#this has been stuck in my head ever since i first started writing these idiots and I FINALLY GOT TO WRITING IT HA

[motherloads]

Meet Me in the Pale Moonlight

Disclaimer: I absolutely love Jenny in the film! Too bad I like writing miscommunication. No bashing of Jenny!

The reader was supposed to be brooding and menacing? But she’s a wreck with a symbiote lol.

My spanish is also pretty meh in writing despite being Mexican myself. I speak better than I write! Pls keep that in mind ◡̈

Summary: The reader watches on the sidelines as Jenny and her longtime crush, Jaime Reyes become close to one another. Being Milagro's closest friend, she dreads when she has to come over and see the lovebirds.

But who says her little friend would allow this to happen? And who says what she sees is true?

->Pairings: Jaime Reyes x F!Reader

-> Use of (Name).

-> Marvel/DC crossover (mentioned Eddie Brock, Peter Parker, and relations to other fic)

->Warning: So much miscommunication, murder talk, and spinal cord removal :(

Once again, please ignore grammar mistakes.

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I'm the sweetest girl in town so why are you so mean? When you gonna ditch that stupid, you got? It's me you should be seeing.

"Are you just going to continue to stare?" Milagro questions her close friend, who stares at her brother with a pair of love-sick eyes. "Dude, just go talk to him."

"Can't really do that," Her friend hums in response, "Look, Kord is walking over to him. Now he's going to have the brightest smile ever and then they'll hug Then she's going to pat him on the back and start helping him with your house remodel. Look! They're doing it!"

Exactly at that point, Jaime laughs as Jenny pushes him over, grabbing the paintbrush on her own and assisting him with the cream-colored outer walls. Jaime shakes his head in response, nudging her back.

"So what? I'm his sister, and what I can tell you is that they are NOT together. They're just really good friends!" Milagro explains, quieting down when Jaime looks over. "Come on, clear it up. I don't want to see my best friend so sad."

"I'm grieving," She pouts, lowering herself into the chair, "You don't see what I see. They are definitely together."

"Si no lo preguntas, nunca vas a saber," Another voice exclaims. Both girls turn their heads to her mother who shakes her head at them. "Don't be shy! I don't want my future daughter-in-law to lose her chance."

Feeling her face heat up, she looks away from the older woman's words. "I know he's your son, but I can't. I'm sorry."

Maybe if you weren't such a pussy, you would have gotten the guy. Does the K-dramas we watch together not mean anything?

The sudden voice caused her to jump straight into her seat. Narc had been quiet since she had arrive at the Reyes’ house hold. She hadn’t expected them to speak at all since he rarely did when she was at their residence. At first, it was off putting to never hear the familiar voice, but she slowly grew used to the silence.

Born out of wedlock from the original symbiote, Narc had been the symbiote who had begun their stay before she arrived in this Universe. They were the only connection she had to the life she once had. Or was it the other being stuck here as well? She wasn’t sure, she ignored all contact to the woman connected to her in more ways than one.

"K-Dramas are not real, idiot." She hissed under her breath.

"Did you say something, Mija?" Mrs. Reyes questions, resting her hand under the woman's chin. "You often talk to yourself, just like little Jaime."

"Mama!" Jaime calls out, "I'm not little anymore! Come on, don't tell her that!"

"You are little, cabrón. Don't you remember the incident? Naked con tus chiquito huevitos." His Uncle Rudy cackles, "Don't you remember that, ama?"

Their Nana shakes her head in response, smiling broadly at the memory. Milagro begins to laugh as well while Jenny sits beside the girls with a small nod in the direction of (Name). She returns the gesture, crossing her hands as she ignored how hard her heart hammered.

"I'm lost," (Name) murmurs, "So, so lost...But anyway, I have to head out. Thank you for having me!"

"Come by anytime, (Name)." Jaime grins, walking up to her and hugging the girl tightly, "Just remember to ignore anything they say about me, okay? Don't want them ruining anything."

"They're your family, I don't think they are capable of doing so," She pats his back, looking down at Milagro who fake kisses the air in front of her. Jenny seems to notice as she raises her eyebrows at the duo still hugging.

"You can let me go now, Jaime." (Name) murmurs into his ear, "Don't want her getting the wrong idea."

Jaime pulls away, smiling at the girl in front of him. His eyes flickered down for a second before he looked back at her, "Sorry?" She smiles sadly at him as she moves towards her vehicle. She refuses to look at the family behind her as she hears the conversation pick up again.

I think we should kill her.

"Absolutely not. There is a new hero here, Narc. We can't just murder a well-known figure and expect to get away with it." She groans, buckling her seat belt. She looks back at the family once more as she shifts her gear to drive.

We've done it once. And we can do it again.

"I don't think killing the Green Goblin counts for anything! He was already crazier than us, so the headlines were thanking us!" She exclaims.

His brain was nasty anyway.

⋆｡°✩

"Do you think Blue Beetle is cool?" Milagro asks, absentmindedly moving her straw around in boredom. "Personally, I think he's a huge nerd. What do you think?"

"Who says you can bother me on my shift?" (Name) frowns, cleaning the bar top in front of her, "And how did they let you in?"

"I have my ways," Milagro grins, "Answer my question. I need to know."

"I think he's...unique? From the news I have seen of him, it's obvious he is of Hispanic Descent. His suit is otherworldly, so I'm assuming it's some kind of alien tech he is using. Definitely not Superman, though." (Name) shrugs, moving the alcoholic beverages aside as she begins assisting the bartenders alongside her.

"Do you think he's cute under his mask?" Milagro leans closer, "Would you date him?"

I would eat him.

"I wouldn't eat him," (Name) responds instead. She pauses as the conversation around her began to quiet down. Some stared at her while others whispered to their compadres nearby.

"I...didn't ask that? I asked if you think he's cute and if you would date him. Dude, where the hell is your mind thinking right now?" Milagro whispers, eyeing the men nearby, "God, I’ve always hated this bar. A bunch of chismosos who are almost always cheating on their wives here. They're always eyeing you too. How do you handle that?"

"First, I can't tell if Blue Beetle is cute based on his voice. Second, I wouldn't date him since I am sooo hung up on your brother." Milagro snorts. "Lastly, this is the only bar that offers the minimum wage. I can handle drunk men well, I've always had."

The conversation began to pick up again as most began focusing on the news displayed in front of them. Blue Beetle was shown on live television, fighting off rogue soldiers from Victoria Kord's force. Despite the woman being long gone, the impact she made had not quite disappeared.

"I knew you were still into him! I say you ask him out! You ain't a homewrecker if he isn't in a relationship!"

"Didn't you say Kord and Jaime kissed? That your whole family cheered for the couple?"

"A fluke! It's a fluke I swear, but it is complicated! Just ask Jaime, please? It would be so cool for us to be family."

"If our lives are ever in danger at this very bar, then I'll ask." (Name) turns away from Milagro's eyes, "That means it will never ha-"

Her voice gets cut off when bullets begin hitting the bar's windows, causing the occupants to duck down to safety. Many of the drunken men tried to escape but most were quickly shot down by the bullets.

Milagro screams, ducking down into a crouch as the bullets continue. (Name) ignores the danger as she maneuvers her way through the destruction. She grabs Milagro, forcing the girl to look her in the eyes. "I need you to hide behind the bar, okay? The bullets won't get you. We will protect you.”

"W-who's we?" Milagro cries as (Name) pushes her behind the bar. There was silence for a moment as screams echoed in the bar. "(Name)? Where are you going?" She pushed Milagro down, moving her way from the bar corner as she looked at the bodies around her. Many men stayed below tables, looking at her in fear as she counted the people alive.

"Nobody get up. It’s not ove-" Her words get cut off when bullets pierce through her whole body. She is flung against the countertop as a bullet pierces too close to her heart. She hears her name being called out as Milagro tries to find her way to the woman.

She smiles at the tear-stained face in her vision. The fear in the other girl's eyes was evident as she continued to scream her name. At that moment, smoke bombs are thrown through the window. The screams had begun to mesh together, the fog covering the vision of the little who were still alive.

She feels the blood oozing out of her mouth, the familiar metallic filling up her mouth. She sputters, not being able to breathe.

It's your turn.

My turn.

Shoes stepping on glass were all everyone heard as the perpetrators stepped through the mess they caused. They held their gun up in return, moving through the fog stealthily. As they communicated with one another, they grew unnoticed by the thing they had angered.

"Find the Reyes girl. She is to be left alive." One spoke up, "Kill every survivor." The main soldier calls out. They await the confirmation of the others but they hear nothing. "I need an affirmative."

The soldier gets smacked in response, feeling themselves recoil from the weight against their body. When they look down at the unfamiliar weight, they begin to scream.

The weight crushing them was there comrade. Left unrecognizable with no head in sight. The blood wafts through their mask. They begin to gag as they try to pull the body off of them. They freeze up when a bloodied helmet rolls closer. Empty and dented, the helmet hits their shoe with a loud clank.

The fog begins to clear up, displaying the mess left behind. The soldier tensed when they noticed the bodies presented around the room. Many hung from the lights, their necks cracking from the added weight of their helmet. Others were hazardously thrown against tables. One had a table leg pierced through their helmet.

"Why must humans be so selfish? Is this fun for you, you pathetic piece of shit?" The soldier whimpers in response, turning their eyes away from the figure crouching in front of their face.

The creature, despite crouching, was still overlooking the only soldier left alive. The disarray and multi-color of the night sky reflected back to the onlookers who began to murmur about the new being. They tilt their head and leaned closer to the soldier, their bright, soulless eyes stared into the helmet. They licked the sharp smile forming from the fear they felt radiating off the soldier.

"Unlike the Blue Beetle, we do not care about the lives of our victims. What do you think happens next?"

"W-What the hell are you?"

"If you must know, my host has named us Narc. Will you beg for your life now?"

The Soldier rips their helmet off, looking at Narc with a look of fear, "Please. Please. I'm sorry. I'll never do this again, please!"

"He had once told us the same. You are just like the others. Pathetic. Unworthy. A perfect meal."

A scream is ripped through his victim's vocal cords as Narc bites down. Blood seeped through their mouth as they ripped out the spinal cord in one sharp turn. Narc stands, spitting their leftovers to the side.

"Hey, ugly!" A voice called out, "What the hell are you doing, man?"

Narc cranes their neck towards the entrance of the bar, watching as Blue Beetle floated at his place. They both stared at each other, unmoving.

"Blue Beetle!" A voice calls out, Milagro moving from her hiding spot to the blue-and-black-clad hero. "My friend is gone! She was just--where is she?" She turns her head towards Narc, who stares down at the shaking girl.

"Get away from it!" Blue Beetle yells, flying through the bar as he centers himself between Milagro and Narc. "Take it up with me and not the civilians!"

"He just--he ate all the soldiers--" Milagro gasps, stepping behind Blue Beetle, "I saw what he did--"

"You--What the hell are you?" Blue Beetle points his palms toward Narc, who continues to stare in silence.

"Does my figure scare you? I can hear your heartbeat." Narc cranes their head towards Milagro. Blue Beetle blocks her from their eyesight. “Worry not, we do not hurt the innocent.”

With those words, Narc feels their familiar bulking figure die down to their less impending figure. The duo are lost for words at the new figure presented in front of them.

"I'm so sorry I think I misgendered you--" Milagro's eyes stayed pinned to the pair of boobs Narc had.

"Where's (Name)?" Blue Beetle turns his head around, "Khaji-Da says she is still here! She was working, right?" His questions are to Milagro.

None of the three seemed to notice the survivors running out of the bar.

"She is here. With me." Narc hums, moving closer to Blue Beetle, "Is Khaji-Da your symbiote?"

"Symb--what? What do you mean (Name) is with you?"

"Jaime Reyes. You are a host are you not?"

"Stop avoiding my questions! Where is she?! How do you know my name--That is not my name! I do not know Jaime Reyes. Do you?"

"I have known of the scarab on your back since the beginning. Do not worry, (Name) remains clueless, for now."

"Why are you saying her name as if you know her?" Milagro questions.

Narc purrs, tilting their head closer to Blue Beetle who stepped back hesitantly. "We have known each other for a long time. We are bonded together until she dies. She is my key to survival in your world. She is me. I am her. We are one. We are Narc."

“Like Narcotics? Did she get you from a drug? She doesn’t seem like the type to do drugs.” Milagro questions, stepping closer to the duo, “And why are you so close? I can smell you from here!”

“We are host and symbiote. We am not from here, you see. Your alien won’t know of us.”

Milagro and Blue Beetle share a look, communicating with silent words. Blue Beetle lowers his hand, allowing Narc to step closer. The symbiote smiles, their purrs growing louder.

“I see why she likes you.”

With those words, Narc sinks into (Name)'s skin, leaving the woman defenseless from the eyes of her long-time crush and friend. She drops to the floor, her wounds patching over themselves with a familiar goo.

Blue Beetle drops to the floor, bringing (Name) close to his body. He rocks her back and forth as Milagro stumbles beside him. Her eyes were bloodshot and the tears that disappeared has formed all over again.

"Why didn't she tell us? Why didn't she tell me?" Blue Beetle, now Jaime who removed his helmet. He leans his forehead on the woman and murmurs into her hair. He kisses her temple as Milagro continues to cry.

"Why didn't she tell us her hero name is literally short for Narcotics?!"

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(Name) awakes to a horrible headache splintering her head. She groans as she shifts closer to the warmth of an unfamiliar body. She nuzzles in closer to the warmth, groaning at the light against her eyelids.

"Narc turn off the lights...I feel like I've just been shot." She moans, gripping her blanket tighter against her body, "I'm going out with Milagro later. I have to go buy cat food..."

"Milagro is taking care of Eddie, don't worry." A familiar voice whispers against her head, "Just go back to sleep. I'll block the sunlight."

"Thanks, Jaime..." Processing the name that came out, she jumps away from the warmth. She stares at Jaime, who stares back in equal shock and sleepiness. His hair was a mess, pointing in different directions. She presses her hand to her mouth, gasping behind it.

"Oh my god. We didn't have sex, did we? If so, that would be awkward because you are my best friend's brother and you literally have a girlfriend. I can't even get drunk so it's impossible for me to forget--oh my god am I in your house?"

"Hey, Hey," Jaime soothes her, smiling at the woman freaking out in his bed, "We didn't have sex and we were not drunk. You were...shot multiple times and some things came to light, but it's okay now, I promise."

"I'm still sleeping in your bed though! You could have left me, being shot doesn't stop me! We were holding each other?! What would Kord think if she saw this now?" She grips the unfamiliar sweater covering her body, feeling her legs shift through from under the sheets and hit against Jaime's.

"Jenny? What about Jenny? We aren't...We aren't dating if that's what you're worried about." Jaime grabbed her by the face, locking eyes with her who looked anywhere but him. "I can't just leave you when you were hurt."

"Milagro said you two kissed."

"We did once have feelings for each other. But it's long gone now, it was just a...heat of a moment kind of thing." Jaime brings her cheeks towards his chest, which she just noticed had nothing covering him from her eyes. Her hands stopped short on his stomach. She felt his stomach flutter in response.

"Besides, I like someone else. I like you."

She feels her heart stop at his confession.

Knew it.

"No shit." She exclaims, looking up at Jaime who smiles down at her doe-like look.

"I do." He whispers back. They both stared at one another until he leaned closer to her face. She felt his breath fan her face as she wrinkled her nose.

"You stink." She snorts, moving her hands to the back of his neck. He laughs at her words.

"Yours smells much worse. Now, come here--" She cuts him off, smashing her lips to his. He holds her waist, bringing her to sit on his lap. Her tongue finds his, leaning closer as her hand moves to stay on his chest. Biting his lip, she softly sucks it lightly. She opens her eyes to find his eyes half-lidded, enjoying the moment.

When she pulls away, her lips find his neck, kissing down to his collarbone. Pulling her hand back to his neck, she inhales his scent.

"Couldn't have waited until I was asleep. You are always like this. The same exact way with Peter Parker."

They both jump at the new voice, turning their heads towards Narc who floated their head around the room, reading the boxes that held different items. She turns her head to Jaime, eyes wide, waiting for him to begin screaming.

"Narc-uh. They explained more about your origins with each other. After finding them standing in a bloodbath, Milagro and I thought the worst had happened but someone--something told me to let Narc explain."

"They told you about our.... situationship?" She questions, gripping onto Jaime's bicep. "You're supposed to be running away--not making out with me!"

"And you! You aren't supposed to be out. You're grounded!" She growls, pulling Jaime's face into the crook of her neck, "You told him everything, huh? Why can't you ever keep secrets? She'll be angry our cover was blown!"

She ignored the look Narc gives, opting to continue her rant, “Asshole, is it because I’m not letting you meet Red Robin? You know it isn’t allowed!”

"The other youngling saw you get shot. Was I supposed to act as if I ate you instead?"

"Actually, yes! Nobody is supposed to know, you promised. We promised Eddie."

"You made a promise to your cat?" Jaime's muffled voice questions. Despite the situation, he bites her neck. "Who is Peter Parker?"

She glares at Narc, who innocently whistles. "No one Jaime, he is no one."

"Former boy toy." Narc responds instead, "Hell of an amateur kisser."

"You kissed him! Not me!" She turns to Jaime, pulling his head back to stare at him, "I'm so sorry, I don't know why they're acting this way. I'll go right now, seriously. I don't want you in our mess."

"Relax," Jaime comforts, grabbing her hand that stayed on his cheek. He smiles at her, "I can protect myself. Look--"

She felt him shift from under her, watching in shock as his body began to be covered by a familiar suit she had seen countlessly on television. Everything except his face was covered in armor. Whilst she analyzed the markings on his suit, Narc moved closer as well.

"Does your scarab only speak to you?" Narc asks, "It is unlike anything I have seen on my planet. Do you feed them as well?"

"They aren't really fed? They don't need sustenance. Khaji-Da only talks to me in my head so they're like a second voice...and planet?"

"This is going to be a long talk," She sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly, "At least you don't have to feed them human brains..."

"What?" Jaime recoils, looking at the two with wide eyes, "I'm sorry? Brains? Like Zombies? The Walking Dead? Like zombies from The Last of Us?!"

"I thought you told him everything!"

"I would never tell of my eating habits! Humans are judgemental!"

[nvrsaidiwasinurcloset]

Hiii i love ur writing can u please write Ethan x Reader where they have makeup sex? There in a fight and the whole friend group is annoyed by it but obviously they make up plssss and tyyy🙏🙏

Hiiii! i hope you like it!

Make-Up Sex - Ethan Landry x Fem!Reader

Ethan Landry x Fem!Reader

This contains SMUT - Minors DNI

Summary: You're in your first fight with Ethan, but he's determined to make it up to you.

A/N: Make Up Sex by MGK has been stuck in my head ever since I got this request lol

You had barely spoken to Ethan in days after a huge fight. It was your first one, and you both thought you were in the right, so neither of you would back down. He still sent the ‘I love you’ text every single night, and of course you responded, but that was the most interaction the two of you had with each other. You told him you needed a little space, because you thought it would help the relationship in the long run. You made it clear that you didn’t want to break up, but Ethan still felt like that’s what it was. You were hoping that after weeks of him inviting you over just for him to sit in front of the tv with Chad playing video games, the space would help him realize that you deserve attention, too.

When you arrived at Sam and Tara’s for the weekly “Family Dinner” as they liked to call it, you sat by Ethan, like you always did. He didn’t really speak to you but spoke to everyone else. Tara started to pick up on it, her eyes connecting with your sad ones.

“I just don’t understand why relationships have to be so complicated,” Sam said, referring to the fling she’d been having with Danny.

“Yeah, I’m starting to think relationships are dumb,” Ethan said as he took a bite of his food.

His words were like a knife to your heart as you snapped your head towards him.

“Oh, you do? That’s nice to know,” you said, before moving to the opposite side of the table, taking a seat beside Anika.

“You’re the one that needs space or whatever,” he said, the snarky tone pissing you off.

“God, Ethan. You still don’t get it,” you said, before Mindy interrupted.

“Hey, no arguing at family dinner,” she scolded the two of you, starting to get annoyed. You huffed in response, knowing this wasn’t the time or place for you to argue with Ethan.

“No wait, what don’t I get?” Ethan asked, resting his chin against his hands. The smugness on his face really made you feel like he didn’t care.

“Guys, seriously-“ Chad got out, before you cut him off. His hands went up as he dropped the fork on his plate.

“For a smart guy, you really are an idiot,” you said, staring Ethan down from across the table.

There was this tense, awkward silence in the air as the metal forks touched the glass plates, while everyone continued to eat.

“Maybe we should cut this short tonight,” Sam mumbled, taking her plate to the sink.

“No, we always watch a movie after dinner,” Tara protested, looking over to Ethan. She knew he was being a jerk and didn’t really want to be around him if he was going to act this way.

“It’s cool, I’ll go. You guys are closer to her anyway,” he said, standing up to put his jacket on.

“Dude, you know that’s not true,” Chad sighed, relaxing into his chair. “Maybe you two should talk or something.”

Ethan looked over to you, hoping that was something you were interested in doing. Yeah, he was being an ass, but he loved you and really wanted to understand why you wanted space.

“Yeah, I think we should,” you said, getting up from the table.

The two of you decided to go to a nearby park, taking a seat on one of the benches. You took in your surroundings, listening to the sounds of people talking and nearby cars.

“Sooo,” he said, his eyes squinting as the sun glared across his face, “I’m sorry I said relationships are dumb. I didn’t mean that.”

“That really hurt my feelings. Then again, you’ve been doing that a lot lately,” you said, looking down at your hands on your lap. It was true. You were sick of feeling like you weren’t important enough.

“Babe, you need to tell me what I’ve done wrong. I’m obviously not getting it, and I want to fix it.”

You were quiet for a minute as you watched all the couples walking in front of you, their hands laced together as they flirted with each other. It reminded you of what you used to have with Ethan.

“We didn’t get to spend a lot of time together because of midterms. I understand that, but once they were over, I really wanted you to spend time with me. I missed you so much, even when you were right in front of me. I hated feeling that way,” you said, as Ethans fingers brushed against yours.

“I’m sorry I made you feel like you weren’t important,” he sighed, “I was just so caught up in trying to beat that game with Chad. I fucked up.”

“I wasn’t sure how you felt about me anymore…it’s like you went from always wanting sex, and always wanting to be close. It just stopped.”

“Hey, I never don’t want sex,” he joked, causing you to roll your eyes.

“You say that, but the last encounter we had was me giving you head while you did homework before the exams. That was over a month ago,” you said, thinking back to that night. He was so stressed, and you just wanted to take care of him.

“I can’t believe it’s been that long,” he said. He sat there for a few seconds, thinking. “They’re still having a movie night if you want to come back to my dorm. Let me make this up to you.”

“I’d like that,” you smiled as he stood up, taking your hand in his as he led you back to the dorm.

Once you got there, he helped get you out of your clothes. He ran his hands over your breasts, building up the anticipation. You thought the two of you were going to immediately get to it, but he had other ideas.

“Lay down on your tummy, babe,” he said, feeling himself get hard as you stood completely nude in front of him.

He took his shirt off before kneeling on the bed beside you. His hands started to run across your back to your shoulders, massaging you.

“You’re so tense, baby,” he said, as his fingers continued to knead your skin.

You gasped at the feeling, getting goosebumps as you started to relax into the bed.

“That feels so good.”

He smiled as he moved your hair out of the way to massage your neck, before working his hands further down your back. He placed kisses to your skin, the sweet intimacy of the moment making you feel like you did when you first started dating.

His hand moved even lower, rubbing your ass as you started to whine. He smirked to himself as you started to wiggle.

“You okay?” he asked, as his hands moved to the back of your thighs.

“Yeah, I-“ your words got stuck in your throat when his hands went to you inner thighs.

“What was that, babe?” he asked smirking as he started to spread your legs a little.

The only sound you made was a sharp inhale as he reached between your legs, running his fingers over your soaked pussy.

“Does that feel good?” he asked, your core starting to grind against his hand as he rubbed you.

“Mhm.”

He moved his hand away from you as you whined out in protest, his hands grabbed your hips, lifting you a little.

“On your knees, babe,” he said, your ass proudly sticking in the air, thinking he was going to fuck you.

You were a whimpering mess when he started flicking his tongue across your clit. He’s never ate you out in this position, but he was loving the access for his big hands to squeeze your ass while he got you off.

“Oh, fuuuuuck,” you moaned, your face shoved into the comforter.

He was drawing patterns on your clit with his tongue, then dipping it inside of you. When his mouth sped up against you, your toes started to curl, the amazing feeling started to build up inside of you.

He kept going as he listened to your moans get louder, letting him know you were starting to get close. His mouth latched onto you, moving his head back and forth as he suckled on your clit.

“Oh fuck, fuck, I’m gonna cum,” you whined, your back starting to arch at the feeling washing over you.

He tried to hold your hips still, laughing against you when he was struggling to do so.

After you came back down, he helped you roll over. He smiled at your blissful appearance.

As you lay on your back, he started to take off his pants.

“I’m really sorry I didn’t give you the attention you needed, baby,” he said, the sincerity in his voice making your heart melt. “I never want you to think that I don’t want you.”

“You’re forgiven, as long as you don’t do it again,” you smirked, as he crawled on top of you.

“I promise you I won’t.”

 He slid into you with ease, as your chest lifted to press against his.

He started to move his hips into yours, but stayed as close to you as he could. He kissed you as your fingers went to his hair. When his thrusts got faster, your legs wrapped around his waist, making it easier for him to pound into you.

“God, Eth. I missed this,” you said, your breathing heavy.

“I missed it too,” he groaned, reaching his hand down to rub your clit again.

You whined out at the stimulation, as two of his fingers circled over you bundle of nerves. He loved seeing you like this; your hips jerking and the fucked-out expression on your face making him go faster.

He knew he was going to cum soon, and he really need you to cum too, so he slid out of you. You whined out at the loss of contact as his hands went your legs. He stood beside the bed, pulling you closer to him.

Your ass was almost hanging off the bed as he pushed your legs back towards you. His cock slid back into you, the new position making it easier for him to give your g-spot the attention it needed.

“You’re so tight,” he groaned out, fucking harder into you with each word.

Your hands wrapped around your thighs, holding them up so his hands could roam your body. They grazed over your nipples, gently pinching them before squeezing both of your breasts. You felt your climax building up again, your legs starting to involuntarily shake as he fucked you. He trailed one of his hands from your breast back down to your clit, rubbing fast circles. Your walls started to flutter around him as your mouth fell open and your brows furrowed together.

“I’m gonna cum,” he groaned, trying to fuck you through your orgasm until he couldn’t anymore. His hips came to a stop as he pulled out, shooting his cum all over your stomach.

After both of you started to catch your breath, he relaxed onto the bed beside you.

“Do you still need space, or are we good now?” he asked, your head turning so your eyes connected with his.

“I don’t need the space, but I’m not sure we’re good,” you said, giggling at his confused expression. “We’ll be good after you get your cum off of me.”

He laughed, getting up to grab a towel.

[yarrystyleeza]

Happy birthday tomorrow Yuna! Hope you'll have an amazing day ❤️❤️

As for a request... When I saw you would write for Daryl, I knew I had to send you something. Season 1 and 2 Daryl lives rent free in my mind, so can I please request:

"when they tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear while you talk" and "brushing against each other, even if there is enough room"

Thank you in advance and again, Happy birthday 😁❤️🎉

Awww thank you my love, sorry for answering this late, hope you didn't mind it, it was stupid of me! 😅💖💖💖

I was stuck with the plot of the request for the last two months until last night, I literally wrote this in less than 10 hours lol 🤣🤣🤣 hope you enjoy it, though, and sorry for keeping you hanging! 💖💖💖 You're so welcome and thank you for dropping this request and for the birthday wishes! 🥰🥰🥰

Little Things (D.D)

Requested by @munsonownsmyass

Pairing and dynamic: Daryl Dixon x female! reader, idiots in love

Prompt: fluff, s1!s2!Daryl, tucking hair behind ear, brushing against each other even if there's enough room + petnames for the cherry on top!

Word count: 1.4k!

Writer's note: I loved writing this one so much! As you lily, season one and two Daryl is my favorite Daryl era (beside S8). Not 100% proofread but I hope you really enjoy it, have a great day! <3

"Hurt y'self, little thin'?" He teased, watching you lying on the forest bed after your foot faltered and slipped you into the bottom of the hill. Your brows knitted, you rolled your eyes, he chuckled at the face you made, "alright, I'm comin'."

He slides down, smoothly, and a little bit pompously—with a smirk on his face. You can't lie—he made you smile though you desperately wanted to punch him right in the face.

He offered his hand to you and you accepted his help. At first, he let you wrap your arm around his neck as he walked you towards the hill exit—but as it turns out, you sprained your ankle so bad it was impossible for you to take another step. He scooped you in his arms and carried you back to the quarry.

And that's how you met Daryl.

You can't admit he wasn't a pain in the ass most of the time—if not always, getting on your nerves and driving you up the wall, it was so constant you started thinking he was doing it on purpose.

It kinda was. Daryl had serious troubles with conveying his emotions, and that idiot had a sickening crush on you ever since he saw you at the camp with the girls. He wanted your attention and he only got it when he drove you mad, so he tooled it in his advantage.

You were his favorite. You're the only one he talks to—other than his brother, Merle—and you, too, are the only one who wants to talk to him.

You too had a crush on him. His silly fights and bickering became more amusing to you—sometimes you couldn't even contain the smile drawn across your face when he's mad about something so stupid and could be fixed in complete silence, and when you gave him your smug face—it always drove him insane. You learnt he's quick-tempered, but these ones were visibly made up just to get a chance to be with you.

Daryl reminded you of those little boys in the playground when they used to ruin the girls' sand castles or pull their braids and ribbons just to get their attention. Ever since you came up to this conclusion—life has never been easier!

But things changed a little bit after the attack on the quarry. Daryl turned from only being a hot-headed idiot to be completely protective of you, but that doesn't mean he stopped getting angry—God forbid he does! But he got more reasonable and collected—around you, at least.

As soon as you got to the CDC, he grew closer to you, more friendly, more worried, more caring. He barely slept the night you spent there, checking on you every thirty minutes to make sure you don't need anything—despite you being a wall apart. It was adorable, and it stirred something in you.

Same night at dinner, right before you went to bed, he sat beside you as you dined, he made sure your plate was full and that you'd eaten well because 'it's been a while since you got a decent meal', he says.

And in the middle of the chaos the following morning—he solely cared for you, and not a thing was going to stop him from smashing Dr. Jenner's head that morning if it wasn't for you calming him down.

The two of you escaped in his pickup truck. But despite the horror you had just fled, you couldn't stop stealing glances at each other, Daryl was focused on driving but you spotted him staring at you with soft eyes a couple of times. Both of you blushed, multiple times—vividly, but you couldn't stop. Something was so amusing and sweet about the way he was looking at you, and you were so tempting to him he couldn't stop staring at you even if he wanted to.

Now, staying at Hershel's farmhouse, Daryl turned out to be that sweet lovey dovey guy who'd absolutely melt under your touch—in complete opposite to the face he's been showing to everyone.

As you went out to search for Sophia, Daryl offered to accompany you. He kept brushing arms with you, pumping into your side, and gently holding your biceps to guide you as you walked. He kept putting himself between you and any threat, not letting you shed a drop of sweat—you were almost a passenger princess, but on foot.

But it was very obvious the night he got shot—your heart dropped when it happened, and when you learned it was your Daryl and not some misinformation. You couldn't watch as they took the bullet out, you couldn't watch him screaming in agony—yet you heard him from behind the door. It tore your heart into pieces.

The night fell as you sat on the chair next to his bed, your head dripping every couple minutes as you drifted in and out of sleep. Your head was heavy as a rock sinking in the ocean—yet you kept fighting Mr. Sandman back, shaking your head and rubbing your eyes and patting your face.

"Go to bed, pet," he softly demanded, "ye're tired from sittin' here all day," he extended an arm, gently placing it on your thigh and squeezing it chastely, "ya need some rest."

You shook your head, "I'm fine, Daryl," you shrugged, "it's not like it's the first time I stay up late."

Both of you stay silent, staring at each other with soft eyes. "Climb up in 'ere," Daryl says, his voice was tinted with plead "at least you won't have to keep droppin' yer head like a sippy chicken."

"No, Daryl," you shook your head in utter refusal, desperately trying to show him how awake you are despite craving a warm bed, "you need your own space. What if I accidentally hit your wound--"

"Come on, pet, you know you won't..." he softly smiles, shaking his head. You sigh and climb into the bed with him and he shares his blanket with you. He turns to face you, the moonlight is perfectly casted upon your faces, his blue eyes sparkled and reflected you like a looking glass. He grazes your cheek, tucking your stray hair back behind your ear and his fingertips linger on the skin of your neck.

"Get some sleep, love," he caresses your hair, "I won't need nothin' when ye're right next to me."

You woke up tangled up in his chest, it was warm and peaceful. You never wanted to slip out of his arms—if it wasn't for Hershel coming over to check on him and the men accompanying him.

Daryl got better as the days gone by. You started to see him in the kitchen fetching some biscuits or chips, he'd pump into you on his way out, brushing arms with you and glancing at you with his blueies and a smile. And if he's in the right mood, he'd take you off guard and peck your cheek, and you'd turn red and try to bite your smile. He caught it had quite the right effect on you, and he's been doing it ever since.

"Let it down, pumpkin," Daryl flirts as he snatches the scrunchie out of your hand as you tried to tie your hair, "love it when it's coverin' yer pretty face, gives me a reason to keep tuckin' it back."

"But we're going on a mission," you protest, "it would be dangerous for both of us!"

Daryl takes a run around the golden field and you chase him—but he overpowers you and you stop running, panting and clutching your chest as he giggles. He mischievously walks back closer to you, so you try to take it back, but he's taller than you, stretching his hand up with your scrunchie and shaking it to tease you. "Ya ain't tiein' it today, darlin'."

"Give it back!" you giggle as you jump to reach for your scrunchie, but he keeps stretching his arm above his head.

"Ye look so cute like that, pumpkin," he pulls a smug face as you lean forward against him, your chests compacting and you're an inch away from kissing.

"You could've told me you wanted to kiss me," you tease, not minding that he lowered his hand back down. He tucks your stray bangs behind your ear, ending up doing what he wanted to do all along.

"But it's more fun to watch ya tiptoe and lean on to me like that," he rounds you with his big arms, pulling you deeper into his chest with a Bastard smirk on his face, "it makes you even prettier, pet. These little things you do."

Likes and reblogs are appreciated, thank you for coming to my birthday sleepover celebration! 💞💞💞

[tsukkismoonlight]

When It Comes To You || J.K × Reader

Summary: You've somehow gotten stuck with the most obnoxious (Minus boy genius Armin Arlert) group ever for a college class project. Eren Jeager, and Jean Kirstein. The latter of which seems to find a way to weasel his way into your life, making your plans for a quiet college experience fall away.

Author's Note: okay, like a year and some odd change in months later i'm finally posting this fic!! Honestly life kinda got in the way but we all know how it is. Anywayyyys, I hope yall enjoy! This is my first longer fic, so let me know what you guys think! Also super big shoutout to my buddies on discord for beta reading the first portion of this! <3 wk: 16.7k

Warnings: unedited, probably ooc characteristics who knows

"Would you two knock it off?" were your first words since the two bone-headed, annoying, loud-mouthed boys had started arguing. 

Here you were, in an empty classroom, supposed to be working on a group project for at least an hour or two, and the /only/ thing that your group had done was bicker back and forth. 

The first of the two boneheads, Eren Jeager, had spent the whole time insisting on his ideas, and his ideas alone, while the other, Jean Kirstein, had only been arguing that the former's ideas were stupid and that 'if anything, Eren should shut his trap and just do the grunt work.'

The blonde, Armin Arlert, was clearly just as done with them, but took a more quiet approach to trying to stop them. Any time he could interject, he tried to reason with the two, but of course neither would listen. 

So, when you stood up, slamming your palms onto the table and shouting at them, all three of them quickly grew quiet. "We only have so much time to work on this project, and I am /not/ going to fail this project because you two idiots can't let go of your egos for more than two seconds!" 

"Well, maybe if this asshole would-" Eren started, mostly keeping his voice at a low grumble, sounding like a scolded child.

Jean, cutting Eren's words short while crossing his arms across his chest, "Oh yeah, /I'm/ the asshole here…"

But with another of your glares sent to both of them, the two stopped once more.

"Maybe we should split up the work?" Armin was already writing out two plans, where you could make out his name and Eren, meaning that you were stuck with Jean. 

Not that you wanted to be with either of them. You'd rather take Armin and just leave the other two to fail. But, as this was a group project, Professor Hange had made it clear that points were to be docked for any group that did not complete the assignment together.  

You plopped back into your seat, sighing heavily. "Okay, we will work in two groups. Looks like Eren, you're going with Armin, and Jean, you're with me." You paused as Armin slid over the paper he had drafted up. 

Glancing over it, you could see that he had given you and Jean a good amount of work, yet he had still given himself more. Part of you wanted to point it out, maybe even offer to take some of the load, but the other part of you knew that Armin would refuse and somehow make it sound like the nicest thing he'd ever do.

"Okay, so, from there, once all the research is done, Armin and I will meet up in person to work on the presentation bits, which means that Eren and Jean, you will only need to put your findings in a document for us. That should be easy enough." 

When no one objected, you started to pack up your things.You waited for Jean to take a picture of the draft before tucking it away in a folder carefully. 

Around you, the others started to do the same. With a small breath of relief, you finished packing up and slung your bag over your shoulders, looking to each of your groupmates slowly. "If anyone has questions,” you announced, “please text me. I gave Armin my number already, but if you need mine, ask now."

Eren slid his phone across the table to you, a sour look on his face, as he was clearly upset with the whole situation, and the fact that he had been yelled at over it. You ignored his attitude and typed in your number before returning the phone to him.

Next was Jean, who looked at you for a few moments, then handed his phone over to you, where you repeated the process of saving your number for him. 

With that done you set off to your dorm.You didn't live alone, but it was bound to be a wonderful change in pace (and in volume levels). When you arrived, you slipped your shoes off and headed for your room, pausing for a second as you saw one of your roommate and probably your closest friend Sasha Braus. Currently she was sitting on the floor of her room, clutching a bowl of soup…or what was probably a bowl of soup, as it was empty now. 

"Oh, hey! You're back already?" she asked, turning to you with a spoon dangling from her mouth. It caused a slight slur in her words, so it came out more like, "Ohhh, heyyy, yer bick alreaty?"

With a sigh, you walked into her room, dropping your bag by the door before flopping onto her bed (which was incredibly comfortable). "Yeah, I called it quits early because I got paired with Armin, Jean, and Eren, and Armin is fine and all, but your stupid friend and Eren can't go more than five seconds without fighting." 

You could hear a soft clink as Sasha put her spoon down. "Well, it always works for me to hit them." 

"I can't hit my group mates…even if I want to," you grumbled, rolling over onto your side so you could see her.

"I can hit them for you then, just tell me when and where." She flexed her arms, raising her eyebrows up and down at you as she did so. 

This caused a breathy laugh to come from you. You could feel yourself starting to relax. Your two roommates were probably the only reason that you had stayed sane so far. 

Sasha was always good at getting you to smile, at times she wouldn't stop until you showed some sign of positivity. And of course you were more than grateful for it. 

When you had first moved to the dorms, you had kept to yourself, unsure if you really liked her at all. But with time, you warmed up to her easily. 

There had been a handful of nights where she would invite you to stay up and just talk, or watch some movie. And, at times, she would share food with you, which you learned wasn't always her favorite thing to do. 

"Hey, one of these days we need to catch up on Food wars." 

You looked back to her, nodding along, "Oh for sure! Maybe sometime this next week I can stay up with you and we can watch it. Maybe buy some junk food too." 

At the prospect of snacks, she perked up even more. "Can we get-"

"Yes, we can get the baked potato flavored chips." 

"You didn't even let me finish!" Sasha pouted a little, though still unable to hide her excitement at the confirmation of her favorite snack.

You reached down and flicked her forehead lightly, "Well I already knew what you were going to say. It wasn't hard to figure out."

"Hey! I could have asked for something different! Like, salt and vinegar ones!" 

"You don't even like those, and neither do I. We wouldn't ever buy any." 

The two of you talked for another five or so minutes until she had to leave, shouting something about Connie Springer owing her dinner. You took the time to go back into your own room which you actually shared with a third roommate ( neither of you wanted to share a room with Sasha because of her snoring). However, he wasn't home yet, which meant that he'd probably be back late.

You pulled your laptop out of your bag and plugged it in; then you went to grab your notebooks, some pens and pencils, and finally your copy of the book for your project. It was best to get a headstart on the project, as it was worth most of your grade. 

Professor Hange had assigned the class to read and analyze an old book written by a nameless author. The idea and plot was interesting to a point. It was a war between mere humans, and a race of humans that could take control of what they called titans. The main two parties at war were named Marley and Eldia, both of which claimed that the other was in the wrong, and had vowed to take revenge, wanting to eradicate the other's existence. Towards the end, there was something of a compromise, and Marley seemed to come out victorious. All in all, there was a lot more to it, and the details were typically gorey and morally wrong. The ending wasn't ever written, leaving all readers to question what they knew and what they may not have been told. 

This is where your project came in: you were to try and look into the book, outside sources, even artwork, whatever the class could get their hands on, and work on an analysis. Hange hadn't given many guidelines; they wanted to leave it open and see what the class would come up with. Your group hadn't made a decision yet, but so far, Eren was dead set on writing an analysis on who he thought was right and freedom and some other crap, while Jean only had talked about how Eren was wrong. 

Luckily enough, Armin had already written up a potential analysis summary, one that focused on how the two sides were similar and what they shared in common with the rest of humanity, and how trying to pick a side would only allow their bloody history to repeat again. His was rather long winded, but it allowed for you to pick and choose the best parts, and what you guys wouldn't really need. 

You spent some time searching the internet for more sources, coming across a few articles on what could be a deeper meaning to the story, and a few on what could have been the rest of the world's view on both Marley and Eldia. 

That was when you came across a page for the local museum; it seemed that there was going to be an exhibit about the book, featuring many different artists and even some written works. Taking a moment to write down the dates and price for tickets in your phone’s note app. You then sent a quick text to Armin about it, letting him know that if he wanted, you could go and check it out with Jean. 

Clicking your phone off, you gave a heavy sigh and stood up, pulling your arms above your head in a stretch before continuing to work on the project. You knew that you should probably eat something, and drink some water, as you hadn’t really been able to do so in the last few hours. But with the project being so important, you decided against getting back up. If you got up now, chances were that you’d end up wasting some time doing who knows what. You really needed to just focus on your work, food, water and relaxing could come later. This was typical for you, what was one more time anyways?

Quietly, your afternoon quickly turned to night, and you wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for both of your roommates crashing into your room. 

You turned around, eyeballing Sasha and your third roommate, Marco Bodt, unsure if you really wanted to ask questions. 

"She was drinking with Connie at his place," 

"Huh? Noo I waz'nt ! Conn and I were jus playin a game an' then…and then..mmkay maybe I was drinking, but!" Sasha rambles on for a minute, still leaning heavily on Marco, who just gave a half hearted and weary smile. 

You shook your head, and stood up, making your way over to Sasha taking her off Marco's hands "Was Connie like this too?" you asked.

"Yeah, he and Jean both…" Marco sighed, following you as you took Sasha to her room. While you carefully put her in her bed,  Marco pulled her shoes off for her. 

At his words, you paused for just a moment then you continued to fish Sasha's phone from her pocket, placing it on the charger for her. 

"Of course, Jean was drinking, too." you remarked. You tried your best to ignore the irritation rising in you. It wasn't like you guys had to get the whole project done right away, or that Jean couldn't enjoy a drink with his friends. But, it wouldn't surprise you if only Armin and yourself had been the only two to even start.

As the two of you left Sasha to sleep, Marco motioned to the kitchen, saying, "Hungry?" You gave a small nod in response.

Once in the small kitchen area, you hopped onto the counter while your roommate got to work on making something simple. From the looks of it, he was just making mac and cheese, but you couldn't really care less. You hadn't noticed it earlier, but you were actually starving. 

A quiet buzz from your pocket pulled your attention from Marco cooking, and you pulled your phone out, seeing a few messages from an unsaved number. 

"Heyy, it's me"

"Jean"

"just figured i'd text you since we have be partners"

"Not complaining cause i dont wanna be stuck with eren" 

You shook your head at your phone, typing a quick reply back, “Wow really? I couldn’t tell.”

Another buzz, another incoming message, “I really hate that guy. He’s stuck up, and always thinks he’s right”

“You know, I feel like there’s someone else like that too.” You sucked in a deep breath, already feeling a tinge of annoyance creeping its way into your body. Sure, Jean was bound to be the better of the two, but that didn’t mean that you wanted him texting you about his testosterone fueled hatred for Eren.

A few moments pass before he texts you again, the words a little hard to make out at first, “you better not be implying that im like him”

“I would never do that. You are an okay person in my eyes”

“Just okay? I’m fuckin’ great!”

“Yeahh, sure. I agree with you, 100%”

You could almost feel his skeptical gaze through your phone as he sent yet another message, “I dont know if I believe that.”

“I dont care if you believe it or not tbh”

“I cant tell if you like me or not”

At this, you paused. You didn’t really know the guy outside of what you were told by Marco and Sasha. And he definitely did not know you. If he did, he wouldn’t be bothering you right now. But as much as that all was true, you also didn’t want to outright say that you didn’t like him, at least not over text while he was suspiciously hitting you up out of the blue.

“im not sure if like is the right word. Right now I tolerate you.” 

“Thats a good thing right?”

You didn’t answer, figuring that he would eventually get the hint. But, within minutes, he was texting you yet again. You watched as more messages popped up one by one, all of which just as hard to read as the others. Though you eventually figured them out. He was promising to do his share of the project, as well as promising to keep on schedule with it. The last thing he sent was asking to meet up tomorrow, and figure out what you wanted him to do, and something about how he couldn't really understand the guideline sheet. 

You sent a quick reply, just a place and a time, before returning your phone to your pocket, and just in time, Marco had a bowl of delicious mac and cheese for you. 

"Thanks man, you're the best." 

"Hey, you cooked last night," he said, shrugging, "and somehow it was pretty impressive, given the fact that we're all super broke and have next to nothing in our cupboards," 

You let out a small laugh at that. "I am a person of many talents."

"Do tell your secrets, as I am eager to know," Marco says in-between bites, playing into the bit.

"Oh, I couldn't, because then you would have to learn my /tragic/ backstory of how I had to fend for myself as a child." You dramatically sigh, placing a hand to your forehead, and then paused, peeking out at Marco before saying, "That part is actually true. At my house, we often had 'Fend for Yourself Nights' where you kinda just threw stuff together it could be leftovers, cereal or, like, dry ramen." 

Marco chuckles, pointing his fork at you and saying "So that must be the secret then!" 

The kitchen rendezvous went on for a while longer before you both headed off to bed, agreeing that Sasha can do the dishes when she wakes up. 

The next day, you had managed to drag yourself out of bed and find your way to the coffee shop where you were supposed to be meeting up with Jean. 

Key word is 'supposed' to be, since it had been 30 minutes since you had gotten there. Hopefully, you didn't look like some poor soul that had gotten stood up on a date and more like someone enjoying their Saturday morning. 

Another ten minutes passed, and no word from Jean, you had finished your coffee, and had already finished working on pulling out key information from a few of the web sources that you found the night before. 

You glanced at the time again and cursed under your breath. You had better things to be doing. So, you quickly pack up your things and toss out the trash before leaving.  

Just as you returned to the little table to grab your bag, the bell at the door chimed, drawing your attention.  

There stood Jean Kirstein himself, out of breath, hair hastily brushed out of his face, and clothes a whole mess…you were pretty sure he had worn them yesterday too. 

However, his sudden entrance had also gathered stares from everyone in the shop;most people looked on with a frown, questioning why he had just thrown open the door like that, just to stand there looking like a lost puppy. 

You groaned, marching towards him and then grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of the way. 

"Seriously? You show up almost an hour late, and make a big scene?!" you say, continuing to pull him down the sidewalk.

"I know, I know!" He took in a sharp breath, stumbling as he went. 

"I mean seriously?! What's your deal?" 

"I didn't mean to be late! And can you stop shouting? My head is killing me…" 

You came to an abrupt stop and turned around to face him. "It doesn't matter if you didn't mean to be late, you were still late! I mean, come on, I sat there and looked completely stupid while I waited!" 

At your words, he tugged his arm free from your grasp, and hesitated for a moment before, saying, "Okay, I'm sorry. I should have been here on time." 

"Or at least texted me to tell me!" You sighed, bringing a hand up to your temple. "Whatever, let's just find somewhere else to sit and I can show you what your part of the project is." 

With those words, the two of you walked in silence until you were back at campus, arriving at one of the rooms designated for studying. It didn't take long to run through Jean's responsibilities, and for you both to settle into a somewhat uncomfortable quiet and begin to work. 

Currently, you were taking the information gathered earlier and writing them into evidence for your thesis while Jean was searching for art pieces to analyze. 

Every fifteen to twenty minutes or so, you'd check in with eachother and help if needed-and Jean needed more help than you did, really. 

And maybe if he hadn’t spammed you with drunk texts the night before, and then came late to your meeting, it wouldnt have bothered you as much. So when he did ask for your help, you were being short and to the point. Luckily for you, helping him was easy. It consisted of choosing between artwork, and identifying key themes or details that stood out, and then giving him ways to write it down so that it made sense with the overall idea behind your project. Now and then, you'd have him read over what you wrote, just to see what all he thought and if he had any suggestions.

Finally, after a few hours, Jean leaned back in his chair and sighed loudly. "Okay, I think we've got a lot done. Why don't we break for the day?" he suggested.

At his words, you hesitated. While a break did sound nice, you'd much rather keep working. If you got ahead, there'd be time for breaks later, or time for helping Armin and the others. 

"You go on ahead, I'm going to stay a little longer. Thanks for showing up today." You gave a small smile before looking back down to your laptop, trying to spot where you left off. 

For a moment or so, Jean packed up his things, not necessarily quietly, but enough for it not to bother you. Though, after he finished doing so, he didn't leave. Instead, he stood /annoyingly/ close to you, seemingly trying to burn holes into the back of your head. 

"Is there something you need or…?" 

"You're seriously going to stay and work more?" 

"...Yeah?" 

Jean let out a small series of 'tsk' noises and began to close your notebooks and the few textbooks you had brought. You stuttered out half of a sentence, none of it making any sense, as you watched him stack up your things, his finishing move to carefully close your laptop without even shutting it off. 

"What are you…Why…I mean-what?" 

"I think you work too hard." he remarked, grinning. Normally that would sound snarky coming from him, this time he sounded gentle, and nothing in his face seemed to show any ill will. "I mean, I've never seen you do anything fun. All you do is push yourself to do work." 

You were at a loss for words, face heating up with embarrassment. Just because he had never seen you do fun things didn't mean that you were some sort of shut in who only ever focused on homework and studying. 

Jean waited for you to pack your things, all of which you did while in a small haze, trying to comprehend it all. When you were done, he motioned for you to follow him, not saying a word of what he had planned. 

The two of you walked outside, Jean slightly ahead of you as he continued to lead the way. Occasionally, someone would stop Jean, asking him about a party or a class. He seemed to have a lot of friends, or rather just a lot of acquaintances.

Eventually, you both came to a little grassy field, one where students often came to waste time, or play games like spikeball, or frisbee. Currently, it wasn't very busy, and the two of you found a spot to sit and relax under a warm spring sky.

For the first five minutes, you sat in silence, an almost comfortable one. You found yourself mumbling about how this wasn't so bad, noticing from the corner of your eye as Jean turned to look at you. 

"Would I ever lead you astray?" Jean elbowed you carefully, earning a scowl from you. 

"Given that we don't really know each other, I'm not sure," you retorted. 

"I know that we've had at least three classes together since freshman year, and that you don't seem to like anyone," he pointed out. 

"Not true,” you said. “Sasha and Marco are very nice people who I like a lot," 

At this he barked out a laugh, a wonderful sound really, compared to his typical evil sounding snicker. "Okay, so you appreciate the presence of three specific people." 

"Three? I only named two people," you said, holding up two fingers to signify your only two friends. 

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but right now you don't seem to hate me, so I counted myself."

You gave another scowl."If we were able to pick our own groups, I would have picked other people, just for the record" 

"Ouch, that kind of stings." 

You couldn't tell if he was serious or not, but one thing you did know was that he probably wouldn't have picked you either.  Not that it really bothered you. While it was true that you've shared classes in the two years that you've been in college, the two of you never really talked. 

Sure, you've had the quick conversations in the hall, or maybe accidentally bumped into each other when trying to take Sasha home, or even just when Jean would hang out with Marco at your dorm. 

It wasn't that you didn't like him (aside from his huge ego and inability to get along with certain people) or even that you didn't like people in general. You honestly just wanted to focus on school, so that you would graduate on time, and get the hell out of this town. Personal relationships could come later, and you were completely content with that. Being alone wasn't something that bothered you. Or, something that you /let/ bother you. 

You leaned back until you were laying down in the grass, staring up at the cloudy sky. The more you thought about it, the more your head seemed to churn with an anxious and maybe even guilty conscience. 

"By the way, I'd say that, even though we didn't get to pick our own groups, I don't mind being paired with you." You sighed, keeping your eyes trained on the sky as Jean laid down next to you. 

From there, the conversation switched to a few different topics, one of them being a small argument over the particular shape of a cloud and what you thought it was. 

Eventually, the clouds dissipated, and the sky faded from its blue to a dusty orange lined with a pale pink-ish-purple. 

"I guess it's time to go home for the night," Jean said. 

"Mhm, guess so," you quietly said, but made no effort to sit up yet. 

Next to you, Jean stood, brushing off his clothes and running a hand through his hair, attempting to make sure there wasn't any grass on his person. Then, when it was apparent that you still hadn't even moved, he nudged you with his shoe. "You coming or what?" 

"I’m waiting," 

"For what?" 

"The first star I see" 

Jean slowly looked away from you and to the sky, "Can I ask why?" 

"No." 

It wasn't really a big deal, but this was your favorite time of the day, and you had the habit of looking for the first star you could find and making a small wish on it. It had been something you'd done ever since you were a kid; old habits die hard. But it wasn't something you just went and told people about, especially not someone like Jean. You were sure that he'd poke fun at you for it. 

His voice pulled you away from your thoughts, and you watched as he pointed just above your heads. "I think there's one over there." 

From your perspective, he was lined up to where the star was atop his finger.The sight made you smile softly; you didn’t notice that he had glanced back down, watching the small moment. 

"Okay, now we can go." You sat up slowly and climbed to your feet, grabbing your bag from where it had been by your feet. 

The two of you parted ways for the night, and you found yourself back at your dorm, which was uncharacteristically empty and quiet. Either Sasha would come home drunk again (or with her hands full of food that she got from Connie or that Niccolo guy) or that she would stay out for the night. Marco on the other hand, was probably visiting some other friends for the short weekend, so most likely, you had the place to yourself until the following evening. 

With the freedom at hand, you took some time to make dinner and lounged around the shared living space, until eventually, your eyelids grew heavy, and you forced yourself into your bed for the night.

The sound of knocking at your door woke you up. At first, you had half a mind to ignore it, but with your roommates, and the friends they had, the knocking wouldn't stop.  You glanced at the clock, seeing that it was around noon, a time that you hardly ever slept in till.

"Yeah, okay, I'm up. Who is it?" you grumbled at the door, noting that if it was Marco, he wouldn't necessarily need to knock, meaning that it must be Sasha. 

And it was. At your words, she swung the door open lazily, and leaned around the corner, "Heyyy, I was wondering if you had plans today? Connie, Jean, and I were going to play some volleyball! Wanna come? Marco is gonna join us later!" 

You took a moment to think it over. It was Sunday, so you didn't have classes, and depending on how long you were out, you could always do more homework later. Not to mention, Jean's comment about how you worked too much was still fresh in your mind. 

"...Yeah, okay, I'll come play. Give me a few minutes and I'll get dressed." 

She gave you a huge grin, shouting over her shoulder, "They said they'd come! You guys still have the net?" 

You watched as she disappeared back into the main area of the dorm, and then shut your door to change. When you exited, you could see the three of them waiting by the door, Jean holding the net, while Connie was tossing the ball between his hands. 

The walk was fairly short, as Jean had suggested the field that the two of you had been at the other day, and just like the day before, there weren't very many people out. You guys could set up a spot without having to worry about anyone else. 

At least, that's how it was at first. The game went smoothly. Surprisingly, all three of them were pretty good at the sport; though, if you had to rank them, it would be Sasha, then Jean (mostly because he can use his height to his advantage), and then Connie. 

For the first game you played, it was you and Sasha versus Jean and Connie. Then, it switched to you and Connie, and finally, you and Jean. 

No one was really counting points; no one could keep track, though each side was sure that they were winning, even if they weren't. It was about halfway through the current match, right as you were about to serve, when something came crashing into your head. 

It had hit you pretty hard, and it took you a moment to even realize what had happened and what was currently happening. 

"Hey, man, watch where you throw this thing! You nearly took my partner out!" Jean was holding a football and pointing it aggressively at another college student, who you think was named Floch or something close to it. 

The guy snatched the ball from Jean, giving him the dirtiest look. "Well, maybe you guys shouldn't be playing so close to where we are." 

At this, Connie and Sasha stepped up. Connie took to Jean's side, starting to bicker with the guy, while Sasha checked your head, fussing over you. 

"Just say sorry to our friend already. You can at least agree that you hit them!" You weren't sure who said that, as all the voices blended together until that moment. Suddenly all eyes were on you. 

More specifically, Floch's eyes. He regarded you warily, annoyance clear in his eyes and voice. "Your dumbass friend looks fine to me,” he sneered. “And besides, we tried to warn them, and they didn't move. It's their own fault. Don't go blaming me for your friend being an idiot." 

You weren't sure what came over you; maybe it was anger from the childish name calling, or maybe it was the stress of the week getting to you, but within an instant, you had crossed the few feet to get to him, and threw a punch. 

You watched as he stumbled back, nearly running into one of his nameless friends, as he clutched at his face. He was clearly seeing red.

"How dare you!" he shouted out. He started to make his way over to you, obscenities of all sorts falling from his mouth.

None of which you really heard, because at that exact moment, Sasha and Connie both shouted the same thing, 'Run,' and took off. 

And, before you knew it, Jean grabbed your hand, pulling you along as he chased after the two, until you four were sure that Floch and his extras weren't going to follow you. 

When you finally stopped, everyone was bent over, stuck in between laughing and gasping for air. 

"Holy shit! That was insane!" Sasha wheezed out, and straightened out, turning to the group with a large smile on her face.

Connie spoke next, hands still on his knees. "I can't believe we ran away." 

All at once, realization hit you: you had just clocked a guy, and then ran away, without even thinking twice. Never in your life had you done something like that. You weren't super confrontational, and you certainly would rather avoid physical altercations. But, at that moment, you had just done it. And, the crazy thing about it was how amusing you found it. Because even though you were struggling to breathe, you were laughing. The kind of laugh where you couldn't stop, and your eyes would start to tear up. 

From where he was standing at your side, Jean watched for a moment, a certain fluttering in his chest (though he could pass it off as his own endeavors with taking in air). You, for the first time that he had seen, were so laid back about the fact that you had hit someone. And the way that you were now chuckling to yourself, clearly in a sort of disbelief mixed with content. 

Jean drew your attention, "Is it bad that I kind of liked seeing you hit him?" Then he paused, as if he had rethought his choice of words. "I mean, in the sense that Floch is a stuck up, entitled bastard, and that he had it coming." 

You gave a little huff, and shrugged. "Well, I'm sure anyone would pay to see that…I honestly didn't know that I was going to hit him…until right after." 

"Well, that was amazing! That guy's been a tyrant since the beginning of the year! He even tries to get in with Eren's group, as if he was even worth being someone to talk to." Connie clapped a hand on your back, his adrenaline still running through him. 

"And I thought that Jean was the one to start fights," Sasha teased.

"Sasha! I don't start fights!" 

Around you, the three continued to talk while you watched, enjoying the sight.  

It was rather nice, for once. You weren't holed up in your dorm room while everyone else had fun, even if the fun was getting into a fight of sorts—which, as you thought back on it, the whole thing was kind of funny. It would have easily been solved if those assholes had just apologized, but you were starting to think that this outcome was better. 

“Hey, should we go back for our things?” Jean asked, pulling your attention to him.

“Yeah, probably, and if those assholes are still there, I think we know someone who can take them on for us.” Connie sent a lopsided grin your way, a certain mischievous look in his eyes.

You shrugged, acting as innocent as possible. “Oh yeah, you’d be the perfect guy for that, even with the serious height disadvantage.” 

Connie’s mouth dropped open, not quite expecting that kind of remark from you. As far as he knew, you were silent, hardworking, and the person who likes to keep to yourself. Even you were a little surprised, but, maybe after today’s events you could try out some new ways to enjoy your life a little more.

Once again, the four of you made your way back to the field, and as you did, you could see a familiar figure standing by your net, looking down at his phone. 

“Marco! You made it!” Connie shouted out, drawing your friend’s attention. “You missed all the action; it was insane!”

“Huh? Did I miss out on playing? And where were you guys?” 

As you approached, Sasha and Connie exploded into answers for his question. 

“You only missed a little of our game-”

“We had to run from Forrester and his braindead lackeys!”

“We’ve got our own Rocky! You should have seen the way they punched him! No hesitation at all!”

Slowly, Marco seemed to piece all of the information together, nodding as he thought it all over. His eyes looked at everyone one by one until he got to you. “You punched someone? The most I've ever seen from you was the time you swore at your computer when it crashed!”

A small and almost shy smile escaped you, “Well, to be fair he started it. I honestly didn’t even think about doing it; my hand moved on it’s own,”

He only shook his head, looking back around the group. “So, are we still playing?”

Jean shook his head. “Maybe we should head back to one of the dorms? Relax or play some games?”

“Oh! I’ve got some fun games!” Sasha chimed in, then paused. “But I’m kind of hungry, so maybe we could make some food, too!”

Once everyone agreed to the plan, the now five of you ended up in the dorm you shared with Marco and Sasha, where Connie, Sasha and Marco focused on setting up some games in the little living room area, and you and Jean were tasked with making some dinner. Of course, it wasn’t exactly easy, given the few options, but eventually, the two of you were able to settle on a college delicacy: instant ramen. 

You pulled out a pot to fill with water, while Jean opened a few packs of said ramen. All in all, it was easy to make, and didn’t take terribly long. Before you knew it, you were handing out bowls to the other three while Jean brought over yours and his to where you were now sitting on the floor, some game cards in front of you. 

“Okay, listen up, I’m not explaining this twice,” Connie announced. “The game is simple: read a card to yourself and then say someones name who you think matches the card. You flip a coin. If it’s heads, you tell everyone what was on the card and give that person the card. If it’s tails, you keep it to yourself, and the card is yours.” Connie gave everyone a pointed look, and when no questions or objections were raised, the game started.

The first to go is Marco; he took a moment to read his card before immediately calling out Connie’s name. Then when the coin was flipped, it landed on heads, earning a small sigh from Marco. 

“It asked who would be the one to need parental supervision no matter what age someone is,” Marco explained.

“What? Why not Sasha?! She gets into more trouble than I do!” 

“Hah! Say that to Professor Levi and all the times he has had to tell you to shut up,” Jean remarked “And not to mention you black out at every party you go to. Do you know how many times I have to carry you home while you sing at the top of your lungs?”

Connie grumbled a bit, but didn’t try to deny the claims. Instead, he pulled out a card to read. His turn ended with a flip of tails, making it now your turn. 

From the main deck, you pulled your card and read it over silently: ‘Out of everyone in the group, who would you rather make out with?’

You can feel your face heat up, already knowing that you only really have two options, Jean or Marco. And Marco is only really a choice because of how well you know him, but even then, you wouldn’t really want to do that with him. So after a few moments of silence, you call Jean’s name, looking anywhere but at his face. 

“That took you some time; must be a good card.” Sasha grinned, reaching for the coin and giving it an impressive flip. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as it landed, and all at once, five heads stuck together to see the outcome.

Heads. The worst possible way for things to go. You could feel all eyes on you now, and you begrudgingly read out the card, once again avoiding looking at Jean entirely. 

A chorus of ooo’s and ahh’s filled your ears, and everyone had something to say about your answer. 

The only one you even managed to hear was the man himself: “I hope you plan to take me out first, I’m not won over so easily." Of course, he had a cocky smirk on his face, pointed directly at you. 

“Whatever, just…whoever is next, take your turn.” You shook your head, busying yourself with eating some of your food that was now starting to get a little cold. 

Time seemed to escape you all and the night drew to a close with Connie and Jean taking their leave. Marco took the time to wash the dishes, roping Sasha into helping, and you retired to your room. You took the time to change into some comfier clothes and settle into your bed, though not quite wanting to sleep just yet. 

Your mind was still stuck on the first game you played and the card you had picked Jean for. While you wouldn’t argue against the idea of finding Jean attractive, or even the idea of kissing him, you just weren’t sure why you were so trapped in thinking about it. You didn’t even know him all that well, and for the most part, you had thought that he was pretty unbearable. 

And yet, the more your thoughts seemed to revolve around him, the more you could feel an uneasy knot forming in your stomach. There was no way that you were going to let yourself get wrapped up in developing feelings for him, or anyone. You were supposed to be focusing on school so that you could get the hell out of this town and make something of yourself.

Not to mention the fact that all of your previous attempts at relationships crashed and burned. The last time that you had gotten close with someone in that way, you ended up with a mixture of being heartbroken and incredibly angry. That was about the time you started keeping to yourself, as if getting to know someone in a more than platonic way would cause your world to shatter again. You couldn’t-no /wouldn’t/ deal with something like that again. 

You let out a groan, planting face first into your pillow and trying to shoo away all thoughts related to romance and feelings, and of Jean Kirstein. 

“Suffocating yourself?” 

You jumped lightly, head snapping up to see Marco in the doorway, leaning against the door frame. His expression was a little hard to read, though he could be like that at times. 

“Uh…no, not quite what I’m going for, but if it gets the job done, then sure,” you joked.

He moved across the room to his own bed where he took a seat, facing you. “Then what’s with the face-in-pillow tactic?”

You hesitated, knowing full and well how close Marco was with Jean, closer than he was with you. “Oh, uh, just, school things, homework, assignments, that sort of thing…”

His eyes narrowed slightly, brows furrowing. “Yeah, for once I don’t buy that, but if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you to spill the details."

Again, you paused, turning away from Marco and looking towards the door. In truth, it wouldn’t hurt to tell him, since he wouldn’t ever tell a secret that wasn’t his. He was definitely the guy who would just want to talk things out, not wanting things to end badly. 

“Okay…Well…that card I got earlier,” you began. “I’m just worried, and I know that it’s just a stupid game, but I cant help but think about it.”

“Worried that Jean took it the wrong way, or worried that you’d actually want to kiss him?”

Marco was somehow always hitting the nail on the head, a talent of his. 

“Would saying both make sense?”

He thought for a moment, the room filling with an unnamable silence, until he spoke again. “Well, I’m sure Jean is going to take it in the way he always does: an ego boost for his way too big head.” Another pause. “As for the idea of maybe wanting to kiss him, I wouldn’t say that's an all too terrible idea, besides the fact that it’s Jean. But, if you really aren't sure about how you feel towards him, maybe you could…test it out?"

“Test it out?” you repeated, confused.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Like ask him to hang out or something. You don’t have to necessarily make it like a date, but you could use the time to get to know him more, and figure out if it’s just because everyone made a big deal out of it, or if you might actually be interested in him, or getting to know him.”

You thought for a moment. The idea was pretty simple, and a good one at that, though just thinking about it made your heart rate speed up. It wasn’t like you had never been one on one with Jean, but now, with all of your thoughts being scrambled like eggs, it was slightly overwhelming. But when it came down to it, you wanted to sort it all out. If you could set your mind straight, and get rid of these terrible thoughts about Jean, you could get back on track for school.

“You’re right, I’ll definitely try that.” You let out a small breath of air and turned back to Marco. “Thanks, I’m glad you’re here.”

“What would you do without me? And don’t worry— I won’t say anything to anyone. my lips are sealed” He smiled, hand coming up to his mouth to mime a zipper motion.

“Okay, good. Unless you want to end up like the douche from earlier, I wouldn’t recommend telling a soul.” 

He gave a laugh before gathering some of his things to go and take a shower, leaving you alone once more. You eventually drifted off to sleep, and surprisingly, you didn’t wake up once.

The next day, you only had one class, and once that was over, you had gone to the library to study, needing to get work done for a few of your other classes. It was a nice change in pace from the day you had yesterday. It wasn’t super crowded, either, which meant you could focus on your work in peace. 

Though, it didn’t last long, as two new faces joined your table. You looked up, almost expecting to see Jean and Connie, or Marco and Sasha, but to your surprise, it was Eren and Armin. 

“I hope you don’t mind us joining you!” Armin smiles, though something in his eyes tells you that he didn’t pick your table without a reason. 

“Uh, no that’s okay.” 

He and Eren settled into two of the chairs, the latter of the two only pulling out his phone. Armin did the exact opposite. He took out two textbooks, a large notebook, and a handful of pens, pencils and markers. 

For the first five minutes or so, the three of you sat in silence. You worked on homework for a communications class, while armin was seemingly working on a paper for a psyche class. But when Eren suddenly scoffed at his phone, you stopped what you were doing to look up at him, questioning his action. 

He in turn looked at you, maybe even through you. “So, turns out, someone gave Forrester a nasty bruise yesterday. He wont say who, so i’m thinking he got his ass kicked and just doesn’t want to admit it.” 

You feigned ignorance, giving Eren a blank stare, “I’m not really sure who that is, but sounds like a tough time for him.”

Eren regarded you for a moment, but it wasn’t his stare that bothered you. You now had Armin’s attention, as if he wanted to ask a question. Or, make a comment on what you said. But instead he said, “Well, I’m not the one to really get into these things, but Floch does like to cause problems for himself, so maybe he deserved it?” 

You nodded along, not wanting to give Eren any more information. With him, rumors tended to get out of hand quickly, and you really did not want to be the talk of the school over an altercation with Floch. To everyone in the school, you were pretty much some nobody, and frankly, you weren’t upset at the idea. If it meant less trouble for you, it was going to be something you’d stay okay with.

“Well he’s been bitching about it all day. It’s starting to get on my nerves.” Eren flipped his phone over, leaning back in his chair as he did. 

“Does he expect you to do something about it?” You asked, still trying to keep a low profile, while also trying to pry more information out of him.

“I’m sure thats what he wants, but I’m not going to help him with that, Floch can fight his own battles.”

A thick silence descended over your table. You took it as a sign that you could continue working on your homework. The one for your comms class wasn’t due until tomorrow, but you really wanted to finish it. 

This had always really been how you did things. You tried to finish things early, study as soon as possible, take as much time to get your work done as possible. And you weren’t the only one. Armin had also gone back to his work, and though you weren’t sure when it was due for him, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it was due at the end of the week or so.

You weren’t all that close with Armin, but the two of you had taken the time to study with eachother for the one class that you did share, and you had even reached out once to ask if he would tutor you for a few sessions, needing help with your math at the time. It was a nice thought to know that you weren’t the only student to stray from the eyes of their peers.

Though he had a harder time with it, being best friends with Eren and all. Not to mention he was also friends with Mikasa Ackerman, who was arguably the girl who drew most people’s attention. 

Before you knew it, two hours had passed, and you felt your phone buzz. You picked it up from the table, squinting your eyes at the bright screen. It was Jean.

“Hey, why are you with Armin, and that idiot.”

At this, you paused, looking around the library, not seeing Jean. 

“Where are you?” you replied.

After a minute or two, your phone buzzed again.

“Come and find me.” 

And that was it. He didn’t send any other messages, even after you sent him two more, questioning him again. You frowned, then looked to your things. You had been working for awhile, so getting up and moving might not be the worst thing. You proceeded to pack everything that you had pulled out earlier, and stood from your chair, looking to the other two.

“I think I’m going to head out. Let’s meet up again later in the week to work on Professor Hange’s assignment.”

Armin glanced up, and smiled, “Okay! How about Thursday? I can show you what all I’ve finished!”

“Sounds good.” You gave a short wave, and turned away from the table, scanning the surrounding areas before setting off in a random direction. 

There were a few more tables behind some of the bookshelves, but none of the students sitting at them were Jean. You checked out the library’s computer section next, and kept looking until you ended up near Armin and Eren again. Another frown crossed your face, until you heard a muffled laugh. 

With the new hint, you looked upwards to the second floor. And there he was, leaning against the railing, smirking down at you. You felt your face heat up in what you were going to call embarrassment, and definitely not any other word that had to do with your complicated thoughts on him, and how from where you stood, he looked almost handsome. 

You sent a halfhearted glare his way and headed up the stairs, making your way over to him, about to comment on his antics, but you weren’t able to get a word out before he could make fun of you. 

“You looked really dumb running around trying to find me.”

You gave an astonished laugh, “Yeah, well you sounded like a complete stalker just now.”

“And you still came to find me. I’m starting to think you like me more than you let on.” 

The unsettling feeling returned to your stomach at his words, though you weren’t surprised that he was poking fun at you after yesterdays game. “In your dreams.” You crossed your arms over your chest, trying to ease the increasing amount of uneasiness that was slowly taking ahold of you. 

“Hm, I guess that’s true. Does that mean you want me to dream about it?” He looked at you contently, despite all of what he said being the brashest thing you had heard from him yet.

You didn’t say anything to that, instead you changed the subject quickly. “To answer your question about who I was with, I actually didn’t plan on sitting with them. Armin and Eren joined me.”

He gave a slow nod, and peered back at the table down below, where the two were still sitting, “Do you think I could spit on Eren from here?”

“No, and I dont think you should even try.” 

“Buzzkill.”

You scoffed, “I am not a buzzkill. You are just in the middle of some pointless battle of being better than each other.”

Jean looked back to you, staring at you for a moment. Then back down at Eren. “I just don’t get what everyone sees in that guy. He’s clearly an egotistical bastard with no regards to anyone else.”

“Do you think that you guys have anything in common in the fact that you both have ridiculously large egos?”

“Don’t lump me in with him.” This he said more seriously, “Anyways, enough about him, do you want to go do something?”

“Like what?”

He shrugged, and started for the stairs. You followed him wordlessly, and the two of you left the library, now back outside where a light breeze met you. The silence continued to hang over you two as you walked aimlessly in a random direction. You couldn’t tell if he was still thinking about your comment on him and Eren, or something else completely. You decided against asking him about it, and instead found a different topic. 

“Hey so, I found this art exhibit at the museum, it’s about the book Hange assigned us. I was thinking that we could go and check it out and see if we can find anything useful?”

He thought for a moment, eyes wandering the path ahead. “Okay, it doesn’t sound like the worst way to spend an afternoon.”

“Would eleven in the morning on Friday or Saturday be okay?”

“Friday works better for me, I think I’ve got plans with Connie on Satuday.” 

“Okay, Friday it is.” You paused, a smile slowly making it’s way onto your face, “Just make sure to be on time. I wont wait for you this time.”

“Hey! I already apologized for that.” He stopped in place, giving you a pointed look.

You stopped a few feet in front of him, shrugging as you continued to speak, “I need to cover all the bases. I am not going to wait around for you, just for you to tell me that you were hungover.”

“I am not going to be hungover again. I’m not going to make you wait, I swear.”

“You better not, I won’t be as forgiving this time.” You go to move past him, elbowing him as you do. 

He turns on his heel to catch up with you, giving you a slight push at the same time, “You were hardly forgiving last time. You were mad the entire time we were working on the assignment,” Jean pauses, taking a moment to look at the path that you had set off on, “Wait, where are we even going?”

You glanced over to him, then back infront of you. “Well, I’ve done nothing but school work today, and you didn’t mention anything specific other than ‘go do something’ and last time you picked where we went, so now its my turn.”

“Are you going to tell me where we are heading at least?”

“No.” You smiled a little at the statement, remembering how you had done the same thing to him when he had asked about you caring so much about seeing the stars. Looking back over to Jean, who was staring straight ahead, you took a moment to really look at him.

He was pretty tall, and when he wasn’t smiling like some sort of evil bastard, he had a pretty nasty resting bitch face, a combination that probably scared anyone who didn’t know him. Though, you could say that despite all that, he had a few attractive features to him. When he was smiling, actually smiling that is, his eyes lit up. You hadn’t noticed it much before, but now when you thought back on the past few days of being around him, you could see the way his eyes would hold a certain softness.  And when he was thinking, he tended to frown, scrunching up his nose until he came to whatever conclusion he needed. And when the two of you were in the field the other evening, he had an almost blissful aura to him, as if he had no cares in the world, you wouldn't ever guess that he was someone who caused so much trouble. Honestly it was probably a good thing that he had a difficult personality. If his ego was bad now, you don't want to know what he'd be like if he knew all of this about himself.

You looked away before he could catch you staring, and before you gave yourself any more time to think about him, not wanting to let yourself actually fall for the guy. 

Instead you focused on finding your way to today's randomized destination. If you were being honest, you hadn't actually thought of somewhere to go, and frankly, with how little you actually went out, you didn't know too many spots around campus. Regardless, you continued to lead the way, until an idea formed in your head. 

Earlier in the year, you had gotten a tad bit lost while trying to find a class, and ended up on the edge of your campus, where you stumbled on an old tree. Aside from the size of the thing, it seemed completely normal. But when you had looked further at it, there was something of a hidey hole in its backside. Since discovering it, you had made countless trips to the tree, using it as a place to get away from the school. You definitely weren't the first person to discover it, but it seemed like no one else ever really visited the old thing. 

As you and Jean came upon the tree, he gave a low whistle, craning his head back to take in it's height, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you just took me to a make out spot," 

You threw a bewildered look at him, before shaking your head slowly, "Well, since you do know better, you should know that it's more likely that I've brought you to the best place on campus to hide a body."

He in turn shook his own head, "And here I thought we we're getting closer," 

"Closer to hiding your body?"

"Not quite what I was thinking…" he trailed off, taking a moment to circle around the tree, his hand trailing along the bark as he went, "so, what made you pick here? Other than premeditated murder."

As he came back around, you watched as he took the time to drop his bag at the ground by his feet, kneeling down next to it for a moment, searching its contents. 

"Hm, I'm not entirely sure. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who ever comes here anymore." You pause, eyeballing what Jean was now holding in his hands, "It's kind of like a secret hideout minus the secret part, since anyone can stumble on this old tree." 

"And yet you brought me here…I'm starting to worry about my wellbeing," he chuckles, then takes a seat a few feet away from the tree. 

In his hands, he held a sketchbook. It looked a good few years old, as loose pages stuck out here and there, and the sheets were starting to yellow along the edges. You watched on quietly, as he flipped open to one of the last few pages, pausing as he glanced back at the tree. 

After a few moments you moved to stand just behind him, looking down at the page, which now held some sketch lines, resembling the tree just ahead of you.

You kept quiet for a bit, watching him quietly. He was lighthanded, it was as if any stray line within the whole piece would fly off the page and into the world around you. 

"You know you can sit and watch me draw too, right?"

"Yeah, and sit next to you? No thanks." You moved away from him, a slight flustered tone in your voice as you realized just how long you had been observing him. 

Instead, you took a seat at the base of the tree, opening your own bag, pulling out some more of your homework. Between the two of you, the only noises were the sounds of pencil on paper, and the occasional shifting of branches in the wind. 

You weren't really sure just how long things stayed that way. The only thing that brought your mind back to reality was the feeling of being stared at. 

"Need something?" You asked, arching a quizzical eyebrow in Jean's direction.

He shook his head, closing his sketchbook quietly, "Not at all. I was just wondering how much homework you were going to do before you got bored of being such a studious person." 

You scoffed at him. He was teasing you for this again? 

"Well, unlike some people, I need to pass all my classes so I can get the hell out of here." 

"You hate it here that much?" 

You paused, a lump forming in your throat. How were you even supposed to answer that question? All in all, this small town was horrible, and had been that way your entire life. Growing up you didn't have very many friends, and your family was fairly distant to you. You had shouldered all of your problems and responsibilities by yourself. Even now, in your college years it was hard to shake the feeling that you were still alone. 

You drew in a breath. "Sometimes, I sit by myself at my desk, and just stare at one of my notebooks until all the lines blur together. And then I realize that I'm crying. But what's funny about that is, I never know why I'm crying. " you start, bringing your eyes to his, "I never have the words to describe what i'm feeling in those moments. It's the same with how I feel about this place. I really don't know if I hate it, or if I'm just…projecting something else onto it." 

Jean stills with the information, until he takes a long breath in, "Art isn't much of a passion for me, as much as it is a hobby. I can't tell you how many half finished sketches I have. Sometimes I feel like I just don't have it in me to finish them, as if I'm scared of not knowing what I'm going to do next." 

He isn't talking about art. You know this from the way that Jean looks at you, not with pity, but with a hint of understanding. 

It was silent once again. Your brain turned over and over as you repeated his words in your head. Slowly, a wistful smile spread across your face. 

"You know Jean, you're not so bad after all." 

He stands up, shaking his head as he does, and makes his way over to you, holding out a hand for you to take, "I have my moments, I can't always be the charming asshole everyone says I am."

You hesitated for a moment, eyes flicking to his hand. Slender fingers and a wide palm, his hand looked soft, and the thought of holding it, even just for a moment, would be comforting. You took his hand, averting your gaze as he helped you to your feet. 

"I'm sure everyone leaves out the 'charming' part."

"That's where you're wrong, everyone thinks I'm charming."

"Everyone but me that is," you chirp back, letting your hands fall to your sides.

"You dont think I'm charming?" 

The churning sensation is back. You /wanted/ to say no, to tell him that he was annoying, loud-mouthed, and a pain in the ass, but somewhere in the time you'd known him, he had become annoyingly endearing, loudly funny, and a pain in the ass to ignore the thumping in your chest. 

"I can't say charming is the word I'd use to describe you. Horribly pleasant maybe, but not charming."

At this he smirks, starting to walk backwards away from you, "Oh so you think I'm pleasant? Hopefully in the way that I'm nice to look at." 

"You missed the word horrible," 

He waved off your comment, instead placing one hand on his chest, right over his heart, while reaching out the other hand towards you, "and yet, if I asked you to join me to a delicious five star dinner at my dorm, you'd still say yes." 

You could feel your face flush, knowing that he didn't mean anything more than just to hang out for a little bit longer, and not in some sort of lame date way, "I'd only come because it would be free food, even if the food is terrible. Like you." 

"So, that's a yes you'll be joining me for dinner? I've got…box mashed potatoes, frozen broccoli, and hopefully leftover seasoned chicken." 

You turned back to where you had left your things, a slightly messy sight. "Alright alright, I'll come, pick up your things and we can go." 

You knelt down next to your bag, trying to ignore the nervous shaking of your hands as you collected your things. Your mind raced with warring thoughts. How did this happen? How was it that Jean Kirstein of all people, had weaseled his way into being someone that you didn't fully hate? But, there was no way you were going to let him get in the way of school, and your plans to finally be free from this horrible town. But then part of you wondered, was it all one sided? Jean seemed to be the type to have all sorts of girls and guys fawning over him, even if he had only ever been open about one specific girl that he was interested in, which of course had been Mikasa. But you couldn't even blame him, she was out of everyone's league. How she seemed to be completely and obviously in love with Eren Jeager of all people was a mystery to you. 

"Hey, are you listening?" His voice stopped your thoughts in their tracks, as you hadn't even noticed that he had been speaking to you. 

"Now why would I be doing that?" You shouldered your bag, standing back up and facing him.

"We've been over this, because I'm charming- sorry, pleasant." 

"Again, you left out the horrible part." 

"I've got a feeling that you don't mean that, otherwise you'd just call me horrible." He turns halfway away from you, looking back to the general area of the school. 

You paused, walking up next to him, trying to ignore the fact that he was right, "You just have selective hearing." 

Jean eyed you while starting to head back to the dorms, a different and softer smile making its way onto his face, "Not when it comes to you." 

You nearly tripped over a stray rock, his words repeating in cycles in your head. You could only give him a glance, busying yourself with avoiding any other stones on the sidewalk. 

What did he mean by that? What did you want those words to mean? Your mind flashes back to your conversation with Marco. The feeling of your heart painfully pounding against your ribs surfaces. Your hands tremble ever so slightly while they grasp at the straps of your bag. Marco was right, and he hadn’t even said anything about you actually having feelings for Jean. 

As the thought hit, you spared another quick look towards him. He was looking at you. Careful eyes studying your demeanor. The way you walked. The way your eyes struggled to meet his. The way your mouth formed a tight line as you realized all of this was happening.

“Hey, if you really don’t want to try my cooking, you don’t have to come.” He let out a breath, running a hand through his hair for a moment. 

You looked away. You could turn him down, you could go home. It would be the easy way out. You could ignore any of his future attempts at hanging out. You could finish school and leave this place. Leave him and everyone else again. 

The thought of it made you shudder. In doing so, you would be condemning yourself to your worst self. Being alone. 

You looked back to Jean, his face morphed into one of concern, clearly puzzled as to why you were taking so long to answer. 

You were tired of being alone. Tired of pushing away your own happiness in pursuit of a future that wasn’t even set in stone. 

You flashed a smile his way, and waved off his words, “No way, you said it was a five star dinner. I can’t pass on that.”

He stared at you for a moment. Then, his confusion melted away, replaced by that famous cocky smile, “Okay good, I wasn’t sure what to do if you bailed on me.”

“Maybe you could have cooked for Connie too, light some candles, play some mood music, you know, make it all romantic for the two of you.” You chuckled, about to make another remark when Jean gave you a playful shove. 

“Why would you say that! I can’t have a romantic dinner with Connie of all people!” 

“Sure you can! It’s easy! Candles, music, food! All you need!” 

Jean groaned and shook his head. “You’re horrible.”

“Pleasant, actually.” You grinned. 

He hummed in response, and you could’ve swore you heard him mumble ‘horribly pleasant my ass’

His dorm room was warm, and set up similarly to yours. The same bland, small kitchen and the same questionable excuse for a couch just a few feet away. Three sets of doors that led to his roommates, and two bathrooms. 

One of the doors were open, and you caught a glimpse of Connie attempting to take mirror selfies. He would take one, bring the phone close to his face, frown and then try again. It wasn’t until his third or forth picture that he noticed you staring through the mirror. 

“Well if it isn’t our very own Rocky!” He grinned, hastily shoving his phone into the pocket of his sweats. 

“Hey Connie” you waved, then smirked a little, “I'm sure the ladies will love all of those selfies.” 

His face flushed slightly, and he stepped out of his small room, “For your information, the ladies already love seeing my handsome face. I was just taking a few more for-”

Jean cut him off, a bark of a laugh filling the room, “Like you can get a girl to think your ugly mug is anything worth looking at.” 

Connie gaped, “Dude, that’s just cold. I thought you liked my face.” 

You eyeballed the two, before turning to Jean and mouthing the words, ‘romantic dinner’ 

Jean glared halfheartedly, before a smile broke through, “and here I thought I was treating you to a five star, romantic dinner.” 

Connie was now the one looking between the two of you, unsure if Jean was being serious or not. You, on the other hand, could feel your face heat up. He had to be joking. Jean was making a joke based off of your joke. That was the only thing that would make sense at the moment. 

“Only if it involves candles and music.” You attempt to force your voice into sounding level, as if you weren’t sickeningly thrilled by the idea of your dinner with Jean being a little more than friendly. 

His head swivels around the room, scanning the small area before emitting a sigh of halfhearted defeat, “Might need a raincheck on that, I don't have any candles.” Jean pauses, thinking for a moment, “Unless you had your heart set on the romantic dinner with candles and music, maybe I can make something work.” He smirked in your direction, true to his usual cheeky self. 

You faced away from him, moving to set your backpack down on the floor by the door, “No candles, no deal.” You pause, practically feeling Connie’s wide eyed stare pointed at your back. 

“That’s not a no to having a more than friendly dinner, now is it?” Jean fires back, smiling in a not so innocent way. Your stomach twisted in knots. He wasn’t wrong. You had intentionally avoided his question, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of yet another person falling for his aggravating charm. 

You shrug a response, giving back another flippant response, “Sure, if it helps you sleep at night to think of it that way.” 

After a moment of silence, Connie’s voice fills the room. “Yeah so, I don’t really know whats going on here, but i’m gonna head out. Sasha is waiting for me with Marco.” He slides on a pair of shoes, grabs a bag and promptly leaves, but not before saying a goodbye, “See ya later Rocky, and Jean, I hope you choke on your food.”

To which, all Jean says is, “Yeah, whatever man.”

You watch him leave quietly, then turn back to face Jean, studying him for a moment. He hasn’t noticed your stares yet,  not when he’s busying himself with pulling out what he needed for this dinner supposedly high rated by Michelin themselves. 

Throughout the past year or so, you had noticed that when Jean was concentrating, he tended to screw up his face a little, eyebrows scrunched in, mouth quirked off to the side, usually whatever was in his hands was being toyed with. But right now, he was different. A content soft smile, and the look in his eyes was gentle. Fond. Domestic. 

“Do you need help with anything?” You asked, feeling the need to do something other than just stand around. 

Jean looked back up at you, bag of frozen broccoli in his hands. “Do you want to make the instant potatoes or the broccoli?” 

You walked to him, and grabbed the bag from him, “Where do you keep your pots and pans?”

“Planning on making this a fancy dinner?” He paused, taking a moment to grab out a small pot for you, and then a lid. “Are you steaming them?”

You set the bag down, then eyed the pot and lid, “Would you happen to have one of those steaming baskets? Or do I need to get creative?”

Jean smiled sheepishly, “I’ve got Connie for a roommate. If I was Niccolo I would definitely have one of those, therefore, you’ll have to get creative. But you’re pretty smart, so I believe in you.”

You nodded slowly. That made sense. Jean and Connie were in the same boat as Sasha, Marco and yourself. If you had done more planning for dinner you probably could have worked something else with Niccolo to borrow his cooking supplies. Though you were sure that the guy would say no, as he was pretty particular about his things. Oh well. You’d have to figure something else. 

The rest of the preparations went fine, and before you knew it, the two of you were sitting at a dingy table that each dorm room had, making small talk over left over chicken and mid-tier potatoes and broccoli. 

“Okay, so I’ll  bite. What’s your deal?” Jean asked suddenly, then his eyes went a little wide as he realized the wording of his question, “I mean! Uh…Well-”

You cut him off, easily able to tell what he meant, “Do you mean why do I have no life and only study and do my work alone?”

He melted under your gaze, before nodding slowly, “I meant it a little nicer though.”

“Its okay, I got what you meant…I think.” You set your fork down, suddenly scrutinizing a small crack in your plate. 

Jean cleared his throat a bit before speaking again, “It’s just that…you spend so much time studying, and it definitely pays off. I’ve heard from Sasha that you have really good grades. But…”

“But?”

“They worry about you. Sasha and Marco that is…and well, I kind of do too. At least, more now that I know you a little better.”

You don’t respond. He’s going somewhere with this. You can tell by the cadence of his voice, how he seems to be picking his words carefully.

“I think that even just in the past few days, you’ve opened  up a lot…I finally got to see you smile.” He paused, “I remember one time last year, in one of our shared classes, I went to see the professor, but you were already there, pleading with him for some extra credit. And when you came out, you look like you had been crying. The next day, I went out of my way to tell you a joke, hoping that maybe you’d smile.”

“I remember that. I told you that I was busy with a make up assignment and ignored you.” You hummed a little, thinking back to Jean back then. His hair was shorter, and he was even more obnoxious that he had been this year. It was one of the few times you had actually spoke to him at the time.

“So…I guess I was just wondering where all this pressure on you comes from?” He fidgets with something in his hands. Like when he’s focusing on his work. You’ve seen it countless times in the past, you just never thought about it until now.

With a sigh, you resign yourself to telling him a little bit about yourself, “I’ve lived here my whole life. And my whole life, I’ve basically been alone. Friends were hard to come by, especially after I decided that all I wanted to do was leave. So, with no one to hold me back, as long as I finish college strong, I can leave and go anywhere I want. I have to do this. Staying here is out of the question…” You trailed off, thinking about how you had never truly said these words out loud. 

“But?” He spoke softly, as if he could tell that you had been battling with yourself on what you truly wanted. He stared at you, not through you as most other people did. Your heart sped up. What were you supposed to say now? You had only started to question your aspirations because of him. And you absolutely would not be sharing that thought now. 

“But nothing. I meant what I said. I’m getting out of this hell and I’m not looking back. Ever.”  you spat the words out, a sudden low and hollow feeling settling in your stomach. What were you doing? A small voice in the back of your head answered that question for you. The same one that you let control most of your college days. You were wasting time, you had assignments to do and a degree to work towards. 

You moved to stand suddenly. “I have to go…I forgot that I’m supposed to meet with Armin tomorrow. I should really make sure that I’m ready to show him my part..and yours too.” You grabbed your backpack, and escaping out into the hall. 

You stood there quietly, chest moving up and down as you took in harsh breaths,  not entirely sure why you did all of that. With a shake of your head you made the journey back to your own dorm, not bothering to take off your shoes at the door like you normally did, instead you merely trudged into your room, tossing your bag onto the ground by your desk, and finding a seat on the edge of your bed. 

“Are you okay?” Your freckled friend spoke up, nearly giving you a heart attack in the process. You hadn’t even noticed that he was home.

You didn’t answer. Instead, tears began to fill your eyes. He was by your side in an instant, arms wrapping around you carefully. Muffled sobs wracked your body. With each one Marco only hugged you a little tighter. He let you cry until you were done. 

“I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.” The words fell from your lips, and you couldn’t stop what came after them, “This whole time i’ve had one goal; to graduate with soaring grades, and to leave. Make as few friends as possible so that way I wouldn’t get distracted…and so that leaving would be easier.” 

“What changed then?” Marco asked, his voice soft and careful. You got the feeling that he already knew the answer.

“Jean. Jean crashed into my life and ruined my plans. I haven’t even really known him that long and suddenly I’m throwing away school just to hang out with him. I haven’t been studying the same way I used to, instead I’m playing volleyball with him, and he’s holding my hand as we run away. I’m sitting with him by that old tree and thinking about him instead of the words on my papers. I’m cooking with him and thinking about how muchI want to do it all again.” Your words are quiet, but Marco hears them all the same.

“You do know that those don’t have to be bad things, right?” He lets you go, taking a moment to scoot away ever so slightly, making you look up at his face, where a small smile rests, “It’s been nice to see you let loose. And I know that you’ve been enjoying yourself.”

You attempt to frown, “Thats not true.” 

A beat passes and you speak again, “Okay. Maybe a little…but I-”

“No. No buts. You are the hardest working person I know. You are smart and you always apply yourself to your work. You are doing amazing. It’s time that you see that for yourself. You will finish school, and you will be able to go out into the world and do whatever you want to do, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait to have any of that fun. You deserve to enjoy your life, the one right now in the present that you are living, okay?”

His words played on repeat in your mind a few times, you tried to interalize them, make them into your own instead of letting that voice shoo them away. 

“Okay.” You nodded, then brought a hand up to your face, covering your mouth for a moment, “I left Jean.”

“What?”

“We were eating dinner and talking and then I got upset and I just…I just left. “

Marco pursed his lips, nodding slightly as he tried to imagine the scene. Jean sitting alone at his table, probably confused and wondering what he did wrong. “Well…theres only so much you can do about that, which I suggest texting him. Let him know that you’re alright, and just so that the poor guy doesn’t overthink, that he didn’t cause you to run off.”

You nodded, “Right. Okay. I can do that.”

It grew quiet between you and Marco, though it didn’t last very long. There was a light tone in his voice, one he used when he wanted to tease someone without making them aware of it, though you had learned to recognize it fairly well. 

“So, I’m assuming that you like Jean…at least a little bit.”

“Okay. Get off my bed. This moment is over.” You push him gently, facing away from Marco. 

“Are you going to tell him?”

“Oh would you look at the time? I should really head to bed, okay goodnight Marco, get off my bed.”

He laughed, and did as you said, letting you have the room so you could change, “goodnight lovebird.”

Ignoring him as best as you could, you changed quickly, and crawled right back into your bed, under the safety of your comforter.  Once there, you pulled out your phone, fingers trembling as you brought up the chat with Jean.

You stared at it for a moment. The last messages were from earlier this day. He hadn’t said anything since then. 

Slowly you typed out an apology. “Hey Jean, I’m really sorry for just bailing earlier. Super not cool of me.”

You groaned at the words, quickly backspacing and starting again. “Sorry about earlier, I didn’t mean to just leave you there. I promise things are fine. It wasn’t you, or the food for that matter.” 

You hit send, not giving yourself time to overthink the text any longer. 

Fairly quick after your message had been sent, Jean had already replied. “Its okay! You had me worried for a minute there. Thought maybe the food tasted so bad that you just had to leave to get an actual five star dinner.”

He was being courteous. Trying to keep the conversation light as to not scare you off again. 

Your fingers flew across the keyboard once more, “Let me make it up to you. Friday, 11am, at the museum.”

“You really don’t have to make anything up to me, I get it.”

“Jean. Just let me feel bad and try to make it up. Or else I will think about this all night.”

His next message wasn’t exactly what you thought he’d say…or actually, it was exactly what he would say, “Oh, so if I don’t let you have your way, you will be up all night…thinking about me?”

“No.” You hit send. Then sent another message, “Ykw nevermind. I’m not sorry. Be on time friday or else.”

He was quick to shoot back another response, “Okay fine. Make it up to me.”

Then another message, “How do you plan on doing that anyways?”

“You’ll see. Be patient.”

It wasn’t long after that did you eventually fall asleep. The next day was pretty uneventful. Your meeting with Armin was fine, as the guy already had about half of the presentation outline done, and with all of the information and other necessary work that you had gathered, Armin would most likely have the whole thing done by the time he went to bed that night. 

The rest of the day passed quickly, almost too quickly for your liking. Before you knew it, your alarm was going off, signalling that it was ten twenty-five in the morning. 

You had spent some time the day before thinking of how to make up for ditching Jean the other night, and finally settled on an idea. Said idea was currently sitting on your desk, inside a plastic bag. 

You gave it a quick look before climbing out of your bed, moving to your dresser to get ready for the day. 

You had just thrown on your shoes, sparing a glance at your phone to the time. It was eleven. You were going to be late. Of course after all that talk to Jean about being on time, you were going to be running behind this time. You could only imagine what he would have to say about it.

You hurriedly grabbed the bag from your desk, and shoved your phone into you pocket after sending yet another apology to Jean. 

The trip to the museum took about twenty minutes with public transport. It was eleven twenty-three and you had finally made it to the museum doors. 

Jean was standing just to the right of them, staring down at his phone, his back to you. You watched as he brought his phone to his ear, and smiled slightly as your phone buzzed in your pocket. 

You let it ring. Walking up and tapping his shoulder a few times. “Sorry I’m late.”

He spun around, eyes landing on your form. His mouth hung up for a moment before he hung up the phone call, “Is this to get back at me for the other day?”

“No…I just slept past my first alarm.”

“Oh so when you’re late its okay but when I’m late its the worst thing ever.”

You shrugged slightly, “I at least texted you in advance.” You paused, then remembered the bag you were holding, “Oh…um. I got you this. To make up for bailing.”

He eyed the bag suspiciously, “I thought I told you not to worry about it.”

“I worried about it. Now just say thanks and take the bag from me.” You rushed the words out, holding it out to him, “No refunds so you have to keep it.”

His fingers deftly took the plastic handles from you, and reached inside the bag. You watched quietly as he lifted the gift out, eyes softening as he realized what it was. 

“You bought me a new sketchbook?” He hummed a little, looking at the cover for a few moments, “This is a really nice brand too. I’ve always wanted to try it out.”

“Your other one looked a little full the other day…so I figured I could afford a nice one to say that I’m sorry. “

Jean let the sketchbook slide back into the bag, “Well…thank you. I really appreciate this.” He toed something on the ground, eyes unable to find yours. 

You instead took this moment to find the exhibit tickets on your phone, nudging him slightly, “Let’s get going, there’s a couple of pieces I think we should look at specifically.”

Once inside, you took a few moments to study the map of the place, trying to figure out which hall you needed to go to, before Jean took your hand in his, face a little flushed as he did so. 

“I come here pretty often, most of the new exhibits are near the back on the first floor.” He said, pulling you along with him. 

It wasn’t too crowded, and as most museums were, it was quiet. A nice solitude for those who liked to hide away from the world, and find new ones in the art and historical pieces sheltered there.

When the both of you made it to the exhibit, you found that you were the only ones there. Meaning that you could stare at the art as long as you needed. Which you did. Slowly you let Jean’s hand slip from yours.

You hadn’t thought about seeing the art in real life, and how much it would effect you. Entrap you in every single paint stroke, every single carving of marble. It was beautiful. Clearly the story that was assigned to you had meant a lot the various artists. 

You found Jean staring at a drawing. It was mostly in charcoal, though some color had been added here and there, giving the piece whimsical dimension. It looked to be a tree. A large, barren tree in a valley of never ending sand. From the branches, blue and green spilled out across the paper, spanning what would be the sky. 

“You like this one?” You asked with a hush, not wanting to startle him. 

He nodded, “It’s simple, but I just know that the artist put a lot of work into it. Every line is purposeful. And we will never truly know what it means.” He responded, eyes traveling down to the plaque, where it read the piece’s title, “Paths.” With an unnamed author. 

You let him look at the drawing for as long as he needed. You wandered to a sculpture on display a few steps to the right. It seemed to be one of the titans depicted in the story. Creme colored marble in the form of a woman, skeletal mouth open in what the book claimed to be a war cry. There were ribs formed around her abdomen. Her hand outstretched towards the open air. From this perspective, despite the lack of facial features, the statue almost looked sad. A women with an extraordinary ability, forced to use it for harm, all because she was in love with the wrong person. At least, that’s what you wanted to think.  You were sure that others in your class thought the opposite. Which of course was exactly what your analysis was going to focus on. 

You studied it for a few more moments, before looking away, finding Jean now standing across the room, in front of another painting. You moved to stand next to him, looking at what held his attention.

It was of a starry night sky, bathed in dark blues and purples. Underneath, was a lone pig in a field, head faced towards the grass. 

“This is what started the book, right?” You asked, watching as he nodded once.

“But that’s not what i’m thinking about.”

“Then what’s going on in your mind?”

Jean looked back to you, smiling sideways, “Why did you wait the other night, at the field? I figured that you were waiting for a star, but why?”

You brought your eyes back to the painting, looking from the dark green grass, to the pig that was grazing on it peacefully, then to a star painted to be the brightest one there. 

“When I was younger, I used to stand outside, or at my window, and just wait. As soon as I saw the first star of the night, I made a wish on it.” You paused, thinking back on your childhood, “I used to wish for a friend, or someone more than that. I was pretty lonely as a kid. Eventually I started wishing for a future other than that…and then, I stopped wishing. I still would wait for the star, but I made sure that I wasn’t relying on a ball of gas in the sky to make my wishes come true.”

“I’d say that they came true then.” Jean turned his body to face yours, looking down towards you, some thought dancing in his eyes.

You mimicked his motion, allowing yourself to face him fully, “And what makes you say that?”

“You’ve made two whole friends.” 

“I’ve made three.” You corrected him softly, thinking back to your first conversation about it with him, “Sasha and Marco are very nice people who I like a lot.” You state matter of factly.

He chuckles, shaking his head. “And the third? Don’t tell me it’s Floch…or even worse, Eren.”

“Mmm close. It’s you.” 

He places a hand to his heart, dramatic words escaping him, “How long have I waited for you to realize that you and I are friends.”

“You’re still horribly pleasant.” You remark, shaking your head, “Maybe I should take it back about being friends.”

“Too late, you already said it. No refunds.” He drew closer to you, enough to where you could feel his warmth. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Isn’t that technically already a question?” You pause, then nod to him, “But, yeah, go for it.”

“When you graduate, and leave this town. Will you forget about your friends?”

You hesitate. You knew that he wasn’t really asking about Marco or Sasha. You can feel your stomach flip over a few times, that annoying feeling of nervousness that came whenever you thought about Jean.

“No. I wont. How could I?” Your words seem to have some sort of effect on Jean, as he dodesn’t speak. You continue, trying to pick your words carefully, “When it comes to you, specifically you…I would have one hell of a time forgetting you, Jean.”

“I am pretty cool…” He mumbles, then swallows his pride, “But, what if I don’t want you to remember me?” 

You tilt your head to the side, giving him a confused look, but still allowing him to continue.

“I just mean…what if I want to be remembered as not just a friend. As more than that?” 

He locks eyes with you, his face serious as he waits for you to say something, to say anything really. 

You swear that your heart stops beating altogether. It wasn’t one sided. You thought back to your conversation with Marco from two nights before. You deserved this. Deserved to enjoy yourself. To let yourself live a little. 

“I think i’d like that.” You smile warmly, “Because I like you Jean. I tried really hard not to, but I do. And maybe, just maybe I don’t want to look back on college and only remember you as a friend.” You pause, taking in a small breath and willed yourself to finish your thought, “Maybe, after I graduate, we both can look back on the time. Together.”

“So, you don’t want to skip town and never look back?” he asks

“Skip town? Still do, but I can’t afford to ignore my time here.” 

“What if I came with you when you leave.” it’s less of a question, and more of an idea.

“Let’s just get to graduation first, Jean.”

He lets out a breathy laugh, nodding as he does, “Got ahead of myself there. But I have one more question.”

You study him for a moment, just as you had been studying the rest of the art in the museum. “You know, you were only supposed to ask one question anyways.”

“Last one, I promise.” 

“Okay, okay, what is it?”

“Can I kiss you?”

You’re suddenly all too aware of the small gap in your bodies, and his baited breath, and the sensation in your stomach that feels less like churning water and more like butterflies floating around blooming flowers. You hardly hear yourself tell him yes. 

The stiffness leaves Jean’s body, and he brings his hand free from the plastic bag up to your face, cupping your cheek lightly. His hand is warm, but not as warm as your flushed face is. His thumb moves back and forth slightly as he pulls you to him. His lips are soft, and you can feel his lashes flutter against your cheek. You easily find it in you to move in sync with him, allowing yourself to lean into the kiss, a small smile finding its way onto your face. 

He lets you pull away first. And for a moment all the two of you can do is stand there. You’re sure that you could stand there all day with him. 

You let him speak first. 

“So, am I still horrible?”

“Horribly, yet pleasantly charming. Yes.”

[an-angel-in-the-garden]

Romantic Inuyasha x Fem!Reader where Inuyasha and reader are stuck in a room together and Inuyasha gets more and more nervous as time goes by (He can’t get out because he’s it’s a new moon). Reader plays with his hair to calm him down which catches him off guard because nobody’s ever done that before. Surprise surprise, he likes it a LOT.

Wow, I haven't gotten an Inuyasha request in a while. This is very pre relationship leaning. So more like him just realizing that he likes the reader and how it makes him feel, hope that's alright. I also added some headcanons. I felt like my writing was a tad lacking and wanted to add just a little more to the end to fill it out.

" Argh! Come on already!!" The yelling only echoes within the dimly lit room. After the third attempt you'd think he'd give up, but Inuyasha was always too stubborn for that. It's hard to say just how much time has passed but it couldn't have been that long since no one has shown up to save you. " I think that's enough. At this rate you're just going to get hurt!" There's an annoyed huff as Inuyasha practically throws himself on the floor. " At most we've been here an hour, the others will find us soon enough so just be a little more patient maybe?" 

" An hour is way too long. Anything could happen! Plus, you really think those idiots will find us by morning." Inuyasha snots. 

" Well if they don't that's fine. By morning you'll be able to get us out without hurting yourself." The young woman smiles. " Really, it's fine Yasha. This isn't the worst thing we've dealt with." Although she may be taking the situation in stride, Inuyasha found himself only growing more anxious. Though it's true that this isn't the worst they've been through, he couldn't stand being so powerless and made more human than ever by the new moon he felt so... unsure about what to do next. A few beats of silence followed before he stood to try again, it's not as if anyone would stop him. oh, how wrong he was, so very wrong a mere five minutes after he'd started banding on the door and searching the room he found himself rudely dragged back to the bed in the corner and forced to sit down

" HEY!" 

" Don't yell. I'm just trying to calm you down. We are going to be fine; I promise." Before Inuyasha can argue he feels a hand press softly on his head. Then another and soon those two soft hands are running through his hair and scratching his scalp. For a moment he tenses, it's been so long since anyone has treated him so softly. The moment his brain catches up with what's happening Inuyasha knows it's too late. His face grows warm and red, his mouth hurts from the smile on his face and his heart is beating a mile a minute. Yet he doesn't want it to stop. For the first time since ending up in this room Inuyasha feels safe and okay. With your hands gently soothing him and your voice putting him at ease he knows it's alright, so long as he has you everything will be okay.

it's not something he ever gave much thought to but one moment becomes his lifeline 

He doesn't fall fast or hard. It's just a slow and gradual build that comes crashing down when he finally notices it 

That warmth and comfort around you has been there for so he never thought to question why it was there he just accepted it

Now he can see that it likely meant something more even then its just something he can't ignore anyone 

But he also struggles to just trust that feeling or the idea that you won't turn your back on him 

He's content to just stay in this room, with you comforting him and relaxing together 

Ignoring the stress of the world and the mission you all have to finish 

Maybe this won't change anything, maybe it'll change everything he's not really sure right now, but he does know that this feels right 

So, for however long this is going to last, he'll just enjoy and the rest can be dealt with later

I really hope you enjoyed this! Thank you for requesting it's always nice to try out new styles or characters I have yet to write for. Shout out to my dear friend Birdie who helped me out when I got stuck on this! We love Birdie. Have a good day or night, Lilly~ Also I noticed I never added this to my posts but if you see any spelling errors feel free to let me know.

[gyusrose]

➵ hopelessly devoted -> c.y

(first person p.o.v)

⚠︎ fluff - angst

✎ non!idol au, strangers to lovers au

summary : liking the most cold- hearted boy at school is definitely a challenge, specially when you’re willing to do anything to get at least a smile out of him.

yeonjun x fem. reader

wc: 4.0k

“another present for that idiot ?” soobin exclaimed.

“yes , it is for him, and that ‘idiot’ has a name, yeonjun.” you annoyingly rolled my eyes.

it’s no secret that i like the boy, who wouldn’t ? he was probably the most handsome human i’ve ever seen in my life, and the fact that he never talk or expresses himself makes me intrigued even more.

soobin on the other hand, thinks other wise…

“________, as your best friend i can’t let you embarrass yourself like this, he’s obviously uninterested.”

“hush , he just needs a friend and maybe we can turn into lovers who knows .”

soobin just shook his head in response.

“oh look he’s there! wait here.” i say as i saw the man of my dreams sitting in a bench listening to music it seems.

my confidence started to decrease the closer i got to him, he’s capable of making my knees fall weak anytime i see him.

i had brought him a box of homemade pastries , which by the way, took way too long to make.

i stood in front of him with the box of pastries in front of me waiting for him to notice me.

he looked up into my eyes finally and took one earbud out of his ear , kind of a signaling what i was doing here.

breathe in. breathe out.

“erm, i um brought you this…it’s some pastries i made and um i hope you enjoy them? “

maybe i should’ve listened to soobin .

his expressionless face made me even more nervous as he looked between the box and me.

“i don’t like sweets.” he spoke after about a minute of just blankly staring.

oh

he doesn’t like sweets?

of course he doesn’t.

“oh alright, i get it, i’ll get going now.”

literally kill me now.

i guess soobin saw the look on my face and the box in my hands to find out what happened.

“yes you can tell me ‘i told you so’ “

“i’ve told you this very fucking time ______.”

he’s right , this isn’t a new reaction from him, every time i try to gift him something or even start a conversation i’m left with little to no answers. but why?

he’s like that with everyone , except that one firmed he’s always around, taehyun.

in contrast taehyun is very friendly, i’ve had classes with him and i’ve had a few conversations with him, i can’t put together how they’re friends.

“i’d gladly take the pastries.” soobin said before snatching the box from my hands .

“alright class you have the rest of the time remaining to practice the type of problems we went over today.” our calculus teacher said before sitting down on her desk.

“at this point i don’t know what to do. “ i said pouting.

>>

i mentally groaned.

i just don’t get it. i’ve asked for help four times already today, i don’t want to burden her.

i utterly hate math, im no good at it. im more of a literature type of person, i love reading and writing but ask me to solve a damn calculus equation and i give up.

i looked over to where yeonjun is sitting, doing the problems so effortlessly.

he’s always been at the top of class, more like the whole grade, since forever.

an idea popped in my head making me smile at the thought.

as i was ready to go up to him , someone beat me to it.

ugh of course it’s arin.

“hey yeonjun? do you think you can help me with these problems? i’m kinda stuck.”

ha good luck in getting a response buddy…

“sure what section?”

WHAT?

how come he isn’t bothered by me and not her?

if i were to go up to him , i most probably would’ve gotten rejected or simply ignored.

but i mean, i can’t judge him.

i cant compare with arin.

she was much smarter than me, much prettier , someone who’s easy to fall for.

maybe i’m the problem?

for the remainder of class i simply sat in my seat spacing off, overthinking way too much.

what have i done to him? cant he just be nice ? i’ll settle for a small smile.

i barely notice the bell ringing and everyone heading to lunch.

“what’s wrong ? you look depressed as fuck ______.” soobin said snapping me out of my thinking.

i looked around finding the classroom completely empty.

“oh shit, i’m sorry soobin, nothing happened i just felt tired, don’t worry about it.” i assuringly smiled hoping he won’t keep asking questions.

“it was yeonjun right?”

shit he knows me too well.

i just stayed in silence signaling he’s right.

“whatever it is, i assure you to not think too much about it.”

sure.

i glanced at yeonjun’s seat and saw a book.

my eyebrows furrowed as i got up and grabbed it.

i opened it to the first page to see

‘property of choi yeonjun’

nevermind that sadness i felt seconds ago, i’m not giving up.

“for fucks sake _______.” soobin practically facepalmed.

>>

after school i made sure to be one of the first people out to catch up with yeonjun.

i saw him bid his friend goodbye and go on his way.

i jogged to where he was trying to stop him , but boy did he walk fast.

when i thought i was close to him i saw him get on the bus.

kill me now.

i sighed in defeat as i saw the bus drive away with yeonjun in it.

i walked back slowly in disappointment with the dark green book on my hand.

suddenly another idea popped into my head.

i ran back to school hoping i still had a chance.

thankfully i didn’t go too far away.

i looked around frantically when i finally spotted him.

“taehyun! wait up please ! “

he looked up to see who called his name. he sweetly smiled at me and waved.

“hi ______ what’s wrong ?”

“i need a favor from you, yeonjun left his book and i’m trying to give it back, do you by any chance know where he lives?”

i hope don’t sound like a stalker .

taehyun looks at the book i’m holding an chuckles.

“ahh i see, sure i can give you his address, hopefully you’re not a serial killer in disguise.”

i punched his shoulder lightly, laughing in response.

“i assure you i’m not.”

>>

“318”

“319”

“aha! 320”

holy shit…

this boy was stupidly rich.

even though it’s not unknown to me that he was pretty wealthy, i didn’t think it was this much. barbie and the dream house type of vibe.

i took a deep breath and ringed the doorbell.

a couple of seconds passed and i was getting impatient, almost thinking nobody was home.

the door suddenly unlocked revealing the handsome-ass boy.

he looked confused making me realize how awkward this was.

“um hey i’m- “

“seriously ? you’ve came here to bother me all the way to my house?” he suddenly says catching me off guard.

this is the longest sentence he’s said to me.

and god i wish he would’ve just ignored me this time.

“no you got it all wrong i’m-“

“don’t need to explain yourself, have i not been clear enough?”

“yeonjun i-“

“leave me alone for fucks sake, i want to be alone, don’t search for me, i don’t need you bothering 24/7, how did you know where i live ?”

“this is a misunderstanding i swear-“

“you probably followed me around like the stalker you are, go away.” he said before he shut the door on my face.

i normally wouldn’t act like this but tears just started falling from my eyes.

i’ve completely hit the definition of embarrassment. i can’t redeem myself from this.

i’ve made the only guy i’ve ever liked, completely hate me.

and it’s all my fault.

because of my clinginess, my annoyance, i was nothing but a burden to him.

i was halfway almost home when i felt droplets hit the top of my head.

fucking perfect.

just the cherry on top of my day.

the small droplets then turned into a full on storm, i could barely see where i was going.

“hey you! you’re gonna die out there.” i heard someone yell to my left.

i turned to see the owner of the voice just to see a male with an umbrella coming my way.

i don’t think i’ve ever seen him before. or maybe i just have bad memory.

“are you okay? this storm is wild, what are you doing here all by yourself?”

i got a better look at him and holy fuck. he was handsome.

“i was just trying to go home, i didn’t expect the rain to be this strong.”

“i know i’m a stranger but come to my house right in front, at least until it gets better.” he offered.

i looked into his eyes, i could tell he had good intentions , well at least he didn’t look like a psychopath or something so i nodded.

we both took off running to his house which was just like ten steps away .

as we made i inside i couldn’t help but notice how pretty it was.

this sure was a rich people area.

 “You can wait here, i’ll bring you a towel.” he said

i looked at my reflection on a mirror and i nearly scared myself.

i looked awful. my hair was damp, my mascara was runny, my eyes were swollen, i feel bad that he even has to see me like this.

“here you go, i also brought you some new clothes since yours are damped, hope you don’t mind.” he said giving me all the stuff.

never had someone , other than soobin, cared so much for me.

and i don’t even know this stranger’s name.

“no don’t worry i don’t mind ….?”

“heesung”

“thank you heesung, are you new around here? i haven’t seen you until today.”

“yeah actually i moved a few days ago, my family is from here so.”

i nodded in response.

“well you already made a new friend heesung.”

>>

“why are you suddenly sick today? you were just fine yesterday.” soobin said as he noticed my voice and stuffed nose.

“it just the weather, it’s getting colder, my allergies are acting up.” he nodded buying my excuse.

lord knows what he would’ve done if i told him that i was walking in the rain for half an hour because of yeonjun.

“oh by the way, i heard there’s a new guy in school, supposedly he’s from a rich family and shit.”

new guy?

“it’s no surprise if girls are already swooning over him without even seeing his face.”

“oh shit the bell already rung , see you later _____.” soobin waved as i made my way into my class.

i tried in all circumstances to ignore yeonjun, almost acting like he wasnt there.

god this is going to be hard.

making my way to my seat , from the corner of my eye i saw him, with his head down and earbuds in.

he deserves to be left alone. i should’ve not been so clingy and annoying, gosh no wonder he hates me.

i composed myself and sat on my seat, taking out a book to read.

which reminds me, i still have his book in my bag.

i’ll give it to him, one day.

“good morning class, i’m excited to announce there’s a new student joining us this year.” the teacher said as i saw a very familiar face walk through the door.

heesung.

to tell you i was more than thrilled to see him is the least. i had my little prediction that he was the new kid, everything just connected together.

as he finished introducing himself the teacher told him to find any empty seat in the classroom, and surprise surprise, there was one right next to me.

he didn’t hesitate to come my way and sit on the vacant desk.

“hey ______, remember me ?”

“how could i forget? you pretty much saved my life yesterday. and we’re friends aren’t we?”

>>

“i wanted to surprise you! yesterday when i saw your uniform, i noticed it’s the same as mine.”

heesung and i have been nonstop talking since he got here.

we’ve taken this time to get to know each other better. unsurprisingly, we have a lot in common, he also matches my energy, which is hard to find someone that does.

we both sat in a bench during lunch laughing and and talking with each other. since soobin left home early, it was just the two of us which honestly made me forget about my surroundings until i felt a pair of eyes watching me.

i turned around to find his eyes.

he quickly looked away though.

making me question, am i seeing things?

i must be.

>>

yeonjun p.o.v

my thoughts are eating me alive. i cannot stop thinking about her. i shouldn’t.

i was the one that told her to stay away from me, i was the one that told her to leave me alone, i was the one that didn’t want her to keep bothering. so why am i missing it?

the fact that she also seems happier doesn’t help.

i couldn’t help but stare at the way her and that new kid got along.

she was laughing, smiling, not one inch of sadness could be seen.

they looked like a couple. that only made me more annoyed.

how can she move on from me so fast? wasn’t she head over heels for me ?

shut up yeonjun! i’m acting as if we dated or something.

“what’s with the grumpy face?” taehyun came sitting down next to me.

i sighed.

“just got a bad grade.” i answers shortly.

taehyun looked at me suspiciously, not buying it.

“you sure? oh i don’t know i just saw you looking where _______ is sitting, you looked very bothered.”

shit , was it that noticeable?

“huh? what are you talking about? i’m just doing some homework, you’re seeing things. why would i be looking at her? she’s not even-“

“jeez calm down! i was joking around.” taehyun chuckled.

“haha, very funny.”

>>

- days later -

these past few days have been nothing but miserable.

main reason is ______.

i don’t know what’s got me so stern about her.

i want her to bother me, to talk to me, give me those little gifts i would always reject.

i want her to be with me like she is with heesung.

since she’s all i have in my mind, that caused a decline academically.

i wasn’t doing so well in tests or homework.

she’s ruining me for fucks sake.

“yeonjun? “ i looked up hoping to see ______.

i was disappointed.

“can i help you? “ i said quietly.

arin sat next to me nervously.

“you want to go to the fall dance with me?”

fall dance? completely forgot that was happening.

obviously i was planning to not go. but then the thought of making ______ jealous gives me a motive to do with arin.

i feel bad for using her, but i have to see if ______ still feels something for me.

“sure.”

>>

“does my hair look good?” arin asked me as she turned for me to see.

“yes it looks fine.”

we were on our way to the hall where the dance takes place. for some reason i was nervous, my palms were sweaty as fuck.

i was dreading this dance, i don’t go to these things throughout high school. part of me was hopeful though.

as we entered my eyes were almost instantly drawn to a certain person.

______.

she looked stunning.

her dress, hair, shoes, makeup.

she was breathtaking.

but it all got ruined by the male by her side.

of course they came together.

“yeonjun! i’m talking to you.” that snapped me out of my thoughts.

“pardon?”

“let’s go dance yeonjunie.”

ground just swallow me up.

>>

the night has been boring to say the least.

arin and i danced for a little bit, but then i went back to the table and she went with her friends.

all of this to not have ______ spare me a glance.

bored out of my mind i decided to go walk around outside.

i’m so glad i did.

“______?”

she looked up from her phone and looked at me.

i couldn’t read her expression which made me nervous for some reason.

“oh, hi yeonjun.”

this is it yeonjun, you have her all for yourself without that stupid heesung tagging along.

“how have you been?”

your p.o.v

what’s up with him now?

why’s he acting as if nothing happened? all the emotion s i felt with his words suddenly disappeared from his mind.

to say i was utterly confused was to say the least.

heesung had to leave early because he had an event with his parents, which left me alone since soobin didn’t want to come, as always.

so i decided to get some fresh air, and of course i ran into him.

“i’ve been doing fine really, nice talk, i have to go back.” i said trying to slide myself out of the conversation fast as possible.

but he stopped me.

he stopped me?

“look i wanted to clear the air between us you know? i shouldn’t have been so harsh with you that day, it wasn’t fair in my part.”

now he’s apologizing? out of nowhere?

he hated my guts and now he’s suddenly sorry?

“oh.”

>>

“and after all that he starts apologizing and shit as if i didn’t cry myself to sleep because of him ugh.”

i was currently ranting to soobin every detail of last night, mostly about the yeonjun part.

“no he didn’t, did he think you’d forgive him that easily?”

“i know right? even though part of me wanted to just kiss him and forgive him, i controlled my emotions and just pretty much left him there.”

now why am i starting to feel guilty?

it’s what he deserves ______!

“as you should, you’re nicer than me cause i would’ve snapped at him to be honest.”

“of course you would, but you know, i still like him, a lot.”

“yeah yeah we all know that, but what about heesung? for the few times i’ve met him, he seems like a way nicer and better match for you. in my opinion.”

oh yeah, heesung…

“i like heesung but not like that, i see him like an older brother honestly, sure he’s handsome and all but, yeonjun is just like, on another level.”

“you’re down bad _______.”

>>

of course the day i decide to straighten my hair it fucking rains.

and with my luck, i forgot my umbrella.

fuck my life.

i’m literally using newspaper to cover myself while waiting for the rain to calm down so i can go home since i normally walk.

soon the droplets were stopped by an umbrella.

“need some help?”

obviously it’s him.

clearly h needed one but i wasn’t going to give in.

“no thanks, the sky it’s starting to clear anyways.”

“seriously ______, take it.”

eventually i gave in and kindly took it.

i noticed the handle had his initials on it. cocky much?

how rich do you have to be for that?

“before you go ______, i still want to apologize for my actions, i know it’s not hard to forgive but do now i’m for real, i truly am sorry.”

his eyes. looked beautiful. he seems sincere, i hope i’m right.

as much as i tried to hold in all my words, they just threw themselves out of my mouth.

“do you know how much it hurt? those words coming out of the one boy you’ve ever liked? how stupid i felt? i understand i could’ve acted clingy and annoying but is it that hard to say it nicely?”

yeonjun p.o.v

i know i’m an asshole.

it hit hard the way she said that to me. i was the cause of it. im the reason she felt like shit, when she imply wanted to brighten my day or simply just talk to me.

yet i’m still hoping for forgiveness.

“i’m so sorry i made you feel like that, you had good intentions and-“ i stopped talking when i notice a slight tear fall from her eyes.

i immediately embraced her into a hug with no hesitation.

this wasn’t like me, i wouldn’t just grab someone for a hug, i barely liked hugs, only with my family i’m sure, so me , myself was surprised with my actions, i can just tell ______ was too.

even though i can feel her confusion, i felt her arms wrap around me hugging me tighter.

she was hugging me back?

a wave of emotions hit me.

does she still have feelings for me after everything i’ve done?

surely after some seconds we pulled away.

“i’m sorry, was that uncomfortable for you? i j-“

i cut her off.

“no _____, i found it comforting.”

it came a time where we both just stared into each other, forgetting the rain that was now dropping on our heads.

“let me give you a ride home.”

she hesitated for a moment but gave in to my offer.

we made our way to my car and i opened the passenger door for her to get in.

never did i think this would be happening.

the car ride was filled with silence, not the awkward type of it but more like a comfortable silence.

i even almost saw her eyelids drop.

“is it here?”

“yes, thank you so much yeonjun.”

“no problem, be careful, maybe we can hang out sometime? maybe be friends?”

“i’ll see, oh and by the way.” she said before taking out something from her bag.

a book.

my book.

i’ve been looking for it for weeks. how did she have it?

“you left it a while ago at your desk, i tried dropping it off at your house but that didn’t go so well..”

my heart warmed.

so that’s what she was trying to tell me what she came to my house.

i’m a real douchebag.

my attraction for her just got stronger and stronger that i pulled her into a kiss.

your p.o.v

HES KISSING ME?

shithsitshitshitshit.

how do i act? do i pull away? do i kiss back? do i just run away ? fuck.

i eventually decide to kiss him back and let me tell you.

it was better than what i imagined. can this dude be anymore perfect?

i wrapped my hands around his neck while his were around my cheeks.

this is like a dream come true for me, i still can’t believe this is happening.

as we pulled away we didn’t move away from each other and stayed close.

my heart cannot stop jumping .

“are you sure you just want to be friends choi yeonjun?”

oh soobin is not gonna believe me.

[spadecentral]

☁ Once Upon A Dream | Lilia Vanrouge x Reader

>> requested: yes, by @pandoa >> a/n: wahhhh pando youre so sweet <333 i would love to write this, it seems so fun ^-^ also a fun fact: I listened to Once Upon A Dream the whole time I wrote this

>> masterlist: 200 follower special , here!! >> summary: you and lilia learn you're each other's soulmate through a disney song >> reader prns: they/them >> warning(s): second person pov; probably slight mischaracterization

Lilia would like to say that he has heard all of the worlds music. Ever. But when the worlds "my money don't jiggle jiggle, it folds" echoed in his mind, he lost it. Completely burst out laughing at the robotic pacing and all around lyrics. He was determined to find this wonderful person, whoever they were.

He was always a happy person whenever his soulmate had a song to share with him. He was happy since he had never heard the songs before. It gave him new excitement. Whether the song was pop or rock, he always loved it.

Then, songs that he knew would start getting stuck in his head. It was a musical way of conversation.

It struck him as odd though, when he heard a familiar tune. An ancient song that had been forgotten over time was suddenly in loop in his mind. It sounded just like it did when it first was sung, the forgotten tune to the love song Once Upon a Dream.

You knew something was up when you started humming Disney songs around Ramshackle. Why would birds flock towards you and act like they were in a trance? So of course you had to ask someone.

Your first thought was to ask the Adeuce duo. But you decided against it, because why would you expect two idiots to know the answer to anything these days?

Then you thought to ask Crowley. But then again, why would that asshat help you with anything? He's barely helping you find a way to get home, why would he help you understand why wild animals flock to you when you sing?

And then you thought of Diasomnia. Malleus seemed like he's been in Twisted Wonderland for quite a while, with the way he acts and all. And since Lilia is supposedly his guardian, what harm could it do to ask?

There was one bolt of lightning that struck down on the lawn of Diasomnia. Save for rain, it seemed like the perfect evil lair. Fit for a queen such as Maleficent.

You hesitated for a second before walking to the dorm. You looked around at your surroundings, the dead thorn bushes and the menacing green light coming through the windows.

As you neared the front doors, you tested the drawbridge before fully putting your bodyweight on it, not trusting however old the wood may be. When you reached the doors they creaked open automatically, not waiting for you to even knock.

"Er... excuse me," you asked one of the Diasomnia students. "Do you know where I could find Lilia?"

"Right here!" the fae popped out of nowhere, having heard his name.

You jolted back in surprise. You swore you would never get used to the way he just appeared.

"A-ah, Lilia," you stuttered. "Could I talk to you in private for a moment?"

"Sure," he smiled. "Right this way!"

Lilia knew something was up when you asked about a song. But what he didn't expect was for you to ask why forest animals flocked to you whenever you hummed.

And that's when he knew. There were few songs that had an effect on animals like that. And one of them was the song his soulmate knew.

And he knew that his soulmate was you. You were his soulmate.

A true dream come true.

TWST Taglist: @tulipluvlettr | @ghost-hyacinth | @gh-0st-y | @ch3lun | @oseathepebble | @ventisaircurrent | @epelys | @pastelmages | @xphantasmagoriax | @atlasnessie | @divinesapph | @mystaposts | @ze-maki-nin

[lostonehero]

@voidhaseyes

A alternate path to your commission.

Jonny hopped onto the first ship he could hack open. It wasn't anything amazing, but it was a vessel for long-term space travel, which is what he needed. It kind of reminded him of the ship Marius stole escaping New Asguard. It didn't matter he just needed to find the control room and go from there.

"Who are you?" A voice Jonny didn't recognize started him as he reached the captains chair. "Whoa, hey, I ain't gonna attack."

Jonny studied the person in front of him. They didn't look like any species he was familiar with. They were tall and lanky with blue skin. Their ears were pointed and long, and their long hair was tied back in a braid. Their eyes were like rainbow static. Black nails, and they looked to have hooves... no, that wasn't right. Feet hooves? Whatever they were, it was weird. They had a long tail that was covered in feathery hairs. He opens his mouth to speak, but a soft rasp escapes his lips.

The person steps back, obviously also studying him. "You can't talk."

Jonny nods he taps out in Morse code. "I am Jonny..... I've been curse..... I will leave...."

The person's eyes widen. "No! I mean no, you can stay. I'm kind of cursed, too. I'm guessing the plants aren't normal."

Jonny nods again.

"I'm Lyfrassir Edda, but you can call me Lyf. I was about to leave this planet, just loaded up on supplies and such. Do you want to come with me?" Lyf smiles, watching Jonny nod. "Great I uh, there's a spare room and stuff. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one cursed by a god."

Jonny gave a skeptical brow raise. He didn't know what to make of Lyf or if he was even the same from what Marius told him about. His voice was deep like his.... was. It didn't matter he was on his way away from them to longer be a burden.

........

It's been approximately a month since Jonny joined him. He was quiet, obviously. He couldn't talk because of the plants, and he didn't envy him or that. Lyf looked over to Jonny, who was writing quietly in a notebook. "Hey, uh... are you doing ok?"

Jonny tilts his head clearly, not used to being asked that. He shrugs and taps out a message. "I think I'm fine...." He adjusts his goggles.

"You think?" Lyf frowns. "I uh yeah, that seems to be the case with me. I'm still trying to come to terms with what happened."

Jonny shuts his book and stares at Lyf. He taps out another message. "Go ahead. I'll listen."

"I doubt you'll believe me." Lyf sighs. "My galaxy was eaten by a god. I'm the sole survivor, and apparently, the god likes me enough to curse me with powers and the inability to age or die." He frowns, leaning back in his chair. "There's this guy, Marius. He claims he's a part of a space pirate group that sings about tragedies. He seemingly has an infinite amount of violins he can just pull out of nowhere."

Jonny raised a brow. "Do you hate him or want to fuck him?" He taps out on his notebook.

Lyf lights up with a dark blue blush. "The man is an idiot and a self-proclaimed doctor. He made my life hel back on New Asguard, but... but he wasn't mean." He sighs and rubs his face. "I don't know how I feel. We met up after everything, and he even helped me control these powers. I just ran away like a coward and took my ship with me, leaving him stranded after everything he did for me. The mechanism is what he called the group, and I try to avoid any of that. I can't.... I shouldn't be with someone like him, I'll just hurt him. I even scarred his mechanical arm! He claims it was supposed to fix itself, but it didn't."

Jonny furrowed his brows. He does remember when they picked Marius up, his mechanism had claw marks that seemed to blend into the very metal, and even if it was working fine, they wouldn't ever buff out or vanish. He never talked about it. He was protective over it. They stuck even after DTTM.

"I know it's stupid." Lyf sighs. "I think I fell in love with him. He probably moved on from me, yaknow eternity is a long time, and he's immortal, and I suppose I am too, but why would he want to spend eternity with me. I'll just end up hurting him." He hugged his chest and looked up. Jonny had gotten up to touch his shoulder. "You're right. I shouldn't linger on that. It's been a little over a thousand years that he has obviously forgotten about me."

Jonny wanted to tell him the truth. Marius hasn't. Hell, the man hasn't even tried to go out with anyone else. Raphaella and Ivy have kept prodding him, and he shuts them down. He shakes his head instead.

Lyf smiles sadly. "I suppose I can't assume unless I talk to him. I would rather not."

Jonny pushed his notebook into Lyf's hands. A story always helps him, so why not him. He taps out. "Read a story."

"A story?" Lyf opens the book and stops. "I don't know what language this is."

Jonny paused and forgot he was writing in New Texan. "It's New Texan. That's where I am from."

"Could you... could you teach me?" Lyf smiles softly.

Jonny lights up and nods.

......

"Can you write something with a happy ending?" Lyf was sprawled out on a couch. Jonny nicked off their most recent stop.

Jonny signs. "Life doesn't have happy endings." He rolls his eyes munching on a fruit he grew. It was a new development that the flowers had started to become fruits, and he wasn't complaining. He was slowly learning how to control the plants as well. He still couldn't speak those seemingly will never come undone. "Should I bring up you and Marius? Or just me and Tim."

Lyf rolls his eyes right back. "Ok, first off, Marius was my fault. I realize I love him way too late, and he's moved on. Secondly, Tim is your fault. You never talked to him and told him the truth. Well, not talked, but you get what I mean. Besides, I met you, and I have a brother now, so isn't that a happy end?"

Jonny purposely looks away with a soft blush on his face. He did consider Lyf a brother he never had. He took a breath and started to sign again. "Have I told you about my mother?"

"I suppose not, but you have told me about your father and Jack. Right pricks, the both of them." Lyf sits up. "Alright, fine, tell me. I always like hearing about your planet, and I swear we'll find it one day."

Jonny silently laughs.

......

Lyf barely got a look at the poster before Jonny ripped it down. A low growl erupted from his chest, and his tail was lashing back and forth. He looked over where another poster was hanging.

"Mechanisms! Looking for our Captain. Interim lead Doctor Marius Von Raum."

Jonny lit the crumpled poster on fire. Tears pricked his eyes. He silently gasps as Lyf pulls him into a hug.

"You were one of them?" Lyf can feel Jonny shake, and that was his answer. "I know it's ok you have me and I won't replace you."

Jonny clings tighter, crying.

"Come on, I think we need to find your home planet." Lyf sighs. "Forget these assholes"

.......

Lyf knew something was off with Jonny. It all started with that poster. He wasn't really upset that he was keeping the mech secret he was more worried about Jonny and how he seemed to shut down. He doesn't really recall Marius talking about any of the other members, so he didn't know where Jonny fit in or what the dynamic was. However whatever it was they replaced him and he was taking it hard.

Jonny was curled up in his bed with his back to his door and didn't make any move to show he heard Lyf come in.

Lyf steps over the vines that have spread across Jonny's room like a cancer. He seemed so small in this moment, and it broke his heart. "Jonny?"

Jonny gives a low growl.

"Jonny, I'm sorry." Lyf takes a breath. "I just want to talk."

Jonny curls tighter into himself.

"I know the others are fucking awful. I mean, they replaced you, and that isn't fair. I don't know how long you've known them, but you don't need them. I'll be here whether you want me or not. I'm your brother, and I'll be by your side." Lyf stands in front of Jonny's bed. "Look, I don't know if I'm able to give up on Marius, but I'll chew him out for you. I just want you to feel better."

Jonny rolls over with a silent huff. He stares up at Lyf with tears in his eyes. He holds his hands out, which, when Lyf grabs, he is trapped in a hug.

Lyf smiles softly. "I'm also mad at you about the shower thing."

Jonny buries his face in Lyf's chest, shaking with a silent laugh.

"I mean fuck Jonny you're from the desert don't you have common sense." Lyf scoffs feeling Jonny shake from more laughter. "I'm not taking care of your ass the next time you make yourself sick, use the fucking sand."

The room is quiet for a long time before the sound of tapping is heard. Jonny tapped out a message. "You can still ask Marius out. He's an idiot but good-hearted. This wasn't his idea, and he wouldn't be the lead by choice."

"Don't lie to me, D'ville." Lyf huffs.

"I'm not prick. I ain't gonna let ya back out, coward." Jonny silently huffs as he aggressively taps.

"Fuck you." Lyf pushes Jonny away.

Jonny silently laughs. "Suck my dick."

"You know what I'm done. Go back to being a sad asshole." Lyf hops off Jonny's bed.

Jonny smiles. "Too late bitch."

Lyf laughs.

.......

Jonny was bouncing on his heels. He was excited that he had never had the chance to do puzzles like this before. Sure, they were rusted, and these were tombs, but he could work on them without judgment. He started to whistle softly as he worked.

Lyf watched Jonny scurry off into the tombs. He followed behind, of course, and he watched in awe as Jonny went around, solving the puzzles whistling away like this was a treat. "Why here?"

Jonny froze as Lyf's voice broke through his happy haze. He rapidly begins to sign. "I ain't doing nothing."

Lyf raised a brow, confused. "It looks like you were just having fun. What did the mechs not allow you to do puzzles?"

Jonny shifted. "No... I just....I ain't good being smart. I'm more useful as a weapon." He seems to be ashamed and hesitates finishing the last puzzle.

"You don't have to be useful." Lyf struggles to make it to the same spot Jonny climbed up to. "You can do whatever you want. There isn't much stopping you."

"I miss singing." Jonny signs with a glare.

"Ok well one thing you fucker." Lyf rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying maybe if the others knew your capabilities, they would be impressed. Finish this up, and then I'm signing you up on the puzzle competition on this shit planet, and we're going to destroy them."

"I've never been in a puzzle competition before." Jonny signs before immediately finishing the puzzle. The ground begins to shake, and the loud hiss of pistons and grinding of metal filled the catacombs.

Lyf was grabbed by Jonny, so he didn't fall into gaping opening where a vast treasure lay shining like a becon. "Huh, so this planet's legends do have truth."

Jonny silently scoffs. He signs with annoyance. "I wanted more puzzles."

Jonny nods and grins, already climbing down.

"How about he take some of this treasure and buy some impossible puzzles and theories." Lyf smiles back at Jonny, who just seemed to recall money can be exchanged for goods.

........

Jonny tilted his head, watching Lyf confused. He didn't understand why he looked so upset. He taps out. "Are you ok?"

"Are you going to leave once we land?" Lyf frowns, looking out at the asteroid planet they were about to land on.

"Leave?" Jonny signs. "I'm taking you with me."

Lyf furrows his brows. "What?"

"You're my brother! Where I go you go." Jonny smiles. "I want to show you New Texas."

"You want me to stay with you?" Lyf can feel his eyes water as Jonny nods. "I.... ok! Time to settle in New Texas for however long you want."

Jonny grins.

[preet-01]

I wrote a fic for a kinkmeme prompt in December and ever since then this idea has been stuck in my head, specifically one scene. But it didn’t fit in the fic narratively and I didn’t have enough to write another chapter. So here is a short continuation of my historical au with crown prince Daniel x female Scotty, Maxiel, and implied Dewis

By god’s grace, her womb swells and Scottie is carrying their future heir.

But as god gives, he also takes.

The prospect of war threatens their borders once more. And with an ailing King, it is Daniel’s duty to treaty with their enemies. “Must you go?” Scottie inquires, her eyes pleading for him to say no. Desperately hoping that for once Daniel will be selfish for her and stay by her side as she carries their child, their heir. “Soon I will give birth to our child,” she adds.

“There is nothing I want more than to stay here with you, all of you, Scottie,” Daniel sighs, seemingly so much older than he had looked when they had conceived their child. “But I must do everything to prevent another war from breaking out. Our men cannot take another war,” he tells her. “I will try my hardest to be back before you are set to give birth.”

“Will he go with you?” She questions, not knowing which would be worse: knowing that he is with Daniel and most likely taking Daniel as his own or that he is walking the same halls as her, longing for Daniel’s safe return just as she is.

“No, I have asked Max to stay here, guard you and our child,” Daniel replies. “Sir Hamilton will accompany me with a regiment of our most trusted soldiers.”

That is much worse, but a vindictive part of her that wants him to hurt just as she did finds some pleasure in it.

Back then Scottie hadn’t wanted to believe the rumors about the close, personal relationship between Daniel and Sir Hamilton, but having become a first hand witness to Daniel’s relationship with his recent lover, she finds herself believing it to be at the very least partly true. Sir Hamilton’s beauty was renowned and Daniel did so affectionately call him ‘Lew.’

Like the good wife that she is, Scottie gives Daniel a send off worthy of a Crown Prince. Unfortunately, it is with her husband’s whore by her side. “I wouldn’t worry about him too much,” she says lowly as her eyes stay on the departing horses — Daniel’s right next to Sir Hamilton’s. “The last time he went away for a battle, he returned with a mistress,” she says aiming to hurt him for all the hurt that he’d caused her.

“Daniel wouldn’t do that-“ he starts to say.

“I didn’t realize you were a whore and an idiot,” Scottie laughs to herself. “Did you never wonder how he knew exactly what to do? How to fall into bed with you and not get himself hurt?” She doesn’t know for sure how Daniel had been the first time between the two of them, but nonetheless she guesses and is seemingly correct.

The crestfallen look that takes over his face is one that has found its place on Scottie’s own face months ago. The realization that she wasn’t the only one to have Daniel so intimately. That there was someone else, someone she had never even thought to connect to Daniel in that manner.

“There used to be rumors, I always thought them to be fictitious, but perhaps there was more to them than I thought. Sir Hamilton is very beautiful and strong. I’m sure you understand how it is on a battlefield,” she adds. Throughout it all, Scottie’s hand is on her protruding belly — a sure sign of her place not only within the castle walls, but also by Daniel’s side. No amount of love that Daniel held for him could take away the place that was rightfully hers under the eyes of god and kingdom alike. “For all Daniel may whore around with men, I am still his wife and now the mother of his child, his heir. And one day, I will be his Queen.” With her head held high, Scottie leaves the courtyard and the tell tale stomps of his boots reluctantly follow behind her. For all he may hate her, he would never betray a promise made to Daniel. Even if it meant keeping her safe when all he wanted was to follow Daniel.

[bitch-butter]

11 for the kiss prompt if you're feeling it?

babe, thank you for your patience! I started this prompt as something Completely different, but me and my gf have been watching Fargo all the way through, so it's been heavy on the dome and one of my greatest joys in life is to put these babes in Absurd situations.

so, here is a scene from a fargo!au to the tune of: when one stops the kiss to whisper “I’m sorry, are you sure you-” and they answer by kissing them more

also, sorry this is so long lol i can't hide who i am

This is a true story. The events depicted took place in Minnesota in 2022.

At the request of the survivors, names have been changed.

Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.

* * *

The Kid drove them through the twilight, though Joe was sure his hands were probably slick against the steering wheel on account of all the blood, not to mention the fact that they were going on 48 hours since Joe snatched him and he had to be dead tired.

Not that Joe was in much position to point any of this out, shot as he was, even if it was only in one of his body's many useless patches of meat. Whatever they were using to train those boys down in Kansas City he hoped they stuck with it if they all made such lousy shots. Anybody can shoot anybody in the neck, it takes a real motherfucker to come at you with a knife and all, what with the questions it begged about mortality and the like. And those Kansas City boys were nothing to write home about with a knife, if a measly college kid could take one of them out with just a few superficials to his hands.

Joe would tell the Kid he was proud of him if it would have made any sense to do so. If it would have been less of an odd thing to say, all kidnapping considered. 

As the sun finally dipped below the horizon the Kid pulled into the lot of the first motel he saw, parking as cockeyed as anybody had ever seen, looking over his shoulder to where Joe was sprawled out like an idiot. He was sweating, pale, and looked entirely ill in a way that made his eyes look like moonstones, like alien radioactivity, like the pitcher where his mom used to keep cherry juice.

He might be concussed as well as just shot. 

“We should stop here,” the Kid said nervously, glancing between Joe and whatever he could see out the window. “I mean, we should stop here, right?”

Joe licked at his chapped lips, grimacing at the texture. “Where are we?”

The Kid squinted through the growing darkness, mouth pursed up in thought and making Joe’s swimming head make the sound of a failing ECG. 

“Some place called Bemidji,” he answered, and Joe sighed, nodded.

“Far enough for the night,” he allowed, twisting haphazardly until he could sit up in the backseat, allowing the past hour of his convalescence to slide away like afterbirth onto a dirty floor. Much good may it do him, with nothing but a water bottle and a scarf to patch himself up with. “We need to see about a room, there’s shit for your hands in the glove.”

The Kid blinked at him for a moment, the words taking their time to catch up with him, before he was taking one shaking, bleeding hand off of the steering wheel and reaching for the glove compartment of the car. Joe rolled his eyes at him, having almost forgotten the novelty of the first time a guy won a knife fight, how it made you feel all contained and strong for maybe an hour after the fact but ultimately turned you loose, jittery, feeling all the hurts your head hadn’t wanted you to feel. He busied himself with folding the dark scarf at his side over to its cleaner edge, using his own less than stable appendages to fix it about his neck, covering up at least the worst of the damage. Almost certainly there was still blood somewhere on his person, but the good thing about this part of the Midwest was that nobody wanted to seem impolite when they told a guy he was covered in blood.

Never wanted to make any assumptions, these folk.

“I…” the Kid began, voice sounding weak and fraught. “I don’t think I can use this, is the thing.”

Scowling, Joe looked back at him as he fumbled his cold fingers at doing up the buttons of his coat, nearly releasing a hard, derisive laugh at the sight. The Kid held his gun between two fingers, like he was ready to drop it directly into an Evidence bag, looking almost nauseous at the concept. If he wasn’t so damn annoyed by him Joe would have reminded the Kid that not three hours past he had stabbed a guy through the hand, chest, and face. 

“Not the - Jesus Christ,” Joe shook his head, leaning up jerkily to reach past the Kid, who flinched away from him as though Joe could still manage to hurt him somehow. “There’s gloves, you moron,” he bit out, reaching into the open compartment and grasping at the dark, canvassy fabric and yanking them out, tossing them in the Kid’s lap with a sneer. “Put the fucking piece back before somebody sees you.”

The Kid swallowed heavily, seeming all too thankful to put the gun back where it came from, fumbling at the gloves with his sticky hands, nose bunching up at the feeling of the thick coverings swallowing up his wounds, no doubt sticking to the deep indentations. “What are you going to say?” he managed, looking at him with wide eyes, appearing younger than Joe gave him credit for.

He had to snap the fuck out of this if they were going to make it through the night.

“Not going to say anything,” he brushed off, feeling through his pockets for the wallet he’d picked up at the Minneapolis post office, his fake ID, fake SSN, and real money all lying in wait. “Just ask for a room, is all. Keep your hands close to you,” he ordered brusquely, feeling grimy with stress, with blood washed away by nothing but Chippewa Spring water.

The Kid could only nod at him, his now gloved hands set before him awkwardly, comically, like a doctor about to go into surgery.

Thoughts of doctors made him remind himself to grab his bag from the trunk, and thoughts of the bag made him linger on thoughts of Babe and the Doc. Hopefully they’d made it to…wherever they were going. If Babe had any sense he’d be trying to hoof it back to Fargo by now with the Doc dropped through some thin ice, but Joe’s estimation of his partner's intelligence was not the most flattering right now. Not since he’d fucked up the whole goddamn thing by taking the guy with them in the first place.

They could have been in and out with a fat stack of cash waiting for them in three days, a little lie-low time at the cabin, the Kid incapacitated and ready for the ransom to be paid, but no. Fucking Babe. 

Nothing had turned out as it should.

Huffing, he gave himself a final once-over in the shadows of the car, judging himself at the very least presentable so long as that lodge just beyond wasn’t using overhead lighting. He cast his eyes back to the Kid, who watched him apprehensively, but it was not like the other ways that he’d been looked at over the past few days. At first the Kid had been afraid of him, as he should have been, but he’d soon come to look at Joe with something like disdain. That had been before the barrage, though, and now it appeared that the world had tilted itself to the other side; the Kid was still fearful, but now it seemed his fear was somehow beyond the two of them, outside the car and miles behind in their chase.

“No funny stuff, alright?” Joe threatened meagerly, hoping his face did the talking for him as he glared through the dark at him. 

The Kid tilted his head, looking unimpressed but certainly trepidatious. “I couldn’t try something if I wanted to right now,” he spat out, looking down towards his gloved hands, his eyes blinking quickly. By now it was probably setting in that even if he did go to the cops he was liable to get asked why his prints were on a knife recovered from a crime scene in Brainerd.

Joe almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

“Don’t talk back to me,” he warned, voice a low growl as he reached for the handle of the door, cracking it open and letting a sheet of cold air rush into the car. “Not afraid to smack you again.”

“You barely touched me,” the Kid drawled, glaring back at Joe as he pushed out of the car. “What, afraid to break a nail?”

He hummed a bit with rage as he slammed the door shut behind him, taking a pause beside the door just to let the icy air waft over his face, his breath a trailing comet. It was hard to remember that the Kid was still his hostage and Joe was still awaiting his ransom, Kansas City waging war be damned, and that meant Joe was not to entertain the thought of liking him even the tiniest bit. There was a little bit of slack to be cut for himself, given the fact this job had been more FUBAR than any other job he’d done before, including those haphazard hits he did in his early days. But he had to hold fast to his senses, keep moving, keep the Kid alive for the next three days, collect the ransom, make the ransom money trade to the Kid’s guy before making the trade for the Kid himself, then get his ass back to Fargo to rendezvous with the rest of the guys to fight this war with Kansas City.

The quiet, treacherous part of his mind allowed himself to consider the fact that neither one of them might make it to the end of the next three days.

Sighing, he shook his head into the cold, crossing behind to the trunk and grabbing his bag. He needed sleep, and food, and to clean his wound properly, and this melancholy would lift. Or so he hoped.

The Kid exited the car after him, the jingling of the keys falling away into the depths of his pocket, his face looking drawn and tense as he folded his arms before his chest and looked over the hood of the car expectantly at Joe. Joe looked back at him with a raised brow, rolling his eyes before beginning to make his way across the icy parking lot, feeling stiff and foolish in his attempt not to jostle his scarf against his bleeding neck too badly, the sound of the other man following after him scraping coldly over his ears. 

He should be counting his blessings that Kansas City was after them, honestly, because if they weren’t the Kid would probably be trying to run away from him again. Unfortunately for him the only thing that stood between the Kid and a whole horde of trained killers was Joe Liebgott, who thankfully knew what he was doing. And now that one of their own was dead on the floor of a cabin in Brainerd they could best bet that the Kid’s face was right next to Joe’s in the scope of every gun their rivals had in the Midwest.

There would be no escaping now, save they fight their way out. But that was a thought for the morning.

The door of the lodge jingled open cheerily, but the sound stood in stark contrast to the woman seated behind the desk, her face lined with unpleasantness and her hair piled up in a severe beehive. She looked them both up and down, but thankfully the room itself was only lit by a lamp beside the door and the yellow glow of another lamp upon the desk beside the woman, so she would hopefully miss the dried blood caked up along his neck and the cuffs of the Kid’s jacket.

“We need a room,” Joe said decidedly, stopping at the desk before the unrelenting figure of the woman as she peered behind him towards the Kid, who shuffled anxiously and kept his arms folded close against his chest.

“Two?” she chirped, her voice a shrill, tweety thing.

Joe frowned. “Huh?”

“Just the two or you got more?”

Impatiently, Joe narrowed his eyes at her, the sound of her voice like an icepick in his already spasming head. “Just me and my pet,” he jerked his head back towards the Kid, who scowled at him like the spoiled brat Joe suspected he was. “So give me the reduced rate.”

The woman wasn’t in on the joke as she blinked blankly at him, clearly thinking that Joe was the stupid one in this situation. “So you got pets with you?”

He barely reigned in a noisy sigh. “No.”        

“Sir, if you got pets with you that’s gonna change your rate so I gotta know now if you got pets,” the woman said, abrasive and annoyed, her voice like an evil hotdish come to life.

The Kid ran out of patience before he did, stepping forward to knock hard into Joe’s shoulder. “Two men, one room, one night, flat rate,” he spoke rapidly, his words cutting and quick in the way that Joe could tell his hands were probably giving him the worst kind of grief. “He’s paying,” he finished, giving Joe a dark look before stepping to the side, all but tapping his foot as Joe signed them into the register and the woman, who had obviously had enough of their nonsense, rang it up.

“Little antsy aren’t we, baby?” Joe muttered lowly as they made their way back out the door into the cold, crossing the ice of the lot towards their room. 

“Don’t piss me off,” the Kid snapped, doing his best to walk faster than Joe and giving a sharp slip to the side that had him coughing out a disturbed yelp and had Joe chucking sadistically at him. “I fucking hate Minnesota,” he burst, childish and clearly fraying along the seams as he kept walking, this time decidedly more heavy footed as Joe beat him to the door of their room, unlocking it and opening it for him with a placid, parodic smile. “Fuck off,” he groaned as he passed through the door, leaving Joe to follow after him with a wry grin.

The room was the same as every motel he’d stayed in over the past decade of being a hired gun, but somehow worse because everything north of the cities seemed to just get worse and worse in his estimation. Perhaps it was his neck, which was beginning to smart against the touch of his scarf.

He allowed the kid to snap the lamps on, and he only just remembered to yank their curtains shut before he pulled the scarf from his neck, its woolen membrane sticking to the hot surface of the wound and tugging at it, making him hiss with the pain that roared over his skin.

“Motherfucker,” he cursed, throwing the fabric down before shoving clumsily out of his coat. “Alright, baby, this is where I’m going to need your help,” he called towards the Kid, who had paused in a sort of daze before the thermostat, appearing to forget how it worked, before blinking towards Joe with a look like a man who had just been awoken from a deep sleep. “You with me?”

Swallowing, the Kid paused before giving him a jerky nod. “I don’t know if I can…” he hesitated, watching as Joe unzipped his bag from where he plopped it heavily atop the bed, the ugly brown flowers of the duvet pressed down with its weight.   

“You’re not performing open heart surgery, kid, you’re just going to be my assistant,” Joe said brusquely, methodically unpacking his med kit, even if it only consisted of peroxide, bandages, and a mediocre sewing kit.             

The Kid shook his head, looking green around the gills. “But - my hands,” he excused, holding up his still gloved hands, appearing just as silly as he had in the car, though the Kid clearly saw this as the worst injury that there had ever been.       

Rolling his eyes, Joe gathered up his shit in the crook of his arm. “You know, once back in the late nineties I knew a guy. This was in ‘99,” he went on, crossing past the still dumbstruck figure of the Kid and into the bathroom, hitting the light switch with his elbow. “Guy was almost too stupid for words, didn’t have the sense God gave a clam. Well, as one figures this was also the sort of man who collected authentic Japanese katanas.”

He spoke almost to himself as he set out his materials on the sink, observing the mess of his face in the mirror for the first time. “What a man wants to do with a collection of swords is beyond me, but this guy was pretty dim,” he continued, leaning forward over the sink to get a closer look in the mirror and finding himself looking exhausted but otherwise passably normal. “Anyway, one day he’s showing me his collection, blabbing on about how much this one cost, and that one cost,” he said dryly as the Kid appeared behind him in the mirror, watching Joe curiously. “And I admit I wasn’t impressed, so my challenging him to show off his skills was probably not in the spirit of human kindness, if you catch my drift.”

Behind him, the Kid sagged against the doorframe, blinking slowly as he watched Joe examine his neck, dirty fingers prodding at the area around the redness of the wound, which he thankfully saw was little more than a deep graze. “Not bad at all,” Joe remarked offhandedly, reaching for the pre-packaged bar of soap at the side of the sink. “But as I was saying, the guy didn’t feel like letting me show him up, so he grabs a sword and starts swinging it around samurai-like, you know? Making fucking sounds and everything. But the guy clearly has no skills, no training, so you can guess what happens next.”

“What happens next?” the Kid asked with all the grace of being told a bedtime story.

Joe turned the knob on the sink, hot water pouring from the faucet, and set to washing his hands clean finally. “Guy slices his own cock off,” he shrugged, watching the Kid’s face fall slack with surprise in the mirror. “Well, half off. But you’d think it was all the way off with the way this guy was hollering, screaming and the like. There was blood all over the floor, he’d cut clean through his pants, and I told him, you know, that I’d drive him to the hospital,” he went on, judging his hands adequately washed and turning the water off, reaching for a tan towel hanging next to the mirror. “But before I can get my keys the guy is running over to this candle he has on his kitchen table, and faster than you can blink he’s pouring hot candle wax straight over his half cut off cock."                                                                                                              

The Kid looked somehow even more nauseated, his mouth a fat grimace of disgust as Joe dried his hands and reached for the peroxide. “I don’t know what he was trying to do. Maybe cauterize the wound, maybe stop the bleeding, but I guess nothing you do makes much sense when you have half a cock hanging off you,” he reasoned, opening the bottle and instantaneously squirting a stream of the liquid onto the wound at his neck, making a tight, pained sound as it burned. “They patched it up, to be sure, but I’m positive that thing has never worked right again.”

His story was met with silence as the Kid simply stood with his mouth open, eyes wide over Joe’s hands as they moved at patting the rivulets of peroxide that ran down from his neck dry. After a long moment he nodded, stepping into the bathroom appearing somehow chastened, eyes down and filled with fear, even as Joe remained consumed with the routine of cleaning the graze.

“Would you…” the Kid began, his voice low, and the syrupy drip of it in the quiet of the room, in the sense of safety that was drifting across his warming skin, made Joe feel hot at the back of his neck. “I can help, I just need…” he faltered, waiting until Joe turned to him before he offered up his gloved hand with a tight look over his face.

Joe understood, and that same pitying feeling swept over him. Poor kid, he should have been safe in his own home right now if it weren’t for Joe. Well, if it weren’t for his boyfriend hiring Joe. All the same.

He reached for the Kid’s hand, pulling him closer as gently as he could with just a tug of his wrist, meeting his eyes briefly as he pinched the fat tip of the glove’s finger in his own. The Kid looked back at him apprehensively, eyes big and blue as a daydream, and Joe again reminded himself he wasn’t permitted to get butterflies in his stomach. 

Gritting his teeth, he pulled the glove off with a fast, clean jerk.

The Kid gasped, sucking down a sharp breath as his mangled hand was brought into the light, and even Joe had the grace to flinch back at the copious amount of dried blood there was. But he had seen far, far worse, and so composure returned to him swiftly as he turned the hot water back on, the Kid barely recovering before Joe was easing his injured hand beneath the steady stream. Wincing, the Kid looked at him openly, painfully, and Joe found himself giving him a small, comforting smile before he could stop himself. 

“Not bad,” he shook his head softly, watching as the water washed the first layer of blood from the other man’s hand, mesmerized by the way the water appeared white as it flowed from the tap and ran red from the fleshly barricade of the Kid’s hand. “Not bad at all,” he assured, watching as slowly the Kid’s wounds came to light, shallow and long against his palms, nothing that a good binding wouldn’t fix. Probably not even deep enough to scar badly.

Teeth worrying at his lower lip, the Kid averted his eyes from his bared hand and looked down to his still covered one. “The other one, too, please,” he requested, his voice a rasp of pain, and Joe moved towards the pull of it mindlessly, seizing the fingertip just as he had the first and pulling it free to reveal wounds of a similar nature, the bleeding slowed but still looking ugly, brazen in the manner of knife fights.

“You’re just fine,” Joe shook his head, giving him another bracing smile as he brought the Kid’s hands together under the water, massaging them gently to ease away the thickest of the bloody patches. He glanced to the Kid once more, finding him looking down in his hands with a tense jaw, with cold, clinical eyes that seemed to be actively fighting off his revulsion.

It was different from the wild-eyed look he’d had when he had flown at the guy from Kansas City, but it made Joe’s mouth water just the same.

“You’re a pretty tough kid, aren’t you?” Joe said softly, feeling himself start slightly as blue eyes met his own once more, inscrutable and vague like making shapes out of clouds in the sky.

“I don’t think I am,” the Kid said quietly, head shaking.

Joe huffed out an amused sound, shutting the water off before reaching for the discarded towel. “Well, I do,” he reiterated, leaving the other man’s hands in the bowl of the sink as he began to pat them down, the skin still residually red and irritated with both the heat of the water and the size of the cuts. “I think you’re going to be just fine.”

The Kid let him work, making a short, pained sound as Joe released the peroxide over his cuts. “Has this happened to you a lot of times?”

“Has what happened to me a lot of times?”

“You know, men trying to shoot you.”

Joe sighed, looking at him tiredly. “It ain’t exactly unfamiliar, if you catch my drift,” he said lowly, cleansing the other hand before setting the bottle down against the countertop. “If this is going to happen to you it’s probably best that it’s happening while you’re with me.”

Scoffing, the Kid gave him a dark look. “If I wasn’t with you this wouldn’t be happening to me at all,” he pointed out, watching carefully as Joe gathered up a handful of gauze. “Are you going to tell me who hired you now?”

“Nope,” Joe shook his head, pressing the gauze down against the open cuts of the other man’s right hand.

“Don’t you think I deserve to know why I’m going to die?” the Kid asked sharply, brow furrowed, his hand loose in Joe’s hold.

“You’re not going to die,” Joe shot down, pausing just to give him an irritated glare. “If you die I don’t get paid, and believe me not getting paid is worse than death,” he said easily, returning to his concentration with a stern look down to the bandage, beginning to wind it around the other man’s palm. “So you’re going to be fine.”

The Kid looked at him dubiously. “I don’t trust you,” he said, as though the fact was going to hurt Joe in some way.

“Good to know you aren’t as stupid as you look,” Joe teased, looking at him a millisecond before the Kid was leaning into his space and kissing him.

Woah daddy, his brain supplied uselessly as he was kissed messily, certainly not as plainly as Joe would have expected the Kid to be. He was struck dumb for a moment before he found himself moving into its promise, kissing him back with just as much pent up feeling as it seemed the Kid had in his own end of the confusing display of catharsis. It wouldn’t be the first time he had a confusing sexual experience after a job, why not, why not, why not - 

Because he’s your hostage and you’re supposed to be smarter than this, he supplied, like a hammer coming down on the moment.

He pulled away with no small degree of reluctance, lips pulling in as though to trap the feeling of the kiss between his lips as long as possible. The Kid looked back at him, eyes cracking open from where he had allowed them to close in the heat of their connection, and Joe found himself smiling at him again like an idiot, almost laughing with how ridiculous they both were.

“I’m sorry,” Joe coughed out, unsure what exactly he was apologizing for even among the hundreds of options he had. “I’m sorry, are you sure you -”

The Kid kissed him again, this time with his half bandaged hand cupping the curve of Joe’s neck, the long tail of the bandage trailing down in its wake like a shooting star. Joe released another shocked breath into the press of the other man’s mouth, but didn’t have the strength to stop it as it came at him again, the heat of a mouth on his own an aphrodisiac too strong to resist. And the Kid was beautiful, he’d known it from the start, from the time that he’d trailed him through the Uptown streets, snowflakes getting caught in his hair, and maybe he’d wanted him even then. 

But Joe was a professional, he knew better, he knew better than to be doing this -

“Kiss me back,” the Kid urged against his lips.

He needed no more prodding than that to wrap his arms around the Kid’s shoulders and kiss him for all he was worth (which Joe knew to be $214,865.49). Dipping the Kid against the sink he sank his tongue down into his mouth, sweeping through and gathering up the taste of him, almost moaning at the relief of being alive to kiss someone, as the fear of knowing that just beyond this room there were men after them, who even now might be right next door.

“I don’t want to die,” the Kid managed to say between kissed, his mouth red with their contact, looking gorgeous and debauched and very, very afraid.

Joe shook his head, dipping down to kiss his hair, the corner of his swelling lips. “You’re not going to die,” he brushed aside, diving in to kiss him again before he could allow the thought to linger even further, before the cold outside managed to creep into the room and envelope them both in its grasp, in the certainty of its danger. 

[shikonstar]

9, 11, and 18 please!!

Thanks, @elkonigin !

9. Do you prefer to write AUs, canon-divergent, or canon-compliant fic? When I first got into reading fanfiction, I stuck 100% to canon-compliant. And then I ran out of material, so I edged into divergent. You can probably guess what happened next. Once I started writing, it was just whatever struck my mind. Entire plotlines hit me like a sledgehammer, so I have to write it to get it out of my head.

11. If you could only write angst, fluff, or smit for the rest of your life, which would it be? I would have to choose smut, because I always add at least one of the other two. I can do pure angst or fluff, but wouldn't want to be limited to one flavor.

18. What is a line/scene you're really proud of? Give us a director cut of that scene.

Professional smile firmly in place, Kagome folded up her emotions with Marie Kondo-like precision. Painfully sharp creases created a tight little bundle for her to tuck away in her mental closet, back in the section devoted to storing items that would never see the occasion for which they had been intended.

I really love the emotional gut punch of that part; I think we’ve all been in a situation where we’ve felt like our throat has been slit and we have to sit there politely while we bleed out.

The cellphone taunted him from it's spot on the counter. Was it weird that he had become obsessed ever since he had discovered that Kagome chose personalized ringtones based on her feelings? Yeah, probably. Did I change the fact that he was, though.

He knew she had the wolf’s number.

She had to for work, same has him.

He knew it was none of his business what happened when this farce of a marriage was dissolved. Kagome would end up with someone at some point, but it twisted his insides to think it would be that fucker.

His eyes narrowed. Screw this. He was going to get to the bottom of this so he could stop thinking about it. Picking up his own phone, sending off a text to the idiot that Kagome was waiting for him to call so they could discuss training. If he had read the wolf right, it wouldn't be long. Holding his breath, he waited on edge for the song that would reveal Kagome’s feelings.

No one's slick as Gaston

No one's quick as Gaston

No one's neck's as incredibly thick as Gaston

For there's no man in town half as manly

Perfect, a pure paragon...

His lips twitched as something rusted unlocked in his chest, long unused parts shifting into gear as a sound started to emerge. It was raspy and quiet at first, filling out into a rumble as it became louder.

Outside, two passing servants halted, stricken expressions on their faces.

“Lord Touga?” One whispered, saying the name of their fallen master reverently.

Tears formed in the corners of the eyes of the other as she began to smile.

“No. That's the young lord....praise the kamis, our lord is laughing again!”

This comes from a fic that I started thinking with last summer. It's one I'm holding back because it's something like my baby, and I want it nicely polished before I start releasing it. But this scene was one of those ideas that come to you when you're perfectly comfy and about to enter deep sleep, and I'm super proud of myself for actually rolling over and writing it down. Plus, could there BE a more fitting ringtone to capture Kouga? No. There isn't.

I also really, really love the entirety of Heart in Hand and Code Hanyou, which for me is amazingly rare.

[cursed-ice-spirits]

A Slip-Up

One night of no sleep leads to Rebecca Lord and Ethren Whitecross ( @hogwartsmysterystory ) meeting together and deciding to look more into the Vault together in hopes of finding out more. But when a slip-up from Rebecca leads to revelations and discoveries triggers an argument and cracked trust, there’s something more than what meets the eye.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. 

The two third-year students stared at each other warily, wands halfway into their palms, the sound of their heavy breathing the only noise between them. Finally, the hazel-eyed girl sighed and relaxed. 

“I thought you were a boggart,” Rebecca Lord said, her arm hanging by her side. Still dressed in her pajamas, she folded her arms. “What are you doing up, Whitecross?”

Ethren Whitecross scoffed and relaxed next. “I should be asking the same thing, Lord.” He paused. “I couldn’t sleep and stayed up to study if you’re so curious.”

Rebecca raised an eyebrow and he knew she wasn’t fooled. “I don’t know if studying blood curses are called regular studying but I’m not the one to judge,” she said, tapping her finger on the spine of her books. “As for me, I was woken up rudely by a boggart so I decided to look more into what we know about the Vault out of spite. Figured I might found out more. Wanna come?” She offered, tilting her head curiously. “Two pairs of eyes are better than one.”

Ethren stared at her for a few minutes, then sighed. “Sure, it wouldn’t hurt to go over what we already know.” Checking the time, however, a deep frown etched over his face. “But it’s 3AM right now, I don’t think the library is even open and the boggart in our brothers’ room is still there AND we have yet to master the charm.”

A sly grin stretching over her lips, she reached out and touched the wall beside them. “Who said we’re going to the library?”

“What do you mean-?”

His questions were quickly answered when the sound of stone brushing against stone echoed, and Ethren glanced over just in time to see stone bricks sliding aside like a curtain, unveiling a passageway, the darkness disappearing by the torches that slowly lit up as it opened, leading to a willow door that certainly wasn’t there before.

Rebecca cackled at his agape mouth, taking delight in his surprise. “What?” She grinned. “Even the Headmaster doesn’t know all of the castle’s secrets. You’ll be surprised to see what you can find if you look in the right places.” She started heading in. “Hurry up, slow-poke, before flies get in.”

Ethren quickly closed his mouth, scowling, and quickly followed after her, looking at the flames glowing in the darkness. “How long have you’ve known about this place now?”

Humming, she looked up thoughtfully. “Two years? Yeah, two years. I’ve kinda found this place by accident but this has been my sort of little hideaway ever since. It also turned into somewhere where I can keep my research so,” she shrugged,” but I’ve never been particularly close to anyone at Hogwarts so you’re the first person I’ve shown this to.”

“I feel so honored.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes and ignored the clear sarcasm (or, what she thinks is clear sarcasm, she can’t be sure with Ethren. That and she doesn’t really know him) and went to push the door open. 

“Go ahead and take a look around,” she told him, heading inside. “I don’t have anything to hide. The information here is what everyone in our group knows already.” 

Ethren stepped inside and whistled, looking at the organized mess. Large as the Common Room, a living room turned headquarters stood before him, soft couches and armchairs set off to the side, green blankets draped over the back, right near what looked like a fake fireplace in the far back of the room. A large table was planted right in the center, a drawn map of Hogwarts, certain areas and spots circled or crossed out, laid neatly across the entire surface, old tomes stacked messily on top of each other over the corners. A few boards hung on the walls, one of them clearly dedicated to the Ice Vault although she marked it as completed with a sticky note, decorated with red string, drawings, notes, and pins. Empty ones were in the far corner, waiting to be used. The shattered sword that Rebecca had stolen from one of the Ice Knights and broke it by driving it into its whole body and through an ice beam was hanging above the fireplace. 

Ethren raised his eyebrows after taking a closer look at the Ice Vault board. “Somebody has neater handwriting and a better drawer than their own brother.” He said, observing the detailed drawing of the Ice Knight and her notes on its powers. “Good to know it isn’t genetic.”

Rebecca tossed a cushion in his direction as she strolled over to the table. “I’ve seen your drawings, Whitecross, you shouldn’t be saying shit.”

“I— you know what, shut up,” he huffed, feeling his cheeks growing warm. 

Rebecca smirked, setting her books down. “I will. For now.” She turned away and pinned something on one of the boards. A closer look showed a series of names written messily, and Ethren frowned when he saw Ben along those names. Scanning over the board, however, answered the questions formed in his head. 

“‘R Investigation?’” He read out loud, a jolt of fear rushing through him suddenly as he remembered the letters from them.

The girl let out a small sigh and nodded. “Yup. It won’t hurt to investigate someone who’s sending threats, especially when we don’t even know who they are.”

“And you think Ben of all people is R?” 

He knew he sounded incredulous, but can you blame him? Cowardy, needy, Ben who’s afraid of his own shadow is R? The person that threatened them?

“No, but Rowan has a point,” Rebecca explained, tugging him to the R board. “He’s the only one with fragmented memories and although I don’t believe it myself, it never hurts to be cautious.”

“Still, Ben is afraid of his shadow, what makes you think he can do all the stuff R did?” Ethren pointed out, folding his arms. “Maybe unwillingly, I can believe, but I know he’s not brave enough to be R. He’s just isn’t like that.”

Rebecca stared at her notes thoughtfully, at Ben’s name specifically, remembering all the times she had crossed out Ben’s name and then putting him back as a suspect. “I know too but Rowan says nobody can be that cowardly. Although I doubt it’s an act.” She ran her fingers over the board. “Unwillingly is something I’ve considered but if he really is at my level of Charms, he’ll be able to learn and perform the memory charm on himself easily to redirect suspicion from himself.”

Ethren opened his mouth to retort but… something about her last words just felt… 

Off.

He turned a frown to her direction. “What do you mean by your level of Charms?”

Rebecca’s hand went still. Running over her previous words, she immediately understood they meant she can and do the memory charm herself and cursed at herself for slipping up like that. “I-”

Ethren narrowed his eyes. The moment of hesitation was all he needed to know. “Lord,” he said slowly, trying to stomp down his anger the best he can. Best not to jump into conclusions. “Did you… Did you learn the spell?”

“...yes,” Rebecca said eventually, averting her eyes. She found no reason to lie, especially since Ethren is catching on her lies faster and faster as time passed. 

“What the hell?!” Ethren bit out, feeling free to feel as angry as he wished now that he knew his assumptions were true. “Why would you learn it? What reason would you even have to learn that?!”

“Just in case-” Rebecca began, but was swiftly cut off. 

“Just in case? Just in case?!” Ethren roared, walking steadily to her. “There shouldn’t even be a just in case! Learning the charm is the worst thing you can do if you’re planning on using it!”

He raised a hand to point an accusing finger at her and he barely saw the spark of fear that came to life in her eyes before she immediately recoiled violently away, raising her arms halfway to her face, squeezing her eyes shut. Almost as if… she’s preparing for and expecting a blow. 

Ethren froze, staring at his hand, which he had barely even raised, then to Rebecca. Slowly, he lowered his hand, keeping silent. A raised hand during an argument and her first reaction is to flinch and shield herself? It’s definitely something to keep in mind. 

“Why just in case? Why did you need to learn the charm?” He asked calmly, watching her open her eyes, face reddening with shame, but she didn’t relax. Didn’t lower her arms. “Is it your curse? To keep it a secret?” No answer and he grew frustrated. “It’s not like you to just… learn the spell like that. Tampering with memories is one of the worst violations you can commit. Unless you had a reason, you wouldn’t even think of learning it.”

The silence stretched out, then Rebecca sighed and lowered her arms, knowing now that Ethren won’t slap her. Dammit, Lord, he isn’t your uncle, she chided herself. Stop being weak, he can’t hurt you here. Now Whitecross knows about this ugh. “I learned it to keep my curse a secret,” she murmured, “I used it on everyone who went after the Ice Vault.”

“Why?!” Ethren roared, stepping forward, stopping when she flinched again. “Why would you do that?! What gave you the right to do that!?! Keeping your curse is not an excuse, because at least I have the decency to come clean and not obliviate them! Do you understand what you did?! You took away something precious from every single one of us and now we can’t remember what exactly happened because you decided-”

‘“YOU DON’T GET TO TALK SHIT!!” Rebecca snarled, cold air bursting from her fingertips and spreading all over the room. She balled her hands into fists, too lost in her rage, her shame, she didn’t know notice how Ethren shivered violently, wrapping his arms around himself to try to warm up, but it just got colder. “UNLIKE YOU, MY CURSE HAS CAUSED PEOPLE TO FREEZE TO DEATH AND GET HYPOTHERMIA!! ONE OF MY ANCESTOR FROZE AN ENTIRE VILLAGE AND PEOPLE DIED. I HAD TO OBLIVIATE EVERYONE. I HAD TO DO IT. I DIDN’T WANT TO BUT I HAD TO-”

Then she sees the way his lips are turning blue, the way his fingers tremble against his arms, and her mouth goes dry, her rage vanishing as quickly as it came. Oh god, oh fuck, not… not again…. And just like that, the cold swept away, warmth quickly replacing it.

Ethren slowly lifted his head just in time to see Rebecca unfurling cold fingers and lifting them to her face, staring at her hands and looking horrified at herself, 

“Oh my god,” she said, shaking. “Oh my god I - Ethren I’m - I’m so sorry…”

It’s really telling how ashamed she is when she uses his name instead of his surname. Shaking his head, Ethren rubbed his arms, making sure the cold is completely gone, grunting out, “No biggie,” because although he hated the cold, it wasn’t Rebecca’s fault her curse got out of control. He heaved a sigh and leveled his gaze to her. “Why did you do it?” he asked eventually. “Lord, what the hell happened in the Vault?”

Rebecca scoffed and averted her eyes. “When we were getting overwhelmed, I had to use my curse to try to fight back against the Vault. It might not seem like such a bad idea, but controlling the ice is never something the cursed should never try. Ever. The last time one of my ancestors did that, his corpse was left completely unrecognizable if it wasn’t for the ice. When I fought back…” she shook her head. “The backlash was really strong, and it almost killed me. Would have if it wasn’t for outside factors.” Closing her eyes, she sighed and fidgeted with her sleeve. “You guys had to watch it.”

Ethren’s shoulders went slack. Of all things, he never expected that. She nearly died fighting for her life in there that’s - that’s why. “Oh,” he murmured, because what can he say? Reaching out, he touched her shoulders gently, carefully watching her reactions before slowly enveloping her into his arms. She went stiff, rigid, and didn’t reciprocate, but she didn’t pull away either. 

Finally, she sighs and relaxes against him. “For me, it’s something to take to the grave. Some things are best kept silent and… I honestly thought I was dying back there. So I did it. Made sure none of you remember it. The Vaults were enough as it is. Imagine my surprise when I lived.”

“Am I really the first person you told then?” Ethren sighed, still holding her.

A pause, then Rebecca nodded. “Yeah, by accident too.”

Frowning, Ethren gripped her shoulders gently and pulled away to look at her in the eye. “Then you should,” he said sternly. “You took something from them without their permission. They deserve to know what happened. All of them. If your curse is really as dangerous as you say, then it might be better for you to tell them so they can help you. Help both of us.”

Rebecca snorted. “I don’t know if I can trust them. Any of them. You’re fine because you know what it’s like to die early but I don’t know about the rest of them. I’m not going to tell them so they can feel free to torment me to force me to react and get some sort of feedback.”

Ethren’s jaw dropped from shock. “You’re kidding me, right? They will never do that - none of them will. Bill cares, Penny cares, all of them care. They will never just… do that.”

“Well, that’s what I thought when it comes to family and look what happened to me,” Rebecca hissed as she removed herself from his grip. Ethren reeled back from shock. 

The silence stretched on and he watched her face slowly drained of color, her eyes flickering away and refusing to look at him, hair brushing briefly aside to uncover an old scar stretching across her collarbone, one that looked too old to be from the Vaults, before she quickly adjusted her shirt to cover it up again. His eyes flickered to the scar etched on her face, stretching from the corner of her eye, to her jaw, that she had said before it came from an accident during the summer and had been using a charm to hide it (and had probably forgotten to cast it again), and slowly pieced it together. There it is again. What is going on? “Rebecca-” He took a deep breath, “Rebecca what is going at home?”

Rebecca clenched her jaw. Don’t let him know. He already knows about your curse, what would happen if he knew what’s going on? She folded her arms and turned away, walking over to the Boggart Vault board, which was noticeably more emptier than the rest of the boards. “Look, I-I’ll tell them. Maybe one day but not right now. Once I know I can trust them, maybe, but not right now.” She turned pleading eyes to Ethren, begging him to not push, she doesn’t want to spill. Not now, not ever. “Can we just get to work already? We already lost enough time as it is, I don’t want to lose more.”

Ethren stared at her, taking one long look at her eyes and knew she wouldn’t say more after this point. That’s fine. She said it herself she’ll tell the rest of them one day and there’s still time for bonds to form and trust to build even after tonight. With any luck, she’ll tell him what’s going on overtime. He nodded and he can practically feel her shoulders slumping from relief. “Alright.”

“And,” she murmured, glancing at him, “if it makes you feel better, I can show you what happened at the Vault if… we can get a Pensieve.”

He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “That’ll be appreciated.” Because it really was after erasing his memories of what happened, something he can’t ever get back. Even if it isn’t his memories, it’s still the full story. 

None of them had to say anything to know about the violation of trust between them, and if any of their friends noticed the slight distance between them in the morning, they didn’t say anything. 

Both of them do have their own secrets. Trust is a fickle thing after all, and it can be earned and gained through time. 

They have plenty of it.

[sideofcalimary]

Domino [Romance Arc] Part 2 [Unfinished]

Katsuki doesn't know how to react as he continues to choke his friend who kept making shitty knock knock jokes

honestly he was a second away from helping Denki knock knock on heavens doorstep

But his cries for help were drowned out by the sight before him 

Deku

nerdy little freckled Deku

The dorkiest man he's ever met

actually dressed... nice

Kyoka happily welcomes him into the garage, letting Deku pick whichever seat he wanted

Deku bows at the band, introducing himself formally to everyone and rambling about something 

Katsuki was too distracted to even pay attention to

It seemed to make the band laugh and Deku embarrassed

he wished he was paying attention but whoever was writing this was probably running low on braincells for good dialog

Denki wheezes: Dude-kah! seriously I'm gonna pass out 

Katsuki snaps out of his zoned out state and lets go of Denki, watching the electric blond flop onto the floor and gasp for air

Denki: Dick!

Katsuki: Vagina

Izuku: Kacchan!

Katsuki: Deku

Momo: Waffles!

Kyoka: Pancakes

Denki: Help?

Fumikage: I don't have an antonym for that 

Katsuki chooses to ignore the idiots and stares down at Deku, eyeing out his outfit, unaware of how his staring made Deku more nervous

Izuku: T-Thanks for inviting me-

Katsuki: Is that my shirt

Kyoka: Okay, I wasn't gonna bring it up but I was wondering that too 

Izuku quickly fumbles and looks down at his shirt, laughing nervously as he pulls on it: yeah well, Uraraka-San thought it would look nice with my flannel

Momo: It looks lovely! Though I never expected this style from you Midoriya-kun

Fumikage: mhm I usually see you wondering school as sheep bathed in sunshine

Denki gets up from the floor and wraps his arm around Deku: Yeah, KittyKats told me you dressed like an elementary school teacher

Katsuki: Your days are numbers

Denki brushes it off and turns to Deku: then I better introduce myself! 

Denki pulls away and starts shaking izuku's hand with excited vigor: Kaminary Denki! Lead electric G. At your service!

Izuku gives Katuski a pout for the comment before shaking Denki's hand: Midoriya Izuku! Apparently lead to a bunch of elementary kids 

Denki brightens and looks at Katsuki: He's funny. Can we keep him?

Katsuki: You wanna keep all your teeth?

Kyoko: Oookay! Now that our audience is here, let's all get into positions before Kats commits homocide

Fumikage: I get dibs on Kami's body for sacrifice 

Momo shakes her head at the group and leads Deku to sit by their table of snacks

Katuski still had his eyes on him as he goes behind the drums, unable to keep his gaze off Deku as he sits awkwardly and excitedly waits

Has his legs always been so... 

Kyoka: Hey Midoriya! You got any song requests? We can play virtually anything if one of us knows it

Izuku shakes his head: Oh no no it's okay! I just wanna hear you all play what you usually play. It's exciting just to watch a band up close

Momo: You've never watched a band play before?

Izuku shakes his head again: Not live. This is my first!

Denki buzzes with excitement and plays a quick rift on his guitar: Then we better make it the best damn performance! We're taking your BandVirginity after all

Kyoka: KATS PUT THE CHAIR DOWN

Yeah

This was gonna be one hell of a performance

Izuku couldn't wait to watch everyone play!

But his eyes only stuck to one performer

Kacchan is so cool!

---------------

Izuku sits awkwardly on the stool Momo had provided for him, he had no idea where she got it from but given it was a fairly crowded garage, it was just stored behind somewhere he couldn't see

Which was weird since his newly enhanced senses gave him one hell of a visual map of the room

He tried to contain his excitement, being hyperaware of everything in the room, especially of Kacchan

He could feel the electricity buzzing through every instrument and mic, the vibration of strings, and especially the light taps of the drums.

He couldn't help but grip at his jeans, practically vibrating with excitement, something everyone in the room noticed immediately.

Izuku was like a lighthouse shining in the dark of Kyoko's punk rock garage. Not even the skull shirt dimmed his ever glowing presence.

Momo hums delightedly as she tests her keyboard: Has he always been this bright?

Fumikage moves the amps in a better possition: Not that I ever noticed. But his sunny decomposition is oddly infectious... It's concerning 

Denki arranges some wires that got tangled around him: I think it's great! Getting tired of being the only sunshine around here

Kyoka giggles and glances towards Izuku who seemed very occupied with taking every detail of the room

Despite he's incredible hearing, Izuku was completely lost in thought to even acknowledge he was being talked about

He was in his own little daydream, imagining a variety of songs the band could play. His mind conjured up a music video in his own head 

He could see it so clearly in his mind's eye. Sparks flying with every rift of their strings, keys flying notes across the sky, Kyoka's voice bringing the melody together, all the while Kacchan carried the rhythm with perfect precision 

He was so caught up in his day dream that the sound of heavy drums had him jolt from his seat into attention

His eyes focused and locked on piercing red ones from across the room

The owner of those eyes smirked 

Izuku was glad his shoes stuck to the floor because he was sure he would've fallen off his chair

//How long was Kacchan looking at me? Oh crap I was spacing out!//

Katsuki: Oi! Deku! Back to reality nerd! You came here to listen so fucking LISTEN!

Izuku: YES KACCHAN!!! 

Izuku straightened up, full attention on the band who had finished their set up

Denki chuckles: You gonna call him a good boy too, Kacch-

Katsuki: I will throw you in a bath of acid

It was promise. Not a threat

Kyoka: Whatever Rick Sanchez. Start us up, will ya? 

Katsuki tsked, but with a final glance toward Izuku, he raises up his drum sticks and taps them in a beat

The second they hit the drums, it was like an explosion

Izuku had never been happier to be caught in one

-------------------

With a final riff from Denki, the song ends and the musicians let out a breath

They didn't expect an applause, giving they only had an audience of one, but they were focused on the silence that followed

Katsuki didn't have a view of their audience but he waited with baited breath

If he had dog ears, they would've perked up at the sound of a tiny gasp

Izuku: THAT WAS INCREDIBLY!!!

Katsuki couldn't see his reaction behind Denki's stupid ass blocking Deku from his field of vision

Well, that was until Deku himself was zipping around the room in frantic joy

It was like white noise watching the nerd suddenly get a burst of energy, rattling off about their performance. Funny, he doesn't recall liking white noise

Doesn't recall Izuku being so energetic either. Glowing. Bright

Vibrant

Katsuki: annoying 

Denki, with his death wish, smacks him on the back and leans on him: Oh don't be such an ass! We've never had a fan before and we already got our number one!

Katsuki promptly shoves him off but doesn't stop him from being close: He's going in analysis mode. Watch yourself 

Denki: oohh what? Is he gonna psycho analyze our performance or something like my therapist?

Katsuki: No. Cause you don't have one. But he's got a motor mouth and no breaks

Denki pats his shoulder and joins the group: Then better catch the speed limit

Katsuki sits there processing his words:... The fuck does that even mean?!

But he doesn't get his answer and instead gets up and goes to grab water. His attention was away but his ears were sharp and listened to Izuku ramble on and on, asking questions and making observations.

His observations were treated as complements. Why wouldn't they? How often does someone notice the little quirks you have when you do something you're passionate about? Deku was always good at that

Pin pointing the little details and pulling them to the surface

Annoying

Smart 

Izuku: KACCHAN!

Katsuki: EAT SHIT AND DIE!

Momo: Bakugou!

Katsuki rubs his hand down his face while Izuku laughs it off like a joke: Reflex. The fuck do you want?

Izuku beams: I just wanted to say how amazing you were! Your beat-

Katsuki: do NOT start cause it will never end 

Izuku pouts but looked determined: Come on Kacchan! I know you don't need your ego stroked with how big it is already, but let me show my admiration the Deku way

Katsuki could faintly hear Kyoka choke and Denki wheeze.

Denki: MIDORIYA YOU MADLAD!  

Katsuki wasn't sure if that wording was intentional or not and chose to ignore it, throwing his drum stick at Denki, hitting him smack in the face: CAN IT, YOU WALKING BATH TOASTER! And you!

He points an accusatory finger at Izuku who seemed... Oddly amused

Why was it so warm 

Deku only ever looked like that around him when he was Deadpool. Confident, sure of himself, ready to snap back and level Deadpool eye to eye

Katsuki didn't have his mask. He couldn't hide how oddly comforting that was

But also how it made him feel weird inside 

Katsuki resorts to flicking Izuku's forehead: Save your creepily specific compliments later. This is just a warm-up. We'll blow you out of this goddamn garage

Izuku had this sparkle in his eye that was only magnified by his glasses: I don't doubt it, Kacchan. Blow away 

Katsuki swore he heard Fumikage start coughing and giggling. Could also hear Kyoka going 'Jose Fernando Christ!' in a wheeze

It all kinda turned into a blur after Denki said 'Blow hard, Blasty!' and was now being chased around the yard by Katsuki, with his own guitar 

Izuku's heart was hammering in his chest

He took the bright red color of Katsuki face as an indication his attempt at flirting was working

He was gonna thank Shoto for the pickup line book he lent him ------------------------ Izuku couldn’t have been more happy drinking cool soda and talking with the band he learned a whole lot about the small group just listening to them play, talk, and jam together He learned that it was actually Denki who came up with the idea of forming the band a couple months back, having met Kyoka through Katsuki in, what the hotheaded blond described as, an “Unfortunate pokemon encounter” Kyoka shared classes with Momo and Katsuki and managed to convince (”I was blackmailed!” Kacchan had snapped) them to join Fumigake knew Denki from back in high school. Funny enough, neither of them knew how to play an instrument but Denki was determined to make it work reguardless Then there was Kacchan Momo: He was a real show off if I’m being honest Fumigake: His blades were drum sticks and he wields them with an odd air of mastery Kyoka: Mastery and assery. Bosses us around for someone who sits back Denki: I didn’t even know he could play! Reversed Sociologied him into proving me wrong Katsuki: It’s reverse psychology you elementary school drop out! And you didn’t do shit! I just got tired of you assholes thinking I couldn’t do it! Izuku laughs at all this, having founds their dynamics all so fun. It was nice. He knew how people back home would always take Katsuki’s way of speaking as disrespectful and rude. Izuku himself used to fear him for it but understood him to a certain level He was glad to know Kacchan had found himself friends who understood how to speak his Hulk too Katsuki: The fuck does that mean, pip squeak?! Izuku covers his mouth and tries not to laugh along with everyone, surprised to see Kacchan’s ears burning pink That was good! Right? Izuku held so much hope in his little heart He couldn’t wait to show Kacchan ----------

[astaroth1357]

Hello I really love your writing. I’m glad that you decided to open requests for a bit. I have a personal headcanon that the boys are a lot nicer to MC then they are to everyone else. Could you do a headcanon of the boys being out with MC and they are talking with MC happily. Then a lesser demon sees them with MC and says that the seven brothers have gone weak and they aren’t scared of them anymore. Thank you again!!! 😖 (Also the way you write Levi is great)

Aww thank you!! Levi's kind of my favorite character (if that hasn't become painfully obvious) so I try to write him well, you know? This one was a little hard for me to write because I just have a hard time imagining Asmo and Beel as something intimidating to the masses, but I tried my best! I hope you like it!

Lesser Demons Think the Brothers have "Gone Soft…"

Lucifer

If anybody had something to lose by acting sweet on a lowly human, it was Lucifer. His entire image was built on the back of power and intimidation, so really who didn't see this coming?

He knew there were whispers… Mostly in the RAD hallways. Students would see him with the MC and gossip amongst themselves… 

"Did you see them together again in the courtyard?"

"How did some random human even score a pact with him??"

"And I used to seriously look up to him, too…"

He'd always silence their chitchat with a well placed glare, but this was a symptom of something more… troubling. A decay of his social image if you will.

Perhaps it speaks to how well and truly enamored he was with the MC that this proud creature didn't just dump them the second he started looking bad, but still… a part of him really couldn't stand for this...

So maybe it was a blessing in disguise when he finally got an excuse to establish his superiority yet again!

He and the MC were walking the halls of RAD after school hours and they had just made an amusing joke at the expense of of his brothers. Unfortunately, Lucifer collided into a lesser demon student while he was laughing…

On most occasions, he would have expected someone of such station to pay him deference then offer an apology - they had just ran into Lucifer after all - but the student just scoffed at him!

Lesser Demon: "Oi! Watch where you're going, Lucifer! Or were you too busy sucking up to that human to notice?"

This… was maybe not the best response to have (if the "Oh shit" look on the MC's face was any indication) but for as annoyed as Lucifer was, he was also somewhat delighted.

Finally, he had the perfect messenger for just how cruel he could still be!

Lucifer: "MC, feel free to go home without me for now and tell my brothers to save my dinner for later…" *starts pulling out his favorite rope with a cold, but pleased, smile on his face* "I have a feeling I'll be home late tonight..."

The MC left him and his unfortunate victim to their fate and Lucifer later came home in the night with his uniform in a bad need of cleaning...

A new body decorated the RAD entrance hall the next morning - swinging from the ceiling and making an awful mess on the floor - but still alive enough give a very important message to the rest of the students:

"Lucifer hasn't changed a bit…"

Mammon

So, not even lesser demons see Mammon as some kind of high-ranking badass… 

Just to be clear, he is, but it’s hard for him to come off that way when he's begging for his next Grimm... Then enter MC into the picture and he somehow lost even MORE cred.

"There goes poor Mammon… Did you hear he got tricked into a pact?"

"Just look at him nipping at the human's heels! How pathetic is that??"

"Well that's Mammon for you… What a shit excuse for a demon."

Like Lucifer, Mammon wasn’t immune to the whispers, but unlike his brother he was able to push them mostly out of his mind. People look down on him? Yeah, what else is new?

To be honest, he didn’t really feel the need to prove anything to a bunch of lesser demon losers… But insulting his MC takes things a step too far.

He and the MC were out at the Devil's Coast, "enjoying" some of the haunted house attractions and generally having a good time…ish. 

Any time they managed to make it out of one, the MC would have to peel Mammon off their back and hold him to assure him they were back to safety (a process he seemed to like enough to repeat the horror that precedes it).

It was during one of these calm down sessions that the two were accosted by a couple of snickering lesser demons, clearly looking for a fight…

Lesser Demon 1: "Hey look! There's the 'Great' Mammon and his little master!"

Lesser Demon 2: "Guess the master fits the demon… Of course someone like Mammon couldn't even score a pact with Solomon and gets stuck with the weakling!"

Lesser Demon 1: "Well how's the babysitting going, Mams? I bet you can't wait for them to kill over, can ya?"

Lesser Demon 2: "Careful! With his luck, they'll probably get eaten by the end of next week! Haha!!"

Now… an important thing to know about Mammon is that you can fling all the mud and stones you'd like at him… but never at his MC. That's just asking for a bruising...

Mammon: *smiling like usual, but his eyes are practically burning with rage...* "Yo, MC… I'm gettin' a little hungry. Can ya go find us a snack over there? I'll meet ya in a bit…"

MC: "Mammon, are you-?"

Mammon: "Don’t worry 'bout me, babe." *takes his glasses off and flashes a fanged grin* "This is'a piece of cake."

And indeed, it wasn't difficult at all. No matter how fast those demons ran, they could never out speed Mammon and he was looking to give more than a warning…

The MC didn't know what he did while they were waiting in line, but they heard the sounds of pleading go silent before Mammon turned back up with a nice bruise on his cheek. Oh, how they fretted and dotted on him…

Meanwhile, the haunted houses just earned themselves a couple new mannequins!… when rigor sets in anyway.

Leviathan 

Levi has a… mixed reputation in the Devildom to start with. People who only know him for his titles usually expect him to be some kind of sea-hardened badass. Those who meet him are… well let's say less than impressed.

This isn't anything new to Levi. It does take a blow to his confidence sometimes but even still most people aren't dumb enough to say something to his face… most people.

Unfortunately, "most people" have been getting bolder after seeing him with MC - because Demon Lord forbid Leviathan actually look happy for a change…

He and the MC were out and about for once. There was a raffle for exclusive merch at Anidaemon and he brought them along to boost his chances. They were grinning and chatting about anime but well…

The human couldn’t hear this, but he could - sensitive demon ears and all that. There were a couple guys who were tailing him… heckling him just loud enough that he was CERTAIN they knew he could hear them...

Lesser Demon 1: "Is that seriously Leviathan hanging out with a human? Isn’t he an Admiral??"

Lesser Demon 2: "Ha! The whole family's turned into simps, are you that surprised?"

Lesser Demon 1: "Wonder what the human's giving them that's got them all brainwashed…"

Lesser Demon 2: "Well... I've got an idea." 😏

If there were ever a reason for bile to fill his throat, it was now. He might be a shut-in, but those guys were the real creeps…

To be honest, Levi isn't one for public confrontation. Even with how gross and disrespectful those demons were being, he would have let it slide if they had just left it at that… but no…

He and the MC were browsing the ani-music racks in the store when those idiots popped up again. They hovered a while until they MC suddenly left his side to go find a store clerk.

When he saw the other demons move their direction, he naturally put himself between them and the would-be harassers. It was a little telling that despite his ticked off expression, the demons just laughed in his face!

Lesser Demon 2: "Hey look, the puppy's come out to protect its owner! How cute!"

Lesser Demon 1: "I can't believe you're that predictable, Levi… Do you really think we'd be scared of you?"

Well. That settled it.

When the MC came back, they found that Levi had moved from the music racks to the merch tables near the bathrooms. They didn't think anything of it… but...

One body was paralyzed by his venom and stuffed head first in a toilet while the other getting strangled by his tail just underneath the tablecloth… Meanwhile, Levi was cheerfully rambling about the raffle like nothing was happening at all.

Maybe they should have been a little more scared of the shut-in...

Satan

This may actually be a case where the rumors have a point… The MC has made Satan "soft."

Well, if "soft" means actually in control of himself, anyway. 

Satan would probably call their effect on him both a blessing and a curse. Though he loved finally having a handle on his inner rage, it flew in the face of a lot of his public image… and people were starting to notice….

"Do you think there's something off about Satan…?"

"I saw the human step on his toes earlier and he didn't even flinch…! The old Satan would have torn them apart!!"

"He's gotten way too nice all of sudden… Wrath shouldn't be nice."

Was it a little frustrating? Certainly. Especially for someone as image conscious as him. But for as calm as he was now, Satan wasn’t any less cruel and he'd be more than happy to remind others of that fact….

His chance came when he and the MC were together having just left the local art gallery. The two were exchanging a healthy dialogue about a curious sculpture they saw on display when a latte suddenly went soaring through the air and ended up all over Satan's sweater… The culprit was plain to see, being the only other demon on the road that night.

Whether the act was intentional or not, the correct course of action would have been to apologize immediately and beg for mercy forgiveness… but all the demon did was laugh in his face…

Maybe he thought that since Satan had mellowed out and his human was right beside him that he'd be lenient… Oh no. Not gonna happen.

Satan's fist slammed into the guy's mouth with the force of a jetliner and knocked him over two benches before his back bent over a lamppost… To say it was a KO move would be an understatement.

He probably could have done a whole lot worse to the guy while he was down, but you know… the MC being there and "self-control" and what not…

The demon survived (barely) and only had to spend a few months in the hospital, if anything he got off light.

Not a soul would gloss over Satan's temper again and really he preferred it that way.

Asmodeus 

Well, to be fair not a lot of people thought that Asmo was tough to start with… but that's also his intention.

"Scary" is the opposite of "cute" and he prefers to be "cute" at all times! 😊

Buuut that doesn’t mean this scorpion is without a stinger. He CAN be quite brutal when he wants to be, you just have to push him that far and trashing his looks is a good way to start.

Asmo was out with the MC getting his hair done for the week at his favorite salon. They weren't the only people there that day, obviously. There were other customers - one being a lesser demon classmate of theirs - though neither he nor the MC thought much of him at the time...

Well… It was supposed to be a prank. Probably something the guy intended to use for social media clout. While the staff was too busy to notice, he snuck by and replaced Asmo's preferred conditioner with pink hair dye…

Asmo. Was. Furious. And honestly, the dude could have gotten away with it if he hadn't been laughing and recording the whole thing!

When Asmo's ire naturally fell onto him, he hardly looked fazed!

Lesser Demon: "Ah, please! You won't do shit to me with the human still around! You don't want to look any uglier to them do ya?"

Asmo: *freezes, but still furiously eyeing every sharp instrument within arm’s reach* "MC? Darling?"

MC: "Got it..."

Perhaps the prankster should have kept his mouth shut, because suddenly the MC needed to take a looong bathroom break…

They didn't come back out until they heard the sounds of screeching and broken glass finally die down and then they stepped back into a warzone… Broken mirrors and items seemingly flung everywhere in a fit of rage! The guy (and his phone) now nowhere to be seen…

The salon comped Asmo for the botched hair job and touch up… and then billed Lucifer for the property damage (which he got an earful about later). On the bright side though, Asmo actually looks pretty great with pink hair! Silver-linings. 🙂

Beelzebub 

… The concept of Beel "going soft" is almost an oxymoron. He IS soft, but his personality was never what made him intimidating to start with.

Behind all his kindness, Beel packs more firepower than at least 4 for his siblings combined and most people remember that fact. Hell, the guy looks like he could lift a semi and he probably would if he ever tried. 

However, that doesn’t save him from being underestimated completely... Especially when an upstart or two thinks he's too nice to actually start a fight...

He and the MC were coming back from the grocery store with the usual armfuls of sacks when the MC accidentally walked into a lesser demon on the street. Since their arms were full, several items spilled out from the bags and onto the ground…

The MC was quick to apologize to the demon and try to get down to clean the mess, but the asshole just kept walking… and Beel really didn't like that.

Beel: "Hey! Aren't you going to say, 'Sorry?'"

The lesser demon hardly looked over his shoulder to respond.

Lesser Demon: "Why should I? That's your human. Take care of them yourself."

Well it didn't take long for some of Beel's bags to hit the floor so he could lift the demon up by the back of the neck properly. When he turned the guy to face him, he made sure to bring his face reeaal close so he could hear him growl...

Beel: "Apologize. Or I'll eat you."

And like that, the asshole's mood went from "Do it yourself," to "Yessir Mr. Beelzebub, sir!" right quick!

The MC didn't have to carry a single bag another step and Beel got to keep his free hand so he could link it with theirs!... all while Beel kept mushing their new pack-mule forward like a sled dog back to the House. Thanks, Beel! 😊

Belphegor 

Kind of similar to Asmo, Belphie prefers to come off as unassuming on most days. But don't let his, "I'm a harmless sleepy boy" shtick fool you. He will cut a bitch if he's so motivated...

Thankfully for the world, he's generally not motivated. But that can be changed under the right circumstances...

Belphie and the MC were on yet another date to the botanical gardens. It's a peaceful place, though the MC can never go alone because of the frankly concerning amount of flesh-eating plants… Pretty, but also deadly, you know?

The two of them were walking to another rest spot when Belphie heard whispering from a demon behind them, seemingly on his phone…

Lesser Demon: “Yeah, I can see them right now…”

Lesser Demon: “I know right? It's so lame that these guys are in charge of us… They can't even say no to a dumb human!”

Lesser Demon: “What do you mean keep my voice down? Dude, it's fine! This is Belphegor we're talking about, the hell is he going to do if he hears me?”

… Huh.

The answer to the man's question was a simple one. Flash into his demon form for just a moment and whip out his tail... It only took a quick swipe to make him trip and fall right into the foliage. The man-eating… carnivorous… hungry… foliage….

Belphie was back to normal by the time the jerk let out his first scream and the MC almost stopped to see what had happened.

MC: "What the-oh my God!! Should we help-??”

Belphie: *puts his hands on their shoulders to keep them moving, not even glancing back* “Someone else will take care of it. Let's see the roses.”

Even when the desperate cries for help became distant, it took all Belphie had to stifle a smile…

Sometimes, you've got to love irony. 🤷‍♀️😏

[cillspropertea]

Flipped

Gif: Yo-whats-up23

Chapter 8: Grass

The reader is Aberama Gold’s eldest daughter, Esmeralda Gold in this fic.

Warnings: suffocation, panic attack, emotional distress, mentions of injuries

 This fic might have dark themes which may irritate or offend some readers. But if you’ve seen Peaky Blinders and are familiar with Thomas Shelby, you’ll be okay.   The story, plot, character histories and back stories might not be relevant to the original “Peaky Blinders” . Warnings will change per chapter. This is my first fic. Hope you all like it. English is not my first language.

 Do not hesitate to comment, reblog and engage. It works as fuel for my writing. 😉💙💙

 Synopsis: Your father’s one mistake shall alter your life’s direction forever.

 Word count: 2273

Esmeralda Gold

    You sat in your room in the middle of the night, wincing and grimacing at the pain you were in. The ruptured wounds on your muscles had turned bluish yellow and were pretty sensitive to touch, the three gash like injuries, near your head, shoulder and ankles, had a different, burn like sensation, whenever you wanted to sleep it seemed.

    It had been almost two weeks since the meeting and you had hardly gotten out of your room ever since. You had not planned any of it when Polly had literally pushed you out of the room to attend this family discussion. “This is me giving you the family that you deserve love!” Polly had pleaded with a hand on yours. “I have no family, and I don’t plan on being a part of one in any near future as well!” you had replied, honestly and genuinely. ‘The pain and agony my last family has honored me with is enough for a lifetime, at least’ you’d thought tiringly. “I won’t force you. It’s your decision in the end. Just attend this one and then you can decide.” Polly was relentless. As soon as she felt you contemplating your answer rather than throwing it at her straight away, she softly tugged your arm and helped you walk to where the meeting was being held.

    Walking in, you had seen the faces but had never known the names of everybody in there. You had Known Arthur as the ‘mustached man’ when they’d taken you from… you couldn’t even think about those two days. The memories brought back too much suffering and torture. But then, later the other day, when Polly had come to your room and told you how everyone, including her older nephew Arthur, who had recently been wounded due to some bad business with some foreigners, was going to be living in the Arrow house for a few days, you’d figured it out.

    Sitting in that room, during that meeting, you felt like puking. What in the actual fuck were you doing there? Those people, those Shelby’s too had a hand in everything that had unfolded in that ground with you. And then he’d started speaking. The main man. The culprit. ‘If my name hadn’t come out of his mouth that day during that idiotic wager... If he wouldn’t have taken advantage of me that night, leaving that mark…’ You did not want to look up, did not want to give a face to the person who’s planning and actions had brought you into all of this mess, had almost gotten you killed.

     What had he done with you in that room that night? The thought alone made you gag. Your mind had started whirring too fast so you’d decided to focus on this one spot on the floor, until the whole danm meeting was over. But then he’d called your name. More than that he’d called you ‘Miss. Gold’, the audacity of this man! You’d looked at him, and had been stuck for a tiny moment. The eyes, you had not expected the eyes to be so…. Clear and blue and… intimidating. But when he’d started saying all those words, as if you were a part of his agenda for the day, like apologizing was just going to get him a clean slate that easily, like him making amends will undo everything that had destroyed the meaning of your life. Your simmering anger and pain had boiled over in that moment. You had not realized your actions until you were out of the door. It was as if someone had taken over you. Your fury perhaps? Getting to your room, as fast as your state allowed, you locked it from the inside. The rush you had gotten later on was insane. You were sweating and breathing hard as you rubbed your stinging hand.

    Two weeks had passed after that meeting and your interaction with the family, which was already limited prior to it, reduced to none at all. None of them bothered either, having their own shit to deal with, you had gathered that much from the meeting. Plus the fact that the blue eyed Shelby, was not popular amongst the family too, not positively at least. The maid brought your meals in the room, which mostly returned untouched as for some reason you just couldn’t keep anything down lately, so what was the purpose of eating then? Polly came to visit at least once through the day. And Charlie, boy did that little munchkin adored you. He always walked in with such a command, demanding your attention. He was your only highlight of your day. His father on the other hand, had been avoiding you just like you were avoiding him. Surely your actions had hurt his ego, you’d assumed. ‘Good riddance’ you’d thought.

    Silently, you’d gotten up and padded towards the window. You were feeling hot all of a sudden, so you’d decided to get near the opened window, but it was no help. Sighing, you felt your sweat stricken forehead. A panic attack was on its way and you knew it. You were feeling suffocated ‘No one… there is no one…’ you tried to take in air but it was as if your lungs were not functioning anymore. ‘I deserve this… I deserve these wounds… I deserve this pain… I deserve this loneliness...’ you were hyperventilating now as you backtracked and ran out of your room. Running down the stairs you ran outside to the vast grounds surrounding the house. You kept on running as fast as you could. Your bare feet protesting against the rocks and debris hitting them as you sprinted, to or from what you didn’t know.

    Suddenly your feet couldn’t keep up anymore and you fell, face down into the dry grass. The smell of it, the ground and the earth brought down so many memories. They flashed before your eyes like a film. You playing with Diana, how she would cook for you your favorite meals, how she would shelter you from Da and Gran when needed but most of all the way she gave you importance. You were never invisible to her. You had your own identity in her eyes, a place which no other children of hers had been able to take away over the years. Her voice in your ears rang again, ‘‘it’ll be fine. You’ll get through this. Soon the sun shall shine. Soon the birds shall sing. Soon the darkness will be gone. And you’ll be with me again’ your palms bawled in the grass as a dam of emotions broke free from inside of you. You wailed and screamed as the pain poured out of you. You had not cried at all after the courtroom. You had felt that if you let yourself cry then you will lose your strength and you did not want to look powerless in front of those betraying imbeciles, until the end at least.

     You sobbed for your unknown birthmother, who was a stranger to you but her pain and story had brought a strong sense of familiarity between you two. You felt your body getting so light with exhaustion that you felt like you were floating in the air. Getting on your knees, hiccupping, you wrapped your arms around yourself, as if trying to put together your own broken pieces as you heard a gun clicking from behind you. It was him, the blue eyed devil himself.

Thomas Shelby

    “What the fuck!” he exclaimed as he realized it was her. He immediately put the gun away. “Stay the fuck away from me! You fucking monster stay away!” she screamed, her voice already hoarse from crying so hard. She started walking again, away from the house, away from him. “Where are you going?” he asked, following her. She hurried her pace, “Away from all of this. Away from you…” she started running again. Thomas moved fast too, getting a hold of her arm, he tried to stop her when they both fell down. She was struggling, moving herself like a bird trying to flap away from a net. He got a hold of her hands and clasped them over her head with his, holding her body down with his own. “Let me go, let me the fuck go you Devil!” she tried to move but he was stronger. “Just calm down… take a deep breath” he said, his voice soft as he tried to encourage her to inhale and exhale with him. “Are you going to do it again?” she gritted, willing her rigid body to not move. “What?” Tommy frowned. “Are you going to rape me again?” His eyes went wide, “Nothing happened that night!” Tommy exclaimed. His face mere inches from hers as their breaths mingled. “You’re lying… the mark on my neck…” Esmeralda shook her head slightly, glowering. “It was a mistake, I was drunk, but as soon as I saw it wasn’t…” he closed his eyes for a moment before he looked into hers again. “… As soon as I had realized it was you, I stopped…” This was not making sense to Esmeralda at all. ‘He had to be lying, there is no way…’ in that moment Tommy noticed the lack of space between them both. He exhaled and simply rolled off of her. With their backs on the grass, both of them were breathing heavily. Still wanting more assurance Esmeralda sat up and muttered, “So you did not…. Ahem… do it to me then?” She asked avoiding his face and hiding her own behind a curtain of her hair. “No I did not fuck you Esmeralda.” Still looking away, he got up and offered a hand to help her up too. She was stunned. ‘If this was true then he … no he still made you a part of the wager… but then Da’… your father should have backed out…” She felt more confused than ever.

    She looked at his open palm and then at his face, contemplating. But then stood up on her own anyway. Dusting her now filthy dress, her legs protested as the rush subsided and the usual pain returned along with her senses. Plus the exhaustion that came after the panic episode. She just wanted to lie down now.

     Silently Tommy turned and started walking towards the house, picking up his weapon on the way too. If she wants to leave, it was fine with him. Keeping her as a captive was never his or his aunt’s intention anyway. But he smirked and shook his head when he heard crunching dried grass behind him.

    When they reached the threshold of the house Tommy spoke softly, making sure only her ears could hear, “Let’s have a proper conversation tomorrow, eh? Clearly there are things that need to be addressed between the both of us.” She was still avoiding his gaze. His eyes were too penetrating and she felt too vulnerable while looking in them. Looking down she said, “I’ll think about it…” and walked away towards her room.

 Esmeralda Gold

    Early in the morning, the nurse had arrived from the hospital for your weekly check-up. “Everything seems to be fine Miss. It will take time but you’ll be okay. Even the scars will go away, but as I said, it’ll take time” ‘I’ll never be okay’ she further scolded you about how Mrs. Gray had informed the Doctor of your lack of appetite and irregularities while taking your medicines, you’d nodded numbly. As the nurse started packing her stuff you had an idea. Biting your lip, you knew this was the only way to know if what ‘he’ had said last night was true or not. Losing a breath, you mustered up the courage to just say it. “Nurse? I need your help in a matter. Would you help me?” the nurse, who’s young and kind face reminded you of your sisters, smiled “Sure. What is it Esmeralda?” here we go, “I want you to check if I’m a virgin or not.” You scrunched your eyes, bracing yourself for her reaction. When you opened your eyes you saw her wide eyes and gaping mouth, you knew you’d have to explain. “You see, I think something happened to me when I was asleep a little while ago…” the girls opened mouth turned into a knowing smile as she bobbed her head in some kind of understanding. “Oh it’s okay… I understand! Girls your age are bound to make some mistakes… some experimentations with your man got you worried huh?” ‘Wait what?’ “Um.. no I don’t think you understand!...” she cut you off. “Its okay, no judgment I promise… Just lie down and relax…” you decided there was no point in giving any explanations as they wouldn’t make sense to her at all. So you just laid down and exhaled not sure what you were hoping for but subconsciously you thought, if what he had said was true then what?

-----

    As soon as the nurse had left Frances, the maid, had knocked and informed you how Mr. Shelby awaited your presence in his office.

    On your way you bumped into Aunt Polly. She put her arm through yours saying she was going to his office too. Just before you both could knock and enter, the door to the office opened and out came a white as sheet Thomas Shelby. Polly sprang into action immediately getting a hold of his shoulder, “What is it Thomas? What’s happened?” He looked into Aunt Polly’s eyes with an expression you could not understand, “John… John is dead!”

[obeiii-mee]

MC had a bad day or they’re dealing with a bad loss from a loved one. So they decide to seek comfort from the Brothers! But they don’t do it in a normal way, they just barge in the room where the brothers are all relaxing or hanging out at before MC just busts in getting their attention and they go “I need a hug 🥺”. Let’s see the some fluffy hc’s of the brothers comforting MC 🥰

And how could they not want to hug their cute human that is literally 3 seconds away from breaking down into tears?

The Brothers Comforting MC After A Bad Day:

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You’re right, they wouldn’t be able to resist, they love their human too much 😌

*soBS* I want to hug one of them so bad rn

Thank you for the request, I love writing fluffy HCs, it’s my weak spot and it gives me serotonin. I hope you have a nice day/night!! Uh, it’s sort of implied that MC is slightly shorter than them so sorry if that’s a problem-

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Notes: Fluff, mentions of loss and dead family members/friends, mostly comfort though, short HCs

Characters: Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beezlebub and Belphegor.

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Lucifer:

-He doesn’t say anything and he doesn’t really need to because him just being there, arms wrapped around you and hands lightly running up and down your back, is worth more words than any sort of verbal consolation he could’ve given you and because of this, you feel at ease

-His touch is firm but gentle and you relax almost immediately, burying your head against his chest and feeling him press a kiss on top of your hairline, tightening your hold on him

-He already told his brothers to back off because the last thing he wanted was for you you to get overwhelmed by their insensitivity so you two were left in the living room by yourselves

-In a bit of an awkward position though, because you were both standing and after a while, it was clear a hug wasn’t going to be enough

-That’s his excuse as to why he picked you up bridal style five minutes later and carried you all the way to his bedroom, a place he knows his siblings won’t ever trespass without his permission and somewhere he can shield you from any prying eyes while you’re in this vulnerable state

-At this point, he was basically cradling you like a baby, having you sit on his lap and waiting for you to tire yourself out until you couldn’t cry anymore and watching you slip into that hiccuping stage you get after a breakdown

-Lucifer is obviously going to ask what happened, but whether you answer him or not is up to you because he’s not one to push matters if he sees you’re uncomfortable talking about it

-However, he might insist if he concludes that it’s affecting you and your well being and that’s how you know usually know he’s worried

-His voice is soft though and just listening to it makes you want to tell him everything, whether it’d be something as annoying as a small inconvenience you stumbled across that day or the death of a relative, you feel welcomed enough to spill everything

-Even if you decide not to, he’ll stay with you until you feel better, until you’re no longer crying or shaking or anything of the sort. He speaks occasionally, almost soothingly about how important you are to him and how capable you are of overcoming anything in your way. For the most part, however, he remains quiet and allows you to mull over your thoughts, willing to forget about his paperwork just to let you cling to him for a few hours

-Maybe later, when you’re no longer as distressed, he could get the full story out of you and help you overcome whatever problem you’re having trouble facing but for now, he understands all you need is for him to be there

“MC?” He calls your name out because he was thinking that maybe you had fallen asleep but he realised that was not the case when you looked up at him, streaks of tears still sliding down your cheeks. When you don’t respond, he sighs almost contently “A bit longer?” You don’t answer again but this time, he could feel you nod against him and he smiles despite himself as he leaned his head against yours “All right then, just a bit longer.”

Mammon:

-Truth be told, he’s never been the best at comforting someone and normally, he’s kind of awkward when he wants to show his support because it feels so out of his character

-But it’s not like he was going to refuse you anyway. Not when you specifically came to him and asked him for help and not when you looked like you were on the verge of crying. He’d be a monster to deny you >:(

-It upsets him too, you know. He’s meant to be your protector, guardian even, so the fact that he couldn’t keep you from getting hurt makes him feel like he failed at keeping his human safe. Actually, it takes a lot of convincing on your part just to tell him that you’re not actually physically hurt. Just a shitty day…

-Mammon, despite the walls he puts up ever now and then, is someone that genuinely cares for you. And he’s also the type that does almost everything in excess, especially when it comes to you or spending money. That’s just his personality; he’s loud and boisterous and even though he wants to deny this, completely transparent with his emotions

-You ask for a hug? He gives you plenty of hugs! He lets you lay on top of him while cuddling so he can hold you!!! He brings you snacks and drinks!!! Shit, he basically cradles you the whole night!!! And he’s blushing and acting annoyed the entire time, refusing to accept how much he’s actually enjoying this

-The point is, he tends to coddle you whenever you have a bad day or if you’re really affected by the loss of a dead loved one. This is probably because he, in turn, likes to be babied and cared for when he’s feeling down and he subconsciously does that to you because it’s the only means of comfort he knows how to execute well

-A hug would’ve sufficed, but you’re his human and let him be damned if he’s not gonna give you the world on a silver platter if you keep looking at him with those sad eyes of yours

-By now, if you need anything, you just need to ask because even with a bit of grumbling, he’ll get it for you. More snacks? Say less. Wanna watch TV with him for a while? Immediately reaches for the remote? You just want to cuddle? His body is naturally warm for a reason bby, dig in. You want his heart? Give him a moment to surgically get it out of his chest-

-No matter what, he’s so glad that you trust him enough to talk to him about this sort of stuff and that he’s the first person you think of when you need consolation

-It makes sense after all, right? He’s your first pact so your direct happiness is his responsibility while you’re in DevilDom! It’s his job to make sure you function again by tomorrow morning and that you’re no longer troubled by anything

“Hey! What’s with all the crying huh?” He cups your face in his hands and softly squishes the flesh between his fingers. His thumbs brush over the tears in your eyes and he let’s out a small ‘tsk’ as your foreheads touch and his hands drip to your shoulders to keep you steady “The Great Mammon is hugging ya right now, ya know? There’s no reason for you to be upset, not when I’ve got ya in my arms like this, OK? So you can stop with yer water works now.” As noisy as his voice is, there’s a gentle note behind it when he speaks and embraces you, his cologne spreading everywhere “I love you, ya big idiot. So please, stop cryin’ and lemme hold ya already! Yer making me worried, ya stupid human.”

Levi:

-You stopping by his room is not unusual. In fact, you do it every day and it’s just part of the routine you have with him. However, he’s wasn’t exactly expecting you to stand there, all shaken up and ask him for a hug!!!

-And he doesn’t process this request for a second but then he freaks out so badly-

-Yells incomprehensibly about how you’re ‘pulling your normie tricks on him again’ and how he’s ‘not going to be fooled by them anymore.’

-You raise your head to meet his eyes while he’s still rambling on though and he sees your teary expression and now he feels guilty because you look really upset. Levi’s kinda scared he made it worse-

-He’s the type to usher you in his room and lock the door as usual but instead of doing what the two of you always do, you literally stay attached to him because you need comfort damn it!

-Levi….is sort of clueless about these emotional outbursts since he himself doesn’t deal with them very well. However, he’s watched enough animes revolving around romance to conclude on the best course of action so-do not fear! (Spoiler, he still doesn’t know what he’s doing)

-He’s really stuck and can either stay as quiet as a nun or start babbling in a language you probably wouldn’t even understand because he’s so nervous

-Or actually, he might start crying with you if I’m being fair; he’s very in sync with his Henry and your emotions

-Once he calms down, he’s actually not all that bad at comforting. Levi is a bit stand offish with his hugs at first but he relaxes into them and by now, you’re both standing by the side of his bed, with you leaning onto him and him holding your hand. He then intertwines your fingers together but subconsciously because he wouldn’t have the gall otherwise

-Later, he tells you to help yourself with the snacks he has hidden in his room. I guarantee you he has a whole ass mini refrigerator hidden somewhere for his all night gaming session, in case he needs any boosts. No one knows how Beel hasn’t found the stash yet and there’s no need to tell him

-Then you watch re runs of old shows together and make fun of the shitty editing and dialogue. He’s still holding your hand though and he’s really flustered and wondering if it’s too sweaty for you but don’t mention it because he’ll get even more embarrassed

-He glances over to you, every once in a while, whilst you’re cuddled up against his arm, eyes glued on the TV, to make sure you’re OK. You almost gave him a seizure or at least that’s how he felt-so he made it his mission to make you feel better by any means necessary. Fuck today’s raids, his team can get them done without him!!

“I-I don’t know why you would want me of all people to hug you but…” he trailed off in a whisper, having to lean down so you could wrap your arms against his neck and bury your head in his shoulder. He pulled you in closer, a streak of protectiveness coursing through him as he shut the door to his room with his foot “Lord of the Shadows would never leave Henry all on his own, so I’m not going to do that either. This is an important character development arc and-just, please don’t cry. I’ll give you more hugs, OK? Seeing you like this is not good for my heart-“ stopped mid sentence after realising what he just said and now he’s the one burying his head in your shoulder, flushed beyond hell “Forget I just said that! Holy Lord Diavolo this is embarrassing, why am I like this????”

Satan:

-It troubles him greatly to see you like this and he can sort of feel the world shift out of place, seeing you with tears running down your face and hands balled into fists out of frustration almost immediately makes him fly into a fit of rage because who would dare to hurt you-

-Oh, a hug? If that’s all you need, he’s more than happy to oblige but if you’re as distraught as you seem to be, he wonders if just a small embrace from him would be enough

-Satan’s hugs are very intimate and even passionate at times. He has one hand on the back of your head and the other supporting your lower back while you bawl your eyes out into his shoulder and getting his uniform wet

-You can’t really seem to focus on what he’s trying to tell you because he’s so warm and welcoming and even though he’s someone as renowned as the Avatar of Wrath, he’s shockingly patient with you as you let out the overwhelming emotions that have been consuming you all day

-It’s hard to not relax when you’re in Satan’s presence because he’s calm and he smells like musty, old books and mahogany wood and cats, meaning he was most likely cuddling strays he found on the street the entire day. The first visual that comes to mind is fire crackling behind a grate in a chimney and someone reading a book while swinging back and forth on an old, rickety chair when you’re around him

-He will wait until you’re no longer crying and then, before you know it, you find yourself in the library with him, drinking tea and being handed a plate of biscuits he took from the kitchen to help you regain your strength after all that crying. You’re still feeling pretty miserable about the day you’ve had but you quickly lose yourself in a conversation with him over a cup of tea

-Sometimes, you two talk for hours on end about nothing important just to hear each other’s voices and finally have some quality time spent together. Even though he wishes the circumstances were better, he’s glad to have been able to snatch you away from his brothers for a while and he’s even happier you chose him to confide in

-Satan practically doesn’t even mention your outburst and keeps the small talk minimal but he wants you to know that if you do wish to tell him about it, he’s more than happy to listen and he’s not so bad at giving advice either

-The topic of the discussion you were having with him changed abruptly by the end of the night and now you’re reading together from this book he started a while ago, both of you covered with a blanket, your head on his chest and his leaning on yours. He’s holding the book with both of his hands, but still managed to get his left wrapped around you. And because of this feeling of safety and warmth, you don’t feel desperate anymore. Tomorrow, you’ll be able to sort out your feelings but now, you’re content to just listening to Satan read, in his clear, soft voice

“Ah MC, could you turn the page for me?” You do as he asked to and you could feel him smiling as he kissed your hairline, sighing before going back to the book and the story within “Thank you. You truly are amazing, did you know that? I’ve never met someone as caring and as kind as you. Well, I suppose Beel could compete for the title but unlike him, you don’t really leave us in debt whenever we visit the grocery store.” Hearing you laugh makes him smile even more and he lets you hold the other side of the book while he plays with your hair and now you join in reading with him, out loud and trying to act out voices for the characters. As everything unfolds, Satan feels the world click right back into place.

Asmo:

-It’s a known fact by now that Asmo is willing to give you any sort of affection at any point in time, whether it’d be a hug, a kiss, holding your hand-you name it! I mean, whenever he’s feeling down, you being there to encourage him helps a lot so it’s only natural it works the other way around too!

-If he notices that you’re genuinely upset by something, then he would have no problem whatsoever with lavishing you in attention and really, a hug or two from him is the bare minimum in situations like this

-In any case, he always enjoys fussing over you and you having a bad day is the perfect excuse for him to do so! After all, he can’t disappoint you since you came to him with your troubles and he will do anything in his power to make you feel better. Actually, if he could, he would keep hugging you forever but as miraculous as his charm can be, it’s not effective against someone with this low of a morale

-His first suggestion is to take a bath! It’s his way of taking care of you; you’re tired after such a long day and he feels like you’re neglecting yourself a little because of it. So you relax in his bathtub with him for a while, him actively trying to get your mind off any bad, lingering thoughts while you splash around in the bubbles

-And obviously after that, you need to have your mandatory spa sessions with him since you need to unwind and what’s a better way to do that than to let him paint your nails and apply lotion to your skin? Besides, it creates a great opportunity for you to take things off your chest

-He’s in need to hear gossip constantly so if you don’t feel like talking, he’s gonna be a bit bummed out but he still respects your wishes enough to not push you. If your problem is as sensitive as the death of a family member, you’re not obligated to talk to him about it and he will understand, since people grieve in different ways. He too shut down after the death of Lilith for a while after all

-A bad day is nothing Asmo can’t handle. He’s had plenty of those before, mostly because of Mammon and his thievery, they’re usually common factors. It’s only natural you experience those yourself and he’s more than willing to be your support system if you need one. He wants you to know that you can go to him if you need advice or help with anything, or even if you just need to someone to hear you out

-To give a more detailed explanation of his hugs, they are usually really light and you never feel suffocated when you’re in his arms. He never squeezes you too tight and he always smells amazing, so you feel inclined to stay near him for as long as possible. Despite his overtly loud nature, he gets incredibly soft spoken with you and he traces patterns on your back and arms as you stand there together

-It’s important to mention, he never pulls away from you first. He lets you decide when you’ve had enough and when you’re ready to move on or if you require some other means of comfort

-And even if you’re no longer disgruntled, he’s still going to pamper you as much as possible the next day with either a shopping spree or another few spa sessions, this time done at a professional institution rather than the privacy of his bedroom

-Asmo is in touch with your emotions and it’s kinda scary sometimes because of how well he can read you, since he almost always knows what you need

“Oh darling, how could I refuse a hug from you?” You can feel his arms embrace you, even with your eyes closed and for some reason, this makes you cry even harder, sobbing as he tries to comfort you. You’re aware he let go of you at some point and returned with a tissue to dab away at your tears, gently to not hurt your eyes and now he’s hugging you again, a wry smile on his face “You don’t have to worry about a thing, MC. Everything will get sorted out, I promise. In the meantime, come to me if anything troubles you again, OK? No more crying, darling-it’s bad for your eyes.”

Beel:

-The type to immediately lean in for a hug without even questioning why. As soon as you ask him, you barely have time to finish the question and you already find yourself in his arms. The only exception would be when he’s eating or maybe in the middle of a work out but the point is he doesn’t hesitate much when it comes to you. And I mean, he loves hugs just as much as his siblings do

-Beel is not the most observant and he may not realise you’re in a bad mood unless you tell him outright. It’s not even that he’s emotionally distant, it’s just that if you tell him that you’re fine, then he’s gonna take your word for it and believe you since he’s pretty straightforward with his feelings as well. However, as dense as he may be on occasion, even he’s bound to notice that you’re not being your usual self and this is especially true if you start crying out of nowhere while he’s nearby. Probably assumes the worst and is under the impression that he did something to upset you because shifting the blame onto himself whenever others suffer is his coping mechanism and we’ve seen him to do it before

-If you’ve just had a bad day, he understands that things could’ve been very overwhelming for you and he wishes he had known sooner so he could’ve helped back then, instead of letting it come to this. But he doesn’t hesitate all that much since he looks like he’s built for giving hugs on a daily basis. I’m not even sure this would classify as a hug since you’re not touching the floor. Rather, you are attached to him like a koala and he’s carrying you around as if you were a baby strapped to his chest. And he genuinely doesn’t mind. He’s been doing it with Belphie for centuries now

-Please, after a while he gets seriously concerned because are humans supposed to cry this much? What if you dehydrate or something? So he makes you stay in bed and just gives you plenty of water. You look so pale and sad, he shares his food with you too because his heart is aching just looking at you like this. He feels like besides being there, he can’t provide you with much help and he’s starting to think he’s hopeless at comforting

-If a family member died then…Beel is one of the best people you could’ve gone to. Honestly, having dealt with his sister’s situation, he knows how horrible it is to lose somebody you love dearly (I mean, all the brothers do but I’m making a point saying Beel, Belphie and Lucifer were especially affected). Now he’s sad himself since he’s aware that you’re going through something similar and his twin might walk in on the two of you being emotional on the floor

-For the most part, Beel makes sure you keep yourself healthy even when you’re tired and depressed. Continues to bring you food, even if he eats half of it on his way to your room, and just keeps you company in general in case you get lonely. Seeing you upset makes him even more considerate of your feelings and you don’t have the heart to tell him that he doesn’t need to stay with you all night. He thinks he does because you’ve always offered to stay with him whenever he’s had nightmares before so how he’s gotta return the favour

-Beel gives these bear hugs all the time, since he’s so big and his hand basically covers your entire back. So, more often than not, you end up cuddling while standing because he’s a lot taller than you, with him being a demon and all. Despite that, you feel so unbelievably complete when he holds you like this. It’s hard not to feel protected since his whole body is practically concealing yours so easily all the time and you feel sheltered from the world and it’s….nice

-And Beel enjoys hugging you too, because he knows that as long as he’s nearby, you’ll be safe and that’s really all he needs. He wants to be there for you the same way you were there for him when he needed it most and comforting you when you’re having a shitty day is like his full time job

-You could come to Beel with any problem and he would never judge you, no matter what. He’s just really unproblematic and he just wants you to go back to your normal self because it hurts him to see you cry your eyes out. Now, not only are hugs mandatory but holding your hand is too. It’s like hugging…but your hands are doing the hugging

-Definitely even goes to Belphie after a while if he really doesn’t know what to do and that’s how you know he’s desperate to do something. Since the Seventh Born isn’t exactly someone that yields great advice, more so when it comes to other…people….and his twin knows this-

-Beel’s best strategy at the moment is to just maintain some kind of physical contact because he discovered that makes you feel better and it calms you down more than him trying to verbally console you. He even invited you to sleep in his room if you’re comfortable doing so just so you’re not alone. After that one incident, he’s trying to coax you to tell him whenever something is wrong so he can jump in and help, because that’s all he really wants to do ahakenksms

“MC? Did something happen?” He’s honestly taken aback by how shaky you are and how you’re hands are trembling as they’re reaching to connect with his. Without much of a warning, he feels a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach and now he discovers that he doesn’t like seeing you with tears trailing down your face. And he feels worse the longer you wail in his chest and he doesn’t know what to do. So, he wraps his arms around you so tight you think you might explode, strangely comforted by the feeling as he speaks again “I’m sorry if I’ve done something to upset you. What can I do to help, MC? We can just stay like this for a while if you want” And when he sees you nod, he proceeds to not move an inch almost the entire night. Obviously, hunger overtook him eventually but he shared his stolen goods with you so can you really complain? Doubtful, not when he hasn’t let go of your hand the whole time.

Belphie:

- Hugging him is a gamble. Realistically speaking, you’re not going to catch him standing upright long enough for you to give him a hug. He’s laying on the floor somewhere, asleep so you shouldn’t expect much from him to begin with. Even if you were to get lucky and stumble upon him while he’s wide awake, he might slump over and succumb to sleep the moment you embrace him because you’re so warm

-Cuddling is a different story altogether. He’d rather shoot himself in the foot than not have you cuddle with him so if you need to be babied for once, he’s a pretty good option to consider

-As usual, he’s in the attic and you go to him because it’s really late and you didn’t want to wake up any of the other brothers. Actually, Belphie is normally awake by dusk so to see him sleep like a log past midnight was quite surprising. You didn’t exactly want to interrupt but if you stayed alone for any longer, you would’ve gone insane. So you shook him awake. And he was understandably confused and probably forgot what planet he was on for a minute when you did so

-Technically, he was half awake and from his point of view, everything must’ve been pretty blurry. He did see you; the problem was that because he was still feeling very sleepy, he was basically in a daze and could only squint at you to try and figure out if you were really there or if he was hallucinating. His suspicion was confirmed soon enough because he reached out after a few seconds and poked your cheek just to check. His face the entire time and the action itself was so amusing that, despite tittering on the edge of a breakdown, you burst out laughing

-Once he came to the conclusion that you were, in fact, real and he wasn’t dreaming, he sighed and opened his arms out for you; a direct invitation to cuddle with him. By now, he likely didn’t even noticed you looked sad because, as I said, he was all over the place but this little ritual you two have was common enough that it got engraved in his memory. Now he does it out of impulse whenever you’re around and he wants attention

-So you basically tackled him and threw yourself on top of him so hard, both of you toppled over on the bed and now you were used as a blanket, with his arms wrapped securely around you; preventing you from getting up. Not that you were planning on doing that anytime soon but moving on-

-You thought he had fallen back asleep, because he went really quiet and he stopped squirming to get comfortable. To be exact, the whole room was rather still and the only thing you could really hear was Belphie’s soft breathing and the rustle of the bedsheets every once in a while. And since it was extremely dark as well, you couldn’t see a thing either so it felt like the best place to let go of your stress

-It’s not like you were making much noise but as I said, the seventh born wasn’t sleeping just yet. And he wouldn’t be able to because it was obvious to him now that something was wrong. He believed that he was bearing witness to something that should’ve been a lot more private than this so he didn’t say anything. You should have your moment, let you have a chance to recollect your thoughts and the next day, he might ask you

-It was too much to handle. It’s not like he was gonna get any sleep unless he knew your problem was solved otherwise he might get nightmares all night. Besides, if you’re crying this much, then something terrible must’ve happened. You realised he was awake when he gave your entire body a small squeeze, as if to reassure you and you froze because did you just wake him up???? Or worse, did he hear all that sobbing you were doing????

-Hugging him is similar to hugging a pillow. He’s soft and squishy and warm and it’s impossible to resist him when rest at a time like this is so tempting. His fingers running over your pact mark once or twice, as if to remind you that he’s right there and low whispers describing the best dream he ever had about you, hoping to distract you for long enough to help you fall asleep

-To him, it doesn’t make a difference if a family member died or if you’re just having a bad day. All he knows is that you’re having a lot of emotional problems because of either one and as a result, you need a shoulder to lean on. He’s glad that you trust him enough to let him assist and if it was up to him, he would keep cuddling you forever. You’ve already suffered enough so let him take care of you this time around, OK?

“Dumbass, why are you crying?” The gentleness of his words was a clear contrast to that quick insult he shoved at the beginning of his statement, though you couldn’t hear any malice behind it and the fact that he really cared about what happened to cause you to struggle with your emotions so badly, would’ve made you wail even harder. However, he managed to silence you pretty well because he kept speaking and you wanted to listen; you wanted to hear what he had to say so you reduced your sobs and you sat quietly enough to do just that. Belphie flipped you over, now with him on top and you underneath and he laid there, cheek sloshed against yours as he sleepily mumbled out more praise for you, “MC, are you tired? You should go to bed, you need to get some sleep. Tomorrow, you can tell me what the problem is and I’ll help. I promise-I’ll even get up early for you. Just…please calm down. I don’t want to see you crying yourself to sleep ever again. I’ll stay here the entire time, alright? And I’ll make sure you have nice dreams tonight MC…just let me hold you…”