#tripped over BLANK curbs

[auroramosaic]

you ever get so high ur teeth hurt

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

would you like to tell us about your research on virginity?

but also...wdym STIs aren't as scary as we think??? I was told most of them are incurable? I know you can make aids untrasmittable and that they've even succeded in curing it a couple times but that's about it. I would love to be educated about this

yeah, the basic idea with the virginity project was that the whole concept of virginity is pretty bullshit in the context in which it was initially significant, namely cisgender women being penetrated by cisgender men, so as soon as you take it outside of that context by introducing gay and trans sexuality it totally falls apart. I mean, hell, it stops working if you even look at two cishet people doing literally anything OTHER than penis-in-vagina sex. I tripped up so many people initially when I started asking questions like "okay, so you don't think a woman loses her virginity from a man going down on her. so what if it's two women? what's the difference?" and just really getting people to face down their very penis-centered view of the sex, to the result of several people telling me that it kind of made them reevaluate what they actually think of as the first time they had sex. it's also fascinating to either read other people's accounts or discuss firsthand how queer people have either tried to make themselves fit into the binary of virginity - queer man disagreeing over whether or not you have to have penetrative anal sex to lose your virginity or oral sex is sufficient, a fascinating case of a lesbian who felt that have sex with other cis women didn't "count" and asked a cis male friend to have sex with her just so she could feel satisfied that she'd lost her virginity - or abandon it entirely. Hanne Blank's book Virgin was a formative starting point, and it really exploded for me from there.

as for the STIs - hey, bad news! you fell victim to the scare tactics used to make people afraid of sex! almost all sexually transmitted infections are very easy to treat and cure with the right medicine, which is why it's important to get tested regularly and check in with your healthcare provider at the first sign of something amiss. pubic lice, scabies, trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis - all of those are pretty easy to get rid of with some help from your doctor and a run to the pharmacy!

the major exceptions are the 4 H's: herpes, HIV, HPV, and hepatitis B.

herpes is with you forever but is an incredibly mild companion to share your body with, considering most people never experience any notable symptoms and those who do can curb the severity with medicine.

it's also worth noting that herpes is so common as to be virtually ubiquitous; the World Health Organization consistently estimates that somewhere around 80% of the world's adult population is carrying herpes simplex virus 1 or herpes simplex virus 2. a great deal of those people don't even get it from having sex, but rather by catching HSV-1 from a parent or other people they come is close contact with as a child.

you're actually thinking of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) when you mention AIDS becoming untransmittable, but that's still a very good thing! the care available for people with HIV has come incredibly far since AIDS first became known and claimed so many lives, and today it's more than possible for people infected with HIV to live long, healthy lives by taking the proper medication to manage their viral load.

with management, people with HIV will not develop AIDS (which happens when the immune system is sufficiently depleted by HIV) and by consistently taking their medication people with HIV can become undetectable (the viral load in their body is too small to be detected or measured in tests), at which point they are unable to transmit the virus to other people.

HPV (human paillomavirus) comes in many different strains, most of which are absolutely harmless and go away on their own after a couple of months or years of freeloading in your body. I cannot emphasize this enough: HPV is so common that virtually everyone who has sex has, will have, or has had it in their lives, and the vast, VAST majority of those people will never be troubled by it literally at all.

the trouble comes from a few strains of HPV that can cause genital warts, and a few others that can cause cancers in the throat, anus, cervix, vulva, vagina, and penis. while HPV can't be treated, you can reduce your risk of developing cancer by getting the HPV vaccine if you haven't already and, if you have a cervix, getting regular Pap smears to catch early warning signs of cancerous developments.

hepatitis B is a viral infection that targets the liver. in rare cases it can cause chronic health problems that can be very dangerous, but I have to emphasize that's not common. in most adults who get hep B, there will be no symptoms and it will resolve itself in a matter of weeks. the infection is riskiest in children, but at least in America most people have received vaccines against hepatitis B as babies since the 90s.

in conclusion: get your shots, take your medicine, use protection, get tested, and talk to your doctor, but know that if there's one thing humans are good at it's figuring out how to manage STIs. we've been doing it for a long time - most sexually transmitted infections and parasites have been with us since before we we became modern humans - so we're really good at it!

[lorelune]

(continuation here)

"do you remember me?"

"no."

blade stares at you, tilting his head to the side with a blank expression. you wish you could see any recognition on his face. but it's blank. nothing behind those eyes-- nothing for you, anyways. his hands twitch and itch in his binds. he's coiled, ready to strike. not you though.

(you can delude yourself into thinking that this makes you special. that him not pulling at his chains to hold a sword to your throat or squeezing your neck until it snaps, makes you different. perhaps his urges are curbed at the sight of you--)

(this is wishful thinking.)

he should, maybe you deserve it. it's your sin to bear and remember, maybe. you couldn't dare to tell jing yuan of all of... this, hence why your trip to the shackling prison was in secret. why you're holding your body so tightly.

"i thought so." but i hoped differently. you sigh.

"... why should i?" blade asks, voice hoarse and rough. you can't tell if its from disuse or overuse. he's lived too long.

"we knew each other, once."

('knew'. you're simplifying things for the sake of convenience. lessening the story you share, the lore you carry on your back like a uneroding stone. it's not like blade would care to hear it. you've read his file. he has only a few goals, which he doesn't hide upon interrogation. only one relates to the past, to a different face that you can only scorn along with him.)

(it's all in hate. anguish, under that. nothing of love. nothing at all.)

you laugh, weakly. it feels useless.

your phone vibrates in your pocket. you think it's jing yuan, without even looking at the message. probably wondering where you are. you're a few minutes late for your lunch date.

jing yuan knows this ache too, you think. he knows the feeling that's bloomed in your chest over the course of your visit. how each step that brought you closer to blade's cell pulled and tugged at your ribs like an overgrown flower. petals slicing flesh from the inside out.

(longing that would kill you, maybe. if you could die like that.)

"unsatisfied with my answer?" he asks. there's a soft quality to his voice, just for a breath. it makes you horribly nostalgic.

you need to leave.

"perhaps." you kick the scuffed metal of the floor. the sound rings out through the room as blade's chains jingle. like bells. "it was foolish of me to think you'd have any recollection of it."

"you seem unimportant to me."

it cuts through you. like a knife. as if you didn't once hold the world up for the man in front of you. as if you didn't beg and scream and raze anything in your path for his sake. as if you didn't bear his many burdens. as if you didn't labor to find something, anything, that could've prevented your fates. your current situation.

a prisoner and one freed. aeons know which of you is which.

"goodbye, yingxing." you don't know if he'll recognize his old name-- a name that isn't him anymore. your once-lover is simply a tool now, and he's taken the name of one. you knew this before you entered the prison. and yet--

(you ache with it.)

you turn away without taking in his expression. blade remains silent as you exit his cell.

(part of you prays he'll call out to you. that he'll sound like he once did. that there will be a kind reunion.)

(he doesn't.)

but that's alright, you tell yourself. it's misplaced hope after all. jing yuan is waiting for you, and you know he'll already have ordered your favorite dish. yanqing may join you, given the time of day. he would have just finished up his mornings spars.

all you have to do is compose yourself by the time you reach the general's favorite picnic spot.

(you almost collapse once you leave the shackling prison. the moment you are alone, tucked into an alleyway, you cover your mouth with your palm and weep. you cry until your chest hurts. you cry with a grief that guts you, as it always has. over and over.)

[lowkeyrobin]

Transmasc reader who's been friends with fuckshit since diapers so when word gets around school about reader being trans stuff gets too serious so fuckshit jumps in to defend reader and comforts readers🧍

-♣️

YESYESYES ; also I'm obv not transmasc and i only write enby/gn readers but this is one where the gender actually matters to the plot and stuff so lol ; ty for spamming me w reqs ♣️ love you🫶🫶 ; also listen to king of nothing by metallica cause 🥰

FUCKSHIT ; king of nothing

summary ; after coming out as transmasc, and it being spread around school like wildfire, fuckshit sticks up for you

warnings ; language, f slur and t slur, reader is dehumanized/called an it, talk of weed & alcohol, physical fighting/jumping, a skateboard is used as a weapon, almost curb biting (?)

disclaimers ; reader uses he/him pronouns ; I can say the f and t slurs lol

track ; king of nothing, metallica

word count ; 1.1k

masterlist

"Did you hear about Y/n?"

"Fuckshit's friend?"

"Yeah"

"That's so weird..."

"It's disgusting. Why does it even have friends?"

"I don't know..."

You and Fuckshit happily walk down the hallway toward your next class, seeing Fourthgrade and Ray waiting outside the door for you at the end of the hallway. You were happily discussing skate movies as you walk.

You hold one of your binders in your hands, a few papers and your pencil on top of it because you didn't have time to shove it all in your backpack before the bell rang. As you walk past a group of popular kids, one, about 5"9 with bright blonde hair and blue eyes, sticks his foot out in your path purposefully. You, not looking at the floor and walking pretty fast, enough for your legs to hurt at this point during your journey across the school, trip over his foot.

You land face first on the linoleum floor, your papers, binder and pencil scattered a few feet in front of you. Fuckshit pulls you up, sending a glare to the blonde kid. You pick your stuff up while Fuckshit sends a dirty look to the group, pulling you along to not give them any attention.

Ray and Fourthgrade down the hall had seen everything, but didn't say a word with you around. You sit down at your desk in the back, not noticing Fuckshit beside you passing notes up to Ray and Fourthgrade in front of you both.

"I'm gonna fucking kill them one day"

The next couple weeks were no different. You were constantly the topic of conversation. You noticed all the people snickering and looking at you. You were being tripped in the hall, catcalled, mocked in class. It wasn't slowing down like you were hoping. If anything, it was getting worse.

Fuckshit saw something break in you. You lost your spark for everything, even skating. You were just floating around waiting for them to stop.

Something broke in him when he saw you get picked on outside of school one weekend. He absolutely lost it when it became too much. He had Ray, Ruben, Stevie, and Fourthgrade with him, as they planned to go hang out at the courthouse soon.

You'd been walking down the street, skateboard in hand, head hung low. You were probably going to find some opportunity to get community service hours to graduate as you'd told Fuckshit.

You had sadly approached, aka tried to pass by, the same group of popular kids that tripped you nearly a month ago. They began teasing you from afar before the same blonde kid ripped your skateboard out of your hands.

You didn't give it any attention, just stood there with a blank stare. His name was Jamie. What a faggot ass name.

"Look at me, trannie!"

You roll your eyes, looking up at him, not giving him any real reaction. "What?"

His eyebrows furrow as he grips your board with both hands, it rests at an angle at his side like a baseball bat. He swings it up, hitting you straight in the face. You fall to the side, landing on your right arm, your left hand reaching for your impacted face.

The kids behind him laugh at your pain.

You don't notice your friends on the other side of the street on the next block, watching as they try and figure out what to do. Fuckshit, a smoked blunt in his hand, passes it to Fourthgrade before he looks both ways on the street.

Jamie raises your skateboard up again, smashing your face with the bottom of it. Your blood stains the board, your teeth, and the concrete in front of the little park area. You yell in pain, feeling your whole face on fucking fire. They continue laughing, using your board as a weapon.

You attempt to try and crawl away, but your head is so badly beaten that you just give in.

Fuckshit and Ray are the first to approach, high enough to not feel any immediate pain on this warm Saturday afternoon. Ray takes the other boy out with the chokehold, throwing him to the ground a few feet away, where he runs away. Fuckshit throws one of the girls into oncoming traffic, where she also flees. Ray shoves the other girl into the grass, giving Fuckshit a clear shot to Jamie, still beating the fuck out of you.

Fourthgrade, Ruben and Stevie are behind them, with the two younger boys scaring the other girl off while the eldest of them records the fight. Fuckshit pulls your board out of his hands, tosses it to Ray, then tackles the blonde to the concrete.

You quickly scurry away, crawling backwards on your hands and feet. Ray rushes to you, setting your skateboard in the grass next to you. Blood trails down your face and onto your clothes, your eyes glazed. It's clear you've suffered from a concussion.

You watch as Fuckshit repetitively punches the blonde kid, the two switching and rolling all over the ground as they fight for dominance like wild animals. Fouthgrade's camera tilts down a bit as he doesn't watch through the lens, his jaw agape as he watches. Stevie and Ruben step back some, watching the little white boy get absolutely pummeled.

Fuckshit, in an angered daze, pulls him into the relatively empty road, and holds him by the back of his shirt, the collar, over the concrete. One foot rests on his back, the kid's hands and arms holding him up. Fuckshit now holds him by his short hair, talking shit to him.

The curly haired boy leaves the blood to drip down his nose and onto the concrete, some cuts and bruises now forming as the white boy was wearing rings and using them to his ability.

"You leave him the fuck alone! I will fucking kill you!"

The boy doesn't speak, only stuttering some gibberish.

"Do you understand me?! Leave him the fuck alone, faggot!"

Fourthgrade pulls the camera down and rushes to you, not wanting to film some brutal crime while Ray quickly rushes to the blondes. You lay in Fourthgrade's arms, spitting up blood as he tries to direct your line of sight away from the others. Stevie and Ruben grab your board and try and help you, with Ruben grabbing the attention of a bystander to call the police.

Ray is able to pull Fuckshit away, who quickly snaps out of his anger, then fades into worry as he rushes to you. The kid is able to scurry away while the boys surround you, trying to keep you conscious as they attempt to wipe the blood away from your face.

"Fuck, Y/n, I'm so sorry, man" Fuckshit speaks, his hands rested on your cheeks. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

You slightly nod, your head throbbing as you look at him. You taste the blood on your teeth and tongue, spitting some more out to the side.

"Hey, it'll be okay, it'll be okay"

[littlewestern]

favorite non-engine exhibit at the MSI?

I see that you have sent a variant of this question to me and @greatwesternway so let me start by thanking you for that! Gives me the opportunity to point out that she has answered in the *spirit* but not the *letter* of the question, and I never miss an opportunity to nitpick as the Winton is, of course, an engine. I understand the assignment, however.

There are a few objectively good answers to this. I'll start by naming my runners-up as well since I'd be remiss in not mentioning them.

One I didn't expect to like as much as I do now is actually the Fairy Castle. When I was young I never really "got" this exhibit and might have even missed it on a couple of grade school field trips since it is neither science nor industry. In fact, on our last trip to the MSI, I asked DJ point-blank what she thought the castle was even doing here in the first place. DJ said, quite simply, that she thought it was a way to get girls to go to the museum at the time, and I couldn't argue with the logic. It's just a big dollhouse.

But the room it's in is very dark and - owing to the waning popularity of the exhibit - usually quiet, which is always welcome. The ambience is nice, and each side of the dollhouse has a directional speaker over it that narrates a little story (complete with airy music and soothing nature sounds) about each room and points your attention to specific objects inside it. When you allow yourself a moment to be immersed, it can actually be a novel experience.

The attention to detail can be genuinely breathtaking, and I think there's merit to having something like this around even if it doesn't necessarily fit the theme of the museum itself. And kids are still enjoying it to this day! When we went last, we were letting the small children in front of us inspect the garden when one of them turned to us and asked if we could see the fairy the narration was talking about, because he couldn't find it. It was very cute.

It's hard to indicate the scale of these things without seeing it in-person, but the larger rooms are big enough to stick your head inside. My favorite rooms are the bathrooms because the tubs have fake water in them. I love fake water.

Another one I make a point to stop in on when I'm there even though it objectively contributes nothing in its current state is Yesterday's Main Street, which I will show to the best of my ability. Because it's so dark down there, it photographs like dog ass so it's hard to really capture why I find it so charming in images alone.

Yesterday's Main Street puts you in the shoes of a 1910s Chicago resident where you walk along a (very, very wheelchair unfriendly) cobblestone street complete with curb and sidewalk past period-accurate storefronts and down to a little movie theater that shows a reel of 10 silent films on a loop.

It's another spot that's quiet, dark, and mostly disused. This doesn't rank higher because it's another exhibit that contributes very little to actual discussion about science and industry and hasn't been updated in probably 20 years or better. It feels dated, not vintage, and I suspect it will be on the chopping block very soon.

That said, I don't think it's a waste of space or anything. The MSI's traveling exhibit space often features things from popular film franchises, and there's room here to talk about early film as an industry or the ways in which a shopping district street from 1910 undergoes infrastructure changes in the course of 100 years. Like, this isn't a total swing and a miss, but it would need so much extra investment of time and money to bring it in line with current exhibit standards, I just don't think it's feasible. I'm very interested to see what is done with the space in the next 10 years or so.

Okay so after all that. What's my favorite non-engine exhibit at the MSI?

I don't think anyone expected this, but I have a few good reasons for why I chose YOU!. This is, in my opinion, the best example of the MSI's ability to modernize their science exhibits. There are a ton of little diversions and screen-based games but it also makes sure to incorporate the museum's history in a way I think is modern and sensitive while still being educational and fun.

If you know the history of the MSI, you'll know that body science has always been one of their primary interests. The giant walk-through heart was a cultural touchstone for children in Chicago, and anyone my age and older will remember it as a right of passage for any grade school science field trip.

It stood there for over 50 years! At some point, it stopped justifying the space it was taking up. What once impressed children in 1954 no longer lights up the eyes of the jaded youth of 2024. Or even 2004. The hard truth is it had to go. But the replacement circulatory system diagrams are interesting, in an open and inviting space, and make the inside of the human body seem much more natural and inviting and less... monolithic and intimidating. I think this is a good change.

The fetuses and body slices are a similarly positive change. The MSI has an extensive collection of real, human specimens which they have displayed in various ways over time. Not all of these were obtained in a way current societal standards would deem unobjectionable, but the fact is the samples are here now. Rather than hide them in storage, YOU! puts them in the best context they can and gives the spaces (in my opinion) both dignity and purpose. You can argue whether or not that's the correct thing to do, but I think there's value in having that discussion and using the exhibit as a vector to do so is another way in which I think YOU! is quite modern and educational.

It also has a "Create An Ad" game which prompts guests to think about the ways in which media can influence us, which is a pretty abstract concept to introduce in an exhibit that could easily just be about the mechanical functions of the body. Taking the idea of "you" as a person away from the esoteric and medical and into the realm of the real, the present, the everyday, is what childrens' museums should be all about. Also the game is fun!

Before the 2020 renovation of the Pioneer Zephyr exhibit, I think YOU! is the best example of the MSI taking their old, weird, sometimes controversial (and maybe even boring), stuff and updating it to be interesting and modern and fun again. It's old now, so there are some things that could use another overhaul, but it's much closer to what I think the ideal science exhibit at the MSI should look like.

Thanks for the ask!

[horrorcanbefunny]

Shaun of the Dead: Humor and Horror

Cleverly blending humor with horror, Shaun of the Dead offers a unique twist on the zombie genre with 29-year-old Shaun stumbling zombie-like through his regular life, not paying attention to the zombie crisis in the background, but shaping up when society falls apart. The film highlights that the real horror lies not in the zombies, but in the lack of purpose and human connection. The film's blend of humor and horror entertains but also makes us think about how we navigate our existence, urging viewers to seek meaning and connection in a seemingly mundane world.

Shaun getting his morning drink at the local deli and oblivious to the bloody handprint on the door

In the book "Zombie Culture," it is noted that while Shaun of the Dead features its share of gore, the humor is primarily character-driven, focusing on verbal and situational comedy (48). Director Edgar Wright explains that the zombies merely set the stage for the protagonists' circumstances: "You could go to the script and replace the word ‘zombies’ with ‘traffic jam’ or ‘power outage’ and it would still make sense (48)." The film's zombies serve as a metaphor for the slacker generation, symbolizing the monotonous and aimless way people navigate their lives. This is demonstrated at the beginning of the film as Shaun goes through his morning routine, tripping on the same curb, visiting the same convenience store, riding the same busy bus, and giving money to the same homeless person, all while passing by zombies which he fails to notice even though some of them are his neighbors!

Shaun drinking his coffee oblivious to the zombies

The morning routine scene begins with close-ups of Shaun's face as he wakes up and goes through his morning ritual. These close-ups focus on his tired eyes, and blank expressions, highlighting his lack of engagement with his surroundings. Also, the use of diegetic sounds, such as the buzzing of an alarm clock, the hum of appliances, or the murmurs of commuters on a bus, enhances the atmosphere of monotony in Shaun's routine. They blend with the visuals so viewers can almost feel the monotony and routine along with Shaun. The zombies serve as a metaphor for the unfeeling and detached nature of modern society. The scene sets up the film's central theme by juxtaposing the living with the undead, both going through the motions without real purpose.

Towards the end of the film, a scene unfolds in Shaun and his friends' favorite pub, which takes on a new significance as they battle the zombies. Here, frantic camera movements are used as the scene unfolds, characterized by quick pans and rapid zooms which convey the urgency and chaos of the situation as Shaun and his friends confront the zombies. The lighting in the pub shifts dramatically as the confrontation escalates. Finally, diegetic sounds, such as the growls and moans of the zombies intensify the scene and contrast sharply with the non-diegetic soundtrack playing over the scene. Together, these cinematic techniques heighten the tension of the scene. This transforms the familiar setting of the pub, once symbolic of their stagnant and unfulfilling lives, into a battleground for survival and meaning. Through the intense action, the film symbolizes Shaun's evolution from an aimless slacker to a determined leader, as he and his friends find purpose amidst chaos, reclaiming their lives in the face of impending doom.

Shaun transforms into a leader

Now let's look at several reviews from when the film was released in 2004.

According to James Berardinelli, Shaun of the Dead "may not be consistently scary (in fact, it's almost never scary), but it is consistently funny (if you have a slightly warped sense of humor) and never loses its audience." He further states, "I won't pretend that Shaun of the Dead is the be-all and end-all of horror comedies. It has plenty of problems, not the least of which is that the horror elements are largely unconvincing (although there is plenty of gore). Shaun of the Dead is a movie that one might not expect to work at first glance, but for those who don't mind a little laughter with their zombies (or perhaps it should be the other way around), this is an unusual source of entertainment” (Berardinelli).

Another review by pluggedin.com was not as positive and states, "Shaun of the Dead is a funny, disgusting movie that hides its sensitive beating heart under gallons of zombie makeup. Although a comedy, the film is no spoof, presenting its flesh-eating undead in horrific detail.“ The reviewer also cautions about the excessive blood in the movie. 

If you haven't seen Shaun of the Dead, I highly recommend it!

[huntingingoodwill]

record store anon again that was so good 🥹I think he eventually tries his hand at making mixtapes for her with some things he knows they both like and more "mainstream" stuff he thinks she'll like (she already knows them but pretends Steve showed her some new bands because he gets so excited every time she mentions she listened to his tapes)

Maybe she eventually goes to fv to be like now you can recommend some movies to me :) but he's absolutely fucking clueless so they end up watching something like the goonies or something else that's super popular

maybe she goes to a little community college that's nearby and has her own small college radio show and sometimes plays the songs from his mixtapes and he basically melts (he's also like one of her very few listeners and he tries to reference the show from time to time to show her he listened to it)

I love her being new in town and she has no idea of his reputation so to her he's just this dorky dude like would never in a million years believe his king Steve phase because he keeps blushing and tripping over himself when she's nearby

record store anon!!! thanks for sending another in i have so much fun doing these

record store girl x fam video steve hc part 1 part 2

them making each other mixtapes is so 🥹 they have new ones for each other every week and the day after they exchange a mixtapes they’re coming into each other’s stores raving about how good it was and annoying all the customers because they’re hogging the counter yelling at each other about how much they loved it

they write little notes for each other and stick them in the casette’s case <3 and steve keeps every single one, even if it’s as short as “for steve” or “play this when you’re feeling down” or as long as a whole rant about how much they love the band/song, steve keeps them all in his glovebox like the sentimental nerd he is!

also imagine steve giving her a ride home and he asks her to reach into the glovebox for his sunglasses. he has to suspiciously slam it shut before she fully opens it because he remembered that’s his Secret Hiding Place and he’d be too embarrassed for her to find out 😭

when steve first gets the idea to make a mixtape for her as a surprise gift, he has to go into the store to buy some blank tapes. she’s ringing them up for him and she teases him like “who’re you making mixtapes for huh? romancing someone?” and he just becomes a blushing mess because the answer is a resounding yes and that someone is her

it’s so sweet that she pretends she’s never listened to some of the songs steve puts on the mix for her 😭 like the beatles? revolutionary. but it makes him feel so happy it feels like he’s sharing something special with her

they sit on the curb outside their stores during their breaks and she just listens to him talk about the music he likes and she’s truly so interested because she loves seeing how happy it makes him even if it’s stuff she’s all heard before :,) (also them eventually coordinating their breaks when they get closer so they can spend them listening to music and eating in steve’s car together WAHHHHHHHH)

the next time steve comes over to the music store she plays the mixtape he made her over the store speakers!!! he immediately jokes “who made this? his music taste must suck” and she smiles and goes “maybeee but he’s pretty damn sweet so he gets a pass” and he’s just screaming internally

I LOVE YOUR IDEA WHERE SHE GOES INTO FAMILY VIDEO 😭 i picture her coming into fv after their little exchange with the abba tape

steve sees her coming from across the way and just immediately starts freaking out. he’s debating rushing into the backroom to hide and he’s getting robin to reassure him that his hair looks fine

finally he just shoves the tape she gave him into the store stereo system and abba blares to life

she waltzes in, grabs a pack of m&ms from the counter and just starts eating and singing and dancing through the store and. steve is just laughing and watching her and totally in lurvVVvvVeEeEe

she finally calls him over: “hey, steven?” (i love the idea that the first few times they meet she calls him steven because that’s how eddie introduced him in an attempt to embarrass him 😭 but when they start actually getting closer and eventually dating she still calls him steven from time to time it’s like a jackie and hyde from that 70s show moment) and she asks for a rec, he chooses some random teen movie and she goes “okay good! so, your place or mine?” “what?” “well, i need someone to watch it with, don’t i?” and his heart feels like it’s going to explode fjjdjshshsha

from then on they go to the cinema together and eat up all the newest cheesy teen movies, share popcorn, whisper jokes and try not to scream with laughter in the back of the theatre during late night showings

he totally listens to her little radio show!! and he calls in for song requests with dorky messages like “this one’s dedicated to the best dj in hawkins”

he’ll sacrifice his breaks at fam video to rush over to her little studio and bring her coffee!! and her audio technician is totally scandalised because she went to high school with/was a couple years below him in high school and knows all about his reputation. she spills it all to record store girlie but she just can’t believe it because steve’s just a dorky little puppy to her

i absolutely love her being new in town because steve has no idea who she is and she’s so mysterious and he’s just enchanted by that and wants to know all about her :,(

she totally teases him so hard when she finds out about his reputation like calling him casanova even when he’s tripping over himself whenever she’s around 😭

he compliments her and she laughs and says “i bet you say that to all your girls” and he is just internally screaming because SHE is THE girl. i just love them.

[eiseryn]

BONUS: Vulnerability

[NOTE: This is a bonus story written for another story, Lei's Treasure Box of Memories. It is a bonus scene for a bonus already written within that story - A place where you are safe to dream". Please read that story if you haven't yet before reading this one!]

Vail parked his car right beside the curb on Krystal street in one of the inner slum residential districts. With his hand on the wheel, he cautiously glanced left and right, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary except the usual shitty slum streets, he said, “Doc, we’re here.” 

There was no reply. 

“Doc?” He questioned, but a quick glance to his right confirmed what he already suspected. The aforementioned woman seemed to be deep asleep, her head hanging heavily against her seatbelt and her eyes closed. Her face was flushed slightly pink with the sleepy drunkenness she had displayed in the bar. She had probably fallen back asleep right after she mumbled her address to him at the start of the drive. 

With an almost inaudible sigh, he got out of the driver’s seat, walked over to the other side of the car, and opened the door.

“You have to wake up now.” 

Her eyebrows furrowed a little at his voice but she did not open her eyes, so he gently shook her forearms. It would have been more effective to shake her shoulders, but they were bare. 

She made a soft noise of protest when he did, but moments later, she opened her eyes and yawned. “Is it already morning?” When she asked, her words were slightly slurred but at least they were comprehensible.

“You shouldn’t drink so much.” He said to her, softly. 

The alcohol was clearly affecting her brain because she gave him a blank stare for what felt like a long time before she finally smiled at him. “I only drink like this around people I trust~” 

He shook his head. “I’m being serious, it’s not safe.”

“But I’m safe when you’re here~” She giggled in an airy, silly manner, which was unlike her usual serious demeanor she wore like her medical-grade masks. 

As she got out of the car, she seemed to sway unsteadily, veering first to the left and then to the right. Stepping onto the sidewalk, she tripped over her heels, but he was there to stabilize her. 

“Oops.” She giggled and grabbed onto one of his arms with both of her hands. Her grip was loose, so he had the opportunity to pull away, but he didn’t. “I’m so clumsy~” Her voice also had a cadence that usually wasn’t there. 

He could only sigh in response. “Again, don’t drink that much, Doc.” 

This time, she didn’t respond. As they walked to the apartment building, she pressed herself against his arm and he stiffened in response. But when he glanced at her, she was not looking at him. Her gaze was darting among the nearby pedestrians who were minding their own business and not even remotely paying attention to them. That's how it was always like in the slums: No one cared. Then, to his surprise, when they were alone on the stairs, she leaned in even closer to whisper, “Call me Lei when we’re alone~ ”

She was close that he could smell the faint scent of her floral perfume. It was a subtle, soothing smell, maybe lavender mixed with something else? The scent lingered even when she pulled away.

Since the walk was short, they were already at her door. This meant that he wouldn't have to reply or acknowledge her words. He wasn’t even sure what to say. 

“Well, good night.” He said, and turned to leave. 

But before he could, a hand swiftly reached out to grab at his rain jacket’s sleeve. Immediately, he stopped in place and then turned around to look at the person who the hand was attached to. She was looking at the floor, eyes downcast and hand tightly clutching onto the corner of his sleeve. 

“You’re always leaving… can’t you stay?” Her voice was already usually soft and in a low tone, but these words she said were barely audible above the constant hum of the city.

Then, she raised her head and stared right into his eyes. Time seemed to slow as her words hung heavily like suspensions in the air between them. Her enchanting green eyes blinked at him slowly and he fought the urge to immediately look away. 

His throat was suddenly dry, but he swallowed before he answered. “You’re drunk.” Then in a softer tone, he said, “ask me again when you’re not drunk.” 

She was drunk enough that she probably wouldn’t remember any of this in the morning. 

She looked down again, but nodded at the floor and then retracted her arm. “Good night, Vail.” He heard her mumble before the door slowly eased shut and the electronic lock set in place.

He walked down the single flight of stairs and back to his car. 

“Fuck.” He took a moment to rest his head and hands on the steering wheel. He had high tolerance for alcohol and hadn’t had much to drink, so he shouldn’t have been even close to being drunk. But now, he felt slightly warm. After shrugging off his jacket and placing it in the passenger seat where a certain someone had sat before, he drove himself home, his car racing into the neon-polluted city night. 

AUTHOR'S NOTES

This is set when they met up for drinks 3 weeks ago prior to the start of the campaign. This is also the last time they saw each other before the campaign started.

I love how embarrassing Lei is when she's drunk LOL she's so unhinged with how clingy and affectionate she is, and also just how she forgets about it often is really funny. Talking about forgetting, she probably doesn't remember Vail taking her home and assumed she took a taxi or something.

Why did she drink so much? This is probably at a point she's really frustrated with the experimental drug job Prism put her on and scapegoated her for. She probably had a bad day and was drinking too much, although again it's TRUE she does not watch herself as much when she's with people she trusts aka her friends.

According to the DM this is a canon event 💅 (I had to ask about this in embarrassment so work with me here)

It was really hard to write in Vail's perspective so it's also slightly objective because at the time I wrote this in like August he had only appeared twice LMAO and one of them was a phone call.

Although I used a lot of headcanons I think this honestly fits his personality/ what we know of him pretty well XD

Vail drinks his respect women juice (and he also apparently has no experience XD) and won't take advantage of Lei who's drunk off her rails! He did end up accepting her offer (?) when she wasn't drunk though soooo 😳😳😳

The other headcanons I have of him that became true (turned out to be canon?) was his high alcohol tolerance (hot 👀) and his sweet tooth (cutie!)

The title of the piece is "vulnerability" which indicates weakness. This is a weakness/vulnerability that Lei is showing to Vail cuz she doesn't watch herself and drinks too much (bad idea girl) but she let loose with him because she trusts him as her friend. But is it just her showing the weakness? I feel like perhaps, just a little, Vail might be a liiiitle weak to Lei herself.

[muutosarchive]

true nakedness is not so exposing, as being seen without your clerical collar. one may not think so.. might mistake such a thing for being free. for forgetting yourself, for an evening. but it is far from simple, in practice. far less poetic, than in theory. the stiff fabric sits in her manicured hands, & for a moment his stormy eyes blink at it, as if it were his entire identity stripped from his being. come with me father. she warbles. the little dove, the singing bird. the siren song. vogelchen. those big, dark eyes pleading for his company, as her sin stains the bleached & holy fabric. meant to distinguish him as a mouthpiece, from the heavens to earth. now naught but a red-faced german man, in a button down & tucked in denim trousers. a man who’s smile is beginning to warp his previously blank canvas of an aging, wrinkled face. “-- a - party?” he looks down -- long beak scrunching, cutely. his smile so wide he swears she can see the small dimples in his rosy cheeks. they ache, with the nervousness. his nightly activities doing little to relax him, as the host settles next to & dissolves those tiny, white narcotics his body insists upon. his greatest blessing, his humility... & with it, he trips over his english, as if it were his second year at the seminary. “what would we even do, the-there?”  

a naive soul, his days of partying survived only on the streets of his village, if not in the restrictive brothel that was owned by his father. strung out, sleeping upon the curb as if it a plush pillow. his somber descent back into addiction reminds him that his late teens & early twenties were plagued with drinking to forget, or as a silent cry for acceptance. trapped in a world that continuously rejected him. hearing his father spew hate, & hiding behind the masculine identity that had been pre-assigned to him. devoted to religion, for the remainder of his fifty six years. he doesn’t know what it is, to go out for nothing more than fun. jovial tone made more bouncy, & his attempts to subdue his bashfulness only works to make him appear more-so. lilt of it, excited. anxiousness mingling, delightfully with adrenaline. so much so that he forgets what a bad idea, this is.  “are you sure you want me to come?”

@star1ngrole​    /  /     i don’t wanna talk about it

[sunsetsandrivers]

What pursuing a Bachelor's degree in my late twenties really feels like :

It's been a journey and a half.

I could never really fit into a box through my school years, which is to say that there were years that I underperformed academically and years that proved me a worthy student. I was always more inclined towards the arts though, because I found it easier to be able to perform to the best of my creative potential rather than a systemic one. My mother, who holds many degrees in the field of education, constantly wondered why that was so she tried to get me to sit for certain psychological tests at a point wherein I was diagnosed with Mild ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) and the advised solution was to not curb my extracurricular exposure. I'd still say my primary school years were good enough but due to a lot of family disturbances over this phase, I started losing out on my academic performance in middle school, which led my parents to making me repeat a year and help me hone a stronger educational base. Not only was I a reserved child prior to it, I also never had any real close friends except for the kids in my family. So the pressure to outperform my self that particular year was immense and how I did! Senior school seemed comparatively easy thus forth. I became popular amongst friends and began to know the who's who of AISN. The difficulty arose again in life then, due to a couple of miserably toxic relationships that resulted in my lack of interest towards my final board examinations. The first time we were to appear for our tenth grade CBSE exams, our education minister decided to ease the system to our benefit and I aced it with highly above average marks. For my twelfth exams though, my mother left me to the noble guidance of another school teacher for the same and I remember a few distinct months of staying up late nights trying to study but instead being snuck out of home due to the various mental pressures we were facing and even thought of cheating on my exams. But then I just left most of my papers blank in order to stay true to myself. This being my life's biggest mistake because I had planned my college life out for myself right when I entered senior wing - I'd even chosen my stream with absolutely no intervention from anyone else and so I was ready with a game plan for myself. What went wrong though was the shame attached with the outcome of the bare minimum efforts I put in to get there. Even though the board result was around my expectations, the college entrance test result had me tripping balls to the extent that I met with an almost fatal car accident the night before it was to come out. I still reached where I wanted to though albeit with a truckload of emotional baggage, because personal interviews and group discussions were easier to crack for merit lists than the "system".

The real struggle, however,

hadn't begun yet.

College years were extremely cathartic in the sense of the exposure we got to the media industry but living away from my family for three entire years being fully aware of the challenges we were facing at home left me dysfunctional, depressed and distraught more often than not. My attendance became the highlight of 400+ students' lives apart from my own and it became the biggest elephant in the room despite my continued excellence in terms of extracurriculars and projects. I was just too busy living my best life out there for me to have to worry about anything else. Naturally, these years also saw me indulging in substance abuse and falling in and out of the worst companies one could keep before the public eye. That being said, the onslaught of family issues hadn't ceased to exist and right at the nick of my second year in Pune, my parents separated because of my father's work that called out to him in Mumbai offering him a new home, car and driver amongst other luxuries and the position of a CEO at the most popular Indian company for electronic consumer durable goods. My mother stayed put in Noida for another year or so to take care of my brother's education and they shifted in with my father right after. To get to live in the City of Dreams was always what I wanted for myself post college and so despite all odds, I was really happy to have gotten to be part of this opportunity. The only thing faultering here though was my defocused and indisciplined last year wherein I was gradually giving up on my college life. My brother, who passed his board examinations with flying colours, by the way, was made to join an iconic Bombay college where he decided to pursue a degree for his BBA in Finance.

Having to adjust with my family in a new city where homes don't even have balconies even though ours was sea facing, was difficult. Not for any other reason but because it felt like they were slowly moving on from my living away from them. My brother adopted a black labrador in those months : Joy, who was just a month old when he came home. I remember clear as day when my mother came with him to Pune to live with me for a month and help me get back up on my feet with respect to college and how annoyed I used to get seeing him untrained enough to be eating out of garbage bins and chewing on shoes! We all fell in love with him in the two years we got to spend together in Mumbai though. Joy has become an integral part of our lives now. Getting back to my misery though - I would constantly be shuffling between two cities due to fights at home, apart from pending backlogs. And because I was idle in the months that that wasn't going on with an unstable social life to look after thanks to more failing relationships, my parents decided to get me professional help for my mental health as well as pushed me to enroll myself in a different course where I could find something to be better at. I did try to do all of that but still found myself rotting in even more complicated life situations because the need of the hour remained to be incoming financial stability and security versus outgoing financial instability and insecurity.

So I gave up eventually.

On two entire courses of my career.

On two beautiful cities.

On all of the people I ever knew.

On everything that I felt like I could ever do but never know enough.

But mostly just on myself.

My parents had to separate again in life due to it but this time around, I felt like I'd really been the only one to blame all along. What I did next was shift to Pune away from it all, landing myself a decent job and living at a PG accomodation in order to clear some personal dues and try to work until a couple of months later that my mother called me home and we all shifted back to Noida. I tried pursuing another course here which didn't work out for me because it wasn't a bachelor's degree and I completely shred all sense of beauty and grace in my life to overcome my mental health issues or personal struggles. Coming back to town felt disastrous initially because I didn't know anyone other than the people that had known me growing up and my brother's friends had begun to poke fun at my life conditions. So I chose to get back around to meeting people and making friends, falling in and out of the drug trap. My life saw no other escape and seeked no other redemption. Upon applying for a course and dropping out yet again though, my aunt suggested that I pursue a diploma in montessori teacher training and I did so that year but my mental health was in such a flux, especially with my own parents constantly putting it to question that I decided to study psychology and satiate this unknowable curiosity for my own existence and get into rehabilitation for my incurable habits; but then COVID'19 took over and shook the world.

I think I'd be the only person in all of humanity to claim that that secretly made me very happy : being vengefully stuck in a house with no access to sunlight, forced against my will into staying medicated to keep my brain chemicals functioning normally felt atrocious while the rest of the world had to go into lockdown due to a virus that none of them saw coming, felt cathartic.

But that's not it, because I bounced back to find work and a great set of friends and a happy relationship only to see all of it crumbling before me AGAIN with my grandfather passing away while I slipped into using drugs YET AGAIN.

The problem however wasn't anything but my inability to support myself financially or emotionally and surviving my days without falling for another person and another.

So then my elder sister getting married eventually jolted me awake attending that, even though I couldn't see it through and ran away feeling like a failure in life, was healing.

My aunt finally came through the next night and offered me an opportunity that could have changed my life. But I wasn't ready to change just as yet. I wasn't ready to let go of my childhood or my parents or the traumas we had faced thinking I could hold it all together and keep everyone happy.

I seeked rehabilitation once more and stayed inside a facility for six months to work on myself day in and day out and improve to come out clean. Thereafter, I shifted to my aunt's place in Siliguri where she'd been putting up since my senior school years.

This being my life's last attempt at getting myself a Bachelor's degree.

[to be cntd...]

[narrators-journal]

Persona 4 and 5

A sequence of chapter 43 between narukami, Margaret and sae.

Hi it's me again, i liked what you did with the prompts i requested, so i wanted a sequence of narukami coming home. You have Blank card to do whatever you want with that kinks i listed.

I Hope you are safe and okay, kudos sir♥️

This is short, but I had fun trying my hand at a basically mute bit of writing again. That being said, I couldn’t cook up anything TOO spicy or, like, interesting this time...so, just take this as a sort of prompt rather than a really good scenario.

CW: a bit of exhibitionism, vibrators, implied dom/sub dynamics. Implied milf!Margaret and her and Narukami having babies lol.

Usually, a window shopping expedition after one of his business trips wasn’t something Yu Narukami would want to do. He’d often come home from his work trips exhausted, so the thought of meandering around the crowded mall was pretty low on his ‘fun’ list. But, this time, there was the incentive of his newest pet having agreed to join him and his wife in yet another of their games.

I hope Sae’s really into this stuff, though, and not just going along with it from some form of peer pessure.He mused as they strolled around the corridors of stores and advertisements. Though, when he glanced over to the silver-haired prosecutor, she seemed as happy as she could manage in her predicament.

So, the ex-wildcard studied the two women who walked ahead of him. Margaret with her arm linked with Sae Nijima’s to keep her steady as they strolled through the mall ever so casually, and Sae at war with herself to try and curb the lustful noises Narukami could almost see threatening to escape her lips. Both wore casual clothes, Margaret in a flowy sun dress of daring white, and Sae in a sweat shirt and dark leggings. Leggings that the silver-haired man was sure were carefully picked to hide any lewd stains caused by the small vibrator she’d agreed to put in for the walk.

Of course, Margaret had her own toy within her cunt. However, unlike the prosecutor, his wife had an easier time with the remote controlled toy and the stimulation Narukami caused when he fiddled with the small remotes in his pocket. The contrast between the two’s reactions was a thrill and a half for the man. Even with the crowds of civillians going about their own lives around the trio. Though, maybe how oblivious everyone around them was while they window shopped and chattered was another thing that made his carefully hidden erection throb.

So, he went ahead and continued to feed that fire within himself. Careful as he tweaked the remote of Sae’s vibrator to not turn it too high and get them caught for their lewd challenge, but only strengthen the intensity of the toy slightly. Just enough to make the powerful woman’s pretty face twitch. She was good, though, with a skill for bluffing that she likely built up in her years as a lawyer. But, that was what had caught his and Margaret’s attention. She was like a wild horse for the man, not quite broken, a bit of a challenge, and a breath of fresh air to their married life.

Not that I’m bored of my marriage, though. Narukami mused, his attention allowed to drift to one of the shops while Sae and Margaret did their best to discuss normal topics, like whether or not Sae would buy a gift for her sister. But, I mean...after children, the spark is kinda...dying.

The thought stung a bit. One that sparked a bit of guilt that threatened to dampen the bonfire that simmered in his belly. However, when he heard Margaret covertly tease the prosecutor, the guilt was soothed a bit by the reminder that his bratty wife was just as into the game as he was. So, instead of being dampened, the lustful burn was increased further.

God, I’m gonna fuck the shit out of these two when we get home.

[alias-sam]

Pierced by a Golden Soul

Chapter 27. Unexpected Accomplice

Platonic Jojo's x Reader

Summary: Fate is a bizarre concept with countless more bizarre implications. In life sometimes such extraordinary events happen that the only reasoning left must be fate. The tragedies that constantly befall the Joestar bloodline for example may be the unluckiest series of cards drawn in human history, or perhaps the work of a greater power. There is no way to tell for sure. Had Dio Brando or Jonathan Joestar moved slightly on a divergent path the world itself would be left very different. The fate or luck of the noble Joestar bloodline has led to destruction of evil likes of the Pillar Men and DIO. This story is of a similar caliber to that of the other Joestars (as I am sure you are familiar with them). This is a story of lost souls, compassion, hope, and above all fate.

Word Count: 2,533

(Crosspost from Wattpad, full fic is already posted there.)

Tuesday morning, you waited outside the bakery for either Jaya or Vita. Even with being ordered to stay away by her father, you wanted to talk to Jaya about the enemy stand users. As for Vita, you just needed to confirm a time to meet up and work on the damn biology project.

A good fifteen minutes passed, and neither of them walked by. You figured you'd either missed them, or they both decided to stay home.

For Jaya it made sense. Quiet Riot sent her barreling across a hospital room yesterday. You had no idea if she had lied to you at the hospital about being unhurt. Vita was known for being absent, so you wouldn't be surprised if he did stay home today. You'd heard he had a medical condition, so who knew when you'd see him next. Vita gave you his phone number not long ago, so maybe you could call him? That was something you could focus on later though.

For the first time in awhile, you walked alone to school. It was kind of surreal. It felt like you had changed somehow recently. Instead of dreading social interaction, you were excited to meet up with your- You stopped yourself mid thought.

Friends. After all this time, you actually had friends. If you were being honest with yourself, you were lonely before. You'd stay to the side and watch people interact at school and the bakery. Days would pass where you didn't even talk without Senora Jones addressing you. Maybe it was partially your fault for not branching out more, but the only people who ever did show an interest in you, were...fangirls.

You would never come to understand what odd gravity you had that attracted people's affection so much. A gravity that left your classmates tripping over one another to greet you in the morning. A gravity that made complete strangers, for whatever reason, want to hit on you.

You had been asked out by so many people in the past year, you had completely lost count. It would be comical if not for the fact you were the one who had to see the disappointment in people's eyes when you told them no. At first you tried to be gentile when rejecting people, but at one point or another you started flat out telling people to leave you alone.

Less and less people had been following you around the courtyard as of late. You were willing to bet it had something to do with that rumor Vita told you about. The one about you dating someone. When you first heard about it, you were busy worrying about Learco and Tim to really focus on it. Now you were wondering if you were a bit to flippant. What was the girl's name though? Vita had mentioned it, but you were drawing a blank. Lea? No, Layla? The name was rattling around in your brain somewhere, but for some reason, you just couldn't grasp it.

You took a deep breath as you neared the school gates. There would be no stand users, no weird encounters, and most of all, no bumping into anyone. It had become a trend that you were desperately hoping to curb. You entered the gate slowly, looking both ways before crossing the threshold. Across the courtyard, you spotted at least one of your project partners.

"Tim? Hey! Wait up!" You called, sprinting to catch up to him. Tim was carrying a different instrument case than usual, and a box under his arm. "Are those the water tests?"

"Some of them." Tim sighed. "I still want to take some from the fountain this afternoon."

"Want some help?" You asked, walking along with him.

"No-" Tim cut himself off to think for a moment. "Sure." He was still getting used to not distancing himself from people. You were doing your best to form a friendship, the least he could do is be receptive. "An extra set of hands would be great."

"Cool! I'll see you later then." You smiled and waved, heading to your own class.

You managed three steps through the courtyard on your own before immediately feeling someone crash into your chest. A few books and papers fell on the concrete with a light thud. You looked down to find an unfamiliar head of blonde hair. After an extended moment of the stranger not moving, you grabbed their shoulders and lightly pushed them away from your chest. The girl looked up at you annoyed, before her eyes widened.

"Oh! Y/n! I am so sorry!" She gasped. "H-how are you doing today?" Her face was a bright red, the color even creeping up to her ears.

"Good umm..." You had seen this girl before; she was monitoring the gate when you snuck out yesterday. "Lana...?" You muttered awkwardly, taking a shot in the dark. Why couldn't you remember her name?!

"It's Lennia." She corrected nervously glancing down. "Lennia Heart. W-we're in the same literature class. I sit right next to you." You bent down and quickly grabbed the books she dropped, managing to skim the title.

"The Count of Monte Cristo? Don't think I've read that one." You commented, handing her the book. "Is it any good?"

"Y-yeah." Lennia replied lightly. You noticed she was blinking a lot as she looked up at you. "I think it's pretty good."

"Are you okay? Your face is really red." You looked at the girl with concern. Was she hot? Sick maybe?

"Y-yeah! I'm great!" She sputtered quickly, her face somehow becoming an even darker crimson.

"Are you sure?" You asked with a skeptically raised eyebrow. "You're blinking a lot too, is there something in your eyes?"

"What? No. I'm fine!" Lennia backed up slightly. "Don't worry about me, you would usually be in class by now right?"

"Yeah actually, I usually would."

"Well....bye!" Lennia said hurriedly before continuing on in the direction she was before. You watched her go, more than a bit confused by the encounter.

.................................................................................

Your classes were barely worth attending today. Blake, as expected, didn't show up. Vita wasn't in school either, but his absence made you worried about his health. Tim left you to your own devices since your designated section of the project had nothing to do with his. When your literature class came around, you checked and found Lennia was indeed your seat neighbor. You gave her a sheepish greeting after noticing her intensely staring at you.

When school finally ended you went to meet up with Tim in the music club room. Since he was the club's president, and sole member, you assumed Tim wouldn't mind you popping in instead of meeting him at the courtyard. An unfamiliar melody spilled out past the door into the hallway as you neared the music club. It was a rock riff if you weren't mistaken. That...surprised you a little bit. As far as you knew, Tim more preferred quieter classic pieces. The door was already cracked, so you lightly nudged it aside to let yourself in. Much to your surprise, Tim was sitting on a stool, electric guitar in hand, and absolutely shredding on it. You watched as his fingers quickly danced across the fret bord in rapid succession. It sounded incredible. When Tim noticed your presence, he immediately stopped, the sound of his last note still reverberating through the room.

"Y/n." He greeted dryly. "Sorry I didn't hear you come in." Tim turned off his amp and fumbled with getting the guitar strap off.

"You sounded great." You lightly clapped. "Is that a new guitar? You usually carry around an acoustic one."

"N-no, it's my dad's." Tim carefully put the guitar in its case. "He's letting me borrow it for a little while."

"Well, you sounded like an expert with it." You walked into the room, gazing at the many instruments spread around. "Say, how many of these things can you play?" You asked, lightly tapping one of the keys on the piano. Tim took a quick glance around the room before returning his focus to packing.

"Just about everything in here." He mumbled. "I'm not the best with wind instruments, but I think you can guess at this point, I'm a big fan of strings. I picked up piano at the beginning of this school year when that was donated to the club." Tim motioned towards the upright piano. "As for percussion, I don't prefer playing it myself, but I appreciate those who can."

"Ever think about advertising your club more? I feel like at least a few other people would be open to joining."

"I d-don't think so." Tim muttered. "I'm not really the advertising type." You watched as Tim pushed up his glasses and closed his guitar case. Somehow you got the sense that he didn't want new people to come, and to a degree you understood. The whole 'opening up' thing was going to take time for him. Tim slung his instrument over his shoulder. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." You quickly grabbed the box with the water tests from Tim and walked with him out to the fountain. "Maybe I could join your club." You mentioned, but Tim visibly tensed. "Oh- I was just spit balling." You nervously laughed, immediately deciding to backpedal "I don't even know how to play anything."

"No! I wasn't expecting you to be interested, especially given the...stand situation." Tim shrugged.

"Honestly? I'm in dire need of a hobby." You groaned, shaking your head as you took a seat on the edge of the fountain. Quietly, you stared at the water while Tim took the tests. Whenever he finished filling a vial, he'd hand it over to you. He was silent as he intently added chemical disks and watched for a color change. Tim had opened up to you since your encounter at the football field, but even after the battle he was still an all-business type personality. Once he started working on something, he didn't like to stop. Even in the few times you interacted with him before this, you got that vibe from him. Tim continued working with the samples as you mindlessly watched your reflection ripple in the water.

"What's on your mind Y/n?" Tim asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" You looked over only to find he was adding another test tablet to a water sample. "Nothing... why do you ask?"

"You're really bad at hiding it when something is bothering you."

"Oh..." You trailed off, fumbling with the test tubes in your hand. "I'm that obvious?"

"Not really. I just happened to notice." Tim replied. "What's up?"

"I was kind of wondering, how did you...figure out your stand so quickly?"

"What do you mean?" Tim asked, capping off another test tube and setting it aside.

"Well, you got your stand, and just knew what to do with it the same night?"

"It took a little bit of trial and error, along with some focus, but yeah, it wasn't that hard." Your posture slumped slightly.

"I was worried you were going to say that." You sighed, burying your face in your hands before tiredly looking into the water again. Tim motioned for you to continue. "I've had my stand for as long as I remember." You admitted. "And yet, I can't seem to... figure it out."

"How so?"

"Uh-" you looked at Tim hesitantly. "Can I admit something? Something I haven't told anybody about?" Tim glanced around the courtyard hesitantly, before nodding. He took a seat next to you on the fountain.

"Sure."

"Last week, when all this nonsense started, I stopped this guy from mugging someone outside my house. My stand punched his, and nothing happened, but when I punched the mugger...." You paused, not knowing how to properly word what happened next. "He's in the hospital right now, and I don't think I hit him that hard, but maybe I did? Anyway, when I hit the guy, something odd happened. His body, it's in a coma, but his uh...ghost followed me around for a bit. I don't know how to describe it. Nobody else could see or hear him. And I haven't the slightest clue how to fix it, or if it even can be fixed. Mr. Kujo had me meet this guy with a stand that was supposed to help, but it only left me with more questions."

"Help?" Tim asked. "What kind of help?" Hesitantly, you took out the spirit photo and handed it to him.

"Originally Learco's spirit was sitting next to me in the photo, nobody else could see it, and yesterday it just disappeared. I have no idea what's going on..."

"Learco?" Tim looked at you questioningly. "As in, Learco Martez?"

"You know him? Wait- yeah, if I'm remembering correctly, he said he used to bully you."

"He's the one who started some rumors about what I kept in my music notebook. It spiraled to the point the teachers got involved. After the whole ordeal, my reputation was basically irrecoverable." Tim's tone wasn't nearly as irritated as you'd expected it to be. "Needless to say, I've got a bone to pick with the guy, so I know for certain," He paused, looking at you intently, "That I saw him walking into school this morning."

"What?" You froze, looking at Tim for any hint that this was a very poorly timed joke. "A-are you sure?"

"Definitely." Tim nodded. "At least now you know your stand didn't kill him." He quipped, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere around you.

"Do you know where I can find him?" You quickly shot up from the fountain to stand in front of your classmate. "To talk with him?"

"You want to go talk...with Learco Martez? Why? What makes you think he'll even give you the time of day?"

"I need to know why he woke up." You said quickly. "While he was a ghost, I got to know him. Yeah, he's an annoying, selfish, hotheaded prick, but he at least tried to help me where he could." You explained. "I know none of this makes any sense, but please? I can use all the help I can get in figuring this out." Tim crossed his arms, obviously reluctant.

"I don't know..." He looked away, avoiding your pleading expression.

"He might be able to help me figure out who stabbed you, and why." You said sternly. Tim sighed, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"He spends a lot of his time near the back end of the school." He said. You nodded and turned in that direction, but Tim grabbed your wrist before you could run off. He had a determined look in his eyes. "Let me come with you."

"What?"

"You said so yourself, you don't understand your own stand. Consider me your protection, or at the very least, backup?"

"I can't ask you to do that." You shook your head, stepping away from Tim. "Its probably going to be dangerous."

"I may not have as much experience as you do, but I still want to help. I want to know who stabbed me, and why. From what you've told me, Learco has a connection to all of this. I'll help you out, no matter what, I owe you that much at least." You were about to object to the idea but stopped after seeing the steadfast and serious look in Tim's eyes.

"I'm not going to convince you to stay here, am I?"

"Nope."

[me-uglypretty]

It's Kate

Pairing: Kate Bishop x Reader

Summary: Trying to express how you feel isn't easy and Kate's oblivion makes it worse.

Warning: 18+ (General), fluff, very useless flirty, mission injury (r), mention of weapons and blood || Word count: 3931

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The building striking structure collapses, shelving the bow of roofs beneath escalating flames. Three outline forms a silhouette from behind. Round eyes marvel at the sight, hues of red and yellow, fire flickering with pops, and relentless tumbles of matter. In the distance, booming loop of firefighters dashing through the street.

“Whoa, a single match did that?” Kate questioned, disbelief coating her voice and expression as her hand gestures at the sight.

Yelena felt equally in awe, but not entirely outward about it—hummed, her eyes shifting from the fiery scene to meet eyes and nods her head towards the archer. The silent conversation retorts with the shake of your head, denying her hushed proposition. Although she stands between the two skilled assassins, Kate remains unaware of the exchange.

A single matchstick wouldn’t spark enough fire to combust through compact walls. You almost burned your hair from messing with the wires to trigger a short-circuit. Kate’s single match trick—albeit her brass showcase of archery expertise, entirely too compelling for one to divert their attention away—didn’t work, not even the slightest hint of its success. The implanted barrels of explosive weren’t durable for a massive explosion without a greater trigger.

But you wouldn’t confess that out loud. It’s Kate.

“Look at that, very poetic,” Yelena pointed her forefinger at a fallen picture and a satisfied grin on her face as nudges Kate’s side.

The picture was charred by the corners, but enough to present the individual exhibiting their egotistical smirks. A suited man among those in laboratory coats. The same faces they fought before fire shallowed them whole. Now, this picture burns the same as their unethical agenda.

“We need to leave before the police gets here. Let’s go kids!” Yelena exclaimed, combining with a slight push to Kate who was still far too immerse by the fire.

Coincidentally, the police indicate their arrival with blaring alarm in addition to beaming red and blue illuminating the ground, puddles seeming so carefree while reflecting fire and the authority appearance. The trio walks away from the scene with minimal injuries as the authorise fills the lot. Out of the three, Kate’s eagerness hasn’t reached an end. Yelena disregarded the rumbling from her friend’s mouth after knowing her enough to recognise her friend’s puppy like excitement.

Kate’s shoulder relaxed as she imitates echoes of her bow striking through guards, some words falling from her mouth about knocking some bad guy out with a single kick, and how the sheer speed of an arrow had cut through wire. Something along the line of; let’s do it again!

And you were there, clinging to every word that left her round mouth.

However, they were few blanks that you had filled with something because every glance her way made your thoughts and focus stumble over the other. Your mind refused to operate accordingly from the sheer presence of Kate close to you—but your face remains neutral. A nod towards your years of training. Besides, she doesn’t need to know that you almost tripped and nearly graze a bullet when you were astounded by the way she fought.

“What about you? How was the mission? Did you have fun?” Kate directs her attention solely on you.

It was then, you realise your blonde friend wasn’t walking along either of you, but she’s trailing far behind. Before you could throw an insult at Yelena or display your irritation, your gaze meets those smooth-edges blue and you swear under your breath when her lips curbs with a soft smile. That was enough to seize your attention, eyes attentively memorising the details of her face; how she’s smiling at you, her eyes glimmering of a childlike joy, the dirt smeared on her cheek doesn’t waver her beauty.

“We should do it again,” you declared, while those words were your inner thoughts escaping through your throat and greeting her ears as she halts—

Not a moment after, your hand breach the space between you and her, nimble fingers grazes her cheek and your thumb gentle wipes the grey dirt on her skin. “Just the two of us,” you uttered, courageously staring into her wide eyes.

Gazing into each other’s eyes lasted for seconds or perhaps, years of ogling at your mind’s persistence. Eventually, you continued walking, internally losing your calm over the rare moment of bravery. It was unpredictably—one second you were staring into her ocean eyes, the next second you were distractedly moving closer to her without realising the reality seeping in your touch and it wasn’t another daydream consisting of her glorious self.

As you continue walking with your swirling thoughts, Kate was left stunned, still standing at the same spot and watching your form moving further away from her. Closing into her distance, Yelena was equally distracted from the flickering on her phone screen—a newly bought phone and her current obsession with its renowned functions—and she doesn’t notice her friend which resulted in her body bumping into the taller frame. Russian swears left her mouth as she scolds her friend.

But the archer doesn’t say a word of response. Did you really touch her skin and stare into her eyes with such intensity or was it just her imagination?

First clash of fist, the second failed attempt of cover, the third ruthlessly hit and Kate was left heaving on the rubber mat, hand clutching her stomach as she groans in agony. She didn’t expect for her years of surpassing others’ abilities, earning various medals, acing all her classes and owning a black belt—would serve no difference when compared to Yelena’s skill.

Their regular training and sparring were proven affective which supported by her mentor’s kind words; a grunt followed by a good. It wasn’t successful enough to overtake her tough opponent, despite her towering figure over a woman who’s much shorter than her. Ending up on the ground and rethinking her life became an occurrence. Former assassin or not, Kate holds on to her beliefs that Yelena was harbouring unexplainable power.

“Oh, come on, Kate Bishop! You can do so much better than that!” Yelena yelled, barely glistering of foul swear. Her eyes fringe with disgust when Kate muttered various excuses, most incoherent to understand when mixed with her heavy breathing.

And you entered the training room at that moment.

Habitually, a smile graces your face after witnessing Yelena struggling to help Kate. Relying on her bow and arrow wasn’t enough, which made her on-site combat training mandatory. Even you would admit that her level of combat, fully focusing on her sheer strength, wasn’t anywhere close to former assassin.

But that couldn’t stop you. It’s Kate.

“Switch?” you offered, and the instant mischievous grin appears on Yelena’s face when Kate excitedly agree, thanking you for saving her.

The first move was made by you with a shift swing of your fist, a cluttered kick from her and few dodges after—your body fell roughly on the rubber mat and Kate straddled your waist, hands pinning you down while a proud smile adorns your face. Victory floods her consciousness as she uttered the next words.

“It’s amazing being on top for once!” Kate cheered, exhaling and inhaling tiringly, but still overwhelmed with excitement.

You were completed at awed, “I’ll let you hold me down anytime,” you mumbled the confession, nudge from reality and nervousness was shoved down as you gaze at her.

Kate’s eyes seem to widen by the seconds, realisation casting over her senses when she gazes down at the sight of you beneath her. Hastily standing up, she almost falls from her rash reaction and takes few steps back, overlooking the churning in her stomach.

“Hmm, sure you won,” Yelena mocked, the bite of sarcasm was caught by you resulting with the instant glare at your blonde friend while the brunette—seemingly emerging from her consciousness, still pulsating from her first sparring win—shifts her attention to her friend. Rambles of their sparing matches continues while you were left in the same spot.

You clear your throat to obtain their attention, “Still here…”

Kate spurs with apologies from her distraction and immediately assisting you off the mat. Words fell from her mouth that you barely understand. On the other side, Yelena observes the scene playing out in front of her, eyebrow raised pointedly at you and you rapidly shake your head in response. Maybe this wasn’t your level of combat either.

“Good job, Kate,” you said, instantly making her stop rambling and staring at you, bewildered from your kind words. Again, your hand extend to firmly clasps her arm in your hand, “We should do this again.”

The archer, often flamboyant with her words, only nodded her head while her attention remains on you. Gentle features spread on your face, smile kind as your eyes, and the permanent carefulness touch of your hand. The initiated gestures swarm her mind, dismissing of everything—till her she remembers, the minutes before of your body beneath hers, the words that left her mouth and yours. When she was gleefully pinning you down.

You meet her eyes once more, offering a genuine smile at her then shoving your friend playfully. Yelena’s taunts were ignored as you walked away.

But the archer doesn’t realise your absent. Did she really win against you and you were admittedly pleasant about it too?

Azure sky spattered with cottony clouds in grey and white, different shapes and sizes. Summer announcing its presence with warmth and taste of fresh air. Friends and family unite across the grassy backyard. A comfortable bubble of life beyond their lethal occupations.

“I’m pretty sure that I can win against Clint,” Kate proudly affirmed, while squeezing more ketchup on her hotdog.

Yelena scrutinise her friend’s choice of condiment as she pointedly grasps her own bottle of hot sauce and pouring a generous amount on her double stacked hotdog. “Maybe, but I’m a very fast learner,” she smugly proclaimed.

You were observing their exchange curiously. Kate’s immeasurably craving to find herself in unnecessary trouble, either challenging Yelena or colliding with the enemy then having a conversation with them, as if there wasn’t a sign of danger.

“Okay Belova, I challenge you…”

And that’s exactly how you inevitably find yourself watching two friends curating dusky bows in their hands. Arrows dash across clear air, hitting straight into the brass target. Neither backing away from proving themselves better than the other.

“Y/n, please stop them,” Clint pleaded, his youngest son clinging to his leg while Laura shakes her head at the scene.

They, more than anyone else, know enough of the troublesome duo. Arguments of who’s better which were both endless and tiring, the ear-splitting howls to announce their victory or more so Yelena’s gracious wins and Kate’s disappointment casting a gloomy cloud over her head.

Natasha skilfully inserts herself into the conversation, her arm slings around your shoulder and playfully drags your body down. A teasing smile on her face when you tried mustering the courage to push her away, but Natasha is never not persistent.

“Yeah, go talk to your girlfriend,” she mocked and wiggles her eyebrows at you.

“It’s not funny,” you groaned, successfully pushing her away.

Yelena never outwardly said anything, besides her more than teasing looks between you and Kate—but Natasha, she wasn’t afraid of shouting it. You would had laughed, why wouldn’t you laugh at your constant failed attempts for Kate to notice you pass being her co-worker?

“Aw, are you blushing?” Natasha pinches your cheeks, pouting her lips as you huffed and push her from your space.

The only course of action was walking away from more teasing and bridging the frame of two friends arguing. In other circumstances, you wouldn’t put yourself in a quarrel between friends and not choosing sides is always the best choice.

But that wouldn’t stop you. It’s Kate.

Trying to obtain some sort of distraction or excuse to draw them way from their battle, your eyes catch the sight of an abandoned bow and arrow on the grassy ground.

“Hey, do you think this works like a cupid bow?” you questioned, switching gaze from the bow to meeting the archer’s eyes. “If I was to…” you raised the bow in your hand, aiming it for her heart.

Kate’s eyes widen immensely, sheer look of shock on her face as she struggling to utter a reply at your question.

Watching the screen from afar, Natasha smirks when her sister joins her side. “She isn’t as smooth as she thinks,” she nudges her head at your spurs of words.

“I know! Always trying to impress the girl, but never confessing her feelings,” Yelena groaned, stumping her feet as she sees your hands fumbling with the bow in your hand.

Kate wasn’t aware of her friend’s absent or acknowledging the previous argument, her attention far too occupied on you. “Maybe you should put that down,” she reaches to take the weapon away from you. “I don’t think you should…”

At that moment, any kind of common sense was melted by the sun’s flares—contrasting behind Kate, whooshing of dark brown hair that appears golden beneath the sun’s shine, the hues of her eyes seemingly pulling you into her closer, and the glimmer of such liveliness softening with her features. Why does that moment feel like a scene out of a movie?

The corners of Kate’s mouth stir at every word that left while you stand there, admiring her beauty as such unlikeness to grace your life. Realisation doesn’t dare touch your mind when Kate’s hands swiftly removes the bow from your hold and the gentle skims of her fingers wakes you from your daydream.

It was her and you, existing within the space of which the sun sings of summer’s ways. Birds chattering so happily in the distance, the wind singing a song so sweet as her, and you couldn’t look away from her. Fears gnaws at your chest that she might disappear if you do.

Mindlessly, your hand extends to the round of her cheeks, fingers brushing the wisps of hair from falling before her eyes and tucking those stands behind her ear. Your hand seems to linger, head leaning forward to admire the details of her face, birthmarks that lines to every part of her that you adore, and you swear, Kate was leaning forward too.

Suddenly, a scream erupts close by and Kate’s hand loses its grip on the bow. It almost lands on your feet, but it wouldn’t flash as much ache when compared to Kate hastily distancing herself from you.

And you looked away, everything appearing far more interesting than knowing what you were bound to do if not interrupted. The expression on Kate’s face when she pulled away was enough stop your heart from falling to her hands.

“Kate! Help me here!” Clint shouted, gesturing to the ground where toys were scattered, and she hurriedly runs to his direction.

You watch her leave you there. A complete swap scenery and the deep frown on your face as you lift your head and stared at the sky. Colours so bright and happy then gloomily shakes your head. Yelena offers a comforting smile when you meet her eyes and Natasha gestures for you to join them instead.

Kate didn’t know why her body jolted immediately with the need to answer her mentor’s request. Truthfully, she was perplexed by the abrupt touch of yours and how your eyes seem to buzz something in her heart. Every single time.

But she must had been dream too, had you really gazed into her eyes as if you were ready to kiss her like she wanted to?

Bullets pierced through walls, dust of destroyed structure fall around like snow, but bitter and murky. Screams melded around gunshot thuds, enemies crying and cursing, trying to bash another into success. The mission wasn’t that. From the second you found the important documents to Kate discovering a swarm of Hydra agents, and Yelena screaming at the heard of them marching towards your direction.

“Okay, can you guys chill for a minute!” Kate shouted, expertly shooting two agents within seconds. The arrow nestled behind her shaking at very rash movement.

Yelena swiftly pushes your body away from meeting the wave of bullets and you nodded your head at her, appreciating her quick action of saving you. While both of you and Yelena were equipped with years of training, both traumatising and efficient in crafting your skills—Kate wasn’t, nor has she encountered a mission that showers with bullets and endless threats.

You couldn’t help yourself from worrying. Despite your blonde’s friend reassurance—her clothes equally grimy as yours, and Kate’s dotting with blood, stress lines on faces and the obvious uncertainty—you couldn’t help but feel responsible. If anything were to happen in your presence, you wouldn’t forgive yourself.

The shooting continues, calls for backup hasn’t arrived and bullets almost empty while the enemies were towering with their overloaded barrels. An idea flashes across your mind in the form of an escape.

“Yelena, you and Kate get out through that window. There’s about two floors down, but you know what to do,” you pointed at the clear space where neither of the agents had crossed.

Kate’s head quickly turns to you, “But they’re firing and…”

Her friend nodded her head, “Sure. We should totally leave you here, right?” Yelena mocked, swiftly shooting several agents down then dunking her head back behind the pillar.

“We won’t leave you,” Kate countered, bumping into Yelena as she readily hides behind the same pillar.

You felt happy—the warmth that engulf your chest, a friend you love so and another who holds something far more passionate. A hug wouldn’t utter the amount of care you hold for them, or how you know those lies of being okay wouldn’t prove your safety.

“Trust me,” you tried and glance at your friend, “We need this information. Think about the ones we need to save,” you reminded them, sensing the conflict in their eyes before noticing the slight shift in Kate’s reaction as she nods her head.

The plan constructed in seconds and easy to execute. They would make a run for it and you would hold the enemy’s attention by running to the opposite side. Almost perfect, till bullets flew pass closer than you expected, grazing your skin then the next which easily cut through your suit and skin.

Kate doesn’t miss the sound of your cry when she looks over her shoulder, the sight of your body falling on the ground and her heart soaring. Yelena wasn’t sure of the abrupt halt till she follows her taller friend’s gaze, landing on your body trying to stand and defend yourself. What idea you had planted in their head was ignored immediately.

You felt someone hauling your body, dodging the bullet nearly piercing through your skin, and a blurry figure towering over you. Blinking hazily, you finally grasp the image of your saviour.

It’s Kate.

“You saved me,” you mumbled, eyes glazing over. “You are marvellous Kate Bishop.”

Yelena huffed, apprehending your attention when you shake your head with a blood smile. “I’m literally helping too, you know?” Do you see this?”

Kate flutters at the sound of your laughter amid chaos, and she cried when your coughed, blood seeping through your clothes and tainting her hands trying to press your wound, trying so hard to stop the blood from draining your body dry.

“You have always helped me, let me do that for once,” she whispered, her eyes darting at her blonde friend who seem equally afraid.

Kate has never seen Yelena like this—and it terrifies her to know the dire of consequences if they didn’t find a route of escape.

“You need to be okay, please be okay,” she begged, and you chuckle slithers through her ears and pulls at her heart.

“Help is here. Let’s go,” Yelena announced, hurriedly holding you up in replace with Kate covering you both. Grumbles left your blonde friend, threats of killing you with her bare hands if you ever decide to leave her with Kate.

Prayers were tumbling around Kate’s mind. Watching your eyes flutter close, mouth wavering at every hush word and slowly losing consciousness. She couldn’t lose hope for you when you were always so close to risking your life for her.

Blinding lights makes you close your eyes shut, probs behind your eyelids with explosion of colours and the stabbing pain scattered around your body. Trying again, you squint your eyes, turning your head right to catch the sight of dark hair sprawled near your hands and weight equally pressed there.

An itch scratches your throat as you cough, instantly waking the guest in your room.

“You’re awake!”

It’s Kate.

And you groaned, ushering her away or trying to explain how her voice was striking a massive headache.

But she doesn’t care, her hands graze your cheeks, thumb brushing across your skin and the pad of fingers tingles your skin, tapping every so lightly. As if—she was afraid of losing you, and quite frankly, watching your eyes growing duller by the seconds was enough to cloud her with fear.

Your faces were warm from the proximity as your hand reach for hers, right hand clasping securely around hers as she pulls both away from your face.

“I know,” she whispered, her fingers toys around yours, “Yelena told me about everything…” she claimed while you could raise your eyebrows in response. “Everything, Y/n.”

“That cyka,” you cursed, and she laughs, so wet and full, easily fitting your whole heart in her hands.

“I always assumed it was just me…thinking that— those moments were all here,” she pointed at her head, leaving a chill on your cheek where her hand last rest. “But then…” her gaze fall on your side where white bandage were streak with red. “I couldn’t…I didn’t want anything happening to you…and miss the chance of telling you how I feel which is…I really like you.”

You gesture for her to come closer which easily responded, “Kiss me, Kate Bishop.”

And question was met with an answer of lips.

Goosebumps erupt over your body when she bridges the space, her lips melding with yours, and you felt the curves of her lips. Kate was smiling and so were you.

You were kissing her softly, and Kate held herself from deepening it—but you, she was completely infatuated, her hand grasping your face and body swiftly climbing on the bed, her legs straddling you while your hands hold her waist.

It was perfect. So sweet. Just everything that breaths of life—

Then you groaned, the sound reverberating through joined mouth. Kate’s hand forces your body to whimper when meet with your wounded side.

“I’m sorry!” she apologises, hurriedly tries moving away without causing more pain, but you stop her with a grin. “Are you okay?”

Nodding your head, your hands reaches for her face and pulling her into searing kiss. Pouring your heart’s promises and allowing yourself the chance of love—with her. Even when silence grazes the surface of your heart’s humming and hers, body cuddling to your side that wasn’t heavily wounded, you face beams with joy.

“Remember the tracksuit mission? My trick arrow worked, right?” Kate’s asked, curiosity meeting your cheek with a warm kiss and your throat of a soft laugh.

It’s Kate and—you love everything about her. And when Kate looks at you, she knows enough that love is real.

[spiriteddreams]

cliche

Pairing: Miya Atsumu x Reader Warnings: none! Word Count: ~1k A/N: it do be a stressful midterm season but i aced my first one this week!

he's a lot more composed than this, he swears. because right now he's not the best with words. he stumbles over them, trips and falls and curses follow right after. and then he's apologizing in an instant (for messing up his words and then cursing). he's usually composed, an easy grin on his face when he talks to his friends. he's not usually like this, so flustered with a blush evident on his cheeks.

miya atsumu is not usually a mess. but right now he can't help himself. you're silent, but there's this smile on your face that makes his heart flutter. and then you laugh, a small sound spilling from your lips when he apologizes again and atsumu stops speaking, his mouth still slightly open. he forgot what he was going to say.

"'tsumu, it's just me."

yeah. it's you.

you. the childhood best friend who's watched him grow up. you were there every week, helping him and granny clean the house and then listen to all the stories she had in store.

you. who was always at his side during school, never overstepping a boundary, always well aware of the situation and taking the time to think before acting.

you. the one atsumu swore that osamu had a crush on because he was spending so much time with, only to find out that you two were best friends because of your love of cooking. osamu never lets him try the food but at least you do.

you. the one atsumu's been in love with for as long as he can remember. he doesn't know exactly when he started smiling more around you, when his chest felt lighter when you were around, when just the sight of you was enough to brighten his day. but kita knows that he loves you. he knows that sometimes he stares a bit too long. he knows that he's always there whenever you need him, whether it's a text away, or quite literally at your side when your feet miss the curb as you try to walk quickly in a straight line.

yeah, you.

he clears his throat, an attempt to begin again but he doesn't know what to say. everything's going downhill and he feels as if suna's just around the corner, with his camera pointed at the setter while he fails to speak properly. you laugh gently and reach forward to brush some of the hair that's fallen into his face, your fingertips barely brushing against his forehead.

"you're cute, you know that?" your words catch him off guard and his mouth is slightly open. he doesn't know what to say. aran would be laughing if he saw him like this and kita tries to push down that image.

"i-- do you want to go out with me?" atsumu lets it all out, "on a date. but it doesn't have to be a date if you don't want it to be, it's up to you, i don't want to pressure you or anything." he's rambling he knows. he's lost his composure and his grace and is letting it spill out, emotions bare for you to see. his heart sits in your hearts, pounding and scared. he thinks he's going to throw up.

"i'd love to." atsumu blanks at your words. "it's a date." you're grinning at him, and it's only when he hears your friend call out your name that he's snapped from his daze.

"i'll see you soon! text me!" and then you're turning to walk towards your friend. you toss him a look over your shoulder and grin, offering him a wave. it's so cliche, an action you would only see in a romance story but atsumu loves it.

reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated! <3 A/N: smth short and sweet for you all! and now it's back to studying for me :(

[get-shiggy-with-it]

Book Drop Boy (Twice x Reader)

✧ pairing: library student worker!Twice x afab!student!Reader

✧ word count: 9.9k

✧ ao3 mirror

✧ warnings: college au/no quirks, maladaptive daydreaming (twice), twice is chaotic af, commits library related crimes, use of the term sweetheart a few times, smut, vaginal fingering/sex, doggy style, afab terms, no pronouns for reader, gratuitous swearing this is potentially the softest thing I've ever written, like she's pretty tame idk what Twice does to me

✧ summary: In which Twice learns that sometimes dreams do come true, except those dreams are just the maladaptive fantasies of a broke library receptionist and, while sexy, also involve more fraud than he expected.

✧ a/n: Hey y'all, this is set in the same universe as my shiggy college piece, but you don't need to have read that. There are some fun little easter eggs though if you have tho. This is like the most tame thing I've ever written and it's way longer than it was meant to be but oh well. Anyway, Twice deserves some love. Enjoy <3

Logically, Jin was aware you probably had no idea who the fuck he was.

But that really didn’t have any effect on the wildly intricate fantasy life he had created for the two of you during his long shifts behind the library reception desk. That, in fact, was the only reason he hadn’t up and quit just to save himself the embarrassment of another loud outburst in the middle of the most silent place on campus.

What was truly more shocking was the fact that none of those said outburst had gotten his ass kicked straight out the door.

But he held out.

If only for you.

Late nights or lazy afternoons you were always in the campus library—studying he assumed or…

'Studying,' because a lot of the time he noticed you’d show up with a drink from the cafe a few blocks down, set out a line of colored pens and not touch a single one of them for hours, content to stare blankly at the chipped desktop. And even that Jin was more than happy to watch.

He did a lot of watching.

Mostly because he wasn’t permitted to leave the desk unattended unless there were piling up returned books which needed to be replaced quickly.

So instead, he pretended to be busy scrolling through something on his old as hell monitor—which was conveniently set up directly across from the comfy chair/desk combo you always managed to grab—and he indulged in day dreams where you’d bring him a coffee from the cafe when you came in and set it on his desk, maybe kiss him on the cheek, maybe loiter by his workstation and play with his hair and—

Yeah.

It was a lot.

But you were always in that chair, always working or pretending to work and you never seemed to notice the uninterrupted hours of staring Jin did, so what was the harm?

If you never knew, you’d never get creeped out—cause it was creepy, he knew that, oh fuckin' boy did he know it was real goddamn weird.

He just couldn’t seem to give it up. Especially when the conditions presented perfectly for some good uninterrupted, totally not stalker-y at all, fantasizing.

Sometimes he thought you might have some mundane superpower that let you always snatch that perfect seat right across from his computer, and made it so the library was just cool enough that he’d get to watch you shrug on that cute extra sweatshirt you always brought. So he could catch a glimpse of some skin—in a totally normal and not invasive way—when your arms went over your head. So he could imagine it was his ratty old sweaters you were wearing just so you could smell him on you and god he really wanted to get close enough to smell you—was that too weird? No. Yes? No.

Not at all.

But the best part, the part that really convinced him on those awful days when he really just could not be bothered to drag himself out of bed and walk the couple blocks to campus just to sit in awful silence alone, in his head alone with the fucking thoughts that made him want to rip his hair out—

What made it worth it was those times every few weeks when your classes would get new assigned readings. Because then you’d have to check out new textbooks, since you were one of those geniuses that had figured out the library kept a ton of those books in stock. Of course you were, cause you were fucking perfect.

And when you had to check out new books, you had to come to reception.

Jin got to watch as your lovely figure moved through the stacks like you were ballroom dancing along the halls of faded, sea-green shelves, almost floating over the linoleum trying to find just the right volume in the right addition before anyone else beat you to it.

It was one of the most gorgeous things he’d ever seen.

Spinner would call him a fucking simp if he ever dared to uttered any of that out loud, but it didn’t matter.

If it was you, he’d simp for fucking life.

And then, you’d walk that fucking glorious ass over to his desk and plop the books down, smiling—cause you were polite like that, so fucking perfect he couldn’t hardly believe it sometimes—and asking how his day was while he checked you out in every sense of the phrase.

In a completely platonic and not freaky way.

So Jin kept coming to work, to that god awful job he really hated and which hated him just as vehemently. He clocked in every day and waited patiently like a fucking puppy counting the hours till its workaholic owner arrived home, ears perking up when you walked through the door and flashed your ID to the attendant.

If only for that.

He’d put up with his boss’ complaints and the weird stares he got when the thoughts just wouldn’t stay in his head anymore and he had to start talking to himself to fill the silence.

If only for that.

Those few hours when he could lose himself in the fake inner life where you were waiting for him when his shift let out, waiting to gather him, tired and understimulated, into your arms. Where you’d sneak into the back room with him just to chat and lace your fingers with his and maybe sit that fucking wonderful ass up on the tables so he could stand in between your thighs and you’d pull him down to—

Yeah.

That was enough.

***

It wasn’t until Tuesday when he had to come in again that week, and he already knew it was gonna suck balls.

Friday he’d gotten another round of complaints from some stuck up fucking business students—it was always the fucking business majors with those silver spoons so far up their asses—snitching to his boss that he’s been ‘disruptive’ and ‘disturbing’ during his last shift.

“Not my fucking fault,” he muttered under his breath, kicking a rock along the side walk he’d picked up two blocks before. “Yes it is. No it’s not!”

Jin groaned and tugged at his hair, wishing he’d brought a Tylenol or something to curb the headache that was already sticking it’s ugly ass claws into his temples. He really, really heavily contemplated just ditching, calling in sick or some shit. Technically he was a student worker, so they had to work with his DRS accommodation and he was actually having a bad fucking time.

But one of his friends had already texted to ask if he’d try and reserve them that sweet ass study room on the third floor and Jin wasn’t really looking to disappoint anyone else this week. Besides, it was fun to abuse his minuscule power. Fun to go corrupt for once. Fight the system and all that.

He liked to think you’d be proud of him for it, based on the kinds of texts you checked out at least.

So, he dragged his sad ass back to the looming library looking far too much like a prison than was necessary and clocked in. Actually, the first thing he did was check the chair—your chair and nobody else’s chair, he might actually make a fucking scene if somebody ever did steal it—and his face visibly fell when you were not occupying it.

It was a bit early, Jin supposed as he paused briefly when he noticed the can of Monster and rando vending machine chips sitting next to it by the reception computer. The sticky note slapped to the top read 'For your troubles' in familiar handwriting and that pulled a bit of a smile from him as he quickly rearranged the scheduling of study room sign ups so the fancy third floor room would be free for the rest of the night.

Then Jin sat, staring at the study room schedules for a moment, feeling his eyes softly glaze over until a hand slapped down on the raised lip of the reception desk.

“Hey bro,” Spinner greeted him with a wild smile and a flurry of bright pink hair.

Jin had to blink a few extra times to get his vision to clear. When it did he saw, horrifyingly, that he’d been staring at the fucking blank screen for two hours without moving.

Why was it that his head was either deadly quiet, devoid of even a single errant thought or so loud as fucking shit at all times that he couldn’t physically keep the thoughts in?

“Hey, dude, what’s up?” Jin asked, running a hand through his unruly hair.

“Aren’t you supposed to like shush me or something?”

Spinner chuckled a bit at his own god awful joke and Jin couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed, too glad for the company.

“I mean,” he shrugged, popping the can of Monster and ignoring the dirty looks he got for the sound. “I would if I was, uh, good at my job.”

“Which I’ve heard you definitely are not,” Spinner wrapped his fingers over the lip of the desk and leaned back on his heels, swaying side to side idly.

“You’re just figuring that out now?”

Jin didn’t bother watching while Spinner nearly tripped over himself fidgeting as he spun to stand at the little gate that corralled Jin inside like livestock. He was too busy glancing over to check you hadn’t slipped in while his brain had taken a trip to the astral plane without him.

“No, I been knew, but my sources tell me you’ve gone off the rails my friend,” long legs stepped over the wooden partition until the only friend he had who was quite possibly more annoying than Jin himself was sat on the counter next to his computer. “Finally been radicalized have you?”

Jin huffed and sipped his Monster, “Guess it fuckin’ took me long enough.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Spinner was messing about with the stacks of multicolored sticky notes littered across the desk before glancing up to wink at Jin. “So what can I get you to do for me in exchange for free food?”

“Now I really am gonna fucking shush you,” Jin smashed his finger against Spinners grin only to get a hand covered in spit for his trouble.

“Right, right,” Spinner held his hands up in defeat, “can’t have you cheating on your sweetheart.”

“Not my—yes I’m in a committed fictional relationship thank you very much—ugh!”

Jin could feel the heads shooting up from laptop screens and textbooks to stick daggers in his back with their angry stares. Spinner at least had the good sense to look a little fucking guilty for egging him on.

“Sorry bro, I had to shoot my shot ya know?” a hand disappeared into the mop of bubblegum locks in apology.

“It’s fine…” Jin trailed off, mumbling and blushing more than a little profusely as he turned to check the book drop box. “Not like I’m ever gonna fuckin’ shoot mine anyway.”

“Oh we are not gonna have that kinda of shit discussion,” Spinner’s hand shot out and grabbed him firmly by the shoulders, spinning Jin in his chair. “On god bro, we’re gonna get you a date one of these days.”

Jin didn’t dignify that kind of lie with a response.

Spinner once again, had the good sense to not push the envelope any farther.

“And in the meantime, you can come to the League meeting tonight!”

“Your gaming club thing?”

“Yeah, it’s Smash night and we need to fill a space sooooo…”

Jin knew Spinner and his roommate—the same friend who he’d gone study room rogue for—had started a gaming club their freshman year. Spinner had been trying to strong arm him into attending ever since. To, as he put it, ‘socialize,’ and ‘make new friends.’ All things which Jin was patently horrible at and avoided like the plague.

Needless to say, he’d refused every time.

It wasn’t just the whole being alone with like two people he kinda knew in a room full of strangers. Games themselves were just a lot for him. The flashing colors and the loud noises made his head—which was already so fucking full all the time and he really needed to keep any extra scrap of space for extra random facts he picked up about you and your future married life together—get a bit misaligned.

They just weren’t his jam most of the time.

“I’m good, thanks for the offer though,” Jin twisted out of Spinner’s grasp and craned his head to check your seat again.

Still empty.

He sighed.

Spinner continued to ramble and Jin continued to only half listen. It wasn’t as pleasant to day dream when you weren’t there for the added visual aesthetic. And he was trying to not be a dick and ignore the one friend he had managed to keep around over the years. But it was hard when his mind had a mind of its own.

Wow.

Meta.

“Jin?”

The voice—deep and dark in such a dramatically ominous way it might have been funny if it didn’t belong to his permanently disgruntled supervisor—interrupted his already derailing train of thought.

“Oh, uh, hello sir,” Jin stuttered, turning to find Kurogiri leaning against the reception desk with one arm, turning only slightly to accommodate Spinner’s form bolting over the gate and out the library doors.

He did manage to throw a fading, “See ya later, bro” over his shoulder before he disappeared around the corner.

Yeah thanks for the warning, bro.

“Aren’t you supposed to be reshelving the books from the drop box?” Kurogiri sighed, perpetually disappointed in a way that had Jin’s face burning and shame bubbling up in his throat.

He hated this job. He was objectively terrible at it, and so usually he wouldn’t give that much of a shit at not doing it well. Kurogiri just had some type of vibe—like daddy but not in the sexy way Spinner always joked about—that made it really, really upsetting to let him down.

Father figure? Yeah that's what it was called.

“Right, yeah um, sorry,” Jin nodded quickly and leapt from his chair, only mildly bruising his knee on the desk as he reached to empty the book drop.

Another incorporeal sigh was the only acknowledgement he received as he loaded the cart with wheels louder than Jin on a particularly bad day and rolled the pile of books back to the stacks. He paused once more, just before the sea green shelving units swallowed him up, to sneak another futile peak at your chair. But it still sat empty—empty and lonely with no you and cold without your body pressed against the worn upholstery.

Jin felt a chill too, a slow tingling thing that worked its way up from the base of his spine. It drove him deeper into the walls of books, away from the empty spaces.

It was harder to look.

Harder to be reminded of what he did not have.

Of what he’d never have cause he was too much of a goddamn pussy to ever just fucking talk to you—

But then what if he did? What if he did talk to you? What would happen then?

Those were the types of questions he tried to avoid when crafting your intricate, fictional lives together. Precisely because they were the easiest to answer.

You’d realize within the first five minutes or so of conversation—if Jin could even make it that far without embarrassing himself—that he was just a generic brand weirdo that all your pretty, normal, aesthetically pleasing friends would warn you to stay away from and because you were also pretty and normal and not a fucking idiot, you’d have the common sense to listen.

He’d lose you in the blink of an eye.

Your chair would sit cold and empty forever and the imaginary garden he’d been planting for you to come imaginarily home too would wilt and die like all the other happy thoughts in his head.

It was quite the conundrum and one Jin was not keen to solve soon.

Not that things ever really went his way. Cause problems could only be avoided for so long before all that time spent ignoring them came back to bite him full on the ass.

Which, apparently, came this time in the form of what had to be quiet, muffled sobbing drifting in between the shelves from the back hallway.

It was dark here in this section of the building—free of most windows so as not to cause any sunning damage to the books—and Jin had seen more than enough horror movies to know that it was a horrendous idea to follow the ominous crying sounds coming from the bowls of this old as fuck building. But even as he made up his mind to ignore it, the hand currently working one of the returns back into its proper place dropped the book to his cart as his feet slowly turned to face the corridor.

He looked around skeptically for a second, not entirely certain his poor brain hadn’t simply malfunctioned again, as it was wont to do, and fabricated the sound entirely. But as he peaked out from between the stacks, and down the dimly lit hall, he heard it again.

Echoey and soft in the wide, empty space it—was definitely coming from the hall and it was definitely a person.

Jin caught himself moving without ever meaning too, the books laying forgotten as he crept towards the source of the noise and paused just before leaving the stacks entirely. This hall was full of small alcoves built into the centuries old walls and led to the lesser used storage portions of the library that only the janitorial staff and the university librarians ever entered. He really didn’t want to stumble across someone from the special collections department bawling over a damaged or lost manuscript.

But his wayward feet pushed him forward, too sympathetic for his own good. He found himself shuffling down the abandoned hall, peering into each small dip in the walls to find the source of his distraction.

And when he did, Jin was—for once in his life—thankful for his lack of self-preservation instincts.

And cursed his blatant lack in interpersonal skills.

Because it was you.

You curled with your knees to your chest and your head in your hands, shoulders shaking, as you cried into your palms.

The universe had handed him maybe the only golden opportunity he would ever get on right on a platter.

But Jin didn’t have a fucking clue what do with it.

And there certainly wasn’t much time to formulate a game plan as his nervous breathing and sudden intake of breath upon discovering his imaginary lover sniffling right in front of him, had certainly alerted you to his presence.

Your head shot up in an instant, knocking dully against the stone wall with a thud.

“Shit,” you cursed and hands flying up to cover the area as Jin jumped on the spot at your outburst.

“Are you okay?” he asked lamely as you glanced over at him, eyes red and wet and so fucking sad oh fucking god, widening as you realized you’d been caught.

“Huh? Ye—oh uh, yes,” your words came out jumbled, legs unfolding quickly to push yourself off the bench and hands wiping furiously at your eyes. “I’m fine, sorry.”

“You sure about that?”

Jin cringed visibly and frowned at the way you deflated under his stare. God the first fucking time he actually talks to you and he already made an ass of himself.

Spinner’s roommate was such a liar, it really fucking sucked to be right sometimes.

“I mean,” you crumpled back down onto the ledge and Jin took a careful step closer, “no, but yes. Like I’m definitely having a breakdown in the back of the fucking library but I don’t wanna, uh, bother you with that. So, yeah I’m good.”

“You can bother me,” he replied way too fucking quickly.

But he couldn’t really be embarrassed about it. Your voice was just so captivating, and you weren’t talking to him in that raised pitch anymore like you usually did—the way everyone does when they’re trying to be surface level and polite. No this was your voice how you sounded when you were relaxing with your friends or making breakfast in the morning or talking to yourself in the shower (he liked to think you did that, or sang maybe as you worked the soap into your skin, one of the two but he always imagined you filled silences with how fucking pretty you were).

“No, really. That would be weird, right?”

Jin grimaced as you fixed him with a watery yet suspicious stare.

Yeah it was weird.

Everything he did concerning you was weird, objectively. He was definitely being over-familiar and too eager, especially considering you didn’t fucking know him.

But he knew you.

Jin felt like he’d known you for all months he’d spent pretending to be by your side.

And you were crying and he had to do something.

“I mean, yeah I guess,” he mumbled, taking a risk and plopped down on the opposite end of the alcove and resting his head on the wall. “But not any weirder than having a breakdown in the employees only section of the library building on a Tuesday.”

You kept staring blankly for a few moments before the most miraculous thing happened.

Jin had to physically stop his jaw from hitting the floor when the quiet giggle bubbled up from your chest and spilled out into the hall, warm enough to melt even the freezing linoleum floor.

“Yeah, you’ve got a point,” your voice cracked a bit as a few more tears slid like pearls down your cheeks.

“My name’s Jin,” he said, shocked stupid both by your laugh and the apparent success of his comforting methods.

“Oh, hi, well I guess I don’t have to call you book drop boy anymore,” you rubbed at your face again and tucked your legs back into your chest, though it looked a bit more relaxed this time.

Not so trying-desperately-to-fade-out-of-existence.

“You called me that?” Jin asked, brain still functioning at half capacity, only shocked at the fact that he existed as a concept in your head enough to have a name and realizing a bit too late how accusatory he must have sounded. “Shit, I mean it’s totally fine I just didn’t think you, uh, well I mean, like, knew about me I guess?”

You finally smiled and his brain power cut out another fourth at being personally graced by the expression this close up.

“Yeah, you always check me out—fuck sorry not that you check me out, just you scan my books and I just called you ‘book drop boy’ in my head cause I never got a chance to ask for your name but I have it now so that’s cool….”

Your head dropped back down to your knees as you groaned and Jin suddenly felt a lot less nervous than he had a few seconds ago.

You were weird too.

For so long you’d existed on this pedestal thousands of feet in the air, and now you were stepping down from the heavens and onto earth. Not in a bad way! Just, Jin had never really stopped to think that you might be a person too.

Well.

No, he knew you were a person, just he never thought you might get flustered and ramble and be nervous in front of him.

Cause he was a fucking train wreck—the bar was so goddamn low.

It was almost as comforting as your smile.

“Oh, yeah sorry I’m not the best at customer service if you couldn’t tell,” he sighed and ran a hand through his wild hair.

You looked back up with a wry grin, “I don’t know, I’d say you’re going above and beyond right now.”

And you were funny.

He was gonna fucking combust.

“Ha, yeah, I try,” he trailed off for a moment before glancing back at your curled in your corner, fuck he could just imagine sitting behind you, your head on his chest while you—”So uh, did you wanna talk about it or…?”

“Uh, yeah,” you picked idly at the grouting of the stone and mumbled, “I guess it’s not so weird if we’re on a first-name basis.

And that was how Jin discovered that you’d been hiding in the back of the library bawling your eyes out for hours—since even before his shift started. Apparently you’d gotten here extra early, even skipped a class, to snag some super specific required text for your final thesis and right before you got to the shelf some jackass swooped in, effectively hit and running with the only copy of that book on campus.

The book in questions was one of the newer additions that had special added footnotes you needed for your paper and was a whopping 500 fucking dollars to rent from every other place online. You couldn’t afford it, and honestly what fucking student could? But you needed it to complete the paper or you’d fail and Jin very much understood the need for a good breakdown after a catastrophe like that.

“Damn, that’s uh, fucking awful,” he frowned on your behalf as your head hit the wall a second time in frustration.

“Yeah so, I’m like royally fucked either way. Now I just gotta decide which hole I’m taking it in I guess,” you groaned.

Jin’s eyebrows raised at your choice of words but they were apt, he supposed. People really do get comfortable with each other pretty quick when bonding over shared institutional rage.

“Well,” he began, wringing his hands nervously at what he was about to suggest. “You might be in luck cause I’ve recently decided to abuse my library powers for good and I maybe, possibly, could try and see if there’s some strings I can pull?”

You perked up a bit, looking at him incredulously.

Jin felt comfortably full under your stare.

“Seriously?”

The word was soft and it bounced off the walls just as much as it did the inside of his skull.

Swapping study rooms to help a friend out was one thing. But falsifying checkout dates for someone he barely knew—had essentially married in his maladaptive fantasies—could get him fired.

He hated this job but he needed it.

Were you worth the risk?

Of course, he found himself thinking without hesitation.

You were everything.

“Yeah, sure,” he nodded, any lingering uncertainty washing away at the way you looked at him through your lashes. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it.”

“Are you always this nice?”

Jin didn’t answer right away. He was too caught up in how you’d leaned forward on your hands across the bench, peering like he was some exotic animal or a stray cat in the parking lot—all soft wonderment with fingers curling like they ached to grab hold and rescue him from this parchment scented monotony.

“Not always…”

“Should I feel special then?”

If his face wasn’t red before, it was now. Red and blistering under the summer campfire heat that radiated off you—woodsy and warm and so painfully familiar like an old friend’s hand.

“...I guess you—fucking definitely, ” he quite nearly shouted the last bit, startled by his own volume and already mortified at the outburst but then you chuckled again from beside him.

He turned to see you standing and offering a hand which he gladly too if only to feel the weight of your palm against his.

“Well, you’ll have to let me pay you back then.”

“Oh, no you don’t actually—”

You held a hand up and the words turned to ash on his tongue in an instant, mouth glued shut by your gesture.

“Coffee on me or something, there’s a nice cafe a few blocks from here,” you dropped your hand and your eyes were clear now, no sign of the previous afternoon sobbing alone in the hallway. Jin felt a surge in his chest knowing he was the one who did that. “You gotta pass off the contraband anyway, and I don’t think it would be that great of an idea to do it here.”

God you were fucking perfect.

“Can’t argue with that.”

***

Jin was sweating profusely as he snuck past the library attendant, totally inconspicuous and not not all looking like he was doing a single thing wrong in the slightest.

Yeah they definitely didn’t suspect a thing.

The process of fraud was actually a lot less complicated of an undertaking that Jin had expected. All he had to do was search up the book, find the student that had stolen the success of his sweetheart’s educational career and flag his account. They’d get an automated message about the flag, instructing them to return any borrowed items or they’d be forced to pay fines while the account was examined.

Technically he needed administrator credentials to report student accounts, but luckily Kurogiri had his login info written on a sticky note hidden on the back of the monitor. All in all it was a pretty easy job.

The whole thing had taken only a matter of days, in which time you had returned to the library only twice—the first to get confirmation on the success of Jin’s newest descent into low level crime which had set his heart thundering in his chest as you bent conspiratorially over his desk, your face just inches from his.

The second time, Jin had horrifically been absent from his desk, however he was met with possibly the most wonderful sight of his life upon returning from the labyrinth of shelves.

On one of the hundreds of post-it note pads that littered the library reception area, there were scribbles that he was sure hadn’t been there before. He almost tossed it, but upon closer inspection, you’d written your number there and signed just below it. In the cutest fucking handwriting he’d ever seen—cute not for any stylistic reason, but it simply felt that way just by virtue of it being yours—was written the digits and “-for book drop boy”

The noise he made reading that turned more than a dozen heads and almost got him fired there on the spot before any of his indiscretions were even discovered, but he couldn’t find it in himself to regret it.

So, nerve wrackingly, Jin texted you as he nearly sprinted home from his shift after that piece of shit asshole who made you cry had trudged angrily in and dropped off his ‘stolen’ book.

— HEY IT’S JIN!

— from the library

— shit sorry that wasn’t meant to be in caps

— n e way….

— I’ve intercepted the ~package~ so whenever you’re ready for the hand off, I’m good

Most perfect fucking human being to…

Oh my god thank you so much!!!—

Is tomorrow at like 5ish good for you?—

Also send me your order—

so we don’t have to do that awkward waiting in line for drinks bit—

Holy fuck you multi-texted too! Spinner would roll over in his fucking grave, he hated when Jin did that. But there was always so much to say and he could never think of it all at the same time. Plus, you wanted to save him from that god awful silence where you both stand in line next but he can’t talk cause he has keep repeating his order in his head over and over or he’ll blank when he gets to the register so it’s just this painful weird glancing back and forth—

Ugh, maybe all the shit about manifestation that girl who always loaned him exacto knives in his sculpting class always talked about was real.

Cause there was no way you weren’t just heaven-sent, handcrafted especially for him and all his general brand of weird.

The hours which usually flew by without Jin’s notice dragged all that night. He was so full of excess energy that made his hand shake and his thoughts race, not sure what to do with themselves now that they didn’t need to fantasize about you.

He decided to use all that extra motivation to vacuum the kitchen at 4:30 in the morning, much to his roommates' chagrin. She liked to get a nice solid eight hours every night and constantly reminded Jin of this, trying to sell him on that sleepy time tea before bed, though he really hated the smell of camomile.

Magne may lose out on some of her beauty sleep—not that she needed it and Jin would tell her that constantly, even if he did have some patently horrible judgment most of the time so he wasn’t really the best at offering reassurance—but the kitchen would be clean when she woke up so win-win really.

When she did wake up—wandering out of her room looking effortlessly put together in a way Jin could never hope to emulate—she sat at the table, sipping her tea and appraising him worriedly.

Jin was still in his jeans from the day before, hair spiking in every direction but down, and chewing his nails nervously despite losing most of them to the hour or two of early morning floor scrubbing.

“Babe,” she shook her head slowly, “take a breath.”

“Yeah okay,” he sighed and inhaled deeply, letting himself slide off the couch cushions and to the newly sparkling floors on the exhale.

“There, now wanna share what the hell is going on?”

He glanced up at her from the hardwood and groaned as she looked back down, brows furrowed over her glasses.

“Huhh, okay. So that absolute work of art from the library is meeting me for coffee later cause I have trade over this book I sort of stole, it’s a long story, and I don’t know if it’s a date—it sounds like a date, cause that’s where people go for dates and shit—but it might just be to pay me back for stealing the book. And if it is I’ve only ever been on that one date before which was with fucking Spinner like two years ago so—”

Magne held up a hand to quiet Jin before the speed of his words tied his tongue in physical knots. She looked contemplative, taking another soft sip of tea and nodding her head for a moment getting up to crouch on the floor by his head.

“You think too much for your own good, but never about the right things,” she mumbled, smoothing some of the hair from his face. “Does it really matter if this is a date or not?”

Jin blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” she chuckled in that way people do when kids ask them obvious questions—kindly, appreciative of the curiosity, “either way you cut it, you’ll be spending time with this person you like, yeah?”

“Mhm,” he hummed and sat up to face her as she stood.

“A date is just hanging out with a special name anyway,” Magne’s hands were firm but gentle as she hoisted Jin off the floor and onto his feet. “You’ll be fine.”

His shoulders slumped both in mild relief and dejection that he’d waisted so much precious time he could have been preparing possible topics of conversation or strategies to ask you out for real date on worrying over how this first time would go.

How did Magne always fucking know all this stuff?

Other people were such a mystery to him.

To be fair, though, Jin was a mystery to himself most of the time as well.

“Thanks, sorry for not saying anything about it earlier,” he sniffed as she smiled and pinched his cheek way fucking harder than necessary.

“It’s alright, I’m only a little insulted you waited until now to tell me about this massive crush you’ve developed.”

“Yeah it’s got its own gravitational pull at this point.”

Magne laughed at that and Jin felt the room lighten.

“I do expect details when you get back though,” she said pointedly, finishing her tea wandering back to her room to grab her bag. “Spinner asked me, very begrudgingly might I add, to fill in at another of his club tournament things tonight so I’ll be out late.”

“Really? I didn’t think you liked that stuff.”

Jin shuffled over to her doorway and peaked into the neat little space. Magne was rummaging through the meticulously organized closet and frowning as she answered.

“I do, Spinner just doesn’t agree with my battle strategies,” she huffed. “My alignment is far too ‘chaotic’ and ‘recklessly violent’ for his tastes apparently.”

“Oh, yeah that makes sense,” Jin laughed this time just envisioning the two of them stuck on a team. “Well have fun with that.”

“Yeah well,” she brushed by him into the hall, keys jangling as she went and calling over her shoulder. “Text me how it goes, and wear that new button up you got last week, it looks good on you!”

***

Much to Jin’s surprise and delight, Magne was right.

He was fine.

He was fine.

Fine was a bit subjective—as he was most certainly still highkey panicking on main as he got out of his last class and walked the short few blocks to the cafe on campus—but regardless he was perfectly okay.

Of course that all went right out the fucking window in the split second between him walking in and you already staring at the door as he entered. Your eyes widened just a bit and this smile broke out slowly across your cheeks when you waved him over and it was like suddenly every single creepy as hell day dream had just become reality.

It was a little overwhelming to say the least.

His heart may have actually stopped in his chest for a bit and he did contemplate the possibility that Kurogiri might have actually discovered his little plot, murdered him in cold blood and stuffed his body in the records room. This might all just be the afterlife, but that would mean that Jin had gone to some kind of heaven which didn’t really add up with his current tract record.

But it was fine.

Because you were really fucking easy to talk to.

Like, really fucking easy.

It was sorta strange actually, how you seemed to know all this shit he was into before he even really mentioned it.

After you traded off the goods, you both sat in the big comfy couches upstairs in the loft and you listened to him info dump, inevitably getting lost down innumerable unrelated tangents. You managed to keep up well enough though and not question the winding conversation.

“Damn,” he said, sipping at the last dregs left behind in his cup. “How do you know about all this stuff?”

“Uh,” you paused then, looking maybe just a bit sheepishly into your own drink. “I may or may not have spent a considerable amount of time eavesdropping into your conversations while you’re on shift.”

He saw flashes at that moment—dial up sounds going off between his ears.

Jin.exe has stopped working.

“...What?”

You grimaced and hid your face in your hands for a moment, “I know it sounds really creepy, my friends just sorta made a, um, game out of it? They tease me a lot about going to study at the library just cause of the cute guy that works there, so we all kinda stalk you a little bit just—wow this is sounding exponentially worse and worse every second.”

He gaped a bit despite himself as you cringed visibly and Jin tried to discreetly pinch his thigh to make sure this really wasn’t some sort of cruel, cruel fever dream.

“You think I’m cute…?”

He blinked once and your eyes shot up to meet his, a pained, half smile caught between your teeth. “I mean, yeah. I kinda thought I was being a bit obvious, sorry.”

“What no, holy fuck,” he spluttered, face on fire and legs bouncing restlessly against the couch across from you. “Don’t apologize, I have a, uh, staring habit too I guess.”

“I know,” you rubbed at the back of your neck and Jin didn’t think it was possible for you to be anymore endearing. “I’ve noticed, that’s like the whole reason I insisted on buying you a drink.”

“So wait is this a date?”

Jin wished almost immediately that he hadn’t asked, because Magne was right, it super didn’t matter but fucking shit on a stick he really wanted it to be a date!!!!

“Yeah,” you nodded. “If you’d like that.”

“Yes!—ah, I mean, uh yeah mhm,” Jin choked on his spit with enthusiasm, but it did earn him a concerned shoulder pat so he’d take the win.

It also afforded him the opportunity to walk you home after hours chatting until the streets were lit by burnt orange lamps and the cafe was closing. You didn’t live all that far from him actually and when you stopped to point out your door, the two of you were overcome by that telltale, charged silence.

Filled with potential.

Like a gas stove waiting for a spark to go up in flames.

It was you that struck the match.

“So, um, I promise I don’t just, uh, do this with everyone but, do you wanna maybe come inside,” you let your hand trail down his arm and slip into his palm, “I don’t feel like you’ve been properly compensated for saving my ass.”

Jin’s mouth was watering at the thought. He nodded slowly, eyes like saucers as you pulled him up your steps and through the door which shut promptly behind him.

Your place was nice in the sense that it fit you. He wasn’t really paying all that much attention to his surroundings as you locked the door and squeezed his hand in yours, leading him towards the end of the entrance hall.

When he stepped through to your bedroom, you toed off your shoes and he did the same, staring nervously and waiting for you to show him what exactly you meant by ‘further compensation.’

It was exactly what he’d hoped.

You approached him, still in the doorway, and stepped close so your chests brushed together. It was soft, the way you looked at him, sort of fuzzy around the edges while your hands trailed down his arms to place his palms at your waist.

It wasn’t like Jin hadn’t done this before—he totally had and definitely remembered all of it and wasn’t shit faced at all nope—but it hadn’t really mattered before. He knew in theory that he should take the lead, be a gentleman and make the first move and holy fucking god he was dying over there with the desire to finally live out his months and months of fantasies

But what if he did it wrong?

What if he ruined it now when he was so close to the finish line?

He’d never fucking forgive himself for it, and he could goddamn hear Magne in his head.

“You think too much for your own good.”

And he did, and he was right now, cause the room was only dimly lit by the street light streaming in through the window and you were reaching out to loop your arms behind his neck.

Should he lean down now?

Tilt left or right?

What if he clacked your teeth together?

What if—

Your lips were soft and hot against his, rubbing at the stubble on his chin before pressing close in that precious, puzzle-piece way human bodies fit together. He didn’t do much thinking after that.

His hands were too busy digging into the flesh of your hips separated by way to many fucking layers of fabric, and he couldn’t quite stop himself from indulging just a bit. Jin sucked gently at your lower lip, knees going weak at the glorious fucking sound you made in the back of your throat as he licked over the taught skin and tugged it between his teeth.

He could feel you smiling into his mouth, sharing breath and raking your fingers through the hair at the base of his neck. Jin groaned and you—fucking cheeky little bastard—slipped your tongue right past his lips and licked at the back of his fucking teeth like a popsicle in July.

Your hands in his hair hard tugged and his breath was coming faster, lips gliding against yours as the room turned to steam around him.

Through the haze he clung to the few remaining seconds of clarity.

Jin pulled away for one painful second to mumble against your lips.“You meant have sex, right?”

“Yeah,” your voice was barely more than a whisper, but you nodded frantically and rolled your hips against his.

“Ohh fuck, ‘kay good, thank god.”

For once Jin had nothing more to add.

And you weren't exactly willing to give him back his tongue long enough for any interruptions anyway.

***

“Holy fucking shit, look at you,” Jin gasped into your ear.

Both of your clothes had been discarded long ago, and he had your bare back to his chest while he sat propped against the headboard with your legs hooked on either side of his knees. It didn’t afford him the best view, but he got your head resting on his shoulder and pretty moans spilling right into his ear.

He didn’t need to see your pussy anyway.

The slick pouring out of your pretty fucking hole and coating his fingers as he pumped two of them into you was more than enough. His other hand wandered in the lovely expanse of space between your chest and your waist, running softly over the skin and pausing to pinch and roll your nipples just to hear you whine.

His cock was so fucking hard, trapped between your ass and his stomach, twitching every time you thrust your hips to meet the movement of his wrist.

“Jin, fuck please-”

You used his name every time you begged him for more and it was really going to his head.

“You’re so goddamn perfect, I’m gonna fucking ruin you,” he groaned and sunk his fingers deeper into your soaking cunt while his mouth dropped to your neck and sucked hard to mark you lovely skin.

He licked at the indents of his teeth, tasting your sweat on his tongue that tangled with yours again as your hand reached for his cheek and pulled him in. It was less of a kiss and more of a sloppy forming of your mouths that left you connected by a silvery string of spit that flashed in the low light. Jin sighed at the sight, rutting his hips against the cleft of your ass.

Your thighs twitched where they were spread and your hips lifted off the mattress to meet the languid thrusts of his fingers that curled up on every push in to hear the hitch in your breath.

He took pity on you and brought his other hand down to rub circles on your clit, listening for the telltale whimpers and the way your nails dug into his arm to find the perfect rhythm.

“I don’t really—mm, there fuck—feel like I’m paying you back right now,” you mumbled nipping your own trail of stepping stone bruises onto his throat as he picked up the pace and held steady on that sweet bundle of nerves.

“Are you fucking serious?”

He didn’t really mean to full on growl at you then, but just the thought that you’d really believe he wasn’t about to fucking drown in ecstasy just from watching you get off—just from touching, speaking, being in anyway acknowledged by you at all. Jin nudged your head to the side and bit down harshly into the crook of your neck, shuddering as you moaned and arched against his chest.

In any other scenario, he could never really find the right balance between too many words and not enough. The sheer volume of thoughts and interjections that raced like cars reaching the end of rush hour traffic made the formulation of any coherent conversation impossible, but now—

Now with your body so pliant in his hands, so willing and sweet and wanting him.

Wanting him.

What a concept.

He needed you to understand, to know how fucking over the moon, sunshine bright you had him burning.

And for once, he finally had the words to do it.

After all, he’d had months to prepare.

It was surprisingly easy to change your positions, to pull away from you for just a moment so he could roll and cage you on your hands and knees under him, ass in the air nestled against his cock.

“You really don’t think I’m getting anything out of this?” he groaned into you ear, rocking his length against you both for emphasis and because it felt so fucking good.

“Ah, well ya know,” your voice was so wrecked he was desperate to find out how much it would take for you to lose it entirely. “When you put it like that—mmh—I just feel bad you’re doing all the work. ”

You had this cheeky fucking grin on your face when you rocked forward so back so his cock slipped down to your dripping lips. The heat of your cunt was mesmerizing and it took a fuck ton of self control Jin was unaware he possessed to not ram straight into you right then.

“Yeah cause I’ve wanted to for fucking months goddamn it’s driving me insane.”

“What?”

Now that he’d started, Jin couldn’t find it in himself to stop. His hands dug hard into your hips, rocking so the tip of his dick caught your clit and you shivered below him, hot skin sliding with the motion of your bodies.

“It’s all I think about whenever I see you,” he was shaking when his hand reached down to grip himself, spreading your folds and soaking his length in your slick. “When you come in to work I just fucking lose myself thinking about how bad I want you to be mine, my pretty fucking thing to bring me coffee while I work and let me fuck you in the backroom.”

You whimpered under him, face pressed into the mattress as he draped himself over you, chest to back with his breath ghosting over your ear.

“Literal hours I just sit there at that awful fucking job and I only keep coming cause of you, cause I can watch you sit all cute in your chair and watch the way your cheeks squish up when you put your face in your hands and imagine they’re my hands and I’m about to spit in your fucking mouth so you remember who you belong too.”

“I—” you were nearly choking on the drool that soaked through your sheets as Jin lined himself up with your pretty little hole, pressing just the tip into your heat. “I didn’t think you ever—nggh, shit—noticed much about me.”

The corners of his eyes burned as sweat dripped down his forehead, he had to hold back a sob as he sheathed another inch into those perfect walls.

“Notice you? You’re all I fucking think about,” he pressed his lips softly against your shoulder, hands running from your chest to your sides as you took his cock and every word that slipped from his lips without complaint. “I could take such good care of you. I just fucking know it, just please, let me take care of you?”

“Fuck Jin,” your voice was closer to a sob than anything else but he needs you screaming. “You don’t really have to convince me—”

His patience had run out long ago, not even willing to let you finish before he’d sunk in to the hilt, spearing you on his cock with one final thrust. You ass was flush with his hips and his balls hung heavy and tight against the back of your thighs. The strangled little cry that worked its way out of your throat had gooseflesh erupting across his arms where he held you to him.

Jin couldn’t really be sure—it wasn’t like his brain was all that functional on a day to day basis and it most certainly was not now—but your walls clenching around him and that addictive warm, wet feeling milking his cock was on a whole other level than any fuck he’d ever had before.

There was something about the curve of your back against his chest, and the way you seemed to suck him in, drawing his length back in just seconds after he’d pulled out. Some about the feeling of your chest in his hands, of the sweat on your skin that he licked off in a long strip up your spine. Like you really were made for him. As though all those months spent in dream land, concocting your pretend lives together had spilled over into reality, molding you into the perfect shape to take him deep and hard and cry while you came on his cock just like he knew you were meant to.

“Oh, fuck yeah, gonna make you feel so good, I promise,” he mumbled, forehead pressed to the nape of your neck as his hips drew back and he sunk into you over and over again.

He needed you to moan louder, needed your neighbors on the other side of every wall to hear what he did to you, how he fucked you dumb on his cock and made you drunk with the pleasure of it—slutty and perfect and better than any fantasy he could ever concoct.

The room was filled completely with the wet slap of your bodies—his balls tightening up just at the squelch of you taking him—leaving only enough space for your cries and his grunting, no room left for any bitter doubt to creep in and ruin the sweetness in the air.

He could feel the surge growing in his stomach, the tensing in his thighs as his hips stuttered, but he needed you to cum first. Wanted to tip over the edge to the feeling of you spasming around him, so he let a hand slip from your hip to your folds. Jin only paused for a moment to run a finger around your stretched hole, feeling himself plunging into you, before drifting back up to your swollen clit and working the sensitive bud.

The mattress creaked and rocked along as Jin increased his pace, shifting his hips until his tip knocked against something that had your hands fisting in the sheets and your tongue lolling out in between cries of his name.

You didn’t give him much a warning, not that he minded really. Just a muffled shout with your head smashed into the pillows and the tightening of your walls surrounding him before he felt your whole body wracked with tremors so hard he had to wrap both arms around your middle and hold you while he rammed into you.

Jin wasn’t really keeping track of the filth that was pouring from his lips as he brought himself closer to release. A lot of encouragement, that you were taking him so well, cumming so pretty for him, mixed with a lot of thanks—for letting him have this, have you, for not casting him aside like everyone else always inevitably did.

He did have the clarity to drag one arm up and link your fingers together, pressing hard into the bed while blood pounded in his ears and his hips stuttered in their relentless rhythm. When Jin did finally cum, it was a strangely silent affair, all the words and sound that usually roared inside him dying on his lips as his cock spilled milky release deep inside you and your walls fluttered at the fullness.

And then it was as though every muscle in his body changed physical states.

Boneless, he collapsed onto you with a little huff. You didn’t even complain, just squeezed his hand tighter in yours and hummed at the weight of him.

“Well I think that was a, um,” you panted while he nuzzled his face deeper into your neck, “pretty equivalent exchange yeah?”

“I don’t know,” Jin kissed and nipped at the sweet skin of your shoulder, “I think you might have over paid a bit.”

You laughed, the joyous movement of your chest jostled him from your back and had his soft cock slipping from you in a gush of combined release. “I doubt that very much, I didn’t know I’d be getting to take your fucking load as part of the deal.”

“Shit,” he felt his heart seize in his chest, raising up on his elbows to look down as you turned to him. “I’m sorry, I should have asked.”

Your hand came up to stroke his cheek, clammy but welcome. He sat up enough so you could lay on your back and pull him back down to your chest amidst the sweat and cum slicked sheets.

“Don’t worry about it, I would have asked you to anyway,” you kissed the baby frizz at his hairline and if Jin hadn’t already melted into a puddle, then he certainly was now. “If I’d been able to talk at all.”

“Ha, yeah….”

A short silence descended in your dark bedroom. The noise of cars and the occasional shout filtered in through the window, but there was no other sound than your evening breaths. Jin tried not to ruin the peace while he had it.

It was such a rare commodity.

But he couldn’t say he mourned the quiet when you finally spoke.

“Did you wanna stay the night?” you asked in that soft way he always envisioned you would.

Soft so he’d know it was just a courtesy.

That you didn’t want him to leave.

“Uh, yeah, yes I would,” he stumbled over the words a bit, trying not to sound too eager but wanting you to know he would work a thousands shifts at the reception desk if it meant you held him for just a second longer.

“Good,” you sighed.

He felt you scoot down the bed and flopped onto his back so you could settle your head on his chest and drape an arm across his stomach. After another few minutes he felt you go limp at his side, soft and relaxed as you slipped away into dreams.

But though his muscles ached and his eyes felt heavy, Jin resisted the call to sleep.

He didn’t need to now.

You were here, in the flesh, and he could study you intently while his eyes were open.

No need for his brain to conjure up scattered images of you.

Because he had you now, tucked safely under his arm for him to keep and hold and fuck and love the way he wanted.

So there was no more need for sleep.

And no need for dreams.

[taones]

If You Can Hold On Part 3

Part one and two

Pairing: Poly!AsaDaiSuga x gender neutral!reader Or is it?

Notes: PAIN

Warnings: Swearing, arguments, stranger hitting on the reader but they’re chill w/ it

You sniffed as you stirred, pulling the soft fabric underneath your cheek further into you. It smelt like sandalwood with a hint of coffee and it reminded you of how Daichi’s hugs smelt. In fact it was almost exactly the same. The pillow was strangely firm too, almost too firm. Regardless, you snuggled further. 

“Still sleepy huh?” 

Shit.

You shot up, pulling the covers off with you. Daichi shivered in the cold air as his now naked upper torso was exposed to the morning. Looking over, you saw Suga tucked in next to where you had been and Asahi on the other side of Daichi, said man tucked under his arm. It wasn’t odd for Daichi to sleep shirtless, the man ran hot at night, but you couldn’t help the hot flush that took over your face. Asahi smiled softly at you, looking over his reading glasses at your ruffled form. 

“We were gonna get up and grab some breakfast from the diner we passed” he hummed, morning voice sending shivers up your figure. 

“Once we wake sleeping beauty up that is” 

You smiled at Daichi’s comment. At least you could stop thinking about this situation for a second and just get food with them. It was something you had done before most of your big exams. All three of you used to go to the small cafe near the school and get waffles. You could still remember how they had them: Suga had two waffles with caramel and hazelnuts, Asahi had 3 with whipped cream and strawberries and Daichi had 5 with chocolate syrup and chocolate chips. You always got fed some of theirs no matter what you decided to have. Koushi thought it especially funny to boop your nose so whipped cream would stick to your warm skin. 

“Yeah sure,” you smiled “lets go get some waffles”

-

When you got to the diner, it was relatively busy but there were still booths big enough to fit you guys. As always, it was you and Asahi on one side and Suga and Daichi on the other, Asahi trapping you against the wall with his large shoulders. For the first time this trip, you were content. It was the way it used to be. Asahi even stole some of Daichi’s chocolate chips like he used to. 

Snorting was heard from your table as Daichi accidentally laughed so hard that milkshake came out of his nose. The four of you had been telling stories of your highschool days, before everything was confusing and complicated with feeling. The joy was pierced by a vibration that drew all three to their phone. Obviously, it was a groupchat. You couldn’t help but wonder if it was that person they were talking about.

“Ooh, I’m gonna order another drink” you said, asking the boys if they wanted anything.

After you ordered your drink at the counter, you walked up to the counter next to your table that had the sugar and stirrers for the drinks. As you emptied a packet into the steaming coffee that was intended for Suga. A hand settled next to you on the counter.

“Anyone ever told you how gorgeous you are?” a voice mused from next to you.

Turning, you came face to face with a man a little taller than you with dark hair and a nice smile. He was attractive but you couldn’t help thinking he was so plain compared to the current objects of your affection. The glares you could see said men sending towards the man spurred you on. Why would they be mad about this? They had no reason to be. 

Giggling, you looked up at him through your eyelashes. Screw it, if you couldn’t have them then you were at least gonna have fun. 

“Not really” you mused, “why? Are you here to do that?”

The man's smirk returned. He reached behind you, trapping your body slight against the counter, but when he leaned back he had a hand full of napkins. He winked at your flustered form and you couldn’t help but flicker your eyes towards the table which was now...empty?

The hand that was now on your chin pulled your thoughts back to the handsome stranger. The rough pad of his thumb swiped over your cheek bone and he whispered about the chocolate that had been there. Heat flushed to your face as he sucked the sauce off of his thumb. His other hand slipped a piece of paper into your pocket and your mouth opened to say something when you were interrupted. 

A throat cleared behind you and the guy. The looming figure of Daichi, accompanied by his two boyfriends, stood behind you both. You had rarely seen them angry but the glares that were being sent his way even made you shiver. Suga had his fists clenched and even sweet, soft Asahi was looking severely unimpressed with the attempt at flirting with you.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Suga hissed at the poor man, who was now looking about ready to run.

“Sorry” the man stuttered, “I didn’t realise they were taken, I’ll leave i guess”

“Wait, no i’m not-” you started, but he was gone.

You stood, leaning on the counter, absolutely baffled their behaviour. Scoffing, you pulled out your wallet and turned to the lady at the counter, apologising for the small scene that had just occurred. The three men kept trying to catch your attention but you made a point to not spare them a glance while storming towards the car. As they paid you phoned Kiyoko. You were angry to the point of shaking and you knew if anyone could calm you down it was her. 

“Kiyoko, I need you to come get me” 

“Sure, give me 10 minutes, i’m pretty close” she sounded apologetic but you didn’t care.

You just didn’t want to feel alone.

-

After the three men had paid, they walked up to you. Your figure was hunched over and you were sat on the rain soaked curb.  The clear phone case that once had a photo of you four in it was now blank. Said photo had been flipped over because you couldn’t bear to look at what you used to be right now.

“What the fuck was that?” you growled

The men looked shocked. 

“He was flirting with you y/n what do you mean?”

The confusion in Asahi’s voice made a feeling curl inside you like the waffles had suddenly turned rancid. Eyebrows knitted together, you began to yell.

“And just what does that have to do with you three?” you began

“Why do you care who flirts with me and who doesn’t? You have 2 boyfriends each and I know you’re talking to another person who why the fuck does it matter to you if I don’t want to be lonely anymore huh?”

They all looked stunned at your revelation. Their shock didn’t phase you however, you had been sitting on this for too long. Too long had you been suffering in silence while they get to live this happy story that you were only a side character in. 

“God, it hurts so bad. You won’t ever understand how much pain I am in being around you and seeing how happy you’re gonna be with another person. It hurts!” you yelled, tears welling up.

The pain had now unfurled completely in your stomach. It was paralysing, like it was stopping you from running like you so desperately wanted to. It winded you, stealing your ability to keep yelling. Instead, it turned into a resigned whisper. 

“I get that you don’t want me, but why can’t other people? I don’t want to be alone anymore” 

Kiyoko’s tiny blue car pulled up next to you as you broke down crying. A tiny blonde ran out of the car to grab you as you fell, Yachi’s soft cooing distracting you from the three men across from you. Looking up at her, you saw her eyebrows knitted together in sympathy at your curled up figure. This was humiliating. Kiyoko motioned for her to guide you to the car, stepping out of the drivers side and towards Asahi, Daichi and Sugawara. 

Yachi pulled you into the backseat of the car, wrapping a blanket around your shoulders. You saw her eyes flicker to her girlfriend and the guys but you didn’t want to think about that much right now. Instead, you stared blankly at the photo of Yachi and Kiyoko cuddling that was stuck under the mirror. If only you had that. 

The now fuming Kiyoko sat in the driver's seat. Her face was contorted in an anger that was uncommon for the raven haired woman but it flooded into sympathy at the sight of you. Obviously, you looked a mess. In the mirror, you could see tear tracks down your face and your hair was messed up from where you had gripped at the sides of your head in frustration. Yachi stroked your hair one final time before climbing into the passengers' side. 

You stared out the window as she drove off, you could see the figures of the men you had left behind. Asahi was bent over, hands on his knees and Suga rubbing his back. Daichi has his head buried in his arms on top of the car. They had no right to be upset, you thought. You let them escape your mind as their figures turned into tiny dots in the distance. 

The silence was comforting.

AS I SAID, PAIN.