Tumgik
#and it was one of those things where even though I knew it was going to happen it was still So Good
gglitch1dd · 14 hours
Text
Us & You Pt 2
DILF Kirishima Eijiro x Teacher Reader
Tumblr media
Context: Kirishima Eijiro has done everything to forget Bakugou Katsuki in his life and just focus on his daughter, his amazing and loving daughter. The light of his eye. Due to an incident, Eijiro meets you, a teacher at his daughter school who he can’t help but fall for. However, as his daughter grows older and questions start being asked, it feels like the peace he tried to cultivate is slipping through his fingers.
Note: First menstrual cycle, mentions of blood, first bra shopping!!!, mention of alcohol, Single dad Eijiro.
PLEASE NOTE BEFORE READING THIS SHORT SERIES: There will be some deep discussions about morality, children, abortion arguments pertaining to Pro life vs Pro choice as well as the father’s role in raising a child/conceiving a child. It also deals with the struggles of being a single parent. It’s very messy and very much real life. Katsuki is Trans in this story (mostly cause I couldn’t find another character to be Sachiko’s mom and you’ll see why).
[PART 1] [AO3 Link]
Eijiro sprayed some of his cologne on his neck as he looked himself in the mirror. He tried not to be nervous but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t. He hadn’t been on a date in years and honestly, he felt a bit rusty. He tried to look his best for the date he had with you tonight but he wasn’t entirely sure how it would go, but he was optimistic. I mean, he had spent the last two weeks texting you non-stop and enough for Akari to start getting suspicious and report back to the rest of his sisters who were now all hounding him for details.
Eijiro didn’t want to say anything. He never liked to say anything about the first couple of dates. He knew that those things were uncertain. You could never truly tell how it would fall and he just hoped that he wouldn’t regret it.
But there just seemed something about you that had him lowering his guard a bit. That had him feeling raw and open. Honestly it had him terrified, but maybe it was a good thing.
“Daddy,” Sachiko walked to stand in the doorway in her home clothes. She was dressed comfortably in sweatpants and a hoodie. At the sight of her father all dolled up she had her eyebrows raised in surprise. She tilted her head to the side almost like a confused puppy, her wide red eyes staring at him. “Where are you going?” She asked.
“I…” He started as he turned to face her. “am going on a date.”
Sachiko let out a sound in surprise, not having expected that. She didn’t really know anything about her father’s love life, nor did she think he even had a love life, so he must be really happy about this one to tell her that. Or maybe it was just a sign that she was getting older enough to understand. She walked over to him. “With who?” She asked. She moved to pick up styling cream. Eijiro helped move her onto the counter to sit there as she started to do his hair. “Do I know who she is?”
Eijiro let out a sigh. “You do.” He wasn’t going to dance around it. He’s number one priority was his daughter, which also meant her acceptance too. Even though here he wanted to be selfish, if this went well, it would affect her too.
She sat up excitedly at an idea. “Are you finally getting together with Aunty Mina?” She asked almost in hope.
Eijiro laughed as he shook his head. “No, pumpkin. Mina and I are just friends.” He reminds her, earning a disappointed sigh from her as she started to drag her hands through his locks, pushing his hair back, allowing the black locks of hair to look glossy. “No… you are actually the reason we met.”
“Really?”
He nodded his head confirming it. Sachi thought about it but came up short. She wasn’t entirely sure who it could possibly be. She just hoped you would be pretty and nice to her father at least, before anything else. He hesitated for a moment before looking into the mirror. “How would you feel if I told you that I was taking Ms Y/N on a date?”
Sachiko paused as she looked up at her father surprised. “The maths teacher?” He nodded his head. She was silent for a moment as she thought it over in her head. The small second of a moment made his heart pause. She let out a smile looking up at him. “She’s nice, I like her. I think you’d be nice for each other.” She expressed as she hopped off the counter and turned to wash her hands. Eijiro’s eyebrows raised in surprise at her response. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting from her but he wasn’t really sure if it was that. She turned to look back at him. She smiled up at him, looking him over before returning her crimson eyes up to him. “She likes certain flowers, not all of them, she really does like acts of service more than gifts but she likes being spoiled too. Don’t be afraid of being too much, she likes to see the real you more than anything.” Sachi advised.
Eijiro raised an eyebrow amusedly but chuckled. “Okay then.”
“Also don’t ask about past partners. She dated this one guy called Sanemi, he was such a bad guy. We don’t like him.”
Eijiro just nodded, knowing never to question why girls don’t like specific people. “We do not like Sanemi.” He affirmed. He then looked down at Sachiko with a raised eyebrow. “Why does it feel you’re supporting her more than me.”
“I never said that.”
“Mhm.” He looked down at her suspiciously, making her give him a bright sharp grin that only made him laugh.
You sat across from Eijiro at a fancy restaurant you had learned that he loved to visit. It wasn’t necessarily too expensive that you couldn’t even afford more than the water but it was very much not for anything casual. The two of you were laughing more than anything, sitting across from each other at your table. You had tried dressing to impress, a simple black dress and heels, nothing too extravagant but it seemed to be a smart choice, considering he came in all black too.
You couldn’t help but admire how handsome he was. He truly was the most gorgeous man you had ever seen. With ruby eyes that seemed to be so gentle and warm and looked at you as if you were the only thing worth noting, long dark hair that you thought made him unbelievably more sexy and not to get started on how big he was. He practically dwarfed you and you couldn’t help but think about it a lot.
When you had told Melissa about him, she was super excited.
“Who is he? What does he look like? Oh he’s sexy and a DILF. He kinda looks familiar. Where did you find him? Does he have a brother?”
Something you left to the end to tell her was how he was over ten years older than you. Now you didn’t really see a problem in that really, I mean he was nice, clearly has done well for himself so far and he wasn’t just into you because you were younger than him or something like that. You actually liked that he was older than you. It made you feel almost like he had everything under control. Almost like… well… like he could take care of you.
“So you can imagine how much of a bully she is in the work space.” Eijiro commented on a story he was telling you about his older sister, Akari who seemed dead set on using him to her hearts content.
You couldn’t help but giggle at the thought. “Okay, has your family dynamic always been so close?” You asked leaning forward, dinner having been long over as you were waiting on desert.
Eijiro chuckled as he lifted the glass of wine to his lips. “Yah, fortunately we have. We’ve always been pretty close knit. My father worked a lot but somehow always made time for us, and my mother was a stay at home mom so we really had everything we needed together. I really appreciate them, especially…” You watched him hesitate for a moment. You saw the gears turning in his head but it seemed as though he decided it was better to say it. “Especially when I found out about Sachi.”
You hummed, “That must have been hard, raising her so young.”
He nodded with furrowed eyebrows. “It was.” He put down his glass. “But my family made it easier.”
“You and Sachiko’s mom…” You were hesitant to talk about it but it was something you thought you should be a little bit aware about if you were going to deal with some psycho ex or something. You watched your desert come, plated in front of the both of you. You gave the waiter a smile, waiting for him to leave before continuing. “Are the two of you on good terms?” You asked him.
Eijiro didn’t answer immediately. He wasn’t sure how to answer if he was entirely honest, he didn’t know how to give you that answer. It was a messy explanation and one he wouldn’t want to go into but he knew he should at least answer you that much. He shifted uncomfortably in front of you, instantly making you feel bad.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”
“No, no, it’s okay.” He stopped you with a forced smile, raising a hand to stop what you were saying.  “Uh… We aren’t speaking to put it lightly. We haven’t spoken for years, since… he gave up all parental rights, actually. A bit after that.” Your eyebrows raised slightly at the mention of he. Eijiro cleared his throat as he picked up his fork and stabbed the cake slice on his plate. “You don’t have to worry about that, if it’s something you’re concerned about.”
You immediately put a smile to your face not wanting to alarm him or make him feel more uncomfortable than how you forced him to be just now. “I just wanted to find out if I have to fight off crazy ex’s.” The comment made him laugh, lightening the mood.
He shook his head. “No crazy ex’s. Just one eleven year old and seven nosey sisters.” He reminded you.
“The eleven year old seems to be the big underlying factor.”
“Definitely.” He lifted his wine glass up to his lips, some expensive wine from a year so far back you were sure they didn’t even know how to store wine properly back then. “It’s hard.” He started, looking down at the wine in his glass. “Raising her in such a world nowadays.” Eijiro had this odd way of answering you and yet withholding somethings of what he thought as well. It was almost as if he was hesitant or maybe even scared to share his full heart with you.  
You nodded your head, moving to pick up your spoon. “It sure is. The world is basically raising them and that can influence so many factors. Especially at such a young age where girls are so impressionably.” You furrowed your eyebrows at the thought as you shook your head. “All those magazines, online models, influencers and adverts that show them unrealistic expectations of their body and how they should look like. It really makes them all so depressed about how they look nothing like them.”
“Right!” You looked up half surprised at the show of emotion from him. “It gets me so worried constantly. I mean, Sachi has always been more on the girly side, which I don’t mind cause I think it suits her and I want whatever makes her happy, but then I hear from her friend’s mothers that I’m not allowing my daughter the freedom of expression. That I’m forcing her to wear girly clothes. Like honestly, they speak to me as if I don’t know my own daughter. I don’t-”
You watched as Eijiro got so passionately heated about this. You watched his facial expressions change and morph as he speaks with his hands and motioned around broadly about everything he was saying. You leaned forward, your head resting on your fist as you watched him, half forgetting about dessert entirely.
It was the first time you had heard him speak so much in succession, unsurprisingly it was about Sachiko but you found it cute. He was her father after all and that was his world. Trying to be a good parent for her. And hearing him ramble about how he was so close to punching some ten year olds mother all because she assumed that as a single father he was stereotyping his daughter, was both amusing and also amazing to see. You loved to watch him as he talked, it only made him more handsome.
“I don’t know how anyone can deal with that woman. I don’t like sending Sachiko to sleepovers and playdates because of that sort of influence. Who knows what she’s saying to her own child let alone mine when I’m not there. I don’t need Sachiko thinking the way we live his weird or odd.” Eijiro turned to look at you. You watched him with a fascinated look in your eyes as you just stared at him with a gentle smile. Eijiro hesitated but realised he had been talking your ear off. “Sorry,” He scratched the back of his head with a cheesy smile. “I didn’t mean to-”
“You’re valid for feeling such a way. What she said wasn’t right with any substantial proof and it isn’t like Sachiko looks uncomfortable in what she wears either. You are right for just letting her be.” You interrupted him but confirmed everything he was saying.
For a moment Eijiro stared at you before pulling on another smirk. He scoffed and nodded his head. “Yah… I guess I am.” Suddenly it felt like the heat was switched onto you. He leaned to the side, a slight smirk on his face as he kept his eyes on you, his eye contact making you feel rather funny inside. “So tell me… how are you still single?”
You let out a chuckle. “What?”
“I’m serious.” He affirmed as he tilted his head. “How is it that you’re still single? Is it by choice? Looking and just haven’t found the right one?”
“I could ask you the same question.”
“Oh sweetheart, no you can’t.” His voice dropped as he chuckled. It sounded so condescending and yet so delicious on his tongue. It made the butterflies in your stomach flutter even more. “I have a lot more experience in the dating world than you. I chose to be single. You… You’re young,” He started listing on his fingers, “Well educated, you have a job, you’re beautiful, good with children, I don’t see why you aren’t swooped off your feet yet.”
You shrugged lightly, a slight smirk of your own as you looked back to him. “I am here, aren’t I?” You asked softly. You saw his eyebrow twitch at that. You eased as you looked down with a more forced smile. “No… guys my age… just aren’t ready for the level of commitment and respect that I want in a relationship. I’m tired of hookup culture. I want to fall in love and go on pretty dates and have simple days that are just one in a thousand but mean the world. I don’t want the constant partying and hopping from couch to bed to bar.” You motioned with your spoon around. “It’s… it’s hard… Call it what you will but…” You sighed as you looked off to the side for a moment.
You weren’t lying. It was tiring always being met with guys who said your expectations were too high just for asking for loyalty and respect. You wanted to be someone’s everything. You didn’t want to be their side thing or one of the many girls in their roaster. You didn’t want a just a guy, or a boyfriend. You wanted a man. You wanted your boyfriend. But life had its way of flipping you around.
“Hey Y/N.” You hummed, still absently staring off at the way to the kitchen of the restaurant. “Y/n… Y/N, look at me.” You turned to look at him, noticing that he had his large hand over yours. The way he seemed to dwarf you always made you felt small but the way he was looking at you made you feel something else. It made you feel… His warm ruby eyes looked at you gently, almost as if he was listening to everything you were saying and everything you didn’t. He gave you a gentle smile. “You aren’t asking for too much.”
Since then the two of you had been moving around each other like two fish in a pond. Never mind the fact that Eijiro was more like a shark, but it worked. He would text you whenever he got the time to, and often than not you would both talk your way through lunch if you were able to with your schedule. Marking and teaching plans took a lot of your time, and although Eijiro couldn’t organise himself to save his life, he did give you some advice he learnt from his personal assistant. He was cute that way.
He always had this way of making you feel so taken care of. Randomly you would receive gifts from him, either via post, on your dates or through Sachiko (who you always knew was carrying a gift for you from her dad, cause she would randomly pitch up before lunch to your classroom with a grin on her face that made you giggle every time you saw it).
One thing very noticeable about your new relationship was physical affection. You both loved it which was much of a relief. The first time he came to your apartment (Thanks Cammie for staying the night away), you both ended up on your couch him practically pushing you down into the cushions. You loved how large he was. It was hot. Literally because his body ran like a furnace. He always had a hand on you whenever you went on dates. On your hip, holding your hand, behind your neck, on your cheek. Wherever. It was amazing. Besides he had this element of control that left you breathless and eager for more.
But there was one rule that Eijiro had that had stayed strong. No sex.
It wasn’t a rule you had a problem with, finding it okay with you because you didn’t need sex to make a relationship (Eijiro was relieved to know you weren’t bothered by it). However, when things did get hot and heavy and you could both feel the ache of each other with your breaths hot and your lips numb and messy, he always pulled away. You had to applaud his self-restraint but it also made you wonder what made him so hesitant. So… dare you say… scared?
You had a feeling it had to do with being put in the same situation that he was put in when it came to Sachiko, one he never really delved deep in, for reasons you didn’t think he would say for a while. Whatever happened in the past, you didn’t judge nor guess. You let it be.
Eijiro was also a very protective person as you had learned to realise and also knew from the first day you met him. The first day that you would spend the day with both Eijiro and Sachiko was a planned one. One on comfortable ground for the two of them, in their apartment, safe. You would come over, make some lunch, bake some brownies and see how Sachiko responded. It was more of a test for Sachi and how she would feel with actually seeing that her dad and you were in a relationship and happily so, which meant you would be around her more often in such a relaxed setting.
It was planned to the ‘t’ of perfect and Eijiro had already planned everything.
That was until some unexpected events happened.
A scream ripped through the apartment, instantly jolting Eijiro awake. There was only one other person in the apartment that could have such a high-pitched scream and it instantly forced Eijiro stumbling out of bed. His heart racing in his ears as he tore the blankets off of him and quickly got onto his own two feet. “SACHI!” He shouted as he threw open the door, making it bang against wall as he ran down the corridor to her room.
He threw her bedroom door open.
Standing still in her frilly pyjamas was Sachiko who looked absolutely terrified as she looked to her bed. The fluffy bedding was pushed back to reveal a rather large stain of blood right there on the sheet of the mattress. Tears streamed down her face as she looked between the bed and her father. Her shorts were also a crimson red as well. Before anything could be said, she raced into the bathroom and locked the door.
Eijiro paused for a second trying to take everything out.
Okay. Blood.
Blood, bad.
Blood from Sachiko… That’s bad.
Sachiko not in pain?
So not that bad?
Blood, pyjama pants, tears, bed.
Eijiro’s shoulders dropped when it hit him, slight relief washing over him.
Period.
He had read about it in one of the many parenting books that he purchased every time Sachiko reached a new stage in her life. The pubescent stage was one he was not looking forward to but one he knew he had to handle. Turns out his reading would have to come into practice.
“Sachi…” He walked over to the door of her bathroom and knocked on it. “Sachi, sweetheart, please open the door. It’s okay.”
“No, its not!” He heard her sob from the other side. “Daddy, I’m dying!”
“You’re not dying sweetheart.” He spoke gently at the door. “You’re just… you’re growing up and you’re experiencing your first period. It’s just blood. Your aunts all went through it too. I promise we can solve this, just please,” He knocked on the door. “Open the door.”
“NO! You’re a boy, you don’t understand!”
He sighed as he brought a hand to his forehead trying to think what to do. This was getting nowhere and he knew breaking the door down wouldn’t help either. She clearly was embarrassed and scared and this wasn’t something it seemed she wanted his advice on either. Not that he had much. All he learnt from his sisters was don’t make them angry, give them chocolate or whatever they were craving and painkillers.
If she didn’t want to talk to him about it, he would have to respect that, for at least as long as her emotions were running high and she was like this. But who could he call? Akari wasn’t in town at the moment, only coming back tomorrow from a business trip. Ayah was visiting her husband’s parents. Hana was abroad, Tamami was at varsity (probably in a class) and the twins were still living with his parents. None of his female relatives were nearby.
Eijiro paused.
Well… it looked like you’d be visiting the Kirishima residence sooner than you all thought.
It didn’t take you long before you were at their door, and Eijiro allowed you in. You looked up to see Eijiro looking dishevelled. He still stood in what seemed to be shark boxers and was shirtless, he looked so relieved to see you there. You chuckled as he allowed you to step in. “You look like you’ve been through somethings.”
He slumped as he sighed. “You don’t know the half of it. I’m sorry to do this to you so early, Y/N.”
You shook your head with a friendly smile. “Oh please, Eijiro, it’s nothing I can’t handle.” You put a hand to the side of his face making him relax for a moment. You smiled up at him before looking around. “I apologise for being a bit late, I had to stop at the store to grab a few things. Where’s Sachiko?”
Eijiro motioned for you to follow him. You looked around the apartment. It was rather homey and yet also had a warm feeling too it. Despite knowing and seeing that it looked expensive, you could tell that a family lived here. On the walls you saw photos of Eijiro and Sachiko at various different times. There was one where Sachiko looked like a newborn and Eijiro didn’t seem aware of the photo that was being taken as he held her to his chest.
“I’ve been noticing over the past couple of months she’s been…” He hesitated as he glanced back at you. “Changing.” He tried putting it.
“And recently she was a lot more moody than normal. I thought maybe something was bothering her with her friends but apparently not.” He opened the door to another room. The bed was stripped of all its bedding and sheets, leaving a clean white mattress on the bed stand. You saw this as Sachiko’s bedroom with the amount of pastels, white and fluffy pillows and stuffed animals and fairy lights. He walked over to another door that was closed. Next to the door was a pillow with a clean change of clothes there. You motioned to them as he turned to face you. “She bled through her shorts.” He explained. “I think its best if you…” He motioned between you and the door and random other emotions with his hands. You chuckled and nodded.
You stepped closer to the door and knocked on it lightly. “GO AWAY!” You heard her shout from the other side.
“Sachiko.” You started as you leaned your head against the door. “It’s me, Miss Y/N. Are you okay, hun? Your dad and I are really worried about you.” At first you didn’t hear anything. You looked back to Eijiro and motioned for him to move out of sight. “I promise that your father isn’t here. It’ll just be you and me, sweetheart. I can try and help.”
It took a moment before you heard shuffling. The door opened and peeping through a crack in the door was Sachiko. Her face was flushed pink and her eyes were pink from crying. She sniffed as she looked up at you. “Are you sure he’s gone?” She whispered.
You chuckled and nodded your head, “I promise.” You whispered back.
With that, she let you in, opening the door for you to squeeze through. You took the change of clothes as well as you entered the bathroom. Sachiko moved to sit inside her bath tub away from you. “Sorry. I don’t want the blood everywhere.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart.” You moved to walk and sit outside the bathtub on the cool tiles, leaning over to rest your head on the edge as you were eye-level with her. You put down your bag that you were carrying and the change of clothes and faced her. “What happened, Sachiko?” You asked her softly.
She wiped her nose with a tissue as she looked at you. “I woke up with tummy cramps. I thought I just needed the bathroom but when I got up, I thought I peed myself. I looked down and all I saw was blood. It scared me.” She had her arms wrapped around her legs, keeping her limbs close to herself.
“And that’s okay. It’s alright to be scared.” You reminded her. “You know, your daddy was very scared to when he couldn’t reach you or help you.”
“I just…” She sighed as she rested her head on her arms. “I didn’t want to weird him out. It’s weird and icky.” She whined.
You couldn’t help but laugh and nodded your head. “It is weird, but it’s also natural. Your dad knows that, and you should too. Yah its blood coming out of a place that isn’t so nice to talk about and your body is changing a lot too, I know it’s weird and you’ve probably been feeling really gross in your body.”
She nodded her head affirmatively. “Mhm! Especially that weird white stuff that’s on my panties. That’s why I decided to wash all my own underwear.”
You smiled in amusement but proud of her resolve. “That’s called discharge, sweetheart. It’s just your bodies way of cleaning out your private parts naturally. Everything has a purpose. Even periods. Your uterus gets nice and ready for a baby that doesn’t come, with nice pillows (that’s what the blood is, by the way) and then when there isn’t one, your uterus gets very angry and, it tears it all off and it can only go out one way.”
Sachiko scrunched up her face. “But I don’t want a baby.”
You chuckled. “I know, but your body doesn’t know that. It just knows that you’ve reached puberty and you can have one, not that you should.”
Sachiko frowned as she huffed. She shook her head with a negative sound making you giggle, her ponytail moving back and fourth. She took a moment to think as she stayed where she was. Her black eyebrows furrowed before she looked up at you, rather shyly. “Do… Do you have a pad I could borrow?”
You gave her a smile as you reached into your bag and pulled out a whole packet. “I have a whole bag you can have.” You carefully picked up the new changed of clothes and handed it to her. “Do you know how to use one?” She shook her head. “Don’t worry, I can teach you.”
It took a few attempts and some praise but soon, Sachiko had changed into a tank top, and new fluffy lounge pants. With her more comfortable and her pyjamas now soaking to be washed, you could have a talk to her about puberty. She seemed to have a lot of questions that she felt too scared to ask her father about.
You talked about a whole bunch of things. You taught her the different symbols for flow on pads and tampon packaging, you gave her a box of pantyliners too and what those were used for. You also gave her a new little bag that you called a “Period pouch” with something of everything for her to put in.
You also taught her the most important thing in every female’s life, getting blood out of clothes. Because nothing is more necessary than knowing how to clean blood stains out of your favourite pair of undies.
With all the period stuff out of the way she could ask you all the stuff she wanted to ask.
Like about training bras. Turns out she owned training bras (good job Eijiro), but she needed ones with padding now and she really didn’t understand how the measurements on bras worked. You noted that in your head, promising to take her shopping soon to go buy her own ones (she thought it best you also ask Eijiro about this as well).
The two of you stoked up and organised her bottom drawer to suit her new needs. After some encouragement, you both left the room hand in hand (mind that you had to remind Sachiko that she doesn’t need to walk like a duck the whole time). You both went to the kitchen where Eijiro stood now in sweatpants, still shirtless of course but he wore an apron that read “That’s not burnt, that’s flavor” on it. Funny enough, his pan was on fire.
“Oh no.” He let out with wide eyes as he looked at the blaze in front of him. He lifted the pan and put it to the sink, effectively washing the fire away along with the bacon. He scratched the back of his head with furrowed eyebrows. “What was in those spices?” he asked himself as he moved to pick up a bottle.
You looked to Sachiko wide eyed. She looked up at you with crimson round eyes that weren’t the least bit surprised. “I do most of the cooking.” She informed you with a sigh. “Otherwise, we would starve.”
That comment made you laugh, getting the attention of Eijiro. Upon seeing the both of you, he lit up. “Hey! Sachi, you’re free!!” He moved to wipe his hands and meet the two of you halfway. “I was so worried.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “I know that growing up is weird and gross and you don’t want to talk about it with your old man, that’s okay, I get that. Just know that I’m here for you okay. I ordered some ice-cream and chocolate from the store, it should be here soon and-” You looked down at Sachiko as she stared up at her father. The giant of a man rambling off about all those things but all she got out of it was that he cared. And that was enough for her. “And I bought one of those warm heat patchy things that you can stick on your tummy, it had good ratings online and-” He was stopped by a tight hug from Sachiko, her face buried against his skin as she held on tightly to him.
“Thanks Daddy.” She whispered.
You watched as his ruby eyes softened at the sight of his daughter, putting a hand on her head. “It’s no problem, little miracle.” He ruffled her hair. Taking Sachiko and your attention was the large man sniffing as he started rubbing at his eyes. She raised an eyebrow up at him as he sniffled. “You’re so big now.” He let out in a wavering voice. “You were just my little girl and now…” He looked away as he tried to fight the tears.
“Daddy, don’t cry.” She urged as she pat his back, which only seemed to make the tears worse. You smiled at the dear sight, watching him so soft and sweet with his daughter. They were two peas in a pod, and clearly very much alike.
He wiped his eyes. “Oh dear.” He sniffed as he looked down at her. “I guess now it’s time to cut your hair.”
“Cut my hair!?” She asked confused, her eyebrows furrowed. “Why?”
Eijiro let out a breath as he scratched the back of his head. “Well, it’s just to symbolise a new part in your life. You’re growing up. All I know is that whenever one of my sisters had their periods for the first time, they cut their hair to their shoulders.” He told her. She let out a hum as she put a hand to her chin. “But if you don’t want to-”
“I wanna cut my hair.” She smiled. She then turned to look at you. “But all of this is thanks to Miss Y/N.”
You perked up at that. You waved a hand down and chuckled. “It’s nothing really. Although, how about I cook because, Eijiro you looked like you were starting a fire.” You joked as you pat his bicep, moving to the kitchen.
He looked at you offended before turning to look down at Sachiko with a shocked expression. She giggled at his face. “Did you hear that?”
“She isn’t wrong.”
He let out another dramatic gasp only making her giggle. You chuckle and shook your head as you moved over to grab an apron that was hanging off the wall. You noticed that at least his eggs looked good. You looked around for a pan. Sachiko moved Eijiro to force him to sit down, telling him that he wasn’t allowed to touch a pan for the rest of the day. “Let me help.” She grabbed you another pan before handing it to you.
You smiled over at her appreciatively. “Thank you, mind if you grab me some beans and tomatoes?” She nodded her head as she bustled around, trying to find what you were looking for.
Eijiro sat at the island table watching the both of you star eyed. Something told him that this would work out just fine.
Now after that, you were over at the Kirishimas probably more than you were at your own apartment (much to Melissa’s love and abuse of). It seemed as though with you bonding so much with Sachiko, something was lit inside of Eijiro you didn’t know how to describe. It was almost as if he was all over you now, which you totally didn’t mind. You found it amusing.
You and Sachiko also dragged Eijiro shopping, which he surprisingly didn’t mind as much. He got to see the both of you work together and drag him around a mall all afternoon while he got to spoil his two favourite girls. What more could a man ask for? However, Eijiro didn’t expect the last stop on the shopping list.
“Uh… what are we doing here?” He asked as he looked up at the underwear store in front of him with wide eyes, not entirely sure what he had gotten himself into. The poor man seemed to have gotten pale at the sight.
Sachiko turned to her father and motioned over somewhere else. “You can sit outside, Daddy. Ms Y/N and I have important business here.”
Eijiro raised an eyebrow to you. You raised your hands in surrender. “She asked to get her first bra. It seemed alright with me.”
He then turned down to Sachiko with a tilt of his head. He then folded his arms and shook his head. “I’m going in the store.” He said adamantly. The large man let out a huff in protest.
“Daddy.” Sachiko whined as she looked up at him with a frown. “But this has nothing to do with you.”
“It has to do with you.” He reminded her, motioning to the smaller girl in front of him. “and that has everything to do with me.” He nodded his head factually.
Sachiko frowned with a pout to her lips making you chuckle at the two opposing sides. You stood between the both of them, one hand to Sachiko’s shoulder and one to Eijiro’s bicep. “Now, now you two. Let’s be logical about this. Eijiro, you are paying for it so you get to come in the store, but it’s going to be Sachiko making the decisions here and it’s just going to be the two of us picking out things. Okay?” You looked at both Kirishimas. They frowned at each other but nodded their heads. You chuckled before leading father and daughter inside.
Sachiko looked around with wide eyes at all the different fabrics and sizes. Eijiro, however, looked like a sinner in a church. You had never seen the man more nervous. You almost found it amusing to see such a big man so nervous.
You moved with Sachiko to one of the store attendants. She smiled. “Hello, how can I help you?”
You put your hands on Sachiko’s shoulders. Her wide crimson eyes grew wider as she looked at you and then to the woman in front of her. “We’re here for her first bra.”
The woman, her name being Chiyo, she gasped with a bright smile. “Oh, it’s a special day then.” She teased Sachiko making the girl blush a shade of pink. “I’ve got just the selection for you. I’m sure you’ll love them. Now, they do have adjustable straps for if your chest grows bigger and heavier, although I think you might be an A-cup already but let’s measure…” She led the two of you to get measured with a measuring tape and then she tried to guide Sachi on colours that would best go with what type of top or for school or more supportive ones for sport.
You watched proudly, trying to see the little butterfly make decisions on her own (although you did feel special with her coming to you for your opinion). You did notice that on the other side of the shop was Eijiro being swarmed by another attendant and another woman as well. He seemed to have a tense smile as he looked down at the both of them, sweating like- again, a sinner in a church. You couldn’t help but giggle at the sight.
“And you, miss?” You turned to Chiyo who had given Sachiko her items to try on. “You’ve been helping your daughter but you haven’t gotten anything for yourself.”
“My-” You paused. You smiled. “This is more for her than it is for me.” You told her. “But…” You glance over to Eijiro who seemed back against a shopping rack ready to make a bolt for it. “Do you have any lingerie in red?”
You had managed to get yourself a cute set, which you wanted to try on in the changing room. You tried on the lacy blood red bra that admittedly hugged you extremely well. You thought about maybe sending pictures to your large burly boyfriend about this.
Then you heard it. “Y/N.” You heard a loud whisper call out your name in the hallway of the fitting room.
You perked up at the sound. You stuck your head out into the hallway to see Eijiro searching for you. The moment he saw you he quickly dived in with you away from the outside. He put his back to the curtain with a concerned look on his face. You raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “Eiji? What’s going on?”
Eijiro looked at you with a fearful look almost as if he had been through a whirlwind. He opened his mouth to say something but paused. His eyes drifted down to your chest. He watched as surprise filled his face as his eyes were stuck on the way red contrasted your skin.
You chuckled somehow making him drag his eyes away from your chest. “You okay there Eij?”
He nodded his head dumbly. “Well, I am now.” He moved to walk over to you. He stood behind you putting his hands to your hips as he looked at you in the mirror. Something heated and dark in his eyes that you had seen before whenever you were both way too deep in exploring your bodies with your hands to think logically. It made your stomach in knots as he looked down at you. “Oh baby…” He let out lowly, moving a hand up your sides, gently feeling your chest gently before moving to your neck. “If I knew red was your colour, I wouldn’t have hesitated to walk in here. Look at you. Absolutely gorgeous.” He praised.
You couldn’t help but feel… dainty and pretty under his eyes. His large figure behind you showing the difference in size between the both of you. You felt heat move up your neck making you flustered, but you kept his gaze. “Thank you.” Your voice came out smaller than you thought it would.
Eijiro hummed as he looked you over. “Does it come in a set?” You nodded your head. Eijiro tilted his head, a smirk on his face. “Get yourself another one as well.”
“Something red?”
“Of course.” He chuckled lowly, placing a kiss to your head.
You smiled, turning to look up at him. “Thank you…” Your eyes shifted down to his lips first before moving up to his eyes again. “Sir.” You whispered.
You didn’t even get a second to breathe after before Eijiro was on you like white on rice. He had one hand holding the back of your head while the other held your waist, pulling you to be as close as possible. He groaned into the kiss, pulling you impossibly closer to him. Heat filled your abdomen as you could feel the bulge, he had against you. You wished you could feel him fully hard without the stupid pants in the way.
You separated from him with a gasp and a half-lidded stare. Before Eijiro could move to kiss you again,
“Ms Y/N…” Sachiko peaked into the dressing room. She caught eye of her father and glared. “Bad Daddy!” She immediately moved to push him out the room. She swat at his back and arm, painful slaps as she shoved him out the room. “Out! This is no place for you!”
“Ah!” Eijiro was shoved out the room by a mad Sachiko who glared up at him. “I was just helping.”
“No. You wait outside!” She spoke strictly, making it just the two of you. She shook her head in disappointment. “Boys.” That made you laugh.
However, you soon got confronted with some truth that Eijiro was hiding from you after a work event evening that had probably too much alcohol for Eijiro’s own good. The bright side of that is that you got to meet Akari, his oldest sister and man did she intimidate you. She was around the size of Eijiro, maybe a bit shorter but she looked damn right ready to crush you. However, she was a real flirt and super lovely to chat with. She loved making fun of Eijiro more than anything (much to Eijiro’s dismay).
A few pressured shots later and a long evening and you were dragging Eijiro back into his apartment.
“I’M HOME!”
“SH!!! Eijiro, Sachi is sleeping.” You whisper scolded him as you closed the door behind him. It was the first time you had ever seen him drunk or remotely tipsy, but to be fair, he did drink a lot. You figured he was a heavy weight. The large behemoth of a man stumbled around the entry way before being put up straight by you. You gave him a pointed look, but he gave you a hazy drunken smile. He moved to kiss you on your nose, which only brought a chuckle out of you. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” You carefully moved him towards his bedroom.
The large black haired man kept rambling on about who knows what. “If I was a superhero… I’d want to call myself Red Riot!” He announced nonsensically. “That’s such a manly name? Don’t you think?”
You chuckled and nodded your head. “Yes, it is Eijiro, but you’ve got to keep quiet. Sh.” You reminded him with a finger to your lips.
He put one to his lips. “Shh!” He shushed you back, before giggling.
You rolled your eyes with a smile, opening the door and allowing you both into his room. You led him to bed, allowing him to fall back into the bedsheets. You closed the door slightly as you moved to his bathroom to grab him some painkillers for the morning. You put them on is bedside table before moving back towards him. He seemed rather fascinated with a pillow before you moved to unbutton his shirt.
At first he seemed confused before a shit eating grin went onto his face. He giggled. “Oh, finally, we get to get frisky.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he moved to put his arms around your neck, trying to pull you into a kiss, which you easily ducked.
“No Eijiro.” You scolded as you carefully tried to take his shirt off. “No frisky.” You said sternly earning a pout from him.
“But Y/N…” He whined with a pout. “I’ve been aching for you forever!” He said dramatically throwing his arms out. “I think about you all the time till my cock gets all full and achy. especially in the shower.”
You tried to ignore his drunken confessions, heat moving to your cheeks as you undid his belt, moving it to the nightstand. You moved to take off his shoes and socks too. “No, Eijiro. I’m not taking advantage of you like this, and besides, we can be intimate when you’re ready.” You reminded him.
He hummed as he gave you a sided smile, falling back into bed. “You’re so cool and manly, Y/N.” He said all sing song. “Katsuki was also cool and manly.” You paused at the name. You had never heard that name before. You furrowed your eyebrows as you paused. Eijiro looked sleepy as he put his head to the pillow. “But then Sachi happened… then nothing was cool.” He blinked slowly before turning to look up at you with a tired smile. “But you’re not like that. You love Sachi, like I love Sachi. You wouldn’t want to hurt Sachi like Katsuki wanted to hurt Sachi. You’re so cool and sweet, and beautiful and amazing…” You moved to put him under the blankets in his bed, tucking him in. “I love you~”
You paused at the statement. You turned back to him. You put a hand to his cheek and smiled. You placed a kiss down on his forehead. “I love you too, Eiji.”
“Can you stay?” He asked softly. “I no get nightmares when you here.” His broken speech was cute, but you chuckled. It was late anyways, and there weren’t any more trains or busses at this time probably. Not to your side of town.
You sighed and nodded your head. “Okay.”
“Okay.” You watched him close his eyes as he slipped into sleep fast.
Eijiro let a low groan as he held his head. He moved towards you with a scowl on his face as he sat down at the island table in the kitchen. You smiled at him, preparing breakfast. “I am never drinking ever again.” He boldly proclaimed making you giggle. You moved to slide over to him a cup of water that you had already poured for him and painkillers. He opened his eyes and looked over at the two items. He grumbled. “Thank you.”
You laughed it off. “No problem, Eiji.” You switched off the stoves as you moved to pack away the already washed dishes from the night before.
He took a painkiller as he down the water. He let out a sigh as he put back down the glass. “Where’s Sachi?” he asked, noticing a lack of his daughter around. 
“In the shower.” You told him truthfully. With that now in mind, you thought it was the best time to ask him. “Hey Eij,” You asked as you packed away the dishes of last night. “Who’s… who’s Katsuki?”
Eijiro paused at the name. He turned to you with wide eyes, shocked at the question and shocked at the fact that you would be asking it. His heart was beating in his throat. “How… how do you-”
“You mentioned the name last night.” You told him. You watched his eyes squeeze shut as he dropped his head for a moment, letting out a deep sigh. You could tell this wasn’t what he wanted to talk about. “I… Do you-”
“Sachiko’s birth parent.” You heard come out of his mouth before you could finish. “That’s… that’s who he is.” Eijiro looked up at you, slumped. With Sachiko supposedly in the shower, he guessed that he could tell you. Eijiro ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “He… is trans and I knew him through high school and university. He was my best friend and admittedly, I loved him more than I should have. One drunken night together later and… well…”
-Glitch1d
198 notes · View notes
babyleostuff · 1 day
Text
up. and down
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
𝜗𝜚 angst, established relationship 𝜗𝜚 idol!seungcheol x fem!reader 𝜗𝜚 wc: 818 warnings: mentions of mental health issues, depression, oldest daughter syndrome
natalia's note: this is something very self indulgent, and as much as i'm kind of afraid to post it (partially because it's shitty as hell, and not proofread) writing it was a bit healing. whoever is struggling out there as well - i just want you to know that you're a fucking badass
Tumblr media
everyone has their better and worse days. life is just a constant sinusoid of going up and down, up and down. 
up. and down. 
this was definitely one of your downs. but it was also one of those where you couldn’t explain why you were feeling so down. so numb. so washed out of everything. nothing bad really happened that day - you didn’t oversleep, no one spilled coffee on you, everyone you encountered was nice and polite. maybe the weather was a bit gloomy, but you knew it had nothing to do with the way you were feeling. 
yet, as you were walking up the stairs to your apartment, all you could focus on was the emptiness in your chest, the heart that was beating way too fast for it to be normal, the tears threatening to spill, and your shaky hands that were clutching the door keys for dear life.  
and you felt so guilty for that. you didn’t know why, but you did. 
you tried telling yourself that you weren’t weak, that it was valid for you to have a worse day, and not feel guilty about it - but you just couldn’t. nothing happened for god’s sake, you didn’t have a single reason for the tears that were pooling in your eyes, so how could you call yourself anything but weak?   
“hey, honey. you’re home early,” you looked up to see your boyfriend standing in the hallway, with a big smile on his face. the exact one that could usually turn the shittiest days into the best ones. but not today. 
it made you feel even worse. seungcheol was one of the best things that could ever happen in your life. he was caring, loving, he’d move the mountains for you if he had to. he was the most hardworking man you’d ever met, and he never complained, no matter how hard it got. 
you didn’t want him to see you like this. ever. you didn’t want to show the light of your life your ugly side, the one that could rot in bed for days because it had no energy to get up and take a shower. the one that cried for hours for no reason. the one that sometimes felt like giving up was the only solution. 
you cleared your throat, trying to push everything away for the sake of your boyfriend. “hey, baby. what are you doing here, shouldn’t you be at work?” 
“yeah, but,” he narrowed his eyes, and took in your form, “they let us go early today,” he said after a quick pause. of course in that split of a second he sensed that something wasn’t right. as if you could ever hide anything from him. “what’s wrong?” 
“nothing,” you wanted to scream. nothing happened, except that your lungs didn’t let you breathe, and your heart was too heavy to beat properly. 
“i don’t know,” you finally admitted, and shrugged your shoulders. that’s when the first tear fell. “i don’t know what’s wrong, cheol,” your voice broke. 
seungcheol didn’t say anything else, he just walked up to you, and put his arms around you, caging you in an embrace that you knew so well. everything was so familiar - his gentle yet firm touch, the smell of his cologne, his slightly chapped lips resting against your temple - and still you felt like an intruder. like you didn’t deserve it. 
“you know i love you, right?” though his voice was quiet, you could hear it was slightly shaky. “your friends love you,” he said, and slid one of his hands from your back up to your head, cupping it. “and kkuma loves you. very much.” 
you choked on a sob, and hid your face further up seungcheol’s neck.
“i know you don’t see yourself like that,” you could feel something wet sliding down your neck, and for some reason you knew that the tears weren’t only your own, “but you’re so strong. you really are.” 
by now you were gripping onto cheol’s shirt like it was the last thing that could keep you afloat. you didn’t care about the tears anymore. you didn’t care about the broken cries. you just wanted to stay like this forever. 
“why am i like this? why can’t my mind just leave me alone?” you cried, your shoulders shaking. 
“i don’t know, baby. i don’t know.” 
and so you stood in the hallway of your apartment, with a very confused white fluff ball at your feet, till you had no more tears left to cry.
life is just a constant sinusoid of going up and down, up and down. 
up. and down. 
even though your down may seem like a dark path with no way out, like a never ending circle of tears and pain, you have to keep fighting, because you have people worth fighting for. 
and most importantly - you have to keep fighting for yourself.
369 notes · View notes
aperrywilliams · 2 days
Text
I Need You Now (Spencer Reid x Ex!Girlfriend!Reader)
Tumblr media
------------------ 
------------------
Author Masterlist
------------------
Pairing: Spencer Reid x Ex!Girlfriend!Reader.
Summary:  After the break up with his girlfriend, Spencer isn’t taking it in the best possible way. Memories flood his mind and the guilt of what he could have done differently. When everything is lost, there is no more to do than to go on, even if the only certainty in his heart is that he needs her now.
Word Count: 2.1k (a little thing)
Warnings: Angst. Spencer overthinks over and over again. The reasons for the breakout are not explicit, but you can infer them. Alcohol consumption. Open ending (hahahahahaha). I’m sorry (I’m not).
A/N: Full inspired by I Need You Now by Lady A. Please don’t sue me.
---------------
Pictures perfect memories
Scattered all around the floor
---------------
It’s late when I unlock my apartment door. As soon as I open it, it is the darkness that welcomes me and not you.
At other times, you would have jumped from the couch to greet me, throwing your arms around my neck and kissing me all over my face. And even if I always complained about you being up late for me, I silently loved it.
Sometimes, when I returned at dawn, I found you asleep on the couch with a book open on your chest. Those times, you looked so peaceful sleeping that I didn't like the idea of waking you up.
That isn’t happening tonight, though.
You’re not on the couch. You’re not home.
And the worst part is that you said you are not coming back.
---------------
Reaching for the phone cause
I can't fight it anymore
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me, it happens all the time
---------------
Our love story started pretty close as a romantic movie would do. I bumped into you on my way out of a coffee shop. You were going to go inside but were distracted by your phone. You didn't see me coming out until you were stumbling, and before touching the ground, I secured you with my arms.
I was the one who apologized profusely, even if you were the one who didn't watch your way.
When I finally looked at you, words left me. And to hear your voice telling me not to worry didn't help my cause.
I would have asked for your number if I were bolder.
I didn't and let you go instead.
But luck must have been by my side when we crossed paths again.
The same coffee shop, two weeks later.
I got inside that morning and saw you at the counter waiting for your drink. I recognized you immediately.
Without a second thought, I walked up to you. Before I could say anything, you looked up and recognized me, too. A smile tugged your lips when you saw me.
“Hi,” I greeted you.
At that moment, I realized I had actually spoken to you. Why did I do that? What was I going to talk to you about?
“Hi. Glad you haven’t got a coffee yet,” you quipped. Making me stutter.
“Oh, no, no. I wasn’t thinking of spilling my coffee on you. I mean-” I stumbled over my words.
“Don’t freak out. I was joking,” you hastened to explain. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
“A joke. Yeah. Uh. I knew that,” I said, trying to sound casual.
Why was it so hard to sound casual?
“Yeah. I figured,” you chuckled. “Will you tell me your name this time?”
That day, my fate was sealed.
We exchanged phone numbers, and against the odds, I was the one who called first.
That was followed by text messages and some coffee dates.
We both were pleasantly surprised at how naturally the conversation flowed between us and how much fun we had together. Forgetting our first encounter where I couldn't stop stuttering, as the weeks went by, I relaxed enough to be myself.
I can recall the time I told you I loved you. I was a nervous wreck, and as the words left my mouth, I only wanted to take them back because I couldn't stand the idea of being rejected by you, of losing you.
You were the one who told me not to be afraid of telling the truth because you felt the same way. I can swear it was one of the best days of my life. A passionate kiss sealed our confession as we vowed to be each other forever.
Nothing of that remains now, though. And I know that the one to blame is no one but me.
---------------
It's a quarter after one
I'm all alone, and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call, but I lost all control
---------------
Why did things go down between us? We were perfect for each other. People told me that often, and I believed it, too.
After dating for over a year, I asked you to move in. I was excited to begin a new phase in our relationship, although you were a bit reluctant. Not for lack of love or wanting. You said you were head over heels for me, but you have been cautious about your love life. The last time you had a serious relationship, things ended pretty badly for you. That time, you swore not to go through something like that again, so you were careful about protecting yourself.
I knew that, too. You told me what happened to you a few months after we started dating. I swore I would never hurt you. I loved you, and I would never do anything to harm you.
I’m now sitting on the same couch where we spend so many movie nights. The same where truths were told, dreams were discussed, and we planned a future.
With a drink in my hand, I glance at my phone over the coffee table and feel the urge to hear your voice. I want to grab the device and dial your number even if you told me not to call you again, even if I agreed not to contact you again.
But I miss you, even if every day I tell the world I'm doing better and I will get over it.
The truth is I don't know how to do it without you.
I need you now.
---------------
And I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now
---------------
Never did the silence overwhelm me as much as it does right now. It’s past midnight, and I can only think about what I should have done differently.
Maybe I should have opened up about what was happening before. You always knew I had a hard time expressing my feelings, but with you, that never was an issue. That’s why I can’t figure out why I did differently this time.
You told me I didn’t love you anymore, and that’s farther from the truth. I couldn’t stop loving you even if I tried.
Why did you say that, though?
Because I stop nurturing our love.
Because I took it for granted.
I made you doubt your worth and how important you are to me. I stopped listening. I stopped seeing. You gave me the signals, and I overlooked them.
Yeah, the job seemed more important at the time.
Of course, lives were on the line.
It's funny because none of that matters to me right now.
Missing you is something I never thought it could be a reality. How could I think about that when you were by my side to stay? Even the times I hurt you, you said you were to keep up no matter what. It was an unconditional love until it wasn’t. And I can’t blame you for leaving. It's all my doing, and I deserve to be alone. I deserve it, but I can’t stand it.
---------------
Another shot of whisky
Can't stop looking at the door
Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me, it happens all the time
---------------
There are times when you think of me. I do think of you every day. When I wake up alone in my bed or when I drink my first coffee in the morning, you are not teasing me by pouring all the sugar from the container.
I think of you when I check my phone, and there are no texts from you. When at night I don’t want to go to bed because you are not with me to let me love you.
I can still hear your footsteps on the hardwood floor of this apartment.
I can recall, like yesterday, the times we danced in this very living room. The time you build a fort with cushions and blankets just because I told you once I loved that as a kid.
The nights when you let us watch foreign films so I could translate you whispering in your ear. The same nights when the movie ended were long forgotten because we were making out just like the first time.
I don’t think I can stop recounting every single memory we shared: the good ones and the bad ones.
Because, of course, I, too, remember the fights, the arguments, the silent treatments. But above all, the talks and our agreement of never going to sleep mad at each other.
---------------
It's a quarter after one
I'm a little drunk, and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call, but I lost all control
---------------
With the alcohol running in my blood now, I can’t stop thinking about if your affections belong to someone else now.
Of course, I can’t be mad or blame you for it.
But my heart aches when I think about it.
I know I lost you the moment I allowed you to walk out that door.
But the damn phone is still there, tempting me, pushing me to call you. Even if I don't know what I could tell you.
Or maybe I do: I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I fucked up. I love you. I miss you. I need you.
Would you believe me this time?
It’s wishful thinking. A naive one?
I don’t think any word I could say right now can do some repair to the pain I caused you. But I could try.
I grab the phone with trembling hands and start typing the first three numbers: 8-6-7...
I can do this so that I will continue: 5-3-0... just one more digit.
But I know you’ll not answer. And if you do, it’s unfair to you for me to do this. I should respect your wishes. It’s the bare minimum I can do.
So I toss the phone again over the coffee table, and the tears run freely this time.
---------------
And I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now
Guess I rather hurt than feel nothing at all
---------------
If anything, I feel jealous of the person who will love you the way you deserve and will call you his.
In the same way I did a time ago.
Maybe I just need to get used to the idea. I lost you, and there is nothing I can do even if I still need you here.
I had the privilege of you letting me love you, and I’ll be grateful for having the chance.
Curling on the couch, I see the damn phone watching me again, defiance me. I’ll not give in this time. I owe you that much.
I was so immersed in my new determination that I could barely register the two knocks on my front door. It’s past one am, so I just assume it must be on a neighbor's door.
But then I hear another two knocks again. It is louder this time and impossible to ignore.
Grumbling, I stood from my spot.
I already know who it is. Derek Morgan has been adamant about pulling me out of my misery in the way he only knows: going out.
I could pretend to be deaf and pretend I didn't hear anything. But I know Derek; he won't settle, and he will use his spare key to get in anyway.
I open the door, ready to scold him for showing up at my door at this time. But words kept stuck in my throat when I confirmed Derek was not the one who was standing at my door.
“Hi. I’m sorry for showing up here without warning. I guess I didn’t think this thoroughly.”
My mouth opens and closes several times with nothing to say. At the lack of words, you continues talking.
“I thought I should call you first. But I wasn’t sure if you would pick it up. But if it’s a bad moment, it’s okay; I can go.”
Does telepathy really exist? I don't know, but I don't want to question it either.
“No, no. It’s okay. Would you like to come in?”
Your face shows something similar to relief. A bit of anxiety, maybe? I’m sure I’m not doing better.
What kind of test is this? I don’t know, but if it is the last chance I’ll get to do things right, God helps me to doesn’t fuck up.
------------------
A/N2: Bonus point if you know where her phone number comes from.
------------------
Spencer Reid's Taglist: @dreatine @nomajdetective @jayyeahthatsme @rosalinasam2 @averyhotchner @lovelyxtom @princessmiaelicia @pastelbabygirl19 @reidsbookclub @alexxavicry @gspenc @spencerreidisbae123 @calmspencer @pauline5525mgg @anamiad00msday @milivanili99 @laylasbunbunny @leahblackk @miaxx03 @missabsey @taintedstranger @khxna @hiireadstuff @pleasantwitchgarden @dysphoricsanity @levi-of-starz @themoonchildwhofell @silver138 @lovelybaka @shinytinywhispers
154 notes · View notes
navia3000 · 2 days
Text
s o l o n g , l o n d o n
Includes: Aaron Hotchner
Genre: Angst
Warnings: Mentions of break downs, drinking, mentions of depression symptoms, not proof-read
Based On: So Long, London by Taylor Swift
Tumblr media
You swore that you loved me but where were the clues?
I died on the altar waiting for the proof
You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days
“Haley wants us to get back together.” Upon hearing those words, her heart dropped. She realized why Hotch asked her to come on this ‘date’. She thought he was finally going to ask her to make whatever they were official, but she now knew he just wanted to let her down easy.
“What?” She asked. She could feel the tears pooling in her eyes, her view of Hotch blurry and distorted. Though she couldn’t see very well, she could see the pity and regret written on his face.
“She wants us to try to be a family again.” She took a second to process his words.
“And, what did you say?” She knew the answer, but she needed to hear it from him.
“I said yes.” He watched the tears fall from her eyes. “I had to, for Jack. For my family. We both knew this wasn’t a sure thing, Y/N. I’m your boss, and our jobs are dangerous enough, this wasn’t going to work.” He was right. Since she started at the BAU, she developed a crush on her slightly older, and incredibly intimidating boss. She would’ve never thought he felt the same towards her, and she was constantly teased by her fellow profilers about it, until he asked her out on the way home from a case. She was elated. They went on a couple dates, and she was sure they were going great. Until now.
“And Haley gave you the out. Instead of telling me, you led me on,” she choked on her sobs. She reached for her purse, preparing herself to leave Aaron Hotchner and her heart along with him. “Go back to your family, Hotch. And don’t worry, I’ll pretend like nothing ever happened.”
And I'm just getting color back into my face
I'm just mad as hell cause I loved this place
The team was shocked and confused when Y/N took a two-week leave of absence. She left without telling anyone or saying where she was going, she didn’t even tell Hotch, going straight to Strauss and asking for her leave, using the ‘family emergency’ excuse. They were even more surprised when she returned, acting as if she hadn’t just left without a word.
She could feel their eyes on her the minute she entered the briefing room. She sat down, chin high, eyes forward, not daring to look any of them in the eye for fear they would see through her facade.
Hotch’s eyes burnt a whole in her head. They hadn’t talked, interacted even, since that night. And while she was going to be profesional, she didn’t want him thinking he broke her heart, even if he did.
“Y/N, good to see you back.” JJ was the first to address her, the first to break the silence. She gave JJ a smile, and turned to look at the file sitting in front of her, keeping to herself throughout the briefing.
⊹˚₊‧───────────‧₊˚⊹
The team had moved the briefing onto the jet, the case being of a serial killer who was quickly devolving. The profilers all noticed their fellow coworker and friend’s strange behavior, her demeanor entirely different to the one she wore before her leave. She wouldn’t indulge conversation with the others, always directing the topic onto the case. The agents had also picked up on Hotch’s behavior; how his eyes would linger on Y/N for a little too long, and how he avoided referencing the woman.
Emily was growing even more concerned for her friend as the minutes passed, and when she saw her heading to the front of the jet for coffee, she quickly followed. “Hey,” she alerted Y/N of her presence, turning and closing the curtains to give them some privacy.
“Hi,” she gave a tight-lipped smile, moving to go back to her seat before Prentiss grabbed her arm.
“What’s going on?” She saw her friend’s face harden, her eyes moving to her feet.
“Nothing,” she knew better than to try and pretend like nothing was wrong around a bunch of profilers, but she couldn’t admit to herself that hers and Hotch’s break up was taking a toll on her. She was skinnier and paler, and was clearly struggling with something. But she couldn’t even call whatever happened between them a break up; they were only going out for a month and they hadn’t even told the rest of the team. So, sticking to her word, she would continue to act as though nothing happened.
“Oh, come on, you know I don’t believe that.” Emily dropped her grip on the girl’s shoulder, moving to fiddle with the coffee cups on the table. “Something’s going on. We all see it. You don’t have to talk about it, but, I want you to know we’re all here for you.” She saw tears pooling in the younger girl’s eyes, and her concern grew and her heart broke and all she wanted was for her to be okay. “You can talk to us. You can talk to me, or JJ, or even Hotch.” At the mention of his name, she broke. Her tears ran down her face, and sobs racked her body.
Emily hurried to hug her friend, shocked at her sudden breakdown. She heard the curtain being pulled, and turned to the sight of the team’s concerned eyes on the pair. But, she made sure to watch Hotch, noticing his own eyes becoming glossy at the sight of the crying agent.
For so long, London
Had a good run
A moment of warm sun
But I'm not the one
She sat on her couch, drowning her sorrows with a bottle of wine. Emily, JJ, and Penelope had just left her apartment after a night spent of crying and laughing, the women comforting her after she had confided in them about all that happened with Hotch.
She felt better, but not great. Her heart still hurt every time Haley and Jack came to visit Hotch during his lunch break, and she kept having to excuse herself to the bathroom whenever she was around him for too long. The team pretended not to notice the tension between her and Hotch, and they both refused to acknowledge each other unless it referenced their work or a case they worked.
Everyone knew something happened between them, and they knew their friend was not okay, so they pushed past it in hopes of nursing their friend back to happiness. She was incredibly grateful for all their friends were doing for her, but it wasn’t enough.
Nobody knew that she had just given Strauss a request for a transfer from the Bureau; none of the others knew, all but one person. The same person who’s name lit up on her phone, his calls going unanswered as she sipped on her glass of wine.
153 notes · View notes
Text
I think the thing that's fueling my Dead Boy Detectives fic series is that almost every major character has had some sort of interesting/unhinged interaction with every other main character. Like beyond the incredibly interesting/fleshed-out relationships between the main four detectives we have examples like:
1) Cat King and Monty forest interaction where the Cat King toys with Monty in order to both protect/play with Edwin
(Which, by the way, the Cat King knew about Monty before the forest scene when he shapeshifted into him by the lighthouse. So, like, did he know what Monty's secret identity was then and just straight up didn't say a word because he felt like it? Or did he figure it out later?)
2) Jenny straight up meeting Charles and Edwin only after being possessed by a demon and literal minutes before her shop gets blown up leading to the iconic "you were about to leave those boys forever now you're going to risk your life to save them" line
3) Jenny only meeting David to sing Belinda Carlisle/threaten him with a meat cleaver and get her SECOND near-death experience
4) Hell, on the meat cleaver POV: first and only time Niko meets the Cat King it's to threaten him with a meat cleaver and clock him for his interactions with Edwin (same goes for Crystal even though it's her second time meeting him)
5) Any scene Charles has one-on-one with Monty plus the bit on the sidewalk where Monty straight-up bypasses him for Edwin and Charles just goes "I was polite, wasn't I?" while the girls are clearing him away for Edwin and Monty to flirt
6) Night Nurse and Kashi. Everything about those interactions are *chef's kiss.*
7) Same goes for Night Nurse and Niko. Their dynamic is so fucking good and leads to the fantastic "reading comprehension" bit.
8) And from a more devastating/angsty POV, the scene with Esther and Monty in episode 5 where Monty feels more like a teenager than any other character in the cast. And as much as Esther is a camp queen in that scene, it's also terrifying because that iron cane is against Monty's chest and she literally ripped him apart episodes before that and she's going to kill him again next episode with that very cane and your brain is just bouncing between laughing at the "it's honestly nbd" line and going on red alert because get the fuck out of there, Monty, you're going to die at her hands-
133 notes · View notes
zegrasdrysdale · 6 hours
Text
qh43 headcanons
fluff and smut
Tumblr media
warning(s) : smut !
author's note : did i write 80% this while on my break at work ? absolutely (i was bored)
༺═──────────────═༻
fluff !!
you and Quinn were just friends at first
you both had crushes on one another for years though
then one summer you were both at the lake house in Michigan after you got an invitation from Jack and one thing led to another and by the time Quinn returned to Canada for the season, he was referring to you as "my girl"
Quinn keeping his captaincy a secret from you until it was officially announced by Vancouver and the NHL
you yelled at him about that
Quinn offered to get a C put on every one of his jerseys that you owned (which admittedly was a lot despite not being together for very long when he got the C)
you got tickets to the first Canucks home game to watch the captain's ceremony where Quinn got his new jersey
you surprise him after the game since he withheld getting the captaincy in the first place
he's a very big fan of kissing his girl. he'll steal kisses whenever he can, but especially when he comes back from a long roadie and you’re at his apartment
his love languages are very much physical touch and quality time. Quinn loves spending time with you and if it ends with cuddles, or a make out session, then he's very happy
you often visit him in Vancouver, most of those visits being surprises
you go to both Hughes Bowls even though Jack was hurt for the second one, and you wear one of your Quinn jerseys to both
you're very close with Luke and Jack and have been since you were all kids
you're also friends with some of the guys on the Canucks as well, notably Elias Pettersson and JT Miller
Quinn invites you to the All Star game in February and you accept. spending a weekend in Toronto with Quinn and Jack doesn’t sound like the worst idea in the world
you spend every summer at the lake house
Quinn gets you a necklace with a ‘Q’ on the chain for your first anniversary. you get him a chain with your name on it in return, and he wears it for every game
you beg him not to cut his hair or shave his beard and mustache after getting eliminated from the playoffs, but he does it anyway
Jack takes all the credit for your entire relationship since he is the one that invited you to the lake house the summer that you and Quinn got together
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
smut / nsfw !!
Quinn has a thing for you riding his thighs. he loves watching you get off using his thighs, and he’ll let you come as many times as you want
you think Quinn’s beard is hot so you never mind a little beard burn when he goes down on you, which is more often than not
he’s a giver. he’ll have you coming all over his tongue as many times as he wants. he’ll go down on you until your entire body shakes
you (not so) accidentally find out about his captain kink that neither of you knew he had. you had read about it somewhere and decided to give it a try one night …
and he made you come so much that you were in tears by the end it the night (oversensitivity is a thing that you wish didn’t exist)
Quinn loves when you use him to come. thighs, face, fingers, cock. it doesn’t matter to him
on the other hand, you completely give yourself to him if he has a bad game or a rough loss. he uses you to get off and blow off some steam, and you will let him
sneaking around the lake house to have sex is a big thing, especially at first. no one knew so the two of you would have to sneak off. then everyone knew so you were a little less discreet about it
there was boat sex on the lake once late at night one summer too. Quinn is not opposed to that happening again, but not when a bunch of people are at the house and notice when the boat is a mess
car sex is a big thing, especially when Quinn picks you up from the airport when he knows you’re coming to visit. he knows a bunch of spots to drive to so the two of you can hook up (he buys a bigger car and puts it to use in more ways than one)
lazy, morning sex !!
quickies !!
Quinn loves holding your hand during sex. he makes sure your fingers are laced together every. single. time.
༺═──────────────═༻
HC MASTERLIST
requests are currently CLOSED !!
wanna be added to the taglist ? fill out this form !
taglist : @dasiysthings @axaslee @ithinkimokeei @equallyshaw @dancerbailey3 @love4lando @prettyinsatiable @ivy-34 @bunbunbl0gs @marie7366 @naughty-box @memandi
42 notes · View notes
airas-story · 1 day
Text
Bitter Jealousy
Pepper hadn’t expected to feel jealous.
She had ended things with Tony. She was always the one to end things with Tony and had had a… certainty that if she was ever ready to try again, that he’d be there.
Something about Tony had simply seemed… inevitable.
This didn’t feel like inevitability.
Tony’s laugh could be heard, distinct in the hubbub of the gala where he was in conversation with a CEO on the list Pepper had given him to ‘make nice with’. Pepper watched as he smiled up at his date. Doctor Stephen Strange. Not his press smile, but his soft, genuine one that Pepper had always thought should be hoarded away so that the vultures couldn’t see it.
Tony had smiled at her like that. In a way that she thought he’d never smile at anyone else.
Pepper had treasured that smile.
Doctor Strange smiled back at Tony. Pepper didn’t know him well enough to know whether this was his press smile or not—if Doctor Strange even had one of those—but the way the skin around his eyes crinkled made her think it might be real.
Pepper looked away, focusing back on networking with the CEOs of several Big Pharma companies.
When she looked again, it was to find that Tony and Doctor Strange were on the dance floor. Tony’s arms were around Doctor Strange’s neck, Doctor Strange’s hands low on Tony’s back.
Tony and Doctor Strange were gathering looks, but neither man seemed to care. Tony was hardly unexpected in that, Tony never had cared. Doctor Strange… Pepper had looked into him, confident and cocky and invested in his appearance. Doctor Strange should care.
For one bitter moment, Pepper wished she’d never demanded Tony go to the hospital after his lab accident, minor as it’d been. Wished the hospital hadn’t tried to impress Tony with their very best. Wished that Doctor Strange hadn’t looked at Tony and seen past all of the bluster to the truth of who Tony was beneath it all.
But she had, the hospital had, Doctor Strange had. And now Tony was here with someone else.
Jealousy was a bitter thing. She was supposed to be better than that. She was supposed to be happy for Tony.
So why was it so hard?
A tap on her elbow drew her attention back to the world around her. She didn’t recognize the man who’d tapped, but she could guess, some CEO here to impress—though the firetruck red tie with darker red stripes was… an interesting choice at a black tie event. “I see you’re watching the dance floor,” he said smoothly. “Would you like to dance?”
It wasn’t the dance floor she’d been watching.
Still, she smiled, accepted.
The dance was uncomfortable the way so many of them were. Pepper escaped as soon and as graciously as she could, leaving talks of contracts and potential mergers—as though SI ever would—on the dance floor.
Tony and Doctor Strange were at the bar, now. As she watched, Doctor Strange stole the glass from Tony’s hand, throwing back the rest of the drink himself before sliding the glass away. Somehow she knew that that would be Tony’s last drink of the night. Tony looked more amused than offended.
She wasn’t surprised when Tony and Doctor Strange disappeared the moment it was acceptable—part of her was surprised Tony managed to last that long—and she wished she didn’t know what they were probably doing.
If it was just sex… Pepper could have handled that. But it wasn’t. She’d gone to the tower early one day, needing Tony to do something or other than she could no longer remember, and she’d found them sprawled out on the couch fast asleep, still dressed in their clothes from the day before, holograms projected in front of them where they’d been discussing something she hadn’t understood.
It would have been so much easier if it was just sex. 
Pepper left the gala not long after, herself, even though there were people still on her list to talk to.
Just… not tonight.
Tonight she could let herself hurt. Tomorrow… tomorrow she’d be happy for Tony. Tomorrow she’d figure out how to make the jealousy go away.
Tonight… Tonight she let herself wish that Doctor Strange and Tony had never met.
41 notes · View notes
lau219 · 2 days
Text
Enemies with Benefits
Part 7
Previous part here
……………………………………………………………………………
Tumblr media
“Thirty-five.”
“Fifty.”
“Thirty-eight.”
“Fifty.”
“Forty.”
“Fifty.”
Pausing, Tommy slowly released a breath before inhaling deeply and then speaking once more.
“Forty-five.”
“Fifty, or I walk, Shelby.”
Y/N leaned back in the chair in front of Tommy’s desk, definitively crossing her arms and holding his gaze with a look of sheer determination. As she spoke his name, Tommy smiled in amusement.
“What happened to ‘Mr.’ Shelby?” he asked.
“Gloves are off now, so we can forego the formalities,” Y/N replied as she continued to stare back at him. “Besides, fewer syllables to address you means I can insult you faster.”
Tommy’s smile widened.
“Well, in that case, ‘Tommy’ has the same number of syllables as ‘Shelby’, you know,” he said, tilting his head.
“We’re not friends,” she reminded him yet again. “Now stop sidetracking. The fact is, I made that place what it is. I’m the reason it’s successful. That doesn’t suddenly change just because you stole the place from me and now your name is on the paperwork.”
Tommy’s expression returned to a serious one.
“I didn’t steal it from you, Y/N,” he said. “In fact, some might say I saved it for you.”
Arching an eyebrow, Y/N crossed her legs.
“Or, you know, led me on, intentionally kept me in the dark, and then pulled the rug out from under me...however you want to word it,” she said sarcastically as she stared back at him. She knew there was validity to his statement, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of agreeing with it.
“Y/N, that’s not—”
“Don’t try and make yourself out to be a hero,” she said, cutting him off. “Now, you want me to still run the place for you? Then I get fifty percent of the income.”
Tommy stared back at her for a tense moment. They’d already agreed to other changes to the contract between them, but this was the biggest point to be settled.
“Forty-seven,” he countered once more.
“Good luck finding my replacement,” Y/N said as she grabbed her bag off his desk and rose from her chair. As she made to turn around, Tommy spoke.
“Alright, fine,” he said, his voice stopping her before she reached the door. “Fifty percent. But that’s after all monthly expenses are met and employees are paid, not before.”
Slowly turning back around, Y/N gracefully walked back to the chair she’d been occupying and sat down again.
“And the accounts for the place will all remain in my name, so that I have access to them and can make sure you’re not moving money around behind my back,” she said. “We’ll add you as an account holder, but with monitoring privileges only – no transactions can be made by you.”
Tommy scoffed and shook his head.
“That’s not very reasonable, love,” he said. “As the owner, I’ll have expenses to pay.”
Y/N continued to look at him.
“I’m your manager; I’ll handle all that. You need something, you come to me and I’ll write the check. In return, I’ll provide you with a receipt or invoice for every withdrawal we make, so you know exactly where your money went.”
Tommy shook his head again.
“And you think I’m going to forever forfeit to you the access to my own money?” he asked her in disbelief.
“No, not forever,” Y/N replied, now also shaking her head. “Just for the next six months.”
Tommy furrowed his brow.
“What?” he said.
“That’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about,” Y/N responded.
Uncrossing her legs, she scooted forward to perch on the edge of her chair before she continued talking.
“If you still want me to also help you turn the other clubs around, you’re going to have to be willing to potentially give my club back to me.”
“What?” Tommy said again, his face full of confusion.
“If you want me to turn those other clubs around, you’re going to have to agree to a little bet,” Y/N said to him.
It was Tommy’s turn to raise an eyebrow.
“What kind of bet?” he said to her.
“Some of those places are pretty far gone, and there are also a few that, even though they’re popular, they’re barely breaking even,” Y/N began. “We’d be lucky to see a surplus from any of them within the next six months, regardless of what we do to set them straight.”
“I’m aware of that, love,” Tommy nodded slowly.
“However, with some hard work, it can be done,” Y/N continued. “And I know you want to see a return on your investments as soon as possible. So...”
She leaned forward even more and rested her hands on Tommy’s desk, looking him straight in the eye.
“If I get at least five of the ten places bringing in a minimum fifty percent increase in profit within the next six months, then you give me back my club. Full ownership, no strings attached, completely mine again. You’ll still benefit from whatever work I do to the other ten places, and those will all still be yours, but if I make them successful enough, then I get my place back.”
Tommy held her gaze.
“And if you don’t?” he asked.
“If I don’t, you’ll still be benefitting from whatever work I do. You’ll also keep my club, and I’ll still stay on as your manager. I’ll also agree to turn over the accounts to you at that time and accept a monthly salary of whatever the average is of what you pay me over the next six months.”
Slowly, a smile began to spread across Tommy’s face. She was biting off more than she could chew. As good as she was, a fifty percent increase in six months was asking a lot, especially for multiple locations. As much determination as he knew she had, he didn’t see it happening. But he could enjoy watching her try. And he’d still have her when it was over, and in more ways than one, if he had anything to say about it.
“Alright, love, but I’ve got an edit for you,” he said.
Y/N crossed her arms over her chest.
“This is an all or nothing offer,” she replied. “You either agree, or I walk away.”
Tommy shook his head.
“It’s not a change to the stakes; it’s an addition of my own term,” he said.
Y/N cocked her head.
“And that would be?”
Tommy smiled again.
“During all this, you agree to ten dates with me. I choose the day, time, and place, and we go out together. You show up, we talk, have a good time, and I pay the bill.”
Y/N raised her eyebrows as she digested what he said. Was he seriously trying to get her to agree to date him while all this went down?
“Are you serious?” she said.
“How else am I going to convince you that I’m not as horrible as you think I am? Who knows, we may even have you calling me ‘Tommy’ by the time it’s all over,” he replied.
The adorable way he smiled as he said that nearly made Y/N smile herself.
“Don’t count on it,” she said, and the smile escaped her lips as a smirk.
“Well, we’re gonna find out,” Tommy replied. “You want me to agree to your terms? Then you agree to mine.”
He extended his hand across his desk to her, waiting for her to shake it. After hesitating for another moment, Y/N finally reached out and met his hand with hers.
“Good,” Tommy said as he released her hand. “Now that that’s taken care of, let’s finish up this contract, shall we?”
He gestured over to the laptop she’d brought with her, which was sitting beside them on the desk.
“I emailed the draft to you earlier,” he said. “Go ahead and open it and make the changes we discussed. Then we’ll add in a section about these new conditions before we print it off.”
As Y/N opened the laptop and pulled up his email, she recognized the document that Polly had given her the week prior. Going through it, she entered in the changes that she and Tommy had agreed to. However, as she came to the part that discussed what she’d be paid for continuing to manage the club, she saw that the line was no longer blank, as it had been when Polly had shown it to her. Rather than waiting to be filled in with whatever amount they’d agreed upon, Tommy had already entered that she’d be receiving fifty percent.
Y/N lifted her head and looked up at Tommy, who was looking at his phone.
“You already entered my percentage here as fifty percent,” she said to him.
“Yep,” Tommy replied, still focused on his phone.
“Wait, so you’d already decided to give me fifty?”
Setting his phone down, Tommy looked at her, simply smiling in response.
Y/N furrowed her brow.
“Why did you have me going back and forth with you, then?” she asked, unsure how to process the surprising fact that he’d decided ahead of time to split things evenly with her.
Still smiling, Tommy held her gaze.
“Just wanted to see if you were as strong of a negotiator as I guessed you were,” he answered.
@nyxxie-pooh @febris-amatoria @xsweetcatastrophe @allie131313 @natalie--rushman
@beastofburdenxo @aphroditeslover11 @garrison-girl-08 @meister95 @alltoowellbeneaththemangotree
@hannibellector @neonpurplestars89-blog @hudson-bay-girl @fuseburner @betty21rose
@wild-rose-35 @fairytale07 @judig92 @galactict3a @runnning-outof-time
@ceirinen @devotedlyshadowytheorist
48 notes · View notes
m1ckeyb3rry · 10 hours
Note
hi mira i’m going to rq for jjk (gojo specifically) :) kinda inspired by a fic idea of mine so if i see you post it maybe it’ll give me inspo to actually write too LOL — this is also a little long sorry, you can shorten as you wish 😓 maybe it’ll get the brain juices going idk
Y/N was really close to geto (i was thinking siblings but do whatever) and when he turned curse user and left, it made Y/N rethink why she was a sorcerer herself. she believed in geto’s ideals, but seeing his mindset 180 made her question if the same thing would happen to her since she was always weaker-minded than him. so she quit dropped out of the school and gojo never saw her since
skipping to the present, Y/N became a sorcerer again after having a conversation with geto some time before he died. with yuji being sukuna’s vessel, she goes to the school herself and sees gojo (their last convo was actually an argument leaving everything [him] behind). gojo’s just really stubborn, but he’s there when Y/N really needs him. from there they only keep encountering each other until they make up, their feelings are all out on the table, etc. etc.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
── CHIAROSCURO
Tumblr media
Synopsis: You don’t really know who you are without Suguru Geto. Satoru Gojo doesn’t know who he is without either of you.
Tumblr media
Event Masterlist
Pairing: Gojo x Reader, Geto & Reader have something less than romantic but more than platonic going on
Chapter Word Count: 6.7k
Content Warnings: angst, mentions of death, flawed y/n character, major time skips, most plot events happen off screen, characters are probably ooc tbh i haven’t written for jjk in months
Tumblr media
A/N: finally finished the first of the requests I’ve received so far!! it ended up being way more geto-centric than i had planned for it to be though i’m so sorry angel 😭 and it was also getting way too long so i decided to end it by just hinting the development of the rest of the story you mentioned LMAO i hope that’s okay 😫
Additional: part of my 500 follower event! see the event description and rules to make a request of your own.
Tumblr media
Most people grew up with one shadow, but according to your mother, you had lived your entire life with two. The first was the same as the one everyone had, that darkening of the ground in the shape of your figure. The second was the boy who lived next door — or, at least, that was what she told you.
His name was Suguru Geto, and despite his dark features and darker clothing, he had a perpetually sunny demeanor, always quick to offer you a gentle smile whenever you glanced his way. He was polite even when it wasn’t required of him, and though your mother teased you for it, you knew she was secretly grateful for his presence in your life.
The greatest thing Suguru had ever done for you, though, was not teach you manners. It was that he gave you someone to follow. Perhaps it was true that he was your shadow, but it was his in which you cowered when you were frightened, when the brightness of the world was too harsh for your eyes, which, when it came to cruelties and horrors, were as sensitive and new as a child’s.
Suguru was always happy to take on that role. He would stand in front of you, his shoulder blades pinching together as he puffed out his chest and rebuked whichever neighborhood child had dared to tease you. They all ran from him when he was like that, when his brow grew heavy over his eyes and the corners of his mouth twisted into a scowl.
Not you, though. You stayed behind his back, blinking owlishly at the way the others scurried, laughing along when Suguru likened them to mice with a click of his tongue.
Suguru didn’t like those who hurt the ones weaker than them, so you didn’t, either. Suguru thought that the role of the strong was to protect the frail, so you did, too. Whatever Suguru believed, you did as well, because what else was there for you? It was easier for you to hold onto his hand and press against his back, to allow him to tell you where to place your feet, so that there was never even a chance of you falling.
That was why it wasn’t a surprise that, upon Suguru being scouted as a sorcerer, you were extended the same invitation. It was a natural consequence — where he went, you followed, and so when he packed his things and went to Tokyo, it was both of your bags that he was carrying, while you peered around the train station and wondered what kind of place you were going to end up in.
Your new classmate was the one that picked the two of you up. He was tall — taller than even Suguru, though the majority of his body consisted of his legs — and had an unearthly appearance, with pale hair carefully mussed into a seemingly thoughtless style and black glasses which slid down the bridge of his nose to reveal eyes like diamonds.
He was the most brilliant thing you had ever seen. Lowering your eyes, you stepped back into Suguru’s shadow, earning you a scoff from your classmate and a worried exhale from your friend.
“Blech,” he said. “You’re supposed to be my classmate, really? How’re you going to keep up, huh? I’m the strongest sorcerer in the world, you know.”
“I think we’ll manage just fine,” Suguru said pleasantly, though there was an edge to his voice, his teeth like knives when he smiled and offered his hand. “I’m Suguru Geto.”
“Satoru Gojo,” your classmate said, shaking Suguru’s hand firmly. “Looking forward to working with you.”
“Likewise,” Suguru said. “And this is Y/N L/N.”
“Hi,” you said, swallowing even as you said it, pursing your lips and glancing around, wishing for some kind of escape. Gojo hummed and then poked you on the forehead.
“Aw,” he said when you did not visibly react beyond furrowing your brow. “I thought you might fall over or something.”
“I see,” you said. “Um. Well, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go before our teacher gives us all detention for playing hooky.”
Unlike Suguru, Gojo didn’t allow you to follow him around. He made fun of you when you were scared and poked you on the forehead if you cringed away from his taunts. The latter occurred so frequently that you were surprised there was not a permanent indent in your skin.
“One day I’ll get you, pretty Y/N,” he’d always promise you. “Seriously! I mean, you barely have a backbone in the first place, so it’s really a wonder you’re standing at all.”
At first, Suguru used to demand he stop, but as the months went by, his protests grew weaker and weaker. You supposed that it must’ve been nice for him, to stand beside someone for once instead of constantly throwing himself in front of them. You could not blame him, but you found that you missed him more with every passing day.
But what was there to be done about it? After all, you were nothing compared to the two special grade sorcerers. You did what you could and found it was, for the most part, sufficient, but sufficient would never let you exist beside either of them in any way that mattered. So you fell behind, and this time, it was not a conscious choice but an unavoidable circumstance. This time, when you hung back, Suguru continued forward without you.
Empty-minded and weak-hearted. That was what your teacher called you. He sent you on the simplest missions he could, and still you struggled. Sometimes, this meant you would sit alone in the classroom until it was long past dusk, listening to your teacher ramble and shout.
“You are not weak!” he would say, his hands clenched into fists by his side. “By all rights, your technique is perfectly serviceable. You are not weak, Y/N L/N!”
“Yes, sir,” you would respond meekly.
“At least, you should not be,” he’d say. “Yet somehow, inexplicably, you are. Even a Grade 2 curse nearly got the better of you. Your classmates are exorcising special grades on their own! Aren’t you disgusted with yourself?”
Suguru, and sometimes Gojo, would wait outside of the door for you, lingering until they heard the shuffle of your feet, the soft sniffles which announced your arrival. Then Suguru would wrap a casual arm around your shoulders and tell you that it was fine if you were weak, just as long as he was around to protect you, and Gojo would do that infuriating thing where he’d poke you in the forehead and pretend like it was a miracle you hadn’t toppled over yet.
Otherwise, you did not see your classmates. Shoko Ieri was far too busy learning to do things you could never hope to accomplish in your lifetime, and Suguru and Gojo were called on to complete assignments with such unhealthy regularity that their education actually suffered for it. 
You never knew what they did on their missions. You never cared to ask, either. The details would only make you queasy, and in this new world where you were not permitted to shudder and seek out the safety that Suguru so willingly provided you with, you tried to avoid things like that. Harsh things, brilliant things, cruel things — all of them you ran from at an equal pace. Without Suguru there to defend you, you turned into one of those children he had so-despised in your youth. Always running. Always hiding. Always shying away from anything resembling a challenge.
It was after one such mission that Suguru returned differently. You knew he had changed because he crawled into your bed that night instead of his own, drew the blanket up around his shoulders and pressed his weeping eyes against your collarbones.
“It’s no good,” he said after the third time you had asked him what was the matter, your hands nervously skimming over his shoulders, smoothing over his rough hair. “Everything’s been ruined, Y/N. Or maybe it was always like this. Maybe you’re the only one who’s ever understood the world to begin with.”
The next morning, when his feet touched the ground and he slid out of your bed, you were hit with the strangest feeling that you would never see him again. Not in the way you were used to seeing him, anyways. Sitting up in your bed, leaning against your pillows, you watched as he left, though when he went to close the door behind him, you reached out your hand.
“Wait,” you said. He paused, raising his eyebrows.
“Is everything okay?” he said, his knuckles growing white from gripping the handle.
“I want to look at you,” you said. You knew without knowing that the instant the door shut between the two of you, you would lose him forever. Your best friend. Your shadow. You wished that there was a way you could reach out and save him, but the thought of you saving someone was outlandish. Impossible. Laughable. 
“Yeah?” he said. There were heavy bags under his eyes, and it did not reach his irises, but nevertheless, he somehow managed to muster up a smile. It was not gentle as much as it was exhausted, but still, he smiled as best he could at you. “Okay.”
You hugged one of the pillows to your chest. “I miss you a lot.”
“I haven’t gone anywhere,” he said.
“Not yet,” you said. “I think you will someday, though. You’ll go somewhere far away, and I won’t be able to follow you there. You won’t even want me to.”
“What kind of place is that?” he said. “I’ll always want you to follow me around, Y/N. As long as I’m there, not a corner on this planet could be a place I don’t want you to follow me to.”
The door creaked shut. You stared at the blank expanse and thought to yourself that he had always been very good at lying.
From that day forward, there were two opposite phenomena which occurred simultaneously. On the one hand, that blinding radiance of Gojo’s was magnified by the minute, and on the other, Suguru withdrew further and further into a grey sort of monotony that, try as you might, you could not pull him from.
“Gojo,” you said one day, tugging on his sleeve and flinching when he turned to look at you. As per usual, he pressed his finger into your forehead.
“Yikes,” he said. “Seems like you’re still lacking in the spinal department, dear Y/N. But just so you know, I’ve cheated off of your math homework enough times that you really shouldn’t be scared of me.”
“Please help Suguru,” you said.
“Eh?” Gojo said. “What do you mean? Help him with what, his math homework? I’ll just give him yours to copy as well, so why don’t you cut the middle man and show it to him yourself?”
“No, not with — just, he’s going away, and I don’t want him to, but he doesn’t — you’re the only one,” you stammered. 
It was even more difficult to speak with Gojo now than it had been when you had first come to school. That was because it was only recently that you were realizing that that way he made you feel, that shyness, that apprehension, was not because of his gleaming, sharp countenance, but rather something else, something soft in your heart that thudded to life whenever he smirked at you.
“You want me to take his mission for him?” Gojo said, his nose wrinkling. “What, so the two of you can go on a date or something? Forget about it.”
“What?” you said. “No, what — a date — that’s not what I meant!”
It was too late. Gojo was gone, and with him, your last chance at helping Suguru vanished, too. In fact, Gojo avoided you until you went home from the summer break, making a face whenever you glanced his way, and by the time you came back to start the next year, it was too late for anyone to do much of anything.
“Y/N L/N,” Masamichi Yaga said, entering the library where you were writing a paper for your literature class. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, his cheeks a dark, flushed color, his teeth gritted together so hard that a muscle in his jaw twitched periodically. “Do you have a moment? It’s urgent.”
“I was just working on the essay that we were assigned, but it can wait,” you said agreeably, all too eager to give yourself a break from the work. Pushing aside your paper and pen, you stood up, massaging your wrist. “What is it, sir?”
“It’s, er…” His shoulders slumped. “I’m really sorry, Miss L/N.”
You tried to run through the list of things that he could be sorry for, but only one thing came to mind. You froze, your eyes widening. He had been on a mission, hadn’t he? 
“Suguru,” you breathed. “Is it — it’s not about Suguru, is it?”
“In a sense, it is,” Yaga said.
“Is he alright?” you said. “He has to be alright.”
“We believe his condition is fine, considering what he’s done,” Yaga said.
“‘What he’s done?’ Why are you being so vague? What’s going on, sir? Please say it plainly,” you said.
“It’s your parents, Miss L/N,” he said, spitting it out all at once like the phrase itself was poisoned. “They’re dead.”
Your stomach dropped. You had imagined so many things. In your nightmares, you saw your classmates dying, your teachers, even yourself. But never your parents. Your parents, who were so far removed from this awful world. Your parents, who only a month ago had sent you back to school with a pair of new shoes they had saved up to buy. You parents, who had never harmed anyone in their lives. What had they done that was so terrible it warranted such a sudden death? What were they being punished for?
“How — how did it happen?” you said. “Was it a curse?”
“Miss L/N…” Yaga said, his entire self deflating. “I’m really sorry.”
“What? Stop apologizing,” you said, tears gathering in your eyes. “Just tell me. Stop saying sorry and tell me!”
“It was most likely Suguru Geto,” he said, handing you a piece of paper. Your vision swam, and you could barely make out the words. All residents of the village were killed. Jujutsu High investigated. Based on residuals…all 112…the work of Geto’s curse manipulation. Sentenced to death. Sentenced to death. Sentenced to death.
“No,” you said, your voice cracking. “No, why would he do that? My parents loved him, and he loved them, too! We grew up together, so why would he do that?”
“Based on the evidence, he most likely killed his own parents, too,” Yaga said. Your hands wound themselves in your hair as you tugged.
“That’s a lie,” you said. “Suguru isn’t like that. Suguru is good! Suguru looks out for those weaker than himself! He protects people, Yaga. It must be a mistake. It has to be a mistake!”
“Miss L/N—” he began, but you were already running, sprinting as fast as you could. There was no way. There was no way. There was no way. 
Your house and the one beside it — Suguru’s house, a voice in the back of your mind nagged you, that’s Suguru’s house — were blocked off with yellow caution tape. Dozens of police officers were milling about the scene, barking into handheld radios, conversing tensely. One of them noticed you and extended an arm to stop your approach.
“Stay back, ma’am. This is an active crime scene. No outsiders allowed until the investigation has been concluded,” the officer said.
“That’s my house,” you whispered. “Officer, that’s my house. Why are there so many people here? It’s not true, is it?”
The officer didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. The pitying frown on his face told you everything you needed to hear. It was true. It was true. Your parents, your parents were dead, and that meant —
What had it been like for them? Had your mother welcomed him? When she opened the door for him, had her eyes crinkled at the corners in greeting? Had she offered him tea, as she usually did, because she was so fond of him and he was so fond of the drink when made by her hand? And what of your father? Had he reached over to clap Suguru on the back, or had he tried to grab him in an affectionate headlock so that he could mess up his hair with all the zeal of a man half his age?
You threw up. Some of the vomit splattered onto the officer’s shoes, causing him to fold his lips into a thin, disapproving line. Taking a step back, he reached over to pat you on the back as you heaved and hacked, trying to expel the knowledge from your mind and finding that you were entirely unable to.
You walked back to the train station in a trance, your eyes reddened and glazed over, your mouth sour from the taste of the stale crackers the officer had handed you, your hands shoved in your pockets as you tried to remember to breathe through your nose. The officer had offered to escort you to the station, but you had refused. You needed the time to think, and anyways, what did it matter? No ordinary person could hurt you, and no sorcerer would.
“I didn’t think you’d come back alone,” a soft voice said from behind you. You turned around, your insides roiling at the very sound, your ears ringing as you took in Suguru’s casual posture. His hands, too, were in his pockets, and the streetlights cast misshapen, dancing shadows over his face, the effect worsened by the odd tilt of his head.
He was refusing to look at you. That was why he was standing like that. He couldn’t bear to look you in the eyes, and that was the only confirmation you needed. 
“So what?” you said. “I did. Are you going to kill me next?”
“What?” he said. Briefly, he glanced up at you in alarm, and then, like he had remembered he didn’t deserve to feel betrayed by that kind of question, he slouched back down into the same apathy of earlier. “No.”
“Just do it,” you said. “Just do it, you fucking asshole! Why would — you — you killed my parents! You killed my parents, and now you’re just talking to me as if nothing happened? Why? Why would you…?”
His expression did not budge again. “They were filthy monkeys who deserved it.”
“Huh?” you said. The statement was so bizarre that, for a moment, your anger was forgotten. “What the fuck?”
“This world doesn’t need more non-sorcerers running around,” he said. “Every single curse you’ve ever fought, it’s their fault. Those idiots who don’t know how to control the meager amounts of cursed energy they have, they’re the ones who cause curses to manifest. You should be thanking me, Y/N. This’ll make your life that much easier.”
“Do you really think that's the case?” you said.
“Yes,” he said. “With my entire heart, I think that it is.”
You had always, always followed Suguru. When he said to protect the weak, you did so. When he said to take care of others, you did that, too. Whatever he told you to believe, you believed. But how could you do that this time? How could you believe in the person who had murdered your parents?
“You killed my parents because of your stupid theory,” you said numbly. “You killed my parents. Suguru, you killed my parents.”
You didn’t care about the one hundred and twelve villagers. That was the most shameful thing: if it had just been that, then you might still have followed him. He could’ve convinced you — no. You could’ve convinced yourself that it was fine, that he really was looking out for you in that peculiar manner of his. It wouldn’t have been impossible. Even now, your resolve was so weak, and it was only the thought of your parents that allowed you to cling to it at all.
“They asked about you,” he said dully. “I let them. My own parents, I didn’t give them a chance to say anything, but yours…I let them ask. I guess you could consider it my last favor to you.”
The ringing grew louder. You pushed your palms against your ears in an effort to drown it out, but you couldn’t. If anything, it just grew louder and louder, more and more insistent. You couldn’t shake it off. You couldn’t make it go away, just like you couldn’t make Suguru’s words go away.
“It was the only thing they worried about. In their last moments, it wasn’t their own lives they begged for…it was yours,” he said, his gaze far away, his irises unreadable as he recalled that moment. “How strange is that?”
“Shut up,” you said.
“I told them you were okay,” he said.
“Shut up,” you repeated, though it was unsteady and unconvincing. “Shut up, shut up.”
“They were pretty happy about that,” he said, in a tone filled with dreamy recollection. “They didn’t fight much after I promised you’d be okay. What simple creatures they must have been, that even while dying they could only think to rejoice!”
You screamed. It was wordless and brittle, a symptom of your lungs’ collapse as you broke into sobs, fumbling in your purse for your phone. Suguru watched as you unsteadily punched in a number you had never bothered to save, not trying to stop you, maybe not seeing the point.
“Gojo,” you said when he picked up, before he could even say anything. “Gojo, please just — can you come get me? Please come get me.”
“Okay,” he said, to your surprise. He didn’t argue or call it a waste of time or point out that you were still bawling as you spoke. “Where are you? I can be there pretty soon if I steal one of the managers’ cars, I think.”
“By my house,” you said. Suguru did not move, showing you his hands, as if he was giving you permission to do what you wanted. It was your choice. If you just told Gojo that he was with you, then you had no doubt he’d be apprehended within minutes.
“I see,” he said. “I’ll be there as quickly as possible.”
You were the one who hung up, not him. You were the one who made the decision. You were the one who looked at Suguru and then turned your back to him so that, for once, he was the one behind you.
“I can’t reconcile it,” you said, using the ends of your sleeves to blot at your tears as you hiccuped. “I can’t understand it. Even after everything, I still want to follow you. I still want you to be my shadow. I still want to be yours.”
Don’t turn. Don’t turn. Don’t turn. You couldn’t turn around. If you turned around, then that meant your old teacher was right. Empty-minded. Weak-hearted. You could not turn around.
A dry breeze rustled through the leaves on the ground, sounding like footsteps against pavement. Don’t turn.
You turned. You should’ve known better than to expect anything different from yourself. You had never been someone who could stand in the front for very long. You would always turn. You would always run and cower and hide.
Anything you might’ve said died on your tongue as you saw he was already gone. You were alone. You had let him go. You had allowed that mass murderer, that criminal, to walk away from you. What kind of a sorcerer were you? Empty-minded. Weak-hearted. That sort, then. The horrible sort.
When the headlights of the car Gojo had borrowed swung around the corner, you had long since curled up on the grass, your cheek to the mud as you tried to grasp what you had done. 
“Hey,” Gojo said. “Y/N?”
He must’ve gotten out of the car at some point, because suddenly, he was crouching before you, pulling you to your feet, his limbs awkward and gangly as he cocked his head, still wearing those ridiculous sunglasses despite the darkness.
“I’m a piece of shit,” you said, and then you were clutching the collar of his uniform jacket. “Why am I like this?”
“What do you mean?” he said.
“He killed my parents,” you said. “He killed my parents, and I let him walk away.”
“Who?” Gojo said, but it was a rhetorical question. He knew who. You looked up at him miserably, and he shook his head slightly, like he couldn’t quite comprehend what you were saying. “You let who walk away?”
“I don’t think he was planning on seeing me,” you said, letting go of his shirt and pleading with him to understand. “We weren’t supposed to meet.”
“You saw Suguru,” Gojo accused, and now it was his turn to take you by the shoulders, his fingers digging into the muscle of your biceps, his eyes wild. “You saw him, and you didn’t tell me.”
Your lower lip trembled. “He killed my parents, Gojo.”
“That’s not true,” he said.
“It is,” you said. “It is, he told me it is, and I couldn’t even do anything when he said so.”
“Why?” Gojo hissed. “You only had to tell me! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I just didn’t!” you said, and then you were crying again. “I couldn’t. Oh, they’re dead, and he killed them, he killed them, and they only asked about me when he did. Why am I the one who gets to live?”
His hands traveled from your arms to the nape of your neck, the heels of his palms pressing into your jaw as he tried to force you to look at him. But you couldn’t, of course you couldn’t, you hadn’t been able to before and you definitely couldn’t now.
“You know Suguru better than anyone. Don’t you think there’s something else at play?” Gojo said. He wasn’t asking for you. He was asking for himself. He wanted you to reassure him, tell him that it was alright, that his best friend wasn’t the monster you both knew he was. How was it fair? How could you be expected to reassure him?
You shoved him off of you. “No.”
“Then why’d you let him go?” Gojo said. “You must’ve thought that there was a reason, or else you would’ve told me. It’s the only explanation!”
“No, it’s not! The only explanation is that I’m shitty and weak and stupid, and I can’t help but rely on him. No matter what I do, I’ll rely on him! People like you don’t understand what it feels like. You can stand on your own, but I’m not like that!” you said, and then you were grabbing his hand — he always did that, you noticed, always turned his Infinity off for you even now that it was an automatic, constant process — unfurling his fingers and jabbing his index finger at your forehead. “Do you get it? You were right. I don’t have a spine. I don’t have one at all!”
“Pull yourself together, Y/N,” Gojo said. “He’s still out there. We just have to reach him before the others do, and then we can talk to him. If it’s the both of us, then he’ll listen. He’ll explain everything!”
“He already did,” you said. “You just don’t accept it, but that’s different than him not explaining at all.”
“So what, then? You’re just going to go back to the school and live your life as normal?” he said, scowling at you. “How could you even think of doing that? In what world does that make sense? You can’t go back and pretend like nothing happened!”
“It’s true. I can’t,” you said, because it was the fact you had been avoiding since the day you first set foot in the school, which you had always known in the back of your mind despite how you denied it. “I can’t go back at all. I can’t be a sorcerer.”
It was a rare thing to see Satoru Gojo speechless. If it were a lesser occasion, you might have laughed at the way his lips parted and his eyebrows knitted together in such a foreign way.
“Why not?” he said. 
“I’m afraid I’ll follow him,” you said. “No, I know I will. If I stay, then I will definitely follow him.”
“You won’t,” Gojo said. “Follow me instead. Follow me if you have to, but you can’t leave. Not you, too.”
Another rarity: Satoru Gojo was afraid. Not of your absence, but of the changes it would bring. With Haibara gone, Suguru vanished, and then you…what would even become of the school? When so many pieces were taken away from it, could it even be considered the same place?
“I can’t end up like that,” you said. “I can’t even risk it. I became a sorcerer because of him; I’ll leave because of him, too. Anyways, you hate when I follow you. You prefer people who can stand on their own two feet. I know that about you now.”
“If you run away, I won’t forgive you for a long time,” he warned me. 
“Then don’t,” you said, stepping away, though still facing him. “What good is your forgiveness, anyways? It won’t bring my parents back. It won’t bring Suguru back. I don’t even want you to forgive me, Gojo. I want you to hate me until you die.”
It was the last time you saw him for so long that his memory blurred away at the edges. The way he said your name, the way his hair shone in the sun, the slope of his nose and curve of his neck…once, these were things you might’ve been able to list with a great degree of accuracy. Not anymore, though. Now, if you thought of him at all, it was only that final image of him, framed by the headlights of that still-running car. It was not your name he had called out as you walked away from him, but something bitterer, a promise said with such sincerity it was all but a Binding Vow.
“Ten years,” he had said. “That’s how long I’ll hate you for. Not my entire life. Not until I die. Just for the next ten years.”
Life as an ordinary person was easy. Life without Suguru was harder. But you learned. You learned, through the years, how to stand on your own two feet. You learned how to live with only one shadow instead of two. You learned how to let your eyes adjust to light, gradually instead of all at once, so that it was an easy progression and free of pain. 
There were times when you thought you had seen one or the other of the two who you had run from. There, across the street, was it Suguru reading the newspaper? Or in the bakery you walked past on your way to work, was it Gojo who was admiring the displays? They always vanished before you could grow close enough to ascertain their identities, though, remaining ever out of your grasp, existing as nothing more than phantoms in your periphery, refusing to let you forget the past entirely.
The first time you called Gojo was a year after you left the school. You weren’t expecting him to pick up, and when the automated message prompted you to leave a voicemail, you almost hung up in resignation. Something stopped you, though, and despite feeling entirely ridiculous, you cleared your throat.
“Ah, it’s Y/N. But I guess you probably knew that, considering you didn’t pick up. Well, I don’t have anything much to say, but I just wanted to call and make sure you were doing alright. I’m okay. The anniversary of my parents’ deaths is coming up, so I was planning on visiting their graves. I got a new job. Somewhere that I never would’ve expected to work when I was younger. It’s nice. I like my coworkers. They’re nothing compared to you, of course, but they’re fine enough. Anyways. Um. I guess that’s it. I don’t think you’ll call me back, but I just wanted to let you know I’m doing okay.”
It was a routine. Every year, on that day, you’d call him and leave him a voice message. He never once answered — you doubted he listened to the voicemails at all, either — but it soothed you to leave them, to leave one last connection to the world that had taken up so much of your life, and for so long.
More often than not, that time felt like a dream. If it weren’t for the thorned mourner’s bouquets which left pricks in your fingers or the ten calls you had made to Satoru Gojo, you wouldn’t have believed any of it had happened at all. Sorcery, curses, shadows and killers, best friends who betrayed you and boys you ran from, these were all things better suited to storybooks than real life. 
Your mother’s favorite flowers had been roses, and you always made sure to bring some with you when you visited your parents’ graves. Roses for her and white chrysanthemums for your father, who had never had a preference for any particular flowers but was so sentimental that he would weep at any blooms being set by his headstone.
The roses were the ones that made the pads of your fingertips bleed, leaving bright red drops the same shade as their petals on the tissues you brought with you. You’d set the bouquet down and wrap your fingers with the tissues, watching as blood seeped through the thin paper, and then, without fail, you’d cry.
“It’s been so long without you,” you said, when enough time had passed that you could not be considered anything but an adult despite feeling like little more than a child. “It’s been so long, and I still don’t know what to do. Mother, father, I am grown now, yet constantly I wish I could ask you for advice. What was that song you’d always hum when I was tired, father? How did you make that tea of yours, mother? When did you know you loved one another? And a million other, sillier things. If I could think of nothing more pressing, I’d ask you about the weather, the time, and your plans for the weekend. I’d bid you a good morning and a good night. I’d complain about the rain and my job. Just as long as it meant I could talk to you again.”
You could not help it. You wept, bloody tissues fluttering to the ground as you ground your fists into your eyes, trying to stem the flow of your tears. Your breath came in quick, short gasps, and you rocked back and forth from your heels to your toes in an attempt to lull yourself into a state of calm. Back and forth. Back and forth. It was the only thing you could do, but it was not enough.
Someone’s hand settled upon your shoulder, and it had been so long since you had felt even a semblance of physical affection that you did not immediately bat them away. Instead, your own hands fell to your sides, your head hanging as you watched the newcomer set a bouquet beside the one you had brought. Orchids and lilies. Lovely, pale things that contrasted sharply with the red of the roses next to them.
“You said in your voicemail that you’d be here at this time. I hope it’s okay that I came.”
It was Satoru Gojo. He no longer wore the sunglasses you remembered him to; instead, a black blindfold was wrapped around his eyes and forehead, causing his pale hair to stick up like he had been shocked. He did not quite smile when he noticed that you were looking at him, but something resembling that expression crossed his face.
“Gojo,” you said. “Why are you—?”
“It’s been long enough,” he said. “You’re a really hard person to hate, Y/N L/N. I did my best, but it was difficult. I hope that you know that.”
“So you’ve come to, what, tell me you forgive me?” you said. “Thanks, but I don’t need it. It’s as I said: your forgiveness means nothing.”
“Nah,” he said, and then he was grabbing your hand and squeezing it tightly. “I’ve come to bring you back to sorcery with me.”
“What?” you said. “No. I quit.”
“You didn’t quit, you ran,” he reminded you.
“That’s the same thing,” you said. He grinned. It was the kind of grin that would’ve blinded you when you were younger, but you found that it was not so brilliant anymore. You found you liked it even more than you once had.
“Not in my books,” he said.
“Gojo, I’m not strong enough. I can lead a normal life without you and Suguru and the others, but if you throw me back into sorcery, I know I’ll cave,” you said. “I’ll turn back into that cowardly little girl I once was. I’ll seek out that shadow which I’ve spent so long learning to exist without.”
He sighed, and then he poked you in the forehead. “Not the case. See, you didn’t even waver this time! I think you finally did it, Y/N. You grew a spine.”
“Why do you want me to come back?” you said. “I’m not strong like you. I won’t give you anything you don’t already have.”
“It’s selfish,” he said. “I don’t want to tell you because it’s selfish, and you’ll laugh at me.”
“If you don’t tell me, then I won’t even consider it,” you said. Though his eyes were covered by the blindfold, you could sense him rolling them based solely on the way he pouted.
“I’ve spent the last ten years hating you for leaving us — for leaving me behind,” he said. “Everyone else was gone. I needed someone, but you left too, and then I really was alone. I want to drag you back into hell because I can’t face it by myself anymore.”
There were things left unsaid in that. Why you, for one? He could have anyone in the world, so why, after ten years, had he come to find you specifically? Why was it now that he could no longer bear the hell that was sorcery alone? But Gojo was not the sort who ever revealed his true self if he could help it, so you supposed those things would have to go unsaid for a little longer.
“Okay,” you said.
“Okay?” he said.
“Okay,” you said. “I’ll come back, but I have a condition.”
“What is it?” he said.
“The next time I leave, or run away, or quit, don’t hate me for quite as long,” you said. “Don’t hate me at all. I know I told you that I want you to hate me until you die, but I don’t anymore.”
“Okay,” he said.
“Okay?” you said, in a direct mirror of your previous exchange.
“Okay,” he said. “Come on, then. Follow me.”
“Oh, that, too,” you said. “I won’t follow you. If that’s what you’re expecting, then you can forget about it. I cannot allow myself to follow anyone ever again. I cannot be that weak, or I’ll become someone I despise. Someone I don’t want to be, ever again.”
His expression morphed into one of shock, and then he did something so odd as to be beyond all rationality and logic. He beamed at you before patting you on the head. It wasn’t condescending; it was the kind of gesture that was like a promise, or a warning, depending on who you asked. Maybe in this case, it was both.
“It’s alright. Actually, it’s better if you don’t,” he said. “I like you more when you don’t follow anyone at all.”
Tumblr media
33 notes · View notes
narrans · 16 hours
Text
My Borrowed Son | 23 | Terse Table Talk
Chapter Twenty-Three | Terse Table Talk
Kers heard the voices extinguish like a snuffed candle as soon as the call of, “hello?” left his lips. There was a slight shuffle of light souled shoes. A few hushed whispers Kers couldn’t make out but guessed it had something to do with protection and curiosity.
He decided to call out again.
This was one thing he hated about meeting new Borrowers – the apprehension and fear of whether they were kind or evil. Too many times his encounters ended up with the later rather than the former.
Images flashed in front of Kers’ eyes of memories long passed. It was quick, but just enough to set Kers on edge as he spoke up again.
“Hello? Listen, I don’t mean to intrude. My name is Kers. I just moved here with the human. If you don’t want me around, I’ll go somewhere else. You won’t even know I’m here. I just wanted to explore the walls and set up a good place to stay. From one Borrower to another, any help is appreciated.”
The words he spoke were words Kers heard his brothers say countless times when they moved around as kids. Just saying it made his throat constrict, but he would muddle through that later.
The silence that followed was deafening and thick with unease. It put the Borrower on edge to the point he reached for the pin on his side. The only hesitation came when a masculine voice, smooth and aged, answered.
“You alone?”
Kers breathed a relative sigh of relief, but he was far from being in the clear yet. It was a start though.
“Yes, I am,” he replied as he thought of Parker, a topic he decided was not good to bring up right at this moment.
Another pause.
Then, emerging from the corner, was who Kers assumed was the father. He had thick facial hair but a thinning hair line, both speckled with blond and silver hair. The Borrower had fierce eyes that absorbed the light coming from the light that was on the end of his walking stick. He had his staff light held out defensively and quickly evaluated Kers. Whatever this Borrower had seen in his life, he obviously was a quick reader when it came to character.
It took a few moments before he retracted his staff.
“New arrival, you say?” he asked gruffly. Kers nodded.
“Yeah. Haven’t even been here twenty minutes,” replied Kers.
“From where?”
“Electrical outlet in the living room. Don’t worry. I put it back.”
“And the human? Does she know about you?”
Kers had to think about the Borrower’s question for a moment. The truthful answer was yes and no, seeing that Amanda knew about Parker; but, that wasn’t the question.
“No, she doesn’t know about me. I’ve been around her for four years. I can share what I know. Patterns. Organization. Schedule,” offered Kers.
The Borrower’s eyes narrowed as he evaluated Kers’ offer. He actually reached up and stroked at his silver streaked beard as he considered the possibilities in front of him.
“In exchange for?” he asked after several more tense seconds.
“Nothing. Just one Borrower being friendly to another,” stated Kers. “Though if you have an idea of where would be good for me to set up camp to not be in your way or space, I’d appreciate it.”
The offer of nothing obviously raised the Borrower’s suspicions, but followed up with a suggestion of where to live seemed to, at the very least, amuse him. He nodded and, after a moment, extended his hand for Kers to shake, which he did gladly.
“Well, I think we can agree to those terms. I can tell a liar when I hear one, and that’s not you, but don’t try anything. Got it?”
“Yeah, absolutely,” agreed Kers. With a stiff nod, the Borrower stepped to the side and gave a little gesture for Kers to follow along. It took everything in him for Kers to keep from resting his hand on his stay pin sword and his thumbtack dagger as he followed the other Borrower. He also didn’t dare ask anything too personal. This guy seemed like the type to provide essential information when the time was right.
They rounded the corner and Kers instantly spotted three other Borrowers in varying ages. The oldest was obviously late teens and shared many features with his father including those light absorbing eyes and blonde hair. The middle child was a girl who looked, to Kers, to be just a little younger or about the same age as Parker. She had dark brown hair and the same coal black eyes as her older brother. Then there was the youngest boy among them, a dark haired blue-eyed boy who was maybe eight or nine years old.
“Kids, this is Kers. My oldest, Finnick, my daughter, Sprokit, and my youngest son, Reed,” introduced the Borrower. “I’m Toulouse.”
“Nice to meet all of you,” Kers said. His insides churned nervously as he glanced at the piercing eyes of Toulouse’s children. All of them seemed to have the same ability their father had in seeing straight through someone. Perhaps it was just the color of the two eldest children’s eyes, but Kers felt like the secret of Parker would not remain so for long.
“Well, our plan was to go out and show Reed the ropes of running outside the walls, but gathering intel on this new human might be better,” pointed out Finnick, whose hand was also resting on what looked like a razor blade dagger at his hip.
“My thoughts exactly,” replied Toulouse. Reed was obviously crushed. His shoulders slumped and his features fell, but he didn’t say anything in objection. Kers didn’t know if it was because Reed wanted to behave himself and be rewarded with time outside of the walls or if he was a bit shy around strangers.
Whatever the case, Finnick gestured for Kers to follow, and so he did.
The five of them trekked through the walls, Reed stomping up the stairs from time to time to demonstrate his frustration in getting his wall trip cut short, while Toulouse followed behind. Kers almost felt like he was surrounded and being escorted to some kind of holding facility like how they did in the movies.
Kers had that privilege of watching a few movies from front to finish without Amanda and Parker noticing, and this felt like one of those movie scenes.
Up the walls. Across beams. Down some wires and then back up again.
Eventually, they made it to a section of wall that was very clearly part of the attic crawl space. It was a spot that was either segmented off from the main house or in a space that could never be reached by the residents of the house. Whatever the case, the house was made of sturdy cardboard and wood.
The windows were aglow with warm light, most likely from more fairy lights, and there was a smell of something in the air coming from the kitchen. Inside, Kers could hear someone singing softly along with coos and young giggles.
“Don’t forget to take off your shoes when you go in. Mom hates dirt in the house,” said the girl.
“Oh, right. Thanks. Sprokit, was it?” asked Kers. The girl huffed slightly as she pried off her borrowing boots and began unstrapping her gear.
“I go by Kit, actually. Dad just prefers full names for introductions,” replied Kit.
“Oh. Right. Sorry. I’ll remember that,” apologized Kers.
“Don’t be rude, sis,” mumbled Reed.
“You mind your business,” Kit shot back.
One look from their father silenced their bickering as they retreated into the house. Kers noticed that none of them removed their various blades and pins as they went into the house.
Smart. They don’t trust me and are staying safe. Guess I’ll do the same.
Kers removed his shoes and walked further into the house as he heard who he presumed was the mother and wife to Toulouse address the kids. Her voice was as sweet as her singing.
“Hey there. Back so soon? Did something happen? Or did you all find what you were looking for that quick?” she asked.
“We have a guest,” Kers heard Kit say. There was a distinct inhalation before the conversation continued.
“Ah. I see. Well… I guess I need to set another bowl on the table,” she replied.
Kers glanced around the living area and caught a glimpse of the kitchen.
The place was pristine. The crochet blankets were neatly piled in the corner of the room. There was a table made of what looked like glued together playing cards and shelves made of popsicle sticks. It made where Kers used to live look like a hovel.
Still, they probably never had to move in their lives. Or, at least, they haven’t had the need to move in a while.
Lucky.
“Hi!” Kers snapped too when he felt a tug at his hip from another little Borrower child. She had blonde hair and blue eyes and a smile that stretched as wide as a jumbo rubber band. “Hi!” She must’ve been four or five years old by Kers’ estimates.
Stunned, Kers could barely manage his own, “Hello,” before spotting the baby girl’s mother. She had dark brown hair and blue eyes that were pale like glacier ice. She was wearing a skirt that fell just below her knees and an apron of sorts with various tools and threads spilling off of it.
What really caught Kers’ eyes, however, was what he noticed when she walked over to snag the Borrower child. She walked with a severe limp and the leg that poked out from under the skirt wasn’t real. It was fake.
A prosthetic – and it looked well made.
“Dove! So sorry about that,” she smiled. Kers shook his head and smiled as he looked into the woman’s features. There was so much life in her eyes, like she couldn’t be deterred from anything she set her mind to.
“No. Don’t worry about it. No harm or anything,” said Kers. “I’m Kers. Just moved in when I met the rest of your family.”
“Barely arrived,” said Toulouse as he entered the kitchen and leaned over to kiss his wife and take the baby, Dove, from her arms. “His pack is by the door.”
“Wow! So, you must’ve arrived with the new human. Yeah? The other family was here yesterday moving things around and then they were gone. Now we have a new human.
“I didn’t think humans could move so quickly. Then again, they have all of those tools and everything. Good for us. There won’t be any gap in borrowing,” she smiled. A thought must’ve dawned on her because she immediately wiped her hands on her apron and held out her hand for Kers. “Sorry. I’m Mira.”
“Nice to meet you.” The two of them shook hands before her husband cleared his throat.
“What do you need to finish lunch?” asked Toulouse. Mira gestured to the table and the stove, which looked like part of a heating element that was hooked up to electricity.
“Just your bums in the chairs and the pot on the table. I hope you don’t mind potato soup. I thought we were going to have to start rationing, so I went ahead and made a big batch to start storing,” Mira replied. “Here. I’ll get-”
“I’ve got it, mom,” said Finnick as he hoisted the pot off of the stove and set it onto the table, making sure to put it on the cloth fragment to keep from burning the table. Mira smiled and nodded as she maneuvered the youngest from one hip to the next with the smallest wince before carrying her over to the table, the rhythm of her walk showing she had experience walking with a child on her hip.
Before he knew it, Kers was sitting down at the table across from the oldest boy and beside the youngest with Toulouse immediately to his left. There was a warm bowl of soup in front of him and conversation all around.
Never before had he experienced anything like this.
A lump formed somewhere in his throat. More images flashed in front of his mind of days gone by.
Had he really been alone for so long?
“So, Kers,” said Mira as she wiped up her daughter’s face once again. “Tell us a bit about your travels. Have you always lived around this new human downstairs? Or was this a recent development?”
Just as if someone had snapped their fingers, Kers was out of his trance and in the moment once again.
“Um… I… well… I mostly moved around except for the past four years, which is when I started living in Amanda’s building. That’s the name of the human woman downstairs,” said Kers. “As for my travels… well… there’s nothing really to tell. Lived as an Outie for most of it, but lived as an Innie when I could.”
“An Outie? You mean you lived outside in the elements with the wild animals and everything?” asked the youngest, Reed. His eyes were bright with curiosity and also filled with the innocence of never being truly afraid in his life. Kers didn’t want to scare the kid but nodded simply to be polite.
Already, this was more words than he would say in a year, and he was feeling burned out from conversation. Still, he endured the further onslaught as all of the children as well as their parents asked question after question.
How long had he lived on his own?
What were his skills?
Would he be interested in helping ward off some animals trying to get into the baseboards?
Where was he thinking about setting up?
What kind of things did he need to get started?
What really started to make Kers nervous was when they began to ask about the human and her habits.
He told them everything. He told them she worked from home a lot but slept soundly through the night and generally kept to herself when she was home. The Borrower went into all of the details he could when it came to how she liked to put things into drawers and the things she would notice going missing.
“This is really good, dad,” Finnick said as he helped clear away the dishes. “We’ll be able to get everything timed to the second. It’s even better because she doesn’t have any kids.”
Kers felt his insides twist, making acid build in the back of his throat. It was like walking on pins and needles. Kers knew he needed to discuss this as soon as possible, but it didn’t stop the impending dread. Before things went any further, Kers decided to speak up.
With no real plan of attack, he took a breath and dared to begin the impossible conversation.
“Actually… she does have a kid.”
The family glanced around at him curiously before continuing their dinner clean-up.
“Well, that’s unfortunate,” muttered Toulouse. “Thought we’d get a break after the last family left. No matter. We’ll be no worse for wear. We’ll just…”
“Actually,” interrupted Kers. “There’s… something about the kid that… is going to be a bit hard for you to hear.”
The room quieted as all eyes fell on Kers. It made him feel like bugs were crawling all over his skin. He hated attention, even as a child, and this was his ultimate nightmare. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he continued.
“The kid’s name is Parker. He’s a really sweet kid, but he’s a little different; especially from Amanda.” This was it. The moment of truth. “Because he’s a Borrower.”
It felt like someone set electricity into the air, charging it and making everyone’s hair stand on end. Everyone’s eyes widened to the size of human dinner plates. Expressions varied from confusion to disturbed horror and anger. It was a scene of complete and utter mortification, and Kers knew the bombardment from earlier would be nothing compared to what was in store for him.
Toulouse was on his feet in the blink of an eye as the kids retreated several steps away from the table.
“What do you mean? She… captured him?” asked Mira. Kers shook his head and took a visible breath in hopes it would deescalate the situation.
“No, I don’t think so. I honestly think that she found him and has been taking care of him for all of his life,” replied Kers. “I want to tell y-”
“You mean to tell me a human has been keeping a Borrower hostage and you’ve just watched for four years?” growled Toulouse.
“Dad… do you think he’s her pet too?” hissed Finnick as his hand now rested obviously on his hip dagger, ready to draw in an instant. The afternoon had turned from a pleasant one to one of utter chaos in a matter of seconds.
This was bad.
Kers knew he had to rise to his own defense and provide some kind of explanation. He cursed himself for not being as eloquent as his eldest brother. He continued to sit and shook his head as he said, “I’m no pet, boy. You would do well to remember that. And I can tell you I’ve wrestled with this from the first day I found them together. I’ll tell you if you’re willing to hear me out.”
The family exchanged wary glances, so Kers continued in a rapid word vomit that put teenage gossipers to shame.  
“I was moving in the middle of winter from the home I was previously in. I thought I might’ve been seen and kept to the Borrower code of staying on the move. I saw them playing in the snow outside and began planning a rescue mission immediately.
“When I made it to their home, I saw them sitting together watching a movie just like any other parent and child I had seen in previous homes. She made sure he had food and they even read together that night. I had no supplies and no way to take care of him, and Parker didn’t seem like he was in any danger.
“I decided to get enough supplies to survive and then I would rescue him, but the more I watched the more I realized this kid had no idea that he was a Borrower and was happy living with his adopted mother. I’ve been watching ever since to make sure he was alright, keeping to the shadows and being ready if anything should happen.”
Kers realized how difficult it must be to hear and understand everything he was saying. He wasn’t even sure half of his words made sense. It wasn’t until he paused to take a breath that his brain registered the changing expressions on everyone’s faces.
“So… you don’t think… he knows he’s a Borrower?” asked Mira. “You don’t think that this human took him from his parents, do you?”
“No, I… I don’t think so. I hope not. She doesn’t seem like the type to…”
“To what?” interjected Finnick. “Abduct Borrower children? Keep them like pets? Pampering and feeding and taking them out for walks?”
“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Kit spat as she boldly pulled her blade from her side. Both parents shot their daughter a warning glance before turning back to Kers.
“Well?”
“I didn’t have to tell you any of this, but I did,” concluded Kers. “I’m telling you because I have a plan in place to talk to the kid and to Amanda.”
“You plan on telling the human about us!” roared Finnick, also drawing his blade. Kers’ heart was in his throat. He knew this wasn’t going to go well no matter what he did, and now he had disturbed this family’s peace. Guilt ridden, Kers shook his head and let his shoulders slump.
“No, I’m not; and Amanda already knows, she just doesn’t know much. All she understands is that there was a small boy no bigger than his fingers that needed her help and she gave it. She doesn’t know about Borrowers; and, if she did, Parker might’ve gone venturing into the walls to find more Borrowers – to find me. He would be asking questions,” insisted Kers.
“So, you do plan on talking to the human?” asked Mira. Kers bit his lip and nodded mechanically.
“Trust me. I’m not looking forward to it, but it needs to be done. The only one she’s going to know about is me, and it’s only for Parker’s benefit,” insisted Kers. “I swear I will not tell Amanda about any of you or your family. The only one at risk here is me.”
No one in the family looked reassured.
“What if we don’t believe you?” asked Toulouse. Kers sighed and shook his head.
“I’m not asking you to. What I am asking for is time. I plan on talking to Amanda once they’ve moved in,” said Kers. “I swear I will keep your family safe. If I had known there were going to be others living here, I would’ve talked to them long ago. That was my mistake.”
Toulouse looked to Kers and then to the rest of his family. With a wary eye and a threatening stare, Toulouse gestured to the door. It made Kers’ heart sink into his shoes.
“I think you’d better leave; and I swear if you put my family in danger, you will live to regret it.” The oath of a father’s protection was a strong one, and Kers knew it.
“I won’t put any of you in danger, you have my word. I’ll keep to the floorboards beneath the kitchen if that’s alright,” said Kers.
“It is fine,” said Toulouse.
Kers knew the time for words was gone. He stood and carefully walked back toward the door, snagging his belongings on his way out.
It was far from how he wanted his first introduction to go, but it was necessary he talk to them about this right off the bat. Kers couldn’t imagine what their reaction would have been if they found Parker all on their own.
Defeat was only one of many words expressing Kers’ emotions as he hoisted his bag onto his shoulders once more and headed out of the front door. If there was more evidence needed for him to have an honest conversation with Amanda, now would be the time. Heart heavy, he headed for the space beneath the kitchen to set down his things and, hopefully, find the words he needed to use to talk to Amanda.
~~~^*^*^~~~
Meanwhile, in the home, the Borrower family was a flurry of emotions. None of them knew whether Kers was being truthful or if they were in danger. Immediately, their father ordered them to prepare a few go bags with essentials.
While they knew running here and now would be the best option for them, they also were reluctant to leave their home so readily when Kers could have been telling the truth.
They would be ready.
They were prepared.
Nothing was going to happen; at least they hoped.
Kit, however, was very vocal about her thoughts on the matter.
“Dad, we can’t just leave him! He’s one of us! He’s a Borrower, and he’s been taken. We need to rescue him!” insisted the teen.
“Kit, we can’t risk going down there now. If Kers has a trap planned with the human and it involves that boy, we need to stay as far away from both of them as possible.” Toulouse sighed and leaned heavily against the char at the kitchen table. “I was such a fool to invite in a stranger so quickly.”
Mira stepped up beside her husband and rubbed his back with sympathetic affection.
“You didn’t know, love,” she said.
“Mom! We can’t just leave him,” argued Kit.
“We have to wait and see what’s going to happen. I know it’s hard, but we can’t go down there without a plan,” Mira said. Frustrated, Kit stormed off to her room. Finnick and Reed, who were nearby, looked at their parents anxiously.
“So, we’re just going to leave him? If we need to run?” asked Finnick. Both parent shook their head.
“No, we won’t leave him if it can be helped. We just need time to figure this thing out first. We can’t act rashly. We need to find out if Kers is telling the truth and whether this boy is in danger or not,” replied Toulouse.
Silently, he hoped his certainty came of as confidence despite how he actually felt. Both Borrower parents couldn’t imagine having any of their children taken by a human. They also couldn’t imagine what it was like for Parker growing up with a human, if that was what really had happened.
In all reality, they were unsure of whether they could help the Borrower boy Kers spoke of and doubted they would be able to stay in their home in the days to come.
Still, they held out hope.
And little did they know that their plans weren’t the only ones in affect.
~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~
Continue | Coming Soon
Previous
Beginning
32 notes · View notes
yukkoislost · 2 days
Text
i am BACK GODDDAMN sorry no magical girls or md omori to be seen atm 😞 i have ocs tho LMAO
listened to my heart?? and decided to draw ocs before i go absolutely insane. i mean i have three perfectly fine md ocs to work on so i might as well
Tumblr media
i never did tell you what i had planned for asta huh
oc dump below cut that no one asked for <3
the three musketeers of my account HDJEHDHS
allow me to introduce them properly, i guess?¿ they each have their own individual posts but those posts were kinda rough around the edges,,
ASTA ✨
asta is my first (disregarding older ocs) md oc i've made. she's ridiculously smart (for the most part) but is also inherently a scaredy cat. she hates change and hates the unknown, sticking to a routine that she's used to for comfort.
like doll, she doesn't have her parents anymore and they're also partly the reason she doesn't have a courage. her parents' death had killed her curious spirit. they had always been more overprotective of her, considering they had both escaped unscathed out of the cabin fever labs situation.. (070 and 072, working on that) if asked, her strongest emotion is Fear. she's allowed it to control her life so much she doesn't know what it's like to live, despite being alive. because of this, even though she had been offered a spot with the cheerleaders, she didn't take it as it would mean a deviation from her comforting routine.
of course, her routine can't last forever. life in the bunker is boring but it was safe, and that's all she needed. (going into how she would be a part of the story? in progress though) she and uzi never knew each other personally. she sat at the back of the class while uzi was towards the front. she preferred not sitting too close to her because of her, uh, personality and actions? either way, she doesn't feel safe with uzi around because of uzi's inventive mind, and her tendency to do and create dangerous things (e.g., her sick as hell railgun. and also the whole braiden thing). asta wasn't necessarily shunned, she just had a small group of friends that she preferred sticking to (until doll killed them in the days going onto the promening)
getting the absolute solver string was NOT on her to-do list, but as mentioned, routine doesn't last forever. she hated the solver string and actively tried to ignore it, but it was difficult because if fucked with her systems and caused her to crave oil (which is a whole other thing and also the point where she finally accepted that she can't keep brushing away what she doesn't want to face). did i also mention she hears the solver's voice in the back of her head, because yeah that happens.
either way, since gaining the solver's string, she is also made aware that uzi and doll both had it but didn't try to reach out for help, still strongly controlled by her fear. my plan for asta was similar to how nori was the solver's secondary host (since cyn wasn't on copper-9 at the time), she would become puppet to the absolute solver, and in turn the third official host because of how lowkey she was and doll and uzi not knowing she had the solver. naturally, asta hated the idea of becoming a pet for the solver and constantly tries to override the solver's control on her (eventually succeeding. it leads the solver to want her death because it fears that asta will take over)
this is all canon divergence ofc :3
SERIAL DESIGNATION E 🐾
my second md oc, and first and only disassembly drone oc (for now? maybe haven't decided). serial designation E (also known as E or cerberus) is the outcast of his three-drone-squad. he had once tried to fit in better with the rest of his peers but after the first attempt, decided that it was too bothersome and they didn't deserve him anyway. or, that's how he phrased it in his lonesome.
he's the laziest of the bunch and hates any extra movement, preferring to kill prey quickly than to draw it out and have fun. he only hunts when his oil levels go down to 15% and if given the choice, he would've chosen to not need to eat at all. he isolates himself and has a small space set up away from the pod and essentially, his squad.
he didn't always used to be like this though, as mentioned whenever he tried his best to fit in with the rest, he did work hard. it wasn't enough though (nothing ever is). outcasted for his strange feature of having three nanite tails instead of one, he was always made fun of and in the beginning was also nicknamed Dog by his two other squad members since he wanted so bad to feel like he was needed and important to them, to the point he would willingly have done anything for them. but that was in the past. there's no point.
as a butler in the elliot manor, he has occasionally come across J, V, N and cyn. hard not to when they hang around the young mistress so often, especially J as her personal maid.. or something. he doesn't remember too well. much like his currently disassembly drone self, he took whatever shortcut he could find back in the mansion. he isn't a good person. he wasn't good then, and certainly isn't any better now. maybe a little. back in the manor, he hated doing work. he severely lacks motivation and seriously can't find a reason that he should be bothered other than the humans could kill him, or whatever. it didn't matter, or maybe it did? he wants to live (does he?) he doesn't remember.
anyway. that life is far behind him now. his squad was sent to copper 9 by JcJenson in spaaaaaaaaace (i forgot how many A's were in the space) to clear out the worker drones of course. he's got a chunk of missing memory somewhere in his head.. somewhere dark and somewhere fleshy. probablly not important. he remembers his quad but he can't find them, only alerted that a new pod and three new disassembly drones had landed– J, V and N (where was the other one? who was the other one? someone is not missing)
the forest breathes life into the dead landscape.
how long had he been asleep for?
OCTAVIERY 🦉
the oc that y'all would be familiar with. octaviery has more posts than asta and E combined (i think). the accidentally acquired child of N and uzi somewhere within the events of cabin fever
the good, quiet child of nuzi,, if you disregard his love for 'extreme sports' (read climbing into places he doesn't belong, and eventually getting stuck like an idiot). since his parents are both verbally loud and open, he never really had to ask for anything himself because his psuedo-parents dealt with it for him, leaving him to be the only introverted person of their small family.
he grows faster than a normal drone would, and thus reaches the age of a young teenager even while uzi is still in school. (yes, he is, in fact, taller than uzi. not taller than N though)
he doesn't know his true purpose.
AND THEN I GOT LAZY TO TYPE🤞
30 notes · View notes
wonnieluvr · 1 day
Text
okay i have to say i hate emily. shes a bitch and i hate what she did to jamie and gray but i cant deny her character is so fascinating. shes literally like if greed was a person?
dont get me wrong as much as i hate her i understand the whole risk taking thing and wanting those experiences she never got to have BUT saying that she didnt need two boyfriends??? she literally could have experienced all the same things she did with one. thats why shes greed. she just took and took everything. from both of them and rebecca too.
but i just dont understand why she had such an effect on everyone? like avery describes her as pretty but she also said she was nowhere near as beautiful as rebecca. is it because she was sick and everyone felt bad? but like even then i cant imagine emily being a pleasant person to be around so i dont get how she made friends with anyone let alone dated two people 😭 but that could also be because we never met her? like we don't really know anything about her which is also really interesting to me. we know of her but that's only everyone's versions of her.
on a different note i keep thinking about the way jamie and gray had different feelings for her. like i just think that while jamie did love her but he didnt love her, you know? gray did. i assume thats why jamie wasnt as affected by eve, he didnt love emily the same way gray did.
jamie feels that way for avery so while eves appearance surely shocked him it still didnt take over and bring up old feelings (for a completely new person lmao)
(i also do know that he knew about eve before but theres still something different between hearing things and seeing them)
jamie and avery are perfect for each other but thats a different thought too. i'm so glad they never really fought because of eve (thank god, i would have cried)
but back on topic, i doubt emily loved them back. like, i feel like its the sort of situation where she just wanted to feel wanted. she probably mistook that for love and assumed she wanted both of them? but its all she ever had growing up too? familiarity? like its suggested that her parents were completely focused on her their whole lives and loved her (she was their miracle baby sort of though so i do kinda get that) but also like i wholeheartedly believe everything starts with the parents.
they were such a big influence in her life, they gave her everything, sacrificed everyone and everything for her and kept her happy. this comes back to the greed thing too. they gave her this idea that everything would bend to her will and she would always get what she wanted. (if you can't tell i have strong feelings about the influence parents have and how they raise their children cus it literally dictates someones whole life until they have clarity smh)
i think the whole jumping off the cliff thing too was like her acting out. she reminds me of gray in that way, she was losing control and she needed to do something she wanted to regain it. she knew she couldnt handle it but she couldnt handle not getting what she wanted more. idk if that makes sense but shes like trying to prove to herself and everyone else that she was fine with jamie breaking things off, that she could handle not being wanted and adored regardless of her actions and she was losing control of everything ig? idk i just think its really interesting the way she took things to an extreme because i imagine she was probably trying to do something else, something worse than what she feeling to get it to go away? emotions are so interesting in that way.
like rebecca (in her mind) was turning against her, jamie was leaving her and her parents would have stopped her from going with gray if they had known and at the time that was (hinted at) being what she really wanted to do and they were all telling her no. she took the only thing she had left to control (gray) and was trying to prove she was fine.
i cant put into words how many layers all of these characters have like jlb wrote such a wonderful series and i cant stop thinking about all the characters. i have so many thoughts running through my head and i could write a take on everyone ☹️
29 notes · View notes
m0cha-madn3ss · 3 days
Text
Scare
Tumblr media
Summary: When the youngest two go out on mission, the rest of the team become antsy. What more to distract them than to put on a horror movie? AU: - Pairing: Avengers team x Reader Warning: Angst with a happy ending Link: Masterlist
---
Peter and (Y/n) had just gone for a mission together to infiltrate an abandoned Hydra base and it made the whole team jittery. Sure, those two could handle themselves with Peter's spider abilities and (Y/n)'s powers but to see their youngest lovers go to a Hydra base even if it was abandoned made them anxious.
Tony and Bruce holed themselves up in their lab and worked on a project to try and distract themselves. Steve, Bucky and Clint were always in the training room, sparring. Natasha, who never danced unless she was so stressed, danced until her ankles broke. Wanda tried helping others by feeding them and making them get a good night's sleep but her head was always in a turmoil.
Even though they had promised Peter and (Y/n) that they would take care of themselves, the team found themselves going against their promise. And to add fuel to fire, Ross continued pestering them to sign those stupid accords.
The tower which was usually filled with laughter and joy was now filled with tension and nervous energy.
---
Steve was already on the brink of snapping at someone but when he couldn't find the t-shirt that Peter had bought him, it tipped him over the edge. 
He went to the dining room and saw his lovers eating their breakfast quietly, each in their own heads. "Where is my green shirt?", Steve asked, crossing her arms as he leaned on one leg.
The question broke everyone out of their thoughts as Wanda replied that she had put it in the wash earlier, unaware of the upcoming argument. 
"Why the hell are you taking my stuff? No one asked you to do it", he grumbled, glaring at her.
Wanda's temper flared. "That is the point of helping. No one asks for help with these things. You have to help them even if they don't ask", she said standing up.
"I don't need help and I need that shirt. Why the hell would you take things from me without my permission?", Steve started shouting.
"Because you are my lover. All of you are my lovers. And you guys moping around like this means that you need someone to take care of you. And it seems like I am the only one who can do that", she retorted.
"Oh yeah. Take care of us. Now you are sounding more like my nanny than my partner", pitched in Natasha.
"We don't need you to take care of us. We can take care of ourselves perfectly", Tony glared at her.
"Yeah. If I leave you guys alone for one day, you would be so damn miserable. You guys are messes right now and I am trying to help you guys", Wanda replied, rolling her eyes.
"We don't need help", shouted Bruce, his voice melding with the Hulk.
"And we don't need you!", finished Steve.
A stunned silence fell upon the team. Wanda's eyes widened with unshed tears. Steve lost his temper as quickly as it had come after realizing what he had spoken. He stepped forward towards Wanda only for her to start moving backwards before breaking into a run to the elevator. Steve moved after her but Bucky kept a hand on Steve's shoulder, shaking his head.
"All of you need some time alone to cool off", he muttered. "And I need some coffee", he added.
---
Wanda entered the elevator and with a shaking voice told Jarvis to go up to her floor. The words 'We don't need you' uttered by Steve kept revolving in her head. The moment she entered her floor, she let a shaky exhale before letting her tears fall. She knew he didn't mean it as she saw into his head after he uttered those words, but it still stung. She decided to sleep for sometime to cool off.
When she woke up again, her head felt lighter and her tears had dried up. She knew that everyone had lashed out due to their stress. She made a plan to distract her partners. Muttering to herself, she stood up and showered, putting on more clean and comfortable lounge clothes before heading to the kitchen on her floor. With her powers, she made popcorn and baked cupcakes which (Y/n) and she would bake during movie nights. She looked in the fridge and was pleased to find that her fridge had not run out of those cool drinks. Taking one for each of her lovers and putting them in a tray, she headed down to the common floor with the tray of cupcakes and bowl of popcorn floating beside her.
She quickly headed to the small home theater and picked a horror movie, kept the snacks on a table before asking Jarvis to inform everyone to come to the theater room in 15 minutes in comfortable clothes.
As she waited, she thought back to the time when (Y/n) had first introduced her to the cupcake recipe. It was 5 months after they started dating and Wanda had begged (Y/n) to know how the hell she did those out of the world cupcakes. It was one of those memories she had always carried and cherished with her. It provided her happiness when she felt down.
She was so distracted in her musing that she did not realize that Steve had been standing awkwardly next to her. She was broken out of her trance when Steve waved his hand in front of her hand.
Looking at his guilty face, she beckoned him to sit next to her.
"Look, I know you didn't mean it when you had said those words so don't fret okay?", she consoled him.
But Steve shook his head. "Dove, I basically told you that I don't want you. You can't possibly forgive and forget?"
"Forgive, yes but forget, no. Look, Stevie, what you said did make me upset", Wanda started raising her hand when he tried to interrupt, "but, I know you didn't mean that. Petey and (Y/n/n) going on their mission has stressed all of us and this stress has pushed too far, but it will always be us against the world. No matter what, we stick together even if you say you don't want us or even if Bucky is under the impression that the chicken came first."
Steve chuckled wetly at that. (Y/n) and Bucky had a huge debate on what came first: The chicken or the egg. Everyone except Bucky had agreed that the egg came first but Bucky was adamant on the fact that the chicken came first.
When the rest of their lovers came, they did not comment when they saw Steve and Wanda clinging to each other. They did not do anything other than to fall on them, laughing at their painful oomphs- before exclaiming at the snacks in the table before them and cuddling with each other as the horror movie started. They had no worries except for the longing of their two missing pieces. Peter and (Y/n).
---
"Do you think they will really take care of themselves while we are away?", Peter asked one night as they cuddled each other in their safe house.
"Knowing them, I don't think so but I hope they will", (Y/n) replied looking at him.
Cupping his face and kissing him, she suddenly stood up. Peter took her arm and stood up as well, when she stretched her arm towards him and together, they went to the balcony.
They had patrolled the building and after finding no heat signals throughout the building except for the last room, they decided to go in cautiously. After infiltrating the base and finding the files and freeing those prisoners(?), they could go back to their partners.
Under the silent gaze of the stars, with each other in their arms, they slept off, mentally preparing themselves for the next day.
---
They had planned to go into the base in the evening, so in the morning they prepared themselves, choosing the weapons of their choice and making sure that there was no damage to their suits. Obviously, a suit designed by Tony himself would not have any faults but they had to check once so that it would not act up in the middle of their time in the base.
They ate their lunch in silence and took a quick nap and at 4, they were ready to go.
Suiting up, they left the safe house and started walking to the base to be discreet. After half an hour, they reached the base.
Opening it, they were not surprised by the ghostly silence. They checked all the rooms for possible information but found nothing but a small USB that (Y/n) pocketed quickly. As they approached the last room, and (Y/n) went to reach the handle, Peter stopped her. Since he didn't want the people inside to hear them, he used sign language. The whole team were quite fluent in sign language since they wanted to surprise Clint on his birthday once.
"If the people in this room are serving Hydra, we could be in trouble. If they are prisoners, then all is well", said Peter.
"What do you propose we do?", asked (Y/n), hands glowing slightly.
"Make an illusion of us two entering the room, if they attack them, we kill them. If not, we don't", said Peter after thinking for some time.
"Then I guess you and I are gonna stick to the wall", signed (Y/n), raising an eyebrow.
Peter beamed and nodded at that.
So they put their plan into motion. Peter stuck himself to the wall and held (Y/n) tightly as she sent two illusions to open the door. The moment the illusions opened the door, a rain of bullets fell upon them which caused Peter and (Y/n) to move. Taking advantage of their momentary confusion at seeing two versions of them, Peter and (Y/n) attacked them successfully, killing them on the spot. After making sure that they had died, they took in their surroundings and noticed a safe in the middle of the room which was locked with a number lock. Peter grabbed it grunting slightly at its weight before starting their return journey to their safe house.
After gathering all the belongings and the USB and the safe, they went to the jet which was expertly camouflaged and started their return journey to the tower.
---
The whole team was on the edge as they saw the girl look into the rooms of the house with nothing but a pencil as her weapon. She opened the first door which made a creaking noise which made the team jump. In the same fashion, she opened all the other doors but didn't find anything.
As she started opening the last door, the team heard a small creak which was definitely not from the movie but from their room. Everyone froze, knowing that none of them had moved to make the creak before hesitantly looking at the door. There standing at the door, was the exact same ghost that they were seeing in the movie. Seeing its evil grin, the team screamed, in sync with the girl in the movie. However, they stopped their screams when they heard laughter which belonged to... 
Peter and (Y/n) stood now in the place of the ghost with a golden hue around (Y/n)'s fist stating that she had just used her powers. 
Natasha started running after them which stopped their laughter and stood panicked. Just as Natasha grabbed them, they disappeared into dust leading her to stumble. 
Natasha cursed aloud for a solid one minute leading everyone to laugh at her. She stood up and ran out of the room searching for the tricksters who were actually hiding behind the door where Natasha had not searched for them. Peter and (Y/n) went to the cuddle pile and dropped into the laps of Wanda and Bucky and after 20 minutes Natasha came in muttering curses only to stop when she saw her partners cuddled up against each other dozing off. Smiling, she too joined the cuddle pile and everyone slept off in the theater room, no one missing and their youngest two in their arms.
--- A/n: Hey everyone! Hope you liked this small oneshot :) 
You are loved <3 Proud of you guys :3
27 notes · View notes
stellari-s · 3 days
Note
Omfg ithaqua centric tumblrs exist/j
I don't know I'd your still doing requests but can I request ithaqua with a reader who's rlly sweet and nice and everything, but the manor did like a swap with the survivors and hunters so that the hunters are the ones that run from the survivors and when Reader is picked they go NUTS. Like everyone's out and injured in like 2 minutes. After the event reader goes back to normal but if people look closely, Reader's picked up a bit of a hunger for blood sometimes...
haha, ikr, and gosh, i’m really slow, i hope you’ll forgive me! but i will try my best with your request! i don’t end up describing the details of the match much rather than implying what happened, so i hope that’s ok.
request; yes, by anon! requests are currently closed, but my commissions are open if you’re interested.
wc; 945.
tags; default! ithaqua, gn! survivor! reader (who becomes hunter), reader treats ithaqua’s injuries.
summary; miss nightingale had come with a sudden announcement — survivors and hunters were going to switch places! and so, you are put into a match with ithaqua as the last one standing…
Tumblr media
this very day was like a fever dream — but would it be a dream if one could see a subtle, yet irreversible change?
“a switch?”
ithaqua stayed silent, but he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. though he said little, his feelings reflected that of everyone else’s in the room where miss nightingale had gathered all the hunters on a whim to make the very announcement of a role switch. he honestly harbored mixed feelings on the prospect of being the one chased, rather than the one doing the chasing, but more than that...
he thought back to a certain face among the survivors. a seemingly innocent face, whose kindness knew no bounds. would they be up for the task, he wondered?
robbie’s enthusiastic voice dragged ithaqua from his thoughts back into reality.
“oh oh, does this mean we get to play something like reverse tag?”
“seems like it,” ithaqua muttered in reply.
miss nightingale nodded once everyone had settled down (or, displayed some semblance of having settled down). “i’m glad we are on the same page. gather in lakeside in one hour if you are called upon, and take care not to be late.”
when miss nightingale left, murmurs immediately broke out among the hunters.
...there really is something off with her. i don’t like it.
nonetheless, ithaqua had no right to refuse; he could only sigh and wait for an hour to pass.
“survivors will become the hunters?”
this was news to you. what in the world could have brought on this change in the manor owner’s heart?
...not that you could really understand him. in fact, many things in the manor had been intriguing.
little things piqued your interest, and whispered rumors became a source of curiosity.
“i’m not sure i feel comfortable facing against hunters... as a hunter,” helena said, “wouldn’t you agree, (y/n)?”
“hm?” you looked at helena, who had a resigned smile on her lips.
i suppose it would be difficult for her, considering she can’t see. then again, she has a cane, so maybe she’s fine, and her personality is just too kind?
some survivors were fit to be a hunter, but helena was not one of them. it wasn’t a bad thing; it simply wasn’t her strength.
you flashed her a gentle smile of your own. “it is definitely a sudden development. i can understand the difficulty in processing it.”
you neither confirmed nor denied it.
—— 20 minutes later.
there was only one hunter left now: ithaqua.
you had noticed this in previous matches against him when he was hunter, but even with those stilts that looked so easy to trip in, ithaqua was very quick on his feet. there was clearly a lot of skill in maneuvering around with those.
you would spot him, and you would chase after him, only for him to slip between your fingers like locks of hair.
while his appearance resembled that of a supernatural creature to be feared, you found through spending time with him outside of matches that he was not a bad person. in fact, he was quite nice behind that colder facade.
if it were other survivors, they would probably be more cautious around ithaqua.
finally, you caught up to him in the small boat in lakeside village. “you’re the only one left standing, ithaqua,” you said, “yet you won’t surrender. do you think two hours will pass before i can catch you?”
ithaqua chuckled. “i’ll take your words as a compliment.”
“as they are meant to be. but i think two hours is quite a long time, so will you allow me to catch you before then?”
“if you’re going to catch me, do it with your own abilities.”
you shrugged, a resigned smile playing on your lips. “i suppose it can’t be helped then.”
it turned out you didn’t need him to “allow” you.
after the match, which had lasted around half an hour total, ithaqua hissed a little in pain as you wrapped the bandage around his arm, where he had cut himself.
“would it hurt to be a little more gentle treating my wound?”
“oh, don’t you know? it’s better to wrap the gauze more tightly. i do sincerely apologize for the... slightly rough handling toward the end of the match though. so please just think of this as repayment.”
ithaqua fell silent. this was one of the rare times he had his mask off, so you could see his eyes narrowed, his brows furrowed, and his lips pursed as he averted his pale blue eyes.
“what’s wrong?” you waved a hand in front of him.
“i don’t know. but is it just me or do you just look... a little different?”
“hm?”
he turned to look at you for a brief moment before retracting his arm. “it’s nothing. thanks for treating my arm.”
ithaqua stood up and tried to walk out of the room, but you called after him as his hand made contact with the knob.
“hey, ithaqua.”
he stood in frozen in place like a statue, as if contemplating whether or not he should turn out. in the end, he stayed still as he replied, “what?”
though he wouldn’t be able to see it, you flashed a smile his way.
“i look forward to the next match.”
you could have sworn you saw his shoulders twitch slightly upon hearing your words. he then turned around (to your surprise) and, with a sharp tone, shouted “well i don’t!” before shutting the door behind him.
you couldn’t help but let out a lighthearted laugh — he kind of reminded you of a cat.
a cat surely worth chasing, you reckoned.
52 notes · View notes
doctorcurdlejr · 1 day
Note
Niko!! what'd you think of I saw the tv glow. I finally saw it last night and noticed you posting about it so I wanted to know your thoughts :)
Levi!!! I was JUST wondering what you were thinking about the movie after I saw you posting about it as well... we are so media discussion pilled in this way, it's awesome. ANYWAYS I've had so many thoughts since I first saw it and I've been trying to turn them into something coherent for a little bit now.
Ummm okay I have written 1k+ words about this movie, the suburbs, and escapism via teen TV.... clearly I was dying for somebody to ask this I guess so thank you for indulging me <3
First and foremost, I absolutely loved it! I've seen it twice now and the first time I watched it I got to see Jane Schoenbrun talk about the film right after. I already really liked it from that first watch alone. I found it so deeply relatable to my experiences - both in terms of growing up gay and trans, but where I am now in my 20s trying to navigate adulthood. Hearing what Schoenbrun had to say really cemented my feelings and thoughts about the film.
During the director discussion, Schoenbrun talked a little bit about this idea of how truly fucking bizarre it is to grow up in the suburbs. Like, when we think about the pinnacle of normality in American culture, it's the image of middle-class cis-hetero-white suburbia. At the same time, despite this cultural dream of normality, everybody is hyper-aware that the suburbs are one of the least normal things ever. So, the ACTUAL cultural understanding of it is that it's where we go to, like, passively kill ourselves (*George Costanza voice* WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY YOU KNOW!).
This idea isn't new, I mean there are so many films and shows about navigating that specific bizarre dissonance from Rebel Without a Cause to Heathers to Twin Peaks. Probably half the pre-teen to teen TV I watched obsessively growing up, stuff like Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, Making Fiends, Truth or Scare, and eventually Riverdale, were never shy about being weird and morbid and saying "yes, the suburbs are exactly as bizarre and lethal in the ways you can already feel in your bones at 13." I Saw the TV Glow does a really good job of keying not only into that mental dissonance but more specifically into how those of us who have felt so intrinsically weird and different and wrong fell back on these shows like they were capable of doing the emotional version of a rescue breath maneuver after being drowned.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a big influence on the movie (it's why Amber Benson makes a cameo as Johnny Link's mom). Even though I don't have the same emotional link to Buffy since I never watched it, I recognize it as the same type of warmth I experienced growing up with Riverdale. When Owen says he feels like his insides have been scooped out but that he's too afraid to look and have that wrongness everybody knows is there be confirmed, Maddy simply responds "Maybe you're like Isabel. Afraid of what's inside you." Tears forming but not falling, breathing shallowly, I grabbed the paper and pen the theater keeps at the seats for people to order food with and wrote that line down - the slip of paper is still somewhere in my car. Writing it now almost feels lame in its simplicity, but it felt like my insides were being flayed open.
In high school, if there were two things about me that any person who even vaguely knew me could list off it was that I watched Riverdale, and I was a lesbian - and I was mocked more for the Riverdale. At that age, I was, without a doubt, the most miserable I have ever felt in my life. I rarely left the house because my family lived in a development that made me want to scratch my skin off when I walked out our front door. Owen didn't leave the house for days, afraid Maddy could somehow force him out. I sobbed constantly and frequently to depressing indie rock on the floor of my closet while hoping my family would just once read the (honest to god) KEEP OUT poster plastered on my door since I didn't have a lock on it. Owen didn't leave his room for days, afraid of what Maddy recognized in him. I didn't go on dates and kept my chest binder shoved to the bottom of my bookbag while wearing dresses that could've come from a how-to-be the perfect 50s housewife manual. Owen didn't leave his bed for days, afraid of Maddy touching his neck and Isabel's dress. I also watched Riverdale with the kind of zeal you see in a Pentecostal who has found God and started speaking in tongues to let you know it. I own a button that says, "Don't Make Me Go Dark Betty On You," I cherish it in a way that is only achieved by knowing exactly how corny and trite it is and then moving straight past that because well actually, and most people wouldn't get this, she's holding back something deeply dark and wild and- and disgusting. something painful yet intrinsically her. but i get it, obviously. or maybe not obviously! hopefully not obviously, but- basically, I'm just saying I get it: the experience of reflection and recognition through the other and all that.
Whatever, the point is that this movie is one big glaring trans allegory about how it sucks dog shit to live in the suburbs, and even at our most repressed we find these little snow globes of actualization in the glow of a tv screen that isn't afraid to show you the world you see. I've seen some people say that, like, in this context accepting or coming into your transness is this monumental death of self, which I get, but I feel there lacks a nuance in that. Unlike Maddy who buries herself alive, Owen doesn't kill himself upon facing the reality that the world is constructed to keep him miserable; the only way out being to take back what it is that the world wants to keep scooped out of him. This lack of suicide sucks in the kind of way that forces you to sit in your car on the midnight drive home and think to yourself am I letting myself suffocate because at some point knowing the misery became less scary than admitting I've been capable of doing something about it the whole time?
Maddy is an out lesbian who left town to escape the misery and found it strapped to her ankles. She slinks out, an animal pressed against the gymnasium floor, and says "I'm not telling you anything you don't already know." Owen looks into the camera and narrates. He cuts himself open with a box cutter, fully acknowledges what's there, and the movie ends with his suffocating apology parade for the unnoticeable inconvenience of his excruciating suffering. You can be gay and trans, you can know it and you can stop repressing it, but you're not going to stop suffocating until you can find a way to kill the part of you that truly deeply does want to die, reaching for the comforting euthanasia of normalcy. Stop visiting the dream of the life you want and make it into your reality with the same kind of unrepentant conviction seen in some underfunded but wildly ambitious teen television series. In other words: you must survive the ego death of being weird. A weirdo, who doesn't fit in and doesn't want to fit in!
Clearly, I’ve been enchanted by the film’s narrative and meta-textual language. If you're familiar with it, you can see how Schoenbrun built this movie like a long-form dream episode of a canceled teen show filmed in Vancouver. Lynchian? Yeah, sure. Riverdalesque? THIS we cannot possibly deny. Schoenbrun said they included Amber Benson as an act of healing the inner rage experienced at Tara’s death in Buffy. This is a Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa ending Riverdale with a bisexual polycule after his gay Archie play got ceased-and-desisted type move. There’s probably more I could say about the soundtrack and the visuals, but I’ve hit over 1k words on this, so I’ll leave it at I enjoyed this movie a lot. :)
30 notes · View notes
motomamita · 2 days
Text
virgin!konig × female!stripper!reader
warnings: smut, +18, cursing, use of alcohol, no cobdom, manhandling, dubcon-noncon!!
Tumblr media
Of all the places Konig frequented, he never thought the strip club would be one of them. Even though his house was a few minutes away from the place and he passed by it several times, he had never felt the need to go in and see what it had to offer him.
His curiosity to know what was happening there was triggered when he heard one of his team mates talking in the barracks about his last visit to one of those places. "That slut gave me the cock suck of my life!" The man exclaimed while his friends laughed and asked for more details about it.
Konig was a strange, lonely individual, and needless to say, he had never been close to the female gender. For these reasons, that same night he decided to take advantage of his free week to go to one of these places. He wanted to experience female attention for the first time, without caring that it was fake and for money.
The place welcomed him with music and bright lights pointing towards the stage surrounded by tables with slightly drunk men, ready to waste their money for some nice tits and asses. He decided to sit at one of the farthest tables, in the darkest corner but which guaranteed him a good view of everything. Despite his large and muscular body, he could go unnoticed by most of those present and get used to the environment.
He settled somewhat uncomfortably in his seat when he saw the first dancer come up, being greeted by the shouts and whistles of the men at the nearby tables. He looked around, excited by the tiny clothes that barely covered the girl who had already started dancing, that was when he saw you approaching him with 2 glasses of whiskey.
"Hello, big boy. Do you want a drink?" You spoke to him flirtatiously, extending the glass towards him.
Konig fixed his gaze on your bright blue top, which looked more like a bikini than a top, and on the way it hugged your breasts. Then he looked down at your waist, hips and the small skirt of the same color.
"Hello?" You caught his attention again, making him look you in the eyes this time. "The first drink is always on the house, so go ahead," you informed him kindly, bringing the glass even closer to his beefy chest.
Konig nodded and received the glass, taking a long sip and finishing the whiskey in an instant. You laugh loudly when you notice his almost disgusted expression when drinking the liquid. Konig hardly ever drank because he tended to lose control of his actions and his strength, especially.
"I've never seen you here, you're new right?" You asked, sitting extremely close to him. Konig swallowed and nodded, noting how good your breasts looked from his spot. "I knew it, it's very rare to see attractive men around here. If you had been here before, I'm sure I would have remembered you."
He looked into your eyes, surprised by your pleasant words towards him. A kind of grimace formed on his face, in an attempt at a smile that failed. You looked at him carefully, still maintaining your good disposition towards him and the possible good tip he would give you if you managed to get him a little more drunk.
"I like your pigtails." was the only thing he can say in gratitude. You smiled and brought your hands to your head where you had 2 small pigtails holding only half of your hair. Konig watched your movements carefully, feeling more confident with you and almost forgetting everything around him.
"Thanks, big boy. Cheers to that!" You clinked glasses but instead of drinking the glass you had left, you gave it to him to drink, which he did.
You didn't leave him for the next few minutes, managing to convince him to buy more drinks and get him drunk enough so he lost track of the amount of money he was spending. By then, several dancers had already gone on stage but he could only focus on you. His body was more relaxed and the fever in his body was not only due to the alcohol, but also to the immense desire to fuck you right there.
"How about we go somewhere quieter?" You asked, bringing your mouth closer to his ear, with an even more flirtatious tone of voice. "Can I offer you a lap dance?" you lightly caressed his hard chest, feeling the necklace with his id inside his shirt.
Konig closed his eyes slightly, feeling your breath in his ear and your caresses on him. He shifted in his place, trying to calm the painfully growing erection inside his pants. He opened his eyes again and looked at you, at a very close distance from your face. He nodded his head, feeling a wave of warmth as he noticed how you smiled widely at his response. By that time you were already used to his silence, taking control of the conversation and feeding his horniness with suggestive words and not-so-innocent caresses.
You took his hand and guided him to one of the hallways of the strip club, away from the noise of the men and the music. You entered a comfortable room, with a long armchair, a bathroom with a shower and a mini bar full of drinks. The music inside was quieter but still sensual and in keeping with the environment.
Konig sat on the couch with his legs open and his arms extended over the backrest. You looked at him as you headed to the mini bar and noticed how muscular and massive he really was, a real military man's body. You poured 2 glasses of whiskey again and approached him, extending one of them to him. Konig looked at the glass and shook his head, rejecting it. He could tell how drunk he already was and how little by little his instincts took over.
"Come on! A toast to us!" You insisted, supporting your weight on one of your legs and stretching forward, giving him a perfect view of your tits.
Konig thought about it for a few seconds and accepted, grabbing the glass to toast and then finishing the liquor in a matter of seconds. You followed suit, letting the alcohol loosen your muscles and relax you. You left the glasses on a small table nearby and started your work.
You sat on his thighs, feeling the muscles in his legs tense as he felt you on top of him. You brought your hands to his neck, playing with the strands of hair that reached there while your hips moved slightly to the rhythm of the music. Konig fixed his gaze on your face and your tits, which moved to the rhythm of your hips.
"Shit.." he murmured when your hands went down to his shoulders, massaging to remove the tension he was carrying thanks to his work.
"Relax, love, I'm here to help you..." your hip movements continued on him, little by little getting closer to his crotch.
Konig, rushing to feel you, brought his big hands to your hips and pulled you abruptly towards him, impacting your tits against his chest. You whined at the abrupt movement and the way his strong hands dug into your hips skin.
"No touching, those are the rules." you warned him, trying to stay in good mood and hoping he wouldn't try to touch you again.
Forcibly he let go of you, bringing his hands back to the back of the large sofa. You tried to put on the best attitude but his look said it wrong, he was angry. You then decided to turn around, turning your back to him but resting your ass even more on him, giving him a good view of it. You continued dancing, moving to the rhythm of the music, resting your back on his chest and letting him inhale your scent.
From one moment to the next, your breasts were expose and you couldn't move because Konig had you hugged to his chest. His face was on your neck, smelling and sucking on the delicate skin there. You tried to get away but his grip was too strong. Before you could scream, one of his hands went to your mouth, covering it and preventing you from making any noise. "Shh, keep quiet, beautiful. We don't want your coworkers to see you fucking a client." He murmured in your ear and then licked your earlobe.
His hips moved upwards, his erection crashing against your ass as he moaned at each contact. Your nails dug into his forearm but it seemed like they had no effect on him. Almost in response, he brought his free hand up your short skirt, touching your pussy with his large fingers clumsily, almost inspecting the place.
You moaned into his palm as one of his fingers found your clit and he saw how sensitive you were. He gently massaged it in circles, watching your face and every expression in response to his movements. Inevitably you started to get wet and Konig noticed it by how his hand was filled with your sweet moisture.
"Since you like this, huh bitch?" He smiled mockingly and his whiskey breath hit you in the face. You shouldn't have offered him alcohol. The hand that was previously on your clit rose to your breasts, playing with your nipples and wetting your skin with your own nectar.
When he couldn't take it anymore, he grabbed your arms and threw you against the couch, in a doggy position. With one hand he held your arms behind your back while with the other he lowered the fly of his pants, leaving his erection free and then moving your underwear to the side. Before you could react, his veiny, thick cock entered you slowly. You moaned and were grateful that at least he had stimulated you before, otherwise that first stretch would have been more painful.
"God, you're so good.." he moaned, feeling how your warm walls hugged his cock with pleasure. Slowly he began to move, taking his cock out before the head and putting it back in until the end. You moaned, closing your eyes, although his rhythm was rough you loved how good he made you feel.
You decided to let yourself go, intoxicated by the pleasure of the thrusts and the grunts that came out of his mouth. "You love it, huh? You've been warming me up all night for this moment.." He growled in an agitated voice as he continued to move inside you. "And look at you now, tasting my big cock.." You moaned in response, somewhat agreeing with his words and the inevitable attraction you had towards him.
His thrusts became clumsy, his breathing became labored, and your pussy clenching around him was forcing him to cum soon. Before filling you, he releases your arms and grabs you by the neck with both hands, crashing your back against his chest. His breath hit your face, along with the moans and curses that came out of his mouth. It only took a few series of thrusts for him to end up inside you, holding you even closer to him as if he feared you were going to escape.
Without coming out inside you, you shared a wet, clumsy kiss. Then he walked away, adjusting his pants, left a good amount of bills on the table and left the place without saying another word.
33 notes · View notes