#this is the kind of woman i avoid when im out because i know she would fucking throw me to the ground and ruin me. like yes that sounds good

[alluralater]

haha. i’m lowkey in danger of becoming obsessed with this woman and we don’t even know each other what the fuck

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

Just found out my two siblings are in my mom's will, but not me. Also my grandpa has told the entire family about his engagement. Except for me. Also my dad told my siblings that he and my mom bought a plot of land. Can you guess who they haven't told?

[chocochozi]

The Other Woman.

Pairing : Sanemi Shinazugawa x Hashira! Reader.

Warning : Spoilers for the anime/manga, angst, second choice reader, some fighting

A/N : HIII THANKYOU FOR READINGGG IM SORRY IF ITS HORRIBLE ITS MY FIRST TIME BSNXNZKZ

From the very begining, i always knew that i was just a second choice.

It has always been her it will always be her.

Shinazugawa and me met during our final selection.

He was harsh at first but warmed up to me the next few days together in the Mount Fujikasane. Truth be told, he didn't even want me to stay, i was the one following him around because he was the only one that caught my attention i didn't know why. But something about him just makes me drawn to him.

We fought in the mountain infested with demons side by side. During those times, my then unrequited love for him developed.

Time past by and we were promoted to be Hashiras. Though, it was ashame when Kumeno; the man who helped Shinazugawa and introduced him to a proper trainer, tragically died during both of their encounter with one of the holder of Lower Rank One of the Twelve Kizuki.

There, we met her.

Kanae.

And i can't blame Sanemi for falling for her charms. Shes beautiful, kind, sweet, patient, and has an easy-going personality.

How can i ever compare to her? Im not even close.

Kanae was easy to get along with, after becoming the Ice Hashira, we've sometimes been paired up by Master Ubuyashiki for missions. Therefore, we knew each other quite well.

Seeing the way Sanemi looks at her with heart eyes shatters my heart knowing he loved her, not me. The look in his eyes says it all.

How could I hate her? She's such an angel.

She's perfect where i fail.

"Nemiii~" i whined, impatiently waiting for him to stop training and come with me to eat.

"What?" The white haired man still kept his stance not once even glancing at you.

"C'monnn, you said you'll come with me to the ramen shop near byyy"

Huffing in annoyance, he straighten his body, turning fully to you a defeated expression plastered on his face. "Fine," "Your treat." He added.

"Alright, Let's go!" I grabbed his hands dragging him out then suddenly, Kanae's crow came flying to us informing about the unfortunate event's that led to Kanae's inevitable death.

The news, of course made me upset, she was my friend after all. But Sanemi took the news harder if not, the third hardest after the other two Kocho's. Talking to him seemed impossible after Kanae's death. He avoided me, he avoided everyone. When i try to have a converstation with him, his respond is always just a short answer or a simple hum.

Master Ubuyashiki summoned us two, to inform us about a mission, where we're both paired up. The walk to the place was quiet accompanied by the occational noises of cicadas. I was tired and didn't want to waste my energy to a one sided conversation so i stayed quiet.

As we were walking i felt a presence of someone behind my back, quickly turning around, i saw that a demon was launching at me, while his clawed nails reached for me. A hand wrapped around my waist hopping backwards to get away from the demon, a groaned escaped my lips,

"You okay?" I felt Sanemi's warm breath on my ears i felt a head rushed to my cheeks as i regain my composure. 'Its so hard to focus when im working with you.' I thought.

"Y..yeah. im okay, yeah." I patted the back of my neck and looked at my hands.

Blood.

"Fuck," i tilt my head up and glanced at the demon, a smirk on his face i pulled away from Sanemi taking my sword out of its sheath and drawing it towards the enemy. I took a deep breath and released it out my mouth.

"Ice breathing, first form, Freezing Slash." I launched towards the demon rapidly and precisely strinking him and his neck. Pieces of him dropped to the ground, his detatched head rolling to the ground as it disappears into thin air.

Sanemi walked towards me. "Come here." He softly says, and i obeyed like a puppy. He patched up the wounds on the back of my neck and that day, we reconciled our friendship.

There were times where i wanted to confess to him but didn't want to take advantage of his vulnerable state. Then, that day came where i finally mustered up the courage to finally confess to him, at first he thought i was kidding but once he realize i wasn't, he became nervous. But he did gave the relationship a chance, and we began dating.

But i could never shake the feeling that i was just a replacement, a second choice for the woman he really loved.

"Sanemi! Nemi! Wait!" I yelled running after him.

"What's your place to interfere with me and my brothers problem huh?" He stopped walking and turned around to look at me, a dissapointed look on his face was visible.

"Im sorry, i though– i though it would help.."

"Help with what?!"

"I..i don't know. When you told me about that story about your mother i–" a shaky breath escapes my lips.

"I know how to handle my own brother, and you're out of it." His tone as cold as ice.

"I thought that maybe it will help you move on.."

He stepped towards me, one of his eye brows upwards with a confused look on his face. "Move on from what?"

"From every thing thats keeping you from moving on."

"Why? What do you even know about how i feel? Do you know all the things i had to go to?" His eyes shifted. "Of course not."

"So stop acting like you know my pain, and stop acting like you own it!" His voice raised on the last sentence. "And you can't just say to me when i can move on."

I stood there, in silence. My glossy orbs looking at him.

"Even Kanae who is with me in everything, who knows everything, didn't interfere with my decisions."

That was my last straw.

"Im not Kanae, so stop comparing me to her!"

"You're right, you're not Kanae, and you will never be Kanae." He pointed his finger at me. I looked at him in the eye a tear sliding down my cheeks.

"Kanae is dead. She's not coming back Nemi, but until now you're still acting as if she is here."

"Because she is! She's here!" He pointed at his chest where his heart is.

"If she's there then where am i?.. " my voice quiet but shaky. "Forget it." I walked passed him heading to the door that leads out of his estate. My hand made its way to my mouth to stop myself from crying even louder, the other slid the door open.

I wanted him to chase after me, to tell me we will be okay. But he never did.

How foolish of me to even think that you will. I wonder, if i were to be her will you chase after me?

[poppy-metal]

https://pin.it/3uN5FPAAM

https://pin.it/4AU0Gvdat

can’t even convey how badly i need to be this tashi’s personal assistant/friend/confidant/? that’s always with her but people just can’t figure out your relation to her besides the fact that she’s always smiling/keeled over laughing when the two of you are together. maybe your patrick’s new wife and it’s chalked up to just a proximity thing, it’s easier for her to like you than be annoyed at your presence because it’s not like you’re going anywhere, her being married to his best friend and all. there isn’t really an explanation for why people zoom in on your lockscreen and find that it’s a photo of her that hasn’t been posted publicly.

she’s never been a rude woman, but she was noticeably closed off, drawing firm lines in what she was willing to talk about that never included her personal life. now she’s asking about people’s weekends, recounting her own with you and the plans the two of you have coming up, double + one-on-one dates that seem a little too romantic. maybe you’re the youngest of the 4, a nepo baby it girl with no set plans, no goals besides being hot and being a little chaotic. you manage to wrangle tashi into jewelry campaigns and get her to be the face of some clothing brand, keep her name alive and revive her career in a way entirely separate from tennis. let everyone know that you think she’s the most beautiful and deserving woman alive. you even convince her to take an extended vacation, a month just the 2 of you. you get caught one night after drinks, a blurry make out sold to tabloids. she plans to go scorched earth until she catches you smiling at the photo…decides it can’t be that bad.

i like imaging being her low stress private gf BUT if you wanted to make it angsty u could play up the fact that because you were born into money you’ve never really had to work for anything and don’t get that you will always be second to work in tashi’s life. it’s nothing personal, she’s just not the kind of girl to throw it all away for love. especially one that would bring questions and speculation and explanations to her family. maybe that pushes your own little insecurity button because no one’s ever wanted to- or HAD to hide you. leaves you feeling unimportant. like it all meant nothing, just a stop on the way to her. leads to the two of you butting heads one too many times, having a massive relationship ending fight. she makes it sound like she thinks so little of you, little rich girl that doesn’t know what real work is. doesn’t realize what it takes to run a family. HER family. she can’t believe how immature you are, liking tweets about “how historians will say you were good friends” (rip public likes), and with that you turn your heel, hellbent on making her feel just as shitty as she made you feel. and thus starts the PR war, taking digs and snippy comments at each other any chance you get. you call her a career obsessed psycho, she calls you a fame whore. you date the people you used to talk shit about with her. she sabotages brand deals. there’s a blurry paparazzi shot of her crying in the street comforted by art and clearly both unaware that they’re being photographed. you start partying harder to avoid the regret that’s creeping in. one night you happen to look up and see art standing there, making a quick appearance at some event neither of you could care less about. you and him had a great repartee before it all went down, he was a great sport about you getting his wife in bed and joined in a few times. for whatever reason you thought maybe that would keep going on, grinning and making your way over to him until you register how cold his eyes are, jaw set. one shake of his head is all it takes for you to leave the party in tears.

why did u stop there omg im invested,,,,,

these pictures of her.... tashi.....

i imagine you're someone she met naturally - maybe while she was getting coffee one day and a man was bothering you and she stepped in, it would be love at first sight essentially - for you, anyway - fluttering after her to ask if you can take her out, all hopeful. something about you intrigues tashi immediately - even when she purposely brings her hand up with her wedding band to push some of her hair back - she still agrees to a coffee date. maybe it'd be be nice to just talk to someone who isn't an assistant, or her husband, or a work associate -

neither of you expect how close you become. you're bubbly - someone tashi thinks she would have hated in high-school, seen as fake or whatever, but you're just.... like that. and you make her have fun when she's with you. when she comes over you make her these wild cocktails "saw this one on tiktok! look, its pink!!" and you make her dance with you to poppy music and it feels like those sleepovers she was always hearing about growing up, but never had time for. her life has always been about climbing to the top, working herself to the bone, and sure, thats not something you can relate to - but she appreciates the levity you bring to her life, regardless.

art notices how much lighter tashi is too, and a part of him is jealous, at first. tashi talks about you like you're a crush she has, like you're something special and that makes him feel.... something. but he doesn't have to feel in knots about it for long because its not long before tashi is inviting you to stay and their place - introducing you to her husband and her daughter - and art cant possibly be angry at someone who makes tashi smile like that.

although he does ask, later that night, when he and tashi are getting ready for bed - tashi had finally returned from setting you up in your own room - if tashi was into you. as a joke, mostly, but also not. and tashi had paused from fluffing her pillow and appeared to really think about it. "would it be a problem if i was?" is that she settles on. and art thinks about it. theres definitely something that gives him comfort that its not another man in his home that tashi has feelings for, even if that's misogynistic to think.

"i dont know." he says honesty. "would you leave me for her?"

and tashi laughs. no, she wouldn't. and if it did turn anything with you, she wouldn't exclude art. "i saw you check out her ass," tashi says, "and i saw her check out your dickprint. sweats, dear. we can all see."

and that's that conversation settled.

its not long after that that sex is introduced into your friendship. and for some time, its perfect. its easy - you go on these little dates and mini vacations and you stay over at her house more and more - in her and arts marriage bed, more and more - because art is an extension of tashi - you come to love him too, want him too, need him too.

but you were raised to have what you want when you want it. you get greedy. you want more of her time, their time - you start rolling her eyes when she tells you she cant come to see you because she has a dinner with art with these tennis executives and you start to zone out because you've never really understood sports and its become a sore spot. a way tashi and her husband connect, such a fundamental part of who they are and what they're built upon and you just..... dont get it. in the early days you liked to listen to her talk about it, but now you kind of hate it. it feels like a rival. a glaring reminder you're lesser than something and that's a feeling you dont like.

born rich and having people always falling over themselves to give you attention - tashi was like a breath of fresh air. she had as much money as you currently, but she wasn't born with it. she worked for it, and that made her have a realness to her you couldn't find in your real life. fake love, fake friendships, even your family is fucking fake - but tashi and art - they brought something tangible into your life, something that wasn't easy.

tashi treated you like a brat during sex - and she the tamer - and it opened your eyes to a whole new world. you loved working for her approval, because it could never be earned by throwing your money at her, it came from giving a part of yourself up and eventually that became too scary to deal with when you weren't sure if you were even permanent in her life.

tashi was never good with words and you lived for them and this eventually lead to your downfall - the breakup of the century - and its the worst heartbreak you've ever known because the only real and genuine thing in your life is gone, because she'd rather fuck a tennis racket for the rest of her life than truly build a life with you in it (at least that's how you see it)

and it hurts even worse because you lose art and lily too. lily who felt like a little niece to you. who always cheered when she saw you like you were someone cool just for existing. who you could watch all the barbie movies with and you didn't have to pretend like they weren't your favorite movies to watch.

and art.... who'd become a strange kind of friend... and boyfriend? over the years along with tashi. where tashi was ironclad art was mellow and soft and you could talk to him for hours about things you both were oddly passionate about. and he was a wonderful kisser. sex with him felt amazing. it was even better when it was all three of you, you didn't feel like some rich spoiled airhead between them, you felt like you were just a person that was well taken care of.

you dont handle the breakup well at all. tashi and art had always been more closed off than you - more quiet with their deep seeded feelings... while you were loud and screamed how upset you were from the top of your lungs. you were downright nasty about it to publicity.

no shade, full names said. trash talking boldly. calling tashi a tyrannical workaholic robot and how it was a nightmare to be her friend, and how you didn't know she was capable of warm feelings. you poked fun at art for being a lapdog and being walked like a pooch by his wife. (nevermind the fact you'd been the one to wear a collar in the bedroom)

its mean and childish and resentful and you're a bleeding wound and you wait for tashi's rebuttal. but whenever you're brought up, or something you said is brought to her attention, its met with cool dispassion. on both her and arts side. they skate over it, give a short and precise response thats somehow crueler than anything you could ever say in its simplicity, "if talking about me and my family is how she needs to heal, then she's more than welcome to it... what im focused on is..." and then she'd go into her next business venture with her husband.

it made your blood boil. it made you hurt even worse. it made you feel like you were nothing.

what you dont see is the dark circles under tashi's eyes every morning she has to brush concealer over. how sometimes the things you say sting so deep she throws her phone across the room and has to buy a new one. how very rarely she'll break down and let art hold her and she'll ask if she really is a cold unloving robot and art will tell her that shes not, that her love is different but its still real and genuine and he'll try to be a strong pillar for her but inside he wants to seek you out and find you, shake you and throttle you and tell you you're so fucking selfish and stupid because how could you not see tashi loved you? that he did too? how could you not feel it? how could you say the things you say about her, about him, when they'd let you into their bed and into their home and opened themselves up to you.

they weren't the most open people - and maybe that was something they needed to work on - but they'd been the most vulnerable they'd ever been with you. and you took their love and spit on it and said it wasn't shiny enough a rock for you.

it fucking sucked. he hated you for it. if he ever saw you in person he thought he might lose his temper.

you were starting to hate yourself too. why couldn't you be enough? why did you always want more? it definitely had nothing to do with growing up with no genuine love in your life, barely there parents, friends who only talked to you for your money, partners who always cheated on you once your sparkly quality wore off or someone even more sparkly came along. definitely had nothing to do with constantly being told you're vapid and artificial and have no substance to you and having the first people in your life treat you like you have value beyond your net worth - feel distant from you in a way you cant reach - is it any wonder you panicked?

perhaps you should have communicated better. perhaps you should have sat down and talked to them and asked how to be more a part of their life, perhaps you should have asked them to teach you more about tennis instead of growing resentful of it.

but those were things a well rounded mentally stable adult would do. of which, you are not.

at least they have eachother to fall back on.

maybe its time you got married too.

[smh-yoon]

Addicitive - Sakura Haruno

a/n: another smut prompt fulfilled!! sakura is prob my fav girl to write for because she is hated on by a lot of the naruto fandom for shitty reasons! also i find a lot of writing for her is not my favorite style, so i write what i like to read :) ALSO IM SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

genre: smut, romance, wlw

prompt: "i want you. all of you."

pairing: adult! sakura haruno x fem! reader

warnings: porn!, minor angst in the beginning, makeup sex, cunnilingus, fingering

MDNI - nsfw below the cut

"I'm just saying, it would be nice to have some time to ourselves, Sakura! You're always running around for the Hokage or offering to help for other shinobi and take on missions and I know that you like to help but-"

Sakura let out a loud huff and continued shimmying her thigh pouch up her leg, reaching for her headband with her free hand as she listened to you argue. "This is my job, you knew that when we met, you knew that when you became a genin!"

"I never knew I was going to sign up to be second best to your job!"

"I save lives! I fight to protect the village, to protect you!"

"What will there be left to protect if I don't stick around for it?" you were nearly shouting, tears stinging your eyes as you tried to bite back the knot in your throat.

Sakura froze by the door, staring at you with eyes swirling in emotion. For a few tense moments, neither of you said anything. The possibility of you really leaving, being gone from your shared home, from her life entirely had never crossed her mind so abruptly as it did just then.

You two had had this fight more than once, a few times in fact, and usually it ended with Sakura leaving to cool off and work and coming home with some treat as an apology. You had never threatened, or implied, that you would ever leave before.

"[Y/n]..." Holding your hand out, you clenched your eyelids shut and let out a sigh.

"I just.. I feel like I haven't had a real conversation with in you months. You're always running off to do more. There are other shinobi in this village who can pick up the slack if you take one day off a week. Every time I bring this up it's like you don't even take me seriously."

Shrinking into yourself, you let Sakura's silence twist your stomach in knots. On the other hand, Sakura was trying to pull herself from the shock. It wasn't like you were wrong. Maybe she had pushed all of your concerns aside to avoid addressing it again, thought maybe the problem would go away. She's a smart woman, she should've known better than that.

"I mean, do you even want to be with me anymore?"

"Of course I do! What kind of question is that?" Sakura was finally snapped out of her stupor, dropping her weapons pouch and striding over to you. She reached out to you and hesitated, sighing as she brought you into her arms.

Your body melted into her embrace, hugging her back tightly. As hard as you tried to push back the tears stinging in your eyes, they started to leak from your eyes anyways.

Sakura shushed you, petting the back of your head as she tried to hold herself together, her brain swirling with guilt at her neglect of you. Once you had calmed down, she leaned back to rest her forehead against yours.

"I want you. All of you." she whispered, leaning in to gently graze her lips over yours.

Maybe it was the tenderness of her voice and the smell of her hair, maybe it was her hands on your hips or the softness of her pink lips, maybe it was that you hadn't had sex in over a month and the tension had built up so much that just her words had you melting.

You were hesitant to lean forward, connecting your lips to hers, pressing harder against her as she gasped into the kiss. Soon she was leading you backwards, pressing your back against the wall as your hand reached around to the nape of her neck, her hand kneading your hips and trailing up your sides.

When you finally parted to breathe, she was tucking into your neck, leaving open-mouthed kisses over your skin, nipping and biting the most sensitive parts she had come to learn of in the time you'd been together.

"Sakura," you gasped out, eyes fluttering shut as she kissed over your clavicle, her hands trailing under your shirt and ghosting over your breasts. You were silently thanking yourself for not putting on a bra for the day as she cupped your tits in her hands, leaning back up to bring your into a hot kiss.

She was pressed against you, her upper thigh inbetween your legs, hips pressed flush against yours, her fingers toying with your nipples as you moaned into her mouth.

It was getting too hot, your brain was getting fuzzy, fingers itching to touch her bare, soft skin, to feel her bare body pressed against yours.

"Take this off," speaking inbetween kisses, your hands lifting her shirt over her head, quick to let her strip you of yours. You paid no heed to the bindings she was wearing, tearing them off as quickly as you could.

The both of you moaned as her bare breasts pressed against yours, nipples brushing against each others as she swiped her tongue over your lips, slipping it into your mouth to exchange spit in the most intoxicating way.

Your knees were getting weak, but before you could say anything, Sakura spun you around, shuffling you backwards until your legs hit the couch. Falling backwards, she settled herself between your legs and went straight to your chest, taking a nipple into her mouth as you bucked your hips up to her.

God, you felt like a horny teenager all over again. Sakura was an overachiever in every aspect of life, so of course each orgasm she stole from you was mind numbing. After a month of little to no touch, you were already dripping in your panties.

She trailed down your stomach to the waistband of the athletic shorts you had been wearing, tugging them down along with your panties in one quick movement.

Wasting no time, she delved into you, teasing you with featherlike touches of her tongue, fluttering kisses over your inner thighs.

The buildup was nearly torturous, your heart pounding as your thighs trembling with anticipation. Finally, she licked a stripe from your opening to your clit, making you nearly sob in relief.

She wrapped her arms around your thighs, pulling you into her mouth, tongue swirling and flicking quickly against the underside of your clit, making you spiral in pleasure.

You were crying out her name, gripping her hands that were digging into your thighs as she moaned against your pussy, enjoying your taste for herself. It had only been a minute, but you swore you were going to burst at any moment with the amount of pleasure she was giving you.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, she moved one hand to press on your lower stomach, using the other to slip a finger into you, pressing against the top side of your pussy.

The mix of the sensations were so strong you came just seconds after, crying out her name and shivering in the aftershocks of your orgasm as she continued to eat you out. "Wait, too much.."

She paused for a moment, eyes glimmering with lust as she pulled away for just a second. "I'm gonna make it up to you, I'm not done yet."

<3 <3 <3

[joanquill]

If you’re requests are open(feel free to ignore this if not) HEAR ME OUT, headcanons/imagine/whatever you wanna do really with the moriarty bros liking a childhood friend(separately or they can all like the. Friend that’s up to you) like maybe it was the kid that one duchess adopted(yknow the one that made Earl Moriarty feel like he had to adopt a kid) cause like the duchess was like an actual nice person who wanted to help the poor an all that so maybe she raised the orphan the same way?(im so heckin sorry if none of this makes sense my dude, I’m horrible at this rip)

Being Childhood Friends with the Moriarty Brothers

Albert, William, and Louis James Moriarty

A/N: It's okay my guy! It was clear and it was really fun writing this one :) I may have forgotten the romance part last minute asjkas so it's longer than normal :') Tag/s: Long (1.7k words)

Growing up in the orphanage since you were a baby, you have half given up on the idea of being adopted.

So the fact that a kind woman-- a duchess no less, adopted you was a surprise you never saw coming.

But you were grateful for your new life and the woman you now call your mother for this second chance.

Coming from rock bottom yourself, you and the duchess worked hard with foundations and charities for the poor and unfortunate, even if it meant scandals and rumors circling around you and your new family.

However, your new title didn't mean anything to other noble kids.

You were scrutinized and avoided like a plague by other noble families.

This didn't come as a surprise, but it was still uncomfortable attending balls and having everyone stay five feet away from you, spreading rumors about you being riddled with disease.

The duchess defended you, saying despite not being bound by blood, you were her child through and through and a noble.

Unfortunately, her words only fell on deaf ears.

Not that you mind, knowing firsthand how the rich treat the poor on the streets.

Worried about you feeling lonely, your mother tried to make friends with other fellow mothers and set up a playdate or tea parties, rich or poor.

Even when you tried to play nice with other nobles, as suggested by the duchess, the noble kids didn't give you a chance.

It also didn't help with their mothers calling your mother a hedge creeper, wagtail, or their husband's mistress.

To say you were banned from a couple of tea parties was an understatement.

However, hearing Lord Moriarty also adopted kids, the duchess wasted no time setting up a playdate for you.

Albert James Moriarty

You two have actually met before during a party.

Granted, scaring the kids who threw rocks at you to run into a thorny rose bush was not the best first impression, but it did make quite an impact on him.

He found you in the gardens, admiring the flowers, when a group of kids thought it would be funny to throw rocks at you.

He was about to tell off the kids until one threw a rock especially hard, making you fall on your face.

Snapping, you decided to play along with their accusations of you being diseased.

A limp in your step, hoarse voice, reaching out your arms to them as you chased them through the gardens and made them run through a thorny bush, making you smile in triumph.

Albert saw the whole thing, hiding a smile behind his hand as he watched you dust yourself off.

He was about to introduce himself to you until he saw your forehead bleeding and led you back inside to treat your wound.

It may not have been the best way, but hey! You made a friend!

Ever since that day, you would always look for Albert and follow him around for the rest of the gathering.

You knew his mother hated you, and his brother saw you as an insect. But you just completely ignore them and talk to Albert, making the two furious.

He taught you the etiquette needed to see in nobles and even the dances for different music.

If you two weren't outside avoiding the party, you two were talking and eating in the corner off in your own world.

Because of this, some noble kids started trying to get close to you to reach Albert or just hate your complete existence.

Despite all this, you kept hanging out with Albert unapologetically, seeing he was as lonely as you were in this rich man's world.

NOW while he only saw you as a good friend, Albert knew he wanted to stay by your side as long as he could.

Sneaking out of parties, knowing looks, and inside jokes the two of you only knew were some of his treasured memories.

However, he also knew the judging stares of other nobles, saying you weren't supposed to be here.

He tried to step away, hoping you would be safer if you had some distance, but he would always find you within arm's reach.

You kept smiling and being yourself despite everyone around you waiting for one mistake to drag you down.

You were the only one who was a genuine friend to him, wanting nothing in return but his company.

While you were rough around the edges as a noble, you were a gem as a person, always lending a helping hand to those in need.

You were also the only one who would accompany him during his trips to the orphanages or outreach programs.

He would even catch you volunteering, hosting charities, or helping others with your own pocket money.

So when he saw you jumping into traffic to save a child, tattering your outfit in the process but smiling in relief to see the child was safe, he knew he couldn't let you go.

William James Moriarty

The first time you heard about William was from Albert about how he met a genius orphan who knew how to read advanced books at a young age and even gave advice to adults despite being a child.

And now, here you were on a playdate with him and his younger brother.

You tried getting close to the two, seeing how Albert praised them and wanted to get to know them better.

But you couldn't help but notice an invisible wall around the two brothers. Especially William.

While William was friendly from the start, you noticed something lurking behind his smile.

This didn't stop you from trying to be friends with them, though.

Relying on Albert's stories (and Albert himself), you tried getting close to William through his intellect.

Reading books together, visiting museums and art galleries, going to the public library, even showing him your own textbooks from your school.

His teasing you for your wrong answers was not welcomed, though.

Whenever you would ask him something, no matter how absurd, he always entertained you and gave you an answer.

During your talks, you would always have tea and snacks ready, considering how some of them would last for hours.

Slowly, William started to make the first move and approach you.

Offering to teach you lessons you found difficult, offering a tea party, or suggesting somewhere new for you four to visit.

Despite noticing the distance between you two getting smaller, you could still feel the invisible wall between you.

However, this didn't stop you from befriending the boy and treating him like the kid he was.

When he first met you, he thought you were only interesting, seeing as you were the reason he and Louis got adopted in the first place.

When he would approach you, it was only to feed your curiosity, seeing as you had a lot of questions about different things.

He would always give you an answer, watching your expression change as you listen to him.

Slowly, he started enjoying talking to you, amused at how you would find interest in the most bizarre things, ranging from random trivia to high-level knowledge.

That was until he found out you were asking for advice on how to put on successful charities and programs to help people.

When you revealed to him your plans to make a hospital for the impaired, you were proud of yourself for surprising the boy.

Even more when you told him you'd make sure to give him the recognition he deserved.

Considering how his intellect was only used for simple things such as growing flowers or for schemes like robbing a bank, you were a refreshing change of pace.

Now whenever you would ask him something, he would try to guess what you had planned through your questions, sometimes even teasing you when he got it right (which was all the time).

It became a little game between you two, one which he would look forward to and catch himself smiling at the sight of you.

Louis James Moriarty

Louis was the hardest one to become friends with.

He never left William's side and would keep his eyes on you.

Whenever you tried to talk to Louis, he only gave you short answers.

However, this didn't faze you as you kept trying to find a middle ground.

Not surprisingly, he would liven up whenever you would mention or compliment William.

Much to the boy's dismay, who is usually no farther than three feet away from you both.

Considering he had heart surgery, you tried to be considerate and only hang out at the Moriarty manor to spend time with him.

This was how you found out how he was treated by the staff.

While the butler treated you better for being a guest, you didn't excuse his treatment of Louis.

Now, you always help Louis with his chores and glare at the butler whenever Louis mentions the things he made him do.

One day, you offhanded mentioned how strong Louis must have been, going through everything he had.

Surprised by the sudden compliment, he mutters how untrue it was and what a burden he was to his brother.

This made you shower him with praise, saying he should be more confident in himself.

After that, Louis started warming up to you. Even greeting you as soon as you arrive with a smile on his face.

You may have bragged to Albert about being the first one to befriend Louis out of you two. 

At first, he was wary of you. Despite knowing you were also adopted, he didn't trust you.

But you would always make an effort to get to know Louis, even doing chores with him and defending him whenever you visit.

You never looked at him with pity and treated him just like another kid.

Whenever you and his brothers would play, you would always invite Louis and even pull him along, whether it was just hanging out in the manor or visiting some exotic spot in the city.

You would always listen and pay attention to him, making sure he was heard and seen by others whenever he spoke up.

And whenever he spoke ill of himself, you try to boost his confidence and point out his good points with clear eyes.

So when you called him strong and said how much he meant to you and his brothers, he knew you weren't lying.

Slowly, Louis started warming up to you and even clinging to you, which didn't go unnoticed by you three.

You may have cried tears of joy while William and Albert clapped for you.

Now, he considers you one of his trusted confidants and was always the first to greet you, even preparing your favorite tea and snacks in advance for your visits.

[pearlsinmyhair]

⚔︎⊹ ࣪ MODERN!MIZU HEADCANONS

i had to write something for her- i was itching. headcanons are always kinda scary for me so i hope you like them

anyways: very light on x reader, with general mentions of mizu having a partner. that being said, no nsfw (for this one).

real quick! : i use she/her pronouns for mizu in this. if this is triggering for you, which i completely understand if it is, then please don’t proceed.

≈ she most definitely owns a cat. mizu is one of those pet owners whose animals reflect their personalities. her cat will tolerate some and scamper away from the rest of those who dare try to pet them. the feline avoids taigen, is chill with akemi, and pretends to hate ringo (she purrs as soon as he walks into her apartment, but she does so with a grumpy face).

≈ surprisingly, the fur baby let you scratch her under her chin when you first came over- which, believe me, mizu noted.

≈ has a butterfly knife.

≈ can do extremely elaborate tricks with it -are we surprised-

≈ one time taigen tried to copy her and it ended with him slicing a finger open and almost flinging the knife into his face.

≈ there’s a blood stain on the rug in mizu’s living room, and whenever taigen brags she’ll just silently point at it to humble his ass.

≈ also has a fish. specifically a beta fish. they’re solitary and will fight others if kept together, and i think mizu would find some kind of kinship with a little angry beta fish.

≈ no, her cat doesn’t try to eat her fish. everyone is convinced that the three beings in the mizu household can read each others minds.

≈ this idea isn’t squashed when you eventually move in, because three simply becomes four, and you all move around each other and communicate perfectly without so much as a look. it’s freaky, and taigen, akemi, and ringo will watch them in silence trying to figure it out.

≈ she wears those giant bermuda-cut jean shorts. akemi hates them, which just makes mizu love them more. she loves seeing her face scrunch up with disgust when they meet up.

≈ gym girlie gym girlie gym girly-

≈ girl’s got a snatched waist, it’s not faaaaiiiirrrr-

≈ definitely has tattoos, and everyone of them is meaningful. there’s a teeny tiny pheonix at the nape of her neck, a dagger on her ankle for swordfather, and a Hokusai wave trailing down her bicep that she gets extended every now and again.

≈ speaking of the wave tattoo, mizu has a deep seated love for the ocean. as in, she’ll never tell anyone outright, but if the group is anywhere near the beach for the day, mizu disappears. they find her via taigen (he has her location under the guise of knowing where to find her body if she gets killed), and she’s waist deep in the waves, just kinda meditating.

≈ she doesn’t get visually cold. like, cmon, sis was wandering around in the snow and sporting a little red nose. she doesn’t complain, doesn’t shiver, and her teeth don’t chatter.

≈ that is, unless you’re close to her.

≈ she’ll allow herself to be babied after putting up a fight (ahem ringo) but a bitch will melt if you fret over her.

≈ factory reset when you try to warm her hands up by cupping them in yours and breathing on them.

≈ taigen will gag if you both show pda, and mizu will threaten death.

≈ this woman has enviable fashion sense. off duty model vibes, even though she’s not trying.

≈ favors baggy clothes, and likes a more androgynous appearance.

≈ that being said, the eyeliner on her slays. just as sharp as her sword, and she’s got ariana grande skills when it comes to applying it.

≈ rbf all the way. most people think she hates them (she does, but she’ll never confirm it) because her default expression is stern.

≈ i think she’d wear rings. all kinds- she likes to twist them when she’s thinking.

≈ if she were to go to college, i feel like she’d pursue some kind of history degree or art history and specify in either japanese military history or traditional art (im projecting-)

i’m actually fighting fear to post these-

[spiderlandry]

Secrets Kept — Ethan Landry

in which you have a secret, and it’s not what ethan thinks.

Pairing: Ethan Landry x Spider-Woman!Reader (she/her pronouns used)

Warnings: minor gunshot wound, kind of escalates quickly?, mention of reader having no family (other than aunt may), slight angst, fluff, no ghostface (previous movies can still be canon i think), somewhat dialogue-heavy, mentions of Across the Spider-Verse events

Word Count: ~9k

Author’s Note: hey everyone, i do wanna apologize for promising to come back and then just. not. so im sorry for that! i have had some health/life troubles recently and long story short i won’t be releasing anymore fics after this. (i am not dying, dont worry, my energy just isnt the same). i also realized i just do not feel as passionate about writing as i used to. thank you for sticking with me, and i will keep all my fics up. for unfinished series i’ve written, anyone is free to write continuations if you wish. thank u so much again for making me feel so welcome here!!! feel free to talk to me in my inbox as i’ll be checking in periodically. and if there’s any interest, i’m willing to post unedited wips.

i guess i've come full circle because this fic was the reason i created this blog. it was unfinished so i never did post it, but i finally got some energy to do it! so enjoy (hopefully)

-

New York had been your home for a long time. All your life, actually. But sometimes, the rowdy, noisy city was suffocating.

However, swinging through the city, air resisting against your skin as you picked up speed—lifted the weight off your shoulders.

You changed in a secluded alley on the outskirts of the busyness in the big apple, not risking any neighbours seeing you go into the window of your apartment. The subway was crowded as it is all hours of the day, though you didn’t mind too much.

Closing the door behind you, you dropped your bag on the couch and looked for your roommate. “Quinn?” Your voice travelled throughout the place, bringing your roommate to her feet and outside her room.

“Hey, d’you just get back?” She smiled, leaning against the end of the hallway. “How was patrol?”

You sighed, opening the zipper of your backpack to pull out the bagel you got for her. “Yeah, it was alright. Nothing exciting.” you threw it to her, and she almost dropped it. “Got you a bagel. Thanks for covering for me.”

She scoffed in mock offence, “What did I say about throwing things? I don’t have your spider sensor, or whatever. But this is appreciated.” She took a bite, and you laughed at her remark about the spider-sense.

“Noted, sorry again.” You returned her grin. You knew she loved being in on the secret. She took joy in knowing the real identity of the masked vigilante, often covering for you around your friends when you had to leave very suddenly during movie nights and hangouts. But above all, she was a concerned friend. Always. Patched you up when you came home late at night, warned you when you were about to make a bad decision, told you to be careful before you left.

You often told yourself not to get too close. Making connections as a vigilante wasn’t ideal. Anybody who knew your identity was in danger at all times, and it didn’t help that you had a huge crush on her brother. You never uttered a word to her, but you could sense her observing you when you hung out with the friend group—not in a spidey-sense way, though, you could just feel it, even without the supernatural sense.

“Anything interesting happen while I was gone?” You asked, flopping down on the couch and turning on the tv, avoiding the news channels.

“Ethan missed you. It was kinda gross, actually. Wouldn’t stop asking where you were.” She grabbed a drink from the kitchen, disappearing from view.

You furrowed your brows, “You know I never believe you whenever you say anything about Ethan, right? Especially concerning me.”

“Not my problem, spidey. I never lie.”

“I could give you ten examples,” you chuckled.

“I never lie to you. Obviously I lie to everybody else.” She came back from the kitchen with a look.

“Is it because I’m special?”

“Obviously.”

You weren’t the nervous type. Maybe it was after you were bitten by the spider, you never really knew, but one of the main reasons Ethan may not have realized you have any semblance of feelings for him was because you acted normal around him like you did everybody else. Your schedules were different, so you rarely hung out with him for school reasons, meaning the only times he spent time with you was during group hangouts.

Including now. At his and Chad’s tiny off campus apartment.

He watched you play chess with Anika, Chad watching from the sidelines during a blitz game. Speed chess. He knew how to play chess. Maybe he should play with you, a thought grazed his mind.

As if his sister could read him, she appeared beside him and nudged him closer to the scene. “You should play.”

He looked at her with shock, “No, I’ll lose. I don’t wanna embarrass myself.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Since when has that stopped you? You never back down from a chess match, remember?” He did remember, years ago when his father taught him after Richie left for college. “It’s because you like her, isn’t it?”

He huffed. To try and prove her wrong, he went over to the coffee table and watched as you lost to Anika—maybe he has a chance.

It was his turn, now. He replaced Anika on the seat facing you, rearranging the chess pieces. “Pretty boy wants to play!” Chad exclaimed.

“Chad.” Ethan said in an almost warning tone. “What did I say about the nickname?”

You reset the chess clock. He looked at you—you were smirking—which was a mistake, because he didn’t realize you started his clock.

“Shit,” he moved a piece, fumbling. You grinned at him, and he realized he’ll do anything to see it again.

You didn’t lose your confidence, moving chess pieces to counteract his own moves.

During the middle game was when it dawned on him he was fucked.

It became clear to him you likely knew how to psych him out—just by smiling at him.

Little did he know, you smiled at him because his thinking face was adorable. But on his side, you were smiling every time he glanced at you. He had no other choice but to believe you were doing it to make him blunder, because he couldn’t make you usually smile like that, could he?

Quinn watched her brother fumble around you. Her plan worked. At least for tonight.

You ended up winning the game with ten seconds left on your clock and three on his.

You high-fived Chad, much to Ethan’s dismay, but you offered a handshake to his direction which he gladly accepted to feel your warm palm in his. Worth it.

He was mustering up to ask for a rematch when your phone buzzed on the counter, which Quinn reached to get before anyone could in case it was something spider related. And thank god she did, because it was. She gave you a nod, reading the notification about something happening downtown. You cringed internally, knowing the burden of covering for you would fall on your friend’s shoulders again. She packed your things and handed you the backpack, whispering ‘be safe’ as you take it from her, so nobody else would hear.

With a closing of the door behind you, a conversation in the room began, thanks to a suspecting Mindy.

“Why does she leave sometimes?” The woman looked to the strawberry blonde for an answer, suspecting that she knew more than she let on. “She never tells us.” They all settled on the couch as Chad flicked through streaming services for a movie and Ethan cleaned up the chessboard. He didn’t wanna seem to interested, but he was definitely actively listening for Quinn’s answer.

“Her aunt calls her sometimes to run some errands,” Quinn prayed they wouldn’t pry. She saw this coming because you’d been dealing with more calls recently and patrolling more often. There really was no other excuse for the spontaneous leaving. It was easier to cover if you were already not there—you’d be studying, grocery shopping, napping, or literally anything else.

“Aunt May?” Ethan piped up. You mentioned her once, saying you needed to get eggs for her.

“Yeah, Aunt May.”

“She never talks about her family.” Said Anika.

Quinn didn’t want to say anything else. “She’s just private, I think.”

“You know more about her than us, though.”

“Because I’m her roommate.”

Mindy’s eyes squint toward her. Tilting her head, she pursed her lips. “I think you’re lying.”

“Why would I be?”

“She’s left before, at like, one AM. Why would her aunt call her at that time?”

Quinn shrugged, feeling a little bit of panic setting in. “Who knows?”

“Is she hiding something?”

“No.” The word was so quick and curt, and that was when she knew she fucked up.

“You’re definitely lying.”

Everyone else, watching the interaction turning from teasing to tense, Sam stepped in. “Guys,” she interrupted. “If Y/N wants to tell us something, she would. I’m sure she has her reasons.”

Mindy had been suspicious for a long time. Not out of malice, she liked to think she had a naturally curious personality. She’d kept an eye on you every time you left, half because she wanted to know, but also because she was worried. Had you not been friends for long enough that you couldn’t tell them why you left or was sometimes missing?

Ethan thought similar.

It got weirder when he saw a glimpse of your name on Quinn’s phone, a call from you that she answered. She went to the kitchen to answer it. Mindy saw it too.

Ethan wasn’t proud of it, but he followed, to stay right behind the threshold of the kitchen and the cold tiled floor, listening to the conversation.

The audio from your end was inaudible, but Quinn’s responses were: “Yeah?” … “How bad is it?” … “No, I’ll be there.” … “Who cares if they get suspicious? You’re more important.”

He heard the call end and rushed back to his seat, to Quinn’s obliviousness. She grabbed her things.

“I’m tired, guys.” She announced to the group, Tara pausing the movie. “I’m gonna go home.”

“Oh,” Sam replied. “Well, be careful. Do you have your pepper spray?”

“Yes, Sam.” Quinn almost rolled her eyes at Sam’s protectiveness, but she knew it was out of real worry.

After his sister left, Ethan began the conversation this time. “I think Mindy’s right.”

Everyone turned to him.

“Quinn was talking to Y/N.”

Tara sat up. “You followed her to eavesdrop?”

Ethan shrugged, feeling scolded.

“Not cool, dude.”

“What did she say?” Sam asked curiously, now hooked. If Ethan mentioned it, it must have been important.

“Like…” A pause, “Q asked ‘how bad is it?’ then said she’ll be there. And then, like, who cares if they get suspicious.”

“They’re definitely hiding something,” Mindy stated. “But why?”

“My sister never hides anything from me. She always overshares, and I always hated it. But now she’s not. It’s probably not…good.”

“Are we sure we should talk about this?” Anika piped up next to Mindy. “Maybe it’s a problem with their apartment—a leak, or something.”

“But…” Chad spoke, “what about the suspicious part? And why would Quinn lie?”

At the same time, at your and Quinn’s apartment, you bled out on a towel placed on the couch from a gash across your stomach. You winced as your friend applied the bandage.

“Didn’t I tell you to be safe? What happened? You had a good streak going there for a while.”

“Quinn, please.”

“Also, not to alarm you, but they’re getting really suspicious. Mindy asked why you leave all the time.”

“Shit, she’s never asked that.” Your head fell against the end of the couch in defeat. “Maybe I should start distancing myself.”

Quinn’s head snapped up. “You’re not serious.”

“Dead serious.”

“Don’t make me say it.”

“Say what?” You looked at her.

“It’s a really bad idea.”

“I’m trying to keep people safe. Keep you safe. Keep everyone else in the group safe.”

“What about Ethan?”

“Including him.”

“No—“ She scoffs, “I mean, you’d…break his heart.”

You had to stop yourself from laughing. “Quinn,”

“I’m serious.” And she actually was. She might have thought her brother was a nerdy asshole. But he was her brother. “And everyone would wonder where you are. You can’t avoid them forever.”

Sitting atop a random apartment building Monday morning, your sight helped you catch a glimpse of Ethan walking amongst a crowd of New Yorkers, bumping into people with a hand on the backpack strap on his shoulder. It had been a week since you talked to Quinn about possibly leaving the group.

After that, you stopped answering messages from them, much to her dismay. She still saw you at the apartment, looking at you with silent eyes hoping you’d realize your mistake and come around again. She knew you would.

Having everybody’s schedules memorized helped you avoid them—but Anika having the same major as you was your downfall. You skipped a class yesterday, and she texted the groupchat asking where you were.

Maybe it was creepy, but keeping an eye on your friends calmed you down. You wanted to be the one to make sure they were safe without having them try to do the same thing—this was why you never wanted to get close.

Unbeknownst to you, the group had a bet going.

Mindy thought you and Quinn were dating. Ethan thought something was up in your family life, maybe Aunt May was sick. Chad thought you were in a secret fight club (secretly worried). Anika was on board with Mindy’s theory. Sam refused to answer, and Tara was also silent.

Quinn came to your room that night. “Everybody’s worried about you.”

You looked at her with begging eyes. “I know, Quinn.” You sighed in defeat. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“Either you tell them or not. Your choice. But you can’t avoid it forever. Everyone’s been giving you space, but they’re still thinking you’ll come around.”

You stared at her, them looked away, at anything else.

“One more thing—“ she said before she left, “don’t patrol tonight.”

“Why not?”

“I’m gonna be over at Isaac’s place. If you get hurt, I won’t be there. He thinks I’m cheating on him whenever I bail.”

You would never ask her to give up a part of her life for you, she knew you would agree. But she also knew you would never miss patrol.

“Fine, I won’t.”

She left knowing you would.

You should have listened. God, you should have listened.

Your wound from a few days ago had already healed thanks to your abilities, but another power you had was how many times you got injured in a short amount of time. Especially in the same spot. This time it was a real stab wound on your side, not just a gash a centimetre deep.

You couldn’t let yourself bleed out on the alley to be found dead and your friends to find out your identity through a news announcement that Spider-Woman was dead. You were about to swing back to your apartment—

Shit.

You didn’t have your civilian clothes. The window on the fire escape was locked. Your door was locked. Nobody was home. Idiot!

One choice. You forced your feelings down, hoping this was for the best.

Ethan and Chad’s were the closest.

With your heart pounding in your ears, holding it together and covering your wound, you knocked on the glass.

Chad came out of the hallway to furious sounding knocking on the window, thinking maybe a madman managed to climb up the fire escape and was trying to break in.

He certainly wasn’t expecting the masked vigilante of New York City to be the one on the other side of the glass. And she looked to be bleeding.

You were thankful it was Chad who answered and not Ethan. He coincidentally had Econ tonight, so that was actually a plus.

Chad opened the window. “Holy shit!”

“Look—“ You were breathing rapidly, unable to keep it together. “I’m sorry about this—“ You tried to change your voice hoping your friend wouldn’t recognize it.

“I’m gonna carry you now, okay?” He put an arm behind your back and another under your knees, trying to avoid touching the wound. “What the fuck?” You heard him whisper as he set you down on the couch.

He rushed to the bathroom for the med kit. “You’re lucky I have this,” He set it down on the floor, rummaging through it. “I play college football, I mainly have it for sprains. I never used the suture kit, but hey, first time for everything, right?” He rambled. Just as Chad does when he was nervous, also evident in the tremble of his voice.

“I heal pretty quickly, I just need stitches to stop it from bleeding.”

“Thank God. I don’t know how to operate on organs. What if you have internal bleeding?”

“Won’t matter. I’ll heal. I’d never let you touch my organs.” You joked.

“Glad to know Spider-Woman’s funny.”

You were careful not to call him by name on instinct. “What should I call you?”

“Your saviour.” He got the tools ready, “Kidding. I’m Chad.”

“‘Kay, Chad. Need me to walk you through it?”

“Yes—yes, that would be good, actually. You have medical experience?”

“If you call getting injured experience, yes.”

“This is gonna be a long night.”

Tara did not believe her boyfriend.

She was at his apartment, sitting on his bed, and he was pacing and rambling about Spider-Woman coming to this very place last night and asked the vigilante to save her. She stared at him crazy.

“Babe, you have to believe me!” He jumped up excitedly, he couldn’t keep it in.

“You didn’t get any proof?”

“She was bleeding! I stitched her up! Not really a great time to ask for an autograph or a picture.”

She smiled at him endearingly. “I wanna believe you, so, so bad.”

He came closer to her, “Please do.”

“She just happened to come here when Ethan was away?”

“Yes.”

She laughed, falling back on the bed.

“Please, babe!”

With good timing, a knock on the door took them away from the moment.

Tara went to get it, Chad on her tail.

And surprise.

It was Spider-Woman at the door.

You never intended on showing up, but the guilt consumed you and your feet brought you to a bakery and you’d purchased a dozen cupcakes before you knew it. You wanted to leave them at his door, but not trusting his neighbours, you decided to hand them over.

He wasn’t alone. You should have expected Tara. It was afternoon, and Ethan had a class early morning (why he picked it that early, you’ll never get.)

Tara’s eyes widened at the sight, immediately turning back to her boyfriend stopping him in his tracks. “Is this a prank?” She pointed a finger up at him.

Him not knowing who’s at the door, “What? Who’s at the door?” He walked past her and was equally shocked.

You lowered your voice again. “Uh,” you cleared your throat, “thanks for saving me last night.” You handed over the box of cupcakes.

“Are you joking?” Tara went to lift your mask, but you backed away. “Who are you?”

“Not a prank, promise!” You exclaimed. “This is…actually…me. Just wanted to say thanks. If not for him, I would have bled out.”

“Prove it.”

“Prove what?”

“You’re her.”

At that, you shot a web to the ceiling.

“Shit,”

“I wasn’t lying, babe.” You heard Chad whisper to her. And directed at you, “Glad I could help, spider. Come back anytime!” Tara playfully slapped him on the shoulder as you walked away.

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

You still hadn’t told Quinn about what happened last night. That was because you hadn’t seen her anywhere. She must have slept in at her boyfriend(?)’s place.

As you got home, your phone buzzed.

Bruno Mars Security Team

Chad

everyone !!!!!!!! please come over tonight !!!!!!! i have to tell you all something !!!!!!! im spiderwomans best friend now

Tara

well…

Sam

???

Quinn

Oh god

Ethan

What lol

Then, a personal message notification from Quinn.

Quinn

Wtf happened while I was gone you have to tell me

You

I HAD NO CHOICE

Quinn

Please actually come over to Chad’s. We all miss you even tho its only a few days like we’re all worried

You

i will

Chad had never been happier to see you. “You’re here! And you’re early!” He opened his arms for a hug, which you took. “I missed you!” You’d always been a little sister to him, despite being a few months apart, it mattered to him.

“Sorry I’ve been MIA,” You sighed, pulling away. “Just—dealing with stuff,” you cleared your throat.

Just then, Tara appeared and ran into your arms. You squeezed her tight, knowing she gave the best kinds of hugs. Her arms wrapped around your neck, head resting against your shoulder, fitting like a puzzle piece. “Talk to us anytime, okay?”

You nodded, ending the hug and closing the door behind you.

“What’s this about Spider-Woman?” You inquired, grabbing a drink from the fridge.

“I have to wait until everyone gets here, you guys are gonna freak! And Tara is here to back me up.”

“Is that all I’m here for?” Tara teased.

“No, honey, you know it’s also because we’re using your Netflix login.”

You laughed at their antics as she flicked him on the forehead lightly.

Ethan happened to catch you right at that moment as he came out of the bathroom.

He was silent, but shot you a smile nonetheless, which you mirrored. He really did not know what to say. A feeling bubbled up inside him and he knew he wanted to talk to you alone.

You took your place at the very end of the couch, checking something on your phone as you waited for the others to get here. Unbeknownst to you, though, Ethan was looking at you trying to decide whether it was the right time to talk. Chad and Tara were whispering to themselves, betting on if he would actually say anything.

After a few seconds, your senses told you somebody was staring. Not in a dangerous way, or even remotely alarming, but you could still feel it. So you turned your head upward and saw the curly haired boy a standing awkwardly a few feet from you.

“What’re you doing?” You smirked, though not really in a smug way. It was more amusement than anything.

“Uh—nothing, I just—“ He wandered closer, sitting a few centimetres away from you. “I—we, the group, want you to know that we’re always here if you need anything. You can talk to us, alright? You don’t—just don’t deal with it alone.” He shrugged, “That’s it.”

Your face softened at his confession. Only if you could tell them without compromising their safety. “Thanks. I’ll…keep you posted.”

Ethan didn’t know what to do now that the conversation was seemingly over.

He was about to stand up until the door swung open, Quinn coming in along with Mindy and Anika who were carrying a few boxes of pizza.

“We’re here! And we brought food!” Mindy’s voice echoed throughout the apartment.

You were going to greet them but Anika beat you to it, seeing you on the couch and running over to hug you.

Mindy did the same, relieved to see you okay.

Quinn had a knowing smile on her face.

After the room settled down, Chad began to finally tell the story.

Needless to say, nobody believed him.

By the end of the night, long past midnight, you were getting ready to leave when Ethan asked you something.

“Are you going with Quinn?”

Mindy and Anika were waiting at the door, they both got a ride from your roommate since Mindy’s car broke down a few days ago.

“No, uhm—I think I’m gonna walk home. It’s only a few blocks.”

Quinn, upon hearing you, chimed in. “Really? You sure you don’t want to?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” You shared a look with her that only the two of you knew. You turned to Ethan, “Why?”

“Can I walk you?”

You were surprised, to say the least. “Really?”

“So you’re safe.”

Preparing to protest, you felt Quinn’s hand on your arm. “Let him.”

So you did.

The walk home was brisk. The streets were empty, the street lamps illuminating your synchronized steps with Ethan.

With him, silence was never awkward. It was just…quiet.

It was no secret that you were perceptive, especially to your friends. Quinn knew why, but the others thought it was just you, not something caused by the spider bite. Your senses were especially heightened around Ethan.

You would never mention it, but you knew his heartbeat sped up when he got close to you. You only caught it a few times on accident trying to listen for something else, but you’d never actually do it on purpose.

Lately it seemed he was spending more time with you since the night you came back (which was three weeks ago at this point). One, he would message you on Discord asking if you wanted to do a study call—you never failed to say yes (making Ethan giddy). Two, he began to ask you things about your life during those calls when you would both take a break from studying. Like he wanted to know more about you.

Three, you began to spend time together outside the group.

Quinn was excited for you the first time you told her that you were going to see Ethan and only him. Of course, you told her not to read into it, but when has she ever listened?

Things were going fairly well. Especially with New York as a whole, nothing too major had happened (no supervillains, thank god), only a few robberies and cats stuck in a tree.

You were sitting atop a building when a tingling sensation in the back of your neck alerted you to something. Then, as you honed your hearing, you heard glass breaking a block away.

Swinging never got old.

As you reached your destination, a small bodega being robbed, you spotted him. Ethan.

Your heart began to pound in your ears, watching from the outside as the robber trained the gun on his hostages inside the bodega, one of them being Ethan.

It was like muscle memory. Go in, threaten the robber, and if it escalated, you fought him.

“I’m going to get rid of you, Spider-Woman!” The man in the mask hissed at you, his pistol trained right at your heart. This part didn’t scare you anymore, but Ethan being here—did. “If you come any closer…” He stepped away, instead pointing the gun at some old lady, who looked scared shitless. “I’ll shoot her!” He noticed you weren’t fazed at threats against you, so he targeted the next best thing: civilians.

“Easy, there, cowboy. Why don’t you point that gun at me? I thought you wanted to get rid of me.” You tilted your head, gauging the severity of the situation.

In your peripheral vision, Ethan stepped in front of the lady, trying to usher her to the side.

God, he was an idiot—but you’d be lying if you said that didn’t warm your heart.

The robber didn’t notice because he was still staring at you, watching for any sudden movements you’d make.

It happened in three seconds.

One, you shot the web to the gun, trying to pull it back to you.

Two, the gun went off—a slip of his finger caused by your web. Before you saw who it hit, the man came at you.

Three, you took him down, knocking him out.

It was the next second that you decided your life wouldn’t be the same.

You heard a hiss, a gasp from onlookers, and you took away the magazine of the gun before your head snapped up to where the hiss came from.

Ethan.

Red was the first thing you saw. It was on that yellow cardigan he wore when it was chilly—You rushed to his side, seeing the red come from his arm. He was backed up, leaning against the wall.

He was wide-eyed, face scrunched up in pain. “Shit,” He put pressure on his wound. “It hurt less than I thought it would.”

If only he could see how the tears lined your eyes under the mask.

“We need—“ You tried to keep your voice steady— “We need to get you to a hospital.”

“I’m fine,” He hissed again as you pressed harder on his arm. “It’s just a graze.” He saw your concern.

“No—It could’ve—it could’ve hit something vital—“ Despite your knowledge that it likely didn’t, your head was spinning and rational thought weren’t exactly on the table.

The sirens reached your ears before anyone else’s.

You took a deep breath. Your head cleared.

“The ambulance is gonna get here soon, uh—“ You cleared your throat. “Don’t move, okay?” You nodded to him, and left.

Okay, you didn’t actually leave. You stayed on a rooftop across the street, a few buildings over, seeing that he was okay as he got checked out by the paramedics.

That was when you actually left. For good this time.

The timing was almost perfect—the next day, an old friend came to see you.

You weren’t expecting anybody, hanging out in an abandoned building you found in the outskirts of Brooklyn when you were a teenager.

But a black hole opened up right next to you. Maybe not a black hole, but the closest thing to it.

That was when you saw Miguel O’Hara.

Quinn had no idea that, when she woke up that morning, it would be the week she spilled your secret to the friend group.

This is how it went down.

Last evening, she told you to be careful before you left for patrol. You never came back in the morning. She didn’t see any evidence of you being there, like your shoes haphazardly thrown across the floor near the front door, or your backpack on the couch. This had happened once before and she found out you were at your Aunt May’s house—so she just sent you a text and went on with her day.

It was also the day Ethan called her and told her that he was shot. Then he texted the groupchat about what happened and they all (including Quinn) rushed over to his and Chad’s apartment to see in person that he was actually okay. A bit of a freaky situation that Ethan was caught up in that, but everyone calmed down eventually. But when Ethan told the story, Quinn hoped your disappearance had nothing to do with his getting hurt. She also noticed that he was bummed about you not being there.

It was the second day she got worried. No sign of you. Nothing on the news about Spider-Woman, either.

Bruno Mars Security Team GC

Quinn

Anybody heard from Y/N?

Chad

aren’t you her roommate

Quinn

Hasn’t been home since Saturday.

Ethan

She hasnt answered any of my texts

Chad

okay now i’m worried

tara? mindy? anika? sam?

Mindy

nope. anika says no too

Sam

Not me or Tara. I’ll try calling her

She didn’t answer

Ethan

Quinn do u know where she’d go? maybe to a family member?

Quinn

I dont know her aunt mays address

Chad

let’s wait a day to see if she turns up. if not then we’ll get together to brainstorm

You weren’t there the next day, so everyone gathered at yours and Quinn’s apartment to see what could’ve happened to you.

They all stood around the kitchen island.

“Has everybody called her?” Chad said, arms crossed. “Texting her and everything?”

Everyone nodded.

“Quinn,” Tara began. “Have you checked her room?”

She looked down, almost ashamed. “I did, actually. Nothing.”

“Do you think we should…check again? Maybe we’ll find something.”

“I’m good at snooping, if you need.” Anika added.

Quinn’s eyes slightly widened, “No!” Calming down, “I mean—no. She doesn’t like other people going through her stuff. I can because I’m her roommate—not you guys.” At times of stress, this was the best she could come up with.

“Okay…” Mindy’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How about an address to Aunt May’s place? Do you think we could find that somewhere?”

The realization dawned upon her—no way of getting to you. “No. But she would’ve told me if she was going there.”

“Look, Quinn.” Mindy sighed, “Can you just—be honest with us?”

The ginger nodded.

“What was the last thing she said to you?”

“I—she was going out to buy something.”

Ethan’s nostrils flared—he knew when his sister was lying. Why was she so adamant to hide your whereabouts, even if it meant you were in danger? He sighed.

“I’ve—“ Everyone’s heads snapped to Ethan at his interruption. “I’ve had enough of it, Quinn. What the fuck are you two hiding? Seriously.”

Safe to say there was nobody in that kitchen who wasn’t surprised at his sudden outburst. He didn’t care, though.

“You always fucking lie, Quinn. I can tell. Why don’t you think I can tell? She goes missing, and you’re still keeping a secret!”

Chad put a hand on his shoulder, “Dude.”

The boy took a deep breath, reminding himself where he was. “Sorry. For shouting, I mean. But you can’t just—ask us to look for her when we all know damn well that you know something we don’t.”

At that moment, she had two choices. She thought for a long moment before she couldn’t find a rational explanation as to why she shouldn’t tell them that you’re Spider-Woman—you could be dead by now.

She walked away, hearing Mindy say “Are you fucking serious?” right behind her.

They didn’t have to wait for long, because Quinn came back from your room with something in her hand. They examined the object as she threw it onto the counter.

It was a mask—Spider-Woman’s mask.

“Holy shit,” Sam was the first to say.

“Wanna know the secret?” Quinn crossed her arms. “There’s your fucking secret.” She directed it at Ethan, whose mouth was slightly open.

She took a deep breath, a similar trait to her brothers to calm herself down. “The night she left, she told me she was going on patrol. When she didn’t come back the next morning I thought she was fine. Now it’s the third day, nothing from her. Look—I might’ve—like, fucked up. I don’t know.”

“How?” Asked Mindy.

“I should’ve told you sooner.”

It was clear to them that Quinn must have had this weight on her shoulders for so long.

“I have…so many questions.” Said Chad. “So when…Spider-Woman came to my apartment, that was Y/N?” He grabbed the mask, analyzing it with his hands.

“Why do you think she came to yours? She knows you have that stupid med bag with the unused suture kit.”

“Is that why she always left?”

“Mhm.” She nodded. “I thought—things were getting better. She was getting close to us again, stopped patrolling some nights because of my brother’s stupid discord calls.”

Ethan was breathless. “What?”

“Look—point is: she didn’t want to put anybody in danger. If I didn’t find out by accident, she never would have told me. She just…cares about you guys too much. She thinks if you know she’s Spider-Woman, you’d be in danger.”

When Ethan came face to face with Spider-Woman in the bodega, it was you. That was your concern, practically radiating off of you in waves. He knew you seemed familiar, somehow. But everybody knew Spider-Woman. He knew you differently. You saved his life.

Everybody was taken aback by the news. But Sam, ever the leader, began. “She’s been protecting us this whole time. All of us. It’s time we have to do the same for her.”

“How?”

“We find her. In any way possible, even if it means we have to track down her entire family, go back to her high school friends, anything we can think of, okay?”

There was no doubt in anyone else’s mind that they were all on board with the plan.

“Let’s do it.”

ONE WEEK LATER

It was the first night in a week that Ethan got proper sleep. The exhaustion finally caught up to his body after countless sleepless nights spent poring over clues on how to find you. He’d been making progress on the Oscorp lead when the last thing he remembered was slumping over at his desk.

Which was why it was weird when he opened his eyes, he saw the ceiling. He was laying down in the comfort of his own bed. Maybe he actually went to bed and didn’t realize it. The sunlight peeking through the curtains was probably a sign to get up, get back on the investigation.

That was until he sat up and saw a figure at his desk, standing over some of the files he sorted.

It took him a second to see it was you. Was he dreaming?

“You’re finally up.” He heard the voice come from you, and saw your mouth move, and as he processed your sweet voice and the teasing lilt to it, he almost fell off his bed jumping out to rush over to you.

He almost knocked you over as his (surprisingly) muscular arms wrapped around you in a quick second, you returning the hug with a smile he could feel on his neck. He was almost speechless. Almost.

Slightly pulling away, he got a good look at you, unharmed, grinning at him with the power of a million suns. He kept his arms around your waist, keeping you close as if he was afraid you’d disappear once more. Nonetheless, he mirrored your expression as he felt your breath on his face and your arms looping around his neck, running your hands through his soft curls.

“You’re…here. You’re actually here.”

Your soft hand came to rest against his chest, feeling his heartbeat along with hearing it.

“I’m sorry I left.”

The boy shook his head, “What matters is you came back. You always did.”

“I always will, Ethan.”

YESTERDAY

It was early morning and the feeling of defeat was strong in the room. Everyone was there at your and Quinn’s apartment all with one goal: to find you. They’d started this search almost a week ago with a determination in their eyes akin to a fight for survival, mainly because it kind of was. But as the days went on and the meetings at the house got longer to discuss other possibilities surrounding the circumstances of your disappearance, the metre to measure the disappointment was getting higher.

They all sat at the couch, flipping through the news channels, all talking about how Spider-Woman hasn’t been seen in over a week. It was an alarming wake up call for the city, because crime rates had gone up significantly without the friendly neighbourhood spider watching over the residents of the city that never sleeps.

The news anchors all echoed a similar message. Where is Spider-Woman? Many have theorized that this may be the end of an era—

Sam clicked the red button on the remote, the screen turning to black. “We can’t give up.”

“I didn’t wanna have to, but—“ Tara sighed, “We said if we can’t come up with anything, we’d get the police involved.”

Chad slumped right next to her. “What are we supposed to tell them? Hey, our friend’s been missing for a week and we’re just now reporting it. And FYI, she’s the vigilante who does your job for you.”

“Not like that.”

“But we can’t tell them she’s her, right? If they find her, she’d be arrested.”

“If they find her alive, that is.” Mindy added grimly, looking at the ground.

“Dude, come on.” Her brother tapped her arm.

“I’m just saying.”

“Quinn, Ethan.” Tara refocused the conversation, “Your guys’ dad is a cop, right?”

They looked at each other before nodding.

“Can you talk to him? You don’t have to tell him anything just—find out if anything happened lately, okay? Anything new.”

Anika added, “We’re not even on the week mark. It’s tomorrow. How about we focus on our leads today, then meet again tomorrow. If there’s really nothing, we’ll go to the police, okay?”

“That sounds good.” Ethan agreed.

“Alright,” Sam exhaled. “Dismissed.”

Everyone was sleepless that night. There was the obvious tell of the bags under everyone’s eyes growing bigger, not to mention the slouching and the less than ideal attention span they had lately.

Quinn’s eyes were wide open in the dark of room, wondering and hoping you weren’t dead in some back alley somewhere.

A sound in the living room broke her out of a dazed stupor. It wasn’t too loud, but not subtle, either.

On edge, her hand shot to grab the bat right next to her bed, a gift you’d given her for self defense purposes. She was careful not to make any sound, clearly unlike this moron who was breaking into her house on the middle of the night with heavy steps.

The fridge was open, the door hiding the figure of the person behind it.

She was ready to swing—

You. The figure closed the fridge door and it was you in your suit.

Maybe it was the lack of food that caused you not to notice her presence immediately, but you heard the clacks of the wooden bat hitting the floors before you clocked your roommate fully embracing you in a bear hug.

“Quinn!” You chuckled, returning the embrace. “Missed you too.”

She pulled away abruptly after a second, a stern look on her face but a layer of worry in her eyes. “Where the hell have you been?” She grabbed your shoulders and pushed back a little, looking over your entire body, checking for injuries—but you were clean. Not even a scratch. “Shit, you’re okay.”

“I—“

She hugged you again.

That was when you realized why she reacted like this. “How long have I been gone?”

She looked at you like you were crazy. “You’ve been gone a whole week.”

“Shit. I didn’t leave a note, did I?”

The guilt on your face was apparent, but it was nothing compared to the stress everyone had gone through while you were away.

“You didn’t. All of us have been looking for you—“ Something dawned on her. “I…had to tell them.”

You didn’t react the way she expected. She expected you’d be upset—angry, even, but not this. Not you being the one to hug her this time, taking a deep breath.

During the embrace, you spoke, your voice vibrating on her shoulder as your head rested against it.

“It was so stressful, out there. I have so many things to say. But I’m so tired—I wanna explain everything later.” You sighed, “How’s Ethan?”

“He’s okay. I’ll drive you to his place tomorrow, okay?”

Mindy, Chad, Tara, Anika, and Sam all woke up in their respective apartments to a text message in the group chat.

Quinn

Can we all meet at Chad’s place today? In a few minutes. Urgent!!!

After the conversation yesterday, they all expected the worst. Maybe Quinn had gotten information from her cop dad that Spider-Woman was found dead—they were all thiniing it. Ethan, however, having been up until late, was still sound asleep, phone on silent mode.

They met at the front door of the apartment building (of course, except for Chad, who was in his bedroom staring at the text in worry), Sam looking among the group to reassure them. “Guys,” She sighed. “Maybe if’s not bad news.”

Mindy turned to her. “Really?” She sounded exhausted, almost ready to give up.

“If Quinn had really bad news, she would’ve called us. Probably, right?” Tara backed her sister up.

“Let’s just…go in. She’s probably not even here yet.”

Just then, the sound of a car approaching quickly caught their attention—Quinn’s car.

Tara was at the end of the group, giving her the advantage of seeing first who was in the passenger seat of the car, getting out.

“Y/N!” She yelled.

The rest of them turned, almost running to the middle of the street as you closed the car door, leaving Quinn to find parking. You ran to the sidewalk, running into Tara’s arms.

You could feel the warmth radiating from the group as they welcomed you back with open arms, feeling guilty that you must have made them worry for them to react like this. Knowing some of their history with the murders in Woodsboro, it must’ve been terrifying for them to think they could’ve lost another friend.

It wasn’t long until you felt the missing piece, a hole amongst them that resembled a shape in your heart: Ethan.

“Where’s Ethan?” You tried not to show panic, but it was likely obvious due to Anika immediately reassuring you.

“He’s okay! He’s fine—he’s just sleeping.”

You sighed, relief taking over. “He doesn’t usually sleep in this late.”

“He was up late last night, he said he got a good lead on you. He…” She contemplated for a moment, not wanting to worry you. “He took it pretty hard when you dropped off.”

Tara almost slapped her arm. “Yeah,” she looked to you, watching carefully for any signs of panic. “He was worried. Probably more than any of us. But you can wake him up.”

“Do you…Can you tell us what happened? Where were you?” Mindy was reluctant to ask in case it was difficult for you.

But you were happy to tell them—you figured you owed them that much after having them think you were dead for a week. “I’ll tell you inside, come on.”

Pizza and drinks were being passed around, everyone was here, and you chose to sit right beside Ethan. He couldn’t stop looking at you. You could feel it.

As you animatedly told the story of meeting other people who also had spider powers, had similar stories, Ethan then began to wonder what would be next. Would you stay? What if you wanted to go back there, be with people who really, truly understand you?

By the end of the night, the group was preparing for the sleepover. But you could tell something was troubling Ethan. You studied him from the couch while the crew was gathering pillows, and he caught your eye and said, “Wanna go to the rooftop?”

You tilted your head on instinct, confused.

“You know…good air.” He shrugged.

“Sure.”

The walk up was silent. Maybe more than silent, if that were even possible.

As he opened the door to the rooftop, you made eye contact for half a second. And in that half second, Ethan decided he won’t lose you. In that half second, you looked away, then looked up again—and he gently grabbed your wrist, pulling you close enough that you felt his breath on mingling with yours, so close that you thought he was going to kiss you. But he began to speak.

“Can I—”

And you kissed him.

It was a small one, but when you tilted your head to lean in closer and tangled your hands behind his neck—Christ.

You pulled away abruptly and he wondered if he had done something wrong. At the same time he said “Holy shit,” you asked, “Wait, that’s what you were going to ask, right?”

Once his brain recovered, he finally nodded, “Yeah. You beat me to it.”

After a pause, he began again. “Does this mean you won’t leave?”

“Leave? Who said that?”

“Well, I just thought—”

“You’re an idiot, Ethan Landry. Come here.”

Additional Author’s Note: I apologize that Ethan and Reader do not have as many moments in this. Thank you for understanding. Again, if there’s enough interest, here’s a list of fic titles I’d be able to post wips of (keep in mind these are unfinished, you’re allowed to write continuations but my one wish before leaving this site is that my work is not fed into any kind of AI and that includes character ai):

blackout (2k)

dialogue (2k ish)

the dress (900)

rain (1k)

story beats for murder party part 2 (3.2k, jot notes)

reflections (2k)

the bear au (500 ish)

thief (800)

like a fool, im thinking of you (500)

avatar:

hard to love (2k, lo’ak)

sorry for any mistakes i didnt catch during editing !

[rubywonu]

𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 - 𝘅𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗵𝗮𝗼

summary: in which minghao flirted with a woman at an art exhibition without realizing that she was the artist.

pairing: xu minghao x fem!reader

genre: meet cute, museum au!.

warnings: talks about struggles people face in life, kinds sad?

w/c: 0.9k

nia’s notes: i do not know where i was going with this, it may be rushed, idek anymore. but enjoy!!

this is part of cutetober!

if anyone knew minghao it was because of his crazy love for paintings and art museums. so it didn't come as a surprise when minghao decided to spend an entire day at the 'everything falls' art exhibition by yn.

even if someone was slightly interested in art, they knew of yn. so when the opportunity to visit one of your exhibitions minghao rushed to the museum. it always amused him how everyone knew of your name but not your face.

minghao walked inside the museum and just by seeing the hue of orange and brown in his peripheral view, he was sure that today was going to be amazing.

minghao slowly walked over to the first painting, basking in all the emotions. the first painting showed leaves falling from the sky, each of them more dry than the previous one. minghao took a look at the name of the painting, 'as time flies'. it was obvious what the painting was conveying but the way it portrayed the message intrigued minghao.

minghao walked to the next painting and his mouth was wide open. painted on the canvas, was a woman, her back bare as she stared at multiple mirrors, each being broken in different ways and the women in the mirrors being older or younger than another.

now minghao had gone to his share of muesems and exhibitions but they never had such a mind-blowing way to convey one's emotions.

"failed and flawed." minghao turned his head to the woman walking towards him. "it's my favorite painting." it was an understatement to say that the woman walking towards minghao was pretty, in his eyes that woman was drop-dead gorgeous.

"i haven't seen any more of them but this has to be the best one so far." minghao turned back to the canvas and each time he looked at it, a new meaning behind it evoked in him. "what's your interpretation?"

"my interpretation is that this young woman looks at herself through different eras of her life and she remembers all her failed attempts in life and how her life was flawed but they calm down after she realizes the beauty of the falls in her life." you finished still looking at the painting in front of you, minghao's eyes never left you though.

he never thought about it like that and it made so much more sense now that he understood yet another version of it. "it makes so much more sense after having a beautiful woman explain it to me."

if minghao could, he wanted to slap his face. he didn't know why he said that and more importantly he was worried how you would take the spontaneous flirting. to his surprise, you laughed and played along. "i hope so, i don't explain my thoughts about my paintings to anyone, you know."

just as minghao was going to continue, he stopped right in his tracks. "my paintings? what does that mean."

you smiled and turned towards minghao, putting your hand out for him to shake. "im yn, the artist of the 'everything fall' collection."

minghao's mouth for the second time that day was wide open. "oh my god." he rushed to shake your hand.

"you're yn? that's amazing. i love your work. and about the flirting im so sorry. minghao what were you thinking?" minghao started to ramble and it added to your entertainment as you laughed.

"it's alright. i actually enjoyed it, to be honest." you smiled at him, and minghao felt like the world was going to end. you looked like you deserved your own painting, you were stunning.

"if it's alright to ask you, what was your inspiration for such an intriguing collection." minghao asked you the question you tried to avoid for the evening but you wanted to spill it all out to him, he felt comfortable.

"it's ok, just don't sell it to a publisher." you joked around and minghao cracked a smile at your answer. "last year, i took a trip around the country and visited a bunch of villages. during my stay, i met a group of women from different places who told me about their lives and the lessons they learned during their time on this planet. they told me about incidents that changed the trajectory of their lives either for the better or worse. that's why i chose to paint this, i chose to express their grief in brush strokes and paint, i guess while listening to them, i found out about the struggles in my life as well, either i didn't want to confront them or i never knew they existed."

"if you look at all the paintings you can see how mellow the messages behind the paintings get. it starts off rough and dark but as you walk by the pictures you can the gradual calm settling in, it shows the emotions that people feel when negativity strikes their lives. it shows the way people deal with those emotions." you finished your little speech and minghao was awestruck.

you talked about your paintings and minghao felt like he could listen to them forever. although it was your first meeting, minghao felt like the two of you met a long time back, it felt like the two of you shared the same soul.

you didn't realize then but for the rest of your life, you and minghao would go on for hours about your interpretation of paintings. the only thing that changed was that instead of being strangers, the both of you would be soulmates, and the both of you would fall deep in love all because of some paintings.

taglist: @caratlibrary . @caratsland . @kflixnet . @jyiiscool . @readingaddict420 . @pixieskie . @@anemoiant . @horanghae8 . @boooooseun . @wonwooz1 . @xomingyu . @bangchansbae .@weird-bookworm .

[errihaienx]

HQ CAPTAINS : when someone tries to flirt with them ♡

(pre-timeskip , aged up characters)

quick disclaimer: these scenarios don't affect the original plot of the series. any information or events that contradict the original plot are purely fictional. (i do not own any of the characters)

warning: could be suggestive (Terushima's) and some inappropriate/cuss words

��ᴇᴀᴛᴜʀɪɴɢ: ʙᴏᴋᴜᴛᴏ, ᴜꜱʜɪᴊɪᴍᴀ, ᴋᴜʀᴏᴏ, ᴏɪᴋᴀᴡᴀ, ᴋɪᴛᴀ, ᴅᴀɪᴄʜɪ, & ᴛᴇʀᴜꜱʜɪᴍᴀ (ɪɴ ᴏʀᴅᴇʀ) ꜱɪᴛᴜᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: ʜᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴀᴄᴛ ᴡʜᴇɴ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴛʀɪᴇꜱ ᴛᴏ ꜰʟɪʀᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇᴍ

Doesn't really notice that someone is trying to flirt with him, or to be blunt he doesn't care. 

But he will unknowingly embarrass the girl

"Eh? Why are you clinging your hands– Oh! Y/n is always like that to me omfg she's so cute."

Your name can be heard all the time, so the bitches won't stand a chance. Every person he sees and interacts with fails to grab his entire attention since all he can think about is his woman.

If a girl comes up to him he'll think of: "Woah that hairstyle doesn't look good on this girl, OMG DID I JUST IMAGINED MY BABY WITH THAT HAIR?! SHE'S SO DAMN FINE IM GOING NUTS" he'll be smiling and the girl might think that it was because of her :/

NO. JUST NO.

But okay, if someone will approach him he will walk out. But of course, if it's an important matter he will respond. And his response will be very dry

"I do not give my number so easily for Y/n's peace of mind, I shall take my leave."

Then he'll march his way to you, giving you a little smile acting like he didn't broke someone's heart just a minute ago.

He's a cute flirt only to you though

So girls be throwing themselves at him, but he doesn't give a fuck.

If someone will talk to him especially when it's a girl, openly showing their attraction towards him, he will converse with them and if they'd confess or ask him if he's available he will politely reject them.

"You always look hot Kuroo-san..."

"Thanks"

"How about we meet–"

"I am already deeply in love with someone. please excuse me."

He then turns around smirking, he's thinking of bragging it to you. He just wanna see your annoyed jealous face, he assures you that you're the only one for him. 

Oh please the guy literally have fans

His supporters actually knows about his relationships, like every girl's name that he dated has their name and 'stats' on his fans' memos. The fans also concluded that his typical dating period with someone is 2-3 months.

He's very alluring, and he's also welcoming and so people think it's okay for them to flirt with him. 

You had a couple of arguments with him about this matter. And because he doesn't want that, he will try his best to avoid them.

"Oikawa-san! My birthday is coming could you go out with me?"

"Ohoho, Happy birthday! But I don't want to sleep outside so.......I won't. You can have Iwa-chan right here-"

*/got punched by hajime

Despite of being straightforward, blunt, and gives off idgaf-with-your-feelings vibes he's still popular with girls

Even if the girl isn't done talking he'll leave immediately

He will simply tell them that he's in a relationship already, but that doesn't solve the situation. It ignites the girlies' desire to have him even more. He then eventually thought of a way on how he'll get rid of those kind of situations by involving one of the twins.

"You can ask me to be your date when Atsumu finally decided to leave volleyball alone."

"B-but Kita-san isn't that i-impossible?"

"That's the point."

The man is fine as  fuck so the girlies love him

He will politely turn down them, you know. Your man is good 😌✨✨

"You are the karasuno's Captain, right? Oh my! The whole team's hot but of course the captain is way more-"

"Ah, no... Please spare me."

Some even visit his afternoon club practices just to interact with him, taking advantage of the fact that you are not in the same school as him.

This mf is a chick magnet

He has a habit of sticking out his tongue, and that's where his piercing prevails and with that girls flock around him. 

He kinda likes the attention but of course, he's only yours. you two had arguments about this too but with terushima's personality you just gave up and told him that as long as the girls respect his boundaries as someone's man it is fine for you. 

"OhmYgOsh tOnGuE pIerCiNg!?!? I bEt tHaT pIerCinG cOulD dO sO mUcH~ iT's  sO cOoL!"

"I know right!?! I can make Y/n scream with just this!"

"Lucky Y/n!"

"No no no no! I'm the lucky one, heck I love her so much!!"

[bulbabutt]

so im white, lets just get that out of the way, but i wanna talk about the orientalism in windblades design.

this doesnt feel like my place to talk about but if no one brings it up then no ones gonna learn about it or second guess it. im tired of other white people not noticing this problem or thinking its fine. if anyone asian (specifically japanese) has any thoughts or personal input it is SUPER fucking welcome! its hard to find people talking about this.

so transformers has a women problem in general. they set up women in the 80s in one episode and never elaborated on it in that show. they added arcee in the movie. they put a couple in the beast wars era, but outside of blackarachnia (becoming a literal succubus) we dont really get any of those characters adapted (besides arcee) over iterations. never any new ones really.

then the comics get windblade. i havent read the comics, this isnt about anything that happens in them. this is about her design how she comes off as as shes been adapted into cartoons. i wont comment on events from the comics outside of her origin, as i know fuck all about it.

so she was supposedly a fan-voted character, but her 'fan-voted' aspects have nothing to do with the problem (in fact the fan-vote was more of a suggestion because a few things dont end up being true) the voted aspects are as follows:

autobot. jet. fights with swords. red & black. named windblade. female. valiant. telepath. from Kaon.

so here's what that ends up looking like.

so they took some liberties. there was other concepts where she was a european knight etc, but this is where they landed. she has this extremely feminine figure, complete with makeup and sculpted hair. many people immediately mistake this look for a geisha (though supposedly being kabuki) she gets little pump heels, it makes her very human woman shaped. birthing hips and all. thats classic girl robot stuff. its the specifics of it that are an issue.

so thats kind of a lot of japanese motifs. the makeup, the swords, the hair... why does it look like human hair? thats a very specific hairstyle on a character who doesnt have hair...

on its own, having a japanese inspired aesthetic isnt the problem. i mean, coding characters to be from different places is fine. having characters coded as a specific race could be fine. jazz already exists, and despite being taken by racist creators sometimes (cough michael bay cough) its not inherently bad that he is black coded, specifically when in the hands of black creators/voices. thats key.

so having a transformer who landed in japan and took on some culture from there. you could see that happening. that could work if in the hands of people who were japanese.

but thats not even her backstory. shes not even from Kaon (as was voted), instead she's from another planet entirely, a more spiritual one, which narratively makes her alienated from cybertronians. this alienation adds to the problem. "shes not from here." "shes not like us."

you'll see many people look at this design and think "is that geisha transformer?" and as the character isnt from japan and knows nothing about the culture that inspired her, the media itself never corrects anyone. no one in the text goes "no shes not a geisha shes actually based on a kabuki performer", no one says any words about it, its just how she looks, its just aesthetics without explanation or cultural background. shes not literally japanese, she just looks it. its easy to mistake without cultural context from a western perspective, so calling her a geisha becomes a rampant problem. general audiences arent looking at forum posts form 2014 where someone correctly explains what the motifs are. shes made by white people, and white people are largely the ones consuming the media. its unfortunate, and could have been avoided if the culture shes inspired by was relevant to her character.

so she's clearly heavily inspired by japanese aesthetics, which codes her as being an asian woman in this media but written by non japanese people. and then she becomes so popular that she has to start making appearances in shows.

she shows up in robots in disguise first. lets compare her to strongarm (the only other girl in the show)

having this japanese woman be far more thin and feminized than the other girl characters is the problem. strongarm is literally the first non feminized main girl transformer (not counting strika) she is much more in line with the men around her, square and broadshouldered, shes the largest car of the bunch. that was an upgrade finally. and then we get windblade. she has ruby red lipstick, human hair, heels, jewellery. on its own? thats fine. but keep in mind, shes heavily japanese coded already. then shes immediately seen as a romantic conquest for sideswipe (though he never gets anywhere, he literally claims ownership) it leans into tropes of sexualizing asian women because she stands apart from strongarm. shes the flirt, shes the very feminine one. is this on purpose? its not their fault windblade looks like that in the comics and strongarm looks like this. but side by side what is it saying? did they intend to say this about their asian woman? no, probably not intentionally. its kind of unconscious bias that tends to happen when you dont have a diverse writers room. no one notices until it hits the audience.

but lets just jump in here with the other weird problem in RID, because shes not the only one who jumped from the comics.

drift (who while being a samurai in the comics (literal?) doesnt.... LITERALLY wear a suit of samurai armour) shows up. with his two minicons who act as his children (who hes very strict with). theres a heavy overuse of the word honour. he owes a life debt, hes very humourless etc... they also never explain why he wears this armour. he came straight from space. he doesnt even turn into anything big that warrants it, hes just another sports car. bumblebee and sideswipe are sports cars too. but why is drift a sports car? tokyo drifting. drift. you get it.

so drift also is a comics original character. he, however, looks nothing like that

i will assume that drift looks different for one reason....

i mean. i shouldnt have to tell you why that was bad, right? you guys get why michael bay movies are bad? (if you genuinely dont please enjoy this series as a starter) ill just assume you do. knowing that that drift is bad, can we also say windblade is suffering from a similar problem?

this show brings in these FOUR new characters and heres how they look side by side.

so. okay the minicons are raised by drift, they share his aesthetic, okay. we dont know where he got that aesthetic but yeah they share it. windblade.... its unclear in this show if she shares the being from another planet like idw part. shes on a mission from god to be here and thats all we know. but the point is they have no similar origin. yet they all look like they could be from the same place. that they shares a (japanese inspired/coded/stereotyped take your pick) culture. meanwhile our from ep1 mains look like this:

so that feels. specific.

its not inherently bad to code robots as japanese, however its a problem when it seems to be for aesthetics alone. its stereotyping. they look nothing like the rest of the cast, everything like each other, and are from completely different backgrounds. they literally have the same colour palette? theyre not even like that in the comics.

sidenote, if you add sideswipe (who's alt mode has kanji on it and an asian voice actor so we can assume some coding there too) they look like this. yes they all have swords.... no one else does!

yes, windblade is the only character with a white face. makeup. yes sideswipe claims ownership over her to fight off one of the minicons. its not wrong to show windblade being harassed by a man, but it is wrong that no one ever says "leave her alone" you know? like thats just whats to be expected of her. it sucks. but at least her voice actress was asian! that wont happen again.

so. moving on to cyberverse, she becomes a central character. character wise? shes great. she gets to do a lot, no one sexually harasses her here, we're free of that era.

comparing her to the other autobot women, shes more in line now. if thats a good or bad thing overall is less the point (ie theres no autobots built like strongarm was, they are all just as thin and curvy as windblade is) but to me its still very apparent that shes still implying human hair. even with how simplified all these designs are.

like you can see how these red lines around her eyes get lost at a distance, same with the clips in her 'hair'. its clearly just trying to adapt her original design and im not saying thats a wrong choice they made, but i am saying its really busy in comparison

maybe thats a nitpick. but here it seems much more pronounced just how specific her head piece is because we can compare her to chromia, who is from the same place. do these two characters look like they have the same culture? not really. chromia and arcee look more alike. maybe thats just because they were designed later, but its unfortunate none the less.

even comparing her head to the seekers, what she is kind of supposed to be, they get the same old starscream mold. maybe she'd look better if they just did that? or something similar? like, give her a helmet. no one has hair. please stop implying hair. we all know what youre doing.

none of this is me saying i find these shows bad or that i hate windblade, i genuinely love her! and i love both these shows! it just feels hard to love her because of how she was designed. its not a problem with having a japanese coded character, its how stereotyped the look is. how othered it is. it leans into racist tropes. its orientalism, using japanese aesthetics to make her look interesting and different. you can tell she was made by white people.

how is it that despite being around for 10 years now, no ones tried to redesign her?

also look at the toys! look at the god damn toys!

she can take that head piece out to have a FAN. why does she need a fan?? shes got fucking WIND JETS ON HER BACK! its very obvious why they did this. shes a japanese woman, she can fight with a fan to complete the aesthetic! despite her character never having even been there! and no other transformer using a fan weapon! shes so COOL AND DIFFERENT like that isnt she?? holy fucking shit

to go back to those original voted concepts for a second? if we went back to the drawing board?

a telepathic valiant female autobot who can fly, has a red/blue/black colour combo (with yellow accents) uses swords, and maybe even with canonical asian heritage....

could they even do that? is it possible?

...

OH! wait it SUPER IS! who'd have thought!?

im NOT saying "we dont need windblade! we have a better girl with the same concept!" cuz thats stupid. do not misunderstand, theres room for WAYYYY MORE TF GIRLS! the literal 1:13 ratio is FUCKED! i know windblade had to fight to exist too and that sucks!

i just think it's CLEARLY possible to do this better, and it SHOULD be entirely possible to have windblade (who was LITERALLY holding court as the MAIN girl transformer for years) to be, i dont know, not so racistly designed? i think its entirely possible to fix, i just wish they would have tried already.

and this is just what my white ass has thought about since meeting her and not seeing anyone else bring it up. like going hunting for a real take about it just meets you with the rampant misogyny problem in fan spaces. its hard to find people talking about it in a normal way, but if they have before id love to know.

i just wanted to put my thoughts about it down, maybe get people to think about it more or talk about it more. cuz jeez, i would really like them to fix the problem. like they fixed the arcee problem in idw, right? can they fix windblade next?

[builtbybrokenbells]

Gold Dust Woman | ii

Y/n finds herself giving in to temptation, tangling herself further in Jake’s web due to her inability to turn him away. Her dishonesty about her actions results in nothing but more trouble as she quickly realizes Jake is not the only one playing the game.

Read part one here

Pairing: jake kiszka x f!reader, sam kiszka x f!reader

Word Count: 8.5k

Warnings: swearing, allusions to sex, flirting, touch of making out, hangovers, love triangle situations, sorry if i miss any!

hi! sorry this took so long. it’s also not the best, but i hope you still like it and stick with me through this series because im quite excited about it. ive been having a really tough time lately and just started getting back into the swing of things, so this chapter is kind of setting the scene and a promise for more, i guess. no smut in this one, but pinky promise it’s coming soon. as always, enjoy, be kind, and don’t mind any grammar mistakes 🫶🏻

~

The sun served as a violent reminder of the previous nights events. When you opened your eyes to the rays of light beaming through the curtains, you barely had time to register you were awake before the remorse began to seep back in. You were sure that the headache from your hangover was just another way of the universe laughing at you. As you rubbed the sleep from your eyes, you were almost angry at the sun for shining when you felt as miserable as you did. The specks of dust danced through the rays, silently taunting you as you attempted to pull yourself from the arms of slumber. You hated knowing that the world would keep turning and moving forward, even when you felt like everything was crumbling around you.

You made a move to stand, but the pounding in your skull was encouraging you to crawl back under the blankets and hide away. Still, you stood, searching for clothes to cover yourself with. You located an old t-shirt and some shorts in a pile of laundry you hadn’t gotten around to folding yet, throwing it on without much thought. You took to the mirror, checking yourself over, sickened at the sight. Your makeup was in disarray, smudged and stained over your skin and your hair was wild, sticking up and knotted. You grabbed some makeup wipes, ridding yourself of the mess on your face, first, and then grabbing a comb to brush through your hair. When you deemed yourself at least sort of presentable, you made the dreaded journey to the company of others.

As you made your way down the hallway, you could hear minimal chatter coming from the living room. You peeked your head around the corner, praying that it was just the boys, still unsure of who stayed at your home overnight. You felt a wave of relief wash over you when you saw Josh sprawled across the couch, eyes closed with a hand on his forehead. Danny was sitting on the second couch, arm casted around the back and slumped into the cushions. Sam was laying on the floor, eyes also shut to block out the light. You couldn’t help but notice Jake was nowhere to be found, immediately wondering where he ran off to. You scolded yourself internally, upset that he was the first person you searched for, that he was the first thought in your head. Even so, your mind trailed back to the memory of him, reminding yourself of how ethereal he looked between your legs. How could you not think about him after you’d seen him like that? Just at the thought, you felt a surge of emotion rush straight to the pit of your stomach.

“Good morning, sunshine.” A voice broke you from your head. You looked up, nervous at the greeting. You were sure guilt was plastered all over your face, giving you away almost immediately.

“Hey,” you replied, hoping to cover up your startled expression. You walked over, careful to avoid Sam on the ground. You took a seat next to Danny, who almost instantly wrapped an arm around your shoulders. You leaned into the touch, comforted at the idea he could possibly still be ignorant to the events of the night prior.

“You disappeared on me last night.” He noted, but there was no accusatory tone present.

“Yeah, I didn’t feel very good. I ended up going straight to bed.” The lie slipped off your tongue easier than any truth you’d ever told. You kept your eyes on your hands, which were resting on your lap. It only took one night for Jake to cast such a spell over you, one that made you so willing to lie for him; whatever power he held within him was strong enough to make you a fool, keeping him a secret while silently hoping he would come back, just so you could catch sight of his face.

“Feel better today?” He asked. You rested your head on his shoulder, closing your eyes in attempt to ward off the ache in your head.

“Not particularly.” You gave a short lived chuckle. “What about you guys?”

“I think it’s safe to say we’ve all had better days.” He replied, leaving it at that. “Josh, throw over that bottle of Advil.” In response, Josh let out a low groan along with a few incoherent mumbles. He reached to the side table without moving from his position, hand searching wildly for the small bottle. Once he’d located it, he tossed it in the general direction of you both without looking. It landed with a thud on the cushion beside you.

You picked it up, taking two out of the bottle. Danny handed you his glass of water. You muttered a thanks, swallowing them down and handing it back to him. “I’m never drinking again.”

“You say that every time.” Danny reminded.

“I mean it, this time.” You grumbled, but left it at that. You had no energy to argue the point any further. You were certain you meant it, now, because you finally joined in on the drunken mistakes everybody so often spoke about. For once, the alcohol worsened your situation instead of taking your mind off it. And now, you had no idea what to do about it. Your night of attempting to drink away your lesson had only created more. As your eyes drifted to Sam laying on the floor, your chest ached at the sight. Still, as hungover as he was, he was gorgeous. The previous nights events had no affect on your feelings for him; they were still as strong as ever. You were hoping the entanglement would provide some sense of clarity, but the only thing your dance with the devil gave you was a sense of shame, and a bit of remorse.

As you watched Sam’s face, you couldn’t help but feel your thoughts drift back to his brother. Sam was the type of person you wanted to come home to after a long day, cozy up with on the couch and throw on a movie. He was the person you wanted to share your everyday life with, one with whom you wanted to make an endless book of memories. Jake, on the other hand, was like a cloud of black smoke consuming you every time you thought of him. He didn’t even need to speak to you, you just wanted his hands on you and for him to never stop touching you, ever again. The sinful desire to be wrapped around him forever was overpowering; much stronger than a want. Now, it was almost a necessity.

The idea of never feeling him like that again was so dreadful that it took the air from your lungs and clouded your vision. He was suffocating you with his essence, but it felt so good that you almost felt the need to thank him for it; oxygen was second only to Jake and the way he made you feel. Even in your hungover state, the memory of him was still overpowering everything else. The tingle on your skin in the places he touched you was residual, begging you to remember him. As much as you’d hoped for it to be gone when you woke, you knew that you’d give anything to have a minute alone with him once more.

You found yourself toying the line of consciousness, comfortable in Danny’s hold and soothed from the warmth of his body. He was much like a large teddy-bear, and one of the few friends you didn’t mind physical contact with. If anything, it was one of the greatest comforts you knew. You were certain everybody else had dozed off as well, each one of you feeling the exact same way. Just as you were about to fall back into slumber, the front door opened and footsteps echoed down the hall. You stirred slightly, peering at the intruder with only one eye open. You were glad everybody else was sleeping, because the redness that spread across your face at the sight of Jake was more than incriminating.

He caught you looking, wasting no time giving you a smile. He was holding a tray of coffee and what looked to be a bag of takeout. “Don’t you all look energetic,” he commented, his gaze drifting around the room.

“Please, please tell me that one of those are for me?” You found the energy to open both eyes, lifting your head slightly. The surge of pain that ran through your skull prompted you to resume your earlier position.

“Obviously, sweetheart. Could never forget about you.” He sent a wink in your direction, one that was so subtle you would have missed it had you not been immersed in every detail of his face. You bit down on the inside of your lip in attempt to distract yourself from the fluttering in your stomach, still clearly affected by his pet names. He walked over, handing you a cup.

“Thanks, Jake.” You said, eyes focused on his face. When you reached for the coffee, your fingers brushed with his. The contact ran through you like a shock of lightning, causing your breath to catch in your throat. It was a small enough reaction that nobody noticed, except for the boy who caused it. He gave you a smile before he moved on, handing out the rest of the drinks.

At the smell of food, and the sound of the conversation, Sam and Josh arose from their positions. Jake gave everybody’s respective orders to them before settling beside you on the couch. You took a sip of coffee, trying not to focus on the feeling of his thigh resting against yours. You looked down at the lid of the cup, delighted at the taste of the drink. Your eyes softened at the writing on the top. Somehow, he’d managed to remember exactly how you liked your coffee. You couldn’t recall the last time you’d actually told him, meaning he’d been storing that information in his head for a while. You looked to him through the corner of your eye, hoping to be sneaky about it, but you found he was already looking at you through the corner of his. You felt the heat rise to your cheeks again, quickly shifting your attention back to the food in front of you.

After some much needed caffeine and sustenance, the group seemed to become a bit more lively. Sam and Josh both managed to remain upright, their eyes staying open for more than a few minutes at a time. “You seem awfully quiet,” Danny nudged you with his elbow. Your head turned towards him, trying to cover up your dazed look. You still weren’t quite back to reality. The memories from the night prior were hitting you harder each time the chatter in the room died down, leaving you still trying to figure out if it really happened or your dreams were just very vivid. You knew it must have happened, because the ache in your heart was very real every time you caught Sam’s eye, or because of the flood of emotion that washed over you every time you looked a little too closely at Jake.

“Oh, yeah. Guess I still don’t feel the best.” You chuckled, realizing you’d have to break out of your internal struggle sooner or later.

“Another Advil?” He offered, holding the bottle out to you.

“I don’t think any amount of Advil can take away this hangover, Danny Boy.” You sighed, letting your head fall back into the cushion. You meant it, too. This hangover was different, because you were suffering through a withdrawal from something much more powerful than alcohol. As remorseful as you felt about your actions, you knew the only way to satiate the feeling was to get Jake back in your bedroom and finish what you started. Even thinking that caused a twinge of pain in your chest, eyes casted in the direction of Sam and the stupid little smile he had on his lips.

“Hey, y/n,” your attention was pulled in another direction. You looked to your side, raising an eyebrow in response to Jake’s voice. “Do you still have that Les Paul?” You watched him, more specifically the way his lips moved as he formulated the words, finding yourself captivated in it. You felt the urge to lean over and kiss him, just to feel a shred of what he’d made you feel a few hours before.

“Uh, the gold top?” You asked, unsure if that’s the one he was asking about. “There’s a sunburst around here somewhere, too, if you’re thinking of that one.”

“No, the gold top.” He clarified. You looked around the room, certain that you’d left it there the last time you played it. When you couldn’t locate it, you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion.

“It must be downstairs. Did you want to play it?”

“Yeah, I’ll come and look for it with you.” He said, passing it off as a completely innocent, friendly gesture. You locked eyes with him, knowing what he really meant by the statement. Your gaze lingered for a moment too long, realizing you would have to answer before any suspicion was casted towards the interaction. You shared a silent agreement with him before speaking.

“Sure. It’s probably down there, somewhere. There’s so much shit in the basement that I can’t even keep track of it all anymore.”

“If you’re looking to get rid of any of it, I’d be more than happy to take that Thunderbird off your hands.” Sam sent a smirk your way. The sound of his voice pulled your attention to him, completely immersing you in his presence. You hated that both boys now had that power over you. Without missing a beat, you rolled your eyes, giving a slight scoff at his statement.

“You’ll never get your hands on that bass, Sammy. I love you, but never.” You said, making a move to stand.

“Oh, come on. All of those instruments down there, and I’ve never even seen you play one. Have some compassion, woman.” He pleaded. You gave him a gentle pat on the head as you walked by.

“Never, Sam.” You repeated. “Play it all you want, but it stays here.”

“Worth a shot.” He shrugged.

“Just like the thousand other times you asked?” You teased. He gave you a look, his gaze lingering over your face for a moment.

“Always.” He smiled, eyes focused on you with an expression you weren’t sure you’d seen from him before. You felt your heart flutter, noticing your stare lasted for a second too long with him, too. You shook the thoughts from your head, unable to think about how pretty he looked when he smiled, especially when you were about to head off to seclusion with his brother. You were in too deep with both of them, and there was no sign of land. You moved towards the exit of the room, looking back to find Jake following closely behind. You flicked on the light to the stairwell leading to the basement, cracking open the door. You led him down, watching your footing as you made your descent down the steps. You heard him trailing behind, the door softly falling shut behind him.

When your feet hit the floor, your hand searched for the second light switch on the wall, locating it after a few moments of struggle. You clicked it on and the yellow hue of the lightbulb filled the room, allowing you to see what was inside. You turned back to look at Jake, once again finding him already looking at you. He gave you a small smile once you caught his eye. “Sleep well last night, Gold Dust Woman?” You narrowed your gaze, eyebrow raised slightly to showcase your annoyance with him.

“What do you think, Jacob?” His smile only grew, and a laugh accompanied it, this time.

“I never got any phone calls, so I assumed you did.” He took a single step in your direction, almost as if he was nervous to approach you again. You watched him, wondering if you should let the situation continue as it was, or shut it down.

“Did you put my Les Paul down here?” You asked, unable to keep the question to yourself. You had the nagging idea that he moved it, almost certain that you last left it in the room you had just been in. But, at the same time, you could never be too sure of yourself. Especially considering the last twenty-four hours of your life had been nothing short of disastrous and delusional.

“Is that an accusation?” He seemed to love answering your questions with more questions, and it was driving you insane.

“Simple curiosity.” You replied, feeling unable to look away from him.

“Maybe I took it upon myself to bring it down here,” he explained, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. “Wouldn’t have wanted anything to happen to it, last night.”

“You sure that was the motivation?” You pressed further, wanting to hear him admit the true intent. He took another step closer, now within an arms reach of you. He brushed the hair from your face, tucking it neatly behind your ear.

“Curious little thing, aren’t you?” He teased. His fingers ghosted over your cheek, sending that same rush of excitement through you as it did the night before. It was crazy how such a minuscule contact could produce such a grand feeling. That was just how Jake was, though. Everything about him was grand, even his simplicity.

“Just a question.” You assured him, praying you could keep your confidence. The slight airiness of your words and the drum of your heart against your ribcage said otherwise, though, and you were certain he noticed it.

“Anyone ever tell you that curiosity killed the cat, sweetheart?” He was inching closer, the space between your bodies diminishing more by the second. Even so, it seemed painfully slow. You wondered how you so easily found yourself in the same position after making the fatal mistake the night before; after the soul-crushing remorse you’d been feeling all morning.

“There’s another half to that saying, Jacob. Don’t forget about that part.” You reminded, hand involuntarily reaching for him. Your fingers grasped at the fabric of his shirt, pulling him towards you a little further. There it was again, the same incomprehensible force he had that drew you into him. You understood, now; you would never be able to escape Jake as long as he was accessible. Much like a drug, he was addictive. You were sure that even if you went to the basement with the intent of telling him to leave you alone, you’d still end up immersed in him one way or another. His aura was stronger than any pull of gravity or any other earthly force. Even knowing you shouldn’t, you couldn’t help but invite him in.

“Right,” he agreed, now pressed into you. His face was hovering just above yours. The anticipation was killing you; he seemed to be a fan of keeping you on edge, and it was insufferable. You wished he would just make the move, to decide for you and limit you from any overthinking. But, maybe, that was his intent. He wanted you to think about it; he wanted you to do all of the thinking, so you would ultimately end up in his arms on your own terms. He wanted you to think about him so often that there was no room for anything else, and he almost had you there. He was persevering until every part of your brain was consumed with him, in a true devilish fashion. He knew he could get away with it, too, because he could tell it was working. “Remind me, again, would you?”

“Of what, exactly?” If he wanted to play the game, you had no issue playing, too. A smirk was toying at the corner of his lips, although hard to notice due to his close proximity. It would be so easy to kiss him, you thought, so easy to just lean forward and allow you both the pleasure you were desperately seeking. But, you stayed true to your position and your stubbornness, refusing to break the gap between your mouths.

“Don’t be like that, sweetheart.” His hand that wasn’t occupied with your cheek found your hip, holding it with little force, just enough to let you know he was touching you. The pet name made your head spin once again. He had you wrapped around his finger, and you were too far gone to come back from it. You knew you would give him anything he wanted as long as he continued looking at you in such a way.

“Satisfaction,” you muttered, completely lost in the deep brown hue of his eyes. They were so inviting, much like a warm hug on a cold day. He nodded, happy with your answer. “Satisfaction brought it back.” You finished, more confident in your words.

“Mhm,” he hummed. “So, what’s going to satisfy you, then?” You swallowed hard at his words, eyes flickering down to his lips again. He already knew the answer, the question only served as a boast for his ego. “Finishing what we started last night?” He pried, lips just hovering over your own. It was almost funny, how distraught you’d been about this exact situation just minutes before, and how willingly you’d fallen back into it.

“An answer to the question would do it, I think.” You brushed his question off, but you knew your response was a lie. You were practically drooling at the thought of continuing your activities from the previous night. The idea of walking away from him was blasphemous, the thought almost putting you in agony.

“So, if I tell you the truth, you’ll walk away?” His fingertips were burning into your skin, so violent despite his gentle touch, but it felt fantastic. You were certain you’d never be able to live without it.

“Yeah,” you breathed, trying to feign a little bit of certainty, but anyone with a working set of ears could tell it was untruthful.

“You know you can’t lie to me, angel.” He scolded, although his tone was soft and barely above a whisper. The tip of his nose was tickling your own, now. He’d given in last night, but he was stubborn enough to stop himself, this time. He wanted you to invite him in, now. It was your turn to break the boundary. “But, yes. I brought the Les Paul down here this morning, if that’s what you want to know.”

“Why?” You pestered, both of you aware that wasn’t the question you wanted answered.

“So I could have you all to myself, again.” He was done playing, realizing the best way to get what he wanted was to be honest. As fun as it was to tease you, he wanted to feel you on him again, almost as badly as you wanted him. In another moment of weakness, void of any rationality, you pulled him closer and closed the gap between you. It was hungry, filled with desperation and a need for each other that was unable to be described with words.

He guided you backwards, firmly pressing you against the wall as his hands found their way under the hem of your shirt. He wasn’t disrespectful: more so just searching for a more intimate piece of you to experience. He settled his hold on your hips, just above your shorts. His fingers felt like heaven on your skin, like it was exactly where they were meant to be. Your arms were wrapped around his neck in a shameless attempt to capture him and hold him to you forever. The idea of the guitar was long out the window, much like the memory of the people sat in your living room. The only thing that held any importance was the boy before you, once again casting his spell over you.

When he parted from you, the loss of contact was agonizing, nearly bringing you to tears. The pent up tension from how he’d left you had simmered, but now was building once more, making it impossible to see past it. If life would have been so kind, he would have taken you right there. But, as you grew to understand, it never was. He gave you that same, irritating smile in place of his kiss. You wanted to smack it off his face, just to ensure he’d never give it to you again. “Glad to see you still feel the same way,” he noted.

“You make it impossible not to.” You said, fighting the urge to push him away from you.

“Thank you.” He grinned.

“Not particularly a compliment, sweetheart.” You corrected, barely noticing the use of the nickname. It seemed like his charm was rubbing off on you.

“Agree to disagree,” he said, face still inches from your own. “Have I earned that invitation, yet?” You held back an eye roll, knowing deep down that he never needed any invitation; he owned the place, now. It would feel more comfortable if you were asking him permission to allow you the pleasure.

“You could’ve had me last night. You already had the invitation, Jake. You didn’t need to earn it.” You reminded him, still angry but finding yourself more focused on his lips, hoping he’d grace you with another kiss.

“I know, angel, but don’t you want it even more, now?” You expelled a long sigh, tired of him dragging the situation out. “It will be so much better, now that you’ve waited.” He assured you. “Besides, I think you’re worth courting, at least a little bit.” He sent another wink in your direction, paired with a smirk.

“Maybe you’re the sadist.” You shot, throwing his own theories back at him. He gave a shrug, but didn’t give anything more. “You promised me, Jake.”

“I haven’t broken any promises, sweetheart.” He said, looking over your face.

“Surely this isn’t what you meant by all day long, however I wanted it.” You scoffed. “I’m not exactly enjoying this.”

“So, what? You want me to fuck you while everybody waits for us upstairs?” He asked, raising a hand to run his finger over your cheek. That smug little smirk remained stuck on his lips. When you didn’t answer, he raised an eyebrow in inquiry. “You would?” He let out a disapproving hum, settling his palm on your cheek. Your eyes fluttered closed, knowing that if you were going to have him, he’d ensure that you would suffer a bit, first. That was just a part of his hellish nature. Although, you had to admit, he was right; the build up was bound to result in a way more intense climax, later. “Dirty little thing, too.” He noted, drawing in a deep breath. It seemed like the idea sparked a nerve within him, too. If your inhibitions were any lower, you both would have given in.

“Get the fucking guitar,” you snapped, but your hands refused to break their hold on him. “But when they go home, you stay.”

“A lady who knows what she wants,” he leaned in once more, lips barely brushing over yours. “Hot.” The eye roll you’d been containing made its way into the world. The small statement aided you in realizing that as captivating as he was, he was still just a boy. He leaned forward, giving you another kiss to hold you over. As much as you hoped it would ease the feeling of need, it only worsened it. When he broke away, he moved back and freed you from your position. You watched him, still half-tempted to fuck him right there. You persevered, playing the waiting game once again. You managed to hold back this long, and you were sure you could hold on just a bit longer.

“Where’d you put it?”

“So demanding.” He said, feigning a look of disbelief. You placed a hand on your hip, silently telling him that your patience was growing thin. “Fine,” he stepped away, looking only for a second before locating the case that contained the guitar. He grabbed it, returning to you and giving a genuine smile. “Better?” You gave a nod, happy for once that he decided to comply. Amidst your frustration, you couldn’t help but soften at his goofy expression. You walked towards him, placing a kiss on his cheek in thanks. You nodded your head towards the stairwell, letting him know you were both long overdue for your return.

“Thanks.” You said as you took to the steps. He was close behind, not letting you stray too far. As you reached for the light switch, a sharp smack landed on your ass, causing you to jump at the contact. You turned around, giving a look of bewilderment which was met with a chuckle.

“Just so you know, I never break a promise.” He assured you. “And, just because you got your way, doesn’t mean you’re in charge.” He gave another wink, causing you to swallow hard. The statement produced a whole other world of excitement, eager to see what he had in store for you. You both returned to the main level, composing yourselves as you walked in attempt to hide the true intent of the basement visit.

“Oh! Hold on,” You said, turning on your heels. Jake watched you, curious about your sudden change in direction, but stepped out of your way. You tumbled back downstairs, looking around for only a moment before locating the item you’d forgotten. You grabbed the bass before joining Jake once again. Even though you were captivated in Jake, Sam still seemed to be heavy on your mind.

“If you let him play that, he’s never going to give it back.” Jake warned.

“He will, trust me.” You said, not worried about it. You closed the basement door behind you as you stepped into the main floor. Jake disappeared around the corner, joining his brothers. You took a moment to fully regain yourself before following after him. You were greeted with three pairs of questioning eyes once you entered the room.

“Did you guys get lost?” Danny asked, a smirk on his face. You looked to him, trying to cover any look of guilt that might have been on your own. The knowing look he held in his eye made your stomach churn with unease.

“There’s a lot of shit down there. Guess it just got lost in the mess of things.” You chuckled, refusing to hold his stare any longer. You turned to Sam, handing him the Thunderbird. He took it, excitement replacing any inquiries in his mind. “To play. Not to keep, Sammy.” You reminded, but he was too busy plucking at the strings. Jake had flicked the power on to an amp sitting beside the television, messing with the settings. He took to the second one beside it, tossing a patch cord towards his youngest brother. Danny decided he would drop the subject for now, knowing you’d never admit to anything in front of a group. He made a mental note to ask about it later.

“Now I feel left out.” Danny said, looking around at his friends. You let out a small laugh.

“I’ve got a box drum. No real drum set, yet. Or a couple acoustics, if you’d prefer that.”

“Those in the basement, too?” He questioned. You elected not to respond, making a move towards the amp and grabbing the drum, making the decision for him.

“Right here, actually.” You smiled as you sat it in front of him.

“You’re too kind,” he said, pulling the instrument between his legs. You resumed your earlier position on the couch beside him, looking around at everyone. The morale definitely seemed higher than it was previously. Between the pain killers and the distraction of music, everyone was mostly back to their normal selves. “That’s a gorgeous guitar.” Danny noted, eyes trailing towards Jake.

“It’s a ‘57 reissue. Wish I could’ve got the real one, but I can’t be too greedy.”

“Where do you find all of these? And how are you not broke?” Sam laughed, eyeing the bass in his hands.

“I got a lot of them as gifts, or thank you’s from the people I’ve worked with over the years. Some of it I bought secondhand, and some I got brand new. They all kind of come with their own story, which is cool.” You explained. Sam watched you intently as he listened.

“That is really cool, actually.”

“Yeah, turns out a lot of musicians like to cycle through instruments. They get bored after so many years and move on to other things. When they do, they have nowhere to put the pile of old ones.”

“That’s where you come in?” You smiled, nodding in response.

“Yeah, exactly. It’s awesome, ‘cause it’s like I get to keep a part of the people I work with. I mean, the instruments are cool, but the sentiment means more.” You told him, feeling touched at the question. The whole idea of Sam was confusing. You were hopelessly head over heels for him, but you were quite certain any feelings you had weren’t returned. Then, he’d sit there and ask you questions nobody else bothered to ask you. He made you feel seen; heard, even, after an entire lifetime of begging for it.

“You can’t tell me you’ve never played any of them,” he said, stare still burning into you. You opened your mouth, but closed it quickly, void of a proper response. Your eyes flickered to Jake, who was mindlessly strumming. He wasn’t looking in your direction, but you knew he was listening; he always listened. You weren’t sure if you wanted to share the intimate detail of your life with all of them, yet. The thought terrified you, understanding that the more people that knew about it, the bigger chance of your escape to the bars on Friday nights being ruined. Then again, you thought you’d be mortified if anyone found out. The night before, when Jake showered you in his completely honest compliments, it felt more comforting, rather than scary. Like the years of learning and practicing finally amounted to something. The stamp of approval from a real musician was exhilarating.

“A little, I guess.” You shrugged. Jakes eyes flickered towards you, expression intrigued at the idea you might tell everyone. “Just a side hobby.” Jake had to bite back a smile, excited he may be able to get to hear you play again. Sam’s eyes were wide, amazed that you finally admitted you played the instruments, rather than let them collect dust. They all had the nagging suspicion, and often took turns trying to pry the information from you. He was proud of the fact he’d been the one to get you to tell them. If only he knew the truth, that he wasn’t the first to know, he might have been a little heartbroken. So, you kept that part to yourself and hoped Jake would do the same.

“Play me something?” He asked, hope sparkling in his pupils. You felt your heart jump at the sight of him, unable to turn him down while he looked at you in such a way. You swallowed hard, but eventually gave a nod.

“Okay.” You agreed, already feeling your nervousness set in. At the word, Jake immediately surrendered the Les Paul over to you. You took it, muttering a thank you and settling it on your lap. “What do you want to hear?” You asked. All four boys had no answer, overjoyed to hear whatever you were willing to play. You rested the pick between your lips as you adjusted the tuning pegs to satisfaction.

You took a deep breath, closing your eyes for a moment, realizing that this was the most intimate detail you’d ever shared with them to date. You didn’t even bother to open them, too scared to see the expressions they adorned when you started to pick. You let the muscle memory guide you through the intro riff. You played it a few times, getting a feel for the song before continuing on. The second time you played it, Danny caught on and was banging a small beat into the drum. The third time, Sam joined in with the bass. The sound of all three together brought a smile to your lips, finally focused on the music rather than the fear.

“Listen to the wind blow, watch the sun rise,” the lyrics came like a second nature to you, all of the anxiety floating away as the words fell from your mouth. If only you knew how brutally truthful the words would turn out to be, you never would have played the song in the first place. “Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies.”

“And if you don’t love me now,

You will never love me again,

I can still hear you saying

You would never break the chain.”

Josh joined you on the chorus, singing the backing vocals. On the second chorus, Jake joined, too. They let you sing the verses on your own, but by the time the last chorus came around, you were all shouting the lyrics with each other. On the finishing note, you were breathless and red in the face, but you couldn’t recall a time you felt quite as alive. Your heart was beating against your ribcage, threatening to break free, and the smile on your face was blinding.

“A little?” Sam asked, his grin matching yours.

“I have a lot of free time.” You breathed, a short laugh following the statement. “I have a couple friends I play with at the bars sometimes.”

“That’s more than a hobby, y/n. That’s a passion.” He said, never once breaking his stare away from you. If your face wasn’t already red, the blush your cheeks produced would have been a dead giveaway of your feelings for him. “You’re fantastic.”

“Thank you,” you whispered, unsure of how to take to the kind words.

“I’m just upset we didn’t do that sooner.” Danny said, his palm landing on your back with a pat of encouragement.

“Well, we have all the time in the world.” You shrugged.

“You guys are thinking the same thing, right?” Jake asked, looking around the room. The three boys seemed to have an unspoken agreement, already knowing what he was about to say.

“What?” You asked, feeling left out.

“We’ve been looking for an opening act, if you and your friends are interested.” Jake finally answered. When you looked to him, you half expected him to laugh and tell you he was joking, but his expression had never been more serious.

“O-oh, no,” you laughed “no, I can’t do that.”

“Yeah, you can.” He said, his eyes searching your own, seeming to be looking straight through your soul. He knew you had it in you; he’d seen it that night at the bar. “Come with us.”

“Are you allowed to offer that?” You asked, desperate to divert the attention away from the topic at hand. “Aren’t there contracts and managers and all of that stuff involved.”

“Yeah, we can handle that.” Sam said, just as enthusiastic about the idea. Your eyes darted between the two, unsure if they were pulling your leg.

“I have a job, guys.” You brushed them off.

“That you can always come back to.” Josh spoke now, in complete agreement with the others.

“Don’t have to decide right now. Just think about it.” Danny wrapped his arm around you, pulling you into a side-hug. You felt like the air was stolen from your lungs, baffled at the idea. You couldn’t believe they had enough faith in you to ask such a thing. More than that, you couldn’t believe they liked you enough to want you to join them. You thought it was crazy, completely insane that they offered you something like that without even thinking twice. But, under the shock, you felt a small bubble of excitement. A chance to live your dream; finally a real shot with an option to fall back on. “Play us something else.” Danny spoke again, gently encouraging you to keep going.

“Oh, yeah. Okay.” You nodded, coming back to reality. You thought for a moment, trying to decide on what to play next. When you settled on a song, it only took the boys a few seconds to join in.

The late hours of the morning dwindled until early afternoon, filled with music, chatter and laughter. The spirits were so high that you even managed to forget about your internal dilemma. After a while, the group broke off into smaller conversations and the instruments grew quiet. You took it upon yourself to take a trip to the kitchen, craving a bit more caffeine and a snack to keep you going. You flicked on the coffee maker, filling the top with grounds and pressing the start button. You pulled down a mug, tapping your fingers against the counter as you waited. The stead drip seemed to take forever, your impatience showing more by the second. As you watched, gentle footsteps echoed behind you, letting you know someone had joined you.

You turned, half expecting Jake to be standing behind you, eager to put you through a bit more turmoil. A bubble of excitement arose at the thought of another minute along with him. You were met with a shock, seeing Sam approaching with a small smile stuck on his lips. “Coffee?” You asked, nodding your head towards your empty mug.

“Sure.” He agreed, taking a seat at the table. “I can’t believe you kept all of that talent a secret for so long.” You were still pleasantly surprised that Jake was true to his word; he hadn’t even mentioned the fact he’d seen you perform.

“Guess I was just shy.” You shrugged. “I don’t really tell many people.”

“I don’t know why, y/n. Talent like that should be shared with the world.” He said, honesty radiating from his tone. You didn’t answer, mostly because you weren’t sure how to, so both of you fell into comfortable silence for a few moments. “I think it would be really cool if you came with us.”

“I think it would be, too.” You crossed your arms over your chest, suddenly aware of how hungover you looked. You didn’t share too many moments completely alone with Sam. Now that it was just the two of you, you were very conscious of your appearance. “But there’s a lot of stuff to consider. I have a job, I have to make sure my people are okay with it, too. We only have a few original songs and mostly stick to covers. Fuck, Sam, we don’t even have a name.” You laughed. “We play at dive bars on the weekend and forget about it by Monday. Definitely not prepared to tour with anyone.”

“You’ve got some time to figure it out. You work with music all day, every day. You probably know more about it than we do.” He offered. “You kept up with us really well. Clearly you guys know what you’re doing. I’m sure you sound even better with them.”

“Are you trying to peer pressure me into this?” You gave a smirk, just to let him know you were joking.

“Yeah,” he laughed, not afraid to admit it. “I want you to come.” The profession was blunt, hitting you hard. He’d never been so direct with you about anything, especially concerning anything like that. You watched him, unsure of how to respond. Instead of answering, you turned and filled the mugs with coffee. You sat one in front of him, taking a seat across from him. “I miss you when we’re gone, you know.” You were sure that your heart stopped beating for a moment.

“I miss you guys, too.” You replied once you’d had enough time to process the statement.

“No, I miss you.” He clarified, making sure you knew he wasn’t speaking on a broad spectrum. “I mean, I’m sure they do, too, but I miss you.”

“Oh,” you mustered, feeling the redness creep to your cheeks again. “I miss you when you’re gone, too, Sammy.” He gave you a soft smile, happy to hear the confirmation.

“I was wondering where you were, last night. I didn’t even get to play a game with you. We always play together.” You gave a nervous chuckle, unsure of how to answer.

“I just wasn’t feeling the best.” You lied. “I would’ve asked, but it seemed like you were a bit… occupied.” You trailed off at the end, not really wanting to dive into the specifics of him and the other girl.

“Oh, that girl?” He asked, looking for confirmation. You nodded. “I don’t even know her name, honestly.” Your stomach sank, realizing you’d completely mistaken the situation. Your feelings clouded the interaction, making it seem like the conversation was much more flirtatious than it actually was. You wondered how many times you’d done it over the course of the last few months. You still weren’t sure where the conversation was headed, exactly, so you didn’t respond right away. “I was hoping to talk to you, instead.”

“You never came over.” You said, eyes searching his face for another clue as to what he was hinting at.

“I never do, I get too nervous.” He chuckled. You leaned back in your chair, taking in his words as he spoke. You weren’t sure you were understanding the intent of his conversation, and you weren’t sure if you wanted to. “You and Jake seemed pretty close last night.” Your eyes widened, shocked that he had even noticed the interaction.

“Uh, yeah, I guess.” You shrugged. He watched you, waiting for something else. When you didn’t respond, he looked to his mug on the table, picking it up and taking a sip.

“Just be careful,” He said, looking back to you. You cocked your head to the side, wondering what the warning was for, or why he thought he was the one who had to give it.

“There’s nothing to ‘be careful’ about.” You replied. “We just played beer pong together.” You chuckled, wondering if he could see through the lie. The words seemed to perk him up a little bit, but you didn’t want to read too much into the details, just in case you were wrong.

“I think he might be looking for something more than that.” Sam gave another soft smile, but it was more sullen than the last. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Sam, you don’t have to worry. I can handle myself.” You assured him.

“I always worry about you.” The statement itself was friendly enough, and you wouldn’t have thought anything of it had he not reached over and rested his hand on top of yours. The small action was enough to send your stomach into butterflies and make your breath catch in your throat. When you looked up to meet his eyes, he was already watching your face. He didn’t move his hand, but gave you the freedom to pull away if you wanted. You noticed, in that moment, just how similar him and his brother were. Not just in looks, but their expressions, too. You could go as far as to say even down to the illusive nature of their words and actions.

You thought it must be some violent trick from the universe, a scheme to make you the laughing stock of the world. There was no logical reason that you’d fallen into Jake’s hands, and shared such an intimate moment with Sam right after. A moment in which you had been craving for so long, one where he seemed to be showing you a hint of what you were looking for the whole time. If you had waited just one more day, you imagined you wouldn’t be feeling so guilty for wanting to lean over and kiss him. But, as you sat with his hand over yours, the only thing you could think of was your rising sense of remorse, stronger than any you’d felt before. This time, it wasn’t on behalf of your feelings for Sam; it was on behalf of Jake, and your fear of hurting him. A fear of losing him, even. So far, your shame was based off your crush on Sam and your guilt for sleeping with his brother despite that feeling. This time, you’d actually found yourself involved with Jake, even if you were unsure of the nature of the relationship. It felt dirty feeling this way about Jake’s brother, now, after his hands had been on you so intimately. It almost felt like a betrayal to him.

You wondered, if you had put a stop to Jake’s antics the night before, if Sam would still be across from you with intent on professing such feelings. After so long of waiting, you thought he might only be interested in you when the idea of you being with someone else arose. That thought pained you more than the rest. In attempt to satiate the thought, you opted to believe you were looking much too far into the interaction. It was a friendly conversation, and a gesture that matched. Just two people drinking coffee, experiencing the lull of a hangover and seeking some form of comfort.

“So, it was just a friendly game?” He asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear the desired response, instead.

“Yeah,” you whispered, nodding along with your words. You both knew you were lying, but it didn’t make the difference for him. “Why?”

“Because I’d hate for my favourite girl to have feelings for my brother, and not me.” Your eyes fluttered closed, the statement hitting you like a train. You thought you might be sick; the sound producing a much worse feeling than any part of the hangover. A day sooner, and you’d be jumping for joy. Now, you wished he hadn’t said anything at all. Although you still thought that his intent was to keep you on his line instead of someone else’s, you prayed you were wrong. As gross as you felt about it, the reciprocation of feelings was euphoric. Even so, the knowledge only made a messy situation even worse.

The part of you that was in love with Sam was begging you to fall into him, to revel in the admission and give in to his affection. The part of you that was immersed in Jake was screaming at you to stand up and walk away, to pretend you hadn’t heard a thing that he said. Instead, you sat, staring at Sam wide-eyed and void of any response. A thought worse than the ones previous surfaced, that maybe this wasn’t a coincidence, or conscious choice that Sam made, waiting until after Jake made a move. Maybe this was your repayment for succumbing to the devil’s temptation. The conversation you shared with Danny the night before was pounding against your skull. Perhaps, this was your karma. You’d failed miserably at utilizing your lesson, and this was the universe’s indignant punishment.

The most disgraceful knowledge of all, was that your moral compass was completely destroyed; the need to have Sam in your life was debilitating, and the thought of never having Jake again was paralyzing. For a moment, the sinful little devil made its reappearance, working hard at convincing you to have them both. The idea of keeping your feelings a secret was long gone, and was replaced the new idea of entertaining both boys just so you wouldn’t have to go without. As misguided as it was, the notion was the most sound you could come up with, because the thought of having neither was unbearable.

The last piece of crucial information was unknown to you; the brothers knew exactly what they were doing. Both taking a keen interest in you long ago, and only finally engaging in the battle of courtship. They had never been able to turn down a bit of friendly competition, especially when the prize was so grand. And brothers they were, because that same streak of evil ran through both. Ever so slowly pulling you in with their captivating eyes and electrifying touches; driving you crazy without doing much of anything at all. As innocent as their intentions may have been, as amiable as the competition seemed, there was no escaping the fact that someone would end up suffering. With everyone hoping it wouldn’t be them, you all failed to see the misery you were wishing upon the others.

It was a situation that left the sinister laughing; the devil was only awaiting the downfall.

Heartless challenge,

pick your path and I’ll pray

[issybee06]

Because…

Part iii

Warnings: swearing, the council, violence, blood, poison, field surgery, scars, body image issues, Hatakes has dog teeth, flashbacks of every kind!, drinking

Eesome

(Adj.) pleasing to the eye

………………………………………………………………………….

“I don't want to go to the academy, Ka-chan.”

The tall woman sighed, pushing her short red hair out of her face as she dragged the little 5-year-old.

“Chibi-chan…I know you don't want to go, but you have to.”

The little girl puffed her cheeks, glaring forward, “it's gonna stink.”

The red-haired woman sighed, adjusting her yukata as she walked, “and remember, Kushina-san is going to pick you up because I have to return to the capital.”

The little girl frowned, fist-grabbing her dress skirt while she willed tears not to rise. The Academy was in view and she couldn't help but look down at her feet as they walked.

As the got to the entrance the woman smiled, raising a hand in greeting, “Sakumo-kun, hey!”

The white-haired man jumped a bit, startled by the red-haired woman's loud voice. When he saw who it was, he returned the smile and nervously waved back, “Risa-Hime, Kon'nichiwa.”

He looked down at the small girl, who ducked behind her mother's leg. She peaked out, studying the white-haired man with calculating eyes. Looking to his side, she was surprised to she a mini version of him but with a mask.

She furrowed her brows at him, and he glared back.

The man placed his hand on the little boy's head, ruffling his spiky hair.

“You remember Risa-Hime, right Kakashi?”

The woman laughed lightly, “Probably not…been a while since we've been away from the capital…”

She nudged the girl out, “(Y/n)…this is my very good friend Hatake Sakumo, and his son Kakashi. Sakumo and I were on the same Genin team.”

The girl cautiously came out from behind her mother, cheeks red as she bowed.

“Its very nice to meet you!”

Sakumo nervously laughed, “gosh, last time you brought her to the village she was just a baby.”

He smiled down at the girl, “it's very nice to meet you too, (Y/n)-hime.”

He nudged the boy, “Kakashi, why don't you and (Y/n)-hime walk to the classroom together?”

The boy frowned but nodded silently, and looked at the Girl.

“…lets go.”

She nodded with a light blush, following him as he walked through the gate.

The parents watched, Risa biting her thumb nail as she watched the little girl disappear.

Sakumo huffed with a smile, “…never thought we'd be parents.”

Risa snorted, “I was never going to be a parent, but you? You were always going to be a dad Sakumo, your too…”

He huffed, “too what?”

She smirked, “dog like.”

He pursed his lips, looking away, “…im not dog Like.”

She chuckled, her teeth still butting at her nail.

He looked over at her, frowning at her nail-biting, “I see you still have that habit.”

She narrowed her green eyes at him, and he chuckled.

“I do not, Baka…”

Opening my eyes, I groaned quietly. Inching my way to my alarm clock, I died a little inside when it read “7:20am”.

Great, only 4 hours of sleep.

I rolled onto my back, staring up at the ceiling as Saké jumped onto the bed to great me. He cried, pawing at me as he demanded to be let out of my tiny room so that he could get breakfast. He’ll probably bother Genma for it, Genma usually spoils the Ragdoll by feeding him egg scraps.

I sit up, scooting to the end of the bed before sliding on slippers. Looking down at my cloths, I make a face realizing I slept in my work pants. I kick the slippers off before shimming out of my pants, kicking them to the corner. I go to my draw, pulling out cotton shorts.

After getting redressed, I open my door and almost get tripped as Saké darts between my legs to trot down the hall.

“Fucking cat…”

I stumbled down the hall, accidentally bumping the corner as I entered the kitchen/living room area, and groaned. After living in this apartment for four years, you'd think I'd know how to avoid the corners.

I opened the fridge, grabbing the egg crate and the wet cat food. I placed the crate on the counter before grabbing a small bowl from the shelf and putting a spoonful of wet food in it. I placed it on the ground and huffed a laugh as Saké raced over to pig out.

Genma yawned as he walked out of his room, bare-chested. He scratched his head, squinting his eyes, “w…why the hell are you up?”

I clench my jaw, cracking an egg before putting into the pan.

“Meeting about that S-class poison. Forgot all bout it…”

Genma hums, walking over to rest his chin on my shoulder, “Eggs for me too?”

I smile, patting his cheek, “yeah, you too.”

A lot of people thought we were dating since we live together and are very close, but it was only because we found comfort in each other's company. I wouldn't say I'd never date Genma, but as years have gone by he's become like family to me.

He hummed, “how late will you be?”

Shrugging, I dish out two plates of eggs, purposely dropping a good size piece for Saké.

“Not too late, it's just a meeting.”

He nods, taking his plate to the table as begins to eat. I sit down across from him, blowing on my eggs before putting them in my mouth. Biting down, I felt a crunch and frown when I realized shells had gotten in. Extra protein I guess.

Saké, having finished the scrap I dropped for him, now was weaving his body around our legs and loudly begging for more. Genma giggled like a 5-year-old, dropping more for the Ragdoll. He really did spoil that cat.

I stood, emptying the rest of my eggs onto Genmas plate. “Im running late, clean up for me?”

He made a noise, egg in his mouth and I took it as a ‘yes’. I go down the hall To the bathroom, closing the door behind me and locking it.

I pulled my shirt off, then unhooked my bra with a sigh of contentment. I really needed a bra with a better wire, this one stabbed my armpits and didn't support me at all. I than shimmied out of my shorts and underwear, kicking it to the basket.

I then to the mirror, pulling my short hair into a bun. I frown slightly, eyes catching the long ugly scar going down my front.

Rin… did a good job, but she was mediocre at healing scars. I owe her my life, but I couldn't help the itching in the back of my head that told me that the scar made me…ugly. I, of course, know scars are not meant to be seen as ugly, but as marks that show I was still alive…but I still felt that ich.

Jumping into the shower, I scrub myself down from head to toe in lavender soap. It was calming, and coming from a clan that had animal…characteristics on my father's side, the smell wouldn't be too overpowering. I was also thinking of the Inuzuka that would be present, Inuzuka Tsume, and the silver Anbu that would be hiding in the rafters.

After cleaning, I jump out and towel-dry before walking across the hall to my room, getting a low and teasing whistle from Genma.

I walked back out, hitting Genma in the head with a scroll. I walk to the door, pulling my shinobi sandles on.

“sayonara.”

He grinned, “aw, no good bye kiss?”

He began to pucker his lips, making loud smooching sounds as he tried to grab me. I giggle, pushing his face away, “you wish.”

He gasps dramatically, “Oh dear Princess of Konoha! You wound me so!”

I roll my eyes, “Ittekimasu, Genma.”

He smiles, “Ittekimasu, (Y/n). Be safe out there.”

I smile, standing and opening the door, “I always am.”

…………………………………………..……………………………

“…so as you can see, our research shows that the poison drives from Fungis. Now, if we can narrow down which one, we can create the necessary cure and/or antidote.”

I finish, placing my notes down as the rest of the visible people in the room nod, murmuring.

Tsume huff, “and you suggest that the Inuzukas find this mushroom, yes?”

I nod, “Hai. With your powerful sense of smell, this would be elementary level for you.”

Play her, paise her and she'll take the bait.

The older Kunoichi smirked, “hm, so the Chibi Hatake wasn't up for this?”

I bristle a bit, and Inoichi stands, “Anbu have more pressing missions, you however are free since you are just now come I G out of maternity leave.”

She huffed, “second one was harder to train then Hana, not my fault.”

I smiled, “so will you take the mission?”

She waved me off, and I frowned, “Yeah, yeah. I'll do it, just give me the sent so I can get this over with.”

Setsuko walks out, handing the wolfish woman a glass vial containing the poison. Tsume pops the cap open, and blue fumes waft out. She smifts the air around it, careful not to sniff the actual poison. With a shiver, she seals the Vail, “That's a strong smell, how do you work with this Senju-hime?”

My mouth goes into a straight line, and I don't respond. My father's Side was…a touchy subject.

She hums, handing the Vail back to Setsuko. She stands, and Inoichi and Ibiki stand as well, “Arigatō, Tsume-sama. This is very helpful for us.”

She scoffs, waving Inoicho off, “Call it a favor from an old friend.”

He smiles, and the crowfeet by his eyes become more apparent. He walks out with her, and Ibiki follows after. Setsuko and I begin to clear up the office room, gathering the extra poison vials and notes.

I look up, and I see that stupid dog mask smiling down at me as he crouches on a beam. Setsuko looks over, smiling, “ready?”

I roll My neck, “ah, not yet. I'm gonna hang back and read over the notes one more time. I'll catch up, kay?”

The younger girl blushes, nodding, “H-hai, Senju-hime. See you back at the lab.”

She leaves, slipping out the metal door and closing behind her.

“…shes cute.”

“Shes not your type.”

He jumps down, landing soundlessly onto the table, not even making a tube rattle.

“Maa, I wasn't talking about for me.”

“Shes Not my type either, she's 16.”

He huffs lighly, a laugh.

“16? And working in TI?”

I look boredly over at him, “look who's talking, Mr. “I joined Anbu at 13”.”

He leans back on his hands, crisscrossing his legs as he tilts his head playfully, “I was asked.”

I hum, crossing my arms, “still did it.”

He hums back, tilting his head to the other side, “saw what you did, with Tsume-sama. You played her.”

I scoff, “I did no such thing, honestly I'm appalled you'd even suggest I played a clan head.”

I was grinning, and I could tell he was too busy his his chakra warmed a bit.

I furrow my brows at him, “what?”

He gave a snort of a laugh, “your accent.”

I raise my brow, “accent?”

He raised a hand, gesturing to me, “When you talk for long enough, you say things in a snooty capital accent.”

I scoff, laughing as I shove him, “I do not have a snooty capital accent.”

He laughs, jumping off the table, “you do though! Ever since we were kids!”

I roll my eyes, opening the door as he follows After me.

“I don't have an accent…”

He huffed, walking with md to the lab, “It's gotten less noticeable since you first moved here, but it's there.”

I shake my head, opening the door to the lab and peaking in to make sure Setsuko east in there. Sighing, I open it more.

“It was a light accent when I got here! Barely noticeable.”

He scoffed, walking in as I shut the door. He sat down in my rolly chair, “it was so bad I couldn't understand you for two weeks, (Y/n).”

I shake my head, moving over next to him to place the vials back into their protective case. He leans back, watching me.

“It was not a bad accent...”

He chuckles, “no…it was cute, you used to get so frustrated when people picked on you for it. Never seen someone get so red.”

I scoff, looking down at the dog mask.

“Yeah? And was it cute when I punched Ebisu in the face because of it?”

“No, that was hilarious and I wish I had a video of it.”

I roll my eyes at Him, reading over my notes. Kakashi and I were close…we’d been closed since we first met, considering his close our parents were.

Sure…we didn't talk for a sold 2 years after the nine-tails, but now things started to feel normal…even if it was only when he had that stupid Dog mask on. When he didn't, he got quiet, barely speaking when he did talk, and couldn't hold any eye contact. Kskashi without inu…was the same Kakashi who lost his team and family.

But when he had that mask on, he was hiding that side of him. He was fearless, playful, and more open…

It was Inu, not Kakashi.

“Are you coming with all of us to Ichirakus?”

He shifted s bit, his chakra growing colder.

“Ah, no. I have a mission tonight, sorry.”

I frown a bit, concerned. He had been taking back-to-back missions more often, A and S class mostly. My eyes softened for him, understanding why.

It was his escape, however unhealthy it was, he needed the rush of a mission to keep him going. He craved it, like a drug, and no matter how many times he tries to quit he'd go back full force the next day.

The only way he was leaving the anbu was either being pulled…of death.

………………………………………………………………………….

“-AND I WON'T CRY FOR YOU! I WON'T CRUCIFY THE THINGS YOU DoOoO!”

I burst out laughing, leaning drunkenly on Genma as we all watch Gai sing off toon to music from the karaoke massine.

We left Ichiraku hours ago and had stumbled in here after Asuma challenged Gai to a singing competition, and I've got to say, Gsi sure did have some pipes.

Maybe the ciggerets were ruining peoples voices, because Asuma couldn't hold a note to save his life.

Kurenai and Asuma burst out laughing, falling out of their seat as Gai began to dance magic mike style to the music. Gai Really was the life of every party, always so bright and good.

I smiled softly, and I looked over at Genma. Smirking, I follow his eyes to the bar area.

“You should go talk to her.”

His face turned Scarlett, “w-what?! I can't do that!”

I roll mg eyes, “go on. I need the apartment to myself something, you know?”

He kissed my cheek, “thank you wing man.”

I smiled as I watched him go, noticing all my friends were getting tired. Asuma, who was less drunk than Kurenai pulled her up, “I'll walk her Home, you got Gai?”

I nod, smiling, “always.”

“-WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE! A YELLOW SUB-MUFF?!”

I groan, coving the tall mans mouth, “Gai, my love, I beg of you to shut up.”

He smiled lazily, resting his head on mine and we walked to his apartment, “but that song is sooooo youthful.”

I laugh, shaking my head at Him as I help him up the stairs.

“Keys, Gai.”

He clumsily hands them over, and I giggle down at the little turtle charm.

I help him in, steering him towards his room. I wince as I bumps into a corner, but he just giggles.

As soon as he hit his bed, he was out, and I moved his trash can over to his bed if he got sick.

Walking to his kitchen I filled a glass of water up, then went to his bathroom to dig up Advil for his ragging headache that was sure to come in the morning.

After double checking the windows, I close the door behind me. I walk down the stairs, wrapping my jacket closer to my body to protect myself from the cold.

I walked home, eyes on the snowy ground. I was sobering up, and couldn’t help but let my thoughts wonder to my silver headed friend.

He…really was in a hurry to die. Back to back A and S class missions weren’t healthy for any shinobi, especially one with Kakashis mind. It was too…broken, off center.

“I swear, I’m going to force him into therapy..” I mumble as I climb my stairs, opening my door.

I draw back, my sensitive nose filling with the smell of iron.

I draw my kunai out, holding it at the ready as I scan my living room. No one.

I move forward, sensing Chakra from the bathroom.

I silently pad towards the door, kunai up and ready to strike. I twist the knob, and walk in with my sharp canines bared and my kunai raise.

My eyes widen, and I drop the kunai.

“K-Kakashi?”

He looked over at me lazily, sitting in my tub as blood flowed out from his side. Saké, was next to him.

“W-what the fuck?! Why didn’t you go to the hospital?!”

I go to grab him, completely sober now, but he just snaps at me, baring his own canines at me and I only now come to realize both masks are gone.

“N-no. No hospital.” He glares, gasping air as he groans and hits his head on the back wall.

“F-fix me. I-I trust you.”

My eyes widen and I look absolutely terrified, “I-I can’t do medical ninjutsu! You know that!”

He grabs my hand, blood making stains on my skin. His mismatching eyes look at me half lidded, “I. trust. you.”

Then he passes out, slumped over himself and bleeding out in my tub. Of fucking course he does.

I groan, looking up as I will myself not to cry.

“You stupid asshole…”

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for calling my dad homophobic?

I (18f) identify as an asexual queer girl, and i live with my parents. My dad (52m) as well as the rest of my family are all devout mormons. surprisingly, my mom (47f) took my coming out fairly well. there was a phase of her telling me we could fix it and a phase of her avoiding the situation altogether, but ultimately she’s grown a lot and has become a huge ally over the past two years since i came out to her.

my dad was a bit more of an issue. he took the coming out with a grain of salt, and has since admitted that he thought i was just trying to be rebellious, and he completely brushed me off when i told him i was leaving the church, telling me and i quote “i don’t care if you leave because i know you’ll come back”, which always irritated me but i brushed it off. he’s also gotten a lot better at being respectful and while he still makes tasteless jokes sometimes, he usually seems to respect my identity and love me for who i am.

flash forward to a few days ago. i get home from work and i end up chatting with my parents as i usually do. the conversation turns to sexuality and my dad mentions how accepting he and my mom are, and i raise my eyebrows and remind him how uncomfortable they were when i first came out. i wasn’t upset at this point, rather just poking holes in his story. i mentioned how awkward he was when i came out as asexual, and my mom (who has found herself to be a bit on the asexual spectrum as well) and i chuckle about it for a second, before my dad defends that he wasn’t weird about it.

i reminded him how he COMPLETELY brushed it off when i first told him, and he told me that it means im not gay. i asked what he meant at the time, and his response was that “i consider the definition of gay to be having sex with someone of the same gender”. my sister was in a serious committed relationship with a man at this point in time, but (being mormon) they hadn’t had sex, so i asked my dad if i had that same level of relationship with a woman, if he would consider it gay, and his response was no. i proceeded to ask him if i married a woman and spent the rest of my life with her, kissing and sharing a bed and everything, would he consider it gay? he kind of scoffed at me and said “well, if you’re sleeping in the same bed, then EVENTUALLY you’re going to have sex”. that really upset me at the time, but he had only just learned about asexuality, so i cut him a break.

flash forward to a few days ago, i bring this up and rather than shrug it off and cringe the way he and my mom had been at other behaviors of theirs, he scowled and began to defend himself. he said that it didn’t make any sense to him, and why should it matter if he thinks that? i pointed out that learning to respect other people even if you don’t understand them is important, and he got a bit huffy. i mentioned the not considering me gay thing, and asked if he still felt that way. i expected a no or some sort of explanation, but instead he said “well if you’re not having sex with another woman then you’re not doing anything wrong.”

that immediately made me upset, and i responded with “are you saying that being gay is wrong?” and my mom jumped in and accused me of twisting his words. i left the room and eventually he came in and gave an awkward apology without really saying anything just before he went to bed (one of those “im sorry you got upset because of what i said” apologies rather than an actual apology), and i reluctantly told him it was fine, but i still don’t feel fine about it. i feel like he’s invalidating my identity and pretending like he did nothing wrong, but i don’t want to confront him about it if i’m actually just making a big deal out of nothing. aita?

What are these acronyms?

[apotodiplodocus]

CANON GYUTARO HEADCANONS

- I don't think Gyutaro would care about who he eats, I reckon he'd be open to eating anyone, man, woman or child, I don't think he'd get on with Akaza for this reason but there wouldn't be as much hatred as with Douma. I do think Gyutaro would avoid children, not for any sentimental reason though, just because there is so little of them

- I reckon he wouldn't spend too much time outside Ume's body only coming out to hunt or get the "ugly" humans from the store house belts. probably does this only occasionally to make more room for Ume's preference, and preferring the feeling of hunting a human down, prefers the pathetic struggle

- I don't think he's conscious when he's inside Ume otherwise he probably would have jumped out at earliest when she was attacked by Nezuko so he probably doesn't have a need for hobbies

- was probably around 7-10 when his mother died and left him with Ume, growth stunted by malnutrition and abuse, he would have needed to be at an age that would know a baby/toddler needs more care and how to care for them or old enough to be able to understand responsibility

- illiterate, but has a high IQ his ability to understand things quickly is insane he just hasn't had the chance to learn anything, I was surprised he knew how to do math to work out how many hashira he had killed, I doubt he went to school, this translates into his battle IQ

- probably had a growth spurt between 13-15, when he started his job as a debt collector and could afford more food than before, but didn't bulk up in musculature, stayed lean, there wouldn't be enough protein in his diet for visible muscle growth

- eats more than Ume, since she's a lot picker than he is, he'd eat anything

- when they were human they probably fought a lot because of Gyutaros harsh nature but they'd always immediately make up (think "fight ends, one of them storms off, 10 seconds pass and the other yells "wait im sorry, come back" and the other reappears "what took you so long?")

- gyutaro openly defends his sister, ume would have a different approach if anyone spoke bad about him shed act nice to their face but the second they're alone shed destroy whoever it was (self-esteem wise), until the samurai that is probably her first physical attack or attack that could have killed someone

- relationship wise you would have to be the luckiest bugger to exist, you'd probably have to have something that reminds him of himself like a younger sibling that you shield for him to not immediately kill or torture you, but he would also have to be attracted to you straight away to consider keeping you alive

- if you did somehow manage to worm your way into his heart be prepared he'll be very unpredictable, one second he'll degrade you, the next he'll be making you play with his hair

- mustn't forget the selfish personality Muzan liked so much, a selfish lover, takes more than he gives and God forbid you ever do anything to accidentally offend him or Ume, punishment would be swift and it wouldn't be the enjoyable kind

[georgette-mademoiselle]

Georgette and sekido part 8

overthinking

This one is kinda a continuation to the last one i made yesterday

Even since the beginning of there first encounter she had always tried to keep away from him because he was very intimidating but after finally bieng alone to talk to him that fateful day there relationship started to slowly develop from there but would revert back when his anger got the best of him towards her accidentally.

But on this particular day she was avoiding him for a week now and soon his rage would dwell into fear he thought he was going to lose her for good and choose to be with the others instead of him permanently.

He was in his working station in his room mot even able to concentrate as he fidgets around his pen while the other massages his temple his leg making the same movement as his working hand he was nervous more so that his beloved could possibly be thinking to leave him now because he went to far in his words.

He may be the embodiment of anger but still shares the same anxiety as hantengu just not to that extreme. Soon his chest almost felt tight and suddenly hes gulping down his weakness near the edge of wanting to have a paranoid breakdown never in his life has he felt such guilt for his actions not like this hes not used to this feeling at all and it only agitates him more that hes in this vulnerable state of despair and shame.

But then the door slides open he had forgotten to lock it. it was georgette, she had come to check up on him after never leaving his room all day today sne was worried for his well-being but before she could even say anything something was already wrong by the shaking body gesture and hands clutched onto his head "sekido!" She called.

Immideatly he jolted to her way. His eyes where wide in fear and it looked as if he was fighting back tears seeing the glisten of his eyes while sweating. His panick attack was about to hit full blown but her presence and look of genuine concern blocked it from happening.

"g-gerogie..." Just before she could move towards him with open arms sekido jumped out of his seat to hold her missing her warmth her gentlness her scent everything about this woman he missed it all. Wrapping his arms around her waist before he fell to his knees the wetness of her dress as he silently sobs of relief.

"sekido! Sekido! Hey whats wrong? My thunder storm why do you weep?" She kneels down letting him rest upon her lap as he lets it all out fingers caressing his soft auborn colored hair.

His words took time to put together, pulling together to stop from hyperventilating until finally words managed to escape his mouth.

" i-i-...im sorry! Ok there! Sorry! I know im not the kindest of person in the world infact i dont even deserve to be treated with such gesture! Y-you deserve better ok! Go with ai hes more empathetic o-or urogi! He can make you smile! Even stupid karaku would be better of with you! J-just...*fighting the urge not to cry again* anyone but me ok! I dont want to hurt you like that ever again I'm sorry georgie im so sorry!...."

She sat there and listened to his woes, she had no idea that he would have been affected by her absence, she only wanted to give him room to breath no matter how long it taked but that wasnt the case sekido missed her since day one of leaving him alone and now his guilt took a toll on him that she would leave him for somone else somone better and kinder. Yet little did sekido know he was kind a very different kind of kindness that was rare to see.

" my love, why do you say such nonsense? I already have the most kindest most understanding man right her on my lap." She moves her other hand to rub his shoulder.

" your motherly nature when you look out for your comrades is something i admire, perhaps strict but nonetheless its because you care for there safety"

" and dont think ive forgotten the time when you nurtured me during the time i came home with my face disfigured you still complimented me thoughtful after i was feeling low self esteem in that moment and to top it off you even came to my care when i was sick due to my ability even though you didnt have to. i think about it often "she chuckles placing a kiss on his forhead.

" you are loved sekido, and you are wanted. Nobody is perfect and thats ok...im not eather. No matter how rocky our relationship gets i want us to be able to solve it together because at the end of the day while i love the other three i want to be with *you* more than anyone sekido.."

He listened and the more he did the more he was gaining his composure again. He needed to hear that this was something hes been needing to hear for a long time now. Hes flawed and thats ok she is aswell. As his worries finally drift away sekido finally had the courage to slowly lift himself up to her nuzzling on the crook of her neck the same she did to him during that day of her mental breakdown.

"thank you, my rose..."

"i really needed to hear that..." He deeply sighed feeling true relaxation now.

" i think if you hadnt had come here any time i would have already bashed my head againts the wall along with the other idiots."

She only laughed

" where going to have to work on a different approach for a better anger management for example"

Hands him a rubber stress ball "tada!'

"....what the fuck is that?'" he looked at it with disgust the texture feeling wrong to him

" a stress management ball you can squeeze it throw it and smash it to let your anger all out see? Im good at this!"

He just stares at it and then clutches it with his fists then snorts.

" well this sure looks fun.."

"because it is my little lightning bolt ❤️"

Dividers by @/elryisia