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dsudis · 2 years ago

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Adaptive Tea Making

For @domaystic Day 5: Learning Something New.

Dream is human now, and determined to learn how to make his beloved a cup of tea. He just has a small difficulty with time to get over.

___

Hob looked over at Dream, who was perched on a stool at the kitchen bench with his ever-present notebook open to a fresh page, his phone unlocked beside it, and an actual stopwatch beside that. He had a pencil in his hand, freshly sharpened, and a second pencil also perfectly sharpened set beside the notebook.

Hob had secondhand text anxiety just looking at those pencils.

"Ready?" Hob asked, though surely it was not possible to be more ready than Dream currently was.

Dream didn't even meet his gaze, his eyes fixed firmly on Hob's hands. "Ready. Please show me, one more time, how to make a cup of tea the way you like it."

As Dream spoke he wrote on the pristine notebook page: Hob's tea instructions. His handwriting was crooked and crabbed but legible.

"So--there's water in the kettle already," Hob said, feeling like possibly he was the one being tested. However he made this cup of tea, Dream would continue making this exact cup of tea for him forever.

Hob was fine with that. Hob would frankly have been fine with continuing to get wildly undrinkable cups of tea from Dream forever, but Dream was determined to learn this particular human skill correctly, and seemed somehow convinced that this time he was going to crack it.

Hob flipped the switch. Dream turned on a timer on his phone and then wrote down the first two steps: water in kettle and turn on kettle. He also wrote to one side, Phone timer: total length of process and drew a little line beside it to be filled in with a number later.

They had learned, after Dream had committed a series of frankly baffling tea mishaps including "hot water with no detectable trace of tea" and "oversteeped to the point of activating an immortal's gag reflex through sheer bitterness" and "boiled the kettle dry" that Dream had no real sense of how time passed. It passed how he wished it to pass, in the Dreaming, and even in the Waking he had always been able to nudge reality a bit to make the flow of time conform to his narrative sense or personal convenience.

Now that he was divested of those powers and operating a human body, the linear flow of time had so far made absolutely no impression on Dream. Hob had had to point out to him things like "if you wake up and it is still dark, it is still night, and you will probably want to go back to sleep until it's light out" and how often meals should happen.

It was the tea that had made it clear that even telling Dream times when things should happen was not very helpful to him. He couldn't seem to hold the numbers in his head or make sense of them when he consulted a clock. Hob had simply started giving him other ways of gauging the passage of time, teaching him about the sun's position in the sky at mealtimes and when Hob returned from work, and about the activity of people visible from the windows, and which programs on the telly corresponded reliably to morning, afternoon, and evening.

Hob had spent long stretches of time--most of his life, really--without access to clocks. People nowadays were obsessed with them, and with precise timing for everything, but Dream wouldn't need to worry about being punctual to a work shift or keeping all sorts of appointments. Hob could help him with where precision was needed, and could teach him to get along where it wasn't.

Tea, unfortunately, was a matter of some precision. When the kettle let out the first gurgles, Hob grabbed the tea canister. "Plenty of times I just use bag tea, but my insufferably posh lover seems set on spoiling me, so," Hob scooped tea into the strawberry-shaped infuser. "This is what we've got in place of a tea bag. Time-wise, either should work the same."

Dream faithfully wrote down prepare infuser (or tea bag).

"The timing for the kettle will change a bit. A smaller amount of water boils faster. There's a bit over two cups in right now," Hob pointed to the line on the side, "so it takes a little over two minutes."

Dream wrote down kettle boils and then waited watchfully until the kettle hit its automatic shutoff and consulted the time. Kettle shuts off, he wrote down, and then 2:38 with a tidy little asterisk beside it.

"Infuser goes in mug," Hob narrated. "Pour the water over it, leave about an inch at the top for milk. And start your stopwatch, because this is the bit I couldn't tell you, because I do it by feel."

Dream started the stopwatch and scribbled down more notes, drawing a little box for the all-important steeping time to be entered. Hob watched the mug, wondering once again how he did know when it was done steeping. He'd tried more than once to describe it to Dream, but none of his descriptions had been at all helpful--as proven by the various disastrous cups of tea--and had only frustrated both of them.

He wanted to fill the silence, but Hob didn't dare mess this up for Dream, when he was so determined to get this right. Most of human life had come easily enough to him, once he set himself to adapt to it, but tea had thwarted him. Hob was a little worried that Dream was building this up into some kind of epic battle of wills he had to win to Succeed At Being Human.

Dream looked up at him expectantly and Hob looked back down at his mug, a little worried that he'd gotten distracted--he'd certainly oversteeped his tea enough times for one reason or another--but no, a sniff and a glance told him it wasn't quite there yet. "Almost," Hob said. "Not really a bad cup of tea if you stop now, but not quite." He drummed his fingers, waiting for--

"Ah," Hob said, "Now." He reached for the infuser and lifted it out, and the stopwatch clicked at the exact instant it cleared the top of the mug. Hob set the infuser in the sink and then swirled the cup of tea, giving it another sniff to be sure, but yes, that was a just-right cup of tea. He grabbed the jug of milk and looked to see that Dream was intently watching before he poured in a dollop.

Dream's eyes narrowed slightly and then he nodded and wrote down a specific liquid volume that Hob was sure was in fact precisely correct--Dream's spatial skills were laser-accurate and slightly unnerving.

"And a spoonful of sugar, because I'm feeling like it today," Hob said. "I do honey sometimes. Sometimes two spoonfuls of sugar." He stirred in the sugar and sipped. "And that's--"

Dream clicked the timer on his phone and recorded the time, then picked up the phone and tapped rapidly at it. "Tell me that the water should boil about now," Dream said, and held out the phone like a reporter's microphone.

"Water should be boiling about now," Hob parroted obediently.

Dream nodded, tapped at the phone again, and said, "Now tell me the tea is ready."

When Dream held out the phone, Hob said, "Tea's ready, love."

Dream was startled into a smile at that addition, and asked, "How is it?"

"Just right," Hob said. "But if you--"

Dream shook his head, still smiling, and went back to tapping at things on his phone. "These things are amazing, you know?" Dream said. "I thought I would have to learn magic, but these are like little prosthetic memories. If you work out all the steps, you can make it do all these things for you. Well, not for you, you don't need it. For me."

"I mean, I'd be lost without my calendar and things," Hob said. He'd never thought of technology to solve Dream's difficulty with time. He'd thought it was just more clocks all the way down, there.

"Watch," Dream said, and then, to his phone, "Computer, making a cup of tea."

"Acknowledged," his phone replied, because Dream had watched possibly too many sci-fi movies with Hob at what had turned out to be a formative time in his life. "When there is water in the kettle, turn the kettle on."

Dream mimed flipping the switch on the kettle.

Nothing happened, since Dream was still a good yard away from the kettle. Reminded, Hob ran some more water into it and put it back. He was sipping his tea again and nearly choked on it when his own voice came from Dream's phone. "Water should be boiling about now."

"Computer, wait," Dream said, and the phone was back to its Computer voice when it said, "Acknowledged."

"In case there is more water in the kettle," Dream said. "If there is less, I will be able to tell it to skip ahead when the water boils."

"Computer, resume," Dream added to the phone.

"Prepare the infuser, then pour boiling water over it."

Dream mimed dropping the infuser into the mug, then pouring the water. "Computer, steeping."

"Steeping," the computer said, sounding slightly stilted like it had had to assemble that word from individual sounds instead of having it pre-recorded.

"I'll be able to use this for anything to do with timing," Dream said, scratching down more notes in his notebook. "I just have to set the intervals and key phrases, and optionally recordings for specific announcements, and then I will be able to do things that need timing. As long as I have my phone. Possibly I should get one of those watches."

"That's no trouble, then," Hob said, pulling out his own phone to order a watch to sync with Dream's phone. "And you know I'm always happy to be your speaking clock, love."

Dream came around the bench and kissed him, curling a hand around Hob's on his mug. "I shall feed you your lines when I need them," Dream said, and somehow it was desperately romantic and made Hob so proud he could cry, knowing Dream knew that Hob would always be glad to help him do things in his own way.

He opened his mouth to try to say it, his heart almost too full for words, and was cut off by his own voice from Dream's phone. "Tea's ready, love."

[Now on Ao3!]

#fic #dreamling #the sandman #retired dream #time blindness

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darylsdelts · 10 months ago

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IT’S A LOT

This is an old Drabble I wrote on wattpad so I thought I’d post on here <3

Darylxfemale!reader

Warnings: anxiety/panic attacks (reader)

Kinda based off personal experience so it might not be relatable to everyone

Today was supposed to be your day off, the day you usually lay around in your home in Alexandria with your boyfriend, Daryl, although he never really lays around. He's one of those people who has to always be doing something or he'll get fidgety, not you though, you'll happily lie in and stay in your pyjamas all day.

That's what you were supposed to be doing today, but no. Rick had knocked on the front door of your and Daryl's shared house at 6am, he had wanted Daryl to go hunting since the group was running low on food.

You had wanted so badly to lay in bed with Daryl for at least two more hours but Daryl had obviously agreed... it was either that or starve so you guess it's fair enough.

However, you insist you go with him, you usually wouldn't since you're not much of a hunter but the night before was a tough one for Daryl, he was upset after opening up to you about something that is quite frankly nobody else's business but yours and his.

Anyway... now you're treading lightly behind Daryl whilst he leads the way through the forest. He's tired and you can tell by the way he's walking, the way he's talking, the way he's breathing, blinking, sighing, and the way he keeps checking you're right behind him. Nobody else would be able to notice though.

You start to think of all the things that nobody, except Daryl, would notice about you.

Back at the quarry, your anxiety was really hard to deal with but no one ever noticed, you never brought it up or hinted at anything. Daryl had clicked onto your habits from the get go though, things you didn't even notice yourself. For example, he said he could tell when you were thinking too much because you'd clench your jaw repeatedly.

Daryl wasn't really familiar with the term "anxiety" even though you reckon he suffers from it more than most people, he would never complain or say anything but you knew.

The last time you had a panic attack was after the prison, when you and Daryl had gotten away. Everything that happened was "a lot", that's the only way you've ever been able to describe the feeling of your anxiety. Daryl tried his best to help but he's never been around someone having a panic attack before and he didn't want to make it worse, he just gently rubbed your back whilst you had to breathe through it.

But that was a few years ago now and you've had a few since then which has allowed Daryl to understand you even better, and he's gotten to read your body language down to a T. There's no hiding anything from him.

As you walk carefully behind Daryl, you feel your body waver for a split second... you convince yourself it's nothing and keep walking.

After a few seconds, a wave of heat comes over you, starting from your head and travelling to your feet. You exhale sharply and rub your palms on your thighs, one of your habits that you didn't notice until Daryl said something.

A third wave comes over you and you start to feel nauseous and the ground feels like it's moving beneath your feet, your tread slows and Daryl notices immediately.

He turns to face you, he looks you up and down and then he slowly walks toward you.

"You good?" His voice is low and gentle, the voice he only uses for you.

"Yeah M'fine" you reply, there's been plenty of times you've managed to pull yourself together and carry on so that's what you're gonna do.

Daryl knows how you are and pushing you for the truth would only annoy you, so he nods and starts to walk more, straining his ears to listen to your breathing instead of animal movement.

You start to realise it's not going away, you get dizzy and faint, you should sit down.

You stop walking and Daryl turns around again, not wasting a second to get to your side, almost pulling you to sit on the ground, he already knows.

You're sat now, staring into space, blinking slow, trying to control your breathing but the nausea stays.

By now, Daryl knows you're fighting a panic attack, all the signs are there, he just doesn't know what triggered it but he also knows that sometimes it could be nothing for you.

From his experience of you, he also knows that it's a hit or miss whether or not physical touch will help or hinder, so he does the same thing he always does, just to check.

He presses the tip of his index finger to yours and when you don't pull away he holds his palm to your palm, you still don't pull away so he takes your wrist and presses your hand to his chest so you can feel his heart beat and his breathing rhythm.

"Breathe like me, sweetheart... you're okay" he keeps his gentle voice as he searches for eye contact which you won't grant him so he doesn't pry.

"Would pressure help you this time, darlin'?" He's assuming you'll say yes, if you're allowing physical affection then that usually means that the pressure will help. The pressure refers to Daryl applying a small amount of pressure to your chest to help ground you.

You don't make eye contact yet but you give a subtle nod, so he knows what to do. He lets go of your wrist so he can move behind you.

He sits so you're between his legs with your back against his chest, he wraps his arms around your chest and holds you to him, his hands putting a small amount of pressure on you.

He kisses the back of your head while whispering to you.

"Yer doin' so good baby, jus' keep on breath in' fer me... that's it, good girl"

His love for you is so evident and you feel it, it helps and your breathing becomes more regular. You whimper very quietly since now the initial panic is over, you feel exhausted. It may not look like much, to anyone else, you just look like you're sat, with your boyfriend hugging you from behind, but inside it feels like so much and Daryl knows that.

"Ya alrigh', sweet girl? Ya feeling a lil better now?"

"Mhm" you reply weakly and your exhaustion is clear.

"We'll stay here for a bit, Mkay?" He lets go from holding around your chest and strokes along your hair line as you start to shift your body so you're facing him.

"Hey beautiful..." he smiles at you and strokes his thumb over your cheek, your eyes are a lil misty and sleepy.

He places his big hand on the back of your head and pulls you into his chest, resting his chin on your head.

You feel so grateful for your gentle man and the fact he knows you so well, you didn't have to say a single thing.

"I love you..." you mumble into his chest.

"I love you more, sweetheart... rest for a bit, I'll protect you" he reassures.

"Can keep going, I'm okay..." you don't want to be the reason you return empty handed.

"Ya ain't swayin' me darlin'... close yer eyes fer me, yeah?"

You groan but do as your told, you know he means it.

"That's it baby, it's all alright"

You feel him gently stroke your hair as you drift into relaxation.

#daryl dixon imagine #the walking dead fanfiction #twd daryl #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl x reader #norman reedus

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kai29haavertz · 2 years ago

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It's About Time

WC: 3.5k

Summary: Your in love with your best friend, but he's in a dedicated relationship. Trouble ensues after a Chelsea game.

Genre: Fluff, light (if you could even call it that) angst, it's really hust two idiots pinning for each other.

fem reader, implied german reader but you can skip over that, it's like three lines referencing it.

Don't think they're any warnings, but it was horribly proofread so just keep that in mind.

The first time you met his girlfriend you didn't know what to expect.

A part of you wanted her to be the best person possible for Kai. But another part of you, the small part of you that has loved him since you were kids, wanted her to be just even a little bit mean. Because then you could have justifications for your reservations towards their relationship. You wouldn't want to break them up. Even on the off chance she was mean, she made Kai happy. But at least you would have a justification and would feel better about feeling jealous of their new relationship.

But that wasn't the case.

When you met Sloane, she was anything but mean to you. She was the sweetest person and showed a genuine interest in your life, and that's better than any of his previous girls. But now you didn't have a reason to be disappointed about their relationship. How could you when she was everything Kai deserved in someone? She’s a gorgeous business owner who lived an hour or so from their hometown, sweeter than spice, and loved football. And on top of all that, his teammates adore her. When Kai invited Sloane to her first Chelsea game as a WAG, where you also met her for the first time, you could tell the boys loved her from the start. And it wasn't all of them thinking she was gorgeous, though some of those thoughts definitely were present in some of the teammate's heads. But regardless, they thought she was the best and perfect for Kai.

Though after you first met Sloane, Kai of course had to ask for your input. He did that with everything, saying your opinion mattered the most to him. As much as you wanted to be the one in Sloane's position, you couldn't ruin their relationship, so you did the only thing you could do in that situation.

"I adore her, she's so sweet and I think she's perfect for you." You assured him with a smile that didn't quite reach your eyes. But the lighting was dim at Ben's house so you prayed to anyone who was listening that he couldn't see through the facade you put up for him. You did think Sloane was wonderful, that wasn't a lie. You just wished it wasn't the two of them dating, but you'd lost your chance. There was a hint of something in his eyes, probably gratitude for your approval. He gave you a hug and whispered something in your ear, but you couldn't quite catch it over the loud music. You just smiled it off and hoped that was an appropriate enough response, you weren't in the mood to hear whatever he said.

About six months later and their relationship is still going strong. Maybe you haven't moved on from Kai but at the very least you're able to keep your emotions in check.

You’re at another Chelsea game. Only you and Sloane were here on Kai’s side today, which was a little awkward for you. Usually, his sister or mother were here and would act as a sort of buffer for the two of you. Especially since both Kai’s mom and sister have caught on at least a little bit about your slight crush on Kai. Thankfully, neither of them has really called you out on it besides a couple of comments and facial expressions here and there.

But today it was just Sloane and you, and quite frankly, you weren’t sure what to do. Conversations between the two of you weren’t awkward per se, but they didn’t flow as if the both of you have been friends forever.

Before the game starts Sloane suggests that you should get a drink with her. You both make small talk at the bar. You ask her about her business and how it’s going, and she asks you about the latest thing you’ve been designing for adidas. Like you said, she tries to take a genuine interest in your life and that makes it ten times harder to dislike them. It’s impossible. She flips her blonde face away from her head and has a more serious expression on her face.

“So, you and Kai have been friends for a while, right?” The question catches you off guard. What prompted her to ask this? Have you been less stealthy about your crush? Or was she just curious. You had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn’t just asking out of curiosity.

“Yes, we have. We met in primary school; we started becoming friends a couple months after I moved into the neighborhood. And I guess from there we just formed an unbreakable friendship.” You shrug it off, hoping that’s the end of that. You love talking about Kai but you’re afraid this conversation may soon turn into an interrogation.

“Oh okay, that’s cute.” Sloane says off handedly and goes back to sipping her drink. It seems like she’s going to give the conversation a rest when a few minutes later she asks another question. “So, nothing has ever gone on with you and Kai?” You almost spit out your drink. You take a moment to assess her really quickly. Her green eyes are looking everywhere but you. You notice her perfectly manicured nails have almost a death grip on her drink and her hand is shaking ever so slightly.

“Nothing has ever gone on between the two of us, at least not like that. We’ve just been friends our whole lives. No kiss no nothing.” You try to reassure her. She takes a deep breath, and she visibly relaxes.

“Okay,” she says more brightly. She talks to you a little bit more about some problems she’s been facing with her business; but the game is about to start and neither of you want to miss Kai or his teammates’ play so she begins to meander her way to her seat.

“I’ll be there in a moment; I have to take a phone call quickly.” She gives you a thumbs up as you start to walk away.

Truthfully, you didn’t have to call someone. But you just needed one moment to regain yourself before you go out and spend 90+ minutes with Sloane and hope she doesn’t ask you another question about you and Kai. Nothing has ever gone on but the reminder stings sometimes. Especially with all the times you were close.

Last season at some event at one of his teammates' houses, you were both a little tipsier than you should’ve been. But it didn't matter at the time, you were both drunk off of happiness that Chelsea had won again, and Kai had scored a goal. You spent the entire night dancing and you two eventually went over to his house and spent the rest of the evening together. Before the two of you fell asleep you were watching a show in his bedroom with you snuggled up to his side and his arm draped over your shoulder. You felt so safe and protected and loved that in that moment, you swore you were going to pour all your feelings to him. He looked down at you and gave the softest of smiles and you were going to say something.

Of course the moment had to be interrupted by a phone call from someone. And that was the end of that. You couldn’t find the courage to do it when he got back so you pretended like you were asleep and left promptly the next morning.

When you had finally composed yourself you returned to your seat next to Sloane and spent the next 90 minutes cheering for your boys in blue.

The game told the same story as most of the other games this season. A scoreless tie for Chelsea as they continue to fall down the table. Despite it not being the result they wanted, the boys still wanted to go meet up at Ben’s place and hang out for a little bit. You and Sloane get a text from Kai in groupchat with the three of you inviting you to Ben’s place after.

Kai: I might be a bit if you two want to drive over, I’ll meet you there

Sloane: Sounds good!

“I can drive you over if you’d like. I know you drove over with Kai.” Sloane’s face lights up.

“Of course, thank you so much. I adore Kai but he’s going to be in a bad mood, and I’d rather not wait what could be an eternity for him.” You smile at her, and you lead her over to her car.

Ben’s girlfriend opens the door for the both of you.

“The boys should be here within the hour, make yourself at home, there are some drinks outside.” Laila offers it to you and Sloane. You grab some soda from outside and curl up on the couch scrolling through TikTok, waiting for everyone.

By the end of the hour the Chelsea boys start to show up. Kai of course goes over to Sloane and says something in her ear before he makes his way over to you.

“Not the greatest day at Stamford, was it?” He tries and jokes with you. You turn around and wrap him up in a big hug.

“Hey, you played amazing today, I’m sorry the score didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to.” You pull away from him, but he keeps an arm around your shoulder as boys start to talk about random things. It’s oddly intimate considering you’re not his girlfriend and he hasn’t let you leave his side yet. As Kai continues talking to Christian you see Sloane out of the corner of your eye, and you realize this isn’t fair to her.

“Excuse me, , I’ll be right back.” You get up rather abruptly and all but sprint past Sloane. She looks at you with something sad in her eyes.

You walk into one of Ben’s sitting rooms and shortly after someone joins you.

“Oh, hi Christian,” you say surprised. He takes a seat next to you. “Is there anything you need?”

“When are you and Kai going to sort out your problems?” You almost choke on your drink.

“I- what?”

“You heard me; you guys are perfect for each other and yet you always dance around each other,” he stated as you glare at him.

“I’m sorry, but where have you been? If he liked me so much, then why is he dating Sloane?”

“Because he thinks he doesn’t have a chance with you.” Your jaw tightens a little. This conversation is beyond stupid, and you do not want to deal with it. You go to get up, but he grabs your arm to prevent you from moving.

“Well, I certainly don’t have one now because he’s in a relationship and no matter how much I love him I will not get in the middle of it. He is happy with her, and I won’t do anything to damage that.” Christian’s eyes widen at your declaration, and you realize what you said.

“I um- well,” you stammer incoherent nonsense.

“You guys deserve the world and I'm just so tired of you guys dancing around each other.”

“But he’s dating Sloane- “you start to argue.

“That relationship can’t last. And between you and me, I know Mason is trying to show that Kai isn’t being fair to Sloane,” he tries to reason with you as you slump back down on the couch. “Just promise me, you’ll shoot your shot when the time comes.”

“Fine, but if something bad happens I’m blaming it all on you,” you stated to him, and he just shakes his head at you.

“You can do that little German, but I can say with almost a 100% certainty that if they break up and you say something to him, the both of you will be so happy.”

He gets up to leave you alone for a bit.

“Oh and little German? You would make a great WAG. But to be fair, you’re practically one already.” He sees your ears go bright pink at the statement and how your eyes shoot down to the ground to avoid his eye contact. He quietly laughs as he closes the door to leave you be.

******

As the party comes to an end after a couple hours, Kai realizes he hasn’t seen you around since you went to one of the side rooms with Christian on your tail.

“Ready Sloane?” Kai extends his hand to help Sloane up from the couch so they can get over to his place. He leads her to his car and the ride home is tense and someone could cut a knife through the tension.

“Sloane?”

“Just drive.” She responds curtly and goes back to staring out the window. After a few minutes she puts in her airpods to signal she doesn’t want to talk to him right now. As he pulls up to his driveway she rushes out of the car and punches the code into his garage. He takes a big sigh before getting out of the car, knowing what is probably to come for him.

He walks into his house and sees Sloane pacing around the couches in their living room.

“Sloane, love, sit down for me, will you?” She just glares at him before she takes a deep breath.

“No and you know why? Because ever since we started dating you were attached to her hip, and I tried telling myself that it was just my imagination. And for a while I was able to believe that. But every once in a while something would happen between the two of you that would make me think otherwise.”

“Nothing has ever gone on between the two of us,” he tries to protest but the look she sends his way silences him.

“You don’t love me, and that’s okay. Maybe it took me a while to accept that but now I can because I just want you happy, and if that’s with her that’s okay.”

“Sloane, I love you,” he pleaded.

“No, you don’t, you love her, but you don’t think you can have her, so you settled for me.” She snaps at him, not wanting to be hurt anymore. “It’s time you move on from me to her. And it’s time for me to move on from you. We don’t make sense together; we never did, and it took me too long to figure that out. But it’s not fair for any of us involved to continue with this relationship.” She starts to walk out the door and drops the keys to his and her house on the kitchen counter.

“Despite the not so wonderful ending I am glad I met you.”

“I’m sorry it had to end this way,” he admits dejectedly. “I never meant for it to happen like this.” She turns to face him in the entrance.

“I am too, but at least we didn’t drag it out any more than it needed to be.” She opens the door and takes a few steps outside towards her car. “Oh, and Kai? Please talk to her, you two deserve your happy ending.” She walks into her car and drives off.

Kai stands there defeated but knows what he needs to do next

****

It’s late. Almost midnight. And you can’t even begin to fathom who just pulled up into your driveway. Lucky for whoever, most nights you can’t fall asleep until close to 2. A benefit of being a night owl. While walking over you take a peek out your window.

“Is that Kai’s car?” You murmur to yourself while you walk to the door that someone just knocked on.

You hope it’s one of your friends and nothing’s wrong, not really feeling having to run an errand so late at night.

You open the door and sure enough, it is Kai at the front. Eyes cast downward, as if ashamed he’s here so late.

“Kai, to what do I owe the pleasure. Come in, I was just moving stuff around in the kitchen.” He shakes his head at you slightly.

“Leave it to you to remodel in the middle of the night.”

You wink at him playfully. “It’s the late-night tendencies.” He takes a seat on your couch and you finally take a good look at him and see something is wrong. His eyes look bloodshot, as if he’s been crying for the last hour. His right pinky is twitching back and forth, something he only does when nervous. A habit that he mostly grew out of, but clearly not enough if he’s doing it in your presence.

“Kai, what’s the matter?” He looks up at you as you slowly sit next to him. He buries his head in your shoulder, and you raise a hand to it and scratch his hair lightly. He sits there and you let him decide if he wants to talk, not wanting to pry.

“Sloane and I broke up.” He tells you after a couple minutes sitting in silence.

“Oh Kai.” He cuddles deeper into your embrace as you wrap your other hand around your shoulders. You coax him into lying down on the couch on top of you. It’s like the days when you were teens and would watch movies late on the weekends when you couldn’t sleep. He would tease you about being restless but cuddling with him would always make you fall asleep quickly.

You move your nails up and down his back to help him relax. “Do you want to talk about it?” You ask after a couple minutes.

“In a moment,” he mumbles into your shoulder. “Just wan’ to relax for a moment.” His accent is getting heavier, you notice. You continue to move your hand around his back in a soothing way for a while longer before he finally speaks up.

“We broke up because I wasn’t faithful.” You lightly gasp.

“You never touched anyone though,” you try to protest but he just shakes his head.

“Not like that. My heart wasn’t in it, and she realized it.”

He stays like that for a while longer, you look over to the clock and see it’s almost His breathing hasn’t changed so you know he hasn;t fallen asleep yet. With your heart in your throat, you ask the one question you’ve been dying to ask.

“Why wasn’t your heart in it Kai?”

“Schatz-” he starts to protest before you cut him off.

“Kai, love, why wasn’t your heart in it?”

He looks into your eyes before he takes a deep breath.

"Because I love you,” he admits quietly before his head falls down into your shoulder in embarrassment. “Don’t make me say it again,” he begs softly,softly, and you feel a tear run down your shoulder blade.

“That’s a shame, because I quite like how those words sound coming off your lips. Especially when they’re directed at me.” You say quietly and his eyes shoot up.

“You mean,” he trails off slightly.

“Yes Kai, I love you too.” His strong arms wrap around you.

“Say that again, exactly like that. Like you mean it.”

“I love you, Kai. I don’t think you understand how long I've been wanting to admit that for.”

“Not as long as me.” He presses a soft kiss to your forehead. “I’ve been waiting since we were ten.” You look at him in disbelief and his gaze locks with yours. He gives a sheepish smile.

“So, you’ve been hopelessly in love with me since forever and didn’t act upon it until tonight?” You ask incredulously.

“Thought I never had a chance with you,” he admits with a shrug. “And Sloane said that I should stop dancing around you and find my happy ending.”

“I am sorry you two broke up,” you tell him with a hint of shame. “I never wanted to get in between the two of you.”

“I am too, but it was for the best. And don’t worry about it, it wasn't your fault. It’s my fault for entertaining something that could never truly be.” He moves his head under yours and wraps his arms together around your frame, like he was a kid reaching for his teddy bear in the middle of the night.

“Kai, I love you, but we can't stay like this the entire night.” He pushes you back down as you try to squirm out of his grip.

“Five more minutes Schatz, let me enjoy this.” You shake your head but give in.

“Fine, five more minutes then we’re moving to my bedroom. We have a lot more to talk about in the morning.”

“This is it right? We’re together?” He stares into your eyes, involuntarily giving you the puppy dog eyes. He leans into your touch when you stroke his hair with your hand.

“Yes, don’t worry, you’re it for me and I have no intentions of letting you go.” He lets out a shuddering breath at your confession. He leans in for a kiss on the lips. It’s tentative and sweet and slow.

“I love you Schatz.”

“I love you too.” There’s a lot to discuss tomorrow. More reassurances to give on both of your parts. But for now, you can lay peacefully in each other's arms, without any worries.

#kai havertz #christian pulisic #kai havertz x reader #football imagine #football x reader #football fic #football fanfic #footballer fluff #soccer #football #kai havertz imagine #kai havertz fic #kai havertz fanfiction #kai havertz x y/n #reader insert #reader imagine

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smytherines · 5 months ago

Note

8 and 15 for the fandom ask game :3

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

I would apologize for the essay but lets be real- you knew where this was headed

There's a few things I could say and they're all sorta connected, so at the risk of everyone collectively rolling their eyes, it's the Owen thing. Or specifically the idea that Owen was always horrible/sadistic/murder-horny/ethically worse than Curt in every way/borderline abusive (or actually abusive, in some takes). I think before the fall they were probably on equal footing morality-wise. That they were terrible arrogant bastards who were very deeply in love

It just. No offense to anyone (God I am bad at choosing violence), everyone is free to interpret things how they choose, art is subjective etc, but to me that theory doesn't make any sense at all. The biggest thing people use to support that theory is the tickle torture scene, and frankly that reads as pretty innocent (relative to them) to me

I don't think Curt knew it was Owen until Owen took the hat and mustache off, but to be honest... he should have. Owen did everything short of announcing himself to make sure Curt knew it was him before the gun came out. If my partner was within a foot of my face wearing a fake mustache and a hat, I would be able to recognize him because, yknow, he isn't Clark Kent.

I mean if you know someone biblically but can't tell its them from a couple of inches away... I dunno, maybe Curt has a mild case of faceblindness or something? Owen is good at disappearing into a role but nobody is that good

(I may have put a hat on and held up some felt under my nose and then got right up in my partner's face and said "hey can you tell its me???" And his response was "yes now please go away")

Owen gets right up in Curt's face several times, then he demonstrates knowledge a stranger would not have (I mean who else is going to know where Curt is ticklish and tickle him with a feather), then he outright tells Curt they have personal history together, and then with Oleg still between them he pulls out a gun and the moment Oleg looks away from Curt he shoots Oleg's knees out

We know that Owen talked his way past 20 Russian security officers to get to Curt, and that MI6 didn't tell A.S.S. that Owen was on this mission, and that combined with the feather I think makes a pretty compelling argument that Owen is specifically there to rescue Curt, and that it was most likely not a mission he had time to plan. They end up having to shoot their way out because Curt isn't quick enough to kill the guard before he can hit the alarm, but given that they are so outnumbered and that Owen talked his way in, it certainly seems like his plan was to sneak in and sneak out. So Owen playing along, taking his time to evaluate things before making his move, to maybe learn guard rotations, figure out who is coming and going during interrogations, I mean its not ideal from Curt's perspective, but to me it fits very well with how Owen is characterized for the rest of the scene- pragmatic, more cautious, but ultimately most concerned about getting them both out of there alive, even if Curt has to take a few punches in the process

Also the idea that Owen was there specifically to rescue Curt works so well on a character level because then Owen's rage isn't only about the fact that Curt left him to die, but that Owen wasn't even supposed to be there. That he was only there because he loved Curt and wanted to make sure Curt was okay, that he put himself in significant danger outnumbered in a Russian facility just to get to Curt, and then Curt left him to die. Post-fall Owen having to live with the knowledge that if he had just cared less about this man then he wouldn't have lost absolutely everything and had to go through "the horror of staying alive"

There's also this moment which, to me, reads as just pure relief that he was able to get to Curt and that Curt was alive and well. This little head tilt fucking kills me

But I digress... so, back to it:

I think he is having fun with it during the opening interrogation scene (they're terrible), but from Owen's perspective I don't think he realized that Curt didn't know it was him. When Curt says he knew it was Owen all along and that his accent could use some work, Owen doesn't say "haha gotcha, you didn't know it was me," (which honestly I think he would if he legit believed Curt didn't recognize him because they are both competitive, arrogant little bastards, he does tease him with the whole "sorry to cut you down/lovely afternoon of letting off some steam" thing so he certainly isn't above that) he just says that the accent was good enough to get him into the facility

Owen is the one to introduce them as "two of the world's greatest spies," so I don't think he would consider random Russian guard Oleg to be any legitimate danger to Curt (which, as we can see in the show, he isn't. With the exception of the punch, Curt is able to deflect everything Oleg does to him on account of being a really fucking good spy)

To me, the idea that Owen wanted to hurt Curt or scare him or humiliate him just doesn't fit with the way he is characterized in the rest of a1p1- intervening to get Cynthia off Curt's back, being concerned about Curt's drinking, trying to convince Curt that he needs to relock the safety barricades to limit the blast. In the rest of a1p1 he is very concerned with protecting Curt and getting them both out of there

But also! To me, characterizing Owen as always sorta like that would require me to ignore (or worse-- woobify) the one character in the show that really, truly knew Owen-- Curt. And I'm sure Curt put Owen up on a pedestal after the fall, but I also think if any person alive knew Owen Carvour it was Agent Curt Mega. He might not be in the most stellar mental state during the show, but I don't think he was so far gone that he didn't know who Owen really was. I think, if anything, Curt was in such a bad mental state because he knew exactly who Owen was-- someone who loved him and cared for him and always had his back, and in getting Owen killed he lost that forever

The lines Curt sings in Spy Again, about how Owen would put his drink down and turn his life around, about how Owen wouldn't want to see him like this and would want him to get his life back, I think those are accurate depictions of who Owen was before the fall. I think Curt singing "what happened to the man I knew?" and "you've lost your mind," and not being able to say Owen's name a single time after the reveal is just as telling-- because he does not recognize this version of Owen Carvour. To Curt, this is not the man he knew, not anymore, and that's why Curt kills him

15. that one thing you see in fanart all the time

Oh god I don't want to be mean because the art is incredible and I think all the artists in this fandom are so so talented and I appreciate them so much and I want to platonically kiss their little foreheads every time they bless us with curtwen art.... but every time I see Curt or Owen depicted with blue eyes I start twitching because they both have the most beautiful brown eyes like please guys please 🙏 🙏🙏

#smy asks #honestly i couldve kept going but jesus christ this is long enough already

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goose-duck · 6 months ago

Text

♡Our World♡ (pt. 1)

Killer x Reader

Killer from One Piece comes to our world and meets u :D

Pt 2

~~~~~~

I was at work, not doing anything really, my boss has me working security at an empty court house. The place smells bad and has a rodent problem, but it's quiet so I don't mind. I was on my phone, writing a One Piece fanfiction. I love One Piece, it's always been my favourite anime. It was made before I was born in 2005, but my mother loved it so I often watched it with her as a child and I fell in love.

As I continued to write I heard a strange sound and saw a headache inducing light in front of me. I had no idea what I was looking at but it sure as hell wasn't normal. I get headaches easily due to a head injury so I wasn't even able to look at the light to see what was going on…to be fair I doubted a person without a head injury would've been able to either. My ears start ringing and my head feels light but not in a good way, the radio feels like it's blaring and I can't keep my eyes open. I was starting to get worried with this strange light, it wasn't coming from anything in the room, it was just there. I hold my head, trying to stay conscious as it feels like my head is exploding.

Suddenly it all stops and there's a man standing in the middle of the courthouse. I recognize him immediately, Killer, from One Piece. What the hell? Why is he here? Am I dead? Is this heaven?? Maybe it's hell…why would it be hell, he's my favourite character..? As I continue to ask myself questions with no tangible answer he turns his mask covered head to me, “hey.” he says, almost in a questioning tone but it sounds more like he’s just trying to get my attention. I quickly snap out of my thoughts and look up at him, “hi.” I say meekly, still confused and even a little scared, the lingering effects of my headache making it hard to keep my eyes open, all lights still bothering me.

He doesn't come any closer to me however he does turn his body to face me, “where am I? Did you do this?” he asks sternly, demanding an immediate answer with his tone. I get scared, I think he's really cool, but I wouldn't doubt he'd make me regret living if he thought I did this, “no…no! Nuh uh! Not me! That sounds really suspicious…uh…it wasn't me, I swear! I do however think you're in a different reality…” I say, trying to sound as normal as possible and quite frankly failing to the largest degree. He relaxes a bit, realizing there's absolutely no way I could have done this. He then sighs again, “another reality? What makes you think that?” he askes, sounding almost stressed, definitely worried and confused. “I mean…your name is Killer, right?” I say, almost unsure despite his appearance. It’s not a common name, if its his it'll be obvious who I'm talking to. He looks stunned, I may not be able to see his face but his body language is more than enough to tell how he feels. “yeah. That's my name.” he somehow seems less trusting of me now. He continues, “how’d you know that?” it's a good question to ask, even if I know he's from an alternate reality it doesn't explain how I know his name. I start sweating a bit, this is getting stressful, “because…um…uuuuhhhhhhh” I start panicking so I just make a weird noise and freeze up.

I stop with my stressed groan and just sit there giving him a very obtuse look. He crosses his arms and I'm sure under his mask he's giving me a look too. This has got to be one of the worst shows of my lack of social skills ever. He sighs and relaxes his body, “I'm not gonna hurt ya” he says, trying to reassure and calm me down so I'll talk. I start trying to stutter out my words but I make no progress, some weird squeak coming out of my throat instead of words. I begin to get annoyed with myself and sigh dropping my head onto my desk, “fuck.” I mumble under my breath. He walks over to me, causing me to quickly sit upright to get further away without looking rude. He notices this action isn't just me sitting up, it's me being afraid. He backs up a little, holding his hands up. I mumble out an apology, “s-sor-fucking…ugh…sorry.” I try to calm myself and speak with more conviction however it doesn't work very well, I sound as pathetic as before, but I've got a calmer look on my face. He nods at me, silently acknowledgeding and returning my apology.

I sigh for the millionth time, still trying to collect myself. I begin trying to explain in terms he’d understand, “I know your name because you're from a book in this world…the author drew you on the cover of one of the books. Does that make sense? Do I sound crazy? Who am I kidding of course I do…especially now that I'm talking to myself…” I start rambling towards the end, changing from talking to him to myself. Killer seems to be a little concerned with whatever my problem is but he understands my explanation. “you sound a little strange, however this whole situation is strange so that's not a big deal.” he responds, reassuring me I don't sound completely deranged. I nod at him, an awkward smile on my face.

I ask the question that needs to be asked, “so what now?” he hums, “I need a place to stay, would you be okay with that place being with you?” he asks politely, he's giving me room to back out but I'm sure he more than knows I'll say yes, either out of pity or because he's a character from a book I like. I nod at him, “yeah, yeah, that's okay, we can do that…uh…yeah.” I squabble out at him in response, trying to hide my excitement. He looks around, “is this your house?” “no, I just work here” “ah, it smells weird” “no kidding, it smells like old people” he seems to hold back a laugh at that…right, he doesn't like his laugh…hm…I wonder at what point in the story is he from..? “hey, Killer..?” I ask tp get his attention, he looks at me, “hm?” I take in a nervous breath of air, “what's the most recent event that’s happened in your life?” his body language screams confused, “what? Why? Shouldn't you know, you've read whatever book I'm from.” I respond quickly, “oh, uh, just so I don't spoil the future potentially” he nods, “Kid and I just left Wano.” he states calmly. “ah…okay…don't read the book or anything then.” I say a little quieter than my previous words. “oh? Okay.” he says, presumably giving me a strange look under his mask.

I sit there for a second before striking up a conversation again, “I'm here for a few more hours, then I can take us to my house.” I inform him. I'm lucky, not many people can afford a house nowadays, many struggle even with an apartment, I'm just lucky my grandparents left me their house. Killer nods at me, he doesn't seem to mind that he’ll have to stay at the courthouse for a few hours. I wonder if that's because he probably does a lot of just sitting around on a pirate ship…they have no internet or anything on one of those…though he'd have people to talk to, at this job it's just me…sometimes I wonder if it'll drive me crazy. At least I have him to talk to now, even if he is a man of notably few words, at least someone's listening and I don't come off as completely nuts.

He seems fascinated by the radio I have on. It makes sense, snails do this stuff in his world. My old school radio from the 80’s definitely isn't a snail. “whatcha thinking about?” I ask, not wanting to just assume I know what he's looking at. “this thing…what…what is it?” he sounds relaxed with me now, however I still sounded skittish. “oh, it's a radio, it's an old one from the 80’s.” I say, then I realize ‘the 80’s’ is probably something he's not gonna get and I mentally slap myself. “a radio? The 80’s? What year is it?” he asks sounding a little distressed again. “a radio works like a snail and its the year 2024.” I respond nervously. “oh.” he says, sounding very perturbed. I try to change the topic, finding the atmosphere is getting uncomfortable, “want a cookie? I bought one at Tim’s earlier.” I hold out a chocolate chip cookie to him. He takes it from me, “thanks.” he then turns away, presumably to eat it. I debate telling him I've already seen his face in the book or not but I decide not to for now, I'll let him show me if he wants to.

After he finishes the cookie he turns back around, “it was good…tell Tim it was good.” He seems to have assumed ‘Tim's’ is a small personal restaurant or maybe a friend, that tracks, in his world it probably would be. “Oh…uh…I can't…it's a restaurant chain.” “A restaurant chain?” “Yeah.” “What's that?” “Corperate business?” “Nope” “ugh” “sorry” “no, don't..I…ugh…it's like if I restaurant had some power in the government?” “Oh…alright.” That was a bit awkard, but I did enjoy hearing his voice a bit more, it's nice, the sub and the dub, he's always got a beautiful voice. I get a bit ballsy and tell him that, “you've got a nice voice.” He turns his head to look at me, seeming to check if i was telling the truth. After a few seconds of stunned silence he responds with an awkward, “thanks.” he then stands there for a few more seconds, thinking about something, “what's your name?” oh right, I hadn't introduced myself, “oh…Y/N.” he nods, “it's nice, suits you.” I giggle a bit, “thanks, picked it myself.” “you did?” “yeah.” “why?” “my old name didn't ‘suit me’.” “ah, I get that.” “you do?” “kinda.” “I belive you.” “thanks?” “you're welcome!” I enjoy the quick conversation, we seem to have a deeper understanding of each other now.

A few hours later and me and him are talking like long time friends. He's still got some walls up, but we're able to just chat, it's nice. I realize it's 5:00pm and I can go home so I start closing up. “what are you doing?” he inquires. “closing up so we can go home.” I respond, flicking the lights off, “can you help me with teh blinds? Some of them are hard to reach.” he nods and gets up, going to a window and twisting the thingy to close the blinds, he continues until they're all closed. “anything else?” he askes, willing to help me further if I need it. “The chairs out front, they're such a pain to bring in…I bet it'd be easy for you.” I ask, giving him a small sweet smirk. “why?” he asks. “why bring them in or why do I think it'd be easy for you?” “both.” “there's gonna be a hurricane, I don't want the chairs to blow away. Regarding the other thing…I think your eyes work well enough for that one.” he lets out what sounds like a scoff and a laugh, “yeah, I can see that.” I giggle a bit, “nah I'm so strong.” “sure, buddy” it feels like he's smiling behind his mask so I smile back. He then nods his head and leaves to bring the chairs in for me.

When he comes inside I ask him to close the door behind him, telling him we'll be leaving through the back door. He closes the door behind him and walks over to me packing up my work stuff, “I have the next two days off so we can spend some time together and I can teach you some basic stuff about this world so it's easier for you to be here.” “alright, sounds good.” he says, picking up my monster energy drink and looking at it a bit strange, “uh, weird drink branding…what is it?” “just an energy drink.?” “why do you need that?” “I've got no energy…also it tastes good.” “why do you have no energy?” “anemia.” my answer is so blunt it seems to stun him a bit before he nods and gives a small hum of acknowledgment. “think you can hold it for me? My hands are full and I gotta be able to lock the door.” I ask him, he once again nods at me. I then head for the back door, unlocking it so we can leave, then locking it behind us once we're bothe out.

“which way to your house?” he inquires. “huh? Oh, right. You don't know what a car is..” I respond sheepishly. “a..a what?” he seems confused, which is the obvious emotion one would feel in this situation. “those things that have been going past the building all day.” “do you live in one of those?” “no, but some people do.” “why mention them then?” “they're a mode of transportation.” “I see.” I then walk over to my car, a small orange car, nothing special, “this is my car.” he looks at it like it's the strangest thing ever, “it's very orange.” “I wanted it to be easy to find.” “you definitely can't miss it.” I giggle in response. I then think for a second…will he fit? Probably…he'll just have to move the seat back. He seems to be thinking the same thing, “will I fit?” he asks, his body language seeming a little worried. “yeah, just put your seat back…wait…no…I'll do it for you.” I unlock the car, putting my things behind my seat in the back. I think walk around to the front passenger seat and get in, pushing it back for him. Instead of getting out and walking around the car like a normal person I just climb over the center console and sit in the driver's seat. “alright, get in, buddy boy!” I say casually. He gets in, seeming to snort under his breath a little at my antics. He closes the door, thank the gods that's obvious enough that I don't have to explain it.

I put my seatbelt on then I look at him in anticipation for him to do the same thing…he doesn't. “uh..um…you see that thing above your right shoulder?” “the metal thing?” “yeah.” “what about it?” “pull on it.” he pulls on it. “put the metal bit in the red thingy” I point at it and he does it. I hear the click and nod, “that's a seatbelt, you gotta wear it in cars for safety.” he nods…he does a lot of nodding. “You can handle being on a ship…so…uh…you probably won't get car sick, but tell me if you feel sick, okay?” I ask him, giving him a lightly worried look. “I will.” he responds, turning his head to look at me. I start the car and his breathing seems to stifle a bit before he calms down. “you good?” he nods at me, “yeah, just wasn't expecting that.” I nod at him, takinga page from his book and not saying anything further. I then start driving, he doesn't seem too worried about this, given he's on Kid’s crew I imagine he's dealt with worse.

Once we get to my house and parked in the driveway I unbuckle my seatbelt and look at him again, hoping he caught onto that. He looks at me awkwardly…clearly he didn't get that. “push on the red thing you put the seatbelt in” I whisper to him as if someone else would hear. He awkwardly nods and does it. I then get out of the car, him following soon after, still holding my monster…he's been holding it this whole time…oops. I grab my things from the back seat and walk up to my house, unlocking the door and walking in, giving Killer a gesture to follow. He follows behind me, closing the door when he gets inside. My house opens to a small space with some stairs upwards. I kick my shoes off and walk upstairs. He follows suit, however being a bit less aggressive about taking his shoes off, opting to slip them off rather than just violently kicking them off. He follows me up the stairs that leaf to the living room, kitchen and a hallway. I set my stuff in the kitchen on the counter by the back door, he sets my drink down there too. “thanks.” I say giving him a soft smile when he sets my drink down. “you're welcome.” he says. I'd half expected to just get a nod but this is nice.

I walk more into the center of the kitchen. “I'll give you a quick tour!” I say with some slight enthusiasm, he nods in return, watching as I walk back over to the back door, “this is the back door…obviously…” I then turn to the right, “this is a washroom.” I turn to the right again, “closet.” he nods at me and watches me slide on my socks back into the center of the kitchen, “kitchen!” I do a large enthusiastic gesture like this is some grand show. I then walk over to the left where the dining room is, it's just a table on the other side of the kitchen counter, “dining room…” I then wonder into the room next door that funnily enough doesn't actually have a door, not from this side at least, “den area.” he follows me into the room, observing it a bit and seeing some things that tip him off that the town he's in is near the ocean.

I then open the folding wooden door and walk through. He doesn't immediately follow, he's looking at a shelf beside the door, it has my graduation picture and pictures of my friends and two of my cousins. “who are these people?” he points at a picture of me and two boys as kids. “oh, that's me and my cousins.” “ah” “why do you ask?” “kid kinda looked like you.” I giggle at the irony of the kid actually being me. He seems to look at the pictures like he's looking for something. “you good?” “huh? Oh, yeah.” I seem to have caught him off guard. I give him a look, one that says ‘what are you looking for’ before shaking my head and continuing with my tour. “This is the living room!” I say enthusiastically, diverting his attention completely away from whatever he was thinking. He looks around in here too, noting how it's more vacant than the well decorated den.

I then go down the earlier mentioned hall, “there's a bigger washroom over here..” I point at the first door on the left, “and every other room is bedrooms. Mine is that one” I point at the last door on the left, there's only four door down this hall, meaning the other two are guest rooms. “the one with the queen size bed is the last door on the right and the other one has two twin beds. He nods at me and goes down to the room with the queen sized bed. He hesitates to open the door, “go in” I encourage. He opens the door and looks I side. He looks at the room like it's the ugliest thing he's ever seen. “something wrong?” “red, green and yellow…um…everything?” “yes?” “why?” “because it is.” he looks at me like there's something wrong with me. The rest of my house looks normal except for this guest room…I couldn't be bothered to fix it because I'm not in there often so it looks like how my grandparents had designed it.

“My room’s right across the hall if you need anything.” I say with a friendly tone. He nods at me and despite his judgment of my guest room he thanks me for giving him a place to stay anyway. “we'll deal with the clothes problem tomorrow, I think you'll be okay for tonight, right?” he nods, “yeah, I'll be okay for now.” I smile at him, “wanna see my room?” “sure.” I open the door to a relatively normal room, a bit messy and there's some One Piece related things but it ultimately looks normal. Why does it looks normal? Because there's a room I haven't shown killer yet. It's got my gaming set up and all my merch from different things i like…it's also got a washing machine and a drier. “nice room.” “thanks.”

“what about that room you walked past earlier?” “what room?” “the door in the kitchen?” “oh.” that's the door to the room…guess I'll have to show him. I signal for him to follow me and I open the door, theres wooden stairs that lead to an open space. I walk down and he follows. Once we get down there and around the stairs he sees many One Piece and other interesting merch items, he also sees my PC set up and a landry machine…he then sees the figures I have of him and he barely contains his laughter. “your laugh is beautiful, however, do not.” I look at him with shame and embarrassment. He struggles to hold in his laughter, snickering under his breath but calms himself and nods. “it's…great.” he tries to tell me, “don't lie.” “it's amazing.” “Killer.” “Y/N.” we stare at each other for a bit before I start laughing and he does too, he clearly is embarrassed by his laugh but can't stop it so I reassure him, “your laugh is so lively, I love it!!” I continue to laugh about my tragic obsession being on full display. He continues to laugh but gives me a genuine thankful smile for my compliment, it's like he's never heard someone say they love his laugh. Maybe he hasn't, but I love it, I do, I really do and I can see he knows it. Even if I can't actually see the smile on his face his body language changed instantly after I said that, he was calm with me anyway but it seemed like any lingering concerns melted away.

Once we both stop laughing we go back upstairs. He offers to make supper since he's gonna be staying with me for a bit and I have to break the news that I have practically no food in my house. He seems confused at that…why did have nothing here? What do I even have? “what do you have?” he asks. “uh…” I'm not even too sure myself anymore. I open the fridge to see milk, orange juice and bread. I then open the freezer, there's microwave steamed buns and some ice cream…and a frozen chocolate bar for some reason?? What the hell was I doing?? I then go to the cupboards, there's bearpaws and goldfish crackers. “um…sorry?” I uppologize confusedly, unsure if he'd be upset with me.

He just pats my head, seemingly feeling bad for me. “I won't take your food tonight.” he says kindly, walking off to the guest room, probably to sleep so he doesn't feel hungry. I feel bad that I have no food…I don't have the money for food…Killer doesn't seem upset with me, but he seems worried, he feels bad for me and my lack of food. I sigh and go to my room too, I didn't even get to show him the TV or my phone but maybe that's for the best for now…give him some time to think about what he's already seen. I go to my bedroom, not to sleep, but just to play games on my phone for a while. I'll wait for him to come talk to me if he wants to tonight and if not then I'll see him in the morning…presuming he's still here in the morning.

#one piece #killer one piece #one piece killer #killer x reader #op killer #killer op #one piece x reader #y/n #character x reader #our world #one piece fanfiction #massacre soldier killer

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tss-whumper · 1 year ago

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That sounds awful; I'd love to read it. (But maybe someone could comfort him at the end? Remy? You like Remy and Roman together, right? Right? /lh)

(okay this is ridiculously late considering that i wrote this fic at christmastime and now it's february, but here is the long-awaited sequel to christmas when you're alone!)

(cw -> attempted solitary confinement, panic attacks, mentions of emotional abuse)

word count: 1.9k

The wafting scent of Christmas dinner made Roman's mouth water, but he couldn't bring himself to summon any food. A part of him didn't think he deserved it. After all, he had been stuck here, locked in his room with a magic seal for almost ten hours now.

Usually, Roman wouldn't keep count, but it was one of the only things keeping him from going insane.

With his powers, Roman was typically able to sink in and out of any room in the mindscape, but when Janus made the magic seal at his door, it prevented his ability to do that, rendering him trapped in his bedroom, where he almost thought he could sense the walls starting to close in on him.

The laughing and chattering outside never stopped, and it was driving Roman mad. Why did they sound like they were having so much more fun when he wasn't there? Before he knew it, more tears were sliding down Roman's cheeks as he reflected on the dreadful morning he'd had.

It just wasn't fair. He had tried so hard. Everything he did was in spite of his abilities and personality. Despite being the ego, he did nothing but care for other people. Despite being insecurity, he let the other sides dig at him over, and over, and over. Every single thing he did sitting down at that Christmas tree was unnatural, and that meant that it took so much effort. But nobody seemed to care. In fact, it was almost like they made a game out of trying to break Roman, shattering his attempts at being good and obedient.

It was like they didn't want him to succeed.

The prince curled in on himself in the bed, and he was starting to sob so loudly that he grew hoarse from how much energy it was taking. But the tears kept coming, causing his body to spasm unnaturally. He was trying so hard not to choke on his own tears that he didn't even hear the signature sound of somebody rising into his room.

"Come on, girlfriend. You gotta breathe."

When a gentle hand touched Roman's back, the prince immediately flinched away, expecting an unfriendly touch. But when he smelled a very overpowering coffee-scent and saw that the hand reaching out was sunkissed tan like his instead of pale like the other sides', fear gave way to confusion.

"Sleep?" Roman whispered, "What- what are you doing here? It's only 5pm. It's not time for bed yet."

"Please. Call me Remy. And I wanted to come by and see if I could join in on the festivities," Remy said, "Even bitches like to have fun sometimes, right? I don't know. They let me hang out, but...it didn't seem like they actually wanted me around, you know? And when I saw you were missing, I asked around. Nobody gave me a real answer. So I thought I'd investigate for myself. And here we are."

And now, Remy leaned in, and he took off his sunglasses, propping them up on top of his head. He gazed at Roman with those shockingly sharp gray eyes, eyes that sought truth.

"What the hell did they do to you?"

Roman shuddered as the question was asked. It was strange and unfamiliar, as his tongue flailed to come up with an answer. Frankly, Roman wasn't used to being pitied. He wasn't used to his side of the story being heard out without being ridiculed or dismissed. And because of the events of the morning, Roman couldn't bring himself to tell and risk getting punished again.

"It was my fault," he whispered, "You should go back with them. I'm supposed to be alone. I'm...supposed to think about what I've done."

Roman expected the weight on the side of his bed to lift, and he expected Remy to sink out the moment he was dismissed, with an air of relief. Thank God he didn't have to deal with the whiny little prince anymore.

But no such thing happened. Remy only stared, and he crawled onto Roman's bed fully, his gaze never faltering for a second as his mouth pressed into a tight line. Roman could feel the rage emitting off him in waves, and the feeling made him shudder.

"What you've done?" Remy practically spat, "What did you do?"

Roman judged Remy's tone as an indication that he was angry with him. So words spilled from the prince, in a desperate attempt to correct anything wrong he might have done to vex Remy. He couldn't have somebody else hate him. He just couldn't.

"I was bad on Christmas," Roman whimpered as he held back his tears, "I was bratty, I got the others the wrong gifts, I was insensitive, I- I wasn't grateful enough for my gifts, I cried. I cried and I ruined everything, and- maybe I never should have been there to begin with. Maybe I'm the problem and I need to just- stay here. Out of the way. I never should have left my room to begin with, I-"

"Girl. Girl, calm down. Please."

Remy's gentle tone cut through Roman's hysteria as he hugged the prince tightly, attempting to ground him with his limbs. Trying to use his body to let the panicking side know that he was still on the ground. He wasn't floating away. He was here. And he mattered. His words mattered. Roman couldn't help but lean into the touch, starved of comfort and human decency.

"Please," Roman whispered desperately, "Please don't leave me, I can't be alone again, I can't. I'll do anything, I'll do anything you want, I'll never cry again, I'll never speak again. I'll make you anything you want, I'll be anything you want. Just please- please-"

"Oh, babydoll..." Remy hugged Roman closer, starting to rub circles on his back. Roman could feel the rings on his fingers, but it was comfortable. "Babydoll, please, stop. Stop talking about yourself like that. You don't have to do anything to keep me here, you don't have to pretend to be something you're not. I'm your friend. I want to help you no matter what."

Roman winced.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry- I'm sorry-"

"No. None of that, honeybun. Please?"

Remy gazed at Roman with such earnest eyes, Roman couldn't tear his own tear-filled gaze away. This was so different from what he was used to. Why wasn't Remy yelling? Why wasn't he laughing? Why wasn't he taking Roman away, why wasn't he rolling his eyes? This felt like the stuff of fantasy, something that Roman dreamed up. He stayed silent as he stared at Remy, trying to drink his presence in fully. If it was a hallucination, Roman was sure as hell going to try and enjoy it.

"You're not going to say sorry when you didn't do anything wrong. That's not gonna happen," Remy said carefully, holding Roman's trembling hands and squeezing them, "You're spiraling. You're panicking. That doesn't usually just happen to a person, especially someone like you. You're generally mentally okay, you're usually doing fine. But lately...things have been so off. And I think I know why."

Roman couldn't help but tense up, terrified of what Remy was going to say.

"Why?" he whispered, purely because he felt like he had to.

"Those bitches out there are abusing you."

"What??"

The word burst out of Roman before he even had the opportunity to control it. His mouth hung open and he felt like his entire world had turned upside down with that statement. He tried to rush to defenses, to tell Remy that it wasn't abusive to help Roman become a better person, that he deserved it, that the others would never abuse anybody.

But he couldn't speak.

Roman couldn't say a word because deep down, he was wondering if Remy was right.

None of this felt right. Instead of a person, Roman felt lately like a caged animal at the zoo. Trapped, stuck, mistreated, dirty, forced into humiliation so people could gawk at him and laugh. No matter what he did, it was always wrong. No matter how hard he tried, it was never enough. Was that really how life was supposed to be?

"Honey, do you really think it's fair that you got locked up on Christmas day?" Remy murmured, "Or that instead of a nice present, you got a book about fucking manners? The other sides out there told me everything, or rather, as much as they wanted me to tell. I'll bet there's so much more that's so shameful that they couldn't even say it. They know what they're doing is wrong. They know they're hurting you beyond repair, and they don't want to admit it because they don't want to lose their toy."

Roman flinched, and Remy shook his head quickly.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to say you're a toy. You're not. It's just- they treat you like one. They think they can break you over and over with no consequences. But that's wrong. There's gonna be consequences. I'll make sure of it."

"You can't," Roman said immediately, his eyes growing wide and desperate, "Please. They'll hate me. They will, I know they will. They'll think I pushed you onto them, they'll think I'm using you. I can't get punished again, Remy. Please. You don't get what it's like to be trapped here alone."

"You're right, I don't," Remy said, "But you shouldn't be able to get it either. Nobody deserves to be locked up like this, especially on Christmas. I know you can be a bit...rambunctious, Ro, but you're a good person. You're good, Roman. I know that. And I think you know that too."

"I-..." Roman deflated. "I don't know. No matter how good I try to be, it's just not good enough for them. And what's the point of goodness if it doesn't help the people around you?"

"That's the thing, babydoll, you are helping the people around you," Remy reassured, starting to gently run his fingers through Roman's thick, curly auburn locks. "Virgil hasn't taken off those shoes. They fit him perfectly. None of them had to take on the burden of decorating the house, or arranging the gifts to look pretty, or setting the table with milk and cookies. That was you, honeybun. That was Roman. Nobody else. The Christmas magic doesn't come from anybody else here. It comes from you. No matter what they have to say about it, you created all this. Without you, this holiday wouldn't be in the mindscape at all."

Roman opened his mouth to speak, but he was just overwhelmed. He started to smile, almost deliriously. It felt so good to be seen, to be recognized in such away, to get attention that wasn't bad. And Remy was somebody that Roman had always admired. Confident, cool, sassy, always able to stand up for himself, no matter what. Remy was the type of person that Roman wished he was more like. And here he was, helping him, reassuring him, telling him how much he mattered and showing him what made him special.

Roman couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present than that.

"Thank you," he whispered, "I'm sorry. Merry Christmas. I...should have gotten you a present."

"Hmm, I know a present you can give me," Remy said with a gentle smirk, "Can I have a magic hug from my magic boy?"

Roman laughed breathlessly and threw himself once again into Remy's arms, relishing in the endless warmth that the man gave, marveling at how he always managed to smell like a warm, fresh cup of coffee sweetened with honey.

"You're magic too, Remy," Roman whispered, curling up closer to Remy and hiding his face in his chest, so Remy wouldn't see how his face went red. "You helped me believe in Christmas again."

(i hope this was some nice food for my rosleep shippers! also i'm sorry this is literally a month and a half late. uh...things happened! but i'm sure a bit of christmas magic is great no matter what season, right? thanks for reading!!! and feel free always to put in an ask if there's anything else whump writing wise you wanna see from me!)

#christmas when you're alone #sanders sides #tss #thomas sanders #whump community #whump writing #roman sanders #sanders sides fanfic #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides fic #tss roman #whumpee roman #caretaker remy #tss whumper writing #panic attacks #emotional abuse #christmas whump #holiday whump

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madthetruemad · 1 year ago

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out of character, Xiao x Female ! Reader

Turning on the game, she couldn't help but to get a tiny bit excited, and it was for good reason too. Just recently, she had managed to pull xiao on rerun banner. To be completely honest, she never thought she could get him especially since she missed his first banner. (Though, she only missed it because she didn't start playing the game until a few months ago during Childe's second rerun...)

And, of course, there was the fact she was a f2p. In other words, she couldn't and probably wouldn't spend money on anything that the shop had to offer. Though, she was tempted to ask her parents every so often for playstation money .. but she would be too embarrassed to admit as to why she needed it.

"Finally," she said with a sigh in her voice. The screen finally loaded and her Xiao was standing by a Statue of The Seven. I think I'm still in Liyue....

"Well, whatever .. I may not be able to level Xiao up right now, but I did manage to get all of his ascension materials. Along with some good artifacts, but .. it's only thanks to the co-op players that joined me a few weeks ago. They are the true heroes."

She sheepishly smile at the screen as she started to move Xiao around. Jumping down a cliff face and opening the glider. She maneuvered him so he wouldn't get any fall damage.

B E E P

She glanced over at her phone as a frown crossed her face. Setting down her controller, she plucked up the device and opened the screen. Her mood taking a turn for the worse.

"Why does this always happen ...?"

Looking at her messages, she decided to ignore the person and turn off her phone instead.

Lately, school hasn't been the best for her. She was recently placed in a team project with two other people. And these two people were dead set on her doing all the work, and frankly ... it was tiring. They bullied her constantly, and she didn't want to tell someone of her troubles because she didn't want to seem like a burden or even a disappointment. Which was why she decided to tough it out and continue to tell them that she already did her part, but

as she said

it was tiring.

Grabbing her controller once more, she just sort of sat there for a few seconds. Blankly looking at the screen. If it wasn't for those two, then her school life would be better. It would be way better.

"I shouldn't cry about it ...or whine, or wish for something better. It'll all be over soon. I'm sure of it."

She failed to notice how her Xiao looked at her for a brief second before going to an idle animation.

She got back to playing as she was before.

"Ow, ow, ow," she winced as she sat down. Her game already loaded and Xiao was waiting by a statue as he was the day before.

"It hurts so much," she wheezed as she tried to take in any air available. But it was proving hard to breathe.

Lifting up her shirt, she looked at difference in pigmentation in her (color) skin. Bruises.

Her two teammates didn't like how she talked back, so of course they would resort to physical abuse in the ways of bullying.

"I just ... I just," she couldn't finish her sentence as the tears started to pool at the corners of her eyes.

"Are you alright, y/n?"

Dropping the hem of her shirt, she snapped her head to the screen.

That was .. that was Xiao's voice-

She looked at the character. When she had loaded the game, he was facing towards the statue, but now he was facing towards her. And she didn't remember touching the controller before looking at her bruises.

Y/n...

That was another thing, she didn't put her name as Y/n in the game she put it as Lumine 'cause she didn't know what name to choose when first starting the game. Of course, she could have always changed the name at any time, but nothing ever came to mind.

"Are you alright?"

He asked again.

Looking around the living room, she made sure her parents or sister weren't around. The last thing she needed was for them to see her talking to her tv screen.

Seeing no one, she looked back at Xiao. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was looking at her, seemingly waiting for a response.

"No?"

She was still trying to figure out if this was real or not.

"Those were bruises, right? Who gave them to you? Was it those so called teammates you have to work with for school?"

To say she was flabbergasted was an understatement. If this was real, then he knew more about her than she thought.

Was he always watching over her when she turned on the game?

If that was the case, it made her feel .. less tired than before.

"Well, they-," she thought for the right words, "they were the ones who did it, but how do you know about them? Or even about the project?"

"You talk more than you realize."

That's kind of embarrassing, she thought to herself.

"Oh... uhm, sorry about that."

"It's .. it's fine. Hearing you is the best part of my day."

She couldn't stop a blush forming against her (skin color) cheeks.

"I-," she collected herself so she could smile, "thanks, Xiao."

Nodding, he turned back around, but before resuming his usual state, he turned his head slightly to give her a side-eyed stare, "remember, Y/n. If you ever need me .. just call out my name. I'll be there."

She hoped he would be.

#genshin #genshin impact #xiao x y/n #xiao x you #xiao x reader #genshin xiao

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jesncin · 11 months ago

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5 days long anon again. Yeah, it took a while because I kept reworking and trying to find the right words. words are hard. Plus anxiety. Constantly worrying if it would be right or sound right. Right now I'm riding the high of "it WAS fine!!" so I'm feeling more confident in sending this.

The whole "oooh superhero lied to someone how bad" when it's about their identity? One thing I clipped from the previous ask was talking about how of course a hero should not disclose their civilian ID because that would put any family or friends in danger. A reporter SHOULD understand that! Or at least a kind one. Of course Clark wouldn't be going around telling people if only because he wants to keep his parents safe. Yet you can't look me in the face and tell me that the Kents wouldn't be leery about telling people their son's origins as an alien regardless of when the story is set because technically? Illegal immigrant baby. Illegal immigrant alien baby, whom any spooky group (military/research/???) might want to get their greasy mitts on. I can see that kind of worry leaving marks on him too, even though he is trying to be kind and good.

Maybe it was "too soon" but Kal-el is talking to someone he's grown to know as both Clark Kent and Superman. Who he feels he can take that risk with. And with something... not small, exactly, but not as harmful to his life as he lives it on Earth? It's not quite a test of trust because that would be too calculated for it but it is something more honest and raw and the little voice in the back of the head going "do you understand? do I understand?".

"I've had to justify fanon to canon" is... odd. Have you had to with the Martians or is it specifically your take on Lois? I admit I haven't been able to read all the comics and random sketches yet but everything I've seen has been built on the trend of compassion and care whether it is for it or in spite of it. ...and sexy abs. (Rudy.)

Run out of steam/focus so hope you have a good night again.

Hiya 5 days anon (Here I am responding now after the strike)! And no worries, I appreciate people taking their time thinking of what to say.

Right! Even without any Superhero-level fantasy stuff- irl journalists write under pseudonyms or protect the privacy of the people they're interviewing all the time (Lois did this in Girl Taking Over!!). This notion that reporters are Kantian "Lying Is Always Bad No Matter What" people is frankly a caricature. Fun for silver age shenanigans, but not if you want your story to have any sort of depth. And yeah! Clark is an illegal immigrant baby. It shouldn't take much imagination to see why he and the Kents would want to keep that a secret (alas some stories think otherwise- I can't help but call the emotional intelligence of the characters into question at that point).

Yeah! I don't imagine Superman telling Lois his Kryptonian name as something pre-meditated, it's very spur of the moment trust. The idea is that he's not ready to disclose his civilian identity yet, but he is trusting Liando with something far more personal.

It's mostly been my Superman stuff. I don't post my Martian art on twidder especially since well. I've always gotten one or two racist comments on my Clois comics but the Private Interview comic just unleashed the floodgate for racist comments. If I get that much heat for a cishet interracial couple, you can imagine how gross people would be to my Martian stuff. There's a portion of cape fandom that just doesn't understand fanon or interpretations and are vehemently against any sort of change. So I get silly comments asking me to justify the change ("Why is Lois Black??") or backhanded compliments hailing me as "the exception to racebends". It's annoying, but in the end the comic really wasn't for them. It's for people like y'all who get it! (like Rudy)

Thank you and good day/night!

#askjesncin #i got interviewed by a journalist one time and she asked some personal questions I wasn't comfortable responding to or making public.#so I told her and she apologized and left it out of the article. Instead of. I dunno. hunting me down trying to dox me

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twilight4eva · 5 months ago

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The Burden of Love

As someone with BPD, emotional stability has never been a fullproof thing, especially with relationships, it truly feels like there is no escape for me, so when I fall in love, it's deep, and it doesn't go away, and it finally happened again, this time with someone who doesn't love me back, atleast not in the same way. I've never felt so heavy, never felt so full, I'm used to feeling empty, the thoughts in my head, the sensations in my body, they are all too much to bear.

Now, with the situation with whom I love, we were together once before, it was pure bliss, it was beautiful, I felt complete, and I knew that I had found my person. A distinct memory I have with him; once when we were younger we skipped school, he bought me a redbull at a gas station where he gave me a peck on the lips, I had never felt so happy.

It was time to walk back to school, but we stopped under a cherry blossom tree, where we shared a true, passionate, loving kiss.

This memory will forever live in my head, until the day I die, his soul is tied to mine, and when we went no contact, there wasn't a day I didn't think about him , there wasn't a day my being yearned for his, for his loving, for his warm embrace. I know I will never love anyone else like I love him, even if it's two years from now, or ten, or fifty, even when my skin begins to sag, when my brain begins to fog, and my hair turns gray, he will always be kept in a tightly sealed, confined space in my heart.

I don't know what to do, other people have tried to come into my life, but I have no interest in them, I don't care about them, because I want him, I want my lover. The worst part is having to be patient, because I can't be, right now were just friends, and he's been with other people, so was I, but it isn't the same, I didn't love the person I was with, I hated him, I loathed him, I waited for the day that I could break up with him, and frankly I don't care about him at all. I just wanted my lover back, and I still do.

The most painful part is having to sit back and watch him move on, while I have to sit here with this everlasting breakage in my soul, because I know it wont go away, the cracks will only grow bigger as I continue to watch. But I am grateful, he let me back into his life, and it's going okay right now. I just wish he knew how I felt, I want him to feel the same way, I pray constantly that one day he will see that I am the one for him, I ask the universe for a sign to tell me that he's the one, the one I will wait for, the one I will spend the rest of my life with.

It hurts, but I am willing to wait, because I am going nowhere, I will be there for him no matter what, and I wouldn't be able to handle not speaking to him.

Lord, this was a handful. Whoever reads this, if you relate, I just want you to know that it doesn't get better, it's simply the sick and twisted reality of being in love, love is bitter, love is cold, love is not freeing, love will hold you down, and tear you to shreds until you are no more.

#bpd #bpd vent #bpd problems #love #bpd relationships #bpd relatable #being in love #loving a man #loving someone who doesnt love you back #vent #sad

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electrasev5nwrites · 2 years ago

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Ninja Daily: Vapors 70

Donkey shrunk down a little further in grudgingly given sympathy, not really paying attention to his own spar. Fish gritted his teeth and pushed the older man, trying to get him to focus. It was a lost cause.

"Are they really that fascinating?"

His subordinate jolted at the exasperated tone, glancing back at him. "No." Donkey snorted. "Just glad I didn't get paired up with the rookie. She must be on the rag."

His eye twitched, and Yukimasa reflexively moved to swipe Donkey's feet out from under him and unceremoniously spill the older man onto his ass. "Inappropriate," he scolded lowly, putting away his blade to turn their match into taijutsu. 'Not to mention it's an idiotic comment to make. It seems far more likely that Aiko-san has a personal grudge against Boar to work out.'

Despite the hypocrisy, Yukimasa's eye wandered over to the other spar. He cringed a little as the big man barely dodged yet another barrage of those bizarre glowing chains, getting his standard short-sword tangled up in a failed attempt to block them and having to abandon it. Oh- no, not completely dodged. That was just cruel. Yukimasa resisted the temptation to cover his own behind to ensure that he didn't get spanked. How embarrassing.

'Whatever Boar did, he probably deserves the workout,' he tried to tell himself. But really, to be honest… 'Better him than me.'

In a head-on fight with intent to kill, he knew he would be able to overpower Butterfly. But that repertoire was completely out of reach in a training match. As far as he could tell, she was both exponentially faster and more vindictive than he'd pegged her as.

A grudge could explain her enthusiasm, but the drastic increase in speed was frankly baffling. There were more than a couple times when he literally could not see her move. It seemed as though she was suddenly in another position without even moving to take a step. His best assessment… 'It's creepy. Really creepy. I should probably ask her what's going on. Either that or work on my own speed and perception time until I can figure out how she's doing it.'

Most of the time, he could see the purpose of her bizarre bursts of speed—she was pushing Boar into a corner, or pulling away his weaponry, or otherwise harrying him. But occasionally she flickered somewhere and then immediately moved, as if she'd miscalculated the first time. So she probably hadn't mastered whatever she was doing to increase her speed, or at least hadn't mastered her ability to perceive as quickly as she could move.

Yukimasa didn't particularly treasure the possibility of being outmatched by his youngest soldier. Finding out that she wasn't nearly as much of a rookie as he'd initially thought was a good thing, but that didn't mean he wanted to be surpassed so soon. He'd always thought that he was speedy himself.

He shook his head, casually sidestepping Donkey's attack and letting the other man take the offensive entirely, only blocking and dodging. Donkey's hits hurt, but strangely enough his attention kept being drawn to his elbow where Butterfly had touched him to get his attention at the start of practice. He could swear that her chakra signature was lingering… But that was ridiculous. Of course, it was in the one place he couldn't look at, he scoffed quietly. Typical. So his paranoia would just have to fester.

With a frown, Yukimasa determined that he would have to follow up on that later. It hadn't occurred to him at the time, but it was unusual for her to touch him, and she'd… she'd actually touched the other two as well, hadn't she?

'Methinks the rookie is up to something tricky…'

His lips quirked into a smile under his mask as he rolled to the left and darted from pole to pole in the training ground, Donkey hot on his heels.

'It almost fits. She didn't speed up until she got her first hit in on Boar, and then he couldn't avoid her at all.'

But he just couldn't think of a way to connect that. She was a tracker, so it wouldn't surprise him if she had a way to zero in on a target that required some sort of physical contact for a genetic sample or something, but that couldn't possibly explain how it could help her when she already had an opponent within short-range.

'If I can't figure it out in a month, I'll ask her,' Yukimasa promised himself silently, holding up a hand to signal that practice was over. It would be a blow to the ego to have to come slinking to her for information, but better that than do nothing about apparently being far slower than he'd realized. Three masks swiveled to take him in, and he had to blink for a moment to readjust to the situation mentally and recall what he needed to say.

"We're on patrol tonight. Dismissed until 2300 hours, team."

They were just barely too disciplined to groan about their on-call status being bumped up to active duty, but shuffled off. Yukimasa was eager to take advantage of what relaxation time he could, even though they only had about three hours. He spent his time taking a shower, raiding his aunt's fridge for leftovers (she was the best cook in Hi no Kuni, he'd swear it on his headband) and flopped down for a short nap before he re-dressed in uniform and met his team. They seemed good-naturedly resigned to the extra shift, though admittedly it could be hard to tell when they were all masked and silent.

'There's something exhilarating about running a four-man team through Konoha in the dead of night.' The wind was whipping through his hair, his heart was pounding, and his unit worked in perfect unison covering their patrol designation only by the grace of shockingly white starlight. It seemed like the city was theirs at this time of night.

'Rather romantic musings,' he chided himself, not really feeling guilty about his good mood.

Donkey and Butterfly stiffened in unison. He caught the movement in his peripheral, but had sensed the intruder so soon after they did that he hadn't had time to wonder what was wrong. He pushed slightly farther ahead of the group, pushing them to fly down out of the cover provided by the rooftops to land in a diamond around a figure in one of Konoha's outskirt training grounds.

"Name and identification number," he demanded brusquely.

Occasionally, shinobi were out training in the dead of night. There wasn't a problem with that, at least when there wasn't a wartime curfew. Inadvertently intimidating poor, hard-working Chuunin was the most entertaining thing that usually happened on these patrols, but it wasn't a big deal. They would stutter out their information politely, white-faced and clearly unnerved by their ANBU protectors.

This person—a woman, he thought it was a woman—blinked at him. "Of course." Slowly, she reached up to cover an involuntary yawn- that turned into a spray of what had to be a liquid poison. Shocked, Yukimasa jumped back, noting that some of it had made contact with Butterfly on his right, and grabbed for his sword.

"Capture, not kill!" he barked, throat nearly closing up.

That didn't mean that they couldn't maim her, of course. She just had to be able to be taken into interrogations.

Heart pounding, he swerved inward, catching the fist that flew at his face- and then blinked stupidly when a shock of those blue-colored chains sprang out and wound around the intruder. She looked just about as surprised, comically wiggling like a worm with her hands bound awkwardly (one snugly held to her torso, the other poking out and still caught in his grip) before she teetered over with a whumph.

Boar cleared his throat, shifting his weight from foot to foot uneasily. "Well."

"What?" came the muffled reply, sounding honestly perplexed. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no." Yukimasa stifled a snicker. 'Just something anticlimactic, I suppose. Whoever taught her had a very poor flair for the dramatic.' He knelt, pulling out a length of wire from his hip pouch and beginning to secure the prisoner in a more permanent fashion. "Could you move this bit- yes, thank you."

He bit his lower lip in concentration, completely binding both of the woman's hands before he moved to secure them together so she couldn't even try to whack them with her wire-wound hands. As he worked, Butterfly obligingly wiggled the chains keeping the woman immobilized, at times moving them up or out, dissolving a few links altogether, or shrinking an area to wire-sized tendrils that left him plenty of room to maneuver while still keeping their prisoner still. He had to take extra wire from Boar—this woman was rather tricky, and had nearly managed to get a leg free to kick at him. She was cursing up a storm now, but he paid it little mind. When he was done and Butterfly had slipped the last of her chakra generated chains off, he patted their prisoner's head just once before slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

The mask hid his grimace. She was heavier than they looked, but it could have been all the metal restraints. "Donkey?"

It took a moment for the man to catch on, but he stepped forward and put his hand to the woman's forehead to force pulse of chakra in that caught her in what was probably a rather nasty sleep genjutsu. At least she stopped struggling. It would have been rather embarrassing if her wiggles managed to put him off-balance. He wasn't the largest man.

"Lovely."

Surprised at her tone, he glanced up—and blanched. "Ah. That was an acid that she spat earlier, wasn't it," he said rather faintly.

If it was possible to communicate a glower from behind a mask, that was exactly what was happening. It could have just been his imagination though. 'I feel a little guilty… I should have realized that she was injured before now.'

Butterfly must have dodged most of the spray, as the only damage he could see was splotches of blood poking out from holes in her left glove that had not been there before. Just droplets, then. She must have miscalculated the force used and how widely it would spatter. Idly, he noted her move to clench and flex her hand, as if making sure it was still in working order.

As the highest ranking member, he'd taken it upon himself to keep the rookie close in their formations. Unfortunately, that did increase the likelihood that she would get caught up in attacks meant to take out the largest threat. As she had today.

It was the type of injury that would be discomforting, but nothing that a half-decent medic couldn't fix given half an hour and a large quantity of sanitary water, he assessed. 'After we report, I'll take her to the hospital to get patched up.'

"Boar, Donkey. Take the intruder to the holding cells and report to Ibiki-san. You'll be at his discretion for your next orders."

They nodded in unison, and Boar moved to pick the woman off his shoulder and into a princess hold. As they left, he turned to the remaining member. "Come."

The order was probably unnecessary, but he thought it polite. At this hour, the Hokage was certainly not in her office, but all reports of actual intruders had to be made directly to the highest authority for further orders. Doubtlessly Ibiki would send out at least another full patrol to check for any other breaches in security, but Tsunade might have more insight.

He found the woman in what looked to be her bedroom, sleeping in—"oh my," Yukimasa said faintly, hoping to god that he wasn't about to get a nosebleed while the Hokage moved to pull on a nightgown.

"What is it," she barked.

Eyes still averted, he swallowed, hard. "Reporting an intruder in sector two, Hokage-sama. She was taken captive and should be in Ibiki's custody by now."

A lowly ANBU had no reason to expect the Hokage to pay attention to him, but he still felt a little uneasy when her gaze drifted right over him. "Is that all?" At his nod, she rubbed at her eye. "Alright then. Come here, Aiko-chan. What happened to your arm?"

His heart dropped to his gut.

'I'm dead.' Yukimasa realized dully. 'Not only did I not get some random rookie as a snub, I must have been assigned someone important. Someone the Hokage knows by name. And I let some amateur hurt her. I'm a terrible captain, and I'm dead.'

Aiko sighed, rotating her wrist and periodically bending her elbow to be sure that the new patches of skin didn't stiffen. She was lucky, really. If she had gone to another medic, she would have shiny patches of scars dotted on her arm.

'I wouldn't have gotten burnt at all if I wasn't a twit in the first place,' she moped, giving a sad little kick that scuffed at the floor as she struggled out of her uniform one-handed.

It was embarrassing, but it probably served her right. She'd been beaming under her tacky little mask about getting so much better about using three moving Hiraishin tags to navigate. (It was hella hard, especially since that bastard Fish just wouldn't stay still while she'd been working out her frustrations on Boar. Fish was fast.) Making a rookie mistake like underestimating the way that stupid acid was going to carry on the wind was just karma for getting arrogant.

Tsunade had dismissed Fish (and good thing too, he'd been terribly twitchy) and healed her right away. Of course, that had meant that Aiko was sitting on the edge of Tsunade's bed and wincing with her eyes squeezed shut while the Hokage grew her new skin when a shame-faced messenger from T & I had come by to sheepishly admit that their hostage had woken up and used some sort of suicide technique.

He hadn't given details, but he'd had a bit of what looked to be brain matter in his hair and more than a bit of blood on his front, so Aiko had taken a guess.

At least seeing her had reminded Tsunade to take her ANBU team off active patrols and first reserve lists. She was really starting to feel stressed and like she had a little too much to juggle at once. Aiko was only free from regular ANBU duties, but that probably also took her away from her Root project, since she hadn't moved to actively sneaking around.

At this point in time, Tsunade was hoping to gather what information she could about Root's infrastructure before she made a move against Danzo. If it fit her fancy, she could have had him arrested at any time. But that would have left him with an unknown amount of resources with unknown orders. The more that she could find out – where and how many bases they were, what financial and human resources they had, what Danzo was trying to do and might have as safeguards if he needed to be rescued from the law—was better, as far as the Hokage was concerned.

Of course, nothing could be perfect and her break wasn't complete. She'd immediately been given other orders for a project she'd start in the coming week. At least it would be less time-consuming than ANBU patrols and guard shifts interspersed with occasional midnight summons from Danzo.

'At least, it is since I have Hiraishin,' she reminded herself wryly. 'If I didn't…' Aiko shuddered.

Apparently Terumi Mei had included a proposal for some sort of conference in the documents she had sent back in Kakashi's care. Among other things, she was angling to get included in the Chuunin exam rosters, so that she could boost her tourism and mission requests.

Thankfully, Aiko had dodged that bullet. She hadn't managed to evade getting stuck as the designated messenger/delegate from Konoha to help Terumi put together the conference. Tsunade hadn't gone into much detail, but she understood a fair bit of what was going on. Terumi was looking to adjust her contracts with pretty much every country that she could. In order to be competitive, anyone who had anything to do with Water Country would have to send representation to ensure that they didn't get stiffed. Of course, if half the countries in the Elemental Nations were sending representatives, then the other ones would get suspicious and sneak in to be sure they knew what was going on, so Terumi was skipping the middle man and obligatory spies by just inviting them all in the first fucking place.

Supposedly, Nadeshiko was the other host for this event. In honor of that, it would be restricted to kunoichi participants.

Tsunade had growled something to the effect that Terumi just wanted to make things difficult and didn't want to let the Raikage into her country.

'To be fair… I'm not sure I could blame her.'

Aiko had never met the man, of course. But his reaction to Gaara's call for international action had been a pretty poor first impression. The Raikage couldn't actually be a total idiot, but …

'No, there's no point in lying to myself, Aiko snorted. 'Of course he could be a moron. That's what happens when you choose your leader by strength instead of intelligence or political mien. Them's the breaks.'

She toed off her boots, not bothering to fix them when they fell over. The only sound that greeted her in the apartment was her fridge humming. Aiko grimaced, half-wishing she'd taken a tv from the other house so she could have some background noise. It felt like she was living in a cemetery sometimes. To fill the air, she absentmindedly began singing whatever came to mind under her breath. 'Kiss the Girl' had turned into 'Mac the Knife' by the time she found what she had been looking for in her room.

"Aha!" Triumphantly, she flicked through one of the notebooks she'd filled while traveling with Jiraiya and Naruto. He had shown her something that at the time had seemed paranoid and stupid, but now… "Why wouldn't I want to put up a seal that prevents foreign chakra constructs from getting into my house," she muttered under her breath, half-mocking herself but partially serious.

It was a nasty little piece of work—or she'd thought so when she looked at it last. At this point, it seemed gloriously simple. Unlike the last seal she'd put up, this one hardly needed to be interlaced into the overwhelming security system that spider-webbed through the apartment, over walls and across the ceiling.

Instead, she ran a simple line around the borders of her apartment, tracing the baseboards and crown molding to ensure that she had specified the relevant area in all three dimensions, and attached the threads to a single seal that she tapped onto the ceiling. She bit her tongue between her teeth and breathed slowly as she did it, less because the seal required concentration and more because she had to do that part while perched with one foot on her kitchen table and the other braced against the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room.

If her balance had been any less good, she probably would have hurt herself falling when the seal flickered into being, out of pure shock.

"Ah!" She slipped and dropped to the floor in a crouch, tears rising to her eyes and both hands cradling her jaw. 'Owww.' Aiko swallowed, as if that would end the burning on the very back of her tongue, almost to her throat. 'How on earth did I forget about that?'

Of course her root seal was using Danzo's chakra. It was just a little trace, but it was enough to cause discomfort. It faded to manageable levels even as she focused on breathing calmly, and after a moment she waveringly rose to her feet and stumbled to her bedroom with one hand to her temple.

By this point, the pain had radiated out to give her a seriously wicked migraine. She couldn't let that distract her, though. The notebook she had been working out of had provided an array that would allow her to adjust the wards to let certain chakra constructs in. She was going to have to allow the Root seal, potential problems be damned, because she couldn't live with this in her own home.

'Again, I'm an idiot,' she berated herself, trying to concentrate on the details she was reading. It would be important that she adjusted her wards to accept just the root seal, and not Danzo's chakra in general. She didn't want the man himself being able to send clones or the like in her apartment, no matter how unlikely that was.

'It may have been easier to just tolerate Sai's stupid ink roaches.' She huffed indignantly. Fucking roaches. Why was it never ink butterflies, or ink puppies? What was wrong with things that weren't completely foul offenses against nature and good taste?

The thought had been meant to convince herself into taking the seal down entirely, but instead it bolstered her to focus better on the modifications she needed to make. No more fucking roaches, thank you. Granted, she didn't see a reason for him to spy on her any longer, now that they both knew the other was in root. But still, as long as Danzo was paranoid, there was a chance that people would be spying on her, and that just wasn't acceptable.

Even after she struggled through altering the seal (and thank all the kami that she'd gotten around to replicating it, because otherwise she wouldn't have been able to tailor the security seal to allow Danzo's chakra when in a root tattoo), her headache lasted. It faded, though, so she pawed through her cabinet for pain relievers and swallowed two down dry because the thought of waiting for tea was unappealing. She made the tea anyways, of course, because it helped her get to sleep and she desperately needed that.

'I really don't want to be alone,' she realized, feeling oddly lonely.

It was a little late to do anything about that, though. It was four in the morning at that point, and she was feeling far too worn down to stay up until nine am to meet with team seven. Aiko could be pretty rude at times, but she wasn't feeling bold enough to bother anyone at such an awful time just because she wanted company. She was far too old to climb into bed to cuddle with Naruto now anyway.

Hot tea settling in her belly, she set her alarm for eight twenty and pulled the covers up to her chin. What little sleep she got was fitful, but that was a problem she periodically had and nothing new.

"I feel like shit, and I probably look like shit," Aiko muttered when her god-awful alarm when off, but dutifully pulled on the first outfit in her drawer and avoided mirrors. That part was easy, since the only one was in her bathroom attached to the medicine cabinet. The heather grey leggings and sleeveless top set with a peach skirt she had found most certainly did not fit her mood at all, but she couldn't muster the effort to give a single fuck, or the determination to sort through her mostly dirty mission appropriate attire for something plainer and more somber. Awkwardly, she gathered her hair into a messy spritz high on her head while attempting to shove her feet into her boots, an apple held between her teeth all the while.

At least the juice and sugar from the fruit seemed to revitalize her on the short trip over to the training grounds where she could feel everyone else congregating. Naruto was already there with Yamato and Sai. Kakashi was lingering by the memorial stone, but she still didn't have a tag on Sasuke.

'I should take care of that today. I might as well ask him, though, instead of just sneakily touching him. No matter how funny it is to see Yukimasa trying to see the end of his elbow, it's not really morally upright to do that to comrades.'

She'd been a bit gung-ho about planting her seals wherever and on whoever took her fancy lately. But when the target in question was a teammate who already knew about her Hiraishin, she might as well be honest. As she walked up to the group, she noted that they were only waiting on Kakashi. It figured.

'Then again, Sai doesn't necessarily know about Hiraishin, and he'll be there.' She frowned contemplatively, distracted by her earlier train of thought. 'I don't exactly plan on telling him that I tagged him, especially not with an explosive.'

"Morning," Yamato nodded. She gave a grunted reply an instant before Naruto seemed to spot her and launched into some discussion that she couldn't focus quite enough to follow. His enthusiasm did make her smile, though.

"What?" she asked distractedly, turning to blink at Sasuke. He'd muttered something.

Sasuke frowned, creasing his forehead. "I asked if you were alright. You look terrible." Behind him, Sai looked up and gave one of his clinical once-overs, seeming to catalogue her hideousness for himself.

She gave them both a dirty look. "Thanks. You really know how to perk up a girl's ego."

"That's not what I meant," Sasuke scoffed. "Your eyes are glazed and you're clearly half-asleep."

When all he got in reply was an imperious sniff and a raised jaw, the Uchiha rolled his eyes and seemed to give up. Yamato got them all started on some conditioning while they waited for Kakashi to show up. Aiko couldn't help but wonder about what such a large group would do. Six people? It was a little ludicrous. Really, this was two different teams that just happened to both be headed by Kakashi. She felt a little out of place practicing with Naruto and Sasuke. Yamato gave her a weary look that communicated he might be on the same page.

"-why you gotta be such a bastard all the time-"

"Same reason you're an idiot, probably," Sasuke jeered, flipping a bit of bang off of his face and pushing to touch the tree that he and Naruto had established as the goal first.

Sai looked confused at it all, but kept longingly veering closer to the bickering boys. Yamato heaved a tired groan, but his expression brightened almost immediately after.

She would have known that visible relief meant Kakashi had shown up even if she couldn't feel the seal he carried.

"All right boys, break it up," Kakashi sighed. He didn't sound particularly invested in whether or not they listened, but they stopped shoving each other long enough to pay attention. "If you're really feeling that frisky, save your energy."

Naruto was practically vibrating with excess energy. "Can we have a battle royale again?" He pumped a fist and crowed, "Yes, yes, yessss," when Kakashi nodded with an amused air. "Last one standing picks where we go out for dinner!"

"No," Sasuke interjected with a cruel little smile. "If Kakashi isn't the last one standing, he buys dinner for everyone."

"Now hold on just a-"

"Alright! Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

What followed was hideous chaos. Aiko had reflexively taken higher ground to get out of the mass, but Yamato had jumped after her almost immediately. 'Alright. I should use this as time to practice more triangulation. It's probably going to be even harder with extra seals around to choose from and not everyone on the ground level.'

Thus committed, she pulled on seals and bounced around like a rubber ball. At least, that was what it felt like.

Sometimes it worked really well, like when she tugged on Kakashi's stationary seal (he was hiding in a tree) along with Yamato and Sai's in order to spring herself up behind Yamato, completely baffling him.

Other times… Well. It only happened once, but she was ridiculously glad that no one was paying attention when she accidentally materialized a foot to the left of the tree branch she had aimed for and started to fall. Her expression was probably embarrassing. After a while, Naruto seemed to catch on that she hadn't been hit at all, and veered away from the three-way fight he'd been having with Kakashi and Sasuke to provide Yamato with an assist.

She might have had to worry if Sai didn't side-swipe him with a magnificent ink cockatiel, which he then rode to higher ground when Naruto staggered to his feet ready to knock Sai's block off.

"Aiko, switch me!" her otouto rasped, turning to barrel at Yamato instead. She snickered.

"Of course." She crouched and sprang straight upwards as if she planned to jump directly up to Sai, despite the fact that he was far too high for that to work. There was just enough time to giggle internally at how much this could fluster him when she used Sa i's seal to rubber band herself directly above his ink bird and land like fucking Batman.

Sai was too disciplined to look surprised, instead moving to confront her with taijutsu as much as was possible in the limited space they had. When his split attention caused the bird to veer off course and tilt over, he jumped straight off.

She probably should have followed, but instead she sprang up to the bird's head and spread her arms wide, grinning into the artificial breeze. "I'm queen of the bird! Wheee!"

It wasn't quite 'King of the Mountain,' but it was close enough to rouse competitive feelings in Sasuke. Light-footed, she trotted off the ink beast even as it crashed, ducking under his initial blow and weaving around him, letting her arms sway and not even attempting to get her own hit in. 'He looks so serious,' she giggled, easily flipping backwards and landing facing him. His eyes widened and he moved to say something, coming at her with a fist cocked. She readied herself to grab his fist and use him as a brace to flip over the blow-

The next thing she knew was pain in her upper back and that her nose was in the dirt. Dizzily, she braced her palms on the ground and attempted to push herself up, swaying a bit.

"Sorry!" Yamato called out from somewhere behind her. He really did seem apologetic. "I was aiming for Sasuke."

"You suck!" she managed to hack out, collapsing onto her side. "I'm out. Avenge me, Sasuke!"

'At least I didn't even break a sweat and I'm not gross. That was an abrupt ass-kicking. I forget how powerful his wood ninjutsu really is,' she thought, feeling terribly sorry for herself while the now five-sided battle raged around her. That thought cracked her up. It hurt to laugh, but she couldn't help it.

Apparently, that was just a little bit too strange, because her teammates turned some level of attention to her.

"I could swear I didn't hit her head!" Yamato called, sounding a little panicked. "Sasuke-"

"No, I'm fine," she gasped, wiping away tears. "It's just- I was thinking that your wood is soooo hard, Yamato," she crooned, curling further in on her side.

The silence that followed was aghast, only broken when she collapsed into a fit of giggles, slapping the dirt. "I don't know you," Naruto muttered, an inappropriate grin stretched across his features nonetheless. Yamato looked like a tomato.

It took another six minutes of merry hell, but Yamato and Naruto apparently decided that they wanted a free meal enough to work together. She watched with interest while Naruto scattered what she would have assumed were pre-prepared explosive seals and over charged them while Yamato penned everyone into a wooden cage to prevent Kakashi from sneakily escaping. The seals turned out to be paralysis seals. She managed to dig into some reserve she didn't know she had in order to laugh at his morose expression when he woodenly fell over, resigned to paying for lunch. She dragged her sorry carcass over and picked at the chakra threads restraining him, grinning all the while. "I'll pay for half of lunch," she offered. "Since we were the first two out."

He heaved a sigh and gave her a very sad looking stare.

"I'm not paying for all of it. You lost, fair and square." Her lips twitched. "No arguing." The last bit of the seal unraveled with what seemed to be a sense of a snap to her, and her eyes flickered to watch the chakra she could sense but not see. It dissipated when she didn't try to hold it together, wisping away into its two components and then to nothing. She had wondered if he had bought the tags, but it really was Naruto's chakra, so he'd made this on his own. Impressive.

She looked up to find that her captain was giving her an odd look, having traced her gaze to see there was nothing there.

"The seal network," she explained vaguely, waving a hand. "When it snapped, it…" Aiko trailed off. "What?"

Kakashi's brow was furrowed, but he just shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. You're talking about sealing concepts that are over my head again."

She scoffed, shoving him with a shoulder. "You're a lying liar who lies."

"I'm serious."

Aiko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever." She drew her knees up and rested her elbows on them, wincing a little at what felt like a massive bruise on her back. At least it wasn't so bad after she'd managed to get her breath back, but it sort of felt like she'd gotten in a fight with Gai. Yamato really was formidable in a fight, even if he was rather silly outside of it. "You're just propping up my ego, like how you let those two catch you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Her reply was a withering glare. 'No way do I buy that. He let them get him out of the match, probably because he was bored with sparring.'

She pulled up a bit of grass and tossed it at him instead of continuing to argue. In companionable silence, they watched the shifting alliances and fights among the remainders. A glowering Sasuke was the next to join them, followed by Yamato. The last fight made her shift uneasily, twisting her fingers together.

"Maybe we should stop them," Aiko ventured.

Kakashi shook his head. "I think it's best to let them fight it out and get this out of their systems.

Displeased but obedient, Aiko watched Naruto and Sai go at it. They'd abandoned all finesse in favor of beating on each other with their fists. She cringed, covering her face with her fingers, but peeked out with one eye nonetheless. It wasn't pretty. She couldn't quite hear, but they seemed to be arguing, and Sai actually looked visibly upset.

-even have any feelings-

-such an-

-Of course I-

"Wow, that's ugly," Yamato muttered, scratching at his head. He gave an awkward laugh. "Those boys really want to be able to pick dinner, huh?"

The joke fell flat. So did Sai, physically pinned by about 150 lbs of angry, confrontational Uzumaki.

"Alright, that's enough."

Naruto took a long moment to get off Sai, but huffed, stretching, and turned to the group.

"Whatever you say, nee-chan. Kakashi, I hope you're ready to buy a whole lot of ramen."

Sasuke groaned and started some argument about lunch, but she was focused on peeling Sai up off the ground. He followed silently, a little depressed looking. It tugged at her heart strings, so she moved closer to his side and stretched her arm over his shoulder. At his inquisitive look, she shrugged sheepishly. "I'm barely standing," she lied, giving a fake smile that was much more convincing than his because she knew to crinkle her eyes and duck her chin to feign embarrassment. Wordlessly, he tucked an arm around her waist to steady her.

Of course, her sneaky way of getting a half-hug in backfired on her at Ichiraku, where the group kept an embarrassingly close eye on her as if they thought she was about to sway off her stool. At that point, she could hardly claim to be fine without Sai realizing that she'd just been trying to distract and comfort him, so she scowled and bore the mothering as patiently as she could. Her vice was probably pride—it galled to let people think she was less capable than she really was, but she could do it in a pinch.

Worst of all, the difficulty she was having focusing on conversation and the yawn that came unbidden indicated that perhaps she really should be lying down. Granted, it was because she was sleep-deprived and not because of injuries, but she really should be more disciplined than to yawn in public.

Her pride might be stinging, but at least she had her self-satisfaction to keep her warm on cold nights.

'I think I was right earlier.' Aiko pushed her empty bowl away and drummed her fingers on the wooden bar surface, waiting for the boys to finish eating. 'Sai is unconsciously leaning closer to me. He may not have realized it, but he definitely wants physical affection.'

Not surprising. Touch was a human need, and he'd been denied a lot of the things that humans need. If Naruto really had hurt his feelings, he would be more vulnerable than usual. Either he would open up or shut down… making today a good opportunity to work on making sure he was emotionally reliant on her and less loyal to Danzo.

"Also, what the hell was that, Aiko?"

"Huh?" She glanced up. "I wasn't paying attention."

"The thing you were doing in practice," Sasuke clarified for Naruto, leaning forward onto his elbows. "It wasn't quite…" His eyes drifted to Sai. Pointedly, he finished, "the usual thing."

'Was so, just because I wasn't ending up anywhere near you guys doesn't mean anything.'

She gave an intentionally catlike smile, turning her face up. "Not telling."

Sasuke scoffed, but abandoned the subject. Kakashi slumped slightly out of her notice, apparently not willing to ask but curious as well.

Underneath her stool, she tapped her boot against the metal bar and tried not to grimace. Kakashi had been doing that ridiculous trick where he distracted the others before taking off his mask to eat, and was now slumped contentedly in front of three empty bowls. Her stomach hurt in sympathy just thinking about overeating like that. Yamato was futilely trying to hold a discussion with Ayame, who was staring wide-eyed at Kakashi and none-too-subtly tugging at her clothing as if she was overheating. Teuchi was cheering Naruto on in what appeared to be an eating contest with Sasuke.

'There is no way that can end well. Sasuke doesn't even like ramen.'

With a scrape, she pushed her stool back to stand and bent to dig into her boot for the pouch she kept inside. "What's the bill, Teuchi-san? I'm paying for half." Intentionally, she swayed just a bit. Subtle enough that it looked as though she was attempting to stay steady, but drastic enough to catch Sai's attention. Straight-faced, she counted out bills and laid them out on the counter, noting his conflicted attitude out of the corner of her eye. "I'm heading home, guys."

Sai didn't say a thing while she waved and exchanged goodbyes with those few who were paying any attention at all, but he stood and walked with her as if there had never been a question. She didn't call him out on his spontaneous chivalry. It would be a mistake to make him feel uncomfortable.

He might turn her down if she invited him in. So instead she just held the door open and moved to the side as if there was never a question that he'd come in, taking off her boots and gesturing to a pair of house slippers. "Those are for you."

With strange reluctance, he switched out his foot gear. Maybe he thought she was going to steal it when he wasn't looking? Ridiculous. She'd only do that if he ran off with the house slippers.

'Don't smile,' she sternly commanded. 'No matter how cute his uncertainty is, do not smile.' Sai didn't appear to know what to do in her home when not spying on her, so she determined that she would have to play hostess properly to avert awkwardness. "Why don't you have a seat on the couch? Do you need anything?" He was silent, so she moved to fill the air as she started tea to get the taste of lunch out of her mouth. "I was hoping to show you the next book Ino wants to get published, since they liked your other illustrations so much."

When she came out with tea, (rubbing at her temples because that damn headache was back, making her head feel muffled and about to pop) Aiko saw that Sai had found the book in question on her coffee table and was paging through it. She set their cups down relatively close together and sat down at his side to peer over his shoulder.

'Damnit, not another yawn.' Vexed, she rubbed at her cheek with the hand that wasn't cradling her hot beverage, but it was a losing battle. Somehow she managed to focus enough to at least begin a discussion, but hell if she could remember a thing that they said. Whatever it was must have worked for Sai, because he pulled out his sketch book and began to languidly trace something out.

He was looking like a really good pillow at that point in time.

'I was just noting that he longs for human touch,' she justified, unknowingly pouting. Black eyes flickered from her and back to the paper. 'It's not just a nap, it's a step towards my ultimate goal. Does that story logically hold together?' Aiko rubbed at her eyes again. 'I think it does.'

She turned onto her side, pushing her feet out to the far end of the couch and letting her head drop in a smooth motion.

Sai stiffened as if he was afraid the head on his lap was about to turn to bite him.

"Washboard?"

"Can I take a nap, Sai?" she muttered into his tummy, curling her knees up into the back of the couch. With her nose poking into his bare skin, Aiko couldn't see the slightly wild-eyed look he gave her, or that his grip on his paintbrush shook slightly. 'He didn't say no…' She gave up entirely on staying awake.

#vapors #uzumaki aiko #electrasev5n #ninja daily #fanfiction #naruto fanfiction

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