#until my heart stopped when i saw a pretty person on the street

[bloodibambiidoll]

Pussy Liquor (Eric Draven x Stripper!Reader)

Summary: It’s a slow, boring night at the club until he walks through the door.

Warnings: Eric is implied to have a lot of money(he’s in the music industry), unprotected public sex, lust at first sight, choking 18+MDNI

✰ I think this one has been a long time coming for me. I’ve never written stripper!reader but I was a stripper for several years so this is v personal to me. The songs reader dances to used to be my favorite set. thank u for always encouraging me pookie @babygorewhore ✰

It was a dreary, slow night. There were bodies in the club but no money to go along with them. A few dudes you can tell just turned 21 and are here for the experience, they’ll definitely spend the entire evening at the same table drinking cheap beer while they whistle at the dancers with their wallets closed. A few of the girls regulars are here, either in the back or cozied up at a table. If you were lucky they’d ask you to come sit with them and at the very least buy you drinks but you didn’t feel like entertaining someone for nothing more than a few ones and some shots. There was a couple in the corner arguing and a few older men with their eyes practically glued to the slot machines. Classic.

But there was one individual that caught your eye. He wasn’t someone you would usually see in a place like this. He was more like a pretty face you saw on the street and thought about for the rest of the week. He’s tucked away in a back corner booth drinking what looks like shots of crown royal, the whole bottle, always a good sign. He’s approached the stage and tipped each girl generously but hasn’t stayed for a set. You’ve noticed a few girls go offer him dances but he declines, offering them a tip anyway. You couldn’t blame them for trying. He was gorgeous. He’s extremely tall, still towering over even the tallest dancers in their heels. His toned arms are covered in tattoos and the white tee he’s wearing sits taunt against his chest. His distressed black jeans are tucked into beat up leather boots and his face is otherworldly. Those bright green eyes shine in the flashing lights of the club, the way they dance around his face accentuating different parts of his statuesque bone structure. He has full lips and a perfect pointed nose and you’ve never wanted to ride a customer right in the middle of the club until right now. You haven’t felt nervous to go on stage since you were just starting out dancing but the way his viridescent eyes raked over your body as you climbed the stairs to the stage had your heart pounding.

Your first song starts to play and you grab onto the pole lightly as you prance around it to the beat. You press the tip of your healed boot against the bottom of the pole and spin your body around it with your other leg pointed before pressing your back against it. You nearly trip when you see the man you’ve been fantasizing about all night sitting at your stage with a $20 bill sitting on the bar. You regain your composure, smiling at him sweetly as you slide down the pole onto your knees so you can crawl to him. The sound of Rob Zombie’s “Pussy Liquor” thrums through your body, making you feel like a succubus. You stop on your knees in front of the top bar, never breaking eye contact with him as you pluck it with your manicured fingers and stuff it into the band of your black bikini top.

“Thank you, that’s so sweet of you.” You press your tits together as you lean over and stick your ass out behind you. “I’m Bunny, what’s your name?”

“Well, that’s kind of forward, isn’t it?” His voice is much softer than you expected as he returns your smile with one of his own, it’s not condescending though, it’s almost playful. “I’m Eric.”

“Well, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. You can just watch me dance.” You wink at him before leaning back on your knees and pulling the string on your top so it falls down your body, your tits spilling free. Eric’s eyes sparkle and his tongue darts out to wet his lips as he looks up at you like he hasn’t seen multiple pairs of boobs just within the last hour.

You pull the bottom string free and then toss it to the side as you push yourself up on your 8 inch heels. You sway toward the pole, running your fingers through your hair as you purposefully wiggle the fat of your ass. You grab onto the metal and roll your body before swinging your foot around it so you can climb up. You lock your legs together and lean backward, suspending yourself in the air. You watch as Eric pulls out a roll of cash and throws a huge stack of ones followed by several twenty’s. You grab onto your tits and jiggle them for him before titling yourself back up to grab onto the pole. You timed it perfectly so when the beat dropped so did you, right from the top onto the ground in the splits. Eric claps, which you find absolutely adorable because who the fuck claps in a strip club? And then he throws a literal hundred dollar bill onto your stage right as your first song ends. You tease him all through the next song, “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails and when you’re leaning over to press your tits into his face he gives you this dopey smile and tells you that he loves the songs you choose. After your set is done you offer him a dance, and he insists on a private room.

You pull the thick red curtain back so you can lead him into the sectioned off area of the club. There’s walls on all three sides and an open face that’s completely blocked by curtains. You can’t help but giggle at the way he stands there awkwardly surveying the room. You can tell he’s never done this before.

“This your first time?” You grab onto a piece of your hair and twirl it, looking up at him through your lashes. He’s even taller than you thought he was and you have to stop yourself from clenching your thighs when how easily he could toss you around crosses your mind. You have no idea how you’re going to get through the next thirty minutes without getting turned on. You already are.

“Yeah. I’m just not sure how it works.” He chuckles lightly as he rubs the back of his neck but there’s this glint in his eye that tells you he isn’t going to make this any easier on you or your tiny thong.

“Well, why don’t you just sit down on the couch and I can dance for you?” You grab his hand and guide him to the couch, encouraging him to sit down. He obliges you and you lower yourself into his lap with your legs hanging over his. You’re back in your top now, but it leaves little to be desired and you feel your body heat as his eyes rake over you. One of his large hands lands on your thigh and he gives you a questioning look, instead of answering him verbally you swing your leg over his to straddle him and grab onto both of his hands, resting them on your hips. You throw your arms over his shoulders and grind down on him lightly and it has his grip on you tightening.

“I don’t know the rules and you’re making it really hard for me to control myself already.” Eric’s voice is a deep rumble that runs straight to your core and god you don’t usually let customers touch you like this but you’re starting to wonder if you can stop yourself from fucking him right here.

“Wanna know a little secret, Eric?” You ghost your lips across his pierced ear and you can feel his skin break out into goosebumps.

“Yeah.” He groans when you grind down on him harder this time, his grip on you turning almost bruising.

“I don’t usually let guys touch me, even for money, but you? You can touch me as much as you want.” You run your nose down his jaw before pulling away from him, flipping around on his lap and pushing yourself onto your feet. You roll your body and shake your ass for him while pulling your top off again. You shimmy back onto his lap with your back pressed to his chest and grind against his now hard bulge. You can’t help the little whine that escapes you. His large tattooed hands grip onto your tits and that’s when you lose all sense of reality.

“I really liked your songs, ya know?” Eric’s breath tingles against your neck, his lips just barely brushing your skin. “You’re the only girl here I wanted to talk to.”

“Yeah? You’re the only guy I’ve ever seen in here that I actually wanted to dance for.” You throw your hands behind your back so you can lace them behind his head as you continue to wind on his lap. “And it’s so fucking against the rules but I’d let you fuck me right here.” You lean your head back so you can look up into his eyes and his expression has changed drastically, it was like your words flipped a switch inside of him and he wants nothing more to eat you alive.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble, bunny.” He chuckles and brings a finger up to your cheek. He runs it down your face to your jaw before ghosting it over your lips and you can’t help but dart your tongue out to lick the pad of his finger. “Let me take you home with me.”

“Well, I’m not really supposed to do that either. But I really feel like breaking some fucking rules tonight.” You wind your hips in a circle and his cock slides perfectly between your thong covered ass.

“They can’t be too mad if I pay them off, right?” He squeezes your boob, rolling your nipple between his fingertips.

“That would cost a lot. You’re hot enough to lose my job over. There’s other clubs. I want you to fuck me.” You whine and pull the strings of your bottoms so they fall down your hips. You never thought you’d be here, sitting on a customers lap begging him to fuck you like a bitch in heat. But something about this man was making you lose all rationality.

“Money isn’t an issue for me baby. Hell, I’ll get you out of here permanently if you want.” He runs that perfect nose along the column of your throat, inhaling the expensive perfume one of your regulars bought you a few months back. “And you don’t need to beg, the minute I saw you I knew I’d give you anything you asked for.”

“Fuck, Those are some big promises, honey.” You giggle, sugary sweet, and it makes him melt. He grabs onto your hips and pushes you to stand, your tiny thong falling at your feet, leaving you exposed to him. Eric grabs onto the globes of your ass and spreads them open, your pussy lips coming apart with a click from how wet you are.

“Would you look at that? So fucking perfect.” He grips onto your hips to turn you around, making sure to steady you when you stumble in your heels. You watch with wide eyes as he reaches for his playboy bunny belt buckle and your jaw practically drops to the floor when he pulls his cock out. It’s fucking huge and pierced. “I don’t make promises I can’t keep, bunny. Come sit on it.”

Eric pulls you forward and you straddle him, your knees sinking into the leather of the couch. He grips onto his shaft and runs it through your wetness, the balls of his piercing bumping against your clit. He taps the head against your sensitive bud before lining up with your entrance and slowly pushing inside your wet walls. But it’s not enough, you want to feel the burn of the stretch while he splits you open so you slam your hips down onto his, taking him to the hilt in one thrust. It nearly knocks the wind out of you and a moan so loud that the music barely drowns it out.

“Oh fuck, you’re so fucking tight.” Eric grips onto your ass and bounces you up and down on his cock as he stares into your eyes deeply. “You sure nobody is gonna come in here?”

“Nobody will, they’re definitely watching on the cameras and I’m definitely fucked as soon as we walk out of here but they’ll let it play out.” It’s like you gave him the green light because he plants his feet firmly on the ground and starts to fuck up into you. He grips onto your throat so he can pull your lips to his in a filthy kiss, not wasting any time intertwining your tongues together. The metal bar in his cock caresses your walls as his thick head bullies your g-spot and your toes curl in your boots. “Choke me harder.”

“Yeah? You like it rough, bunny? I’m going to have so much fun with you.” Eric squeezes your throat tighter and his free hand comes to run circles on your clit with his thumb. The way he’s talking about you like he already owns you combined with the pleasure he’s giving you has you already teetering towards the edge. “I’m gonna keep you, make you my pretty little fuck doll. You want that?”

“Yes, fuck yes.” You whine, drool starting to drip down your chin as your eyes roll back. Your manicured fingers scratch at his back through his shirt and you wouldn’t be surprised if it has tiny rips in it by the end of this.

“Look at me when you fall apart on my cock.” Eric grunts as he shifts his hips so he’s fucking into you even deeper and it has euphoria washing over your entire body the minute your eyes lock with his. Your pussy clenches around his cock like a vise grip and you moan so loudly there’s no way it can’t be heard outside of this room. But you’re way past giving a fuck. “Oh, that’s a good bunny, come for me.”

“Oh my f-fucking god! Fuckkkk me!” Eric’s thrusts don’t let up as he chases his own high, his hands grip onto your ass again and he’s practically folded in half on the couch as he bounces you like a fuck toy on his dick.

“I’m gonna fucking come.” Eric grunts before he’s pressing your hips flush against yours with his cock twitching inside you. You watch as he throws his head back, exposing his tattooed neck and you can’t help but lean forward and bite down on it. “Fuck yes, fucking bite me.”

You suck and bite on his skin until he goes limp underneath you, panting as he tries to catch his breath. He pushes himself up with his cock still nestled inside of you before pulling you close so he can kiss you with a passion no man ever has before. Who was this guy? And why did you never want to leave him?

“Alright, we should get out of here so I can go lose my job.” You chuckle as you stand up and grab your bikini, tying it back on while Eric tucks himself back into his pants. He comes to stand in front of you, taking your face into his hands.

“I meant that shit I said. I know we don’t know each other, hell, I don’t even know your real name. But come home with me, I’ll pay off these assholes and buy you whatever you want.” Eric smiles at you so sweetly you feel like you’re going to melt into the beer soaked carpet and how can you say no?

“Fuck it. Let’s go.” You giggle and push yourself up on your tiptoes to kiss him before pulling him out to face the music.

You definitely lost your job that night. But Eric fucked you so good you couldn’t even bring it in yourself to care. And he kept his promise. He kept you as his little doll and gave you everything your heart could ever desire.

Tagging a few moots who might be interested: @nailbatanddungeon @myspacebrat @ghoul-friendz @taintandviolent

Divider is by @cafekitsune

[ashton-sano]

Blue Lock Characters in: Being Jealous

(Characters Inclu.: Yoichi Isagi, Meguru Bachira, Seishiro Nagi, Reo Mikage, Chigiri Hyoma)

Trying to get into the habit of posting more often, so have these headcanons. A Bit short but I hope you enjoy

Yoichi Isagi

-Somehow the worst one on this list

-He's likely to give the nastiest glare to whoever you're wasting your time with (of course when you arent looking)

-Post Blue lock Isagi is kinda the same, Just a lot less subtle. curses and maybe a fight or two if its Kaiser. 

"That blonde asshole has no place talking to you, you're mine.."

-Don't be alarmed, he's unlikely to take his jealously out on you

-Unless you're teasing him on purpose, then he might get a bit agitated with you

- "My dear, I'm not too fond of how you let him touch you just then, please stop that."

 

-He's a two way street, either a sweetheart who tries to dodge around it or a straight maniac who will plot murdering whoever it is.

    -Nothing to mistake, he isnt brainless, so theres always a chance he wont care

-He's mostly secure in your relationship with him but could use reassurance in times like that

Meguru Bachira 

-Relatively tame for the most part

-If anything, he may get clingier

-He honestly doesnt even acknowledge the person youre talking to at first, he's too invested in you

"Oh, Baby! You busy today? I wanted to try this- hm? Oh, you're talking to someone...? Anyway, its this cool bakery I saw, we should try it!"

-If you aren't giving him your attention, that's when he'd get pouty

-He's a child at heart, naturally he's gonna get upset if you aren't paying him mind, no matter the reason

"Babyyyyyyy, gimme attention...! I dont care who youre talking to, love me!"

-Its cute so you usually give him his way and stop what youre doing

       

     --> Little do you know, he does it on purpose because it always works

-Definitely a michevious little bumblebee

Seishiro Nagi 

-Another rather tame one

-Hard to tell if he even cares with how lazy and laid back he is 

-It usually never bothers him since he does trust you 

"Hm? Your friend asked to hang out today? Sounds cool.." 

-Like Bachira, he only cares when it cuts into your time with him, now its something of note for him

-How could you leave your boyfriend for some lame hangout? Playing Video games with him is much more important

"You want me to get off..? No...Not until you promise you'll stay and hang out with me..."

-Please just stay, he might actually cry if you leave (he wont, but it always gets you because you believe him)

     ->A 6'2" babi, why wouldnt you want to give him what he wants?

- Eventually he makes you forget why you were trying to leave in the first place

Reo Mikage

-Have you seen how he gets with Nagi? Safe to say he wont be very happy

-As mad as he'd be, I doubt he'll make sure you see that

-All smiles and grins when you look at him, what do you mean you swear you saw him scowl at the guy behind you? You're just seeing things love

 

"Dove, who's this? A..friend? Ah, well im sure we'll get along well, real well...."

-We all know how privledged he is, he would be appauled that you want time with anyone besides him, what could they give you that he cant?

-Granted, he wouldnt give it much thought at first but as you keep focus on this person, itll eat away at him more before he's pouting and begging for you to give him your undivided time

"C'mon Dove, how bout we go to that new cafe you were talking about, hm? No, im not trying to distract you, how could you say that..?"

(Thats definitely what hes doing)

-Eventually he'd bribe or sweet talk you into giving him what he wants 

    -"Dont ask about where that guy went, hes not important....Now lets go get some ice cream, yeah?"

-A tad creepy and overprotective but with all that money, who is to stop him?

Chigiri Hyoma

 The most tame on this list, and by a rather large margin too

-This pretty boy knows you'll eventually give him your attention, nothing to worry about

-If anything, he encourages you to allocate your time doing what you want and speaking to who you wish

-That can change if the person is too touchy with you, however

"Pretty sure they asked you to take your hands off, keep them to yourself."

 

-He trusts you entirely, its the people you hang around that can overstep and agitate him 

-Hence why he's almost always hanging out with you, your friends are his friends right? What better way to show them that you're happily taken then to bring your sweet, beautiful redhead with you?

"Going out sweetheart? Mind if i tag along? I mean only if you don't mind."

-Truly a man who knows his worth, but it would help if you told your especially pushy friends to mind their manners when he's around 

    -A few of them have actually attempted moves on him once or twice

-We stan a Pretty King ��� 

[dailyreverie]

Fairytale

A/N: Based on this prompt requested by an anonymous person, if you see this, I love you, thanks for requesting! 🎄❤️

Holiday prompts ⛄️

11. Nice

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem. reader

Word count: 870

CW: Insecure reader, reader wears a dress.

There’s always this moment before going to the Avengers' parties, as you are in the middle of getting ready, where you start second guessing if what you are wearing is fine. Is the dress you've chosen too much or not enough? Is it too formal, or have you missed the mark on the dress code? Whatever it is, though, you are stuck with your choice since behind you, meeting your eyes with nothing but love and admiration, Bucky keeps saying how gorgeous you look. If only you could see with his eyes the way your dress makes you glow. There’s no way he would let you change, not when you look like that.

As you wait for your car to arrive, in the middle of a cold Brooklyn street where you feel like the street lights shine on you like a spotlight, you can’t help but feel self-conscious from the way you look. “Everybody’s looking at me.” You whisper against Bucky’s shoulder, trying to hide from prying eyes.

Truth is, there aren’t as many peaky lookers as you think there are; your mind plays tricks against you as you pull and tug the fabric, Bucky’s arm working as a shield against the rest of the world.

“That’s ‘cause you look stunning, doll.” He reassures you still, with a tender kiss pressed against your forehead, and when you look up to protest him, to tell him how you definitely missed the dress code, the only spotlight that matters is the one reflecting the admiration in Bucky's eyes.

"I still feel like it's too much," you insist, cheeks tinted with a rosy hue.

“Sweetheart, listen to me,” Bucky stands before you, grabbing your arms softly to make you look at him, his fingers traveling up and down your arm when your eyes meet his. “I promise you, you are the most stunning woman that has ever graced this earth.”

"Bucky..." you roll your eyes, but his smirk and laughter reassure you.

“I’ve been here a while, I know what I’m saying.” He concludes with a smirk that makes you laugh too. “I swear, you look perfect. So perfect, that when we get back home, I’ll make sure the whole building will hear the way I-”

“Excuse me,” a tiny voice interrupts your giggles, tugging at Bucky’s leg from somewhere close to the floor. The voice matches a little girl no more than six, who looks up at you with her eyes shining like Christmas lights.

“Hi there,” He greets with a surprised smile. “Are you okay? Are you lost?” Bucky adds immediately, the worry that washed over his voice making your heart feel warm.

“No, I’m not lost, I saw you from there..” she points at a corner from where a woman runs towards you, most likely her worried mother. “And I ran so fast! Because I-” She stops when she sees you looking at her, her eyes instantly shying away as her hand gestures to Bucky to crouch down until he reaches her height. “I wanted to say hi to the princess.” As she whispers, Bucky’s smile becomes gradually wider until it reaches his ears. “If she is your girlfriend can you tell her I say hi, please?”

Bucky looks at you with the fondest look he’s ever shown. “Why don’t you tell her, I’m sure the princess would love to hear it.” They exchange a look, Bucky encouraging her as she takes a step towards you.

“Hi princess,” she speaks up to you as you almost melt from how cute this little girl was, trully believing she was seeing a real-life fairytale princess. “You look really pretty.”

“Oh my- I-” You stutter a bit, getting flustered by the second. Words begin to fail you, but you are not one to break a little girl’s fantasy. “Thank you very much, so do you.” You notice she's all dressed up too, probably heading to a party too.

Her eyes light up and she takes your hand. “I want to be a princess when I grow up, just like you!”

“I’m sure you are going to be a wonderful princess.” You assure her, just as her mother arrives with a thousand apologies as she takes the girl away.

“Don’t worry about it,” You tell her with a wave, discarding all her worries.

“You are so nice, hopefully she will become like you one day, this little munchkin.” The munchkin in case can’t stop laughing as she is dragged away by her mother, who can’t do much but shout her goodbyes: “Goodbye princess! And goodbye handsome prince!”

Bucky stands up again as you both laugh at the moment, and when he meets your eyes again and his hands find yours to intertwine, he repeats his words again: “I told you: beautiful.”

"For all I know, you hired that girl," you playfully accuse, a light-hearted tease escaping your lips as you pull him closer with a smile that dissolves into a kiss. His own smile meets yours, letting go of your hands to hold your waist instead, erasing any distance that could be between you.

The sound of a car horn interrupts the tender exchange, and you part with shared smiles and love-filled eyes. For all he cares, in his eyes you are a fairytale princess, too.

🦾🎄🦾🎄🦾🎄🦾🎄🦾🎄🦾🎄🦾

Thanks for reading! Please reblog and comment if you enjoyed it!

[nightlyrequiem]

Latrodectus

IV. The Heart Behind My Ribs

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

AO3

Latrodectus Mactans, otherwise known as the Black Widow, are known for their uncouth treatment of their partners. The 'widow' part of their name stemming from the common occurrence of the female devouring her partner after mating.

Tags/Warnings: Abduction, Violence, Emotional Manipulation, harassment, A Dabble of Psychological Torture, Drugging, Breaking And Entering, Fem!reader, Drugging, Breaking And Entering, Fem!reader

================================================

There wasn't anyone after Julietta. Not for a while, not until you. Your fate was sealed the day she saw you stumbling down the street crying. Ignored by everyone but her. Like you existed at a wavelength only she could see. The first time you two spoke face to face was a hot July night at the bar you worked at. Valeria approached the counter with confidence and took up your time with unimportant small talk. The sound of your voice was melodic to someone so used to the sound of yelling and gunfire. You smiled and laughed at her jokes, just like you did with every other customer, but Valeria knew you were different with her. She could feel it in the very marrow of her bones.

There you stood, under the dim yellow lights intently wiping down a shot glass with expert fingers. Eyes lowered as you focused on the task at hand, your lashes casting thin shadows over your cheeks. Valeria approached like always. Sitting herself right at the end of the bar. The other bar tenders knew not to try to serve her. Only one person was worthy of making her a drink. You glanced up from the glass as though you could sense her presence. You finished up with the glass and bounded over to her. You leaned down and gave her a little smile.

"I'm beginning to think you're coming here for more than just the drinks." You quipped. Valeria scoffed and shook her head with amusement.

"What makes you say that?" She asked. "Why else would I come here if not for overpriced beer?"

To Valeria's satisfaction, you chuckled at her words.

"Right. So, the usual then?" You inquired, tilting your head. Valeria nodded once and you moved away to prepare her whiskey on the rocks. Her eyes wandered appraisingly over your back. Taking in the sight of your shoulders moving as you worked. You turned around and placed down her drink. 

"You know," Valeria said, stopping you from moving on. "You're better than this place." You looked caught off guard for a few seconds before righting yourself.

"Thank you, Val, that's sweet." You replied kindly. Valeria wasn't trying to be kind. You attempted to move away again but Valeria grabbed your hand. Your expression hardened slightly at the contact, but Valeria didn't let go.

"I mean it." She insisted. "Let me take you out." You had gone still and furrowed your brows.

"What?" Valeria didn't understand why you seemed to be confused. Her intentions were pretty obvious.

She rubbed her thumb on the inside of your wrist. Your skin was warm and a little damp from working.

"Let me take you out." Valeria repeated. Her dark eyes staring into yours. Noise rattled on around you but neither of you paid any attention to it. "I make enough so that you don't have to work in this shithole." Valeria was dismayed when your hand slipped from hers and your face contorted into one of discomfort.

"Valeria... I'm not really looking for anything." You had said.

"That's fine, but you can at least do yourself the favour of giving me a chance." Valeria answered, undeterred by your rejection.

"No, I don't think I'm going to do that, I'm sorry." You shook your hood. You darted off before Valeria could even respond.

'No, I don't think I'm going to do that.' Valeria stared you down as you blatantly ignored her in favour of other patrons. Your smile was strained as you greeted and mingled with them, your mind clearly on Valeria. She didn't understand why you said no. You played along with her jokes, conversations with you were easy and natural. You two got along and had good chemistry yet you said no. Valeria was annoyed, but she wasn't going to give up on you. After all, the best things in life are things you have to work for. The greater the challenge the greater the reward.

Valeria vanished from your life for a few weeks. Allowing you time to fully digest what happened. Maybe with the thought in your head you'd think critically and reconsider her offer. Once she felt you'd had enough time to yourself, she showed right back up at your work. Lingering in the shadow to watch over you. You acted normal. Charming customers out of their hard-earned money. You wouldn't have to degrade yourself to laughing at unfunny jokes if you just let Valeria take care of you. She waited until the bar became sparser in people before going up to the counter and taking her usual spot. You didn't scamper over to your biggest supporter. You pretended not to see her as you angled your back towards her.

That's fine. Valeria can could for you. You eventually ran out of cups to clean and had no choice but to serve the only customer currently at the counter. There was a resigned look in your eye as you came up to Valeria.

"Hey Valeria, the usual?" Your tone was friendly, but in that detached customer service way. She practically shivered at the lack of warmth in your voice.

"Of course, unless something better popped up on the menu during the time I was absent." She said smoothly. Acting like nothing happened. You smiled politely and turned to quickly fix up her drink. You sat it down and looked at her.

"Anything else?" Valeria shook her head and you didn't waste any time in hurrying away from her.

She observed you throughout the night. Firmly planted in her seat. You served her a few more times with the same unimpressive attitude. Soon you were saying goodbye to your coworkers and walking out from behind the bar. Valeria got up and followed you to the exit. You noticed her right as you reached your car and both of you come to a stop at the same time. You gazed upon her with a guarded expression. 

"What do you want?" You asked cautiously. Your hands burrowed themselves into your pockets.

"I want you to reconsider." Valeria answered calmly.

"Reconsider going out with you?" Your frown had deepened.

"Yes, I can promise you that your quality of life will improve with me." She slowly stepped closer to you. 

You tensed up.

"I already told you that I'm not interested." You snapped. Valeria narrowed her eyes at you, feeling frustrated at your lack of cooperation.

"You haven't even given me a chance; how could you possibly know that?" She scoffed. You just stared at her.

"I don't like women." Valeria rolled her eyes at that and took another step closer. You took one back.

"Bullshit. Your last two relationships were with women." You froze and opened your mouth only to close it again in a manner very similar to a fish.

"How do you know that?" You asked sharply. You appeared disturbed by her knowledge. 

"Doesn't matter how I know." Valeria huffed. She's annoyed and doesn't need to be dealing with this. You were being so unnecessarily difficult. "You like women, I thought you liked me."

You rubbed your face with your left hand.

"I was being friendly." You said quietly. "I wasn't trying to lead you on and I'm sorry, but I am not interested in anything with you." Those weren't the words Valeria wanted to hear. She had suddenly begun to draw closer to you in an aggressively quick manner, her arm stretched out but before she could make contact your own arm flew up, a small canister clutched in your hand. Valeria's senses were assaulted by an unbearable burning sensation, she jerked back. Hands coming up to her face. She hissed in pain as her eyes and nose burned. She could barely hear the sound of you slamming your car door and speeding off as she writhed in pain.

Valeria didn't go back to the bar since you pepper-sprayed her. She spent at least an hour in the bathroom trying to wash out her eyes. She was pissed. She wanted to hurt you, but she kept herself in check. No, she had a new plan. If you wouldn't see her willingly, she'd simply force you to. People went missing in Las Almas all the time and rarely are they ever found.

She lurked outside your home past dark. The only light being a pale glow seeping through your sheer curtains. You were inside laying on the couch watching TV. Valeria double checked that she had everything she needs. Your locks were astoundingly easy to pick. Silent and stealthy, Valeria slowly pushed open your front door and stepped inside. She crept over to the couch where you laid unaware. She unholstered her gun and pressed it to your temple, your body stiffened at the contact.

"Don't move or scream." She whispered. She took out a syringe of liquidated Rohypnol and injected it into a vein under your jaw. You flinched ever so slightly but kept still. Valeria listened to your laboured breathing as she moved around you. Sitting herself down on your coffee table and keeping her gun pointed at you.

Your eyes were wide and glossy, lips parted to show hints of your teeth.

"What was that?" You asked shakily.

"Rohypnol." Valerie said "You'll feel a little sick after you wake up but I assure you it's for the best." After seventeen minutes of patiently waiting, you slumped back against the couch. She rebolstered her gun and dragged your limp, unconscious body back to her car.

Now, a month and three weeks later your head is in her lap. Her fingers softly trail back and forth against your nape. You've come so far in such a short amount of time.

"Are you hungry?" Valeria asks.

"A little." You mumble. Sitting up and looking at her. Valeria feels a sharp pang of unhappiness. Your eyes lost their playful twinkle. She reaches out and places a gentle hand on your cheek. 

"Why don't we go upstairs and see what there is, hm?" You don't even seem all that excited over the prospect of going upstairs. Valeria frowns but takes out a key and finally releases you from your collar. She removes it and sets it aside so she can look at your bare throat.

She gets off the bed and reaches out a hand. You grab it and pull yourself to your feet. Your eyes are downcast as Valeria leads you out of the basement. Outside the sun has set. Casting darkness over the desert. You wander up to a window in the kitchen and stare. So close that your breath fogs up the glass. Valeria watches you for a few seconds before turning to the fridge. She'll make you something nutritious. Something with protein. Maybe she should also get you some vitamins. You stay rooted in place the entire time it takes Valeria to cook. The only movement you make is the light swaying from the effort it's taking you to stand.

Valeria finishes cooking and fixes up two plates. Setting them down at the table. She glances at you while she lights some candles and turns off the lights.

"It's ready." She tells you. She sits down and watches you expectantly. You continue to stare out the window before turning and joining Valeria at the table. The warm lighting from the candles washes your face in an orange glow. Smoothing out your features. The flames dance in your eyes, making the shadows beneath them look more severe.

You pick up a fork and begin eating. Wolfing down your food hungrily. Valeria has to tell you to slow down so you don't make yourself sick. She eats her own share, Enjoying the illusion of a domestic moment.

"This is really good." You murmur between bites. Valeria smiles. Pleased that you like her cooking.

"Tomorrow, we should cook together." She suggests. 

"Sure." You nod. Finishing up your food. You stand up and bring your place to the sink. Taking some time to wash your hands and face then you walk up to Valeria.

"I'm tired." You say quietly.

"You want to go to bed?" Valeria asks. You give her a nod. Valeria looks at you and has an internal debate. Wondering if she should offer to let you sleep in her bed tonight. She decides it's still too risky to do that. Valeria rises from the table and puts her plate in the sink then gently grabs your shoulder to lead you back downstairs.

You join her upstairs the next night as well. Valeria makes good on her word to let you cook with her. Although she won't let you touch any knives, and you don't do much besides hover over her shoulder while she explains her process. Valeria tries to entertain you, tries to make you laugh but the best she gets out of you is a small smile. More often than not she has to call your name repeatedly to get your attention back onto her.

"We should watch a movie while we eat." Valeria hums. Stirring some vegetables. She turns her head to look at you. "Why don't you go wait in the living room and find us something to watch?" She feels nervous over letting you roam around unsupervised. You could try to escape, or find something to use as a weapon, but she's hoping this show of trust will warm you up a bit more.

She finishes putting everything together and walks into the living room with two plates full of food. The sight of you on the couch with your legs folded up under you makes her heart thump. You're looking at the TV with parted lips as you mindlessly click through different titles. Valeria sits down next to you and sets the plates down on the coffee table.

"Can't find anything?" She asks you. You sigh and shake your head.

"No, nothing seems that interesting." You remark. Lowering your arm. You look at Valeria and hand her the remote. "You pick something."

Valeria chooses a thriller and begins to eat. Out of the corner of her eye she watches you pick at your food. Your brows are furrowed as you stare at the movie. Feminine screams pierce through the room as the heroine is attacked by an intruder during a home invasion segment. Valeria realises this is probably hitting too close to home for you, so she grabs the remote and switches it to something more lighthearted. The movie ends and you still have more than half your plate full. Valeria frowns at you.

"Aren't you hungry?" You're still weakened by her starving you. She doesn't want you to get weaker.

"Not really." You mutter. Staring at the ground. Valeria feels annoyed. She wants to force you to finish your food, but she knows your relationship is still very delicate.

"Okay, I'll save it for later." She murmurs. Placing a comforting hand on your knee. You wince but don't pull away.

You stand in the doorway to your room. Your back is turned to Valeria, but she can practically feel the misery wafting up from you.

"I don't want to sleep down here tonight." You say quietly. Valeria shakes her head in response. She'd love to have you upstairs, but she does not trust you.

"You have to, mi dulce chica." Valeria sighs. Your shoulders hunch up, but you don't protest. Like an obedient dog you go straight to your bed. Settling on the mattress and lying down. Valeria doesn't put the collar on you.

"You never told me what you do for work." You say out of the blue. You're sat at the table while Valeria prepares dinner. She pauses. She knew the question would pop up eventually. Does she want to tell you? She's already held you at gunpoint and threatened you, but would knowing what she does change your view on her? It's best to be honest when she can.

"I'm a Sicaria." Mostly honest. You don't reply and she turns her head to look at you, studying your expression.

"Like... you're a part of the cartel?" Your brows furrow. Valeria nods nonchalantly.

"Yes." She turns back to the food. You're going to accept it anyway. You don't have a choice.

You're quiet but eventually respond.

"Oh." Valeria finishes cooking and makes you as plate. She sets it down and sits beside you. After a few minutes of eating, you speak again. "How did you get involved with that?" Valeria takes a sip of water and answers.

"I met the right people while I was in the army." You lower your fork.

"You were in the army?"

"That's what I just said, yes." Valeria resumes eating. She's pleased that you're taking interest in her.

You go two more bites before asking another question.

"Are you still in the army?" You stare at her. Eyes roving over her bare arms. Assessing her.

"No, I was discharged years ago. The army was a waste of time." Valeria replies bitterly. You stop with the questions and go back to eating. Valeria sneaks glances at you, feeling her heart beat with a growing fondness.

You help Valeria with cleaning up. At the end of it you're cuddled up on the couch. Stiffly laying against her. The silence is heavy and uncomfortable, but Valeria still enjoys feeling you against her. Your body is warm and soothing. She's been letting you stay upstairs for longer and longer, it's the least she can do since you're behaving so nicely. Her eyes grow heavy as you lay together. She closes them and drifts off.

She startles awake, realising her mistake. Your familiar weight is gone. Valeria's head swivels as panic wells up in her chest. She can't see you anywhere. She scrambles to her feet and rushes to the front door. It's closed and still locked. She hurries over to the backdoor to find it the same. She calms down a bit. You have to be somewhere still in the house, but where? She checks your room to find it empty. The bathrooms are empty. The kitchen is empty. She goes into her bedroom and finds you sprawled out in her bed. Your legs sticking out from under the light pink silk sheets. Her racing heart slows at the confirmation that you're still here. Cold dread replaced by warmth. You're in her bed.

She crawls in beside you and rests her face in the crook of your neck, breathing in your comforting smell. The next day, she wakes up before you. She admires your sleeping form and presses closer to you. Staying like that for hours. Staring at you in silence until you start stirring. Your eyes open and shift towards Valeria. She's close enough to see your pupils constrict and expand, swallowing up your irises.

Valeria has always worked hard to get what she wanted. She deserved it for the shitty hand she was dealt at birth. Her perseverance paid off. She ruthlessly leads a successful cartel and gets to come home to a doting wife every day. Getting you to agree to a marriage took some work too but like with everything else, Valeria convinced you. It isn't always easy. Every once in a while, you spontaneously fall into a short depression spell. Not eating, showering, moving. She's learned to let you sleep those off. Despite those moments, you're happy. You are happy. Even if your eyes are a little duller than they used to be, you are happy.  

[mountttmase]

Lost And Found

Note - thank you so much for the love on my last fic 🩷 this one you’re about to read is one of the very first ideas I had for a fic so it’s a little bit like my baby but I’m giving her wings and letting her fly 😂 I really hope you enjoy it 💙

Pairing - Mason Mount x Reader

Word count - 6.8k

Warnings - angst and fluff

‘Oh come on please don’t do this’ you spoke into the air, rummaging around in your bag for your keys on your front door step. They had somehow grown legs and gone for a walk and the rain that was starting to pour from the night sky was not making the situation any easier.

You reached for you phone to turn the torch on so you could see in your bag better but the light only lasted a few seconds before disappearing. You turned your phone over to investigate and when nothing happed your realised the battery had finally died after a long days use. You let out a big sigh before sitting back on the step, your head falling into your hands.

‘Right come on, just take a second and think’ you told yourself out loud, hoping you could talk yourself into magically finding them and after a few deep breaths you stood back up, patting yourself down to make sure they weren’t in any of your pockets or attached to you in any way. Once you’d ruled that out you moved back to your bag, checking every pocket and practically emptying the whole contents out onto the floor but your keys were still nowhere to be seen.

As you packed everything back into your bag you tried to think back to this morning when you left for work in a rush if you’d picked your keys up but as this was something you did everyday, you couldn’t decipher whether it happened this morning or if it was a weird mix of every morning.

So you sat there in the dark, soggy from the rain with no phone and no clue as to what you would do next. Too late to try and what with your upstairs neighbour being away, no way of getting into your house.

A car came round the corner before you saw the lights wash over you, it’s noises engine startling you but they were gone as quickly as they came, carrying on down the street until it pulled in and parked up a few spaces up from your front door.

You contemplated asking for help but we’re unsure as what to say and felt a bit stupid so you didn’t move, keeping you head in your hands and thinking over how long it would take to walk to your parents house who lived two towns over.

You were so lost in your misery you didn’t hear the person get out of their car and walk towards you, or stop just a few feet from you.

‘Y/n?’

Your eyes snapped up to meet the face that the voice came from. Not that you need to look, you’d know that voice anywhere.

Mason Mount.

You’d met Mason four months ago when you first started working at Chelsea. Your main role was just to look after the boys and make sure they were where they needed to be so you’d become close with all of them pretty much straight away.

You’d clicked with Mason from the start, his cheeky sense of humour won you over instantly and you always felt good around him, seeking out his company whenever you could. You obviously found him attractive but tried not to make it too obvious as you knew it was inappropriate and thought he’d probably never feel the same way. It was hard not to fall for him though. In spite of this, you quickly became joined at the hip and when he invited you round to his for a movie night with some of the other boys and some other members of staff, you were quick to say yes.

You ended up sandwiched between Mason and the arm of the sofa and when his hand found yours in the dark your heart gave a squeeze, thanking your lucky starts he couldn’t see the blush covering your cheeks. You carefully rested your head against his shoulder, testing the waters even though he’d already made the first move, and when he placed his head on top of yours and leaned into you further you thought you might burst.

When Mason suggested the next movie night a week later, this time with the promise of dinner beforehand, you jumped at the chance. However when you arrived you appeared to be the first person there and when he led you to his dining table with only two places set, everything seemed to click into place.

‘No one else is coming are they?’ You asked him quietly as he took his seat opposite you.

‘Uh no’ he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck like he always did when he was nervous. ‘I kinda just wanted it to be the two of us tonight. Is that alright?’ He asked, finally looking you in the eyes.

All you could do was nod in response and he let out a breath that he looked like he’d been holding for a while at your gesture. Dinner went smoothly and after he’d chucked everything in the dishwasher, he followed you up to his cinema room, where he’d let you pick out a film of your choice. You were just getting yourself comfy for it to start when you felt his arm snake around your shoulders and you felt all the blood in your body rush to your face.

You looked up to find him already looking at you before his whispered ‘is this okay?’ To which you just nodded again cuddling yourself into him further. It was nuts how nervous he made you and also how nervous you seemed to make him, that was until Logan was telling Beth that she should be kissed every day, every hour and every minute that he turned your face towards his by your chin and gently kissed you.

It took a few seconds for you brain to connect with your mouth and start kissing him back, but once you had you wondered why you hadn’t kissed sooner. His lips felt like magic and a tingling feeling erupted all over your body making you press yourself into him more and deepen the kiss. You both pulled away breathless, holding onto each other as if the other might disappear, but as soon as you saw him smile you couldn’t help but smile back.

You both talked all night about how you felt towards each other, Mason confirming he’d had a crush on you from the second he saw you, but both agreeing to keep things under wraps for now. You both kept it professional at work, stealing a cheeky kiss here and there but no one else figured out what was going on between you.

Your feelings only grew for each other and it was hurting you both knowing you couldn’t be open with anyone. But the fear of anyone finding out was much stronger and was only confirmed when a member of your team and one of the physio boys were let go due to their secret relationship being exposed. It had been a month and a half since yours and masons first kiss and whilst you’d gone a lot further than just a kiss now, you were staring to wonder if you were willing to put both your jobs on the line for your feelings. In the end you took it upon yourself to nip the relationship in the bud before it went any further, in your mind saving you both from heartache down the line.

You knew you loved mason, even though you’d never uttered the words to him and it was one of the hardest conversations you’d ever had, but in your mind it seemed like the correct decision. Mason didn’t see it this way, being absolutely furious with you for even suggesting it but when he realised there was no changing your mind, all he could do was agree in hopes that one day you’d realise it was a mistake.

It was hard but you tried to only speak to him if it was necessary, never getting used to that sinking feeling you got when he looked at you with his big sad eyes. Anyone could tell he was heartbroken just by looking at him and soon enough he gave up trying to reason with you all together. You both didn’t speak from then on, keeping out of each others way only giving each other a small smile as you passed each other in the halls.

As much as you thought you were doing the right thing, it seemed as though a tiny bit of your defence was chipping away each time you saw him, so when he suggested to you that he’d like it if you could go back to being friends, you told him no, trying to be as cold as possible and push him away. You knew he would never stop trying with you and you knew it wouldn’t take much for you to break so you avoided him at all costs, meaning him being stood in front of you right now was a bad thing.

A very bad thing.

‘Mason? What are you doing here?’ You questioned, stumbling to your feet thinking it might make you look less pathetic, but the fact you were drenched and shivering did you no favours.

‘I’m just on my way home from Chilly’s house and I thought I saw you. Why are you out here?’

You gulped, hugging yourself as if to protect yourself from him before you spoke. ‘I uh, I can’t find my keys and my phones died so I’m locked out’ you admitted even though you knew it was a bad idea to let him know but you didn’t have enough time to think of a lie.

‘Oh’ he breathed, looking you up and down. You felt hot under his stare and you dropped your head to the floor. ‘Have you been out here long?’

‘No, I stayed late today so I only got back about 15 minutes ago’ you said picking up your bag, making it look like you were about to leave.

‘Where are you going?’

‘I’m gonna walk to my parents house’ you said quietly, walking towards him to step around him, but he blocked your path.

He looked at you with wide eyes before shaking his head. ‘No way, that’s like a two hour walk and it’s late enough already’ you looked up at him in shock that he’d remembered where your parents lived, having only mentioned it once or twice before. ‘Look, why don’t you come back to mine?’

‘No Mason, that’s not a good idea’

‘Why not?’ He questioned, having to block you in as you tried to get round him again. ‘I live way closer, you can at least charge your phone or stay in my guest room tonight and we can figure out what to do in the morning. Come on y/n you’re soaked, just let me take you home. Stop being so stubborn all the time’

‘I’m not being stubborn’ you argued back and he just gave you a look like he didn’t believe you. The thought of being at his was more appealing than traipsing all the way to your parents so with one final huff you looked at him. ‘Fine, I’ll come with you. But I’m not staying.’

He didn’t say anything else, just moved to the side slightly and waited for you to pass by him and walk towards the car so he could follow you. Once you were in and settled, you turned to look at him quickly, guilt already settling in your tummy about how you’d just spoken to him. He was only trying to help you and you’d been rude, but you still weren’t sure what to say to him so you sat in silence the whole way.

Once you pulled up to his house, he ushered you in to his kitchen and you began to peel off you damp hoody when he walked in.

‘I take it you haven’t eaten yet?’ He questioned and you shook your head. ‘Why don’t you go jump in the shower and I’ll make us something. Leave your phone here and I’ll charge it’

You were about to protest but the sound of your tummy grumbling spoke for you and you huffed in defeat.

‘Okay’

‘I’ll leave you some clean clothes outside the bathroom door, if you leave the stuff you’ve got on now outside I’ll get it dry for you’

You blamed the fact it had been a long and stressful day for the reason that you could feel your eyes beginning to water, how could be be so sweet to you after the way youve treated him for the past month? not wanting your voice to betray you, you swiftly left the room and ran up his stairs to shut yourself away in the bathroom.

You left your wet clothes outside the door and only once you were under the hot water did you allow yourself to cry. It was so hard being around him and trying to be strong after a day from hell. All you wanted to to wrap yourself up in him but you knew that could never happen.

You spent a little while longer than you should in there, making use of the fancy toiletries he had out for guests that hadn’t been touched and once you’d rinsed out your hair, you turned the water off and wrapped yourself up in a warm towel.

True to his word, he’d left you some clean clothes of his outside the door, his grey joggers and T-shirt were a bit big for you but you were just happy to be warm and dry, even if the smell of his clothes made the feeling in your tummy even worse. With your hair still wrapped up in a towel, you made your way back downstairs to the kitchen and you spotted the way his eyes lit up as he saw you before giving you a soft smile.

‘Food will be ready in a sec, why don’t you go find us something to watch’ he said softly, nodding his head over to the sofa. You sat yourself down and flicked through the channels before settling on watching re runs of how I met your mother and just as you put the remote down, Mason appeared and handed you a bowl with your favourite pasta dish inside. You sent him an appreciative smile and mumbled a quiet thank you to which he gave you a little nod before sitting down next to you with his own portion, leaving enough room between the two of you so you didn’t feel uncomfortable.

You ate in silence while watching the tv, both laughing at the same parts you found funny and you felt yourself relax around him as time went on. Once he was finished eating he set his bowl on the coffee table and you stacked yours on top before picking them up to take them to the kitchen.

‘Leave those y/n, come back here’ he said, patting the spot you were just in and it felt so much like old times it made your heart hurt. You returned back to the sofa after setting them on the side, back to your spot just next to him and carried on watching tv in silence for another hour or so. You felt him look at you every so often but you kept your eyes straight ahead until you heard him let out a yawn.

‘Listen, it’s late yeah? Just stay here tonight?’

You hadn’t realised how much time had passed since you felt so relaxed being around him, not even thinking about the fact you said you didn’t want to stay here tonight. Be he was right, and you didn’t want to put him out anymore by making him drive you to your parents house.

‘I need to go dry my hair and then i should probably get some sleep’ you told him. And he nodded, standing up and moving into the kitchen to clear the plates, looking away from you so he could hide his smile.

‘The hair dryer is in the usual place’ he said quietly and turned his back on you to put the dishes in the dishwasher.

‘Mason?’ You questioned and he looked back at you with a raised eyebrow, encouraging you to carry on. ‘Thank you’ you told him sincerely, his eyes now downcast as he hadn’t seen this side of you in a while. ‘I mean it, I really appreciate you letting me stay here’

‘You know I’d do anything for you, y/n’ he said quietly, and the intense eye contact he was now giving you made you look away. ‘Have a good sleep, yeah? You know where I am if you need anything’ he spoke again, trying to diffuse the tension now in the room, and you nodded whilst saying a quick goodnight before escaping upstairs.

You took the hair dryer from the bathroom into his guest room and finished off your hair in there, but you could hear the shower running when you were done so you left it on the side before stripping yourself of Masons joggers and getting into bed. You knew this room existed but you’d never slept in here, always staying in masons room and it felt weird knowing you were in his house whilst he was asleep across the hall.

You were so unbelievably tired but sleep just wasn’t coming to you tonight it seemed. All you could think about was Mason across the hall, wondering is he was awake too and overthinking everything just like you were or if he was sound asleep, those cute soft snores you used to love coming from him. Memories of all the nights you spent here with him tangled in bed and lazy mornings spent with each other before making breakfast together wouldn’t leave your brain no matter how hard you tried to think of something else.

You were tossing and turning for half an hour, getting more and more annoyed with yourself and when you felt the first few tears of frustration fall you sat up in a huff, rubbing at your eyes furiously.

You got out of bed and quietly tiptoed over to Masons door, pressing your ear up against it gently to see if you could hear anything, but it was silent. You stood back a step, feeling a bit stupid with yourself for even being out there. What were you expecting? To knock on his door and for him to welcome you in with open arms after the way you’d treated him? Why were you even seeking out his comfort in the first place? You were trying put as much space in between you as possible yet here you were, half dressed and vulnerable outside his bedroom door, the only thing on you mind being his arms around you.

You were just about to turn and head back to your room when his bedroom door opened making your heart thud heavily in your chest.

He clutched his chest and let out a breath, clearly shocked to see you there and his wide eyes held you in your spot. You felt absolutely ridiculous, both stood there half naked and frightened in the dark.

‘Y/n? Are you alright? How long have you been stood there for?’ He asked, taking a tentative step towards you. You tried not to let you eyes dance over all the skin he had on show, being stood in just his boxers, but it was difficult. ‘Y/n?’ He spoke gently again and your eyes snapped up to his.

‘Sorry, I just um…’ you tried to talk but you couldn’t think of anything that sounded good. You started to turn back to his guest room but his hand around your wrist stopped you, tears filling your eyes instantly as his skin touched yours.

‘Hey, come on, talk to me’ his voice was soothing and seemed to be pulling the words from your throat.

‘It’s nothing, I just can’t sleep. I don’t know what I was expecting you to do’ you said with a slight laugh but he could hear the sadness in your voice. Truth be told he couldn’t sleep that well either, the thought of you across the house in another room was playing on his mind so without a thought he pulled your arm and guided you into his room.

‘I was just running to get a drink. Go get comfy and I’ll be back in a sec yeah?’

‘No, Mason it’s fine-‘

‘Just get in’ he said a bit more sternly before letting go and slipping out of his room. You stood there for a few seconds, debating returning to his guest room but the need to be near him outweighed everything else and you found yourself padding over to the unused side of his bed and getting under the covers. You were unsure of what way to lay, settling on your back so you didn’t come across as rude facing away from him. He returned a few moments later, a glass of water for himself and also one for you. Sitting up as he passed it to you it, taking a few big gulps before setting it down on the bedside table before Mason had slotted himself in next to you and you laid back down.

‘Sorry about all this, I bet you’re regretting letting me stay’ you said with a laugh, hoping to make things a bit more normal but he just shook his head.

‘Don’t be silly, I couldn’t really sleep anyway so it’s fine. Just try and relax yeah? You’ll feel a lot better in the morning I promise.’

You nodded and stayed on your back, turning to glance at him quickly before you shut your eyes. You felt better than you had in the other room but twenty minutes later you were still awake with no signs of sleeping soon. You had so much you wanted to say to Mason, your mind reeling as you tried to relax focus on his breathing. You knew he wasn’t fully asleep yet too and you risked looking at him, opening one eye to see him in the same position, a peaceful look on his face.

‘Y/n, I can hear the cogs turning in your head’ you suddenly heard, opening your eyes to find him looking at you in the dark. ‘Talk to me, what’s wrong?’

‘It’s nothing’ you murmured, moving so you could turn to face away from him and he let you go but shuffled up a bit closer to you, smiling when you didn’t try and push him away.

‘It’s obviously something so just tell me, I don’t wanna hear you keep saying it’s nothing’ he breathed from behind you. You went back in forth in your head about telling him what was happening but you knew he wouldn’t drop it, plus the emotion and exhaustion took over you, making you spill your guts in hopes of getting some sleep afterwards.

‘I’m just really sorry’ you murmured, tears already forming in your eyes again. ‘You’ve been so nice to me and I’ve been awful to you’ you sobbed and you felt him come even closer, his chest now pressed against your back as his arm wrapped around you.

‘Hey, wheres all this coming from’ he said with a slight laugh, not that he found you crying amusing, you knew he was just trying to lighten the mood and a little shocked at your outburst. You couldn’t respond, only crying harder and he pulled away from you slightly, laying back and tugging on your waist, encouraging you to roll over. ‘Come here’ he whispered and you allowed yourself to be moved before he bought you into his chest, his arms circling you and your face burring itself in his neck. His lips were right by your ear, gently shushing you as he rubbed soothingly up and down your back ‘come on love, please don’t cry’ he murmured.

As much as he wanted you not to cry, you couldn’t seem to stop. It felt so good being back in his hold, fitting back together like you’d never been apart. And even though he hated seeing you sad, he let you get everything out, and once he could hear your sobs stop and your breathing calm he pulled his head back to look at you, wiping the tears from your cheeks with his thumb. You still couldn’t look at him, words still swirling around in you head and laying heavy on your chest. You looked up at him, your glazed eyes meeting his sad ones, ready to let him know how you were feeling.

‘I hate this. I hate pretending that I’m not completely in love with you when I know I am’ you spoke quietly. His eyes grew at your confession, suddenly reminding yourself that you had never said those words to each other and your face grew hot but you willed yourself to keep taking, your eyes now averted down to look at his chest. ‘I thought I was trying to protect myself, the both of us, ending things so that I wasn’t in too deep if we had to break things off. What happened at work really scared me and I didn’t want either of us getting in trouble but I’ve felt awful ever since. I’ve tried being distant so you’d hate me and it would make things easier but it’s been really hard’ you offered him a half smile and he gave you a little nod of agreement. ‘I’ve treated you so bad and I’m so so sorry, Mase. I miss you like crazy and you’re right I’ve been so stubborn but it hurt being around you when I couldn’t have you how I wanted. I thought I was doing what’s best for us but I’ve been so unhappy. I’ve put all these bloody walls up to try and keep you out cause I knew as soon as I got near you even for a minute you’d tear them all back down’ you whispered and you felt his hand on your face again, forcing you to look at him, a slight smile on his lips at the use of his nickname. ‘Now look what you’ve done, I’m all exposed again’ you chuckled.

‘You were trying to protect me, you don’t need to apologise for that’ he smiled, his eyes running over your face, now a bit more serious. ‘But im not gonna pretend like it didn’t hurt like hell, it’s not been easy for me seeing you every day and have you be so distant’ he admitted and you tried to look away from him now, finding it all a bit overwhelming, you knew you’d hurt him deep down but hearing him admit it was a whole different thing. His strong grip kept you in place, his face looking much softer now. ‘But I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat if it meant I got to have you again, even for a little while’ he reassured you, and you felt your eyes well up before he continued. ‘That’s what you do for the people you love’ he whispered and your eyes snapped up to meet his, a tiny smirk playing on his lips.

‘You mean…’

‘I love you, y/n y/l/n’ he whispered and you couldn’t help the chuckle that fell from you, a few tears escaping as your face scrunched up in joy.

‘Really?’ You laughed and he laughed with you, happy to now see you smiling.

‘I promise’

‘Even after everything?’

‘I never stopped’ he murmured, rolling you over slightly so you were now on your back and he could hover over you. You looked up at him, so thankful to be back in his arms and relieved to find he was so forgiving after everything that had happened

‘I love you, too. Mason Mount’

‘I know’ he winked before leaning down to give you a gentle kiss. ‘God, I’ve missed you’ he spoke against you lips and you smiled before giving him another quick peck.

‘I’ve missed you too’

‘Don’t take this the wrong way but I’m so glad you got locked out tonight’ he murmured against your jaw and you couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh. He bought his face back to yours, smiling so hard his eyes crinkled at the sides before kissing you again, this time a little heavier and you reached up to hold the back of his neck so he wouldn’t break apart from you. You could feel all the broken parts of you mending back together with every press of his lips, and when he dipped his tongue inside your mouth you could help but let out a faint moan.

Mason pulled back a tiny bit, looking down at you with happy eyes and a beaming smile which you couldn’t help but mirror. That was until you felt that familiar rush of worry that he noticed immediately.

‘If there’s anything else you know you can tell me’ he reassured you, his thumb gently gliding back and forth over you cheek.

‘I’m gonna have to get a new job arent I?’ You questioned, your eyes now no longer able to look at him. ‘It sucks cause I love it there and I love getting to see you everyday but if it means I can’t be with you like this then I’ll have to go.’

‘You don’t have to do that y/n’

‘I do Mason, you saw what happened before. And from now on I’ll always put you first, just like you always do for me and if that means leaving Chelsea then so be it’

‘You do know they only reason they were fired was because they got caught in one of the store cupboards?’ He told you, the tiniest smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

‘What?’ You breathed, completely confused by his words.

‘Yeah I found out a few weeks ago, apparently one of the owners caught them with their pants down, quite literally’ he chuckled and you just shook your head whilst trying not to smile. ‘That doesn’t matter though. If we’re just honest about what’s going on and promise to keep thing’s professional then I know they won’t have an issue with it’

‘How can you be so sure?’

His face turned red at this, now looking down away from you as if he was embarrassed.

‘I kind of already spoke to some people about us?’ He said quietly and you covered your face with your hands before letting out a little laugh. ‘Look I’m sorry I know I shouldn’t have but when I found out what happened with them I had to know if there was a chance for us. So I spoke to a few higher ups and explained the situation and they were absolutely fine with it. Said as long as we didn’t let it effect work or do anything inappropriate then it’s allowed’

‘Mason’ you chucked, removing you hands from your face to look at him. ‘Only you would ask permission for us to be together whilst I’m ignoring you’

‘I think you’re missing the point here, we’re free to do what we want. We don’t have to hide anymore and there’s no consequences.’ He told you with a smile and you smiled back, lost for words that you could now be with the man you loved.

‘Why didn’t you say anything before?’

‘I wanted to give you a bit of time I guess and think of some way of winning you back? Thankfully your forgetfulness did all of the hard work for me’ he winked and you playfully slapped his chest. ‘And I know we never put labels or anything on it last time, but I’d really like it if I could call you my girlfriend’

It was your turn to blush now, words failing you so you just nodded before connecting your lips again, hoping that would say everything you couldn’t. You were both looking at each other like youd hung up the moon when you pulled away. He was looking at you so intently, like he was trying to memorise your face and keep it in his brain forever. That was until you let out a yawn and he couldn’t help but laugh, thinking you were the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

‘Come on sleepy chops, it’s nearly midnight and if I don’t sleep soon then I won’t be able move tomorrow’ he laughed, laying down and pulling you you against him, your back to his chest and his lips pressing on your shoulder.

‘Sorry Mase, I’ve been such a pain in the arse tonight’

‘’Just tonight?’ He teased, tickling your waist so you knew he was joking. It didn’t stop you letting out a little whimper of annoyance, but the kiss he left on the back of your neck made you smile. ‘you know I’m only kidding pretty girl’

‘You better be’ you sighed, although you could feel your face getting warm from his compliment. ‘Night Mase’

‘Night gorgeous’ he mumbled and with one final kiss to you shoulder you let yourself relax, all the weight of the last few months leaving your body you finally drifted off in the arms of the man you loved.

You awoke the next morning to an empty bed, feeling around to find Masons warmth but you only felt the cold. You slowly sat up, rubbing your eyes to wake yourself up a bit before getting out of bed, padding out of his room into the hallway. You glanced at the clock was sat on Masons dresser to see it read 09:15 and you cursed under your breath before running down the stairs to try and find the brown eyed boy.

‘Mason! Mason, where the hell are you?!’

‘Hey hey hey’ he shouted as he came around the corner from the kitchen, stopping you in your tracks by placing his hands in your shoulders. ‘What’s going on? Where the fire?’ He joked but you just huffed at him.

‘I was supposed to start work 15 minutes ago Mase, why didn’t you wake me? I’ve still got to sort my flat out and-‘

He cut you off with a kiss and once he pulled away he pressed a finger to you lips so you couldn’t speak and you furrowed your brows at him in response.

‘I’m way ahead of you, I’ve already left a message at reception for your boss to explain what’s happened and that you won’t be coming in so don’t stress’

You were about to reply when someone knocked on Masons front door. He nodded his head into the kitchen tapping your bum lightly to try and get you to move. ‘Go wait in the kitchen, I’ve left you some breakfast and a coffee on the island’ he winked and your heart warmed at his smile so you gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before scurrying out of sight.

You sat at the island, the fresh cup of coffee made just how you liked it and next to that, two slices of Nutella on toast. You knew Mason used to keep a jar in for you as he wasn’t really allowed it with his diet, and you could see a fresh jar he’d left open on the side, not having time to put it away as you’d come shouting down the stairs.

You could hear Mason talking to whoever was at the door, but they were both too far away for you to make out any actual words. You managed to finish your toast by the time he was done and when he came back into the room, a cheeky smile was dressed on his face with his hands behind his back. You raised an eyebrow at him over you coffee cup but that only made him smile even more.

‘What are you up to, Mount?’ You asked him as he approached the other side of the island and instead of answering he removed a hand from behind him and placed your key lost keys in front of you. Your eyes snapped up to look at him and he let out a faint chuckle at your expression. ‘What the hell? Where did you get those?’

‘I called in a favour, managed to get a locksmith over to your house early. These were sat in the bowl you keep by the door, you must of forgotten to pick them up yesterday’ he explained, nodding down to them. You let a big sigh, you head falling into your hands as you shook your head with a laugh.

‘I was in such a rush yesterday it must of slipped my mind’ you groaned, looking back up to see the smile on his face, obviously finding the whole thing hilarious. ‘Don’t laugh at me Mase, I feel like such an idiot’ you told him, but you couldn’t help but laugh a little yourself.

‘Oh you poor baby’ he pouted, moving around to your side of the island. You turned on your stool to face him and he slotted between your legs. His free hand coming to your face to tilt it up so he could look at you. He suddenly ran his finger just under your lip and pulled it back to show you the Nutella he’d wiped from you face before he popped his finger in his mouth.

‘Mason’ you scolded, blushing as you wiped your face but he just chucked as he lent down to reach your lips, kissing you gently.

‘Now let’s hope you keep these ones safe’ he murmured pulling the other hand from around his back to show you a new set of keys. ‘There’s a couple of spares on there so maybe hide one or keep them somewhere safe so you’ve always got a backup’

‘Can I keep one here?’ You asked softly and his whole face lit up at your suggestion before he kissed you again.

‘Of course you can’ he whispered against you lips. ‘In fact…’ he started, moving over to a drawer on the other side of the kitchen, rummaging through it until he found what he needed before making his way back over towards you. ‘Summer made me this at nursery’ he blushed, holding up a keychain in the shape of a little house made with plastic beads you iron to make them stick together. You watched as he slipped one of the keys into the loop before walking just behind you and popping it onto the spare hook on his rack that kept all his other keys. He turned back to you and smiled proudly before grabbing your face and kissing you again.

‘Thank you, Mase’ you told him sincerely as you pulled away. Your hands moved from his chest you hold his face as he tried to look away from you but you wanted him to know how grateful you were for all he’d done for you. ‘I mean it, I really don’t know what I would have done without you last night. I don’t know how I’ve kept away from you for so long but I promise I’ll never hurt you like that again’

‘I told you yesterday, I’d do anything for you. That includes saving you from your doorstep when you’re all soggy’ he murmured with a smile, his nose bumping yours making you chuckle. ‘But it also includes giving you space when you need it and waiting until you’re ready to come back to me’

You took in a deep breath, eyes filling at his words. You moved your hands from around his face to around his shoulders, your thumbs gently stroking up and down his neck as he looked at you like you were the most important thing in the world. You hoped your face mirrored his expression.

‘You knew I would come back?’ You whispered and he shrugged his shoulders.

‘I didn’t know 100% but I always hoped you would. And I would have waited a whole lot longer for you if that’s what it took.’

‘I would never expect you to do that for me Mase, not after how I treated you’

‘I wanted to’ he smiled ‘I love you’

‘I love you, too’ you whispered, still getting used to hearing those words come out of his mouth, and by the look on his face, he was too.

‘Now, I don’t have training until three, so how about we make up for some lost time before I take you home?’ He asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at you as he lowered his hands to your waist, dipping them under his shirt you were wearing. ‘I’ve had to watch you walk around in my stuff for far too long without doing something about it’

‘Sounds like a good idea to me’ you told him your hands now around his shoulders so he could lift you up by your thighs and carry you up the stairs.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed :) I’d love to know what you thought so please feel free to comment or drop me an ask, I’d really appreciate it 🩷

[paintyoureyeswithavividmind]

close to home | chapter forty one

close to home | chapter forty one

plot: the reader gets taken by the saviors

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 1,489 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd A/N: thank you for reading!!! Hope you guys are liking the longer chapters! This one isn't lol updated twice today not to brag but look at me go

The room was so dark you thought you were still asleep when you woke up. You thought you were in a bad dream. It took you a few seconds to realize the light was shining underneath a doorway, but it barely lit up the room. The back of your head was aching, and you were nearly positive you had a concussion. Slowly, you started to sit up. 

The room was small, like a closet. That was the only thing that you knew. Other than the fact that the saviors had you. Your hands were shaking as you dropped your head in them. You were with the saviors. And you were most likely going to die here. 

Tears burned your eyes as you thought about home and how you’d never see it again. You wouldn’t jog the streets of the community or read comics with Carl ever again. You wouldn’t laugh with Michonne or see Maggie and Glenn’s baby be born. You’d never see Daryl again. And you would never, ever see your precious Tora. 

The image of the cat’s face made you lose it, and you couldn’t stop crying. Your heart was beating erratically, and you felt on the verge of throwing up. “No, no, no,” You mumbled to yourself. 

You weren’t sure how long you sat in that room for. It wasn’t until your tears had dried and you were lying on the floor, defeated, that you heard voices. 

“I got the message she was up,” You heard someone say. 

“Yes, sir, about an hour or so ago.”

“Alright, well let’s get this done then, shall we?”

You heard keys jingling, and then the door opened. Your eyes shut at the bright light, and you raised your hand to shield them as you squinted. 

Two men were standing before you. One held the door open, and the other stood in the doorway. You couldn’t see his face as your eyes hadn’t adjusted, but you should see the figure of a lean man with a bat over his shoulder. 

“Well, well, well, if you ain’t a sight for sore eyes.” The man said. “I sure am glad Dwighty boy brought you to me. Must be my birthday or something!” 

Your vision was finally restored, and you saw an older man with a dark beard. He was smiling down at you, but it made your skin crawl. 

“If you’re going to kill me, just get it over with,” You said. 

The man smiled and rubbed his jaw, “Huh. If I wanted that, you would be chained up outside already. Now come on, let’s get you off the floor,” He said, stretching his hand out to you. 

You ignored it and stayed where you were. “Who are you?”

“Oh, darlin’, I’m so glad you asked me that. I’m Negan. Now, don’t make me ask again.” He said, with his arm still outstretched. 

Your stomach tightened in a wave of anxiety and you grabbed his hand, letting him pull you to your feet. You glanced at the bat that was on his shoulder and caught him smiling at you. 

“This here is Lucille; she’s my partner in crime,” He gave you a playful wink. “But she doesn’t like messing with a face as pretty as yours. Well, at least not much.”

You nearly scowled at the threat but had the sense to keep your face neutral. 

“Come on, let’s go for a walk; we have some talking to do,” 

***

The ‘walk’ with Negan led you to a private room in the maze of hallways. You couldn’t tell where you were or even what this building was supposed to be. He walked before you, swinging the bat, and any person passing you knelt for him. 

You were left alone with him, and he pointed towards the table. “I had a meal prepared for us. I thought it’d be nice to talk over dinner. Nobody does that anymore, you know.” He said. 

The table was set up with two plates. As you sat down, you noticed there wasn’t a knife. Not that you would be stupid enough to try anything in this place anyway. You knew how many people were here. 

A few people came into the room and brought in food. You watched them in silence, and when they were gone, you looked at what food they gave you. It was some sort of chicken with actual vegetables. Fresh vegetables. The Hilltop. 

“Gosh, I’m just starved after a day like today,” Negan said, “Don’t worry about anything in the food. I don’t want to kill you.”

“I find that hard to believe,” You said. 

Negan smiled as he chewed and he leaned back against the chair. “They told me you had quite a mouth on you when they dropped you off here. It’s been a long time since someone talked to me like that. I forgot how much I liked it…”

You made a face at the lude comment and grabbed your fork, examining the food. “Why don’t you want to kill me then? At least for right now.”

“I believe people are a resource, and I believe you could be quite resourceful.”

“I believe it would be better for you to stop staying shit like that,” You said, stabbing a piece of chicken.

“Oh, darlin’, I just can’t seem to stop myself.” Negan chuckled. “I want you to tell me about the community.”

“I-.”

“And don’t tell me you’re not from there. I know it. You know it. And I think you’re smarter than trying to lie about it.”

“There’s nothing to tell.” You said, “It’s a community. Probably similar to this one.” 

Negan laughed and said, “I don’t think that’s true.”

“What even is this place?” You asked. 

“Why don’t you tell me your name, first?”

You looked at Negan as you chewed. “(Y/N),”

“The name as beautiful as the holder,” He chucked. 

You frowned. “Sweet-talking me isn’t going to get what you want, Negan. I will die before I tell you or any pig in this place anything. But it doesn’t matter. We’ll kill you all if you don’t back down.”

Negan looked at you for a long moment before he spoke. “But of course, you won’t be around for that then, would you?”

You dropped your fork and leaned against the seat. You knew his game now. “I don’t intend on it.”

“Well, I don’t think I can let that happen, now, can I?”

***

You weren’t sure how long you were in the dark room after that. Telling time was next to impossible, and you feared you would be left here to rot. But it was favorable to torture, and you considered yourself lucky. 

You’d been in there for hours before someone came to collect you. You were delivered directly to Negan--who you hadn’t seen since the dinner you shared with him. He smiled widely as you were forced towards him. 

“You ready to see your family, darlin’?”

You weren’t given a chance to respond. A bag went over your head, and you were roughly thrown into the back of some sort of van due to all the space you had. It started up immediately, and you fell over as it drove. With the bag over your head and the dark inside of the van, time moved slowly. You could tell it was for a while and thought you were headed towards Alexandria. They’d somehow found the community and would most likely beat you to death in front of everyone. 

The dark closet was preferable. But you didn’t want to wait any longer for death. Everyone lived on borrowed time since the world went to shit, and your number was being called. You could live with it if it meant your family would live. 

When the van stopped moving, it was parked for a long time. You couldn’t see what was happening outside, but you could vaguely hear voices. You heard the door roll up, and someone grabbed you. 

Your body hit the ground, and you groaned as you were pulled back up to your feet and forced forward. You struggled with every step, trying to fight back, but whoever pushed you forward was strong. 

It was quiet, just crickets chirruping when you heard someone’s voice getting louder as you approached. “It’s gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon.” Negan.

“Oh shit, looks like you forgot someone, Simon!” Negan laughed; you could tell this was just a part of his games.

You struggled against the person holding you for another few steps before you were pushed to the ground. The bag from your head was pulled off, and you squinted in the light momentarily before you took in the scene around you.

Your family. All lined up.

[gilverrwrites]

Meet Cute Uglies

GN!Reader/Black Mask, ≈800 words >[Bruce | Dick | Jason]<

CWs: Swearing, implied threats of violence, mentions of: cheating & messy break ups, vandalism.

There’s a hostage situation taking place with Joker down at the peer, no cop is gonna care about a tiny bit of vandalism. At least, that’s what you tell yourself as you thread your keys through your fingers and ‘casually stroll’ across the street towards your ex’s car.

The lying POS had been cheating on you the whole relationship, sneaking around with the one co-worker he’s told you not to worry about, taking them on dates and fucking them in your shared bed when you were out of town. You’d wanted to keep the break-up amicable, if only to avoid the stress, but he’d been set on making it as messy as possible; airing your dirty laundry, trying to turn your friends and family against you, showing up at your work and causing problems until you snapped and told him that if you ever saw him again; you’d make him regret it.

It had been weeks since you’d last seen him, so you were pretty certain he’d gotten the message. Until today, when you’d spotted his car parked up outside your apartment building. You’d done a double take at first, but no, that was definitely his car. You could recognise it a mile away, a black 79 Mustang, it was a rarity in this day and age, his pride and joy, and it made a very satisfying CREEEAK noise as you dragged the tip of your key along the driver's side door. A sadistic sort of joy washes over you as you circle the vehicle twice over, destruction in your wake, but it’s not enough, not yet. You’re two letters into carving the word ‘CHEATER’ on the bonnet when a voice calls out to you, stopping you cold.

“What the fuck are you doing?” The voice does not belong to your ex. It’s angry, gravelly, Gothamite through and through, and kinda sexy, but you don’t turn to look at them. If it’s a cop, you’re already busted, and if it’s anybody else they should mind their own business.

“Keep walking.” You instruct as you continue on with your masterpiece.

“I don’t fucking think so.” The voice is closer now, you can sense the presence of its owner close behind you, close enough to touch you. Who the hell does this guy think he is?

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you the golden rule of Gotham?” You ask, making light work of the ‘A’. As you move on to the ‘T’ you wonder if you can make it look like a penis. “If you see something; No, you didn’t.”

“I think the only person that needs to be taught a lesson here, is you.” And then he grabs you, a firm, leather-clad hand clutching onto your upper arm and spinning you around to face him. Your keys clatter on the hood of the car.

“What the fuck is your prob- ” Your sentence is cut short as you comprehend who you’ve been arguing with, who currently has you locked in the palm of his hand. It’s an unseemly sigh up close, the mask, skull-shaped and pointy. Its expressionlessness only serves to strike more fear into your heart, but what the hell does Black Mask care about you vandalising your ex’s car for, it’s not like he hasn’t done worse things for less.

“My problem…” He jerks you closer, using your captured arm as leverage until you’re pressed against his chest, his mask inches from your face. Up close he smells like wood and smoke, like fine whisky. “is that’s my car.”

Shit. Shit shit shit.

“No.” It’s a stupid, instinctual response. Your brain is trying to deny your impending doom. If only the ground would open up and swallow you, that would probably be less painful than whatever he has planned. He nods, pointing at the license plate which you hadn’t checked in your moment of rage, and you struggle to peek at it over your shoulder. “I’m sorry?”

It’s a pathetic little squeak of an apology, a pointless plea for leniency that makes him laugh. “Oh, you’re sorry huh?”

“Yeah, see, I didn’t know it was your car. I thought it was my ex’s and he’s such a jerk and… you don’t care.” He neither confirms nor denies, he just continues holding you close. You can see steely eyes boring into you through the eye holes of his mask. “Are you gonna shoot me?”

He laughs again, realising your arm. Before you can make to leave, he presses forward, caging you between his body and the aesthetically destroyed car. Somehow the new position makes you feel just as trapped but more relaxed than the previous. “Haven’t decided yet.”

You’re not sure what he’s debating between, you’re not sure you want to know, but you ask anyway. “Why?”

“Been a long time since anyone had the guts to talk to me like that. It’s cute.” He’s nodding at you, or maybe to himself. “I’m kinda into it.”

[rearranged-fanfic]

Seaside (Original Draft)

Summary: When Reader-chan returns to her seaside hometown for the summer, she catches the eye of a mysterious suitor. Of course, she's not aware that she even has a suitor, let alone one as unusual as this... Merman!Gojo AU. Pairing: Gojo Satoru/Female Reader Rating: E for the fun stuff. A/N: This is the original version of the story - a first draft . A bigger, better iteration of it exists here. This version is incomplete. I decided to host it on Tumblr, rather than deleting it altogether. That way people who originally enjoyed it can keep reading it.

The cab door closes behind me, and I wait as the driver hauls my oversized suitcase out of his trunk.

My sundress billows against my legs as I walk out past the cover of the village welcome center.  The covered awning opens up into a boundless blue sky above.  Tarmac underfoot gives way to soft grass that’s started to turn gold in the summer heat.  The sea wind blows, nearly sending my hat into the sky above.  It smells like salt and surf and nostalgia.

And the tiniest bit like fish, I admit to myself with a hint of humor.

The teeny tiny seaside town below me is just as quaint and quiet as it’s ever been.  From above, I can see the people wandering the cobblestone streets.  In the distance, ships pull in and out of the harbor.  Seagulls scream from behind the fluffy clouds above.  My little corner of paradise, away from the faceless mobs in the big city.  There’s something so incredibly reaffirming about coming back home after months and months away.  I feel closer to my heart, in a way.

It’s still the same, I think to myself.  Every summer, I return, and it’s like I never left.

I’d grown up in the village below.  It’d been my home for most of my life—up until I’d moved away to go to college.

Not that school is going well, to be honest.  But that’s something to worry about when I’m not on my own personal holiday.

“Sis!”

Still holding my hat against my head, I turn around.  Just in time to get tackled by a brown-haired blur.  Takuma Ino sweeps me up into one of his patented hugs.  I giggle as I’m lifted off of my own two feet and hoisted into his arms, made strong from years of working a fishing craft.  He spins the two of us around until the world devolves into splotches of color and light.

“Put me down, put me down!” I shriek in between my laughter, still trying in vain to keep my hat from joining the clouds.  “Takkun, I’m going to throw up if you don’t stop spinning,” comes my pointed threat.  And I’m suddenly back on my own two feet.

“I’m just so happy to see you again!” he exclaims.  “It feels like it’s been years!”

“Takuma, you saw her last summer.  Give her some room to breathe, you big dork,” comes an admonishment from nearby.

Takuma’s longtime girlfriend, Akari Nitta, has come to greet me as well.  She hasn’t changed too much over the years, though she’s letting her roots grow out.  Dark brown natural hair fades into the golden blonde that she’d once favored.  She’s in a mechanic’s jumpsuit, I notice.  The suit is unzipped and rolled down at the top, revealing her toned arms from years of fixing up boats and the like.  She looks healthy.  Good.  The last time I’d visited, she’d been battling a pretty nasty sickness that’d left her weak and frail.

“Akari!”  She smiles warmly and pulls me into a hug as well, sans lifting and spinning.  “It’s good to see you again!”

“Good to see you, too.  Seems like big city life is treating you fine, huh?”

“Can’t complain,” I demure, shrugging.  “You seem to be doing better than the last time I saw you.”

“I spent some time in the hospital in the next town over.  Takuma fussed over me so much that I had the choice of being smothered to death or getting better; I chose getting better.”  She jokes.

“I wasn’t trying to smother you,” Takuma pouts.

“Didn’t have to try to succeed, Babe.”

I roll my eyes good-naturedly.  They’re still sickeningly sweet, I see.  And practically joined at the hip, just like I can remember them always being.  Akari and Takuma are both two years younger than I am.  I’d grown up alongside them, having been practically raised by the Ino family after my parents had passed.

“No baby sister this time around?” Akari pries.  “You guys fighting again?”

I wave her off.  “Nah.  She’s busy travelling the world with her new fling.  You know how she is.”

Takuma snorts out a laugh.  My sister can never stay still for too long.  She’s always been a bit too wild to put down roots or make commitments.

Ever the gentleman, Takuma takes my heavy suitcase so I don’t have to carry it all the way.  The two walk me into town, updating me on the comings and goings of the village in the intervening months since I’d last been here.

Takuma’s older sister, Akemi, is at university.  She’s working hard to become a child psychologist, living in the same city that I do.  We meet up for lunch occasionally, when she can catch a break from her mountain of schoolwork and her tedious part-time job.  Takuma still fills me in on her, though, boasting about her academic accomplishments with brotherly pride.  She’s set to move into an internship at a reputable company, which is one step closer to realizing her dream.

Mayu, the Ino family matriarch, retired last year.  Well, she’d quit formally working to pursue a hobby making jewelry from the seashells that wash up on the beach.  Her online store has taken off, given how busy Takuma says the woman is fulfilling orders.

And Takuma and Akari are the same as they’ve always been.  He goes out on his dad’s fishing boat nearly every day while she keeps the old motor up and running like clockwork.  And, in their free time, the two go surfing in the large waves that break just off shore.  They’re planning on entering a competition this year in the hopes of getting a piece of that sweet, sweet cash reward.  They’d had to forgo last year’s surf-off because of Akari’s illness.

“But this year,” she states, “we’re bringing home that trophy!”

Takuma snorts at his girlfriend’s enthusiasm but wholeheartedly agrees.  “They got lucky that we weren’t there to destroy the competition last summer.  But we’re back and better than ever, baby!”  The two whoop and high five.

Yep.  They’re still the same as always.

It’s nice, I think, how this place seems almost frozen in time.  It’s always the same: peaceful, idyllic, sheltered from the rest of the world’s chaos.

Takuma walks me through town and out to my parents’ old house—my summer home.  Akari breaks off to go back to her shop along the way, and I’m left alone with my adopted cousin.  He chatters on about his career, and how things have changed since the last time I was in town.  He goes on and on about how Aoi Todo can’t help him on the boat anymore because he’d left to be a bassist for some up-and-coming pop idol.

“Yikes.  You go out to sea alone?”

“Yeah.  It’s a real bummer, y’know?  I get bored out there with nobody to talk to.”

Forget about the boredom.  That doesn’t sound safe at all.  And when I lecture him about how dangerous fishing alone is, he just pats my head and tells me not to worry.  Yeah, right.  I’ll always worry about him.  He’s family.  And more than a little scatterbrained.

On the way through the village, we get stopped by the vast majority of people we pass.  I’ve known most of these people since I was very small.  And some of them I’ve known since they were small.  We pass by the troublesome trio: Yuji Itadori, Nobara Kugisaki, and Megumi Fushiguro.  So named because they’re always getting into some form of mischief.

Last year, they’d put the mayor’s underwear in the summer hotpot.

And the year before that, the photocopier in town hall had mysteriously printed out a series of butts that were, allegedly, Yuji’s.  They’d never admitted to it, preferring to turn the other cheek.  But those of us in the community knew that it was either one of them or all three conspiring to moon the whole town.

Megumi, ever quiet and taciturn, offers me a nonchalant wave.  The other two are varying levels of loud and touch-feely, but a flying tackle or two are always welcomed.  I laugh out loud as Yuji lifts me up and spins me like Takuma had done earlier.

“You’re back!  Tell me all about the city!  I wanna know about the new subway system; is it as cool as I think it is?!”  His words come out so fast that I can barely hear them, let alone answer.

“Let her speak, you dolt!”  Nobara exclaims. Beaning the pink-haired teen in the back of his head with a wadded up food wrapper.  “And besides, she’s going to answer my questions first.  Ladies always go first!”

“What lady?” Yuji deadpans.

And chaos ensues.

I sidle up to Megumi while the other two bicker and banter.  “How’s Tsumiki doing?” I ask him quietly, and the boy barely gives me a side glance before turning his attention to the phone in his hand.

“She’s better,” he finally answers, voice quiet.  “The doctors think this treatment will work.  But you know her, she’s hopeful.  Like she always is.”

I offer him a smile and nod.  That’s good to hear.  Tsumiki always was a ray of sunshine, even when she’s been a kid.  She’s definitely the responsible one out of all these younger kids.

After a few minutes of updating all of the kids and hearing all of their wacky adventures—nor pranks, definitely not—Takuma and I finally managed to break away.  I turn around and blow Nobara aplayful kiss as we make our escape.  But before she can catch it, Yuji snags the invisible gesture of affection out of the air.

And that sparks a whole new conflict between the two hotheads.  I catch a brief glimpse of a hand fisted in Nobara’s brilliant auburn hair just before somebody is suplexed into the ground.

My home is a little way from the village.  It’s a fifteen-minute walk outside of town, which is spent going over new things I’d discovered of the last few months: artists, songs, movies.  I talk with my hands excitedly while Takuma wheels my suitcase behind him, occasionally hitting a rut in the gravel pathway.

He shares, too.  Apparently, Akari has taken a particular liking to Ska and Rockabilly music.  Takuma is… less enthusiastic about it, and has effectively banned it in the house.  This is, from how he describes it, their first real fight as a couple.

I’m so proud of them!  Another milestone reached!

“Ma’s been keeping the place clean, so it shouldn’t be dusty or have any spiders.  But she says you’ll have to take the plastic covers off the furniture.  She was worried about moths.”

Honestly, Mayu is such a saint.  I love that woman!

“When is she going to let me pay her for her housekeeping work?”

Takuma lets out a doubtful puff.  “Like she’d ever ask for payment.  She’d be offended if you brough it up, honestly.  You’re family, and that’s what family does.”

“I’ll pay her back someday.”

“Ah.  Almost there,” he says, changing the subject, then picks up the pace.

My summer home rests along the shore, as it always does.  The dock attached to it reaches out over the ocean in a long arm, visible from far away.  Only the tip of the wooden structure is in sight right now.  As we turn into the little inlet and crest the hill, the whole place is revealed.  It looks as homely as ever, with its bright yellow siding and white trim.

When we reach the porch steps, I turn to him.

“Well, we’re here,” I announce redundantly.  “Thanks for walking me to my door.  You’re grown into such a gentleman.”  Takuma blushes lightly under my teasing and dodges an obnoxious cheek pinch.

He’s almost too tall to harass now.  I wonder when he’ll stop growing.

“Any plans tonight, Sis?”

“Let’s see…,” I pretend to think it over, pointer finger tapping against my chin.  “I had planned on a ritual sacrifice to Cthulu later.  Followed by an hour or two of potatoing the couch.  Then a mini coma, because travelling so far is draining.”

He laughs at my dramatics.

“Well, Ma wants to have you over for dinner tonight, if you’re able to find time in your busy schedule.  Think you’re up for it?” Takuma asks.  “She’s missed you, y’know?”

Mayu had practically taken my sister and I in after our parents had passed away.  I love the woman like my second mom, even though we aren’t blood related.  She’s one of the people that I’d missed the most, to be honest.  Things in the city weren’t the same—not without the patented bone-crushing Ino hugs and piles of homecooked foods.

I offer Takuma a sweet smile.  “Of course!  Just let me know when you guys want me to show up.”

“Ah, just whenever.  You know Ma; she’d say you’re welcome to come over any time.  We usually eat a little earlier on days that I’m out to sea.  But I’d imagine tonight’s food’ll be on the table around six.”

“Five-thirty it is, then!  Sounds like a blast!”

He leaves me, too.  And I wave at his figure long after he’s disappeared around the bend.

And I turn back to look up at my familiar retreat.  God, I missed this place.  I do every time I leave.  Maybe this is the year that I call college quits and return to the village for good?  Maybe I would, if I had a future here.  I’d like to stay.

This is my home.

The house had once belonged to my parents.  When they’d passed, I’d inherited it and the land that it sits on.  It’s not a magnificent coastal chateau by any means, but it’s cozy and warm.  The little beachfront home is two bedrooms and a shared living area.  When I stay, I usually take Mom and Dad’s old bedroom.  It has the sliding door that goes directly out onto the deck.

My sister usually takes our old room when she’s here… unless she’s too busy falling asleep on the plush couch in the living room.

I peek into my old bedroom for a moment, lamenting the fact that I’m staying here alone this time around.

The room is so small.  It’s crazy to think that I’d once shared this space with another person.  Now, it hardly feels large enough to accommodate just myself.  Of course, I’d been a lot smaller when my sister and I had to room together.  Now that it’s just me, I can’t help but wonder how neither of us managed to kill each other.

So many toes stepped on and so, so much privacy invaded.

That reminds me…  I open my phone and send her a text.

[The Gremlin] Me: Big Bird has landed in the nest.  Hope everything is going well on your end! Gremlin: Big bird?  Oof cringe Gremlin: Lololol miss you lots cringe and all Gremlin: The shack still standing? praise cthulu

I roll my eyes at her weirdness.  We usually meet up for Summer break, but she’s backpacking across some foreign country with her new man.  Apparently, this one has money.  I’d admonish her for being a gold digger, but I admire her grind.

Still, it feels odd.  This is my first year back without her in tow.

[The Gremlin] Me: Shack still standing.  It feels empty without you here.  We need to meet up next year!  Don’t ditch me again, I don’t care how cute your new boyfriend is! Gremlin: But hes very very cute :3 Me: Don’t care.  You can ditch him for your favorite big sister. Gremlin: Only big sister :P

I smile at the screen and leave our old room behind.

With my arrival out of the way, I can finally unpack.  There’s not much in my suitcase: some clothes, necessities, and a sketchpad for when my muse appears.  It’s a snap to out it all in its proper place, especially given that I’ve been doing this same song and dance for years.

I know where everything goes, and could unpack in my sleep.

There are indeed plastic covers all over the furniture, and I take great glee in pulling them off as they rattle like cellophane ghosts.  The covers get crammed into the front closet, where I can forget about them until I leave.

Despite the lack of dust and cobwebs—again, I mentally praise Mayu—there’s a stuffiness in the air that no amount of cleaning can remove.  It’s the sort of heavy air that accumulates where nobody has lived for a while.

To combat it, I throw open all of the windows and doors.  The sea breeze will chase it all away, I think.

And while I give the house time to air out, I pull a granola bar from my suitcase and go out to the deck.

The deck has been updated since the summer before.  It was probably getting to be a safety hazard, I think to myself abashedly.

The problem boards had been replaced at some point.  Old formerly rotten parts of the deck are now a much lighter, newer wood that’s been sealed against the elements.  The bits that’d once been soft underfoot are firm once more.  I no longer feel like I’m traversing a field of land mines, waiting for the inevitable misstep that causes my foot to go through a particularly bad spot.

The long reach of the dock is less intimidating than it’d been when I was a child.  It’d once felt like it stretched a mile into the sea.  Now, it’s just a short walk until I reach the end.  Shuffling off my sandals and rubbing my sore heels, I plonk down at the very edge.  The coolness of the water caresses the red-hot soles of my feet.  My sterling silver ankle bracelets reflect the light of the sun like fish scales.

It’d been a bad idea to wear new shoes, I admonish myself.

I kick out absentmindedly, sending ripples of water out to sea.  The ocean is calm right now, but I know that it can get rough.  I sigh and tilt my head back, basking in the midday sun.  I’d jump in to cool off, if I didn’t know any better.

The water around the village isn’t good for swimming.  The surf and spray are rough at the best of time.  It’s good for sports and the like, but human bodies are too likely to get tossed around or pulled out to sea in a riptide.

The cove that my little home rests on is one of the more dangerous areas, with the tidal pools that have formed here creating all manner of crazy currents when the tide changes.  I’d been scared away from taking a dip here time and time again when I was just a kid.

Now, I know better.  Only my feet in the water, or Dad will claw himself out of his grave just to berate me.

It’s so quiet out here, with only the waves to keep me company.  I let out a low hum—a song from very, very far in the past.  It’s what Mom used to sing to my sister and I when we were small.  I only remember parts of the words now, but the tune is forever ingrained into my soul.

Then another sound joins my lament: a low, haunting wail.

“A dolphin?” I ask under my breath.  Whatever it is, it sounds close.  Or it’s very, very loud.

And as its beautiful cry dies off, I sing back to it a little louder.

Again, it calls to me.  And this time, we harmonize.  The mysterious sea creature and I engage in a duet that nobody will ever believe.  My low, out-of-key vocalizations are bolstered and uplifted by the incredible cry that it accompanies.  It sounds… good.  I open my mouth wider and sing the little bits of Mom’s lullaby that I can remember, and I’m matched word for word by a song so heartbreakingly lovely that it gives me chills.

It sounds so lonely.

I wonder if it’s an orca that lost its pod?

The song eventually falls silent, and I’m left gaping at the serene indigo waters in front of me.

In a fit of spontaneity, I stand up and cup my hand to the sides of my mouth to call out to the poor beast.  “That was beautiful!” I praise.  And I think I might hear a faint chirp in the distance.

Wow, I think.  I need to tell somebody about this!  This is so cool!  Of course, nobody would ever believe me… unless I record it!

But I didn’t bring my phone out here with me, I note with a huff.

Guess the once-in-a-lifetime moment will remain little more than a memory.

I sigh, humming under my breath once more.  My companion doesn’t join in.  They’ve probably gone away, scared by my human calls.  Oh well.  It’s still a beautiful day.

“I’ll have to bring my sketchpad out,” I tell myself.  “Maybe I’ll find something to paint while I’m here?”

Maybe my sea friend will come back and show itself?  I tingle with excitement at the thought.  I hope they come back, just so I can see them.  I bet they’re just as breathtaking as their song had been.

When I look down, I notice that one of my ankle bracelets has slipped off.  The cheap clasp probably broke on it.  Oh well, I think.  It’s not the first thing that the ocean has stolen from me, and it won’t be the last.

Then I jolt when I remember something important.

“Oh, crap!  I need to get ready for dinner!”

My first night is tranquil.  For once, I don’t fall asleep to the buzzing of cars outside of an apartment window.  There are no noisy neighbors banging on walls, no sounds of music played far too loud in the wee hours of the morning.  There’s only the soft sound of the ocean to lull me into a deep, restful slumber.

The morning dawn filters through my curtains, lighting up my room with hues of fire red and golden yellow.  It’s early, I think blearily.  Much earlier than I’d have gotten up in the city.  But things are different here in my hometown.

It makes me wonder why I go back to the city, honestly.

I pull myself out of bed with the promise of coffee, and tug on an old oversize t-shirt of Dad’s.  It’s one of the few mementos that I keep from him that I actually use.  The threadbare fabric is soft against my sleep-sensitive skin.  It’s like being wrapped up in a familiar hug.  Sometimes, I like to imagine that it still smells like him.

And then I wonder if I’m not a creep because of it.  But, hey, different people grieve in different ways.

My morning routine starts with a breakfast of slightly-burned toast and ends with a blissfully hot shower.  I spend extra time washing away the salt that sticks to everything by the ocean.  If I go too long without shampooing, my hair starts to lose its sheen, getting rough and dying out.

One of the downsides of oceanfront property—not that there are many.

When I’m clean and fed, I slide open the door to my bedroom and step out onto my deck.  Steam swirls above the mug of coffee in my hand.  I plop down into one of the wicker chairs that are perched on the deck.  Years of exposure to the sun and surf have left them more than a little washed out, but it just makes them all the cozier.

They have character, awkward lumps and all.  I bring my cup up to blow away some of the heat, eyes scanning the ocean in front of me.  It’s ruby red with the light of the sky above, except for the thin sliver of golden where the horizon and great body of water meet.  I’ll need to take a picture so I can paint it later.  Watercolors, maybe?  With gold leaf for the accents in the clouds?

That’d be pretty.

I guess majoring in art is useful after all.  Sometimes.

Mayhaps.

Laughing at myself, I look over the water again, trying to see if maybe my friend from the day before has returned.  I’d hadn’t told the Ino family about my encounter earlier, worried that Mayu and Takuma would insist on coming over to see my new friend.  But I want to keep them to myself for just a little bit longer.  I look and I look, then I sigh in disappointment.  Alas, no creatures are lurking in the surf that I can spot.  Of course, the water is deceptively deep, even close to my dock.  It’d be hard to see anything in six or more feet of water.

And speaking of dock… something catches my eye, and I squint trying to see.

Is that…?  I can’t quite make it out.

Placing my coffee down on the glass table nearby, I haul myself up to go take a closer look.

“Seashells?” I whisper when I reach the edge, where the wood disappears into water.

Five innocuous shells sit perfectly in a row.  They hadn’t been washed up naturally, by the looks of things.  No, they were placed far too deliberately.  And they’re perfect, I note.  They’re the right shape, size, and color to be considered pretty.  Not a single flaw mars their delicate edges.

“Wow,” I breathe.  I’d used to collect shells when I was younger, I remember.  But they’d always been pummeled into the rocks by the waves, covered in chips and scrapes.  These look like they were plucked right off of the seabed.

Of course, the next logical line of questioning is who the hell left these here in the first place?

My mind immediately goes to Takuma and his early-morning shell collecting for his mom.  Had he left these here for me before going to work?  A smile pulls at my lips.  That’s so damn thoughtful of him.  Of course, he’s always been a softie with a considerate streak a mile wide.

I’ll have to thank him later, I think to myself.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out to check the notifications.

Clicking open my social media tab, I unlock the picture that was sent.  My sister.  She’s the centerpiece of a selfie, with a massive mountain in the background.  Ah.  She must be rock climbing right now.  That sounds… cold.  She certainly looks bundled up in a thick winter parka with fur trim.

She looks so happy.  God… I miss her so much.  There’s a pang in my chest.

In response, I send her a picture of myself, glorious sunrise my backdrop.  And when I click back onto the photo, I notice something behind me.  I squint.

There, in the distance, is a tail breaking through the water.

The next day, I receive more shells.

And again, the day after that.

I get them every morning, before the sun rises.  It’s nice.  If not a bit much.

Takuma is out on his boat by the time I get up, so I don’t have time to ask him about it.  And, honestly, I keep forgetting anyway.  It’s not like it’s a big deal or anything.  It’s just… odd.  Then again, Takuma has always been a bit odd.  Pretty much everybody in the village is, if I’m being honest.

Sometimes, I hear my friend singing in the cove.  Their vocals are just as beautiful as I remember them being.  I sit on the end of the dock and hum along with them, harmonizing and enjoying the peace that the presence brings.

It feels like a call that I’m answering, like I’m talking to them.  It’s amazing!

I consider putting the singing on video, but there’s something about the experience that I want to keep to myself.  It’s strange, being so possessive of a dolphin—or whatever they are—but I feel like if I share them, then some sort of powerful spell will be broken.  What if they leave and never return?

So, it’s our little secret.

The trip into town is a hop and a skip compared to my commute in the city had been. 

I wave by people as I pass them, elbowing my way through the afternoon crowd.  The village might not be populated heavily, but there’s always a large congregation when the fishing vessels start returning.  Most come by to help unload the large catches and put them on ice until they can be shipped off.  Of course, there is a good portion of older folk that just enjoy being voyers to the whole process, watching rather than lending a hand.

By the time I arrive, most of the fuss has already gone down.  Takuma’s boat is smaller, so it holds less than the others he goes out to sea with.  And that means that he's usually unloaded much faster.

I find him sitting with Akari at one of the smaller, more secluded docks.  They’re in the middle of discussing something about boat engines with their usual enthusiasm.  Takuma has a wet towel slung over the back of his neck, probably to suck up the heat of a sunburn.  He never wears sunscreen, no matter how many times his mother and sister verbally batter him.

It’s a wonder he hasn’t turned into bacon yet.

“Good evening, Takkun!” I chirp and offer him a bottle of water from my sack of goodies.  Looks like stopping off at the convenience store had been a good idea after all.  “Thirsty?”  I shake the bottle in invitation, only to have it snatched from me.

“You’re a lifesaver, Sis!  I swear, you’re too good to me!”  I think he’s actually crying as he slams the water back like it’s a shot of whiskey.

“Heya,” I offer to Akari.  “Busy day, you two?”

Takuma shakes his head.  “No, actually.  The fish aren’t wanting to come, I guess.”  His brown eyebrows furrow into a frustrated line.  “I came away with a pretty small haul.  But that’s not just my luck; everybody had the same problem.”

“It’s been a problem for a few days now, actually,” Akari chimes in.  “Some of the others were talking about it while I was fixing up their rig.”

“it happens from time to time,” Takuma says wearily.  “There’s probably something in the water scarin’ em.  I’m guessing it’s a shark.  Or there’s something messed up about the chemical balance around here.  They’re sensitive to that sort of thing.”

At ‘shark’, I feel my palms start to sweat.  My friend could be the culprit.  Oops.  “O-or maybe it’s a dolphin?” I suggest, though it sounds more like a question.

But I get waved off immediately.  “Nah.  It’d be a bigger predator.  Something meaner.  Besides, dolphins rarely travel alone.  We’d have noticed a whole pod of them.”

“What if one is alone?”

Takuma shrugs and goes back to chugging like his life depends on it.

“In the meantime, this could be a good opportunity to do some work on the old girl,” Akari says, pointing down the line at Takuma’s vessel.  “She needs a tune up.  Bad.  The engine sounds terrible.  If everybody else wasn’t having trouble, I’d blame the sound for your bad luck.”  She eyes him pointedly.

“There are some barnacle shells that I still have to scrape off—”  I completely miss what he says next as I zone out.  But the word sparked something in my memory.

Shells… shells.  Oh, right!  Shells!

I linger on that line of conversation, letting their words wash over me as they go over the logistics of boat maintenance—a topic which I am very sorely lacking experience with.  I sit in silence and share some of the buns I’d picked up at the convenience store.  They aren’t Mayu’s home cooking, but Takuma tears into his like a ravenous monster.  We chat about other things here and there, mostly debating the existence of sea monsters.  And when they take an extended break to enjoy the encroaching sunset, I pipe up.

“Hey, Takkun!  I was wondering where you found those all those seashells this morning.”

The young man turns to look at me with confusion in his whiskey brown eyes.  “What shells?” He asks.

The ones he’d left on the end of my dock before I’d gotten up?  The ones that I’d been receiving for nearly a week straight?  Those shells.  But, looking at the way his face scrunches like he just licked a lemon, he has no clue what I’m talking about

Huh.  Weird.

“I just figured they were from you, since you go out and beachcomb for your mom’s jewelry.  But if it’s not you, it must be somebody else in the village.  They’re always there first thing in the morning, though, so it’s an early riser leaving them.”

Takuma lets out a hum of thought.  “It could be Yuji or Nobara.  They’re always going for morning runs along the water.  Strange, though.  They usually go past our house.”

On the other side of town.  That’s quite the deviation from their usual run, if so.  Maybe they changed things up since I’m back for the summer?  They never had in previous years, if I remember correctly.  Yuji is pretty habit-driven, since he tends to hyperfixate to an extreme degree.  I doubt he’d want to shake up his routine too much.

Even then, the rambunctious teens don’t really seem like the type to spend time looking for delicate seashells, just to leave them as gifts on my property.  They’d probably break them in their excitement.  Maybe Megumi would have a gentle enough touch, but he’s a notoriously late riser.

“I dunno…” I murmur, unsure.  “Does that seem like Nobara or a Yuji thing to do?”

“No, but they’re wildly unpredictable on the best of days.”

That… is an understatement.

“Or maybe you have a secret admirer,” Akari suggests, turning the line of questioning away form the unruly teens.  “Maybe he’s shy and doesn’t want anybody to know he’s interested, so he sneaks in to leave you gifts just before dawn.”  She lets out a sigh.  “That’d be so romantic!”

I roll my eyes.  “Yeah.  Right.  It’s probably one of the retirees with too much time on their hands.  I bet it’s that old man who used to run the bakery—what’s his name?  He was always down by the water when I saw him.”

“Old Man Gakuganji?  Nah.  He passed away last year.”

I wince at my blunder.  “Oof,” I state.

“Yeah.  Big oof,” Akari agrees sagely.  “No, but seriously, you might have somebody crushing on you.  I think Kento was sweet on you for a bit.”

“Nanami?” Kento Nanami’s parents had been friends with mine.  Our dads had gone out fishing together.  He’s a bit older than I am, but a pretty nice guy… if not a bit emotionally constipated.  “I thought he moved to the big city.  He’s a businessman or something, right?”

He hadn’t wanted to keep fishing in what he considered to be a dying town.  Not that I blame him; this life isn’t for everybody.  That’s why I’d moved, too.

Akari nods.  “Yuu Haibara is still here, though.  And Kiyotaka Ichiji.  Let’s see…”  She places a finger up to her lips in thought.  “There’s also Shoko Ieiri.  She runs the clinic now, but she’s still single and ready to mingle.”

I raise my eyebrow at her.  “Why is everybody you’re suggesting so much older than I am?” I ask dryly.

Takuma pipes up.  “Because we know you,” he answers blithely.

And, yeah… they’re not wrong.

“Daddy Kink,” Akari jokes, waggling her brows in my direction.  And I let out a faux outraged cry as I shove my hand over her mouth.

“Be silent, wench,” I growl in my most threatening voice—only slightly broken by the giggles threatening to burst from my chest.  She starts laughing behind her impromptu gag, clearly not intimidated by my show in the slightest.  And she tries to pry me off of her, but she’s giggling too hard to make any proper moves.  Not that I’m any better, cackling like a witch and falling over myself in an effort to wrangle her into submission.

Takuma tries to break us up as we start wrestling. 

In the heat of the moment, I almost forget that I have no idea where the seashells came from.

Almost.

My friend calls to me again in the morning.

And I… I can’t quite bring myself to call back.  After all, what if this creature is the reason the fish are gone?  I might be the thing keeping it here.  It seems silly to think about, but it’d returned day after day to sing with me.  And now I can’t help but wonder if it’d formed some sort of attachment.  At the end of the day, it’s a wild animal.  I can’t keep it for myself, no matter how much I enjoy its presence.

It hurts my heart to hear the lonely creature cry out with no response.  I sit in bed, hands over my hears, and stare down at my bedspread.  It calls for hours, far after the sun has risen high in the sky.

If it’s a dolphin without its pod, I hope it finds them soon.

But I’m not a dolphin, so it needs to leave.  It needs to be with its own kind.

To escape the desolate wailing, I walk up to the hill overlooking town.  And I spend hours with my sketchbook perched in my lap, drawing the faint outlines of the buildings that dot the landscape.  I jot in the shadows of boats on the water.

Maybe I’ll bring a full-size canvas next time and really go all out with my acrylic paints.  But, for now, the distraction of putting a pen to paper is enough.  I hope that by the time I go back, the poor creature will have moved on.  Maybe without me there to confuse it, it’ll realize that it’s in the wrong place and go looking for its family somewhere else?

I stay up on that hill for hours.  Up until the sun starts to set.  I’ve filled out four pages of doodles y the time that my phone interrupts my daze.  I light up when I see that it’s Akemi calling.  She’s always so busy with her schoolwork that it’s a rare treat to talk with her.

If course, she’s probably using me to check up on her brother.

Not that I mind too much.  I love the Ino family to the moon and back.

I answer the call with a smile on my face.

Night’s darkness is a blanket cast over the tiny village.  It swathes everything, diluted only by the gentle light of the half-swollen moon, which drifts in a lazy arc overhead.  The stars twinkle vibrantly against their deep indigo backdrop.

It’s peaceful, soothing.

Like something out of a dream.

I’d dusted off the cover of my hot tub, deciding to break it out to help me relax.  Turns out that the idea had been amazing.  I give myself a mental pat on my back.  The water isn’t turned up to full temp, but it’s warm enough to wring the tension right out of my muscles.  I hadn’t soaked in this in close to four years.  If anything, this is my sister’s favorite part of the house.

I’d never really been a fan, preferring the end of the dock and the cool water of the cove.  But now I see what she’s so crazy about.

The tub has a picture-perfect view of the sky above and the ocean stretching past the horizon.  I watch, content, as the silver moonlight caresses the ripples of the waves as they rush ashore.  The heat brings a heady rush to my head, heating my cheeks better than any alcohol ever could.  Steam rises above the surface, condensing on my eyelashes and the fine peach fuzz that decorates my skin.

I wiggle my toes and let out a delighted sigh.  Sink further into the welcome embrace of the water.

Perfection, I think as I let my eyelids drift closed.  The back of my head knocks against the pillow behind me.

The sigh morphs into a hum—Mom’s lullaby.  I hum the disjointed tune, letting it ebb and flow with the waves on the beach.  My hands come up to grasp at the edges of the tub, sloshing water over the edges.  The drip, drip, drip of the droplets hitting the ground is rhythmic.  It becomes part of my little song.

Below me, it almost sounds like the ocean is humming back.  The sound vibrates in my ears at a frequency that I almost can’t hear.  It throbs in my chest, along with the sluggish beat of my heart.  The water of the tub laps at my body like the waves at the shore below.

The ocean’s song grows louder in my peripheral senses until it eclipses everything else.

I don’t even notice when I start drifting off.

Deeper and deeper I sink into relaxation.

Until I’m on the cusp of sleep.

Or maybe I’m already teetering over the edge of a dream.

There’s a series of sensations that make my eyes clench tighter: the brushing of something against my forehead, a tickling against the tip of my nose, the puffing of cool air against the bow of my lips.  I stir in my sleep, perturbed by the disturbance.

I let out a low whine and try to fall back into oblivion.

The sensations draw back until I settle once more.  Then they return more firmly.  Cool skin presses against my own as a cheek brushes along mine, gently, reverently.  Shuddering breaths taunt the sensitive skin behind my ear and along my jawline.

It feels hazy—like experiencing everything through a gaussian blur.  I can’t quite focus on any one thing.  It’s too hard to lift my heavy body.  Sleep paralysis, I think.

This must be a dream.   It has to be.

Then there’s a smooth voice murmuring into my ear.  The vibrations almost tingle.  I feel it down to the tips of my toes. It’s a man, I think.  One that I’ve never heard before—that’s a voice I’d recognize no matter what.  It’s so incredibly beautiful.

“You didn’t come when I called.  I was worried,” the presence seems to almost be scolding me.  I’d laugh at this weird dream manifestation if I could move.

There’s a beat.

“You shouldn’t sleep like this, you know; you could drown.  You humans are terrifyingly fragile.”  A chuckle follows the statement, trails off and fades into the sounds of the waves from below.

A dream.

Just a dream.

I sigh, leaning into the sweet touch.  My dreamlike phantom nuzzles at the place where my shoulder and neck meet.  The soft tickling comes again.  It lingers against my chin, leaving moisture in its wake.  Hair, I think.  Wet.  Cold.

It’s such a contrast from the heat of my bath that I shiver.

What I think are fingers trace the immodest lines of my naked form.  They start at the just of my collarbones, then move with curious slowness down the valley of my breasts.  Are they really fingers, though, when they feel so sharp-tipped and rough?  My dreamy visitor circles around my bellybutton, retracting when I tense.  Then he presses his palm against the curve of my stomach, just below my navel.  I feel him shiver.

“You’re so warm, so soft,” he remarks lightly.  It sounds fond.  His nose nudges against me more insistently, and I unconsciously lean back to give him more space.  There’s a pleased rumble, not unlike the purr of a big cat.  Then my visitor’s breath centers on my sluggish pulse point, his mouth yawning wide and something jagged and dangerous pressing against the most vulnerable part of me.

Predator, my mind screams behind the wall of dreamy incoherence.

I want to wake up now, I think.  But I can’t.  I’m like a diving bell at the bottom of the ocean.  There’s only darkness around me, only weight holding me down.

Then he pulls back.

The scratchy pads of his fingers linger on my tummy for a moment before they too retreat.

“You should wake up now,” the phantom advises as he plants a lingering kiss to the place he’d just had between his jaws.  “It’s dangerous out here.”

The mystery man’s presence pulls away, but doesn’t entirely leave.  I still feel him nearby.  That rough hand of his reaches out to cup my cheek.  He’s so very, very tender as his thumb wipes away the condensation from my skin.

Just like that, he’s gone.

The haze in my mind vanishes at the abrupt splash nearby, and I jolt back awake.  All of my senses return to me in a thunderous clap of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.  Whatever fog had descended is lifted.  Pressing a hand against my heaving chest, I push to sit up in the hot tub.

That… didn’t feel like a dream.

That felt so terribly real.

Gasping, choking, shaking, I peer over the rim of the tub, searching for evidence that my nighttime visitor had really come and gone.

There are wet footprints leading in a neat trail across the dock.  Until they disappear at the edge of the ocean.

There’s only the sound of the waves—ever ebbing and flowing—and my panicked breaths.

My dolphin friend is completely silent today.  It’s a detail that I barely notice as I book it for the harbor.

It’s still early enough that I can catch Takuma before he goes out to sea!

The youngest Ino sibling has waders on—colored bright orange for visibility—and his signature bandana covering his brown hair in preparation for work today.  I’ve caught him in the middle of loading up his gear, which takes even longer now that he’s a one-man crew.  Thankfully, his vessel is small enough to run with just a single person.  But that means he’s strapped for time and raring to get out to sea as early as possible.

He needs to get out and start casting his net before everybody else leaved the harbor and makes off with his money.  Especially with the fish seemingly becoming scarcer and scarcer.

Unfortunately, I have bigger worries.  Namely: my sanity.  I follow behind as he carts boxes onto his boat, trying to keep step as I tell him about what happened last night.  It feels ridiculous, telling him about the trancelike state I’d been in and the mysterious phantom who’d ghosted his way in and out of my life.

Of course, he doesn’t believe me at all.  Not that I blame him.  The story is pretty wild.

“I’m not lying, Takkun!”  I call out to my cousin’s retreating back.

The dock is busy this morning, awash with the hustle and bustle of people getting ready for a day at sea.  We have to bob and weave between the milling crowd.  I almost trip a couple of times in the dimness of the pre-morning light.  The sun is just barely peaking over the horizon as the final fleeting hours of twilight come to a close.  With perfectly clear skies on the radar, the fishing bodes to be fruitful.

It’d be the perfect start to a day, had I slept at all the night before.

“There was somebody on my dock last night!” I exclaim.  Then I realize just how public this conversation is and lower my voice, trying not to alert all the others nearby.  “Please believe me!  I’m freaking out, here!”

Takuma stops abruptly, and I almost collide with his back.  The younger man turns around to look at me, his brown eyes skeptical.  He sighs, runs a hand through his unruly hair.  It’s getting long, I notice.  The strands almost touch his shoulders.  I should cut it soon.

“It’s not that I think you’re lying, Sis.  I’m sure you think you saw something.  But you said it felt like a dream.  Let me get this straight…  So, this random guy—whose voice you don’t recognize, despite living in a village with less than a hundred people—just waltzes up to your house, talks to you for a bit, then jumps into the ocean?  And you couldn’t move the whole time?  I dunno.  Sounds like a dream to me.”

“There were footprints leading down the dock,” I hiss.

“Maybe you were sleepwalking again and they were yours.”

I growl at him in frustration.  “That was one time, and I was five, Takkun!  I haven’t sleepwalked in years.  There was really somebody creeping around the house!”  I hold his gaze.  “It really freaked me out, okay?  So, can you please come by and check it out when you get off work?”

“You know I have a date tonight, Sis.  I can’t just blow her off to go looking for monsters under your porch.  I mean, it’s our two-year anniversary.”

Right.  His date with Akari.  I completely forgot.

“Please, Takkun?  Please, just come over for a few minutes.  Then you can leave, okay?”

His demeanor softens at my sincerity.  And he rubs the back of his neck, where days spent working outside in the sun have tanned his skin.

“Fine, fine,” he agrees resignedly.  “I’ll swing by and see if I can’t catch your sea monster.”  My shoulders lift as weight disappears from them.  “But you have to take me out to dinner tomorrow as repayment.”

“That’s totally okay with me!  You’re the best!  Thank you, Takkun!” I chirp, planting a kiss on his cheek, which he frantically tries to rub off like we’re children again and I have cooties.

It’s not four hours later that my cousin keeps his promise to investigate my home.  He arrives windblown from operating a boat, and covered head to toe in dried sweat and ocean spray.  I greet him at my front door, then lead him to my private dock.

While I recount what’d happened the night before, he kneels down and looks at the tub like he’s trying to put an image to my words.  The footprints have long since dried, but I remember exactly where they were.  I point out the path that my mysterious visitor had taken, right up to where he’d jumped into the water.

“And you didn’t see a boat last night?” Takuma asks, peering into the water.

I shake my head.

He frowns.  “Well, you’re too far outside of town for somebody to swim to the dock.  Not to mention how dangerous it would’ve been with the tides coming in.  I doubt anybody would want to risk it just for a prank.  You have a pretty clear view of the ocean, too, so it’s unlikely that they escaped into the water without being seen.  They would’ve had to come up for air at some point.  Unless they had gills,” he adds sarcastically.

“The footprints led to and from the water, Takkun.  Whoever he was, he came and went by way of water.  Like the Creature from the Black Lagoon.”

Takuma nods like he’s taking in all the information and analyzing it.

“Okay, so we know it’s a he.  You said you didn’t recognize the voice, right?  Then it’s unlikely it was somebody from the village.  And there are no strange visitors staying at the inn.”  The young fisherman crosses his arms as he stares me down.  “So, who could it have been?”

“I have no idea,” I confess, throat tight.

He sighs, scratching the short stubble at his chin.  “I can stay the night tonight, if that’ll make you feel better.  But I really think that you need to consider that this was just a dream.”

Maybe he’s right.  I mean, nothing about the whole situation makes any sense.  A mysterious stalker climbing out of the ocean and putting me under some sort of spell—what am I?  Eight?

God, I feel stupid, letting my imagination run wild with me.  I called him away from his date prep for this.  The heels of my palms dig into my eyes like I’m trying to rub away the afterimages of my wild nightmare last night.

“I’m sorry, Takkun,” I mutter.  “I don’t mean to be a pain.  Honest.”

“You’re not a pain, Sis.  I get that you were freaked out, but it was just a dream.”  He walks over to me, places his hands on my shoulders.  Takuma’s warmth and weight are reassuring.  He gives me a comforting squeeze, offering me a smile.  “Hey, I know you were scared, but it’s okay.  I can come over after the date, maybe stay the night?  No boogeymen will try anything with me guarding you!”

I shake my head, reaching up to pat one of his large hands.  “No.  I’m fine now.  I’d hate to take you away from Akari.  Especially on such an important night.”

“If you’re sure…”

“I am.  Now go get ready.  Take a shower, Takkun.  You smell like fish, and that won’t get you laid tonight.”

My cousin sputters, turning several different shades of red at once.  He jerks away like I’ve burned him all while I cackle like a madwoman at his discomfort.  Oh, he’s too easy to fluster.

Takuma leaves after trying to rearrange my ribs with the force of his bear hug.

And he returns in the middle of the night with some of his mother’s homemade fried chicken and an arm full of movies, still wearing some of his nicer clothes.  I ask him how his date went, and he tells me about going out to eat with Akari at some fancy place an hour away.  The two lovebirds had followed up dinner with a tour of the botanical gardens.  He uses his whole body to illustrate just how big and beautiful some of the plants were, and brings out his phone to show me when words won’t do it justice.

I feel so very, very bad for pulling him away from his night out.

But when I apologize, he waves me off.  “Akari understands.  She sends her love,” is all he has to say before I pull him into a hug that’s almost strong enough to compete with his.

He and his girlfriend are so unwaveringly good that it hurts sometimes.

My adopted cousin and I spend the rest of the evening in contented silence, watching some endearingly bad sci-fi B-movie from the sixties.  He lets my head rest against his shoulder, keeping a strong arm hooked over me.  And when he starts to drift off, his cheek comes to rest against my temple.

I wake up the next morning with a crick in my neck and Takuma gone.  But I feel a lot better than I had.

Takuma left a note on my fridge, I realize when I get up to reheat the leftover chicken.

‘Lock your door tonight.  I’ll come by later to check on you.  P.S. Give Micchan a call.  She’s being a freak.’  Eyeing the sloppy words on the ruled paper, I let out a little chuckle.  ‘Micchan’ and ‘Takkun’ are both freaks.  Akemi and Takuma are both such worrywarts.

Though, in this case, it seems pretty justified.

Maybe the other night was really just a dream, I think.  Maybe I’m just working myself up over nothing.

But I’m not so sure.

The next day, I treat Takuma to dinner, as agreed upon by our terms for him staying the night.  Of course, ‘dinner’ is a whole sack of pork buns brought from the convenience store.  Not a bad meal, considering that the young man scarfs it down like it’s a king’s feast.

We’re on the roof of Mayu’s house, a place that I’d often found myself after the Ino family had taken my sister and I in.  Of course, that’d been years and years ago.  And now I feel like a dumb teenager again, hiding away from my problems where I feel they can’t find me.

“Akari isn’t missing you?” I ask my companion when he’s done cramming his mouth full of pork bun.  “I don’t want to keep you away from her two nights in a row.”

He shakes his head.  “Nah.  She had a late-night repair.  Besides, I said I’d come visit Ma, anyway.  You were just another addition, and the more the merrier!”

I snort at his upbeat nature.

Takuma stares up at the sky, planting his hands on the roof’s incline behind him and leaning back.  “You aren’t lonely, are you, Sis?  I mean, this is the first time you’re staying in that house without anybody else, and—”

“I’m fine,” comes my automatic response.  And I wince at how not fine I sound.  “Okay, I’m a little lonely.  But I’ll get used to it.”

“The nightmare says otherwise.  It was bad enough that you though it was real, and that’s concerning,” he points out, fixing a pretty stern look on me.  “Y’know, you can always stay with Ma.  Or there’s room with me and Akari.  You’re always welcome.”

“I know.  Thank you, Takkun.”

There’s a moment of silence.

“Do you think that’s why I had that bad dream?  Because I’m alone in the house for the first time?”

“Maybe.”  He shrugs.  “You can always ask Akemi about it; you know she’d love to shrink your head—tries to do it to me all the time.”

Benefits of having a psychologist-in-training big sister, I guess.  Maybe I’ll ask her what she thinks of it, just to see if she has any insight.  She’s always been smart and perceptive.  There might be something to all of this that I’m not seeing.

Maybe it was really all a dream…

Huh…

“Maybe I feel unsafe…”

“You could always try locking the door?”  he suggests.  “Might bring you some peace of mind.”

“Are you two done being moody?”  Comes a strong voice from the second floor balcony.  “If so, I could use your help moving the couch so I can vacuum beneath it.”

At that interruption, both of us turn to each other and let out a shared snicker.  Mayu, never change, I mentally beg her.  Her bluntness is exactly what I need right now.

“Got it, Ma!” Takuma calls back down to his mother.  “Be inside in a bit!”

“I guess we’re being summoned?”

“Seems like it.”

And cue the laughter a second time.

Takuma stands up and places his hand sin his pockets.  But he makes no move to climb down to the balcony below.  Instead, he gazes out at the dark water of the ocean.  His face is oddly solemn.  It’s so jarring, seeing him so melancholy.

I let the silence stretch between us, afraid of worrying him further.

Then he lets out a huff. “Y’know, it’s always nice when you come visit.  But if it’s too much then you can always go back to the city.  I know that’s where you want to be, anyway.”

I jolt.  “Wh-what gave you that idea?”

He shrugs.  “S’why you always go back, right?  I mean, I get it.  This town isn’t exactly the most lively.  And it’s got bad memories for you.  I understand if you wanna bail on this trip, especially since your sister isn’t here this time.”

I shake my head at his concern and reach out to tug on his shirt.  “I love this place, Takkun.  I only go back to the city because of school.”  Then I almost whisper the next part.  “But, honestly, I’m starting to reconsider if I want to go back again.  Maybe I should just drop out of college and come back.  Maybe I can work at the convenience store with Yuji and Nobara?  That’d be fun, right?”

I offer him a smile.  “There aren’t any painful memories here for me, Takkun, only good ones.”

“I want you to stay,” he says frankly.  And it’s enough to make me laugh.

“I want to stay here too, you goofball!  This is my home.  It will always be my home, no matter what.”

“Then why go back at all?”

Why, indeed?  I’d wondered that for years now.  I’d originally left because my sister was leaving the nest and I didn’t want to be in our parents’ house alone.  Not with the ghosts that’d haunted me during the early years without Mom and Dad.  Sure, we’d been staying with the Ino family during that time, but it was almost assured that I’d go back to the little yellow house in the cove eventually.

I’d left to grieve and learn to accept their deaths.  And maybe somewhere along the way, I’d convinced myself that I was better off in the city, where there was more opportunity.  Which is funny, come to think of it, because I’d never been the ambitious sort.  The truth is that I was running away.  And now that I’m not running, I have no clue why I’m still moving in that direction.

I miss this place so much when I’m away.

“I guess that I was just trying to prove something to myself, that I could finish school and become something more than I’ll ever be here.  But more and more, I’m looking for a reason to stay here.”  I look up at the sky above and ponder the stars.  “Maybe I just need to find contentment here.”

When I look over, the big crybaby had tears rolling down his cheeks and an adorable pout on his lips.  I pull him into a hug, patting his back as he sniffles into my hair.

“Takkun… you’re getting your boogers on me.”

He only cries harder.  I pat his back, burying my face into his shoulder.

He’s such a goober.

But he’s my goober.  My wonderful, thoughtful cousin.

Away from the warmth of Mayu’s home, I feel a little less at ease.

The lock to my door latches shut with a final click.  It’s the first time that I’ve ever locked it, the first time I’ve ever felt unsafe enough in my childhood home to really be afraid.  Outside, I can see the silvery light of the moon caressing the waves as they roll in.  Nobody’s out there.

At least, not that I can see.

Sleep comes to me in fitful bursts punctuated by my paranoid jumping at every little sound.  I don’t dream about mysterious men from the sea.

But I think I can hear a sad, sad song coming from the depths of the dark water.

When I wake up, there are no footprints outside of my door, but there are seashells scattered along my windowsills.  And I don’t think they’re form Nobara.  They’re an offering, I think.

The sight of them leaves me cold.  Because whatever thing has set its sights on me is still watching, still waiting.  I clutch my blanket around my shoulders to keep the shivers at bay and draw my curtains.  I’ll hide away inside, I think.

And I start packing my things to return home to my apartment in the city.

Maybe Takuma’s right.  Maybe I need to get away.  Just for a bit.

But something makes me reconsider.  I’m not sure what it is.  But it’s a feeling brewing deep in my gut, an instinctive feeling telling me that if I leave now, I’ll miss out on something important.  My suitcase sits in the corner, half-full but not zipped up.

I’ll stay.  Just for a bit, I think.  And, boy, do I feel like an idiot.

It takes another week for the paranoia to die down.

I’m always, always busy.

I’m rarely home, except to sleep.

During most of that time, I bounce between Takuma’s home with Akemi and Mayu’s house.  When I’m not bugging them, I find myself up on the hill working my way through my sketchbook.  It’s soothing for my frazzled nerves.  I distract myself with phone calls to Akemi, who uses the opportunity to deep dive into a lesson about trauma response with just a little too much enthusiasm.

When I’m not chatting with her, I exchange photos with my sister over private messaging.  She’s in a new place every day, it seems.  It’s nice seeing her have so much fun and go on adventures.  I’d be jealous if I weren’t such a homebody… or if I didn’t get airsick… or seasick.

I’ll forever be tormented with the fact that I was raised by the seashore and still get sick when on a boat.

Nobara occasionally stops in to bother me, usually tugging one of her boys along by the collar of their shirt.  She denies bringing me the shells, which makes me a bit uneasy.  But there still has to be an explanation, right?

I pull myself into knots trying to think about it rationally.

But the longer I spend without nightmares about strange men coming from the ocean, the more confident I get that it was a one-off.  It’s crazy to worry about that kind of stuff, right?  Like, there’s no way some bozo decided to brave the rocks just to mess with me.  That’s actually stupid.

Right?

I’m second guessing myself more and more, I find.

The shells stop appearing on my dock, and I don’t know whether to be relieved or scared.  So, I choose not to think about it at all.  After all, it’s probably not that big of a deal.  They’re just shells.  Nothing to be scared of.   I know every person in this village; none of them would ever hurt me.

Full stop.

It’s just a sweet gesture.  The person leaving them didn’t know that I’m currently in a downward spiral.

I also notice that my dolphin friend has finally stopped calling out to me, and I find that I’m more hopeful than sad at the development.  I hope that wherever they are, they aren’t alone anymore.  I sincerely hope that they’re found their family again, and are happy and safe.

It’s the one bright spot in my existential crisis.

But I’ll take what I can get.

I toss and turn, throwing off my blankets as the summer heat seems to get to me even past my air conditioner.  I feel… overly hot.

Clenching my eyes closed, I try to will myself into peaceful slumber.  And I hear it: a low, mournful wail.  A sad, sad sound that I know too well.

“Come to me”, I hear on the winds.  There’s a familiar hum thrumming in my chest.  It’s like the other night, I realize.  It’s like when I’d been in the hot tub.  The same gauzy, hazy feeling creeps over my senses like sweet-smelling smoke.

I drift somewhere, halfway between awake and asleep.

Getting up, I unlock my door, despite everything inside of me screaming that it’s a bad idea.  I open it with a slow glide.

And I walk.

My feet move of their own accord, led by some unknown compulsion.  Where they’re taking me, I have no clue—my eyes are closed.  I wander out the back door of my little home and down the dock.  Towards the ocean, I almost float.  Sand buckles beneath me as I hit the beach.  It scrunches between my bare toes, sticks to the places it touches like glue.

There are large rocks, too, digging in to the soft pads of my feet.  The momentary discomfort helps gound me.

Then the sand is washed away by water, waves lapping at the grains with each ebb and flow.

The ocean.

I’m in the ocean.

I must be dreaming, right?  I’m sleepwalking!

I tell myself to wake up, try everything to jolt myself into consciousness again.

I want to panic, want to scream and run away.  But my body, dancing to the tune of my own personal Pied Piper, doesn’t so much as twitch.  The underlying fear that I can’t swim is shoved aside for the greater terror that I can’t control myself.  I’m at some strange supernatural force’s mercy.

“Come to me,” I hear again, echoing on the tail end of a sad, sad sounding croon.

I hear splashing in front of me, like a great deal of water is being displaced.  My breath hitches, and I feel a scream clawing its way out of my chest.  There’s more splashing, like something is moving towards me.  It’s getting closer and closer.

This isn’t a dream.

This is real.

This is real, and there’s something coming for me.

I’m going to get eaten!

But before I can become overwhelmed by everything, I’m grounded by a warm, gentle touch.  A large hand, rough and a bit wet, settles on my cheek.  The presence in front of me lets out a soothing croon.

An inhuman sound, I think distantly.

There’s a sense of relief as I’m not immediately eaten by whatever the hell this creature is.

Then there’s a greater sense of surprise as a hot puff of air buffets my chin.  “My pretty mate,” a familiar masculine voice whispers with reverence. 

And then I’m being kissed.

Warm lips mold against mine.  They’re hungry, demanding, devouring.  My unseen lover is frantic, like he’s never been touched before and never will be again.  Hands grip my hips, pulling me against a strong body.  The fingers against my bare skin are rough, and the nails sharp like talons.  They brand my skin with their incredible heat.  Needing air, I arch away from the kiss.  Our lips disconnect, leaving a thing trail of saliva connecting us.  It’s messy.  Hot.  It feels like I’m burning up.

I’m getting dizzy.

Spiraling.

Down.

Down..

Down…

It’s too much.

There’s no air.  Or maybe I’m just not breathing anymore.

A hand tangles in my hair, pulls me into another all-consuming liplock.  The gasp that I let out is swallowed.  And in return, my lover lets out a rumble of satisfaction.  His mouth coaxes mine open.  The plushness of his pout parts to reveal a set of wickedly sharp teeth.

This is strange, right?  Teeth aren’t supposed to be sharp.  They’re supposed to be blunt and straight.  I run the tip of my tongue along them carefully, afraid of cutting myself on their jagged edges.

Nothing about this is normal, though.  I’m in the ocean, kissing some unknown man with passion I’ve never felt before.  Things are slowly clicking into place as the dreamlike fuzziness in my head clears a bit.  I pull away again, just in time to be swept away in another wave of kisses.  I’m gaining control over my body again, I think.  The tips of my fingers give an almost imperceptible twitch.

“Open your eyes for me,” comes the gentle command.  I oblige, blinking up at the moon overhead.  I crane my neck back down, taking in the man before me.  “There she is.  My good girl,” he praises me, and I tremble.

I can see him, now, the person that’s haunted these last few nights.  He’s… well… I wish I could say that he’s monstrous.  If anything, he’s so incredibly beautiful that I ache just looking at him.  The tone of his skin is pale as porcelain and flawless as far as I can see.  His hair is white, I note.  Like snow or clouds.  It’s slicked to the crown of his head from the water.  It’s long, like he’s never had a haircut in his life.  I note that it’s tied back with some sort of twine and threated through with shells and sea glass.

It’s his eyes that are the real centerpiece, though.  They’re so incredibly blue that they almost glow under the moonlight.

I shiver when they rake over my figure, taking in my sheer nightgown and bare legs.

He looks like any other athletic man from his head to his waist, I note.  But below that is where it becomes obvious that he’s not human.  I start to hyperventilate, gaze fixated on legs that are covered in patterned scales.  It’s too dark to see the color of them, but the swirling scales that twine up his waist are intricate.  He has a tail, too, my inner panic chimes in.  Like something halfway between a frog and a tadpole.

It’s an unflattering description for somebody so breathtaking.

But still…

Monster.

The dreamlike haze is swept away in the stormy winds of my mounting heartbeat.  He must sense my unease, because he’s quick to try to pacify me.

“It’s okay.  You’re safe.  I have you,” the man tries to cajole me.  He places his thumb under my chin, redirecting my attention back to his face.  “I won’t hurt you.  Never.”

I shake my head with a quick jerk.  I don’t believe him.  Not for a second.  Not when those teeth of his are meant for ripping and tearing, and not when I remember those same teeth clasped around the meat of my shoulder only a few nights prior.

Then I realize that I moved.  My body finally obeyed me.  To test it again, I will my fingers to twitch.  Whatever spell I’m under is rapidly fading.  That strange, syrupy feeling is rapidly being replaced by not fear, but anger.

Because how dare this fucking guy?!  How dare he stalk me?  How dare he invade the sanctity of my home and make me feel uneasy?  How dare he use some sort of messed up mind control to put the moves on me?

I’m suddenly wide awake and very much in control.

I boil over.  Pulling away out of his grasp, I put an arm’s length between us.  And the beautiful bastard watches with an awed look in those surreal blue eyes of his as I break free from his influence.  I want to slap him, I think, to knock that smitten look right off of his face.

So, I do.

It only takes an instant.

With my body finally obeying me, I reel back.  And I slap the strange fishman across the face.  The sound is sharp and vicious, given that our skin is wet.  Good.  I hope I leave a mark!

“What the hell do you want from me, you creep?!” my shriek echoes into the night.

[basicbatboys]

hiii can u do #47 with dick??

Hiya! Thank you for your request!

47 was "You look so cute when you can't speak properly" and so here is a fic based on this idea!

You stood, open-mouthed, blubbering nonsense as Nightwing stood in the wreckage of the three goons who had been chasing you down an alley. You didn’t know what to think, except that your best friend was right and that he is more handsome in person. The shots from the newspaper had nothing on the guy standing in front of you. 

He sauntered towards you, flashing me his trademark smile and you don’t know if you were seeing things but you think he winked at you. He placed his hands on his hips and stared you down. 

“You okay?” He asked, his face flashing with concern when he saw the state you were in. He rushed toward you and reached out his hands. “Can I touch you?”

You shook your head, then nodded, then sputtered, “I’m fine! N-Now. Now, I’m fine.”

He grinned and shook his head, pulling out a grappling hook. “You’re cute when you don’t know how to speak properly. Stay out of trouble, alright?” With that, he shot his hook onto a roof and took off into the night. 

As you walked home, you couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching you. It didn’t subside until you had locked your door and retreated into your bedroom for the night. 

___________

It had been three weeks since Nightwing saved you that brought you to where you are now. You’d seen him every night since then, he caught you while you were leaving work and the two of you got to talking.

“Are you some sort of stalker?” You asked him one night, laughing. 

“A stalker? No! I just take it as my personal mission to make sure pretty people make it home safe. Besides, the second time was an accident. It’s not my fault you work at the bar next to Bat Burger.” 

“Bat Burger? Really? I hear they spit in your food.”

“Well I hope they don’t stop because everything they

make is perfect just the way it is.”

You laughed and made a face. “Are you legally required to say that?”

He beamed. “I’m actually not legally required to say anything!”

___________

It had been one year since Nightwing saved you and that brought you to where you are now. You and he were having your usual midnight dinner of Bat Burger on the rooftop of the bank building. 

You stuck another fry in your mouth and laughed, smiling brightly. “You’re pretty cool, you know that?” You asked, looking over at him and then down at the street below you. Even in the middle of the night, the street was bustling with heavy traffic. People just like you were on their way home from work or out to get their own midnight dinners. 

“I don’t know how to take that.” He replied, scratching his head. “Is that a compliment?”

You nodded, sipping your soda. “Of course it is. Would I ever be mean to you?”

He shrugged. “Maybe, you might be someday.”

Suddenly, his comm buzzed and he stood and walked to the other side of the roof to take his call. When he returned, he looked distraught and distracted. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled. “I have to sneak out on our date. I’ll see you tomorrow okay?” With that, he was off, leaving you to wonder if you’d heard him correctly. Did he call this a date? Your heart fluttered with excitement. He did say that, didn’t he?

__________

It has been five years since Nightwing saved you and that brought you to where you are now. “Dick!” You yelled, slamming down a hand of Uno cards. “As in the derogatory term, not your name.” You said with a smirk. 

He laughed and rolled his eyes, shrugging. “Sorry sweetheart, I tried to warn you. I don’t lose at Uno.” 

You two were seated on the living room floor of the Wayne Manor. It was very new to you, all of this. It was only about a week ago that Nightwing had told you who he really was and invited you to his home to meet his family. You were still very unclear about what your relationship entailed because the two of you had known each other for a long time and the flirting was excessive but you could never make it official with someone who’s secret identity you didn’t know. Now that you knew who he was, you felt like there was opportunity for doors to open. Doors you definitely wanted to open. 

When you looked up, he had a goofy puppy look on his face and it made you laugh. “What are you looking at me like that for?” You asked. 

“I’m just happy, it’s such a relief to be honest and open with you. I’m so glad I got to tell you who I really am. I couldn’t take it anymore and Batman finally gave his blessing to let me let you in. You know, I really like you.”

Your heart fluttered in your chest and you stood up from the floor. “I really like you too.” You replied, clasping your hands together. “I’m glad you trust me.”

He stood too, walking toward you and putting his hands on your waist. You began to stutter, just like you did that first night. “I… Uh… What…?”

“Is this okay?” He asked, his hands moving to hover off of you. 

“Oh, yeah, of course, I’m just surprised is all.” You replied, stepping a little closer to him in a bold rush. 

“Surprised?” He countered, moving a hand to cup your cheek. 

You nodded. “Surprised.” 

He leaned down, your lips mere centimeters apart. “Well then I’m really about to shock you.” 

He closed the small gap and kissed you deeply and you felt unlike you’ve ever felt before in your life. Your body felt like it was on fire. Dick was the perfect man and here he was kissing you. 

He pulled away and gave you a small smile. “I’ve been wanting to do that forever.”

You felt so happy, so at peace, so… alive. You hoped this feeling would never end.

[jamdoughnutmagician]

Beware Of The Dog.

I wrote this little blurb about Fuckboy!Werewolf!Eddie based on this text post by @neonghostlights because the thought would not leave my brain until I wrote something about it.

Word Count:770

Masterlist Eddie Munson Masterlist

When he thinks back to how he used to be, he can't help the slight chuckle that rumbled through him.

Every night, prowling the dark streets of Hawkins, seemingly a new girl every night, as he smooth-talked them into his bed only to watch them leave as the morning came.

Stephanie Monroe, Katie Haywood, Nicole Prescott, Lizzie Davenport, even Tiffany Simmons to name but a few. He remembers all the girls names, cringing at the memory that he'd promise to call them as he ushered them out of his trailer door, knowing full well that he would never follow through on that promise.

Everyone on his pack had already found their other half, the one person who they would be with for the rest of his life, and here he was cycling through nearly half the girls in Hawkins with nothing seeming to stick.

That was until he laid eyes on you.

All those other girls paled into insignificance to you. In his eyes you were perfect. You were the one girl that he wanted. He was convinced that you were the one for him. His other half. His missing piece. His perfect and pretty little mate.

He saw you through the window in that small and quaint cafe, sipping on your hot coffee as you flick through the pages of a book.

This would be easy. All he’d have to do was turn on that ol’ Munson charm, and you’d be falling at his feet. 

Pushing his way through the door, the bell above him tinkling as he does, he walks up to the counter. He’d have to order something, it’d be weird to just walk in and start talking to someone without ordering anything.  

“One black coffee, two sugars please” he smiles politely.

He waits for his order, and sure enough he hears his name called out.

“Order for Munson!”

As he collects his order he sees you whip your head around at the mention of his name. Your eyes meet his across the cafe.

This was it. The perfect opportunity to put the moves on you. Time to seize the moment.

“Hey! Y/n, right?” Eddie starts as he makes his way over to where you’re sat.

“Yup, that’s me.” you nod with a kind smile.

“Hey, I’m Edd-” He’s just about to start introducing himself but you stop him in his tracks before he can say anymore.

“I know just who you are, Eddie Munson.” you say, narrowing your eyes at him. 

“Y-you do?” He stutters. 

“Mhm..does the name Nicole Prescott sound familiar to you?” you ask him.

Silence fills the air uncomfortably. You take his wild-eyed stare and tight-lipped smile as your cue to keep going.

“See, Nicole is a very close friend of mine, and I remember her telling me all about this wild and crazy night she had with this guy who promised to call her the next day, but then nothing ever came of it.”

Uh-oh. Eddie starts to feel his heart beat quicker. He’s not used to things not going his way.

“That guy sounds like he sucks.” He replies, trying to keep his cool, but the flush rising on his cheeks isn’t helping his case.

“He does, doesn’t he? Nicole told me he was the most handsome man she’d ever met. Long curly brown hair, deep brown eyes that you could get lost in, and a few tattoos as well. Said he had a couple of bat tattoos trailing up his forearm.” you say nodding to where Eddie’s bat tattoos were on display proudly.

Fuck. Why did he have to wear a short-sleeve t-shirt?

“I know your games, Munson. You ditched my friend and now you're moving on to me." you smirk.

Eddie’s mouth opens and closes, unsure of what to even say at this point. You had him marked from the moment you laid eyes on him, and you were not going to bend to his will as easily as he had hoped.

“I’m not so easily impressed by your less-than-gentlemanly tactics, so if you want to impress me, drop the playboy attitude, okay?” you tell him with a quirk of a wry smile playing at your lips.

You finish up your coffee and close your book, and make your way out of the cafe, blowing him a kiss as you leave. Leaving Eddie more than a little embarrassed and ashamed of his actions.

He was going to do whatever it took to prove you wrong. To show you that he could, and would change. For you. Anything to make you see that he could change his ways.

@sunflowerdaydreamer @xxhellfiregirlxx

[iwishpauldanowasreal]

Superstar - Greg Hirsch x Reader

1.3k - Author’s note: I love Greg, So I just had to write this. Also I might write a second one if this gets activity. :) enjoy

“Wait I have to piss first, wait for me outside” Tom slightly clapped his hands in front of Greg to scare him. Tom was satisfied enough when Greg slightly jumped in his chair and awkwardly laughed it off. “Of course! I see you out there then” Greg started to stand but Tom was already gone paying Greg no mind. 

Greg thanked the doorman then finding himself outside of the some 5 star restaurant that he couldn’t pronounce but Tom insisted they had the best steak or  lamb. To say the least Greg never ate lamb before and thought it was just fine. He began to look over to see Tom’s fancy limo about to step in trying to get away from outside. He heard your voice call to him. 

“Greg?” 

There you were standing in the middle of the street. Greg was going to avoid any person that called out his name, he learned that lesson from Roman. Never look in the way of people calling your name, they just want your attention or some lousy photo. But it was you. He could never forget your voice.

To be fair it has been a while since he heard it. Back in college when you two were best friends. Everyone knew you guys as close but never was told the secret kisses two of you would share. The little touches only he would get. To the simple eye, it was a shoulder touch but to him it was to meet you later to make out in a empty hallway. 

“Y/n!”

Greg quickly ran over to you. You saw his little run to you. He always carried himself a little differently being so tall. “Wow! I haven’t seen you in so long” You rolled your eyes playfully. “Yeah! What the hell, you avoided my texts and never replied” Greg forgot to mention that. After graduation Greg had a hard time finding a job while everyone else around him did. Even though he remembered how excited you were to start a job a few states away to become an editor. But he was embarrassed, practically living out of his car for a few months. He decided to avoid it all and just stopped talking to all his friends. Even you, which he didn’t think about until the moment you hit his shoulder. How did that affect you? Losing your best friend.

Greg’s face quickly went flat and you recognized that look from Greg being in his head. Quickly putting a stop to it. “Greg, Don’t worry. I’ve missed you” You took his shoulders and shook them a bit. Greg finally looked up at you and smiled. 

You couldn’t help but smile with him and laugh a bit. Same old Greg. You took a step back to get a full look at him with his outfit and shoes. “What’s up with you Mr Fancy. Your hair is so short. Oh My” You teased 

Greg always had his hair pretty shaggy and long. Now looking at him was a totally different person. The suit threw you off when you first spotted him. Greg would wear lame outfits and definitely go more comfort than fashion but now? He looked like a suitor who owns a huge company. “Yeah! It’s very cool! I have to put special stuff in my hair now, or else it won’t look right” He cheesed at you. He was clearly blushing, putting small piece hair behind his ear. 

“You look good Greg” He paused for a second. His heart was slightly beating faster and he let out another nervous laugh. “What about you! You’re editing, Why are you in New York. Wasn’t your job in.. “

He predicts to think about it hoping you cut him off. You wait for him to notice you aren’t taking his bullshit.

“Um”

 “Jersey”

“Jersey!!” He nodded his head. You couldn’t help but laugh at the cute way Greg got nervous. He was slightly rocking back and forth. “I quit that job one month in, I think. It was-“ There was suddenly a yell that came out behind Greg. “Greg!!” There stood another tall man in a suit just like Greg’s and waved a gesting wave to get in the car. Greg’s eyes widened which y/n noticed immediately.

“I’ve got to go. '' He deflated. You just couldn’t help but hug Greg. If there was one thing you missed about Greg it was most definitely his hugs, And boy did he deliver. He squeezes you tightly and slightly lifts you up in the most subtle and gentle way. You sighed softly as you pulled away. You debated in your head a little thinking of going headstrong with Greg. 

Before you fully pulled away you kissed his cheek before smiling at him sweetly. “Text me?” He stood there in disbelief. Just hugging you for that one second would have made his entire week. But also a light kiss? “Of course!” He nodded as you started to walk but in the coffee shop you were in earlier. He started to walk back but he couldn’t help himself but look back at you. 

“Who’s that?” Greg had hopped back into the limo and Tom quickly jumped on him with questions. “That hug looked intense. Tell me Greg who is she” Tom suddenly interested in Greg’s love life, or his life in general. “What are you talking about. She’s just a friend in college” Tom suddenly gasped and turned his whole attention towards Greg. “You dog!” 

Greg was red in the face and stuttered to say sometime to defend himself. “Did you guys sleep together?” Greg quickly shook his head. “No! I- No.” Tom suddenly did a read on Greg’s face and how it looked like a kicked puppy. “But you wanted to,” Greg just sighed heavily and looked away. “I mean, Yes. She’s beautiful” Tom leaned back suddenly getting bored, that wasn’t the reaction he wanted. 

“She is beautiful, I’ll give her that. But she isn’t anything” Tom just shrugged then suddenly pulled out his phone. “What do you mean?” Tom didn’t look up at Greg and was just texting who Greg assumed was Shiv. “She doesn't look rich or anything. That outfit“ Tom rolled his eyes and put his phone back into his suit pocket. “You can’t gain anything from her” 

-

Greg was pacing around his coffee table looking down at his phone. He just got off and was wondering if he should text her this late at night. “Shit” He yelped randomly and picked up his phone and began to text. “Hey. This is Greg, I was wondering if we can get coffee tomorrow morning at 9am” He quickly hit send and threw his phone.

Y/n just got out of the shower when you heard your phone go off. You smirked when you looked at your phone. It was an old photo of Greg. He was wearing a winter hat, and just looked perfect. One of his friends took the photo after you guys went out bar diving during winter break and decided at the last minute to have a snowball fight. 

Sitting down on your bed getting distracted by looking at old photos of Greg. He was your favorite. Everyone in the study group knew that you guys were stuck side by side. Your favorite part of the day is when class was over and you went to your dorm which Greg was always in. Luckily your roommate was gone most of the time, but the image of him passing out on your bed made you so soft. You would stare at him all day, you would either sneak photos or lean in super close and touch his hair and hear him breath. 

Luckily he never caught you, because explaining why you liked to watch him sleep was something you couldn’t do

[malereadermaniac]

Taylor Swift lyrics with Your Crush

Male reader / Male crush Word count: 830 m!reader (no genitalia mentioned) / FDNI

"You should take it as a compliment that I got drunk and made fun of the way you talk" ~ Gorgeous

After you notice your feelings for him, you try your best to hide them

So your version of flirting is by making fun of him

He loves that, and when you two are drunk at a party, he can't help but chuckle at you blushing while you make fun of his 'gorgeous- weird way of talking'

"I don't like anticipating my face in a red flush, I don't like that anyone would die to feel your touch" ~ Gold Rush

You're both popular

He watches as guys jokingly flirt with you and how girls treat you like their boyfriend

He hates it, he can't stand that people would die to have a snipet of what it would be like to date you

You hate how he gets with a girl at almost every party he goes to

And you hate it even more that you know he does that, but still feel a blush come onto your face when he jokes around with you

"I don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you, I don't wanna think of anything else now that I've thought of you" ~ Daylight

You're in the standard delusionship, or at least you see it that way

You're thoughts consist of only him and you're eyes aren't on any other guy

To him, this isn't a delusionship, he likes you

He gets with girls at parties but thinks of you during the whole thing

He can't look away from you when you laugh at one of his jokes or when you avert your gaze from his eyes

"I laid the groundwork and then saw a wide smirk, on your face, you knew the entire time, you knew that I'm a mastermind" ~ Mastermind

You did the usual stalking, Instagram amd facebook

Even spotify, then proceeding to introduce songs in his playlist to your posts on Instagram

You didn't know that he noticed really easily

Using the opportunity to reply to your stories with "I love that song" over a long period of time

He liked thinking about you thinking you've outsmarted him and that your plans were laid perfectly

"I know places we won't be found... I know places we can hide" ~ I know places

He's still closeted

So getting together was hard, but he liked you so much he'd spent hours figuring out when and where the two of you could hang out

Mostly at one of your houses, but the few times you two got risky and had real dates, you two were always secretive and posted elusive stories instead of eachother

Of course you two get caught once or twice, but playing it off as a friendly hang out is pretty easy

It's explaining the hand-holding that's harder to do

"I pictured you with other girls, in love, then threw up on the street" ~ Hits Different

Talking about past relationships to each other makes you both feel uneasy

You hate thinking of him being happy with other people, but especially girls

It makes you feel very insecure

A natural feeling, but it makes your heart skips a beat when he kisses your hand and says 'but none of them could ever compare to you'

His blood boils on the other hand when you mention previous partners

When you two were talking about what you like sexually, you mentioned liking what someone else had done before and he wouldn't stop doing it until you said he did it better...

He's also very subtly protective of you when exes approach you at school, passive aggressive remarks and insults hidden under the guise of banter

"I'm still on that trapeze, I'm still trying everything to keep you looking at me" ~ mirrorball

He compliments you a lot

He knows that you tend to get insecure from time to time, so he constantly mentions things he likes about you

You two go to the gym together, and he notices how you look at yourself in the mirror

So he always tries to cheer you up with remarks like "*whistles* damn I bagged a baddie, baby"

He makes you laugh, and he makes you feel worthy

However, he's worse than you

Everytime you mention a celebrity or call someone attractive in passing, he thinks about what that person has that he doesn't

You know that he tries to change himself a lot for you, so you're always complimenting him and saying you love specific things about him

"Remember how I said I'd die for you?" ~ False God

He's crazy about you, he can't get enough of you really

He's even willing to doe for you

So 2 years in, he came out to his friends and family

Luckily everyone was super accepting, but the gesture made your heart warm

You loved him a lot too, so so much

Yo yo yo! If you think of any other T Swizzle lyrics feel free to send them :)

[vimara00]

All thanks to the cat (Shigaraki X F!Reader) by Vi ✨

Hi everyone! It's Vi ✨ Today I decided to write something about our crusty boy, he needs to be loved ❤️ I hope you enjoy! (Sorry if there are any grammatical mistakes, english is not my first language 🙏🏻)

Warnings: mention of blood but fluff anyway

All character reservations to Horikoshi

While the league of villains' location was still unknown, Tomura could walk around the neighborhood wearing a hoodie to hyde his face just in case someone recognised him. He wasn't a morning person so usually all his scapes from the hideout were at night, probably to get coffee or some snacks as an excuse to get away from the others.

On his way to the convince store, he saw a cute kitten in the middle of the street. It looked a little lost and terrified of its surroundings but Shigaraki paid no attention and kept walking. That was until he heard a car speeding towards the cat and, without thinking, he ran across the street to grabbed it and pushed both himself and the animal to the sidewalk. The car stopped a few meters away from them and the driver got out of vehicle to check if everything was ok. Unfortunately for him, Tomura is not one to forgive so, in the blink of an eye, he decayed the guy and left with the kitten. The little thing seem to appreciate his gesture as it started to rub its head on him. That's when the villain realised it had a collar with a telephone number. He contemplated for many minutes if he should gave the cat back to its owner or take it with him. However, he couldn't go back to the league with a kitten, they would saw him as someone weak so he surprisingly opted for calling the owner.

It was 11 PM and they probably won't pick up but he gave it a try anyways. At the second tone, a girly voice sound from the other side of the line and Shigaraki just froze on the spot. He was not expecting for them to respond and even worst, for it to be a girl.

"Hi, is someone there?" The angelic voice said and Tomura realised he should say something before she hang up "Hey I - I found your cat on the street and it was almost hit by a car..." "Omg! Noooooo, did something happened to him?! Please tell me he is okay!" "Yeah...he is here with me, may you pick him up? I'm in front of the convince store" "Yes!! I'll be right there! Wait for me, don't go please" And their conversation ended

Tomura started to sweat thinking that a woman was coming and he didn't know what to say or how to even talk a female. But then he thought about what would happened if she recognised him, he definitely would've to kill her but all those thoughts were out of the window once he saw her. Oh, how he wasn't prepared for such a sight! A curvy short girl appeared from around the corner and her face lighted up once she saw them. Her h/c hair was a little bit messy and apparently, she was wearing a nightgown under a big jacket that cover most part of it. Tomura brain was malfunctioning at this point and his heart beat so fast he swore it would come out his chest.

"Oh, thanks god Sombra (means shadow in Spanish) it's ok! I've been looking for him all day but couldn't find him anywhere! Your are such a lifesaver! Thank you so much" the pretty girl was almost crying as she grabbed her cat while giving it a few kisses and Shigaraki heart almost skipped a beat at the sight.

"What's your name, mysterious knight in shining armour?" She looked at him with a smile on her face and it took a few seconds for him to respond because of how flustered he was "I'm Tomura" "Nice to meet you, Tomura! I'm y/n" She extended her hand waiting for him to shake hers but before he could reacted, the e/c eyed girl grabbed his hand and shake it enthusiasticly

He was staring at her, waiting for the inevitable moment of her turning to dust. However, it never came as she separated from him and kept talking about something he couldn't catch on.

What had happened? Why didn't she turned into dust like the others? He started to scratch his neck as she turned to look at him worryingly.

"Sorry if I'm overstepping a boundary but your neck is bleeding a little bit, let me..." Y/n didn't finished her sentence as she reached her hand to his neck and suddenly, all scratch marks and blood was gone

"How did you do that?" He asked curiously about what her quirk was and also wondering why someone as sexy as her would get near or even help someone like him " I have a sanation quirk! I can cure from a headache to a missing limb and it also makes my body immune to some attacks. Cool, isn't it?" She wink at him and the air left his lungs for a moment. God, was she beautiful! "Yeah, it's a pretty cool quirk"

"Well, it's getting late so I probably should be going" Oh no, it's the first time he found someone who he couldn't turned into dust and also the first girl to look at him and not be disgust and she was already leaving. Tomura thought this was some kind of sick joke fate played with him where it would showed him the best piece of god's creation and then, take it away from him. Because freaks like him never get the girl even if they are willing to burn the whole world for them. But sometimes, fate plays with very interesting cards and makes unexpected happen

"Hey I'm... After all you've done for Sombra the least I could do is invite you to lunch sometime! Maybe somewhere quite where we could talk...What do you say?" She said as her cheeks turned red and she avoid looking at him

Shigaraki was not expecting her to invite him to hang out but he wouldn't complained. He felt flustered that a cute girl such as her wanted to go out with him. He couldn't believed his luck! He actually considered this being a dream and he didn't want to wake up anytime soon

"Yes, I would like that" he tried to smile as her eyes shined with excitement "Great! I'll give you my number so we can communicate and see when or where we could go!" If this wasn't the best day of his entire life, when y/n kissed his cheek as a goodbye, it definitely was!

Let's just say that Tomura came back to the hideout with more than a few snacks

______________________

Bonus

Him: Hi, It's Tomura

Him: Hope you and sombra arrived ok

Cute girl: Hiii Tomura!

Cute girl: Yes we did! He is already sleeping.

Cute girl: Too much adventure for him 😜

Cute girl: Thanks again for saving him! I own you one 🙏🏻

Him: It's ok, he was too cute to ignore

Cute girl: hahaha yeah! He is the cutest

("You are the cutest" He wanted to say but thought it was too early for that)

Cute girl: *picture attached* ( y/n with Sombra on bed)

Cute girl: Ready for bed! Hope u have a good night sleep! See you soon, Tomura 😘

(Oh, his soul left his body after that.

He probably won't admit that he watched that photo every night before bed. He should buy a treat to that cat when he sees it again)

[lionlena]

Dancing With Your Ghost (JavierPeñaxreader) Part XI

Summary: You are a ghost (sort of) and you don’t  remember  what  happened to you. You only know your name and you feel  that  something  bad has happened to you. The only person who sees you  and  hears you is  Javier, so you don’t leave him because you believe  he’ll  help you. That he will solve the mystery of what happened to you.

Warnigs:   the reader was a ghost, sadness, past trauma, mention of coma, just sweet, lovely, comforting, and caring Javi!!! Because after everything they through, they deserve all happiness the world, smut, NSFW, fingering, unprotect p in v, semi-public sex (sort of), Just sweet, loving and a little insecure Javier.

A/N: Title inspired by this song

Part XI

After your first night together, Javier stopped hiding how he felt about you and showed it openly. He held your hand, kissed you, and hug you every time he was close to you. He also went back to his room, which became "your" room. You also started to think about your future together. Javier, however, was still unsure whether he wanted to buy a house or build one.

That's what you were discussing as you walked down the street.

"What do you think of this house we saw today?" he asked and grabbed your hand.

"Hmmm, he's nice, but... A bit far from your dad."

Javier nodded. "Yes, if he needs my help, it will take me an hour to get to him, and if the roads are flooded, then... Even two hours. I think the best option really is to build a house on that part of the land he gave me." You stopped suddenly and looked at him. "What happened?"

"Nothing, it just all still sounds so... unreal." He placed his hand on your cheek and patiently waited for your next words. "You, me, talking about building a house... Until a month ago, I was in a relationship with someone who was worse than a child. It's all happening so fast."

Javier immediately felt uneasy and quietly asked, "Don't you want that?"

You smiled and moved closer to him, placing your hands on his chest. "I want to, but I don't know how I'm so lucky."

"You?" He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you even closer to him. "While I was in Colombia, I was in chaos and teetering on the edge of what was right until you came along and turned my life upside down." You smiled and stroked his cheek. "After I lost you, I thought I'd spend the rest of my life alone because I couldn't love or trust anyone else. So, I know it's all happening fast, but I think we've wasted enough time already. " He leaned in and kissed you, not caring about the people passing by.

When you ended a kiss you said: "So, let's build a house and rent that apartment we saw yesterday. That way we'll have more privacy."

"Wonderful idea, mi amor " he replied and pecked you on the cheek.

You pulled away and grabbed his hand again to continue walking. A few minutes later you stopped suddenly and sighed seeing the beautiful dress in the shop window.

Javier wrapped his arms around you from behind and rested his chin on your shoulder. "Do you like it?" he purred.

"Yes."

"Try it on and I'll buy it for you if it suits you."

You shook your head. "No... It's too pretty. Where will I wear it?"

"Hmm. I think you'll need it for Saturday night."

You turned to him and asked, "What's on Saturday night?"

Javier gave you one of his mischievous smiles and licked his lips. "I remember well that I promised you something when you were still a ghost." He waited a moment, but seeing the surprise on your face, added: "I was supposed to take you to the dance."

Your heart beat faster and you smiled widely. "And will you take me this Saturday?"

Javier nodded and grabbed your hand, pulling you towards the store.

*

The dress fits you perfectly and you were really excited about the dance night. It was actually supposed to be your first date. Until Saturday, you walked around all overjoyed, and when the time finally came, the excitement was vibrating in you. You got hot when you saw Javier. He was wearing black jeans and a fitted dark blue shirt that perfectly showed off his muscular arms and waistline.

Javier held his breath as you stood in front of him. He'd seen you in your new dress before and knew it complimented your curves wonderfully, but when you added makeup and hair to it, he was speechless.

"Mi amor " he croaked and walked over to you. "You are looking so beautiful."

You smiled as he placed his hands on your hips. You smelled his cologne and bit your lip. "You too."

He leaned in and whispered in your ear, "Then maybe we'll change our plans and..."

You narrowed your eyes and patted his chest. "Don't even think about it! You promised!"

He chuckled and kissed you on the cheek. "Come on, don't pout. I was just joking."

He led you to the car and like a true gentleman opened the door for you.

The place where you arrive resembled a large wooden barn. There were tables on either side of the room. The music band was on the dais. There was also a small bar where you could buy some snacks and drinks. You liked it, but you liked Javier's behavior even more. He confidently held his hand on the bottom of your back. He was standing close to you as if he wanted to let all the other guys know that you were his and he would defend you to the last drop of his blood.

"Come on hermosa, let's get a table for us."

He greeted several people along the way, and you couldn't shake the feeling that everyone was watching you closely.

Javier pulled out a chair for you and waited for you to sit down. As he took his seat, you asked, "Does everyone here know you?"

He laughed slightly and shook his head. "Some people know me personally, and for the rest, I'm just a legend, someone who hunted Escobar." You nodded and he grabbed your hand. "But I'm only here for you."

You smiled and looked at the dancers. This did not escape his notice and he immediately stood up. He took your hand and when you stood up he pulled you to his chest and placed a kiss on your lips.

"Javi," you murmured.

He licked his lips and replied, "I couldn't resist myself. Now come on my little ghost. Let's dance."

Your date passed in a wonderful atmosphere. You danced and then returned to the table to catch your breath and drink something. You even met some of his friends and liked them. Javier for the whole time cared for you and showed his love.

You have returned to your seat once again. You plopped down onto your chair and smiled widely. You felt your cheeks heat up and suspected you didn't look as great as before, but Javier didn't care.

You grabbed your glass but it was empty. He got up immediately. "I'll bring you a drink right away, mi amor ."

You felt warmth spreading in your chest at the thought of how loving and caring he was. You smiled as you watched him disappear into the crowd. You didn't even notice that a blonde girl had joined you. When she turned to you, you jumped in surprise.

"So you're Javier Peña's new prey?"

You looked at her surprised and cleared your throat saying, "I'm his girlfriend."

The woman smiled maliciously. "Well, good for you, that you aren't his future wife."

You raised your eyebrow up. This woman was getting on your nerves. You thought maybe she was Javier's ex-girlfriend and trying to get revenge on him. "Excuse me? Who are you anyway?"

She placed her hand theatrically on her chest. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Caroline, the sister of the woman that jerk left at the wedding altar."

You couldn't hide the surprised gasp that escaped your lips, and she was clearly enjoying it.

"Look, I have nothing against you. It's obvious you don't know who you've been dealing with. I just want to warn you, think about it."

You pursed your lips into a tight line and force yourself not to hit her. "You don't know anything about me or Javi," you hissed. "You don't know what we have in common, and if you're trying to talk me into leaving him for the mistakes he's made in the past, you're the dumbest fucking person ever."

The woman gasped in annoyance and was about to say something when Javier appeared right behind her.

"Caroline," he murmured. "What are you doing?"

The woman stood up and glared at him. "Oh, nothing. I just wanted to save another woman from heartbreak, but..." She gave you a contemptuous look. "She's so naive, I think she deserves it."

Javier stood by you and growled at the blonde: "Leave us!"

The woman walked away with a contented smile, and you let out a shaky breath. This whole situation has dramatically worsened your mood. You knew Javier had a complicated past. He didn't tell you everything, but you could have guessed it. And you weren't really mad at him, you were mad at Caroline. How dare she interfere in your relationship? She didn't know shit about what you've been through.

Javier had no problem noticing your nervousness. He knelt down beside you and placed his hands on your lap. "Y/N, angel..."

"I think we should go back now."

He looked at you sadly, but then nodded and stood up. You silently got into the car and drove home.

Javier was so furious and heartbroken at the same time. He could protect you from a drug gang, from your ex, from aggressive men, from loneliness, from lack of love, but he couldn't protect you from his own past.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I should have told you earlier."

You saw Javier grip the steering wheel tightly and finally, you said, "Just stop here."

"What?" he glanced at you.

"Right now, pull over!" You didn't want your voice to be so stern, and you felt a pang in your heart at the sight of his insecure gaze.

Javier stopped the car and sighed heavily. He was prepared to argue and felt so resigned. He jumped slightly when he felt your gentle hand on his cheek.

"Look at me, honey." You tried to keep your voice soft and loving. You've seen how insecure he is. "What did you know about my past when I was a ghost?"

He frowned at your strange question. "You know that. Just your name."

You nodded and smiled. "Exactly. And yet you loved me. I could have been a terrible person. Cheating on a boyfriend or... Just being a bad person, but you still loved me for who I was." You moved closer to him. "And I want you to understand that I love you too, despite your past."

You leaned in and kissed him, and he instantly pulled you even closer. As you pulled away, he gasped, "I don't deserve you."

You laughed. "Maybe not, but... I'm going to stay with you for the rest of my life."

You saw your confession take his breath away. Before he could say anything, you turned up the radio volume and jumped out of the car shouting, "Come on."

He came out and looked at you surprised: "What are you doing?"

You grabbed his hands and with a smile, you replied: "I'm dancing with your ghost."

Javier started laughing and grabbed you by the waist. He thought he couldn't love you more, and yet you made all his pain and insecurity disappear. You just forgave him of his past sins, expecting nothing but love in return.

And he was going to give it to you. All his soul, heart, and love.

Javier grabbed you by the hips and lifted you quickly onto the hood of the car. You yelped in surprise and he immediately moved between your legs and started kissing your neck. He placed his hands on your lap and spread your legs apart. You felt his long fingers travel up your panties and held your breath as he started stroking your clit.

"Javi" you moaned against his ear. "Someone might see us."

"This road is less traveled," he replied and continued massaging your pussy.

He showered your neck and shoulder blades with wet kisses, his fingers successfully working to bring you to the brink of pleasure.

"I've been thinking about what you said. About staying with me for the rest of your life." You bit your lip as he pushed one finger inside you and you struggled to focus on what he was saying. His thumb was still playing with your clit. "When I left you in the hospital, curandera said I was making a mistake because we are soul mates." You dug your fingers into his arms as you felt your orgasm approaching. "I think she was right."

You threw your head back and moaned loudly, "Javier!!!"

He smiled as you tried to catch your breath. He pulled away from you for a moment, took off your underwear, and unzipped his fly, working a while to get his cock out. He grabbed your thighs and pulled you down, but you were still sitting on the hood of the car.

"God, you're so beautiful, so hot... And I want you to be mine forever."

You felt his penis against your entrance and nodded. "I want to be yours."

Slowly and lovingly he entered you. He wrapped one hand around you to keep you steady while the other caressed your breasts. Your moans mingled together in the cold air.

"Javi…" you pitifully whined

"I'm here, cariño," he purred as his hand from your breasts traveled down your stomach until he finally started rubbing your clit.

You wrapped your arms around his neck as he sped up his movements.

"Please, angel... I need... I want to feel you... Tightening on my cock," he gasped.

You were more than willing to give him anything he asks for. You moaned loudly as your orgasm came.

Javier felt your pussy tighten around his cock. This drove him to the limit. His movements became more chaotic and he suddenly stopped and fill you with his seed with a loud moan.

He wrapped his arms around you tightly and began to roam your back with his hands, still buried deep inside of you.

Suddenly you heard someone coming. As the car stopped, you felt yourself turn red but dared to look at the driver.

Caroline was redder and more embarrassed than you. Her mouth opened wide, like a fish out of water. You couldn't help but smirk and then gave her the middle finger.

Javier had just had time to glance to the side as the tires squealed away.

"Was it Caroline?"

You giggled and squealed, "Yes!" After a while, you added, "Fuck, her!"

Javier started kissing your cheeks and mumbled, "Oh no, no... I'd rather fuck my sweet little ghost."

You started laughing. After a moment, Javier buried his face in your shoulder and you slipped your hand in his hair.

He finally came out of you and helped you adjust your dress and put on your panties. But before you got into the car, he hugged you tight, kissed your hair, and whispered, "I love you, angel... I've never loved anyone like this before and I'll never leave you. I'll give you all of me."

You buried your face in his chest and felt tears welling up in your eyes, but they were tears of happiness.

*

Part X

Part XII

Taglist: @aestheticangel612​​​​​​ @kittenlittle24​​​​​​ @hxpburn76 @creedslove​​​​​​ @ranahx​​​​​​ @yyiikes​​​​​​ @fuglyputa24​​​​​​    

[maxslibrary]

Can I request poly Shiver and Fry challenging the reader to one of the "combative courtship rituals" heard about in sunken scroll 5 but the reader doesn't know about them since they are new to the Splatlands

A Splatfest Of The Heart (Shiver Vs Frye X Reader)

You were just hanging outside of Crush Station, minding your own business. You had moved to the Splatlands a while ago and you were still getting used to a lot of the customs around here. You were sipping some soda as you sat on the stool. You watched as folks of varying shapes and sizes walked around the street.

Suddenly you saw a few of the Splatlandians look back in shock as someone walked through the crowd. The inkling had yellow hair and long ears. You could see her purple tinted fingers. You recognized this inkling, it was Frye! She appeared to be dressed in a leather jacket and spiky wristbands.

You tilted your head at her before you looked over as another figure emerged from the other side of the street. She was an octoling with blue hair and red fingertips. Shiver, it was Shiver. She also appeared to be dressed like a biker.

You looked.. confused as you looked at the two. Both were inkfish you had known personally but you also knew them as two members of Deepcut, this could be something to advertise the next Splatfest. You sipped your soda at the thought, suddenly noticing the lack of Big Man. Odd. So this wasn't a Splatfest thing. Either way the surrounding crowd seemed pretty jazzed about it.

Suddenly Shiver spoke up "Tch.. nice to know you're not a coward, Frye." she posed, placing her fingers on her forehead, staring daggers at Frye. "Tough talk for the octoling who lost the flavor splatfest." Frye smirked at Shiver. The octoling's face turned bright red "YOU ALSO LOST THE CHOCOLATE SPLATFEST!" "Yeah but I didn't loose the last two splatfests." the inkling responded casually.

"WHATEVER! We're not here to debate splatfests.. our battlefield for today is love.." Shiver announced, crossing her arms. Suddenly you stopped sipping your soda, noticing it was empty. You shook around the empty cup, your eyes locked on it. Looking back at the street you noticed the two Inkfish walk towards you and your heart stopped.

"What in cod is going on..?" you whispered as the idols walked up to your table. Frye placed her hand on the table, smoothly gazing at you. "Heyyy Y/N.. what's cooking good looking?" the inkling purred at you as Shiver rolled her eyes in the background.

"Please. CLEARLY you don't know a thing about romance, Frye." Shiver shoved Frye out of the way, causing you to jolt in shock. You noticed how no one besides you seemed to really react. "My darling Y/N how does the sun shine on you this lovely day~?".

Suddenly you spoke out "Nothing besides utter confusion. What ARE you two doing right now?". Shiver and Frye looked at each other, genuinely shocked.

"You don't know..?" They said in unison. You shook your head, drumming your fingers as you look at them in confusion.

"We're having a rumble!" Frye started. "It's when two inkfishes fall for the same person and they proceed to playfully roughhouse until the winner is decided." Shiver explained, checking her nails. "Don't forget about the delinquent clothes!" Frye brushed off her leather jacket and adjusted her spiked bracelets.

You pause, your face going red as you realized "You both.. are in love with me?". They both nodded, causing you to look at the ground, flustered. "Wow.. that's... wow." You got up "Well I guess I'll have to decide then.." you hummed as you walked down the steps.

Shiver and Frye followed you, much akin to a pair of lost puppies, eagerly waiting to see who you'd choose. You turned back "After I think about it for a few days." you continue. The two inkfishes are left in shock as you walk away.

Suddenly the octoling stands up straight as she lends a hand to Frye "Truce?" the inkling shakes her hand "Truce."

[ladythornofrivia]

Endless Reds and Blues

Here's the link for the synopsis and the chapter list--read chapter 1 first Pair: Kakucho x Reader

(Warning: Inappropriate jokes and dialogue that includes bullying, gossiping and other things that aren't appropriate--dark content--for people under 18 (if you're under 18, I'm sorry but you can't read this)(Yes, I have to say it twice XD)

Author’s Note: I really enjoy writing this story so much. Something about writing a new chapter in this series makes me giddy inside. (Note: Report if someone decides to steal the synopsis and my story. And notify me. Thank you) ❤️

Chapter Two: Scars Bleed Like Petals

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Everyone didn't know what you were saying, but all know you're saying in a different language with a rage look on your face with the 1000 page thick, hardcover book above your head with your clutched hands. It could only mean one thing from you.

In your mind it's avenge. To them, it's a petty revenge.

You won't let it slip. You can't help it.

Himiko was the only person who made an effort of speaking to you, despite interrupting you and making ruckus noises on a wrong time whenever you're busy concentrating with your personal time quietly during lunch. Himiko shared homework answers with you, and shared notes with you in case you missed a word from a teacher's fast-talking lecture. And Himiko provides you with lunch that you never asked for. She didn't have to insist herself on looking out for you, but your heart softened when Himiko is being genuine on speaking to you, she wasn't like the rest of your classmates who is constantly uppity and paranoid about your existence.

Unlike the rest, Himiko doesn't have ulterior motives.

Ever since you transferred to a new school in Japan during first week, Himiko is your first acquaintance, and you're thankful for her.

Seeing Himiko cry was the last straw of being annoyed by self-righteous people.

Though physical rush in your veins is something you've never done before. Usually, you mind your own business, you like to stick your eyes and nose into the pages, eyes always looking down and never hoped for something good to come. Like here, in your original homeland, you mind your own business. You never stick to anyone's drama, not the people you knew at your old school. Like people here at this school, with the old "friends" you have back in your original homeland, they don't give a shit about you, so why give a shit about them when they're in trouble from getting into fights and drama and superficial talk?

They never liked talking to you or getting to know you; they pretend you don't exist--treated you like trash--unless they need something from you or dragged you onto the spot to pick a side. Or makes a 'joke' about you in front of others to make themselves look like a good jokester.

There's never a two-way street. That's where you stop befriend your 'friends', and prioritize yourself above others entirely; you wouldn't let anyone hurt your self-respect and boundaries. You hated superficial people, people like those who aren't acting from kindness, but for good reputation and image. People who manipulate other people for fun. Pretty people who manipulated others to get away scot-free.

Moving into Japan wasn't any different until Himiko. And seeing Himiko suffer by a superficial group of men cause a wreck in your tranquil consciousness and your self-prioritization. Like those young men, where girls constantly fawn over since your arrival in your new school, struck a nerve. You're tired of hearing their crappy conversations.

Thunderous footsteps barged into Tenjiku's direction.

Sanzu, who was laughing with his friends, didn't hear from someone in the crowd, calling out to him. Even when everyone is watching in silence.

"Sanzu!" someone said in panic.

Loudness of your footsteps became closer to reach Tenjiku's ears.

Sanzu pivoted his head over from someone's voice as he saw you brought your arms down in a fast motion and struck hard against Sanzu's visage, as Sanzu's body knocked down in a flash that no one realized he's already down with a sharp thud.

Behind you, Sanzu's fans screeched, as if he's gone for good.

You swung again for a greater impact, but this time the taller guy with two-braided hair and violet eyes grasped the book you held, to put to a stop, with ease.

He smiled at you. "I think you've done enough, sweetheart," he said in a cool voice.

Swiftly, he confiscated your book.

"I'll be taking this with me," he said with a sincere grin. "Rindou, Kakucho, drop Sanzu off at the nurse's office. Looks like he took a big blow."

Kakucho and Rindou carried Sanzu and wrapped his arms over their shoulders, and dragged unconscious away, and Bonten is nowhere to be seen, which leaves you stranded. As you turned around, everyone who saw the scene, backed away from you, whispering.

"She's a psychopath," one girl said.

"I knew we're right not to be friends with that red-headed freak," the other girl said.

"I guess it proves everyone's theory about how red-haired chicks are always the craziest ones."

The rest of the day, you kept quiet throughout the school hours, and the people around you kept whispering whilst laid their eyes on you, even your head is turned.

*~~*~~*

Day by day, you became the hot topic of everyone's discussion. That and Tenjiku. Day by day, girls who are waiting for Sanzu's recover, he received complimentary of pink flowers and well-decorated letters. Some were loving. Some were casually friendly, telling Sanzu to go well soon. As Tenjiku strolled by, all of their admirers clapped about their heroic bravery.

Himiko get a treatment from the nurse's office. As for you, you received nothing but a cold glares, unafraid to talk about you whether you're in front of them or behind your back. Everyday, you cleaned your desk, from earning profanity written in thick, black ink, with rubbing alcohol and wet wipes.

Nine days later, as you approached towards your shoe locker, unlocking it, you received a bunch of sharp push pins, mini dolls version of you and ripped papers.

Cursing to yourself, you picked up the papers, realizing these are the letters from Sanzu's fans, all contained in red ink, somewhat intentionally resembled as if the slanders were written in blood.

"Apologize to my husband!"

"Freak!"

"Loyal Mad Dog is coming to get you. You better watch out!"

"I wish you got injured instead of him!"

"You're better off gone. Nobody likes you."

"Slut."

"Bonten isn't going to hold back the next time they see you."

"I can't believe you touched my beloved Ran. Apologize to him, too!"

"You're a monster to the society. We don't need you here!"

"Red-headed bitch!"

"We're going to avenge him by taking you out."

"When you read this, I want you to repent and wish that you have never been born. You're a disgrace."

"We don't need a new student. Everything is perfect when you're not here!"

"Himiko should've been honored from talking to Sanzu, and you ruined her spotlight."

"You ruined everything. Go take a leap."

You drew a long, shuddering sigh. Oh, boy. These people are getting on my nerves. They nearly ruined my shoe locker. If only I have a lighter to burn these stupid letters.

Crumpling the papers, you dumped them into trash can and drew a spit on it, then proceeding to go to the classroom. Before entering, you heard a couple of girls outside the classroom, gossiping regarding you.

"What should we do?" the girl with pigtails said.

"We have to take her out," the other girl with an awful cut bangs suggested.

"By what? We're not allowed to bring anything that causes us expulsion."

"You know what they say, "eye for an eye"," the third girl with ponytail said with sinister smile. "We have to bring a thick book to smash her down that she won't be conscious anymore."

"Oh, that's a good idea," the girl with pigtails clapped with joy.

"All we have to do is to steal the same book that Ran took from her and beat the shit out of her slutty existence."

"I'll go post it on social media, for everyone to see how stupid she is."

"And how stupid she looks."

Girls's roaring laughter echoed.

Regardless you entered the said hall and bumped three girls on purpose, which you earned a delightful sound of pain coming from them.

"Watch where you're going, bitch."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to act so slutty," you said. "I guess by now you're trying to act like a victim and pin the blame on me."

"What?" the girl with pigtails said.

"What the hell are you talking about? We were just talking about what we're going to eat today," the girl with ponytail said.

"By eating you mean trying to beat the shit out of me with the book that Ran took from me and try to knock me unconscious with?" you smiled, seeing their faces grew mortified.

You went near them and gave your book to one of the girls, but the girl shoved it back. "I don't want your stupid book!"

"Oh? I thought you said you wanted to beat the shit out of me after taking the book from Ran. If you wanted to beat me, you could've just asked. We could post a video about it, too!" you said with a hysterical laughter.

Three girls slowly backed away, their forearms signaled a slight twitch.

"I never said that," the girl with bangs said.

"Yeah, you're wrong--you misheard us!"

"Go on," you said, shoving it back and angled one of the girls' hands, guided at your face. "Beat me, injure me," you added with a menacing smile, eyes widened, you felt your blood sparked like fireworks. You were angry, but you couldn't care less. You wanted to get over with this shenanigans. "Then you could finally be a hero and tell your dear future husband Sanzu and Ran about this." You smile grew wider, and your features grew distinctly sharp and clouded in void. Your grey eyes were no longer alive and friendly, rather cold and dark.

Hollow.

"You have no right to talk down to us just because we look different from you," the girl with ponytail yowled.

You ignored her. "Go ahead. Don't act like a sensitive coward. Show me how you're going to beat me--show me what's like to have a victorious moment of getting 'eye for an eye' for me. Avenge them by taking me out," I coaxed them.

"Show me!" you yelled in English, patience wearing thin.

All three girls screamed and scrammed.

"Oh, if you ever get my book back, make sure it's clean so you can beat me when no one is around to witness my karma!" you shouted loudly and cheerily for the screaming girls to hear.

When you finally let your method acting of being a cynical maniac down, your tears threatened to fall. You couldn't be confident to face anyone anymore.

I'm such a disgrace. I shouldn't have made another mistake.

*~~*~~*

During lunchtime, you weren't in the classroom. You couldn't stand their mumbles anymore. Staying at the rooftop would be the best alternative for you to remain sane around idiots in an educational system.

You didn't bother listen to music, neither reading. Every time you hold a book, your classmates backed away from you. All you do is to sit there and think about how you're going to talk to your parents about switching schools once they have spare time. But even you do, bad record follows you everywhere, there's no way to change or erase it.

Instead of a promised stilled life of you minding your own business--your personal quiet time in your world, you received a negative attention from admirers, schemers and liars alike.

Behind you, the rooftop's door creaked.

"If you come here to scold me about how I hit their precious husband, I'll try to find a way to redeem myself," you said without looking back.

"You don't have to redeem yourself," a voice replied.

"Himiko," you said, then looking back at the clear sky. "Why are you here?"

"I was worried about you," Himiko said, standing closer.

"Sanzu recovered," you said. "I overheard it from your friends. They're celebrating about now."

Himiko shook her head. "You weren't being your usual self whenever I try to talk to you."

You ignored her, playing with the hem of your school skirt.

"You've been ignoring me for ten days, and you're trying to ignore me now. Why?"

"Because if I talk to you, your friends will think you'll become like me. They'll cast you out if you try to associate with a disgusting bitch like me," your voice croaked, but keep it hidden. "They're right. I should know my place instead of putting up with someone else's. I should've let them walk all over me whenever there's a chance."

Himiko shook her head once more. "They're all talk and no bite. What you're doing in the first place is right. None of my friends ever stood up for me once. Yeah, I'm clumsy, but I try my best to repair the mistakes I made."

"Those guys are going to think you're a lamb to a slaughter," I remarked. "You saw how they look; they aren't going to hold back if there's no people around."

"That doesn't matter. It matters most when you defended me. Even though smacking Sanzu's head can make everyone as your enemy, but I believe you did a right choice. He's a total nut-job."

You scoffed in amusement. "True."

Himiko sat beside you. "Don't act tough. I know you're in pain on the inside. Because of the result, I'm really and truly sorry."

You waved it off. "It's nothing."

Himiko placed a hand over your right shoulder. "It's not nothing," Himiko protested. "I believe if something happen to the person I enjoy befriending with, I would get angry, too."

"What exactly did happen?" you asked.

"I was trying to get back into the classroom."

You tilt your head to the side. "How?"

"After getting my favorite drinks, I try to go back to the main route, but everyone blocked the route, so I took the shortcut instead. It was a mess. I was trying to take the stairs. Then by the time I reached to the second floor, my friend tried to talk to me about how Rindou acknowledge her, and the mistake was I kept looking at her while opening my favorite drink because I was too tired from climbing up the stairs."

"And that's where you hit them by accident?"

Himiko lowered her eyes. "Yes."

"If anything, it's your friend's fault. She shouldn't have forced you to look at her while you're walking. My parents always said to look forward while walking. Otherwise, you'll get into an accident."

"You're talking as if I'm driving a car."

"Same rule apply. When walking, make sure you're safe. But I shouldn't say this to you. It's your friend who's at fault."

"You have a point." Shoving into her lunch box, she unveiled her lunch first, then she pulled out another bento contained with a wrapped foil for you to grab.

"What this?" you inquired.

Himiko gave you an encouraging look, watching you as you unwrapped the foil. Hot steam floating near your face as you smelled a familiar scent of hamburger and crispy onion rings.

"For me?"

"Yeah, I tried to cook it yesterday. I had to get it right a bunch of times." Himiko inserted white rice into her hungry mouth. "This is my way of thanking you."

"It--it looks good," you said. Then you took a huge bite of the burger, and your tears fell past to your cheeks and mingled the iron taste with the salty meat in your tongue.

"I'm such a disgrace," you said, sobbing quietly.

Himiko pressed her flat palm against your back, then patted your head three times. "I'm sorry that I cause ruckus when you're reading. I should've respect your privacy."

"You're the only one who's nice to me," you said, struggling to fight back against the hot and twisted feeling in your throat; tears were settling in.

"It's okay, (y/n), I'm here for you," Himiko said, then handing you the cold drink of a mango flavored milk. "I don't care what everyone said. What you did was right."

*~~*~~*

"Anything, Koko?" Ran inquired with his folded arms over his chest.

Kokonoi's fingers clicked onto the keyboard. "Not yet."

Out of nowhere, Ran snorted.

Kokonoi stopped typing; his right hand controlled the mouse and maneuvered. "Is there something on my face?"

"No," Ran said, still chuckling. "I still can't stop thinking about how Sanzu being called as a 'pink twig'."

"It's because he doesn't have an ass," Rindou chimed in, leaning his back against the wall. "You need to build a muscle."

"But my face is pretty," Sanzu interjected. "Girls tend to like my scars."

"Your face is the only thing you can make up with," Ran replied, deadpan. "We should go to the gym sometime. If girls sees you with a round ass and not just your pretty face, chances are you'll get hit on twice as much as I have on the regular basis."

"Give me your ass, then,” Sanzu said, groaning in anger.

Ran let out an exasperated breath. "Anyway. So Kakucho, anything with that special lady of yours?"

"What lady?" Kakucho said, organizing a file of papers from the file cabinet.

"Mariko," Ran answered. "She's a real cutie! I see the way you look at her, thinking that she's the only girl in this school."

Kakucho closed the file cabinet. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh-oh, I think someone's in denial," Ran said in a sing-song voice, clicking his tongue.

"Who's in denial," Kokonoi asked.

"Kakucho," Ran said. "Trouble in paradise."

It's not a paradise anymore, Kakucho thought.

"A lover's quarrel...?" Kokonoi assumed.

"Rejection," Kakucho confirmed. "She told me she got a boyfriend, and that she doesn't want to associate with me anymore."

Ran's jaw dropped open, producing a dramatic gasp. "NO!"

"Why?" Rindou joined in.

"Because of my popularity...because of the admirers. She'll get into trouble if she decides to stay by my side."

"Aww." Ran marched towards Kakucho to give a playful pinch on Kakucho's cheeks. "Look at you, talking like you're Romeo! You lost your Juliet!"

Kakucho smacked Ran's hands away. "Cut it out, it's no big deal."

"'No big deal, he says'," Ran said, facing everyone. Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Izana was eating his full-set meal, watching everyone with a pair of dark violet eyes.

"I found her," Kokonoi's voice went loud.

"Found who?" Rindou separated himself from the wall.

"The information regarding to the new girl," Kokonoi said, beckoned a signal for Rindou to inspect the new girl's records regarding her background and her previous life.

"Apparently she moved here not too long ago," Rindou announced.

"She's from a different country," Kokonoi said.

"From where?"

"America," Kokonoi answered. "Apparently she got straight A's in all of her classes."

"There's nothing special about that," Sanzu retorted, grouching.

"Is it that girl--the one who hit Sanzu, the one with red hair and grey eyes?" Ran questioned.

"The one and only," Kokonoi answered, scrolling down. "She got perfect attendance, her extra curricular is good. No set of bad records."

"In other words, she's a goody two shoes," Rindou assumed.

"Not quite," Kokonoi replied, because if she's a goody two shoes, that means her presence in social media is absent."

"And how does that connect to her school life?"

Immediately, Kokonoi typed the new girl's social media account on Instagram. "Take a look of this." He angled the monitor screen towards the Haitani brothers. Rindou spotted the screen with excitement. "Holy shit," Rindou said, nearly groaning. Rindou slapped Ran's back. "Ran, Ran!"

"What?" Ran was busy adjusting his hairstyle at the mirror.

"You gotta see this," Rindou suggested, a hint of enthusiasm in his tone.

Ran followed his younger brother's suggestion and his went wide. He blew a long, approval whistle. "Damn, she's wearing a lingerie.”

"She's a model," Kokonoi informed. "And she has these..."

Kokonoi played a video of you in a skin-tight dress, and what it appears to be having a large tattoo on your underboobs. "She has at least 300k followers on Tiktok, also."

Rindou also blew a whistle. "She's fucking hot."

"Who would've known she hid underneath that innocent persona she has," Takeomi added, having another cigarette. "Kakucho, you gotta see this!"

"I wonder if she's secretly a dominatrix," Ran tapped his index finger onto his chin with wonder.

"Ran," Rindou scolded.

"What? I'm just admiring her red luscious hair and those grey eyes. I'd take her to my bed. Is her hair color and her eye color even real?

"She just hit Sanzu a couple of days ago."

"She can spank me, and I'd still say 'thank you'. I don't mind her taking over the bed. I could do a couple of rounds with her, pulling her long hair. If she said she wants to sleep on the bed, I'll gladly take the couch after sex."

"You wouldn't bring her onto your bed," Rindou reminded, "because you love your bed more!"

"Based on her hair color, does she also taste like candy?"

Rindou slammed his hand onto his face. "Ran, you're so hopeless."

With curiosity, Ran reached for the book he confiscated from her. "It's not in Japanese, and it's not a right-to-left format. How the hell can she lift this thing?"

Kokonoi reached the thick book from Ran, and used his camera phone for a translation. "She has good taste."

Ran's brows flicked upwards. "What?"

"I translated the book title she was holding. I didn't know she's into Game of Thrones," Kokonoi said, impressed. "I've seen a couple of trailers and reviews, some of the people I knew are watching this show, but I never get a chance to watch it on my spare time."

"I got hit by that stupid book," Sanzu complained.

Kokonoi returned the book back to Ran. "How's Kakucho doing?"

"Still heartbroken," Ran replied, examining the large material. He faced Kakucho. "Want to see this?"

"I can't read English," Kakucho said.

"I didn't ask if you can read English," Ran said, walked over Kakucho's spot. "I don't think I could ever return this book to her."

Kakucho's brow arched. "Why not?"

"You saw how she pushed Sanzu, and it also affected me and Rindou."

"Yup, she's a strong girl," Kakucho commented, rolling his eyes.

"And she's really pretty, right?"

Kakucho said nothing.

"I know you're still hung up on Mariko, but you've got to look at this girl. She's insanely beautiful!"

Kakucho changed the subject. "Who's going to return the book to her, then?"

"Ran," Sanzu said.

"I don't want to," Ran said, pouting.

"Then why did you do it in the first place?" Kakucho asked.

"Because things are going to get worse if she still keeps it."

"Are you suggesting that she has to get her book back instead of you returning it?" Shion assumed.

Ran shrugged. "Maybe."

"What do you think, Boss?" Sanzu inquired, hands behind his head, relaxing over the frame of his office chair.

Ran slid the book across the black marbled table at Izana.

As he took the last bite of his favorite snack, he caught it with his flat palm placed atop of the hardcover book.

Swallowing the last portions of the food, Izana said, "Bring her in."

Taglist: @colored-tr-panels & @galactict3a