#u can tell the first three were drawn on a different day from the rest lol

[sonlc]

reference for my classic and modern tails designs + a shit ton of doodles. got fox autism rn

[seriouslysnape]

To the Limit

__

Severus Snape x Fem. Reader

Warnings: Slight smut. Use of safeword. Language.

Request: Hi! Can u make Severus × Reader when the reader use the safe words for the first time because idk maybe it's too much for the reader that day or smth else you like..Thankyouu 💕💕 love ur writings btw ❤❤

A/N: Here we gooooooo. Reminder, everything is consensual.

Word Count: 2,947

“Okay, darling. Whatever you want.”

__

Severus has always been flexible in the bedroom. Yes, Severus Snape is versatile in the sheets and has more love making skills than you originally would’ve given him credit for. Sex with Severus can range anywhere from slow and careful where praising your body is his main objective, to fucking you so mercilessly that stars are dotting the back of your eyelids with each hard thrust.

Sometimes, you don’t have to establish what kind of theme your sessions will take on. If Severus comes home angry from a long, obnoxious day then you very well know that a rough fucking will get it out of his system. When you’ve just watched one of your favorite romantic drama Muggle movies that have sent you into tears, he knows that something more unhurried is in order so you are reminded of how much he loves you.

Other times though, there isn’t really anything that determines the kind of sex you’ll be having. If the mood is right for both of you, then you often will just figure it out from there. 

Severus’ return on Friday night from a long week of classes was coated with his desire for you. You could practically feel the hard sexual tension radiating off of his whole being. From the moment he walked in the door, you knew what tonight would hold for the both of you. More than likely, it’d be a whole lot of rutted fucking and orgasms until neither of you had any stamina left to give. Normally, a seed of excitement would be planted and begin to grow in your core at the thought of being touched by him, but you didn’t feel it this time. 

It had been a bad week to put it simply. Work was weighing you down and you had taken more hits than you were used to in a five day time period. Exhaustion had riddled you, and stress has gotten the best of you. Emotional breakdown was the only way you could describe how you were feeling. You really weren’t feeling up to what Severus wanted to do. However, you couldn’t bring yourself to deny him when his hands and lips were on you, moving to all his favorite places on you.

His voice was silky smooth in your ears as he uplifted you with how he had been thinking about you all day, and how he wanted to be with you when you weren’t around. It wasn’t Severus’ fault that you had a bad week, and it surely wasn’t all his fault that he was this turned on. The way he gripped your legs with his strong hands was an indicator that he wanted to go well into the night, which your tired state wasn’t a fan of. But you loved Severus, and you always wanted him to be happy and well pleased. So you figured you could handle a couple of coarse rounds to satisfy him.

Oh, how wrong you were.

Once access was granted, Severus leapt onto you without hesitation. A tornado of clothes being removed whirled around the room, your shirt and pants ended up on complete opposite sides of the room. Hot and unruly kisses were shared, marks were left on your necks, and no part of you went unattended. 

Admittedly, the first orgasm was actually enjoyable. Severus’ fingers were knuckle deep in your needy cunt and pumping vigorously as he found all the best spots. The strenuous activity melted some of the week’s stress from your conscience, your mind being stripped of all your worry as it clouded with ecstasy. Severus thrived off of the moans and noises of delight that he was drawing out of your throat, perfecting his movements to give you an even stronger release. Severus worked you to your finish as you came around his fingers, slicking them with arousal and relief. 

He left lazy kisses over your breasts while you took a moment to recover, preparing yourself for the next round that was undoubtedly on its way. Tiredness had plagued you long before Severus had even walked through the door, and you had suddenly been robbed of even more energy, so you were confident that you might not get a proper orgasm this second time. But the moment Severus slid you onto his dick and stretched your walls the way only he knew how to, you knew that you were going to cum whether you felt like you could handle it or not.

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to. You loved seeing Severus so enraptured in waves of pleasure and gratification, but you were beyond fatigued. Still, you bounced up and down on his lap over and over again, your already sensitive clit throbbing with each rub of his fingers. Severus’ other hand guided your hip movements to meet the way he thrusted up into you, hitting your g-spot just right.

When you came this time, your sound of release was more of a strained cry than a content sound. Severus didn’t seem to notice, since he was too focused on the intoxicating feeling of filling you with his own finish. You popped off of him before he was even emptied out, the rest of his fluids landing on your inner thighs. You fell onto the bed next to him, your breathing much heavier than usual. 

You were totally tuckered out with absolutely no hope of another round. Your muscles ached and your bones were wiped out. Although, you felt a queasy feeling of despair when you saw that familiar look of lust in Severus’ eyes. He spoke lowly, his voice echoing in your ringing ears.

“I’m not through with you yet, love.” He purred.

Usually that would’ve sent a whole mess of arousal through you, but you were too worn out. But Severus usually didn’t last more than three rounds, so this would for sure be the last one. You thought you could push through so he could at least get his release, but this third go round wasn’t a good feeling for you at all.

With your arms above your head and the pillowcase below your head in your fingers’ death grip, you turned your head to the side to fight through his persistent hard fucking into you. On a better day, you’d be all over this and relishing every moment. But now your eyes were screwed tightly shut in discomfort, for each time you opened them Severus would only be able to see the whites of your eyes. The thumping heartbeat in your ears was deafening and your entire body was stiff and rigid, but not in a good way. You wanted to tough it out so at least Severus could finish, but it was just too much for you tonight. 

You had to tap out.

“Polyjuice!” You squeaked out, your voice raspy.

In an instant, you saw any expression of lust wiped straight from his face. He pulled out the millisecond that the word registered in his head, his face stricken with worry and concern at the first time use of your agreed safe word. Severus’ heart dropped at your whimpers of displeasure, his brain reeling and raking over what had gone wrong. 

“[Y/N], what’s wrong? What happened?” He asked frantically.

“I-I just...”

Shaky breaths and uncomfortable whines were the only noises you could seem to make. You sat up from where you were laying down, bringing your knees to your chest and hiding your face as you began to cry. Your emotions were all over the place, and it didn’t help that you were overstimulated and overworked. Severus went to pull you to him, but withdrew his hand. Upsetting you further would absolutely crush him, but he needed to know that you were okay.

“Can I touch you, darling?” He whispered out.

The yowl of approval was enough for him to feel fine with carefully wrapping his hand under your arm and dragging you across the mattress to where he was kneeling on the middle of the bed. He pulled the covers over your skin to keep you from getting cold from the loss of heat from being active. You buried your head into his bare chest, your tears leaking and falling down his skin. 

“I’m sorry, Sev. I’m really sorry.” You sobbed, your hair sticking to your sweaty skin.

“No, no, no. Don’t ever be sorry for telling me to stop when you’re not comfortable,” He reassured; “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” 

The shake of your head brought relief upon him, but he was still worried. He rocked you in his arms until your sobs died down enough to where you were coherent. Severus was getting ready to ask you once more what was wrong, shifting you so he could see your face. When moving you, his hand accidentally brushed against your swollen, sensitive clit and you wailed out pathetically. Severus’ pale face went even whiter.

“Oh, my love...I worked you too hard, didn’t I?” He queried.

Severus would always admit that sometimes he’d get into the zone and completely drown everything else out. He wouldn’t really be able to tell how hard he was pulling in and out. It was rare, but from time to time you’d have to ask him to soften his thrusts or slow his pace when he got too rowdy. But you had never asked him to stop completely until now. He feared that he had seriously pushed you over the edge this time.

“It’s not just that.” You confessed with a sniff.

Severus had drawn your head back to gaze into your bleary eyes. The tear tracks being swiped away with his thumbs as he cradled your face. 

“What is it then, sweetheart?” He asked with wonder.

A fresh set of salty tears pooled and fell down your cheeks, but for a different reason.

“I’ve had a horrible week. Nothing has gone right,” You explained croakily; “I wanted to make you feel good and I thought it might make me feel better...but I’m just exhausted and I couldn’t handle it tonight.”

You fell apart into another set of choking sobs and gut wrenching cries, prompting Severus to bring you back into his chest. He stroked your skin and left kisses so light that they were ghostly. 

“It’s alright, angel. I wish you had told me before that you weren’t feeling up to it,” He consoled; “You’re worth so much more than sex. I want you to tell me sooner next time if you’re uncomfortable.”

Your nod of understanding offered a wash of comfort over him that you were calming down steadily. He hated that this happened. He knew that was the whole reason for your established safe word for when things went south or things got dicey. He just never thought you’d ever have to use it. He felt absolutely terrible. 

“I’m sorry, Sevvy. I really wanted you to get off, I just-”

“Please don’t apologize for this. This is my fault. I should’ve seen how tired you were and how I was being overly hard,” He said; “I’m the one that should be sorry.”

The sniffles from your nose had increased as you tried to flush down all the drainage from your crying. Your tears had stopped as you sat up from his body, wiping at your cheeks with the back of your hand. The red blotches in your puffy eyes were pinging at Severus’ already guilty conscience. He saw the littered hickeys across your neck and breasts, and how your lips were swollen from his severe kisses. He had rocked your burnt out body to the max.

“I’ll tell you what. How about we go get cleaned up, and then we can get into bed. Then you can tell me about your week if so wish.” He suggested, cautiously guiding you off of the bed.

“I think I just want to get a bath and get some sleep.” You said, barely able to stand on your wobbly legs.

“Okay, darling. Whatever you want.” He smiled softly, hoping it’d offer you some kind of solace. 

Severus ran you a hot bath, filling it with all of your favorite scents and smells. Your stance was still despite your shaking legs, and you seemed to be staring off into an endless trance. You slipped into the tub when it was ready, sinking down just below your nose under the bubbles. Normally, Severus would be sitting across from you or you’d be snuggled up on his lap, but he wanted you to have some space for a bit. You were honestly too tired to object. 

He simply casted a charm to freshen himself up, finding and selecting his favorite pair of sweatpants and soft shirt for you to change into. Your eyes were closed, and you had just begun to drift off to sleep when he re-entered the bathroom, changed into some casual day time wear, despite how late it was.

“Here are some clean clothes for you, pretty girl.” He remarked, setting the folded sweats and shirt on the end of the tub for you to get when you got out.

You only gave a light nod as a response, your eyes following him as he stood awkwardly. He was unsure of what to do for you now. He thought that you might want the bedroom to yourself for the night, which was fine because he wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing he had pushed you so hard anyway. He placed himself on the floor by the tub, sitting with his legs criss crossed over one another. It was quiet in the room, the only sounds were the occasional gentle splash when you moved your leg or arm. His eyes were still full of worry, and he was kicking himself big time now.

“I’m so sorry...” He breathed out, running his fingertips dragging leisurely your damp arm that you had resting on the ledge of the bathtub; “I never meant to hurt you.”

“You didn’t hurt me, Sev. I promise.” You responded, wishing he wouldn’t take this so hard.

When it came to you, Severus took everything to heart. There weren’t many things in the world that made his heart beat with a purpose. You were the single person that allowed him to want to get up in the mornings. The thought of hurting you was enough to break him down. If he could have it his way, you would be indescribably happy with every passing moment of every day. He never wanted you to feel anything other than joy. 

But he knew that life would never allow it.

Your eyebrows dipped when you noticed his attire, wondering why he wasn’t in his own sleepwear. It was much too late for him to go anywhere.

“Where are you going?” You questioned, your voice thick with weary.

“I’m going to go back to the school. I have some grading to do.” He half-lied.

It was true that he did indeed have a stack of papers to be assessed, but that wasn’t the real reason why he felt like he wanted to leave. Severus Snape grading on a Friday night when he had the opportunity to be cuddled up with his lover? He’d choose you every time.

Now you felt bad for causing him to scurry off. You wanted him there with you regardless of what had happened.

“Severus,” You called out tenderly, reaching for his face; “I don’t want you to leave.” 

A genuine look of doubt flashed over his features as his head lulled into your hand.

“I think it would be best if you got some good sleep tonight. I’ll just be in my office so if-”

“Stay with me. Please?” You requested, the thought of sleeping without him was disheartening.

A sigh of awe expelled from his chest. He couldn’t say no to your puppy eyes and slightly pouting lower lip.

“Okay, okay.” He agreed.

“I think that some boyfriend snuggles will make me feel a whole lot better.” You spoke rather cheekily.

He hummed affirmatively. The sound of nestling up with you was impossible to turn down. He took your hand from his face and kissed your palm gingerly, holding the warm skin to his lips for a brief moment. He eventually stood from the floor, but stopped when you held your arms up.

“Help me up?” You asked with the first genuine smile of the evening.

He chuckled, obliging and lifting you effortlessly from the tub. The warm towel was heavenly as you dried off, changing into the clothes that Severus had left for you. Severus went and changed as well, laughing to himself when he exited the closet to see you already curled up. 

The sheets draped over him easily when he laid next to you, waiting for you to nuzzle up to him. He held you close and flush to him, thanking his lucky stars that you were okay.

“My sweet girl...” He hushed out, noting that you were just seconds away from falling asleep; “I love you.” 

You mumbled out a sleepy “I love you” in return before drifting into a deep slumber to snooze off the night’s drama. Severus, as expected, didn’t sleep much that night to ensure that you were sleeping soundly and comfortably. He still felt dreadful, even after you had told him over and over that he didn’t hurt you. The weekend to follow was filled with Severus doting and cherishing over you every chance that he had, trying to make up for what had happened. You were the light of his life after all.

And he prayed that he’d never see that flame go out.

[writingxfootballl]

know that it’s you (g.w.)

(ginny weasley x reader)

it only took seven years for you to get your happy ending. 

warnings: mentions of death, light cursing, men, sarcasm, and no capitalization

word count: ~2.5k

a/n: first hp fic! hope i did okay- i tried my best to capture ginny’s character but it’s not perfect <3

format inspired by @ravenclawwriting ‘s masterpiece- “turning time”

title- hold on, flor

——

first year 

the aura of confidence she gives off smacks you straight in the face when she passes by you on the platform. 

not that you needed any help noticing her. 

her flowing red hair caught your eye almost immediately. 

oh how you wished to be her friend. 

~~

“gryffindor!” 

you let out a sigh of relief. 

slowly you pick yourself up and walk to the table, where the pretty red headed girl is sitting. 

she looks up and smiles at you, gesturing for you to take a seat next to her.

when you do, she sticks out her hand and introduces herself. 

“ginny weasley.”

taking her hand, you do the same. 

“y/n y/ln.”

~~

when ginny goes missing later that year, you blame yourself. 

you should’ve noticed that she was getting quieter and quieter.

you should’ve noticed that she would be gone for hours. 

you should’ve noticed. 

when she disappears for a few days, she takes your heart with her.

so when harry fucking potter swoops in and saves her, you let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding, and it feels like your heart can finally beat normally again. 

second year

now that you got her back, you were inseparable. 

screw fred and george, you were the new duo at hogwarts.

just kidding, no one could beat the iconic mischief seeking twins, but you sure gave professors a run for their money. 

the red headed girl always seemed to have something up her sleeve, and no matter good or bad, you followed her. 

~~

that summer, you’re invited to the burrow for the first time. 

the two of you share a room, and what started out as separate beds and shy company slowly turned into fleeting glances and lingering touches.

hand holding, cheek kisses and cuddling, all the “platonic” displays of affection. 

and then, ginny invites you to the quidditch world cup. 

you’ve never been a quidditch fan, but you’d go a thousand times over if she asked you. 

really, you’d do a lot of things if she asked you. 

third year

you can see her concern for harry when he gets drawn for the triwizard tournament.

it makes you want to rip his head off. 

and then, slowly, you begin to notice it all. 

how when you were constantly staring at ginny, her eyes followed a certain boy’s every move. 

how she’s a flushed, nervous, bumbling wreck around him, so different from the confident and assured girl you knew.

it makes you want to rip his head off even more.

but you don’t know why. 

harry’s always been a nice guy. 

arrogant, sure, but a nice guy, certainly someone you shouldn’t hate.

so you ask hermione. 

~~

the golden girl just laughs when you tell her. 

“oh, my dear y/n, you’re just jealous.”

now you’re even more confused. 

“jealous? why would i be jealous?”

hermione chuckles a little bit and looks up from her book. 

“you fancy her y/n.”

you scoff a little at that. 

“me? fancying ginny? no way!”

hermione rolls her eyes and motions for you to leave her to her studying, before mumbling quietly:

“no wonder you were sorted into gryffindor and not ravenclaw.”

~~

you’re determined to somehow prove hermione wrong.

so when seamus asks you to the ball, you consider accepting. 

but then you think about ginny.

your sweet, beautiful ginny.

you tell him you’ll get back to him, before running across the school to the courtyard, where you know she’s at. 

your question somehow makes it through the panted breaths and heaves. 

“would you like to go to the yule ball with me?”

ginny’s face splits into a grin. 

“i would love to.”

~~

when you see ginny at the ball, you have to remember how to breathe. 

“you look stunning.”

ginny blushes a little at your compliment. 

“so do you.”

your heart races in your chest at her words. 

you clear your throat at the silence that follows and- 

“so, shall we dance?”

you smile and nod graciously, taking her hand and following.

with one of her hands on your waist and the other tightly clasped in yours, hermione’s words flash in your mind.

“you fancy her y/n.”

your eyes meet and you can’t believe you’ve never taken the time to admire how much of a golden honey color they are. 

but then. 

of course. 

“hey um- could i speak to you ginny?”

dean fucking thomas.

ginny lets go of you almost immediately. 

she glances at you apologetically, and despite the nagging ache in your chest, you nod and let her go.

after she leaves with him, the rest of the ball passes in a blur, where you can’t focus on anything else except the tenuous strain of your heart. 

maybe hermione was right after all.

fourth year

turns out hermione was right. 

so very very right. 

ginny had you wrapped around her finger. 

and for the most part, this year wasn’t bad. 

with the exception of dean of course. 

when he comes into the picture, it shatters you. 

but she couldn’t know that. 

so you listened to her talk about him, biting back the i could treat you better from the tip of your tongue. 

~~

despite the fact that ginny has a boyfriend, the two of you grow closer. 

you’re both members of the DA, helping each other with spells and practicing in your free time.

“ugh gin it’s not working-“

ginny rolls her eyes at you. 

“it’s not that hard y/nn, do you want to watch me do it again?”

you nod enthusiastically and ginny giggles a little. 

“alright move aside then.”

you move and watch from the side, somehow ending up eyeing along her side profile rather than watching her hex. 

eyebrows furrowed, lip bitten in concentration-

dear godric she’s so pretty-

“y/n are you even watching?!”

you shake your head and blush before stuttering out: 

“u-uh, s-sorry could you d-do it again?”

ginny watches you with an amused smirk and takes a step in, closer to you. 

“you’re kind of cute you know that?” 

her finger tracing your jaw, she emphasizes the end of her sentence with a pop and a nose tap.

your mouth drops open, and all the blood in your body rushes to your cheeks.

ginny steps away and seeing that you were still frozen there, turns back and teases: 

“aw come on y/n, the bat bogey hex isn’t going to learn itself now is it?”

merlin, this girl was going to be the death of you. 

~~

when ginny tells you she broke up with dean, you want to go out and scream in happiness.

but instead, you stay put and say, “aw gin im so sorry, i’ll be here if you need me.”

you’re woken up later that night when ginny crawls into bed with you. 

with her face buried in your neck and her hands wrapped loosely around your waist, you can’t help the smile teasing the corners of your lips.

it’s everything you’ve ever asked for.

fifth year

then, fifth year happens.

you could see harry and ginny growing closer and closer, and it felt like she was leaving you behind. 

your weekly hogsmeade trips slowly became less and less intimate, as the golden trio began joining the two of you.

a butterbeer was poked at mindlessly with a straw by you at the three broomsticks, all while listening to ginny chat with harry, and ron chat with hermione. 

it doesn’t surprise you when ginny and harry disappear together after a little while. 

it doesn’t surprise you when ginny starts spending less time in your room, and more time in his. 

it doesn’t surprise you when you spot ginny with her head on his shoulder one day.

it doesn’t surprise you, but it still stings. 

it stings a lot.

sixth year

the golden trio is gone for almost the entirety of this year. 

before they leave, harry breaks up with ginny, and she doesn’t react really. 

she accepts it. 

but you’re there for her even if she says she’s fine and she doesn’t need it. 

then one day, she needs it. 

~~ 

you walk into your room to see her sitting on her bed. 

it takes you a second to realize she’s crying. 

you’re by her side immediately.

“oh gin- what’s wrong?”

she doesn’t say anything, just turning to you and without a word, you wrap your arms around her. 

and you stay like that for a while. 

when she goes quiet, you whisper out:

“gin?” 

and then you realize she’s fallen asleep. 

you try to bite back your poorly contained smile, gently guiding the girl off your shoulder and onto your lap. 

you softly tuck a loose, fiery red strand behind her ear, a blush lightly tinting your cheeks when she exhales softly in her sleep.

merlin, i love you.

your cheeks flush even more when she grasps the front of your robes, pulling herself even closer to you. 

with your heart hammering in your chest, it’s a wonder ginny hasn’t woken up yet.

you pull out your transfiguration textbook quietly, and try your best to focus on the page, rather than the girl laying there on your lap. 

it doesn’t work. 

but for once, all is well. 

~~

eventually, you get absorbed into your studies, distracted enough to miss the girl on your lap beginning to stir.

your brows are furrowed as you scribble down the last words of your essay, and you bring your quill up to your lips before ginny’s hand gently pushes them away, startling you. 

“don’t do that, you’ll stain your teeth.”

you blush sheepishly and drop your hand.

“you’re awake.”

ginny smiles. 

“well i’m talking to you aren’t i?”

you grin softly.

“i suppose you are.”

ginny rolls her eyes and sighs, her brown eyes locking with yours immediately after.

her hand comes up to tuck a loosed strand of hair behind your ear and suddenly, the air seems to thicken. 

for a moment, neither of you move, too caught up in each other’s eyes. 

when ginny’s eyes drop down to your lips you can hear your breath catch in your throat. 

you feel yourself being pulled in by some invisible force, your eyes dropping down- 

then neville knocks on the door, and just like that, the spell is broken. 

“y/n- oh hey ginny.”

ginny sits up and darts away from you so quickly you would’ve missed it if you blinked.

“what’s up nev?”

neville shuffles nervously. 

“sorry for catching you at a bad time- um it’s just that professor mcgonagall wanted to see-.”

“all right i’ll be there in a minute.”

neville nods and then, it’s back to the two of you. 

it’s quiet for a moment before you both speak. 

“you should-“

“i really-“

both of you stop and flush a little before you continue. 

“i really should go see what that was about.”

ginny nods and gestures for you to leave. 

and you do, not before taking her hand and pulling her up into a tight hug.

“i’ll see you later?” 

ginny nods. 

“yeah. later.”

~~

when the golden trio returns to hogwarts and all hell breaks loose, the two of you are separated. 

in fact, you haven’t seen most of the weasleys since the war began. 

you’re left alone with neville for the majority of the fight, and you spend most of it worrying about ginny. 

one day when you’re just walking along the edge of the forbidden forest, you catch a glimpse of red hair on the opposite side of the field. 

your breath catches in your throat.

as you get closer, you can tell who it is. 

and then you start running. 

~~

your body almost collides with hers as you wrap your arms around her. 

at first, there’s relief.

“you’re here you’re here you’re-“

ginny shushes you and pulls you in tighter, drawing out the sob you tried to hard to keep down. 

then the relief turns to anger. 

and frustration. 

you pull away from the hug abruptly and ginny sends a confused look your way. 

“ginevra molly weasley! if you ever, ever do that again i’ll-“

“aw, seems like someone missed me.”

you scoff.

“don’t joke! i thought you were killed- gin you have no idea i was so worried- worried about where you were, what you did-“

the rest of your confession is cut off when ginny grabs your tattered tie, pulls you in, and kisses you. 

it’s quick.

lips unmoving, it’s really more of a peck than a kiss. 

but it still hit you the same way. 

ginny pulls back abruptly when you don’t react, but taking the smile that graced your lips as a good sign, leans back in. 

this time, you’re ready for her.

your arms wrap around her neck, her’s falling to your waist, and finally, you’re content. 

it’s soft and sweet and then there’s tongue and lips and teeth and you really can’t believe this is happening-

“hey y/n! quit snogging my sister!”

ron’s exclamation startles you. 

you flush red, and break the kiss, trying to pull away from ginny out of embarrassment, but she keeps an arm firmly attached to your waist. 

hermione grins next to ron.

“about time you two. about time.”

~~

harry defeats he who must not voldemort in probably what is the most anticlimactic final battle ever.

but just like that, 

the war’s over.

seventh year

propped against a tree, ginny runs a hand through your hair, the other tangled with yours in front of your chest. 

“hey.”

ginny smiles softly down at you. 

“hey to you too.”

“i love you.”

the red headed girl smiles and leans down to give you a soft kiss before replying.

“i love you too y/n.”

your smile is almost blinding, and out of pure happiness, you confess:

“i’ve loved you since third year gin, did you know that?”

the red headed girl almost looks surprised.

“i was gross third year.”

you scoff and mutter: 

“you could never be gross.”

ginny just laughs and leans down again. 

“i love you y/n. i really do. i’m sorry it took so long for me to realize.”

you look up at your girlfriend with pure adoration in your eyes.

with her lips on yours and fingers tangled together, it felt like the world was finally at peace again. 

ginevra weasley was your happily ever after. 

cheesy ending, but i loved writing this one.. i hope you guys like it too <3

[blu-joons]

DATING TVXQ A⇴Z HEADCANON ⇴ Shim Changmin

A ⇴ AFFECTION 

His height meant Changmin was a great hugger with you. He’d bundle you tightly in his arms and make you feel tiny against his chest. He’d always rest over you and make sure that he emphasised the height difference between you both too.

B ⇴ BEFORE DATING 

You ended up dropping your bag as you were walking one afternoon when a figure knelt down to help pick up your items. When you came face to face with Changmin, your stomach instantly dropped as you were drawn to his smile and his eyes. He quickly introduced yourself as you thanked him for helping you out.

C ⇴ CONFESSION 

It took quite a while for Changmin to feel confident enough to confess to you, he knew he had to be sure that you were happy and willing to take on his crazy world and do it with a smile on your face. He was at an age where if he started a relationship, he was in it for the long run, so it was only when he was sure that he could see a future with you as well, did he finally decide the time was right to confess to you.

D ⇴ DATES 

Changmin’s a huge movie buff, and so many of your dates will often involve films. Some nights the two of you will head to the movies with far too much popcorn in your hands to watch the new release that has just come out. Other times you’ll lay in bed and watch a movie once he comes home from his schedule to help the two of you wind down before bed. But your favourite time with movies is when the two of you have days off, making yourselves comfortable in the living room and having a marathon of all your favourites.

E ⇴ EXPERIENCE 

Being so focused on his career for so many years, Changmin had very little experience when it came to dating, although he loved to tell you about his scandal with Minho all the time. When he first told you about how the media mistook Minho for a girl in his company at Yunho’s solo concert, you definitely saw the funny side. Even now, you often reminded Changmin that he’d made a girl, Minho, very happy before and so there was no doubt in your mind that he was also going to make you a very happy girl too.

F ⇴ FIGHTING 

Changmin is very much like a ticking time bomb when it comes to arguments, he doesn’t get mad often, he’s usually very good at holding his temper and biting his tongue. However, as his frustrations begin to build and his tongue swells from how long he’s bitten down on it, he’ll eventually find himself keeping up a storm and letting go of all of his frustrations. It’s definitely a shock to you when his temper finally blows, but you can only sit back and let him get everything off his chest. Once he’s done, and calm, he’ll apologise of course, and promise to try and keep himself better composed the next time you argue.

G ⇴ GETTING TO KNOW HIS FAMILY 

Introducing you to his two sisters spelt out trouble for Changmin, the three of you often ganged up on him and bonded over all of the stories that you had to share about him. Whilst Changmin loved that you three got on so well, he definitely didn’t enjoy being embarrassed by the three of you time and time again.

H ⇴ HOME 

He was quite keen to move you into his home after a few months in your relationship. Whilst he liked his own space and his apartment, he would never say no to having someone else there to enjoy the space with him. He made several changes to his apartment too to make sure that it felt like your home as well.

I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU” 

Changmin was the first one of the two of you to say, ‘I love you,’ after you surprised him at a TVXQ show. He was overwhelmed to say the least to see you stood before him that the words came from his mouth before he even had chance to think. You were surprised momentarily, before assuring him that you felt the same.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY 

When he was younger Changmin would have probably got jealous, but as he’d got older and matured, jealousy is a feeling he fails to feel anymore. He trusts you and those around you, knowing that you’d never do anything to make him jealous anyway. He’s adult enough too that it he does feel himself getting jealous, then he’ll talk it out with you. There are times when he’s most definitely protective of you, but he definitely wouldn’t stretch as far to say that it’s jealousy, because he knows full well that you can handle yourself too.

K ⇴ KIDS 

Changmin definitely sees himself having a future with you, otherwise he would’ve never started your relationship. Whilst he doesn’t want to rush things too much, he’s open and honest with you about the fact that he sees children in his future. He wants to be the family man, even if he’s an idol, despite the stereotypes around it, he fails to see why he can’t live out both of his dreams and do it to the best of his ability.

L ⇴ LAUGHTER

Whilst he’s not someone loud and outlandish, Changmin still tries to be a big enough character to make sure that the smile is on your face. You know that he’s not someone that feels the need to try desperately hard to be funny, so instead you learn to laugh and love with the many other fascinating qualities that Changmin has instead. You appreciate his kindness and how much he cares for you a lot more than you focus on his ability to make you laugh. Regardless of how funny he may or not be, you always have a smile on your face whenever you’re in his company, and that’s what is most important to you both.

M ⇴ MISSING 

Despite the many years he’s spent touring the world, missing the one that he loves really does take it out of Changmin. He’s someone that doesn’t want others to see him sad, so he’ll often head back to his hotel room whenever he can feel himself beginning to miss you and get through it alone. Yunho had definitely learnt over the years too how to help Changmin deal with the feeling of missing you. Whilst he can often tell when Changmin has been getting teary, he’ll try not to show it, and so Yunho won’t bring it up. He’ll simply try his hardest to make Changmin smile and distract him from you as best as he can.

N ⇴ NICKNAMES

He loves nicknames that he’s heard in the movies, things like ‘darling,’ which are repeated again and again are his favourite nicknames for you. Anything he knows will make you smile is good as far as Changmin is concerned.

O ⇴ OBSESSION 

Changmin is obsessed with your huge heart, he loves feeling loved, but most of all, he loves the kindness and the care that you have for him, always.

P ⇴ PDA 

The biggest thing for Changmin is that you’re safe with him, so his affection in public will usually be to make sure that you feel happy at his side. He’s spent many years in the public eye, he knows how things can be, so no matter the situation, he’s always on top of things and making sure you’re protected under his touch.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS 

He loved to get deep with you and ask you pressing questions of the worlds. He had a lot of thoughts that he’d share with you, but he’d love to hear all of your thoughts too on all of the random things of the world.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS 

You very much ended up as the fourth part of his drinking trio with Minho and Kyuhyun, they loved inviting you out to their drinking events with them and try to get you as drunk as possible. Whilst Changmin would be a little bit more careful, the other two could constantly pass you soju bottles, knowing full well that if you got too drunk that it would be Changmin looking after you and they didn’t have to worry about a thing.

S ⇴ SEX 

The number one priority as far as Changmin is concerned is always you. He’s full of love and passion when it comes to you and making sure that you feel loved by him too. He takes his time with you, he’s never one to rush into anything, paying close attention to small details and little things that he knows you like. If there’s one thing that can be guaranteed with Changmin, it’s that he always leaves you feeling on top of the world.

T ⇴ TEXTS 

He would get in contact with you often, but Changmin much preferred to call than text you. The sound of your voice was comforting, and he could also tell how you were really doing by the tone of your voice rather than just a text.

U ⇴ UNIVERSE 

The thing that Changmin always valued the most from being with you was the support that you always gave him. You never once complained, but instead you were the first one there to cheer him on in anything that he did.

V ⇴ VACATION 

Whenever he went on tour, Changmin always made sure to note down his favourite places so that he could take you there one day and show you around some new cities. So, when he finally got the chance to take you away, he made sure to revisit the places he knew you’d adore and create plenty of memories with you.

W ⇴ WHINING 

Changmin was far too mature to whine if he wanted something, he was patient with you and always obliging to wait for your time.

X ⇴ XXXXX 

His favourite spot to kiss was always against the top of your head, Changmin loved to use his height to his advantage when he was kissing you. If he wasn’t snatching against your forehead, then he’d be leaning down and pressing a kiss against your cheek. He loves making it difficult for you to kiss him, nothing makes him happier than knowing you’re up on your tiptoes just so that you’re at the height to be able to kiss him.

Y ⇴ YOU 

You were his best friend, the one person that he always wanted to be around.

Z ⇴ ZZZ 

Most nights you end up falling asleep listening to Changmin sleep talk beside you. Whilst he’ll often argue otherwise, you lay up and listen closely, making sure to record it when you can so he has no room for argument the following morning when you’re exhausted.

---

Masterlist

[padme-parker]

Collide / Anakin Skywalker x Reader (Chapter 6)

[a Star Wars x Avengers crossover]

Summary: You go to Onderon and meet someone you’ve been longing to see. Another call to home ensues and hearts get broken.

Warnings: angst, maybe cursing, I can’t think of anything else. oh and bad plot lmao

WC: 4.0k

A/N: this isn’t proof read so it might be scuffed. 

read chapter 5 here

C O R U S C A N T

After the nightmares began, Anakin was rarely around, only making you more susceptible to the dark side. You truly did want to tell him about what had been keeping you up at night, but how were you going to contact him when he was never around and the connection the two of you shared was seemingly cut off? You weren’t able to feel his emotions nor feel his presence. It was as if he had blocked you off, almost like he was dead, but he wasn’t. You knew that he went on more campaigns as he was barely spending time in the temple, wanting to stay as far away from you. And if the two of you ever were in the same room by sheer luck, he pretended that you didn’t exist.

On days where both Anakin and Obi Wan were gone, you trained with a girl named Xin. In a way, she reminded you of the mandalorian Sabine: intelligent, strong, and creative. She was skilled with her lightsaber, but also greatly skilled in hand to hand combat, making her an excellent training partner. When all three of them were gone, you spent time learning binary after shortly being gifted a droid. R2-KT, or Kaytee as you liked to call her, accompanied you on your walks around the Jedi temple, often telling you random facts about it or Coruscant.

As time passed, you noticed how the council became weary of your presence. After noticing the color of your saber, which wasn’t hard to miss, the Jedi Masters seemed to focus their attention on you whenever you were in the room with them. You would have liked to believe that you had begun to earn their trust, but you understood their cautiousness towards you. Hell, you would’ve probably reacted the same way if someone came to Earth using a big stone hidden in the middle of nowhere claiming that the fate of the universe rested in their hands.

The halls of the temple were empty- excluding the sentinels- as you roamed around with Kaytee at your side. It was still so surreal being in the Jedi temple. Six months ago you were on Earth, spending time with your family. It seemed so long ago since you were first introduced to Star Wars.

You were foreign to the concept of bonding, spending time with your peers. After spending almost 17 years in foster care, you learned to not attach yourself. To become cold, detached, and observant of your surroundings. With your arrival to the tower, it became a shock to you when you found out that the team spent time together willingly. Some nights they played games like Uno and Cards Against Humanity. You would always sit in the corner and watch them, not comfortable enough to be engaging with them in such a way like that. On the nights where they watched movies, you would always sit in the furthest seat away from the group. It stayed like that until Peter started coming to the bonding nights.

Due to the fact that he was still young, he stayed with his Aunt May. Only coming to the tower to help Tony with his projects. So it was a surprise to see him there, but you couldn’t help feel more comfortable knowing that someone else your age was there.

“So, what’re we watching tonight?” He asked. The team let out a couple of groans, unsure of what they were getting into. “How about we watch Star Wars? I bet you those two grandpas haven’t seen it yet.”

“Hey! Watch it, Peter.” Steve said, putting his hand over his heart to feign hurt. All it took for him to apologize was one glance at Bucky. “Sorry Mister Winter- uhh James- Bucky-- no. Sir Barnes. And Steve.”

He goes to sit down, but before he does, he takes a survey of the room. He notices you sitting alone on the couch, “Hey, why don’t you come sit closer?” He asked. You shake your head, telling him that you were alright where you were. “What about you? Have you seen Star Wars?” You quickly shake your head, you see Peter’s eyes widen and he takes off to sit in the empty spot next to you.

“OMG. WHAT? How have you never seen the movies?”

“Not everyone has the privilege to have a normal childhood. I just so happened to be one of those kids.” You informed him.

“Right, sorry.” He apologized, his hand awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “I’m sure you’ll love the movies though.”

Peter was right. After watching A New Hope, the team had retired to their respective rooms, but the two of you had stayed up all night finishing the movies. After watching all three trilogies, you had a new found obsession, especially for a certain Skywalker. Even though some people thought that Anakin was a bad character, and sure the script was really bad, you really did love him. So when he betrayed Obi Wan to save Padme, your heart couldn’t help but break. Poor man was so whipped for the pussy :( I guess you could call it to die for.

Although your time on Coruscant was limited, you did your best to enjoy it. The six months you had spent here so far had been a gift. The environment was truly mesmerizing, and you wanted to share it with Peter. You tried not to call him often, the time difference was just slightly confusing. While six months might’ve passed for you, it had only been a month for your family back home.

You were broken out of your reverie by the buzzing of your holocom, requesting your presence in the council room. Making your way into the room, you told Kaytee to wait by the doors. You stood in the middle of the room with your hands clasped behind your back, waiting for them to address you.

“Nice to see you it is.” Master yoda said. “A task for you, we have.”

A task? What could they possibly want you to do? There was no way they’d be sending you on a mission, they never did.

“We want you to travel to Onderon. They are celebrating their liberation from the separatists. I don’t know why but Anakin and Obi Wan would like for you to be present-” Before Mace can finish his sentence he is cut off.

“I believe what Master Windu is trying to say is that they would both like for you to experience what our galaxy has to offer.” Shaak Ti answered for him. “There will be other Jedi there too, but you will be traveling on your own.” She said. “Oh, and please keep in mind, this celebration is also being held in remembrance for Steela, their fallen leader.”

“Understood, may I leave now?” Master Yoda gave you a nod, allowing you to leave. You made your way to the hangar, Kaytee following close behind you. Well, it looks like it was time to see Anakin again.

-

O N D E R O N

Your journey to Onderon is short, but you take the time to fiddle with Kaytee. Cleaning her up to make her look presentable. Weeks after you were gifted the droid, you took the time to fix her up and reprogram her to your liking. With the touch of a button, you could make her record a hologram, send her your location, or gouge out someone's eye if needed. You truly did love your droid, and you thanked the stars that Stark taught you how to code, program, and build trinkets of your own.

Kaytee lands the ship with a heavy thud, “I know you're excited to see Artoo, but we need to be careful with this ship. It’s not ours.” You told her, and in return you get a series of apologetic beeps. The door opens with a hiss, you signal for Kaytee to follow you. Stepping off, you notice all of the other ships outside of Iziz. It was like all the entirety of the galactic senate was here, which you really didn’t doubt. You felt out of place in your Jedi robes. People were arriving in magnificent, mind blowing outfits. Gowns with tails that trailed far behind them and tuxes with flowy capes. This ball was going to have it all.

The bustle of the market only intensified with the oncomers. You had to make your way to the temple before you got distracted. By the time you reached the temple doors, the crowd lessened, or so you thought. Entering the temple, you were greeted at the sight of hundreds of people. You felt blood rush to your cheeks as people began to turn and stare at you. Screw the Jedi Council for not giving me a nice outfit to change into. Just as you were about to turn around and wander through the market, you heard your voice being called out. You tried to find where the sound was coming from, only to get confused and jolt your head around violently as if you were a loth cat.

“Alyra! Over here!.” Your feet began moving on their own accord. As if you were being drawn to a presence. You come to a screeching halt in front of.. Anakin, of course it's him. Why am I not surprised that the force has literally brought me to him? Along with Obi Wan, R2, and Padme. Oh my god, wait, it’s Padme. I could kiss her right now if I wanted to. But I won’t. That would be weird, won’t it. Kissing her in front of her husband, who is my-

“Alyra, are you alright?” Obi Wan asks, breaking you out of your internal ramble.

“Yeah, I was just...trying to take all of this in. I’ve never seen anything like this.” You responded, pretending to look around the temple.

“It seems like you space out a lot.” He jokes, a smile on his face before he realizes no one else is laughing. He rolls his eyes before continuing, “Anyways, welcome to Onderon. This is my good friend, Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo.” He turns to face her while he introduces you to her. You hold out a hand, expecting for her to shake it. Instead she walks up to you and takes you within her hold. She hugs you tightly, you can feel her protruding belly.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you! Anakin has talked a lot about you.” Both you and Obi Wan furrow your brows at the mention of Anakin speaking of you. Padme is quick to notice this and corrects herself, “I mean of what he’s mentioned to me about you today. Right, Ani?” She validates.

“Yeah, only good things though.” He testified, avoiding your gaze. It was weird that he was mentioning you to his pregnant wife, what was there to talk about? Not to mention the fact that he had been avoiding your presence for months now.

You squinted your eyes at him, “I could only hope so, seeing as though we haven’t spoken in awhile.” you accused. What in the world is he up to now?

You can practically see the gears turning in his head as he tries to come up with a comeback, before he can utter a word, he’s interrupted by Padme.

“C’mon, let’s go to your room and get you changed.” Once again, you furrow your brows.

“Changed, what do you mean changed?” You ask her.

“What, did you think I’d just let you roam around the ball in those ugly Jedi robes? Come, I’ll let you borrow one of my dresses.” She drags you away by the arm, Anakin and Obi Wan shouting at her. Something about Jedi robes not being ugly, you couldn’t really hear with Padme’s giggles silencing them. Kaytee let’s out a giggle of her own as she follows you, Artoo’s personality rubbing off on her.

Padmé all but practically throws you onto your bed as she ushers one of her handmaidens, Teckla, to bring the dresses into your room. Teckla wheels in a rack filled with elegant looking dresses, along with a bunch of different heels. All looking like they could snap your ankle in half if you walked the wrong way. The first dress she hands you is body conforming up until it reaches your knees, from there it fans out creating a mermaid gown effect. While the dress itself was very beautiful, you thought of it to be too plain for an event like this. You and Padme both share a look before agreeing that this was in fact not the dress.

However, the next dress she hands you is a proper ball gown. You slip it on, taken aback by how heavy the dress was. She walks up behind you to tighten the corset of the gown. She does her best to tighten it up without hurting you, but you can’t help let out a wheeze as she gets closer to tying it off.

“Sorry, as much as I love this dress, I also hate it. I’m so glad I’m pregnant so I don’t have to feel it stabbing me at every given chance.” She said, breaking the silence.

“How many months are you?” You asked.

“I’m six months along now, almost seven.” She finishes tying up the corset before stepping aside. “What do you think?”

“Well, it certainly is fit for an event like this and I do think it’s beautiful. But it’s crushing me with every breath I take. I feel like if I sit down, I won’t be able to get back up.”

“Right, well I can fix that.” This time she takes her time picking out the next dress. She lets her fingers brush across the different fabrics, stopping at one that caught her eye. “Here, try this one!” She suggests. By the look on her face, you can already tell that this is the one. The dress is flowy and soft looking. You step into the dress, pleased to find yourself correct. It feels like you have nothing on. Padme helps you zip the dress up, along with clasping together the leather pieces. The light blue tulle layered over the dark blue, almost purple material complimented your skin tone. The dress had a deep v-neck, showing off your cleavage. Right below your collarbone laid a strap of leather, connecting to either side of your thick shoulder straps. From those straps, a thin piece of tulle was stitched on, giving you two separate mini capes for your arms. Aside from a strap of leather covering your spine, the dress is completely backless. It feels like you could go frolicking in this dress. Who am I kidding, Padme probably went frolicking in this dress with Anakin.

“So, what do you think?” Her tone is hushed, as if she was trying to figure out whether you hated or loved the dress.

“It’s beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.” You respond. “Kaytee, what do you reckon?” The droid let’s out a series of delights beeps, showing her contentment towards the dress.

“Great!” Padmé says before ushering you into a chair. “Now, we're going to do your hair and makeup. So sit still.” For once in your life, you shut up and sit still, allowing Padme to work her magic.

“Do you know the gender?” You asked, your question breaking the silence, and while the atmosphere wasn’t exactly awkward, it wasn’t comfortable either.

“Oh no, I’d rather not. It’s not like it matters to me anyways. As long as my child is happy and healthy, then so am I. But it’s ironic because I haven’t been to a check up yet.” Padme gently pulls your hair back, leaving two pieces in the front to frame your face. It was simple, not taking any attention away from the dress.

No check up? Maybe that’s why Padme didn’t know she was having twins. “So you haven’t seen a doctor or a medical droid yet?” Your eyes follow her as she pulls makeup out of her bag, her collection vast.

“No, not really. I don’t have very much time to myself due to the fact that I’m a part of the senate. But I do my best to make sure I stay healthy for my baby and me. I also just want it to be a surprise.” Padme finds a foundation shade similar to your skin tone and blends it in.

“What if you have twins? What will you do then?” You probably weren’t supposed to be asking her questions like these, but you couldn’t help it. Maybe you should’ve asked why she had so much makeup instead.

“Well..” She sighed while blotting powder all over your face. “..I suppose if it happens, then it happens. It’s the will of the force.” She finishes powdering your face before moving to your eyebrows. Padme takes an angled brow brush and begins to fill them in, giving it a naturally fuller look.

“So, you believe in the force?”

“How could I not? I work so closely with the Jedi, I’ve seen what you guys have done. The father is very close friends with the Jedi.” Padme said, implying that the father was in fact a Jedi. It felt like you were intruding, but then again, you weren’t necessarily forcing her to tell you this. You had only met her moments ago and she already trusted you enough with her secrets.

“Really? I thought the Jedi weren’t allowed to form attachments?”

“Oh… we weren’t really together. It was sort of a one night thing. But he’s going to be in the child’s life.” She covered up.

The conversation went on like that for a while before Padme announced that she was finished with you. After finishing your makeup and adding some finishing touches to your hair, she finally stepped aside, letting you see yourself in the mirror.

The second you saw yourself, your mouth fell open in shock. You looked absolutely ethereal. Padme kept your makeup very natural to bring out your features. She also added small, white flowers into your hair. You excitedly thanked her and got up to hug her as a way to show your gratitude.

“Shall we get going now?” She offered

“Oh, if it was alright with you, I was going to stay behind. I have to contact somebody.” You asked

“Of course, I’ll see you later then.” She said before gathering all of her belongings and leaving with Teckla. As Padme arrives, Anakin notices that you weren’t with her.

“Where’s Alyra?” He asked her, eager to see what she would look like out of her Jedi robes.

“She said she had to talk to someone.”

Meanwhile, in your room you were getting ready to call Peter. Honestly, you had no idea if you had connection on Onderon, but you were about to find out. Taking off your necklace, you were pleased to see the green light, indicating that you were indeed connected to the bridge. You scroll through your contacts before finding Peter’s name. You hit the dial button and wait for it to connect.

-

E A R T H

Peter is sleeping when he gets a call, the bracelet on his left hand vibrating. He thinks nothing of it and almost declines the call. That is until he realizes it’s you calling on the bracelet he had designated just for you. He jumps up from his sleeping position and quickly answers your call. Peter can’t help but let out a gasp of awe the very second your face pops onto the hologram.

“What? Is there something on my face?” You move closer towards the camera and inspect your face, only to find no flaws.

“Nothing...it’s just been so long since I’ve seen you like this.”

“Like what?” Your eyebrows scrunch together, the confusion clear on your face.

“All… dolled up.” Peter’s response makes your face blush a hot red. You let out a shy laugh as your hand comes to rest at the back of your neck. He was right, it had been so long since you’ve felt this pretty. It felt good, for once you had felt good.

“Thanks, Pete. It feels good to be in something other than Jedi robes.”

“Not that I’m saying you can’t be dressed up like this, but exactly why are you so dressed up?” He pondered, he knew it wasn’t like the Jedi to go about their duties in exquisite gowns.

“I’m actually on Onderon.” You pan the camera towards the view outside of your window. “The Jedi have invited me to a celebration of Onderon’s liberation. But also in memory of Steela I believe. I really wish you were here with me. I still don’t understand why they couldn’t have sent both of us.”

“I miss you too, but you know I have a duty here on Earth.”

“Duty? So did I Peter!”

“You know I didn’t mean it like that. With me being Spiderman-”

“It’s not like they don’t have any other superheroes. I mean come on, admit it! You know more about Star Wars than I possibly could. You should be here with me.” You huff out before changing the subject, “Anyways, how are you? Did you end up fixing things with MJ?”

“I’m fine, but no, we didn’t. We both agreed that we’d be better off as friends. Besides I’ve already moved on.” He confessed, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. It’s now or never Peter, you’ve gotta tell her.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear about your split. But hopefully you and this new person will work out-”

“It’s you.” He says, abruptly cutting you off. Peter watches you tilt your head as your brows scrunch together again.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s you,” He repeats, taking a deep breath before speaking again, “It’s always been you. I didn’t realize it until you had left… I didn’t think I could miss someone so much.”

“Peter…. I don’t know what to say.” You uttered out,

“Please, say something- anything.” He begged, hoping he hadn’t just ruined years of friendship. Peter watches as you open and close your mouth, searching for the right words.

“...I can’t.” You say as you shake your head. “I can’t be with you, Peter.”

“Why? Is it because of my age? Come on, Y/N, I’m only two years younger than you.” He pleads

“It’s not that. You’re just not the right person for me, Peter. I know it in my very soul.”

“Oh yeah? And who is, Anakin?” He taunts, he can feel his eyes water as he watches you look away from him. “No freakin’ way. You’ve got to be kidding me.” Peter lets out a scoff.

“You’ve got to understand Pete, I love him. I really do.”

“NO! You don’t love him. You’re just obsessed with him. You think you can save him but you can’t! No one can! You can’t change his destiny.”

“What do you even know about love? You can’t tell me who I can and can’t love. It doesn’t work like that. You know nothing about it-”

“I LOVE YOU!” He screams, breaking the silence in his Queen’s apartment, surely waking up May. “Why isn’t that enough?” Peter watches as tears slowly stream down your face as he lets out a few of his own.

“I’ve got to see this out until the end, you know that Peter...I could only wish that it was enough, but it’s not. You’re like a brother to me, don’t do this to me. To our friendship...I’ve got to go now.”

“No, you don’t get to leave again-”

“I’m sorry, goodbye, Peter.” You end the call and Peter is left staring at the wall, mouth hung open in shock. He couldn’t believe this just happened to him. He faintly makes out the sound of Aunt May knocking on his door.

Without waiting for a response, she cracks open his door. She takes notice of the tears falling off of his face and closes her mouth. Aunt May is silent as she makes her way across his room, holding her arms out for him. Peter gratuitously accepts her embrace, his sobs muffled by her clothes.

No words are spoken as Peter cries his heart out, never in a million years did he think you’d be the one to break him.

--

collide tags: @deepcollectionmagazine​ @amesstm​ @haileyybird​

[x0401x]

Jeweler Richard Fanbook Short Story #16

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Colombo’s Bookstore

Sri Lanka didn’t have as many bookstores as Japan. It had about three times as many used car shops as in Japan, I believed. But there were few bookstores.

In the first place, be them used car stores or bookstores, the shops were by no means big. This country was a tiny island with a national territory smaller than Japan’s, so lands that had forest reserves of local nature in them and real estate were probably valuable. If anything, I had an affinity for the place. But it was a pity that the bookstores were so few.

I often spent my time alone nowadays, so above all else, I appreciated having anything to read. I wasn’t the bookworm type, but there were just too many book-selling places in Japan. If you were getting off at some notable station in Tokyo, no matter which one it was, there would be at least one bookstore within walking distance. I also had a fresh memory of Saul-san telling me that “Japanese people really like their books”.

A street vendor was selling scissors in front of a bookstore in the sunlit streets of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. Why did he decide to sell scissors by the road? And right before my eyes, a person on a bus riding slowly down the avenue was buying a pair of scissors from him. Did they have some bag that they wanted to cut open no matter what or something? I had no idea, but anyway, this was a world that operated with standards different from Japan’s, in which supply and demand were apparently well-established.

With glass doors, the bookstore had a magnificent structure and felt nice and cold when I stepped in. The study reference books were on the second floor, so I went up the arched stairs that parted to left and right, searching for the shelf that I was aiming for.

There you are.

I took three books from it, and when I went to the checkout, the female clerk, dressed in a sari, asked me, “Is this all?” in English. The official languages ​​of this country were English, Sinhala and Tamil, with English being spoken by both Sinhalese and Tamils. I believed she was Sinhalese. Because the sari was not a Hindu but a Buddhist thing.

“These are volumes 2, 3 and 4. What about volume 1?”

“I bought just volume 1 a while ago. And it was really good, so I also wanted to learn the rest from this book series.”

“So you’re studying Sinhala. That’s rare. Where are you from?”

“I’m Japanese,” I answered.

What I had come to buy was a Sinhala language study reference book. It was a book for people who couldn’t read Sinhala, so it was, of course, written in English. Even so, I had read it a little before traveling. I also found and purchased a Sinhala language study reference book written by a Japanese scholar, which I was able to buy in Japan.

Regardless, it was kind of useless for my range of understanding, so I almost felt like throwing it away before I could learn anything. I told Saul-san about this when asking him for advice, at which he burst into laughter and then bought me a red paperback book.

A Sinhala book written in English.

The letters were very large and there weren’t too many words. As for the quality of the paper, on the bright side, it was straw paper, and on the downside, it was gray and flimsy. But the contents were very easy to understand and the insides were firmly packed.

This reference book taught Sinhala letters first, as well as the meaning and pronunciation of each one. From that point onward, I couldn’t be more thankful for it. Sinhala was a language written with a Sinhalese alphabet, after all. In addition to vowels such as A, I, U, E and O, it jumped on to a variety of consonants and other symbols that stuck one letter to another like joints. It explained each of them carefully so that even people who didn’t know Sinhalese at all could understand them. This book solved a large percentage of the problem that I had stumbled upon, namely “I can’t find the commonalities and differences between letters, so I don’t know how to tell them apart and can’t organize them in my head”. I was grateful for that. There was no need to ask Richard-sensei for a foreign language course via international call all the time anymore.

That being said, there were many letters in Sinhala. Meaning that there were several pronunciations. You’d think that the Japanese syllabary was cute in comparison. Not all of it could be explained in one book, and the lectures were extended over to the second volume, but Saul-san had bought only one book, in case it didn’t suit me. The results were as could be seen. It was the same kind of joy as reading one book from a novel series and then buying all the sequels.

Learning languages was fun. By the looks of it, learning how to link them directly to communication was what worked for me.

“But can’t you live in Sri Lanka while speaking English, even if you don’t understand Sinhala? Are you on a business trip?”

“Something like that, but if possible, I’d like to talk to people using a Sri Lankan language. I’m Japanese, but I’ve had the experience of being a bit happy when someone from a foreign country spoke in Japanese to me, so now I guess it’s my turn.”

“You have so much free time, huh!”

I had no words to reply. The clerk and I burst into laughter without any reserve and finished the checkout. As I went down the arched stairs, I found a space where they were selling festival tools, stationery and picture books. Many of the same books were arranged on two sides.

Or so I thought.

But that was apparently not it. What I thought to be the exact same large-format picture books were the English version and the Sinhala version. You’d miss it if you were distracted because the pictures were the same, but the picture book, which was probably a Sri Lankan version of a “Japanese folktale”-like work, was published in two languages.

“Y’see, the ones who buy these are parents who want their kids to learn English. ‘Cause speaking English comes in handy.”

When I turned around, the clerk who had been at the cash register on the second floor was right behind me. It seemed she had come to see me off. Apparently, the cashier on the first floor called out to her, telling her to go back to work or something like that, to which she replied at length, and the two exchanged laughs. Maybe the people in this bookstore were cheerful, as not all Sri Lankans expressed their emotions so openly.

“This one is the ‘Mean Old Man’. This one is ‘The Perahera Festival’.”

“Can even a small child understand it well?”

“Of course. This book is big so that it’s easy to read to them.”

Indeed, it was a thin picture book of a size larger than A4. In Japan, it wouldn’t be strange for it to have an anime or manga-style art, but the art of this one had an ethnic touch to it, perhaps to match the contents. The colors were rich, the mean old man was drawn in a vile yet comical way, and the blue gradation of the feathers in a bird’s tail looked tasteful.

“Hum, excuse me. Can I buy this too?”

“You’re going to buy it? Do you have children?”

“I’ll read it myself.”

The clerk laughed again, but after a moment, she made a straight face and told me that it certainly might be perfect for studying. I bought the picture book at the cash register on the first floor. Either way, it cost about 500 Sri Lankan rupees, which was about 600 Japanese yen, but in the eyes of this country’s people, that was probably quite a high price. This was a world of 10 rupees for a loaf of bread and 3 rupees for a cup of tea. Thinking like that, I could understand why there weren’t many bookstores and why there were so few people here.

You can’t eat or drink books. They’re not daily necessities either, like clothes, scissors or toothbrushes. Being able to spend money on such things as if it were obvious must be a sign of wealth. My country was all the more disagreeable for having bookstores everywhere. I’d never thought about it that way.

As I took the receipt and said, “Stūtiyi”, which was “thank you” in Sinhala, the black-haired woman smiled, looked at my face and said in Japanese, “Thank you very much. We will be awaiting your return.”

“Amazing!”

“Thanks.”

And so, she told me that her husband had been working with sheet metal in Ibaraki, Japan, for a while. Her pronunciation of the words “Ibaraki” and “sheet metal” was really good. Apparently, her husband had started up a small company with the money he had earned as an immigrant worker and was its president.

With her waving a hand at me and telling me to be careful, I left the store.

Even though it was early spring, the sunlight in Colombo felt like that of midsummer in Japan. But I was growing quite fond of this glare. Everyone walking in the streets was wearing mid-sleeves, and if they were so inclined, beach sandals too, but the humidity wasn’t as high as in Japan, so I could think that, indeed, this was also spring. The white of the temple flowers blooming along the road was refreshing as well. They reminded me just a little bit of cherry blossoms. And from this street, I could clearly see my favorite landmark.

Colombo Tower, a tower that had the lotus flower as its motif.

It was a Tokyo Tower-like landmark, not visible from my base camp, the mountain town of Kandy, and although the shape was grandiose, it was still under construction and nobody could enter it. However, one day – I didn’t know whether that would be while I was still in Sri Lanka or after I had settled somewhere else, but – I definitely wanted to climb that. I would.

May I be a little more proficient in the language of this country than I am now by then, and if possible, may I get to have small talk in the tower.

With a modest goal and a new book, I treaded the way to Saul-san’s office.

[rouiyan]

hiiii if u have time could i request a high school au where jaemin and reader are in the same class and reader catches him staring at them a lot ?? thank u luv 💕💕💕

hey lovely! such a cute rq, i’m down. don’t think i’ve ever mentioned this but jaemin was my first nct bias, so every time i write for him it feels like i’m writing for some long lost first love. anyways, here it goes.

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐎 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆. — jaemin x (gender neutral) reader ✧ word count : 927 ✧ disclaimer : none!

you really wish you had a window seat. maybe then, sitting in class wouldn’t feel like such a drag. pursing your lips, you return your head back to the table as the teacher turns back to the board. you lift it once he turns around once again to face the class. the cycle repeats for the duration of the period, only ending when the bell sounds down the halls at exactly 11:50 AM. lunchtime.

by this time, it’s safe for your friends to assume that you’ve already knocked out after enduring an hour and a half of the monotonous hum of your physics teacher’s lectures; shaking you awake and tugging your limbs out the door, through the hall, and down two flights of stairs is something they do on a daily. but what really jolts you awake is the sound of lisa’s tray thudding down in front of you, paired with a, “so, you mind telling us what all that was about?”

your hand is groggily streaking through your hair, face scrunched in confusion when you reply, “what’s that?” lisa’s complexion denotes incredulity and you’re not oblivious enough to miss that even jisoo’s does as well. lisa follows up, “jaemin? and you?” you pick at the grain of rice that’s escaped the bowl, distractedly, you muse, “jaemin and i...what? what’s up with us?” jennie, who had a different class the previous period, is the last to join your table of five. “what’s up with you and jaemin?”

huffing, lisa relents, “are you guys like...a thing?” jisoo perks up at that, sitting straight with her elbows propped onto the table, “yeah, i saw him stari-” you finish processing lisa’s proposition in the middle of jisoo’s remark, “what?” 

“well we just thought that because he was sta-”

“no, what, no! i-” your voices drops low when you realize who’s sitting two tables down, “he’s right there, you guys might wanna shush up.” they do stop talking about it, but only after jennie adds with a playful glint in her eyes, “why? scared to admit he might like you back?”

jaemin has a window seat, though he wishes he had any other seat in the room. maybe then, he could be closer to you. he doesn’t mind staring from a distance though, something about not needing to be discreet. 

you, on the other hand, are a great deal bored. the period after lunch marks as your least favorite, sucks to say that taking a health course was required. mindlessly, your eyes rove over to the window, hoping to catch a scene of some rowdy boys on the soccer field or maybe an interesting shape in the clouds. instead you’re met with the eyes of na jaemin, burrowing holes into your own. both of you are instantaneous in looking away, heads turned up front, but both of you are also in sync when your heart begins to overwork itself. 

it’s then when it clicks. staring. he was staring at you. you mentally deck yourself in the head with a chair because the girls actually had a point. risking a glance, you dart your eyes over to the boy again, only to swerve back equally as fast when you see that he’s looking right back. 

you pass the majority of the rest of class with your sights held up ahead, for once, though as usual not a word of what your teacher says strings coherent thoughts in your mind. class is over soon, give or take three minutes, when a hand taps urgently on your left shoulder from behind. checking to see that your teacher is still writing out definitions on the board, you turn. the girl behind you has an almost annoyed expression on her face, as if the post-it note she was asked to pass on to you was more a chore than a favor. you also note lisa, who sits behind the girl, currently donning the most anticipating face as she motions for you to hurry up and take it. you assume she knows what it’s about or maybe who it’s from.

what you’re not expecting, as you unfold the pink sticky note, is the writing to be jaemin’s. distinctive in the way he crosses his t’s with swirls. it reads, can i take you on a date after school? with two boxes drawn below, one labeled yes! and the other no! but maybe next time ;).

diligently, you fill in the box as if it were an answer on a scantron test, the blue ink opaque from corner to corner. the bell rings and before the girls even have a chance to launch in your direction, you’re already sending them that look, the one that says ‘i have a love life, go find your own and leave me alone.’ they’re quick to leave but you’re sure your phone is bound to be blown up with questions in just a few moments. you busy yourself with tucking away your textbook and pencil case and everything else except the little slip of paper, all while pretending that you don’t see jaemin’s figure approaching you in your peripheries. 

he’s in front of you now and speaking, two things, both of which you find very hard to digest. you have no clue what he’s saying but you hold out the post-it note for him to see and the smile he gives in return, oh boy, you bet you could stare at it for the rest of your life, even if it meant being stuck in class for all eternity. 

copyright © 2020 rouiyan all rights reserved.

✧ end note — wishes bp were my friends so i manifested it into a fic. thank you, bumble, for requesting, i’m an absolute sucker for high school aus. also, happy friday! my fortune cookie said that today would be a good day so i would like to pass that on to you guys as well. love you!

[kim-ruzek]

Girl Code Duty

Summary: Fix-it for 3x20. Sylvie stops Kim making the bad decision to sleep with Roman.

Warnings: Sean Roman bashing.

Word Count: 3.4k

Read on AO3

Notes: This is the quickest I've wrote a fic in so long and I loved every second of it. This was basically just written as an excuse to Roman bash, and I like fixing things so that Kim never slept with him. I'm just sad I had to acknowledge that my girl Sylvie also had.

Also, a thank you to @justanoffalygirl because one) this fic idea was created when talking to them, and two) for letting me steal a line from their fic.

Sylvie sits at the counter at Molly’s by herself, quietly drinking her beer. It’s one of those nights at the bar, where it’s full—not full-full, that it was loud and overwhelming, but enough that you could sit alone in the crowd peacefully unnoticed—but not that much by fifty-one, or really with their friends from the twenty-first or Chicago med.

It had been a quiet few days. Her shift—which ended that morning—was an uneventful one, nothing too straining happening the whole shift. Those shifts can be hit and miss, for Sylvie. On one hand, they’re a breath of fresh air, a welcome break from the chaos that comes with her work, but in the other hand, they tire her in a whole different way to a chaotic shift.

Sylvie’s born to be a paramedic, and she truly thrives in the situations the profession demands of her, and the days where she does nothing but sit around itches her feet, tiring her with boredom.

And of course she’s still mentally exhausted by all the drama that went down with Chilli.

Sylvie had a rather uneventful day even after the shift. A day spent watching home renovation shows, which though entertaining, just made her even more itchy to do something. And all that did was make Sylvie realise she’s gotten herself into a really boring rut recently.

So in the evening, she found herself at Molly’s.

She had gone thinking at least she’ll get some excitement hanging with her co-workers and friends. Otis isn’t on shift today, but Gabby and Herrmann are and it’s always exciting around them. But the punters are keeping them rather occupied, and the rest of the bar is rather empty of friends.he had gone thinking at least she’ll get some excitement hanging with her co-workers and friends. Otis isn’t on shift today, but Gabby and Herrmann are and it’s always exciting around them. But the punters are keeping them rather occupied, and the rest of the bar is rather empty of friends.

It’s okay, though, she finds herself thinking, enjoying the beer and the peacefulness of just among the crowd. The perks of drinking at a bar, with none of the anxious worries of perverts or being in danger; not with this being a firefighter run bar.

“Herrmann! Another beer, please?” Sylvie’s attention is drawn to where Kim Burgess sits, at a table not too far away from the bar. Her voice is a few octaves louder than it normally is, and Sylvie wonders how many beers she’s had. Having gotten drunk with Kim before, Sylvie would think at least a few.

Kim had been Molly’s when she had came in herself, and Sylvie had not been surprised having heard from Gabby the events that pd and med was focused on today. No one could say they didn’t have a quiet day.

Sylvie briefly had considered going over, but Kim had been sitting with Sean Roman and Natalie Manning, the three looking as if they were processing the day’s events together. Knowing how important those decompressing moments are in their line of work, especially decompressing with those you were ‘in the trenches’ with, as it were, Sylvie had decided against it.

And up until now, Sylvie had forgotten all about them.

In the time between Sylvie getting here, and this moment, Natalie had left, just leaving Kim and Sean remaining, and there is a couple of empty beer bottles on the table.

Sylvie watches them for a few minutes. She’s aware that it’s rude to stare—her mother’s words to her when she was a young girl echoing in her mind—and that she should either look away or go over to them, but something, right at the back of her head, niggles at her, telling her to watch. And as a trained paramedic, Sylvie has learnt to listen to those feelings.

Kim is drunk, that Sylvie could see. Not so much that Herrmann should cut her off, but definitely slightly more than her usual preferred tipsy. Sean is also buzzed, which makes sense depending the case they had. They’re sitting very close to each other, very much in each other’s space, and they’re clearly having a good time as they’re laughing. Kim’s hand keeps touching Sean’s shoulder, a touch he’s very much returning at every given moment.

Yet again, this makes sense; Kim gets super affectionate the more drunk she gets.

But at the same time, Sylvie understands that isn’t Kim’s usual affectionate touch and it dawns on Sylvie why her friend senses have been activated. Sylvie isn’t watching her friend get drunk after a tough day: she’s watching her friend considering making a very stupid, drunken mistake.

Kim is considering sleeping with Sean.

Or, she should say, Kim’s considering letting Sean fuck her, quickly, because Sylvie’s own experience very much told her that there’s no way that man knows the woman is also meant to be satisfied. And what a glow down that would be for her, as from what Kim’s told her drunkenly before, Adam is very good in that area.

No, Sylvie thinks to herself. There’s no way her girl code can allow Kim to have such disappointing dick. It’s a bad decision for Kim to have her post-engagement rebound like this anyway, and even if that wasn’t enough for Sylvie to interfere, she couldn’t in good consciousness subject her friend to that.

Every time Sylvie looks at Sean and remembers that night, all she can think is how she wished someone was able to do that for her.

Sylvie jumps off her stool, walking towards Kim and Sean now stand. It looks like this is their last beer before they’re going to leave, and Sylvie’s glad she spotted them when she did.

“Hello, you two,” Sylvie greets them, inserting herself between the two of them. Cock-blocking her friends to stop them making bad decisions is something she’s rather good at—she’s not just an amazing paramedic who saves people on duty, medically.

A look of irritation passes across Sean’s face, but Kim’s far from annoyed at her sudden presence, evident by how she throws her arms around Sylvie the moment she gets there. Kim hugs her tight, her drunkenness making her squeeze maybe a little too hard.

“Sylvie! Hi.” Kim grins widely at her. “We saw a baby survive today. It was, Sylvie, it was incredible! And amazing! Medicine is truly incredible,”

Sylvie smiles at her friend’s excited amazement. Kim then gasps.

“But I don’t need to tell you that, do I? That’s basically what you do every day. Like a blonde, pretty superhero.” Kim squeezes her again.

“Oh, I don’t know if—” Sylvie begins to protest, but Kim cuts her off.

“Yes. You’re a superhero.” She nods with enthusiasm, certain in her belief. A smile appears on Sylvie’s lips again.

“Okay. I’m a superhero.” She concedes, before adding, “but if I am, you definitely are. You’re a kickass cop!”

“Hm. But you save lives. Like actual lives, people call you when they’re dying. I’m like the sidekick to your superhero. Like you’re the boss, the one people go to. I just help,” Kim rambles on. Sylvie’s got an urge to point out to that technically, paramedics generally turn up to assist cops, not the other way around, but she pushes it down, knowing drunkenness knows no reason or logic.

“Okay, then, sidekick. Let’s get you home,” Sylvie says, thinking that it’s not only best if she stops Kim from leaving with him, but ensuring that even after she leaves the bar that she doesn’t make the bad decision.

“Oh. Brett, actually, Kim and I, uh, we were getting a taxi together,” Sean speaks up then, reminding them of his presence. At the use of her last name, Sylvie almost rolls her eyes. It’s almost as if he was trying to pretend he hadn’t seen her naked, that they hadn’t also “got a taxi together”.

Sylvie must’ve drank more of her beer than she thought as she’s tempted to remind him of such—and how Sylvie had left alone in another taxi only fifty-two minutes later.

“Well, I’m here now,” Sylvie dismisses him, acting as if his meaning of getting a taxi together had gone over her head. She links her arm with Kim’s, keeping her attached to her side. Kim looks between the two of them, as if trying to decide which one to go with. (Like Sylvie would be giving her a choice).

“No, uh—” Sean continues to protest, but Sylvie sticks to doing her friend duty, interrupting him by talking over him.

“Come on, Kim. I’ve had a boring day today, I can use some girl time,” Sylvie tells her friend. At her words, Kim pouts sympathetically at her, and Sylvie knows she’s successfully diverted her friend’s attention away from Roman. Kim then looks at Sean, giving him an apologetic look.

“Sorry, Sean, she needs girl time.” Kim tells him and Sylvie would be lying if she didn’t get some satisfaction in how disappointed Sean looks.

Annoyance is also wrapped up in his expression, but Sylvie can see he’s trying to hide it, presumably so to ensure Kim wouldn’t dismiss whatever was going to happen from happening another day. Sylvie makes a mental note to make sure, when her friend is sober, that this was a one off, that Kim shouldn’t ever consider going there again.

With that settled, Sylvie lightly tugs at Kim, to get them moving towards the door. Sometimes, leading drunken friends can feel very much like herding farm animals, but Kim moves with little encouragement, barely taking the time to say (well, yell rather loudly) a goodbye to Sean before she heads to the exit with Sylvie.

“Can we go to yours instead?” Kim asks, yet again her voice louder than usual, as soon as they get into Sylvie’s car. “You know, for girl time? I really don’t want to be at mine,” she adds on.

“Sure, that’s fine,” Sylvie nods. She understands Kim’s unwillingness to go back to her apartment; just a few weeks ago, she was thinking it would soon not be her home, that she’d be building a life in another apartment with Adam.

After Kim asks her that, she stares out the window for a minute or so, a troubled and sombre expression on her face. All Sylvie does, all she knows Kim needs from her at that moment, is reach over and lightly squeeze her hand.

Then, whatever dark thoughts were swirling around in Kim’s mind passes, and Kim’s her animated drunken self, rambling on about the baby again for the rest of the journey to Sylvie’s apartment.

“So what do you want to do?” Kim asks her when they enter Sylvie’s place. Before Sylvie can answer, Kim gasps, spinning around to face her.

“We could put on some music? I’ve missed dancing. I love Molly’s and all, but it’s not always the best place to just let loose. Or do you want to watch a movie? Oh! Let’s watch one we can make a drinking game to play while watching. Or do you just want to drink and talk? Or a game? But what game would be fun just the two of us? Maybe we should call others. Gabby’s working isn’t she? But maybe—” Kim talks a million miles a minute, her mind jumping all over the place.

“Kim. Kim.” Sylvie grabs her attention, interrupting her friend. “How about we don’t drink, and you go to sleep?”

“But what about you? You wanted girl time.” Kim tilts her head, her drunken confusion amusing Sylvie. Sometimes Sylvie thinks there’s nothing funnier than being sober, or more sober at least, than your drunk friend.

“I’m fine. But you need to sleep. This has already been enough excitement to make up for my boring day,” Sylvie reassures her, expertly leading Kim to get bedroom while she talks.

“Oh. Okay.” Kim accepts. “But do I have to sleep? I’m not tired,”

“That’s because you’re drunk, Kim. You’re buzzed. But you’ll thank me tomorrow, so come on. Get off your shoes. You can borrow some of my clothes to sleep in if you want?” Sylvie offers as Kim sits down on her bed, doing as she said and taking off her shoes. Kim shakes her head.

“’s alright. I can just sleep in this.” She responds. Sylvie can see that she’s starting to loose her buzz, her eyes getting tired.

“You sure?” Sylvie double checks.

“Yeah. But I don’t feel right sleeping here. This is your bed, I’ll take the sofa,” At Kim’s words, Sylvie shakes her head.

“No, I want you to sleep here. It’ll help your hangover to get some good rest. And I’m not on shift tomorrow, so I can sleep the whole day if I want, so it’s fine.” Sylvie reassures her, holding up a hand as Kim goes to protest.

“Kim. I’m a paramedic, remember? You should listen to me.” That stops her, and so Sylvie nudges her, moving onto the next part—actually getting her in the bed. Because it has been a while since Kim’s last drink now, and her buzz is going, leaving a sleepy drunk Kim in it’s wake, that is a relatively easy task.

“You’re such a good friend,” Kim tells her, her voice sleepy, after Sylvie’s gotten her into her bed. Sylvie smiles at the brunette. “An amazing kickass, sweet wonderful friend,”

“You want to know something?” Sylvie asks softly as Kim snuggles down into the sheets, settling. “You’re an amazing kickass, sweet wonderful friend too,”

“No, I’m not.” Kim protests. Her voice is quiet, full of sleep still, but Sylvie can also hear the pain, the hurt, that’s in it. “I’m an idiot. Why did I think I’d get to be happy, that I’d get my happy ever after? And now I never will. Who’ll want to be with me, when they find out I’ve had a failed engagement? I never wanted this, I only ever wanted to be engaged once, and now. I’ll probably never be again.”

Sylvie sits on her bed, next to where Kim lies. Kim’s looking at her with such pain and hurt in her eyes, a pain and hurt that Sylvie has known herself, and she’s glad she intervened because this Kim, this drunken hurt Kim, is most definitely not ready for a rebound.

“Kim. That’s not true. You will find love again, I mean, you’re a catch! And who cares if you’ve had a failed engagement—so have I, remember? It doesn’t define you or stop you from getting dates. Yeah, it’s a little bit more than this, but it’s still essentially just another break-up.” Sylvie strokes some of Kim’s hair, in the way her mother did to her when she was a little girl.

“And you are many things, Kim Burgess, but an idiot is not one of them. You deserve happiness, and you will get it. I promise. And if anyone ever tells you otherwise, give me their names and I’ll kick their ass. And that includes you, yourself. You’re a wonderful person, and you should recognise that.” Sylvie reassures her friend, her voice firm, showing how serious she is.

Kim gives her a small smile, her eyes having become watery at Sylvie’s words. Sylvie can still see the pain in her, but she can also see that her words has had an affect on Kim, in a positive way. From her own experience, Sylvie knows Kim is far off from being totally okay, but she knows that a small part of her has been healed ever so slightly. And that is a win, for both of them.

It’s not long after that Kim falls asleep. Sylvie turns off her bedroom light, after putting a glass of water and paracetamol in her bedside table for when Kim wakes up in the morning.

Sylvie’s already awake, sitting at her kitchen table with a cup of coffee, pancakes and a newspaper when Kim sleepily stumbles out of her bedroom rubbing her eyes.

“Good Morning,” Sylvie smiles at her in greeting. Kim blinks at her for a few seconds before returning the smile.

“Morning,” Kim’s voice is still groggy from sleep. Sylvie pushes her plate towards her.

“Here. Eat.” Sylvie tells her. Kim opens her mouth, and sensing protestions, she holds up her hand. “You look like you could do with it, and I can always make more.”

Sylvie watches as Kim sits down at the table, obediently beginning to eat. She rises, heading for her fridge. “I’ve got some bacon you can eat with that, if you want? It’ll help you with your energy. Also, I can make you some coffee,”

At that, Kim’s head lifts up. “Coffee,”

Sylvie laughs at that reaction, and how Kim’s voice sounds so desperate and she realises offering the coffee should’ve been her first move.

“Please,” Kim then adds, as if realising that she could be coming off rude. She isn’t, of course. Sylvie recognises she’s just sleepy and hungover, but Kim is always so conscious of being polite. “Thank you. And could I have some of that bacon, please? It sounds like such a good option right now,”

Sylvie places the freshly made cup of coffee in front of Kim before working on the bacon. It’s silent in the apartment, as Sylvie cooks and Kim eats, and she finds herself thinking that if she hadn’t been at Molly’s, Kim would’ve been having a very different, awkward morning instead.

“Sylvie?” Kim says as she eats the bacon. Sylvie looks up from her newspaper. “Thanks. For what you said last night. I, I needed to hear that.” Kim smiles at her and Sylvie returns it.

“No problem. Really, Kim. I’ve been there, remember? And at least I didn’t have to see my ex-fiancé every day at work.” Sylvie affectionately squeezes Kim’s hand. “Anytime you need to talk, especially to someone who understands, I’m here. Even if you just want to get drunk and talk about anything else,” Kim smiles appreciatively at her words.

After Kim’s finished her coffee and food, she tells Sylvie that she’s going to go, needing to go back to hers and shower and get dressed before work. Sylvie offers to drive her, but Kim shakes her off, saying she’ll get a taxi. Sylvie wants to protest, insist, but she can tell that Kim isn’t just wanting a taxi because of not wanting to a burden, but because she needs the time alone, so Sylvie drops the matter.

“Thank you. Really.” Kim says to her as she goes to leave. She hugs Sylvie tightly, appreciatively, a hug Sylvie happily returns. “And not just for this, breakfast and letting me sleep here, or even not just for what you said but for the whole night. I, I was feeling very emotional and that combined with the alcohol... I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for making decisions,” Sylvie nods, getting exactly what Kim meant.

“It’s fine. My duty, really, as your friend.” Sylvie replies, continuing.

“I mean not just because I’ve been there, and because you were drunk, but because honestly? As your friend, it’s my duty to save you from disappointing dick,” Sylvie pulls a face, remembering her encounter with Roman.

A laugh splutters out of Kim, and she leans forward towards Sylvie. “Really? He’s no good? I mean...I get that vibe, but really?”

“Kim. I was out of his apartment fifty-two minutes later. He’s not just disappointing, he’s quick and awful. Very in-out, selfish kind of man.” Sylvie grimaces as she remembers. Kim laughs again, and Sylvie’s happy at least something good came out of that night.

“Oh god. Really, then. Thank you. I mean, I get the vibe, but you seriously left that soon after?” Kim shakes her head. “I’m sorry you had to go through that,”

“Trust me, so am I. So, please, Kim, never ever consider that again, no matter how drunk. It will not be worth it.” Sylvie shivers at the memory. Kim pulls her in for another hug.

“Don’t worry, I won’t. I don’t even know why I even considered it. Maybe because I know how much Adam hates him, so I was kind of being a bit destructive? I don’t know. But whatever the reason, it has passed. If I’m going to make a bad decision, I better be getting satisfaction from it,” she reassures her. Sylvie grins.

“Good. My job here is done, then.” Sylvie pauses. “And Kim, for what it’s worth? If I was you, I’d probably spend some time thinking about that reason why—maybe your relationship with Adam isn’t as failed as you think. But I know I don’t know the ins and outs, so maybe don’t give my opinion much thought. Now, you should get a move on! You’ve got work.”

Kim gives Sylvie a thoughtful look, before nodding. “Yeah, I should go. Bye, and uh, thanks again,” she says, before heading out of the door.

[maysbanks]

she moves in her own way. (jj maybank)

due to the ASTOUNDING response to my first jj fic which i have to say a huuuge thank you to everyone that liked, commented & reblogged, it honestly means the absolute world !! i couldn't wait much longer to start writing for my boy again, i have so many fic ideas and cannot wait to get them out to y'all. this one is shorter than the last, & the title is inspired from the song 'she moves in her own way' by the kooks (lol) but isn't necessarily based off of it, it's just something that i wrote up quickly bc i was in my feels™️ . also i feel very unoriginal with the whole plot and aspect of this but im gonna post it anyway bc i love jj lmao. anyway hope u enjoy !

warnings: swearing, underage drinking, drug use, violence, jj with a gun™️

summary: reader walks the fine line between either pogue or kook, though technically a kook, she ignores all social standings of the obx and jj maybank cannot stop himself from getting caught up in her whirlwind.

( gif isn’t mine! please let me know if it’s yours so i can credit you. )

Everyone seemed to have a different perspective of you, unsurprisingly. You weren't really much of a social butterfly, you kept yourself to yourself, really. Nobody in the Outer Banks knew much about you at all, other than what they had come up with in their heads. And while you tried your best to stay in the shadows, that only seemed to make you stand out more.

You were known for being the best of both worlds - not really a Pogue, but not really a Kook either. While your social status and family wealth suggested you to be a Kook, your free spirit and reckless behaviour fitted you better towards the Pogue style. If anyone were to ask you, you told them you were neither.

Why should a name define you anyway? You thought it was all bullshit, the stupid territorial arguments and the snide comments from both sides. You thought it was ridiculous, you weren't living in The Outsiders, for fuck sake.

You moved in your own way, simple as that. You wouldn't let anyone tell you what to do, where you can't or shouldn't be, it was a free country you'd say, middle finger salute ready to aim towards anyone who dared cross you. You were an enigma, wild and careless, unforgiving and unforgettable. You didn't necessarily like the attention, but you got it. And you knew it, and you played on it, too.

You had used your irresistible charm more than enough times to bail JJ Maybank out of trouble, despite your parents' protest. They didn't have a problem with the Pogues, persay, how could they when your dad been one half of his life before meeting your mom and marrying into the rich lifestyle; they just had a problem with JJ, as many of the parents on the island did. He was an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, weed smoking, knuckles constantly torn, skin bruised, quick wit, sarcastic humour, daddy issues, you know the type. Kids loved him, parents hated him.

You were friends with JJ, you supposed. You spent your time with him talking about your days and smoking a joint, meaningful conversations turning into joking and general tomfoolery within seconds. With JJ, you were simply unapologetically you, and JJ never judged you. He never made you choose a side, seemingly content with the fact that you were a little bit of everything, though there was times when he teased you relentlessly about the Kook life, but that was just JJ.

And despite the social differences, him being a Pogue through and through, you technically a Kook, you were drawn to each other pretty easily. Not that you hung out all the time, but you loved every second when you did, usually joined by his group of best friends - John B, Pope, and Kiara. With Kiara a Kook herself but drawn more to the lifestyle of the Pogue's, she understood you more than anyone. You'd bonded a lot, and with each of them too.

JJ loved that you fitted in with them, like a missing puzzle piece. So perfectly, it shook him to its core. The pair of you were close, but he had no idea where he stood with you, like most people never when it came to you. You were like a rollercoaster, taking people for the most exciting ride of their lives that lasted a full three or so minutes before they returned back to solid ground. You'd given JJ a ride a number of times on your non-existent metaphorical rollercoaster, and he'd returned for another ride time and time again. You couldn't say no to that damned boy.

It was a blessing and a curse, the unspoken relationship you shared. A blessing because JJ was the best thing that happened to you, and a curse because that was your downfall. You never got attached to people, never given yourself the chance. But then JJ Maybank had come along, blonde hair and blue eyes, split lip and sharpened teeth, words cunning. You saw him as a challenge at first, the name Kook Princess haunting you as he spoke them, stood in front of you at the keg upon your first real meeting. He'd held a drink out towards you, smirk perfect on his pink lips.

You'd attended over a hundred kegger's in your lifetime, the Pogue parties more inviting than those of the Kook's. You danced and talked to anyone that came across your path, whether it be unknowing Tourons, unjudging Pogues, or unforgiving Kooks, you drew them all in. You didn't fit in with any of them, JJ had realised. You really did move in your own way, he thought. He liked that, he'd decided. And hey, you were pretty cute too.

On that particular night, he'd spoken to you directly for the first time in a long time. "Would the Kook Princess like a drink?" He'd asked, holding the red cup out towards you. You'd eyed the offended object, and subsequently him, too. He smirked at the attention. You had rolled your eyes.

"Don't call me that," you'd said simply, but taking the cup from his hands regardless. You took a sip, relieved to discover that he hadn't tampered with it in any way. You were still considered a Kook to most people, after all. You could never be too careful. "Thanks, Maybank."

And he'd blinked at you, lips suddenly raising to a sly smile as he shrugged, dimples winking at you as they appeared in his cheeks. "Anytime," and he'd spoken your name back to you and you couldn't get enough of the way it sounded coming from his mouth, and you realised hey, this guy is pretty cute, and the rest, as they, is history.

You were in the midst of another infamous Pogue kegger at the current, months after your first introduction to JJ Maybank and his friends, and you stood off to the side, listening to JJ intently as he ranted about the events of the day he'd endured. Starting from finding a Grady White sunken in the marsh, "A fucking Grady Marsh, they're like 500 G's man!", to discovering that the boat belonged to Scooter Grubbs, who had coincidentally been found dead that same day, to getting chased by two guys with a gun, to the finding of the motel key from the wreck and breaking in that same motel room, finding a safe full of money and a gun of all things, to their best attempt at laying low which, unsurprisingly, resulted in the kegger in the first place.

JJ was wild in his recite of the events, hands gesturing every which way as you watched him with your lips curled into your mouth, resisting a smile at his antics. When he finished he retelling, you raised an eyebrow and chuckled dryly. "So, complete and utter boring day for you, huh?"

JJ chuckled along with you, shaking his head as if he was still in disbelief from everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours. "Man, it was crazy," he muttered. He looked at you then, eyes sincere. "I wish you were there with us. It was like something straight from a movie, I'm telling you. I feel like such a badass with that gun."

Your secret joy at his confession of that he wished you were was short lived, as the last of his words sunk in and you felt dread build in the pit of your stomach. You stared at him, him so excited that he hadn't even realised your face had dropped, before you reached out and grabbed his arm, effectively halting his movements and stopping the hurried flow of words that were leaving his mouth.

"JJ," you said carefully, eyes trained on his as he stared, clueless. "Please tell me you did not take that gun from the safe."

Your heart dropped as you saw him falter, his lips helplessly moving but no words coming out. He held a hand up, as if to hush you, though you hadn't started to speak again, and then his hand had dropped just as quick as it was raised, his teeth biting down on his chapped lip as the realisation dawned on you.

"JJ Fucking Maybank," you spat, hands slapping gently at his arms, because you could never really hurt him, you just wanted him to know you were pissed. "Do you realise how fucking careless that is? How much trouble you could get into, if anyone knew you had a gun-" your voice trailed off, your eyes closing as you exhaled. "JJ, please tell me you don't have it on you right now."

His lack of reply was the only answer you needed, and your stomach churned as you stepped back from his figure, suddenly feeling sick. He followed you, though, not letting you get too far as he took your arms in his hands and tried to drag you closer to him once more. You shook your head, arms slipping from his hold as you glared at him fiercely.

"That's so fucking stupid, JJ. You could get into serious trouble with this, trouble I won't be able to get you out of." You warned, because you knew it was true. Your charm and looks could get him out of some trouble to its extent, but it was more so your parents wealth and status that got the both of you out of shit when you managed to get into it, and you also knew your parents would literally throw a fit if you got involved in something like this - carrying a gun was no joking matter. You stepped back once more, hand finding its way to your forehead. "And from a crime scene, no less. Fucking hell."

JJ licked his lips, standing back roughly as you watched, his jaw clenching. "Well I'm not asking for your help here, Princess," he taunted, the nickname sending a wave of annoyance through you. JJ knew it would. "It's not like I ask you to help me, you're just there. Thinking I need help, like I'm some fucking charity case, a fucking doll you picked up from the thrift store that was gonna be thrown out the next day."

You tried to protest, but JJ didn't give you the chance. "I don't need your help all the fucking time. I don't need your pity. I get that you won't understand because why would you? You're a Kook, you get everything you want handed to you on a silver platter. And you can argue and fight me about it all you want, but I know you know it's true."

He sighed heavily, hands running down his face in a sign of defeat. You watched him all the while, thankful that you had ventured off the outskirts of the party so that hopefully nobody had heard JJ shouting at you, your heart wrenching as his blue eyes settled on you. "I'm sorry, JJ," you said finally. You refused to cry, though the desire to at the sight of him being so mad at you tore you apart. "I'm just trying to look out for you. With the gun thing, with everything that I help you with. And I know I'm a Kook, and I know that my parents could afford to buy half of this fucking island if they pleased, but that doesn't define me. I care, okay? And I know I care a lot more than a lot of people in your life."

It was probably a low blow, and you knew it. But JJ took it in, let the words sink into his brain where they stayed there, his fists clenching at his sides. You crossed your arms over your chest, defeated.

"I'm gonna go back to the party," you whispered. "I'll see you around, I guess." You eyed his pockets, unsure of where exactly he held the gun. "Be careful, okay."

And even when you were angry with him, you still tried to make sure he was okay, that he stayed safe. There was multiple occasions you'd showed up unannounced, simply asking how his day was, if he okay, if he had eaten that day, stayed hydrated. At first the attention startled him, he'd never really had anyone look out for him in that aspect, and yet there you were, like an angel sent from the gods themselves, smiling down at him.

You cared, he realised. You cared so much that sometimes he couldn't take it, because he didn't know how. The most family he'd ever gotten close to having in his life was the Pogues, after losing his mother and subsequently losing his father too as he turned into the monster that he was, cold and distant, fists always poised ready for an imaginary fight, and he knew that someday the Pogues would even slip through his fingers. He couldn't let that happen with you. He wouldn't.

He'd started off in your direction, truly, he had. But then John B was grabbing him and averting his attention to him, and he focused on his friend, promising only a minute of his time. You were in his sights, stood a bit away, and he recognised the couple you were talking to as Sarah Cameron and Topper Thorton, Kooks through and through. He held his distaste back, and even held a drink out to offer to Sarah as she and Topper made their way past where he and John B were standing. Big fucking mistake, he realised quickly.

It had all happened in a blur of events, each little bit leading to big finale - as he watched his best friend being held down in the water, powerless to Topper who kneeled over him, hands forcing John B to stay put in the sea. Sarah was screaming at Topper, Pope was holding JJ back with all his might, Kie beside them as she screamed along with Sarah to let John B go. And there you were, suddenly beside JJ, gripping his arm tightly as you took in the sight with a horrified glare. JJ didn't even hesitate; the gun had been pulled from his shorts and was directed at Topper's head in the blink of an eye.

The fury in his veins was red hot and ugly, tearing through every part of him like a vice. This was the Pogues land, their side of the island, and yet the Kooks still thought they could get away with anything and everything - including, apparently, attempting to drown his best friend.

"Your move, broski," JJ uttered through clenched teeth. He could hear the screams of the crowd behind him, and he pulled the gun away from Topper's head and into the direction of the sky, firing two shots towards it as the crowd of people quickly dispersed, screeches sounding from all over. "Now everybody needs to get the fuck off our side of the island!"

He was shoved to the side as Sarah rushed to her boyfriend, telling him he was fucking crazy or something like that, he wasn't really listening. The shots rang in his ears, and the adrenaline of the moment soured through him. Kie and Pope were screaming at him, he could hear their voices distantly. His blue eyes were unfocused for a second, before they looked up, and there you were.

Sent from the gods themselves, once again. You looked vibrant, so insanely alive, lips red and cheeks flushed, eyes bright. You let out a shaky breath as you watched him. JJ clenched his jaw.

"He was going to drown John B," he thought he'd said, but he wasn't sure. He didn't really know what to keep track of at that moment, Kie and Pope's obvious disapproval at him literally doing the one thing they swore not to do, Sarah and Topper stumbling away from the scene in the distance, John B getting up and muttering something along the lines of he wasn't going to drown me, or you, simply staring at him.

Before he knew what he was doing, JJ had made his way towards you. The gun was still held in his hands, and you swallowed thickly as you eyed it. "You should put that away," you muttered. JJ seemed confused, before he caught on to what you meant and he shoved the gun back to the spot of in between his shorts and his hip. "You literally did the one thing I said not to, you tool."

JJ cracked a smile, small and uncertain as he gazed at you. You stepped closer to him, eyes glancing over his shoulder. "You really pissed them off," you said, meaning his friends.

JJ shrugged, because he didn't care about their opinion, he cared about yours. And if you hated him now, hated the fact that he was just some dirty Pogue who held guns against people's heads now, apparently. "I don't care about what they think," he spoke softly. You looked at him confused. "I care about what you think."

You smiled softly, shrugging one shoulder. "Topper was going to drown John B," you replied, matter of fact. "If you hadn't stepped in when you did, who knew what could have happened. Nothing could have stopped him." You bit your lip, hand reaching out and touching his face gently, thumb soothing over the worried line between his brows. "You did the right thing, J. A fucking crazy and stupid thing, potientally dangerous, but the right thing nonetheless."

"Yeah, that's kind of my go-to, if you haven't already noticed," JJ smiled, tongue running over his bottom lip. You rolled your eyes, though playful. "Look, I'm sorry about before, okay. I was a dick. I know you care, but sometimes that's what scares me."

Your eyebrows furrowed, a confused expression on your face as your hand dropped from his face to intertwine with his own hand, his gaze suddenly becoming fixed on your linked hands, his other absentmindedly playing with your fingers that held his hand.

"It's like, you're this untouchable thing. I mean, you don't belong to anyone, you refuse to go by anything other than your name, and you're like this perfect mix between Pogue and Kook even if you do hate it and everyone knows who are you and they make these stories up about you, like that's how popular you are," JJ chuckled. "And then you hang out with me, you look past all the dirty Pogue shit, see me for who I am, and you care. And you care so god dammed much that it fucking terrifies me because nobody's ever cared that much before about me, so why should you?"

His hand left yours to remove the hat from sitting atop his hair and then run his hand through the blonde locks. You could see his tongue running along the outsides of his bottom teeth, the action causing a bump beneath his skin. He looked nervous than you had ever seen him before, and you'd both gotten into enough nerve-wracking situations together to compare. You sighed as your hands reached for his face, gripping his cheeks and forcing his eyes to gaze down at yours.

"JJ Maybank," you started, grinning softly. "You listen to me while I tell you that you deserve the fucking world and more. All this shit that you're going through, all the crap you deal with on a daily basis, you carry it so well that nobody would even know. You fight through each day and I don't even know how you manage it half the time. I admire you so much, J. And I can't help but care about you, even if you don't want me to. I care about you so much, that you wanna know a secret? It scares me too."

JJ gazed down at you lovingly, his forehead moving to rest against yours. You welcomed the embrace, his arms wrapping around your waist and squeezing you gently, as if reassuring himself that you were actually there.

"JJ," you whispered as you were stood in silence for a precise minute, neither of you daring to break the silence until you had. His blue eyes stared into yours, awaiting the next part of your speech. You swallowed your nerves down, figuring fuck it. "I'm so in love with you."

He grinned, his head swooping down before you knew it and his lips pressing against yours in a heated embrace that sent a sensation of butterflies to fly wildly in your stomach, bashing against your ribcage and taking your breath away. Shivers flew up your spine, and every hair on your body stood on edge as the kiss grew heavier, tongues brushing and teeth clattering, bodies pressed against each other as much as they could manage.

When JJ's lips left yours, you almost whined. JJ grinned cheekily, hands digging into your hips. "I love you," he breathed against the skin of your neck as he buried his head there, lips tickling the flesh. "I can't believe you just macked on me while I have a gun in my pocket."

You rolled your eyes and tugged gently on his hair, spurring a laugh from him as you shoved him away and grinned despite yourself. "Do not remind me, please," you warned him, allowing him to pull you into his side as you made your way down the beach. "I still can't believe you took that thing."

"I knew it'd come in handy though," he grinned, pulling you closer with the arm thrown over your shoulder. You wrapped yours around his waist, face squished in his chest as you shook your head.

"You're an idiot, Maybank."

[angeltrapz]

Chainshipping ask!! Chainshipping ask!! hello beloved mutual Connor 💚💚 Just cuz idk I love couple shit, what do u think is their favorite movie to watch together? bc I think they have very different genre tastes so what is th one that just hits So Right for them both, their go-to for date nights where they can’t decide on smthn — also, bc i LOVE th idea in any situation of there bein a cork board that Adam pins his photos on: Adam’s top 3-5 fav photos that he’s put up on the board? Lawrence’s top 3-5? who’s in them, what’s the story behind them, etc!

hello beloved mutual adam!! tysm <3

ohh I've given that a lil bit of thought actually!! I agree that they have very very different genre tastes, like some of the shit Adam is perfectly fine w watching Lawrence couldn't ever sit through (I don't know that Adam likes, you know... Super Fucked Up Movies? I def think he doesn't mind certain aspects of horror/gore as much as Lar might though), and the same can be said vice versa. so because I am a simple man w simple joys, I actually do like to think it's The Princess Bride,,, (no it's not bc Cary's in it, but that's a plus) it's a movie that would've come out when Adam was pretty young but (since I like projecting??) it was smth that was on a lot after it came out, and I don't think he'd outwardly TELL ppl this, but it's a very good movie to watch when he's upset/tired/needs background noise. he could probably recite certain parts of it at this point but don't ask him abt it jdfkddfs

I think the first time Adam suggests that movie Lawrence looks at him for a moment and is like "really???" bc I firmly believe he would be really fond of it too!! he watches it every so often with Diana bc she really enjoys it and Lar can't say he doesn't enjoy it too,, he'll like try to get some work done while it's on (he and Diana will sit in the living room), but inevitably it'll get pushed to the side bc Lawrence gets caught up in watching it, no matter how many times they've seen it. so when Adam brings that up he's just like "!!!!!" internally!! he's so excited abt it + Adam can definitely tell, so the whole time he's just like "oh... I love you 💞💖💕"

I like the idea that they specifically have like, certain traditions when they decide to watch it, so like. they've got the comfiest blanket out on the couch, probably some sort of takeout or delivery if Lawrence hadn't made something for dinner himself, hot chocolate made with milk the way Adam likes it - sometimes they bake chocolate chip cookies together too!! just a nice evening to relax and enjoy each other’s company + a movie they’re both pretty fond of!! it usually ends with Adam’s head on Lawrence’s shoulder, his legs in Lawrence’s lap, sound asleep. sometimes Lawrence will drift off too for a little while, but once he wakes up he makes sure to wake Adam up too so they can go to bed properly (Lawrence will never admit to this, but sometimes if Adam whines and asks for five more minutes, well, Lawrence doesn’t have the heart to deny him,,)

+ YEAH I love the cork board idea too!!! I like the idea that Lawrence is the first to suggest it, ‘cause “Adam, you are far more talented than you give yourself credit for; also I love you.” bc Adam is 100% the kind of dude that takes pictures of his partners/friends/family CONSTANTLY. and even beyond that, Lawrence has always thought Adam was talented!! so it breaks his heart a little sometimes to hear that Adam isn’t confident in his skills/feels nervous sharing any shots with people. he figures if they have a cork board specifically for pinning up photos they like/Adam is proud of, maybe that will help a little bit to show Adam how much he loves his photography + how impressed Lawrence is with it!!

so, for Adam’s top three favourite shots:

the first is a photo of Lawrence in bed, having just woken up + with the early morning sun framing him in a gentle wash of light that makes his eyelashes bright and evident, along with softening the features of his face. Adam was already awake before Lawrence (though admittedly not for very long), and he was just overcome with the feeling of I Need To Document This. he stubbed his toe when getting out of bed to retrieve his camera, but it was totally worth it.

the second is actually one Lawrence took of him, and he totally teared up the first time he saw it but he’d never tell you that. it’s a picture of him leaning against the counter in their kitchen, wearing only his boxers and one of Lawrence’s t-shirts that hung off of one shoulder, and his eyes are closed while he’s holding a cup of coffee he’d just poured. his hair was a disaster, he was a little bit grouchy, he’d had trouble with the toaster, but Lawrence saw him and instantly felt like he needed to keep that moment.

the third is actually one of he, Lawrence, and Diana; it was taken using the self-timer feature so Adam could be in it too, because Diana wanted to have a picture of all three of them. this is the picture that actually DID make him cry the first time he saw it, because it’s just like. that’s his family!!! he loves them!!! holy shit!!! and Lawrence had to hug him for a while even though he was Also having a moment,, Diana walked up to the two of them and hugged them both too. it was a good moment for the three of them!!

for Lawrence’s top three favourite shots:

the first is one of he and Diana that Adam took one weekend while Diana was staying with them at the apartment, stealthily shot from the threshold of the kitchen. Diana is painting his nails light blue and telling him all about her day at school, and Lawrence is smiling and his mouth is open because he was in the middle of responding to something she had said. the faint glow of light from the TV and the lamps they have on the side tables paint he and Diana in a warm kind of light, and it just looks so soft. he’s so very happy with the family he has now.

the second photo is one that Adam had gotten when he was in the midst of changing into his sleep clothes, sandy blond hair a mess and his eyes half-lidded and sleepy as he glances in the direction of the camera with a tired smile. he’s actually grinning at Adam behind the viewfinder, slacks halfway down his thighs and his dress shirt unbuttoned to expose the undershirt beneath. he was tired as fuck and kind of a mess after pulling a long shift that Adam just barely stayed up for, so knowing Adam was probably worn out from waiting up for him and Still wanted to take a picture? it’s very much just 🥺🥺

the third picture is one that he took of Adam, wearing one of his college sweatshirts on the couch with his knees drawn up under his chin and his cheek resting against the tops of them. he was deeply focused on the movie that was playing (what the movie was, Lawrence forgets) and he was that soft kind of sleepy, eyes slipping shut every so often as he forces himself to stay awake to finish whatever it was. Lawrence had gotten it one of the times his eyes were open, bathed in the multicoloured lights of the TV, and god Lawrence just felt his heart clench and knew he needed this.

honestly, it’s pretty equal between the two of them on who takes pictures of the other, and though Lawrence is inexperienced and his shots are a little blurry or he forgets to keep his thumb out of the frame, it’s still perfect. Adam always feels his chest swell with this emotion of you love me enough to capture these moments forever, and honestly? Lawrence’s enthusiasm kind of builds up his confidence a little; that he sees Adam even with the wildest of bedhead and drool on his pillow and thinks Yes, I Need This. it’s so. 🥺

it’s their life, pinned up for anyone to see when they come to visit. the love that warms the apartment and their hearts, as evidenced by the numerous array of pictures they have displayed. it’s them, their family, their love, and that’s all that matters. <33

[writeiolite]

a man with a plan — [ WTF U! 05 ]

❝ You’re close to your dream life: early graduation and big-city opportunities. A one night stand with Oikawa turned into two, which turned to three, which somehow turned into two little lines on a plastic stick. It was nice being able to live your dreams, but suddenly it’s time for you both to wake the fuck up and start being parents. ❞

wc: 1,506

WTF U!: m.list . 05 . 06

"Your birthday isssss..."

"June 24th."

"Huh... That's like, Gemini, right?"

"Cancer."

"Ohh, me too!! See, Y/N-chan, we are a lot alike."

"We aren-"

"Any allergies? Gotta make sure the baby is healthy."

"Yeah, I'm allergic to annoying conversations like this."

It had been going on for nearly 30 minutes. This all started with a simple "Can I ask you a question?" while you scrambled eggs for yourself, but now Oikawa hasn't shut up and even nonchalantly slid you three extra eggs for himself. Even when your responses are short and dull, he acts like he could have a conversation all by himself.

"Aw, don't be so harsh, cutie," he says dismissively, and his word choice reminds you of the first night you had fallen for his tricks.

"Say, why don't you ever eat out with the team?"

You turned around at the familiar voice, looking up at the setter in front of you. Everyone at the little cocktail party either wanted to be with him or be him, and you were no exception. The difference between you and some of the rest was that you didn't have the time nor energy to constantly pursue him.

"Eh..." You shrug and Oikawa tilts his head. "It's expensive."

"Well next time we go out it's my treat," he told you a grin, and one of your coworkers came up with a pout.

"Tooru-kun, why are you inviting her out," she asked while sneering at you. Tsuyu never got along with you. She viewed you as incompetent and in her way — competition if you will.

"Aw, don't be so harsh, cutie," Oikawa cooed, giggling lightly at her clear jealousy. His arm wrapped around your shoulder while he smiled innocently down at you. "L/N-san is part of the family too. Ne, L/N-san tell her, won't you?"

Seeing how irritated Tsuyu became, you suddenly had the time and energy to pursue Oikawa Tooru.

You put a bowl filled with eggs on the table while waiting for the bacon to fry. Much to your surprise, Oikawa gets up and begins setting the table. For him, though, it's the least he could do after his cruelty these past several days. He's trying to pretend this is the most normal thing, but the elephant in the room is growing bigger with every second of silence. And he's definitely not going to bring it up first. He's too prideful.

"Thank you for the food!" He says cheerfully, digging in without any sense of shame once the measly breakfast is in front of him. You have to refrain from boring holes through him, but you don't refrain from opening your mouth.

"Can we cut the bullshit already?"

No. Oikawa chews his food like you said nothing at all. "What do you mean?"

"I swear to god-"

He sets his fork down with a forceful clank, making you clench your jaw. You're irritated, he knows that. But you aren't the only one.

"This is how every morning is gonna go for the next 18 years. You know that, right?" His eyes don't bother to bore holes through you. No, they're piercing you straight through your neck and catching your breath, and there's something dangerously predatory about them. Much different from his faux lighthearted expression from earlier.

But like always, you're not one to back down from a challenge. And maybe that's why Oikawa is so drawn to you and doesn't shut you down when you bite back. "You sound so certain when days ago you were convinced the baby isn't even yours."

He knows you're right to point that out, but he doesn't take too fondly to hearing about his more shameful moments. He's caught between wanting to change for this potential new life and wanting to ignore it completely — he knows that without you pointing it out.

"I'm just trying to prepare for every possible scenario," he grits out. "If it's not mine then I'll leave with no problem whatsoev-"

"For Christ's sake, it's yours! We both know that. Not to metaphorically suck your dick but there wasn't anyone else I was interested in hooking up with." You're clenching your fork so tightly that your hand is trembling. Oikawa's eyes never leave your face, as if he's picking you apart and hyper-analyzing you with a biological lie detector.

You hate this part of him already. The part that's too good for you and anyone else on this shitty planet. The part that tears you limb from limb and figures you out in a matter of seconds. You've seen him do this on the court, but it's another thing to see him do it at your cherrywood dining table at the cusp of fall.

"Okay," he says simply, and he begins to eat again. He doesn't know what to tell you. His mind is completely blank right now. All he planned was to barrage you with cruel words last night after having realized how dumb he was. He wanted to make you feel bad about his mistakes. He didn't plan on staying the night and eating breakfast with you, so he's coming up with responses as he goes.

"'Okay?'"

"Yep. My mom told me if you have nothing nice to say-"

"Oh, please say it so I can kick your ass."

"You sure are a lot meaner now..." You raise a fist at him, making him hold his hands up in surrender. "Listen, listen. Let's walk through our plans."

It's almost comical to you how now he wants to talk things through. After all that he put you through, now he's willing to step up and act like a responsible adult. You're convinced you have every right to be bitter about that.

"We could move in together to save some money. Plus, I don't think my parents would approve of us with how we are not. So-" he pauses to drink his lemonade "-I say we just tell our parents we've been dating for a while and we were considering marriage already. And the baby can be a push factor toward that."

"No."

"'No?'"

"Yes, 'no,'" you repeat with extra emphasis. "That's way too big of a lie. My parents will wonder why I never brought you up in conversation. They'd probably be against all of this no matter how we phrase it."

"Hmm..." Oikawa chews his bacon in thought. If you listen to everything he says then his plan can't fail, but he also doesn't know your parents. That's a factor he can't consider when coming up with a way to make this work. After all, neither of you are in a position to raise a kid on your own like this. And while he believes in letting you do what you want with your body, his heart aches a little at the thought of Tooru Jr being aborted. Hm... Tooru Jr... It has a nice ring to it.

"What if," you start, pulling Oikawa out of his trance. "We tell our parents the truth but also tell them our plan for raising the baby?"

Oikawa gets up and brings the lemonade pitcher over, refilling both of your glasses while he ponders your words. "What's our plan?"

"Don't have one yet." Oikawa looks at you in deadpanned annoyance. "But! Telling the truth with a solid plan is better than lying."

Oikawa shakes his head while sitting down next to you again. "No, telling a solid lie is better because they'll be more inclined to help you plan."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is, Y/N-chan. Clearly, we aren't as alike as I thought, but trust me on this. I'm older than you so I know better."

Don't imagine yanking his hair out, Y/N... No matter how tempting, don't do it... You glare at your plate, quickly finishing off the last of your food and chugging your lemonade while he continues to talk.

"We can tell an exaggerated truth if we have to, but let's start with baby steps — no pun intended. Like talking on the phone with each other's parents or something. We can play it off as normal as possible for as long as we need until we come up with something better."

You didn't like the idea, but Oikawa doesn't care. This will buy you guys time and save face. The last thing he's gonna do is admit to the volleyball team, his family, and friends that he accidentally knocked you up.

There are no more protests from your end, but not because you agree with his scheme. You need to come up with a counter idea. The two of you are a lot more alike than you care to admit — you both are able to analyze a situation and come up with a plan. He's faster than you are, but you aren't done thinking things through just yet.

"If-"

"Y/N-chan."

That look. That threatening look of control. There's a shadow over his eyes again and this time you don't have the urge to counter him.

"Don't let me down."

{ taglist — tell me if you want to be added or taken off: @vventure​ @ilikeyourstory​ }

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket, SE02, Ep23

Love is in the air is the theme of this ep! All kinds of luv~ for everybody!~ kyo/tohru (main), yuki/machi(new!!), rin/haru(on going), Arisa/Kureno (dead-end?), hiro/kisa (babies to luvers...), hana/tohru/arisa (sisters love!) yuki/kakeru (friendship), momiji/tohru (cutest friendship!) kyo/haru (underrated friendship), hana/kyo/arisa (living to tease*torment* you friendship!XD), kyo/kazuma (parental love!), Haru/kisa (big brother care), yuki’s fanclub (toxic love), hana/food (OTP). What an ep!! One of a kind where you start off crying of laughter & end up crying from broken heart!

-Arisa’s second outburst:

The best thing abt this play is that you can’t tell if they’re following a script or not for the most part. XD, However, for some it IS clear when they bring in their personal feelings. Arisa was fine acting her role with improvised jokes on kyo’s expense. However, due to kyo’s refusal to meet the princess, she got angry to the point of screaming in front of the whole school & visitors? The outburst was treated seriously with climatic music, audience reaction, fellow actors surprise & narrator-san pointing out it IS personal & not scripted. But afterwards arisa is fine. Even though I’m not into love at first sight, I acknowledge it exists in fiction & in reality. No problem. But the extreme intensity of kureno/Arisa’s love is higher than everybody’s without enough basis from those two meetings they had before... Sure, she can fall in love with him, wish him to meet her.. but her outburst is too much, too painful, too heartbreaking. However if you look at her outburst as a plot device to get kureno involved once again & complicate things, bingo, you get why it was planted there. Momiji’s footage will reach him. cool. but too forced in my opinion.. everything abt their interaction is too forced, from her first outburst at his few words that got her to cry her heart out & leave the restaurant & get nearly kissed on the lips to her second outburst in front of the entire school. Arisa likes ppl who are tohru-like. The narrative hints that kureno is tohru-like. First, his clumsiness, second? being content with his unjust life? what is tohru-like abt him so far that gets arisa to scream her heart out? I’m sure we’ll see more of his tohru-like qualities. but so far, it comes across too forced for me.

-Machi SEES the real yuki:

It seems that the confirmation that any female is heading to yuki’s heart is to be bullied by yuki’s fans. lol.  Machi not seeing yuki as a prince is her unique thing. Everybody including tohru see him as a prince & put him in a pedestal. In the play yuki descended from the sky, emerged from underground, said deep lines & glowed. Yet, machi saw thro the acting. I was cheering for yuki to step in & put these toxic girls at their place. Machi can be saved by kakeru’s indirect plan, sure, but this toxic behavior has been going since ep1. tohru was saved from them by hana & arisa. Bullying is always used as a plot device in furuba & unfortunately a comedic gag (there’s an entire ep dedicated for the fanclub). Sure furuba isn’t going to fix every issue or even provide solutions. It can’t. it shouldn’t. bullying is one hell of hard issue to solve. furuba wants to use bullying for plot. no problem. but also decides to comment on it quickly? yuki & kakeru’s argument abt the proper reaction towards bullying with each one of them taking an opposite opinion while machi herself is being bullied behind them felt too philosophical & untimely. Only for all this to end with a gag. Yuki is stuck paying the consequence cuz they’re his fans?.. ok. I’d love if the entire scene didn’t involve this argument. For example, yuki finding the girls, him listening to machi’s opinion abt him, him about to step in & defend her, then kakeru makes a prank abt photo-session with yuki, unknowingly saving the situation. Cuz the whole point of the scene is for yuki to know machi is different & sees the real him! Not that I hate how things played out, it is just furuba’s treatment of the issue of bullying is always weird to me. Similar to its treatment of violence, sometimes it’s serious, sometimes it’s comedy.

-Tohru’s best visual presentation ( show-NOT-tell): YES!

I’ve complained plenty abt furuba not treating tohru with enough visual presentation when it comes to hints for her issues or thoughts. but NOT today! This ep is tohru’s heaven! Tohru was torn apart between too many things & she didn’t inner monologue abt anything, YET, the visual imagery was enough to talk in her behalf!!! They showed tohru’s reaction to arisa, they showed tohru noticing haru/rin connection, they showed tohru react to Hana’s words without showing any of her inner thoughts & it works 100%. I’m so satisfied with this kind of treatment. You can show tons of silent emotions & trust the audience to make the correct conclusions without making your character spoon feed the audience on what they’re feeling. Hana’s “ do you plan to keep on deceiving yourself, locked in the castle, until you die?” is too close for comfort! it triggered kyo to react & say exactly his reasoning behind his decision without bringing the real world “ So what if I do? Does it hurt anyone else?” Kyo is sick of believing that he’s causing harm to his loved ones (mother, father, kazuma, kyoko, tohru). He agrees to be locked till death cuz this way no one will be harmed. ONLY him. he thinks he DESERVE it for existing & causing harm to these same ppl. His response prompts tohru to forget herself & react. What did tohru say? ( you are loved? you need to live? don’t hurt yourself? ) NO. It is NOT abt kyo. it IS abt HER!!! It is the (true form ) scene again but this time symbolically with 10 times harsher consequences!!! kyo’s true form’s final scene is NOT abt kyo deciding to stay, it IS abt tohru saying what she wants. That day tohru talked abt HERSELF. “ I want to listen to your complaints cuz u listened to me”. “ I want us to stay together” By demanding things & acknowledging herself, she got kyo to come back. This time, too, she react cuz SHE wants kyo to stay. “ I wouldn’t..” It is ME. I’ll be hurt if you’re locked. it is abt ME. I need you. I want you. I’m too scared to loose you. You’ve been my true support for long time now. Don’t Leave me, too!!!. Tohru stops herself cuz tohru doesn’t allow herself to want things or even acknowledge that she is worthy of things!! Just focus on her dialogue with others “ if I’m not troubling you, it is forward of me, please allow me” she’s talking to her friends! tohru has the lowest self esteem in furuba!

-Kyo, being an expert on reading tohru, knew the rest of the line. Kyo notices she’s in love with him. but again sinners don;t deserve love! You can’t love monsters? you’ll end up hurt!! hello!! tohru bled in the true form ep. he can’t hurt her again!!! NO way!! Enough causing her pain & tears. “ I wont take anything away from you again” he said in ep, 9. So, kyo forces himself to NOT see the truth. Forces his eyes to close tight. He’s an expert on that. Last ep, his eyes were forced to open to the reality that he doesn’t really hate yuki, but hates himself. Now, you want him to un-hate himself a little & acknowledge tohru’s love? if he did, where will it lead to? they’ll both confess & live together without him telling her abt kyoko?? that’s deceit! Him telling her abt kyko? she won’t forgive him, she’ll hate him! it is better to leave with happy memories than leave after causing tohru harm. Heck! tohru forgiving him or not IS not the issue, at all. the issue is HIM. he can’t forgive himself. he’s unforgivable!

-The most tragic Foreshadowing: (Symbolism DONE Right!)

They meet after the semi-confession, things are not the same anymore! they try to awkwardly get back to normal. Kyo says “ it couldn’t be, (I won’t let my self think it)” we know why. tohru says “ I wont (let my self think it)” WHY?!!! what is the show hiding for tohru? we know kyo’s issue. it is the BEST untold issue!! but tohru? What is stopping her more than her denying herself? it gotta be convincing & deep. otherwise, the writer would ruin the best complicated emotional dilemma that she is building her climax on! I know I’ll like what’s in store for tohru. No way such writer will miss on this. This will be EPIC. The tear between them is one of furuba’s greatest visual symbolism. One image only causing enough heartache to balance & take away the laughter from the entire ep!! One image leaving you with a punch in the gut. leaving you frustrated as to “Nooooooo~ stop! get back together”. I’m not usually into romance as I’m not a romantic person, but furuba has weaved this tale of emotionally abused children with traumatic experiences & tied them together with faint romantic direction & one of the best slow burns in anime! steadily building up their romantic connection without making it forced or in your face or apparent. I still can’t pinpoint when it first happened! Well-done writer & anime team. 10/10 scene!

Side Notes:

Narrator-san is the BEST! He kept everybody in check! & did it in style!

I’d like to thank the director for bringing their A+ animators to this ep! Kyo mostly looks hot & handsome but not HD, but there’s this kyo animator that kills the kyo animation!! kyo’d have three long strands of hair on his nose & his eyes would have more light animation than the mono-light. You can TELL the eps they bring this animator on! (such as Se01,Ep5, kagura ep, etc. ) & tohru!!!! my girl was done right!!!! no weird animation, no extra small baby hands, no shoulders that start around chest area, no bangs that are drawn like they suddenly ran out of brown ink mid coloring! lol. yuki is pretty & HD in every ep & so is hana!!

Hana is the prettiest furuba character hands down! 

Let’s be honest, yuki could’ve said 1+1=2 & the school would’ve celebrated his wisdom! XD. I kinda wish he’d deliberately say sth stupid jst for the heck of it. part of breaking the perfect yuki image. XD.

The opening gag of the men ogling kisa is the most unnecessary scene in furuba, eww~ Not funny!

why is every character MUST be part of romantic couple in furuba? Even children? & they have their own mini love complications with jealousy & misunderstanding, pinning & all. lol

Kazuma. that’s it. that’s the note.

Hana was mocking fiction tropes (animosity in families, traditions pressuring youth, helpless heroine, love at first sight! XD, romance for romance, happily ever after romance, main male protagonist loving main female protg, magical beings saving the day). Best play ever!

why does it feel like kyo just came from war? XD. He was in last ep. perhaps cuz he was absent for most of the season after kagura’s ep, with cameos here & there, few lines & not much focus. But they made up for it & brought his face expressions game up! from annoyed, cat ears, love struck, teased, blushing, a white cartoon-ish cat with an orange cat inside his mouth, shirtless hot, childish jealousy for his papa, his fangs, his cat reflexes. Name it & you bet there’s a kyo face for it. XD.

Speaking of funny faces, prince yuki got one today! all thanks to machi. that’s what I call women power! XD.

What is this weird skin-colored thingi? school mascot?

I love that hiro is questioning the play. XD

momiji is back, I feel that it’s been long as I last saw him!

haru is hot. Haru is kind.

I love the small awkward tension between kyo/tohru as they met after the play, tohru’s faint sweat drops as she does her closed eyes smile & kyo’s sweat drop as he takes the food from her & talks abt shisho.

Shisho & kyo mini manga. is it published yet?

kyo & hana’s interactions are life!!!! XD.

Ayame deserves praise! costumes on point!!

Hana wins the one liners game. sorry haru, XD.

You know it is serious when kyo monologues! I used to think, it happens ONCE a season (ture form SE01,Ep24, akito confrontation, SE02,Ep,9)!! but he got one or two inner monologues lines today, if you count him repeating tohru’s line! Sh*t is going down! Will I hear more before the season ends???!! or will the honor goes to tohru?!! I can’t even imagine what’ll happen next!!!!

[raylessneedssleep]

Are you still doing asks on anything? Can u do something with Sukka? Or maybe something that has a Sokka/toph sibling relationship/ friendship? Please?

Of course! I will try to incorporate both Sukka and a Sokka and Toph friend/sibling relationship. This will be set during a traveling mission with Team Avatar (Zuko and Suki included).

———

“Are we there yet?” Sokka said in a childish tone. His aching feet were screaming for a much needed break after hiking up the mountain side. It was almost sundown and they were approaching a small village settled on one of the mountain slopes. 

Katara rolled her eyes and shot a glare back at her brother who was trudging behind the rest of the group. “Quit complaining and just continue walking,” she snapped, her fists balled at her sides. Sokka had been complaining ever since they had slid off of Appa and began their hike.

“It’s okay, Sokka! We are almost there anyway.” Aang slowed to allow Sokka to catch up with him, resting a reassuring hand on the elder boy’s shoulder with a bright smile. Sokka resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Aang’s chipper attitude. The boy never seemed to get tired and Sokka blamed it on being the avatar. 

Toph huffed, stomping her foot forward before rising back up into a straighter stance. “I believe it is just up ahead,” Toph said as she pointed to the direction in front of her. 

Letting out a dramatic sigh of relief, Sokka sprinted off ahead of the others with an inhuman speed. Zuko opened his mouth to shout for him to slow down, but the soft gab to his side along with the shake of Katara’s head stopped him. He looked between the two Southern Water Tribe siblings and sighed softly to himself.

Behind them, Suki couldn’t help but watch Sokka’s retreating figure with a soft smile. Toph didn’t fail to notice her heartbeat changing ever so slightly.

After Team Avatar finally caught up to Sokka, he had already entered an Inn placed at the edge of the village. A short, thin woman with braided hair welcomed them with a small smile. Zuko reached into his bag, pulling out a small pouch of money to pay for their rooms. 

The rooms were divided into boys and girls, much to Sokka’s displeasure, and were situated across from one another. Each room had two beds side-by-side, two dressers, a closet across from the beds, a small table settled under a shoji window, and a plush rug. The bathrooms were public baths that were connected to the Inn by a small pathway and a large outhouse. 

Bathing in a public bath was a new experience for Suki, but she didn’t hate it entirely. It was nice having her hair washed by Katara while washing Toph’s hair which was surprisingly long and soft. She learned that Toph had a small scar on her hip from being pushed into a rose bush by kids who lived around her. Toph explained that it was one of the reasons her parents refused to let her leave the house; they feared she was too fragile and something worse could happen to her besides getting hurt by a rose bush.

Suki had been shocked to learn what Toph’s family was like, but it only made them closer. It made Suki feel like they were finally trusting each other by exchanging childhood memories with one another. Even Katara shared her own stories—many involved Sokka making a complete fool of himself—and stories of her adventures with Aang before the others had joined the group.

Their fun soon came to an end when they exited the bathhouse to find Zuko scowling at Aang airbending Sokka’s hair to dry it. Dark strands stood up in different directions and a lazy grin covered Sokka’s face. He seemed to be enjoying himself too much.

“Suki, look!” Sokka shouted, pointing to his disheveled hair. Though Suki didn’t understand the amusement in his messy hair, she still giggled at his behavior. He may have been one of the older ones in the group, but that didn’t mean he was the most mature. Joking around was something he did quite often, leaving the maturity to Zuko and Katara who were the parents of Team Avatar.

“I don’t get it,” Toph grumbled as she crossed her arms across her chest.

“Of course you don’t ‘cause you’re blind,” Sokka rolled his eyes before smoothing out his hair with his hands until it framed his face. Toph scoffed, stomping the ground until a large rock lifted from the earth and flew into Sokka. It smacked the back of his head which sent him flying forward into the small pond next to the walkway.

Laughter erupted from the group—Zuko even let out a small chuckle—as Sokka struggled to free himself from the slippery stones surrounding the pond. Turtle ducks pecked at his behind making him wince and reach his hand out for help. Zuko pitied the poor boy and reached down to grab the collar of his robe, pulling him up from the pond.

Suki, smiling at Sokka, turned around and slowly began heading towards the small sitting area on the other side of the walkway. It had a large tree—it stood taller than the Inn which was three levels—in the middle with benches on either side of it.

“Suki,” Katara called out to gain the other girl’s attention, “where are you going?”

“Oh! Just going over to sit down. I’m not ready to go to bed yet, but I wish to rest my feet a little.”

Katara gave her a questioning look after something flashed behind Suki’s eyes, her smile wavering ever so slightly, but she decided to drop it and let Suki do as she pleased.

Making her way over to one of the benches, Suki smoothed out the light green robe she had been wearing before she sat down. Her eyes trained on the moon that hung high in the sky; the rays of light casted a glow over the world underneath it. A feeling of dread grew in her stomach the more she stared blankly at the large, gray orb.

Toph nudged Sokka—he had been telling her about the village as he thumbed through a small history book he had apparently brought outside with him—and called for his attention.

“Yeah?” Sokka questioned, his eyes never leaving the worn pages as he skimmed every line.

“I think something is wrong with Suki,” Toph said lowly to not draw attention to their conversation. Zuko and Katara had been paying attention to Aang as he rambled about the Air Nomads, but Toph wanted to be sure no one else heard her conversation with Sokka.

“What do you mean?” Sokka paused in his reading to look up at Toph, though she didn’t see it, and raised a brow at her statement.

“I don’t know...I just feel like something is wrong,” Toph could feel Sokka’s worried gaze trained on her face. Whenever she got a feeling about something, it was usually right.

Had there been something wrong with Suki? If there was, then why didn’t Sokka notice it?

Sokka looked over to where Suki was sitting, her head leaned back and a sad gaze resting on the sky above her. He followed her gaze to see she was looking at the moon.

He cursed under his breath before standing to full height. “Can we continue our talk later?” Sokka asked Toph to which she responded with a nod of her head, standing to go over to the rest of the group. Sokka made a mental note to make it up to Toph considering she had been very interested in the history of the village and he had promised he would tell her about it.

Suki was drawn from her thoughts when someone suddenly sat down beside her. Shocked to see Sokka, she fumbled over her own words as she tried to form a greeting.

“Suki, if this is about what I told you the other day, then I’m sorry.”

Her body froze instantly at his words; she could only stare at him as he looked up at the moon with a sad look and a tight lipped smile. She knew that look and it only made her heart hurt more knowing she was partly causing it.

It had been about what he told her the other day. As soon as he told her everything, her mind began to overflow with so many “what if” questions that her stomach began to twist into knots. She knew it was stupid to get so worked up over the past, but she couldn’t help it no matter how hard she tried to forget about it.

“When I told you about Yue, I wanted to be honest with you, not hurt you.” Sokka leaned forward while resting his elbows against his knees, his hands running through his parted hair.

Suki looked away, her folded hands falling into her lap and tightening against one another until her knuckles were paling; her heart beat wildly in her chest.

The other day, before they had left for their trip, Sokka had sat Suki down and told her everything about Princess Yue and their “relationship.” He left nothing out because he wanted her to know everything about him. Even his past. He told her how they met, what they talked about, how he felt when he had met her, what happened with the Fire Nation, what she had to do to save them, and how he felt when it happened.

“I shouldn’t be upset, I know, but I-“

“Suki, don’t ever assume that your feelings are invalid. You are allowed to feel however you want and you can feel upset about this.” Sokka was firm, but he was also gentle when he spoke to Suki. Looking into her watery eyes, he gave her a loving smile and leaned up to kiss her temple.

“Princess Yue is someone special to me and will always hold a special place in my heart, but she is in my past and will stay there. You are my present and my everything. Please, don’t ever doubt that.”

As they stared deeply into each other’s eyes, Suki felt a rush of relief blanket her body.

Why had she been so upset in the first place?

She had no reason to feel jealous over a girl that turned into the moon. Sokka loved Yue in the past, sure, but Sokka loved her in the present. He devoted his everything to her and she had absolutely no reason to doubt that. His past was his past, just as much as her past was her past.

“Sokka,” Suki brushed her nose against his; the action barely felt by either of them. It was rare for them to display this kind of affection for one another considering Suki enjoyed basking in each other’s presence in private, but she couldn’t help herself from showcasing her feelings.

“Yes?”

“I love you,” Suki said, pressing their foreheads together and reaching forward to take his hands into her own. She stared at their interlocked hands, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as a rush of pure love and comfort filled her. Sokka would always be there for her and she would do the same for him.

Giving her hands a squeeze, Sokka smiled and closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of her warm hands in his colder ones. He promised himself that, no matter what, he would never take her for granted and would always be someone she could count on and be proud of.

“I love you, Suki,”

———

I hope you enjoyed the short story and I’m sorry the ending was kind of bad, but I didn’t want to make it too long or too short so I tried to mix it up a bit. There wasn’t many Toph/Sokka moments, however, I tried to make their time together seem important. Toph really wanted to know about the village they were in, so Sokka did some research and brought along some history books to read to her and educate her. It is a sign that shows a more brotherly role he plays with Toph.

I also wanted to explain the story some more besides the Toph/Sokka scenes.

I wanted the story to be about Suki’s reaction to Yue, the girl Sokka used to like, and to show that she felt slightly jealous of Yue because it was his first love. It didn’t say this, but Suki was almost afraid that Sokka didn’t love her as much as he loved Yue and that he wasn’t over her.

Sokka explains that Yue is part of his past and will always be important to him, but he lives in the present with Suki who he loves now.

They cannot tell what the future holds for them, but they are willing to leave in the present with one another, showering each other with their love and affection.

Sorry if there are any typos! I wrote this when it was quite late. I hope you enjoyed it! :)

[stardustkenobi]

A Former Confidante

Darth Vader x Reader

Request: @dcrthbaeder “Would u be able to write a one shot with darth vader?? Xx”

Warnings: Angst, canon typical violence, unrequited love, pining

A/N: Hiii everyone! I’m so sorry for the lull in posts— it’s been a crazy few weeks but I’m trying to settle into a routine that will (hopefully) allow me to get on a regular posting schedule. As always, thank you so much for reading!

You had been fairly young when you first met Anakin Skywalker. A few days shy of your fifteenth birthday, in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. A budding Jedi with promise, you and your master had been on your way back to your quarters after a long morning of training.

The eye contact you made lasted no more than a millisecond, but it was enough to be seared into your brain forever. You had heard the whispers amongst your peers- he was the Chosen One, supposedly. Destined to end the Sith, bring about the balance that you all desperately ached for. The war raging with the Separatists had kept you from ever laying eyes on him yourself.

Mentally scolding yourself for the blush that rose to your cheeks when he passed, giving your master a nod and you a smile, you drew in a sharp breath and immediately reminded yourself of why you absolutely could not allow your mind toward that place that continuously got you into trouble with your master. You refused to allow your mind to convince you that you were in love with yet another man at first glance. Not again.

But you couldn’t help yourself as you sat meditating on one of the quieter balconies facing the skyline of the city later that evening, flinching a little when the doors open with a mechanical whoosh.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you, my apologies.” A steady voice came from behind you, followed by quiet footsteps. “Do you mind sharing the space for a little bit?”

You turned, glancing over your shoulder, mouth immediately going dry at the sight of Anakin Skywalker standing just over you. “Not at all.” You whispered, trying to keep your voice even.

A little bit turned to a whole evening as the two of you talked quietly, meditation long forgotten after sitting in silence for less than thirty seconds. He told you stories of adventures he had been on with his own master, how he had received word that he would be serving as a personal guard to Queen Amidala, an old friend of his. He asked why he had never seen you before, how your training was going, question after question that made your heart race a little bit faster with each moment.

It was one conversation, one night. But, again, you were always one to fall easily. It took everything in your power to clear your head to make sure Anakin was none the wiser as you sat next to him, wishing that the two of you had met in some other life time under different circumstances.

Your relationship in the following years was friendly, never actually professional. He became your biggest confidant and you became his, so you thought. You weren’t aware of budding romances, conflicting feelings, the subtle toeing of the line between light and dark on his behalf. All that mattered to you was that you had a friend and he sometimes brushed your hair from your face while you sat in the gardens, eating fruit and making each other laugh.

He told you about Padme just weeks before everything changed and your world came crashing down. Your time together had been dwindling over the past few months, what with you getting ready to take the trials and his…You weren’t necessarily sure what he had been up to that had suddenly taken up all of his time, but when he showed up in your quarters late one night you didn’t care. You couldn’t be angry because you loved him and try as you might to push it away, you couldn’t.

After settling down on your bed, sitting across from each other, you decided that you would tell him the truth. That it only made sense to before you attempted to complete your training because you would give it all up and run away with him if he asked you. “Can I tell you something?” You whispered, glancing up into his face.

“You can tell me anything.” He whispered back.

As you opened your mouth to speak, you caught what seemed to be the smallest hint of fear emanating from him. Your eyebrows furrowed as you caught his gaze- it was somewhat hardened, his whole face was. “What…Are you all right, Anakin?”

And then the flood gates opened. He told you every single detail of his secret life, eyes filling with tears as he held your hands shakily. He told you about the horrible dreams he had been having- that was why he had come to you that night. He couldn’t tell Obi Wan and he didn’t have it in him to wake Padme for the fourth night in a row, especially when he knew she would tell him it was only a dream.

Like the good confidant you were, you nodded, listened, buried your emotions as best you could. It took all that you had not to scream at him to get out of your room and to never speak to you again because how could he not know how you felt? Did he really have no idea how it was wrenching you apart to hear that everything you had wanted with him from the moment you set eyes on him five years prior could never happen, not because of the rules of your profession, but because he had it already with someone else?

Reassuring him that while dreams sometimes foretold of the future, he still had control of the situation, of his emotions and his actions, you ushered him back to his own bed, desperately needing the opportunity to let go of your own frustrating and anger. He thanked you and, not uncharacteristically, pulled you to his chest, hugging you tight. Your lack of reciprocation was left unnoticed by his own self absorption.

“Oh, I forgot.” He said quietly just before he turned to go. “What was it that you wanted to tell me, Y/N?”

Your head snapped up as your hand hovered over the button to close the door. Without hesitation, your lie spilled from your lips as smooth as the mechanical whoosh your door made after he left just a moment later. “Just wanted to tell you that I think I’m finally ready to take my trials.”

Ten years had gone bye and you had left those fleeting moments far behind you. None of that longing seemed to matter anymore, not after what he did. Not after he had taken so many friends away from you.

After nine years of wandering on your own, trying to figure out where you had gone wrong and whether or not you could have stopped the monster that was Darth Vader from rising up, you decided to do something with your life. You found the rebellion and in turn found a home and a purpose. All of your energy was channeled into bringing down the Empire and bringing down the people that had destroyed the only family you had ever known. You hadn’t planned on ever having anything close to what you knew at the temple you grew up in, but you quickly found a close second in the rowdy bunch of freedom fighters you now shared close quarters with each night.

Rubbing elbows with them on missions where you barely made it out alive by the skin of your teeth was your new favorite past time- gone were the days of carefully planned out schedules, hours of silence, subduing of emotions that just felt so right regardless of what the Jedi Code was telling you. You had quickly traded your lightsaber for a blaster, let your hair grow long, and traded late night conversations with the fallen Chosen One for stolen kisses from your new lover between briefings and meals and training and missions and sheets.

Needless to say, you were happy.

Three weeks into your latest mission with your crew found your small, inconspicuous transport ship being pulled into the tractor beam of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Though this had happened to many other groups of rebels over the past few months or so and prisoners were rarely ever taken, you couldn’t help the rise of nervous energy in your chest as you prepared to be boarded. The people who typically interrogated the crews of the small transports typically bought the story each crew had been taught to spin. Before embarking on a mission of this nature, one had to be familiar with the ins and outs of their alias and the alias of the group as a whole- if the story wasn’t second nature, you weren’t getting on it.

“Don’t sweat it.” Your pilot said as she came out to join the rest of the crew standing just outside the cockpit. “We’re prepared for this.”  

Prepared. The word repeated like a prayer in your head as your fingers flexed in the pockets of your pants. Up until this point, not one person in the rebellion was aware of the fact that you were force sensitive. Nobody had ever seen the hilt of your lightsaber, nor did you practice the force in any other space other than in the privacy of the woods just a little ways from your bunker back on the base. Despite this, you wouldn’t hesitate if a mind trick or two got your crew of ten out of this situation alive. Attribute it to the force or just plain old intuition, for some reason you couldn’t shake the fear that continued to grow as the group of Imperial officers inevitably approached the ship after you had finally been brought into the docking bay of the destroyer.

Blasters drawn and faces stoic, four officers stepped on board- you hardly heard the conversation that ensued because the feeling that continued to nag at you only grew stronger. It set you on edge, made you squirm in your spot and tug at the collar of your shirt as you waited for them to get get out of your hair already.

Your fingers began to twitch just as the officer who had been received a transmission on his comm link. “You’re being taken on board for further questioning.” He said after a moment, glancing at your pilot.

Heart racing, your hands flew to your blaster, ready to put up a fight. However, there wasn’t much you could do, as two of the officers were on you already…The only one not to comply with their orders.

Needless to say, you had flagged your whole group with that simple action. A normal civilian transport would have no problem joining the officers on board for further questioning because they had nothing to hide. You had just damned the whole group to at least a day of detainment and the struggle of a life time to keep your story straight, as you only had been given enough information to cover basic questions. To stave off any further questioning.

The plan had always worked, what was different this time?

With a blaster pressed to the small of your back, you followed the rest of your crew, led by the two remaining officers that weren’t sandwiching you. Weapons were confiscated at one checkpoint, personal belongings at the next. You were divided up into pairs and tossed into detainment cells a little while after.

“This is bullshit!” You called after the guard that had locked you away while you slammed your fist into the door of the cell.

Your companion, the co-pilot of your crew, shook her head. “That’s not going to do us any good, you know.”

Turning on your heel, you raised an eyebrow skeptically. “I’m getting us out of here. All of us.” Your confidence emulated from the words as they rose from your chest. Sure, it was dangerous to reveal your abilities, but at that moment it was a hell of a lot better than being trapped on an Imperial Star Destroyer for an indefinite amount of time.

The co-pilot scoffed. “Oh yeah? And how do you expect to do that, blaster brain?” She rolled her eyes, propping her feet up on the wall across from where she sat. “You don’t have any weapon or a key or anything else to get us out. What would you even do after you got us all out, stare a bunch of stormtroopers down and hop they just back off because you look intimidating?”

Mirroring her expression, you moved your hand effortlessly. The door slid open and so did her mouth, in complete and utter shock. Offering her a hand, then moving toward the exit, you quipped, “I think that I’ll check around for some blasters, but I’m also willing to take my chances on your idea.”

She stayed rooted to the spot, in total shock at the fact that you had opened the door with a simple wave of your hand. With a frustrated sigh, you pulled her out of the room, starting to creep down the sterile looking hallway. You made it to the end, feeling somewhat victorious, and then waved your hand once more, opening the second door with as much ease as the first time.

“Your senses aren’t what they used to be.” A modulated voice rang out through the silent hallway just as the two of you began to step through the doorway.

Freezing up, you refused to turn around as footsteps echoed menacingly through the hallway. They sounded eerily familiar. So did the voice, despite its distorted echo.

“I sensed that it was you as soon as your ship landed in the launch bay.” The voice continued as you finally turned around. Eyes widened as you were faced with the face of a monster— Darth Vader. “But you seem to be out of practice.”

Try as you might, you couldn’t bring yourself to fight back as he continued toward you. “I don’t know you. You don’t know me.” You spat, trying hard as you could to keep your lip from trembling. The man you once loved was dead— the man in front of you had sought to that.

“I demand that you take us back to our cell for questioning.” The co-pilot began, clearly not realizing the gravity of the situation.

“Stand down.” You hissed to her as he got even closer. You averted your eyes, refusing to look at him straight in the face.

He tilted his head as he watched you both— one woman refusing to look him in the the eye, the other staring him down defiantly.  “But apparently not that out of practice if you were able to escape your holding cell.” With a flick of his wrist, your co-pilot was on the ground writhing in pain.

“Stop.” You said sternly, voice wavering as you finally glanced up to face the mask. The metal glistened in the bright lights of the hallway and try as you may, you were unable to get a read on him. You tried desperately to reach out to him, clinging to to the force as if it was the last thing anchoring you to the floor of the ship. It wouldn’t be a lie if you said it was. Your eyebrows furrowed as you struggled, trying to break in and understand what was going on in his head.

The tsk that left his lips was as artificial as it was superficial; his voice was mechanic and the sound was almost patronizing. He didn’t care that you were trying as hard as you could muster and he certainly didn’t plan on entertaining your attempts for much longer. “I tried to find you that day, you know.” He began to say, walking even closer. “Tried to reach out to you and tell you it was okay, that you were safe with me.”

You spat at the ground, then glared up at him through your eyelashes. “You would have killed me, too. Just like you killed every single damn person in that temple.”

“Not you.” He said immediately, refusing to let you continue. “You never had doubt in your head when it came to me. No.” You could practically see the smug smile on his face as his head tilted menacingly. “You were so fixed in your affection and would have turned immediately had I asked you.”

Despite all of the time that had passed since the last time the two of you stood face to face, your cheeks burnt like the surface of Mustafar, reminding Darth Vader of the heat that had licked his skin and distorted the face you had loved from the moment you laid eyes on him. “You don’t know me.” You replied, trying to keep your voice from betraying the emotions that threatened to bubble up. Not that it would make a difference, you knew he was well aware of the affect that he had on you. That this encounter was having on you. “You never knew me.”

The laugh that left his lips was low and grainy. “I know you very well.” He finally stopped just a mere few feet away from you. “I know that you love me, as hard as you tried to push it away.”

Your eyes widened as you shook your head in disgust. “I don’t love you. I can’t even stand to look at you right now.” You hissed, eyes narrowing. “You took everything from me, okay? Just let us all go. We haven’t done—“

“Stop groveling.” He snapped, flicking his wrist again. The strangled sounds coming from the woman next to you ceased and you refused to look down at your feet, knowing all too well that she was far gone. “I’m going to offer you what I would have offered you had I found you that day.” He began.

“Don’t do this.” You tried to stop him, shaking your head once more as tears pricked at your eyes. “You know what my answer’s going to be.”

He stepped forward, touching your chin and glancing down at you. “Join me.” He said simply. “You were once a powerful Jedi— I see the power in you still. You could be great.” He continued, tilting his head once again. “You could finally have what you always wanted.”

Your jaw dropped at this assertion; the fact that he still continued to believe that your love would have lasted through the horrors that he had put you through and the atrocities that he had committed would have made you laugh had you been in a different situation. Somewhere safe and far away, wrapped in the arms of your lover in your shared bunk. Laughing at this dumb story and talking about how what you had trumped any “love” that the lonely shell of a man wrapped in metal could have attempted to give you had you said yes.

Swallowing the lump threatening to rise in your throat, you spit once more and hit his helmet dead center. “Read my lips, Vader.” You said, voice cold and calculated. “Strike me down if you want, but I will never, ever join you. I have what I always wanted, and—“

Darth Vader didn’t give you another moment to continue speaking. His hand rose up, using the force to apply just enough pressure around your throat to push you into unconsciousness. A trooper finally emerged from the door behind you after you had fallen to the floor beside your comrade, now stiff and lifeless.

“Sir, what should we do with the Jedi?” She asked, tilting her head as her studied the two bodies laying at her feet.

Vader was already turning, unwilling to look at you for another second. “Bring her to the holding cell and dispose of the other one.” With a mechanic whoosh, the door at the opposite end of the hallway closed and he was gone. Despite your protests, he would have you on his side some day. He wouldn’t lose you again.

[reeesea]

Something Sweet: Part Four

~sweeter smiles~

one ~ two ~ three ~ four ~ five ~ six ~ seven ~ eight ~ nine

pairing: minsung, jisung/minho

warning: mild language

words: 3.8k ish

summary: another week passes, and our boys still whipped? yeah. The boys get kicked out their apartment and go check out some busking, meeting up with some familiar faces.

a/n: Oof school kicked my ass and made it hard to post, anyway... here’s chapter 4 

Text: Minho/Jisung

ao3 link

-------------------------------------------------------

After spending the majority of the last week curtains drawn, and grinding away on music in their apartment, it seemed that their manager had had enough of their vampiric like tendencies. She had effectively locked them  out of their apartment until they promised to spend the day away from their respective producing/writing stations. Although Sana was a new addition to the trio's life, she had already solidified herself as not just a capable manager but a generally sweet and caring soul.

She made fast friends with Chan, bonding over their similar experiences coming to Korea as foreigners. Changbin had met her when he started at JJP and was glad that she was chosen to manage their group. And so Sana, after maybe too many incidents in the dark tripping over a blanket-wrapped Jisung, would regularly end up checking on more than just how they were doing musically with her visits. Her concern and worry for them as her new friends bleed into their everyday interactions. Whether it was bringing them take out after they had forgotten to eat, waking up Jisung from the floor to go to bed, or just asking how their days were, she always made the boys feel cared for. After years of only relying on each other, they all found it surprising but comforting to have her around.

So as the boys had been lovingly forbidden from working by their manager, they found themselves walking down the popular music-filled streets for busking and tourists.

“Wait what time did you say he was performing?”

“Innie said after one so we should still make it before he starts his set.” Changbin was leading them through the crowds, which was probably not ideal as the inches Bin lacked he made up in speed. Making 2racha’s life slightly harder as they attempted to not lose the shorter boy in the more crowded areas of the walkway. Passing countless acts and performers displaying their talents, reminiscent of how the rap trio had started out when they were still just high school students.

“I didn't think your brother would still be busking after highschool.” Chan mused from the back of the pack.

“I mean he got scouted from busking, so I guess it all paid off in the end.” Changbin mentioned the fact casually, but the proud ‘older brother’ smile on his face revealed his actual excitement. The three were poorly navigating the busy streets to support Changbin’s younger brother who had just been signed with an entertainment company and was on his way to enter their trainee program.

“Nah I get it, there's a different kind of energy performing in this setting. Sometimes I really do be missing busking every weekend.” Jisung had always been the one to only do what made him feel alive, and his first time busking in front of a crowd had him addicted to the feeling. It had given him something to look forward to in high school. And even now, years later he still anticipated the high that the applause from a crowd gives him.

“Oh, we should buy Jeongin a meal to congratulate him. I imagine he'll be training day and night soon.”

By the time they had made it to the area where Jeongin was set up he was already performing a popular ballad for a small crowd. Emotion flowing through the youngest’s voice as it surrounded all that listened. It wasn't a surprise that his passionate voice had been sought after by companies. The boy’s voice, light and dynamic, pulling the attention of all that were within earshot. And by the time the last note was released the three boys clapped and cheered as much as they could without completely making a fool of themselves.

Although 3RACHA weren’t exactly well known personalities to most of the public, the boys had found themselves getting recognized more and more, especially after their last concert. Their following had definitely expanded and those in the area had begun recognizing the rappers on the rare occasions they left their loft.

But even with their masks and hats on to somewhat hide their identities, the young singer still smiled with recognition and slight embarrassment at boys enthusiastic cheers.

---

Minho thinks that overall his week was pretty unextraordinary. Not much had changed, still working his same job, still spending his mornings practicing for their crew’s upcoming performances. Nothing felt specifically special in the way he performed and worked on the routines for their busking performance that weekend. Just following the choreographies he needs to. Going through the motions. This week seemingly identical to the last.

Almost identical. Minho couldn’t overlook how the addition of Han Jisung had improved his daily mood. Even with their respective busy schedules, the banter they were able to exchange lifted the weight of monotony on Minho’s heart. Jisung loved to tell him jokes and stories, in addition to their casual flirty conversations. The lightness of their conversations and the smile that was always lingering on Minho’s face was evidence enough that his encounters with the other had become the highlight of his day.

Even during practice, his roommates had begun to find the older more energetic and enthusiastic. Although the choreo they had been practicing had been the same for the past month, Minho’s movements had become even more fluid and dynamic, as if he was walking on air.

To Minho, dancing always felt like what he was meant to do. He couldn’t imagine living a life standing still or sitting at a desk job. Dancing was as natural as breathing, so natural that he often forgets to tell people that he dances. To him it was just assumed. He was human; he breathed. He was human, so he danced. Obvious right? But with his natural association he had with dance, and his desire to contain the complicated history he had with his dreams, Minho was not one to share his passions easily.

The Saturday morning had begun with the three dancers packed in their bathroom, all attempting to get ready in the closet size space they called a bathroom. Getting ready for their performances in the crowded bathroom had become a dance within itself for the boys, as they position themselves in front of the mirror so each has enough space to carry out their routines. Trading makeup brushes and hair dryers and hairspray cans in a way that, according to Felix, could win them Olympic medals.

“Hyung, will you pass me the hair spray?”

Minho obliged, handing the can to cross-eyed Felix that had been attempting to tame his bangs for the last 15 minutes.

“Damn, do you think there’ll be company scouts out today?” Hyunjin mused while trying to not smudge his eyeliner from his spot on the toilet seat.

“It's always a possibility, there'll be a lot of acts out today, so there is probably going to be some floating around.” Minho knew there were always some scouts in the audiences on busking days, but maybe the years of seemingly no company interest had numbed him to that fact. If anything, he was hoping to pick up a few bucks from the audience, and give their crew some more exposure.

“I guess it is a weekend, the crowds are always bigger these days. Lixie did you send in your tape for Shipstar Ent. that you were working on?”

“Yeah, I’m going to wait for their response before working on the JJP one”

“Those are small companies Lix, you got a strategy you aren’t sharing with us??” Minho nudged his elbow in his ribs, eliciting a giggle from the younger.

“Nothing special hyung, I just thought smaller companies might have smaller audition pools, more chance of landing a spot.” Even though the freckled boy had come to Korea for university, he was hoping to extend his stay as long as he could by landing a career as a dancer.

“You’ve always been the better strategist out of us. Minho-hyung usually only sends in like one tape a year.”

“There’s only one program I actually want to join anyway. But lately money is money, and I may just need to find a gig to pay our water bill.” Minho's smile reaches his eyes, but a part of his heart drops at the mention of his consistent re-submitted audition tapes.

“Are you going to send another tape for the academy this year, hyung? You got to the second round last time.”

Hyunjin asked an innocent question really, but Minho can't help but feel the wave of disappointment all over again. The first round of auditions was always a taped routine sent in by all the applicants, the second was an in person performance. A performance that last year, despite what he thought was a perfect execution of his chosen routine, had been met with a ‘Thank you, but-’ letter a week later.

“It’s a tradition at this point, and who am I to break a tradition.” The sarcasm drips from the statement fueled by Minho's bitterness toward his broken dream. But as always, as if just on queue with Minho’s declining mood, a series of notifications from his phone pulls him out of his thoughts.

[Rich Boy Han Jisung] 11:47 am Hyung guess what SANA LOCKED US OUT And Now were gonna end up getting lost Changbin is leading us somewhere :< His navigation skills are horrible If you dont hear from me, I was led to an untimely death by Seo Changbin Dont cry too much at my funeral :((

Oh no I'll remember you fondly And all the dates we never got to go on

najsdkkgfnadds Hold up you actually want to go on a date …... I will survive for you

Wait then I can't live that grieving widow aesthetic how am i supposed to grieve my not dead not husband now

we'll work something out but I get to take u on that date first not-husband >:)

---

The members of 3RACHA had listened to the rest of Changbin’s brother’s set. The young boy’s audience had grown to include highschool girls fawning over the boys adorable features and melodic voice. As well as older and middle aged women and men that were drawn to the nostalgic tambour of his voice as Jeongin performed trot and other crowd pleasing ballads. His youthful glow and image contrasting the maturity of his sound. After applause and ending statements, much of the crowd had dispersed to other surrounding acts. 3RACHA focused on congratulating and helping the younger tear down.

“You did great as always Innie” Chan awarded him with a pat on the back. Jisung echoed the sentiment with his busy rambling about how emotional the last performance felt.

“Thanks hyungs, I’m glad you were able to make it.”

“Of course! We wouldn't miss it”

“Yeah, it absolutely has nothing to do with our manager locking us out of our apartment.” Jisung earned himself a punch in the shoulder with that one. Jeongin laughed just the same, and looked grateful to have some familiar faces in the crowd.

“Don’t mind the idiot, we’ll always be here for you. If anyone tries to mess with you in training just tell them your older brother will beat them up.”

“But Hyung, you're shorter than me.”

“Doesn’t mean I won't bust some kneecaps for my baby bro though,” said Changbin, brushing off the obvious jab at his height.

“Yeah! No one’s touching our baby bread.” Chan looped his arm over Jeongin's shoulders, hand going for the boy's cheeks only to be swatted away.

“3RACHA aka the Kneecap Destroyers,ROLL OUT!!!” Jisung struck a couple vague superhero poses while making a swinging motion that was probably meant to symbolize some sort of lower leg destruction.

“Jisung, were not the Transformers please.” Still the smile on Jeongin’s face was worth any of the embarrassment Jisung could’ve felt from his shenanigans. -- A cheer erupted nearby from a large crowd that seemed to have just gathered. Loud upbeat music filled the air and the confident melody of a popular song began. The four boys, overcome with mutual curiosity, made their way to the edge of the crowd. A dance crew populated the middle of the crowd. Confident charisma and perfectly timed movements flowed from each of the dancers, as they pulled off a complicated and synchronized routine. Full of hip thrusts and body rolls, the cheers from the crowd solidified how each of the dancers grasped the attention of on-lookers without warrant.

The whole audience was entranced by the crew of a dozen dancers taking over the street. All of the dancers dressed in variations of a black and white ‘uniform’ full of leather, silk and lace, pulling off a look that was elegant, sexy, and powerful. Dressed to accentuate their body movements and draw in the attention of bypassers.

It was mid-song when Jisung was surprised to spot the familiar brown hair and sharp eyes of his current favorite waiter of Menu 98. Minho being a dancer had never crossed his mind as a possibility, but now that he has seen the older dance, Jisung couldn’t imagine anything more natural. Minho seemed to dance purely with charisma. The goofy and cute side of Minho that he had occasionally witnessed over text, seemed to be non-existent as the man in front of him performed to the crowd with raw charm and confidence.

Minho caught Jisung’s blatant stare, and a flash of recognition and something else appeared on his face, before a smirk overcame his features as he sent a wink the younger’s way. The confidence of the older overwhelming Jisung’s system as usual. Sure, they had been ceaselessly flirting over text for the past week, but as soon as he had to witness Minho’s confidence in person, there was no screen to hide the fact that Jisung was a blushing mess. As the heat of embarrassment rose up his neck, he continued to watch as the dancers ended their routine in a formation that elicited a loud cheer from the audience.

“Wow these guys are really good”

“Have they performed before?”

“Did you see the guy in the middle his shirts practically see through”

“Damn do you think he’d give me his number if I asked”

The voices from the crowd surrounded Jisung but his eyes were locked on his newly discovered dancer, Minho.

“Hey Ji, see something you like?” Changbin’s teasing was left unanswered as he followed Jisung’s gaze.

“Hey hyung, do you know that guy?”

“Yeah, He kinda looks familiar.” Jisung guessed he was familiar. Considering that, even though Chan and Changbin hadn’t recognized him as their waiter, the dancer in front of them had been the subject of his attention for the past week or so. Seeing him in person was nothing short of breathtaking. Being a little dramatic, as he often is, Jisung found him almost speechless. His breath only continued to fail him as Minho made his way over to Jisung and their small group.

“Hey Sungie, long time no see.” a shameless smirk spread across his face. Minho seemed to know exactly how he affected the younger.

Before Jisung could think of a more eloquent greeting he found himself blurting out the first thought that had crossed his mind, “I didn’t know you were- that you did- the- uh dancing.”

Minho laughed freely at the wide eyed expression that Jisung wore. Soft and cute and full of the same awe as a kid seeing his favorite TV character I person for the first time. “Seems I forgot to mention that in our introductions, Not gonna lie I didn’t think you would see me dance already...”

An expression Jisung couldn’t quite read fell over Minho’s face, along with the red tint of embarrassment. “Nononono, don’t worry really. I never asked! But I mean you looke- i mean were amazing, at dancing. Really you’re seriously talented. I can't believe you’ve never mentioned it before.”

The red on Minho’s ears grew to his face. “Oh, I’m sure you say that to all your drunken accidents.” Smirk returns in an attempt by Minho to regain his smug attitude.

“You weren't an accident! I was completely sober at the bar when I told you to hit me up.”

“I’m sorry Jisung what?” Chan seemed to be tired of trying to deduce who exactly the other was.

“Oh right, this is Minho-Hyung, he was the waiter I TIPSY-ily gave my number to that one time. But we both completely forgot about it, and then by some string for fate bullshit I ran into him before last week’s gig and the rest is history!” Some degree of understanding flashes across the other two rappers' faces, while the youngest is just listening intently to Jisung’s entertaining shenanigans.

“Mhm, ‘Ran into’, definitely not saw-and-followed,” said Minho, getting more smug by the minute.

Taking the obvious opportunity to tease the youngest Changbin’s eyes held a mischievous glint. “Hold on a second, is this who you’ve been texting non-stop all week. No wonder you’ve been so happy.”

“Hyung!”

“Yeah, your usual chaotic gay energies have been replaced with giggly soft Jisung, and its honestly been worrying me, but I mean the ballad came out really good so can’t complain” Chan added. The smug faces of the older two, only grew as Jisung groaned loudly, flailing his arms to hopefully silence them. Minho’s grin just met his eyes as he chuckled.

“Glad to hear that I’m inspiring you Sungie. Also, It’s nice to finally meet you, Chan and Changbin-ssi I’m guessing?” Minho bows slightly to them as they all exchange pleasantries. Jeongin adds on, introducing himself as Changbin's brother. Minho seems to recognize him, and is about to praise his earlier performance when a yell erupts nearby.

“Minho-hyung!!! There you are, Lixie was looking for you. Looks like I beat him though.” Realizing he seemed to have interrupted something, Hyunjin bowed to the others shyly. Introducing himself to the others until his eyes laid on Jisung. “Wait, hyung! Isn’t he the cutie you’ve been talking to all week! Jisung-ah~ you remember me rightttt?”

Minho’s face deadpans at record speeds. “Yes Jinnie thank you. Shouldn't you be looking for Felix”

“Nope I’m right here.” Felix, seeming out of nowhere, emerges right behind his eldest roommate. “Hi everyone, I’m Felix.” Freckles out, smile bright, cute little wave, the classic Felix introduction that makes everyone fall for him. No one can resist the boy’s eye-smile-and-freckled-cheek combo.

“Felix!” Hyunjin wrapped himself around his roommate, pointed animatedly to introduce the others, even though he himself had just learned of their names seconds ago. “Hehe, and that’s Jisung! He’s the one who came into Sweet Lotus asking for Min-hyung’s number.”

“Sweet Lotus, huh?” Chan’s eyebrows rose at the name of the notorious bar, glacing at Jisung for an explanation.

“Hyung, what’s that?” Jeongin whispers quietly to his brother, only to be immediately answered by Hyunjin.

“Oh! It’s the host bar/club not too far from here. Nothing special, a normal bar really, just with prettier bartenders and some nice company if you can afford it.” Hyunjin threw a wink at the youngest, earning a glare from his brother.

“Jinnie’s a bartender, can you tell,” Felix giggles along with the others' antics.

"Hehehe. I’m sure you all would love it.” Hyunjin directed his attention to Jisung, “Hey, you should bring your friends next time Jisung-ah. I'd love to be able to have served all the members of 3RACHA. Ya know when you’re famous, I’ll have a story to tell the tourists.” Leaning in to ‘whisper’, “If you do, I'll let you know when Minho-hyung is working~” Jisung went full red at that comment. Hyunjin smirked so hard it looked like it would hurt.

“Jin, you have no shame.” Minho, after glaring at his roommate, turned toward Jisung and the other members of 3RACHA. “I’d apologize that this is how you had to be introduced to my roommates, but they’re like this all the time. Anyway, as he was saying, you guys are always welcomed to the bar, and it's really not as promiscuous as Hyunjin over here is insinuating. He enjoys being a tad over-dramatic.” His eye roll obvious.

Chan laughs, “No worries, Minho-ssi we’re honored by the invitation, truly. And It's nice to finally meet you properly-"

"Or at all. If we hadn't run into you, we probably would never be introduced. You've been Jisung's best kept secret. He's always hiding away his phone whenever we ask him what he's doing. All we hear is him giggling in his little corner and- "

"Okay!! Would you look at the TIME. It appears that 'Embarrass Jisung Time' has officially passed, and we should be on our way." About ready to turn away and hide his face further into his hoodie, Jisung's eyes catch Minho’s. He finds it is hard for him to believe the face on the other side of their conversations could actually be more beautiful than he remembered. Jisung knew that if they had been talking face to face and not over text, he would've had a pretty hard time forming sentences with the way Minho's soft but intense gaze was directed at him.

“Well it was good to see you again, even if it wasn’t planned.” A full blinding smile interrupts the gaze Minho held with Jisung.

“Yeah, likewise. It was nice getting to meet your roommates too.”The sweet gaze between the two is anything but subtle, but if any of their respective friends noticed the shift in atmosphere, it went unacknowledged.

“I’ll text you later okay?”

“Ye-yeah, okay”

They exchange ‘goodbyes’ and Minho attempts to wrangle his roommates away from the others, before they find more ways to embarrass him.

Out of earshot, “Holy shit, Minho-hyung we just met 3RACHA. I’m losing my mind. I hope they think we’re cool. Wait did they see our performance then? Oh my god. They definitely saw our performance.” An embarrassed look flashed across his face.

“Lix chill, your performance was perfect as always. Just try and not embarrass me so much next time”

“Aw hyungie~ did we embarrass you in front of your crush.”

“Hold up NEXT TIME?” ---

“...Well how about we’ll pretend that your heart eyes weren’t painfully obvious, and you pay for chicken?” Jeongin purposes cheekily.

“...mhm deal.” Clearly still in some state of shock still, Chan starts to lead Jisung and the rest of the group toward the nearest restaurant.

“Bro, you're so gone already.” Changbin shakes his head but holds a fond smile for the other. It had been awhile since their youngest trio member had smiled so much, and in turn had been equally inspired. Both of his hyungs had noticed the uptick of Jisung’s productivity, and, if anything, were glad to finally have met the reason for his smile.

-----

one ~ two ~ three ~ four ~ five ~ six ~ seven ~ eight ~ nine

[makomori]

THREE | INTRODUCTIONS (Brand New Story)

USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI x OC

Nishimura Yua has to take her nephew to his first rep practice with the Tohoku Tigers at Shiratorizawa Academy. Ushijima Wakatoshi is filling in for the assistant coach on said team.

She’s recovering from a nasty breakup and he’s reeling from a stunning finals loss against the Jackals.

Yua’s drawn to his composure and honesty.

Wakatoshi finds her warmth and tenacity intriguing.

It’s the start of a Brand New Story; can they heal from past hurts and endure new challenges in order to help each other trust and love again?

CHAPTERS

ONE | NEW TERRITORY

TWO | FAMILIARITY

Length: 3.2k words

Yua convinces her nephew that a pepper session with a top V.League player isn't the scariest thing in the world. And Wakatoshi tries to understand the woman who's determination can't be ignored.

Worlds change when eyes meet | David Jones

Yua’s head whipped toward the man in question. No wonder he seemed familiar. He was taller and looked like he gained more muscle compared to the last time she saw him, but that was definitely Ushijima Wakatoshi on the other side of the gym.

But when she considered it, Ushijima-san being a part of the coaching staff made sense. He was one of Shiratorizawa’s most famous graduates and was likely to still have strong ties to the academy. She wouldn’t be surprised if Saitou-sensei coached him in high school.

Well, this turned out better than Yua expected. Without a second thought, she pulled on Rui’s hand, intent on marching over to introduce them— but stopped when his grip tightened, almost painfully, around her fingers. Surprised, she looked back at him. His eyes darted between her and Ushijima-san a few times before he worried his bottom lip with his teeth. When he tugged on her coat sleeve with his other hand, she finally understood.

Oh.

She stood in front of him and took both his hands in hers. “Hey,” she called out. Her voice was soft. When Rui’s gaze settled back on her, she thumbed his chin gently and smiled.

Yua was used to interacting and meeting with different people every day because of her job. They were usually CEOs and other higher-ups in various companies; she was seldom intimidated by titles or merits. But a moment ago, she was in planning mode and completely forgot to consider Rui’s feelings. He was about to meet someone he admired, after all.

“Wanna meet him?”

“W-what?” Her nephew sputtered. “Meet U-ushijima-sensei? I don’t know…” She could feel his flight response rising fast, so she squeezed his hands, hoping to act as an anchor while she talked him through her plan.

Yua nodded. Rui was logical like her, so she was going to lay out all the pros and cons for him. “Think about it. He’s here early, which means he’s the either the coach or the assistant coach.” Rui opened his mouth to protest but fell silent when he realized the truth of her words. “You’ll have to talk to him sooner or later. Why not sooner?”

Rui looked over at Ushijima-sensei again. He desperately wanted to meet him, but he didn’t know what to say. It sounded a lot easier in his head. He didn’t want to come off as a clingy and annoying fan. “I-I don’t know,” he repeated. “I don’t wanna bother him.”

Yua squeezed his hands again. She understood where he was coming from. He was probably thinking that Ushijima-san would reject him somehow. Sure, it was always a possibility, but Yua wouldn’t let that happen. “Sweetheart, I understand how you feel. It is scary meeting someone you look up to, but I’m sure you won’t be bothering him. He’ll be expecting you to ask a lot of questions. He’s here to teach you, remember?”

Rui rocked back and forth on his feet. He knew everything Yua-chan said was true, but he was still nervous. What if Ushijima-sensei said he wasn’t good at volleyball? And that he should stop playing? The man on the other side of the gym played on one of the top teams in the V.League and was skilled at every aspect of the game; why would he take the time to work with someone like him?

Rui didn’t think he could handle that kind of rejection.

“Hey.” Yua’s steady voice snapped him out of his terrible thoughts again. “Ushijima-san’s at the top of the V.League now, but he was just like you at one point—a thirteen-year-old who loves volleyball.”

Rui perked slightly at her words. “Y-you think so?”

Yua nodded strongly. “He loved volleyball enough to make it his full-time job. And I know because Tak-kun was just like you, too. Now he’s playing for Waseda.” She looked back and pointed at the man Rui was so anxious to meet and avoid all at once. “But one day soon, he’s gonna be just like Ushijima-san; playing in the V.League and loving every second of it.”

Her nephew’s eyes widened as he realized that he shared something in common with his idol. Just like me, his face expressed.

Yua tried to hide her grin when she saw determination return to Rui’s eyes. Meeting his idol was probably the last thing he thought he was going to do today, but there was no way she was going to let him pass up the opportunity to train with a player like Ushijima. She was proud of him. Despite being a bit nervous, he still trusted her to guide him through an unfamiliar situation. She looked at him one more time, and he returned her gaze with less apprehension.

“Yua-chan, I-I still don’t know what to say to him.”

“How about I take care of the introductions?” She offered. He nodded furiously in response. “Then I’ll give you the cue to come in and say you’re a big fan, and that you’ve admired his skills since you were little. How’s that?” Rui nodded again, this time committing her advice to memory. She gave his arms a light shake and chuckled when he looked down at her. “I’ll be right beside you the whole time.”

Rui smiled; his notorious twin dimples making their appearance. “Let’s go.”

~

Wakatoshi felt at ease as soon as he stepped onto the Shiratorizawa campus, but he was truly at home when he walked into the gym. He told himself to set the net up first but couldn’t resist when he saw the Mikasa balls piled in the hammock. After all, he did tell sensei that he was going to warm up before practice started.

He started with a drill where he passed to himself fifty times and repeated the process two more times. Then, he alternated short and high passes to himself two hundred times. After that, he did passes against the wall about three hundred times. He usually did about six hundred reps, but he decided to go easy on himself since he hadn’t played in a month.

Once that was done, he decided to start a wall spikes drill; his favourite. By the time he was on his twentieth rep, he was breathing hard, but he didn’t feel heavy like he did on his jog the other morning. It was peaceful. Everything was familiar. The weightlessness of the ball just before his heavy swing sent it flying to the wall. The double THUD of the ball bouncing before it floated back to him. And the satisfaction of timing his next swing exactly right.

Wakatoshi knew there were a lot of things he couldn’t control. But training like this was a way for him to let go and not worry too much about the details. In hindsight, he really shouldn’t have stayed away for this long, but there was no point in—

Suddenly, a hand shot out in front of him from the right. It was accompanied by, “Sumimasen!”

Wakatoshi caught the ball easily as it bounced back to him. Strange. He wasn’t expecting anyone to show up for another hour. When he turned, all his mind could register was:

B R I G H T

After a moment, he blinked at woman standing before him. Like most of the women he knew, she didn’t come close to challenging his height of six-foot-three, despite being taller than average. However, something was different about her. The top of her head barely reached his collarbones, but the energy he felt coming from her was powerful and almost irresistible.

Their eyes locked.

Her honey-brown gaze was warm and strong, as if they were constantly focused on accomplishing a goal. It reminded him of the intense, singular stare Hinata gave him when they met. Normally, Wakatoshi was the one who caused people to feel uneasy with his candor. Who was she? Unaware of the turmoil stirring within him, she smiled. It affirmed his first impression of her. She was indeed bright. Even white teeth and twin dimples only added to her appeal.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt, but are you one of the coaches?”

Her voice was smooth, low, and Wakatoshi decided that he enjoyed its cadence. He allowed his eyes to wander over her briefly. Early spring in Sendai was still brisk, hence her choice to don a long, soft gray overcoat. When his gaze drifted back up, he finally noticed the expansive collection of freckles on her square-shaped face. Half of her wavy black hair was pinned expertly in a bun at the top of her head, with the rest falling past her shoulders, softening her defined jaw. Arching brows framed her warm eyes. And full, expressive lips were curved into a kind smile.

Remembering that it was rude to stare, Wakatoshi cleared his throat and finally answered. “I am. The assistant coach is sick, so I’ll be helping Saitou-sensei with practice today.” There was that disarming smile again. He couldn’t help but lift the corners of his own mouth in response.

“My name is Yua. It’s nice to meet you.” She bowed to him in greeting. “And this is my nephew, Rui. He’s one of your students.” Pride was clear in Yua-san’s voice. She loved the boy deeply. She reached for the tall teen to her left, who shuffled over before looking up at him. Hesitation was evident on his face.

Despite the young man’s nervousness, Wakatoshi could tell that he was serious about volleyball. The fact he was here an hour before practice spoke volumes about his work ethic. Sensei also had a knack for scouting talented players; the dark red Chidoriyama tracksuit he wore was another promising sign of his skill.

Yua. He doubted he’d forget her name any time soon. He bowed in response. “I’m Wakatoshi.”

Her eyes twinkled with delight. “The Ushijima Wakatoshi? The Adlers’ Left Cannon?”

Wakatoshi felt his ears grow hot and he resisted fought the urge to rub the back of his neck; his habit when he was embarrassed. Despite all his success in the last several years, he still wasn’t used to being recognized. He often wondered how Romero-san managed to deal with the constant attention. He was always relaxed and attentive during interviews or whenever fans swarmed him.

“That’s right.”

“I knew you seemed familiar,” she said, while returning his perusal. He found himself wondering what assumptions she had just made about him. “Rui-kun recognized you right away.” The young man tensed at the sound of his name, but she remained steady at his side.

Wakatoshi surmised that he was nervous about meeting him; a reaction he was used to. But he wanted to change that. He wasn’t charismatic like Romero-san, but surely there was something he could do that would make Rui-kun feel at ease. Unsure about what to say, he continued to address Yua.

“Were you a student at Shiratorizawa?”

No. It would be difficult to forget someone with her presence.

Yua shook her head. “No, but my younger brother was. He dragged me to a couple of your games while he was in middle school.” She smiled again, remembering how excited Tak-kun got every time Ushijima-san went up for a spike. “He’s always complaining because he never got to play on the same team as you.”

“Does he still play?” Wakatoshi was always curious about the talent that came from the academy.

“Tak-kun’s a middle blocker at Waseda. He’s aiming for the V.League in a few years because he wants battle scary wing spikers like you.” Her smile held a challenge this time and his curiosity was piqued. He was never one to back down from a strong opponent.

“But Rui-kun here is a fan of yours.” Yua’s voice softened, and the young man finally mustered the courage to look at him. A gentle nudge from his aunt was all the encouragement he needed.

He stepped forward and bowed. “H-hello Ushijima-sensei, I’m Rui. I-I’ve thought you were a great player ever since I was little.”

It would take time for Wakatoshi to get used to hearing that. “Thank you, Rui-kun. It’s nice to meet you.” He was constantly learning and adapting his current skills, so Wakatoshi still considered himself a student. “What position do you play?”

Rui-kun looked back at Yua, and she smiled gently and gave him a reassuring nod. “W-wing spiker. Hayate-sensei said I’m an outside because I’m right-handed.”

Wakatoshi nodded in approval. He couldn’t wait to see his skills in real time. “Then you’re like Romero-san.”

The teen’s eyes lit up, and the tension in his body was replaced instantly by excitement. “Nicollas Romero? Really?? He’s so cool.” His words came out in a rushed breath, and Wakatoshi chuckled.

“I agree. I’ll be sure to tell him he’s got another big fan.” He was relieved that Rui-kun’s energy changed at something he said. He hadn’t interacted too much with younger fans other than signing autographs and occasionally posing for pictures, but he seemed to be doing all right for the moment.

Rui barely stopped himself from jumping up and down. “You will?? Can you tell Houshiumi-san that he’s amazing, too?? I’ve never seen anyone jump so high! Except for Ninja Shoyo!”

Yua’s smile became bigger as Rui-kun’s excitement grew. That was one of the things she loved about him. He was so passionate about his interests that you couldn’t help being swept up in his positive energy. He didn’t realize it now, but that passion would serve him well as player and eventual captain. He was the type of person teammates would naturally rally behind and support without question.

“I was cheering for you and the Adlers the whole time!”

Wakatoshi smiled. “I think I heard your cheering all the way in Tokyo.” Sometimes, he forgot that people from all over Japan and the world watched his games.

Rui-kun suddenly looked down and clasped his hands together. He looked like he was at odds about what he about to say next. So, his voice was quiet when he spoke. “Uhm, I’m sorry you didn’t win the championship this year. The game was still amazing to watch.”

Wakatoshi was moved by his kind words. As young as he was, Rui-kun understood what it was like to lose even though you put everything you have into it. “Thank you,” he murmured. “The loss was hard for all of us.”

“Were you upset?” Rui-kun’s light brown eyes were full of sympathy. He was genuinely upset that the Adlers has lost such an important game. “I’m always get upset when lose.”

Wakatoshi considered his next words very carefully. Somehow, he knew his answer would have a huge effect on this young man’s life as a player and as an individual. He was beginning to understand how Romero-san dealt with press and fans so well. Like the players he looked up to and aspired to be when he was younger, Wakatoshi’s current position in the V.League enabled him to inspire the next generation of players, which included Rui-kun.

“I was upset for a few weeks,” he started. That was an understatement. “But losing isn’t a bad thing. It hurts, yes, but you can always learn something from it.”

Rui-kun’s eyes had grown owlishly wide; he was hanging onto his every word. “Like what?”

Wakatoshi squatted down in front of the boy, who’s mouth gaped open at the action. “Everyone loses at some point,” he murmured. “Even me. But losing makes you want to work even harder so you can do your best to win next time. The good thing about volleyball is that you’re never alone. You can always lean on your team and coaches for support.” His eyes shifted up to Yua briefly, who was watching him just as intently as her nephew. “Family, too.” He heard her breath hitched quietly at his admission.

“I-I’ve never thought of it that way,” Rui swallowed. “Now that I think about it, me and my team are really close.”

Wakatoshi nodded and grinned. “Good. That bond will make it easier for you to work through challenges together.”

Rui-kun’s wide smile returned. It looked like dimples were a family trait. “We get into fights sometimes, but it’s still fun!”

Wakatoshi stood up. “That’s normal for every team. Fighting is a good way to communicate sometimes.” Teams fought, just like any family would. At the end of the day, a common goal had to be reached and the road wasn’t always going to be smooth.

But working towards that goal was half the fun.

“Uhm, Ushjima-sensei? I was gonna warm up with Yua-chan but I-I was hoping y-you could…” The shyness had returned to Rui-kun’s voice, but Wakatoshi knew exactly what he wanted to ask.

“Would you like to pepper with me? We still have time before the net has to be set up.” The expression on Rui-kun’s face was priceless. He didn’t think his smile could get any bigger. Not bad for his first time as a coach.

Yua-san waved her hand. “I can set everything up while you two practice.”

Wakatoshi frowned and shoot his head. “Yua-san, I couldn’t have you do that—”

But she shook her head. Black hair flowed back and forth over her shoulders and Wakatoshi was reduced to staring again. “It’s all right! I interrupted your drill and you’re taking the time to practice with Rui-kun, so setting up the net is the least I can do to thank you.”

Rui-kun interrupted before he could protest. “Will you really pepper with me??”

“Yes,” Wakatoshi chuckled.

“I’ll be right back!” He sprinted to the other side of the gym, presumably to shred his Chidoriyama tracksuit. Saitou-sensei would have his hands full with him.

“Thank you for training with him.” Wakatoshi turned to the woman who orchestrated this impromptu pepper session. “He was so nervous about meeting you.”

“I tend to get that reaction, although it’s not my intent to make anyone nervous.” He rubbed that back of his neck this time. “I’ve been told that I can be intimidating.”

Yua-san tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, giving him another brief study. Wakatoshi felt like he was being dissected. “Only at first glance. I’ve worked with much scarier clients.” He was relieved when she smiled again. “You’re sweet compared to them.”

His brows shot up. “Sweet?” No one had ever described him that way, especially not after meeting him for the first time.

Yua-san laughed at his reaction. It was a full and sweet sound. “Absolutely,” she said confidently. “You made Rui-kun feel comfortable and gave him good advice about dealing with failure. That’s sweet in my book.”

It was Wakatoshi’s turn to gape. For once in his life, he didn’t know how to respond.

“I’m ready, Ushijima-sensei!” The teen was in the middle of the gym and waving him down furiously.

“You’d better get going,” Yua-san teased. “Rui-kun has boundless energy once he gets excited about something.”

Wakatoshi somehow managed to gather his thoughts before responding. She wasn’t shying away from his bluntness like most people did. In fact, she met him head-on right from the start. He found that refreshing, but slightly unnerving. “Please stay until sensei arrives, Yua-san. I’m sure he’d like to meet you.”

The spark from earlier settled into her honey-brown eyes.

“As you wish, Ushijima-sensei.”