#because they knew that would sour things so they just enjoyed some time together while they could

[sserajeans]

bff premium?

kang haerin x fem! reader

synopsis: after distancing yourself from a friend you've unfortunately fallen for, the rest of the group catches onto her sour mood, and all fingers point to you

genre + others: fluff, mutual pining, friends to lovers, non-idol au, high school setting, friend group is rly just nwjns + yn

notes: i swear yail update will come i just had this in my drafts and felt bad for not posting for a while!!, requested, IM SO SORRY IT TOOK THIS LONG I REALLY WANTED TO BE IN TBE MOOD WHEN I WROTE THIS 😭😭😭😭 luckily haerin posted some pics that ive gotten completely insane over.. so!

you and haerin always had something special between the both of you.

you two met in middle school, when your homeroom teacher was assigning seats. she was a quiet kid, and so were you, but one of you had to get over it. so when the class was given a paired activity to "get-to-know each other", you were forced to come out of your shell, and haerin welcomed you (surprisingly) warmly.

it started off as a strictly-seatmate type of friendship, where you two would only interact whenever it was needed. but as you spent more and more time working on assigned activities together, you were beginning to realize that maybe you enjoyed her company more than you thought, and so did she.

eventually, you two began spending time together outside of class; during recess, lunchtime, sometimes after class in the library. it didn't take long until the both of you became really close, a known tandem. you were her closest friend, she was yours, and everyone knew that.

over time, your friends became hers as well, and so whenever everyone was free, your little friend group composed of minji, hanni, danielle, haerin, hyein, and you, would hang out together. at a clubroom, the courtyard, the gymnasium, a cafe, the cafeteria, anywhere.

but no matter how many close friends surrounded you two, it seemed clear to anyone that you were closer to each other than anyone else. the same way hanni was to hyein, and minji was to danielle.

now your feelings for haerin grew a couple years later, and you only admitted them to yourself in your sophomore year of high school. that's about four years or so since you two met, and about a year ago from today.

from the beginning, you had always found haerin pretty. it wasn't hard to admit. she was nice to look at, and the way her cat-like eyes turned into crescent moons whenever she smiled ear to ear... yeah, you knew you were enjoying it a little too much.

and it only worsened the more you got to know each other, because you found out there were so many things to adore.

the way she wouldn't stop talking about frogs, her love for tomatoes, her eyes and the way she blinks slowly when she looks at something she loves (a cat-like habit you picked up when she was watching a recipe video for an avocado dish).

the list could go on and on if no one stopped you, and after talking about it to your mom (who was very supportive of everything, by the way), you came to the conclusion that you liked haerin, in a "more-than-a-friend way".

but you had no idea, not a single clue, on what to do with that realization. what would happen if you told her? if you didn't? would she feel the same? would she be disgusted if she didn't?

crushes and romance was one of the most untouched conversation topics between the two of you, so you had no idea if she was even open to such ideas.

but the one thing you knew for sure, was that she was your best friend, and you were hers. you loved your best friend, and so did she. in a different way, or not, you felt like she still deserved to know. you hated hiding things from her, and history proves it only made things worse whenever you did.

so you decided to confess. great!

and suddenly you see her acting all lovey dovey with danielle.

well, in retrospect, they weren’t exactly being lovey dovey, and you kind of knew that.

danielle was just big on affection, as she was to everyone, and is one of the few people whose pda was complied with (or tolerated) by haerin.

and despite not being much of a pda fan, in that moment, you badly wanted to be in danielle’s place, comfortably smothering your best friend with all the love in the world.

oh, and it didn’t help that people started a couple rumors about them being a couple.

sure, everyone knew you were each other’s number one, each other’s best of best friend, but the way you two showed affection with each other was very different from the way danielle does, to again, everyone, but you didn’t care about that.

the bitter sting in your stomach seeing the two of them made you realize that it was probably a much better idea to just get rid of your feelings (you’re an idiot, you’ve had them for years. they won’t just go away). after all you didn’t want to ruin what you had with two of your closest friends.

and with that goal in mind, so began your plan to avoid kang haerin at all costs!

you’re really stupid.

in the process of avoiding haerin, you indirectly were avoiding the rest of the girls too. you mostly hung out with your other classmates from different subjects like woonhak and eunchae. and whenever you were asked about it by hanni (mostly), you shrugged it off and said it was just “school things you needed help with”.

it was a dumb excuse. everyone knew you were at least top 5 of the class. and what kind of help were you getting if you were going out to places like arcades and karaoke spots anyways?

the girls were bothered, but not as much as haerin was. she was often visibly in a sour mood, ate half of her usual cafeteria servings, and would talk a lot less than she already did.

they were worried for the both of you simultaneously, but hyein and minji put two and two together, which only doubled their worry.

initially, it was just you and haerin's separate well-being they were concerned about, but now that they realized the time frame in which you began distancing yourself matched up with when haerin's mood went down, they were now also worried about what could've happened between you two.

so they took it amongst themselves to at least know what was going on.

"haerin-ah."

"haerin."

"kang."

"kang haerin!"

haerin looked up from her untouched tray of food, her chopsticks poking around slices of beef in sauce.

"hm?"

minji sat across her as the first two to arrive in their usual lunch table.

"i was asking if anything happened between you and y/n or something..."

"oh..."

haerin looked back down and continued playing around with her food before sighing and looking back up, muttering a couple words.

"wish i knew."

"y/n-unnie! is something up between you and haerin-unnie?"

"huh? what?" you were sat in the sound proofed booth of the music room, guitar plugged in an amplifier. you squinted at hyein's figure from outside the room, putting your guitar on its stand and motioning her to come inside.

"can you repeat that? i can't really hear anything from in there..." scratching the back of your neck, you gave hyein a seat from behind the booth's drum sets.

"i was asking!" hyein took a deep breath, you raised your eyebrows signaling her to continue. "if you and haerin-unnie have something going on."

"h-huh? what? what something?"

"no not like that! i meant you know, did you fight or... 'cause she's been so sour lately! she wouldn't even give me her leftover tomatoes... she wasn't even gonna eat them! like at all!"

the expression on your face shifted to what most would identify as worry and concern.

"...she hasn't been eating the tomatoes? she loves those..."

"yeah! and so much more! anyways, minji-unnie and i deduced it was about you, so here i am." hyein gleamed with pride while you chuckled in amusement.

you leaned over to mess with the top of her head and sighed, "i'll talk to her. you don't worry about a thing, okay?"

and you kept your word to the younger girl. how could you not?

you spotted haerin alone in one of the clubrooms, cleaning up some of the materials they used for the day. knocking on the room's door startled her a bit, given by the minor flinch, but she relaxed seeing it was you.

still, you could tell her facial expression was slightly guarded, and it hurt you, but you definitely deserved it.

she turned back around to continue organizing the materials into three separate boxes, not saying a word.

"hyein said you haven't been eating the tomatoes in your lunch." you slowly took your steps towards her and stopped when you were a couole steps away on the other side of the desk she used to arrange the items. "or your lunch at all..."

she paused to look up at you and give you a short glare, before walking to move a box to the teacher's desk in the room. you followed a few steps behind her, arms behind your back as your fingers fiddled with each other.

"you shouldn't... skip your meals, you know..." you muttered, clearly intimidated by haerin’s cold facade. "health... you need to eat..."

seeing as how you still had no reply, you decided it was probably best to just go straight to the point.

"hey... i'm sorry..."

you were used to haerin not saying that much, especially when you got to know her more and she explained that it was simply just too tiring. but you were also always the exception to that.

whenever it was just the two of you, one would be surprised to see haerin as the louder one. talkative, always rambling about something, while you smiled, nodded, and gave comments whenever necessary.

"yangi, please say something"

haerin loved that nickname more than anything. it was pretty foul to pull that card, actually. you came up with it when you two were having a friendly debate over what animal she resembled.

"i don't know where you're getting cat, y/n."

"are you crazy? how are you getting frog!"

"literally everything!"

"no. you're simply incorrect. you're literally a cat in human form!"

"absolutely not!"

"whatever you say, goyangi."

"what did you just call me?"

"go-yang-i. goyangi. go. yangi."

"you're so... annoying."

"okay, yangi."

she let out a frustrated sigh, looking up at you with what felt like her eyes piercing through your soul.

"so you get to disappear on me without a word, but i have to reply when you speak to me for the first time in 8 days?"

yes, she's been counting the days.

but wouldn't you be too if she did the same?

well, you probably would've confronted her a little sooner. but it's not that haerin didn't care enough to do something about it, she just genuinely didn't want to overstep space you might've been needing.

"thats what i thought." she let go of the box, turned her back, and walked back to the desks to grab the 2nd box.

"look... i'm sorry, i really am." you immediately caught up to her with a few steps, eyes pleading with nothing but guilt.

"if you are then can you at least tell me why you were avoiding me?"

she stared at you, observing how your thumbs rubbed over your fingers, or how your breathing got a little heavy, both nervous habits she picked up.

noting how you probably weren't going to say much anytime soon, she let go of the 2nd box to face you.

"you're my best friend, y/n"

that hurt didn't it?

a reminder that that was probably all you were going to be to her.

"do you know how..." haerin took a deep inhale, it was beginning to get shaky. her mind was a mess, thinking of the best words to express the hurt you made her feel over the past few days. but she couldn't.

"nevermind."

knowing the way haerin acted added on to your internal conflict. haerin usually wasn't afraid to speak her mind when it was just the two of you, but now she is. she couldn't. and you knew it was your fault.

but were you really ready to tell her you liked her? now? you wanted to show her you were sorry, but it really wasn't that easy.

if things go wrong, she could continue the game and avoid you forever. and just like that you'd lose your best friend, ruining the group's dynamics as well.

but you figured your brain was just making up excuses for you to not tell her out of fear. what mattered the most now was letting her know you were sorry, and that hurting her was never part of the plan.

"look, i'll tell you, because i really truly am sorry for hurting you," you start off, hands in the air motioning whatever. "but i-... i need you to promise me..."

"what?" her voice was much softer now. still cold, but not sharp enough to make it feel like you were stabbed every time she spoke.

"that you won't be... weirded out, or disgusted, or leave the room. you'll talk about it with me."

"you're the one whos been avoiding the talking y/n, i hope you know that."

you often forget how quick she was with her words. it was like a whip. painful, fast, happens before you even noticed it did. you were just so used to her nicer side. she's never been frustrated with you.

"right..."

you took a deep breath, mentally composing a script of how you felt and how you were going to say it. just like the million times you've practiced to the mirror at home.

"i've been avoiding you 'cause i think i like you. or, well, i know i like you. in a more than a friend way. and i have been for a while, and i was going to tell you because i didn't like hiding things from you, but i saw you with dani one day and i just- i don't know. okay? it's stupid. i know she's like that with everyone, but i didn't like it when she was with you, so i decided that i'd rather just get rid of how i felt to make it easier and to not ruin any of our friendships. so i figured the only way to do that was if i didn't talk to you. clearly that affected us both in a way i didn't want or intend. i'm sorry i ignored you. it was selfish of me to not think about how you could've felt throughout everything."

haerin took a minute just standing there, trying to process the hell of a bomb of information you just dropped on her. her cheeks were gradually growing red the more she realized what you were trying to tell her.

"hey... hello... did you hear what i was saying... or do i have to repeat it... because i'd really rather not..." you waved your palm in front of the girl who seemed to be frozen in place. "but if that's what it takes then i guess tha—"

you stopped talking as haerin slowly approached you, wrapping her arms around your waist and burying her face on your shoulder. she was careful to do so slowly, giving you a chance to move away if you needed to. she knows you're not into physical touch, and it just wasn't exactly the norm for the two of you.

"i was worried."

"hey, i've been eating fine. it's you tha-"

"no, not that. i was worried you might've overheard dani and i talk about you when i told her i like you, and that you were disgusted by it and didn't want to be... associated with me because of it. and maybe you just didn't know how to tell me so you went with the silent treatment.... i was going nuts, y/n. that's why hyein was talking about skipping lunch and whatever. all i could think about was why."

you could feel the guilt eating you up bit by bit on the inside. it quite literally broke your heart to hear haerin, the girl with not a lot of words, express the effect of what you did. it was like acid, burning up your stomach, your chest, your head. except that acid was guilt.

"oh god... i'm so sorry, yangi... the whole thing was a really selfish move and— and i should've thought about you first. i really am so so sorry..."

you held her closer and softly shifted your body weight from one foot to the other, swaying the two of you softly, somewhat like a cradle calming a baby down to sleep.

"hey... it's okay... i know you didn't mean it. i'm just glad we're fine now."

you two stay in that position for a couple of minutes, feeling each other relax over time as a result of finally resolving the conflict you had caused.

that was until haerin broke the silence.

"so... hate to be the person to ask but..."

"what are we?"

the two of you laughed for a while at how the question was so cliche and cringe yet necessary.

"yes."

"bff premium?"

"y/n!"

"i'm kidding! i'm kidding! but... i say we take things slow? get a little used to this, whatever it is, whatever it could be?"

"yeah, i like that."

the two of you smiled at each other with nothing but warmth and care, before ultimately pulling in for another hug.

"minji-unnie you owe me 2,000 won."

"hyein you're being too loud."

"huh do you hea-?..." haerin pulled away with a surprised face, interrupted by y/n quickly stomping towards the door, slamming it open to reveal minji and hyein falling forward to the floor. a result of relying on the door for support.

"seriously? i expected hyein, but minji-unnie?" you sighed in disappointment, haerin walking over to see what the fuss was all about.

"listen, it's for hanni she placed bets too."

"...lame excuse."

"KANG HAERIN!"

#newjeans x reader #newjeans imagines #newjeans fanfic #kang haerin x reader #haerin x reader #kang haerin imagines #haerin imagines

[justporo]

Because I don't have enough ideas yet, I challenged my bf to give me an out of pocket writing prompt (I was way too deep in my head today so far, so I wanted a mood change). So here is what he came up with:

Scratch ate some piece of jewellery and now Tav and Astarion have to find a fantasy vet (Halsin, it's gonna be Halsin)

So here goes nothing:

Pairing: Astarion/GN!Tav (You) Wordcount: 2k

Saving the Dog in Distress

The troupe had been sitting together by the campfire enjoying the stew Gale had cooked for tonight while the wizard had kept complaining that the artifact you had handed him for his more specific hunger had disappeared without a trace. “Maybe you’re just trying to hoard up all the artifacts behind your back and this is your way to make Tav give you even more”, Astarion had quipped. “Or – even more likely – you simply forgot you already sucked up all the magic because you do too many things at a time”, Karlach had offered as an alternative. Gale had looked angrily at the both of them while you had simply shrugged and promised to try and get him something else tomorrow.

Afterwards the party had disbanded and everyone had been going about their own stuff.

Since Astarion’s confession about his feelings for you, it had become a custom for you and the vampire to snuggle up in his tent come nighttime and spend the night together with trivialities before you laid down for rest together. You usually talked a lot, used the time to get to know each other better, fulfilled some chores (Astarion had - albeit reluctantly - become the camp’s seamster and you the group’s navigator and cartographer) or you just read something together.

Tonight, Scratch had joined you when you had sauntered over to the vampire’s tent to settle down with Astarion for the night. That had significantly soured the pale elf’s mood from his usual grin when he had seen the two of you sauntering over. But you deeply adored the sweet stray which the vampire knew and so Astarion had accepted his fate that the dog would join your cuddle session tonight.

And so, the three of you laid all snuggled up: Astarion on his back, head on a pillow, one arm was holding you and caressing your back as you were snuggled up to his side and head on his chest. His other hand was holding a book in which he tried to read but he was frequently getting distracted by how Scratch was laying on his other side and kept squirming around when you kept petting him.

The dog was now laying across the vampire’s chest and stomach so he could lick your face while you tried to stop him from doing that. When Scratch jumped up excitedly and forcefully landed with his front paws on Astarion’s solar plexus, the vampire “hmpf”ed when all air was driven out of his lungs.

“Alright, the two of you will have to behave now or the vampire is going to put a leash on you – the both of you”, Astarion hissed although you could hear a little bit of a chuckle in his threat. “Don’t promise what you can’t fulfill”, you teased him back and smirked at him naughtily. The vampire looked at you in annoyance while you just chuckled.

You lifted your upper body up so you could lean over him and give him a short but sweet kiss. He immediately grabbed the back of your head softly and deepened the kiss. But when you moved in closer a sudden yelp stopped you. Still leaning over Astarion you turned your head to Scratch who was suddenly sitting in the far corner of the tent, ears drooping, tail basically between his legs and heaving as if he was about to throw up.

The vampire immediately pushed up from his laying position: “Oh no no no, the dog is not going to barf inside my tent! Take him outside!” You crawled over to the white dog who was still desperately heaving and had started howling miserably.

“What is it, Scratch?”, you softly whispered to the stray and reached out to him but the dog winced and turned away even further. “Please, love, take him outside”, Astarion pleaded with you after he had changed into a sitting position. “I can’t if he doesn’t want me to. I think he’s in pain”, you replied and reached out to the dog again.

This time he let you touch him, but he still whimpered as you touched him softly. “Well, don’t you have a spell for this type of situation”, the vampire suggested. You threw him a confused look then remembered that he was right of course. You mumbled the incantation to be able to speak with animals then softly addressed the yelping pup: “What’s wrong, Scratch? Are you hurting?”

“Tummy hurts”, he blurted out. “Can’t get it out.” He was dry heaving again and a shudder moved through his whole body. Astarion came up next to where you knelt. He did not repeat his request to you but instead now actually looked kind of worried himself.

“What can’t you get out? Scratch, did you eat something you weren’t supposed to?”, you carefully asked the dog again who was panting hard. “Oh shit”, you heard Astarion let out under his breath next to you. Oh no, you both probably had had a similar thought.

“Shiny thing the wizard had”, Scratch spat out in between full body shivers. “Thought it was a treat, but it was really tough and not tasty at all”, he continued to explain.

“Oh by the Nine Hells, the dog ate the fucking magical artifact”, Astarion moaned and leaned back on his feet from his kneeling position and burrowed his face in his hands while lifting his face up to the sky. Scratch started to whimper guiltily at the vampire’s accusation. “I’m sorry, friend”, he sobbed and kept shivering, his ears drooping even more now.

When you tried to reach for him to check his stomach but he immediately withdrew and let out a howl of pain. “We need to get him to Halsin, he probably has an idea how to help him”, you said more to Astarion than to the dog. The vampire’s brows had furrowed deeply – obviously he cared more about the dog then he let on. “Should I wake the druid and get him over here?”, he asked but you shook your head. “No, we need to get Scratch out of the tent first, I guess. No way your tent will stay in one piece if you let the seven feet druid in here to deal with a majorly hurting dog”, you gave back and looked at the vampire begging.

Astarion pressed his mouth into a line – no way to argue with that logic. “Please help me, with him, Astarion. You’re stronger than me, can you carry him? I’ll go ahead and wake Halsin up!”, you explained your plan and were already scurrying out of the tent while the vampire was too stunned to reply quickly enough.

Scratch was now silently whimpering and made big sad puppy eyes at the vampire. Astarion stared at him a moment longer before he sighed in defeat. “Please don’t bite me. I’d rather not be on the receiving end”, he murmured and crawled closer to the dog whose tail started to wag weakly despite the pain he was in.

Carefully, Astarion tried to scoop up the large dog into his arms. The dog yowled but obviously heeded the words of warning by the vampire, understanding that he was about to receive help, and tried to hold still. Once the stray was in the elf’s arms Astarion awkwardly crawled out of his tent.

You had run over to where Halsin had been meditating and had quickly woken him up and started to explain what had seemingly happened to the druid who was still only half in the waking world. Once he had caught onto your meaning he had quickly gotten up and started to rummage through his stuff while mumbling about what might be the best to do in this kind of situation.

While the druid was busy you stood around anxiously before you turned around to see Astarion approaching.

For a second or two your heart stopped and your jaw dropped. There he was carrying the poor animal in his arms over to you, his hair still perfect, one curl falling into his face playfully, the muscles on his naked forearms tensed while carrying the large dog. For a second there Astarion almost looked like the perfect fairytale prince. Despite the situation you positively swooned.

You kept staring as the vampire came over and carefully set down the patient. Halsin thanked Astarion by grabbing his elbow for a second and smiling warmly at him. Then the druid got to work. With a calm voice he talked to the dog who immediately seemed much more relaxed in the druid’s presence.

Astarion came over to you: “Judging by the look you gave me I should save more animals, shouldn’t I? You were almost barking yourself.” At first you wanted to humour him but then you decided to only roll your eyes at him while he kept smirking. “Way to ruin every good thing you’ve ever done, Astarion.”

You kept watching how Halsin tended to Scratch. He was mumbling some incantation and shortly after the dog heaved again and again until something sparkly came out of him. And it was – the amulet that had been missing and was actually meant for Gale! The dog heaved one final time then shook himself and sank down on the floor again, his tail was lazily wagging again though.

Halsin happily grabbed the dog by his ears and gave him a big smooch. The druid seemed positively giddy that he had saved Scratch from his pain. He turned to you grinning: “Good thing the two of you acted so quickly. I guess our canine friend will have a stomach ache for some time longer but with some of my special porridge and a lot of water he should be his happy, tail-wagging self again very soon.” He beamed at you – it was obvious that helping creatures in need was one if not the greatest joy in life for the towering elven druid.thethe

You beamed back, it was hard not to feel warm and happy around the druid’s positive and kind aura. And you could swear even Astarion had let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you, Halsin”, you said and stepped in for a quick hug with the much taller druid.

“No need, this is my purpose. Now, I will take care of our friend and I guess the two of you will want to get back to resting”, Halsin answered and squeezed you. You stepped back and grabbed Astarion’s hand, ready to do as the druid had said.

“Wait – what am I supposed to do with this now?”, Halsin said, so you turned around once more. He was pointing at the magical amulet that formerly had been for Gale. It was full of dog spit and also probably some of Scratch’s previous meals. You couldn’t help but make a disgusted face.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll take care of it”, Astarion immediately answered with a mischievous sparkle in his red eyes. You were sure he was up to no good, but you let him do as he wished. But to your surprise he went back to his tent and only returned after a minute or two, carrying a small piece of paper. Then he grabbed the very wet amulet while gagging and making a face and snuck over to Gale’s tent.

He lifted the flap ever so silently and obviously placed the amulet back with his original owner. You watched Astarion close Gale’s tent again and he came back snickering. “What have you done, Astarion?”, you asked but still grabbed his arm to walk back to the vampire’s tent.

“Oh nothing, just returned the artifact to the supposed owner”, he replied with a wink and gave you a quick kiss.

The next morning the whole camp woke to the wizard screaming: “WHO OF YOU JESTERS DID THIS?”

He had woken up to find the amulet full of dog barf next to him on his pillow. Under it was a small note that said:

“Sowwy, I ates your treat, sir wizard. It was nat very tasty, you can has it bak now! XX Scratch”

#astarion #astarion x tav #baldurs gate #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #astarion x reader #astarion x mc #baldurs gate astarion #astarion x oc #astarion x you #fanfic #fanfiction #astarion ancunin #bg3 spoilers #halsin #drabble #one shot #scratch #saving the best boy

[cupidscrule]

BLACK CAT

Leon X Fem! reader

P in V, smut

[ no tw, vanillaish idk ]

1.2k wrd

”Woah, woah, slow down” Leon chuckled as you started explaining another cool story to him.

Your relationship was like the definition of a black cat and a golden retriever. You always have so much energy and are nice to almost everyone. Leon on the other hand is a tough agent who doesn’t really enjoy showing much emotion. He’s pretty stern towards others— but his softspot for you is clear.

”Okay, i’m listening. Tell me” He said while you were walking together with your fingers interlocked.

"okay okay! So THEN after Fluttershy wrote an entire song, rainbow dash just decides to throw it out? Ugh she's such a bitch. Don't you agree? I mean her friend went through all the trouble to try and get them to win the battle of the bands but she's so selfish.." you said, going on about a children's movie. You loved cute things, hello kitty, my little pony, really anything a 12 year old girl would be obsessed with, wearing cute little outfits and rambling about pointless stuff. But hey it made you happy and Leon thought it was adorable

"Mhm, yeah, so selfish" Leon couldn’t help but chuckle a little about how into the movie she was. by now he knew EVERYTHING about these stupid colourful horses, rainbowdash, fluttershy, twilight, pinkie, apple jack, list goes on. Honestly from what he knew rarity seemed like the best- I mean she was a boss bitch.

He found the whole thing pretty amusing, you were just so excited about it and he’s glad you have stuff you're so.. passionate about

"I mean, it would probably get annoying if her friend just wasted all that effort right? " He said trying to show his interest in her story.

"exactly! Ugh finally you get it" you said smiling up to him, leaning closer into his side as you two walked down back home, it was a long day. Like REALLY long, you took Leon shopping, got your nails done, bought some new skirts, and a new album. All that sort of stuff, but y'know dragging Leon aside you cause someone had to carry the shit, you were gettin really close to the outside of your house, skipping beside Leon holding hands. Life was like a dream.

But the long day out had Leon pretty tired— he had to drag a lot of your stuff around and you insisted they go to multiple stores (you tried to be nice and let him pick something out but he was too tired and grumpy, I know right such a dick head?)

When you were about to arrive home, he looked at you as you skipped around excitedly and smiled softly. Despite what he’s put through, he can’t deny that he finds your behavior adorable.

He squeezed your hand and chuckled a little before you guys got in front of your door.

"Oo Leon tomorrow we should watch rainbow rocks, then you'll understand what I'm talking about better" you say giggling as you step into your house, taking off your little boots and walking away from Leon plopping your ass on the leather sofa, even if you were like if you gave a six year old crack mixed with sour gummy worms even you could get kinda tired. Right, ain't that surprising? Little princess bitch face getting tired, after crawling over Leon like a little kid and skipping everywhere, runnin, jumping, god doing everything known to fucken man kind

“don’t know if we’ll have the time because of..” Leon muttered under his breath, he didn’t want to upset you and ruin your mood when you’re so excited.

He walked over to the couch and sat beside you silently and just observed you as you started talking about the movie. He placed a hand over your thigh, brushing up and down just silently smiling hearing you decribe your weird ass fictional horse people argue with other creatures from mythology, honestly sometimes he wondered if you needed to be checked into a mental hospital. Little grippy sock princess

“Wellll, maybe we can watch it tomorrow..” He shrugged. “I mean, i’ll do anything you want” Leon chuckled looking over at you.

He wrapped his arm around you and pulled you closer to him, his body was pretty warm given how hot the day was and his arm was pretty comfortable.

He kissed you forehead before wrapping his other arm around you, squeezing you a little. You loved when he was affectionate, but not in a creepy way, a cute way. But after a long day a girl can get a bit needy, like sue me but when you have a hot ass man cradling you and taking you everywhere, GOD it's like an angel is sent from heaven to fuck you. But fuck you in a good homemade porno way, not one of thoes shitty ones with a whole plotline. Just straight raw fucking

You turn around, breaking his grip on you before climbing onto his lap, placing yourself onto his thigh "Woah Woah, calm down- y'know I'm tire-" he was trying to speak, silly men. You land a big fat kiss on his lips to shut him up, slowly moving yourself on his thigh, pulling away from him getting a breath, saliva dripping down your face like an animal, staring at him in the eyes, his face slightly shocked you made the first move. But you felt something perk up, bingo. Always know what can make your man want ya

"God I can't just stare at your handsome face and do nothing-" you mutter under your breath, pushing yourself closer into him, kissing his face like a big ol' dog, your free hand finding its way to his jean zipper, undoing it his fat dick springing up, he grabs you by your hips, pulling your panties aside, slapping you onto his cock, a groan coming from his lips, honestly didn't expect the day to end like this, went from talkin ponies to getting your brains fucked out. Like a good girl you ride him, his hands are placed on your hips moving you at a decent pase, bit fast but he did do A LOT of work today, guess he deserves it. Nothing else in the world matters right now, euphoric feeling, he thrusted up into you, taking one hand off your hip and grabbing your face, making you look at him, god his eyes make you MELT. He could take care of you, he was real nice with it. He groped your tits sometimes in public, but just made you love him more.

You're at your high, he knows that. Few more thrusts and you whine, feeling your body melt like butter, your weight collapses onto him, but he's not done practically druling on him, limp body he keeps fucken like a doll, if you still have a tight pussy thats all that matters, few moments and he finishes, pressing you down onto him, filling your cervix, still collapsed on him both of you breathen all heavy. "So babydoll, what happened next?" He groaned, a sly ass smirk on his face. "Mm that cunt rainbow got put in her place and they play fluttershys song" you mutter, pushing on his fat chest, rollin off him like a little kid, pussy dripping. His pants stained with you, and a heavy chest.

"I wanna-"

"No"

"Pleaseee"

#cupidscruel🍡 #leon kennedy #leon resident evil #leon s kennedy #re4 remake #re4 leon #leon kennedy re4 #resident evil #leon kennedy smut #leon smut #leon x you #leon x reader #resident evil smut #smutstuck #smut #short smut #fluff and smut #black cat x golden retriever #golden retriever reader #dark and happy #black cat and golden retriever #golden retriever girl #black cat bf #leon kennedy x reader #resident evil 4 #re4 #re smut #fiction #writers on tumblr #cross posted on ao3

[amsgrey]

Need Help?

kaz brekker x reader

synopsis: Kaz helps you get ready for a job, lost in the moment he forgets his anxiety and stays present.

warnings: other than bad writing? not much.

authors note: I have had terrible writer's block lately, so here is this terrible story that has been in my drafts for weeks. I will be doing my best to fix it but man it is not easy.

Kaz woke you early one morning, knocking sharply on the door. He knocked once, waiting for any sounds behind the door before he struck again.

You sleepily opened the door, ready to tell Jesper to get lost. Realizing it was your boss, not the sharpshooter, you stuttered over your words.

"I need you and Nina for a job."

You followed his instructions, waking up Nina and forcing her to join you on the job to Little Ravka.

Before you had left the slat Kaz had ordered the two of you to not get sidetracked, with no stops on the way to Little Ravka and no detours on the way back. Nina had quietly mumbled about Kaz being no fun and you knew then you would spend the time steering her away from food vendors.

Walking down the Ravkan market had been the hardest. Nina had told you about this place, but seeing it for the first time was nothing like hearing about it. Like Os Kervo's markets, Nina had told you. She had explained the time she spent there in-depth, the afternoons walking through the markets with her friends.

Nina let out a tiny gasp, snatching your hand and dragging you along behind as she approached a stall. You could see what she was fixated on, a pastry dusted in sugar.

Nina ignored your protests, ordering two of the desserts and paying the vendor quickly. The girl handed one to you, nodding for you to try it.

“Why are you so obsessed with these?” You asked as you walked back through Ketterdam.

“Because they’re brilliant,” Nina said like it was the most obvious answer.

You laughed, watching her brush icing sugar off her nose.

“They are good,” You agreed, “I see why you love them so much.”

Nina beamed, “And Brekker said stops weren’t worth it.”

Kaz would not be happy. You knew when the two of you strolled into the slat the boy would see the crumbs - no matter how many times you would brush down your clothes - and chastise you about the detour.

At some point halfway through the Zelvar district, you decided you didn’t much care. Kaz was sour about many things, he would act annoyed for a while and then see how you grinned in defiance and let it go. Besides, you all knew this errand was hardly one of high stakes.

You were surprised to walk into the slat and see Kaz not at all surprised at your lateness. He took one look at the two grinning crows and rolled his eyes.

“Enjoy yourself?”

“Yup,” Nina replied, planting herself in the chair next to Matthias.

You sat on Kaz's right, looking over the map of the Financial district Kaz was scrutinizing.

“Why do you need a tailor?” You asked, thinking about the message you and Nina left at the cafe in Little Ravka.

Kaz spared you a glance, taking in the furrow of your brow as you studied the map.

"For the job," Was Kaz's blunt reply.

“What did Nina convince you to stop for?”

You turned to Wylan, "I would have stopped too."

Nina’s face broke into a grin, “No one can resist sweets.”

“What is it like?” Wylan continued.

“It’s pastry,” Kaz replied, fixing Wylan with a glower.

You laughed, “It’s not just pastry, Brekker.”

Nina launched into an explanation while you looked back over the map. You brushed off some of Wylans pencil shavings from when he completed it.

“What are you thinking?” You asked Kaz, trying to see what he was scrutinizing.

Kaz looked from the map to you, muttering about his plans.

You and Kaz didn’t realize that the conversation had lulled around them, the other crows watching the two sit close together hunched over the map and scribbling notes.

Inej tapped Jesper's shoulder, no one had realized the wraith had even appeared, “Scheming face.”

Jesper laughed, breaking You and Kaz from your concentration, “Definitely scheming faces.”

You pouted, “I don’t scheme.”

Kaz corralled everyone into his office later in the evening of that day. He let everyone know the building that was on the map was holding a Gala that night, and there was a target you needed to reach.

As always, Kaz's plans had layers and twists that he didn't reveal to everyone. Trying to follow along with what he wanted everyone to do was sometimes impossible, so you were glad he explained it slowly for everyone.

"Whose going as a guest?" Jesper asked, having been already assigned fake driver duty.

"Matthias and Y/N," Kaz replied.

You started to protest, but Kaz didn't listen.

"You will be posing as Mr and Mrs Mjelde. You two look like them."

You and Matthias looked at each other, wearing matching frowns. You hadn't worked with Matthias before, but you trusted Kaz enough to have faith in his plan. Kaz explained how you both could pass as the Frejdan-Kerch couple, mostly because of the resemblance you had to the couple. When you had asked why Nina couldn't be Mrs Mjelde, Kaz waved it off with "I need her somewhere else".

After Kaz had given everyone their assignments and explained the target, you remembered the job he had sent you and Nina earlier that day.

"So why do we need a tailor?" You asked.

"Mrs Mjelde has shorter hair than you," Kaz replied, "I thought you would rather tailor yourself to look different than cutting your hair."

Your chest constricted, Kaz had put extra care into making you feel comfortable on this job.

"Well too bad there aren't any available Tailors in Ketterdam," Nina sighed, already hearing from her fellow Grisha that the only slightly knowledgable tailor had left the city a week ago.

Kaz frowned, trying to come up with an alternative plan.

"I can just cut my hair," You said.

"You love your hair," Jesper replied.

You shrugged, "No harm in a change every now and again."

Everyone seemed slightly surprised, but no one said anything to challenge you. Kaz ordered everyone to prepare for the job, Jesper and Nina had to slip away to get the disguises for the night, leaving the rest of you to prepare in the Slat.

You had borrowed the scissors Kaz used to cut his hair, the same ones you used not two weeks ago to cut his hair. You sat in front of your mirror, it was perched haphazardly on your small dresser. You stared at your reflection, trying to work up the courage to cut your own hair.

"Need help?"

You could see Kaz in the reflection, standing in the doorway like you had not long ago. You felt suddenly self-conscious, breaking eye contact and running your fingers through your hair to try distract yourself.

Kaz stepped into your room, closing the door behind him. Your tiny room felt cramped with only you in it, now it felt claustrophobic. Kaz leant his cane against your bedframe, coming to stand behind you. You felt unease build in your chest, unable to say a word. You felt at ease in Kaz's room, lazing on his bed or bothering him while he worked. But now that he was in your room, it felt strangely more intimate.

Kaz slipped his hands out of his gloves, placing them in front of you on the dresser. He held his hand to you, waiting for you to give him the scissors.

"We don't have all evening," Kaz said, rather bluntly.

You laughed, a stupid smile greeting Kaz in the mirror. You didn't much mind Kaz's bluntness, in fact, you had grown to love it. Once you learnt he never meant any harm - to you most specifically - you grew to appreciate how he cared little about sugarcoating anything. At times he was cruel, but never with you.

You let Kaz take the scissors from you, he turned them over in his hands. Once. Twice. You watched him in the mirror, as he finally decided on his action. He ran his fingers through your hair like you had done to him. His fingernails raked along your scalp, pulling fly-away strands from your face. He began to work on your hair, combing it away from your face with his fingers then cutting it slowly, methodically.

You were both silent as he worked, you could only watch in awe as he took such care. His brows were furrowed, much like they always were. But his eyes weren't piercing or angry, they were gentle and kind. He was so concentrated on what he was doing that his mask fell. It was the first time since that night in his room that you saw Kaz Reitveld again.

When Kaz was almost done, you finally shifted your gaze from Kaz behind you to your hair. Jesper was right, you did love your hair and you had been reluctant to change it. It felt a little easier knowing it was Kaz who was cutting your hair, Kaz who was helping you change.

Kaz stayed close when he was done, running his fingers through your hair again. His fingers ran through your hair, then rested on the bare skin of your neck. It was like you were both stuck in a trance. Making eye contact through the mirror. Kaz was taking deep breaths, not removing his hands from your skin.

You looked away, "I should go see Nina."

Kaz nodded, watching you stand up from your chair and brush down your clothes. He took a small step back, entranced by the way your hair now perfectly framed your face.

You looked up to see his staring, a faint smirk on his face.

"See something you like, Brekker?"

Kaz chuckled, "Maybe."

He took another step forward, reaching up and tugging on a strand of your hair. You smiled, offering your thanks for his help.

Kaz nodded, silent while he looked over your face. You could feel his breath over your cheek. From this close, you could see the flecks in his irises. You glanced from his eyes to his lips, the silent question hanging between you. You both knew that Kaz wouldn't be the first to instigate a kiss; you had been close before but never as close as that night in his room.

Kaz felt like he couldn't breathe, watching you look at him with so much faith, so much devotion. He hadn't seen anyone look at him like that since Jordie died. In The Barrel, it wasn't like people were willing to get close to him, not that he ever let them. Kaz trusted you, too, as a crow and someone he could love. He had a hard time showing that, in fact, he never showed it.

You ignored the doubts running through your head, leaning forward and pressing your lips to Kaz's. You pulled away quickly like a child having their first kiss. The last thing you wanted to do was overwhelm the man before you.

Kaz snaked his fingers into your hair, pulling you closer and kissing you again.

You were struck by how sweet Kaz tasted, like Hopjes. He cupped your cheek gently, pulling away hesitantly. He smirked, enjoying being close to you without the debilitating panic that usually forced him away.

"Y/N!' Nina knocked on the door, "Saint's sake, have you finished yet?"

Kaz pulled away, both of you snapping out of the trance and fumbling around the other. You had to slip past Kaz to get to the door, trying to ignore how close the two of you were. You threw the door open to see Nina, standing impatiently with the dress for the job tossed over her arm. Nina could no doubt see Kaz standing behind you in your room, his face no doubt flushed as it always was when the two of you were caught close by another crow.

With everything finally in place, you forced yourself down the stairs to greet the crows. The ridiculous shoes you had to wear made climbing down the stairs harder than you liked, you had to rely heavily on the ballestraid so you wouldn't fall down.

At the bottom of the stairs, Matthias was scowling at Jesper and Wylan, who were making fun of his formal attire. He looked as miserable as you, constantly adjusting the collar of his shirt and blazer to try get comfortable.

"Hey gorgeous," Jesper greeted, throwing his arm over your shoulders and pulling you into a side hug.

You jabbed your finger into his ribs, getting him off you. "Don't call me that when I'm dressed like an idiot."

Jesper rolled his eyes, "That was rude."

Kaz finally joined you all, leaving his office and pausing a few paces away from you all. You could see how he took in what you were wearing, the subtle makeup covering your eyes and the fake jewels resting on your collarbones. You tried not to flush when you noticed his gaze linger on the buttons of your bodice.

Nina was staring at you, giving you a knowing look. You waved her off, pulling your cloak around your dress.

"Everyone knows the plan?" Kaz asked.

There was a chorus of yes'.

"Then let's get to it."

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone x reader #soc #sab spoilers #six of crows #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker imagine #crooked kingdom #kaz brekker #kaz brekker x you #jesper fahey #kaz and jesper #jesper x wylan #six of crows jesper #nina zenik x reader #nina x matthias #six of crows nina #nina zenik #inej ghafa x reader #inej ghafa #inej x reader

[melminli]

I Hate To Love You

pairing: young coriolanus snow x fem. reader

summery - coriolanus can't quite admit to himself what kind of feelings are actually hiding behind his strong hatred towards you.

word count: 2k+

contains: kinda enemies to lovers vibes, coriolanus having crazy thoughts, a bit misogyny/slutshaming, fruity reader, suggestive themes, obsessive/sassy coryo

part II

Coriolanus Snow was very aware of how charming he was - or of how charming he could be. He was well aware that he was perceived as very attractive by others, or rather that he was, and this made his rather shitty life a little bit better. At least as long as he could use it to his own advantage by distracting people with his pretty words and even prettier face from how depraved his actual thoughts were.

So, he would be a hypocrite if he said that this was the reason why you got on his nerves so incredibly. Although he didn't even care how it sounded by now, he loathed seeing you with your seductive nature - how you made others feel like they were special, unique - just because you enjoyed playing silly little games and your curiosity about what it would lead to was insatiable. Coriolanus was sure that you had some kind of gambling addiction. The way you played with other people's feelings for your own amusement, to observe their reactions and actions and to see if they would react the way you expected them to. You seemed to like it more when they didn't, which he couldn't really figure out why because what kind of gambler liked to lose? A looser, perhaps.

He, on the contrary, liked to read other people to know who they really were so he could better assess them and their actions. However, the problem with you was that he only knew that you were unpredictable.

His teeth clenched a little when he saw you at the outer gate of the academy. You were talking to some girl whose back was leaning against a pillar while she giggled and coyly wrapped a strand of hair around her finger. The way you snuggled up to her let him know what kind of words would come out of your mouth. Her parents must be really proud of her behavior. He finally decided to move from his spot and walk towards you, the girl noticing him sooner than you did as she was pulled from her reverie and looked up at him a little disappointed.

Realizing that her attention was no longer entirely on you, you also looked up at the person who interrupted you, only to be pleasantly surprised. "Oh. It's you, Snowy. Can I help you with anything?" You asked with a smile.

He had to restrain himself from correcting you about the stupid nickname. You really knew how to push his buttons, but he didn't want to come off as dainty by correcting you about it. Even if it bothered him immensely. "I need to talk to you about Highbottom's assignment." He addressed the first thing that popped into his head, as he had, in fact, shown up for no reason. You were put in a group together for that, so it should seem legitimate enough, even if the timing of bringing it up might be a little weird. His eyes glanced briefly at the girl you had been dealing with earlier. "In private." He then added.

A feigned sadness crossed your features. "I'm so sorry, Amelija. I hope you don't mind if we continue talking tomorrow. My friend here seems to need a little help." You said to her while holding her hand. Even with your apologetic tone, her disappointment remained. You leaned a little closer to her, even as she stubbornly avoided your gaze. "Or maybe I'll come over to your place tonight, huh? How does that sound?"

That seemed to cheer her up a bit again, and she said goodbye to you somewhat playfully, while Coriolanus, on the other hand, just got a sour look from her. He could live with that. He hadn't even memorized her name.

He spoke up again when you were both alone. "No wonder you haven't finished your share if you'd rather give your attention to some random girl." He accused you, trying to keep his distaste for your activities subtle.

You laughed lightly. This was the Coriolanus you knew and loved. "Would you prefer it if I gave my attention to - let's see - some random boy?" You replied as your fingers brushed against the collar of his uniform. You didn't wait for his answer and took your hand back as you took a step closer to him and looked him straight in the eyes. "I don't think so. You'd prefer it if my attention was on you, wouldn't you? And you are no random boy."

He grunted and rolled his eyes. "Don't be absurd. I don't care what you do in your spare time." He spoke out, lying to you as well as himself. As if he didn't like hearing you say that he was, in fact, not just a random boy. "It would just be well-intentioned advice from me if maybe you spent your time doing something more useful."

He was going to say at first that maybe you should focus more on school, but your family certainly had enough money to buy you your degree if it was necessary.

"Right. Thank you for thinking of my well-being so much, Snowy." You said, and Coriolanus felt like you were making fun of him. "I'll finish my share today, and you can read it tomorrow. I promise." You assured him, and a few seconds of silence passed as Coriolanus just watched you with slightly puckered eyes. He didn't seem to realize that it was his turn to say something. "Is there anything else?" You finally said, snapping him out of his rattling train of thought.

"Oh." He had to collect himself for a moment. I asked her about the assignment. This is about the assignment. "No. That was all." He said, annoyed with himself that he wasn't quick-witted enough.

You should stifle your grin, but you just couldn't help yourself, as usual. "Okay, then I'll slowly make my way home." You announced and couldn't help but let out a few last words to say goodbye, which is why you turned back to him after taking a few steps. "And next time you just feel like talking to me, just say so, I won't mind. Goodbye, Snowy!"

He ignored what you said. He had better things to do than talk to the bed partner of half the school. "Bye..."

You got on his nerves more than Sejanus sometimes. I hate her so much.

It was common knowledge to everyone that Coriolanus was not only the best in class but also the best student in the academy. Others were jealous of this because it was unfair that he was handsome, charming, and on top of that, an acedemic ace. What others didn't know, of course, was his material situation, but that would soon change, so it was better if everyone assumed that he was also lucky in terms of money.

There was only one subject where he was not considered the best, and that was philosophy. If it was up to Coriolanus, it was because their teacher was a piece of shit who, in his opinion, had the same value as a rebel with the topics he presented in class. He wouldn't even listen to anything the teacher said if it didn't affect his school career because he just didn't see the point in adding anything to his stupidly designed lessons where, for example, they were discussing the differences between a Capitol citizen and a District citizen. It was a stupid question to begin with since the answer was as clear as day. There was nothing to discuss.

As for the latter, you seemed to disagree with him. Because he was also lucky that his worst subject belonged to your area of expertise. According to Coriolanu's observations, you only made an effort in the subjects that could arouse your interest - which in his favor at least only applied to philosophy, as he had fortunately chosen music instead of art - and it made him a little angry at himself that this fact relieved him a little if he was being honest with himself. Because that would mean that he would see you as a potential threat, and you and him were definitely not on the same level.

"So, who really read the text I gave you as homework?" The philosophy teacher asked his class. Mr. Maximus was aware that his subject wasn't one of the most popular, but that wasn't really his problem. He rubbed his eyes in slight frustration as he had been listening to completely misinterpreted statements for half an hour. When he asked, all but two or three arms went up. Maximus asked again. "Okay. Who thinks they have understood what the text says?"

As expected, the number of hands in the air decreased drastically. After most of the students had already been told that they were wrong, most could conclude that they were wrong as well. Only three pairs of hands remained up, those of Coriolanus, Sejanus, and Clemensia. The former was surprised at your silent performance today, as you usually had so much to say. You were sitting further ahead to his right, which gave him a good view of your figure. He could see from the corner of his eye how you didn't seem to be fully present, even if you physically were.

Maximus was also not very pleased about your participation today. Between the students who were still willing to contribute to the topic, he didn't really feel that any of the three really understood the meaning of it. He would say that after a few years, he could judge his students quite well on the rightness of their answers. Snow and Plinth are two different poles, each far too convinced of their own position to consider the other. Dovecote is probably the closest, but she's more interested in getting good grades than the text, so I doubt that she actually understands. She's probably just gonna repeat what is written down in a fancy way.

His eyes turned to you as he straightened his glasses slightly and called your name. "What's with you? You read the text as well, didn't you?" He asked, taking the easy way out rather than dealing with any more false statements. He just wanted to get it over with instead of chewing on the same gum.

You were a little offended that you were suddenly standing in the spotlight, and for the first time, Coriolanus agreed with you - albeit inwardly - on something. He had raised his hand, and yet you were favored. He just couldn't believe it. It was like a slap in the face - he would have actually preferred that to this public humiliation.

"Yeah, I mean sort of." You finally said, as you only had the energy to look at the text half asleep yesterday. You adjusted your posture a little before returning to his question. "I think the author just wants to say that the difference between District and Capitol people lies solely in their upbringing and circumstances." You began and continued when you were not interrupted. "The biological disadvantage of District people is a myth and stems from the fact that District people are actually much weaker on average than those from the Capitol, but this is only because they also have a less varied diet on average, if they get enough to eat at all." You finished and then drew your conclusion. "So the Dark Days are proof that Capitol people also perform worse under other circumstances, let's say on the health scale, for example. You could say the difference is down to luck."

With that, Mr. Maximus ended the lesson by saying that hopefully everyone had listened carefully to what you said because you would be taking a test on it next week. Coriolanus had to swallow his pride as he looked at the notes he had taken when he heard your answer. I really have to stop caring about what she does. It's really not worth it. He thought to himself and looked up at you, who was talking to a group of other classmates. She's just another girl from my class who I just happened to loathe. Not that special at all.

But maybe that was the problem. Normally, he liked some people and disliked others. But at the end of the day, he didn't think about them if he didn't have to. They didn't cross his mind when he was getting a little hotter than usual alone in his room at night, in a state where his thoughts were the most clouded and he was only acting out of the urge to feel good. It wasn't any of them who he imagined, so it was these moments where it was the most obvious to him that his hatred for you were also strong feelings that could be considered something else as well.

I guess you could also say that the line between hate and love is on the same page for some - because sometimes there is no difference at all.

#coryo snow #young coriolanus snow #coriolanus snow #coriolanus x reader #x female y/n #x female reader #tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #hunger games #the hunger games #x reader #coriolanus x you #fanfiction #tom blyth #x you #enemies to lovers #coryo x reader #young coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus snow x reader

[rayslittlekitten]

Grumpy Old Man

A/N: Okay, so this is my first little Joel Miller fic. This was inspired by episode 3 +5. Just a fluffy little thing. Hope you enjoy!

Rating: G

Word Count: 974

Pairing: Joel Miller x GN! Reader

Plot: Your partnership with Joel evolves.

Warnings: None

You don’t think you’ve ever seen Joel not grumpy. It’s his norm. You can’t tell if it’s an old man thing or he’s just always been perpetually acutely miserable even before you met him. Either way, you find it adorable. And when you tell him that, the corners of his mouth dip down even more and at that point, you don’t know if he’s flirting with you or just emphasizing his discontent.

Joel is not an affectionate man and doesn’t really say or share much. You’ve tried to talk him to open up, but he quickly shuts down the conversation as soon as it gets too personal. You never really know what he’s thinking, but you always notice the little thoughtful things he does for you. Aside from protecting you, making sure you’re fed and have a safe space, he also has his own language of letting you know he cares in other ways.

You notice he usually gives you a bigger portion of food, especially if it’s something you like. Food is hard to come by so you always feel bad when he does that, but you would feign you've had enough to eat so you let him have the rest.

Every now and then when you both go scavenging, if he finds something he knows you'll appreciate, he'll throw it in his bag and gift it to you at a later time even though he's always told you to only take what's useful because you should travel light. To him, anything useless regardless of how small it was, was just wasting precious space.

Says the man who found a stash of worn out Archie comic books, which you once mentioned you enjoyed reading growing up, and quietly shoved them into your backpack when you weren’t looking, probably while you were asleep when he kept watch. He doesn't feel an obligation to you nor distrust you, but for his peace of mind, there are some nights he feels safer keeping an eye open.

Another time, you had found your worn down boots replaced with a newer pair.  Joel apparently found a decent pair your size and swapped them out with the ones you've been trekking everywhere with for a while. The rubber soles were thinning and the one was only staying on the bottom of the shoe because of duct tape. When you made a joke about them not being your favorite color, he said he had checked and that was the only option.

You thank him every time for the small gestures, but he always just grunts and brushes them off or changes the subject. The man of a few words sure says a lot through his actions and tonight is no different.

The temperature had dropped drastically and there wasn't much to keep warm except for two dinky little sleeping bags. A fire was out of the question, not wanting to draw any attention. Joel didn't seem so keen on the idea at first, but he had suggested to use each other’s body heat to stay warm. This is the first time the two of you have ever been so physically close together, aside from that one time he pinned your body against a concrete wall and clamped his hand over your mouth to quiet you to avoid being caught by FEDRA when a trade between your crew and his went sour because you all were at the wrong place at the wrong time. FEDRA had raided the abandoned, decrepit building that was once an elementary school and everyone scattered and ran, but you and Joel were the only ones who escaped as far as you both knew. Joel doesn't take on strays, but having already been acquainted, the two of you stuck together ever since to increase your chances of survival.

It was a bit awkward at first, as the both of you have always remained platonic and only saw each other as allies but you'd be lying if you said there isn't some tension between you two. The more time you spent with him, the more you started looking at him differently, and sometimes you think he senses a change as well, but it's hard to read Mr. McMoodypants.  Whether it's human nature, convenience, or just having no one else but each other, this partnership seems to be breaching companionship.

You're both snug inside a large sleeping bag that he merged together with the two. Your backs are right up against one another which seems silly since it defeats the purpose of keeping each other warm, but he could still be crabby about that comment you made about him being adorably grumpy. Trying to get into a more comfortable position, you turn over and curl up behind him. You rest your hand on his waist and feel him stiffen underneath it for a second. After a few seconds, you feel him grab your hand to bring it up to his chest. His fingers interlace with yours and you press yourself closer to him, basking in the warmth his back is radiating. You can feel his heart slowly beating beneath his cozy flannel.

"Who knew the grumpy old man has a warm heart," you joke.

Joel lets out a deep sigh and ignores you.

After a few quiet moments, you check to see if he's still awake.

"Joel?"

"You're a few words away from getting kicked out of this sleeping bag so choose your next words wisely," he responds, staying in the same position.

You can't help but smirk. He's as grumpy as he gets.

"Good night." You strain your neck to give enough reach to boldly plant a kiss on his cheek before finally settling in.

A few seconds later, Joel surprisingly brings your hand up to his lips and kisses your fingers, his beard tickling you.

"Good night." 

#joel miller fanfiction #joel miller x reader #joel miller x gn!reader #gn!reader #joel miller #the last of us #the last of us hbo #tlou #tlou hbo #pedro pascal

[tsukkismoonlight]

When It Comes To You || J.K × Reader

Summary: You've somehow gotten stuck with the most obnoxious (Minus boy genius Armin Arlert) group ever for a college class project. Eren Jeager, and Jean Kirstein. The latter of which seems to find a way to weasel his way into your life, making your plans for a quiet college experience fall away.

Author's Note: okay, like a year and some odd change in months later i'm finally posting this fic!! Honestly life kinda got in the way but we all know how it is. Anywayyyys, I hope yall enjoy! This is my first longer fic, so let me know what you guys think! Also super big shoutout to my buddies on discord for beta reading the first portion of this! <3 wk: 16.7k

Warnings: unedited, probably ooc characteristics who knows

"Would you two knock it off?" were your first words since the two bone-headed, annoying, loud-mouthed boys had started arguing. 

Here you were, in an empty classroom, supposed to be working on a group project for at least an hour or two, and the /only/ thing that your group had done was bicker back and forth. 

The first of the two boneheads, Eren Jeager, had spent the whole time insisting on his ideas, and his ideas alone, while the other, Jean Kirstein, had only been arguing that the former's ideas were stupid and that 'if anything, Eren should shut his trap and just do the grunt work.'

The blonde, Armin Arlert, was clearly just as done with them, but took a more quiet approach to trying to stop them. Any time he could interject, he tried to reason with the two, but of course neither would listen. 

So, when you stood up, slamming your palms onto the table and shouting at them, all three of them quickly grew quiet. "We only have so much time to work on this project, and I am /not/ going to fail this project because you two idiots can't let go of your egos for more than two seconds!" 

"Well, maybe if this asshole would-" Eren started, mostly keeping his voice at a low grumble, sounding like a scolded child.

Jean, cutting Eren's words short while crossing his arms across his chest, "Oh yeah, /I'm/ the asshole here…"

But with another of your glares sent to both of them, the two stopped once more.

"Maybe we should split up the work?" Armin was already writing out two plans, where you could make out his name and Eren, meaning that you were stuck with Jean. 

Not that you wanted to be with either of them. You'd rather take Armin and just leave the other two to fail. But, as this was a group project, Professor Hange had made it clear that points were to be docked for any group that did not complete the assignment together.  

You plopped back into your seat, sighing heavily. "Okay, we will work in two groups. Looks like Eren, you're going with Armin, and Jean, you're with me." You paused as Armin slid over the paper he had drafted up. 

Glancing over it, you could see that he had given you and Jean a good amount of work, yet he had still given himself more. Part of you wanted to point it out, maybe even offer to take some of the load, but the other part of you knew that Armin would refuse and somehow make it sound like the nicest thing he'd ever do.

"Okay, so, from there, once all the research is done, Armin and I will meet up in person to work on the presentation bits, which means that Eren and Jean, you will only need to put your findings in a document for us. That should be easy enough." 

When no one objected, you started to pack up your things.You waited for Jean to take a picture of the draft before tucking it away in a folder carefully. 

Around you, the others started to do the same. With a small breath of relief, you finished packing up and slung your bag over your shoulders, looking to each of your groupmates slowly. "If anyone has questions,” you announced, “please text me. I gave Armin my number already, but if you need mine, ask now."

Eren slid his phone across the table to you, a sour look on his face, as he was clearly upset with the whole situation, and the fact that he had been yelled at over it. You ignored his attitude and typed in your number before returning the phone to him.

Next was Jean, who looked at you for a few moments, then handed his phone over to you, where you repeated the process of saving your number for him. 

With that done you set off to your dorm.You didn't live alone, but it was bound to be a wonderful change in pace (and in volume levels). When you arrived, you slipped your shoes off and headed for your room, pausing for a second as you saw one of your roommate and probably your closest friend Sasha Braus. Currently she was sitting on the floor of her room, clutching a bowl of soup…or what was probably a bowl of soup, as it was empty now. 

"Oh, hey! You're back already?" she asked, turning to you with a spoon dangling from her mouth. It caused a slight slur in her words, so it came out more like, "Ohhh, heyyy, yer bick alreaty?"

With a sigh, you walked into her room, dropping your bag by the door before flopping onto her bed (which was incredibly comfortable). "Yeah, I called it quits early because I got paired with Armin, Jean, and Eren, and Armin is fine and all, but your stupid friend and Eren can't go more than five seconds without fighting." 

You could hear a soft clink as Sasha put her spoon down. "Well, it always works for me to hit them." 

"I can't hit my group mates…even if I want to," you grumbled, rolling over onto your side so you could see her.

"I can hit them for you then, just tell me when and where." She flexed her arms, raising her eyebrows up and down at you as she did so. 

This caused a breathy laugh to come from you. You could feel yourself starting to relax. Your two roommates were probably the only reason that you had stayed sane so far. 

Sasha was always good at getting you to smile, at times she wouldn't stop until you showed some sign of positivity. And of course you were more than grateful for it. 

When you had first moved to the dorms, you had kept to yourself, unsure if you really liked her at all. But with time, you warmed up to her easily. 

There had been a handful of nights where she would invite you to stay up and just talk, or watch some movie. And, at times, she would share food with you, which you learned wasn't always her favorite thing to do. 

"Hey, one of these days we need to catch up on Food wars." 

You looked back to her, nodding along, "Oh for sure! Maybe sometime this next week I can stay up with you and we can watch it. Maybe buy some junk food too." 

At the prospect of snacks, she perked up even more. "Can we get-"

"Yes, we can get the baked potato flavored chips." 

"You didn't even let me finish!" Sasha pouted a little, though still unable to hide her excitement at the confirmation of her favorite snack.

You reached down and flicked her forehead lightly, "Well I already knew what you were going to say. It wasn't hard to figure out."

"Hey! I could have asked for something different! Like, salt and vinegar ones!" 

"You don't even like those, and neither do I. We wouldn't ever buy any." 

The two of you talked for another five or so minutes until she had to leave, shouting something about Connie Springer owing her dinner. You took the time to go back into your own room which you actually shared with a third roommate ( neither of you wanted to share a room with Sasha because of her snoring). However, he wasn't home yet, which meant that he'd probably be back late.

You pulled your laptop out of your bag and plugged it in; then you went to grab your notebooks, some pens and pencils, and finally your copy of the book for your project. It was best to get a headstart on the project, as it was worth most of your grade. 

Professor Hange had assigned the class to read and analyze an old book written by a nameless author. The idea and plot was interesting to a point. It was a war between mere humans, and a race of humans that could take control of what they called titans. The main two parties at war were named Marley and Eldia, both of which claimed that the other was in the wrong, and had vowed to take revenge, wanting to eradicate the other's existence. Towards the end, there was something of a compromise, and Marley seemed to come out victorious. All in all, there was a lot more to it, and the details were typically gorey and morally wrong. The ending wasn't ever written, leaving all readers to question what they knew and what they may not have been told. 

This is where your project came in: you were to try and look into the book, outside sources, even artwork, whatever the class could get their hands on, and work on an analysis. Hange hadn't given many guidelines; they wanted to leave it open and see what the class would come up with. Your group hadn't made a decision yet, but so far, Eren was dead set on writing an analysis on who he thought was right and freedom and some other crap, while Jean only had talked about how Eren was wrong. 

Luckily enough, Armin had already written up a potential analysis summary, one that focused on how the two sides were similar and what they shared in common with the rest of humanity, and how trying to pick a side would only allow their bloody history to repeat again. His was rather long winded, but it allowed for you to pick and choose the best parts, and what you guys wouldn't really need. 

You spent some time searching the internet for more sources, coming across a few articles on what could be a deeper meaning to the story, and a few on what could have been the rest of the world's view on both Marley and Eldia. 

That was when you came across a page for the local museum; it seemed that there was going to be an exhibit about the book, featuring many different artists and even some written works. Taking a moment to write down the dates and price for tickets in your phone’s note app. You then sent a quick text to Armin about it, letting him know that if he wanted, you could go and check it out with Jean. 

Clicking your phone off, you gave a heavy sigh and stood up, pulling your arms above your head in a stretch before continuing to work on the project. You knew that you should probably eat something, and drink some water, as you hadn’t really been able to do so in the last few hours. But with the project being so important, you decided against getting back up. If you got up now, chances were that you’d end up wasting some time doing who knows what. You really needed to just focus on your work, food, water and relaxing could come later. This was typical for you, what was one more time anyways?

Quietly, your afternoon quickly turned to night, and you wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for both of your roommates crashing into your room. 

You turned around, eyeballing Sasha and your third roommate, Marco Bodt, unsure if you really wanted to ask questions. 

"She was drinking with Connie at his place," 

"Huh? Noo I waz'nt ! Conn and I were jus playin a game an' then…and then..mmkay maybe I was drinking, but!" Sasha rambles on for a minute, still leaning heavily on Marco, who just gave a half hearted and weary smile. 

You shook your head, and stood up, making your way over to Sasha taking her off Marco's hands "Was Connie like this too?" you asked.

"Yeah, he and Jean both…" Marco sighed, following you as you took Sasha to her room. While you carefully put her in her bed,  Marco pulled her shoes off for her. 

At his words, you paused for just a moment then you continued to fish Sasha's phone from her pocket, placing it on the charger for her. 

"Of course, Jean was drinking, too." you remarked. You tried your best to ignore the irritation rising in you. It wasn't like you guys had to get the whole project done right away, or that Jean couldn't enjoy a drink with his friends. But, it wouldn't surprise you if only Armin and yourself had been the only two to even start.

As the two of you left Sasha to sleep, Marco motioned to the kitchen, saying, "Hungry?" You gave a small nod in response.

Once in the small kitchen area, you hopped onto the counter while your roommate got to work on making something simple. From the looks of it, he was just making mac and cheese, but you couldn't really care less. You hadn't noticed it earlier, but you were actually starving. 

A quiet buzz from your pocket pulled your attention from Marco cooking, and you pulled your phone out, seeing a few messages from an unsaved number. 

"Heyy, it's me"

"Jean"

"just figured i'd text you since we have be partners"

"Not complaining cause i dont wanna be stuck with eren" 

You shook your head at your phone, typing a quick reply back, “Wow really? I couldn’t tell.”

Another buzz, another incoming message, “I really hate that guy. He’s stuck up, and always thinks he’s right”

“You know, I feel like there’s someone else like that too.” You sucked in a deep breath, already feeling a tinge of annoyance creeping its way into your body. Sure, Jean was bound to be the better of the two, but that didn’t mean that you wanted him texting you about his testosterone fueled hatred for Eren.

A few moments pass before he texts you again, the words a little hard to make out at first, “you better not be implying that im like him”

“I would never do that. You are an okay person in my eyes”

“Just okay? I’m fuckin’ great!”

“Yeahh, sure. I agree with you, 100%”

You could almost feel his skeptical gaze through your phone as he sent yet another message, “I dont know if I believe that.”

“I dont care if you believe it or not tbh”

“I cant tell if you like me or not”

At this, you paused. You didn’t really know the guy outside of what you were told by Marco and Sasha. And he definitely did not know you. If he did, he wouldn’t be bothering you right now. But as much as that all was true, you also didn’t want to outright say that you didn’t like him, at least not over text while he was suspiciously hitting you up out of the blue.

“im not sure if like is the right word. Right now I tolerate you.” 

“Thats a good thing right?”

You didn’t answer, figuring that he would eventually get the hint. But, within minutes, he was texting you yet again. You watched as more messages popped up one by one, all of which just as hard to read as the others. Though you eventually figured them out. He was promising to do his share of the project, as well as promising to keep on schedule with it. The last thing he sent was asking to meet up tomorrow, and figure out what you wanted him to do, and something about how he couldn't really understand the guideline sheet. 

You sent a quick reply, just a place and a time, before returning your phone to your pocket, and just in time, Marco had a bowl of delicious mac and cheese for you. 

"Thanks man, you're the best." 

"Hey, you cooked last night," he said, shrugging, "and somehow it was pretty impressive, given the fact that we're all super broke and have next to nothing in our cupboards," 

You let out a small laugh at that. "I am a person of many talents."

"Do tell your secrets, as I am eager to know," Marco says in-between bites, playing into the bit.

"Oh, I couldn't, because then you would have to learn my /tragic/ backstory of how I had to fend for myself as a child." You dramatically sigh, placing a hand to your forehead, and then paused, peeking out at Marco before saying, "That part is actually true. At my house, we often had 'Fend for Yourself Nights' where you kinda just threw stuff together it could be leftovers, cereal or, like, dry ramen." 

Marco chuckles, pointing his fork at you and saying "So that must be the secret then!" 

The kitchen rendezvous went on for a while longer before you both headed off to bed, agreeing that Sasha can do the dishes when she wakes up. 

The next day, you had managed to drag yourself out of bed and find your way to the coffee shop where you were supposed to be meeting up with Jean. 

Key word is 'supposed' to be, since it had been 30 minutes since you had gotten there. Hopefully, you didn't look like some poor soul that had gotten stood up on a date and more like someone enjoying their Saturday morning. 

Another ten minutes passed, and no word from Jean, you had finished your coffee, and had already finished working on pulling out key information from a few of the web sources that you found the night before. 

You glanced at the time again and cursed under your breath. You had better things to be doing. So, you quickly pack up your things and toss out the trash before leaving.  

Just as you returned to the little table to grab your bag, the bell at the door chimed, drawing your attention.  

There stood Jean Kirstein himself, out of breath, hair hastily brushed out of his face, and clothes a whole mess…you were pretty sure he had worn them yesterday too. 

However, his sudden entrance had also gathered stares from everyone in the shop;most people looked on with a frown, questioning why he had just thrown open the door like that, just to stand there looking like a lost puppy. 

You groaned, marching towards him and then grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of the way. 

"Seriously? You show up almost an hour late, and make a big scene?!" you say, continuing to pull him down the sidewalk.

"I know, I know!" He took in a sharp breath, stumbling as he went. 

"I mean seriously?! What's your deal?" 

"I didn't mean to be late! And can you stop shouting? My head is killing me…" 

You came to an abrupt stop and turned around to face him. "It doesn't matter if you didn't mean to be late, you were still late! I mean, come on, I sat there and looked completely stupid while I waited!" 

At your words, he tugged his arm free from your grasp, and hesitated for a moment before, saying, "Okay, I'm sorry. I should have been here on time." 

"Or at least texted me to tell me!" You sighed, bringing a hand up to your temple. "Whatever, let's just find somewhere else to sit and I can show you what your part of the project is." 

With those words, the two of you walked in silence until you were back at campus, arriving at one of the rooms designated for studying. It didn't take long to run through Jean's responsibilities, and for you both to settle into a somewhat uncomfortable quiet and begin to work. 

Currently, you were taking the information gathered earlier and writing them into evidence for your thesis while Jean was searching for art pieces to analyze. 

Every fifteen to twenty minutes or so, you'd check in with eachother and help if needed-and Jean needed more help than you did, really. 

And maybe if he hadn’t spammed you with drunk texts the night before, and then came late to your meeting, it wouldnt have bothered you as much. So when he did ask for your help, you were being short and to the point. Luckily for you, helping him was easy. It consisted of choosing between artwork, and identifying key themes or details that stood out, and then giving him ways to write it down so that it made sense with the overall idea behind your project. Now and then, you'd have him read over what you wrote, just to see what all he thought and if he had any suggestions.

Finally, after a few hours, Jean leaned back in his chair and sighed loudly. "Okay, I think we've got a lot done. Why don't we break for the day?" he suggested.

At his words, you hesitated. While a break did sound nice, you'd much rather keep working. If you got ahead, there'd be time for breaks later, or time for helping Armin and the others. 

"You go on ahead, I'm going to stay a little longer. Thanks for showing up today." You gave a small smile before looking back down to your laptop, trying to spot where you left off. 

For a moment or so, Jean packed up his things, not necessarily quietly, but enough for it not to bother you. Though, after he finished doing so, he didn't leave. Instead, he stood /annoyingly/ close to you, seemingly trying to burn holes into the back of your head. 

"Is there something you need or…?" 

"You're seriously going to stay and work more?" 

"...Yeah?" 

Jean let out a small series of 'tsk' noises and began to close your notebooks and the few textbooks you had brought. You stuttered out half of a sentence, none of it making any sense, as you watched him stack up your things, his finishing move to carefully close your laptop without even shutting it off. 

"What are you…Why…I mean-what?" 

"I think you work too hard." he remarked, grinning. Normally that would sound snarky coming from him, this time he sounded gentle, and nothing in his face seemed to show any ill will. "I mean, I've never seen you do anything fun. All you do is push yourself to do work." 

You were at a loss for words, face heating up with embarrassment. Just because he had never seen you do fun things didn't mean that you were some sort of shut in who only ever focused on homework and studying. 

Jean waited for you to pack your things, all of which you did while in a small haze, trying to comprehend it all. When you were done, he motioned for you to follow him, not saying a word of what he had planned. 

The two of you walked outside, Jean slightly ahead of you as he continued to lead the way. Occasionally, someone would stop Jean, asking him about a party or a class. He seemed to have a lot of friends, or rather just a lot of acquaintances.

Eventually, you both came to a little grassy field, one where students often came to waste time, or play games like spikeball, or frisbee. Currently, it wasn't very busy, and the two of you found a spot to sit and relax under a warm spring sky.

For the first five minutes, you sat in silence, an almost comfortable one. You found yourself mumbling about how this wasn't so bad, noticing from the corner of your eye as Jean turned to look at you. 

"Would I ever lead you astray?" Jean elbowed you carefully, earning a scowl from you. 

"Given that we don't really know each other, I'm not sure," you retorted. 

"I know that we've had at least three classes together since freshman year, and that you don't seem to like anyone," he pointed out. 

"Not true,” you said. “Sasha and Marco are very nice people who I like a lot," 

At this he barked out a laugh, a wonderful sound really, compared to his typical evil sounding snicker. "Okay, so you appreciate the presence of three specific people." 

"Three? I only named two people," you said, holding up two fingers to signify your only two friends. 

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but right now you don't seem to hate me, so I counted myself."

You gave another scowl."If we were able to pick our own groups, I would have picked other people, just for the record" 

"Ouch, that kind of stings." 

You couldn't tell if he was serious or not, but one thing you did know was that he probably wouldn't have picked you either.  Not that it really bothered you. While it was true that you've shared classes in the two years that you've been in college, the two of you never really talked. 

Sure, you've had the quick conversations in the hall, or maybe accidentally bumped into each other when trying to take Sasha home, or even just when Jean would hang out with Marco at your dorm. 

It wasn't that you didn't like him (aside from his huge ego and inability to get along with certain people) or even that you didn't like people in general. You honestly just wanted to focus on school, so that you would graduate on time, and get the hell out of this town. Personal relationships could come later, and you were completely content with that. Being alone wasn't something that bothered you. Or, something that you /let/ bother you. 

You leaned back until you were laying down in the grass, staring up at the cloudy sky. The more you thought about it, the more your head seemed to churn with an anxious and maybe even guilty conscience. 

"By the way, I'd say that, even though we didn't get to pick our own groups, I don't mind being paired with you." You sighed, keeping your eyes trained on the sky as Jean laid down next to you. 

From there, the conversation switched to a few different topics, one of them being a small argument over the particular shape of a cloud and what you thought it was. 

Eventually, the clouds dissipated, and the sky faded from its blue to a dusty orange lined with a pale pink-ish-purple. 

"I guess it's time to go home for the night," Jean said. 

"Mhm, guess so," you quietly said, but made no effort to sit up yet. 

Next to you, Jean stood, brushing off his clothes and running a hand through his hair, attempting to make sure there wasn't any grass on his person. Then, when it was apparent that you still hadn't even moved, he nudged you with his shoe. "You coming or what?" 

"I’m waiting," 

"For what?" 

"The first star I see" 

Jean slowly looked away from you and to the sky, "Can I ask why?" 

"No." 

It wasn't really a big deal, but this was your favorite time of the day, and you had the habit of looking for the first star you could find and making a small wish on it. It had been something you'd done ever since you were a kid; old habits die hard. But it wasn't something you just went and told people about, especially not someone like Jean. You were sure that he'd poke fun at you for it. 

His voice pulled you away from your thoughts, and you watched as he pointed just above your heads. "I think there's one over there." 

From your perspective, he was lined up to where the star was atop his finger.The sight made you smile softly; you didn’t notice that he had glanced back down, watching the small moment. 

"Okay, now we can go." You sat up slowly and climbed to your feet, grabbing your bag from where it had been by your feet. 

The two of you parted ways for the night, and you found yourself back at your dorm, which was uncharacteristically empty and quiet. Either Sasha would come home drunk again (or with her hands full of food that she got from Connie or that Niccolo guy) or that she would stay out for the night. Marco on the other hand, was probably visiting some other friends for the short weekend, so most likely, you had the place to yourself until the following evening. 

With the freedom at hand, you took some time to make dinner and lounged around the shared living space, until eventually, your eyelids grew heavy, and you forced yourself into your bed for the night.

The sound of knocking at your door woke you up. At first, you had half a mind to ignore it, but with your roommates, and the friends they had, the knocking wouldn't stop.  You glanced at the clock, seeing that it was around noon, a time that you hardly ever slept in till.

"Yeah, okay, I'm up. Who is it?" you grumbled at the door, noting that if it was Marco, he wouldn't necessarily need to knock, meaning that it must be Sasha. 

And it was. At your words, she swung the door open lazily, and leaned around the corner, "Heyyy, I was wondering if you had plans today? Connie, Jean, and I were going to play some volleyball! Wanna come? Marco is gonna join us later!" 

You took a moment to think it over. It was Sunday, so you didn't have classes, and depending on how long you were out, you could always do more homework later. Not to mention, Jean's comment about how you worked too much was still fresh in your mind. 

"...Yeah, okay, I'll come play. Give me a few minutes and I'll get dressed." 

She gave you a huge grin, shouting over her shoulder, "They said they'd come! You guys still have the net?" 

You watched as she disappeared back into the main area of the dorm, and then shut your door to change. When you exited, you could see the three of them waiting by the door, Jean holding the net, while Connie was tossing the ball between his hands. 

The walk was fairly short, as Jean had suggested the field that the two of you had been at the other day, and just like the day before, there weren't very many people out. You guys could set up a spot without having to worry about anyone else. 

At least, that's how it was at first. The game went smoothly. Surprisingly, all three of them were pretty good at the sport; though, if you had to rank them, it would be Sasha, then Jean (mostly because he can use his height to his advantage), and then Connie. 

For the first game you played, it was you and Sasha versus Jean and Connie. Then, it switched to you and Connie, and finally, you and Jean. 

No one was really counting points; no one could keep track, though each side was sure that they were winning, even if they weren't. It was about halfway through the current match, right as you were about to serve, when something came crashing into your head. 

It had hit you pretty hard, and it took you a moment to even realize what had happened and what was currently happening. 

"Hey, man, watch where you throw this thing! You nearly took my partner out!" Jean was holding a football and pointing it aggressively at another college student, who you think was named Floch or something close to it. 

The guy snatched the ball from Jean, giving him the dirtiest look. "Well, maybe you guys shouldn't be playing so close to where we are." 

At this, Connie and Sasha stepped up. Connie took to Jean's side, starting to bicker with the guy, while Sasha checked your head, fussing over you. 

"Just say sorry to our friend already. You can at least agree that you hit them!" You weren't sure who said that, as all the voices blended together until that moment. Suddenly all eyes were on you. 

More specifically, Floch's eyes. He regarded you warily, annoyance clear in his eyes and voice. "Your dumbass friend looks fine to me,” he sneered. “And besides, we tried to warn them, and they didn't move. It's their own fault. Don't go blaming me for your friend being an idiot." 

You weren't sure what came over you; maybe it was anger from the childish name calling, or maybe it was the stress of the week getting to you, but within an instant, you had crossed the few feet to get to him, and threw a punch. 

You watched as he stumbled back, nearly running into one of his nameless friends, as he clutched at his face. He was clearly seeing red.

"How dare you!" he shouted out. He started to make his way over to you, obscenities of all sorts falling from his mouth.

None of which you really heard, because at that exact moment, Sasha and Connie both shouted the same thing, 'Run,' and took off. 

And, before you knew it, Jean grabbed your hand, pulling you along as he chased after the two, until you four were sure that Floch and his extras weren't going to follow you. 

When you finally stopped, everyone was bent over, stuck in between laughing and gasping for air. 

"Holy shit! That was insane!" Sasha wheezed out, and straightened out, turning to the group with a large smile on her face.

Connie spoke next, hands still on his knees. "I can't believe we ran away." 

All at once, realization hit you: you had just clocked a guy, and then ran away, without even thinking twice. Never in your life had you done something like that. You weren't super confrontational, and you certainly would rather avoid physical altercations. But, at that moment, you had just done it. And, the crazy thing about it was how amusing you found it. Because even though you were struggling to breathe, you were laughing. The kind of laugh where you couldn't stop, and your eyes would start to tear up. 

From where he was standing at your side, Jean watched for a moment, a certain fluttering in his chest (though he could pass it off as his own endeavors with taking in air). You, for the first time that he had seen, were so laid back about the fact that you had hit someone. And the way that you were now chuckling to yourself, clearly in a sort of disbelief mixed with content. 

Jean drew your attention, "Is it bad that I kind of liked seeing you hit him?" Then he paused, as if he had rethought his choice of words. "I mean, in the sense that Floch is a stuck up, entitled bastard, and that he had it coming." 

You gave a little huff, and shrugged. "Well, I'm sure anyone would pay to see that…I honestly didn't know that I was going to hit him…until right after." 

"Well, that was amazing! That guy's been a tyrant since the beginning of the year! He even tries to get in with Eren's group, as if he was even worth being someone to talk to." Connie clapped a hand on your back, his adrenaline still running through him. 

"And I thought that Jean was the one to start fights," Sasha teased.

"Sasha! I don't start fights!" 

Around you, the three continued to talk while you watched, enjoying the sight.  

It was rather nice, for once. You weren't holed up in your dorm room while everyone else had fun, even if the fun was getting into a fight of sorts—which, as you thought back on it, the whole thing was kind of funny. It would have easily been solved if those assholes had just apologized, but you were starting to think that this outcome was better. 

“Hey, should we go back for our things?” Jean asked, pulling your attention to him.

“Yeah, probably, and if those assholes are still there, I think we know someone who can take them on for us.” Connie sent a lopsided grin your way, a certain mischievous look in his eyes.

You shrugged, acting as innocent as possible. “Oh yeah, you’d be the perfect guy for that, even with the serious height disadvantage.” 

Connie’s mouth dropped open, not quite expecting that kind of remark from you. As far as he knew, you were silent, hardworking, and the person who likes to keep to yourself. Even you were a little surprised, but, maybe after today’s events you could try out some new ways to enjoy your life a little more.

Once again, the four of you made your way back to the field, and as you did, you could see a familiar figure standing by your net, looking down at his phone. 

“Marco! You made it!” Connie shouted out, drawing your friend’s attention. “You missed all the action; it was insane!”

“Huh? Did I miss out on playing? And where were you guys?” 

As you approached, Sasha and Connie exploded into answers for his question. 

“You only missed a little of our game-”

“We had to run from Forrester and his braindead lackeys!”

“We’ve got our own Rocky! You should have seen the way they punched him! No hesitation at all!”

Slowly, Marco seemed to piece all of the information together, nodding as he thought it all over. His eyes looked at everyone one by one until he got to you. “You punched someone? The most I've ever seen from you was the time you swore at your computer when it crashed!”

A small and almost shy smile escaped you, “Well, to be fair he started it. I honestly didn’t even think about doing it; my hand moved on it’s own,”

He only shook his head, looking back around the group. “So, are we still playing?”

Jean shook his head. “Maybe we should head back to one of the dorms? Relax or play some games?”

“Oh! I’ve got some fun games!” Sasha chimed in, then paused. “But I’m kind of hungry, so maybe we could make some food, too!”

Once everyone agreed to the plan, the now five of you ended up in the dorm you shared with Marco and Sasha, where Connie, Sasha and Marco focused on setting up some games in the little living room area, and you and Jean were tasked with making some dinner. Of course, it wasn’t exactly easy, given the few options, but eventually, the two of you were able to settle on a college delicacy: instant ramen. 

You pulled out a pot to fill with water, while Jean opened a few packs of said ramen. All in all, it was easy to make, and didn’t take terribly long. Before you knew it, you were handing out bowls to the other three while Jean brought over yours and his to where you were now sitting on the floor, some game cards in front of you. 

“Okay, listen up, I’m not explaining this twice,” Connie announced. “The game is simple: read a card to yourself and then say someones name who you think matches the card. You flip a coin. If it’s heads, you tell everyone what was on the card and give that person the card. If it’s tails, you keep it to yourself, and the card is yours.” Connie gave everyone a pointed look, and when no questions or objections were raised, the game started.

The first to go is Marco; he took a moment to read his card before immediately calling out Connie’s name. Then when the coin was flipped, it landed on heads, earning a small sigh from Marco. 

“It asked who would be the one to need parental supervision no matter what age someone is,” Marco explained.

“What? Why not Sasha?! She gets into more trouble than I do!” 

“Hah! Say that to Professor Levi and all the times he has had to tell you to shut up,” Jean remarked “And not to mention you black out at every party you go to. Do you know how many times I have to carry you home while you sing at the top of your lungs?”

Connie grumbled a bit, but didn’t try to deny the claims. Instead, he pulled out a card to read. His turn ended with a flip of tails, making it now your turn. 

From the main deck, you pulled your card and read it over silently: ‘Out of everyone in the group, who would you rather make out with?’

You can feel your face heat up, already knowing that you only really have two options, Jean or Marco. And Marco is only really a choice because of how well you know him, but even then, you wouldn’t really want to do that with him. So after a few moments of silence, you call Jean’s name, looking anywhere but at his face. 

“That took you some time; must be a good card.” Sasha grinned, reaching for the coin and giving it an impressive flip. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as it landed, and all at once, five heads stuck together to see the outcome.

Heads. The worst possible way for things to go. You could feel all eyes on you now, and you begrudgingly read out the card, once again avoiding looking at Jean entirely. 

A chorus of ooo’s and ahh’s filled your ears, and everyone had something to say about your answer. 

The only one you even managed to hear was the man himself: “I hope you plan to take me out first, I’m not won over so easily." Of course, he had a cocky smirk on his face, pointed directly at you. 

“Whatever, just…whoever is next, take your turn.” You shook your head, busying yourself with eating some of your food that was now starting to get a little cold. 

Time seemed to escape you all and the night drew to a close with Connie and Jean taking their leave. Marco took the time to wash the dishes, roping Sasha into helping, and you retired to your room. You took the time to change into some comfier clothes and settle into your bed, though not quite wanting to sleep just yet. 

Your mind was still stuck on the first game you played and the card you had picked Jean for. While you wouldn’t argue against the idea of finding Jean attractive, or even the idea of kissing him, you just weren’t sure why you were so trapped in thinking about it. You didn’t even know him all that well, and for the most part, you had thought that he was pretty unbearable. 

And yet, the more your thoughts seemed to revolve around him, the more you could feel an uneasy knot forming in your stomach. There was no way that you were going to let yourself get wrapped up in developing feelings for him, or anyone. You were supposed to be focusing on school so that you could get the hell out of this town and make something of yourself.

Not to mention the fact that all of your previous attempts at relationships crashed and burned. The last time that you had gotten close with someone in that way, you ended up with a mixture of being heartbroken and incredibly angry. That was about the time you started keeping to yourself, as if getting to know someone in a more than platonic way would cause your world to shatter again. You couldn’t-no /wouldn’t/ deal with something like that again. 

You let out a groan, planting face first into your pillow and trying to shoo away all thoughts related to romance and feelings, and of Jean Kirstein. 

“Suffocating yourself?” 

You jumped lightly, head snapping up to see Marco in the doorway, leaning against the door frame. His expression was a little hard to read, though he could be like that at times. 

“Uh…no, not quite what I’m going for, but if it gets the job done, then sure,” you joked.

He moved across the room to his own bed where he took a seat, facing you. “Then what’s with the face-in-pillow tactic?”

You hesitated, knowing full and well how close Marco was with Jean, closer than he was with you. “Oh, uh, just, school things, homework, assignments, that sort of thing…”

His eyes narrowed slightly, brows furrowing. “Yeah, for once I don’t buy that, but if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you to spill the details."

Again, you paused, turning away from Marco and looking towards the door. In truth, it wouldn’t hurt to tell him, since he wouldn’t ever tell a secret that wasn’t his. He was definitely the guy who would just want to talk things out, not wanting things to end badly. 

“Okay…Well…that card I got earlier,” you began. “I’m just worried, and I know that it’s just a stupid game, but I cant help but think about it.”

“Worried that Jean took it the wrong way, or worried that you’d actually want to kiss him?”

Marco was somehow always hitting the nail on the head, a talent of his. 

“Would saying both make sense?”

He thought for a moment, the room filling with an unnamable silence, until he spoke again. “Well, I’m sure Jean is going to take it in the way he always does: an ego boost for his way too big head.” Another pause. “As for the idea of maybe wanting to kiss him, I wouldn’t say that's an all too terrible idea, besides the fact that it’s Jean. But, if you really aren't sure about how you feel towards him, maybe you could…test it out?"

“Test it out?” you repeated, confused.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Like ask him to hang out or something. You don’t have to necessarily make it like a date, but you could use the time to get to know him more, and figure out if it’s just because everyone made a big deal out of it, or if you might actually be interested in him, or getting to know him.”

You thought for a moment. The idea was pretty simple, and a good one at that, though just thinking about it made your heart rate speed up. It wasn’t like you had never been one on one with Jean, but now, with all of your thoughts being scrambled like eggs, it was slightly overwhelming. But when it came down to it, you wanted to sort it all out. If you could set your mind straight, and get rid of these terrible thoughts about Jean, you could get back on track for school.

“You’re right, I’ll definitely try that.” You let out a small breath of air and turned back to Marco. “Thanks, I’m glad you’re here.”

“What would you do without me? And don’t worry— I won’t say anything to anyone. my lips are sealed” He smiled, hand coming up to his mouth to mime a zipper motion.

“Okay, good. Unless you want to end up like the douche from earlier, I wouldn’t recommend telling a soul.” 

He gave a laugh before gathering some of his things to go and take a shower, leaving you alone once more. You eventually drifted off to sleep, and surprisingly, you didn’t wake up once.

The next day, you only had one class, and once that was over, you had gone to the library to study, needing to get work done for a few of your other classes. It was a nice change in pace from the day you had yesterday. It wasn’t super crowded, either, which meant you could focus on your work in peace. 

Though, it didn’t last long, as two new faces joined your table. You looked up, almost expecting to see Jean and Connie, or Marco and Sasha, but to your surprise, it was Eren and Armin. 

“I hope you don’t mind us joining you!” Armin smiles, though something in his eyes tells you that he didn’t pick your table without a reason. 

“Uh, no that’s okay.” 

He and Eren settled into two of the chairs, the latter of the two only pulling out his phone. Armin did the exact opposite. He took out two textbooks, a large notebook, and a handful of pens, pencils and markers. 

For the first five minutes or so, the three of you sat in silence. You worked on homework for a communications class, while armin was seemingly working on a paper for a psyche class. But when Eren suddenly scoffed at his phone, you stopped what you were doing to look up at him, questioning his action. 

He in turn looked at you, maybe even through you. “So, turns out, someone gave Forrester a nasty bruise yesterday. He wont say who, so i’m thinking he got his ass kicked and just doesn’t want to admit it.” 

You feigned ignorance, giving Eren a blank stare, “I’m not really sure who that is, but sounds like a tough time for him.”

Eren regarded you for a moment, but it wasn’t his stare that bothered you. You now had Armin’s attention, as if he wanted to ask a question. Or, make a comment on what you said. But instead he said, “Well, I’m not the one to really get into these things, but Floch does like to cause problems for himself, so maybe he deserved it?” 

You nodded along, not wanting to give Eren any more information. With him, rumors tended to get out of hand quickly, and you really did not want to be the talk of the school over an altercation with Floch. To everyone in the school, you were pretty much some nobody, and frankly, you weren’t upset at the idea. If it meant less trouble for you, it was going to be something you’d stay okay with.

“Well he’s been bitching about it all day. It’s starting to get on my nerves.” Eren flipped his phone over, leaning back in his chair as he did. 

“Does he expect you to do something about it?” You asked, still trying to keep a low profile, while also trying to pry more information out of him.

“I’m sure thats what he wants, but I’m not going to help him with that, Floch can fight his own battles.”

A thick silence descended over your table. You took it as a sign that you could continue working on your homework. The one for your comms class wasn’t due until tomorrow, but you really wanted to finish it. 

This had always really been how you did things. You tried to finish things early, study as soon as possible, take as much time to get your work done as possible. And you weren’t the only one. Armin had also gone back to his work, and though you weren’t sure when it was due for him, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it was due at the end of the week or so.

You weren’t all that close with Armin, but the two of you had taken the time to study with eachother for the one class that you did share, and you had even reached out once to ask if he would tutor you for a few sessions, needing help with your math at the time. It was a nice thought to know that you weren’t the only student to stray from the eyes of their peers.

Though he had a harder time with it, being best friends with Eren and all. Not to mention he was also friends with Mikasa Ackerman, who was arguably the girl who drew most people’s attention. 

Before you knew it, two hours had passed, and you felt your phone buzz. You picked it up from the table, squinting your eyes at the bright screen. It was Jean.

“Hey, why are you with Armin, and that idiot.”

At this, you paused, looking around the library, not seeing Jean. 

“Where are you?” you replied.

After a minute or two, your phone buzzed again.

“Come and find me.” 

And that was it. He didn’t send any other messages, even after you sent him two more, questioning him again. You frowned, then looked to your things. You had been working for awhile, so getting up and moving might not be the worst thing. You proceeded to pack everything that you had pulled out earlier, and stood from your chair, looking to the other two.

“I think I’m going to head out. Let’s meet up again later in the week to work on Professor Hange’s assignment.”

Armin glanced up, and smiled, “Okay! How about Thursday? I can show you what all I’ve finished!”

“Sounds good.” You gave a short wave, and turned away from the table, scanning the surrounding areas before setting off in a random direction. 

There were a few more tables behind some of the bookshelves, but none of the students sitting at them were Jean. You checked out the library’s computer section next, and kept looking until you ended up near Armin and Eren again. Another frown crossed your face, until you heard a muffled laugh. 

With the new hint, you looked upwards to the second floor. And there he was, leaning against the railing, smirking down at you. You felt your face heat up in what you were going to call embarrassment, and definitely not any other word that had to do with your complicated thoughts on him, and how from where you stood, he looked almost handsome. 

You sent a halfhearted glare his way and headed up the stairs, making your way over to him, about to comment on his antics, but you weren’t able to get a word out before he could make fun of you. 

“You looked really dumb running around trying to find me.”

You gave an astonished laugh, “Yeah, well you sounded like a complete stalker just now.”

“And you still came to find me. I’m starting to think you like me more than you let on.” 

The unsettling feeling returned to your stomach at his words, though you weren’t surprised that he was poking fun at you after yesterdays game. “In your dreams.” You crossed your arms over your chest, trying to ease the increasing amount of uneasiness that was slowly taking ahold of you. 

“Hm, I guess that’s true. Does that mean you want me to dream about it?” He looked at you contently, despite all of what he said being the brashest thing you had heard from him yet.

You didn’t say anything to that, instead you changed the subject quickly. “To answer your question about who I was with, I actually didn’t plan on sitting with them. Armin and Eren joined me.”

He gave a slow nod, and peered back at the table down below, where the two were still sitting, “Do you think I could spit on Eren from here?”

“No, and I dont think you should even try.” 

“Buzzkill.”

You scoffed, “I am not a buzzkill. You are just in the middle of some pointless battle of being better than each other.”

Jean looked back to you, staring at you for a moment. Then back down at Eren. “I just don’t get what everyone sees in that guy. He’s clearly an egotistical bastard with no regards to anyone else.”

“Do you think that you guys have anything in common in the fact that you both have ridiculously large egos?”

“Don’t lump me in with him.” This he said more seriously, “Anyways, enough about him, do you want to go do something?”

“Like what?”

He shrugged, and started for the stairs. You followed him wordlessly, and the two of you left the library, now back outside where a light breeze met you. The silence continued to hang over you two as you walked aimlessly in a random direction. You couldn’t tell if he was still thinking about your comment on him and Eren, or something else completely. You decided against asking him about it, and instead found a different topic. 

“Hey so, I found this art exhibit at the museum, it’s about the book Hange assigned us. I was thinking that we could go and check it out and see if we can find anything useful?”

He thought for a moment, eyes wandering the path ahead. “Okay, it doesn’t sound like the worst way to spend an afternoon.”

“Would eleven in the morning on Friday or Saturday be okay?”

“Friday works better for me, I think I’ve got plans with Connie on Satuday.” 

“Okay, Friday it is.” You paused, a smile slowly making it’s way onto your face, “Just make sure to be on time. I wont wait for you this time.”

“Hey! I already apologized for that.” He stopped in place, giving you a pointed look.

You stopped a few feet in front of him, shrugging as you continued to speak, “I need to cover all the bases. I am not going to wait around for you, just for you to tell me that you were hungover.”

“I am not going to be hungover again. I’m not going to make you wait, I swear.”

“You better not, I won’t be as forgiving this time.” You go to move past him, elbowing him as you do. 

He turns on his heel to catch up with you, giving you a slight push at the same time, “You were hardly forgiving last time. You were mad the entire time we were working on the assignment,” Jean pauses, taking a moment to look at the path that you had set off on, “Wait, where are we even going?”

You glanced over to him, then back infront of you. “Well, I’ve done nothing but school work today, and you didn’t mention anything specific other than ‘go do something’ and last time you picked where we went, so now its my turn.”

“Are you going to tell me where we are heading at least?”

“No.” You smiled a little at the statement, remembering how you had done the same thing to him when he had asked about you caring so much about seeing the stars. Looking back over to Jean, who was staring straight ahead, you took a moment to really look at him.

He was pretty tall, and when he wasn’t smiling like some sort of evil bastard, he had a pretty nasty resting bitch face, a combination that probably scared anyone who didn’t know him. Though, you could say that despite all that, he had a few attractive features to him. When he was smiling, actually smiling that is, his eyes lit up. You hadn’t noticed it much before, but now when you thought back on the past few days of being around him, you could see the way his eyes would hold a certain softness.  And when he was thinking, he tended to frown, scrunching up his nose until he came to whatever conclusion he needed. And when the two of you were in the field the other evening, he had an almost blissful aura to him, as if he had no cares in the world, you wouldn't ever guess that he was someone who caused so much trouble. Honestly it was probably a good thing that he had a difficult personality. If his ego was bad now, you don't want to know what he'd be like if he knew all of this about himself.

You looked away before he could catch you staring, and before you gave yourself any more time to think about him, not wanting to let yourself actually fall for the guy. 

Instead you focused on finding your way to today's randomized destination. If you were being honest, you hadn't actually thought of somewhere to go, and frankly, with how little you actually went out, you didn't know too many spots around campus. Regardless, you continued to lead the way, until an idea formed in your head. 

Earlier in the year, you had gotten a tad bit lost while trying to find a class, and ended up on the edge of your campus, where you stumbled on an old tree. Aside from the size of the thing, it seemed completely normal. But when you had looked further at it, there was something of a hidey hole in its backside. Since discovering it, you had made countless trips to the tree, using it as a place to get away from the school. You definitely weren't the first person to discover it, but it seemed like no one else ever really visited the old thing. 

As you and Jean came upon the tree, he gave a low whistle, craning his head back to take in it's height, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you just took me to a make out spot," 

You threw a bewildered look at him, before shaking your head slowly, "Well, since you do know better, you should know that it's more likely that I've brought you to the best place on campus to hide a body."

He in turn shook his own head, "And here I thought we we're getting closer," 

"Closer to hiding your body?"

"Not quite what I was thinking…" he trailed off, taking a moment to circle around the tree, his hand trailing along the bark as he went, "so, what made you pick here? Other than premeditated murder."

As he came back around, you watched as he took the time to drop his bag at the ground by his feet, kneeling down next to it for a moment, searching its contents. 

"Hm, I'm not entirely sure. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who ever comes here anymore." You pause, eyeballing what Jean was now holding in his hands, "It's kind of like a secret hideout minus the secret part, since anyone can stumble on this old tree." 

"And yet you brought me here…I'm starting to worry about my wellbeing," he chuckles, then takes a seat a few feet away from the tree. 

In his hands, he held a sketchbook. It looked a good few years old, as loose pages stuck out here and there, and the sheets were starting to yellow along the edges. You watched on quietly, as he flipped open to one of the last few pages, pausing as he glanced back at the tree. 

After a few moments you moved to stand just behind him, looking down at the page, which now held some sketch lines, resembling the tree just ahead of you.

You kept quiet for a bit, watching him quietly. He was lighthanded, it was as if any stray line within the whole piece would fly off the page and into the world around you. 

"You know you can sit and watch me draw too, right?"

"Yeah, and sit next to you? No thanks." You moved away from him, a slight flustered tone in your voice as you realized just how long you had been observing him. 

Instead, you took a seat at the base of the tree, opening your own bag, pulling out some more of your homework. Between the two of you, the only noises were the sounds of pencil on paper, and the occasional shifting of branches in the wind. 

You weren't really sure just how long things stayed that way. The only thing that brought your mind back to reality was the feeling of being stared at. 

"Need something?" You asked, arching a quizzical eyebrow in Jean's direction.

He shook his head, closing his sketchbook quietly, "Not at all. I was just wondering how much homework you were going to do before you got bored of being such a studious person." 

You scoffed at him. He was teasing you for this again? 

"Well, unlike some people, I need to pass all my classes so I can get the hell out of here." 

"You hate it here that much?" 

You paused, a lump forming in your throat. How were you even supposed to answer that question? All in all, this small town was horrible, and had been that way your entire life. Growing up you didn't have very many friends, and your family was fairly distant to you. You had shouldered all of your problems and responsibilities by yourself. Even now, in your college years it was hard to shake the feeling that you were still alone. 

You drew in a breath. "Sometimes, I sit by myself at my desk, and just stare at one of my notebooks until all the lines blur together. And then I realize that I'm crying. But what's funny about that is, I never know why I'm crying. " you start, bringing your eyes to his, "I never have the words to describe what i'm feeling in those moments. It's the same with how I feel about this place. I really don't know if I hate it, or if I'm just…projecting something else onto it." 

Jean stills with the information, until he takes a long breath in, "Art isn't much of a passion for me, as much as it is a hobby. I can't tell you how many half finished sketches I have. Sometimes I feel like I just don't have it in me to finish them, as if I'm scared of not knowing what I'm going to do next." 

He isn't talking about art. You know this from the way that Jean looks at you, not with pity, but with a hint of understanding. 

It was silent once again. Your brain turned over and over as you repeated his words in your head. Slowly, a wistful smile spread across your face. 

"You know Jean, you're not so bad after all." 

He stands up, shaking his head as he does, and makes his way over to you, holding out a hand for you to take, "I have my moments, I can't always be the charming asshole everyone says I am."

You hesitated for a moment, eyes flicking to his hand. Slender fingers and a wide palm, his hand looked soft, and the thought of holding it, even just for a moment, would be comforting. You took his hand, averting your gaze as he helped you to your feet. 

"I'm sure everyone leaves out the 'charming' part."

"That's where you're wrong, everyone thinks I'm charming."

"Everyone but me that is," you chirp back, letting your hands fall to your sides.

"You dont think I'm charming?" 

The churning sensation is back. You /wanted/ to say no, to tell him that he was annoying, loud-mouthed, and a pain in the ass, but somewhere in the time you'd known him, he had become annoyingly endearing, loudly funny, and a pain in the ass to ignore the thumping in your chest. 

"I can't say charming is the word I'd use to describe you. Horribly pleasant maybe, but not charming."

At this he smirks, starting to walk backwards away from you, "Oh so you think I'm pleasant? Hopefully in the way that I'm nice to look at." 

"You missed the word horrible," 

He waved off your comment, instead placing one hand on his chest, right over his heart, while reaching out the other hand towards you, "and yet, if I asked you to join me to a delicious five star dinner at my dorm, you'd still say yes." 

You could feel your face flush, knowing that he didn't mean anything more than just to hang out for a little bit longer, and not in some sort of lame date way, "I'd only come because it would be free food, even if the food is terrible. Like you." 

"So, that's a yes you'll be joining me for dinner? I've got…box mashed potatoes, frozen broccoli, and hopefully leftover seasoned chicken." 

You turned back to where you had left your things, a slightly messy sight. "Alright alright, I'll come, pick up your things and we can go." 

You knelt down next to your bag, trying to ignore the nervous shaking of your hands as you collected your things. Your mind raced with warring thoughts. How did this happen? How was it that Jean Kirstein of all people, had weaseled his way into being someone that you didn't fully hate? But, there was no way you were going to let him get in the way of school, and your plans to finally be free from this horrible town. But then part of you wondered, was it all one sided? Jean seemed to be the type to have all sorts of girls and guys fawning over him, even if he had only ever been open about one specific girl that he was interested in, which of course had been Mikasa. But you couldn't even blame him, she was out of everyone's league. How she seemed to be completely and obviously in love with Eren Jeager of all people was a mystery to you. 

"Hey, are you listening?" His voice stopped your thoughts in their tracks, as you hadn't even noticed that he had been speaking to you. 

"Now why would I be doing that?" You shouldered your bag, standing back up and facing him.

"We've been over this, because I'm charming- sorry, pleasant." 

"Again, you left out the horrible part." 

"I've got a feeling that you don't mean that, otherwise you'd just call me horrible." He turns halfway away from you, looking back to the general area of the school. 

You paused, walking up next to him, trying to ignore the fact that he was right, "You just have selective hearing." 

Jean eyed you while starting to head back to the dorms, a different and softer smile making its way onto his face, "Not when it comes to you." 

You nearly tripped over a stray rock, his words repeating in cycles in your head. You could only give him a glance, busying yourself with avoiding any other stones on the sidewalk. 

What did he mean by that? What did you want those words to mean? Your mind flashes back to your conversation with Marco. The feeling of your heart painfully pounding against your ribs surfaces. Your hands tremble ever so slightly while they grasp at the straps of your bag. Marco was right, and he hadn’t even said anything about you actually having feelings for Jean. 

As the thought hit, you spared another quick look towards him. He was looking at you. Careful eyes studying your demeanor. The way you walked. The way your eyes struggled to meet his. The way your mouth formed a tight line as you realized all of this was happening.

“Hey, if you really don’t want to try my cooking, you don’t have to come.” He let out a breath, running a hand through his hair for a moment. 

You looked away. You could turn him down, you could go home. It would be the easy way out. You could ignore any of his future attempts at hanging out. You could finish school and leave this place. Leave him and everyone else again. 

The thought of it made you shudder. In doing so, you would be condemning yourself to your worst self. Being alone. 

You looked back to Jean, his face morphed into one of concern, clearly puzzled as to why you were taking so long to answer. 

You were tired of being alone. Tired of pushing away your own happiness in pursuit of a future that wasn’t even set in stone. 

You flashed a smile his way, and waved off his words, “No way, you said it was a five star dinner. I can’t pass on that.”

He stared at you for a moment. Then, his confusion melted away, replaced by that famous cocky smile, “Okay good, I wasn’t sure what to do if you bailed on me.”

“Maybe you could have cooked for Connie too, light some candles, play some mood music, you know, make it all romantic for the two of you.” You chuckled, about to make another remark when Jean gave you a playful shove. 

“Why would you say that! I can’t have a romantic dinner with Connie of all people!” 

“Sure you can! It’s easy! Candles, music, food! All you need!” 

Jean groaned and shook his head. “You’re horrible.”

“Pleasant, actually.” You grinned. 

He hummed in response, and you could’ve swore you heard him mumble ‘horribly pleasant my ass’

His dorm room was warm, and set up similarly to yours. The same bland, small kitchen and the same questionable excuse for a couch just a few feet away. Three sets of doors that led to his roommates, and two bathrooms. 

One of the doors were open, and you caught a glimpse of Connie attempting to take mirror selfies. He would take one, bring the phone close to his face, frown and then try again. It wasn’t until his third or forth picture that he noticed you staring through the mirror. 

“Well if it isn’t our very own Rocky!” He grinned, hastily shoving his phone into the pocket of his sweats. 

“Hey Connie” you waved, then smirked a little, “I'm sure the ladies will love all of those selfies.” 

His face flushed slightly, and he stepped out of his small room, “For your information, the ladies already love seeing my handsome face. I was just taking a few more for-”

Jean cut him off, a bark of a laugh filling the room, “Like you can get a girl to think your ugly mug is anything worth looking at.” 

Connie gaped, “Dude, that’s just cold. I thought you liked my face.” 

You eyeballed the two, before turning to Jean and mouthing the words, ‘romantic dinner’ 

Jean glared halfheartedly, before a smile broke through, “and here I thought I was treating you to a five star, romantic dinner.” 

Connie was now the one looking between the two of you, unsure if Jean was being serious or not. You, on the other hand, could feel your face heat up. He had to be joking. Jean was making a joke based off of your joke. That was the only thing that would make sense at the moment. 

“Only if it involves candles and music.” You attempt to force your voice into sounding level, as if you weren’t sickeningly thrilled by the idea of your dinner with Jean being a little more than friendly. 

His head swivels around the room, scanning the small area before emitting a sigh of halfhearted defeat, “Might need a raincheck on that, I don't have any candles.” Jean pauses, thinking for a moment, “Unless you had your heart set on the romantic dinner with candles and music, maybe I can make something work.” He smirked in your direction, true to his usual cheeky self. 

You faced away from him, moving to set your backpack down on the floor by the door, “No candles, no deal.” You pause, practically feeling Connie’s wide eyed stare pointed at your back. 

“That’s not a no to having a more than friendly dinner, now is it?” Jean fires back, smiling in a not so innocent way. Your stomach twisted in knots. He wasn’t wrong. You had intentionally avoided his question, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of yet another person falling for his aggravating charm. 

You shrug a response, giving back another flippant response, “Sure, if it helps you sleep at night to think of it that way.” 

After a moment of silence, Connie’s voice fills the room. “Yeah so, I don’t really know whats going on here, but i’m gonna head out. Sasha is waiting for me with Marco.” He slides on a pair of shoes, grabs a bag and promptly leaves, but not before saying a goodbye, “See ya later Rocky, and Jean, I hope you choke on your food.”

To which, all Jean says is, “Yeah, whatever man.”

You watch him leave quietly, then turn back to face Jean, studying him for a moment. He hasn’t noticed your stares yet,  not when he’s busying himself with pulling out what he needed for this dinner supposedly high rated by Michelin themselves. 

Throughout the past year or so, you had noticed that when Jean was concentrating, he tended to screw up his face a little, eyebrows scrunched in, mouth quirked off to the side, usually whatever was in his hands was being toyed with. But right now, he was different. A content soft smile, and the look in his eyes was gentle. Fond. Domestic. 

“Do you need help with anything?” You asked, feeling the need to do something other than just stand around. 

Jean looked back up at you, bag of frozen broccoli in his hands. “Do you want to make the instant potatoes or the broccoli?” 

You walked to him, and grabbed the bag from him, “Where do you keep your pots and pans?”

“Planning on making this a fancy dinner?” He paused, taking a moment to grab out a small pot for you, and then a lid. “Are you steaming them?”

You set the bag down, then eyed the pot and lid, “Would you happen to have one of those steaming baskets? Or do I need to get creative?”

Jean smiled sheepishly, “I’ve got Connie for a roommate. If I was Niccolo I would definitely have one of those, therefore, you’ll have to get creative. But you’re pretty smart, so I believe in you.”

You nodded slowly. That made sense. Jean and Connie were in the same boat as Sasha, Marco and yourself. If you had done more planning for dinner you probably could have worked something else with Niccolo to borrow his cooking supplies. Though you were sure that the guy would say no, as he was pretty particular about his things. Oh well. You’d have to figure something else. 

The rest of the preparations went fine, and before you knew it, the two of you were sitting at a dingy table that each dorm room had, making small talk over left over chicken and mid-tier potatoes and broccoli. 

“Okay, so I’ll  bite. What’s your deal?” Jean asked suddenly, then his eyes went a little wide as he realized the wording of his question, “I mean! Uh…Well-”

You cut him off, easily able to tell what he meant, “Do you mean why do I have no life and only study and do my work alone?”

He melted under your gaze, before nodding slowly, “I meant it a little nicer though.”

“Its okay, I got what you meant…I think.” You set your fork down, suddenly scrutinizing a small crack in your plate. 

Jean cleared his throat a bit before speaking again, “It’s just that…you spend so much time studying, and it definitely pays off. I’ve heard from Sasha that you have really good grades. But…”

“But?”

“They worry about you. Sasha and Marco that is…and well, I kind of do too. At least, more now that I know you a little better.”

You don’t respond. He’s going somewhere with this. You can tell by the cadence of his voice, how he seems to be picking his words carefully.

“I think that even just in the past few days, you’ve opened  up a lot…I finally got to see you smile.” He paused, “I remember one time last year, in one of our shared classes, I went to see the professor, but you were already there, pleading with him for some extra credit. And when you came out, you look like you had been crying. The next day, I went out of my way to tell you a joke, hoping that maybe you’d smile.”

“I remember that. I told you that I was busy with a make up assignment and ignored you.” You hummed a little, thinking back to Jean back then. His hair was shorter, and he was even more obnoxious that he had been this year. It was one of the few times you had actually spoke to him at the time.

“So…I guess I was just wondering where all this pressure on you comes from?” He fidgets with something in his hands. Like when he’s focusing on his work. You’ve seen it countless times in the past, you just never thought about it until now.

With a sigh, you resign yourself to telling him a little bit about yourself, “I’ve lived here my whole life. And my whole life, I’ve basically been alone. Friends were hard to come by, especially after I decided that all I wanted to do was leave. So, with no one to hold me back, as long as I finish college strong, I can leave and go anywhere I want. I have to do this. Staying here is out of the question…” You trailed off, thinking about how you had never truly said these words out loud. 

“But?” He spoke softly, as if he could tell that you had been battling with yourself on what you truly wanted. He stared at you, not through you as most other people did. Your heart sped up. What were you supposed to say now? You had only started to question your aspirations because of him. And you absolutely would not be sharing that thought now. 

“But nothing. I meant what I said. I’m getting out of this hell and I’m not looking back. Ever.”  you spat the words out, a sudden low and hollow feeling settling in your stomach. What were you doing? A small voice in the back of your head answered that question for you. The same one that you let control most of your college days. You were wasting time, you had assignments to do and a degree to work towards. 

You moved to stand suddenly. “I have to go…I forgot that I’m supposed to meet with Armin tomorrow. I should really make sure that I’m ready to show him my part..and yours too.” You grabbed your backpack, and escaping out into the hall. 

You stood there quietly, chest moving up and down as you took in harsh breaths,  not entirely sure why you did all of that. With a shake of your head you made the journey back to your own dorm, not bothering to take off your shoes at the door like you normally did, instead you merely trudged into your room, tossing your bag onto the ground by your desk, and finding a seat on the edge of your bed. 

“Are you okay?” Your freckled friend spoke up, nearly giving you a heart attack in the process. You hadn’t even noticed that he was home.

You didn’t answer. Instead, tears began to fill your eyes. He was by your side in an instant, arms wrapping around you carefully. Muffled sobs wracked your body. With each one Marco only hugged you a little tighter. He let you cry until you were done. 

“I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.” The words fell from your lips, and you couldn’t stop what came after them, “This whole time i’ve had one goal; to graduate with soaring grades, and to leave. Make as few friends as possible so that way I wouldn’t get distracted…and so that leaving would be easier.” 

“What changed then?” Marco asked, his voice soft and careful. You got the feeling that he already knew the answer.

“Jean. Jean crashed into my life and ruined my plans. I haven’t even really known him that long and suddenly I’m throwing away school just to hang out with him. I haven’t been studying the same way I used to, instead I’m playing volleyball with him, and he’s holding my hand as we run away. I’m sitting with him by that old tree and thinking about him instead of the words on my papers. I’m cooking with him and thinking about how muchI want to do it all again.” Your words are quiet, but Marco hears them all the same.

“You do know that those don’t have to be bad things, right?” He lets you go, taking a moment to scoot away ever so slightly, making you look up at his face, where a small smile rests, “It’s been nice to see you let loose. And I know that you’ve been enjoying yourself.”

You attempt to frown, “Thats not true.” 

A beat passes and you speak again, “Okay. Maybe a little…but I-”

“No. No buts. You are the hardest working person I know. You are smart and you always apply yourself to your work. You are doing amazing. It’s time that you see that for yourself. You will finish school, and you will be able to go out into the world and do whatever you want to do, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait to have any of that fun. You deserve to enjoy your life, the one right now in the present that you are living, okay?”

His words played on repeat in your mind a few times, you tried to interalize them, make them into your own instead of letting that voice shoo them away. 

“Okay.” You nodded, then brought a hand up to your face, covering your mouth for a moment, “I left Jean.”

“What?”

“We were eating dinner and talking and then I got upset and I just…I just left. “

Marco pursed his lips, nodding slightly as he tried to imagine the scene. Jean sitting alone at his table, probably confused and wondering what he did wrong. “Well…theres only so much you can do about that, which I suggest texting him. Let him know that you’re alright, and just so that the poor guy doesn’t overthink, that he didn’t cause you to run off.”

You nodded, “Right. Okay. I can do that.”

It grew quiet between you and Marco, though it didn’t last very long. There was a light tone in his voice, one he used when he wanted to tease someone without making them aware of it, though you had learned to recognize it fairly well. 

“So, I’m assuming that you like Jean…at least a little bit.”

“Okay. Get off my bed. This moment is over.” You push him gently, facing away from Marco. 

“Are you going to tell him?”

“Oh would you look at the time? I should really head to bed, okay goodnight Marco, get off my bed.”

He laughed, and did as you said, letting you have the room so you could change, “goodnight lovebird.”

Ignoring him as best as you could, you changed quickly, and crawled right back into your bed, under the safety of your comforter.  Once there, you pulled out your phone, fingers trembling as you brought up the chat with Jean.

You stared at it for a moment. The last messages were from earlier this day. He hadn’t said anything since then. 

Slowly you typed out an apology. “Hey Jean, I’m really sorry for just bailing earlier. Super not cool of me.”

You groaned at the words, quickly backspacing and starting again. “Sorry about earlier, I didn’t mean to just leave you there. I promise things are fine. It wasn’t you, or the food for that matter.” 

You hit send, not giving yourself time to overthink the text any longer. 

Fairly quick after your message had been sent, Jean had already replied. “Its okay! You had me worried for a minute there. Thought maybe the food tasted so bad that you just had to leave to get an actual five star dinner.”

He was being courteous. Trying to keep the conversation light as to not scare you off again. 

Your fingers flew across the keyboard once more, “Let me make it up to you. Friday, 11am, at the museum.”

“You really don’t have to make anything up to me, I get it.”

“Jean. Just let me feel bad and try to make it up. Or else I will think about this all night.”

His next message wasn’t exactly what you thought he’d say…or actually, it was exactly what he would say, “Oh, so if I don’t let you have your way, you will be up all night…thinking about me?”

“No.” You hit send. Then sent another message, “Ykw nevermind. I’m not sorry. Be on time friday or else.”

He was quick to shoot back another response, “Okay fine. Make it up to me.”

Then another message, “How do you plan on doing that anyways?”

“You’ll see. Be patient.”

It wasn’t long after that did you eventually fall asleep. The next day was pretty uneventful. Your meeting with Armin was fine, as the guy already had about half of the presentation outline done, and with all of the information and other necessary work that you had gathered, Armin would most likely have the whole thing done by the time he went to bed that night. 

The rest of the day passed quickly, almost too quickly for your liking. Before you knew it, your alarm was going off, signalling that it was ten twenty-five in the morning. 

You had spent some time the day before thinking of how to make up for ditching Jean the other night, and finally settled on an idea. Said idea was currently sitting on your desk, inside a plastic bag. 

You gave it a quick look before climbing out of your bed, moving to your dresser to get ready for the day. 

You had just thrown on your shoes, sparing a glance at your phone to the time. It was eleven. You were going to be late. Of course after all that talk to Jean about being on time, you were going to be running behind this time. You could only imagine what he would have to say about it.

You hurriedly grabbed the bag from your desk, and shoved your phone into you pocket after sending yet another apology to Jean. 

The trip to the museum took about twenty minutes with public transport. It was eleven twenty-three and you had finally made it to the museum doors. 

Jean was standing just to the right of them, staring down at his phone, his back to you. You watched as he brought his phone to his ear, and smiled slightly as your phone buzzed in your pocket. 

You let it ring. Walking up and tapping his shoulder a few times. “Sorry I’m late.”

He spun around, eyes landing on your form. His mouth hung up for a moment before he hung up the phone call, “Is this to get back at me for the other day?”

“No…I just slept past my first alarm.”

“Oh so when you’re late its okay but when I’m late its the worst thing ever.”

You shrugged slightly, “I at least texted you in advance.” You paused, then remembered the bag you were holding, “Oh…um. I got you this. To make up for bailing.”

He eyed the bag suspiciously, “I thought I told you not to worry about it.”

“I worried about it. Now just say thanks and take the bag from me.” You rushed the words out, holding it out to him, “No refunds so you have to keep it.”

His fingers deftly took the plastic handles from you, and reached inside the bag. You watched quietly as he lifted the gift out, eyes softening as he realized what it was. 

“You bought me a new sketchbook?” He hummed a little, looking at the cover for a few moments, “This is a really nice brand too. I’ve always wanted to try it out.”

“Your other one looked a little full the other day…so I figured I could afford a nice one to say that I’m sorry. “

Jean let the sketchbook slide back into the bag, “Well…thank you. I really appreciate this.” He toed something on the ground, eyes unable to find yours. 

You instead took this moment to find the exhibit tickets on your phone, nudging him slightly, “Let’s get going, there’s a couple of pieces I think we should look at specifically.”

Once inside, you took a few moments to study the map of the place, trying to figure out which hall you needed to go to, before Jean took your hand in his, face a little flushed as he did so. 

“I come here pretty often, most of the new exhibits are near the back on the first floor.” He said, pulling you along with him. 

It wasn’t too crowded, and as most museums were, it was quiet. A nice solitude for those who liked to hide away from the world, and find new ones in the art and historical pieces sheltered there.

When the both of you made it to the exhibit, you found that you were the only ones there. Meaning that you could stare at the art as long as you needed. Which you did. Slowly you let Jean’s hand slip from yours.

You hadn’t thought about seeing the art in real life, and how much it would effect you. Entrap you in every single paint stroke, every single carving of marble. It was beautiful. Clearly the story that was assigned to you had meant a lot the various artists. 

You found Jean staring at a drawing. It was mostly in charcoal, though some color had been added here and there, giving the piece whimsical dimension. It looked to be a tree. A large, barren tree in a valley of never ending sand. From the branches, blue and green spilled out across the paper, spanning what would be the sky. 

“You like this one?” You asked with a hush, not wanting to startle him. 

He nodded, “It’s simple, but I just know that the artist put a lot of work into it. Every line is purposeful. And we will never truly know what it means.” He responded, eyes traveling down to the plaque, where it read the piece’s title, “Paths.” With an unnamed author. 

You let him look at the drawing for as long as he needed. You wandered to a sculpture on display a few steps to the right. It seemed to be one of the titans depicted in the story. Creme colored marble in the form of a woman, skeletal mouth open in what the book claimed to be a war cry. There were ribs formed around her abdomen. Her hand outstretched towards the open air. From this perspective, despite the lack of facial features, the statue almost looked sad. A women with an extraordinary ability, forced to use it for harm, all because she was in love with the wrong person. At least, that’s what you wanted to think.  You were sure that others in your class thought the opposite. Which of course was exactly what your analysis was going to focus on. 

You studied it for a few more moments, before looking away, finding Jean now standing across the room, in front of another painting. You moved to stand next to him, looking at what held his attention.

It was of a starry night sky, bathed in dark blues and purples. Underneath, was a lone pig in a field, head faced towards the grass. 

“This is what started the book, right?” You asked, watching as he nodded once.

“But that’s not what i’m thinking about.”

“Then what’s going on in your mind?”

Jean looked back to you, smiling sideways, “Why did you wait the other night, at the field? I figured that you were waiting for a star, but why?”

You brought your eyes back to the painting, looking from the dark green grass, to the pig that was grazing on it peacefully, then to a star painted to be the brightest one there. 

“When I was younger, I used to stand outside, or at my window, and just wait. As soon as I saw the first star of the night, I made a wish on it.” You paused, thinking back on your childhood, “I used to wish for a friend, or someone more than that. I was pretty lonely as a kid. Eventually I started wishing for a future other than that…and then, I stopped wishing. I still would wait for the star, but I made sure that I wasn’t relying on a ball of gas in the sky to make my wishes come true.”

“I’d say that they came true then.” Jean turned his body to face yours, looking down towards you, some thought dancing in his eyes.

You mimicked his motion, allowing yourself to face him fully, “And what makes you say that?”

“You’ve made two whole friends.” 

“I’ve made three.” You corrected him softly, thinking back to your first conversation about it with him, “Sasha and Marco are very nice people who I like a lot.” You state matter of factly.

He chuckles, shaking his head. “And the third? Don’t tell me it’s Floch…or even worse, Eren.”

“Mmm close. It’s you.” 

He places a hand to his heart, dramatic words escaping him, “How long have I waited for you to realize that you and I are friends.”

“You’re still horribly pleasant.” You remark, shaking your head, “Maybe I should take it back about being friends.”

“Too late, you already said it. No refunds.” He drew closer to you, enough to where you could feel his warmth. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Isn’t that technically already a question?” You pause, then nod to him, “But, yeah, go for it.”

“When you graduate, and leave this town. Will you forget about your friends?”

You hesitate. You knew that he wasn’t really asking about Marco or Sasha. You can feel your stomach flip over a few times, that annoying feeling of nervousness that came whenever you thought about Jean.

“No. I wont. How could I?” Your words seem to have some sort of effect on Jean, as he dodesn’t speak. You continue, trying to pick your words carefully, “When it comes to you, specifically you…I would have one hell of a time forgetting you, Jean.”

“I am pretty cool…” He mumbles, then swallows his pride, “But, what if I don’t want you to remember me?” 

You tilt your head to the side, giving him a confused look, but still allowing him to continue.

“I just mean…what if I want to be remembered as not just a friend. As more than that?” 

He locks eyes with you, his face serious as he waits for you to say something, to say anything really. 

You swear that your heart stops beating altogether. It wasn’t one sided. You thought back to your conversation with Marco from two nights before. You deserved this. Deserved to enjoy yourself. To let yourself live a little. 

“I think i’d like that.” You smile warmly, “Because I like you Jean. I tried really hard not to, but I do. And maybe, just maybe I don’t want to look back on college and only remember you as a friend.” You pause, taking in a small breath and willed yourself to finish your thought, “Maybe, after I graduate, we both can look back on the time. Together.”

“So, you don’t want to skip town and never look back?” he asks

“Skip town? Still do, but I can’t afford to ignore my time here.” 

“What if I came with you when you leave.” it’s less of a question, and more of an idea.

“Let’s just get to graduation first, Jean.”

He lets out a breathy laugh, nodding as he does, “Got ahead of myself there. But I have one more question.”

You study him for a moment, just as you had been studying the rest of the art in the museum. “You know, you were only supposed to ask one question anyways.”

“Last one, I promise.” 

“Okay, okay, what is it?”

“Can I kiss you?”

You’re suddenly all too aware of the small gap in your bodies, and his baited breath, and the sensation in your stomach that feels less like churning water and more like butterflies floating around blooming flowers. You hardly hear yourself tell him yes. 

The stiffness leaves Jean’s body, and he brings his hand free from the plastic bag up to your face, cupping your cheek lightly. His hand is warm, but not as warm as your flushed face is. His thumb moves back and forth slightly as he pulls you to him. His lips are soft, and you can feel his lashes flutter against your cheek. You easily find it in you to move in sync with him, allowing yourself to lean into the kiss, a small smile finding its way onto your face. 

He lets you pull away first. And for a moment all the two of you can do is stand there. You’re sure that you could stand there all day with him. 

You let him speak first. 

“So, am I still horrible?”

“Horribly, yet pleasantly charming. Yes.”

#jean attack on titan #jean kirstein #jean kirstein x reader #attack on titan x reader #attack on titan #aot #aot fic #aot x reader #jean kirschtein #jean kirschtein fic

[italianhomosexuality]

rant to me (i like the sound, i like your voice) on ao3

“Nico! You're finally here!”

The ever too-chipper voice took Nico out of his thoughts. He had plans that consisted of brooding and staring, but it seems like Will Solace didn't think that behavior is appropriate for a party.

If whatever it is that's happening can even be considered a party; the Apollo cabin and some other campers decided to get together near the lake, with some soda cans, Doritos bags, and sour gummy worms. There's some music playing and chatter going around, but Nico's foam earplugs do a great job at keeping the volume low enough so that it's not overwhelming. He plays with his fingers, practicing the alphabet in sign language. Tatiana, a daughter of Nemesis, was hard of hearing. Nico became close to her since both of them would usually sit in the shadows, a few feet away from the crowds. It was easy to be around her, and he was making an effort to learn sign.

Will's voice was a little muffled by the earplugs, but taking them out would be much worse. Nico just gestured towards him, pointing in a general direction that is a little further from the noise and confusion. Will understood, because of course he did. They walked a few steps in silence, and Nico didn't bother correcting Will that he'd been here for a few good minutes now, he just didn't want to interrupt Will's conversation with Connor.

He wasn't wearing his usual orange shirt; the blue fabric suits his eyes and looks nice under the moonlight. Nico knew he's clad in cargo shorts and flip-flops without even having to look down—that's what he wears all the time, even when Nico thinks about him before going to sleep, when he thinks of the two of them under the soft orange of a sunset, sharing McDonald's fries, maybe making jokes, hands just one or two millimeters away from each other, itching to touch, aching to be intertwined…

He couldn't afford to think about that right now.

As they reached a tree, Nico offered Will a sweet smile. They were far from the crowd, watching from a distance so that they could hold a conversation even with the earplugs. It's the little things Will does; the accommodations, the giving, the gifting, the understanding, the treating him as an equal that makes Nico have some thoughts that he'd rather keep to himself.

(“Nico, I've noticed you wince and flinch when it gets too loud. What do you think of trying some earplugs? They might help. I wear them sometimes.”)

(“Nico, can you come body double me? I need to clean the infirmary and I can't do it if I'm just there by myself.”)

(“Nico, I have bad days too.”)

(“Nico, would you mind hanging around for just a little longer? I had to treat a head injury today. I don't think I'll ever get over it.”)

“Have you been having fun?” Nico asked, feeling the deep rumble of his voice in his chest. He only now noticed how Will's eyelids and cheekbones seemed to sparkle and glimmer under the moonlight. Lou Ellen must have been experimenting with makeup again.

“Yes! It's been good.” Will raised his voice just enough so Nico could still hear him through the earplugs. It's the little things, Nico's brain supplied.

“How was your day?”

After a lot of practicing with other campers, Nico realized that he enjoyed asking questions. They were an easy way of navigating a conversation and he had a premade list of questions to use in any social setting. For the most part, he asked and listened, keeping only a few bits of information, glancing at the other person's forehead and nose bridge occasionally to mimic eye contact. With Will, however, he didn't have to overthink. He'd ask, but because he actually wanted to know. He'd look at the ground while paying the most attention he's ever paid. He'd fidget and fiddle with his necklace, humming and nodding, while storing every single bit of Will's stories, stitching guides, camp rules, and so much more.

“It wasn't that great, if I'm being honest,” Will said, picking at his fingernails, “but I've been managing. It was just… hard. At the infirmary. Being by myself.”

“You could have asked me for help,” Nico said, swinging back and forth on his ankles. “I didn't do much today. I could have at least been around. Make you feel less lonely.”

Ever since Will started opening up about his mental health and struggles with himself, Nico found it easier to do so, too. Some campers thought of the Head Counselor of the Apollo cabin as this perfect, do-no-wrong, ever-happy, feel-good Care Bear. Will played the part really well, having fooled Nico at the start, but then he understood. He saw the insecurities, the blood—Will's own—pooling and drying around his fingernails, the teeth marks on the bottom lip, the nervous ticks that would come out after an especially long day. Sometimes, though their wounds were far from equal, Nico felt as if he was looking into a mirror. Maybe not a mirror, but a murky reflection on a lake. A resemblance, something similar enough to his own, but with different shapes and jagged edges.

So, as Will listed his fears and how he wished so, so badly he could be someone else, Nico felt comfortable enough, for the first time in his life, to revisit his self-hatred and coax it out for a walk. Will took it and acknowledged it, but didn't yell at it or scare it away. It was almost as if he said, “Hey, I have that, too,” and Nico finally understood the many meanings of the word gratitude.

Nico never thought he'd be able to help someone feel less lonely. He'd also never thought he'd withstand a party—a get-together—just to catch a glimpse of blonde, defined curls and butterfly-blue eyes.

It's the little things.

“I know what you will say, but…” Will caught himself, stopping mid-sentence. “I didn't want to be a bother. A hypocrite, I know, but this happens sometimes. I'll try to not let it happen again.”

“Good.” Nico smiled, feeling the warmth from inside.

It was warm enough that he'd ditched the aviator jacket, but he still kept the jeans. The breeze coming from the lake was a nice touch to the night. He looked down, finding a spot dry enough for both of them to sit, and reached out to tug at Will's hand.

He couldn't pinpoint when he had gotten so… used to physical contact. When he had started to initiate it, even. But then again, he couldn't pinpoint when Will had become Will.

Will took the hint and sat down right beside Nico, scooting closer to him so that the skin on his calf touched the black denim. It was a common position to them. Comfortable. Nico's back didn't hurt as much and he didn't feel pressured to maintain eye contact. Will got to relax his posture and relax his legs from standing all day.

“Do you want to talk about what happened today?” Nico initiated, fingers tapping on his knee. “About what made you not have such a great day.”

No one had ever ranted to Nico. They were always afraid he wouldn't care or that they would be putting too much on him, as if he were a thin, fragile table, built to break at any point. Will didn't.

So Will said, “Yeah, I think that will help,” and started.

Nico listened.

He made sure to store every tidbit of information in his Will Solace-shaped mental drawer. He would remember, in the future, that the infirmary had a shortage of darker-colored band-aids, and he would point it out next time he and Will went supply shopping. He would remember, in the future, that Kayla had offered Will coffee with hazelnut creamer and he drank it all so as to not dismiss her, but he actually hated that flavor.

(Nico already knew that. If he wasn't having his coffee black, french vanilla was the go-to.)

He would remember how Will's fingers flexed as he told Nico how he had to patch up this new camper, almost as if he was going through the motions again. He would remember how Cecil's comment about his off-tune singing while washing his hands post-procedure made Will's heart sting, though he was used to the mockery, but it just hadn't been a good day. He would remember that Will hadn't slept well that day because the sheets had been recently washed and someone had used fabric softener on them, causing the texture to be plastic-like and that it made Will's skin itch. He would remember, and he would fight against every part of his brain that forced him to forget.

Once Will deemed his rant finished, Nico finally looked at him. He looked… pretty. The golden hue that came from the sun was perfect for Will's features, but the silver complimented him. It was the missing part. It hit his skin and bounced right back, catching on the glitter on his eyelids, cheekbones, and cupid's bow, making the chapstick on his lips shine a little more, exposing the chipped pink nail polish on his fingernails.

Nico didn't think boys were supposed to be considered pretty, but most common rules made no sense to him, anyway. Will was pretty. Accepting that fact had been complicated enough. He would not put up a fight against his thoughts.

“I like hearing you talk,” Nico confessed, straightforward as always. “The sound of your voice is very calming, like a stream of water. Constant.”

“That was a very sweet compliment, Nico,” Will replied, smiling wide. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

In the background, the party was still happening. Nico could hear laughter, cans being opened, fire crackling, stomping, soft tones and chords. But Will was next to him, seemingly not wanting to go back to the crowd, so he just settled into his makeshift seat a little more.

Maybe, in the future, Nico could ask Will if he liked him back. For now, he'd rather keep making a list of the little things. Little by little, he could have Will. He just needed some time to build up courage. Maybe, in the future, Will would slip out his ideal love confession or first date.

Nico would remember.

#solangelo #solangelo fanfiction #will solace x nico di angelo #will solace #nico di angelo #gianna writes #pjo #pjo hoo toa #nico di angelo & will solace

[v1olentdelights]

When the Party is Over

Conrad Fisher x sister!reader TW: crying and hinting at Susannah's cancer Summary: When your emotions are too overwhelming Conrad is there to help. a/n: this is so short but I didn't know what else to write! I'm sorry, I hope you enjoy it! Also why does the summary sound so stupid?

It was supposed to be a simple get together, maybe a drink or two with some loud music. But what started as a good night, turned sour and you weren’t even sure why. You were fine, completely lost in the music and the drink in your hand. And then you weren’t. Everything was just too much, you had been stressed about the upcoming school year, about your mother, and having to say goodbye to both of your brothers as they went off to college. 

It was your hope that you could just slip away out to the porch alone and have a few moments to recollect yourself before flagging down one of your brothers and asking them to drive you home. As you sat on the porch swing, you had your legs pulled up to your chest, cup in the hand that was holding your legs together and your hair was pulled out a little looser as you hoped to avoid a headache later on. 

It seemed that one of them already had that in mind. You were granted a few moments alone before someone came out to join you. They took a seat next to you on the porch swing. Conrad rested a hand on your knee, he always seemed to find you. Resting your head on his shoulder you let out a heavy sigh. To anyone else it may seem that you are practically begging someone to ask you what’s wrong, but to Conrad, he knew it was simply you letting down those emotional walls. But the tears that began to stain his shirt were also a tell. 

“What’s going on, bug?” The simple statement made your chest feel like it was caving in, because you didn’t know what was wrong. There were so many things to make you stressed out but none of them were making you upset at the moment, of course they affected you but they weren’t the problem. 

“I don’t know.” Bringing your free hand up to aggressively wipe away your tears. “I don’t know why I am the way I am, Connie. I just don’t understand what I am feeling and why I can’t just compartmentalize or something. Because it hurts, and I don’t know where to put everything that I am feeling right now.” Now your face was red and your heart was beating a bit faster, it was like your body wanted to make you feel worse. 

“Lay it on me. I know how you are feeling, and I can’t give you advice because I am still struggling. But share it with me. Because I don’t want you to get lost in your hurt.” Another huff of air left you, and it felt as though he did take the weight right off you. You knew it would take more work than that to let it all go, but he was right, as your brother often is. So you nodded your head in agreement. Then you sat there for a little while, the music still playing and people’s laughter in the background. 

“Let’s go home, I'll call Jere on the way back and let him know. We can make some tea and we can just hang out.” His voice was quieter this time, but just as sure as before. He slowly got up trying not to shake the bench too much, then holding a hand out for you to take, he helped you up and over to his car.

#grace writes #the summer i turned pretty #tsitp #the summer i turned pretty x reader #tsitp x reader #tsitp fanfic #tsitp x you #summer fanfics #x reader #x sister reader #x female reader #susannah fisher #belly conklin #steven conklin #college fic #comort #brotherly love #conrad x reader #conrad fisher #conrad x you #conrad x y/n #conrad x sister!reader #conrad fisher x you

[theleechyskrunkly]

The Discussion.

Paige is angry, and Idia's a goner.

Finn Clearcove belongs to @thehollowwriter

Regular text for present time, italics for flashback.

Everybody seemed to be doing the right thing right now, and what was the right thing to do? Stay out of Paige's way. His dorm mates looked utterly baffled (and terrified) as he stormed past them, anger oozing off of him. The students who saw him prayed to the seven for whoever had angered Paige to such a degree, and wondered who'd been the fool to do so.

Paige was livid, his face contorted into a frown that no one had ever seen on his usually passive features. It had everyone wondering what could’ve possibly happened for him to be in such a sour mood.

Well, to begin with, the main culprit was Idia. Why was he angry at Idia? Well, you're bound to find out. Boy, was he about to give Idia an earful...

”So, I take it you're... friends with Idia?” Finn’s voice cut through the music playing in Paige’s earbuds. The two were in Finn’s private area of the school’s botanical garden, Finn painting what seemed to be a carnivorous plant eating a rabbit(with extremely gory detail, as was characteristic for Finn's paintings), while Paige laid on his back with his head resting on a tree branch, scrolling through Twstube. His hair, which was out of its usual braid for once and running loose everywhere, served as his only pillow.

Finn's question was rather random, not only because they had not even been talking about Idia, but also because the two rarely spoke much when they were together at the botanical garden. They just sat in silence, each doing their own thing while enjoying the others company. It was like a little routine they'd set together.

“Yeah? Why?” Paige responded, taking out one of his earbuds and rolling onto his stomach to look up at Finn. Paige preferred to pretend he wasn’t aware of the obvious mutual dislike between Finn and Idia, but he knew avoiding it was no use.

"No, nothing. He's just rather... peculiar, to say the least." There was an obvious distaste in Finn's voice as he attempted to find a not-so-obvious way to hide his dislike for Idia, yet he failed rather miserably at doing so. Paige catches on very quickly to the emotions of humans, mer plus beast people, and animals alike. It's a trait that comes with the horse instincts.

"Peculiar would be an understatement," Paige of all people knew Idia was extremely bizarre, but with the amount of traveling he's done? Boy, has he seen worse. "What exactly is it that you have against him? You two are not really doing a fantastic job of being friendly with one another." Paige was blunt. Everything he said was always upfront, he never held back. The guy had no filter whatsoever and it showed.

Finn narrowed his eyes and his eyebrow twitched slightly, as if the simple thought of Idia got under his fins. "He's obnoxious, rude, talks nonstop — ugh, his gamerlingo is unbearable —, he's selfish, and outright disrespectful! If I had to list the times he's made comments regarding my weight, the list would go on for an eternity." Finn looked like he wanted to say more, but held his tongue to prevent his words from getting out of hand.

However, he had already said the words that set Paige ablaze. He instantly sat up, his usually blank expression knotting into something that showcased incredulity. He knew full well Idia was a certified yapper, and he could seem highly obnoxious to most, but since when did he bodyshame others? "What do you mean by making comments on your body? What type of comments? Is he making fun of you?" By this point, Paige had taken off both his earbuds, which alerted Finn in some sort of way. Paige hardly removed both his earbuds, if even one, not even when he showered (he has waterproof earbuds), and when he did, things were serious.

Finn hesitated before confirming Paige's suspicions, after all, Paige looked like he would go off stomping the second he said the truth. "Yes, he did. Such unoriginal insults, you'd think he was proud of hims- Paige, where are you going?!"

Paige didn't need to hear another word. He did indeed stomp off (quite literally). And he was stomping off to Ignihyde.

Paige did not even knock before letting himself into Idia's room, already knowing the password by heart since Idia had given up on changing it (Paige figured out every time). Idia was in the middle of game, nearly flying off the bed when Paige came in and turned on the lights in his room.

"You and I have something to discuss."

ITS DONE RAAAAAAHHHHHH

Guys I swear I didn't procrastinate this for a whole month trust 🙏

Btw this is the first fic I've ever ever written so my apologies for it being trash 😍🫶

Tagging: @thehollowwriter @cyanide-latte @xen-blank (let me know if you wish to be added to the taglist)

#I LOST 5 DRAFTS OF THIS BECAUSE THE AUTO SAVES DIDNT FUCKING WORK #Is this part one question mark? #I don't know how to continue this #But let me know if you'd like a part two! #twst #disney twst #twst wonderland #twst disney #twst idia #twst oc #disney twisted wonderland #finn clearcove #Paige Pegasus #twst ocs #twst fic #twisted wonderland #ignihyde #twst ignihyde #twst interactions

[skz317cb97]

I’m currently high rn, so imma just say three words and hopefully you can work your magic

Bratty

Sub

Chan

Mkk goodbye 👋 Love ya

Pouty Brat

Chan x Female reader

Word count: 3.3K

Synopsis: Your boyfriend Chan steps out of line and you have to remind him what happens to pouty brats when they break the rules.

A/N: 18+ ONLY! I am so sorry this took me so long! I hope it's what you were looking for and that you enjoy reading it! If you all happen to like this story please reblog, comment, like, shoot me and ask, feed back is always appreciated! Warnings and smut below the cut!

Warnings: 18+ ONLY MDNI! Cursing/strong language, masterbation (m), sexting (pictures/video), Chan sub/MC dom dynamic, pet names (baby, baby girl, good boy), bondage, oral (m&f receiving), edging, overstimulation/multiple orgasms, unprotected piv sex, cream pie, teensey bit of breeding kink. I think that's everything but if I missed something please let me know and I will add it asap!

On Jeongin’s birthday you had promised that you would take him shopping and out to lunch, just the two of you. Jeongin was your agi bbang. A little brother to you as much as he was to your boyfriend Chan and the guys, so you tended to spoil and baby him because of that. If Innie wanted a shopping trip with you for his birthday, he was going to get it. So you made the plan weeks out and the day had finally arrived. The only issue was, the day you had plans with Jeongin was the same day Chan had planned a surprise day for you to have alone together and he wasn’t being the easiest person to deal with because of it. 

“Channie, baby, it’s for Innie’s birthday I can’t cancel on him.” He knew you couldn’t but he still pouted. 

“Now don’t give me that face. I’ll come home and make a nice dinner for us and if you’re a good boy maybe we can play tonight.” The sour look stayed glued to his face. 

“Channie...” He stomped and turned, like a petulant child, crossing his arms dramatically. You tried not to laugh at how ridiculous he was being. 

“Don’t even try it. That aegyo only works on Felix. Now come give me a kiss, I have to go pick up Innie.” He turned and walked over, stopping in front of you. He pecked his pouty lips against yours quickly. 

“Baby.” Chan sighed and gave in. He wrapped his arms around you and kissed you sweetly, your lips lingering longer and he let out a content sigh. 

“I’ll be home in a couple hours. I love you.” His bottom lip started to protrude again. 

“I love you too.” He said morosely. You couldn’t help but laugh and shake your head as you walked out and closed the door. You and Jeongin were having a great time, you had a great lunch and you were just finishing up at the last store and then you were going to head home. You had even snuck away while Jeongin was distracted in the gaming store and got a little something for you and Chan for later to make up for not being able to spend the day with him. Jeongin was trying some things on in the dressing room when Chan text messaged you. 

Channie: Are you almost done? 😒

You: Chan are you really still being a pouty brat about this? 

Channie: A BRAT?! 

You: Yes baby, that’s exactly the way you’ve been acting, like a brat. 

No reply. You sighed. 

You: Chan? 

You: Channie? 

You: Christopher?! 

Channie: What. 

You: Why did you stop answering me? 

Channie: I’m busy. 

You: Oh yea? Doing what?  

You suddenly got a text with an attachment. You opened it and there on your screen in all his glory was your boyfriend. His abs and the lower half of his body at least. He was laid back on your shared bed palming his hard cock over his black briefs. 

You: What do you think you’re doing? 

Channie: Just having a little fun while I wait. 

You got another text with an attachment. He was really pushing it with this today? You opened the text and it was the same angle, the same abs but this time the underwear were pulled down and his hard dick was in his hand. 

You: Chan heed my warning right now baby. Do not do what you’re about to do. 

Channie: Fuck it feels so good.  

You: Chan I’m serious... 

Another text with an attachment, video. You walked further away from the dressing rooms and turned the volume down on your phone. When you opened the attachment there was video of Chan, same angel as the pictures, stroking his cock. 

You: Christopher, this is your last warning. 

Text, attachment, video again. You opened it. Chan was jerking off faster, twisting his wrist and focusing on the head, his legs twitching, the tell-tale sign he was about to cum. Jeongin came walking out of the dressing rooms right when Chan’s load painted his abs. You quickly closed your phone and put it away. 

“Hey Innie! Did you like any of them?” He shook his head. 

“No they didn’t look the way I thought they would.” He shrugged and put the clothes back on the rack. 

“Aww, I bet they looked great, but what’s most important is that you feel comfortable in them.” He smiled, his foxlike eyes scrunching up and his dimples appeared. 

“Oh yea we gotta get going. Channie texted and said he left something at the studio that he was wanting to work on at home today. He needs me to take him to get it.” Jeongin smiled and nodded. 

“Of course noona, I’ll just put these back real quick." You ruffled his hair and he rolled his eyes at you, pushing your hand away. You dropped Jeongin off and then hurried home to deal with Chan. A line had been drawn between you, a rule. Neither of you came without the other and Chan stepped over the line. When you got home you walked through the apartment looking for him. You headed down the hall towards your room and ran into him coming from the bathroom, curls still wet from his shower, towel wrapped around his waist. He jumped and put his hand over his heart. 

“Jes-fuck! You scared me! I didn’t think you would be home so soon.” He thought he’d at least have time to shower, dry off and change before you got there. He sounded a little nervous. He very well fucking should be. You were going to tear him apart. 

“Did you really think you could send me a video of you coming all over yourself knowing you’re not allowed to touch without me, and I wouldn’t come right home to punish you. You’re gonna pay for every drop of cum that spilled Christopher. Now get your ass in that room and get in the chair.” Chan gulped; he was in trouble when you called him Christopher. 

“Wait the chair...” You smiled sweetly, nodding. 

“You heard me. Sit that cute ass in the chair.” He nodded and did what you said. He knew he pushed your buttons, slammed his hands down on the control board really. The chair was essentially a padded dining room chair with arms that had silk restraints attached to them as well as the front legs of the chair. You went into the bathroom and changed into the surprise you had gotten for Chan while you were out and then slid your robe on over it. When you walked into the bedroom, Chan had stripped his towel off and was sitting in the chair like you had told him to. You walked over, knelt down in front of him, and secured the first silk tie around his ankle. 

“I don’t know what has gotten into you today Christopher...” You grabbed his other ankle and fastened the silk tie to it. He had enough room to wiggle but not get out. You ran the tips of your fingers up his bare thighs and his cock twitched. 

“Do you want me to touch you?” You took your hands off of him and then fastened another tie around his wrist. 

“Too bad. You’ve been bad Christopher. Pouting, acting jealous, touching yourself, coming without me. Tsk.” You tied the last silk tie around his other wrist, then stood and backed away from him a little. You untied then dropped your robe and Chan’s jaw dropped too. You stood in front of him in sexy black lace lingerie. 

“See I had planned on making it up to you. Had you been a good boy you’d get to touch me, tear this off me, fuck me however you wanted but you had to pout, had to touch, cum. You were so bad Christopher and now you’re getting edged until I decided to let you cum, if I let you cum.” You walked over closer to him again. God he wanted to touch you, you looked amazing.  

You started to run your finger down Chan’s forehead, his nose, over his lips, pulling the bottom down a bit. Your finger continued tracing down Chan’s chin and neck. It tickled when you grazed down his chest and tummy making him tense and flex but you didn’t stop. Your finger dragged along the shaft of Chan’s cock and when you got to the tip you gently pushed down and let go making his hard dick spring back. You got on your knees and tip toed your fingers up Chan’s bare thighs closer and closer to where he wanted your touch, then your hands were gone. You licked one, Chan watching intently, wishing he could grab your hair, wishing you would suck him off. 

“Your face gives you away baby...” Chan’s focus came back to what was actually happening instead of what he wanted to be happening. Your mouth was so close to his cock he could feel your warm breath fan across it. 

“You want me to suck on it don’t you Christopher? Unfortunately for you, it won’t be that easy.” Your mouth was gone but the hand you had licked was now gripping the base of Chan’s dick. The contact forced the smallest moan from him. You smirked and then, at an agonizingly slow pace, you started to stroke his cock. It was already torture but he knew better than to whine, at least not this soon in. 

“Don’t you think you should be trying to say sorry?” Chan nodded and you started to jerk him off a little faster. 

“I am! I am sorry!” You hummed. 

“Hmm sorry, I don’t buy it.” You took your hand off his cock and he groaned in disappointment. 

“I am baby girl I am! I’m so sorry!” You started to stroke him slowly again. 

“Are you?” You started to go even slower. 

“YES! I am I’m so fucking sorry!” You started to move faster, smirking at how quickly he was coming undone. 

“What are you sorry for CHRIStopher?” Chan was starting to breathe heavier. 

“Fuck! I’m so-sorry I was pouting...” You hummed pleased with his answer so far. 

“What else?” His head tilted back; his eyes scrunched closed as he focused. 

“S-sorry f-for touching...t-teasing...” You hummed your satisfaction again but there was still more. 

“What else Christopher?” He whined and moaned as you continued to jerk him off. 

“Don’t you dare cum. I need an answer. Do you want me to stop?” 

“NO! NO! Don’t stop! I won’t cum! I’m sorry I came without you earlier! Sorry for being a brat!” You started to stroke the head of his cock fast and cooed at Chan as his thighs started twitching. 

“Aww, good boy. What do you want baby?” He moaned and whined again. 

“Cum, please let me cum!” You thought about it as you continued to smear his precum and stroke him. 

“You want to cum? Are you sure?” Chan nodded aggressively. 

“YES! PLEASE!” A wicked smile spread across your face. 

“Okay baby. You can cum.” Chan was surprised you had given in so easily but took it. He let out a high-pitched moan, grunted and started coming. You stroked him as ropes of cum streaked his tummy and your hand. You kept going, not slowing down as the last streak of his load shot across his abs. Soon he started to feel the pins and needles of overstimulation. Chan tried to move, to pull away, but the ties made that impossible. Beads of sweat started forming on his temples and he was breathing heavily. 

“W-wait...” You looked up but didn’t stop jerking him off. 

“Wait? Wait for what baby? You wanted to cum yea?” He gasped and nodded. 

“Yes but...” You cut him off and started to pick up the pace again. 

“But nothing. Where are your manners? You wanted to cum, don’t be ungrateful.” Chan shook his head no. 

“Th-thank you.” You smiled and pumped his cock faster. 

“C-can’t...” You licked his tip. 

“Can’t? Can’t what baby? Can’t just be a good boy? Hmm? Can’t just be patient? You wanted to cum baby. So cum.” You started sucking his dick bobbing up and down. 

“Fuckfuckfuck!” You hummed and Chan whimpered. 

“OOOOhhh fuck! I... I... I...” You pulled off and stroked him fast and hard.  

“Awww be a good boy and cum in my mouth.” You started sucking on him again while you jerked him off. His legs tensed and his thighs flexed and you knew he was close again. He was gripping the arm rests so hard his knuckles were turning white, sweat starting to drip down his neck, his ears and face were red. 

“I-I’m g-gonna cum fuck! Gonna cum!” You felt Chan’s legs tense and just before he started coming you removed your hands and mouth. His cock twitched and he came all over his abs again, groaning out upset that his orgasm was ruined by you pulling away. 

“I thought you wanted me to cum in your mouth?!” He whined. You smiled and shrugged your shoulders. 

“I changed my mind.” You started giggling when you saw how strung out he was. You walked over, grabbed Chan’s towel and wiped up his cum then you stood in front of him again and turned, your back facing him. You bent down and slid the black lacy panties down and off giving Chan an excellent view of your glistening cunt. God he wanted to touch you, taste you. 

“Please... Please let me touch you...” You turned facing him again. You bent down and kissed the tip of his nose. 

“No.” He whined again as you climbed onto his lap and straddled him. 

“You’re gonna sit there now and you’re gonna watch me use your cock and you can’t touch or taste and if you keep whining, I’m gonna blind fold you and then you won’t even get to see the present I’m wearing for you.” Chan immediately stopped complaining. 

“Good boy.” You reached back and lined Chan’s dick up with your dripping hole and started to sink down on him. The groan he let out was somewhere between pain and pleasure. 

“Mmmm Channie you fill me up so well...” He kept gripping the arms of the chair, panting as you started to ride his sensitive cock. 

“Fuck! Feels so good baby!” You moaned and braced yourself on his broad shoulders as you kept bouncing on his lap, chasing your own orgasm. 

“Fuckfuckfuck baby girl god damn!” You started grinding on his cock hard and deep and you felt your orgasm radiate through your body.  

“Channie fuck yes fuck yes! Ohhhh god!” You rode it out and then slowed down, catching your breath. You threaded your fingers through Chan’s sweaty curls and tugged, pulling him closer so you could kiss him. You claimed his full lips kissing and nipping at them as you started to slowly move up and down his dick again. 

“Please... please baby girl! I’m so sorry! I’ll never do it again I promise!” You held on and started riding him faster. 

“MMMmnever?” Your warm, wet, walls squeezed him. 

“Never! God I promise baby never! I’m so sorry! Just give me a little break, let me eat you out, touch you, please!” He was begging so sweetly. You cooed and kissed his nose. 

“Good boy.” You climbed off his lap and untied his ankles first. Even once you had his hands freed he waited for your permission to get up and touch you. You walked back towards the bed. 

“Come on baby, come touch me.” Chan sprung up from the chair and walked over quickly. He pulled you close and kissed you hard pressing your bodies together. 

“Fuck baby girl it’s torture not touching you. Especially when you look like this.” His hands roamed your body over your lingerie as his lips trailed down your neck. 

“I know Channie it is for me too baby.” He groaned, happy he was finally tasting your skin, touching you. 

“I’m sorry baby girl, I’m so sorry.” You nodded gripping his curls again, tugging so his lips were on yours again. 

“I know you are Channie, I know. Touch me, lick me.” He laid you back on your bed and got comfy between your legs. 

“I’m not stopping until your legs are shaking beautiful.” You bit your lip when Chan ran his tongue through your folds. He hummed savoring you. 

“Yes, fuck... Chan! Feels so good...” You were gripping onto his curls again as he ate you out eagerly. He wrapped his arms around your thighs and pressed his face into you more. He pulled away long enough to run his fingers down your glistening cunt and push two inside you, then he started licking and sucking on your clit. 

“OH MY FUCK YES! YES! CHANNIE DON’T STOP!” You were hurtling towards your climax. He groaned against your pussy as he continued his attack nipping, slurping, sending you reeling into an intense orgasm. Your legs clamped around Chan’s head and he just let you, if he goes having his skull crushed by your legs while he goes down on you then he’ll die a happy man. Chan made you cum three more times and indeed did not stop until your legs were shaking. He crawled back up your body placing soft kisses in all his favorite spots. Finally he kissed your lips hovering over you. 

“I love you baby girl.” You traced your fingers along his strong jaw. 

“I love you too Channie.” Chan kissed you as he sank into you and you gripped his shoulders as he pushed in deeper, filling you. 

“Ugh god! So Good!” Chan hummed in agreement as he started to find his rhythm. Your soft pants and moans egged Chan on and he started to fuck you harder. 

“Fuck yes baby girl take it!” You held onto his strong broad shoulders spreading your legs to take more of him if it was even possible. Chan gripped your hips and made it possible, giving it to you hard and deep until you were a babbling mess. As well as you were able to take him apart, he was just as capable of tearing you to pieces too. He leaned over your body and kissed you as he kept giving you hard thrusts.  

“Please... please... can I cum inside?” He whispered against your lips. 

“Fuck I want to give you my babies... please?” You nodded and moaned out when he started chasing your orgasm and his own, snapping his hips into yours as he was sweating and panting. When you came around his cock Chan’s hips faltered and he pushed deep as he spilled inside you. 

“Mmmmm Channie fuck!” You pulled him down on top of you more, making him put his weight on you, pressing you further into the mattress. 

“Closer, need you.” You whined. Chan cooed and started kissing your face all over. 

“Anything for you baby girl.” He slumped on the bed next to you, wrapped his strong arms around you and pulled you in close, rubbing into the crook of your neck with his nose, his warm breath tickling you. You giggled and turned in his arms nuzzling deeper into his hold, resting against his firm chest. You both laid there like that coming back down from the intense sex you’d just had. When Chan looked down at you there was a bit of a frown on your face. 

“Hey, hey, hey... what’s wrong?” You shook your head against his chest. 

“I’m sorry if you were upset I couldn’t spend the day with you. I love you so much and I really wanted to...” Chan shook his head and kissed you passionately as he cupped your face. 

“No baby girl no, I wasn’t upset. I was just teasing so we could have a little fun when you got home. I know it’s supposed to be ‘punishment’ but fuck you’re so sexy when you go all dominant on me like that. Especially in this lingerie.” He pulled you close again and wrapped his arms around you tightly, you nuzzled back into him. 

“I’ll still cook dinner...” Chan squeezed you. 

“How about we cook dinner together?” 

Please do not repost or translate any of my works. My blog and stories are NSFW and 18+ ONLY! Minors, ageless, and blank blogs will be blocked!

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#stray kids smut #skz smut #bang chan smut #chan smut #skz317cb97 #cal 🖤 #cal's requests🖤

[cest-la-vieve]

A Court of Pain and Pleasure (Ch. 13)

Summary: Evelyn faces the consequences of both her kiss with Azriel and the deal she made to train with him.

Word Count: 7k

Warnings: Chronic disability/pain, cussing, fluff, mentions of violence

Notes: i had a heck of a time writing this. thank you to all my lovely friends who offered to proofread and help me work through some of the kinks. i hope y'all enjoy !

Next Chapter: Chapter Fourteen

ACOPAP Masterlist

---

Dinner was… awkward, to say the least.

Cassian kept sneaking glances between Azriel and me, ranging from confusion to protectiveness to this smug smirk I wanted nothing more than to wipe off his face. 

Then there was Feyre and Lucien, off to the side chatting about… something. I couldn’t focus on listening to their conversation since all of my attention was on avoiding Azriel at all costs.

That kiss changed my life.

I had never experienced anything that had called to my very soul the way that kiss had, as brief as it had been.

The way his lips had slotted against mine, his hands oh-so-gently placed on my hips, and the perfect way our bodies fit together - like two puzzle pieces that had just been waiting to find each other.

All I wanted was to live in that moment forever. Well, actually, maybe not that moment just because I was so, so desperate to see what would have happened in the moments after if it hadn’t been for -

Cassian.

I glared at his back from where I sat on the couch. He was standing with Azriel and Rhysand off to the side, doing their best to ignore Nesta’s arrival. 

I took a long sip from my glass of wine, shaking my head slightly at the strength of it. Maybe if I drank enough I wouldn’t have to worry about the consequences of that kiss.

As if sensing my narrowed gaze, Cassian turned toward me. He took in my sour expression and sent me a wink, causing me to furrow my eyebrows even further. I could only hope he wasn’t planning on continuing his little game of tormenting me with what he had seen.

Of course, his attention was split between torturing me and panting after my sister. The thought alone brought a small smile to my face. Now at least I had something to hold over his head.

I turned my head away from the males and smiled as Mor fussed over Nesta’s dress. My sister would never admit it but I knew she loved the finery - something she missed while we were in that cabin. The Fae took extravagant clothes to a whole new level.

“It’s a good thing we’re not the same size - or else I might be tempted to steal that dress,” I heard Mor say and I giggled into my glass of wine.

Nesta took in the Fae female, looking her up and down, before saying, “Fortunately for you, I don’t return the sentiment.”

I covered my mouth with a hand, stifling the snort of air that escaped my nose, at the same time Azriel coughed into his glass of wine. Our eyes met but I quickly ducked my head, unwilling to see what emotion his face held.

I raised my glass in solidarity as Mor said to Feyre, “I think we’re going to need a lot more wine.”

Cassian quickly stated his intent to raid whatever massive collection Rhys surely had hidden somewhere. I didn’t miss the way Nesta stiffened at his exit and made a mental note to ask her about it the next time we talked. 

When was the last time we talked? When I woke up, I realized with a start. It felt like a lifetime ago. I’d have to make the time to check in with both her and Elain.

I watched Feyre sit next to Nesta at the table, Amren joining them a moment later. Cassian returned with the wine and I beckoned him over.

I vaguely heard Nesta interrogating Amren in the background, but couldn’t find it in myself to care as I finished off the last of the wine in my glass.

Cassian chuckled softly, “Maybe you should take it easy.”

“It’s your fault I’m trying to forget my own name,” I snorted.

He shrugged. “Maybe not my fault,” he teased with a pointed glance towards Azriel, who looked torn between finding out what Cassian and I were talking about and listening to Nesta.

Cassian poured me a bit more wine but stopped as he heard Nesta ask, “And what is beneath?”

I froze as well, knowing it wasn’t wise for my eldest sister to speak so nonchalantly to the most powerful being in this room.

Amren paused before answering, “They never dared ask me that, either.”

“Why.” demanded Nesta.

“Because it is not polite to ask - and they are afraid.”

A staring contest ensued then, one I was not particularly inclined to watch. I took a slow slip of my drink, staring at Azriel over the rim, trying my best to be inconspicuous. Thankfully, his attention was wholly fixated on the exchange between Nesta and Amren. I wondered if he meant to intervene or simply observe.

“We’re the same, you and I. Not in the flesh, not in the thing that prowls beneath our skin and bones… But… I see the kernel, girl,” Amren explained to Nesta, who had gone still enough that she could have been a statue. “You did not fit - the mold that they shoved you into. The path you were born upon and forced to walk. You tried, and yet you did not, could not, fit. And then the path changed. I know - what it is to be that way. I remember it, long ago as it was.”

I took a deep breath. What had she seen in my sister that I hadn’t? Yes, it was definitely time to have a longer conversation with Nesta.

I heard Rhysand intervene to break the tension and stood on unsteady legs to walk towards the table. I watched with wary eyes as everyone took their seats, carefully noting where Azriel and Cassian sat at one end.

Lucien remained standing next to me as well. He glanced to me, questioning his next move, then to Rhys, frowning. “I- shouldn’t you sit at the head?”

A drunken giggle left my mouth at the absurdity of it. Clearly, the male didn’t know the High Lord very well. I ignored the way all the heads in the room snapped towards me at the sound of my laugh as Lucien continued to flounder between the seat at the head and the seat across from Nesta.

“I don’t care where you sit. I only care about eating something right now.” Rhys said, snapping to summon the food to the table.

Lucien remained standing.

“Oh for gods’ sake if you won’t take it, I will,” I finally sighed out, pushing past the green-clad male and stumbling into the seat across from my sister. Nesta sent a disapproving frown my way, clearly not happy with my level of intoxication. I just grinned back at her and took another swig of wine.

My head spun a bit as the smells of the various foods hit my senses. I ignored the way the room seemed to spin a bit and focused on the lack of stress weighing down my shoulders. I flicked my eye to Nesta - to two Nestas.  Maybe I should slow down on the wine.

Lucien finally sat next to me, claiming his spot at the head of the table, as Feyre leaned forward to tell him, “You get used to it- the informality.”

Rhys sent a teasing jab her way before she elaborated, “It took me by surprise that first dinner we all had, just so you know. Honestly, Azriel is the only polite one.”

I stiffened. Next to me, Amren sent a sidelong glance my way. I couldn’t tear my eyes away as Azriel smiled faintly, shyly before taking food for his plate.

“As you wish.”

His appeasing, imploring words came back to me and swirled around my head. Polite, indeed.

Feyre’s voice cut through the haze in my mind as she asked Cassian, “What time are we back in the training ring tomorrow?”

I nearly laughed at the exasperation on my sister’s face as the Illyrian general responded that he wanted her there at 7 in the morning.

Azriel’s quiet but assertive voice found me from the other end of the table. “That means you, too, Evelyn.”

I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, as I found the shadowsinger leaning forward to make eye contact with me. His face was impressively blank, revealing none of his thoughts as he continued to look at me. He quirked an eyebrow and cleared his throat and I realized he was waiting for a response.

What had he said? What were we talking about?

Oh, yes. Training. Morning.

I groaned and threw my head into my hands. I had forgotten that moments before… it… Azriel had agreed to train me. Which meant I now had to get up early and spend gods knows how long training with the male I had just kissed.

Laughs echoed around the table at my reaction, taking it as my displeasure at having to be awake, but Cassian gave me a knowing smirk. I just glared daggers at him, wishing that the Cauldron had given me the power to skewer someone with my eyes.

I mentally berated myself as the other resumed their teasing, something about Cassian and Azriel wanting ‘prettiness’ to look at, though I doubt Azriel had been a part of that conversation at all.

I snapped my head up as Rhysand confirmed that he sent out invitations to all the High Lords to schedule a meeting to discuss the war.

I stood up, careening to one side as the room seemed to move beneath my feet. Lucien’s cautious hand darted out from his spot at the head of the table next to me to steady me on my feet. Once I wasn’t at risk of falling, I giggled and patted Lucien’s head in thanks, ignoring his bewildered and slightly offended look. The scene had effectively distracted everyone from Rhysand’s declaration. I cleared my throat, “I suppose this means you are going to begin that dreadful politicking of yours, which means it’s time for me to find somewhere else to be. At least until you all decide to discuss something more interesting.”

Feyre narrowed her eyes but Rhys gave me a smile. “How about I come to debrief you of the interesting bits once we finish our ‘dreadful politicking’, dear sister?” he asked.

My chest warmed at the title, realizing my insistence that he was now part of my family had finally settled in. Nesta, however, scoffed quietly and glared at me. Shit. I should have known she wouldn’t approve of that.

“I’ll be waiting, your High Lord-ship,” I curtsied, laughing as my hair fell in my face at the movement. I straightened myself out, smiling wide as I looked at Rhys.

He laughed, waving me off with his hand. I grabbed my glass of wine and made to leave the room. As I passed Cassian, however, a strong arm shot out to bar my way. I let out a noise of protest as my waist slammed into his arm. He just used his other hand to grab the wine from me, “I think that’s plenty, kid.”

I huffed and crossed my arms, but nodded. He retracted his arm and I continued my walk to the doorway, noting the angry swirling of shadows behind Azriel. I couldn’t begin to imagine what had upset him so much.

I sighed, stopping in the kitchen to grab a glass of water, figuring it might help the impending headache of tomorrow morning. I slowly made my way up the stairs, making sure both feet were firm on the step before moving to the next one. I laughed under my breath at each step, my head feeling fuzzy and my feet feeling heavy. I sighed in relief as I made it to the hallway. The glass of water in my hand miraculously hadn’t spilled any on the way up and as I took sips of it I could slowly feel my head clearing.

I paused as I passed Azriel’s bedroom. I glanced between the door and the sounds of conversation coming from downstairs…

I shouldn’t… Really, I absolutely shouldn’t.

The logical part of my brain screamed at me as the drunk part took over, moving my hand to the doorknob of its own volition.

I inhaled deeply as the door opened, taking a step inside. It smelled so much like him that it overwhelmed my senses. That cedar smell reminded me of sitting in the gardens of our estate as a child. The cedar forest had been planted centuries ago and bordered the far edge of our land. I didn’t remember much from those days before our father lost his wealth but I’ll always remember sneaking off to sit on the edge of the woods, listening to the birds, and waiting eagerly to maybe see a deer. 

It smelled like home.

I exhaled in relief and felt the tension leave my body. I realized I hadn’t really taken a second to just breathe since the panic of earlier. So much had happened so quickly and with this High Lords meeting on the horizon, it seemed like they were going to continue to.

I didn’t protest as my drunken fit led me over to the - of course, immaculately made - bed and sat me down on the edge. 

If I had been more focused, perhaps more sober, I would have noticed the shadows that crept through the open door and throughout the room. If I had, it’s likely I would have very quickly made my escape and gone to my own room before the person they reported to returned. 

But I was drunk.

And I reveled in the way the scent wafted in the room and calmed my senses.

So I put down my water and curled up on my side, letting my body and mind relax. I held the pillow close that smelled so strongly of the male that I just couldn’t seem to shake - not that I wanted to.

I fell asleep more peaceful and content than I had ever been in my life.

-

I blinked awake as the sunlight began filtering through the windows. I yawned, stretching my arms and legs before softly groaning as the stiffness of my muscles faded away.

I sat up slowly, wincing at the slight headache in my temples. Right. Wine.

An unfamiliar blanket was now bunched at my waist. I closed my eyes and racked my brain to remember what had happened after I left dinner last night.

I was supposed to go back to my room and wait for Rhys to fill me in. But I didn’t make it to my room. I cracked open my left eye just to confirm my suspicions. Yep, definitely not my room.

Which means… I blushed as I realized Azriel must have found me here once he retired from dinner. Oh, gods and training!

I whipped my head to the window, realizing that I was likely running late.

Pushing aside my embarrassment, I padded my way down the hallway to my room. I dug through the drawers, finding some fitted pants, a loose-fitting shirt, and a binding for my chest that was designed with exercise in mind.

I took off up the stairs to the roof, panting slightly when I finally burst outside.

I was surprised to find just Cassian standing off to the side of the training ring. I caught my breath and straightened. Narrowing my eyes in suspicion, I cautiously approached the Illyrian general.

“Is this a setup?”

He laughed and set down the sword he had been cleaning. I immediately went to grab it but he stepped in front of it before I could. His eyes twinkled in amusement, “What exactly are you planning on doing with that?”

I crossed my arms, speaking slowly, as you would to a child. “It’s a sword. It stabs. I was going to stab you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” I made to step around him and show him just how lethal I could be, but he moved in my way again. “But I’m not your trainer. He is.” He nodded his chin behind me.

My spine straightened. My pulse quickened. The tips of my ears warmed.

I turned slowly.

Azriel stood across the training ring, eyebrows raised in - amusement? Question? I couldn’t tell.

His posture mirrored mine, arms crossed and shoulders square but he held a grace and power that I’m sure mine lacked.

Determined not to let anything phase me, I bounced on the balls of my feet over to him, still keeping a good distance between us. I stood ramrod straight and held up one hand in a mock salute. “Where do we start, Spymaster?”

He hadn’t moved an inch. Feyre had mentioned at some point that the Fae were able to go so still it was preternatural. Clearly, Azriel had used his 500 years to perfect it.

I lowered my arm, relaxed my stance, and tilted my head in question. His eyes tracked every movement but still, he said nothing.

I whirled around to Cassian, asking, “Is this some sort of hazing ritual? Or a test of some sort?”

Cassian just shrugged.

When I turned back to face the shadowsinger, that stillness had gone but his eyes remained distant. Concern punctured my chest just as surely as any blade. “Azriel?”

His gaze focused and he seemed to return to himself. He cleared his throat and uncrossed his arms, offering one hand out to me.

“Is this a setup?” I eyed his hand with suspicion.

“No,” he answered, voice full of mirth at my wariness. “We’re not training here, so we have to fly to where we are training. Considering you still don’t know how to fly…” He finished by gesturing with his outstretched hand.

“Well, where are we going?” I put my hands on my hips.

His teasing edge hardened into exasperation as he sighed, finally dropping his hand. “Evelyn, we’re going to train. And what we’re doing can’t be done here. Especially with them-” His head nodded to Feyre and Cassian, the former must have snuck out here while I was distracted - “taking up the entire roof.”

At that, Cassian glared at Azriel. “Have fun training, you two,” he said oh-so-subtly. 

I flipped him a finger unsuitable for a lady. I grabbed Azriel’s hand in my own and said, “Just get us out of here.”

He smiled and took off into the sky before I could even blink. I could still feel my stomach dropping as his powerful wings beat, pushing us closer to the mystery destination. My eyes were screwed shut and I clung to him so tightly I would have worried about bruising him if he weren’t Fae.

A soft chuckle sounded in my ear.

“Don’t start with me, Az,” I ground out, careful to take breaths so my stomach wouldn’t empty its contents. “Between you and Cassian, it’s a miracle Rhys has lived this long without losing his sanity.”

His arms squeezed me tighter. Ignoring my comment he said quietly, “Open your eyes.”

I shook my head feverishly against his shoulder.

“I won’t land until you do.”

Cad.

“Fine but if I vomit on you I won’t apologize.”

At his silence, I cracked open my right eye, only looking at his face for a second before closing it again.

“There.”

“Eve.”

It was the way he said my name. The reverence it held, as if I weren’t me, a lost, ordinary female, but instead a goddess who he was asking for a miracle. Begging for one.

He wanted me to see this. It was important to him.

So I bit down on that fear that caught in my throat and opened both eyes before my brain had a chance to process it.

If it was possible, I held on to Azriel even tighter, both arms wrapped around his neck, probably cutting off some measure of his airflow. If it bothered him, he didn’t say anything.

I forced my head from his shoulder and gasped at the sight.

Velaris spread underneath us. I could just barely make out the figures of the Fae and faeries below us beginning to set up their various shops for the day or run their morning errands.

It wasn’t the city that enchanted me though - it was what surrounded it. Mountains reached far beyond what I could see from here, some capped with snow and others featuring jagged rocks. Trees covered what the city and mountain did not, making it look like we were flying over a vast green ocean as they rippled in the wind, mimicking waves.

It felt different than any place I had seen before. Even more comfortable and beautiful than the gardens of our estate. 

If it wasn’t for the flying part, I’d want to stay up here forever just to calm my soul and enjoy the view.

“It’s beautiful,” I confessed to Azriel.

He didn’t take his eyes off of it as he responded, “It’s home.”

Home. I repeated the word and savored the way it made me think of my sister and this beautiful place she now lived in. Maybe this could be home.

I closed my eyes again as Azriel began descending, deciding maybe it would make me feel less queasy if I couldn’t see what was going on. I’m sure the wine last night hadn’t done me any favors in terms of nausea today.

I cracked one eye open as I felt us slowing down.

We landed in a river. Seriously. Azriel landed in the middle of a river.

I shrieked and used only the strength of my arms around his neck to hold my body up as I bent my legs to avoid the water. Azriel laughed and hooked one of his arms under my knees to keep me out of the water. It wasn’t easy, considering the water came up to his waist, but he managed to keep me dry.

The water didn’t seem to bother him as he carefully grabbed my waist, lifting me up slightly, almost like I had seen dancers do at the theater. I didn’t have time to voice my question before he planted my feet on a small rock that was jutting out of the river.

I waved my arms, struggling to get my balance. Once I did, I felt his grip loosen on my hips before disappearing completely. I heard the flap of his wings as he used them to jump onto the bank of the river gracefully.

I tried to turn my body towards him, to ask what the hell he thought he was doing, but the rock was just as wide as my feet pressed together. Any movement could cause me to fall into the river which I really, really did not want to do. Beyond getting my clothes wet, I knew from my run yesterday that the water here was not an agreeable temperature.

I carefully shuffled my feet, thankful that the rock was dry as the smooth surface was hard enough to balance on without it also being slippery. I also sighed in relief that it was a foot or two above the water. Slowly, I managed to turn to where Azriel lounged on the bank.

Sitting on a tree stump, fiddling with a knife, one leg propped by its ankle on his other knee, he was the picture of smugness.

I scowled at him. “Azriel, what the hell is this?”

“Training,” came his slightly shouted reply.

I raised my voice to be heard over the babbling of the river, “How in the Mother’s name is this training?”

He grabbed an apple out of a small bag I hadn’t noticed him carrying and began peeling it with his knife.

“Don’t fall.”

“What?”

“The training is: don’t fall.”

“What is this supposed to teach me other than you’re a massive prick,” I shouted, getting frustrated with his nonchalance.

He stood slowly, coming to stand closer to where the water was rushing past. He grinned. And it wasn’t the grin I had come to adore, this was a grin full of mischief and conspiracy. 

“You’ve never had Fae balance before. In any fight, having the right footing and being aware of your body is the difference between life and death. Since you don’t understand how your new body moves, you don’t know how it balances. Thus, don’t fall.”

I stared at him incredulously. “What about when the tide rises?”

He just shrugged.

“How long am I supposed to do this?” I glanced warily down at my feet, watching the water run by on either side of their positioning on the rock.

Another shrug. “Cassian’s record is a day and a half but I’m not expecting you’ll last much longer than 15 minutes.”

At that, I puffed up my chest and squared my shoulders. 15 minutes? That’s what he thought I was capable of?

I stared him right in the eye, “Prepare yourself to be here for a while then, shadowsinger.”

I settled in, trying to equally distribute my weight between my legs. I kept my gaze focused on Azriel and sorted through my brain for things I could think about to pass the time.

I ran through the plot of one of my favorite books, trying to remember quotes and the accurate order of events. It played out in my head like I was there, fighting monsters and watching an epic romance unfold.

Once I had finished my “book” I blinked back into conscious thought. “Time?” I asked.

“10 minutes.”

I groaned. I tried my best to bend my knees which had begun to stiffen but couldn’t do much beyond a small squat, fearful of falling.

“You know, if your legs are stiff, you could try bending them one at a time,” the suggestion rang out from the shore.

I gritted my teeth. I had never stood on one leg before. I’d always been too weak or in too much pain. Of course, I could do it briefly, but for the amount of time it would take to adequately stretch a leg?

I slowly eased more weight onto my left side, keeping only some in the toes of my right foot. Then, I began to bend my right leg up, as carefully and slowly as I could. I bent my knee, interlocking my fingers around my knee to hold it up for a few moments.

I smiled triumphantly. I looked at Azriel once I was certain I wasn’t going to fall.

Even from this distance, I could have sworn that I felt his pride and approval radiating through me. I ducked my head down to hide my smile - and blush - at the thought.

I let go of my right leg, dropping it back to the stone, only flailing my arms slightly to regain my balance. I repeated the entire process with the left leg, sighing in relief at the movement that brought the blood flow through my stiff muscles. ‘

By the time I had both feet back on the rock, I felt comfortable enough to bend my legs one at a time with my feet firmly planted on the rock. I probably looked ridiculous bending side to side as I shifted my weight around but I didn’t care.

I was determined to stand on here until I couldn’t anymore.

“15,” the time rang out in Azriel’s voice.

I grinned. “I told you I could make it 15 minutes.”

“Let’s see if you can make it 15 more,” the challenge was clear, taunting. 

A middle finger was my only response.

After about 5 more minutes of shifting my feet and standing in silence, I began waving at Azriel, who was now sitting on the ground, leaning against the stump. He still had his knife out though I couldn’t begin to see what he was doing with it.

Eventually, he noticed my movement and raised his attention from his little project to look at me. “Yes, Evelyn?”

“Tell me a story.”

He started. “What?”

“You heard me, a story. If I’m going to stand out here in silence for much longer my brain will rot.”

He looked at me in disbelief, caught off guard by my question. “I don’t have any stories.”

Scoffing, I tossed my hair over one shoulder, nearly slipping my left foot a little too far forward in the process. “You’re five centuries old, of course you have stories.”

“Not any good ones.”

I studied him. His shoulders had hunched forward and that teasing light had gone out of his eyes. He looked… haunted. I cursed myself for broaching the topic, unsure of what exactly plagued his memory.

I longed to reach out a hand to his shoulder to comfort him. “That’s okay, you don’t have to.”

He shook his head, his hair curling into his face. He bent his legs, spreading them wide so he could comfortably place his elbows on his knees. His practiced hands flipped the knife back and forth in a show so mesmerizing I couldn’t look away.

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you a story. It’s that every story about my life doesn’t come with a happy ending.”

“Every ending is a happy ending,” I responded automatically. Even though his head was down, I saw the confused scrunch of his eyebrows, so I continued, “Either you’re happy it’s over or you’re happy it happened.”

When he remained silent, I elaborated, “For example, I will be ever so happy when this little training exercise is over,” I stretched a leg behind me for emphasis, “And even though I’ll be sad I don’t get to annoy you anymore, I’ll be happy I enjoyed annoying you enough that I’ll miss it.”

He nodded his head slowly, processing what I said. But still, he insisted, “You don’t want to hear my stories, Evelyn.”

“I do,” I urged him, pleading as much as I could. “They’re about you, how could I not want to hear them?”

At this, he snapped his head up. His hazel eyes met mine and then blinked slowly. Once. Twice. “Really?”

And for a second I forgot I was talking to one of the most feared people on this planet - in this realm. This wasn’t the facade of the terrifying Spymaster of the Night Court nor the imposing shadowsinger, rippling in darkness. At that moment, I was talking to someone who had never had someone take a genuine interest in them. He was… broken. And so was I.

“Really.” I said with a small smile, hoping to convey some part of the emotion that was overwhelming me. 

He offered a small smile of his own. “Well, there was the time Cassian got banned from the Summer Court.”

My mouth fell open and I nearly tumbled off the rock in shock

He smiled then, broad and genuine.

And so it continued. Stories fell from his lips nearly too fast for my mind to keep up. The annual snowball fight, the time Mor nearly broke the bank of the Night Court on dresses and wine, when he traveled to the other courts for missions, and even small stories of his time in the war.

I hung on his every word, noting how his expression changed as he recalled the different events - sometimes smiling to himself fondly, others setting his face in a grim mask.

Soon enough, I began telling stories of my own. The time Elain and I as children had chased each other around the kitchen table until she ran into the corner of it, effectively cutting her forehead open, but not deep enough to scar. Or when Nesta and I had raided our mother’s closet, trying on dresses and shoes that were much too big for us.

He listened intently to each story, asking clarifying questions and laughing when I told him something particularly mortifying like my first kiss or the first time I had gone to the local pub by myself. I didn’t miss the pride on his face as I told him of my barfight and what I’d done to the men who got a little too handsy. Every so often, he’d pointedly glance towards my legs, wordlessly reminding me to stretch them.

We had both finished laughing about him and his brothers being forced to climb the stairs at the House of Wind when we fell into a comfortable silence. He tilted his head up to the sky and closed his eyes, basking in the warmth.

“An hour,” his soft voice gave the time check.

“An hour.” I repeated it in awe, looking down at my legs. When was the last time I’d been on my feet for an hour? Probably never.

Azriel sat up from where he had laid on the bank, spreading his wings so he could prop himself up on his elbows. “You know, princess, you’ve more than proven your point. I’ll pick you up so you don’t have to swim.”

Ignoring the butterflies in my stomach at the nickname, I protested, “I’m no princess. And I’m going to stay here until I fall over.”

“Your sister’s the first High Lady,” he pointed out. “I’d argue that’s as close to a princess as you can get in Prythian.”

I snorted, stretching a leg out to the side. “And what about my behavior, exactly, screams princess to you?”

I waited for the inevitable “nothing”, waiting for the comments about how boring I am, especially compared to my sisters. But instead, I got-

“Everything. You’re intelligent, kind, and you’re always trying to better yourself. Plus, you care about people, even the people… even the people no one else notices,” he avoided my gaze as he finished.

My heart softened. Before I could stop myself, the words slipped out, “Who did this to you?”

At that, he sat up fully. “What?”

“I- Well, I…” I stopped. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but now that I thought about it… My body slowly began to shake in anger. He’d been alive for 500 years and for him to still be clinging on to this sense that he wasn’t enough, that nobody cared…

I felt the surety of it in my bones. He’d never feel that way again. I repeated myself, this time making it a demand, not a question “Who did this to you.”

“Evelyn, I don’t…” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. I watched the internal debate as he decided what to tell me. It didn’t matter. I’d find out and when I finished with them, there’d be nothing left.

I felt it then, that power that filled my soul and focused all of my rage. I let it rise, tingle just below the surface of my skin. How dare they? How dare they take such a caring, thoughtful male and make him feel as though he was worth nothing?

“Evelyn!”

I blinked, the anger temporarily abating. I took a deep breath and focused on my footing, letting it anchor me to myself, my body.

I looked at Azriel, pacing the shore. “I- what happened?”

He let out a sigh of relief. “You were channeling it. The Illyrian power.”

My cheeks reddened in shame.

“What happened?”

I blanched then and felt my palms get clammy as I thought about telling him how defensive of him I was. I needed a distraction. Anything.

I looked down at my feet and saw that the tide had come in. The water was just starting to lap at the heels of my shoes. That also meant that the river would now be far over my head if I were to fall in. I smiled to myself, a plan slowly taking form in my mind. I’d have to time it just right and if I could just make him think that it wasn’t on purpose…

“I was thinking about-” I made a show of losing my footing before falling into the river. “Az!”

I gasped as the icy water nipped at my skin. I pushed my way to the surface, thankful the current wasn’t that strong. Azriel stood frozen on the very edge of the river, frantically looking for where I would surface.

“Az!” I shouted, going under before popping back up. “I can’t swim!”

As I let myself go back under the water, I laughed at the panicked look on his face the second he understood what I had yelled.

I held my breath for as long as I could, using just enough force to keep myself in place. Within seconds, those familiar arms wrapped around my waist and hoisted me back up into the air.

I coughed pathetically, clasping a hand to my chest as Azriel held me in his arms. Even standing at his full height, the water was now up to his chest.

I lolled my head back, feigning weakness, and locked eyes with him. I nearly lost my composure at the absolute chaos plastered across his face. His eyes were wide, pupils were blown. His wet hair stuck in curls on his forehead. His breathing came in shallow pants, adrenaline forcing his body into overdrive.

“Evelyn, I am so sorry. I had no idea or I wouldn’t have- This was a stupid exercise and I should’ve asked,” he rushed his words, one tripping over the next, as he tried to apologize.

He finally took a deep breath to calm down and looked me over. I held it in for as long as I could but-

I burst into giggles.

His gorgeous face went from concerned to confused to completely murderous. 

“You wicked, evil female,” his eyes sparkled like the night sky.

I went to retort but found myself flying through the air and plummeting back into the water.

I pushed myself off the bottom, treading to keep my head above water. Sputtering, I looked incredulously at the male who now stood smugly in front of my stone perch.

I splashed water at him.

And, like a petulant child, the Spymaster of the Night Court splashed me back.

I fell onto my back and kicked as hard as I could, sending a spray of water in his direction. He moved to splash me again but I took off, swimming with the current as fast as I could.

I heard him cuss softly under his breath before he was launching himself after me. I laughed over my shoulder, hardly feeling the cold bite of the water as I swam. The muscles in my legs screamed in joy at the feeling of being used after standing still for so long.

I made it farther than I thought I would when I felt a gentle yet firm hand wrap around one of my ankles. I put up a weak fight, realizing just how tired my body was and how little I actually wanted to get away from him.

He pulled me into his embrace and I sent a small splash of water his way, not enough to even reach up to his neck. He smiled as I continued to struggle, at this point just being stubborn that I actually couldn’t maneuver out of his hold. 

I frowned before giving up completely. He relinquished his hold on me but I squeaked and grabbed onto his shoulders.

He stood firm against the gentle current but I didn’t feel like treading water to keep myself near him. Azriel seemed to get the message as rested a hand on my waist again to hold me in place.

I looked him over. His face, water still dripping down it from the strands of hair perched there, his arms, his broad shoulders, and his wings-

“Doesn’t it bother them?” My voice came out in a little more than a whisper.

It was enough to snap him out of his reverie and he glanced over his shoulder, flexing his wings slightly, before whispering back, “My siphons,” they flared in response, “I can concentrate the energy enough to create a sort of shield.”

I hummed appreciatively in response and reached a hand out.

He stiffened and I froze.

“May I?”

He seemed torn but nodded.

Gently, I ran a fingertip along the top of his wing.

His whole body shuddered and he tipped his head back with a sigh.

“Azriel,” it came out breathless but I couldn’t help it.

His eyes opened and met mine at the word. His gaze was dark and filled with something I hadn’t seen in his eyes before. 

I brought my hand back from his wing and moved it to brush a stray piece of hair from his forehead. Around us, the river ran higher, up to Azriel’s shoulders now, but the cold was gone. A faint blue light emanated from his siphons and I knew he was somehow keeping us warm.

I settled my hand on his cheek, relishing the feel of his skin under my fingertips and the way he leaned his head into my palm. The entire world had faded away to this moment, every breath felt like a lifetime.

I waited, part of me was still unsure about this whole situation. Part of me - the human part, perhaps - screamed that maybe this was too much, too fast.

But then his eyes widened a bit, pleading, and he begged - begged - “Just kiss me, Evelyn. Please.”

I was helpless to do anything but fulfill his wish. I was his, so utterly and completely his. 

And even if this was just a moment, if this was the moment that I’d have to remind myself to just be happy that it happened when it ended, it was enough. He would always be enough. Every moment with him was a happy ending. I so desperately miss and cherish each one when they’re over.

I smiled, running my hand through his hair, I said, “As you wish.”

-

Taglist: @mis-lil-red @ambivertedcroissant @reareaikea @biblophilefox82 @in-some-fandoms @hollyismentallyillhelp @donttellmehowtowrite @issybee0611 @vera0124 @juulle987 @bankerfrog @pricklepearbloom @sevikas-whore

#acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #azriel shadowsinger #azriel x reader #azriel x ofc #azriel

[jinx-on-mars-19xx]

Raging Waters and Shaking Ground

⚔️ All Previous Parts Here ⚔️

Dom x Colson (Yungblud x Machine Gun Kelly)

Warnings: future ABO, Viking Col, fae Dom, war talks, Big Bad™️ people! It's getting rough here! panic attacks, talks of death, talks of slaughter, talks of arranged marriage, talks of sexual ownership (slavery), dub con (Meg on Col), MF hate, losing hope, slow burn ☠️ rating: mature ☠️ ideas helped by @iamnotanearthlingmotherfucker 🖤

Dom had been thinking all their time together that someday he would end up exactly where he was but he certainly thought he'd enjoy it more. On their way back to the great hall they'd stopped into their private hut and Kol'son had brought something to him. A safety net of sorts. A comfort item for them both. He'd raised a rope between them, tickling Dom's nose and rolling his bottom lip between his teeth as if he were nervous and the siren whimpered. The Viking had been threatening this for weeks but they had both hoped it would happen for play between them, not because they were stressed and having to act as if the boy was only what his title suggested- something Kol owned.

He'd still nodded though, pulling his wild hair behind his shoulders and leaning his head back. Without meaning to he pressed his chest out and a soft growl escaped his lover that had his breath catching in his throat. The chieftain had tugged at his tunic, pulling the v of his collar further down. His lip popped free of his teeth slowly, the soft pink shiny with spit. His hands shook when he tied a knot in the necklace he'd given Dom, the only thing showing his nerves. They both felt like they were about to go into battle and in a way they were but it calmed some of the raging storm inside them to share a moment like that.

Knuckles brushed against cool pale skin and Kol made quick work of the makeshift collar and leash while he tried not to wonder if the jewelry had ever been used like that before because it certainly seemed perfectly made for it. The other end was curled around his wrist and kept tight, his fingers teasing around it just to watch it pull his thrall closer. "You know you're more than this." The man sighed, his voice barely above a whisper. If he was too loud they might be heard by the intruding clan but they felt mostly safe. Harald wouldn't know this small random room was his. His stomach soured at the thought of Megna and her father making his parents bedroom a mess, they would think that was his and she might just walk right in. Fuck.

"I know daidí." Dom soothed, he could tell his love was fighting so much, there was more on the leader's mind than anyone should have to face so the selkie soothed what he could and hopped to wash the rest away later with even more love.

"You'll be my wife." The Viking vowed, his voice trembling with the rest of him. Neither could admit they were starting to have trouble believing it but instead they pressed close and shared a softer kiss than normal. "We're going to get through this and I'll make love to you. You'll give me beautiful children. We'll-"

"'Ush love. I know." Dom tried to quiet his nervous rambling, the more he talked the more it sounded like a dream and not their future. Their breath felt hot they were pressed so close but they stayed as long as they could until a voice floated through Dom's mind and he knew they had to go. Modig was getting worried.

That had been an hour before at least and the fae felt strange. He wasn't in his normal spot in the great hall, he was forced to stand behind his lover- serve him and the newcomers who were causing all this strife. When they'd first entered he thought everything would explode into a battle but Harald had stepped close and pulled Kol into a tight hug. He'd fucking called him son as if the wedding had already happened and Dom was left to take a step back and let his master take control. Megna was gorgeous, dark hair and fox eyes and a body the siren would never have. She reminded him of a few of the thralls he knew his man had bed before they met and it drove him just a little crazy.

What surprised him most was how amazing his leader was at what he hoped was still lying. With how calm the meeting started Kol had just… gone along with it. They were laughing and drinking and reminiscing about things the boy could barely understand and through all of it Megna was sat next to his mate with her hand on his thigh. Of course she barely ate anything. She was a bird of a woman unlike him. Gods he couldn't handle it. Perhaps if he just sang for everyone he could end the torture, but there was a chance showing his power would get them all killed.

"Thrall! Boy! Yes you, come!" Dom's brows furrowed when the enemy chieftain called him closer and his scowl depended when the bastard found the rope attached to him and tugged. He wanted to cut it and run for the sea but when his eyes met his lover's those blue orbs pleaded for him to help. The stench of alcohol hung heavy in the air and his nose wrinkled but he stepped close until the man gripped his chin and pulled him down. He felt Kol almost snap but his gaze caught the bitch getting his attention so Dom was left to fend for himself. "You… Come." He had to fight not to curse the human and make some catty comment that Harald probably didn't know how to make anyone do that but he must have thought it loud enough because he heard Mod snort from where he sat too far away.

Kol couldn't stand the way Harald was pawing at his thrall, he wanted to pull his sword on the man but he knew it would devolve into a war he couldn't finish so he held back. At least for now. His boy was strong enough to handle himself. He hated the thought of looking away but Megna was vying for his attention and he had to give her at least a little. After all, it wasn't her fault her father was insane. She probably didn't even want him. "I've heard stories of your… prowess Kol'son, are the rumors to be believed?" She purred, her dark gaze raking over his body. Well… maybe she did want him. Fuck.

"In battle?" His voice broke and he took a drink to soothe himself but her smile grew and her hand wandered higher until he choked.

"Of course. Are you… rough in battle?" She asked, her pink tongue flicking out to wet her soft bee stung lips and he knew before Dom he'd have been all over her. Her tits were remarkable, her waist tiny, she was objectively gorgeous but his cock couldn't even think to swell. If anything the higher she touched the more it tried to crawl back inside him. He was quite sure his balls had already shriveled to pre-maturity and he prayed his lover could bring him back to life with his far better mouth. Fuck- if he thought about that she might think she's turning him on. Of course she must have seen a change in his expression because she brushed his dick with her pinky and so much of him wanted to hide with his thrall and cry. Bathe and cry. Gods when would it end?

Dom could hear the girl and his stomach turned but the man examining him like a prized horse was already making him sick. He caught the sound of a cup clattering and his lover spluttered about something. When he tried to look he could see her whispering in his ear but even with his sensitive hearing he couldn't catch it over the man near him. "You're a fine piece but not worth much for slaving. I was wondering why Bjørn asked for you in the-"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by Inga stepping close and ripping him away from the human. "I'm so sorry sir, I need his help. Helga will tend to you." The selkie was shaking, he felt dirty and overwhelmed but he knew whatever secret was about to be spilled was important. He tried to step closer to them again but Helga pushed around him to take a giggling seat on Harald's lap. When he was finally able to lean around his leader's throne again his words froze on his tongue. Megna had a hand on what was his and what looked like her tongue in Kol'son's ear. The thing that truly broke him though was the sight of his leash abandoned on the floor and the palm that had been holding it was resting on the girl's arm. "With me Dom. Now."

When he couldn't seem to make his feet move she crooked a finger at someone and Dom was grabbed around the waist and carried off. "No wait- he said- he- why's Kol- let me GO!" His vision went blurry with his rage at the situation and himself. He may have just ruined their chance at fixing this. His lover was doing almost too well at charming the family and he almost broke it all but he'd never been very good at controlling his emotions. He was from the sea and like the waves he was wild and erratic. He couldn't help it. None of this was fair, he was a gods damned prince and should have an army at his disposal. But it was starting to seem as if he had truly nothing.

"Calm yourself Damhnaic. You let too much truth show." Tom's voice in their own tongue soothed something in his chest and as he blinked a few times and breathed deep the world came into focus around him. Somehow they had gotten him all the way to their room.

"He was touching 'er." He whimpered low, his eyes welling with tears. "Is she prettier 'an me?"

Tom's brow arched, he couldn't believe after all they'd been through he was having to deal with questions like that. He was made to protect. He was meant to battle and keep the prince safe but he could do nothing with this. "I… no? I don't- She's not exactly-" He felt flustered. He could tell by the scent in the room his kin was close to heat again and he hoped that's where this awful conversation was coming from.

"Not at all love. Besides, she's being forced on him. Kol doesn't like-" Inga tried to help but he couldn't help the panic.

"Doesn't like wha'? Gorgeous women? Tits?" Dom almost shrieked.

"Who doesn't like tits? I mean they're not my favorite thing but-" A new voice entered the room and he looked to find Modig. The nymph was obviously rethinking his words. "What's going on? Are you letting them win already?"

Dom huffed and shook his head, wiping his cheeks and trying to shake himself off. "No. Course not. Daidí needs me." He tried to exit the room but Mod stepped back into the doorway and blocked his way.

"Actually he asked me to keep you safe here. He thought it best he deal with this on his own." Even the madman knew how awful his words would affect the boy but he wasn't expecting to have to catch him as he tried to make a run for it. He didn't know why he'd been sent to destroy his friend's heart but he'd always had trouble reading Kol'son's mind. All he could do was try and soothe the prince and wait for something else to happen. He just prayed they wouldn't be left without explanation too long.

☠️⚔️☠️

"You sent your pet away. Do you not wish to share?" Harald asked, a small smirk on his face.

Kol tried not to growl but he was near done already. He'd barely been able to keep Megna off him but she'd finally accepted he wanted to keep her pure for her wedding night. He'd barely been able to say it without both laughing and gagging but she'd excused herself for sleep and to let the men make plans. Now he was left with her father, the man who was systematically trying to destroy his life. "He's mine. You know how it is."

"Indeed, if I had such a treasure as a true fae I wouldn't give it up either."

Kol choked on spit and the audacity of the man who'd tried so hard to steal his mother and had gotten his father killed. After a moment he decided not to even dignify the statement and instead he took a long drink and sighed. If they didn't get down to talks then the night might never end. Or it might end in blood. He just wanted to get back to his boy, he'd only kept him away to keep him safe. He couldn't stand seeing him touched by anyone else. "What can I do to make you leave?"

"Submit to my rule, marry my daughter, call me father, and give your thrall away. Megna will come second to no one." Harald glared, tossing a piece of fruit into his hateful mouth as if he hadn't just ruined every hope Kol had.

"I don't want to war with you. You know we wouldn't survive it. Megna would never be happy with me. I could never love her. What else can I do?" He thought he saw a sliver of hope in the idea that the man cared so much for his daughter's happiness. Perhaps they could come to some arrangement.

"I don't care. She'll be happy because I tell her to be. I don't love her mother and she doesn't love me. Grow up boy, we're leaders. Well… I am. You need to stop believing in fairy tales of love. Besides, it's not that I want happiness, I just don't want Kolvidur's son to have any. Your father stole my fairy tale so I shall have yours."

"Hey you can't have-"

"Please boy, no matter how pretty I don't fancy cock. I don't want your thrall. You just can't keep him. When I take your crown I know exactly what to do with him."

Kol'son's stomach soured, his heart breaking in his chest. This man was taking everything because his mother fell in love with his father. He was starting to think he wasn't the one who needed to grow up. He did however notice, Harald didn't know of his boy's cunt. Perhaps he could at least keep Dom safe. "They're both dead Harald. You have a beautiful family and a thriving clan. You decimated my village, you've shown you can come at any time and destroy my life. Can't that be enough?" At one moment he thought he saw confusion on the man's face but it was quickly erased. "Please… if you promise to take care of my remaining people I'll give you my crown. Just let me and my family leave?"

"No. I've given you my rules. Either you obey or I kill everyone. But worry not boy, you will give me your crown. The morning after tomorrow you will bend to my will and kneel to me in front of both our clans and you will present me your crown and take my daughter's hand. No escaping. Don't worry, I'll keep to my promise of the day and give you one last with your pet. I want you to tell him you can't keep him safe and that I have a perfect new owner for him. I want everyone to know how poor of a man your father made." He smiled and Kol felt gutted. He'd never known a deeper evil. "The first son of the first son is brought to nothing, don't you find it funny?" Kol'son really didn't, but he was so wrecked he didn't even realize how strange it was that the bastard knew their family legacy. He was too lost in pain he didn't see the shared glance between his killer and someone else. He could call Harald nothing less than his murderer, if he had to give Dom up he wouldn't be alive anymore. No matter if his shell was still walking around. He felt like he was sinking in a pit of despair, he couldn't see a way out anymore. Gods he couldn't breathe. He needed Dom, and more than anything... He knew he needed to send him away.

Author's Note/Tags: @manicpixiedreamb0y @hollywoodxwhore @jaxbreaker @cole-way-iero28 @iamnotanearthlingmotherfucker 🖤

I hope this was good 😅 Still not feeling my best but I wanted to get something out. Ugh my heart hurts for these boys and I actually know what happens next so I almost want to apologize to all of you. But I won't. I hope you enjoyed! The slow burn might be igniting soon 👀🖤☠️

#yungblud #dominic harrison #dom harrison #machine gun kelly #mgk #colson baker #dom and colson #dom and colson fic #dom x colson #dom x colson fic #yungblud and machine gun kelly #yungblud and machine gun kelly fic #yungblud x machine gun kelly #yungblud x machine gun kelly fic #com #com fics #domson #domson fics #my fics #jinx fics #abo #vikings #fae #viking/selkie abo au #war #lost hope #slow burn

[writeyouin]

Not sure if this counts because the ask box says its closed, but if its open: can i request gender neutral reader giving tfp optimus a hose down in his alt mode in their backyard after he treks through some muddy terrain? And reader is doing things like spaying him with cold water to tease him, but the wash is like a massage, and he ends up dozing off as reader soaps him up and cleans his interior as well Their relationship can be already established Thanks!

TFP Optimus Prime X Reader – Car Wash

A/N – Here we go, getting through plenty of requests while I cat sit so I don’t binge-watch the Umbrella Academy all in one go.

Warnings – None.

Rating – T

Optimus vented air through his systems, holding back an exhausted sigh as he drove you home in his alt-mode.

Normally, missions where it was just the two of you were a treasured time spent full of deep conversations as the two of you imagined a better, more peaceful universe where you could both enjoy your lives with one another. It was always a chance for the two of you to spend some quality time together, instead of stealing precious seconds between Optimus’ busy schedule.

However, your mission transporting cargo to a military base for Fowler had gone badly awry and neither of you knew what to say that would make things better. The simple fact of the matter was that Optimus was thinking about the fragility of human life after you had been attacked by Silas, and you in turn were thinking about how Optimus had risked his life to save yours without hesitation. While Silas was only human, he was still a dangerous foe and had his weaponry not stalled at the exact moment it did, Optimus might not have survived to take you back home.

Your depressing thoughts were interrupted as Optimus parked outside your house, taking up the majority of the street in his large alt-mode.

“We are here,” He stated with a sense of finality that unnerved you somewhat.

“Yeah…” You replied, dissatisfied that he would have to leave you on such a sour note. “What will you do when you get back to base?”

“I will continue my mission to protect this planet, and I will conduct further research on Silas. We cannot afford another repeat of today,” Optimus answered solemnly.

You placed your hand on Optimus’ dashboard more for your own comfort than his. It seemed that he was going to spend the next few cycles relentlessly working as usual. You knew that Optimus’ dedication to his cause was the reason that the Autobot rebellion had lasted so long despite their numerous enemies, and while you were thankful that Optimus was such a fantastic leader, you still worried about him.

“Optimus… I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’d really like it if you stayed here for a while.”

“(Y/N), you know I have many important duties to fulfil.”

“I know,” You said quickly, hoping to placate him. “And I get that, but you need to rest as well. I worry about you. Please, just stay here and rest for a little bit.”

“But Silas-”

“Will still be around tomorrow,” You reasoned. “Besides, we have no means of tracking him yet.”

Optimus hummed thoughtfully, trying not to sound so defeated. You decided to give him a minute, just letting him feel the weight of his life; it was something he rarely let himself think about, and sometimes, he needed to remind himself that he was just one Cybertronian.

You Glanced in his wing mirror while you waited, unable to ignore the mass amount of mud, dirt, and gravel that coated him from the long drive. You half-smiled, getting an idea that might make Optimus relax for a short while.

“At least consider driving into the garden for a break,” You suggested. “A car wash here has got to be better than the wash-racks, right?”

Optimus considered your request, feeling somewhat guilty as he submitted. It wasn’t that he was doing anything wrong per se, but every second that he wasn’t working made him feel like he was failing his cause; Ratchet often told Optimus that was his fatal flaw, as if he too didn’t spend every nano-click working on his own projects for the war effort.

Optimus let you out, then drove into your garden, remaining in his alt-mode in case any of your neighbours came outside. He prayed to Primus that nobody would come to see what was going on because he didn’t know how you would explain your sudden acquisition of a Freightliner truck or why it was in your back garden.

While Optimus was stuck feeling guilty, you ran inside grabbing buckets and filling them with warm soapy water, with plenty of sponges and cloths to accompany them. Upon coming back outside and putting the buckets down, you grabbed the garden hose and started cleaning the worst of the mud from Optimus.

It took Optimus a while to relax, but after you accidentally soaked yourself with the hose and began laughing at your own misfortune, he allowed himself to enjoy the moment, your laughter raising his spirits.

Seeing you soaked and happy made Optimus chuckle, which by anyone else’s standard was a full-on laugh of hysteria.

“Oh, you find that funny?” You asked him, grinning. “Let’s see how you like it.”

You squeezed the end of the hose pipe, squirting a powerful jet of water at Optimus’ windscreen, grinning as you did so.

“All you’re doing is making me cleaner,” Optimus said jovially.

You rolled your eyes sarcastically, “Yeah well, I hope I miss some sand in your seams.”

With the ineffective water fight over, you got back to hosing down Optimus, waiting till the worst of the grime was removed before you abandoned the hose in favour of a bucket and sponge.

Optimus’ frame shuddered momentarily as you rubbed at him with the sponge. He was used to cleaning himself in the wash racks of the base, and while that did leave him pristine, it didn’t feel as good as having you clean him, your tiny hands reaching in between the seams of his plating. You were removing dirt from places he had never been able to reach before and it felt wonderful.

Optimus couldn’t help sighing as you cleaned his hood, using a step ladder to reach it. Once or twice, he nearly moaned aloud, though he caught himself at the last moment. You smiled contentedly, glad that Optimus was relaxing for once, even if you were messier than you had been in a long time thanks to the deep clean you were giving him.

“Is this good?” You asked him once you had thoroughly cleaned him and were free to massage wax onto his plating.

Optimus didn’t reply, your slow circular movements lulling him into a light recharge which he desperately needed.

“Optimus?” You asked uncertainly.

It took you a minute to realise what had happened, but when you did, you smiled, happy that he was finally relaxing. You continued cleaning Optimus, but when you were done, you were careful not to disturb him. It was rare to see Optimus resting and you didn’t want to do anything that might wake him.

“Good night, big guy. Sweet dreams,” You pressed a light kiss to his headlamps and left him in your garden.

You also needed a shower and some rest; it had been a long day for both of you.

Like my work? Buy me a Ko-Fi.

#transformers #tfp #transformers prime #maccadam #optimus prime #optimus prime x reader #fanfiction #fanfic #reader #reader insert #car wash

[bluegekk0]

what actually happend to pk's cool tree wife in the feral au?

well, for starters, she's not his wife anymore. they divorced even before pk's hibernation, around the time hollow has been sealed away

they are still on good terms though, they both decided separating would be good for both of them. the weight of their actions and guilt associated with it soured their relationship, even just talking was painful as the topic would always eventually come back to the vessels. they both had very different ways of viewing and coping with it. for the white lady, she was more ashamed about the void part of the whole deal, she didn't have the same attachment to the vessels as pk did, as having a lot of offspring that can potentially die is part of her nature. for pk, it's quite the opposite, his species had small litters and would take care of their young, so while he initially pushed away the idea that the vessels were children, and tried convincing himself that they didn't think or feel pain, it did eventually creep back into his mind. consequently, to him, the concept of simply moving on like his wife wanted to was unfathomable, and this difference in mindsets made them clash more and more often, until they decided that separating was the best option

there was also the topic of pk's closeted feelings for grimm. of course, like i mentioned before, pk himself didn't interpret those feelings as love for a long time, but i think the white lady saw through him, which wasn't difficult as pk did occasionally bring up how he felt around him, though more out of confusion than anything. it did hurt her that her husband didn't love her the same way she loved him, but at the same time she couldn't bring herself to blame him for it. she knew he had things to figure out himself and that he wasn't lying to her on purpose, and she didn't want to stand in the way of his happiness. she never told him that this was another reason for their divorce, as she knew he would just blame himself for it, which isn't what she wanted, so it was something she kept to herself

but like i said, they're still on good terms in the present timeline of the au. it did take pk a while to visit her after his hibernation as he was afraid of her reaction to his state at the time, but after he moved to dirtmouth and got his stuff together somewhat, they eventually met again. she enjoys listening to him talk about his new life, especially since it does sound like he's much happier than he was before, though she's not as fond of hearing about grimm, but that's for personal reasons unrelated to pk (she doesn't like grimm and it's not because of jealousy, their beef goes beyond that and they both agree that they should keep pk out of it)

an idea i considered for her in the au is having her free herself from her bonds. enough time has passed, after all, and it could offer some interesting possibilities for interactions with other characters. though i doubt she would ever move to dirtmouth, i think she would just stay in the gardens, maybe make a proper residence there. we'll see how that goes, i suppose

#ask stuff #feral pk au

[hit-me-with-your-bat-please]

something about Shane sv and the reader meeting at a party and having a one night stand, probably back in his gridball days or at the saloon after a festival

I’ll try to make this gender neutral since it wasn’t specified. In theme for halloween, this will be after the spirit festival! I hope you like it anon!

Shane(SDV) x Reader (nsfw)

The saloon was lively tonight, I caught bits and pieces of conversations about the fake(real) skeletons and shadow people, the haunted maze that most had a hard time navigating. People were still in their costumes and makeup. Looking around I noticed at least two people were dressed as witches, two others as zombies, one as a scarecrow, and some 80s inspired pop icons. Not being able to get done around the farm until almost the start of the festival, I just looked like a generic cowboy. Thank Yoba for that box of grandpa’s stuff, because never would I ever just have a leather fringe vest on hand otherwise.

I made my way to the only empty table, dimly light in the corner and sat down to enjoy my beer. I heard the sound of the bell on the door but didn’t look up to see who was leaving or coming in, too absorbed in my phone and newly found buzz.

“You mind if i sit here? All the other tables are taken,” said a gruffer male voice. I look up to see Shane, which is odd since usually he just stands near the bar.

“Sure, help yourself,” I said gesturing to the empty seat across from me.

He sat down, also opting to look at his phone and lose himself in the beer. I was already ordering another round when I decided to get one for Shane, seeing how he was already almost done.

“Thank you,” he said when I came back from the bar not even looking up from his phone.

“No problem,” I reply, going back to social media to see what my friends from the city were up to tonight.

Another few rounds later and the two of us began having a small conversation about how both of our flocks of chickens were doing, which turned into why we moved to valley. Usually he isn’t this talkative, I thought to myself, but I didn’t mind. This side of him was nice, a change from the cold and unapproachable version of himself.

Next thing we knew Gus was calling out last round and to start closing tabs. Walking out of the saloon while finishing our conversation about gridball and how Shane used to play and how most sports to me were just sportball, do the thing get the point.

“Hey, thank you. It was really nice talking to you tonight,” he said, a small hint of a blush starting to dance across his cheeks. Then he started walking in the direction of Marnie’s house.

“Wait! Do you want to come back to my place? I mean feel free to say no, but I really enjoyed our conversation and your company, and I’m not wanting this night to end so soon,” I said, feeling a little braver than usual with the liquid courage flowing through my veins. My heart was beating hard and I felt as though I stopped breathing.

“Sure why not?” He said and rejoined my side as we made the trek back to the farm.

Once inside with the door closed I asked if he wanted anything else to drink, with another beer in our hands we started talking about past loves and what we wish for the future.

“I’m not sure if I’m too keen on another partner too soon, the last kinda left me with a sour taste in my mouth,” I said.

“A lot of people can relate to that, I’m sorry,” he said looking almost mournfully at the bottle he was holding.

“The only thing to be sorry for is my lack of getting fucked,” oh shit. Had I really just said that out loud?

“That can be fixed,” he replied, turning to look at me with a hungry almost predatory look in his eyes.

Within a blink of an eye our mouths crashed together in a fit of passion and drunken lust. He tasted like pizza and beer but I didn’t care, I just wanted him all over me, and most importantly in me.

“Let’s move this to my bed,” I said, grabbing his hand and leading him to my room.

He shoved me onto the mattress and got on top, discarding his jacket and shirt, and nudging me take off mine as well. With fumbling hands I reached for his belt and slowly undid it, letting it fall to the floor making eye contact the entire time.

“Damn you’re sexy,” he said, voice husky and dripping with lust while leaving kisses all over my neck. He moved down my chest and stomach until he reached my jeans, which he removed effortlessly.

I started moaning as he rubbed me through my underwear, I could feel his rough and calloused hands through the thin fabric.

“Fuck, the sounds you make are getting me so hard.”

“Just fuck me already, please. Fuck I need to feel you inside me, please Shane,” I begged, reaching down to try and rub his hard cock through his jeans.

“Don’t have to ask me twice,” he said getting rid of the remaining clothing on our bodies.

Back on top he slowly started to push his cock into me, taking it out and pushing it back in. I couldn’t control my moaning, and I couldn’t tell where his body started and mine ended. Once fully inside me, he opted for a rougher and faster pace, taking one of my nipples in his mouth and the other in his fingers.

“Oh fuck Shane, you feel so amazing. Your cock is so big,” breathlessly came out of my mouth and my hips tried to match his pace.

Starting to feel close to orgasming, I flip us so i was on top. I bounced slowly on him, coaxing some well earned moans out of him. The feeling of his cock sliding in and out of me was pure bliss, and I wasn’t going to last much longer. I picked up my pace, riding him hard and fast.

“S-Shane, I-I’m going to cum.”

“Cum for me, I want to feel your body squeeze around my cock,” and with that I came hard. Moans almost turned into screaming. He flipped us back over and fucked me hard into my mattress until he too was about to cum.

“Fuck, im gunna cum,” he practically growled. He pumped his cock in a few more times in me before pulling out and cumming all over my stomach.

He collapsed next to me, out of breath. We laid for for a few before I started to get up to clean myself off, but a large hand pushed me back down.

“Uh no, where are your towels? I’ll get one for you,” he said pushing himself off the bed.

“In the bathroom down the hall to the left, there in a cabinet thingy, you’ll see it as soon as you walk in,” O replied, my brain practically swiss cheese from being thoroughly and utterly fucked.

He came back in a few minutes with a warm wash rag and started to wipe away the evidence of our night.

“You don’t have to, I have two hands myself y’know,” I said chuckling.

“I made the mess so it’s only fair,” he got up and put the wash rag in the hamper. “Shit, it’s three in the morning?”

“You could always stay if you want, just leave in the morning,” grabbing fresh underwear and pajamas from my dresser.

“Sure, thanks.”

He climbed back into the bed after putting on his boxers. We laid for a couple of minutes just looking at each other, a few yawns leaving both of us before drifting off to some much needed sleep.

#stardew valley #sdv shane #spicy content #( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) #one shot