffy towel you like set up” natasha spoke as you walked towards the bathroom “you’re an angel”

natasha had also refilled your shampoo which was her shampoo as well. when you got out in your pajamas natasha was awaiting you on your bed.

a tray of all your favorites was reheated and sat on the floor, where you sat. “you didn’t have to do all this nattie” you pouted and she flipped on her stomach, just watching you “you deserve it” “oh oh oh! it’s this croissant i love! i haven’t eaten since 10am” you mumbled “dekta you need to take care of yourself, alright”

“mhm.. you too. how was class?” you leaned against your beside table while eating” “the usual, i missed you this week” “i missed you too. but y’know its much harder when we have events to plan for school council” “are you guys in charge of planning the graduation next next month?” “yeah we’re involved in that thing… hows practice for next weeks game?”

“i almost got dropped by the new member when we were forming a pyramid” natasha giggled “are you alright?” you sat up and she just nodded, holding you back “have you eaten?” you asked and natasha thought about it “nattieeee! you need to eat as well” you held up half of the croissant and you moved beside her on the bed, embracing her with legs and arms intertwined.

natasha switched on the tv to your guys’ comfort show, friends. “i love you, thanks for being here with me” you weren’t sure if natasha was up but you said it anyways before falling to sleep

of course the day would come where you and natasha would graduate. thankfully, the college natasha wanted was not too far from your choice of college.

it was the night before your graduation when worries overtook natasha “you’ll be there for me even from a far, right?” natasha whispered “every step of the way.” “i promise we’ll make the… sorta.. long distance thing work, ‘kay?” “i need to work, i need you to function as a human being” you giggled “good” she mumbled, falling asleep

the next morning, you were going over your speech like a crazy woman. “dekta you need to relax” natasha slipped her hand into yours and rubbed circles. “i’m going to make a fool of myself… and i have to shake like 190 people” you chuckled nervously “including meeee!” “my favorite person” you teased

natasha was the loudest in the crowd when you gave your speech, of course mentioning how she helped you through your journey.

it was almost natasha’s turn to walk up and she had something crazy in mind. natasha smiled as she saw you in beside the dean.

“Natalia Alianova Romanov” they announced and Natasha walked up confidently up the stage and shook the dean, receiving her diploma. she shook your hand as well and whispered “can i kiss you” your eyes widened and nodded as natasha took your face in her hand and one on your back. the crowed cheered and you giggled, turning red as natasha smirked walking down.

you straightened your posture as you glanced at the dean who laughed at natasha’s antics.

either way, it ended up with you and natasha together and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

[nouearth]

london fog.

pairing ; clark kent x m!reader. fandom: ; dc, superman. word count ; 1094. genre; fluff. rating ; pg. warnings ; awkward interactions incoming, male reader is embarrassing, clark is nervous and likes hot drinks on a hot summer day, didn't proof-read, sorry! my toes actually curled at how cringy reader was being, i'm so sorry.

“london fog for clark?” your voice is at ease and your motions even more so as you topped the hot latte with milk foam, capping the drink with a lid after. a smile that rivaled the sunny day has been brewing on your face since you took the familiar customer’s order and thankfully, things moved at a leisurely pace today, meaning you had a few more seconds than usual to spare with him.

“how come you still called my name even though there’s no one here?” his name is clark, often comes in before work or during lunch. but these days, he’s been doing both, which you couldn’t complain about. the man’s presence makes the opening shift worth it, even if you could only speak to him for a few seconds. 

as usual, he’s in his work attire, sans the blazer that you often see him wearing in the morning, and he still looks at you with that friendly smile of his, black hair whipped back with tiny strands falling downwards as his hair wax has obviously loosened over the day. clark’s presence never failed to prepare you for the long day ahead or comfort you after an intense hour of appeasing patronizing customers. adding in his ability to look effortlessly handsome every day, his generosity in tipping, and his amiable personality, it didn’t take too long for clark to become your favorite customer.

“i just like saying your name! clark! i’ve never met anyone named clark before.” you pass the cup to him as you maintained eye contact. a gentle brush of his fingertips almost breaks your gaze, but you catch yourself, only breaking to fetch and occupy his hand with a bagged sandwich. “on the house.”

“oh- hey, i can’t! let me pay for this.” you confirm to yourself that pretty privilege was indeed real and you can’t believe you fell victim to it, but… it isn’t so bad when the culprit is a genuinely kind person. 

after taking a sip, clark clumsily sets everything down on the counter to fumble for his wallet. the sound of pennies and quarters falling onto the marbled floor echoes and you could evidently see clark’s cheeks grow redder the more coins fall, but you stop him before he could empty his wallet out even further. he stares back at you wide-eyed and you couldn’t help but laugh at how cute he looks when he’s embarrassed, especially since he’s bigger and taller, a physique that you often associated with a bodyguard or some sort of superhero, and you don’t think those types of people tend to be flustered much… do they?

“it’s fine. we’re working on a new recipe, so consider yourself… a test rat!” you gather the fallen coins that managed to land on the counter into your palm before handing it back to him. a slight waste of time, only because clark slots them, along with a couple dollar bills, into the tip jar immediately after.

“well… uh… i’m happy to test anything if it means seeing more of you.” was he flirting? or was that a joke? maybe it was nothing?! your inexperience condemns you to overanalyzing his words, his tone, his body language, everything, and you’d figure you wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight with these questions running rampant.

“oh- definitely! you won’t be disappointed, clark.” you’re flustered and that reflects in your voice. a voice that was once at ease not even a minute ago quickly becomes staggered. you stammer like a school boy confessing to his crush, and you could feel your eyes shutting for a moment in embarrassment when you realize how nervous you sound. “they work me like a dog so- i’m always here, hah!” 

you snort in midst of the awkward laugh that you and clark both share and you want to hide in a hole somewhere. maybe not too deep since you still want to be alive and breathing to see clark again, but somewhere far, far, far away from this painful interaction. 

a painful interaction that makes you all the more endearing, clarks thinks to himself.

“i-uh. yeah, well hopefully not too hard to the point where you faint at work or something.” clark adds onto the topic and god, you wish you could change subjects right now.

“haha, yeah! maybe i’ll signal for superman or something!” you don’t know why but you find yourself naturally stepping back as if there was a spotlight awaiting your tony-winning performance. 

“help, help! superman! i’m gonna faint! catch me!” 

and the recipient of the most embarrassing interaction goes to…

you’re red in the face, hot in the neck, clammy in the hands, and even clark’s wholesome laughter couldn’t save you from embarrassment. you force yourself to think he’s laughing with you (and he is), not at you, and that calms you down, just a tiny bit.

“great drinks and service, and now a show. i gotta come visit more often.” clark occupies his hands once again with his drink and sandwich, nodding you off. “thank you- again. i’ll see you tomorrow?”

“yea-“ the sound of a bell cuts you off and you look over to the source—another customer. “y-yes! tomorrow.” 

clark’s voice is faint when he bids you goodbye, but you were already off to the other side of the cafe, tending to the customer, and eventually too focused to notice his exit when a line of customers quickly forms.

you work quickly within the next few minutes, knocking the orders down in an impressive personal record, and a huge weight lifts off your shoulders when you call out the last order of the line, until that bell chimes in again.

three more hours to go. you sighed, tired on your feet as you walk your way towards the ordering counter, greeting the customer.

“hello! welcome to-“

“i’m sorry, i lied. not tomorrow.”

you slow your approach, taking a moment to register what the familiar man was saying. “wha- clark? what do you mean?” usually you’d smile when you see him—clark—but he seems conflicted, disheveled, a stark contrast to his usual friendly demeanor, and so you could only muster a soft half-smile out of worry.

“can i see you tonight?”

clark stands tall, but not confident as he waits for your answer, nervously shifting his weight onto on his toes and heel, hands dug into his pockets.

“i-uh. yeah. i get off at five-“

“five…” clark ponders for a quick moment before nodding, gracing you with that comforting smile of his. you're at ease again, if you ignore the incredibly annoying swell in your chest.

“i’ll see you at five.”

© nouearth. please do not repost, plagiarize, or translate my works. and if you like this story, please reblog and leave a like!