#wouldn’t a friend like…text you after they ask for your discord??

[adrift-in-thyme]

AAAAUUUUGGHHH

[satorusugurugurl]

The Leisure Streamer is a Hottie! (Chapter Four)

Summary: Rumor had it the top donor of the-strongest-streamers chats get to see him naked! Now that you're the top donor, will you get to see the goods, or was it just a rumor? Time will tell.

Pairing: Streamer!Gojo x AFAB!Reader

Word Count: 4,169

Warnings: language, suggestiveness, social media drama

A/N: o my gosh! This series has about two parts left! I love it!! Ahdndndndnd!! ! 💚💚💚

Part One Part Two Part Three

The soft bubbling from the fist tanks wakes Gojo up; he stirs, blinking sleep out of his eyes before slowly pushing himself onto his elbow. The bed is still slightly warm with the traces of your body heat. You, however, were nowhere to be found. Sitting up to scratch his head, Gojo looks around the underwater-themed room for you.

You're gone, vanished, nowhere to be seen. Did you seriously walk on him after he asked you out like this was just a meaningless one-night stand? Satoru felt his stomach flip upside down as he reached for his phone, only to find a note.

‘Good morning, Satoru!

I went out to get us some coffee. I’ll be back soon! You should take the bathroom; you thought the bed was the star of the room. You should see the bathroom.

See ya soon!’

The biggest, dopest smile pulled at the corners of Gojo’s mouth, and he flopped back down on the bed, holding the note close to his chest. God, you were getting him coffee. It should’ve been the other way! If you could walk properly after last night, he didn't do a good enough job of making you feel good. Something he planned on correcting the second you got back to the room.

Until then, he had to see this bathroom, and you hadn't been kidding. The bathroom was as tacky as the rest of the room. Satoru barked out a laugh as he took in the bathroom. The floor has been painted to mirror what the water looks like on the seafloor, complete with detailed hand-painted seashells. The sink and toilet were relatively normal. But the star of the bathroom as a whole was the giant sea turtle bathtub. Where she would be is the place you would get in to bathe.

“Oh my god, this is great!” Suguru had to see this! Running back into the room, Satoru snatched his phone up, tapping on the screen to unlock it, only to find hundreds and thousands of notifications on his screen. “Eh?”

Forty missed calls from Nanami, a dozen texts for Suguru, thousands of notifications from Discord, Twitter, and his Twitch account. Oh god, what the hell happened?! Satoru nervously hovered his thumb over Nanami’s name before hitting Suguri’s name instead. The line rang twice before he heard a groggy groan from the other line.

“Hello?”

“Suguru, is everything okay?”

The line is silent, aside from the sound of wrestling sheets. “Satoru—”

“Yeah, it's me.”

“Oh, I know it's you. I was going to tell you I'm going to miss you.”

Too stunned to speak, Satoru nervously laughs instead as he hears a woman laugh in the background of Suguru's line. “As curious as I am as to why I hear your favorite employee in bed with you, what the hell do you mean you're going to miss me?” There’s another giggle and a bed creaks.

“Nanami’s going to kill you~ then bring you back just to kill you again. What do you want me to put out on your altar? Mochi, boba, maybe a cake?”

“The fuck do you mean? Mochi, obviously, you asshole. But why is Nanami going to kill me?”

Sure, Gojo had said some stuff in the past that got him put in the trending section online, like how he was the best streamer. People called him arrogant for that one. He also played a semi-raunchy game online once and almost got canceled for that. But none of those times he had ever seen his phone blow up like this. he could understand if he said something.

“You’re telling me you saw all of those notifications on your phone, and instead of calling, I don’t know your PR manager who handles all this stuff, you decided to call me first?”

“Well, you are my best friend. I figured you wouldn’t bite my head off for whatever I did.”

Satoru can hear Suguru rolling his eyes on the other side of the phone. “You should call Nanami about this. I don’t know the details, but I know a photo was taken.”

Worst case scenario pops into Gojo’s head. Did his WebCam get hacked when he was doing your first meet and greet, which led to a killer masturbation session? Or did some of his photos from high school get leaked? Oh god, the masturbation session would be the worst thing that could happen! His dick would be on the Internet forever! There was no taking that back!

“Oh fuck, what photo? Is it mini Gojo? Please tell me it’s not mini Gojo.”

“First off, gross; secondly, no, your dick is safe this time. Just call your PR manager, please.”

The line disconnects, leaving Gojo staring at his phone on the edge of the sea turtle bathtub. If Surguru was telling him to call Nanami, it was severe.

Before he can muster the strength to call the tall blonde, who would likely wring his neck later, Gojo jumps on his Twitter, discord, and Twitch accounts. On every single one of his social media platforms, he’s greeted with the same picture, which wasn’t his dick. But a photo of you and him checking into the hotel together.

A specific relief comes with the realization that it wasn’t anything controversial but short-lived. Because he knew his fans, particularly his fan girls, and knowing they would not be happy about this, he didn’t care if they were upset about that. They didn’t know the real him, and they continued to thirst after him, but he knew how ruthless they could be in their comments when he was photographed with his friends, who happened to be girls.

They were cold, mean, and cruel.

That was one of the things he hated about his job. Sure, he played leisure games on stream, half-naked, with just his sunglasses on. But that didn’t mean he was something to be objectified. People tend to forget that he was a human, too. He had a life outside of his streaming room. A life that he liked to keep personal. Which was one of the reasons he didn’t attend conventions. He was thankful for his fanbase, and he was so grateful most of them wanted to support him, allowing him to play video games instead of being stuck in a boardroom like his family wanted. But sometimes, his fans were a little too much to handle.

That was why he paid Nanami big bucks. Nanami ensured that all of Gojo’s social media were kept on a tightrope; problematic fans were banned or warned, depending on their behavior and actions. Despite Gojo giving him a hard time (which was all the time), he truly appreciated everything Nanami did for him. He also knew Nanami was going to rip him a new asshole.

Satoru’s thumb hovered over Nanami’s contact information before his phone lit up with Nanami’s name. Either his PR manager was psychic and knew he was about to call, or his best friend had narced on him. There was no avoiding the issue; the faster he got lectured, the quicker this ordeal would be handled.

With a quick slide of his thumb, Gojo answered the phone call, holding his phone next to his ear. “Mornin’ Nanami—”

“Two years.”

Gojo runs his fingers through his bangs, grimacing at the cold tone of Nanami’s voice. “Nana—”

“For two years, I’ve been telling you how important it is that you wear your damn mask out in public! When we’re out and about together, you have no problem keeping it on.”

“Because you scold me otherwise.”

“Shut up.” When Gojo huff’s Nanami lets out an irritated sigh. “So, care to explain how it is after two years of wearing a mask out in public. You suddenly forget the second you run away from me and responsibilities for a day for mochi.”

“It’s Kikufuku—”

“I’m not done!” Yikes, Nanami was pissed. “Regardless of whether it was for an emergency or some rice cake, we had issues to discuss, schedules to maintain, and a worldwide convention to call, and you run off on the first bullet train out of Tokyo for fucking rice cakes.” Gojo swallowed hard, staring at the painted floor, as Nanami took several deep breaths to regulate his blood pressure. “But what’s done is done, and we can't go back in time. What we can do is focus on damage control. You need to come home; both of you need to come home. We have much to discuss, so you two must catch the next train home.”

Gojo rolls his eyes before slamming his hand down on the side of the turtle tub. “Alright, fine.” Nanami, let’s have a sigh of relief from the other line. “Uhm, how are the fans taking the news?” He already knew the answer to his question.

“Like rabid animals. Make sure you both wear masks, sunglasses, and baseball hats, please. The last thing we need is another photo of you, too, leaving the hotel to go viral.”

As he hangs up the phone, the room door opens, and you step inside. You’re wearing his shirt and your pants from the other day. Your mile is warm and welcoming, making his heart swell with happiness. God, he could get used to this. The second your eyes meet him, you're running forward but stop to put down your bag and coffee cups.

“I-I uhm—” you begin with an adorable stutter, “I don’t know whether you’re okay with a hug or maybe a ki—”

Gojo answers your question by grabbing the back of your head and pulling you towards his mouth with a deep, welcoming kiss. It takes your breath away. But you recover just as fast, wrapping your arms around his neck; with a happy moan, he kisses you deeply. Tingles and butterflies swarm in your stomach as he slightly tilts his head to the side, deepening the kiss. You moan as he pushes you back against the wall, the back of his hand protecting you from the rigid wall while his other hand grabs your hip, holding it tightly against your boxer-clad crotch.

Satoru pulls back, panting softly, his cheeks flushed as he presses his forehead against yours. “A kiss would suffice for now.” You giggle breathlessly against his mouth before gently pecking his lips again.

“Noted.” Your arms remain wrapped around him as he pulls you towards the coffee on the table. “I don’t know how you take your coffee, but I brought cream and sugar.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

“Did you see the bathroom yet? I found it quite shell-shocking!” Gojo sputters, eyebrows, and knitting together at your terrible pun. “Oh, come on! That was a good one!”

You plop down on the mattress, watching as Gojo begins preparing his coffee, which involves ripping six sugar packets open and pouring all of them into his cup. “You’re right; it was a good one.” As he adds the cream, you can’t help but notice some things are wrong. He had a look in his eye that told you something was going on that he wasn’t sure how to talk about.

“Is everything okay?” It better be after the way he just kissed you.

You weren’t sure what this was going to become. You guys had joked that you were boyfriend and girlfriend at the receptionist counter when you first checked into the hotel. And Gojo had asked out on a date for Friday! So that at least meant this wasn't, hopefully, just going to be a one-night stand. But in reality, you were both still strangers. Strangers that had slept together, after just meeting each other. Which was something you never did!

Stranger or not, you could tell something was on his mind.

“Uhm, so about that.” At least he wasn’t trying to hide the fact that something was wrong. “You, uhm, remember how I told you last night that my fans and community were great?”

“Yeah, they don’t seem toxic or anything.”

“Well, you probably haven’t been a fan for as long as I’ve been active. When I first blew up and started getting lots of viewers, Collab requests, and sponsorships, an incident occurred.” you did not like where this was going. “ before I tell you about this, please do not all my fans are—how did you put it—?” He takes a long sip of his coffee. “Toxic?”

The few sips of coffee that you’ve had sour in your stomach. “But some of them are, yeah, I get it. Every fanbase has toxic fans. What are you getting at with this?” Gojo takes another long step of his coffee before scratching at his undercut.

“A photo of us checking in at the reception desk yesterday was taken and leaked online.” The words sound like gibberish to you for a second while your brain processes what he has just said. “And said photo sort of went viral online.”

“Oh—”

“Yeah, so we need to get you a baseball cap and a mask. Because your pretty face is all over the Internet, and if they see us together without a disguise, I know there’s going to be more pictures, and Nanami is already pissed off enough at me right now, so we gotta go.”

“A photo—?”

“Yep!”

“Of us—got leaked?”

From how your skin is slightly pale, a lighter tone than your natural skin, Gojo, no, you’re not taking this very well. He wasn’t sure if you were either going to throw up or pass out, or maybe a lovely combination of both. Being told that you were going viral on the Internet isn’t something many people know how to handle. Especially people that haven’t been used to that sort of lifestyle before. Gojo used to trending or going viral for some of his clips online. Some of those clips became famous TikTok sounds. That was what came with his job, though. He was putting himself out there for millions of people to watch. You were the freelance artist and fan that caught his eye.

So, your reaction was valid. Gojo was sure he had the same reaction when he first went viral online. But that was because he said something funny. This was something he wasn’t even familiar with.

When he noticed how your hands were trembling, he placed his coffee down before he stepped forward gently, grabbing them. They felt cold in his large palms, but he brought them slowly up to his mouth, where he kissed the back of your hands. It was a sweet and gentle gesture meant to provide some reassurance that everything would be okay. An action that did seem to put some of your nerves at ease, at least for the time being. You knew a simple kiss on the back of your hand wouldn’t fix the problem you found yourself in.

“We’ll get through this,” Gojo said softly against your hands as he slowly trailed kisses up your arms before he pressed his lips against yours. “I promise it's going to all work out in the end. Nanami is sure to have a plan for this!”

With a curt nod, a gentle smile united your head in agreement. “Yeah, you're right; everything will be okay.”

Thanks to your baseball hats, masks, and matching sunglasses, nobody seemed to recognize either of you the whole ride home from the pictures or Gojo’s streams. You were able to leave Sendai without any issues and get back to Tokyo safely and in one piece, without rabid ripping you apart.

The moment you stepped into the Rainbow Dragon Café, you and Satoru released heavy sighs of relief as you began taking your disguises off. “Welcome back,” Suguru called out from the counter With an almost condescending smirk. “You look like shit Satoru. Did you not get enough sleep last night?”

“Haha.” Satoru mocks back, tossing his hat and glasses onto the couch in the middle of the café. “Did you even look at yourself this morning bitch? You look like you were in a marathon or two.” Satoru hummed, looking around and tilting his head with a sarcastic hum. “And what do we have here? Your precious ‘Princess’ isn’t here again? Is she sick, or did you break her back last night?”

Suguru just shut his eyes as he smiled gently before turning his head toward the back of the shop. “Nanami, he's back!” fear can be seen in Satoru’s eyes as you both listen to thundering footsteps heading your way. Nanami appeared around the corner, looking just as tired, if not more, than Gojo and Geto combined.

“You traitor.”

“Thank you, Geto; Gojo, let’s go.” Nanami motions for Gojo to move, with half your favorite streamer gently, take your hand and leads you to the door down to the basement. “Hurry up, some of us haven’t slept all night, and I would love to nap sometime today.”

Gojo, what is something you can’t make out under his breath? Even if you could, you’re too stunned to think as he leads you to his apartment. It’s nicely decorated with costly furniture. It didn’t look like some streamer who lived in a basement. No, this was almost a condominium underneath the coffee shop! Just how rich was he?

A huge eighty-five-inch television, huge kitchen, and bookcases lined with movies. There are a few stands with awards he had and some vintage-looking Digimon collectibles. You find yourself wanting to explore the space some more, but Gojo leads you to the couch instead, where the both of you sit down While Nanami slowly sinks into a recliner with a groan.

“I think right now we need to lay low.” Nanami sighed, rubbing at his temples. “We can issue a statement. Maybe ask your fans to respect your personal life and not comment. We could say you were making a video for your YouTube channel about different themed love hotels, or you can tell them that you have a girlfriend, and you both were wished off to Sendai for a weekend getaway.” Gojo frowns, his fingers gently squeezing your hand. He glances towards you as if you had any say in this.”As much as I would like to say that we could ignore this, for now, we can’t. Not with all the conventions you’ve been asked to appear at.”

“I know, I'm just thinking. I hate to lie, so we’ll scratch the YouTube video off the list.” His fingers gently squeezed at your hand a little harder. “What would you be more comfortable with? Tell them not to pry into her business, or would you like me to announce you as my girlfriend officially?”

Both men's eyes settle on you, waiting for you to decide, which seemed a little out of left field, seeing that you weren’t the streamer in question. “Well, I mean, we've just been on a couple of dates so far, so maybe for the time being, it would be best to ask them not to pry into your personal life?” Gojo gives you a gentle smile before turning towards Nanami; as he opens his mouth, you blush, “Just for now—can we touch base on the statement in a couple of weeks?” The gentle smile on Gojo’s face turns wide, revealing the dimple on his cheek.

“I think that sounds like an amazing idea. gives us time to get to know each other better without Internet drama.” Gojo turns back to look at Nanami. “Wouldn't you agree?”

“Yes, I do believe that's a peaceable plan for the time being.” the blonde pulls out his phone, quickly typing away on it. I’ll write up the statement and email it to you. That way, you can copy and paste it onto your social media tonight. In the meantime, I suggest you both tread very carefully. Make sure you’re wearing masks, hats, sunglasses. Avoid crowded places if you can. At least for the next couple of weeks until you can decide what you want to do. Or you can leave it as is. It's up to you in the end.”

“Right, we can do that.”

“Yep!”

Nanami sighed, glancing at you briefly before focusing back on Gojo. “Let’s discuss the way to word it.”

“Right, sweetheart, you can go hang out in my room or the office. This should only take—”

“Several minutes because I want to thoroughly discuss how important it is for you to wear a mask.”

“Ugh, fine.” Gojo tilts his head back against the couch. “Go on, sweetie, bedrooms down the hall and to the right; the office is to the left.”

You thank Nanami for all his help before you go down the hall and take a leave in his office. You were dying to see his setup. Entering the room, the LED lights around the ceiling lit up upon your entrance, glowing a soft blue hue, revealing his desk. His chair was the best on the market, and he had two monitors for every gaming station you could think of—PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and more.

You pulled his desk chair out, sitting in it before focusing on the camera hooking up on his monitor. The cap was on, but you knew what it had captured several nights before. Gojo jerking off with you the same night you supposed Q and A changed your life. You twirled in the chair, looking up at the lights that lined the ceiling as your phone buzzed in your pocket for the tenth time since you got off the train.

But when you notice they were from your account, where you posted all of your pictures, Selfies, and food you ordered at restaurants, you didn’t care what it was about. Your art profile was focused on, so everything else would be on the back burner. You didn’t want to look at your phone because you were in Satoru’s gaming room! One you had only seen on camera before.

You stayed like that, looking at his desk, running your fingers over the different video game cases lining his desk. When the floorboards behind you creaked. You don’t need to look over your shoulder to know who it is. Large hands gently reach around, rubbing at your shoulders, causing you to softly moan out as they kneaded into your muscles, rubbing the tension away. The hands try lower, rubbing your arms before the chair is turned to face him.

Gojo towered over you with a grin. “Hey, sorry to keep you waiting. Nanami just left, so it's just the two of us. He will work on a statement after he takes a nap.” You nod in understanding, pushing yourself off the chair.

“Good, he looked tired.”

“Yeah, he busts his ass all the time; I think I’m gonna tell him to go on vacation after this whole fiasco.”

“That would be a really good idea; this whole thing is just—”

“Crazy?”

“Yeah.” you bite your bottom lip.

Gojo cups your face, sighing softly. “I'm sorry about everything that happened this morning. We were in a rush, and I wanted to spend more time with you.” The thought of lazily lounging in the seashell bed all day sounded like a great time.

“Maybe I would love to return to that hotel and bathe in that bathtub!”

“Oh, I agree; I have to bathe in there at least once. It has been added to the bucket list.” You giggle as he wraps his arms around you. “I know you probably have to go home soon, seeing that you have classes to attend. But I would like to offer a proposition.”

His finger gently hooked under your pants, playing with it teasingly. “Oh, and what might that be?” The warmth of his touch as you shiver as he continues to tug at your pants.

“I may not have a sea turtle bathtub, but I have a nice tub with Jacuzzi streams. Would you like to take a bath with me here? Maybe let me make up for the not-so-great morning that we had.”

“Ooh~ you had me at Jacuzzi stream.”

Without another word, Satoru is pulling your clothes off as you pull his off. Both of you make your way to the bathroom, slamming the door. Your phone starts dinging with notifications from people you didn’t even know. People who have found your social media and your artwork page. More and more notifications popped in as packs of rabid fangirls stalked your account like wolves that circled an injured rabbit waiting for the kill. And you were the rabbit.

Forever Tag List:

@darkstarlight82 @pandoness @nealeart @simp-plague @sugurubabe @chilichopsticks @reap3erslov3

LSIAH Tag List (AGE MUST BE IN BIO):

@witchbybirth @zoeyflower @missmuffinr @kalulakunundrum @matchalatte06 @aussiemeerkat @gojoful @ilovebattison @getoloverr @dottedhalfnotes @sonicsolos @manyno @candy-s72 @smolbeanzzz @ya9amicide @strychnynegirl @jaeminaur

[imaginaryf1shots]

My Girls (|V) | Max Verstappen

Words count: 5K

Driver!oc X Max Verstappen

Platonic!Driver!oc X the grid

Summery: Cecilia Hansson daughter of a Swedish billionaire, a race car driver, with a dream of making it big in Formula 1. However she has a few secrets that may hurt her as women are disliked in the sport.

Series Warnings: google translated french, dutch, cursing, child abandment, absent father, drinking, car accidents, Jos Verstappen, misogyny, Christian horner (tell me if i missed anything)

A/N: This is a secondary blog so I won't be able to respond but I'm adding you all, just send it in the ask me anything if I missed ou by mistake.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Max Masterlist

Previous || Next

Winter love

Finally it’s the end of the year break, a couple of months to have fun and let loose, I mean have fun before Covid hits, but no one knows about that yet. 

Lando was back in the UK and he kept asking Cecilia to get on the sim for them to race a little in the F1 2019 game. 

Lando(on call)

Come on Cece, why won’t you just get on for a little race?

Cecilia

Lando, I swear to god how many times do I have to tell you that I have a daughter who I haven’t spent-

Lando/Cecilia

Much time with her and like to spend some-

Cecilia

You’re an asshole 

They laughed as she shook her head at his antics, to her Lando felt like the little brother she never had.

Lando

Come on, she sleeps at what? 8?

Cecilia 

half past seven

Lando

See, besides you need to keep up your hard work, just because you came 5th in the championship and won Rookie of the year doesn’t mean you can slack off.

Cecilia 

Piss off Norris, we just finished last week

Lando

So while everyone is slacking you should be having fun with me, we haven’t done a race in a long time

Cecilia 

Fine, I’ll text you when I put Nattie to bed

Lando

Cool, now let me talk to my niece, I miss her

Cecilia 

I don’t understand you

Lando

You don't have to

Switching to facetime, Lando talked with Nattie for a while before she had to eat.

True to her words that night Cecilia put Nattie to bed, she read her a story and sang her a song, Nattie fell asleep hugging Cecilia and it took everything for her to leave her asleep and not just spend the night in her daughter’s bed.

She texted Lando that she’ll be ready in a couple minutes. Lando got excited and texted her that he’s ready. Turning on her PS5, she got ready and had discord open on her laptop next to her, it seemed like Lando forgot to tell her that they weren’t going to be the only ones, he had some of his friends and Alex as well, she didn’t really mind, she’s met Lando’s friends in the passing before when they came to the paddock. 

Everything was going great, they chose the track, who they’d be playing as, Cecilia of course chose herself. But you can’t have everything, not evening a nice game with your friends.

“Cecilia what the fuck?” Lando shouted down the microphone, his voice hurting her ear, her car stopped and wouldn’t move, making him crash into her, they lost their P3 and P2. as their friends laughed and passed them.

“I’m sorry, I don't know what’s going on!” She tried to make her car move but nothing she did made her car move. “I think my paddles are disconnected, I’ll try to reconnect them, you guys continue without me, I’ll join the next round.”

She tried everything she could, connecting and disconnecting, plugging in and out she even restarted her PS5, but nothing seemed to work.

“Something is wrong with my simulator, it’s not working.” Cecilia sounded stressed, she stood back looking at her setup. 

“You’re not backing out to spend time with your family are you?” Alex teased her, she knew he meant Nathalie but with Lando’s friends he was careful.

“No, I think I’m the only one awake, it’s not working, the game won’t turn on anymore, I’m getting stressed.” Cecilia said, and logged off not long after, there’s nothing more she can do at the moment.

Apparently she had to get a new one, she had someone come take a look at it, and she had to order a new one, and who knew how long it’ll take for that to happen. When the pandemic hit, she knew there would be no way she'd get her sim for a long time, which was bad for her, not because she couldn't play with her friends, but because it’s something that kept her in a racing mood, and kept her skills sharp in the down season. So she found herself texting Charles to ask him if she could come by sometimes to get on the sim, but he was quarantining with Charlotte and they met with their separate families, which would make it harder for her, since she didn’t want to really get in contact with too many people, so she turned to Max, the only other driver she had in mind. Lewis was in the UK with his family and there wasn’t an abundance of Drivers she was close to who were in Monaco at the moment. 

Setting up time with Max was easy since they were quarenting and there wasn't much anyone could do, with her mask on and a short drive later Cecilia made it to Max’s house, she’s never been there before. Walking in she didn't know what to expect, but he had set up his house pretty nicely. 

“Thank you so much Max.” Cecilia thanked Max after greeting him with a hug.

“Hey, I'm happy to help a rival out.” He poked at her, she knew at this point they were more friends than anything else, but still they’ve never really been alone before. So that made her a little nervous, seeing Max in his casual clothes and not his team kit made them distance themselves from their work. For her standing there, they were just two friends. 

“I think we’re past that.” She placed her clammy hands in the back pockets of her jeans awkwardly. 

“I agree, do you want something to drink?” Mask asked and led her through his penthouse and to the kitchen.

“It’s okay, thank you.”

“So what happened with your simulator?” Max asked and took out a tea box and waved it for Cecilia to see, she gave him a nod and he started the kittle.

“I have no idea, I was mid game with Lando and some other people, and suddenly mid race everything stopped working, I tried everything and nothing worked.” She explained leaning onto the island to watch him, he moved around with ease taking out tea cups and sitting the tea bags in. “Dad called someone in to check it out before lockdown and I just couldn't get it in before then.”

“That's weird.”

“It is what it is, I guess we get to hang out now because of it.” She said with a smile and a shrug, Max gave Cecilia her cup before they moved to the room had his simulator sat in, walking in she laughed when she saw two simulators, not one, admittedly one was more advanced with RedBull logo and the other looked like that once she had at home. “Colour me impressed, Mr. Verstappen.”

“Laugh all you want, but now we can race each other, one on one.” Max looked smug with himself. He had no shame, it came in handy now and he didn’t regret it, I mean he lives here all alone, yes he doesn’t stay home a lot but when he does it does get a little lonely. 

“I like the way you think.” Patting his back she walked up to the RedBull one and looked at it before she looked at him with a smile, he couldn't say no to her, he let her try it. Max sat everything up for Cecilia and him and they took turns choosing what circuits to play, both playing as themselves. “Is any of your family here in Monaco?”

“No, no, I just came back from the Netherlands when the lockdown started.” Max said and tried to pass the female driver, but she was blocking him very well.

“It must be lonely being here alone.” Cecilia said thinking about how lonely she’d be if she didn't have her family with her, she’d definitely lose her mind. 

“It’s alright.” Max didn’t mind it that much, he got used to it, besides he did call his family and check on them to see how things are over there.

“You should come over sometime, as long as you don’t come in contact with anyone, we have a child at home after all.” Cecilia spared him a look before she passed the chequered flag and won the race.

“It’s okay, but I do want to see Nathalie again.” 

“Believe me she does too, I don’t know what you two talked about when you found her but she’s been going on and on about you.” Max smiled and turned to look at Cecilia, she was already facing him, they were finished for the day. “And, if you need more convincing, We have a hell of a gym at home, I mean you’d meet my parents, but they’re chill.”

“I didn’t know you had a gym at home.” Max stood up and Cecilia followed suit, they naturally integrated to the sofa in the back of the room, she sat at one end facing him with her legs tucked under her and her back to the armrest. 

“We had everything installed after I gave birth, I needed to get in shape and with how small Nathalie was I couldn’t take her with me, and I didnt want to leave her, not even counting feeding her.” Cecilia said fondly, sometimes she feels like Nathalie is growing up too fast. “Sometimes I miss when she was that small, she was so cute.”

“Do you have some pictures?” Cecilia fished out her phone and went to the album on her phone labelled Nathalie 2017, she had her pictures all categorised with the year. Moving closer they both were sitting side by side as she showed him the photos explaining some of the stories behind them. They went so back in the album, there was a photo of Cecilia on the hospital bed with a newborn Nathalie sleeping on her, skin touching skin, Cecilia looked so tired and sweaty in the photos, to Max she looked so young. “You were 18, right?” 

“Yeah, I got pregnant at 17 but gave birth after my 18th.” His admiration for the girl just kept growing, he looked at her and noticed how close they were sitting, their thighs touching, he could smell the perfume she had sprayed. He moved his arm to push back her hair to be able to see her face when he stopped himself and cleared his throat.

“I can’t get over how much she looks like you.” Max said trying to distract himself, Cecilia looked up and their eyes met, they were still close she felt like she could see all the shades of blue with flickers of hazel in his eyes. 

“My mum says she’s my twin.” Her voice was soft, both their eyes flickered down to their lips, and just as the thought of how his lips would feel on hers passed her mind, she smiled and leaned back creating distance naturally without leaving any awkwardness between them. Soon after Cecilia left with the promise of coming back again later in the week. 

The due kept meeting regularly, and Max started hoping her sim would never get delivered. When their meeting time arrived for the week, Cecilia came in with her mask, a backpack on her shoulder, a bag in one arm and her child in the other. The woman was always thankful for her F1 training. Once Nathalie saw the male driver her three year old legs carried her as fast as she could to the driver. Max leaned down and caught her, pulling her up in his arms and giving her a hug. 

“Hello, Thalia.” He greets the three year old, stepping back to let her mother move in the house, he took the bag from her hand in a swift motion.

“Hello Max.” Nathalie said with a smile. “We made you cookies!”

“Oh did you?” Max asked her with a smile, he looked at cecilia and she pointed to the bag in his hand, it had tupperware in it, once her mum knew he was here alone, she gave Cecilia some home cooked food, and since she and Nattie made cookies, they decided to bring some. 

“Yes, mummy can eat those.” Cecilia shook her head, the cookies they made were okay for her diet, she did make a patch of normal cookies as well.

“I’m sure I’ll love them.” Sitting her down the girl looked around curiously, she started walking around, giving the adults time to greet each other. “Hey.”

“Hey, she’s a bit hyper and had some cookies when we weren’t looking after we gave her some.” Cecilia said and looked at her daughter, she was a mischievous little thing. “I think she talks to Charles too much, I always catch him encouraging her.”

Cecilia sat her bag on the sofa, and took the bag Max held and walked to his kitchen, her daughter and Max followed suit. It made her chuckle. “Mum made you some food, I hope it’s not too much, but she’s a family woman, always wanting to feed people, I think that’s why my brother is her favourite, since I can’t eat everything she makes.”

“It’s okay, thank her for me.”

“Or you can come by like I asked and thank her yourself.” 

“Grand-mère makes good food.” Nattie agreed looking up at the duo, Cecilia ruffled her hair thinking how cute her girl is. “Maman! Stop!” 

“Yes Cecilia don’t ruffle her hair.” Shaking her head she continued with getting out the tupperware and placing what needed to be placed in the fridge inside of it. 

“Mon ange, do you want to watch a movie?” The girl nodded her head and they moved to the sim room, Cecilia gave her daughter her Ipad where she chose to watch cars, ironically. An hour in Max and Cecilia played 8 tracks with 5 laps in each track, all this playing made them aware of the other’s techniques, it was different from real life, but still with similarities, Cecilia would sometimes push cars off track to try and make Max lose, and he may have cursed or gotten mad at other people but not her, he just shook his head and continued on. 

They had a late lunch break before Nattie made them play a game with her, the sugar she had in her system took a couple of hours before she crashed, Max slowly got her up from the floor where she fell asleep and carried her to the guest bedroom, after Cecilia tucked her in they moved once more to the living room, they sun had set and they had dim lights on. Max got a bottle of wine with a cheeky look on his face. He only saw Cecilia drink once and that was at her first win, never again, she would get out with them but never drink. 

“I drove here.” She whined, wanting a glass of wine.

“Then stay, Nattie is already sleeping.” Max offered and popped open the bottle.

“I don’t know.” She was unsure, she knows that her and Max have gotten closer and she knows where this friendship is heading, she talked to Charles about it once, and told her to trust her instinct and if she felt like it to go for it, but to her the thinking is different, once she became a mother her way of thinking about things changed 180 degrees, she’s not number one anymore it’s her girl. Even if you push that away, Max is amazing with Nattie that is true, but she can’t get him into that, she can’t be sure if he’ll want to be in Nattie’s life, to be a male figure and possibly a father figure. Besides they are colleagues, with jobs that are under the microscope, the moment the public finds out it will be a shit show, and if they ever broke up then what? How can she stare at him 10 months of the year knowing they had something at one point. Too many things could go wrong, and she’s not ready to put herself or her daughter’s hearts on the line.

“Don’t overthink it.” Max could tell that her mind ran with thoughts too fast for either of them to grasp it. He poured her a glass and held it out to her, reluctantly she took it and took a small sip. 

“You're a bad influence.” 

“Some would beg to differ.” He responded with his own glass, after a moment of silence, he gathered his courage and asked the question he wanted to ask the moment he found out about Nathalie. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah sure go ahead, this is good wine by the way.” Cecilia kept  her sips small, enjoying the taste.

“Is-is Thalia’s father around?” Cecilia stopped drinking, she just realised that she never talked with Max about it, Max kept his eyes on her, watching her every move waiting for a sign of discomfort. 

“He isn’t, he dipped the second I told him I was pregnant.” Cecilia sat with her legs tucked under her once again with her back to the armrest. Her elbow resting on the back of the sofa with her arm holding her head up at her temple, Max also had his back to the end of the sofa. “The fucker left me on my own in a country I know no one in and I only saw his face once since then.”

“What a fucking dickhead.” Max couldn’t understand how some men could just get a girl pregnant and dip, it takes two to tango, knowing that there’s a child out there that is half them and leave them be.

“You can say that again, anyways, he only showed up once with his lawyer, to sign away his rights and told me to keep him out of this, he did try to threaten me.” She laughed remembering the day, Max was confused why she was laughing. “My brother had him almost pissing himself, he’s rich, my ex, extremely so, but my family is richer and more influential so, with one threat to call his dad he had his tail tucked between his legs and left with no fuss.”

“Where does he live?” Max doesn’t know why he asked, maybe he wanted to see if he could find him and maybe just maybe while he’s crossing the road a little something could happen. 

“Last I heard in England, he’s British but he has family in Monaco, that’s how we met, he was older than me, thinking back now it was doomed from the start.” Cecilia leaned over and poured herself another glass, and offered to fill Max’s, he too needed another drink. “But you know what, I’d do it again just to have Nathalie, she’s the best thing that ever happened to me, she’s the reason I decided to race again.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was a teen when I got pregnant, and maybe yes I was 18 when I gave birth but I was still a teen at heart then too, you don’t just get older the instant your birthday hits, anyways I felt like a teen when I had her and I thought about quitting everything and just focus on us, but I couldn’t I didn’t want her to look back one day and see me give up when it got hard, I didn’t want her to think that having her ended my dream or that I didn’t work hard for it. No way, my mum is a housewife. Her dream was to have a family of her own, mine was to be an F1 driver.”

“Your dream was hard to achieve when you didn’t even have a child.” Max commented, all he wanted to do now is to pull her in for a long hug, to have her in his arms and protect her to help her like her ex should’ve, who’d let a woman like Cecilia slip through their fingers? A blind man in Max’s books.

“That’s true, and at times I thought that maybe I bit more than I can chew, I mean even now, with me coming fifth in the championship, Mclaren still has me on a yearly contract, and Lando got a three year contract.” Shrugging, it bothered her, Mclaren was applauded for being ‘feminists’ and accepting ‘diversity’ when they didn’t treat their drivers the same. 

“That’s not fair.” Max frowned, Cecilia just shrugged. “Well RedBull will always be happy to have you.”

“I don’t know about that, you may hate it but Mercedes is where I wish to be.” Cecilia was honest with him, she hoped to one day be part of Mercedes.

“Because of Toto?”

“Yeah, he’s married to Susie so there’s that, she’s been working for years on including more women in the sport, and he’s always had her back at that.” Cecilia explained.

“But you know he likes Lewis so much, he will place him above you when it comes to priority.” 

“Like Christain loves you, every team principal prefers one driver, but I feel like my luck there will be better, that’s why I’m going to prove to everyone that I deserve it next year.”

“I know you do.” Max found himself saying. “I’ve always believed in you.”

“Did you?” Cecilia whispered, Max nodded, her cheeks dusted pink. This is it. This is what Max wanted, he wanted to spend time with her talking, he wanted to talk to her before he fell asleep, to share their feelings and thoughts, talk about everything and anything, share things with each other they never did with anyone else. He wanted… he wants to feel less lonely when it’s late at night and he can’t fall asleep, he wants to have someone who he can speak to about everything, share his secrets with, he wants that.

“Yeah, I did, I do.” His tone matched hers, in the silence of the apartment and dim lights her light blue eyes met his darker ones in an enchanting fight, who’ll give up first, both drivers not used to giving up. Cecilia’s eyes ran down his nose to his lip and instinctively, ran her the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip witting it slightly, the tension in the room rose, Max swallowed and fought with himself to say something, change the subject, but evidently he was the loser between the two of them, he took a swing of his glass and finished it, before he leaned over and took hers placing them on the coffee table, Cecilia watched him with bated breath. Her eyes drew him in they were half closed, Max moved like a predator, a man on a mission, he inclined his face towards hers, it took her only a moment to feel his breath on her face before she pushed up and their lips met is a slow almost lazy kiss, their eyes closed as they lost themselves in the moment, her lips soft and already open, Maxed closed his lips around her bottom one, drawing her in, his nose nudged hers, and her arms moved to his hair holding him in place, afraid he’d pull back. Max’s arms moved to hold her waist and face, with the tip of his tongue he could taste the wine they just drank, deciding then that it tasted better coming from her lips.

It’s been years since Cecilia kissed someone, but she’s sure she’s never been kissed like this before. If kisses are supposed to make you feel like this, then she’s never been kissed before, the warmths of Max enveloped her and consumed her. Moving her head, she wanted more of him, wanted him to-

“Maman!” With a startled jump they pulled away from each other, Cecilia looked at Max like a deer caught in headlights, she didn’t say anything before she moved to see what her daughter wanted. She cursed herself for losing her resolve, for not sticking with her decisions, this just got messy. She hid away in the guest room with her daughter, thankfully she had her phone in her pocket and texted her mum that they’re spending the night. 

She isn’t ready to face Max in the morning.

Next morning Cecilia wakes up and she raises her head and looks around for Nathalie but she’s nowhere to be found, slowly getting up, she doesn’t bother looking in the mirror, she slept in her jeans and shirt, yeah it wasn’t a comfortable sleep. Just as she places her hand on the knob to open the door, she remembers what happened last night. Fuck it felt so good, being this close to Max, her heart jumped and she felt all soft and tingly, she placed her forehead on the door and closes her head, reliving the moment once again. Shit, I need to focus. She bites her lip and contemplates what to do. She knows that the mature thing is to talk to Max about it and explain her feelings but she doesn’t really want to, she’s not ready to hear what he thinks.

Opening the door she hears Max talking and Nathalie laughing, following their voices she comes to the kitchen, Max was in a pair of shorts and a shirt. Watching them, Max had Nathalie mixing the eggs in a bowl that is too big, but it made it so she wouldn’t spill any of it, Nathalie was sitting on the counter, Max had one hand beside her, something she did so if Nathalie slipped she’d be able to stop her from falling.

“Like this?” Nathalie asked, looking up at the man for approval.

“Yeah, you’re doing amazing.” She wasn’t, but the answer made Nathalie very proud of herself. “What do you usually drink with breakfast?”

“Juice!” Nattie exclaimed, swinging her legs back and forth, Cecilia rolled her eyes.

“More like milk.” Cecilia interjects, she gives Nattie a look. “Don’t lie mon ange, when do you drink juice?”

“After lunch.” Nathalie answered with a pout, her shoulders dropped and she stopped mixing the eggs. 

“Why do we do that?” Cecilia asked her moving closer.

“Too much sugar is bad for you.” Nattie said the words she heard a million times before. Nattie can’t handle sugar well, if there’s no fresh juices they usually give her a small glass after she has lunch, which is her biggest meal of the day.  

“That’s right, my smart bébé.” Cecilia kisses the side of her head, and turns to look at Max, he had a smile on his face, it made Cecilia’s heart skip a beat, she looked away. “Good morning.”

“Morning, you sleep okay?” Max takes the eggs turns to the stove before he quickly finishes whisking them without Nathalie noticing, and pours it into the pan. 

“Yeah, as good as I could in jeans.” Max noticed her crumpled clothes, and her messy hair matching Nathalie’s, like mother like daughter. Cecilia combed through Nattie’s hair with her fingers taming her hair, the only thing different between them is that Nattie had curls while Cecilia’s straight/wavy.

“I can give you some clothes if you want.” Cecilia declines his offers, she planned to leave after breakfast anyway. 

“What can I help with?”  Cecilia asked.

“No momie we’re making you breakfast.” Nathalie said startling Cecilia who just raised her hands in surrender, Max laughed. Cecilia still stood by her daughter watching Max move around and give Nathalie things to do. 

They had breakfast in the kitchen, Cecilia finished eating first, she wasn’t always a fast eater but when you have a child you need to feed and also feed yourself it made her a fast eater. Max and Nattie were still eating so Cecilia took the moment to rinse the plates and place them in the dishwasher, cleaning up the kitchen.

“Mon ange get your things, we need to leave.” Cecilia called for her daughter once she finished eating, she was washing the pan Max used.

“Are we coming back soon momie?” walking to her mother with her begging look that she always used when she needed something, made Cecilia chuckle.

“Maybe.” with a pointed look the girl turned and left the kitchen with a permanent pout. She knows that Nathalie missed meeting people and just having fun with kids her age. Max is the only person she saw out of her parents and her, her brother was in Sweden, quarenting with his wife, kids and her family. 

Max silently leaned his back to the counter next to the sink, his eyes not leaving her. Cecilia tried to act like she didn’t notice, but how could she when he was standing so close, her mind flashed to the taste of his lips on hers.

“Are we going to talk about last night?” Max asked her and Cecilia didn’t answer, it isn’t very mature of her but once again she didn’t want to talk about it. “Cilia.”

“What do we need to talk about?” She decided playing dumb is the best thing to do, maybe she’s really dumb.

“Don’t do that.” Max turned off the tab and moved closer, he was serious, sighing Cecilia turned to look at him. “If you regret it, then say it, but I don’t think that you do.”

“It’s not that simple, Max and you know that.” Cecilia replied, her brows furrowed. 

“Then let’s make it simple, Cecilia, I like you, do you like me?” Cecilia’s eyes went wide, her cheeks went red, her mouth got dry and she stood there speechless. 

“It’s- max, I-I…” She stuttered feeling flustered and warm, a cocktail of emotions that she wanted to untangle, but if she does then so much would change and she doesn’t know if she's ready for that.

“I’m not asking you to marry me, do you like me? Yes or no?” Max asked once again, this time his tone is softer, full of doubt, maybe he misread the situation, maybe she was drunk(of two glasses of wine?), maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing.

“I do, I like you, but it’s not simple.” Cecilia whispered and closed her eyes, Max moved closer.

“I know that you have to think about Thalia-” She cuts him off.

“I do, but it’s not just that, Max we work together, no not together, against each other.” Cecilia said, trying to prove her point, she thought about this a lot and she talked about it with Charles, and she has a feeling that both Charles and Max saw it like each other. 

“I thought about those things too, no let me finish, your jumping to the future, since the season is postponed we have time to figure things out, we’ll take it slow, we won’t say anything to anyone and just keep it to ourselves, it wouldn’t be fair to Nathalie if we got in a relationship and then broke up a while later, as for racing, we keep work separate. You’d be happy if I won right?” Cecilia nodded, not daring to say anything. “I would be happy for you too, and that’s all we need from each other on that point, it’s simpler than you think, we’ll just take one thing at a time, you don’t have to bring Thalia with you until you’re sure we’re going to stay together, or that I’m not just playing with you and leaving, because I’m not, I’m not like your ex.”

“I know you’re not.” Cecilia mumbled, yes she doesn't want to end up heartbroken, doesn’t want her daughter to be heartbroken, but she knows Max is different.

“Then give us a chance.” Max pleaded, his hands cupping her cheeks softly, their eyes met and Cecilia’s resolve crumpled.

“Okay, yeah, let’s do it.” Max kissed her forehead softly before he let her go. They finished in the kitchen together before she and Nattie left, with a longer hug than usual, Max closed the door behind them.

His house now empty, he looked around and there was no trace of the two, it made him feel lonely, since he spent the last 24 hours with them he now felt like he was on his own, something that didn’t bother him before. When you taste something sweater and go back to how things were, it makes it harder, but he had to give it time. Dating Cecilia will be bringing so many challenges but he wasn’t one to shy away from challenges, he knows what he wants and he works his ass off to get them.

CeciliaHansson15

liked by charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1, Landonoriss and 1,597,999 others

ceciliahansson15 photodump, what is everyone been up to? I can confidently say that the art world is lucky I chose not to be an artis😎

anyway, i hope you're all staying safe ❤️❤️

view all 10,149 comments

username1 how can you look sooooo gooood 🧎‍♀️

username2 mother is mothering so hard right now

Landonoriss I've seen your 'art', it's shit

ceciliahannson15 how dare you 🫵👊 these are lies

georgerussell63 I'll have to agree with Lando on this

ceciliahansson15 how did you see my art @/georgerussell63

georgerussell63 uh... ask @/alex_albon

alex_albon mate, why? 😬

ceciliahansson15 how did YOU see it??!!! @/alex_albon

alex_albon well you see the thing is, it was @/charles_leclerc🏃🏃

charles_leclerc not cool mate

ceciliahansson15 charles....

charles_leclerc it was Lando 🤷

landonoriss I can explain

ceciliahansson15 BLOCKED all of you @/maxverstappen1 congratulations on being my new best friend

maxverstappen1 ...thanks i guess

maxverstappen1 do i need to know what happened?

georgerussell63 no

alex_albon no

charles_leclerc no

landonoriss I'll text you

ceciliahansson15 @/landonoriss 🔫🔫

Pierregasly suddenly I'm glad I havn't checked the groupchat

liked by ceciliahansson15, danielricciardo

username5 I'm living for this comment section 😂

username6 only cecilia can get half the grid in her comments section

username7 the power cecilia holds

Next->

it's 4:45 rn so if there's any mistakes tell me

Taglist:

@luciaexcorvus . @vellicora . @tpwkstiles . @belennasif  . @eugene-emt-roe . @fanboyluvr . @fangirl125reader , @christianpulisic10 . @belennasif

[h4neypot]

first date

pairing: isaacwhy x reader  summary: first date with isaacwhy full fic genre: fluff

You met Isaac at the gym, where you exchanged phone numbers and started texting each other for nearly two weeks. Finally, Isaac gained the courage to ask you out on a date.

It happened during another encounter at the gym. “Are you free Friday night? I’d like to take you out,” he asked, his voice a little nervous, almost hesitant.

Your smile widened. “Of course, Isaac. I’d love that.”

“Great! Great, great,” he said, fumbling with his words. You found it cute. “I’ll text you the details.”

“Okay! I gotta go, but I’ll be waiting for the text,” you teased. “Don’t let me down.”

“This will be the best first date of your life,” he promised with a smirk. “Just wait.”

Later that night, Isaac joined the Group voice chat on Discord.

“Yo,”

The guys greeted him back.

“Hypothetically,” Isaac began, “if you were to take a girl on a first date, what would you do?”

The voice chat exploded. Tanner and Larry started yelling so loudly that Isaac could hear them through the walls.

“Are you finally going on a date with gym girl?!” Nick exclaimed.

“Oh my god!” Grunk shrieked, flailing his arms dramatically.

“Help me, and I’ll give you all $100,” Isaac deadpanned. “Deadass.”

“Lock in, boys,” Tanner smirked, rubbing his hands together. “Easiest $100 of our lives.”

(It took the group three hours to come up with a simple dinner date plan. Tanner suggested a strip club, Larry said skydiving, and Isaac threatened to kick them out of the server too many times to count.)

The day before Friday, your phone buzzed with a notification. Seeing Isaac’s contact name, you immediately smiled.

isaacpoo: hey. dinner reservation at 7. i’ll pick you up at 6:30. you always look pretty so i’m not too worried about that, but dress fancy. i’m pulling up in a button-up. you: oh shiiii. am i getting wine and dined?!?!?! isaacpoo: fo sho shawty. see you tomorrow. you: see you tomorrow :)

Friday arrived, and you were freaking out. Your roommates helped you get ready—picking out an outfit, fixing your hair, and hyping you up. You felt a mix of nerves and excitement; after all, you’d been crushing on Isaac for weeks. At one point, you kicked your feet like a schoolgirl when he texted, “excited for tonight.”

When his car pulled up, one of your roommates shoved you out the door with a wink. “Have fun! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

Outside, Isaac was waiting with a bouquet of flowers. For the first time, you saw his face—usually, it was hidden behind a mask and sunglasses at the gym.

“Look how handsome you are,” you teased. “It’s a shame you hide all this behind your mysterious mask.”

He rolled his eyes, but his cheeks turned pink. “Haha, very funny. But thanks. You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” You accepted the flowers, genuinely touched. “Is this all for me?”

“Of course. You wanted to be wine and dined, and I’m here to deliver.” He opened the car door for you, making you blush even more.

The drive to the restaurant was full of natural conversation, with soft music playing in the background. You’d always enjoyed texting Isaac, but part of you worried that the chemistry wouldn’t carry over in person. Thankfully, it did. He told you about growing up in Pennsylvania, moving to Texas with his friends, and his love for family. You shared stories about your childhood, your ambitions, and little quirks that made you, you.

When you arrived, he surprised you by rushing over to open your car door again.

“Chivalry isn’t dead,” you quipped, looping your arm through his as he offered it.

“M’lady,” he joked, clearly warming up to you more with each second.

Dinner flew by in a flash. The restaurant was far fancier than anything you were used to, and Isaac brushed off your surprise. “It’s no big deal,” he said, smiling. You talked about everything and nothing, laughing at each other’s jokes and diving into deeper topics. The more you learned about him, the more perfect he seemed—kind, funny, and genuine. Isaac was in a similar boat as you. He surprised himself with how open he was with you. Usually, on first dates, he put up a wall; after all, it’s hard to know someone’s true intentions with him, especially as someone with his popularity. From the start, though, he knew that you were genuine and with pure intentions. That meant more to him than you could ever know.

When the bill came, you frowned, realizing the date was almost over. As you walked back to his car, you blurted, “Want ice cream?”

Isaac laughed, his whole face lighting up. “Sure.”

“Good, because I’m paying since you covered dinner.”

“Deal.” He opened the car door for you once more, and you thought, I could get used to this.

After getting your cones, you strolled through the town together. Conversation slowed, but the silence was warm and comforting. Sitting on a bench, you turned to Isaac and burst out laughing. “It looks like you ate actual shit, Isaac!”

“What?” He panicked, rubbing his face like a frantic child, only to smear chocolate further. You handed him a napkin, still giggling.

“Alright, enough laughing. You’ve got some too.” Instead of handing the tissue back, he gently wiped your face with his thumb.

You stop breathing for a good second. His hand lingered, cupping your cheek softly. You both froze, looking at each other in silence and hearts racing. You know what he wants to do; he knows what you want to do. The silence is deafening as you anticipate someone, either you or him, to break the silence with the question.

Isaac finally caves.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes.”

And so, he leaned in. The kiss was tentative at first—nervous and sweet. There were no fireworks, explosions, or any movie cliches. It’s a first kiss. It was almost awkward at first; you know for a fact that Isaac was nervous and hesitant. You took the initiative in the kiss to let him know that it was okay, that you wanted this as much as he did. He got the message and started kissing you back. Slowly, it deepened, and you felt yourself melting into the moment.

You ignored the thought in your mind that laughs at the fact that you felt like high schoolers, kissing on a bench after eating ice cream. It was kinda cute how elementary it felt. It was reflective of the way Isaac made you feel: young and innocent, genuine and comfortable.

You were the one who pulled away first. As you two separated, a giddy smile spread across your face, joy radiating all around you. Isaac smiled back, and you felt yourself falling—really, really hard.

“Well, I can check first kiss off the bucket list,” you joked.

Isaac rolled his eyes but laughed anyway. You glanced at your phone and realized how late it was. Your roommates had been texting, asking for updates and making sure you were safe. With a sigh, you responded to them quickly, then turned back to Isaac.

“I fear our time together must come to an end,” you said with a dramatic sigh.

Isaac played along. “Oh, how I hate to part.”

“Such a shame,” you replied, standing up from the bench. You stuck out your hand, and Isaac took it, letting you help him up. But instead of letting go, he tightened his grip and slid your intertwined hands into his coat pocket, keeping them warm. You nudged his side, smirking at his (admittedly successful) attempt at flirting. He winked in response.

You walked to his car, where, as usual, he opened and closed the door for you.

The drive home was quiet, with just a few comments here and there. You were getting sleepier by the minute, especially with Isaac still holding your hand as he drove. The comfort of his touch lulled you to sleep.

You woke to a gentle nudge and saw Isaac smiling softly at you.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” he said quietly.

“I’m up,” you mumbled.

“Damn, if I was boring you, you could’ve just said so instead of sleeping on me,” he teased, shaking his head.

“Whatever, Isaac.”

For the last time that night, he told you to stay put and went to open the door for you. He walked you right to your front door.

“I had a really, really, really great time tonight,” you said with a wide grin. “Like, really great.”

“Well, I had a really, really, really, really great time tonight too,” he replied with a smile.

You looked up at his tall stature, debating whether to kiss him goodnight. You wondered if he was thinking the same thing. After a few seconds, you decided he was probably too polite to kiss you again, so you hugged him instead. He instantly wrapped his arms around you, completely engulfing you. You stayed like that for a while, swaying slightly back and forth, feeling warm and safe. You inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of his cologne.

Knowing that if you didn’t pull away soon you’d stay like that forever, you let go. You took out your key and unlocked the front door. “Thank you for such a great first date. You definitely delivered as my best first date ever. Text me when you get home.”

“Thank you for the high praise,” he said, bowing jokingly. “I’ll text you, and I’ll see you again soon. That’s a promise.”

“Good,” you said, glaring playfully. “I’m holding you accountable for that promise.”

“Goodnight. Sleep well.”

“Goodnight, Isaac,” you said with one last smile before closing the door.

(Isaac felt like punching himself for not kissing you goodnight. But he also felt like punching the air in joy at the fact that you were quite literally perfect. He got into his car and instantly called the boys on Discord. He gushed about you to them the entire ride home.)

isaacpoo: i’m home!!!!! again, for the millionth time, i had a great time. i’m planning our next date asap. stay tuned.

YIPPEEE first full fic moment i actually started writing about you two meeting at the gym first and how he got your number butttttt that made it way too long so perhaps i'll fix that up and post it as a separate fic hope you enjoyed :3333

[snippychicke]

For the Sake of a Smile (v.2) Chapter Five

Title: For the Sake of a Smile (Revised)

Overall Rating: Mature (18+)

Chapter Rating: E for Everyone? Some violence, but not much

Trigger warnings: Nothing beyond the child abuse hinted in the series, though we do explore the consequences a bit more.

Main Pairing: Balam Shichiro/Reader

Summary: Hell on earth was your motto for your job. Granted, you were pretty sure earth really was hell, considering the shit you had seen in your life. And the fact your coworker was a child. 

A child named Suzuki Iruma, in fact. A kid who’s life was decidedly worse than yours, but yet he smiled despite everything. It wasn’t long after meeting him that you decided you’d do a lot for his smile. Including summoning a literal demon and signing your soul away.

But as it turns out, hell (The Netherworld, actually) was a lot better than living on earth. Demons were more humane than a lot of humans you knew.

And Iruma’s smile wasn’t the only one that would change your life.

Masterlist | Ao3| Mairimashitai! Simps Discord

Walter park was in ruins by the time you and Sullivan arrived. Three beasts continued their rampage amongst the wreckage, easily towering over everything else. A red dragon, a blue minotaur, and then a yellow rodent-like monster. None of which you had read about in your studies of your new home so far.

“Where do you think Iruma is?” You asked, clinging to Sullivan as he flew closer. Despite carrying you carefully in his arms, all traces of the genial old man you were beginning to call 'dad' were gone, leaving a serious persona you presumed his enemies had to face. 

“Usually I can sense him, but those monster’s mana are making it difficult,” He answered, before explaining further without prompt. “Those are summoned beasts, with mana stemming from multiple individuals. It's like a fog of mana covering the whole park. making it hard to pinpoint anything from this distance. Especially someone whose own, natural, mana is as weak as Iruma’s.”

“Damn it,” You growled, clutching at the fur of his suit. “What are we supposed to do then?”

“Well, I can pick out Opera, Kalego, and Balam. They're high-ranking enough that their power stands out amongst the fog.” He sighed, “And of course, each of them are near one of the monsters. I’m confident in each of their abilities…”

“Balam!” You interrupted, remembering he had texted you stating Iruma’s phone had died. Maybe Iruma was with him!

Sullivan was silent for a moment, no doubt contemplating your words and his next actions before sighing. “Okay. But, if you’re going to be near those things…” Something shifted, and it wasn’t just Sullivan as he suddenly descended. You recognized magic swelling around you, wrapping around you like a cocoon before black marks appeared along your body, stinging like a bad sunburn as they appeared on your skin. “There. That should keep you safe.”

You studied at the harsh, sharp lines, twisting and curling around your limbs, marked by runes in open patches. “Please don’t tell me these are permanent,” You groaned. Yes, there was alway that rebellious desire for a tattoo, but not like this. And definitely not across your whole body.

“They’ll fade after a few hours,” Sullivan reassured as he touched down on the ground, helping you to stand on the broken concrete. “It’s old magic I learned from a friend, that someday I hope to teach you since Runes are one the few types of magic that humans can use. After all, it’s how you first summoned me.” He smiled slightly before pointing towards the red dragon rampaging not too far away “Now, Balam is near the carmine dragon. I’m going to go towards the panther rat since that’s where Opera is.”

“Wait!” You grabbed his hand as he went to take off again. “You really think it’s safe to split up like this?”

“I wouldn’t put you in danger if I didn’t know you could handle it,” He reassured with a soft smile, patting your cheek. “You’re well defended, but who’s to say Iruma has that same guarantee?”

His words stirred that fire in your heart, and you let go with a firm nod. You could trust Sullivan. Besides, you weren’t completely sure that Iruma was with Balam, or if he was with one of the other groups and Balam was just relaying the message.

Hopefully, if he wasn't with Balam, he'd be with Opera. 

You weren't sure if it was the magic or your frantic desire to see your adopted son safe and sound that gave you the boost of energy. You ran across the debris, the path becoming more rocky and treacherous the closer you got to the rampaging dragon. You soon met demons fleeing the other way, though thankfully none tried to stop you.

"--children, can you believe that?"

"--not even their own, why?"

"--crazy, all of them. I mean--"

"--blue hair--"

The last comment made you skid to a stop and turn towards the demon who had overheard. "Wait! What about blue hair?!"

The demon looked startled by your intense expression. "Uh! Well! A group of children were trapped, and some boy with blue hair swore he was going to rescue them! Even though it has nothing to do with him!"

That was Iruma, alright. And you didn't know if you were proud, worried, angry, or all three at the same time. "Where?" You snapped, grabbing his shirt.

He pointed shakily towards the dragon, and you continued your run without another word. It wasn't long before you were caught in its massive shadow as the dragon towered less than a few meters away, still causing chaos without an apparent target.

Then a blast lit up the sky, making you falter and instinctually cower. You glanced up at the sky, stomach turning as you recognized the blond and pink haired demons in the sky above you.

Sabnock and Asmodus.

And wherever Az was, there was Iruma.

"Az!" You screamed up at the pair. "Sabnock!"

You not only garnered the two students' attention but also the dragon's. It roared as it twisted towards you, its claw a blur as it swept towards you.

Oh. Fuck. You didn't know what else to do but brace for the inevitable, hands protecting your head. The massive paw struck like a raging bear.

A bear you somehow withstood. Knees shaking, arms trembling as you felt its claw press down, but the only thing that buckled was the concrete itself. The runes burned, making you hiss, but it was minor compared to what it would have been like otherwise.

Like being squashed to death. Instead, you were stuck at a standstill, sandwiched between the ground and the dragon.

Could you push it back?

You screamed with determination as you pushed against its scaley claw. You didn't exactly push the dragon back, but shifted the claw enough it slammed to the ground beside you causing a tremor to shake the ground.

The dragon apparently didn't like the fact it was unable to crush you, and roared again…except now its mouth was filling with white-hot flames. Even as Asmodeus and Sabnock tried to distract its attention away from you, their familiars now by their side, you feared you had pissed it off too much.

Would the runes protect you against that? Or would they fail? You looked for shelter, but everything nearby had been reduced to piles that had no place for you to hide.

The fire crackled like a raging wildfire, giving you a brief warning to brace one more time for the inevitable.

Except there was a gust of wind instead of fire, The flames roared around you, casting off intense heat but otherwise harmless, the familiar swell of mana casting over you much like Sullivan's. You opened your eyes, and saw nothing but a dark shadow before you.

Eventually the blast faded away, letting you see more than a shadow as Balam glanced back at you, his expression indiscernible.

"Hi," You breathed out, more than a little stunned by the impressive display. "T-thank you."

“What are you doing here?” He finally spoke, sounding frantic and worried. “How? Why! Do you realize how dangerous it is right now?”

“And you think I could stay away when Iruma is in danger?” You shot out of reflex moments before the dragon roared. You could barely move as the dragon fired a blast once more, but Balam's reflexes proved quick enough as he pulled you close, a cocoon of magic wrapping around you the same way his arms were.

“I suppose right now isn’t the best time to argue,” He admitted, barely audible over the flames despite his mask brushing against your hair.

“Agreed," You replied, fighting the invasive thought from being so close. Instead of being warm, he felt nice and cool, shading you from the heat.

“Now that the children are safe, I’ll step in,” He continued, “but you should take cover with the boys over in that building.”

“Sounds like a plan, just…” You paused, looking up at him, meeting his gaze. "Be careful, please." You wanted to blame the adrenaline for the odd thumping of your heart as he gently touched your face. It was a very brief moment, yet felt far more significant than any touches in the past.

“You too,” He finally spoke as the flames died. “Now, run.”

You didn’t look back as you sprinted towards the half-demolished building. Your heart lightened when you saw Iruma waving at you. Him, Agares, and half a dozen small kids meeting you near the entrance.

“Mom!” Iruma crashed into you with the same intensity you crashed into him. “What are you doing here?! Are you okay?!”

“Am I okay? Are you okay!” You pulled away to check for any injuries, though found nothing more than some mild scratches. The boy did have inhuman reflexes at dodging, but it still felt like a heavy boulder was lifted from your chest as he gave you a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, glancing towards the others. "We're all okay, I think."

Once you were satisfied he was unharmed, your attention moved to the other kids. Agares was fine, if looking mildly annoyed that he had to share his cloud with the young children. All of which looked terrified, still covered in dirt, a few scrapes but nothing serious. Still, that maternal instinct urged you to clean the dirt off their faces. “Are you kiddos good?”

“Yeah,” They each sniffed, nodding their heads. You smiled reassuringly as you fussed over each one, checking for yourself for any injuries. More than a few ended up silently clinging to you, desperate for a reassuring touch. 

"Iruma!" You looked up to see Asmodus and Sabnock approaching, the taller demon looking like he had taken the brunt of one other dragon's fire attacks. Iruma tackled Asmodus in a hug, and you shifted your attention to the golden haired demon.

"Are you two okay?" You asked, wishing you knew more than the basic first aid for small cuts and minor burns. Or maybe just first aid for demons. You weren't sure if what you knew applied to them, considering every human you knew would be near death looking like Sabnock, but the teen was (mostly) upright and grinning.

"Yeah, we're fine!"

"Liar! Neither of us can barely walk!" Asmodus shouted from behind him, still holding Iruma tight. "Let alone use any kind of magic right now!"

"Yeah, but we're alive aren't we? And so is Ms. Suzuki and the kids Iruma saved! And we looked absolutely cool while doing it!"

Relief washed over you in a brief moment as the two bickered, and you could see Iruma's smile reflect the same emotion. Agares groaned and grumbled about the two being too loud, and the children just watched with stars in their eyes, as if meeting real super heroes.

Though, in a way, they were. All of them.

And you couldn't be any prouder.

The earth rumbled again, cutting your thoughts short. You feared the red dragon had set its sights on your group again. But instead, a second dragon now stood guard between the shelter and the scarlet beast. The new dragon looked more like a creature that dragged itself from the depths of a swamp than an actual dragon, with a mane like seaweed from head to tip of its tail.

And, barely able to be seen, was Balam hanging down from vines that seemed to make up the dragon, using his clawed feet to hang on.

"Is that Professor Balam’s familiar?" Iruma asked with the same awe you felt.

"Actually, I think that’s Nigyul," Asmodeus answered. "I've heard rumors that Professor Balam had a Nigyupnil dragon as a pet named Nigyul. Nigyupnils are related to the nigi-nigi weed, except they grow with mana instead of water. They're nearly impossible to find, and I admit, until now I thought the Professor taming one was just a rumor."

And until now, you hadn't really seen Balam as the demon he truly was. After all, he was so nice, so kind, so eager to learn, and hardly seemed to want to harm anything or anyone.

But as you watched the two dragons fight - Nigyul easily overpowering the carmine dragon - you realized that there was definitely a powerhouse behind his usual demeanor.

But, also, you realized that you weren't quite in a safe place as Nigyul wrapped vines into the other dragon, causing it to begin to thrash violently. The surrounding buildings shook as if an earthquake had hit, rubble once more raining down. "Let's get out of here before something happens," You urged, helping Sabnock despite his reluctance.

You expected the tussle to last a while, especially as the carmine dragon used its fire breath. Except the fire seemed to pass over Nigyul as harmlessly as it passed over you and Balam earlier. Nigyul shaked off any embers that managed to catch its mane before he lunged forward, tackling the carmine dragon and digging in his claws, teeth, and vines.

The carmine dragon's roar of pain was choked off a thick bundle of vines. Its massive maw snapped at the air, claws pinned to keep it from scratching at the noose. It took a minute before the dragon started to waver, slowly collapsing onto the ground - as if in slow motion - before landing heavily.

Still, Nigyul waited, making sure the beast was well and truly dead before releasing his grip.

You were stunned by the display as Nigyul shrank rapidly, Balam landing gracefully on the ground, with Nigyul in his hand, no larger than a small kitten.

Minutes. Minutes is all it took for Balam to topple the dragon. You had felt the power of the dragon itself crushing down on you, nevermind the evidence of its destructive power was in the ruins of the amusement park surrounding you.

Yet, for Balam and Nigyul, it had seemed no more than a minor opponent.

Iruma, Sabnock, and Asmodeus soon crowded around the tall professor expressing the same sentiment, professing how 'cool' and 'powerful' he was.

 It was amusing to see Balam flustered, his face pink but obvious that a smile was hiding behind his mask. He looked over towards you as Asmodus and Sabnock started to argue once more, something changing in his gaze. 

You ignored the flip-flop of your stomach as you took your turn to approach the hero of the day.  "That was amazing,” You offered, feeling unusually shy. You were fully aware everyone else had said the same thing, but still, you felt like you needed to say it. 

And even then, it didn’t seem to do justice to what you had witnessed.

"Thank you," He said, rubbing the back of his head, face still darkened by a blush. "Though, I hope no one was hurt by any flying debris when the carmine dragon was thrashing around…"

"Not a single pebble hit anyone, as far as I know," You reassured, your attention drifting to the dragon in his hand. Without really thinking, you reached up to brush its wet-looking mane. It looked so cute with its tail twisting around his thumb, reminding you of an opossum baby holding onto its mother. "I can't believe this little cutie is the same beast that took on that dragon with little effort."

The small dragon sniffed your fingers carefully before headbutting them, reminding you of a cat demanding to be pet. And well, who were you to refuse the chance to pet an actual dragon? The main felt soft and damp, while his hide felt both pliable but firm, rather like the body of a vine. 

"Nigyupnil dragons feed on magic. The more magic for them to consume, the more they grow. While in the wild the largest they usually achieve is that of a hellcat, Nigyul can grow far more massive when linked to my mana." Balam explained, easily sliding into professor mode before catching himself. "But more importantly, how are you here?"

You were about to explain the rapid flow of events when two flashes of light caught your eye. You barely realized the carmine dragon itself was starting to glow when Balam shifted his stance, standing between the magical beast and everyone.

"Stay back!"

--+-- Su-Ki-Ma --+--

Opera was surprised when Lord Sullivan landed beside them, watching as Ameri fought the panther leopard. "Lord Sullivan? What are you doing here?"

"I saw the newscast and was worried about my precious grandson!" The demon lord answered, pouting slightly. "How could I stay away when my precious Iruma-kins was in danger?"

That made sense, but only very superficially. "Iruma is with Balam's group." And Sullivan should have been able to pinpoint exactly where the human was, considering both the magic of the Gluttonous Ring and the cologne masking the human scent of Iruma was easy enough to follow.

"Oh, I know," Lord Sullivan confirmed with a smile and went as far as winking at his security demon "But I have every faith the white gargoyle of Babyls can protect not only Iruma, but maybe impress my dear daughter some more while doing so."

Opera smiled faintly, their hands clasping together as their tail twitched with glee. "Oh? So Operation: Matchmaker is a go?"

"Absolutely!" Sullivan agreed with a clap. "Oh you should have seen the way she was smiling at his messages today!" Sullivan pulled out his own phone, showing the feline demon snapshots of you smiling at your phone, happiness evident on your face. "Those two are going to be so cute together!"

"Indeed they will be, sir," Opera readily agreed. They were happy that they had possibly found someone appropriately suited to be their kohai's mate; someone who wasn't perturbed by his skinship habits, or intense love of learning about anything that breathed.

You had accepted Balam's quirks readily, and even appreciated them. Opera even dared to hope that you were beginning to love him even for the supposed flaws.

Hopefully, you wouldn't be scared off by his physical quirks either. It was easy to tell you found the professor attractive, but you hadn't seen his scar yet either - or the rest of his demon nature.

"Speaking of which," Lord Sullivan interrupted Opera's silent musings. "Have you figured out which of these lovely demons have a thing for our little Iruma?"

"I'm pretty sure all of them, sir. Though Master Iruma continues to be oblivious."

“I’m glad they can all appreciate how wonderful my grandson is! Though, I have a feeling Asmodeus will be giving them a run for their money.” Lord Sullivan smiled as he watched Ameri land the final blow. “To have the honor of seeing the next era of the Netherworld develop right before our eyes, Opera, is going to be more fun than I thought it would be.”

[gunilslaugh]

Aah I'm so glad to see cute XH fics!! Could I request a Gunil fluff that's something along the lines of 'online mutuals to friends to ldr lovers'🥺 thanks in advance ~

Thank you for sending in this request. I hope that you like it :)

Koo Gunil

Non-idol au

Summary: You never thought joining your friend’s discord server would lead to you getting a long distance boyfriend, but here you are.

WC:1.2k

Warning:grammar

photo not mine credits to owner

It all started with a simple text from your friend that read, “Hey I made a discord server join it :)” with the link attached. You were a bit puzzled about why your friend would suddenly create a server, but still tapped the link to join it nonetheless. After joining you see a message from your friend saying that they created the server, so there was a place where all of their friends could talk.

“So you just created a big group chat.” you typed in the general chat area.

“Yes, now go to the introductions channel and introduce yourself, some of you guys in here don’t know each other.” Your friend was quick to reply

“Great you just put a bunch of strangers in a chatroom.”

“You aren’t strangers, you're mutuals.” Your friend corrects you. You tap over to the introduction channel to introduce yourself, but you have no clue what to type except for “Hi my name is y/n.” Your fingers hover over the keyboard as you try to think of something else to add. Eventually you end up typing  “Hi my name is y/n. I’m bad with introductions, so you can just ask me if you have any questions lol”. You hit send without paying any more attention to it. You read through some of the other people's introductions. There were some people that you already knew and others that were your “mutuals” as your friend put it. Overall the server appeared to be a friendly space. 

A few weeks have gone by since joining the server. You’ve become more acquainted with your mutuals. Specifically one whose name is Gunil. The both of you first started talking in the general chat with others. However, that gradually migrated into talking one on one with each other. Gunil and you had an instant connection. Skipping over the initial awkwardness that can come with first meeting someone. You found out that he lived in Korea, playing the drums was his favorite hobby, he was even a part of a band and he worked at a cafe. The hardest thing about your newly found friendship was getting used to the time difference. However you found that you didn’t mind losing a bit of sleep to talk to him. In fact you found yourself doing it quite often.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and your friend were hanging out at the mall. Presently situated on a bench, taking a break from all the walking around. Your phone went off, it was a message from Gunil. Unbeknownst to you your face breaks out into a smile as you open it. Your friend on the other hand does notice this smile. Taking a peak at your phone.

“Oh my gosh! Since when is that a thing?!” They break out.

“Quiet down we’re in public,” you scold them. “What are you even talking about?” you follow.

“You and Gunil,” they smirk at you.

“Stop, we're just friends,” you told them. 

“Just remember to invite me to the wedding,” they tease you. Prompting you to swat them in the arm.

“Seriously it’s not like that. We’re just talking anyway,” You explained

“So you're in the talking stage,” your friend wiggles their eyebrows at you. Causing you to glare at them. “Plus don’t even try to tell me you’re not interested in him. I can tell by that smile on your face that you are,”

“I wasn’t smiling,” you refused.

“Yes you were, quit being in denial there’s something there,”

“Ok, even if I was interested he lives in Korea. It wouldn’t work out,” you stated 

“You know long distance relationships are a thing,” they bring up.

“You know those have a tendency to not work out,” you pointed.

“Don’t know if you don’t try. Give it a shot and see where things go.” your friend pushes.

“I don’t know, it’s not like we’ve been talking very long,” you say, unsure about what your friend is encouraging.

“Look, just have an open mind to it alright?” they conclude. You nodded your head at their words.

“Fine we’ll see how things play out,” you conceded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon enough your messaging with Gunil turned into video calls.

“Y’know I didn’t call you to stare at your ceiling,” he voices

“How dare you. My ceiling is great! You said blithely. “But give me just a sec. I'm fixing my hair, it's messy,” you informed him as you attempted to tame the stray hairs.

“I don’t care how your hair looks,it could look like a rat's nest and I’d still think you're pretty” he voices. You’re glad that you’re off camera or else Gunil could easily see the scarlet color taking over your face. 

“You can’t say things like that.” you apprise. Plopping down on your bed, adjusting the camera so that you’re in frame.

“There’s that pretty face,” he says, completely ignoring your last comment.

“What did I just tell you?” you laugh out. 

“What? I can’t be honest?” he questions with faux cluelessness. 

“How was busking?” you ask,changing the topic. 

“It was good. We made a decent amount of money,” he responds.

“I wish that I could see you busk in person. It looks cool,” you tell him. 

“You will,” he firmly stated “I’m positive that one day we’ll meet in person,” he continued on. 

“I really hope so. I would be amazing to get to see you in person,”

“Yeah I can’t wait for the day that I get to see your beautiful self in person,”

“There you go talking like that again,” This sentence causes Gunil to laugh.

“What’s so wrong with it?” he questions you. 

“It makes me want to date you,” the words leave your mouth before you have any time to think about it. Panic begins to set in. Should you just hang up? Play it off as a joke? Seriously, why did you say that? How stupid could you be?

“I want to date you too,” Gunils words interrupt your panic.

“You do?” you questioned quietly. Gunil’s laugh once more spills from your speakers.

“Of course I do. I thought I was making that obvious,”

“But we live in two different countries. Don’t you think the distance will affect us?” you utter your concerns.

“The distance didn’t stop us from becoming friends or developing feelings for one another,” he reminds you. “I’m not saying that it won’t be a bit annoying at times, but it definitely won’t stop us. I’m perfectly capable of being your boyfriend through a screen,” he added lightheartedly at the end. His words bring you the reassurance that you needed. 

“Then I’m perfectly capable too,” you declare. Seeing the happiness that takes over his face and fists that he raises in victory completely makes your worries go away. The distance may complicate some things, but you're sure that you and Gunil will work it out.

The following day when you tell your friend about Gunil being your boyfriend all that they reply with is.

“Like I said, remember to send me an invitation to the wedding. Ooh and you better mention me in your speech too. My discord server started it all afterall,” You can only shake your head and laugh at your friend’s dramatics.

[blacktobackmesa]

"Gordon’s gut feeling was not liking the direction this was going in.

'So I took it,' Benrey continued. 'It was the story that made sense to Gordon Freeman, so it was probably the right one. If I could play the part of Final Boss, maybe I could have some story that made sense. And like, if I was secretly planning all this, that’s so much cooler than having to believe that everything about the way I work is–'

Benrey stopped himself, but seemed to realize it was already too late. He closed his mouth with a half-grumble, half-sigh.

'A mistake,' he finished. 'Being the awesome final boss was easier than accepting I don’t work.'

The metaphorical cards were all on the table. Gordon could never forget that boss fight, with the gigantic warping form of a security guard spouting line after line of a nonsense narrative in what Gordon had assumed was some attempt at scaring the team off. 

But that had never been true, had it? Benrey hadn’t been trying to get anyone to do anything. It had all been for him. He was throwing out narrative hook after narrative hook, trying to get anything to stick to the wall and establish that he was a part of the world. He’d tried every angle– appeal to emotion, nostalgia, crude humor, a grand adventure, even video game developer corporate conflict. It was all a Hail Mary toss, and it was never caught.

'Holy shit, dude.' Gordon could only whisper."

For the fanfic commentary, this was one of my favorite parts of "Don't Spell Memory Without Me" and I was genuinely blown away by how good and smart this interpretation of Benry is for the Gordon streamman series and I would love to hear your thoughts on it. <3

In response to this prompt

[cracks knuckles] FUCK yes let's go. Ramble time

So neat fact about this. I posted the first chapter of Memory in late May of 2022, and it took several more months to get to the Benrey reveal. I actually put this explanation of Benrey’s actions in a joke text post in mid April, and it got exactly twenty notes. Foreshadowing level 100. 

I have a close friend who I bounce all my ideas around with, which is a very necessary part of the creative process for me. It also makes it handy to keep track of when my ideas came around– my first discord message to them that discussed the concept of Benrey having no past and improvising everything is dated to February, and it was in the middle of a chat about the story that would evolve into Run For Your Life. So it’s been floating in Headcanon Space since before the Streamman series got a solid start. Dang, it’s been around since before I started my current job! 

Benrey’s just so interesting, you know? He’s weirdly powerful. He follows his own set of rules, and doesn’t like it when other people don’t. He’s not human. He says all sorts of stuff that doesn’t make sense, even when the stakes are at their highest. What’s his motivation? Why is any of this happening? There’s never a concrete answer, but from another perspective, it’s pretty simple. He’s in an improv scene.

I’m an ex-theater kid, and I’ve done my fair share of improv. I took a class a couple years ago held by this big-name local theater, getting back in touch with the basics. Most people are familiar with the classic “Yes, And” rule– you can’t turn down the fact that your scene partner just gave you. You have to accept that as reality, and then build on it. 

Gordon, of course, breaks the golden rule right off the bat. It wouldn’t be turning Benrey down if he just went “Oh I don’t have it, I meant to bring it today.” It’s the fact that he’s confused about being asked. As a character, Gordon (not Wayne) is a terrible improv partner, and the scene is supposed to be all about him. Benrey’s existence is defined by and contained within an improv scene, and this guy keeps turning down all his leads. So when Gordon gives him something to work with– a role as an antagonist– he has to take it. 

This interpretation of Benrey is also rooted in my own experience with neurodivergence, and with something I call the Spicy Banana effect. There’s a name for it, probably, but I like Spicy Banana. I’ve heard anecdotes about people who have gone decades without realizing they have a banana allergy since nobody had ever told them what bananas were supposed to taste like. And why would you? Everyone knows what bananas taste like, and since the affected person never got seriously ill, they just assumed that everyone tasted bananas as spicy. Among other things, I was well into my teenage years before I found out that it doesn’t take most people well over an hour to fall asleep every night. When you don’t have context, it’s easy to feel like everyone is just managing obvious problems better than you are. Finding out the truth is double sided: you have the relief of knowing you’re not bad, you’re just different, but you can also feel cheated. I’ve had to deal with carrying rocks in my backpack this whole time, and their backpacks were empty?

As a final note, I want to talk about a bit in this excerpt that I'm unsatisfied with, but refuse to change.

["]And like, if I was secretly planning all this, that’s so much cooler than having to believe that everything about the way I work is–"

Benrey stopped himself, but seemed to realize it was already too late. He closed his mouth with a half-grumble, half-sigh.

"A mistake," he finished. "Being the awesome final boss was easier than accepting I don’t work."

The final line in this part doesn't really feel like something Benrey would say. It's hard to articulate exactly, but it feels melodramatic in a very DeviantArt Sad Wolf Drawing kind of way. It's a little too honest for Benrey, like he's breaking character. But I can see how that could make it hit even harder for some, y'know? Like he's letting his guard down. It's not my favorite line, but I won't touch it. It's fine the way it is.

Thanks so much for picking my brain with this. I will always talk about my work I love it so much

[crimson-catalyst]

nephfei's Mending Day 2024 was going to be set in Atala, the centicorn capital, but didn't quuiiite make it around jac's busy schedule - but that didnt stop me from unlocking the deep Laika lore for @skittykittycat's Ersie! written piece once more.

(related introduction: Ersie's Mending Day 2023 && followup comic (4 panels) sorry the intermediate time is trapped in discord speculation hell LOL)

~~~~~

bzt bzt!

A text? This late? Ersie carefully shifts the pizza box she’s carrying to get at her phone and flicks it on. It's Laika, replying to her invitation to lunch from much earlier this morning.

sorry i missed you 😭 maybe we can catch each other next week instead?

Well, she was still in the neighborhood... and she had all this leftover pizza that had been thrust upon her by the showrunners at the gig she had just left. What would it hurt to stop by?

aw nbd  💖 im just a block away actually if ur still up and want to say hi rq?

my clients gave me a whole box of pizza if u wanna take some off my paws 😭😂

Laika’s usually fast to reply so she should hear back before she leaves the area... Hope she was okay earlier, Ersie muses. Probably just busy at the studio for Mending Day photoshoots.

bzt bzt!

youre too sweet 💚💛🧡 though id hate to make you go out of ur way

Heck with it, Ersie figures. She’s exhausted socially and physically but whats one more quick visit? Maybe her batteries are so shot that it'll nerf her anxiety (ha, as if). And besides, she’ll never eat this much pizza alone.

its no biggie ill cya soon ;3 

She shoots back a text, plucking the box out of the air so as not to risk magic overuse. Laika’s is... she pivots. This way!

Swapping the stupid box to her other paw again - she really should just use magic, honestly - Ersie pokes the faulty doorbell until she hears its distant chime.

“Hey,” Laika’s mane ruffles in the rush of air as the door opens on her snow white halo. “Late night gig hunh? Don’t let me keep you out too long.” Her voice peaks and cracks. Ersie’s certain her smile is forced.

“Y-yeah,” should she say something?? “A little uh, ~Anti-Mending Day~ rave. It was neat, I’ve never been to something like it! Their previous sparky recc’ed me.” She holds her tongue, as much as she’d like to gush more about the event. It’s late, Laika’s clearly tired...

“There’s so much happening today! Nobody can agree what Mending Day should be about,” she sniffles and not-so-subtly wipes her red nose with a paw. “Haha, I wonder if we would’ve even been able to find a place for lunch. Sorry about that, by the way...”

Okay, she’s not just tired. Every curious bone in Ersie’s body screams for her to pry, especially after last year’s Mending Day when she came home from Roost and talked Laika’s ear off. What had this cat so expertly avoided telling Ersie about her past?

“No no it’s okay! I wouldn’t have been able to stay long anyway what with early setup.” don’t ask, Ersie, don't- “.... Iiis everything okay?” ah.

Laika’s smile falters.

“I just! mean, um, was it busy at the studio today? Or did you have a date that didn’t- ah, um, spent time with family and all their drama-” she was just making this worse. “Ohh my gods. ahem. Did someone-” Ersie!!!! “sorry. SORRY.”

She can feel her cheeks burning as she sinks into the floor, only to be assuaged by a peal of quiet but genuine laughter as Laika giggles at her. Her ears perk up and she looks up at her friend standing in the door. Tears are pricking her eyes, but her smile is real this time.

“Ersie, Ersie; it's okay. You’re right, today sucked.” she hiccups on the last word. “Get in here, I owe you the tea anyway.” She steps back and out of the doorway, gesturing Ersie inside.

“I- you don't have to tell me if you're not ready.”

“I spent all day wishing I’d already told you so I didn't feel like such a jerk calling off lunch. But- only if you don't have to get home,”  she adds, “Don't let me make this all about me.”

“My plan for the night was ‘scroll KucKoo and eat cold pizza.’” Ersie grins.

“Then let's gossip and eat cold pizza. Heavens knows my life is a KucKoo-worthy story as it is, and I skipped dinner.” Laika rolls her eyes, then offers her paws for the box and takes it as Ersie walks into the condo.

“There’s a coaster next to you,” Laika hands Ersie a glass of cherry soda. She reaches her little paws out of the huge plush blanket she’s already nestled in. Ersie’s kind of couch, honestly. She loved visiting Laika’s place. She chirps a quick “Thanks!!”

She takes a little sip as Laika sets down her own drink and arranges herself in a mountain of pillows, carefully tucking her massive tail around herself. “Goddsssss. Okay.” Laika takes a deep breath to hype herself up, sniffling a little bit. “Sorry I'm such a MESS I've been holed up in here all day. Urghhh.”

“The Atala ex?” Ersie guesses. Not that she knows any more than that.

“The one and only,” she groans. “Mending D-day” she chokes, “Is- was- our anniversary. Both for dating and-” she gestures as her horn, and hisses with unmistakable venom. “-this.”

Ersie hides her surprise with another sip of soda. She’s never heard Laika’s voice that hard.

“I just- I’m thinking a lot about how Mending Day was originally all about thanking the other nephs for their generosity to spinx - I mean, I think it's bunk, but that's not the point. He was a religious neph. He chose today. Did he know? Was it just coincidence? I -” she pauses. “Wait. Let me start over, there’s so much to this." She adjusts her tail one more time and shakes her head to clear it, then spreads her beans out dramatically to start the tale.

“So you know I’m from Atala?”

Ersie nods.

“I moved here when Urban Fabrics hired me. That was it, I’ve been working there since I set my first paw on the Catalis pavement - technically I was an employee even before that legally speaking.”

---

“Danik! Danik, I got scouted!”

“You what?” the centicorn turned his head to her as he hung up his coat. She had grabbed the mail first on their way in; he had picked her up from work.

“I got a job offer from Urban Fabrics Company!!” Laika squealed, hopping with excitement as she clutched her letter.

“Urban Fabrics? The guys who put on Next Top Meowdel?? From when they visited your salon? Oh babe, that's so cool! For how long?”

She holds the papers out to him proudly across the apartment. “They have a permanent show stylist position opening up!! Oh my gods, this is a DREAM...”

“Is it for the run of a show? I don’t know anything about showbiz.” he walks behind her, touching her fur gently, and peers over her shoulder at the text. “Six months??”

“That's just the trial contract,” Laika explains, giddy. “Then if they like you you get onboarded on salary. They can afford to be picky.”

“Can you say no?”

“I- sure probably,” she flicks her ears, confused. “If the work environment sucks that's also my opportunity to bail. It’s a win-win.”

“That could work,” He nods thoughtfully behind her. “It’s a long time, but then you’ve got a glowing star on your resume, and we don’t have to move to Catalis.”

Her brain short circuits and she’s silent for a moment.

“What do you- it’s not for one show, it's for the company as a whole, indefinitely. If I get the full-time position we would have to.”

“Why would we move to Catalis?? All our family is here, all our friends are here! We have duties and jobs here and a home! We’d be insane to leave.”

Laika clutches the papers back to her chest, ears flattening. She edges away from her partner as she turns to face him.

“I’d be insane to pass this up! This is the opportunity of a lifetime, Danik, this is the kind of thing you leave behind your childhood for!”

“We’ve always planned to raise our family here!”

“But-”

"But nothing!" The centicorn leans forward over Laika, sweeping an arm in front of him angrily. “We can’t leave our parents, and the temple! I grew up with that congregation - and you're a part of it now too - and we’ve known for a while I’m going to be next on the council!”

“I don't remember talking about either of those things,” Laika mutters stonily.

“Sure we have! forever!! Adopting twins if we can find any? Twilight and Astarion? A mushroom house? You a stylist and me a cleric, on the side while we're parenting???” his hooves sound like firecrackers on the tiled floor as he clops to underline each point.

“Wh- Danik, we last talked about baby names playing hooky behind the school! We aren’t sixteen anymore!! We’re adults with different plans than an idyllic two-and-a-half foals in Atala!”

“You haven't given me any reason to think that wasn’t the plan!”

Her eyes burn with tears and she thrusts the letter in his face. “Well here’s your reason! I want this job that I’ve dreamed of since I got licensed and I want to move to Catalis for it!”

---

Laika faceplants into a pillow and growls in frustration before looking back up at Ersie.

“Like, am I wrong that fangirling over a show so hard that you build a successful career around it and talk about working for them all the time is pretty clear communication? Are Atalan centicorns just that dense??” She throws her paw up in an exasperated one-handed shrug.

Ersie doesn't respond, furiously tapping out some final words on her phone and flips around a shitty meme generator. 'i am dropping hints that i want to work for urban fabrics.' Laika laughs a sharp “HA” and throws the pillow at her, giggling through her tears.

“I mean, clearly you probably should've talked about it,” Ersie admits, “but he could've done the same, girl!!”

“TRUE!” Laika crows, picking up another piece of the cold sheet pizza. Pillows are all over the floor and they've both been back and forth to the kitchen to refill their drinks. They're laughing more than Laika is crying, but it's hard not to feel punchy when you're this tired this late at night. Maybe it's for the best.

"What gets me is that even though the first fight SUCKED I was open to work it out! I tried so many times to have a rational conversation about our future and how much it meant to me - even a long-distance thing - and he just dug his damn hooves in deeper and deeper." She bites her pizza in revenge. "My tipping point was realizing that my friends and my family were barely in the area anymore, and he was only really tallying his. Eventually it was him or the job. His words!! Not even kidding!!!"

"Wow, scumbag much?"

"URGHHH with every year I agree with that more and more, but... we were together for almost fifteen years. He wasn't shitty for most of it... just the very end." Laika droops again, sniffling.

"I don't know, not being willing to even listen to your partner when they say 'this is important to me' doesn't seem like an issue you develop overnight." Ersie tilts her head. "It simply hadn't come up, I guess."

Laika clutches a new pillow and squeezes it, looking away. "Yeah...."

"And!" Ersie adds, "He was ~sooo~ good at communicating in other situations. Like the plan for your entire future. Relationships can't just be trivial things; what if it was about something else? Like kids?? It HAS to be better that this-" she waves a paw, "-happened when it did and not later."

"You're right," Laika sighs. "That's what I keep telling myself too. Gods, he's so good at communicating that 'I just need some space' became 'I'm never gonna acknowledge your existence again.' Not that it matters, I don't want to talk to him anymore."

"In three years??"

"Nope. Nothing. Not since I walked out the door."

"Damn. Cold."

"I broke his heart, I guess." She's trying to shrink into the pillow but it's much too small. "It sucks," she laughs bitterly, "to have a constant reminder of him nailed to my forehead. Sometimes I wish he'd corrupt me."

"...to prove he hates you too?"

"I don't.... hate him. It's complicated, I......" she growls. "Alright. Yeah. A little. But that's not my point, I was kinda getting at this earlier; it's been on my mind all day. You went to an Anti-Mending Day rave, right?"

"Worked it, but close enough." It's a fine line of distinction in Ersie's profession.

"Yeah, and.... there's Destruction Day protestors too. I don't entirely agree with them either but it's gotten me thinking. Does he know? Did he know how much this tied me to him? He was religious, he must have. How much it was expected of Atalan spinxyn - or at least in our neck of the woods - to get gifted horns if they 'did it right', nevermind what 'it' was? You know what I mean." she gestures vaguely to Ersie's normal, empty, catlike shoulders.

Ersie's mind instantly flashes to her brothers. "Ohhhhh yeah. I get it. At least for us it's-" she scrambles for a word. "-more casual? Even a friend can gift you your wings." she snorts, and amends with heavy airquotes, " """Your""" wings, as if everyone should have them. But you know how harpips are, especially in comparison to centicorns."

"It's true! Atalan centicorns, at least, are more reticent. You have to ~earn it~." Laika rolls onto her back and punches the pillow with her back legs, flipping it into the air and over the back of the couch. "I dunno. It's hard to say, he was a part of the system too. I don't think he did anything malicious; he made it look like my tail and he gave me a mane..."

"Your HAIR is his????" Laika, famous(ly employed) hairdresser? Her whole life was her fur!

"IT IS!" She howls with surprised delight that only comes about well past one's bedtime, "You didn't know??"

"I mean I guess he did a good job! Or YOU do a better job blending it in!" Ersie grins and flicks Laika's head fur with her tailtip, happy to have lightened the mood a little again. "I can't believe you've gotta look him in the mirror every single day."

"Yeah..." Laika's burst of energy sputters out again all too quickly. It's late, and the soda's wearing off.

She holds two fingers out in a circle like a telescope. "I try not to think about it too much but being spinxyn kind of sucks sometimes."

“Yeah.”

The girls sit in silence for a moment.

“You should come with me to the Anti-Mending Day rave next year.”

“Yeah. I should. That sounds like fun.”

[melisasenkcn]

Who: Julian Heywood @julianxheywood

Where: Julian's Yacht

When: Julian's Birthday Party

Summary: Melisa goes to Julian's birthday to celebrate his big day. The two end up alone to talk, but both get closer than either was expecting.

Note: This was written on Discord

Setting foot on the boat filled Melisa with a sense of regret. She hadn’t been to Julian’s yacht since the night they spent together. But they’d find very little privacy tonight. And seeing all the beautiful women in bikinis she knew she wouldn’t even be high on his list of temptations. Honestly, at this point she just wanted to find him to say happy birthday and leave. She still held the small, carefully wrapped present from her father he asked her to give. Though Melisa suspected he had only given it to her to make sure she didn’t wuss out or leave. A thought that had already been in her head when she got there and only intensified after running into Dana, his far too loyal assistant. Sighing, she was about to give up. She didn’t belong here, nor was she probably wanted. Julian had only been being nice when he told her to come over text. It was while her neck was craned up at the upper deck searching for him, that his tall form ran into her. “Whoa.” Melisa breathed, reaching out to him to steady herself. “Hey, here you are.” She smiled softly, nerves eating her up. “I was looking for you.”

He had been lucky that the race had been cancelled. Though it would’ve been his team’s home race, he was glad he got to celebrate his birthday, especially with how Dana had gone all out for it. Perhaps he had been a bit too enthusiastic, drinking beer, taking shots with people he called friends and those he didn’t even know. It mattered little to him, he was having fun, feeling like he hadn’t been laughing this much in years. He had been looking for her at first, at the start of the evening. But then the alcohol started flowing and his attention was brought to other things. He slurred something to a group of people he just had a shot with, laughter infused with his words when he turned around to mingle on the other side of the ship when he knocked into someone. “MEL!” He exclaimed, giving her a teethy grin before he wrapped his arms around her, literally lifting her from her feet in a bear hug. “You actually showed, you little minx.” He grinned, putting her down on her feet again. “I didn’t know we were playing hide and seek.”

Melisa was honestly about to give up and just go home. She hadn’t run into Beyza or Hazal yet so it was only a matter of time. Dana had already made her opinions on getting Melisa to leave quite clear. Something nasty stirred in her as she thought of the dark haired woman. She’d been too angry, too protective of Julian for someone who didn’t even know Melisa. But then he was there. Right in front of her, touching her. And very drunk. Melisa couldn’t help but smile as he lifted her up in a hug. A real smile that hadn’t reached her lips in so long. “I did. And you’ve been drinking clearly.” She chuckled slightly, her eyes dancing with amusement at his behavior. “Little minx, huh?” Melisa had showed, and she hadn’t run yet. But seeing him, seeing him happy was worth it. “I was looking for you, were you trying to hide from me?” Melisa asked, her tone teasing. Just how many drinks was he down?

“Have you had any? Do you want any? I can get you any — that’s not right is it?” Words were flowing before his brain could get him to stop, not that he was processing any of it, it was all a blur and it’d be a miracle if he remembered everything the next day. “I wouldn’t be very good at hiding, too many people know me. You’re just not good at searching.” He slurred, though if one looked at his body language alone they wouldn’t think he was drunk as he wasn’t even swaying. No he was well fit to drink the amount he already had. Throw in some food in there and he’d be exactly the same three hours from now. “Got your gifts. I hate them. Well I love them, but I hate them. You’re a mean one mr grinch. Hehe. Get it?”

As he let out a word vomit flow of offering her drinks, Melisa shook her head, though smiled. “I’m fine, thanks. There’s lots of drinks flowing, no one can accuse you of not being a good host.” Though she didn’t want to say that she didn’t want to drink because she knew she wasn’t really welcomed and shouldn’t make herself at home. Melisa reached out to rest her hand against his chest. His words were slurred but somehow he felt stable. Even on a boat. As he spoke, her expression changed, pain and regret flickered across her gaze. “I’m sorry Julian. For everything. For leaving, for hurting you. For sending the photos. When Baba showed me them I knew they didn’t belong just to me. You deserved to have them too.” She attempted to reach out for his hand, her fingers ghosting over his skin before she dropped them. “Do you really hate them? Or do you love them?” She tried clarifying, staring up at him.

"It's all Dana. All I did is show up -- Well and I suppose I'll have to pay for the bill eventually, that'll be less fun." The scale of the party would probably mean more zeros than he'd like but it was nothing he couldn't afford. Such was the fun of being a millionaire and raking in millions each year. He never bragged about his income of course, but people were never shy to mention it if there was a bill to pay. The fact he had consumed that much alcohol meant he said what was on his mind -- unfiltered truth. It also meant he was oblivious to the painful expression on her face. "Never met a man as sentimental as your dad. God I love him -- Is he here too?" Already he was distracted, looking around them to see if he spotted his favourite father in the entire world, so he hadn't seen how she had reached out to his hand. When he heard her voice again over the music he looked down at her. "I don't haaate them, they're fun pictures." He said, lifting his hands, slightly sticky from spilt beer, to cup her face in between them and bringing himself closer, as if his words -- that he had to shout over the music -- were meant only for her. "I hate how I had to lock them away like the thousand little pieces of my heart you own. But I can't tell you so it's a secret." He finished, pressing his finger to his lips. "No I like them, I still like you too, and that cute little nose of yours." his finger moved from his lips, to instead flick her nose. He then got distracted by a familiar face behind her and he beamed a smile as he stumbled past her. "MARTIN, you old baffoon, get a beer!"

Dana. Dana again. Melisa tried not to scrunch her face up in disdain. Or to let the sickly feeling of jealousy creep up from her stomach. This Dana girl threw his party and decided she had the authority to try to kick her out. Just how close was she to Julian? “Yeah, she’s something.” Melisa muttered, her tone annoyed and sarcastic. Even before making F1, Melisa knew Julian had money. But she knew his worth had skyrocketed. It may not be fun to pay the bills but he could easily. And this party would cost a pretty penny. “No, he said the party wouldn’t be right for an old man.” She chuckled and felt her mood lighten at the change of topic to her father. And looking around the crowded yacht at the various stages of undress and countless drunk people she knew he wouldn’t have had fun. “But he sent me with a present to give to you.” Melisa held out the carefully wrapped present her father had given her. Probably so she wouldn’t chicken out and not show. Julian was bouncing from one topic to the other and his gaze floated from distraction to distraction. He was drunk, but Melisa couldn’t deny that he was adorable and still so handsome with that goofy gaze to his blue eyes. Still she hadn’t expected the next events to happen. From his gripping her face and pulling her closer until their breath mixed. To the words that fell from his kissable lips. My heart you own. I still like you too. Melisa stood frozen as the words echoed and again and again. Surely she hadn’t heard him right. He still cared for her? Still loved her? “J-Julian!” Melisa gasped out as he abandoned her and walked around her. “Julian, wait.” She stumbled as she turned and reached out for his hand. “Wait… please. Julian… I need you… to talk to you.”

He had been covering multiple topics that his brain didn't yet register to take the present she held up, not while his confession just spilt over his lips. It was probably a good thing he wasn't coherent and fully understanding of what he said for he would've been embarrassed out of his mind and most likely dipped for the next weeks to come --maybe he still might, who knew what he might remember the coming morning. He was scattered all over the place, so it made sense that he was able to move from such serious dialogue to moving to the next person. However when she grabbed his hand when he had walked off, he turned around, eyes adjusting to the fast pace until they focused on her again. "What? Oh, did you want a beer too?" He asked, before he spotted the box she was still holding onto. "OH right, sorry. it's from Baba?" He asked, taking the box from her and eagerly started ripping off the wrapping as he shook it. "What is it?" He asked, tongue moving over his lips -- He was getting thirsty. "Oh shit." Julian sobered up just the smallest percentage looking at the gold plated watch he took out, holding the box out toward Melisa while he was appreciating the design and the shine of it, already donning it around his wrist -- a perfect fit whenever he clasped it shut. "I love your dad."

Melisa’s mind was still reeling as Julian tried to move on. He still liked her? She owned his heart? Already she could tell he wasn’t fully aware that he had even said those words. Was he even aware he thought them? Melisa surely thought she had dreamed up the whole thing. But as much as she wanted to talk to him about those feelings, she was sure he wasn’t even aware he said them. Still, he couldn’t just leave. Not when her own heart was hammering, desperate to say that he was still in her heart too, that he still owned her heart. “I… no, I -“ Melisa struggled to find something to say. But he noticed the gift and she nodded, handing it over. Seeing Julian’s expression, her own one melted with a warmth that wasn’t common. Her dad loved Julian. She knew it when he showed her the watch. “He made it for you.” She told him with a soft smile, reaching out to touch his wrist. “He loves you too. I didn’t even know he could make a watch. But he made it just for you.” Melisa looked up at his features thinking how he had gotten so close to her family after she left. He was better than her. “Do you want to go somewhere private? I can get a drink and we can talk like we did at the frat party?” Not their first meeting, but the night they had truly got to know each other.

“I love it.” It was just like baba to indulge in his fondness for jewellery. He would wear the pendent he made him everyday, representing his family — apart from when he was racing of course, due to the rules. But he wouldn’t separate from it, even if his own family was less than ideal right now. He should add Stevie to it as well, or have a new one made instead. The watch however might just be for special occasions. It was easier to steal. But for tonight he would keep wearing it. At least it distracted from the faint burns on his hand he donned for the last three years. “I did like that frat party.” Julian hummed, puckering his lips as if he was thinking about her offer but then he nodded. “Captains deck is off limits.”

She loved it too. Not only was the watch beautiful and detailed, but she loved that it was physical proof of how much her father loved Julian. He became like a son, she realized. While that stung, she knew it was for the best he was much better than her and better for her family. “He loves you. My whole family loves you.” Part of her tone was quiet, it only just hitting her how much she had missed and how he had taken her place. But even with that pang, Melisa couldn’t walk away from him. Not when she stared up at his hazy blue eyes and knew he still liked her. “My favorite party I’ve ever been to.” Melisa agreed, smiling softly at the memory of truly meeting him that night. “Aye aye captain. You choose the spot.”

“They’re the best.” He slightly slurred, admiring the watch. It might’ve started as them being his only connection to her after she left but they had fully developed into a family of his own over the years. His sisters, his father. In some ways he could count on them more than his own, definitely more emotionally. Was that harsh? Sure. But it was the way his family was — duty driven. With the Senkan family he could let go, be himself just the way he liked himself. Julian led her the way to the top of the yacht, which took longer than it was supposed to as he was stopped by many to congratulate or share a shot. He’d even grabbed a bottle of rum from the bartender station that they passed and once upstairs, they were being let through by security, leaving the noise behind them. There was still the music, the bass and treble that vibrated through the entire yacht, but his ears now had a clear ring to them that left him slightly more disoriented but not enough to make a difference. “This private enough, miss Senkan?”

Melisa did love her family, she never had stopped. But she knew outside her father none of them wanted her anymore. Would she ever be able to make amends to them? For fuck’s sake she had a nephew she never knew about before! But Julian had been here and they seemed to love him now, to count him as family. Adding another member after losing Murat, her mom and even Melisa. She tried to push the sad and self-hatred thoughts away as he led her through the yacht. The journey was long, with frequent stops and more drinks and shots along the way with well wishers. Most of the time she felt awkward trailing by his side at each stop, unknown or unwelcomed by most. Eventually with a bottle in hand they found their way to the top where security stood guard. “The security guards make it feel very private.” She answered with a grin and looked down at the party below. “You sure know how to throw a party.” Another thing he excelled at. “But no. It’s perfect.” She looked back at him, a soft smile on her lips

They should’ve grabbed some food on their way up, for Julian realised he was hungry. But it was nothing a swig of rum couldn’t fix, still the rumbling of his stomach. Or perhaps it was the roaring of his heart. It messed him up, to have her so near yet still so far. Like a blockade was still keeping him from doing what he truly wanted — feverishly so. His speech might not be put to a halt, at least his body still had limits. He did not want a repeat of that morning. “One of the few things I’m good at.” He said, rather than throwing the credit to Dana again. He was sure the money helped too. The fact the entire docks were filled to the brim too with people half of which he didn’t even really know. Well he never had celebrated it on this scale. “Least they serve the good stuff.” He said, holding out the bottle to her while making his way towards the control panel. It was all jibberish to him what all the buttons meant. That was why he had a captain whenever he set sail. A lake was no place for a yacht like this but it was home.

Melisa was still sober, she hadn’t grabbed any drinks since arriving and though Julian had done shots and drinks on his way up, Melisa had only partaken a little when the others were clearly ok with her joining. Probably because they had no idea who she was. So, Julian grabbing the bottle was a good idea, though food escaped her mind since her stomach wasn’t full of alcohol like his. “You’ve always been popular and with a party nearby.” She smiled softly. Julian was like a magnet, having him so close Melisa was fighting the urge to draw near. To touch, to kiss, to just hold him and be held. It was hard being around him, the way her heart still skipped a beat when their eyes met. He’d always be in her heart no matter what life did. “I don’t think you’d even drink the bad stuff, pretty boy.” Melisa teased, knowing Julian had grown up surrounded by the fancy things in life. As he drew behind the control board, Melisa moved closer, her breath catching as she moved within his orbit and tentatively held out her hand for the bottle. “So do you go this wild every year?”

“That’s because I’m likeable. And I bring the good stuff. Mostly the latter.” He grinned at her, looking out the window where he saw the people dancing, laughing, conversing. He had the tendency to go back, to have fun and party until morning came. But he felt a pull towards the brunette, one that was stronger than the urge to forget and have fun. Though drunk he wanted to know what she had to say, and because he was drunk, he’d most likely forget anyway. “Pretty boy would never even have to make the choice to drink the bad stuff.” He corrected her with a swish of his finger that was extended from the bottle, into her direction. He lowered his hand when she took said bottle, turning around so he could lean against the panel. “Oh no, Dana went all out. Last year it was dinner with the crew in Italy. The year before that it was just some wine tasting with the family. The year before that…. I think I was racing.” He shrugged. It mattered little. “Buuuuut, you wanted to talk. What about? Hardly about me being pretty, we knew that already.”

Her smile still wasn’t as bright as it once was, but it was warmer in his presence. Melisa grinned over at him, her expression becoming pondering. “Who told you that you’re likable? Who lied to you on your birthday?” But he’d pick up her teasing tone because he was right. Julian had always been likable, popular and charming. She’d seen him work his charm on strangers before and by the end they loved him. “That’s true, rich boy.” Melisa took the bottle from him and took a swig before leaning against the control panel next to him, their arms almost brushing. Dana again. Melisa made a face, not wanting to think what else Dana did for him. How many nights she must have spent in his bed if she was this close. But he had said he still liked her. Julian was a lot of things but Melisa knew he was no cheater. If things were serious with this Dana, not even drunk Julian would have told her that. Perhaps it was horrible of her, but Melisa gripped on to that hope with all her strength. Maybe she could make it up? Maybe they still had hope. Her heart still beat for him. “Yeah yeah, go find a mirror pretty boy.” Melisa teased, knocking her body against his arm. But the question repeated in her head. What did she want to talk about? She had wanted to talk about how he said she still owned his heart and how he still liked her, but she was scared of him denying it now. “I wanted us to talk. I wanted to spend some time with you, alone. Like we did at the frat party that first night. Talking about everything and nothing. How… I’ve been thinking of you a lot.” Melisa attempted, her gaze turning to him. “You’re in my thoughts all the time, Julian.”

“I think I’m likeable. Some people just don’t deserve my best side.” He knew he could be an asshole. That he played on the rich kid aspect that a lot of people already judged him for whether they knew him or not. Granted, his family’s money had helped him start his career, for he needed money to get a seat. But it was his skill that got him his achievements and sponsors and partnerships. His skill got him to make millions that made it possible for him to throw it away for parties such as this. Only those he wanted to see him, got his good side. “Plenty of mirrors here.” He took the bottle from her again, taking a couple of big sips and letting out a satisfied sigh. He didn’t even notice the sharp edge of the alcohol as it went down. “I recall us doing more than just talk.” Julian smiled, bottle against his lips again yet didn’t take a sip when he heard her next words. He purposely kept looking straight ahead even though he felt her eyes burning against the side of his face. His heart raced, yet it didn’t from the alcohol. “Well I don’t blame you.” He eventually said, handing her the bottle again before he pushed himself from the console, half turning around so he faced her again, walking backwards. “I’m quite hard to forget.” He smiled, sitting down on the bench on the opposite side of the cabin, six feet away from her.

“You are though. Before I got to know you in college, I hated you. Thought you were spoiled, and a rich jerk, and how immature and how much of an ass you were. You are likable, Julian.” Melisa agreed and watched him. Even outside of her she saw him able to charm anyone he wanted if he decided to show that side. Part of her wondered how many people here tonight actually knew him and how many were here for the free night of luxury and fun? It could be such a lonely way to spend his birthday if the later was more true. “We did. You were just as much fun not talking.” Melisa agreed, her cheeks turning red. How she managed to walk away from his lips and tongue that night she’d never know. But she watched him with baited breath as she revealed she’d been thinking of him. She saw the way he froze, the way he finally defected with a joke, and the way he moved away from her. Melisa slumped against the console, the sharpest pain stabbing through her chest. Nodding silently, she glanced away and swallowed back some tears. “I mean it.” She murmured finally. “But I know… I have no right to say or feel it. But Julian… you were on my mind and heart the whole time I was gone.” Melisa whispered, unable to look at him and feel his rejection again. But he had to know.

“You weren’t wrong. I am all of those things.” And he never hid it either. Still doesn’t. People were either worth his time and tried to get to know him for him or they didn’t. The fact Melisa was never at his feet back then and even gave him a challenge made him want to get to know her. It had opened his heart for the possibility of being loved and actually loving. Which was why he was being cautious now. And he hated being cautious for he saw what it did to her. If only he was too drunk. If only. “I know.” He was the one looking at her now while she avoided his eyes. “You are on mine too, but then what? What were you planning was going to happen next? I never opened up to anyone like I did you and you ran. If I do it again, what’s to say you won’t run once more?”

“But you’re more.” She pointed out. He had been more. He still was. Her dad wouldn’t love him otherwise. Though she hadn’t seen it in the beginning. Even the night of the frat party she refused to sleep with him and left him. Julian Heywood with his jaw on the floor from a girl rejecting him. Melisa heard his words but looked away. He had said he still had feelings. But maybe he knew he shouldn’t for her and now he was rejecting her. “I didn’t run from you, Julian.” She whispered, finally looking at him. “I ran from death. I ran from failure. I ran from the accident and their deaths. And then I stayed gone because I was sure you hated me and were better off without me. You all were. But it was a mistake. I know I hurt you. I hurt everyone. But I won’t do it again. I won’t run from you again. I want to make amends.” She dared to look at him at the end. “I’ll only leave if you want me to. But I’m here Julian. I won’t leave you again.”

"Melisa.." He sighed. "I know, you've told me before. I just can't make sense of why... If that is the reason, why you ran, I couldn't go with you. You didn't talk to me, you didn't ask me if I would have, you left. And that doesn't align with you saying you didn't run from me. I know it sucked for you, I know your world was upside down but I put everything on hold for you, only for you to leave. So please.. don't insult me.. don't hide behind it and fess up to what you did." His words were brutal, but he lost the ability to filter his thoughts. At least she knew he wasn't sugarcoating it for her. He let out a breath, rubbing his hands over his eyes as if trying to rub sleep from them. When he opened his eyes again he looked straight into hers, leaning back into the couch. "I don't want you to leave." He spoke softly, playing with the signet ring around his little finger. "What do you want, Mel. What is it you're asking of me?"

Melisa shook her head, tears pricking the corners of her eyes from how brutal his words were. “It wasn’t you though. It was me. You never know how you will react to the unimaginable until it actually happens and all I can say is in that moment I ran. I never would have thought I could before and I’ll never do it again. But in the moment I did that. And I can’t take it back. But I can try to make it up.” Melisa looked away, tears rolling down her cheeks. “It didn’t just suck. I should have died. I laid there watching the life drain out of Murat’s eyes while I was unable to do anything. I should have died with them.” Her whole world had been ripped from her chest, to this day she still felt the guilt. She still felt the gaping hole in her soul that was feeling Murat in the world. “I know you did. But I wasn’t in the right mind then. I wasn’t for a long, long time Julian.” Melisa wiped away tears and finally looked over at him. “I don’t want to leave you again.” She whispered. You, she thought. It was him she wanted. “I want to try to earn a second chance with you. You’ve never left my heart. I’ve never stopped loving you.”

“That’s not healthy, Mel.” He hummed, shaking his head as he watched her behind glossy eyes. Maybe the alcohol was catching up to him after all. “Are you getting help for that?” He was the last person to force someone to see a therapist, seeing as he wasn’t one to put his thoughts and feelings out on the table himself, but her words scared him. Did she still feel she should’ve been dead instead? He sucked in a breath at her words, their eyes locked despite the distance between them. She said the perfect words and he had to remind himself not to fall in head first. “Come here.” He told her, waving her towards him. He let out a breath as figured out what to say, which wasn’t going as smoothly as he had hoped, so he remained silent for a while until he looked up at her again when she was at his side of the hut “I’ll have to learn to trust you again.” He eventually said, remaining upright but reached out with his hands to hold onto hers. “But we can try.” He nodded. “I missed you.”

Melisa stayed quiet but avoided his eyes. What should she say? One moment he was saying it wasn’t a good enough reason for her to leave? And now it wasn’t healthy and she needed help. Melisa just grew still, fighting the tears threatening to spill. But she had to be patient. Melisa waited for him to react to her words. They took up the space between them, her heart being offered to him. When he finally spoke, Melisa stared as she approached him. Slowly, she stood before him and found herself waiting once more. “I’ll have to earn your trust.” Melisa whispered, her breath catching as he took her hand. She stepped forward again, drawn into his orbit and hope of him accepting her again. “I’ve missed you too.” Her eyes shone as she stared up at him, her fingers intertwining with his.

“Basically.” He nodded, distracting himself by holding her hands, running his thumbs over her fingers. He felt fragile in that moment, opening himself up again when he had told himself he never would anymore. But he had always felt she was the one, perhaps she still was? He could hope. “Yeah?” He met her eyes, flashing her a cheeky smile that slowly lessened again, tugging her hands before he let go, padding his lap before he reached for her. “C’mere.”

Melisa fell quiet as he agreed, watching their hands. There was so much being unspoken between them. The weight of her having to earn his trust back weighed heavy on them both but she would. “I’ll do it, Julian. I’ll earn your trust back.” The pain she had caused him filled the room, but even if Melisa could still clearly see how fragile and scared he was, his acceptance of giving her a second chance spoke louder. “Yeah.” She smiled softly, her free hand moving up to cup his cheek. Melisa had missed him, how could she not have? A warmth shown through her smile as he tugged her closer. Melisa settled on his lap, leaning into his touch and nuzzling against him. “I missed you, Julian.” She repeated, assuring him.

He wasn’t in the mood to discuss past things or emotions. And not just because of the obvious state he was in but also because he didn’t want to hash out the negatives just yet. For now he was just glad to have her in his space, for the eggshells and awkwardness to be gone. “I believe you.” He hummed, letting out a content breath when she cupped his cheek, leaning into her touch. He moved his arms around her when she nestled on his lap, running them up and down her back. “I missed you.” He returned, resting his head against hers. “So very much.”

There was still a lot to discuss. A lot of trust she had to gain again from Julian. Then messy discussions on what they were. She wasn’t naive enough to think they could pick back up where they were before she left. Melisa knew that she wasn’t even sure she could say that they were starting to date. But, she could tell Julian didn’t want to focus on that right now. In this moment she was more than ok to just be with him, to savor the happiness and sense of hope that maybe she could get with him again. Melisa had been telling the truth, her love for him had not stopped over the years. How many men had she tried to find him in only to know that she’d truly never love another like she had him? “Good, because I’d do anything for you.” Melisa whispered, about to cry from him welcoming and leaning into her touch. Even after all the years, his hold still felt the same. It still felt like home. “Even when I wasn’t with you I was always thinking of you.” She whispered, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent. After a moment she pulled back to look up at him. “I missed this. You.” She cupped his cheek. “And this.” Slowly, she leaned in to kiss him.

"Dangerous thing to say." He mused, a cheeky smile once more taking hold of his lips, even if it did last for only a short while as she crawled up on his lap and they were in a long awaited embrace. After hearing her words, Julian nodded, eyes closed as he nuzzled against her neck, running his hand over her back in a soothing circular motion. "Yeah?" He hummed the moment she looked at him again, cupping his cheek. He missed her too, of course. Yet instead of having had the chance to say it back to her he found her lips against his, one he eagerly returned, pressing his hand against her waist to draw her in closer before he deepened the kiss himself, just to have that feeling of being even closer.

[ayyy-pee]

Strangers in Love

Chapter 3

Discord 18+ - Twitter - Kofi

Pairing: Nanami Kento x Female Reader

Summary: Dinner with Nanami finally happens.

Genre: Divorce AU

Story Warnings: Smut, Vaginal Sex, Jealousy, Jealous Behavior, Divorce, Unprotected Sex, Creampie, Arguments, Ex-Husband Nanami Kento

About a week after your run in with Nanami, you’re sitting in a meeting at work jotting down notes as your supervisor droned on about the next company product release. Your phone vibrated and you flipped it over from its facedown position on the long table to see Nanami’s name light up on the screen. 

Nanami Kento: Good afternoon. I hope your day is going well. I never heard back from you about a potential meetup. I don’t want to bother you, so if you’re not comfortable with it, please let me know. I completely understand if you’re not. 

You would reply later. Maybe. Probably not. You were about to lay your phone back down when it vibrated with another message from him. 

Nanami Kento: Although, I cannot say I wouldn’t love the opportunity to see you again. If you are still open to making plans, I’d be happy to take you to lunch or dinner. 

You felt your heart crawl into your throat at his words. During your marriage, Nanami had never been a big texter even when things were good between you two. This Nanami, who was more open and put in the effort to reach out, was… nice, different . You had to admit the nostalgic part of you yearned to see him again. 

Okay, I guess it wouldn’t hurt, you thought even though you didn’t believe it. You would meet Nanami for dinner, pretend you weren't together for a good chunk of your younger years, catch-up like old friends. After that, you would move on with your life and forget about Nanami again.

You put your phone back down until the meeting was wrapped up. Once back in your office, you checked your calendar for availability before texting Nanami back. 

You: Hi Nanami. My day is going well. I hope it’s the same for you. I’m available at 6pm next Friday if that works for you?

It took him all of two minutes to text you back. 

Nanami Kento: Excellent. Would you like me to pick you up? I don’t mind.

You hesitated, the idea of Nanami knowing where you live feeling too intimate for your currently strained relationship - or lack thereof. 

You: Thank you for the offer, but I’ll meet you there. 

Nanami Kento: Okay. I will text you the details later. Have a good rest of your day. See you next week.

Now, on the night of your dinner, you’re pacing around your apartment, phone wedged between your ear and your shoulder as you attempt to put your earrings on. You’ve gone through about twelve pairs by now and have changed your outfit at least four times. Nothing you put on feels quite right. You settle on a simple strapless form fitting dress and heels. 

“Are you sure you wanna meet up with him?” Satoru asks on the other end of the line. His voice is muffled, no doubt scarfing down some too sweet snack. 

Gojo’s question rang through your mind as you adjusted your dress. No, you were not sure but you were curious to see why Nanami pushed so hard for this. A part of you would be lying if you didn’t say you were feeling excited. Nervous, fucking terrified , but excited nonetheless. At some point in time, you and Nanami shared a friendship and you hoped that made this dinner easier to get through.

“It’s a little late to change my mind, Satoru. I’m damn near out the door already.” 

He hummed. “Do you want me to go? Just for support. You won’t even know I’m there. I’ll like…hide behind a plant or something.”

You snorted. “Yeah, the bright white hair and eyes that practically glow in the dark won’t give you away at all.”

Gojo lets out a loud laugh. “Well, I offered. Let me know how it goes. Call me if you need an excuse to leave. Good luck!” 

You ended the call, giving yourself a once over before grabbing your keys and heading to the train station.

———

You entered the restaurant, eyes immediately landing on Nanami who stood to wave you over. You smiled politely to the hostess as you moved past her and made your way to the table. The restaurant was bustling, full of couples and coworkers out to dinner and you couldn’t help but note the dim lighting adding an almost romantic ambience. It only added to your nerves.

The closer you got to Nanami, the more overwhelmed you became seeing him dressed up in a nice navy suit with your chair pulled out waiting for you. He looked so incredibly handsome and you hated that you thought so.

“You look lovely,” he stated matter of fact, motioning for you to sit down. Still a gentleman when he wants to be. 

“Thank you. You look good too,” you returned the compliment, taking the seat and letting Nanami push your chair in. You let out a shaky breath, goosebumps spreading up your arms and your cheeks heating up as your body reacted to the familiar smell of Nanami’s cologne surrounding you. After all this time, he still had an effect on you with little to no effort made on his part. He took the seat across from you. The soft light from the candle sitting on the table added to the sharpness of his face and you thought he looked so much younger than you remembered - definitely far less tired. 

“I hope you don’t mind,” he spoke softly, “I went ahead and ordered a bottle of merlot for us.”

“Oh,” you replied in surprise, which must have made Nanami’s nerves kick in because he pinched the bridge of his nose and suddenly began rambling.

“I apologize. That was presumptuous of me. I should have asked first beforehand. I don’t even know if you still like merlot. I just thought—“

“Nanami,” you interrupted. “It’s totally fine. Merlot is still my favorite. Thank you.” You offered him a soft smile, hoping to ease his obvious anxiety and your own. He returned the gesture, the tension in his shoulders dissipating. 

The waiter arrived shortly with two glasses and the bottle of merlot Nanami had ordered. He poured for you both before agreeing to give you a few minutes to look over the menu.

“Thank you for coming out tonight.”

“Yeah, of course.” You lied. You almost didn’t come. You brought your glass of wine up to your lips trying to busy yourself as the silence between you two grew.

“I will be honest. This is a little awkward.” Nanami spoke up.

You spit your wine back into your glass as a laugh escaped you. That was an understatement.

“Yeah, just a little bit. I’m sorry. This is so weird. I guess I should ask how you’ve been?” You tried to push past how uncomfortable this was quickly becoming. 

Nanami nodded, hands coming up from his lap to smooth down the tablecloth in front of him and you recognized this as a nervous tick he still had. You remembered Nanami would fidget when uncomfortable, doing anything to keep his hands moving and soothe his nerves. It was comforting to know that that had not changed.

“I’ve been good. Spent some time in Sendai - a few years actually. Very nice place. You should go and see it if you ever get a chance. I just recently moved back and started my new position a few weeks ago.”

“Oh?” You questioned as you opened your menu to browse your options. Chicken sounded good tonight. “Are you still working as a salaryman?”

He shook his head, his nose scrunching at your question as he looked over his own menu. “Absolutely not. I’m a marketing manager now for a major company in Tokyo.”

You hummed, eyes landing on what you wanted to order. “Sounds busy.”

Nanami shut his menu and placed it on the edge of the table before replying, “Actually, it’s the most free I’ve ever felt working. I come and go as I please. I get my weekends off and plenty of vacation time.”

You glanced up to find him staring intensely at you, almost as though he was gauging your reaction.

“That’s nice, Nanami. You deserve a job where you’re able to relax and have some free time to yourself.”

Nanami opened his mouth to speak, but the waiter approached to take your orders, sticking a metaphorical pin in this conversation. Once your orders had been placed and your waiter left the two of you alone, you found it a bit difficult to start the conversation back up. You figured this would be strange, but damn it was downright painful whenever it was silent. Nanami again, was the first to speak up.

“Thank you again for coming. I know it must have taken a lot of thought before agreeing.”

You nodded. He was right. 

“I definitely was not sure I wanted to do this if I’m being completely honest.” It was your turn to fidget now. You smoothed down your already smooth dress in your lap, avoiding Nanami’s gaze. 

He hummed in response before pushing forward. 

“So, tell me what you’ve been up to”, he offers. He’s trying to move the conversation along and you can appreciate that.

“Hmm, well I’m working now as a Senior Project Manager at the moment. It’s a good job, well paying and not stressful. I’ve been taking cooking classes recently. I make a mean rotisserie chicken.” You fill Nanami in on the basic parts of your life as your food arrives. 

Nanami smiles softly as you speak, his eyes sparkling in the candlelight as he sips his wine. His gaze never leaves yours, an indicator that you have his full attention and your heart flutters in your chest because you can’t even deny that you missed this. 

You finally let a comfortable silence fall over you both as you eat, the only sounds being the background noise of the restaurant and your cutlery hitting the plate. The food is delicious and it reminds you all the times you and Nanami used to share meals together, simply enjoying each other’s company. 

Nanami finishes his meal first, his eyes roving over you as he finishes his glass of wine and pours another. He clears his throat before speaking.

“It sounds like life is quite interesting for you”, he begins. You finish your meal, wiping your mouth with a napkin as he continues. “I’m glad you’re doing well for yourself.”

“Likewise”, you offer. The night has gone so well. You aren’t sure what you were worried about, or Gojo for that matter. You chuckle to yourself as you remember his earlier offer. 

“What’s so funny?” Nanami asks, his own smile spreading across his cheeks as he watches your amusement. You shake your head, deciding the night has gone well enough that Nanami may find this funny as well. 

“Just that when I was getting ready to come here, I was on the phone with Satoru”, you somehow missed the tick in Nanami’s jaw at the mention of your friend’s name. “And he could tell I was nervous. He’s so funny…he actually offered to come here and hide behind a plant to spy on us.” You giggle, recalling Gojo’s joke to Nanami.

Nanami gives you a dry chuckle. “Hilarious”, he deadpans.

He’s watching you intensely again. Like he wants to say something, but he’s thinking better of it. You hope he keeps his thoughts to himself, but he doesn’t. 

“Satoru…” he mumbles, testing the name. “You two must be close for you to be using his first name so casually now.”

You don’t particularly like his tone, but you know there’s history between Nanami and Gojo. They weren’t exactly the best of friends in high school, both of them having polar opposite personalities. They just didn’t quite mesh. But that had no bearing on the present. Yes, you were close with Gojo. Over the years, he had become a good friend and nothing more. You don’t know why you feel the need to stress this to Nanami, but you do.

“I mean, yes. We’re close, but—.”

“Are you together? Dating?” He interrupts, which only irritates you. 

“What? No, Satoru and I are just friends, Nanami.”

He scoffs, unable to hide the crease in his brow holding his irritation. “Right. With the way you ogled each other that day at the coffee shop, I’m sure.”

You blink, eyes wide. You’re taken aback from this sudden shift in his mood. Where was this coming from?

“Even if Satoru and I were dating, it’s honestly none of your business. You don’t think it’s a little weird asking me this, Nanami?”

“So it’s Satoru for him, but I’m just Nanami now?” He sighed. 

“What else do you expect me to call you? I haven’t seen you in half a decade. A little weird to call you Ken or Kento now, don’t you think?”

“Even so, I’ve known you longer. We were married once—“

“ And now we’re not .” You hiss, cutting him off. His eyes widen slightly at your tone. You never were one to lose your temper with him, but he was starting to push you. You took a deep breath, making sure to lower your voice. “You have to be kidding me with this petty shit right now.”

The conversation came to a brief pause as the waiter approached to clear your table of your plates and drop off the check. Nanami reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his card, handing it to the waiter without glancing at the paper. His eyes never left yours, the tension is his jaw apparent.

As the waiter left, Nanami cleared his throat to speak, but you cut him off again.

“After everything, you have no right to try and pry into my personal life and then get upset with me based on your own assumptions. You lost that right when you chose not to fight for our marriage and took a nap instead.” The words left your mouth before you could stop them. Maybe it was the wine talking, or the tension between you both, or the way Nanami was acting like he still had some sort of claim over you, but you weren’t going to back down from him this time.

He’s shocked, his brows stitching together in anger. “Or you could have been an adult that night. Instead of waiting to talk about it when I wasn’t exhausted from working towards our dream, you ran away.”

“It was never our dream, Nanami! It was always yours.” You spit back at him, trying to ignore the angry tears threatening to spill. “ You wanted to move, you saw a future in Malaysia and you let it consume everything around you until you had nothing left. Explain to me how that’s my fault.” Your voice shook with rage, your chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. This man was so infuriating.

Okay. Clearly, you both had some unresolved feelings. While you felt a weight lifted off your chest, a relief you didn’t know you needed telling him this, you knew one thing - you never wanted to see Kento Nanami again after tonight.

Nanami said nothing and you watched as the muscle in his jaw ticked over and over and over, the growing silence only fueling your irritation. 

“Nothing to say now?” You let out a dry laugh. “So on brand for you honestly. I don’t know why I expected you could have an actual conversation about the hard stuff instead of dismissing it.”

You stood from your chair, grabbing your belongings. “Thank you for dinner, Nanami”, you muttered, not meeting his eyes. “Please don’t contact me again.”

You scurried past him and to the elevators, not bothering to wipe the tears now falling. You pressed the button to go down, wishing the elevator doors to open so you could leave as quickly as possible. You chanced a glance back at Nanami only to see his chair empty. Maybe he took the stairs. The elevator doors opened and you stepped inside, pressing the lobby button. 

This was not how you wanted the night to end. Nanami had never been a jealous person in all the time you had known him, but you calling Gojo by his first name was what set him off? You couldn’t wrap your head around it. And what he said to you…

You shook the memories from your head as you leaned back against the wall, letting out a deep sigh as the doors started shutting. Finally, you could run away from here and never look back, never see Nanami again and fully move on with your life. A large hand flew between the doors and your stomach sank, watching as the doors reopened and Nanami stepped into the elevator. Unfortunately for you, the doors closed and left you two alone.

Nanami wasted no time, turning to face you, stopping when he sees your tear stained cheeks. He takes a step towards you and reaches a hand forward. You know you should move, step out of his reach, but you don’t. You let Nanami brush his fingers across your cheek before his hand cups the back of your head and pulls you forward into an embrace.

Your face is buried in his chest, your senses completely overwhelmed with only him. Nanami runs his fingers through your hair and the dam breaks. Your hands fly up to grab on to his jacket, balling the material up in your fists and you sob into him. Your tears soak through his shirt, but you don’t care. The weight of tonight - of seeing Nanami, being reminded of why you left, of your argument - it all comes crashing down on you and you can’t help but to cry into him. 

His arms wrap around you, pulling you closer, his voice coming out barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry”, he breathes into your hair. You didn’t expect this. You fully expected Nanami to let you leave and do what he did originally - leave you alone. You lean back slightly to look up at him, finally calming yourself down. He looks genuinely remorseful, his own eyes appearing to be holding back their own tears. You hadn’t seen this side of Nanami in so long. You felt your cheeks heat up, no doubt darkening as you both stared intensely into each other’s eyes.

His hands slide up to hold your face and you find yourself holding your breath, your own hands coming up to gently hold his wrists. Your heart is pounding so hard, you wonder if Nanami can hear it. He leans forward and you think he’s going to kiss you, your head automatically tilting up to meet him. But he doesn’t. He runs the tip of his nose up and down the bridge of yours over and over, letting out a shaky breath before he presses his forehead to yours.

“I’m a jealous man and I know I have no right to be. But I can’t stand before you and lie. I acted out. I’m so sorry. Don’t hate me.”

The hold you have on his wrists tighten as you move your nose against his - a small act of intimacy you both indulged in ages ago that you had honestly forgotten about, though your body seemed to remember on its own.

“I’m so sorry. Please forgive me”, He begs. And for a moment, you wonder if he’s apologizing for more than just tonight. “I don’t know what came over me. Please don’t shut me out again. I can’t lose you again. I’m sorry. ”

You inhale shakily. How could you say no to him when he had been trying so hard all night? And though the night went left, a part of you didn’t want to lose Nanami again either.

“Okay”, you whisper.

You’re both standing in the elevator, noses kissing repeatedly until the sound of someone clearing their throat breaks through the silence. You jump apart, quickly realizing you were in the lobby and had an audience waiting to get in. You both apologized profusely before stepping out together.

Nanami checks his watch before turning to you. “Can I- uh give you a ride home? It’s pretty late.”

You nod, accepting that you don’t want to go your separate ways just yet.

———

The ride to your apartment is quiet, but this time it’s a comfortable silence. You can feel Nanami sneaking peeks at you, maybe wanting to speak up but ultimately deciding against it lest he put his foot in his mouth again. You don’t hold it against him. You’re happy to sit in this pocket of peace with him for the time being.

As you pull up, you feel your heartbeat pick up again knowing the end of the night is upon you. Nanami parks the car and turns it off before he gets out and moves to your side to open the door for you. You climb out and give him a gracious smile, moving past him to walk to your door. He follows you, eyes scanning your surroundings.

You reach your door and unlock it. You turn back to Nanami, whose eyes are glued to you. You take in his features. That blonde hair you once loved running your fingers through, those sharp cheekbones you once loved to kiss, those big hands he used to hold you with and you admit to yourself that you miss him. You’ve missed him for so long you can’t remember a time when you didn’t. You missing him was the entire reason you left. You missing him was the reason you couldn’t seem to tell him goodnight and go into your apartment.

Nanami smiles down at you. “Thank you again for having dinner with me. I know the night ended on a sour note and I can’t apologize enough.” He leans down to press a soft kiss on your cheek, wishing you goodnight after.

He turns to leave and like a reflex, your hand shoots out to grab his arm. He spins around, giving you a quizzical look. You don’t know what you’re doing. You don’t know why you’re doing it. You only know that you miss him . So before you can change your mind, you open the door to your apartment and whisper, “Stay”.

[sparkles-and-trash]

I honestly just want more of your headcanons for mha if you have them? :3

note: I have this note on my phone with all my random mha headcanons that's like, a mess of characters and plots, so it might be a bit all over the place, but here we go! tw: canon typical violence, scarring, burns etc for Dabi

Shoto is totally the type to sign his texts like "friendly regards, Shoto Todoroki", and uses super appropriate punctuation and stuff, but he also uses all the overly expressive smileys ( :3 xD UwU :c ^u^ etc) because Izuku does it, and Izuku is the first friend Shoto texted, so he thinks this is normal

and nobody has the heart to tell him otherwise

Denki having adhd is one of my favorites, I've already mentioned this, but it's kinda important to me, lol

I also love to think that Denki is a super supportive friend, and that he genuinely cares for everyone in his class, and knows them all really well, he's just a person that's so genuine and caring, it makes it very easy to open up to him!

okay Shinso and Denki are gamer boyfriends, they can sit together in the dark on their gaming computers and talk to each other on discord for hours and call it quality time

I think the burns under Dabi’s eyes were on purpose, or, at first he tried to wipe his tears when he was upset, much like what happened with Kirishima, but when he realized he couldn't cry from that eye after, he did it again to the other one so he wouldn’t cry in front of his dad and show weakness

I 100% think Hawks molts every now and then, and it makes Dabi sneeze like a motherfugger

When they were kids, Izuku worried that Bakugo's explosions would make him lose his hearing, and while it hasn't yet, he still worries about it and keeps up with the basic stuff, just in case

Bakugo realizes it one day when he catches Izuku practicing, and seeing his childhood friend sitting there trying to perfect this thing for him, just in case, with his weary and crooked hands, something just... hits him

He asks Izuku to teach him too, and once, when he's working as a pro years later, he once uses it to help a deaf child in a hostage situation, and he calls Izuku the second he has the chance to tell him all about it

Izuku cries and Bakugo pretends he doesn't hear it lmao

I think Eri loves Momo and Jirou, she thinks they’re sooo cool!

They become a safe place for her as she grows up, some older girls to ask about all sort of different stuff Aizawa and Mic might not be able to understand or relate to

oh, and Deku and Eri stays tight forever, to the point where she starts to refer to him as her brother

He gives her away at her wedding BYE I'M GONNA CRY -

If we're in the upheaval verse or any other scenario where Dabi and Shoto reconnect, I think they would realize they're more similar than they ever knew

Esp Dabi, who had Shoto built up as this perfect, glossy Endeavour 2.0 in his head for so long, only for him to realize Shoto is just the most socially awkward kid who also hates Endeavour

Shoto thinks any time they spend together is great quality time, and Dabi is just so taken aback by it lmao

Dabi loses his mind a little at Shoto's fashion sense tho, Dabi loves to be extra, as we already know, and Shoto's little cardigans and polo's and mom-fashion makes him wanna shake some edge into him

Okay, but imagine the same with Hawks and Tokoyami, but kinda the other way around

Hawks isn't exactly a fashion icon, but after he's released escapes from the commission (leave me alone it happens in my version of things), he starts to realize he enjoys expressing himself with clothes

He asks Tokoyami for ideas and stuff since he likes how edgy and personal Tokoyami looks

Tokoyami literally just wears black tho, so he's not much help, but he's willing to try

Hawks ends up wearing shit that looks like the pastel grunge/goth tag from Tumblr in 2012 lmao

But he's happy so who cares, right?

(Dabi cares, but he tries really heard not to say anything)

I also just think Hawks wanna be friendly with Tokoyami so badly, like, bond outside of work? Talk about school and friends and stuff?

And Tokoyami doesn't understand that's what he's doing because Hawks is so bad at candid social stuff because that's not really something you can train for, yanno?

So he thinks Hawks just wants information, like when they first met, and Hawks is like... so lost lmao

I know they're not friends in canon, but I looove Mirko and Hawks as besties

I just think she'd be great at taking care of Hawks and teaching him social skills and stuff without being condescending

Dabi would do it, but he's just as bad as Hawks and doesn't wanna learn anyway lmao

Okay and finally, Shoto totally used to have a crush on Hawks

Just a distant school boy crush, and it ended years ago, but he still thinks it's a little weird when Hawks and Dabi starts dating at first lol

Shoto would totally tell him in front of both Dabi and Izuku (Shoto's boyfriend) lmao

"You know Hawks, it is a little funny that we are here now, as you were my first crush, and sort of made me realize I was gay, and now here we are and you are dating my brother who we used to think was dead haha :-)"

And Hawks is just like... ʘ‿ʘ

Izuku is blushing so hard he almost passes out lmao

Dabi finds it all fucking hilarious of course

bnha requests are open <3

[mortalheartache]

I would have put this in the comments because I don’t want to draw attention with a reblog but Tumblr is stinky and has a word limit + I don’t wanna bother you with 10 thousand notifs when I send the next part.

I’ll keep this brief and kinda vague because I value my own privacy and want to maintain yours because you’re deserving of that. I think I’ll respond to things individually.

On the “not speaking to me” point, I sent you an Insta DM a couple days ago and haven’t gotten a response from what I recall. I spoke in the group chat with your boyfriend 2 (?) days ago, but I was too tired to respond to what you said because I had other stuff on my mind. I’ve tried to reach out with more lighthearted things.

Uhh, about the being active on discord thing, I am but I’m also in servers with stuff for college, IRL friends and hangouts, stuff like that.

I think saying ‘oh so busy’ was a little snotty and unneeded. I am rather busy. I have school to worry about, family stuff, home, irl relationships, etc. No to mention, my mom is in the psych ward/is having intense health (mental and physical problems) which you have known about for months. That’s taken a large toll on me, even if I don’t talk about it often. I like to keep my real life and online life seperate, and don’t want to burden friends with my home problems because I like speaking to friends as a form of escapism.

I’ve reached out to you a lot, in my perspective. I don’t want to bother people by reaching out, all my friends can attest to that. I rarely say “hi” or something like that at random times because it’s not how I communicate. It isn’t a personal or malicious thing. In fact, I’d consider myself as someone who does that more often with you since we’re long distance friends which makes mundane interactions all the more important.

The important things you’ve messaged me about that I’ve ignored weren’t life or death in my opinion, the last thing I ignored was about not asking a mutual of mine why he blocked you. I think that would be awkward to ask, which I did express (albeit after the fact, which is my own fault and I accept that).

My boyfriend and I have been together for like 2 weeks. It’s still a honeymoon phase, so yes we talk a lot. He and I are getting closer together. We don’t text super often, though, and have only been together in person twice. I’d like to add that when I told you about him, you said you had a bad feeling of some sort, which I tried to accept and keep in mind. You also don’t know him, and I’ve known him for ~2 years as high school acquaintances. I don’t tell you every detail of my personal life, so it’s understandable that maybe you are wary of him.

I genuinely do appreciate the criticism, I just wish it had come at an earlier time. I wouldn’t say ‘selfish’ is the right word, maybe ‘preoccupied’. Granted I am biased in my own favor. I tried to help you with your social media following (won’t go into detail, but I’m assuming you know what I mean), and you said nobody had ever done something like that before besides your mother. I spent a long time thinking about you and trying to help you.

I’m thankful you cared for my wellbeing, I simply feel it was in ways that weren’t helpful to me. Fretting about my boyfriend is reasonable, but then getting upset and shutting down when I tell you it went well is a reaction that turned me off to talking to you about my life problems, out of fear you’d be upset if I didn’t take your advice.

I’m sorry things seemed to have ended this way, and I’m sorry I couldn’t provide what you needed in a friendship. I do truly wish you well, this isn’t for the whole public thing or looking good to others. You’re a sweet girl, you’re pretty and kind and one of the most deeply caring and intensely involved souls I’ve met. I wish you the best.

When did we have a falling out what? Why is this a public thing hello I’ve been off tumblr for like a week for personal reasons I’m so confused

You haven't spoken to me in, what, a couple of weeks or so? I tell you something important and you completely ignore it and ramble about something else, acting like I'm not even in the chat with you. You're active on discord all the time but can't even take a minute or two out of your "oh so busy" day to send a quick 'hello' or ask how I am, when I would do it all the time for you. I'm sick of being disregarded. Even if I told you this privately, you wouldn't respond to it, as I've seen numerous times. You only want to speak to me when you want my attention. You get with a guy and all of a sudden I don't exist.

I'm tired of giving my all to you when you don't give me jack shit in return. You're selfish, and I'm not going to let you drain me anymore. I spent so much time worrying about you, checking in on you, and every time I asked how you were, you couldn't give less of a shit that I was concerned for your wellbeing. That's alright, though. You don't have to worry about me bothering you anymore.

[nojey]

finally

feral boys x streamer!reader (separate)

genre: fluff, crack

warning(s): none

synopsis: the feral boys finally meet their favorite streamers

dreamwastaken / clay

word count: 407

the day you met dream, you were on the phone with your best friend george, also known as georgenotfound

the day you met dream, you were on the phone with your best friend george, also known as georgenotfound

he was speedrunning on stream while you were on a discord call with him

his viewers knew who you were, not only because you were george’s best friend but also because you were a streamer too

you weren’t a big one but well known for how well you play battle box in mcc

george was about to end his stream after an unsuccessful speed run when he asked you something

“you know dream right?”

“yeah, of course, he’s one of your other best friends” you answered

“are you okay with me adding him to the call?” he asked you.

“uh sure, but aren’t you gonna end stream?” 

“no, i will after this.” he giggled

“why? are you trying to embarrass one of us?” you asked him suspiciously.

“you don’t have to worry about that.” 

you heard a ding from discord, indicating that someone joined your voice chat

“hello? dream?” george asked.

“george. why? why are you doing this to me?” dream asked.

“hi dream,” you smiled.

“uh, hi. hi (y/n).”

“george why did you add me to the call?” he asked george.

“well, i know how much you like watching their stream. and considering you’re both my best friends, why not introduce you! perfect right? anyways. i’m gonna end my stream now. let’s raid karl. and you two can talk to each other. bye now!” he left the call so now it was just you and dream in the vc

it really warmed your heart that someone with such a big platform liked watching your streams since it had been quite hard to gain a following since you started streaming

“hi dream,” you said once again

he sighed. “hi (y/n).” “i really didn’t want him to do that, i didn’t want this to be the first time we meet, you know. i just love watching your streams so much and i wanted it to, honestly, be in person. but you know, george does what he thinks he shou-”

“it’s okay dream, i’ve actually been looking forward to meeting you, considering you’re also one of george’s best friends. but i do agree, he does tend to do whatever he puts his mind to.”

after you calmed his nerves, his conversation skills skyrocketed and the conversations flowed very easily

you guys spent the rest of the night talking 

georgenotfound / george

word count: 326

being a minecraft streamer and a hypebeast got you some recognition

you were a hypebeast model on instagram and when you had announced you started streaming minecraft on twitch you had grown pretty easily

it didn’t take you time before you were invited to join mcc

not just because you had a big following but because you were actually really good at playing

since you didn’t really know any other mc streamers you got placed in a group with people you had never met

their names were Ph1lzA, WilburSoot, and GeorgeNotFound

the first time you talked to them, they welcomed you with open arms and we so nice

“hi (y/s/n)! i’m philza but you can just call me phil,” he introduced.

“hi phil!” you responded.

“i’m wilbur, is this gonna be your first mcc?” wilbur asked.

“yeah, it is. i’m actually really nervous.” you laughed a bit, to get the nerves out.

“ah okay, well no worries. we were all beginners before. don’t worry about trying to score high, just have fun!” phil assured.

“we’re just waiting for one other person and we’ll get started on the practice.” phil continued.

“okie dokie,” you said. you put yourself on mute and wiped the sweat off your hands on your pants. 

“hello, hello, sorry i’m late. had trouble starting the server.” you heard. 

“well nice of you to join us george.” wilbur said.

“yeah, yeah. hi philza, hi wilbur, hi (y/s/n)- wait, (y/s/n)??” he stuttered

“hi george?,” you said softly.

“oh my god, i’ve watched your streams before, they’re really cool. i enjoy watching them.” he rambled.

you giggled

“well thank you,” you said, still giggling a little.

for the rest of the day you all practiced, everyone giving you pointers, but george watching carefully to make sure you understood the pointers you were getting

and if you didn’t then he knew to tell you which part you were kind of misunderstanding

sapnap

word count: 398

you met sapnap long before you became a streamer

you were a big fan of sapnap

and one day you ran into him in public

it was a short interaction but it really meant a lot to you

so you asked for a picture to remember the moment by

after you took the picture you said your goodbyes and you were extremely excited

a few weeks after than interaction you had made the decision to start streaming

you were thinking about becoming one for a long time and after meeting sapnap you made your decision 

because you wanted to be the type of person sapnap was to you

and be a person someone looked up to and meet people that felt the way about you that you feel about sapnap

you’d been a streamer for a few months when you got a raid from sapnap himself

his viewers were suggesting he raided you so he did

you freaked out, you gained a small following and the fact that sapnap decided to raid you? amazed

but what you didn’t know was that he kept watching you

after he saw how appreciative you were he wanted to watch more and he got intrigued

so he followed you and started watching your streams almost every time you streamed whenever he wasn’t busy

after about 2 years of streaming you got a very big following

your supporters were stalking your twitter and found the picture of you and sapnap when you both met

they then began to repost it on twitter tagging the both of you

you saw it and replied, “LMAO i look so small. but big shoutout to sapnap for raiding me as a small streamer and making all this possible <3″

he saw your reply and his eyes went big

HE MET YOU BEFORE!??

he then proceeded to respond to your tweet, “we’ve met before??”

and it went back and forward

“yeah, it was before i was a streamer, we met at like.. the grocery store lol”

“i literally had no idea you were a fan of me”

“yup, i’ve been for the past 3 years”

“dude after i raided you i started watching your streams and you became my favorite streamer”

“well,, you’re still my favorite streamer ;)” 

after that sapnap dmd you asking if you guys could meet in person again

and who could pass up that offer

karl jacobs

word count: 510

you and karl met at twitchcon

you had recently become a big streamer and this was your 2nd time going to twitchcon

1st time having a meet and greet

meeting your supporters meant so much to you 

you finally get to give each of them a hug, and it may not be all of them but seeing this many people come out to meet you meant more than anyone could imagine

but being at twitchcon also meant you could meet your streamer friends 

which made everything 10x more exciting

you decided to meet up with your friend, valkyrae and you guys were going to a creator party

when you finally got to see her you gave her a huge hug that lasted a while because it was the first time you were meeting in person

once you both reached the venue of where the party was being held you all met up with your other friends. you hadn’t met any of them in person but rae had

you saw sykkuno, lily, michael, toast, and a few other people and smiled really big, excited to see all of them

you finally got to them and pulled them into a group hug

“you guys!! oh my god it feels so good to finally meet all of you!” you said.

“it’s nice to meet you in person, (y/n).” sykkuno said smiling at you

you let go of the hug and remembered everyone else that they were with

“hi! i’m (y/s/n) but you can just call me (y/n),” you said with a smile.

“this is karl, poki, and scarra.” toast introduced.

you saw karl and poki whispering to each other while you got into a conversation with everyone else.

poki coughed and said, “hey guys! don’t we have to go to that thing, right? that thing.” hinting at something, looking between you and karl.

you’re pretty sure everyone caught on and they all agreed.

“oh yeah! that thing!”

“yeah, we should probably go!”

“yup, don’t wanna be late to that thing.”

you looked at them with an unimpressed look as they walked away, looking behind their shoulders to see you and karl standing there.

“hi, i’m-i’m karl, i’m sorry about that. i just told poki that you’re like literally my favorite streamer and i guess she wanted us to talk more? i don’t know, but it’s really nice to meet you.” karl said.

you laughed as you quickly understood your friends weird behavior

“yeah, you raided me a few times- thank you for that by the way. it helped me a lot in growing my fanbase and i don’t think i’d be where i am if you hadn’t raided me.” you smiled at him. he beamed and smiled back at you.

“yeah, no, it was no problem. like i said you’re literally my favorite streamer and being able to help you with that is absolutely insane to me.”

for the rest of the party, your friends could see both of you talking the night away

and maybe even dance together

quackity

word count: 428

finding out what to do for stream was kinda hard when pretty much all your friends were busy

but then you got a text from karl, asking if you wanted to play jackbox with him and a few friends

you accepted, knowing you wouldn’t have anything else to stream

in the lobby it would be you, karl, dream, sapnap and a few other people you didn’t know

when it was finally time to play, you started up your stream and introduced what you’d be playing that night

“hey guys, welcome welcome, welcome. today i’m gonna be playing jackbox with karl, dream, sapnap, and a few other of karls friends.” 

you joined the vc and immediately heard a lot of boys talking very loudly

you let out a small, “hello?” 

somehow everyone heard you and stopped talking

“(y/n)!” karl yelled out.

dream and sapnap let out a “hi, (y/n)” and you said hello back.

“hi everyone, i’m (y/s/n) but you all can call me (y/n)” you introduced yourself.

eveyrone else said hi and introduced themselves

you found out you were playing with quackity, wilbur, tommy, and techno too

during mad verse city karl was going against quackity and his rap went something like this

“you talk so weird, i’m gonna need translator, next time (y/n)’s here they’re gonna be a hater, because your big crush on them i’ll see ya later”

your mouth was wide open while all the boys started teasing quackity

“what the fuck! i don’t have a crush on them!” 

quackity ended up losing that one.

after the game and you ended you stream you asked quackity to stay

“hi quackity,” you said, with an energetic voice

“... hey, (y/n)” 

“sooo, was what karl said true?” you asked.

“mm not necessarily. it’s not that i have a crush on you. you’re.. just my favorite streamer and you know. this is the first time i’m meeting you and i was telling all of them that i’m nervous because i’ve never talked to you before and i think you’re a great streamer and that you put out really funny content and i didn’t wanna embarrass myself but. karl did that for me.” he rambled

you giggled

“i think that’s really cute. thank you for supporting me. you can dm me on twitter or discord if you ever wanna play sometime.” you told him and left the vc.

you then saw all the boys you were playing with pile into the vc and you could only imagine what they were talking about.

[prismasnotebook]

Bad Day, Bad Stream - Karl Jacobs

Summary: Reader was already having a bad day, and the boys try to mess with them on stream but it’s not taken as lightly as usual

“Hi, chat,” you greeted as your starting soon screen disappeared. “How’s everyone doing?”

You read out some of the chat and responded to some of it giving people a few more minutes to join before explaining stream.

“Alright, guys today we’re doing a simple jackbox stream with the crew boys, you know some healthy competition amongst friends.”

You shifted your eyes to discord momentarily ready to start the stream and get it over with. It sounded awful, but you had a bad day, and you just didn’t want to disappoint any of the people that support you.

“Everyone ready,” you asked into discord and when met with no response you furrowed your eyebrows, and looked back to discord to make sure you were in call and weren’t muted. “Guys? Hello?”

There was once again no response and you sighed. They had to be doing a bit, everything was fine. You were all in chat, you weren’t muted. You’d checked everything before stream and it was fine.

“I can’t do this today,” you muttered. “Guys, seriously, I just want to get this streamed please. You can be mean to me during the rap battle or something.”

There was still no response and a few seconds later your phone went off and you had a text from Sapnap and below it was a tweet from Quackity, both talking about how they couldn’t hear you in voice chat.

“No, I just checked and everything was fine, you guys are liars,” you claimed looking at your phone. “Chat, the crew boys are trying to gaslight me.”

You called Karl and he picked at the last possible second answering with, “Oh, hey, we can’t hear you in voice chat. What’s going on?”

“You’re a liar, I know it’s a bit. I know you’re the ring leader, please quit making it difficult for me to stream, please.”

“It literally isn’t a bit, like we can’t hear you.”

“You’re such a liar,” you claimed again before hanging up. “Chat, the crew boys make terrible friends. Especially Karl.”

“I know you guys can hear me. Please quit being assholes,” you complained to them in discord and you finally heard a voice break through.

But, it only swapped from them acting like they couldn’t hear you, to pretending that something was wrong on your end and making their voices break and cut off randomly during sentences.

“You know what,” you said after it’d gone on for awhile too long, voice breaking. “I don’t have it in me to this today. Chat, I’m so sorry, I’ll try to stream later this week.”

“Wait, we’re just messing with you,” Karl said and they tried to convince you to keep streaming, but you were already ending it.

“Guys, it’s fine,” you claimed, but the way your voice wavered made it seem otherwise. “I just- I can’t stream today.”

You left the call and not even a few seconds later Karl was trying to FaceTime you, but you ignored it. And, so he tried again, and you were getting all types of apology text from the guys, but the reality was you just couldn’t handle it today.

You sat in your chair just letting yourself have the breakdown you’d been holding off all day, and a little while later there was a knock on your bedroom door, and you tried to pull yourself together so you roommate wouldn’t worry about you.

“Hey, I know you’re probably mad at me right now, but I don’t want you to be alone when you’re sad,” a voice came through, but it was Karl’s and not your roommates.

You gently got up walking toward the door and opened it, and there was no mistaking the guilt on his face.

“I was just teasing, I didn’t mean to make you cry. I’m so sorry.”

“It wasn’t you,” you stated pulling him into a hug and he squeezed you as tight as he could. “I’m just having a bad day.”

“You want to talk about,” he asked, and you shrugged lightly before pulling away some and he gave you a sympathetic look.

You just grabbed his hand pulling him toward you bed and you didn’t even ask for him to just hold you because he was already on top of it.

He placed gentle kisses to your skin every now as he soothingly ran his hand up and down your side, lulling you to sleep.

“I love you,” you manage to mumble out before you complete out, and Karl doesn’t hesitate to say it back.

My Masterlist

[adelheidvonschicksal]

Hello! I hope you're doing alright! Can I request Megumi being in love with his childhood best friend (gn!reader, if not fem!reader) and their relationship? In like headcanons? If not, that's alright, of course! Thank you for your time!

Pairing: GN!Reader x Megumi

Notes: Here you are, darling <3 I split it to non-sorcerer friend and a sorcerer friend because I feel like there'd be slight differences.

Non-Sorcerer

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means meeting him back in primary school and forcing him to be friends with you because you wanted to be friends with everyone in school and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means doing most of the talking because he always acts way older than what he actually is but not knowing how much he likes to listen to you talk.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means being the only one to play with his hair and get away with it.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means him realizing he has feelings for you in middle school when someone confesses to him, but he rejects them because when he thinks about love all he can picture is your face.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means crying because you’re the only one who knows the truth about why he’s not going to be able to attend high school in the same city anymore and that he’s moving to Tokyo to do a dangerous job.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means him texting you every night to let you know he’s still alive and to ask you about your day because the idea of losing one of his only few childhood relationships is too scary for him.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means sending a list of books the two of you’ve read to each other and always finishing them in record time so you can talk to each other about it.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means him staying up late on discord with you to help you with your homework no matter how long it takes because he likes to see your smile whenever you solve a problem together.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means him buying souvenirs when he travels on missions so he can send them back to you as gifts and taking pictures of the different sights he passes because he likes the idea of visiting them with you one day.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means him going to visit you after you send him a text telling him everyone misses him, and him knowing that you really mean you, you're missing him because he didn't have anyone else close to him back in that town.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means him mentally sizing up every guy you introduce him to because he’s subconsciously scouring to make sure you don’t have a boyfriend that isn’t him.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means begging to visit him at his school and meet his new friends but him telling you no because it's dangerous, but the ticket in the mail with a chibi of a blindfold guy in the corner says yes.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means being teased about your relationship with him by Nobara, Yuuji, and Maki, and asked to tell all the embarrassing stories about Megumi from middle school while Megumi tells them to stop embarrassing him around you but secretly loving to hear you laugh with his friends, reaffirming how much he wants to become stronger to protect you and those around him.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means gushing over his new powers and fluffy dogs and giving him compliment after compliment until he's afraid he might explode from all your attention.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means you’re the only one who can come into his room and being asked by his friends if the two of you are making kissy faces at each other in there.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means him ACTUALLY kissing you before you head back to your city because he can’t stand the thought of the two of you parting again and still being only friends.

Sorcerer

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means meeting him when he’s adopted by Gojo and spending a lot of time together because you’re around the same age and Satoru figures you can look out for each other while he’s on missions.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means comforting him after his sister is cursed and promising to help in any way you can.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means being able to fight in sync with each other with nothing more than a look and laughing when Yuuji suggests he and Nobara should be like you two and perfect their teamwork to compete because he wants to do that too.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means being assumed to be in a relationship whenever the two of you go out on a mission together and watching Megumi blush every time.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means going through years of being teased by your teacher about how the two of you need to get a room already whenever you get in a fight with each other.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means probably having your first kiss together at a young age because you both wanted to know how it felt like or more likely Gojo pushed you into each other to tease you and whoops.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means sharing secrets and the fears you have together because you know that if you can't trust anyone else then you can always at least trust each other.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means him letting you fall asleep on his shoulder on long rides home after a mission or leaning against him when you’re cold. This one also means being the only one to play with his hair and get away with it.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means going batshit feral whenever the other is injured to the point that you even scare each other and those around you sometimes. Then scolding one another about not being so reckless.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means holding hands and staring at one another when you both get severely injured but at least you're going out together. You trying to tell him you love him before losing consciousness and him being too shy to bring it back up again after you're rescued but never forgetting that moment he found out that your feelings are the same.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means him getting jealous whenever you cuddle up more with one of his shikigami than him, but he loves that you do it with even Orochi and Gamma and not just his fluffier shikigami.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means pretending not to feel his eyes on your back or hear him growing irritated under his breath when someone flirts with you and tries to get your number and him pretending to be your boyfriend when they don’t get the hint.

Being Megumi’s childhood best friend means having to kabedon and kiss him because he’ll never make the move to do it first, and you and everyone else are getting tired of the “Will They, Won’t They” game.

[whiteqnn]

Pairing: Corpse Husband x Fem! Reader

Summary: Sean invites one of his good friends - Y/N - to play with him and the group. She has a lot of fun with them, but at the same time is too oblivious, too nice, and too pure to notice that one particular Among Us player has taken a liking to her the moment he heard her voice...

Notes: Hello everyone! This is the very first time I’m publishing something bigger in here, I’m honestly still figuring out how Tumblr works, even though I’ve had this account for quite some time now 😅. That being said, please don’t expect anything super impressive. I tried my best though just so you know. 🥺

A/N- It didn’t turn out as I expected, but I really hope at least some of you find it enjoyable :(

Y/C/N - your channel name

part 2

part 3 

part 4 

part 5 

PURE [1]

“Did you guys find anybody?” Felix asked, as the number of players still showed just 7 of them. They could just start now, but the game would be way more fun with a full lobby. 

“Yeah, Lily’s joining. I just texted her the code, so she should be here at any moment.” Sykkuno replied after receiving a text message from the said girl. “Oh, and Corpse also said he’d be joining soon.” 

“Great. Anyone else?”

 “I think Jack was also bringing someone, right?” Dave asked.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I have one coming, she’ll join us in a few” the asked man replied at the same moment Lily’s character appeared in the lobby. 

“Who you’re bringing Jack?” 

“Y/N” he said, causing Felix to gasp in shock and yell into his mic:

“How the fuck did you manage to convince her? I’ve been bugging her about this game for the past week and she always had some excuse!” 

“What can I say, my charm is irresistible” Jack replied nonchalantly, causing everyone in the lobby to laugh at his fake deep voice.

The number of participants changed to 9, as a little black astronaut with horns on his helmet appeared in the lobby. 

“Corpse, you’re here!” Rae’s character ran up to the man, circling him excitedly. 

“Hey man!”

“What’s up, Corpse?”

“Hello everyone” his deep voice sounded out “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“All good man, we’re still waiting for one person.” Felix reassured him “Sean, why is she not here yet? Are you sure you’ve sent her the right code?”

“Of course I am!” he all but shouted at Felix “And about that, she just texted me to give her a few more minutes and that we should start without her.”

“We can just wait, right?” Lily offered, earning a few hums of approval from the others.

“I think it might take a little longer than a few minutes, she has some problems with her microphone.”

“Who are you guys talking about?” Corpse asked, completely unaware of who Jack was referring to.

“Wait, Jack, you mean Y/N from Y/C/N?” Sykkuno asked suddenly, only then realizing why this name sounded familiar

“Yeah, the one and only” Jack replied, a smile evident in his voice.

“Oh my god, I love her videos!” Rae exclaimed at that “She’s so funny and sweet!”

“Yeah! Her new video is so freaking cute, I wish she’d upload more often.” Poki agreed. 

“Right?” Jack said, clearly very proud of his friend. “But don’t let that sweet demeanor fool you guys cause she’s one of the best players I’ve encountered in this game.”

“That’s true, she’s a secret big brain genius” Toast confirmed, making Pewdiepie gasp once again. 

“wHAT??YOU TWO PLAYED WITH HER?!” Felix’s offended voice boomed through everyone’s headphones “HOW DARE YOU. HOW COULD YOU NOT INVITE ME?!” 

“That’s for not inviting me to your latest Cringe episode!” Jack was quick to respond, making others in the lobby laugh at their mini fight. 

“Oh, so that’s where I recognized her from!” Sykkuno nearly shouted when he finally put two and two together. “I can’t wait to meet her, she seems like a really nice person.”

“She is! When she got impostor for the first time she refused to kill me” Toast explained, earning himself a couple of Aww’s from his friends. “So we just ran around the emergency button until I called the meeting and voted her off.”

“Yeah, only to be her first victim in the next game.” Jack all but giggled, clearly very amused at the memory of Y/N going into a full berserk mode. No one except for him and Toast knew how good she really was at this game... 

“She’s basically the wolf in sheep’s skin” Felix concluded with a chuckle “Very soft wolf, however.”

“She’s like the complete opposite of Corpse, both in voice and personality” Jack suddenly said, making Felix laugh wholeheartedly at something only two of them understood at the moment. 

“I don’t know how should I take that” Corpse admitted with a chuckle. He remained silent for most of the conversation since he didn’t really know who the guys were talking about. But he would lie if he said he wasn’t intrigued by this girl at least in the slightest. Although he heard about her channel, he hasn’t seen any of her videos, so he didn’t really know what to expect. But hearing what gamers like Sean and Felix said about her, he knew he’s not gonna be disappointed once the girl joins them in the game. 

“Imagine Corpse and Y/N talking.” Felix said suddenly with a seemingly very amused voice.

“Imagine Corpse and Y/N both being Impostors” Toast said, which resulted in many of them shouting over each other at how crazy that would be. 

“Alright, now that you mention this I start fearing the moment two of them meet” Jack confessed with loud laughter following the sentence. Corpse chuckled deeply under his breath, at the same time glancing at the questions his audience was asking him in his stream. He could hardly read any, as there were quite a lot of people asking, so all he saw was just a bunch of comments moving at the speed of light in his chat. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was slightly nervous, seeing the growing number of people watching his stream. It was still a rather new thing to him, and he feared he'd say something inappropriate, or just make a complete idiot out of himself. 

"At least no one can see me..." he mumbled under his breath after muting his microphone. 

"Oh! Y/N just texted me! She's joining the call right now!" 

"Fuck yeah!" Felix shouted excitedly "Just so you know Jack, I won't forget that you two played without me."

"Uh-oh. Is that a threat? Are you threatening me now?" 

"It's a warning" Felix replied, receiving a series of gasps from other players. "If I get impostor, you're the first one on my list."

"Okay, everyone heard that! You know who to vote off when I'm dead!" 

"It's so cool to play with someone new, I wonder if she's as good as you guys depict her" Sykkuno spoke up, but before anyone could answer his question, a new character popped up in the lobby.

*** 

"Hi everyone! I’m sorry I left you just like that, but this stream would be completely useless without me being able to answer your questions. Fortunately it wasn’t anything serious, I just had to readjust my mic and go through the settings to find what was wrong. Took some time, but here I am now!” Y/N chirped into her microphone, smiling apologetically at her webcam. At the moments like this, she really appreciated how supportive her audience was. No one was hating on her when she had to get off the stream for a couple of minutes, and everyone was just so understanding that it made her heart melt. Perhaps her audience wasn’t very big, but it felt almost like a second family to her. 

“Anyway, as you already know from my twitter, today I’ll be playing Among Us with my friends and their friends! I can’t wait if I’m being honest, last time I played this game was so much fun, and there was only a few of us.” she admitted with a genuine smile on her face. “Let’s just text Sean now so we can get into the lobby...”

Y/N: Ready to play with you guys ^^

Jackaboy: Great! You got that mic fixed already? 

Y/N: Yes, everything is fine. I’m sorry you had to wait so long.

Jackaboy: It’s all good kiddo, no worries. I’ll call you and send you the code in a sec. 

Y/N: Perfect, thank you Sean :)

Jackaboy: Btw, everyone can’t wait to meet you ;-)Y/N stared at the screen for a moment, only now, seconds before joining the group, realizing how nervous she felt. From Sean’s tweets she saw earlier, she figured that the lobby was right now full of many famous streamers, those she wouldn’t even compare herself to. It’s not that she thought of herself very low, but... being among such youtube celebrities like them made her panic a little bit. She didn’t want to look like a complete fool amongst them. 

Playing or recording with Sean and Felix was something else because she knew those guys for years (and yet still sometimes found herself thinking how lucky she got to be able to call them her friends). She felt good in their company, not worrying about choosing the right words. But amongst the rest of the players, she knew only Toast and talked with Rae maybe once in her life... 

What if the rest won’t like her? 

Y/N cleared her throat, realizing that she was still staring at her phone like hypnotized and her audience was already asking her what’s going on. She quickly typed in the code Sean had texted her and readjusted her headphones, before joining the discord chat.

“THERE SHE IS” screamed Sean, making her grin from ear to ear, hearing how excited he was “Little wonderchild!”

“I think you meant little TRAITOR” Felix corrected him with a scoff. A silence settled in the lobby as everyone was waiting for Y/N to speak up.

“Um... hello everyone..” she said softly, almost inaudibly, a sudden wave of shyness taking over her. “I’m Y/N” 

“Oh, you were right about that Corpse thing!” replied another, also very soft and very sweet voice, and Y/N saw the image of someone named Lily pop up. “It’s like the exact opposite!” 

“See? Told ya. Everyone, meet Y/N/N, the little angel from Y/C/N.” 

“Hey Y/N!”

“Hi there!”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“H-Hi, so great to meet you, Y/N!” a very friendly sounding voice said, and a little lime astronaut with the name Sykkuno above it started running around her. “Can’t wait to play with you!”

“That’s so nice, thank you” she replied with a wide smile on her face, moving around his character as well. “I can’t wait to play with you too, actually with all you guys. It’s so great to be here with you.”

“Jack I swear she’s the cutest little thing I’ve ever heard. Where the hell did you find her?!” Poki all but yelled at the man, making Y/N giggle to herself and in-process loosen up a little bit. They all seemed like someone she’d happily be friends with. 

“Or rather, where do you get one?” someone else commented, making them all burst into laughter, Y/N included. 

“Guys, what did I say about that sweet demeanor...” Jack said after calming down from his fit “Don’t put your guard down just because she sounds like that!”

“Wait- what did you tell them about me?” Y/N asked confused, the tone of her voice making him laugh even more “Jack!”

“Don’t worry, only the good stuff” a very deep, low voice spoke up, leaving her taken aback for a moment. Her eyes widened slightly and she glanced at the name of that person, reading out CORPSE. Now that’s something she didn’t expect... 

“Corpse, mind your manners! You didn’t even introduce yourself!” 

“Oh, shit- yeah, sorry. Um, I’m Corpse, it’s very nice to meet you Y/N” he replied right after, making her lip corners curl up into a smile. 

“Nice to meet you too Corpse, you have a really pleasant voice.” she spoke sweetly, completely unaware of the chaos that was taking place in her stream chat. She didn’t even think of it the way her audience did, she just simply spoke up her mind, and being an incredibly nice person - turned it into a compliment.

“Oh- wow. I mean, thank you so much. I love your voice too, it’s really sweet” he replied, nervously chuckling at the end, before muting his mic. It was, however, enough for Felix and Sean to start teasing him, as the two immediately screamed:

“SIIIMP!!!”

“It’s the voice Felix, I told you he’d fall into her trap!” 

“Wait- he was just being nice, guys! Stop making fun of him” Y/N immediately defended the man, trying to speak up over the hysterical laughter of the other players. 

“Oh my god, but what if they both get impostors and they both pull the voice cards on us?!” Rae managed to yell through all the noise, making Y/N even more confused.

“Wait, what? What do you mean? I don’t understand.” 

“Don’t worry Y/N, that’s how I feel all the time around them.” Sykkuno seemed to be the only one who heard her question, as the rest continued their gabbing without giving her as much as a glance. 

“Alright, let’s start the game maybe. I might have a few old scores to settle” Toast cleared his throat theatrically, his astronaut coming face to face with Y/N’s. 

“Oh, you mean me? I thought I already apologized!” she replied frantically. “You gave me no choice Toast, I didn’t even want to kill you in the first place...”

“BUT YOU DID. IN THE VERY FIRST ROUND” 

“I’m sorry!” 

“Alright, enough! Toast, just don’t kill her right away, okay? Let her run around the map, fearing for her life for a moment.” Y/N gasped upon hearing Jack’s words, clearly sensing the smirk behind his voice. 

“Wha- Jack?! Since when are you against me?!” 

“Don’t worry Y/N, I won’t let them hurt you. You haven’t played with us yet, I’ll protect you.” 

“Oh, thank you so much Sykkuno! I’ll protect you too!” 

“Great. Another one simping...” was Felix’s last words, before the game began. 

Y/N sighed in relief upon seeing the word crewmate forming on her screen, but at the same time feared Toast’s inevitable revenge. She thought they'd already buried the hatchet, but it seemed that he was desperate to make her pay for the last time they played together. 

“Aw, Sykkuno was serious” she mumbled with a smile, when his lime astronaut started circling her white one, so she would follow him. “Okay, let’s do some tasks.”

They both made their way towards the medbay, Sykkuno patiently waiting nearby as she did the scan, then Y/N waiting for him to do the same. The moment his little character stepped towards her, a meeting was called by none other than Felix.

“What happened?” Rae asked.

“I called the meeting because I’m afraid of Jack” he responded, causing everyone to laugh. “Seriously though! Dude’s been following me around the whole time.”

“I was just making sure nobody kills you.”

“Yeah don’t go all Sykkuno on me!” Felix screamed, making the call erupt into even more laughter. 

“Alright, are we skipping?” 

“Yeah.”

“Guys, my life is in danger!” Felix wouldn’t give up. “Come on, show some support! Y/N? You played with him, you know his techniques!” 

“Sorry Felix” Y/N giggled, clicking the skip button. 

When the next round began, Sykkuno was quick to join Y/N on her way towards admin, where they both found Poki doing the upload. They did the card swipe and left her there, when the lights suddenly went off.

“Uh-oh. Let’s head the opposite direction, Sykkuno” the girl murmured, dancing around his character and heading towards Comms instead of going to Electrical. It was the easiest way to die, after all. 

Once they entered the room and waited for someone to fix the lights, Y/N could see another figure appear in the same location. She couldn’t recognize whose character it was, but upon seeing the horns on the helmet she smiled to herself.

“Hey there, Corpse” she said, walking up to the black astronaut, who was standing still in the same place as if he was just watching her and Sykkuno run around Comms instead of doing their tasks. 

They stood like that for a couple of seconds until Corpse turned around and ran away, and that’s when the first body was reported. 

“Oh no, Jack!” 

“Poor guy. He’s gonna haunt us now.”

“Where’s the body?” 

“Navigation” replied Rae, who was the one to find Sean’s green astronauts’ body “Didn’t see anyone around, but I’m pretty sure someone just vented right in front of my eyes...”

“Any suspicions?” Toast asked.

“Um, not really sure, it was the exact same moment the lights went off. I was doing tasks with Jack and then he just died. I only saw the vent close, nothing or no one else.”

“Okay, where are you guys right now?” 

“I’m in admin with Dave, we only passed Poki when we got there.” Lily’s voice sounded out, quickly being joined by Poki’s explanation.

“Yeah, I was finishing the upload when you guys came in, Y/N and Sykkuno saw it”

“Did you see her?” Toast asked, addressing his question towards the white and lime astronauts. 

“Yes, we were doing the card swipe before going to Comms. Corpse joined us for a moment and then left.”

“Yeah, I was on my way to fix the lights when I stumbled upon them in Comms, the body was reported the exact moment I left.”

“Can someone confirm this? I mean, did someone see you besides the two of them?” Toast continued his questioning. 

“I think I only saw Felix in Medbay.”

“Hmm, so no one really knows where you were this whole time. You could easily lure Jack into Navigation and kill him there. Is that what you did, Corpse?”

“Woah, that’s some serious accusation” Corpse replied in his usual, low and calm voice. “Where were you Toast? You seem the only one who still doesn’t have an alibi”

“Neither does Felix.” Y/N spoke innocently, and the mentioned man quickly started his explanation.

“Okay, I was with Jack at the beginning but he clearly can’t confirm this since someone snapped his fucking neck. We’ve split up in O2 after doing our tasks and then he must’ve gone with Rae. I just wandered around the map, escaping from the death.”

“Hmm, so not only were you one of the last people to see him alive, but you also admit to not doing your tasks” Y/N said, trying her best to keep her voice steady and stop herself from laughing. She was sure Sykkuno was doing the same thing, they both refused to do any tasks after the lights went off, after all.

“Yeah, but does that already makes me an Imposter? I’m just scared for my life, that’s all.”

“Y/N has some good logic, but I’m not really sure it’s Pewds. I mean, I saw him in Medbay and he really seemed to be just jogging around.” Corpse said, his voice almost immediately doing its magic, as people more or less willingly agreed to skip this round as well. 

“I think it’s Felix. I mean, I haven’t played with him yet, but I have this feeling that he’s just acting.” Y/N said to her chat after muting herself. She went towards Weapons to do another task, seeing Sykkuno’s little character follow her once again, but the doors were suddenly locked and his lime astronaut remained in Cafeteria. “Oh no, Sykkuno” she sighed with a pout on her face, deciding against waiting for him and risking getting her neck snapped. She finished her task in Weapons and moved towards another location, when suddenly Corpse appeared in front of her, coming right out of nowhere. 

“Oh- Corpse, you scared me to death” Y/N breathed a laugh, watching as his character stood still for a couple of seconds, before circling around her white astronaut. Y/N nodded her head with a smile, even though he couldn’t see her, and followed him in Shields, where they found Poki’s dead body. 

“The body is in Shields” Y/N replied right after reporting the body, only to gasp in shock when she realized more than one person was killed. Red crosses decorated not only Poki’s name but were also visible next to Dave and Lily. 

“What the hell?!” Felix all but yelled into his mic, obviously shocked just like everyone else who was still alive. 

“Now that’s... a lot of bodies” Sykkuno mumbled under his breath. 

“Alright, who’s in Shields? Y/N, you said you found the body there, which one?”

“Poki’s, Corpse was there with me” her reply was followed by his short and low hum. 

“Sykkuno, where are you? I didn’t see you anywhere since the last round.” Felix asked, clearly accusing the lime astronaut of being a murderer. 

“I was... doing the wires in electrical, Toast was there for a moment as well.”

“Yeah but I was only searching for the body, so I saw you maybe for a second” Toast replied, building even more suspicions around Sykkuno.

“But- guys, you know I wouldn’t kill two people in one round, let alone four of them.”

“No one says you did that, I only mentioned that you were nowhere to be seen. You could’ve been sabotaging the map for the other Impostor” Felix said nonchalantly.

“Guys, I-”

“It’s him! It must be him!” Rae shouted through her mic. 

“Sykkuno is 100% innocent, I can vouch for him” Y/N’s voice sounded out in everyone’s headphones “We were together since the start of the game and he didn’t kill me, even though he had quite a number of chances to do so.”

“Weren’t you with Corpse this time?” Felix asked suspiciously.

“I was! But at the beginning, I was with Sykkuno, until someone locked him in Cafeteria. That’s when we split up.”

“And you haven’t seen him ever since?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Then I can assure you it was only a matter of time before he’d stab you in the back” Toast concluded, making Sykkuno gasp in confusion.

“Wha- No, I would never do that! Y/N is our guest, I was just making sure she was okay!”

“Sykkuno, simping won’t save your life right now” 

“Wha- I- Guys!” he tried to stutter out some logical explanation “Y/N, don’t believe them!”

“I don’t, I know you’re innocent! C’mon guys, he wouldn’t do it!” 

“Yeah yeah, let’s kick him out. Corpse, who are you voting?” Toast asked, and Y/N could see the I voted sign next to his character. 

“I kinda feel like Felix tries to shift the blame onto Sykkuno. He didn’t even tell his location, and was already throwing accusations on someone else.” Corpse replied after a moment, making the smile widen on Y/N’s face. Someone was finally on her side! 

“That’s because he can’t even explain himself!” Felix exclaimed, voting as well. 

“Besides, I’m pretty sure if it wasn’t for whoever locked that door, Y/N would be dead as well!” 

“No, I told you I-!”

“Guys, we have ten seconds to vote. Rae?” 

“I think it’s him as well. He was acting suspiciously since we started this round. I vote Sykkuno”

“But..!” 

“No, Sykkuno...” Y/N whispered with a pout on her lips, when she saw the number of people who voted for her lime friend. 

Sykkuno was ejected. 

“Alright, I’m pretty sure it’s Felix. I saw Rae multiple times and she didn’t kill me, Toast also doesn’t act very Impostor like, but maybe that’s just one of his strategies... Corpse is with me again, I don’t think that’s him, I mean, he followed me around last round, but still didn’t do anything, and even vouched for me and Sykkuno when we were both clearly chilling in comms. It can’t be him... right?” 

 Dead body reported.

 “I just saw Corpse kill Toast, then vent!” Rae’s voice blared through Y/N’s headphones, as she looked in shock at the red cross next to Toast’s name. If not him, then..?

“What?” the accused man asked calmly “That’s a self-report, she’s trying to frame me. You guys can’t possibly believe her.”

“I believe her. I saw you enter the Electrical with Toast, then he’s suddenly dead” Felix said. 

“That’s because she vented in there and killed him.”

“No! I swear, Y/N/N you have to believe me!” she directed her words towards the girl who remained silent during their discussion, processing her accusations over and over in her head. “I was fixing the wires, Toast was doing another task, and then boom! I see Corpse snapping his neck!”

“How could you see that if the lights were off?” Y/N suddenly asked, making Rae cut her own sentence off “No one went to fix them, they were off the entire round.”

Silence. 

“It’s Rae, it must be her” Corpse couldn’t help but laugh wholeheartedly at how small was the mistake which completely blew Rae’s cover. “We’re voting Rae, right Y/N?”

“No! Guys, I mean, let me explain, I-!”

Rae was ejected. 

“Now that was something I didn’t expect. I would’ve never thought it was her, I even suspected that Sykkuno might really have been the other Impostor, but now... It’s just me, Corpse, and Felix. I’m clear, clearly, so it must be one of them. And since Corpse protected me for the past few rounds, there’s no other option than...”

Her eyes suddenly widened when the realization hit her, and she quickly turned around to speed towards the emergency button. Fortunately, no one was around to stop her from calling the meeting.

“Felix.” Y/N started, trying to contain her excitement and sound seriously “Where were you when Sean was killed?”

Neither Corpse of Felix said a word, as it was probably the last question they expected her to ask. Felix cleared his throat, however, and finally replied:

“Y/N, that was literally the beginning of a game. How am I supposed to remember what I did then?”

“Well” she said nonchalantly “I, for example, clearly remember the things you said even when we were in the lobby.”

“What are you implying?” 

“Wasn’t it you, who told everyone that Sean was your number one if you get Impostor?” she asked with a wicked smile on her face. Felix was dumbfounded, he obviously didn’t expect her to pull that card on him, hell, he didn’t even know how she knew about it since she wasn’t even in the call at the time. 

“FELIX” Corpse suddenly broke the silence, simultaneously breaking the said man from his train of thoughts. 

“Okay, first of all- YOU WEREN’T EVEN IN THE CALL WHEN I SAID THAT” he yelled through his mic, making both Y/N and Corpse laugh, as it only confirmed their suspicions. 

“See? You only proved my point.” 

“Oh, fuck’s sake- I was just joking okay?!” he tried to defend himself, but hearing how he couldn’t even contain his own laughter anymore, it was clear he already accepted the defeat. “It wasn’t serious, god damn it!” 

“You know what to do, Y/N” Corpse’s voice asked through her headphones, and surely, she knew exactly what to do.

“C’mon Y/N, that’s not fair! At least let me explain myself!” 

“Bye Felix” she said in an overly dramatic tone before Corpse voted as well. 

Soon enough, the sign VICTORY could be seen on her screen, which made her squeak and joy. This game was really fun, even though she was so scared of being killed first. 

“I knew it! I knew you would figure out it’s him! That son of a bitch who murdered me!” Jack basically yelled out, clearly very happy about the result. 

“Y/N, seriously now, how did you know I’ve said that?” Felix asked without even hiding his surprised tone.

“Let’s just say I might’ve stolen some of your viewers, Felix” she admitted, winking at her webcam, a new wave of comments landing on her chat. “Thanks guys!” 

“Okay, that is rude and not fair!” 

“It helped me win, so I’ve got nothing else to say” Y/N grinned from ear to ear, before muting herself for a moment to finally answer some of the questions from her chat, while the rest took a quick break to eat something or go to the bathroom.

She was halfway through telling the story of how she met Sean when she noticed she got a message from a private discord chat. 

CORPSE: That was really impressive :)

Y/N smiled to herself upon seeing his text and quickly typed out the answer. 

Y/N: Thanks!! I wouldn’t have done that without you though, you stood up for me and Sykkuno and all

Y/N: Also, thanks for protecting me from being murdered ^^

CORPSE: No problem, I knew you were innocent right away. 

CORPSE: Anyway, good game, Sean was right saying that you’re one of the best players

She couldn’t help the blush that arose on her cheeks, it was very sweet of him to say that, even though she didn’t actually do much except for exposing Felix. 

Y/N: I wasn’t an Impostor though, so you didn’t really see much :)

She watched the three dots beside his name, that signaled he was still texting. The chat was completely forgotten, but people seemed to quickly notice that small, shy smile on her lips, and the pink tint decoring her cheeks.

CORPSE: Okay, now I’m intrigued... 

Y/N: Maybe we’ll both be Impostors one day ^^

CORPSE: Can’t wait for that to happen.

Soon enough, they returned to the lobby to begin another game. Y/N glanced at her chat for a second, and the moment she returned her eyes to the game, her jaw basically dropped. 

IMPOSTOR was written in bold letters in the middle of the red screen, right above her name.

Corpse’s little character was standing beside her.