#writing this gave me a heatstroke | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

viviennevermillion · 2 years

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finding solace

notes: i don't feel like this one lives up to my usual standards of writing i hold myself to because i wrote it while experiencing writer's block and mental health issues but i really wanted to write something.

also if you like my works, feel free to commission me!

word count: 2.7k

contains: leona kingscholar x gn!reader, comfort, reader has depression

warnings: symptoms of depression, non-sexual nudity (taking a shower together)

dark content creators & consumers do not interact

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The sun broke through the blinds in an almost grotesque, unnerving way. Or at least, that was what it felt like for you. Seeing Leona of all people be more active than you was a bad sign by itself, but your own mood was something you could hardly ignore at this current moment. The more time passed, with you idly laying in your boyfriend’s bed, covered only half by the blanket and the bedsheets a mess from the tossing and turning you had done throughout the day; the worse you started to feel. But anything you could do seemed as pleasant of an idea as climbing a whole mountain right now. You scolded Leona often enough, but this was probably what he felt like all the time. Minutes seemed to turn into hours and you wanted to cry but the tears were far from coming out. You knew crying could sometimes make one feel better but it seemed like not even that was an option for you now.

You scrolled mindlessly through your phone, tired and exhausted; then setting it down and trying to rest but ultimately realizing destiny was hellbent on keeping you awake, no matter if your eyes became red and felt like they were burning. So you gave up and picked up the phone again. What was the point of anything right now?

You wished there was at least something you were looking forward to in the near future that would motivate you to do something or make you feel happier. But all there was, left a bland taste in your mouth and a hopeless expression of defeat in your eyes as you gazed up to the ceiling in a desperate search for anything that wouldn’t bore you to death. Leona wasn’t a big help either. He had his own depressed state of mind to deal with and right now that consisted of laying in bed next to you, not doing anything as well. You tried to snuggle closer to him but no position you found in his arms brought you the comfort and happiness you were used to. It was warm in Savanaclaw and you wished the blinding sun and the heat would be replaced by a cool wind of the night, even if it was just 10 minutes.

Leona had told you a story once of one of the kings of the past who ran away from the palace after a coup when he was just a child; collapsing in a merciless drought and destined to die of thirst and heatstroke had it not been for two kind strangers who’d take care of him and look after him. That was how you felt at this moment. Like you were left in a barren wasteland as the sun was looking forward to grill you alive, even though Leona had put up a ventilator in front of the bed so you’d be more comfortable.

You could see from the corner of your eyes that he was watching you, silently, as the minutes passed and nothing happened. You wondered what was on his mind. He gave you your answer soon enough.

“You don’t seem to be doing too well there, herbivore”, he commented and turned your head to face him. You simply shrugged, not knowing what to respond. Leona’s expression darkened. He was used to this attitude from himself, but seeing you like this; with the same lack of energy and optimism as him; made his heart ache. He had long since given up on himself but in his eyes you deserved so much. You deserved that beautiful smile he slowly but deeply fell for and you deserved to feel excited and hopeful.

He hated to see you like this. If anything motivated Leona on days like these it was trying to make sure you were at least content. Ever since he had confessed to you, he had been coming to classes more frequently and trying to fill his day with more activities. He could hardly motivate himself to do anything for himself but doing things for you gave him that final kick needed to get up from the bed and stay up.

He absentmindedly looked at you for a while; lying next to him with your eyes closed. Leona was lost in his own thoughts and when his attention shifted back to you, he noticed there were tears staining your cheeks now. Your slowed breathing indicated that you had fallen asleep at last and Leona propped himself up on his right elbow to press a kiss to your forehead. Get well soon, herbivore…, he thought and gently caressed your cheek before getting up from the bed.

When you woke up, Leona was nowhere to be found. You tried calling out to him but he didn’t respond. Just as you sat up to scan the room for signs of where he might have gone, the door to Leona’s room opened. Your boyfriend entered and tossed his leather jacket loosely onto the desk chair. You hadn’t even woken up by him leaving.

“Where did you go?”, you asked curiously. “You’ll see”, Leona gave you a reassuring smile, “I got a surprise for you. But first, we should take a shower. It’ll do you good.” You rubbed your eyes in an exhausted motion and kicked the bedsheets off you. “Are you trying to say I smell bad?”, you groaned and Leona rolled his eyes. “No. The counselor they sent me to after I…uh…got a little too enthusiastic about winning the Spelldrive Tournament; well anyway, they said that sometimes a cold shower, a walk or somethin’ like that can already make a big difference in my mood or whatever”, he ran a hand through his hair. That’s a very mild way to say ‘overblotted’, you thought but refrained from commenting on it. “By the way, I got us food”, Leona handed you a bag with a bunch of meaty snacks, “I even got you a vegetable.” You reached inside the bag, inspecting the contents. “Leona, that’s just a whole cucumber.” “If ya don’t want it, I’ll give it to someone else, herbivore.” You glanced at him for a moment before starting to eat the cucumber. Not what you would have picked for lunch, but it was the thought that counted, wasn’t it?

“Anyway, you comin’?”, he asked and gestured towards the bathroom. You nodded weakly before Leona went to grab some towels, but you didn’t find the energy to get up; scrolling through the same five apps on your phone again but having run out of anything new to look at. “Herbivore?”, Leona called out and entered his room again, to find you with one leg and one arm off the bed; trying to motivate yourself to just get up and join him. He sighed and grabbed a water bottle from the desk. “Your mandatory hydration”, he commented dryly as he handed it to you. You raised an eyebrow at him but drank quite a bit of it, finding that you’ve needed this after all. As soon as you had finished, Leona just picked you up and carried you to the bathroom, gently putting you down on the edge of the bathtub.

“Thank you”, you sighed, grateful that Leona had done for you what felt like it’d take you another 30 minutes. When you stepped into the shower, you wrapped your arms around Leona’s waist and rested your head on his chest, closing your eyes once more as you let the water run over you. “It’s cold”, you complained as Leona took care of everything for you. “It’s supposed to be, genius”, he mumbled as he applied the shower gel to your skin, “otherwise you’d probably fall right back asleep and wake up feeling even worse. Trust me, I know.” The last sentence was nothing more but a quiet whisper but you picked up on it anyway.

You remembered the past few days and how you could hardly tell what happened on which day of the week because they all seemed to blend into one another like a never ending loop of mediocrity. You remembered the stress and your worries for the future. And suddenly you couldn’t hold it in anymore. Quiet sobs left your lips and Leona’s ears instantly perked up at the signs of distress coming from you.

You gasped in surprise as you were met with the cold water from the shower head directly into your face. “What the fuck, Leona?”, you hissed. “It got you to stop sobbin’”, Leona shrugged and you noticed that he was right; you were becoming aware of your surroundings again and your breathing calmed down a bit. Leona lifted your chin up and looked into your eyes. “I love you, herbivore. So cheer up. Don’t make me worry so much, alright?”, he said and patted your head.

He hugged you from behind and his voice became softer as he nuzzled your neck. “I love you so much. Don’t forget that, okay?”, he whispered and pressed kisses to your cheek and your neck repeatedly until you had stopped crying, “I can’t stand to see you like this.” To see you like me, he thought but kept that to himself. “I hope I can lift your mood a little”, Leona gave you that soft smile only you got to see and kissed your lips gently.

Once you stepped out of the shower, you felt refreshed and already a lot better than before. You helped Leona dry off his hair, a smile finding its way to your face when you saw how the water pearled off his ears and how they flicked when you were rubbing them with the towel. This didn’t go unnoticed by Leona. He crossed his arms with an annoyed expression. “Why is it that when you feel like shit and you smile for the first time again, it’s always from treatin’ me like an oversized cat?”, you could hear the pouting tone in his voice and a chuckle escaped you. “You’re cute”, you smirked and booped his nose. “Stop that”, he warned but leaned into your touch immediately when you started to caress his ears with your fingertips, sighing softly, "the things I put up with to see you happy..."

“So, what was that surprise you wanted to show me?”, you asked once the two of you had gotten dressed again. “Put on a jacket. Something warm”, Leona grabbed a small backpack and you could hear the jingling of keys, “we’re gonna go on a small trip.” Curious about where he would take you, you followed him out of the dorm. Outside of the Hall of Mirrors, Leona gestured towards a Magical Wheel which had been parked at the side of the building. “I rented that one while you were slumbering”, he tossed you a helmet and smirked at you, “hold on tight or I might just lose you and never look back.” You poked his side in response to his teasing.

“You should put on a helmet too”, you crossed your arms. “I’ll be fine”, Leona said, putting the key into the engine and starting up the vehicle. “Leona.” “Fine, I’ll wear the damn helmet”, he rolled his eyes and then grinned at you, “I’ll keep it on for the rest of the day and watch you complain that you’re not getting any kisses.” You sighed but got onto the vehicle behind him after Leona had put on his helmet. You wrapped your arms around Leona's waist, trying to adjust to the movement of the Magical Wheel. It was a little intimidating at first, given how different it was to a regular car; but Leona kept you safe and even though he teased you a little, you could tell he made sure not to drive any faster than you were comfortable with.

As you made your way down the path on the hill that Night Raven College was located on, you could see the village on the island as well as the ocean; the light of the sun now seemed a lot softer and bearable than it had been about an hour ago. You could feel the pressure of the wind as Leona drove the vehicle across the island, giving you the scenic tour of the area.

The two of you stopped by the lake and the forest for short breaks, laying down in the grass next to each other while gazing up at the vibrant green of the trees and the red apples that grew on them. You could hear the humming of the birds and watched the clouds pass by. “That one looks like you”, you pointed at one and poked Leona. “How the fuck does that look like me?”, the second prince raised an eyebrow, clearly questioning your overactive imagination. “It’s pretty”, you just shrugged and Leona leaned over you, smirking and pressing a kiss to your cheek. “I can live with that answer”, he chuckled and his ears twitched while he did this.

You kissed his lips gently and could feel Leona smile into the kiss.

The sinking feeling in your chest you had felt for the whole day wasn’t fully gone yet, but every new thing you saw and every word Leona spoke to distract you seemed to soothe the pain a little and made it something you could deal with and overlook with ease.

Your final stop was the beach near Royal Sword Academy. The sun was already beginning to set and you had taken your shoes off to walk along the shore, holding Leona’s hand. He squeezed it gently and gave you a reassuring smile, as if to tell you silently that things were going to be okay eventually. You’d figure things out together.

He then grabbed your hand and took a bite out of the hot dog you had bought for yourself. “Hey”, you protested and Leona smirked at you. “Sorry herbivore…but surely you don’t mind sharing with me, right?”, he wrapped an arm around your shoulder, “take some pity on me, the bird took mine.” He gestured towards the seagull in a couple meters distance, picking at Leona’s meal that it had stolen from him. “Prince Leona Kingscholar, king of the beasts, bested by the common seagull”, you exclaimed with a false notion of drama and tragedy in your voice. “I could grill that little bastard here and now if I wanted to”, he crossed his arms and furrowed his brows, “I decided to have some mercy today.” “Sure”, you laughed and raised your eyebrows.

The waves crashing onto the shore felt cold when they met the skin of your feet but in a way the sensation also helped to ground you. “Feeling better?”, Leona asked and you could hear worry in his voice; something he only felt comfortable showing around you. “A little”, you nodded and picked up a seashell from the sand, inspecting it as you turned it in your hand. “Do you feel ready to go back to the dorm?” You hesitated for a moment, then shook your head.

Leona sat down in the sand, pulling you onto his lap and resting his head against yours as the two of you watched the sunset together. “That’s fine by me”, he said, wrapping his tail around you, “we can stay here for as long as you like. I don’t mind.”

You remained silent for a while, running your fingers along Leona’s tail absentmindedly. “I love you”, you whispered and leaned back against his chest. “I love you too”, Leona said quietly, closing his eyes as the wind brushed through his hair and the sunset made his skin feel a comforting warmth. Things weren’t easy on days like these. But both of you knew, come what may, you always had each other to lean on. Things had changed from the days of being alone with your thoughts and having to sort out your feelings by yourself. Whenever one of you was feeling down, the other usually found the strength to get up and drag both of you to a place that gave you comfort.

“You know, I think I’m going to keep the ride for a while”, Leona nodded towards the Magical Wheel with a smile on his face, “nothin’ much to see here after 3 years of being on this island but I’ll make it work.” You nodded and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Thank you, Leona”, you whispered and squeezed his hand, "for everything."

#twisted wonderland #leona kingscholar x reader #leona x reader #leona kingscholar x you #twisted wonderland leona #leona kingscholar #twst leona

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darkstar225 · 11 months

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Twice's 10th member suffers from heat stroke ft SNSD's Tiffany as GF

A/N: Heyyy, I'm coming up with a lot of stuff for you guys so I can make up for the time I'm gone lol! Sry for taking so long to post :D I hope that the anon who gave me this idea on Tumblr likes it!

The request: Hello! May I please request 10th member ft GF Tiffany. Where she collapses/passes out on stage during a concert from heat stroke or fever and Tiffany and the girls, panicking but then taking care of her.

PS: Tysm for everyone who reads what I write, I hope I can bring a smile to your faces every time I post! I'd like to thank whoever sent me this idea 'cause I loved to write it <3

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The lights in the concert arena were blinding, and the cheers of the crowd were deafening. TWICE, one of the most beloved K-pop girl groups of the generation, was in the middle of a high-energy performance, showcasing their hit songs to thousands of fans. The stage was a whirlwind of colours, choreography, and music, and Y/N, the 10th and youngest member of the group, was giving her all, just as she always did.

In the midst of the performance, the maknae's vision started to blur, and a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her heart raced, and the heat of the stage lights seemed to intensify. She stumbled on her choreography, nearly colliding with one of her fellow members. Panic set in as her legs felt like lead, and the stage lights seemed to close in on her.

Tiffany, Y/N's girlfriend and a former member of Girls' Generation, watched from the side of the stage with concern etched across her face. She knew how hard her girl had been working, and the gruelling schedule they had all been keeping was taking its toll. Tiffany exchanged a worried glance with the other TWICE members, who had noticed Y/N's sudden struggle.

As the song reached its climax, Y/N's vision began to narrow, and she felt herself swaying dangerously. She managed to finish the routine, but as the final notes played, she collapsed to the floor, a crumpled heap of exhaustion and dehydration.

The arena fell into a stunned silence as the members of TWICE and the audience watched in shock. Tiffany's heart leapt into her throat as she rushed to the youngest's side, the other TWICE members following suit.

Tiffany - Baby!

Tiffany cried, kneeling beside her girlfriend.

The medical team on standby rushed to the stage, and the arena's emergency response protocol kicked into action. The concert was halted, and a hush settled over the once-ecstatic audience.

Tiffany gently cradled Y/N's head in her lap, brushing a strand of sweat-soaked hair away from her girlfriend's pale face.

Tiffany - Y/N, baby, can you hear me? *tapping cheek*

Y/N's eyelids fluttered open, and she looked up at Tiffany with a weak, dazed expression.

Y/N - Tiffany...

Tiffany's heart ached as she held her lover's hand tightly.

Tiffany - You're going to be okay, baby. Just hang in there.

The other TWICE members surrounded them, their faces filled with concern. Jihyo, the group's incredible leader, took charge, speaking to the medical team and the worried staff members. Nayeon, Sana, Momo, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, Jeongyeon, Tzuyu, and Mina gathered around, forming a protective circle around their little sister.

The paramedics quickly arrived on the scene, checking Y/N's vital signs and administering emergency treatment for heatstroke. The members watched with bated breath, their hearts heavy with worry. Tiffany's grip on Y/N's hand never wavered.

The medical team assured everyone that the maknae's condition was stable but cautioned that she needed immediate rest and medical attention. Y/N was carefully placed on a stretcher and wheeled away, leaving Tiffany and the TWICE members to follow in a mix of fear and relief.

In the privacy of the backstage area, Y/N was settled in a temporary medical bay. She was hooked up to an IV drip, receiving fluids to rehydrate her. Tiffany sat by her side, holding her hand and speaking soothing words.

Tiffany - Honey, you scared me to death.

Tiffany murmured as her voice trembled with emotion.

Y/N managed a weak smile.

Y/N - I'm so sorry, Tiff. I didn't want this to happen.

Tiffany leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her girl's forehead.

Tiffany - You don't have to apologize, love. We should have noticed how hard you've been working.

As Tiffany held Y/N's hand, the other members of TWICE gathered around, their faces etched with concern. Jihyo stepped forward, her motherly instincts taking over.

Jihyo - Sweetheart, we're so glad you're okay. But you have to take better care of yourself. *frowning*

The other members nodded in agreement. Sana spoke up, her voice filled with guilt.

Sana - We should have realized you were pushing yourself too hard. *pouts*

TWICE's angel closed her eyes, feeling overwhelmed by the love and concern surrounding her.

Y/N - I didn't want to let anyone down. I wanted to give my best for our fans.

Mina placed a gentle hand on Y/N's shoulder.

Mina - Lovebug, we love you, and we appreciate your dedication, but your health comes first. We should have made that clear to you.

Y/N's eyes welled up with tears, and she squeezed Tiffany's hand tightly.

Y/N - I'm so lucky to have all of you. Thank you for caring about me.

Nayeon - You're not alone in this, kiddo. We're like a family, and we look out for each other. *reassuring smile*

With the paramedics' guidance, Y/N was given the care she needed. She was advised to take some time off to fully recover. Tiffany, ever the supportive girlfriend, promised to be by her side every step of the way.

Over the next few weeks, Y/N rested and recuperated with Tiffany's unwavering care. She realized the importance of self-care and the strength of the bond she shared with both her girlfriend and her TWICE family.

As the members of TWICE returned to their rigorous schedule, they made a conscious effort to ensure that all the members, including Y/N, took breaks and stayed healthy. They had learned a valuable lesson from that fateful day, one that reminded them of the importance of looking out for one another and never taking their health for granted.

And this made them all share one thought:

I'll love my dear chosen family forever.

A/N: I'm sorry for any errors. English is not my first language. Pls, let me know if there is something wrong, ty for reading <3

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danses-with-dogmeat · 1 year

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S is for -- Sunny Smiles

Sunny was just so much fun, I loved her in-game, and writing for her was great! Ahh, another winner I was really happy to see recognized 😊

I hope y'all enjoy!

And here is the 2k event masterlist, for your browsing pleasure!

Pair: Sunny Smiles x g/n! Six

Dialogue: “Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do to help?”

Word: Savor

Rating: SFW

Category: Hurt/Comfort

Word Count: 1.3k

“So, pardner, you gonna tell me what’s wrong, or are we both jus’ gonna sit here in the dirt and sulk?”

Six only sighed in response, their eyes still trained on the way Cheyenne padded about on quiet paws, sniffing all there was to sniff in the old graveyard, as the meager wildlife came alive beneath the slow-rising moon.

“Hey, not talkin’ to myself here, am I?” Sunny gave Six a shove with one hand, jostling the still-full Sunset Sarsaparilla they held, until little droplets darkened the dusty ground below. “What’s yer problem tonight? Yer the one askin’ me to come all the way up here just afore the sun falls, and fer what?”

“Sorry.” Six managed, but their head felt about as jumbled as it had the first time they found themself in the Goodsprings Cemetery. “I-it’s just…”

They trailed off as the words scampered away from their tongue frustratingly.

How am I supposed to explain a problem like this?

And why the hell did I think Sunny would be the right person to tell?

“You drag me out here to tell me you’re in love with me or somethin’?”

Six had, evidently, chosen the wrong time to take a sip of their sarsaparilla, as that too, sprayed over the ground in their shock.

“Heh, seems like it!” Sunny gave them another shove as she laughed, and though Six’s mind still ached and their conscience still ran amuck in every direction, they couldn’t fight the grin that tugged at their lips.

“That’s not quite… Well, I do like you, Sunny. But I thought that bit was already pretty obvious.”

“Oh?”

They tried to tell themself that they didn’t like that smug look on their friend’s face, but… yeah, it would’ve been a lie. And Sunny could always see through their lies, even from the start.

Six smiled all the more at the thought of it, of their first meeting, the way she’d taught them to shoot, how to live off the land without poisoning themself; helping them, and yet, she'd been anything but sunny to Six all throughout the first month of them knowing each other.

Even so, it only made them more fond of her.

Her prickly pear personality, her quips and shoves of her elbow into their ribs… But still, she’d helped them more than anyone else in the wasteland. Sure, without Doc Mitchell and Victor, they’d never have made their way out of the grave. But without Sunny? They’d have made it maybe 20 yards outside town before keeling over, dead by some gecko or powder ganger, an unforgiving plant, or just plain heatstroke.

“No, I just…” They continued slowly, still wrapped up in their own fond thoughts, and their jumbled, upsetting ones.

“I came back here for a different reason than that. Hell, if that was it, we could’ve stayed down at the bar for me to tell you.”

“That’s what I was sayin’.”

Six braced themself for another shove of an elbow as their friend raised her arm, but Sunny only took a sip of her own sarsaparilla.

“But okay, so that yer smitten with me ain’t it…” Six let out a giggle at the way she sounded annoyed by that, “Well, then what’s the issue? Spill it, so we can head back down the hill. Place creeps me out. Cheyenne too. 'Specially at night.”

“Yeah, how do you think I feel?" Six scoffed good-humoredly, "I died here.”

“That’s a little dramatic, don't ya think? You look fine to me. Now come on, Six. You’re stalin’, don’t tell me yer not.”

She turned her body towards them with mildly violent intent, and the courier raised their hands in surrender.

“Alright! Alright…” Six took a breath as they looked back out into the, now blue-toned, desert. The heat from the orange sand contrasted greatly to the dropping temperature of the air, and they felt themself shiver.

“I just… I don’t even know if you can help me, honestly, but... you’re the only one I could think of that would be honest with me."

They could feel her eyes burning into them, but Six only made eye contact with darkening horizon.

"Just... you’re sure you didn’t know me, like… before?”

“Not sure I catch yer drift there, Six.” Sunny’s voice was a little softer now, as though detecting her friend’s delicate state.

“I mean, no one knew the real me. I could’ve been anyone, you know? What if I was… horrible, or something? Maybe that’s why I’ve had such rotten luck.”

“Six, you sure yer not–”

“No, but think about it, Sunny. You’re the best– I mean, the only good thing that’s happened to me since I was dragged out of that hole." They gestured to their would-be grave with one hand. "Maybe that’s karma or something, maybe I was kept alive, not because I was supposed to live, but because the world wasn’t done punishing me yet.”

“I can’t be the only good thing.” Sunny said, and though she smiled, Six could see the sympathy in her expression as they turned to face her. It was a strange quality to notice in someone like her.

It made them hurt, to see the way they pained her with their words.

Didn't make their voiced thoughts any less honest though.

“I’m not even that good, you know? So if I'm all you've got goin' for ya, well...”

Sunny cringed dramatically, and they both chuckled a bit. As the laughter faded, Six dropped their bottle to the sand with a definitive sigh.

They’d gotten what they wanted out of their system, just voiced their concerns to the world, to her, those thoughts that’d been spiraling around their troubled head, uninterrupted, for too long now.

“An’ ya can’t… I mean, there’s no way o' knowing.” Sunny continued, placing her own bottle on the ground next to theirs. “Don’t think it’s all as complicated as all that fate and destiny stuff. An’ the karma bit, too. Could just be yer an unlucky clutz.”

“Thanks. That makes me feel better, Smiles.”

As they twiddled their fingers together, looking down into the dark sand between their knees, they felt one arm sling itself over their shoulders, and then Sunny was leaning against them.

“Look, I wanna say the right thing for ya, Six, but thing is, I just don’t know for sure. Like you said, we didn’t know ya in the past, but… That don’t really matter to me now. I like the gal/guy that was dragged outta the dirt by ole Victor, what can I say?”

Another weak laugh escaped Six at that, but they found themself leaning further into her contact at the-- somewhat-- comforting words.

“You know, Sunny, I think you might’ve just said it right, there.”

Six felt themself relax a bit. Maybe they didn’t know who they were before, but… maybe that shit just didn’t matter-- matter as much as who they are now.

“Are you sure there isn’t anythin’ more I can do to help? Yer so sensitive, you know. Jus’ wanna make sure you’re okay.”

“Yeah, no, your backhand compliments are really doing it for me. So I think I’m all better now.”

“Well, I’m not just good for my backhand compliments," They heard the smile in her voice, "I’ll tell ya that much, pardner. Word on the road is, you like me… An’ maybe-- just maybe, now-- I might like you a lil bit too. I thought maybe we could explore those feelings some, how’s that sound to you?”

Six's eyes were wide as her words met their ears, and they felt a warm flush rise to their cheeks, heating their body from the inside out.

Gotta be careful here. Sunny likes to tease me, maybe if I just...

"Care to give me, ah, a little hint as to what you mean by that?" They tried, "I don't wanna assu--"

Before Six could finish, Sunny pressed a kiss-- not to their cheek, not to the side of their mouth-- but she pulled them in with both hands, and kissed them like she wanted to taste the sarsaparilla in their belly.

It was exactly the kind of all-consuming gesture they'd dreamed she'd make one day, and Six couldn't help but smile into it, through their shock, and revel in the fact that that day is today.

#2k event #2k celebration #secret event #fallout #fallout companions #fallout npc #fallout new vegas #fallout nv #new vegas #fnv #sunny smiles #sunny smiles fonv #fnv courier #courier six #victor fonv #doc mitchell

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wanderinginksplot · 1 year

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Clone Trooper Rambles

Part fiction, part writing exercise, part journal.

Warnings: mentions of rollercoasters and other theme park attractions, mentions of nausea, mentions of overheating, brief mentions of vomiting.

---

Theme Park

“That was disgusting,” Rex decreed, nose wrinkling at the apparent offense.

“Disgusting?” I echoed. “It’s fine if you don’t like roller-coasters, but disgusting? That seems like you’re taking it a little far.”

“No, captain’s right,” Tup told me. He was looking a little sickly. “That was worse than landing in a warzone.”

“That’s not possible.” Maybe it was, how would I know? But it certainly didn’t sound like the truth.

“It’s very possible.” Rex leaned against a wall, studying me with censure. “Aren’t you even slightly dizzy?”

“Um, no?” I shrugged. “That corkscrew at the end gets me a little bit, but I’m past all of that now.”

“You’d fit right in with Skywalker and the 501st,” Cody told me, catching up to us. He had stayed behind to browse the gift shop - his typical excuse when he wanted to scope out the candy selection.

Rex groaned, but narrowed his eyes in the next moment. “Speaking of… Where is everyone?”

“Well, Tup is there,” I explained, pointing. “Fives and Hardcase stayed back to ride the coaster again-”

“A few more times,” Cody interrupted. “They were going on ride number four when I left.”

“Sounds about right.” I couldn’t help but laugh, both at the idea of the pair of adrenaline junkies and at the horrified look on Rex’s face. “I don��t know where anyone else is. I’m going to get a soft pretzel and a bottle of water if anyone’s hungry?”

Rex shook his head and Tup only held up a hand, but Boost, Hunter, and Stone stood eagerly. Behind them, Thorn asked, “Do they have ice cream?”

“It’s a theme park in the summertime,” I told him. “I’m positive they’ll have ice cream.”

“I’m in,” Thorn agreed, leading the group. I gave a last helpless look at Rex and followed the crowd to the nearest snack booth.

When I got back, I offered Rex my unopened water bottle. “You really will feel better if you can drink some water. Just drink it slowly and let it settle between sips.”

Rex accepted the water bottle - as usual, a ghostly afterimage of the one I still held seemed to be in his hand. As I watched, he unscrewed the top and took a sip, then another. Slowly but surely, he drained half of the bottle as I alternated between drinks of water and bites of salty pretzel.

“How are you feeling now?” I asked, shortly before shoving the rest of the pretzel in my mouth.

“Not… bad, actually,” Rex admitted. He seemed suspicious about his own lack of nausea, which made me smile. “How did you know that was all it took?”

I laughed despite myself. “I worked out in this heat for years. If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to recognize the difference between being hot, having heat exhaustion, and having heatstroke. You were somewhere between the first two.”

“I’m used to the climate control systems in the armor,” he admitted.

“Jealous.” I took another drink of water and thought about it. “If I had armor that would keep me from freezing or overheating, I would never take it off.”

Beside us, Tup took a deep swig of his own water. Even as he swallowed it, his face took on a sickly look and he clapped a hand over his mouth. Before anyone could ask him about it, he rushed off to vomit on the nearest bush.

“Yeah, that’s the other possible outcome,” I admitted. “Water will either make you feel better or - if you drink it too fast - will make you throw up.”

Rex gave me a disbelieving look. “Remind me not to take advice from you anymore.”

“That’s rude!” Rex didn’t seem to care about my offense, so I finished my water and stood. “I’m going to console myself on the spinning teacups.”

Two steps toward the ride in question, I paused to watch Wrecker, Jesse, and Scorch fly past. They were spinning so quickly that all I could see was the motion blur of the car. Really, the group’s laughter was all that told me who it was.

“On second thought,” I hedged, changing directions mid-step, “I haven’t been on the swings yet.”

---

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Author's Note - Guess who got to go to a theme park this summer? I love rollercoasters! Others have... mixed opinions. Thanks for reading and happy Friday!

You can sign up for my taglist here. As always, let me know if you want to be removed from the taglist!

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#clone trooper rambles #ink's fics #ink's life #star wars #star wars the clone wars #wanderinginksplot's fics #not crazy just creative

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vitaecryptid · 2 months

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Sorry for the lack of writing. Been in a bit of a depression slump on top of busy with life. Gave myself heatstroke yesterday while mowing the lawn on top of it lol. I'm hoping that the concert I'm going to tonight perks me up and I'm able to write cus I miss it.

#vit musings

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pezboisworld · 1 year

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Oral History of Filming Holes (2003)

Louis Sachar, author and screenwriter: I didn't want someone to make it into a fluffy children's story. I wanted it to be gritty and tough.

In 1998, Sachar published "Holes," a young-adult novel about boys at a correctional boot camp in Texas. It became a mainstay in English classrooms nationwide, and by the early 2000s, directors and producers were vying for the film rights. They eventually went to director Andrew Davis and his production team.

Andrew Davis, director: The studio originally hired somebody else to try to adapt the book into a screenplay, and this idiot tried to change the whole book.

Teresa Tucker-Davies, executive producer: That writer came back with this insanely dark, dystopian film not even anywhere close to the story.

youtube

Read a copy of the original script

Instead of looking for a new screenwriter, Davis and Tucker-Davies hired Sachar, who'd never written a screenplay before.

Sachar: Andy was persistent in having me write the screenplay. At the time, I didn't realize just how special that was — he was really going out on a limb for me.

Davis: "Holes" was wonderful because it was an independent movie that had studio distribution and financing in place. That's rare.

Marty Ewing, executive producer: Disney really wasn't involved. It's not like they were on the set. It's not like they gave us creative notes that I saw. It's not that they challenged the director's vision at all.

Once the cast was in place, Davis figured out where to shoot the movie. The cast and crew ended up splitting filming time between Hollywood soundstages, the Disney Ranch in Santa Clarita, California, and Ridgecrest, California, in the Mojave Desert.

Miguel Castro, Magnet: We had to do six to eight weeks in boot camp because we actually filmed in the desert. We had to get prepared to be under weather conditions of 115 degrees Fahrenheit and higher.

Davis: Alex Daniels, the stunt coordinator, took the kids and had them digging holes. They had to get callouses on their hands and learn how to do it.

Castro: The hardest part for me filming was the heatstroke. I mean we got to a point where we were hitting 104 degrees, and it was nothing to us anymore — that was a chill day.

Davis: It was quite intense. It was very, very hot inside of those holes and we had to have the kids sprayed down and hydrated to make sure they were gonna be safe.

Castro: I remember one day was 119 degrees. I thought they were gonna cancel the filming, but we all agreed to knock it out. I was hallucinating, and I started seeing water, a swimming pool. The production team gave us thermometers to check the temperatures of our holes. If the holes hit over 125 degrees, we had to get out of there. That day, some of our thermometers broke 130.

Davis took adapting Sachar's book seriously, and from day one, the director included the author in every step of the process.

Sachar: There was one scene where Sam is selling onions to a bald guy to make his hair grow — that happened to be the day Andy remembered he promised to put me in the movie. Because it wasn't in the script, I was the only bald person on set. I'm glad I didn't know about the cameo beforehand. I would've practiced my one line in the mirror until the words had no meaning left.

After months of filming were over, it was down to Davis and the editing team to turn "Holes" into an actual movie. Then the director had to team up with Disney execs to figure out how to promote the sometimes-dark family film.

Sachar: Andy would send me the tapes as it was getting cut down. The initial tape was four hours long, and then gradually, every few months, he'd send me another tape of it tightened.

Davis: In terms of the editing, we didn't have a lot of screenings where Disney executives told us to change things. We finished it and that was it.

#Holes 2003 #dystopian #holes movie #holes magnet #holes zero #hector zeroni #louis sachar #khleo thomas #miguel castro #Youtube #fanfic research

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mikashisus · 24 days

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Maybe One Day

SYNOPSIS: kinich was sure about his feelings for you, and he was aware of the ones you harbored for him. yet, there’s one thing stopping him from telling you…

PAIRING: kinich x gn!reader

warnings: slight angst, subtle die jokes

wc: 1.6k

notes: mostly fluff, but u guys know me by now, i can’t ever write anything without angst in it. played thru a bit of the 5.0 quest (NO SPOILERS GUYS!!!!) and i actually love kinich sm. another one of those quiet but gentle characters (๑>◡<๑) reminds me a bit of xiao - and that’s not bc of the color scheme lol. anyw enjoy!

Pen scratched loudly against paper as you eagerly jotted down more notes in your journal.

Early mornings high in the canopy of trees were serene and chilly. It was still a long while until the sun would rise, and when it did, you'd return to the villa the locals offered you and continue your work inside.

The sweltering heat of Natlan was nothing to scoff at. You've been to Sumeru before, where there was hot weather all year round. Yet, just when you had gotten used to the heat, the research for your thesis demanded you to go somewhere even hotter: Natlan.

You couldn't handle hot weather. Whenever the weather reached just above what one could describe as 'warm,' you felt like you were going to melt into a puddle on the ground. That's why you knocked out all of your research in the early morning, when it was cooler, and retired to your lodging after the sun rose so you could avoid a potential heatstroke.

Already, you began to feel a shift in temperature as dim light peered over the horizon. It was easy to see the sunrise from here, perched in this gargantuan tree.

It was peaceful up here, and it gave you a wonderful view of the whole of Natlan. You could see King Deshret's Mausoleum from this height, too, and you silently thanked yourself for not ever being interested in his ancient technology.

If you had to stay in the desert for a prolonged period of time, you would’ve found a hole to crawl in and never crawl back out.

On the way to Natlan six months ago, your escort told you that the only way to get there was through the desert. He knew of your great distaste for hot weather, and so he was fully prepared to hear you whine and throw a tantrum over the ordeal. However, instead, all you did was pout and tell him to get a move on and "get this over with."

A cramp formed in your hand, and you had to pause your note taking.

As you massaged your hand, you admired the first signs of light creeping over the horizon and allowed yourself to get lost in the sounds around you: Water rushing from the nearby waterfall, the chirping of birds, the rustling of foliage, and the bellowing of Yumkasaurs. You could faintly hear the whispers of the locals as they exited their houses, though their conversations were incoherent from this distance.

Although the weather was atrocious, you absolutely adored the sights and the sounds of Natlan. It felt lively and bright.

You opened your eyes and looked down at your journal. Five more paragraphs to go before you could rest for today.

"I was told you've been up here for quite a while," a soft voice interrupted, causing you to jump, "didn't I tell you to take more breaks, Northerner?"

Your lantern knocked over, and you quickly reached forward, catching it before it could fall victim to its inevitable demise in the valley below. You were incredibly high up. You could barely see the ground from here, much less where the waterfall beneath you ended.

Breathing a sigh of relief, you placed the lantern back at your side and turned to your visitor, who wore an amusing smirk on his face.

"And didn't I tell you not to sneak up on me like that, Kinich?"

The boy in question didn't answer you. Silently, he joined you at your side, and that was when you spotted the bowl of grainfruits he held in his hand. He offered it to you.

"Breaks are necessary, you know. Especially when working on research papers."

You took a bite out of one of the fruits and sighed. "I'm well aware. But I came here solely for my thesis, not for a vacation. Besides, if I was given a vacation, I probably would've chosen to go—“

"'Home'?" He finished. You nodded.

"Yeah. I would've gone home." Another sigh, longer this time, left your lips.

"You miss Mondstadt, then?" He asked, taking a bite out of a grainfruit and setting the bowl between you two.

"You bet I do!" you exclaimed, flipping back to the first page of your journal. Notes from your entire family occupied the page. You gently ran your fingers over them.

“Before I left Dornman Port, my family gave me this journal and told me to do great things in Sumeru. They even wrote me notes as a reminder to 'keep pushing when times get tough.’”

Your family knew you too well. They knew you were someone who pushed themselves way too hard— an overachiever.

Whenever you felt burnt out, you read their notes, and it gave you the motivation to keep going. To keep achieving great things. To seek the answer to what ‘freedom’ truly meant to you through your experiences.

Kinich was silent for a few moments. He was someone who preferred silence, and oddly enough, you were too. Though, it hadn't seemed that way when the two of you first met.

When you first met, you had just arrived in the settlement belonging to the Scions of the Canopy, and you were just about ready to collapse onto the ground because of heat exhaustion.

Thankfully, you were aided by not only Kinich— who happened to be nearby —but also a few others from his tribe. When you recovered, you complained to the high heavens about the heat, and Kinich was very close to dragging you up Teticpac Peak just to push you off. He already heard enough whining from Ajaw, he didn't need to hear more from a foreigner who never once stepped foot in Natlan.

He was fully prepared to ignore you from that day forward, only to become intrigued when he got a glimpse of your research.

Later, he was surprised to find out you were actually from Mondstadt, the Crown of the North. Not only that, but you were from the far, far north reaches of Mondstadt— Dornman Port —nearing the border of Snezhnaya; And suddenly, all your complaining about the weather made sense.

Although the two of you were mostly polar opposites, you became fast friends, and Kinich's favorite way to say hello was to sneak up on you when you least expected him to.

His interest in you eventually became noticeable to Ajaw, and as soon as that little yellow and green bastard pointed it out one night, Kinich knew he had to lock him away whenever you were near.

He couldn't risk the chances of Ajaw blurting it out in front of you.

He wanted to believe you felt the same way. After all, you would've gotten tired of him by now if you didn’t. That, or you might've stayed away from him simply because he looked a little intimidating. Either way, he was glad you stuck around.

He ignored the voice in the back of his head telling him you'd one day have to leave.

As soon as you wrapped up your research in Natlan, you'd have to return to Sumeru's Akademiya and continue on with your life. Maybe you'd even take a trip back home to Mondstadt to see your family and possibly even attend a festival.

He remembered hearing you talk about one of them, a seemingly important one. It was one that he couldn't pronounce for the life of him, but he loved hearing you say it because he liked hearing you speak in Mondstadt's language.

He wondered what a Statue of the Seven even looked like in Mondstadt. He had never seen any pictures of one, not even a picture of what Mondstadt's Archon looked like. From rumors, he heard the Anemo Archon was completely absent from Mondstadt, and you somewhat confirmed those rumors.

"I wouldn't say Lord Barbatos is completely absent," you said once when he asked, "we believe the wind in Mondstadt is Lord Barbatos himself. So with that logic, he's still with us, just not physically like other Archons."

You sighed softly, finishing off the last grainfruit in the bowl. "Thanks Kinich."

Sending him one of your dazzling smiles that always made his heart beat a little faster, you scooted closer to him and bumped his shoulder with your own.

He raised a brow in confusion. "What for?"

"Everything, I think…” You answered. “For helping me when I first arrived here, for always looking out for me... I'm really thankful."

He was silent, though you knew his silence was not him being dismissive. He was either pondering, or he just didn't know what to say in response.

Eventually, he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pulled you close. The sudden action made you tense up before you relaxed against him and rested your head on his shoulder.

The sun was rising over the horizon now, and you could deal with the rise in temperature for a while if it meant you got to stay like this with him.

"Don't thank me for anything." He said finally, under his breath.

Maybe one day, he'd tell you of his feelings, because now he was sure of how you felt towards him. But today was not that day.

Time was counting down to the day you had to leave, and he knew he wasn't ready for you to go so soon. Six months had come and gone in a flash.

It wasn't goodbye for good, as you swore you'd come back to Natlan the next time you had the chance— whether it be for research or for a much needed vacation. Yet, a goodbye, regardless of if it was a "see you later" or a proper "goodbye," it still hurt all the same.

Maybe one day, when the war in Natlan came to a close, you could show Kinich around your homeland, just as he did with you. But until that day came, Kinich would wait.

As long as it took. "As long as the wind blows," like you'd often say.

notes: i have a discord server! join if u’d like to chill and hangout! it’s fun, i promise :))

#nereids' realm #—stellaronhvnters.#kinich #kinich genshin #genshin impact kinich #kinich x reader #genshin x reader #genshin #genshin impact #genshin x you #kinich x you

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itsfuckinganne · 1 year

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12am

Hey, hey. I'm back to debrief just a bit.

track: Supermodel - SZA

So, October.

It's finally getting nice out! Cool 65-70 degrees in the morning and a high of 80-90. That's pretty cool for Las Vegas. This place is heatstroke central. Kinda sad that my tan is going away, though. Anyways, I'm really loving the weather and just being able to sit out in the sun without burning.

The past two weeks of October has been a little hectic for me, lol. Per usual, I'm always working, but I'm taking a semester off of school so I have a lot more free time to myself. It's crazy because I just told my best friend that I feel kinda stupid when I'm not studying because I'm so used to reading books, writing essays, and what not. Now that I have real time for myself...I'm off my usually schedule and I'm still trying to get used to it. I've occupied a lot of my time going to the gym and attempting to stay consistent. I just get so exhausted after work, but I know it'll be worth it so I just think of the end goal and OBVIOUSLY, it motivates me. I've also been spending a lot of time with Hannah and her family. I am in love with their relationship with each other; you can feel the lightheartedness and the love they have for one another. It makes me happy that I've become a part of their family and so has the extensions of me. My favorite, new part of my schedule has been spending SO much time with V. (I have been trying to describe how I feel, but no words can explain this. You can't make this shit up...Ima attempt this). The best way I can really describe it is...funny, I wrote this in a letter I gave him...but it feels like SPRING. It's a season of the weather getting warmer, people start to sit outside in restaurants, and everything feels...refreshing. Like, you just went through the pits of cold air and hoodies, but now you can dress in lighter clothing, sit under the sun and still won't sweat in a jacket, and ground yourself by spending time outside. Leaves look brighter, water tastes more crisp, and you get more sleep. My favorite season, everyone seems happier. I got so emotional today, and yesterday, about the way I feel for V. I can't pin what it is, but I believe it's just a major realization that wow...I am so happy. And guess what? This applies to every aspect of my life. I am just...so happy. So grateful I am supported and loved by people I hold in high regards. It feels like I'm growing in a healthier space because I'm able to do things on my own time. I am so proud of myself for being able to share this part of my life with someone who is so supportive and understanding. It feels so good that I can be able to go to him. I haven't really gone to him about something dire, but it makes me laugh because I don't know how I found myself here, but c'est la vie. He is so kind, to everyone, but he needs to be kinder to himself. I love growing with him because it feels so easy. We work very well together, it's kinda terrifying. Never have I felt a love this strong. I'm so happy to love, and be loved, by you. I might cry again HAHAHA. Got a little sidetracked, but, yeah. I do make time to spend time with just myself. Little things like this, when I debrief, but not really. More like a dump. Or when I gym. Can't really think of it right now. But, yeah, happy Anne.

I'm a little meh, as well, that I haven't seen or talked to my girls but I love hearing, when we catch each other, that they're doing well. Everyone's just doing their own thing, basking in their adolescence, and really...feeling their feels. Everyone has their own definition of 'doing well', but I mean this in a way where we understand that we're trying to figure out shit right now and there's nothing wrong with prioritizing things important to you. I just love that whenever we do get a chance, it feels as though nothing has changed. We're just in our twenties now, making the effort to experience life. Special message to my girlies: I love you. It's time to lock in. Headass. Not really, lol. But, I know you guys are thriving in your space..or not, can be both on some days. Nevertheless, I am so proud of where we've gotten, and where we're going, because we worked hard on this. We're still learning, but it's so nice to hear and see that you guys are keeping things in the wraps.

Wow, I hope that was a good debrief. I just listened to all of CTRL and I feel so thankful. I love this life I live.

Goodnight

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smashboxgirl26 · 2 years

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strawberry jam

cowboy(ish)! bakugou katsuki x fem! reader summary: This had to count as one of the worst days in your entire life — stuck on the side of the road in the hot sun in the middle of nowhere with your old, stupid, broken down car and no cell service. At least there was a super hot cowboy who stopped to help. contains: FLUFFF OMG JUST FLUFF AND LOVE word count: 11.6k (somebody sedate me pls) masterlist a/n: this is for the loml, @katxn15, for her birthday that was like, a month ago, BUT I FINALLY FINISHED OKAY IM SORRY IK I SUCK (but also, apologies to my followers, i still feel like this writing isn't my best work - but we're kicking writer's block's ass one day at a time) also, here's the strawberry jam recipe

This had to count as one of the worst days in your entire life — stuck on the side of the road in the hot sun in the middle of nowhere with your old, stupid, broken down car and no cell service.

You’d just been trying to drive back home from college for spring break, but no — the universe had decided that it was too much to ask for and decided to dump you here, on the side of the backroad (because, of course, you thought that using the backroad would be quicker to avoid the usual highway traffic; and now there were no cars passing by that could help you) in the middle of some random field on a hot spring day.

You finally gave up trying to call someone — your roommate, your parents, a friend from your hometown — after about twenty minutes, when you realized that the phone stopped ringing completely and a low battery notification popped up.

Fucking hell.

Under the hot sun of the afternoon and without the AC, the car had started to reach its boiling point, leaving it unbearable to be stuck inside even if it offered the smallest amount of shade from the blinding light above. Your water bottle was all finished now too, so you were sure if you didn’t get out, you’d die of heat stroke.

The air was sticky when you finally cracked open the driver’s door, and paired with the direct sunlight overhead you could already feel yourself turn sweaty and breathless in the heat, and yet you pushed yourself out with your phone still in hand and outstretched, trying to catch at least one minute of cell service.

For a minute you thought one bar popped up, but it was gone as soon as it came and you were left with nothing as you flung it back into the car and closed the door out of frustration.

The stupid, fucking car just had to break down in the worst place possible, out in the middle of nowhere where no one was driving by.

“Fuck!” You finally let out in frustration, grasping at your hair and pulling at it as the panic set in.

You’d been sitting in your car for about thirty minutes now, and no one had driven by in all that time.

What if you were just stuck there until you died of heatstroke — okay that was an exaggeration, but at this rate you might have to be stuck on the side of the road for hours, you might even have to sleep in your car until morning.

Your back hurt just thinking about it.

At the very least you’d be extremely dehydrated, you could already feel the energy getting sucked out of you from the sun in reverse photosynthesis — and now that you thought about it you kinda had to pee.

Scratch that, you really had to pee.

There were just miles of fields ahead and behind you, there was nowhere to go unless you wanted to just go at it right there in a bush, but there was no way you were attempting that.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…” You paced around your car trying to will your bladder to stop bothering you, hoping — or praying, more like — that someone would pass by and that they could just take you to their little nearby house.

These fields had to belong to somebody, with the wheat, or whatever it was, that was being grown in bulk, there had to be someone living out there somewhere who had a bathroom that you could use.

And after what felt like an hour of waiting under the sun (though it was only about ten minutes), your prayers were finally answered when you spotted a red, old, beat-up looking pick up truck from across the distance, and the sight was enough to propel you to start waving your arms and jump around to catch their attention.

Maybe it was a nice, old farmer who was just heading to his house nearby who’d be kind enough to let you use their bathroom and phone and to help you with your car.

And that’s who you were expecting to step out when it slowed to a stop — a nice, old, friendly dude.

Except it wasn’t.

Instead, you were faced with a tall, young (your age, it looked like actually), attractive guy wearing worn-out cowboy boots, faded jeans, an orange plaid shirt, and a cowboy hat with blonde strands peeking out from underneath. And not only was he not old or a farmer, he was also scowling at you like it was your fault he’d decided to stop.

That was enough for your open mouth to snap closed in an instant, and instead of explaining your situation to him and thanking him for stopping like you were planning on doing, you stood there frozen with wide eyes, watching as he stomped towards you like he was about to yell at you for something.

You cringed away from his figure with your eyes squeezed shut in response to his expected lecture, only for them to pop open when he spoke in a soft, grumbled tone instead.

“Yer car’s broken?”

“Huh?” you blinked up at him like you’d just been squirted in the face with water.

He rolled his eyes before they rested back onto your face with that same scowl. “Is yer car broken?” he asked louder.

“Oh, yeah” you quickly turned away to point at it as you babbled dumbly. “I think it’s the engine. It’s really old so it kinda sucks now.”

“Lemme take a look,” he walked around you towards the hood of your car — and you just stood awestruck as your mind finally registered that he wasn’t about to attack you, and that he was instead looking down at the wires and stupid things in the hood of your car like any other normal, nice person would have.

Why’d he look so angry then? A super bad case of resting bitch face?

You trailed after him, watching from the sidelines as he fiddled around with stuff you didn’t understand, biting the inside of your cheek when he reached up to wipe away some sweat that was dripping down his face before he continued working.

You know, now that you thought about it, he was actually super good looking. Under the small shade from the hood of the car, you could carve out his features: red, piercing eyes, clear skin, a strong jawline.

Your roommate would be so jealous if she found out some super hot cowboy helped you with your car. It was straight out of a romance book actually. If only you hadn’t thrown your phone back in the car out of anger, you could’ve snuck a picture of him and sent it to her when you finally got cell service.

You could already imagine the look on her face if you were able to get a picture of this guy, all screwed up in anger and—

“Engine’s gone,” the cowboy’s voice came back, and you were back to being an idiot.

“What?” you blinked up at him.

“S’not fixable. Engine’s dead,” he responded as he shut the hood. “Yer gonna need a ride then?”

“Yeah, uh actually,” you rubbed the back of your neck that was definitely gonna be sunburned, “I kinda have to use the bathroom. Do you live nearby, or—”

“Town’s about thirty minutes away, n’ I live past that.”

“Shit,” you mumbled under your breath while turning away.

What the fuck were you supposed to do now?

“Jus’ go here,” he gestured to the blowing wheat field around you. “No one’s gonna find out.”

“Um, no,” you stopped him. “I’m not gonna do that.”

“Why? Yer too civilized for that shit?”

“I never said that—”

“Ya cityfolk have never had to piss outside before?” he challenged with a raised eyebrow.

You knew he was just trying to rile you up for some odd reason, trying to challenge you into doing something stupid and dumb just for the hell of it. And yet, and this sounded so idiotic, you felt like he was trying to guage something about you, to test some limit you had to see how far he could push you, and for some goddamn reason you were letting him push you past it.

Or maybe it was just because you had to pee really bad and were getting to the point where you really didn’t care anymore.

Either way your patience was running thin.

“I literally never said anything about any of that,” you huffed. “Stop putting words in my mouth. But fucking fine!” you raised your arms up in despair. “I’ll go piss somewhere out here. Happy now?”

The cowboy’s face twisted into surprise for a split second, but you watched it switch back into a frown as he stared boredly.

“Don’t take long. I’ve got places to be,” you could almost hear the chuckle in his voice — he really wasn’t as attractive now that he’d opened his mouth.

Mr. not-so-attractive-anymore cowboy didn’t even help you when you had to pull your overstuffed suitcase out of your trunk and stick it in the back of his pickup.

“A little help?” you’d looked at him with your hands on your hips after trying to hoist it onto the back of his pickup truck and failing.

“I’m the one doing you a favor,” was what he replied with before he just went and sat in the driver's seat — in response you stuck a middle finger out to his back.

It took a couple of tries, but you finally got it up and secured it — though you could feel the sweat that’d built up from you trying to lift your heavy, overpacked suitcase out in the sun and humidity.

Damn you really wanted to kick yourself in the head for being stunned by his looks when you first saw him, his personality was actual garbage.

“Took ya long enough,” he grumbled when you swung the passenger door open, and you scoffed and rolled your eyes, making sure to close the door harsher than it needed to be in response.

You almost expected him to get angry at you for it, but at that point you didn’t care because you finally had AC. It was a sigh of relief after being stuck outside in the sweltering, afternoon sun for almost an hour, and you let yourself lean against the headrest as you finally let yourself breathe something other than the humid air outside that made you feel like you were choking on your own lungs.

The cowboy didn’t say anything after his initial comment, and you both instead drove down the road in silence as you stared out the window, watching the blur of fields and green that passed, with only the sound of the AC blasting to keep you both company.

You found yourself staring at him from the side after a while, perhaps out of boredom; and though you berated yourself once more for being so attracted to him because of how good he looked despite his personality, you couldn’t not thank him for helping you out in a dire situation.

“Thank you,” you found it in yourself to utter it somewhere besides your mind, and you noticed the slight tinge of a smile on his lips and the way his eyes slid over to you for a second.

“What was that?”

“You heard me the first time,” you groaned, resting your head in the palm of your hands while your elbow leaned on the door handle.

That elicited a small chuckle from the cowboy, and somehow you found yourself smiling in return.

“What am I supposed to do with my car?” you took advantage of the more normal mood. “I can’t just leave it on the side of the road.”

“I know someone who can deal with that in town, s’not really a problem.”

“Is there cell service there?” you instantly shot up. “I really have to tell my parents about what happened since they were expecting me to be home in the evening.”

“There’s nothin’ really in town, to be honest — most people use landlines ‘round here,” he shrugged. “Where I live’s got service though, I can bring you there.”

“...Thank you..” you found yourself choking out again. It had to be his stupidly handsome face, there was nothing else that could explain it.

You noticed the small twitching smile on his lips again before it disappeared into his resting bitch face, but he wasn’t cocky about your thanks this time.

“S’not a big deal,” he grumbled back.

“I’m Y/N.” You decided to make the leap before the car settled back into the sound of blasting AC.

“Katsuki,” he replied without missing a beat.

At least now you knew Mr. Cowboy’s name.

“Town’s up ahead,” Katsuki spoke after a minute or so, pointing towards the small sign posted at the side of the road that read Welcome to Auburn Springs — and you watched the deserted-looking fields transform into roads and small buildings through the window as Katsuki began slowing down to adhere to the changed speed limit.

It looked straight out of those old western movies your dad was obsessed with for some reason — with small, cramped and shabby buildings lining the main road, though they all seemed to be out of use with either boarded up doors and windows or peeling signs that read CLOSED.

These used to be businesses, you quickly realized, from the couple of handpainted, faded logos that were still stuck to a couple of windows; but they all had to be shut down for some reason. Perhaps the buildings were too old?

“This is town?” you turned to Katsuki, confused. How did people get anything done?

“Old town,” he grumbled back. “Main street’s up ahead.”

You nodded before turning back out the window, taking note of Katsuki turning right at the edge of the street to where you were met with a lot of buildings with very obviously newer construction (though it was still quite old fashioned — but it wasn’t historic).

Smaller, obviously Mom and Pop shops, lined the street — you caught a motel, a café, and a small grocery store — following the curve of the road as it went into a roundabout at what you guessed was the center of town. A towering fountain stood in the middle of the small square, a young man standing proudly in the middle of it, watching over all the stores for their protection.

Katsuki pulled past the roundabout into a small parking lot behind one of the buildings on the side, and quickly gestured for you to get out.

“I’ll take ya to the tow shop first,” he guided you back towards the stores, and you got a better view of the small town center and the shops that lined it, the small boxes of flowers that were laid out on the sidewalk next to the streetlamps, the single stoplight at the end of the road with a blinking yellow light — you guessed a lot of people didn’t come by.

“Ya comin’?”

You hadn’t realized you’d stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to stare.

Your head snapped back to where Katsuki was standing. “Yeah, yeah. Sorry.”

He nodded slightly, gesturing to the shop behind him and for you to follow him in. When he opened the door to walk in, you half expected him to let the door fall closed behind him; you couldn’t really stop your eyes from widening when he held the door open for you, stunned in place until he glared at you and gestured for you to walk in.

You were immediately blasted with air again, coming from the large fan attached to the cracked ceiling, met with a small shop: an empty counter in the back, and a couple of comfy old armchairs chairs in the foreground with a round, wooden table in the middle.

“Ei!” Katsuki called out, and it startled you out of the calm silence that was present in the shop.

“One sec Katsuki I’m coming!” someone called out from somewhere in the back, maybe there was a hidden room back there.

Katsuki huffed before walking towards the counter while you followed behind him slowly and unsurely, guessing you were waiting for whoever Ei was.

“Sorry, Sorry I–” a tall, red-haired guy (who was also very attractive — was this where all the hot guys had gone?) appeared from some side door that you hadn’t noticed, pausing when he saw you standing there behind the counter as well. “...I was just eating lunch really quickly. I, uh, how can I help you ma’am?”

You opened your mouth to answer but Katsuki was already talking just as the words were forming in your head.

“Her car’s stuck on the side of the highway — the side road ya know? ‘Bout thirty minutes out of town — engine looked like it was busted.”

“Ei” stood there for a few seconds, blinking between you and Katsuki for what felt like hours before his eyes brightened and smiled at the both of you.

“That’s not a problem ma’am,” he nodded towards you. “I can grab it easily and bring it over to Sero’s across the street. He can fix it up for ya if it isn’t too messed up.”

“That would be a life saver, thank you,” you spoke before Katsuki could say anything. “How much do I owe you?”

Ei just let out a smile. “S’not a problem. Any friend of Katsuki’s is a friend of mine.”

“She’s not a friend,” you heard a pained grumble from beside you, and you rolled your eyes.

“No, I insist,” you pushed, turning back to Ei. “I can’t ask you to do something like that without paying you for it.”

Ei let out a small chuckle, with a look directed towards Katsuki that you couldn’t exactly make out, before replying. “Twen’y dollars is enough.”

You dug through the wallet that had been sitting in your back pocket, fishing out a fifty dollar bill instead and placing it on the counter.

Ei opened his mouth to ask about giving you change but you stopped him before he could speak.

“Keep it. You don’t have to charge me a heavily discounted price.”

A slow, toothy smile spread on his face once more, as he glanced back between both you and Katsuki before sliding the bill back over the counter to his side and tucking it to somewhere you couldn’t see it.

“I’ll let ya know tomorrow when I get the car over to Sero’s. Ya got a number that’s good to call?” he grabbed a notepad from his side of the counter and a pen, scribbling quickly as you rattled off your phone number.

“Great, I’ll give ya a call tomorrow ma’am,” he nodded his head slightly.

“Oh, you don’t need to call me that,” you stopped him. It felt weird being called something that made you feel so old. “Just Y/N’s fine.”

“Good to know,” he reached his hand out towards yours over the counter, eyes sliding over towards Katsuki in a way that you didn’t notice. “I’m Eijirou, Miss Y/N.”

You shook his hand with a smile — two super attractive dudes in one day? Your roommate was gonna be mad mad that she decided not to come back with you when you’d asked. “Nice to meet you Mr. Eijirou.”

“Likewise.”

Katsuki cleared his throat, and both you and Eijirou’s handshake broke apart in time for Katsuki to come close enough to grumble in your ear that you looked like you were going to pass out.

“Go get somethin’ from the café across the other side of the fountain,” he pointed out the window. “You’ll get heatstroke otherwise.”

You could barely get yourself to register how close he was standing next to you as he practically breathed down your neck with the smell of his woody, spicy aftershave swallowing you — so you nodded quickly, waved bye to both (and the cool air from the fan) before you pressed open the door and stepped out to shield them both from the view of your flushed face. You could practically feel the heat radiating off your cheeks as you power walked across the sidewalk, trying not to think about what’d just happened in less than a minute.

“Who was she?” Eijirou gave a cheeky smile as he leaned forward on the counter once the door closed behind you. “Ya finally got yourself a girl, man?”

“No one you fuckass,” Katsuki rolled his eyes as he sneered.

“She didn’t look like no one,” Kirishima’s smile widened.

“Jus’ found her on the side of the road and she needed help. Nothin’ more than that.”

“Yeah right Katsuki,” he let out a chuckle. “Yer not known to be the most helpful out there.”

“What’s that supposed t’mean?”

“I’ve known you since we were kids, ‘kay? Yer not exactly known to hold open doors for girls,” Eijirou rose his eyebrows in a smug look. “And I can’t blame ya. She’s pretty.”

“Whatever,” Katsuki crossed his arms over his chest as he turned away.

“Would’ya mind if I asked her out then?” Eijirou hit him with the ultimatum, a growing smirk on his face as he watched Katsuki’s shoulders tense in anger. “I already got her number too, I could ask her tomorrow when I call ‘bout her car. Maybe we could go down to the bar and get a couple drinks, I’ll invite her back—”

“Fine, ya little shit.” Katsuki whirled back around with a scowl imprinted into his features. That’s the reaction he was looking for. “She’s pretty or whatever, ‘kay? I just stopped ‘cause I saw her jumpin’ on the side of the road like a lunatic. But that doesn’t mean anythin’. I don’t like her or nothin’.”

“I never said anything about likin’ her,” Eijirou chuckled. “S’not a bad thing, man. It’s good that yer letting yerself out a lil’. And she seems like a nice person to do that with.”

“Gimme that fifty back,” Katsuki opened his palm over the counter. “Put it on my tab instead.”

Eijirou stuck it in his palm without hesitation, a small, knowing smirk resting over his face as he watched Katsuki stick into his back pocket.

Katsuki liked you.

As it turned out, Katsuki had gone to the city for a farmer’s market (as he did every Sunday and Tuesday), which meant he had to go to that little grocery store you’d noticed to sell off the couple extra crates of fruit he had sitting in the back of the truck. Even though you tried to tell him that you could help him carry at least one as thanks for giving you a ride, he told you that your “noodle arms” weren’t gonna be of any help to him, and carried all of them across the street while telling you to stay by the pickup truck with your iced tea.

It was winding down towards the evening, you realized, as you watched the wispy clouds overhead take their slow strides across the blue sky; the sun was definitely leaning towards the western hemisphere of the sky now, towards a string of mountains that laid in the distance.

Out of plain curiosity, you slipped your phone out of your pocket to see if there was any cell service available. Even a little bit would’ve been fine at that point, you just had to tell your parents what happened and that your trip was probably canceled.

But, as Katsuki had said, there was nothing, not even a single bar, and you only had about five percent of battery left. Great.

You shoved it back into your pocket without another thought, sipping from your iced tea while shielding your eyes from the sun.

“If ya drink like that yer gonna have to piss again.”

Mr. Cowboy Katsuki was back.

“Shut up,” you rolled your eyes and flipped him off before walking towards the passenger’s side.

He only barked out a laugh that startled you, leaving him in a lopsided smile that you couldn’t exactly understand — but you were both on the road before you knew it, passing by a couple of different farms that he pointed out because you couldn’t tell the difference between wheat and barley.

It wasn’t long until he pointed out that they’d passed his property line, and you watched the wheat fields turn into corn as Katsuki turned into a smaller, winding road up to a large house you could see from the distance.

“That’s the main house,” Katsuki knew to explain from your curious stare. “I don’t live there. It’s where my boss lives.”

“Oh. What’s your job then?”

“I’m a ranch hand, I help out with stuff ‘round the property. Takin’ of horses and cows n’ shit.”

Well that explained the cowboy outfit.

“I thought you said you were taking me to where you lived.”

“I do live here. I don’t live there, though,” he gestured towards the house specifically. “There’re smaller cabins scattered around the property — two others live on site too.”

“Ranch hands, you mean?”

He grumbled in agreement, and you nodded as you watched the house grow larger and larger until he’d parked the truck right in the middle of the driveway.

You followed him out of the car as he marched straight into the house as if he owned the place, taking hesitant steps until you closed the front door behind you to observe the cozy space that’d been made; a beautiful stone fireplace was what you noticed when you first walked in, as well as the two tufted, brown leather couches with, what looked like, a hand-quilted blanket tossed over the side, and a wooden coffee table in the center to complete the living room.

It made you want to curl up with a book and a cup of coffee just from the sight of it, but you were in some random person’s house you had to remind yourself as you followed where you saw Katsuki disappear to the kitchen (which was small, quaint — with a pretty bowl of fruit on the counter and a dark stained dining table already set with four places of silverware) and the back door where you could see him standing through the window talking to someone.

You quickly made your way outside, where Katsuki was talking to an older man with a large crate in his hands; he was thinned and tall, with blonde hair that stuck out from under the straw hat he was wearing and bright, cheerful blue eyes — with a small smile peeking from his lips when he noticed that you were standing there.

What did Katsuki say to him?

“Sorry to hear about yer car,” he approached you, a gentle tone in his voice. “I do hope it can be fixed tomorrow so you can go home. In the meantime, why don’t you stay in the guest bedroom upstairs?”

“Are you sure?” you blinked. You hadn’t even said anything to the dude and he was already offering to let you stay the night? “I don’t want to be any trouble, I mean there was a motel in town I could just stay–”

“Ya can’t even drive there by yerself,” Bakugou interrupted. “And I’m sure as hell not driving ya there.”

“It would be no trouble,” the man said as he walked up onto the porch. “I have more than enough food ready and the guest room’s always prepared.”

“Uh, then yes. Thank you, Mr…”

“Toshinori,” he nodded as he passed you to step inside. “Just Toshinori, no need for honorifics.”

“Thank you, Toshinori.”

“Of course. Katsuki, get ‘er suitcase outta the trunk, will ya? And show her where the guest bedroom is,” Toshinori said before disappearing into the kitchen, and you inwardly smirked when Katsuki grumbled under his breath about having to lug your heavy suitcase up the stairs yet showed you back through the house and up the stairs without saying anything to Toshinori.

He just pointed towards the room from across the hall, told you the bathroom was right across from it, and trudged back down the stairs with his heavy boot fall to go get your suitcase.

You wandered into the room, taking in the simple wooden bed frame and linen sheets, the matching dresser and nightstand set as well as the lacy curtains that were tied to the edges of the window to let the sun in.

It was pretty and pleasing and simple, and you sat down on the bed without thinking about it to grab your phone from its spot in your back pocket, only to be greeted by a (what seemed like) a thousand notifications from your parents and your roommate — which meant you’d finally gotten some cell service.

You called your mom first, of course — she would’ve killed you if you hadn’t — and she was almost crying when you told her that you were okay and that the car had just decided to be a piece of shit and break down in the worst place possible. She seemed hesitant to hang up once you’d finished, but she ran out of things to tell you about and finally had to let you go after about two minutes.

Your roommate though, you savored that conversation.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she screamed. “You just happen to be stuck where all the hot people are and you can’t even send me a picture of one of them?”

“It was only like, two hot guys but whatever.”

“Okay, okay, okay — what about the cowboy though? You said he was an asshole but he was hella good looking. Like how good looking, describe him.”

“Um, well he’s blonde, and tall,” you bit the inside of your cheek. “Super attractive. Probably toned too, I mean he does work on a farm all day, I’m sure he does a lot of heavy lifting.”

“Anything else?” she pressed. “Give me specifics here.”

“His eyes are red, like a really pretty, vibrant red — kinda like a strawberry, sorta. And he’s always kinda frowning. That’s why I was scared of him when I first saw him! I thought he was gonna come and yell at me, I swear–”

You were interrupted by knocking, where you whirled around to find Katsuki standing at your open door with your suitcase, his (what you guessed, at this point you only knew him for like, two hours) usual frown on his face but with a new look you hadn’t seen in his eyes.

Shit. He fucking heard me, right?

“Dinner’s in twen’y,” was all he said before he left — and you let out a sigh of relief in return at the lack of reaction.

By the time you’d washed your face and gotten downstairs, the table had already been joined by two other guys, who, you guessed, were the other ranch hands Katsuki was talking about earlier, along with an additional place setting at the end of the table. One of the guys was covered in freckles and had green hair, and the other had dual-colored red and white hair. Izuku, who you learned was the green-haired guy, asked you a million questions about college: what you majored in, what it was like living in the city, how it was to attend classes everyday — everything he could probably think about; in the meantime Shoto, Mr. red and white hair, sat quietly and nodded along to whatever Izuku said.

Surprisingly, Katsuki did the same as Shoto did, with the occasional grunt to something or a one-word answer when Toshinori told him about something that had to be done the next day, and it was surprising to see him act un-snarky compared to how he’d been earlier; you kinda wanted to kick him under the table just to see what he would do in response, but you didn’t want to be rude, especially not when his boss was nice enough to let you stay the night without even meeting you — for all he knew, you might rob the place and sneak away when no one was awake.

And honestly, it was nice to sit down and eat at a dinner table, it felt like you were at home when you were in highschool, where your mom did that thing where she made everyone go around the table and talk about one thing interesting they learned that day; it was so different from the nights you’d spent cooped up in the quiet library with a simple sandwich so you could get through your essay in time.

You were quick to offer help in cleaning up (since you’d been upstairs pacing around your room trying to convince yourself that Katsuki, in fact, hadn’t heard what you’d said about him and the weird glint in his eye was made up in your mind) since you’d been upstairs when they were setting the table, stacking all the plates silverware and bringing them over to the sink where Katsuki was already washing his.

“Just put ‘em down, I’ll do ‘em,” he pointed to the counter space next to the sink.

“I can help though,” you crossed your arms over your chest. He hadn’t even let you carry one crate when you were in town — he had to at least let you help here.

“Clean up the lefto’ers,” he rolled his eyes before going back to scrubbing a plate. “There’s smaller containers in that cabinet next to the fridge. Put ‘em in there and bring me the bigger dishes.”

“Aye Aye Captain.”

You heard him grumble under his breath and you laughed as you stuffed leftover carrots into a smaller tupperware container.

It was kinda funny, actually, how your perception of him had changed in the past couple hours: you’d gone from being scared of him, to thinking he was attractive, then finding out he was an asshole, and now you were stuck in this weird limbo of being friendly and awkward with him.

“Do you have a phone charger I could borrow?” you asked as you placed the larger dishes next to the sink. “My phone is about to die and I forgot to bring one.”

“No.”

“I won’t lose it or break it if that's what you’re thinking,” you stood next to him as finished up the dishes.

“Can’t,” was all he said as he used a towel to dry his hands.

“Why not?” you raised an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t have one.”

That made you pause for a second, stuck in place as you watched him shuffle to the other side of the kitchen to do something.

“What do you mean you don’t have one?”

“I don’t have one,” he shrugged.

“What do you use to charge your phone then?”

“I have one but it won’t work on yers.”

“Why? What phone do you have?”

And damn, were you shocked when he pulled an old flip phone out of his back pocket to show you.

“Are you serious?” you blinked between him and the phone in his hand, watching as the scowl on his face deepened — and that was about all you could take before you burst into laughter. “How do you do anything on it? Can you even text on it or what?”

“Oh shaddup,” he grumbled as he shoved it into his back pocket, watching as you could barely hold yourself up as you laughed about him being a grandpa and the phone being from the 1990s.

The both of you’d actually forgotten that everyone else was still in the kitchen with you — until Midoriya told you that he had a phone charger you could borrow, leaving you and Katsuki standing there and staring at the rest of the kitchen with wide eyes until you could finally muster out a “yes” and a “thank you”.

Waking up the next morning without the sound of your phone alarm screaming at you to get up so you could lug yourself to class was refreshing, to say the least. It was almost strange to wake up naturally, to the sunlight streaming in through the window and the view of the green fields outside.

It was probably the most relaxed you’d felt in a while.

In fact you were so relaxed, that you stumbled down the stairs after just crawling out of bed in need of some coffee since you remembered that you’d noticed one when you were in the kitchen yesterday. It was already late morning, so you expected that everyone else would be out doing whatever their jobs were anyways, it wouldn’t matter what you looked like.

The wooden floors creaked underfoot as you stepped into the kitchen, beelining straight to the coffee pot that sat on the counter next to the fridge — a smile perking up when you realized there was already coffee in it, and it was still a good temperature.

But you almost spilled coffee all over yourself when someone cleared their throat, and you whirled around to find Katsuki sitting at the kitchen table with a mug in hand; a stupid smirk climbing up his face as he realized he’d scared you.

“Did sleeping beauty finally wake up?” he sipped his coffee, looking up at you through his eyebrows.

You only rolled your eyes as you took a sip from your own mug, though you pulled away after a second because it was way too bitter.

“Do you guys have any creamer or something?”

“Fridge,” he grumbled — eyes following as you opened it and grabbed a small glass container, pouring it into your coffee and putting it back before stirring it with a spoon and coming to sit at the table.

“What time do you wake up?” you asked after a moment. “I’m guessing you didn’t just get up and come here to grab coffee.”

“Around six,” he shrugged. “We try to do more work in the mornings so it’s not too hot.”

You just nodded as you went back to sipping on your coffee, watching from the windows as the fields swayed in response to the wind. Life seemed to move so much slower out here, which was so strange compared to the busy lifestyle you were used to.

And what felt even stranger was Katsuki sitting next to you, sipping on his coffee, without a care in the world — strangely domestic, even. You could find yourself imagining your future like this, in a small little kitchen being served pancakes and coffee as you stared out to the pretty, lush fields outside.

But, why were you thinking about this with Katsuki?

You turned to look at him discreetly, watching his throat move slowly as he sipped on his coffee, the steam still rising from the cup.

How was he able to drink it when it was so hot? Was he secretly burning his tongue and keeping quiet about it?

“Ei–Eijirou call you yet?” Katsuki (speak of the devil) asked suddenly, his voice harder and colder, a contrast to what it had been when he’d first called you out for sleeping in.

“I don’t think so,” you shrugged, sitting up straighter. “I haven’t checked my phone yet. But I’m pretty sure his phone call would’ve woken me up.”

“Let me know what happens,” he said as he pushed himself up from the table. “I can drive ya into town if it gets fixed.”

“I will,” was all you could say before he was already out on the porch, back door slamming behind him as you were left staring at the rest of the empty kitchen.

The sudden change in his behavior threw you off, leaving you with whiplash as you took another small sip of your coffee. You thought the both of you would continue being as friendly as you had been yesterday — if “friendly” could be defined as trying to get a rise out of the other, but to you it meant the same.

What’d happened in the few minutes that neither of you were talking?

You could only let out a sigh, pushing yourself up from the table to wash your mug in the sink with a small, unnoticed frown settling over your lips. And it, once more, led you towards the question: why were you thinking about Katsuki?

And you could try to justify it by saying it was because he was the only person you’d really talked to in the entire town — maybe the only person you really got to know (in a small way). Maybe it was just because he was attractive, and there was some sort of pull that always seemed to lead to wherever he was — you really weren’t sure.

Omygodddd…. I’m getting hung up over a guy I’ve barely met.

And with that, you headed upstairs to take a shower and clear your head.

You were, once again, reminded by the circumstances of your trip when you opened your suitcase to only find it stuffed with winter clothes — a byproduct of you still having a majority of your wardrobe stuck in your room at your parents house. You’d been planning on switching out your winter wardrobe with the summer clothes from home over your week spent there, since the sweaters and puffy jackets took up too much space for anything else to fit in your small, shared dorm closet.

The only thing that seemed to be appropriate for the weather outside was an oversized university t-shirt that you’d gotten at the beginning of the year that you’d promptly forgotten about, only found a couple days ago when you packed your whole wardrobe away — and a pair of jeans.

The shirt seemed to swallow you though, since the university had just given out large sizes for everyone (maybe because they expected everyone was gonna be a giant football player for some reason), so you tied it up into a somewhat crop top just so you wouldn’t drown in the cheap cotton.

If you weren’t able to go home this week and switch out your clothes, you might find yourself dying in the heat when you went back for classes next week. At least then you’d have an excuse to tell your parents to buy clothes instead of school supplies.

As you went through your suitcase to see if there was anything you could wear in hotter weather (maybe something had just slipped in), your phone started ringing.

You only assumed it was your mom, asking what an update was on the situation with your car, and answered it without looking at the screen.

When “Hey, it’s Eijirou,” came out instead of Hi honey, you had to pause just to register what was going on.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Eijirou,” you finally answered, sitting down on your bed. “Sorry, I’m going through my suitcase.”

“Nah yer all good. I wanted to tell you I brought yer car to Sero’s already. He said the engine looks real old. He’s gonna try and fix it, but he said there’s no promises. I’ll call ya later in the evening once he’s finished.”

“Damn, that was fast.”

“Yeah, well there’s not exactly a lotta business ‘round here. Only luck we have is if someone’s drivin’ and their car breaks down — like what happened with you.” You heard him chuckle from the other end of the phone before it settled into silence for a second or so. “How’s Katsuki treating ya?”

The topic startled you. Was he reading your mind or what? And, what exactly were you supposed to say when you knew they were probably friends of some sort? Katsuki called him Ei.

“Um, fine?” you sounded like you were unsure, which wasn’t what you were going for since you were just confused as to where it came from.

“Lemme know if he’s being an asshole — I’ll whack him upside the head for ya. He doesn’t exactly have a lotta experience being open with others.”

WHERE IS ALL THIS COMING FROM??

“I’ll, uh — I’ll keep that in mind,” you responded just as unsure, which was then met with an awkward silence that he finally ended with an “I’ll call ya later about the car” and a goodbye.

You hung up the phone feeling more confused about what was going on with Katsuki than you’d started, and just decided to ignore all of it to head downstairs and tell him about the situation with your car — he did say to tell him what happened when you got the call from Eijirou.

No one was in the kitchen when you stepped out to the back porch, making sure to close the door behind you. It was the first time you’d seen the rest of the farm in its openness, and not through a window.

A vegetable garden was what first caught your eyes, sitting in a small fenced area just next to the porch with neat little rows and small wooden signs labeling each crop. A faded red barn sat just a couple hundred feet past that, with a couple of windows you could see horses through as you walked past a separate patch of strawberries.

You spotted one of the cabins that Katsuki had been talking about earlier towards the left of it all: a neat little wood cabin with a small, clean porch, a welcome mat, and a rocking chair out front.

You found Katsuki standing at the side of the barn with a hose and a bucket, washing a foal who looked like they’d rather do anything than be there at that moment.

He didn’t say anything when he noticed you’d approached him, evidenced by the double take he’d given your figure before he went back to brushing the wriggling horse to make sure the soap cleansed them thoroughly.

“Eijirou called about the car.”

He didn’t look up as he responded. “And?”

“He said that Sero said the engine looked pretty old, so it might not be able to get fixed. But he’ll call later in the evening to let me know for sure.”

You heard him hum before he doused the foal with hose water.

“I’m not really sure what to do now,” you continued, leaning against the wall. “If the car isn’t fixable does that mean I’m stuck? I don’t wanna ask my parents to come out all the way here just to get me.”

“I’ve gotta go to the farmers market in the city again tomorrow,” Katsuki grumbled as he towel-dried the foal (who snuggled into his warmth). “I can jus’ take ya with me.”

“Are you sure?” you pressed. “I don’t want to be a burden and–”

“Stop talkin’ shit,” he rolled his eyes as he scooped the foal up and walked back into the barn with you following. “M’already going there — S’not a burden if I’m already headed there anyways. Jus’ lemme know what happens later and we’ll see.”

“Thank you,” you sighed, watching him place the foal back into the stable with its mother, where it rushed straight to nurse from her. “What’s their name?” you turned to Katsuki.

“The foal? Her name’s Lavender.”

“That’s pretty,” you hummed.

“Thought it was fitting for a spring baby,” he shrugged, rearranging some of the tack equipment to their proper places on the opposing wall.

You walked over to another horse, a pretty brown mare who had her head sticking out of her stall, trying to gauge your attention.

“You named them?”

“Some of ‘em, yeah,” he gestured to the pretty girl who was now nuzzling your hand to encourage you to keep running your fingers across her face. “She’s Iris.”

“I used to love naming horses,” you gave your full attention to the creature in front of you, scratching the sides of her ears as she bent down. You could feel Katsuki’s stare from the back of your head.

“My grandparents had horses,” you continued. “They lived not too far from the town I live in, so we’d try and visit them in the summer. They used to let me name the summer babies when we visited — one of them was Baby. She was a baby horse so I only thought it was proper to name her Baby. I was three, I think,” you chuckled. “Another one was Strawberry — because I had an obsession with strawberries when I was six.”

When you looked back at Katsuki, he was leaning against the opposing wall, staring at you — more like observing you, actually; like you were some animal in your natural habitat on some nature documentary.

“The first horse I ever named was this black mare when I was ten,” he spoke, hands dug into his sides with his arms crossed over his chest. “Called her Cherry.”

“That sounds like a hooker’s name,” you raised an eyebrow, watching as the soft expression he wore turned into a playful sneer.

“Hah? As if Baby and Strawberry aren’t hooker names.”

“Well, I mean, they could be,” you rolled your eyes. “But I feel like they’re not as obvious as Cherry.”

“Whatever,” he bit back, pushing himself off the wall. “Still a better name than Baby.”

“I was three!”

“Whatever you say,” you heard him chuckle as he strode out, hands shoved into his pocket with a cocky stance. “Now are ya gonna help me, or are ya just gonna stand around and stare?”

“Help you with what, exactly?” It was your turn to cross your arms over your chest with an eyebrow raised. “I thought I was too weak to help.”

“This is different.”

“What is it?”

“Strawberries.”

“...Strawberries?”

He didn’t answer you as he charged straight out of the barn, his stupid cowboy boots leaving you in the dust as you were forced to follow behind him without an answer.

Katsuki led you past the vegetable garden you saw earlier to the small patch of strawberries you’d noticed, though you didn’t get what he meant by saying he needed “help” with them. Picking them?

The cabin you’d noticed earlier lay nearby as well, under the cool shade of the grove of trees outlining the main house — and you stood, watching as Katsuki ran up the small steps of the porch to grab two baskets, before coming back to hand you one.

“That cabin’s yours?” you squinted in the sun, almost jealous that you weren’t wearing some bigass cowboy hat that would protect your eyes.

“Yeah,” he grunted. “Strawberries are mine too,” he gestured towards the small, fenced area. “I grew ‘em myself for the market.”

“Really? That’s so cool,” you followed him, stepping over the fence. “So you sell them for yourself then?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “The old man said he doesn’t really care what we do since we’ve already helped him for so long.”

“Do you just sell them as plain strawberries — or do you make stuff out of them?”

“Jus’ jam, usually,” he grunted, leaning down as he began picking the fruits off the bushes and tossing them into his basket. “Don’t really get enough time to do much else.”

You hummed, leaning down at another bush as you plucked off a couple strawberries and placed them into the basket held in the crook of your elbow. They were so vibrantly red, like the color of expensive lipstick your roommate liked to wear out to a bar (under the guise that it’d attract rich, hot dudes) — like the color of Katsuki’s eyes, just as you’d noticed the night before.

You kind of wanted to eat all of them, though you weren’t sure that Katsuki would be happy about you gobbling down all of his strawberries. He’d probably tear you a new one. But, maybe a taste wouldn’t hurt.

You plucked a small one, as ripe and red as some of the larger ones you’d picked, just so it would be more discreet — a small smile creeping up when you saw that Katsuki was busy doing what he was doing; you were about to pop it into your mouth when you noticed a beetle making it’s journey through the leaves of the bush before it crawled into one of the branches and disappeared into the plant, and immediately decided against trying any of them before they were washed.

It wasn’t too long til your basket was filled to the brim, threatening to overflow from the way they were piled on top of each other; it was heavy enough that it required two hands to hold it.

Katsuki was just about finished too, finally standing up to his full height and wiping away the sweat that’d dripped down his forehead with the back of his forearm before his eyes settled on you. A small, sly smirk had made its way up to his lips, though you couldn’t understand why he was looking at you like that.

“What’s the look for?” you raised an eyebrow.

“You need both hands to hold the basket?” he snorted.

You wrinkled your nose as soon as you realized he was carrying his own with a single sturdy hand — almost making the stupid basket look as light as air, even though you knew how heavy it was since it was just as filled (if not more) as yours was.

“Well sorry Mr. I work on a farm and basically lift weights for a living, that I need two hands to hold the basket so I don’t fall on my ass,” you huffed, rolling your eyes when he let out his bark of a laugh.

“Jus’ gimme that,” he walked towards you, holding his other hand out.

“No. I can carry it on my own.” Even though my shoulders are killing me. But feminism!

“It looks like yer arms are about to pop off,” he took another step closer. “Give it.”

“Nope,” you answered, making sure to pop the p while rolling your feet back and forth between your toes and heels.

“Give me the basket, shitty woman.”

“You said I should be helping you,” you emphasized. “This is me helping you.”

“You can help me — by giving me the basket.”

“How is that helping you?”

“Ya can’t exactly do anything else if yer arms fall off,” he rolled his eyes, ignoring the offended look you gave him. “B’sides, I want ya to go grab the jars for me.”

His hand comes to grab the handle you’re gripping tightly, fingers accidentally brushing against yours as the smell of aftershave hits your nose, just as it had yesterday from how close you’re standing — it makes your stomach flutter from how warm and rough his hands are, just from that little glimpse you catch of him, and you almost drop the basket in the process.

“Wh-Where are they?” you don’t break the eye contact that’s connected you, his hand still over yours.

“M’house,” he rasps — and you swallow, thickly, letting the weight of the basket shift from your hands to his before he continues. “They’re on the counter.”

You nod slightly, finally breaking the heat of his stare and his fingers when you fully let go of the basket and turn to the small cabin, thankful for the cool shade of the trees when you step up the porch from how hot your face has become, like you’d gotten a sunburn.

The little welcome mat invites you in as you push open his front door; and though it feels strange walking into someone’s house like that, you don’t want to look back at Katsuki and give him the opportunity to notice your flushed face.

You settle on not being nosy as you make your way into his kitchen after wiping your shoes on the welcome mat, just taking note of his decor’s simplicity and the cleanliness of the small cabin. There was a cardboard box filled with jars sitting on the counter, just as he said there would be — which you grabbed easily before making your way outside.

Katsuki was still standing where he had been, feet rooted in the same position under the sun with flushed cheeks under his cowboy hat — an unreadable expression on his face before he turned and began trudging towards the house with you by his side. There was nothing besides the crunch of dirt underfoot and the birds you could hear from the trees. Your shoulders occasionally bumped due to your unfamiliarity with the uneven ground, but he never said anything — so you left it.

The kitchen was quiet too, when you both walked in, with only the sound of the fan whirring from the living room ceiling while you looked up to Katsuki, wondering what’d happened again.

Every time there was a moment between you, it disappeared to reveal Katsuki being harsher than he had been previously — and it was always in a matter of seconds. Sure, he hadn’t been welcoming when you met him, but he was still willing to stop at the side of the road to help a complete stranger; that could tell you enough about his character.

You watched from the kitchen table as he washed the strawberries in a large plastic bowl in the sink, rinsing them out a couple of times before he placed them between your seat at the table and the one next to you. As he turned away to get whatever else he needed, you stole a strawberry — popping it into your mouth, eyes widening from how good it was.

After plucking the stem off another, a firm hand stopped you from taking a bite out of it; and Katsuki gave you a sneer after stealing it and taking a bite while he sat in the seat next to you.

“Cut ‘em small,” he pushed a knife and a cutting board your way.

“What’re you doing then?” you raised your eyebrows, watching as he finished off the rest of the strawberry he’d stolen.

“Making sure ya do it correctly,” he leaned back in his chair.

“That’s not fair.”

“It is if yer a thief.”

“It was one.”

“I saw you take the first one,” he smirked, leaving you to roll your eyes before pulling the bowl closer and getting to work.

He hovered over you for the first five you did, commenting that you were cutting the strawberry cubes too big or too small (though you weren’t sure it mattered if they were ‘too’ small — didn’t you want it as small as possible for jam?). But when he finally approved of the size of the pieces, you built up a pace for yourself — slicing them long twice before cutting them three (or four, depending on the size of the strawberry) ways across — tossing them into a different bowl Katsuki’d provided when the cutting board became too full.

It didn’t take as long as you would have expected, your fingers stained red and ready to prune when you finished, before looking up to find Katsuki’s nodding head bobbing alongside you.

“Not too bad for a newbie,” he smirked, standing up and grabbing sugar.

After adding the amount he deemed necessary, he showed you how he got it ready to cook by mixing the sugar and strawberries with a spatula until the mixture was soupy and liquidy. He transferred it to a pot on the stove, still stirring it with the same spatula as he explained what to do.

“If it starts sticking, ya need to take it off and lower the heat,” was one of the pieces of advice he gave (the only one you retained) — but all you could do was watch the top of his cowboy hat bob up and down from your spot on the countertop, kicking your legs slightly as you watched him go through the motions of making strawberry jam.

It continued on for twenty minutes, of him explaining small things that you weren’t really listening to as he continued to stir it; until you watched the foam bubble down to reveal a shiny jam, darker than the color of the original strawberries.

“Put the kettle on,” he ordered, and you kicked your legs out as you pushed yourself off the counter.

You wandered to the other side of the kitchen to do as he asked, watching as he turned the gas off and let the pot start cooling down while stirring.

“What’s the water for?”

“So the jars don’t break,” he looked up. “The glass shatters if the temperature difference is too high.”

He had you pour the water into the jars to warm them up before he came to the table and started filling them up with a ladle stolen from a kitchen drawer, handing them to you to seal and cap them.

The process was quiet and concentrated, as you both went through the motions of filling up each jar and sealing them, until you were finished and left with about thirty jars.

It was when you finished that you realized how close you were sitting next to each other, shoulders almost touching, your pinky fingers basically intertwined; you could practically feel the heat radiating off of him. And when you turned to look at him, you noticed how close your faces were to each other — how you you could practically feel his breath fanning your face when he did the same, how his eyes seemed to roam your face the same way yours were doing to his — and how it felt like you were getting closer; an invisible string was drawing you together, bringing you both closer and closer as you stared at his lips.

“Oh — jam?”

All it took was an instant for the both of you to break eye contact, turning to stare at the back door. Shoto had stepped in, completely disregarding the both of you as he walked forward and picked up a jar. You barely realized when Katsuki’s expression had turned into a sneer and he’d stood up from the table without missing a beat.

“Beat it half n’ half.”

“But, it’s lunch,” Shoto stared at him blankly.

And just like that, it was like nothing had happened. Again.

Lunch consisted of peanut butter and jam sandwiches (because Katsuki had argued that you couldn’t refer to his jam as jelly — even though they were basically the same thing), and earned you the nickname “strawberry shortcake” when you dropped jam on your shirt.

(“Didn’t ya say you were obsessed with strawberries?” Katsuki smirked when you asked him where it came from.)

Eijirou called after lunch to let you know that the car wasn’t able to be fixed and that Sero wanted to buy it so he could use some of the parts. The news wasn’t that surprising, since your parents had bought it second hand as soon as you got your driver's license when you turned sixteen and that you were now a rising senior in college; and after a quick phone call to your parents to let them know about the situation, they agreed the best thing to do would be selling it so you could buy a new car.

You didn’t even notice when the sun began hanging low in the sky — and the afternoon turned to evening.

It was during dinner that you realized that you probably wouldn’t get a chance to see anyone ever again. Even if you hadn’t spent time with Shoto or Izuku — it was easy to see how nice and welcoming they were. It led to the four of you (Katsuki tagged along too) laying outside beside a small campfire and drinking beer, trading stories as if you’d known each other your entire life.

It was fun to learn about their lives in a small town: how everyone had practically known each other by the time they were five and all the shenanigans they would get up to. They told you about their other friends, the ones who’d moved away for bigger opportunities in bigger cities — and you noticed the way Katsuki’s face seemed to fall when the topic was brought up, even though he hid it by sipping on his beer quietly.

Both Shoto and Izuku eventually waved their goodbyes when they got up to go to bed, in the case that they wouldn’t be able to see in the morning if they were too busy, leaving you and Katsuki to quietly sip beer by the flames in comfortable silence.

“It’s weird to think that I won’t see you again,” you murmured after a while. The couple of beers you drank seemed to loosen the restraint your mind was holding on your mouth, and you stared up at the sky after a moment when he didn’t answer. “I won’t get the chance to be here again.”

Katsuki hummed in response, watching as you began tracing out constellations with your finger, muttering the names to yourself in the exact stupid way Deku used to. But, he wasn’t annoyed when you did it.

“Can I ask you something?” you turned to him suddenly, watching as he put his beer down.

“Shoot.”

“Why was your mood changing all day?”

“What d’you mean?” he blinked.

“Like, it felt like we were close at times — but then you’d seem angry again,” you looked back up at the sky and sighed before trailing off. “I just, I thought…”

“I heard you yest’rday.”

You snapped back to where Katsuki was staring at the ground.

“No one’s compared my eyes to strawberries before,” he commented. “Usually it’s rubies n’ other shit.”

“You heard?”

“M’pretty sure everyone heard shortcake,” he chuckled. “You were fuckin’ yappin’ at the top of yer lungs.”

“I was not!” you huffed. You could feel your face burning up as you huffed and turned away.

It remained silent for another minute or two before Katsuki spoke again.

“Back in highschool, I was with someone,” he started. “And I thought we were gonna stay like that — that she was gonna go away for college and come back so we could get married. I proposed to her, and she said no and left.” He looked back up and you watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed thickly. “You– uh, I guess you reminded me of her a little.”

You could only blink in response to his confession, watching the light from the fire dance off his face as he stared almost wistfully off into the distance.

“I do think, that uh, yer…pretty, or whatever,” he coughed out. “But, it’s not permanent. Yer gonna go back tomorrow and eventually forget.”

It was silent again, the sound of the crackling fire remnant of his car’s old air conditioning.

“You don’t know that,” you finally spoke hesitantly, scooting across the log to where he was sitting.

He looked up at those words, his eyes scanning your face, your expressions, the way you’d placed yourself so easily next to him.

“And even if I don’t stay here, it’s not like there’s no way to contact you — or even see you again. You live a couple hours from me, and you come to farmer’s markets there,” you paused, gathering your thoughts before you looked back up at him and the soft look on his face. “Katsuki… whatever she did — I’m not her.”

Maybe the beer had a larger effect on you than you thought it did — you weren’t one to admit something like that as easily as you just did, but it was probably a combination of the hazy spell your mind was experiencing as well as the intoxicating atmosphere of the night. You could feel your heart jump in your chest as Katsuki just stared at you, his eyes flicking down ever so often until he moved himself closer to you, his hand hovering just above your cheek as you inhaled his scent once more.

“...may I kiss you?” he whispered.

You nodded slightly, shocked, before he’d pressed his lips up against yours in a sweet, chaste kiss. You could taste the beer on him as his hands rose and cupped your cheeks gently, his thumbs stroking the tops of your cheeks as yours tangled around his neck, playing with the back of his hair.

He took that as an invitation to pull you closer, pulling you up onto his lap with his arms wrapped around your waist and rubbing small strokes up the small of your back — melting into each other as sugar does into jam, slowly and gently and passionately through small touches and gazes.

When you finally pulled away for air, you could see the flush of his face as he stared up at the sky and panted, pulling you flush against his chest.

“Damn shortcake,” you heard the smirk in his voice — though it didn’t seem to be as cocky as you would’ve expected. “You know how to kiss.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you murmured into his chest, feeling the rumble as he let out a short chuckle.

“Nothin’,” he pulled away for a second, and you noticed him grabbing something from his jean pocket.

In the light of the fire, he showed you his beaten leather wallet, with cracks and scratches — pulling out a fifty dollar bill that he then handed to you.

“What’s this for?” you sat up, your head leaning against his shoulder.

“S’the money you gave Ei,” he flipped it over, revealing a phone number on the other side, before looking away in embarrassment. “I was gonna give it to ya tomorrow when I dropped ya off — Ei suggested it.”

You couldn’t help but let out a giggle to the red that was rising on his face, becoming even more flushed than he had been when he kissed you.

“Thank you,” you smiled. “Now I can call you on your ancient phone.”

“Yeah, well, now I can teach ya how to make strawberry shortcake.”

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mochie85 · 2 years

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Heatstroke

One-Shot Masterlist | Complete Masterlist

One-shots based on this May prompt list. Prompt 5: Swearing in a foreign language Prompt 6: Refund

A/N: Thanks to @lokis-coffee221 for help with the writing and the translations. Warnings: fluff, enemies-to-lovers, cursing, a lot of touching, implied smut. Jotunn Loki Pairings: Loki x Female Reader Word Count: Over 3.4K

When Wanda and Vision decided to elope yesterday, the whole team flew out to Vegas to celebrate with them. Last night, you all decided to throw them an impromptu bachelor/ette party where you drunkenly made her a promise: To find her the one-of-a-kind ring, made by this eccentric jeweler, who just happens to live in a small town in the middle of the Nevada desert that Wanda just had to have. Of course, as one of her best friends, you wanted to do something nice for her and Vision so you agreed to go get the rings for her. Then they sent Loki with you thinking it would be a great time for the two of you to bond.

Ever since you came to work with the Avengers, Loki has had it out for you. He was always saying snarky little comments under his breath. Laughing when Natasha knocks your ass down during training. Or how he constantly tells you how you’re holding a firearm the wrong way.

“I know how to hold my weapon, Loki. Do you?”

“Care to find out lille venn?” he said in a teasing manner.

“Come anywhere near me and you won’t have a weapon to use anymore.” You threatened. God! He irritated you so much.

The whole team has seen it. You two were always at each other’s throats. Always a hair away from drawing weapons against each other. He would tease you or call you condescending names like skatt. And you would always fire back, like the little spitfire that you are. You never backed down and you always served it back to him as good as he gave it to you.

The day started with Wanda waking you up. You felt like you just laid down from last night’s party. She ushered you out, still dressed in last night’s dress and a cup of coffee. “Hurry and be back by 6 pm. The ceremony is at 8. Don’t be late!” She warned you. She pushed you out into the hotel hallway, still half asleep, chugging your latte. You turned and were met by the god of mischief leaning on his doorway giving you an infuriating smirk. It looked like he was wearing the same suit from the night before as well. His top button was unbuttoned and his bowtie was loose and hanging around his neck. You rolled your eyes and continued down the hallway towards the elevator.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look in that dress, skatt?” He said in the elevator, his eyes raking up and down your body. You cringed whenever he called you that. You hated that name, and he noticed. You never knew what half the things he calls you actually mean, but you’re sure they’re not flattering. They don’t sound flattering. Especially skatt.

“Don’t start with me, Loki. I haven’t had enough sleep and now I’ll be spending an indefinite amount of time with you. Ugh, so help me god, I will shove my heels down your throat.” The doors open, and you make your way out to the parking garage to hop into the car.

“So feisty this morning min kjærlighet.” You tossed him the keys to one of the rental cars the team borrowed and got into the passenger seat.

“You drive. I’m not awake yet.” You commanded.

“As you wish, min skatt.” He answered as you rolled your eyes. You strapped on your seatbelt and rested your feet on the dash.

As you pulled out of the garage, and onto the street, Loki couldn’t help but notice your dress riding down your thighs. “Eyes on the road, Laufeyson!” you said with a sideways glance. He couldn’t help but give you that irritating smirk of his.

You navigated him out of The Strip and onto the highway, you headed further east onto vast deserts and empty roadways.

“We should stop and get something to eat,” Loki suggested.

“And prolong this misadventure? I don’t think so.”

“Elskling, you haven’t had anything to eat. And although I’ve enjoyed watching you set lose last night, you did overdo it.”

“What are you my dad now?”

“Du kan kale meg pappa hvis du vil,”* he said with the most salacious grin and a wink.

“Ugh. What are you even saying?! You know I can’t understand you right?” This is how he loved to tease you. Loki loved getting a reaction out of you. He could see the passion in your eyes when you were angry at him. He would do it a thousand times over just to keep you talking to him.

“Oh, I’m counting on it.” His grin got wider. “In all seriousness, you need something more substantial than that cup of coffee.”

“I’m fine. The longer we take, the more I have to spend time with you. I’d rather get this over with.” You barked out. Loki sucked his lips in, creating a thin line. He was annoyed. But you didn’t care why.

“Fine. At least conserve your energy.” It was hot. The local weather forecast in Vegas said it would be in the ’90s this week with a couple of days hovering over triple-digit heatwaves. You could feel the searing heat from your window whenever you touched it.

The jewelry store was hard to find. Loki drove for half an hour around the same highway exit till you figured out where it was. It was located inside a truck stop, next to a 24-hour diner. As soon as you walked in, the one and only clerk mistook you and Loki for a couple and thought you were purchasing a ring for yourselves. You only scoffed as you pointed out the ring that Wanda had wanted.

“Come on, kjæreste, why don’t you pick up something for yourself? My treat.” Loki said, scanning the jewelry in front of him.

“Why, so that I could be indebted to you. No, thanks.”

“It would be a gift. I would never expect anything back from you, elske.” You interpreted that as he would never expect you to be able to afford such luxurious items anyway.

“NO. Thank you. I got Wanda and Vision’s rings. I’m ready to go.”

“Suit yourself, skatt.” Loki followed you to the car, and the both of you made it back on the freeway to go back to the hotel on The Strip.

A few miles out, you heard the car sputtering. It slowed to a crawl before the engine died and the battery turned off. “What just happened?” Loki asked.

“Did we run out of gas?” You leaned over to look at the dash, and sure enough, it read empty. “Loki. You didn’t see we needed gas? We were just at a truck stop! We could’ve filled up.” You started yelling.

“I only know how to operate this thing. I don’t know what all the other symbols mean.” He replied.

“Omigod. We’re gonna have to walk back to get fuel. In this sweltering heat.” You left the car, resigned to your fate. Slamming the door behind you, you started walking back down the road to the truck stop with the jewelry store.

“Where are you going, sk…”

“Don’t say it. Loki.” You interrupted.

“…skatt?” That did it. That pushed you over your threshold of civility.

“Putangina! Hindi mo talaga maintindihan, noh? Ano bang ginawa ko sayo? Lagi mo na lang akong iniirita. Ano ba pinagtatawag mo sakin? Ha!? Wala 'kong magawang tama sayo! Lagi mo na lang akong hinuhusgahan! Ano? Ano ba?”?”** You were so angry that you started speaking in your native tongue. You couldn’t express what you really wanted to in English.

Loki was just taken aback. He’s never seen you so angry before. He’s triggered you many times before but never like this. “You must be truly irate with me if you started speaking in your mother tongue. You do know that my allspeak can translate what you just said, right?”

Your eyes widened only a fraction before you schooled them. You had forgotten he could do that. But it doesn’t matter anyway. You’re glad you finally said what you’ve been wanting to say.

Perfect timing too because as soon as you calmed down, your vision went black and you fainted on the ground.

“Darling? Elske?” Loki ran to your body on the ground and held you in his arms. Your skin was covered in sweat and was burning up. He picked you up and moved you to the backseat of the car to lay you down. You had gotten heatstroke.

Loki got angry. He told you that you needed to eat. He told you to conserve your energy. He should’ve stopped at a restaurant somewhere and forced you to eat something. He was the god of mischief; he probably could’ve tricked you into doing it. He should’ve known about the empty fuel tank. If he fueled up, you wouldn’t have to stop in the middle of nowhere and you wouldn’t have gotten heatstroke. He was so mad at himself!

Luckily, he searched the car and found three unopened water bottles in the trunk. Turning his hands into his Jotunn form, he chilled the water. This gave him an idea. But he didn’t know if you were going to like it.

He took off his suit jacket and tie and laid them out in the front seat. He took off his white linen shirt and doused it with the contents of one of the water bottles. He wrapped his shirt around you, trying to lower your body temperature.

After a few seconds, you started to move your head. Then came the soft whimpers. “Darling?” he asked softly. “Are you with me?”

“Loki?” You tried getting up, but moving just made you feel nauseous.

“Shh. Shh. Don’t get up, I found some cold water. I’m going to lift your head slightly so you can drink it, ok?”

“Ok.” He helped you drink small sips from the cap until you were able to sit up and drink straight from the bottle.

“Heatstroke?” you asked.

“You over-exerted yourself. I texted the Captain. They are on their way to pick us up. I don’t know how your current state would react if I were to transport us there with my seidr. Drink some more water.”

“Stop telling me what to do.” You said weakly.

“Please don’t fight with me on this. I already feel bad for letting this situation get out of hand.” You took a swig of water. Your breathing was fast and shallow. Loki watched you carefully. Looking out for any signs that your condition was getting worse. He needed to cool you down. His shirt that was on you had already adjusted to your temperature.

You noted that he was shirtless. His wide chest and lean muscles were on display for you to stare at. You’d never seen him with his shirt off. Being so close to him in the backseat felt too intimate. Your body started blushing and you started to heat up again. You felt lightheaded.

“Darling. You’re heating up again. Can I try something with you?” he asked gently. You barely had any strength to approve or deny his request. You just hummed. “I’m going to touch you, ok? I’m going to wrap my hands around the back of your neck to cool you off.”

You closed your eyes and leaned into the seat. Soon you felt cold fingers glide to the back of your neck. Loki curved his hand around you delicately. You instantly felt the cooling sensation and let out a sigh. His hands traveled down to your shoulders, pushing his shirt off and cooling your skin there.

It wasn’t enough. Loki could only cool a part of you down slightly. He was fighting against the blaring heat of the Nevada desert. He needed to cool more of you down quickly. “I’m going to sit you on my lap darling. You need more contact with me.” You heard him say.

You were scared. You’ve never been so vulnerable in front of him. You always wanted to present yourself as tough and unbending when it comes to him. You didn’t need to give him another reason to tease you.

He took his shirt off you and threw it at the front seat. He picked you up easily and placed you on his lap. His bare chest made contact with your arm and you felt cool. He wrapped his arms around your back to support you and he left his other arm wrapped around your legs. It felt like you were surrounded by ice. Loki rubbed your back and made circles with his thumb on your legs. The whole sensation felt refreshing. You let out a contented sigh.

Loki stopped his movements when you wiggled your hips and leaned your head into the crook of his neck, snuggling up next to him. “You feel so cool.” You whispered. He let out a broken sigh as he tried to control his emotions.

Slowly you regained your vision back. Your breathing had steadied and Loki offered you more water. You looked up at him and noted that he turned into his Jotunn form in front of you. He was using himself as your personal ice pack to keep you cool. “Doesn’t the heat affect you?” you said as you ran your hand down his cheek. He quickly took hold of your hand. He was surprised that you would willingly touch him in this form. Not very many would. “Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you without…”

“It’s ok,” he said looking into your eyes. “I don’t mind.” He continued to hold your hand, as you looked into his beautiful scarlet eyes. You simply smiled and nuzzled your head into the crook of his neck again.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“No darling, it’s me who should apologize. I shouldn’t have pushed your buttons intentionally. I should’ve stopped for food and made sure you ate something. I should’ve made sure you were properly hydrated, especially from last night’s frivolities And I definitely should’ve known about the fuel. You have every right to yell at me.”

“So you admit to annoying me on purpose?” you asked laughing.

“Do you know why I like to pick on you so often?”

“No.”

“It’s because I like to see the fire in your eyes. Your cheeks turn a beautiful shade of red and you look so provocative when you’re angry.” Loki started rubbing your soft legs up and down as he admitted to his intentions. “Did you ever look up the meanings of the names I call you?” he asked looking into your eyes. You shook your head as his hand that was on your back, traveled up to the nape of your neck, cooling the heated skin that started to form there. You moaned at the simple pleasure of being cooled by his touch. “You have no idea what I call you, do you skatt?” he chuckled. You furrowed your eyebrows at the sound of his nickname for you.

“Min skatt means, my treasure. Elskling or elske means darling...roughly translating.” You sat up surprised at his words. This whole time he was calling you pet names and you thought he was calling you something horrible.

“You’re lying.” You said skeptically. Loki simply shook his head. He brought his cold hand to your cheek and rubbed it gently with his thumb.

“Min kjæreste or kjærlighet means…my love.” he whispered. His grip around you got tighter. His face was nose to nose with yours.

“Why would you make me believe you were calling me some horrible names. That you were mean and vicious?”

“It’s easier to accept your fury than to live with your rejection,” Loki said tracing your cheek with his nose. By now you had straddled him completely in the backseat. Your thighs wrapped around his strong hips. His hands roamed your body. Lowering your temperature. Keeping you cool from the Nevada sun. He cupped your cheek again, as you savored his cool touch. His thumb traced your bottom lip and you let out a small whimper. He gently traced his fingers down your neck and onto the hollow dip between your clavicles. He rested his hands on your chest with his palm flat open, cooling you even further.

His touch was heavy so it wouldn’t feel ticklish yet it was reverent at the same time. Loki had only ever imagined being this close to you. He never thought you would receive him the way you are now, especially with how he’s treated you in the past.

“I…” you started to say, but you lost your train of thought. Loki stroked your body, heating it up while simultaneously cooling you down.

“What is it, min elske?”

“I need…”

“What do you need? What can I give you?”

“I need to be…”

“…closer?”

“Yes,” you nodded. Loki’s arms wrapped around you, holding you firmly against him. You draped your arms around his neck, nestling your lips by his ear. Loki let out a carnal groan, savoring the feel of your body wrapped around him.

“I will not take advantage of you like this, kjærlighet. For all I know, you could just be delirious from the sweltering heat and you will not remember any of this, come this time tomorrow. Please do not test my self-control.”

He was right. What has gotten into you? Just this morning you were willing to stab him with the heel of your shoe. Now you were on his lap mewling, a slave to his touch. In just one afternoon, all the strong feelings you’ve had against him came together and transformed into something new. Something sensuous.

“Ahh, the Captain’s here,” Loki whispered. Through the front windshield, Loki watched as the quinjet touched down in front of the car. Loki positioned you off his lap, only to get out of the car and put on his shirt. He rolled his sleeves while keeping his shirt unbuttoned and tucked into his pants. He picked you up again and carried you over as the back hanger opened up. You could feel Loki’s cold hands cradling you as you laid your head down on his shoulder.

You were both greeted with concern from your team and the revitalizing sting of the jet’s air conditioning.

“Omigod. Omigod. This is all my fault. I would’ve never sent you out if I knew this would happen.” Wanda said scurrying around you.

“She’s fine. Just needs water and possibly something to eat.” Loki answered her.

“I am. Really, Wanda. Loki saved me. I got your rings. I didn’t ruin your special day did I?” You quickly said to her.

“Oh, hon! No, you didn’t. Of course, you didn’t. I’m just glad you’re safe. There’s still plenty of time till the ceremony.”

The trip back to the hotel was short. You had laid your head down on Loki’s lap as he stroked your hair while his other arm rested on the backseat. He kept his Jotunn hands altered, cooling you down. As soon as you landed, he was reluctant to let you go, but he knew you were in good hands with Wanda and Natasha looking after you.

All it took was a warm bath, a light lunch, and plenty of water to get you back to yourself again. You had ample time to spare to get ready and stand at the altar next to Nat as Wanda’s bridesmaids.

The ceremony was simple and full of love. After dinner at the hotel’s finest restaurant, you decided to skip the clubs that the team wanted to hit up. You were exhausted from today and just wanted some time to relax.

Before you got a chance to change into your pajamas, you heard a knock on your door. You opened it slightly to find Loki leaning against your door frame, holding a bottle of sparkling water.

“What? No champagne?” you said laughing as you opened the door wider to him.

“If that’s what you’d prefer.” He shook the bottle and it turned into a bottle of champagne. “I can’t get a refund on this one, I’m afraid. I thought you might’ve wanted to go easy as well. Considering what happened earlier.”

“Why are you here, Loki?”

“I thought we could finish what we started earlier.” He said with a smirk. You stepped out of the way to invite him into your room. As the doors closed he cupped your face. Looking down he whispered, “min kjærlighet.” He brought his cool lips down to yours and captured them in a searing kiss.

*You can call me daddy if you’d like

**Son of a bitch! You really don’t get it, do you? What did I ever do to you?! You’re always irritating me. What do you even call me? Huh? And I can never do anything right by you. You always criticize me. What? What is it?

(Min skatt - my treasure) (kjærlighet or kjæreste - love) (lille venn - little friend) (Elskling or elske - darling)

#writing ideas #fic prompt #loki fanfic #loki fluff #mcu #loki laufeyson #loki fandom #loki x you #loki oneshot #loki x reader #@deity-prompts #language #linguistics #foreign languages #enemies to lovers #jotunn #frost loki #tom hiddles #ton

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