#I literally have a small print of this art at my desk at work it's so 🥰🥰🥰 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

quartzelaii · 2 years

Text

Perfectly Aligned

CHAPTER II

— L/N Y/N, best friend to Kageyama Tobio since age 6. L/N Y/N, the object of all Tsukishima Kei's desires since age 15.

Masterlist

CHAPTER I ➛ CHAPTER II ➛ CHAPTER III

word count: 11k

"How's that poster design coming along? Good, I'm hoping?" Nakano Miyaka, the Arts Club president, hovers over the table like a bespectacled hawk. Her thick glasses almost make her eyes look comically huge with the way she surveys the club room like some sort of cliché cranky supervisor from an office sitcom.

The Arts Club room is small and dingy, probably the smallest and dingiest room in prestigious Shiratorizawa. The four walls perpetually smell of acrylic paint and marker ink from paintings and other artwork that take too long to dry. The desks and chairs are stained with various pigments, courtesy of those hard-headed club members who always forget to put down newspaper before working on their projects.

Upon enrolling in high school, you had trouble finding a new club to pledge yourself to since you've said good bye to volleyball. When you were a kid, one of your favorite way to pass the time aside from playing volleyball is messing around with whatever coloring materials you could find in your pencil case— crayons, watercolors, those small pots of poster color that smell like expired medicine. You'd take your time creating your own masterpiece. More often than not, it would actually turn out good and your Dad would display it by the fridge or frame it to hang in the living room. You enjoyed making art for him, that was until he and your mother divorced. Suddenly, it didn't make sense to continue doing art anymore.

However, on your first day of school at Shiratorizawa, you were handed a flyer for the Arts Club by Miyaka herself who was scouting new recruits at the time. Perhaps it was her overly-enthusiastic persona, or maybe it was because the prospect of making art again made you feel nostalgic— either way, it only took three minutes of convincing before you were signing up.

Miyaka instantly took a liking to you. You're an efficient and productive member of the club, adamant on creating a good first impression on your clubmates. Not long after that, Miyaka has appointed you as the club's Secretary even though you're still a first year. You accepted the honor with much eagerness.

"Just tweaking a few things and then it's ready to be printed." Came the monotonous reply of the club's vice president, currently hunched back over his laptop.

"A few things, huh?" Miyaka gives a pointed look at him then at the laptop's screen. "Seems to me like you still have a lot to tweak considering the page is still freakin' blank."

Aoki Raiden groans and leans back against his chair, pulling the strings on his hoodie so the fabric engulfs his face.

"Please get off my back, Miyaka-san. I literally can't work with you watching me all the damn time."

Miyaka yanks the hood off his head. "I gave you a week to finish the poster design, Rai. We're already behind schedule as it is."

"You do know the festival isn't until October, right? It's still the middle of August, not to mention it's summer break. Stop being such a worrywart. We have plenty of time." Raiden drawls as his fingers clack on his laptop's keyboard. From where you're sitting, you can see the interface of Twitter on the screen, the poster design's editing page has been minimized and is now completely abandoned.

"I dedicated the whole summer break to work on our booth so we don't have to worry about it once school starts." Miyaka puts her hand on her hips in an attempt to assert authority. "Us third years are gonna be super busy by September and I won't have time to supervise this club by then. You really have to be more considerate, you know."

"Ugh, fine. Give me three days and I'll send you the final design."

"No, are you kidding me? You have until tomorrow to finish that."

Raiden glares at the club president but doesn't complain any more. Reluctantly, he pulls out the editing software again and begins working, but not without complaining all the way.

Miyaka then turns to you who are currently writing on your notepad at the corner of the room, a calculator sitting on your lap. "How about our budget plan, Y/N-chan? Has it been taken care of yet?"

"Yep, I've added both what we've spent so far and the estimation of how much we'll be spending once we build the booth itself." You say, tapping your pen on the notepad. "I made a table for it, too, Miyaka-san, so there won't be any confusion. I'll give the printed copy to you tomorrow."

You rummage through your notepad, checking your various notes from the days before. "I've also checked in with Ryo-san and the other second-years earlier. They're about 50% done with the mural but they ran out of paint so they had to order more. Their expenses are already accounted for, by the way."

"See? That's what a responsible club member looks like. You should really learn a thing or two from your kouhai. Seriously, I should have fired you as vice president and appointed her instead."

Raiden can only sneer in response, both at you and Miyaka. His typing becomes more aggravated by the second.

"And what about the piece you'll be showcasing at the silent auction?" The bespectacled third-year asks you again.

"Also done but it's still drying. I used oil paint."

"Great! I'm thinking of making that our centerpiece."

"What?" Raiden almost jumps from his seat. "How about my clay sculpture of Bourgeois' Spider? You told me it's gonna be the centerpiece!"

"Well, we can't actually showcase something you haven't even started on yet, can we? Tell you what, show me the finished product and I might actually change my mind."

"I'm getting on it! Just stop pestering me about it! God!"

Miyaka says something snarky in retaliation but you don't hear it. You're busy looking at the clock mounted on the wall to hear about the bickering of your two upperclassmen. The clock reads 2:28 PM. Tobio texted you an hour ago saying that they've defeated their first opponent and were currently waiting for their next match. You're almost buzzing in your seat in worry that you won't be able to catch it.

"Miyaka-san, I was wondering if I could leave early today? I'm supposed to watch the boys volleyball at the Sendai City Gymnasium."

"Eh? But I was told Shiratorizawa isn't playing today. Something about them being too good?"

"Oh, yeah, they won the Inter High so they're already seeded in the Qualifiers." You nod. "I'm actually gonna watch Karasuno."

"Why? Is your boyfriend in there?" Miyaka wiggles her eyebrows. You know it's just a playful teasing but you can't help getting flustered. Your cheeks heat up almost immediately. You hate how you always have this reaction.

"No, just my best friend."

"Yeah, right." Miyaka rolls her eyes with a sly smirk on her lips. "Everybody knows best friend is, like, code for boyfriend"

You reiterate rather defensively that Tobio is just a friend despite Miyaka clearly not believing you. It always entertains you whenever she teases and badgers Raiden but when you're on the receiving end of it, you don't think it's amusing anymore. Only when your face is about the shade of a ripe tomato did Miyaka stop her teasing, but not without giggling about how agitated you look about the whole thing.

Eventually, she grows tired of joking around and agrees to your request.

"No fair! How come she gets to go?" Raiden whines. The way he pouts and crosses his arms like that reminds you of one of those spoiled kids who throw temper tantrums in malls. He's a few months older than you but you forget that with how childish he acts sometimes.

"For one, she's actually been very productive today and she deserves an early out."

"What, just because she's the Darling Setter of Miyagi, she's free to watch volleyball anytime?"

Miyaka cocks her head to the side. "Darling what of Miyagi?"

"Setter. It's just a nickname I got when I used to play volleyball back in middle school." You wave it off as if it's no big deal— though you'd be lying if you said you didn't feel the warm swell of pride in your chest upon hearing that nickname again after so long.

"Which is cringe and tacky, by the way." Raiden rolls his eyes, something you're now accustomed to seeing. You stick your tongue to him which he responds by sticking his tongue back to you. You don't take offense whenever Raiden eggs on you like that because you know he doesn't really mean it— it's just the way he is. To be honest, you have grown quite fond of his salty remarks, and sometimes, you even participate whenever he initiates a lighthearted squabble.

"I knew you used to play volleyball but I didn't know you were famous. Should I ask for your autograph?" Miyaka leans against your desk with an impressed look on her face.

"As much as I want to sign stuff for you, Miyaka-san, I don't think my autograph is worth anything anymore." You hope your response is buoyant enough to hide the fact this is a sore topic for you. You still haven't fully come into terms that you're not a volleyball player anymore.

"You really sure it's okay that I leave early?" You hastily add as an attempt to steer the conversation.

The bespectacled third-year taps her chin in thought as she looks at Raiden who is brooding in the corner. "You know what? I'm actually in the mood to watch some volleyball, too. Can I go with you, Y/N?"

"Of course, you can. I never pegged you as a volleyball fan, though."

"Oh, I'm not." She chuckles as she tidies up her desk. "But my boyfriend is such a nerd for it so I figured I should try to appreciate it more."

"Oh? You have a boyfriend?." Your brows shot up in surprise at this fact.

"You don't have to look so surprised about it, but yes. We made it official two weeks ago. We're keeping it lowkey. Not many people know yet."

"Oh my god," You hear Raiden's trademark exasperated sigh before he closes his laptop with a muddled thud. "A lot of people know you're dating Tendou-san. You can't say it's lowkey if it's all over your Twitter. Also, that whole will-you-be-my-girlfriend shenaniganhe did by the congregating area? Yeah, thatwasn't as cute as you think it was. He littered so much confetti that day, it looked like a unicorn threw up all over the place. Our class had to clean that up while you and your boyfriend made out behind the gym. You thought we didn't see that, huh? Well, we did!"

"Jesus, Raiden, that's not your story to tell!" shrieks Miyaka. The sound of it has you flinching.

Miyaka and Raiden commence yet another wrangle with the former chastising the latter for exposing her love life like that. Whenever something like this happens, you always give the two of them a couple of minutes before both of them cool down and continue on normally as if nothing happened. On your first few weeks with this club, you did think that this constant spat between the president and vice president was a bit too much for your liking— but then you learned soon enough that Miyaka and Raiden have been friends since middle school, and them fighting is a common occurrence, almost always not personal. They are actually really solid friends when both of them are in a good mood.

Your two upperclassmen finally reach an impasse. You haven't been listening to their argument so you don't exactly know how they went from Miyaka getting mad at Raiden for disclosing info about her love life, to Miyaka inviting Raiden to watch volleyball with you. You were busy putting away the papers and stationaries into their respective drawers when you heard Miyaka ask if Raiden wanted to come to the Sendai Gymnasium instead of being a whiny little bitch (the exact phrase she used). The way she worded the invite was a bit unorthodox but you know well enough that she just invited him so Raiden wouldn't feel left out when the two of you leave. She really cares for him in that way.

Their friendship is weird, you think to yourself as Raiden sassily agrees to go. You didn't plan on having company at Tobio's game, but your two senpai are alright companions— there are worse people to be stuck with.

"Maybe after the game, the three of us could go for some yakiniku." Miyaka has locked the club room and is now bouncing on the balls of her feet at her suggestion.

"As long as you're paying, then it's fine by me." Raiden lags behind you and Miyaka as the three of you set off.

"If you had given me the poster design today, maybe I'd have considered treating you— but you didn't, so no yakiniku for you."

"I have money. I can pay for my own yakiniku, thank you very much."

Your phone buzzes in your pocket. Tobio's name pops up on the screen with a text that has you widening your eyes.

"Guys, the game is starting in fifteen minutes! We have to hurry!"

You clutch your bag tight as you begin to sprint towards the gates. Miyaka and Raiden follow suit staggeringly. The former is shouting for you to slow down while the latter grumbled annoyedly to himself about regretting his decision to come.

The bus ride from Shiratorizawa to the Sendai City Gymnasium was fortunately quick. Though the game has probably already started, you still drag Miyaka and Raiden into a convenience store so you can get some snacks to give to Tobio after the game. Miyaka doesn't miss this opportunity to tease you further about being head-over-heels in love with your best friend, which you tried to ignore but couldn't help getting defensive over.

After paying for your stuff, you practically yank the two of them by their shirts into the stadium.

By the time you've arrived at the stands, the whole place is already buzzing with cheers from the crowd. There aren't many supporters because it's only the preliminaries but the air is still thick with excitement and anticipation.

It takes you three seconds to locate Karasuno's black and orange uniform in the court. The first set of their game against Kakugawa has already started. The scoreboard tells you that Kakugawa is leading at 2-0, though years of playing volleyball has taught you that it's still too early to gauge the trajectory of the game.

"That's Karasuno." You tell your companions, pointing at the court in front of you.

"Uh-huh, and which one's your boyfriend?" Miyaka cranes her neck and squints her near-sighted eyes to see the players better.

"Not a boyfriend." You remind her. "He's. No. 9."

"So tall!" You hear Miyaka emit a yelp. You follow her gaze and realize she's not looking at Tobio— she's looking at the opposing team's No. 9, who is probably the tallest high schooler you've ever laid your eyes on. He could be about two-meters tall, maybe even more. For a moment, you wonder what this would mean for Karasuno— a two-meter giant like that is surely a pain to play against. You'd hate to see Tobio's team lose just because of the overwhelming advantage Kakugawa has.

"I meant the black team's No. 9." You nudge her by the shoulder and point at Tobio in the other side of the court who is currently conversing with his teammates about what to do during the next rally. During his years at Kitagawa Daichi, he used to despise communicating with his team, but now you can see that he has changed so drastically. He looks more confident now, more open. You smile at this realization.

Miyaka nods approvingly upon seeing Tobio, commenting that he's tall and cute. She even goes as far as to say that he suits you perfectly and that you look good together, which elicits a flustered squeak from you.

You remain silent after that. You follow Tobio's form as he expertly maneuvers the ball across the court. You cheer whenever Karasuno scores and gasps in dejection whenever the other team does. You don't think Tobio knows you're here yet— not once has he looked at your direction since you arrived, not that you're expecting him to look for you. You understand completely well that the only thing that has his undistracted attention during the game is the ball itself.

Raiden grumbles about you being too loud, but you beg to differ— you're just getting fired up. Little does he know that your loudest cheer is yet to come.

The first time you see Tobio and Hinata's new quick attack is when you lose your mind, screaming and applauding until both your throat and palms felt sore. It's just so thrilling to see it firsthand, especially as a former setter yourself. Normal people may see it and think it's just a flashy move, but you know how much precision and concentration a setter has to master before executing such a technique.

Your best friend really is a genius.

"Nice toss, Tobio!" You shout. You doubt he heard you among the collective astonishment of the crowd. You're so fired up that Raiden has to poke you on your ribs to bring you to reality.

After that first quick attack, your focus is now entirely on the game, occasionally turning to Miyaka whenever she has some technical questions about what's going on in the court. Even though you learned that she's dating Tendou Satori, she doesn't seem to be all that informed about volleyball yet. Raiden remains quiet as he leans against the hand rail, observing the game with a bored countenance— though there's this one instance when he groans disappointedly when Karasuno's ace botched his jump serve. You find it amusing that this Shiratorizawa student has started rooting for Karasuno as well.

You're here to support Karasuno as a whole but you still can't help being biased. You can't seem to tear your gaze away from Tobio— so much so that the other members of the team seem like faceless characters in the background. You see them all moving and you're aware of each member's efforts but you're bewitched by Tobio. You can't not look at him.

All that changed, however, when he steals the crowd's attention with a monster kill block.

For the first time that day, your focus settles on Tsukishima.

Honestly speaking, you kind of forgot he was even in the team. If it weren't for that superb kill block he did, you would have went along the entire game not acknowledging his existence. All of a sudden, though, the attention you're giving Tobio isn't undivided anymore— Tsukishima has half of it now.

"Whoa, he stopped that ball all by himself like what Satori does." You hear Miyaka observe beside you in awe.

Tsukishima doesn't seem unfazed nor thrilled after winning that mid-air battle. He maintains his cool mien even as his team surround him joyously. He goes back to position, adjusts his glasses, and prepares for the next rally as if he didn't just effectively shut down the opponent's spiker all on his own. If you were playing against him, you'd be extremely annoyed at how calm he is.

Still, despite alternating your focus on Tobio and Tsukishima, the former still has your unrelenting support. When he and Hinata ended the first set with yet another freak quick, you didn't know your scream was the loudest. Only when Miyaka laughed at you about it did you mellow down and opted for clapping your hands instead.

The second set is just as gripping as the first, maybe even more. You got to see for the first time Karasuno do a synchronous attack and whenever they do, your eyes unknowingly follow Tsukishima run up to the net and jump with the intent of spiking. The blonde is a great blocker but he's also an effective spiker with his height and ball control. You find yourself cheering and clapping whenever he scores.

Miyaka notices by the second set that your loudest applause are reserved for Tobio and Tsukishima, and sometimes the occasional gasp of astonishment for Hinata's amazing reflexes. The other Karasuno members are amazing players in their own right but you seem more ardently supporting the aforementioned two.

After Tsukishima scores with a block-out, you bring your hands to your mouth and shout a rather impressed "nice kill". By this, Miyaka taps your shoulder to get your attention, and she wastes no time asking forthrightly if you know the blonde. You respond by saying that you have met him before but choose not to elaborate further. Fortunately for you, Miyaka doesn't press any more. You can only imagine how excruciating her teasing would be if she knew the nature of how you met Tsukishima.

After Hinata scores the final point in favor of Karasuno, you and Miyaka find yourselves hugging each other in glee. You have probably rubbed off your enthusiasm on her because she asks if you'd accompany her to watch Shiratorizawa's game at the qualifiers to which you happily agree. Even Raiden who looked disinterested throughout the whole game is joining in on the applause, evidently enjoying the match more than what he expected.

"We still on for barbecue?"

"I am kinda hungry so I guess I'll go with you." Raiden shrugs. The three of you make your way down the stairs as the crowd starts dispersing.

"I'm coming, too. I'll just congratulate Tobio and give him the snacks I bought. I won't be long."

"You're hopeless." You see Raiden shake his head mockingly.

"I think it's cute." Miyaka simpers. "You don't understand these things yet because you're single since birth, Rai."

You almost remind her that you are also single since birth and Tobio is not your boyfriend, but you feel like you've reiterated that fact enough that it's getting annoyingly redundant.

"You go on ahead, Y/N. We're gonna go to the rest rooms because I'm gonna freshen up and Rai has to splash cold water to his face to wipe off that hideous scowl. Just meet us there?"

"Okay! Be back in a jiffy!" With this, you're off speed walking to the direction of the corridor where you remember players keep their baggage in. You've been in this stadium a lot when you were in middle school that you still have the whole place memorized.

It takes you two minutes to see Tobio. He's still in his uniform so you locate him right away among the other players that are coming and going. He has his back turned on you, head downcast as he adjusts his bag that is slung over his shoulder.

You tiptoe to where he is. The surrounding chatter of other boys in the vicinity makes your arrival all the more unnoticeable.

"So, that's your new quick attack, huh?"

Tobio wheels around upon hearing your voice. His default scowl is replaced by a smirk once he sees that it's you who has spoken.

"Impressed?" You can see his ego radiating off of him like an aura.

"It's alright." You shrug in faux nonchalance.

"Liar. I heard you screaming louder than everyone earlier."

You blush profusely at that. You knew you were loud (Raiden wasted no opportunity calling you out on it), but you didn't know Tobio heard you all the way down the court. His other teammates must have heard you too and thought you were crazy. The mere thought of it is enough to make you cringe in embarrassment.

"Okay, fine. It was pretty neat." You finally admit, rolling your eyes. "Congrats on getting through the preliminaries. You guys deserved it."

Tobio grins, the kind that is laced with a dangerous amount of smugness. If you didn't know him at all, you would be offended rather than pleased when he says his thanks.

"Here, I got you this." You rummage through your bag and give him a paper bag from the convenience store you went into earlier. Inside are a bottle of sports drink and three protein bars— all his favorite brand and flavor, you made sure of that.

Tobio thanks you as he rips open a protein bar with his teeth before biting into it. He demolishes the bar in two enormous bites which prompts you to berate him for eating too quickly lest he wants to choke to death. You threaten to take back the remaining two protein bars if he doesn't slow down. He argues with you with his mouth full, spewing unintelligible protests and half-chewed oats alike as he raises the paper bag out of your reach.

That scene may have been a little too loud because from behind Tobio, a mop of orange hair pops out to investigate the small commotion.

"What's happening here— Kageyama! You went to buy snacks without me?" Hinata seems to be more offended upon seeing Kageyama's stuffed face.

Tobio shakes his head and juts his thumb at your direction, trying to say without words that it's you who gave the snacks to him. Hinata blinks as he registers your presence for the first time.

"Shiratorizawa?" His gaze lingers for a second on the shirt you're wearing which is purple with the academy's emblem printed on the front— the same shirt Miyaka and Raiden are wearing today. Since it's summer break, you don't have to wear your school uniform while doing club work inside campus but every once in a while, Miyaka still orders the club to wear the purple shirt, probably only for aesthetic reasons.

"Hey, is she your girlfriend?" Hinata tiptoes so he can whisper to Tobio's ear. It's not really a whisper because you can still hear it, and probably other people in the vicinity heard it too.

"She's just a friend, dumbass." Tobio barks at the small middle blocker.

"Hi. I'm Y/N." You take it upon you to introduce yourself with a bow.

The middle blocker visibly stiffens when you speak, his entire face erupting into a shade of scarlet that has you worrying if he's okay.

"Hinata Shoyo! N-n-nice to meet you, too!" He squeaks.

"What's that I hear? Kageyama has a girlfriend?" Tobio's other teammate with the No. 2 jersey enters the scene from the benches you didn't realize he was sitting on, almost hopping to where you are to take a closer look at you. Either Hinata's voice was too loud or No. 2 just has superhuman hearing.

"She's not my girlfriend, Sugawara-san." Tobio says a-matter-of-factly.

It kind of annoys you how Tobio never shows emotion whenever he denies being your girlfriend— something he does more often than you would have realized. It's always robotic, as if he's reciting from a user manual for a build-your-own furniture. It's annoying to you because you're the exact opposite— when someone insinuates that you and Tobio are a couple, you're always reduced to a blushing mess. It's just so unfair, you think. How come he's not bothered by it at all?

"Y/N, is it? I'm Sugawara, Kageyama's senpai." He grins proudly as he puts his arm over Tobio's shoulder, making the latter stiffen uncomfortably.

"Nice to meet you." You bow to the silver-haired boy.

"Oh? You're from Shiratorizawa." He parrots the observation Hinata had earlier.

"Yes, I'm a first year student there."

"I bet you guys are bummed out that your volleyball team didn't get Kageyama-kun here." Sugawara looks smug in a way that is lighthearted.

"I don't think they're bummed out, Sugawara-san. They're the ones who rejected me." Tobio's reply has you snorting. How did he manage to say that as seriously as he did?

"And they're definitely regretting that now, no?" Sugawara gave Tobio's back a rather loud smack which is supposed to be an encouraging pat.

"Where are the rest of your team?" You ask out of curiosity. It seems like Tobio, Hinata, and Sugawara are the only Karasuno players around. The absence of a certain blonde doesn't go unnoticed by you.

"Rest room, probably, or watching the remaining games.", came Tobio's curt reply.

"I think Asahi and Daichi are getting drinks from the vending machines." Sugawara quips in, looking at his wristwatch. "Now that I think of it, I've been waiting for my soda for twenty minutes now. Where the hell are those guys?"

Suddenly, as if on cue, a boisterous and rather obnoxious laughter rings from the other side of the hallway. Karasuno's No. 5 and No. 4 are loudly joshing around with the rest of Karasuno in tow.

It's hard not to spot him among his teammates. He stands out with his towering height and striking blonde hair. Tsukishima currently has his headphones on, scrolling on his phone with his hand tucked inside his pants pocket. He has already changed out of his uniform and into a plain white shirt and black trousers.

You're having a hard time registering the fact that the two of you are gonna see each other again— not that you're entirely opposed to it. The boy has definitely earned a considerable percentage of your trust after he had walked you home last night. Maybe you could thank him again for that. You just don't know how you're gonna open up that conversation. Even thinking about how awkward it would be already has you cringing already.

You debate with yourself whether or not you should get away now. You are not necessarily avoiding Tsukishima. It's just that after the events of last night, you feel like meeting him again would be a painful kind of awkward. You'd hoped that the interaction you two had wouldn't have a sequel. You're grateful for what he did for you but you were already so embarrassed about it, and having to interact with him again would just relive that in your memory.

By the time you've made your decision to scram, the incoming group is already a few feet away. Tsukishima peels his gaze away from his phone once the group has stopped in front of Sugawara who is giddy to get his soda he's been waiting on for twenty minutes. You instinctively let Tobio's body cover your own, not wanting to let your presence known just yet. Meeting new people, especially a lot of them, is particularly overwhelming for you.

At first, Tsukishima doesn't see you as he takes his headphones off and let it hang on his neck. A tall freckled boy is currently talking to him, stealing his attention. You don't realize you've been staring at Tsukishima. It is only when he felt the ghost prickle of a pair of eyes trained on him did he look at your direction. When he meets your gaze, it is you who is the more shocked. Hazel eyes fix on yours. If he is the least bit surprised to see you, he doesn't let it show. His expression doesn't change as his gaze lingers on you for a second before turning back to the boy whom we was conversing with.

Immediately, you cower even further behind Tobio.

"I should probably go now." You say, careful not to let your presence more known than it already is.

Your voice is soft, barely above whisper. By the looks of things, it is only Kageyama, Sugawara, Hinata, and Tsukishima who know that you're there. You're hiding behind Tobio (Sugawara and Hinata are stood beside him so their figures unknowingly conceal you too). The rest of the boys are oblivious of you— you're thankful for the loud No. 4 and No. 5 duo for diverting the team's attention with a most likely exaggerated story about a heated altercation with a rival team they bumped into at the rest rooms.

"Where are you going?" It's Kageyama's voice that catches the attention of the group. You could have slipped quietly without anyone noticing if he hasn't spoken. Curse him and his megaphone voice.

You're suddenly aware of a dozen or so pairs of eyes trained on you.

"Who's this?" It is No. 4, the libero, who pops the question. He's elbowing No. 5 whose eyes look like they've seen stars once they lay on you.

"Uh, sorry... I'm L/N Y/N. It's nice to meet you all." You really should have gotten away while you had the chance

"L/N? As in L/N Hotaru's daughter?" No. 5 has his eyes widened, his finger pointing at you. "You're the Darling Setter! I knew you looked familiar!"

"Right! L/N Y/N, I remember now. You were on Volleyball Monthly!", points out Sugawara. "Your hair was so much shorter back then. I almost didn't recognize you."

A part of you wished that they didn't. You're not at all accustomed anymore to people recognizing you as the Darling Setter. All you can do is smile awkwardly as the boys seem to renew their interest on you. You can see Tobio silently laughing, amused at how you looked uncomfortable at the spotlight.

Hinata is probably the most impressed. He's practically jumping up and down in front of you, his eyes twinkling as if he is star struck.

"You're the L/N Y/N? My sister saw you on the television last year. She thought you were very pretty and wanted to be like you!"

"R-really?" You stammer out, both flattered and disbelieving.

"Yeah! Her name's Natsu. She's only 9 years old but she's already interested in volleyball, and she wants to—"

"Oi, can't you see she's uncomfortable?" Tobio butts in, glaring at Hinata's enthusiasm.

You're not really uncomfortable, per se. You're just not used to the attention anymore. Back when you were in middle school, you absolutely adored being in the center of it, not so much now that you're in high school.

"It's fine." You assure your best friend.

"I appreciate that, Hinata. Please tell Natsu I say hi." Hinata beams at your response.

No. 4 and No. 5 are nudging each other on the ribs, wordlessly working out which of them gets to talk to you first. You watch, amused, how they try to muster the courage to step forward and talk to you. They must really have no experience talking with girls, judging by how they're struggling right now.

"Don't you two try anything funny. She's Kageyama's girlfriend." Sugawara wags a finger at the two of them and they exclaim both their surprise and what could only be disappointment.

"She's not." Tobio denies as nonchalantly as ever before tipping his head back to drink from the sports drink you gave him.

"Kageyama, you lucky bastard!"

"Way to go, Kageyama!"

The two have apparently ignored his denial.

Your eyes are casted down to your shoes so you don't see the way Tsukishima raises his eyebrow a millimeter upon hearing what Sugawara said. Not only that— he narrows his eyes ever so slightly when he sees your dejected reaction at Tobio's response.

"Wait, so are you or are you not his girlfriend?" It's No. 4 who speaks this time.

Before you could open your mouth to speak, two fists smack on top of No. 4 and No.5's heads. The fists belong to whom you recognize is the team's captain.

"Nishinoya, Tanaka," He growls warningly. "Stop harassing her or else I'll have the two of you run laps on our next training."

Nishinoya and Tanaka mutter their apology with a bow and you wave them off, saying that it's really no problem. For some reason, they also turn to apologize to Tobio who just stared at them in utter confusion, biting on his protein bar without saying a word.

Some of Tobio's teammates start conversing with you, too— nothing much, just questions that are more for the sake of either being polite or genuine curiosity than anything else.

"H-hello. You've mastered the jump floater serve, right? What's the technique so it doesn't end up doing a topspin, if you don't mind me asking?" The tall boy Tsukishima was talking to earlier approaches you. You'll soon learn that his name is Yamaguchi. He still seems shy. You can very clearly see his cheeks dusted in pink and he stutters out the majority of words in his sentences, but he makes an effort to talk to you nevertheless. Ironically enough, seeing that he's more nervous than you melts away your own uneasiness.

By this time, all your nerves and apprehension about meeting Tobio's team has dissipated. It's easy to talk with them because they're nice people, treating you with respect and friendliness. You're thankful for them for not asking too many questions about your ex-Olympian father— you're proud of him but talking about him is taxing and quite repetitive sometimes.

Yamaguchi and Hinata are specifically the two who kept the conversation going. You've built a rapport with them maybe because they're first-years such as yourself. Yamaguchi is now asking you if the entrance exam to Shiratorizawa was really as hard as everyone said it was. He visibly blanched when you said that the exam gave you a headache that lasted for days. Hinata, however, is more curious about your volleyball career. When you told the orange-haired middle blocker that you're not part of any volleyball club right now, his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He voices out that it's such a waste of talent. He has a way with wording out his compliments that you feel yourself blushing pathetically. Tobio just stands beside you through it all, munching on his protein bar as he listens to you talk with his teammates and occasionally adding to the conversation if his input is needed.

It doesn't take long before you're laughing quite freely with them.

Through the whole ordeal, Tsukishima has backed away from the group unnoticed. He is currently leaning against the wall a few feet away, his headphones fit snuggly on his ears but the music is turned off. Scrolling aimlessly on his phone has lost its appeal by now and he wishes he'd brought his PSP with him to pass time.

Every couple of minutes or so, you steal a glance at Tsukishima. He's the only one from the team who hasn't said a word to you, not even a polite greeting. You were a bit anxious at the prospect of talking to him again, but now that he clearly has no plan to even spare you a minute of his time, you feel quite annoyed. The two of you are not friends, probably not even acquaintances— but still, after the events of last night, you expect him to at least not treat you like a stranger.

It's not like you want him to approach you and be all chummy. You just want him to acknowledge you, maybe with a nod of recognition or even a small wave of his hand wouldn't hurt. Heck, you even cheered for him at their game earlier. You weren't being subtle with it, too. You were screaming until your throat was raw— he definitely heard you supporting him. The only explanation is he just doesn't care and he just doesn't know how to behave like a decent human being.

Maybe you were wrong when you thought he wasn't half as bad last night. Maybe you were too lenient on your judgment when he is utterly and very clearly just a jerk.

You look away from him with a huff. If he doesn't want to be your friend (or at the very least, an acquaintance), then it's most definitely his loss and not yours.

From the corner of your eyes, you see two purple figures standing at the hall's entrance. The Shiratorizawa shirt that Miyaka and Raiden are wearing are hard to miss. Miyaka waves at you once you make eye contact with her. They must have been waiting by the rest rooms for quite some time for them to come looking for you. This is as good a cue as any to say leave.

"I really have to go, Tobio. Some club officers and I made plans to get barbecue."

"You won't come over for dinner?" He asks, his head tilted to the side. You're vaguely aware of Hinata and Sugawara suddenly whispering among themselves upon hearing that.

"No, sorry. They're already waiting for me. It'd be rude if I cancelled now." You nod at the direction of your two senpai standing a few feet away, emphasizing your point.

"Mom is expecting you for tonight. " He shrugs but you don't miss the small pout he makes. "But whatever, it's your call."

"I suppose I could swing by later if we finish at the yakiniku place early?" It came off more like a bargain than a suggestion.

"But you'd be full by then."

"I'll save room, don't worry." You cheekily respond with a light chuckle. "I guess I'll see you later?"

Tobio ends the conversation with a nod and a short "okay".

With this, you turn to the rest of the group. They're not looking at either you or Tobio but you know that they heard your conversation. They must feel like they've being privy to something intimate, which you can assure them that they're not. Hinata is biting his bottom lip, clearly stopping himself from commenting anything. Sugawara is whistling as his eyes flit to the toe cap of his shoes. Nishinoya and Tanaka are having a hard time closing their mouths as they continue to gape at Tobio. All of them a clearly still under the impression that you are his girlfriend.

"It's nice meeting you all." You say to the group and you're met with a chorus of pleasantries.

"Bye, Hinata, Yamaguchi!" You wave specifically at the two freshmen whom you've bonded with the most.

You bow at the rest before turning on your heels and walking away. You don't see the way Tsukishima's eyes follow your retreating figure.

You're at least twenty feet away when Sugawara's hand finds the crown of Tobio's head, ruffling his hair roughly. "You dog! She's definitely your girlfriend. You're inviting her over for dinner!"

"I really envy you right now, Kageyama!"

"I wish I had a girlfriend too."

"Teach us your ways!"

The pandemonium that ensues after you left could be something out of a comedy skit. They're simply refusing to believe Tobio when he says over and over, almost pleadingly, that you are just his best friend. Tobio isn't the type to raise his voice at his upperclassmen so Hinata took the brunt of his fury when the setter reached his breaking point.

You would have found it hilarious how your best friend chased Hinata around, kicking the poor boy on the shin when he finally caught up to him.

You would also definitely appreciate the way Tobio blushed uncontrollably as his teammates continued to jeer and tease, if only you had seen it.

You apologize profusely to your two upperclassmen when you finally reach them, saying that you lost track of time talking to the Karasuno players. However, they don't seem at all angry about your tardiness. In contrary, they have a glint in their eyes that tell you they're amused about something.

"For a non-girlfriend, you sure looked a lot like a girlfriend back there." Raiden says with a roll of his eyes . You didn't realize they've been watching the whole ordeal all this time.

"Huh?"

"He's right, Y/N. I mean, think about it— not only did you watch his game, you also bought him after-game snacks. Not to mention he introduced you to his teammates." Miyaka links her arm to yours as the three of you start making your way to the stadium's exit. "It's like this unspoken rule among athletes' girlfriends, and you should trust me on this because I'm an athlete's girlfriend."

You manage to let out an incredulous scoff. "You guys are being ridiculous. It's no big deal, really. I've been doing it for him since we were in middle school."

"Woof, that's rough." Raiden whistles. "So, you've been doing girlfriend duties since middle school but he hasn't asked you to be his girlfriend yet?"

"It's not that simple." You groan, both exasperatedly and bashfully.

"How is that not simple? You like him and by the looks of things, he likes you, too." It's Miyaka who speaks this time.

"He likes me?" It's really cringe and embarrassing that that's what you took away from her statement.

"It's really obvious," She says without hesitation. "I have a good eye on this kind of stuff. Trust me, he likes you."

You stay silent for a few seconds to ponder on her words. You'd be lying if you said that you haven't been fantasizing about Tobio liking you back. The idea just seems farfetched, especially since it's Tobio of all people. He has the emotional capacity of a grain of rice.

You try your best to think nothing of it. You will just end up getting hurt if you believe what they're saying. You don't want to feed yourself blind hope, especially if there's nothing to back up their claim.

"He doesn't." You mumble, feeling your heart sink. It is with a painful acceptance do you realize that you believe that sentence wholeheartedly.

Miyaka and Raiden look at each other, communicating silently. They're one of the closest friends you have in school. All those times you spent in the club room slaving away projects upon projects really strengthened your bond with them. They are probably the next people who know you best after Tobio.

"Why do you seem so sure? You haven't even confessed yet." Raiden says with a scoff.

"I'm not gonna confess because I know he'll just reject me. It'll ruin everything and I don't want that to happen. It's too risky." You're now past denying that you do like Tobio. It's actually quite refreshing for you to talk about your feelings for him this openly. You feel as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders after years of hopeless pining.

"Wow. You really are stupid."

"Rai-san!" You cry out, clearly offended.

"You have a mirror, don't you? You're fully aware that you're pretty and if you disagree with that, either you have brain damage or just really dense. You're smart, you're hella good at volleyball— you're also, like, his number one fan. Tell me, what more could he want?" Raiden taps his finger on your temple. "Think, Y/N. If he had any ideal girl, it would be you."

You're always so surprised whenever Raiden shows his supportive side, albeit the way he delivered it could have been nicer and less abrasive. He always seems so negative and snarky, but when he does say something nice, you know it's genuine. Miyaka can only nod her head vigorously in agreement.

"Aw, Rai-san!" You throw yourself at him and engulf him in an embrace. You hear him grumble in protest but he allows you to hug him nevertheless.

"Rai has never said anything nice like that to me. I'm actually really jealous" Miyaka says with a soft pout. "What he said is true, though. You're the perfect girl for Tobio and I'm sure he already knows that. You should confess and see how it goes."

"I-I don't know." You bite your bottom lip. "I need time to think about it."

"You'll have plenty of time to think about it while we eat barbecue. I'm absolutely starving. How about you two slowpokes hurry up before all the good tables are taken, yeah?" With this, Miyaka tugs you by the arm as she speed walks. You don't protest because the grumbling in your stomach tells you that you're getting quite hungry too.

Your trio reach the exit of the stadium and you're fortunate enough to catch a bus immediately. The topic of Tobio is momentarily set aside as Raiden shows you a video he took of Miyaka napping in the club room, a steady stream of drool coming out of her open mouth. Raiden even threatens that he'd send the video to Tendou, which obviously rattles Miyaka. Her face turns into a bright shade of red, demanding Raiden to delete that video or she would make sure he regretted it.

You and Raiden laugh hysterically, so much so that the other passengers on the bus give you the side-eye. Miyaka looks like she's gonna exolode with embarrassment as she tries to pry Raiden's phone from his hands.

It's moments like these that allow you to breathe without anxiety. You don't even realize that today, you have completely forgotten about the fact that you're gonna move to Tokyo soon. You're glad that you have Miyaka and Raiden to distract you from that.

Dinner with your two upperclassmen was great. You talked about various stuff, though you notice that they didn't bring up Tobio anymore— they must have sensed that you weren't comfortable talking about him so they let it be. However, Miyaka did say that if ever you need help confessing to your best friend, she'd be glad to help. You thank her for her offer but you're not quite sure if you're even gonna go about doing it. You still have to be sure about what to do next before making a move.

You didn't fill up on yakiniku despite your stomach protesting because you promised Tobio you'd still come over for dinner at his house. Miyaka and Raiden didn't hold back, though. They ordered so many meat and side dishes that you had to try your best not to look so envious.

Once the three of you are done, you take a bus home. You plan on showering first before going to Tobio's house so you don't look so haggard, at least.

You see your Mom's car in the driveway once you arrive home. She's home early, you think to yourself. She usually goes home at 8 PM or later.

Your Mom pops out of the kitchen once she hears you're back home. She's bobbing a tea bag up and down her steaming cup while her face is covered in a seaweed mask that's part of her weekly skincare routine.

"How's that yakiniku place? Is it any good?"

You texted her a few hours ago that you'd get yakiniku with your club mates so she doesn't have to wait for you at dinner.

"A bit pricey but worth it, I guess. We should go there sometime, Mom."

"How about lunch on Sunday? We could go shopping at the mall after. What do you think?"

"Sounds good." You smile. There's a voice in your head that says she's only trying to compensate for the whole moving to Tokyo thing. Quite frankly, you're still mad at her about that, but you also know she only has your best interest at heart. You try to understand her position.

"I'm gonna go shower and go to Tobio's. He invited me for dinner." You say as you make your way to your room.

"Do you really have to go? You've already eaten and you were just at his house last night." She follows you until she's leaning against your room's doorframe.

"I could still eat. Besides, I think it's a special dinner since Tobio's team got through the preliminaries. He told me his mother was expecting me. I couldn't say no, could I?"

Your mother takes a sip from her tea. "Well, as long as he invited you and you're not imposing."

You don't respond after that. You're rummaging through your closet in search for specific articles of clothing you want to be wearing tonight.

"Hey, Mom? Have you seen my beige shirt? The long-sleeved one? Oh, no, wait— I forgot I haven't washed it yet."

You hear your Mom click her tongue. "It's in the laundry room. I added everything in your hamper to the load when I washed my coats last night. If I didn't, you wouldn't have anything to wear for this week. Sometimes I wonder what you would do without me."

The relief that courses through you is overwhelming. "Thanks, Mom! You're the best!"

You practically sprint to the laundry room to retrieve your shirt. Your Mom yells after you to take all your folded laundry to your room so you wouldn't have to return for them later. You come back to your room with a basket of your now clean laundry, the smell of vanilla fabric conditioner wafting through the room.

"Who's Kei?"

You cock your head to the side in confusion. "Kei?"

"There was a handkerchief in your hamper with the name Kei embroidered on it. It should be in there somewhere." She motions to the laundry basket. "Why do you have it in the first place?"

It takes you a couple of seconds to find said handkerchief. When Tsukishima gave it to you last night, you didn't know it was embroidered with his name— you can only assume that Kei is his first name from context. You're just realizing that you didn't ask him for his first name. You just knew him as Tsukishima.

"So, who's Kei and why do you have his handkerchief?" Your Mom repeats the question.

You tell her with a shrug that it's the boy who walked you home last night. You also tell her what happened in the café but deliberately omit the part about him giving you the handkerchief because you'd been crying, replacing it with a lie that you'd spilled water on yourself instead.

You examine the handkerchief for the first time since it was given to you. You didn't get to take a good look at it last night. The word Kei is embroidered in forest green thread at the bottom right corner. You wonder how you managed to miss it.

"I thought it was Tobio-kun who walked you home?"

"No, Mom. It was this other boy. He's Tobio's teammate, actually."

"I see. It was very dark. I just thought Tobio-kun grew a lot taller since I last saw him." She muses. "So, is this Kei boy a suitor?"

You bite back an incredulous laugh. "No way."

"A special friend, then?" You don't even know what she means by that.

"Definitely not."

You see your mother shrug from where she is leaning on your doorway. "Still, seems like he likes you enough to let you keep something that expensive."

You frown, confused. "Huh?"

"That's CLASSICS the Small Luxury." She points at the square fabric you're holding. "That's, what, ¥2000 a piece, give or take? The embroidery definitely cost extra, too. He probably paid around ¥3000 for that one."

"Who would pay ¥3000 for one friggin' handkerchief?" You almost shriek in disbelief.

"It's really good quality, you know. It's probably 100% cotton, too. Back when I was in med school, these handkerchiefs were all the hype. All my girl friends had one. I didn't. I was broke and could only afford those 6-in-1 packs you could buy at convenience stores." She laughed at the memory, her hand covering her mouth ever so daintily.

Tsukishima's voice rings inside your head.

"A single slice of cake is nowhere near the value of that handkerchief."

You just thought he was either lying or exaggerating.

Your phone buzzes on your bedside table, taking your attention away from the conversation. You catch a glimpse of Tobio's consecutive texts on the notification bar.

tobio: you still coming?

tobio: mom made tiramisu for dessert

You fold the handkerchief neatly and set it inside your drawer. The brand name CLASSICS The Small Luxury is printed right below the embroidery, another detail you've missed. You're definitely gonna be returning it to Tsukishima. As much as you appreciate him letting you keep it, you can't, not when it's worth ¥3000 with his own name embroidered on it.

How you're gonna return it to him, you still have no idea. You'll have to think of ways to get in contact with him again. You could very easily ask Tobio to give Tsukishima the handkerchief the next time they see each other, but it would be quite rude and offending to the owner if you didn't return the handkerchief personally. It's the least you can do after he let you use it when you needed it last night.

You make a mental note to ask Tobio for Tsukishima's number or home address. You'll worry about it later. For now, you really must hurry up if you still want to catch dinner at the Kageyama's.

You shower and get changed. Before leaving the house, you inform your mother that you'd be home before 9 PM— you're feeling quite guilty for storming out last night and getting home late so you give yourself an early curfew tonight as compensation. Your mother is still a little worried that you're taking advantage of the Kageyamas' hospitality, but you reassure her that it's fine and Tobio's family won't call child services on her.

You leave the house after Tobio sends you another text saying that his mother asks what time you'll be arriving. There's extra spring in your steps as you take the familiar route to his house— probably because you're excited to eat Mrs. Kageyama's cooking, or perhaps it's because you're giddy at the prospect of having dinner again with the boy you have a hopeless crush on. It's probably one or the other. It also could be both.

Tobio's Mom is preparing a feast, judging by the mingling scents of various dishes wafting throughout the whole house. She went overboard this time that you kind of regret having yakiniku earlier.

You offer to help Tobio's Mom and Miwa in the kitchen but the two women just wave you off, telling you to go relax and have some refreshments that they've prepared in the living room. Tobio's Dad is sitting on the couch, watching a baseball game on the television. He's so captivated by the game, shouting at the screen whenever his favorite team scores, that you feel like it would be rude if you sat down beside him and ruined the moment.

Tobio opens and closes his mouth, thinking of how to tell his father to scoot on the sofa. Even Tobio himself is scared of his father, it seems, because he remains quiet and accepts defeat instead.

"Let's go to my room?" He says beside you once he sees that his father won't be making room in the sofa for the two of you any time soon.

You follow him up the stairs and into his room which you've been in countless times before. Unlike those other times, however, you're now feeling a bit queasy as you enter. You hate the fact that going into your best friend's room is putting non-innocent thoughts inside your head now, something that you didn't worry about a year ago.

Tobio plops down on his swivel chair as you make your way to his bed. The door is left wide open— you don't have to be told to do that, it's just courtesy and muscle memory from all the times Tobio has invited you to his room.

You unceremoniously collapse onto his bed, taking last month's issue of Shonen Jump from his bedside table with you. You don't particularly enjoy the way your stomach does a back flip when you smell a faint trace of his cologne on his bed sheets. You try to ignore it by flipping through the Jump's pages, trying to find any new manga to distract yourself with.

Tobio must have seen you so engrossed in reading that he felt like reading too. You hear the rustling of paper as he takes out an issue of Volleyball Monthly from his bookshelf. You immediately recognize it as the issue where you were featured in.

A sly smirk appears on your lips. "Turn to page 17. You'll see a very pretty girl there."

Kageyama already knows what you're talking about before he even turned to said page. "What girl? I only see a hobgoblin holding a volleyball."

"Jerk." You chuck a throw pillow at him which would have landed square on his face had he not ducked to avoid it.

There was a couple of minutes of silence disturbed only by you turning pages and Tobio playing on his Nintendo DSi— he quickly grew bored of looking at Volleyball Monthly and fished the console from his drawer. His attention span is comparable to that of a chicken, you think to yourself as you watch him play with the handheld device. Compared to when he was reading the magazine, Tobio looks a lot more entertained playing Bomberman Blitz.

"We've improved, haven't we? My team, I mean." Tobio suddenly says while his brows are furrowed in concentration at his game.

You look up from what you're reading. "Yep, it's scary how much you guys evolved. I should probably warn our volleyball team about you. I'm sure Ushijima-san would want to know what kind of techniques you have under your sleeves."

He gives you a glare that could have killed a weak-willed soul.

"I'm kidding! They'll just have to find out how much stronger you've gotten when they face you in the finals."

Tobio snorts. "We'll beat them for sure."

"You always say that but what's your plan, though? Do you have any tactics to beat Ushijima-san?" You inquire curiously.

Tobio presses pause on his Nintendo, cradling his chin in thought. "Well, none of us can beat him one-on-one so we'll have to work on our three-man block more, but aside from that, our floor defense is pretty solid. Nishinoya-san and Daichi-san could definitely receive some of his spikes, so I'm not too worried about that."

"You really don't think anyone on your team could block him?" You ask and he just shakes his head. "Don't you have faith in your middle blockers?"

He stares at you as if you've just asked a very stupid question. "Have you seen our middle blockers?"

"Hinata does good when it comes to offense but he's absolutely worthless when it comes to blocking and receiving. He's fast and jumps high but that's about all he can do.

And then there's Tsukishima"

Your attention is snatched when you hear the blonde's name. "What about him?"

"He just... doesn't try." Tobio simply says. "He has the height for it, he has good game sense too, but he gives up way too easily. If only he's pushing himself a little harder, we could strengthen our defense a lot more."

"I see."

"Don't even get me started on his rotten attitude. He's a sarcastic dick, thinking he's smarter than everyone. You would hate him too if you'd met him."

You almost tell Tobio that you have indeed met him, but judging by the way his face contorts in disgust when talking about the blonde, it won't be such a good idea.

You've seen Tsukishima play today. You're not saying that Tobio is wrong, but you definitely do not see the blonde 'giving up way too easily'. On their match against Kakugawa, Tsukishima looked focused and motivated— granted, he didn't look as enthusiastic as Tobio or Hinata, but he still seemed like he was enjoying the game. Though, you can't disagree about what Tobio said about Tsukishima being a sarcastic dick— that one was definitely correct.

But maybe, Tobio is not entirely wrong. He obviously knows Tsukishima better than you. The only instance you ever see him play is during official matches. You have no idea how he is like during practice.

"Hey, Tobio? When's your training gonna start again?"

"We have one on Saturday. Why do you ask?"

"Can I come and watch?" You try to make your shrug look as casually as it can when in reality, you're starting to get nervous about your bold request.

Tobio thinks about it for a second before nodding. "Sure."

You have no idea what your end game is when you asked to come to their practice.

You do know one thing, though— you're gonna see Tsukishima again and it's gonna be the best opportunity to give him back his handkerchief.

The Nintendo DSi narrowly misses your thigh as Tobio chucks it on the bed. A second later, the impact of his body weight hitting the mattress causes you to almost fall off. He's spread-eagled on the bed with his face turned up to the ceiling. He's so close that you can feel the warmth of his body on your own skin.

"Wanna have a go?" He jabs the Nintendo blindingly at you, his eyes still fixated upward.

You take the console out of his hand and starts a new game. It's harder than you remember it being, or maybe you just haven't played it in a while. This old Nintendo model's buttons are difficult to press, you tell yourself as the character dies yet again— not your fault but the console's. You restart only to die at the same spot.

"You're horrible at this." Tobio snickers. You've been glued to the game for the past minute that you didn't notice that he has wiggled closer to you so he could watch you play.

You turn your head to look at him with the most hateful glare you could muster. You hope that he doesn't detect the look of yearning in your eyes because God knows there is. His dark blue eyes are just so beautiful, you could drown in them. The shape of his nose, the curve of his lips, the soft dusting of color on his cheeks— they all make him unbelievably gorgeous that it's a miracle you haven't melted on the spot considering his face is only a few inches away from yours.

You feel like you've mastered by now the look of indifference whenever he's around, and yet you wonder if Tobio would have guessed by now that you have a crush on him if only he has the perception of an average teenage boy. Surely, you're not hiding it that well. Miyaka and Raiden did say it was very obvious.

"You died again." He points out as the DSi emits the telltale sound that signals the gruesome death of the pixelated bomber.

You all but shove the device to his chest in frustration. You feel the vibration of his laughter as your hand makes contact with him as you feel your heart quicken instantaneously.

"Why do you want to watch our practice?" He asks after he has turned off the Nintendo and tossed it haphazardly somewhere on the mattress.

You shrug. "I wanna see you train."

Not exactly a lie but not the full truth either. The real reason you're going to their training is to give Tsukishima the handkerchief. Watching your crush practice volleyball is just a bonus.

"Why? Do you miss me that much when I'm not around?"

It's meant to be a joke. You're not meant to take it seriously. He's smirking in a way that tells you he's just having a laugh... but you're only human, and humans can only hide their feelings so much before some of it leaks.

"Yes, I do."

Tobio laughs.

You frown at this reaction.

"Stop it. That's gross." His shoulders shake as he tries to suppress his laughter. You blink back stupidly, both in surprise and mind-numbing hurt. No way he just said 'that's gross'.

He turns on the Nintendo again, unaware of your ragged breathing and how clammy your hands have gotten. You force out a laugh that you hope mirrors his.

For the rest of the night, none of your smiles or laughter seem to be genuine. Not even during dinner which is exquisite with all of Tobio's favorite food crammed in the too-small dining table. Not even as you say your good night to them by the front door as you prepare for your leave. Not even as you refuse Tobio when he offered to walk you home, right after his mother has chastised him into being a 'proper gentleman'.

This must be what a heartbreak feels like, you muse as you lay awake on your bed.

It hurts, and what's worse — it's because of Tobio.

I haven't updated in so long and felt guilty that's why this chapter has 11k words omg sorry not sorry

tag list: @sktvienna @thechaosoflonging @kenryug

#tsukishima x reader #kageyama x reader #tsukishima angst #kageyama angst #mutual pining #friends to lovers #tsukishima fanfic #kageyama fanfic #haikyuu x reader

133 notes · View notes

gurleend287 · 1 year

Text

SwampCon

SwampCon is the first convention I have ever been to. Safe to say that I enjoyed it very much. Everything from the hundreds of cosplay artists to the cute maid café was a new experience for me.

I only ever view cosplay artists on social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube. However, seeing them in front of me in person was AWESOME. I recognized so many of the characters that walked by me, such as ones from Blue Lock, Spy X Family, AOT, etc.. As a closeted weeb, who doesn’t like physically displaying any of my interests in anime outside, it was cool to see how this is a safe space for individuals to express themselves. Even one of my own friends cosplayed as a character from Genshin: Scaramouche (pictured right in the middle of the above photo).

As for what we did throughout the day on Saturday: I met up with everyone outside the Reitz in the morning to take some photos for my friend’s cosplay. After registration, we then went on upstairs to the third floor where the Maid Café was. One of my mentors was serving as a maid too, so I was really excited to see her outfit. Everyone looked SO CUTE. It was actually really fun, and I was surprised to see that they had vegan brownies as an option since I don’t eat eggs due to personal dietary restrictions. Several of the servers also performed during our show, which was super cool. I started screaming internally when I recognized the kpop song they were dancing to: Go Go by BTS.

We then went on the other side of the floor to the two rooms known as Artist Alley. I loved loved loved all the beautiful works of art in there. From keychains, stickers, and buttons to quite expensive prints, everything was extremely colorful. I literally felt like a little child going into a candy store when I walked in. This one artist in particular caught my eye because his prints were absolutely breathtaking: Kawaii Satori (the name on his business card). He had AMAZING prints of all the anime I loved, but I had to hold myself back and not purchase the prints because I have too many up on my walls at home anyways (but that’s why you take the business card, so you can buy them online later haha). There was this other artist, Lalaine Garcia, I fell in love with too. Her keychains were so cute (my favorite was this Gojo one). But I took her card instead of purchasing the keychains because I wanted to look around the vendor hall too before buying anything. (I’m so proud of myself for not spending over $20 total though the entire day).

The vendor hall was next (also on the same floor). I actually wasn’t too interested in most of the stalls there except this one that sold jewelry, notably cute earrings, which was located right in front of the door that led inside. I did buy some Rengoku earrings from there :) because they were small enough to not be out there, but I was also showing off how much I LOVE demon slayer.

Overall, Saturday was super fun with my friends because we spent most of the day taking photos, admiring art, and joking around about what we saw.

On Sunday, I volunteered for three hours at the info desk outside the Grand Ballroom. It was a much more relaxed day since I just had to pass out shirts and point people into the direction of different panels and events that they were lost on. And then got some perks at the end of my shift, which included stickers, a cup, and a shirt.

P.S. the art on the badge was so pretty, I wanna know who made it

#jpt1311 #swampcon #post

1 note · View note

jonnamuseums · 1 year

Text

Fermin Gallery ~ 11/29/2022

On a brisk evening walk through Chelsea, I passed by many glass-front galleries with only time to visit one. The Fermin gallery ultimately won my attention because of the wide variety of mediums and interesting materials I could see from the outside, something I have expressed my appreciation for in other posts on this page. Many of the galleries I passed by on this night were filled with flat, framed paintings or photographs. While I'm sure they were beautiful works, I personally tend to be more drawn to spaces that feel truly filled up with an artist's work. Not just the wall, but the floor, maybe even things hanging from the ceiling. I enjoy being able to walk around a piece and relish the creativity and materiality it takes to create an installation piece. Just passing by the window of Fermin I could see lit-up neon signs overlayed on photographs, giant shiny origami animals, layers of painted and stacked Plexiglass, globes, sculptures, boxes, signs...

I walked inside. I was greeted by artist, Ardan Özmenoğlu's, exhibition, "You like my work ha?" Everything was bright and visually loud. There were several pieces that seemed like they could be part of one "family" within the collection, but there was still enough variety to give my eyes a lot to observe. Most all the pieces seemed to share a common underlying theme of layering or repetition. For example, the portraits that hung on the wall weren't just regular painted portraits. They were made out of hundreds of sticky notes each. Looking closely I could see halftone textures that made me wonder if the design had perhaps been screen printed by hand. Did Özmenoğlu use a pre-laid-out sticky note canvas to print one copy of the portrait onto, or individually create each sticky note and place them one by one to piece together the final work? I stared at the art and pondered. The neon signs that (literally) filled the corners of the gallery had a sarcastic tone to them. The words they portrayed seemed to be making fun of themselves, which set the tone for the surrounding pieces and complimented the exhibition's title, as well. A giant crate reading "fragile" seems like a practical mailing item, but is used in this space as a display for some of the artist's Plexiglass tree creations, made layer by layer on glass squares and displayed together on small blocks that allowed the viewer to see the full picture come together depending on the angle they viewed it from. The rest of these small tree pieces found a place scattered across a blank wall, and nailed in so I could see the signatures and dates scrawled on the bottoms. They appeared to be floating, drifting away from each other.

I felt that this world I had just walked into was one of modern-day Pop Art. The colors, references to everyday objects and contemporary culture, the juxtaposition between the man-made and the natural, and the repetition in the work are what brought on this feeling. I was glad to see a large book on display for the viewer to page through and learn more about this artist. That is when I learned that Özmenoğlu is a woman, something I was glad to hear. Next to the book display was one more room jetting off deeper into the gallery. This room was painted white, like the main one, but had on display a few larger paintings of trees of all different hues. This smaller exhibition was called "Roots" by CS-Art. The trees were made up of layers and layers of paint that only became more beautiful and intricate the closer I got to them. They matched their mini Plexiglass counterparts in the other part of the gallery so well that I almost thought both rooms were filled with just one artist's work. I decided to inquire more at the gallery's desk and was informed that CS-Art is a painting duo comprised of artists Claire Jombart and Siri Knoepffler. So although these works were not all necessarily made to go together, I think Fermin Gallery did a fantastic job of curating two all-woman exhibitions that work extremely well together and compliment one another when displayed side-by-side.

0 notes

melodowska · 1 year

Text

Student showcase

So a week after PGF was our university’s student showcase, which they called the buzz. It was showing classwork from the mostly digital art majors; games art, photography, Drama, screen, sound, graphic design, strategic communications and creative writing.

It was similar in setup for us to PGF; we just got a computer and left the stuff from PGF there for people who played to grab. We were the only students there that had to be there, from set up hours beforehand to pack up after closing. The other students didn’t have to be there at all. The lucky bastards, I hung out with my friends for the first two hours after it opened but then they left and I was so bored.

The turnout was about the same as PGF but it felt more packed as the tables were much more cramped in the library. They gave out books for free when you entered that talked about a lot of the work however despite the largest section of the event being for games art they didn’t mention a single game in it (there was 6 PC games, about 40 VR mini games and 6 mobile games, the VR and mobile i get it they were small assignments but the PC games were a year long project). This book was thick and professionally done, there was no excuse. Funnily enough the sound student who did the music and effects for mobility, Michael, was one of two sound students to get a table for their work at the showcase and he got half a page in the book, the other groups sound students weren’t in the showcase so we got that over them I guess.

I talked to a few other games art students who were also annoyed at the lack of 3D art included, they had 5 small 3D prints left in a corner and then the rest of the 3D work was just showed in a loop with all the rest of the art including 2D (which were also printed on the walls) on a TV screen at the back of the room. Even the website for the showcase had little 3D art and what was there was right at the bottom.

You can just see the table Michael got in the background of this photo. We only go the one flimsy poster glued to the library’s old bus stop signs for this event while he got two printed out professionally on fabric. Though that’s probably because there was only 2 sounds students compared to the 6 PC games. Though our PGF posters were literally 200 metres away in the media lab that are much bigger and could’ve been used too.

After the student showcase ended, I got to get the game poster from the lab. It’s A0 in size and is much bigger in person than it looks in these photos. I’m hanging it up on the wall adjacent to my desk once I find something to hang it up with. It printed a lot darker than the other group’s posters but I designed it and it’s for the game we made, the first proper one I’ve finished so it’s sentimental.

0 notes

cassiekayscreams · 2 years

Text

Striped: Chapter 2

Striped

A Marvel OC Fanfic by Cassie Kay

Chapter 1 on tumblr

A03 link

Chapter 2

Tora had spent the past few days doing all the research she could on Madame Margerie’s Art Gallery. She’d even gone so far as to go to the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections. Sometimes they had building blueprints one could look at, especially if one claimed to be an architecture student working on a project. Fortunately, Madam Margerie’s Art Gallery was part of an older building that had gone through a few different uses over the years, and so blueprints were available. Unfortunately, this meant that the Surrealist Snatchers would be able to get the blueprints easily, as well.

Tora pinned the pictures she’d taken of the blue prints up on her board with the other intel. The building was a business center; a long building with separate suites and stores. The front of the building was very close to the sidewalk, making access very walkable. There wasn’t a parking lot meant specifically for the building patrons. However, around back there was an access ramp for deliveries and a small parking lot for employees and personnel. That rear entrance seemed like the most likely access point.

Tora dropped into her desk chair, picking up the landline phone and dialing the number listed on Madam Margerie’s website. She braced herself for what she was about to do.

“Madam Margerie’s Art Gallery, how may I assist you?” A friendly voice greeted after the ringing.

“Yes, hello. I see from your ad in the paper that you will be having a surrealist art show and auction this upcoming weekend. I am a huge fan of one of the featured artists, Renaldo Chavinski. I was hoping that perhaps I could come before the grand opening, have a private tour, and make my biddings on his work before hand. Say, Thursday night?”

“My apologies, ma’am, but we can’t do that.”

“I don’t think you understand,” Tora said, resisting the urge to slap herself. “I will compensate you handsomely for your time. I will pay the overtime for all the employees that will need to stay.”

“No, ma’am, I’m sorry, I mean that we literally cannot do that. The art is being delivered Friday evening in preparation for our grand opening on Saturday. And on Friday we will be setting up the displays and are not permitted to admit guests early. But we hope you will still visit us on Saturday.”

“Ah, very well. Thank you for your time.” Tora hung up and rubbed her face. She hated using her “rich person” persona. She’d grown up surrounded by people like that. People that thought the solution to getting anything they wanted was just to throw money at it. People that thought they were owed the world. They’d always bothered her. But the unfortunate truth - and the reason Tora utilized that persona - was that it often worked.

Tora sighed and straightened up in her chair. She’d gotten what she’d wanted: information. The art was being delivered Friday evening, so the Surrealist Snatchers couldn’t steal it before then. Tora had been pretty sure they’d want to steal it on Friday when the police attention was on the Alistair Art Gala, anyways, but it was nice to have a confirmation that they couldn’t act before then. It was possible they’d try to hijack the art in-transit. That didn’t really seem like their style, but Tora decided she’d try to see if she could figure out the delivery route so she could follow along, just in case. Friday night, Madam Margerie’s Art Gala would have her full attention. And if the Surrealist Snatchers dared show up, Tora - or rather, Tigress - would be there to make them regret it.

////

Tora opened her locker, replacing certain books before pulling out others. “So he winked at you?”

“Well, I mean, he winked,” Aliana answered, leaning against a neighboring locker. “I don’t know if it was at me or sorta just… A wink. Ya know?”

“No, I really don’t. You’re confusin’ me.”

Aliana sighed. “I’m confusing myself. Why can’t guys just. Be direct?”

“Isn’t flirting supposed to be kinda subtle, though? Isn’t that the point? The ‘art of flirting’ or whatever?”

“Well it’s annoying! Why can’t we all just say what we mean?”

“Well why don’t you? Why don’t you just- ‘Hey Logan, I think you’re cute. Would you like to go get lunch with me?’”

Aliana slapped her arm. “I can’t do that! I’m not that brave.”

Tora shrugged. “And that’s why nobody’s direct.”

Aliana started to protest, but was interrupted by a voice shouting “Tora! Tora!”

Tora and Aliana both turned to see a freshman running towards them. It was the kid Rick had picked on the other day. “Hey, Bryson, right?” Aliana greeted.

Bryson paused and looked at her in surprise. “I- uh- yeah. But uh. You said to come get you if Rick was ever picking on anyone again, right?”

Tora straightened, narrowing her eyes. “Where is he?”

“This way!” Bryson started frantically leading her back down the hall. Aliana trailed behind them.

Sure enough, when they got to the freshman hall, there was Rick, trying to take another kid’s lunch money. Tora resisted the growl rising in her throat. Before she could step closer, there was a shrill “Rick?!”

The running back turned to find his girlfriend standing a few short feet away. “Rick what are you doing?!”

Rick hastily released the freshman, straightening his shirt a little. “We were just, ya know- I was just-”

Crissella moved to pick up the kid’s books, turning her full attention to him. “Are you okay? Where’s your next class?”

“Criss-” Rick reached for her arm, but Crissella pulled away. She turned to glare at him, pointing a warning finger.

“No! I can’t believe you! You said you were past this! You leave this kid alone and go think about what you’ve done. I can’t even look at you right now!” She turned and guided the freshman away. Rick hurried after her, pleading.

“Well. That was even more effective than you,” Aliana commented.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Tora replied.

“I guess we didn’t need you, afterall,” Bryson said sheepishly. “Sorry I bothered you.”

“No, I’m glad you came and got me,” Tora replied. “This could get bad.”

“What do you mean?” Aliana asked.

“Well, if Crissella gives him another chance, he’ll probably stop,” Tora said. “At least, for a little while. Not sure if it’ll be enough to stop him completely. But if she breaks up with him, he could lash out even more. We’re gonna have to keep an eye on him.”

////

Tora crouched atop a neighboring building, watching the lot behind Madam Margerie’s Art Gallery. She could see the ramp and rear entrance to the building, as well as different possible access points, including the dark alley directly below her. She’d followed the delivery trucks to the gallery and watched the workers unload them. That had been hours ago. She’d continued to keep watch as the sky had grown dark, the employees had left for the night, and the security guards switched out.

Tora’s eyes flicked to nearby movement. A seagull had landed near the trash cans. Tora let out a breath. Unless the Surrealist Snatchers had figured out how to use bird spies, that probably wasn’t anything to be concerned about.

Lights flashed as a van went by the nearby street and turned into the lot. Tora crouched down more as she watched it pull up next to the art gallery access ramp. The van sported the logo of a moving company. Tora narrowed her eyes and watched as five men in work coveralls got out and walked into the back door.

Gotcha.

Tora waited a few moments to watch for any other movement. Then she crept over to the fire escape ladder and made her way into the dark alley. She kept low to the ground as she approached the van from the left. She approached in such a way that she stuck to the car’s blind spot and wouldn’t be visible from the mirror. When she was close enough and definitely in the blind spot, she straightened slightly, back against the van, and looked through the mirror. Sure enough, there was someone in the driver’s seat. The getaway driver, most likely. His attention was primarily on the rear door his companions had gone through and the parking lot access point to the right. Tora grabbed the handle and threw the door open.

“What the-”

“Knock knock.” Tora swung a strong left hook at the startled driver. He slumped back against the middle consul, having turned in his seat to face the door. Leaving him there for now, Tora went around to the back of the van and threw open the doors. Like the driver’s door, they’d been left unlocked to make for a more speedy get away. Seats lined the walls but there was also a bunch of supplies for thievery. Tora went back to the front and half-dragged, half-carried the driver to the back, binding him with some rope she found. She grabbed some duct tape and used her claws to tear a piece off, covering his mouth. She kept the duct tape and grabbed some more rope before stepping out of the van, shutting the doors behind her, and heading towards the back door of the gallery.

This door had also been left unlocked. She assumed that was against security procedures, but that was probably the least of their worries right now. It opened into a narrow service hallway. Tora crept quietly forward, glancing into the first room she came to. It appeared to be the security office. There were a bunch of monitors showing various places outside and inside of the building. But there was no sign of the two guards Tora had seen go into the building hours earlier. She stepped inside and took a closer look at the camera feeds. The five men she’d seen go from the van to the building were in the main gallery space, going about taking the art pieces directly from their frames. Interesting that they hadn’t bothered trying to turn off the system. But they’d destroyed security tapes at several of their previous marks, so it stood to reason that they simply planned on doing the same here. There was no sign of the security guards in the camera views. There also wasn’t any sign of struggle in the room, no blood, so chances were good they were alive and simply stashed away in some closet somewhere. That would also be the safest place for them to be during the fight. She’d let the detectives find them later.

Tora continued down the hall until she came to the gallery space. The thieves had left the “employees only” door wide open, probably so it - once again - wouldn’t inhibit their exit. Tora counted all five thieves present. Four of them were very busily going about cutting art from frames while the fifth watched. Tora narrowed her eyes at the back of his head.

Finally. The ring leader.

“I never got surrealism.” The thieves whirled to look at Tora as she leaned casually in the doorway. “I mean, look at this. A ship with butterfly wings for sails. Who comes up with this stuff?”

“You,” the ring leader sneered.

“I definitely don’t come up with this stuff,” Tora replied, shaking her head.

“You’re the one that’s been taking out my men,” the ring leader elaborated, pointing his gun at her.

“And you must be the ever-elusive leader of this ridiculous thieving ring. Nice to finally meetcha.”

“Men, kill ‘er,” the leader spat.

All four thieves dropped what they were doing and pointed weapons at her. Tora grinned.

Tora tucked and rolled just as the first shot went off. She landed on her feet and sprung at the closest thief, tackling him to the ground. She rolled away as one of the other men ran at her. She jumped, pushed off of the wall to quickly change trajectory, and landed in a run. Bullets followed after her movements.

“Careful, boys!” Tora called as she jumped up on top of the wheeled cart they were loading the art into. “Wouldn’t want to shoot the merchandise, would we?”

The closest one ran at her, reaching. Tora put her hands on his shoulders, simultaneously slamming him face first into the top of the cart and leapfrogging over him. She flew through the air and landed a punch at the next guy. The extra momentum from her jump caught him off guard. She swung another punch across his face and then an uppercut that sent him sprawling on the ground.

A sharp pain shot up Tora’s spine. She yowled and whirled. The first guy she’d knocked over had pulled her tail. Tora growled and stepped on his arm. He cried out in pain. “You should know better than to pull a cat’s tail,” she snarled. She knocked him out with a swift kick to the head.

A shout drew Tora’s attention. The fourth guy was running at her. Tora dodged his punch while hitting him in the neck with a flat hand. He gagged. She grabbed his arm and the back of his neck and swung him around, throwing him into the guy behind her, as he’d just recovered from having his face slammed into the cart. Both men fell to the floor. She ran forward and stepped on the fourth guys’ back, weighing them both down since the other guy was still beneath him. The fourth guy cried out while the doubly pinned man groaned. She kicked them both to keep them from getting back up.

“Stay down,” Tora growled.

Her attention turned to the leader. He glowered at her.

“Looks like your guys weren’t so tough after all,” Tora mocked.

He sneered. “You want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.” He raised his gun and shot at her.

Tora leapt back behind the cart. She then shoved it in the leader’s direction. He was unable to get out of the way before it crashed into him. He sprawled back on the ground, gun clattering across the floor. Tora jumped up onto the cart and then jumped onto him. She punched him across the face a few times before he went limp.

Tora slowly rose to her feet, panting slightly as she looked around. All five men were unconscious on the ground. None of them stirred. There were a few bullet holes lodged in the walls, ceiling, or floor here and there, but the art seemed relatively unharmed.

Tora let out a slow breath as she went back to the service hallway, grabbing the rope and duct tape she’d left there. She went to each man, duct taping his hands behind his back and putting a strip of tape over his mouth. She then hauled all of the men into the center of the room, sitting them back to back so they were all leaning on each other, and tied them together with the rope. She gathered up all of the guns and emptied the chambers. She left the unspent bullets in one corner of the room and the guns themselves in a different one. Satisfied with her handiwork, she headed back to the security office.

There was no sign of activity in the cameras. No one out by the van - at least the getaway driver hadn’t moved. But there also wasn’t any sign of approaching police cars. The alarm either hadn’t gone off or hadn’t alerted authorities. At least that would make her getaway easier.

Tora picked up the phone in the security office and dialed.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“I’d like to report a crime. You’re gonna have to get a hold of Detective Grady. Those Surrealist Snatchers are at Madam Margerie’s Art Gallery in downtown Seattle.”

“We will dispatch officers to your location. What is your name?”

A grin spread across Tora’s lips.

“Tigress.”

Footnotes:

For the Surrealist Snatchers and this theft specifically, I took inspiration from the Pink Panthers and the Gardner Museum Heist. There will be more explanation of this in the next chapter.

Also when I first came up with the Surrealist Snatchers name, I felt it was pretty cheesy, but given that the Tracksuit Gang is something that actually is MCU canon now. I feel better about myself.

#Striped #chapter 2 #Striped chapter 2 #Tora/Tigress #Junior Heroes #Marvel OCs #Marvel fanfic #Marvel OC fanfic #superheroes #superhero oc #superhero story #story #writing #CassieKay #CassieKayscreams #The Writing and Art of Cassie Kay #only took me a year to finish this #I actually had most of it done #Got stuck on the fight scene...

1 note · View note

kingkatsuki · 3 years

Note

ahh uh hi! i had this idea that i thought you might enjoy so like i’ll just get into it.

also i mention ms. frizzle from the magic school bus.

so bakugo x preschool teacher reader.

just think about it.

bakugo never really thought about having kids himself, he was always too busy with work and just felt like he wouldn’t be able to be around enough for his kid. he didn’t necessarily not want them but he wasn’t ready for them. but watching you, his girlfriend of four years interact with a bunch of snot nosed brats everyday was starting to make him wonder.

when you would beg him to come and say hi to the kids for just a little while, which always landed up with him being used as a jungle gym until nap time but he loved it (but you wouldn’t catch him dead admitting that). with that being said today was one of the days you had got him to come in not only because you missed him but because he was currently in a bit of trouble with the press after a rough encounter with a journalist(? not sure if thats the word i’m looking for)), his pr team literally worshiped you.

so he woke up with you at four-thirty in the morning, why the fuck did you get up so early? normally you got up at six so what were you planning? anyway you drug him out of bed and into the shower with you brushing your teeth while in the shower. then you pushed him out of the bathroom because he always distracted you while you got ready. you didn’t do much with your face moisturizer and whatever other makeup or lack of thereof. then you moved on to your hair styling it in some child proof way. finally you left the bathroom and scurried into your closet where you stared at the line of themed dresses. (you know the ones i’m talking about-) you decided to skip the crayon dress and opt for the one that cow print, it was cute and the kids loved animals more than anything.

once you were finally ready to leave it was about five-thirty and bakugo had been waiting impatiently for you. he also never understood the need for all of the weird school themed clothes. but it did give him something to tease you about. it was always harmless little jabs, normally just about how much you dressed like the teacher from magic school bus. “hurry up ms. frizzle, you have brats to teach.” you scoffed and gave a reply without much thought. “personally i think mrs. bakugo sounds much better dont’cha think?” it shouldn’t have a such an impact on him but the thought made him happy that you would even consider marrying him. “shut up.” it was bashful and you knew you got to him.

once you finally got to your classroom you drug bakugo over the the small bookshelf you had near your desk. “pick one suki.” “why?” he was skeptical of your current motives. “because you my dear, are going to read them a book before nap time.” it wasn’t a question and he knew better than to fuck up your lesson plan but, normally you read them to sleep and could his voice even do that.

almost as if you sensed his insecurities you gave him a reassuring kiss. “you’ll do great, just try dont yell m’kay” all he gave was a short nod before picking out a children’s book about the first hero. it was his favorite as a kid.

giving a quick check to the time you started to get out supplies. some crayons and markers and a big poster board that you had already wrote on in big fancy letters; dynamite’s agency. you knew that a lot of the kids loved your husband but some of them loved his sidekicks even more. so since a few had gotten injured a few weeks ago and were just going to be coming back in a few days you decided to let the kids write down stuff they liked about the hero and his side kicks.

bakugo felt his heart clench at what you were doing, you knew he loved the kids art work. even though he never said it he made sure any art work you brought home was either framed in the home office or on the fridge. now he’d have one of his very own to post up behind the receptionist desk. the letters were big and bold with his hero colors and he couldn’t hold back the small smile he had. he didn’t have time to speak before you gave him instructions on where you needed him to move the desks so there would be a nice open space for the kids to gather around the poster. apparently you were on parent drop off duty.

by the time you had got back the the annoying brats he had made himself comfortable in the chair behind your desk. however the first thing he noticed was the little girl on your hip clearly she had just finished crying and was now contently sucking her thumb while you were holding her. it was the only way she’d calm down and you had to do this every morning since she enrolled until the crankiness wore off. she was a new student and she was still scared of everything. bakugo had felt a slight yearning when he pictured that kid as his. “aren’t you glad you came to class with me, it’s dynamite your favorite hero.” in an instant the girl was struggling to get down and almost tripped on her feet to him, she would’ve if he hadn’t steadied her, he acted with out even noticing it.

the little girl looked up at him with big glassy eyes and held her hands out “up!” he looked to you for help but you had the other nineteen students around you gushing about how pretty you were, how awesome their weekend was, or how nice you were. these kids loved you and frankly with the amount of times you brought bakugo in, he was more of a jungle gym who told cool stories. when he looked back down at the brat she had tears threatening to spill out of her eyes and he was freaking out even more. “up! up!” she pouted and stomped her foot the waterworks already starting, hesitantly he picked her up and help her like you did. instantly she stopped and leaned against him. had he just been manipulated by a four year old? yes he had.

glancing up from your students and seeing bakugo with her like that made you want kids more than you already did, you’d been dropping hints but he didn’t really pick them up. maybe this would kick his ass into gear. and it did.

the entire day that kid refused to leave his side even during nap time when he successfully read the kids to sleep, she held his finger. and when the end of the day came she didn’t want to go home even crying when he mom tried to get her from bakugo. after that fiasco when he got you back in your class room he was on you in an instant.

“fuck, you would be such a good mom.” he kissed you again this time snaking his hand up your dress. “i wanna give you brats, some of our own.” his eagerness and the fear of getting caught was riling you up more than it should. “please, fill me up! give me a baby!” that really made him feral. clearing your desk and bending you over it.

honestly i don’t know how it got this long- it was supposed to be a thirst. uh but i hope you enjoy i feel like my writing is a bit shitty here but whatever 🤷🏽‍♀️

Honestly, you should post this yourself because I loved it so so much! Please lemme know if you wanna copy and paste onto your blog and I will reblog it instead.

Im just imagining Bakugou being forced to come into your class for some positive exposure after getting into an unscrupulous fight with a villain. He doesn’t mind spending the entire day with you, but he supposes there’s other stuff he’d rather be doing on his day off. Like spending it in bed with you—

There’s kids in the class that have no shame and are so blunt when they talk to him, like “My dad said you blow things up on purpose.”, “my mummy thinks you’re hot. Is that because of your quirk?” “Do you think I could be as powerful as you one day?” “Did you really explode that mans arm off?”

And it’s so many questions so quickly Bakugou has no idea what to answer, his first instinct is to be just as bold and brash back but with one glimpse from you he finds himself answering honestly. Treating each kid like they’re an adult and listening to them mindlessly babble at him.

I love the bit you had with the little kid asking him to pick them up my ovaries were exploding🥺😭

And the moment where it’s nap time when he thinks they’re all asleep so he can finally have a moment with you he leans down to kiss you just to hear a chorus of “ewww” in the background and he turns around so red and flushed 😭🥺

Imagine even after he leaves the kids are asking when he’s going to come back in, and the photographs that appear all over social media start trending.

I just really love this.

#not mine #Bakugou thirst #kinda #just soft bakugou #I need this

195 notes · View notes

youvebeenlivingfictional · 3 years

Text

The Long Con Part Nine

Previous Part | Masterlist | Next Part Pairing: Marcus Pike x Reader Rating: T Notes: I hope y’all had a good week! 💕 Warnings: Cursing, fluff, me pretending that I know literally anything about art history or art forgery— again. Summary: You wound up spending much of the day holed up in Marcus’ room, sitting at his desk with the numerous print-outs, a marker, a notebook, and his laptop.

You offered to help Marcus with the wedding errands that needed to be done, but he could see how distracted you were by the print-outs he’d been able to get of the x-rays and craquelure of Leda and the Swan. He shook his head, nodding to where you’d already set up shop at his desk. “Don’t worry about wedding stuff today,” He reassured, smiling. Then he tipped your head up for a quick peck and left.

You wound up spending much of the day holed up in Marcus’ room, sitting at his desk with the numerous print-outs, a marker, a notebook, and his laptop. You looked for comparisons between the x-rays of the Mona Lisa, Da Vinci’s sketches of Leda, and the other reproductions that you were more familiar with. Jill actually had to come up and draw you out of the room by taking Marcus’ laptop charging cord hostage.

When Marcus returned that evening, he found you folding programs with laser focus.

“Having fun?” He teased, settling down beside you on the floor. You were leaning back against the couch, as you had when you and Marcus had been putting the favors together.

“Mhm,” You hummed lightly, peering down at the program and lining up the corners of the paper before smoothing down the middle. Marcus picked up an unfolded program, beginning to fold them as you did.

“How were um-- Errands, how’d they… You know?” You asked absently. “They were fine. Tuxes have been acquired, venue’s got the final headcount, seating chart and favors, photographer’s got the shot list.” “Has Marnie called the hotel they’re staying at and found out if there was an upgrade available?” You glanced at Marcus, “Might be able to get something if she mentions it’s her wedding weekend.” Marcus’ brows rose. “I don’t think she has, but I’ll find out.” “Should probably check in with wherever the rehearsal dinner is being held, too,” You added, turning back to the programs. “I’ll keep that in mind...Are you okay?” Marcus asked as you dropped another folded program atop the pile. “Mhm.” “Hey,” Marcus reached out, setting his hand on your arm. You glanced over at him. “S’wrong?” “You seem a little tense,” He scooched closer, thigh pressing against yours, “I can take over program folding,” He added. “She’s mad at me,” Jill called from the kitchen. “I am not mad!” You called back. “What happened?” Marcus frowned, glancing between the two of you. Jill came into the living room, leaning over the back of the couch and peering down at the two of you. “I made her come out from hunching over those photos that you printed out this morning,” She told Marcus as you pointedly folded another program. Busted. “How long were you in there?” Marcus asked, rubbing his hand over the back of your neck gently. “Since you left. I only got the damn cord away from her half an hour ago,” Jill answered, pushing off of the couch, “Speakin’a which, you hungry, Marky?” You snickered, muttering, “Marky.” “No thanks, mom.” “What about you, honey?” “No thank you, Jill,” You glanced back, offering her a smile before dropping another program atop the pile. Marcus watched her go before he leaned a little closer. “Were you able to work anything out?” He asked, picking up another page. “Nothing substantive,” You grumbled, folding the page and setting it aside. Marcus set his on the pile before he drew you into his chest. You pouted a little, slouching against him as you reached for the next page. “You know I’ve got the team working on this, too, right? And the team working out of the Louvre.” “I know,” You mumbled. “So relax,” Marcus murmured, turning his head and pressing a kiss to your temple. “I’m incredibly relaxed. I’m also very focused on folding these programs.” “Sweetheart, programs do not need to be that perfect.”

“Agree to disagree.” You felt Marcus’ fingers tuck under your chin and turn your head to look at him. You paused in your folding, blinking up at him. “You sure you’re alright?” He asked gently. You were not— but what was one more lie in this house? “Yeah,” You murmured before you leaned up, taking a chance and pecking Marcus’ lips. You felt him smile as he cupped your cheek, keeping you close as he deepened the kiss. You sighed, relaxing a little more and resting a hand on his thigh. As the kiss broke, you rested your head against his neck, closing your eyes as Marcus rubbed his hand over your shoulder. “...Feel better?” He asked quietly. “I think so.” “I can do that anytime,” He added after a moment, and you smiled, pressing your face into the crook of his neck. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

-- “You still doing that?” Marcus asked. “Hm?” You glanced back at him, catching sight of him in his pajamas. Jill had relinquished the laptop cord shortly after dinner, and Marcus had freed you of program-folding duty. “What...Time is it?” You asked, frowning. “It’s a little after midnight,” Marcus walked over to stand behind you, bracing his hands on the back of your chair and looking over your work, “You comin’ to bed?” You knew that you should— it had been a long day (after Jill had finally ceded the charging cord), and you were a bit tired. “Uh… N--No, not yet—” “C’mon,” Marcus murmured, leaning down and wrapping his arms around your shoulders, “You need to get some sleep.” “I know, I’m gonna, I just— I think I’m really close to something here,” You admitted, looking up at Marcus, “I wanna chase it down. I’ll take it into the living room so the light doesn’t keep you up,” You added, starting to gather up some of the materials. “If you’re sure,” Marcus conceded softly, “But get some sleep, huh?” “I will.” “Promise?” You glanced up at Marcus, smiling. “Promise.” He nodded, leaning in and pressing a kiss to your forehead before heading to bed.

You leaned away from the markups on the coffee table, dropping your marker with a shaky hand.

You’d made a call to where she’d been sent, and found out she had had her sentence shortened. She’d been out for nearly three years— she’d missed parole; there was a warrant out for her arrest. You hadn’t wanted to believe it was her work, you hadn’t, but you’d found the messages she always left. One was in the x-rayed under layers of the wreath of flowers around the swan’s neck: ‘Dominus ad ludere’. And then, another x-rayed layer, within one of the grey layers of the painting, near the darkened fold of the swan’s wing: ‘Ad opus domini’. The master at play, the master at work. The lettering was small, difficult to spot, but you knew that handwriting, and you knew exactly where to look. You couldn’t help the sick, twisting feeling in your stomach as you picked up your phone. You grabbed your notebook where you’d jotted down your notes on the sketches and brushstrokes, the notes that she’d left behind, and you hurried out to the porch. You sat on the porch swing, peering out into the dark and settling your notebook on your lap. You tucked the phone against your ear, listening as it rang. “Special Agent Melinda Yuen,” Came the answer when the phone was picked up. You were fond of Marcus’ colleague; aside from Marcus, she was who you’d worked the closest with. “Hi, Mel, it’s me,” You said quietly, glancing toward the door. “Hey, professor! How ya been?” “Fine,” You smiled a little at her question, “You?” “I’m alright. If you’re calling looking for Marcus—” “No, I… I wanted to talk to you. Marcus sent me some of the stuff from that da Vinci picked up in Orléans. I took a look at it, it’s definitely not authentic.” “You got notes?” “You have a pen? I’m going to tell you exactly where to look.” You listed off the points and layers that you were able to identify, as well as the suspect for her to look into. Melinda went quiet on the other end for a moment. “Professor, isn’t that your grandm—” “Yes,” You answered hurriedly, “It is.” “...Shit.” “My feelings exactly— Look, Mel, I’ve gotta ask you a favor.” “Sure.” “Don’t...Don’t tell Marcus who called this in until he’s back in D.C.” “Why not?” “Just, please?” You pleaded softly, glancing toward the door. “...I don’t know, professor—” “I’m not asking you to keep it from him forever, just-- Couple’a days.”

“Alright,” Melinda sighed softly, before, “How do you know when he’ll be back, anyway?” “Oh, he uh— mentioned he was going to his sister’s wedding. I don’t wanna ruin his weekend, you know. Figured if I got you on the first ring on this number he must be down there, ‘specially with this big of a case in the office,” You fibbed quickly. “You figure correctly,” Melinda chuckled, “I’ll get these notes over to the team. Night, professor.” “Night, Mel, and thanks.” “Hey, thank you.” You lowered your phone, hanging it up and peering out over the backyard again. You sighed softly, pushing the swing back and forth with one foot. “Can’t sleep?” You jumped at the sound of the question, huffing a shaky laugh at the sight of Marnie. “No,” You confirmed, “What about you?” “Nope,” Marnie sighed, walking over to sit beside you, “I was working on my vows.” “Big speech-writing day in the Pike household,” You teased. “That Marcus’?” Marnie nodded to your notebook. “O-Oh! No. Some uh… Stuff on that painting. Inconsistencies, little things,” You set the notebook down between the two of them, giving Marnie the option to pick it up. She left it be, giving you a little bit of relief in what had been a mostly hellish day. “Think it’s serious?” You shrugged, “Could be inconsequential.” You were already lying to Marnie so much, what was one more? Though, frankly, it made you feel a little crummy. You were growing very fond of Marcus’ family. They were warm, and welcoming. You’d always imagined having a family like them. “You and Marcus seem good, you know?” Marnie said, nudging your shoulder with hers, “I mean...Happy.” You smiled, lowering your eyes. “Your brother is... amazing. All of you are, I mean— I don’t know any family that would open their home to someone they don’t know for a night, let alone an entire week. And your mom— the way she pulled me out of Marcus’ room earlier,” The two of you chuckled, “Well. I’ve appreciated everything since I’ve been here, how kind you all have been.” “Oh,” Marnie reached out, patting your hand lightly, “We’re happy to. ‘Sides, Marcus is clearly smitten with you.” Your stomach churned with unease as you peered down at your hands. Marcus was a better actor than he gave himself credit for. You knew you’d make a liar out of him. “Makes two of us,” You mumbled. Damn, but that was the truth. Tag list: @hufflepuffing-all-day-long ; @spideysimpossiblegirl ; @blueeyesatnight ; @elen-aranel ; @yespolkadotkitty ; @artsymaddie ; @phoenixhalliwell ; @lunaserenade ; @winniedaboo ; @empress-palpat1ne ; @randomness501 ; @nutmeg-20 ; @leonieb ; @the-feckless-wonder ; @lou-la-lou ; @captain-jebi ; @supernaturalgirl ; @naturenebula21 ; @evelynseventyr ; @giselatropicana ; @heatherbel ; @marydjarin ; @annathewitch ; @absurdthirst ; @hnt-escape ; @writingletterstothefire ; @misswriter ; @bison-writes ; @xx-small-town-witch-xx ; @ajeff855 ; @hellovanessax ; @drinkingwhileblogging ; @strawberryperegrine ; @a-court-of-feysand-and-elorcan

#The Long Con #Marcus Pike x You #Marcus Pike x Reader #Marcus Pike/Reader #Marcus Pike/You #Marcus Pike fic #Marcus Pike imagine

203 notes · View notes

gamergirl929 · 3 years

Text

Our Bodies Were Printed As Blank Pages To Be Filled With The Ink Of Our Hearts (Tobin Heath x Reader)

Anonymous Request: Would you do a tobinxreader where the reader is a tattoo artist who is muscular and tall and tattooed, and Tobin and her friends come in with ash to get a new tattoo and the reader ends up convincing a shy Tobin to get a small tattoo on like her ribs or something and the whole time the reader has to restrain herself from hitting on her even though she still flirts and tobins friends make fun of both of them and the reader ends up asking Tobin out and they hit it off. Like ash is protective though because she knows the readers past but she gets over it lol?

Title based off of quote: “Our bodies were printed as blank pages to be filled with the ink of our hearts.” – Michael Biondi

The bell to your shop rings and you glance over your shoulder, your smile stretching into a grin.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite customer.”

Ashlyn makes her way towards you, holding a hand out which you take, the two of you meeting in a hug. You give her back a pat as your chests meet.

“I’m not used to the place being so empty.” She says as she glances around and you shrug.

“I closed the place for today, figured you wouldn’t want fans breathing down your neck.” You say as you pat her shoulder, turning back to your equipment.

The bell to your shop again rings and you sigh.

“Sign says closed!” You call out, though a hand on your back silences you.

“They’re with me.”

“Ah, sorry my mistake.”

“Nah, you’re good.” You hear a familiar voice say and you turn around, eyes wide.

“You brought Megan Rapinoe, you never said you were bringing Megan Rapinoe.” You stare at Ashlyn wide eyed and Megan bows.

“At your service.”

You chuckle, eyes widening further when Ali Krieger, who you’d met before, as well as Christen Press and Tobin Heath make their way inside your eyes widening as you glance at Ashlyn who sends you a wink.

The goalie had known full well about your crush on Tobin Heath, the woman forced to hear you talk about the forward every time she’d come in, which judging by the tattoos on her arms and legs, was a LOT.

You clear your throat, cheeks flushed pink as you glance away.

“Ye-Yeah, c-come in.” You stammer, Ashlyn snickering as she pats your back.

Meanwhile with your back turned you completely miss the way Tobin is shamelessly ogling you, the woman swallowing hard.

It was impossible for her to ignore your physique, your muscular, tattooed arms on display thanks to the muscle tee you’re wearing, another tattoo visible crawling up from beneath your shirt and up your neck.

Tobin briefly imagines what the tattoo would look like in its entirely, but when you turn around, your eyes immediately finding hers, she glances away, cheeks flushed.

You clear your throat, clapping your hands together.

“So, let’s get started.”

***

Ashlyn’s teammates chat as you get to work, your eyes narrowed as you focus intently on your work.

“Come on Tobes, Y/N is the best artist I know, you should get your tattoo here.” Megan gives her a nudge and Tobin huffs.

“I-I don’t know...” She mumbles and you smirk.

“Aww, come on. I promise I don’t bite.” You glance her way, sending her a wink and Tobin’s cheeks flush.

You chuckle, turning back to Ashlyn’s thigh, missing the way Christen gives her best friend a nudge.

“Come on Heath.” You tease, Ashlyn rolling her eyes.

She knew about your crush on Tobin, BUT she also knew you had a reputation, a reputation for hitting and quitting with women per se.

“Yeah, Y/N knows what she’s doing, she’s the only person Ashlyn will let near her with a tattoo gun.”

You smirk.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t cheat on me, would you Ash?” You ask, the goalie smirking.

“Never.”

***

Ashlyn gingerly moves to her feet, the woman heading towards the bathroom as you move to your feet, bones cracking from being in the same position for so long.

You turn, smiling when you see Tobin inspecting a wall full of pictures, pictures you’d taken of past clients and their freshly done tattoos.

“See any you like?” You ask, moving to stand beside her and Tobin smiles shyly.

“I like all of them.” She shrugs and you chuckle.

“Definitely stroking my ego.” You wink, the forward blushing profusely.

Ashlyn’s eyes narrow when she sees the two of you, something Ali notices right away, the woman making her way towards her.

“What’s wrong?” She asks, her wife humming.

“Y/N.” She whispers and Ali’s brows furrow.

“Yeah...?”

“You know she has a reputation.”

Ali turns towards you with a frown.

“I doubt she’d do something like that to Tobin...” She says, noticing the way your cheeks flush when your fingertips accidently brush Tobin’s hand.

“I don’t know.” Ashlyn frowns, the woman’s eyes widening when you turn her way.

“Ready?” You ask and the goalie nods.

“Ready when you are.”

***

Ashlyn watches intently as you run a cloth down her leg, the fresh tattoo prominent on her tanned skin.

You nod, lips splitting into a grin as you pick your head up, your eyes darting around Ashlyn’s face.

“Man, I thought this would look better.” You jest, Ashlyn’s eyes widening as she abruptly sits up, seeing, as per usual, a literal work of art on her leg.

“Dick.” She rolls her eyes, giving you a playful shove.

“That looks amazing.” Christen says in awe, glancing over her shoulder at Tobin, the woman scanning the masterpiece with a grin.

“It really does.”

You spin in your chair, grinning up at the forward.

“Convinced you to get a tat?” You ask, a brow arched and Tobin hums, shuffling from foot to foot.

You move to your feet with a grin.

“You don’t have to.” You smile, your hand brushing hers as you slip passed her.

You take a card from the holder on your desk, a smile stretching across your face.

“You can always call me if you change your mind.” You hold the card out to her, the woman taking it with a smile.

“I know you live here in Portland...” Your eyes widen, cheeks flushing pink as you rub the back of your neck.

“Th-That sounded creepy.” You chuckle nervously. “What I meant was I know you’re on the Portland Thorns, I just, f-f-figured.”

Tobin giggles, the tips of your ears burning at the sound.

“It’s okay, you’re right.” She smiles.

Ashlyn meanwhile is eyeing the two of you intently.

She’d NEVER seen you act this way in front of ANY woman, usually, you’d plaster on a charming smile and flirt in an attempt to woo the woman into giving you her number, which, was a usual success.

Who wouldn’t have a thing for a heavily tattooed, muscular woman with a charming grin who was INSANLEY talented?

Still, Ashlyn couldn’t help but be a bit protective over Tobin, she wasn’t about to let you use her like you had other women.

“Ahh come on Tobitto.”

Megan gives her a nudge.

“We have to leave tomorrow and I’m not leaving without seeing you get your first tattoo.” She pouts, the woman wanting to see Tobin get her first tattoo.

“Ohhh, a tattoo virgin.” You snicker, your tongue between your teeth.

Tobin hums, her eyes darting to the wall full of your past client’s tattoos before she fishes her phone out of her pocket.

“I may have looked at a few designs...” She shrugs and you move to stand beside her, the forward stiffening at the proximity between the two of you, the smell of your cologne clouding her senses.

You nod, one of your hands moving to rest on her back.

“That’s cute, I like it, from your brand, right?” You ask, Tobin turning to you with an arched brow.

“You know about re-inc?” Christen asks and you smirk, making your way behind the counter before coming back with something in the palm of your hand.

Tobin grins at the sight of the ReImaginer Signet Ring in the palm of your hand.

“I bought it the day you released it.” You smile, placing it down on the counter with a sigh. “I tried to buy someone’s painting, but someone out bid me.” You pout, Tobin’s cheeks flushing.

“You’re serious?” She asks and you nod.

“Unfortunately, I had to eat, so I couldn’t bid any higher.”

Tobin smiles, the woman’s eyes widening when Megan gives her a nudge.

“SO, TATTOO YAY OR NAY!?” She grins, waiting, semi patiently for Tobin’s answer.

Tobin glances your way, the charming smile on your face making her grin.

“Yay.”

Megan throws a fist in the air.

“YEAH!” Megan walks over, smacking your arm.

“LETS GO TO WORK.”

You laugh, nodding to the chair.

“Whenever you’re ready Heath.”

***

The look on Tobin’s face when she sits in the chair makes you chuckle.

“Nervous?” You ask as you adjust the clean gloves on your hands, and Tobin shrugs, wiggling in the seat.

“A little.”

You place a hand on her forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“It’ll be alright. I’ll be gentle.” You wink suggestively and Tobin’s cheeks flush.

“I know you needed time to think of where you wanted it, so-

You stop mid-sentence; your eyes widening when Tobin pulls her shirt over her head, revealing her sports bra clad physique.

You can’t help but peruse the woman’s newly exposed flesh, the woman’s abdominal muscles prominent.

You clear your throat, glancing away, the tips of your ears burning hot.

“Here.”

You give your head a shake before you turn back to her.

You duck down, the woman’s fingertips dragging along her bra line.

“That’s going to be a little tender.” You say, unconsciously running your fingertip along the underside of her sports bra.

Tobin meanwhile has stiffened, her eyes as wide as saucers and cheeks blood red.

Megan snickers, sending her friend a wink, while Christen covers her mouth to stifle her giggles.

Ashlyn in the meantime is staring your way, her eyes narrowed.

Ali gives her a nudge.

“She’s just doing her job.” She whispers in her wife’s ear and Ashlyn hums.

“She better be.”

You hum.

“Here would be best.” You tap her side, a bit below the edge of her sports bra.

You glance up at her with a smirk.

“I mean, you’d have to wear more revealing clothes to show it off...” You shrug. “Can’t say I’d mind, I mean...” Your eyes run down her front, the woman in the chair looking at you with wide eyes, her cheeks dusted pink.

Tobin glances away bashfully, rolling her eyes when she sees Megan fluttering her eye lashes.

You turn to Tobin as you pick up your tattoo gun.

“You ready?” You ask with a soft smile and Tobin inhales loudly, her eyes closing.

“Yep.”

***

Much to your surprise, Tobin remains completely still, the woman seemingly unaffected by the needle.

“Color me surprised.” You say with a smile and Tobin’s brows arch.

“I didn’t expect you to be the unaffected by getting a tattoo type.”

Tobin snorts.

“Give me more credit than that.”

You chuckle, focusing all of your attention on your work.

Tobin’s eyes glaze over, the woman watching as your face hardens, your eyes narrowing as you focus on making even the smallest of tattoos perfect.

With you so focused on your work, Tobin gets the chance to do a little perusing of her own.

Tobin’s eyes dart intently around your face, the woman’s brown orbs running along your jawline, a jaw that’s currently clenched.

She takes in the smooth skin of your face, wondering what it would feel like to touch it, the thought making her cheeks flush red.

Tobin can’t help but smile when she realizes your tongue is poking out of the corner of your mouth, your dark Y/E/C orbs narrowed.

You smirk, taking your eyes off your task, your eyes locking with Tobin’s brown orbs.

Your lips split in a grin.

“Something on your mind?” You ask, your eyes darting around her face.

Tobin grins, biting her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Maybe.” She winks, blatantly flirting and your cheeks flush, your eyes darting from her brown orbs, to her lips and back.

“Maybe we can talk about what’s on your mind when we finish, hmmm?” You hum, her lips spitting in a grin.

“I think I like the sound of that.”

***

Ashlyn’s brows arched as she watched the two of you interact, blatantly flirting.

She’d never seen you act the way you were currently acting with any woman other than Tobin, Tobin who couldn’t help but keep smiling at you when you weren’t looking, Tobin who seemed to be as interested in you as you were her.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if you were just going to use Tobin like you had the other women before.

Ashlyn hums when she sees the two of you simply staring at one another, your and Tobin’s cheeks dusted pink.

Maybe she was wrong about you.

***

You pull back once you’re satisfied, turning to Tobin with a grin.

“What do you think?” You ask as you grab your mirror off the nearby desk.

Tobin grins when she sees the newest addition to her body, a tiny popsicle, a bite from the sweet treat, along with a drip from the permanently melting popsicle.

“That’s amazing!” Christen beams as she peeks over your shoulder, Megan jumping on Ashlyn’s back so she can see over everyone.

“Dude, that’s dope, I’m coming here for my tats from now on.”

Ali gives you a pat on the back.

“Y/N always does good work.”

“She’s the best.” Ashlyn adds.

You wipe your gloved hands across your shoulders, earning an eyeroll from the forward in the seat in front of you.

“I was going to write my number on there, but I thought that would be a bit much.” You shamelessly flirt and Tobin laughs, retrieving your card from her pocket.

“You already gave me it, remember?”

Your eyes widen, your cheeks dusted pink as you rub the back of your neck bashfully.

“So, I guess I kind of already did what I planned to do, huh?” You chuckle, your lips splitting into a grin.

Tobin blushes as well, glancing away from you, embarrassed.

“I guess you did.” She whispers softly, glancing at you out of the corner of her eye.

You clear your throat, focusing again on your work, applying the ointment and bandage before you move to your feet.

“Looks like were done.” You groan loudly, stretching.

Tobin moves to her feet, taking a step towards you.

Your eyes widen, the proximity between the two of you lesser than it had been the entire day.

“Does that mean you want me to use the card?” She asks, holding it between the two of you and you smirk, your eyes darting from her brown orbs to her lips and back.

“Do you want to use it?” You ask, hopefully, something about Tobin affected you in a way that no woman had in a long, long time, an affect you wanted to explore further.

Tobin grins.

“I do.”

You chuckle, grinning.

“Th-Th-That's...” You clear your throat, glancing away, cheeks flushed. “

“That’s, cool...”

You nod.

“Cool. Ye-Yeah, cool.”

Tobin laughs, taking a reluctant step back.

“Damn, she got game.” Megan whispers to Ashlyn, the woman nodding, a small smile playing on her lips at your nervousness, a nervousness you hadn’t seen before.

Christen gives her best friend a nudge, the woman’s cheeks flushing pink.

“You have to admit, they’re cute.” Ali whispers to her wife, the taller woman nodding.

“Yeah, they are.”

Still, she can’t help but feel somewhat reluctant at the thought of the two of you being together.

Tobin moves towards the counter.

“How much?”

You shake your head, your fingertips brushing her wrist as you slip behind the counter.

“It’s on the house, it’s not every day I get to have my way with a first timer.” You flirt, teasingly, the forward rolling her eyes with a giggle.

You point across the shop at Ashlyn.

“YOU, are still paying.” You snicker, the goalie rolling her eyes.

“Fineeeeee.” She pouts and you throw your head back with a laugh.

The others make their way towards the door, Tobin lingering behind with a shy smile.

“S-So, text you later?” She whispers, shuffling from foot to foot and you grin, leaning across the counter.

Tobin’s entire body is set aflame when you take her hand, giving it a light squeeze, your thumb running across the back of her hand.

“Ye-Yeah, I hope I hear from you, I’d uhhh...”

You clear your throat, swallowing hard.

“I’d really like to umm, get to know you better.”

Tobin surprises you by wrapping her fingers around yours, giving your hand a squeeze.

“I’d like to get to know you better too.” She says softly, the woman glancing down at your joined hands.

You give her hand a squeeze before reluctantly letting go, the two of you already missing the feel of your hands in one another's.

“So, see you later then?” You smile and she nods.

“Yeah, see you later.”

You watch with a shy smile as Tobin exits the shop, your lips splitting into a grin as you throw a fist in the air, excited to talk to the woman more.

You clear your throat, remembering that you aren’t alone in the shop, your cheeks blood red when you turn towards the others, Megan, Ali and Christen all grinning.

Christen gives you a wave as she follows Tobin out of the door..

“See you later, Y/N.”

“Later tater, I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.” Megan grins, smacking the counter and you chuckle, giving her a wave as she leaves the shop, Ali following close behind.

“I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.” Ali grins and you chuckle.

“With how many tats Ashlyn gets, we’ll see each other in a week or two.” You laugh, the goalie’s wife giggling as she exits the shop, leaving the only two people in the shop being you and Ashlyn.

You turn to Ashlyn with a smile.

“I’m glad you like the finished product, just let me know when you want to get another done and my schedule will be cleared.” You grin, brows arching when you see the look on her face.

“Is something wrong...?” You ask, head cocked to the side and Ashlyn sighs.

“Look, if I’m being honest, I’m a little worried about you talking with Tobin.”

Your eyes narrow.

“What do you mean?” You ask, confused and Ashlyn clears her throat.

“Look, I know about your reputation...” She mumbles and you wince.

“O-O-Oh...” You fidget nervously.

Ashlyn frowns at the look on your face.

“Look, I don’t care if you talk to Tobin, but if you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

You snort, the frown on your face turning into a small smile.

“I won’t...” You shrug, cheeks flushing pink. “There’s something different about her, I don’t know what it is.” You shrug, the flush on your cheeks darkening.

Ashlyn leans across the counter, giving you a playful nudge.

“There must be, I’ve never seen you like this.” She laughs and you roll your eyes.

“Stopppppp.”

Ashlyn laughs as she fishes in her short’s pocket for her wallet.

“Still, hurt her and I kill you.”

You nod.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

#uswnt x reader #uswnt imagine #tobin heath x reader #tobin heath imagine #I know #title is long #but I love it

314 notes · View notes

meltwonu · 4 years

Text

| caffeine | [chapter 1]

pairing; fratboy!wonwoo x female!reader

this chapter’s notes; some smut, mild degradation. (some art history bs cuz I, in actuality, am a nerd) can I get a yeehaw! we’re finally kickin’ this off~ this is mostly just the lead up with some mild touchin’ but you know how it is~ thank you all for being so patient! can't wait to get the next chapter out 💕

chapters; 1 - x - x - x - x

It’s 10:48am when Mingyu all but begs you to return his art history books on Dadaism back to the campus library. You give him 4 sentences to explain why you should be the one to do it; the tall male whining that he’s already late for his exam on Baroque art.

“Can you not be a bitch for 4 seconds, please? I’m literally begging you and I know for a fact you need to get books on that fuckin’ art and gender course so don’t play me like you’re not heading there anyway!” Mingyu shoves his books into your arms, adjusting the messenger bag on his shoulder.

“I swear after the rager on friday, I’ll take you out to get those mochi donuts on saturday, okay? I gotta go!”

He gives you no time to respond, jetting off to his already-late exam. You roll your eyes, adjusting the books in your arms as you begin the trek to the library. Mingyu was a friend that you’d met in your Intro to Photography class with Minghao, another mutual friend of yours. Both of them were no-doubt handsome and insanely educated when it came to art and art history but both of them were also part of the SVT House; one of the most notorious frat houses on Greek Row. They threw parties every other week, inviting the entire campus to show up if the cops didn’t show up first. Mingyu had invited you to a few in the past but you’d always decline; citing that you rather not be around when the cops showed up. You always wondered how Minghao dealt with being in a frat house knowing he typically hated loud parties and huge crowds of strangers.

When you finally get to the library, you struggle with the door, the damned books making it difficult for you to pull the handle open. A kind soul helps you out, a small ‘thank you’ leaving your lips before you make a beeline for the receptionist desk to return Mingyu’s books. Noticing a different male there than the usual librarian, you quirk a brow.

“Um, hello?” He spares you a glance, closing a few windows on the computer he was working on before he walks over to your side of the table. You take in his features; sharp eyes, silvery blue hair, wire frame glasses, pressed white shirt under an argyle printed sweater vest tucked into beige pressed chinos. He looked like a stereotypical version of what most people would think a librarian looked like but also had the features of a high class model. You were sure you’d seen him around, probably when you’d run into Mingyu or Minghao between classes.

“Yes, can I help you?” Fuck, you think, his voice is hot too. You can feel your body heating up just from his voice alone and you take a second to recover, stuttering as you set the books down on the counter.

“Y-yeah, um, I--uh, just wanted to return these books? That’s all.”

Cursing under your breath for stuttering, you miss the way his lips quirk up into a small smile.

“Sure, let me just scan these in.” You opt to just nod, saving yourself from any further fuck ups with talking as you watch him grab the scanner.

“Hmm, it says Mingyu borrowed these books. Can I ask why you’re returning these and not himself?”

“O-oh, we’re friends. He was late to his art exam and I needed to do some work here so… figured I’d just return them for him since he’s already suffering.” He laughs, sliding the books off the counter and placing them on the return cart for later.

“I don’t see why he didn’t just give them to me this morning but I guess the beer pong from last night must’ve been the reason for him being late.” You sigh, “I knew there’d be a stupid reason he’d be late for his exam. Anyway, thanks for helping me…?” You leave the question open ended, wanting to get his name before you disappeared to one of the empty study rooms. He smiles at you again, dusting off his hands on his neatly pressed pants.

“Hi, my name’s Wonwoo. I volunteer here at the campus library every day from 10am to about 2pm. If you need anything, just let me know!” He shakes your hand, eyes twinkling as he gives you a quick up and down from behind the receptionist desk. You give him your name; watching him as he whispers it under his breath, lips tilting up into a warm and inviting smile.

“It’s nice to meet you. I hope we’ll get along well.”

You hate the way the image of Wonwoo smiling at you is embedding into your eyelids while you try to work; the stupid essay sitting in front of you still blank even when you get up to look for materials on the course an hour and a half later. Checking the kiosk to find out where the said art and gender books were, you make your way through the bookshelves, not finding any of the books you were looking for. You contemplate for a second, wondering if you really want to go visit Wonwoo at the receptionist desk. Fuck it, you think, I’ll get my books and I swear I’ll finish this damn essay before I leave, it’s not just eye candy.

“Hey, Wonwoo?” He turns away from the return cart, adjusting his glasses as he walks over to you at the counter. “Yes, what can I do for you?”

“Um, I… it said the art and gender books were on the shelves but they weren’t, uh, there? Can you… check for me please?” He nods, sitting down at the computer while you recite the necessary info to him. Wonwoo jots down a few notes on a notepad, getting up and gesturing for you to follow him as he tears the sheet off.

“Sorry, I’m new here so we might get lost but I think they might’ve accidentally been shelved in the wrong section of the library.” He threads through different bookshelves, taking you deeper and deeper into the library until there’s hardly anyone around.

When he finally stops, you’re in a section of the library you don’t recognize, the emptiness mildly eerie as Wonwoo searches for the said books.

“Wanna give me a little snippet of what these books are about while we’re here?” He didn’t strike you as a small talk kind of person but you shrug behind him; you were already there, might as well.

“Um, it’s just, kind of how different genders consume and interpret the human form in art. Lots of it is old and outdated but it’s for an art course I’m taking right now. Y’kno, things like the ‘male gaze’ and stuff. I’m sure it’d bore you to death.” Wonwoo hums in acknowledgement, turning to face you as he slowly backs you up against the bookshelf. It takes you off guard as you hold your breath, eyes boring into the argyle print on his sweater vest.

“Interesting course you’re taking. I don’t think it’d bore me though, I’m quite enamoured with the female form.” You’re convinced if you breathed wrong, he’d feel it with how close he was. But he whispers a small ‘ah-hah’, his hand resting on the shelf next to your head as he pulls out a singular book. Wonwoo steps back, placing the book in your trembling hands.

“That’s one book, 3 more to find.”

He continues like that, his body in close proximity to yours the entire time you stand there, unsure of what to do. Wonwoo finds two more of your books, setting them on an empty shelf nearby as he checks his note for the last one. You mentally curse yourself for wearing a sundress to the library because you can feel the back of his hand grazing your thigh when he kneels on the floor next to you, hand placed on the shelf and eyes scanning for the damned book you don’t even care about anymore.

“Hmm, I can’t seem to find this last one. Weird. Maybe someone checked it out already and it got misscanned.”

“Oh, um, that’s fine, this should be g-good. I can check the shelf myself or something!”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind helping you out back here. I wouldn’t want you to do it alone, you know. Joshua should have already come in for his shift already anyway.” Wonwoo stands back up, his face close to your body as he towers above you. “Don’t you want my help? I don’t really offer it very often.” The suggestive tone in his voice has you clenching around nothing, already embarrassingly wet. You hope to a higher power that he can’t tell but something inside of you already knows that he’s aware of his affect on you.

“O-okay, please… please help me.”

You swear you’ll finish your essay.

Right after Wonwoo finishes getting you off.

He touches you underneath your dress, fingers pressed firmly against the wet patch on your panties as you bite your lip to keep in your moans.

“You’ve only met me today and you’re already this wet for me? You’re such an easy little thing. Do you get this turned on just for anyone or am I doing that much damage to you?” It’s a rhetorical question, but Wonwoo waits patiently; wanting to hear your reply anyway. Under any other circumstances, you’d probably punch a guy that called you easy, but for some reason the way Wonwoo says it has you getting even wetter.

“I, mmh, don’t normally… d-do this I swear.” He has you pressed against the bookshelf, a leg slotted in between yours as he braces his other hand next to your head. Wonwoo’s thumb presses hard against your clit, the fabric of your panties adding extra friction as you grind down onto his hand. “Oh? So I am just that special, huh? Lucky me, I’ve got such a cute girl cumming in the palm of my hand.” He chuckles at his own joke, glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose ever so slightly.

Your hands dig into the fabric of his sweater vest, wanting nothing more than to just cum so you can go back to working on your essay and simultaneously dying of embarrassment that you got that turned on from a guy you’d just met a couple hours ago and he made you cum in some back part of the library.

“Wonwoo, can you… touch me harder, I’m really close...” You whisper. He hums, his fingertips grazing the hem of your panties.

“Harder? Or would you want my fingers instead? I wonder how many of them you could take before you’re begging me to just fuck you?” The juxtaposition of his words and his gentle touch is enough to send you over the edge, biting your lip to keep in any sounds that threaten to escape. He lets you ride out your orgasm before his hand is slipping from underneath your dress and he’s pulling away. Your dress slides back down into place, not a hair on your head looking disheveled other than the fact your face is redder than a tomato.

Wonwoo adjusts his glasses, hands immediately smoothing down any wrinkles on his clothes after.

“My shift is almost up here and I need to get to my archeology class afterwards but if you’re ever curious about the male form, I’m a willing subject.”

#fratboy!wonwoo #wonwoo smut #seventeen smut #svt smut #wonwoo scenarios #wonwoo imagines #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #wonwoo

729 notes · View notes

sevlgi · 4 years

Text

patient

requested: yes

group: mamamoo

pairing: hwasa x fem!reader

genre: fluff

contents: tattoo artist!hwasa, flustered!reader [15/33]

warnings: none

synopsis: It’s hard for you to be patient about your next tattoo session when your artist is so damn gorgeous.

a/n: um??? I love tattoo aus???? also don’t come at me for the name, I’m not creative

word count: 1.9k

“Elegant Chaos.”

You test the name out on your tongue, staring up at the slightly grimy neon sign of the shop. The entire front is one-way glass, so all you can see is your own reflection and the ones of the people bustling around you.

Before you can make up a decision to open the door to the store or not, someone else does; a pretty brunette woman steps out and smiles at you, crazy beautiful with full lips and crescent-eyes. “Hi. Can I help you?”

“Uh, yeah.” You show her the printed-out address your friend sent you and step a bit closer. “Is this a tattoo shop? I searched the address up but nothing resulted, I was referred by a friend.”

She barely takes a glance at the address before flashing another bright grin. “Oh, yep! This is our tattoo shop, we opened a couple months ago. It’s weird that we’re still not showing up, but oh, well. Want to come in?”

You barely register her quick words but step into the shop after her, the smell of rubbing alcohol, paper, and perfume vaguely stinging your nose. “I’m Solar, the receptionist,” she introduces, walking behind what you presume to be her desk. Out front, some teenagers talk quietly, a tall, dark-haired boy with a sleeve sipping at a banana milk.

“Cool. Uh, I’m Y/N. I don’t have an appointment, is that okay?”

Solar nods, tapping at her phone. “Sure. Jungkook over there is just waiting for Byul to finish her other client, and Wheein is prepping to pierce the kids. Hwasa’s our best artist, anyway, does that sound good?”

Her question startles you from staring at the intricate sketches taped all over the walls, the same 3 signatures stamped everywhere. “What?”

She laughs, though it’s not rude. “We have one artist left, Hwasa, but since you’re referred, you probably don’t have someone in mind, right? You can go to see her now, she’s free.”

“Great. Do I just...?” At Solar’s nod, you walk past her and into the back. The studio’s quite small, to be honest; there are 4 stations, two of them occupied. One of them, who you guess is Byul, is tattooing an elderly man, her sleeves rolled up to reveal the art on her bicep.

The second, probably Wheein, is wiping down her tools, and she’s the first to notice you. “Hi!” she grins, turning the music blasting from the radio down with her ungloved hand. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah. Solar mentioned that I should come find Hwasa,” you explain, eyes widening at the complicated art being tattooed on the elderly man. “Are you...?”

“No, I’m Wheein.” Ah, so you were right. “This is Byul, she’s a bit preoccupied,” Wheein smiles, dimples poking into her cheeks. “I’ll get Hye- sorry, Hwasa for you.”

She hurries out to the back, and you can hear talking through the open door, before she comes back, the woman you presume to be Hwasa behind her.

Instantly, you’re starstruck; she’s stunning in a way that’s completely unique, long dark hair and tanned skin contrasting beautifully. The only makeup she wears is a bold red lipstick, her tank top showing the delicate tattoos she has. “Hey, I’m Hwasa,” she greets, sticking her hand out. Her nails are long, too.

“Y/N.” You accept the handshake, trying not to stare. “Uh, Solar said you were free for a consultation?”

“Yeah.” She sits at one of the free stations, clearing the things scattered on the table. “So, what’re you looking for? Do you already have a design chosen or am I freehanding?”

You fumble in your bag for a piece of paper, sliding it over to Hwasa. “Um, this is just something my friend drew up for me. I want it pretty small, on my forearm.”

The dark-haired woman shrugs, unfolding the paper. “I could do that. Is this your first tattoo?”

Nodding, you watch as Hwasa taps her long, red-painted nails on the desk. “Okay. Is this part of a sleeve or by itself?”

“Uh, how long would each one take?” To be honest, you have no idea why you said that; you didn’t consider a sleeve at all, though you considered multiple tattoos or a large one. There’s just something about the other woman that makes it impossible for you to think.

She considers the question before answering, “Depends on the size and how many small ones you want to work in for the sleeve, but I’d recommend a separate session for each small square, so maybe 8 or 10. I’ll be done with this in less than 30 minutes, though, if it’s just the one.”

To be honest, the only thing causing you to consider a sleeve is getting to see Hwasa again, and you curse your own attraction to her when you blurt, “Maybe a sleeve? I have to think about the other ones I want to work in, though.”

“Okay. I can just do the one today, and we can schedule another day for you to come in and design the whole thing,” she offers, picking the sketch up. “I’ll go make this into a stencil, then.”

“Sure.”

When she takes the sketch and walks to the back room, you slump down in the chair and pivot to look at the others. You quickly realize how long you were talking with Hwasa; Byul is already working on the coconut-haired boy, and Wheein is already done with the teenagers.

She seems to be the outgoing type, and waves at you while sanitizing her needles and packing her kit up again. “So, how did it go? Are you going to start today?”

“I am, yep. You’re already done with the kids?”

Wheein nods, placing the studs back into their cases. “Yep. They just wanted more lobe piercings, it’s really easy. I’m a tattoo artist, too, but I think the kids like me more. Except for Jungkook over here, they think Byul’s intimidating.”

“I’m not!” the other woman protests, hands still steady as she works on the boy. Her voice is deeper than you’d expect. “You literally call me a hamster.”

Flapping a hand, Wheein flashes you her dimples again. “So, what do you think of Hwasa?”

“Huh?” you blink, brain basically short-circuiting. “Uh, she’s a good artist? I saw some of her sketches, yours too; you’re all really talented.”

“No, no, that’s not what I mean. Wait, you’re not straight, are you?” she narrows her eyes at you, scanning you from head to toe. “Maybe my sense is broken, I didn’t peg you for a...”

“I’m not. Straight. I’m a lesbian.” Your cheeks burn to say it aloud, though nobody really reacts, not even Jungkook. “Are you?”

Wheein shrugs, “I mean, I’m attracted to women. All 4 of us are- Hyejin, Byul, Yongsun. Solar, to you. And we make sure everyone who comes in is accepting, we won’t serve bigots.”

For whatever reason, you’re almost relieved to hear that Hwasa’s also attracted to women in some sense, even though it doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s attracted to you. “Oh. That’s cool.”

“Yeah. So, is it just one tattoo or a sleeve?” Her knowing smile puts you off a bit; how did she figure it out? “A lot of girls who come in here change their original idea because of Hyejin-ah. You’re obviously attracted to her, to, so it’s no surprise.”

“Is it really that obvious?” you groan, surprising yourself with how open you’re being about it. “Do you think she knows?”

“Probably,” Wheein giggles, nodding when Solar pokes her head in the studio to tell her something. “Anyway. I’ve got to go, good luck!”

She waves as she leaves, the only noise left in the studio being the quiet music and Jungkook’s quiet talking. He seems just as awkward as you are, lifting his free hand in a half wave.

You’re saved by Hwasa returning with a stencil. “Here. Does that look good?”

She’s modified the original design just the tiniest bit, making the lines a little bit darker and the shading simpler, and it looks... “Perfect.” You grin, a weight on your chest lifted by your conversation with Wheein. “Should we start?”

“Sure.” She brings you over to one of the actual tattoo stations, the seat already smelling sanitized. You can barely listen as she explains what the process will be like- cleaning, the actual tattooing, pain; you finally come to when she asks, “Are you ready?”

“I... yeah. I am.”

It’s quiet until the buzzing of the tattoo gun brings you to life, the tiniest bit of fear sour on your tongue. Hwasa looks concentrated as she peels the stencil off, not exactly reassuring, either. “So. Is there a meaning behind this?”

“Uh, not really. Are there meanings behind yours?” You gasp when the needle first touches your skin, the cold wipe taking off excess ink.

“I have some matching tattoos with Wheein,” Hwasa explains, smiling at the mention of the other girl. “Uh, one is Maria, my Christian name. Wheein has more, but all of us have some kind of meaning behind ours. It’s not bad to have no meaning, though.”

You wince as she continues with the linework, slowly getting used to the pain. “Are you and Wheein...”

She looks up, raising an eyebrow. “Together? No, we’re best friends. I haven’t been with someone in a few years.”

“What’s stopping you?”

Hwasa laughs, wiping your arm once again. “Nothing, I guess. I’m just patient enough to wait for the right person.”

“Patient. Right.”

Conversation flows smoothly, mostly light topics. You learn each other’s ages, and you’re told to call Hwasa ‘Hyejin’ instead. You learn when she got her first tattoo, and when she learned to tattoo others. The more you talk, the more drawn in you are, fascinated by her every word.

The half an hour is over far too fast. “Done,” she announces, smiling as she turns off her gun. “Take a look.”

It looks gorgeous, as expected, though Hwasa plays off your barrage of compliments. “Uh, should I pay now?”

She shrugs, placing saran wrap over your arm. “We’ll go talk with Solar about that, she’s better with pricing than I am. But it probably won’t be much.”

“What? Why?” you frown, examining the tattoo. Usually, discounts only happen when something goes wrong, or you have a coupon. You’re pretty sure neither of those things apply.

Hwasa pauses, turning to send you a small smirk. “Well, the cute ones usually pay less.”

Your heart practically stops, though you force yourself to walk to the front with her. “Besides, you’re probably coming back again soon, right?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah. I think so. When will that be? The next session, I mean.”

She frowns, tapping at the tablet Solar hands her. “You can come in as soon as you’re free to design it, if you want, but you have to wait a bit for the next session, especially if you’re doing the things close together. If you want, I can give you my number.”

At your stricken expression, Hwasa’s lips curve into a knowing smile. “So you can send me ideas, for the sleeve.”

“Ah, of course.” Your cheeks burn as you take out your cash, counting out a surprisingly small amount. “That sounds good. I guess I’ll just have to be patient, then.”

“I guess so. Call me, Y/N,” she smiles, handing your phone back with a new contact in.

Being patient is going to be so damn hard.

113 notes · View notes

awsugawara · 4 years

Text

bnha hcs with an artsy s/o [2/?]

part two of this series! i will continue with maybe 2 more sets of bnha characters, so if i don’t touch basis with one you really like, then don’t be afraid to send a request! i can also do pt. 2s or scenarios for these, if y’all want as well :)

note: your quirk will be the same all around, if implied you have one!

Quirk: AMBIENT ILLUSION - with a single touch of your hand or glance, you are able to make your opponent think that they’ve been taken to another “realm,” but in actuality their body movements mimic those in the illusion; it’s a quirk that can be used for good or for bad; your creativity isn’t limited, but the side effects are headaches, nausea, and sometimes insanity for a short period of time until your stamina runs out or unless someone knocks you out

Hero Name: Chiaroscuro or Chiasu [for short]- referring to the major contrast of light and dark in an image; in italian it is said to literally mean light-dark

enjoy :)

---

i. midoriya

> you both go way back to childhood years, but you moved away

> you two only reunited because you knew mirio and he told you about izuku

> “wait- does he have a broccoli like hair?”

> nevertheless, izuku was ecstatic to reunite with you and vise versa

> he noticed the subtle changes to your appearance, such as your choice of clothing

> you talked a lot about your newfound love for art and aesthetics, he found it cute

> he told you about all might and his new quirk becuz something seemed off about him

> being quirkless, you make the most of being kind to people all around the world and to those you meet

> that’s one of the qualities that izuku likes a lot about you

> he isn’t really there after moving to the dorms, so you try to make the effort to come see him and that’s how the rest of his friends met you

> he feels bad you’re always spending time alone, while he was training really hard

> as an artist, you do get insecure, so losing deku to his dream was kinda a harsh reality check and you needed to find another outlet

> you worked at a nearby art teacher at the night painting sessions and you loved it

> gaining better critiques and learning about different potential styles made you so much more confident

> when izu saw you after long grueling training for the provisional license exam, he saw you were glowing with confidence and he was convinced he was going to one day marry you

---

k. bakugo

> he keeps you a hidden secret from the rest of his nosy friends. PERIODT.

> katsu is kinda embarrassed to admit he has a BIG soft spot for your artsy self

> you work at an art store and one day kirishima and kaminari decided to grab some materials for an art project that aizawa assigned

> you happened to be there helping out a flirty kaminari and an enthusiastic kirishima

> he was just kinda there...staring at you and your cute HANDMADE grenade earrings

> “you good bakugo?” -kirishima asked when they left

> “tch whatever.”

> he was forced to go BACK THE NEXT DAY because he broke some of the markers when he was getting riled up

> he ACTUALLY made a compliment to your flame earrings that day and you wrote your number on the back of his receipt

> fast-forward, he takes the time to escape the dorms during the weekends to see you

> his mom LOVES you to DEATH

> she knows you’re the one and pesters baku about marrying you NOW

> neway, you’ve made cute little charms for your boom boom boi as good luck

> BONUS: you have matching charms that he keeps in a display case in his dorm room in his desk drawer

---

s. todoroki

> since he’s fairly quiet, he never really mentions you, except to his sister or izuku

> he collects the scrapbook pages you put together in a safe scrapbook

> for once, his dad is actually proud of his son’s gf and as he proclaims “his-future wife”

> your quirk is something that his dad practically fangirls about

> your family doesn’t really like the idea of quirk marriages just because they value trust and love

> shouto loves that and so he can be seen coming over often on the weekends

> he admires all the art pieces you draw in your sketchbook that you carry around for your quirk

> the more details you can memorize of a scene, the more the victim becomes more entranced

> he admires the fact that you like making art not only for your hero courses, but because you value making others happy with your gift

---

d. kaminari

> den asks himself how and why he ended up with such a cute and gifted girl

> you like making him small gifts and art pieces because it brightens his day

> but you attend seiai academy, which you extremely dread

> but when it comes down to it, you aren’t one to associate yourself with saiko intelli, just because she’s kind of in over herself with her fancy teas

> you spend a lot of time drawing and such that you never really socialize with the other girls

> you only attend seiai because you had gotten a recommendation from your old art teacher, and suddenly...you feel out of place

> all the girls in seiai seem to be snotty rich girls with nothing else better to do other than gossip and drink leaf juice

> denki tries to make you feel better after talking about his day and then asking about yours, which you respond to as “the same old lonely dorm room day”

> he feels really bad and tries to make you happy

> the day of the sports festival, he invited you to attend a week before since it was a really big deal coming from class 1-A

> you met his friends and eraserhead at the provisional license tournament, which you had finished pretty quickly, considering how you broke away from your peers and kinda just went for some unlucky chump

> eraserhead was impressed oop-

> anyway, when you saw their performance, you got literal chills and was pretty jealous of denki, you made some excuse to go home

> you ended up crying by yourself, but that crying sess ended when you found den at your dorm room, hugging the daylights out of you

> “i have a suggestion for you...how about you ditch these rich girls and come eat the rich with the rest of us at U.A.?”

---

f. tokoyami

> edgy boi + soft aesthetic s/o = b a l a n c e

> fumi isn’t one to outwardly express himself in the love dept, so how he ended up with you was simply being classmates

> being a transfer from shiketsu high school was probably the most nerve wrecking

> after everyone had gotten their provisional license, your dad came back from overseas and didn’t like that you weren’t at U.A., so...yea

> ANYWAY, fumi is soft edgy boi for you, and really admires your pieces

> he gives you ideas for some dark pieces that could help you spook more people

> fumi does little thoughtful things to help you through commission surges like bringing you flowers, snacks and dinner

> when you moved into the dorms, the rest of class 1-A had convinced you to let them into your room, which consisted of a lot of ORGANIZED art supplies and...PETS????

> apparently you had gotten permission from aizawa to bring some of your pets to the dorms, such as a cat, a puppy and a couple of birds

> “i couldn’t possibly come up with my pieces without having them”

> **cue cuteness overload**

> class 1-A didn’t pick up on your relationship with him and when they did, they were like......!!!!

> it was all thanks to your polaroid and printed photos of all your friends and some of your dates with fumi

---

e. kirishima

> you met during one of his patrols with fatgum and tamaki

> fatgum recognized you as you frequently came from seiai to visit, since fatgum was your relative

> kiri was curious about you since you go to seiai, an all girls academy

> fatgum had taken you along with his two interns to patrol and let me say kiri began simping after seeing you in action

> as a prep girl, you spend quite some time in the art room for your quirk

> having been prepared, it wasn’t any big deal to have you take down the bad guy within mere 15 minutes

> you were close with tamaki, but even closer with kiri

> at one point, you both started dating and you met his friends when you came from seiai to drop off some food you made for him

> “you go WHERE???” -denki

> lemme say that a lot of class 1-A was skeptical of you, but kiri convinced them that you meant no harm and was just visiting him

> “it’s okay, kiri! i’m sorry to intrude! i’ll be heading out now!”

> **cue dejected kiri for the rest of the week**

> his classmates felt bad seeing him in such a downer state, and apologized to him

> “nah, it’s okay...i was kinda hoping you guys would like her too and i’m sorry i’ve been down lately...so not manly.”

> but they learnt that kiri’s gf had been getting bullied for dating someone from U.A. and they had to go and make it worse

> “kirishima?” -mina

> “oh hey, what’s up?”

> “how’s s/o?” -denki

> “do you think that s/o would want to come to U.A.?” -midoriya blurted out

> mission: get s/o to attend U.A.

---

SORRY SOME OF THESE ARE LONG! I COULDN’T HELP MYSELF AOAFNOANF

#bnha x reader #mha x reader #midoriya x reader #bakugo x reader #kirishima x reader #tokoyami x reader #todoroki x reader #kaminari x reader #bnha headcannons #mha headcannons

169 notes · View notes

modern-vellichor · 4 years

Text

In Her Blood; Five

Summary: You take particular interest in a dinner guest, Bucky isn't pleased.

Warnings: Warnings: smoking, angst, drinking, alcohol consumption, uncomfortable family dynamic, age gap relationship, jealous!possesive!Bucky, implied smut.

Pairing: DadsBestFriend!Bucky x Reader

Previous Chapter || Masterlist

You sat across from Steve, both of you sipping coffee. Since you two had gone on the hike, you had both been slowly spending more time with eachother, and less time arguing. Bucky had seen the both of you pass his window while on morning runs. The two of you were going for coffee and stalking the shelves of vintage bookstores together. It was like you were young again.

It was a pleasant change for Sam to come down the stairs to find the two of you enjoying your mornings.

"So", he said as he sat down next to Steve. "Bucky's coming over for dinner tonight, and Strange, and Peter", names that you recognised from news articles and stories.

"Y/N, you remember Peter, you met him last summer, hes a few years older than you"

You smiled and nodded, nursing your coffee to avoid answering.

You met Peter a few summers ago, you had only come home for a week or two. The two of you went for coffee a few times, he took you to lunch, but it never went anywhere because you left to spend the rest of the summer in Orléans.

You spent the rest of the morning doing some slow moving work, you typed a quick first draft for an essay, layed the base colours on a piece for your portfolio. And then you were being called down to begin cooking. You were taught to cook by Sam when you were a kid, and then expanded your skills when you moved away. Michelle, your roommate, had printed you a recipe book of all her own recipes for your birthday, and you treated it as the bible.

You and Steve danced around the kitchen nursing glasses of wine while you sautéed and roasted and whisked. Soon guests started arriving, filing into the house in dress shirts and booties. You scurried up the stairs to change, Steve on your tail. Bucky had arrived when you were upstairs, he had to take a moment to himself when he watched you come down the stairs. You were a sight for sore eyes in that skirt and your blouse, an image of his dreams. He could see it perfectly, you and him, in a house of your own, together, with a cat and maybe a dog too.

You weaved through the kitchen making small talk with the other guests, too distracted to even spare Bucky a glance.

He was picturing his dream life, watching you with awe as you glided around the kitchen.

He saw the white picket fence, a little white cat. A kitchen with a window above the stove and vintage curtains, a wine rack next to the tv. He pictured all your paintings hung up on the walls, sketches of him littered on your desk, bookshelves filled with books on Victorian era art and cubism and modern romanticism, and all sorts of poetry and story books. You would read to him in the evenings, or sketch him, or simply lay with him, talking nonsense into his chest.

He was rudely torn from his daydream when you sat down directly across from him, but your gaze was not on him, but on Peter. He watched in near horror as he refilled your glass and made you laugh and blush. He nearly exploded when he watched you rest your hand on his thigh, and when his hand gripped your arm for a few seconds past friendly.

You were solely focused on him until dinner was served and the conversation was between everyone at the table. You stayed relatively silent, laughing at everyone's jokes and stories, until Steve turned the attention on you.

"Y/N is actually at art school in Paris", he said proudly, Bucky smiled at his newfound love for you.

The table erupted in oohs and ahs and questions about Paris. You laughed and nodded as you told a few anecdotes and showed the table a few pictures on your phone. Bucky kept his eyes trained on you the whole evening, his blood boiled as you slowly focused your attention on Peter. He nursed his beer with a scowl as he watched you hug Peter a little too long for his liking before seeing him out.

And only then did you notice his frown, as you were sitting back down after all the guests had gone separate ways.

"Bucky?", you mumbled, the rest of your family busy cleaning up. Bucky ignored you.

"Baby", you cooed softly, but he only frowned harder.

"Soldier", you said in a sultry tone, instead of responding he grabbed your arm roughly and dragged you to your room. He threw you inside and locked the door. You opened your arms as you approached him, and he pinned you against the door, his hand around your throat, gripping harshly.

"Bucky", you coo. "what's wrong, baby?", you're stuttering as he licks a stripe up your neck.

"How's Peter?", he growls, sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of your chest, sure to leave a mark that only you'll see.

You chuckle, it surprises Bucky, so he lets you go, falling to sit on the edge of your bed.

You approach him, pushing his legs open with your knee so that you can stand between them. You take his face in your hands, stroking his cheeks lovingly.

"Jealous, are we?"

"Darling", he smirks, grabbing your wrists. "I dont get jealous"

"Really?", you question him, but you're still soft, treading on thin ice.

"Really", he states with pride. He snakes his arms around your waist, pulling you onto his lap. "and, we all know who-"

He's cut off by Steve hollering for him downstairs, he hurries out of your room and you're left to wonder what he was going to stay.

His half finished words float around in your head all evening, you spend hours tossing and turning, trying to sleep. You went to bed early to avoid having to speak with your family, who all seemed very interested in Peter, so you were unaware of Bucky's presence in the guest room next to yours. You were only half asleep when he snuck into your room. You snapped awake at the click of your lock, his body towering over you, it took you a moment to realise it was only Bucky and calm down.

He curled into bed next to you, wrapping his around you. You lay like that for a while, enjoying each other's presence.

"Buck?", you whisper. He hums in response. "what were you gonna say earlier?"

"when, baby?", he mumbled.

"When I sat on your lap, you said 'we all know who', and then you never finished"

He pauses for a moment, then he sits up against your headboard and pulls you into his lap once more. His hands knead and paw at the soft flesh of your hips and thighs. He hums contentedly, pressing soft kisses over your chest and neck, taking extra care to soothe the bite mark still visible on the swell of your chest.

"well", he growls, his voice has dropped an octave, his pupils blown out with lust. "before we were rudely interrupted, I was going to say", he presses a sloppy kiss to your lips.

"we all know who you belong to", your face drops. Something about his words makes your blood run cold. You splayed your hand on his chest, putting as much space between the two of you as you could, but his iron grip kept you glued to his lap.

"you think I belong to you?", you scoff.

"Y/N, not literally. It's just that you're mine"

You roll your eyes, "I'm yours? Since when?"

"baby, you gotta be quiet"

You drop your voice to an angry whisper.

"I'm not your fucking toy, Barnes"

"I know that, kitten, okay? You never were my toy"

You just scoff, crossing your arms over your chest defensively. He pulls you closer to him again, pressing soft kisses all over you and cooing gently.

"okay, maybe I did get jealous when you were giving Peter all your attention. I just don't want my girl wasting her time on a stupid kid like him", you soften at his words.

"your girl, huh?"

"Only if she's okay with that?"

"yeah", you mumble, pressing a kiss to his lips. He smirks at you, flipping you over, pressing you into the mattress and shoving a knee between your legs, you whimper. He laughs softly at your pleading eyes, he'd give in soon, but first he's going to have some fun with his girl.

@vicmc624 @adriannajackson @zizzlekwum @chipilerendi @madaroni37 @spameloearie

#bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky fanfic #bucky x reader #bucky x y/n #bucky x you #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fic #bucky fluff #bucky x reader smut #bucky barnes x y/n #dadsbestfriend!bucky

92 notes · View notes

forever-rogue · 4 years

Text

Honey & Velvet - Part 10 (Finale)

A/N: Hello friends! The time has come for our little conclusion to this story. I’m so glad so many of you liked it so much, it really means the world! I hope you enjoy, and as always, feedback and comments are welcome! xx

Pairing: Maxwell Lord x Reader

Word Count: 3.9k

Warnings: fl*ff

MASTERLIST

»»————-　♡　————-««

Black lace and velvet.

It was almost laughable as you studied your reflection in the long, golden gilded mirror. The lingerie was almost too much, even for you, who had acquired which a collection of various pretty little pieces by this point. But you'd picked these number specifically for this occasion, knowing that it would pique Max's interest. You were excited to show him later, having teased him all week about a special surprise.

Leaning against your desk, you drummed your fingers against the small stack of Polaroids. They were freshly developed and ready for delivery to the man himself. Grabbing the camera that you stored in your office for handy times such as these, you returned it to its spot in your wardrobe, locking it safely back up.

You slipped back into your chair and and pulled a manila envelope from the top drawer, reaching for the pictures. Before sliding them in and sealing it tightly, you grabbed your personal favorite and pressed a dark red lipstick print on it. You had always been a little on extra before, but now, having been with Maxwell this long, you were all about being extra. Why not? The two of matched each other and it worked well, you were happy, truly happy.

Putting everything inside, you securely sealed it, and scrawled his name in elegant, slanted writing on the front. This was going to be some surprise, one you hoped he wasn’t expecting, and one you hoped that he would enjoy. Grabbing your dress from the back of your chair, you quickly slipped it on, along with your heels before walking out of your office to find Adina.

She was reading over some reports, but stopped instantly when she saw you standing over her with a sheepish little grin on your face. She took her glasses off of her face and pinched the bridge of her nose before letting out a sigh. If you didn’t know her as well as you did, you would have easily believe she was annoyed, but luckily you knew better. Sticking the envelope directly in front of her, you leaned against her desk and as she met your eyes and rolled them dramatically.

“You know I love you, right?” you put on a sing-song voice as you leaned in front of her and offered her your sweetest, most honeyed smile, “and you’re the most amazing person ever-”

“Of course I know that,” she leaned back in her chair as she studied the envelope, “now, what do you need? As if I didn’t already know...”

“Can you please, pretty please with cherries on top, deliver this to Maxwell? ASAP?” you pouted your dark red lips at her, offering up your most innocent doe eyes, “it’s...very important.”

“I’m sure it is,” she almost snorted with laughter as she picked up the special delivery and gingerly felt it up, “is this what I think...”

“Probably so, but that is for me to know and you never to find out,” a light blush bloomed in your cheeks as you turned away for a moment, “I’ll owe you big time. I promise I will make it up to you!”

“You better,” she agreed, standing up and grabbing the envelope, tucking it securely into her purse, “making me run around and deliver this filth!”

“Thank you!” you quickly pulled her into a hug as she just laughed at you, “you’re the best. And it’s tasteful filth!

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she joked, a knowing little smile on her face because if you thought this was some surprise, you wouldn’t believe what was yet to come, “I’ll be back soon. Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to some actual work done?”

“If you insist,” you sighed dramatically before walking back to your office as she headed off to Max’s. You closed your door, letting out a small squeal of delight before sitting back down. You already glanced at the phone, before chastising your over-eagerness; it would have been impossible for him to already have the photos and be calling. But there was still an exciting, wicked rush tingling through your veins as you anticipated his call.

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Mr. Lord?” a timid knock came at his door as he rolled his eyes, looking up from the papers he was skimming over, and telling them to come in. His assistant, still as timid as ever, came in with a nervous expression, clutching something tightly against her chest, “this just came for you...it was a special delivery.”

“What on earth could be considered a special enough delivery for you to interrupt me? I told you I was extremely pressed today - I have work that must be done before I leave for my vacation,” he realized how harsh he must have sounded as the young woman’s face dropped slightly and she hung her head. He cursed himself internally as dropped his pen and held his hand out, “I”m sorry, I’m just very busy. You did nothing wrong.”

She nodded in acknowledgement before giving him the envelope and heading back towards the door as he murmured a small thank you. He wasn’t perfect, far from it, just as most people were, but he was working on it, working to be more gentle and not as quick to anger.

Grabbing his golden letter opener, he undid the seal, a grin crossing his features when he recognized your hand writing on the front. Reaching in, he pulled out the contents in a single, fluid motion, easily figuring out what it was. His breath hitched in his throat as he skimmed through the stack of photos.

“Exquisite,” he whispered under his breath as he studied them in turn. He could quickly tell that this was a new piece that you were sporting. He bit the inside of his cheek as he tried not to completely lose it in the middle of work. But your little present was making it increasingly hard to focused and not focus on you, or barging into your office and having you every which way. He had aimed on finishing work early to come and get and surprise you with a trip. He’d personally planned out a two weekend holiday to Greece, ready to sweep you off your feet and surprise you.

Noticing all the papers on his desk, he gave them a dismissal look before almost yanking his phone off the receiver and dialing your direct line.

You had been so focused on the reports you were pouring over that the loud ringing of the phone almost startled you out of your seat. Considering ignoring it for a moment, you gave it an annoyed glance, but when you realized that your wishes might have come true, you let out a long breath before picking it up. Trying to keep a normal, even tone, you politely answered with a soft, “hello?”

“Hello darling,” Max’s warm, rich voice immediately reached your ears and you relaxed at the sound. You wrapped the cord around your finger as you leaned back in your chair, and rested your feet on the desk. You could just picture him doing the exact same thing as you bit your lip, “I received your little...surprise. Is that little number new? It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

“Happy anniversary, my love,” you were practically grinning from ear to ear as you imagined him looking through the photos you had taken plenty of time to perfect, “I hoped you liked them. And yes, it is brand new...I saw it and thought it would be a nice treat. Wait until you see it in person, it’s all velvet and soft, but just I think you’ll like what’s underneath even better.”

“You’re going to be the death of me, you know that?” you could hear him flipping through the photos on his end as he let out an amused sigh, “they’re wonderful, I should really put them up in my office to display. Imagine how jealous everyone would be.”

“Maxwell! You wouldn’t dare!”

“Don’t worry,” he was laughing, and you just imagine the smug little look on his face, as you tried to picture someone walking in and seeing the very scandalous photos of you, “these are just for me. I’ll keep them safe and sound.”

“For your use,” you felt bold as you tapped your fingers along on the edge of your desk, “for when we can’t be together for whatever and you need to...find some release.”

“You little minx,” he sighed contently as you grinned to yourself, “happy anniversary to you, my darling. How’s work treating you today?”

“Boring,” you admitted, “terrible. It’d be so much better if you were here, and not just because I’ve been thinking about you fucking me in my office all morning. And I want to know what this little surprise is that you have planned!”

“If I told you, that would ruin the whole point of it being a surprise,” he had a point, but you didn’t want to admit it just yet, “you will see soon enough...I’ll be there to pick you up at five, just like I promised.”

“But that doesn’t tell me anything, Max,” you hoped he could sense your pout though the phone. His little surprise could literally have been anything; with Max, you never knew what to expect. While driving you slowly mad, the number of possibilities of what it could be left you feeling as excited as a child, “can I at least get a hint?”

“Hmm,” he mused thoughtfully for a moment as you were metaphorically leaning on the edge of your seat, “I don’t think I can do that...terribly sorry.”

“You don’t sound sorry at all,” you sighed dramatically, “are you really going to make me wait until this evening?”

“I’m afraid so,” there was no way he was going to budge and you knew there was no point in pushing him. He was as stubborn as a mule when he wanted to be, “I’ve got to go and finish some work, darling. But I just had to stop and thank you....you look lovely as ever. I’ll see you this evening.”

“Fine,” you reluctantly agreed, “I’ll see you this evening, Maxwell. I’ll miss you until then.”

“It’s only a few hours,” he promised, “you won’t even notice. Just be prepared.”

“Goodbye Max,” you slowly hung up the receiver, trying to figure out what his surprise could possibly be. It was going to bug and nag you until you could figure it out or knew exactly what it was.

Little did you know that almost everyone knew what Maxwell’s plan was. Even Adina was in on it, having been roped in by Maxwell to pack your bags and have everything ready for you to leave on vacation that evening. She’d gone into your apartment when you’d been staying at Maxwell’s, utilizing her spare key and putting it to good use. You’d been so busy and wrapped up with everything that you hadn’t even noticed that anything out of place or missing from your closet. Your packed back was already with his, waiting to be used for your trip.

»»————-　♡　————-««

You took a look around your office and let out a triumphant little sound. Needless to say, you'd been busy all afternoon, keeping your hands and mind occupied for the last several hours. It just wasn't anything extremely productive...not really anyway. You hadn't finished your entire workload for the week, making the executive decision to pass some of it along to your subordinates; luckily it wasn't anything terribly complicated or time consuming, just busy work that you couldn't focus on.

Instead, you'd spent the afternoon cleaning and reorganizing your office. Everything was clean and pristine, put away and perfectly organized. You'd held out hope that Max might still somehow make an appearance to surprise you, but he never came. You tried not to let it bug you, but there was still the little bit of disappointment that lingered.

Luckily, the close of business had come around and now all you had to do was wait for Maxwell. Perching on the corner of your desk, you swung your legs back and forth as you stared at the slowly sinking sun.

A knock sounded at your door before it was slowly opened and Maxwell poked his head inside. You slipped off of the desk and almost ran over to him, pulling inside and throwing your arms around him, "Max!"

It took a moment for him to respond, so stunned he was almost bowled over. But he returned your hug, wrapping his arms tightly around you as he crashed his lips onto yours. He kissed with such urgency and passion that you refused to pull apart from him until you were breathless.

"Hi," he gave you his best megawatt smile as he touched your cheek, which you eagerly leaned into. You were like a keening cat and he was your sun, "now I can wish you a happy anniversary in person."

"You're here," you kissed the side of his hand, "that's what matters. I've missed you."

"You saw me last night, honey..."

"I know," you confessed, tugged on his lapels and pulling him along with you closer to your desk. You'd kept it cleared off for a specific reason after all, "but I still missed you."

"I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you," he said as you tugged on his tie to bring him back to your lips. You stopped and shook your head at him before attempting to kiss him, but he artfully dodged your advances.

"What?" you huffed at him as sighed lightly, attempting to pull further back from you, "you suddenly don't want to kiss me? You definitely weren't saying that last night or a few moments ago...”

"I do want to kiss you," he was insistent as he put his hands on the sides of your face, cradling it delicately as a thumb brushing over your cheekbone, "trust me-"

"Well, you're not certainly providing evidence to support that," you gave him your best puppy dog eyes and he did his best to try resist. You knew it was one of his weaknesses, hell every part of you was his weakness.

"Sweetheart-"

"I thought you loved me, Maxwell," you were being melodramatic and over the top, but hell, you didn't care at this point. He'd been on your mind all day and there was nothing more you wanted then him. Throughout the day you'd grown needier and needier, all sorts of wild thoughts running through your mind as you did your best not to break down and touch yourself. No, that you were saving just for Maxwell. And knowing he wasn't in the mood, or something, for whatever reason was putting a little damper on your parade, and that was putting it lightly.

Max's dark eyes were locked on you with such intensity that you almost grew nervous as you tried to decipher his thoughts. Pushing all of his buttons was going to lead to something after all; you'd done it before, plenty of times in the past, just get a rouse out of him. It worked basically every time, and it gave you both what you wanted in the end.

When he was silent for a few long moments, you swallowed the lump in your throat, almost ready to apologize for being a brat. Almost.

But before you could even think about saying anything, Maxwell crashed his lips onto yours in a searing, passionate kiss that instantly knocked the breath from your lungs as your hands found purchase on his shoulders and his much larger ones went to your waist. He didn’t even give you a moment to react, trying to assert his dominance in a mess of tongue and teeth as he kissed as hard as he could. This was exactly what you had been waiting for all day. The way his lips felt against yours, how sweet he always tasted, and how perfect his body felt against yours, it all created a perfect harmony that left your body buzzing.

You reached for one of his hands and slowly started to push it under the hem of your dress, silently encouraging him to touch you.

Gods, if only you knew how much he desired to touch you. It was hard to keep his mind focused on anything all day, especially once he'd received your pictures. He had been almost desperate to touch himself, to let him self come undone to the wildest fantasies he had of you. But he had refrained, something the Maxwell of yesteryear would never have done. Instead he focused only on work, getting it done and out of the way so he could come to you. Then he'd have nothing but all the time in the world to spend with you, touch you - everything. It had been difficult, immensely so, an almost insurmountable task, but he managed to do so. Maxwell Lord was desperately in love with you, and he knew nothing would compare to waiting until you could finally be alone and be together.

Just...not right now.

Because almost as soon as it had started, it stopped, and Maxwell pulled back from you, his breathing ragged and eyes wild. You narrowed your eyes before lightly shoving at his chest, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Maxwell!" you almost groaned with how frustrated you were, "you cannot just come into my office, with this hot and cold act, kiss me like that and then just stop!"

"Honey..."

"No! Don't honey me, mister! It's our anniversary, shouldn't we be spending it together?" you sighed as you sat back down on your desk, "are you breaking up with me? I gave you scandalous photos of myself...and tasteful nudes, you fool!"

"Honey-"

"You didn't even get me flowers or anything," okay, now you were just acting like a spoiled child and you knew it, "n-not that I need them or should expect them, I don't mean it like that, but it's our one year anniversary, and I thought it would be special..."

"I didn't get you flowers on purpose-"

"Oh?! So you purposefully didn't get me flowers?" might as well through yourself a pity party now and get it over with.

"Honey, will you just listen to me for a minute?" his tone was sharp and firm, a quality he almost never adopted with you, unless the time called for it. Crossing your arms over your chest, you looked at him with a raised eyebrow, waiting for him to continue on. He stood in front of you and grabbed your hands, bringing one to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to your knuckles. His voice suddenly shifted to be soft and docile, "the reason I didn't get you flowers is because you wouldn't have been able to enjoy them. You would have had them one afternoon and then they would have stayed here and died."

"What...what do you mean?" you definitely weren't following his line of reasoning.

"I have a surprise for you, all planned out, and we need to leave," he glanced at his watch and noted the time, "very soon so we aren't late."

"A surprise? Late? I-I don't follow..."

"We're going to Greece for the next couple of weeks," he finally revealed as your jaw dropped open in surprise. You definitely hadn't expected this, not by any means, "I have it all planned out a surprise for our anniversary. You said you've always wanted to go, so I figured now is the perfect time."

"We're...going to Greece?" your eyes were wide with excitement as he nodded. Internally, you were squealing with delight, "but what about-"

"Everything's been arranged, darling," he promised as you stood up to throw your arms around him, "Adina helped and has your bags packed already. Everything's in the car and all we have to do is go to the airport and catch our flight. And we need to do that soon if we don't want to miss it."

"Maxwell," you wrapped your arms around him and held on as tightly as possibly. You had never expected anything like this, or even anyone to go out of their way to do something like this for you, "I don't even know what to say besides thank you."

"There's nothing to thank me for," he promised, giving the side of your head a delicate kiss, "I'm just happy that you're excited."

"I'm terribly excited," you admitted, "I can't even begin to tell you! I'm just...I'm sorry I acted like a..."

"A brat?" he teased as you gave him a sheepish nod, "I...understand your frustrations. Trust me, if we had the time right now, I would have taken you already. You look stunning, and knowing what's underneath, and that little stunt you pulled with the pictures today? It's proving to be quite challenging."

"So you did like them?" a blush bloomed in your cheeks as he nodded.

"I loved them," he stated, "but for now, we must go. Paradise awaits."

"Maxwell," he looked at you like he could easily read your mind and see right into your soul, understating exactly what you were saying without having to say anything.

"How would you like to join the mile high club?" he asked as you grabbed your bum and have it a firm squeeze. You made a small sound of surprise as he took your hand and started to lead out of the office. He had known exactly what you were thinking.

"I would love that," you grinned at him, already thinking of all the possibilities, "and you know what else? I love you, Maxwell."

"I love you too, sweetheart," he agreed, "I love you too."

»»————-　♡　————-««

Permanent Taglist: @secretsweetscollectionblog @sheridans-dynamos @rogerfxckingtaylor @queenbbarnes @persephonesnebula @spacedustmazzello @queenlover05 @ah-callie @blushingwueen @thisis-theway @el-lizzie @rosetophighlander @rae-gar-targaryen @hiscyarika @readsalot73 @huliabitch @ollyoxenfrees @coffeeandtodd @beepbeepsephy @gooddaykate @scarlettwitcher @nerdyknightwritersblog @choicesarcade @arrowswithwifi @everythingaboutnothingstuff @24kgolden @suckerfor-fanfics @bestintheparsec @pedrosdoll @engineeredfiction @javihoney @aeryntheofficial @hail-doodles @karmezii

Max Taglist: @pedrosdoll @pascalisperfect @cosmo-bear @halefirewarrior @irishleesh93 @nadia-rosea @longitud-de-onda @ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa @thesadvampire @thesadvampire @choicesarcade @avengingangelsoulofmusic @24kgolden @hystericalmedicine @whiskeyxinxaxteacup @ladamari68 @jawabear @bonkybaaarnes @gamingaquarius @absurdthirst @scarlettvonsass

#maxwell lord #maxwell lord x reader #max lord #max lord x reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #ww84 #ww84 fanfiction #reader insert

221 notes · View notes

not-close-to-straight · 4 years

Text

Lost and Found (Six)

*cue dramatic music in the later half of the chapter*

MASTERLIST HERE

******************

“Good morning, Tony.” Pepper dropped a kiss on Tony’s cheek and a stack of papers on his desk then turned to smile at James. “Good morning, James. You two are up bright and early.”

“Never really went to bed.” Tony had a 3D rendered image of James’s left shoulder on his desk and was painstakingly fitting the end pieces with new wiring and connectors. He knew from plenty of unfortunate fire-extinguisher experience that Dum-E would come running if there was so much as a spark as wires and parts went together, so he wanted to practice several times and run through any potential issues before trying it on James. “Been up all night working on this.”

“You’ve both been up all night?” Pepper asked casually, just as casually as she possibly could while also being simultaneously nosy. “Usually JARVIS warns me if Tony doesn’t go to bed.”

“I told him to take the night off.” Tony felt around behind him for another wire and Pepper’s eyebrows shot up when James handed the right one over without even hesitating.

Spending enough time together to be that in sync? My oh my.

“I don’t think JARVIS knows the meaning of the words ‘night off’.” she commented instead of everything else she’d wanted to comment since finding them asleep together a few nights previous. “What were you two up to that the almighty eye in the sky didn’t need to witness?”

“You flatter me, Ms. Potts.” JARVIS came online after a quiet click and brief hesitation. “But I can assure after numerous near-catastrophes due to sleep deprivation, I am always watching the lab even if I am quiet.”

“Of course you are.” Pepper was watching both James and Tony closely to see if either reacted to the thinly veiled insinuation that they’d been up to no good, but neither brunette even blinked. “Anyway, Tony we need to talk about exactly what happened with the Boy Scouts the other day.”

“C’mon Pep, you say it like that and it sounds terrible.” Tony snapped his fingers a few times, then muttered a thank you when James handed him a small tool. “Don’t say it like that. James, how do you feel about purple wire? I'm thinking purple wires.”

“What happened with the Boy Scouts?” James wanted to know, and then to Tony, “I like red.”

“Well you’re getting purple.” Tony twisted a few pieces and attached them carefully. “Deal with it.”

“Sure, Tony.” James’s smile was damn near soft, and Pepper had a hard time looking away from it. “Ms. Potts, what happened with the Boy Scouts?”

“What happened with the Boy Scouts?” she repeated, finally tearing away from the way those two looked at each other and idly wondering if either had any clue. “What happened is that Tony donated our entire collection of modern art to them to auction off as a fundraiser.”

“Pretty sure it’s my collection, Pep.” Tony put on a pair of high-magnifying glasses so he could see better. “Which means I get to do whatever I want with it, right?”

“I dedicated half my soul and at least a dozen gray hairs towards acquiring that collection.” Pepper put a hand to her perfectly styled, perfectly colored hair. “I think I should have at least a brief say in what happens to it.”

“Your ‘brief say’ can be congratulating me on a several million dollar tax write off.” Tony blinked owlishly large eyes up at her. “You should be proud of me Pep. Donating junk and getting tax write offs is good behavior!”

“Junk.” Pepper put a hand to her forehead. “Junk?! Tony--!”

“Feel like I don’t really understand modern art.” James offered, thinking back to the displays that went up in downtown D.C. on the first Friday’s of the summer months. “Seem’s like a bunch of colors thrown together that don’t make any sense except to the artist and the people with a bunch of money to pay for it.”

“That’s exactly what it is.” Tony agreed at the same time Pepper loudly disagreed, “No, that’s not it at all! James, our collection--”

“--my collection--”

“--was so much more than that, it represents ten years of hard work on my part!” Pepper narrowed green eyes at Tony when he only hunched further over his project. “Tony, you’re making that ‘I’m bored’ face, don’t do that when I’m talking to you.”

“Then don’t be boring when you’re talking to me.” Tony sassed, and James coughed to cover a snort of laughter.

He felt bad that Pepper was so frustrated, but the last few days had been so fun with Tony, James had a hard time finding fault with anything the genius did, even if it was purposefully frazzling Ms. Potts.

Ever since their Howard the Duck movie night, Tony had been busy and distracted during the day --arguing on the phone with whatever a Honeybear was, answering and then disconnecting video calls with what sounded like reporters, working in the lab behind darkened windows and distinctly explosive noises. James ended up spending the hours wandering through the house or the surrounding grounds, even calling Happy to just drive him around the city so he could see it all from behind the anxiety reducing tinted windows. The days were long, but the nights made up for it when Tony appeared from his lab usually exhausted and messy haired but always with a ready smile for the soldier.

It was an odd sort of normal, to be dragged into the living room for hour after hour of arguably terrible movies, delivered pizza and Happy-delivered cheeseburgers, and usually falling asleep before the movie was over.

It was an odd sort of normal but it was a normal that meant no more endless stretches of time James couldn’t quite keep track of, no more meals in the soup kitchen or nights outside in the cold when the paranoia got bad and James couldn’t sleep at the shelter. Tony watched him, but it wasn’t the stares of morbid curiosity from pedestrians on the street, they spent time in the lab poking at his arm but never anything that made James choke up with fear like that chair had done the first time around, nothing that made him feel like a project and an experiment and a weapon like-- like something else in his murky memories did.

No, normal with Tony made James’s heart beat a little faster and maybe even made his breath catch when Tony smiled the way he was smiling up at Pepper right now-- teasing and knowing and daring her to do something about it.

James was never brave enough to do anything about it, nor was he confident enough to think he was reading that smile exactly right, so he never bothered taking the chance….

… Pepper had no such qualms.

“I am not finished being upset about the art collection.” the redhead warned. “But I’ve got eight thousand and eleven other things to talk to you about so we’ll put a pin in it for now. I’m assuming since you aren’t making any effort to attend the Senate meetings, you also aren’t feeling up to making your speech at the Expo tomorrow night?”

“I don’t care half a flying fuck about the Senate meetings--

“Tony!”

“--but the Expo is the most important thing in my life. All my energy is there. Legacy and history and uh-- ah shit, James, I need you.” Tony frayed a wire beyond repair and held out his hand for another one the soldier promptly handed him. “Thank you. As I was saying, Pep. The Expo is legacy, a chance to continue my Dad’s work and leave something for everyone to remember me by just in case I end up doing something drastic and amazing and die in a blaze of glory.”

“Do not joke about you dying.” Pepper’s voice shook then, and James frowned when Tony closed his eyes and muttered a quiet sorry. “That will never be funny, Tony Stark and you know it.”

“Yeah Pep. I-- I know it.”

“And while we’re on the topic?” she flicked at his ear and Tony jumped, scowled at her. “I’ve seen the plans for the new tower in New York. No one will ever have trouble remembering you, Tony. You’re planning to literally add your name in neon lights to the New York City skyline.”

“It will be the most recognizable building outside the Empire and the Statue of Liberty!” Tony said cheerfully, and Pepper only rolled her eyes.

“Seriously though Tony, about the changes in your stock--”

“Nope, I’m not talking about it.” Tony pushed away from the desk and stretched to pop his back. “JARVIS, give me that initial prototype from the 3D printer and let’s get it online and connected to the mold print of James’s shoulder, I’d like to see the pieces together.”

“No, JARVIS, please wait to bring out any prototypes until I’m finished talking!” Pepper spoke over Tony. “Stark Industries is in total disarray. You’ve signed off on grants for everyone from the wind farm people to whatever the hell a plastic plantation is and despite the board’s warning, you keep saying yes! But then they say no and now we have a list of people waiting for money that may or may not be coming! What am I supposed to do about that, Tony?”

“You’re boring me again.” Tony pursed his lips and clenched his jaw. He wasn’t bored he was stressed and he needed Pepper to see that. He didn’t care about talking through work things in front of James, he cared that his limited time with James was being interrupted for work things and he needed Pepper to see that. He was handing out money because he needed someone to remember him when he was gone in less than three months and he needed Pepper to see that, damn it.

“You’re boring me again.” he repeated, and held up a hand when Pepper tried to interrupt. “Nope. I don’t care, Pep. I don’t care about any of this. Give everybody the money, give nobody the money. I don’t care. You do it.”

“I’m trying to do it!” Pepper’s legendary self control snapped just a little bit, bent and broke and she smacked a hand down on the table and raised her voice to argue for what might have been the first time ever. “I’m trying to do it, Tony! Trying to get you focused enough for the most basic tasks to run this company and you aren’t giving me anything!”

“....I’m giving you everything.” Tony said then, soft and weary, darting a quick glance towards James and feeling bolstered when he saw the soldier looking right back. “Pep, I’m giving you everything. I’ve been trying to find the perfect time to tell you and you know, right now is as good as any. You can have it. All of it.”

“All of what, Tony?” Pepper looked just as exhausted as Tony felt, exhausted and maybe even near frustrated tears. “You don’t make any sense any more!”

“The company.” He answered simply, and Pepper blinked a few times before her mouth fell open.

“What!?”

“It’s yours.” Tony rustled around in a desk drawer until he found a business card, inked through the Tony Stark, CEO line and wrote in ‘Virginia Potts’. “There, see? It’s official. You do it. Do all of it. You’re better than me, so you do it.”

“No.” Pepper sounded thunderstruck. “No, Tony. First of all, that is not how you sign a company over. Second of all, I am no where near qualified--”

“Sure you are.” Tony cut in. “You ran the company for three months in crisis mode while I was gone. You’ve been running it for the seven months since I’ve been home because I can’t focus longer than a few minutes on that sort of stuff. That’s almost a year at this point, you’ve been running Stark Industries for almost a year and still getting paid a secretary’s salary and that’s not right.”

He spread his hands in a ‘here you go’ gesture. “Now it’s yours. Take it. You deserve it. Congratulations.”

“You’ve been drinking.” Pepper stated. “James, has he been drinking?”

“Just green stuff.” James replied, and Tony corrected, “Chlorophyll. Lots of it. I’m basically one with Mother Nature now.”

“Chlorophyll spiked with something?”

“Chia seeds.” Tony tried to hand her the altered business card again. “I need a yes or no from you, Pep. Are you going to take over running this thing or do I have to call the temp agency and find someone else?”

“Well you--you certainly won’t be finding somebody at the temp agency.” Pepper took the card with trembling fingers. “But Tony, I can’t-- you shouldn’t--”

“I know you think I’m rushing into this but I’m not.” Tony took both of Pepper’s hands and squeezed lightly. “I’ve put a lot of thought into it and have been considering it since before Afghanistan if I’m being honest. Before all that happened I was already thinking about this, but after everything, I’ve thought about it every day. Every damn day.”

“Tony.”

“It’s you, Pep.” he murmured, and James looked away from the overwhelming intimacy of the moment. “It’s always been you. You take care of me and take care of all of this, everything I never cared that much about and all the things that are the only things I care about it.”

He pressed at her palms meaningfully before letting go. “It’s always been you, so step up and take the seat at the head of the table. You deserve it.”

“I um--” Pepper cleared her throat and tried for a watery smile. “I suppose it would be nice not to deal with another boss. The current one buys me such nice things for my birthday.”

“Oh yeah?” Tony raised his eyebrows. “What did I buy you this year?”

“A very beautiful tennis bracelet and two new pair of Jimmy Choo’s.”

“Wow.” Tony’s eyes widened in faux shock. “I am generous.”

“Very much so.” Pepper hesitated, turned the card over in her hands a few times. “I should… call someone to draw up the necessary paperwork?”

“Whenever you’re ready.” Tony stepped away again and winked. “You’re the boss.”

“I’m the boss.” she repeated, still shell shocked. “And I need a drink. Right now.”

“I have chlorophyll.” Tony answered promptly and Pepper pushed at him gently. “No? You don’t want any?”

“Not even a little bit.” Pepper glanced over at James, then leaned in and kissed Tony on the cheek. “I love you very much, do you know?”

“And I’d be lost with you.” Tony kissed her right back. “Are you going to complain about anything else?”

“No.” Pepper flushed in gratitude. “Did you need anything else from me, Mr. Stark?”

“That will be all, Ms. Potts.”

The lab doors closed silently behind Pepper and Tony flopped down at the table again, slumping in the chair and running his fingers through his hair. “Okay, where were we?”

“You really just handed over everything to her?” James asked, and Tony nodded. “Why?”

“Because the only thing that will change for me is less board meetings.” Tony flipped his goggles down again and went back to work. “Pepper’s done everything for going on ten years now, no reason why she shouldn’t have what she’s worked so hard to take care of.”

“You don’t care?”

“I have everything I could ever want in life.” Tony lied explained, and ignored the ache in his heart, the one that felt like cold and loneliness buried far deeper than the palladium poisoning. “And it’s still my name on the company. Still my legacy. Just with someone better than me at the helm.”

“Huh.” James nodded like any of those reasons made valid excuses to sign over what he imagined was a wildly successful tech con--con-- what was the word he’d heard on a news segment the other day? Conglomerate?-- to an Executive Assistant, even one as wonderfully put together as Ms. Potts. “So you have a speech at the Expo tomorrow?”

“Don’t worry.” Tony got back up to grab the lightweight arm prototype from one of the cabinets so he could connect it to the model of James’s shoulder and see how it all went together. “I’ll be there and back again before we miss out on movie time. Just have to wear the monkey suit and perform for the masses. No big deal.”

“Monkey suit?”

“You know, the uh--” Tony paused, cocked his head as he realized he’d never actually told James about the Iron Man suit. They’d talked about the arc reactor and he didn’t hide the blue glow beneath heavy shirts anymore but he still hadn’t come right out and said ‘Also, I’m Iron Man.’

Part of him had assumed James would put two and two together and maybe was just being polite and discreet about bringing it up.

The other part of him hoped he never had a reason to tell James because he’d like those baby blues to keep looking at him as Tony and not as Tony Stark Iron Man, or Tony Stark billionaire or Tony Stark any list of any other adjectives people had called him over the years.

For all the reasons Tony had stuffed deep in the closet at just seventeen, and for all the reasons that had recently began weighing on his heart and soul, when James looked at him and smiled Tony would very much like to just be Tony.

“...the monkey suit.” he finally finished. “Like a tuxedo, right? Get dressed up and put on a show for the folks?”

“You’re part of the show?” James asked in confusion. “I thought you ran it.”

Tony chuckled at him. “No, not part of the show. I’m the reason for the show which means I have to stand up there and say a few words every few days. It’s not a big deal. I’ll be back in time to watch The Princess Bride with you and explain exactly why every line of that movie is undeniably hilarious.”

“So if I wear that monkey suit you had bought for me, can I go?” James questioned, eyes cautious and tone hesitant. “Or is that not okay?”

“You want to go?” Tony snapped a piece clear off the prototype and James looked down in alarm. “No, don’t worry about that, that’s why we have practice pieces. You want to go to the Expo? Are you sure?”

“Well--”

“Because you can go.” He was quick to assure James. “But there is thousands of people around, lots of noise, lots of lights and it’s science-y stuff so explosions happen or at least various flash bangs. I don’t want you to get there and then get triggered or panic or that. I mean, it’s a lot for me half the time, I do my few minutes on stage and usually need a few minutes in the bathroom afterwards to calm down and I’d hate to see you-- I mean--”

Tony was rambling, tripping over his words as he tried to find the right thing to say to tell James it was okay not to go if he didn’t want to, that it could be frightening because sometimes it was frightening for Tony, that he understood the potential triggers and wasn’t going to judge for James reacting in a panic.

“--I just don’t want you to hate it!” he blurted. “This is a big deal for me, for my family history and I know that doesn’t mean anything to you but I’d hate for you to hate it, that would make me feel bad. Not that it would be your fault or anything but--”

“Tony.” James rapped his knuckles on the table, effectively stopping the ramble mid sentence. “Tony, I know it will probably be noisy and maybe a little stressful but I want to go.”

And then with a deep breath and a little bit of the lazier tilt his words got whenever he tried to be sweet with Tony-- why did that happen? Why did he start talking like he was from New York when he tried to flirt and why did he think in Russian when he was stressed?-- James wet his lips and clarified, “I wanna go with you, Tony. S’that okay?”

“You--” Tony blinked. “You want to go with me. With me? Like with me?”

“Yeah.” James was suddenly practically parched and he wet his lips again. “Could be fun. Maybe we could--” see a flying car. Eat popcorn. Dance. Do I dance? “-- maybe we could walk around it together after your speech? Pretty sure I like carnivals and that sorta thing.”

“I’d love that.” Tony tried and failed to squash the sudden flare of hope in his chest and the surge of interest somewhere further south. Down boy, it’s only a walk through a very crowded place with the hottest guy you’ve ever seen. “I’ll make my speech short and semi sweet and we can spend the rest of the evening together. Yes. Definitely. Sounds great, sounds like fun, right?”

“Oh sure thing.” James’s pale eyes lit with the same sort of light Tony was sure was reflected in his own and good Christ did he hope he wasn’t reading it wrong. “Sounds real fun.”

*****************

“Tony! The notary is here!” Pepper wrinkled her nose when she walked into what had once been the formal dining room of the Malibu house and now was an in-home gym complete with practice sized boxing ring and the stink of sweat. “Tony? Quit letting Happy kick your ass and come sign, please!”

“I resent that.” Tony stepped back from one of Happy’s jabs and wiped at his face. “I was holding my own today, wasn’t I James?”

“Sure, Tony.” James said immediately, teasingly, from his seat down below and Happy snorted, “Of course James agrees with you. I’d agree with the rich crazy guy too if he smiled at me like that.”

“Calm down, Hap. I smile at you like that too.” Tony grinned just to prove his point, but the tips of his ears turned red when he heard James laughing quietly behind him. “Pepper what do you--”

He stopped, raised his eyebrows when he saw his favorite redhead accompanied by another redhead that was somehow just as stunning as Pepper in all sorts of different ways. “Uh. Hey.”

“Don’t.” Pepper warned, and the other woman smiled only barely before motioning to her tablet and telling Tony, “I need you to sign a few things, check a few boxes. Nothing fancy. Should be the only time you’re asked to sign over your company, right? Hopefully?”

“What’s your name?” Tony tore the cap off one of the shakes and took a long drink, neither missing nor commenting on the way the newcomer and James seemed to zero in on each other. “Ma’am? Your name?”

“Rushman.” Ms. Rushman watched James closely for another minute before shifting her attention back to Tony with another barely there smile that was little more than a twist of her full lips. “Natalie Rushman.”

“Natalie Rushman.” Tony repeated. “You know how to box?”

“Tony, no.” Pepper cut in, at the same time Natalie’s smile grew a tiny bit and she countered, “Oh, it’s fine. I don’t mind trying something new.”

James’s lip curled in maybe suspicion, maybe irritation when Natalie got up into the ring, bent over at the waist so she was staring up at Tony through thick lashes as she ducked under the ropes.

Nope. Don’t trust her.

“Happy.” Tony looked Natalie over once, twice, then told Happy, “Give her a lesson while I talk to Pepper.”

“Sure thing boss.” Happy turned his nicest, most unintentionally condescending smile towards Ms. Rushman. “Have you ever boxed before? Ever worn a pair of gloves?”

Whatever Natalie said faded into the background as Tony crossed by James and patted at his shoulder, then dropped onto the bench seat next to Pepper. “Hi.”

“No, Tony.”

“I need one.”

“Absolutely not.” Pepper was quickly signing as she went through the different screens on the tablet. “That is the world’s most expensive sexual harassment suit just waiting to happen. You want a pretty assistant, hire James.”

“I just might.” Tony wrinkled his nose towards James who only smirked and shifted back to watching the ring. “Seriously, where did you find her?”

“Legal.”

“Pep.”

“Tony.” Pepper handed him the tablet. “Yes, I’ve hired her as my assistant. Yes, she has every credential I had when you hired me, plus several I didn’t realize would be needed for this job but I now know are invaluable and no, I don’t even want you talking to her if you’re going to get up to your usual shenanigans.”

“Don’t worry.” Tony nudged her lightly. “I’m done with my usual shenanigans. She seems like trouble though. Are you sure you’re alright with having an assistant who rivals Ms. Marilyn Monroe in both looks and shape?”

“I am neither that insecure nor that jealous.”

“Aw.” Tony nudged Pepper’s side again. “You can tell me the truth.”

“Ugh fine, yes Tony. Don’t you know I chose her specifically for her eye candy attributes? You got to look at my beautiful face and great rack all these years, I feel like I should get the same out of my personal assistant.” Pepper was clearly teasing, but Tony’s jaw still about hit the ground. “I’ll be requiring her to wear those high waisted pants and ruffled blouses every day too, that will certainly guarantee her a Christmas bonus.”

“My god, Ms. Potts.” Tony managed over a shout of laughter. “One day a CEO and already lecherous and slightly corrupt!”

“Yes, I’m terrible.” Pepper laughed too and tapped at the screen. “Now sign! And please don’t repeat anything I just said, you know I was only kidding but the last thing we need is the tabloids thinking the newly minted CEO is not only lesbian but also apparently sleeping with her assistant.”

“I have no issues with either of those things.” Tony objected, and Pepper agreed in a softer tone and pointed look towards James, “Well, neither do I.”

“Uh Pep.” Contracts momentarily forgotten, Tony scratched at his chin self consciously. “Listen. About that-- I mean, about James--”

“WHOA!” In the ring, Happy yelped in surprise and a good dose of fear and they looked up in time to see Natalie all but climb Happy’s frame and hook both legs around his neck, taking the big driver down with a wrench of her thighs and mat shaking thud.

“Holy--!” Pepper covered her mouth with both hands and the tablet dropped right from Tony’s lax hands in shock. “What--?!”

“Mr. Stark.” Natalie slipped out of the ring calm as anything, stepped back into her stilettos and smoothed a non existent wrinkle from her blouse. “If you’d finish signing, I’ll need your finger print and we can begin the transfer over.”

“Uh...yep. I will definitely never be arguing with you. Nuh-uh.”

Too stunned by the show of athleticism and general bad-assery, and still sort of laughing at Happy wheezing on the mat, Tony went back to signing and Pepper went back to watching closely to be sure he did exactly as told.

Natalie however kept her chin up and eyes trained on James, who spared only the briefest glance at Happy and then met the notary’s gaze head on.

There was something about Natalie Rushman, something too sharp in her eyes and too purposeful in her casual posture and too aware in every word she spoke and it made James’s skin crawl. He couldn’t push through the nagging almost-memory of knowing her from somewhere, the not quite certainty of having stared at that same barely there smirk before but with the uncomfortable overlay of cross hairs over her face.

It was bitter in the back of James’s throat, knowing that somehow Natalie knew…. something. She knew something James desperately needed to know and he almost choked from the certainty of danger in the room.

She was dangerous, but James couldn’t say anything until he knew for sure.

She was dangerous and judging by the way she kept staring, Natalie planned to be dangerous to him very soon.

So James leaned forward in his chair, squared his shoulders and tipped his chin up and glared daggers right at her, daring the redhead to do something stupid, promising to tear her apart if she so much as breathed wrong towards either Ms. Potts or Tony.

But Natalie only twisted her lips and turned back to the signing with a professionally fake tone of voice and an uncomfortable knowing in her smile.

Shit, she was dangerous.

James just had to figure out why.

**************

“Fury.”

“Secured line?”

“Of course.”

“Romanoff. What do you have to report?”

“No issues with either Stark or Potts but there has been an unexpected development with another person living at the house.”

“Who?”

“He goes by James. Just James.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“Remember Odessa? The nuclear engineer I was smuggling out of Iran and the unfortunate encounter in the mountains?”

“The bullet that ruined your bikini plans. Yes, I remember your complaints vividly.”

“Remember who I swore shot me?”

“... … …”

“Fury, are you still there?”

“.... Are you sure?”

“Positive. Does this change my orders?”

“No. Stay on the Stark situation.”

“Yes sir.”

“I’ll keep my eye on James.”

****************

SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHAPTER!

*****************

@ships-galore @ceealaina @izziebladez @cwar1864 @hausoffro @tonystarkisanangel @multishippinglife @girlnic @iam93percentstardust @paranormalmoonlight5 @igotloki @moosette05 @wayward-student-philosopher @kaz-brekkers-gloves @atomicfandombomb @1fuckingshitup69 @agentlokii @livewire28 @tulipsnbigcats @kimstark @alex-stark-rogers @bibbarnes @heeeyitskay @goindownshipping @justaniche

@quietgayguy @bluedreamdino @akimi-youngblood @blackstar1602 @dixiehellcat @travellover1245 @capnstarkey @the-awkward-teenaged-one @thanossucks @peteryoulittleshit @tony-and-steeeb @striving-artist @roe-sesandthorns @coolsidedpillow @i-am-worth-it-25 @firelightmystic @maligatorthealigator @simsccsol @a-tardis-in-221b @happyendingrequired @everygoodoneistaken11 @pootie-and-the-snoots @rilee16 @megahuffledor @xkissmeimirishx @crystalskrull @hazelbeatsturtle @wecollectnightmares @endrega23 @saganarojanaolt @the-crazy-house @ravynfyre @yomama-umbridge @lovely--tony @gayspacesprinkles @elliotkaingrey @glitternotgold73 @warmachinesocks

#ncts fics #winteriron #tony stark #bucky barnes #pepper potts #happy hogan #natasha romanov

91 notes · View notes