#when i wake up tomorrow it will be day 6 of this sore throat…..i will never recover 😔

[lesbianlenas]

i have not been able to talk for 4 days do u know what this has done to me….there is nothing i love more in this world than talking……everything has been taken from me

[fuwahua]

Cuddles

Tktober Day 6 - Cuddles

Tags: Zhongli / Childe (established), flirting, mild/implied nsfw at beginning (non explicit), aftercare, cuddles, eepy

“Allow me to pour us some tea.”

“Mmn… hurry back…”

Zhongli smiled, smothering a chuckle as he ran a hand through Ajax’s hair before rising from the bed. His pants were still neatly folded on the armchair away from the pile of clothes Ajax often preferred to throw his in: he always said the wait for Zhongli to fold their articles was “so long that his boner might as well pack it up and die”, and yet Zhongli found that the lingering anticipation never left the other anything less than eager for what would follow. Somehow his stubborn impatience, like all of Ajax’s traits, left Zhongli absolutely charmed.

In moments like these, however, Zhongli felt impatience gnawing within himself as he felt the kettle. It was no longer hot after their copulation but waiting for it to reach optimal temperature would take a minimum of twenty minutes. It would also be a second brew, no longer as fresh, but to start a new batch would take even longer…

It was unavoidable. He sighed, pouring the (unsatisfactory) lukewarm tea before sharply turning back to the bedroom. What would Ping say if she saw him now?

“I’m back, baobei.”

“Welcome back,” Ajax said, grinning as he pulled their blankets downwards to expose his still nude chest. His arms stretched open in a clear invitation, batting his eyes, grin growing mischievous as Zhongli froze in the doorway. “You kept me waiting for cuddles, laogong. How mean.”

She’d laugh, most likely, in a kind-hearted manner at the way warmth rose so easily to her lord’s face at the whims of a human. How could he resist though, when Ajax offered him dreamy smiles so easily, limbs stretched wide to pull him back into his eager embrace?

Zhongli coughed, shaking his head loose of such thoughts. “I was hardly a minute. Please, drink.”

“Hug first.”

“Ajax,” he admonished, smiling. “Drink, or you’ll wake up sore.”

Ajax rolled his eyes though he took his cup without more fuss, sipping at the tea. He was evidently thirstier than anticipated for he tipped it over and downed it in one gulp, sighing in relief at the empty cup. Zhongli offered his own and watched Ajax’s throat bob as he swallowed.

“Done,” Ajax said, pushing the second cup back into Zhongli’s hand. There remained a quarter of the tea that he sipped at, lips twitching downwards at the temperature. “Anything else you need me to wait for? A two-hour bath with rejuvenating oils or something?”

“We should take the opportunity to clean ourselves up.”

“Zhongli.”

He chuckled, placing the emptied cups on the table with a clink. Ajax’s eyes lit up as he pulled loose the blankets, scooting back eagerly to grant Zhongli room in their shared beds. It was warm where his body laid and Zhongli sighed, indulgent, as Ajax immediately took the opportunity to wrap his arms around him.

“Finally. Kept me waiting long enough.”

“The time spent hydrating and cleansing oneself after intercourse is important. If we were to stay in bed all night, you’d wake up weak to possible illnesses and,” Zhongli paused, adding to the scowl forming on Ajax’s face, “It would weigh on me that I left you in such a state.”

Ajax hummed, rolling over onto Zhongli and nuzzling their faces. Blue eyes peered into him, searching. “You think too much. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you barely drank anything yourself.”

“As an Adeptus, I recover much more quickly and don’t require as much assistance to repair my immune defenses.”

“You just didn’t like that it was cold tea.”

“Ah… that as well.” Zhongli admitted, smiling bashfully as Ajax barked out a laugh. “Regardless, we should at least take a shower to clean ourselves before sleeping. Let me run some water.” He turned over only for Ajax’s arms to tighten around his waist, heavy, the other throwing a leg over his hip to straddle him.

“You just got into bed,” Ajax huffed. “We can shower tomorrow.”

“That would be unhygienic.” Zhongli shook his head, pulling on the arms around himself. Ajax remained latched onto him, mouth set in a determined pout. “Baobei.”

Ajax tutted. “Can’t order me around like one of your Adepti. Come on, we can stay in bed just this once—besides, didn’t you say that you recover fast with your magic body and whatever?”

“But you do not.”

“I’m not a Harbinger because I’m weak, xiansheng.” He rolled his eyes. “I already showered when I came back from commissions anyway. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

He ruffled Ajax’s hair in reply and chuckled as the other headbutted his hand. “There is nothing wrong with cleaning yourself a second time if you’ve been dirtied after the first. Stay here, I’ll be back shortly.”

Ajax glanced at him, searching, before dropping his face into the curve of Zhongli’s shoulder. He stilled, letting the other bury his way against his skin, lips curling into a fond smile at the impossibly cute mumble Ajax let out. “You won’t change your mind?”

“Hygiene isn’t negotiable.”

“Not at all?”

“I’m afraid not—nmm, Ahahajahax!”

“Are you sure? Because sounds to me like we might have some wiggle room right here.” Mischief colored Ajax’s voice as his fingers danced on Zhongli’s skin, pulling loose laughter that seemed to brighten the room. They darted to his weak spots, prodding at his hips down to his thighs, and Zhongli’s face scrunched up in mirth. “Right, laogong?”

“Thihis isn’t a negotiahahahatiohohon!”

Zhongli shook his head, laughing as wandering hands crawled back up to pinch at his waist. Really, he should’ve predicted this the moment Ajax buried his face into his shoulder: a move he only ever did seeking comfort (exceedingly rare) or to hide the troublesome grin he had when coming up with bad ideas (exceedingly common).

“Really? I think we’ve negotiated plenty of times like this though…”

That they did. His cheeks pinkened at the playful nudge against his back, countless memories of “negotiations” between them surfacing in his mind, most often at his expense. He gasped as Ajax’s fingers clawed across his lower stomach, skirting the top of his hips, and Zhongli couldn’t bite back a plea of laughter at the teasing. “YeheheheheHEHES, REAHAHALLY!”

“Well, alright. No negotiations then,” Ajax sighed, tone seemingly bored if not for the way he returned to nuzzling at Zhongli’s neck. The strands of his hair tickled as they dragged over the skin and Zhongli flinched with new giggles.

“Let’s just do what I say, hm?”

“ThahAHAHAT’S—”

It was audacious, improper. Yet while Zhongli should flip over the other and shackle his hands for his insolence, the pleasant warmth of Ajax draped over him was so inviting and the teasing against sensitive flesh coupled together to overwhelm his tired mind from their long night. It would be easier, quicker, to cave.

For Ajax, he always would. The thought sparked new warmth in his cheeks as he squirmed, sputtering out broken words as Ajax held him down and tickled him without mercy. Hands prodded at his hips, nails scratching at his inner thighs, dragging up around his sides and then looping to his ribs. Each spot earned a different laugh, sometimes high and reedy, often lower and full of gentle warmth, and Ajax seemed to squeeze closer to him with every passing minute. It was a touch full of stubborn affection, and Zhongli burned beneath the unrelenting attention. Not of worship, but of something much more precious.

“AHAHALRIGHT! Wehehe caahahahn—NAHAHA!”

“Sorry, what was that? Couldn’t hear you through the laughter.”

“EHEHEHENOUGH!”

A spark of Geo against wandering hands was enough for Zhongli to wrench them off his skin, panting, Ajax’s whistle against his ear low against his lingering giggles. The ghost sensations remained on his skin a moment longer and he wheezed, falling back against the bed and chuckling again at the small oof from Ajax. There was silence as he recovered from the tickling before Ajax coughed, rolling back onto his chest.

“So… yes shower or no shower?”

“I believe you’ve made your feeling on the subject quite clear.”

Ajax snorted. “Yeah, and your feelings too. So? What’s the plan tonight?”

Rather than reply, he opted to place his hands on Ajax’s waist, squeezing as he moved him to the side. Ajax squirmed but didn’t resist, only to blink in surprise as Zhongli opted to roll back on top of him. “Um… Zhongli?”

“Yes?”

“I uh, can’t really get up like this.”

“Isn’t that fine? You can stay right here with me.”

“Oh.”

Quiet filled the room when Ajax flopped back, arms tightening once more around his waist as he burrowed against his shoulder. Zhongli smiled, wrapping his arms around the other, humming as a hand rose to comb through his locks, nails gently brushing against his back in the movements. Their chests moved in easy rhythm; the earlier excitement of the night washed away by the inviting warmth blanketing them both. It was a moment both pleasant, precious, and Zhongli’s eyes fluttered over the expanse of soft skin cuddling against him, seeking contentment, peace. In such a setting, even an Adeptus could be lured to… defenseless sleep…

“Zhongli?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t get mad at me.”

Zhongli blinked one eye open. When had he closed them? “What’s wrong?”

“… I kinda want to shower now.”

“Ah.”

“Don’t get mad don’tgetmahahahad Zhohohongli no!”

[allylikethecat]

⋆˚࿔ october prompts 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

I was super excited about this one but then life happened today and now here I am writing it at 9pm and it is NOT how I wanted it to turn out but it's what we're getting because your girl needs to go to bed so she can wake up at the crack of dawn to go see Pop before work tomorrow. On that note, thank you SO MUCH for reading and being so supportive of these! I've been having so much fun working on them 🩵

⁸⁾ blue-hued bruises

“Are you doing to finish that?” Matty asked, eyeing the waffle that George had ordered but then couldn’t stomach when it arrived. George took a sip of his coffee and shook his head. 

“It’s all yours,” George said, nudging the plate towards Matty who grinned, then winced in pain, pulling the plate towards himself. 

George watched as Matty poured maple syrup over the waffle, before cutting into it eagerly. George was happy he was eating, that he was feeling well enough to finish his own pancakes and now George’s waffle. George wished he could eat, and knew that he would regret his black coffee breakfast later in the day, but he couldn’t imagine eating anything with the way his stomach was churning and cramping. The pain grew the longer he looked at the blue-hued bruises that wrapped around Matty’s neck, snaking around his jaw and crossing his cheekbone. 

Matty had taken a tumble on stage the night before last, falling into the crowd, their so called fans groping blindingly at him, grabbing at him pulling his fragile body every which way, digging their fingers into his delicate flesh. The marks had been bright red and angry, a necklace around Matty’s throat that molted across his face before fading into their current purple and blue.

Matty had been quick to assure him that they looked worse than they felt, but George didn’t miss the way Matty was only chewing with one side of his mouth, the way his voice was rough like his throat was sore, the way he was constantly looking for sweet things, a carry over from his childhood when he felt poorly and he thought that sugar would make him feel better.

The doctor that had examined him after the show said he was lucky, that while ugly, they hadn’t damaged his windpipe, that he hadn’t broken his jaw or even his cheekbone as they had originally feared. The swelling had even gone down some, but the constellation of bruising just seemed to be getting worse. 

George hated the visual reminder of how he had failed; he was supposed to keep Matty safe. But Matty had gotten hurt, and George had been powerless, watching in horror as Matty disappeared unexpectedly into a sea of bodies, Tim diving in after him to try and retrieve him. George hated feeling powerless. He hated that he had failed, behind his drum kit on the riser and that Matty had gotten hurt. 

“Are you sure you don’t want any?” Matty asked, holding up his fork, a piece of George’s waffle speared on the end. “It’s really good.” 

George shook his head. “I’m fine,” he said, taking another sip of his coffee. It was lukewarm now. 

Matty shrugged, and popped the piece of waffle into his mouth. He chewed carefully, favoring the unbruised side and swallowed. “It’s not your fault, you know that right?” he asked and George looked up sharply, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“What?” he asked, feeling like he was missing part of the conversation. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Matty said, gesturing to his face. “It was just dumb luck.” 

George swallowed hard. “I’m supposed to keep you safe,” he said, surprised by how raw his voice was, by the honesty coating the words. 

“You do,” Matty said earnestly, “I just fell.” 

Day: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |

[ambersky0319]

so

my past week has been:

Saturday: coworkers leave kitchen an absolute mess day before. like by the time i leave yesterday's dishes are STILL THERE bc we didnt have time to clean it, there was a LOT, and we were already behind. i shredded chicken literally all day and found 6 chickens that werent cooked right. cooks call out (both of them). one tried calling out but ended up coming in - SICK and stood near me as i packaged shredded chicken for like. the last 15 minutes of my shift

Sunday: i work an hour overtime bc its just THAT busy so it screwed up how i was gonna go about my day. also migraine by bedtine

Monday: wake up with a migraine, feel warm but maybe just body being hot without ac. thermometer broken so we cannot check. coughing begins. end of day find out i DO have a fever and start testing for covid (first test negative) as well as deduce cough is definitely different to my usual one

Tuesday: no longer have migraine, now have a cough along with fever and a slightly irritated throat (not sore, but like theres a hair suck on the very back of my tongue). second covid test also negative. assuming its a cold

Wednesday: morning throat is back to fine unless i have a coughing fit, which leads to it being raw instead. fever still present. end of day, sore throat returns and so decide to go to urgent care tomorrow

Thursday: still have fever, irritated throat, and cough. urgent care diagnoses me with strep throat (i have had far worse sore throats that were not strep before. idk how i just didnt get the bad sore throat for the terrible sore throat disease) and prescribes antibiotics/steriods doc says will work fast (they do). contact work, internship, and a professor to be excused from attending until nov 4

Friday: no fever! throat is only irritated very briefly too. coughing feels much more prevalent without the other two existing. lots of energy until i succumb to bed rot. take more of the medication, one is easy the other has a weird taste. brush it off as harmless for now.

Saturday (today): wake up and immediately think; huh, my tongue sure does sting. look up what signs to allergic reactions to drugs look like and come to the conclusion im PROBABLY having a reaction to the weird taste medication. pharmacies and doctors dont open until after 8, does not feel serious enough that i need to go to emergency room (i can still breathe and swallow fine, dont feel pain in stomach or abdomen, its JUST my tongue that feels weird) so decide to wait to call and hope i dont have to go in again. hold a grudging sadness bc i was actually looking forward to an event for internship + my shift at work today. It is 4:53am only.

Anyways

last reaction i had to medicine was codeine(?) and it made me SUPER dizzy instantly, that upon taking it, i stood up and immediately collapsed back on my bed. so. might have to add this medication onto the list of things im allergic too (but that does not fall under Allergies I Get Shots For)

so

we shall see what urgent care says in 3 hours when i call

[cloudilee]

wow uhh…

today is supposed to be productivity day but i don’t have any unfinished tasks. had a speaking lesson with an increasingly-nearing-sore throat 😃. am thinking of impulsively starting another productivity session with classmates but oh well.

yes i drank 4L of water and no it is not helping my throat. i will probably be sick when i wake up tomorrow.

also went to a bridge course in the morning, nothing interesting as usual. maybe i’ll (finally) get some drawings done in my sketchbook and chill while sipping tea.

6 hours screen time… i am fucking cooked

[dorkofclanlavellan]

So 2023 ended on a shitty note and it keeps piling.

December 24th - my period started

December 28th - I wake up with the first symptoms of the flu

December 29th Late afternoon - I start feeling cold for no reason and can't seem to get warm. (At this point I'm also congested, coughing, and have a sore throat)

December 29th Night - I develop a low-grade fever and after hours of trying to sleep and being unsuccessful, I take a tepid shower then go back to bed. End up getting less than 4 hours sleep that night.

December 30th Day - My fever is back stays in the 102-103 area no matter what I do, I have a severe congestion migraine, sore throat, persistent cough, body aches + no medicines are working for me. Tylenol had no effect, ibuprofen didn't help, echinacea, vitamin C. Nothing is helping.

December 30th Night - I end up turning my heater off and turning my fan on to freeze out my fever and manage to get ~ 6 hours sleep.

December 31st - With the fever gone the symptoms reduced to still noticeable sinus migraine. My throat only hurts when I have mucus that needs to be coughed up but I have to cough violently to get it to come out. Because of the violent coughing, I develop a big patch of petechiae on my soft palate. But spend the night waking myself up with coughing fits that go on for what feels like minutes. I get about 5 hours of sleep.

December 1st - My symptoms have not dwindled to a relentless cough because the phlegm refuses to come fully up and post nasal drip that leaves me feeling like I'm going to choke to death on mucus. I doze off around 11 for a few hours and wake up disoriented and with a body-wide tingling sensation. Also, I'm having difficulty with what feels like an unending thick post-nasal drip. Due to having survived the last few days only on popsicles and soup, my stomach is demanding solid food. So I ferally rip into a pack of cookies. And the rear-most molar on the right side breaks.

And no dentists within an hour of me are open. So now I have to wait until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest to get this tooth taken care of (because it's too broken for me to pull myself) and hope it doesn't get worse or infected before then.

I'm still heavily in brain fog and want to cry. All I can do is hope it won't cost too much out of pocket to get my tooth dealt with.

Crappy fucking New Year

[timeoverload]

Last night I got quiet because you tried to tell me that I'm moving too fast and that I'm "haunting you". I don't think I'm moving too fast at all because we have known each other for 860 days now (28 months, 1 week). We met April 13, 2021. I remember things like that. I thought you wanted me to give you space or something so I did and then you got upset about it. What do you want me to do??? I can't help that I'm clingy and I think we should be married by now but unfortunately we're not!! In my mind, I already see you as my husband. It also seemed like you were mad at me and being aggressive and I didn't want to make it worse. I thought you might have been drinking or something last night but I don't know that for sure. I'm sorry you are unhappy and I wish I could make you feel better but you won't let me get any closer to you so I'm not able to do that. I'm sorry I upset you. You also know damn well this isn't a one-sided connection so stop being delusional!! You know I love you!! I'm just frustrated with the situation and I feel like I'm not allowed to interact with you since you denied who you were when I messaged you that one time. I'm not stupid and I know it's you!!

Also, I appreciate you all sending me nice messages but I feel like you are just teasing me right now. Are you actually going to give me something or are you just trying to get my hopes up? I will believe it when I see it and I want you to prove it!! I just want to be with Maxwell. I don't want to wait until my sleeve is done. :( Sometimes I want to throw a tantrum when I go into the shop just to get my point across but luckily I have self-control and I don't want you to kick me out or tell me I can't come back. I'm not going to do anything like that but it's getting harder for me not to say something about it. I won't though because I'm shy. I just don't want to be in this situation anymore so I'm sorry for being so impatient.

I am just so tired right now. I can't think straight at the moment. It has been a long day and I didn't get enough sleep last night. I didn't fall asleep until 1am and then I had to get up at 6. I had some weird dreams. I was almost late to work today because I didn't wake up when I normally do. My head also hurts again and I have a sore throat. My sister is sick right now so hopefully I'm not getting whatever she has. The heat is kicking my ass. I am going to try not to stay up as late as I did last night so I hope I feel better in the morning. I can't focus anymore right now and I don't have much else to say. Anyway, I'm trying to be optimistic that tomorrow will be better. Have a great night everyone.

[pustotsvit]

The day I died but Somehow Stayed

23th of February was so normal it hurts. It was the 23th day since my 26th birthday and 24th day since I’d finally started treating my MDD.

I don’t remember what it was that I ate. I don’t remember what song on Spotify was the soundtrack of that day. I have physical memory though - my whole body feels sore and hard to move because of the hiit exercises I started doing. It was painful to breathe, let alone walk or sit or even laugh. 

I have a mental memory - I was scrolling through concerts’ ads hoping to see some rad bands performing in Kyiv in late April. My sister will have turned sweet 16 on the 28th, so I wanted to make that day a memory she could go back to every time she feels upset or broken or unable to keep pace. Be careful what you wish for, they say. Now I wish I did. As my little angel will never forget her sour 16 she met under russian occupation in Mariupol, dreaming not of Black Pink or Maneskin singing to her in the flesh, but of taking hot shower after 2 months of living in the basement of the Culture Palace she once used to go to dance classes. Once. How unfair this “once” was just 90 days ago. An eternity. 

I have a memory that makes me angry and sick - an echo of a conversation me and my partner had that day. With my taking antidepressants I was also trying to finally try living again, first time after 6 years of isolation and self-destruction. We were planning to go to the Philharmonia and I was thrilled - it felt like I was going to meet the Queen, no less. Social anxiety will do it with you, beware.

I remember myself whining about the new Batman movie and how we’d rather go to the cinema if only there was any decent title. You see, I love Batman. The me from the 23th did, at least. The me who was complaining about going out to listen to some music live. 

And that’s where I feel like throwing up. That’s where I get angry with my past-self.

How easy life was for her. How she took for granted the possibility to wake up to cars honking and birds tweeting outside along with a bunch of I-don’t-know-who-but-they-are-hilarious users on Twitter doing the same.

I want to scream at myself, say “why am I suffering now so much, why do I cry every night and beg the gods to take me in my sleep and not with a GRAD fragment splitting my throat open or cutting off my limbs or burning me alive in my own bed, why my concern is not that about how to find the money to finally get my mom to Prague on her birthday - cause she always wanted to visit Europe - but how to find a way to fucking just hear her voice and know she is still alive there, in Mariupol, for now she is still breathing, why am I supposed to live through this hell same way dozens of my Ukrainian ancestors did just because there’s a MONSTER neighboring my country, why am I to be exterminated just because I’m Ukrainian wanting to live in MY country and speak MY language, why the people I used to call relatives and friends who live in russia are telling me I just have to “bear with it” and “get denazificated” and “be corrected and thus saved”, why they deny every missile that hits my street or say I deserved it because I live in Ukraine, WHY?”

WHY DO I STILL REMEMBER HOW IT FEELS LIVING IN THE EVENING OF THE 23TH OF FEBRUARY?

I went to sleep at about 3 am. My body was sore and I was annoyed thinking that tomorrow I had a training scheduled. It’s a YouTube hiit marathon so I’d better not skip it.

It was about 4 am I fell asleep at last thinking about the fanfic I was writing to unwind. My personal lullaby. 

And it was 5 something when my partner startled me into the reality. Fully dressed, in his Bershka parka and winter Martins. It was dark in the room and I couldn’t make out the features of his face, all covered in shadows. He was silent, probably waiting for me to fully wake up. But it suddenly felt like I’d never closed my eyes at all. The alertness was overwhelming. 

When he opened his mouth to explain himself, I already knew what happened. That moment is still the one I’m trapped in. The one I died at and got myself buried in bomb shelter with kids crying and the old praying all around while the constant bombing laughs at them, knocking at our doors to let the “russian world” they brought us in. 

My love opened his mouth and I think I will never be able to escape the word he whispered.

It wasn’t “war”.

It was “russia”.

Synonyms.

pic: our basement hideout at the first day of the War. People are settling in. Very cold and dusty and overall terrible. Still better to die under shelling. 

[fightxxmexxshiggy]

HOT DAY AND A TIRED MAN

This fic is dedicated to @lovelyladyraven for being my first ever paid commission.

Shouta Aizawa x fem reader

Tw:dangerous situation, breeding, OVERSTIMULATION

Word count: 3.5k

This was not how you had planned to spend your day. Your boss had decided that the roof needed to be cleaned on the second hottest day this summer! Of course you were the only one who had just finished up their task so he sent you to do it by yourself with a promise of sending the next available person up to switch with you soon. Instead you had spent two hours cleaning up dirt and shining the vents on a roof that no one but maintenance workers ever set foot on! Once you had seen how much time had passed you went to the door with every intention of stomping down the stairs and clocking out, not willing to do overtime just to clean a roof. But the knob wouldn't turn no matter how hard you pulled. You banged on the door a few times only to realize that one of the idiots that you work with had locked the door. Quickly you took out your phone and called the store phone no answer, then your boss's phone no answer, then you called the two other coworkers who had been working with you today. Not a single person answered you! You went over to the side of the building that looked over the parking lot seeing that all their cars were already gone from their usual spots. The bastards had left for the day and left you locked on the roof with no way to go home or even get water. You tried for another 30 minutes to reach your boss and coworkers only for them to start rejecting your calls. They did this on purpose. You went and sat in the shade of the roof door access and took a few calming breaths. You knew that they weren't going to come back until tomorrow and you also knew that they probably expected you to sit up here and cry waiting till morning for them to come and "save" you. So instead you looked up the number for the local fire department. Once someone picked up you heard a deep gravelly voice through the speaker. 

"Fire station 6 what can I help you with?" 

The man seemed tired and kind of put out but instead of apologizing for bothering him like your brain was screaming at you to do, you cleared your throat and spoke. You gave him a detailed rundown of your situation and explained that you would have called the emergency line first except your boss's wife worked the police directory and if he was locking you on the roof like this you were afraid that his wife would just not send anyone to help you. It was a small town and things like that were constantly looked over as long as you knew the right people. He hummed in agreement.

" That's sad but true. I know your boss and his wife well enough that you're probably 100 percent right about what they would do and how they would cover this up. They've done it before. Me and a few guys will be there in about 20 minutes to come get you down. Just keep calm and do your best to stay out of the sun until then we don't need you getting any more dehydrated than you already are."

He gave a quick goodbye and hung up. You breathed a sigh of relief knowing that you had chosen correctly when you called the fire station. You sat in the shade and tried to put a face to the voice of the tired firefighter who would be coming to free you from your rooftop prison. Like a fool you had never asked his name. As you thought about it you started to get a bit lightheaded. It had definitely been too long since you had any water. The heat was starting to get to you now that your adrenaline had stopped pumping so hard. With nothing else to do you layed down as much in the shade as you could and did a breathing exercise. During your exercise you must have blacked out because the next thing you knew you were being carried down the stairs in a set of strong arms. 

The person carrying you was speaking to you but you couldn't make out what they were saying over the fog that was covering your brain. You knew the sound of that voice though. It was the tired firefighter but he sounded a whole lot less tired and a whole lot more angry. You really hoped he wasn't angry at you. Maybe you were too heavy and he was annoyed at having to lug you down the stairs. With a weak hand you reached up maybe to apologize somehow, but ended up cupping his cheek. His stubble felt funny in your already funny feeling hand. He stopped walking at the feeling of your hand on his face. You still couldn't open your eyes so instead you mumbled a garbled sorry and proceeded to pass back out going limp. The last thing you heard was the tired firefighter yelling at someone, maybe you?

You woke up again this time to the feeling of something plastic on your face. Opening your eyes was still a bit too much for you so you listened and tried to figure out what was going on. You vaguely remember the tired voice you had spoken to before you felt light headed and the feeling of being carried. As you listened you could make out the sounds of machines. Slowly you took stock of your body. You were sore and kinda warm but you could move a little bit. You breathed deeply, finally realizing that the plastic was an oxygen tube. You were definitely in the hospital then. After a few more minutes your eyes were in good enough condition that you opened them to look around the room. When you did you saw someone slumped in the chair in the corner. This was incredibly strange since you had no family in this town. Doing your best you cleared your throat preparing to ask who they were. At your sound the person's head shot up, eyes wide. 

It was a man with tired eyes and long black hair that was on the scruffy side; it easily matched the stubble of a beard on his chin and cheeks. He stood up definitely tall enough to tower over you even when you were standing up yourself. The man walked to your bedside and took a deep breath before speaking. 

"It's good to see you awake little one. I was beginning to think you weren't going to wake up. I'm the firefighter you spoke to asking for help when you were on the roof. I have a lot to explain to you but I'm gonna call the doctor in and have them look you over before anything else."

He called out into the hall after that and a doctor and a nurse bustled into the room within minutes. Your throat was too dry to answer their questions so you stuck to little nods and head shakes as they began to check your vitals and adjust your iv drip. Once they were sure you were stable enough you were once again left with your savior and no voice to thank him with. He came closer and pulled the chair along with him to settle in for your conversation. 

"So you've been out of it for about 3 days. You got sunstroke while you were on the roof and your boss had double locked the door to get in and the door to the roof which slowed us down in getting to you. Your boss and his wife and your 2 coworkers have all been arrested. It was your boss's idea though apparently he kept hitting on you but you didn't give him the time of day so he wanted to teach you a lesson. His wife had your name flagged so that if you had called for help it would have given a dispatcher a notification to ignore you as a false reporter. His wife found out about his interest in you and was planning on making sure you were stuck on that roof all night. Your coworkers just went along with it because they didn't want to deal with your boss's anger."

Hearing all this pissed you off beyond belief. They could have killed you all because you would be a man's mistress and the man's wife would rather hurt someone than confront her husband. He looked at your face and patted your knee knowing there was nothing he could say that would make you feel any better about this. You looked up at him and grabbed his hand and brought it to your forehead, touching his knuckles there before placing a kiss on them. You were kind of happy that you couldn't really talk just yet because the blush on this man's cheeks was well worth the dry throat. He poured you a cup of water and handed it to you. You gave him a small smile and drank it gratefully. 

Eventually you could speak some and the two of you formally introduced yourselves. He was Shouta Aizawa, the fire station chief and local fire safety instructor for this area. He hadn't felt right leaving you alone after he had gotten you off the roof and found that you lived alone in this town. He came off very blunt and serious but you could see his deep kindness in his actions. The doctors came back in, cutting your conversation short and making Shouta go back to his spot in the corner. After a few more checks the doctors cleared you to go home the following day as long as you had someone to watch over you for the next three days till your follow up appointment was. You frowned cause you did have any close friends who could do that for you. As you pondered over it you heard Shouta's voice over the doctor's. 

"If you don't have a problem I can have you stay over in the guestroom at my house. I was already on a temp leave due to watching over you here so it wouldn't be much different with you at my house."

This man with a deep whiskey voice truly had a heart of gold. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth you readily agreed. After you had been up a few more hours and had a little bit to eat, Shouta left with the promise of a freshly cleaned room waiting for you tomorrow. You fell asleep that night feeling more cared for than you ever truly had. You woke up again slightly disoriented and thirsty but in much better condition than you had been the day prior. It was early so you took your time shaking the numbness out of your limbs and getting back your bearings. The nurse came in fussing about you standing with calling anyone to be a catcher for you. She stopped fussing though when she realized that you were indeed stable enough to walk to the bathroom alone. 

Shouta had called the nurses station around 10 to let them know he'd be there by 12. With a few puppy dog looks you had a shower chair and an orderly who helped wash your hair and walk you back to bed. They had given you some hospital pajamas that you happily wore instead of the ugly gowns you had woken up in. You were clean and relaxed by the time Shouta had arrived to sign you out of the hospital. A nurse came around with a wheelchair and wheeled you down to the exit while the car was brought around. Shouta opened the door for the backseat but instead of giving you a hand to climb in he leaned down and scooped you out of the chair. Once you had been sat comfortably on the seat he shut the door leaving you with a moment to appreciate just how strong his arms were.

The drive to Shouta's home was relatively quick as is the way of small towns. His house was nice and seemed to be a cozy ranch style. After pulling into the garage you tried to get out yourself only to be caught up against a hard chest as your legs gave out the moment they were made to take your full weight. You looked up to see an exasperated glare. Part of your brain filled with chastised thoughts as the other filled with dirty thoughts. You really had to be better behaved when It came to your savior and benefactor but with him being so sinfully attractive it was kinda hard to do. Once again you were carried by the tired man this time into his home and deposited on the lone couch in his living room. He sat on his coffee table and faced you with a sigh. 

"You're really gonna have to rely on me for a few days brat. Your body is trying to heal and you pushing it as you just did isn't doing the process any favors."

You sighed and agreed with him. After a short conversation about a few things you might need from the store and checking about any food allergies he got ready and  headed to the store. You sat alone watching tv before clicking into his YouTube app to see what he watched most. A loud laugh burst from your chest as you realized that most of his watch history was full of cat videos and a few interviews with a local late night radio host. You watched the radio hosts videos thoroughly entertained by his boisterous personality. The next thing you knew you were being shaken awake by Shouta having fallen asleep with videos still playing on the tv. He helped you up and walked you to the bathroom and waited outside before scooping you up yet again. He was making it so damn hard not to think dirty thoughts when he kept carrying you around as if you were a small animal or something. Like sir the butterflies are in the stomach now but they will quickly fly south if you keep being so quietly sexy. A few hours later you were lying in bed when your thoughts finally got the best of you and had you touching your pussy as images of Shouta glaring down at you with his arms crossed showed behind your eyelids.

You had no idea how loud you were being as you rubbed your clit harshly, trying to get to the finish line. As you came you choked out his name. While you panted and came down from your high Shouta made his way back to his room quietly. He leaned back against his door and made a call before laying in his bed to jerk his very hard, very neglected cock. His brain kept replaying the sounds you made, the way you choked out his name as you came, how a satisfied little smile curled on your lips after you reached the finish line. He came with a growl, satisfied but not. He was definitely going to end up in trouble by the end of the week and he couldn't find it in himself to care. The following two days followed the same pattern, spending the day together and spending the night getting off to thoughts of the other in separate rooms. Though you were surprised to find that Shouta regularly walked around the house in nothing but sweatpants holding a full mug of coffee. On the fourth day you had become well enough to no longer need to be carried or walked everywhere. You were a little confused by Shouta's attitude as he had been glaring at the space above your head for most of the day. Finally tired of him doing this, you confronted him about it. You were not expecting his answer in the slightest. 

"I've spent the last three nights hearing you play with your pussy while calling my name, I'm hard enough to hammer nails and I can't get out any over this energy cause I'm supposed to be watching out for you. All I wanna do is fuck you till you lose your mind. me glaring above your head has been me doing my best not to seduce you like an asshole."

He said everything in such a deadpan manner that you couldn't help but laugh. Once you caught your breath you grinned at him and pulled your shirt off over your head. Sitting on his couch with your tits hanging free and your nipples hardening in the cool air you proceeded to play with them. You were immediately picked up and taken to his room before being dropped on the bed. Never let it be said that the tired man couldn't move fast as you were stripped of your remaining clothes before he stripped himself bare. He pulled you to the edge of his bed by your ankles and dropped to his knees, a fierce smile on his lips. 

"Been wanting to taste this bratty pussy for days. Bet it's as sweet as it looks."

His first lick was long. From your hole all the way over your clit. The squeak you let out at the feeling only made him more hungry. He spent what felt like an endless amount of time licking and thrusting his tongue as deep into your pussy as he could. By the time he finally gave your clit some much needed attention his chin was covered in pussy juice and your hole was fluttering as if it was seeking to be filled. Shouta teased you with a few small licks over your clit, making you whine and beg him to give you more. His arms wrapped around your thighs as he locked eyes with you and sucked your clit into his mouth. He sucked hard making you scream and thrash wildly. Your hands were buried in his hair as you squirted into his mouth. Your hips only stayed on the bed because of his strong arms keeping you in place. When he finally released your clit pussy juice was steadily leaking from your still twitching hole. 

"Oh did I break you already? You were so bold before and now you're just a mess. Think you can take my cock or do you want me to tuck you in for a nap."

The shit eating grin on his face was enough for you to pull his hair and glare at him. He sat up and shoved your wrists above your head to hold in one of his large hands. Slowly he worked his fat dripping cock into your almost too tight pussy. You whined and moaned his name as he finally bottomed out hitting your back wall. He stretched you more than you ever had been before but it was so damn good. Shouta started slow, one hand gripping your thigh as he ignored your demands for him to speed up.

"You're gonna take what I give you like a good girl or I'll just pull out and cum all over you right now."

That shut you up except for the constant stream of moans that left your throat. Just as you were finally getting used to being split by such a thick cock he changed his rhythm. Fast pounding thrusts that knocked the breath from your lungs were nearly constant. You didn't have enough breath to scream so you sobbed. Your half words were incoherent except for "sho please." Shouta leaned down and whispered in your ear as his thrusts once again spread up. He bit your ear lobe before making you lose your mind. 

"Such a tight little hole. I can't believe I had the strength to ignore it for three days. I could have at least eaten it while you laid back and rested. God I'm gonna have you for breakfast tomorrow." 

The utter heat in his words threw you over the edge making you cum so hard you began to shake. He growled as your pussy clenched down on him. Shouta sunk his teeth into the pillow by your head before shoving his cock against your cervix and shooting his cum against it. As soon as he finished cuming he started to thrust again. No slow start this time, just hard pounding thrusts that made you wail in pleasure. It didn't take long for you to cum again but Shouta lasted longer this time entirely fucking his cum out of you before finally cuming inside again just as deep as the first time. 

He pulled out and laid down next to you before pulling you on to his chest. You both panted trying to breathe like normal human beings again. Right as your breathing evened out you heard a voice from the doorway. And looked up to see the blonde radio host trailing his eyes over the two of you.

"I told you you wouldn't make it till I got home sho."

[blushstories]

drabble day ! saturday 5th march

hi hello! as promised, i place under the cut a whole bunch of prompts and tropes to request some drabbles! i'll try to not turn them into one shots :) i hope to see you all tomorrow!

here's how it works: i have a few categories for you to choose from: tropes, actions, quotes!! but please choose 2-3 quotes maximum <3 in your request, just list the category and then the number :) i hope this isn't too complicated my goodness. and! you don't have to choose something from every category either. i got lots of these prompts from soulprompts so do go check out their blog!

a reminder of who i write for (also found in my masterlist):

mcu:

steve rogers bucky barnes loki laufeyson peter parker

the witcher:

geralt of rivia jaskier

supernatural:

dean winchester sam winchester castiel

tropes!

1. found family 2. hurt/comfort 3. mutual pining 4. friends to lovers 5. enemies to lovers 6. oblivious idiots 7. grumpy + sunshine 8. huddling/cuddling for warmth 9. fake dating 10. forced proximity 11. and they were... roommates? 12. established relationship

actions!

1. the italicised "oh." 2. going ballistic when lover is in danger 3. pinned to the ground/wall 4. argument leads to a love confession 5. going to sleep on opposite beds/opposite sides of the bed, waking up entangled 6. tending to wounds 7. accidentally confessing feelings 8. knife against throat 9. teaching to use weapons 10. person a places a hand on the back of person b's neck and pulls them close in an effort to physically and emotionally ground them.

11. after tending to person a's wounds, person b brings them fresh clean clothes to change into. 12. after tending to person a's injuries, person b takes a seat across for them, and patiently waits for them to start explaining what happened. 13. having finally found person a, or having finally been found by person a, person b breaks down in tears of relief, fear, and many other emotions as they officially reunite. 14. person a quickly wraps person b in a protective hug and turns so person b's back might take on the brunt of an on-coming attack. 15. person a kisses person b in order to protect their identities, but is the kiss completely professional? or is there something else…? 16. while standing in very close quarters to person a, person b shakily inhales with desire/anticipation as they realize how intimately close they are to one another. 17. noticing a scar on person a's skin, person b tentatively stops them from covering it up, and rests a gentle, soft kiss over it. 18. in the process of guiding person b through a crowded place, person a's hand protectively grazes against the small of their back. 19. when person a awakens, they discover that person b has been sleeping next to them, arms wrapped around one another for warmth, comfort, protection. 20. person a lifts a (nearly) sleeping person b and carries them into their bed, tucking them in in the process. 21. as soon as person a opens the door and realizes person b is there, person a wordlessly opens their arms out, and gives person b a warm, sorely needed hug.

quotes! (lots of choice here for you)

so maybe this list will return next drabble day!

''who did this to you?''

''you're safe with me.

''it's always been you.''

''i didn't know where else to go.''

''what do you want?'' ''you.''

''you shouldn't be here.'' ''where else would I be?''

“ hey, hey… look at me, okay? you gotta get up now. you think you might be able to walk? ‘cause they sent for back-up, and if they find us… we cannot let them find us. understand?

“ if you can’t walk, i’m gonna have to carry you, alright? we can’t stay here. “

“ you’re shivering… hey. hey, listen to me, okay? everything’s gonna be alright, i promise. here… take my jacket. don’t worry, i’m warm-blooded. “

“ i must be hurt pretty bad if you’re being this nice to me."

“ i can look after myself, you know. but… i do appreciate you stepping in back there. you saved my life. “

“ i told you before. i’m not gonna let anything in this world nor the next harm you. “

“ they’re coming for you. right? that’s why you’re pushing me away like an idiot? because you don’t want me getting hurt? “

“ i don’t trust anybody else. not the way i trust you. “

​​“ …did you know about this? “

“ alright… don’t think about getting hit. this isn’t a fight. it’s a dance. you move in response and in anticipation of your opponent. ”

“ who the hell taught you to do that?! ”

“ i don’t know how. and you do. all i’m asking is for a few hours of training… please? “

“ you said you’d teach me. and i’m here to learn. so let’s go already."

"it’s my job to keep you safe, yes, but you could work with me a little to make it easier. ”

“ why is it so difficult for you to believe that you deserve to be protected? “

“ you’re a good person. good people deserve to be safe. “

“ it’s all over now. don’t panic. it’s not my blood. ”

“ when i say run, i need you to do as i say and don’t even think about me. ”

“ close your eyes, you don’t need to see this. ”

"listen to me. i don’t think i’ll be able to buy you much time. and once i go out there, the clock starts. so the second you hear us fighting, i want you to run. as fast and as far as you can. ”

“ you know, i make the best hot chocolate in the world. seriously, i’ve asked absolutely everyone on the planet. everyone except you… what do you say? wanna make it a global fact? “

“ you know, i think this might be the first time i’ve ever seen you frightened… ”

“ i’m the one you want, why are you taking them?! get off of them! take me! take me, asshole! ”

“ i… i don’t care what happens to me. i didn’t care what happened at all. but then you started yelling, and now… now i realize that i care quite a lot about what might happen to you. ”

“ no! don’t struggle! don’t! don’t give them a reason to hurt you! i’m okay! please! ”

“ there you are! i was… hey… what’s the matter? have you been crying? ”

“ oh, love… i wish i knew what was hurting you so badly. i wish i could take away all that pain from you… ”

“ you know what? you’re on your own. i can’t watch you get yourself killed. ”

“ don’t do that. don’t act like you don’t give a damn. ”

“ don’t be angry. please, don’t be angry. i can take it from just about anyone, but not you… ”

“ i love you. always have, and always will. i… i need you to remember that for me. please."

“ i wish i could just freeze time. let this moment be forever. ”

“ i got you some flowers. but, if you have allergies, i also got fake flowers! just in case. ”

“ what’s mine is yours. always. ”

“ i don’t know precisely what i did to earn your presence in my life, but… i’d do it a thousand times over if i knew what it was. ”

[iwritesickfic]

"i kinda have a crush"

synopsis: Henry has a crush on his roommate's best friend Tom. When he gets sick, he's not sure whether Tom's concern means he feels the same.

Henry doesn't have time for a cold. Especially not now. Finals start next week, and between studying for exams, finishing final projects, and going to class, pretty much all his time is going to be occupied. Today, he woke up with a headache and a sore throat, which he's trying to convince himself is just a product of poor sleep, but deep down he knows is just the beginning of something worse to come.

Now, he's in his room, wrapped in his comforter and highlighting passages in his bio textbook, hearing his roommate Sam and his loud friends watching something equally loud in the living room. It's useless trying to ask them to quiet down - he learned after the sixth or seventh time asking that even though they all seem accommodating, they forget pretty quickly. Normally he'd be able to tune them out, but his steadily worsening headache is making it near impossible.

He gets up and starts pulling on clothes - the walk to the library may be freezing, but at least he'll get some quiet. Leaving his room, he's aware of how pissed off he must look, but he doesn't care enough to feign politeness to Sam and his friends.

He heads to the kitchen and grabs his travel mug - he's going to need coffee if he's going to last at the library. He's just filling it up when he hears a voice behind him.

"Hey! Henry! I didn't know you were home!" It's Tom. He's probably Sam's best friend - at the very least, he's the friend who's over more than anyone else. Henry suppresses a sigh. Tom is the exact kind of guy he doesn't like. Bro-y, athletic, always overly friendly to everyone - it just comes off as phony. It also just so happens that guys like this are always very attractive, and Tom is no exception. He turns around to grab milk from the fridge.

"Hey," he says, trying not to sound as annoyed as he feels.

"If I knew you were here I would've been a little quieter - you have finals coming up too, right?" Tom asks, leaning against the door frame in that way he always does.

"Mmhmm. It's fine. I'm going to the library." Talking to Tom is not helping the throbbing in his head. He starts to add the sugar and milk to his coffee.

"Are you sure? I can ask the guys to quiet down."

"No, it's fine." He snaps the cover onto his coffee and starts toward the door.

"Alright, well have a good day!"

"Thanks, you too." When he closes the front door he sighs, rubbing his eyes. He starts down the stairs. Being around people like that is exhausting on a normal day - Henry's always been quiet. Reserved. With the beginnings of a cold it's almost aggravating.

The frigid air outside makes his throat burn and his eyes water. His nose starts to run too, and he hopes it's just the temperature and not a new symptom. Knowing his luck he's going to be the one annoying person in the library constantly sniffling.

His time at the library is mostly uneventful, apart from going through a pack of travel tissues and getting dirty looks from other students. By the time they're ready to close, he feels significantly worse than he did this morning, but he's finished his biology review and is almost done with a paper for Transformative Design.

The trudge home feels like it takes forever - it's only about a 15 minute walk, but between the cold and feeling like crap it seems neverending. He can hear from the hallway outside the apartment that Sam's friends are still here, which makes him want to tear his hair out.

It's almost midnight when they leave, so it's only about that time he can get to sleep. He has class the next morning at 8, and when he wakes up with his alarm, he knows he's in for a full blown cold. His head still aches, and his sinuses feel sore and swollen. His throat kills too, and he feels shivery, despite the heavy comforter.

He lets himself lie in bed for a while, sniffling and trying to absorb as much warmth as he can from the comforter, before he drags himself up. He immediately pulls on his warmest sweater, even though he's just going to the bathroom. It doesn't help the shivering much, but it's something. He probably looks ridiculous, in just a pair of boxers and his oversized sweater, but he feels so shitty he doesn't really care.

Walking by the couch, he sees Tom asleep, shirtless. His heart flutters - he knew Tom was fit but it was something else to see it. The butterflies are almost annoying. There a million guys on campus, why does he have to get so worked up over this one?

In the shower, he cranks up the heat and lets the steam ease the aching in his sinuses. He's in there for too long, but the thought of having to actually walk to class in the cold makes him reluctant to get out.

He arrives to class a few minutes late - nose still dripping from the cold. Luckily today is just a lecture, but it's a five hour class, and he didn't have time to make any coffee this morning. He brought another little travel pack of tissues, but he's definitely going to have to ration them.

He's still shivering. It's worse after being out in the cold, and even though it should get better over time, nothing changes. He just sits there, achy and shivering and congested and miserable until 10:30, when the professor calls for a 10 minute break. Thank god. He needs coffee. There's a small shop in the building, so he forces himself up and out of his seat - which leads to a few seconds of particularly bad throbbing in his head - and out into the hall.

He almost groans when he sees who's working. Tom. Of course he's been to this little coffee spot a million times and he knows it's where Tom works, but he didn't think he'd have to see him this morning. Part of him is annoyed - he definitely does not have the energy to deal with him at the moment - but another part is a little embarrassed at how awful he must look. Not that he should care what Tom thinks of him, he reminds himself. Regardless, he walks up the counter, half occupied rubbing at his nose with a tissue.

"Hey," he says, and is surprised how congested he sounds. Tom turns, eyes lighting up.

"Hey!" He dims a little when he takes in his full appearance. "You ok?" Henry sniffles.

"Yeah. Fine. Can I get-"

"Large hot coffee, oat milk and sugar, right?" Henry's taken aback.

"Uh, yeah. You know my order?"

"Of course. It's an easy order." He goes about starting to make the drink. "Hope we didn't keep you up last night. I kept telling Sam to shut the fuck up but he doesn't listen to me."

"It's fine. I'm used to it." He sniffles again.

"You sound like you're coming down with something."

"And you sound like my mom." That makes Tom laugh, and again, Henry feels a stirring in his chest. Tom puts the lid on the drink and hands it to him, and Henry tries to hand him the money. Tom shakes his head.

"That's ok - on the house." That draws a little smile out of Henry. Tom smiles back, and for a minute he forgets how shitty he feels. "I hope you feel better."

"Thanks."

He heads back to class and sits down, taking a sip of the coffee. It tastes great, as always when Tom makes it, and the warmth helps to ease the chills at least somewhat. The rest of the lecture is spent half paying attention, and half worrying his sniffling and nose blowing is annoying. When it's finally over, he wants nothing more than to just go home and take a nap, but he has a problem set for calculus due tomorrow that he hasn't even started. So, reluctantly, he makes the trek to the library. He's able to work for most of the day uninterrupted - he's not very hungry, which maybe should be concerning but is convenient nonetheless.

By the time he's done, it's already dark out, and the walk home is brutal. The wind is whipping, and his scarf and hat aren't doing much to keep the cold out. His nose is running like a faucet and the cough he developed over the course of the day drags the cold air even further into his lungs. The coughs hurt, like they come from somewhere deep in his chest, and by the time he gets home his throat is destroyed.

When he gets home, he's glad to see Sam isn't making a racket for once. Still, he knows he's in for a restless night anyway. He puts a can of soup on the stove to heat up while he changes into sweatpants and a hoodie. His reflection in the mirror is definitely a sight - he's flushed from the cold, his hair a mess, and his eyes red rimmed.

He knows he should really fit in some more studying before he calls it a night, but after he picks at his soup and does the dishes, he's ready to fall over, so he just curls up in bed, coughing and shivery, and goes to sleep.

He wakes up a few times in the night coughing, and the soreness in his throat makes his eyes water. He's barely able to drag himself out of bed the next morning. His shivers have become more like shakes, and his cough feels like it never stops. He got a decent amount of sleep, but he still feels totally exhausted - even his muscles are sore.

His classes are a blur - he's too preoccupied with feeling awful to focus, and by the time he's done at 6, all he wants to do is go home and sleep until tomorrow morning. But, he knows he has to get at least one assignment done. After tomorrow, he'll have the whole weekend to relax. Not totally, but still.

Just the assignment tonight, classes tomorrow, then he can finally get some rest. The library probably isn't a good choice - his cough is too distracting, and he knows the walk home later will be torture. So instead, he goes back to the apartment. The cold air always exacerbates the cough, so the whole way home he's hacking, his nose running like a faucet. His ribs have started to hurt from all the coughing.

He almost wants to cry when he gets home and hears the sound of Sam and his friends in the living room. Why tonight of all nights? He trudges into his bedroom and changes - he's started to feel warm, which is a relief after feeling so cold all the time, but now it's becoming a both too warm and too cold feeling, so he tugs on his sweater and a fresh pair of boxers.

He starts to work on the physics problem set - there are only three problems total, but each of them usually take an hour at least, and that's when he's not feeling like death. He works for a while, but it's only when he starts to feel lightheaded he realizes he hasn't eaten yet today.

So, he heads into the kitchen and rummages around for a can of chicken noodle. He finds it, but he's too weak and shaky to work the can open right. He tries for a good three minutes before he feels a lump form in his throat.

"Hey, do you want some help with that?" He turns to see Tom standing in the doorway. Self consciously, he sniffles and clears his throat.

"Uh, y-yeah, that would be great." Tom smiles softly and walks over, making quick work of the can. Henry expects him to just go back into the living room, but he grabs the pot from the cabinet and turns on the stove.

"You've got quite a cough there." Henry feels himself blush. They all must be able to hear him from his room.

“Sorry, I-”

“Hey, no, no don’t be sorry. We make enough noise, you’re allowed to be sick.” He pours the soup into the pot and starts to grab spices from the shelf.

“I’m not sick.” Henry isn’t sure why he’s being so defensive, but Tom doesn’t challenge him, just smirks.

“Well whatever it is, it sounds brutal.” He shakes a few of the spices into the soup, stirring slowly.

“I’m ok. Really.” There’s a bit of an awkward silence before someone calls Tom from the other room. He looks a little dismayed, but puts on a smile.

“Feel better, ok?” He rests his arm on Henry’s upper arm, giving him a soft smile, before heading back into the living room. And there’s that fluttering in his chest again.

On his way back to his room, he catches a bit of a conversation.

“I think we should go out.” That’s Tom’s voice.

“Nah dude, it’s freezing.” That’s Sam.

“C’mon, let’s go. It’ll be fine.”

“Alright, whatever.”

Henry smiles to himself. Maybe it’s reaching to think Tom did that specifically for him, but part of him really hopes he did.

The rest of the night is blissfully quiet, apart from his incessant cough. By the time he’s finished with the last problem, it’s midnight, and the world is swimming. He’s never been happier to lie down. But, it’s short lived. Despite being exhausted, his cough and what he suspects is a fever are making it all but impossible to sleep. He drifts in and out of half-sleep, sometimes too hot, sometimes too cold. Luckily his class isn’t until the afternoon, but he spends the whole morning much like the night before. When he finally gets up, he feels truly ready to fall over. His headache is horrendous, throbbing and pounding at the slightest provocation. His sinuses are still swollen, along with his poor throat that makes him wince with every swallow. The cough is the same if not a little worse, except now it sends cramping pain through his ribs.

On the walk to class, he just keeps repeating the same idea in his head. Just three hours, then you can rest. The class is truly a blur, but the walk home is too unpleasant to tune out. Once again, the freezing temperature isn’t any help, and forcing his aching body to walk through the snow gets harder with every step.

He turns the corner for the front door of his building, and a wave of relief washes over him. But, he’s confused when he sees someone standing near the buzzer. He’s even more confused when he realizes it’s Tom.

“Hey, uh, Sam isn’t here. He’s gone for the weekend.” He says, embarrassed at how thready and weak his voice sounds. Tom turns, looking confused.

“Why are you out here? It’s freezing.” He says, and Henry isn’t sure whether it’s the fever that’s keeping him from putting the dots together or this just doesn’t make sense.

“Sam isn’t upstairs,” he repeats, and Tom sighs gently.

“I’m not here to see Sam.” It still isn’t clicking. “C’mon, let’s go inside.”

“Ok…” He unlocks the door and clumsily shakes the snow off his boots before getting into the elevator. Tom follows, and Henry figures someone else must be in the building that Tom wants to see, but Tom follows him right to the door. Henry sighs and rubs his eyes. “Tom, what do you want?”

For the first time, it looks like Tom might actually be nervous.

“I came to check up on you.” Henry suddenly feels a strange bundle of emotions unfurl in his stomach.

“Oh,” is all he can manage to get out. Tom bites his lip.

“Is that ok?”

“Yeah! Yeah, it’s fine, uh…” He takes a deep breath, but breaks into a fit of coughs before he can speak. He feels a steady hand on his back. After he’s done with the fit the world swims, and there’s a hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s go inside so you can sit down, ok?” Henry just nods, and after a few moments of struggling to fit the key into the lock, Tom does it for him. Immediately, he strips off his scarf and coat and practically collapses onto the couch, pulling off his boots. He leans back into the cushions, closing his eyes.

“Fuck…” he breathes, and he hears Tom laugh quietly. When he opens his eyes, he sees Tom sitting in front of him on the coffee table, still looking nervous. “Why would you wanna check on me?”

“Well you didn’t seem so good last night, and I wanted to make sure you were ok. Even though you hate my guts,” he says with a smile. He starts to rummage through his backpack, and pulls out a bottle of tylenol and a thermometer, as well as a quart container of soup.

“I don’t hate your guts,” Henry says quietly, and Tom gives him another smile.

“Well that’s good to hear.” He leans forward and starts to move his palm toward his forehead, but hesitates. “Is this ok?” Henry nods, and sighs when he feels the cool palm on his overheated skin. He moves his hand to his cheek. “Jesus, you’re really burning up.”

He lets out another volley of coughs, and Tom rubs his back again. It feels nice, but it doesn’t make the confusion go away. For now though, he’s happy to just be looked after.

“Here.” Tom slips the thermometer under his tongue, brushing some of his hair away from his face. When it beeps, he takes it out. “102. Not so bad.” Henry has a feeling he’s saying that more for his benefit than his own. “You want me to grab you some more comfortable clothes?” Henry just nods, and Tom smiles in return. “Alright.”

He gets up and walks into the bedroom, leaving Henry alone on the couch, finally giving him a moment to process all of this. Why on earth would Tom care about him? They’re not really friends, are they? And Tom was straight, wasn’t he? And even if he wasn’t, there’s no way he’d actually like Henry of all people. And did Henry even like him? Sure, he’s sweet and funny and impossibly hot, but he’s friends with Sam. And he’s on the soccer team. And he’s so outgoing and friendly all the time, wouldn’t that get annoying?

He almost doesn’t notice when Tom gets back.

“Here you go. You want me to go in the kitchen while you change?” He hands him the clothes, and Henry bites his lip.

“If you want to.” Is that a weird answer? Tom smirks.

“I’m fine if you’re fine.”

Henry starts to take off his shirt, but he’s so shaky and uncoordinated, Tom has to help him, which probably killed any romance the situation offered, he thinks. The clean fabric feels nice against his feverish skin. The pants go the same way, and he didn’t realize how uncomfortable he was until now.

“Here, lean your head back,” Tom says, and he does. Tom presses a cool, damp cloth to his forehead, and he sighs softly. “That feels good?” He nods. There’s a few moments of silence while he just relaxes into the feeling. Then, he sits up straight.

“Why are you doing all this?” Tom looks nervous again.

“You’re my...friend. And I care about you,” he says, and Henry feels his heart sink a little.

“Oh. Ok.” He must sound disappointed, because Tom smiles.

“Hoping for a different answer?” Henry shrugs, and Tom rubs his jaw.

“I mean, it’s a little embarrassing but I used to...have a crush on you. But I think you made it kind of clear you weren’t interested.” Henry can’t hide his confusion.

“I made it clear?” He’s genuinely not sure what Tom is talking about. Sure, he’s never out right flirted with him, but he always thought he was straight anyway.

“Just...one word answers to everything, always seeming like you had somewhere else to be - it’s fine. I don’t know why I even brought it up. You want some soup?” Henry just nods, and Tom smiles. “Ok, sounds good.”

He heads into the kitchen, and Henry’s mind runs a mile a minute. There’s no way he’s telling the truth right? But why would he lie? He comes back through the doorway and leans against the frame.

“It’s on the stove, just have to wait a few minutes. You feeling ok?”

“Yeah, uh...I wanna tell you something.” Henry doesn’t know how he can make leaning against a doorframe look so good.

“Shoot.”

“I kinda had a crush on you too. Or...have.” He can feel himself blushing. Tom laughs.

“You have a really funny way of showing it.” He’s beaming, and it makes Henry smile too.

“Well it’s not my fault you’re so annoying,” he says, and Tom walks back over to the coffee table and sits down. Tom’s hand rests on his forehead, then makes its way down to his cheek. It feels so steady. Stable.

“I’m not the one that got themself sick with pneumonia because I wouldn’t miss a class, am I?” Without thinking, Henry wraps his arms around him as tight as he can - which isn’t very tight, but still. He buries his face in the crook of his neck and takes a deep breath. Tom rubs his back gently.

“Thank you, for doing all this,” he whispers, and Tom squeezes him a little bit tighter.

“Anytime.”

[muscle-worlds-stories]

I was looking at my most recent notifications and saw that there was a user called @disabledmusclelover who recently started to enjoy my content.

I saw that they are a disabled user who loves muscle men just like we all do. I decided to make this story to be as inclusive as this blog can be and write a story involving a disabled character getting his own spotlight. Despite any disabilities, we all can be strong and be transformed to our ideal fantasies. I wanted to write this to help tell more diverse stories and help make myself a better writer. I challenge other blogs to try making inclusive stories like this and see how y'all interpret inclusivity in your own blogs. So for those who are physically impaired, I hope that you enjoy this story and would like more in the future with some constructive criticism ❤ I hope you all like this new approach I am trying to do!

It was a beautiful day, so Derek decided to take his laptop and work outside. Derek was always cooped up inside being an IT manager so it would do him some good to answer emails while getting some vitamin D.

Derek scrolled through his emails, typical deals of electronics and work reports. Derek began to be bored, until he scrolled to an unusual email he had never seen before.

"Epic offer! Come to Muscle World to claim your free 6 months membership today!"

Hmm, Derek never signed up for this gyms email list. As Derek looked at the email, he decided to try out the gym since he could try and get a little more healthier.

As a kid, Derek got in a car crash that paralyzed his lower body. He's been in a wheelchair ever since. But this didn't stop Derek, whose overcome a lot in his life.

The work day ended and Derek got changed and headed to Muscle World, which was in a part of town he never knew about. Derek entered the gym and was greeted by a receptionist who looked like he could lift Derek while he was still in his chair. Derek greeted the receptionist and showed him the email about the membership trial. The receptionist was very nice and took Derek's information and walked him to the training room. Derek was then introduced to what looked like Hercules himself. The Adonis introduced himself and said his name was Youseff, who had a German accent.

Youseff showed Derek around the facility. He also told Derek that Muscle World can accommodate for Derek's condition when they begin his training. The gym had the typical machines and weights that Derek expected a gym to have. Youseff took Derek to the gym's juice bar and picked out some containers and concocted a drink and asked Derek to try it out. Derek took a sip and was punched with a strong flavor. Derek was not expecting that to be so strong. Youseff explained that Derek would go under a diet that would help him on his journey.

Youseff put Derek through a tough first session, and Derek was very sore after the session ended. Youseff gave Derek a large jug of the concoction that he tried out and was told to take a cup of it every morning when he wakes up. Derek took the jug and went home.

Derek woke up the next day feeling super sore from the session. He rolled into his bathroom and noticed that he looked less bloated than usual. Hmm, looks like just one session had made progress. Derek poured a cup of the drink he was told to take and chugged it down, making a sour face after feeling the sensation of it going down his throat like yesterday.

Derek went to work and while he was working, he could feel his shirt sliding across his body weird, as if it got slightly tighter as the day progressed. The work day ended and Derek went straight to the gym for his second session. Youseff once again put Derek through hell with a lot of upper body cardio, weight training, and stretches.

Almost 6 months had passed and Derek had gone through so much with Youseff as his trainer. He now lost a lot of the fat in his stomach and gained a decent amount of muscle to start getting shirts in large. Derek woke up yet again and looked at his still pretty full jug of the concoction. Derek had the urge to drink the entire thing in one sitting. No, he thought, and filled the appropriate amount in his cup. Derek took it and then looked down at the empty cup. Without hesitation, Derek dropped the cup and picked up the jug and started to chug down the entire drink.

Derek set down the now empty jug and released a massive burp. Derek then called in to work and took a day off to be at the gym. Derek arrived at the gym and immediately went to the weights. It felt like Derek had literal electricity running through his veins. He began to lift heavy weights up and down, loving the adrenaline fueling his thirst to work his muscles. As Derek pumped up his muscles, his hair began to recede into his head, leaving a shining bald head where he once had a nice head of hair. Derek's biceps began to grow big and his veins began to pulse up and down as they began to thicken and show all across his arms. Derek went to work on his chest and as he moved the bar up and down, his chest slowly swelled up pushing his tank top forward filling it out to its max. Derek was so high on the concoction that he wheeled to the pull-up bar, where he never went, and began to lift himself up and down. His now enormous arms were able to lift him up still in the wheelchair and each rep made his back develop more and more muscle. Hours had past, and Derek was lifting lighter dumbells to relax and end his pretty much all day session. Derek looked at his arms and looked at his now 27" bicep go up and down.

Youseff walked into the gym and called out Derek. "Damn is that you Derek?! Looks like my special shake has helped you get up to my level my friend!". Derek thanked Youseff, not realizing his voice had dropped down like 3 octaves. The two men shook hands, with Derek's hand now the same size as Youseff's hand. Derek said he'd see him tomorrow morning and said that he's gonna have to start his actual membership in the morning. Derek was proud of how much he'd accomplished in 6 months and now had the craving to grow even bigger than he was now.

[hearts4-robin]

# flying colors - Katsuki Bakugo

# genre - fluffy angst

# pairing - Katsuki Bakugo x y/n (no specific gender)

# warnings - yelling, swearing, inappropriate words, intense arguments, crying, anxiety, trauma, panic/anxiety attack

# ages - Katsuki Bakugo: 16 - y/n: 16

# authors note - I hope you like this short story (: let me know if you like it and send in some requests! <# this story haven't been read through and English isn't my first language so sorry for any grammar mistakes etc.

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

# - Thursday - 01.46 a.m. - U.A. Class 1-A dorm building - #

You had forgotten what you were arguing about. But it was heated. It was horrible, the yelling from your boyfriend was driving you crazy. He had just came back from another late extra practice and he had been lacking on giving you any attention. You got that you were both hardworking students but you missed the tingling feeling from when he'd hold you close at 2am while discussing why Mineta is a total asshole.

"You never talk to me anymore!" You voice almost cracked as the words left your mouth. Katsuki's frown sunk deeper, his vein in his neck starting to pulse faster. "Maybe I don't want to pay attention to you, y/n! Ever thought about WHY I always practice so late?" he snapped back. You could clearly see how he was holding back his anger. "Well- no, I haven't-" the thought struck you like one of Kamanari's shocks. "Are you cheating on me?" Katsuki's eyes widened as he watched tears prickle up in your eyes. "What-, no what kind of boyfriend do you actually think I am?" He was yelling. On the brink of screaming at you. "Clearly one who avoids me! Avoids my company! If you're so sick of hanging out with me, why don't you just go right ahead and break up with me?" Now you were yelling too. Holding back wasn't a thing anymore. You watched as Katsuki's hands started releasing small explosions as I his eyes turned darker. You couldn't tell if it was in disappointment, anger or sadness.

"Now why would you say that! Huh? Why?" He was screaming, a hidden growl and sadness under his voice. "Because it's how I feel, Katsuki!" you frowned deeper as your nails dug into the palms of your hands, creating small moon-shaped marks. "I don't care about how you feel, y/n!" You immediately felt a sting of pain in your chest as you watched your boyfriend clench his fist and walk past you and into his dorm room. Well aware that he just woke up half the for building, he slammed the door shut. You covered your mouth with your hand as warm salty tears started streaming down your cheeks. How could he say that to you?

"y/n-chan?-" You looked up, snapping out of the daze you had fallen into. The worried face of your fellow classmate, Eijiro Kirishima, appeared from his bedroom door. "Are you okay? I couldn't help but overhear you and Bakubros argument." He stated as he walked out the door and closing it, revealing himself in a fated red sweatshirt with a big 'Crimson Riot' over the chest and a pair of black pajama pants. You shook your head no at his question as he walked towards you in his big slippers. He frowned worridly as he allowed himself to wrap his arms around you and pull you into a hug. You let out a low sob before you buried your face in Eijiros chest. "H-He doesn't ca-care-, he doesn't care a-about me anymore!" You clung onto Eijiro as he rubbed your back in soothing circles in hope of calming down your mixed feelings. Your chest hurt, your throat was sore and your head was pounding in a quick pace.

"You know Bakubro-, he's not always easy to handle. He won't tell you but he really does love you. He cares for you a lot, y/n." Eijiro looked at you as he lowered his arms around you. You looked at your red haired classmate before he looked towards Katsuki's bedroom. "Give him three days alright? If he doesn't do anything, dump him. I know it sounds harsh but that's the rule I've lived after and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. Think about it." You nodded at his words before wiping your tears off your cheeks, even though you knew they'd be back as soon as you'd close your bedroom door. "Good. Sleep well dude! I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow. Don't stay up too late!" Eijiro grinned cheekily as he waved at you. He closed his door as he disappeared behind it. Your lip quivered as you slowly walked to the elevator. You weakly pressed the button to summon the elevator. Stepping inside after the doors opened with a low 'ding!' you leaned against the wall. You pressed the button to your dorm floor before the elevator moved slowly. You rewinded the whole argument in front of you, everything passing like flying colors with all the wrong shades.

The elevator once again let out a 'ding!' before the doors slit open. Sniffling, you walked out of the elevator with your head down. "Young y/n."

You looked up with slightly wide eyes as you heard Mr. Aizawa speak. "M-Mister Aizawa-" You got cut off by his stare. It told you everything. You bowed before walking to your room. "I'll go to sleep. I'm sorry for waking you up." You sniffled back a few tears before you closed your bedroom door after you. Letting out a small sob, you feel onto your bed. You felt absolutely miserable. You felt horrible. The pain and guilt in your chest had spread to your stomach and you felt sick to the guts as you broke down in tears again. After almost 6 months with Katsuki as your #1 wingman and your boyfriend, hearing his words hurt you. 'I don't care about how you feel, y/n!'

Those 8 words burned in the very front of your brain while you tried to sleep, escape from the aching pain.

# - Thursday - 05.30 a.m. - U.A. Class 1-A dorm building - #

You had been wide awake for the past 30 minutes, distracting yourself by getting ready. Brushing your hair, getting dressed in your uniform and doing whatever was left to do. Your appetite was small, but your stomach still craved some food. You opened the door and stepped out, rubbing your tired eyes. You followed the other few classmates on your hall to the elevator.

“Good-morning y/n…” You looked to your right to see Ashido yawning, dark circles under her eyes. “Good-morning Ashido-. Didn’t you sleep?” She leaned back and stretched her arms, her shirt rising a little as the elevator continued moving down slowly. “Not much-, Bakugo was throwing around with stuff all night! Mr. Aizawa had to tell him to keep it down and go to bed. Nobody knows what’s going on with him right now.” She yawned again after finishing off. A little sting poked you in your chest as she spoke before the elevator let out another ‘ding!’. The door opened, revealing Katsuki, Izuku, Tenya and Eijiro at the table. You and Ashido walked towards the table, and both sat down. You sat down beside Tenya, as far away from Katsuki as possible, which was odd. Very odd. Katsuki was frowning more as usual before he angrily got up from the table and violently grabbing his tray of breakfast. You avoided eye contact at all costs. You looked at the tray of food Tenya had pushed towards you. You looked up to see everybody at the table looking at you with various different expressions. Worry, confusion and awaiting. “y/n… What happened?” You looked at Tenya as he spoke. You poked to your food, the appetite you had earlier suddenly disappearing. “Nothin’.” You mumbled before standing up, holding your tray with weak hands. You left the table to the kitchen.

You froze in your tracks as you saw Katsuki in his usual black shirt with the white print on. He was holding his empty tray in his hands as the unfinished food was thrown in the nearest bin. He glared at you before tossing the tray on the counter and leaving the room. You looked after him, tears prickling and threating to escape from your tear-bags. You placed your full tray on the counter before walking back to the common area. Those moments that felt like hours in the kitchen was just a few minutes. Within those minutes, Katsuki had left the dorm and just about everyone else was up and eating. Walking towards the shoe racks, you picked up your shoes and slipped them on. You stepped out the door, already feeling the early morning cold from December. You stepped onto the road leading towards the school and started walking.

"y/n! Wait up!-" You looked behind you, seeing, once again, Eijiro running towards you while clumsily putting on his shoes. "Eijiro?..." You voice was sore from barely talking this morning. Usually, you get along with Tsu and Ashido pretty well, Yaoyorozu too.

Eijiro caught up to you as you both started walking. "Did you hear Bakubro yesterday?" He looked at you, adjusting hid headband. You shook your head. "No. Ashido told me about how Mr. Aizawa had to stop it." You were mumbling, you never mumbled around people like Eijiro. "Hm.. He'll get better. How are you feeling today? Did you get sleep yesterday?" You both reached the front of the school. He opened the door for you as you, once again, shook your head. "Hard time falling asleep?" You nodded at his question as he walked in behind you. "Do you need to talk about anything? I suck at advice but I'm always here to listen!" You nodded, smiling a little bit. You truly were grateful for people who checked up on you like Eijiro did. You both entered the empty classroom.

"Where's Bakubro?" Eijiro looked around, frowning in confusion. "I think her went for a walk or something like that. I don't know, he didn't tell me..." You dozed off as you sat down in your seat. "Tenya should be here soon." You stated as Eijiro sat down, leaning back in his seat. "Tenya is so manly! Taking responsibility to keep the class in line!" You nodded as Eijiro continued to ramble about manliness. Soon, the class was filled up, even Katsuki had shown up.

You were laid over your desk, looking up towards Mr. Aizawa as he spoke. Another practice day. The costumes slid out the wall, everybody standing up to grab their case with their costume.

# - Thursday - 08.27 a.m. - U.A. Gym Gamma - #

"Wow, y/n! Did you choose a new color scheme? It matches Bakugo's!" You looked down at yourself as Ashido, Kamanari and Tokoyami admired your new costume. You nodded at their questions. "I did. I don't know if he likes it." You were mumbling again. Kamanari opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Cementoss.

"Alright, everybody. Pair up in two and try improve your quirks." Everybody nodded and paired up in two. Mezo walked up to you, kindly asking if you wanted to pair up. You nodded as you both walked to one of the platforms. Using you quirk, you made your way up to the platform along with Mezo.

# - Thursday - 10.58 a.m. - U.A. Gym Gamma - #

"T-Ten-... Tentacole-..." You crouched forward, your lungs hurting as you gasped for air. "I-I need a break." Mezo immediately stopped his movements as he noticed your shaking limps. "y/n? Are you okay?-" He runs to you, helping you sit down. "Shit..." Your head started spinning as your breathing became uneven. You could feel Mezo's multiple arms wrap around you to support you.

"LOOK AT ME WHEN WE'RE FIGHTING, SHITTY HAIR!" Eijiro looked away from you and towards Bakugou who was flying towards him. He quickly shielded himself and hardened his arms. "WHAT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU CAN'T LOOK AT ME?" he screamed as he dodged one of Eijiro's hits. He looked away again, Bakugou taking his chance to land a hit on Eijiro. "y/n-" Eijiro fell back as he kept his eyes locked on your small form being supported in Mezo's arms. "y/n? WHAT ABOUT HER?!" Bakugou was furious, letting out all the anger from the night before. He looked around, finding it weird for shitty hair to talk so much about you. His eyes widened as he saw you, knowing what was happening to you just now. He quickly took off in a run. "Y/N!"

You looked up weakly, seeing Katsuki flying towards you. "Katsuki..." You let out a small cry as you tried calming down your breath. Your vision started blurring. "y/n! Squidward get away from her!" Mezo knew better than to talk back. He looked at you before slowly letting go of you as Katsuki ran to you, gently picking you up and into his embrace. "Are you mad?! What the fuck happened-" He didn't look worried but you knew he was. The glint in his eyes showed it. "y/n- breathe. Did you drink and eat? Of course you didn't- you left as soon as you saw me, you little dipshit." He grumbled under his breath as the others started to notice Bakugo screams fading. He picked you up and jumped down, running towards a place to put you down. Cementoss approached you both but you vision was failing you right now.

"What happened?" He looked at the two of you. "She's having a panic attack. Water." Katsuki sat down with you, holding you close. "I'm sorry, firecracker-. I shouldn't have said that-" He held you closer as Cementoss walked out to get you some water. "It's okay-" "No shut up. It's not. Don't fucking say anything." He growls at you as he sits down, leaning against the gym wall and laying you between his legs. He ripped off his big hand gear and threw them beside you both before propping you up against his chest. "Breathe. Breathe you dumb-ass-" he took a deep breath as you tried to follow his breathing pattern. "It's okay. I got you. I won't let anyone, not me either, hurt you." He was whispering now, gently caressing your arm. Cementoss returned with a bottle of water. Katsuki quickly grabbed the bottle and ripped the cap off before gently helping you chug down the water. "We'll wait till lunch. Cementoss, the time." He looked at Cementoss. "It's 11.47. Lunch is in about 15 minutes." Katsuki nodded before he looked back at you. You were blinking slowly, your breathing back to normal now as he lowly talked to you.

"It's okay. I got you. And I'm not letting go of you again, never."

[midnight-strays]

So you can choose which one to do for the grumpy affectionate starters,11. for Akutagawa or 14. for Dazai thank you~

Grumpy Prompt 11: “I crave your affection, but I crave your silence even more- shut up.”

The bags under your eyes felt heavier the longer you stared at the screen of your computer, tapping away at the keys without breaking the staring contest between yourself and the device. The words that spilled out onto the screen came out clear and precise, an exact recall of the assignment you had returned from just a couple hours before sitting down. Despite the clear recall and exact wording, nothing seemed to really process in your tired mind. The words held no meaning to you, you weren’t even sure if what you were writing was legible- you honestly were just assuming from many years of practice. All the same, you would need to review this report tomorrow to confirm that you hadn’t just told your boss to go fuck himself in ten different languages.

At last, you finally broke your concentration to pick up the mug beside you, taking in a mouthful of coffee, only to cough and gag as the cold liquid filled your mouth and ran down your throat in an involuntary gulp. “Oh god how long have I been sitting here?” you grumbled, putting the cold beverage aside and wiping your mouth with the back of your hand, not wanting to taint your tastebuds further. Rubbing your tired, strained eyes, you leaned back into your desk chair with a heavy sigh, opening your eyes again once they felt comfortable enough to do so. They handed on the corner of your screen instantly. 11:47pm. It was late. You had returned at 6:00 and walked through your office doors at 8:00 after two meetings and a few briefings. With another heavy sigh, you pushed yourself up onto your feet, picking up your poor excuse for coffee and on the way towards your office door, tipped the remainder of the mug into a pot plant.

“Another cup of coffee, an extra hour on this report and I’ll call it a night,” you mumbled to yourself, reaching out for the doorhandle the moment three quick knocks sounded against the hard wood. Opening the door straight away may not have been the smartest move, giving the blonde woman on the other side a bit of a fright.

“Can I help you Higuchi?” Your question had the woman straighten up, composing herself.

“I was told to inform you that you can go home,” Higuchi explained, earning a blank stare and then a sigh. Oh god you wished you could go home. You haven’t slept in days, your body was sore and the only thing keeping you going right now was the small traces of caffeine lingering in your body.

“I would love to, but I have a report to write,” you countered, covering your mouth as a yawn pulled your further into the pool of desire to sleep.

“It’s an order from the boss. Go home.”

“I’m supposed to wait for Akutagawa. I was going to drive him home.”

“I will take care of that. Please go home and get some rest.”

Well, who were you to argue against that? As much as you wanted to finish things up here and take the executive home yourself, who knew how much longer it would be until that moment.

“Alright, you win,” you sighed out but gave her a small, thankful smile. “Thank you, Higuchi. I’ll buy you a drink sometime.” You turned around, dragging your feet back to your desk where you set down the mug- you could clean it tomorrow or whatever- and grabbed your coat from the back of your chair.

“That’s unnecessary but much appreciated. I’ll take my leave now,” the other woman hummed politely before turning around and disappearing back down the hall to wherever she came from or whatever she had to go next.

The next few minutes didn’t really stay with you. Your report was saved, you locked up your office and next thing you knew, you were stepping out of the elevator and into the underground parking lot of the Port Mafia headquarters. It did not take long for you to find your car, throw your things into it and begin your drive home. As you drove, you couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about going home. You had decided to be the one to take Akutagawa home tonight because he had been on a job much longer than you had and you knew that he had a tendency to push himself too far. Chances were, he’d return to HQ exhausted, roughed up and in a bad mood. Being his significant other, you had a better chance against that temper of his. You wished the best of luck to Higuchi.

You were asleep by the time Akutagawa stepped into your shared apartment. Face buried into the pillow, you were out like a light and didn’t hear the man moving through the apartment, putting his things down and heading to the bathroom to shower. He paused at the bathroom door- across the hall from the bedroom- and stared through the open door of the room, just checking that you were in fact home and asleep. It had been about a week since the two of you had slept together and although he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he longed to be close to you again. That desire seemed to grow as he stared so he finally stepped into the bathroom to bathe.

He was quick in the shower, washing away the filth from his mission, dressing into his night clothes and finally, crawling into bed, where you finally began to stir. You stretched an arm out, inviting him into your sleepy embrace that he gladly moved into, finding comfort in the warmth your body provided to his. He wouldn’t call himself affectionate and neither would you. Akutagawa Ryuunosuke was not an affectionate man, but he did enjoy the small moments that came with being in a relationship with you and he was willing to return affection when he felt like it.

“How was work?” You asked in a mumble, gently running your fingers through his slightly damp hair. “Typical… I took care of it as always. Nothing will get in my way,” Akutagawa sighed out in response, figuring the ‘conversation’ would end there.

“Are you hurt anywhere? Anything I should take care of before we go to sleep?” Okay, no, you weren’t going to leave it there. God he was too tired for this, but he answered you anyway.

“No. I’m fine.”

“What about food? When was the last time you ate?”

“I will eat in the morning. Go to sleep.”

There was a moment of silence and as Akutagawa pulled you closer to him, beginning to drift off, his breathing evening out. Finally. He could get some sleep.

“We should call in for a day off tomorrow. Write our reports at home or something,” you suddenly spoke, somehow still awake despite how exhausted you were. The pale man let out a heavy sigh and lifted his head to make eye contact with you, looking unamused.

“I crave your affection, but I crave your silence more- Shut up.”

There was another beat of silence before you opened your arms out for him again and with a small huff, he settled back down, taking this as a win. While he fell asleep to you running your fingers through his dark hair, you laid there with a sleepy smile, silenced by the confirmation that Akutagawa, the Silent Rabid Dog of the Port Mafia and your lover, craved your affection. How cute. Finally, comfortable and with your lover after being separated for the week, you were able to fall asleep, silence filling the apartment until the two of you were to wake in the morning.

[criticallyacclaimedstranger]

Fic: The Instructor chapter 4, Chicken Soup

Chapter 1: Lesson One | Chapter 2: A Rash Decision | Chapter 3: Good Intentions | Chapter 4: Chicken Soup | Chapter 5: Knotted Strings | Chapter 6: Crossed Blades | Chapter 7: Christmas Party | Chapter 8: Lesson Two | Chapter 9: Shopping Spree

Read on Ao3

Rating: Explicit (not this particular chapter but the whole thing)

Fandom: We Can Be Heroes

Relationship: Marcus Moreno/Original Female Character (Kate)

Chapter summary: After their sex debacle, Marcus surprises Kate when she calls in sick.

Chapter tags: h/c, caretaker!marcus, marcus is such a dad.

Can we talk?

The subject line says it all and the message body is indeed empty. Kate sighs as she puts down the tablet for a moment. She doesn't really want to talk to Marcus but knows she has to. He deserves it, he's not a bad person and what happened last night was not his fault. If anything, it was hers, for agreeing to going out with him, for pretty much pressuring him into sex, for reacting badly to seeing pictures of his family. Freaking out when he showed his true colors in bed. There was no need for her to do that.

But she can't deal with this right now. Her day is booked full and she has a prior engagement at her former kung-fu school tonight.

I can't today. Tomorrow? After work, or I can book you in at 11.

She should probably not use company time to sort out her personal business but he is a coworker and if they have a problem with each other, it will affect work, so basically this could count as a performance review. She hopes he'll pick the midday appointment to put both of them out of their misery as soon as possible.

The tablet pings. 11 it is. Let's have lunch, go somewhere more private.

Okay, she can do that. After having sent off an answer, Kate puts the tablet down and prepares for her first client.

***

The following morning, however, Kate wakes up with a cough, sore throat, and a temperature of 101. She rarely gets the flu and of course it's going to happen today of all days.

Shivering despite her wool blend lounge pants, wool socks, and thick cardigan, she slices lemons and ginger into a pot, filling it with water and placing it on the stove before sending HR an email about her condition. Opening up the appointment app on her phone, she cancels all clients for today and tomorrow, sending a group email stating the reason. After her tea is done, she adds a generous portion of honey to it and scoops it up in a large mug before retiring to the couch corner. Wrapped in a blanket, she puts on an old kung-fu movie but falls asleep thirty minutes into it, the tea forgotten on the coffee table.

The door buzzer startles her into awakedness. Blearily checking the time she finds it’s almost noon, and when the buzzer sounds again, Kate gets up and makes her way to the front door on slightly wobbly legs.

“Yeah?” she croaks into the receiver, expecting a door to door salesperson or maybe a delivery person trying to reach someone else in the building.

“Kate? It’s Marcus.”

The surprise causes a bout of coughing and she turns away from the receiver. When regaining her breath, she hears him call her name.

“Are you okay?”

“What does it sound like?” she replies a little acidly. A short silence, then:

“Can I come up?”

Kate buzzes him in and waits with trepidation for him to take the elevator up to her floor. When he finally knocks on her door and she opens it, she expects him to stand there with a scolding look on his handsome face, but she is wrong: his features relaxed and soft, he looks nothing but worried.

“Hi.”

“What are you doing here?” she questions him immediately. “How did you find out where I live?”

Marcus is a little taken back at her immediate attack and he has the decency of looking remorseful when he admits to having looked in the personnel file.

“That’s highly inappropriate, don’t you think?” she points out and he nods.

“I wanted to check in on you.”

It’s not until now that she realizes he’s carrying a paper bag and a bouquet of pink peonies. Clearing her throat, she nods at them.

“Are those for me?”

“Yes. I, um…” Marcus looks befuddled for a second as if he suddenly realizes what a stupid gift fragrant flowers are to someone who can’t breathe through their nose. “I figured you liked peonies because of your, um… the tattoo.”

So he had noticed the tattoo of a large, pink peony on the side of her left upper thigh, right below the hip. He never acknowledged it the other night so Kate wasn’t sure he even saw it in their frenzy and the subsequent awkwardness. Then again, the tattoo was large enough, he’d have to be absolutely blind not to see it.

“I do like peonies,” she admits. It’s an understatement: she loves peonies. Marcus makes a hinting little gesture with his head.

“Can I come in?”

“I don’t want you to catch anything.”

“I’ll take the risk.”

Without waiting for an answer, he steps over the threshold, not in a pushy way but in the way a natural leader would. He takes control of the situation, assessing and executing.

“Have you eaten?”

Kate merely shakes her head and Marcus gives her a little wave to let her know she can return to the couch.

“Okay, go have a lie-down, I’ll heat up some chicken soup for you. I saw you had meat at the restaurant the other night, so I figure chicken was safe?”

“You brought me chicken soup?” Kate starts to cough again and Marcus promptly puts down the bag and the flowers on a table, takes her by the arm and marches her across the open concept space to the couch.

“You stay here. If I need to know where anything is, I’ll ask.”

Fatigued from both the coughing and not having eaten anything, Kate is inclined to do exactly as he says. Sliding down and pulling the blanket over her, she keeps an eye on him across the room.

“Vases are in the top cupboard on the left,” she instructs him. Marcus finds them and before Kate has told him which vase to pick, he has already taken out the antique Chinese one in traditional white and blue.

“Dining table?” he asks her when the vase has been filled with water and flowers.

“Please.”

Effortlessly, Marcus reheats the tea and brings her a fresh mug of it before he takes out a big Tupperware box of soup and pours it into a pot.

“I can microwave it,” he tells her, “but I promise you, reheating it on the stove really brings out the flavors.”

“Did you make it yourself?” Kate asks as she tries to think of a discrete way of finding out if this is a fever dream or not. How did she and Marcus go from a catastrophic one night stand to him bringing her flowers and chicken soup two days later?

“Oh no, no I didn’t. It’s my mama’s soup. She makes a huge batch every once in a while and always sends me some. Missy just got back from her and brought a fresh batch.”

“You shouldn’t waste it on me,” Kate objects weakly. Marcus shoots her a smile from across the room.

“I don’t see it as a waste. We gotta have you back at HQ as soon as possible, Miracle Guy’s missing you already. He’s climbing the walls when he can’t have his sessions with you.”

Kate chuckles but her head splits open with the pain, so she ends up groaning instead, bringing her hands up to her forehead, rubbing it like it’s going to make any difference.

“Sorry,” Marcus grimaces. “I’ll be quiet, let you rest.”

“It’s okay. I slept all morning.” Kate hesitates before opting for honesty. “It’s actually… nice to have some company.”

“I’m glad.”

However, she doesn’t make for exhilarating company, as she dozes on the couch until he brings a bowl of soup over to her. Accepting it with a mumbled thank you, Kate warms her hand on it before gingerly balancing it in her lap and tasting a first, hot spoonful. Even with her taste buds working less than perfectly right now, she can definitely taste the garlic and ginger.

“Oh my.

“Good, huh?” Marcus smiles from the other end of the couch.

“It’s amazing. Tell your mom thanks.”

“Better not. If I tell her I gave some of it to a woman, she’ll start asking about you and sending you your own batch.”

Kate makes an amused little sound to convey her amusement without compromising her head.

“Is she that keen on you dating again?” she asks before realizing just what kind of area they are moving into. Regretting it, she looks down into the bowl of soup.

“She… wants me to be happy, I guess,” Marcus shrugs. “But we don’t have to talk about that now.”

“Marcus…” Kate looks up at him. “I… I’m really sorry about the other night.”

“I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have sprung my… preferences on you like that. And I should’ve been better prepared to handle my baggage.”

“It was the picture on the nightstand,” Kate confesses. “And your ring.”

He holds up his left hand, waving it a little. Only a line, paler than the rest of his skin, marks where the wedding band has been.

“I figured it was time to stop wearing it.”

“How does it feel?” she asks carefully. Marcus gives her a melancholic smile.

“Strange, but liberating in a way. Maybe I should have done it a long time ago.”

“Grief takes the time it takes,” Kate shrugs, trying to say the right thing but having no idea what the right thing is.

“I guess.”

Marcus sighs deeply before rising.

“I’ll tidy up in the kitchen.”

Kate doesn’t protest. Eating the delicious and warming soup is taking all of her energy. Having Marcus in her home, in her kitchen, is strange and unfamiliar but also… nice. It’s nice being taken care of. It’s nice having someone serve you and care for you.

Her head swims as she realizes that this is what he tried to do the other night as well: take care of her. Sexually.

She can’t think about that right now, her head hurts too much.

“You okay?” Marcus calls from the kitchen area, having noticed that she stopped eating.

“Just tired.”

She puts the bowl down on the coffee table.

“I don’t think I can finish that, sorry. It’s delicious but I’m really beat.”

“Of course.” Marcus comes to pick the bowl up. “I’ll just clear this out and I’ll be on my way. You need to rest.”

“Thank you, Marcus.”

“You’re welcome, Kate.”

She lays down and sighs, closing her eyes, wishing for sleep.

“Marcus?” she calls, not opening her eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Would you mind… bringing me the Tylenol from the worktop? And a glass of water?”

“Coming right up.”

Amazing. She could get used to this.

He brings her the meds and a glass of cold water that tastes fresh and clear.

“Appreciate it.”

“Not a problem. You got everything you need now?” He’s definitely stalling, like he wants to stay with her. It’s endearing but Kate’s exhausted now.

“Just need to sleep. I’ll be back at work in a few days.”

“Can I text you to check in?”

“You got my number from the personnel files, too?” She cracks open one eye to peer up at him. Marcus has the decency to look apologetic.

“I don’t have to use it.”

“You can, if you want to,” she allows.

“And maybe we can… have lunch when you’re back? Casual lunch? Talk about… things?”

“You’re going to have to remind me. I’ve got a fever.”

“I can do that,” he smiles. She smiles back before coughing again, and Marcus realizes he’s overstaying his welcome.

“Take care, Kate. The rest of the soup is in the fridge. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

He lets himself out and the fever gently carries Kate off to sleep.

[stellawella97]

Atelephobia: The Fear of Never Being Good Enough (Shane/Gender Neutral Farmer) - Chapter 1/3

Just posted 1/3 of my first Stardew Valley fanfic!

Read it below or over @ AO3

Summary:

Shane has got 99 problems but never did he think the entire world losing its colour would be one of them.

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

It started off as just any other normal day in Shane’s life.

The chickens clucked noisily outside, the cows joining in their song occasionally with their loud chorus of moo’s. None of these sounds woke Shane up in the slightest - he heard them every day and he’d grown so accustomed to the noise, he figured he’d still be able to continue sleeping even if his bedroom floor caved in beneath his bed.

The slightly battered alarm clock sitting on Shane’s bedside table began its shrill ringing at 6:30am sharp. Shane tended to run by a strict ‘5 more minutes’ rule when it came to waking up in the morning however. Refusing to open his eyes till he absolutely had to, Shane managed to turn off the alarm clock by swatting aimlessly with his hand till it met with cold metal and the ringing stopped.

He tried to fall back asleep for those precious extra 5 minutes of peace before he had to leave for his soul-sucking job at JojaMart. However, memories of the night before began to flood back into his mind. Shane had been up in the mountains late at night, drinking again. He faintly remembered seeing the hermit (Linus, was it?) entering his tent, a plastic bag that was stuffed to the brim with what looked like half-eaten food grasped tightly in his hands.

Shane had drunk a couple cans of beer before he decided to enter the mines nearby. It had been dark and full of strange noises neither human nor animal could make but Shane had managed to make it down several floors with a pickaxe he’d found at the mine entrance in his drunken state. As to why he’d chosen to do this, Shane had no idea whatsoever.

He didn’t remember much else except for the sound of a creature speaking in a garbled ancient language, a warm tingling sensation that filled his entire body, and finally the sharp pain that shot through his head as he finally keeled over from the amount of alcohol in his system, smashing his head against the rocky terrain. Oddly enough, his head didn’t hurt at all this morning. Doctor Harvey must’ve patched him up real good this time. Or maybe Marnie had. Who’d even brought him back to the house?

Just as he was beginning to wonder if he was actually found with trousers on this time, Shane heard the sound of the front door slamming shut. Marnie must have gone out to feed the animals. Shane was just about to roll over onto his side to continue his reminiscing when it began to dawn on him that he’d probably been in bed for more than just 5 minutes.

Shane quickly sat up in bed and grabbed the alarm clock. It was now 7:10am! He couldn’t risk Morris docking his pay again this month - he had to get to JojaMart quick. He jumped out of bed and had just put his leg through a pair of jeans when he noticed that it’d turned from blue to gray. When had that happened? He remembered wearing this exact pair of jeans just two days ago and he certainly hadn’t ever bought gray ones before.

It was then that he realized - everything had turned gray from his walls, to the cushion placed in front of the television set, to the alarm clock, and even his own skin.

I’ve finally done it, haven’t I? I died in those fucking mines last night and now, I’m in some kind of Hell?

The thought ran through Shane’s mind as he spun around, inspecting everything in his room for any sign of colour. This was to no avail. Even his favourite pair of boxers was gray with slightly darker gray hearts dotting it. In a moment of pure desperation, Shane decided to pinch himself as hard as he could on his arm in an attempt to find out if he was in fact still alive. He was.

Rubbing the sore patch of skin on his arm, Shane decided that he didn’t have time to waste standing here and waiting to see if the world around him would get its colour back. If he was still alive, he needed to get to work pronto. He quickly pulled on his ratty, old JojaMart jacket that still did its job and ran out of the house, only just remembering to shut his bedroom door behind him because he just didn’t think he could deal with Marnie yelling at him again about the mess of empty beer cans and pizza boxes in there.

Shane ran through town, almost knocking over Abigail who had just left Pierre’s General Store with a flute in her hands. It worried him to no end that even her usually bright purple of her hair (She must dye it, right?) was now a dull gray, but Shane had no time to be stressing about that now. He’d just have to wait till during his break or after work.

Once he’d arrived at JojaMart, Shane immediately went to the employees office to clock in and change into the uniform. He took a moment to glance at his reflection in the mirror and sighed as he noted that the usually bright blue uniform was just as unflattering as always in a gray shade. He walked out onto the shop floor and began stocking the shelves, determined to just get through the day now.

However, he must’ve done something to offend Yoba because Shane’s shift did not go well at all. He’d first managed to trip over his own feet and crashed straight into the display of limited edition shrimp-flavoured Joja Cola that he’d been hard at work stacking up for over an hour. As Shane was stomping angrily back onto the shop floor with a bucket of soapy water and a mop in his hands, he’d then bumped into Pam who’d screamed in rage when she discovered her brand-new jumpsuit was now soaked. Even though he’d apologized profusely to Pam, Shane still had to sit through an hour and a half of Morris’s lectures as well as had his paycheck docked for the day to reimburse Pam for the damages.

Just as he thought his day couldn’t get any worse however, Shane was just about to clock out for his lunch break when Morris asked him to help Sam unload the delivery trucks that had just arrived with a new shipment of powdered butter, gluten pucks and Carbo Cones. This meant he had to endure almost an hour’s worth of listening to Sam go on and on about how awesome some indie band in Grampleton was - which on some days, was fine. Just not today, for Yoba’s sake. Instead of putting up a fuss however (Morris wouldn’t care anyway), Shane simply gritted his teeth and headed out to the back of JojaMart.

It wasn’t till 2pm that Shane finally managed to clock out for his break. He flopped down onto a seat at a small round metal table in the employee’s break room and stared at the silently humming vending machine in the corner of the room. The vending machine sold only JojaMart products, all of them disgusting and overly sweet - Shane had tried each one. At first, he wondered to himself ‘Wasn’t that vending machine blue before?” before it dawned on him for the second time that day that he hadn’t been able to see colours all day. As crazy as it sounded, he’d just been so distracted with work that he hadn’t had time to notice.

Shane leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, biting his lower lip in concentration. How had this happened? Had something happened to him in the mines? Maybe he should pay Doctor Harvey a visit after work, he would know what to do.

“Knock knock!,” a familiar voice suddenly came from the direction of the door. Shane, who had been staring blankly at a spot on the table, looked up to see who had managed to sneak into the break room in surprise but flinched almost immediately, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes from the sudden burst of colour amongst the gray. Once his eyes had adjusted, Shane saw that the voice belonged to the new farmer that had recently moved into the farm out of the town. They were now standing by the door, their hands clasped behind their back.

He must’ve been staring at the farmer for just a moment too long because they’d then asked “Shane? Are you okay? with an eyebrow raised questioningly. Shane cleared his throat and stood up from his chair, moving to stand in front of the vending machine. It was hard to tell what he was looking at when all the cans were the same gray colour, but he pretended to be deciding which drink he was going to buy to buy himself some time. His heart was beating so fast in his chest, Shane began to wonder if he was about to pass out.

Why’s the farmer the only one who’s in colour? Why of all people has it got to be them?!

Just as he thought of something smart to say, Shane heard the sound of the break room door opening again. He spun around to find the farmer already halfway out the door. However, the farmer noticed at the last moment that Shane had finally turned around and was now looking at them. They hesitated for a moment before saying with a shy smile tracing their lips “I’ve gotta go now but...I’ll be stopping by the Stardrop Saloon tomorrow night, I hope I’ll see you there there?”

“I-I’ll see you there!,” Shane blurted out, feeling his cheeks begin to heat up. The farmer flashed him a warm smile before shutting the door behind them. Shane fell back into his seat and buried his face in his hands, mentally screaming at himself for two main reasons. One, he had sounded way too excited at the prospect of seeing the farmer again. Two, had the farmer just subtly invited him on a date? And did he just...agree to it? What was going on today?!

Not once did he stop to wonder why the farmer hadn’t turned gray like everything else, himself included.

Shane managed to breeze through the second half of his shift at JojaMart without any further mishaps, and had made it all the way back home with his head high up in the clouds. He popped a frozen pizza he’d stolen from JojaMart’s freezers into the oven and entered his bedroom, kicking his shoes off at the door.

He was just wondering if people still brought their date flowers in these modern days when he noticed a small slip of paper that was being held in place beneath a small stone that was smooth to the touch. Written on the paper in a barely legible script were the words ‘Lost your ability to see colour, huh? If you want it back, meet me at the mines tonight at 11pm’.

Shane looked around his room and decided to check the windows. They were locked. Whoever had delivered this note must’ve come in from the front door but Marnie who had been home all day would have said something to him if someone had come looking for him. She hadn’t though, so they must have snuck in without her seeing. Now he knew how they got in, there was still one question left unanswered:

Who sent me this note?

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

Author Notes:

Part 2 will be up sometime later this week so stay tuned for that.

If you'd like my work and would like to support me, please consider donating to my Ko-fi @ https://ko-fi.com/stellawella97 where I am offering custom fanfic commissions for a cup of coffee! It'd really help me out. Thank you <3