#the Stranger brainrot is so real right now you guys

[quiverymango]

Learning to be Gentle

*Slams fists on desk* "LET THEM BE FRIENDS!!"

[peppertoastuniverse]

pep reads: geto suguru – long fics

But dang, i didnt realise we were all so thirsty for geto the brainrot is so real

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

☆ as we walk by cerialilith [AO3] [status: unknown ◦ 29/? chapters] [singledad!geto] [slow burn] [eventual smut!] [nocurses!AU] #sweet, softest sugu

He only loves two things in life: the scent of coffee and his daughter. But perhaps he can make a few adjustments.

— In which the single mother across the hall manages to catch Geto’s eye without him realizing it.

☆Temptations by @peachsayshi [AO3/tumblr] [status: ongoing ◦ 5/6 chapters] [ smut!] [nocurses!AU] #sugu treats you RIGHT #pep MELTED Suguru Geto is a playboy. A man who's had more lovers than he can even count. You've never been in a relationship, not even experiencing a real kiss when you first meet Suguru. But the two of you fall for each other, and you know that he's the one you want to experience all your firsts with.

☆ Breathe Me In by lovelied [AO3] [status: completed ◦ 5/5 chapters] [smut!] #pep love this characterization of Suguru Desperate for distraction, a troubled Suguru Geto began inviting you over each night. It began as a casual arrangement, but over time, you found yourself yearning for him in ways you couldn’t quite explain.

☆The good morrow by @temozarela [AO3/tumblr] [status: ongoing? ◦ 2/? Collection of fics] [smut!] #pep’s comfort fic

You narrowed your eyebrows as you felt your body being jolted, large hands gripping your face, and then your shoulders. Groaning softly, you turned in your sleep, trying to make sense of the voice fading in and out of your brain. It didn’t sound like it was from your dream… It was hushed… low… soft…

It sounded like your name.

aka.

geto finds you after his defection to say goodbye

☆ Mascara by softsellars [AO3] [status: unknown ◦ 5/7 chapters] [smut!] [tw!cheating] [nocurses!AU] [artist!suguru] #complex reader, patient sugu

You've never been a particularly good person, you're self-aware enough to know it. It's your only flaw, and recently you've actually been working to better yourself.

For example: paying for a 30-dollar Uber so you can take your friend home only for her to ditch you for some guy when it comes down to it. Although you’re pissed, you decide to try and make the best of it instead of get into a screaming match with her.

It's an easy thing to do when Getou Suguru is offering you everything to do just that. Everything a party entails: liquor, weed, and sex with a perfect stranger.

And Getou knows perfectly well you have a boyfriend, so it's not like he'll want anything serious.

***Porn with a little plot

☆ Whisper of the Petals by @nanamis-baker [tumblr!] [status: on going ◦ 2/? chapters] [slow burn] [College!AU] #SO SO SWEET #sugu with dumb feelings

A mystery blooms on your doorstep. A breathtaking bouquet of white flowers, a silent whisper of apology... but it's not for you. Delivered under the name of a man so handsome he takes your breath away, the mix-up sets your heart racing.

Fate seems determined to keep throwing you together, and soon you're caught in a whirlwind of chance encounters and undeniable chemistry. It was almost as if it was trying to bring you together. ☆ AFFECTION'S EDGE by @rush-the-stars [AO3/tumblr] [status: completed ◦ 3/3 chapters] [omega!verse] #THE INTENSITY?!

“You’ve got it all wrong,” he murmurs, “but what am I to expect from a stray like you? You’ve lived off scraps and abuse your whole life; of course you don’t know what to do now that I’ve given you food and shelter.” Suguru’s fingers ease up towards your neck as he continues, “a warm bed to lie in. Toys to play with. A collar—so you’ll never be lost again. No one’s ever given you this before, hm?”

*** Suguru tries to tame you.

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

bonus!

☆ Musubi by Penrose_Quinn [AO3] [status: unknown ◦ 2/? chapters] #LOVE THE CHEMISTRY

Then there was a quiet shrewdness in the way he carried himself. You would call it cocky, but this one proved to be more poised and collected on how things would unfold for him. Framed with the anchor of his composure, legs stretched out in front of him but not overly laid-back, and his mind – whatever unfathomable brilliance that dwelt underneath – was unperturbed, self-assured. You wouldn’t claim to have known him entirely though like this, Suguru looked more like himself. “But you won’t disappear,” he concluded. “Not yet anyway.” You gave in to a hum. “You’re really making it tempting for me to leave you hanging on nothing.” Suguru listened, waiting. His pursuit was a game of patience and you chased after the gamble.

Or: the string of each encounter was an entanglement to what brought you closer to him, twisted in each other’s darkness, torn and tied back together throughout the years.

[eightmakesonebraincell]

i have a little request! what happens with mafia mingi & yn? do they ever meet again? if so, how?

same with wooyoung! do they still meet at the convenience store every night? did he bring the others over to introduce reader to them?

oh im curious yeahhhhh

ateez as mafia members pt 2

original post here

pairing: mafia!mingi x reader, mafia!wooyoung x reader, mentions of ot8!mafia

genre: fluff, crack, a continuation of the mafia tropes brainrot-fest

length: 2.1k

c/w: explicit language, violence, weapons, mentions of alcohol, unedited

a/n: thank you anon for requesting (and special thanks @sorryimananti-romantic for validating my writing 🫶) this was only meant to be like a five dot-point thing explaining what happens, but obviously mafia!ateez has me in their chokehold. mafia!ateez in my brain: it's free real estate

mingi

it takes a few days for you to reopen your bar after your fateful meeting with ccg

ccg as in cute coat guy

because quite frankly, that night shook you up a little

mingi most definitely notices your absence

but it's not like he can just check up on how you're doing

not when your bar is closed and he has no real excuse to show up apart from "i was worried about you"

after he reports back to base and rejoins ateez, hongjoong's girlfriend offers to hack into the database and find out what your phone number is

("it'll literally take me like, two seconds")

mingi refuses though because he wants to do things the right way

at least...when it comes to things concerning you

after you reassure yourself that the thugs chasing after cute coat guy aren't going to kill you by association, you feel safe enough to open up the mist again

his leather coat usually sits draped over your chair behind the countertop

originally, you think about washing it before returning it to him

...whenever he shows up you suppose

but then you kind of like the smokey smell of gunpowder with an underlying hint of his cologne that is on the coat

so you leave it as it is

in fact, you might have actually worn it a couple of times

you like how the end of the coat brushes against your calves, how the sleeves fall past your fingertips, how it engulfs your entire frame like an embrace

but mostly, you like how it reminds you of the handsome stranger; who claims he is a good bad guy; who you still do not know the name of

you wonder if he made it back safely that night

you're wearing the coat as you're closing up for the night - it's already well past midnight

you're just about to reach for the last glass on one of the tables when you hear the door to your bar opening

"sorry, i’m closed for the nigh- oh," you pause

it’s ccg

who currently has one leg and arm halfway through the threshold of your door, now frozen mid-step at your words

“if now’s not a good time, i can come back another day?” he starts out hesitantly

“now’s great! good. yes,” you chuckle nervously and try not to be too enthusiastic at his appearance. “now’s good, come in”

you catch his eyes briefly flicker down for a moment before they return to your eyes

then he gives you a soft look and greets you gently, “hi”

“hi,” you return, brain shutting down on you

“you look cute in that,” he jerks his chin down slightly to motion at what he was looking at just moments ago

his leather coat

that you are currently wearing

you squeak in embarrassment, hands fumbling to take it off while you vomit out explanations as to why you’re wearing it

your fingers get caught up in the sleeves

but then he is stepping closer slowly so as not to alarm you, before he grasps the ends of the sleeves and helps tug them off your arms

mingi can’t help but use the opportunity to tenderly hold one of your hands

he’s missed the way your smaller hands fit snugly in his

“did you come back for your coat?” you try to break the silence, because otherwise you are afraid he will hear the heartbeats coming from inside your chest

he nods, “wanted to make sure you were okay, too”

there is a third reason that he does not say

that he just wanted to see you

“i’m okay now,” you reassure him

because he’s back now and he’s safe

he folds the leather coat and places it on the countertop before he says, “i don’t think i ever got your name?”

you tell him then ask him for his

“mingi”

“mingi,” you repeat

he repeats your name in return

“mingi,” you say yet again

“y/n”

you both laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole conversation

“mingi, want to help me close the bar?”

and so you find yourself in his company as you give him easy tasks to do

closing up has always been a tedious job, especially when your body and mind are groggy with fatigue

but with mingi around, an accidental brush whenever you shuffle past each other, a conversation easily flowing between you both, you are awake as ever

even long after all the tables and shot glasses have been cleaned and polished, floors swept, bottles of alcohol reorganised, mingi still has not left

and at some point during the night once you two sit at the countertop to rest your legs, both of you have subconsciously inched closer together in your seats, bodies seeking the warmth and proximity of the other

you are unsure how long you two talk for

but just like that first, fateful meeting with mingi, he stands up to take his leave all too soon

“goodnight, mingi”

mingi buffers for a minute before he decides to do it

he reaches out for your hand, clasping it gently to bring it up to his lips as he presses a light kiss against the back of your hand

and with a goodbye of his own, he turns for the door

except he lingers in the doorway, asking, “will i see you again?”

a smile graces your lips at the irony of the situation and you tell him it's not like you'll be going anywhere; he's free to come visit any time

but you also feel your stomach flutter

because last time, you were the one tugging on mingi’s vest, timidly wondering if that was going to be the last you saw of him

tonight, he is the one unwilling to part ways

not to say that you aren’t either

“i’ll see you around, then,” he says with finality, voice still soft-spoken

and then he leaves

but just mere seconds later you spot it

his leather coat

still folded on your counter where he had placed it earlier

"wait, your coat!" you rush outside with it

mingi is only a few feet away

he could very easily turn around and take it from you

but then he just winks, gives you a tip of his hat and says, "next time," before he's walking away again

you chew on the inside of your cheek to stop the silly grin from blooming across your face

because something tells you that you're going to be hanging on to mingi's coat for him for a while

even after next time

wooyoung

it feels like deja vu

a whole gang of mafia members sauntering into your convenience store like a scene straight out of a movie

admittedly, they are much more pleasing to the eye than the group that was chasing after wooyoung weeks ago

but still

these are several muscular men in tank tops, leather jackets and heavy chained necklaces

your hand itches for the comforting weight of the pepper spray in your purse that wooyoung had gotten you just last week

you haven't had a reason to need it since wooyoung basically lives in your store now

and he always walks you home after your shift

but now seems like a more than good enough time to use it

"you usually work the night shift here?"

a voice causes your eyes to snap up

the man at the head of the group addresses you with a quirk of his brow - it's pierced, you notice

"...yeah," you answer

you wonder if this is your last shift at work and at life

and then just like a repeat of last time, you spot wooyoung's frantic bounce of curls appear from across the street of your store

you pray to the heavens above that he isn't being chased by anyone else this time

because the thought of two gangs crossing paths inside your modest store?

you don't think it's going to look like a store after their fight is through

you see the way wooyoung's eyes widen when he spots the thugs just mere feet away from you and you see a curse form on his lips

you just need to hold out until he gets here

wooyoung will keep you safe

wooyoung will-

"then you must know," the man leans in a little closer to grab your attention, "where i can find-"

wooyoung bursts through the door

"-the super sour gummy worms?" the man finishes

you physically cannot help the words that blurt out of you in disbelief, "the fuck you just say?" 

"hongjoong!" wooyoung's piercing shout interrupts you both

wooyoung worms his way through the gang and you stare incredulously at him before you say, "the fuck did you just say?"

he ignores you in favour of pressing his hands against the chest of the man - hongjoong? - and trying to push him towards the doors of your store

quite unsuccessfully, you must add

"the fuck are you guys doing here?" wooyoung yells

"what the fuck is going on?" you demand

"holy fuck, not even hongjoong swears this much"

"fuck yeah, potty mouth!"

"stop swearing you fucktards!"

one of the men who has been lingering on the edge of the group sidles up to the counter, looking at you with an apologetic grimace

"sorry you have to deal with...this," he shakes his head just as another man comes to join you both, "i'm jongho, by the way"

"seonghwa," the other man introduces himself with a gentle voice

these mafia men are surprisingly kind

and normal

except, you suppose, anyone in comparison to wooyoung would be normal

"are you all wooyoung's, uhh, friends?" you don't know whether they know you know

they chuckle, "yeah, we're his friends. his brothers, too, you could say"

you realise the rest of the men have started to settle down and are standing in a rough semi-circle around your counter

wooyoung is currently grumbling and muttering indignantly under his breath with someone's arm thrown over his shoulders, though it looks more like he's a child being scolded by his father than it looks a friendly gesture

"so to what do i owe the pleasure of a visit from all of you?" you ask them, now that there is no swearing being thrown across the room and you realise they aren’t going to shoot you through the head

"had to see for ourselves who was making our wooyoung all smitten. always sneaking out at night like a tween"

"yunho!" wooyoung hisses and elbows said man in the ribs

except with the height difference, it's more like his hips

it's amusing to see how everyone has the upper hand over wooyoung's brattiness

"am i meeting the in-laws already?" you smirk at wooyoung, "you like me or something, jung wooyoung?"

he flushes bright red and you're quite positive that if you made him take his socks off, you would find him blushing straight down to his toes

"that's it!" he hollers, arms flailing and shooing everyone, "out! out! out!"

you know they can easily resist his pushy hands, but they simply snicker and let themselves be herded towards the doors

"bye, darling!" someone jumps up and down to catch your gaze over the heads of everyone else

"shut up, san!"

yunho, you think you recall his name being, flutters his fingers at you cheekily, "we'll be back soon!"

and then he lets out an indignant yelp when wooyoung slaps his back with a screech, "no, you guys won't!"

you're laughing heartily by this point, unrestrained and very much enjoying their antics

"bye, everyone," you wave them off and then blow wooyoung an exaggerated kiss, "see you later, wooyoungie!"

everyone cackles with glee at the sight of him trying to dig himself into the ground

the sound of their ruckus finally dies down as they exit and walk further away from your store

and then you hear a distant wail

"i didn't get my gummy worms!"

you shake your head with a fond smile and take a seat at the register, but not before setting aside a pack of those ‘super sour gummy worms’ for hongjoong

and then, like always, you look at the clock and count the seconds as they tick past

counting down the seconds until wooyoung comes back to see you

again

[blood-red-hummingbee]

First Day

FANKID BRAINROT :D

~

Joey shuffled uncomfortably in place, trying to keep all attention off of him despite his tall height. He was still completely in shock that he was actually at NRC.

Around him other students chattered excitedly, though a few Pomefiore kids muttered about how much they disliked the P.E. uniform. Joey was just plain nervous. Everyone would be able to tell that the coach was his dad. It’d be all eyes on him and everyone would be aware of just how doofy he was and it’d be middle school all over again. Woman up!

He winced as his best friend’s voice echoed in his head. She wasn’t actually speaking to him, but he could hear Fleur chiding him anyway. You said things were gonna change right? So change ‘em! If people notice you and Uncle Jack, embrace it proudly!

He stood straighter, but as soon as his dad actually stepped onto the pitch, he shrank back down.

The girls (and even the boys) around him…

Were thirsting over his dad!

He turned beet red, ready to claim a stomach ache and hide away. It was horrible. Maybe he should just use his UM and sneak away.

He unintentionally met his dad’s eyes. He could see in his face that he heard the kids too, and knew he’d be facing the worst punishment if he left… Disappointment. Understanding, and support of course, but still. 

He whined softly, steeling himself for enduring the horror. People.

“Oi,” His dad grouched, immediately silencing the kids around him. Man, Joey had to learn how to do that. “You’re here for exercise, not to gossip. This is no less a class than history or math.”

A few of the students muttered stilted apologies.

His dad nodded once. “It’s the beginning of the year, so I’m not gonna push you too hard, but I do expect effort.”

~

The class itself was easy. The Howls lived on a large plot of land, acres and acres. Despite the fact that Joey wasn’t the most buff bro in the gym, he was no stranger to exercise.

No, it wasn’t the class that was driving him crazy, it was the whispers. The other guys in the locker room were staring at him as he changed back into the regular uniform, definitely noticing the similarities between him and his dad. His ears were pinned against his head, and if he were still a puppy, his tail would be stuck between his legs.

He wanted to go home.

“You,”

He jumped at the sudden voice behind him. It was another Savanaclaw kid, and Joey could only tell by their uniform. He had no idea who they were, but their stance was wide. Glancing around, it looked like no one was going to intervene if anything happened.

“You’re the coach’s kid, ain’t you?”

Oh no. Here it comes. He nodded, feeling smaller than the other guy despite being taller.

“Man, that is so cool.”

…What?

“Is he that intense all the time?”

“Uh…”

The conversation, if it could be called that, seemed to prick the ears of the students around them.

“Is he?”

“I bet he’s real tough at home!”

“Nah, he’s definitely totally different at home, that’s how these types are!”

“What’s his phone number?”

“What?”

“...Where’d he go?”

~

Joey couldn’t breathe. Too many people, too many questions. Too many questions that even if he’d had an answer he wouldn’t want to give. They’d probably hound him later, but for now he was clear. By the time he released his Signature Spell and became visible again, he was in the Teachers’ Lounge. He was fairly certain he wasn’t supposed to be in there now that he was a student, but he didn’t leave. He’d visited his dad at school in the past, he was familiar with the lounge. It was the only place in the school he could say he was. He was on the verge of an anxiety attack, he needed familiar.

Thankfully no other teachers were in the lounge but his dad, pulling out his lunch.

Wordlessly, Joey sat next to him, leaning into his arm. His dad didn’t say anything either, even when Joey snatched some food from his plate.

~

@screamintoad, @babyghoul138, @skriblee-ksk, @gimmeurmoneyagh @twtysevapr

IF ANYONE WANTS TO BE TAGGED FOR JACKROSE FANKID CONTENT LEMME KNOW <3

ANYWAY I HAVE A FEEL FOR HIS VOICE (LUNA TOO) BRING ON THE INTERACTIONS! (PLS?) <3

[damagedintellect]

Dazai Osamu x reader

💌 Reading into the palms of isekai bullshit: Chapter 4 💌  

Summary: You were no stranger to isekai bullshit. It’s not like you had a problem with it. The genre took over the anime scene for years now but you try to stay away from thinking about how you would handle the situation. The last time you thought about inserting yourself into your favorite show you wrote a 100k word xReader fic for your favorite characters and you didn’t want to spend all your time consumed by the brainrot again. Never again, you promised yourself that was the last time you’d let the devil on your shoulder win. You clicked on chapter 1 to start the adventure over again but when you opened your eyes and saw Dazai O-FUCKING-samu getting choked by Kunikida you honestly hoped it was a dream.  

Notes: Another isekai so I can play around with BSD like dolls.  

💌 Word count: 1,970 💌 <= Previous Chapter | Next Chapter =>

The next few days will be boring for you since Dazai was taken by the port mafia. Being a non combatant also kind of sucked because it meant that you were basically useless on the front lines. You mostly spent your time doing office work and or following Ranpo around like a lost puppy getting him snacks whenever he wanted. Honestly with how bored you felt it seemed like he was rubbing off on you. Although you still didn’t forgive him after that last stunt. The sugar fiend was so pleased with himself when he saw you that morning. Although you should have expected as much.

 Atsushi was concerned over Dazai’s disappearance but you spilled the beans that he was taken on purpose to try and figure out what was up with the bounty on his head. That actually made him feel worse but before he could ask you too many questions Ranpo pulled you away leaving Atsushi alone to run errands with Yosano. You sighed seeing how satisfied Ranpo was as if he was a major hero stopping a great calamity.

 “Still doesn’t make up for giving Dazai the drawing but I’ll accept the apology.”

It wasn’t long until Kyouka was taken in and you were once again pushed to the side. Now you think you understand how Ranpo feels about knowing the ending of books. Again you stayed out of the fun only dropping your two cents when absolutely necessary. Atsushi asked if you wanted to tag along but you begrudgingly turned them down. Meaning you’d miss out on getting crepes later. You’d have to go out on your own time to get some. Which gave you an idea but it was still a day too early or was it? You remember Dazai pretended to be held longer but when did he actually sneak back? As the day came to an end you took your leave making sure no one else was around. You relaxed against his door in the standard cool guy position and started knocking.

“.... . -.-- , / .-- .- -. -. .- / --. . - / -.-. .-. . .--. . …”

“Hey, wanna get crepes”

He’d understand the morse code right? You had to look up a chart to figure it out. A brief moment passed with no answer. Oh well, you would still go to get a crepe. You were about to leave when you finally heard a very soft knocking from the otherside.

“.-- .... -.--”

“Why”

You had to pause, looking up what he said before you smirked to yourself. “If you do, I won't tell anyone you came back already.~” You said it in a sing-song way like it wasn’t a soft threat. There was a short beat before the door quickly opened and he pulled you inside. You yelped as you stumbled backwards but he put his hand over your mouth pulling you closer so he could close the door before anyone else saw. “Now what’s the real reason?” He seemed slightly irritated that you disturbed his peace. 

Ever since you came into the picture it feels like you can see through him and he's not used to someone else being able to do that since Chuuya. He's still wracking his brain trying to figure out how you do it because it still doesn't add up. Especially since Chuuya minded his own business for the most part and you've practically made it your goal to win this game that Dazai swears you both are not playing. You saw his palm twice, how can you know him like the back of your hand? He’s done his research and that’s not how palm reading works at all! You shouldn’t be able to get names from his palm or very specific details the way you’ve been. When he talked to Ranpo before Kyushu he was so sure that you weren’t reading palms at all but still it couldn’t be an ability so it had to be a secret third thing that he still hasn’t found out about. Disappointed would be an understatement for how deranged he felt when Ranpo came back and you saw through his trap. There was only one other person who has managed to counter his predictions in this way and he’s sure you are not a demon like he and Fyodor are. So what gives?

“Well Atsushi took the new girl for crepes and it sounded good. I can’t ask Ranpo out of spite. Yosano would rather get a drink. Kunikida doesn’t eat sugar past a certain hour and actually I didn’t even think about asking Kenji now that you mention it.” You played dumb making up random excuses as neither of you moved to change the position you were in. You were still being held slightly into his chest and leaned back far enough to need Dazai’s hold on you to stay balanced “Besides I figured you’d wanna get the taste out of your mouth after being reunited with your ex. I assume all you’ve had was cheap booze and canned crab?” He only frowned as you glanced over to his lazy set up. It looked like he was genuinely weighing out his options before his sinister smirk rested on his lips. He needed to gain the upperhand somehow. "Admit that you missed me and I'll go."

"What?" You were dumbstruck. You were the one with leverage. It was you who was supposed to be making demands not following orders. "You heard me just tell me that you missed me." He sneered, "I'm just trying to help you be more honest-"

"I missed you." Your cheeks were warmed by the confession but you held firm with no hesitation. Your voice was soft yet strong as if it was intended for his ears only. Like it was supposed to be your little secret.

Dazai was in a state of bewilderment, astonished that you actually said it back to him. He really didn't expect you to, and he didn't think it would be so genuine. He marveled at you for a while, for once he was at a loss for words. Your eyes held an unwavering conviction over the sentiment that he would rather not think about. Originally he was trying to garner more control over the position you placed him in but now it appears he's the one who played himself. He lowered his gaze letting his bangs shield his vision as he shifted you upright. Your unwavering stare made him tense. He wasn't used to this feeling of being uncomfortable. You really were his belladonna.

"Okay." 

Dazai sounded far away from himself. You desperately wondered what was running through his head. He started unbuttoning his vest as he opened his closet to pull out some more casual attire. He ran his hand through his hair pseudo slicking it back throwing on a pair of glasses. By the end Dazai looked like a different person as you went to get your reward. When you got there he ordered for you but you paid knowing that you were the one who invited, or well, forced him to come it should be your treat. Of course it was no surprise to you that Dazai had ordered you both the “Romeo and Juliet” which was chocolate ice cream, with freshly cut strawberries, two pieces of pocky, whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce. You wonder if Dazai got it because of the flavor or because of the name because he couldn’t pass up the double suicide reference. Even if he didn’t order for you it’s the one you would have chosen because the one you wanted to try was already sold out and it was the next bestseller.

It was golden hour, painting the sky in beautiful yellows, oranges and hints of reds and purples. There seemed to be less people out and about right now which was good for Dazai. It also meant that you and him got to share this moment completely unbothered. Watching the sun set over the city and eating something sweet would be the perfect end to the peace. You had maybe a day or two before the guild showed up on your doorstep and you weren’t looking forward to the week of chaos when Q gets released into the world. Dazai had been unusually quiet but you didn’t mind just the fact that he came with you was enough. As you ate the last bite you noticed some of the ice cream dripped on the back of your hand. You were about to wipe it away with a napkin when Dazai finally spoke, grabbing for your hand.

“If I profane with my unworthiest hand

This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:

My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand

To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”

He licked it up, placing a gentle kiss to where it used to be giving you a playful look. Little does Dazai know you actually played Juliet in highschool so without missing a beat you shifted your hands as you spoke.

“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,

Which mannerly devotion shows in this;

For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,

And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.”

He didn’t seem that surprised as you continued the scene if anything he hummed with enthusiasm. “Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?” Dazai smirked, leaning into your personal space. You wonder how far he’ll go “Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.”

“O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;

They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.”

Dazai interlace your fingers giving you eyes that pierced your soul. Were you guys playing chicken right now? Was this nerd chicken? If this was you didn’t want to lose but no matter what you did, it would be his win since you already took the bait. Savvy as always, he has tied you to a stake you cannot fly. 

“Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.” You had to come up with something otherwise you won’t hear the end of it.

“Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.” Dazai brought his free hand up to your cheek. You watched as his eyes closed as he started closing the distance. You quickly placed the kiss on his cheek instead of his lips. You whispered against his ear before pulling away “I already told you, saints do not move, and I am not that easy.” Implying that you weren’t a saint you grinned smugly.

He exhaled out of his nose “No you are not.” He matched your smile and stood up. Dazai was about to let go of your hand but you tighten your grip “Who said you could let go?” You would yield this round but that didn’t mean you were going to throw in the towel. You wanted to make it clear that you were enjoying the game. “Then after you my little belladonna~”

“With pleasure my little snake.” It didn’t have the same ring as mackerel but you tried.

You held hands all the way back to the dorm. The coast was clear but who knows for how long. You let go of his hand when you were outside of his room. “I won’t tell, scouts honor.” you held out your pinky to him. Everyone knows that pinky promises hold the most gravity in the court of law. After he shook on it he softly but swiftly made his escape.

You hummed to yourself “Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be-” you stopped, he wouldn't hear you so what’s the point “A few days from now.” You sighed, retiring to your room as well.

What you didn’t know was that Dazai did hear it from the other side of the door and he was smiling to himself.

[elvenbeard]

V Then and Now

Yes, I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon too! XD Even though I feel like Vince really hasn't changed much at all, but AMM defintiely gave me an opportunity to take better pics of him :D Because poses <3 and subtle expressions <3 "look at" feature, my beloved <3

2022/12/18

This was the first pic of him I ever took in Photomode where you could actually see his face XD I had taken scenic pics mostly until then, or him just standing somewhere and looking into the distance. I remember that it felt weird to take pics of him at first... I figure, since it's a first person game and you don't really see your character's face up close that much, it was always like "uh, hello sir, sorry for approaching so closely" initially xD he felt a little bit like a stranger. Glad I'm over that now :D

I'm a chronic screenshot taker though, and so this is not technically his "oldest" pic I have. That would be this:

2022/11/27

The usual "oh no, I like this guy... better take shots of all his sliders real quick so I don't lose him if I wanna play him again!"

But my most favourite early pic of him that I shared with everyone back then was from the 6-month-montage:

Idk there is just something about it that really... captured his essence in a sense and the brainrot started XD Little cocky bastard coming into his own finally but still has to hype himself up in front of the bathroom mirror bc on the inside he's just a scared kid really xD And that hasn't changed until now - yeah I can say with relative confidence that his personality did not change much, just became more well-rounded over the months, he has a very well-developed backstory now, and I keep getting to know him better and better as I'm slowly going through my second playthrough xD

2023/07/18

He's still an edgy bastard, but he got his tattoos upgraded to something fitting his vibes better :3 His fashion sense is still soemthing that stands out, even more so now than it used to! That is probably the biggest change from that early shot, his wardrobe fitting his corpo background and personality more (cause first time around I was so caught up in story stuff and didn't really know yet what options there were in terms of clothing and styles... so I just put him in that random Wraiths jacket for a large part of my first playthrough xD I still like that style of jacket a lot, and him just running around shirtless under his coats and jackets bc gotta show off those tats :3).

2023/07/01

I am very very happy with his looks and as of right now I'm not really planning on changing anything big about his physical appearance. He is and always was (and always will be) equipped with very little cyberware, he has tattoos that fit him now (although I might expand on them in the future for a potential post-2077 appearance). I still wanna do an updated wardrobe post and mod him some custom top surgery scars, but I liked him a lot from the start and feel like if I changed him too much it wouldn't be my Vince anymore xD

[oleander-neruim]

Hello hello!! Absolutely pumped for the Myth’s Voyage AU :DD!!

What made you pick certain characters for certain roles? I’m particularly interested by Owen as Antinous 👀👀

Bare with me this is gonna be a doozy

I'll be honest. It all started with me being real emotionally attached to p!Will & me falling down a rabbit hole of associating the song "Open Arms" with him because- even if I'm not fully read on p!Will's story & character- the way I've come to view him is a relatively forgiving and optimistic type of person. So him as Polities came natually.

I also have a frequent habit of doing a thing where when I associate one character to one song/character of a musical, I start to try and figure if there's way to fit in other characters.

I believe what came next was Sausage and if I recall correctly, that was due to 1. Me just liking Sausage all together and 2. Me seeing him as the most "Captian-Like" guy in pirates. Also revolving around headcanons, others' interpretations, and maybe an artist or two's ways of drawing him. After that, Joel & Hermes as Penelope and Telemachus came pretty easy. I've also played around with previous ideas of "What if Joel was in Pirates SMP" and added in my constant Empires Brainrot ™️, that all just fell into place.

I believe Lizzie was my first established God cos. Giant fish/ocean associated person, yk. And then Jimmy as Polyphemus due to fishy relations and then I think Fwhip was actually my next one due to the "silly & unhinged" vibes I got from Epic Hermes. Then with a lot more stubborn brain storming, more and more gods fell into place as I started following an Empires Season 1 pattern with the Gods

Krow was also a fun one to workshop in cos I also don't know much about his Canon character but what I do know & just the fascination I've gotten with him, I thought he fit the role of Eurylochus pretty well. Mostly on the side of more of a survivor when it comes down to a "You vs Me" mentality & leaning more on aggressive tactics when it comes to handling certain situations. He is one of the ones I'm certain doesn't fall into complete Canon-type of personality, but I like how my au's Krow is a lot.

Now. The fun situation with the suitors and Ithica in general.

I can explain a bit further if anyone's interested, but the way my storyline worked out is that there's actually no Herons that are part of Sausage's crew in the story. They're either still on the Faction Isles or traveling elsewhere. Having said that, when I came around to figuring out Antinous, it was right when I was finding out very bare-bones about him. And given that the Heron characters will ideally be characters shown on "Ithica" I was working to see if anyone would fit that roll.

Having said that, Antinous was noted down in my "Working-Out" list with the note of "Mr. Steal your wife and kill your son" and while discussing my character plans with my partner, we started to joke about Antinous being Owen. Given her more player-esque personality, at the time I figured it'd be a decent fit- or at least a place holder- for a character who I started to think was just someone wanting to court "Penelope".

However, thinking more on it & finding out better how Antinous plays in this story, I started getting more invested in the idea of Owen still being him. The idea of Owen becoming a villain, manipulative with his charm and almost vindictive in her motives just started to appeal more and more to me.

When this takes place, it's 20 years since the rough-end of Pirates SMP, following Epic the Musical's timeline. A lot can change in a person in 20 years. Seeing the Factions fall, loves in your life die or disappear, people coming into power that you feel either don't deserve it or are strangers who don't understand all that's happened here or you feel are too weak irresponsible to handle it. It can grate on a person, certainly.

P!Owen is, once again, another character I'm unfortunately not fully familiar with, though that may change if i have a chance to watch his pov in the future. And who knows, maybe I'll workshop the story, change e!Owen's personality or motives, maybe even choose someone else entirely to fit the role.

But as it stands, the idea of e!Owen, 20 years in the future with heavens knows how much baggage and pent up anger and frustrations left on his shoulders starting to get desperate or almost hungry even for some sort of control or power or just even a sense of stability in her life just seems to be a very interesting & fun-to-work-with storyline to me.

Thinking about seeing Owen getting aggressive and animalistic and breaking that carefully-crafted facade of charm and control when it comes to fighting and trying to kill someone just. It's so interesting and fascinating in my mind, you've no idea.

And, again, I'm awfully weak to villain Owen nonesense so that certainly doesn't help.

There you have it. My essay & a half summary over some of my reasonings.

Again, things are always subject to change and sometimes I get a little Silly with my trains of thoughts but, hey, it'll be fun either way. If you're interested in me trying to explain my through process for more characters, feel free to ask, I just figured I'd keep this as short as i can physically manage. If it comes off as a bit rambling or you want me to clear anything up, you're always welcome to ask. It's technically super late for me so my writing compression might be a bit off.

Tl;Dr, I zone out to music and play "Song Association Games" too much & Owen as Antinous started off as a silly joke but now it's eating my brain whole so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[sketchybardlings]

the brainrot continues (ref: this post)

since my dysgraphia is worse when I'm writing by hand I'll try to note down what all of this says (plus some extra stuff i couldn't fit on the page)

the basic premise of the Growing Pains au is that Headspace (and by extension Stranger) keep going on after the events of the good ending. even if you heal a great deal your old coping mechanisms and traumas don't just disappear. if anything they evolve to suit your new environment/life. they change. they Grow. which is where our friend Stranger seems to be right now. he's dealing with one of the worst things that can befall a young person(?) such as himself, Puberty. don't get me wrong its traumagenic ill-informed dream creature puberty but that's what it is regardless. with his specifically he's aging at the same rate as Sunny is himself, although he's 4 years behind his dreamer, making him 14 and Sunny (and the rest of the young faraway crew) 18, or 17 going on 18 if your being pedantic. this is mental and physical, maybe even metaphyical if you count how headspace is reacting to it.

on the physical side he's a clear amalgam of 12 year old and 16 year old traits, both of which taken from the last time sunny saw basil before the gap, and the first time he saw him after (+ notable traits from current day Basil/Sunny, like their scars, real and fake). Sunny doesn't really have to much of a concept of what basil looked like in the in-between (of how he looked for that matter) so headspace definitely has to fill in some gaps to try and give stranger a useable form, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. a lot of this trial and error leads to a lot of stretch marks(sorry about how badly drawn they were in the last post, they were a last minute addition), mostly on his arms and legs, straight up and down, making his very much 12-ish year old torso look a bit dwarfed next to his elongated limbs. don't think headspace has really figured out a way to make his torso any bigger, not without severely fucking up his organs in a way that cant be pleasant, so it seems to be waiting until he's big enough for the 16 yo one to make sense, but he's gonna look real weird in the mean time.

as for the mental its... an adjustment. he and Omori always knew a lot, had a lot of power and influence and experience, but they were still always mentally 12 yo, frankly so was Sunny after the incident. so once The Truth was out and Sunny started living his life again all of them kinda got shunted back into growing as people again. Sunny is overwhelmed, Omori is in denial, and Stranger is confused but accepting. what about the outline thing tho? that is headspace's doing. part of the reason Stranger didn't have outlines in the first place was to take away his recognizability, and the reason why everyone else had purple outlines was to tie their identities back to Mari, the fantasy of headspace is for her afterall, and what else to define everyone else but her signature color. this has not remained in future years tho, most everyone in headspace gaining their own signature hues, not excluding Stranger. he's started to gain very faint ones all over his body, getting more opaque in some areas, concentrating most on his eyelashes and flowers (his flower crown that fell off and settled on his shoulders). not sure witch color i want them yet, maybe even in the au that may not even be set yet, its not like he can rely on basil's color anymore, let alone mari's or any other person's. i'll keep tinkering on it and see what i can come up with. so that's what i have for the Growing Pains au, i still have a lot more on my mind and a lot of what ive said here is subject to change, so if you guys have any questions about this i would LOVE to hear them seriously. my askbox is open.

[lqfiles]

CHAPTER 21 WE CHEEREDDD!!!! um also WHAT grace me wif the date of ur birf pleek. (if ur comfortable to do so ofc) so like summer..omgg IT IS SO FUCKING HOT IN TURKEY IT WAS 30 DEGREES CELSIUS TODAY LIKE WHAT. THE. FUCK. but other than that my summer is going pretty good i think im entering my working era idrk....also i fully agree that yangyang shouldn't be allowed in establishments without a gf like wait I GOT AN IDEA Sharks (tumblr user lqfiles), we require 500,000$(a forgettable cameo of being 2yangs gf), and will return the money in 125% interest(a kiss) within 12 hours. Please contact us at ilove𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴yang@gmail.com 🤵 why is 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴 becoming an addiction i cant help it I HAVE TO 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴. OH MY GOD ALSO??? I NEVER TOLD U WHAT HAPPENED W THE THUMBS UP GUY. we literally talk like.. idk id average it down to like 15 mins a day right.. but like the more i talk the more i remember why hes a PAST crush. like my friend rlly wants me to date him cos we'd be cute and all but he just feels so immature i dont know... like i dont want to feel like im dating a 6th grader. ALSO. ok so im coming out yawl. i Kinda. like his friend BUT OKAY HEAR ME OUT i havent told ANYYY of my friends about him because theyd skin me alive or something and idk why i even LIKE HIM. i think its smt like emotional attachment or something. ive deadass gotten back into painting and pottery because of him like he makes me want to Create Art. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO ??? BECAUSE I DONT EVEN KNOW HOW WE'D EVEN BE FRIENDS. LIKE IF WE STARTED DATING I THINK IT WOUD BE LIKE.... strangers to somewhat enemies to friends(?) to lovers like what... -🐇

my birthday is actually in 50 minutes from now :P me and haechan are birthday twins, are you jealous? 👀

broooo i can only imagine how warm it is in any middle east country, i remember this time around last year i was in saudi arabia and i was HEATING UPPP, it may not be turkey but it’s close kinda! anyways i love that for you, get that bag sis, we BOTH might be entering our working era 😝

ILOVEFRWAKYANGSHDKDJ WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS, very tempting offer tho… i guess i’ll take it and you can be yangyang’s official girlfriend, NOW RUN ME MY KISS AND MONEY 🤦🏽‍♀️ also PLSSS I LOVE RHE BRAINROT SO MUCH like i always giggle at those freaky insta posts like i literally saved this pic today lmaooo, like me a real freak 🤫🤫

OOOOHHHH THIS TEA IS CRAZYYYY NOT YOU FALLING FOR HIS FRIEND….. what do you even do in that situation 😭😭😭😭 i’m glad you’re figuring out you’re feelings for the first guy tho, you won’t have to waste your time trying w him anymore. as for the second one ooouu ngl friend, that might get some judgement but genuinely, if it makes you happy, why should you care about what these others think? i think you should figure out what his feelings for you are while also trying to figure out if you rlly RLLY like him and if that’s the case just try to act on it? IDK BUT I SUPPORT YOUR RIGHTS AND WRONFS DONR WORRY SIS….

[rikiws]

PICK UP (LINES). ꩜

▸ non-idol!jake x gn!reader ┆ strangers to lovers (?) general down bad-ery [fluff]

꩜ All you knew was that a really cute guy had just asked you for a map. Jake however, had a much longer story to tell.

ps: the Jake brainrot is real guys stay safe out there

. . .under the cut ⊹ (1.0k words)

Jake saw an angel.

The weather seemed to change itself just to accommodate you. You: just one of the many people waiting for the bus to arrive, but to Jake, you were so much more. You were sent from the heavens, he was sure of it; a carefully sculpted ivory statue brought to life by the gentle hands of Aphrodite herself- his own Galatea. 

The winds seemed to bend at your will, to send a warm breeze exactly where your hair could reflect the afternoon sun with ethereal sparkles, and your eyes seemed to twinkle along in unison, synchronised like a starry symphony orchestra. Jake had only seen you for the first time today, yet it felt as if he had been in love with you for aeons. It wasn’t love at first sight- no, Jake had always adored you, in all his other lives, in all the other universes, this was just his moment of epiphany in this one. His vision tunnelled to only fit you, blatantly ignoring the looks of confusion followed by the mischievous jeers of his 6 other friends. Jake was much too busy to be paying attention to them. He was much too busy staring at you. Only when a hand moved over his eyes, drawing a wall between you and himself, and only when Jake indignantly sent a glare to the perpetrator: a grinning Sunghoon, did Jake finally snap out of it- but not before feeling incredibly embarrassed about it.

It didn’t help that he was now sat on the bench beside you, an awkwardly large distance apart, with and equally awkward silence, and his wretched group of friends snickering at him from a safe distance. Of course, his best buddies couldn’t possibly let Jake just send you heart eyes from afar. It was their humble duty to not-so-subtly usher him towards you, sending him a few harsh smacks on the back just for good measure. They knew their friend, he’d do awesome.

Yet when he gathered what little courage he had left to send a glance your way, only to meet your already searching eyes, Jake felt as if he’d vomit out his heart right then and there. His eyes nervously shot away from your general direction, completely failing to notice your flustered expression that seemed to match his perfectly. Jake had so much to say, so much to ask you: What was your name? What job did you do? Did you know how absolutely adorable you were? Did you like guys with puppy faces? Were you willing to get married to him immediately? 

“Do you have a map?” Jake swore he heard a cackle in the distance. Out of all the terrible options, he just had to pick the worst one. 

“A map? Me?”

Jake gulped. Even your voice was a thousand times prettier than he could have ever imagined: comforting, like receiving a warm bear-hug- preferably one by you. Jake had the agonising thought of you saying his name with that voice of yours, the consonants rolling off your tongue as if you were made to say his name and only his.

“Er, you okay?”

You asked, sheepishly, and even the way you clumsily refused to meet his eyes seemed so endearing to Jake that all he wished to do at that moment was to cup your cheeks and tell you how insanely cute you were. But he had to stay focused, especially when he was on the brink of humiliating himself in front of the love of his life of five minutes. Jake jerked his head up and down to nod, propping up two thumbs-ups that prompted a small giggle out of you. He lost his mind once more.

He must have been clinically insane when you scooted closer towards him, a small map unfolded on your lap.

“You wanted a map right? Here.” “Yeah- hey that kinda looks like a duck!” He circled a small cluster of roads that indeed looked like a waddling duck. Jake’s smile faltered once he realised what he’d just said. He swore he could hear sad trumpet noises echo in his mind, so much for acting suave and mysterious. Jake had failed that from the second he laid his eyes on you. Yet when he looked up dejectedly, fully expecting you to be wearing a judgemental frown that would have still looked incredibly pretty on you, only to find you with gleaming eyes and a smile he wanted to carve into his brain forever.

“Right?! No one believes me when I say it! And this one looks like a frog, doesn’t it?” “Oh my god you’re right.”

Jake’s nerves melted off as he continued to point and giggle at strangely shaped streets with you, though the warmth in his heart only grew more and more at every second of your interaction. He could have sat at the bus stop forever, just retelling silly stories and finding shapes in an over-complex map, as the buses would pass by at each stop. But then you peered at your phone, checking the time and letting out a shocked gasp before turning to face Jake once again.

“Right, so where are you headed?” A bus appeared from the corner of the street, slowing down to a halt at the very stop the both of you were sitting at. If he wanted to do anything, he had to do it fast. But Jake didn’t even have to think, the words fell right out of his mouth, as if it were the dialogue of a cliché rom com.

“Well, I would say that I got lost in your eyes, but I found my way to your heart at the end.” Judging by your bashful smile, and the way you hurriedly pressed your phone into his hands, Jake would say that he absolutely nailed it.

꩜ want to read more? check out my masterlist

[thehighpriestess1]

Scars Don't Fade : 12

Warning : None

Genre : slight angst, fluff, some crack

Pairing : Gojo x y/n

A/n : This was supposed to be the last chapter but after all the sweet messages and asks I received, I might just continue the series. ( Because Gojo brainrot is real lol ). We have come a long way in the series and tbh I am so fucking happy that you guys stuck with the series! I love you guys! I hope you like this part :) Wc: 10.2k

Previous chapter : Series masterlist 🤍

General masterlist : Ask Box 🤍

Mei looked up at the creme coloured ceiling as her back pressed against the soft silk sheets. This was a welcomed feeling after sleeping in the hospital waiting room for two days. She thought about her father and how his head hung low in shame because of her. How he didn’t speak a word to her for the entirety of the car ride. How he refused to look at her as her mother ran and hugged her. She pulled  a pillow over her face and screamed into it. Screamed in frustration of losing everything in just two days, things that she had worked for, for the past 8 years the only dream she harboured was to make her father proud, the only man she carried in her heart, Gojo Satoru, Everything was ruined. Everything. Now she was reduced to just a working class slave who lived in a mansion. 

She screamed and she screamed till her throat gave up. When the anger subsided, it was replaced by sadness. She heaved as he wiped her tears from her eyes and wondered where she went wrong. Sure she regretted everything she had done, she regretted telling her uncle about you. When she saw you in the hospital, lying unconscious as Gojo whispered threats into her ear, she realised what she had done. She wanted to apologise to you but the guards stopped her and now..now her own father refused to even look at her. 

No ego ever survives the test of time and her ego was crushed under your kindness. Even the mightiest of rulers had to fall from grace, and she was no ruler, she was a mere pawn in the hands of Gojo Satoru. She had witnessed first hand his insanity, his wrath, his desperation, his want..and what he was willing to do. It scared her to think what he might do to her, she could not flee this punishment and will have to walk the plank with her head held high even if she knew she was going to fall in the end. 

She thought about you, You who didn’t come from money or social connections, a stranger in this gilded world of hers and wondered what did Gojo see in you. Why was it you and not her? In her plan of winning over Gojo to impress her father she ended up falling for him. She knew everything about him, what he liked, what he disliked and more. She knew the measurements of his suits, the kind of shoes he preferred, the kind of watches he liked and yet he never noticed any of it..All he saw was you..Why were gods so unfair to her? Why can’t anything go her way? 

She wiped the last of tears and decided that she was going to carve out her own path. She was going to take charge of her own destiny, one in which she would always get what she wants. Her phone rang by her side and she picked it up to see a list of instructions from Miwa. Right…She takes instructions from Miwa now. 

Miwa : Pick up phone and other documents for Ms.Y/n from the office and bring it to the hospital by noon.

Mei scoffed at the message. Ms.Y/n. Why was everyone treating you like you were the head of the Gojo group? You probably didn't even have to do anything anymore as everything was done for you by others, by people like her. 

She greeted her father the next morning at breakfast but was met with the same stone cold face. He folded his newspaper and kept it on the table. “I’m leaving for work”. He announced to his wife as he picked up his briefcase. “You should drop Mei at work”. Her mom said looking at her and Mei excitedly got up. 

Her father turned towards her with a frown on his face. “Mei, You have disgraced our family. You have no right to even be under this roof. But because you are my blood I cannot throw you out on the streets but let me make myself very clear, From today… You will receive no favours from anyone in this family. I have spoken to my accountant and your account will be frozen today. You will spend what you earn, If you want to go to work then either buy a car or take the bus I do not care..I have had enough of you”.

“Dad please..You cannot do this to me”. 

“I am not going to repeat myself. Either you live this way or you are welcomed to move out”. Mei looked at her mother for help but got none. “Dad…”.

“Be glad I have allowed you to have the Takahashi name..”. 

-X-

You lay on your bed in the dark hospital room, Gojo sleeping on the chair next to you. No matter how many times you asked him to sleep on the bed on the other end of the room he insisted on staying by your side. The clock on the wall showed 2:05 AM, the events of the previous day played in your head. The fight with Gojo, Miwa,Nanami…Mei..You don’t remember what triggered you to come to that decision. Maybe you wanted her to repent. Do the things she looked down upon and see how one earns an honest life. 

You sighed as you tried to turn around, your body stiff from lying down in one position, you needed to stretch your legs. You looked at Gojo to confirm that he was still asleep before pulling yourself up and swinging your legs over to the other side of the bed. You huffed as you sat upright. You grabbed your crutch and pulled yourself up. You looked back once more to confirm that he was still asleep before making your way over to the window. The room was thrice the size of your own bedroom, well decorated with your favorite flowers. You looked to the side at the sole sunflower between all the daisies and lilies and smiled.

You took a deep breath as you rested your elbows on the window sill, keeping the crutch on the side. It seemed that you were at the top floor of the hospital, beneath you could see the vast garden looking over to a small pond with sleeping swans, beyond the boundaries of the hospital was the sleeping Tokyo city. The air felt fresh but your lungs hurt a little every time you stretched your chest. Shoko had told you it was because of the stitch near your ribs and it will be fine in a week.

You thought about what you had done. To be honest, you were scared of her..Mei. It was all a gamble, having a woman like her around was only safe if you had someone like Gojo by your side and you were not even sure if you wanted to have Gojo by your side..Was it right to go back to Gojo? To forgive him? What were the chances that you might end up getting hurt again? Can you even trust him? What if he cheats on you with Mei and you end up going through the same cycle again? Would you be able to survive that?  The darkness of the night seeped into your mind and it conjured up the worst of scenarios and a familiar ache spread through your heart, tears rolled down your cheeks as your body shuddered, trying to suppress the panic bubbling inside you. You put your hand above your mouth to cover your whimpering but it only made you pity yourself..

You removed your hand and clasped the railing tightly and heaved, trying desperately for the panic to pass.. You wanted it all to end, you wanted it to end! End it.End everything it’s the only way I’ll ever know peace..You brain sabotaging your life with dreadful scenarios of the future. I am nothing but a burden on everyone!. You heaved as you looked down at the ground. Do it..do it..it’s the only way. 

Gojo tried reaching for your hand in his sleep but was met with a flat cold bed. He opened his eyes and sat the pillow lying idle, he straightened up and saw you leaning against the window, looking down. His brain conjured up his worst fear as he lunged towards you. 

“Y/n!”. His voice made you flinch. You turned around and were met with a pair of anxious cerulean eyes. Before you could say another word Gojo stepped towards you and pulled you into his arms. Your face clashed with his chest as his one hand found purchase at the back of your head while the other one snaked around your waist. “What…what were you doing?”. His voice wavered, you could hear his heart beat loudly against your ear. You clenched his shirt as you sobbed. 

“Y/n…what were you doing?”. He asked in barely a whisper, afraid of the answer but desperate for it anyway. ”I’m fine..I was just..I just needed some fresh air”. He pulled back and looked at your face, “You should have woken me up..It’s not safe..”. You looked at your feet. “I’m fine..it’s nothing”. Gojo cupped your cheeks and tilted your face upwards towards him, “It’s not nothing..Tell me what happened”.  

“It's just..I don't know…I was thinking too many things and I..I panicked and ...I don't know..”. Gojo looked sadly at you. “It’s fine..I’m right here y/n”. You pulled yourself away from him, “And what happens when you’re not? What would happen to me when you leave me or..or you end up being the one hurting me again? It would be better if you leave me now..You have apologised to me and I have accepted it so what re you still here?”. You said, turning away from the man.

“Do you really expect me to..to just let you go?”. 

“You’ve done it before…”. You looked at your feet in embarrassment, aware of the affects your words had on him. 

“But this is different!”. 

“How? don’t tell me it’s because you know the truth. You could have tried to know the truth. Heck you didn’t even have to try hard, you could have just asked or just..believed me. You know the truth now because it didn’t come from me..if..if you really loved me then tell me why is it that you always believed others over me? Why? Did I not deserve your trust? What good is this love of yours if I have to..If I have to run around to prove myself every! Single! time!”. Your mind was running in circles around the same argument, same fear..

“Y/n..I don’t know how to make you believe me. I..I almost lost you-”.

“You’ve lost me many times before, the only difference is that I had to almost die for you to see it”. Gojo’s face turned a shade pale. You hated reminding him it was all his fault, you truly hated seeing his face drop every time the accident comes up but a part of you was hurting him to protect yourself..

“Just tell me what to do..tell me how do I make you believe me?”.

“Let me go..”. Gojo looked at you with teary eyes and shook his head. “Let me go Gojo”.

“No. No no no..anything but that..anything but that y/n. I can’t do that. I can’t let you go. I won’t-”.

“Not even to make me happy?”. Shiver ran down his spine, Did you really want him to leave you? No… Would you really be happy without him? No..You knew only he could keep you happy and only he had the power to hurt you… 

Gojo's body trembled as he stood frozen to the ground.“Will you be happy? Will you be happy if I let you go?”.

“I..I don’t know. But I know that if I stay with you I will probably never be able to trust you and I want to trust you..I will end up making your life miserable”.

“You can never make my life miserable y/n,. It was miserable without you..I know you think that I had everyone around me and that I moved on but..I couldn’t. I was miserable. There were people around but no one to talk to, no one to lean on my shoulder, no one to draw silly things on my hand, no one to..no one to hold onto after a bad day, no one to annoy, no one to laugh with..”. Gojo looked down and gulped, trying with every fibre of his being to not break down. “..no one who could touch me like you, no one who smelled like you, no one who sounded like you…I had no one to call my own and everyday I would go to bed praying to get out of this misery. Praying that I could go back in time to that day when I made the biggest mistake of my life, the day I left you and fix it..I..I am ready to do whatever it takes ..”. 

You felt his trembling hand gripping your arms for life. His words slurred and mixed up, he couldn’t focus, his eyes hooded. “Go..jo..are you-”. You called out for him and cupped his cheeks. “This is not just guilt y/n, you're all I have, you're all I want..I have lived a life full of lies, everyone has lied to me and you're the only truth I know now..so don’t ask me to let you go..I can’t..I can’t…”. Tears fell down his cheeks, you wiped them away with your thumb and saw the genuine sadness and want in his eyes and cursed yourself for even bringing up anything.. He held your hand cupping his cheeks and brought them to his lips, he kissed them once..twice..before pressing them on his face once again. “Give me one last chance y/n. That’s all I ask..”. 

As much as you hated yourself for it,As much as you wanted to protect yourself you knew you couldn't be happy by hurting him, you couldn’t deny the fact that you too wanted to be with him. You too were tired of other people dictating the rules of your relationship, if this was going to end badly then at least it would be on your terms.. You wanted it to be just the two of you in this and no one. You took a deep breath, as you came to terms with the fact that you were in fact going to take this chance. “Fine.. I will ..”.

A smile spread across his face as he pressed a kiss on your forehead. “Thank you..”.

“But I am not going to accept those shares..”. Gojo looked at you, confused. “I don’t want you to ..to be good to me because I  have some leverage over you. You can hurt me again if you want to and I could do nothing about it but know this Gojo Satoru, if you hurt me again it will kill me..”. Your eyes fixed on his’, your face stern as you scanned his face for answers. 

“They are yours..I don’t deserve it after what my father did to you. I might not be able to fix those mistakes but I want you to live the life you deserve”. Before you could protest further Gojo picked you up by your waist and pressed his lips onto yours. Your hands wrapped around his neck as you held him once again the way you did 8 years ago. All your walls crumbled as you allowed yourself to feel emotions you had suppressed all this while..In this moment you were the same y/n l/n you were years ago..

This moment, this moment where he held you, where he felt the warmth of your body against his’, where his breathing matched yours, where his sins were forgiven..in this moment Gojo Satoru was more alive then he had even been in the past 8 years. In this moment he was yours and you were his’. 

You parted gasping for air, your forehead pressed together and eyes closed. Neither of you wanted this moment to end. Neither of you wanted to wake up from this dream of a moment. 

You both slowly opened your eyes and Gojo gave a final peck on your lips before spinning you around with him. 

“You can keep me down you know”. He pulled back and kept you down with your feet on top of his’. You wrapped your arms around his neck and looked up at him, he was looking at you with the smile of a content man. A man who was finally home... 

“Y/n L/n I am in love with you…”. 

-X-

Gojo walked around the hallway with his phone pressed to his ear. He would often wait until you're asleep to continue with his work. It was hectic managing everything but he was sure it was all going to be worth it.

He sat on the chair with his head hung low, elbows resting on his knees as he tried to gather strength. Shoko was in her night rounds when she saw her friend, barely conscious on the chair. She walked over and sat next to him. "You alright?". Gojo nodded his head.

"You should seriously get some sleep".

"There's so much to do ...". Shoko sighed and leaned back. "I am sure whatever it is it can wait till morning". Gojo leaned back and rubbed his eyes. "I need to be with y/n in the morning".

"We are there for her too. You don't have to shoulder everything". Gojo nodded his head. "I do.. I know life has been tough for her so why can't I struggle a little to keep her happy?". Shoko scoffed, "Never knew Gojo Satoru can be so generous..you are not struggling s little, trust me at this rate you would end up next to her ... So don't stress yourself out".

Gojo nodded at her,"Shoko, I ..I need your help".

"Sure ..what is it?".

"I need to know her ring size".

-X-

You woke up the next day to see Gojo sitting by your side typing on his phone. You groaned as you tried to sit and he immediately kept his phone away and helped you up. “Good morning”. He said kissing your forehead. “Good morning, did you sleep well?”.

“I did. What about you? Are you hurting?”. You shook your head. “Not really. Can you call ..Nurses? I need to get changed”. Gojo nodded and left the room. You tried stretching your neck and noticed something around your neck. You looked down to see a familiar pendant hanging on your collarbone. You held it and smiled to yourself as you ran your thumb over the engraved initials. “Cute”. 

Gojo waited outside for the nurses to be done when he saw Shoko running towards him. “Is she done?”. She asked panting. “Not yet..what happened?”. She chuckled at him as she pressed a hand over her chest to catch her breath.

“You are going to love the news I have for her”. Before Gojo could ask further the nurse announced that they can go inside now. Shoko beat Gojo to the door and looked at you with an evil grin. You looked at her in confusion and then at equally confusing Gojo behind her. “What happened?”. 

Shoko turned around and looked at Gojo, “You need to sit for this”. She waved her hand towards the chair and Gojo followed it. “Y/n. Dr.Utahime is busy in OT so another doctor is going to do your check up today”. 

“Okay..is it going to be you?”. Shoko bit her lip and shook her head. “Do you remember that colleague of mine I set you up with?”. You frowned in confusion while Gojo’s mouth hung open. “Which colleague?”. He asked, making his mind up to call the director and change the doctor immediately. 

“You know y/n, the one whose heart you broke, you thought he had nice hair and was very kind and funny and sweet and hot..”. Shoko could have told you the name directly but the look on Gojo’s face was worth the effort. “Oh no..”. You said, your eyes widening in realisation”. 

“Oh yes…him..”. Your cheeks flushed at thinking about him. “Noritoshi…”. Shoko nodded and smirked at Gojo. “Gojo, I think we should leave now, it’s time for y/n’s check up”. Gojo glared at her, “I’m not leaving. He can do what he wants in my presence”. 

“That would be really inappropriate. We might have to undress y/n so he could get a better look at her wounds”.

“It won’t be necessary”. Gojo said, folding his hands. There was no way in hell he was going to let a man undress you, especially someone from your past.

“It is absolutely necessary Mr.Gojo. It won’t be the first time he is seeing her-”.

“Enough”. You said, cutting Shoko off. Gojo frowned at her insinuation. "Did you guys..?.”

"I can look after myself…and both of you can stay..it would be awkward if I am alone with him”. You bit your lip thinking about the awkwardness. “Why would it be awkward?”. Gojo asked, jealousy evident in his tone. 

“Because she didn’t call him back..”. You looked down at your hands, refusing to meet Gojo’s gaze. “How many dates did you guys go to?”. Shoko walked over and sat next to Gojo. “They went on two dates”. You slowly lifted your head up and looked at Shoko, “Four..we went on four dates..”. 

“Four?! You told me it was only two!”. 

“Well..it was initially only two but then..we met at a cafe and..things happened”. 

“What things?”. Gojo aske, jumping in the conversation. You rolled your eyes at him. “You know….”. The door opened and your eyes were met with a pair of hazel ones. "Hello y/n". 

"Hello .. doctor-".

"Please call me Noritoshi, you don't have to be so formal with me. I believe Dr.Shoko has told you about-". Gojo cut him off with a glare on his face, "Yes she did."

"Great then. Dr.Shoko I believe it's best for you and our guest here to step outside for-". 

"I will stay here. You can proceed with your assessment". Noritoshi looked at Shoko who shrugged her shoulders. "It's fine Noritoshi, they can stay". You said, embarrassed by the two monkeys sitting next to your bed. One who looked like he was about to throw hands with the doctor and another who was just here for the show. 

"Alright then. Let me help you with your shirt". Gojo got up and put his hand between Noritoshi and you. "I will help her with that". Your cheeks turned red at the prospect and you waved your hand in front of your face, "I can manage it on my own". 

Shoko sat there smiling, wishing she had some popcorn to go with this drama. You lifted the shirt up for the doctor to examine the stitches. Gojo saw for the first time the scars that littered your torso, the stitches below your ribs, tiny red lines across your back and on your stomach, he saw your ribs poking out and how much weight you had lost compared to the last time he saw you. 

You turned towards Noritoshi as he examined each wound carefully, making sure it was clean and not infected. He ran his gloves hands over the stitch marks under your ribs, "Does it hurt?". He looked up at you. "No.. sometimes it feels tight ..". Noritoshi humed in response and brought his face closer to your ribs, Gojo clenched his hands and Shoko had to hold his arm to keep him from starting something. 

He leaned towards Shoko and whispered, "Is he supposed to be that close?" 

"It's his job!". 

"But that's close!". 

"He has been closer you know". She looked at Gojo with a smirk and relished the feeling of watching this face turn red. 

"That's alright..It looks like most of the scars are healing and I can give you some ointment for it". He smiled as he helped you put your shirt back on. "Thank you..". Gojo scoffed, "It's his job, you don't need to thank him". You glared at him and Noritoshi chuckled, "It's fine y/n. He's right. You don't have to thank me afterall we are friends". 

He sat near your foot and unwrapped the bandages across your sprained ankle. "Looks like the swelling is down". 

"That's nice to hear". 

"It seems this foot of yours is unlucky". You laughed at his reference to when you tripped and injured your ankle after a date and he had to carry you home. "I guess it is."

"What's so funny? She's injured and can barely walk.. what's funny about it?". Gojo said, looking at the man. 

"It's an old story Mr.Gojo". 

"Tell me, this story of yours". Noritoshi looked at you and you smiled apologetically and turned your gaze towards Gojo. "I injured the same foot before when we…when we met and luckily he was there". 

"It seems he is the one who is unlucky for you". You rolled your eyes at him. "Gojo can you please..". 

"It's alright y/n. Everything looks fine and I think you will have a speedy recovery". 

"Thank God. I am dying of boredom here". 

"W'll if you ever get bored you can give me a call and I would love to keep you entertained..and not to forget I make the best coffee". He said, winking at you. 

"Well I would only if you agree that I make the best coffee". Shoko bit her lip trying not to smile at Gojo's expression. 

"Aahh I see, you'll have to refresh my memory for that". 

"Maybe I will". You said smiling at him, unaware of the dark aura surrounding Gojo. 

"Alright I'll see you then. Have a good day. You too Mr.Gojo". He smiled at Shoko and left the room. 

Shoko got up and tired towards both of you, "I'll get going and y/n let me know if you want me to set up another date with-". 

"Shoko!". Shoko giggled and waved her hand, leaving you and Gojo alone. 

"What was that about?". You asked, your gaze throwing daggers at Gojo. "What are you talking about?". 

"You were rude to him". 

"Right ..I apologise for being rude to your friend". Gojo leaned into his chair pouting at you. "Gojo .".

"Satoru …call me Satoru. Not Gojo". You sighed at his antics. "Fine. Satoru. He is my friend and yes we went on a few dates-". 

"Four dates. You went on four dates". 

"Fine…four dates. But that was that. Nothing happened." Gojo raised an eyebrow at you. "Fine! Some things happened but it's all in the past now". 

"Where did you go on dates?". 

"We went to cafes the first two times, second time we went for dinner and third time was at a park". 

"Which cafe? Where did you go for dinner? Which park was it?". You looked at him confused, was he being serious? Or was all this just his childish antics to annoy you. 

"We went to that cafe near our apartment, went to Jefford's for dinner and we went to the park behind our apartment. Happy now?". 

"Why didn't you call him?". You crossed your arms over your chest and squinted your eyes at him. "Because the next day I got a call from Nanami to look after Kiro and the same day a very annoying neighbour moved in". 

Gojo smiled proudly at you. "Good. He wasn't even that good looking and who goes to Jefford's for dinner? Could have at least taken you someplace good". 

"It was good and I liked it. He is funny, smart and kind..". Gojo scoffed, "I am sure I can make better coffee than him". You had to bite back your smile at his words. "Sure..you add coffee to your sugary drink". 

"He was clearly flirting with you". 

"No he wasn't. He was just being friendly..and I am sure you too have a long list of ex girlfriends..". 

"I don't". You hummed and leaned towards him.."Are you sure?".

"Yes.. I was too stuck on one girl to even think about anyone else". You squinted your eyes at him. It was hard to believe.."Not even..casual dates? Or hookups?".

"Hookups yes but that's all. Never went till four dates". You rolled your eyes at him. "Stop with with the four dates! ... Did you ever ... Get together with ... Mei?". You asked looking at your fingers, unable to meet his gaze. Gojo gulped and thought about it, he did get together with Mei but it wasn't serious. Not serious enough to ruin his chance with you. "No..". You sighed in relief and smiled at him. "Should I believe you?".

"Yes..I would never lie to you..".

Gojo’s phone rang and he groaned in frustration. “Yes Mrs.Tanaka….mmhmm..that’s good…I’m not sure if I could stop by…can’t anyone else handle it? .. fine….I'll let you know”. Gojo cut the call and sighed. You understood that he needed to be in office. “You can go to the office”. 

“I can’t. Not with you still injured”. He said typing instructions for someone on his phone. 

“I’m not injured. I can walk and use one of my hands. I will be fine”. He looked up at you and shook his head. “No”. 

“Satoru! I said I am fine! Go to work! Anyway I need to take medicine and sleep anyway. You can get your work done at that time”. Gojo pondered over your suggestion, It made sense but it was still risky. You read his face and rolled your eyes at his stubbornness. “You have your guards here..it’s only a matter of two hours or so..I’ll be fine. Probably asleep..”. 

“Fine. But if anything happens you tell the guards. Anything y/n... Do you understand?”. Gojo got up and looked at you with all seriousness, like he didn’t trust you to be on your own and it annoyed you but you nodded at him, hoping that he understands“I do.”. 

Gojo walked out but before leaving for work he paid a visit to the director to make sure Dr.Utahime is always available for you.

-X-

Gojo was gone for over an hour and you were getting bored out of your mind. You had been cooped up inside the room for too long and Gojo didn’t even trust you to walk on your own two legs. This was your chance to walk around and probably meet Shoko. The only problem…the guards. You stood near the door and gave yourself a pep talk. They are just guards, I haven’t done anything wrong so why am I worried about them? If anything happens I can always use Shoko. You took a deep breath and pressed the button to open the door. One step..two steps..”Ma’am is there anything you need?”

“No. I am just going out”. The second guard pulled the wheelchair and stood in front of you, “We are not to leave you alone, I can take you wherever you want to go”. You looked at the dreaded wheelchair. “I can walk fine on my own”. You said, trying to get past him but he blocked your way once again. “Ma’am please understand, we cannot let you go alone” You groaned, “Please..”. The guards looked at you in confusion and then at each other. “We..we cannot let you go alone”.

“Fine! But stay at a distance..”. The guards nodded and walked behind you. “How long have you been working for Gojo?”. 

“Two years ma’am”. 

“You don’t have to call me ma’am. You can call me y/n”. You walked ahead towards the end of the hallway. “No ma’am”. You chuckled and shook your head. There were more guards present at the entrance of the floor. They straightened up and then bowed at you. “Hi. How are you guys doing?”.

“We are good ma’am”. They said in unison. “Nice”,you chuckled nervously and got in the elevator. You turned towards one of the guards standing behind you, “What’s your name?”. He bowed down formally, “My name is Yuki Hiro ma’am!”. 

“Okay, Yuki tell me how many guards are there in total?”. 

“There are 8 of us on the floor and 10 around the hospital”. 

“Satoru is not here so do you still need to be in the hospital..all 18 of you?”. 

“We are here as your guards ma’am, Mr.Gojo has his personal guards”.

“My guards? all of you?Why?”.

“Yes ma’am, Mr.Gojo’s order”. 

“So if I tell you to do one thing and Mr.Gojo asks you to do another, whom would you listen to?”. Yuki looked at his partner who shrugged at him. “We are here to protect you, so we'll follow the order that aligns with our aim”. His partner gave him a proud nod. The elevator opened on the common floor, as you got out all eyes turned towards you and the guard behind you. You walked around, hoping to find something interesting to do and come up with a way to be on your own. Then it clicked, You turned around and smiled at them, “I need to use the restroom, both of you wait here..it’s an order?”. You were more unsure of your ‘order’ than they were. They exchanged confused looks, “Don’t tell me you intend to follow me into the restroom?”. 

“No ma’am! We would never! We apologize!”. You chuckled nervously and stepped back pointing your thumb towards the washroom. “I’ll be off then..wait right here.”.

“Yes ma’am”. You walked towards the restroom slowly, waiting for the perfect opportunity to sneak away. This has become an interesting game. You looked back and saw them staring in your direction. You opened the restroom door and just then a crowd of people walked in between you and the guards and instead of stepping in you turned and walked in between the crowd, keeping your head low. You managed to reach the end of the hallway and stepped away from the crowd, you looked behind and saw no one and sighed in relief. Now you were free..

-X-

Gojo returned with Miwa and was greeted by the guards at the elevator. “Ms.Y/n is not in her room sir. She has gone down”. Gojo frowned at them. “When?”. There was no need for you to go down..

“An hour ago.”. 

“What about her guards?”. 

“They went along with her”. Something felt wrong. “Call them and ask them where they are”. The guard pulled out his phone and before he could dial Yuki, he got a call from him. Gojo saw this and looked at him, “Put it on speaker”. 

“Yes Yuki”.

“We can’t find Ms.Y/n”. Gojo snatched the phone from him and yelled into the mic, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN’T FIND HER?!”. 

“I..I apologise sir. She said she needed to go to the restroom and asked us to wait for her. When she didn’t come out for 20 minutes we had one of the nurses go check on her and it was empty. We have checked the entire floor and went through the first 10 floors of the building but we can’t find her”. Gojo’s grip tightened on the phone before he threw it at the wall, shattering it to pieces. “Go find her! NOW!”. 

Miwa tried calming Gojo down, “It’s fine Mr.Gojo. I am sure we will find her”. Gojo  turned towards his guards.“What is the layout of the hospital?”. 

“Sir, we have three buildings joined by the common ground and each building has 30 floors, we have accessed the CCTV footage and we are looking for her”. 

Gojo ran his hand through his hair and ran down the staircase to look for you..

You looked up at the hospital map on the wall, looking for a way to reach Shoko’s office. You had explored enough and were getting tired now. Soo I am in building 2 and Shoko and my room is in building 1. I can take a lift to the common hall, cross over, take the elevator to Shoko’s floor and that's all…

You reached Shoko’s floor and walked towards her office. “Ms.Y/n''. You turned around at the all too familiar voice and saw Mei standing in front of you. Looking better than the last time you had seen her. “What are you doing here?”. 

“I am here to drop something for Miwa..”. 

“Then go your way”. You said, turning around. “Y/n..please..”. 

“What do you want from me?”. 

“I realised I never really got to apologise to you. My father did but I didn’t…so I am sorry for everything I did to you. I really didn’t mean for things to go this far”.

“Fine. I heard you”. Mei tried reaching for your hand but her hand stopped mid way when a loud voice was heard making both you and Mei flinch. “DO NOT TOUCH HER!”. 

You turned around and saw Gojo practically running towards you with his guards behind him. “Satoru..”. 

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”. He yelled,towering over Mei, making her flinch. “Mr.Gojo I..I was just apo..apologising to Ms.Y/n..I wasn’t trying to..wasn’t trying to hurt her”. 

“And you expect me to believe that? How did you know where she was? Did you follow her?”. He stood between you and Mei, shielding you behind his broad shoulders. If you could, you would see the terrified eyes of Mei and how her hand trembled by her side. But your own body seemed to be giving up on you. You clenched his shirt as you tried to maintain your balance. 

“No .., I..I was coming to see Miwa and I saw Ms.Y/n walking this way and..and I just wanted to talk to her..”. Gojo gritted his teeth and took a step towards her but you stopped him, you tugged his shirt and he turned around to look at you, He took your face in his hands and bent down to check for any signs of discomfort on your face, “Y/n..are you fine? Are you hurt? Did she do anything?”. He was panting, barely able to keep his eyes focused. “I’m ..fine..just tired. Mei didn’t do anything”. He shook his head and looked at the guards, “Call Dr.Shoko right now!”.

Gojo picked you up in one swift motion and walked towards your room. You could see his jaw tense as he carried you along the hallway.  “I’m fine. Really…”. Gojo didn’t answer or look at you. His grip on your body is tightening slightly.

He gently put you on your bed as the two guards stood near your bed with their heads down. "We apologise ma'am". 

"No! It was my fault…please…Don't apologise. I'm fine". Gojo stood with his hands on his waist and looked at the two guards. 

"You two had one fucking job! Both of you-" he said pointing his finger between them, "Both of you are fired!". 

"Satoru no. Please it was my fault not theirs… don't fire them!".

"Y/n stay out of this..".

"I won't! I will not have anyone else stay around me except them…". Gojo gritted his teeth and looked at them. "Fine.. if that's what it takes.. but you will always have them by your side, is that clear?". 

"Yes Mr.Gojo". Gojo's anger faded away and his pressed lips almost stretched into a smile..almost..

"You two can go now". The guards thanked you and him and left. 

“What were you thinking y/n?”. 

“I just wanted to walk around..I was bored..”.

“Walk around? In your condition? Did you even care to think about the consequences of your action?”.

“What consequences? Mei wasn’t going to hurt me”.

“We don’t know that!”.

“I know that! No one is coming to hurt me! Stop treating me like a child!”.

“Then stop acting like one! Anything could have happened to you! Mei could have hurt you! There are terrible people out there and we don’t know what they can do! You could have tripped and hurt yourself! You could have fainted in exhaustion!”. Gojo paced around running his hand over his face. 

Shoko came running through the door, “What happened?!”. Gojo looked at you and bit the inside of his cheeks. “I went to walk around the hospital and he is overreacting”. Gojo scoffed at you, “Really y/n? She sneaked away from guards to walk around for an hour and bumped into Mei in an almost empty hallway”.Shoko looked between the two of you. “Fine..how about we all calm down okay? Y/n are you hurt? How’s your ankle?”.

“It’s fine”. Shoko walked over to your bed and gently pressed your ankle, you hissed in pain. Gojo glared at you, making you look away from him. “Hmm, it is swollen. You shouldn’t have walked around for that long”.

“I know that, I just lost my way..”. 

“Which you wouldn’t have if you would have kept the guards around!”. Before you could retaliate Shoko kept her hand on your shoulder. “Satoru, can you give me a minute with y/n?”. Gojo grabbed his coat and stormed out of the room.

“You need to go easy on him y/n. He was worried about you”. 

“Well he shouldn’t be. He is the one who is treating me like a kid!”.

“You are thinking from your point of view but put yourself in his shoes and think. He hasn’t slept well or eaten well in days now, juggling his time between hospital and office, constantly fretting over you while his father is ill too..he might not show it but he is breaking inside. He is just pretending to be strong and I know this because I have seen him break multiple times over the past day…You know he blames himself for everything that has happened ? He looks like he might pass out any minute but he is trying to be strong for you..so please try to take care of yourself if not for yourself then maybe for him”. 

“It’s not like I want him to worry over me..I just don’t want to be treated like a child”. Shoko smiled gently as she patted your head. “I know..but he is going to be that way whether you like it or not so try not to fight with him and for once in your life y/n let someone take care of you...”. 

-X- 

Gojo paced around the hallway thinking about what just happened. He was lucky he could reach you on time before anything bad could happen to you..but was he always going to be by your side? It was risky leaving you alone. He would have to go ahead with his plan sooner than he had imagined….

He saw Mei walking behind Miwa with her head down. "Miwa". 

"Yes Mr.Gojo". 

"Do you have what I asked for?" She nodded and handed him the bag. Gojo took the phone out and inspected it. He had ordered it specially for you realising that you do need to have some way to contact him. But this was no ordinary phone. Gojo had gotten spyware planted in the phone, with which he could not only monitor your location, but could also access camera, microphone, photos in your gallery and every call and message log. 

It was justified. He was doing it to protect you. He logged in and opened his phone to test the tracker. One he was satisfied it was working fine he put the phone back in the box. 

"Why is she here?". He asked Miwa. "Mr.Gojo, I was with you in the meeting so I asked her to bring the phone. I apologise for what happened today". 

Gojo sighed as he stared at Mei. "Fine. But make sure it doesn't happen again… what is the update on the house?". 

"Yes, everything is done except Ms.y/n's wardrobe".

"Why? What's taking so long?". 

"I have yet to pick up her clothes from her home and I need Ms.Shoko's permission". 

"No need for that.”.He looked at Mei and sighed.” Take Mei with you and make sure it is done in three days and make sure she has everythung and anything else that can be necessary. If you think something additional is needed then you don't have to wait for my permission,you can go ahead and get it". 

"Sure Mr.Gojo. How is she doing now?".

"She's fine, Can you get me coffee? I need to talk to Mei".

Mei watched Miwa walk away and fear crawled up her spine. Gojo took slow steps towards her till she was caged between him and the wall. 

"Mei.. you are lucky y/n has forgiven you, if it wasn't for her then let's just say you won't be standing on two feet..so try to hurt her again and I will forget the mercy she has shown you". 

"Mr.Gojo.. I wasn't trying to hurt her..I swear…".

"I don't give a fuck! Let me make something clear to you, you are lucky enough that you get to breath the same air as her but do not forget where you stand! You will not speak unless spoken to, you will not sit next to her, you will not look at her! Is that clear?". Mei clasped her hands behind her back and nodded.

"You're off the hook…for now…you'll have to work really hard because my patience with you is running really low"

-X- 

Shoko left soon and you sat alone on the bed, looking at the door, expecting him to walk in. You waited for an hour and had almost given up and were about to turn away and sleep when you heard the door open. Gojo walked in carrying a paper bag in his hand. You didn’t know what to say so you decided to fix your eyes on your lap. “Are you still mad at me?”. He asked , keeping the bag on the table as he sat next to your bed. You shook your head which made strands of your hair fall on your face. Gojo reached out and tucked them behind your ear, tilting your face to look at him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you”. 

“I..it was my fault. I shouldn’t have done that..I know I am causing way too much trouble for you. You have to stay here because of me and you can barely eat or sleep..I hate it..”. Gojo smiled as he rubbed your cheeks. “Don’t worry about me. I am fine as long as you’re fine”.

“I wish I could help you too”.Gojo hummed and leaned back in his chair .“There is one way you can help me, you know?”. 

“How?”.

“Move in with me. I have doctors and medical staff on standby and it would  be less stressful for you too”. 

“I don’t understand..”.

“I have spoken to the director of this hospital , you can be discharged next week and I think it would be best if you stay with me..”.

“Well..our apartments are right next to each other so it wouldn’t matter if I stay with you or alone..”. Gojo chuckled as he leaned towards you. “No y/n. Not that apartment… our home..”.

"What do you mean by our home?". 

"I want us to have a fresh start.."

“Are you sure it’d be alright? I know your dad doesn’t like me and I don’t want to come in between both of you given his condition”. 

“No… I am sure he wouldn’t mind..”. 

“I’ll have to move a lot of stuff…how can I? I mean-”.

“You don’t have to worry about anything..I’ll take care of it. I promise you won’t have to worry about anything..”. 

You looked at his sunken eyes,If moving in with him will make it easier for him then… "Fine..”

-X- 

It has become a routine for you. You'd wake up with Gojo next to you, get your check up done, have breakfast, spend time with Gojo, have lunch, sleep , go for an evening walk, eat dinner with Gojo and sleep again. It was mundane but a welcomed break. This was probably the first time off you have had in years. You were either working or looking for work whereas now you had only one goal, getting better. 

Even when Gojo was not next to you, he was always texting you and sending you photos of him in the office. Today was one of those days. You were walking around the park with two guards ahead of you and two guards following you. It felt weird and in some way cut you off from the rest of the world around you, but if having guards around would give some peace of mind to Gojo to focus on his work then you were not going to question it. 

You checked your phone and realised you had an hour until Gojo gets back, “Yuki , do you know where the gift shop is?”. You asked one of the guards. “Yes ma’am. Would you like to go there?”. 

“Yes please…”.

You walked around the gift shops looking for the best option.You wished you could have done something better but you were going to make the best out of this situation..Gojo was doing a lot for you and you wanted to thank him for it . You came across a pink coffee mug with strawberries printed on it. You picked it up and examined it, Cute. You turned towards the four guards standing behind you, “Do you think he would like this?”. They looked at each other, hoping one of them would answer. “Come one guys, There is no one else I can ask”. 

“Yes ma’am. It is..cute”. You smiled happily at the man who answered the question. “Thank You!”. Yuki held onto the pink mug for you as you walked around the shop, hoping to find something. You went through shelves of mugs, cards, flowers, socks…you were about to turn around and settle for the mug when something caught your eye. An entire section of baby clothes..you walked towards it, looking through cute onesie and shoes, then you saw it … a small pair of brown shoes..

Your heart sank as you held a small brown pair of shoes in your hand. You ran your thumb over the bear motif thinking about the child you never got to meet. “I’ll take this as well”. 

You took your phone out to pay as you saw the cashier putting shoes and mug in the same bag, you weren’t sure if you wanted Gojo to know about them…”Separate bags please…”. 

Gojo got a notification on his phone about your phone’s activity. What was she doing in the gift shop?. He opened the bill and saw the only two items you bought…

You stepped out of the elevator on your floor and saw Gojo talking to a familiar looking man. 

"Toji!!!". You yelled, making the two men look in your direction. Toji smiled at you, making the scar on his lip twitch up. Before he could say anything you pulled him down in a hug, making him chuckle lightly. "Nice to meet you again". 

"Thank you so much! For everything that you did!". You said pulling back. 

"It's my pleasure. How are you holding up?". 

"I'm good. How's Megumi?". Toji smiled at the fact that you remembered Megumi. "He's fine. A pain in the ass but fine". He said, making both you and Gojo chuckle. 

"I'll get going now. Lots to do. Stay out of trouble Ms.y/n". He winked at you and walked away with his guards. 

Gojo sat across from you and saw you fidgeting with your food. “Something on your mind?”. You shook your head and smiled at him. “No. How did the meeting go?”. 

“It went well. We have finalized the design for our new resort” You simply nodded at him. You missed being able to work, attend meetings, see your ideas materialize into projects. Gojo saw you losing yourself in your thoughts again. “Is everything okay y/n?”. You simply smiled at him. “Yeah…there is something that I have been thinking about..”.

“What is it?”. 

“I have a job offer”. …

‘What do you mean?”. 

“I had applied for a job and I got an email from them today-”.

“Why did you? You already have one..”. You could see Gojo was not happy with the news. 

“You..you fired me remember”. It was embarrassing for you to admit it in front of him but your pride was too bruised to work with him again,“Y/n…”. Gojo sighed and ran his hand over his face. “..is that what this is about?”.

“No. It’s not. I am not asking you for a job, I am just letting you know that I got one..”. 

“Fuck..”. Gojo cursed under his breath and stood up. “Y/n..I…fuck..I know I messed up but ..please”. You got up and held his hand, trying to calm him down. “I haven’t accepted the offer but I am considering it..”. Gojo’s grip on your hand tightened as he looked down at you.“You shouldn't be thinking about it now..you should be resting”.

"I rest all day Satoru and besides It's a necessity".

"It's not..I can take-".

"No .. I don't want you to "take care" of me. I can do that on my own.." . Gojo scoffed, "I should be allowed to right?".

"Satoru you're already doing enough and this is not about you. It's about me. Please understand...".

"Fine.. but not at the cost of your health. Start working when you are completely better..Which company is it?".

“It’s a startup called finacle…”. Gojo looked at you, eyes focused on yours as his jaw clenched. He took a deep breath, it was nothing he couldn’t handle. He knew you were too proud to work with him again,maybe he would just have to play it his way. The anger washed away and a smile ghosted his lips as he nodded. “Alright..if it makes you happy then I’m happy for you”. You sighed in relief. “Thank you..”. You felt bad for bringing this up. To make up for it you decided to play a little with Gojo, "What if I.. don't want to work?" 

Gojo smiled and wrapped his hands around your waist. "That would be perfect.. I will get to come home to you and our kids-". 

"Kids?!". 

"Yeah. Four, did you forget?". Before you could say anything, Gojo leaned down and pressed his lips onto yours. Your lips moved along with his as you ran your hands through his hair. Gojo pulled back and whispered against your lips, "You're Mine…"..

You tilted your head and smiled at him, "Am I? You haven't really asked me out you know". Gojo chuckled and touched your nose with his, "Y/n L/n will you-". You pressed his lips with your palm. "You are not asking me out in a hospital!". Gojo chuckled and licked your palm instead. "Satoru!!! You are disgusting!!".

Gojo was lying next to you with one arm draped across your shoulder and the other holding the remote as you both tried to decide which movie to watch.”I have something for you!”. You reached for the table beside your bed and pulled out the wrapped box. You sat crossed legs on the bed and handed the box to Gojo.

“What is this?”. 

“OPEN IT!”. Gojo knew what it was. It wasn’t the gift that made him smile, it was the glint in your eyes as you watched him unwrap it. Gojo held the mug in front of his face. “Is this for me?”. You rolled your eyes at him, “of course”.

“Why?”. 

“No reason…”. Gojo grabbed your waist and turned you around as your back collided with his chest. He kissed the top of your head as he admired the cute mug in his hand. “Cute..”. 

“I know..”.

“I wasn’t talking about the gift”. You hit his arm which earned you another peck on your cheek. “Is that all you got?”. You turned your head back and saw him smirking at you. Your eyes followed his gaze and landed on the other bag kept at the foot of the table. A sad attempt at hiding it from your end. “Is that also for me?”. 

“No!”. Gojo chuckled and leaned over to grab it. Your arms failed to stop his strong ones from picking it up. “It’s nothing..I just thought they were really cute..”. Gojo nodded and pulled out the contents of the bag. You swear you could hear the shift in his heart beat. He remained silent admiring the tiny pair of shoes. “I..I’m sorry”. You tried apologising thinking you might have offended him by reminding him of it. 

"These are so small..". The pair of shoes could fit together on his palm.Gojo didn’t say anything for a minute and kept staring at the shoes…He imagined what it could have been..“I’m sorry. I just saw them and-”.

“You don’t have to apologize..they are really adorable..”. You nodded your head as you rubbed the back of his hand. “Y/n?”. 

“Yeah?”.

“I’ll keep it safe..We..will keep it safe. Right?”.

“Yes we will..”.

-X-

Gojo : Miwa schedule a call with Mrs.Tanaka tomorrow afternoon. We need to discuss a new acquisition.

Miwa : Sure Sir. Do you want me to get you the financial statements as well?

Gojo : Yes that would be perfect.. look into Financle

-X-

Mei sat with Miwa in the backseat as Ijichi drove them to the house Gojo had picked out for both of you. “I have Ms.Y/n’s measurements with me. We need to finalise a few finishing touches and then we can settle other things”. 

“Sure..But if I may ask, Why another house?”.

“Mr.Gojo was adamant about the type of house he wanted for Ms.Y/n. The other penthouses and his ancestral home are in the heart of the city and Mr.Gojo wants privacy..I had shown him 10 properties and the moment he laid his eyes on this one, he knew it was the one”.

“So are they..getting married?”. Miwa locked her ipad and let out a hopeful sigh... “Not yet..But I hope they do!”. Mei nodded and looked out the window, trying to hide the burn in her chest. The car stopped outside a mansion with a traditional exterior with a modern touch. It was surrounded by lush green trees and looked like a vacation house. Mei got down and saw the full stretch of the property, it must have been thrice the size of her own house.``It’s..beautiful..”. 

“I know! Let’s go!”. Miwa said, leading the way. Mei followed her inside and saw the wooden interior, she turned around trying to take it all in. People were moving inside in every direction. Some were fixing a table, hanging a painting, some were trying to fix the carpet. Miwa saw her looking at everything in amazement and confusion, “Mr.Gojo wants it to be done as soon as possible”. 

Mei nodded and followed Miwa upstairs. “Where are we going?”. 

“I need to check if they are done with the interior of the wardrobe and master bedroom”. Mei nodded and walked behind her into the master bedroom. The bedroom was bigger than any she had ever seen, every corner of the room looked like it was handcrafted and fixed there by some master craftsman. 

“Who is the interior designer?”.

“Some man whose name I can't pronounce...It’s a funny story actually. When Mr.Gojo and Ms.Y/n were young, she mentioned an interior designer she saw in a magazine and how she wished one day she could see his work. Mr.Gojo remembered that and flew in the decorator from Rome just so he could have a perfect home. He picked out this house …I think… three months ago, right and started the work…”. 

“Three months ago? I thought they weren't together”.

“It didn’t matter. Mr.Gojo was confident that one day he will bring Ms.Y/n here and he wanted it to be perfect.. Let’s check on the wardrobes. The bedroom looks fine..". 

Mei wondered if she ever really stood a chance. She remembered three months ago when she thought she had Gojo right where she wanted, how wrong she was. Even when Gojo was not with you, he was hopeful. Hopeful enough to do all this…. 

Mei walked behind Miwa who led her through a door from one end of the bedroom. They entered a room the same size as the bedroom with matching carpets and mirrors along the walls. Shelves were being fixed in place. “Are you sure it's the wardrobe? It's too big …”.

“Yes, this is the wardrobe.. is just the first level, we have to check on the second level as well…so as per the instructions the first level is for casual and office wear so we need type A cases and evening wear is on the second level so there should be the second type of racks...perfect… I pray they didn't mess up the jewelery shelf like last time ...”. 

Mei watched Miwa climb stairs to the second level and looked around. If only I hadn’t messed it all up… She walked around running her hands through the shelves and satin lined chairs. For a moment she imagined herself here … with Gojo by her side. Getting ready together for work…She believed that Gojo would never be happy with you. The love wasn't equal, he was clearly more in love with you whereas you were just trying to live your life.. Should she be brave enough to try? Or play it safe? She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Miwa walk down. "We are done here … everything seems to be in order. I will need your help with the clothes, we have packages coming in tomorrow morning and we will have to get this place ready. Call the company and get confirmation on that". 

"Where are we going now?". Mei clasped her hand in front of her and smiled gleefully. “To pick up something special”.

Mei and Miwa sat oposite to the manager, in the private room of one of the country's oldest and prestigious jewelers, as he placed the velvet box in front of them. Mei gasped at the sapphire ring places in the glass box. “It’s beautiful”. Mei was familiar with the ring, it was the Gojo clan ring. Passed down for more than 10 generations to the lady of the house. She had seen Mrs.Gojo wearing it in their family photos.. "My great great grand father curated this ring for Gojo family and since then we have been working with Gojo family for it's safekeeping and maintenance".

"It is truly beautiful". Miwa said smiling at the beaming manager.

Miwa looked at the manager, “Is it fitted to the size?”.

“Yes ma’am. Let me show you”. The manager put on a silk glove and gently took the ring out and placed it on a metal cone, Miwa squinted and checked the measurements on the side and nodded. “Perfect..Please pack it securely. I would like to check the other ring as well”.

"The other ring?". Mei asked looking at Miwa. "Yeah. Mr.Gojo wanted to carry on the family tradition but also wanted something of his own so he had another ring made out of one of his' late mother's diamonds..".

"How are you so sure about the size?". Miwa's got up and pulled out a frog ring from her bag, "Ms.Shoko helped us out".

"Please follow me". The manager motioned to Miwa and she followed him to the other end of the room. Mei turned her attention towards the blue ring in front of her. She wondered if in another life she would get to be with Satoru..If he would look at her the same way he looks at you..She remembered how once at a party Gojo’s dad joked about giving her the Gojo family ring and now it was here in front of her..fitted for someone else.."Can I try it?". She asked, looking up at the assistant standing behind the counter.

"Are you the lucky lady?". The assistant asked smiling at her. Mei beamed at her, it was quite evident that she had the personality to carry such a tradition and name and not you.. "Yes .. I just want to make sure it fits".

"I apologise but we have strict orders to not let anyone try it in the absence of Mr Gojo". Mei's face dropped, "I'm sure Satoru would not appreciate it but ..I guess it can't be helped" . The assistant was caught between a rock and a hard place. "Ma'am... If you don't mind we have a replica of this ring, you can try that to check the size..".

Mei scoffed internally but maintained her trained smile. "Fine then ... Replica it is"

"Sure ma'am, just give me a second". The assistant held the replica of the ring in her gloved hand and Mei slid her ring finger in. It was slightly tight. "I'm sorry ma'am, I can have it altered".

"No need. It's fine.. Do you happen to know it's estimated value?". Mei took her phone out and clicked a photo of her hand.

"It is priceless but I am sure its value is not greater than love between the too of you..". Mei smirked at her. It probably worths more than her family's net worth and you .... out of all the people you would get to wear it like it was some ordinary jewelery..how unfair...

"You're right".

"It looked great on you Ms.Y/n". Mei's smile droped as she turned her head towards the assistant. "You can take it off now". Mei glanced at Miwa to make sure she didn't see any of it. She was confident now that it was her who deserved to wear it and not you..Never you ..

Miwa walked with manager with the second box in her hand. "Both the rings are perfect fit".

"Can I see it?". Mei asked tucking a strand of her behind her ear. Miwa hesitated but then opened the box. Her heart skipped a beat, Gojo sure had a great taste. She couldn't take her eyes off the radiating diamond ring.. a spark was lit inside her heart... A spark which asked her to be brave ...

-X-

Today was your last day in the hospital and you couldn’t have been happier. You stood and looked around the room, you had spent close to 14 days here, in those 14 days you went through a phase of your life which had not only changed you but made you a better person. After coming so close to death, you had realised that life was more than just worrying about others, worrying about what others thought of you. Because in the end none of it really mattered. 

You were dressed in Gojo’s navy blue sweatshirt and some comfortable trousers. You picked up the bag that Miwa and Gojo had brought for you and went through it to make sure everything was there.

You pulled out your phone and texted Nanami,

Y/n : I'm finally getting discharged!!

Nanami: Good. How are you doing now?

Y/n: Better. But I've got a lot to deal with :(

Nanami : you're strong! You've got this! And if you ever want to run away, I will always have a place for you.

Y/n : Thanks Kento :) it means a lot. I do miss you and Kiro. Hope I could see you guys soon

Nanami : We miss you too and you're always welcome to visit us :)

“Ms.Y/n are you ready?”. Miwa said, peeping inside. “Yes I am. Where is Satoru?”. 

“Oh, he is on a phone call. The director would like to meet you once, Is it alright with you?”.

“Meet me? Now?”. Miwa nodded her head. “He is waiting outside, should I let him in?”. You were confused but you were not going to say no to the director of the hospital where your best friend worked. “Yeah sure”.

Miwa smiled and opened the door and a tall stout man walked through the door, he was wearing a three piece suit and had neatly trimmed hair. “Hello Ms.L/n”. He said bowing down at you, you were flustered by this because he was clearly older to you. You bowed back in embarrassment. “Hello”. He handed you a huge bouquet of cosmos smiling ear to ear. “I hope your experience at our hospital was a nice one”. 

“Yes it was. You have a really helpful staff and great doctors too”. The man gave a hearty laugh. “I am glad it was suited to your needs. Afterall you are our special guest, we wouldn’t dare disappoint Mr.Gojo”. 

“That’s really sweet of you..”.

Gojo cut the call he was on and saw the notification of message log from your phone. He opened it and read through your chats with Nanami. Nanami was one person he knew he could never truly remove from your life and he was the one person that made him insecure. He clutched the phone in his hand took a deep breath..He was going to make sure that you won't think about anyone except him...

Gojo walked in and looked at the director. “Mr.Watanabe.” He said, taking his place next to you. “Hello Mr.Gojo. I was just making sure Ms.Y/n had a pleasant experience”. Gojo smiled at him and placed his hand at the small of your back. “Thank you for everything Mr.Watanabe”.

“Oh no Sir. The pleasure was all ours.If you need any assistance in future you must call me directly and I will make sure you get every help you need". 

"That's generous of you". 

"I would love to extend an invitation to you and Mrs.Gojo-". Your eyes widened in shock and you had to bite down your lip to not laugh right there while Gojo maintained his professional smile as he pulled you closer to him and ran his palm along your spine. "Please pardon me, Ms.y/n..". You waved your hand in front of your face, "It's okay". 

"We would love to have both of you attend our annual charitable spring ball”. He handed Gojo an invitation card. Gojo looked at Miwa who immediately stepped forwards and took the card from his hand. “Thank You for the invitation”. You said, prefering to be the polite one. 

“We must get going Sir”. Miwa said, looking at Gojo. “Right. Thank you once again for everything Mr.watanabe. Gojo smiled and walked past him holding your hand in his. 

You stood next to him in the elevator, with Miwa and guards behind you. Gojo had his hand on the small of your back, as he leaned in and whispered to you "I have a surprise for you". 

You leaned towards him as he bent down to hear you, "What is it?". Gojo simply shook his head,"It won't be a surprise if I tell you....Mrs.Gojo",earning a chuckle from you. Miwa watched the two of you behave like teenagers flirting with each other and pressed her lips to suppress her laughter. 

"I didn't even get to meet Shoko". Gojo kissed the top of your head. "You will soon". 

You looked at led indicator above the door and tilted your head towards Gojo in confusion. “Shouldn’t we be going to the parking lot?”. Gojo smiled looking ahead, “No. We won’t be taking the car..”.

The elevator door opened on the terrace and the guards surrounded the area immediately before you stepped out. Mei stood behind Miwa and glared at you from behind her dark sunglasses..things were going to get intresting and she has a lot of work to do...

Before you could question further you saw what he meant. A helicopter with the crest of the Gojo group across it was waiting for both of you… 

🤍 Next Part (Fin)

@Koo-kie-v

@shintin

@shrynkk

[magicalmanhattanproject]

quick little ficlet thing for @betweenlands Apocaholics au bc I have brainrot for people encountering the Joe Hills Difference for the first time

As soon as the lava comes down, the first thing Sam sees is a blue-shirted figure jumping right in. He checks his communicator, which he really needs to do more often.

[joehillssays tried to swim in lava]

Sam scrolls back through the notifications trying to see when the new person joined, but his entire screen is filled up with the same message. 

[joehillssays tried to swim in lava]

[Awesamdude: when did someone new join?]

[Tubbo_: no idea it’s been like this all morning no one can backread far enough]

Sam flicks the lever for the bridge, downs his fire res potion, and crosses the lava filled chasm to the main cell. He keeps his weapons in his inventory for now. Dream is sitting sullenly on the chest. 

“Don’t look at me,” he says before Sam can even open his mouth. “I didn’t whitelist anyone. He just kinda... showed up. And then started jumping into the lava a whole bunch.” 

A moment later, the blue-shirted man respawns and drops into the single water block. He’s average height with long green hair the same color as Dream’s hoodie used to be and strange, transparent glasses. There’s something off about those glasses, but Sam can’t quite put his finger on it.

“Howdy!” the stranger says, reaching a hand out for Sam to shake. “Joe Hills here, swimmin’ in lava as I always do in Nashville, Tennessee!” 

What’s a Nashville? Sam thinks but doesn’t ask. “How did you get in here?” 

Joe shrugs. “There was a whole-” he gestures vaguely “thing and this is where I respawned.” 

“You shouldn’t be here,” Sam says numbly. 

“Yeah, I kinda gathered.” 

Sam considers the man in front of him for a long moment. He’s definitely not putting Sam at ease for all he seems entirely relaxed himself. Probably better to keep him locked up until Sam has more information. On the other hand, probably better to not let Dream have unlimited access to a mysterious stranger with unknown abilities. 

“I’ll show you out of the cell,” he says. 

“That’s quite alright,” Joe brushes him off. “I can see myself out.” 

Sam blinks. “You can’t. The prison is impossible to escape.” 

“Oh! This is a prison. That makes a lot more sense.” 

“Look, just come with me–” 

“But I was starting to make progress!” Joe whines. “Tell you what. How about I come find you and let you know how I got out and then you can fix the security flaws–”  “There aren’t any.” 

“And then you can fix the security flaws and I can be on my merry way and everyone’s happy.”

From his corner, Dream scoffs. He’s made enough escape attempts of his own to know as well as Sam how futile the attempt is. “What are you, some kind of professional escape artist?” 

“I like to think of myself as a court jester but without the court,” Joe says as though it’s an explanation. “A jester of the masses, if you will. Point is-” he turns to Sam “I’m sure you got more important, wardenly things to be doing than escorting me out and I was just starting to get into the groove, so I’ll just keep trying if it’s all the same to you.” 

Sam pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m not letting you leave a path that the prisoner can follow to escape.” 

“I’ll message you when I get past the first room so you know to pick him up.” 

“That doesn’t–” Sam’s cut off by another ping from his communicator.

[ZombieCleo: you alright joe? getting bored already or are you actually making progress?]

[joehillssays: im making friends :D]

[joehillssays: where are you?]

[ZombieCleo: i found a casino. I'll send you the coords]

[joehillsays: cool i'll let you know when im on my way]

“I didn’t whitelist that one either,” Dream says tiredly. 

When the coords come through, Joe examines them carefully. “You think you could take me there?” he asks Sam. 

“Sure,” Sam sighs. He’s more than willing to make this guy someone else’s problem. He makes sure that Dream is still in the corner of his cell before tossing Joe a spare ender pearl. 

They walk in silence through the rest of the journey out of the prison, but Sam’s curiosity gets the better of him as they reach the exit. “So, did you manage to find any security flaws?” he asks.

Joe nods. “Uh, yeah, one pro tip real quick. It helps if your players don’t see the whole map before they go through it.” 

Before Sam can reply, he pulls out a bucket of lava and pours it out on the ground. 

[joehillsays tried to swim in lava]

[joehillssays: on my way]

[fakeloveaskblog]

Yay Loceit! (Ignore me, I have Loceit brainrot.) Can we see the zoo date? I would love to see the zoo date! (Is there a possibility of encountering Remus and make it a conjoined date? But, like, we don't tell him that's what it is? Because we don't wanna overwhelm the guy.)

(Words: 2712)

Janus: "Don't worry dear fiend. I have Loceit brainrot as well.....ALSo yes!! I totally haven't been waiting to tell someone all about the date. Pff totally not...So basically..."

When Janus arrived by the entrance of the zoo Logan was already waiting outside. They excitedly waved at each other before running up and clashing in a loving hug.

"So how is my one and only still not poisoned boyfriend doing?" Janus asked with a slight giggle in his voice.

“Very well now when I am with you”

Logan leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. His boyfriend already had a big grin on his lips but it only grew with the kiss.

He had on a blue suspenders, jeans and a t-shirt with some dude printed on it. The snake had tried to dress extra nice for his first ever date (!!) so he had his long black skirt and his finest purple shirt.

“That is...Jean-luc Picard..right?” He pointed at Logan’s t-shirt.

He flapped his hands around “Correct! I see that the star trek watching is teaching you a lot!”

“Well I do have a good teacher so of course”

The compliment left rosy blush on Logan’s cheeks. He took his boyfriend’s hand and intertwined their fingers before walking into the zoo. It had a big outside area for different larger animals and then a bulding to the west filled with frogs, fish, snakes, etc, etc.

Neither of them were that interested in the large animals. Though Janus did snark about how he looked like a seal and Logan stopped to take photos of the bears so he could show them to Patty later.

It wasn't until they passed a sign Logan suddenly let up into happy stims. He pointed to a house with big look through windows.

"Birds!"

He dragged Janus along with him to one of the windows. kestrels, subirds and kingfishers were flying around and vibing among trees and hung out fruit treats. A small crowd around them was also looking at the different birds.

Logan pointed between his boyfriend and the birds as if Jan hadn’t already seen them. He kept stimming his arm back and forth.

"Their aerodynamics are so fascinating don’t you think. Aside from humans they are the animal that are consistently closest to space and all because of their biology. They are like natural born astronauts”

“I respect any creature who can leave any and all social situations by flying away. Big dick move as some” Remus “says” Janus replied.

“If birds had too big dicks I think it would disturb their flying but yes I get your point” He let out a dreamy sigh “Oh what I would do to be able to inspect bird teeth, not to even talk about their wings!”

Logan squeezed his hand and smiled at him before dragging him over to the next bird. It was several big secretary birds. They were walking instead of flying.

"These ones are known for eating snakes" Lo commented "Are you feeling frightened?"

"Ah yes darling, I am already close to death from fear" He replied in as much of a monotone he could muster. They both chuckled.

Logan went on a long ramble about how the different biology of the species made the flying look and work different. His voice went a bit louder than it usually was, it always got like that when he was excited. Janus wouldn’t have minded it if there weren’t other people there.

He nodded along to his boyfriend’s rant but kept glancing to the people around them. Some of them were looking at Logan. Janus gulped. Suddenly holding his boyfriends hand hurt.

Janus quietly moved his hand away. His throat tightened. The people weren’t looking anymore but it felt like they did, like ants crawling up his skin. It had probably been a stupid idea to wear the skirt.

Obviously Logan noticed but he didnt say anyrhing about it. He finished his rant and asked "Do you want to reunite with your relatives- I mean look at the snakes now?"

"I uh “ He forced a confident smirk “Of course darling. It it prime time to return to my people!!”

They walked away from the birds and went down the sunny path towards the house that stored snakes among other things. It was lined by neatly cut trees and homes for mammals. They didn’t hold hands.

Janus kept fiddling with his gloves to the point of not even looking where he was walking. He bit the inside of his cheek until it was bleeding.

“Are you feeling alright?” Logan asked.

“Never been better!”

“If it is about the hand holding feeling nervous is nothing to be embarrassed about. When I first held hands with Patty I got so flustered I proceeded to walk into a swing and break my glasses”

Janus glanced around to the people around them “Ah yes that is definitely why I’m acting this way. Spot on dear” 

His boyfriend looked in the same direction he did “Oh alright I understand now” He patted him on the shoulder “Well I will have you know I have taken part in multiple physical fights to protect Patty from harassement, I did win most of them. I will of course do the same thing for you”

He said it so casually Janus nearly lost it “Exscuse me wHAT?”

Logan leaned down so they were eye to eye and put his hands on his boyfriend’s shoulders “Sweetheart I can and will break someone’s nose for you”

“That’s the most romantic thing someone has ever said to me”

“I would go for their kneecaps as well”

Janus clasped his hand over his heart and gasped in an overly dramatic tone “Oh such erotiscism you’re showing today!”

“I am legally obliged to show it off every now and then”

He straightened his back and continued to walk down the path. Janus hesitantly reached out to take his hand. Shame tugged at his heart but he buried his face against his boyfriend’s arm to try and ignore it. Logan gently moved his thumb up and down his skin in response.

“....I do still advise that you talk to Picani about it. I am aware it’s hard but if what you’ve told me about your mental health is true I believe it would be beneficial. I could help! I know Picani! Very intimately!”

“Darling please you don’t have to keep reminding me you’ve fucked my fake therapist” Janus sighed “I don’t know if I deserve to take up his time, I’m not That bad”

“Sweetie that is first degree bullshit” Logan replied very gently “There is scientifically no way to accurately compare two people’s mental healths to conclude which is worse. Trust me I did a study on it in college! Do I need to brag about my degree more?”

Janus let out a half hearted chuckle “I’ll think about it. Let’s focus on the snakes for now”

“Thinking about it is good enough for me” He pressed a kiss to his forehead.

They entered the building. The first room was lit in a calming blue because of the giant windows showing off octopuses and rays swimming around. A sign was pointing over to the frog and snake rooms.

Janus looked around the room in awe and- HOLY HELL REMUS WAS THERE. He sat crosslegged on a bench in front of the octopuses. He had headphones on and was focusing on the sketchbook in his hands. 

In a panic Janus started to drag his boyfriend with him to the frogs. Logan saw how flustered his boyfriend had suddenly become and looked around. He saw Remus as well and stopped in his tracks which forced his boyfriend to also stop.

“Does that happen to be the other guy you have a romantic interest in?”

“We’re here to look at snakes not at men Loganson!”

"Aww" Logan flapped his free hand "There are few things i like more than getting to see my partner being loved by someone else they love! We must talk to him"

"Oh- Oh god-" Janus let out while being tugged along.

Remus flinched when Logan shoved his ready to be shaken hand almost into his face. His whole body tensed to an uncomfortable degree.

"Greetings! I have no idea who you are!" Lo exclaimed.

He took off his headphones and looked up at him with panic in his eyes "Uh yeah" He saw Jan and immediately let out a breathe of relief. His shoulders relaxed slightly. "Hiya snakey~ Is This dude your snack?"

Janus was dying. He was dead. This was hell.

"NO! He's my sworn enemy! I'm here to use one of the sharks to kill him!"

Logan gasped "You are? How rude. Such a waste of the shark’s time when a bullet would do"

"Yeah!” Remus added “Anus! If that even is your real name-”

“It’s not”

“-I thought you would be much better at murder! Shark murder is sooo the 70's. Where's the orchestrated acrobatic dance knife throwing???"

Janus let out a dramatic huff "You simply don’t understand how hard it is to be a strong independent complete idiot and a serial murderer at the same time"

Logan nodded in sumpathy "Stranger would you like to accompany us on the rest of our zoo experience?"

He closed his sketchbook. Pages had been filled with doodles of the octopuses "Sure! I'm Remus by the way"

"Ah yes" They began to walk down the hallways lined by animal habitats. He held onto Janus’ hand "You were killed by your twin according to Roman mythology"

"I know!! That's why I chose it"

"Fascinating. I'm Logan. My parents chose it because of the X-man" His parents were also huge nerds.

“Hah dorks!” Remus said while skipping alongside them “Why are you holding hands? Is that a rule at zoos? Oh shit have I been doing zoos wrong???”

“I don’t think so. We are only doing it” Lo glanced at his still flustered boyfriend “.....to aggravate homophobes....yes...”

“COol!! Can I join?”

Logan nodded. Remus proceeded to take Janus’ free hand and happily tugged at it while skipping along. Jan had been wrong. NOW he was dying. His face was so hot from blushing he swore he could melt chocolate on it. The only way this could get ‘worse’ was if he suddenly grew a third arm and Remy appeared to hold it.

“Murder frogs!!” Remus exclaimed while stopping outside a window.

Inside sat several poison dart frogs in a pond surronded by leaves. They were in pretty neon colors and small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. Remus jumped up and down from excitement before pressing his entire face up against the glass.

“They’re the most poisonous animal in the world!!! Snakey you should murder Lo with this one!! These bitches can kill like 10 people with 1 poison thingie!!! it’s so cool!!”

“I have read that they can live to up to 15 years so they have ample time to kill hundreds of people in their lifetime” Logan replied.

“!!!! You are SO right!!! That’s my life goal as well!” Remus turned to look around the room and his eyes turned as big as a cat’s “Fucking hell. Look at how THICK that lizard is!!!”

Janus kept being dragged around between the two while they explored the animals. The saw toads stacked on top of each other, insects swarming around and exactly 1 incredibly friendly chameleon who climbed across a tree to get as close to the glass as it could.

Just holding both of their hands was so much to take in but hearing them rant facts to each other while looking so so happy made his heart feel things he didn’t know it could feel. He wanted to kiss them both and beg them to please never ever shut up.

The zoo melted away as he daydreamed about living as a poly relationship. Getting to see them both be this close and happy every day. Getting to hold them both like this every day. Getting to fall asleep next to them. Oh he was so-

“Hey Snakey you’ve been pretty quiet” Remus interrupted “Whatcha think?”

“dfshkjskj” Janus very eloquently let out. He buried his flushed pink face in the fabric of Logan’s shirt.

“Huh. Exactly what I was thinking! Onwards to the snakes!!”

The snake room was oval shaped. The walls were made up of windows into different giant vivariums decorated with branches, warm rocks and food. In the biggest vivarium several big samar cobras were lazing about. They were both big enough and venomous enough to kill a man.

Janus let go of his crushes to press his palms against the glass and wave at the snakes. He looked back at his boyfriend with a big goofy grin “Look at these babies!!”

“They are indeed very pretty”

“They eat rats! Their venom is able to destroy tissue so if you get the venom in your eyes it can create total blindness!! They-” He stopped himself. Stopped his stimming as well “Sorry. I’m rambling”

Remus patted his shoulder “No. Go on. I wanna hear, about the other snakes as well. I promise” Logan nodded along.

Janus hesitated, but they both looked at him with such loving looks he quietly continued “Okay well what I was going to say was...”

They went around and looked at every snake. The other two happily listened to him infodump about every species there. Sometimes they held hands. Sometimes they all stimmed together. Janus was smiling so much his cheeks hurt.

They stayed sitting by the snakes. Janus leaned his head against the glass to bop his nose to the snakes while Remus and Logan ranted to each other about their favorite obscure sci-fi movies (they also exchanged numbers). 

The three of them had a sudden realization that they all loved murder mysteries and decided they had to have some sort of murder mustery movie night some time in the future.

(Logan also saw a poster about how around Christmas snake petting spots overseered by snake experts would be open. He didn’t tell the other two. He figured he would use it as a surprise Christmas gift)

Eventually the zoo got close to closing. It was Logan who had to drag them both away from the snakes and octopuses. The 2 drama kings acted like Lo was dragging them away from their children.

Once they stood on the street outside the zoo Remus said goodbye. For a moment it looked like he was moving in to hug Janus but he decided not to. He disappeared down the street to catch the bus.

“So” Logan turned to his boyfriend “Was it a satisfactory first date?”

Janus rolled his eyes before wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and moving up on his toes to kiss him on his nose “It was absolutely horrible darling! I hated every second of it!”

“Glad to hear it” His voice softened “I’m proud of you honey”

“It was just a date. It’s nothing. Nothing if it’s with you”

“Well I shall still be proud, because you can not stop me, and I shall still be percentage wise incredibly in love with you” He pressed a loving kiss to his forehead “I will see you at work then”

“Not if I’ve gotten my invisibility spell to work by then muhahah” Janus slowly let go of him “Love you!”

Janus stood by the entrance watching as his boyfriend (it still made him giddy to think that) went to his car. He gulped and tensed his shoulders once he was all alone. He walked over to a more desolate spot and sat down on the side of the payment.

He scrolled through the contacts on his phone while the image of Logan’s smile repeated in his brain. He let out a shaky breathe as he moved the phone up to his ear and listened to the signals.

“Hiya Janister!” The cheery voice of Dr. Picani rang out.

“Hello...I.....I would....I’m just looking to ask if there’s a chance I could book a time for solo therapy? I’m...I’m...honestly not so sure if I’m completely okay...or if my childhood was okay either, but I’m sure I want to get better”