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potionpeddlerpatchy · 6 months

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Hi Patchy!!

For the Rummage Sale, can I get the intriguing book of old please? It looks very interesting, indeed 💚

Hello Nuggie, how truly happy it is for me to see you here; I have always enjoyed you company and have been grateful for your patronage from the very start!

More than happy to have you browse and look upon the many books I have here in my collection. And, if I may, I do suggest that deep blue book on the far right over on that shelf there. I have a feeling you will like it. 🔮

You sighed, loudly to yourself, as you turned away from the few ladies that were huddled together in the courtyard gardens. Though you could not remember what they had said, for your mind tried to piece together how you managed to get to where you were in the first place, you knew it was over something trivial and not worth your time.

That was the charm of courtly like. How the way of court always both amused and caused you chagrin. It was merely the nature of people to want to gossip and spread large tales; after all how else where they to fill such long days where they could not wish to bring themselves down low enough to work. Though at first you found the tall tales spread out to all those in course, about various people, to be rather fun. Easily your captivation was taken by these stories, whether true or not, and you could not help but wish to hear more and more.

Though, as time wore on, you grew to find such acts of gossip to be rather tedious. The upkeep to figure out who was not speaking to who, who had broken the trust of who, and all the little details in between to exhausting and thus you grew out of such a childish thing. Sadly, as you were to quickly find out, just because you grew bored of it, did not mean the others in court shared you disillusionment. And, thus, day in and day out you heard of things such as courtship drama, spats that were between lords and ladies, to even things more wild like spells and curses.

Like today, when those ladies you had just scoffed at, had just pulled you into their small circle to allow you the chance to hear the latest news that had befallen onto the court. That of a Prince, from the Southern Isles, who had begun his travels to see and meet you. How he had gotten turned around, and who had then offended a poor woman who had offered him aide, and thus she placed a curse on him. And now? Well, the cursed had turned him into a frog, and he is now stuck to roam the earth as one – with his only hope that being a kiss from a fair maiden in order to break him free of such a miserable existence.

The story, to you at the very least, was not at all humorous nor in your realm of believability. Merely just mocking fodder against a travelling royal, one that you were sure these ladies did not life in the slightest, to try and mold the minds of all who hear it into believing that he was nothing more a slimy frog. How it made you roll your eyes as you continued on your way, to tend the duties set forth for you that day, as you begin to ponder just how little respect the people in your court had for the foreign sovereignty.

Though as the weeks passed, and the Prince still and yet to appear within your kingdom, you began to think the tall tales were true.

Prince Bakugou, the only son and heir to the Southern Isles, was meant to visit your kingdom at the end of the Spring months, just before the summer was to come and kiss your fields with its warmth. The reason for the visit was the hope of some kind of relationship between you and him. Whether political or romantic it did not matter, all that both of your parents cared for was an alliance between their children to ensure that the years they have spent building and strengthening their kingdoms would not them tumble down over night once they had left.

But now it was well into summer, and there had been no news as to where he was now. The only story you could hear, the only which anyone would give an ounce of credit to, was the tall and ridiculous tale that he had been cursed into a frog. For anyone knew, he may already be within the kingdom, just no one would know as he is hidden in plain sight.

It caused worry to make purchase into your soul. Worried that a terrible fate had befallen upon him and that now you would never have the chance to meet the man who had given you all those wonderful letter; the ones filled with hopes and dreams he had held onto for when his future would unfold. The kind, yet sweet ones, he would bestow on holidays and especially your birthday. As they years moved on, you could not help but think that perhaps something was budding in this friendship you had made, especially when he sent a portrait of himself before he set forth to your kingdom; a reminder of what he looked like.

Your heart fluttered as you remembered that letter. How he made so many declarations, ones over how he would sweep you off your feet and perhaps even offer his hand in courtship should all go well. And the warmth that bloomed in your chest when you looked upon his handsome, painted face, for the first time. He had grown into a handsome man, and you couldn’t help the giddiness that filled you as counted down the days before you could meet.

If all went well, you would marry him. At least that is what you hoped. Yet, with each sunset brought a new level of sorrow to filled you as you came finally came to the same conclusion everyone else had made.

Prince Bakugou was not coming.

And though everyone tried to reassure you otherwise, you knew it to be true when the Summer Solstice came and went; signally the beginning of summer, and he was still nowhere to be seen. You took it all with grace, setting forth a smiling face for those in your court – to not allow them to worry further over their future ruler. Yet, when the sun had gone down, and you were allowed yourself to be along by the riverbed, that was when you would cry and pray to whatever god that wished to take pity on you to allow you some closure. Though, when the sun broke the next day and nothing had changed you assumed that all your prayers went unanswered as you went about the same day once more.

Anger filled you after awhile. Anger over a budding romance lost, over how no one seemed to care about it, and over how the gods seemed to mock you each night as they ignored your pleas. It caused you, during the last night in August, to take the small ruby ring the Prince had gifted you when the year began, and throw it out into the river. To watch it sink within the many roots of the linden tree, out of your reach; a cathartic end the suffering you had endured.

Yet your sorrow did not follow. Just as quickly as the water had taken it, you felt regret fill you as you sunk to your knees to try and retrieve one of the only pieces of him that you had. Though you tried to take hold of the beautiful ring once more, it was always just out of your reach. Once more, tears welled into your eyes as your eyes as you crumbled to your knees; uncaring of the water that lapped at your dress, you wailed into the open hair of the night.

It was only broken when the small croaking of a frog sounded by you head. You sniffled, unburying your head from where you had caged it in your arms, to look upon the creature that seemed so curious over your plight that it had to break you from your sorrows.

“Hello there,” Your weak voiced called to it, watching as it hopped just a little closer to you “what brings you here?”

As a moment passed, then another, you couldn’t help but chuckle; finding humor in the fact you thought the frog would be able to speak a response to you. You wiped some of the tears that stained your face before you looked back at the little creature before you.

“Suppose it was my wailing that brought you forth.” You mused, glad to at least have a form of company at this moment “And I suppose you are wondering why I am acting in such a way.”

You paused, as you watched the frog blink once then twice, before continuing one; find that small movement a reassurance for you to keeping the conversation going; to answer the question you had ask on its behalf.

“It’s a long story, so I shall spare you the silly details” You mumbled, clearing your throat of the rasp that was held within it before continuing “But a man I loved has yet to come here, to see me. He told be the beginning of Summer he would make his appearance, but now we are at the end of it and he still has not come. In anger I threw the ring he gave me into this river, but I did not mean it. And now it sits just below the roots of that linden tree, out of my reach.”

You stopped for a moment, to even your breathing and allow you the chance to control your tears before the began falling once again “I just want it back, but there is no way for me to get it back.”

“What if I got it for you?” The frog replied, his voice croaked with underuse as it continue to look upon you.

Your breath hitched and lodge itself in your throat, it caused you to be unable to both speak and breathe as you eyes widened in shock over the situation at hand. Never before had an animal given you a verbal response, least of all a frog. It left your paralyzed as you tried to come up a response, though your mind was moving too quickly to figure out an answer to all this to do so.

“W-what…?” Was all you could come up with as you swallowed away the small panic that filled you.

“What if I got it for you?” It repeated, though the tone had changed – it was less curious and more agitated over your reaction.

“I…. I would be grateful, in – in your debt even?” You replied, as you watched the frog hop toward the tree is question.

You watched as he jumped onto the many roots that stood proudly out of the water, making comfortable purchase above where your precious ring now resided “I can get it for you,” The frog croaked “But you must pay me back in kind.”

“A kindness for a kindness?” You uttered, ensuring your understanding of the deal the frog wished to make; when you watched it nod its head to your words you spoke out again “W-well what could I do for you? I am not sure how I could repay a frog such as yourself.”

“A kiss.”

“A… a what?” “A kiss” The frog repeated, tone absolute and proof to you that you hadn’t misheard.

“Just one kiss?” You asked, disbelief washing over you as you watched the frog nod its head once more before resolution filled your being – after all what was one tiny kiss in return for you to get your precious ring back? “Alright, I’ll do it”

Without a second thought, or another between the pair of you, the frog drove into the cold waters below. You held your breath in anticipation as waited for it to resurface, for your ring to come back to you.

Jubilation filled you as you cried out in happiness when the frog resurfaced, your ring within it’s mouth. You smile grew wider with each hop it made back toward you. Unable to help yourself, once the frog was within arms length you took hold of it, bring it up to your lips for a swift peck upon its head.

You cried out in surprise when a pink haze of smoke greeted you, and filled your senses completely; you let go of the frog in your hands in favour of getting away from it all; to free your lungs of the strain of having to breath in such a heavy substance.

Though, as you stumbled away you noticed a shape within the dense fog; and as it all started to slowly go away, to disappear and have the world around be as it once was, the shape became clearer. It look like a man. One tall and well built. Enraptured you moved yourself closer once again, your arm reached out to see if it was truly real. When you fingertips brushed against the skin of the man’s arm, you knew it to be true.

“Do you like it?” A sweet voice asked you, causing you to look up from the tiny and worn pages of the deep blue book you had taken off the shelf.

“Umm..” You cleared your throat as you felt the heat of embarrassment kiss your cheeks “Y-yes it’s a really good read”

The woman, the peddler who owned the shop you had stumbled across and decided to take the leap and go in – to see the many wares and trinkets they owned and were giving away – merely smiled at your response “Well, if you truly think so, then by all means take it.” You began to protest, not wanting to take something so wonderful as a book that transports so completely into whatever story was that labelled upon it, but she merely shushed you with a wave of her hand.

“Nonsense, you will take it!” Her smile grew wider as if she knew a secret you didn’t “After all, the book would be very unhappy if you did”

I would not be surprised, my good friend, if you were to stumble across a frog on your way home tonight. Perhaps it to, is the man your heart has been pining after? 🔮

I do hope you wish to keep what you found, for all 'sales' are final

#i really REALLY hope you like the fairytale I gave you love!#its one of my favourites!#I also hope you like this for I had a lot of fun writing it 💛#🔮.the peddler's one year event

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mikki-does-simp · 2 years

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Hiryu Rin and how he would comfort you through a rough time! - 💌

suggested by @cutieduckie16 ^^

under the cut is a mostly HC style format of the above prompt with a few blorbos as well! there was a small delay but I hope it’s quality for y’all! 🫀

CW: unspecfic but implied stress on the reader (hurt comfort)

not going to lie, Hiryu may or may not take a while to register your depressive feelings.

while he is familiar with the signs, he remains at a level of concerned usually reserved for ‘oh, I’m sure this will pass’ a couple days when he initially notices these nods.

though not quite adept with expressing and recognizing feeling, he still is intelligent, and eventually; he realizes it’s a just a little more than that. at first, guilt waves over him for a moment, not knowing why he didn’t see the signs, or why his partner hadn’t come to talk to him about it directly… but after a little time, he figures it would be better to put himself in action rather than standing still.

it’s not necessarily a part on his tendency of quick impatience for you to ‘recover’, but moreso out of worry for you. He isn’t shy about confronting you about how you’ve been acting either, prompting you to discuss with him so that he can figure out what he can do to help.

If you’re unwilling to talk, it’s not like he’s set on it, since he’ll just comfort you anyways, and oh my lord does he get dedicated.

He’ll read you classic Chinese literature (despite him having to paraphrase it from the original linguistic writing) and his smooth voice will be the perfect sleep aid on sleepless nights, with the added bonus of some of these books being over 100 chapters, so ‘running out of material to read’ would never be a situation you’d need to cross.

He would go out with you to a spiritual needs store to just look at all the facinating books and trinkets like that jade carving of a frog or that adorable tiny little kalimba.

though, most of his intention is to check out the candles and incense section. He’d spend quite a while just with you, browsing to find the perfect scent that you two can both agree on when spending quiet evenings together.

He’s actually quite the cuddle-bug, enjoying the warmth and closeness it brings him and his partner together, he just avoids doing so in public since he doesn’t feel that comfort with others around.

He’ll lie down, and offer for you to lie down on his chest or stomach back up, and he’ll wordlessly fix up your hair and if you’ll let him, he’ll gently play with it as you two pass the gut-wrenching feelings with idle talk that just feels right.

Hiryu, as much as he can in his time with you; will get you doing things as much as he can, like making food together or taking walks on a forest trail, because it is how he also does his de-stressing from his own thoughts.

He doesn’t do all that much quote en quote ‘lounging around’ (watching tv shows, playing video games, etc) but if it was something you were interested, he’d set aside time to do so with you; watching and listening to see why you enjoy it so much.

🫀

And now y’all, for a blorbo.

“Hey, hey. Turn your head towards mine, please?” Hiryu is speaking as if the air was made of paper thin glass, reaching over to touch your cheek and gently turning your head to foil that half hearted attempt at hiding your expression.

He takes a moment to study your face as his expression drops in intensity, but the passionate embers in his eyes still remain. Hiryu can feel his throat run dry, with all the things he would like to say racing through his head, and yet, nothing came out. Instead, he leans into you a little closer, cupping your cheek and pressing his forehead against yours, almost acting as if he did that; you would understand his own thought process through the oddly intimate action. He sighs, glancing askance for a moment before locking his eyes with your own, the hand cupping your cheek trailing down your neck and then to your back, slowly initiating a hug to see how you feel.

His firm but gentle-all-the-same wrap around your frame was almost impossible not to relax into, and his right hand idly traces a circle into your mid back as you lean in towards each-other. He was saddened himself a little bit, from a twinge of empathy he felt in his chest. A newer, strange feeling; but welcome all the same. You can hear him mumble a couple phrases in Mandarin almost un-hearable, but you feel it because of how close you are holding the other.

“I can’t quite say I understand what is going on in your life, but I know for a certain fact that I will help you through it.” Hiryu saw no way around it, and in fact; he had hoped that he was able to convince you to take that time for yourself, when this noticeably stressed out and pained. “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I was unable to do everything I could to make you happy and feel loved.”

Finally, with that; in some way, somehow, the world will remain right once more.

#@cutieduckie16 #tw: sadness #class 1b #mha #bhna #mikki-fluffpost #hiryu rin #1b supremacy #1b #hiryu rin x reader #rin hiryu #hiryu rin x y/n #hiryu rin x you #hurt comfort

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imtheghostinsidemyhead · 7 months

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_. . ._.. ._.. .. . the _.. ___ ._.. ._.. _.__

Crumbling Dollhouse

I can hear you in my walls, your steps coming up the stairs. But I’ve

never truly seen you. I tried to pretend I couldn’t hear you, I’d completely block you out of my mind. But when I tried to sleep at night I could hear you spinning the music box, a sad melancholic tune, begging for someone to listen to you. But I shoved you into my closet, for no one to see or hear you for the rest of eternity. This way, you’d never be real.

The first day I acknowledged your existence was the day I realized that my life was all a lie. My day started with me getting ready for my perfect pink and purple princess day, my hair was the color of violets and my dress was a light green checker print. I had made myself heart shaped waffles for breakfast and was ready to ride my blue and pink children’s bike to the beach and smoke my rose petal cigarette. After I went to the beach I laid out my Hello Kitty baby blanket and cracked open my light pink sparkling strawberry juice. And in that moment I stared into the ocean, and in the ocean, I felt you. It was always so easy to ignore you until I had a moment of stillness and solitude. And my reaction was to always to distract myself.

So I rode my bike to a cafe, where I ordered a huge lavender latte and a sweet crepe, I browsed all of the new pieces of girlish toys and treats they had at the market, I bought a headband with the frog character Kerroppi, as he matched my spring green dress. Afterward, I made my way to my favorite stores on Beach Blvd, Daiso Japan and Party City. I had to start planning what I needed for my big princess party next month. I was to be an adult but a child forever, I would’ve died in that state if it wasn’t for you. I never took anything seriously, any responsibility was a joke to me, and all I wanted was someone to tell me it was okay to waste away into nothing. And that person loved me for that childish nature, hell he even romanticized it. He wanted me to be his manic pixie dream girl until my tragically untimely death as his bride.

That night after gorging myself with coquette imagery and living in a pastel candy world of my own making, I felt empty. The life I lived was just a facade I wore to cover up that my foundation was torn out underneath me. My mother who taught me how to live had left me. Now I was left haunted by my demons, with nobody to tell me that they weren’t real. I couldn’t sleep that night because I felt my heart crumbling away clenched and screaming. You made a noise in my closet as I tried to drain you out with meditations and melatonin. As the moon shone over the suburban culdesac that haunted me my entire life, I confronted the hard truth that I was not in love with my boyfriend, but I wouldn’t do anything about it. When the golden Huntington Beach sun finally rose above my neighbor’s roof at six a.m. that morning, I looked at my closet and saw my own reflection. Smudged with the fingerprints of breakdowns past. Reminding me that my brain was not a place I could trust, I could not trust you.

#dollcore #short story #ghost story #halloween #sanriocore #pink aesthetic #photo editing #creepycore #weirdcore #surrealism #did #dissociation #my writing #fashion dolls #dissociative identity disorder #this is not by #casper the friendly ghost #the doll #the state of a haunted doll

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punedrr · 2 years

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The Thesis and the Doctorate

**A/N: Okay, so this chapter is a tiny bit late (read: over two weeks), but I come bearing a gift in the form of an extra-long chapter! I had this scene idea in mind with no way to split it up, so here you go. There’s also a ton more dialog than normal, which is part of why it took so long. I’m trying to work on adding more speaking and details, so feel free to critique on that.

I’ve stopped doing the Tumblr status updates (however I am still doing the Tumblr chapter updates), imo they’re kind of useless. Maybe I’ll bring them back if this fic gets more of a following. Shout-out to NightRider42 for the creature idea in this chapter, and to awolangel for being an awesome beta!**

Link to the story: The Thesis and the Doctorate

Chapter 7: The Great Outdoors

You wake up one morning to a text from Ford. This isn’t surprising- the man never seems to sleep. You’ve gotten used to waking up to paragraphs explaining his latest project sent in the early hours of the morning. You put your phone on silent before bed nowadays. This morning’s text is two simple sentences:

Stan, Soos, and the kids are going fishing at the lake this evening. They want to know if you’d like to come along.

Slowly, you rub your eyes and sit up, grabbing your phone off of the nightstand. You have yet to meet Soos, the Shack’s caretaker during the off season, but from what you’ve heard he seems very kind.

Sure! Will you be there too?

You stare out the window and listen to the birds. When was the last time you went fishing? It must have been a few years ago, during your last family camping trip. Your dad loves to fish and you always went with him as a child. However, you didn’t quite have the patience for it back then and would usually spend the whole time practicing lure knots and catching frogs until your dad got one on the line. He’d yell “fish on!” and you would come running over just in time to help reel it up. He always kept and ate what he caught, but as an adult you prefer catch-and-release.

No, I never had the patience for such a monotonous pastime. Ford replies. You kind of figured he would say something like that.

Hey! I wouldn’t call it monotonous, you never know when a fish will bite.

I suppose that’s true. If you want to drive out to the Shack around six this evening, my brother can drive you all there.

Sounds good! See you then.

You stand, yawn, and stretch. Time to start another day of technical writing and bookshelf browsing. You don’t think Ford will come in today; he’s been busy helping a friend build some sort of machine up at the Northwest manor on the south side of town. All you know is that it involves high amounts of electricity and lots of small explosions, judging by the intermittent power outages and clouds of smoke hanging over the manor.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day passes slowly, but four thirty finally rolls around and you pack up your things, say goodbye to Janet, and head to Greasy’s for dinner. You know it’s not the healthiest choice but you’ve been going for jogs around town nearly every morning and you just want something quick before heading to the Shack.

Susan greets you with a smile and leads you to your usual barstool. You’ve refused to call her Lazy Susan, despite her eye, and she seems to appreciate it if the quick service is anything to go by. You opt for the hamburger. Even though it’s a weekday, the diner is bustling. You’re between the lumberjack you saw your first night here and the town’s mayor, Tyler Cutebiker. You quickly turn away from him; you don’t want to get sucked into a conversation. You’ve made that mistake before and barely lived to regret it. Behind you are two men in a booth: an older man with dark hair and a younger blond one. They’re both in suits.

Your meal comes before you can observe anyone else. The burger is definitely a burger, and the fries taste like the potato they came from grew in sand instead of soil. In short, a regular Greasy’s meal. As you’re eating, the lumberjack to your left (whom you’ve heard called “Manly Dan,” a title which he certainly lives up to) is talking loudly to someone on his other side.

“Oh it’s definitely real. Real as my beard!” Why does he have to talk so loudly? You try to finish your food.

Soon enough you’re pulling up to the Mystery Shack. Stan and a heavyset man you assume to be Soos are outside, piling fishing rods into the back of a truck. They both look up as you pull into the parking lot. Soos waves. Stan looks surprised. You greet them both, introducing yourself to Soos. You go to shake his hand, but he pulls you into a hug instead. You let out a surprised ‘oof’ and pat his back hesitantly. Friendly dude.

“I know! Mabel and Dipper told me all about you. It’s like we’re already friends!” You step out of the hug and turn to Stan, who still looks puzzled.

“The twins invited me to go fishing with everybody tonight,” you explain.

“Obviously.” Stan rolls his eyes. “Well, since you’re already here, I guess you can come along. You ever been fishing before?” Mabel and Dipper must not have told him about the invitation. Sorry, Stan.

“Oh yeah, my dad and I used to fish all the time,” you tell him, climbing into the back of the truck. Soos is already at the wheel. Stan cups his hands around his mouth and shouts towards the Shack.

“Kids! Let’s go!”

The back door flies open and Mabel and Dipper run out, followed more sedately by Ford, who stays on the porch to wave you off. They both climb in next to you.

“Hi!” Mabel greets. This evening she’s decided to wear a brown sweater with a singing green trout wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

“I like your sweater,” you compliment her.

“Thanks!”

“Hey dudes,” Soos calls back, “remember that time we got chased by the Gobblewonker? That was crazy.”

“The Gobblewonker?” You ask.

“Oh yeah,” Mabel says. “Dipper wanted to get a picture of it so bad, but it just turned out to be Old Man McGucket in a robot!”

“The Gobblewonker was supposed to be this big Loch Ness-type lake monster in Gravity Falls. I wanted a picture for a contest, so me and Mabel got Soos to take us out to the island in his boat.” Dipper explains.

“That island was super creepy,” Soos adds.

“We found what we thought was the Gobblewonker, and it chased us across the lake into a cave, and then a rock fell on its head, and that’s when I realized that it was actually just a robot!”

“But why would this McGucket guy do that?” You ask.

“He was lonely!” Mabel answers, like building killer robots is a normal coping mechanism. “He’s not anymore though, he and Ford are best friends.” Wait a second...

“He doesn’t live in the manor up on the hill, does he?”

“Yep! He moved out of the junkyard after he sold his inventions for a ton of money.” She confirms. That would explain the power outages and explosions, then.

Soos parks near the lake. You never realized how big it is before. Maps don’t do it justice. There’s one or two small boats out on the water, but otherwise it’s quiet. Stan hands the kids two floppy brown bucket hats, on which their names appeared to have been hand-sewed. They both pull faces but dutifully put them on. Stan dons a similar one.

“Okay, since my fishing boat isn't big enough and Soos’ got wrecked that one time, we’re fishing off the bank tonight.” You all nod. Outside the truck, Stan distributes the poles and shows the kids how to tie weights and hooks on their lines. Mabel gets the hang of it immediately.

“I’m pretty good with knots,” she says.

“I’m knot surprised.” You joke. This elicits groans from Dipper and Stan, but you get a laugh out of Mabel.

“Good one dude!” Soos chuckles. You shoot him a pair of finger guns.

“Okay, enough with the puns. Everyone knows fish hate puns!” Stan decides.

“Yeah!” Dipper backs him up.

“Where did you hear that? Because I’m an ecologist, and that information sounds a little fishy to me.” This time, even Stan cracks a smile as you all head down the path.

According to Soos it goes around the entire lake, but Stan stops the group at a small hollow tucked between the trees. From here you can see out across the lake to the island, beyond which rise the cliffs that surround the valley. The water’s surface is a sheet of glass, reflecting the dusty blue-gold sky. It’s beautiful.

“I bet I can cast my line farther!” Mabel challenges Dipper.

“I bet you can’t!” Dipper retorts. Swinging an arm back, he throws the line, only for it to get caught in one of the overhanging branches. “Ugh- darn it!” He huffs. “I call for a retry!” Soos manages to untangle the line and hands Dipper’s pole back.

“Try casting towards the water this time,” he suggests. Dipper huffs and tries again. His cast goes in the lake this time, but not quite as far as Mabel’s.

“Booyah!” She punches an arm up. “Alpha twin!” She chants.

“Let me show you kids how it’s done,” Stan steps up to the bank, pole in hand. He casts, the line going out just farther than the twins’. “That’s how you throw a line.” He puffs out his chest.

“Like this?” Soos asks, imitating Stan. The line sails towards the horizon, landing so far away that even the ripples are barely visible.

“Uh, yeah, like that.” Stan concedes.

Your cast falls somewhere in the middle. The group lapses into silence for a bit. Dipper quickly finds a forked stick to hold his pole, sitting back from the bank on a rock and taking out the notebook he always carries. Mabel does the same and then begins weaving a flower crown from nearby dandelions. You start chatting with Soos, Stan eventually joining in.

“So how long are you here for?” Soos asks.

“Just for the summer. I’m studying the forest as part of my degree,” you explain.

“That’s cool. I know this forest has some pretty crazy stuff in it.”

“Oh yeah. Ford’s good at explaining everything, but I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around it sometimes,” you admit.

“Gravity Falls is nothin’. You think the Gremloblin is scary? Me and my brother fought the Kraken!” Stan brags.

“Mr. Pines punched it in the face!” Soos adds.

“The Kraken? So there are other things out there?” You ask. This is blowing your mind all over again. Somehow, you never considered the possibility that the Weirdness found here could extend to other places. It makes sense though; all those legends had to have come from somewhere.

“Oh yeah. The Kraken was in the northeastern Atlantic but we’ve found monsters as far south as New Zealand.” He puffs out his chest. “They start popping up like weeds when you know how to look for them.” You’re amazed. What could you have found by now if you had known to look?

The conversation continues, meandering through the topics. Dipper gets a bite on his line but starts reeling in too early and doesn’t catch anything. It’s been at least half an hour with no activity on your rod, so you decide to reel in also and check your bait. You’re at the lake’s edge, leaning out to get your line, when you notice something in the water’s reflection. You pause, glance down, and freeze. There, looming behind you in the reflection, is a face. Not a human face- it’s dark as pitch and flat as a board but oddly textured, somewhat like a wooden mask. It lacks a nose and mouth, or any other distinguishing features except for its eyes, which are two glowing amber pinpricks. For a moment, you’re both motionless.

You suddenly whip your head around, but it’s gone. No one else seems to have noticed. Eyes wide, you force yourself to turn back around and relax the line of your shoulders. You look out across the lake, which has gone from green to indigo in the dying light. You risk another glance down. The thing is back, still as a corpse. What. The. Shit. Because of the angle, you can only see its face and a long, thin neck, similarly colored. The top of its head and neck have an odd silhouette, like it’s covered in knots and bumps. You shiver and it’s gone in the blink of an eye. A noise comes from the trees behind you, sounding like the buzzing of insects or the rattling of beads.

“Um, guys, did you see that?”

“See what?” Soos asks.

“That thing behind me! It was reflected in the water, and when I turned around to look it disappeared!”

Soos shrugs.

“Are you sure you saw something?” Stan says. “It coulda been a leaf or a bird,” he suggests.

“It had a face!” The rattling noise comes again and you point to the trees, fishing rod forgotten. “There! It disappeared and I heard that noise!”

“A woodpecker?”

“I’ve never heard a woodpecker that sounds like that before. You’re telling me you guys didn’t hear anything?” You look around, everyone nods. You’re starting to second-guess yourself now, too. Maybe it was just a trick of the light? You blow out a breath and pick your rod back up, resolving to just focus on the fish. (Or lack thereof.)

“Have you ever heard of the Hide-Behind?” Dipper pipes up suddenly.

“The Hide-Behind?” You ask. You turn around to look at him, oblivious to the there-and-gone face in the water.

“You know that’s just a myth, right?” Stan interrupts.

“It was never proven!”

“It’s probably a myth, Dip-Dop.” Mabel teased.

“You don’t wanna mess with the Hide-Behind dudes. Manly Dan told me it ate his grandpa!” Soos interjects.

“The Hide-Behind is a very mysterious creature that may or may not exist. It’s never been seen.” Dipper explains. “I tried to find it once, but all we found was an owl with maracas.”

“Hey, guys?” Mabel’s voice is higher than normal, and she’s staring resolutely into her phone, eyes wide. “I don’t think it’s a myth.”

You hear another rattling noise from the forest. Abruptly, Mabel grabs Dipper by the arm and runs forward to where you, Stan, and Soos are standing. “I saw it too!” She whisper-yells. “In the reflection of my phone screen!” Everyone looks out to the edge of the clearing where the trees get thick again. The growing darkness isn’t helping matters. You’re certainly creeped out and based on everyone’s faces, they feel the same way.

“Quick, does anyone have any alcohol?” Dipper asks the group.

“Kid, I think you’re a bit young-” Stan starts, but is quickly interrupted.

“Not for drinking! The Hide-Behind hates alcohol!” Stan is skeptical, but takes out a hip flask and follows Dipper’s instructions to pour it in a circle around the group. “Okay, eyes peeled, everyone. It shouldn’t come out as long as we’re looking for it.”

As if in response, the Hide-Behind calls again. It’s louder this time, sounding more like a swarm of bees than anything else. No one says anything. You search the edge of the trees, looking for something, anything.

“There! I saw a shadow,” Soos points. You follow his finger but see only a few fluttering leaves.

“Does anyone have some sort of light? It’s getting pretty dark out,” you say.

“Oh! I have just the thing.” Soos pulls out a large flashlight from somewhere, quickly turning it on and scanning the treeline. You hear the Hide-Behind but can’t spot it.

“Alright,” Stan decides, “I’ve had enough of this hide-and-seek. I think this fishing trip is officially over.” Everyone agrees.

The plan is for you all to circle up, each holding your own fishing rods. Fortunately, most of you brought phones, so the flashlight goes to Stan. You’ll all shine your lights into the woods and follow the path back to the truck, looking in different directions to keep the Hide-Behind from popping out. It’s as solid a plan as you’ve ever heard and it’s too dark to do much else.

Walking is an exercise in teamwork, but everyone manages to stay in formation up the path. The buzzing is near-constant now. You feel a breeze against your face as the creature rushes to a new position, but turn your light towards it just a second too late. Save for quiet breathing and the shuffling of feet, no one says anything. You’re all too busy focusing on staying together and looking out.

By now it’s fully dark. The lack of sight and unfamiliar noises serve to remind you of the horrible hours you spent walking, alone and injured, in the forest. But you’re not alone now. You have the kids, and Soos, and Stan. Even if this fishing trip is shaping up to be more like a second-rate horror film with every step.

Amazingly, you all make it back to the truck without incident. Leading the way, Soos spots it first and shines his phone in that direction, breaking the silence to point it out. Everyone hurries towards it. The gravel area where the truck is parked doesn’t have many places to hide and the buzzing soon abates. Dipper and Mabel are ushered into the truck first and you breathe a sigh of relief once they’re in. Soos is next, climbing behind the wheel. The truck roars to life and the headlights come on, illuminating half the parking lot. But behind the front of the truck the shadows are still deep and the cab lights aren’t doing much to help.

“Watch out!” Mabel screams.

You turn towards Stan, half into the truck. He’s up on the running boards about to step in but there’s a black, long-fingered hand gripping him by the throat. You follow the arm and barely make out the Hide-Behind, which is crouched in the darkness on top of the truck’s cab. In the second it takes you to register this, your fishing rod is switching hands and you’re cranking back your arm. Your grip isn’t good and your stance is nonexistent, but with one powerful bat of the rod you’re able to slice the Hide-Behind’s head clean off and send it flying into the night. It’s only then that you realize you’ve been yelling.

Stan drops immediately, stumbling to the ground and collapsing onto his knees, gasping for air. The Hide-Behind’s body dissolves, disincorporating into a wave of insects that stream down the sides of the truck and onto the ground.

“Mr. Pines!”

“Grunkle Stan!” Hide-Behind or not, Soos and the twins are out of the truck in seconds.

“Fine, ‘m fine,” he coughs. He takes a few deep breaths and you watch for any difficulty breathing. There doesn’t seem to be any but he’s rubbing his neck, upon which you can see the red imprint of the Hide-Behind’s hand. “Not the first time that’s happened,” he jokes. They help him into the truck and return to their seats. “That was a nice swing back there,” Stan glances at you through the rearview mirror. “You really knocked it out of the park.” He winks at you, and you get the sense that, maybe, you’ve earned a bit of respect tonight.

“I played softball in highschool.” You smile.

The rest of the ride home is quiet, Mabel occasionally flicking stowaway beetles out of the window. You’re all exhausted.

Soos pulls up to the Shack. Unsurprisingly, the lights are still on. You pile out of the truck one by one, leaving your poles until tomorrow. Even though you still have to drive home yet, you follow everyone else into the Shack. You’re not quite ready to leave. Inside, it’s cozy and well-lit. The television is playing some inane game show that nobody is watching. Waddles comes hoofing it out to Mabel before she can even get in the door and nearly knocks her over. She doesn’t seem to mind, kneeling and wrapping both her arms around him.

“Waddles! Were you worried about me?” She baby-talks to him. Behind her Stan rolls his eyes and steps past, though you do notice he gives Waddles a pat on the head as he does so.

You find Ford at the table in the living room. He’s scrutinizing a complicated-looking blueprint, but looks up as everyone trickles into the room and settles in various spots. “Hello,” he greets, tucking his pencil behind his ear. “How was the fishing?”

“We almost died!” Mabel shouts.

“I had it under control,” Dipper refutes.

“It was touch-and-go for a while there,” Stan admits.

“This awesome dude,” Soos points at you, “used its head as a softball and saved Mr. Pines!”

Ford’s gaze lands on you and you give a mock bow. “It was a good hit, if I do say so myself.”

“What did you encounter?” Ford asks, visibly confused.

“A Hide-Behind,” Dipper tells him.

“And you... Used its head as a softball?”

“It was choking Grunkle Stan!” Mabel says. At this, Ford stands and crosses the room.

“Stanley! It choked you? Why didn’t you say something?” He asks.

“Because I’m alright! Quit your worrying,” Stan reassures him. Ford continues to examine him until he’s satisfied, despite his brother’s protestations. Then he turns to you.

“Thank you for saving him.” He states seriously, clear blue eyes finding yours.

“Oh no, it was nothing. I’m just glad he’s not hurt,” you wave him off, blushing.

“As am I.” Ford holds your gaze for another moment and then turns to address the room. Did someone turn the heat on? You wonder. For whatever reason you’re much warmer than you were a few seconds ago. “I think that this calls for hot chocolate!” He announces. Mabel gets up and follows him to the kitchen, debating the perfect ratio of hot chocolate to mini marshmallows to whipped cream. You do want to get back to your cabin, but you suppose that just one hot chocolate won’t hurt.

It’s one mug of hot chocolate, a bag of popcorn, and a Disney movie later that you finally decide it’s time to go home, or you’ll end up crashing at the Pines’ again. You carefully extricate yourself from the pile of limbs that the couch has become, taking empty cups and trash with you as you go. You deposit it all in the kitchen and come back to the darkened living room. Both the twins and Soos are fast asleep, and Stan is ‘resting his eyes.’ (He’s snoring.)

You dither in the living room, arranging blankets, turning off the T.V., and generally doing everything you can not to leave yet. Ford, still wide awake and hunched over his blueprints at the table, eventually notices. He pushes back from the table, standing and stretching before turning to face you.

“Did you lose something?” He asks, keeping quiet so as to not wake the others.

“No, no. I’m just... it’s dark outside.” You mumble. You haven’t been afraid of the dark since you were a kid, but tonight the darkness just seems so much deeper, like the Hide-Behind or some other horrible creature could pop out at any moment. You’re fully aware of how silly it is.

“It is dark outside,” Ford observes dryly. “It’s the middle of night.” You cross your arms and glance away. “Is that a problem for you?”

You shrug. You know you’re acting like a child, but you are afraid of the dark. At least for tonight.

“Shall I walk you to your car?” He offers, and his voice is so kind. You finally look up at him. He actually seems serious about it. You wonder how you ended up here. Months ago you couldn’t have imagined living somewhere like Gravity Falls, but now you’re standing in the Mystery Shack and Stanford Pines is offering to walk you to your car. You give him a shy smile and take his arm.

He took off his trench coat earlier that evening so you’re left holding onto the soft wool of his sweater. (You’re trying very hard not to cop a feel of his bicep, but that’s neither here nor there.) For the second time that evening, you're reminded of stumbling through the night, of the relief you felt when Dipper and Ford found you, of the simple human comfort you took from no longer being alone. Tonight is leagues away from that, though. In a way, you’re almost glad that it happened. If it hadn't, you wouldn’t have met the Pines and you wouldn’t have learned that there’s a lot more to these woods than what first meets the eye.

Slowly, he leads you out of the Shack and into the cool night air. You’re both silent, but it’s comfortable.

“Are you still afraid?” He hasn’t stopped whispering, even though there’s no need. Ford is between you and the Shack, backlit so that he’s all you can see. You notice you’re still holding onto his arm, that you can feel his body heat through the fabric. You shiver.

“Not at all,” you whisper. He breaks eye contact to drop his gaze slightly lower on your face, unconsciously leaning in towards you. The world narrows so that it’s just the two of you, standing together in the darkness. Then the automatic porch light flicks on, tripped by a raccoon that’s sent skittering back into the woods as light floods the Shack’s parking lot. Ford steps back and looks down at his boots. You remove your hand and pat him once on the shoulder. The moment (was that a moment?) is over.

“Thanks again,” you say. “For everything.”

He nods, eyes still downcast. “Stay safe.”

You hesitate, hand pausing on the car door handle. What else is there to say? In the end, you get in your car and drive back to the cabin, watching the receding form of Ford in your rearview mirror.

#the thesis and the doctorate #chapter 7 #gravity falls #gf fanfiction #self insert #my fic #chunky chapter this weeks babes!

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jiye0ngs · 2 years

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BEING BESTIES WITH THE MAIN FOUR? SURE THING. — a headcanon list.

SUBIN

- drags you to the nearest fast food restaurant at 3 in the morning

- orders only milkshakes and ice creams but steals your food

- “girl stop eating my fries. GET YOUR OWN FRIES”

- music turned all the way up lights out in the bedroom. jumping and dancing that makes the floor shake a little. you disturb everyone in the block

- late night drives while also having the music turned all the way up. its a miracle you dont get pulled over by traffic enforcers

- when she can’t come over video calls that last for 6+ hours are your thing. sometimes screen shares whatever video game she’s playing and keeps cursing throughout the whole session.

JISUK

- wants to try out roller skating with you even if he hasn’t gone to one since he was like. 7 years old

- falls on his butt before you even enter the rink

- burgers and corndogs are your go to foods. he wants to eat in every burger shop in the city for some reason.

- will eat your pickles for you if you dont like it. in exchange, though, you must eat his tomatoes for him no matter what. its a symbiotic relationship.

- goes to bridges with you and picks the lock of every couples’ love locks just for fun

- kicking and headlocking as a form of affection

- sending memes as a love language. tags you in shitposts and forwards you videos at ungodly hours in the morning.

WOOIN

- cafe hopping ❤️ going to bakeries ❤️ yes to all of these

- spends a large amount of time going on walks and hanging by the park. he takes pictures of birds, you take pictures of the frogs.

- avid fan of watching movies at home; pretends not to be scared when watching horror films since he knows he will never hear the end of your teasing

- not much of a gamer but has not ever left animal crossing untouched since you introduced him to it.

- “hey are you free right now?” (sends 7 photo updates of his island) “i got new neighbors :) and i have more fish at the museum. go visit already”

JIWOO

- binge watches dramas and tv series for nights with you. a regular audience for your ramblings

- sends 20 cat pics every day; if he doesn’t reach his quota he will apologize profusely and follow up with 20 more cat pics

- ropes you into being a regular at a cat cafe. his own kitties get extremely jealous when not only their father but also you have cheated on them with other cats

- is a disaster cook and so are you. this does not stop him from asking you to come over and cook a wild recipe he stumbled upon at 3 am while browsing youtube though.

- has recreated the Lifting Simba Scene from the lion king with you and the cats more than 3 times. casein nitrate is close to punching someone.

#eleceed #✐ headcanons #lee subin #yoo jisuk #seo jiwoo #wooin

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quackiseok · 3 years

Text

— sweet dreams

feral boys x gn! reader || headcanons

genre : fluff

warnings : swearing

summary : the feral boys' reaction to you falling asleep in their embrace or on them!

a/n : AYY HELLO!! i'm so sorry for the lack of content these last three days OTL but here's something i wrote, hope you guys liked it! ♡

song to listen to while reading :

— DREAM

let's say dream has just finished recording for his upcoming manhunt video and it was a chilly night

well, the solution? a gun CUDDLES!!! ♡

he's a sucker for cuddles and you love cuddling with him too, so why not?

the two of you plopped yourselves on the bed, warm blankets wrapping the two of you together

the first plan was to watch a movie, but the two of you ended up talking to each other and leaving the movie unwatched

he share many stories with you, letting you rest your head on his chest whilst listening to him. he would also put an arm around your shoulders to keep you warm and close to him 🥺

as time passes by, it was getting late. you felt really safe around dream, especially if you were in his embrace

your eyelids grew heavier each time you tried fighting it off and focus on dream's voice, which leads to you unconsciously falling asleep on his chest

after a few seconds talking, dream would realize your sleeping figure in his embrace and OHMYGOD

HE WANTS TO FREAK OUT SO BAD BECAUSE HOW CUTE YOU WERE—

lowkey scared that he might somehow crush you or something because you're the tiny little spoon in the current situation

man, he had to refrain himself from taking a picture of you sleeping in his embrace

and the fact that you felt safe enough to fall asleep in his arms makes him tear up (in a positive way!) 🥺

would slowly move you to a more comfortable position and carefully pull you closer to his chest, making sure that he doesn't wake you up

[hugs you tightly]

ALSO just like any other times, mans would secretly mark the date in his phone's calendar because OHMYGOD????? this date better be stamped on history books

after getting into a slightly more comfortable position, dream would just adore you— even only from looking at you, his serotonin level will always go 📈📈

would 100% whisper i love you's or other sweet words while looking at you

mans just smiling to himself, thinking about how much he loves you and adores you— and how lucky he is to have you in his embrace 🥺💞

after some time, he would start to drift away too and ending up sleeping while hugging you tightly in his arms 🥺

— GEORGE

the two of you were sleepyheads

like at the weekends? both you and george would just lazily lay on the bed and fall asleep together regardless what time it was

even at noon? NAP TIME

and today was one of those lazy days

you were laying your head on his lap, which leads to him to his habit of playing with your hair while joking around with you and talk about random things

he just absolutely adores your fluffy hair 🥺

he'd also learn how to braid hairs from youtube just so he could braid yours 🥺

AND SURPRISINGLY HE'S SO GOOD AT BRAIDING HAIRS 💞💞

the way he caressed your head was so comforting, which leads you to feel sleepy. you still wanted to talk with george so you tried fighting off the sleepiness but ended up falling asleep anyways

after not hearing a respond from you, he realized you fell asleep.

WAIT, YOU FELL ASLEEP ON HIS LAP AND THE WAY YOU LOOKED SO ADORABLE SHOULD BE ILLEGAL—

a blush crept up on his cheeks as he looked at your sleeping figure on his lap

ohmygod he absolutely adores this and 100% would plan more sleepy days with you just to see you fall alseep on his lap again

george would admire you shyly, his fingers still softly caressing your hair while making sure not to do it too hard since he doesn't want to wake you up 🥺

he looks at you > gets shy from how adorable you are and how much he loves you > look away > missing looking at you > back to the first step (put this cycle on repeat)

GOSH he just wants to pull you close to his embrace now but that's not possible to do since he doesn't want to wake you up ;(

as he secretly admires you, he would slowly feel sleepy too but he doesn't want to move you away from his lap

so this man right here decided to just sleep in a sitting position which he didn't mind too much since he could still lean his back on the stacked pillows

come on— he doesn't wanna ruin this adorable moment :( it's worth the back pain according to him 👍

and so with that, the two of you fell alseep peacefully 🥺💞

— SAPNAP

mans a whole ass tease @ you

mf would browse through hundreds of websites and collect the cheesiest jokes he can find to use them on you later 😳

also won't stop clinging on you for 24/7 but you don't mind since he's so adorable 🥺💞

and today was just the same like any other days, he clung on you and begged you to cuddle with him

how can you refuse such a sweet offer????

so here you are now laying on the bed with his arms around your shoulders, holding you close to him

the two of you would just joke and laugh at many things, just havin' a wholesome fun time 🥺

don't forget the fluffy blankets around the two of you (you adore soft blankets so sapnap bought you at least 3 blankets and you absolutely loved all three of them 🥺)

until at one point everything felt so comfortable that you didn't even realize you were drifting yourself to sleep

and the moment sapnap realized you fell asleep sweetly in his embrace?

[!(-?#?2@&&????? SCREAMS???? —NO, MAKE THE SCREAM SILENT SO IT WON'T WAKE YOU UP]

he can't help but let out a soft chuckle when saw your sleeping figure

oh man, he was gripping on the pillow tightly so that he doesn't lose control and pull you closer to him which could wake you up

100% gonna make you cuddle with him everyday until you fall asleep on him (mans just making it a routine now)

he would also have to refrain himself from squishing your cheeks while looking at you in awe 🥺💞

even though he's growing sleepy too, he won't give in so easily

like— hello??? a cutie pie just fell asleep in my arms, sleep can wait 🖐🖐

but then eventually he'll fall asleep anyways, but he swore he tried his best keeping his eyelids up and that's sweet 🥺

((would 100% unconsciously pull you closer and just hug you tightly in his sleep ♡))

— QUACKITY

we all know how much alex LOVES driving and mans really good at it (he knows what he's doing fellas)

especially with you 😳😳

the two of you would blast banger songs together while enjoying the road and the pretty view from the window 🥺

it was one of those afternoons again where the two of you went for a stroll with his car

both you and alex planned on only going for a short stroll, but ended up strolling around for almost 3 hours now

but neither of you cared, alex loves spending lots of time with you and same goes with you 🥺💞

the two of you wanted to get some fresh air for a bit after such a long drive, so you stopped by at the nearest field before driving back home

and man, the view was indeed beautiful

the two of you had moved to the back seat so he can get closer to you

as the two of you talked while watching the sun setting down, you started feeling a little bit sleepy

you shrugged it off at first and continued to talk with alex, but then you couldn't help but fall asleep with your head leaned on his shoulders eventually

and when he realized you has fallen asleep on his shoulders?

OH MY— HIS HEART WENT BRRRRRR BECAUSE OF HOW CUTE YOU ARE

definitely will plan on doing this in the furture but at home so he can just adore your sleeping figure for as long as he wants to

he has to drive back home but this moment is very important so he chose to stay there for at least the next 1 more hour 🥺💞

he just wants to kiss you on the forehead so bad but he's scared that he might wake you up :[

but then again, it was getting really late and he has to drive the two of you back home so he would carefully make you lay down on the back seat and he would put his jacket underneath your head as a pillow 🥺💞

and when the two of you arrived back home, he would carefully carry you back in and just cuddle you up for the rest of the night until he falls asleep too ♡

— KARL

karl jacobs has 2 moods : the wholesome mood and the cursed mood, no in betweens

he can either be very wholesome and send you the cutest hamster pics ever or just send you cursed, unexplainable images like macaronis boiled in gatorade

but even though he's in the cursed mood, his clinginess for you will stay the same ♡ (which you absolutely loved)

you loved both of his moods anyways since it's sweet and funny 🥺💞

today, he was feeling extra wholesome so he would just chill with you on the sofa in your matching frog hoodies and your head on his lap

((yes, he bought matching frog hoodies with you at christmas to wear them together 🥺👉👈))

the two of you would be watching cartoons, especially adventure time!! (it's superior cartoon, you can't change my mind)

then as time passes by, you felt your eyelids grew heavy but you tried fighting it back

yeah, you ended up falling asleep at the end 😔

karl noticed how you grew silent and when he checked on you only to see you sleeping on his lap?

yeah karl's never gonna leave his seat, 100%

mans just smiling to himself from looking at how cute you are in your oversized frog hoodie, asleep on his lap 🥺

GOSH this better happen frequently in the future because if not? he'll commit ARSON

he would try softly play with your hair, making sure his touches were soft so he doesn't wake you up

the cartoon is now long forgotten, his focus is just full on the sweetheart sleeping on his lap 🥺💞

he would constantly check on you and pull the blanket back up to your body if it moves back down, and make sure that he doesn't shift his legs too much because it might wake you up :(

will also try his best to not fall asleep because MAN, HE CAN'T JUST SKIP THIS HISTORICAL MOMENT

but he fell asleep anyways after holding back for around 40 minutes, which is impressive 😳

just like george, he doesn't mind falling asleep in a sitting position 👍 backpain = worth it

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jaekaicx · 2 years

Text

hello have an oldish drabble i dug up from back in june i think

—

she can't sleep

every night she lays bed for hours, trying to get her mind to drift off and do whatever it did when she slept. but nothing. just hours upon hours of staring at the ceiling, then at the wall, then the ceiling again, then the other wall, and even face first into her pillow sometimes.

she tries the counting sheep thing but it just felt stupid, and those weird videos on youtube didnt even help at all. she has no idea what to do, so she simply stops trying.

sometimes she’s able to drift off, even if it was just for a few minutes. but every time she did, the voices replayed over and over in her head. they called out to her, cried, yelled, pleaded, screamed. all from that day—the day she only wants to forget.

the scenes played and replayed through her mind, moments flashes before her. she could see the desperation in her eyes, could feel the ground rumble beneath her. hear the pain in his gasps, the clash of swords. hear the guilt in their voice.

she could almost smell their flesh burning in front of her.

she almost hurls. she even did the first few nights. at least she’s getting better at holding it in. it's not like there was much that came up anyways. she isn't hungry anymore.

when she wasn't haunted by memories from that day, she was plagued by her own thoughts. how did everything go so wrong? what did any of them do to deserve this? where was sasha? grime? what happened to them? why didn't she listen to them in the first place? why did they go behind her back at all?! why did marcy go behind her back?? why did he feel the need to do all of that? what did they ever do to the king?

…where was their body?

god, it’s too painful to think about all of it. her head’s too loud with so many questions about why and how and what now. and when it does get quiet it then gets filled with all those painful memories. it’s just too much.

so she keeps herself busy. she rereads the many books in her room. she tries writing down her thoughts, even doodling a little bit (how were they able to draw so often? and so well?). she browses her phone, messes around with her stuff, even paces around her room. anything to keep her mind off of everything.

it helps. sort of. but it never lasts for long. eventually meaningless activities lose their ability to take her mind off of the past. no matter what she does, that day just keeps coming back to haunt her. those voices keep calling out her name, begging her to listen, to hear them, to please answer us, come back! but no. she can't let them in. there's no way she can, absolutely not. because she'll never admit it out loud, but she’s terrified of what will happen if she lets those thoughts in. she can never let them in.

so, she focuses on something else.

people always talk about setting goals, right? well, here’s her’s: get back to amphibia. (no she can’t call it that—she’s already home…). get back to amphibia, and get her frog family back home. that’s her focus. that’s her goal. that’s what she has to do.

so she stops pacing her room, stops restlessly laying in bed, stops wasting time. she pulls up pages and pages of doogle searches and smart looking articles and otoob videos. anything, anything that’ll help her reach her goal. to get back to amphibia. to stop the king. to bring her family home. to do what she has to do.

to keep her mind off of them.

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boop-le-snoot · 3 years

Text

Doll Parts | tony stark x reader

i love him so much it just turns to hate // he only loves those things because he loves to see them break // and someday you will ache like i ache // Hole - Doll Parts

all hurt comfort. angst. no happy ending. big sad. tony could have been like this, you know. he was like this to pepper at some point. i don't know why i am like this today. rated M for themes of (implied) addiction & cheating and non-explicit mentions of intimacy. word count: 3,3k

It wasn't as if she was blind or dumb. She saw the way he treated everyone around him; whenever a single person got too close he'd push them away, consciously or not. The man loved pushing everybody's buttons as if he was playing Galaga for a living; rapidly, mercilessly, with intent. Tony Stark was not a man to whom a person would give their heart willingly.

It was her own fault she went and gave hers away, to him, of all people. And sometimes, it did feel like he loved her, in his own way. Tony would shower her with gifts and affection, cling to her whenever he wasn't away on SI business, and God, the sex was out of this world. Sometimes, she felt as if she would suddenly burst into a blinding flash of light, scalding and deafening, that would sprout from the invisible wounds his fingers left on her skin. Like fine china, she cracked little by little under his steady, tender hands.

The first time he'd ended their short, by average standards, but long - by his, relationship, it didn't come as a surprise. She had never held illusions on ensnaring the world's most notorious playboy. Younger and less jaded, she amicably agreed to get her things that very same day, blocked his number and left for an overdue vacation in the tropics. Being able to browse the gossip sites speculating on their lack of public appearances whilst sipping a Strawberry Daiquiri was a much better alternative to spending her nights holed up in rainy Manhattan, having to answer numerous "I told you so" calls from friends and relatives.

Maybe, three daiquiris should've been enough. But she'd quit smoking because he said the smell bothered him and she- well, she could do anything she wanted now. Being alone and not dating a very public figure definitely had way more perks than she previously had taken for granted in her much less exposed life. That's how the heartache began to recede: it was hard to mope when fun was calling for you by your name.

Some of Tony's character traits had migrated onto her. Which wasn't bad per se, she had been told she could use to loosen up. Her friends rejoiced in the newfound adventurousness, never missing an opportunity to go out, throw a party, go on a clubbing spree. She was game and she was enjoying it. Dolled up and eyes sparkling, the newfound confidence radiated off her like a beacon, attracting just about every single like-minded person in a five mile radius.

Tony's champagne he had sent to their table meant nothing. Her friends laughed and giggled and asked her all about the juicy details about the billionaire; as much as she searched the rowdy crowd for a familiar pair of baby doe browns, they weren't anywhere within sight. So she went back to talking and smiled as bright as the strobe lights, throwing down a whiskey shot to water the burning ache in her chest.

She found him on the dancefloor. Seconds after she stepped her foot into the mass of grinding bodies Tony was there, an equally happy and intoxicated smile on his face and arms wide open, as if they hadn't parted ways at all. She wanted to be angry with him, she really did, she wanted to snide his frivolity and the possessive way that he had the audacity to treat her.

His eyes, they were her untold weakness. She hadn't seen him so happy in months. Just once, she agreed, she'd let it slide. And so they danced, bodies accustomed to each other in the way that seemed to be impossible for her to achieve with anyone since the day that she left Tony Stark.

A splitting headache and a cold, empty bed greeted her the next morning. Thankfully, her clothes were laying haphazardly on the floor of the bedroom - the bed that was not his own but, rather, as she assumed, one of the many guest rooms in his tower.

Not the one to usually harbour shame of her very human needs, she felt like a cheap whore when she got dressed and grabbed her purse, making a beeline for the door to the elevator. As soon as the doors opened, she was greeted with a woman in a professional suit - tall, strawberry blonde and as cold as the Arctic, beautiful in the Vogue-magazine, unattainable way.

"Good morning," The woman spoke in a pleasant tone.

She wanted to retch from the false cheerfulness. "Good morning, ma'am. I was just leaving," Refusing to bow to her own shame, she flashed an equally cheerful grin towards the blonde.

"I'm Mr. Stark's personal assistant, my name is Pepper Potts," They briefly shook hands, neither of them wanting to touch the other longer than it was necessary. "There is a car waiting for you downstairs. Be sure to take the left exit."

Internally fuming, she smiled slightly wider, seeing no need to introduce herself or prolong the awkward interaction longer than necessary. "Thank you, Ms. Potts, that will not be necessary. I have arranged my own ride. Have a nice day, ma'am," With that, she pressed the button once again, entering the elevator with the expression of polite contentment glued to her face like a persistent piece of dog shit she couldn't shake off the bottom of her shoe.

Ms. Potts' façade slipped slightly - she must've been new - as the blonde ran a sharply observant look over the woman in the elevator, pulling out her phone as soon as the elevator door was halfway closed. That was quickly forgotten, her head growing clearer with each second it was pressed against the cold window of the cab she'd called on the way downstairs.

It was a mistake, a perfectly human accident that happened to the best of them. Only it left a bitter residue somewhere south of her ribcage, something acrid and viscous that even alcohol couldn't melt. The more she drank, the thicker that ball of rolled up frustration became, bleeding into her work, her relationships with her friends. It was tiresome to keep craving something so far out of her reach.

The exhaustion grew day by day, until her chest felt constricted for most part of the day and all the oxygen in the whole wide world wasn't enough. Her heartache was saved, strangely enough, by aliens - they rained down on New York city like frogs during the Plague in the book of Exodus; as if God himself was angry at the state of affairs of his favourite pet earthlings. For a time, she couldn't afford to worry about her broken heart and focused on the dilapidated city, landing her resources and skills whenever, whenever she could.

Late at night, exhausted and drained, she allowed herself to flick through the news, eagerly soaking up the new details that seemed to pop up every other day. Aliens were real, Thor was one, Captain America was alive and her ex-boyfriend was now a member of the merry band of misfit superheroes.

She had never taken his hero sidegig too seriously. Tony had some good in him, he wasn't the attention-demanding supervillain-waiting-to-happen, but neither he was hero material. The Tony she knew was akin to a hyperintelligent kid left without supervision. Consequences were a slight setback, not a surefire deterrent for this man.

Her building remained mostly intact - some cosmetic damages that were repaired quickly and did not concern her apartment at all - so she stayed in the same place, much to everyone's dismay. A good chunk of her friends had moved away from NYC as soon as they could - not that she blamed them - but the calls of her family, consisting of begging and nagging her to move states, were beginning to climb over the annoying line very quickly. More often than not, she ignored all calls that weren't from her friends or work.

It shouldn't have surprised her that Tony showed up on her balcony one night - but the shriek that left her was utterly involuntary. His armored suit was noisy and clunky, just like was expected from a huge chunk of metal. Tony's face was a ghost of the man she used to know: he was pale, the bags under his eyes were fit to carry groceries in and he'd lost more than a few pounds around his middle.

Not that she had a glow-up. Work hours were long, volunteer work was by far more exhausting and emotionally draining. With her support system scattered across the country and free hours few and in-between, she'd acquired a shrink. Nightmares went away and the sluggishness, too, thanks to a couple of convenient prescriptions. It seemed like the professionals were as clueless as any in dealing with the aftermath of an alien invasion.

"You weren't returning my calls," Tony stated in the way of hello. It was so like him, to be skipping the pleasantries and glossing over the details.

"I have your number blocked," She replied unkindly, raising an eyebrow as the suit retracted and the man, wearing worn jeans and an oil-stained tee, stepped into the twilight of her home without an invitation.

"I wanted to make sure you are alive and your home is being rebuilt in case it was demolished. Stark foundation is shouldering most of the expenses," He offered in the way of explanation, beelining for the nice whiskey she kept in a tumbler in the living room.

The snort escaped her lips before she could help it; brain chronically overtired but medicated; Adderall and weariness. He was never a good liar, only a good faker. "Why are you here, Tony?" All of it: the damages, the casualties, all of it was public record, accessible 24/7. All he had to do was open Google.

He turned around, scanning her head-to-toe, in that not-quite-convinced way. "Just wanted to see if you're okay," He tried for nonchalant but his eyes were haunted. The whiskey glass he was holding empty in seconds.

She walked up to him, staying at an arm's distance from the man, before doing a slow, sarcastic twirl. "I'm fine. Not a scratch. Was in Staten Island that day."

He nodded, not at all convinced. "Good," Before slamming the glass down with such force, she was afraid the countertop now sported a rounded indent. Fingers twitching, he pulled the woman into himself before she could utter a peep, smashing their lips together without any grace, paying no attention to the way she froze as still as a statue. "God, I missed you. Couldn't bear the thought of you dying..." He mumbled in between harshly biting the plump of her bottom lip and steering the kiss towards his wishes, hand tangled in the hair on the back of her head.

He tasted like whiskey and desperation.

She couldn't not give in. She'd felt the same way when she watched his red and gold armor fly into that wormhole, missile in tow. She'd felt the same despair clawing at her ribcage when his lifeless body flew back from it before being caught by the rabid green monstrosity.

It wasn't graceful and it wasn't pretty; feeling like a monster herself, she responded the same way he did. She shredded his clothes, she clawed his back, leaving wet crimson streaks in the wake of her nails and whispered the ugliest, nastiest truths she had denied herself for so long. He left with the promise to stay in contact and for once, he did.

Nothing was the same. Tony was far from the careless, extravagant billionaire he used to be. These days he was a cynical, analytical asshole that one-upped people even before he had a real need to do so. Both of them had changed, really. She was not the tender uptown girl either.

The nights with him were rare and long; the nights alone with her work were recurrent and longer. The tower stood out on the NYC skyline like a sore thumb, beckoning with the unattainable snipe hunt of having something stable with the world's #1 superhero, Tony Stark. Each time they met, she felt almost as dirty as the time she stood in the elevator under the scrutiny of Pepper Potts.

Even if he didn't outright hide her. She'd ran into Black Widow and Clint Barton once or twice, each of them casting a glance at her Special Visitor badge before muttering niceties and moving on with their day. It was only slightly better with the Captain: he got in the elevator two floors below Tony's penthouse at 8 AM in the morning, just as she was leaving for work - dressed in a sharp pantsuit that was not-quite on Pepper's level. The soldier must've assumed she was a high-rank employee or a friend, the tips of his cheeks blushing as he spoke a quiet: "Good morning, ma'am," In that semi-formal tone of his.

Seeing a grown man get so flustered was quite adorable. "Good morning, Captain Rogers, sir," She replied in a matching tone, humoring him.

The elevator stopped suddenly and a few employees got in, staring openly at the national icon, who had his eyebrows slanted in confusion. The woman shared his sentiment: it was Tony's private elevator. She guessed all the other ones were too full in the mornings so the tower's AI put the underused one to work.

Or, at least, that's what she tried to convince herself of anyway. It wouldn't be past Tony to get jealous over something as trivial as sharing an elevator car with Captain America.

The plateau of normalcy didn't last long. Just as she was opening her third bottle of wine for the night, laptop open on the kitchen counter and proudly displaying "Tony Stark and Pepper Potts - America's newest power couple?" article, she realised he was a coward, too. Slowly but surely, he had ghosted her, not even bothering with an explanation of his sudden unavailability, the several dates missed and even more postponed indefinitely.

They were never going to be a normal couple. She had made her peace with that, ugly and depressing - but it was real. She thought what they had was real. She finally had admitted to herself that she loved him, loved an impossible man, loved to the bottom of Hell and pitfire. The fireworks under her skin had never fully gone away, she realised as more and more ugly sobs broke from her chapped lips.

She blocked his number again and bought herself a new one, deleting the "Tony Stark" contact for good. There was more than enough work to do and the time to feel sorry for herself was sparse. And if she picked up a habit to make sure the time working was spent with proper efficiency, without soaking documents in saltwater that her eyes seemed to overproduce those days? It wasn't a big deal. She needed to get back on her feet somehow, without being dragged by a man who wasn't even present to actively be ruining her life anymore.

If anything, she thought she should feel grateful. The blinding light, the stars that exploded and shone inside her only for Tony, became something poisonous and vile. It wasn't the bitter taste of regret; rather, she felt a flash of ravenous, burning anger every time his name or his face popped up in a press article within her eyesight. Love and hate weren't that different when it came to the intensity: she basked in those newfound feelings, taking care to pick apart and neatly sort each of his perceived flaws on a cute little shelf in her overtaxed brain and fatigued heart.

It wasn't healthy. A convenient escape for the summer; a cabin far, far away from the busy New York city - she took up the offer and relocated there, being content with working remotely, drinking strawberry mimosas by the lakeside. Day by day, the clarity of her mind returned, lulled into a false sense of security by the tranquil trees slowly swaying in the breeze and wide ripples in the water.

Tony seemed to be enjoying bringing chaos into her life and making her miserable. The quinjet landed right on the neatly manicured lawn in front of the cabin, several obviously exhausted and wounded superheroes dismounting the vehicle, Tony looking sheepish but determined in the lead.

She wasn't completely unaware of the rest of the world and knew of the fiasco the Avengers recently had. Was it the half-dead, limping Widow or the baby blues of the Captain, she couldn't tell, but the woman ushered them into her house, gathering the tools needed for first aid with haste. Fate wasn't looking to give her a break.

As soon as she stepped foot in the kitchen, alone, Tony was there, looking much like that time on the balcony, baby doe browns turned up to eleven and a groveling speech prepared on demand. He'd noticed her weight loss and the ashen tone of her skin, the prominent veins and the bags under her eyes. She was as obvious as a brick to the face with her vices.

She slapped him. He winced, but stayed quiet, preparing himself for the storm - and storm him she did, keeping quiet enough for most of the team to be able to tactfully ignore the scolding Tony was getting. "I despise, you, Stark. You're a coward. Do not dare to set foot in my house ever again."

Needless to say, the superheroes departed shortly after Natasha's injuries were stabilised and frowning, disappointed Thor and Steve (they'd asked her to address them by their first names) bashfully apologized for their sudden intrusion and any discomfort they might have caused. She smiled at Steve, wide and big; refusing to admit it was done just to spite Tony, she joked and blushed in response to the Captain.

Tony did not attempt to contact her again. For some time, she lived in fear - irrational one at that - he'd appear and wreck her life one more, final time, before admiring the destruction and leaving her a steaming pile of ashes on the floor. But seasons passed and all of it faded, like a vivid, terrible nightmare.

Piece by piece, her life was getting put back together. His name stopped invoking a swarm of feelings she needed to drown just to stay afloat; there were news regarding him, another violent altercation, and she simply flicked the TV back to adult swim. New friends and new hobbies were being made; the fine cracks made by his agile fingers were being filled with the gold of newer, better discoveries.

There was always something going on in the superhero world and finally one of the topics reached her line of work: mutant rights. She'd never stopped being a volunteer after that NYC invasion, making new connections in a domain previously unexplored, it paid off in spades regarding her career growth. The connections were vital to be able to climb the corporate ladder successfully.

Stark showed up at her door three days after half of his merry band of misfits were pronounced fugitives. This time, she expected it. She knew better than to expect him to assume responsibility by himself - a quick Google search and his relationship status was listed as once again single - the Virginia Potts she knew would not have let anything like that happen. Stark was on his own.

"They betrayed me," He'd said, from behind the door she had cracked open a few inches, to make him know he wasn't welcome in her home.

"I think you know now, how I felt then," She didn't falter, ignoring the way his still freshly-bruised face darkened. "As far as I am concerned, you deserve it. Goodbye, Tony." She shut the door without waiting for his response, hearing his footsteps slowly back away as she made herself another coffee.

Tony Stark taglist: @another-stark-sub @letsby @mostly-marvel-musings @rdjesus4ever @ladyeliot

Well um 💀 yeah. I'll go and attempt to scavenge some serotonin somewhere now. Thanks for reading! 💖✨

#tony stark angst #tony stark x reader #tony stark x y/n #tony stark x you #bun writes: drabbles #bun writes #this is me tearing your heart out and having it for dinner 💚#it's okay i obsess over this scenario and send myself spiraling at least twice a month

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theravencawsatmidnight · 4 years

Text

Pink Chains (cont.)

Kyotani owns a grunge /punk apparel shop after leaving the Sendai Frogs after a incident with the Black Jackals. He designs his own clothes and hires Oikawa & Iwaizumi as his employees. Everything goes smoothly for awhile, till you walk in; pink dress, big smile , and bubbly personality. His whole life stops in that moment.

Punk! Kyotani x Bubbly F! reader. Aka my favorite cliche trope. It lives in my head every second of the day.

Brief Violence

The rest of the first half and all ive got so far ! / first half at the bottom !!

Your home was a cheap studio apartment not far from the college; a small studio with a cute bed by the window , a table with a bunch of markers with a big sketchbook sitting in the middle . You had the basic needs and a little couch in the corner but no tv , but there was a little pink cat bed next to the couch.

Kyo stuffed his hands in his pockets looking around the studio , it was weird being in a small studio for him since he has a home . Everything seemed shoved into one or two spots. He sat down on the couch and you were looking a little embarrassed, fussing with your dress .

“I know its not much but ! Its my little space heh, Mocha is probably in her little house sleeping. She will wake up soon though now that im home !!!” You picked up some clothes out of a basket. “Ill be right back , make yourself at home!”

“Okay sweetie.” He leaned forward dipping his head down to look in the cat hut . He could see a tiny kitten sleeping in it and smirked leaning back into the couch getting comfortable, well as much as he could in tight jeans. Kyo peeled his jacket off and pulled his phone out to check it .

Group Chat

Mattsun/ picture

Oikawa/ OOOOOO

Iwaizumi/ i knew pink was your color

Kyotonai/ guess where i am

Iwaizumi/well i dont see you so not at home

Oikawa/ are you at her house ?!?

Kyotani/yep, invited me to stay the night

Mattsun/ oh my , how adult

Kyotani/ shut up Mattsun

Oikawa/ hope you brought condoms

Iwaizumi/ be gentle with her

Kyotani/we aint gonna fuck i just didint want to leave yet

Oikawa/ 😙😙😙😗😙😙😙

Mattsun/ 😳😳😳😳😳

Iwaizumi/ 😒

Kyotani / i hate all of you

Iwa,Kawa, Mattsun/ 💕💞♥️

Kyo put his phone on the table when he saw you come out of the restroom, you were wearing a red panda shirt and matching shorts . Mocha emerged from her home too and meowed for attention . Kyo could not stop looking at you, so cute, so , so cute..

“Mocha! “ you bent down and picked up the brown kitten taking a seat next to Kyo to show him. “Shes a rescue ! I saw her all alone and i just had to help her.”

Kyo took the kitten from you and set it on his lap to pet her. “Shes cute” he leaned back tugging at his jeans trying to relax.

“Whats wrong?” You asked, Kyos lap to pet the happy kitten.

“Had these jeans on all day, i dont want to.. make you uncomfortable.”

Mocha nuzzled into Kyos stomach getting comfy and looked like she was not movin for any reason.

“I dont mine but.. you better do it fast because Mocha is not gonna care that you wanna take em off.”

Gently he lifted to kitten to fuss with his belt , you giggled getting up and grabbing your sketchbook. “Can i show you.. heh my drawings.”

“Of course sweetie, you draw?” He asked , pulling his jeans down with one hand and Mocha in the other. Kyo had on black and pink boxers . “Ugn finally..” he set Mocha back on his lap and placed the jeans on his jacket feeling a little unsure if he should have taken em off.

You hid behind your sketchbook when you saw him on the couch in his boxers. Kyo had tone legs from volleyball and a few tattoos on his legs along with some bruises and knicks.

Kyo looked down at Mocha feeling a little embarrassed. Why were skinny jeans so damn uncomfortable after a while? He asked as he pet the little kitten.

You sat down with him criss cross with the sketchbook on your lap. “Yep! I'm in college for art and design. I want to one day get picked up by a clothing store and have my drawings on shirts”

Kyo leaned towards you looking over the sketches with wide eyes. They might have been all cute things; like kittens, red pandas, hearts, patterns and space but they were so damn good. “You have a real talent these are awesome.”

“Really?!?”

“Yes sweetie. Id put these on my shirts. Oh that reminds me..”

“Oh my gosh!! Kyo that would be so cool!” Gently you placed the sketchbook on the table and looked at Kyo, he was a looking a little unsure of himself. “Whats wrong..?”

“Why exactly did you come into my store ? Ive never seen you in it before”

“ uhm Kyo.. you have a shirt in the window with kittens on it.. so.. “

He laughed wrapping his arm around you making you laugh too. “My ‘Sad Day’ shirt? With all the grumpy cats?”

“Its so cute, how could I not!!!” You hit his chest lightly not liking his tone.

“Okay okay.” Lightly he grabbed one of your hands holding it close. “Happy you did, really.” His eyes drifted off you and around the room.

“Kyo?” You inched closer, picking Mocha up leaning down to place her in her hut.

Kyo picked you up and sat you down on his lap facing him, placing his hands at your hips. He leaned back spreading his legs. “Yes? Sweetie..?” You could feel he was a little hard, it was really hot between your legs..

“Im happy i did too.. i really like you.”

His heart thumped a few times. “First girl to say that to me…” he rested his elbow on the arm of the couch to support his head. “I wasn't the nicest guy in highschool, i'll never forget the day Yahaba slammed me into that wall and told me to get my shit together.”

You looked a little sad at his words, Kyo only mentioned his aggression one other time but even then he sounded upset and full of regret.

“Do you want to talk about it?” You asked him , cupping his cheeks so he would look at you. His eyes told you ‘yes, yes please.’ But.. “No, i just want to hold you if that's okay.”

“Okay. If we fall asleep my alarm is going to go off at 8 so sorry in advance.” You got comfortable on his lap and Kyo tipped your chin up so you were looking at him.

“Would you be more comfortable on the bed?”

“Yes i think so. I dont think i can sleep like this. Hehe.”

Kyo gripped your hips picking you up, he stepped over Mochas hut and brought you to the bed to lay down with you, his face a little red. You latched onto his sleeve closing your eyes and drifting off. “Night Kyo..”

“G’night sweetie..”

Fuck what was he doing ? Talking about it will help.. right? Kyo had to wait a bit before you were fully asleep to get up and grab his phone.

Kyotani/ Iwaizumi

Iwaizumi/ Yes

Kytotani/ keep this between us

Iwaizumi/ you didn't hit it and ditch did you?

Kyotani/ what? No.

Iwaizumi/ are you scared to make it official Kyo

Kyo stared at the text for a few minutes reading it over and over .

Iwaizumi/ is it the anger issues

He squeezed his phone and sat down on the couch dialing his phone.

“Im scared ill lash out or something”

“Mm.. when was the last time that happened again?”

“The Tourney against the Black Jackals.”

“Ah yes, think Kei had to pry you off Bokuto or something right?”

“Yes… Iwaizumi i can't lash out at her. I just can't, i mentioned Yahaba and that day and she asked if i wanted to talk about it”

“You said ’no’, didn't you” Sigh “Kyotani she's not a threat, she's not an enemy . She's literally just a girl who likes you. Open up to her”

“How.”

“Uuhhmmmm, tell her you want to talk about it. I'm going to bed. You can do this Kyotani”

He hung up .

Kyo rubbed his face for a minute and glanced at you for a minute then back to his phone opening up Messages.

Kyotani/ Mattsun i know your asleep but invite Yahaba to the beach volleyball.

He set his phone down and very slowly made his way back to you. He wrapped his arms around your sleeping body and shut his eyes tight trying to sleep.

In the morning Kyo was awake early browsing on his phone, he stared at the screen for a minute before pressing Play on the video.

-flash back-

‘Another score for the Black Jackals!!! It is Match Point !!! ‘

The Sendai frogs were tired, sweaty and losing this Tournament. The Black Jackals were still full of energy and ready to go . It was a very hard game for both sides and Bokuto kept testing Kyotani, this was the first time he met the loud grey haired boy and he just did not like him. He knew Hinata but he did not like him too much.

Kyotani was doing better at keeping his temper under control and his team figured out how to hype him up without making him angry. Kei was not too fond of him but then again he did not really need to be, they just needed to be on the same page on the court.

That owl boy though, he was loud, annoying , and just testing him. Kyotani knew it, every serve, block, and spike was for him to clear or get rid of . Kyotani got hit with the ball a couple times and thats when he lost it.

‘Kyotani has taken another hit from the ball!!!’ Yelled the annoucer .

“Hey hey hey?!! Eye on the ball yea!??”

“Dont let it get to you” Kei told him .

“.........”

“..Kyot-“

He was on the other side of the net ontop of Bokuto punching him .The whole building was dead silent.

The last thing Kyotani remembered was hearing the announcer describe what was happening and Kei pulling him off of Bokuto.

He quit the Sendai Frogs that day, took his last check and left not looking back. He opened an apparel shop he called The Dog House and got in touch with his old highschool teammates starting over.

-end flashback-

You woke up to see Kyos hand on your head , you were not fully awake so you just laid there enjoying the nice feeling on your head. Mocha had also joined you in bed and was between you both sleeping. Kyo smelled like leather… an old leather that was renewed, it made your nose crinkle a bit. Looking up you saw he had a collar tattoo with spikes on it on his wrist . It was kinda silly but kinda cute too , although you wondered what it meant.

A minute later your alarm went off and you whimpered letting Kyo know you were awake. He let go of your head to slam your alarm clock off. He looked upset or angry in the face, and he was still staring at his phone.

Slowly you got up and gently placed Mocha on your pillow so you could scoot closer to him. “Kyo? Did you get any sleep?”

“I have to show you something.” He said as he turned his phone to you pressing Play again.

You were holding the phone now, it was alot heavier than yours . You had watched the video a couple times and everytime Kyo punched Bokuto you flinched. After the second time you placed the phone down to sit facing him.

“Kyo..”

He looked the other way running his hand through his hair.

“Kyo?”

He wanted to run away so bad. Start over again. Someplace without people like -

“Kyo.”

You were between his legs now , he had his knees up and was resting his elbows on them and still did not look at you. Dammit Mad Dog just say something to her, she's right there, dont shut her out.. dont shut..

You grabbed his face turning his head, kissing him, catching him very off guard. Kyo fell back taking you with him . You had no intention of stopping and just kissed him more and more even though he cursed between breaths. Kyo grabbed you lifting you up off his face and chest. You frowned at him and sat down on his lap once he let you go, cheeks flushed and very embarrassed.

“S..swee..sweetie”

“You aren't like that anymore!” You told him while you rubbed your eyes.

“Sweetie no don't cry please..” he sat up taking you in his arms rubbing your back in circles. “Sshh..”

“Please.. talk to me..” You sniffled into his neck squeezing him tight.

Kyo was shaking .. you were shaking . He laid his head on your neck starting from the beginning.. the very beginning. Every few minutes he would stop to check if you were still crying. He would cup your face and wipe under your eyes and ask ‘Are you Afraid of Me’ and you shook your head saying ‘No’ every single time. You were both tearing up by the end of it, Kyotani told you about Yahaba, Highschool after Iwa & Kawa graduated , how he became a Pro and Bokuto. The look on his face just made you so sad and seeing you sad was something he never wanted to see.

“Sweetie.. how , how can.”

“I like you Kyo, a lot. I'm not scared, never will be.”

“I'm so scared ill lash out at you sweetie.”

You grabbed his hand holding it and running a hand up and down his sleeve while you talked. “Kyo.. you let me touch your wolves. When we first met in your shop i noticed you were rubbing it a lot , like you were worried or you thought id just out right touch it”

“I..”

You kissed him again and wiped your eyes free of stray tears. “I want to be with you Kyo, i wanna.. see red pandas with you”

He laughed at that and so did you.

“I already said i'd take you didint i?” He asked cupping your face .

“Just making sure you know i really wanna go heh..”

“I know sweetie, believe me i know.” Kyo kissed you and you blushed wrapping your arms around him.

The alarm went off again too.

••

@zoppzoop @mocha-babes @haikyuu-but-low-iq @milkbreadcat @kozushiki

••

#PinkChains #kyotani x reader #kyotani kentaro #kentarou x reader #kyotani 💕

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mldrgrl · 4 years

Note

Mulder realizing how much he loooooves kissing scully

Honestly, he realized that before he even kissed her.

A Lot A Lot A Lot

By: mldrgrl Rating: R

(1 - 19)

Sunday is his favorite day now. It’s the day they’ve agreed upon is theirs to waste and do whatever they want with. Together.

He always wakes earlier than she does and lets her sleep in. They’re at his place this weekend and when he rolls over, she’s sprawled adorably across the left side of the bed like a frog, limbs akimbo. Her hair is mussed, frizzing at her temples and back of the neck from the humidity of last night’s lovemaking. He can still smell and taste the salty tang of sweat and passion on her skin as he presses his lips to the back of her shoulder.

As gently as he can, he brushes the hair off the back of her neck and puts his lips there as well, branding her cool skin with his warm mouth. He kisses her between the shoulder blades and then stretches his neck to kiss her cheek before he rolls away and slips out of bed.

He grabs his running clothes and gets ready in the bathroom with the door partially shut only to block the light from waking her. Before he leaves, he crouches by the side of the bed and nuzzles her neck. She grunts softly, lifts her fingers and catches his chin. He kisses her all over the exposed side of her face, whispering to her at the same time that he’s going for a run, to go back to sleep, he’ll be back soon. She grunts again and he moves back to take her hand and kiss each one of her fingertips.

(20 - 33)

She’s still sleeping when he gets home and he doesn’t feel so bad about waking her now. She’s curled on her side, hugging his pillow like a teddy bear. He lays down diagonally across the bed and kisses her bottom lip, repeatedly, until she scrunches her face.

“Mulderrrrrrr,” she groans.

“Hm?” he answers, peppering her face with soft kisses.

“What time is it?”

“After nine.” He tries to capture her mouth again, but she turns her head.

“Morning breath,” she protests.

“Don’t care.” He holds the back of her head and manages to snag the upper curve of her mouth. She scrunches her face again and he kisses the wrinkles at the side of her nose. “I stopped at the deli on my way home.”

“Don’t tell me.”

“Egg and cheese. With bacon.”

“Mmm…” Her hand moves into his hair to pull him closer, but he backs off.

“I need a shower.”

“Don’t care,” she whispers, bringing back to her mouth.

He manages a few deep kisses before her stomach growls. She groans in embarrassment and he chuckles against her mouth.

“Guess you don’t want to keep the egg and cheese waiting,” he says, crawling backwards off the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“I was serious about the shower.”

“Have breakfast with me and I’ll join you later.”

“Now there’s an offer I can’t refuse.”

(34 - 67)

She makes good on her promise and stands naked at his sink, clipping her hair up and off her neck as he adjusts the temperature of the taps of his shower. He’s first in and she’s just behind him. She makes soapy circles on his back as he washes his hair. When he’s finished, she presses herself against him and he presses one hand to the tiles as she slides her hand around his hip and starts to stroke him. He pulls her other hand up from where it rests on his chest and holds it to his mouth, occasionally sinking his teeth into her palm as he moans in pleasure.

They switch places and then it’s her turn. He kneels down behind her, apologizing to his knees and at the same time assuring them it’ll be worth it. He kisses her ouroboros tattoo, licks it from head to tail with the tip of his tongue and she puts both hands on the wall and spreads her legs like she’s about to be frisked. He kisses her hip, moves lower and sinks his teeth into the plump swell of her right buttcheek. She jerks in surprise and he sucks the sting of his bite away. He has her writhing before he even turns around and buries his face between her legs.

The great care she took to try prevent her hair from getting wet is all for naught.

(68 - 72) She blow dries her hair in her bra and panties as he sits on the closed toilet in his boxers and clips his toenails. He throws on a pair of jeans and stands behind her, rubbing her hips and telling her about a flea market he thinks they should check out as she applies a thin layer of eyeliner and mascara to her lashes.

“Yeah sure,” she says, shrugging him off her shoulder as he lifts her bra strap and kisses her. “Stop jostling, I’ll ruin my make-up.”

“You don’t need it anyway,” he mumbles and drags his bottom lip across her shoulder to her neck.

“Just a little.” She shrugs again and he places a hard kiss in protest to her neck before he lets her go.

(73)

They keep wandering away from each other at the flea market. Not on purpose, just by nature of browsing. They always end up in the same place eventually though. Mulder finds her admiring a glass vase that’s such a dark color of blue that every time she shifts it in her hands it looks purple.

“How much?” Mulder asks the man at the stall.

“Twenty,” he answers.

“I was just looking,” Scully says, setting it back on the shelf.

Mulder already has his wallet out and is passing a twenty dollar bill over to the little stallkeeper that reminds him of Frohike. The vase is wrapped in newspaper and put in a plastic bag, which he gives to Scully.

“Mulderrrrr,” she says.

“I think vases are the traditional one month anniversary gift.”

She blushes and chuckles at the same time, dipping her chin to hide her face from him, but only for a moment. “Thank you,” she says, and puts her hand on his abdomen, thumb dipping into the waistband of his jeans as she lifts up onto her toes and gives him a kiss. He grins at her and slings his arm around her shoulders, tucking her against him as they continue to browse.

“I should find something for you,” she says.

“You’re more than enough,” he answers.

(74 - 77)

He pulls over suddenly on the way home and stops abruptly.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

“Nothing. Be right back.”

She’s unbuckling her seatbelt, ready to act as backup for whatever situation he’s about to run into, but she quickly realizes he’s stopped in front of a sidewalk florist. His back is to her, but she can see him pointing and nodding and gesticulating. He’s back in the car only a few minutes later with a bouquet of white and yellow daisies.

“Can’t let the vase go empty,” he says, as he hands them to her.

She places the flowers on her lap and rests her hand on his cheek as he leans across the seat to kiss her. Three kisses later, he finally starts the car to keep heading home.

(78 - 100+)

There’s a creature feature marathon on TV, but they’re both drunk on pad Thai and each other and hardly pay attention. Scully is flat on the couch, her feet in Mulder’s lap, accepting a well-deserved massage as he slouches with his head back and eyes closed. The vase full of flowers and water and a tab of aspirin that Scully said will help them last longer is sitting on his desk.

“I should go.” She sighs.

“You can’t.” He wiggles one foot back and forth. “I haven’t gotten to a hundred yet.”

“A hundred what?”

“Kisses.”

She raises one eyebrow. “You’ve been counting?”

“I figure, we’ve known each other for seven years. I definitely owe you at least one kiss a day for lost time. That’s 365 times seven. And plus leap years. Which is...you know, a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. If I can make it to a hundred every Sunday, maybe, just maybe, I can make up for it.”

“Mulderrrrr…” She smiles and flexes her toes. “That’s absurd.”

“It helps that you’re so damn kissable.”

“Oh, am I?”

He stops rubbing her foot and pulls on her calf, sliding her down the couch closer to him and then pulling her up so she’s in his lap. She wraps her arms loosely around his neck and cocks her head at him.

“How many more do we need?” she asks.

He squints one eye and wrinkles his brow. “22,” he answers.

“Good thing you’re also so damn kissable,” she replies, taking his face in her hands. “I intend to surpass that goal.”

“Then, I very much intend to let you.”

He loses count after a hundred and twelve.

The End

#xf fanfic #i wrote this #msr #that new relationship smell #Anonymous

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officialwittek · 3 years

Text

pt. 5

*texts are fake, but these are mine*

word count: 1,966

I have to be dreaming right? There’s no way on god’s green earth that he knows. I can’t believe he heard our conversation. I want to die in a hole. I look at the time and it’s nearly 3:00am. so I can’t call my friends since they’re all asleep. I toss and turn for what feels like years before slowly drifting to sleep

*the next day*

The rest of the girls decided to join us for lunch as well, I quickly get dressed and knock on Carly’s door to let her know that I’m ready. She comes out almost immediately and we both head to the restaurant in my car. I can tell she knows something is wrong, but she doesn’t ask the entire ride. We spot our other friends in a corner booth in the back and make our way over. We make small talk and lay out our schedules for the day.

“So... Sage, what happened last night?” Natalie asks, a concerned look on her face, our friends look at her in confusion

“Todd got a call from Jeff at like three in the morning. Is everything ok?” she repeats, I make a face and that’s all they need to know

“Oh my god, he knows doesn’t he..” Erin asks, I nod and feel tears welling in my eyes

“Yea.. it fucking sucks man. He basically told me that he only sees me as a friend and that he’s not over his fucking ex-girlfriend who only used him.. And it’s not like we were dating but I was so.. so in love with him” I reply, letting the tears fall as Corinna rubbed my shoulders and my other friends grabbed my hands

“And now I’m afraid things are going to be awkward when we all hang out together. I never ever wanted that, I don’t want anyone to feel like they need to chose between us like children during their parents divorce” I cry, letting all my emotions out, I’ve never been more thankful that we chose a small, quiet restaurant where we’re the only people here

“No, come on. I’m sure if you explain the situation to everyone they would totally understand” Carly explained, the other girls nodding in agreement

“I can’t.. I can’t explain to them. I don’t know how to put it into words and I don’t want them to be mad at Jeff. He’s their friend too and I know how protective everyone can be at times” I rant, they all nod along, their eyebrows furrowed as they think of something else

“Well, to be honest none of us had anything to do today. Why don’t we go back to your apartment and have another girl’s day? Get your mind off things and we’ll get all the takeout and listen to sad music” Erin suggests, I nod and ask Nat to text Mariah

After lunch we head back to the apartment. I feel like 1:00 pm. is an appropriate time to have some vodka right? I mean it’s 5:00 somewhere. I grab the bottle of Titos from my cabinet and pour it into a cup with some sprite and a lime. I made some for the girls and they all took a glass. We browse through Netflix and choose some Disney movies to watch. We started with the Princess and the Frog.

Four movies later and my phone started buzzing. Matt and Zane were asking where we all were because they were bored and David was busy editing and doing other work. I decided to let them come because they were like one of the girls. They showed up with Mariah and more alcohol.

“So baby what happened?” Mariah asks, I told her I wanted to wait until I could tell her in person

I explained the situation to the three of them, Mariah was incredibly irritated at Jeff, Matt and Zane were also pretty upset as well. I also explained how I didn’t want to make things awkward for everyone in the group and they shouldn’t have to feel like they have to choose between the two of us.

We ordered food for everyone and made more drinks. Out of no where Heath came by with Jason and Toddy. I hoped and prayed Jeff wouldn’t show up, not only because I’m heartbroken but because of the embarrassment I would have to feel.

An hour later everyone was pretty drunk except for Jason, Carly, and Erin who decided to stay sober for everyone who will probably need a ride home later. We were all laughing and having a great time, David hauled ass over here when he heard Zane and I were drunk.

“Oh fuck I forgot Ilya is landing in like an hour, who wants to come with me to pick him up?” David asks, Natalie and I raise our hands while everyone decides to stay back and just wait for us

The car ride over was us loudly singing along to David’s music. I brought some alcohol with me since I needed to escape and I know Ilya wants to turn the fuck up.

“Daddy Ilya” I yell, trying to catch his attention, David and Natalie groan from behind me at the horrible nickname

Ilya quickly runs to the Tesla and hops into the passenger seat. We drove back to my apartment while David filmed Ilya in the front drinking the rest of my vodka. Natalie grabs my arm and points the familiar truck in the garage...

... Who the fuck invited Jeff...

“What’s wrong princess peach?” Ilya asks, noticing that I was still in the Tesla

Natalie pulled the two guys away and explained as best as she could and as fast as she could. David and Ilya nodded their heads and walked over to me. I had shaken off my rush of anxiety while they were talking. To be honest, I don’t know if I’m upset with him for rejecting me or if I’m upset that he shows up to my apartment and will either pretend I don’t exist or pretend like nothing happened.

“Fuck it. Ilya, it’s your job to make me drunk as hell. Gimme” I said, taking the bottle from him and chugging the rest and using some leftover Red Bull

I unlock the door and step inside. Todd, Jeff, and Zane are in the living room talking... well Zane isn’t really talking and to be fair I don’t really know if he’s in this realm right now. The girls and Matt are all standing in the kitchen, giving Jeff side glares and talking in hushed voices. I close the door loudly to get everyone’s attention. They all turn to me and burst into smiles when the notice Ilya. They all greet him and I walk over to the side, grabbing a cup and making myself another drink.

“Shots for the boy” Todd yells, we all gather in the kitchen and I make sure to stand as far away from Jeff as possible, 90% out of embarrassment and 10% out of annoyance and anxiety

The ones who were drinking take shots and we all start catching up with Ilya. He’s telling us stories about work, and things he’s done with Deema. After a few minutes of catching up, the boys went to the parking lot to film some bits in David’s car. The girls gave me THE look and we went to my room and locked the door. Suzy listened while also keeping an ear out for them so there isn’t a repeat of the other night.

“I love Jeff, he’s one of my good friends.. but what the fuck was his thought process before coming here?” Carly asked, annoyed that not even 24 hours after he rejects me he shows up to my place

“Guys, it’s ok. I know this was supposed to be girls night but it turned into a hangout with everyone. And I’ll get over this eventually, I’ll be fine” I say, the room goes silent, even Suzy knows I’m definitely bullshitting

“I know you’re trying to make yourself feel better and trying to comfort us so we don’t worry about you. But babe... before lunch we didn’t know you were in LOVE love with him. Sure he didn’t know about your feelings, but at the same time I think a part of him had to know that the flirtationship between the two of you would’ve ended with someone catching feelings. It sucks that it has to be you. Please just allow yourself to be honest about how you feel. It sucks, but the sooner you confront your emotions the sooner you can start healing” Natalie said, I stare at her with my mouth ajar

“That’s a whole bible verse baby” I reply, feeling a lot better with this girl time but Suzy gives us a signal that the boys are back

We go to the living room and joke around for a few more minutes. After that everyone packs their things, and right when I’m about to go back in my room to get ready for bed I noticed Jeff lingering around a little bit. I shrug it off and enter my room.

“Hey..” a voice says, I freeze and immediately feel all kinds of emotions rise up, just one word and I’m already sobering up

“What do you want Jeff?” I ask, turning around and seeing him slumped over in my doorway

“I just wanted to check in” he replies, I sigh and sit on my bed

“Listen, I know we’re still friends and I know we don’t want to make things awkward for everyone, but for the sake of me and what I need, I would please like some time away from you. I’m really sorry, but I need to heal, I didn’t just have some middle school crush on you man.” “You don’t need to explain anything to me Sage” Jeff cuts me off but I shake my head and pat the space next to me so he can sit

“I’m in love with you. I wrote songs about you, I started craving your touch, your attention. I still loved you at your worse. Believe me, I wanted to make a move but I had no guarantee that you were going to love me back. And now I know, at the end of the day I’ll never be her” I reply, Jeff immediately knew who I was talking about, Ava

Ava and Jeff were together for a few short months, but believe me when I say this was like walking through a dumpster fire on a unicycle that was also on fire. It was clear to everyone from the start that Ava was with him s imply because he was slowly gaining popularity and well... his looks. Long story short apparently they got into a huge fight one night and she admitted that she was only using him for her own gain. It was a touchy time for all of us and Jeff, we told him what we thought and eventually found out (through our fans on insta who are little detectives) and he didn’t want to hear it.

“I should go. I’ll give you your time..” he says quietly, I nod and walk him to the door

After he leaves I slide my back down the door and pull my knees to my chest. I just lost my best friend because I couldn’t keep my dumbass mouth shut. Emotions come rushing through me and I can’t help but cry. I want nothing more than to scream and just crawl into a hole right now. After letting myself accept the sadness I got up and went back to my room. It’s time for me to start moving on.. or at least trying to.

#vlog sqaud #vlog squad imagine #jeff wittek #jeff wittek imagine

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koolkat9 · 3 years

Text

In the Deep (Ch. 3)

The Gift

I didn’t get much sleep that night. Ludwig’s pained eyes and deep frown flashed behind my eyes every time I closed them, leading me to spend most of my night tossing and turning. I eventually fell into a light sleep, only to be woken a couple of hours later by Francis calling me for breakfast.

“Fuck off,” I groaned, but got up nonetheless. Despite how tired I was, it was obvious my option of restful sleep was out the window. I got dressed hastily, not even bothering to tie my hair up (at least for breakfast, I’d probably have to put it up for work, but that would be future me’s problem).

“You look terrible mon ami,” Francis tsked at breakfast. I couldn’t be bothered with anything more than a grumble and instead focused the little energy I had on eating. Today’s meal was croissants (homemade most likely) with some fruit and juice. As much as I hated to admit it, Francis had a way with food.

“Trouble in paradise?” The Frenchman went on.

“I told you I’m not seeing anyone. At...A-At least not like you’re implying.”

A mischievous glint crossed his eye. “Oh ho? So there is someone?”

“Don’t look at me like that! He’s just a friend.”

“But there is an issue?”

I should have shut up right then and there. Why I had said so much prior is still something I don’t understand, but there was nothing I could do about it at that moment other than keep quiet. Whether it was because Ludwig's sad face was still ingrained in my mind or the pure exhaustion I was feeling, I just kept going: “I don’t know...I guess I pried a little too much and made him upset. H-He said it was okay and I apologized, but I worry I may have pushed him away. There was so much pain in his eyes when we parted ways last night.”

For the first time since I met this man, his usual smirk melted into that of a soft, comforting smile. “Perhaps an apology gift is in order?”

“What good will that do?” I bit back.

“Sometimes a physical action is better at conveying how you feel over words. If that doesn’t work, at least he should be happy with the gift.”

Part of me felt he was trying to dig at me in that second half, but I brushed it off, taking out my frustration on an unsuspecting piece of fruit. “I don’t even know what to get him.”

“Don’t worry dear Arthur. You are in good hands! I’ll take you around town to look after I finish cleaning up here.”

Great, now I was going on an outing with Francis of all people. Could this morning get any worse? Indeed it could because by the time we had cleaned up the dishes from breakfast and were heading out, it began to rain. At least Francis could provide us with the umbrella, but at the same time, it forced us too close together. He smelled stereotypically French, reeking of wine and cheese mixed with the scent of some flowery beauty product.

I tried to focus on it, turning my gaze to the shop windows, showcasing all kinds of knickknacks and products. ‘What do you even get a merman?’ I thought as we looked over a particular display of books, all of which piqued my own interest. Could he even read? Even if he could, he spent most of his time underwater so a book would not work. Now that I was thinking about it, that crossed off a whole bunch of items: clothing, flowers, blankets, stuffed animals, all out of the question. Every store we went into seemed to only lead to dead ends.

Eventually, we had to stop for lunch empty-handed. Francis took me to a local pub in the town square where he ordered us some potato-based dish, though I was too distracted to catch the actual name. “This is coming out of your paycheck,” He warned, “it's the least you could do for me after all our wild goose chasing today.”

“You’re the bastard who suggested this in the first place.”

“I didn’t realize how troublesome it would be. Usually, you get them flowers or chocolates and then you make up, but your lover seems to hate everything.”

There he was going again, calling Ludwig my ‘lover.’ My cheeks turned red at the statement, not helping my case. “For the millionth time, he’s not my lover.”

“Whatever it is, this seems like a lost cause.” For the first time since meeting him, a tired frown replaced his usual cheeriness. It didn’t fit him even though it often annoyed me.

Though I was uncomfortable, I wasn’t good and comforting people (especially those I barely know), so I let my gaze wander to the window. A group of children were chasing each other around the fountain while their mothers talked amongst themselves. Other couples and families were walking from store to store, mostly just browsing in the windows. It was calming looking at the mundaneness of it all while my life was turning into anything but. As I scanned the square, I noticed a jewelry shop just across the way from us and something clicked. Ludwig seemed to like sparkly items considering how much he took to the pendant.

“I think I found something,” I said, turning back to Francis. He gave me a quizzical look, but nonetheless, requested for the bill, paid, and we were on our way.

I led him to the shop I had spotted, admiring the window display once we were there. Something particular caught my eye, a beautiful silver chain with light blue jewels hanging from it. It appeared to be a bracelet of some sort. This was it, this was the gift. It was shiny, blue like Ludwig’s eyes and scales, absolutely perfect.

“You’ve got expensive tastes mon ami...or I guess it's more of this mysterious man. But by the look on your face, it seems perfect.”

I hadn’t even realized I had been smiling. Feeling suddenly exposed, I gave an awkward cough and tried to cover my tracks. “W-Well yes. It looks just like his eyes. I-I’m just...yeah...um...going to go in and buy it. Y-You, don’t have to wait up for me.” So much for covering my tracks. Without another word, I made my way into the shop, ignoring whatever tease came out of that damn Frenchman’s mouth.

---

It wasn’t long before I was back at the inn. Francis gave me the rest of the day off, so I retreated to my room for some rest before going out to meet Ludwig. As I collapsed onto my bed, I grabbed my purchase from the nightstand. Taking the bracelet from the box, I lifted it above my head, allowing it to sparkle in the sun. Ludwig’s scales were far more beautiful, shining even brighter than any jewel, but this would have to do. At some point, my eyes began feeling heavy, my exhaustion returning once everything had calmed down. It wasn’t long before I had fallen asleep.

The sun had almost set by the time I got up. I blinked in a daze before realizing I was late to meeting Ludwig. “Fuck, Fuck, Fuck” I angrily whispered to myself as I collected my things, hoping Ludwig had waited up for me.

When I finally got there I found our spot deserted. “God damn it,” I sighed, taking a seat in defeat. At least I could watch the end of the sunset and admire the waves. Like for most of the day, luck was not on my side as dark clouds began rolling in and the breeze picked up. With a sigh, I got up and began making my way back to the beach. As I walked, the weather only seemed to get worse, especially the wind that was whipping me every which way. Like history repeating itself, a particularly strong gust of wind sent me crashing into the water.

Of course, I had been blown in in a deep area, leaving me once again flailing unsuccessfully to keep my head above the water (at least the waves weren’t as bad as last time). As I became more and more desperate and fear took hold I surprisingly found myself shouting for Ludwig. He probably wasn’t around or able to hear me above the storm that was setting in, but he was my best option for help at this point. Soon the cold and exhaustion was getting to me and my world was slowly becoming dark, but before I passed out I heard the faint call of my name.

---

I was back in my room at the inn when I came to. My mind was fuzzy and everything felt sedately warm. It was as if I was wrapped in a soft flame that didn’t burn, but instead wrapped me in a comforting grasp. Although I felt a strange weight around my waist, I paid it no mind as my head was pounding and my nose stuffy. I felt miserable so when sleep began to tug at me once more, I was content to accept it. That was until I felt something move beside me. I immediately shot up, spooking Ludwig who was laying beside me.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I screeched. When I noticed I was naked, I immediately pulled the covers up to my chest.

Ludwig’s eyes went wide and his cheeks went red. “I-I’m sorry...I just...your friend said this would help.”

“What?” My scowl deepened when I realized who had put him up to it. “That damn frog,” I seethed, though more to myself than Ludwig.

“I’m sorry. You were freezing...I-I’ll just go,” Ludwig blabbered as he clumsily untangled himself from the sheets and got out of bed.

“Wait...H-How are you…” My mind had finally woken up enough, realizing Ludwig was here, on land, without a tail or scales.

“Oh...I never mentioned we could become human?”

“No.”

“Oh...uh...well I can. I don’t usually, but you were shaking so much so I knew I had to get you home..er… where you were staying so I took it upon myself to get you here. It wasn’t easy, but...shoot I’m rambling aren’t I?”

My gaze softened. Ludwig was far sweeter than any man I had ever met. I couldn’t stay angry with him even if we woke up in a...compromising position (if anything it was Francis’ fault who told him to do it). “So...what exactly happened this time?”

“Well, there was a storm. I found you just as you were about to go under, so I immediately grabbed you. When I got you to shore you were freezing and… I-I didn’t know what else to do so I grabbed my spare clothes and began searching for the inn. That blond man was standing at the door and he recognized you and urged me to bring you inside. He explained I had to get you out of your wet clothes and under the blanket. Th-That’s when he suggested for me to lay beside you...t-too warm you up. I’m sorry again for that. And now we’re here.”

“Well, I-I suppose a thank you is in order,” I said, laying back down on the bed. My wooziness was finally catching up to me. It was clear I was starting to come down with a cold.

Ludwig loomed over me, an unreadable look on his face. “Is there anything else you need?”

“Some water would be nice. Why don’t you go ask Francis.”

He gave me a small nod and made his way to the door. “Oh, Arthur. By the way, that box you were holding onto so tightly is just on your nightstand.”

“Oh.” I looked over to see that velvety, blue box that held Ludwig’s gift perched safely on the table beside my head. “Thank you. For everything”

“Anytime.”

As the door closed, I snuggled into the blankets once more, still chilled either from the ordeal, my cold, or both. Tomorrow for sure I would give him his gift. Right now I was tired and sick, not wanting to do much more than sleep. However, it did not come so easy as the bed felt empty without Ludwig there and that warm, comforting feeling seemed to have gone with him. But sooner or later, my eyes closed and the lingering feeling of Ludwig’s embrace lulled me to sleep.

Ch. 2

Ch. 4

#hetalia #hws #gereng #engger #geruk #mermaid au #hws germany #hws england #mermaid!ludwig #privateer!arthur #fanfiction #hetalia fanfiction

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deathonyourtongue · 3 years

Text

Calling on the Rain

Summary: What’s a first date without an interlude from Mother Nature? Pairing: Henry Cavill x OFC (part of the Yvonne/Ray/Arlo series which I’ve yet to name. 🤦🏽‍♀️) Word Count: 2.1K Warnings: All the fluff! A/N: This was a request from the lovely @livinglifeformemyselfandi ! Enjoy!!

Completing a PhD in clinical psychiatry at Cornell tended to leave one without time for any sort of social life. Lately however, Yvonne had found herself trying to carve out little bits of it here and there. All because of a guy.

Being 26 with an MCAT score in the 500’s, Yvonne had breezed through her undergraduate program, but with her time at med school coming to a close, the pressure was on. She could start applying for her residency positions next year, and while she was beyond excited, the major shift didn’t come without a healthy dose of fear. She needed some time to simply…be, and since she wasn’t a fan of being alone, finally accepting a date from the guy in her neuro class seemed like the best idea.

Arlo was from London, and though he’d explained it more than once, Yvonne still couldn’t fathom why he’d chosen to do his med program in the States. It didn’t matter however; the moment he’d opened his mouth, she was a goner.

The plans for the day were simple. A walk around town, taking in the sites, lunch at a little cafe that had an unbelievable dessert selection, and finally, a late show of a movie they’d both wanted to see.

Putting on a pair of Navy shorts, a cream tank top, and a matching pair of strappy sandals, she checked her hair and makeup one last time before heading out to meet Arlo in the common room. To say she was nervous was an understatement, but Yvonne knew that if she chickened out or cancelled on him again, she’d lose her shot with him and that was the last thing she wanted.

Arlo’s glance up at her put an ear-to-ear smile on Yvonne’s face, flustering her to the point where she had to keep her hand on the railing despite usually being okay without it.

“You look lovely,” he said as he extended his arm to her, Yvonne taking a moment to take him in before linking her arm through his. She was glad she wasn’t over or underdressed, and couldn’t help but smile a little brighter when she realized they matched.

“And you look very handsome,” Yvonne replied, her nerves easing a bit as they got moving.

“How’re you doing on your project?”

“Nope. Don’t wanna talk about it. Any topic other than school,” Yvonne grinned before playfully letting her head fall to his shoulder as though she were going to faint. Arlo laughed warmly, squeezing her hand as he thought about other topics. Never once did he ask her to move her head, and never once did Yvonne entertain the notion. After a few moments, his arm came around her, tucking her in close.

“Any topic other than school. Fair. What’s a movie that you can watch over and over again?”

“The second Mighty Ducks movie,” Yvonne answered sheepishly, pushing her face into Arlo’s chest as her cheeks caught fire.

“Didn’t take you for the sports type. I’ll keep that in mind come winter,” Arlo grinned, giving her a playful wink. It was his words that caught Yvonne’s heart in her chest however, the easy way he promised that they’d still be a thing at least until next winter. It intrigued her and Yvonne couldn’t help the excitement she felt at the prospect of actually having someone to be with.

“What about you?”

“Mine? I’m gonna have to go with...The Professional. Still holds up.”

Arlo held the door for Yvonne as they veered into one of the first shops along their walk, a place that sold a variety of different knick-knacks, from old skeleton keys to little frog statues, and even street signs. Though the aisles were narrow, they manage to stay side by side, Yvonne relaxing more and more into the warmth of his chest as they browsed.

“What’s one dish you’d never stop eating if there was an endless amount of it in front of you?” He asked as they checked out postcards, the majority related to their chosen alma mater.

“Ooh, good question! Fettuccine. Always. So yummy,” Yvonne answered, hoping her stomach wouldn’t growl at the thought of her favorite meal, especially since she’d skipped breakfast on account of nerves.

“Yeah, Fettuccine’s great. Personally, I’d be really sad if the world didn’t have pizza,” Arlo chuckled, letting her lead the way to the back of the store, where they had all sorts of games and toys, a few that harkened back to childhood.

Yvonne couldn’t help but reach for the magic 8 ball as soon as she saw it, her grin turning excited as she shook it.

“Will we enjoy the movie?” She asked, one eyebrow raised as she gazed up at Arlo, giggling when his expression mirrored hers. When the liquid settled, the window read a clear answer.

Outlook good.

“I hope so. Everyone can’t stop talking about it,” Arlo laughed, shaking his head before taking the 8 ball from Yvonne and giving it a shake of his own.

“Will my devastatingly smart and beautiful date find me up to snuff before the night is out?” He asked, making sure to keep his voice soft in the quiet store. Yvonne couldn’t help but cover her mouth to muffle her laughter when he showed her the answer.

My sources say no.

Arlo pouted, giving her his best puppy dog eyes, hunched shoulders and all.

“That’s not true!” Yvonne shook her head, giggling as she reached up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, unable to help the little flutter in her heart when his already ruddy cheeks went a shade pinker. The blush was made even better by his smile, the genuine happiness bringing out a more youthful side to him.

Taking the eight ball back, Yvonne shook it vigorously while she thought of a question to ask. She wanted it to be something outlandish, a prediction that couldn’t be true in a million years. Something that would cement this as the best date she’d ever been on, were it to come true.

“Will it rain on our date? Maybe right at the very end so I don’t have to walk around with frizzy hair all day?” Once more her eyebrow went up, part of her hoping it happened, and part hoping it didn’t, if only because she’d just gotten her hair done two days before and she’d opted for a silk press. As gorgeous as it was, it wasn’t rainproof in the slightest, and Yvonne didn’t want it to get ruined.

Better not tell you now.

Shrugging, she smiled sweetly at Arlo before wiggling her eyebrows, eyes wide. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

“That was…”

“Delicious,” Arlo agreed, taking Yvonne’s hand as they made their way out of the restaurant, having a little time--and a small walk--to the theater.

They’d both chosen the Fettucine--hers with chicken and his with steak--and a glass of wine, and though the cafe was somewhat empty given the time of day, it might as well have been last call, because Yvonne felt like there was no one else in there with her except Arlo and she couldn’t have been happier.

He’d paid without even asking, so as they approached a candy store, Yvonne all but pushed him inside, giggling like a mischievous kid as she did so. “My treat. Can’t go to the movies without a few essentials.”

Shaking his head in amusement, Arlo let her lead him through the aisles, picking out things here and there, wondering how much of it would be used as study fuel later on when they headed back to the reality that was med school.

“So we’ve got Reese’s Pieces, gummy bears, fuzzy peaches, Milk Duds, and of course, Junior Mints.” Yvonne explained her haul as they left the store, carefully putting each candy in her purse and shuffling things around so that nothing bulged inconspicuously.

“I’ll never understand why theaters get upset when people bring their own candy. It’s not as though we haven’t already paid for the tickets,” Arlo mused, gently shifting Yvonne out of the way of a cyclist who was careening down the sidewalk. Startled to be moved so suddenly, Yvonne was about to say something to Arlo when the gust of wind caused by the passing cyclist nearly took her off her feet.

“Thank you,” she whispered, one eye half shut as she tried to blink the dust out of it. Yvonne’s breath caught in her throat when she felt Arlo’s warm hands cup her face. “Open as much as you can, and I’ll try and blow it out,” he explained, keeping her face steady and waiting until he saw her brown eyes fully opened before letting a quick burst of air escape his lips.

“Better?” Arlo asked, ducking his head to meet Yvonne’s gaze.

“Yes, much better, actually. Thank you. Again,” she smirked, leaning up to give him another kiss on the cheek, this time unable to help but smooth her hand over Arlo’s blushing cheek.

Yvonne would later chalk it up to misleading marketing and the exhaustion of med school, but after sitting through the first half of the movie--and half a bag of gummy bears which she shared with Arlo--she found her eyes growing heavy. Before she realized it, she was out like a light. Far from being put off, Arlo carefully lifted the armrest that separated them and tugged her in close, letting her head rest on his chest as his arm cradled her gently. As the credits rolled, he rubbed her back gently to wake her.

“Oh my god, that’s so embarrassing!” Yvonne groaned as she straightened herself out, realizing what she’d done. Arlo couldn’t help his big grin, finding her utterly endearing in her half-awake state.

“You didn’t miss much, believe me. I’ve half a mind to petition the movie studio for my money back, it was so boring.”

“Okay, so it wasn’t just me. Good. That makes me feel a little better,” she shook her head, remembering what little she’d seen of the movie and how she kept waiting for the action to begin.

“Ah, well, two out of three isn’t bad. Overall I think we did alright, no? As far as first dates go?” The anxiety and hope in his facial expression made Yvonne smile, knowing full well he was wishing on every last star in the sky that she would feel the same.

“I think we did more than alright. I think there’s second and third date potential there, mister.”

This time, Arlo blushed hard enough that he had to look away, though there was no missing the big, bright grin and the excitement in his eyes. Yvonne held him a little closer as they walked through the theater’s lobby, her own smile unwavering until she took a look outside.

“Oh my!” Arlo exclaimed, his expression a mix between true shock and more than a little amusement.

“Guess the 8 ball was right,” Yvonne answered, cringing momentarily before dissolving into giggles. “I just had to ask about rain, huh?”

“That just means you’re magic, love. True magic,” Arlo’s laughter sobered as he spoke, his blue eyes softening as he gazed down at Yvonne, looking for all the world like a man head-over-heels in love.

Pausing to think for a moment, Yvonne weighed their options; a taxi back to student housing (which would cost a fortune) or ruining her hair (which would also cost a pretty penny) on the first date with the first guy she’d truly been interested in since her childhood crush on her brother’s friend. Taking a deep breath, she took Arlo’s hand and tugged him through the door, knowing they were both about to get soaked to the bone.

“Love, what are you doing!?” Arlo called over the pouring rain, squinting against the drops and trying his best to pull Yvonne back into the building.

“Come on! I’ve always wanted to dance under the rain!” Yvonne answered, beaming at Arlo despite the drops that battered down on them.

Though he couldn’t hear it at first, when Arlo finally reached Yvonne, the soft sounds of music coming from a nearby restaurant were clear. Pulling her flush to his chest, Arlo took her hand in his and slipped the other around her waist.

Time ground to a halt as they slow danced, forgetting the rain, the cars going by, or even the people watching from inside the stores. There was only the rain, the stars, and the other person.

Their eyes met as the rain began to slow from a downpour to a sprinkle, and without a moment’s hesitation, Yvonne reached up on her tip toes and pressed a sweet, gentle kiss to Arlo’s lips, capping off the best date she’d ever had, ever.

Two things were certain to Yvonne as she and Arlo slowly parted from their kiss; she’d have to make more time to simply be, with Arlo, and she’d have to go back for that Magic 8 Ball soon.

#henry cavill #henry cavill x ofc #deathonyourtongueoriginals

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charincharge · 4 years

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Cruel Summer, Part 6

cruel summer masterlist

AN: Today was ~dramatic~ -- I woke up to learn that someone was posting this fic on AO3 and passing it off as their own. It was a BUMMER, to say the least, and it really threw me off. I haven’t posted fic in a decade, and I was really using this as a fun way to remember how much I loved writing (since doing it professionally can seriously zap the fun out of it). And hearing that someone stole my work made me incredibly upset and feel generally violated. I know it’s just fic, but... I work hard to write it and don’t think it’s too much to ask to receive the credit for it? I hope this chapter doesn’t reflect that because I was really excited for this one! Anyway. TL;DR, I ended up creating an AO3 page, so no one can post FOR me moving forward. I’ve updated my Masterlist page accordingly. And please don’t plagiarize, guys, it’s not cool. Okay. Enough of that negativity. Let’s get back to the important things. Like Rowan.

Rain pelts against Rowan’s window, casting a dark, ominous hue over his bedroom. His first real day off from work, and it’s storming outside, naturally. He’d planned to take it easy and go to the beach, maybe go for a long run. But it looks like that’s not happening now. He knows he’s being punished. This is the universe’s way of intervening and letting him know how shitty he is. Rowan can’t shake the image of Aelin’s hurt face. It is seared into his brain. And there’s only one way to get it out.

Rowan lounges back into his pillows and opens his laptop before typing in Aelin Ashryver into his internet browser. Her Facebook profile pops up immediately, but it’s set to Friends Only, and Rowan definitely isn’t brave enough to add her as a friend. Her Instagram appears next, and Rowan nearly jumps for joy that it’s a public profile.

The first picture is of the back of her head, her blonde hair piled high on top of her head in a messy bun, with tendrils curling around the nape of her neck, overlooking her balcony and the view of the ocean beyond. She’s back, bitches the caption reads, and Rowan can’t help but chuckle. Next is Aelin with her entire family at the head of Ashryver Playland in a picturesque pose with the caption Favorite place with my favorite people (minus @dorhav118 who gets in TOMORROW!!!!). The corners of Rowan’s lips curl downward as his curiosity gets the better of him, and he clicks on Dorian’s profile.

Rowan rolls his eyes at Dorian’s bio: “Hot as a pistol, but cool inside.”

His heart tugs at seeing the first picture. It’s from the pool party the other day, when Aelin was still in her white dress. She’s laughing at something Dorian said, her eyes closed tightly, glass of champagne in her hand, while Dorian smizes into the camera. Reunited and it feels so good <3

“Who kicked your puppy?” Manon asks from the doorway, and Rowan slams his laptop shut.

“No one.”

A wicked grin appears on her face as she stalks into Rowan’s room and slides onto the bed next to him. “I have a pretty good idea.”

Rowan sighs as Manon reaches over and opens the laptop back up, her long nails clacking against the keyboard. “Just as I thought.” She looks Rowan over, from the bags under his eyes to his hair, messy from constantly running his hands through it. “We’re going out.”

Rowan looks out the window at the torrential downpour and gray skies. “Out? In that? Where?”

“I don’t know,” Manon admits, “But I’m not letting you mope and stalk Aelin all day. It’s pathetic, and below you, to be frank. There’s got to be something we can do in this godforsaken town when it rains.”

It turns out there’s not that many options for what to do when it rains in the small beach town. Mostly everything is outdoors or beach oriented. But Manon decides that the aquarium is a good indoor activity, and it happens to be next to a brewery – for when they get bored. The pair Uber there, not wanting to deal with the hassle of worrying about sobering up. If Rowan’s not allowed to mope and be pathetic at home, he’s going to do today right. And do it drunk.

Despite it being one of the few indoor activities available, the aquarium is fairly deserted when Manon and Rowan arrive. It’s dark and damp and cool and strangely soothing, and Rowan lets Manon lead the way. She heads immediately for the reptile room, thrilled to see the alligators and lizards and snakes. Somehow Rowan isn’t surprised by this development.

They branch off into a small Amazon Rainforest room, filled with frogs and fish and even more snakes on low hanging branches, and Rowan nearly jumps out of skin when a large bird caws in his direction.

“I fucking hate birds,” he grumbles as Manon cackles in delight. “Can’t we see… cuter animals? Like, turtles and seals or some shit?”

Manon rolls her eyes and leads him straight to the shark tank. It’s open, so they can lean over it and look at the giant creatures. Rowan grits his teeth, only slightly terrified at the image of the fin cutting through the surface of the water.

“You know what you’re feeling is totally false,” Manon comments casually.

“Huh?” Rowan says, trying to maintain his calm façade.

“Sharks aren’t predators of humans. That’s the Jaws effect in action. It completely changed our perception of sharks and actually sparked a hunting frenzy that has put sharks in danger, even though they were just an important part of the ecosystem. Fuck you, Spielberg.”

Manon purses her darkly painted lips and twirls her white blonde hair, leaning over the tank further. Rowan shakes his head at his roommate, who looks like she wants to reach into the water and pet the fucking things. He’s never seen her so affected before.

“Why are you like this?” he asks, and she laughs.

“You’re not thinking about her anymore, though, are you?”

Rowan flicks her off. “I wasn’t.”

“A few more rooms will get you right back to that terrified place and not thinking about her at all. Don’t you worry.” She winks and leads him into an incredibly dark room, which is only lit up with glowing jellyfish. Manon is right, and within a few minutes, Rowan is feeling calm again. He lets the dark and schools of weird underwater creatures soothe him, and after they finish at the aquarium, Rowan is grateful he let Manon drag him out of the house.

“Beer?” she asks, and Rowan nods readily.

“I think I earned it.”

“Shut up, you fucking loved it. Think we should get a fish tank?” she asks, and Rowan shakes his head immediately. Manon is strange enough without tending to creatures from the deep in their apartment.

They brave the rain, realizing they both forgot umbrellas, and make a mad dash down the street. Rain soaks Rowan’s shirt, but he feels light. They duck into the brewery, and Rowan shakes out his hair, spraying water all over Manon, like a wet dog. He’s never seen her look so horrified.

“You’re lucky I set my makeup, so it’s immoveable every day,” she says with narrowed eyes. “First round’s on you, asshole.”

Rowan orders them two beers fairly quickly, despite the brewery being packed with patrons (he guesses this is where everyone goes when it rains). But when he turns around to hand Manon her drink, he’s surprised to see her mid-conversation with the very last person he wants to see.

“Rowan!” Dorian calls him over with a wide smile, and Rowan grimaces as he joins them. “I was just introducing myself to your stunning roommate,” Dorian says, and Manon rolls her eyes. But Rowan knows she’s beaming internally with the praise. Manon knows she’s beautiful and doesn’t let anyone forget it, despite her lack of interest in men.

“Uh, hey, Dorian, right?” Rowan says, pretending like he wasn’t just browsing the man’s Instagram profile merely hours ago.

Dorian laughs heartily. “Rowan, come on. We’re friends. Any friend of Aelin’s is a friend of mine.” He grins again, and Rowan can’t help but stare at his incredibly white teeth. He wonders if he whitens them. He must, because no one’s teeth are that naturally white. Or straight.

“Come sit with us!” Dorian points to their table where Aelin sits with the same two people from last night.

“Sure!” Manon says, the same time Rowan says “NO!” emphatically.

“Come on,” Dorian pleads. “We have a big table, and the place is packed. You’ll be lucky to find standing room otherwise. Please, Aelin would be horrified if I let you leave without saying hi.”

Rowan’s stomach churns, but he feels trapped. He can’t say no. “Lead the way,” he says, and Dorian smiles another blinding smile.

“Great.”

He leads them to their table, and to say that Aelin looks shocked to see Rowan approach would be an understatement.

“Look who I found!” Dorian exclaims, gesturing to Rowan and Manon, who stand next to the table awkwardly. “Chaol, Nesryn – these are two of Aelin’s friends, Rowan and Manon.”

The brunette dude, Chaol, gives Rowan a tight smile and short head nod, but the woman, Nesryn, stands and shakes both their hands politely.

Rowan and Manon slide into the two empty seats, and of course Rowan is directly across from Aelin. She looks at him curiously as he takes a large sip of his beer.

“So, how do you know Aelin?” Chaol asks, breaking the awkward silence.

“Rowan works at the park,” Dorian explains. “And Chaol is Aelin’s ex-boyfriend and my other best friend,” Dorian chuckles.

“It’s not as awkward as it sounds,” Chaol says with a laugh.

Aelin squints her eyes and looks at Chaol. “Mmm… it kind of is.”

Manon snorts. “You’re a handful, aren’t you?” she says, leaning toward Aelin, and Aelin flips her golden hair over her shoulder and shrugs.

“Two handfuls, thank you very much,” she says and feels herself up, showing how her chest spills over her hand, too much for one to grasp fully.

“Aelin!” Chaol chides, and Rowan can feel heat creep up the back of his neck as he stares at Aelin’s ample cleavage as she lifts it up.

Dorian cackles, his laugh piercing through the room as he tips his head back. He reminds Rowan of Manon when he does it, so amused with others’ discomfort.

Rowan glances back at Aelin’s chest, and when he looks up, she’s staring back at him, one brow raised in question. He immediately finishes the rest of his beer, downing it in one gulp.

“I need more beer. Anyone else?” Rowan asks, and to his surprise, Chaol stands and offers to come with him.

The pair stand side by side at the bar, waiting for their drinks, and Rowan is unsure of what to say to his current crush’s former paramour.

“So…” Chaol begins, and Rowan cocks an eyebrow at him as he leans against the bar. ��You were at The Mason Jar last night,” Chaol says, naming the dive bar where he’d met up with the guys the night prior. “Aelin booked it to the bar when she saw you,” Chaol continues. “You guys, like, a thing?” he asks, curiosity seeping through his anything but innocent question.

“What?” Rowan says, bowled over. “No. Uh. Not at all.” Rowan is more than flustered. “I thought she and Dorian were…”

And at that Chaol tips his head back and guffaws. A deep, full-body belly laugh, erupts from his mouth. “Dorian?” he gapes, his brown eyes wide with disbelief. “And Aelin?” He shakes his head. “No. No no no. Never.” Chaol pauses. “They kissed once when they were thirteen, but other than that. No. Dorian is her person. Which is why it could never work between us, even though we tried for five fucking years,” he sighs and scratches the back of his neck uncomfortably. “But, no. They’re definitely not.” Chaol looks at Rowan, and Rowan feels like he’s seeing through him completely. Chaol smiles softly. “You really thought? Hmmm.”

Rowan is stunned. Seriously stunned. He has no idea how to react. Or how to process this new information. Dorian and Aelin are not dating? They’re just… friends? So, Aelin is available? And has been flirting with Rowan for the past week, and Rowan just shot her down? Rowan rubs his forehead with his hand, which he thinks is the only thing stopping him from banging his head against the bar in shame. Rowan is an idiot.

An idiot who needs to apologize to Aelin. Immediately.

“This was, uh… enlightening,” Rowan says as he accepts his drink from the bartender, and Chaol can’t help but laugh again.

“Did you do something stupid?” he asks cheekily.

“So stupid,” Rowan says, shaking his head.

“Yeah, she was kind of in a mood after she came back from talking to you,” Chaol says, and Rowan groans. Chaol holds up his hands in surrender. “Just trying to help!”

Rowan turns to him fully and examines the brunette with his concerned brown eyes and has to ask, “Not to be rude, but why?”

“Because Aelin deserves to be happy,” he says resolutely. “And I kept her from being happy for a really long time because I’m a selfish bastard,”Chaol admits way too freely. “But, how could I not?”

“You still love her,” Rowan says, and Chaol shrugs.

“I think once you love Aelin you always love her. For better or worse.”

Rowan motions to the table. “I’m gonna…”

Chaol smirks. “Yeah, get to it.”

But back at the table, Aelin and Dorian are nowhere to be found. Manon sighs, obvious to Rowan’s distress.

“She went to sign up for karaoke.”

“Oh no…” Rowan groans.

“Oh, yes,” Aelin says, bounding back to the table, exuberant.

“Don’t worry. I signed you up, too, Rowan,” Dorian says with a grin.

Aelin frowns, her eyes filled with apology. “I told him not to.”

Dorian rolls his eyes. “And I told her that if Rowan wants to hang with us this summer, he’s gotta get initiated.”

“It’s fine,” Rowan says, smiling in what he hopes is a nice and not creepy way to Aelin. She looks momentarily confused, but she doesn’t have time to think about it because she’s called up to do her song with Dorian almost immediately.

The pair sing “Shallow” flawlessly. And now that Rowan knows they aren’t dating, he can see their friendship all too clearly. Aelin and Dorian love each other fiercely; their passion rages through everything they do, but it lacks a spark. It’s platonic, Rowan finally realizes. He’s been such a fucking fool.

Rowan’s name gets called next, and his stomach is is knots, wondering what song they’ve chosen for him. When he gets to the front, though, he nearly laughs. They’ve chosen a song he could sing with his eyes completely closed.

Shorty get down, good lord… baby’s got ‘em up all over town…

Strictly biz she don’t play around, cover much ground, got game by the pound

Getting paid is her forte

Each and every day, true player way

I can’t get her out of my mind

Think about the girl all the time…

He knows the song is comeuppance for calling Aelin friendly last night, but he crushes it nonetheless, singing his heart out, performing for the masses. When Rowan finishes, the crowds go wild, applauding like crazy.

He sees Aelin bolt from the table before he can get back off the stage, and decides to follow her. She heads down the long hall back to the bathrooms, and his long stride helps him catch up quickly.

“Aelin!” he shouts, and he’s grateful that she pauses, but her arms are crossed over her chest, a clear defensive stance that tells him to keep his distance.

“What?” she snips, obviously pissed. They haven’t actually interacted with each other since last night, and Rowan knows she has every right to be angry with him. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me? What are you even doing here, Rowan?”

“I’m an idiot,” he blurts out, and he can see Aelin’s face morph from pissed to amused. She bites her lip to hold back her smile.

“I mean, I know that, but why do you think that?” she says, her blue gold eyes glowing with challenge. He takes a step closer to her, and she backs up until she can’t back up anymore, pressed against the side of the hall. He pauses his approach, not wanting to make her feel cornered. If she wants space between them, he’ll let her have space.

“I was so out of line last night,” Rowan apologizes. “You were right. You were just trying to be friendly. I was being a dick. I thought…” Rowan pauses. He doesn’t want to be this tongue tied, but she flusters him, and he can’t get anything out how he wants to. “It’s not harassment when I want to be touched. By you.”

Aelin’s eyes narrow. She looks suspicious as she examines him.

“I knew I was good at karaoke, but damn, I didn’t anticipate this kind of turnaround…” Aelin smirks and takes a breath, and Rowan risks taking another step forward. She holds up a hand and presses it against Rowan’s chest. He didn’t realize how close he’d gotten to her. Warmth from her palm seeps through his shirt, and he breathes heavily. She looks up into his eyes with curiosity.

“Seriously, what changed your mind?” she asks.

“If I say Chaol’s name right now it’s just going to make things weird,” Rowan says, dipping his head slightly, and he can’t help but notice her tilt her head up to him. He zeroes in on her lips, leaning down to get even closer.

“You’re right,” she says with a soft laugh. “You were still a jerk.” Her eyes flick to his lips, and Rowan darts his tongue out to wet them.

“I know,” he breathes softly. “And I mentioned I was an idiot, right?”

Aelin nods and leans in to close the gap between them, the charge, the magnetism between them now palpable, strumming through Rowan’s body, pulling him downward.

“Hey guysss,” Dorian drawls as he walks past them quickly, and Rowan straightens up suddenly. Aelin darts under his arm, freeing herself from being backed into the wall. He sees her take a large breath. “I was wondering where you’d gone.” Dorian looks between them, and then grabs his stomach. “I have to pee so bad. Don’t mind me!” He continues down the hall. “As you were!”

Rowan goes to finish his apology, but the moment is gone, and so is Aelin. He needs a moment to compose himself, and when he makes it back to the table, she’s already deep in conversation with Manon and Chaol and Nesryn about the latest karaoke performance. Apparently in his absence someone murdered “Bohemian Rhapsody” and not in a good way. But Aelin acknowledges Rowan’s presence with a flash of a smile, despite not breaking her conversation.

Manon side eyes Rowan suspiciously, and Rowan brushes her off. He’s not ready to talk about whatever just did or did not happen in that hallway.

Their chatter is aimless but pleasant as afternoon bleeds into evening, and eventually they all decide to disperse and head home. Rowan never gets a chance to speak to Aelin alone again, but when he and Manon are in their Uber heading home, his phone flashes with a Friend Request from Aelin Ashryver.

“Hmm,” Manon hums pointedly as Rowan bites back a smile. He spends the rest of the night in bed, scrolling through Aelin’s social media. As he’d originally planned to do with his day. Only now, he doesn’t feel as mopey or pathetic. He lets the rain, still relentless, lull him to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~

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