#the third slide is supposed to be the last one following the order of the lyrics. it's just there because it looked better in that position

[palaceoftears]

He hath come to the bosom of his beloved

Smiling on him, she beareth him to highest heaven

With yearning heart

On thee we gaze

Oh, gold winged messenger of mighty gods

[...]

You better keep your head down-down

- Billie Eilish, GOLDWING

[holdupjack]

Death Row

——————

Pairing: Hermione Granger x Fem!Reader

AU: No Magic/Prison AU

WARNING: MENTION OF SA/ABUSE/MURDER/DEATH

——————

Third Person P.O.V:

July 11th, 2008

Y/n sat on her bed in the Death Row Cell Block A, watching the open food tray slot on her door as guards walked by every twenty minutes or so. It was quiet for the most part, she could hear one of the other inmates' radio playing some oldies from somewhere nearby.

If she had counted correctly, then today marked her eighth year in prison. She supposed that celebrations were in order. Maybe she could convince one of the guards to give her a muffin for the occasion.

Y/n stood up and walked over to the door, grasping the bars on the small window that gave her some access to the hall. She could hear a set of footsteps coming towards her, so she stuck out her arm and waved it.

"Good morning, Y/l/n" a gentle voice calls back as she puts her arm back in the cell and watches as a recognizable face comes into her view.

"Good morning, Remus" she replied as he looked at her with a kind smile. He was one of the few guards who were nice to her during her stay in this 6 by 9 by 12 space.

"Guess what today is?" She asks with a smile and he ponders for a moment, before finally speaking.

"Meatloaf Monday?" He asks and she rolls her eyes at his remark. He smiled back at her as he watched the young girl try not to chuckle at him.

"Well, yes, but that's not all! If I've counted correctly, then today should be my eighth anniversary in this place" she hums and Remus nods as he crosses his arms and thinks for a moment again.

"Has it really been that long already? Time sure does fly" he hummed back as he got closer to the door and whispered to her.

"I'll get you one of those muffins that you like as a gift," he says and her smile grows.

"You read my mind" she whispered back as he chuckled and stepped back from the door. His back suddenly straightened, and that was enough for Y/n to know that he wasn't just doing his regular rounds.

"Please step back from the door," he says and Y/n does what is told, walking back to stand next to her bed as he unlocked the cell and pulled out his handcuffs.

"A field trip? Well, aren't you full of surprises today" Y/n says as she turns around and puts her hand behind her back, already knowing the drill by now.

"Since your last checkup with the doctor, it seems you've begun to lack the necessary vitamins to help your body," Remus says as he cuffs her and places a firm hand on her shoulder as he guides her out of the cell.

"So, I need more sunlight?" Y/n asks as they begin to walk down the hall. Another guard, a rookie named Quirrell, stood posted by a locked gate ahead of them.

"Not exactly, the government had decided to issue you shots for you to take, so make nice with the nurses" Remus chuckled as Quirrell opened the sliding steel door, he had an annoyed look on his face as he kept his eyes on Y/n. Nobody really liked Quirrell, he was a prick and a pushover at the same time, and it was hard to get a grip on him when you needed to.

"Don't mind him Y/n, he rolled out on the wrong side of the bed this morning" Remus chuckled as they walked through the doorway and followed the signs leading to the hospital wing. It took them a few minutes, but when they did arrive, Y/n took immediate notice of a new person on staff.

"Why, hello there" she greets as Remus rolls his eyes and uncuffs one of Y/n's hands, but soon connects it to the steel bar next to the examination bed. A young woman, a brunette, and around the same age as Y/n, turned to them with a small hesitation.

"You must be Nurse Granger, I'm Officer Lupin but please, call me Remus," he says as he sticks out his hand and greets her kindly. She shakes his hand and bows her head slightly, but her eyes continuously flicker over to Y/n in a nervous nature.

"I don't bite...unless you like that?" Y/n teases and Remus sighs and waves a hand in her direction.

"This is Y/n Y/l/n, Death Row inmate 7991. She is one of our nonhostile prisoners, and won't give you any trouble. I honestly think the worst thing you'll get out of her is her corny pickup lines" he mumbles as Y/n looks at him in disbelief at his hurtful comments. The nurse let out a small laugh as she seemed to calm down slightly.

"Corny? You taught them to me!" She defended as he rolled his eyes and walked over to the door, opening it slightly before looking back at Nurse Granger.

"I'll be right outside, just give a holler if you need help," he says before closing the door behind them. Leaving the both of them alone together. Y/n looked over at the brunette and raised an eyebrow at her.

"So, Nurse Granger. What's your first name?" Y/n asks as she watches the medical professional pick up the clipboard on the table and read it over. Their eyes met for a moment but then disconnected again when she looked back at the paper.

"Does it matter?" She asked as she walked over to the cabinet across the room and gathered some equipment. Y/n hummed in thought and then shrugged.

"I suppose not, since I'll be dead eventually," Y/n says with a smirk as the other girl turns with a face of horror. She obviously had not meant it in that manner, but Y/n couldn't resist the easy teasing.

"That's not what I meant! I was just saying that since I have to remain professional-" she began to ramble, but soon just took a deep breath to cut herself off.

"Hermione. My name is Hermione." she sighed as Y/n began to grin and sat up on the examination stable. There was a playfulness to Y/n that made Hermione slightly uneasy, considering what cell block she was in.

"Hermione? Pretty name." Y/n says as the nurse grabs the stethoscope from around her neck and cautiously walks up to her.

"I don't bite" Y/n chuckled as Hermione closed her eyes and rolled them, just in case this prisoner was violent.

When she opened them again, she was greeted by Y/n biting the air in front of her, which made the brunette jump back. The prisoner began to howl with laughter as Hermione's face turned a bit crimson at the way she had been exposed to still being nervous.

"Not funny. Don't make me call in Officer Lupin" Hermione states to which Y/n continues to fight back her chuckles. The nurse finally worked up the courage to place a hand on Y/n's shoulder as she steadied herself.

"You're no fun, you're going to be like Nurse Umbridge, aren't you?" Y/n asks and Hermione has to stop herself from gagging at the mention of her superior's name. That woman was a piece of work, and it seemed that the inmates knew that as well.

"That is for me to know, and for you to find out," Hermione says as she places the cold metal against Y/n's back and listens to her heartbeat. It was steady and strong, but nothing sounded out of the ordinary. Which was good, obviously.

"Ooo" Y/n snickered as Hermione switched to the front of her chest and listened intently.

"Take a deep breath," she asks and Y/n does as she says, watching as Hermione focuses and moves the metal part of the instrument along the top of her chest. A slight chill ran up Y/n's spine as the woman's nails scraped along her skin as well.

"Exhale" she states, to which Y/n listens again.

When Hermione stepped away and placed the stethoscope around her neck, their eyes met again. She didn't seem as nervous as before, but the guarded aura was still prevalent.

"Everything sounds fine. So, now that leads me up to the questions" Hermione says as she pulls the rolling chair over to her and sits down, looking over the clipboard again.

"Questions? You're very thorough" Y/n says as she plays with the handcuff around her wrist. Hermione chuckled softly as her eyes flickered up for a moment before looking back down at the questionnaire.

"It's my job" she replies and Y/n just hums softly at her response. She had only been here less than a decade now, but none of the other nurses or doctors had even asked her if she had symptoms of anything when she had a cold. They usually just gave out pills willy-nilly.

No wonder the druggies love getting 'sick'.

"Alright, how are you feeling today? Any illnesses I need to be aware of?" she asks, Y/n just shakes her head as the clock on the wall ticks by slowly. It had only been around five minutes, but it seemed longer to both of them. Maybe it was because Hermione wanted to get Y/n out of here or maybe it was because Y/n was having such a fun time teasing the newbie.

"Do you suffer from any disorders or diseases that could affect the performance of the shot you will be taking from now on?" Hermione asks and again, Y/n shakes her head. She didn't really know what else to say, but she did want to ask more personal questions. Yet, it didn't seem like Hermione wasn't in a sharing mood at the moment.

"I suppose not" Y/n hums as Hermione nods and rolls herself over to the small box that lay on the counter near them. She grabbed it and pulled out a skinny syringe with a neon red liquid inside, there was condensation on the plastic, so it must be fresh out of the fridge.

Hermione rolled back and held out her hand, to which Y/n instinctively placed hers in it, they looked back at one another. Hermione raised a brow at the other girl.

"You know, holding hands is more of a date three kinda thing" Y/n teases as Hermione fights back the urge to roll her eyes and trailed her hand up to the inmate's arm, pulling up the jumpsuit sleeve.

"I wanted your arm" she mumbled and Y/n just laughed softly as the nurse tied the rubber band tightly around her bicep. Hermione cleaned off a spot just under the band with a disinfectant wipe.

"So, does this go into a vein or?" Y/n asks and Hermione shakes her head as she puts the shot on a small metal table near the examination bed. She rolled over to the door and pulled out a pair of latex gloves that hung in a box near it.

"Just in the skin" Hermione hummed as she rolled back and picked up the shot again, she pulled off the cap that protected the needle, and looked back at Y/n.

"Ready?" She asks and Y/n just nods as she turns her arm towards Hermione for a better angle. The brunette placed her hand on Y/n's shoulder and hovered the needle over the disinfected skin.

"One, two, three" Hermione says calmly as she injects the shot, and then pulls out the syringe. She threw it away in the nearby garbage can and then wiped the small amount of blood that came from the puncture wound. The rubber band came untied with a quick pull and fell to the ground.

"How many times do I have to get this?" Y/n asks as Hermione tells her to hold the wipe while she gets a bandage. She stood up this time, walking over to one of the cabinets and looking inside.

"Every one to two days for the next two weeks, then we'll do a check-up to decide if we continue for a few more days or we begin with only once a month" Hermione explained as she pulled out two different bandages, there were the basic one, and a SpongeBob one. The nurse turned to her with a raised eyebrow, and Y/n just grinned.

"You know which one I want" she replies, Hermione couldn't help but chuckle as she put the basic one away and walked over with the others. As she sat back in the rolling chair, Y/n had a debating look on her face, before finally saying something.

"Can I give you some advice?" Y/n asks and Hermione looks up at her as she unwrapped the bandage. If it was medical advice, then this was going to be a waste of breath, but she decided against saying anything.

"Don't place anything sharp near prisoners, then turn your back on them. You did that with the needle, and I could have easily just..." Y/n trails off as she gives a demonstration, showing she could have just reached over to the metal table and grabbed it. Hermione felt her throat close, as she realized how stupid that really was.

"Why didn't you?" Hermione whispered as she placed the bandage on the injury, and looked away from Y/n. The inmate sighed as she watched the nurse throw away the scraps of paper and plastic.

"You're nice, and I'm already on Death Row. What help would that do me?" Y/n chuckles as Lupin walks back into the room. Hermione stood up and gave a nod to him as she threw away the latex gloves as well.

"All done?" He asks.

"Yes, and make sure she eats and drinks something when she gets back to her cell," Hermione says as she takes a deep breath, and leans back on the counter behind her.

"I got the food part covered" he chuckled as he pulled out a wrapped muffin from his pocket, which made Y/n grin.

"I knew you liked me!" She chuckled as she tried to grab it, but her held it from her grasp and put it back in his pocket. She frowned as he un-cuffed her from the bed, but then put her hands behind her back.

"It's all yours once we're back to your humble abode" he replied. Y/n looked back at Hermione and gave a smile.

"Catch you in a few days, Hermione"

——————

July 25th

Hermione yawned softly as she looked over her schedule for the day. Her eyes fell to a familiar name, and she cocked her head to the side as she read it.

'BLOOD WORK ON Y/N Y/L/N (INMATE 7991)'

Ah, that's right, the two weeks were up. That means she gets to do something other than shots and pill distribution. She missed being an intern at a real hospital, but at least she didn't have to change bedpans as much as she used to.

Over the last few weeks, she had gotten more comfortable with Y/n, but only to be calm enough to smile at her attempts at jokes. They were very flirty, but what else was to be expected? Y/n was on death row after all, it wasn't like she got to regularly interact with other women besides the few guards.

So Hermione dealt with it, but she'd be lying if she said they didn't make her face hot from time to time.

She sighed and stood up from the small table in the staff lounge. Her hands crumpled up the trash from her lunch and dumped it in the garbage as she walked out of the room.

"Ms.Granger?" An irritating voice calls out.

Hermione rolled her eyes but soon turned towards the person with a smile. Dolores Umbridge had a devilish smile on her face, which meant that she had bad news to give. The younger girl was almost blinded by how bright her pink scrubs were.

"Yes?" She replies as the older woman walks up to her and hands her a file, Hermione raises a brow and opens it, only to realize it was Y/n's. Why would she give her this?

"This is Y/l/n's. If this is about her B12 shots, I'm doing the blood work today-" she was cut off as Umbridge shook her head and tapped on where the name of her primary physician in the prison would go.

'Primary Physician: HERMIONE GRANGER'

Her eyes widened.

"W-Wait, I can't be her Physician! I'm just a Nurse Practitioner!" Hermione exclaims and Umbridge just shrugs with that evil smile of hers as she looks her up and down.

"The inmate requested that you be the first person to aid her from now on, and I saw no problem since you have more than enough training than the regular Nurses" the older woman chuckles as she walks away, giving an over-the-shoulder glance as she does.

"Good luck!

Hermione fought back the urge to chuck the file at her head and instead took a deep breath. This had to be against the law to some degree, but she didn't seem to have a choice in the matter. So, she just walked away and stepped into a private room.

She laid the file on the counter and sat down on the rolling chair. Her eyes scanned the area, making sure the equipment and room were clean still since the night shift left.

Clean enough.

Hermione stood up and grabbed a few disinfectant wipes from the supply under the sink. She began to wipe down the medical equipment out of habit, and her minor clean freak ways. It wasn't until the door opened again, did she stop.

"Oh honey, I'm home to play doctor"

Hermione gave a soft breath of a chuckle as she turned towards the door to find Y/n being brought in by Officer Lupin. The older man rolled his eyes as he cuffed her to the metal bar, and sighed softly.

"Do you want me to stay in the room? She's been very playful today. I think she gets excited when she realizes it's time to go see her favorite nurse" he hummed as Hermione looked at Y/n with a smirk. For once, Y/n hid her face. Schoolyard crush, it was a sweet gesture, but it wouldn't go anywhere. Not on Hermione's watch.

"I think I can handle it" she replies as he just nods and looks back at Y/n. He pointed a finger at her as he smiled.

"Be nice" he states, to which Y/n crosses her heart and holds up a Boy Scouts salute.

When Officer Lupin backed away and left the room, Hermione crossed her arms and looked at the girl with an annoyed glare. Y/n noticed immediately and chuckled nervously.

"Would you care to explain to me how you got Nurse Umbridge to agree to me being your on-call Physician?" Hermione asks and Y/n plays with the handcuff around her wrist with an anxious demeanor. The nurse sighed and pulled her hair into a ponytail, tying it with one of her hair ties.

"I told her that I'd say 'hi' to her mom in hell" Y/n joked as Hermione huffed and rolled her chair over to the latex gloves box. As much as she did want to laugh, this was important.

"Y/n, this is serious! I am not a Doctor. I am a Nurse Practitioner" Hermione says as she pulls the gloves onto her hands and stands up, pushing the chair over to Y/n with her foot.

"So? Isn't that basically the same thing?" Y/n asks and Hermione scoffs as she walks over to the small rollable metal table, where she had sterilized and set up everything she needed to draw blood.

"No. That isn't even close to being the same thing." Hermione sighed as she rolled it over to Y/n and sat back down in her chair. The prisoner just shrugged as she didn't really know what else to say on the matter, other than that her boss might hate her.

"I trust you more than Umbridge. So I don't see why it's such a big deal." Y/n mumbled as Hermione wrapped the rubber band around her bicep, but much tighter than the other times.

"I legally can't even call myself a doctor, so how do you think it'll work out for me to be your Physician?" Hermione huffed as she took ahold of Y/n's forearm and turned it upwards. Then something caught her eye. There were burn scars, but nothing like she had seen before.

Y/n saw her reaction.

"Pretty cool right? I used to tell the other foster kids that I got them when I would beat up the lava monster in the basement. They were so gullible." Y/n chuckled as she watched Hermione touch them delicately, almost like she thought they still hurt.

"How did you really get them?" Hermione asks as she looks back at Y/n, who seems torn now. She then shook her head lightly and laughed at the fact that she was nervous again.

"I think it's a little early in our relationship-"

"Friendship" Hermione corrects.

"Tomayto/tomahto. Anyways, I think it's a little early to tell you the reason I'm on death row" Y/n says as Hermione looks back at her forearm, deciding to leave well enough alone. She took her thumb and searched for a good vein to draw from.

"I already know why" she replies and Y/n nods slowly. Hermione pressed her thumb on the vein so she wouldn't lose it, and grabbed the disinfectant wipe, cleaning the area.

"You know the media version" Y/n countered and Hermione hummed in response as she picked up the needle from the table. She supposed that was true, but did she really want to hear her out?

"I know you killed three people, and I think that's all I need to know" Hermione states as she punctures Y/n's skin and vein, beginning to draw blood into a vial.

"That's fair. I wouldn't trust the word of a killer either if I were in your shoes" Y/n says as the conversation falls into silence.

Hermione ended up giving the duty of providing Y/n her B12 shots to another nurse on the night shift after this encounter, and they didn't speak until the next time they met, but it was in much less desirable circumstances.

——————

September 19th

Hermione raced to her car at three A.M, stumbling slightly as she fought off the sleep from her eyes. Umbridge had called, telling her that Y/n, technically her patient, had been shanked on her way to the night shift Nurse for her shot.

She had been told that Warden Snape would tell her more details when she arrived back on the premises. The brunette felt guilt form in her stomach, knowing that this probably wouldn't have happened if she had pushed away her judgment and just did her job.

"God dammit" she whispers as she got into her car and drove off.

When she did get to and into the prison, it was on lockdown, and guards patrolled the halls nervously. Hermione walked down to the emergency area of the building and found Warden Snape standing outside one of the rooms with his regular, emotionless face.

"Warden" Hermione greeted as she stopped in front of him. He nodded and gave a tight-lipped sigh, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Officer Ronan was taking Y/n Y/l/n to the nurses station for her monthly B12 dose, when Officer Gale was taking Inmate Bellatrix Lestrange down to solitary confinement due to indecent behavior the last few days. From what both Officers have told us, is that they had both prisoners hugging either wall as they passed one another when Bellatrix lunged at Y/n and procured a shank from somewhere on her body. They were able to subdue her, but it wasn't until Y/n had been stabbed at least four or five times." Warden Snape says in his monotone voice, and Hermione takes a breath. She expected the worst, but then he spoke again.

"Luckily, the razor wasn't secured properly into the makeshift handle. So it broke off in her body in the first stab, but Bellatrix's pure strength was able to make small stab wounds with the handle alone." He explains and Hermione puts up her curls with one of the hair bands on her wrist.

"How bad is the wound with the razor?" Hermione asks and Warden watches her for a moment before answering.

"It wasn't as deep as we thought, so there was no need to send Y/n to an outside hospital. Nurse Carrie is stitching her up right now, and will monitor her throughout the night." Snape says and Hermione quickly speaks up.

"No. I'll do it. She's my responsibility in the first place" she says and he nods, following her with his eyes as she walks past him and into the emergency area. The curtain around the bed at the end of the room hid most of Y/n.

When she got close enough, she snuck around the cloth and saw the Nurse taking care of Y/n, sloppily stitching her up. Hermione almost smacked her hands away to stop her but refrained. Y/n's eyes were shut, but flinched at every pull and tug the doofus of a medical 'professional' did.

"Hey Carrie, I'll take over. Go take a break." Hermione says with a fake smile as the girl grins and stands up. Y/n still didn't open her eyes at the sound of her voice, Hermione guessed it was a way to show she was displeased with her.

"Thanks, Hermione!" Nurse Carrie says as she walks around the curtain, faster than the brunette could say 'no problem'. Hermione quietly sat down and put on a pair of gloves before she began to untie the stitches, being careful as she did so. The door opened and shut as Carrie left, announcing they were alone.

Hermione threw away the old stitches and her gloves as she stood up to wash her hands. Y/n still didn't say anything, her heart rate was slightly high, but not audibly noticeable on the monitor. The brunette had a million thoughts going through her mind as she washed her hands thoroughly.

When she came back to the chair and sat down, she put on a new pair of gloves and looked over the injuries. Y/n laid in only her pants and bra, both had blood on them, but nothing super concerning. Hermione instinctively traced her fingers around the five puncture wounds on her stomach.

"These aren't even washed out properly! That idiot!" Hermione whispered as she stood up again to grab a washout bottle. Y/n couldn't help but let out a chuckle due to her nurse's frustration with her coworker.

Her eyes opened to find Hermione mumbling to herself as she filled a bottle with water at the sink nearby. Y/n laid her head back down as she watched her walk back over and sit down. She does a double-take when she realizes that Y/n has opened her eyes.

"Hi," she breaths out.

"Hi," Y/n whispers back as Hermione pulls her chair closer to the side of the bed. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she spoke again.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asks but soon realizes how stupid that sounds.

"Like I've been stabbed" Y/n replied with a chuckle as Hermione took the squeeze bottle and gently cleaned out each wound. Y/n hissed, and Hermione gave a soft 'sorry' under her breath.

"Y/n, why did this happen?" She asks as her other hand dabbed a cloth around the wounds to catch the water.

"I don't know. All I know is that this is why they shouldn't allow guards to cuff violent inmates with their hands forward." She sighed, to which Hermione agreed with wholeheartedly. This had actually been brought this up in a staff meeting just a month ago.

"I agree" she sighed as she put the bottle and cloth onto the metal table, and moved over the suturing needle. Y/n turned tense as she watched Hermione, who caught her body stiffening up from nervousness.

"It's alright" Hermione whispered as she gave a comforting smile. She grabbed the unopened numbing cream, which that ditzy nurse either forgot to use or did on purpose.

"L-Lupin said that tomorrow was your birthday, which makes it today," Y/n said through gritted teeth, her eyes looking around the ceiling in a pained way that almost looked like panic.

"I'm twenty-nine as of today," Hermione says as she unconsciously lays her forearm atop Y/n's hand, she grabs it gently. Not too tight, but not too loose.

"I always liked older women," Y/n says as she seems to calm down, her fingers caressing the underside of her forearm in a slow and steady motion. Hermione knew better than to let her do this, but it was the only way to keep Y/n calm.

"We're only a year apart" she chuckled as she looked over the wounds one more time before falling back to the metal table as she unscrewed the cap on the numbing cream.

"I'm going to numb the small gashes with this, but the big one has to be done now. I can't wait for the cream to start working to stitch it up, I don't want to run the risk of infection" Hermione explained as Y/n just nodded and closed her eyes again. She listened as Hermione moved around for a few moments, calculated but soft.

A cold cream is spread around the smaller wounds, which makes Y/n shiver slightly. Hermione chuckled at that as she put the tube down and changed into a clean pair of gloves again.

"I'll be as gentle as possible," Hermione says as her eyes sorta wander for a moment, taking in Y/n's body. Hey, even nurses can appreciate a good-looking body when they see one. Granted, this probably isn't the best time.

"At least buy me dinner first" Y/n replied as she opened her eyelid slightly and caught Hermione staring for a moment before she cleared her throat and grabbed the needle and thread from the table.

"How about a muffin from the staff room?" Hermione asks as she pinches the skin together before she starts the process. Y/n grunted and nodded at her offer, always happy to get her favorite treat.

Hermione soothed her with quiet shushes and a caress of her wrist against her side from time to time. It was innocent. Obviously.

——————

It was late in the morning now, and Y/n had crashed from her adrenaline high. She was fast asleep as Hermione carefully covered her handy work with gauze. She took a deep breath and cleaned up the area around the bed before finally washing her hands and taking a seat in the recliner chair in the corner. Her eyes were on Y/n as the sun began to shine through the window.

She should be tired, but Hermione had too much to think about. Like how she had let her judgment go too far, to the point that Y/n could have died from a random attack of violence. She wasn't taking her job seriously, and she was ashamed of herself for it.

"I'm sorry" Hermione whispers to Y/n, who just snored softly on the hospital bed. Even though she knew that this could have happened whether she had been her nurse or not, it still irked her that she had been so uptight.

The door at the end of the room opened, and in walked Officer Lupin. He had a stressed and confused look on his face as he quickly walked over to Hermione. She stood up and put her finger to her mouth before she spoke, nodding her head over to show the sleeping inmate.

"How is she?" He whispers as Hermione guides him back towards the door so they won't disturb Y/n as she sleeps. She wasn't all the surprised to find Lupin so worried about Y/n, he had taken a liking to her after all. Almost in a fatherly sense.

"She'll live" Hermione replies as she leans against one of the counters near the door. Officer Lupin sat down in one of the chairs, and let out a deep sigh.

"You know, in the eight years she has been in my cell block, she has never caused any problems." He started as he crossed one leg over another and took off his cap, it now lay in his lap as he took a deep breath.

"Now don't get me wrong, most death row inmates don't cause much trouble, but she's different. Never asks for outlandish things like a radio or TV in her cell, hell, she didn't even ask for a new blanket after it was forgotten by the laundry crew" Officer Lupin chuckled as Hermione smiled softly back at him. Y/n seemed to be a favorite for a lot of different staff members. She was kind and respectful but was prone to give a few inappropriate jokes around the females, but Hermione was already aware of that.

Most of them didn't seem to mind it.

"I read the report on her. I actually read it five separate times" he says as his eyes stare at Y/n's feet. He wore a sad look in his eyes, which caught Hermione off guard. She expected a disgusted look.

"Every gruesome little detail."

Hermione took the seat next to him and looked at him from the corner of her eye. She never decided to look into the record on Y/n, she knew enough from when the whole case went down back in 97'. It was the talk of the country.

Her mother even took a day off work to watch the trial on TV in 2000. She had told Hermione multiple times her feelings about the whole thing.

"That town had it out for that poor girl, god forgive me, but good riddance to that foster family"

Maybe it was time to look into everything.

——————

October 31st

Hermione followed Officer Lupin as he guided her down the hall of Death Row Cell Block A. No one paid them any mind, most were watching TV, listening to the radio, or reading a book. In the middle of the hall, they stopped in front of the door.

She couldn't help but look over the Officer's shoulder as he unlocked the door, Y/n sat on her bed with her nose buried in a book.

"Y/n, you have a visitor," Lupin says as he opens the door and moves out of the way for Hermione. She gave a soft smile as she hid the bag behind her back and stepped inside. Y/n's eyes widened as she marked her page and placed it on the table beside her bed.

"I'll check on you in five minutes," Lupin says as he shuts the door behind her and locks it. Y/n kept her distance as she stood up, there wasn't really enough space to be far apart, but she didn't want to scare Hermione.

"To what do I owe the pleasure? My next dose isn't till a week or so from now" Y/n says with a smile as Hermione sits down at the table and shows the bag she had been hiding. It was fast food.

"I decided to take my lunch break with some company," she says as Y/n sat back on her bed and scooted until her back pressed against the wall.

"I think that this is slightly illegal and probably unprofessional," Y/n said with a teasing smirk, but Hermione just shrugged as she handed her a burger and fries.

"I'm already your unlicensed Physician, so I don't see a problem with adding more to my plate" she replies as Y/n just chuckled as she looked at the already cut-through burger, it was obvious that Lupin had made sure that Hermione wasn't hiding something within it.

"No drink? You're a terrible date" Y/n chuckled as she unwrapped the burger and took a bite of it. Hermione rolled her eyes as she popped a fry into her mouth, dusting off her hands with a napkin.

"I thought I was pushing my luck with drinks, so I brought the next best thing," she says with a small smile as Y/n takes the cups she gets for free, and fills them both up with water.

"And what would that be?" Y/n asks as she places the cup next to Hermione's hand and sits back down on her bed. The brunette dug back in the bag and pulled out a muffin, Y/n grinned happily.

"You're starting to like me, admit it," Y/n says as Hermione waves her off as she eats another fry and takes a sip of water. Their eyes met again, but Hermione didn't seem nervous or apprehensive like she usually did.

"I'm dealing with you," she says as Y/n chuckled to herself and took another bite of her burger. It had been so long since she had fast food. It felt like a warm hug.

"Well, I know you didn't just bring me food to have a chat. What do you really want?" The inmate asks, and Hermione just sighs as she leans her arm against the table and thinks through her words carefully. She was alone with a killer, so who knows what could set her off,

"Can you tell me...what happened that night?" She asks softly, and Y/n stops chewing for a moment. She placed the burger on her thigh and looked at Hermione with an almost...scared look in her eyes.

"Are you sure you want to know?" She asked as she took a sip of water to calm herself. Hermione took a breath and then nodded.

"I want to know everything" she sighs, to which Y/n raises a brow at her.

"Everything?"

"Every gruesome little detail," Hermione says, repeating what Lupin had said months ago.

(A/N: LAST WARNING: DNI IF TRIGGERED BY ABUSE OF ANY KIND OR VIOLENCE)

Y/n sighed again, looking down at her food. She seemed to lose her appetite as she placed it away from her on the bed and took another sip of water. It was silent for a few minutes as Hermione took small bites of her food. She didn't want to rush in case it ended up coming back up.

"The Dursleys were picture-perfect to everyone outside the home, but that wasn't the case. There were thirteen of us kids living in that foster home, not including the three of them." Y/n starts as her eyes dart around the room, almost like she is reliving a memory. Hermione put her food down and focused all of her attention on the inmate.

"The youngest was nine, and I was the oldest at seventeen" Y/n continued as she pressed her back against the concrete wall, she could feel the divots in it. Hermione nodded as she waited patiently for her to speak again.

"Those Dursley's were mean sons of bitches. Even their son. He was a year older than me, I think"

Their eyes meet again, but Hermione can only see a scared 17-year-old now. She wanted to tell her to stop, that maybe she shouldn't know more than what the media has said, but she kept her mouth shut.

She needed to hear Y/n's side of events.

"I had been living there for about five years up until that night, and I kept my mouth shut about what was happening to us all...like a fucking coward," Y/n said with gritted teeth as she crossed her arms over her chest. Hermione didn't say anything, only her eyes flickering around her body to take in her body language.

"You know, Mr.Dursley never touched anyone, but he had a thing for putting out his cigars on our skin. It didn't matter to him if I screamed and cried for him to stop, he'd hold my arm till he got his fucking rocks off." She scoffed as she instinctively rubbed her hands over her forearms. Hermione felt her hand twitch, but she stopped herself from reaching over and looking at the scars again.

"I broke my arm one time while trying to get away from him. I think I was twelve, so my first year there?"

Hermione's stomach began to churn and twist itself into knots. She knew the details were about to get a lot worse.

"Mrs.Dursley loved having kids around the house because she didn't have to do the housework. She was like a drill sergeant. If she had to do the chore because you didn't do it correctly, then you couldn't be surprised when Mr.Dursley would come to your room with a belt later that night" Y/n said with a chuckle, almost like she was trying to lighten the mood.

"And the boy?" Hermione asks. Y/n went silent again, her fingers picking and pulling at the scars on her arms. The brunette slowly reached over and grabbed her hand, making her stop. Y/n slowly pulled herself to the edge of the bed, placing her feet on the ground and they sat closer together.

"Take your time" Hermione whispers as their knees touch and her hand begins to touch over the scars again. Y/n's body shook slightly like she was lost in the memories. So the nurse dipped her fingertips into her cold water and touched her skin again.

Y/n stopped shaking, her eyes focusing back on Hermione.

"Dudley...Dudley was the worst. Only because his parents turned a blind eye to the behavior, and even encouraged it sometimes" she whispers as Hermione traced her skin with water again, her eyes falling to the droplets that floated on top of it.

"He was the reason I snapped that night"

The room turned cold. As cold as someone placing a cranked-up fan in front of them in winter. Hermione waited for her to continue, but first Y/n moved closer and rested her forehead on her shoulder. The brunette tensed up for a second but relaxed as she noticed that Y/n wasn't trying to hug her, but instead seeking a small bit of comfort without scaring her.

"What happened Y/n?" Hermione whispers as her free hand reaches up and touches the back of her head. This was very unprofessional, but she didn't want to ignore the small ask. It wasn't like she was asking anything, really.

But Hermione wasn't blind to context clues.

"It was late at night, I think it was almost morning. I could hear the Dursleys talking in their room since mine was right next to theirs. Dudley had gone in there to ask them something, but I couldn't hear what it was about." She mumbles as her fingers trace the hum of Hermione's scrubs.

"Then their door opened. It creaked like it usually did, and Dudley walked out" Y/n says as Hermione looks down at her and scratches the back of Y/n's neck.

"How did you know it was him? Did you see him?" She asks.

"Not immediately. His footsteps aren't as soft as his mother's or heavy as his father's." Y/n explains as she thinks for a moment. She could still smell the iron in the air.

"I realized he walking down the hall. There were only bedrooms where he was going, and I knew there was nothing for him there. He had the whole attic for himself. So I got up and walked over to the door, opening it enough to peek my head through." She says as presses her forehead more into Hermione's shoulder, slipping up to the crook of her neck.

"When I saw what door he had opened. I mentally just...broke" Y/n whispers as she sits back up and looks Hermione right in the eyes. The brunette took a breath and saw how Y/n seemed to hold a lot of anger behind her eyes, but it wasn't directed at her.

"The nine-year-old. It was her room. I told him he could do whatever he wanted to me as long as he didn't touch any of the other kids and...I saw the sinister smile on his face as he walked inside. I knew that look all too well" she says as he head twitched to this side. A nervous tick.

"I quickly went into the room across the hall, the twin boys, fifteen at the time. They had a fireplace in their room, so I grabbed the fire poker and ran down the hall."

"Y/n, what's the matter? Where are you going with that?"

She shook her head and looked away, down at her uneaten fast food as it began to get cold. That night haunted her dreams, not because of what she did, but what she realized had been happening under her nose.

"I opened the door and..." her voice caught in her throat as she took a ragged breath, tears falling from her eyes as she could still see her foster sister's face.

"That bastard was already on top of her. He laughed in my face and said to wait my turn" she seethed as she pulled her hands away from Hermione's scrubs and white-knuckled her sheets.

"The two boys followed after me as I grabbed him by the hair and threw him onto the ground. He didn't say anything. I didn't give him a chance."

Hermione felt the back of her neck stand up on its ends, but it wasn't from fear, but from being horrified at what was being told to her.

"I don't know how many times I hit him with it, but I stopped when a piece of his skull came out with the curve of the poker," Y/n says as she backs up, hitting the wall again. Tears ran down her cheek as she looked somewhere other than Hermione.

"No one said anything as I walked out of the room and into the hall, where the other kids now had their heads peeking out of the doors. Yet I just ignored them, instead, I walked into the Dursley's room and..." Y/n trails off as she looks back at Hermione, who still waiting patiently. She didn't look scared or disgusted, she didn't even seem to hate Y/n more than she probably does.

"I killed them. I caught Mr.Dursley off guard and bashed his head in a few times. Enough to incapacitate him. Mrs.Dursley screamed and tried to run out of the room, but I was able to trip her with my foot."

Hermione took a sip of her water, she could almost taste the blood, and it made her slightly nauseous.

"After I was done, I shut the door to their room and found all the kids looking at me. They didn't look scared, but I couldn't really comprehend what was going on." Y/n says as she looks at the light in the ceiling. It flickered and buzzed softly.

"Take...take everyone downstairs and call emergency services"

"Then the cops came" she finishes as Hermione straightened her back and stayed silent for a moment. She wondered what to say, but there was a question she wanted an answer to.

"I read the reports, and it said that they found thirteen different sets of fingerprints on that fire poker. Yet, only you were ever sentenced for the crime. How did that happen?" Hermione asks and Y/n nods slowly as their eyes meet.

"Did you ever hear the story of the 19th-century Chinese goldsmith? He lost a lot of money for his goldsmith buddies due to his shady business practices. So they decided to kill him. By biting him to death. One hundred and twenty-three goldsmiths took a bite out of the victim, ensuring no one individual could be blamed for the murder. For who would know which one administered the lethal bite?" Y/n says as she looks down at her hands, Hermione raises her brows in surprise. It seemed loyalty went far within those kids.

"If you went down, so did the others?" She asks and Y/n nods again, the room doesn't feel as cold as it did before. It was almost back to a comfortable atmosphere.

"I didn't know that they had done that. I had left the poker on the floor near Mrs.Dursley when I had gone downstairs to wait on the porch for the police. Thankfully, they all are still free." Y/n sighed as she found her appetite again and took a fry from its bag. Hermione just stared.

"Do you regret it?"

Y/n looked up and gave a shake of her head.

"The only thing I regret from that night is letting my foster sister watch me kill Dudley. I wish I had made her run out of the room."

Hermione felt broken.

——————

December 27th

Y/n was woken up by the sound of her door being opened. She sat up and found Hermione being let in by Officer Lupin. She had a small smile on her face as Y/n sat up and yawned.

"What time is it?" She asked as Hermione sat down on the table and checked her watch. Y/n noticed she was wearing a new perfume, it was much fancier than usual.

"5:53 in the morning" she chuckles and Y/n just nods as she yawns again, cocooning herself in the blanket. Hermione just stared, finding her sleepy face very endearing.

"I needed to talk to you about something" Hermione states as Y/n laid back down, but nodded, showing that she was listening. The nurse rolled her eyes and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, hovering over her as she looked down at Y/n with a serious gaze.

"This is serious" she muttered and Y/n raised a brow, blinking away the blurriness in her eyes. Hermione had become much more comfortable around Y/n since that talk in October, even going as far as to playfully flirt back.

"Are you going to ask me to marry you? Because I need to be your girlfriend first before that happens." Y/n says as she stretches, her arms biting the wall above her head as she does so. Hermione just smiled and shook her head as she took in Y/n's features, they were so carefree. It's like she didn't realize where she was.

"As much fun as that would be, I'm talking about your case being looked over again by a new judge." Hermione states and Y/n sighs as she rolls her eyes, turning on her side and looking away from her friend.

"I'm tired of talking about it. Everyone knows that I'm getting that needle, and I've accepted that." Y/n says and Hermione huffs as she pushes the inmate back onto her back, catching her off guard. She looked at her with a surprised expression.

"Now you listen to me Y/l/n. Do you know how lucky you are to find a judge who wants to review this case and its evidence? This could literally be life or death for you. So I recommend you take it seriously." Hermione says as she pokes Y/n's chest with her finger. The inmate smirked and nodded slowly, her hand grasping the nurse and pulling it up to her lips.

Y/n had become very comfortable as well.

A little too comfortable.

She just stared into Hermione's eyes as she kissed her knuckles. The brunette tried to act as if it didn't bother her in the slightest when in reality, she had an angel and a devil on her shoulder whispering different things.

"You're pushing your luck" Hermione hummed as she watched Y/n just kiss her knuckles again. They were soft, and kind.

"Then pull away" Y/n whispered back and Hermione just stared back at her, her eyes dilating rapidly with every little kiss that was pressed to her skin. This was dangerous. She would lose her job if they were caught.

How did this happen? Was it because she was a vigilante in a sense? Did she have an attraction to a killer, or was it a 'bad girl' appeal? Either way, it spoke volumes about her mental health.

Y/n kissed down to her wrist, a shuttered breath left Hermione's lips as watched her. Her mind told her to back away, but the rest of her body said otherwise. Her other hand grasped the sheets of the bed beside Y/n's head as she loomed even more over her.

Her hair fell around them, and a golden glow from the oak tree curls cascaded across Y/n's face. Hermione was in such an awkward and twisted position, that she thought Y/n was doing this so she would lay on top of her to relieve the knot in her spine.

"You're dangerous" Hermione whispers as Y/n smirks and nibbles on the space between her hand and forearm. That expression basically said 'not dangerous enough for you to run away'.

"Remus will be back soon," she says again, trying to find an excuse to go before she did something she couldn't take back. Y/n just hummed, continuing to kiss her skin. She had no care in the world.

She has lived so carefully all her life, but now Y/n doesn't mind the consequences anymore. She looked safe while silently worshiping Hermione's skin. She had the same look on her face as a druggy looking into stain glassed windows.

Hermione's back pleaded for her to untwist, it stung like steel nails being pressed into her spine. So she slowly turned her hips to the side, but then Y/n struck. She pulled Hermione onto her, the nurse gasped softly as her other hand broke free and landed on the bed beside the inmate's face.

Their noses bumped against each other, Y/n still wore that smirk that screamed 'got you'. It made the nurse's face began to feel as though it was right next to a space heater. Her chest pressed against Y/n's, pounding out to the other heart that seemed steady compared to hers.

"You...you are pushing your luck" Hermione repeated with a shaken voice and Y/n just hummed softly as her eyes scanned her face slowly, methodically. A gentle laugh left her lips as she looked up at Hermione innocently, almost too innocently.

"You have already said that" Y/n hums as one of her hands found their way up to the brunette's mouth, dragging her thumb across her bottom lip ever so slowly. Hermione felt like smacking her head into the concrete walls, just so she could get a grip on herself!

Back away.

Back away!

Then she heard footsteps and a jingle of keys.

Hermione suddenly stood away with a sharp exhale. Her back almost slammed into the wall as her heart pounded like a jackhammer, and Y/n slowly sat up on her forearm.

As the door opened, and Remus looked at them both with a raised eyebrow. Hermione cleared her throat as she took a breath, pointing her finger at a smirking Y/n, who feigned innocence still.

"Talk to a lawyer. Please" she says before quickly walking out of the cell. Remus watched as she kept her head down and sped walked down the hallway. He looked back at Y/n and let out a soft huff as the inmate looked back at him with a smile.

"What did you do?" He asked and Y/n just shrugged, Remus sighed softly.

"We were just messing around" she hummed as she laid back down, and rested her head on her arms. The officer leaned against the doorframe and hummed back in disbelief, the man on the moon could see Hermione's flush from here.

"Sure, Y/n. Just don't run her off" he says and the girl waved him off with her hand and turned to go back to sleep for a bit. Remus rolled his eyes as he shut and locked the door again.

As he began to make his rounds again, he couldn't help but find the situation a little cute. Granted, maybe he was a hopeless romantic. Then again, maybe there was something there.

Time could only tell.

——————

February 19th

Hermione sat in the observation room, writing down little notes for herself about medications and treatments that she had lined up for other patients. Yet, her mind was on Y/n.

God. It always was.

She was beginning to think she was going stir-crazy. Can you blame her though? To fall for a killer was something she would hear from the news, not expecting to actually experience it!

So after that encounter in Y/n's cell, Hermione tried to date a few people she had met prior. It was no use, however, for the death row inmate had her fingers hooked around her neck like razor wire, and the nurse actually enjoyed it.

"Something is wrong with me" Hermione whispered as she stood up and checked that she did in fact have Y/n's shot ready for her. She was a little bit airheaded today.

She had left her lunch at home and lost one of her prescriptions that a patient of hers needed for their depression. Hermione wasn't having a good day, and another mess up would definitely have her on the bad end of Umbridges lecture.

The sound of the door opening had caught her attention, she slowly glanced over her shoulder to see Y/n being brought in by another Officer, the little dipshit, Quirrell. He shoved her into the room and quickly latched her to the table, he didn't even bother saying anything as he stepped out of the room, the door shutting rather loudly behind him.

"What's his problem?" Hermione asked as she rolled over the small table and sat down on her chair. Y/n sighed and leaned back slightly, one of her hands holding her up as Hermione prepared the other arm for the shot.

"He hates me. I think he might have known the Dursleys" Y/n says with a shrug as Hermione's eyes pop back up to her in surprise. If that is true, then who in their right mind would let him anywhere near Y/n?

"What? How? Are you sure?" Hermione asks as she slips on a pair of gloves, and grabs the shot from the table. Y/n just sighed again. She looked out of it today. Two of a feather.

"I'm not positive, but I swear I've seen him before, before this place" she explains as Hermione inserted the needle into her arm and released the vitamins into the muscle. Y/n flinched slightly, but relaxed soon after.

"Maybe he just looks like someone else you've seen? It's like how I think that one actor from CSI has been in more stuff I've seen, but he hasn't" Hermione says as she throws the needle and other garbage away. Y/n chuckled and watched her for a moment.

"Probably" she hummed as they fell into a comfortable silence.

Y/n watched Hermione like a hawk, it sent a shiver up the Nurse's spine, but not because she didn't like it. She kept her back towards her, trying her best to keep her cool as she cleaned the small spaces she had touched.

"Hermione?"

She froze, but soon took a breath and looked over her shoulder. When their eyes met again, a warmth spread through Hermione's stomach, almost like a heating pad had been placed over it.

"Yes?" She replied.

Y/n thought for a moment and gestured her over, closer to her. Hermione took a few steps towards her, her breath rising a little faster than normal.

Was she scared of Y/n? No, that wasn't it. She didn't feel like a scared kid, she felt like a schoolgirl. This was wrong, but then again, why did being close to Y/n feel so right?

Y/n craned her head up to keep eye contact once Hermione now stood directly in front of her. Their breaths were moving in harmony as they stood in silence for another minute.

It seemed as though neither of them knew how to continue the conversation, or Y/n was playing a small game with her. She didn't know entirely.

"When was the last kiss you've had?" Y/n asks and Hermione blinked in surprise as a flush began to rise from her neck. That was such an inappropriate thing to ask! And she was going to tell Y/n as such.

"That is not an appropriate question to ask in the workplace" Hermione responds as she clears her throat and tries to step away, but Y/n gently grabs the front of her scrubs to keep her still.

"I don't work here, so is it really being inappropriate if I'm just a...well I'm not a civilian, but let's say tenant of this establishment" Y/n chuckles as Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat. She was right in a way, but it was against the law anyway. Hermione won't risk her freedom for a quick flirty feeling.

"Still" she replied and Y/n just hummed as she let go of her scrubs. Y/n won't force her, she wouldn't do that to one of the few friendly faces in this place. Yet, Hermione didn't move away.

"Did you talk to your lawyer? To see if you could file an appeal on your sentencing?" She asked and Y/n leaned back again, both arms propping herself up on the examination table.

"This is my last appeal, and my lawyer is for warning me to wait on it. She doesn't think that using it after only being here for eight years would help me" Y/n says, to which Hermione furrowed her brows in both confusion and anger. That lawyer may have a point, but it didn't matter in the brunette's eyes.

"What happens if your execution date is set? Then what the fuck will she do?" Hermione asks in a huffed tone, to which Y/n raises an eyebrow at. She hasn't been expecting her to get so defensive. Wait, that's not it. Attached?

"There's probably an emergency appeal she could send out, they usually tell the inmates a few weeks beforehand so they can prepare themselves" Y/n replied as she shrugged again. That angered Hermione more. How could she act so nonchalant? Her life is literally on the line, and she's just fine with it.

"How are you so calm? I would be shaking twenty-four-seven if I was in your shoes" Hermione says as she pulls her chair over and sits down. Y/n thought for a moment and shrugged again.

"I've had eight years to be afraid, but after the first few, you learn that you can't be terrified of something that will come eventually. Granted, I don't have a say in the matter, but this is my consequence." Y/n says with a sigh as she rolls her neck to the side, it cracked slightly. Hermione nodded along, understanding that she had come to terms with death. It was a part of life after all.

Another question loomed in her mind.

"How did you feel when you were sentenced?" She asks and Y/n pauses a moment, a faraway look in her eye. There was so much emotion behind it, yet her face didn't express any of it.

"My mind kinda blanked when the jury sentenced me to the death sentence. All I really remember is one of the bailiffs coming over and cuffing me while the other foster kids began to cry and yell at the jury...it was chaos" Y/n said as she took a deep breath out. Hermione bit the inside of her cheek, trying to figure out how to backpedal on such a deep conversation.

She didn't want to stress Y/n out, and the convict took notice of her nervousness.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asks, to which Hermione nods, a soft 'of course' coming from her lips.

"What was college/university like?" Y/n asks as she sits up slightly, a small smile forming on her face. Hermione was surprised again, honestly thinking that it was going to be another super personal question.

"Well, uh. It was difficult, getting my degree took a few years longer than most." Hermione explained and Y/n nodded along. She actually seemed very interested in what Hermione had done in school.

"Did you want to get your degree?" she asks, but immediately regrets it. That was a stupid question. She forgets that Y/n is a convict most of the time, then bouts out questions you would ask people outside of a prison.

"Actually, yes. Except, I just wanted to party" Y/n snickered as Hermione smiled softly. Of course, she did. She seemed like one of those people who would love to drink till they blacked out behind a KFC.

(A/N: personal experience btw, went to a party in Chicago and woke up behind a KFC in Indianapolis the next morning. To this day, I still don't know how I got there 🤷🏻‍♀️)

"Ah, sounds like you were going to be a troublemaker" Hermione chuckles as they get deeper into the conversation. It wasn't till an hour or so later, after Officer Dingbat finally came back from his lunch break, that they parted ways.

Hermione found herself checking inventory later into the day, a clipboard in hand as she made sure all her patients had their needed medications. That was when she realized that only one shot was left for Y/n.

"I better request more...directly" she groaned as her head dropped a little. Hermione really didn't want to talk to Umbridge again, but if she didn't, then it was likely that Y/n's needs would go unchecked. Even if she were to highlight it on the order form.

So, she begrudgingly trudged her way to the main offices and found the menace sitting at her desk. Her hair was still styled like it had been this morning, compared to Hermione, whose locks were how in a messy ponytail.

"Ma'am, may I have a word?" She asked as she cleared her throat and tried to keep an attitude out of her tone. Their eyes met for a moment before the smaller woman looked back at the forms on her desk.

"Yea, what is it?" Umbridge sighs.

"Well, we need a new shipment by next month of Y/n Y/l/n's B-12 shots" Hermione replied, but her face turned to shock as her superior waved off her request.

"That won't be necessary" Dolores sighs again as she signs off on some vacation request forms. Hermione was puzzled. What did she mean that it wouldn't be 'necessary'?

Obviously, it wasn't a secret that Umbridge was very cruel to the inmates in non-law-violating ways, but refusing her vitamins was a bit...bitchy.

"May I ask why?" Hermione asks, and Dolores looks up, a small sinister smile growing on her face. The younger girl instantly swallowed the spit in her throat.

"She is set to be executed"

[thebeast-dennis-etcetera]

Tipsy and Turned On

Gibbs X Reader One-Shot

Prompt: You attend an NCIS Ceremony and get a little too tipsy around your boss.

Part 2

Mentions: Drinking

>>>>

You smoothed your tight dress over for the hundredth time in the last 20 minutes as Bishop ran around the little hotel room you two shared, looking for her earrings.

“They were literally on the sink just a second ago,” she cried out, exasperated. You looked at your watch, noting that you only had about 40 minutes before the ceremony started.

“Check by the mini fridge. Maybe you set them down them when you stuffed your face with the bag of peanut m+m’s.”

You checked your makeup in the bathroom mirror and put a thin coat of lipstick on before you heard Bishop’s triumphant squawk.

“Got em!”

Walking out, you saw her putting the earrings in while munching on something which you assumed was the m+m’s she was finishing. A loud obnoxious knock sounded at the door before it opened a second afterwards and Tony walked in.

“What the hell DiNozzo? You don’t just walk into our room like that. We could’ve been naked!”

“Darn, should have knocked 30 minutes ago,” he teased, making you roll your eyes.

“Are you guys ready? The ceremony starts in like a half an hour,” you heard McGee’s voice announce from the hallway. At least he had the decency to stay outside.

“Oh relax McFidget. It’s literally 3 floors beneath us. We’ve got plenty of time to grab a drink and meet some newly promoted probies.”

You spritzed a little perfume, grabbed your clutch, and walked out of the room, making sure to smack Tony on the way out. Abby and Palmer were already down in the lobby when you guys stepped off the elevator.

“Oh my gosh, your dresses are so beautiful!” she gushed while running over in her Doc Martens.

You returned Abby’s excited hug and smiled anxiously, which she caught onto.

“Nervous?”

“Yeah. The entirety of NCIS is here. Including SecNav.”

“Well let’s get you a drink then. Soften those nerves.”

The boys went to find your assigned table while you Abby and Bishop went over to the bar, each ordering a cocktail. After a couple long sips, you took a breath and tried relaxing. Crowds were never a problem for you as long as they didn’t include a bunch of higher ranking officials and their bosses walking around. You scanned the massive dining hall and spotted Vance conversing with some other man in a suit you assumed was important but wasn’t expecting to see the third individual in the conversation as well.

“Since when did Gibbs come to NCIS ceremonies?” you asked, as Abby and Bishop turned to look.

“Oh, I heard Vance is forcing him to be here since we’re suppose to be receiving an award,” Bishop explained.

So that’s why he looking exceptionally handsome in his full black and navy suit. He even wore a tie. The man definitely cleaned up well and you actually had a hard time taking your eyes off of him.

Ever since you started working with the team, you had been…intrigued by Gibbs but it never got past the point of checking him out a few times or shooting some harmless cheesy flirts that everyone would just roll their eyes at. He never gave any indication of being intrigued as well, let alone attracted to you in the time that you’ve known him.

“Alright. One shot and let’s go join the others,” you heard Abby say.

You turned to her and saw her sliding over two shot glasses for you and Bishop. Now that Bishop just told you that you were going to have to get up on stage, you needed a shot more than ever.

“Abby, you’re a mind reader.”

She just winked and clinked your glass before throwing the shot back. You and Bishop followed suit, both grimacing from the liquid flames pouring down your throats and followed her towards your reserved table.

“Looks like you 3 found the bar just fine,” Tony pointed out as you took a seat.

“Don’t you have some naive agent to be bugging?” you retorted. He smiled and gave a nod to some young woman across the way, proving your point.

“Actually, she’s a file clerk and I’ll be right back.”

He left the table in the direction of the blonde haired woman as you all shook our heads and laughed. A few minutes later you saw Gibbs walk over.

“Didn’t think you were coming Gibbs. You don’t usually like these types of events,” McGee pointed out as he took Tony’s spot beside you. Instinctively, you took a long sip of your drink.

“Vance wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

As if on cue, the lights dimmed and the SecNav walked onto the little stage area holding a microphone.

“Thank you all for attending our little get together. We have a few announcements and presentations so let’s get started. Firstly, let’s honor those that we’ve lost in our battle for justice. Agent Simmons….

We all listened quietly, occasionally nodding or clapping for different reasons but the thought of having to get up on stage soon was driving you crazy. You hadn’t even known your leg was shaking under the table until I you felt a warm hand still your movements. Looking over, Gibbs gave you a small reassuring nod calming and exciting you at the same time.

His hand had left but the warmth was still there, leaving your skin with goosebumps.

“So these awards go to Special Agent Gibbs and his dedicated team, if they could make their way over,” Vance’s voice spoke too quickly. Part of you just moved in autopilot, getting up and following behind Gibbs with the rest of the team following behind in a line. You could feel everyone’s eyes on you, judging you.

Luckily, the little bit of alcohol you had was kicking in, dulling the sense of anxiety but you knew you looked at your hands, they’d be shaking.

On stage, Vance adorned your necks with medals and shook everyone’s hands before dismissing you. It was simple and quick and you would’ve ran off the stage at top speed had you remembered how to act at such formal events.

>>>>

The hardest part was over and now was time to relax, as you sat on the floor of your hotel room, doing your 3rd shot with Bishop and Abby.

McGee had left early with Delilah and who knows what pants DiNozzo got himself in but you, Abby and Bishop were having the time of your lives.

“You should try it, you never know, you might enjoy it,” Abby suggested from the couch.

“I’m not sleeping in a coffin Abbs! I’m already claustrophobic!”

“You know what you should do. Pretend to get lost in the hotel and end up at Gibbs’s door.”

Both Abby’s and my mouth dropped open at Bishop’s comment and she laughed. She was the only one I told about my slight attraction to our boss and now Abby knew too.

“Bishop, I can’t believe you said that! I thought we had a secret together!”

“Oh don’t worry Y/N. I knew something was going with you and Gibbs wayy before Bishop told me anything.”

“What?! There’s nothing going on! And Bishop shouldn’t have said shit.”

They both laughed at the horror in your face and you prepared yourself another shot.

“You should do it though. I overheard heard him talking with Ducky about you. He didn’t say it exactly but he thinks you’re interesting. And for Gibbs to say that, that isn’t normal.”

“But I don’t even know what room is his.”

“202. Right down the hall,” Abby stated, already ready for your excuse.

“No one is saying go in there and force him to have sex with you. Just go and see what he does. If he escorts you back to your room, maybe he’s not interested. But if he invites you in..”

“What about Rule 13?”

“You know how many times we’ve broken that rule? It’s almost funny that we still have it. Come on, hurry before your buzz goes away and you chicken out.”

The both of them practically pulled you up and dragged you over to the door.

“Here are your shoes,” Bishop said, putting my heels in my hand and pushing me out.

“Wait, you guys can’t just kick me out of my own hotel room-

Your statement was cut short as they shut the door in your face, both could be heard giggling on the other side. Looking down at the heels in your hand, you decided against putting them on for fear you would faceplant if you tried walking in them and slowly made your way down the hall.

198, 200, 201..

You stood in front of 202, seriously wondering why you befriended those two. Well, it was now or never you thought as you knocked softly 3 times. A few seconds went by, you swaying slightly as the tequila did its job before the door opened up.

You were genuinely surprised at seeing Gibbs answer the door in nothing but a white tee and boxer briefs, you almost forgot the line you had planned.

“Oh. Is this not my room? I could’ve swore it was..” you probably slurred at him.

“Do you normally knock on your own door Agent L/N?”

Shit. He knew. Maybe. Maybe not.

“Do you know what time it is Y/N?”

You made a move as if to look at your watch, which you didn’t have and heard him sigh.

“It’s 2 in the morning. Have you been at the bar all night?”

Holy shit, it was that late? You were for sure going to have the worst headache the next morning.

“Yes.” Your answer was short, but your tone was almost a question. You don’t know what you were saying anymore, you honestly forgot what he asked you.

“Can I come in?” You blurted, hoping he wouldn’t turn you down. He rubbed his face in exasperation and opened the door wider for you to step in. Holy shit. Holy shit. You did not think you were gonna get this far.

You stepped into his room, noticing that all of his lights were still on and the tv played softly.

“Have you been up all this time too?” you asked, setting your heels down on the little loveseat.

“Just going over the case.” He closed the door and walked over into the bathroom. You looked around, seeing the case file spread across the little desk and the queen bed beside that looked untouched.

You weren’t sure what to do now. You do know that this tight dress you’ve been wearing for hours was starting to become very uncomfortable and this plan was looking dumber and dumber by the second.

Gibbs came back out of the bathroom and grabbed a water from the mini fridge before offering it to you along with some pills you assumed were aspirin. “Drink.”

You listened obediently and gave the bottle back to him, the both of you staring into each others the entire time. Then for whatever reason, you walked over to his bed and plopped down on it, practically moaning at how nice it was.

You almost fell asleep right then and there but then felt something drop onto you. Opening your eyes and looking down, you saw a pair of sweats and a faded USMC shirt lying on the bed.

“You’re not gonna escort me back to my room?” you asked him curiously.

“Do you remember your room number?”

You thought about it before answering honestly.

“No.”

“Then I can’t escort you back to your room. Go change.”

Whether it was the liquor that made you do it or just something deep down inside that gave you the courage, you got up from the bed and pulled your dress zipper down your back, pulling your arms out of the sleeves and letting the dress fall to the floor.

Turning around, you brought your eyes to meet his and watched his icy blue ones stare right back. “What are you doing Agent L/N?”

“I don’t know.”

You took a couple steps closer to him, the cool air making you shiver slightly and just stood there. He didn’t move an inch but you watched him slowly look over you, his mouth moving to slowly lick his lips, sparking something in you.

Taking a chance, you put your arms around his neck and brought your body close to his, noticing how his hands immediately found your hips and his head dipped to meet yours in a deep kiss.

It was better than you ever imagined and between his mouth moving against yours, his hands gripping your skin tighter and the way he pulled you in closer was giving you enough endorphins to pass out.

When you both pulled away for a breath, you smiled. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while.”

“Oh really?” His voice was husky and lower than usual, making you close your eyes.

He nuzzled your neck and wrapped his arms around your torso but made no attempt to bring you to bed.

“As much as I’d like to continue this further, I want it to be on a different occasion,” he spoke in your ear, kissing just below and releasing his grip on you.

Bringing your arms back down, you looked away and stepped back. He was quick to pull your chin back up to look at him.

“What about dinner at my place tomorrow?”

You just nodded and he gave a small smile, leaning down to kiss you again, making your head spin.

“You change. I’m going to take a shower,” he said, pulling back and heading into the bathroom.

You took a huge breath, letting out all the tension and multitude of emotions. You changed into the clothes and just sat on the edge of bed, absent mindedly watching whatever movie was playing.

A few minutes went by and you felt your eyes getting heavy, the alcohol and everything that happened in the day suddenly making you very tired. Knowing you weren’t going anywhere, you crawled across the bed and slipped under the covers.

“Y/N. Wake up.”

You opened your eyes to see Gibbs sitting on the bed beside you, now dressed in sweats and the same t-shirt but his hair was wet from the shower so you couldn’t have been asleep for longer than 20 minutes.

“Chug this, then you can go to sleep,” he said, handing you a small bottle of water. You smiled at his kindness and sat up. As you drank, he turned all the lights off, only the tv illuminating the room and joined you under the covers. You placed the now empty bottle on the bedside and scooted a little closer to his warm body. You weren’t sure how much intimacy to give but you were perfectly content when he moved his arm so that it rested under your head and pulled you closer.

You thought about how the nights progression went on and decided you’d actually have to thank Bishop and Abby.

[uzumaki-rebellion]

"King Killmonger: The Golden Jaguar" Chapter 13

Masterlist HERE.

"I know that I'm anointed

My light will travel wherever

My spiritual garden flourishes

No matter the weather…"

Doechii – "Sunday Best"

N'Jadaka woke up with the weight of Yani's thigh sprawled across his naked backside. The heat made him feel sticky all over but he was quite comfortable with his wife's limb keeping him close to her.

The children's voice's drifted through the open window and he heard plenty of splashing to match the exuberance of their combined laughter. He glanced at his kimoyos. The neon yellow holo alarm floated the time. It rang two hours ago and he missed it. He tried rolling over but Yani groaned and reached out to keep him in place.

"Baby, the kids are already up and outside," he whispered in her ear.

Yani squirmed and grumbled in her sleep.

One of the perks of being the king and queen of a nation was having nannies and other staff look after the children's needs before they even woke up. They'd been spoiled not having to do anything but love on their children all day without the responsibities of doing laundry, cooking, or cleaning. Because of that, they'd both slept through an alarm reminding them that they had to feed, bathe, and take care of their children while on their own. Childrearing had them both exhausted. They'd forgotten what it was like to care for three active kids all day without help or breaks. Even between the two of them, their days ended with them dropping dead on their loft bed wondering how they could keep going the next day despite all the fun they were enjoying together.

"Yani…baby…wake up. The kids are already out in the water."

Yani's eyes popped open then.

"Already in the water? Without supervision?"

She jumped off the bed nude and grabbed a fresh pair of bikini bottoms. He watched her struggle to get her bikini top on.

"C'mon, get up," she ordered, throwing a new pair of swim trunks to him.

He shuffled off the bed and pulled on the pale yellow trunks.

"We have got to do better. This is the third time we've slept through the morning forgetting about them," Yani gently scolded.

"Most people don't take their children on a honeymoon."

He rubbed on her backside and kissed her to cheek to calm her down.

"People will think we're neglectful parents. They know they're not supposed to be in the water without adults around."

He followed Yani down the stairs and out onto the back of the boat. The children climbed and bounced from a giant island inflatable attached to the portable deck they added to the back of the houseboat. The inflatable had three big sections: a slide that Joba was going down head first, a wide walkway section to dive from and that connected to a giant round rubber trampoline that Sydette jumped into the water from doing backflips and cartwheels. All three were in a child's paradise of fun. Yani couldn't keep them from all the extra water toys they had, especially the bright colorful big-wheeled water tricycles, one of which Riki pedaled around on passing the mini island. There were also hover surfboards that kept them all occupied for days on end.

None of their kids wanted to the leave the lake, completely changing the other outdoor plans she and N'Jadaka made to take them back to all the wonders they experienced on the first half of their honeymoon. The little Udaku crew was content to spend an entire two weeks on the cove, disappointing a slew of Wakandans who wanted the rare opportunity to see the royal children up close throughout Birnin D'Jata. However, N'Jadaka was insistent that they all spend their last two days in Ekuqaleniso they would know the place where their people started.

Yani had to admit, she shared the best days of her life with the children and her husband those last two weeks. A part of her wished they didn't have to go back. Time away and alone gave her perspective and time to reconnect to her babies who were becoming something else with their individual personalities and pursuits. Birnin Zana was fast-moving and organized chaos compared to life on the water.

Settling down to nothing but family and fun, she and N'Jadaka observed how much the children had changed. Not just physically with Riki and Joba about to pass Sydette up in height in another year or two, but also their speaking voices. She barely heard the familiar lilt of the island patois in Sydette or Riki anymore. Even Joba started speaking with a Wakandan inflection with her English. Most days the children spoke nothing but Wakandan amongst themselves and switched to English just for her sake. Yani learned the language better each day, but she was no match for the fluency of her kids. It saddened her a little that they were comfortably shedding their accents. The more Wakandan they became she had to learn to accept there would come a day when St. Thomas and America were foreign and not really home to them anymore.

She'd noticed it in herself and Twyla too. No one could tell her cousin she wasn't a native Wakandan. From the fashion and food she indulged in, to the way she walked and muddled through her learning of the language, Twyla was a Birnin Zana citizen down to the bone. Period. She shed ties to home easily unlike Yani. St. Thomas, Our Lady's Manor in particular, was always going to be home for her and N'Jadaka.

"Hey, you guys shouldn't be out here by yourselves," Yani called out.

Riki paddled by on the big wheel kicking up a spray of water as he passed the houseboat. Sydette climbed back onto the trampoline and Joba sat at the top of the slide staring at them.

"But Mama," Sydette said squinting from the sunlight, "we tried waking you and Baba up for over an hour. It was too hot to wait for you. I'm watching Riki and Joba. I even made them breakfast and sprayed them down with sunblock."

Yani sucked her teeth at her own self. She was trying her hardest to break Sydette from the idea of taking on a mothering role for her siblings. Her eldest had been accustomed to doing that for Riki back in St. Thomas while Yani was attending school and juggling a tight schedule and Yani pushed back on it then relying on her Auntie and Twyla to mind that gap when she wasn't around. However, Yani remembered the pressure she was put under to be a second mother for her own younger sisters by force. Her parents hoisted that job onto her little girl shoulders when she was six years old and it never let up until she fell pregnant and was thrown out of her home. From the age of six through nineteen, Yani was often in charge of her sisters and working odd jobs for days at a time as her mother dealt with an errant philandering husband who she ran after to drag home to pay for bills he neglected. When things were good between them, her parents partied and drank too much, leaving Yani to feed her sisters hoping the adults didn't kill themselves from overconsumption of alcohol. Once they cleaned up and became holy rollers in the church, a new hell was bestowed on Yani. She had to become the perfect working daughter who contributed to the family household employed under the table by Aunt Leona once she turned fourteen.

Unlike herself, she wanted her children to have real childhoods and to not be responsible for anyone other than themselves. Without even questioning the role, Sydette took on the eldest daughter syndrome behavior and didn't even blink. Yani was going to break that pattern.

"Sweet Pea, thank you for feeding and watching Riki and Joba. Me and Baba are here now. No need for you to look after them. Hear mi?"

"Yes, Mama," Sydette said. "Did I do something wrong?"

Sydette's pinched face probed Yani's expression.

"No, you did wonderful. I don't want you missing out on your fun worrying about them.'

"Oh…okay!"

"Show us how high you can jump."

Sydette wiggled her hips and bounce-walked to the center of the water trampoline and began jumping. Yani followed N'Jadaka onto the separate portable deck where lounge chairs with umbrellas and a mini fridge that held cool drinks and chilled fruit waited for their usage. N'Jadaka sat down and reached for sunblock on the side table. He sprayed himself and helped Yani by spraying on her front and back. She reached into the fridge and pulled out cold strawberry mineral water for them.

"Living good Mrs. Udaku-Stevens," N'Jadaka said.

"Yes we are."

He reached over and patted her hand.

"Don't beat yourself up. The kids are fine. Okoye and Ayo have an eye on them in the sky too."

"I don't want Sweet Pea…she's a little girl—"

"Yani…baby…I understand your concern. They will live as children for a long time unlike you and me. We both had to grow up fast and take on a lot at early ages. Relax and enjoy them, alright?"

He kissed the back of her hand and she nodded, turning her head away so he wouldn't see her eyes water up. His immediate comprehension of what she was feeling gave her comfort.

"I'll do the cooking tonight with the kids if you want to take a longer nap today.'

"Thank you."

"Relax."

"Baba! Mama! Watch!" Sydette shouted.

Their eldest jumped high in the air three times before flinging herself backward into the water. Yani and N'Jadaka clapped.

"Lemme see you fly, Joba!" N'Jadaka called out to his youngest.

Joba grinned and crossed her arms in front of her chest before leaning back on the high slide. She slid down the wet plastic launch ramp that curled at the end, shooting Joba up into the air about four feet before she splashed down into the water. They clapped for her and settled on Riki zooming past on the water big wheel chasing after water fowl that lingered to catch scraps of uneaten snacks on the sunbathing platform.

Peace settled on Yani and she indulged in the safeness of that feeling. A ticklish nudging came to the back of her mind, like she was forgetting something important in regards to their children. Her mother hen instincts prevailed and she simply loosened up her shoulders and kept a watchful eye on healthy happy little Udakus. N'Jadaka sipped on his drink and put it down. He stood and flexed his arms.

"Wait…what are you doing?!" Yani screeched.

N'Jadaka snatched her up over his shoulder and jumped into the water with her. Their children hooted and hollered. Yani wiped water from her eyes and laughed with them.

"…so I thought the logical thing to do was to invite her to our pool/slumber party in order to show her that we were regular people too," Sydette finished with a sigh in her voice.

N'Jadaka helped supervise the children chopping up vegetables for their cranberry and glazed walnut salad.

"Maybe break up a few more walnuts Lil Man," he said to Riki.

Riki nodded and reached for a bag of walnuts and used a small hammer-shaped nut cracker to break up the nuts and place them into a bowl. Joba rinsed her hands and helped N'Jadaka cut up cooked and chilled lemon chicken cutlets into cubes. Sydette stopped breaking up butter leaf lettuce by hand and studied his face.

"Baba, can I ask you something serious?" Sydette asked.

"Go ahead," he said.

Sydette waited for him to look into her eyes.

"Does everyone outside of Wakanda think you're a bad guy? Is that why they talk so much about you by spreading lies?"

"Baba is a hero," Joba said.

"We know that," Riki said tossing walnuts into the bowl near his fingers, "but those people are stupid."

N'Jadaka paused his movement.

"Where are you hearing this from?" he asked.

Sydette glanced at her hands.

"Grandpop's vid screen. We spent the night with him before we left to come here. He fell asleep on the couch and we were looking for something to watch and we go onto the outer-net and saw all these news people talking about you," Sydette said.

"I see."

"Why are they so afraid of you? One lady said you would become a tyrant. That's bad, Baba."

"When people are afraid of more powerful people doing good work in the world, it interferes with their hunger for influence and use of that same power. They'll tarnish your reputation. It's a trick to get other people not to follow your example. Other leaders will say all kinds of horrible things about me to influence how others interact with my leadership around the world. The three of you should never worry about what those outsiders say about me."

"What about the people inside?" Sydette asked.

"No country is perfect. Neither is a king, queen, or president. Everyone has their own opinions, as is their right about how I run things here."

"But everything is perfect here. Who wouldn't like you?" Joba asked with a fretful tone.

He touched the beads at the bottom of her braids.

"People here are still getting used to us…me. Some things happened in the past that many are still not over—"

"Like your Baba going against his brother? And you trying to kill Uncle T'Challa?" Sydette asked.

"Or you being king?" Riki added.

Three pairs of inquisitive eyes clocked his expression.

"Those are things you three shouldn't even know about right now, but there was no way to keep it from you. That was all my fault."

"Umama said it's always best to know the truth to keep us from repeating the past," Joba said.

"She's right. But young children shouldn't know about murder and death so soon. Especially within our family."

"How were you able to forgive Uncle T'Challa for hurting you?" Sydette said.

"He tried to save my life and show me that we didn't have to go down the same path as our fathers who lived in fear of each other. Plus I had you three in my life, and your Uncle loved you all so much. He took care of you until he and Shuri found a way to save me. So you see, we changed our behavior toward each other and used love to heal our family. Your mothers pushed me to do better when I was lost."

"Did you have to kill Uncle T'Challa when you came back here?" Joba asked.

Her dark eyes watered and her lip quivered. He put and arm around her.

"I was in a bad place when I first came here. All I had was revenge and justice on my mind. Now when I think about it…had I known I had all of you…maybe I would've acted different. There were so many secrets and lies back then. But it's over now."

Sydette stared at him. Her eyes were shiny and she wiped a lid.

"I sometimes feel sorry for Uncle T'Chaka. He was so scared of Grandpa N'Jobu that he ruined the chance to have a bigger family and more happiness in his life. He did a bad…no…he did an evil thing to our grandfather. He kept Uncle T'Challa from growing up with you. You two could've been besties like you were before he went away with Umi Disa and Baba Z and all of our family who are gone now. Why couldn't he talk to Grandpa N'Jobu instead of killing him? Why didn't he bring you here? Everyone would like you then."

Sydette burst into tears and Joba joined her. Riki tried keeping it together but tears streaked down his cheeks too.

"Hey…hey…alright you guys…let's not talk about sad things on our family trip."

Sydette whimpered and rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes.

"I don't want people hating you," she said.

"Me neither, Baba," Riki huffed.

N'Jadaka took a deep breath and let the children feel what they felt without pressuring them to stop crying.

"Not everyone is going to like me or what I do for this country. But it's my job to worry about that. Understand?"

They gave him dutiful nods with wet eyes.

"Look at me. Do I act like I care what haters think of me?"

"But we care," Sydette said.

"It's why we want the pool party when we get home. To show our friends that you are a good person," Joba said softly.

"Are they saying stuff to you?" he asked.

"They hear things from their parents. So I figured we'd do some PR stuff to help your reputation," Sydette said.

"You guys should have a pool party because you want to hang with your friends."

"We do want to hang with them. I just thought it could help you too," Sydette said.

N'Jadaka clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

"I tell ya what. You guys are going to have the best pool party and slumber party gathering ever. Those parents are going to pray to Bast that they always get invited to anything you three plan because they're going to be so impressed with my swag!"

Sydette giggled from the tone of his voice and her glittery eyes had a smile in them too.

"Okay Joba?" he asked patting her hair.

Joba nodded and her face became calm again. Riki's chest shuddered, but he was back to himself.

"Me and Mama will handle all the bad press fine. Remember, they're just bullies who want me to stop helping people. Now… let's put this salad together and set the dinner table outside."

He assisted three little wet faces in tossing all the ingredients into the large salad bowl, and Joba poured a light cranberry balsamic over everything and he tossed it with big wooden spoons cracking jokes and cracking smiles back on his children's faces. By the time he placed buttered slices of whole grain bread on the table, the stressful conversation had been left behind.

"Go wake Mama up," he told Riki.

Riki zipped across the platform and jumped onto the houseboat. Joba and Sydette sat in their seats and watched his face.

"We good?" he asked.

Sydette leaned forward.

"Riki wrote a song and he wants to sing it for you and Mama. But he's shy about it," Sydette said.

"Riki shy? Since when?"

"It's his first song and he wants you to like it."

"We'll like anything he sings."

"But parents always say that. For real, Baba he wants you to like it because it's good and not because he's your son."

"Have you heard it?"

The girls both nodded.

"It's good," Joba said.

"We keep telling him to sing it for you, but he ignores us. If we pressure him, he'll never sing it. But if you ask about it…"

Sydette's eyebrows danced up and down on her forehead and N'Jadaka grinned.

Yani and Riki walked toward them and his wife looked rested and relaxed.

"Everything looks so nice," Yani said.

She sat down next to him and Riki climbed onto his chair. N'Jadaka served everyone their salad and bread and they said grace together holding hands.

"This is so delicious you guys!" Yani said stuffing her mouth with diced chicken and cherry tomatoes.

N'Jadaka watched Riki interact at the table and he wondered what kind of song Riki made. Their dinner meal was slow paced and he laughed a lot at all the ways his children delighted him. In his mind he bottled up the moment to reflect on later whenever the politics at home got to him. His time with the family was more important than fretting over the world.

By nightfall they went for a night hike offshore and gazed at the stars above the trees and ancient mountain ranges that were around before Wakanda even existed. They pointed in the direction of Ekuqaleni. His children walked in awe as shooting stars zipped across the night sky and admired the magnificence of the Milky Way galaxy bathing them in starlight. He held Yani's hand and squeezed it when the children squealed at seeing a meteor shower. Riki craned his neck to study the light show and N'Jadaka rubbed his son's hair.

"Riki, how is your songwriting coming along? Do you have anything we can hear yet?" he asked.

Sydette and Joba pretended to seriously be interested in the mountains and Riki touched his cheek with nervous energy.

"Dumpling you make a song? Oh, sing it for us," Yani encouraged.

Riki rocked on his heels and thought about it for a moment. He then hummed part of the tune finding his way into his creation before his sweet clear voice sang a song about Yani and N'Jadaka and how much he loved his parents. The lyrics startled N'Jadaka. He expected some boisterous interpolation of Riki's favorite band with Pemmy Yengeni. Instead it was an earnest original song with a catchy melody. Not only did the lyrics startle the king, but his son's strong voice caught him off guard too. Riki could really sing and not in the cutesy way children sang, but with the confidence of a seasoned pro. The singing genes bypassed N'Jadaka entirely and went directly to his son. The girls sang the chorus with Riki and their voices sounded lovely blended with their brother.

When Riki finished the last note, Yani cupped his cheeks in her hands and kissed him all over his face.

"That was beautiful Dumping, thank you for sharing such a special song."

N'Jadaka wiped at his eyes not expecting to get emotional about his child singing to him about how much he loved him. He could only hug Riki as his daughters clapped their hands with joy. They saw something amazing in their brother and wanted them to hear it.

The king treasured the night hike with his family and braced himself for their return to Birnin Zana. His honeymoon with Yani had been another trip of a lifetime and closing it out with his little ones had been icing on the cake.

When Okoye and Ayo met the family with the Royal Talon Fighter for their return trip home, N'Jadaka finally turned his kimoyo beads on all the way in-flight. The first two calls to come through right away first was a joint call with Mpilo and Tlotliso.

"We look forward to seeing you in person Kumkani," Tlotliso said.

Mpilo looked like he was ready to burst in his excitement at seeing the king for the first time in over a month.

"I need to reschedule some things my first week back. My kids have convinced us to have a pool and slumber party at the palace."

He sent over the date he needed free.

"I will take care of that. Shall we expect you in the office on Tuesday?" Tlotliso asked.

"Late afternoon. Mpilo, how's it looking on your end?"

"No major changes thus far, kumkani. We are just really pleased to see you again," Mpilo said.

"Okay. Until Tuesday. Thank you for holding it down."

Their images winked out and he walked over to the nearest viewscreen window where Yani and the children watched the skyline of Birnin Zana come into view.

The king and queen were back.

Chapter 14 HERE.

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[randomfoggytiger]

Collector's Edition: Melissa Scully, the One and Only (Part I)

Melissa Scully, a character with incredible impact compared to her minuscule screen time. Today, we honor her memory.

(If you're curious to read more Melissa-dedicated fic, I recommend The Other Side: Melissa Scully's Recs's site.)

Loose chronological order below~

audrey_cooper/Audrey Cooper's Fairy Tale

Melissa dug in her feet and made tracks on the thin ice covering the sidewalk. "You'll fall if you don't _slow down_." She emphasized the last two words with jerks on Dana's hand. Dana's mitten came off, and, already overbalanced, Melissa flopped down into the snow that was piled next to the sidewalk.

Melissa Scully is dragged around by her little sister (who may or may not have seen a cryptid.)

resistate's Scared at Night

Dana hears another almost-moan, this one following by a terrible scraping sound. Dana has half-convinced herself she has been imagining things. She jumps a little bit without meaning too and bangs her elbow on her bedside table by accident. "Melissa," she says urgently, before she can stop herself. "Missy!"

Pre-S1 Scully deduces that the noise under her bed is Melissa.

@minuete-blog/Minuete's

The Scully Sister

Charlie, bless his soul, told Mom he planned to stick up for a kid that was being bullied in class.  Dana, the overachiever, wanted to ask her teacher for extra credit on the history project regarding California missions on top of the required diorama all students had to turn in.  Once it was my turn to speak, I blurted, “I’m not going to get confirmed next year.”

Melissa's slow journey away from religion.

Porch Talk

Dana glared at me as she chewed on her bottom lip. A smug smile crossed my lips. “I thought so. Dana, if you’re doing this to nab a guy, then he’s definitely not the one for you. If you’re doing this to get attention, then believe me, you got it. Just don’t hide the genius that you are. That’s the real you.”

Pre-S1 Melissa has a very serious talk with her little sister.

@mulders-boyish-enthousiasm/muldersboyishenthousiasm's Dear Stubb

Mom helped me fill a lot of papers to redirect letters and subscriptions I receive through mail. Melissa could not stop hovering over my shoulder sending me good vibes using a new age technique she just learned. Bill didn’t even bother to feign interest in my going to Quantico. And Ahab… well… Ahab avoided me most of the time. What about Charlie you’ll wonder? Charlie’s absent. As usual.

Pre-S1 Scully writes about her family and new assignment to an unidentified friend.

Beshter's X-files Seasons

"Mom said you were in town, I thought you would call." Scully pulled away, glancing at her stove where strange and good smelling foods were bubbling.

"Yeah, well it's Tuesday. We always have dinner on Tuesday, remember?" Melissa produced a key from her pocket, waving it in front of Scully. "And as I remember it was my turn to cook."

"That was a year ago, Missy." 

Melissa Scully appears many times in this sprawling epic spanning the first seven years Scully spent on the X-Files.

zulu's

First Sight 

How her parents had managed to live such confined, orderly lives for over thirty years was beyond her; something to do with a military mindset, she supposed. Bill and Charles had never minded, not like her--or Melissa.

Pre-S1 Melissa pokes a few bears after Scully announces her new assignment.

Third Memory

Melissa gasped. This was far more than a dream vision. It was cold here. She smelled the acrid sickness of antiseptic and vomit, heard the insistent beeps and shushing of life support equipment. She knew it was Dana's mind that touched hers, and she felt herself sliding down into her sister's memory. She tensed and called out, "Dana!" In her bedroom, alone, there was no answer. She was falling, falling into Dana's thoughts, into her sister's past.

Anasazi Melissa taps into Mulder's aura.

Shelba's The Man of her Dreams

Months passed; she forgot about the dream. Then one night in late summer, she gasped awake, shaken to the core. The man from her dream had returned in a nightmare. His long body was fastened to a chair, if a chair had been made by Dante.

Pre-S1 Melissa has unknowingly dreamed of Mulder for years.

@frostbitepandaaaaa/FrostbitePanda's Nine Minutes and Then Some - Chapter 4 (Ao3)

Missy almost chokes on a cherry tomato, looks up at her sister to see if she’s suddenly been replaced by someone else. But Dana Scully is still there, pushing her fork through her spinach, her face carefully schooled.

Post Pilot Melissa sides with Mulder against Scully.

@viceversawrites/viceversa's One word prompt: Maybe (Ao3)

“He’s, uh. He’s tall.”

“Dana, you’re tiny. Everyone is tall compared to you.”

“He’s tall compared to most people, Melissa. And he, uh.”

“Come on, spill it.”

“He has a nice face. It’s… sad.”

S1 Melissa gets Scully to admit her new partner's cute.

@katy-kt-katie/Katy_KT_Katie's

“Jersey Devil” ficlet (Ao3)

“Who?” Scully asked, washing dishes, phone propped to her ear with her shoulder.

“The guy…that dad you went out with. You wore that beautiful lace dress?”

“Oh, Rob.”

“Rob….” Melissa said, stretching his name as if prodding her for any salacious details.

Post Jersey Devil Melissa figures out Scully might have a crush on her partner.

Fictober Day 17 Post “One Breath” (Ao3)

Mulder’s eyes shot up to meet Melissa’s; a deer caught in the headlights, trying to decide if he should admit or deny his feelings.

“ You should break the ice, let her know that she’s on your mind, ” Melissa encouraged.

Post One Breath Melissa encourages Mulder to make some moves.

@just-a-donut-who-reads/just_a_donut_who_reads 's One Day 

Missy warned me not to take on the assignment to the X-files. She said it would be dangerous. It is. She said it would be frustrating. It is. She said it would drive me mad, make me question everything I learned in med school and in Quantico...

That said - on the X-files, I have something Missy never anticipated.

An excellent view.

S1 Scully realizes she has a crush on Mulder.

@swinging-stars-from-satellites/bravest_person_in_Wonderland 's

a faint and faraway sound

She didn't see the glance shared between Melissa and their mother, who had been disagreeing over something else just before they sat down to eat, but were the two who understood the best — Dana was liable to take this too much to heart, and if she couldn't change the way she spoke, she would take it as a personal failing.

Scully worked hard to overcome her childhood lisp... and feels a bit hurt when Mulder draws attention to it.

scully and monica (scully's sister, iirc?)

Dana holds the phone between her shoulder and ear, precariously stretching the cord as she tries to carry a frozen turkey over to the sink without dropping either it or the phone; her parents are coming for Christmas dinner tomorrow, but Melissa predictably couldn't make it.

AU-- S1 Scully may have quit the FBI, but that doesn't stop her sister from bringing up Mulder.

💬?

"Missy," Dana says after breakfast, still sitting at her mother's table while Melissa insists on taking care of the dishes. Maggie had left momentarily to run to the store. "Promise you won't think I'm insane."

Post Beyond the Sea Scully asks Melissa if she believes in ghosts.

Whumpay Day 5/Lu's Whumpay 2022 - Chapter 5

"When's the last time you ate?" Asks a voice somewhere out of his range of vision, and Mulder turns in the hard plastic hospital chair to see who it is.

Melissa Scully, all five foot five inches of her — plus three extra inches of platform boots — stands in the doorway of the waiting room, her arms crossed and eyes surprisingly clear, considering that she's been here as long as he has. When he doesn't respond right away, she raises an eyebrow and asks again. "So, how long has it been? I know you haven't slept, but I'm not about to get on your case for that."

One Breath Melissa reads between the lines of Mulder's behavior.

@leiascully's (Ao3)

OctoberFicFest Day 9: Herbal Tea/OctoberFicFest 2021 and OctoberFicFest Day 13: Crystal/OctoberFicFest 2021

Missy’s apartment is cluttered, but it’s a cheerful, kitschy kind of clutter.  There are at least three tarot decks, and those are just the ones Dana can see from her mismatched chair at the battered kitchen table.  The whole apartment smells faintly of herbs and incense.  There are bunches of flowers hung over the doorway to dry and crystals scattered over most of the horizontal surfaces.  On the coffee table, a Ouija board is half-buried under a pile of paperbacks.  The planchette rests in a lipstick-smudged wine glass.

“No crystal ball?” she cracks.  

Melissa's kitschy kitchen and crystals have a lasting impact on one Dana Scully.

Scully gets the below toe ring in S4

She bought the ring on a whim from a basket on the counter at some little witchy shop that she visited out of nostalgia for the scent of incense. Melissa had worn a toe ring when they were younger and it had driven their mother crazy. Scully had thought it looked elegant and just a little daring. She felt tender for that younger self while she browsed the display of rings, stirring through them.

Melissa sparks an unlikely interest.

@slippinmickeys/SlippinMickeys/Slippin' Mickeys's

Scully and Missy talk about her work 

“But what’s he like?” Missy asks, hand curled around a chunky mug, her fingers playing with the string of a tea bag. She asks as though it’s a question with an easy answer, like Mulder’s some sandy-haired podiatrist who enjoys cooking and tennis.

“I don’t know,” Scully answers truthfully. “He’s… brooding. Quick-witted. Intelligent.”

Melissa’s eyebrows go up. She probably shouldn’t have led with brooding.

S1 Melissa assures Scully she's not poking fun.

Can we please have more Missy and Scully conversations, thank you😁 

There’s a brightness to her sister that lights up the gloom of the room, an overeager, watery delirium in the eyes reminding Scully that she’s had A Very Close Call.

Post One Breath Melissa carefully fills her sister in on Mulder's behavior.

The Concept of Dualism

“Dana and I are going to come pick you up,” she said, “what time are you being released?”

Scully could hear a dull mumbling from the receiver. 

“It’s fine, she could use the fresh air. We’ll see you then.”

Scully leaned back on the couch. 

“Thanks, Missy,” she said, “if you can help him get settled into his apartment, I’m sure I can find somebody to-” 

Melissa cut her off. 

“Oh, I’m not taking him to his apartment,” Missy said, matter-of-factly, “I’m bringing him here.”

Post Dod Kalm Melissa insists on nursing Scully and Mulder back to health.

Old Chem pt 3

Melissa looked at it a moment and then gave him a firm grip, observing him appraisingly while she shook it maybe three seconds longer than was polite. 

“So is it Dr. Mulder, then?” she asked, releasing it. 

“Just Mulder,” he said.

AU-- Old Chem Mulder meets one Melissa Scully.

Belated Birthday wishes and a Prompt: Valley of the Sun 

“Heard you were trying to do this without me,” he said with a smile, tossing the towel to the floor and kneeling down next to the bed to take Scully’s hand.

“I didn’t think it would happen this fast,” Scully said, and could feel another contraction coming on, the pain so intense she let out a howl.

“I did,” Missy said under her breath.

Scully was too caught up in the grip of agony to give her any grief for it.

AU-- Valley of the Sun Mulder surprises his pregnant partner with a familiar face.

@wtfmulder's (Ao3) are you wearing space pants (Ao3)

“Missy helped me make it,” she shrugs, setting the card back down. She is so bad at faking nonchalant.

S1 Mulder is affronted by a prank... or is he?

Michelle Kiefer's Only The Ones Who Believe

Melissa had been the only one who supported her decision to join the FBI. "Dana, no one can walk a path set by someone else. You have to choose your own way." What would Melissa say now? Because Dana--I can't go dancing, I have to finish my chemistry paper--Scully has set off in a direction she could never have imagined.

Post Little Green Men Scully wishes Melissa could give her advice.

AUs

Skinfull's Before

“Let me guess…” Melissa hummed on the other side of the phone. “You’re in the bath, you have a hot chocolate, you’re just in from work and you had a chicken salad for dinner, at your desk in the morgue. Your fridge is bare. Much like your dating life.”

AU-- Melissa is determined to set her FBI morgue sister up with a date... but she might be a bit too late.

CaptainLyssa's

To FBI or Not To FBI

Biting her lip, she hoped her next question wouldn’t come as a complete surprise to her family. “Has Dana told you if she’s pregnant?’

“What makes you think your sisters pregnant,” Maggie hedged, wondering at Melissa’s intuition.

AU-- Pre-S1 Melissa seems to sense that not only has her E.R. sister been swept up in a whirlwind romance, but that she might be (is) already (accidentally) pregnant-- and that there is danger and intrigue whirling around Scully's new boyfriend.

Time Slip

“Missy?” Scully managed before the pounding increased in her head.

“Dana,” Missy asked, carefully watching her sister sit up and reach an unsteady hand to the base of her neck. “Who’s Mulder?”

AU-- S6 Scully is shot back in time, before her FBI recruitment.

Sukie Tawdry's The Way Things Are (1) and The Way Things Are (2)

"Mulder, your sneakers are muddy," Scully said, trying to hide her pleasure at the sight of her dripping partner. "This is my sister, Melissa. Melissa, this is my partner, Fox Mulder."

"The prodigal daughter?" Mulder asked, toeing off his sneakers. Drying his hand against his pant leg, he leaned over the table to shake Melissa's hand. "It's good to meet you."

"I wouldn't have missed this for the world." Melissa studied Mulder's face with fascination. "I just had to meet the man who knocked up my baby sister."

AU-- S1 Melissa sweeps back into Scully's life after her sister trips into an accidental pregnancy, kidnapping, and shacking-up situation.

MSR Collection: Devotion Chapter 2 and Chapter 3

“It’s just—she can sometimes push people away and act like things…like they don’t bother her,” Melissa said. “But she deserves someone who can get through that and understand that.”

“I understand a lot about Scully,” Mulder offered. “I’m learning more every day, and I…I look forward to learning everything I can.”

“Then you’ve got my blessing, or whatever, for what it’s worth,” Melissa said.

AU-- Post One Breath Melissa is delighted that Mulder and Scully are dating (and senses there is something else they aren't saying.)

@sigritandtheelves/DarlaBlack’s

AU: Melissa Didn’t Die

Melissa’s recovery is slow and painstaking, and Scully helps her through every step. The sisters grow closer than they’ve ever been, until eventually, they are both ready to go back to work. By then it is October and chilly. Mulder has had months to learn, to remember, what life without Scully is like. They’ve talked on the phone, had lunch a few times, and he’s visited with both her and Melissa, but it has of course not been the same. He’s a little lost without her. 

AU-- Paper Clip Scully and Mulder's relationship changes after Melissa doesn't die.

Birth Day

It takes her an hour, but Melissa’s jeep finally rumbles up the drive, too fast, like she owns the place. The older sister emerges, swinging out her door almost before the jeep has stopped. “Somebody having a baby over here?” she calls to them. She drags out an enormous purse, a kind of floppy tote in purple tie-dye.

AU-- Doula Melissa is there for her sister and her partner.

@baronessblixen's (Ao3)

Thinking About Babies

All Dana is thinking about these days is college. Doing well. Becoming a medical doctor. She’s trying to get a glimpse of her older sister sitting there on the bed, but all she sees, or thinks she sees, is a silhouette. Her long hair falls into her face and she brushes it away quickly, almost angrily. She needs to get it cut and soon. It’s not practical and Dana is practical – or wants to be anyway. Long, wavy hair is for girls who spent their days at the beach. Dana is no longer that girl.

“A career is not the most important thing in the world.” The sheets rustle and Melissa comes into sight. She smiles secretively and leans over Dana’s shoulder to look at her homework. Who does homework on a Friday night? 

Pre-S1 Melissa and Scully have a weighty conversation that the latter revisits, years and years later, in a place called Home.

Bruises 

“Melissa and I- well, Missy had this idea to take this self-defense class and she made me go with her. She thought after… after Duane Barry it might be a good idea. I told her I don’t need it,” she chuckles, remembering their conversation. Melissa wouldn’t accept no for an answer. “I got a bit carried away.”

Post One Breath Mulder stresses over bruises on Scully's wrist.

Another Banner Year (Ao3)

Scully opens the door after a series of frantic knocks. As soon as she does, Melissa barges into her apartment, her hair as furiously red as her face.

“Well, hello to you, too,” Scully says while her sister just stares at her with a wild look. The anger on her face is a familiar sight that reminds her of her childhood.

Post Our Town Melissa drops in after Scully's latest on-the-job trauma.

Merry Christmas, Darling - Chapter 21

"Dana and Fox, sitting in tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g," Melissa hums, making kissing noises.

S2 Melissa enjoys teasing Scully about her shopping partner.

It’s a Match

Melissa Scully stares at him, waiting for him to confirm or deny it. She quirks an eyebrow, much like his own Scully does. It shakes him out of his stupor.

“Would you please be quiet,” he hisses.

AU-- S2 Melissa corners Mulder at a Scully family party, determined to get the truth out of him.

25 Days of Christmas - Chapter 20

“Where do you want me?” Mulder asks Scully, rolling up his sleeves. “What can I do?” 

“We need someone to do the dishes,” Melissa says with a sweet smile. 

“I can do that.” He gives her mother and her sister his best, most charming smile before he pushes past them and starts washing the dishes.

“That was a joke,” Melissa whispers into her ear, watching Mulder with big eyes. “Can I borrow him for one weekend?”

AU-- S2 Melissa dares Scully to make a move.

could you do msr cuddling for comfort pls?

“You need to gohome, Scully. Where is your mother? I thought maybe you could stay with her fora while.”

Disappointment bubbles up inside of her. She can’t recall the last time Melissa smiled at her, made fun of her. The only picture in her head right now is not of her sister. It’s her mother blinking away angry tears.

Post Paper Clip Scully is afraid to go home.

Can't help myself also #18 😍😍😍/Secret Spots

“We should go back downstairs.”

“I haven’t seen your room yet.”

“Later,” she promises and his eyebrows shoot up. “I didn’t mean-” but maybe she did. Maybe that’s exactly what she meant. “Later,” she repeats and he nods, his face eager. “Now come on.” She takes his hand but before they descend the stairs, she presses him against the wall – into that one spot Missy showed her one time. 

AU-- Post Millennium Scully introduces Mulder to Melissa's secret cubbyhole.

mulder braiding scully's hair during the iwtb era ❤

"Melissa and I did this for each other," Scully says, sounding wistful. "We'd talk about boys and school. Well, she talked about boys." They both chuckle, remembering their sisters.

Pre-IWTB Mulder braids Scully's hair.

The Day I First Saw You

There they are: Frohike, Byers and Langley, who is wearing a Santa hat and clinging to a shrimpy fir, looking ridiculous.

“We saw it first!” He complains now, his glasses fogging up from his fury.

“You did not!” A woman with long, wavy hair retorts, trying to push him away.

“Please refrain from violence,” Byers says, sounding anxious.

“This is my tree,” the woman says. “Its aura is clearly attuned to mine.”

“Its what?” Langley asks, exchanging looks with his friends. 

AU-- Pre-S1 Mulder, Scully, Melissa, and TLG meet while the squabbling over Christmas trees.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[katnissmellarkkk]

bookcomb for people kissing katniss on the cheek or forehead or nose. idk why I did this I just wanted to.

-

“Here, I’ll put it on your dress, all right?” Madge doesn’t wait for an answer, she just leans in and fixes the bird to my dress. “Promise you’ll wear it into the arena, Katniss?” she asks. “Promise?”

“Yes,” I say. Cookies. A pin. I’m getting all kinds of gifts today. Madge gives me one more. A kiss on the cheek. Then she’s gone and I’m left thinking that maybe Madge really has been my friend all along.”

-

Effie takes both of us by the hand and, with actual tears in her eyes, wishes us well. Thanks us for being the best tributes it has ever been her privilege to sponsor. And then, because it’s Effie and she’s apparently required by law to say something awful, she adds “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I finally get promoted to a decent district next year!”

Then she kisses us each on the cheek and hurries out, overcome with either the emotional parting or the possible improvement of her fortunes.

-

But I don’t get it. Well, I do get a second kiss, but it’s just a light one on the tip of my nose because Peeta’s been distracted. “I think your wound is bleeding again. Come on, lie down, it’s bedtime anyway,” he says.

-

Still clenching one of Cinna’s hands, I walk over and stand on the circular metal plate. “Remember what Haymitch said. Run, find water. The rest will follow,” he says. I nod. “And remember this. I’m not allowed to bet, but if I could, my money would be on you.”

“Truly?” I whisper.

“Truly,” says Cinna. He leans down and kisses me on the forehead. “Good luck, girl on fire.”

-

“Since when does it matter what I think?” says Haymitch. “Better take our places.” He leads me to the metal circle. “This is your night, sweetheart. Enjoy it.” He kisses me on the forehead and disappears into the gloom.

-

Just then, Effie Trinket arrives in a pumpkin orange wig to remind everyone, “We’re on a schedule!” She kisses me on both cheeks while waving in the camera crew, then orders me into position.

-

President Snow himself makes a surprise visit to congratulate us. He clasps Peeta’s hand and gives him an approving slap on the shoulder. He embraces me, enfolding me in the smell of blood and roses, and plants a puffy kiss on my cheek.

-

We sit, as we did last year, holding hands until the voice tells me to prepare for the launch. He walks me over to the circular metal plate and zips up the neck of my jumpsuit securely. “Remember, girl on fire,” he says, “I’m still betting on you.” He kisses my forehead and steps back as the glass cylinder slides down around me.

-

Plutarch crosses to me, laughing. “Where do you come up with this stuff? No one would believe it if we made it up!” He throws an arm around me and kisses me on the top of my head with a loud smack. “You’re golden!”

-

Gale’s not supposed to visit me, as he’s confined to bed with some kind of shoulder wound. But on the third night, after I’ve been medicated and the lights turned down low for bedtime, he slips silently into my room. He doesn’t speak, just runs his fingers over the bruises on my neck with a touch as light as moth wings, plants a kiss between my eyes, and disappears.

-

Gale catches my arm before I can disappear. “So that’s what you’re thinking now?” I shrug. “Katniss, as your oldest friend, believe me when I say he’s not seeing you as you really are.” He kisses my cheek and goes.

-

“Effie,” I say.

“Hello, Katniss.” She stands and kisses me on the cheek as if nothing has occurred since our last meeting, the night before the Quarter Quell. “Well, it looks like we’ve got another big, big, big day ahead of us. So why don’t you start your prep and I’ll just pop over and check on the arrangements.”

-

[moneyloverspender]

(Screw it, Im posting it here)

Finding ways chapter 3: As expected

As she walks into her classroom, she slides the door open, drawing the attention of her three students.

"New case, y/n sensei?" Maki inquires, her feet lifted to one of the desks.

"Nope, Yaga said he gave Nanami the last case for today, so I guess we'll be training for now," the woman said as she walked to her desks and lifted her feet to her table.

The three students are perplexed as they watch their teacher's every move.

"I thought we were going to training?" Maki asks, puzzled.

Y/n sighed deeply as her brows twitched in response to her students' questions.  "You can train yourself, right?" she asks, clearly irritated by her tone.

Her three students looked at her dissapointedly.

"How's Y/n?" Yaga inquires, lifting the cup of tea to his mouth.

"How should I know? I havent seen my own wife for the past 3 weeks."

Sarcastically, the snow-haired man across from him responded.

Yaga remained silent for a few moments as he drank his tea. As the two men converse, the aroma of the citrus tea spreads throughout the room.

"Well, didn't you both expect your marriage to be like this? As both sorcerers?" Yaga asks, slightly irritated by the younger man's tone earlier.

Satoru remained silent for a few moments before responding, "... Of course we expected it," he said hesitantly.

"We expected it?" Yaga asks, his brow furrowed, "or you didn't expect your marriage to be like this?" "

Satoru remained deafeningly silent.

Satoru's reaction caused Yaga to sigh deeply.

"Look, I'm a divorcee, so I'm not going to give you marriage advice." You're both adults, and you're both capable of dealing with it. "

He stated.

He cast a glance at the younger male in front of him, who appeared to be quiet after bringing up the subject of their marriage.

"Y/n and her students are in the school right now go introduce your students to the third years" He said with a smil

Satoru raised his head, surprised by the man's sudden order.

"Go or I'll send you to Kyoto inste-"

Gojo had already left his office before he could finish.

"What a lovesick... " he grumbled.

Slamming the doors open, he startled his first-year students. "Oi oi oi, who wants to meet the 3rd years?" the man asked cheerfully as he walked in.

"Me!" exclaimed Itadori, raising both hands like a child.

"Let's go, Yuji-kun," said the man as he walked out.

The other two began to doubt their own existence as their teacher and classmate ignored them both.

Nobara asks, pointing to the door, "Are we supposed to follow 'em?"

Fushiguro simply sighed, knowing why his teacher was so excited. "Let's go..." he mumbled as the two of them walked out of the classroom to join their skipping and widely smiling teacher in the hallway.

"Y/n Sensei, are we really just gonna sit here all day?" Maki asks, leaning back in her chair.

Y/n is sitting quietly in her chair, her head leaned back and her eyes closed.

"Then go out if you want to.." she said flatly.

"Salmon," says Inumaki.

The door slammed open, startling the three students as they sat boredly in their classroom.

"My dear wifffeeyyy- chaaaan!" exclaimed the snowy-headed man as he entered their classroom, calling out to her wife, who was sitting at her desk.

"Y/n sensei, your not-so-annoying husband has arrived," Maki said, motioning to the man standing in the doorway, who was followed by three students.

Slowly raising her arm from her arm to reveal a pair of bright blue eyes staring right down on her, she returned her arm to her eyes.

"What is it?" she inquired flatly.

"Maah, that's the rudest way to greet your husband, y/n-chan," he said flatly, pulling her arm up and pulling her into his chest for a hug.

The third-year students exchanged disgusted glances, while Nobara and Yuuji exchanged puzzled glances.

"Miss me?" he asked, whispering into his wife's ear. Y/n responded with a hum, enjoying the heat radiating from her husband's chest.

"Ew, get some room," Maki says, her gaze fixed on the xouple in front of her.

"Uhmm," Yuuji and Nobara both say, puzzled.

Y/n soon realized that her husband was not the only one who had arrived, but that he had arrived with his students as well. She drew away quickly, kicking her husband's leg, causing him to stumble back.

"You idiot, hugging me like that while your students are watching!"

She screams angrily, her face reddening from the sudden realization.

Satoru just chuckles as his wife nags him. "So rude..."

"Scary," Yuuji says quietly.

Y/n cast a glance at the three students standing in the doorway. "You must be the new first years," she says.

"O-oh yes, I'm Kugisaki Nobara," she said, bowing as she approached the woman.

"I'm Itadori Yuuji, nice to meet you uhh..."

"Gojo Y/n..." she says, glancing at the boy with brownish pink hair before returning her gaze to her husband, who simply nods.

"Hmm, these are my students, that's Inumaki Toge," the silver-haired boy says as he waves at them while mumbling the word "salmon."

"This is Maki, and that is Panda," the older woman says as Nobara and Yuuji stare puzzledly at the panda.

Panda simply waves at them. Y/n soon noticed the raven-haired boy and approached him, ruffling his hair.

"Seems like you've been stressed over the last few weeks, 'gumi," she says softly to the boy. The boy's cheeks were tinged with a faint pink flush. In response, the boy hums, "Hm-Mhmm."

While the snow-haired man looks at them with jealousy in his eyes.

"Now that's for everyone's introduction for the day..." he says as he walks over to her wife, lacing his fingers to hers.

"Yall can chit chat for a while, I'll borrow my wife for a sec," he says, grabbing her wife and heading to y/n's office, slamming the door shut after they leave.

The students exchanged puzzled looks as they watched their teachers leave in unison.

Maki exclaims, "Yuck!"

[vodika-vibes]

Giving us a preview of the chosen one au you came up with 😩 now have to wait to see how Keeli comes sliding in

Ooh. I got you Boo~

Keeli stares out at the army of Clankers and regrets all of his life's choices. Well, what little choices he's ever made. He wishes he spent more time with his brothers. He wishes he had the chance to fall in love. He wishes- Well, it doesn't matter now. Because the General decided to make a last stand here, to buy the Twi'leks time to escape. And he was nothing if not a good soldier. So he swallows his disgust and his anger and his grief at ordering his own brothers to their deaths, and he prepares to fight until he no longer can. And then there's an explosion. And another one. And a third one. Keeli lowers his blasters and he watches as the droids start falling over, as if their circuits were overloaded by something. As if someone had turned the tanks into EMP bombs. In any event, there droids weren't getting up, and he's fine. And so are his brothers. And then General has a peaceful look on his face, "Well, Captain, it seems like the Force was with us today." And Keeli kind of wants to punch him in the face, but doesn't because he's a good soldier. So instead he just sighs and nods, "As you say, General-" "Are you kriffing kidding me?" Keeli starts and lifts his blasters to aim at the young woman standing in front of the fallen droid army, "A sacrificial play? That was your grand plan?" She glowers at the General. "It would have worked-" The General starts. "Do you have any idea how stupid that plan is?" The woman demands, "Do you have any idea what would have happened if I put this trip off by a month like I originally planned? Bad things would have happened!" "Well, we would have died-" The General confirms. "Wrong!" She shouts, and then she pauses, "Well, actually, no. You're right, you all would have died, and then sentenced the entire planet to death. There would have been fire and brimstone and, like, the sky cracking-" "Young lady," She glares at the General, "You're dumb. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Where's the smart person?" "That would be me, I suppose." Keeli says dryly. "You! Why didn't you stop this plan?" "I was following orders-" "Dumb orders should be ignored. If the Republic wanted an army of mindless drones they would have commissioned droids, not living men with, presumably, working brains!" "Please stop yelling at my men," The General says before Keeli can say anything. "I will not! Do you have any idea how hard it is to turn tanks into rolling EMPs? It's really hard!" "Oh." The General blinks, "So you're the one who saved us." "Yeah, I guess." "Then we owe you our lives." The General says with a deep bow. The young woman goes ashen, "Wait-" There's a sudden tug deep in his chest, and Keeli feels a pull, as though something had just snapped into place. And then he feels a wash of emotions that aren't his. "Congratulations, General." The young woman's voice is clear as a bell and as Keeli looks up at her, he sees a faint glow surrounding her, "You just stuck yourself and your men with a life debt to someone who fights gods for a living." She pushes her hands into her hair, "I need to make a phone call."

[ramshackle-ramblings]

Chapter 3: First Period

In which Alise makes new friends, and Mouse loses their first student

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Alise and Grim were already out the door. Lilia followed them, turning to walk backwards out the door with an exaggerated shrug in Mouse’s direction.

Mouse grabbed a hold of Tsunotaro’s hand and dragged him along as they worked to catch up to everyone. He followed, not really minding the fact he was practically being dragged along.

“Oh, Tsunotaro.” Mouse called out, still facing forwards. “Do you and Lilia share classes? Since you’re both third years?”

He shook his head. “Ah… No. We do not, why do you ask?”

“Just curious is all.”

The Terrible Tuna Tiff lasted the entire way from the school store to the main building. At one point, Alise left the cans on rock and Grim had to run back and get them. It still hadn’t been resolved by the time Lilia and Tsunotaro split off for their respective classes, and when the remaining three found their way to Mouse’s homeroom, Alise tried stacking the tuna cans on Grim’s head.

This did not go well.

Mouse sighed, almost defeated, when they walked into the classroom. Crewel writing somethings on the board before turning to see who had entered the class. Smiling at Mouse before looking at Alise in shock.

“What… What is this?” He asked, his tone sharp.

“Oh uh… This is Alise, Mr. Crewel… She’s a new student here, and is staying at Ramshackle.” Mouse explained, walking towards one of the seats.

He would crack his whip (or was it a crop? Mouse wasn’t actually sure), seemingly glaring daggers at Alise. “So… We’ve a late entry pup is what I’m hearing, and another that can’t use magic as well.”

Alise met his glare steadily, a grin playing at the corners of her mouth. “I would have been here sooner, but my acceptance seems to have gotten lost in the mail. I suppose that’s the fault of whoever sends them out.”

She gestured idly around the room, widening her eyes sweetly. “I’ll just find a seat and try not to be a nuisance, shall I?” Her voice dripped saccharine.

He cracked his… Crop? Yeah Mouse was certain it was a crop actually.

He cracked his crop once more. Pointing to the seat by Mouse “You will stay with your prefect during this class, pup.” He ordered, before continuing on. Not simply tapping the crop on his hand. “And I would watch your tone if I were you.” It came out more of a threat, and to anybody but Mouse (or Epel) it would definitely sound like one.

Grim flinched with each crack of the crop, quickly running over to Mouse and hiding underneath their chair.

“Now sit!”

“Oh dear,” she shook her head sadly. “It seems I’ve already started off on the wrong foot.” She dropped a neat little curtsy before scurrying off to slide into the seat between Mouse and a red-haired boy.

The boy stared at her for a minute before turning to his friend and whispering, “That is definitely a girl.”

She winked at him when he looked back at her, and he turned the most delightful shade of red.

Alise dug a notebook and a pen out of her bag and prepared to take notes for whatever this class was

Mouse giggled, nudging Ace with their elbow. Before turning to Alise. “Don’t take it too personally, Alise.”

Mouse then leaned in and whispered to Alise. “Mr. Crewel is a way nicer version of Cruella De Vil. But he’s like one of those dogs that look and act scary, but are super nice.”

Mouse then leaned back turning to Ace and offering him a smile. “Yep, and she slept in your bed last night.” Mouse commented, their smile turning into an evil smirk as they lifted a hand to cover it. Though the smiling glint in their eye couldn’t be missed.

“So I really hope you don’t mind sharing a bed with a girl, after all I know it’s not me you’re sharing with.”

Mouse definitely didn’t mention the fact that they planned on cleaning out another room for Alise (or him) on purpose.

“Well, I guess if he doesn’t scare me, no evil thing will,” Alise whispered back to Mouse.

Alise turned her sultriest smile on the red-haired boy. “It’s not a very big bed, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. We’ll just have to sleep very close together.”

She had not realized it was possible for a human to turn that color, and felt almost bad for teasing this boy she’d known for less than five minutes. Her smile turned genuinely playful, and she bumped him with her shoulder.

“You’re fun,” she whispered. “I like you.”

Mouse snorted at Alise’s reference, turning away from Ace to chuckle quietly to themselves. Only speaking up again to bully Ace some more… Doesn’t really seem like Deuce is paying attention either way.

“Oh no I wouldn’t do that Alise, he most definetly hasn’t gotten his cootie shot yet. You don’t want to get infected.” Mouse joked, Grim skittering out from underneath the chair to jump onto Ace’s lap and then jumping onto the desks his tail flicking

“What’s cooties?” He asked.

“It’s like rabies but for humans and more gross” Mouse joked.

“Oh! I can take care of that! Give me your arm.” She held out her hand, and then grabbed his when he didn’t provide his arm fast enough.

She pushed his jacket and shirtsleeve up, and traced two circles on his forearm. “Circle, circle,” she whispered, and jabbed two spots inside the circle, “Dot, dot. Now you’ve got your cooties shot!”

Alise released his arm, and he pulled it back over, looking intently at the shape she had traced on his forearm before pulling down his sleeve.

“Uh, thanks.”

“What about me?” The dark haired boy on the other side of him hissed desperately, shoving his arm at Alise. He’d already pulled his sleeves up. “I haven’t had a cooties shot either! I don’t want to catch cooties!”

She looked up in surprise. He stared worriedly at her, honest concern about the apparent cooties infestation writ on his face. He had a black spade painted on his face by his right eye.

Which was a thing, it seemed. The red-haired boy had a heart painted on his.

“Okay,” Alise said simply. “You can have one, too.” She took his arm and repeated the ritual. “Circle, circle, dot, dot, now you have your cooties shot.”

She released his arm, and he took it back with a sigh of relief, relaxing visibly.

Mouse chuckled some more when Alise gave Ace his shot. Mindlessly petting Grim as they watched before Deuce spoke up, gaining the Spade a quiet coo from them

Mouse hadn’t meant to scare him. Especially badly, it was just meant as a joke. But now they’d have to make it up to him somehow

Turning to Alise though, they motioned to Ace first. “Oh, right. Introductions. This strapping young gentleman -”

“You’re like the same age as me”

“- is Ace. He and Grim set the Queen of Hearts’ statue on fire the first day of school.”

Ace elbowed Mouse in retaliation. Rolling his eyes just in time to not notice Mouse almost double over in pain and quickly grab their side, sucking in a breath to keep any sounds from coming out. But just as quick as Ace had elbowed them - Mouse made a (slight) recovery. Still in pain but motioning to the black haired boy.

“And that absolute sweetheart is Deuce. He’s the one I plan on entrusting you to when I have to split from the party.” Mouse smiled, still holding their side.

Alise nodded to them both in turn.

Deuce’s face went through an absolute roller coaster of emotions in just a few short seconds; delight at being called a sweetheart, then abject terror at being responsible for Alise, and then solidly determined to do a good job. He nodded sharply and cracked his knuckles to emphasize the point.

Alise eyed Mouse suspiciously and, turning her face away from the boys, mouthed “Are you okay?” at them.

Mouse looked at Alise, a bit confused before it hit that she was asking about their well-being. Nodding again silently before shrugging it off in a “It happens” sort of way.

Mouse then motioned towards Crewel, who was starting to teach. Whispering to her. “We should start focusing now, and don’t be afraid to ask him any questions…”

Alise didn’t quite look like she believed Mouse, but allowed herself to be redirected.

She had no questions.

Actually, she had a lot of questions, about everything, but lacked the foundation to be able to ask them in an understandable way.

Which was fine, actually, because Mouse did

Well yes and no actually. Some of the questions were genuine, but a majority of them were just questions to ask for re-explanations (from lessons ago) about certain things mentioned. Much to the chagrin of the other students. But never once did Crewel snap or get mad about it, explaining everything over again.

Though, he did slip in some comments about certain students being “untrained”…

At some point - much later in the class. Deuce had caught on to what Mouse was doing and joined in.

When Mouse wasn’t asking questions or jotting down notes however, Ace would slide them pieces of paper. Mouse always checked it, writing a reply and sliding it back over.

Hey. You free tonight? No

Ace made a face.

You’re working again? Seriously? Yep You need a vacation Can’t Can Can’t Can

And it just went on like that until Ace, fed up, just banged his head against the desk.

When the bell finally rang, Alise and Ace both breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m not sure I understood any of that,” Alise admitted, shoving her notebook back in her bag, and handing the can of tuna back to Grim.

“All good,” Mouse commented, offering her an understanding smile. “You can ask any of us and we can help explain things to you,” they offered, offering up Ace’s and Deuce’s services without their input.

Which did not stop Ace from giving his input “Wha- No! Hell no! I am not helping new girl with her homework! That’s your job!” He protested, poking Mouse in the cheek and then yelping when the magicless student retaliated by biting his finger

“EW!! NO!! DON’T BITE ME!!”

“Riddle’s having a study group tonight,” Deuce interrupted. “To help us all get back in the swing of things. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Mouse let go of Ace’s finger, turning to Alise.

“Oh! See! That’s perfect! You can join the study group while I work and I can pick you up after!” Mouse suggested, smiling. “Riddle and Trey are amazing, they’re sure to know whatever questions you have. And Cater’s nothing to sniff at either.”

Mouse praised the three Heartslabyul students, causing Ace to pout.

“But, if you ever need anyone who’ll keep you safe - even if it’s a bit unconventional - Ace or Deuce are probably your best bets.” Mouse added, glancing over at the two with a soft look and pinching Ace’s cheek.

He pouted some more, but threw an arm over Mouse’s shoulder and declaring. “Yeah, but only cause I like ya!”

Mouse laughed, grabbing Grim before standing up - which in turn dragged along Ace and Deuce raising due to habit. Ace starting to talk about something as he took initiative and dragged Mouse towards the door and into the crowded hallway.

Alise grabbed her bag and hurried after them into the hallway, where they were … Gone. Swept up in the crowd of students changing classes. She tried to look for them, but she wasn’t tall enough to see - or be seen - through the crowd.

Well shit.

She picked a direction at random and set off in it, peeking into classrooms for familiar faces.

Mouse was completely invested in the conversation and didn’t notice Alise wasn’t with them. Unfortunately it was the same with Deuce… And Grim… And Ace…

Uh oh.

It wasn’t until they were taking their seats in second period that Deuce said, “Hey, where’s Alise?”

Chapter 4

[itsdanii]

I really love your “rejecting and regretting” drabbles and I would love to request one with Suna and Iwaizumi please

Rejecting you and regretting it pt. 3

hey, bub. thanks for requesting! im so glad you're liking my works ♥️ was supposed to post this yesterday but i had an appointment with my psychologist so sorry for the slight delay. that being said, here's your request for iwaizumi and suna. i hope you like it♥️

genre: slight angst to fluff, slight crack

warnings: cursing, rude behavior (resolved), please do message me if i forgot any

ft. suna rintaro, oikawa!reader x iwaizumi hajime

title says it all.

Suna Rintaro

out of all the inarizaki boys, suna rintaro was the one who managed to pique your interest

at first, you thought that he was the most quiet amongst the group but the longer you stayed as a manager, the more you realized how wrong you were

In fact, suna is one of the most talkative, along with the miya twins

you even felt bad sometimes for kita for having to discipline the three as if they were his own kids

one day, you suddenly realized that you were falling for the middle blocker

you knew that it was not a good practice to fall for someone in a team you manage but it's not like you can control who you fall for, right?

and so, you made a decision to confess to him

"Oi, y/n! What's that yer holding?"

You squeaked upon being called by Atsumu and quickly hid the cake you were holding behind your back. Smiling awkwardly, you made your way to him and placed the cake on top of the table.

It was currently lunch time and as a usual routine, you, Osamu, Atsumu and Rin were meeting at your spot just near the gym to eat.

"Can you atleast lower your voice? The moment the others see this cake, it'll be gone in a snap of a finger," you scolded at him.

"Cake? What's it for?" As if a light suddenly appeared on top of Atsumu's head, he took the box and opened it with sparkling eyes. "Looks good!"

"No, wait!"

Your lips parted as you watched him take the fork that you put inside and sliced a piece for himself. He even let out a small moan of satisfaction as the taste of the cake filled his mouth.

"That...was for Rin," you said with a tiny voice, making Atsumu raise an eyebrow at you.

"Suna? Why are ya givin' him a cake?" Noticing the way you failed to answer, a grin started forming on Atsumu's lips as the realization came into him. "Holy shit, ya like him!"

"Like who?"

You and Atsumu both froze at the sound of Suna's voice. Swallowing the lump forming in your throat, you slowly turned around to face Suna who was now frowning at you.

"Rin-chan..." you said slowly.

Suna and Osamu both took their seats, Osamu sitting beside Atsumu and Suna sitting beside you.

"Y/n likes someone?" Osamu asked and took the fork to taste the cake you made, his face lightening up as it somehow reached his standards.

Being the goofy one, Atsumu nodded with a grin. He spared Suna a quick glance before wiggling his eyebrows at you playfully. "Mhm. The one they like is actually a part of the volleyball team. Any guess, Rin-chan?"

Despite the nervousness you're feeling, you managed to roll your eyes at Atsumu as he tried imitating the way you call Suna.

Suna just shrugged his shoulders, looking almost unbothered if not for the fact that he was gripping his chopsticks a little too tightly. "Don't know, don't care."

You felt your confidence drop a little at his lack of enthusiasm. "Aren't you even just a bit curious?" you asked, hoping to get a reaction out of him.

"No, why would I be? It's not like it's any of my business. You can like whoever you want to like. It's not like I give a damn about it," Suna simply answered.

The small hope inside you that you gathered throughout the whole week just to confess completely vanished, replaced with doubt and sudden insecurity. The way he said those words seemed as if he doesn't care about you at all and the fact that he said it in front of the twins made it even worse. You felt humiliated.

You glanced at Atsumu for help and the setter just sighed before sliding the box of the now half eaten cake to Suna. "Didn't have to be so rude 'bout it, Rin. Taste the cake. Maybe it'll change yer mind and make ya realize how dense ya are."

Suna just glared at him and took a bite, his eyes darting towards your figure. "Were you supposed to give this cake to the person you like?"

Seeing you nod, Suna rolled his eyes. "I don't think it's a good idea. It tastes like shit, I'm sure the guy would reject you the moment he takes a bite."

Your heart dropped at what he said. Not only did he say that your cooking was bad but also rejected you without saying it directly. The moment you felt your eyes tearing up, you immediately stood up and left the table, ignoring the continues yells of a certain miya.

Suna stared at your back before frowning at Atsumu. "What's up their ass? I just said it didn't taste good is all. They didn't have to be sensitive." Contrary to his words, Suna grabbed the fork and continued eating the cake.

"They made the cake for ya, dumbass," Atsumu answered and stood up, quickly grabbing his things before leaving to follow you.

Suna froze upon realizing what Atsumu meant. Eyes darting towards Osamu, he muttered a small curse before gripping his hair in frustration. "Samu..."

Not even waiting for what Suna wanted to say, Osamu shook his head no with a displeased look. "Ya fucked up big time. Sorry but I can't help ya with this one."

-

Suna was on his own.

No matter how much he tried convincing the twins to help him, neither of them agreed. He didn't know how to approach you after what happened. You basically ignored him even during practices, only doing your duties and talking to him when instructed by Kita.

Several days went on yet you were still ignoring him, and to say that Suna was getting fed up was an understatement. Not only were you ignoring him but you were also spending too much time with Atsumu.

Sure, he was aware that you two are bestfriends, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't turn into something more. After all, Atsumu was a likeable guy. It wouldn't be impossible for you to fall in love with someone like him.

And so, the moment Suna saw Atsumu almost kissing your cheek, he snapped.

With fast strides, he went over to your direction and pulled you away from your bestfriend who only shrugged his shoulders and went on his way as if nothing happened.

Suna stopped when you reached an empty classroom and he immediately shut the door behind him for privacy. "I'm sorry for being rude to you last time," he started.

"You weren't only rude to me, ya know?" you said and averted your gaze from him. "You also rejected me. I know that I haven't directly confessed to you yet but it still hurt. I just assumed that maybe I had a chance since we were close with each other. I'm sorry for-"

"Please, don't," Suna said to cut you off. He stepped closer to you and placed his hands on your shoulders, regret visible on his face. "Don't apologize for liking me."

"But Rin..."

"I don't want you to take it back. I like you too, y/n. So please..." Suna dropped his arms to his sides and rested his forehead on your shoulder before muttering, "Please don't ignore me anymore. I promise I'll love you the way you deserve."

You felt yourself soften at his words and despite how much what he said last time hurt you, you knew that deep inside, your heart belongs to him. You brought your hand up to run your fingertips over Suna's hair before nodding. "I won't ignore you anymore, Rin. You know why?"

He lifted his head up to look at you hopefully. "Because you like me?"

"You guessed right."

The moment you said those words, Suna immediately placed his hand on your jaw, angling your head up to him. "And I like you too."

Not able to hold himself back anymore, Suna leaned down and pressed his lips against yours, your eyes closing as you savored the feeling of finally kissing the man you like.

Iwaizumi Hajime

Iwaizumi is your brother's bestfriend

The first time you saw him was when you were in first grade, him and Tooru being a year older than you

Despite the small age gap, you still grew close with him as most of your time, you spent with Haji watching random movies and playing volleyball

When you entered high school, you only became closer to them

He protected you from bullies and those people who only wanted to use you in order to get closer to your brother

At first, you didn't notice that you were falling for him, thinking that you were just attached to him after being by his side for such a long time

But when you realized that your gazes lingered on him longer, your mind started wondering the feeling of his hand holding yours, and the way your heart fluttered everytime he was close, you knew that you've fallen for him deep

It was a Friday night, both you and Tooru were dressed in your pajamas as you waited in your room for Iwaizumi to finish making the popcorn.

Today, you all scheduled a movie night since this was the only time the three of you are free. Being a third year and a volleyball player at the same time was hard on both your brother and Iwaizumi's time and often times, you had to cancel due to them having an early practice.

Luckily for you, it seemed that their coach finally had mercy and decided to give them a weekend break.

You, on the other hand, had lots of free time in your hand since your workload isn't as heavy as theirs which is why you were always the one who adjusted when it comes to the schedule of your movie marathon night.

"Iwa-chan, gimme the one with more popcorn!" Tooru immediately said as soon as Iwaizumi stepped inside your room, balancing two bowls of popcorn in his hold.

You rolled your eyes at your brother and stood up to help Iwaizumi, purposely showing your brother how you took the one with more popcorn in it. "Sucker," you said, sticking your tongue out at him.

Iwaizumi sighed at your attitude and plopped down beside you which made your heart flutter as always.

When the movie started, you noticed how much the two were so focused on the screen. You felt a little guilty since you were basically the one who suggested the movie yet you were the one who isn't paying attention.

How can you even focus if your crush is literally sitting beside you on your bed?

You could even smell him by how close he is beside you. You were, after all, crushed in between him and your brother, a blanket covering the three of you as you squished yourselves in your bed.

As the movie went on, you felt your eyelids getting heavier. You let out a small yawn and rubbed your eyes, the sound of the people talking on the screen making you feel drowsy instead of stopping you from sleeping.

Iwaizumi, who had noticed the way your head was swaying from side to side, gently took the half empty bowl of popcorn from your hold and wiped your fingers with a baby wipe. He then carefully guided your head to rest on his shoulder before refocusing his attention on the movie.

When you woke up, the room was silent. The television was already turned off and the lamp was already turned on. You looked beside you and noticed that the spaces beside your bed were already empty, reminding you that you must've fallen asleep and Iwaizumi and Tooru must've transfered to their rooms already.

Feeling your throat demanding for some water, you slid off your bed and made your way towards the kitchen. As you grabbed the glass, you almost dropped it upon seeing a reflection of a man behind you.

"You scared me," you whispered into the quietness as you came face to face with your brother's bestfriend.

He chuckled and ruffled your hair before grabbing himself his own glass, eyes staring at you as he downed the water within seconds. "Sorry. I didn't expect you to wake up since you always sleep like a log," he said with a grin.

You lightly smacked his chest, your cheeks heating up as you felt his hard muscles, no doubt the results of playing his sport.

A small growl coming from your stomach suddenly disturbed the silence, Iwaizumi's laugh immediately booming throughout the kitchen as you blushed in embarrassment. "Shut up. I only ate popcorn, you know?"

Shaking his head with a small smile, Iwaizumi pointed at the stool before saying, "Go sit. I'll whip you up something to eat."

You immediately obliged and couldn't stop yourself from smiling as you admired his back while he cooked. "Neh, Haji," you called out.

"Hm?" he hummed, throwing a quick glance at you.

"Do you like someone?"

You knew that asking such question was bold of you, especially when neither of you totally expected it. You didn't even know how the words managed to get out of your lips. All you knew was that if there was a perfect time to confess, it would be now.

After all, with your brother enjoying his time in dream land, nobody would disturb the both of you. It was serene, and you hoped that the outcome would be just as serene as the moment.

"Where's this coming from? Is this your way of trying to confess to me?" Iwaizumi said with a chuckle.

"And what if it is? What are you going to do?" You bit your lower lip anxiously as you waited for his reply.

But instead of embracing you and confessing his feelings too just like you expected, you were greeted with the seriousness of Iwaizumi when he spun around. He walked over to you and and placed the freshly cooked Omirice infront of you.

"Then I'd have to reject you," he answered simply, his voice sounding as if the topic wasn't up for any discussion.

"Why? Is it because I'm Tooru's sibling?" You frowned at him and crossed your arms over your chest. "You know that wouldn't change anything if you date me, right? You'd still be Tooru's bestfriend."

"I already said I'd reject you. That's it, end of discussion." With that, he turned his back on you and made his way out of the kitchen.

But before he can even completely walk out on you, you grabbed his wrist to stop him. "But I like you, Haji. I always have.." You voice seemed tiny all of a sudden and your grip on his wrist tightened instinctively when you felt him removing your grip easily with his free hand.

"I'm sorry but I don't like you, y/n. Now, let go and stop with your delusions because no matter what you do, I'll never like you."

You felt your heart shatter at those words, tears quickly streaming down your cheeks as you watched him walk away, leaving you all alone in the now empty kitchen.

Guess you don't always get what you want, huh?

The rest of the weekend, you did your best avoiding Iwaizumi to make sure that you don't make him uncomfortable. You made sure to stay cooped up in your room until you were certain that Iwaizumi had already left. Heck, you even rejected your brother's offer when he asked if you wanted to go meet up with rest of the boys at the mall.

You knew that Tooru wasn't unaware that something happened since you've never rejected any offer when it comes to shopping. But even if he did, he sure stayed quiet about it and gave you space which you were thankful for.

A week rolled by and Iwaizumi was starting to get antsy. His spikes were not as good and his movements were too sloppy to the point that their coach had to sub him out during one of their practice games.

As he sat on the bench, his mind went back to the time he rejected you. Back then, he was sure that he did the right decision. He was a third year and you were only in your second year. Not only would it seem that he was after some kid, he would also look like an asshole who only befriended Oikawa for his sibling.

But that was before.

Now, he wasn't so sure anymore. He missed your affection towards him and the way you cared for him. He missed how you often visit their practice and give him first his water bottle instead of Tooru. He missed your playful banter and the way you irritate him by simply joining forces with your brother.

Fuck, he missed you.

And the way he only realized it now made it even worse.

Iwaizumi ran his fingers through his hair out of frustration, and when he saw someone handling him a water bottle, he instantly lifted his head up expecting to see you. Except it wasn't you, it was Tooru.

He mumbled a small "Thanks," before sighing evidently, making Tooru raise a questioning eyebrow at him.

"Just what happend between you and y/n?"

Seeing the panic on Iwaizumi's expression, Tooru just rolled his eyes. "Don't even try denying it, Iwa-chan. I'm not that stupid, you know? Y/n's basically isolating themselves inside their room as if they're scared that you might visit anytime and you.. your play sucks that even Makki and Matsun noticed it."

"Didn't have to remind me," Iwaizumi grunted.

"Hmm," Tooru pressed a finger to his chin as if he was thinking, eyes slightly widening as he remembered something. "Is it because they finally confessed to you?"

"How did you-"

"Oh it's simple! I heard my dearest sibling practicing their confession several times before you came last Saturday. I didn't expect them to confess that early though. The confession sounded too plain for my liking," Tooru said with a hum.

Iwaizumi could only look at him with parted lips. How come Tooru seemed unbothered by the thought of you confessing? Wasn't he supposed to act like a protective brother?

Noticing the way Iwaizumi was staring at him, Tooru pouted. "What're you looking at, Iwa-chan? You're not thinking of dating me instead, are you?"

"Dumbass. I'm thinking why you seem too relaxed at the idea of your sibling confessing to me," Iwaizumi said, hitting the back of Tooru's head.

"Eh? Why? Did you expect me to go apeshit on you?" Tooru chuckled. "Don't worry Iwa-chan, I completely approve of you dating them! Just don't try to hurt their feelings or I'll be mad for sure!"

"But I already rejected them." Iwaizumi groaned and rested his head against his palm out of frustration.

Tooru, who seemed to gain sympathy at his partner, patted his back and said, "Then we'll just have to do something about it, don't we?"

-

When you arrived home, the house was eerily quite. The lights were all off making you furrow your eyebrows in confusion. You knew how much Tooru hated coming home with the lights off so you always made sure to leave it on in case you arrive later than him.

"Tooru?" you called out as you switched the lights on. You surveyed the whole living room and kitchen but your brother was nowhere to be found.

Shrugging your shoulders, you went up to your room and almost screamed at the sight of a man sitting on top of your bed, a bouquet of flowers in hand along with a bunny stuffed toy.

"Why do you always have to scare the shit out of me? I swear one of these days, I'll die of heart attack because of you," you scolded as you closed the door behind you. You discarded your bag on the couch and stood in front of Iwaizumi with your arms crossed over your chest. "What's all this about?"

Scratching the back of his head, Iwaizumi spared a quick glance at your wardrobe before sighing. "They're um... They're for you." He handed you the flowers and the bunny, eyes watching you warily as you smelled the pink roses.

You weren't unaware of what was happening. You always witness these kinds of things but since you were still hurt about what he said, you decided that you wouldn't give in to him that easily.

"Thank you," you answered dryly before placing the roses on top of your study desk.

Iwaizumi cannot help but panic because of this. Have you already decided that you no longer like him? What if you already got yourself a boyfriend? His thoughts started running wild inside his head and it was only when you touched his shoulder that he was brought back to the reality.

"Sorry...I," Iwaizumi fisted his hands on his sides before continuing. "I'm sorry for hurting your feelings, y/n. I didn't want to reject you. I actually like you but I got scared. I mean, you're Oikawa Y/n, my bestfriend's sibling. I didn't want you to think that I was only friends with your brother because I like you. In the end, I hurt you and god knows how stupid I am for doing such thing."

By this time, Iwaizumi's eyes were closed, afraid of looking at your reaction. He was even biting his lips and if not for the seriousness of the moment, you would've took a picture of his adorableness.

"I guess an apologizing Haji, is a cute Haji," you said with a smile making his eyes open.

"Shut up," he said shyly with the tips of his ears turning red. "I'm being serious, you know?"

"And I'm being serious as well. I'm not kidding when I said you're being cute right now," you said, continuing to tease him.

"Y/n."

You giggled at the warning in his tone. "Alright, alright. 'm sorry." You took his hand in yours and gave it a small squeeze before lifting your gaze up to him, all signs of goofiness now vanishing from your face and replaced with honesty and admiration. "I like you too, Haji. I still do."

"Shit." Iwaizumi smiled and wrapped his arms around your waist, his strong arms lifting you off the ground out of happiness.

You squealed as you were lifted and you encircled your arms around his neck to cling to him.

"Gosh, Iwa-chan! My sister said she likes you too and the first thing you say is shit?!" Tooru said as he revealed his presence, his hand rubbing his back at the ache for staying too long in the cramped closet.

You gave Iwaizumi a few taps on his back which he immediately understood. He placed you down and grinned as he watched you taking your brother out of your room by pulling at his ear.

"Ouch, y/n-chan! Iwa-chan, help me!"

Iwaizumi just chuckled as the door infront of him slammed shut, the shouts of Tooru as you hit him bringing a sense of satisfaction to Iwaizumi.

likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated ♥️

[sugawaraxo]

DOING THE GIVING HEAD PRANK ON THE KARASUNO BOYS (PT.2)

warnings: kinda smutty

characters: shoyo hinata, tobio kageyama, daichi sawamura, koshi sugawara, ryu tanaka, asahi azumane, kei tsukishima, yu nishinoya, tadashi yamaguchi   

find pt.1 here

hinata

- hinata asks you to help him practice spiking since you’re actually pretty decent at setting, despite you not playing volleyball

- it’s not your favorite thing to do, but you help him because he’s your boyfriend and you love him

- but you figured if he was gonna force you to set for him for hours on end, you would at least have some fun with it 

- you purposely mess up a set so that it lands nicely right in between you and him

- you knew he’d try and pick it up, so you just had to be faster 

- before he could get the ball, you were already kneeling down so you could pick it up

- now your short boyfriend looks a bit taller, hovering over you in your spot on the floor

- he looks down at you as if he’s waiting for you to get up, but you don’t

- instead you move your head terribly close to his crotch and smile

- “i- y/n? you, you wanna do that here? in the gym? anyone can walk in.” he says nervously  

- you giggle at his adorableness 

- “no bub, i’m just picking up the ball.” you say

- he immediately goes red 

- “hey! you know what you were doing.” he pouts

- you just laugh and give him a kiss on the cheek before continuing to set to him

- and since you feel bad, you give him a little treat when you get home ;)

sugawara

- he’s typing away on his computer, writing an essay that’s due the next day

- the two of you are sitting at the kitchen table, him typing and you eating

- his brows are furrowed in concentration, he looks stressed

- and that sparks an idea in your head 

- somehow you manage to sneak your way under the table without him noticing

- he’s just THAT concentrated

- and you find yourself in between his legs

- he jumps at the sudden feeling of someone pressing themselves up against him

- he glances under the table at you and chuckles

- “y/n, why are you under the table? what are you- oh.” sudden realization hits your boyfriend last minute and he raises his eyebrows

- “are you trying to give me a blowjob? because i could use one right about now.” he sighs as he sits back, waiting for you to take over

- you felt bad deceiving him like this, knowing how much he would enjoy being relieved by you right now

- but you carry through with your plan

- you move your hands that were placed on his legs up and down his thighs lightly before bending down

- he closes his eyes, anticipating for you to unbutton his pants or something

- but instead you come back up with a pencil in hand

- “just getting this pencil that you dropped for you.” you smile as you hand him the pencil and sit back down in your chair

- he just looks you up and down in amusement and you laugh

- “hm, laugh all you want. it’s funny that you think you’re gonna get away with this.” he smirks 

- and suddenly you’re quiet

-knowing damn well that when suga is done with that essay, you’re done for

tanaka

- you and tanaka are friends special friends

- friends with benefits if you will

- you guys are always hanging out with each other, and every once in awhile, you get a little frisky

- so it’s not unusual for you to just get on your knees and suck tanaka off whenever you please

- he enjoys it

- you enjoy it

- it’s a win win

- but you’ve never not gone through with it, so you can’t wait to see his reaction when you trick him

- the two of you are in the car, going to get some food

- he’s driving and you’re sitting in the passenger seat, plotting your prank

- he’s in the middle of telling you a story that quite frankly has lost your interest, so you decide that now is the perfect time

- you begin putting your hair up in a messy bun, and he gives you a look

- he knows exactly what that bun is for

- “oh shit. road head?” he smirks and is clearly getting excited

- you say nothing, just lean over towards him and he moves his arm so you could have better access

- you fidget around with his pants, him not being able to look at you because his eyes are focused on the road, before finding what you were looking for

- “aha, got it.” you say as you pull his wallet out of his pocket

- “mind if i borrow a dollar?” 

- “are you serious?” he looks at you all frowned up, his tone half disappointed and half confused

- you start laughing at him and he just grunts

- “i really thought i was finally gonna get some road head.” he pouts

- “oh what a big baby, you’ll get over it” you tease

- “fine, no food for you.” he retaliates 

- “wait no, i take it back.”

- “then suck.” he orders, gesturing to his member and you happily oblige 

tadashi

- you know that tadashi has a crush on you

- like a huge crush

- but he doesn’t know that you know

- so you use this knowledge against him

- you tutor him every wednesday because he struggles a bit with chemistry

- ironically enough 

- and you can’t help but notice how flustered he gets around you 

- so you being the terrible person you are, plan to use this against him 

-and he just made it so easy for himself

- he accidently spilled some of the food he was eating in his lap but hasn’t noticed, so you began executing your plan

- “hey tadashi, stand up.” you say somewhat assertively

- “why?” he questions

- “just stand up”

- he submissively follows your instruction

- “i don’t understand what you want me to stand for. is the supposed to help-”

- he notices where your eyes are focused, right on his crotch and he immediately blushes 

- “oh, y/n...i’ve never done this before. you can do it, but i-i’m a little nervous.”

- your heart SINKS 

- he’s so precious

- and now you feel guilty, so you kind of go along with it rather than tricking him

- “well umm, you just made a mess on your lap. i wanted to know if you’d let me help get it off.” you say softly

- he looks down at himself then back to you and nods with a shy “yeah”

- you lightly brush the mess off his crotch with your hand, but even just that light touch makes him tense up

- after that you end up tutoring him in something neither of you expected you to

nishinoya

- nishinoya LOVES going down on you

- like that’s definitely up there on his top ten list of things he loves most in this world

- but even more than that

- he LOVES when you go down on him 

- shit absolutely destroys him and you love it because usually, he’s the one destroying you 

- so when you see a tiktok of this trend, you absolutely HAVE to try it

- you start as soon as you wake up

- positioning yourself as if you’re about to give him head, but just end up grabbing the remote on the dresser beside him instead 

- he rolls his eyes but says nothing in response, so you do it again later 

- you’re both in the pantry, looking for snacks

- you slowly go down on your knees and he prepares himself again

- but you just grab a bag of chips from the bottom shelf and stand up

- he huffs at you and rolls his eyes again, but still no response which makes you laugh but also makes you somewhat frustrated 

- you try for the third and final time but before you could even go through with it, he places his hand on your neck and pushes you up against the wall

- “you think i don’t know what you’re doing? your little tiktok prank? well it’s not gonna slide baby, you’re not gonna get away with teasing me like that.” he smirks 

- you gulp

- uh oh

- nishinoya usually isn’t very rough 

- but every once in awhile something sets him off, like you just did 

- and you just know you aren’t gonna be able to walk tomorrow 

- you were right 

[watchmegetobsessed]

All Yours - Harry Styles

a/n: idk if you saw those pics of the house that’s supposedly Harry’s, maybe it’s not his but that shower gave me... thoughts 👀 . and these are those thoughts lmao enjoy!!

warning: sexual content

word count: 2.2k

masterlist

Harry has been mad at you all day. Well, not mad in the sense where he hates your guts, that could never happen because the two of you are ridiculously in love, but he thought you let a guy flirt with you earlier in the grocery shop and his dominant, jealous side came out right away.

“I was just answering his question nicely, H,” you sighed when he confronted you in the car on the way home.

“Yeah, nicely let him flirt with you and basically fuck you with his eyes,” he scoffed, still clearly upset by it.

“Harry, I don’t have control over what others think. How am I supposed to change what goes on in his mind?” you asked with a confused chuckle. You could feel the man’s stare, but he didn’t do anything disrespectful, he didn’t touch you or say something inappropriate, just asked you a simple question, you answered and then you parted ways. Easy as it is.

“You could have just not answer him,” he shrugged, but you could tell he knew you would have never done that.

“What happened to treat people with kindness, babe?” you teased him, but he just rolled his eyes mumbling under his breath.

“No kindness when someone is trying to fuck my girlfriend.”

You find it amusing when he turns into some kind of cave man whenever he is jealous. It has a manly charm that just riles you up. Knowing how territorial he is, how he wants everyone to know that you’re his, it’s just doing things to you only Harry can achieve.

Now he is lying in bed, scrolling through his phone and he still seems a little distant following the little jealousy scene from earlier. You’ve tried to lighten him up, but for some reason he is trying to convince him that you really were flirting with that man. So now you are eager to show him that he is the only man in your life and you’re not planning to change that anytime soon.

“Gonna take a shower,” you tell him walking out of your closet in only your silky bathrobe. Harry doesn’t look up, just hums in response. Reaching to your stomach you untie the knot on the robe and let it slide open, revealing your fully naked body, making his eyes finally flicker up. “You are welcome to join,” you tell him with a sly smirk before walking into the bathroom joined to the bedroom you’ve been sharing with him this past year.

You don’t close the door behind you, and just as you take the robe off you hear him shuffling outside, walking into the bathroom just when you step into the giant walk-in shower. Biting into your lip you start the water that rains down on you from the showerheads hanging from the ceiling while Harry is eager to free himself from his sweatpants and shirt.

He kicks his boxers down, his eyes widening slightly as he watches you stand under the water, running your hands through your wet hair, making sure the light coming from the window on the other side gives out the silhouette of your curves perfectly. Dropping your hands you turn to him, tilting your head to the side, enjoying the attention you are getting from your man.

“Are you gonna stay there watching or you plan on getting inside?” you ask teasingly and he doesn’t need more. He joins you under the water in a heartbeat, the droplets running down his firm chest and broad shoulders so perfectly, you already want to lick them off with your hungry mouth. It’s always funny to you how Harry still can think you’d leave him for someone else when the entire male population starts and ends with him for you, there’s just no man that could ever make you feel the things he can, intentionally or not on purpose as well.

You grab the shower gel and squeeze some into the palm of your hand before starting to soap your upper body, eyes never leaving his as his green, greedy eyes burn down on your naked body.

“Would you mind doing my back?” you ask with faked innocence as you turn around and show him your back. He hums in response, reaching around you so his hands meet yours, stealing some of the gel from them before moving them to your back and gently massaging it into your wet skin. His finger start working on your shoulders and neck, rubbing your muscles perfectly as you feel yourself relax under his touch. When you accidentally take a tiny step backwards you can’t help the smirk that tugs on your lips when you feel his already hardening cock poking at your bum.

Harry pushes his chest against your back, his hands moving down to your breasts as he kneads them, making you moan, your head falling back to his shoulder.

“Feels good, baby?” he murmurs pressing his lips to your jawline as you reach back with your hands, lacing your fingers through his wet locks.

“Yes,” you breathe out, pushing your bum against him even more so his cock presses into you, making him groan in pleasure. Turning around in his arms you attack his lips, not able to keep yourself controlled any longer. He kisses you back with just as much passion and vigor, his hands gripping your waist so hard his fingers dig into your flesh. You move your hands down his back, nails scratching his soft skin until you reach his ass, squeezing each cheeks in a hand shamelessly that just makes him moan into your mouth.

“What do you want to do with me, Harry?” you ask him seductively, bringing a hand up to his hair so you can tug on his locks just the way he loves. “I’m all yours. Always have been, always will be.”

“Sit on the bench, baby. I want to taste you,” he groans, kissing you hard one last time before he lets go of you so you can move.

You sit to the marble bench under the window, the water not hitting you any longer and as Harry sinks to his knees in front of you, your legs open up for him out of instinct. Harry’s hands grab onto the insides of your thighs, exposing you to him even more and he stares down at your throbbing core like it’s his favorite meal in the entire world, made just for him by a chef.

Dipping his head down he kisses both your thighs up until his lips brush against your sensitive bud, teasing you a little as he is barely touching you.

“Harry!” you whine, a hand coming into his hair while you try to support you with the other one so you don’t fall back. “I need you!”

“M’right here, baby,” he smirks before he finally places and openmouthed kiss to your clit, swirling his tongue, sucking on your skin relentlessly.

“Oh fuck!” you gasp, your chest heaving from the pleasure that crashes down on you suddenly.

Harry has a magical mouth and you’ve known this since your third date years ago when the two of you were so hungry for each other that you didn’t even make it into your place, he ate you out in the backseat of his car before he fucked you good. Right then and there you knew you found the man you want to spend the rest of your life with.

He is making you see stars as he licks and sucks on your sex, two fingers coming to your hole, teasing you slightly, not thrusting into you just yet.

“Harry! Don’t fucking tease me!” you groan in frustration, desperate to feel more. You can feel his smirk against you before he finally pushes two fingers into you, making you moan his name over and over again.

“I fucking love your pussy, it’s so sweet and warm,” he hums, pumping into you without skipping a beat as he looks up to see the pleasure he is giving you on your face. He is satisfied with the work he is doing, watching you fall apart under his touch, weak for him and only for him.

He edges you until you’re screaming his name, almost reaching your climax but then he pulls back, leaving you feeling empty and unfinished. You don’t have the chance to speak up before he gets up to his feet and orders you around again.

“Get up, I’m gonna fuck you against the wall,” he tells you and your whole body lights on fire. You love it when he bosses you around, when he takes control but not too much. He knows your limits and knows that you fancy him being a little dominant, but he also knows how much you need the freedom of doing whatever you want during sex. You’re not completely submissive and he is not trying to make you either, just accepts your boundaries and play within the rules, making you extremely grateful that he is all about pleasuring you.

You stand up, but your knees weaken for a moment, threatening to collapse, but Harry grabs you just in time, holding you against his firm chest as he kisses your forehead.

“You good, baby?” he asks in a much softer tone.

“Yeah, just… a bit shaken,” you chuckle as you hold onto his shoulders. “I’m fine,” you assure him before pulling down to kiss him, your tongue meeting his in the middle.

He walks you until your back hits the wall and you hiss at the sudden coldness of it, making you arch against him, your breasts pushing against his tattooed chest. His lips never leave yours, he is tugging on your bottom lip, biting and licking into your mouth as his hands find the back of your thighs and he hoists you up until your legs wrap around his waist, holding you without a mishap.

“I’m gonna make you feel good, baby,” he mumbles into the kiss as he reaches down and grabbing the base of his fully erected cock, lining himself up with you, the tip teasing your core already.

“Go deep and hard, want to feel you everywhere,” you breathe out, grabbing a handful of his hair before he pushes into you without warning, filling you up entirely.

You gasp at the sudden feeling and he stops when he is all the way inside you, giving you some time to adjust to him. He kisses your lips, your nose and cheeks before you give his hair another tug, signaling that he can start moving. He picks up a steady pace, moving in and out of you easily since you are dripping wet for him at this point. Curling your arms around his shoulders you pant against the side of his face, kissing his temple, ear and the soft skin below it as he keeps thrusting into you, building your orgasm up once again.

“Fuck, you feel so fucking good,” he groans, moving faster as his fingers dig into your thighs locked around his waist.

“Are you close, baby?” you ask out of breath.

“Yeah, I’m close, are you?”

“Yes, want you to cum with me, want to do it together,” you pant as you pull his head back so you can look into his eyes. He just nods and makes his thrusts shorter but harder, pushing you towards the edge.

“I’m gonna cum,” he warns you, his eyes shutting close for a few moments.

“Cum, I’m close too. Cum for me, Harry!” you ask him and he whines at your words.

A few more thrusts later you feel him jerk inside you as he falls out of his rhythm, coming hard inside you as he keeps moaning your name over and over again. When his head falls forward and his teeth dig into your shoulder you burst too, the pleaser washing over you in waves.

“Oh fuck! Harry!” He keeps moving, even when he has already ridden down his high, just to make sure you’re fully satisfied. He pushes into you a few more times before he stops, putting you down gently, making sure your legs don’t collapse under you again. He kisses your face wherever he can until his lips meet yours, dragging this kiss a little longer and softer than the once you shared before.

He pulls you under the water and grabs a washcloth from the side, he wets it and gently cleans you up, peppering featherlike kisses to your skin everywhere he goes.

“I hope the way I just screamed your name proves that you’re the only man I want,” you smile at him sheepishly, running your hands up his chest until they rest at the base of his neck.

“M’sorry for being a pain in the ass, I’m just so fucking in love with you, I selfishly want to be the only man that can have the privilege to feel this way for you.”

“And you are,” you chuckle softly, cupping his face in your hands. “Others might find me hot or have a thing for me, but you are the only one who knows me, who sees me like this… who makes me feel like this. I’m all yours, H.”

Breathing out through his nose he captures your lips in another kiss as he pulls you tight against him.

“I love you, baby.”

“Love you too. Now let’s actually shower,” you chuckle, reaching for your shampoo.

Thank you for reading! Please like/reblog if you enjoyed!

[gukyi]

the love project | jjk

summary: from running to mcdonald’s at 3am after a halloween party where the two of you dressed up as the teletubbies to timing how long it takes for him to drink a cup of monster mixed with mountain dew and iced coffee and then do fifty push-ups, you’re used to your best friend jungkook asking you to do all sorts of crazy things. but, of all the shit the two of you do, letting him follow you around for a week with a camera and take candid photos of you for a photography assignment might just be the craziest of them all.

{college!au, friends to lovers!au}

pairing: jeon jungkook x female reader genre: fluff, comedy word count: 12k warnings: college antics, hopeless pining, slow burn a/n: me: this fic will be 10k max! also me: actually nevermind on par for the course of this blog, i hope you enjoy this fic! it was so much fun to write and it definitely got me back into the ~writing mood~. more fics coming soon!

These days, the weeks pass you by like trains on a platform. They whiz past you, the only discernible features being the beginning and the end of them, with the middle nothing but a blur. 

At least, that’s how it feels when you’re in college, and the days bleed into weeks bleed into months, and suddenly you’re one year closer to graduating, one year closer to figuring out what next to do with your life, even if you’re still missing that one general education requirement you forgot to take in your first year so now you’re trying to cram it into your schedule at the last minute.

Okay, you’ll admit it. Introduction to Astronomy is kicking your ass. That’s what you get for putting it off until junior year, when you’re supposed to have reached the point in your History major career where you don’t have to look at numbers anymore and the idea of doing basic math is absolutely unfathomable. History majors don’t do math. They just don’t. It vanished from your academic arsenal long before now, alongside your ability to interpret word problems and understand science textbooks. 

Perhaps in another universe, you would have actually retained those skills past high school, but that universe is not this one, and so your problem sets can solve themselves or not be solved at all. 

Your best friend would have to disagree.

“It’s not even calculus!” Jungkook exclaims over a mouthful of a Starbucks tomato and pesto panini, pointing to your laptop in exasperation, as if the answer has been staring you in the face for the past fifteen minutes. “It’s just algebra! All you’re doing is plugging the numbers into the formula and finding the missing variable!”

“Easy for you to say,” you huff, furiously erasing at the notebook in front of you as you get yet another incorrect answer. Who knew math could be so difficult? Oh, that’s right. You did. “You took that advanced differential equations class for fun last year. It’s not even required for your major. You’re just a masochist.”

“Says the person who convinced their advisor to let them take seven classes because they, and I quote, ‘all seemed so interesting’ and you ‘didn’t want to miss out.’” Jungkook rebukes pointedly. “Because your life would be so terrible if you didn’t take Economic History of Pre-Industrialized Europe.”

He’s got you there. Seven classes is a lot. In your defense, Economic History of Pre-Industrialized Europe was very interesting and you got a 4.0 that semester. So who is he to judge? Jungkook’s favorite pastime is pretending that taking three different computer science classes in a single semester isn’t going to single-handedly kill him.

Jungkook watches you struggle for a few moments more before he sighs, like he can’t take looking at someone so mathematically incompetent any longer. He stuffs the remaining third of his Starbucks panini into his mouth all at once like the ravenous beast he is before he reaches over the tiny table you’re sat at to look at your problem set himself. He turns your laptop towards him and grabs hold of your notebook, furrowing his eyebrows as he enters Work Jungkook Mode. 

Work Jungkook Mode is the mode of him you see most often during finals week or the rare occasions where you meet up to actually try and get work done. Work Jungkook has tunnel vision for whatever assignment is currently in front of him, which he will do either in one sitting or die trying. Work Jungkook lets his coffee get cold and forgets to answer your text messages, even when you’re sat right across from him and you know that he can see the notification on his laptop. Work Jungkook refuses to turn in anything that he hasn’t devoted his entire being to, even if it’s something as simple as a discussion board post. Some of his other friends say that when Jungkook is in Work Jungkook Mode, they won’t even try to contact him, lest their messages get lost in the flurry of his coding assignments. 

But you are not “some of his other friends.” You are his best friend. So rules do not apply to you. And Jungkook has long accepted that fact.

“Hey, don’t mess up my work—” You exclaim defensively, grabby hands reaching over the table to retrieve your notebook. “Wait, how did you do that?”

Jungkook scribbles something down in nearly-illegible font, determined to solve the problem in front of him. He thinks for a few more seconds before eventually jotting down an answer, circling it with his pencil. Holding the notebook out so both of you can see, he scoots his chair over to your side of the table, your shoulders pressed together in this tiny corner of the Starbucks, right by the bathroom, and explains, step by step, what he did. 

He does that for the following two problems in your set, walking you through the kind of math he was doing in freshman year of high school like it’s nothing, answering all of your stupid questions and giving you tips on how to finesse the system by taking as many shortcuts as possible. Teaching you things you never learned, or possibly had just forgotten. Things that a professor would think is idiotic to re-teach to a junior in university. Things that Jungkook wants you to know because he just wants you to have a little more faith in yourself. 

“Does that help?” He asks when he’s finished, still doubting his fantastic teaching abilities despite the fact that he just taught you more in the last thirty minutes than your professor has managed in a month and a half. 

“It actually does,” you tell him, pleasantly surprised. Looking back down at your notebook, what was once a shapeless blur of numbers, letters, and formulas is suddenly a clear and organized outline of each and every step to follow. “I didn’t know it was that easy.”

“Anything can be easy if you just commit yourself to learning how to do it,” Jungkook says, one of those random sentences that are too wise for a college student surviving off of RedBull and Starbucks food, the ones that always make you think Jungkook is secretly an immortal sage with life experiences far beyond your own. “Except coding. Which is hard no matter how good you are at it.”

“Aw, you can do it,” you rally, reaching up to pinch his chin in between your fingers and squeeze it tight. “It’s also too late to change your major now, so you’re stuck.”

“Wow, thanks for the encouragement,” Jungkook chides, hand coming up to rub at where you held his jaw, rolling his eyes. “You should let me help you with your Astronomy work more often. Gives me a break from Python.”

“I would have made you help me whether you liked it or not,” you tell him pointedly, because he is your best friend and he doesn’t get out of things as easily as he thinks he can. “But thanks. I’ll definitely take you up on that.”

“Of course,” Jungkook says with a good-natured grin, always so selfless and kind and giving. He practically signed himself up for a semester’s worth of TA-ing for Introduction to Astronomy despite the constant mountain of work he has himself. Just because it’s you. 

“My very own personal genius,” you muse, wrapping your hands around his arm and snuggling into his body, a whisper of a language only the two of you share. It’s something the two of you have long gotten used to, pressing your fingers all over each other’s bodies like it’s second nature. One of the things that makes you feel so certain about having Jungkook in your life. About wanting him to stay with you for the rest of time. “I’m never letting you go.”

Jungkook smiles, a warm hand coming to rest atop of your own. He breathes, in and out, chest rising beneath your touch. “Like I’d ever let you,” he says.

There is no question about it. Jungkook is one hundred percent, absolutely, undoubtedly, positively, indisputably smarter than you are. It’s something that the two of you used to jokingly fight about (because Jungkook claims that he’s a bad essay writer, even though he’s not), but at this point it’s cemented in stone—he’s a damn genius. A genius who is inexplicably good at everything. A double threat. Triple, if you count the fact that he’s built beyond belief and could probably chuck you into next week if you really, really ticked him off. 

The truth is that, ninety percent of the time it is you who is going to Jungkook for help. Whether it be an assignment you need assistance on (namely Astronomy, because Jungkook probably couldn’t help you on your Mesopotamian artifact and primary source analyses despite his best intentions), a date that was a lot worse than you were hoping it would be, or even just the right coffee to order from that expensive place on the corner. Jungkook knows how to fix everything. 

So when Jungkook slides into the seat across from you in the food court after his Mastering Photography class with that I’m in trouble look on his face, you know something is horribly wrong. 

“Are you alright?” You ask, concerned as you watch him devour the sushi takeout in front of him, stuffing the spicy tuna rolls into his mouth like they’re Skittles. His camera hangs haphazardly out of his open backpack, like he barely had enough time to stuff it into the pocket while he was making his way here. There’s a worried expression written all over his face as he fumbles with the chopsticks in his hand, losing his grip on them every ten seconds. 

It’s not until Jungkook has finished the container of spicy tuna rolls in front of them that he finally seems to work up the courage to answer you. 

“My Photography class is gonna be the death of me,” Jungkook exclaims, exasperated. 

“I thought you liked it,” you comment unhelpfully. Jungkook had been so excited to be enrolled in it, because you needed a recommendation from a different professor and you had to submit a portfolio in order to join the class, making it one of those exclusive (and thus, much better) courses. Not to mention the fact that Jungkook is basically already a professional photographer if his Instagram is anything to go by. He’s going to walk out of university with a Photography minor whether he realizes it or not.

“I do,” Jungkook insists, even if right now it sounds like the two of you both need convincing of that fact. “But this project is ridiculous. I don’t even know how my professor expects us to have the time to finish it.”

“What do you have to do?”

Jungkook sighs. Just thinking about it seems to stress him out. “I mean, it’s only really a week long. So I guess it’s not too bad. But we’re supposed to compile a portfolio of the same subject, taken over the course of the week, with them in all sorts of different poses and lighting and locations, to express a personal theme.”

You scrunch your nose up in confusion. “I might be wrong, but isn’t that what photography… is?” You ask cluelessly. 

“Yes,” Jungkook argues, “but also no. Photography is taking pictures of things just for the hell of it. Not because they necessarily speak to a part of your soul. You just like the look of it. You want to capture the scene. That’s it.”

“Oh,” You say dumbly. 

“And our subject can be whoever or whatever we want, but he recommended choosing a person because taking pictures of our water bottles in different places is boring,” Jungkook huffs, though his professor does have a point there. Modern history wasn’t made out of photographs of store windows and miscellaneous items. It was made out of people, out of events in their lives that shaped the rest of the world, out of personal experiences that changed their point of view. “But I don’t even know anybody who would be willing to let me photograph them for a whole week! I’d basically have to follow them around like paparazzi!”

“I’ll do it,” you suggest casually, because it seems like the most obvious choice to you. There’s no one Jungkook spends as much time with as you. 

Jungkook’s eyes pop out of his head. “What?”

“I’m serious,” you insist. “Think about it. You need a subject for your project that you can photograph in a wide variety of places and over the course of a week. Who else do you spend that much time with, other than me?”

“Well..” Jungkook begins, trying to fight your reasons with his own. “Would you even be comfortable with something like that? I mean, I’m literally going to constantly be taking photos of you.”

“Like we don’t already do that on our phones,” you tease, having amassed quite the album of terrible Jungkook pictures over the years. 

“A camera is different from a phone,” Jungkook protests weakly. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But I’m just saying. It won’t bother me,” you say with a shrug. Why is Jungkook being so… weird about your suggestion? You thought he would be jumping at the offer, especially considering it means he won’t have to go out of his way to find and photograph someone else for this assignment. But he’s being rather hesitant. You watch as he glares down at his empty sushi takeout box, eyebrows furrowed in that thick, nervous way. “But you don’t have to,” you backtrack. “It was just a suggestion.”

He breathes in and breathes out, expression solid. Even from here you can see the cogs whirring in his brain, placing each and every potential result into a pro and con list inside his mind, trying to work out whether the benefits will be greater than the cost. 

Quite frankly, you don’t know what all the holdup is about. 

“You’re… sure about this?” He asks, looking up at you, determined to ensure your comfort. As if that’s even an issue. “You’re cool with being photographed and everything?”

“Only because it’s you,” you tease lightheartedly, expecting some sort of equally cheesy response. Instead, it makes Jungkook do something weird. He freezes in place, darting his eyes away from your gaze for a split second, collecting thoughts you can’t see. “Yeah,” you say loudly, trying to bring him back. “I’m fine with it.”

He inhales, exhales, closes his eyes, and opens them. “Okay then. I guess it’s settled. You’ll be my subject,” he declares, an almost unnoticeable wobble to his voice. It’s probably nothing, so you don’t think too hard about it.

“Can you at least pretend to be a little more excited about this?” You ask, jabbing him in the chest with a wooden chopstick. “It’s the first time we’ve ever gotten to be part of a project together!”

“Yay,” Jungkook says, lifeless. 

“How about a photo to commemorate it?” You suggest, reaching over to pull the camera out of his backpack, pushing it into his hands. “This can be the start of your portfolio.”

“Fine,” he eventually caves, bringing it up to his eye as he turns it on, twisting the lens to perfect the focus. Even caught off guard like this, he looks like a professional, like someone who was born to be behind the camera. He’s a computer science major but you know that photography will always be something special to him.

You strike a dramatic pose, holding your chopsticks out, one in each hand, with a wide, excited smile on your face. “How do I look?” You ask, scrunching your eyes together. 

Jungkook’s finger hovers over the silver button. “Perfect,” he tells you, voice soft and honest. 

Click.

“So, how many photos are you supposed to take for this portfolio?” You ask as you flop around on Jungkook’s bed, pretending that the open tab on your laptop with your fifty-page reading doesn’t exist. You don’t even know why professors assign readings that long. Do they really expect you to read all of it?

From across his room, you can make out the top of Jungkook’s fluffy brown hair over his sleek gaming chair, one of the ones that look like high-tech airplane seats. “I don’t know,” he says. “He said at least twenty. And no more than fifty. Which really makes me wonder if someone once submitted like, one hundred photos for this project that he had to grade them on. But yeah.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” you say. When you’re around a cute animal, you can easily take twenty photographs. Granted, they aren’t exactly award-worthy photographs, but it’s not a physically demanding task. 

“Yeah,” Jungkook says. “Hypothetically you could finish it in a day. But it looks really obvious.”

“Well, how many do you have now?”

It’s been a day and a half since Jungkook agreed to let you be his so-called muse, but already you’ve lost track of how many photos he’s taken of you. He loves his camera, you know that, but you didn’t realize exactly how much he loves his camera. And with you as the sole subject for his project, he’s practically letting it hang from his neck all day long, just waiting for the right time to snap a photo of you standing in line at the food court, frowning at your textbook, or waiting to meet up with him. Every time he sees you he snaps a picture, even if the lighting’s bad, even if you haven’t had your morning coffee yet, even if it’s midnight and you look like a zombie. In his mind, there are no bad pictures. Just memories.

You wonder what the hell he sees in you. 

“A lot,” Jungkook answers unhelpfully, making no effort to elaborate on that statement. 

“Have you counted?” You ask, getting off of his bed to join him at his desk. 

Jungkook doesn’t seem to realize what you’re doing until you’re standing right next to him, placing a hand over his shoulders as you lean down next to him. He fumbles around for a second, the mouse slipping through his grip, and you catch a glimpse of one of the photos he’s taken of you, a sliver of your pursed lips, the wrinkles between your eyebrows. 

It’s from the library yesterday. You didn’t even know Jungkook had taken a picture of you there. You had a stupid reading to complete last night, one that made no sense and was terribly-written, and you spent an hour just trying to figure out what the damn argument was, and Jungkook captured it. You were there for an hour and Jungkook was there too, watching you like it was nothing, waiting for the perfect moment. He was there, sitting across from you, camera at the ready. You didn’t even hear it click. 

He closes it before you get a closer look at the photo, frantically hitting the little red dot at the top corner of the window before you have a chance to ask why. 

“What, I’m not allowed to see?” You chide, a little bit hurt but more confused than anything else. Why is Jungkook being so secretive?

“No,” Jungkook spits quickly. making you raise an eyebrow in alarm. “I mean, it’s a surprise. You get to see when it’s finished. I still have to… uh, edit. And stuff.”

“Edit? You think I’m that ugly?” You tease, knowing that he probably means color correction but enjoying the way that he gets all flustered when he hears your voice.

Jungkook’s eyes widen at that, like he just realized he made a wrong turn and is desperately backtracking. “What, no! I don’t—I don’t think you’re ugly.”

You laugh, letting the sound of your voice ease the tension in his shoulders, reveling in the way his big doe eyes seem to soften when he realizes you were just teasing. He looks like a kid caught stealing a candy bar from a gas station, looks like one of those boyfriends in the viral videos where the girl reveals that she got him a present or something instead, all nervous and full of explanations. 

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” you assure him, rubbing up and down his arm to soothe him, calm his heart down. “You don’t have to show me. I’m just excited. No one’s ever taken photos of me like this before.”

“I would,” Jungkook speaks up softly. “If you asked. I would.”

“I know,” You say. You’re not sure if there’s a thing in this world Jungkook wouldn’t do for you, and you, him. If he asked, you would pluck the stars from the sky for him. Bring him back a piece of the moon. Stop time. Anything. Everything. Just for him. “I know.”

 “What are you doing?” Jungkook asks, changing the topic as he whirls around in his gaming chair. 

“Just another reading, like always,” you dismiss, because you’re positive the last thing Jungkook wants to hear about right now is your primary source reading on irrigation techniques in agrarian Europe. You don’t even want to hear about it. “But I could use some help on Astronomy.”

Without another word, Jungkook gets up from his desk and the two of you head over to his bed, where an untouched problem set waits on your computer. He grabs a notebook from his backpack along the way before sitting down next to you on the edge of his bed, bodies pressed together. Slowly, he begins to coach you through each problem, step by step, drawing pictures and diagrams if he has to, until you finish all ten problems. 

The truth is, you didn’t really need help with this unit. Astronomy’s gotten a lot easier now that Jungkook has taught you the strategies to tackle it. But Jungkook sometimes feels like a ghost when he works, especially when he’s sitting at his desk, quiet and focused and almost invisible. And call you clingy, but you like it when you can look up and see his face instead of the back of a chair, a little tuft of wavy brown hair. You like it when he’s right beside you, in a place where you know you won’t lose him, where you can hold on if things get rough. Where you can see his stupid brown eyes and his goofy smile and know that he’ll always be there for you. 

When he’s finished, Jungkook doesn’t get back up to sit at his desk. He flops down on his back, staring up at the white ceiling of his room, eyes tracing the cracks. You join him, side by side, pretending that there’s something there. Looking up at the sky would be nicer, but it doesn’t really matter, so long as you’re with him.

“I didn’t know you took so many photos,” you say.

“I never want to miss anything.”

“You should give me more warnings, next time. I feel like I look so ugly in some of them.”

“No, you don’t. Don’t say stuff like that.”

“You don’t think I’m ugly?” You ask him, for real this time. It’s not that you think he’s going to say that he does, it’s that you want to know what he really thinks. How he really sees you. You turn your head to him, back pressed against his comforter, barely a foot apart. And he turns back to you, and he’s right there, right there in front of you, big brown eyes wide and blinking. He’s right there, how could you miss him?

“No,” Jungkook says, honest and true. He looks at you, looks right at you, right into you, and he muses to himself, chuckling. “Why would I ever think that?”

At the end of the day, you can’t really be bothered to put on real pants in anticipation of Jungkook’s trigger-happy camera-taking tendencies. He’s seen you spill a boiling hot bowl of tomato soup all over yourself in the dining hall. He’s seen you at four in the morning in the library the night before finals begin, eyebags down to your knees and mismatched shoes on your feet. He’s seen you in the middle of a frat house, sweat dripping down your forehead and smelling of nothing but straight alcohol. Getting dressed up just for him would be antithetical to the very foundation of your friendship. 

You have, however, become keenly more cognizant in the last few days of when Jungkook is about to take a photo of you. Mostly because you glance up at your surroundings every three seconds to make sure you aren’t getting sniped from across the food court. Nobody else needs to see a picture of you picking up three pieces of sushi with your chopsticks and stuffing them all into your mouth at once. And, from what you can tell, you’ve been pretty successful, which either means you’ve gotten better at telling when Jungkook might be taking a photo of you, or Jungkook’s gotten better at hiding it. 

Either way, he’s got a lot more pictures of you reflexively flashing a peace-sign in his direction when you hear the telltale sound of his camera lens focusing, so you’re not really sure what that means for the fate of his portfolio. 

Besides your newfound hyper-awareness of the sound of a camera lens adjusting, the strangest part of you and Jungkook’s little project is how quickly the rest of your friends adjusted to this brand new dynamic. 

This is not to say this assignment is the weirdest thing you and Jungkook have done together, because there was once one week where you and Jungkook challenged each other to only eat bananas for every meal to see if anything would happen to either of you. Nothing did, but after that week you swore off bananas for the rest of your life and have had little appetite for them since. 

It’s more that your other friends have just accepted the fact that ridiculous, extravagant shenanigans are a necessary part of you and Jungkook’s relationship and have simply chosen not to question them anymore. At least, most of them have. 

“So, how’s you and Jungkook’s little photography fling going?” Maisie asks, and even through the phone you can hear the way she’s wiggling her eyebrows. 

“It’s not a fling, and it’s fine,” you hiss back, trying to keep your voice down as you pack up your belongings, phone pressed between your ear and your shoulder. “Stop speaking so loudly, everyone else in the library can probably hear you.”

“Good, because they’ve all probably noticed the way Jungkook’s been following you around like an unrestrained fanboy for the past four days taking pictures of you,” Maisie says pointedly, voice so sharp it causes you to look around at the other tables to make sure no one’s listening in. 

You frown, hoping your deadpan expression is audible through the phone. “It’s not like that and you know it.”

“Don’t you think it’s even a little strange that you’ve given Jungkook full permission to take photos of you like you’re a model and he’s some sort of weird, professional paparazzi?” You can practically see Maisie’s face in front of you, all wide eyes and raised eyebrows as she makes her point.

“No, it’s what we agreed on,” you remind her for the umpteenth time. There’s nothing weird about this. You’re helping him with a project, what more could it be? “Jungkook needed someone to take pictures of for his photography project and I thought it would be a good idea if I was that someone.”

“Hmm… wonder why…” Maisie trails off, deliberately vague and suggestive all at once. 

“You’ve been going on about this ever since Jungkook and I met, Maise,” you say with a roll of your eyes, tossing your backpack over your shoulder. “You know that Jungkook and I are just friends. Like we have always been.”

“Friends that take candid photos of each other under the guise of a project,” Maisie adds, and you can see the air quotes around the word “project” right in front of you.

“Friends that help each other out because that’s what friends do,” you correct. “You’re just going to have to accept the fact that Jungkook and I are always going to be just friends and nothing more. No matter how much money you’ve bet on us getting together.”

Maisie gasps. “I have not bet money on such a thing! This is slander!”

“Don’t think I don’t see you and Jimin’s damn Venmo history.” You pull up to the front desk of the library to check out a primary source book needed for one of your classes. It’s the first edition, and it’s battered beyond belief, but it’s better than paying for it. “Just this, thanks.”

“The only way you could convince me that you and Jungkook are just friends is if you go on a date or something,” Maisie comments snidely. “I don’t think I’ve seen either of you romantically interested in someone else the entire time you’ve known each other. Isn’t that proof enough?”

“You want me to go on a date with someone?” You demand, determined to get Maisie to hop off your ass about this. 

You and Jungkook are just friends. If swiping right with someone on Tinder and getting dinner and a movie with them is what will convince Maisie of that, then that is what you will do. It’s not as if being friends with Jungkook is mutually exclusive with you going out with other people. Should be easy, right? 

The boy behind the counter tells you your book is due back at the end of the semester, and you nod your thanks before heading out of the library.

“Fine, I’ll go on a date with someone. If it’ll get you to stop trying to convince me that Jungkook and I are gonna get married and have babies,” you declare, pushing your body against the door handles as you leave, five minutes to spare before your next class begins. 

“You guys would have really cute babies, I’m just saying,” Maisie points out like it’s nothing. 

You roll your eyes, taking the phone away from your ear as your finger hovers over the red button. “See you, Maise.”

You’re barely three steps out of the library, still rolling your eyes at the Call Ended screen on your phone when a voice catches your attention. 

“Y/N!”

You turn your head just in time to see Jungkook’s devilish grin disappear behind his camera, and you don’t even have time to blink before he begins snapping away, finger mashing the silver button at the top as your expression morphs from surprise to defeat, unable to counter his sniping abilities with a signature peace sign. Even from twenty feet away, you can hear Jungkook laughing as you take the opportunity to pose for a few moments, like you really are a model and he really is your personal photographer. The sound of his giggles fills the air, music to your ears, lingering between you like dandelion wisps, blown by the wind. 

Another voice breaks you from your trance. 

“And here we have our resident celebrity and her paparazzi,” Jimin says, motioning to the two of you as he speaks to an enormous tour group of potential applicants and their parents. Caught in front of them, the heat suddenly rushes to your cheeks as you instinctively cover your face, embarrassed to have been pointed out by Jimin, whose amicable, lovable personality is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to his part-time job as a tour guide. 

The worst part is how some of the parents and students seem to believe him for a second, that you really are famous and that Jungkook really is your photographer, looking at the two of you inquisitively as you shrink beneath their gazes. 

“I’m kidding,” Jimin quickly continues as Jungkook joins you where you stand, laughing at the way you look like a deer caught in headlights. “They’re just some friends of mine who we happened to catch outside the library, which is our next stop. But don’t they look so cute together?”

“Are you guys dating?” One of the students pipes up, asking what no one else dared to. 

Your eyes widen at the notion, wondering if you and Jungkook really are cursed to always be mistaken for a couple when you two have never been, and most likely will never be one. Shaking your head, you force out a laugh, “No, we’re just friends.” Beside you, Jungkook is noticeably silent. You suppose he’s gotten just as sick of explaining as you. 

“Bummer, right?” Jimin asks his group, earning a couple of disappointed nods from innocent high-schoolers that still believe in love. “But I’m working on that, so don’t worry. Anyway, this library will be your main destination for studying, book-reading, and everything in between, and is conveniently located two minutes away from the freshman dorms…”

The conversation finally drawn away from you and Jungkook, you let out a breath you hadn’t even realized you had been holding in. “Weird, right? Even high-schoolers think we’re together.”

Jungkook doesn’t meet your eyes, fiddling with the settings on his camera just to keep his hands busy. The quiet makes you wonder what is going on up inside his head, makes you wonder what it is he’s thinking about, what it is you’re not seeing. Lately, it’s felt like there’s something on Jungkook’s mind you wish he felt comfortable telling you. 

“Hey, you alright?” You ask, giving him a little nudge with your side. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” Jungkook says, voice soft, barely audible. It doesn’t make you feel any better. “No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Don’t you have class soon?”

“Oh, shit, you’re right, fuck,” you say, checking your phone only to find you have barely a minute to get to your next class. Guess you’ll be using one of your allotted absences today. “Thanks for reminding me. Dinner tonight?”

“I’ll text you,” Jungkook promises, and you nod your agreement as you dash off, determined to turn a five-minute walk into a one-minute one with the power of exercise. As you leave, you watch as Jungkook flounders outside the library, staring down at his camera and scrolling through his photos, and you still find yourself feeling like you’re missing something. What is Jungkook not telling you? 

What do you not know?

By the time you reach your class, two minutes late and completely out of breath, tardiness is the last thing on your mind.

This project was just meant to be a friend helping out a friend. So why does it feel like you and Jungkook are losing each other?

Using Tinder is easy. Dangerously so.

You’re no expert in app design, but its simplified “yes or no” mechanic has you swiping through people like it’s an extreme sport, barely giving some of them a second glance if their Tinder profile description doesn’t make you laugh within the first sentence. 

Tinder was, admittedly, not your first choice of potential date-finding methods. Call you old-fashioned, but whatever happened to asking someone in person if they wanted to get a meal with you? To showing up at their doorstep with a rose bouquet and a toothy white grin? Perhaps all of those old-timey movies you and Jungkook always watched have given you unrealistic expectations. But can you blame them? 

Even if Tinder wasn’t your first choice, it was certainly the fastest. It takes a second to look at someone’s designated Tinder thumbnail, two to read their description, and three to decide if they’re worth a swipe right. Compare that to actively meeting up with someone, getting their contact information, and then continuing to dance around each other until you finally decide to get dinner together. That’s the sort of thing that could take weeks. Maybe months. And in some cases, years.

Besides, it’s not like you had very many options at your disposal. You don’t trust Maisie to set you up with someone because she’ll probably just choose one of the many boys from her management class and call it a day. Asking someone yourself is absolutely out of the question. And, for some strange, unknown reason, the idea of getting Jungkook to hook you up with one of his friends just doesn’t sit right with you.

So, Tinder it is. And as it turns out, chivalry isn’t dead. It’s just archaic.

An hour into your mindless swiping, you get a message notification. Two hours after that, you’ve got plans with a nice senior boy whom you’ve never met. 

And for the first time in a very long time, there’s something to mark on your calendar for Saturday night.

The little blue block on your Google Calendar tab stares back at you from where your open laptop sits on your desk, the red line that signifies your current time slowly inching towards it as you fumble around in front of your mirror, more dressed up than you have been in weeks. Maisie was right. It’s been so long since you’ve gone out with someone that you’ve completely forgotten what the dress code is for something like this. A dress? Heels? Makeup?

You don’t want to overshoot it, but part of you thinks you will anyway. What if he’s wearing a hoodie and sweats while you look like you’re about to attend the goddamn Academy Awards? Maybe the eyeshadow was a little too much.

You don’t want to overshoot it, but part of you thinks it’s inevitable that you do. The door to your apartment swings open, and you can hear heavy footsteps making their way to your bedroom, that easy gait of his familiar as always.

“Hey, do you think we can just get some take-out and watch a stupid old noir movie, or something? I’ve had a day,” he shouts out, the sigh audible in his voice.

You don’t want to overshoot it, but part of you thinks you definitely have when you turn around to see Jungkook standing right outside your bedroom in the floppiest sweater you’ve ever seen and jeans with holes in the knees, mouth agape as he stares straight at you. It’s impossible not to notice the way his eyes are blown wide at the sight of you, at the way they rake up and down your figure, like he can’t even believe what he’s seeing. It’s impossible not to notice how he seems to flounder at the sight of you.

The only thing that breaks the both of you out of your stupors, frozen in place like two criminals caught red-handed, is the sound of his hulking black backpack thudding to the floor. 

“Whoa.”

“Do you think it’s too much?” You ask, voice wobbly. God, why are you so nervous? It’s just Jungkook. 

“Too much for what?” Jungkook blinks, deliberate and slow, as if he’s determined to make sure his eyes aren’t deceiving him. “Where are you going?”

“I think we’ll have to do a raincheck for the noir movie and takeout,” you say sheepishly, pursing your lips together in fright as you force out a small, tense smile. “I’m… going out. With someone.”

“Like,” Jungkook begins, and even from here you can hear the way he stops himself, hear him breathe out every word, thick on his tongue. “On a date?”

“Yeah.”

It’s a one-syllable word and yet it takes nearly all of your willpower just to say it. Just to confirm what Jungkook’s already thinking. Just to tell him, your best friend, your ride or die, your number one, that you’re going out on a date. 

“Oh.” Jungkook’s voice is lifeless. “Do I know them?”

“No, uh, it’s just some guy I met on Tinder. I don’t know, I just wanted to see what all the hype was about, I guess. And I haven’t really been on a date in a while, so I figured I might just take up the opportunity, so we’re probably just going to go out to a restaurant and maybe go to a club afterwards if we’re still in the mood, and—” You cut yourself off, so nervous that you’ve resorted to your terrible habit of rambling to try and ease the tension. “Why? Do you think it’s too much?”

“You use Tinder?” Jungkook asks instead. It sounds like he’s shocked to hear this. 

“Yeah…” you trail off. “Why?”

Jungkook freezes at the question, but it’s not because it seems like he doesn’t have an answer. It’s because it seems like he does. Only it’s an answer he doesn’t want to share. 

“Nothing, it’s nothing,” he eventually settles on, shaking his head. “You, uh, you look good.”

“You think? I feel like it’s a lot. I don’t know how to dress appropriately for stuff like this anymore,” you ask, palms sweaty as you furiously straighten out the skirt of your dress. “Should I change into pants, or anything?”

“No, no, I think that’s fine,” Jungkook says with an honest smile. “You look nice like this.”

“It’s probably been like, a year since you last saw me in a dress,” you comment mindlessly, turning back to face the mirror as you fiddle with your makeup, finger wiping away a bit of smudged lipstick or a stray bit of mascara. “I miss my sweats. Hey, whoa, wait, what are you doing—?”

You whip around to find Jungkook slowly fishing out the camera from his backpack, hand gripping it tightly as he brandishes it in front of you. 

“I, um, I just wanted to see if I could maybe take a photo of you,” Jungkook says, a small, little grin decorating his features. “Since you’re all dressed up.”

“Seriously?” You ask in disbelief. 

Jungkook nods, holding the camera out in front of him. “Just one.”

He looks so small, standing across your bedroom. He looks so small and delicate and intimate, body curled in on itself ever so slightly as he looks at you, the yellow glow of your ceiling light reflected in his hazelnut eyes, drowning beneath his clothes. He looks like he has never seen a moment more perfect, never seen an opportunity as clear, looks like he thinks that if he blinks he’ll miss it. 

Looks as if a photo will be the only way to remember it. 

And you nod. Because he is your best friend, and who are you to deny him of something so simple? Of a press of a button? It doesn’t feel like a project anymore. It just feels like a memory. 

Jungkook brings the camera to his eye, and you smile at him, soft and gentle and warm. He grins back, focusing the camera lens before snapping away. 

You wonder what he sees. 

(You wonder if it’s as beautiful as what you see.)

“Have fun tonight, okay?” Jungkook asks of you as your Google Calendar notification sounds, letting you know you have approximately two minutes before he’s supposed to pick you up outside your apartment.

You nod. “I will. And if I don’t, then I’ll come over afterwards. And we can watch that stupid noir film.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Jungkook says with a roll of his eyes, a shrug of his shoulders. 

“But I want to. So I will. Okay? I’ll text you,” you promise. “Don’t think I’ll forget about you.”

Jungkook smiles at your little tease, at the way you cup the side of his jaw with your hand as you head towards your front door. 

“Wait, Y/N,” Jungkook sputters out, running after you. He reaches you right as you get to the door, hand grasping the doorknob. You turn to look at him, blinking. “I hope tonight is everything you dreamed of.”

There is something so distinctly sad in his voice. It makes you wonder who has broken his heart. Makes you wonder what you can do to fix it.

“Even if it’s not,” you say to him, taking his hand in your own and squeezing it tight, reminding him that, no matter what, you’re still here. “I know you’ll always be there to take care of me afterwards.”

Your phone buzzes with a message from your date, and you scurry out the door. 

For some reason, there’s a part of you that wishes you never even left. 

The date is okay. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. By the time you finished eating, it was obvious neither of you had any interest in continuing the night elsewhere, whether it be a club or a karaoke bar. He pays for your meal despite your insistence that you can handle the check perfectly fine on your own, thanks you for a nice night, and drops you right back at your apartment. And so goes your one and only Tinder experience, blowing away like a leaf in the wind. 

You look down at your phone. It isn’t even nine o’clock yet. 

[November 7th, 8:48PM]

You: you still game for that movie?

[November 7th, 8:50PM]

Jungkook: you finished your date already?

You: is that a yes or a no

Jungkook: my door is always open, you know that

You: you’re gonna get robbed one day and it’s gonna be by me You: i’m coming over

The walk from your apartment to Jungkook’s is six minutes and thirty seconds on a good day, and seven minutes and fifteen seconds on a bad day, which is usually dependent on if the traffic light over the main road has decided to be extra slow or not. You could walk the damn route in your sleep if you really wanted, having done it so many times in the last year and a half, ever since he moved out of on-campus housing and into his own place.

Tonight, it takes you nearly eight minutes to get to his apartment, but you mostly chalk that up to the heels you’re wearing. If you cared any less about your dignity, you’d probably take them off and walk barefoot like a defeated heroine in a romance movie, shoes dangling from your fingers as they hang low by your side. 

But you aren’t defeated. You didn’t have the world’s most spectacular date, but the night isn’t over just yet. 

Jungkook’s waiting at his front door by the time you arrive. 

“Eight minutes, huh? You’re getting old,” he asks snidely, looking down at the invisible watch on his wrist. 

“Your counting is just off,” you retort easily, falling into that same friendly rhythm, that familiar little beat that the two of you share. You push past him and into his apartment, instantly feeling more at home, shoulders sinking and heartbeat soothing as you soak in the scent of his room, of his home, of him. 

“How’d it go?” Jungkook asks, eyes hopeful as they watch you tug off your heels. They were hardly three inches tall and yet you still want nothing to do with them. 

You shrug. “Eh. It was okay.”

“Just okay?” Jungkook asks, sounding seriously upset for you. Upset that you didn’t have a good night even after you promised him that you would. Upset that it didn’t turn out to be everything you wanted. 

“I don’t know,” you admit, looking over at him, dejected. “It just—I just had this feeling that it wasn’t going to work out.”

Jungkook scowls to himself, eyebrows furrowing like he’s trying to figure out what exactly you mean by that. And the truth is, you’re not sure either. The date was fine, and he was nice, but even when you first met it felt like you weren’t going to get what you wanted from him. Like you were just going on the date to go on the date. Like you already knew that it would mean nothing. 

Jungkook was going to be waiting for you at the end of the night whether it went amazingly well or terribly bad. And knowing that, strangely enough, almost made you want the date to be horrible. Like it would make seeing Jungkook afterwards that much sweeter. 

“Oh,” Jungkook says lamely. “Well, I’m sorry. It seemed like you were really looking forward to it.”

“It’s alright,” you assure him. “Can we just watch this movie now and make fun of how sexist it is? Please?”

To that, Jungkook easily agrees. As he’s queueing up the movie, you raid his closet for a hoodie and sweatpants, desperate to strip yourself of your dress and tights and cozy up in clothes that are much more appropriate for your comfort level. At this point in your friendship, Jungkook doesn’t even question it when he sees you march into his room, fishing through his closet and drawers for your favorite matching set of his, this grey pair that he’s worn so much it still smells like him even after it’s come right out of the wash. 

He only stares back in awe when he sees you emerge from his bedroom wearing them. 

“Ready?” You ask, breaking him from his resolve.

Jungkook blinks wildly from where he’s seated on his dinky old couch, as if to clear his vision. “What? Oh, yeah, I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Then hurry it up, Mister,” you demand, sitting down next to him and curling into his body. It’s instinctual, at this point, wanting to be close to him. To feel the warmth of his body radiate upon your own. To feel his chest beneath the palm of your hands, his arm wrapped around your side. “All good?” You ask, looking up at him. 

Jungkook looks down at you, and you swear, you’ve never seen him more at home. “Always, when I’m with you.”

The movie is predictably good and predictably sexist, but your favorite part by far is when Jungkook reaches around on the coffee table in front of you for his camera, holding it up to his eye and snatching a picture of the television, the film grainy like an old polaroid, faded like an antique photograph. He clicks away at the scene in front of him before turning on you, the lens so close to your face you’re almost certain all he’ll manage to capture is your nose. You laugh, pushing yourself away from him as he snaps, and snaps, and snaps, image after image after image, until his camera battery has died and there’s no more room left on his card. 

“Guess I’ll have to charge this thing, then,” Jungkook sighs as he declares his camera dead, screen black. 

“You aren’t going to include any of those, are you?” You ask, an eyebrow raised. 

Jungkook shrugs. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Don’t you have enough?” You deadpan, thinking back to the hundreds of photos Jungkook must have taken of you over the past week, and even more that you don’t know about. There’s certainly no shortage of them in his current camera inventory. That’s for sure. 

“Never,” Jungkook says wickedly. He stretches out an open arm, and you don’t have to think twice about falling into it, letting him wrap you up in his hold, curling into his body. 

The black television screen crackles before you, DVD player waiting for Jungkook to turn it off. There’s no need for either of you to look up at each other. Not when you’re strung together like this. Not when you already know exactly where he is. 

“It’s due on Monday, right?” You inquire softly, fatigue slowly overtaking you. 

“Yeah. I’m almost finished, just have to do some curating and editing.”

“I want to see it.”

“What? My project?”

“What else?”

“It’s just a project, it’s not that exciting.”

You pull away from him at that, looking up at him with furrowed brows and scrunched-up nose. “What do you mean ‘it’s not that exciting’? It’s your photography project. You’ve spent a whole week working on it.”

“Yeah, but it’s just you, you know?” Jungkook objects. “Like, you know what you look like. It’s just going to be a bunch of photos of you, like I said it’d be.”

“That’s exactly why I want to see it,” you say like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You took pictures of me for a whole week. Don’t you want to share them with me?”

“If you really want some of the photos, I’ll send you some, but you don’t need to see the whole portfolio, you know? It’s just for my professor,” Jungkook says stiffly, surprisingly resistant. What’s the big deal? It’s not like there will suddenly be new information about you that you didn’t know before. You want to see what Jungkook has been working tirelessly on this entire week. Where’s the harm in that?

“Why are you getting so hung up on this? It’s just photos,” you say with a frown. 

“Why are you getting so hung up on this?” Jungkook challenges back. 

You sigh, sinking back into him, defeated. Even a little disagreement like that is enough to knock the wind out of the both of you, so you decide not to push it much further. 

“Do you promise to show me eventually?” You ask, hopeful.

Jungkook pauses for a moment, and you almost expect him to say no, considering how protective of his work he’s being. “One day,” he declares. “One day, I will.”

And that’s good enough for you. 

You lose track of how much time passes after that, feeling your eyelids getting heavy as the warmth of his body envelopes you, drowsiness settling in. There’s just something about this moment, right here, right now, that makes you want to fall asleep.

You’re on the verge of slumber when Jungkook’s voice breaks through.

“Why didn’t you think your date would work out?”

“I don’t know,” you respond sleepily, barely even opening your eyes. “It just felt wrong.”

“How do you know what feels right?”

Good question. Perhaps if you had the energy, you’d answer it. But right now, all you can think about is how cozy you feel in Jungkook’s hoodie and sweatpants, how the scent of him surrounds you, that indescribable, boyish aroma that can’t be replicated. Right now, all you can think about is how easily your body molds into his, like two pieces of a puzzle meant to fit together. Right now, all you can think about is him. 

The worst part about each and every week is when it ends. Because the end of one week signifies the beginning of the next, and when you’re in university, the beginning of the next week means a whole new batch of assignments that you have to complete and a whole new batch of due dates to meet. 

So, yeah. The weeks have been blurring together for you lately. But what else could you expect?

Sunday evening, as per usual, finds you right back where you always are: Jungkook’s apartment. 

The two of you have been regularly getting together on Sundays to study, ever since you both realized you work significantly harder when motivated by the other, determined to finish all of your work on time so you can spend the rest of the night fooling around by mixing Monster with as many unhealthy drinks that you can possibly think of. And it’s been working out well for the both of you so far. Jungkook powers through his coding assignments and you whiz through your readings, intent on keeping up to date with your tasks so they don’t all come crashing down on you at the end of the semester. 

Studying with Jungkook has always been easy, largely due to the fact that it’s the one allotted time during your friendship where the both of you deem it best to not speak to each other for the sake of your work. The moment one of you opens your mouth it’s over, so you sit on opposite ends of the room and pretend that the other person isn’t even there. 

Jungkook told you earlier today that he had already finished his photography portfolio, so there would unfortunately be no sneaky glances over his shoulder to see if you can catch a glimpse of one of the pictures. Which is fine by you, you’re just a little embarrassed that Jungkook had told you this outright. Not that you were planning to do exactly that, but you were planning to do exactly that. 

Part of you. more than anything, wants to know why Jungkook won’t just show you himself. Why he’s being so secretive, so protective of his photography project when you both know already exactly what’s in it. For God’s sake, he just spent the entire week taking photos of you non-stop. It’s like not as if any part of this is a mystery to either of you. What more could he have done?

Whatever. You aren’t going to force it if he doesn’t want you to. You suppose that maybe one day, far into the future, he’ll finally decide that the time is right. 

“I’m so fucking tired,” Jungkook declares lifelessly as he gets up from where he’s sitting on your bed, dead inside. “I need a break.”

“Are you going to the kitchen? Can you make me some tea, please?” You ask him, looking up from the laptop on your desk. 

Jungkook nods wordlessly before disappearing out of the room. 

You and Jungkook’s best study practice to maximize productivity is the taking of each other’s cell phones so that the other cannot be tempted to look at it. It’s worked plenty of times before and will probably work plenty of times again, because as they say, out of sight, out of mind. 

Unfortunately, it’s hard to pretend that your phone is out of sight when it’s been buzzing on your bedside table for the past five minutes, and your fingers have been itching to get over there and answer your damn notifications. So, while Jungkook is out of the room, you decide to cheat a little by dashing over there just to see what the heck is going on in the rest of the world. 

As it turns out, nothing much. Just Maisie texting you as she binges yet another television show, giving spoiler-free updates anytime anything remotely dramatic happens. You have a couple of new emails as well. 

The thing that actually catches your attention the most, is Jungkook’s laptop screen. 

There’s just a Word document open on it, but a Word document is a far cry from his usual coding program or Photoshop. Because you can’t help yourself, you peer over to see what he’s written. 

What did you learn about yourself through this assignment? How do you think you’ve changed?

Hard to say that I have. I don’t think I learned something about myself so much as I confirmed what I already knew, cementing it as a real thought in my brain, rather than just a daydream. Nothing changed in the way that my best friend and I interacted, and I can almost confirm that nothing changed in the way that she feels about me, just as nothing changed in the way I feel about her. I guess you could say I learned that I don’t think anything could ever change the way I feel about her. 

What?

Do you think you’ll ever look back on this project, whether it be as a reference or a memory?

Yes. Not as a reference but to remind myself of this very moment in my life—a single week over the course of my life that I felt was worth saving. I imagine that there will come a time, far in the future, where my best friend and I have separated a little bit, found our own lives and created our own families with our own people. And when that happens, I will look back on this project to remind myself of who we used to be. How we used to feel about each other. Maybe, by that point in time, it won’t hurt as much as it does now. 

This feels personal. Maybe you should stop reading. But there’s just one more question left on the page… 

This assignment forced you to create an entire portfolio, from scratch, using a subject you would have to regularly schedule time with. It was demanding. But, that said, would you ever do this again?

Yes. If it meant getting to spend more time with her, take more photos of her, see her smile once more, I would do it a thousand times over. 

“Y/N?”

You hadn’t even heard the kettle whistling. 

“Jungkook,” you say, breathless, caught red-handed. 

“What are you doing?” He asks, placing your steaming cup of tea down on the desk as he stares back at you in horror, in surprise, in worry, in something. Something that gives you this imminent sense of impending doom. 

“Uh—”

“Were you reading my computer screen?”

It’s not like you could say you were doing anything else. 

“I couldn’t help myself, I came over here to check my phone since it’s been buzzing like crazy and your computer was right there and I just…” you sputter out, thoughts swirling inside your head. 

(I will look back on this project to remind myself of who we used to be. How we used to feel about each other. Maybe, by that point in time, it won’t hurt as much as it does now. 

If it meant getting to see her smile once more, I would do it a thousand times over. 

I guess you could say I learned that I don’t think anything could ever change the way I feel about her.)

“What do you mean, how you feel about me?” You ask, because you can’t help yourself. Because the sound of his voices echoes in your head like the beat of a drum, over and over and over. Because you’re staring back at him and even if he just caught you snooping through his computer you can never be worried when it comes to him. Because everything he has ever done puts you at ease. 

“Y/N, that is private, why would you read something like that?” He asks, each word a sucker punch into your heart. 

“Because I just had to know, okay?” You shout back. “I had to know what you were hiding from me.”

“So you decided to snoop through my computer to see if you could figure it out yourself?” He demands, storming over to you. 

“So you are hiding something?”

“That’s not the point, the point is that—”

“What are you not telling me, Jungkook?” You cry out, watching as he approaches you, dark eyes piercing your gaze. “Why won’t you show me your goddamn portfolio? If there’s really nothing to be afraid of, why are you keeping it from me? I’m your best friend, I’m the fucking subject of your project? Don’t I deserve to see it? Why won’t you show me?”

“Because then you’d know!” Jungkook shouts back, leaving deafening silence in his wake. You look up at him, blinking. In front of you, Jungkook is out of breath, chest heaving. 

He looks so strained. So tired. Like he’s been carrying around this secret for months now, maybe even years, and this is the final straw. This is what has sent the both of you crashing down upon each other. This stupid fucking project. You’ve known Jungkook ever since the beginning of your freshman year, and never before have you seen him so hopeless. 

“Jungkook—?”

“You’d know, goddamnit,” Jungkook says, hand coming up to rub at his forehead, dragging down his cheek. “And I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that.”

“Know what? What would I know?” 

Jungkook closes his eyes. Takes a deep breath. Opens them again. “That I’m in love with you.”

The words drift in between the two of you, hovering in the air like feathers. You see them, clear as day, in front of you, hear them echoing in your head, over and over and over again. Feel the way your blood is pumping, the way your heart is beating. 

“You’re in love with me?” You ask him. 

“I didn’t want you to find out this way,” Jungkook admits. “Or at all, really. But I have been, for a while now.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was afraid that I’d lose you.”

You chuckle, a small, little thing from the back of your throat. “You must have known I’d never let that happen, hmm?”

Jungkook smiles softly. “I was scared. Can you blame me? You’re my best friend.”

“And you are mine,” you remind him. 

“It’s just—” Jungkook begins, like the gates of a dam are opening up. “We’d known each other for so long, and we have such a good thing going as is, always texting and calling and hanging out together, studying together on Sunday nights and seeing each other during the week, and I didn’t want to ruin anything. And then my professor assigned this project, and the only person I could think of to take photos was you, but I didn’t want to ask that of you in case you thought it was weird, but you suggested it anyway so I said yes, but I knew. I knew then that the moment I took one goddamn photo of you it would be obvious, and that if you ever saw you would just know. Stuff like that is easy to pick up in pictures, because a camera is like, tunnel vision for whatever it is you want to focus on most, and that’s you, that’s always been you, so I—”

“Jungkook,” you interrupt, reaching out to him, pressing a soft hand to his cheek. “Just, shut up, okay?”

And then you cup his head in both of your hands, and press a kiss to his lips. A small one, if nothing else, but a kiss nonetheless. You press your lips against his own and immediately you feel the sparks rush through you, this flash of heat that settles into something softer, something sweeter. It ignites and soothes you all at once, like a stray lightning bolt out on the open ocean. Like a single clap of thunder and the pitter patter of rain. 

You press a kiss to his lips and when you pull away, Jungkook’s eyes are closed, lips parted ever so slightly. And for a moment there, you almost think you did the wrong thing. 

But barely a second more passes before he’s scooping you up in his arms and pulling you in close to him, his lips finding yours like it’s the last thing he’ll ever do. He holds you tight, hands pressed against the small of your back as he kisses you, warm and fiery and full, as if he can’t get enough, as if this is his only chance. You gasp into it before relaxing in his hold, cold hands on his warm cheeks, body melting at the feeling of him, of him all over you, of his hands and his mouth and his chest, this perfect, solid figure. 

He kisses you and it sends heat shooting through your body, filling you up from the inside out, like your heart has burst and filled your bloodstream with fire, with sparks of warmth that tingle all over. He kisses you, and everywhere his hands press is another sizzle to your skin, an electric shock that makes you giggle into his mouth. 

He kisses you and it feels like a storm has settled, feels like gentle rain after a hurricane, feels like waves crashing against the shore. He kisses you and it is the only thing you can think about. 

By the time you part once more, you don’t think you’ve ever seen Jungkook so blissed out. 

“See?” You point out softly. “Nothing to be afraid of.”

Jungkook looks positively dazed. “I think I need to lie down.”

“Ooh, was I that good?” You tease.

“I’m dreaming.” He shakes his head. “I’m definitely fucking dreaming.”

Jungkook sinks onto your bed, hitting the mattress with a thud. He stares mindlessly in front of him, like his brain needs time to process. 

You smile to yourself. He can have all the time in the world. 

“Is this real?” He mumbles when you sit down next to him, press another kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Are you real?”

“Just like you,” you promise him. “I didn’t know this is what we had been missing, all this time.”

“It wasn’t missing,” Jungkook assures you. “It was just hidden.”

“I love you,” you whisper, watching him swallow the words like a glass of wine. “I think I always have. You just needed to say it first.”

“Oblivious as always.” Jungkook grins, smiling against your lips. “But I’m glad. If this is what it would take, then I’m glad.”

“You wouldn’t change anything?” You ask him, eyes wide and curious. 

It’s hard to know how long you and Jungkook have been secretly pining over each other. Hard to know how long Jungkook has known that he’s loved you, how long it’s been since you started to feel the same, even if subconsciously. It’s hard to know how long you would have kept going if not for this project. It might have been months. Years. Years that Jungkook was willing to spend holding back, if only it meant keeping you by his side. 

“No,” Jungkook says like it’s the easiest answer in the world. “I have you now. Why would I?”

What did you learn about yourself through this assignment? How do you think you’ve changed?

Previously, I had responded to this question by saying that I hadn’t learned anything, and felt that nothing changed in my life. Then, some things happened. And after those things, I learned that I am the luckiest man alive. To know my best friend is one thing. To love her is a privilege. To have her love me back is nothing less than a miracle.

Do you think you’ll ever look back on this project, whether it be as a reference or a memory?

Yes. Every day for the rest of my life. I don’t think I’ve ever been as thankful to receive a homework assignment as I am, right now. I owe everything to this project. It is the reason I have her. 

This assignment forced you to create an entire portfolio, from scratch, using a subject you would have to regularly schedule time with. It was demanding. But, that said, would you ever do this again?

Yes. I want to take photos of her for the rest of my life. I want to save every memory we ever share together. So that far into the future, we can look back on them together and say, “Remember that?”

↳ links are broken, but don’t forget to message me with any thoughts or feedback!

[coweye]

Guys My Age - PT.1

Pairing: Francisco ‘Catfish’ Morales x Miller!Reader Word Count: 1.5k

Summary: After four years away, you return home to realise that maybe everything you’ve been looking for was right in front of you all along.

Warnings: Mention of depression, Slow burn - no smut yet but it will eventually be horrifically filthy 18+ only pls gang, LEGAL Age Gap. 

Note: This bad bois been worming its way to the surface for a while now, hope you enjoy! 💕 I apologise in advance for the slow burn.

⇢MASTERLIST

Life was strange sometimes.

Here you were, back in the hometown you’d sworn never to return to after four years away, flanked by your older brother Benny. 

Two thirds of the Miller gang back together, reunited or at least you had been.

“I’ma get us a table, you order the drinks.” Ben muttered distractedly whilst scouting out potential tables.

“Hey, I’m supposed to be destitute, the least you could do is get the first round in.” The sad thing is, you’re only half joking. He rolled his eyes at your expense, before handing you his credit card and continued on his journey to get a table, presumably with a great view of the blonde woman he’d spotted upon entry to the bar. Benny was predictable if nothing else, it was part of his charm. 

So, you pushed your way forward through the throng of warm bodies, Friday night at Flanagans was a nightmare but you had agreed to be sociable as Santiago was in town, so you’d made the sacrifice and took a night off from your crushing depression to don a nice t-shirt and apply makeup for the first time in the two weeks since moving into Will’s back room.

You smiled what you hoped was a somewhat friendly lift of your lips at the bartender and ordered two beers, as you were waiting you heard the familiar call of Santiago Garcia - the man who you’d spent your teen years obsessed with. 

He was gorgeous inside and out, though your crush had morphed into something a lot more wholesome and you had a genuine platonic love for the man, as an extension of your brothers.

“How have you been, guapa? God, long time no see!” He all but cried, clearly already a couple of beers in as wrapped you in a strong hug, pulling you onto your tiptoes. He wasn’t lying, you hadn’t seen Santiago in two maybe three years ago now. 

Time had gotten away from you and your visits had become less and less frequent, especially with the boys being deployed, you couldn’t say you were happy to be back, but it was certainly nice to see them all again.

“I know, damn, you got old!” You chuckle as his face straightens out in feigned hurt. “Like fine wine, Santi, Fine wine!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stop flirting, you two.” Will grumbles as he slides through the crowd to lean on the bar beside you, lifting three fingers up to the bartender who had already placed the pints of beer before you. 

“Where have you been?” You question raising an eyebrow “I’ve been back at least two weeks.”

“I’ve been in Australia for a little while, it's nothing serious but-”

“Pope’s got a girlfriend now, Squirt.” The low voice is a new one, but only one person used to call you that awful nickname. 

You turn to see Francisco Morales behind you, his eyes are older than the rest of him but still irrevocably kind and he has an easy smile painted on his lips. You can’t quite remember him being this handsome as your eyes drink him in, perhaps you’d been blinded by the effortless beauty of Santiago as a teen but my god, Catfish had almost floored you. 

“Frankie!” You smile - all teeth, trying somewhat successfully for an air of normalcy despite your brain processing the change that five years has had on your taste in men and pulling him in for his own hug. 

You tried to stop yourself, you honestly did but as you breathed in, the smell of him overtook you, the spicy scent of cinnamon and sweet vanilla; the man somehow smelled like a goddamn cupcake and you had the biggest sweet tooth. 

Locking your inner sex offender deep down inside a box so as to not assault the man you’d held in a hug for what was becoming longer than appropriate, you pulled away. 

“A girlfriend?” You question, your brain scrambling for something to talk about other than those brown eyes. You can’t help the smirk that sneaks its way across your lips as you tease the man before you. “Santiago Garcia, have you gone soft on me in your old age?”

He huffs as he grabs his beer. “Fuck off, baby Miller.” 

The three of you chortle in response to his defeated tone as he walks towards the table Ben has secured. Will grabs at his wallet, hand coming out to stop you in confusion when you hold out a card to pay. 

You shake your head and shrug. “Ben’s treat.” 

That kills any argument on his tongue as he picks up his drink and follows Santi’s lead. You can’t help but chuckle at your brothers, you had missed them both so much. 

You’re very quickly aware of Frankie lingering to your left, waiting for you to finish paying, ever the gentleman. 

You turn to him as the machine processes the transaction. 

“Your-”

“How-” You both chuckle, the two of you have always been the quiet ones of the group, more observant with witty one liners thrown in than the loud mouths currently chatting at your table. 

It seems years apart haven’t helped either of your awkwardness.

“You go…” You dismiss with a quick laugh when he waits for you to speak.

“I was just gonna say, it's nice to have you back!” He shrugged before gesturing to side of him “After you,” 

Frankie creates a barrier with his body for your fellow thirsty patrons who want your spot at the bar. You pick up yours and Bens drinks and turn to find the guys. 

Frankie’s hand finds your lower back as he guides you through, its innocuous enough, hell if you hadn’t been drooling over the man minutes before you wouldn’t have given it so much as a second thought, but that palm guarding you from the brunt of the crowd was like molten lava slowly burning your flesh. 

“W-Well, it’s good to be back! I’m not going anywhere in a hurry!” You pretty much shout over the deafening ambient chatter around you. His low voice is in your ear when he replies, you force yourself not to close the distance and push your spine into his chest, Frankie isn’t like that; Hell, he has a girlfriend and baby at home.

He’s just being friendly - he’s known you since you were seventeen. 

“You miss your friends back home?”

“They’re not my friends. None of those assholes let me sleep on their goddamn sofas.” Trying to break the tension only you seemed to be feeling with a joke, it seems to work as he chortles.

“Well you’re more than welcome to my sofa if Will ever gets too much, Squirt.” You couldn’t explain the things that this man saying the word squirt to you was doing. No matter the context, even if it was because you squirted slurpee from your nose when laughing too hard when you were a teenager. 

“I may hold you to that - he bit my head off the other day because I didn’t wash a glass the second I used it, I swear-” You’re cut off when you find the booth rather quickly, the raucous laughter from the rangers acting as a siren call.  You slide in beside Ben and turn to your other brother “-I was just telling Frankie, how much of a control freak you are.”

And because God hates you, Francisco slides in beside you. 

…

You were a grown woman and you had a ridiculous infatuation.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying either, after sitting in that bar you had made an effort to block out the sensation of his thigh against your own or when he leaned back against the plush fabric and wrapped his arm around the back of the booth.

But so help you god you were only human, you couldn’t help but laugh a little harder at his jokes than the others or the warmth that flooded your belly when you’d meet his eyes as you told a story and find his chocolate orbs transfixed on you as if you were telling a great tale - rather than an anecdote about how you dislocated your tailbone last year when you were drunk on some stairs.

It wasn’t even as if it was just his looks - though you were big enough to admit that initially that had been a large part of it.  It was the ease you felt around him, the kindness you could see clear as day painted on his face. 

Though you knew, deep down in your toxic heart of hearts, buried beneath your daddy issues and depression, this deep desire was because he wasn’t all that interested. 

It wasn’t as if he ignored you, no. He was friendly, but he had no interest in you besides just that, being a friend. 

He had a baby and a girlfriend and you weren’t a home wrecker.

He was your brother's best friend, an extension of your family. 

These were all things you reminded yourself about as you lay in bed alone staring up at the ceiling the morning after.

You could just be his friend, right?

⇢ Next Part

[ragingbookdragon]

I’m Only A Crack In This Castle Of Glass (Hardly Anything Else I Need To Be) PT. 7

Batfamily x Batsis Story

Word Count: 2.1K Warnings: Explicit Language, Angst

Author’s Note: Anyone order a part seven? Cause I got a part seven for y'all. Enjoy! -Thorne

**********************************************************************

Ever since the meeting that night, she’d gotten more letters from her family than she’d ever received in twenty-one years. Not that she decided to read them. The first line from Dick’s letter was, ”I never wanted you to leave because of me. If only I’d known…”. She couldn’t keep reading, and she wasn’t sure if it were from guilt, sadness, or anger, but there was something there that she didn’t want to face.

It didn’t stop there though. They kept coming even if she tacked a return to sender on it and sent it back. She’d even labeled one and written, ”Stop writing me.” but that didn’t stop them. Wally texted her every other night on top of the letters and she wanted to strangle him through the phone.

She knew though, that if she could keep holding out for three more months, she’d be home free. Wherever home was at this point. Every city she kept thinking about had some type of vigilante and there was nothing that didn’t; eventually she decided on Coast City. Somewhere warm and sunny, and as far from Gotham and Central as possible.

Of course that little voice in the back of her head just kept telling her to talk to them, but she was going to be as stubborn against it as possible—but time was dwindling, and so was her resolve.

***

“Ophelia, have you seen the extra bag of espresso beans? I can’t remember where you put them the other week.” She waited for a response. “Ophelia?” she turned and frowned. “Why did I accept the manager’s position when I can’t even round up my workers?”

She walked out of the storage and wiped her hands on the rag at her waist. “Ophelia?” A giggle sounded at the counter and when she walked out, her eyes went wide at the sight.

Jason was leaning against the counter with that smile he used to use on the models at the galas. He smiled at Ophelia. “Tell me, what do you make better, the cappuccinos or lattes?”

“Well, I make a —”

“She makes a mean ‘get in the back and find my espresso beans’,” she grunted and both of them jumped.

“Melisandre!” Ophelia stuttered, pale cheeks flushing pink. “I thought you were in the back.”

“I was. Think you can go find the coffee beans you put away?” She shot Ophelia a stare that screamed ‘scram’ and the girl nodded, hurrying to the storage room.

“Aww, why’d you run the cutie off, Melisandre?” Jason queried. “I was going to ask her out on—”

“Can I talk to you?” she interrupted, voice barely containing her seething rage. “Outside.”

Jason shrugged and shoved his hands in his jean pockets. “Sure, but be careful, people might get suspicious.”

She grunted and walked outside, listening to him follow and when the door shut, she turned around and hissed, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just getting coffee.”

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me, Jason. We both know that’s a load of bullshit.”

His eyes narrowed and he noted, “You’ve really gotten comfortable using foul language. You know that, (Y/N)?”

She glared at him. “What. Do. You. Want.”

“You won’t answer our letters,” he shrugged. “Didn’t have a lot of options to talk.”

“And showing up at my job is the better option?” she griped.

“It was that or your house, (Y/N). Take your pick but you can’t have both.”

“Well, maybe my silence is supposed to be the answer to those letters. Did you think about that?”

“I did,” he nodded. “But after the third letter being rejected, I decided to go big or go home.”

(Y/N) growled. “Go home.”

Jason smirked. “No.”

“I’m not fucking joking here, Jason. I don’t want you coming here. Ever.”

“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn,” he retorted then stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. “You don’t wanna talk willingly, fine. I’ll make you talk to me. And if I have to show up here every day, I will.”

“No, you won’t.”

Jason cocked a brow and tightened his grip. “You wanna bet? Because I’m not Dick and I’m sure as hell not Bruce. I don’t have a day job to get to.” He smirked. “I can do this all day.”

(Y/N) bit the inside of her cheek and thought for a moment then sighed and yanked her arm away. “Fine. Come to my apartment after five. We’ll talk there.”

“Thank—”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she interrupted coldly. “I’m agreeing for one meeting and then you fuck off back to Gotham City and leave me the hell alone for good.” She spun on her heel and started back for the door when his voice reached her, tired and pained.

“Do you really hate all of us? Do you really hate us like you make yourself think you do?”

(Y/N)’s feet felt like lead and she stopped, gazing at the glass door. “I don’t know, Jason.”

“Then let me help.”

“You can find the apartment on your own. I know you’re good at looking for homes.” She slipped in the café door, leaving him standing there shocked and hurt.

***

Sure enough, a minute after five o’clock, her doorbell rang and she called, “It’s open.” The door opened and shut, and she looked up from the little kitchenette, watching the way Jason walked into her apartment, gazing around the empty living room.

“Shit, do you live in a home or a prison cell?”

(Y/N) grunted. “Nice quip. Come up with that by yourself?”

He wandered into the kitchen, leaning back against the counter as she prepared dinner. “What’re you making?”

“Chicken marsala,” she replied. “You’re here to talk. Start talking.”

“Are you going to be a bitch like you were the other night or can I ask about life in Central the last three years?” she shot him a glare, warning him, but he paid it no mind. “You going to school?”

(Y/N) nodded. “I go to Central City Community College. Take classes all week at different times.”

“What are you studying?” he asked.

“For now, general studies, but I’m minoring in political science.”

“Planning on a four year after you graduate?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.” Her hands stalled for a moment. “I don’t have the money for a big school to get a bachelors.” Shaking her head, she chopped up the vegetables. “Figure if I can get a job in the area, I can scrounge up enough to start the process though.”

“Might take years,” Jason noted, and she nodded.

“Yeah, hard work usually does.” (Y/N) glanced at him. “What’s Cassandra like?”

He blinked, evidently not expecting that, though he recovered and smiled. “She’s great honestly. Kicks ass better than anyone I know.”

“Even Batman?”

Jason huffed a laugh. “I’m sure she could wipe the floor with each of us if she decided to not hold back. Her mom’s Lady Shiva and her dad’s David Cain.”

“I don’t know who they are but I’m assuming from the tone that they’re not exactly the best parents in the world.”

“No…they’re not.” He agreed. “David didn’t teach Cass how to speak so she’s been mute all her life.”

“I’ve heard the few interviews she’s given,” (Y/N) replied. “She’s very eloquent when she does.”

“Shakespeare’s influence. And probably Emily Dickinson.” He smiled. “I leave her a lot of books to read so I can be her favorite.”

She snorted. “Yeah, that sounds like you.” Sliding the cast iron skillet into the oven, she sat at the crappy metal dining table, Jason taking the seat on the other side. (Y/N) scratched at the table. “Does Bruce like her?” she questioned lowly, and he nodded.

“Loves her like she’s his own.” He her with cautious eyes. “Just like he loves you.” Jason watched the emotion flash across her face, quick as lighting, a deep sorrow, then she was humming.

“Well, that’s good then.” She cleared her throat and looked at the clock. “How’ve you been? I hear a lot about Outlaws.”

Jason chuckled. “Yeah, that’s my band of renegades. Me, Roy Harper, and Koriand’r.”

“Remind me, those were Speedy and Starfire, right?”

He snorted. “Arsenal and Starfire. But yeah, close enough.”

(Y/N) got up and pulled two glasses from the cabinet before going to the refrigerator and getting the lemonade. She poured them both glasses and sat back down. “How’d you manage to wrangle two of the Titans into your posse?”

“Kori willingly tagged along, and Roy won’t leave me alone,” he griped, sipping his lemonade.

“Mmm…and how does Dick feel about you stealing two of his exes?”

Jason choked on his drink, spilling it on the table and down his chin. “That’s not—” he coughed. “That’s not what that is.”

“Uh huh, sure it’s not.”

“It isn’t,” he glowered.

“Riiiiiiight,” she drawled out with a grin, then took a sip and set her glass back down. “Figured you’d get Cass along with you. she seems like she’d be fit for Outlaws.”

He shook his head. “Nah, she’d be better off with Tim and his Young Justice weirdos.”

“She non-lethal?”

“Mhm.”

They dwindled into silence until the timer went off on the oven and she pulled the skillet out and set two plates on the table. “You’re gonna feed me?” he asked as she handed him a fork.

(Y/N) scoffed. “Duh. I’m a bitch, but I’m a bitch with manners.” She smiled sweetly. “But you have to leave afterwards.”

“Mmm…can I crash on your couch?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

He shrugged. “Figured I’d try anyways.”

They ate in silence, occasionally speaking about their lives the last three years, and when the food was all gone and the lemonade drunk, he sighed and reclined in the chair.

“What?” (Y/N) questioned and he shrugged.

“Dunno…I’d like to do this again soon.” His teal eyes found hers. “It’s been too long since we were together.”

“Tread carefully,” she murmured, looking at the wall and he sighed.

“Sis, talk to me,” he begged. “Even if it’s just to tell me how much you hate me, just talk to me.” She didn’t respond and he sighed again, standing from the table. “Thanks for dinner.”

“…I hate that you all put Gotham and every civilian before our family.” Jason stopped dead in his tracks and turned, gazing at her, though she didn’t tear her eyes from the wall. “I hate that the only time I felt like anyone paid any attention to me was when we were at galas and even then, the attention was just for show. It didn’t matter because all anyone wanted to do was get the hell out of the manor and go on patrol. It didn’t matter because I wasn’t like any of you. I wasn’t a part of the real family.”

Tears gathered in her eyes. “I hate that I spent more nights sitting in a dark and silent manor than spending them with my family. I hate that I never had a normal family growing up where we’d go for ice-cream after school and attend school performances. I hate that I got stuck with a bunch of siblings hellbent on giving every piece of themselves to the world and they couldn’t take one night off to have a family night to save their lives. To at least pretend to be normal.”

(Y/N) finally took her eyes from the wall and he felt his heart tighten as the tears slipped down her cheeks and she breathed, “I hate that I was born Bruce Wayne’s biological daughter and I’d give anything and everything I have to be someone else’s daughter and sister.”

Jason’s mouth felt dry, and he didn’t have single thing to say to her and she whispered, “Is that what you wanted to hear, Jason?” she blinked. “Because that’s what I feel every morning I wake up.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, and she cleared her throat, wiping her cheeks.

“Yeah well, I’m three years passed sorry.” (Y/N) nodded to the front door. “You should leave now.”

Jason nodded but his feet didn’t move. For a moment, he couldn’t move them, then he sucked in a breath and started edging back to the door. When he neared the door, he pulled it open and paused, looking back at her. “(Y/N)?” she didn’t answer but he said it anyway. “I love you. More than you’ve ever known.” He sighed and stepped out, closing it behind him.

(Y/N) buried her face in her hands and sobbed alone at the dinner table.

********************************************************************************

Tags!: @itsnottilly @cloudyskylines @starflyer-104 @iwillstaywiththemforever @justine-en @weirdgirlfromtx @notsostraightweeb @candlestudy @willowoo @peterxwade24 @the-atlantic-french-fry @bad-bouquet-of-emotions @vvipgot7be @pure-princess-97 @atomicsoulhumanspy @foreverthefloor @natatawa-ako @impactshawol @bethabear12 @adazzlingsakura @kimhanbiin @thatanonymouschocolate @mischief-writter-24-7 @lostinwonderland314 @elz-zalarrr @lady-of-the-abyss @peqchynero @d3m0n8ch1ld @goldenguki @fallen-wolf22 @battlenix

[streetlight11]

Cat Café

Summary: Every year, your parents would set you on a date with any eligible guy that is of a wealthy family background so that your parents could expand their wealth and business. You were never looking forward to any of the dates until one fateful day, where the café worker attracted your attention.

Theme: cat café au, wealthy family au, strangers to lovers

Genre: fluffy

Warnings: none

WC: 4.4k

Pairing: Café Worker!San x Fem!Reader

a/n: Hello again! Decided to write a cute kitty fic for San since he loves Byeol 💜 I hope he's resting well :'(

Being the daughter of someone who seems to be well-known as a millionaire in your country, there are pros and cons to it. The pros are that people would do anything and everything for your family, you lived in a mansion, you have a personal chauffeur but would prefer driving on your own, you can literally snap your fingers and anything can come to you except, you don’t like that.

The cons are that some people tend to envy your family, some even throw threats at you with ransom. And then there’s a handful of people who tries to befriend you just for your wealth but you’re not dumb. You’re smarter than people think.

However, one thing you never liked about this whole being born rich and having a family business fiasco, is that one of your parents would tend to be money minded and would do anything to gain power over their company. Which is exactly what was happening to you for the past few years ever since you turned 18.

Your father had been sending you on blind dates with a bunch of different guys who were sons of rich family business owners.

However, thankfully, your father wasn’t the kind to force you into marriage if you didn’t want to. But with that being said, every guy you rejected, results in a new guy for you and you hate this.

This year, your dad found you a guy who was around your age.

His parents owned a well-known wine company in the country. He was the youngest in his family. His name was Park Seonghwa and no doubt he was good looking and rather charming in personality, you just don’t feel the spark with him either.

And yet, here you are on your third date with him. You could tell that this person was a very kind-hearted man and that he was nothing but genuine with you.

But everything just feels out of place.

For this third date with him, he told you to choose where to go so you decided to bring him to a cat café that you knew of downtown. You walked with him side by side down the pavement after having dropped off by his chauffeur.

It was quite a chilly day, light snow cascading down on you as you walked.

Seonghwa was just listening to you talk about your school when he saw the way you were hugging yourself to shield your body from the cold breeze despite the three layers you had on.

He chuckled softly to no one as he soon wrapped an arm around your shoulder to pull you against his side, causing you to softly gasp.

Your words got stuck in your throat as you looked up at him with a bashful smile.

“Sorry, I guess you knew I was cold…” You apologized, earning a soft nod from him followed by a cute little giggle. You continued walking with him against your side, glancing up at him every now and then only to find him staring down at you with such warm eyes.

Both of you finally arrived at the cat café you wanted to bring him to, only to find it quite empty save for the two couples already in the booths with the kitties.

You entered the cosy premise of the café, immediately greeted by one of the staff there behind the counter.

“Hi! Welcome to Cuddles ‘N’ Coffee! Table for 2?” She asked with a cheery smile on her face.

“Yes please.” Seonghwa responded as she nodded before walking out the back and towards the glass door that shields the cats from leaving the front entrance.

“You can have that table booth right at the back. Just press the button on the wall and we’ll come over to take your orders.” She smiled as you thanked her for her great customer service before she returned your gesture with a sweet smile that turned her eyes into slits.

You and Seonghwa walked over to the table, careful not to step on any cats laying on the ground.

Some were already trailing behind you and the minute you placed your purse down and sat on the cushioned bench, a chunky brown cat leaped onto your lap and purred.

A soft giggle left your lips as you turned to Seonghwa who was also in the same situation as you but with a slimmer white cat in his lap.

“You make me want to adopt them really badly.” Seonghwa said under his breath, making you laugh.

After a few minutes of just bonding with the cats, you finally made your orders. The same girl came back about 5 minutes later with your orders, telling you to enjoy your drinks. You were just listening to Seonghwa talking about his boring lecturer when your eyes naturally glided over towards the front counter.

That’s where you saw a guy who looks to work there too considering the same polo tee and apron that Yeji, the girl who served you and Seonghwa earlier was wearing.

His smile was captivating as he joked around with Yeji, throwing balls of tissue at each other.

You watched as he seemed to have said something to her, causing her to slap his arm a little too harshly. That’s when he curled his body while holding onto the spot she hit.

But his frown was quickly replaced by a smile, watching her leave the counter with a middle finger in the air, directing it to him. Right when you were about to look away, his eyes happened to catch sight of yours. You’re supposed to be focusing on Seonghwa!

What are you doing? Look away!

Everything around you was a blur until you felt a warm touch to your knee, making you flinch and was soon turned back to Seonghwa who had a frown on his face.

“Hey? You okay? What’s wrong?” He asked out of pure concern.

“N-Nothing. Sorry, my mind went elsewhere for a moment. I’m so sorry, Seonghwa.” You apologized, already feeling bad for ignoring him like that whilst on a date. But all he did was chuckle and tell you it was fine.

After a few more minutes, you finally called it a night. You both reused your coats and checked to make sure you didn’t leave any belongings behind before making your way to the door to make your payment.

“Hello! I hope you enjoyed your time with the cats!” Yeji smiled to you two as she keyed in your orders.

“Yes we did. Thank you for having the cute fur balls.” You giggled, earning a laugh from her as well. Just when Seonghwa was handing his card to Yeji, you happened to turn right when her co-worker left the back room.

It was him.

He made eye contact with you briefly before turning away to enter the cat room. But you could’ve sworn you saw the small pout on his face. Unless your eyes were playing tricks on you.

Seonghwa’s car was now parked right outside your estate, with him insisting on walking you to your front gates while his driver stayed behind in the car. Once you were both there, he reached down to grab your hand gently making you turn around. You saw a frown decorating his face, instantly knowing something wasn’t right.

“Seonghwa? Is everything okay?” You asked as he stayed quiet for a while before he let out a soft sigh. And that’s when he explained everything.

“I know this might not be the best time to say this, but I have to. The past two dates were amazing. I never thought I’d find someone as down to earth and humble like you. And I did. Today was as amazing as those dates. The simple sushi dinner, the walk by Han River, the cat café as our last destination for this night’s date, I loved every second of it. And I really wish I could have more of this with you. I really do.”

He paused briefly before he continued, seeing that you were listening to him intently.

“But… my parents have decided… that they’re setting me up for marriage with someone else.” You weren’t going to lie, this news made your heart sink just a bit.

“Oh…” That was all you can muster and he knew you were upset.

“But it’s okay. We can still be friends if you’ll let me? The past three dates made me learn so much about you as a person and I couldn’t ask for more.” Seonghwa smiled, making you tear up feeling slightly overwhelmed.

“Hey, don’t cry…” Seonghwa whispered in between chuckles as he wiped your tears with his thumbs.

“I’m sorry, I guess I’m just touched that you feel that way for me.”

“Well, then I’m glad I managed to make you cry.” He teased, earning a soft slap to his broad chest. Seonghwa laughed again but then got quiet for a split second before he spoke up cautiously, hoping you weren’t offended by his request.

“Can… Can I kiss you?” Seonghwa asked and you weren’t going to reject him this time.

So when you didn’t reply to him, he mistook it for rejection. But instead, you carefully slide your hands around his neck, pulling him close until you feel his lips against your own.

Seonghwa smiled into the kiss as his hands wrapped itself around your waist, instinctively pulling you closer to his body. Your fingers tangled into his soft hair gently, feeling him squeeze your sides a little before he chuckled against your mouth.

“You really are something else, you know that? Whoever dates you, is gonna be the luckiest guy on earth.” Seonghwa complimented you, making you blush.

“And to the girl who’s about to be your future wife, she better be grateful to have such a handsome, kind hearted young man as her husband.” You returned as he kissed you again before pulling away.

“Goodnight Y/N. I’ll see you around. Promise we’ll stay friends okay?” Seonghwa said, making you hug him.

“I promise.” You whispered against his chest, pulling away from him. You gave him a final wave as you watched his car descend down the road. Seonghwa was an angel and whoever he ends up with, will be the luckiest girl on earth.

It has been 2 weeks since your last date with Seonghwa and you’ve been coming to the cat café. Probably 3 times in each week. Sometimes to do your assignment, sometimes to just chill and hangout with the kitties. But in all honesty, you were lowkey expecting to see the guy working there the other day and you did.

Almost all your visits there.

Little did you know, he too was kind of looking forward to seeing you there.

It was a Saturday evening and you were out and about in town. Your parents didn’t have any guys for your blind date recently so you took this chance to leave the house and just spend time alone.

You managed to find your way back to the café, parking your car at an empty parking lot down the street.

You had just entered the café and it was slightly more occupied than the last time you came. But since you were alone, it wasn’t actually a problem. You were standing by the door, looking around at the people queueing at the counter to make their payments when a voice snapped you out of your trance.

“Hi, welcome to Cuddles ‘N’ Coffee. For how many people?”

You turned to look at who greeted you, only to lock eyes with the same ones you had been hoping to see every time you came there.

“Just 1.” You said with a small smile, only to catch the inner corner of his lips twitch upwards.

“Right this way.” He said as he led you towards the room where the cats were in. You followed behind him closely, only for him to lead you to one of the booths near the back.

“Call me if you need anything.” He said as you noticed the smile that appeared on his face before he left. And you caught a glimpse of his nametag right before he turned.

Choi San.

A few minutes later, you were too busy petting the fluffy white cat in your lap, you didn’t even realize more people had left the café and there were only 3 tables left occupied. The cat in your lap was purring as it nuzzled its face into your stomach, not knowing you were currently a topic of conversation that was happening on the other side of the room.

San had just finished charging one of the customers only to let out a long sigh.

“Tired already?” Yeji asked with a teasing smile as she approached him. San grumbled, leaning against the counter with his back facing where the customers would be.

“Today’s been a full house since afternoon and I’m dead, gone.” He said, leaning his head back to close his eyes.

San couldn’t see what Yeji was doing until he heard her voice from beside him.

“Go and talk to her.”

“Huh?” San snapped his head towards her with a confused look on his face, earning a giggle from her.

“You yourself told me you were upset that she wasn’t alone the other day, and now she is. So go talk to her!” Yeji encouraged him.

“What if her boyfriend just can’t make it?”

“San, she’s been coming here alone for the past two weeks in case you haven’t noticed. Maybe she’s here to see you? Come on, just keep her company. Nothing would go wrong with that.”

“How would you know?”

“Because I’m a girl and I’d do the same if I wanted to be discreet about seeing my crush at his workplace?”

To that, San sighed as he turned to look over at you across the room, only to see you nuzzling your face against the cat’s head that was in your lap. This made his heart flutter as he saw the little smile on your face upon feeling the cat licking your nose.

He didn’t realize he had a silly smile on his face until Yeji pushed him gently to get his attention, “Just go, silly! That dumb smile on your face is telling a lot!” She laughed as he glared at her but without any venom in them.

He finally mustered up the courage thanks to Yeji as he was now making his way towards you where there’s only a couple who was left in the room with you.

Once he was a few feet away, his voice caught your attention, making you look up.

Immediately, your heartbeat started picking up speed.

“Is there anything else I can get you?” San asked politely, earning a soft shake of your head and a smile.

“No thanks, I’m good actually…” You said.

San nodded as he wasn’t sure if he should stay or leave. But you seem to have read his mind by asking him the question he never expected would have come from you.

“Do you… wanna sit down?” You asked as he glanced down at the empty spot beside you before looking back into your eyes.

“Uh.. y-yeah… are- are you okay with that?”

“Of course.” You smiled as you scooted over a little for him.

San carefully sat down beside you and almost instantly, a fluffy brown cat leaped into his lap. You giggled when the cat stood up with its back legs on his thighs while its front paws rested on his chest. Licking San’s chin cutely as the other cats started to surround him by the legs, begging for his pets.

“They seem to love you.” You commented with a genuine smile, making him chuckle.

“I own a cat myself so I guess I’m just used to being loved by them.” San said before turning to look at you, only to be flustered by the way you were staring at him.

“Wow… That’s sweet.”

“Do you have any pets?” He asked.

“No… Although I do wish to have one. I think it would be nice.” You said softly, only to hear him shift in his seat. Just then, his knee accidentally brushed against yours but you didn’t mind it.

A few seconds of peaceful silence went by, only for him to speak up, “Are you heading home soon?”

“I think I should? You guys are closing up soon right?”

“Yeah… Do you have a ride home?” He asked almost out of instinct, feeling sorry that he just blatantly asked you that when you barely knew each other.

“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to be weird…”

“No. No. It’s fine. But yes, I do.” You smiled at him.

San awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck out of nervousness, only for you to speak up.

“Well, I think I should make a move soon. Thank you for sitting here with me.” You said as he smiled again.

“Sure.”

The two of you began making your way back to the front counter as Yeji keyed in your order. After you’ve paid, she hands you back your card and receipt, only for you to smile at both Yeji and San.

“Thank you. Goodnight.” You said as they nodded whilst she replied the same to you.

All San could do was smile, not able to move or say anything to you. The minute you left, Yeji turned to him and asked why he never replied to you. That’s when he finally told his co-worker that he was head over heels for you.

A few weeks passed and you had been going to that café a little more frequently now solely to see San. It was a Sunday afternoon, a bright, cold day. You were just making your way to San’s workplace when you got a call from him. You answered his call, only to hear his eager voice from the other side of the line.

“Hey! Where are you?” He asked.

“On my way to the café actually.”

“Nice. I’m a little caught up in the back so just come inside and find a seat near the back. Yeji’s working upfront.”

“Okay San, see you.”

“See you, cutie.” You could’ve sworn you heard his smirk creeping up on his face only for you to giggle.

You and San haven’t properly confessed anything yet, but you could definitely tell that both of you liked each other. Although San already knows about your family background, he was pretty chill about it. You could tell that he was a genuine person and wasn’t one who would just date you for money.

You even told Seonghwa about him and he feels that San is someone you could trust. So when you made it to the café and you saw Yeji talking to a customer alone by the cashier, you figured San was in fact in the back room.

So after the customer left, Yeji’s eyes travelled to you and immediately her smile beamed, causing her eyes to disappear.

“Y/N! Hey!”

“Hey Yeji.” You giggled.

“San’s a little busy with paperwork in the back but he told me to save a seat for you at your usual spot!”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that though.”

“It’s okay, his words anyway.” Yeji giggled before bringing you to the table.

A few minutes passed, you were just kissing one of the cat’s cute pink nose when a familiar voice spoke up from above you, making you look up to see San standing there with his apron discarded.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

San smiled as he sat down beside you only to reach over and gave the cat a few strokes. You were about to turn and talk to him but instead, you got flustered with how close his face was with yours. The minute San looked up at you, you could literally feel his warm minty breath hitting your lips.

His eyes glanced down to your lips and you could see the corner of his lips curve up slightly. This in itself, made your heart pound against your chest as you turned away to hide your blush on your face.

“Uhh, I- I umm, are you hungry?” You asked, earning a soft chuckle from him.

He went to order for you two, also making the drinks for you before coming back. You spent the next hour with him during his lunch break, not forgetting to share some skin ship with him. Something you’ve grown used to.

San was ending his shift in two hours and you definitely didn’t mind staying there for another few hours for him since he himself said you could wait for him there.

And so you did.

After he ended his work, both of you left his workplace not without saying bye to Yeji.

You hang out with him for a bit before he invites you over to his apartment. You’ve been there more than five times and he has never done anything inappropriate to you. So you trusted him with all your life.

A few hours passed and you were now seated on his couch, watching the Disney movie ‘Frozen’ with him. “Omg, look at this jerk! He’s totally using her!” You ranted with an unconscious pout, earning a little chuckle from him.

“Well, at least I know I wouldn’t do that to someone.” San shrugged, making you turn to him. He had a silly smirk on his face but you weren’t going to comment on it. You were just blushing at his indirect flirty comment towards you despite not mentioning who he was talking about.

San was definitely talking about you and he knows you know it too. And seeing the blush on your face could only make him burst into a laughter that left you pouting.

“Shut up! Don’t make fun of me!” You whined as San wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you into his side.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry but you’re just too cute!” San said as you froze.

Sure he has called your choice of outfits pretty before but this time, it felt so raw and you were slightly taken aback by it. San definitely noticed this as he pulled away from you to look into your eyes. At first he was frowning but then it got replaced with a smile, melting you instantly.

The room fell quiet as you noticed the way his eyes fell to your lips and lingered there for a bit, making you nervous.

Just then, your breath hitched in your throat when he reached up slowly to cup your face and caress your cheek with his thumb. Nobody dared to say much but he had to make sure you were alright with where this is going so he spoke up.

“Tell me if you want me to stop, okay?” He whispered, his voice soft and gentle.

You gave him a nod to answer him as you watched him lean closer until his sharp nose lightly brushed against the side of your nose, lips barely an inch apart from each other.

You closed your eyes, too nervous to keep looking. San smiled at this as he gave your lips one last glance before he too closed his eyes and pressed his lips gently on yours. San felt you move your lips against his. He smiled into your lips as he caressed your cheek while he kissed you.

He was being so gentle with you, it definitely melted your heart.

He pulled away for a breath, letting his fingers lightly ghost over your features before you reopened your eyes to look at him.

“Was that okay?” He asked, his voice quiet.

“Yeah…” You whispered as you wrapped your fingers around the wrist of the hand that was holding your face.

“Good… Because I wasn’t sure if I trusted myself with words to confess to you.” San chuckled, earning a soft giggle from you before you replied to him.

“It’s okay… I like this better.”

With that being said, San smiled in victory as he kissed you again.

You spent the day with him, cuddling on his couch after a long but innocent make out session. Never did you think you would fall for a boy who worked at a cat café but you did. And you were more than happy you did.

~~~