#LISTEN AS LONG AS I HAVE SPARE CARDBOARDS I WILL NOT STOP | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

corrodedseraphine · 1 year

Text

every rose has its thorn | one shot

pairing: steve harrington x buckley!fem!reader

summary: Christmas is coming to Hawkins. It is a time of joy and forgiveness. It turns out that your sister's best friend is looking for a new place to live, and you happen to have a spare room in the apartment. It wouldn't be a problem if that friend wasn't Steve Harrington. A man whom the more you try to avoid even more often comes back like a boomerang. angst/fluff, slight enemies? to lovers

I got inspired while listening to the song "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison.

the one shot is also avaliable on ao3

10 695 words

It's a bit long, but I hope you won't get too bored!

steve harrington masterlist | general masterlist

"No way Robin." You said placing the plates on the table. "Where did you even get the idea that I would agree to this?"

"Come on, y/n!" she cried out in a pleading voice. "We have one room free anyway, think of the advantages, we'll split the bills among three instead of just the two of us!"

"You know very well that it's not about the very idea of renting this room, but you must have hit yourself really hard in the head thinking that I would agree to live with Steve Harrington."

"But he has changed! You know very well! He's a really good man now. Besides, I thought you were over him, after all, you saved him from disgusting monsters several times, you took care of him after he was attacked by demobats!"

"Just because I didn't want him to die doesn't mean that suddenly my attitude toward him has changed. I still don't like him and I still consider him an asshole in love with himself." You rolled your eyes.

"That was a few years ago, and people change! Give him a chance, I beg you! His parents kicked him out of the house and he really has nowhere to go! You can't let him spend Christmas on the street!" Robin was awfully determined and you weren't surprised by her at all, together with Steve they became best friends (which you couldn't quite understand), so it was normal for her to want to help him. Her pleading gaze burned a hole in the back of your head as you walked to the kitchen.

"Can't he stay at Eddie's?" you sighed, knowing it wouldn't be right.

"That trailer can barely hold him and his uncle, you know that well. I am begging you, I promise it won't be that bad."

"Fine! but one mean word out of his mouth in anyone's direction and he's out the door, understood?" you turned around with a serious face. "And until the end of the next year one of you will have to take my turn at washing dishes, I don't care how you share."

"Thank you!" she excitedly ran up to you hugging you, and a moment later disappeared into the hallway, where she quickly grabbed the phone and dialed some number. "Pack your things dingus! She said yes!"

You couldn't stop a smile creeping onto your face when you saw Robin so excited, but when you remembered what it was caused by, all your energy focused on the anxiety of having to see the person you wanted to avoid for the rest of your life from now on, day after day.

Less than an hour later, Steve showed up on your doorstep with several cardboard boxes. An overjoyed Robin was showing him his new abode while you were sitting on the living room couch watching TV. You couldn't focus on what was just playing there. The presence of a man in the apartment triggered mixed feelings in you. It was not the mere fact that it was a man. You were sure that if suddenly Eddie or Jonathan or even Argyle wanted to move in with you, you would feel comfortable with that. But this particular man who was just unpacking his things in an empty room made your hands sweat and your body tense up every time he was near you. You knew that the upcoming weeks would be nerve-wracking for you, and adapting to the new conditions would not come easily at all.

As you turned off the TV and headed toward your room you bumped into each other in the hallway.

"uh, hey..." he said in an uncertain voice. "t-thank you for agreeing, you're really a lifesaver for me."

"Not the first and not the last time Harrington." You rolled your eyes. "To be clear, I'm doing this only because of my sister. The fact that you live here changes nothing between us." You added frigidly and, without waiting for a response, locked yourself in the room.

Memories began to gather in your head, which intensified your irritation. Even though it was several years ago you remembered perfectly what made Steve Harrington someone you couldn't stand.

The winter ball at Hawkings High was approaching, everyone was excitedly talking about their partners and creations, as if everyone had forgotten that there were other topics to talk about. Everything about the event seemed overwhelming to you, you didn't want to admit it, but you were jealous that everyone had already found their pair, and you had no one to go with. To avoid all the fuss you decided to hide in the library and focus on your studies, it seemed the best way out.

"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere." Steve's voice snapped you out of your concentration.

"I was just working on our project." you smiled at the sight of him. From day one, something about him made you want to get to know him better. It was a matter of time before your feelings developed toward him. However, Steve Harrington King of the School never looked in your direction. The queues of girls who lined up for him took up 100% of his attention, so when the teacher paired you up for a project you felt like you had won the lottery, because for the first time his attention was fully devoted to you.

"And that's what I wanted to talk to you about." he said, sitting down across from you. "I know we were supposed to meet tomorrow and prepare some things, but the coach is doing an extra training session for us and I can't miss it, sorry."

"Oh." you were disappointed, you had been looking forward to tomorrow's meeting for a long time, especially since it was to be held after school and at his house. You'd been wondering all week what to wear, how to style your hair, what his house looked like, since you'd never been invited to any of his big parties, so it was still a mystery to you.

"I'm so sorry! Maybe I can make it up to you somehow?" he sent you a smile that was capable of bringing anyone to their knees.

"But...how? So far I've done everything myself, you only signed your name on a piece of paper." you didn't hide the fact that you were upset.

"How about I take you with me to the ball as compensation?" he suggested. In that moment all the air went out of you and you had to suddenly remember how to breathe. Was this a dream? If so, you didn't want to wake up for all the world's sakes. "You okay?" he asked after a while seeing your shocked face.

"Yes!" you said too fast and louder than you wanted to. "I mean...yes, Steve. I would love to go with you."

"Great! So see you later?" He winked at you while heading for the door. If you hadn't been sitting there at that moment you would have been sure that his charm would have knocked you off your feet.

"Yeah..." you choked out still not believing what happened. By the end of the day there was only one thing on your mind already, and Robin couldn't handle the rush of joy you brought home with you that day.

The rest of the week passed quickly and pleasantly. Every day you saw Steve in the library doing a project, to which he suddenly started devoting a little more time than before. You had no idea where such a change came from, but it was obvious that you were happy with this course of events. Your happiness, unfortunately, did not last long. As Friday slowly came to an end you were walking towards the library with a smile on your lips when you noticed Steve with a group of friends. As you walked closer, hid behind a wall so they wouldn't see you and began to listen to their conversation.

"What do you mean we won't go to the ball together Steve?" Rachel was furious.

"Because I already have someone to go with." he replied quietly.

"After all, we agreed from the very beginning that we would go together!"

"I know!"

"Then who is the person you are standing me up for?" Silence. It was as if Steve had lost the ability to speak at that moment. "Steve?" Rachel didn't let go.

"I'm going with y/n."

"Y/n y/l?" interjected Hunter, his teammate. "Dude, have you lost your mind or what?"

"Tell me this is a joke and you're not shitting on me for this weirdo! You're way out of her league Steve, you know that perfectly well!"

"I know, but I had to think of something, she did almost the whole project for me, and that was the only thing that came to mind at that moment! I said it faster than I thought it through."

"You know that if you go with this loser, you won't win the title of king?"

"I know, Rachel." As if by the touch of a magic wand, all positive emotions fled from you in a flash. Sadness clenched your throat and made a sea of tears gather in your eyes. You had to get out of there, unfortunately, when you turned to go in the opposite direction someone bumped into you causing you to fall over and land right in front of the people you wanted to get away from so badly. Seeing this, the whole group burst out laughing.

"Get up, loser. We need to talk." Rachel stepped forward. "Our Steve sometimes doesn't think about what he says, so the fact that he invited you to the ball is one big mistake. How could you believe that someone like Steve would even want to look at you?" her venom-filled words made it harder and harder for you to hold back tears.

"Look, Steve! the loser really thought you liked her enough that you actually wanted to go to the ball with her."

"Steve would never look at you as anything more than a minion to do his homework for him. He needs someone by whom he's sure to win the title of prom king." Rachel continued. You dared to look at him. He was standing with his arms crossed, looking around at the faces of his friends and smiling at them. You couldn't believe that the whole situation was amusing him. It hurt you even more than the fact he was just toying with your feelings. The fact that the whole situation amused him tore your heart to pieces.

"Sorry y/n," he said seeing your heartbroken eyes. "But they are right." he shrugged his shoulders.

You didn't answer anything. With a quick step you left the school wanting to get home as soon as possible. Fortunately, there was no one in it. You spent the rest of the day in bed, accompanied by sadness and heartbreak, vowing never to let Steve Harrington get to your life again.

"Three minutes late!" your Aunt Monica shouted as soon as you appeared in the doorway of the pastry shop.

"I know, I know, sorry!" you said quickly stepping behind the counter. "A little trouble on the roads, people saw some snow and I think they suddenly forgot how to drive. But here I am, ready to work!" you lied. You couldn't admit that you overslept, your aunt, who was also your boss, had boundless patience however even she had some limits.

As soon as you were ready you got to work. You put fresh baked goods on the shelves, and when you were done, you switched with your aunt and together with the other cooks you took care of baking Christmas cookies, while she stood at the cash register. At first, working in a pastry shop didn't seem like the best thing for you, you had never been exposed to baking and didn't even feel much need for it. For the first few months you sucked at helping in the kitchen, it was as if you had two left hands and the only thing you were good for was lining up goods and cashing in customers. Your aunt, however, insisted that you learn at least the basics, and over time you actually finally began to get the hang of it to the point where no one was afraid to let you into the kitchen anymore. You were in the middle of preparing the icing when you were called to the cash register. On your way out of the kitchen you noticed that Steve was standing across the counter, the sight of which automatically made you feel your nerves tie a knot in your stomach.

"You have a visitor." said your aunt with a warm smile on her face.

"I'm at work, I can't have visitors." you replied dryly.

"You forgot to take breakfast from home... I thought I'd drop it off for you on my way to work." he said uncertainly placing a paper bag of food on the counter.

"Thank you. Now I have to get back." You quickly grabbed the bag and disappeared from their sight however, you heard him buy two more donuts for himself and Robin.

"What a lovely young man!" the woman said as she entered the room. "I see you've finally found someone who will take care of you."

"No!" you said exasperatedly. "Steve is Robin's hopeless friend who lives with us. He's a complete asshole and an idiot."

"The asshole wouldn't bring you breakfast, you know very well that Family Video is on the other side of Hawkins? He wasn't on his way at all."

You rolled your eyes and decided not to continue the conversation. You were furious. Another person around you had succumbed to Harrington's famous charms, and you didn't like that very much. Why was he even coming here? Does he think that bringing you breakfast will make you forget everything and let you be fooled again? That will never happen.

When lunchtime came you sat down with everyone at the table in the back room and opened your bag. In addition to the sandwiches you had made for yourself, there was your favorite chocolate, to which was attached a note saying "Have a nice day!". You looked at the bar with surprise when one of the senior cooks, Grace, leaned over your shoulder to read what it said.

"Someone here seems to have an admirer," she said melodiously.

"No." you said firmly feeling your cheeks burning. You didn't know why you felt embarrassed. Another wave of irritation at his behavior made you lose your appetite so you got up from the table, hid the sandwiches, and left the chocolate for your co-workers to share and eat. The rest of the day passed quickly however the mood remained the same. Still irritated, you couldn't stop thinking about the situation you were in. You knew that you had agreed to this yourself, but you never thought in your life that it would be so difficult and that it would get to the point where you would have to endure his presence even at work. Until now, even when you were forced to spend time with him, ignoring him was going fine. Now something had changed and you had no idea why.

Days passed, and Steve wasn't about to let go. Whenever you forgot to take your breakfast to work (and this happened quite often) he brought it to you. Every time there was also chocolate. When it was your turn to do your shopping for home, seeing you pull up in the parking lot he would come down and, without asking, take the bags from you and carry them upstairs to your apartment. When your favorite TV series was on, he always switched to the right channel at the same time so that you didn't miss an episode. When the kids visited you and ordered pizza he would always put two pieces on a plate and send Dustin up to your room to carry them to you, because he knew perfectly well that you would not accept them from him, and Dustin would not be denied. In mid-December when you and Robin were decorating your apartment he helped you, and the next day he brought the Christmas tree, which the three of you decorated together. He did many small gestures for you, which unfortunately did not escape your attention. You noticed each of them while trying with all your might to defend yourself from the affection that slowly began to appear in his direction. There were days when your anger and resentment toward him were dormant, and then you were grateful for the small gestures that relieved you. However, you didn't know why he was doing it. The purpose of it all was still a mystery to you, and that made you still feel insecure.

That morning when you woke up you had a feeling as if all your life had gone out of you. You were dizzy and felt an unpleasant nausea in your stomach. You also thought you might have a fever, but when you looked at your watch you noticed it was too late to look for a thermometer. You clumsily crawled out of bed and, fighting off all symptoms of feeling unwell, started getting ready for work. You could have taken the day off, but that would have meant that you would have had to spend the whole day alone with Steve, who also had today off and, as far as you knew, had no intention of going anywhere. Gritting your teeth, you left the house. Not wanting to drive in this state to work you took the bus.

"Hey, Halloween was already here, I don't recall hiring zombies! I'd sooner expect a Christmas elf here."

"I'm fine, I just slept poorly." You weren't fine at all. You felt incredibly weak. You were tripping over your own feet, unable to focus on anything, having trouble serving customers, not to mention that when you were in the kitchen the mere sight of food made you worse and worse.

"That's enough." Monica said in a firm tone as you once again stumbled over a chair. "Right now you are to go home and rest. If I see you here tomorrow I'll fire you, I swear."

"I can't go home now." you replied, feeling like you were in elementary school when your parents were angry about a bad grade in math.

"And why is that?"

"I took the bus today, the next one is only three hours away."

"Go to the back." She sighed, and you politely followed the order. The room was small and quiet. Sunlight broke through a small window, but it wasn't big enough to illuminate the entire room well. You sat down at a wooden table and hid your face in your hands. It's been a long time since you felt as nasty as you do today. When you rested your heavy head against the cold wall you felt relieved, but it didn't last long. You concentrated on your breathing, trying to make each inhalation deep in the hope that it would somehow help, but nothing came of it. You didn't know how long you spent there, it seemed like an eternity, when suddenly the door opened and your aunt and Steve appeared in it.

"What are you doing here?" you asked in a weak voice. You didn't even have the strength to sound angry.

"I called because I thought Robin would be there, but it turns out that Steve is off today and would be more than happy to take you home." her voice was very firm.

"I am fine." you replied.

"Stop being so stubborn y/n! You're off until the end of the week, I don't want to see you here until next Monday, now goodbye."

You hated that she was right. Reluctantly, you rose and shakily headed for Harrington's car.

"Do you want to stop at the drugstore and buy some medicine?" he asked as you buckled your seatbelt.

"No."

The rest of the road passed in silence. Out of the corner of your eye you saw him glance at you from time to time as if to check if you were okay. It was as if he was worried about you, however, you didn't want to let it sink in. He has never worried about you and never will. At least, that's what you told yourself. It was easier that way.

Climbing the stairs to your floor proved to be a huge challenge for you. The more stairs you climbed, the more dizzy you became, so when you finally found yourself in the apartment you breathed a sigh of relief leaning against the wall.

"Go lie down and I'll make you some tea maybe it will make you feel better." At that moment you didn't know what had gotten into you. You didn't need his pity and feigned care.

"You can stop." you retorted.

"What?" he was visibly puzzled which angered you even more.

"Stop pretending you care, Steve. I'm not falling for it."

"It hasn't crossed your mind that maybe I really care about you?" This question completely knocked you out of your rhythm. What the hell was he talking about? Were these hallucinations caused by illness? Or was he telling the truth? No. You couldn't afford such a moment of weakness.

"You never cared about me, Harrington. Don't pretend it's different now."

"I've always cared about you, y/n."

"Don't bullshit me, Steve!" you shouted. "You humiliated me in the worst possible way, because of you I had no life until the end of school! Until the last day of school they bullied me for that situation. I kept praying that they would finally change the subject, that they would find something to distract them, but it didn't do anything. And you just watched and let it happen. I will never forget your fucking smile that you sent to your idiotic friends, who never missed an opportunity to laugh at me."

"I'm sorry, but it wasn't at all like you think, I really wanted to go to that damn ball with you then!"

"I can't believe you're still lying" you felt tears fall from your eyes. You felt again like you did in that school hallway. Hurt and helpless. In addition, the fact that you were sick did not help at all in controlling your emotions.

"I'm not lying!" he shouted. "I wanted to go to the prom with you, I really liked you, I still fucking like you y/n, but then I panicked. I was an asshole, an idiot for whom the only thing that mattered was becoming the king of the ball, being popular and liked by everyone. I was so blinded by it all that at that moment I didn't have the courage to tell the truth, so I just started nodding at them. I was a coward!"

"In that case, congratulations, I remember that you got your coveted plastic crown then, just like at every other ball I didn't go to because of you. I hope it was worth it in your opinion." Your tone was full of anger and regret. However, you felt relieved that you were finally able to get it off your chest after so long.

"It wasn't worth it and I will regret it forever, believe me this is one of the many things I will not be able to forgive myself for. But... I have changed, y/n. I really have changed, so please give me a chance to make it up to you somehow, to make it right I beg you."

"The last time you had to make something up to me ended very badly, Steve. I won't make the same mistake again." Wiping the tears from your cheeks, you turned your back to him and, without waiting for an answer, locked yourself in your room. You quickly changed into more comfortable clothes and lay on your bed wrapping yourself in a blanket. Not wanting to think about anything else, you played music and concentrated on the words of the songs and let all the agitated emotions slowly leave you. Suddenly a horrible tiredness caught up with you, which, combined with sickness, quickly lulled you to sleep.

At the same time, Steve sat in his room fighting guilt and self-pity. He hated himself for what kind of person he had been in high school, hated himself for how many people he had hurt because he was afraid of losing his status as king of the school. Now he knew that none of those things mattered. What did matter, however, were the consequences of his behavior. He spoke honestly when he admitted that he really liked you. When he finished school and started working with Robin at Scoops Ahoy you reappeared in his life again but this time things were completely different. Instead of warm smiles sent his way all he could count on were stares full of contempt. In fact, most of the time you simply ignored his presence, which caused him slight pain because he remembered how you were always eager to talk to him when you met in the library or in class. Back then you listened carefully to his every word and laughed at every joke, even the weak ones. Now he could only dream about it. At first he wanted to do the same thing. To treat you as if you did not exist, however, he could not. Every time you visited Robin at work at the sight of you his heart sped up. Later, things became much more complicated. Russians, Mind Flayer, Vecna, everything related to Upside Down messed up your lives decently. The struggle for survival brought people together, but it didn't work on you. At least not in Steve's case, which was another blow to him. However, he remembered that during one of the fights when he was lying barely conscious you shielded him with your own body from one of the monsters. When he was attacked by a herd of demobats you were the first to rush to his rescue and then without a second thought you took care of his wounds by sending him cool glances. Moments like those gave him hope that maybe things would still be good between you two someday. He wanted that more than anything else. However, at times when you did not have to fight to the death with the other dimension and met in groups together with the kids everything returned to normal, you spoke and looked at him only when necessary, extinguishing the flame of hope that was already barely smoldering. Despite this, he still did not give up. No matter how coldly you treated him he did not let go. Something always attracted him to you, and no matter how many times he tried he couldn't just forget about you. He wanted to make up for all the pain and sorrow you felt because of him, instead he wanted to make you feel happy, he wanted to hear you laugh at his jokes again, he dreamed of seeing you smile in his direction at least once more. He was sitting like this contemplating when suddenly he heard you run out of the room and slam into the bathroom.

You were awakened from your nap by a terrible nausea. Your stomach ached mercilessly and you felt you couldn't stand it any longer, so you quickly ran to the bathroom and knelt in front of the toilet. You didn't have to wait long when your stomach decided to return all its contents. The worst part was that you didn't feel any better. Opening the door, you saw Steve standing in front of it with a cup in his hand. Not having the strength to argue again, you just sighed and walked back to your room and he wordlessly followed you. Already lying in bed, you watched as he hesitantly approached and placed a cup of tea on the bedside table.

"If you need anything..." he said quietly looking at you. "Just call me." You didn't know if it was because you were sick or tired, but you felt like all the walls you were building to ward off him at that moment weren't doing their job as they should. It was as if, during your earlier argument together with the words, you had thrown out all the negative emotions, cleared the atmosphere and maybe were able to accept him as someone other than an enemy. Warm tea was indeed like a salve for your irritated stomach, after drinking it you felt better however you were still tired, which made you fall asleep once again. You lay in bed all day waking up and falling asleep every now and then. You noticed that every time you woke up the empty cup turned into a cup full of warm tea, in addition, there was a small ham sandwich next to it, because despite the fact that your stomach was exceptionally capricious today you had to eat something and Steve knew it perfectly well. Taking advantage of the fact that today, unusually, the door to your room was not closed, but ajar, from time to time he would peek through the gap left to see how you were feeling. As soon as he saw that you were asleep he took the opportunity to clean the empty dishes from the bedside table and re-brew the tea so that it was already waiting for you warm when you woke up. He made no secret of the fact that taking care of you gave him pleasure. For the first time in a very long time, he could see slight glimpses of warmth in your eyes instead of cold, heartless hatred. Once when you passed each other in the corridor you sent him a slight smile, which was a thank you for his care. Seeing it his heart skipped a beat. He didn't expect it completely, but seeing it then on your pale and tired face made hope bloom anew giving him a huge amount of motivation to keep fighting for you.

"Were you just in my sister's room while she is sleeping, you creep?" asked Robin. At the sound of her voice he jumped up.

"Shit, Robin. Keep your voice down or you'll wake her up!" he whispered.

"What's going on?"

"Your aunt called for someone to pick her up from work today because she's sick, so I went. She's been sleeping all day and throwing up in shifts." he explained.

"And you, as a good roommate, sneak into her room when she's sleeping and make sure she's still breathing?" she raised one eyebrow.

"It's not funny Robin." he said, annoyed that the whole situation was amusing her. "I just make sure she's not missing anything. I'll bring her warm tea from time to time, after all, that's not a bad thing! Besides, I'd do the same for you!"

"Easy, tiger," Robin raised her hands in a defensive gesture. "I was just messing with you. Actually, I'm grateful to you, she's stubborn enough that she would never ask for help. Not even me."

Looking one last time in your direction, Steve closed the door of your room and headed for the living room. He sank into the soft cushions of the couch and sighed deeply, feeling disappointed because Robin's return home meant that she would now take the lead in caring for you.

For the next two days, you still didn't have the strength to get out of bed, so Robin took time off work to be at home if necessary. By the third day you were feeling better, so with a calm head she was able to return to work leaving you alone in the apartment.

Enjoying the peace and quiet, you took this time to do a little cleaning and later to prepare dinner, which was a form of thanks for the fact that she and Steve were taking care of you. Reluctantly, you had to admit that you were slowly beginning to see in him what the rest of them had long seen. When they returned home warm food was already waiting on the table. Seeing the three plates Robin gently poked him on the shoulder and sent him a broad smile, and Harrington responded with the same upon seeing this small gesture. Dinner passed as pleasantly as ever for you. They told you about the strange customers they had to serve today and the even stranger movies they were interested in. You listened to them and occasionally burst out laughing or injected some comment. In addition, your sister kept inundating you with her uncertainties about today's band meeting, as her relationship with Vicky had been quite complicated for some time. She couldn't stop wondering what she should wear for tonight how to behave, what to say. You and Steve sent each other a communicative look and began to calm her down. After dinner, they cleaned up everything, and in the meantime you sat on the couch watching them. Your eyes periodically met the hazel ones of your roommate, who always responded with a warm gentle smile. Then you felt a strange warmth on your cheeks, so you abruptly turned your head the other way just so he wouldn't see the red that flooded you. Finally, unable to bear the onslaught of strange tingling and rapid heartbeat in his presence, you decided to hole up in your room for a while.

A loud banging on the door sounded around the apartment. Before you had time to approach and open it Max was already inside throwing a red rose on the floor and then herself on the living room couch.

"Woah! Hey, what's wrong?" you asked walking up to the girl.

"Feelings suck!" she exclaimed and sank her face into a fluffy pillow. You sat down next to her and, stroking her back gently, waited for her to calm down.

There were quiet sniffles coming from the living room when Steve came out of his room and saw a flower lying on the floor. Startled, he followed the sound of sobbing. Max always seemed to be the toughest of all the kids. Rarely was anything able to get her off balance and make her cry, so the state she was in now worried you both a lot. From the thrown rose, Steve deduced that the matter probably involved Lucas. So he walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out the chocolate ice cream that he and Robin kept for tough and sad situations. This one was definitely that. On the way, he grabbed three spoons and took a seat next to Max, so that the girl would be between the two of you. Taking the box of ice cream from him, she placed it on her lap so that you all had easy access. You turned on the TV for a music program and in silence began to eat ice cream while watching music videos and listening to them. When you finished, you saw that Max had calmed down a bit.

"Are you going to tell us what happened?" you asked in a calm tone grabbing her hand, and she squeezed it tighter to pull you closer. Understanding what was going on, you sat down as close as you could and hugged her. Despite the tough girl she played, everyone knew very well that in difficult moments she loved to hide in the arms of people she trusted to feel safe. That's why Steve, after a moment's thought, put his arm around both of you. Feeling his touch made you stiffen. One part of you wanted to run as far away from this as possible, to get away from him and never be touched again in your life. However, the other part turned out to be stronger. It was the part that found a comfort you had never known before. Feeling you relax, he began to gently draw small circles on your arm. All three of you sat snuggled into each other now creating a very family picture. If anyone saw you now, they would never in their lives guess that Steve is the person you hate. But was hate still the only emotion you felt when thinking about him? Just a few weeks ago you would have been more than sure, but now? You were horrified by the speed at which your feelings were stirring and changing.

"Feelings are stupid." Max said tilting her head toward Steve.

"I can agree with that, but I need a little more detail." You laughed lightly.

"It's about Lucas and his stupid basketball. His stupid friends, his stupid parties. Everything is stupid!" she burst out. "It's the third time in a row he's forgotten about our date because suddenly some party with his team fell out. I keep seeing the cheerleaders drooling at the sight of him, he started sitting with them in the cafeteria, he left us!"

"I'm sorry..." you understood the feeling perfectly. High school was like a terrible jungle full of divisions and species, which poor Max now had to deal with.

"You know what the worst part is? That damn prom! Lucas got nominated as king, I heard the cheearlider captain, Triss, planning to invite him. I heard her laughing with her hopeless friends that Lucas will never get the title of king if he goes with me." her voice began to crack. "I don't even know why it hurts me so much, after all, I never cared about things like that stupid prom!" the memories began to come back to you at a deadly fast pace. Suddenly the touch you felt on your arm was no longer soothing, you felt it burning your skin, where terrible scars would remain. Under the pretext of going to get tissues, you quickly moved away from them, and when you returned you knelt down in front of the girl and put your hands on her legs which she was shaking nervously.

"Maybe it's about your fear that Lucas will choose Triss?" you asked quietly.

"I don't want the stupid plastic crown to be more important than me."

"I know, honey, I know..." Of course you knew. You knew exactly how she felt and you wanted nothing more than to protect her from those feelings. Max didn't deserve to ever feel inadequate and worthless the way you did back then.

Steve felt as if someone was sticking a knife straight into his heart and slowly twisting it in every possible direction without a hint of compassion. He hated the sight when any of the kids were suffering. In addition, looking at Max's glazed tears, yours from that day appeared before his eyes. The pain he saw in them when you looked at him haunted him until today. He imagined how awful you must have felt. It occurred to him that you must have looked like that too when you came home that day. Suddenly he felt tears come to his eyes too, he chased them away with a quick blink and grunted drawing your attention back to him.

"And what's with the rose?" he asked.

"He came to see me with it after school. I thought he was going to ask me to the prom, but he only came to say that once again we would have to postpone our meeting because he got an invitation to some idiotic party."

"Every rose has its thorn." you quoted a song you recently heard.

"What do you mean?"

"Every rose, no matter how beautiful, has thorns. Just like people, even the most beautiful ones have flaws." You explained. "Talk to him Max. You've been through so much together, I'm sure you can get along. Besides, I think that for Lucas you are one of the most important things he has in his life and he will never let anyone or anything take your place."

"He already allows it, he still chooses to meet with his teammates and cheeliders instead of me," she said.

"It seems to me that it's just a temporary admiration of popularity and he doesn't see things the same way you do."

"Y/n is right, you need to talk to him about it." interjected Steve. "The title of king is worthless, even more if he had to lose you because of it." Saying this he looked at you all the time, you felt his gaze on you however you did not dare to respond with the same. The tone of his voice, though, told you everything. You didn't have to look at him to notice how hard this topic was for him. You also noticed the moment when his voice broke slightly, as if Steve was about to join Max and cry with her. Maybe he was telling the truth and actually cared about you?

"I'll talk to him, but tomorrow, there's no time today anyway because they have a Hellfire meeting." sighed Max. "Can I stay here? I don't want to be alone right now." she asked.

"Of course you can. Why don't we order pizza for dinner and have a movie marathon?" you said enthusiastically. She only smiled slightly and nodded her head.

"I'll go get you some movies from Family Video." suggested Steve. "I still have to drive in somewhere on the way anyway." He said leaving the two of you in the apartment.

The road to Hawkins High passed quickly for him. All the time in his head he replayed the situation from a few years ago, then thought about how to lead the conversation with Lucas. Also, your words that every rose has thorns echoed in his head all the time. There was a time when he was like a beautiful rose to you, and when you finally managed to catch it, its thorns were sharp enough to hurt you so badly that they left scars. All alone, he allowed a few tears to run down his cheeks. The flood of emotions that were simmering inside him had to find some outlet eventually.

When he entered the drama room, they were just getting ready for the campaign. There were still a few people missing, but luckily Lucas was already there.

"We need to talk," he said, pointing at the boy.

"Something wrong?" interjected Dustin with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Dude, were you crying?" added Eddie seeing his friend's still glazed eyes.

"Max was at your place?" Lucas guessed immediately.

"Yes." sighed Steve ignoring Eddie's question. "We need to talk about the prom. Who are you going to go with?"

"Of course with her, I wanted to invite her on Monday after school to go for a walk and then ask her if she would go with me."

"So you had no intention of going with the cheerleader?"

"Of course not Steve! Why should I?"

"Because of the nomination for king."

"Dude, you don't think some piece of plastic is going to be more important to me than Max?"

"I hope not." Steve was glad Lucas was a lot smarter than he was. Feeling relieved, he plopped down in one of the chairs and hid his face in his hands.

"Steve what's wrong with you?" interjected Will who had been watching him for a long time.

"I just- just wanted to make sure Lucas doesn't do anything stupid," he said.

"And he won't tread in your footsteps?" Eddie's words were on the mark. Seeing the surprise on the boys' faces, he continued. "Do you think why y/n always avoids Harrington, and when she has to talk to him she spits venom?" Steve didn't want to raise his eyes. He was ashamed because he knew the kids had always admired him, now their opinion of him might change when they knew how he treated y/n a few years ago. "Once upon a time, back in the days of King Steve's reign in the kingdom of Hawkins High y/n only had eyes of him. Unfortunately, she was never very popular or well-liked, so she belonged to a group of outcasts who were forbidden to even come close to those in the royal group. When a ball at the castle was approaching, his highness Harrington saw in poor y/n a candidate for his partner. The girl delightedly accepted the invitation. The whole kingdom was boiling with gossip when for the next week the King and the peasant girl met in the library, spending long hours there. No one knew exactly what went on behind the library doors. However, everyone could see how the previously unnoticed y/n was up to radiating joy. No one had ever seen her so happy in her life, and some suspected that a local quack had treated her to some not-so-legal herbs, but they were wrong. The reason was King Steve, by whom she was finally noticed. Unfortunately, the good fairy spell didn't work for long. It turned out that the crown of the king of the ball was more important than anything else, so King Steve gave up the company of y/n and went to the ball that the noblewoman Rachel, breaking the heart of the peasant girl in the process. But that's not all, instead of refusing her in solitude King Steve did it in the presence of his army of half-wits, who already to the very end persecuted and ridiculed her at every possible turn, and our king never stood up for her."

"If that's true then I'm not at all surprised y/n couldn't stand you." commented Dustin. "But fortunately you've changed," he added.

"After all, y/n agreed for you to live with them, right? That means all is fine between you two?" interjected Mike.

"It's not that simple." Steve stood up. "Recently I have the impression that things are a little better, but not quite." he remembered the two of you arguing a few days ago. "I think she will always hate me." he added sadly.

"There is a very thin line between love and hate Steve..." Eddie laughed lightly. "You don't even know when they start to mix together until eventually one turns into the other. If you've managed to win her heart once before, why not try again?"

"How can I do that when most of the time she won't even talk to me? For several years I've been trying to show her that I've changed, that I regret all this, but she stubbornly refuses to let me."

"The apology must be as big as the mistake you made." commented Dustin.

"But I have no idea what to do! How do I apologize to her when there are days when she doesn't want to look at me? How do I get her attention? Today I really thought something would change. When Max came in and needed a hug we sat down so that I put my arm around both of them. For the first time in several years she let me touch her and didn't run away. I even got the feeling that she liked it, until Max mentioned the whole prom situation, how the cheerleaders said Lucas would never win the title of king if he went with her. That's when it all came flooding back and she ran away from me like she was burnt."

"Wait, they really said that?" interjected a shocked Lucas.

"Yes, that's why I came here. I had to make sure you were smarter than me.

"Of course I'm smarter Steve, I would never treat Max the same way." The boy's words hurt, but he knew they were true. He deserved them. After everything he had done to you, he knew he deserved a lot of hurtful words. "Even if I sometimes make mistakes it's never that big," he said.

"Yeah, Every rose has its thorn, right?"

"What?"

"She said that to Max today, people and their flaws are like a rose with thorns."

"I think I even know where she got that from." Eddie said with a smile. "It's the title of Poison's latest song. Dustin, do you remember? We were listening to it the other day as she helped us paint the figures."

"Yes I remember." The teenager nodded. "And I think I have an idea on how to get her to finally give you a chance to make things right."

As Dustin presented his plan, the rest of them got involved as well, adding their ideas. It was a plan that could either fix everything or completely destroy it, leaving nothing left to salvage. All the while thinking about it, Steve returned home with a couple of Christmas movies in his hand, but he lost track of time so much that when he entered the living room he found you and Max there, both of you asleep on the couch while watching TV. The girl, wrapped in a blanket, was lying with her head on your thighs and you were leaning slightly against the edge of the couch. Not wanting to wake you, he went straight to his room thinking about how to put Dustin's plan into action. It was risky, he knew it might be too much, but he had nothing else. He was desperate to get you back. Living together with you made him realize how much he wanted you in his life. You constantly occupied his thoughts, he had no peace from it even when he slept because then you visited him in his dreams. However, in dreams there was no trace of hate. In dreams you were again sitting together in the school library laughing and talking. In dreams you would let him grab your hand and when he did it you smiled broadly. In dreams he could hide you in his arms when you were again in the Upside Down hiding from the Demogorgon. In dreams he could kiss you. When, after defeating Vecna, you sat on the porch of Hopper's hut feeling relieved that it was over. You sat in silence, and as soon as he said your name you left. However, in his dreams you always stayed and listened to what he had to say. When he finished speaking and apologizing for everything he had done to you, you forgave him. With a slight smile, you placed your hand on his and he then moved closer to you and connected your lips. Later, he would wake up and try at all costs to fall back asleep to return to that beautiful moment.

The next few days flew by quickly and were filled with doubts. Robin suspiciously often left home leaving you alone with Steve. You stopped hiding all day in your room and spent more and more time together. Conversations usually started with small topics about Christmas plans and gifts. When Steve said that he would rather spend Christmas alone you felt sorry for him. No matter how much you defended against it you were beginning to like him and didn't want him to spend it alone in his room, so you suggested he join you and Robin when your parents came over on Christmas morning. After a moment's thought, he agreed and thanked you by sending a warm smile that made your heart beat harder. You felt the old feelings towards him returning and didn't know what to do to suppress them inside you again. As time went by, more and more thoughts about him popped up in your head, so you had to find something to do. You decided to clean the whole apartment, avoiding Steve and Robin's rooms. You started vacuuming, mopping floors and wiping dust while listening to music loudly, so you didn't hear your flatmates come home after several hours of cleaning. You were just standing on a wooden stool and cleaning the windows when Robin came behind you and shouted loudly. Frightened, you jumped up and, losing your balance, fell straight into the arms of Steve, who was standing next to you.

"I got you." he said clasping his arms around you.

"T-Thanks," you howled, exiting his embrace. Once you slipped out of his grasp you felt an unpleasant coldness envelop you. It was as if you were missing the warmth you had felt just a moment ago leaning against the boy.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd be so scared." Robin said, however, a small smile was visible on her face. "I see you didn't wait to clean up for us?"

"I had to do something." you replied. "But don't worry, your rooms haven't even been looked at, so you'll have time to clean up."

"And I already thought that the magic of Christmas would work and you would do the good deed and clean up for me." she rolled her eyes dramatically.

"In your dreams!" you said and poked her lightly. "I'll finish cleaning the windows, and you will make dinner in the meantime. I'm starving!"

"Just try not to fall again you wimp, this time there will be no one to catch you." she said while winking at you. She wanted to let you know that she had noticed a change in the atmosphere between the two of you. Robin was a great observer, so she immediately noticed the warming of your relations.

"Shut up Robs." you said and quickly turned toward the windows so that neither of them would notice the redness on your cheeks.

The day before Christmas you were not given a rest. Suddenly everyone remembered that it would be appropriate to wrap presents, so Dustin, Will, Mike and Lucas begged you for help because it turned out that wrapping things with colored paper was too difficult. In time, you were joined by Max And El. That's how you just spent the whole afternoon hidden from the world in Mike's basement.

Unaware of the ruse, you didn't suspect that the kids were deliberately packing everything wrong so that you would stay put for as long as possible and not come home until the evening. When the packing was finally over Dustin caught you before you left the house.

"Can I have a request of you?" he asked quietly.

"Anytime." you replied seeing his nervous look on his face.

"Just... remember that Christmas is also a time for forgiveness, okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just Promise, please!"

"Okay Dusty, I will remember."

The boy hugged you tightly and only then let you go home.

At the same time, Robin was helping Steve put the finishing touches on Dustin's plan so that everything worked out perfectly.

"I'm really glad you're doing this." your sister said looking at the living room which was hung with little Christmas lights.

"Do you think this will work?" asked a confused Steve while nervously combing his hand through his hair.

"I have no idea. I think it will work, but there's also a chance that she'll get so mad that all the monsters in the Upside Down will look like puppies next to her."

"I really care about her, Robin."

"I know dingus. That's why I'm helping you. If it weren't for how much you've changed I would never in my life have let you get close to her."

"Yeah..."

"We need to think positively."

"What's going on here?" you asked as you entered the room. Robin wordlessly ran out of the apartment leaving you alone with the boy. The soft light of Christmas lights was spreading around the room, plus there were single roses scattered everywhere. "Steve, what the hell is going on here?" you felt your nerves rise to your throat.

"Before you leave and start hating me again I beg you to wait. Let me explain, let me try to explain," he said walking up to you and grabbed your hand. "Please." Disoriented you looked at him and then at your hand tucked in his. Later you looked around the room again connecting the dots. It was all planned, and everyone was involved in this intrigue. Now you understood what Dustun had in mind before you left the Wheeler house.

"Fine," you said quietly. The boy's face lit up as he pulled you toward the Christmas tree under which hung a small box.

"This is for you." He said pulling it off the branch and handed it to you. Inside was a silver necklace with a rose-shaped tag. Surprised, you looked at him and were about to say something however he immediately interrupted you. "I can't get your words out of my head about that rose when Max came. I know I don't deserve it, because my thorns hurt you badly, but I would like to use my Christmas wish for something I lost a few years ago." He walked over to the radio, from which, after a while, the sounds of a familiar song began to play.

We both lie silently still In the dead of the night Although we both lie close together We feel miles apart inside Was it something I said or something I did Did the words not come out right Though I tried not to hurt you Though I tried But I guess that's why they say

Still under the influence of shock, you didn't know what to answer. There was a void in your head, your heart was racing toward the boy, so it had no problem taking control, so when Steve extended his hand in your direction and asked you to dance you gave him yours. He pulled you close by gently placing his hand on your waist. His hands were pleasantly warm. As you swayed to the rhythm of the melody he did not take his eyes off you still smiling. He thought he couldn't feel happier than he did in that moment.

Every rose has its thorn Just like every night has its dawn Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song Every rose has its thorn Yeah it does

With each word you were closer and closer to each other, the gap between you ceased to exist. Your heart was pounding hard and fast. At first it was due to nerves, however, very quickly you relaxed and found comfort under his touch. Your brain told you to run as far away as possible, but your heartbeat drowned it out very effectively.

Though it's been a while now I can still feel so much pain Like a knife that cuts you the wound heals But the scar, that scar remains I know I could have saved a love that night If I'd known what to say Instead of makin' love We both made our separate ways

"How did you find this song?" you mouthed finally.

"I had a little help." He smiled. "Do you like it?" you nodded affirmatively. You didn't know what was happening to you, tears began to invade your eyes, you felt like you were about to explode. You had so many thoughts in your head that one merged with the other creating one big mess in which you couldn't find yourself. You rested your head on his chest so that he wouldn't notice what was happening to you, hoping that the swaying rhythm would calm you down.

And now I hear you found somebody new And that I never meant that much to you To hear that tears me up inside And to see you cuts me like a knife I guess Every rose has its thorn Just like every night has its dawn| Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song Every rose has its thorn

When the song came to an end you didn't want to pull away from him. You knew that when you did he would notice the tears streaming from your eyes. Feeling you still hiding your face in his sweater and not moving he worriedly looked down.

"y/n?" he asked quietly moving his hand to your back where he began to gently stroke you. "What's wrong?" in response he heard only a quiet sniff. He automatically hugged you tightly wanting you to feel safe in his arms. "Did I do something wrong?"

"I don't know Steve." Your voice was weak and squeaky.

"Talk to me, please."

"It's just...a few years ago it was all I dreamed about. I dreamed of you Steve, and then when I thought something had changed, that you finally noticed me..."

"I acted like a complete asshole." he finished for you.

"You broke my heart, Steve. For such a long time you allowed others to destroy my life. Day after day, the sight of you in the hallways reminded me that I wasn't good enough for you. What if it's the same now? If after time you find that I'm still not like that? That you can afford something better? I can't stand it a second time Steve. If I forgive you now this rejection on your part will hurt me even more than it did then."

"No y/n, no." said cupping your face. "I don't deserve you, it's me who is not good enough for you. You're a million times better, but I can't stand the way things are between us anymore. You're like the most beautiful rose in the world and I want nothing more than to make you mine, with or without thorns. I want to make you happy and show you that you deserve the best. I know you have every right not to forgive me, but I promise that if you do I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't regret this decision. I need you in my life y/n."

"You have to promise me that everything you're saying now is true." Seeing your heartbroken eyes, he felt his heart breaking into pieces. He was sick of watching you cry because of him.

"I swear. I swear on everything."

"Okay." You whispered after a longer moment of thought.

"Okay?"

"Yes, Steve, we can start from the beginning, but that doesn't change the fact that I will need a lot of time to fully trust you. It won't be easy."

"I'll give you as much time as you need."

"Fine." You smiled slightly. "Thank you, Steve..."

"For you, everything." He hugged you tightly, filled with joy. ""That means you'll accept my gift?" he asked after a while.

"Of course I will, it's beautiful." he quickly walked over to the table where you had left the box earlier and took out a necklace from it, which after a moment he fastened around your neck.

"I don't want to push or rush things too fast, but there's one more thing I've really wanted to do for a very long time." he said looking into your eyes.

"What is it?" with a movement of his head he pointed to the ceiling. When you followed your eyes there you saw how centrally above you hung a mistletoe.

"Am I to understand that this was also part of the plan?" you asked teasingly.

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't..." responsible scratching the back of his neck with his hand. You chuckled walking up to him. You stood on your toes to reach his cheek and kissed him there.

"I think that's enough for now," he said.

"R-right...Uhm- Do you feel like a little movie marathon? I happen to have some movies."

"I would love to."

Forgiveness was never a simple matter, and you knew you still had a long and winding road ahead of you, but you had a feeling it was worth the risk. Steve, in turn, realized he was wrong. Sitting on the couch with you now, putting his arm around you and knowing that you had finally given him a chance after so long, he felt even happier. And happiness was the best motivation to always show you how much he cared about you.

72 notes · View notes

writemekpop · 3 years

Text

Woof Woof | Osaki Shotaro

Pairing: Osaki Shotaro x Reader

Summary: Your husband Shotaro surprises you with a gift you can't afford... when you see it, you freak out.

Genre: Established relationship, Domestic fluff, Parents AU

Word Count: 0.6k

Warnings: Cheeky hubby taro getting his own way

Gif: @junkhei

“Aah buhbuhbuh… aah buhbuhbuh,” Shotaro mumbled as he nuzzled his cheek against the little red nose of your baby girl, Suzu.

“Are you even listening to me, Taro? That’s just enough money for diapers. Nothing else.”

Your husband Shotaro was a (failing) DJ, so you didn’t have a lot of spare cash. As he put down your daughter and left for the shop, you curled up on your couch. Soon, you were dreaming…

You were woken by a scratching noise.

Shotaro was wrestling the door open with one hand, his other hand wrapped around a ginormous cardboard box. Still a little sleepy, you giggled. Shotaro looked like just a box with two jean-covered legs.

What the hell was scratching around that box?

It didn’t take you long to find out. Because you soon felt a wet, hot tongue rubbing against your nose. A dog’s tongue.

Shotaro had unleashed a three-legged little sausage dog into your house. It yipped excitedly, its wet nose sniffing around.

“Osaki Shotaro!” you shrieked, jumping to your feet. “Who’s gonna feed that thing? Do you know how much a vet costs?”

Shotaro pouted, covering the dog’s floppy ears with one hand. “Don’t listen to her, Choco,” he whispered. “You’re safe here.”

“I’m sorry Shotaro, but the dog has to go.” You put on your sternest stare.

Shotaro held the dog up, so it was at your eye level.

Its little brown paws dangled out of Shotaro’s hands, and its wet black eyes seemed to be looking straight at you.

“Please, Y/n, I promise I’ll be a very good boy,” Shotaro said in a squeaky high voice.

You chuckled. “That’s what you think the dog sounds like?”

“Will you be my mummy? Pleaseeeeee…”

Shotaro pushed the dog closer, and it lapped at your nose.

You couldn’t shake your massive grin.

“Aww, fine! We’ll keep the dumb thing.”

You sighed. Why could you never resist your husband’s charms? He would be the death of you.

Shotaro stepped towards you, holding your face with both hands. His thumbs gently stroked your cheeks, and his fingers wrapped round the sides of your neck.

As you gazed into your husband’s starry black eyes and cute mushroom nose, you just had to smile.

“Great. Now I have three kids,” you whined, though your smirk kind of ruined your attempt to look annoyed.

Shotaro grinned. “Can a kid do this?”

He kissed a soft, sparking trail from your collarbone to your jaw. You felt your heart pick up and a shiver of breath leave your lips. Your body always reacted to Shotaro – and he knew it.

All your money troubles seemed to melt away like cotton candy. Nothing existed but this moment, Shotaro’s lips on your skin, your sweet, sweet bliss.

He leaned in to kiss your mouth, but… you stopped him by pressing one finger on his plump pink lips.

“I am not sharing your lips with a dog!” you laughed.

Shotaro smirked devilishly, then pressed his lips against yours anyway. They were sugary sweet, just like bubblegum – another thing he’d spent your money on!

You couldn’t help it – despite the fact that you were meant to be mad at Shotaro, the kiss was so dizzying that you were already tilting your head to the side to deepen it.

When you pulled away, you grazed your lips along Shotaro’s cheek, your eyes half shut. You weren’t quite ready to let him go yet. The slight roughness of his skin sent fireworks shooting in your belly.

“Why can I never say no to you?” you moaned.

You felt rather than saw Shotaro smirk. “So… what if I said that Choco has a sister who really needs a home?”

“No!”

—

MASTERLIST

Let us know what you thought in the comments or on anon! 💋

336 notes · View notes

tu-sugar-mami · 3 years

Text

You're an exchange student part 2:

You can read the first part here

You sit awkwardly on a gigantic chair while holding a lukewarm, barely touched cup of tea with both of your hands. Your back is straight and your shoulders are tense. You're starting to feel a bit sore after being still for a long time but you can't bring yourself to move.

After the incident with the first cultist —or what you still think is a cultist, the redhead girl— the tall lady took away your bug repelent and lighter along with your backpack, putting them on the top row of a nearby shelf where she was sure your little hands wouldn't reach.

If you're honest, you're not sure how you ended up sitting in the chair in front of the gigantic fireplace with many heavy comforters on you providing much needed warmth, feeling like an unexpected but not unwelcomed guest instead of the next sacrifice, but truly you're not complaining. This is thousand times better than to die outside from the cold.

As you sit there innocently waiting for the next important thing to happen, you can see that the two young women who arrived after you are exchanging a few words with Miss Tall Lady while taking off their coats to reveal several layers of winter clothes underneath. It's strange to you, but you pay it no mind. Every person takes different to the cold, after all.

The tall lady starts pacing back and forth in front of you heatedly talking, glancing at you once or twicce, and it's not hard for you to notice the strain and exasperation in her tone. Whatever she's saying sounds serious, but you can only make out a few words like 'offering' 'wrong' and 'mistake'.

Not knowing what to respond your find yourself distracted by the decor. Your eyes roaming every detail of the chiseled fireplace, taking in the most fine of the details. Then, is the stairwell that catches you attention and you can't help but to think it would be a great place to slide on a cardboard box.

"Are you listening to me?" A commanding voice and a snap of fingers brings your wandering mind down from the clouds and your neck snaps to face the woman. Her eyes are a beautiful golden, and you can't believe you didn't notice before.

"Your eyes are mesemerizing..." You say in your language, breathless, the words slipping past your lips almost as in a trance. Your gaze goes a bit down and your fingers twitch with a sudden desire to run them over those blood-red lips and feel for yourself if they are as soft as they look.

Miss Tall Lady looks thrown off by the foreign accent in your voice. It's definitely one she hadn't have the pleasure of hearing before and somehow makes her pause. Her mind might be playing tricks on her but why did whatever you said felt like some kind of compliment?

"Mother?" One of the young women from before asks tentatively. You don't know if you're right but you think the girls are the woman's daughters.

"Take this one to the library. I will follow shortly." Miss Tall Lady says before hurriedly walking away, though without losing her lady-like grace. Your eyes follow an hypnothic sway of hips going up the stairs before you sense a hand being extended towards you, expecting.

"Teacup, please." A blonde, very polite-looking young lady says. You jump a bit in your seat and inevitably blush, thinking for a moment you were caught in your respecful percieving, but to your relief the woman in front of you didn't seem to notice that.

"Uh..." You're not sure what Miss Blonde wants, but judging by the look she's giving you, you suppose she wants to greet you formally, so you do what any other civilized person would do. "Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you, miss." You say as you properly position the teacup in your left hand and with your right you shake hers. She's taken aback, but after a second of hesitation a smile breaks and graces her face.

A pair of loud laughs sound from behind the blonde. The young woman with the dark hair approaches you both from the side with an amused grin. "I like this one, Bels."

"An odd one indeed." Miss Blonde replies.

The last one of the unusual trio approaches on the other side of the blonde, the redhead you knocked out earlier. She looks at you intently. "Just so you know, no one besides mother sends me to sleep without consecuenses, little one." and punctuates her statement with a boop to your nose.

"Yes, yes, you'll get your revenge later, Daniela. Let's not keep Mother waiting." You're hoisted up by the hand. The warm comforters falling off your back and piling on the big chair, instantly making you shiver with the lack of heat. The three women walk away and you have no other option than to follow them.

The door is opened and inside you find yourelf gaping at the amount of books stacked on the big shelves. You can count with one hand the times you've been in a house that has its own library, but this one by far takes the cake. "Can i grab a book?" You ask to Miss Dark Hair, pointing to one of the nearestt bookshelves while giving your trademark Puppy Eyes.

"What? You want to read?"

"Book." You say, pointing again insistently to the bottom row of antique books.

"Sure, go have your fun while Mother arrives." Miss Blonde nods and you waste no time to grab the fattest, heaviest book of them all and sit on the floor with your legs crossed, only to sigh in dissapointment as the book is in a language you yet again can't understand. But as you flip the pages you can see that it has very depicting images of old eras that you find fascinating.

You don't notice the time passing as you 'read' undisturbingly, until a big hand is placed on your shoulder and you almost jump out of yor skin, closing the book with a snap, effectively losing the page where the images told you the process to make soap.

"Someone's been studying, i see." The Tall Lady from before stands before you in all her height and you cand help but to rake your gaze all over that goddess until you reach her eyes, not without your flushed face at the end. "So, i brought you here for a reason." She says while her hand motions you to stand. "Here at the Dimitrescu Castle we are in possesion of many doors to knowledge, which does include many books that offer some insight about other countries along with their tongues." You're nodding along whatever she's saying, not a single word ringing a bell in your understanding but to you it would be impolite to leave her hanging. Tall Lady stops in her tracks, in front of a very dusty bookshelf with even older books. Her hand goes from side to side selecting several books which she then hands to you.

You eye the books curiously and you notice that they're a vast collections of translating dictionaries, all varying in length and language. You kneel and start looking through them, being mindful of the most antique and delicate ones. You spot a thin one but with a very familiar dialect and you look up to give Tall Lady a toothy smile. "This one is! Uh... Wait, let's see." You open the book and look through the content searching for words. You stand and motion the lady to lean a bit and start pointing words.

'Student.'

'Cold.'

'Lost'

'Thankful."

As you keep making sense with the few words you're provided, the expression on the lady's face changes to a one of understanding and pity. She pulls out a very fancy-looking pair of glasses out from who knows where and takes the book from your hands, flipping through it's pages, looking for words of her own.

'Stay.'

'Dinner.'

'Sleep.'

'Rest.'

She points word by word and you get the hint. You nod eagerly and smile. Tall Lady smiles back at you and for a second there you feel your heart paralize. You could have sworn you saw a pair of unusually long canines on that pearly white smile. But surely you're just tired, right?

"Daniela, please take our guest to one of the spare rooms." The lady says gesturing to the red-haired young woman.

"Yes, Mother." And the next thing you know your being lead by the arm out of the room.

Once you're gone the tall lady's whole demeanor changes to one of anger and she let's out a frustrated sigh. "The nerve of those villagers. To send a foreigner as the monthly offering! No wonder why the man-thing you brought was insisting it was a mistake."

"They're not respecting the deal, Mother. Should i make them understand who they're dealing with?"

The Tall Lady's pointer finger rests on her lips as she thinks. "No. I'd like to have a word with the leader." She put the book on a the nearrest table with a bit too much force, snapping the poor table in half. "Bela, bring him to me."

---------

Part two is up. Less comedy, more plot. This isn't planned to be long so maybe this will only have one or two more chapters.

@thejennystuttle

#alcina dimitrescu x reader #alcina dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu x reader #lady dimitrescu #alcina x reader #re8 #my fic #bela dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu #resident evil village

202 notes · View notes

shoutogepi · 3 years

Text

Best Friends

┌───────── ⋆⋅✧⋅⋆ ─────────┐

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐢 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐨 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 2.7k

[ ☁︎ ] angst

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞 : unrequited feelings :’( really brief mention of sex (not nsfw tho!) & also (underage?????) alcohol consumption!

𝐛𝐢𝐨 : On your last night in the dorms, Shouto realizes he has feelings for you, his best friend.

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 : idk honestly i started writing this last night and was gonna abandon it... but then val tagged me in an angst ficrec and i was like ok well! this is a sign to post bc then i will have at least one sho angst on my masterlist lolll oops :o

└───────── ⋆⋅✧⋅⋆ ─────────┘

─── ・°* ﾟ✧:* • ｡ﾟ:*･☽･*: ｡ﾟ•*:✧ ﾟ*°・ ───

🅃onight was the last night in the dorms. Three long years had come and went, and now everyone’s belongings were cleaned out and secured away with cardboard and tape, leaving an empty wing that was currently filled with bodies, neon lights, and red solo cups. Music was pounding through the hallways, reaching every room and allowing no one total escape from the celebration.

You had been occupying the dance floor with Mina and Tsuyu for the last half hour, and now that you had sweat off the latest drink of the night, it was time for you to set off and find your more moderate-tempered companion. The pink-skinned girl wiggled her eyebrows at you when you alerted them of where you were heading off to, Tsuyu planting a love tap on your ass as you made your way from the swarm of people. The frog girl wasn’t usually so loose, but the alcohol that pumped through everyone’s veins had left only a select few unaffected. Tsu, just like you, was one of the ones that was happily allowing the weight of daily student life slip from her shoulders.

There were plenties of warm bodies swaying with the heavy bass rattling the hallways, shadows of couples and interested singles leaning against the walls, whispers and rowdy laughs echoing as the entire graduating class of UA partied the night away. Skimming by the line outside the bathroom, your feet found their way toward the end of the hall easily enough, taking the path you had so many times before.

A creak sounded as you pushed the cracked door open, the sight of the open shoji screen allowing moonlight to stream onto the bamboo mat floor which crunched quietly underneath your tentative steps.

“Shouto?” you whispered his name, eyes taking in the silhouettes of the packed boxes against the walls before you turned and saw a shadow sitting on the mattress beside the door.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Your voice jolted Shouto from his wandering thoughts, his attention turning to you right away. He seemed surprised to see you standing there, and he peered up at you from his slightly hunched position on the couch. He acknowledged you with your name, his voice low and steady. By the sound of it, you wondered briefly if he had even had a drop to drink tonight.

Blinking at him a few times, you tried to adjust your eyes to the contrast between the bright moonlight and dark shadows. When you could finally see the planes of his handsome, somber face, you spoke, trying your best not to slur. “What are you doing over here all by yourself?”

He paused, lagging for a second before the corners of his mouth curled and his eyes crinkled at the sight of you. “Just thinking,” he answered, examining you in that intrigued way he always did. After a moment he must have reached the conclusion that you were some level of smashed, for he patted the empty space next to him on the bed with a smirk and said, “Come sit with me.”

For a moment you wondered why he was alone, but then your brain caught up with you, and you realized that his other friends were probably busy with their own issues or endeavors. Ever since Midoriya finally grew a pair and asked Uraraka out, the two had been going at it like rabbits every spare second they had. And you could only imagine how busy Iida was as class rep, trying to keep the party at least a little bit under control. Momo was definitely helping him, and you had seen Bakugou begrudgingly holding Kaminari up with Kirishima under his other arm when you’d passed by them in the hall… Leaving only you to come and rouse the half and half hero from his solitude.

“Well that’s not allowed tonight!” You exclaimed, fist slapping against the side of your thigh. You would’ve used both hands for emphasis had the other not been occupied with a half-full plastic cup. Your legs felt like jello as you moved toward him, his cool hand wrapping around your arm to offer his support and steer you into the spot beside him. You almost fell but he held you up with the one arm, chuckling as your butt finally met the safety of the duvet.

“Thinking’s forbidden?” he laughed at your insistence, the sound rich and deep as his hand lingered on your wrist.

“Yes,” you nodded vehemently, pulling your hand away from his to cradle your precious cup and shooting him a playful, sideways glare. “Brain turned off for the night. It’s in the fine print of the party rules, of course.”

Shouto gave you a funny look, eying you from the side. He repositioned himself, sitting upright and closing his eyes. It was hard for him to remain stoic when the quiet sound of your amused giggles tickled his ears, but he managed a nod before his eyes settled on you again. “Okay, I think it’s off.”

Conversation was always natural between the two of you, he never had to struggle to keep it flowing. And he liked talking with you, being in your presence. Which was the only reason why he was still entertaining this ridiculous charade.

“How do you feel?” you inquired, a goofy grin on your lips.

There was a twinkle in your eyes as you teased him, but Shouto held no qualms with your playfulness. Most people were still afraid to joke with him, believing that he was too obtuse to understand humor. Sure, he had struggled with the transition to school life in the beginning of their first year, but after you had transferred into their class second year, he found himself opening up even more than he already had.

“I feel… the same.” The grin on his lips remained, his eyes settled on your drunken form. His gaze flicked to your smile, shining in the moonlight and making something twinge in his stomach. He cleared his throat, pushing down the feeling that haunted him every time he looked at you too long. “This doesn’t really work, does it?”

You pretended to entertain the thought for a moment, eyes rolling as you considered it animatedly before your lips broke into a beautiful smile again. “No,” you giggled, shoulders shrugging in your cute, drunken fit. “But it’s easier when you’re not sober!”

He turned, faux surprise hung from his brow. “You’re drunk?” Sarcasm dripped from his voice and splashed onto you where his jean-clad thigh brushed against yours.

“Shut up!” You punched at his shoulder and pushed him away from you, shuffling yourself in the process.

Your hair swished with the movement and suddenly the soft, sweet scent of you was crashing over him. He breathed it in shamelessly, allowing himself to indulge in the warm feeling that suddenly emanated through his chest.

“You could try it, if you wanted. It really does help,” you offered your cup to him, shrugging.

Shouto eyed the red plastic cup, hesitant. He really wasn’t one to drink, but then again, neither were you. Tonight was about celebrating your graduation from UA, opening the next chapter of your lives. The thing was, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to move on when it meant leaving all his relationships either behind him or pushed to the side. Okay, maybe he was kidding himself… there was only one person he would miss having in his daily life, and that person was sitting right beside him— the same one who was the source of his conflicted feelings.

“Or not!” your hand retreated and you took a little sip, the sweet jungle juice washing down your throat easily. “No pressure. It’s your choice, Sho.”

He nearly groaned at the nickname, the one he only allowed you to call him. Grabbing the cup from you, his calloused fingers brushed over your soft knuckles. He smirked at the excitement that surfaced in your gaze as he brought the lip of the cup to his mouth, emptying the contents in one long go. The liquid was sickly sweet, masking the bitter poison that entered his body alongside it.

“That was… truly disgusting.”

“Whaaat?” You balked, grabbing for the cup in dismay. He kept it out of reach, even though it was empty, setting it on the far table instead. “It’s good, I dunno what you’re on. It’s really, really good. Heheh, just like me…”

Shouto blushed at the innocent innuendo, looking at you as you closed your eyes and let out a noise between a sigh and a laugh. He gulped, realizing that the alcohol was already taking effect and he was beginning to slip under its influence. Your method of “turning your brain off” was proving to be much more effective with the alcohol’s aid, but that was a whole other issue which he failed to foresee.

He usually preferred to keep his brain on and fully functioning, especially when he was alone, with you. That way, when you roused the butterflies in his stomach and pulled on his heartstrings, he could tell himself to just ignore it and focus on how important your friendship was to him. But now, his defenses were failing him, and there was nothing he could do to stop his heart from beating faster, palms getting clammier.

“You’re good?” he reiterated quietly, watching the way your tongue swiped across your lips, enchanted by it.

You chortled, finding the thought entertaining, apparently. “Yes! I feel really good right now.”

“Ah,” he murmured, sitting back and allowing the pillow he had propped up to sink around his form. “I feel... kinda good, too.”

A mix between a laugh and a scoff escaped you at his confession. “You feel something already, Sho? Wow, that’s so efficient.”

Shouto didn’t really know what you meant by that, but he only smiled softly at the happy look on your face. He closed his eyes and listened to the fast rush of blood in his ears, the feeling of warmth prickling at his skin. He wasn’t drunk, per se, but he felt a little lighter than usual.

You had said that drinking would turn his brain off, but it seemed only part of it wasn’t functioning. The other side of his mind was working overtime, much to his chagrin.

He was suddenly aware that this would be one of his last moments with you before everything would change. You were going to an internship not too far from his, only an hour away by train. But seeing you wouldn’t be nearly as easy as walking down the hallway… and it could only happen if the both of you found a time that worked and had the motivation to travel the distance to meet one another. He wasn’t sure if you wanted to do all that, just to see him.The realization hit him hard.

No more sneaking to one another’s room and having whispered, midnight conversations. No more studying together and simply being in your presence. No more opportunities to let his gaze linger on you longingly, nor chances for him to grab your hand when your knuckles brushed against his in the middle of your walks.

He felt sick at the thought of living without you. Maybe… maybe it was time for him to face his feelings head on. He had spent so long denying the recognition of them, the acceptance of them. The loss of you was imminent, unless he could finally force himself to say something, and it had to be soon.

As if you had picked up on his distress, you hummed quietly and shuffled closer to his side. His quirk spiked at the sudden proximity, heat flaring up as your head came to rest on his shoulder.

“I’m a sappy drunk, so I apologize for what I’m about to say,” you mumbled into his t-shirt, his skin prickling as your warm breath wandered through the seams and onto his skin.

He huffed out a laugh to ease your worries, but he stayed absolutely still, unwilling to move a muscle in case it would somehow scare your body off of his.

Then you whispered, “M’so lucky to have met you, Sho.”

Shouto choked on thin air, subtly wiping the moisture on his palms across the tops of his denim-covered thighs. Your scent surrounded him, and he couldn’t resist resting his head on top of yours, slowly breathing between your locks. “I… I feel the same, Y/n…”

It was quiet for another moment, his mind playing out a hundred ways to confess, trying to find the right words. Meanwhile, you were simply enjoying his reciprocation and the peacefulness of the quiet away from the party, completely unaware of his inner turmoil.

You sighed and he shivered as your breath scattered across his collarbone again, almost jumping when your fingers landed softly over his. How you remained so soft with their vigorous training, he had no clue. But your fingers felt so warm, so right lacing with his. His throat was thick with apprehension, a lump forming there as the seconds ticked by. It wasn’t often the two of you were sitting so close together, and he wondered if he was a piece of shit for thanking whatever God there was out there for you being kind of inebriated and so touchy right now.

Slowly, he turned to look at you, eyes wide and conflicted, taking in how truly astonishing your beauty was up close. You lifted your head from your perch on his shoulder, gaze locking with his before your lips curled into a meek smile. Digits tightening around his, you squeezed his hand and rubbed your thumb across his knuckles.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, screaming at him to do something— anything— whatever it took for him to just form the words and tell you that he was in love with—

“Thank you for being my best friend.”

—you… He blinked, the words registering.

You continued. “I know we’re moving away from each other, but I never wanna lose you. I cherish our friendship too much for that to happen, Shouto.”

Your words cut him.

Friends. Friendship.

His blood felt like it had frozen in his veins and he had become a statue, stock still as you carried on thoughtlessly, eyes now flickering over to the moon hung low in the indigo night sky.

“Please promise me that we'll never change. We might grow as people, but… our friendship will stay intact, right? I don’t wanna grow apart.”

It hurt.

Time had stopped and his lungs shriveled up, his body aching as if you had just lodged your knee straight into his ribs. His tongue tasted bitter suddenly, and he could almost hear the sound of his heart cracking.

But Shouto was good at hiding his emotions, years of compartmentalizing them giving him an edge that no one else he knew had. He kept his face neutral, even if it felt like he was withering and dying inside.

“I just… don’t ever wanna lose you.”

It was almost impossible to force his lips into a thin, hollow smile. But he managed, even if it felt like prying iron with a crowbar. He looked into your eyes and nodded.

He understood. To some extent, he truly understood.

“I don’t want to lose you either, Y/n... Don’t worry,” he took a deep breath, forcing the next words out even if he felt like he was about to be sick.

He cherished his bond with you too much to risk chancing it, confessing to you, and throwing it all away after your certain rejection. He loved you too much to ever hurt you, and he was too selfish to let go of you, too. The only one that would suffer from this was him, and he was alarmingly alright with that.

If it meant that he got to hold onto you, even for just a little bit longer.

If it meant that you would be happy... Even if he wasn’t.

“We’ll always be friends... I promise.”

─── ・°* ﾟ✧:* • ｡ﾟ:*･☽･*: ｡ﾟ•*:✧ ﾟ*°・ ───

˚‧º·(˃̣̣̥∩˂̣̣̥)‧º·˚ ˚‧º·(˃̣̣̥∩˂̣̣̥)‧º·˚ ˚‧º·(˃̣̣̥∩˂̣̣̥)‧º·˚

afJSNKJKDKJ WRITING ANGST FOR MY BABY IS SO HARD AHH I LOVE U SHO PLS... reader is so dumb to see u only as a friend i hate that dumb bitch ughhh (TдT)

➥ masterlist

𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 © 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐩𝐢 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏 . 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝.

366 notes · View notes

rintaroll · 3 years

Text

❝ NONE LIKE YOU. ❞

— moving in with oikawa tooru may have been the best decision you’ve ever made.

⊱┊pairing. oikawa tooru x gn!reader ⊱┊tags. domestic fluff, they’re engaged! slight timeskip spoilers and one suggestive mention if you squint ⊱┊wc. 0.6k ⊱┊note. it’s highly recommended that you listen to tú - maye while you read this (available at the bottom of this post)! and am i saying oikawa accidentally speaks spanish when he’s talking dirty? yes <3

it's scorching hot.

sweat is making oikawa's fringe stick to the tanned skin of his forehead, and his old high school t-shirt is clinging onto every ridge and curve of his broad back. you try not to spare him a glance when he sets yet another cardboard box down in the middle of your empty living room, but the ripples of muscles underneath his sweat sheen skin are making it hard for you to tear your eyes away.

"like the view?" his voice has a teasing lilt to it, and he takes it a step further by tugging on his shirt to wipe his face, revealing the lower half of his toned abdomen.

you roll your eyes, thanking the skies above that you have the summer heat to blame for the heat rising up your neck. "drink this." you shove the glass of cold water in his direction, to which he accepted without resistance.

the almost-silent atmosphere is short-lived as oikawa's playlist moves along its queue. the drone of cicadas from the opened window is drowned by the tune blaring through your bluetooth speakers—the first thing you unpacked from one of the many boxes littering your new shared apartment.

you gasp softly when you recognize the familiar melody. "i love this song."

"i know." your eyes flit to his exposed skin again when he wipes his lips with his shirt. your fiancé was smirking when your gaze lands back on his face. "you sent it to me when you were still in japan."

"i'm surprised you remember." you miss the exaggerated expression on his face when you close your eyes for a quick second.

oikawa watches you closely as the song brings you back to when you and oikawa were eighteen thousand kilometers apart. your relationship used to rely solely on video calls and messages that were hours apart. but he was patient, and when you finally decided on moving to argentina to be with him, he has been deemed the happiest man alive. or so he said (with a dramatic whine and a wide grin as he picks you up at the airport).

setting his hands on your hips, he sways your bodies to the rhythm of the song. "that seemed like such a long time ago." you open your eyes and rest your hands on his shoulders. your skins stick to each other and his hot breath fans your face, but the warmth becomes less unbearable when you're in his arms.

he hums, resting his forehead on yours.

you exhale a breath you didn't know you were holding in. this feels right.

"para qué correr si no hay apuro? si es que cada vez que estamos juntos, el tiempo se detiene y desapareces." he sings, and it's not the voice he uses during karaoke nights with the rest of the aoba johsai graduates. it's the voice he uses during drives to supermarkets, when you're in the passenger seat and his hand is on your thigh. (why run if there is no rush? if every time we're together, time stops and disappears.)

"the lyrics are really pretty," he comments. you can almost hear the 'just like you' lingering at the tip of his tongue, but he holds off.

"oh?" you'll admit, you haven't fully grasped the language yet, but you're getting there. it hasn't been easy, but you learned through new acquaintances and oikawa's slip-ups during the restless nights where he holds you in between his arms.

he nods, opening his mouth to sing the rest of the song. "y tú me das todo lo demás, yo quiero estar donde tú estás." (and you give me everything else, i want to be where you are.)

his gaze is locked on you.

"amor, eres tú." (love, it's you.)

he's the happiest man alive, he thinks.

"ninguno como tú." (none like you.)

you kiss him.

#haikyuu #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu!!#oikawa tooru #oikawa fluff #oikawa tooru fluff #haikyuu x reader #oikawa x reader #oikawa tooru x reader #haikyuu drabbles #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagine #liv.writes

373 notes · View notes

sixeyesgojo · 3 years

Text

Team Gojo with babies

Summary: Team Gojo handling babies while they’re babysitting.

Content warning: fragile babies and Gojo

A/N: Oh, I’m almost caught up; only a two or three chapters are left until I have nothing to import from AO3 anymore lol Then I can finally start writing another oneshot lmao

Gojo Satoru

You would never guess but he is surprisingly good at holding babies, this man would never drop a baby

but he would pretend that he's dropping the baby just to fuck with everyone

This man seems to not only be a great jujutsu sorcerer but also some kind of magician: babies stop crying as soon as he holds them

Babies love playing with his white hair

He has no problems making the baby burp after feeding them

No problems with changing diapers either, he does it so neatly??

but he will whisper "This is all for the sake of the next generation" when he does it

Satoru going on a walk with the baby in the stroller? A sight to behold.

This man absolutely loves making the baby exercise because it's "like playing a video game console"

He talks to the baby... a lot... about almost everything. He'll sometimes imitate girly voices. Or reenact High School Musical scenes.

Sometimes he tells the baby about his day while changing the diaper. The baby wails. He'd say stuff like "Oh my god, so true bestie!!" (in the said imitation of a girly voice)

will pretend to eat the baby's hands or feet. His favorite part to "eat" are the cheeks though

Oooooh, the baby enjoys the airplane game with Gojo

I don't even know what to say, he's just great at everything. Even if he's not, that's just him pretending, not trying.

Itadori Yuji

HELP THIS BOY RIGHT NOW

He's a baby himself, so he will be helpless

someone has to tell him what to do and preferably show him how to do it

Feeding the baby: Bottle? Okay, that should be easy. Baby food? This boy will put one spoon into the baby's mouth and then a spoon into his own mouth.

occasionally, the baby will throw up on him but "it's fine", he says

Yuji will try to teach the baby to say his name. He'll be like "Yu-ji" for at least 45 minutes before realizing that this is a literal baby with limited ability.

changing diapers would be messy but good thing that Yuji is a quick learner

Babies like Yuji's fingers, they will use their iron grip on his fingers

sometimes they will try to jab their fingers in Yuji's second pair of eyes too

Like Satoru, he talks to the babies but somehow manages to be on the same wavelength as them??? Don't ask me how, he just does that. Baby laughs? Yuji laughs. Baby cries? Yuji almost cries too.

He also tells the baby about his day: "Did you know that Fushiguro....???"

He will toss the baby in the air - baby laughs, he laughs, all is well.

His go-to technique to make babies laugh is making dumb faces

watches movies or shows for children while holding the baby

tries to teach the baby how to walk

Fushiguro Megumi

Babysitting? He initially scowls at the very idea but let me present to you some soft Megumi hours when he is alone with the tiny human

HE WILL iNTRODUCE HIMSELF TO THE BABY, LIKE: "I'm Fushiguro, not that you know how to say it anyway but I'll be taking care of you today." IN THE SOFTEST VOICE

This boy will cook baby food himself, he knows how

not the best at changing diapers but does just fine

other than that, he is at a loss

'What do you do with babies?' - Still does better than Yuji though... but still at a loss.

will hold the baby so tenderly, he thinks they will break if he grips a little too hard

Contrary to the other two, he will leave the baby on the baby mat to play on their own at times while he does chores... but not for too long. He will check on them a lot.

Sometimes, he will play some soft music so the baby can listen to it while he holds them, gently rocking back and forth

Please, his facial expression when he holds the baby is so soft. Nobody can convince me otherwise.

He lets the baby play with and squish his cheeks

He reads children's books to the baby

plays with their baby arms and tickles them omggg

In his mind, that's his little sibling now.

Kugisaki Nobara

The baby is oddly drawn to the heart on her hammer but Nobara knows better than to give the baby the hammer. She will look for cardboard to cut out a heart-shaped form and paint it pink, so the baby can play with it safely.

creates a whole blanket fort for herself and the baby

Nobara definitely does that airplane thingy when feeding the baby

plays her favorite songs and dances(?) with the baby, twirling them around

At times, she will just hold the baby close to her and do nothing

Did you see these tiny hands though? Nobara loves them. She's always surprised at how strong a baby's grip can be.

is the type to play peek-a-boo a lot

How dare anyone breathe wrongly into this precious tiny human's direction?

naps with the baby, I don't make the rules.

Nobara definitely would dress up the baby but I doubt she has any spare baby clothes lying around

One thing she enjoys a lot is going out with the baby sitting in the stroller. It feels so peaceful, unless the baby starts crying..

Talking of a crying baby, she's not very good at handling them. Happy babies >>> crying babies, so she tries her best not to upset them.

"When you grow up, you better be as strong as I am," she says while squishing those squishable cheeks.

Nobara is lowkey sad when she has to return the baby

Taglist: @gojos-mochi @megumifushi @bleueluna

#gojo satoru #fushiguro megumi #itadori yuji #kugisaki nobara #gojo satoru headcanons #fushiguro megumi headcanons #itadori yuji headcanons #kugisaki nobara headcanons #jujutsu headcanons #jujutsu kaisen headcanons

270 notes · View notes

self-ships-ahoy · 2 years

Text

I just watched the Lego movie cuz I was in a lot of pain and needed a distraction (it's ok i feel better now), and I'm gonna talk about it bc I'm still at a crossroads regarding medic. I won't be long lol.

Ok first things first, the Dad had a point about using Legos. When people can make huge elaborate structures and cities and do more "experienced" things with Legos, it's celebrated! It's a good thing! The dad's a master builder in his own right. (and btw, the boxes say ages 0-99, so there, it's for adults too.) His REAL mistake was having this dragon hoard of pieces for his hobby and giving his kid a cardboard box of spare parts. An easy fix would be to buy Finn more Legos of his own - but the dad opened all his worlds to his son and that was a big move. Though, I still think he'd want to be there to supervise his kids cuz old habits die hard, and also there's like a three year old in the area that his son apparently antagonizes, so he's gotta be there to make sure his children get along and don't get hurt. Not a bad thing that the sequel got horribly wrong.

Still here? Glad to know, I try not to make walls of text. 😅

Comparing now to when I was first a fan of the movie in 2015, I still relate to the characters I did before, especially Emmet and Benny. Emmet mostly. Being "normal" didn't come naturally to him, I can see that, but he still worked and worked and trained his brain into "normalcy" so he could fit in that he lost himself. He just mirrored everyone else, and yet it still felt fake. It wasn't out of selfish intent like a need to be popular - he earnestly wanted to be accepted and loved, the way he accepts and loves everyone else. (Heck, he remembered all those cats' names along with is neighbors - he cares about people. He's a people's man.) I wonder, during the course of the movie, if he ever thought, "What am I doing wrong?"

Emmet was able to succeed when he stopped limiting himself and truly believed he could accomplish great things. Not because of some prophesy, but because of his inherent potential as a person. And through all of it he still stayed humble; even to the very end, he's just a guy trying to do the right thing and also learn how to be himself.

This is turning into an Emmet defense post... Uhh, well my point was I saw myself in him. All the way down to "Just tell me what you want me to do and how to do it." And you just,,, wanna do anything to endear yourself to people, and trust that it's right. But, it hinders your own potential, and doesn't even have its desired effect. No one knew Emmet. In that way, i try to remember to talk about myself and let myself have my own interests and hobbies, instead of just listening to everyone else all the time.

And Benny.... that's hyperfixation for ya. 😆 It's all you wanna talk about and all you wanna create, and when your friends are actually interested and let you go off, it's just the best feeling ever.

#;the nerd speaks #do not rb #🦺 Friendship Builder #long post

9 notes · View notes

cacoetheswriting · 3 years

Text

champagne problems, ch.12

Chapter Twelve: Godspeed: Moving out and moving on. A/N: chapter is titled after this song if you want to listen while reading. Word Count: 2.0k Warnings: mild swearing, heartbreak, jealousy, talk of breakup/s, serious angst, idiots being idiots, very mild fluff (? idk if you would call it that), this whole series is a real slow burn.

series masterlist

The solace circulating through your veins as you stared blankly at the packed cardboard boxes of your stuff was strange to say the least. It was undoubtedly odd to be feeling this content about a huge chunk of your life just, ending.

And so drastically for that matter.

You knew you should be feeling sad, mournful even. You were supposed to get married in a matter of months. You were on your way to live the rest of your life with who you believed was the right person. Ethan. Your person. The two of you were about to start looking for a forever home, think about starting a family. You were supposed to start your happily ever after.

Now, you had no fiancé and no place to call home. Yet what you felt as you stood in the half-empty apartment you once shared with Ethan was peace.

Because the heartbreak you were experiencing wasn't for your life with Ethan, it was for Spencer.

“Apart from these here, is there anything else that’s yours?” Luke asked, pointing to the boxes that currently held all of your attention.

You blinked and looked up at him, pausing your thoughts. “I have suitcases in the bedroom, and a few more things to grab from the kitchen.” You advised and he nodded quickly before proceeding to lift one of the cartons.

You watched him leave and couldn't help but think back to the night you ended things with Ethan. How he stormed out before you even got to finish your reasoning and endless apologies; the sound of slamming doors echoing in your ears.

“You okay?” Tara asked, appearing in the doorframe you were currently examining. She shoot you concerned look. “Yeah... I’m just, I don’t know. I guess I’m not feeling what I should be feeling.” You replied averting your eyes to her. “I’m relieved of all things.”

“That’s normal.” She stated.

“Is it though? I’m going through a breakup, and a big one at that. Yet I haven't shed a single tear for Ethan and for what we lost. But with Spencer...” Your voice faded out and you quickly cleared your throat. “I guess I just thought despite everything I would at least feel a little bit sad.” You added, gently shrugging your shoulders.

“Y/N, if anything this proves Ethan wasn't the man for you.” Tara said simply and you nodded, desperately hoping she was right.

Which of course she was.

Tara and Penelope were the only two people on the team who knew the entire truth behind your engagement falling through, and the reasons why. Therefore, only the two ladies knew Ethan wasn't the person for you. Spencer was.

However, that fact remained unspoken.

With one last reassuring smile, Tara turned to the remaining stack of boxes and lifted one carefully. You followed suit, and the two of you made your way outside to the moving truck - where you found Luke and Penelope bickering about how best to fit everything.

“Words cannot express how grateful I am for your help today.” You glanced between the small group after placing the box you were holding at the back of the truck. “Thank you, seriously.”

“It’s our pleasure.” Luke expressed with a wide grin. “Yeah, what kind of friends would we be if we let you do this alone.” Penelope chimed in, her lips twirling upwards.

You couldn't help but smile back at them before turning your attention to Tara. “And thank you for letting me stay in your spare room while I find a place of my own.” She playfully rolled her eyes at your words. “I wouldn't have it any other way girl.”

“Now, we better finish up and get moving if we want to make Rossi’s dinner on time.” She added and all four of you promptly got back to work.

Evenings at Rossi’s were something you always looked forward to greatly. A delicious home cooked meal, an abundance of wine, and quality time spent with your second family. The most perfect mix.

Tonight was no different. The evening was an escape.

See, you had recently fallen victim to crude office gossip. News of your broken engagement spread like wildfire. People had their own theories and speculations as to what really happened. And they weren't shy about adding their own five cents to the story.

Everyone present at the dinner however, knew better than to ask about details of your failed relationship. Tara and Penelope already had the full story, and the others knew you weren't here to share more than you already had. You came to enjoy yourself. So they didn't pry and for that you were eternally grateful.

Especially since one of the reasons why was to make an appearance at the dinner momentarily. And to say you were anxious about seeing him tonight would be an understatement.

The two of you haven't held a conversation that wasn't work related since the night at his apartment door. Every time you got the inclining to talk to him, you were painfully reminded by his words and your heart was in anguish once again. Not that the aching ever went really went away. On most days it hurt to even look at him.

The buzzing office whispers and obvious glances only made matters worse between you and the brunette doctor. It was through such secondary channels Spencer found out about your broken engagement. You had planned to tell him in person, even if things were awkward between you, but you never got the chance. The office chatter beat you to it.

Because of the distance you weren't sure how Spencer felt about the end of your engagement. A part of you thought - rather hoped - he would have changed his mind since you still firmly believed he didn't mean what he said. However, the opposite happened. He seemed more withdrawn than before.

As if that was even possible.

A small smile circled your lips as the brunette doctor entered the dimly lit garden. A smile he noticed immediately from the corner of his eye, while he said hello to everyone else. And although he wasn't looking directly at you, he couldn't help but smile too.

It was a moment you didn't even know you were sharing.

“You should just talk to him.” Penelope nudged your arm, her gaze following yours. “I don't want to make things worse between us.” You replied, your eyes still glued to Spencer's frame.

“Sweetheart, and trust that I say this with love, but it can’t possibly get any worse than it is.” She pointed out.

You chewed down briefly on your bottom lip while she nudged you in the arm again, encouraging you to go to him.

Letting out a deep breath, you downed the rest of your drink. For a brief second Penelope thought she won as she watched you amble in the direction of the handsome doctor. The sly grin on her face quickly disappeared when instead of approaching Spencer, you made a beeline for inside the house.

If you had the courage to talk to him, what would you even say? That you were pathetically in love with him? That despite his pleas, the only man you wanted to be with was him? No, you couldn't admit that. Spencer didn't want you. The pain in your chest was proof enough, he didn't want to be with you.

“Y/N.”

Wiping the lone tear that trailed down your cheek, you did a double take at the sound of your name - the sound of your name coming from his lips.

As soon as your eyes locked with hazel gaze, the air caught in your throat.

“I was hoping we could talk.” Spencer stated calmly, taking a single step towards you.

“We have nothing to talk about, Spencer. You said I should be with Ethan and I broke up with him but that wasn’t because I thought it would change your mind.” You conveyed. A big fat lie.

“That’s not why I want to talk.” Spencer countered, his brows furrowed closely together. “I-I still care about you and I know you’ve been through a lot these last few weeks... I just, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“You don't have to do this. You don't owe me anything because you feel guilty that my engagement fell apart. And I especially don’t need you worrying about me.” You spat, surprising yourself at the harshness of your tone. It wasn't intentional and you cursed yourself for letting your emotions get the better of you.

Spencer swallowed. His jaw clenching for a brief second. He knew he deserved your anger. He deserved your hostility and the cold shoulder. Honestly, he was surprised it hadn't come sooner. But as he watched you fight back your tears, he knew there was only one way to fix this - apologise.

He crossed the space in your direction, stopping just mere few inches away from you. He lingered in his spot for a moment, wondering whether he should take your hand in his like he did so many times before.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. For everything.” He apologised.

“I know you are.” You whispered back, loud enough for him to hear. “I’m sorry too, Spencer.”

The two of you looked at each other in congenial silence - the first one you shared in a very long time. For a split second. For one blissful pure moment, everything was back to the way it was. He was once again your best friend, your confidant.

The love of your life.

As he stared so deeply into your eyes, into your soul, you were reminded of the many joyful happy memories you shared. Where the good really outweighed the bad. Where it outweighed the heartbreak.

“Friends?” You suggested, the corners of your lips twirled upwards into a tiny kindhearted smile. It wasn't what you wanted but it was the best you could come up with to keep him in your life.

Spencer returned the expression. “Friends.” He replied, although unbeknown to you it was also not what the outcome he hoped for. Not while the voicemail you drunkenly left him continuously replayed in his mind on loop. The message where you admitted you didn't really believe he didn't want to be with you.

“I-I me-an you uh couldn't-t even look me-e in the eye when you sss-said it.... please-e S-Spencer-”

He wanted you to remember the message. Remember the last time you said you loved him. In his eyes, it would make fixing things between you a lot easier.

But he didn't deserve easy. Not after the way he let things unfold.

You stepped forward, breaking the distance between you. Slowly, with your eyes still fixated on his, you reached out your hand and placed it gently on his forearm. At your touch, Spencer’s heart landed in his throat. You gave his arm a squeeze and said ‘I’ll see you back in there.’, and although he saw the sentence escape your lips, he didn't quite register it. He couldn't think straight. His mind was boggled.

The amiable look in your eyes was captivating and Spencer wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around you. Hold you tight.

He wanted nothing more than to kiss you. Kiss you with all his might. Kiss you like he’s never done before. Kiss you like he would for the rest of your lives together.

There was nothing holding him back anymore, nothing standing between the two of you, and yet the brunette doctor couldn't move.

When he didn't say anything, you dropped your hand and walked around him. He turned, simultaneously following you with his lost gaze. Trying to decipher what was going through your head. Did you also want to kiss him? Spencer settled for never finding out.

With one last smile, you disappeared back into the garden leaving him alone.

Frustrated with himself, Spencer ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. The small box he’d been carrying around everywhere these last few weeks in the inside pocket of his jacket weighing him down. The ring he’d never get to give you.

Fuck, he should have kissed you.

Still I'll always be there for you How I do

A/N: as always i’d love to hear your feedback! if you would like to be added to a taglist, please let me know. thank you for your continuous support. with love, mal. x

masterlist | series masterlist | series playlist

story taglist: @girloncorneliastreet, @haylaansmi, @rexorangecouny, @l0ve-0f-my-life, @obsssedwithjustaboutanything, @aperrywilliams, @sassy-hades, @rainsong01, @reverdevivre, @dracomikaelson, @softieekayy, @lunaofcrows, @andrewhoezierbyrne, @blameitonthenight21, @lyl-26, @do-yr-research, @nazifa94, @stepsofthefbi, @chatterbug2-0, @calm-and-doctor, @halseysunset, @ellesgreenaway

spencer reid taglist: @no-honey-no, @calm-and-doctor, @idroppedmygourd, @averyhotchner, @wowitsel, @elldell1204, @hey-there-angels, @reidabookforonce

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fic #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid series #spencer reid story #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds fic #spencer reid x oc #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #champagne problems series

103 notes · View notes

moonshade7 · 3 years

Text

Little Nightmare HCs Go Brrrrrrrrrrrr

Spoilers? Yep.

VLN:

-Kids are kidnapped and taken to the Nest by an unknown monster.

-Six got kidnapped while in the forest

- The Pretender's dolls have tape on their neck with the name of the kid they represent.

-RCG loves makeup *hint hint*

-RCG ends up becoming the Pretender in order to save her skin. That's her place in the loop.

-The Butler is paralyzed like the Craftsman, explaining why he doesn't walk anywhere and floats instead.

-The Craftsman likes sculpting but clay is too fragile for dolls so he works with wood instead.

-The Craftsman makes Porcelain dolls for the Teacher

-Six looks up to RCG and sees her as a Sister.

-Up until RCG locks her out of the barn

-Then Six loses trust in her until RCG saves her from falling off a cliff

-RCG's "death" hurt Six so much that she vowed never to trust anyone else again

Fair warning this get's REALLY long

LN2:

-Six comes back from the Nest but gets trapped in the school for a few weeks. She resolves to violence to survive there. There Six learns to get her stomach of steel.

-When Six escapes and goes back to the Hunter's shack she sees that the Hunter (Her father most likely) is not the same.

-The Hunter chases after Six thinking she's just another kid. (Which is why he shoots her when she's running away in the comics)

-When Six sees Mono he just escaped from that place (orphanage? Different school)

-They feel a connection but aren't sure why.

-When the Hunter sees Six he realizes who she is and takes her back to the shack, giving Six her old music box.

-The Hunter takes care of her (even if he is corrupted by the signals) and feeds her.

-Six starts feeling safe until Mono breaks in to "save" her.

-Six not wanting to get hurt again tries to run from Mono and then the game continues.

-The Hunter only wants to keep Six safe with him hence why he shoots Mono.

-When they got stuck in the shack six doesn't want to use the shotgun but Mono insists that its the only way (and e's right but still)

-Six leaves the shed quickly trying to run from the sick feeling in her stomach.

-Six introduces herself to Mono for the first time on their way to the school.

-Before they enter the School they play in the playground

-Some of the bullies in the school are actually nice and just want to stay out of trouble but are often peer pressured into bullying their peers.

-While in disguise Mono actually befriends a few of them briefly.

-Mono tries to break up that one fight between the three bullies but nearly gets his "head" knocked off so he just leaves.

-Throughout the entire School level Mono is inwardly panicking and blaming himself for letting Six get caught.

-When Mono saves Six she finally breaks down. Mono hugs her and hums the tune of her music box to make her feel better.

-Six jokingly suggests they chop the Teacher's head off and is surprised when Mono agrees.

-They play in the rain for a while until Six gets too cold and starts getting sick.

-Six puts on the raincoat as a homage to RCG and because it's raining.

-Mono has spare paper bags (and his head is probably cardboard :/)

-In the Hospital Mono and Six play with the X-ray and Stuffed animals for a few hours.

-Mono lets Six keep her duck but Six leaves it behind.

-Mono breaks down after the mannequins and Six (having the social skills of an agoraphobic lobster) repeats what he did for her as best as she can

-After seeing how badly Mono reacted to the Mannequin hands she grabs one and tortures it as revenge.

-Mono: Pogchamp Six. Pogchamp

-Mono burns the doctor alive because in his eyes the Doctor forced these people to be horrific abominations. Also for petty revenge

-Mono and Six warm up by the fire and take a good long nap.

-Six gets scared every time Mono goes into the TV's because she's afraid he'll go in and never come out.

-When Mono released the Thin Man Six tried her best to try and bring her with him but he kept fighting her every time she touched him so she left him in tears.

-When the Thin Man is released, he is "freed" from his form of escapism and tries to kill Mono but takes Six because she looks familiar

-When Six realizes Mono has the better hiding spot she tries to run to him but trips and calls out his name desperately.

-Six has flashbacks of RCG abandoning her like Mono.

-When she screams when she gets caught, she's screaming Mono's name.

-Mono traverse's alone blaming himself and at one point nearly jumps off the roof.

-Mono huts himself repeatedly because of his cowardice. Leaving a bunche of bruises on his face.

-The Thin Man walks toward Mono in an attempt to seem non-threatening because he's gotten over his initial anger and is now trying to save Mono from the world

-When Mono breaks his ribs on the train Shadow Six appears and tries to encourage Mono and make him feel happy again

-In the fight between Mono and the Thin Man, the Thin Man speaks in a different frequency that Mono can't hear.

-Mono literally, twists and bends the Thin Man to death (as in he snaps every bone and breaks every vertebrae).

-Monster Six is blissfully unaware of what she turned into but remembers Mono.

-She acts like a shy puppy around him

-Mono cries and blames himself for what happened to Six.

-They stay there for a while as Mono figures out what to do to get Six out (She doesn't want to leave but he doesn't realize that)

-Mono breaks the Music Box out of desperation

-When they run away Six is processing everything that happened, feeling the same rage the thin Man felt.

-We were safe here. I was safe here and you ruined it. You ruined everything

-Six drops Mono on impulse and immediately regrets it.

-The Eyes act like caretakers for Mono, trying to distract him from remembering Six and raising him to be a gentleman.

-Mono's ideal escapism is one where he can't feel pain.

-But to avoid pain you must also avoid happiness.

-Now Mono doesn't feel anything at all.

-Mono turns into the Thin Man and when Mono releases the Thin Man all those emotions basically sucker punch him in the gut (So he's pissed off and depressed at the same time.)

-Six starts feeling hungry because of all those years stuck in the tower OR because her soul is out of her body

-Shadow Six glares at Six but realizes they both need to survive to come back and save Mono. Shadow Six gestures to the picture of the Maw...

LN:

-Since the Lady has everything she wants the Mirror Monster tortures her by showing her what a monster she is.

-The Lady speaks only Japanese and doesn't like loud noises (which is why she almost never leaves her residence)

-Roger cares for the kids and tries to take care of them the best he can but he's blind is kept in the dark of what happens in the Maw.

-The Twin chefs both have problems. One can't taste and one can't smell.

-If the Twin chefs were humans (or could leave) they would try and start a cooking show.

-The reason the Twin Chefs cook/kill Six is that they think she's a rat. (Can't see very well with those masks)

-The Bellman isn't seen in the game because he's loading the Guest's suitcases into their rooms.

-The Ferryman brings kids to the Maw because he wants to save them from the world outside.

-The Maw only starts using kids when they begin to run low on supplies. The Lady doesn't care though. She used to at one point...

-Six hugs the Nomes because they remind her of when Mono wore the Nome cap.

-Six starts forgetting more and more of her life, only remembering vague things.

-The kids around the fire are all eaten by leeches or caught by the Janitor

-Shadow Six is Six's soul/child spirit. She'll want to play with the Nomes and she resents Six for dropping Mono.

-When Six's hunger gets worse Shadow Six starts dissipating more and more.

-Six never learns that RK becomes a Nome and doesn't know they're human.

-Six stopped and listened to the Lady's humming for a moment because it sounded familiar.

-When Six eats the Lady Shadow Six is at her weakest state.

-Six kills the guests so that she can free the other kids. But realizes the Maw is the safest place for them.

-Six hires a blind Janitor without even looking at how he looks and the Bellman has to clean up the mess she left behind.

-Six starts forgetting more and more of her past. Until she wakes up one day and sees a child. She turns them into a Shadow kid to feed her hunger.

-Shadow Six is nowhere to be seen at this point.

-Six pisses off the Mirror Monster and he starts torturing her.

-Then Six starts putting on a mask that she felt looked...familiar.

95 notes · View notes

vivilove-jonsa · 3 years

Note

Can I do a combo of prompts? Lemonade stand + underwear? You can totally choose one or the other btw!

Hello, my dear, and thank you for the prompt from this post. It took me a bit to come up with something and I settled on a 50s AU for the aesthetic of it. I hope you like it alright. And instead of underwear, it's more like lemonade stand and bikini 😉

A lazy afternoon in the summer of ’59, Mother’s got a headache and has asked Sansa to keep the boys outside and out of trouble. (No one has to be asked to keep Sansa out of trouble. She’s never in any. And of course, Robb and Arya have escaped off to somewhere else while Daddy’s still at his office.)

After Sansa had nixed tree climbing and setting off cherry bombs as entertainment, Bran and Rickon had begrudgingly agreed to a lemonade stand. Sansa suspected they were mostly interested for the sake of getting to drink as much lemonade as they can hold and she’s proven correct. They disappeared to the backyard twenty minutes ago.

This was not the plan today.

The plan was Sansa and her best friend in their brand new bikinis laying out front to paint their toenails, listen to the transistor radio and work on their tans where boys might notice them.

Admittedly, there were a couple of flaws in that plan.

One, Sansa Stark doesn’t tan. She burns and freckles. No matter how much Coppertone she slathers on, she’s never going to tan like Jeyne.

And two, no boys have seemed to notice them so far. Just grody old Mr. Baelish from down the block. He’s driven past Sansa’s house four times now in the past hour. He makes her skin crawl.

The only so-called boy who’s even around to notice them in fact is Sansa’s next door neighbor Jon Snow who is currently cutting the grass at his house and making it hard to hear Little Richard belting out ��Tutti Frutti.’

Jon and Robb used to play together when they were younger but somewhere along the way their interests diverged. Robb wears his letterman’s jacket and always has football on the brain. Jon’s got a leather jacket and a motorcycle.

His father’s never been around, his mother’s gone a lot. He smokes cigarettes and Sansa’s seen some of the crowd he hangs around with at school. Mother says he’s probably trouble. (And good girls like Sansa probably shouldn’t want to be noticed by a boy like that, right?)

But he also has the dreamiest eyes, dreamier than Ricky Nelson’s. He used to call her Red when they were younger and she used to think it was cute. (She might still think it’s cute if he still called her that.)

He wears his curls slicked back and pops the collar of his leather jacket before he revs his motorcycle loudly a few times every morning when he’s heading off to school. (Of course, Sansa’s only noticed because Robb drives her and they usually leave the same time. It’s not like she’s that interested in what Jon Snow does even if he’s a little like James Dean and Marlon Brando rolled into one.)

Anyway, here she sits, feeling quite conspicuous in her red and white polka dot bikini, at a lemonade stand like she’s still twelve or something, abandoned by her little brothers and even Jeyne who’d said she’d go get some magazines for them to look at once they’d been saddled with the babysitting but hasn’t returned yet. She feels more than a little sorry for herself. At least the stand is in a shady spot and she’s no longer on the verge of getting good and sunburnt.

“Hey, Red. How much for a glass?”

She whirls around to find Jon Snow is right behind her, sweaty in his jeans and white tee with little bits of grass clippings sticking to his muscled forearms. She hadn’t even noticed the mower shutting off. (He called her Red, too.)

“A nickel for a glass,” she says, reciting what Bran had painstakingly spelled out on the spare bit of cardboard she’d found for a sign and attached to the front of her parents’ card table. Why is she blushing?

He smirks and starts digging in his front pocket.

“But it’s free for you!”

He stops digging and raises his eyebrows.

“I mean…you’re our neighbor and you’ve been working hard and…there’s no charge.” She can feel the blush deepening and wonders if the sun and heat might be blamed. Probably not.

“My lucky day,” he hums, helping to ease her embarrassment. “Are you going to be selling lemonade out here every day?”

“No,” she laughs. “Bran and Rickon got bored and kind of left me with it so…” She stops her rambling, picks up her mother’s pitcher and pours him a glass. “Here you go.”

She hands it over and their fingers brush together sending little jolts of electricity all through her. Their eyes are locked and she can feel her cheeks tugging upward to form a smile that matches his. He really does have the dreamiest eyes and she doesn’t care if he rides a motorcycle or smokes cigarettes. Maybe he’s a little bit of trouble but maybe Sansa might enjoy a little trouble in her life. Always being the good girl has its drawbacks, too.

He brings the glass up to his lips (he has very full and pouty lips) and tips it back. She watches the way his throat bobs as he drinks, the way the sweat on his skin glistens even in the shady spot where the stand sits. He drinks the entire glass down without pause. A trickle of the liquid escapes his mouth and goes streaking down his chin and neck. He’ll be all sticky there. Sansa turns her head to lick her lips and touch her brow. What has come over her?

“Mmmm…that’s sweet and tart, just the way it should be,” he says, smacking his lips as he sets the glass back down on the table.

“Thanks. I made it myself.”

“I figured. I’m not sure I’d want to try anything your brothers made. They’re busy digging holes in your backyard at the moment by the way.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Unless your dad was wanting to put in a golf course back there, I’m not sure what the purpose is.”

“They’re…they…OH!”

She races off around back to catch the two felons hard at work digging holes for…reasons? She scolds them both until they apologize and promise to fill the holes at once. Sansa assures them if they’ll do that it can be their little secret. No need to bother Mother and her headache with it.

She hurries back out front to see if Jon has returned to his yard, secretly hoping he hasn’t.

He hasn’t. He’s still there.

“Did you want some more lemonade?” she asks, trying to think of a reason to keep him there.

“Nah, I…” He looks around, reaches up towards the collar of his tee and lets his hand drop just as quick. He gives her a shy grin. “I didn’t know if you wanted some company at your stand. I saw that creep driving by earlier when you girls were out and I thought…I could stick around for a bit…if you wanted.”

She nods and thanks him, telling him she’d love to have his company while they wait for Bran and Rickon to come take back over. Of course, her little brothers aren’t coming to take back over. They’re busy filling in holes in the backyard. They’ve forgotten all about the lemonade stand.

Sure enough, Mr. Baelish’s Chevy does make a return trip down the street a few minutes later. But Jon stands up when it does, stands right in front of where she’s sitting. She doesn’t know if Jon makes any gestures or just glares but the Chevy speeds on past and doesn’t return.

And when Jeyne returns at long last with her stack of magazines, her eyes boggle at the sight of Jon Snow still sitting next to Sansa at the stand and the two of them talking and laughing.

Sansa wonders how shocked her friend might be when she tells her that she’s got a date with him Saturday night.

#jonsa #jonsa fanfic #librarian-witchling #fic prompts #vivilove-jonsa fic

48 notes · View notes

marsbutterfly · 3 years

Text

The Infected

Chapter 5: An Unusual Encounter

Wattpad Version | AO3 Version!

← Chapter 4 | Chapter 6 →

Word Count: 2.8K

At an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere

“Fuck!” Levi exclaims before shutting the hood of the car with all his strength. Black smoke comes out of the engine as he holds himself back not to kick the vehicle.

“I already said I’m sorry!” You say, hiding behind Hanji’s figure, hoping that he won’t come after you with a knife in his hand. Thankfully, all he does is shoot you a deadly glare.

An important detail you forgot to mention before leaving your parents’ house was that your dad had been working on the minivan for weeks now, trying to figure out why the engine would overheat so easily. You simply assumed he had found the cause and fixed it. You were very much wrong.

Hanji’s arms wrap around your waist, holding you close to her chest. It’s more than enough to make you feel protected and safe, even if you know that Levi is mentally stabbing you numerous times.

The sun sets in the horizon and in the distance you can hear a horde coming towards you.

“We could sleep in the car.” You suggest and Erwin shakes his head.

“I think those things will be all over us if we stay out here.” He says, lacing both of his hands together and placing them behind his head before letting out a deep sigh.

You look around and your eyes land on a house a few feet away. For the looks of it, it seems like it has been abandoned for years. Most windows are broken and covered by a thick layer of dust and cardboards.

The door is crooked and you can tell it’s been ripped off the hinges. The roof looks like it’s about to collapse but, unfortunately, it’s a risk you all will have to take.

“What about there?” You point and all faces turn over to the decaying building.

“Goddamnit, I can see the fucking dust from here.” Levi exclaims, rubbing his temples.

“It’s our best bet.” Hanji says and he lets out a long sigh, wordlessly agreeing to the plan.

As the horde of zombies approaches, the four of you grab your bags and begin heading towards the house, always looking around to ensure the safety of the group.

When you take a step towards the entrance, your hand scrapes against the rusty metal of the gate and you yelp quietly. The warmth of your blood drips down your pinky and you curse yourself mentally for not being careful enough.

Hanji shoots you a worried look and you just shake your head, trying your best to ignore the pulsating pain that radiates through your arm.

When Erwin picks up the door and pulls it away, a cloud of dust blurs your vision and none of you can help but cough like your lives depend on it.

Quickly, you enter the building before the blonde man blocks the exit once again and with barely enough time to spare. You quiet down and begin listening to the grunts that come from outside, the sound of two dozen souls in desperate need for a meal.

You peak outside the broken window, trying not to touch the glass and you notice one of the creatures sticking its head through the metal bars of the gate, licking the mixture of blood and rust that you left behind.

Levi takes a quick look around the place, gliding his finger through a wooden table in the middle of the living room and leaving behind a perfectly straight line. He curls his hand into a fist and quickly places it in front of his mouth, audibly gagging.

“Levi, shut the fuck up.” Hanji says, angrily looking at him and he rolls his eyes, gagging once again.

“Do I look like I’m in..” He says before another gag escapes his body, “control of this situation at all?”

You cover your mouth with your hand, trying your best not to laugh at him but failing. Before he has time to stop gagging and attack you, a loud crash sound comes from the other room and you immediately stop in your tracks.

Erwin places his index fingers on his lips, shushing all of you and Levi swallows the vomit that tried so hard to make its way out.

Taking light footsteps, you begin to make your way towards the kitchen. A chill travels through your spine when you hear a few pots hitting against each other and you feel Hanji’s hand grasping your upper arm tightly.

Once you stand before the kitchen entrance, Levi and Erwin assume fighting positions and you and Hanji await for their signal.

Before you know it, a shadowy figure begins crawling out of the room. A hellish sound coming out of its throat and fear begins to course through your veins.

Without waiting even a second, Levi pulls his leg backwards and kicks the creature’s head with every ounce of strength he has in his body. The shadow screams in pain while on the floor, completely immobile and Levi nearly has a proud smile on his face.

“What the heck, man!!!” A voice comes from the other end of the kitchen. You finally pull out your flashlight only to see that it wasn’t a zombie but in fact a teenage boy, who now looks at his tooth on the floor near the pile of his own blood.

“Oh my God, are you ok?” You ask, helping the boy sit up while his blonde friend quickly grabs a clean towel from his bag to put it in his mouth.

He nods and offers you a smile, showing off the spot in the back of his mouth where his tooth is missing. His cheek is swollen and you dig around Levi’s bag trying to find out some kind of medicine that would help him.

Hanji slaps the back of Levi’s head and frowns at him, threatening him into apologizing. She sits down beside you before taking over the boy’s care.

“Sorry, I thought you were dead.” Is all Levi says as an apology and you sigh, knowing that’s as good as it’s gonna get. “What are your names?”

“I’m Armin Arlert.” The blonde boy with glasses says, taking a hit out of his inhaler. “The enraged girl behind you is Mikasa Ackerman.” He says pointing at the black haired girl with hate in her eyes. You shrug in fear.

“And the one you kicked is Eren. Eren Yeager.” Mikasa says while glaring at Levi, who seems unbothered by it.

Hanji digs out a pair of tweezers out of one of the backpacks, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and water. She uses her left hand to gently pry his mouth open and he whines in pain but nobody attempts to stop her.

You bring the flashlight closer to his mouth, shining the light right above the wound.

“Ok, I’m not going to lie to you” Hanji says, grabbing the cloth Armin had in his hand and squeezing the liquids on it, “This will hurt like a bitch, but it will prevent an infection.”

Once she begins cleaning the area with the solution, tears start dripping down Eren’s face as he tries his best to remain strong. In an impulse, you reach for his hand in an attempt to give him any comfort.

He attempts to close his mouth many times but with no success up until when Hanji is done. He shuts his eyes and places the palm of his hand on his cheek, holding the cloth in place.

“Thank you.” Armin says and you nod, a caring expression on your face. He extends his hand to you and, before you have time to shake it, you hear the roaring sound of their empty stomachs.

“When was the last time you guys ate?” Erwin asks, looking around the house for something he could use as kindling for a fire. A noticeable blush spreads across their cheeks and they avert their eyes.

“Around three days ago.” Mikasa says, kneeling beside Eren. “We were in school when one of our teachers suddenly bit off the ear of a kid a few years younger than us, maybe 13?”

“It was after lunch so we only had gum in our bags.” Armin says and the other two teenagers nod.

“We hon’t neet yo help tho” Eren completes, finally getting up from the floor and standing. You can finally tell how much taller than Levi he is and you have to shove down a laugh.

“Nonsense!” Erwin exclaims, handing the debris to the short man, who walks towards the dusty living room to place it in the fireplace. A second passes and the flick of a lighter can be heard coming from the other room, followed by a small, bright light.

“We have enough food.” Levi says, his voice echoing through the empty halls.

Before they have the chance to reject your help, you pull out a can of potato soup and their eyes glow. The sound coming from their stomachs grows louder and you roll your eyes, grabbing two of them by the hand and pulling them towards the light.

The seven of you sit in front of the fire. Your arm laced with Hanji’s as you snuggle up against her, your head resting on her shoulder and she smiles at you, using her free arm to stir the soup around in the pot.

A cold breeze enters the room through one of the many cracks on the windows and you can feel Hanji’s body shivering. You wrap your other arm around her and begin to rub your hand up and down her skin, hoping to warm her up.

“So who were you kids before it all happened?” Levi asks, handing them a large blanket, big enough to cover all three of them at the same time.

“We grew up together.” The blonde boy begins, paying close attention to the inhaler in his hands as he fidgets with the object. “I was on top of my class, always scared of everything.”

You look at him, noticing as the light exposes the rips on his green shirt and a few cuts on the side of his face. The dry spots of blood on his jeans don’t look over a few hours old and your heart sinks when you realize they really are simply kids.

“I thought zombies were cool my entire life.” Mikasa says, laying her head on Eren’s shoulder as Armin lays his head on hers. “But now that I’ve seen them, I’m not sure I’m into it anymore.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” You giggle and she smirks back at you. “What about him?”

“He looks like the most bland motherfucker on the planet.” Levi whispers to himself and, in response, the blonde haired boy blows a cloud of dust in his direction. “THAT’S IT. I’M GOING IN THE CAR.”

As he stomps out of the room closely followed by Erwin, who desperately attempts to keep him safely in the house, the remaining people begin to laugh, not being able to hold it in.

When the laughter dies out, Hanji begins to pour the soup into little containers and hand it to the teenagers who look at it as if it is The Last Supper. Their stomachs rumble and, once they start to eat, a few happy tears stream down their faces.

In less than five minutes, they have already finished their bowls and, timidly, Eren asks if there’s enough for seconds. Hanji looks at the pot and realizes it’s taking a while for Erwin to drag Levi back so she nods, pouring another serving into their bowls.

“It’s delicious, honey.” You say, slurping up a bit of the soup before planting your lips on her cheek. In response she blushes and smiles, looking down at her own food.

“Are you two a couple?” Eren asks and Mikasa elbows him in the ribs, a little bit of soup flying out of his mouth.

“Yeah, we are.” Hanji says happily and you nod. “We’ve been together since sophomore year of high school.”

“That’s how old we are.” Armin says and Mikas elbows him in the ribs now.

“That’s amazing.” She says, an innocent smile on her face and you laugh.

Your memory goes back to the first time you’ve ever kissed Hanji and your cheeks grow warm. The coldness of her hand touches your thigh and you can’t help but rub your face against her shoulder.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t do more to help.” You whisper and Armin shakes his head.

“You guys saved us.” He says, “We’ve been trapped in this house for the past two days with no food and cold as heck.”

“Thank you.” Eren says. The left side of his face is swollen and he eats with somewhat difficulty, but a smile still appears on his lips.

Finally, the two men come back into the room. Levi’s cheeks are a deep shade of red and he doesn’t say a word, not even thank you when you hand him a bowl. Instead, he averts your eyes at all costs and keeps his mouth shut.

Erwin digs around his bag and pulls out a small bag with bread. He hands a few slices around and the kids nearly scream with excitement, all due to a few pieces of bread.

Sadness grows inside of you as you think about how it isn’t fair that more people weren’t prepared.

Anger replaces the sorrow as you think about the people who didn’t believe your mother when she tried to warn them, let them know what was coming and how easily the virus could be spread.

And finally, a sense of relief and guilt washes over you. Relief that you are alive and Hanji is with you, that your best friends survive to carry Moblit’s memory on and that you were able to get everything necessary to start living during the apocalypse.

But the guilt comes from all the decisions that led to this moment. The decision to leave poor Moblit behind, to take everything necessary from your parents’ house, to take the broken car in the hopes of keeping anything from your family.

Hanji begins talking to Armin and they start to trade any information they have on the apocalypse. How to kill the zombies, what to do in case you get infected and theories as to why none of you has been contaminated.

When the topic gets a little too heavy, they start fangirling over a videogame that was supposed to be released next month.

On the corner, Mikasa and Levi talk about weapons. The best kind of knives and how to sharpen it in the wild. In the meantime, you can hear as they quietly discuss their family history as they try to figure out if they are related or not.

You make a mental note to ask about it later, once they have figured it out or not.

Erwin and Eren talk about leadership and ensuring everyone's safety but saying Eren is speaking is a stretch. He is only able to nod eagerly and write down in his notebook every single word the blonde man says.

Your head rests on Hanji’s lap. She moves constantly but it’s nothing you aren’t already used to. Her hand rests on the top of your scalp, her fingers gently gliding down your hair, every so often getting stuck on a tangle.

“How’s your hand?” She asks and you bring it up close to your face, noticing the dry blood and realizing you completely forgot to clean the wound.

“Hurts like a bitch.” You say with a laugh. Armin pulls a half empty water bottle out of his bag and hands it to Hanji. She thanks him with a compassionate smile.

First, she drips some on your finger to clean it up. Then she finally begins to pour the water on your hand and you hold back a grunt, using your now clean finger to rub the dry blood and dirty off the cut.

Once it’s completely clean, you begin to look for something to use to wrap it with and Armin hands you Levi’s bag, a roll of bandages sticking out of it and you let out a content sigh, happy to not have to dig through his things.

“That’s very sweet, thank you.” You say and he nods.

Once you’re done wrapping your hand, you resume your position on Hanji’s lap and they go back to talking.

She looks down constantly to ensure that you are ok but it doesn’t take you much longer to fall asleep. The adrenaline levels that once pumped through your veins begin to dim down and you feel every inch of your body aching in pain.

The only reason you are able to sleep through the throwing is because Hanji’s arms are your safe place. The sound of their quiet voices begin to fade once sleep settles in.

Tomorrow you will do everything in your power to help the teenagers get settled in this mess. Hopefully, it will be a better day.

44 notes · View notes

seokmingiggles · 3 years

Text

what kind of future.

Anon requested on 201221: "Would you do a Hoseok one shot of his significant other's 4 year old nephew crashing their bed during the night he sleeps over because of a nightmare and Hoseok is super soft with the reader about this being their future?"

Pairing: Jung Hoseok x gender neutral reader

Genre: very fluffy, established relationship.

2.84k words

Warnings: mentions of a (toddler's) nightmare (aka no warnings).

You and your boyfriend are in charge of looking after your brother's son overnight, and the act makes him consider how he'd like to spend the rest of his life with you. Alternatively, there are many things you admire about Hoseok—one being the tender way he does so well with kids, and one not being the way he seems to possess zero Mario Kart skills.

A/N: Here is the second babysitting-themed request I got. Thank you, anon, for requesting Hobi! I have so much adoration for this beautiful boy ;-; Additionally, this fic is not to be confused with Lee Jihoon's heartbreakingly beautiful ballad of the same title. I definitely recommend listening to it if you haven’t already; it’s full of incredible emotion that blows me away and brings me to tears every time I listen.

•• You were surprised when Hoseok, your boyfriend of five years, hadn't hesitated to agree when earlier today you mentioned how you're scheduled to babysit your older brother's son tonight.

You know he's good with kids. Hobi has the perfect amount of energy and positivity to get along with them; it's one of the many traits you admire about him. Even though the two of you have been dating since the beginning of your college years, you and Hoseok have never really discussed your future, including marriage and having children. Although you don't doubt he would be a good father one day.

Your brother, Seokjin, was in desperate need of a date night out with his partner and had asked if you wouldn't mind looking after Jisung for the evening until tomorrow morning. You agreed instantly. You aren't ready to have kids of your own anytime soon, but you thoroughly enjoy spending time with your nephew.

"Thanks again for this, (Y/N). I owe you one."

Your brother arrived at your apartment at precisely 5 pm like he said he would, with Jisung already running to your living room and flopping on the couch upon opening the door.

"It's no problem. Jisung's fun to hang out with, and Hoseok likes him too," you could feel your heart soar at mentioning your boyfriend. "He should be here in about an hour once he gets off work. Hopefully, I'll be able to entertain Jwi until then."

"You're better with kids than you think, don't worry too much," Jin playfully ruffles your hair before saying his farewells to his son (who is already preoccupied with your couch cushions).

You wave goodbye to your brother and encourage your nephew to do the same (although the boy is adamant about creating a pillow fort in your living room; Seokjin apparently doesn't often let him in his house).

"Do you have more pillows, Auntie? And maybe blankets too!" Your couch is already naked of cushions, with Jisung sitting on the floor surrounded by the pile he’s accumulated.

You comply with his request and manage to find some spare blankets in the linen closet, along with a couple more pillows.

You follow your nephew's orders of where to place the soft additions on the floor. "What are you planning on doing once we finish this fort, Jwi?"

The boy murmurs, "I was hoping we could play Mario Kart."

You should have expected that answer; it’s one of his favourite things to do on the few occasions he's come over.

Soon enough, your small living room houses a busy arrangement of scattered couch cushions and duvets to make a comfy fort. The four-year-old is nothing less than thrilled about the finished product.

"Auntie, I'm hungry."

You almost forget that you are babysitting, and therefore responsible for feeding the boy.

"Let's go see what food we have in the kitchen," you stand and hold out your hand, which Jisung eagerly takes as the two of you wander into the kitchen. "Has your favourite food changed? Or do you still like pancakes?"

The boy squeezes your hand as he thinks. "I still like pancakes. I also like pizza." He hums in deep consideration, "Maybe I like circle-shaped foods."

You think he's adorable.

"There are a lot of tasty circle-shaped foods, that's a good answer," your eyes scan the interior of your fridge, moving to your cupboards shortly after when you can't find what you are looking for. "I'm sorry, buddy, but it doesn't look like I have the right ingredients for pancakes tonight, though."

Jisung audibly expresses his disappointment.

"Here, let me see if I can call Hobi. Maybe he hasn't left work yet and could kindly pick up some mix on his way." You trek back to the living room to retrieve your phone and find Hoseok's contact.

The line rings once, twice, and a few more times until it goes to voicemail.

It’s unlike Hoseok to not answer his phone, so you try once more.

"Auntie! There's someone at the door."

You must have missed the knocking as you focussed on the dial tone.

Hoseok finally picks up on the line as you make your way to answer the door.

"Special delivery," you hear through the phone and in front of you as you open the door.

You break out into a smile, which only becomes wider as you spot a couple of pizza boxes Hoseok carefully holds with one hand, his other one keeping his phone to his ear.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" You help him with the boxes as you usher him inside your apartment. "Because you always seem to know what I'm going to ask you before I even say anything."

"It's just one of my superpowers, don't you know I can read your mind, (Y/N)-ie?" He makes some silly sound effects as he displays how he can 'read your mind.'

"Pizza!" Jisung calls out upon seeing the cardboard boxes on the counter. "Oh, hi, Hobi!"

"Yeah, you better say hi to me," your boyfriend sweeps your nephew up in a hug and lightly spins around with him. "I'm not just your pizza boy; I'm your favourite uncle too, right?"

Jisung laughs as they spin. "I think you're my only uncle, Hobi."

"Exactly. So I must be your favourite by default then, hm?"

"Ah, stop teasing and go wash your hands. Both of you!"

"Yes, Auntie," both Jisung and Hoseok say, the latter mostly to keep teasing you despite your request.

Dinner is louder than what you are used to. The times where you would eat alone when Hoseok would be working late or simply not over seem like a distant memory as you’re sat between the two boys at the small table, seemingly alternating between bites of pizza and bubbly laughter. Jisung had asked if you all could eat in the living room fort, but you could already picture the tomato sauce stains and spilled crumbs decorating your furniture, so you denied his request and were met with a pout in return. But his pout didn't last for very long once he took a bite of the cheese-adorned food.

Seeing how Hoseok gets along so well with your nephew does something to your heartstrings; how he would listen to Jisung with the utmost attention and not hesitate to give the most perfect response in return. Your boyfriend is clearly gifted with children; you can't contain the smile on your face as you listen to him discuss something about dinosaurs with the toddler.

"I want to be Bowser when we play Mario Kart, Auntie," the boy tugs on your sleeve to pull you from your thoughts. "He's a dinosaur, right, Uncle?"

"Actually, I think he's a turtle," Hoseok considers, "but he does look kind of like a dinosaur, doesn't he?"

Jisung agrees without a second thought, now practically vibrating in his seat from the excitement and anticipation of playing the game. It helps that his tummy is now full of pizza, courtesy of your amazing boyfriend.

It isn't yet 7 o'clock, so you figure the three of you could play for a bit before your nephew has to go to bed. With fingers free from pizza grease, you all pick up the small switch controllers and choose your characters for the Kart racing game. Jisung chooses Bowser like he said he would, while Hoseok opts for Yoshi, and you with a Shy Guy in your favourite colour.

You are aware that Seokjin also has this game at his house—your brother was ecstatic when he learned his son also likes to play video games—but you couldn't have expected Jisung to be that well-practiced for a four-year-old. You knew you could beat Hobi at the game, you have many times before, and this evening was no different, but your nephew is unexpectedly your biggest competition.

An hour and a half quickly passes by with the sounds of competitive shouts and the in-game noises of Hoseok's character falling off the map too many times to count. You love Hobi, but certainly not for his Mario Kart skills. Sure enough, it is time to get Jisung ready for bed. You collect the overnight bag your brother left at the door, moving to the bathroom to help the boy get changed into his pyjamas and brush his teeth (in the other room, you hear Hoseok start another race so he could practice by himself).

After only minimal fussing, you manage to get Jisung tucked in the bed residing in the small room doubling as your office and a guest bedroom. Even though it’s only a twin-sized bed, the boy has plenty of room to be comfortable during the night.

"You know where to find us if you need anything, okay, Jwi?" You are now by the door saying your final goodnights to your nephew with Hoseok beside you after shutting the game off. "I'll also leave a nightlight in the hallway so it won't be completely dark."

"Thank you, Auntie (Y/N), goodnight. Goodnight, Hobi." Jisung waves at the two of you after yawning with a wide mouth.

You and your boyfriend wish a final goodnight before you close the door until it is only slightly propped open.

Hoseok takes your hand as you leave the short hallway and find yourselves back in the living room. You are finally pulled into a warm hug.

"Should we clean this up tonight?" Hobi whispers into your hair as he embraces you.

You relax in his hold, also keeping your voice low when you say, "No, Jwi will probably want to sit in his fort again tomorrow morning before Jin picks him up."

You feel a gentle kiss on the top of your head.

"Okay," Hoseok begins playing with the ends of your hair. "Why am I so tired too? It's only 8:30."

"There's nothing wrong with going to bed early." You turn your head so you can see Hobi's pretty face, "Who knows what time that kid will wake us up in the morning. Jin said he's still an early riser."

That is all the motivation Hoseok needs to take your hand once more and lead you to the bathroom so you could also get ready to go to sleep.

"Hey, Hoseok?" you whisper in the darkened room, feeling for his hand beneath the covers.

"Yeah?" he hums back.

"How did you get to be so good with children?"

There is silence as your boyfriend thinks, then claims, "It's funny that you say that because I don't think I'm particularly good with kids." He stops once more, thumbing the back of your hand. "All I do is make sure I listen to them properly and treat them well. I don't think it's anything special."

You move closer to Hoseok, finding a safe place in his side. "I think it's special. I've seen you before with other kids too, not just with Jisung, and it's the same thing. They just seem to like you." You run your fingers upwards on his arm until you reach the side of his face. "You're very likeable, Hobi."

With your thumb grazing over Hoseok's cheek, you lean in to give him a kiss against his soft lips. He tastes of peppermint from your toothpaste but smells familiar, like home.

"You're very lovable, (Y/N)," he replies, mirroring a hand on the back of your head. Although you can't see his face in the darkness, you can hear the smile in his voice. "I love you."

"I love you too."

You and Hoseok unexpectedly succeed at falling asleep at around 9 pm. Yet, you aren't sure for how long you manage to sleep as you are awoken by Jisung, who has appeared on your side of the bed.

"Auntie?"

Jisung's voice is quiet. He feels bad for waking you up, but he keeps your sentiment in his mind about coming to you if he needs anything during the night.

Hoseok is the first to wake at the sound of sniffles. He reaches over to turn on the dim table lamp, only to find the toddler with tear-stained cheeks and tightly clutching his favourite stuffed whale plushie.

You stir from the sudden introduction of light and sit up, becoming immediately concerned at Jisung next to you.

"Hey, come here," you coo, helping the boy get situated between you and your boyfriend in your bed. "What's wrong, Jwi?"

The boy sniffles a few more times before saying, "I h-had a bad dream."

Hoseok had already moved around him, now taking a tissue to help dry his face before rubbing soothing circles on his back. Jisung moves to sit slightly closer to Hobi, leaning into his touch.

"Do you want to talk about it?" your boyfriend asks, his voice is nothing but gentle.

Jisung nods, "There were monsters. Big monsters with spikes. They looked scary." He squeezes the plush whale, "They were chasing me, but I wasn't fast enough."

Hoseok nods as he listens carefully, gently swaying as he rocks the boy to calm him down.

"Would you feel safer if you stayed here?" you offer. "I promise you no monsters can get in this room."

Jisung accepts with a quiet "Please," and begins to settle beneath the covers.

It doesn't take much for the toddler to relax; Hoseok is humming some tune barely audible to you as you stroke the top of his head softly.

Hobi becomes silent when the sound of Jisung's breathing steadies out, and his grip on the whale loosens.

Despite your tiredness from your interrupted sleep, you remain in that position watching your nephew as his chest rises and falls. His small nostrils on his round nose flaring every once in a while.

And as you watch the boy, Hoseok watches you.

He admires your beauty—an obvious quality, but something to admire nonetheless—and the way your touches are so delicate. You have expressed your doubts about being good with children in the past, but all Hoseok can see now is how caring you are as you make sure Jisung is properly asleep and feeling better.

"Hey, (Y/N)?" Hoseok whispers, "What kind of future do you think we'll have?"

You direct your gaze to your boyfriend and nearly melt at the way he is looking at you so fondly.

"What kind of future do you think we'll have?" you smile and repeat the question to him, suspecting that he already has an answer.

Hobi beams. "I can picture us in a similar situation down the road, except maybe it's our own child between us." He carefully fixes the blanket ever-so-slightly so that Jisung is fully covered. "I can picture us in our own house one day after we're married. It'll have a nice kitchen with plenty of room for slow dances at midnight and a big bathtub in the ensuite that I know you'll use plenty." He gently tucks some hair behind the toddler's ear. "I can picture us growing old together." His gaze once again meets yours. "That's the kind of future I want to have. Anything is optional, except for you. You're the only requirement I ask for, my love."

You want to squish into Hoseok's embrace once more, but you refrain yourself from moving at the dispense of Jisung's newfound peace.

Instead, you whisper back with glassy eyes, "The only kind of future I want is with you, Hobi."

Your boyfriend glows at your words and warms your heart with his dimple-clad smile.

Down the road, you would, in fact, end up engaged to Hoseok one day, and soon after to be married as well. Your house wouldn't have a bathtub in the ensuite, but the kitchen would have plenty of room, and your husband would ensure that he twirls you around like the royalty he sees you as.

One day, you would find yourself with a daughter of your own and catching Hoseok brushing her hair as she gets ready for her first day of kindergarten. She would be so happy with the little ribbon he tied in her hair and would run to your arms to show you.

One day, you would find yourself going grey with Hoseok still next to you; the same Hoseok who would kiss you silly to wake you up on the morning of your birthday, the same Hoseok who would insist on paying for your dinner every time he'd request a date night.

The same Hoseok who would tell you "I love you" in the most gentle tone of voice, never failing to make your heart soar at his words.

One day.

But now, you remain here, in your small apartment with no ensuite nor a large kitchen. You're here, laying next to your beautiful boyfriend with your nephew between your bodies. Both boys are fast asleep, yet you remain awake and thinking about what kind of future you'll have.

What kind of future will you have?

You're open to anything as long as it contains Hoseok.

Yes, one day. ••

#jung hoseok #jung hoseok x reader #jung hoseok fluff #jung hoseok imagines #hoseok #hoseok x reader #hoseok fluff #hoseok imagines #hobi #hobi x reader #hobi fluff #jhope #jhope x reader #bts #bts jhope #bts x reader #bts fluff #bts imagines #request

88 notes · View notes

ghosttotheparty · 3 years

Text

while the world ends around us (make believe with me)

8. Oh, it’s like I’m looking down from the ceiling above AO3

“I just don’t see why I can’t call her or something,” Lucas says dryly, mixing the sugar into his coffee.

“We’ve talked about this,” his dad huffs from behind him, where he’s sitting at the table. “She needs space to recover.”

Lucas lifts the spoon and looks at the sugar, sparkling in the spoon, and drops it back in the mug, stirring more aggressively.

“Yeah, but she has space,” he says without turning to look at him. “I think she could heal a little better if she had support.”

“She has support.”

“She has doctors and pills,” Lucas says. “Which helps, but having her son support her would help too.”

“You can write her a letter,” he says dismissively.

Lucas tosses the spoon into the sink loudly.

“Why would I write her a letter like it’s the fucking nineteenth century,” he says “when I can Skype her or something?” He turns to lean against the counter, but his father is still looking at his laptop in front of him, doing fucking whatever. “Her doctor told me I can schedule a call and—”

“No.”

Lucas grips the countertop behind him, until his nails are digging into it, until it feels like it might crack and crumble. He takes a sharp inhale before speaking.

“She won’t even get a letter for a while, I wanna have an actual conversation with her.”

“I said no.”

“You’re not even listening—”

“I don’t need to listen. I gave you an answer.”

Lucas stares at the back of his head, his heart pounding, livid at his insouciance, at how he just doesn’t care.

“I…” Lucas starts, shaking his head. “I just think if we actually talked about it, you could see what I mean.”

“Lucas…” his father huffs, like he’s the exasperated one. “I don’t have time for this right now.”

“I tried talking to you about it last night— I need your permission to call her,” he says adamantly.

“You’re not getting it,” he says calmly. “Give her space .”

“She—”

“Lucas, drop it,” he snaps finally, turning to look over his shoulder. He looks angry, and a part of Lucas feels gratified. Fucking finally he looks, even if just a fraction, as angry as Lucas feels. (Another part of him is startled. Every time he gets angry, it’s this quick, this sudden. It’s always sharp anger, preceded by silence, by indifference, until he snaps.) “You’re not getting permission. You can write her a letter.”

Lucas states back, relaxing his face. A part of him wants to give his father the same treatment, the same unreasonable coolness, the dryness. A part of him wants to walk out, and leave him angry.

He doesn’t.

“Would you even send it if I wrote one?” he asks calmly.

His father is quiet, still staring with furrowed brows.

“God, you really just don’t like her,” Lucas says. “You just don’t want me to talk to her.”

“You don’t need to.”

“She’s my mother,” he says, leaning forward, losing some of the stoicism he’s trying to maintain.

“And I’m your father.”

“You didn’t raise me,” Lucas snaps. “And I’m fucking glad you didn’t,” he mutters as he walks out of the room, leaving his father sputtering some nonsense, bullshit that Lucas doesn’t even bother acknowledging.

He shuts him up by slamming his bedroom door (or maybe he just can’t hear him anymore), and he stands there for a few seconds, just shaking, just trembling, just trying and trying and trying to take a deep breath, but it doesn’t work, and he explodes.

“Motherfucker!”

He swipes his hand across the top of one of the cardboard boxes (the goddamn cardboard boxes), snatching a sketchbook and flinging it behind himself, throwing it into the door.

His eyes squeeze shut and he falls to his knees as the sketchbook hits the door loudly, splitting open, and the papers fly in the air, falling around him. He hears the pages hit the ground, soft scrapes against the uneven wood that sound like the screeches of metal on the inside of Lucas’s skull.

He whimpers, his eyes squeezing shut tighter and tighter until it hurts as he presses his hands over his ears, drowning out the sound of his father tossing silverware into the drawer, the loud, shrill clattering, the drawer slamming shut like it’s in competition with Lucas’s bedroom door. Lucas’s head dips lower until his forehead presses into the floor, gritting his teeth against the whimpers that escape him as his father begins to shout at him through the doors, through the walls.

Shutupshutupshutupshutupshutup.

Lucas doesn’t realise he’s speaking out loud, softly murmuring the words to the floor, until he finally does shut up, until the apartment lays deathly silent, as if in apocalypse. Lucas opens his eyes and stops whispering, staring at the floor. It’s so close that it’s blurry, swirls of dusty brown and age. Out of the corner of his eye he sees the edge of a sheet of paper that floated down next to him.

He looks at the drawing, slowly, tentatively moving his hands away from his ears as he lifts his head. His eyes focus on the sketch.

He almost wants to look away from it, almost wants to crawl closer to it and snatch it from the ground in a tight fist, almost wants to crumple it and tear it up until it’s dust.

Instead he stares at it, only breaking eye contact with it when he startled, jumping and wincing as the front door slams shut in the dead silence of the apartment. It echoes through Lucas’s head as he deflates, sighing and collapsing onto the floor.

He moans softly, pressing his forehead against the grainy wood, lifting his arms to press them to his chest, feeling it rise and fall as he sighs heavily.

Piece of shit.

He ends up climbing into bed, tugging the blanket over his head and blocking out the sunlight. It still comes through the blanket, pressing against his eyelids in faint shades of red and purple.

He pulls it down when his phone vibrates, and he looks at it dejectedly, his eyes hooded as the screen lights up and it buzzes against the floor. When he lifts his head he can read Jens’s name on the screen, but he lets his head fall and he rolls away before he can read what Jens is saying.

He stares at the blank wall, biting his trembling lip when his phone buzzes again.

And again.

- - -

Lucas only comes out from under the blanket when he can’t stay still any more, when he gets tired of bouncing his foot against his mattress and tapping his fingertips against the floor with his hand hanging off the side of his bed just to hear the noise.

His father still hasn’t returned, (Lucas wonders briefly where he is, where he could be. Out drinking? With friends? Lucas would be surprised if he has any.) but Lucas still walks as lightly as possible to the kitchen, carefully stepping over the creaky floorboards in the hallway like his dad is going to come out of nowhere.

He opens the fridge (to stare for a while before shutting it and leaving it like he usually does), but stops when he sees his forgotten coffee.

The mug is cold to the touch so he pours it into a bigger glass with some ice and sticks a straw in it, taking a sip and wincing at its bitterness (though he doesn’t bother finding more sugar) as he goes back to his room.

He kicks some paper out of the way when he enters his room, navigating it in the sudden dimness he hadn’t noticed until now. There’s light coming through the blinds, casting pale stripes across the floor, and they shift like illusions as the papers slide across the floor.

He doesn’t bother trying to pick them up. He barely spares them a glance. He knows them well. He could redraw them in his sleep.

They’re all people. Some of the pages are covered with messy pencil sketches of Kes and Jayden and Isa and Noah, smudged and blended under Lucas’s hand. He never fixed them, or tried to avoid the smudges. None of the drawings felt like real drawings, like actual portraits he wanted to put effort into. They just made him feel better. Some of them are random people from the internet, photos he’s screenshotted from Pinterest, because he likes the slope of their noses and the angle of their eyes.

And then there’s Jens.

Lucas is embarrassed, if he’s honest. He’d never show them to anyone. He barely even looks at them himself, except the few times he gets stuck, looking at it like Jens is right in front of him, even though he’s only ever seen him in Instagram photos and over Facetime and Skype.

Some of his drawings even capture the graininess of the photos, the blur of his screen as Jens grins at him. (Somehow the drawings give Lucas the same swoop in his stomach and flutter in his chest.)

Lucas sets his coffee on the ground next to his mattress before grabbing the drawings off the ground, quickly, rushed, his cheeks burning even though he’s completely alone. He stuffs them into a box, ignoring the way they bunch and wrinkle and fold so they fit before he slams it shut, pressing the worn and papered tape over the seam harshly so it stays closed.

He grabs his phone from the ground before flipping onto his bed, huffing and leaning against the wall before picking up the coffee and taking a few gulps to nurse his headache. (Though the caffeine probably won’t help much in the long run.)

He scrolls through his notifications as he sips the coffee.

Jens hey do you wanna zoom with the guys?? lucas???? l u c a s lu :(((

Moyo bro you there?? we miss you 💔

Robbe hey we’re video chatting if you want to join! :)

Aaron lucas lucas lucas lucas lucas lucas lucas

Jens is everything okay? call me when you want

The final message was sent a while after the others, and Lucas’s chest tightens.

He takes one last gulp of coffee before he sets the cup down (the ice cubes were watering it down anyway) and slides back so his head is propped up against his tower of pillows, and he calls him.

He answers quickly, before Lucas’s head is even settled.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Lucas says lightly, and even his expression softens. “‘S fine.”

Jens is quiet for a second before he says, “You don’t wanna talk about it?”

Lucas really can’t tell if it’s a question or not. Either way, his face falls and he squeezes his eyes shut as he inhales deeply. Jens can see right through him.

“Not really,” he says quietly.

“That’s okay,” Jens says softly. “Would you rather talk about how Nick is definitely in love with Gatby?”

Lucas startles and scoffs before a giggle is ripped right out of his chest.

“What?”

“You don’t see it? It’s so obvious!”

“I mean— I’m not arguing with you, I just…” He closes his eyes again, grinning at the ceiling. “Do you have textual evidence?” he asks, annunciating and imitating Ms Peeters.

“Uh, the book?” Jens says sassily, and Lucas almost giggles again. He can just imagine the furrow of Jens’s eyebrows and jut of his chin. “He follows Gatsby everywhere, he’s all he thinks about!”

I’d follow you anywhere.

“He’s the narrator,” Lucas says, ignoring the thought.

“Okay, and why do you think— What’s his name? Fitz— Fitzgerald?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Why do you think Fitzgerald chose to make Nick the narrator instead of choosing to use third person narration?”

Lucas pauses, processing his question.

“What, are you my final?”

A laugh bursts out of Jens.

“I don’t know,” Lucas sighs. “Why do you think?”

“Uh…” Jens sighs thoughtfully and there’s a rustle of fabric. Lucas wonders if he’s laying down too. “I think he just thought the gays needed a win.”

Lucas laughs loudly, rolling onto his side and shaking head, his eyes squeezing shut under his smile.

“I don’t think people were that invested in us back then,” he says as he settles.

And then he freezes, his eyes flying open.

He didn’t mean to let out so soon.

He’d been thinking about it, how to go about telling Jens that he’s embarrassingly gay without scaring him off. (Though he also reminded himself that Jens’s best friend is gay. Though, he also reminded himself, Robbe’s known Jens a lot longer than he has.)

He stayed up last night with it on his mind, whether it’s worth it or not, telling Jens he’s gay, and risk Jens thinking he likes him. (He wouldn’t be wrong, of course. That’s another thing that kept Lucas up: the way the mere thought of him, or his voice, makes Lucas’s heart flutter, makes his breath shorten, the way the fucking thought of seeing him in person makes Lucas gasp in excitement. He has it bad.)

“Maybe not, but you don’t think Fitzgerald was a little gay?” Jens says, paying no mind, and Lucas’s eyes open to the stack of boxes in front of him.

“What?” he says, laughing.

“You don’t think so?”

“He had a wife.”

“Oh, did he?”

“Yeah, her name was Zelda.”

“That’s a dope name. Okay, whatever, he had a wife. Sure. He still could have been a little gay.”

“I guess?”

“No straight person speaks that poetically.”

Lucas snorts, rolling over more until he’s almost laying on his stomach. He rests his chin on her forearm, holding his phone to his ear as he looks outside, seeing the city between the blinds.

“Then that would prove that Nick is gay, not Gatsby.”

“I never said Gatsby was gay,” Jens says, followed by another rustling sound and a soft huff of breath, like he’s mirroring Lucas. “Just the author. And Nick.”

“So it’s about unrequited romance?” Lucas says, his chest tightening slightly. He takes a deep breath as quietly as he can, feeling suddenly like his lungs won’t fill quite right.

“Yeah, I guess,” Jens says softly. “He’s watching Gatsby fall in love with Daisy, that’s heartbreaking.”

Lucas swallows.

“Gatsby was already in love with Daisy.”

“Right.” Jens takes a breath and Lucas closes his eyes for a second. He wonders what it would be like to fall asleep like this, with his phone pressed to his ear, with Jens’s voice whispering to him. “Nick was falling in love with Gatsby, and watching Gatsby be in love with someone else. Is that worse?”

Lucas thinks for a second, about the day, the second he realised his crush on Kes.

He was sitting across the table from him at a cafe, and Kes had kicked him in the shin by accident before looking under the table and kicking him again. Lucas had laughed and tried to kick him back but missed, kicking the table so hard it jostled, and Kes burst with laughter as Lucas hissed “Shit!” and grabbed the edge of the table to steady it.

Lucas had listened to Kes laugh. And looked at the way Kes was looking at him, his eyes bright with amusement. He’d even dropped his phone to laugh before setting his forehead on the table when Lucas shushed him, seeing a woman at another table turn to look.

And he remembers watching Kes fall for Isa.

Watching kiss her and pull her close when all Lucas wanted to hold his hand.

“I think it might be.”

Jens hums thoughtfully.

“We could write an essay about that.”

“Oh,” Lucas says, blinking. “We could.”

“Ms Peeters would definitely like it. She likes in-depth analyses. Even if they make no sense.”

Lucas chuckles, trying to forget about Kes.

It’s not hard to forget right now.

Not with Jens’s voice in his ear.

“We still have to finish reading it,” Lucas says.

“Of course.” Jens sighs. “I can see why you like it so much.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmhmm.”

They’re quiet for a second, and Lucas looks out the window. It’s dark now, and there are still bright windows scattered around the city. The street lamp across the street from his building flickers. Lucas wonders if stars flicker before they go out too.

“Lu?” Jens says softly, and Lucas closes his eyes. No one ever called him that before Jens. (No one does now either. He wonders if anyone else will. He hopes not.)

“Mmhmm?”

“Are you better now?”

“Yeah,” he says after a pause. “I am, actually.” You have that effect on me, he doesn’t add.

“Do you wanna talk about it now?”

Lucas smiles softly. It doesn’t feel like Jens is just curious. Like if Lucas were to say no, Jens would just say that’s okay.

Which gives him more bravery.

“It’s just…” he starts, huffing softly. “My dad. I’m so sick of him.”

Jens hums quietly.

Lucas squeezes his eyes shut and his lip quivers.

“I just—” he chokes. “I’m so fucking tired of this place.”

“Which place?”

“Just— I don’t know,” he says before burying his face in his arm. “This city, this apartment.” He lifts his head. “Mainly this apartment. All these fucking boxes.”

“When we— When we can meet up,” Jens stammers out, “I’ll take you places.” He sounds so sincere, so desperate, that Lucas’s heart squeezes. He shuts his eyes, hanging onto every word. “Wherever you want. Wherever we can go. I’ll leave Lotte with my dad, and we can stay out as long as you need to.”

Lucas muffles a sob into his arm, clutching the phone like a lifeline.

“And until then we can call whenever you want, and we can call my friends—” He cuts off. “Oh!”

Lucas rubs his face on his sleeve, letting out a breath.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, uhm…”

Lucas can sense his hesitation, and smiles.

“Tell me.”

“My friends and I were gonna have another call, I thought you’d like to join?” He pauses again. “The guys, but also some others.”

“Will they like me?” Lucas asks, only half joking. His voice is small.

“Of course.”

“When?”

“I don’t know yet, probably Friday? But they talked about Thursday, I’ll text you when we figure it out.”

“Okay.”

“And you can call or text any of them whenever, if you need a distraction or…”

“Jens?” Lucas whispers after a quiet second.

“Yeah?”

Lucas shuts his eyes again.

“Thank you.”

- - -

There aren’t many other people Lucas talks to from school. He exchanges messages with Mohamed from literature for a little bit, but the conversation doesn’t really go anywhere. The only other message he gets is from a girl, Élina, who he doesn’t recognise, but most of her posts were photographed at school. (Lucas wandered around the campus after arriving in Antwerp, just to see. There was no one there, save for an older woman who looked at Lucas disdainfully.)

Her message, heyyyyy youre new right?, makes Lucas cringe, reading it in the same voice as the girls that used to approach him at parties. The girls that he would flirt back with, doing everything in his power to ignore the uncomfortable churn in his stomach, the twisting of his nerves as the girls reached out and pushed his curls back or brushed their fingertips over his jaw and freckles. It made him so viscerally uncomfortable that for a while he wondered if he could be attracted to anyone at all. He even did research, finding out about the spectrums of asexuality and aromanticism, trying to find what fit, but nothing ever did. It was then that he decided he should probably experiment, and eventually he realised he doesn’t mind hands touching his hair and face softly or eyes looking at him like that when it’s another boy.

He still pretended, though. Even when his phone had the notifications set to not appear on his screen, notifications from pretty boys and their photos and slick words, he would press girls against walls and listen to their giggles and whispers, ignoring the ugly thoughts he couldn’t stop thinking.

He’s tired of pretending.

So when Élina sends him a message one night as he waits for Jens to get Lotte to sleep, a message that reads sooo do you have a girlfriend 👀, he sets his jaw and takes a deep breath before responding.

élina i’m gay

She responds with the laughing emoji, and he waits as she types, until lol no worries appears, followed by lucky boys ;).

He exhales and responds with a smiley face.

- - -

“Hey,” Lucas says softly when Moyo appears on his screen.

“Hey,” he says back, whispering. “Why are we quiet?”

Lucas chuckles, wrinkling his nose at him.

“My dad’s in the living room,” he explains. “You don’t have to be quiet. I have headphones.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Where is everyone?”

“They’re coming,” Moyo says, checking his phone. “How’ve you been?”

Lucas hesitates, wondering if he should tell him anything he’s told Jens. But he doesn’t want to fuck up the mood before the party’s even started.

“Fine,” he says. “I’ve been doing homework and stuff.”

“Gross.”

“Copying Jens’s maths.”

“As you should.”

“Oh my god!” Lucas says, setting his laptop on his bed as he remembers suddenly.

“You good?”

“Yeah, I just…” He pauses as he reaches to grab his sketchbook from the ground next to him. “I had something for you, I just remembered.” He sits back to see Moyo’s eyebrows raised.

“For me?”

“Something to show you, yeah.” He grabs his phone. “I’ll text you a picture, hold on.”

He waits as it sends, awkwardly tilting his head back and forth until Moyo lets out an Oh!

“Holy— Oh my god!” His voice has risen several octaves, and Lucas giggles, his eyes squinting under his grin. “That’s me!”

“Yeah!”

“You actually— Oh my god.” Moyo pulls his phone close to his face, hiding himself from Lucas as he looks at the photo of the sketch more intently.

“I said you have a nice face.”

“Lucaaaassss,” Moyo whines, and Lucas giggles again, leaning down and resting his chin on his hands happily. “This is so cool.”

Lucas is relieved, if he’s honest. He’d done the drawing late last night, looking back and forth between his sketchbook and a photo from Moyo’s Instagram.

“You like it?”

Moyo lets out an indignant noise, looking at Lucas with wide eyes.

“I fucking love it, bro.”

“Yeah?”

Moyo’s box shifts as Lucas grins at him, and Jens appears next to him.

“Hey,” Jens says brightly as Lucas’s eyes move to him. “What’s up?”

“Can I show him, Luc?” Moyo asks excitedly, and it takes Lucas a second to rip his eyes away from Jens’s pixelated face to answer, “Yeah, course.”

“I’ll text it.”

“What’s going on?” Jens asks, confused, and a little thrill goes through Lucas at the sight of his wrinkled brow.

“Lucas drew me!”

Jens’s eyebrows raise and he grins.

“Yeah?”

Lucas’s face burns when Jens receives the photo, when Jens exclaims that it’s so fucking good, man, when Jens looks up at him through the camera, and Lucas can feel his eyes on him, his delight.

“You wanted to draw someone and you chose Moyo?” Jens asks, grinning as Moyo lets out an offended “Hey!”

Lucas’s face burns again, and he hopes Jens (and Moyo, he supposes) can’t see his cheeks bloom. He shrugs, forcing a grin.

“I said he has a nice face.”

As Moyo playfully shoos at him, saying “Oh, stop it,” and looking back at the drawing, Jens’s eyebrows quirk up and his eyes widen as he leans forward slightly.

Oh.

Oh no.

Lucas glances at Moyo, who is still looking down, and then back at Jens, shaking his head. Jens’s brows raise more and he starts to smile, starts to beam, amusement in his eyes.

No, Lucas mouths, shaking his head harder, but before they can continue their silent conversation, the boxes shift again and a girl’s voice says, “What’s up, fuckers?”

“Luca,” Moyo says indignantly, as Jens laughs. It takes Lucas a second to look away from Jens to the girl, who has her hand clapped over her mouth.

“I don’t know you,” she says, dropping it and leaning close. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he assures her. “We’re basically already friends.”

“I’m Luca,” she says, holding a hand out to the camera.

“Lucas.”

He copies her and they shake, both laughing lightly.

“Where is everyone?” Luca asks.

“They’ll be here soon,” Jens says.

It takes a little while for them all to arrive.

Zoë comes in next (she smiles when Lucas compliments her hair), followed by Aaron and Amber who, Lucas has to agree with Aaron, is very pretty. Not Lucas’s type (obviously), but pretty nonetheless. Robbe and Sander arrive next, almost simultaneously, and after an onslaught of teasing from Moyo and Luca, Jens interrupts to tell Lucas to show Sander his art.

“Uhhh…” Lucas grabs at his phone before looking up again. “Moyo.”

“On it,” Moyo says sharply, looking away and lifting his phone.

Lucas flushes under Sander’s praise.

Yasmina joins next, already smiling as she appears on Lucas’s screen. She’s wearing a yellow hijab, and the brightness of her smile with the soft fabric makes Lucas think of the sun. (He tells her, exclaiming “You look like sunshine!” to which she responds with a squeal and a bright, flushed, broad smile.)

Jana appears last.

She’s smiling when she appears too, but it’s a smaller smile, almost sad.

“Hey,” Zoë says when Jana’s arrival interrupts conversation. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Jana says dismissively. “Where’s the new kid? I gotta find you.” Her eyes scan her screen and Lucas waves his hand. “Ah!”

“Lucas,” he says, pressing his hand to his chest.

“Jana,” she says with a smile.

She’s sweet. Her laugh is nice.

Lucas knows he doesn’t really have a reason to not like her. But he can’t seem to help it as he listens to her tease Jens, to Jens tease her. As he watches Jens’s eyes while Jana speaks, as he watches Jana’s eyes as Jens speaks. There’s nothing for him really to go on, nothing really to suggest anything between them except Lucas’s overthinking.

He can’t stop overthinking.

He can’t even tell if Jens’s eyes are really softening when Jana speaks or if it’s just Lucas’s mind telling him they are, or if Jens is really saying Jana in a certain way.

(He can’t really tell if Jana is Daisy or not.)

It’s dark when everyone leaves. Dark dark. In everyone’s room, except Amber, who leaves all her lights on, including a lamp next to her. Zoë leaves first, because We have school tomorrow!, followed by Robbe because he’s actively falling asleep.

Jana leaves last, still chatting with Jens, who involves Lucas for his input. It’s sweet, especially as Lucas just… sits there, listening and watching.

He still gives her a friendly bye-bye wave when she leaves. It’s not her fault he’s the way he is. And she really is nice.

“So,” Jens says firmly when it’s just them, rocking forward and making the same face he did earlier, when Moyo wasn’t looking.

“No,” Lucas answers, already shaking his head.

“You don’t know what I’m gonna say!” Jens exclaims, delighted. His voice is hushed, and he’s wearing headphones (he’d gotten them out about halfway through the call), looking awfully lovely.

“I know exactly what you’re going to say, and the answer is no.”

“No what?”

“No,” Lucas insists, not really wanting to say it. “I don’t have a crush on Moyo.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Jens makes a face full of doubt, complete with raised eyebrows and a downward tilted chin.

“I don’t.”

“You said he has a nice face,” Jens teases.

“He does,” Lucas insists. “But so does… Yasmina. That doesn’t mean I have a crush on her.”

“…Okay, fair.”

Lucas doesn’t tell him about the drawings.

The ones stuffed into the boxes in his room, hidden away where he doesn’t have to see them, the ones of photos from Jens’s Instagram, the ones of subtle screenshots Lucas takes during their Facetime calls, the ones of Jens focussing on his maths homework while Lucas pretends to pay attention. He doesn’t think he’ll ever tell him about them. He doesn’t know what he’ll do with them.

“What did you think of the girls?” Jens asks, setting his chin on her forearm. He’s laying on his stomach, and Lucas wants to memorise the image: Jens looking up at him with sleep in his eyes, looking awfully precious.

“They’re really nice,” Lucas says honestly. He almost mirrors him, but instead he moves onto his side, resting his legs around the laptop and laying on his head on a curled arm. “Amber makes me think of someone I know in Utrecht.”

“Is she also a human strawberry?”

Lucas blinks.

“Actually, yeah. That’s…”

“I’m a genius,” Jens sighs, and Lucas makes a face.

“Fuck you,” Jens laughs, his eyes squinting, and then closing completely as he yawns into his arm.

“You should sleep.”

“You should sleep,” Jens retorts, laying his head down and looking at Lucas. His eyelids are low. Lucas’s heart skips a beat. “I don’t wanna go to bed,” Jens complains, oblivious to Lucas’s internal crisis of the admiration of sleepy Jens.

“We have school tomorrow,” he points out.

“You’re worth it,” Jens mumbles.

And Lucas fucking f a l l s .

“Cheesy bitch,” he says, ignoring his heart’s free-fall, and Jens giggles. It’s a sleepy laugh, raw and unfiltered, and Lucas smiles at it.

“Jens?” Lucas asks softly after a minute, and Jens’s eyes flutter open. Maybe he was asleep. But he smiles when his eyes settle on Lucas.

“Mmhmm?”

“Did you mean it? That you… That you’ll take me around when we can meet up?”

Jens’s brows furrow for a second and he lifts his head.

“Yeah, of course.” He sets his chin on his arm. “I’ll take you wherever. We’ll have to stay distanced for a while but…” He shrugs. “I’ll keep you out of your apartment.”

Lucas nuzzles into his arm and Jens lays his head down again, still looking at him.

“You don’t think it’ll be awkward?” Lucas says. “Last time I met up with someone from the internet it was super awkward.”

He doesn’t mention that he’d met the boy on a dating app, and that they’d hooked up and left.

“I won’t let it be,” Jens says, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ll let my full extrovert personality come out.” He sighs. “You can be awkward if you want. I won’t.”

“Okay,” Lucas whispers. He’s not sure if Jens hears.

#i dont even remember the last time I updated this #idek if anyones reading it lmao #but yall i swear im still writing this #i have a lot going on but I haven't abandoned my boys #anyway #go stretch and drink water #eat something yummy #tell someone you love them #wtfock #skam nl #wtfock fic #skam nl fic #vds #van der stoffels #jens stoffels #lucas van der heijden #while the world ends around us (make believe with me)#ninety percent of the things i made italicized arent italicized im so mad what the fuck @ ao3

13 notes · View notes