#that does it we are never leaving one another again

[osarina]

ᡣ𐭩 THE GROUND FINDS ITS BRUTAL WAY TO ME

FEATURING: dazai osamu

SUMMARY: the moment you've been dreading has finally arrived—there's no turning back now.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: GOOOOOOOOD EVENING LOVEBUGS, HAPPY FRIDAY!!! anyway i hope you guys are excited for this chapter because i AM chapter seven through nine is the reason i started writing this fic, it all goes downhill from here HAHAHAHAHAHAH JKKKKKKK kind of BUT ANYWAY i hope you guys enjoyed, im having the time of my life writing this chapter and the other upcoming ones. im so excited for you guys to read chapter 9 actually and the end of chapter 8, it's gonna be soooo good i swear. anyway!! reblogs and comments greatly appreciated as always!! ENJOY heheh!

GENERAL WARNINGS: fem!reader, port mafia executive!reader, civilian!dazai, dazai's struggles w suicide & sh, reader partakes in mafia business, dazai isn't dazai without a bit of obsessiveness and possessiveness (the possessiveness doesn't come til later but the obsessiveness starts from day 0).

CHAPTER SPECIFIC WARNINGS: hardly edited - i've been busy. MAFIA BUSINESS. rather graphic depictions of violence. character death (not anyone major). mentions of human/child trafficking. depictions of dissociation. i used a bit of creative liberty with the depictions of lovecraft, corruption (here in particular), and yosano's ability.

ANOTHER THING TO NOTE: our lovely reader IS A MAFIA EXECUTIVE !! as a port mafia executive, she does port mafia things, this will become very apparent in this chapter and the rest of the upcoming chapters. it hasn't been as apparent in the past few, so it might be a bit jarring to read (especially when we get to chapter 9) but it is something to keep in mind. additionally, she is FLAWED and that is very apparent with how she acts with a certain member of the ada. i wanted to add this warning just to give you all a bit of a heads up.

SEE: WASTELAND, BABY! SERIES MASTERLIST

Your foot presses the pedal against the floor as you race down the backstreets of the Kanagawa prefecture. Dazai has been trying to talk to you but you can’t even bring yourself to respond to him. You try but you’re incapable of pushing any words past your lips. He asks you where you’re going and your lips part to tell him but you can’t. He asks you if you’re okay and you try to say ‘I don’t know’ but all that escapes you is a shaky breath. He asks you what’s going on but your mind is on the brink of collapse.

You’re not going to get there in time.

You can hardly keep your eyes on the road and at the speed you’re going, you know you can’t afford to look away. But you can’t stop yourself from looking down at your phone, throat clogged with fear as you wait to see if Chuuya sends another text. You told him not to, told him to wait but he hasn’t even read your text, doesn’t know that you weren’t in Yokohama when he was about to use Corruption.

If he used Corruption as soon as he texted you thinking that you were in the area… it’s already been fifteen minutes. Chuuya has never used Corruption longer than five. He’d be ash and bone by the time you get there if he already activated it. You’re still at least ten minutes away from where he pinned his location even at the speed you’re going. 

“Fuck,” you whisper, slamming your hand against the wheel as you urge the car to go faster, watching the speedometer wobble in the red zone. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“Can you talk to me at least?” Dazai tries again, sounding frustrated. “What’s going on? Why did we have to rush out of the beach house?”

You don’t even know why Dazai is with you.

Well, that’s not true. You know exactly why Dazai is with you. There’s a sick feeling in your gut that leads you to believe that the Guild might know about Dazai already and if that’s the case, you can’t leave him alone at the beach house. You don’t think the Guild would have planned such a blatant attack on the Port Mafia without ulterior motives and with even the smallest reason to believe that their primary goal might be getting their hands on Dazai to back you into a corner… You just can’t risk it. 

But you’re risking bringing him to a battlefield where Chuuya might have activated Corruption. You try to convince yourself that he’s safer at your side than he is alone but… is that even true? Chuuya under the effects of Corruption is unpredictable and destructive, you can’t ensure his safety—you can’t even ensure your own. Every time he goes into Corruption, it’s both his life and yours that are most at risk, it’s why he rarely lets himself use it even when in trouble, so that’s how you know things must be bad.

“You’re not going to get wherever you’re trying to get to if you crash the car into a tree,” Dazai says airly, still irritated from how he’s side-eyeing you but none too bothered by the speed you’re racing down windy streets. “How about you slow down and tell me what’s going on?”

You let out a sharp puff of air. You don’t slow down, but you do force yourself to speak.

“Chuuya is in trouble. Bad trouble,” you finally say tightly. “The Guild… They launched an attack. I don’t… he might already be dead for all I know. I have to get to him—couldn’t leave you alone in case…”

“In case the attack was just a distraction to try to get to me?” Dazai finishes for you—as always, too quick and perceptive for a random college student. “Shouldn’t you try to figure out a game plan before, I don’t know, rushing head first into what might be a trap?” 

He’s far too sarcastic for your liking. You give him a cold look and to his credit, he does back down for the most part, but he’s still waiting for a response from you. 

“I have a plan,” you finally say, gnawing at the inside of your cheek. “I just…”

Need to know the situation. If Chuuya has already activated Corruption, you need to get to him as soon as possible. If Chuuya is dead, you need to figure out which other members of the Mafia are around so you can figure out how to deal with the remaining enemy—although if they killed Chuuya, your chances of winning are bleak. If Chuuya is still alive and hasn’t activated Corruption, you need to figure out the best course of action to take to prevent him from having to activate it. Without knowing the situation, you might as well be walking blind into a lion’s den. 

“What do you need me to do?” Dazai asks quietly.

“Stay out of the way,” you say too sharply. Your eyes flit to the side when Dazai winces and shifts back a bit, slowing down just a little to remove one hand from the wheel to grab his and squeeze it gently. “The Flags should be there too… At least Albatross, Iceman and Piano Man… Doc is probably off the field waiting for injuries. You know Albatross—he was the one with me at your apartment and in mine the day you came over while I was drunk—get to him, he’ll bring you to wherever Doc is. If you can’t get to him, Klaus and Akutagawa are on their way… might be there already, get to one of them and they’ll get you somewhere safer.”

Dazai doesn’t look pleased by your directives but he nods. 

“What if… what if I can’t get to anybody?” he questions hesitantly after a few moments. 

Your eyes meet his for a split second before you let out a heavy breath. You don’t really want to consider what to do if he can’t get to someone because that means he’ll be in much more danger than you’re willing to accept. After a few moments, you nod to the glove box, watching from the corner of your eye as he opens it and freezes up a bit when he sees the gun inside.

“Only use it if you have to,” you tell him quietly, “and if you have to use it…”

Aim for the head, you want to say, but you can’t push the words out because fuck, what have you dragged him into? A few months ago, his biggest problem was figuring out what he was going to use as inspiration for his fucking writing workshop project and now you’re telling him to shoot to kill if someone comes after him while he’s alone and vulnerable.

Chuuya was right. Chuuya was right and you’re a goddamn fool for not listening to him. You should have cut Dazai off right away, right when you realized things were going too far, you never should have let this happen. You knew better.

You knew better.

“I’ll do what I have to.” Dazai nods, throat bobbing as he keeps a steady face, clearly trying to make himself seem unbothered when he sees how distressed you are. You watch as he fumbles to click off the safety of the gun. “It’s okay.”

“You won’t have to do anything,” you say tightly, gaze snapping to the side when ground beneath the car shakes violently and a loud crashing noise comes from the left. Your eyes focus on a dirt path leading deeper into the forests on the outskirts of the Kanagawa prefecture and grimace before taking a sharp left. “But keep it on you just in case.”

Dazai nods, letting out a long breath, dark eyes darting around nervously as you turn off the car’s headlights to continue down the dirt road more inconspicuously. You don’t get more than half a mile before you have to pull over onto the side of the road when you hear fighting in the distance—explosive and dangerous. You stop Dazai before he opens the door to get out of the car and he looks at you curiously, waiting to see what you have to say.

For a moment, you contemplate telling him to wait in the car for you but you can’t, because if anyone happens upon the car then he’ll be alone and vulnerable. So, instead, you reach forward and cup his cheek. His lashes flutter as he leans into your touch and you run your thumb along his cheekbone, watching him with a heavy feeling in your chest.

This is all your fault.

You brought him into this life. 

You let them back you into a corner like this. 

You ruined his life.

It’s all your fault. You let this happen. 

“Get to Albatross,” you say, hating the way your voice cracks. “To Albatross, or Iceman, or Piano Man. Get to one of them and let them get you out of here, okay?” 

He nods, keeping his face pressed to your hand as he looks up at you through his lashes. “I will.”

“Doc will probably be three miles out from where the combat is taking place. Whoever you get to—the two of you will head there on foot, they’ll tell you what to do and make sure there’s no one tailing you guys, but you’ll have to be quick.”

Dazai gives you a small, wavering smile. “I almost failed my phys ed class in high school because I couldn’t complete the mile fast enough.” 

You snort. “I can’t believe you actually just admitted that out loud.”

Dazai smiles sweetly and then says, “Kiss me before we go?” 

Your lips curve up gently as you lean in to press your lips against his. You feel him let out a soft, pleased sigh but even with your lips moving slowly against each other, you can’t help but feel the dread build more and more in your chest.

You pull back to look him in the eyes again as you whisper, “Be careful.”

“No you,” Dazai says with a simpering smile as he leans in so he can brush his nose against yours. For a moment, he looks as if he wants to say something but then he seals his lips shut and gives you another soft smile. 

I’m sorry, you want to say but the words just don’t come out. You think Dazai must know what you’re trying to say from the way he squeezes your hand. It’s all too soon and all too long before you push yourself away from him and step out of the car.

The brisk early morning air is almost uncomfortable as you breathe it in. You usually find it refreshing—you like the morning, you’re always more productive at dawn even if most nights you find yourself up until the moon sets in the west trying to get work done. But now, you only find discomfort, a tight feeling in your chest and a prickly feeling across your skin. Your hair stands on end as you reach for the gun holstered at your side, flicking off the safety as Dazai comes to stand next to you.

“Stay behind me,” you tell him quietly.

You can hear the fighting in the near-distance. Can feel it. You can hear the sounds of gunshots and people yelling, some voices you recognize as the Flags and others you don’t recognize at all. The ground is shaking—undoubtedly proof of Chuuya using his ability and you can only let out a sigh of relief now, realizing that he must not have activated Corruption yet. 

If he had, the entire forest would be obliterated. 

You motion for Dazai to follow you. He’s light on his feet—lighter than you expected from a twenty two year old college student—he’s careful not to step on any twigs and stays close behind you, each step finding where yours had lifted from the ground as soon as you move from it.

You make your way in the direction of the shouting and fighting. Every step forward leaves you more and more ridden with dread—your feet feel heavy like weights are holding you down, your mouth feels like it’s filled with ash. You should be moving faster than you are—your friends, Chuuya, they’re in danger but… but the closer you get, the closer Dazai is to danger.

What are you doing? You think desperately. What are you doing?

You doubt yourself. 

You doubt yourself so much that a part of you deep down wants to turn on your heel and drag Dazai back to safety, out of danger, out of this shitty forest, out of your life. It’s not worth it—your happiness isn’t worth his life. He’s convinced himself that he cares about you, that he needs you, that you make him happy but you know it’s not true. You know it’s just your ability at work.

But it’s too late now.

The distant shouts have become near—you see Albatross, Piano Man, and Iceman all crouched beneath rubble, grimacing as they dodge… you don’t know what they’re dodging and quite frankly, you don’t think you want to know but you don’t think you’re going to have a choice. 

You don’t even spare a look to the battlefield, reaching back to grab Dazai’s wrist so you can drag him in front of you, pressing your hand to his lower back to make him move faster. You only just barely get him down beneath the metal that the three Flags are using as cover before another… thing (a tentacle?) is snapping out toward you—luckily, Iceman is quick to the draw as always and prevents it from taking off your head. 

Piano Man yanks Dazai closer to him, away from the edge of the rubble, and Albatross wraps an arm around your waist with a wild smile. “There ya are, dollface, we’ve been waiting on you.”

Your eyes linger on Dazai for a split second, seeing the wide-eyed expression on his face and how his knuckles are white around the grip of the gun you gave him. The guilt claws to your throat again but you force it away as you focus your attention on Albatross.

“Tell me the situation,” you say, voice rougher than you intended. “What’s happening?”

“The fuckin’ Americans lured us out here,” Iceman says, taking a long drag of his cigarette before laying back down flat against the ground, eye looking through the scope and chin pressed to the stock of the sniper rifle as he prepares for another shot. “There’s only two of them but something’s wrong with one of ‘em.”

“What does that mean?” you demand, looking between Iceman, Albatross and Piano Man. Albatross grimaces and looks away, Piano Man meets your gaze. Iceman pulls the trigger to the gun and Dazai cringes at the sharp noise, but you have to focus on Piano Man’s response over trying to comfort him.

“It won’t die,” Piano Man says, the characteristically whimsical tone to his voice long gone, face pinched. “No matter what we hit it with.”

“I’m sorry?” you ask, staring at Piano Man blankly as you wait for him to elaborate.

“It won’t die,” Albatross repeats, looking equally stressed as he manhandles you to face the other direction, looking in the direction of the battlefield where Chuuya is in combat with an unfamiliar black-haired man whose arms seem to have transformed into tentacles whipping around at a lethal speed, the dismembered bodies of his subordinates littered in pieces across the forest floor. “He has a partner who has taken cover in the forest too. Can manipulate trees. Can’t fucking get to him because of the tentacle monster.”

You suddenly wish you never left the beach house.

“What the fuck,” you breathe out, watching as the man (man?) grows tentacles to reattach his head to his shoulders after a devastating blow from Chuuya that should have sent his head flying. “Where-”

Movement from the corner of your eye catches your attention and your head snaps to the side to focus on where four people—one very unfortunately familiar—are taking cover in the tree line, talking frantically amongst each other.

“Yeah,” Albatross mutters, shoulder pressed to yours as he follows your gaze. “The Agency showed up too. We don’t know why, haven’t been able to get over there because of fuckin’ Woody Woodpecker over there.”

“Steinbeck,” you say, voice sounding distant even to your own ears as your eyes tunnel in on Yosano Akiko, the same woman who has been haunting you for over a decade now. God, you’ll never be free of her, of the reminder of your inadequacy. You have to force yourself to look back at the situation at hand. “John Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath. An executive of the Guild. Big in the US farming industry but that’s just about-”

“We don’t need an info dump on him, Christ, how do we kill him?” Iceman says dryly and you give him a withering look.

“I was getting to that,” you reply icily. “The vines he controls. They and anything they attach to are extensions of himself, meaning if you attack them…”

“It harms him,” Iceman finishes, the corner of his lips curling up into a slow smirk. “Got it.”

You look over to Albatross. “What types of weapons do you have on you?”

Albatross winks at you. “What don’t I have on me?”

“Can you smoke him out?”

“For you, dollface, I can do anything.”

You roll your eyes but grimace as Chuuya is knocked backward hard, blood spilling from his mouth as he takes a violent hit from the black-haired man that you don’t recognize. He looks exhausted, you wonder how long he’s been fighting trying to protect the Flags and the guilt that’s been hanging over you like a dark cloud intensifies. 

“If we can’t figure out any weaknesses, Chuuya is probably going to have to use Corruption against that thing,” you say quietly. “... We need to make sure there are no interfering factors before he activates it to make sure his time in Corruption is as short as possible. We draw out Steinbeck, I’ll go out there and get information from him. Once we kill him, we figure out if those detectives are allies or enemies today. Handle them if they’retheir enemies. Then, you guys need to get the fuck out of the area.”

You need Dazai out of here, you think, teeth grinding together as you look between the forest, the fight between Chuuya and that monster, and then to Dazai, whose face is white and eyes are trained on you, as if he’s trying to keep himself calm by training his attention on the only person in the vicinity that he knows he can trust. You want to reach out and grab his hand but you can’t move.

Piano Man squeezes your shoulder. “As soon as Steinbeck is handled, I’ll get him to Doc. I don't want to bring him through the forest while Steinbeck can pretty much control it.”

You nod and then look at Albatross. His lips curl into a crooked grin as he holds up his fist to you. “Ready? Gotta be quick once I’ve got him panicked running out of the treeline otherwise he’ll get to that fuckin’ squid and we’ll lose our chance.”

You bump your fist against his. “I know what I’ve got to do. You better not fuck up.”

“When have I ever?”

“Too many times to count.”

“... Rude.”

Albatross heads off without another word and you watch with bated breath, waiting for Steinbeck to flee the forest so you can make your move. You’ll have to be careful of the stray tentacles unless you want to lose a limb or two, but you trust Iceman to cover you and you know Chuuya will figure out what you’re trying to do so he’ll be quick to adjust accordingly.

But it just… has too far of a range. The tentacles can reach too far, too quickly. As powerful as Chuuya is, he can’t be in two places at once, so someone else needs to take over the right flank while he handles the left so there are no openings for it to get to you while you interrogate Steinbeck…

As Albatross heads in his direction, you head in your own direction, darting from your safe cover with the other two Flags and Dazai over to where the four detectives are taking cover. Yosano is the first one to look at you, a conflicted expression on her face as she stares at you. You can’t even bring yourself to look her in the eye, instead focusing your attention on the blonde.

“Are you here as enemies or allies?” you ask tightly, getting straight to the point because it’s only a matter of time before Albatross smokes out Steinbeck.

“Until that thing is dead, it’s the enemy,” the blonde says, raising his chin. “We’re here to protect Yokohama.”

You scoff—he says that as if you guys aren’t, you think bitterly, but you don’t have the time to argue. Instead, you nod in the direction of where Albatross left. “One of my comrades went to draw out the Guild member hiding in the trees. Once he’s out, I’m going after him to figure out its weakness. Chuuya can’t handle the right and left flank at the same time, the thing has too wide of a range and he can’t be in two places at once. You guys need to hold off the right flank while he holds off the left so I can get the information from Steinbeck.”

The blonde looks disgruntled by the order, and certainly doesn’t seem pleased by the prospect of working with the Port Mafia, but he steels his face and nods, evidently more concerned with the threat that the monstrous man-creature in the center of the clearing poses more than you and the Mafia.

Yosano says your name quietly, but Albatross finishes the job just in time so you don’t have to acknowledge her—as quick and efficient as ever. As much as you give him shit for everything, he’s always been the most reliable to get the job done. It takes not more than five minutes before the entire northern sector of the forest is burning and John Steinbeck is stumbling from the shrubs, pain twisted on his face as he gasps for air and coughs over the smoke clogging his lungs.

You strike just as quickly to get to Steinbeck before his partner can get him back somewhere safe behind him; he darted out close to where Piano Man, Iceman and Dazai are still taking cover. The blonde doesn’t even see you coming because of the way he keeps rubbing at his eyes. You kick his ankles out from under him hard and drive your foot into his back, slamming his head hard against a flat rock to stun him.

You grab him by the hair to flip him onto his back and press the muzzle of your gun beneath his chin before he can reorient himself. His eyes are still partially glazed over when you drive your knee into his chest and settle above him, giving him a sweet smile. 

“You must be Steinbeck,” you say lightly, “I’ve learned a lot about you recently.”

Steinbeck’s expression twists when he recognizes you and instantly, you’re met with a faceful of blood as he spits it on your face. You click your tongue in disgust and whip the barrel of your gun against his jaw, watching his eyes bulge in pain as you wipe the blood off of your face.

“You’re going to tell me all about your friend over there,” you tell him, voice cool. “Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be.”

“I’m not telling you anything,” Steinbeck hisses, cringing at the pain that blooms through him when he speaks. “You and your friends are done. Lovecraft can’t be killed. You’re going to join the rest of your subordinates in pieces on the ground.”

“For your sake,” you murmur, sending Chuuya your silent thanks when he positions himself between you and Lovecraft, “that better not be true.”

“I was told you were cruel, but it’s so kind of you to be worried about my wellbeing,” Steinbeck says, lips slanted upward in a smile too arrogant for your liking, leading you to believe you’re really not going to like what he’s about to say next. You’re proven correct swiftly. “Especially when you really should be worrying about yourself and your little friend over there now that our leader, Francis, has confirmation about his existence. I was also told you were smart, but this was a bit of a silly move on your part, hm?”

You raise your chin, careful to not let your sudden distress show on your face as you look down at him blankly. 

Is that what this is all about? Was it not them setting you up to try to get Dazai alone? Did they not even know about Dazai yet? Was Fitzgerald just trying to get confirmation on his existence and you just played right into it like a fool? Or is Steinbeck just trying to get into your head? You don’t know. 

“Let me rephrase,” you say flatly, “for your sister’s sake, that better not be true.”

You watch as Steinbeck’s face shifts as soon as your words register through his head. It’s only then that you finally decide to use your ability. You’d been contemplating whether or not you’d get quicker results by trying to ease him into revealing the information or if you should intimidate him into it, but from what you’ve heard about Steinbeck—he’s devoted to the cause and will do whatever it takes to get the job done.

The only thing he’s more devoted to is his family.

“I told you, I’ve learned a lot about you,” you say softly, lips curling up. “Little Eden is turning thirteen this year, isn’t she? A teenager. She’s going to be a high schooler soon. You must be proud… She’s a little above the age range that Paz seeks out for his rings, but I’m sure he’ll find some kind of work for her.”

Paz’s trafficking rings are not to your taste. You’ve never been fond of the business, try to avoid it as much as possible, especially after taking Klaus in, so you’re not going to contribute to them in any way, but Steinbeck doesn’t need to know that. You just need him to believe you will and from the reputation that follows you and the black tendrils of fear curling around his brain courtesy of your ability, you think he’s plenty convinced. 

“Don’t you dare go anywhere near her, I swear I’ll-”

“You’ll what?” you interrupt, tilting your head to the side. “This isn’t on me, Steinbeck. Your decisions will decide what happens to your family. So, you can sit here and be stubborn—I’ll let you live, if only so you can go back to that lovely town you call home in Glidden, Iowa so you can find your parents strung up like the pigs you sell to slaughterhouses and all eight of your younger siblings separated all across the world in different trafficking rings. Or, you can tell me what I want to know and die here so your family can live. It’s your choice.”

Steinbeck’s face is a ghastly pallor as he stares up at you, white and gaunt with eyes void of reasonable thought. “You’re doing something to me,” he says shakily. “I can’t-I can’t think. I don’t-they said you didn’t have an ability but you’re doing something to me. I can’t think.”

You smile. You don’t even have to keep your ability activated—never do, not with fear, it always spirals, the mindkiller—so you’re not even lying as you tell him, “I’m not. I suggest you start talking because if the next words from your lips aren’t telling me what exactly can kill your little friend over there, the next words from mine will be your home address to Octavio Paz.”

“He can’t be killed,” Steinbeck says, expression still painted with fear, pleading for you to believe him. “He can’t. Lovecraft-he’s not-he’s not like us. He’s invulnerable on the outside. He’s not killable.”

That can’t be true. Your breath shakes a little as you lift your gaze to look over at where Chuuya is still ardently trying to defend you from Lovecraft’s attacks, batting away tentacles and taking hits so they can’t get to you, to where the blonde member of the Agency grunts as he takes a painful blow to the side to protect one of the other detectives. That can’t be-

“On the outside,” a familiar voice calls frantically, loud over the fighting but too close for liking. Your head twists around to see Dazai hanging off the rubble that the Flags had been using as cover, ignoring Piano Man as he tries to drag the stupid boy back to safety. “He said that he’s invulnerable on the outside.”

Your eyes widen when you realize what Dazai is trying to get at and when you look down at Steinbeck, it’s with far more malice. You’re tired of this—Dazai shouldn’t be here, you were stupid enough to fall into the Guild’s trap and now Chuuya is at risk because of your incapability. God, you need to end this conflict. 

“So, even after all of the threats, you still try to lie to my face to protect him and the Guild. You’re going to die here… you won’t be alone though, your family will join you soon enough.”

Steinbeck’s eyes fly open with panic but neither of you get the chance to say anything else because suddenly, the entire earth is trembling. You gasp in pain as you’re tossed a few feet away, shoulder slamming against the same rock you’d bashed Steinbeck’s head against. The world spins as you stare up at the sky, trying to figure out what happened, but you’re only met with an incomprehensible sight.

What?

You-

You don’t even know what you’re looking at. Your lips part as you stare up at the massive creature that’s suddenly in your line of vision—something so foreign and ungodly that you think it doesn’t belong on the earth. The air around you has become heavy and oppressive, the particles themselves holding you down like weights; it’s early morning so it should be light out, but somehow your surroundings feel dark and gloomy, unnaturally so.

Is that… Lovecraft? You only manage to put it together because the monstrous creature is the same color as the tentacles that had been trying to cut you and Chuuya down. You can’t help but wonder what demon Francis Fitzgerald must have dealt with to get something like this on his side. 

You don’t snap out of your dazed, horrified state until you hear a scream of your name coming from your left. You’re too slow to the draw when you realize that Dazai is trying to warn you of an attack—Steinbeck must’ve recovered when you were still stunned by the appearance of Lovecraft’s new form and he’s flung his hand forward, sharp grape vines hurtling right toward you, about to pierce through your chest when-

When the branches wither and crumble to the ground. When a shot rings through the air and finds itself embedded in Steinbeck’s forehead. You let out a breath of relief and turn to thank Iceman but you freeze when you realize it’s not Iceman who protected you from a would-be lethal blow because he’s still scrambling from being tossed several feet away by the blast of Lovecraft’s transformation.

Instead, it’s Dazai standing there, lips parted in shock and fingers shaky around the gun you’d given him for protection, the one you promised him he wouldn’t have to use. 

“I’ll do what I have to. It’s okay.”

“You won’t have to do anything.”

“Get him out of here,” you breathe out, horror clogging your throat, preventing you from raising your voice because what have you done? What have you done? What have you done? “Get him out of here, now.”

You feel sick, your stomach twists and turns and your vision blurs. Your fingers feel numb and clunky and you can hardly focus as you try to look over at Chuuya, who’s still staring up at Lovecraft, aghast. You need to focus. Need to get rid of the most imminent threat. Then, you can come to terms with what you’ve just allowed to happen. 

Only then.

“Chuuya,” you shout for your friend over the ominous sound of birds screeching as they fly away from the forest. He looks back at you, eyes wide and wild. “It’s weak from the inside. Now’s the time.”

Chuuya’s gaze becomes steely as he nods, turning his attention back to Lovecraft and slowly pulling off his gloves. You turn to run for cover but don’t get more than a step before a familiar black tendril is wrapping around your waist, yanking you thirty yards away just as the entire world begins to shift around you. You land hard against Akutagawa’s chest, grimacing as Klaus throws himself over the two of you when a shockwave rattles the entire forest, knocking down nearly all of the trees in the vicinity.

“Are you okay?” Klaus asks breathlessly. “What’s going on?” 

“Long story,” you say as you push yourself into a sitting position. “Just… be ready for the worst case scenario.”

Klaus’s eyes widen but he nods and instead of focusing your attention on Chuuya so that you can get to him as soon as his battle with Lovecraft ends, you find your eyes seeking Dazai out, trying to make sure that he got out of the immediate impact zone with Piano Man before Chuuya activated Corruption.

But you can’t find him. Your gaze becomes more and more panicked as your head swivels around trying to spot them. They shouldn’t have gotten that far—they should still be in your line of vision but-

Shit.

Shit.

Your throat swells when you finally catch sight of Piano Man’s white and black bob fifteen or twenty yards away to your left. His face is twisted and he’s struggling to lift a fallen tree—your lips part to tell Klaus to get to them but you can’t even push the words out. You can’t see Dazai from the angle you’re standing at, but you can see the frustration on Piano Man’s face and the stress as his eyes flicker up to where Chuuya is fighting Lovecraft.

“Something… is wrong with Executive Nakahara.” You hear Klaus say behind you, voice wavering. You look back at him, seeing the disturbed expression on his face as he stares at the fighting. “He’s not usually this aggressive under Corruption, is he?”

The dread you’ve been feeling all morning intensifies as your head snaps back in the direction of the battle. At first, you think nothing is out of the ordinary—Chuuya is destructive while under the effects of Corruption, always has been. Gravity brings ruin to the land around him, slaughters his enemies and allies alike; it’s no different now, you watch as Lovecraft falls to the destruction of the calamity god Arahabaki and you wait for it to calm down, always does when it realizes all of the immediate enemies in the area have been destroyed. 

Or, maybe calm down isn’t the right word but it does become more reckless in its efforts to destroy, blows holes in the ground and laughs at the destruction, is less aware of its surroundings—it’s only then that you approach it to put it to sleep, but now…?

Chuuya—no, Arahabaki is still hunting. It hasn’t celebrated the defeat of Lovecraft, head whipping around and black eyes wide and searching. You don’t know what it’s looking for but you don’t like it, rising to your feet slowly, pulling your wrist away from Klaus as he tries to stop you from moving.

Is it looking for the detectives, maybe? Chuuya would probably consider them his enemies and Arahabaki would feel those residual emotions and he would know they’re here even if they’ve seemingly disappeared. You think maybe you should intervene—if Arahabaki kills the detectives and Fukuzawa Yukichi learns of it, it’ll make messy times even messier for the Port Mafia. But… there is always the chance you can blame it on the Guild.

No, it’s not worth risking making the situation worse than it is. 

“I’m going to go to him,” you say quietly. “Be ready.”

“Maybe you should wait,” Klaus tells you hesitantly but you ignore him. “Something’s not right.”

 “Each second I wait, the closer Chuuya gets to death,” you hiss. “I’m not waiting.”

You don’t bother listening to the next protest that’s bound to leave both of your subordinates’ lips. You can see Akutagawa’s face twisting so you know it’s coming; instead, you turn around and make your way slowly in the direction of Arahabaki.

God, it’s disturbing, a sight so unearthly that you can hardly stand to look at it. Black guck is splattered all across the forest floor from where Arahabaki had torn Lovecraft apart from the inside out, chunks of the tentacles littered around the area. And Arahabaki itself is there in the middle of it, using the body of your closest friend as a grotesque vessel of calamity—the ground shudders around him, rubble suspended midair as gravity fluctuates precariously. No matter how many times you see Chuuya under the effects of Corruption, you’ll never get used to the way it transforms him: the way his eyes become black voids, empty and haunting, the way his pale skin starts to rot black from his fingertips to his forearms to his biceps. 

Destroys him just as much as it destroys everything around him.

You don’t know if it’s just your imagination when you approach cautiously and realize that the rot seems to be spreading faster this time. It’s been less than half of the amount of time he was in Corruption during the conflict with the Inagawa-kai and yet already, the black decay has spread to nearly his elbows. Either way, it only serves to stress you out more.

You’re less than ten yards away from it when Arahabaki suddenly stiffens and goes still, all of the rubble suspended in the air drops to the ground with a thunderous noise. Your breath catches in the back of your throat—Arahabaki has never sensed your presence before, you and Chuuya theorize that it’s because of how comfortable Chuuya is around you. He thinks that parts of it transfer over to Arahabaki when it takes over so it just instinctually doesn’t register you near him or as a threat. It’s the only reason why you’re even able to approach it when it’s in control, otherwise you’d be as dead as any other enemy in the vicinity—you still have to worry about the stray rubble and increased pressure of course, but it’s much more manageable, and survivable, than a God of Calamity smushing you like a bug.

Has that changed? Has something changed?

You can hardly breathe as Arahabaki looks over its shoulder and a shiver runs down your spine at the sight of Chuuya’s warped face. But Arahabaki’s gaze shifts over you like you aren’t even there. 

Instead, it looks past you.

Looks past you right at Piano Man and Dazai.

Iceman joined them and with their combined effort, they managed to get the tree off of Dazai’s leg, freeing him from where he was pinned to the ground. His ankle looks bad, twisted in all of the wrong spots, blood staining his tan pants. But the three of them stand frozen, Iceman mid-reloading his gun, Piano Man mid-step, and Dazai standing uncomfortably on his twisted ankle, none of them even daring to take in a single breath as they wait for Arahabaki to look away from them. In the entire vicinity, no one moves, no one breathes, no one even blinks—a bunch of deer frozen beneath the gaze of a predator, knowing that the wrong move would lead to them getting torn to pieces.

And then-

And then Dazai shifts onto his good leg.

The crunching of leaves beneath his foot is so loud in contrast to the stillness that had spread across the area, and it’s the only thing needed to get Arahabaki moving.

“Chuuya, no!” you scream futilely as Arahabaki uses gravity to propel itself forward in the direction of Dazai, Piano Man and Iceman. 

The two Flags shove Dazai behind them and brace themselves for the brunt of Arahabaki’s attack but you’re faster and positioned at just the right angle between the three of them and Arahabaki to throw yourself right in Arahabaki’s path. And maybe it’s stupid, you realize that a bit too late when you’re face to face with the god that’s using your friend as a vessel but-

But you can’t let it get to Dazai.

You can’t put Arahabaki to sleep without physical contact—sleep is too strong of a state and Arahabaki is too powerful of a subject. It’s one of the only things you can’t induce without physical touch. If you could just-

Your vision blurs and you taste iron. Something warm and thick pools in the back of your throat and you gag on it, feet suddenly dangling in the air as you stare down at Arahabaki’s empty eyes. You can hear people yelling around you—Klaus and Akutagawa rushing in your direction, Albatross firing off shots at Arahabaki to try to get its attention off of you, Dazai screaming your name.

Dazai.

Shit.

You don’t want him to see this. 

You think that Arahabaki must’ve ruptured one of your lungs because every breath you take in is wet and the oxygen just isn’t reaching where it needs to. Your vision swims with black dots and you need to lift your hand—if you could just wrap your hand around his forearm, it would be worth it. You could put him to sleep; you always knew one day you’d probably meet your fate at the hands of Arahabaki, you just wish that Dazai wasn’t here to witness it. 

But you can’t. And it’s frustrating, it’s so frustrating, your eyes feel wet and you don’t know if it’s from tears or blood considering the pressure around you just keeps getting more and more intense. His forearm is right there, impaled through your fucking stomach, inches away but you can’t lift it high enough for you to force Arahabaki to sleep, your arms just sway limply at your side until Arahabaki has had enough of you and tosses your body several yards away into a pile of rubble.

You can’t move and the fucking bastard managed to land you at a perfect angle for you to witness what’s about to happen. Even as your vision starts to go out, you’re forced to watch as Arahabaki approaches Piano Man, Iceman and Dazai. You watch as Klaus attacks in blind rage only to get his legs crushed to dust—he’ll be able to heal them through Mephisto (he’ll pay for it, though, he always does), but not fast enough to stop Arahabaki from getting to Dazai. Akutagawa lands the next blow, consuming the space near Arahabaki’s neck to try to land what could have been an incapacitating hit but Arahabaki is faster and Akutagawa suffers for the attempt.

Arahabaki knocks Piano Man and Iceman out of the way, its gaze set on Dazai. Dazai doesn’t even try to run, he stares at where your body is crumpled against the rubble with a wrecked expression on his face. You don’t want to watch but you can’t even bring yourself to turn your gaze away. Klaus doesn’t even wait for his other leg to heal—as soon as one has reformed, he’s throwing himself at Arahabaki again to try to protect Dazai. When Arahabaki knocks him away again, he uses his arms to propel himself forward onto its back.

As Klaus utilizes his ability to try to wrangle Arahabaki away from Dazai, desperately healing himself as gravity crushes him, you become acutely aware of a new presence at your side.

Yosano.

Familiar purple eyes stare down at you, conflicted, breath shuddered. You can’t even fathom to understand what she might be thinking and you want her to get away from you. You think it’s cruel even for the gods to have your last sight be her of all people, the same girl that Mori has held over you since the day he met her, heralding her as the perfect linchpin of his plans and disparaging you as nothing more than a failure.

“Fuck off,” you try to tell her, but the words are garbled over blood. 

“I know you hate me,” she says quietly and her words aren’t even registering in your brain, the lack of air makes your ears ring so loud that you can’t hear anything over it and you can’t make out what words her lips are forming because of the blood in your eyes. You think she knows that, but speaks anyway, “but everyday… I wonder how things might’ve been different if I’d gotten you off of Tokoyami Island with me. I couldn’t save you back then, so I will now… Whether it’s the right decision or not, I won’t let you die.”

You feel the effects of Yosano’s dreadful ability instantly, gasping as your lung stitches itself back to better, the hole through your abdomen closing up and the lost blood replenishing in your body. Your body still hurts—the soreness is there and you can feel the ghosts of the wounds, but you feel alive, forcibly pulled back from the brink of death by the last person in the world you’d ever want to save you. 

“Don’t touch me,” you hiss, shoving her away when she tries to help you to your feet. 

God, if Mori knew that Yosano of all fucking people saved your life it would just be more ammunition against you. You think you’d rather have died. Your eyes feel wet again, but this time you can’t use Arahabaki as an excuse, glaring at the other woman who looks oddly solemn at your reaction, disappointed but not surprised.

You turn your attention back to the more pressing matter, praying to god that you wouldn’t be met with the sight of Dazai’s obliterated body in the near distance. Your breath catches when you see Klaus crumpled on the ground, still alive but healing much more slowly and-

And Arahabaki approaching Dazai.

Dazai doesn’t even seem to notice, staring listlessly at the ground with a haunted expression on his face, like he doesn’t even realize death is approaching him.

 Like he doesn’t care.

“Osamu, run!” you cry out, even though you know it’s to no avail, that Arahabaki will hunt him down, but he needs to try.

Dazai’s head snaps toward you, dark eyes wide and relieved when he sees you standing there, wounds healed. But just as your gaze meets his, Arahabaki strikes, hand darting out to curl around Dazai’s thin neck with every intention of using gravity to crush it to dust. Someone screams—you, maybe, though it’s unfamiliar, shrill and piercing, more animalistic than human—and Klaus is still trying to claw his way through the dirt toward Arahabaki to no avail. Piano Man is watching the scene with a shattered arm and leg and Iceman is fumbling for one of his guns, Akutagawa is hurtling himself through the air with Rashomon, holding his bloody side as he tries to sever Arahabaki’s hand before it can follow through with Dazai’s execution.

He’s not fast enough. None of them will be.

But they don’t need to be.

You watch as a strange white and blue color emits from where Arahabaki’s hand is curled around Dazai’s neck, as the black rot recedes and the blackness of his eyes gives way to familiar brown and blue. Chuuya—not Arahabaki—falls limply to the ground, exhausted from using Corruption, and Dazai just stands there, eyes wide and confused.

What the fuck?

Piano Man. Iceman. Albatross. Klaus and Akutagawa. They all look equally perplexed as they stare at what just happened and you fumble for answers to make sense of it. Did Arahabaki exhaust itself on its own? Did it feel Chuuya’s body crumbling under the force of Corruption and instead of letting its host die, it gave control back over? It would make sense if Arahabaki was a parasite that needed Chuuya to exist, but it’s not a parasite and Chuuya is its prison.

And either way, it only happened when he touched Dazai. A light emanated between the two of them like-

Like the activation of an ability, like the reaction between two abilities.

Is… Dazai an ability user?

He can’t be, there’s no way he’s gone his whole life without ever activating it once—or even knowing he has one. It doesn’t make sense. When he asked about yours, it was clearly with the curiosity of someone who’d never encountered an ability before. Unless-

Unless he was lying.

No. He wasn’t. He must not have known, but this changes everything. 

You hardly even get the chance to play with your thoughts and come to a solid conclusion, because you realize that Yosano is storming past you in the direction of where Chuuya is unconscious and vulnerable.

“Where do you think you’re going?” you ask tightly, trying to take a step forward but wincing, so instead, you reach for the gun you’d placed back into your holster, grip firm on the handle. 

Yosano doesn’t respond to you, her hand resting on the hilt of her machete is enough of an answer for you. The threat of Lovecraft is gone and the next biggest threat to the city is none other than the vessel of the calamity god lying unconscious in the dirt—if you were her, you would also move for the execution. 

But you’re not her, so you pull out your gun and flick the safety off, not wasting any time before you drag your eyes over to where the blonde you’d spoken to before is resting on the ground with a wounded side. You lift your gun and point it at his leg, the gunshot resounding sharply through the air and causing Yosano to stop dead in her tracks, head snapping back toward you in disbelief.

Your gaze meets hers. “A nick to the femoral artery can cause a man to bleed out within thirty seconds… we learned that together, don’t you remember?”

“You-”

“The enemy is dead, we no longer have to work together. I suggest you handle your people and I’ll handle mine.”

Yosano looks frustrated, but her hesitation gave Akutagawa enough time to get between her and Chuuya. He tilts his head to the side as if daring her to try to get through him; she looks distressed as she looks between the blonde and Chuuya, but eventually rushes in your direction to get to her comrade.

She stops as she passes you and you don’t look at her, staring ahead at Dazai as she tells you tightly, “You… really have grown into someone who Mori should be proud of.”

Mori will never be proud of you, so Yosano’s words only serve to make you even more bitter. 

“And you haven’t changed at all, Akiko-chan,” you say lightly. “The same scared girl on Tokoyami Island who made the same silly mistakes over and over again. You should have let me die today, just like you shouldn’t have gotten attached to every soldier that passed you by on that island. Your sentimentality will get you killed one day.”

Yosano scoffs. “You never were quite as good at utilizing your ability as I was,” she says coldly, digging a knife into an open wound, “but you did take quickly to his cold-hearted tactics and mentality… I wonder how he feels about your new weakness.”

Your gaze snaps to the side, focusing on her. “Tread carefully,” you say coldly.

“Relax, I’m not you,” Yosano spits out. “I wouldn’t use something like that against you. I don’t need to anyway, you’ll get him killed yourself.”

You don’t have a response to that, cringing and looking away. You miss the way her expression shifts when she sees your reaction; you also miss the way her lips part to say something else, leaving her behind without another word to go over to Dazai and the others.

Klaus is shakily pushing himself to his feet by the time you get there, exhausted and covered in his own blood. You reach out to grab his hand, squeezing it gently. “You did well,” you say quietly, watching how his eyes shine at the praise before glancing over to Akutagawa. “Both of you. You did good. Thank you. I parked my car two miles north of here, go get in there and sleep, I’ll drive you back to headquarters. Go on ahead, I’ll meet you there.”

The two nod and take off in the direction you gave them; you turn your attention to Iceman, who’s gathering Chuuya in his arms. Albatross helps Piano Man limp over to the group of you.

“We’re going to bring him back to his place to rest, Doc will look over him to make sure he’s alright. Was in Corruption for longer than usual,” Iceman says roughly, looking over you once to make sure you’re okay. “We’ll… we’ll all stay with him for a bit, if he remembers what happened when he wakes up…”

“That’s probably for the best,” you say quietly. Chuuya alone with his own mind after activating Corruption is quite the dangerous thing. You try to stay with him in the aftermath, but this time, you have things to deal with first. “He shouldn’t be alone. He’ll blame himself.”

Iceman nods, making his way toward where Doc must be camped out. As Albatross and Piano Man pass you by, Piano Man squeezes your shoulder with his good hand and says, “I’ll make sure the Boss doesn’t find out about the kid just yet… figure out what happened out here though, okay?” 

“I will,” you promise, finally glancing up at Dazai, who looks like he wants nothing more than to just collapse into your arms. You think you want the same. Not yet though. Your voice softens as you address him, “Come on. Let’s go home.”

Dazai sits cross-legged on your bedroom floor as he waits for you to come back from whatever meeting you had to attend as soon as you got back. He dragged your comforter off of the bed to wrap around him and he removed his clothes so he could put on a comfortable pair of sweats and a sweatshirt—yours, naturally, because he thinks if he doesn’t surround himself with your scent he might actually start to lose his mind.

He’s been teetering on the edge for hours. His eyes burn because he refuses to let them slide shut—the image of you impaled on Nakahara Chuuya’s arm is burned behind his eyelids. God, he still doesn’t really know what happened—apparently it wasn’t Chuuya from the little you were able to explain before having to leave, but instead some calamity god that uses his body as a vessel.

As insane as it sounds, Dazai somehow didn’t even doubt the words once you said them because only the power of a god could explain what he’d seen. The entire forest had been rendered to ruin in a matter of seconds, he could feel the way the air had come alive with dark, oppressive forces; he’d never experienced anything like it before. He’d only ever stumbled upon an ability user once in Suribachi City before Odasaku found him and though he’d been strong—Dazai could tell that much from the way he set half of the slums on fire—it hadn’t felt anything like this. This had been… unnatural. 

It had been incredible, he’d never seen anything so… powerful before, so close to divinity—or it had been until you were killed. 

Whatever it was—Nakahara Chuuya or a calamity god called Arabahaki—it had killed you. It had killed you right in front of Dazai. It had killed you because Dazai made the wrong move and drew its attention. It killed you because you threw yourself into the line of fire to protect him and he can’t rid himself of the image. 

No matter how hard he rubs his eyes, no matter how much he tells himself that you’re alive, he can only see the blood, the hole through your abdomen, the way your body had gone limp and your eyes had become cloudy. You were dead when it tossed your body to the side like it was nothing more than trash to be discarded—or you were close to it, at least, but you were definitely dead when you hit the rubble, body broken and shattered, eyes glassy.

You were dead because of him, that’s irrefutable. It doesn’t matter how you’re alive now—and he still doesn’t know how, you clammed up when he asked you how your wounds had disappeared—because you had been dead, and you’d been dead because of him and his mistake. 

He’s hardly even had the chance to talk to you. The drive back to headquarters was quick and quiet; your two subordinates had been passed out in the backseat of your car and you’d been so lost in thought that Dazai could hardly bring himself to badger you with questions. He thought he’d get the chance when the two of you got up to your apartment, but you only sent him up on his own and told him you’d be back soon because you had to report to Mori.

It’s been seven hours since then. 

He hasn’t budged an inch, hasn't eaten anything, hasn’t drank anything, hasn’t even wiped the crusted blood off of his neck. Your crusted blood in the shape of Nakahara Chuuya’s handprint wrapped around his throat because he’d used the very same hand that killed you to try to deliver the same fate to Dazai. 

A part of him is half convinced that he imagined it—that’s why you aren’t here—and each passing second, he becomes more and more convinced of it. He imagined the fact that you’d been brought back to life after being killed and imagined that you drove him home. The reality is that your body is still split open on the rocks that Arahabaki had thrown you into, you’re still staring emptily up at the sky, blood pooling around you. It hadn’t been you to drive him and the two kids home, it had been one of the men you’d told him to stay by during the battle and he’s waiting here for them to decide what they’re going to do with him.

Dazai is alone again. 

Everything he never wants to lose is lost—irrefutable, unchangeable. 

It’s his fate. 

It’s-

“Osamu.”

He doesn’t move. His gaze flickers to the side and he sees you standing there—you’re still dressed in the clothes that you were wearing when you dragged him from the beach house. The clothes you’d died in. A plain black shirt and black pants. You hadn’t given yourself any time to change once you got the message from Chuuya. As soon as you read it, you were ushering him to the car.

Except now, there’s a hole through the shirt where Arahabaki’s fist had ripped through your body. It’s all crusty with blood, Dazai can tell even if he can’t see the murky redness. Dazai thinks that if he stares long enough, he can see the wound reappear—the way your abdomen caves in on itself, how your skin starts to tear and…

He can’t look at this. His mind playing tricks on him like this, forcing him to see this—he can’t handle it. So, he looks away, breath shaky and fingers trembling beneath the comforter.

“Osamu,” you say again, voice quiet, garbled like you’re underwater. “Osamu.”

He ignores you still—doesn’t want to give in to the cruel imagination of his mind—so he tucks his legs closer to his chest and-

And you touch him.

He feels your fingers, warm and familiar, slide against the back of his head as you turn his head to force him to face you. You don’t let him look down at where the wound had been, forcing him to look up at your face. There’s a concerned look in your eyes, but your lips are curled up in a small smile.

“What’re you doing sitting on the floor?” you ask softly. 

His lashes flutter when he feels how you card your fingers through his hair but he doesn’t respond. You’re here. Alive. With him. 

He isn’t alone. 

(Not yet.) 

Your eyes flicker down to his neck, frowning when you see the blood. “C’mon, come with me to the bathroom.”

Dazai doesn’t respond but he does rise to his feet, dragging the comforter along with him as he follows after you, only dropping it when you give it a pointed look before he walks into the bathroom after you. He drops it on the floor before stepping in, letting you guide him to the toilet, sitting him down on top of the closed seat.

You don’t say anything as you step over to the sink, running the water for a few seconds before grabbing a soft rag and soaking it beneath. You ring it once before moving to stand in front of him again, tilting his head back gently before pressing the warm, damp rag against his skin.

“I didn’t think I would be as long as I was,” you say quietly. “I’m sorry. I thought I’d just be able to report in and then leave but he had me there for hours with some of the other executives trying to figure out how to proceed with the Guild.”

Dazai doesn’t respond, eyes sliding shut as you wipe away your crusted blood.

“He didn’t even let me change,” you say bitterly. “Think it was meant to be some sort of punishment.”

“Punishment for what?” Dazai asks, voice raspy even to his own ears.

“Failure.���

“But we won,” he frowns, a bit confused.

Your hand stills for a moment before you force yourself to continue cleaning him up, the expression on your face now a bit twisted. You seem to choose your words carefully as you tell him, “I didn’t. Not to him.”

Dazai isn’t quite sure what that means but he knows he doesn’t like the look on your face, so even though his fingers still feel a bit numb and clunky, he reaches out to grab your hand, watching as your expression immediately smoothes out, a small smile replacing the frown.

“I spoke to Piano Man,” you say lightly as you finish wiping off the blood, dropping the damp, dirty rag into the sink so you can cup his face and tilt it up toward you. “We figure that it must’ve been an ability that pulled Chuuya out of the Corrupted state. Your ability… Did you… know you had an ability?”

You ask the question hesitantly, watching him carefully for a response, and Dazai frowns, unsure why you even need to ask that because he would have told you if he had an ability and you should know that.

“No,” he finally says, brows knit together. “Of course not… what is it?” 

You don’t respond and the expression on your face is still contemplative—for a scary second, Dazai thinks that you don’t believe him, but then your expression smoothes out as you nod, putting his fears to rest. 

“We’re… not sure,” you admit. “Have you… been in situations before where you’ve been in danger?”

You cringe as you ask it like you already know the answer and Dazai gives you a flat look. 

“Yes.”

“Situations where you’ve been in contact with the person making you feel threatened?” you prod further and Dazai’s lips curl down into a frown, eyes lowering as he remembers the months he spent in Suribachi and the years after Odasaku’s death.

“Yes.”

“We theorized maybe it could’ve been your ability triggering as a defense mechanism—that maybe you had a similar ability to mine in that you could make people unconscious,” you say, leaning against the sink to look down at where he’s sitting. You tilt your head to the side and Dazai distinctly feels like a specimen being studied by a scientist. “But if that was the case, it likely would have triggered already and you would’ve known about it.”

“I didn’t know,” he says again like he has something to prove. Your expression doesn’t shift, an unreadable look in your eyes as you stare down at him. “I didn’t.”

Dazai doesn’t know why he’s getting so defensive about it, he knows that it’s probably only serving to make you more suspicious. He thinks it’s because he’s upset that you even need to ask that, it’s bothering him more than it should.

“Okay,” you say to placate him. “I have my own theory but…”

Dazai leans forward. “What is it?”

You look conflicted, brows knitting together and then you look away like you don’t even want to answer him, so he tilts to the side to force himself back into your line of vision again. You sigh heavily as your gaze drifts back to him. 

“I’m going to try to use my ability on you,” you tell him but your voice wavers and you look pained just by the prospect of it. Dazai’s eyes widen, remembering how angry you’d gotten when he first brought it up to you. “Just to… test something. Okay?” 

Dazai nods eagerly, eyes wide and imploring—he thinks that he shouldn’t feel so excited by this when you’re clearly conflicted and unhappy about it but… it’s not even a matter of an ability being used on him in a non-aggressive manner, it’s more just…

It’s a part of you. It’s a part of you that Dazai has never experienced before and he wants to experience all parts of you. Everything. Anything. No matter what it is as long as it’s you.

You reach out to brush your fingers against his cheek and Dazai waits with his heart in his throat and excitement thrumming through his body, pushing away all of the numbness. He looks up at you as he braces himself for something to happen and only begins to wonder if something is wrong when he sees how you tilt your head to the side curiously.

“What do you feel?” you finally ask him.

Dazai blinks and then says, “Excited?”

Your brows furrow. You wait a few moments before questioning, “And now?”

Dazai stares at you. “Nothing has changed.”

Your hand drops from his face and Dazai is pouting immediately, eyes following it as you rest it against your lap. His lips part to protest but before he can say anything, you press: “And now?” 

“Nothing has changed,” Dazai says, mind racing as he slowly puts together what your theory is: that no ability can affect him, and the reason why Arahabaki put to sleep after it came in contact with Dazai was because it couldn’t exist while in contact with him. “Wait, are you…?” 

“You nullify abilities,” you breathe out. “You… And not just by touch… it seems like any ability—around you? Or maybe if it just targets you?—it just like… gets sucked up into a black hole. Non-existent.”

Dazai feels a bit giddy as he looks at you. “I have an ability.”

You don’t even seem to register his words, staring at him with an expression so wrecked that Dazai is startled, thinking he did something to upset you. He’s about to ask when you speak again, voice sounding a bit distant as you say, “You’ve never been affected by my ability.”

And Dazai remembers. He remembers why you’d been so upset when he asked you to use your ability on him. Remembers how your face had started to crumble, the insecurity that had swept across it: I don’t know who wants to be around me for me and who’s just influenced by my ability.

“I told you,” Dazai says with a teasing smile, “I want you for you.”

“You do,” you agree, taking in a deep breath as you look down at your lap, lips curling up into a small smile that Dazai wishes would remain on your face forever. You look so at peace, so happy—and because of him. “You might be the only one.”

You say the words lightly but Dazai can feel the weight of them, so he reaches out to take your hands into his, squeezing them gently. “I doubt that,” he says, “but even if I am, I’ll love you enough that it won’t matter what anyone else thinks.”

Your eyes widen. Dazai immediately draws back and slaps his hand over his mouth, realizing what he’d just admitted out loud. He can feel the heat emanating from his cheeks and he’s sure that he’s probably as red as a tomato. He almost wants to bolt but before he can, your smile softens around the edges and you reach out to cup his cheek again, the look in your eyes so adoring that it makes Dazai’s breath catch in the back of his throat.

“I love you too,” you tell him quietly, and it’s with more emotion than when you told him last night—god, it’s hardly been twenty-four hours, all of this has happened within twenty-four hours. 

Dazai is suddenly acutely reminded of the fact that he’d almost lost you within those twenty-four hours and his chest feels much heavier. He wonders if you were abruptly reminded of the same thing because your nails dig into his cheek enough to sting, the look in your eyes more intense.

“Can we watch a movie?” he asks, voice wobbling as he holds your free hand between his so tightly that he fears he might break it. 

He wants to lay with you, wants to curl up in your arms and pretend he’s watching a movie that he doesn’t care for just so he can bask in the feeling of being loved and pretend he didn't just almost lose you.

“We can watch a movie,” you agree. “Let me go get changed. What are you feeling?” 

You take a step away from him and Dazai almost reaches out for you but refrains. “Horror?” he asks, if only because he likes to hide his face in your chest under the pretense of being scared.

You give him a side-eye over your shoulder as you walk into your bedroom and he promptly gives you a sweet smile, knowing that you know exactly why he picked the genre. You only roll your eyes and leave the bathroom and he sighs as he sits back against the toilet, a warm feeling spreading through his chest.

A warm feeling that is very quickly pushed away when his phone buzzes.

Professor Ui: Can you stop by the school with Koda-san and Otsuka-kun tomorrow? We received a tip-off concerning the exposé we were working on a few weeks ago. I want to run something by the three of you because we might just have the chance to drive the nail in the coffin.

His throat swells as his gaze flickers up to where you’re changing into a clean pair of pajamas and fixing the comforter that he’d pulled off of your bed, rattling off a few options for him to choose from—all going in one ear, out the other. His knuckles are white around his phone before he fumbles to stuff it in the pocket of his sweats. 

He just wants one night with you after everything that happened today and… he remembers the look on your face when you mentioned ‘punishment’ and ‘failure’, and he thinks that you deserve just one night of peace too. 

A night of peace that isn’t interrupted by another shitty text.

He’ll bring it up to you tomorrow or… or maybe he’ll handle it on his own. Go to the meeting, figure out what they’ve been tipped off about so he can report back to you… and then maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t be a liability to you anymore. He could do something to help you and… it’s not like he has to be as worried about danger considering the newfound revelation about his ability. Obviously, there are still other dangers but…

But Dazai could be helpful. Useful. He’s only been a hindrance to you up until now, but he could change that.

He could change it. And maybe—just maybe—if he could learn how to use his ability and you could rely on him for more things… Maybe there’s a chance he could change the fate he thought was inevitable. Maybe he wouldn’t lose you. You love him, so you won’t leave him, and he would be strong enough this time to make sure you wouldn’t be taken from him in the same way Odasaku was. 

Things would be different. 

He would be different. 

“Are you coming?” you call as you pull on a sweatshirt and peek your head back into the bathroom.

“Coming,” he agrees, bounding out of the bathroom and tossing himself right on top of you as you rest against the pillows, curling into your side and waiting for you to start the movie.

One night of peace. It couldn’t be too much for him to ask.

He tries to ignore the ghost weight of the gun in his hand as his arms tighten around you. 

[lidiasloca]

what do you think about reader and nyx being bffs and her having a huge crush on azriel , like nyx and reader have been friends for almost 50 years and she still remembers the first time she saw him. At was first it was a silly girl crush but it developed to her having a fat ass crush on him fr and nyx knows this and teases her relentless, azriel overhears this and confronts her. Fluff or smut pls i cannot handle angst🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️

a crush on azriel

azriel x reader

fluff

a/n: request fics!

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄☆

“Do you know who’s coming?” Nyx asks you, and by the way he is smirking, you sure as hell know who is coming.

You try to play it cool, though. “I have no idea.”

But he’s not fooled. He’s known you for years. And he’s known about the crush you have on Azriel. “Oh. You don’t?”

Your eyes narrow into slits, watching him as you pray he will finally let go. But of course he won’t. “Cut the game, Nyx.”

He chuckles at your flustered face. “I swear, I didn’t know he was coming,” he explains, finally more serious. “You know I would have warned you.”

“Would you?” you ask, instantly regretting the anger your tone had taken. It’s not Nyx’s fault you cannot stomach being in the presence of your crush. It was simply your fault.

“Hey,” he says lovingly, taking your hand. “We don’t have to go to the party if you feel uncomfortable.”

“I don’t feel uncomfortable. I’m fine.”

“Liar,” he smiles.

You finally let go, letting a little smile bloom on your lips, relaxing your tense body. This was really becoming a problem — you couldn’t let the thought of Azriel alter you so much. “Shut up.”

“Well well, Ms. Head Over Heels for the Shadowsinger finally smiles,” Nyx mocks, and you seize the opportunity to elbow him playfully in the ribs. “Hey! No violence.”

“Then no teasing,” you remark with a steady voice.

“I’m my father’s son, darling. You ask me for the moon.” You have to laugh at that.

“You are stupid — that’s what you are.”

A grin spreads across his mischievous face. “I might be stupid. But do you know what else I am?”

“What?” you ask, following whatever stupid game he’s playing.

“Azriel’s nephew — sort of. Meaning, your only real chance to approach him.” His smirk is something close to evil. You are planning to elbow him again when someone rather quiet walks in.

“Did you say something? I heard my name.”

Azriel. Right in front of you. In the same room.

You look over to Nyx, but he is just as surprised. And Azriel just stands there awkwardly, waiting for a reply that never comes.

“Well,” he coughs. “The party is ready. If you don’t need anything,” he says as he turns to leave.

But your so-called friend has unfortunately recovered his chatty abilities. “Wait, Az. I have to get changed, and well, Y/N doesn’t know the place very well. Do you think you can accompany her to the living room?”

No way.

Please say no. Or yes. No, no — please say no. Just say yes, please. Say no.

“Of course.” Azriel turns to you with a friendly smile. “Y/N,” he tells you, as if asking you to follow him.

You spare Nyx a quick glance, asking, pleading, threatening him. He gives you an encouraging nod, and your legs finally start moving toward the spymaster. One step after another, trying not to trip.

“Have fun!” you hear Nyx call from his room. “And good luck!” You watch Azriel’s brows rise in confusion.

Little does he know. Tonight, you truly need luck.

-Characters by Sarah J Maas

a/n: i loved this request sm, anon. i will for sure write a part two for it. thanku for reading, have a good day :))

[lunarxcity]

High Lords and High Jinks

- azriel x day court!reader

- synopsis: when rhys and helion try to set up their right hands and closest friends things don’t go according to plan…

—

I'm lost, correction I’m hopelessly lost. What kind of person even gets lost in a library? You see, I was tasked by my high lord and very ambitious boss Helion to find a book on firedrake lilies; they were native to the day court but suddenly went extinct about 1100 years ago, and they haven't been seen in Prythian since. Well, it seems to me that this book is even more elusive than the flower. Why does the high lord of night possess the only book in existence on this flower, only found in day might I add, and why does he keep it in his secret underground library, and why is this library an entire mountain? Helion couldn’t have sent someone else? A visit to the night court to grab a book is beneath my pay grade, but again these days I don't know what isn't.

I'm pretty sure I passed that shelf ages ago, I can’t even tell they all look the same. This library feels like a maze with books cascading down what seems to be a never-ending row of shelves that almost act like corridors, twisting and turning into a path that takes you deeper into the library, filled with even more towering shelves lined with more books. The very kind librarian sent me to the botany and herbal remedies section, but she failed to mention that the “section” is about half a floor. I have been looking for hours(I don’t even know how long it’s been since I’ve been trapped underground looking for this cauldron-dammed book all day).

Don’t get me wrong I love books, I spend half my time reading and the other half playing glorified babysitter to the most dramatic high lord that ever was and ever will be. The day court prides itself on our libraries. We have everything from books on the history of ancient creatures that once roamed this land, to banned cookbooks (they had to be permanently deshelved due to certain recipes that had a tendency to explode), and my personal favorite, the risqué romance novels, which are now found at every library in day due to the high lord and his royal aid having a penchant for the genre. Apparently the only book we don’t have is one on a day court flower of all things. Leave it up to Helion to send me to a whole other court with minimal directions and no explanation on why he needs this specific book. It feels like I have spent an eternity searching, I haven’t even found the right section on extinct plants, and I don't even know where I am anymore, mother save me-

My thoughts are cut off by a tug on my sleeve. I look up and see nothing. No one’s there. Interesting... I start to make my way down the shelves when I feel another tug. This one is much harder, I start falling forward and am immediately pulled backwards, which saves me from the fall. I try to find the culprit of this surprising attack, when I, again, feel a gentle tug at my sleeve. I look down and see this cloud of smoke? No, it’s not grey and opaque; it’s as black as ink and solid as if it is untouched by the light. It cuts through the air like a whip, fast and smooth.

I’ve read about these before, but shadows rarely tend to make themselves known. Rhysand’s spymaster is a shadowsinger is this one of his little spies? Are the shadows friendly? Are they sentient? The shadow stops its frantic swirling and looks at me; well, it feels like it’s looking at me as much as a shadow can. I reach out to touch it, and it darts away behind a shel,f seemingly spooked by my touch. A piece of shadow is still visible peaking out from behind the shelf, and I stand still looking at it. “Take as long as you need. Trust me, I will be here for a while.”

I continue searching the shelves, ignoring the shadow in an attempt to ease its skittishness. I look back to the shelf it was hiding behind and notice its absence. Without my knowledge, the shadow made its way back to me and has been circling my ankles. The whisp of shadow then starts swirling around me excitedly before making itself at home on my wrist.

Curious little thing it is, it’s almost like a pet. “Any reason you're pulling on my wrist, or are you just as dreadfully bored and hopeless as I am? I swear I should’ve made Helion get that book himself. He’s probably off partying with Rhys cauldron knows where.” The shadow responds by swirling around my wrist faster and begins to tug me forward. “Oh, so I'm just supposed to follow?” The shadow becomes almost alive at this commend and yanks me forward with a rough force. Tripping over my feet, I let the little shadow drag me through the identical-looking shelves. “Do you even know where you’re going? I’ve been here for hours and all I’ve managed to do is get lost and get manhandled by a shadow. I don't even know where you're taking me if or if you're supposed to be going around unsupervised, pulling strangers through the library. Oh my gods, I'm losing it. I'm talking to the shadow.” The shadow gives one harsh yank, and suddenly, everything goes black. The shadow threw me forward directly into a hard mass. “I find the shadows to be good company; they don’t have a penchant for annoyance, I can’t say the same for most people.”

The mass is talking? I step back and can now see that the mass is a person. Probably the most beautiful individual I have ever laid eyes upon. He has strong, dark features, the build of a warrior, and golden hazel eyes that feel as if they’re looking right through me. The cobalt siphons, the fighting leathers, and the wings tucked into his back tell me he must be an Illyrian. The shadows that seem to ooze from his very being tell me that he must be the one and only shadowsinger of the night court. He looks like night incarnate. His aura is dark, beautiful, and dangerous. I’m from the day court, I know how to appreciate the sun, but there’s something about him that has me reconsidering the allure of the moon.

I have only ever heard of him from Helion, the tales of Rhysand’s shadowsinger, the elusive spymaster that's one with the shadows and has repeatedly turned down Helion's offers to join him in his bed chambers. Helion will then sulk for the rest of the evening, leaving me to deal with cheering him up. I have never been so embarrassed or in awe. Have I been staring at him this whole time? I’m probably staring. Should I say something? I just caught sight of his wings; they span the entire width of the shelves. Oh, I'm most definitely staring.

“Pardon my frankness but what’s the spymaster of the night court doing in the botany section of the library? Don’t you have some super serious spy business to attend to?” He quirked his brow, seemingly amused by my question. “And what’s one of Helion's lackeys doing here looking for a book on firedrake lilies when they haven’t been seen on the coast of day in over a century?” I feel my face start to heat up. “I’m not Helion's lackey , and I will have you know I am much more than that you- wait… how did you know that they're found on the coast of day? You have my book!" Immediately correcting myself to match the levels of politeness and poise expected of a member of Helion's court, I respond in my politest tone, "May I please get it? My high lord is requesting it for research purposes” I swear if this shadowsinger does not give me this book I’ll-

“No can do. My high lord is also requesting this very book, and since this is his court, his request takes precedence.” He starts to smugly grin, that overgrown bat, I wish I could wipe that grin off his stupid, smug, handsome face, wait, no focus. “Well, I am an esteemed guest of this court, so out of pure courtesy, should I not receive this book? We can call it payment for your shadow almost tripping me on the way here.”

At this remark, his gaze shoots up to his shadows, his eyes narrow, and he scans the shadows until he finally finds on the culprit that dragged you here. He starts to squint at it menacingly, and it darts away from his orbit, right behind you, cowering from its master like a child that just received a scolding. “Me and my shadows will have a discussion about that later. They rarely leave my side. You must have coerced them with your day court charms.” He says offhandedly. “So you find me charming?” It slips from my tongue and I curse myself for spending most of my time with Helion. At this he goes silent. Blank stare. I have not met a courtier I couldn’t win over, but he is giving me nothing. He just meets my stare with his mildly annoyed gaze. A minute more of silence... I will not be ignored by this shadowsinger.

“I demand you hand me this book at once.” I stare him down. “There's that day court charm”, he sarcastically replied under his breath. This is a losing battle. I look back at the shadow, the shadow looks at me, and I whisper, “Can you get me the book, please? Your master appears to be in a brooding mood today and cannot extend his guest the courtesy of his cooperation.” The shadow gives a slight nod and darts out from behind you. “I can hear you, you know? The shadows won’t turn on me they are apart of my very being and follow my will.” He finally says. “Oh, you were meant to hear me, and who knows, maybe the shadows got tired of their master's lack of manners and chivalry.” The shadowsinger scowls and was about to reply when, to his complete and utter disbelief, the shadow comes back with the book in tow. I don’t even need the book anymore. The look on his face was enough satisfaction for me. The shadow, while helpful, is still mischievous, placing itself right in the middle of us.

“You’re not going to make this easy for me are you?” he asks looking down at me with competition burning in his eyes. “Not even for a second.” I grin up at him meeting his eyes with just as much intensity. He gives a half smile back, a second passes, and you both lunge for the book.

Somewhere above two high lords are clinking their glasses doubled over in laughter over their little scheme. “My money is on her. I tried to spar with her once, and I was on the floor in less than 30 seconds with no idea how I got there.” Helion says while filling his glass with more wine. “Well, mine is on Azriel. He has years of Illyrian training, and is the most competitive person I know, he won’t lose a wrestling match over a book. He’s my spymaster for a reason.” Rhysand jokes. “Well your spymaster is oblivious to what’s right in front of him. Do you want to make a wager? I wager that she gets the book one way or another. Are you a betting man Rhys?” Helion mischievously asks. “I have known Azriel for centuries and I can’t see him losing a measly fight over a book. You have yourself a deal. Winner gets to make the loser do anything they want within reason.” Helion grins and reaches his hand out, “Deal.”

What started out as an intense sparring session eventually turned into a glorified game of tug-o-war. After exhausting themselves with physical combat, they now both had both hands on the book trying to tug it out of the other's grasp. Azriel's gloves had ended up on the floor, along with a few stray books knocked from their shelves, and an innocent chair that was caught in the fire. She looked up at him, visibly exhausted and asked, “Are you ready to give up now?” He looked back, equally exhausted, and responded, “Never.” Her hand started slipping as he tugged, causing her to grasp at the top of the book, right where his hand was. The minute their hands touched, his eyes went wide. He just stared with a kind of stillness that one only acquired through years of spying. He was deathly still and almost seemed to blend into his shadows which were erratic swirling all around the both of us.

Something flickered through his eyes. Fear? Acceptance? What could he be thinking of to elicit such a reaction? I looked down at his hands and saw the burn marks that were etched into his skin. I immediately jumped back, scared I triggered something. He had the same idea it seems, and dropped the book the same time I did. “I’m sorry-“ we both said at the same time. After a few seconds of silence and him just looking at me and analysing me? He took the first step forward and picked up the book. I thought he was about to take off when he looked at me and walked over and put it in my hands, not sparing a second glance to the book. “But your high lord-“I started. It was like a flip was switched. The brooding, stoic, smug demenour of the shadowsinger suddenly melted away to reveal a soft-spoken, kind, and shy individual. I probably looked visibly confused because he started speaking. “You’re right. I haven’t been very cooperative or courteous. You’re a guest of Rhys, and as a member of his inner circle, I haven’t been very welcoming. So, let’s start again. My name is Azriel. Here is the book that you require for your research. If that's all you're here for, it would be my honor to give you a proper tour of Velaris and formally welcome you to the night court.” He drops to one knee and bows to me and I swear my heart stops. What just happened?

“RHYS DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?” Cassian, who started watching halfway through screams. “Yes, quiet down-" “OUR BROTHER HAS FINALLY FOUND HIS MATE. LET'S BRING BOTH OF THEM UP HERE. I'M ABOUT TO CRY. LOOK AT ME, RHYSIE. DO YOU SEE TEARS? I NEVER-” Rhys gives Cassian a look of annoyance and says, “Well maybe he could've if only he didn’t insult or fight her first. We made it so easy, we tried to set her them up but no- ” Rhysand mutters under his breath. Helion starts cackling, "He will surely have his work cut out for him after that first impression. Also, pay up Rhys, she got the book."

[buffyfan145]

I think I figured out what is going to happen with Haladriel in the season 2 finale after all the stuff we got today, mostly from Amazon's latest TV ad which gives away another major part of it. It's also all over Twitter/X and Reddit now but warning others in case they don't want that many spoilers as I've seen the fans who went to the NY screening now posting in disbelief how Amazon is just spoiling so much of it. Will say if what I'm thinking happening is correct it's actually good imo and not fully a repeat of the s1 ending like so many think. So it's up to you if you want to see it or not. It doesn't give away any other spoilers though for the other characters/ships just Haladriel.

So from all of this it seems like after Galadriel and Sauron/Annatar have their sword fight he does switch back to Halbrand and proposes again. We got confirmation of this from that review of s2 that was posted today and already in the tags (though that reviewer really didn't like a lot of season 2 as a whole so here's some negative stuff in there). It seems like whatever Sauron/Halbrand does with Galadriel does almost make her say yes. There might be a vision too or not, but whatever he says and does it's so tempting and we can clearly see that she does want it, but at the last moment snaps out of it either due to Nenya or her own will. Then she jumps off the cliff!!! 😮

The new trailer shows Sauron back as Annatar on that clifftop after she falls and he's using his magic to save her. You can see his hands are moving similar to how he controlled those elves in ep 2.7 in the forge. Seems it's similar to Eleven on "Stranger Things" with her telekinesis powers and he saves her from dying. Not sure if he gets the 9 rings back before this or after but this is likely the moment their head s2 director Charlotte says that by the end of s2 we'll know he truly loves her. A lot of figured she might get injured and he heals her, but saving her from dying again would prove this and that he won't let her die, and likely can't live without her now like the classic enemies to lovers troupe.

Then there's some leaks that Gil Galad and/or Elrond find her and take her with them and Sauron lets her go with Nenya before he leaves, which does make sense now if this is the case. Also that she lets him leave too with the 9. This also sets up s3 and them still connected, especially once he makes the One Ring and has control over all the rings.

I'm totally ok with this if this happens. It proves again he loves her and he won't stop trying to have her by his side. Would also mean that we'll likely get more mind palace scenes in s3 and that it's far from over between them since she almost said yes. I would've loved if she went with him but I never really thought that would happen anyway. We'll see for sure on Thursday but this is what my head is telling me now.

[bro-atz]

you had your chance, and you blew it

in which: maybe reconnecting with your former flame was a bad idea...

pair: non-idol!san/afab!reader

word count: 3.6k

content: smut, angst (everyone gets mad at bro), san and reader used to be fwbs, san's kind of a dick ngl, themes of infidelity, alcohol consumption (beer/wine, no one gets completely intoxicated), rough sex, kinda jealous sex?, oral sex, fingering, cum swallowing, unprotected sex (PLS REMEMBER TO WRAP UP IRL!), consensual!

rated: R | nsfw — minors do not interact

author's note: been kinda extremely depressed lately so i thought i would share the sad with the class <3

There he was. He was just sitting there looking more handsome than ever with a glass of his favorite beer and a soft, indecipherable look on his face. He took a sip then set the glass down before holding it in both of his hands, the ring on his finger tapping against the glass occasionally, making the faintest clink.

He hadn't noticed you yet. You honestly didn't want him to. Well, your heart didn't want you to, but your intrusive thoughts did. Luckily, you had entered the restaurant with another friend, so he was enough of a distraction to keep you from stealing glances at the man who grew distant from you.

"Hey," your friend prodded you. "Choose a wine already."

You looked to the side to see the waiter holding their notepad ready to take your order. You quickly found a wine on the menu that sounded the most appetizing, allowing the waiter to finally leave with your drinks order.

"Is everything okay with you?" your friend asked.

"Y-Yeah, why?"

"You keep looking over at the bar with a look on your face."

Shit, you weren't that discreet apparently. You shook your head and mustered a smile while saying, "Nothing, I just thought I saw an old friend."

The waiter returned after some time with two glasses of wine, and the two of you shared a toast before sipping on your wine. Even though he was talking to you, you still couldn't help but look at San sitting over at the bar. He was alone, and based on the lack of seats around him, he was going to be alone. A slight smile played on your lips before you cleared your throat and diverted your attention back to your friend. Well, you tried to divert all of your attention back to him, but you were still keeping an eye on the lone man at the bar.

"So, I was thinking this for the appetizer," he pointed at the menu when the waiter returned. "You cool with that?"

"Yeah, sure," you nodded absentmindedly.

"Since when were you a fan of Brussel sprouts?"

You quickly snapped all of your attention back to him and the waiter before realizing that you had spaced out yet again. Your friend laughed and said, "We'll take this instead. Thank you."

The waiter noted down the order, leaving you and your friend at the table alone again.

"What is with you today? I mean, I always knew you were a bit of an airhead, but this is too much," he teased.

"Shut up, Hongjoong. I just had a long day," you grumbled.

"Haven't we all?"

"Okay, fine, my days aren't as long as yours but... I don't think this wine is going to be enough for both of us to drown our grievances."

"I would say let's just drink the entire bar, but at least one of us needs to be able to drive us home," Hongjoong sighed.

"You were my ride here, so does that mean if you get drunk, I get to drive your car home?" you asked with mild excitement— Hongjoong drove an expensive car, and you always leaped at the opportunity to get your hands on that wheel.

"Hmm... Maybe..."

"Then you, my good sir, should drink," you bowed your head. "I can always party it up at home."

Hongjoong laughed and took another sip of his wine right as his phone buzzed. Annoyed, he turned it over so that the screen wouldn't flash, but the second he did, his phone started buzzing like anything because someone was calling him.

"Shit, it's the hospital," he groaned as he glanced at the name on his phone.

"You're just never going to catch a break, huh?"

"Never!" Hongjoong complained. "The hospital is filled with a bunch of other fucking doctors, but when something goes wrong, I'm always the first one they fucking call me."

"You're just that competent. Be proud that everyone trusts your judgment first!"

"Way to put lipstick on a pig. Anyway, I am so sorry, Y/N. Dinner's on me. Here's my card. I gotta run."

Hongjoong placed his credit card on the table and grabbed his coat and phone before beelining straight for the exit. You watched him disappear into the night before returning to your lonely glass of wine. When the waiter came to take your order, you ended up sending him away, saying that the appetizer was enough— when Hongjoong left, there was still a lot of it left on the table, so it truly was enough for you.

When the waiter disappeared to process the payment, you couldn't help but look in San's direction one last time, only to see that he was looking at you as well. He tilted his drink as if to toast, and you hesitantly responded in the same fashion.

You got the receipt and started gathering your belongings to head out of the restaurant, but a little part inside of you kept nagging you to go and say hi to the man at the bar. Sure, things didn't end well between the two of you, but that didn't mean you weren't allowed to still miss him, still crave his touch.

San's eyes followed your every movement as you approached him. The look on his face only got curiouser and curiouser the closer you got, especially with that half-smile on his face.

"I didn't think I would ever see you in a place like this," San commented instead of greeting you like a normal human being.

"I could say the same thing to you," you shot right back, a smirk spreading across your face.

San smirked back. He took another sip of his beer before setting it down and turning so that he was fully facing you.

"So what are you doing in a place like this?" San asked.

"I came for dinner. You?"

"Just came for a drink after work," he said with a shrug.

"You drove here?"

"Yeah."

"That doesn't sound too safe— Maybe you shouldn't drive?"

"Nah, I've been nursing this beer all night, so I'm good to drive," he explained, easing your anxiety that there wasn't going to be another drunk driver on the street tonight. "What about you? Did you drive here?"

"No, but my ride had to run back to work for an emergency, so I'm probably going to have another drink or five on his dime then catch a taxi home or something."

"Or five? How many have you had so far?"

"Just one glass... I definitely need another."

You reached your hand out to flag down the bartender, but before you could get their attention, San reached for your hand and brought it back to your side. He lightly grazed his fingers up and down your arm before taking your hand into his large one.

"Don't drink any more tonight," he said, his voice low.

"Why not? I don't need to drive."

"But you do need to have a clear head for... Other things..."

He wrapped his other arm around your waist and held you closer as he got off the barstool. You held your breath when you felt San's body press close to yours, his head lowered as he took a slow, heavy breath. You knew this mood of his from your past— he wanted you, and luckily enough for him, you wanted him, too.

"Are you sure...?" you asked in a hushed voice when 

San didn't utter a word. He only held you tighter, the heat from his hand searing through your thin dress. His hand remained glued to your waist as he paid for his drink and led you out of the restaurant. 

Neither of you said a word as San's muscle memory drove the two of you back to your place just like he'd done several thousand times in the past. As soon as you got to your place, he helped you out of the car and led you to your own apartment, his hand never leaving your wrist until you got inside your apartment. 

San pinned you against the wall, and he immediately crashed his lips into yours. His hands gripped and kneaded your waist as you held onto his shoulder with one hand and ran your fingers through his hair with the other. His hips kept ramming against yours the more feverish your kisses got, and you could tell he was raring to go. You worked on the buttons of his shirt, revealing a sliver of his skin. You pulled one of the shoulders off and ran your fingers along his rippling muscles, making him let out a little sigh of desperation. He wanted to fuck you, and you wanted to fuck him badly, but he just had to ask a question first.

"Who was he?" he asked breathlessly.

"H-Huh?" you nearly whined when he stopped kissing you.

"Who was that guy?"

"Which guy?"

"The one you were at the restaurant with," he said with a low, bitter voice.

"Oh, you saw him, huh?" you teased.

"Answer the question."

"Just a friend," you answered with a gasp when you felt his large hand squeeze your hip tightly. "Why do you care?"

San didn't reply. He simply moved his hand to your neck, his fingers pressing lightly into your skin. He sucked on your lower lip as he kissed you over and over again as if he couldn't get enough of your taste.

You held onto San as he pressed his entire body against yours, pinning you further into the wall even though there was already little to no space between you and the wall. His hips impatiently rubbed against your clothed skin, and then they impatiently rubbed against your bare skin when he bunched and moved your dress up.

"So you just go for dinners wearing skimpy little dresses that barely cover your skin with guys who are just friends?" San breathed out heavily while running his hand along your hips and waist.

"You're acting as if I've never dressed like this before," you responded while stifling noises that acknowledged how much you enjoyed his touch.

"Then tell me," you heard his breathing in your ear and his teeth nibbling on the end of your ear lobe briefly before he trailed his nose against the edge of your jawline. You felt his hand slip past your stringy underwear, his thick fingers stroking your folds and collecting your arousal. "Do you sleep with any of these friends?"

You bit your lower lip and shook your head— you hadn't slept with anyone after San.

San's thumb moved your chin down slightly, making you open your mouth wide enough for him to stick his fingers in your mouth and give you a taste of yourself. You barely got to suck on them before he took them out of your mouth and brought them right back to your cunt. He held the back of your head and kissed you roughly as he shoved his fingers up your cunt rashly.

Holding the roots of your hair tightly in his fist, he stopped kissing you abruptly once more and moved your head so he could bury his face in the nook of your neck and take in all of your natural scent.

"Really? I'm having a hard time believing that," he said gruffly.

You held his wrists and tried to get him to slow down because your pleasure was building so rapidly you didn't even remember to breathe. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you came, your arousal squirting out and soaking his hand.

San didn't let you have any time to recover. He carried you to your bedroom and tossed you on the bed. He took— more like tore— your little black dress and panties off you and tossed them aside along with his shirt. He pushed your legs up and ran his tongue along your folds one time, and instead of eating you out like you assumed he would, he moved back up so that he was face to face with you, and his fingers pushed their way back into their cunt.

You were still riding the high from your last orgasm, making it so much easier for San to make you cum with his fingers again. You gripped his arms in an attempt to move them and get him to lay off, but he was an immovable force, so you came all over his hand again, your arousal staining your bedsheets.

Blinking the stars out of your eyes, you looked up to see San hovering right above you, a smirk plastered to his face.

"You know what I think?" he asked as he trailed his finger along the side of your face and down the center of your chest.

"What...?"

"I think you haven't slept with another guy because you know no guy can fuck you silly the way I can."

Gripping your waist, San flopped back onto the bed and brought you along with him so that you were straddling him. You pressed your hands into his V-line for stability while he held your thighs in place. You looked into his eyes with a little bit of confusion etched onto your face.

"Come on. You know what to do," he said as he let go of your thighs and moved his hand to the back of his head.

You looked at the waistband of his pants around his thin waist and unbuttoned his pants. You pulled his pants down, San lifting his hips to "help" you, freeing his cock from his underwear. He finally moved his hands from the back of his head to completely take off his pants before you took his thick cock into your hand. Stroking it, you were about to scoot back and start sucking on it when San grabbed your arm and pulled you back to where you were.

"Mmm, I don't have the patience for that. Just sit down."

You knelt above his cock as you rubbed it along your folds, and as soon as you felt the tip of his cock slip inside you, San moved your hips down for you. You cried feeling his cock rush through you so drastically, and you couldn't help but fold. Your chest pressed against San's, and you panted heavily into the nook of his neck as you heard a chuckle rumble in the back of his throat.

You were waiting for San to let out a quip of some kind, but he truly did mean that he had no patience because you felt his hands grip your ass intensely. He held you in place and rammed his hips upwards slowly, but with immense power each thrust, making your entire body shift forward.

Since San's mouth was right near your ear, you could hear his faint grunts of desperation, and you did your best to choke back your cries just so you could hear more of him. You were hoping to hear his breathy whine as he came, but there was no chance of that happening because he flipped you so that your back was pressed into the sheets and he was above you.

San gripped and adjusted his grip on your thighs as he pushed your legs up. You hooked your arms behind your knees to hold them in place, allowing San to ram his hips against yours with full force, the sound of your skin slapping each other overpowering his pants and your cries.

His hands once again gripping your waist, he moved you up and changed the angle of his thrusts slightly, rubbing inside you just right. You bit down on your lower lip and squeezed your eyes shut as you felt yourself cream around his cock.

After cumming for the third time, you felt your body and mind turn to putty. You let go of your legs and gripped the sheets below you when San suddenly sped up, his cock moving inside you so quickly that he practically started a fire inside you.

As soon as San felt that he was close, he pulled out and got off the bed. One hand stroking his cock rapidly, he held your throat gently with the other and guided you so that you were sitting up. He pressed his fingers into your neck only when you were sitting upright and looking at him with completely open eyes, his tongue diving into your mouth.

You barely got to run your fingers through his hair when San stopped kissing you. His fingers moved from your neck to your mouth, sticking two fingers in your mouth to open it wide for him. Groaning loudly, San's cock twitched, and his cum spurt out to land in and around your mouth. You kept your mouth open until he was completely finished, and when he looked down at you with dazed eyes, you closed your mouth and swallowed the cum that managed to make your mouth.

"You know..." San said as he wiped the remaining cum off your face and pushed his thumb into your mouth so you could lick it clean. "I've always thought your face was really pretty when it was covered in my cum."

"It's a shame that you only came in my mouth then," you replied.

"Did I say I was done with you?"

You looked into San's eyes and saw a glint cross it, then your eyes trailed down to his cock twitching back to life. You shot him a cheeky smirk before he pinned you back down on your bed because he was definitely not done with you that night.

You woke up the next morning expecting San's arms to be around you— he was the clingy type after all— but instead there was a huge space between the two of you in the bed. You were facing away from San, so you had to turn over to see him.

God, he looked so fucking good with his hand behind his head, his bicep flexed and much thicker than the last time you saw him. His soft chest moved up and down slowly as he breathed peacefully in his sleep, and you were simply entranced. You decided to scoot closer to him so you could fit into the empty space by his side.

In the past, you used to fit perfectly into his arms, but something was off this time around. You didn't notice it until you traced faint circles on his bare chest with the tip of your nail, stirring the man from his sleep and making him move away from you.

"Good morning," you said quietly, your heart starting to race anxiously when you saw him get out of bed.

San didn't say anything. He simply reached for his discarded clothes and began dressing himself, only intensifying your anxiety.

After the night you shared, you thought that maybe something sparked between the two of you again, but now with the way he was treating you, you had no idea what to expect, but you knew that it wasn't going to be good for you.

"I hope you know this is a one time thing," San said as he stood at the foot of your bed and buttoned up his shirt.

Yep. Restarting any sort of relationship with him was out of the question.

"What?" you asked with a light laugh and a smile, trying to make it seem like you weren't anxious or fearing the worst at all. "What do you mean?"

"I got a girl at home."

Your blood ran cold. Your eyes went wide, and the smile on your face dropped in record time. You were right in fearing for the worst.

"You... Huh?"

"I got a girlfriend."

You leapt out of your bed and covered yourself with a sheet before berating the man standing before you.

"So last night when you asked about whether or not the friend I was with was my boyfriend, you didn't fucking bother telling me that you have a girlfriend?!"

"Slipped my mind," he said nonchalantly.

You were truthfully at a loss for words. 

"Dammit, San! You— I— What—"

"Just spit it out already."

You glared at him. "You cheated on your girlfriend! You cheated on her with me?! Why would you do that?!"

"My judgment was impaired—"

"Are you saying I took advantage of you? You had one beer—"

"No, I'm not saying I was unaware," he clarified quickly. "I'm just saying that I made a bad choice because the second I saw you, I couldn't help but want you again."

Your heart shouldn't have fluttered, but it did, and it just made you more angry.

"You're an asshole," you bit out.

"Then tell me why you slept with me if you didn't want to?"

San looked at you expectantly, but you couldn't answer him because his reason was the same as yours. He smirked, and you so badly wanted to wipe the smirk off his face.

"You have no right to just— Everything you said last— Why would you— Fuck! You're the one who ended whatever it was between us," you managed to voice at least one of your thoughts, your voice trembling.

"You were the one who didn't want to get serious about us," he pointed out. 

"I was scared! I didn't want things to change between us, and adding a new label to it would've definitely changed things!"

"The second we slept together everything changed! Why the hell did you do it back then?!"

"Fuck that!" you yelled at him. "What about now?! Why'd you sleep with me when you have a girlfriend?!"

"Because I—" San cut himself off. He covered his face with his hands and took a deep breath before admitting, "Because I missed you."

You scoffed. "You missed me? You missed me, so you slept with me, but you're going to go back with her at the end of it all?"

"Why wouldn't I when there's no future with you?"

taglist:

@k-hotchoisan @eyeryis @sinnarols @hwallazia @yunhoszn

@nebulousbookshelf @starryriize @skteezcursed @jaehyunsprincesspeach

@sunshineangel-reads @dutchesskarma @yourlocaljonghoe @st4rhwa @frobin4ever

@sanhwajjong @certifiedmoa @therealcuppicake @yuyubeans @startlinglyoongi

@hyukssunflower @chewyhotteoks @bsehindu @dinossaurz @woomyteez

@isiloiale @ywtfvs @nvdhrzn @khjoongie98 @jaerisdiction

@ninoshome1 @aaa-sia @tiredlittlevirgo @preciouswoozi @woohwababes

@wmewtew @yuyusgirl @exololyunho @everythingboutkpop @bath1lda

@bitejoongie @jen176pink @sousydive @yyaurii @ateez-atiny380

@arabelleum @seeoonghwaa @oddracha @wonuwrites @wyrated

@flwrshwa @wooyoungqueen @luvt0kki @oreoqueen @kiki277

@bakarilennox @aurorajoye @aalisiyahxstar @taz-97 @pixie0627

@jjoongstar @apriecotte @lvrs-street2mmorrow @slyblonder @mingi-s-dimples

@httpseungmxn @jus2passtime @hwxbibi @seomisaho @tunafishyfishylike

@marsstarxhwa @tinyelfperson @slvtiny @hyneyedfiz @ultrapinkvoidbouquet

@tinkerbell460 @demigodmahash @starrymatz @booktoad @k-zuzu

@strss4snghwa @velvetskize @blade064 @lucid-galaxys-world

@onmykneesforateez @fr34k4c1dr41n @kienhawon @straytiny127 @sanhwalvr

@yuminhyunn @bunnythew1tch @wooyoungsbrat @s0shroe @hobarihope

apply for the permanent taglist here!

networks:

@atzhouse @cromernet @cultofdionysusnet

@ksmutsociety @k-vanity @wonderlandnet

[suhkusa]

Your eyes sluggishly open before shutting.

Knock, knock.

If you leave them be they’ll go away.

Knock, knock, knock.

That should be the last one. 

Knock, knock.

Your eyes shoot open. It’s 7 in the morning. On a weekend. Who could possibly have business with you?

You're pushing your hair around while you squint at the mirror on your desk. Good enough.

You then make your way to the door, blindly angry at whoever woke you up in the ass crack of morning.

A messy nest of blonde hair greets you. And then you register the rest of him.

“Y/N,”

Your heart is instantly racing in your chest, and you can feel it through your whole body. You push the door to cover part of your body. 

“Atsumu? What.. what did you need?”

His eyes gaze to the side then back at you. “I’m sorry, Y/N,” and his voice is so genuine, you can feel the hurt.

Your figure relaxes at his voice. Your heart relaxes. Your hand moves the door open, and as if on impulse, your body is against his, in a warm embrace.

You haven’t really talked to him in what feels like forever. But even despite everything that initially drove you away, the only thing that fills your heart is him.

“I’m so sorry,”

“It’s okay,”

He’s pulling away slightly, forcing both of your guys’ eyes to meet. The look in his eyes stabs you in your heart. 

“T-The locker room- it was a bad joke I said to him before we even talked and—”

“It’s okay,”

“Fuck, the gossip twitter, a lie, I promise I’d never,”

“Atsumu—”

“You were never a joke or game or- or mission, I like you, I always have,”

Does he ever shut up?

Before he knows it, and even yourself, your hands grab at his cheeks and crush your lips against his.

It’s bitter when the two of you pull away. “Atsumu, I like you, too. And I’m sorry I never heard you out, you didn’t deserve to be ghosted, I’m sorry,”

“Quit apologizing, Y/N,” he’s finally smiling at you, and your heart swells at the sight.

“Sorry,” 

He’s rolling his eyes before his lips are meeting with yours once again.

Finally.

BOTH AIN’T SH!T (ATSUMU VER.) — SPEAKS VOLUMES

PREV | MASTERLIST | NEXT

NOTES.

kuroo was going to throw a fart bomb in y/n’s room but saved it for another day

atsumu didn’t go to sleep that night

^ he found out osamu talked to y/n and was figuring out how he should talk to her

© all writings belongs to suhkusa 2024. do not repost or change.

[thekatebridgerton]

I need a modern au focused on Eloise being the too independent sibling that has a lot of different jobs because she's trying to find her niche in life, so everyone is used to her frequently disappearing during family functions and just showing up with random plus ones half an hour later because nobody pays much attention to her doings until she starts introducing everyone.

--

" And where did you find this girl again?"

" This is Penelope, her mother was telling she's ugly in a Walmart parking lot, so I asked if she wanted to come to my brother's highschool graduation party and here we are, Penelope, this is Colin"

" Hi Colin, sorry about knocking you off your feet"

" it's okay, I have a feeling we're going to be very good friends"

----

" Eloise why is this guy here?"

" Simon? Oh I found him crying over a breakup in a frat party on campus, couldn't exactly leave him there!, I know I forgot it was your turn to host the Family Thanksgiving potluck Daphne, but I'll make it up to you on Christmas, anyway I'm going to the kitchen to help sober him up, can you believe some girl was fake dating him and got mad when he said he didn't want kids? Ugh, breakups am I right?"

" Hi Daph... Ummm about that fake dating business..."

---

" why is our maid your plus one Eloise?"

" hey, this maid is my new best friend now, since Colin stole Penelope already, she's never been to a wedding before and she's consoling me in my grief"

" Im Benedict"

" Sophie"

" Hey didn't I dance with you at my mother's masquerade last year?"

----

" You brought who to Anthony's man of the year award?"

" The Stirlings, oh it's not what your thinking Francesca!, they're total gentlemen, Michael here was telling me about his days in the army and John is an excellent poet"

" they're male escorts Eloise!!"

" And I'm not paying them, they just came with for the vibes!!"

"Anthony won't believe that, and you better go greet him before he finds out...you two sirs, come with me"

" of course beautiful, I'm Michael"

" A pleasure to be led away by you Miss, I'm John"

-------

" this time, this is the day our brother does kill you"

" How am I the bad guy? I just stopped a good work friend from going back to India by inviting her to our family annual pall mall game! How was I supposed to know she was the sister of Anthony's current victim"

" the word is Fiancee and that sister is the reason there will be no Anthony Edwina wedding"

" And I'm just finding out now? Why does nobody tell me anything in this family!! I've known Kate longer than him"

-------

" please tell me this guy isn't another one of your friends, please tell me that for once in your life you brought an actual date to a family event Eloise"

" Actually yes... Phillip this is my brother Anthony, Anthony this is Phillip, boyfriend turned future husband, I'm marrying him in the summer, we thought it would be nice to announce it during the Bridgerton Christmas family reunion, also here are Oliver and Amanda my new step kids"

" Nice to meet you um Anthony, I ah, didn't know Eloise hadn't told you we were dating"

" MOTHEEEEEER ELOISE BROUGHT ANOTHER STRAY HOME!"

----

An: I would love to see something like this because it would be hilarious

[yunniestars]

peach mango pie 🥧

pairing: kinich x chef!reader tags: fluff, kinich is a bit grumpy here but we cool, based off that one tiktok i saw around 4 months ago but i forgot where it is now, implied insomnia, not proofread (i think i've never proofread my works help), the title is based on what i wanted to cook for a while already and i did (i'm actually eating it right now)

as a hunter, kinich usually suffices with just meat and berries he caught in the wild. he doesn't care about the quality as long as it is edible and it fills up his stomach (not too much though to avoid feeling too full). ajaw has complained multiple times about this but kinich reprimands him that they can't just slack off during a commission to cook a 5-course meal, much to the dragonlord's rage.

which is why when he met you, ajaw was ecstatic. you would always give so much treats to the point kinich reprimands you to not spoil ajaw too much.

jokes on him, though, kinich is guilty of being spoiled too. you always make sure he eats 3 meals a day while also checking if the food won't be a hindrance to him when he goes out for commissions. nevertheless, though, kinich is super grateful for your kindness.

so whenever kinich comes home after a long day, he would always await for whatever meal you had prepped up for dinner and hug you tiredly. in exchange, he does the dishes so you won't have to carry the burden of cooking the meals and doing the dishes.

kinich is thankful, he really is, but there's just one thing that concerns him.

୨୧

it's 3 am and kinich woke up from a bad dream. it was you leaving him for some fontaine boy, without even telling him the reason of why you broke up with him.

he was looking for your presence, about to panic because you weren't there, but then he started to smell something from the kitchen.

"oh god not again."

he immediately gets up and the moment he steps out the door, he sees you holding a tray of red velvet cookies. not only that, but he spots another tray which seems to be bagels stuffed with hotdogs.

you turn to see him looking at you with an expression that only you know that means "disbelief". he looks nonchalant, but really he's just ??? about why you're baking at 3 am AGAIN.

"good morning," you smile and take a bite off a cookie.

"why are you cooking at 3 am again? can't sleep?" he approaches you with slight worry. he's concerned about how you'd suddenly wake up at ungodly hours in the evening just to bake.

"mhm," you nod and let him embrace you. "and i was craving for the bagels we ate last week."

kinich sighs while ruffling your hair. "you couldn't wait till morning?"

"i felt the wayob telling me to do it now."

he chuckles and caresses your face, wiping the velvet crumbs off your face. "you probably misheard the wayob. you need to sleep, love."

you sigh and rest your head on his neck. "not tired..."

as you say that, kinich rolls his eyes because every time you say that, he ends up carrying you back to the bedroom while you sleep. which was what was happening right now, before he could even get the chance to tell you about it.

he sets your body gently on the bed, caressing your sleepy face and admiring how peaceful you look despite of the amount of desserts you baked just now.

kinich then sighs. that's another thing he has to worry about. where is he supposed to store the newly baked desserts when there's still 5 boxes from last time?

well, he'll just clean up for now and struggle it alone. what matters is that you're getting the amount of sleep you deserve right now.

"sleep well, my dearest."

[ written with love, yunniestars. ෆ ]

a/n: rahhh thanks for reading!! im really thankful for each time u guys read my work, it gives me lot of motiv hehe. one question though, how do u guys think kinich will say "love"? like the equivalent of "mon coeur?

[whalesforhands]

small drabble of mc tagging on a mission w megumi?? is megumi still a mamas boy even in his first year or does he treat mc js like he treats satoru and suguru?

YIPPEE I HAVENT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE SMTHG LIKE THIS IN A BIT

“Did you all bring your bags? Do you need lunch? Oh, please keep the Jujutsu Tech uniforms on at all times, it’s supposed to be made out of special material resistant against—“

“Maaaa! We know!” Nanako’s pouting at you, flicking a strand of her blonde hair back as she huffs, trying to fix her bangs as the charms upon her smartphone jingle. “We’re not kids anymore!”

“But you’ll always be my children.” Your arms hug all of them impossibly tighter, squeezing around your teenaged children that you swore were barely up to your waist only just a while back…

Yet, they all shot up, with towering heights and healthy physiques paired with the vitality only spry young teenagers could have.

(You have to give yourself credit for raising them so well. Was it Suguru’s cooking that made them grow up so fast?)

“It’s not that big of a deal.” Megumi’s clearly embarrassed, eyebrows furrowed, and averting gaze despite the reddened tips of his ears as he lets you squeeze him and his sisters to your chest. “We’re gonna be fine.”

(He’s so glad that you’re doing this at home and not out in public…)

“It may be our first mission, but we’ve followed Papa and Dad long enough…” Mimiko’s voice is always soft, collected. Always trailing upon the same tone even when you finally let go to let her breathe properly once more, even when you pat down stray strands of her hair— And ruffle it again out of nervousness.

(Teenagers are so hard to figure out. How are they so calm? It’s their first mission!)

“It’s different from the ones you follow your fathers on, kids.” You’re sighing again as you recall the report sheet of the site, hand subconsciously rubbing and messing with someone’s hair as Nanako’s squeaks of complaints fall on deaf ears.

“How about this one?” Gojo Satoru has you on his lap, a hand on the small of your back and the other dangling another sheet of paper before your tired eyes, letting you scan through the nth Curse sighting— Of Grade 3 and below only, of course. “Not too difficult, piece of cake fodder, ya know?”

“Disappearances of 2 kids, Satoru. It might be easy to you, so I’ll take this mission on instead—“

“Ah, ah.” He tuts you, a waggling finger placed upon your lips and hushing you. “No refuting me! We had an agreement that if ya disagreed by the 5th one, I get full control.” His smile makes you uneasy as your bet dawns upon you.

“Plus, dear,” He brings you close, his whisper in your ear doing its best to try and soothe your still panicked state despite the blindfold upon his face. “There’s nothing to worry about if I’m the one chaperoning!”

(“…that’s the part I’m worried about.”

“Hmph! Have you no faith in your strongest husband? I’ll have you know that I have been chaperoning tons of these kids! And with only mild complaints and near death experiences—“ You let him trail off, patting his cheek as he continues on, and on and on— Until you briefly kiss him to stop him in his tracks, lest he went on a tangent about… Washing machines?)

They grow up so fast. You could swear it was only moments ago when you had a Megumi that needed help tying his shoes, a Nanako who always begged both yourself and your husbands to sit down for a makeover, a Mimiko who trailed after you wherever you went— And a Tsumiki who never wanted to let go of your hand.

Time really flies when you’re standing at the genkan, nervously fretting over their bags, giving their Jujutsu Tech uniforms several once overs, and watching your front door open as they slowly start to leave.

“We’ll be back for dinner, if you’re so worried.” Megumi’s quiet, almost muttering under his breath as he grumbles about his assurance to you, blue eyes averted away out of shy bashfulness.

“Gumi’s got a point, Mama! We’re gonna be back in one piece in no time! It’s a 3v1 sesh’ afterall!”

“Mhm.”

Ah, your kids really have grown up.

nvy’s aftertalk:

no i’m not back yet and my tests are in the following weeks so i’ve been studying like a madman hehe. (i hope whichever professor started the trend of surprise quizzes with weightages every week is only ever able to find one sock)

to all of u affected by the hurricane, stay safe!!!!

[ryuichirou]

how would the TWST boys react if they were chosen by the cat distribution system and a stray cat choose them to be its cat dad?

Today I decided that it’s time to write about something delightful lol I keep smiling every time I remember that we have this ask in our askbox… Thank you for waiting, Anon! I’m sorry it took this long.

Maaaybe I’ll write more hc posts next week… I try to write at least two per week, but there are so many good prompts that I should probably try to do more.

Anyways! Once again my bias is clear because I am a poor soul that loves cats but doesn’t own one, so spoiler alert: all the boys end up loving cats as well lol But I think it’s fair… How does one not like cats? Don’t ask Ciel.

Riddle – his first instinct is to refuse poor cat’s attempts to hang out because his mother never let him own a cat: they claw furniture, they bite, and Riddle has allergies! Or… he thought he did. He didn’t get any reaction from the cat, so maybe that was a lie?? Anyways, he would melt almost immediately because a fluffy creature wanting to be his friend is something that Riddle always wished for. He loves animals and taking care of them, so there is no way he is letting go of that cat! Of course he has to get used to it because a cat would never follow any rules, and sometimes it would get frustrating for Riddle, but… whenever a cat wants to play with him or cuddle with him, Riddle giggles like the happiest kid in the world. No one is allowed to pet his cat without his permission.

Ace – he will brag about it a lot. He’ll take the cat everywhere and always have it either on his lap or on his shoulders. He’ll always talk about just how much the cat purrs for him and him only, and how cool of a person he is because the cat clearly chose him specifically to be his owner. The cat really does like him a lot, but it doesn��t mean that Ace doesn’t get scratched or bitten all the time lol Also, at some point it will become the freshmen’s cat that everyone takes care of a little, and Ace would start to constantly remind everyone that this is in fact HIS cat!

Deuce – aw, he would probably be a little awkward at first. He strikes me as someone who is more of a dog person and doesn’t have much experience with cats… He would be very careful around it, as if he isn’t just afraid to hurt the cat, he doesn’t even want to offend it somehow. Of course he would swear that he’ll take care of the cat and be very responsible about it! But it will take a while for him to take it inside the dorm; he’ll just feed it and hang out with it outside at first… until the weather gets too cold.

Trey – he would have this “why me though?” vibe to his reaction, but he would still be kind of happy. Maybe he shouldn’t have fed it, now it follows him around everywhere… Trey says that this isn’t really his cat, but keeps taking care of it anyway. He never expected to be this delighted to have a cat. He would get much more into it than he expected, to be honest. He’ll probably feed it with home-made treats and give it toys that he made himself…

Cater – OF COURSE he’ll start taking selfies with this cat. OF COURSE. After some time he might even make a separate account for the cat, to see if it would surpass his follower count. Other than that, he would cuddle the cat a lot, talk to it, play with it, dress it up all cutely and meme-y. I think it would be very good for Cater to own a cat… He needs to learn how to take care of it properly though, so some assistance might be necessary lol

Leona – would he even care? Maybe a little bit, but he would act like he doesn’t care at all. He doesn’t even know who the fuck this cat is, it just appeared suddenly and now lives in his room. It can stay or leave, doesn’t make any difference to Leona. In actuality though, on some level he does appreciate the companionship of another cat sleeping next to him or on top of him and grooming his ears. But only when no one sees it or comments on it. He could chat with the cat btw, but he just doesn’t – for the most time they hang out in silence.

Ruggie – another cat to take care of?? And also, another mouth to feed?? Well that can’t be helped, it’s not like he is going to throw the poor thing away. I think he will manage to train it to do all kinds of tricks, like stealing stuff from others’ pockets or sneaking things away for Ruggie… the cat will be his partner in crime lol He would also probably have conversations with it, since it’s easier for him to talk to animals.

Jack – not only a dog-person, but also literally a dog, so he might have a hard time at first understanding that cat’s behavior. He is probably going to act like he isn’t interested at first, but jokes on him, because this only makes the cat more into him. He will literally sit all alone, radiating “don’t talk to me” aura, and the cat would think that this is exactly where it wants to sit – on Jack’s lap. Even though Jack is a tsundere, he is going to warm up eventually… and even while he is in his denial phase, he will take care of the cat by keeping it fed and letting it inside when it’s cold. Speaking of cold, Jack is very warm, so the cat loves him a lot…

Azul – “I don’t have time for this” at first, with all the reasons why having a cat is a bad idea popping up in his head at once. Similarly to Riddle’s mom’s mantra: it ruins furniture, it causes allergies, it sheds, it doesn’t behave… but he would also break very quickly, probably the moment the cat starts rubbing against his leg or purring at him. Azul would probably make quite a drastic 180 degree turn and enter his “a cartoon villain with a cat on his lap that he pets menacingly” phase by the end of his first day with the said cat. It feels good. It feels correct to pet a fluffy purring creature while you’re humiliating someone who is indebted to you. Also, of course he is going to treat the cat like royalty and get it all the best things… and also train it like a dog at the same time.

Floyd – people would think that he isn’t responsible enough to own a pet, but actually a cat would probably be the best pick for him. At first he would get all excited because this little buddy just suddenly decided to hang out with him. Floyd would just suddenly start appearing everywhere with a cat on his shoulder like he is a pirate or something. But then both the cat and Floyd would lose interest in each other, until they meet again and decide that they want to hang out again lol But while Floyd and cat are together, he takes it everywhere, plays with it a lot, races with it, cuddles it, smooches it, throws it in the air and catches it. Some of Floyd’s games aren’t the best for the cat, so Floyd ends up getting scratched and hissed at quite often, but for some reason the cat still adores him enough to let him do anything with it, even hold it upside-down.

Jade – it’s easy to picture him being a cat-lover because of the Sebastian parallels lol I think he would really enjoy owning a cat, and he would make it everyone else’s problem. Just like Floyd, he would walk around with a cat on his shoulders, but he would always mention it: please don’t mind my cat, he just loves me very much. I hope you are not bothered by my cat’s presence, he won’t bother us, I swear. Also, I think because Jade would actually try to properly take care of the cat, he would encounter some unpredictable issues, like a cat refusing to eat certain cat food or eating something it’s not supposed to eat. Jade would have a couple of moments that would make him fuss over it and even though he wouldn’t enjoy it… he likes the unpredictability. Keep chewing on random things, cat! But not too much, please.

Kalim – he would be so happy and excited!! It’s like making a friend, but a new kind of friend, a very fluffy one! Kalim is probably way too cuddly for the cat’s liking, so sometimes he would get confused by it running away from him. He just wants the cat to be happy… he would buy 5 cat towers, 30 toys and a bunch of cool accessories for the cat during the very first day of owning it (then he’ll buy more)! And 10 beds, so the cat could pick whichever it likes most (it sleeps in Kalim’s bed of course)!! And of course he will ask Jamil to learn how to cook delicious meals for the cat. He would try to feed the cat his own food first, but of course would stop once he learns that the cat shouldn’t eat spicy food…

Jamil – another one who would think that he doesn’t have time or energy to take care of another thing at first, but would warm up very quickly. He would tsundere up a bit when Kalim says that he is happy that Jamil has a little fluffy friend now, but after a while he will realise that Kalim is kind of right… a cat is even better than a friend. Hanging out with it doesn’t take as much energy, in fact, Jamil feels very energised after petting it and playing with it. Wow… a cat would do wonders to Jamil’s psyche…! He would both cuddle with it and let it sleep in his bed at night, and play a lot of active games with it whenever he has time for it.

Vil – despite how busy he always is, I think he would accept the cat immediately. The cat clearly chose him – it’s only fair that it’s Vil’s responsibility to take care of it now… I don’t think Vil has a lot of experience with cats, but he would read a lot of books and articles to make sure that the cat lives a good life in his dorm. He wouldn’t be as excessive as Kalim, but… he might have gotten carried away with the stuff that he got for the cat. But all of it is very necessary! The best cat food (he’ll ditch it after a while and start cooking for the cat himself), the best sleeping place, the best toys to make sure that the cat is active and healthy. He will also bathe it, brush its fur every day, trim its nails… Vil’s cat is going to be such a wonderfully groomed cat that knows all kinds of tricks and is very smart and well-behaved… but also Vil’s capricious baby that hates everyone other than him lol

Rook – oh, he wouldn’t consider himself an owner, he would always say that he is a companion to his cat lol He wouldn’t get surprised when the cat suddenly starts to follow him around, but he would act so flattered and honoured! Such a beautiful creature decided to illuminate his life with its presence. Rook is pretty good at talking to animals, so he would have conversations with his cat… While sitting in a tree together lol He would feed it of course, but he would also hunt with it and would prefer for it to catch its own prey. He also doesn’t want to trim its nails or groom it more than necessary, but alas, if it wants to live in Pomefiore with him, it has to follow Vil’s rules~ Rook wouldn’t want to anger the queen with an ill-behaved and dirty cat, right? Maybe he would prefer to keep the cat outside though, to keep it as undomesticated as possible. A weirdo…

Epel – he would be so happy! It’s been a while since he owned a pet, and this is the first time he has a cat. He would pet and cuddle it a lot, even if it’s still dirty… Of course, his first instinct would be to feed it and to bring it to his room. But he would also probably be anxious to bring it to the dorm: what if Vil sees it and takes it away… and even if Vil doesn’t see it, Rook is definitely going to notice the cat smell or something, and he will snitch on him! Anyways, he won’t be able to keep it a secret for a long time, but the cat will do some damage lol Surprisingly, Epel will only get scolded for not being a proper owner, so as long as he does better, the cat can stay. But it probably means that his senpai will start taking care of the cat as well. Epel will be a bit jealous, it’s his cat after all…

Idia – he’d die. He’d be so happy. A cat that doesn’t hate him? A cat that wants to hang out? A cat that FOLLOWS HIM TO HIS ROOM AND STAYS THERE? HIS CAT? Idia would feel like he spent all of his luck points that he had saved up for these 18 years. Or was it good karma? Anyways, Idia now spends all his time building cat towers and automatic feeders and toys and all kinds of gadgets for his cool new cat. At first he wouldn’t be as good at talking to a cat, and it would be very obvious that he is a bit worried when he pets it and doesn’t want to scare it away, but he’ll start cuddling with it pretty quickly. He’s so happy… It doesn’t feel real, it doesn’t feel real at all. Even when he gets used to the cat and stops being so awkward around it, he will still feel such huge wave of happiness every time he sees it, as if every time he sees it is the first time…

Ortho – this is the first time he has a fluffy friend, well, other than Grim of course! And Lucius isn’t very friendly with him either, so this is a pretty new experience! Of course, partially he would be excited because if he owns a cat, it’s Idia’s cat as well, and he knows how much Idia loves cats. But also, this is such a good opportunity to make a proper cat-to-human translator!.. It’s weird with Ortho. He has all the info he needs, and he is very good at some things, but somehow… petting and interacting with a cat is a bit difficult. Why doesn’t kitty want to eat this food? Why did it pee in the wrong place? What’s going on? I think he’ll end up asking Trein for advice a lot, and this will be a good experience for everyone involved. Also, his cat loves him more when his processor gets hot lol he is a walking heater.

Lilia – he would be happy at first and show off and brag because now he isn’t just cute, he’s double cute! With a cute cat on his head/shoulders! But at the same time, I don’t know if he is the best person to have a cat. I feel like he is one of those who try to feed it with milk, but also knowing Lilia, he literally makes those he cares for drink milk from a mug. Maybe he’d act differently with a cat, but it surely will be an adventure for this poor animal lol He plays with it similarly to how Floyd plays with his cat, and just like with Floyd, somehow it makes the cat very attached to him. Sometimes Lilia cuddles it and kisses it a lot, but a lot of times it’s the cat that gets clingy with Lilia and wants to sleep with its head on his shoulder. Acting like a baby, smh…

Silver – aw, he would be so good. Similarly to Rook, he would consider a cat to be a companion, but he would also try to be very responsible with his he takes care of it. He would take it to Diasomnia and let it sleep in his bed, wouldn’t do much grooming or brushing, but he would do his best in terms of playing with it and feeding it well, I think. Especially the latter lol But the majority of time the cat would just cuddle up and sleep with him whenever he’s dozing off.

Sebek – he has better things to do than to indulge in these games!! He says as he brings the cat home with a bunch of books with all the necessary information on how to take care of a cat!! Did he also fall victim of cute paws and purring? Maybe! But it won’t affect his performance as Malleus’ guard in a slightest! I think he will try to train the cat, and he might even succeed to some degree, but his cat won’t be as well-trained as Vil’s or Azul’s. Maybe the cat just doesn’t take him seriously and just wants to make biscuits on his stomach while sleeping on his lap… Sebek would seethe, but won’t move until the cat leaves :(

Malleus – the cat isn’t afraid of him? Oh he would be so delighted. He was very happy about the goat in the Glorious Masquerade event, and I think his reaction would be similar here: first amusement, a little surprise, but then he would get so tickled and excited for this new companionship. The cat would be allowed to seemingly disrespect Malleus by positioning itself on his horns, leaving fur on his garment, playing with his hair, and Malleus would laugh… until the cat scratches him. Then Malleus would start sulking. But he’ll get over it, he’s not a baby.

[dekusheroacademia]

I love how much of the Togachako chapters and ending of Ochako in MHA mimic the first ever yuri manga published.

I have been on a shojo kick and tried to read all manga that kickstarted GL and BL, and especially the Year 24 group authors (go read Moto Hagio... her work is wild). Among the Year 24, the author Yamagishi Ryouko who wrote the first yuri manga: "Shiroi Heya no Futari".

This post will have full spoilers for this manga!

The manga follows the story of Resine, a very sweet girl who is also very naive, and her new roommate Simone, who is a rebel, often laughs and can be kind of mean. Simone is much more open with her feelings, she loves freely as well and she soon falls in love with Resine and declares her love openly.

Resine tries to forget about Simone by dating Rounaud but he is not what she really wants.

Resine is not ready to accepts Simone's love - not because she does not love her back, but because she is afraid of the rumors around them, basically of society's reaction. She decides to leave the school.

Later she finds out Simone has been killed and she laments that she was at fault for it - because Simone was killed after goading a man, telling this man that she was in love with someone else when he tried to flirt with her. Simone is stabbed to death and dies because of blood loss, smiling and thinking of Resine:

The end of the manga sees Resine reading a poem Simone wrote about her and for her, and she decides to love Simone for the rest of her life and never love again, always mourning Simone.

The ending sets the scene with Resine alone on a cliff/in the forest, crying about Simone while Rounaud (the man Resine tried to fall in love with to avoid being queer) runs towards her to console her.

This is just like Deku reaching for Ochako while Ochako is mourning. We can see Resine and Ochako both curling over each other's in pain, to cry about Toga-Simone.

Their regret is also similiar, it is not only pain but guilt. Both Resine and Ochako think their loved one died because of them.

I thought the similarities were quite a lot. Maybe it is by chance, maybe it is just because of how influencial the first yuri was in determining the standards of many subsequient GL work, but it is still interesting.

Resine and Ochako are both positive girls, naive girls experiencing love for the first time. Both try to fall in love/fall in love with a boy (Deku, in the case of MHA) which is the socially acceptable choice for them, the choice that society would not mock or shame.

Both characters are put in contrast with another (Simone and Toga) who is open with her feelings. She is not afraid of acting freely, she wants to be free and she keeps her freedom even if that leads her to her death. The "teaching" experience is the same for both Simone and Ochako: live freely, declare what you love without shame.

Many expected that this meant Ochako would declare her feelings towards Deku, and instead Horikoshi uses this lesson to allow Ochako to mourn for Toga and to feel pain.

In both manga, Ochako and Resine end up living for Toga and Simone. Resine declares that she will always love and mourn Simone, while we see Ochako dedicating her life to never allow someone to be abandoned by society like Toga was:

[rozaceous]

tcba epilogue, hakumari snippet

i love sasuke but he's given no quarter here, i'm so sorry lmao

Sasuke comes to claim his daughter, rolls his eyes at them after reassuring them that the other two girls are kept busy and won’t be running out to bother them, and wanders back towards the house, leaving Haku with Mariko on the dock of the pond.

Haku has never disliked Sasuke, but the past several years have given him a distinct appreciation for the man, and they’ve become something like friends. Things like this just cement Haku’s judgment.

Even if he had been enjoying holding a sleeping Ayase.

Mariko notices, naturally.

“She’ll be awake again in a couple hours and screaming for food, and will be appropriately cuddly after,” she says, grinning.

Haku clears his throat. “I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“What impose?” Mariko returns with an unconcerned flap of her hand. She leans back against him until she’s fully reclined, one knee bent and her head rested on his thigh, looking up at him. “You’re welcome here, if that wasn’t clear, and Sasuke might like holding babies more than anyone else I’ve ever met, but it’s not like getting a break from doing so for a few days is a hardship.” Her eyes narrow, though her easy smile doesn’t fade. “Didn’t know you liked holding babies so much, though.”

Haku tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, huffing a laugh. “They have universal charm, I should think. Also, they’re yours, how could I dislike them?”

“Easier than you might think,” she says wryly. She looks at him more deeply, gaze gone assessing, but the moment is so utterly without tension that Haku doesn’t think anything of it until she continues, “Asking super bluntly and kinda out of nowhere, so feel free to take your time answering, but are children something you want?”

The hand he’d had resting on her ribs goes momentarily tense before he catches himself. He’s not sure how he’s meant to take such a question.

“Are you—Mariko? What are you saying?”

“Do you want kids? A kid. With me.”

“With—” Haku doesn’t know how to properly consider the concept. “You have a family, Mariko,” he says slowly, carefully. “You and Sasuke.”

“Sasuke is my family and we have children together,” she agrees. “But I love you and am probably going to keep loving you for the rest of my life, and we have a relationship together, and if you want that relationship to include children, it can. At least, as far as I’m concerned.”

From the way her eyes dart momentarily to the side, Haku interprets the ‘as far as I’m concerned’ as her personal insecurity regarding whatever reservations he might hypothetically have to having children together, rather than Sasuke taking issue. Still, to be clear—

“Is this something you’ve discussed with Sasuke?”

Mariko makes a half-scowl. “Sasuke gets to tell me what to do with my uterus approximately never. I do whatever I want and he can fucking bite me if he doesn’t like it.” But her sudden vitriol subsides immediately. “That’s to say, no, we haven’t talked about it, because I haven’t given it much serious thought before now, but I really don’t think he’d mind. We’re already so deviated from the norm, what’s one more thing? Plus, he’d get to hold more babies, I really don’t think he’d care if the baby was his? Or we wouldn’t have Yasumi.”

‘Deviated from the norm’ is correct; Haku hasn’t forgotten the apparently spontaneous adoption of Sasuke and Mariko’s first child, as at the time it’d felt like taking a lightning jutsu to his worldview, which had categorized the pair as deeply entwined but not at all romantic. Their subsequent genetic children of Kouka and Ayase was a further, though expected, blow to that view, but Haku had—resigned himself isn’t the right phrasing. His relationship with Mariko has always been fraught in some way or another; they were never going to be able to have a straightforward romance ending in marriage and a shared household. Haku has, thus, always been determined to make the most of what he does have with Mariko. He’s not interested in others; his interest is singular, and he can’t imagine anyone else commanding that interest to the same degree. His and Mariko’s circumstances and choices have simply precluded them from consistent closeness.

But this is—Haku has taken Sasuke as a particularly unjealous lover all this time. Yet surely no lover is so unjealous as to welcome another man’s children? But then why does Mariko seem so confident in her assessment?

Moreover, while Haku agrees that Mariko is the only person to determine her own actions and bodily autonomy—and woe betide the person who thought to tell her otherwise, indeed—it’s one thing to say that she does as she pleases, and another to willfully and incontrovertibly upset the dynamic of an established family and partnership.

And there are so many other considerations. Where would the child grow up? Haku has a hard time leaving Mist even for these few weeks, but the new, sudden thought of being estranged from his own child is less tolerable than even the distance between he and Mariko. But would he really have them raised in Mist, and become shinobi, part of the very system Mariko has worked to eradicate? And would he want to chance passing down his bloodline when he’s the last holder of the Ice Release? Could he put that burden on a child? Certainly, too, they wouldn’t have the Yuki name since he’d never taken it up himself, but it’s almost comically ridiculous to imagine a child of his bearing the name Uchiha. Yet how could they have a sense of ancestry and belonging without it?

Mariko presses a finger between his eyebrows; he realizes he’s started to frown.

“Not that you shouldn’t think hard about it,” she says gently, “but there’s no rush. Take your time. We’ll figure it out, however and whatever we want.”

The rush of affection he feels in response isn’t surprising, just an affirmation of his choices. Haku clasps her hand.

Mariko turns more humorous, her usual method of lightening a too-heavy mood. “I’m not doing another pregnancy for another year at earliest. Probably two or three years would be better, since I actually think I had Kouka and Ayase too close together. Like, between iryouninjutsu and basically turkey basting myself, physically I’ve done fantastic with such a short turnaround, but another baby too soon is too many babies being babies or toddlers at the same time and I do not have the stamina—”

She continues in this vein for another minute or so before Haku voices a lingering point of confusion.

“Turkey basted yourself?”

Mariko freezes. “Um. So like, I’m fine with you knowing, but maybe don’t say anything to anyone else, but, uh. Sasuke and I didn’t conceive Kouka and Ayase in the, uh, usual manner.”

Haku thinks forebodingly of her senpai’s history with human experimentation. “Mariko—”

“I just mean we didn’t have sex!” she blurts out in a panic, no doubt correctly reading whatever is in his expression. “It’s not anything freaky like I can tell you’re thinking! I worded that so bad, I’m sorry!”

Haku blinks. “You…didn’t have sex?”

Mariko gives him a put-upon look. He mercilessly waits for an answer.

“He ejaculated into a cup and I shoved the semen up my vag,” she says bluntly. “I knew I was ovulating so the egg fertilized both times, no need for a redo, but yeah. No sex.”

He tries to wrap his mind around this information. “Were you…having difficulty conceiving?”

He can’t really believe that’s the case. Mariko has enough skill as an iryouninja, and enough know-how, to facilitate a pregnancy without resorting to—this.

Mariko’s eyes narrow, then widen. “Haku,” she says, in the tone of someone who’s about to forcibly shift another’s paradigms, “Sasuke and I don’t have sex. At all. I’m sorry I let you assume otherwise, but it never seemed like it mattered to you? And everyone thinks we’re having sex, and we just never bother to correct them because it’s not anyone else’s business what we do or don’t do, and so I don’t even think to correct anyone. But I should’ve—” she clears her throat “—I should’ve told you. Explicitly. Before now. I’m really sorry. I honestly thought you didn’t care, but I guess that sounds like a poor excuse now that I’m saying it out loud.”

Haku looks down at their joined hands, which Mariko’s lightly squeezed. He thinks his entire brain has slowed. He feels rather like he did the time that he stayed awake for three days straight following a mudslide two years ago, too direly needed during the emergency to have time to sleep until he’d gotten so dazed that his sentences had ceased to cohere.

“You’ve never had sex with Sasuke?” he asks, slow, because even in interrogative form the words don’t seem right.

Mariko bites her lip. Haku stares.

“You can never tell,” she says finally, intensely. “Ever. You can’t even let on that you might suspect. But I haven’t said anything this whole time and now that I have the opportunity to tell someone, I think I’m going to explode if I don’t, holy shit. So.” Mariko’s eyes shift around, and Haku even feels the brush of jutsu as she ascertains that no one is within listening distance. “Look, in general, Sasuke’s feelings about sex can be summed up as ‘gross’ and ‘for other people,’ but it’s not like he doesn’t know that we’ve had sex. And if Sasuke was curious enough to give it a go, I was hardly going to say no, I love the guy and my eyes work, okay? So the one time Sasuke and I tried to have sex—well, I already used the word tried. Please understand what I’m saying.”

[pedrilcvr]

heyy!! i love your writing it’s actually so good! i was wondering if you could write something for marc bernal? maybe about like how he is in a relationship like if he’s touchy and stuff like that. only if ur okay with it ofc. tyssmmmm 🫶🫶🫶🫶

Second nature — Marc Bernal.

Pairing: Marc Bernal x Fem!Reader

Summary: Your boyfriend seems love having contact with you whenever possible, and you love it that way.

Disclaimer/s: Just fluff

A/N: idk if i really followed this req sorry… also does anyone know why links aren’t working its pmo

You were in the process of making hot coco for your friends. Ripping packages and reheating the kettle, repeating the process over and over again. It was your annual pre-Halloween movie marathon you did every year with them, but this time there was a change.

All your friends had significant others this year, so you’d all decided to bring them along. Marc was hesitant at first. He’d met your friends but never hung out with them for long periods of time. It took a bit of convincing, but he finally agreed to come.

Right now, he stood a few feet away, watching you patiently make the drinks. His hands clasped together behind his back so he wouldn’t touch you. You were in the zone, no need for distractions.

But God you looked so hug-able. His lips twitched into an endearing smile as he watched your face distort into annoyance when some powder landed on the table top.

Swiping it into your hand, you carefully dump it back into the mug and stir. “Okay! Finished.” You smile, handing him his cup.

Marc, grateful you were done, instantly loops his arm around your shoulders. He carefully holds onto his coffee cup, while you two make your way back to the living room.

“Are we starting off with a franchise again?” You ask, taking one of the two empty spots on the couch, patting the seat beside you tell Marc to sit down as well.

He does so, setting his mug on the side table, along with yours shortly after so they’d cool down. One of your friend’s nods. “Yeah, we’re starting with Scream.”

“My favorite.” You grin, pulling a pumpkin blanket over to cover you and your boyfriend. Marc leans down, taking your legs in his arm and pull them onto his lap.

You smile at the movement, feeling how his other arm pulled you closer, your head resting on his shoulder. Marc had always been outwardly affectionate. He liked to keep you near, always. It was something that had surprised you at first since he was more reserved personality wise.

As the movie starts, you feel his hand playing with the ends of one of your braids, the other tracing slow circles on your thigh. You smile, glancing up at him and he meets your eyes, mirroring your expression.

His hand leaves your thigh to cup your face, bringing it closer to him as he presses a kiss to your temple. Another tender act of affection you loved so dearly.

As he pulls away, going back to tracing circles, you feel certain you will never find someone as perfect as him, and you never wanted to.

DTS , @halfwayhearted @spidybaby !

[lookingfts]

You know how you always find it strange that your ‘little insignificant’ plot bunnies are the ones that get traction….well here I am on the soulmarks AU still losing my mind. Like LOSING IT.

I love soulmarks, antematter converted me with bloom, which is astoundingly beautiful, and my attraction is that they’re so sweet and heartwarming and tender - but now you’ve completely transformed them for me. The idea of Anthony being feral over her mark, the possessiveness, his and Kate teasing him with it. You’ve changed the game. I can’t stop thinking about it.

Once again, you nailed it!!!!

Hahaha it's so true. I clearly have no idea what people will be into, because I can't tell you how many times I've been like "this is random but whatever I already wrote it" and then people are into it and have all these headcanons for it. It's so fun.

Antematter is the soulmark queen! I also really like The Universe Laughs At Anthony Bridgerton by TeaBrigadier.

Don't want to be pushy since you said you didn't intend to expand on the drabble but Mark sounds like it would be such a sweet and spicy story. (I want to see the dude try it with "close enough" 👀)

Well I wasn't planning to write any more because I wasn't thinking there would be a lot of plot/drama. (Not that you can't have those things with soulmate fics...I just didn't envision this fic that way.) But if everyone would be down for a one-shot where they're just really horny and in love and there's no angst, I'll consider writing it.

Your soulmark AU is one of the best I’ve ever read, truly. And I love that we got just a snippet of them together at the end, idk, it just really works in this. I enjoy when you expand your AUs with headcanons though, do you have any in particular for this one?

Thank you so much! I think we've tackled a lot already (you can go through the "for you i am fragile" tag if you missed any posts). Here's a few more:

Kate likes to bite Anthony's shoulder during sex, right where his mark is.

They fudge the details of how they met (a common theme in my fics, I'm realizing) and then Ben blows it by accidentally letting something slip from that night and his family is like what???

Anthony didn't want to meet his soulmate because he blamed the soulmate connection for why Violet was catatonic after Edmund's death. So he never actively searched for her. But when Ben called to say he found Anthony's soulmate and was going to sleep with her, it just didn't sit well with him, so he went not really intending to do anything but know who she was and cockblock Ben. And then they saw each other and it was pretty much all over from there. But it does still scare him, feeling so much for someone and potentially leaving either of them in that kind of grief.

I think this is true across most AUs: Kate always thought she would hate having a guy stuck to her like glue, but she loves it with Anthony. Neither of them truly understood what having a soulmate would feel like. They quite literally can't get enough of each other.

Kate's Amma and Appa were soulmates, but Mary and her Appa weren't, so Kate just grew up feeling like you could love and be happy with someone who isn't your soulmate and people put too much pressure around it.

Anthony says I love you after a month. He doesn't love her just because they're soulmates, but everything he knows about her shows him why they are soulmates. They are so alike but also complement each other in the most important ways.

Kate also never thought she would like possessiveness, but by god does it work for her with Anthony. Any time another guy hits on her (which happens a lot, because look at her) Anthony has her in some dark corner growling "you're mine" and she melts in his arms.

[pepperonijem]

just wanted to write Nanami angst based on my favorite poem, "In a Rose Garden" by John Bennett. cw: angst with no plot

A hundred years from now, dear heart, We shall not mind the pain; The throbbing crimson tide of life Will not have left a stain.

Nanami knew what he was getting into when he stepped foot on the party-stricken streets of Shibuya that night. You knew it too.

He knew that even if the likelihood of victory was high, along came with it a possibility that he wouldn’t be around to see it. You knew it too.

So why was it now, that in the aftermath of it all, after the rubble and after the gore, you no longer knew what to do?

You walked into your shared home, for the first time since that night. Was silence always this heavy? Or was the absence of your lover’s voice, the sound of his shoes being slipped off, the sigh that escapes his lips as he finally loosens his tie finally weighing down on your tired heart? You didn’t know.

Nanami, however, knew. He always does. Did, you correct yourself.

Before you could burden your soul with another reminder of what you lost, you spotted an envelope on the kitchen counter with your name neatly written on it. Your breath hitched at the sight of his handwriting.

Your lover was a romantic at heart, but letters were not his strong suit. He much preferred to show his love for you in the way he cooked your favorite meal after a hard week, in the tips of his fingers as he traces it down your skin, in quiet mornings spent idly beside you, or in soft whispers against your hair as you fall asleep in his security.

He was not a letter writer. You knew this.

You picked up the envelope and with trembling fingers removed the contents, bracing yourself to read his words.

My heart,

I love you. If you’re reading this, it means that I’m dead.

I’m sorry to be so blunt about it, but darling, you and I both know I know no other way to be. So instead, let me borrow someone else’s words to express the feelings I don’t know how to convey.

A hundred years from now, dear heart, We'll neither know nor care What came of all life's bitterness, Or followed love's despair. Then fill the glasses up again, And kiss me through the rose-leaf rain; We'll build one castle more in Spain, And dream one more dream there.

I know, my love, that this is difficult. I know that grief in its wake leaves behind despair and bitterness. But I also know this - you have given me the greatest love that the universe could offer and I know you are strong enough to shoulder the weight of that love. I know that one day we will be together again, even if in a hundred years and oh, my love, do I look forward to that day.

I know that the next time we meet, we will be unburdened by the heaviness of a love gone too soon and instead I’ll once again feel the weight of you upon me, of your hand in mine, of you in my arms. You’ll kiss me and my lips will know, as they always do, just how yours fit against mine and I’ll forget how to breathe once again.

You are in every dream I dream and I will be in yours until we’re together once again.

But for now, take care, my love.

I will see you again, but take your time. Fill our forever with stories of the places we dreamed of, learn the things I never got to know, and I will wait for you at the door when you come home.

When you come to me.

I love you, my heart.

[enigmatist17]

Absolutely feral over Hashtag and Starscream, like wtf why is this the cutest thing I've ever seen

It's probably something to do with the fact I was up at 3am watching this show for some of the best Starscream content since Prime/Armada

---

"Starscream is observing us. Again." Nightshade hummed as they headed up and out of the barn, face buried in the latest novel Dad had given them.

"Wasn't he here, like, yesterday?" Jawbreaker asked, Thrash and Twitch practicing their sparing while he watched from the sidelines, more than content to focus on the miniature painting he was working on. Whatever answer Nightshade could have given was drowned out by the noise of someone transforming, Hashtag speeding up and into the woods behind the Malto homestead, everyone stopping in place to watch her leave.

"She does know I did not tell her where he's currently residing, yes?" The scientist looked at the tracks left behind, more amused than anything else.

"She'll figure it out." Thrash shrugged before tackling Twitch, earning a squeak of indignation from his sister.

They didn't need to worry, Hashtag had figured out where Starscream liked to observe her homestead after his first visit, but just hadn't had the nerve to approach him. Sure, it was a bit of a silly thing to feel, but Hashtag didn't want to push her...friend? Ally?, too hard, but it had been two months, and enough was enough! The jet seemed to be focused on the horizon when she made the trek uphill, the large rocks serving as an adequate chair for the massive Transformer. They sat silently for a while, Hashtag remaining in her alt form as the various wildlife and rush of a distant stream filled the conversation neither seemed to want to start.

"Soooooo, where have you been?" Patience was not Hashtag's strong suit, and the short venting of air from the seeker beside her almost sounded amused.

"I have been...around." Starscream finally moved for the first time since she'd arrived, glancing down at her alt mode. The radar dish on the top of her vehicle faced up toward Starscream, and she transformed a moment later when he tipped his head, sitting cross-legged on the ground with a grin. "You've improved your blaster accuracy."

"I have!" Hashtag looked quite pleased, tapping her servos against her plating with a grin. "Bumblebee said I just need to keep at it, but I really like it when Arcee drops by, she gives me all sorts of tips. Wait, how did you know? Nightshade only mentioned you a few times, and we train mostly during the day?" Starscream seemed a bit stunned at the torrent of words sent his way, memory packets he'd forgotten about flashing fuzzy images of sparklings that were long dead for a moment before he shoved them back and into deep stasis. He'd never truly been comfortable around children, and even less so after the War began, yet here he was, listening to the young mech beside him ramble on about something called barbeque like it was just another solar-cycle.

" -scream? You listening?" Shuttering his optics, Starscream noted she had moved to stand before him, one hand hovering just above making contact with his knee with her optics staring at his wings. "Hellooo?"

"I...apologize, my mind wandered. What are you staring at?"

"Sorry, it's probably super rude to stare, but I've not really had a chance to look at wings like yours like, ever? Fights happen so fast you know, and the rare videos I find before G.H.O.S.T wipes 'em don't really give me a look either." Once again, it's another torrent of words, and the Decepticon can feel his wings rising slightly in discomfort. "Sorry, did I upset you?"

"N-No, you've done nothing wrong." When was the last time someone asked how he was feeling?

"Oh, okay!" Primus bless her, the little one's eyes lit up as she clasped her servos together. "Sooo, were you always able to fly, or did you have a ground alt once upon a time?"

"No, I have always been a Seeker." Starscream motioned for the smaller bot to sit beside him, shifting to the side so she had plenty of space. "My frame was initially suited for deep-space exploration rather than combat, but that changed quickly enough when the War began. I don't think I could ever enjoy being away from the sky, it is as much a part of me as every inch of my frame."

"Nightshade has said that too. Ever since they took their alt form, they have talked about flying like I do when I hack or manipulate things. There's just no other feeling like it." The Seeker nodded, and Hashtag was relieved to see his wings lower slightly, adding one mental tally mark to her "Operation Get Starscream To Relax" board.

"It is a feeling unlike any other, for every type of Cybertronian. I have seen those who command oceans as if they were assembled by it, others who use the strength of beasts long dead as if they'd been one their entire creation. Had it not been for so many things, you too might have seen the wonders that were our people."

"Well, I wouldn't mind listening to you talk about them." Hashtag hugged her legs to her chassis with a smile, ever the eager youngling waiting for a tale.

"If you're going to talk, you might as well bring this party to the house." The sudden voice behind them made both mechs jump, Starscream pointing his null ray at whatever the threat was as he tucked Hashtag behind him, only to find...Lieutenant Malto.

Ah...frag

"Hi Mom!" Hashtag stood up so she could see from behind Starscream's wings, waving as the null ray was powered back down. "How'd you know where to find us?"

"A mother knows, sweetie." The smile on the human's face was a little forced, which the Decepticon had to give was justified. "You doing alright?"

"Yep! Starscream has been answering some of the questions I've wanted to ask, and we've just been sitting up here and enjoying the view." She fully moved from behind the older mech as she spoke, standing beside the comically shorter woman who refused to break eye contact with Starscream, who just stared right back. "Are you serious about letting him come to the house?"

"Maybe, maybe not. If we're going to have guests, we should be prepared, right? Why don't you go and get some of the nice energon ready, and let your Dad know I'll be down soon."

"Okay! Oh I can't wait to show you around!" With a wave, Hashtag transformed and booked it down the mountain road her mother had used, leaving the two to stare silently at each other.

"What do you want with my daughter?" Ah, there it is.

"Nothing, I was merely...observing." As much as it loathed his inner demons, Starscream knelt down so they were more or less at an even height, both soldiers coiled for a fight that may or may not happen. "I was unaware she knew I've been here."

"I knew they'd catch on sooner or later, you didn't exactly pick the most hidden spot." Starscream rolled his optics, noting the other had relaxed slightly. "What have you been doing, since the big escape?"

"Hiding, mostly. I've no desire to be tortured again." It took her past as a fighter for Dot not to flinch at the angry hissing coming from the mech, face impassive when Starscream had to shake his helm for a moment. "Nor do I wish to see...him."

"...we're getting close to exposing G.H.O.S.T, for what it's worth. All of us are, and I'm sorry you had to suffer at their hands."

"Are you? I'm a Decepticon, surely this must be thrilling to hear, after all we've done?" There's no venom in those words; all Dot can hear is what isn't there as his wings hike up his back, and servos curl into fists. "Getting what we truly deserve, no?"

"All I see before me, is a mech who is tired. A mech who is exhausted, yet took the time to sit with my daughter, protect her from a perceived threat, and stare down her mother despite knowing I could take you down." The hissing is back, a slight red filter sweeping across blue optics before fading just as quick, but Dot holds her ground without batting an eye. "All I see is a Seeker without a trine, and while we may not be one, a little company can't hurt you, can it?" Starscream just....stares, and Dot wishes the bots breathed like humans did, just to offset how unsettling it was when mechs could watch without a single movement. That was one of the things that really got under her skin, and she was grateful that her kids hadn't learned that particular skill yet, full of too much energy and life to sit still like a waiting snare.

"You dare speak of my trine." The sentence nearly made her jump, the tall mech leaning closer with a blank look. "You understand nothing."

"No, I don't." It's a simple response, but it's all she can give. "Now, let's not keep the kids waiting." For the first time, Dot turns her back to Starscream to get into her truck. The Seeker is fully onto his pedes by the time she has the car on, his gaze focused on the home he can see just down the hill. "Don't break the fence, or you'll be the one fixing it."

"As you wish."

So this is how a Decepticon finds himself drinking the first pure energon in too many cycles to count, surrounded by mech younglings and cautious humans as the first mech to believe him waved her servos around, grinning as she told the tale of their first meeting. It is not...entirely how he thought the evening would go, but every time Hashtag smiled at the Seeker, something seemed to unfurl in his Spark, something that should have died off long ago.

So when she asks him to stay, even if it's for one night, Starscream does without hesitation.