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legendaryandroid · 7 months

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No Accounting for Taste

Fandom: Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent Words: 827 Summary: Modern AU shenanigans between Prome, Stead, and Millard

Prome was reading in the living room when Stead walked in, carrying an open pickle jar in one hand, and stated, “I need a favor.”

Looking up from his book, Prome raised his eyebrows and asked, “And what is this favor?”

“Well first of all,” Stead said, delicately swirling the liquid in the pickle jar like it was some fine wine, “I need you to not tell Millard.”

“That sounds like a favor I should not grant,” Prome admitted.

Stead hummed, taking a sip from the jar in his hand, “Okay, but I promise I’ll make it worth your while. You see-”

Prome lost track of what Stead was saying, his focus instead narrowing in on the pickle jar, the slightest hint of nausea in the back of his throat, “Did you really drink that?”

Pausing, Stead looked at the jar in his hand, then at Prome, then a slow smirk curled its way across his face. “Of course, why let it go to waste?”

Revulsion rocketed through Prome, and he stared at Stead in bewilderment, he opened up his mouth to argue, but he was cut short by Millard appearing, looming up behind Stead and asking, “Did I hear someone say my name?”

Stead’s eyes went wide for a moment, but he quickly put on a casual smile as he turned around, “Millard! You must’ve misheard, we haven’t mentioned you at all. Right Prome?” Stead asked, glancing over at Prome.

He didn’t answer, simply staring in disbelief and a little disgust as Stead took another drink of the pickle juice.

Millard didn’t notice, brightening up in interest as Stead drank, “Oh! May I have some?”

Stead raised an eyebrow, “You want a drink…” he lifted up the jar, “Of this?”

“Yes please.”

“Be me guest,” Stead said with an amused shrug, handing the jar to Millard while the corner of his eye flicked to Prome.

Who could only watch as horror as Millard happily swallowed a mouthful of brine. The only conciliation Prome had that Millard had not gone fully insane was that Millard frowned in distaste after drinking it.

“This isn’t pickle juice,” Millard said, “Why are you drinking gatorade out of a pickle jar?”

Scratch that, there was no conciliation in this. Had he been transported to another universe? Why did Millard sound so disappointed that he wasn’t drinking pickle juice?

“Hold on,” Stead said in surprise, “You honestly wanted to drink pickle juice?” “Yes?” Millard answered in confusion, tilting his head to the side, “I like it as a treat, though it’s been awhile since I’ve had some. Not since I was a kid, I think.”

Stead stared at Millard like he had grown a second head, “Pickle juice is a treat?”

Millard frowned, “Sometimes you crave salt, and pickle juice is a yummy way to get it. Plus, it’s good for you.”

Stead’s surprise faded, replaced with amusement as he teased, “Why not just eat the pickle?”

“It’s not the same,” Millard stated, “It doesn’t satisfy in the same way.”

Prome felt lightheaded, feeling far away as he asked faintly, “Are you certain you do not have some nutrition deficiency that has you craving pickle juice?”

“No,” Millard denied, oddly fierce, “My Mom had me tested for such things, and nothing came up.”

Crossing his arms with a smirk, Stead quipped, “Did your Mom get you tested because you kept drinking pickle juice?”

Millard’s shoulders came up to his ears, gaze glancing down and away from Stead as he replied, “... I don’t have to answer that.”

Stead’s delight was palpable as he exclaimed, “She did!”

“I didn’t say anything of the sort,” Millard muttered, backing out of the room, Stead’s jar of gatorade still in hand. “You can’t prove anything,” Millard continued, disappearing around a corner and into the kitchen, "I am leaving this conversation. Goodbye."

“I’ll just call your Mom later and ask her!” Stead called after him, to which there was no response.

There was a beat of silence.

Then Stead turned.

Stepping quickly up to Prome, he said in an almost urgent tone of voice,

“So about that favor you owe me.”

“Owe you,” Prome repeated, not quite comprehending.

“Yes,” Stead said, “I need you to-”

Millard’s voice cut through the house, incredulous and indignant, “Stead, what did you do to all of the glasses!?”

“Oops, nevermind. Too late,” Stead said with a shrug. “See ya later Prome,” and with a smirk and two fingered wave, Stead strode past Prome and out the backdoor.

Prome watched him go for a moment, but then sighed as he returned to his reading, the sounds of Millard’s yells as he chased Stead around the yard and Stead’s chuckles as he evaded Millard wafting around him as he did.

#octopath traveler: champions of the continent #octopath cotc #millard cotc #prome cotc #stead cotc #this was gonna be a 5+1 #5 times Stead tricks Prome into thinking he's eating weird stuff and 1 time he tricks Prome into eating it #butttt #motivation ran out #i write sometimes

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drarrily-we-row-along · 3 years

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Day 65: Question

"Uncle Harry?"

He glanced away from Rose where she was eating the grapes Harry cut in quarters and over at Teddy where he was sitting at the table eating his grilled cheese. "Yeah buddy?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he said as he looked back at the almost 16 month old eating grapes. He still got nervous about her choking.

"Do you like Uncle Draco?"

"Yeah," Harry replied casually, glancing out of the corner of his eye to gauge Teddy's reaction. "Yeah. Uncle Draco and I are good friends."

Teddy rolled his eyes, and Harry couldn't help but wonder how the time had flown by fast enough that he was sitting at a table with a nine year old who now rolled his eye at him. "I mean do you like-like Uncle Draco?"

"Gah bah dih!" Rose shouted, banging her chubby little fists on her high chair tray.

"See, Rose wants to know too," he translated for the baby.

He sighed, "It's complicated, Teddy."

"Why?" he asked, his brow furrowing. "Uncle Draco says he likes you. Why does it have to be complicated?"

"Uncle Draco said what?" Harry asked, sure he'd misheard.

(Read more below the cut)

"He said that he likes you but he thinks that you don't feel the same."

"Thats-" Harry spluttered, "I-" he started and broke off again, "But he nev-" he huffed, catching a spoon that Rose was trying to hit Max with. "Careful, Rose," he chided gently, "We don't hit the dog."

"Uncle Haarry," Teddy groaned.

"Apparently it's a conversation that Uncle Draco and I need to have," he managed.

"But-"

Harry shook his head, "No buts. If I like Uncle Draco, he should be the first to hear it, don't you think?"

"Fine," Teddy grumbled.

And Harry spent the rest of the day thinking about what he was going to say to Draco at trivia later that night.

-------

"I hate the muggle knowledge category," Draco groaned miserably as he and Harry prepared to answer the eighth round of questions that evening. "You're completely useless at it," he added, "even though you were raised by muggles."

Harry huffed, "Well, it's not like I was allowed to live like a normal muggle." He took another sip of his firewhiskey. He should stop drinking but he was just too nervous.

"What does that even mean?" Draco asked.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head to clear away the memories which somehow served to only bring them further forward in his mind.

"Potter," Draco said, poking his arm, "What does that mean?"

He stood up abruptly, feeling small and afraid, like he'd never be good enough. All of the feelings of loneliness and unworthiness that he'd had as a child rising up like bile. It was all too much all of the sudden and the idea that Draco might actually be interested in him was utterly preposterous. "I have to go."

"What?" Draco said as Harry made for the door. "Harry!" he called.

Harry fumbled with the door handle but finally made it out onto the street, pushing his way through a gaggle of people standing outside the door smoking.

He'd walked for maybe two minutes when he heard a set of feet running up behind him and he turned, body poised to fight.

"Hey," Draco panted. "You didn't pay for your tab, you know."

"Right," Harry said, reaching into his pocket and holding out a handful of galleons to Draco.

"I don't want your money," he said, sounding offended and Harry didn't know what to do with that. "I'm just telling you why it took me so long to catch up."

"Do you like me?" Harry blurted because he needed to know, once and for all.

Draco looked confused, "Harry, we've been friends for like 7 years, of course I like you."

"No," he shook his head, "I mean do you like-like me?"

The other man paled, taking a step back from him and Harry realized that he must be thinking that Harry had run out because he thought Draco liked him.

"Because I really like you," he hastened to add. "I have for ages but I didn't think you could feel the same. How could you feel the same?" Harry whispered, more to himself than Draco. "I'm a mess," he added, "I've got ptsd from the war but I'm also like super messed up from my childhood? And I don't even understand what healthy relationships look like and how to have them," he covered his face with his hands, "I'm just-"

"Harry," Draco interrupted, his hands gently holding Harry's shoulders. "Come here," he murmured, pulling Harry in against him and wrapping him up in his arms.

Harry leaned into him.

"Okay," Draco murmured, "Deep, slow breath with me, yes?"

He nodded and mirrored Draco's breathing, feeling his heart slow as his lungs filled with air.

"There we are," Draco said softly, brushing his hands over Harry's back. "It's alright."

"Sorry," he whispered, making no move to pull away from Draco.

Draco dropped a kiss on his cheek, "There's no need to be." After a beat he asked, "Would you like to come back to mine to talk? I've got some sobriety potions and I can make us some tea."

"Do you have biscuits?" Harry murmured against his skin where he'd tucked his face in Draco's neck.

"I do."

He nodded once and Draco held onto him as he apparated. After they took their sobriety potions and made tea, Draco nodded to the living room.

Harry curled up on one end of the couch and Draco sat on the other, cross-legged and facing Harry. "So," Draco said, and Harry really dreaded the next words now that he wasn't drunk, "Who ratted me out? Was it Weasley?"

"What?"

"Who told you that I like you?"

Harry blinked, "Teddy. But how-"

"I've liked you for six and a half years and people have been telling me that you like me for at least five of them. Clearly someone must have decided to tell you, it's the only thing that could have prompted you to change."

He tilted his head consideringly, "What I said, though," he started, "Well, it's still true, even if I'm less emotional about it now. I have had several relationships flop through no fault of the men and women I've dated. I'm a mess, Draco."

"Do you imagine for even a moment that I'm not?"

Harry huffed a bitter laugh, "You're always so poised and put together. You-"

"I have nightmares three times a week," Draco said matter-of-factly. "I sleep with my wand tucked under my pillow and a dim light in the corner. I see a therapist every other week. My father and I have a very strained relationship because he doesn't approve of me being gay. And," he added, "I haven't had a successful relationship ever."

Harry stared at him for a long moment.

Long enough that Draco started talking again, "I'm a lot. Even on my best days and I would drive you roun-"

Harry interrupted him by leaning across the sofa and kissing him once softly to stop the words coming from his mouth. "You are amazing," he breathed. When he pulled back he said, "If you're okay with me not being perfect, I would love to try."

"Really?" Draco whispered.

Harry nodded, "Really."

And in the end, it was their imperfections that made the other love them all the more.

-----------------

Day 64: Shower | Day 66: Bond

So confession: this was not the fic I started writing for this prompt. But that one is already over 4000 words and it's like halfway done, so it's not making the cut tonight. I think it's actually going to end up being multiple chapters, I'll add a link in here when I've finished it. (I say this to apologize that this one is so rushed!)

#100 drarry drabbles in 100 days #drarry #drarry ficlet #drarry drabbles #getting together #matchmaker teddy #day 65 #enjoy #send me a prompt and i'll write you a ficlet

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ironmandeficiency · 3 years

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fuck you very much

pairing: javier peña / reader

word count: 988

summary: if you say “fuck you very much” fast enough, it sounds like you’re saying “thank you” instead of “fuck you”

a/n: i reread this fic of mine and had this idea for a sister fic based on smth my parents say so 🤷🏻‍♀️ also steve casually calls you “man” once & javi says “our girl” as a slight joke

you wish these meetings would start to bring good news. conversations with the ambassador are, more often than not, preludes to bad or worse news. criticizing how one operation went and giving unnecessary reminders to the importance of your job as if you’re not on the field before the sun rises and long after it sets. it’s chock-full of ridiculous bureaucracy and ego balancing under the guise of being polite guests in colombia and it drives you absolutely mad.

because you weren’t a man in a man-dominated field, you had a tighter noose on your neck. the slightest sway of the breeze, one wrong move could put your career (and sometimes, life) in jeopardy. you couldn’t lash out in anger without being seen as “psycho” or “too emotional.” if you took a page out of javier’s book and tried sleeping around to let out steam, any respect you’ve earned on the field through your hard work would be tarnished by your sex life.

it was hard for your first several months in colombia to not rip new ones in the many many people who disrespected you. one phone call home reminded you of a trick that a family friend used when piled down with the paperwork of people who couldn’t be bothered to do what was required of them. every time people would drop a thick stack on her desk, she would smile and give them a “fuck you very much” spoken fast enough to be misheard for a thank you.

at first you were hesitant to use this tactic at work. if you didn’t speak it fast enough or if the wrong person could truly understand you, it could result in disciplinary action that you didn’t have the patience to deal with. that would only give even more ample reason for you to need said trick.

then stechner visited.

everything about this man radiated shifty and skeevy. no matter how you tried, there was almost nothing (and you don’t say this lightly) redeemable or tolerable about that man. even his bald spot had the power to annoy you, which was a feat in itself. the only thing you could do was tough it out when you were around him and hope that if you didn’t have the patience, you’d have an untraceable gun.

today was one of those days where nearly everyone (but mostly stechner) rubbed you the wrong way and you were this close to tearing your hair out and screaming bloody murder in frustration and indignation. it all came to a head when you were called into ambassador noonan’s office and stechner was sitting there like the cat who ate the canary. you were too busy wondering what canary could he have eaten to warrant such a smug look to be fully paying attention to the ambassador’s scolding.

“are you even listening, agent?! the government pays you to listen to your superiors, yet here you stand…”

javier and steve open the door mid-scolding and your blood cools just enough to keep control over the hand itching to deck the cia agent not even trying to contain his amusement. “i hate to say this… peña, murphy,” messina sighs in resignation, wagging a finger between the men. “you two, reel this one in or all three of you face suspension. i’m not going to tolerate any more rogue agents running around colombia.”

everyone in the room knew that messina was desperate if she was asking steve and javi to reel you in. this desperation gave way to an awkward tension in the air felt by all but stechner, the douche. in spite of the awkwardness cloud, you were fuming at the audacity of messina for dragging you in front of stechner and your partners. your partners were truly expecting there to be smoke coming from your ears the longer they watched the scene unfold, bodies tense and ready to pounce in case they had to keep you from letting loose on the smug cia agent.

you took a deep breath. this was not the hill to die on, and you weren’t going to give stechner the pleasure of watching you go down in flames. instead, you spoke with a smile and saved your anger for a time when you wouldn’t lose your job for showing it. “well fuck you very much for your time. if there’s anything else i can do for you, please let me know.” and with that, you walked out without looking back.

it didn’t take a genius to know that your partners were following you out of the ambassador’s office. their footsteps echoed on the cheap tiled floor with the tact of a clumsy elephant. you didn’t grace them with your attention until you were slumped in your desk with a huff. “what is it, guys?”

“you literally just said ‘fuck you’ to the ambassador and didn’t get fired on the spot, man.” he scoffed as he sat and lit a cigarette. “you’re insane!”

okay, so someone caught on to it. as long as it wasn’t the ambassador, you still had a job. plus, it pleasantly surprised your boys which was a feat in itself, those two (sometimes) had hawk eyes and it’s typically hard to sneak something by them. on other occasions, you might as well ask a brick wall for help with how blind they could be.

javi laughed at the smug smile you wore at your accomplishment, knowing you were gonna ride this high for a while. “we shouldn’t expect anything less from our girl, stevie,” he replied with a wink. “now let’s get to work, we gotta make sure we keep her in line.”

all three of you laughed at that remark knowing full well that the three of you were waking chaos in blue jeans and badges. there was going to be no reining in getting done anytime soon, but that’s what made colombia a bit more tolerable.

javi taglist: @catsnkooks @senator-nahberries @majorshiraharu @stardustsunrisekisses @likeshootingstarsinthenightsky @darthadeline @max--phillips @themarcusmoreno @jedi-mando @obirain @battletales @greeneyedblondie44 @pedropasscals @princess76179 @kaermorons @hornystarwarsbisexual @lv7867 @whovianwar @purelypascal @andysficrecs @book-of-anarchy

#javier peña imagines #javier peña x reader #javier peña #narcos #fuck you very much #narcos imagine #pedro pascal

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suddencolds · 3 years

Note

I don’t go here, but I really like how you’ve written Diluc and Kaeya, so: lost voice for the bingo?

Thank you so much for the request!! Also, thank you for reading despite not knowing the fandom, I’m really happy you enjoyed nonetheless! <3 I hope this is okay!

—

Familiarity | Genshin Impact

Kaeya loses his voice, and Diluc is more considerate than expected. | prompt fill for [this]!

—

Diluc, despite himself, knows Kaeya’s order.

It’s not that he’s paid attention—just that Kaeya’s presence in the tavern isn’t exactly easy to miss, whether he’s here drinking with the knights or striking up a conversation with the regulars. Diluc knows his order, but he also never makes it in advance; it’s always been easier not to acknowledge that he’s become something of a constant in Diluc’s life again—predictable, and consistent to the point that it’s almost cruel.

Kaeya’s here alone tonight, seated at the counter, strangely quiet. Some of the knights are drinking at one of the tables in the back, talking loudly enough to suggest they’re well past drunk. Kaeya doesn’t join them. Diluc busies himself with polishing the glasses they leave behind, finds himself pleasantly undistracted, and relishes the silence for the first hour and a half.

It’s only when the last of the Knights stands up to leave that he starts to think something might be wrong.

Kaeya still hasn’t ordered, and he hasn’t said so much as a goodbye to the knights, which implies that he’s here for some other reason—a loaded conversation with Diluc, maybe, or a proposition for the Darknight Hero’s involvement in some new ploy, neither of which Diluc wants to be discussing right now.

“That seat is for patrons only,” he says.

Kaeya’s eyes snap to his. He smirks. “Oh? Protective about the seating arrangements, are we?” “If you’re not here to drink,” Diluc says, “I’m sure you can find a better place to spend the night.”

“Fine, fine,” Kaeya says lightly. “One Death After Noon, please.”

He’s speaking more quietly than usual. There’s a dullness to his eyes, too, when Diluc looks back at him, blinking.

It’s… frustrating, to say the least. Kaeya is never entirely straightforward—he’s never as honest as he had been when they were both children, but he must be here for a reason, and he isn’t doing either of them any favors by not speaking up about it.

“What do you want from me?”

“Oh? What makes you think I want something from you?”

“You didn’t order anything until I asked,” Diluc says.

Kaeya smiles cryptically, resting his chin on one hand. “Maybe I just came here to unwind.”

“Nonsense. You haven’t spoken to anyone all night.”

“So you’ve been watching me?”

Diluc scoffs. “You are usually the most talkative customer here. I would have to have been exceptionally unobservant to not have noticed your silence.”

It’s not a secret that Kaeya isn’t here to see him. He’s here because it’s one of two taverns in Mondstadt, and because moreover, it’s a more popular spot for the Knights than the Cat’s Tail is, for days when he’s here more for conversation than for the drinks. Even when he’s here for strategic reasons, though—on nights when he’s enticing whoever he’s with to drink just enough to loosen their tongue—he always orders something for himself.

Tonight is an anomaly. But Kaeya doesn’t offer an explanation for it, and Diluc has never been one to press, so he occupies himself with procuring a bottle of white wine from the upper shelf.

Behind him, Kaeya coughs, but the sound is a little muffled. Diluc turns, instinctively, half expecting that Kaeya’s trying to direct his attention to something.

But Kaeya merely raises an eyebrow. “Does my presence bother you so much?”

“No,” Diluc says. “If you are waiting for someone to show up...”

“I’m not.”

Diluc goes back to pretending that a drink he can make in his sleep is taking up all of his attention. Behind him, Kaeya sniffles—quietly enough that it almost goes unnoticed, except for the fact that the tavern’s empty except for the two of them, so late at night on a weekday.

At first, Diluc thinks—hopes—that he’s misheard. But then Kaeya sniffles again, loud enough to be confirmation, and then the silence suspends itself for a soft intake of breath.

Diluc thinks that if he grips the wine glass in his hands any tighter, it’s going to fracture. Is Kaeya… crying?

What could possibly warrant a reaction like this? Why here, of all places—so openly in front of Diluc, who he’s not supposed to trust? But before he can think more about it, there’s another sharp, desperate breath behind him, followed by—

“hihH’DXxt!” A pause, and then another gasp. Diluc whirls around, surprised, just in time to see Kaeya’s eyes flutter shut, as he pitches forward with none of his usual grace, roughly enough to jostle the cups on the countertop.

“hIH’ISCHHh-uu!”

It sounds rough, and... miserable, really, like it’s somehow both desperately necessary and barely relieving.

This is certainly… unexpected.

“...Bless you,” Diluc says hesitantly, if only to break the silence. Kaeya looks up at him, blinking distractedly.

“Thanks. You’ll have to excuse me,” he says—quieter than usual again, except now Diluc realizes it’s probably more out of necessity than anything—Kaeya’s voice is nearly shot, now that he’s paying attention.

Diluc turns back around—mercifully, perhaps—and tries to pay attention to the precise ratio of dandelion wine to white wine in the glass he’s holding.

It’s not long before Kaeya’s breath is hitching again.

“Hh… - hIiH! hHh - hH’ESHhh’uu!”

It’s so desperate and vocal. Kaeya lets out an exhausted sigh, reaching across the table to grab a handful of napkins. If he’s been doing this all day, it’s no wonder that he’s lost his voice.

“Are you getting sick?” Diluc says, though he suspects he knows the answer.

Kaeya laughs. “Why? Are you worried?”

“Only deciding whether I’ll have to wipe down the tables when you leave,” Diluc answers.

“Don’t worry. I assure you, you won’t catch this.”

“You are not doing a good job of convincing me of that.”

Kaeya hums, slumping further in his seat. He’s moved so that his chin’s resting on his hand again, but now it looks like less of a casual gesture. He just looks tired.

“I’ll be careful, I promise.”

It’s barely even a retort. Diluc stares at the half-finished drink in front of him. Then he pushes the cup aside so that it rests on the other side of the countertop, leaving the space in front of him clear. “You shouldn’t be drinking like this.”

Kaeya watches him warily, suppressing a shiver. “Thought the wine would warm me up.”

“You’re cold,” Diluc realizes.

By the way Kaeya’s eyebrows furrow in response, Diluc can tell he hadn’t meant to admit it so plainly. “I didn’t say that.”

Diluc ignores him again in favor of swiping a mug from the cupboards. Kaeya sniffles, sinking lower in his seat to rest his head on his forearms. Has he been so tired all afternoon? Diluc hadn’t expected that he’d do something like this—just sit here quietly all afternoon, waiting for someone to notice. Diluc can count the number of times Kaeya’s fallen ill on two hands, with room to spare. Back when they’d been close he’d sought Diluc’s presence whenever he fell ill, but it’s been years since then, and Kaeya is exceptionally popular—Diluc is sure anyone in Mondstadt would be happy to keep him company. This isn’t the same.

Kaeya’s eyes are lightly shut when Diluc sets the mug in front of him finally, still steaming. Diluc considers tapping him on the shoulder—or checking his forehead, or something—and then decides against it. “Apple cider,” he says, instead. “Don’t burn yourself, it’s hot.”

Kaeya opens his eyes, sits up. Diluc pushes the mug towards him, and his fingers curl around the sides. He shivers again, lifts the mug with both hands, and takes a tentative sip.

“Adelinde says it’s good for your throat,” Diluc says, unsure of what else to add. “Or… it’s what she always tells me, in the winter.”

“How thoughtful of you,” Kaeya murmurs. He coughs into a fist, his shoulders trembling with the effort. “It’s good. Was I asleep long?

“The tavern closes in twenty.”

“Is that so?” He sniffles, his eyes watering as he sets the mug down hurriedly, ducking into his elbow. “Hh— hIIH’ESCHhuu! hH!… snf, sorry to keep you, then.”

He says it without a trace of sarcasm, which feels… unfitting, if anything. Whatever Kaeya does, he does it unapologetically.

Diluc regards him for a moment. “It’s my shift. I’d be here anyway.”

“You’d be closing up if not for me,” Kaeya says, which isn’t untrue. “I’ve been here long enough.”

The why goes unaddressed. Diluc isn’t sure why Kaeya’s here—Kaeya is unpredictable, but he’s also deliberate. Diluc doesn’t believe he’d be here for no reason—the tavern is warm enough, and crowded enough in the evenings to be pleasantly distracting, but that’s about where the benefits end. Kaeya—where’s he’s hunched over the counter, exhausted and shivering—looks like he’d be more comfortable anywhere else.

“Are the Knights aware that they’re assigning you too much work?”

Kaeya averts his glance. “It’s nothing like that.”

“When is the last time you’ve slept?”

This time, he smiles, raising an eyebrow. “Concerned?”

It’s an accusation that Diluc would normally dispute. Now, he settles for crossing his arms. “You’re exhausted.”

“I don’t see why that’s relevant... hh — hH-ESHhh-uu! We’ve had more domains than ever to cover, is all. Nothing out of the ordinary, but you’ll understand why I couldn’t... ” Kaeya stifles a yawn which he half-hides, embarrassed, behind one hand. “I couldn’t afford to take time off even if I wanted to…” His eyelashes flutter shut, his shoulders tensing up in trepidation as he gasps, jerking forward. “Hh! hiIIH... hiih... hh—IIISHHh’uu! hiihh’iIhTSSHHew!”

Sheepishly, Kaeya lifts the drink to his face, carefully enough that Diluc almost misses the wince when he swallows. Almost. His throat must be sore sore; it explains why he hasn’t been talking much.

“If Jean had a good look at you, I’m sure she’d send you home,” Diluc says. The look on Kaeya’s face, in response to that, is telling enough. “You’ve been avoiding her, then.”

“Jean has enough on her plate already.”

“So you have no reservations about lying to the Acting Grandmaster.”

Kaeya shrugs. “I didn’t lie to her. I simply neglected to inform her that I was unwell.” He trails off, blinking dazedly. “Hhih… hIIH’EZCHHuu! Snf… HIHH’IZCHh-uu!” Sevens above. Even his sneezes sound wrung-out, as if they’re using up the last reserves of the voice he’s about to lose.

Kaeya sighs, reaching for the bar napkins. “On second thought...” He swallows again, eyebrows drawing tighter. “Maybe wiping down the tables would be a good idea after all.”

“I was planning to, anyway,” Diluc says. Kaeya has always been dramatic. But if this is all some ridiculous ploy to get him to worry, it’s working. “It would be bad for business if you managed to infect all of my patrons.” Kaeya huffs a quiet laugh, which immediately turns into a particularly harsh coughing fit.

“Is it helping?” Diluc asks.

“What?” Kaeya’s voice breaks on the syllable, and Diluc falters.

“The drink. With your sore throat.”

“It’s working wonders,” Kaeya says, almost convincingly nonchalant, if not for the quietness with which it’s delivered. “I’m sure that by tomorrow, I’ll be good as new.”

He can’t seriously believe that. “Don’t tell me you actually intend on going to work.”

Kaeya tilts his head in question. “Why wouldn’t I? I’m feeling much better now.”

“You’re not.”

The smile on his face falters, gives way for something a little more honest. “You’re right,” Kaeya admits, after a pause. “I’m not. But it’s fine, you know. It’s just a cold. You don’t have to—” He stops again to cough, his shoulders shaking. “—be so worried.”

“Archons,” Diluc snaps. “I know. Stop talking.”

Kaeya opens his mouth—probably to protest, but Diluc cuts him off before he can speak.

“You’re losing your voice,” he points out, by way of explanation. “If you keep pushing yourself, you’ll postpone your recovery for days. How do you think Jean would like it if you ended up bedridden?”

There’s no response to that.

“If it is customary for a captain to work through illness, it’s no wonder that the Knights are always so terribly inefficient.”

Kaeya’s breath hitches, and he ducks voicelessly into his elbow, his eyelids fluttering shut. There’s a beat, and then—

“hHH’DSCHhh!”

...there’s that, too. Diluc crosses his arms. “Not to mention, if you are contagious...”

“I’m very careful,” Kaeya whispers, which is an irritating workaround to Diluc’s rule. But it doesn’t seem like it hurts his voice—what’s left of it, at least—so Diluc lets it slide. “You underestimate my abilities. It’s just—”

“A cold. I’m aware.” He turns aside, moving to pour the half-made Death After Noon into the sink. Kaeya, if anything, is a good liar. Even if Diluc somehow gets him to promise he won’t push himself too hard, Diluc doubts he’ll take it seriously.

It was easier, he thinks, when he’d been away for those three years, too distant and too caught up in Fatui affairs to care about Kaeya’s destructively selfish tendencies. Now they’re distant, less than acquaintances, but he sees Kaeya everywhere, and on days like this it feels almost cruel. It’s like they have some sort of mutual agreement to play strangers. Like caring too much would be overstepping.

“Just… don’t get worse,” he says resignedly. For once, Kaeya is silent behind him. When Diluc turns around to take his cup from him, Kaeya’s expression is unreadable.

“I’ll try my best,” Kaeya says, uncharacteristically sincere. Diluc really wants to believe him.

#snz fic #sneeze fic #snzfic #gen/shin im/pac/t #apologies if all my fics with these two are too similar or anything #hopefully this being my first work in di/luc's perspective makes it a little better? ;;#supposedly kae/ya is at the tavern bc he likes having company but he'd never ask for it outright #and di/luc is.. confused. bc he thinks kae/ya goes to the tavern for every other conceivable reason besides wanting to see him #idk. i just hope it's not incomprehensible #my fic #(also i always write these two as nonromantic!#but you can choose to read their relationship however you like)

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goldentournesol · 4 years

Text

Mon Lapin

(Spencer Reid x Reader)

The one where Reader owns a French bakery at which Spencer is a regular.

Length: 1.6k

A/N: the french bakery au no one asked for :) i’m aware my French isn’t perfect, please don’t roast me!! MAJOR FLUFF AND PINING

Read Part 2: Mon Cher

masterlist

The air was crisp in September and Spencer loved it. He used the weather as an excuse to leave his house more often. He liked the way the wind nipped at his nose, but when it got too much, he’d find refuge in his favorite French bakery, La Crème de la Crème. The smell of freshly baked bread and buttery pastries gave him a sense of security he longed for. There were other reasons he liked to go there as well...he liked the soft armchairs...the fresh coffee...the beautiful woman who happened to own the bakery. He also liked the way her eyes softened as they met with his upon entering the store. He’d been away, guest lecturing at different universities so he hadn’t visited the bakery in a while.

“Dr. Reid, welcome back! How were the lectures?” She asked warmly, waving at him from across the counter as he offered a shy wave back.

She had her hair tied up in a neat ponytail, with one braid across the top of her head. Her apron had minimal chocolate and coffee stains at which he grinned because he remembered how she’d been complaining to him about how many aprons she’s ruined. Spencer couldn’t help but admire every inch of her. But she’d just asked him a question, what was it?

“Oh, they were great! You know, I’ve found that college students are often at the ends of the interest spectrum. Either they’re extremely interested or they don’t even care, it’s quite amusing.” He commented, heat rushing to his cheeks.

She replied with a soft giggle and nodded. She silently cursed as she noticed a line forming behind him, she wanted to continue the conversation, “I’m sure it is! So what can I get you today, mon lapin? [my bunny] The usual?” Spencer nodded with a hum, a familiar grin adorning his face, “Alright, one coffee and one pain au chocolat coming right up!”

Spencer paid and moved to the side to collect his order, itching to interact with her even more. He still blushed at the nickname, one she’d given to him early on. At first, he had no idea what it meant, which led to a very awkward conversation with Emily, who’d since then made it a point to repeatedly ask him about the mystery person who’d been referring to the lanky doctor with such an adorable term of endearment.

He took a seat at his usual spot and pulled out the current book he was reading. As easy as it is for Spencer to get lost in the words, it was just as easy for her voice to pull his attention away from them. He glanced up at her often to watch her as she greeted customers and brought them their orders. She was entrancing, and he’d often find himself rereading pages and words he thought he missed when in reality, he’d just lost focus. Every once in a while, she’d catch his eye and send him one of her smiles and in those precious moments, he’d be glad he had enough knowledge about human anatomy or else he’d be concerned about the way his heart would swell in his chest.

Spencer looked up from his book to see a man and a woman walking into the bakery together. They looked lost and out of place. They approached the counter and the man spoke with broken English to Y/N.

“Erm, mademoiselle...we are...how do you say...lost?” He stumbled over his words. They were obviously not American.

“Oh! Je peux vous aider, je parle en peu de Français.” [I can help you, I speak a little bit of French.] Y/N beamed at the couple, happy to finally put her language skills to good use.

“Magnifique! On a vu votre pâtisserie et a espéré qu’on va trouver quelqu'un qui parle Francais.” [Magnificent! We saw your pastry shop and hoped to find someone who speaks French] the woman exclaimed, “On a veut aller au musée national d’histoire naturelle, mais on s’est perdue, vous savez les directions?” [We wanted to go to the National Museum of Natural History, but we got lost, you know the directions?]

Spencer watched in amusement as well as in awe as she gave them the directions in flawless French. Although he knew enough to get by, he was nowhere near as fluent as she was. Spencer was rarely ever impressed but the way the words left her mouth reminded him of velvet.

The couple smiled gratefully and waved as they left the store. Y/N felt elated that she’d helped someone, but she couldn’t fight the blush that warmed up her cheeks when she caught Spencer staring at her in awe. He flushed immediately and averted his gaze, embarrassed to have been caught staring. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and straightened out his tie, in an attempt to regain his composure. But all she could do was bite her lip to keep from grinning, which her dear coworker noticed and proceeded to wiggle her eyebrows at her in a teasing manner. Y/N jokingly threw a towel at her coworker who knew all about Y/N’s infatuation with the young doctor.

---

Spencer thought of a plan. Casual conversation was not enough for him, he needed a way to grab her attention while somewhat staying in his comfort zone. What better way to do that than through literature? So, there he was, sat inside the bakery on another beautiful day, holding a French book. Although he recognized some words from English, the sentence structure was throwing him off. He pretended to be engrossed in the words as she passed by his table, a tub full of used plates and silverware perched on her hip.

“Les Fleurs du Mal?” [The Flowers of Evil] Y/N exclaimed as she glanced at the cover of the book Spencer was holding. He mentally high-fived himself before directing his attention to the breathtaking woman, “You didn’t tell me you could read French, mon lapin!” she grinned as she took a seat across from him, placing the tub by her feet. Spencer let his eyes roam over her excited features as he smiled sheepishly.

“Um, well actually I’m only just getting there.” He replied, taking a sip of his now freezing coffee after putting the book down. He’d been too nervous about the plan to even think of his coffee. “Are you a fan of Charles Baudelaire’s work?”

Y/N tried not to swoon over his adorable attempt at pronouncing the French name. It was impossible not to swoon over this man in general, his round amber eyes were as captivating as one’s eyes possibly could be. His eyes reminded her of the way the sun shined through glass jars of honey. She was suddenly grateful for the reduced amount of customers in the bakery.

“Well, I’ve read the poems in Les Fleurs du Mal and I loved the whole thing. Mainly because he wasn’t afraid to be controversial, considering it was published in 1857. I would have never taken you as the type to read lots of French poetry, though, Dr. Reid.” She teased, knowing full well that he was a man of science.

“Why is that? Do I not strike you as the romantic type?” He countered with a raised brow and a lopsided smile, a newfound wave of confidence coursing through his veins.

He couldn’t believe he had her right where he wanted her and that his plan had actually worked. He had no idea, of course, that she’d been closely paying attention to the books he’s read in her shop, hoping that one day she just might recognize one.

She acted like she was thinking about it, placing a finger on her chin theatrically, “Hm, actually, you do. You strike me as the type of guy who would buy flowers for their date, but not red roses, though, too cliché for your liking. You’d probably get them lilies...or irises!” Spencer fell in love with the way she spoke to and about him. He found himself reveling in the sound of her voice and her endearing expressions.

“So which would you prefer?” Spencer asked, eyes softening at her as she brought her gaze back to him.

“What do you mean?” She asked, feeling some heat rising to her cheeks.

“Would you prefer irises or lilies?” He clarified, raising both eyebrows slightly.

If she hadn’t known any better, she’d say that Dr. Spencer Reid was trying to ask her out on a date, but she didn’t push it, in case he wasn’t.

“Lilies.” Y/N grinned. Spencer let out a chuckle and she swore her heart was about to burst.

“Alright, it’s settled.” he announced, taking one last sip of the coffee, “I’ll be getting you lilies for our date.”

She must have misheard him, “Wait, what date?”

“The date we’ll have tomorrow. At 7 pm.” He picked up the book and shoved it into his messenger bag, nodding his head once at her decidedly. “I’ll wait for you here.” He grinned at her as he got up and made his way to the door.

Y/N’s eyes followed him out of the shop. Her brain hadn’t yet processed what had just happened. She looked towards her coworker who had been sneakily watching the encounter from behind the pastries in disbelief and finally snapped out of it when she caught her coworker hugging a towel and squealing. It finally registered and she couldn’t fight the grin that threatened to split her face in two anymore.

That Spencer Reid was one hell of a man.

Part 2: Mon Cher

#spencer x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid fic #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid angst #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid masterlist #dr spencer reid #criminal minds #criminal minds fic #criminal minds fanfic #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid imagine

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stillebesat · 3 years

Text

Catch Me (If You Can) -Part 1

December Drabbles Day 17 Sanders Shorts: Remy Sanders Sides: Logan Blurb: Remy would not allow himself to be seen as needy and helpless in front of the general masses. He had an image to uphold. One of perfect health, snarky comebacks, and general sassiness. He didn’t get sick. Fic Type: Sick!Fic, Guardian!AU Overall Fic Warnings: Sickness, Fainting, Mentions of Religion Taglist in reblog.

He tried to push open a pull door. That’s how Remy knew he was in trouble.

“Gurl. Seriously?” He rasped, wincing at how his voice sounded like he’d been stranded in the Sahara Desert for twelve years.

That wasn’t good.

He needed to sound perfect. Perfectly uncaringly carefree that is. No one needed him sick. No siree. No. Remy would not allow himself to be seen as needy and helpless in front of the general masses. He had an image to uphold. One of perfect health, snarky comebacks, and general sassiness. He didn’t get sick.

The fact that the words ‘PULL’ were dancing right in front of his bloodshot eyes and he’d still tried to push open the freaking door was beside the point.

Remy swallowed in a failed attempt to soothe the fire burning his throat to a crisp as he drew up his flagging energy to pull open said door. Pushing would have been so much easier. Taken less energy. Energy Remy was barely managing to keep above empty at the moment. No, if the cool glass door had only allowed him to let his weight fall against it in order to gain access into the local cafe that the interwebs claimed had a cure-all chicken based chili that could fix any illness within the hour, they both would have been much better off.

Hopefully this was more of a fifteen minute cure. Remy would be spending the last of his money on this soup. He didn’t have an hour to feel better. Not after being laid up in his closet sized bedroom for the past two days with nothing but water in his apartment. He had places to be, a midterm exam to nail and a delightful after party to attend.

Adjusting his sunglasses, Remy walked-he did not stagger!-inside and paused to take in the place as the first nauseating wift of eggs and bacon hit his nose.

Quaint.

That was the first word that came to his spinning mind. A quaint little cafe that practically screamed fifties country diner. Warm. Inviting. Probably run by a white-haired grandmother who adopted all the college kids as her precious grandchildren and piled their plates high with food to ensure that they got a ‘proper meal.’

At least that’s what he thought normal grandmothers did. His old hag had lived off of bread and butter for so long Remy doubted the creature masquerading as his granny knew other food existed. She certainly hadn’t when he’d been forced to stay weekends there as a kid.

Focus.

Remy tugged at the collar of his jacket, already feeling sweat running down his back and prickling on his forehead. Too Warm. Grandma needed to turn on the AC.

Focus.

There were far more of his peers hanging out here than he’d expected, doubling vision to be ignored, and he did not want to make a fool of himself by throwing up two steps inside the building.

Remy took a shallow breath to avoid smelling more eggs. This soup better be heaven sent, because if it smelt anything like whatever was currently cooking...he doubted he would be able to keep it down.

“--lp you?”

Remy blinked, lowering his sunglasses as he turned to the singular cadentic voice that cut through the buzzing in his head and promptly forgot that his lungs worked.

If the soup wasn’t angelic, the help certainly was.

Tall, lithe, with sharp sapphire eyes accentuated perfectly by a pair of glasses. The man standing at the counter was like the handsome stranger one meets in a romcom. That or one of those cherubic angels -minus the tropey golden locks- he’d been forced to stare at whenever the old hag had dragged him to church.

Remy pushed his shades back up, hiding his bloodshot eyes. What sort of deal with God had this Grandma made to have such a dark haired handsome glass of yesness working for her?

The man raised a singular perfect eyebrow. “Can I help you?” He repeated in that same melodious voice.

Remy nodded, not yet trusting himself to speak without sounding like a harpy in the face of such a wonderful tone.

Focus.

First approach.

Sticking his hands in his jacket pockets, Remy sauntered -he did not sway not at all, he was in perfect control of his balance thank you- up to the counter and leaned against it, offering his most dazzling smile to the man.

Moment of truth.

“Hey, honeycakes.” He said keeping his tone low to prevent the rasp in his voice from being heard. “Where’s your Halo? Cus you, my dear, are quite the Angel.”

Nailed it.

The man pursed his lips in a thin line, his head moving in the slightest of shakes. “Unfortunately, we’re out of honey cakes, sir.” He said, tilting his head to the display of desserts in the glass next to him. “But our triple death by chocolate cake will send you,” his hands moved to form air quotations -who did that anymore?- “over the edge.”

Ooo was that a threat or an invitation? Remy flashed another smile, tugging at the collar of his jacket. So warm in here. “So long as you’re there to catch me, Honeybee. I’ll gladly leap over any edge for you.”

The man adjusted his black rimmed glasses, moving to the register. “So you want the cake then? That’ll be $3.58. For here or to go?”

Seriously? Remy gaped before clicking his tongue in exasperation and straightened, only to grab the counter to keep himself from falling backwards as his legs nearly buckled.

Focus Darlin. Get in. Get out. Get healthy. Flirt later.

“Actually.” He flinched as his voice grated in his ears. He swallowed, again lowering his tone to hide the soreness of his throat as he rested his elbows on the counter. “I came for your ah--” He flicked his eyes up to the menu overhead, briefly lowering his shades to squint at the wiggling letters. “Chicken Chili a la Cluck.”

A spark of recognition flashed in the Angel’s eyes. “Ah, you are under the weather?”

“Wha--NO!” Shoot. Was it that obvious? “No, ma’am!” His voice cracked as Remy jerked his hand up in the scout salute. “On my honor it's for a….” He trailed off. Well that was a pretty pickle. How the blazes could he lie if he was promising on his honor?

The man crossed his arms the faintest of smiles appearing on his lips. “Let me guess? A friend?”

Was that excuse used a lot then? He shrugged, shivering as a chill ran down his back. Geez, Grandma had cranked the AC up a little too high now. The place was going to freeze over any second. “I just wanted a taste of home-made soup is all.” He managed, rubbing his arms. “To go.”

Handsome remained silent, seemingly staring straight into his soul, bright blue eyes analyzing him like a hawk about to swoop down upon a rabbit.

Geez. He was no rabbit! Remy fixed a smile on his face, ignoring how his gums ached. Don’t show weakness. Not in front of his peers. He was fine. He totally didn’t feel like his knees were going to buckle at any second. Not at all. He could hold it together for a few minutes longer.

Abruptly the man nodded, releasing Remy from his analyzing stare as he pushed his glasses up so that the glare of the lights overhead on the lenses hid his eyes.

A pity. He could stare into those glorious eyes all day long.

“Of course, Total is $4.78 for the half size.”

Perfect. He only had a five anyways. “Ah, Sugarbee, truly you are an angel to provide me with such an affordable price for homemade goodness.” He purred, shifting slightly to fish out his limp wallet from his back pocket. This soup better be divine. If he kept up this conversation much longer his throat truly would catch fire.

The man raised an eyebrow, holding out his hand. “I am not the one to thank for deciding prices, sir.”

Sure sure. Grandma was the one who did, sweet soul that she was, making things affordable for all her poor adopted college children.

“I’m sure if such an angelic being such as yourself set the prices then they would be even more heavenly.” Remy swallowed wishing the soup already was in his grasp as he finally pulled out the crumpled bill, fingers betraying him by trembling. “Even so, you can keep the--”

The Angel’s cool fingers brushed his own, feeling like a breath of fresh air on a hot summer’s day. Remy’s breath caught in his throat, hazy mind short-circuiting at the unexpected touch. How he wanted to take those hands and-- GET A GRIP REMY! “--change.” He choked out, dropping his hand to the counter before he did something even more stupid than pushing on the pull door.

Smooth. Real smooth. Geez Gurl. Keep it together!

But that didn’t stop his fingers from tingling, nor from the room suddenly feeling like a sauna. What had happened to the arctic temperatures freezing him two minutes ago?

The man huffed, slipping the five into the till. “Your soup will be out momentarily, sir.” He said, dropping the coins into the nearby tip jar with an all too loud clink. “If you could step aside so I could help the next customer in line?”

Remy glanced behind him, lowering his glasses. Internally he cursed as he took in the gaggle of people he could barely focus on. Shoot. When had they come in?! He usually was more aware of that sort of thing.

“Relax, Specs.” Said the guy right behind him, wearing a simple red shirt that showed off nicely toned arms.

Specs? What an ugly nickname. The Angel behind him was far more than his glasses.

“I don’t mind the wait.” Red flashed a smile to Remy. “It’s not everyday I get to witness someone flirting with you.”

Really? He had to have misheard that. “Who wouldn’t flirt with him?” Remy asked, casually straightening slowly enough that his vision wouldn’t tunnel. “Honeybee here is absolutely…” He gestured to give himself a chance to swallow back the agony rising in his throat. “Divine.”

Red’s grass green eyes sparked with humor as he looked beyond Remy. “So I keep telling him.”

“You tell me yes, and we both know you’re prone to drastic exaggeration.” His Angel stated, barely twitching as the chef rang the bell, placing a to-go bowl within range for ‘Specs’ to reach if he would simply turn around and grab Remy’s food. “Now are you going to order or are you just here to antagonize me at work again?” He asked.

“Mmmm. Gurl. No. No.” Remy shook his head, whirling to fully face his cadentic Angel and promptly regretted it, placing a hand on the counter as his knees almost buckled. Hold on. Hold on. He was fine. “Ah--” He forced a smile to his face, fighting to see through his darkening shades, to look into those wondrous eyes. “Red here---no---doesn’t lie. You are an….an….ange--” The words suddenly felt heavy on his tongue as the diner tilted, the pressure of the cool marble top fading from his fingers as he fell backwards.

“HEY!”

A band of ice wrapped around his wrist, jerking Remy upwards. His eyes fluttered open enough to see his Angel lunging over the counter, one hand holding his, the other clenching onto his jacket, saving his head from hitting the tile floor.

Well how about that?

“You…caught me.” He whispered in stunned disbelief as his Angel’s bright blue eyes seemed to fill his entire world before everything went black.

To Be Continued Part 2

#Catch Me (If You Can)#December Drabbles #stillebesat #Sanders Sides #Remy #Logan #Sleep #Logic #Sick!Remy #Sick!Fic #Guardian!AU #sickness tw #mentions of religion tw #fainting tw #December Day 17

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nonawaaa · 3 years

Text

Lovers Series: Forsaken Story

1, 2 , 3 , 4

Sakura cannot believe she is in a coffee shop with a guy who isn’t her classmate or friend, well maybe he is her friend but to her, he is more than a friend. Uchiha Sasuke is her major major major crush. To repeat that, her MAJOR crush. He helped her with some duties she had in the campus once then they started hanging out from time to time and she thought that he was really cute. WRONG. He is dead handsome. A God-given angle to be honest. But she isn’t the type of girl who would jump into him just to go out with him. She likes it more casual, and secret, she is not sure if her having crush is still a secret but she likes to believe it.

They are studying in this coffee shop near the school library, normal college stuff if you would say, they were really to stay in the school library but Sakura is surprised that he suggested to go to a coffee shop because she knows he doesn’t want anyone seeing him with other people, especially girls, rumors travel easily in their campus, also his friends are loud and they can really tease someone to death if they wanted to. Sakura likes to study alone in her dorm, where it is quiet so she can focus more, but when your crush calls you asking if he can study with you, you wouldn’t say no right?

“Sakura? You’ve been staring you know. Are you tired? Should I buy you another coffee?” Sakura snapping from her train of thoughts to look at this handsome guy in front of her.

“What? Uh no! I’m fine, I was just uhh… memorizing…yes!” she blushed a little by the thought of him looking at her, maybe, she doesn’t really know as her mind likes to daydream today instead of paying attention to her surroundings.

She looks at their table, full of books and snacks. They bought their coffees already but she notices that Sasuke’s coffee hasn’t really been touched, she guessed he’s more of a snack guy.

‘He is a snack,’ her inner thoughts speaking to her and her eyes widen by the thought of it. He is more of a meal if she would clarify that.

“I guess you don’t really like studying in public do you,” he asked while writing something on his notebook, maybe some notes.

“I’m more comfortable studying at home but this is fine too,” finals are coming so Sakura needs to study anytime she can get, though she can’t really focus when she’s with him.

“I guess me too… but I really like studying with you,” Sasuke said almost mumbling as he focuses on doing his notes, what did he meant by that?

“Huh?” Sakura looks at him a bit confused.

“You like to study, so you kind of rub that on me,” he answered normally, his statement not even bothering him. Sakura wanted to ask more but she notices that almost half a day has gone by and the amount she has studied is not even close if she wants to pass, she needs to focus, she needs to study, this is what they came for right? Right.

***

The day has gone by and it’s already 7 pm, they both wanted to study in the coffee shop more if the staff didn’t tell them that they would be closing for the day. Sakura found her focus and she is a bit irritated that they needed to stop, Sasuke looks like he is a bit irritated too. They both didn’t know that the shop closes so early.

“We have been there since morning,” Sakura stated, she doesn’t know what to feel by her statement as she just wanted someone to talk, she doesn’t do well in the silence, so she wanted to start a conversation.

“Hn,” Sasuke replied, she guessed it was a reply even though it is too short to consider one. She wants to spend more time with him, but maybe this is enough for the day, God has replied to her prayers more than once this time.

“So yeah… I’m goi-“ She was about to tell him her goodbyes when he speaks again.

“Would you like to uhh… have dinner?” Sakura cannot even comprehend what he said, her brain is too tired. Maybe she misheard him? She realizes that his ears are getting red, maybe he’s embarrassed? Sakura is trying hard not to blush too much by the offer.

“Yeah, sure… w-Where do you want to have dinner?” They are both blushing at this point, Sakura is trying hard not to stammer, should she consider this as a date? Oh my gosh what if this is a date? She is not prepared for a date, she is wearing slide ons! Sakura’s brain is jumping conclusions after conclusions.

‘No this is just a simple dinner dumbass,’ Sakura repeated on her mind to calm her heart down, but she can’t stop her own what ifs.

‘God if this is a date, please let me have some sneakers or heels next time,’

“There is actually uhh… my mother sent me a message earlier… she said we should have dinner at our house, only if you want to of course, we can look for somewhere you like...,” the last part is almost a whisper.

Sakura’s brain is ringing all the bells it can ring, what did he said? Did he just say at his house? They are not kids anymore, right? This is normal, just normal. But holy shit.

‘What have my past self done to be this lucky today!’ her inner thoughts are shouting.

“Also, my mom said… she would like to meet you,” Oh her heart is about to explode at this point. What is happening?! Why is he saying this? Sakura’s mind is just going blank, she is just staring at Sasuke at this point, staring blankly, she is trying her best to remain calm.

“Sakura? You don’t need to if you don’t want you know,” Sakura smiled, she thought Sasuke is cute when he’s like this, all embarrassed but she remembered that she is too, maybe she even looks like a tomato at this point, too red.

“Uhh... it’s a bit embarrassing but yes of course I would love too,” Sakura said almost too fast, but when she finished saying that she also saw Sasuke smiled. Oh, to see that smile.

It is safe to think of this as a date, right? Sakura thinks it is more than a date, she is meeting his mother! Maybe, just maybe, this is her moment. Maybe he also feels the same.

Maybe she has a chance.

***

Going in the Uchiha household is a roller coaster ride for Sakura, mentally and emotionally. She still can’t believe that Sasuke invited her. Transportation wasn’t a big deal, she didn’t know that Sasuke brought his car so they didn’t have any problem, but that became Sakura’s problem.

‘Is this really alright? Me? Going to his house? Having dinner with his family? I. Am. Wearing. Slide. Ons.’

Not that wearing that is big of deal for her, but she knows she could do better when she is going to meet her potentially, future in-laws, is what she likes to believe. They are on their way to Sasuke’s house.

“Sasuke-kun, is this really alright?”

“Of course. If you don’t want to, we could have dinner somewhere else,”

“It’s not that,” Sakura do not know how to tell him that she is embarrassed, one of the many emotions she is feeling right now. She noticed that Sasuke is glancing at her.

“What are you looking at mister? Eyes on the road please,” She began to tease him to ease her growing anticipation of what to expect when they arrive there.

“If you’re worried about your slide ons, they’re fine,” Sasuke said while smiling as he looks at the road ahead. Sakura blushed as her embarrassment goes beyond the car roof.

“You are so bad!” Sakura exclaimed while Sasuke chuckled at her response. Sakura smiled at his action, why is he doing this? What is his game? As they fall into silence, she was feeling so comfortable with him.

“I could get use to this you know,” she said while looking at the window beside her. As not to be awkward if he notices her blush.

“Hn,”

***

As they arrive in the house it’s just what she expects, a very big mansion, she knows that Sasuke’s family is good in businesses so she didn’t expect less than this. Now her slide ons are shaking, what if they mistake her as a maid?

‘They wouldn’t, right? I heard they are very polite,’ Sakura talks to herself as she observed the house. They were pulling up the drive way and it is a long drive way.

“My mother really wanted to meet you, she likes to meet all of my friends,” Sasuke said while he turns off the engine.

‘Right. Friends. Duh’ her inner self talking to her.

Sasuke walks out of the car and she follows. The mansion is beautiful full of lights, bright lights that shows the house’s intricate designs, it’s a mix of traditional and modern house but more on the tradition side. As they walk through the front door, a very beautiful lady great them.

“Sasuke-kun! I am so glad you chose to have dinner here! You must be Sasuke’s friend?” She hugged Sasuke and smiled at her. She looks so beautiful, she looks like Sasuke. Sakura couldn’t help but stare at her, she is mesmerized by her beauty. Sasuke notices that Sakura has no plans of looking away.

“Kaa-chan, this is Haruno Sakura, Sakura this is my mother,” Sasuke said and in an instance, Sakura looks at Sasuke with wide eyes.

‘His mother! She looks like our age! What’s with their genes?!’ Sakura is freaking out, but she smiled at the beautiful woman in front of her and tried her best to talk.

“Good evening Uchiha-san, I am Haruno Sakura, pleasure to meet you,”

“Oh! Don’t be too formal my dear! Just call me Mikoto-san, everybody here is Uchiha-san,” Sasuke’s mother said while smiling at her, smile so warm.

“Let’s go and have dinner, shall we?” Mikoto-san continued and walks toward the right hallway of the mansion. Sakura notices Sasuke looking at her and she can’t help her smile.

“Why didn’t you tell me she’s your mother?!” she whispered to Sasuke as they walk behind Mikoto-san.

“Doesn’t she look like my mother?”

“She looks like your sister!”

Sasuke smiled at her, more like laugh at her but he’s holding it in so his mother wouldn’t notice. He grabs Sakura’s arm and continued to walk while dragging her with him.

Sakura couldn’t help her emotions. She wants to cry, cry to God for listening to her wishes. She feels so lucky. She finally decided, this is her time, this is her moment, this is God’s will, she will confess to him, she will tell him her feeling, at this moment she knows, that there is a chance that Sasuke feels the same.

She will take her chance.

#lovers series #tnx for reading #reviews are much appreciated #pls enjoy!#fanfic #fic #mild angst #???#sasusaku #haruno sakura #uchiha sasuke #naruto fanfiction #naruto

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bangtan-sonyeonddaeng · 4 years

Text

BTS Reaction: You are their celebrity crush and they meet you backstage

Namjoon

Namjoon had seen you post on your social media that you were going to be attending their concert tonight. He had never felt so nervous performing up on stage before. And you were in the front row too. He saw you every time he walked to the right side of the stage and he felt his heart flutter slightly in his chest every time the two of your eyes met. Especially when your face broke out into a wide grin every time. You even waved and winked at him and he almost forgot the words to the song he was singing.

It’s now after the show and Namjoon is sitting in the chair letting the staff take off all his makeup when Jin bursts through the door.

“Jin? What are you doing?”

“Thank me later Namjoon!” He rushes back out and a few moments later after the staff is done fussing over him he goes to leave. When he opens the door he sees you standing there, shyly fidgeting with your hands.

“Y-y/n?!”

“Hi! Um, Jin gave me a backstage pass he said you wanted to meet me? Although I must admit I have no idea why.”

“Because he has a big fat crush on you that’s why!” Jin yells from down the hall.

“Oh my god I am going to kill him.” Namjoon pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs heavily. When he finally looks up he sees surprise evident on your features.

“You have a crush on me? Oh if my bandmates were here to witness this they would be freaking out because literally all I talk about with them is how you are my biggest celebrity crush. I have your photo card in the back of my phone, look!” You bring your phone out to show him and sure enough he’s looking right at himself. He can’t help the chuckle that escapes him.

“I guess maybe I can let Jin live another day then. Listen I know it’s late and everything but we usually get something to eat after the show. Would you like to come to dinner with me? I’d let to get to know you. The real you. Not just the celebrity y/n.” You blush and smile at that.

“I’d really like that.”

Jin

Big Hit had decided to do something a little bit different for this concert than they had for ones in the past. Certain ticket numbers were also given a backstage pass to see how they prepare for the shows, take a tour of everything behind the scenes, and then at the end of this they would get to meet the members before they had to get ready to go on stage. Jin knew by now they would soon be walking to the room where they all sit to calm their nerves before the show started. So he decided to plop himself down on the couch as a surprise for the army that would be coming there shortly.

He heard voices in the hallway approaching the door which was soon followed by yells of surprise when they saw him sitting casually on the couch.

“Jin! You are supposed to be getting your hair and makeup done what are you doing back here?”

“It’s done already. It doesn’t take very long for this handsome face.” He hears a giggle that is all too familiar to him and his gaze snaps to the left to find you, his celebrity crush for the past 6 month standing there.

“Y-you’re y/n!”

“Indeed I am. And you’re Jin.”

“What are you doing here?!”

“It just so happened one of my tickets was the lucky one that got the back stage tour. And who gets to meet the other members too.” The other fans are glancing between the two of you and Jin decides to pull himself together long enough to speak to you like a normal human being.

“Well, that’s great then. I guess I will get to meet you officially shortly then.” He waves at all of the other fans and they are beginning to file out of the room and continue on with the tour. You are the last one to leave but before you can make it too far out the door Jin lightly places his hand on your shoulder and pulls you back into the room.

“Hey! Jin what are you doing? Let me go I need to stay with the group!”

“No please wait a minute I just.. Okay gosh I was not expecting this but now that you’re here I just have to take the opportunity to tell you something.”

“Okay? What’s up?”

“This is going to sound really stupid, or weird, I don’t know. But I have been really crushing on you for the past months and I just wanted to know if there is a chance you would maybe go on a date with me?” He says everything in a rush and you almost think you misheard what he said.

“I’m sorry? Did you just ask me on a date?”

“Yes.. I did.. You don’t have to say yes though you can shut me down it’s alright. My pride might hurt a little bit, but nothing is ever gained in life without a few risks right?” You can see the tips of his ears turning red in slight embarrassment and nervousness as he confesses to you.

“So, let me get this straight. You, Kim Seokjin, The guy I have had the biggest celebrity crush on for the past year or so is asking me on a date?”

“Yes?”

“I accept.”

“Good. When are you free?”

“Tomorrow? Evening? Say around 7?”

“Wanna do dinner?”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Good glad we had this talk.” You both look at each other in silence for a few moments before you both burst out laughing.

“I better get going, before they assume I’ve snuck off and done something to you. Give me your phone I’ll give you my number.” He does and you text yourself so you both have each other’s number. “I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, see you.” He smiles at you and brings your hand up to his lips to kiss the back of it. You blush and pull your hand away before scurrying out the door to catch up with the others. “She’s so cute, oh gosh! What am I going to do with myself?”

Yoongi

Yoongi was backstage talking to Hoseok. They were walking down the hallway heading towards the dressing rooms to get ready for their performance.

“Yoongi I don’t see why you don’t just talk to y/n. She’s here right now, backstage somewhere I am sure. This could be your big chance to make a move!”

“Move? What move? The only move I will be making is hastily towards the exit if I see her.”

“But why? You’ve been crushing on her for such a long time now! You listen to her music all the time and just look sad or absolutely smitten. Come on she probably has a little celebrity crush on you too. Every time she has described her ideal type it’s almost been an exact match to you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you not listen to her last interview? She described you to a T. Doesn’t outwardly show affection but loves to show they care and love someone by how they take care of them. Loves holding hands, a bit intimidating but really is just a big softie, good sense of humor. That’s you.”

“She doesn't even know me Hoseok. And I don’t really know her either. I just know that she's very talented, we have similar taste in music, and she’s very kind, and sweet, and funny, and passionate, and-”

“S M I T T E N.” Yoongi pushes him backwards playfully, not realizing you were walking fairly close behind them until he was pushed right into you. You yelp and almost fall over but Yoongi quickly turns around and grabs you to pull you back up before you could fall. He didn’t notice it was you at first because he was looking away in embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t know you were behind us or I never would have- wait a minute.. Y/n?!”

“Um.. Hi Yoongi.”

“Oh god did you hear our conversation?”

“I might have... I didn’t mean to eavesdrop I swear! But I had to head back here and I heard my name mentioned and I just couldn’t help it.. okay I totally meant to eavesdrop I was curious.”

“I am so embarrassed this is awful.” He groans into his hands as they cover his face.

“Why are you embarrassed? Hoseok is right you know.” He drops his hands immediately and his eyes widen.

“Wait, seriously? You were thinking about me when you answered that question?”

“I was.. Sorry if that’s a little weird I know we don’t know each other but.. the glimpses I see of the real you and not just the stage persona well, I really like who that person is.” Yoongi can’t help the smile that spreads across his face as he smiles at you.

“Well we could get to know each other better? You want to meet up after the award show?”

“I’d love to!”

Hoseok

Hoseok was walking back stage with Jungkook when he saw you wandering around looking lost.

“Hyung! Now’s your chance go talk to her!”

“Jungkook I can’t do that I’m too nervous! She’s just so cute look at her.”

“But she’s lost. And by the looks of it she’s coming this way now go!” He shoves him forward and Hoseok loses his footing almost running right into you.

“Uhm.. Hello I’m y/n. I am kind of lost, I was supposed to find dressing room E but I seem to have made a wrong turn somewhere.” You grin sheepishly and twirl your hair around your fingers, a nervous habit that Hoseok had noticed when you were talking up on stage earlier to accept your groups award.

“I’m Hoseok! But you can call me Hobi. And I know right where that is, I’ll take you there.”

“Oh no you don’t have to do that if you just point me the right way! I am sure you are very busy preparing for your stage performance too.”

“It’s no trouble. Believe me. I’m heading back that way anyway because it’s pretty close to our room.” He sees a faint blush on your cheeks as you smile at him.

“Thank you!” Hoseok walks much slower than usual in order to spend more time talking with you. He can’t help it. You’re just so adorable and sweet. And it’s when you laugh loudly at something that he says that he finally has the courage to ask you out.

“So, um... I know this might sound kind of weird but I might have a small crush on you. And I was wondering if maybe after the show if you wanted to come with me to get something to eat? There is a restaurant that not many people know about so we wouldn’t have to worry about being seen.” You stare at him for a moment in shock.

“Is this actually happening right now? Oh my gosh I have had a big old crush on you too and I never in a million years thought you would want to go out with me. But yes! I’d love to!”

“Okay. I’ll meet you back here after the show then. Good luck y/n!”

“You too, Hobi. Fighting!”

Jimin

“Hey Jimin! Isn’t that y/n?”

“What where?!” Jimin turns around and glances around the room, only to see there is no one in the room but him and the other members. “Ha ha very funny you guys.”

“You’ve been on edge all night Jimin. And this is our dressing room why would y/n be in here?”

“I don’t know okay! I just know that her group is here which means she is around here somewhere and I am so nervous to run into her.”

“Aww, Jimin! Your crush on her is adorable.”

“No it’s not. I like someone that doesn’t even know I exist.” He slumps in his chair and Jungkook lets out an incredulous huff.

“Seriously hyung? Y/n knows who you are trust me. I don’t think there is anyone at this award show that doesn’t know who you are.”

“But she doesn’t know the real me, only the stage persona. I want her to know who I am. And I want to know her too..” He rests his head back and stares up at the ceiling when suddenly the door to their room is opening and who should be standing there but you.

“Oh god I am so sorry! I thought this was my dressing room I am such an idiot. Why did they number the doors instead of putting the bands’ names on there.” You go to close the door when Jungkook calls out after you.

“Wait! Hey, you’re y/n right?” You blush and look away.

“Y-you guys know me?”

“Of course! We know all the groups here tonight. You’re really good. Your vocals and dancing absolutely kill poor Jiminie here every time.” He smacks a hand on Jimin’s shoulder and he quickly shrugs it off.

“Shut up Jungkook!”

“Oh yes our Jimin here is a huuuuge fan of you he talks about you all the time!” Jimin’s face is bright red as he hides his face in his hands and you are standing there in shock.

“Is that true, Jimin? You’re my fan?” He lowers his hands for a moment and immediately feels his nerves vanish when he sees the sweet smile on your face.

“Yes! I mean I think you’re amazing er your dancing is amazing yes.”

“That’s so cool to hear coming from you. I really like you too- I mean your dancing! I really like your dancing as well.”

Taehyung chuckles deeply from the other end of the room where he’s sat in a chair getting his makeup touched up.

“Jimin just ask y/n out already this is painful you both clearly are crushing on each other.”

“Tae!”

“What? You were never going to say anything so I did!” They begin bickering back and forth as you stand there awkwardly listening to them argue. You clear your throat loudly and they stop and turn to you.

“So... I guess if it’s pretty clear we both would like to go out and get to know each other better why don’t we do that then?” Jimin is surprised by your boldness when you seemed so shy earlier. “You want to maybe to get some dessert or something after the show? There’s an ice cream place I know of that’s open really late if you’d like to go with me.”

“Yes! I’d love to!” You smile and wave goodbye to everyone.

“I’ll see you after the show then, Jimin. Bye for now!” You smile sweetly and wave and Jimin is left there with his mouth hanging open slightly in surprise and his hand still raised.

“You’re welcome.” Taehyung mumbles.

Taehyung

You were currently being shoved along by your fellow group member toward where BTS was sitting. It was in between the sets currently and the cameras were not rolling for a while as there was going to be a commercial break while they prepared for the second half of the award show.

“Stop it!”

“No! You’ve been crushing on Taehyung for so long now and there is no one sitting by him right now so I am not letting you pass this opportunity.” You roll your eyes and try to fight against her but she’s stronger than you. She continues pushing you along until you are about 10 seats way from him. Taehyung sees movement out of the corner of his eye and turns his head. As soon as his eyes meet yours they widen slightly and he looks away.

“See? He wants nothing to do with me let me go!”

“Not happening. Go get your man.” With one final shove you are now standing right in front of him. He looks up at you and you feel like the wind is knocked out of you when that signature sweet boxy smile is directed at you.

“H-Hi Taehyung.”

“Hello y/n. Are you and your member fighting?”

“That? Oh no we just had a um.. disagreement I guess. We’re not seriously mad at each other though.”

“Ah, I see. I was going to say you’re more than welcome to sit with me for a little while if you want to. Show shouldn’t be starting again for another 10 minutes.” You nod gratefully and sit next to him. Taehyung might seem cool and collected on the outside, but inside he is internally panicking because holy shit he is actually talking to his celebrity crush right now. He is still in the middle of his mini freak out and admiring how beautiful you look when he notices you staring at him as if you’re expecting him to answer.

“Sorry! Did you say something?” You giggle.

“You space out an awful lot Taehyung. I asked you if you’re nervous at all for your performance tonight.”

“Of course I am. We always have a little bit of anxious and excited nerves before going on stage. But we have some big stuff planned and I can’t wait to show army and everyone else! It’s going to be really cool.”

“Ah I can’t wait to see it. Your performances always blow me away.”

“Really?”

“Of course! You guys are all so amazing. You’re extremely talented and I admire you a lot.” Taehyung smiles genuinely at that and his eyes seem to light up at your compliment.

“Thank you. It means a lot to hear that coming from you.” Before you’re able to ask him what he means by that your bandmate is yelling for you.

“Y/n! They changed the order we’re performing next after they present the next award we need to go!”

“Shit. I’m sorry Taehyung I need to go now. Thank you for letting me sit with you though.” You get up to walk away but before you make it too far you hear him calling after you.

“Wait!” You turn around abruptly and he almost runs right into you.

“Can I get your number?”

“You want my phone number? Why?”

“To talk to you more, silly.” You blush but take his phone from him and enter in your contact information. “Good luck y/n. Not that you’ll need it.” He winks at you and you swear your soul has left your body.

“T-thank you!” You run to join your group back stage. While you’re being fussed over to prepare for your performance your phone goes off with a text message. It’s a selfie of Taehyung doing his signature V pose with a bright smile on his face.

You’ll do great y/n! I believe in you! I’ll be cheering you on loudly from the seats so please look for me.

You smile and set your phone down. As if you’d be looking for anyone else.

Jungkook

Your table was right next to Jungkook’s. And you had caught him staring at you more than once during the show. He seemed to be zoned out, mouth slightly hanging open and eyes wide as he gazed at you but as soon as you turned your head and looked back at him he immediately turned away. And you could swear there was a faint blush on his cheeks when he did. After the 3rd time this had happened you saw Jin slap him on the back and say something that caused him to turn even more red and push Jin away from him.

“Fine then if you won’t talk to her I will.”

“Hyung no don’t-”

“Hey! Y/n, come here for a sec.” You point at yourself and tilt your head in confusion.

“Are there any other y/n’s around here?”

“Probably but I am just going to assume you are talking about me.” You get up and slide your chair over to sit next to Jungkook, who seems to shy away from you and sit closer to Jin. “So what’s up?”

“Nothing really! Just wanted to tell you that you did an amazing job up on stage before! Your rap was amazing you really commanded the stage up there.”

“Oh! Thank you! I can’t wait to see your performance as well you guys always kill it.”

“Well, I think you’ll especially love Jungkook’s performance here.”

“Oh? Really? What do you have planned?”

“N-nothing! I mean.. it’s something I just don’t want to spoil the surprise but, it’s just me doing a solo dance to a remixed version of Save Me. Um, there’s water and it’s really cool. I had a lot of fun practicing for it and I can’t wait to show people.” Jungkook seemed to have really opened up when talking about performing, and you could tell he was truly passionate about it.

“I’m sure it’ll be amazing then. You’re a really good dancer and an amazing singer. Your voice gives me chills.” You pretend to shiver for added dramatic effect and a small laugh escapes Jungkook. His nose scrunches up and you have a sudden urge to poke it.

“Ah you should have heard him going on and on during rehearsals. ‘I need to make this perfect because y/n will be attending this show.’ It was rather cute to be honest.”

“Hyung! Stop it!”

“Is that true Jungkook? You were worried what I would think of it?” He looks at you, eyes widened slightly but he nods his head before looking down at his lap and fidgeting with his hands.

“Well I already think you’re great so I am sure I will love this performance too.” He continues to mess with the rings on his hands as if he’s debating whether or not he should say anything further. You wait patiently and give him time to decide whether or not he wants to speak to you further.

“Well, I’d really like to know what you think of my performance after the show. Do you maybe want to talk more when we’re done?” You smile warmly at him and it makes his heart skip a beat.

“I would love to. You maybe want to go get some hot chocolate or something? My friend owns a 24/7 cafe and if I tell her we all want to go there after the show she can close down for a little bit so we can just have the place to ourselves.”

“Actually I’d um.. like it to just be the two of us. If that’s okay with you! If not that’s totally fine I can-”

“Even better. I’ll tell her to expect us later today then. The cameras are going to go back on soon though so I’m going to go back to my table. But wait for me after the show okay?”

“Okay. I’ll see you later then y/n.” You scoot your chair back over. After you are out of hearing distance Jin smacks Jungkook's shoulder.

“You’re welcome for setting you up on a date with the love of your life!”

“She’s not the love of my life I just.. have a crush on her.”

“Either way, a thank you hyung would be nice.” Jungkook rolls his eyes.

“Thank you, hyung.”

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help-im-a-gay-fish · 3 years

Note

Okay, tell me more about Cream twins partners. How each couple met? How they end up together? Any fun cute facts? SPAM ME WITH INFORMATION! 🌸🌺🌸🌺🌸

Ooo! Yay! @kotikaleo this is a good ask.

Before I begin I want to make sure to clarify that both Crayon and Cindy were created by the wonderful @thebluescreen so credit for the characters go to them. (we share 3 ship kids universes)

And once again I wanna say : Disclaimer, This Celest and Luna are the children of Cross and Dream. NOT Cross and Shattered Dream. They are a alternate universe version of the Dark cream twins. They should not be confused as being the same.

I'm gonna start with Celest and her husband Crayon.

These two first met when Celest was 11 and Crayon was 12. For them it was basicly love at first sight. Celest and Luna both grew up travelling around the multiverse and that's how the met.

Crayon is a half human half monster who originally came from a dust tale time line. But more about him will come from @thebluescreen

It was an awkward, inconvenient first encounter. Luna had just broken her leg trying to do a back flip off a table (she was a dumb kid) and Celest (who had been learning first aid from a book) attempted to set it. And she made it a whole lot worse. (cross and dream weren't there at the time, they had left them alone for 10 minutes)

Crayon and his friend went over to help luna. The stress of the situation caused celest to throw up a large amount of gloop and then loose her strength in her legs and fall over. Crayon was close enough to her to catch her as she fell and gently lowered her to the ground. They locked eyes and well, they had basically been crushing on eachother since then.

It took Luna locking them in a room together and refusing to let them out till they confessed to do the trick.

They got together when Celest was 15 and Crayon was 16.

The two were very much in love. The slightly over the top, sugary sweet, child hood sweethearts. Used a bunch of cheesey names.

"I love you my sugar sweet snuggle muffin"

"not as much as I love you my cookie cream cuddle bear"

And luna is just the awkward 3rd wheel.

OK so Luna was in a relationship with this monster called Daisy from the age of 16 to 20. Daisy was a bitch, but more on that below.

It was all good till Celest turned 18, she started to get soul pain. Up until this point her sickness had been bothersome, but not to serious.

But after seeing a soul doctor, she was informed that the curruption was starting to attack her soul, and there was a possibility that it would kill her. Of course her and her family were heart broken, crayon included.

Celest went through a stage of being unhappy. The idea that she could die terrorised her. She had nightmares and got stressed to the point of alot of puking fits.

Her main conforts where her sister and boyfriend.

"I just can't help thinking of everything I'll miss out on. Marriage, children...... Travelling the multiverse...... But at least I have you right?"

So crayon responded with.

"then let's get married"

Of course Celest was shocked and was sure she'd misheard him. But then he said.

"you said that you were afraid of missing out on it, but this way we won't! I want to marry you, if you'll have me."

Celest said.

"but we are both so young, you shouldn't have to carry my burden. You have a life to live"

He said

"I want to spend it with you"

And she said yes.

Yay.

They were married just under a year later and where very happy. Cross was alittle sad to see his princess grow up so fast. But in the end they were all happy.

Crayon is truly Celest's rock. He's very sweet and good to her. To him, she is the bright light in his life, with her kindness and smarts.

They normally spend there time curled up watching movies. Or taking trips to aus like outertale to look at stars. Its all very lovey dovey.

For Luna, love was never all that easy. As I said above her first girlfriend Daisy was a bitch.

Daisy was a emotionally horrible person to Luna. Constantly telling her things like, how she needs to summon ecto or she looks like a man. Or how bones just aren't that attractive. How that fact that she was so close to her sister was creepy. In the end it was revealed that she'd been cheating on Luna while Luna had been helping her sister in the hospital. Luna finally dumbed her.

Years passed and Luna would tell people that she was ok and over it. But in truth it left huge emotional scars. She started avoiding committed relationships like the plague.

Over the years she has had a few casual girlfriends, flings and hook ups. But she told people that long term wasn't her thing, Celest knew that wasn't true, but she couldn't force her sister to date someone. It all changed when she ment Cindy.

She meets Cindy when she's 27. Basically, she met Cindy through Crayon. Since Cindy was the best friend of Crayon's sister's boyfriend.

Cinder is a underlust Sansby child and is a girl who knows what she's got and flaunts it slightly. When Luna first saw her, she went into 'oh no she's hot' mode.

Infact this was there first interaction.

Cindy "hi, I'm Cinder. It's nice to meet you"

Luna *gay panic*

Luna "wanna see me do a back flip?"

Cindy "wa-

Luna trys to back flip and falls on her face.

Cindys "you ok there?" *offers hand to help her up*

Luna *takes her hand and is helped to her feet*

Luna *more 'omg she's touching me!' gay panic *

Luna "wanna see me do a back flip?"

So yeah, Luna is very gay.

The attraction was physical to start with. Luna was smitten to the strong, confident, sexy fire girl. Que Luna repeatedly doing stupid things to try and impress her.

The best way to sum it up would be.

Pfff OK XD

Luckily for Luna though, Cindy starts to fall for the goofy cluts. Not only is Luna just a loveable idiot, but she is also quite attractive.

Cindy comes in one day while she's training and watches her spar with Cross and do a back flip successfully. She's a skilled fighter and is just as Good At Yoga as her dad is. So yeah, Luna is quite attractive to Cinder in her own right.

Cindy starts using alot of pet names for her, calling her Moony and Princess. This embarrasses Luna to no end.

So what happens? Well.

After Luna has once again fallen to the ground while trying inpress Cindy and is kind of laying there defeated. The following conversation happens.

Cindy "you need some help there Moony?"

Luna *blushes* "you know I'm gonna come up with an embarrassing nickname to call you, you know!"

Cindy "really Princess?"

Luna "yes! Uhhhhh Cinderella! Ha!"

Cindy "Cinderella? You think I've not been called that before"

Luna "dam it uh... I've got it! Toffee"

Cindy "Toffee"

Luna "yes, like Cinder toffee, and because you really like sweet foods and-

Cindy "and you could totally eat me?" *smirks*

Luna *without thinking* "yes absolutely"

Silence.

And my friend if you don't get the joke.... Its probably to mature for you. This basically causes Cinder to turn up the flirt on Luna, who is very embarrassed about saying that. To Cindy it has basically been confirmed that Luna wants her, and she's into that.

Luna freaks out *thank you gay panic* and yells "I'M STRAIGHT!" and runs away.

Luna then spends the next two days being consoled by her sister. Meanwhile Cindy asks around to find out if Luna is really straight. It is very quickly confirmed to her that Luna is very much gay and very much into her.

She conforts Luna about this and after Luna attmits that she is gay and is about to confess her crush, Cindy pins her to the wall and kisses her.

Long story short Luna gets to eat her and they go to bed together. And after that they become 'causal' girlfriends. It doesn't take to long for there feelings for eachother to evolve from a physical attraction into real love. But they would never confront their feelings.

Texting eachother till the early hours of the morning? just causal.

Inviting Cindy to family Christmas? just causal.

Laying in eachothers arms in bed, not wanting to get up. Just causal.

Who knows if they will ever confront how they really feel? Maybe some unfortunate life events will force them to.

Fun facts about the couples.

Cindy has a whole bunch of pet names for Luna, after they start dating she most commonly calls her Starlight. But has a whole list more

Crayon loves to buy his wife flowers. He's quite a soft man and I like to think he takes great care in picking out a bunch of flowers. He'll most commonly buy her roses. He also likes to prepare picnics so that they can go out to aus together.

Cindy has a huge sweet tooth. Luna has often tried to bake for her. Lu Lu isn't a very skilled Baker though. But if she presents Cindy with a plate of slightly burnt cupcakes splattered with icing, it will make Cinder's heart melt.

Crayon often has to help Celest get dressed in the mornings. Since the marks commonly appear on her arms and legs. Crayon has taken a very long time to practice how to help her dress without causing pain.

Some mornings, especially after they've had a busy night, Cinder will often steal Luna's shirt. She will wear it around the house. "but babe... That's my shirt"........... "I've got no idea what you're talking about Moony".

Celestial star would be the type to call her husband at work out of nowhere just to remind him that she loves him.

The first time they kissed, Celest got so nervous and excited that she threw up gloop all over him.

Cindy loves to roller skate and would attempt to teach Luna how to. After a long time of Luna falling over into many comprising positions, Cinder simply wraps her arms around her waist and they skate together.

Crayon is a half human-half monster, so he can practice some magic. One thing he likes to do is make little figures of butterflys fly around his wife's hospital room when she has to stay at the hospital. It always makes her day.

#Ask #This took a while to type out #Hope ya like it #Bluescreen says they will be posting art of Crayon and Cindy soonish #Be sure to ask them for more details #undertale au #shipping #cross x dream #undertale multiverse #sansest #dream x cross #celestial star and luna light #Ships for the ship kids #Cindy x luna #Crayon x celest #Cream ship kids

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currywaifu · 4 years

Text

𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: you can have half 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: hyodo juza/reader 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: sfw 𝐰𝐜: 3.0k words, 2 images

𝐚𝐧: my first a3! fanfiction

He was in three of your classes. Three, and not once have you gotten the chance to talk to him! Granted, you never took the initiative either but after a few months, you’d think some kind of pair or group activity would pop-up to help you out.

The two of you were even in the class with the highly-acclaimed (by the student body) matchmaker professor, and either you were too subtle with your pining or weren’t interesting enough because not once has she tried to pair you up with him, or anyone for that matter.

Seriously, what does one have to do to get close to Hyodo Juza?

There wasn’t a particular moment you could pinpoint when you fell for Juza, but rather it was an accumulation of things that got you more and more attracted to him.

His cool and tough exterior first caught your attention, from the way he dressed to his purple hair. It didn’t help at all that he was extremely attractive to you.

Then you started noticing more things about him, like how polite he was to the professors, or the tiny smile he wore when he ate the anmitsu from the school canteen, or when that one upperclassman handed him some mochi, or when the photography-club senior gave him a box of pocky.

Juza being a sweets lover? Isn’t this what they call ‘gap moe’? Ahhh, your poor heart.

“That’s it!” You exclaimed to yourself excitedly, sitting up from your bed so quickly your head hurt slightly.

“I’ll give him some sweets as a conversation starter!”

Easier said than done.

“Isn’t it awkward to just give sweets out of nowhere to a guy?” You whined, hiding your face with your arms and laying your head down on the table. Your friends sighed for the nth time within the past hour, patting your head comfortingly as the two of them looked at you incredulously.

“It’s normal to confess feelings through sweets though?”

You jolted your head back up to look at the girl. “And who said I was gonna confess?”

The disbelief on their faces increased tenfold. “You’re not?”

Grimacing at the volume of their voices, you looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. By the history books section, you locked eyes with the librarian who paused putting back returned books to glare at your table, causing you to give an awkward smile in return.

Right, library. Inside voices.

“I wanna become friends with him first, but I’m too much of a wimp to even approach him huhu…” When the two girls don’t respond, you turn to the direction where they were staring straight ahead. A slight heat spread throughout your chest and into the roots of your hair.

“Omg, yankee Barney is here.” Choking on saliva, the speed at which you turned away probably gave you whiplash.

“I was gonna go with Dibo the Delinquent Dragon, but I like yours more.”

The two crackheads were stifling their laughter and looked like they were moments away from bursting out and getting themselves kicked out of the library. “Shut up! Let me wallow in my misery in silence.”

“Oh? Since when did Elmo get so dramatic?” Feeling your face heat-up and redden further, you stood up to leave.

“I’m gonna get strawberry milk from the vending machine, go talk shit without me.” You groaned, only staying long enough to hear them laugh as loud as they could without getting caught.

...

There was only one left, and you were the only one in line. How lucky was that? You waited for the machine to do its thing and drop the milk carton through the chute.

Except it wasn’t doing its thing. Odd. Should you stick your arm in the slot? Shake the machine? Kick or punch the glass? Ask someone for help? All of the above, in that order?

Fate had decided for you.

“You, do you need help?”

Holy holy holy-

Hyodo Juza was behind you! And he was talking to you!

Okay brain, here’s the game plan. Turn around, casually ask him for help, thank him, introduce yourself then continue the conversation from there!

Except you decided to make like the vending machine and malfunction.

“I- uh- yes? Please?”

Fuck, you probably sounded dumb. What kind of first impression is this? That response would probably get you intimacy points close to none. You went outside to cool down but weren’t the heat levels rising again?

He stared at you for a second, before quickly looking away and kicking the machine. Ahh, wasn’t that really cool? He crouched down, sticking his hand through the slot before handing you the carton.

“Strawberry milk…”

It looked like he was glaring for a second, but wasn’t he staring because he actually liked the flavour? He was holding out the drink to you, but you hastily pushed his palm back towards him.

“Thanks! You can keep it since you helped me with, you know. The machine! Okay, see you in class Ju-san!” You spoke quickly, before swiftly fleeing the premises.

Back in the library, you let your head fall down on the wooden surface. “You look like crap, what happened?” Letting out a pitiful whimper, you look up at them with a pout ready on your lips.

“He probably thinks I’m weird now…” The two girls exchanged a look with each other.

“Not that you aren’t, but what you do boi?”

“Ju-san…” He murmured quietly, palming the pink and white milk box in his hand. He sat in the dorm’s living room, wondering what he should do.

Juza’s seen you before in a couple of his classes. You always sat somewhere in the middle beside your friends, taking down notes and asking questions when needed. Other than the fact that you were a hard worker, he didn’t really know anything else about you.

Until the fateful encounter today.

At first, he thought you were scared of him from the way you froze up like a mannequin. Then you turned to him, not looking afraid but definitely a little faint and red-faced. Were you sick?

That didn’t explain how you just rushed off without your drink, and that odd nickname.

Ju-san.

“Juza? Are you okay?” Flinching a bit, his eyes met with Omi’s concerned amber coloured ones.

“Omi-san, I’m fine…” He replied, doing little to convince Omi who proceeded to sit down next to him.

The strawberry milk was still sitting in the purple-haired boy’s hand.

“Are you not gonna drink that?” The brunet didn’t say it aloud, but both of them knew what he meant, ‘It’s not like you to just save it for later, so something’s up.’

“Someone gave it to me.” If the 4th year student was surprised, he sure didn’t show it. Instead, he gave a smile as if he knew this would happen eventually.

“And then? Why don’t you want to drink it then?” It probably wasn’t cold anymore if he had it since class hours.

“It’s not that… it feels…” Juza trailed off, looking for a word that would describe their chance meeting.

“Weird?” Omi supplied, but he shook his head. No, that wasn’t it.

“Sudden? Confusing?”

“Both of those, I think. Also, Ju-san…”

The brunet’s ears perked up at the nickname, almost believing he misheard it. Was this Ju-chan 2: Electric Boogaloo? Ah, Juza attracts cute people, doesn’t he? Can it be that cute people see through that toughness and see his softer side? It’s certainly true with Juza’s cousin.

“So they called you that, huh. Ju-san because Ju-sa sounds like Juza?”

Said person ignored him, unaware of the pink on his cheeks. Being a good mother senpai, Omi decided to help him out. Since Juza’s been delaying drinking the milk, he probably thought he didn’t deserve a free drink out of nowhere. That was an issue with a quick and easy fix.

“I’ll help you give them something in return on Monday.”

That was enough for Juza, who finally ripped the little plastic packet and poked the straw through the carton hole.

For a lukewarm drink, it tasted particularly good today.

You spent an hour last weekend praying to a couple deities that you could start over your first meeting with Juza. Not only that, but didn’t you end up calling him something weird?

You were walking to class when your friend leaned in closer, voice quiet so only you could hear. “Alert, yankee Barney is approaching. I repeat,”

“Don’t repeat.” You mumbled, not having the nerve to respond further, watching as he slowly neared you.

“Hyodo-san? Did you need something?” His mouth twitched at that, before handing you a purple tupperware.

“For last Friday. You can give the container back tomorrow.” You stared at the purple-haired man in shock, before accepting the gift.

“Thank you, Hyodo-san. I’ll be sure to enjoy it!” He lingered for a moment, waiting to see if you’d say something else, before nodding and walking past you and your friend.

Did that just happen?

You didn’t even realise your friend had stepped away from you until she came back running and shaking you with a magnitude strong enough to make a tree collapse.

“I thought you said he was gonna think you’re weird and shit! The fuck is this then?”

“Wait hoe I’m still shookt, let me check.”

Lifting the lid, the contents inside made your mouth water, and you wouldn’t be eating lunch for another 3 hours! Cookies! The torture of having to wait to consume them. Well, one couldn’t hurt?

Delicious! And the crisp, the size, the texture- all of them were to your liking.

“Hoh— isfh— so goo—“

“Oh look, there’s a note. While you’re greedily eating your heart out, let me read it.” Your friend pointed out, before unsticking it from the plastic lid.

“Juza felt bad for the free strawberry milk, so I helped him prepare something to show his thanks. I hope you enjoy. P.S. Ju-san? That’s cute.”

You almost choked, your friend wildly patting you on the back. “What’s this? A note from his mom or something?”

“Ju-ju-san…” You muttered in embarrassment. So he did pay attention to that! Not only that, but he even told someone about it? Well, that wasn’t your biggest worry right now.

“Isn’t this too much just for one strawberry milk? I have to find a way to repay him back!” Your friend narrowed her eyes at you, before shaking her head.

“Why do I feel like this is gonna be the start of a strange back-and-forth between the two of you?”

The next day, you handed him back the purple tupperware.

“Open it, it’s my favourite from the bakery two streets down.” You told him, doing your best to mask your shyness before walking away.

As soon as you left, Juza opened it to find a slice of red-velvet cheesecake and a disposable fork inside. He’ll eat it for dessert later. As he was about to close the lid, he noticed the cute sticky note designed like a strawberry.

Thank you for the cookies, they were really good! I passed by a bakery last night and thought you’d enjoy this!

You signed it off with your name, and he realised that he never knew it until then.

He said it quietly, testing out how it sounded.

He sighed, staring at the library door which you exited from.

The school canteen had some delicious milk bread, but don’t they sell strawberry shortcake on Wednesdays?

…

Wednesday, you delightfully ate a slice of strawberry shortcake which came with a plain white sticky note with nice calligraphy from Juza.

On Thursday, Tsuzuru found Juza eating dorayaki while reading something on a pastel blue paper.

Friday came, and the usual purple tupperware had two Castella cake slices and a lined paper, clearly ripped from his notebook, folded and taped to the lid.

Juza wondered if it would stop by next week and be handed an empty tupperware, but a surge of courage must have overcome you because Monday came with brownies and a note.

I don’t want you to keep ripping pages from your notebook. Do you have Inste? Discord? If you’re up for it, I can message you there instead. Otherwise, my number is…

He placed the paper with your socials somewhere he wouldn’t lose it.

...

Monday night arrived when you got a text from an unknown number.

This is Juza.

What a simple message, but somehow your heart fluttered. Your phone dinged again when you got a follow notification on Inste. Scrambling to follow him back and check out his posts, you didn’t know whether to laugh or be amazed when you saw that the posts there were purely promotional for MANKAI plays, some of which he wasn’t even in.

You took a screenshot of the image of him with the vest and purple tie and asked about the play.

It may not have been in person, but that marked the longest conversation you’ve had with Juza so far. Somehow the two of you went from talking about acting to food, to hobbies and complaining about teachers and before either of you knew it, it was midnight.

A couple days pass by and its Thursday night when people notice a change in Juza. Particularly, his phone habits.

“He’s not as bad as Itaru, Banri, and Kazunari but…” Tsuzuru trails off, looking at Omi who only seemed amused.

“He’s been spending a lot of time talking to someone is all.” The two of them turned their heads back to the first year as he let out a small laugh.

Three weeks in the food exchange and the two of you began having actual conversations in real life. It started when he handed you the purple tupperware, asking how you were and how your weekend was.

It somehow resulted in the two sitting together during classes, and having lunch together when Omi and Tsuzuru were busy.

You began to wonder who would break the streak.

You were running late. Maybe it was a bad idea to rush an essay worth a good chunk of your grade in the span of 8 hours, but somehow you managed to complete it at 3 am.

Thank god for online submissions. You wouldn’t be able to stand a noisy printer at this hour.

After plugging in your laptop and phone to make sure it would be fully charged before classes start later, you flop onto your bed to take a well-deserved rest.

When you woke up, it was 11 am.

Shit, you just missed a 3-hour lecture. Shit raised to the power of two Juza was in that class. Would he be worried that you weren’t there?

It looks like you’ll be the first to turn in an empty tupperware.

Still, you have a plan B prepared.

...

Juza was worried. When you messaged last night you hadn’t mentioned being sick at all. Had something happened? Sure, he didn’t get to message you that much over the weekend because of increasing practice hours but you’d definitely say something.

Omi and Tsuzuru eyed Juza as discretely as they could. No purple tupperware, no wonder he was upset. It went unsaid, but it clearly stopped being about the surprise desserts every other day and more about the person giving them.

“Ju-san!” An unfamiliar voice reached the former two’s ears, but the latter was clearly well acquainted with it based on his reaction. All three men turned around to see you, smiling and holding out Juza’s favourite food.

It was anmitsu with cream, specifically the one from the campus canteen.

“They wouldn’t let me put it in the tupperware, but will you accept it anyway?”

Did he look like he cared where the anmitsu was placed? Sure, it made him happy that despite skipping a class she still remembered to get him something, even more, his favourite dish, but…

“You didn’t show up to class a while ago.” Juza was frowning. You knew he usually gave off an angry disposition, but this was different.

“Sorry, I was up ’til 3 am and forgot to turn on any alarms, haha.” He sighed.

“So the goodnight text then was-“

“A lie so you wouldn’t scold me for it, which obviously didn’t work in my favour.”

Having previously failed to notice the two upperclassmen, you turned to greet them, introducing yourself as Juza’s friend. “Sorry to disturb your lunch.”

Omi smiled. He introduced himself, as did Tsuzuru. So this was his troupe mate’s special friend. “Not at all. Have you eaten? You’re welcome to join us.”

Too tired to protest, you thanked him and sat down beside the purple-haired boy. “I just rushed here without eating, actually. Oh, I should probably get my lunch-“ You proceed to stand back up, but a firm hold of your arm from Juza stops you.

“You can have half.” He says, sliding a lunch set with a serving size you didn’t even know the university provided.

“What?”

“You slept through breakfast time, too. We can share.” He insisted, clearly not accepting no for an answer.

You take the unused chopsticks and begin to prod at the side dishes. “Fine, but now I owe you something. Should I get you banana milk from the vending machine?”

Juza looked away for a second, eyes hesitant as he glared at the anmitsu instead of you. When he looked back, he seemed to be filled with resolve.

“Then watch me… Autumn Troupe’s next upcoming play, I mean.”

For a moment you felt heat beginning to encompass your body, but quickly tried to shake it off. Of course Juza meant his acting.

“Obviously I’m watching it. Opening night and closing night, if I can help it.” You insisted. As if you would miss the chance to see him on stage. Sure, your massive crush on him wasn’t gonna go away any time soon, but to be able to see him do something he was extremely passionate about?

“Quick, help me finish lunch already so you can enjoy your anmitsu, Ju-san.”

...

The two of you somehow forgot the presence of Omi and Tsuzuru, both of whom were listening to your conversation intently.

“Then watch me? Seriously, lines like that can be interpreted…”

“I think we’ve become the third and fourth wheel, Tsuzuru.”

want to order again?

#a3!#a3! act! addict! actors!#hyodo juza #juza hyodo #a3! juza #cafe: dessert menu #a3! game #a3 juza #juza x reader #a3 actor training game #reader insert

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margarethelstone · 3 years

Text

Our Sleeves Were Wet With Tears | Chapter 9

Chapter 9 / Read on AO3!

So it was true.

He hadn't misheard her.

Just...

"What on earth?" he asked no one in particular, his eyes raised to the sky and his hand pressed against his forehead. "How could she do that? Why would she? And now, when it's her last chance to participate in the school tournaments, when she was so determined to compete with the Queen for the title... Just what is that idiot thinking?"

He inhaled deeply, trying to think of anything that might have been the cause of Chihaya's decision. Again, if he'd been his normal self, he would have solved that riddle in an instant – now, however, his mind was blank, all rational thought shoved away by the astonishment that had fallen upon him just now.

Life was just becoming too easy, wasn't it?

"Are you sure she meant it?" he turned back to Kana again after a short while. "You said it was because of her studying, but I really can't imagine Chihaya changing her priorities like that. Not for good, anyway."

"I know it seems absurd but she was serious about it. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen her so determined in my life, as difficult as it is to imagine," the girl in front of him answered dejectedly. "She kept reassuring us that she still loved karuta and that she would always come back to playing it. She made us promise that we would still work hard during her absence and then in turn she swore that she would always be there for us, whenever we might need help or advice, or even just someone to encourage us when things will seem too hard. But even with all that, she wouldn't let us convince her that her being our Captain – or even just a regular member of the club – had always been of more meaning than any advice she might give us. She just wouldn't budge.

"And we all knew that she had every right to do so. We know what her academic skills are and that she needs to put more effort than some to just score decently. It's only natural that she might want to shift her focus a little so close to the exams, even if it's not something you would normally expect of her. Only..."

"Only what?" Taichi asked eagerly, even though he felt like he already knew what Kanade was going to say.

"Only that no matter how much she talked about it and how good her arguments were, it still seemed like all of this was an excuse rather than a reason for her to leave."

For once, his intuition was on point.

Because of course it was nothing but an excuse. Even if he still wasn't ready to guess – to admit that he had guessed from the start – the real reason for Chihaya's decision, it was obvious that the justification she had used to explain it was a fake one. Even if he hadn't known all that he did, even if he hadn't known her for as long and as well as he had, there was one thing that he was he was utterly, absolutely sure of:

Ayase Chihaya would never have left the karuta club if her bad grades had been the sole reason for it.

No way in hell that she would.

And now, he actually did know quite a lot.

On one hand, he felt arrogant believing that it really might have been because of him that she had made up her mind to leave. For so long he'd lived his life convinced that karuta was the one thing Chihaya cherished the most, to the degree where she had prioritised it not only over her duties, but her social life and even relationships, as well. The talk they'd had a little more than a week ago had surely corrected some of his views, however, it still was a week of enlightenment against a lifetime of belief... A lifetime of thinking that she simply couldn't care about him enough to make a sacrifice this grand, especially when it was of no use anyway.

On the other, all the clues he'd got were just too unambiguous to think of it as just a mere coincidence.

Besides, the useless part of it was exactly what made it probable in Chihaya's case.

"Did she say anything else?" he asked wearily at last, channelling all of his determination into this one simple question, much in the same way Kana had while answering his previous one. "When you tried to persuade her to stay, did she respond with anything other than what you just told me about?"

Again, Kanade denied with a firm shake of her head. "No. She just continued to assure us that this was a decision she'd made and that it wasn't a hasty one. She said she knew it was sudden and that for that it might seem rash, but that she really had thought it through... Though when exactly she might have found the time to do that was a mystery. Still, she repeated that, over and over again, until we had no choice but to accept it. She kept apologising, too, for not letting us know in advance."

"Didn't she though?" Taichi wondered out loud. "Were there really no signs that she might be thinking about leaving?" he added somewhat desperately.

"Nothing she would say. She came to the meetings as always until one day, she didn't. Or rather, she did come, only to say that she was resigning."

It was the first time during this conversation when Taichi heard a hint of irritation ringing in Kana's voice in addition to the sadness present in it almost from the start. Or perhaps it wasn't irritation but disappointment that he discerned now? A quiet reproach Chihaya had earned not by handling things poorly, but by refusing to share her troubles with those meant to be her friends?

An edginess that could only have grown so strong because of the care and devotion behind it.

Was this how his former club members felt about him, too, and only chose to hold back so that they wouldn't hurt him further?

Well, even if, it wasn't the time to be worrying about it.

Right now, he needed answers.

As many as he could get.

"This isn't right," he said, his words muffled by his hand that was once again pressed against his face. "And it doesn't make sense. There must have been something... Something that would suggest she was preparing to leave. Something in her behaviour or her tone, or... I don't know. But if she really had been thinking about it earlier, like she said she had, then surely, it must've affected her somehow."

His brow furrowed under his fingers, the tips of which he now dug into his skin unwittingly. The cogs in his brain were turning, too, as he tried to imagine Chihaya's conduct during those few meetings that she had attended. There couldn't have been many; there simply hadn't been enough time for it between his own resignation and hers.

And he simply couldn't create a vision in which Chihaya would not act suspiciously.

She had always worn her heart on her sleeve, whether it was excitement or worry or fear that she felt. To think that she would come to practice while considering her retirement and behave casually...

That just didn't match her character at all.

"You're an observant person, Oe-san," he muttered after another moment. He knew she was still watching him and he also supposed that she could easily guess what exactly was going through his mind right now, and therefore, he didn't even try to hide his confusion this time. "If Chihaya behaved any differently than before, as I'm sure she did, you certainly didn't miss it. You've picked up on lesser hints," he added, a weary smiled curling his lips again. "So please, don't hide it from me. Unless it's something she asked you not to tell directly-"

"She didn't say anything like that," Kana interrupted him. "But as I said, she didn't really say anything more than what we've already talked about. She wouldn't talk about it."

"Then please tell me what you saw."

Kanade didn't answer him immediately. She looked down again, instead, although this time Taichi noticed that it was neither abashment nor cautiousness that had prompted this little action of hers.

Rather, she appeared thoughtful, as if she'd been trying to recall her own memories from a little less than a month ago, and perhaps to decide which of her observations were actually worth speaking of. He didn't rush her. He didn't tell her to just share everything with him, either, allowing her to pick the parts she deemed valuable and dispose of those she found harmful or futile.

As much as he yearned for all the information he could get, he still had enough reason left in him to understand that he didn't need all of it.

If there was one person that knew what he should hear, it was Kanade.

"I saw her lose her drive," she uttered at last, her eyes still firmly at the ground under her feet. "I saw her come to practice and follow the usual routine with none of the enthusiasm she normally would have shown. I saw her play matches against the first years and nearly lose, because her mind was clearly on other things. They thought she was going easy on them and we let them believe that, but all of the older members knew that she would never do that purposely. And then I heard-"

She stopped short in the middle of the sentence. At this point, Taichi thought his heart would jump out of his chest from the suspense, now only made worse by the barely commenced phrase; but again, he managed to hold himself back, only silently praying that his companion would finish her thought eventually.

After all, she wouldn't have cut herself off like this for some meaningless news.

"I actually heard her say something, too," she chose to finish in the end, a decision for which Taichi was exceedingly grateful. "It wasn't anything she said to me – or to anyone else really – so I probably wasn't supposed to hear it in the first place. In fact, I don't think she even realised that she was saying it out loud, so it feels sort of unfair to focus on it, much less to relay it to you now... But I think you should know!" she exclaimed unexpectedly, raising her gaze to meet Taichi's, her eyes sparkling with resolve. "Maybe I'm wrong and shouldn't tell you after all. Or maybe it doesn't even mean anything and I'm just making a big deal of it unnecessarily. I certainly don't know what Chihaya-chan might have meant, but... but..."

"But maybe I will," Taichi concluded the statement for her. "Is that what you're trying to say?"

Kana nodded firmly.

"Alright. Let's hear it then."

And so she told him. No longer sparing the details, she recalled the one time in the clubroom after the practice was done and the team was getting ready to leave. When they all cleaned and put away the cards and when the first-years showered them with questions, the excitement shining in their eyes as they jumped from one to another, unable to decide whom of their seniors they should ask first and what their inquiry should be about.

She told him how Chihaya had been the only member that had been asked none, simply because she was still kneeling on the mat.

How she had stayed that way for a long while after her match had come to an end, leaning over her cards as if she'd been revising her game, motionless and focused and successfully fooling everyone that this was exactly what she'd been doing. How they let her be, waving a hand at her dismissively at first, deciding to shift their attention to the inquisitive youngsters instead.

And then she told him about the one thing that interested him most. One to which Kana evidently was the only one privy.

"She said that all the cards were black to her," she said straightforwardly. "No, not said. More like, she mumbled it under her breath, so quietly that I wasn't even sure at first that I'd heard her correctly. But she repeated it once, and then once more. They are black to me too, now. And then I knew I hadn't misheard."

It was Taichi who kept silent now, although unlike Kana, he did not look away while doing so. Quite the opposite: his eyes had not left his friend's face since the moment she'd started her tale, and he surely wasn't going to shift his gaze now. Although she didn't know it, she was an anchor to him now. With her kind, supportive expression, with all the care he knew she had for him, he used her as a pillar now, too, while his mind reeled with images of what Kanade had just described. The implications her story had brought.

The hard truth he didn't think possible and yet one that he had no choice but to accept.

It was all so ridiculous.

Really. It was absurd and wrong, and surreal. It fit perfectly with the rest of the puzzle, the one missing piece that confirmed and added meaning to all the rest, while at the same time it screamed crazy and unbelievable and nuts. It was the knowledge she'd shared with him that appeared absolutely ludicrous, and yet he still couldn't think of it as anything but natural. It was insane.

And he didn't feel particularly lucid, either.

He felt like squatting on the ground, or maybe downright falling onto his knees, with his hands buried in his hair as he pondered over the foolishness of it. He didn't know whether he wanted to groan or sigh, or maybe rock with laughter, that due to its obvious mirthlessness would only have been seen as hysterical.

Perhaps Kana had been wrong after all, and had made a mistake by telling him that last part, for as of now, he surely wasn't ready to deal with it.

"Damn it, Chihaya," he grumbled eventually, as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "All of these years of playing with poems and you still can't come up with your own metaphors. And you want to be a teacher?"

He took a deep breath before lowering his hand and turning sideways, his eyes fixing on the horizon beyond the glass door next to him. He could sense Kana's stare on his countenance, but didn't respond in kind.

"Of all the girls that walk this earth, all the airheads and maniacs and pretty-faces I had to fall for the one who's all three at once," he mused quietly instead. "Of all people I care about, I need to let go of the one that's most difficult to release. The one girl I couldn't forget if I tried."

"Mashima-san," Kanade countered. "I don't think the qualities you've just mentioned have anything to do with it. You don't love Chihaya-chan for her looks, do you? And it's that love that makes it difficult."

"No, you're right, I don't. But all they are a part of who she is," Taichi replied without missing a beat. "All of the qualities I mentioned are. And of course, there are a lot more, too. Still... I feel like it might have been easier if her personality was a little different in those particular aspects, you know?"

"How so?"

"Because then I wouldn't feel like I need to look after her," he said, his eyes shifting to her. "Look, I know she's strong. I know she can take care of herself and doesn't really need me in the way I wished she did. Even with all that, however, I can't help but worry about the times when she does need someone. Even just in high school, there were so many situations when her attitude could have been disastrous, because she couldn't be bothered to consider it from more than one angle, or because she didn't even know that she should.

"It's just... you don't know how difficult it is to stay away from her now," he added in a voice that cracked just a little. "To keep my distance when I see her struggle with something. Only today I had to restrain myself from walking over to her during the lunch break, because she seemed to be terribly under the weather, and I really might have done it if Nishida hadn't got to her first. Even though I know it's not what I should do or what she wants... It's just hard."

The gulp that he took was painful against his tightening throat, but Taichi paid it no mind.

"And it's only going to be worse now that I know about her leaving the club," he continued stubbornly. "Even right now, all I can think of is how I want to run to the library and see her, if only to tell her what I think of that decision of hers. It's stupid, so I won't do it. Still, it won't change the fact that I will want to, and that it won't fade away with time."

"But what does it have to do with Chihaya-chan's character?"

"Only that if I were used to thinking of her as a rational, responsible human being, then maybe stepping aside and letting her live her life wouldn't be this difficult. I wouldn't feel the need to interfere, because I wouldn't be used to doing it. And then it would be easier to reconcile with the fact that I'm not as indispensable as I once thought."

He chanced a glance at her then, a small, sad smile tugging on his lips. He knew what Kanade was going to say next, how she was going to contradict his words; and he didn't mind. After all, the few times when he had actually allowed himself to be vulnerable had always been shared with his (now former) co-members, and it was thanks to them being as helpful and trustworthy as they were.

Yes, that was exactly the word he would use to describe them.

Even with all his fears and all his barriers that he had raised along the years, he still had faith that they would not let him down or reject him, no matter what mistakes he might make.

The only people in the world that made him feel safe.

"Chihaya-chan surely wouldn't say that about you," he heard Kanade answer, much as he'd expected of her. "You are important to her. Even if not in every field, she does need you. And I think you understand that, too. You’d better."

Taichi's smile turned a little warmer.

"I do now," he replied, mindful to emphasise the last word properly. "It wasn't always obvious, but I suppose I'm wiser now, so that's something to be glad about. Even if it still doesn't seem like enough. Maybe it never will."

"But?" Kanade asked. "There's a but coming, isn't there?"

"But it's nothing to be worrying about now," he said, straightening up. "It won't change anything. I know what I must do now, even if it seems nearly impossible at times. Even though it never seems appealing. It's the right thing to do, however, and the only one I am actually certain of at the moment."

The look Kana gave him was sceptical, to say the least. "And by the right thing, do you mean staying away from her?" she asked. "Do you really believe that's the path you should choose?"

"It's the best I could think of and trust me, I've thought about it a lot. I need time. We both do, I think. And... since Chihaya is actually staying aloof... it seems best to use that opportunity and test out my hypothesis. Heaven knows it would be even harder if she did look for my company."

Kanade's gaze only turned more disbelieving, but she said nothing. And Taichi was glad, for he knew that whatever she might say to him now, no matter how wise or logical, would be disregarded by him in an instant. Not because he was free of doubt, like his words might suggest, but because the uncertainty was still there, and he couldn't let it take over him.

Although, there was also one thing he had no doubts about.

Whatever it might have looked like, however much he might have appeared to crave Chihaya's interest, he really didn't want her to come after him again, much less if it were to ask him to come back.

After all, the only reason why their talk last week hadn't gone south immediately was because she wasn't trying to do that.

Not like when...

"Anyway, as I said, there's no point in thinking about it now," he added resolutely, stubbornly refusing to accept this new direction his mind had shown. "Whether I'm right or wrong, only time can tell now. What I do know for sure, though, is that I've kept you long enough, so I won't anymore. Go to Chihaya, and then go to the practice. Tell everyone I say hi," he threw in as casually as he could, too. "And that I, too, am expecting them to work hard. Who knows, maybe if everything goes right, I'll come to cheer for you at the nationals."

"The regionals, you mean?" Kanade asked with a weak, resigned smile.

"I mean what I say," Taichi persisted. "And I say what I mean. You guys can still do it, especially now that Hokuo's best players have graduated. I don't think they even have an A-class player anymore... And you have two, right?"

"Yes, we do. I wasn't aware you knew. How?"

"Let's just say that Nishida was pretty shaken by seeing Tamaru Midori in the clubroom for the first time."

Taichi was happy to see Kanade let out a chuckle, even if she was clearly trying to stifle it. Then she sighed, her eyes shifting towards the wall clock opposite of her and then back to him. He gave a little nod. He understood.

"Really, go to her," he urged gently. "I have my own business to take care of, too. Thank you for the chat though, I really needed it."

"Same here. I'm happy we could talk."

She gave him one final smile and turned, waving her hand sheepishly in the process. Taichi returned the gesture and the expression alike, and then turned around himself, setting off towards the teacher's office, where he'd been supposed to show up much earlier no doubt.

He was not going to forget his task this time.

He only hoped that Taeko-sensei was still waiting for him there.

#Our Sleeves Were Wet With Tears #chihayafuru #taichihaya #mashima taichi #ayase chihaya #making art for this chapter was sooo much fun #it looks a little more like a manga now #right? RIGHT?#also it's been a horrible week so if you could comment on this one i will be so happy

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mor-beck-more-problems · 3 years

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Good Tidings We Bring || Morgan & Nell

TIMING: The day after the solstice

PARTIES: @nelllraiser & @mor-beck-more-problems

SUMMARY: Are we out of the woods yet?

CONTAINS: soft witches, mention of sibling death

Morgan poured her energy into walking steady and holding her package without crinkling the paper or dropping it. She hadn’t been to this house in so long, all she remembered was that first time, coming to dinner and being so petrified that she would be accepted by the Vurals. That they would believe she had something to offer, that she was more than the awful things destined to follow her. Rejection, she was old friends with. The way it cut her was almost soothing. So she never would have dreamed walking up to the house unannounced, asking to be let back in. But Yule was the time of light in the dark, and the miracle of the world turning back to light. There was never going to be a ‘good’ time to try, so it might as well be now.

Morgan knocked, swallowing what little was left of her pride. When the door opened, the speech she prepared dissolved into one clumsy outburst, “I want us to be good again, can we please be friends?” She stuck out the present with both hands. “These are for you. A-and a few extra for your sisters, but mostly you. I mean, you’ll be able to tell, uhh…” It was all very undignified, but after everything Morgan had done, she didn’t figure dignity was something she was going to come by soon anyway.

Hard choices such as the attempted exorcism in lieu of torturing Constance were something of a familiarity to Nell at the time she’d made the decision to go against Morgan’s wishes. By then she’d learned well enough that sometimes the greater good came at the cost of your personal good, but that didn’t mean it had been easy to knowingly destroy the bond of her and the witch turned zombie. She’d been the villain in someone’s story before— willing to take on the burden of severed ties and judgmental words if it meant that there’d be less pain for others in the end. It never got easier, especially when the severance in question was someone like Morgan. So as she opened the door to a familiar face that had been long absent from the daily rotation of her life, she did her best to squish down the flare of hope that bubbled up, quickly replaced with worrisome apprehension. Thankfully that too was fleeting, and her initial faith was restored, eyes cautiously bright with the renewal of her initial reaction “You want to be...friends?” she asked tentatively, as if she wasn’t entirely sure what to make of Morgan’s jumbled words, feeling as if there was another shoe about to drop. Without thinking she reached out to accept the box that Morgan had brought, staring at it a touch too long. Was she meant to open it now? Or wait? Her momentary silence was less than intentional. Apparently where Morgan was struck with an inability to stop her words, Nell didn’t know where to begin her own. “I don’t understand- aren’t you upset?”

Morgan had replayed this conversation a lot in her head, most of them involving Nell interrogating her, or saying I told you so or asking for proof about her being really, really sorry and really understanding all the ways she might have been mistaken. She hadn’t thought that Nell’s question was about how she felt. Morgan looked at her, stunned and grasping at air now that she no longer had the present to cling to. “U-uh, well...I was. And, okay, I don’t think it was fair to lie to me. Doing what you think is right is one thing, but pretending to help is something different, but that’s just...not important right now. Or it’s not more important than you. And…” Morgan shrugged haplessly. “What I wanted didn’t even work out anyway. It was bad. I got all this stuff and I hated almost every part of it and yes, in retrospect, only having informed support from my evil friends should have been a tip off, but I just couldn’t. And Constance poltered anyway and people died because of that, which is also because of me and so, no, I don’t know exactly how I’m going to trust you like I did before knowing you can just casually do that, but I don’t want be so stuck in my pain that I destroy everything that’s important to me. So if you can...I don’t know,” Morgan shrugged. “If you feel like it’s not destroyed yet, I’d like to be the kind of friend that does more than just send you sad birthday presents. I’d like to try. And I’d…” For some reason this was the most difficult part of all. Morgan tried. I’d like to be a witch again. A witch without magic. A mundane witch, who burns too much incense and works her will with glorified mind tricks and normal people stuff. The kind I used to smirk at and feel sorry for. In the end, she couldn’t. “The rest doesn’t matter right now,” she said. Holding herself up with all the strength she had, she looked at Nell with hope. “But what do you say, Nell?”

Quick on the heels of Nell’s hopeful question was the memory of the sourness the conversation between herself and Morgan that had followed the failed exorcism held, the bitterness of it still lingering in her mouth despite the sweetness that was trying to cut through the ugly sensation. Following behind that was the anger that had filled her when the news of the Common had broken— the knowledge that Constance had killed again and that this time it had been seven lives taken, and that Blanche had been caught in the crossfire as well. How could Morgan have let it come to that? You don’t know me at all, do you, Nell? It had been written to the younger witch after their initial fallout, and for a moment Nell wondered whether the words were truer than she’d thought at the time. How could she be surprised about the deaths and injury that had come to pass and still claim to know the woman that stood before her? Stars, Nell, you are the closest thing I have to family right now besides Deirdre. Family didn’t always know every inch of one another, and that was a lesson she’d learned well when Bea had died, a lesson all her sisters had learned. And then Nell had learned it again when she’d been kicked from the coven, her family ripped out from beneath her feet. But Morgan had been there. Morgan Beck, the woman who was saved from the choice of whether or not she’d follow the coven’s decree by the grace of literal death and her subsequent separation from the witches. She was family that Nell couldn’t afford to lose after having the rest of it already taken. Morgan Beck who Nell was certain wouldn’t have followed the demands of the coven and their banishment of the Vural daughters even if she hadn’t been the victim of a family curse. The same curse that had brought them to this exact moment in time that had Nell fiddling with the paper of Morgan’s gift that was still held between Nell’s uncertain hands.

“I don’t think it’s destroyed,” Nell answered in a tone that was surprisingly quiet in lieu of the jumble of emotions that were avalanching through her chest. She swallowed hard a single time, trying to make sense of the words floating in her head, all of them demanding to be spoken at once, but struggling to pluck them from the churning sea of what she wanted to say, what she should have said, and what she was going to say now. “I just- I’m not a fixer, Morgan. Not when it comes to people,” she finally managed to settle on, voice trembling with the effort to try and contain the dull tones of her sadness, the heat of her former anger, and frustration of being unable to find the medium between them. “I’m really fucking shitty at it. I never know what to say, or how to talk about things without getting upset again.” Even now she could feel the beginnings of her temper being dampened by the knowledge that whatever she was feeling about the situation, Morgan was most likely experiencing it ten-fold— the love she still held for the zombie making the witch unwilling and unwilling to dole out any more pain onto her. “I...I want to try, though.”

“...You...you dont?” Morgan repeated Nell’s words slowly in case she’d misheard. The young witch was so uncharacteristically quiet, she couldn’t be sure. She stayed clenched, feeling her impending disappointment hanging over her like a pendulum in a horror show. She’d done shitty things, and the earth didn’t judge or get angry, but people did and had every right to. Nell especially. But then she spoke again.

“You can be upset with me,” Morgan said softly. “I uh...I did a lot to be upset about. And you don’t have to... I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a ‘fixer’, you know? It’s not a box you get sorted into or not. You just learn and you try and maybe it happens faster for some people than others and--” She reached out her hand, fingers contracting and flexing as she tried to gauge whether she could, should, touch her. “We can just take it a little bit at a time and uh…” She sniffled and smiled bravely. “Can I hug you? Real question. N-no is super understandable. But--” It would be great if she could. It would feel like forgiveness even if she wasn’t yet. “Can I? Is that weird?”

“No...no, I don’t,” Nell affirmed, thinking of all the times she’d lost friends and counted them long gone, not at all accustomed to getting a second chance, but willing to take it and hold it tight nonetheless. “And you can be upset with me,” she quickly echoed, knowing things wouldn’t instantly be right. The witch’s shoulders relaxed, sagging in the slightest as Morgan did what she always did— somehow always having the perfect and right words for the situation and Nell’s self-consciousness. “Well then...I guess we can try, right?” She watched as Morgan’s hand opened and closed like a door in front of her, offering Nell a way in should she want to take it. Uncertainly she reached for the offered touch, using it as a way to pull Morgan into the hug she’d asked for. Her arms were softer around the zombie’s shoulders as she embraced her, still tired and sore from her less than comforting ventures at Neveah’s demon mansion the night before but holding on despite it. “I don’t think it’s weird,” she mumbled. Perhaps it was a little stiffer than their hugs had been in the past, but if this was the form the peace offering was taking, Nell wouldn’t be the one to shove it away. “Did you wanna come in? I actually have a present for you, too.”

Morgan clung to Nell as tight as she dared. They fit so easily against each other, head to head and hand to hand. The movement wasn’t fluid or effortless, but Morgan could almost feel the energy that still existed between them, flowing in and around, back and forth until it could reach some kind of equilibrium. Nell still wanted her in her family. She might be the only Vural to think so, but she was the only one that mattered.

“Come in?” She repeated, lifting her head from Nell’s shoulder. “Are you sure? I mean, that it would be okay--?” She tried to peer into the house, waiting for Bea or Luce or some spectre of guilt to pop out and declare that she wasn’t allowed to come inside at all, ever, and furthermore, she had no business asking forgiveness from Nell or anyone else. But no one came out to spoil the moment, and Morgan didn’t have enough fear or sense to turn away from Nell’s offer. “But I do. Want to. You didn’t have to get me anything though.” She pulled away, sniffling as she smiled. “But thank you, Nell. Really, really. Thank you.”

Nell bit down her lip as Morgan squeezed, trying to swallow the pang of pain that surfaced as Morgan’s arms unintentionally found the bruises and cuts she hadn’t healed from her and Adam’s continued infiltration of Ma’al’s demon cult. Those in visible places were always safely healed away, but the ones beneath her clothes and long sleeves were kept in secret. After all, Nell had to save every ounce of strength she had for what happened within the mansion’s hellish walls. But she also needed to keep unwanted questions at bay, unwilling to have her friends tangled in the mess she’d thrown herself into. Brushing away the darker thoughts of her current affairs, she pulled back to focus on Morgan, letting the brightness of the zombie’s face and their renewed friendship brush those shadows away. “Of course I’m sure,” she insisted, confidence re-entering her voice. “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have offered. And I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to.” Nell gave Morgan’s hand a last squeeze before moving to tug the other woman over the threshold of the home, leading her to the living room where she’d kept the gifts she was planning on giving. “It’s this one,” she began as she handed Morgan a carefully wrapped package, her nerves returned for this moment as she hoped she’d gotten this right.

Morgan took a moment to look at the gift. If it wasn’t so wildly inappropriate, she would get out her phone and take a picture of it, so she could always remember the care that her friend had shown her, the love she didn’t deserve made visible in a carefully tied ribbon and a full package. She wanted to remember that care like this still existed. That even after doing some of the worst things she’d ever attempted, someone like Nell still wanted to give to her. But she would have to settle for her memory and hope that a hundred years or more down the line, she would be able to see Nell and this gift just like this. “Should we open them at the same time?” She asked, taking the package from Nell. “That’s how we did it at home when I was a kid. I’ll be careful with the ribbon. at least. It’s all so pretty…” She smiled sheepishly, moved and almost embarrassed by how much this meant to her. She nodded to Nell to indicate go and tore into the wrappings.

The first thing she saw were the Yule smudge sticks, so potent that she caught a whiff of cinnamon and pine. It was like the Yules from her childhood all over again, when they hung freshly cut firs and holly from every door and entryway. When the tapers ran down the sides in gothic, runny clumps, and the candlelights flickered and their shadows leapt along the wall like pixies in flight. It was everything. Underneath: vials of bath salts, colored in cleansing tones and filled with herbs that symbolized renewal, a fresh start to wash away the hurt that still stuck to her. And beneath that-- “Oh, Nell,” Morgan gasped. “How did you know? About any of this? I haven’t told anybody…” Her eyes filled up again. “After everything happened I went to Strawford Cemetery and tried to do a chord removal. I know it’s all like, jedi mind tricks, but I swear I felt lighter and I felt...something. Not a live energy something, but a connection to something. And I know you’ve been trying to tell me this all along, but I actually feel it now…” She clutched the package to her chest, gripping with all her might. “I want to be as much of a witch as I can be. I want to belong here, and put out things that...help, even a little. And that’s vague and dopey and I haven’t figured out anything more specific yet, but I just want you to know why this means so much. Thank you.”

Nell unwrapped her own gift with much less delicacy than Morgan opened her’s, the still present nervous energy making her a little overeager as she tore into the pretty packaging. She almost forgot to look at her own gift as she heard Morgan’s reaction to the present she’d been gifted, but her attention was easily re-captured by the crafting tools inside the box, instantly recognizing them for what they were. The hoops, twine, and other assorted supplies tugged at some place between her heart and gut, nostalgia gripping her as she counted a set of three. One for her and each of her sisters. “For wreaths and Yule!” Morgan had to have known this would be the girls first season without their family and coven, and given them something to do together in response, no doubt truly understanding the gravity of the girls’ situation and the way it seemed to stifle the usual traditions of the holiday. The cocoa supplies and taki bags beneath it all were obviously meant solely for the youngest witch, and Nell touched the gifts with a thoughtful hand, still in slight disbelief that Morgan was even here in the first place. “Thank you, Morgan. I- well, I love all this.” But what she loved most of all was that Morgan had wanted to give her a gift in the first place.

“I didn’t necessarily know,” Nell continued, still unable to shake the last of the nerves that had settled around her and Morgan. That would be normal though, right? They’d said they wouldn’t turn back into place at the drop of a hat. “I know it’s not anything remotely the same as you, but after the stuff that I went through well- I could only begin to imagine what you might have felt, and even though I didn’t lose my magic, I know that I would have still wanted my family after it. And everything I grew up with and stuff. Even if I...hated it at first.” That’s why Nell had grouped the witchy books under the bath salts and Yule sticks wanting to return them to Morgan long after the witch had lied and said she’d handed them over to Nisa and the coven. “It’s not vague and dopey,” Nell instantly rebutted. “We- we need it too, you know. Need another witch here.” Their mother’s coven was long gone out of their lives, but perhaps they could make a little one of their own. Looking down at her present, Nell waited a moment before making another offer. “You know- you could always make them with us. I could call Bea and Luce and see if they can come right now.”

“Yeah! I figured, something all of you can do together might, you know…Nothing’s going to make things like they were before, but they can still be good. And maybe this new turn of the wheel will be better too.” Morgan said, gushing with relief now that her gesture had been accepted. “But I didn’t want you to have to share your whole gift, that’s lame, right? So hopefully you can use them to enjoy the rest of your day, or any other traditions you get to do, or just, you know, cozy time to yourself. You do still get time like that, right? Anyway, I’m glad you like it…” She trailed off, uncertain how to proceed.

At Nell’s insistence that she consider herself another witch around, that she should stay with them for the day, Morgan’s eyes watered again. “O-oh, I don’t… I meant these for you and your sisters, and you should have your special time together, and I don't want to be the reason anyone…” Doesn’t come. Leaves you alone during yuletide. Morgan shrank back, out of the doorway, her bright smile only a little weighted by sadness. “But I do, want to be around. Maybe after the regular new year? I’m just gonna be traveling, for my birthday, as it turns out. But still-- I’d like to. Just, you know, not at the risk of making things weirder or harder after everything I’ve done…” Her resolve gave way for a second and she dove back to Nell for another swift press of a hug before ducking out the doorway again. Maybe for Imbolc we’ll have a big cleaning party together, huh?”

Nell nodded with a half-sad smile, unable to pretend as if the loss of her coven didn’t sting at the mere mention or thought of it. Still— Morgan’s comforting words were more than welcome, and brought back a trickle of warmth to drive out some of the cold and drafty winds of the hole left where her family had been. “Thank you, Morgan. I know you’re right.” Unfortunately, the knowledge that new and good things would come didn’t always help to lessen the wounds of the past. That would take time if such wounds could ever be truly healed. “And yeah- of course I’ve always got time for hot chocolate.” The brief answer was an easy enough way to brush away the real answer of her having been far too busy with the twisted rituals and gatherings of the cult amongst the other day to day problems of White Crest that claimed her attention.

Morgan’s reluctance to join in the festivities wasn’t all that surprising, and Nell didn’t feel the need to push it at a moment like this. It was probably for the best if they wanted room to breath and return to normal or create whatever their new ‘normal’ would look like. “Oh shit, well- I hope you have a good trip. You’ll have to tell me about it when you get back, obviously.” There was a flare of jealousy in Nell as she offered Morgan the well wishes, remembering her own travels around the world before she’d returned to White Crest. She doubted she’d ever experience something like that again, not when there were so many things and people tying her to White Crest now. “We’ll figure it out, though. With all of us. And then we can do that big cleaning party with some midnight margaritas, and maybe even make some Brigid crosses.” As she headed with Morgan back towards the front door of the home, Nell held the zombie’s present to her chest, the anger that had gripped her earlier finding a temporary solace that let her enjoy the bond that had been restored on this day. No doubt it’d return when they had to speak of things less pleasant than travel and parties and gifts. But for now, she could simply enjoy the hopefulness buzzing within as she leaned against the doorframe, giving her farewell. Finally, she would relax in the knowledge that it wouldn’t be their final one. “I’ll see you later, Morgan.”

#good tidings we bring #wr nell #wr chatzy #wr nell chatzy #sibling death tw #wickedswriting

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trillhouse-lh · 4 years

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Mask

The Avenue. One of the most prestigious clubs in Great Lake City, a local legend in the nightlife scene. Those who weren't living it up on the dance floor mingled near the bars, combatting the pulsing music with casual conversation and laughter. The atmosphere, as always, was electric; to one man however, it was little more than an annoyance. Just endless, meaningless noise.

He kept his distance from the throngs of partiers, seated at a booth with a glass of scotch-Johnnie Walker Blue Label, at $65 a shot-which he sipped at slowly, looking out upon the herd with disinterest. Practically attached to his side was a younger woman, a blonde bombshell of the caliber that most men would kill for. Young, shapely body, luscious lips, tight sequined dress that left little to the imagination… and of course, a head full of air. She leaned into the man's side, checking herself in a pocket mirror and freshening up her cherry-red lipstick. Once she was sure she looked perfect, she closed the mirror with a snap and placed it in her pocket book.

"I wanna dance," She said. Her boyfriend didn't respond, nor did he give any sort of indication that he'd heard her at all. The woman frowned and gave his arm a little tug. "Babe, I wanna dance."

"I heard you the first time," The man grunted. "I'm not in the mood." His companion gave an almost childish pout.

"But I am. You promised we could dance…"

"Later, then." He said cooly. The woman sighed and crossed her arms, giving the busy dance floor a longing gaze. The man didn't care. He simply sipped his drink, his attention focused nowhere in particular. Most would assume that his pensive stare was that of a man lost in thought, but that was far from the case… he was simply existing, present in body but not in mind, barely even cognizant of the beautiful woman latched to his side. She was meaningless to him, after all; just another idiotic young tart barely out of high school, all too happy to leech off an older, wealthier man rather than make something of herself. She was no different from those who had come before, nor those who would come after. Good for a bit of fun and nothing else… to be used and then discarded once he'd had his fill.

A toy. Nothing more than that.

"Babe, come on," She huffed, giving his arm another tug. "It's a nightclub! Are you really going to just sit here all night?"

"I said, no."

"But I'm bored!" The young woman whined; it was clear from her tone that she was starting to get frustrated with her boyfriend. "I want to dance now-"

"Go, then." He said plainly. "I'm not stopping you."

"Ugh!" She scoffed and turned away from the man. "You've been a real jerk lately, you know that?!" She waited for a response, but received little more than a vague grunt of irritation. "...Fine. Fine!" She snapped, pulling away and sliding out of the booth. "I'll go dance by myself, then. Come find me when you're ready to stop being-"

"Won't be necessary," The man cut in, leaving her words to die on her lips. "You go right ahead and enjoy yourself. I trust you'll be able to find someone looking for an easy fuck." She stared at her boyfriend in disbelief, as though she'd somehow misheard the man's words.

"E-excuse me…?!"

"Do I need to simplify it for you?" He muttered. "I'm tired of you. Fuck. Off." The woman glared at him in silence, her body quaking in indignant rage. Nobody had spoken to her like that before… what man in their right mind would reject her? She grit her teeth and reeled back, her palm open to deliver a forceful slap.

The man caught her by the wrist without even looking.

"Ow!" The woman hissed, trying to pull away from the man, but he didn't loosen his grip in the slightest. On the contrary, he only squeezed tighter, so tight that the woman swore she could feel her bones creaking. "Y-you're hurting me," She gasped. "L-let me-" Her protests faded to a faint croak as, for the first time since they'd arrived that night, the man looked her in the eye. His gaze was cold, empty, devoid of life… as though there were simply nothing behind those gray eyes. No compassion. No anger. Nothing. It felt like he was staring into her soul, daring her to make a scene. Finally he let go and the woman grasped her aching wrist, shrinking back under his icy gaze. She lingered only a moment before her lip started trembling and she turned, hurrying off to God knows where. Not that he cared; he simply scoffed as she ran away, and with that little annoyance dealt with he turned his focus back to the crowd. None seemed to have noticed what happened, or at the very least if they did they knew better than to do anything about it.

With that, the man simply continued sipping his drink as though nothing had happened at all. It was nothing new, after all… he'd kicked far, far better women than she to the curb before, and he had no doubt he'd do so again. It was all part of the game, and it was a game he knew how to play better than damn near anyone.

It was also a game that he'd grown tired of as of late.

He'd learned from a young age that the world's pleasures belonged to those willing to take them. It was something his father had quite literally hammered into his skull as a child… in truth the sole thing he was grateful to the piece of shit for. The strong came out on top, while the weak were rightfully trampled underfoot. So he became strong. He rose to the top while his father fell to the bottom… meeting his end at the bottom of a staircase, his neck broken after the drunk bastard took a tumble.

A tragic accident, of course.

Since then, he had come to live by those words. He rose to his station. Money, power, good looks, women, he had it all. That which wasn't given he was all too happy to take. Those who challenged him would soon come to regret it. And yet, through it all, he maintained his public image… that of a legitimate businessman, gentleman, and generous philanthropist. Because he knew how to play the game. He knew how to get what he wanted, and was willing to wear whatever mask he needed to do so. As such, winning over brain-dead bimbos like her was child's play. And much like a child's plaything, he was growing increasingly bored. Perhaps it was time to mix things up a bit.

The man scanned the crowd, his lifeless gray eyes flicking between the offerings with little apparent interest. The club attracted a fairly diverse crowd, from young to mature to everything in between. Some were there with friends, others to meet new people, and of course there were those just looking for some company for the night… hussies, as far as he was concerned. He had little time for them.

...Oh?

The man stopped, his gaze lingering on one figure in particular. He could see her through the crowd, standing at the bar in an attractive blue dress and a lovely pearl necklace. She seemed to be glancing around, as though looking for someone, and as she turned her head he took a moment to study her face. She was a beautiful woman, not too old nor too young; her makeup, while tastefully applied, was just excessive enough that it was clear she had something to hide. No doubt she was starting to show her age and feeling particularly self-conscious about it.

Next, her body language: she was shifting in place anxiously and looking around, chewing her lower lip with a forlorn expression. She was upset, clearly. Her hands? No ring. Unmarried and aging, how sad. Her drink? Cranberry juice, from the look of it… not a drinker. Recovering, perhaps. Still, very peculiar for a non-drinker to be standing around at a bar unaccompanied. Perhaps she was waiting for some friends to return? No… she looked too upset for that. Nearly heartbroken, in fact. As if to confirm his suspicions the woman took out her phone and checked the time, taking another futile look among the crowd before sadly putting it away. Though his expression remained impassive as ever, his mind got to work piecing together the puzzle. This woman intrigued him. He would have her. And in a matter of seconds, he'd worked out how. With that, he polished off his drink and slid out from the booth, flexing his neck before straightening out his posture. As he weaved his way through the crowd, politely apologizing to those around him, his lips curled back in a friendly smile and his glare softened into a gentle gaze that made his cold grey eyes almost seem like a sparkling blue under the lights.

He put on the mask.

The downtrodden woman stared idly into her glass, lightly swirling it and watching the cranberry juice ripple within. She should have known this would happen… he'd been so non-committal when they'd set things up, but she'd been foolish enough to convince herself things would be different this time. Well, no point in lingering here alone… she may as well pay for her drink and head home to drown her sorrows in a pint of ice cream. She tried getting the bartender's attention, only for some red-headed seductress to call him over for another round. The woman sighed again and took a sip of her cranberry juice. Typical.

"Guy stood you up, huh?" The woman was snapped from her self-pity by a low voice beside her. She glanced over, finding a stunningly handsome man leaning on the bar. He was tall and barrel-chested, with perfectly-styled blonde hair and a strong jawline. Clean-shaven. Well-dressed. Million-dollar smile. For a moment, she was simply taken aback by his sudden appearance,

"I… excuse me…?" The man raised his palm and let out a chuckle.

"Sorry if I'm being presumptuous. You just looked like you could use some company, that's all," He said. "I'd offer to buy you a drink, but…" He flicked his eyes towards the cranberry juice, and the woman seemed to snap out of her stupor.

"Oh, um… n-no, it's quite alright," She said with a small smile. "You're not wrong. On either front, sadly." The man frowned and shook his head in empathy.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Can't say I haven't been there myself…" He muttered before that charming smile appeared once more. "Well, if it's not too bold of me to say, anyone who would leave a woman like you hanging must be out of their damn mind." The man shot her a wink and her cheeks flushed a light pink.

"Oh, stop…" The woman said, giggling into her palm. The man chuckled again. She took a moment to study him, taking in his chiseled features and masculine physique. He almost felt like a model straight out of GQ, the epitome of class in addition to his naturally good looks. Not to mention that he seemed to be an absolute gentleman to boot… and, perhaps most importantly, he seemed interested. She averted her eyes and took another sip of her drink, her cheeks reddening by the second.

"You know…" The man said as he pushed away from the bar and glanced over towards the dance floor. "I may not be the guy you're here to meet, but-"

"Yes," The woman blurted out, to her chagrin; she clammed up as the man looked back at her with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk, and cleared her throat before continuing. "I-I mean… I'd love to dance, if you're offering." The gentleman smiled and gave a small nod.

"It would be my privilege. Shall we, miss…?"

"Lori. Lori Loud." She said with a bashful smile, extending her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you…"

"Chester Richards." The man said with a broad, gleaming smile. He took her hand gingerly and gave it a gentle shake. "The pleasure's all mine."

#sin kids #what she'd been missing #trillhouse #fanfiction #my work #chester richards #Lori Loud

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heyyyharry · 5 years

Note

can you make a blurb when the flatmates aren't together yet then y/n didn't come home without any texts and harry is super worrie thank youuuu!! LOOOOVE UR STORIES AND THE IG POSTS TOO!! ❤❤

THANK YOU FOR LOVING THESE STORIES!

Another anon: Can you do A pre- relationship angst flatmate blurb and ending it with fluff pls? 🥺🥺

Yes, yes I can.

“Jesus Christ!” Y/N screamed as she turned away from the naked couple on the couch, who hurriedly covered themselves up with the first things they could reach. “Oh God! Please just—God! Have sex in your room next time please!“

“What are you doing here?!”

“I live here, asshole!” Y/N cried out. With her eyes closed, she slowly turned back to them and only dared to peek through the gap between her fingers when Harry told her it was safe to look.

Her flatmate and the girl she’d never met before were now sitting on two ends of the couch, as if they hadn’t been fucking like rabbits just a minute ago.

“I thought you were babysitting,” Harry mumbled, his face, neck and chest were flushed. And Y/N was trying her best not to pay too much attention to the pillow he was using to cover up his—God, she couldn’t even think of the word without blushing!

“Jamie’s mum got home early,” she said, eyes on the girl who didn’t seem to give a damn that she’d just been caught having sex. The gorgeous brunette casually leaned back, sitting with her long legs crossed while wearing Harry’s oversized t-shirt. Just like all the girls Harry had brought back to their place, this one was beautiful. Y/N assumed she knew she was beautiful, so she started sizing Y/N up and cracked a condescending smirk as if ‘ugly and insecure’ was carved on Y/N’s forehead. She made Y/N feel guilty. But why? Y/N wondered. She shouldn't be feeling guilty for walking into the place she paid to live in!

Taking a deep breath, she calmly told Harry, “you know what? Just...continue. I'll be in my room with my headphones on.”

And then, without waiting for a response, knowing she wouldn’t get one anyway, Y/N rushed into the kitchen to grab some snacks so she could just hide on her room and skip dinner to avoid awkward conversations.

The girl thought Y/N had gone into her room and couldn't hear her so she ‘whispered’ to Harry, “can we just lock her out next time?”

“Just...ignore her,” was his replied.

Y/N didn’t expect Harry Styles of all people to say something nice about her, but...”ignore her”?! Really?!

Ignore me?! In my flat?! While you’re fucking someone on my couch?!

Infuriated, Y/N stormed out of the kitchen, straight to her room and slammed the door to make sure those two knew she'd overheard them. Jokes on them, she thought, I’ll be the one to ignore them!

Though Y/N kept telling herself that, she ended up crying anyway.

Harry felt guilty.

Very guilty.

He wasn’t sure if Y/N had heard what he’d said, but he assumed she had because she had skipped dinner and been giving him the silent treatment. He thought he kind of deserved it, but that didn’t mean he could live with it.

What was worse was that, she didn’t even want to sit near him in class and continued to not acknowledge his existence for the rest of the day on campus. At first he’d told himself that it was no big deal and she would talk to him again that night. He had deliberately forgotten to take out the trash and she would definitely yell at him when she saw the trash bag lying by the kitchen door. It was stupid. But he’d rather have her yell at him and call him names than have her ignore him this way.

And so he sat on the couch, switching his eyes between the clock on the wall and the front door. Soon two hours had gone by. His flatmate should’ve returned already for she’d never been out this late without telling him.

Harry told himself to stay calm, but he was gripping his knees and tapping his foot uncontrollably. The last time he’d been like this was during the exam season and he’d consumed too much caffeine to stay energized, which kind of backfired. Now his stomach was on fire, and the next thing he knew, he was pacing back and forth in the living room, staring at his phone. Should he text her? Would that give away how worried he was? Maybe he should wait five minutes more. But what if something bad had happened to his Y/N? Oh God, a lot of things could happen in the next five minutes. He would regret for the rest of his life if something bad happened to his Y/N.

What was more concerning than the fact that his inner voice was referring to her as ‘his’, was these negative thoughts making him feel like dying. He gripped the phone with both hands, his breath was shaky. Okay, maybe just one text. With trembling fingers, he started typing.

Hey, where are you?

Sent.

Now, he waited.

And waited...

And—

Y/N, this isn’t funny. Where are you?

Sent.

When are you coming back?

Sent.

Hey, text me back.

Sent.

I’m sorry.

Sent.

I’ve learned my lesson. Please come back...

Deleting...

I’ve learned my lesson.

Sent.

After about...ten more messages without a single reply, he collapsed on the couch, breathing heavily as if he’d just come back from a long run. He kneaded his forehead and reread all the texts he’d sent and his heart was pounding as he waited for the word read to pop up.

But he got nothing.

Frustrated, tired, angry. He called her phone, only to get more frustrated, more tired and angrier as he found out she’d put it on airplane mode again. “To save battery,” she had said.

Well, goddamn it, Y/N! How am I supposed to rescue you now?!

Just as he felt like he would scream, the doorbell shot him up on his feet. In a flash, he got to the door and pulled it open, face lit up with joy.

But then his smile fell.

It wasn’t her.

It was the girl he’d hooked up with yesterday.

“Hey, I was visiting a friend near here and thought I should come over,” she said and instantly noticed his frown. “Um...you’re not happy to see me?”

“This is not a good time, actually.”

“Is your annoying flatmate bothering you again?”

“You’re bothering me.”

The girl chuckled as she thought she’d misheard him, or at least he’d said it by accident. However, the stern look on his face let her know he was serious. She crossed her arms, her jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

Harry didn’t even bother to come up with an excuse to not let her in. At the moment, he was so mad he could punch a hole through this door. He just wanted Y/N here and make him feel better.

“Sorry. You shouldn’t be here when Y/N comes back. And do not call her annoying.”

“Wait, what?”

“Goodbye,” was all he said before slamming the door. He stood with his back against the door, panting, and waiting for the sound of footsteps to fade away.

“Okay, calm the fuck down, asshole,” he told himself with a harsh breath, shaking his head. “If you were Y/N, where would you g—“

A strong force pushed the door open, nearly knocking him to the ground, but a hand pulled him back just in time.

“Jesus Christ! Are you okay?” Y/N asked as she held his arms and steadied him on his feet. “Why were you standing at the door I—“

Not letting her finish, he grabbed her face and squeezed it so her lips puckered up like a fish. She tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge. His brows were snapped together as he turned her head to the left and then to the right, up and down. “Are you hurt? Who took you home? Where were you?!”

“What’s wrong with you?!” She smacked him on the arm and he released her instantly. “God, I just ran into Jamie’s mum on the way home and she took me shopping!”

“So you’re okay?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Chuckling, she raised an eyebrow at him. “Wait...Did you think something bad happen to me?”

“No! I was just—“

“Let me check my phone.”

“No—“ Harry tried to snatch the device from Y/N’s hand but she was quick to push his face away and dashed toward the couch. Not giving up, he chased after her, seized her elbow and they fell down onto the couch, fighting for the phone.

“Fifteen messages from The Most Obnoxious Human Being.”

“Hey, stop it! Do not read those!”

“Oh my god, you’re obsessed with me!” Y/N burst out laughing and flopped down on her back,squinting her eyes to read the texts but he was making it so difficult by holding both of her wrists, pinning her down. When the phone slipped through her fingers and dropped onto the floor, neither of them reached for it. They both stilled, eyes locked, lips just inches apart. Harry was lying right on top of her and time was frozen for that one moment until...

“Ouch! Fuck!”

...she pushed him off the couch.

“What is wrong with you?!” He groaned, rubbing the sore spot on his back and pushing himself up on the floor.

“What is wrong with you?” Y/N snapped. “What do you want? You want me gone or not? Make up your mind!”

“Why would I want you gone?!”

“So you could fuck whoever you want on this—“ She cringed at the couch and stood up quickly. So did he. Once again, they were face to face, both gasping for air.

Y/N held his gaze for a while and then lowered her voice, “am I annoying you?”

“No, of course not...” he said, frowning. “I was...Look, I’m not very smart—“

“You are though.”

“No, I’m not.” He chuckled, thinking it was cute how in the middle of their fight she still felt the need to reassure him. “I’m not talking about school...I just...um I say stupid things all the time. I didn’t...didn’t mean what I said yesterday. I’m sorry.”

She batted her lashes at him but didn’t say a word. So he went on, “I was very worried. I almost went out to look for you.”

“Sorry...” Y/N sighed as she looked at her feet. “I should’ve told you.”

“It’s okay...just...don’t do that to me again. It was scary.”

“What was?” she asked innocently.

“I thought I lost you or something.”

Harry only realized he’d said that aloud when he saw her reaction. She was startled and speechless and she was...blushing. He thought he would feel embarrassed for letting those words slip, but she looked so cute right now that he could only smile.

And so he took a step back, if he hadn’t, he might have done something even stupider, like grab her face and...kiss her.

“I’m just gonna—“ he blurted, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m gonna take out the trash.”

“Wait, you haven’t taken out the trash?”

Oh shit, here we go again.

“I’ve reminded you to take out the trash since Monday and now it’s Friday and you still—“

Would it be better if he just shut her up with a kiss?

Smirking at the thought, Harry shook his head as if to answer his own question.

“—you’re lucky you’re living with me! If you were living alone then you’d be swimming in trash right now! Will you ever be a responsible adult?!”

“Okay, okay, I get it. I’m doing it now.” He snorted, rolled his eyes and walked away, leaving the girl, once again, flustered and annoyed.

#flatmate!harry #flatmate talk #flatmate blurbs #harry styles drabbles #harry styles fluff #harry styles one shot #harry styles one shots #harry styles #harry styles blurb #harry styles angst

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fanficsandmoregalore · 4 years

Text

Making or Breaking Bonds?

Matt Solo x Reader

A/N: I had this angsty idea and thought I'd share it with you guys. There you can change the name of the girl and the movie to whatever but the ones in the story are just what came to mind.

Summary: Matt introduces reader to his new friend and it goes horribly wrong. Things are said and reader stops hanging out with matt until he is able to win the reader back over.

It was just like any other day. You were hanging out with 2 of the 3 Solo Triplets in their apartment, across the hall from yours. You were sandwiched between Kylo and Ben on the couch, watching some horribly written horror movie and laughing about all the cheesy acting.

"By the way, where is Matt?"

You asked both boys and Ben shrugged his shoulders but Kylo was a bit more informative.

"He said something about bringing over a new friend he made at work."

"Oh, okay."

And back to the movie it was. Some time passed and the movie was over. You all laughed and talked about how bad it was as Ben put in another movie, equally as cheesy and terrible. That's when there was a sound at the door, someone putting keys in and turning the doorknob. It was Matt. You jumped to your feet and went over to hug him but stopped dead in your tracks.

Kylo and Ben went over to greet the stranger, you, however, were in a bit of shock. She was absolutely beautiful, long flowing dark brown hair, skin that was tanned just right, she was thin and had a big chest, and to top it off was dressed in a business suit and just the right style of makeup. She was way prettier than you ever thought you would be and that frightened you. You mustered up the nerve to go over and greet her as well.

"Uuuh, guys. This is my new friend from work, Allison."

"Ummm, hi. I'm -"

"(Y/n). Yes, i know. Matt won't stop raving about you." Allison spoke confidently and that made you even more nervous, she shook your hand loosely then wiped it off on her pants as she brushed by you.

"What a quaint little living space, Matt." She inspected every nook and cranny it seemed like, Matt just followed her around and talked to her.

"Alright, what's the assessment?" Kylo came up from behind you and whispered in your ear. You turned around, Ben and Kylo were waiting for your input on the situation.

"What do you mean?"

"He means, what do you think of her. We dont know shit about her and we already thinks she's kinda a snob."

"I cant really say anything just ye-"

Suddenly there was a loud crash and the sound of glass shattering. You all looked over to see Allison over by a shelf, looking at the ground then to you and the other boys.

"Oops." She said trying to act cute, then she proceeded to walk on top of the glass, crushing it more beneath her feet. You, Ben, and Kylo walked over to see what she had stepped on and you stared in anger at the item that had fallen. It was a picture of you with all 3 of the Solo boys, sleeping together on a couch at their parents' house on Christmas morning. That was the most treasured picture amongst the 4 of you and both you and the boys had a copy of it framed. You began to suspect she knocked it over on purpose, but didn't want to assume the worst, hoping it was an accident.

"That's it, i hate her." Ben said as he picked the picture up from under the glass.

"You can't just hate her. What if it was an accident?" You tried to defend your fellow woman, seeing as to hoe you didn't know if she was the kind of woman to do such a thing.

"Oh yeah, and she just casually walks on top of broken glass with a smirk if it's an accident. If you had done this when we first met you, you would have offered to clean it and replace it immediately." Kylo added and he swept the glass into a pile.

"No, (Y/n) wouldn't even be close enough to it to knock it over in the first place."

Ben chuckled, Kylo then added in,

"Good point. I'm with Ben, i hate her."

It did look as if she had done it on purpose but you couldn't hust assume that. Why would she do something so mean to people she doesn't know. It as if she was trying to display her superiority in a home that she had no title in yet. This really got you a little mad and as you were about to say something, Matt came from the hall with Allison.

"Alright guys, see you later." Matt chirped. You ran over and gently grabbed his arm.

"Matt, where are you going? You just got here and i havent seen you all day." You almost whined. Matt smiled and kissed your forehead.

"Me and Allison are gonna go see a movie. We can hang out after i get back."

And with that Matt left.

You stood still in place for what seemed like forever, staring at the door. Did he really just leave so casually? No goodbye, just a quick kiss on the forehead. He didnt ask if you and his brothers wanted to join. Just him and this new woman all alone. Your mind felt like a plane that was crashing, and you were the only one on board. Suddenly Ben grabbed your shoulder and brought you back to reality.

"(Y/n), did you hear me? I asked if everything is okay?"

You turned to him and hugged him, no emotion showing him how you felt, no words telling him what was going through your mind. But somehow, he knew all of this was troubling to you. He hugged you tightly and then led you to the couch, Kylo joined a moment later. The boys sat with you and you all watched several movies together. While the boys laughed and talked, you sat on the couch and thought about Matt.

It was late at night and you decided to go home. As you opened the door, there stood Matt, about to place the keys in. You looked at him then looked around outside quickly. He was alone, thank goodness. You decided to stay and chat with Matt for a moment. He stood in the living room, you sat on the arm of a chair across from him, and the other 2 boys sat on the couch.

"How was your date?" Ben asked jokingly.

"It wasn't a date, we just had dinner as friends and watched Princess Bride 2 as friends. Then i dropped her off at ho-"

"WAIT!" You stood up and looked at Matt, hoping you misheard him.

"You took her to see Princess Bride 2!? Matt, what the hell?! I asked you if you wanted to go with me to see that weeks ago, and you told me you no because you didn't really care for Princess Bride."

"I don't but Allison really wanted to see it."

"I REALLY WANTED TO SEE IT, MATT!!!"

Your yell could've shook their apartment. You were so mad, you just let it all out.

"Well, don't get mad at me for that, Allison wanted to go see it, not me. Besides, we can still go see it."

"Matt, are you kidding me, right now? I wanted to go see that with you, on a date! I wanted us to have a nice evening together, like, oh i don't know, a nice dinner out, then go see a that movie, TOGETHER! But you told me no, so i didn't go see it at all. I was just gonna wait until it came out on dvd or netflix to watch it. You literally took that...that..that STRANGER out on my date idea!"

Kylo quickly got up and stood by you, seeing the look of rage in your eyes.

"Um, (Y/n), why didn't you just tell me and Ben that you wanted to go on a date with Matt? We would've set you guys up."

This was the first time you had mentioned this date to the boys at all. You had kept it a secret to yourself because after Matt said no, it seemed pointless to try and make him go if he didn't want to. And if you had told the other 2, they would've guilted Matt or forced him somehow to go with you and that wasn't what you wanted. You wanted Matt to go on his own free will.

"I didn't tell you guys because i didn't want you to tell him that's what it was and then him go with me to a movie he would probably hate just because that's what i wanted."

"Um, actually, the movie was pretty good. I'm thinking about rewatching the firs-"

You and Kylo both glared at Matt, he shut up quickly. You faced Matt, feeling all sorts of emotions bubbling inside, emotions you didn't like.

"Matt, are you really that oblivious that you didn't realize i was asking you on a date?"

Matt scratched the back of his head and chose his next words carefully.

"Um....actually..." he started. You took a few steps back, realizing what he was about to say.

"Y-you knew!?" You angrily whispered. Ben got up and punched Matt in the arm.

"What the fuck, Matt!?" He yelled. Kylo aslo began yelling at Matt and it all faded as you thought about what had just happened. Matt, this entire time, knew that you wanted it to be a date and still told you no. You had not right to be mad at him for it, he wasn't your boyfriend, but it still hurt you deeply. You took a deep breath, pushed Kylo and Ben away from Matt and looked him in the eyes.

"Matt, do you like me, romantically?" You tried to ask gently. Matt hugged you and spoke.

"(Y/n), you know i do."

You were so confused. This was all a big mess. You couldn't handle it and pushed Matt off of you. You had tears streaming down your face and were filled with a mix of sadness and anger.

"Then why did you take her and not me? I wanted to go see it too, Matt. And you knew that. Am i...not good enough or something? I'm so confused."

Matt felt flustered and a bit irritated at himself for making you upset. He didn't think about what he was saying and blurted out something he'd regret.

"It was just nice to have someone i could have an intellectual conversation with for once."

Matt pauses, realizing what he had just said. He quickly tried to apologize but you glared straight into his eyes, feeling the anger rise inside you immediately, a single tear slid down your cheek and you pushed pass him and out the door, not saying another word. Matt didn't bother following you, knowing it would only make things worse.

"Shit." Kylo said, then him and Ben quickly ran after you and Matt stood by the door to listen in.

Ben knocked on the door and all him and Kylo could hear was sobbing.

"(Y/n)? Baby? If you want to, me and Ky will take you to see it."

There was only silence for a moment. Matt's stomach turned inside him as the guilt began eating at his conscience.

"Babe?" Kylo tapped on the door. This time it opened a little. They couldn't see you and you didn't want them to.

"I dont even want to see it now. Just leave me alone, please." With that, you closed the door. Matt ran his hands through his hair. What had he done? Kylo and Ben looked at each other, nodded and went back over to their apartment.

They didn't even speak to Matt as they walked pass him. And he knew they saw him when they walked in.

"Guys? Is she going to be okay?"

Kylo yelled angrily and went into his room, slamming the door behind him. Ben was about to walk to his but turned, look at Matt with disappointment and shook his head.

"You really messed up this time, Matt." Was all he said and then he went into his room. Matt was left in the living room, feeling the worst he's ever felt. He tried texting you, calling you, writing letters to you, but they always found their way back into his apartment. You were ignoring him in all ways you could. Several weeks had gone by and there was still no word from you.

"It was just a movie, is this silent treatment really necessary?"

One evening, Matt was sitting on the couch watching a movie, he thought he was alone but Kylo was in the kitchen.

There was a plastic cup thrown at the back of Matt's head. He turned and saw his brother in the kitchen.

"It isn't about the movie, you dope. She wanted to be with you, you said no to her but did it anyway with another woman. You broke her damn heart, you moron! Take your silent treatment and like it! You're lucky she's such a fucking sweetheart, she'll probably forgive you soon if you just leave her the hell alone."

Kylo grumbled and went back to his room. Matt thought about what kylo had said. He was right, it wasn't the worst way to be treated after you hurt a girl, but he definitely didnt enjoy it. He also thought about what he had done. He knew you wanted to go on a date with him, he knew you really wanted to go see that movie, and he knew how he felt about you. So why would he have said no to you, and instead took some stranger he accidentally bumped into at work? He groaned in disappointment at himself. He felt so worthless, he thought he didn't deserve you, and that's even before the mess he was in now. You are a godess in his eyes and he just blew any shot he had of being with you. One morning he saw you leaving your apartment and tried to say hi but you didnt even look at him, only the floor, with saddened eyes. He had done this and he knew that he had to fix this.

"Ben, Kylo, please. I need your help." He pleaded from the hall. There was no answer. He ran his hands through his hair.

"I really do like (Y/n), more than anything in the world, i know that i dont deserve her and maybe that's why i said no, but i have to fix our friendship at least. God, and i even haven't talked to or seen Allison since that night. She hated the movie, she hated dinner, and me. She was just...she wasn't (Y/n). I don't know what i was thinking. And i know this is all my fault, but i don't know how i can fix it. I just want to show her how much i love..." Matt paused. Up until now, he only thought about how much he liked you. How much he liked being around you, and how he liked everything about, and that he liked how beautiful you were when you smiled. But no, he didn't just like that stuff about you, he LOVED that stuff about you. Matt sprang to his feet, his hand over his chest feeling his quickened heartbeat.

"I...i love her. I love (Y/n)." Matt looked around, trying to figure out what to do. "Oh god, what have i done?! I have to fix this!" He quickly rushed to the door and practically ripped it open, you were already on the other side. You looked at Matt, a phone in your hands, tears rolling down from your eyes. Matt looked behind him and saw his brothers, Ben was holding a phone that had you on the line, he had a smirk on his face. Matt turned back to you and felt just an overwhelming sense of panic.

"D-did you...um, hear all of that?"

"Every last word."

You hugged him and at first Matt was surprised but he was quick to return and tighten the hug. He never wanted to let you go ever again. He was worried if he let go, you'd leave again and never speak to him for the rest of his life.

"Matt," you whispered. He pulled away and looked at you, "i love you."

"(Y/n), I'm so sorry!" He pulled you close again then pulled back and kissed you. It caught you off guard at first but you accepted it. He pulled away and looked you in the eyes.

"I will do anything i have to, ANYTHING, to make it up to you."

You giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Well, could you get out of the way, me and your brothers are gonna miss a movie."

Matt pulled back and looked at you in confusion.

"What?"

"We're going to go out for dinner and then see a movie, as friends." Ben said cheerfully as he walked by Matt. He held his hand out for you and you took it then walked away from the door. Kylo followed behind and was about to close the door but looked at Matt before doing so.

"Or not." He winked at Matt and closed the door behind him. Matt stood alone in the apartment.

"I deserved that." He said with a smile.

#kylo ren #ben solo #matt solo #matt the technician #matt the radar technician #star wars #matt solo x reader

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