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#he leaves social media (when exactly I’m unsure)
shadowslocked · 1 month
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Honestly everything I hear about the admin situation sounds like Quackity going “this seems like a good idea” and then it’s revealed that it probably was not the best idea
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bethsvrse · 5 months
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Hello!! I appreciate that you don’t write for people with existing relationships so could you do something for maybe Tobi has a huge crush on one of Faiths female friends that he met when out with Ethan and fair or something?? I really enjoy your writing ML 🫶🏽
PAIRING Tobi Brown x fem!reader
A/N I’m sorry it took me so long to write your request, I’ve been very busy at the moment. (Also I tried using third person POV instead of second and idk if I like it lmao)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!!
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Tobi initially planned to spend a quiet evening at home, enjoying some movies, perhaps ordering a pizza, and then going to bed. However, due to the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Sidemen, he felt compelled to join his friends at a pub to have a wild night.
All of his friends were present, commemorating his and his brothers’ accomplishments. Tobi stood on the sidelines, observing his friends dancing in the midst of the crowd, capturing the moments on camera. Tobi was quite happy that he doesn’t drink, knowing for certain that his friends would regret their actions in the morning when these videos are shared on social media.
Suddenly, Tobi heard someone calling his name and turned around to see Faith, Ethan's girlfriend, bringing another girl towards him. He furrowed his brow in confusion, as he had never met this girl before.
Faith stood in front of Tobi, releasing the hand of the beautiful girl. "Tobi, this is my friend Y/N. Y/N, meet Tobi," Faith introduced, with the girl offering a shy greeting.
"I'm about to hit the dance floor, and to prevent Y/N from feeling awkward standing alone, I thought she could stay with you," Faith pointed dramatically in Tobi's direction. "That way, you both won't look too out of place."
"Faith..." Y/N hesitated, not wanting to make Tobi uncomfortable just because her best friend was trying to set her up with one of her boyfriend's friends.
"Shh!" Faith placed a finger on Y/N's lips, clearly already intoxicated. "I want to join the dance floor, and I don't want to leave my best friend alone."
With that, Faith walked away and headed straight for the dance floor, grooving to one of Kanye West's songs that had just started playing.
Y/N pursed her lips, leaning against the same wall that Tobi was leaning on, feeling even more awkward now. She desperately searched her mind for conversation starters, all while Tobi couldn't help but admire the stunning woman standing beside him.
His eyes roamed up and down, attempting to take in her entire appearance.
Tobi cleared his throat, attempting to break the silence. "So, uh, Faith didn't give you much of a choice, did she?"
Y/N chuckled nervously. "Not exactly. I hope this isn't too awkward for you. I didn't really sign up for a blind date tonight."
Tobi giggled, feeling the tension ease a bit. "No worries. I was just planning on a quiet night, but fate had other ideas, it seems."
Y/N nodded, glancing at the dance floor. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting to be here either. I'm not much of a party person, Faith kinda dragged me along."
Tobi chuckled, "Me neither, actually. I prefer the comfort of my movie nights."
As they exchanged small talk, Tobi discovered that Y/N loves photography and her traveling and Y/N learnt more about Tobi's YouTube career and she found out about his love for working out. The awkwardness began to fade, replaced by genuine interest.
Suddenly, Faith returned, still dancing energetically. "How's it going, you two?"
Tobi and Y/N exchanged glances, both unsure of what to say.
Faith laughed, "Relax, I'm just checking in. Enjoying your forced company?"
Tobi grinned, "Actually, not so bad."
Y/N nodded in agreement, "Yeah, it's been surprisingly pleasant."
Faith, satisfied with their responses, danced away again, leaving Tobi and Y/N alone once more.
As the night progressed, they found themselves laughing and sharing stories. However, when the clock struck midnight, Y/N checked her phone.
"I should probably head home. Early day tomorrow," she said, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
Tobi nodded, "Yeah, I get that. It was nice meeting you, though."
Y/N smiled, "You too, Tobi."
As Y/N left, Tobi couldn't help but smile, realizing that sometimes unexpected nights turned out to be the most memorable.
Tobi's eyes followed Y/N as she walked through the crowd. The lively atmosphere of the celebration buzzed around him, but his thoughts were focused on the intriguing girl who had unexpectedly become his companion for the night. He hesitated for a moment, debating whether he should catch up with her, but then got distracted by Simon, one of his friends, who dragged him into a group photo.
As the flash of the camera illuminated the room, Tobi's mind raced, trying to recall if he had exchanged contact information with Y/N. The realization hit him just as he turned back to look for her, but she was already gone.
"Hey, do you guys see Y/N leave? The girl Faith brought" Tobi asked, scanning the crowd.
His friends exchanged puzzled glances, and Vikk replied, "I saw her leave a few minutes ago.”
Tobi sighed, frustration evident on his face. "Great, I forgot to get her number."
Ethan, overhearing the conversation, chimed in, "Smooth, Tobi. Don't worry though, Faith has her number, ask her for it."
Tobi thanked Ethan before going to find Faith on the dance floor. He tapped her on the shoulder, and amidst the music, he shouted, "Hey, Faith! Do you have Y/N's number?"
Faith paused in her dance moves, trying to hear Tobi over the music. "Y/N's number? Why do you need that?”
"We got along well, and I forgot to get her number before she left," Tobi explained.
Faith grinned mischievously, "Well, well, looks like someone's got a crush. Don't worry, I've got you covered. Let me find it on my phone."
Faith fumbled with her phone, scrolling through her contacts as the bass thumped in the background. Tobi tapped his foot impatiently, regretting not securing Y/N's number earlier.
After what felt like an eternity, Faith triumphantly declared, "Got it!" She showed Tobi Y/N's contact info on her phone.
"Thanks, Faith. You're a lifesaver," Tobi said, relieved, adding Y/N to his contacts.
Faith winked, "Just make sure to treat her right. I'm her best friend, after all."
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its-time-to-write · 6 months
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i hold it like a grudge - ch. 2
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I forgot to mention, the chapter titles/series name comes from the song, “the grudge.” I’d highly recommend listening to it at least once to get the feel I was going for in this fic, or at least what influenced parts of it.
table of contents try to be tough
It’s raining, not completely unusual for early August, and it feels like a reset. The air smells clean and fresh, and you know that it’s going to be a slow workday. You pull out your computer and check up on your online orders and update some posts on social media. You’re gaining serious traction, with reposts and likes from some American celebrities. Shit, with the way things are going, you could sell your flat and buy an actual house.
The grudge you hold against Jamie doesn’t seem so huge at the moment. It’s still there, but it no longer feels as though he pulled the rug out from under your feet. For the first time, you’re allowed to think about other things than the struggle he left you with. For example, why did he leave you in the first place? You hadn’t considered about it since cutting up everything he ever gave you, too busy with the all-consuming thought how will I survive?
It hurts, hurts much more than you think it still should. 
The two of you grew up together in the same council estate, right next to each other. You terrorized the neighbors while your mothers discussed money and shared food and scrounged together what they could to support both of you. 
When you got older and he was scouted for footie and headed for the academy, you still called him almost every day. He’d listened when you cried about your mum and watched her fade away right in front of you.
He’d gotten leave and come home for her funeral, and helped you pack everything up to either sell or to move next door with Georgie.
Jamie had been there for every part of your life, just as you’d been there for him when his dad came around, or he got yelled at by his teachers. 
He knew you, knew how much it meant that he stayed. Knew how much the support meant, and the way you both had clawed your way to get at least close to the top.
This plagues you as you wrap pickup orders for the day and place them in their spots behind the counter. 
You’re coming to the conclusion that he did it on purpose, that he must have known exactly what he was doing and somehow decided you deserved it, when a customer comes in out of the rain.
“Morning!” you say. “I have your order all ready for you. And it’s all paid for, so nothing else is needed on your end.”
Keeley says “Thanks,” with far less energy than she showed the other day with Jamie.
You ask, “You alright?” before you can stop yourself. 
She huffs out half a laugh. “Yeah, fucking great. Life’s just peachy at the moment, as I’m sure you’ve read in The Sun.”
You hadn’t, but you’ve a good guess what it has to say.
“I’m sorry,” you say as she takes the earrings. 
She just laughs again, short and grating. “Yeah. Y’know, I’ve been on all your socials. Read your website about empowering yourself and all that. Part of the reason why I wanted to come here, actually, y’know, fucking… girls supporting girls.”
You nod, unsure of what to say.
“I’m glad you’re getting the success you deserve, babes. Your bio said you went through a lot of shit to get here. Guess I’m still in my ‘lot of shit,’ part of life, you know? Anyway.” She goes to leave, jewelry tucked safely into her purse.
You think, fuck it.
“Keeley?” you ask hesitantly. She turns back around to face you.
“I just- I’ve been with someone who didn’t value me. Who didn’t hold himself accountable. It didn’t start that way at first, it was a lot of fun, but it ended up hurting me. I haven’t been able to trust anyone like that since, and I don’t want you to end up like me. You don’t have to stay with him. You can have a whole life all on your own, you know?”
Keeley gives you a small smile, says, “Thank you,” and heads out the door.
I deserved it.
Those words ring in your head as you walk home. You don’t bother to open your umbrella, opting to let the rain fall as it will in some form of absolution.
I deserved it.
You shut the door to your flat and drop your clothes on the way to the shower. You turn the knob to scalding, and let the suffocating steam fill the bathroom.
I deserved it.
The rain hits the roof with more force as you drink half a bottle of wine in lieu of dinner. It’ll hurt you tomorrow, but you don’t work tomorrow.
I-
No. It’s 3am, and you’re awoken from vivid dreams of your mum and Georgie and Simon, of Keeley, and of fucking Jamie. 
No. You didn’t- you don’t deserve it. 
“No,” you say aloud. “I know how to swim. I made it.”
With that pronouncement, you pull your blankets tighter around you, slipping easily into a dream where your mum holds you and whispers, “I’m so proud of you.”
It’s another rainy day in Richmond. The sky is dark and cloudy, and you can hear the sound of drops hitting the pavement as soft music plays in the shop. You haven’t seen Jamie or Keeley in a while, but his face is stuck all over Richmond, just like you predicted. 
Every time you see it, you think a calm, fuck you and continue walking. You didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve you.
You’re working on an order when the door chimes and Keeley Jones breezes in.
“Hi, welcome back! Jamie buying you more jewelry?”
Keeley grimaces. “Broke up with him a bit ago, actually. Thought a lot about what you said about accountability, then a friend of mine used the exact same word. It’s a little bit shit, but like you said. I can have a whole life all on my own, yeah?”
“Yeah!” you hastily reassure. “I promise you, it’s fucking brill without him. Hard at first, but you have to know your value.”
She grins a little half-grin and places the Keeley earrings on the counter.
That’s not unexpected, people often want to get rid of gifts from their ex, but you do still have a business.
“I’m so sorry about your breakup, but we can’t really do returns. Everything’s custom, so…” you trail off.
“Oh!” Keeley says. “No, I actually came back because I really fucking love these earrings, and I want something else to go with it. What d’you recommend?”
“Oh!” you parrot. “Well, we have necklaces. The charms are the same style, I can make a mockup for you if you give me a minute.” You turn around to pull out some boxes, and hear the door jingle. The air in the room changes ever so slightly and you know without looking who has just stepped in.
Jamie looks back and forth between you and Keeley, like he didn’t expect to see either of you there. 
That fucking drowning feeling, the one you worked so hard to get over, comes back in full force. 
“Hey,” Jamie says hesitantly, “um, I’ll just-” 
He leaves as quick as he came.
Keeley gives you a strange look. “What the fuck?” she laughs. “Was he looking for me? How the fuck did he know where I was?”
You tear your eyes away from the space Jamie just occupied. It’s been what, a month since the first time he came into your shop? Longer? It feels right and wrong somehow, like it’s both at once; you and him, in the same room, just like it’s always been. Like no time has passed. 
But time has passed, and more importantly the time for you to respond to Keeley has passed. You’ve been quiet a beat longer than normal, and she catches it. Keeley’s a smart girl, smarter than she’s given credit for. She’s puzzling out all the information she has, and you can practically hear it all bouncing around in her mind.
Something clicks into place. You see it in the way Keeley’s entire expression changes. She claps a hand over her mouth and exclaims, “Oh shit!” 
You don’t have a a chance to say anything because she looks at you with horror in her eyes and says, “It was Jamie.”
“What do you mean?” you ask carefully. 
Keeley’s still processing. “It was Jamie,” she repeats. “That’s your ex. The one who didn’t hold himself accountable, the one you said cheated on you. Oh my god, I’m the other woman! How could I do that to you?”
Keeley is having an epiphany mixed with a heart attack.
“You didn’t know!” you argue. “You didn’t know, and you never would have done it if you had.”
“I’m so fucking sorry,” she moans.
You grab her arm. “Keeley. You. Didn’t. Know. It’s been over a year. I’m fine.”
She snaps out of it a little bit, but still looks dazed as she says, “Why the fuck have you been so sweet? You knew exactly who I was.”
You lift a shoulder. “Jamie… he’s like a magnet. I dunno. I get what it’s like when he looks at you, it’s like you can’t believe that someone that wonderful even notices you. And I guess I understand why he dumped me, you know? We’ve known each other since we were kids and it’s fine if you have a regular job, but if you’re a fucking Premier League footballer… probably best to stick with models.”
Keeley walks over to the door and flips the sign to “closed.”
You look at her quizzically, but she just leans against the door and whispers, “I didn’t know you knew each other that long.”
There’s no good response to that statement, so you chew on your lip. For a long moment, you two just stare at each other.
Finally you say, “Okay. Fuck this. We’re going to my flat and we’re going to eat a shit ton of food and get absolutely smashed.”
table of contents
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Matty doing something romantic! Literally anything at all!!
Romance Isn’t Dead
Matty Healy x Reader
Masterlist
Requests are open!!❤️‍🔥
A/n hey!! Thank you for this request. I started writing this and then realised that maybe this isn’t even romantic by anyone else’s standards? I’d just cry if anyone did this for me ahah, the bar is so low. Anyways, hope you enjoy!!
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The loud shrill of your ringtone shattered the peace of your office, well, maybe you couldn’t call it peace, but silence none the less, forcing your brows together in annoyance as you reached across the desk for your phone, placed only just far enough away to dispel any temptation to loose yourself in endless social media scrolling. But the creases that had formed between your brows lifted instantly as you read the caller ID. Matty. Swiping across the screen to answer his call, you brought your phone up to your ear, leaning back into the cool leather chair that you’d discovered to only be comfortable for the length of an average working day, but when your working day surpassed the 10 hour mark, not so much.
“Hey” you spoke gently, always finding it easy to find comfort in Matty’s presence, even it he was only on the other end of the line.
“Hey” he replied, a smile evident through his voice. “You still at work?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry babe” you spoke through a sigh as your eyes moved to read the time in the corner of your screen.
8:15 pm
“Are you home yet?”
“Yeah, got home an hour or so ago, doing shit tons of emails I need to get through though, so don’t feel too bad for leaving your gorgeous, loving, brilliant boyfriend home all on his own.” He joked, although his usual teasing tone wasn’t as prominent in his words, his voice croaking and lethargic and you could almost picture him sat tat the kitchen table, stretching his back in the most awkward way, one hands rubbing his eyes as the other held his phone to his ear, joking that emails weren’t part of the rockstar lifestyle he signed up for.
“I don’t, if that’s the kind of jokes your coming out with tonight” you teased, his humor never failing to cast a smile onto your lips, not that you’d ever stop trying to convince him otherwise. He huffed out a laugh, both of you fully aware that your jokes were just as bad as each others.
“I won’t be long” you whispered after a moment of silence, unsure whether you’d be able to stick to that promise,
“Ok, baby, I love you”
“I love you”
And suddenly, you were plunged back into the deep, dark hole, being swallowed up by work.
-
You had no idea how long it had been since the last time you’d looked away from your laptop, since your phone call with Matty, but the click of a door somewhere outside of your office pulled your eyes away from the screen. Your fingers stilled on your keyboard and you held your breath as you listened silently, unsure of who could be in the office so late, besides you, of course. ironic, you thought. You only began to breath again when you saw a silhouette appear in the doorway, the figure should’ve raised panic in you, but the unmistakable curls and tall frame that was so precisely memorised and ingrained in your mind, swallowed up by the usual long coat gave away exactly who it was. Matty
“You should lock the door if your here on your own” he spoke with a smirk, “I could’ve been anyone” he teased when he saw the panicked look on your face.
“Fuck, Matty” you breathed heavily, holding a hand to your chest, trying to steady your heartbeat, “point proven”. As your pulse began to slow, and your eyes began to adjust, trying to pick him out in the darkness beyond the blue glare of your screen, an indicator that told Matty you hadn’t even moved to turn on the lights since it went dark, you saw him holding takeout boxes stacked precariously in one hand, two paper cups in the other and his laptop tucked beneath his arm, yet somehow he carried them with ease. Your gaze softened as you realized why he was here, somewhat feeling guilty for dragging him out of the house at this time, but mostly grateful for the man who stood in front of you.
“Can I join you?” His voice pulled you out of your thoughts, “I just thought, you have work to do… I have work to do, I missed you, so we might as well do it together.” He explained, leaving you a little lost for words but nodding surely.
“You didn’t have to do this” you whispered as he neared your desk, placing everything down as gently as he could, he looked up to meet your eyes, and shrugged. “I wanted to”. As if it was the most mundane thing ever, as if he didn’t make you want to rip your own heart out and scream simply because you loved him and that mind of his so much. He took a few more steps and brought himself round to your side of the desk, calloused hands reaching out to cup your jaw as it gaped slightly, eyes refusing to leave his as he studied you from a distance. You could only smile at him, your working day might still not be over but his company definitely made the load feel a lot lighter. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to your lips, lingering for a second, breathing you in. “Who said romance is dead, hey?”
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mfil - 19
-` ♡ ´- m.list | no taglist | next | wc: .6k
-` ♡ ´- a/n: please remember to like, reblog, and reply <33 it's much appreciated!
*NOT CLICKBAIT!!!* when asmo learns that you, the newest exchange student has a youtube account and following somewhat comparable to his own, he decided right then and there not to like you. however, after an unfortunate (and misleading) exchange goes viral, he has no choice but to fake date you in order to save face. will asmo crush you and put you into place like you deserve? or are those funny feelings in his stomach not hate, like he had thought? like, subscribe, and maybe fall in love (with this smau) to find out!!
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asmo is going to murder satan. first, he’d been annoying in the car, and now was even insistent upon following them into the shops?
“but i can hold the camera for you,” satan offers. “wouldn’t it be better if you were both in the video? isn’t appearing on one another’s social media kind of the goal here?”
you hesitate, clearly unsure. great, that leaves asmo to decide. and he knows satan, knows he won’t leave well enough alone, so…
“fine,” he spits, “just don’t talk, and don’t shake the camera.”
satan’s grin is cold, and seriously, asmo should have known better than to bring him along. he’d forgotten what an asshole satan could be.
but thankfully, satan does as he’s told and isn’t too much of a bother, letting you do your thing. you had come surprisingly prepared with a list of things that you were looking for and even a sketch of your setup idea, and asmo has to (reluctantly) give it to you, you do seem to know what you’re doing.
“thankfully, lord diavolo is letting me borrow a worktable, so that’s one less thing to buy,” you tell the camera, “but i still need storage and shelving and other small things like that. asmo, honey, if you see anything like that will you let me know?”
“absolutely!” he says cutely, inwardly grimacing. “but you’re the expert, darling.”
behind the camera, satan makes a puking motion.
“you flatter me.” you suddenly look to the side, perking up. “oh my god, these apple crates are just perfect. and there are so many!”
“perfect for what exactly?” asmo asks, and you turn towards him.
“for making storage, of course! if i stack them together and reinforce them, i have a perfect little cubby system. especially if i can find some baskets to put inside of them.”
“you can’t just make the baskets?” asmo asks, then hopes his snideness isn’t audible. whatever, you can always cut it out if it is.
“that’s another option,” you reply, “but let’s see what i can find first.”
you spend a few more hours looking around, hours that drag, and though asmo’s never been one to get tired of shopping, he’s about ready to kill someone by the time you’re finally, finally done. much to his surprise, you had managed to find a good selection of items, and keep it pretty cheap, even going as far as to haggle with the shopkeepers over prices when you thought the listing was unfair.
though asmo had to wonder if their agreement was because of your skills or because of his and satan’s presence. they do hold sway over the masses, you know.
“is it finally time for dinner?” satan asks as you load all of the bags into his trunk, and you look over apologetically.
“yes, sorry that took so long. since it was my first time in all of these shops it took me a while to get oriented and find the things i needed. thanks for being so patient.”
“you’re so much more polite than asmo, mc!” satan gives asmo a shit-eating grin. “honestly, why don’t you come live with us instead of him? i’m sure everyone will like you much more.”
“thanks, but no thanks,” you say with a laugh. “i’m living in a castle right now. how cool is that?”
“ugh, of course you’re excited by something as dumb as that,” asmo snarks.
“oops, someone’s hangry,” satan cracks, and asmo has to breath in deeply, as his other option is strangling his dearest older brother. “let’s find something to eat.”
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leviathans-watching's work - please do not copy, repost, or claim as your own
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spicler-man · 2 years
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tony/the avengers come to midtown
masterlist here
With Kind Regards and Completely Serious Warning by jennylarner
All in all, that’s my kid, so leave him alone or you’ll have me to deal with.
With kind regards and completely serious warning,
Tony Stark.
-
When shots are fired at Midtown Tech during the school's fortnightly assembly, Peter knows (or, is reminded by Ned) who he needs to call. Leading to everyone finding out just what Tony and Peter's relationship really looks like.
Every Fifteen Minutes by a_matter_of_loyalty
“In honor of Peter Benjamin Parker,” the obituary reads. “2001 - 2017. Peter B. Parker, 16, died on the 5th of February, 2017, as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash involving a drunk driver…”
Tony can't finish reading. He swears his heart stops. “FRIDAY,” he croaks.
He doesn’t have to finish the order; FRIDAY, as if reading his mind, activates his Iron Man suit and sends it to envelop his body. Tony is shooting through the skies before he even fully realizes it.
OR: Peter Parker was in a car crash—except... he wasn’t. One forgetful Spider-Kid, one sleepy best friend, and one misleading post on social media all lead to a disastrous turn of events, culminating in the arrival of an unexpected guest at Midtown High.
Trust Fall by QueenofInsanity
When Peter had found out that Tony Stark would be giving a STEM talk to 5 schools in the district and that Midtown was one of them, he had had a bad feeling about it. But it had been because he thought that Tony would find a way to inevitably embarrass him. It hadn’t been that a shooter would turn up and take Tony hostage.
that time the Avengers crashed Peter's school by kayylit
“Dude.” Ned looked baffled. “The Avengers, man! The Avengers are coming here today!”
Peter blanked, rerunning Ned’s words through his daunted brain, grasping at whittling hope that he had misheard. He hadn’t. His hearing was perfect.
I'm Here, Mr. Stark by Lydia_Phantom
Tony Stark has a panic attack, fortunately Peter Parker is always ready to help, even if he is in the middle of the lesson in school.
you're still young (that's not your fault) by hopeless_hope
Being a superhero? Hard. Being a superhero in high school? Harder. Luckily, he's got Iron Man on his side.
or
Five times Tony goes to Peter's school and one time Peter goes with him to work.
Career Day by superhusbands4ever (Potterwatch97)
“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Peter’s enhanced senses picked up the familiar voice from outside the door. “I had a meeting this morning and then I got lost looking for the class… anyway, I’m here for Peter? Peter Parker?”He frowned at hearing his name, still unsure what exactly was going on. He watched as his teacher continued to stand and stare out the door for a minute before seemingly remembering herself and taking a step back.“Of course! If you could just go sit next to him until your turn, he’s in the back on the right side.”The man stepped through the door and Peter gaped with the rest of the class as Tony Stark, in his signature suit and goatee, sporting a pair of red sunglasses and carrying a suitcase walked through the door.~Prompt: Okay but what abt Tony going in to Peter’s school for career day? Like where the parents talk abt their jobs?
Bring Your Superhero to School Day by sentient_bees
It's Career Day at Peter's school, and May is busy. Enter Tony Stark.
IronDAD To Career Day by Wowie_Lamo
May is unable to go to Career day at Peter's school. Tony decides to show up.
Let This Moment Be the First Chapter by ephemeralstark for wherermysocks
Peter Parker: intern, Spider-Man, has never met Tony Stark in his life.
Tony Stark: has to do a speech at Midtown, knocks a bully down a peg or two, almost gets shot but is saved by...his intern?
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letarasstuff · 3 years
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Notice me!
(A/N): This was requested by an anon. I hope you like it1
Summary: Teenagers at JJ's daughter's school get attacked. Does she fit the victomology?
Warnings: feeling uncared for
Wordcount: 2.7k
✨Masterlist✨ ___________________________________
“Good morning, my lovelies. The good news: The case is local. The bad news: Somebody is attacking teenage girls from the same high school”, Penelope starts the briefing, dressed in a bright pink dress with matching accessories.
“Are they from the same class? Age?” Hotch asks, looking over the file. Upon opening her own, JJ feels like her heart stops. “Negative, the three girls are from different years even. The only connection is the school.” “It’s (Y/N)’s school. She-she is a Junior there. I-Hotch?” Desperately she looks at her boss.
The team’s eyes soften. It’s already difficult with minors involved, but when it gets personal the case is a thousand times harder.
“Call her and tell her we get her to answer a few questions. At this point we can be sure it’s someone from the staff or a student. Time is the essence. Reid and JJ, you get (Y/N). Morgan and Prentiss, you question the first two. Dave and I take the last one and then go to the crime scenes. Garcia, I want you to find out anything about the victims and their families. Check their social media sites and look out for anything that connects them”, the Unit Chiefs orders.
Everybody gets up immediately. JJ has her phone already at hand. The longer it takes her daughter to take the call, the more nervous she gets.
“Mom? Did something happen? You know exactly I’m at school. I don’t wanna get in-” “Honey, Uncle Spence and I come to get you. There is something we have to question you about.” The teenager is silent for a moment. “It’s about the girls that got beaten up, isn’t it?”
Her mother sighs. Of course nothing like that stays quiet for long. “Yes, it is.” JJ doesn’t see the point in lying to her. “Ok. Uhm, can you just question me at school? I really don’t wanna leave, because I have soccer practice after school for the game this evening.”
A little light blinks at that in JJ’s mind. “Isn’t it that important game, where scouts are coming?” (Y/N) begins to smile. Her mother remembers it. Maybe she does pay attention to her. Maybe, just maybe, she pays enough to come and see her. After all she even took a day off for Henry’s recital last time.
“Yes, you said you will come and cheer for me.” JJ’s heart aches. She knows that her oldest often backs down due to her mother’s job. More often than the blonde agent likes to admit she has stood her daughter up to save someone’s life. “I try to be there in time, Honey. I can’t promise you anything, though. Just let us hope we solve this case quickly, ok?”
(Y/N)’s shoulders drop. Of course, how could she be this naive to think her mother cares enough to at least try to make it to her probably most important game? “Alright. Text me when you are here or just get me excused at the secretary's office. Bye.”
JJ looks at her phone in puzzlement. The teenager always is understanding of her job and the sacrifices it takes. One night under a lot of tears she confessed to her mother that everytime she is away on a case, she is in the greatest state of worry. Will reported repeatedly that (Y/N) is miserable whenever her mother isn’t at home.
So she told her daughter about the pact she made with her sister. Any time they miss each other, they go out and look at the moon, knowing that they see the same. JJ also admitted that she and Henry are the reason she is even working as a profiler. The agent wants to make the world safer for her kids. A safe space, where they can grow up and go to the park without worrying about Stranger Danger or anything else.
“Is everything ok?” Spencer asks as he sees his best friend frozen on the spot. JJ looks up to him, spotting concern in his eyes. “Yeah, no. I don’t know? It’s just, (Y/N) has an important soccer game tonight with scouts coming and such and I’m not sure if I can get there in time because of the case. She sounded really sad when I told her that. You know, I’m incredibly proud of her for getting this far and she plays really well. Scratch that, she is amazing. Especially knowing (Y/N) is responsible enough to think about college in her junior year makes me swell with pride”, she gushes unknowingly.
Spencer smiles. “I see, she is just like her mother. I’m sure (Y/N) will come around, she loves you so much and knows how difficult our job is.” JJ nods, trying to believe him.
Not long after that the duo enters the secretary’s office, explaining the situation. He immediately notifies the teenager’s teacher and a few minutes later (Y/N) opens the door. “There is an empty classroom we can use, I already asked Mr Boyle. He is such a sweetheart”, she tells her mother and uncle.
“Thank you for consenting to answer our questions. (Y/N), do you know the girls?” Spencer begins after settling down. “I do. One of them, Amy, is on the soccer team with me. We mostly talk about her family. She is in love with her little sister. The other two, Rosa and Gina, are in Freshmen. I tutored Gina briefly until her mother said she doesn’t need it.”
Unfortunately (Y/N) isn’t able to tell more useful information. “Thank you so much, Honey. Have fun at your practice later”, JJ tells her while embracing the teenager. “Yeah, thanks. Do you come home tonight?” Her mother sighs.
“I get it, you don’t know. Ok, I don’t wanna interfere any longer. Maybe you are able to solve the case faster. Stay safe. Love you!” Quickly she picks her bag up and leaves the room.
JJ looks at the genius with a face that says “Do you know what I mean?”
“My lovelies, all three girls don’t have the best connection to their parents. They often complain about the missing approval. Do you think that it’s a kid from their classes?” Garcia informs them as the team gathers back around the round table.
Rossi shakes his head. “The crimes are too organized for a kid. Every girl was drugged, but we don’t know how. Then the UnSub waits for the drug to kick in and takes her to a vacant spot, where the beating occurs. And all of this happens right after classes end. It has to be a staff member, probably a teacher.”
“Yeah, but there is one detail that doesn’t sit right with me”, Derek pipes up, “The connection between the girls is the bad relationship with their parents. It has to be someone, who is reminded by their own dysfunctional family.”
“Garcia, look for someone from the area, his comfort zone shows that he knows remote areas that you don’t find by accident. He has to be from D.C.” Spencer instructs her.
“Okidoki, boy won- Wait, are we looking for a male?” Hotch nods. “We are, the amount of strength used to beat up the girls suggests a male, same with the amount of hatred.”
Emily looks unsure. “This sounds all right, but why is he choosing the girls? What does he relive by hurting them? How does it help him?”
JJ wants to partake in the mindstorming, but a ping from her phone distracts her from saying her thoughts out loud. It’s a text message from (Y/N)
If you find the time in your busy schedule to read this, be informed that Will and Henry won’t come to the game tonight, because Henry has a spontaneous playdate. Don’t worry, he brought me my inhaler to school already.
(Y/N) sighs after sending the text. Is it really too much work for her mother to make room for her? This is probably the most important event in her whole school carriere and she decides that a team of masterminds need her more than her own daughter.
Hurt by the clear ignorance she shoulders her bag and makes her way to the counselor’s office.
“Come in”, a warm voice invites the teenager after her knocking on the door. “Hey, Mr Pembroke. Uhm, I have a class before soccer practice and I wanted to ask you if I can put my bag here? I know I got a locker, but I still got my mom’s birthday present in there and I’m scared I’ll leave it in my classroom and have to run back to get the bag if not another kid already took it away.”
Mr Pembroke looks at her with a smile. “Of course, (Y/N), I don’t mind. Speaking of your mother, will she be there tonight? I really hope so, because you are a star on the field. She’s missing out otherwise.” At the end he winks. He is just that kind of guy. Working with kids makes him desperate for appearing younger than he really is, but that is also part of Keith Pembroke’s charm.
“Unfortunately my whole family isn’t able to come. It is like- I mean I get it, serial killers are dangerous and it’s important and the right thing to chase them down. But do I not deserve some time with my mother?” Mr Pembroke evolved into a moral support over the past school year since he started his job at (Y/N)’s high school.
He always has something noice and wise to say. “You do. Everybody deserves some time with their family and especially with their parents. Why don’t you talk to them after all this is over? I can help you work on what you can say.”
Happily the teenager takes the offer and rushes to her class.
“Guys, I might be onto something”, Spencer rips everybody from their train of thoughts. JJ looks at the watch on her wrist. (Y/N)’s game ends in about five minutes. And she sits here, stumped one the case she stood her up for.
“So we thought about how he chooses his victims. The only connection we found was them having a bad relationship with their parents. But how would the UnSub know? They didn’t share any classes.
“But there always is one person, who knows about the student’s problems. They tell them voluntarily”, he finishes, giving his colleagues the opportunity to answer it themselves.
“The counselor!” Rossi exclaims, wondering how they oversaw the obvious.
Penelope’s keyboard is practically on fire from her fast typing until she nearly shouts: “I got him! Keith Pem-” The rest goes under in the loud ring from JJ’s cellphone. “I’m sorry, but this is… (Y/N)’s school! I-” Hotch nods, giving her permission to take that call.
“Jennifer Jareau?” She can’t wait until she is out of the conference room. Now that they know who the UnSub is, JJ is more on edge than ever. “Uhm, Mrs Jareau, I call about your daughter, (Y/N). She is on her way to the hospital, she collapsed during the soccer game. We suspect an asthma attack, even though she used her inhaler.” The teacher on the phone gives her a few more information before hanging up.
“I-I’m - (Y/N), she is- hospital. Her inhaler.” In that moment she makes all the connections. “Garcia, look for the girl’s medical history. Pembroke exchanged (Y/N)’s inhaler, I’m sure he did. Look for it in the other girls. I have to go, she is at the hospital right now.”
In a way even Derek Morgan would describe it as reckless JJ speeds to the hospital, ready to fight any regulations keeping her from seeing her daughter sooner. “I’m here for (Y/N) Jareau. J-A-R-E-” She tells the woman at the reception breathlessly.
“Oh I got her. She is in room 99. (Y/N) was unconscious for a certain amount of time, but she is slowly regaining her senses. A doctor will meet you there.” Before she even finishes her sentence, the blonde leaves the desk into the direction of the appointed room.
In fact there is a doctor waiting for her, updating the mother on her daughter’s condition. “I advise you to not overwhelm her. Her mind is still foggy and there may be things that don’t make sense right now coming from her. But (Y/N) will make a quick recovery, being good as new in only a matter of days.”
Cautiously she enters the room. The teenager might be awake, but her mind clearly is elsewhere. “Hey, Honey. It’s me, your mom. How are you feeling?” JJ asks softly, taking her daughter’s cold hand into her own gently.
“Oh, hi Mom. I didn’t know you found the time to actually come here. Isn’t there like a bad guy out there waiting for you to slap some handcuffs on him?” Ouch, she doesn’t expect that kind of honesty. But it’s true and JJ knows what (Y/N) is talking about.
She sighs. “I’m sorry, Honey, for being seemingly absent from your life. I swear, you can’t imagine how proud I am of you. I mean, you play soccer and there might be a scholarship in sigh. And even if you don’t get one, you can do anything and I would still be proud to call you my child.”
(Y/N) turns her head around, looking deeply into her mother’s eyes. The blonde can see all the pain she brought onto her bundle of joy. “Mom, I don’t even enjoy soccer as much as you think. I only do this, because I thought there would be finally something we can bond over. But I clearly didn’t calculate your stupid job in.”
JJ kicks herself for overseeing her daughter this much. She never stopped to acknowledge her oldest child’s accomplishments in front of her team and family. She always told everybody in the BAU what (Y/N) is up to, if they asked or not is not her problem. But in the whole process the agent forgot the most important person, the one who reached all those goals.
“Oh Honey, I’m so sorry for letting you feel like I don’t want to partake in your life. I- I was just so invested in your life that I didn’t think about you. You don’t have to do anything that I like to get my attention. You can join the school band playing the triangle and I would practically make t-shirts for the whole team sporting your logo.
“Anything you do is enough for me. You don’t need to change yourself to appeal to others, not even me. I’m sorry for letting you down. I love you so much and I hope you can forgive me.”
It seems like (Y/N) needs a few seconds to comprehend her mother’s statements before answering them. “I just need a mom, who is there more often. That would be enough for me. Just once every three games is enough. To let my friends know you care. To let me know you care.” JJ gets tears in her eyes. She promises to be there more often, fully intending to keep that promise.
“Good, now that we have that sorted out I need you to come into bed with me. I feel I could sleep for at least a year because of Mr Pembroke’s really weird tasting substance in my inhaler. Can we just cuddle until I feel like I’m my old self?” JJ smiles while happily laying down next to her daughter, engulfing her in a hug, still being cautious of all the tubes she has going in and out of her.
“I love you so much, Honey Bun”, the blonde murmurs, stroking a few strands out of her daughter’s face. But (Y/N) is too tired to answer. She just nods and cuddles closer to her mother before falling asleep.
Meanwhile, JJ watches over her like a hawk. Not even Will is allowed to come closer to her than two meters (or roughly six and a half feet for Americans), not wanting anyone to disturb her daughter’s peaceful sleep.
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PART 1
Your feet dangled down from the stool, elbows on the granite counter when Jeff turned around. “Alright,” he said, lips in a thin smile when he revealed the plate of reheated lasagna that someone dropped off in the last few days. “Smells good.”
You looked up at him with an unimpressed stare. “It looks a little disgusting.”
“It’s vegan, I think.”
“Jesus,” you rolled your eyes. “You start one all natural skincare line and people think you only eat plant-based shit.”
He let out a small laugh, set the plate down and watched as you picked up the fork. One bite--mediocre. Not exactly hot enough, but after all Jeff had done for you the last few days, you didn’t have the heart to demand he put it in for another minute.
“So--do you think it went well?”
You laughed around the food in your mouth, picked up a paper napkin and let your head tilt to the side. “As good as a funeral could be.”
The lights in your kitchen were dim and the sun had already faded behind the trees, the house quiet after people finally filed out. Friends, extended family, strangers you’d never met had flocked to Los Angeles for the funeral of your famous father.
It’d been coming from a mile away. His health declined, an obvious result of the cocaine and the cigarettes and whatever else he’d ingested regularly in the 70s. A heart attack a year ago put him on a fast track to the afterlife, but he always joked that he’d probably end up in hell.
Being in the music industry ruined him, in a way--it ruined your parents’ marriage and it ruined a lot of the relationships your father had. Blow outs and big fights that left him exiled from a lot of social circles, sometimes never speaking to people again after one bad phone call. But it was never like that with Irv.
“Well, I’ve never seen my dad cry so hard,” Jeff smiled. “He really loved him.”
Another bite of the soggy noodles and fake cheese. “I know.”
A comfortable silence, the doors off the kitchen were open, a breeze from the backyard let the southern California warmth blow through the sheer curtains when you sipped at your left over wine.
Jeff was the closest thing you had to a sibling, his family was all you had left at this point. You were tossed in the bathtub with him and his siblings as a baby, shoved into family photos and tagged along for vacations.
Being closest in age to Jeff meant people always hoped it would be the two of you that would end up together. Happily ever after or having babies of your own. But when you saw Jeff wolf down a whole pizza at his bar mitzvah, any hope of a spark between the two of you had been permanently extinguished.
His older sister was the one who told you what it meant to have sex, and after your mom died, his mom helped you pick out a dress for your Sweet Sixteen.
She was the one who talked you off the ledge when you found out you were pregnant only a few years later, she was the one who threw you both baby showers and she was the one who helped you through your divorce only six months earlier.
So now that your dad was gone, too, you wondered where you fit into their family and what your definition of family even was.
Before the thought could cross your mind, the front door was pushed open and the sound of high pitched giggles floated in from the foyer.
CeCe’s tiny voice echoed down the hall. “Uncle Jeff?”
“Is that my CeCe?” He took a few steps forward and she ran straight into his legs, he hoisted her up onto his hip when Maeve rounded the corner with Tristan in tow.
“Hi honey,” you opened an arm so your ten-year-old could fit into the side of you. She leaned her head on her shoulder. “How was ice cream?”
The easiest ploy to get them out of the house while you hosted some kind of awkward afterparty.
“Fine,” she sighed. “But Tristan said that funerals are a selfish attempt by the living to hold on to someone after they’re dead.”
You blinked a few times and looked down at her, shocked by the words and apparently, her ability to understand them. You looked over at Tristan, arched eyebrows to communicate how displeased you were.
His eyes went wide when Jeff choked down a laugh. “I didn’t--I don’t know what you’re talking about Maeve.”
You kissed Maeve on the head. “Well, Tristan is wrong about a lot of things, trust me. But you two should go get ready for bed, it’s been a long day.”
You looked over at him again--younger by two years and easily one of the most important people in your life. You met him only a year after you started your business, he had a knack for brand management and eye for design that you couldn’t pass up. He was way too sarcastic and cynical to be your regular babysitter, but Jeff and his family were basically in the receiving line beside you.
Jeff let CeCe climb down and Maeve took her by the hand as they headed for the kitchen stairs to the second floor, leaving you alone at the island with two of your closest friends.
He waited until he heard the water turn on from their bathroom sink, then whispered in Tristan’s direction. “Great idea to say that to a ten-year-old and a six-year-old after their grandpa dies.”
Tristan rolled his eyes theatrically, “she asked why so many people came and why she���d never met any of them if they loved her grandpa so much.”
“Well, you can expect a bill for their therapy in a few years,” you laughed, forking more lasagna into your mouth.
Tristan made his way over to the fridge and pulled out the glass dish, helping himself to a piece when Jeff took a seat beside you. “How are you holding up?”
“Fine,” you glanced at him sideways, suspicious about any ulterior motive he might have.
“Okay, Y/N,” Jeff laughed, Tristan eyed you from over his shoulder like he didn’t believe you. “Let me try again. How are you feeling emotionally?”
You cleared your throat and swallowed the most recent bite of dinner. “Oh, you mean cause my husband left me six months ago and my dad just died and now I’m a single mom with two fiesty daughters who just inherited a giant house aaaaaand,” you drew out the word for dramatic effect. “I’m a business owner who barely gets any sleep?”
“That’s what I was getting at, yes,” Jeff nodded and fought a smirk.
“I’m alright,” you sighed. “Tired. Kind of freaked out about what the fuck is going on in my life, but, I’ll survive. I always survive."
You knew you would--in fact, you’d been waiting for this moment for the last few weeks. When Jeff’s mom called to tell you your dad needed to be put in hospice, you prepared. You talked to Maeve and CeCe and explained it all in a way they’d understand. His life on earth is over, but we can still talk to him and visit a pretty garden to remember him.
It was a lot to deal with only a few months after your high school sweetheart turned husband admitted he’d been having an affair and moved out, you saw on Facebook that he’d since bought a motorcycle and was spending most of his time at bars along the coast. That whole fiasco was harder to explain to your children.
And now suddenly everyone wanted to make sure you were okay. Frozen dinners, offers to drive your kids to and from their extracurriculars, a lot of attention was suddenly thrust onto you and your family, as if you hadn’t always hated that growing up.
But you knew the time would come when life would settle back down. Cousins and aunts and uncles would fly home, people would stop asking how you were doing post divorce. Dust would settle and the sun would set on this chapter and frankly, it couldn’t happen soon enough.
So here you were, the funeral was over, the dinner in his honor at Jeff’s parents, the media coverage was starting to die down and life could return to normal. Or, at least, a new normal.
Your dad had been a fixture in your life--weekly dinner dates with grandpa gave you a minute to yourself after working long days and answering endless phone calls. A glass of wine on the couch or even dinner with Tristan and Zoey was a nice escape from breaking up fights or figuring out how to reattach the head of a Barbie doll after someone shoved someone into a closet and tears and screaming ensued.
“You will definitely survive,” Jeff nodded.
Tristan came and sat, forked into the lasagna and made a face when he realized how bad it was. “Is this fake cheese?”
“Unfortunately,” you nodded.
Tristan made a face and then cleared his throat. “I, for one, think this is the start of a new chapter for you. New opportunities, new love,” he smirked.
A quick retort: “Yeah, that’s obviously the first priority right now.”
“He’s right, though,” Jeff said. “You have a fresh start, a totally new chapter.”
You nodded--they were right, but easing into a new chapter felt a lot better than trying to dive right in.
“Speaking of a fresh start, you know, changing things up,” Jeff forced a grin in your direction. “Can we actually talk for a second?”
You eyed him suspiciously, put your fork down to bow out from eating the world’s worst lasagna. “Yeah?”
“I have kind of a weird favor to ask. And--I know it’s kind of bad timing, with everything going on, but--just hear me out, okay?”
Instead of replying, you watched him, lifted your brows to encourage him to continue and tread carefully.
“So I have a client who isn’t from here, he bought a house but it’s in the middle of getting renovated. There’s kind of been a lot going on, it’s a long story.”
“Okay,” you nodded, unsure where he was going with it.
“He needs a place to stay, and I was wondering if maybe he could stay here for a little.”
“Here, like, here here?” You pointed to the floor of your kitchen, an elegant upgrade from the more modest house in Woodland Hills you’d occupied before the divorce.
Along with the death of your father came the inheritance of his Bel Air estate and all of the bedrooms, the four car garage, the manicured lawn and the pool out back. Some people thought you should sell it, use the cash to make trusts for the girls or save for college.
Selling it didn’t feel right, though. It was the house he worked so hard for, the house you called home for the later half of your teen years and the place you always came back to when things got hard. So instead of putting it on the market and closing that chapter, once again, you returned to the safe haven in the hills when you didn’t know where else to turn.
“Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but you have the room and it might be fun to have someone else around and--”
“I have two daughters, Jeff, I can’t just let a stranger live with us.”
“He’s not a stranger, Y/N, he’s my friend. We’re really close.”
“Who is he?” Tristan asked, waving his fork in the air to remind us that he was still present.
“Harry Styles.”
Tristan’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “The kid from the boyband?”
“No way,” you shook your head, dismissing it before you could even let his name register. “I’m not having a pop star boy band kid stay in my house.”
“Okay,” Jeff held up a hand to get Tristan to relax, then moved to point at you. “He’s 24, number one. He’s not a kid, he’s, like, only a few years younger than us.”
“Yes,” you nodded, “exactly. I don’t need a 24-year-old living with my daughters.”
“He’s not like that, though. He’s responsible and he’s a family friendly dude, and--”
“Then why can’t he live with you? Or with your parents?”
“I don’t have the room,” he said. “And my dad hates house guests.”
You rolled your eyes, it was obnoxious, but it was true. Irv hated having people stay over almost as much as he hated it when your dad beat him in golf.
Jeff took your silence as an opportunity to continue selling you on the idea. “He just finished his tour, he’s working on his second album. He’s probably going to be in the studio a lot, Y/N. Do you really think I would let some crazy party animal live with my nieces?”
Another eye roll from both you and Tristan.
“Is this like, just a few nights?” You asked.
“Like, two weeks. Tops.”
“Two weeks?!” You shook your head. “No--I can’t put them through that after all the shit that’s been going on this year. Why can’t he just stay in a hotel?”
“Cause that’s lonely and he’s a people person and--I don’t know, it might be good for you to have someone around.”
You rolled your eyes that, was it a jab at your new status as a single mom or new status as a fatherless daughter? Unsure.
Jeff stood from the counter and grabbed for his phone on the far end of the island. “Just think about it, okay? I’ve gotta run. A few weeks, built in babysitting, maybe--he’s great with kids.”
“I’ve already thought about it,” you told him, resting your chin in your hand and offering a sugary sweet smile. “No fucking way.”
“Mommy!” CeCe’s voice called from upstairs, you hoisted yourself up, ready to tuck them in and forget that Jeff had ever asked such a ludicrous question.
“I would owe you big time--it might be fun! You’ve got the room, he could be a positive male influence on the girls.” He wiggled his eyebrows at the end of his sentence--like that would really sway you.
“And I’m not that?” Tristan pulled his head back, offended.
“You’re the one who told them funerals are stupid,” Jeff said with a sarcastic smirk.
“And you’re the crazy one trying to let a stranger move in here like it’s an AirBnB,” you shot back at Jeff. “So maybe they do need a better male influence than both of you.”
“Mommy!” CeCe called again, more impatient this time.
“I’m coming!” You shouted. “You, let yourself out when you’re finished eating this terrible meal,” you pointed at Tristan and the lasagna. “And you,” you pointed at Jeff with a smirk. “Please never speak to me again.”
He was already heading for the door, keys in hand when he blew you a kiss. “Love you, see you soon!”
“Love you,” you called back, bounding up the stairs, mom mode activated.
**
A text message the next day when you were at work:
Jeff Azoff (1:43pm): 🙏😇🙏😇
You blew air from your lips, Zoey sat across from you at a conference table when you took a late lunch. She was the first friend you made when you started high school, your long time confidant aside from Tristan and Jeff and a sure bet to tell it like it is.
Now she regularly popped into the Luna offices and she loved nothing more than acting like she was a higher up at your business. She’d rather be doing that than admit she was a new mom with no clue what the next chapter of her life would look like. You had that in common.
Her two-month-old son, Benny, sat in a carrier on the ground, his eyelashes fluttered when Zoey put her feet up on the chair beside her.
“What’s the sigh for?”
“Jeff is being annoying.”
“What’d he do now?”
You looked over at her, nose deep in her phone when you took another bite of the burrito bowl she’d picked up for you. You didn’t know if it was worth it to explain it all. Zoey was excitable, never one to turn down an adventure and her aptly timed identity crisis that came with becoming a mom was sure to make her encourage bad decisions even more.
She looked up at you, suddenly aware of the wheels spinning in your mind.
“Spill it,” she instructed. She put her phone down and let out a breath, clasped her hands and waited for you to fill her in.
“He asked me to let a friend of his stay with us in my dad’s house.”
“Your house,” she corrected. “Deed’s in your name now.”
“My house,” you nodded. “And I feel weird about it.”
“Who’s the friend?”
“Some client of his,” you tried to wave it off as if the name didn’t matter.
It didn’t, really. You’d long been exposed to the rich and famous just because of the nature of your father’s work. He was one of the biggest managers in the music industry in partnership with Jeff’s dad, so you were no stranger to beautiful people with beautiful cars and beautiful homes. When Jeff took on the family business, you only grew more accustomed to it.
“So a celebrity?” she shimmied her shoulders in excitement. “Which one?”
“Harry Styles,” you said the name slowly, quietly, even though it was just the two of you in the second floor conference room and even though this was your office that you bought and you owned and you ran.
“He’s hot,” she nodded casually, less impressed than you’d expected.
“He’s also like twenty-something, so it's disgusting for you to say that.”
“Oh relax,” she dismissed your concern. “He could be your pool boy.”
Zoey--who also grew up in Southern California and spent plenty of time at your house as a kid--hadn’t yet grown so accustomed to the coming and going of celebrities. Her parents owned a florist shop in Santa Monica and in high school you had to tell her she could only come to a Britney Spears concert if she didn’t cry when you inevitably met her in the green room thanks to your dad.
“I have children,” you reminded her. “A ten-year-old who might as well be fifteen and a six-year-old who would think I literally bought her a human playmate.”
“But if he’s friends with Jeff I highly doubt he’s a serial killer,” she reasoned.
“Wow, you are completely missing the point.”
“What’s the point, then?”
“It’s weird--I can’t have a stranger move in with my kids.”
“Why not?”
“Because first their dad left us and now their grandpa died.”
“Sounds like they need a new man in their life.”
You ignored the similarity of her words with Jeff’s from the other night. “I just think it’s crazy.”
“Okay,” she sat up straight and suddenly looked like this was morphing into a business conversation. “How long?”
“Two weeks.”
“Oh my god,” she turned her palms towards the sky. “Just do it.”
“What? No!”
“It’s two weeks--it’ll take your mind off of all the shit that’s been going on, it’ll be a fun distraction for the girls. You have so much space in that house you will never even know he’s there. And you’re helping a friend.”
She wasn’t wrong: Harry could likely stay in the bedroom all the way on the other end of the hall from where the girls slept. Maeve was thrilled to get her own room in the move and CeCe would occasionally run into your room after a nightmare, so the space was a plus.
He’d have his own room, his own bathroom. Hell, he could even park in the extra garage and enter from the back of the house. Maybe you wouldn’t even notice he existed.
You sighed, tugged at your necklace when you met her gaze. “I just feel really protective over them right now. I feel like Luke ruined their sense of family and now with my dad gone--”
She stuck her tongue out in disgust at the sound of your ex’s name. “I get that--but they have you. They have Jeff and his family and they have me and Shawn and now Benny.”
You offered a small smile at her reassurance. She was right in a lot of ways. The Azoffs were as much a family to your daughters as they had been to you. Shelli and Irv were like grandparents, they offered to babysit plenty of times and they always managed to get the girls the most amazing birthday presents.
But something in you knew it wasn’t the same. You’d dreamed of giving your daughters the sense of family you never had: a mom and a dad who loved each other. One house, not two that had two different beds and sets of books or toys.
Luckily and unluckily, your ex hadn’t made a huge deal about custody. Visits here and there were outlined in your divorce papers, but at this point in time he didn’t seem the most interested in maintaining a relationship with his daughters, even though he promised way back when that he’d never leave.
Getting pregnant with him during college wasn’t planned, but he swore you’d make it work and you tied the knot only a few months before Maeve was born. Things were good at first, you always knew you’d have more than one--if only to combat your own only-child loneliness--and then CeCe came five years later when you felt a little more prepared.
“I don’t think it’s going to traumatize them, Y/N. I mean, the least you could do is meet the guy.”
You watched her for a minute, blew air from your nose in a huff before you picked up your phone.
Y/N L/N (1:56pm): Fine. I’ll meet him.
Three days later you pulled up to a cafe in Brentwood and took a deep breath in the parking lot. If he was creepy, you wouldn’t go for it. If you got even the slightest weird vibe from him, you’d ex-communicate Jeff and only go over to visit his parents with the girls when he wasn’t around.
You’d already been leaning towards just doing it, especially once Tristan got a glass of wine in you and reminded you what your dad would have said: he who helps is one who prospers.
A few sleepless nights left you staring at the ceiling and wondering if you were crazy. You just now had the chance to let life settle down and here you were, mourning the loss of your biggest supporter, trying to piece yourself back together post divorce, and considering letting a stranger move in? Grief really did do strange things to people.
But when you walked in and found them sitting at a table in the back, something clicked.
Your dad was already fond of your possible houseguest, which you only knew from overhearing previous conversations between him and Irv about how proud they were of Jeff for picking up the family business, and now it all made sense.
A small part of you--probably the stupidest part of you--wondered if there was something cosmic about it. Your dad was always one to let his artists stay in the house, if they weren’t creepy, of course. You grew up with bands rehearsing in the backyard and going to shows at the Troubadour before you were old enough to drive, and you turned out fine.
“Hi,” Harry stood, offered a hand and introduced himself after Jeff gave you a kiss on the cheek. “Harry, pleasure to meet you.” Polite, maybe a bit of a kiss ass. Your dad must have loved him.
“Y/N,” you nodded, sat down when Jeff tugged out a chair for you. “Thanks for--uh--meeting with me, I guess.”
“Thanks for maybe letting me stay at your house,” he offered a sheepish smile, held your gaze for a second when Jeff adjusted the sunglasses clipped to his shirt.
“I’m actually surprised you guys haven’t met before,” he said.
“I’ve been a little busy this year,” you reminded him with a nod. “But--nice to finally meet you.”
Harry nodded, a dimple in his left cheek ignited a tiny spark in your chest, but you pushed Zoey’s words out of your mind. Two weeks, it wasn’t a big deal. He’d be in and out and this would be a blip on the radar.
“We can order coffee or something, but Y/N, I’m assuming you have like, a whole interrogation mapped out?”
You pretended to laugh at Jeff’s joke, turned to Harry and offered a no-nonsense smile. “I have two children, I got divorced earlier this year and my dad just died. So I don’t need any drama or anything. This is temporary and I’m doing this to help out a friend. Jeff, that is, not you.”
He laughed at your clarification and nodded. “Right. This is just me living in your house. No drama. Short-term.”
“And obviously my children will be there, so no guests.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Okay I’m not that much older than you,” you said it quickly, offered a small smile when he looked a little scared.
“Sorry--no, I didn’t mean that in a rude way.”
“No ma’am,” you added a rule, pulling a laugh from both of them when you lifted another finger in the air to count them off. “No drugs or alcohol, unless it’s like a glass of wine at dinner or something,” you shrugged.
“Look,” Jeff leaned forward. “Y/N’s kids are great, she’s got a great skincare company and she’s a kickass human. And you need a place to stay, so don’t fuck this up.”
“You both have my word. No drugs, no alcohol, no guests, no ma’am,” he smirked in your direction. “I’ve lived alone for a while, so, it’ll be nice to have some roommates.”
You nodded slowly and watched him for a second. A hoodie with the name of the management firm your dad and Irv had started, a backwards baseball hat and simple Ray-Bans. You ignored the fluttering in your veins from just looking at him, your own words echoed against the walls of your skull: he’s also like twenty-something, so that’s disgusting.
This was his brand, you were sure. Something Jeff had worked hard on--the looks, the smile, the exact formula that management firms drooled over was playing out in front of you. You sipped your drink once the waiter delivered three cappuccinos. Two weeks, tops.
**
Los Angeles afternoons were meant for playing outside, which is what your daughters did best if they weren’t busy pulling each other’s hair. You had dinner on the stove--enough for five--and a knot of nerves in your stomach when the wheels of his fancy car crunched atop the gravel.
The girls ran to greet him and Jeff showed him around the house. Now, Harry sat across from you at the table, Maeve to his left with an unimpressed look on her face when you cleared your throat. “Okay, gratitude time.”
Jeff set his fork back down, a guilty look on his face to admit he’d forgotten about your pre-dinner ritual.
CeCe squirmed in her seat, let out a sigh when Maeve protested with a flutter of her eyelashes. “I don’t have anything to be thankful for,” she informed you.
“That feels a little hard to believe,” you nodded, losing patience for her attitude over the last few days. “CeCe, do you want to go?”
Your younger daughter looked up at you, scrunched her mouth and thought about it. “I don’t have anything either.”
You tried not to groan aloud. After the week you’d had and the sudden changes in your life, disciplining your daughters felt like the last thing you wanted to do, if only they’d just behave.
“I can go,” Harry lifted his hand sheepishly as if he was sitting in a classroom and not in your dining room, a dimple on his cheek when he smiled sheepishly.
“Take it away,” you motioned towards him.
“M’thankful for being here, having a place to stay--and what looks like it will be a delicious meal.” By now he had a bit of smug look on his face, maybe proud of the fact that he’d broken the ice and stepped up to the pre-dinner prompt.
“Mom’s cooking is a solid six out of ten on a good day,” Maeve looked over at him, her fork now in her hand as if she was ready to dig in.
“Okay,” you leaned in and caught her gaze. “Drop the attitude or go to your room.”
“I’m thankful for Emma,” she named her friend, her quick submission after she rolled her eyes told you she just wanted to eat and get this over with. “She warned me today that Hayley was wearing a shirt I wore last week so I think she’s copying me.”
“Okay,” you nodded, you’d accept anything at this point. “CeCe? Last chance.”
“I’m grateful for pudding.”
Harry let out a quiet laugh, you nodded and said: “Great. I’m thankful for you two,” you smiled at them, hopeful that this nightly tradition would hold some type of meaning, more than just eye rolls and pre-pubescent angst from Maeve.
Jeff looked over at the girls, “I’m thankful for my friend Harry getting to meet my other friends, CeCe and Maeve.”
“Aww,” Harry smiled, a hand clutched to his heart when he looked between them.
“Alright,” you were annoyed by how good your daughters were at turning on their charm for anyone but you. Jeff was often the fun uncle, just like your ex had been the fun dad, which left you forcing them to play this gratitude game every night after they finished their homework.
CeCe wasted no time digging into the spaghetti on her plate, leaving Jeff to ask Maeve: “so what are you going to do about Hayley?”
“I don’t know,” Maeve sighed. “She’ll die when she finds out that you’re sleeping over,” she pointed her fork at Harry.
“He’s not sleeping over,” you corrected. “He’s staying in one of the guest rooms, remember?” You’d already explained it a few times to them. A few weeks, he’s working on more music, he’ll be busy, he’s not here to play with you.
“Whatever,” Maeve said. “Maybe I’ll hold it over her.”
“Maeve,” you looked over, unsure what had gotten into her. “I thought we talked about this stuff with Hayley?”
“I know--but she just keeps annoying me,” Maeve explained.
“Dump pasta on her head,” CeCe suggested with a giggle.
“Don’t do that,” you looked at CeCe and poked her in the stomach.
“I personally am a big fan of that idea,” Jeff smiled over at CeCe. “But it’d probably be better to just forget about it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
“Or the sincerest form of annoying,” she retorted.
Harry let out a laugh at that, caught your gaze when you wondered how soon it’d take him to get annoyed with your kids.
They were great--smart, funny, clever, definitely witty and sometimes dramatic. But they were good kids.
You remembered how tough it was to adapt to motherhood, even though they were your own. Something told you that Harry, no matter how short his stay would be, was not in the chapter of his life that entailed finding joy in playdates and pillow fights.
But he made it through dinner, quiet but friendly and as soon as Maeve was finished, she begged him to play squishball outside before sunset.
“Squishball?” his eyebrows dipped together. “Never heard of it.”
“It’s basically just baseball but with a softer bat and a foam ball cause mom doesn’t want us to break our skulls,” Maeve informed.
“I never said break your skulls,” you argued.
“But it’s what you meant,” she shrugged.
“I would love to play,” Harry laughed, unbelievably entertained by the back and forth he’d already witnessed. They yanked him outside and set up their tiny diamond, CeCe pulled on a tutu just for flair and you and Jeff were left to handle the aftermath of a family dinner.
Jeff put the final plate into the dishwasher after a little bit and offered a hesitant smile when he turned around. “So?”
“So what? It’s been like an hour and a half of him being here.”
Their laughter from outside was audible, CeCe shrieked when Maeve made contact with the bat and sent the ball soaring into the air. “The girls clearly love him.”
“Of course they do--they love anyone for the first two hours.”
“I think he’ll be good for you guys.”
You rolled your eyes, wiped the counter with the sponge when he continued.
“And you guys will be good for him.”
This got your attention. “How so?”
“He’s a people-person, never likes being on his own too much. Some structure and responsibility is good for him.”
“So I’m babysitting him?”
“Oh my god,” he laughed. “Relax, will you? This could be a mutually beneficial thing if you let it, that’s all I’m saying.”
You didn’t read too much into it, you figured Jeff was peppering you with reassurance only to calm your nerves or quell your concerns. When he was finished helping you clean, he hugged the girls goodbye and waved over his shoulder, leaving Harry alone in your house with you and your daughters and nothing but good intentions.
You left him downstairs at first, helped CeCe brush her hair and sat on the floor when Maeve picked out her clothes for the next day: hopefully Hayley doesn’t own this dress.
When you headed back downstairs an hour later, the girls were tucked in, the lights were off, and your usual plan would have been to check your work emails if it weren’t for the dimpled guy in your living room.
He stood at the bookcase, hands clasped behind his back when you found him.
“Hi, sorry--bedtime is always a--” you paused, not even knowing the right label. “A shit show. But thanks for playing with them earlier.”
He laughed, turned around and offered a smile. “No worries--they seem like great kids.”
“They are,” you assured. “Maeve’s been a bit snarky lately but I think that’s just the whole beginning of puberty thing.” You cringed a little when the words left your mouth, wondering if it was too much information for someone who likely had cooler things to do than talk about ten-year-olds and training bras.
But he smiled, shoved his hands in his pockets when you said: let me show you around.
He’d arrived at the worst time. Homework, dinner prep, CeCe crying because Maeve finished her homework first. You didn’t have the chance to give him a tour and you figured it would be better coming from you than from Jeff, that way you could remind him of all the rules.
You showed him the ground floor first. The library, the family room, the two offices and the three different remotes that all worked different TVs or speakers or lamps. He marveled at the pictures on the wall in your dad’s old office space, he was a legend, he told you.
He climbed the stairs behind you and whispered in response when you pointed out what was behind each door. Bathroom, Maeve’s room, CeCe’s room, guest room, another bathroom, master suite, guest room, his room.
You pushed the door open and stepped aside to let him in. Gray walls, a wooden four-post king-sized bed. Throw pillows you’d picked out when you moved in a few weeks ago, a dresser to the left. He looked around and nodded. “S’perfect.”
“Good,” you said, walking over to a small linen closet in his attached bath. “Towels are in here, should be soap and stuff in the shower--had our housekeeper stock it.”
“Thanks,” he nodded again.
“I don’t know where you parked, but there’s a garage in the back that my dad used to keep some of his sports cars in--there’s definitely room and that way you don’t have to leave yours out if it rains.”
Were you talking too much? You just wanted him to feel at home or at least welcomed.
“Amazing,” he said. “Thank you.”
A repetitive answer but it didn't stop you from rambling.
“Keurig’s on the counter--creamer in the fridge. Should be plenty of food but obviously feel free to stock what you like. Except like, weed.”
“Weed doesn’t go in the fridge...” he eyed you suspiciously, the same dimple appeared on his cheek and you rolled your eyes.
“I know--I know weed doesn’t go in the fridge.”
“Just the no drug policy,” he nodded.
“Right. Am I forgetting anything?”
He shifted his weight on his feet and shrugged his shoulders, a subtle shake of his head. “I don’t think so.”
“Okay,” you nodded, one final look around the room to make sure he had what he needed. His duffle bag was already in the corner, you’d told Jeff to put it upstairs and out of the way so CeCe and Maeve didn’t get nosy.
“I just have a question actually, if that’s alright.”
“Yeah?”
“When did you move in here?”
“Uh, beginning of August, so like, almost a month ago.”
He nodded, his eyes curious despite the fact that he didn’t ask more.
“We had to put my dad in hospice, I was looking for a place anyway after,” a quick motion over your shoulder to gesture to the girls. “My divorce, so--a lot of change, but it’s been nice to be home.”
He nodded thoughtfully, the quiet of the bedroom suddenly felt heavy. “S’a beautiful house.”
“Thank you,” you looked around the room again, if only to put your eyes somewhere other than his face. “I felt shitty about redecorating it at first, but--it was a little too much of a 70s bachelor pad.”
“Leave it to Walt,” he joked.
That piqued your interest. “Did you know my dad? Like, did you spend any time with him?”
He pushed his lips out in thought but shook his head when he sat down on the bed. “Not really--met him a few times at events with Jeff, but I never spent any quality time with him.”
You nodded--he was a busy guy, popular and well respected in his industry. “He was a good person, good grandfather, too.”
Harry smiled at that. “Always heard that Irv was the balls but your dad was the heart.”
You laughed, scrunched your nose at the saying you’d heard a hundred times. The two of them were partners in crime, two peas in a pod, yet they couldn’t be more different. He spoke again before you could reply, voice soft in the sleepy house.
“I mean, if you're his daughter he obviously did something right.”
He held your gaze just long enough for you to feel something, something you pushed out of your mind so quickly that your hand was on the door knob before he could even say goodnight.
Two weeks, tops.
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bokubonk · 3 years
Text
you look beautiful
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warnings: angst, hurt/comfort, insecurities, slight cursing
characters: Tsukishima x reader
date: 2/23/21
word count: 1.5k+
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It had been a long week and you were tired of everything. Not only were you missing your boyfriend but you were also overwhelmed with all of your insecurities.
While you had never spoken your worries aloud before, Tsukishima always managed to help you feel better about yourself just by showing that he cared about you. He was always teasing you but deep down you knew that he would do anything for you. After all, the two of you somehow got together in a span of a few months and your love for him still burned strong.
You managed to catch his attention and his teammates were anything but oblivious to his change in behavior towards you. They constantly teased him and tried to make him jealous and it got to the point where he couldn’t hold back his feelings anymore and he ended up confessing to you.
You were surprised, to say the least. While you weren’t exactly oblivious, you had never imagined the extent of his feelings for you but you could tell from how red his cheeks were that his confession was genuine. 
You, of course, agreed to date him. For the past few months, he had been the reason why you were spending so much time going to volleyball games when you were already busy with school work and your part-time job.
In fact, you were planning on confessing to him but before you could muster up the courage to go through with it, he beat you to it.
Never in a million years had Tsukishima imagined confessing to anyone but he couldn’t bear the thought of you being stolen away by one of his bratty teammates when you clearly deserved better. He knew you deserved better than him but at the very least he knew he would do his best to treat you the way you deserved to be treated.
You could certainly tell he put in effort but as time passed by and he got more comfortable in the relationship, his playful teasing seemed to worsen. It didn’t really affect you because you knew he was only joking and you weren’t one to take his comments to heart. 
But lately, practices were getting in the way of your relationship and you were left to deal with your thoughts alone. You were more sensitive and everything seemed to set you off. It didn’t help that you would compare yourself to all the models on social media after spending hours on your phone with nothing else to do.
You were just lonely and hated feeling so bad about yourself. 
So you decided to put on a nice outfit for once instead of your usual sweatpants and t-shirt and you actually felt nice. You felt a smile tugging at your lips for the first time in what felt like forever and you felt confident.
You posed in the mirror, ecstatic about how good you felt and throughout it all the first person you wanted to see was your boyfriend. You wanted him to see the outfit you had put on and feel as amazed as you were.
But when you texted him to meet you at a cafe near school, you didn’t expect him to greet you with a deadpan expression as he pulled down his headphones so it rested around his neck. You could see a scowl forming on his face and your excitement died down a little but you still did your best to plaster on a smile.
That is until he opened his mouth to speak. 
“What are you wearing?”
You froze, glancing down at your outfit.
Was there something wrong with it?
You didn’t notice any tears or marks when you were admiring yourself in the mirror.
“You look like shit.”
Oh.
Your chin trembled.
It wasn’t the outfit, it was you. 
You swallowed the lump in your throat, your fists bunching up the fabric of your outfit. You regretted ever thinking dressing up could hide all your flaws and believing that you actually looked good. 
You had the audacity to look in the mirror and feel confident about yourself when even your boyfriend could see that you weren’t good enough. 
Tsukishima, on the other hand, felt the exact opposite. He thought you looked beautiful and he so badly wanted to compliment you on it but he was so used to teasing you that his mouth betrayed him. 
In truth, he thought you looked beautiful no matter what you were wearing but today you were radiant. And he could see the exact moment he extinguished that bright flame when your eyes began to water and your excited smile dropped.
He felt his world begin to spin. 
Tsukishima could feel the heavy pressure of guilt building in his chest. He absolutely despised the look of self-hatred in your eyes but even more so, he hated himself for being the cause of it.
He opened his mouth to apologize, all the compliments he wanted to give you ready to spill from his parted lips but you began speaking before he could. “I’ll just go home and change. It’ll only take a second so don’t go anywhere.”
Your voice shook as you spoke and he could tell that you were trying your best not to cry but he was too dumbfounded at your words and your lack of blame on him to even move or stop you as you exited the cafe.
As much as you just wanted to go home and cry, you loved your boyfriend and you didn’t know when the next time you would be able to go on a date would be. You weren’t going to allow yourself to waste this chance with him when you knew he could always find someone better.
You wiped away your tears and ignored the pain in your chest, you could worry about your insecurities later. For now, you would do your best to make sure your boyfriend was able to enjoy the date and you wouldn’t bother him with your thoughts. 
Meanwhile, Tsukishima sat alone at the cafe, it had been a minute since you left and he finally came to his senses and ran after you. His heart was pounding and he couldn’t believe how much of an idiot he was. He promised to treat you well when you first got together but clearly, he was doing a shitty job and he only wished you wouldn’t leave him for being such a terrible boyfriend.
He saw you from a distance, recognizing your outfit. It didn’t go unnoticed that you were wiping at your face, and it only made him run faster, wanting to comfort you and apologize and make it all okay again.
He couldn’t bear this feeling, the stabbing pain in his chest at the thought of losing you.
You felt a hand grab your wrist and a tired voice pant, “Y/n.”
You whirled around, your heart in your throat, only to be faced with your boyfriend. He placed his head on your shoulder and you could hear his shuddering breaths as he struggled to maintain his breathing.
You were unsure of what to do. You hadn’t expected that he would run after you and you softly whispered, “Kei? What’s wrong?”
He grimaced. Even after hurting you, you were still concerned about him. 
“Listen closely, I’m only going to say this once, alright?”
You nodded, clenching your fists. You weren’t sure what was going on but it was rare that he was so serious and you readied yourself to listen to whatever it it was that he had to say.
“You look beautiful.”
Time froze.
“I’m sorry I ever made you think otherwise.”
Your heart stuttered.
“You’re always beautiful, no matter what you wear and I just didn’t know how to say it so my stupid mouth came up with those shitty lines instead.”
Tears filled your eyes and you tried wiping them away to no avail.
He noticed your sniffles and lifted his head to see your tear-stained cheeks. Tsukishima’s gaze softened when he saw the wide-eyed look you were giving him and the slight flush of your cheeks.
He grazed a thumb over your cheekbone, wiping away a stray tear and biting back the urge to kiss you. 
“I love you,” his voice quieted to a murmur and you strained your ears to hear him before he cleared his throat and blurted, “Forgive me?”
A grin split your face and you nodded, cupping his cheeks and puling him in for a kiss. “Of course.”
While you were hurt by what he said, you knew it was hard for him to express himself and communication was something the two of you needed to work on together. But for now, just being with him was enough. You could worry about all that later. 
You pulled back and he stared at you with a dazed expression, adjusting his crooked glasses. Tsukishima grabbed your hand, tugging you back in the direction the two of you came from. 
“Are we going back to the cafe?” you asked, stumbling as you tried to keep up with his long legs.
“Well, yeah. I promised you a date, didn’t I?”
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Note
Brothers + the now dateables with an MC who just can’t remember names that are like three syllables or more so they just refer to everyone by their nicknames. The mc is still new and does it and when someone says anything they’re just like “it’s your fault for having a long ass name”
I finally return to writing headcanons wow that only took me a year am I right? Ahahaha I had nearly 200 followers and I’m laughing cause I’m slowly watching them leave me. 😎😭
Jokes aside I’m doing MUCH better after resting for a long time. Mentally and physically! So here you go.
Warning LONG aha aha 🥺😭 I feel like this is shorter than my usual ones. I got to get the hang of it again.
Brothers + Dateables with a GN!MC who can’t remember long names HC
Lucifer
When you were summoned to the devildom, you were pretty confused and filled with a lot of questions. Naturally, you’d refer to the people you were calling out to by name, but for some reason you just couldn’t remember them.
You finally found Lucifer, Diavolo, and Barbatos in the hallways, and approached them to ask a question. You forgot their whole names, but figured since you’ve got the first parts of each, that was good enough.
“Ah Luci, about the tasks for this week, what exactly does this part mean? And Dia, when do you want my report?” You asked them.
Lucifer was pretty mortified. He was also pissed. Did you just call him Luci? And more importantly, did you just cal THE lord Diavolo some kind of stupid nickname?
Diavolo on the other hand was laughing at the nickname you gave Lucifer. You were being scolded by Lucifer, and Diavolo was about to pipe in before you said, “It’s not my fault you have a long ass name, like damn, I could write the entire report by the time I finish saying your name.”
Lucifer is really angry at your behaviour at first but since Diavolo is fine with it... and then he soon realizes you literally can’t remember any of his brothers names with more than three syllables too.
He’ll probably try to give you food or drinks that help with your memory, and eventually finds you calling him Luci cute. Will immediately get angry if anyone else tries to call him that.
Mammon
Mammon was one of the first people you met, and one of the brother’s whose full name you can actually remember. He takes great pride in that!
His name was the first his human remembered and knows by heart! Of course! He is The Great Mammon.
Also kind of sad he doesn’t get a cute nickname! Please give him a cute nickname, he wants to feel special too, or very close to you, he craves contact and affection.
The first time he heard you refer to Lucifer as “Luci” he almost lost it. Thought you were going to die and tried to pick you up and run. So surprised when Lucifer only sighed, and responded to your question.
You had to explain to him you can’t remember names that are long, and his is one of the only so far you can remember. When you refer to Diavolo as “Dia” he just genuinely wonders how you do it, like aren’t you scared?
Well it’s not like it matters! You have The Great Mammon to protect ya’ AND you remember his name, it’s a win for him!
Leviathan
Originally Levi thought nothing of it when you referred to him as Levi, as that’s just what everyone else did. But then he started to notice you’d even refer to anime characters or idols as shortened nicknames.
You could pronounce Ruri easily, so he didn’t notice at first since Ruri was all he talked about, but when he said “Azuki” you kept calling her “Azu” or “Zuki”. He wondered why that was an asked.
You explain to him you just can’t remember “long ass fucking names” and anything with three or more syllables was a chore to remember, so there’s no way you were going to remember Azu’s name.
Finds it kind of sad for you, and difficult to understand what character you’re talking about. One time you kept saying a character from “that one show” and kept pouting while Levi’s head was grinding 3000 gears cause there’s at LEAST 5 characters that start with “Saku” like are you saying Sakura? Which!?
Scared for your life when you refer to Lucifer or Diavolo by their shortened names. Surprised to find out you’re completely safe. Soon comes to a realization you’ll just never be able to remember almost anyone’s name, no matter how hard he tries.
He drills it into your head about a certain character will a three syllable name but after the six hours of listening you just... forgot. Like literally the show’s name has the character’s name in it and you just forgot. Cue Levi sighing and calling you a normie.
Satan
One of the lucky three people spared from you forgetting his name. He didn’t realize it at first since Mammon, Levi, and Beel were all their names or family nicknames.
And then it clicks when you called Lucifer by “Luci”, in front of everyone, at dinner. You just said “Luci please hand me the salt” and Satan stared at you wide eyed.
Were you taunting Lucifer, or did you just have a death wish? Wait neither? You mean THE prideful lucifer just handed you the salt without a retort, or question why you called him that?
Questions you later afterwards about what was up about it, and when you tell him you don’t remember “long ass fucking names” it sort of clicks. Still sort of surprised that Lucifer isn’t pissed at you.
Will research human memory because he doesn’t think it’s normal. Like you can remember words with more than three syllables, but why not names?
Will DEFINITELY make fun of Lucifer for it. “Oh, how was your day, Luci?” And will also flaunt about how you remember his name but not Lucifer’s.
Also, like Levi, kind of sad you don’t remember the name of his book characters and just call them by their physical traits because at that point he doesn’t even know who you could refer to by his thousands of book.
Asmodeus
Asmo finds the nicknames extremely adorable!! Probably makes it a trend on social media to start calling everyone you know cute nicknames.
He didn’t think much when you called him Asmo, but hearing you call Lucifer as Luci, Diavolo as Dia, and Barbatos as Barb or baby just had him smitten.
Definitely wants to use cute nicknames too, but Lucifer is threatening him. After finding out that you physically cannot remember names with three or more syllables, including Asmo’s full name, he feels kind of bad for you.
It must suck not to know the whole name of the world’s most beautiful man! And why he starts hearing you call Simeon “Simmie” or Solomon as “Solly” he definitely steals it and copies you.
Diavolo is happy too to have someone else call him by a casual nickname, and hopes it catches on, much to Lucifer’s dismay.
Will probably want you to call him something even cuter instead of Asmo, as your own special privilege, like “Azzy”. He gets to give you a cute nickname too, though.
Beelzebub
Beel didn’t really notice at first, until Asmo and Satan pointed it out. He asked you if you remembered his name, and you just gave him a blank look and said “Beel, I love you, but you have a long ass name, and that’s not my fault.”
He doesn’t really care though, since you still know his nickname! But he is kind of worried for your memory. Are you okay, can you still remember other words? Do you remember the names of his food orders?
Has introduced you to his gym friends but you for the life of you, cannot remember any of their names. Finds it sort of funny how you just remember them as “leg guy” or “treadmill user”.
If anyone gets mad at you for shortening their name he will stand up for you! Baby understands that you just have trouble with remembering, and will defend you.
Belphegor
Finds this shit fucking hilarious. He’s often called Belphie, which you remember, so it’s not like it applies to him that much.
Kinda pissy how you can remember Mammon’s full name and not his, but there are benefits. He starts calling Lucifer “Luci” from now on and taunts him for being weak to a human.
Finds it funny, too, how you just tell people “your name is too fucking long” and call them by their first syllable or something similar.
He’s not really concerned about why you can’t remember names, okay maybe at first, did he kill you too hard? No? Okay.
He probably thinks you’re like him, can’t be assed to remember people’s shit names at times and remembers them based off looks.
Sleepy baby just wants to nap with you, names aren’t important.
Diavolo
The prince of devildom is extremely powerful, frightening, and no one would dare look down on him. He’s always used to people being formal with him, or trying to get on his good side.
However, one day, this small weak little human came into his realm and didn’t even care to remember his name. It entertained him a whole lot to say the least.
Diavolo doesn’t have a lot of people who’d be casual with him, so hearing you call him “Dia” for the first time made him really happy! He would love to hear you say it more often, and to be super casual around him.
When Lucifer or Barbatos tried to correct you and tell you to use his whole name, you only responded with, “No one has time to say his whole ass fucking name. I’m just gonna call him Dia.”
He’s amused, it’s so daring and bold of you to say that to some of the most powerful demons. Of course, if they continue to pester you about it he would step in and tell them that’s it’s fine and he likes it.
Diavolo also finds it super funny how you can’t remember anyone’s names and just shortens them. He might start calling Lucifer “Luci” too!
Other demons probably look at you like you’re crazy, for addressing their demon lord that way.
Barbatos
Barbatos is pretty stoic, but whenever you call him “baby” you can see a faint blush on his face. He isn’t used to nicknames or affection, so when you give it to him, he’s unsure how to react a bit.
He already knew you couldn’t remember names, and would be fine with you calling him “Barb”, which you did in public. But when it was just you and him, or when you were with the others you’d call him “baby”.
“You have a long ass name so I’ll just call you baby. You’re cute like one. Not to mention, it sounds like Barbie which sounds like Barba- what was your name?”
He is pretty fine with it, except when you call Lord Diavolo just as “Dia”. It’d be fine in private or with the others, but did you really have to yell out “Dia” in front of a bunch of lesser demons?
Overall, he just doesn’t mind. Will probably give you a list or notebook of everyone’s names, and physical traits. In case you forgot who was who based off names again.
Solomon
Ah yes another exchange student! Hope he can get close to you. Okay, maybe calling him “Sol”, “Solo”, and “Solly” is a bit too close for someone you just met right?
When you explain how you just physically cannot remember names he kind of laughs at you and then realizes you’re serious. He knows some people have trouble remembering names, but wow, this was sort of unique. You can remember his first two syllables, why not just one more?
He gets used to it fairly quickly, though. Prefers if you call him “Solo” over the other nicknames, but finds it sort of cute when you call him “Solly” or “Sol”.
He will definitely use a nickname with you and call it a human thing, to try and make everyone else jealous.
The man with at least 5 60+ pact marks, the man who is an amazingly powerful sorcerer, the man who is labeled Devildom 2021’s “sketchiest” individual, is called “Solly”.
When he asked the reason to why you suggested Solly you just responded with “Reminds me of Sully from monsters inc”.
Simeon
Simeon is a really nice person so he first figures you’re just being really nice and want to give everyone nicknames! And then he soon realizes you literally just cannot remember names.
He finds it sad how you can’t remember the name of his characters, or how you’ll never actually remember his full name, but really finds it cute how you’ve given him a nickname!
You call him “Sim” or “Simmie” and he’s soft for it. Will probably give you a nickname like “my sheep” or “my lamb”. He’s silently hoping Luke too, will call him Simmie. He gives off the energy of a grandparent.
He will try his best to help you remember names, but he won’t try to force you to remember! If you can’t remember, you can’t. That’s completely fine. Don’t stress yourself about it.
Luke
He has a one syllable name, so he doesn’t experience this personally. But hearing you call Simeon “Simmie” or Solomon “Sol” makes him feel a little left out and confused.
Why do you call everyone by a nickname? He wants one too! He overhears you though one night. You were explaining to some demon whose name had like five syllables that you just can’t remember long names.
Oh! He’s suddenly really happy again. It means you know his name, and won’t forget it! Also feels sort of bad for Simeon and Solomon, since you’ll never remember their names.
Will be happy if you call him “Lukie” before realizing it makes him sound like a child.
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football-rambles · 3 years
Text
History - Jack Grealish
Based on One Direction - History. For the One Direction Series, which can be found here.
Disclaimer: This is all fictional purposes. Italics are flashbacks! Also swearing.
You couldn’t understand it. You understood that Jack was moving to a different club and a different city, but you weren’t expecting him to break up with you. Sure, it would have been trying times in your relationship while you ironed things each end but breaking up wasn’t part of the plan in your hand.                              
Sure, it had been a difficult few month, transfer rumours for Jack started before even the euros started and then when he was away for the euros that was hard, not seeing him for weeks only a distance. But you thought you both were going strong. How you were so wrong.
“We can’t do this anymore; I can’t do this anymore.” Jack spoke as he started to pack his suitcase ready to move up to the flat both of you chose once he signed his contract.
“What do you mean?” You asked, unsure where this was heading as you were helping him pack another suitcase.
“Us…I can’t do this anymore.” Jack spoke without making eye contact at you.
You didn’t know where this came from, your mind then started to go back to all the once what you thought was daft rumours could they be true.
“Is there someone else?” You snapped, trying not to let the tears that was currently threatening to fall. “I thought we was doing okay.” Your voice breaks.
“No. I promise you there’s no one else, I just think…it’s not going to work. I’m going to be mostly up in Manchester, you’ll be here. I just think we should end it before we get over our heads” He continued.
You laughed, at his comment and shaking your head. You had been together since school and now he wants to call it quits. Shaking your head, throwing the clothes you had folded neatly. “Do you know what. Fuck you, Jack!” You stormed out of the bedroom, to the bathroom down the hall where the tears fell quicker than you could catch.
Jack did try and speak to you through the door, but you replied some blue words telling him to enjoy his new life in Manchester and hope it was worth it. He gave up.
Weeks had passed, you we’re supposed to be moving up with Jack as a surprise. But you had quit your job for nothing and there was nothing you could do to reverse the life you were planning to leave behind.
You met up with his mother one day, she wanted to speak with you to try and find out what was going on. You didn’t want to bad mouth her son to her but you couldn’t help it.
“Y/N, sweetheart. How are you doing?” Karen spoke as she pulled you in for a hug.
“You know getting there.” You give a small smile as you sit down.
“Jack didn’t tell me much, but he was concerned on how he left things.” She spoke, which made you chuckle and shake your head.
“What happened?” She asked sympathetic.
“I don’t know…I thought we was going well. I was looking forward to going to Manchester to join him, but it was just out of nowhere he broke up with me.” You spoke.
“I gave up a lot for him already and about to give up my life to support him and this what happens.” You carried on your rant.
Karen listened and gave a small sigh. “Well…He didn’t tell me the exact reason. But let me tell you he is miserable.” She says softly.
“Good. He broke my heart after nine years I’m not exactly dancing around the room.” You spoke and sighed “I’m sorry Karen it’s not fair for you to listen to this.” You say, feeling sorry that you were ranting about her son.
“Don’t apologise, you’re much as part of our family despite what is happening with the two of you. And trust me. Give it a few weeks once he settles, he will realise what he’s done.” She gives a small smile as she held your hand soothingly.
You had dealt with a lot of things during the relationship, when he ended up being banned by driving, all the rumours that sometimes led to fights that would go on for hours, even days at times but you eventually worked out everything and carried on normal. How he could just give up on us you would never understand.
Weeks later, you were flicking through the channels as you ended up on the sports channel. The game was on, you missed going to the actual matches, something that baffled Jack that you enjoyed football regardless of who was playing you loved the sport. It was one of the best traits he loved.
You saw Jack coming off the bench, the first time you saw him since he left the house. You avoided everything with his name on social media. You took a step back after Instagram fans got whiff that the two of you were no longer. You sighed as you decided to change the channel and eventually turned off the tv.
You decided to get an early night, wanting to snuggle down reading a book that you found kept your mind off your thoughts. It didn’t work because you were still reading at 01:00am in the morning, you flicked the page when you heard your front door open and closed.
You didn’t know what it was, and you were sure you locked everything before you went up to bed. As you got out of the bed and put your main light on, picking up an ornament carrying it out to the hall.
“Hello?” You called out. Nothing
“Who’s there?” You asked as you moved, slowly heading down the stairs, you were now scared of who it was, as you got down to the bottom of the stairs to see that Jack was standing there.
“It’s only me” He said holding his hands up.
“What the hell!” You yelled as you placed the ornament down, knowing it wasn’t a burglar. “What are you doing here?” You spat out.
“I needed to speak to you.” Jack spoke, something about him was different, like he wasn’t happy.
“At 1am in the morning! Couldn’t it wait till a reasonable hour? Or maybe a phone call would have been better?” You snap.
“You wouldn’t have answered.” Jack spoke back.
“So, you thought you frighten a girl to death by breaking into the house.” You say shaking your head, as Jack held up a key.
“What do you want Jack?” You sigh.
“To tell you I’m the biggest idiot on the planet right now, and to say I’m sorry.” He starts as you nodded in agreement with his statement.
“I realised, that all this with the transfer and everything doesn’t mean anything.” He paused “It does but all of this isn’t worth it without you. Life has been miserable without you. I didn’t realise how much you were there, after the matches, waiting for me at home. We have so much history that I realised I don’t want to throw it away” Jack continued.
You looked at him, as you crossed your arms over your chest. “Keep going.” You speak, liking what he was saying.
“What I’m saying without you here, life is just a lie. We can make it; I know we can.” He spoke.
You stared at him and let out a small sigh “You can’t just expect things to be the same. I was ready to move my whole life for you Jack.” You speak.
“I know, and I promise we’ll make it work. You can come from work at the weekends and whenever you can. I could come back on when we have a little time.” Jack started to reel a list of scenarios.
“I quit my job” You speak, as Jack looked at you confused too why. “I quit my job because I was going to move up to Manchester.” You speak. “So, I guess, I am free to come up anytime.” You shrug.
“You can get a job up there, honestly you’ll be great in Manchester.” Jack nodded.
“Maybe, but right now I just need to sleep on it. I give you a call tomorrow” You say, feeling rather tired than you did. “Did you want to take the spare room for tonight?” You asked, not ready to let him come to bed with you just yet until you were fully sure what you wanted to do.
“I can’t I’ve got to get back. I have training in the middle and Pep will kill me.” Jack spoke. “Did you want your key back?” He asked, holding it up. as you shake your head.
“Keep it.” You give a small smile. “Goodnight Jack.” You say softly, as you walked up the stairs heading towards the bed that you, as you climbed into bed, thinking about all this history you had with Jack that maybe it wasn’t time to give up with him just yet.
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golbrocklovely · 3 years
Text
remember me // colby brock (pt 2)
A/N: as i mentioned before in a different post, this took me FOREVER to write. i loved writing this story but something about it just made me drag it out for so long. nonetheless, i love this and i'm excited to see what you all think. please lmk what you thought about this. thank you to everyone that has supported me and sent me kind messages. yall are the best ! hope you enjoy :) also lmk if you want another part...
prompt: she's the only one that remembers colby, or so they both thought.
trigger warning: ANGST, heartbreak, AU mention, friendship problems, cursing, happy-ish ending (but not the end...?), kissing
word count: 5526
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Colby was relieved that the waitress, the only one that remembered him, decided to help. The moment she agreed, Colby gave her his number and left. She texted him not too long after, and he realized for a moment she never said her name. He planned to ask her the next day when they decided to meet up at his place.
It was weird to come back to his apartment, knowing that down the hall his best friend, his brother, lived there and didn't know who he was. Usually when Colby felt lonely, he would walk down the hall to Sam's and hang out for a bit. It was always nice to talk to Sam about anything and everything.
But now... he couldn't do that.
Colby tried to sleep during the night, but barely any rest came from it. He tossed and turned, hoping that when he would wake up, this would all just be some weird-ass nightmare.
When his cell phone rang the next morning at 9:34 A.M., it was an unfamiliar ringtone. As he rubbed his eyes awake, he glanced at the caller, the name 'Waitress' appearing on his screen.
I guess this wasn’t a dream after all.
"Yeah?" Colby groaned, squinting his eyes at the sunlight.
Her voice came through cheery, the tone too loud in Colby’s ears. “Let me up to your apartment. I'm here.”
He cleared his throat. “This early?”
“I figured you would want your normal life back as soon as possible, yeah?” She sassed.
He rolled his eyes. “Alright, give me a second. I'll come down and get you.”
Colby stumbled out of bed, running his fingers through his hair as he threw on a random shirt and jeans, slowly trudging down to the lobby of his apartment. She sat on a couch, tapping her foot against the carpeted floors. Her eyes were staring out the door, almost like she was looking at someone. When she heard Colby’s footsteps, her gaze pulled away from outside.
“Did I wake you?” She frowned, grabbing her bag next to her and standing up.
He shook his head. “You can't really be woken up if you barely slept.”
“I'm sorry to hear that.” She lightly bit her lip, following Colby to the elevator.
He shrugged tiredly. “It's okay.”
They both slowly got into the elevator, climbing up to Colby's floor. The loud 'ding' of the elevator broke their silence moments later. They walked to Colby's apartment, and he unlocked his door quickly.
She whistled quietly. “Woah, nice place.”
A half smile spread across Colby’s face. “Thanks.”
“No offense, but how do you pay for this place if you're not a social media person?” She questioned, stepping into the kitchen.
He raised an eyebrow. “That's... a good question. From what my mom told me over the phone yesterday, I worked all throughout high school and college, so maybe it's from that?”
“You only worked at Dairy Queen while you were in high school. You must have gotten a better job in college because there is no way you can afford this place.” She disagreed.
Colby smirked. “How'd you know I worked at Dairy Queen?”
“Well, for starters, my friend told me. And also, I did some research about you. But I'll get to that in a second.” She continued, her voice falling to a serious tone, “So... would you like to hear my theories?”
“Theories?” He puzzled.
“As to why everyone forgot about you.” The waitress explained.
Colby sat down on his barstool, exhaling. “Let's hear it.”
“Okay. For argument sakes, you're gonna have to just go with me on this. Because otherwise, I literally have no way to help you.” She started, already pacing slightly.
He cautioned. “...okay?”
“So last night, I tried to think of a reason why everyone would collectively forget about you. And the only conclusion I could come up with is that you're in an alternative universe.” She hypothesized.
Colby’s eyes widened, bugging out of his head. “A what?”
“An alternative universe. Basically, everything is pretty much the same in your life, except a few minor details,” she revealed. “That’s why you still live in this apartment, but you didn’t get here the same way you did in your other life, your real life.”
“This... it's way too early for this.” He grumbled, astonished.
She sighed, her hands resting on her hips. “The only other option is that this is a very long-winded prank that your friends are still pulling on you. Have you tried talking to any of your other friends besides Sam?”
“No, everyone else’s number is gone in my phone, which I can only assume means they don’t know me either.” Colby retorted. Then he took a deep breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “But, this doesn't make sense. How did I end up here if this isn't my life?”
“I’m not sure how you got here, but I think you’re here for a specific reason. I think you’re here to right a wrong that this Colby Brock did. I’m just… not entirely sure what that wrong might be.” She answered, unsure.
He huffed. “Okay… what am I supposed to do then? Stay here and hope we figure that out soon? I don't even know who I am in this universe.”
“And that's where my research comes into play.” She pulled a laptop from her bag quickly, placing it down on the counter and opening it. She scrolled through her browsers until she came across Colby's Facebook, which surprisingly looked active for someone who hadn't been personally on it in years.
I use Facebook? Gross.
“First, I started by seeing if you and Sam were friends on here, but that didn’t amount to much since Sam doesn’t have a Facebook. However, what I found out is that you and Sam did live in the same town, go to the same high school, and played in the same marching band. Sam talked about his early years before he was ‘famous’ in one of the first videos he posted, and I crossed referenced that with your profile and it all matches up.” She informed.
“That's strange,” he mumbled. “What did we do after high school?”
She stated. “You went off to college and majored in Business Management with a minor in Philosophy. You graduated early too.”
Me? Graduating early? I couldn’t even get through math without Sam’s help.
“What did Sam do?” He asked.
The waitress scrolled to another tab, opening it to show a search of Sam. “Well, a very quick Google search shows that he actually went to the same college as you but dropped out once his Vine career started to pick up. Then he went on to Musical.ly when Vine died. He moved out to LA in 2017 and started a YouTube channel after he met Katrina, and slowly met all of his- your, friends that way. He got a bump of followers once he started dating Kat because of her following.”
Colby’s mouth gaped at her words. “That can't be true. He would have never wanted that. I mean, I had to convince him that we should be on social media so that we could spread our message. Plus, he hates those channels that use their relationship for views.”
“Not this version of Sam. Or at least, it doesn't seem like it.” She commented.
He covered his face, groaning into his hands. “What the hell am I here for? What wrong have I done in this universe?”
Her voice low, she replied. “I think it might have to do with Sam.”
“But... he doesn't know me.” He dissented, sitting up.
She nodded. “I thought so too. However, after scrolling through all of your public photos, I found this.”
Colby squinted at the screen, an old photo of him and Sam stared back. They looked super young, probably sophomores in high school. They were both smiling, laughing at something. He vaguely remembered this day.
“So, we did know each other.” He bit his lip softly.
She hummed. “Yeah. And weirdly, it’s the only photo of the two of you on your profile. But it’s not the only strange thing.”
Scrolling to a different tab, she pulled up an old tweet of Sam’s. It read ‘Never thought you would be the one to hurt me. But I guess everyone can be surprising.’
Colby noted the date. “That was back in high school.”
“Yeah, and there’s a bunch like them. He talks about being betrayed and someone hurting him deeply. He never mentions, of course. But his tweets line up with some that you were tweeting at the same time.” She confessed.
The waitress clicked on a different tab and another tweet showed up, one from Colby’s account. He gazed at it, reading the words ‘If you hate me… imagine how I feel about myself.’
Colby’s face dropped. “Wait, what?”
“You don’t tweet that often, but when you do, you talk about righting wrongs and fixing things you fucked up.” She added, “You also hate on yourself a lot.”
He doubted, crossing his arms. “You think they’re connected?”
“I do. I think in this universe you fucked up somehow and hurt Sam. And I think you are here now to fix what the other you did.” She explained.
He ranted. “This is all so fucked! When I saw him yesterday, he acted like he didn’t even know me. How am I supposed to even go about this? What, do I just go down the hall and apologize for something I don’t even remember doing?”
“No. Sam's not in his apartment anyway. I saw him leave while I was waiting for you.” She mentioned nonchalantly.
He grunted. “Great, he could be anywhere in LA right now.”
“I know exactly where he is.” She smirked.
“What? How?” He questioned.
The waitress divulged. “This version of Sam has a favorite restaurant he goes to all the time. A lot of his fans know about it, thus one look through any of his fan accounts and you'll see it. It's called ‘Paradise’.”
“Sounds like a strip club.” Colby deadpanned.
She pouted. “It's not. But he goes there all the time, and I got us a table there last minute.”
“What exactly are we gonna do when we get there?” He crossed his arms.
“I was planning on going up to his table and talking to him, maybe asking him about you, see how he reacts.” She described.
Colby furrowed his brow, confused. “And what about me?”
She slid her laptop into her bag, zipping it up hastily. “Well… I didn’t really think that far ahead. But hopefully, whatever you did is forgivable, and we can just fix it right there.”
He murmured. “That's a lot to hope for.”
“It's better than sitting here and wasting daylight.” She grabbed her stuff and headed for the door. Colby followed suit, grabbing his keys.
He spoke as he locked his door. “What if this doesn’t work?”
She turned back to him. “It will. It has to.”
~~~
Paradise was a themed restaurant, which Colby thought was strange because his Sam never really liked those types of restaurants. The theme was nice, however, tropical and Hawaiian. It felt like something he, Sam, and a few friends would have gone to after a fun, drunk night.
As Colby and the waitress were escorted to their table, they both kept an eye out for Sam, glancing around nervously for the blonde boy.
“I think the worst thing about this universe version of me is how messy my car is,” Colby joked. “It’s like I live out of it.”
She shrugged, smiling. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“You should see my real car. My honey wagon is spotless.” He expressed, waving his hand.
“Honey wagon?” She queried.
“Long story,” he chuckled. Then abruptly, he gasped. “Holy shit, I just realized I never got your name.”
She cocked her head. “What? I never told you?”
He blinked. “No.”
She started. “It's-”
“Hi, I'm Tony, I'll be your server for today. Can I get you something to drink to start you guys off?” Tony greeted, cutting her off.
“Yeah, sure. A water for me.” She blurted out.
Colby added. “Coke, please.”
Tony smiled. “Okay, coming right up.”
Once Tony left, the waitress started scoping out for Sam again, her eyes widening once she saw him.
Her body stiffened, turning back to Colby. “He's over there, three tables down to your left.”
Colby gazed over his shoulder at his friend. Sam looked lost in thought, staring at his phone as he ate his food.
“Why is he alone?” He muttered.
“From some of the blogs I read, he likes to go out and eat by himself. Also, apparently, him and Kat are on the rocks.” She admitted.
“They love each other so much, it's kinda gross to be around them sometimes,” He quipped, but shook his head. “So to hear that...”
“I'm gonna head over.” She announced quickly.
Before he could speak, she left the booth. Colby watched her walk over to Sam, listening closely to their conversation as he ducked his head down.
“Hey... sorry to bother you, but are you Sam Golbach?” She asked sweetly.
“Yeah I am. Did you want something?” Sam stared blankly at her.
“Um, yeah?” She almost scoffed at his tone. “I’m a huge fan and I know this might be a weird question, but do you know someone named Colby Brock?”
Sam’s face remained stoic, but his eyes intensified. “No, I've never heard of that name before.”
“Are you sure, because I'm pretty certain that you and him are best friends.” She insisted.
He raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
Colby watched nervously as she pulled out her phone and showed Sam the photo. Sam scrunched up his face, his eyes scanning the image. “Yeah, no. Still don’t know who he is. What was his name again?”
“Colby Brock.” She stated.
“...Sorry. I’ve never heard a name like that before.” He mumbled, almost inaudibly. “Sounds stupid anyway.”
She cocked her head. “Wait, what?”
Colby clenched his fist, unable to hear this conversation any longer. He needed to come face-to-face with Sam. He slid out of his seat, walking hastily over to Sam and the waitress. Sam’s eyes narrowed as he gaped at Colby.
“Sam…” Colby started.
Sam growled. “Are you fucking serious, Colby? Did you really have to get one of my fans involved?”
“What?” Colby puzzled.
Sam jumped out of his seat, grabbing Colby’s arm and pulling him out of the restaurant. The waitress followed behind them, confused just as much as Colby. Sam’s feet stopped behind the back door of the building, turning to Colby without warning.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sam barked.
Colby stepped back, surprised by Sam’s anger. “...Uh, I don’t know what you mean by that.”
Sam scoffed. “Why the fuck are you here? After all this time?”
“So, you do remember me.” Colby remarked.
“Yeah, I do. When you showed up at my place yesterday, it took me a minute to realize it was you, since you decided to dress up like a Hot Topic employee, but yeah, I knew it was you. Are you really gonna pretend in front of her that we don’t know each other?” Sam teared his eyes away from Colby’s, staring at the waitress suddenly. “Let me guess, he hasn’t told you the whole story, right?”
“I guess not.” She shrugged uncomfortably.
Sam chuckled darkly. “Of course not. If he told the whole story, he would have to admit he was an asshole, and God knows he’s not gonna do that.”
“What are you talking about?” Colby panted.
“Do you not remember? Well, I’ll give you a refresher. You and I became friends freshman year of high school. You were my best friend and I was yours. I trusted you. I trusted you with a lot of shit that I’ve never told anyone. Senior year of high school, right before we were about to graduate, right as we were starting a social media career, suddenly you don’t want anything to do with me; which would have been bad enough, but then I go and find out you and my girlfriend were hooking up behind my back,” Sam snapped, catching his breath for a moment. “So yeah, I remember you, Colby.”
Colby’s mouth fell open, his breathing speeding up.
None of this sounds like me. I would never hurt Sam like that.
“And now, you have the fucking audacity to show up when everything in my life is going great and I’m succeeding. I have fans, friends, and a girlfriend that all love and care about me, and you’re here trying to what? Stir up drama? Get some clout from me?” He demanded.
“If your friends and girlfriend love you, why are you eating all alone?” The waitress jeered.
Sam glared at her, biting his tongue. “And you made one of my fans hate me. Dope, dude.”
“Sam, look; I’m sorry for what I did. But that was years ago. I’m not who I was back then.” Colby choked out.
“I don’t care. I don’t want you in my life. Do you not understand what you did to me?” Sam persisted.
“I know I was an asshole, and I apologize for ever hurting you like that. But I miss you, and I want to work things out. Let me prove to you that I’m better.” He trembled, getting closer to Sam.
Sam backed up, blocking Colby. “No. No! You don’t get to miss me. You don’t get to miss a relationship you fucked up. It took me years to trust again. Hell, I’m still going through it. You don’t get to decide whether or not you’re in my life. Not anymore.”
“Sam… please.” Colby whimpered.
“Don’t show up at my place again. Don’t talk to my fans about me. Don’t act like you care about me. Because I’m done,” Sam stared into Colby’s eyes before going back into the restaurant. “I don’t care about you. Fuck off forever and leave me alone.”
Sam’s words punched Colby hard, taking the breath out of him instantly. He caught himself against the wall, his legs turning to gelatin under his weight.
He stuttered. “I… gotta leave. I-I have to…”
“Colby, relax. It’s gonna be okay.” She grabbed his hand.
He shook off her embrace. “What? No it’s not! Did you not hear what he said? Why would he want to be friends with a piece of shit like me?!”
“You were eighteen when this all happened. Give yourself a break.” She argued.
“No. I’m fucking terrible. This version of me is terrible. Of course he doesn’t want to be friends with me! I don’t even want to be me.” His voice quivered with anger, his body racing away from her.
She furrowed her brows, trying to keep up with him. “Where are you going?”
“I just need to leave. I can’t be here right now!” He grunted, his pace picking up.
She called after him, but Colby didn’t care. His heart slammed against his chest over and over again. Tears weld up into his eyes, blurring his vision as he began to run. He wanted to keep running until his legs gave out, until he couldn’t remember all the words Sam had said to him.
It dawned to Colby how much worse this universe was.
He wasn’t just stuck in a universe where Sam didn’t know him.
He was stuck in a universe where Sam didn’t want to know him.
In a universe where Sam didn’t love him.
And he had no way of escaping.
Colby must have blacked out while he ran, somehow maintaining to stay upright, because once his thoughts started to subside, and his body basically gave out under him, he noticed he was in a part of LA he had never been before. Some random neighborhood that was unfamiliar.
He shoved his body up against a metal telephone pole, sliding down to the ground. He tried catching his breath, gulping back breaths as he forced down the nausea overwhelming his senses. He wiped his face with his sleeve, feeling more tears rush down his cheeks.
His throat and chest burned with each sharp inhale. He whimpered into his hands, covering his face from the slowly retreating sun.
He slid his phone out of his pocket once he caught his breath, calling the only number he knew.
“Hey honey. What’s up?” His mom’s voice rang back sweetly.
Colby’s voice was monotone, exhausted. “You know who Sam is, don’t you?”
The line went quiet for a moment, all Colby could hear was her light breath.
“You told me not to talk about him. After you two stopped being friends, you said you never wanted to hear his name again.” She exhaled deeply, “I was taken aback when you asked about him yesterday.”
“He’s out here… in LA.” He responded.
She gasped lightly. “Did you run into him?”
He laughed bitterly. “You could say that.”
“Oh, Colby. I’m so sorry.” His mother consoled.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about, mama. I just…” Colby trailed off, unable to explain.
“Why don’t you come home this weekend?” She offered. “I miss you, you know.”
“I would love to. But…” His chest heaved as hot tears drifted down his cheeks. “That’s not my home.”
“Nonsense. You will always have a home here.” She assured him, her voice almost trembling.
He wiped a fallen tear, a broken smile coming to his face. “That’s good to know. I love you.”
She hummed. “I love you too, baby. Call me again soon.”
“I will. Bye.” He uttered breathlessly.
The sky was getting darker and darker, and Colby remained against the phone pole. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but suddenly his phone vibrated, a new message from ‘Waitress’ asking where he was. He sent his location, and she arrived twenty minutes later in his car. He stood up, stumbling to his passenger door. His legs were weak from the sprinting he had just done. As he got in, the cool AC blasted the sweat and tears off his face.
They didn’t speak, a quiet radio station playing in the background the only sound. She drove through the hills of LA, eventually hitting a peak. She parked the car as it overlooked LA, the lights looking like stars on the horizon.
She got out a minute later, walking over to the hood and leaning against it. He could see something in her hand but didn’t recognize it. Colby sat in the car by himself, not able to physically move his body from how exhausted he felt. Eventually, he achingly stepped out of the car, sitting next to her on the hood.
“I’m fucked.” Colby breathed.
She started. “I don’t think-”
“Please don’t try to make me feel better. I know you mean well, but I am fucked,” he rebutted, his voice dark. “I’m stuck here, in this universe, where Sam hates me. And as if that weren’t bad enough, I did terrible things, things I know I would never do to him. How the fuck am I supposed to apologize for those mistakes? I wouldn’t take him back if the roles were reversed.”
“Read this.” The waitress stated, handing him a journal.
He glanced down at the leather-bound book, slightly faded from years of writing. He unclicked the lock and opened it, looking down at the pages. It was his, a journal full of writings he had done.
“Where did you get this?” He inquired.
“You were right about your car being messy. But you’d be surprised what you fine if you just look.” She teased.
Colby read over the words, the first entry catching his eye. It was dated a year after him and Sam had graduated high school.
Sam is succeeding without me. I knew he would. He was always so smart when it came to business decisions. He just hit 10k followers on Vine. That’s crazy!
“What the hell is this?” Colby questioned.
She answered quickly. “This whole journal was you keeping up with Sam without him knowing. This version of you always paid attention to what he was doing, even if you guys were no longer friends.”
“I’m obsessed with Sam? That’s great.” He deadpanned.
“You’re not obsessed with Sam. Read this entry.” She skipped a handful of pages, finally stopping on one and showing it to him.
I hate myself everyday for the hurt I caused Sam. I can’t believe what an idiot I was back when I was 18. We could have gone so far together… but I had to go and fuck it up.
He scowled. “Am I supposed to be sad for myself?”
“Keep reading.” She pushed.
The night I chose to never speak to Sam again, I knew I made the wrong decision. But I had to. Sam was ready to go on and do bigger and better things. I was just gonna hold him back. I was terrified of failing, not only myself, but him. He deserves success. That’s why I had to ignore him. I have never been as smart as him. I would have ruined our chances of doing something great. And I have been proven right by how far he has gone without me.
“You stopped being his friend because you were scared, not because you didn’t care anymore.” She repeated.
He slid off the car, scoffing. “So what if I was scared to fail? Sam didn’t deserve the hurt I caused just because of that. And what about me cheating with his girlfriend?”
She jumped off the car, striding up to Colby. She grabbed the journal from his hand. “You didn’t cheat, look.”
She pointed at the bottom of the page, his eyes following her finger.
“Me and Lexi were never together! I hate her for telling him that. One night, they had a really big fight and she came over to my house to ask what she should do. I told her to break up with him if she really didn’t care anymore. And then she tried to hit on me. I told her off and threatened to tell Sam, but she got to him first. She must have told him her and I were together.” The waitress read aloud.
“Wait, if I never hooked up with his girlfriend, why wouldn’t I tell him that?” Colby hissed.
“I think at that point, you wanted the friendship to be over, and I think this solidified it.” The waitress responded.
“All this time I could have been friends with Sam, but I ruined it because I was scared? What a fucking idiot.” He spat.
“You weren’t an idiot,” She interjected. “You just disliked yourself so much you didn’t think you deserved happiness. At least now you know that this version of you isn’t as terrible as you thought.”
“Even with that being the case, Sam’s never gonna accept my apology. Why should he?” Colby lamented, “I let him down the worst ways. I broke his trust and loyalty.”
She shook her head, stepping towards him. “Give him some time. You might be surprised."
Before Colby could speak, his phone rang. He took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the number. It looked familiar, but he couldn’t place it.
“Hello?” He answered.
“Did you really mean it when you said you were sorry?” Sam spoke, his tone hesitant, but dry.
His breath hitched at the sound of Sam’s voice. “Of course. I never meant to hurt you, Sam.”
Sam paused for a moment, before breathing out. “I’m giving you one more chance. Tomorrow. Come by my place. You apparently know where I live.”
“Yeah,” Colby laughed awkwardly. “I’ll come by. Thank you… Sam.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I’ll see you later.” Sam stated, hanging up.
Once the call ended, Colby’s eyes stared down at his phone widely. He almost couldn’t believe that happened.
He inhaled sharply. “Sam just called me. He wants to meet me tomorrow.”
“That’s great.” Her voice just above a whisper.
“He wants to hear me out… he wants to give me another chance.” His face dropped with confusion. “How did he get my number?”
It hit Colby like a brick as he gazed up at the waitress, who bit her lip hiding her smile. “You…?”
“You weren’t the first person I showed the journal to,” she explained. “When you ran off, I was gonna go after you. As I got in your car, I saw this journal sticking out from under your seat. I read through it and… I knew I had to show Sam. I went back in and talked to him for an hour, showing him how much you were actually sorry. How much you had beat yourself up over hurting him. And then I gave him your number. I wasn’t sure if he was gonna call but-”
“Oh my God, you’re amazing!” Colby ran up to her, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around. She gripped his shoulders tightly as they spun, laughing loudly into his ear. As her feet touched the ground, he stared into her eyes, his smile the brightest she had ever seen it. His hands glided up her body to her face, cupping her cheeks quickly. He smashed his lips against hers, his heart pounding as he did. Her hands lowered to his chest, her grasp on his shirt tightened as she felt herself lose her footing and back up into the car.
As they stumbled, he realized what he was doing, pulling away quickly. “Shit… I’m sorry. I-I shouldn’t have-”
“No, it’s okay,” She giggled. “I’m just… surprised.”
He exhaled, letting his arms fall away from her body. “Me too.”
They leaned against the car, keeping a slight distance from each other. A light blush rested on both their faces; however, it was hard to see with the setting sun, something they were both grateful for.
The waitress sighed, breaking the moment of silence. “I think I know why this happened. Why I was the only one who remembered you…”
He raised an eyebrow, slightly side-eyeing her. “Really?”
“I lied to you when we first met. I wanted to seem a bit cooler than I am, but I don’t think I can hide that anymore.” She began, nervously.
Colby’s face relaxed a little, surprised at her words. “Okay.”
“My friend didn’t introduce me to you guys… I introduced her… to you.” She confessed.
A soft grin came to his face. “I had a feeling.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did! I totally did,” he snickered. “Not every fan knows I worked at Dairy Queen. And… no average fan would have helped me get Sam back the way you did.”
“I think there’s a reason for all of this. I think in your universe, your life… you don’t know me.” Her voice dropped suddenly, making Colby turn to her.
“That’s true, I don’t.” He nodded.
Her eyes met his, a sad glint reflecting in the moonlight. “But I think the reason for that is because… you’re not supposed to.”
“What do you mean?” He replied, his face twisting in confusion.
“I think you and I are only supposed to have met here, in this universe. But not in yours.” She glared up at the sky, “Maybe in some weird way, I’m your guardian or guide or something.”
Colby’s thoughts raced. “So, what you’re saying is-“
“This might be the last time you’ll ever see me. You did what you had to do. You got Sam and you to talk again.” Her voice cracked as she held back tears, “You can go home.”
He grabbed her hands, holding them close to his body. “But… I don’t want to leave if it means I don’t know you.”
A hitched breath fell from her lips, a smile appearing from his words. “If we’re meant to be, we’ll see each other again.”
“That’s not fair.” He shook his head, a deep frown settling on his face.
“I know, but it’s how it has to be.” She whispered.
He rested his forehead against her, breathing deeply. “Can I… get one more kiss?”
She bit her lip softly. “I thought you’d never ask.”
They leaned in, his breath fanning across her lips for a split second before he pulled away.
“Wait…” He shuddered. “I never got your name.”
A soft smile came to her lips. “I’ll tell you after.”
His arms wrapped around her, pressing her body into his as their lips collided. He held onto her for dear life, terrified that the moment he pulled away, she would be gone.
He could feel things around him slow down, almost melting away, but he couldn’t tell if it was from the beauty of their kiss making him dizzy. A whirling silence overcame his senses. A burning sensation sliced through his abdomen; his breath ripped from his lungs.
A heavy darkness overtook his vision and for the briefest of moments, he felt absolutely nothing.
Except her lips.
<< |
176 notes · View notes
wildflowertips · 3 years
Note
Hi! I was curious if you had anymore Kuroko fic recommendations? Thank you! 🥺💗
hey! 🥺 i do have more kuroko fanfic recs. i didnt know what type of kuroko ship you wanted, so here are a few from some kuroko ships <3:
Kagakuro Recommendations
the flower that blooms in adversity by aotetsu
When Kagami falls for Kuroko Tetsuya, a famous prostitute from the red light district, he manages to find a whole lot of trouble and a person worth it all.
this fic deserves more love and attention. kagami love for kuroko absolutely made me sob
Brothers in Woo by buttwade
in which Himuro jokingly offers to help Kagami win Kuroko over and the joke's on him
kagami is drunk & himuro cracks jokes. this fic is funny. jealous!kuroko
Beastly call by TCon
"You mean," Kuroko started. "You'd be my Heat Partner?" He didn't expect Kagami to explode into a myriad of different shades of red more impressive than his own hair. "Y — yeah tha's what I'm sayin'!" for some reasons he lapsed into english with an odd accent. KagaKuro Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics & Sex Pistols AU - Fusion
Lots of smut in the beginning. there’s crime, suspense, and i read this fic like 5 times.
Stamina Training by tnsxbunny
As the weakest member in the team, Kuroko stays back after basketball practice to train on his stamina. Kagami watches from afar and decides to show Kuroko what real stamina training is.
SMUT. SUCH GOOD SMUT. thank u
The advantage of being Kuroko by heartfilledteddybear
mayuzumi hits on Kuroko & Kagami gets jealous 🥵
Akakuro Recommendations
Forget me not flowers in our hair by miniaturepsycho
When Kagami is captured by a beast Kuroko doesn't think twice and bargains to take the red head's position instead but it seems that there is more to this castle than meets the eye, and what has it have to do with forget me not's?? Basically a beauty and the beast AU that I decided to do after seeing the live action (which I totally did not cry at, not at all!!) COMPLETE
Contains Aokaga. Akashi as beast & kuroko as belle. So good 🥺
All I ask by TsuruKuni
"It's none of your business." "Tell me, Aomine. How can it be none of my business when you're throwing away the only person I've ever wanted?"
THIS FIC MADE ME SOB AT 3 AM. I highly recommend listening to ‘All I ask’ by Adele. I promise you will cry. Aokuro & Akakuro.
Bridezilla by DancingMarshmallows
Weddings are stressful... try helping people plan them. With two months to get everything together, a bridezilla and her bitch of a maid of honor, and finding love at the worst time, Kuroko would be lucky if he makes it out alive.
CEO!Akashi & WEDDING PLANNER!kuroko. you will not regret reading this one.
That Ridiculously Long Dance by Harmonia_Silverberg
Aomine, Kise, and Kagami never learn, do they? But apparently their "joke" works in Akashi and Kuroko's favor this time.
literally one of my all time favorite akakuro fanfic
What Would Chihiro Do by anewtinystory
Akashi is dating Kuroko, whose two brothers are very protective of him.[Based on a Tumblr anon's prompt: Nijimura and Mayuzumi are Kuroko's brothers; while Nijimura approves of Akashi, Mayuzumi feels the opposite]
slight smut. protective bros. i love it sm.
Aokuro Recommendations
Traded Mistakes by Acetate, Chrystie, exuberant_imperfection, kate882, luckypen
For the prompt: Aomine having an accident and losing his memory so all he remembers is being best friends with Tetsu and he doesn’t understand how that could stop.
Angst, oh the angst 😫😭.
Third time’s a charm (or maybe fourth) by LajtHane
Aomine really didn't mean to crash into him at Quidditch practice.
HOGWARTS AU. if that doesn’t temp you, idk what will. My fav Aokuro fic.
Maybe a touch of your hand by skinandbones
[Written for AoKuroWeek 2015]: Aomine moves into a new apartment and befriends a ghost boy.
no bc this fic made me cry too. pls read it 🎶ifwehad5moreminutes🎶
The Boyfriend Jersey by exuberant_imperfection, kate882
Kuroko, in a half-asleep mistake, ends up wearing Aomine's jersey to school.
THIS FIC IS CUTE SUCH DORKS
Hey, Come Here Often? by imabignerd
In which Momoi holds his magazines hostage, Aomine hates everything and everyone, and Kuroko is politely bewildered.
Aomine crushes on the lifeguard!Kuroko & Momoi is a little shit about it 😌🤍
Midokuro Recommendations
It’s Always your Fault! by warsandwich
Kuroko and Midorima are secretly dating, but Takao finds out their secret. De-anon from the anon meme.
Short, sweet, & funny 😌.
Partnership by Fayah
Their partnership starts in English class, but like everything else in their lives, turns into a matter of basketball.
Midorima really cares for Kuroko 🥺
Midokuro Ficlet by pandacchii
based off of imagineyourotp blog post: "Imagine your otp confessing while they were half asleep" Pairing: Midorima/Kuroko
short story but it’s really cute ☺️
An Unexpected Alignment by cinnaelle
Midorima Shintarou does not expect such a reoccurring encounter. But the wheels of fate are turning and Akashi moves his shogi piece.
well-written i love it sm. deserves more praise
The Way You Come Undone by oshare_banchou
"Midorima Shintarou is completely silent during sex. And Kuroko, who is both fascinated and frustrated by this discovery, wonders just how much it would take to make him come undone." - Kuroko/Midorima, in that order
do i need to say more? 😫
Kikuro Recommendations
Careless Whisper by DarkWoods
When Kuroko is dared to come up with some dirty talk, no one expects him to be good at it. Certainly not Kise.
my favorite kikuro fanfic. flustered!kise & tease!kuroko
如果的事 (If) by stormterror
People fall in love in many different manners. Love feels like many different things to many people, but Kise Ryouta thinks there's nothing that quite beats the feeling of being in love with Kuroko Tetsuya. [kise/kuroko]
SO GOOD I CRIED I SMILED SO HARD. pls kikuro deserves the world
Wires, Connecting by Bakagami
It's like being blind but not, like touching air, grasping at straws, voices dissipating and reverberating.
This story is locked so you need to login into ao3 to read it. PHONE SEX & DIRTY TALK 🥵
He Promised by imabignerd
Kise promised he'd smile for Kuroko the whole way through, all the way to the end.
Zombie apocalypse AU. Death. sobbing violently.
It’s a Small World by SilentSilhouette
Kise tries to find his soulmate through social media. Soulmate AU where a picture of your soulmate is tweeted to you on your sixteenth birthday.
This one made me crackle & laugh😂😂
Murakuro Recommendations
No Such Thing as Too Much Vanilla by plumtrees
Kuroko and Murasakibara have baking days. What do you mean it isn't canon?
baking!boyfriends & fluff 😌😉
Vanilla Cream by yoimrei
Murasakibara eats Kurokos ass after something Ahomine says which sparks his jealousy.
here me out first, the ass eating in this is *chef’s kiss* 🤌🏽🤌🏽
Philia by DarkWoods
That time Murasakibara and Kuroko started kinda-sorta fake dating, and kinda-sorta never bothered to break up.
Still going & i love this writer sm. i read all their stories 😙✌🏽
Lavender Secrets by SailorHikarinoMu
Kuroko was the one to bring out his true love for basketball, which had been hidden from prying eyes since the beginning. It was one of those things he was unsure whether he should feel grateful for, but all the same, it did mean something. What this 'something' was, exactly? Murasakibara did not know. Not yet.
FLUFF AAA FLUFF
Rainy by overdose
Kuroko listened to the rain pouring, and more importantly, Murasakibara's steady breathing.
smut. couch sex. size difference. 🥴
BONUS
Hanamiya Makoto/Kuroko Tetsuya
Scotomas by Darkenedcrystal
After the game against Jabberwock, Kagami goes overseas and Kuroko finds himself without a light. A slightly angsty, rather light-hearted story about what happens to Kuroko after Kagami leaves. Features teens finding their way around life, Seirin without a light, the Generation of Miracles being a family, the teens finding love and appreciating the heartbreaks. Kuroko tries to find his own style without a light, and stumbles into the darkness that is Hanamiya Makoto instead. Extra chapter added!
love this fic so much. downside: akashi is kinda a dick
Of Unlikely Friendships, Sneaky Bets, Shogi and Sake by itsthechocopuff
Imayoshi had introduced his two favourite kouhai to each other as an experiment. He did not predict they'd get along so well, both being shadows, but they did, and they worked, oddly enough. Hanamiya brought out the worst in Kuroko, while Kuroko brought out the the best in the other; and they both caused heartattacks to unsuspecting teammates who could not believe their darling shadow was not as innocent as he seemed.
you wont regret reading this one omg
Haizaki Shougo/Kuroko Tetsuya
A Taste That Lingers by therealmoyashi
I couldn't say anything, and that was alright because he didn't want an answer. I'll never forget the way that tasted. Yeah, I thought, he ruined me.
i cried reading this for the first time. out of character kuroko
By the Tomatoes by Wayfarer_Rye
It starts with a blue-grey t-shirt that says "Nothing but Net".
Haizaki wants to try again.
395 notes · View notes
buck-nialled · 3 years
Text
Can’t Handle the Heat - N. Horan + S. Mendes Imagine
NOTE: it’s been a minute since i’ve written one of these, so sorry! but i hope you like this one. WARNING: this is very angsty, and goes alongside my social media au which i just added an update to. read this first, though, as it gives context for the social media au
TAGLIST: @fedorable-killjoys @particularnarry @swiftmendeshoran​​ @theshyspy @clarabsevero @rosetoronto @organicpurplepants @hoodhoran @umadirectioner @rueplumet @5-seconds-of-bucky @sinceweremutual @benito-mi-vida @shawn-is-my-giant-jellybean @niallerbbynialler @letmecarryu @niallers-potatoo @nerdypartytrashpsychic @golden-hoax @upallniall @ms-emily119 @dudethisiswhyyoudonthavefriends @wowitsel @rhymelynne​ @evanjh @fairyvex777 @percysaidnever @amelietpwk
SUMMARY: the hatred for shawn and niall’s roommate continues to fester on and offline...platonicroommate!au
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“Hey, T.” You try a smile down at the golden, but even Tarzan could discern it as something insincere. You stood back up and arched your back, the muscles in your spine aching from the countless hours on foot behind the counter. Part of you guessed what you looked like before you could approach the bathroom mirror, and the prediction was accurate—smeared mascara beneath your eyes, coating the forming bags and disguising the dark circles. The baby hairs forming at the base of your scalp were every which way and had more tendrils joining them by wantonly falling from your top-knot throughout the afternoon.
“Hey, T.” You try a smile down at the golden, but even Tarzan could discern it as something insincere. You stood back up and arched your back, the muscles in your spine aching from the countless hours on foot behind the counter. Part of you guessed what you looked like before you could approach the bathroom mirror, and the prediction was accurate—smeared mascara beneath your eyes, coating the forming bags and disguising the dark circles. The baby hairs forming at the base of your scalp were every which way and had more tendrils joining them by wantonly falling from your top-knot throughout the afternoon.
Just a glimpse at yourself made you feel increasingly tired, especially when the memories of your entire day culminated in one big montage of embarrassment for your brain to play. Waking up late and stumbling to get ready, only to lead to you almost tripping when sliding your sneakers on. Realizing you had run out of coffee—quite a common yet ironic happenstance for the everyday barista—when you desperately entered the kitchen for your morning pick-me-up only made it worse. But the most unfortunate occurrence happened midway through your shift:
The girl had her gaze transfixed on your figure the entire time you brewed, blended, and topped her coffee. It was nothing you were not used to, however, it put you slightly on edge during the afternoon rush the store was experiencing. After successfully capping the full cup and delivering it to the customer, you sent her a small farewell and twisted your body towards the line of waiting patrons.
“Excuse me, miss?” You internally groaned, praying she didn’t ask you to remake the drink. You faced her once again, lips curling at the sides to hold a pleasant smile
“Yes?”
“If you don’t mind me asking, you’re Y/N right?” You sense more pairs of eyes on you, and your gaze darts behind the young girl to find a group of more teenagers staring at you with mischief blazing in their eyes. Your eyes flick back to the doe-eyed girl, holding the cup in her hand.
“Um, yeah last time I checked.” You chuckled and spared a glance down at your name tag.”
“The one who lives with Shawn Mendes, right? And Niall Horan?” Heat fills your face, and you are unsure as to why. Normally you weren’t one to grow shy of casual conversation, but being recognized in public as the girl who lives with two major celebrities made you begin to feel your heartbeat in your throat and tingling down to your toes.
Gulping, you maintain your composure and deliver the girl a firm nod. “That’s me.”
She merely hums, before removing the lid to the drink and tossing it carelessly onto your body. The action had you gasping at first, but when the boiling liquid settled onto your arms, you were hissing in pain.
“Slut.” The girl spits, before dropping the empty cup to the floor and turning to exit. Her friends followed in fits of giggles, one being brave enough to call back to you, “you should probably pick that up!”
“Oh my god, are you okay?” Your co-worker rushed to your side immediately, disregarding the order she was in the midst of taking to rub your back comfortingly. Your eyes shifted everywhere and froze when seeing every customer peering at you with sympathy or confusion.
“I--I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” That is all you could reply at that moment, before taking a less than climactic exit to the restroom door.
Your manager, upon hearing your co-worker’s pleas to let you clock out early, conceded and wished you well. On the way out of the shop, two people were generous enough to offer you personal tips. Neither of these things lifted your spirits much, however. The red burns on your arms remained, and the shame was still settled deep in the pit of your stomach. The most confusing part of the whole ordeal was why it was instigated. Did you suddenly become a supervillain overnight to every teenage girl in a fifty-mile radius?
After removing your makeup, you phoned your best friend to catch up. Prior to you explaining your day, she asks you with a hint of concern in her voice, “have you checked your socials lately?”
“Not in a couple of days, why?” You exited the restroom and brought the phone call to your bed.
“Oh, nothing, don’t worry about it.”
“Y/B/F/N, you can’t say that and not expect me to check them now.” You chuckle. “Just tell me what’s the matter, it can’t be any worse than the day I’ve had.” You begin picking at a loose thread on your comforter.
“People are just...saying things.”
“About you?” You gave her no time to answer. “Who are they? I will gladly give them a piece of my mind if they--”
“Not about me.” She sighs. Your eyebrows furrow, before she solemnly adds, “just go check your recent posts.”
You hang up with the promise to chat later, before following her instruction to open Instagram and study your latest posts. A lot more likes than normal, but because of who you're rooming with, it is expected. The number of comments piqued your interest, and it did not take long for you to go through most of them.
There weren’t many things you found wrong in yourself until being faced with teenage girls’ social media accounts. Each word and sentence they formed commenting on your weight, your face, your popularity, your modesty, your “promiscuity”, your relationship to Niall and Shawn--which has been purely platonic since meeting them--among other things slowly unraveled you to nothing but a sobbing lump on bedsheets.
According to the internet, there was a lot wrong with you, the most prominent flaw being that you exist and shouldn’t anymore. Another thing the rumor mill is spitting out is that you are a homewrecker to your roommate’s current affairs with their partners. Even the nitpickers got a say in what they think you should change about your appearance and your personality. And right now part of you is glad your roommates are not here to be witness to your pathetic being.
As cruel as it was to continue reading through the tirade of pixelated words, your eyes stung as you eagerly scrolled and refreshed, and scrolled and refreshed again. Amidst your tears, you hear knuckles tapping against your bedroom door and perk your head up with a gasp.
“Hey, you in there?” Shawn’s peppy voice calls from the other side. “I brought more coffee home!”
Coffee. Just the thought of it sends you downward in your mental spiral once more, despite how much you were craving for it earlier in the day. SLUT! The voice from the young girl rings in your head, and the rough texture of the bedsheets against your singed arms provides no comfort as you bury your head against the nearest pillow.
“Y/N,” Shawn calls again after hearing no response from you. “I’ll just leave it in the kitchen…” he says at a lower volume, assuming you were sleeping or busy with something else. But you couldn’t occupy your racing mind with anything else right now. Maybe you should have left it alone. Maybe you should have chosen roommates who don’t fall under any A-list category of fame, let alone post about them.
Minutes after your breathing had come to a steady rhythm, it sped up rapidly at the feeling of endless buzzing coming from your phone. You barely picked your head up from your pillow, eyeing the small, rectangular screen lighting up with alert after alert and notification after notification. All of them no doubt traced back to your social media page, but you had no energy to review the latest gossip circulating your hate campaign. Instead, you chose to roll back over and tug your comforter over your head in an endeavor to drown out the noise.
Hours later, you awoke to your room, now dark with no Los Angeles sunset to illuminate the inside. You sit up and stretch your tired body, wondering when exactly sleep consumed you. You smacked your chapped lips and scrunched your face at the feeling of your dry mouth. Knowing retesting back under your covers would be near impossible without a drink first, you flung the bedsheets from your lap and tiredly strolled out of your room to the kitchen. As soon as you stepped foot out of your room, however, a snoozing lump on the floor sent you tumbling and rolling over with a grunt.
“What the hell?” You sat up and brought a hand to your head, eyeing the large body taking place in front of your bedroom door?”
“Shawn?” You whisper to yourself and bring a hand up to jostle his shoulder. Niall, who was leaning up against the wall beside your door lets out a gasp. You jump back as his eyelids fly open, eager to greet you and join you in waking Shawn up. After succeeding, you begin a sluggish interrogation.
“What are you two doing outside my room?” Shawn and Niall trade wary glances and hesitantly turn back towards you. “Well?”
“You should sit down for this…” Niall advises, picking himself up from the ground and stretching. Shawn follows before you lead the way to the kitchen with your thirst still itching for something to quench it. Both of the boys eye you carefully as you grasp a cup from one of the cabinets and bring it to the sink, filling it with water straight from the faucet. Feeling their gazes practically branding you, you lose your patience and spin around to face them.
“What?” You spit. Both of their faces look down to the floor, in fear of pushing your buttons. Finally, you connect the dots leading to their behavior, and inquire, “you saw what people were saying about me, didn’t you?” The sound of your fingernails meeting porcelain is all that fills the room for the next few seconds. It makes Shawn shudder, and Niall gazes down sorrowfully at the counter.
“Yeah...and the video. We’re so sorry—“ Shawn had barely begun his apology before you were cutting him off.
“What video?” Your frightened eyes met theirs, unmoving in fear of what video of you could have been published online.
“Nothing. It’s not important.” Niall shook his head. Your chest deflates with a huff before you take the mug of water to your lips and chug every drop. Afterwards, you lay the porcelain back onto the counter and march toward your room, to your bed, where you know your phone is lying. Niall and Shawn follow you in protest, insisting the video is not something you should be watching.
You do anyway. After following the tags people have left for you under a video from a fan account for the boys, your eyes perceived every second of the ordeal at the cafe from this afternoon. The hot cup of coffee being thrown at you and scalding your arms, the patronizing screams flung at you from the group of young girls. You saw the sympathetic stares of each patron aimed directly at your trembling figure before the video cut to black.
Your body began quaking again, this time with powerful sobs. Shawn and Niall spared no time in wrapping their arms around your crying figure. It’s not fun knowing your most embarrassing moment is immortalized on the internet forever, and for anybody to see. Niall and Shawn knew this.
But what made the boys’ blood boil is that those girls had the nerve to make a punchline out of you. Their best friend. Roommate. Closest confidante. As your body cowered, becoming sandwiched in between their chests, Shawn’s eyes flickered up to lock with Niall’s, no doubt exchanging the same expression of fury. And mentally, they were also exchanging the same burning thought...
Let's make these people pay.
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shini--chan · 3 years
Note
I have an idea! What would Allies do after finding out that their s/o have (another) stalker? It can be another yandere, a creep, ex, jealous coworker with bad intentions or even a serial killer.
And a good idea it is, my dear anon.
Yandere Allies – Feindling America
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You were already fast asleep, snoozing away under the covers in your shared bedroom. He, on the other hand, was still wide awake and had decided to settle down in the living room to do some light reading. His insomnia was due to the usual reasons – too much caffeine, too much stress, too much curiosity to just let the day finish.
And because he was worried, intently, about you. There was somebody else trying to stick their grubby fingers in your shared life, and pry you apart. That was something he was absolutely sure off. After living so long, and becoming paranoid due to his position on the global stage, he knew very well when he was being watched.
There was something after you in particular, he didn’t like it.
Out of his peripheral vision, he caught sight of somebody moving in the bushes. A spike of adrenaline shot through his body, and for a moment he was tempted to storm about side and give that creep a hook. Yet a better idea came to mind – first to fire a warning shot.
He net his book aside and sauntered to one of the glass door to the balcony and gave the pane a few sharp knocks. It was enough to catch their attention. It was almost comical how the figure froze, and the hood swivelled in his direction. Alfred couldn’t identify them in any capacity – they wore non-script jeans and a grey hoodie along with a pair of gloves. But this was about digging up the war axe.
Grinning, he flipped the bird at them, and then proceeded to draw a thin line across his throat in an unmistakable message.
Alfred would see this as a chance to play hero. He would finally be able to prove to you how capable he is at protecting you, how attentive he would be when it would water down to your safety. Of course, he would make sure there would be a lot he wouldn’t catch wind off – it would be the instances where he would come off as an evil master mind or as a control freak that he would skilfully hide from you.
He might or might not elect to torture the fool that would be stalking you. For him, waterboarding that creep would be a method of stress relief. It would also drive home the point that nobody should dare try to get between him and his sweetie.
Canada
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Besides you, your phone beeped for what must have been the twelfth time in the span of one minute. You sobbed harder and buried your face in his chest. Matthew calmly stroked your back, making quiet soothing noises as he held you close.
“(Ex) will have to leave you be someday. This can’t go on forever. One day that jerk will have to accept that you’re gone for good”, he told quietly, while cautiously shifting his position to a more comfortable one.
You were both on the backseat of his car, having sought sanctuary there after you started panicking upon seeing the messages. All the memories had started to overwhelm you, and you had gripped his arm as if it was the only thing that was preventing you from drowning.
“No, that won’t be the case. Before I met you, I tried to leave so often only to be lured back into it. It was only because I met you that I haven’t gone back”, you cried, gazing up at him with a tear-stricken face.
“Shh, I will think of something. There shall be hell to pay.”
Matthew would be concerned about your wellbeing first and foremost. He would cater to you, cuddle with you, sooth you. But don’t think that would mean he would go easy on you should you step out of line and try to flee from him. When he would say he would never let your ex take you back, he would be indirectly saying he would never allow you to leave him.
Naturally, he would be careful and avoid any explicit rhetoric stating that your place in the world is at his side, but the message would be there, hidden between the lines.
With the legal sway he would hold, he would easily have your ex punished in some capacity. This could range from a fine to a restrain order to spending some time in jail.
China
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A scream pierced the silence of the night, followed by a yell as the attacker was swept off his feet. Yao didn’t hesitate to continue beating the culprit up, even though he was on the ground.
After all, this was a man that had just been a few milliseconds away from dragging you away and murdering you, after doing unspeakable things to you, things that couldn’t be lightly talked about in any context.
“So, you’re the vermin that has been butchering people left and right for the past four months. You’re just as disgusting as I expected”, Yao commented as he brought his foot down on his back in a harsh stamp.
You had taken seat on a tree stump that was standing by. The near death experience and the fight going on in front of you had utterly rattled you. You were numbly staring at the scene playing out, heads in your hands, whole body trembling and eyes wide blown.
He kicked the killer in the side and was rewarded was a grunt and a hiss: “And I’ll fucking kill you too.”
“Sure you will”, Yao drawled sarcastically and pressed the criminals head into the dirt. “Get used to the taste of it.”
Contrary to expectations, Yao would approach the situation of serial killer being after you calmy. Not because he wouldn’t care about you, but rather because he would be far to old to be surprised by such a – in his eyes – trivial thing. And because he would know that letting himself drown in anger or panic would just result in him making grave mistakes – ie. losing you.
Nevertheless, he would never be far off, lurking behind corners, just out of sight of you and the murderer. He would also scoure your online activity, searching for any suspicious doings from other users. Furthermore he would use the opportunity to learn more about you and your strengths and weaknesses.
England
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“Ah, ah, ah. Keep your dirty paws off that”, Arthur chided Jane and firmly grabbed Jane by the ear, harshly tugging there. It wasn’t the most humane treatment of a mortal, that England knew very well. However, he was in a sour mood, your infuriating co-worker being one of the contributing factors to it. Besides, he hadn’t made it one of his life maximas to be nice.
“You dare”, she hissed. When he gave another sharp tug, she yelped and dropped your phone, showing one of your social media profiles. Jane Smithers was persistent, he would have to give her that. Yet that would just be her downfall because she had decided to use that trait to try to ruin your life.
“Oh yes I dare. I dare to not tolerate your disgusting behaviour. Between you and me, we’re going to have a very long talk about your morals.”
She snorted and grabbed his hand.
“I could sue you for sexual harassment. We’ll see if you’ll still be laughing then.”
Oh, he had expected such a threat to come from such a vile person as her. He chuckled lowly – did she really think she could best him when it came to anything.
“And then spend some time in the nick for lying to judge and jury. Don’t think you’d be able to weasel your way out of this. I’m the one here that can have your framed and believe me, I could get you a bloody life sentence.”
She stared at him, uncomprehending, before realisation dawned and she let out a harsh laugh.
“So that is how (l/n) did it. Slept the way to the top.”
“No. (Y/n) has talent, impeccable talent. So unlike you, my dearest never had to resort to the methods you were so kind to mentioned.”
Arthur would see it as his duty to protect you – your physical & mental wellbeing as well as your reputation. So of course he would go after any jealous co-worker that would try to ruin you to any extent. And as mentioned in the snippet above, he wouldn’t be exactly nice about it. Any means would do for him, as long as the risk of his machinations backfiring on him and you would be relatively low.
During the whole process, he would letting you know about everything. It would be his point of proving that the world is a horrible place and that you can only find solace in his company and attention.
France
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Francis was in the kitchen when you came stumbling in, frazzled and panting as If you had just run a marathon. By the way your extremities were trembling and sweat dotted your forehead, he wouldn’t be surprised. The only question was why.
Aside from that, fear danced in your eyes, and that was the only further information he needed to know that something was wrong. Rushing forward, he scooped you in his arms, ignoring the coffee that he had been preparing, and asked you:
“What happened, ma cherie?”
Instead of answering, you leaned your head against his shoulder and wrapped your arms around his torso, taking heavy, laboured breaths, as if you were crying. That was when he realised that you were. It worried him.
Was this something that he had done? What had caused you to become so distressed? Was it something he could fix.
“You don’t have to talk about it now if you don’t want to”, he offered shakily, unsure about what he should do to cheer you up. How could he, when he didn’t know why you were in such a state?
Thankfully, you supplied him with an explanation, one that caused his concern to freeze to ice cold anger: “There is some creep following me. He grabbed my butt when I got off the bus.”
Whoever that devil was, he was going to have hell to pay,
Francis would be enraged that somebody would be so disrespectful of your boundaries and of the fact that you’re already taken. In the brief moments of his more intense bouts of fury, he might do something as rash as to track the creep down and bludgeon him with something, probably a newspaper.
However, his preferred method would be character assassination (this would work especially well if the culprit in question would have a high social status) and verbal abuse. In this case, his revenge could be long-winded and very elaborate.
Russia
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The temperature of the corridor had dropped since the last time he had visited – a testimony to the bad insulation and the approaching winter. Ivan thought it did her justice. After all, she did deserve this after nearly kidnapping you.
Speaking of her, she was sitting near the bars when he approached and when she glimpsed him, she quickly scooted away. Clever; she had learned from what had occurred the last time.
“Come to taunt me again?”, she seethed, curling into a tight, haggard ball of fury. Understandable in her case, however he wouldn’t shed any tears or have any sleepless nights.
“As is customary. I have to elevate your boredom somehow”, he confirmed, grabbing a chair and seating himself opposite her.
She stared at the door at the end of the passage, hungerly tracing it and searching the shadows for any sign of you. Ivan derived pleasure from mocking her: “How foolish are to think I would have brought my lover with me? I didn’t the last few times so why should it any different now?”
“You’re so very attached to (y/n), so I had my hopes.”
“Then I’ll have to forever dash them. That I owe you.”
She snarled at this; face twisted to a nasty frown.
“You know, you and I aren’t so different. So it is even more hypocritical of you to claim the moral high ground. Does (y/n) know even half of the things you’ve done in the name of your love?”
“I detest the comparison. I walk free while you rot in solitude, unloved and unwanted. While you have done everything wrong, I have done what was right where it counted most. You go very far by suggesting anything else.”
Russia would be the one to act the most intense of all the allies. He would have had people that were dear to him ripped away from him in the past, so he invest a lot of energy in insuring that wouldn’t happen to you and him.
That would mean he would go up to 11 in this case. As in, he would either kill this person and dissolve their body in acid or feed it to the pigs. Or he would leave this other yandere to rot somewhere after having dragged them before court for a very showy trail to break their spirit.
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Text
like i’m gonna lose you ~ machine gun kelly
part one
word count: 2276
request?: kind of?
description: after a painful reconnection, he decides to prove to her that he will do anything to get her back
pairing: machine gun kelly x female!reader
warnings: swearing
based (partially) on this song
masterlist
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As he promised, the news of Colson and Megan’s “breakup” came a few days after our discussion. The news broke first on an few online tabloids, then Colson took to his social media to “confirm the rumors”.
“We’re just not right for one another,” he wrote in his post. “I still love Megan as a friend, and we’re going to stay in each other’s life. We both want our privacy during this time.”
Strangely enough, the conversation we had plus the actual confirmation that the fake relationship was over gave me a better sense of closure than our actual breakup had. I knew why Colson had ended things, and I knew that what he had with Megan wasn’t real and that it was over for good now. It was better than thinking he had suddenly stopped loving me after all those years.
Even with that closure, though, I stayed true to my word. Colson unblocked me and re-followed me on all his social media, and let me know he had unblocked my number from his phone by sending me a text. But I wouldn’t budge on trying to get back together with him. With the closure I had, I was starting to feel like I could move on from our breakup and be somewhat happy again.
It was hard to completely move on, though, when Colson was still trying to reach out to me constantly. He respected my boundaries and would stop whenever I asked him to, but it also didn’t take too long before he would message me again. Part of me wanted to block him back - it would’ve been beyond satisfying to reverse the roles on him and leave him blocked and heartbroken without explanation. But I was also enjoying getting to talk to him again, even if I knew it would lead to more heartbreak eventually.
The day I arrived home from work to find him sat on my doorstep, I felt something snap inside of me. The built up anger and sadness from the past year was finally bubbling over, and I had the exact person who had caused it all sat on my doorstep.
I got out of my car and slammed the door so hard I was shocked the windows didn’t shatter. “Colson, you can’t just fucking show up on my doorstep unannounced. This is borderline stalking now.”
“I want to talk like adults but you just keep brushing me off,” he retorted. “What else am I supposed to do?”
“Respect my fucking boundaries maybe? Realize that if I’m telling you that I don’t want to talk to you or see you that I actually fucking mean it?”
He stood from the doorstep and shoved his hands in his pocket. “I know that you mean it.”
I glared at him as I tried to shove past him to get through my door. He moved to stand in my way again, which just made me feel even more angry.
“If you know that I mean it,” I hissed, “then leave me the fuck alone Colson. You’ve hurt me enough, I don’t want to see you anymore.”
“I know I hurt you,” he said. “And I know that there’s nothing I can do to fix that, but please, let me try at least.”
“You did try, and I turned you down, remember? Now fuck off.”
I managed to push him out of my way in order to get into the house. He stood on my doorstep watching me for some time, and I knew that meant he wasn’t going away. No matter how hard I wanted to let him go, I knew my heart wasn’t going to let me. I sighed heavily and turned to face him.
“This is your last chance,” I told him. “You can come in and we can talk like adults, but just know that whatever decision I make after this is my final decision. No more of this harassing me and showing up on my doorstep. If I tell you to leave and you show up again I will call the cops on you, and I have a feeling that’s the last thing your manager wants.”
Colson nodded and followed me into my house.
I watched as he looked around, taking in the familiar place that he once called a second home. Very little had changed since we broke up, except for the fact that I got rid of all the pictures I had of the two of us. I was sure he had noticed that.
“Your place was always so much cozier than mine,” he commented.
“It’s cause it’s smaller,” I told him. “Your place is good for all the people you have over, but when it’s just you and Casie it’s far too big.”
“It is,” he agreed. “I would prefer to live in a place like this.”
“You could’ve,” I found myself muttering. Unfortunately, I said it a little too loud and Colson caught the comment. His face changed then, a sad wave washing over him.
“I should’ve,” he said. “God, I’m a fucking idiot.”
“We’ve been over that.”
He followed me to the kitchen and sat down at my table. Despite it only being early evening, I decided this moment called for a glass of wine. I poured myself one, and decided to mix Colson a drink with the liquor I knew he liked most.
“Saying I didn’t mean to hurt you is the stupidest thing ever,” he said after taking a giant gulp from the glass. “Of course I was going to hurt you. I broke up with you out of nowhere and then just ghosted you for a year. I guess...I thought that would be easier. I didn’t want you to think I didn’t love you enough to fight for you over my career.”
“I’m glad you realize how shitty and stupid that idea you had was. I wish you would’ve told me from the start what the plan was. I wouldn’t have been as hurt if you had.”
“I know...I know.”
I took a sip of my wine and immediately wished it was something stronger, something that would get me fucked up within minutes of drinking it.
I was mentally kicking myself for letting him back in again. That time at the coffee shop hurt enough and that was an accidental encounter we had. But to actually bring him into my home when I was finally starting to move on? I must really like to be hurt, because it seemed as though I was constantly trying to hurt myself lately.
“What would you have said if I had told you?” he asked. “Truthfully.”
I took a moment to think the situation over, to try and decide how I would’ve reacted if he had told me from the beginning instead of just breaking my heart.
“I still would’ve been hurt,” I admitted. “Not by you but by your manager. He knew about us, and even though we never went public with the relationship, my friends and family know. It wouldn’t exactly have been as easy to explain the whole publicity stunt relationship thing to any of them. I’d probably try to come up with a better solution, and if that didn’t work then...I’d just have to accept it.”
“Would you have stayed with me?”
I was shocked by his question. “Of course I would’ve. Everything between you and Megan was fake, there were no real feelings. Sure, seeing the pictures and everything would’ve hurt, but at the end of the day it would be me you were holding and kissing and actually loving. I probably could’ve been friends with Megan instead of hating her guts.”
Colson looked down at his glass, which was now almost empty. “I thought you would’ve broken up with me if I told you the truth.”
“You don’t know me that well, obviously,” I said. “Colson, there were ways around this. You didn’t have to break my heart.”
I could see that his eyes were starting to become more wet with tears. He was trying to hide them, but once his eyes starting welling up, his nose and his cheeks became flush and I could see his Adam’s apple bobbing as he tried to swallow his tears.
“I fucking hate him, man,” he finally said, his voice cracking slightly. “He’s supposed to help me with my career, not put my career first over my own life and my happiness. And I hate myself too for thinking the best way to deal with this was to break up with you completely.”
I sat back in my chair, unsure of what to do. I wanted to comfort him, of course, but I didn’t want him to think that crying was going to get him off the hook. I was glad he was feeling my pain, but fuck did I ever hate to see Colson cry.
“I hated you, too,” I admitted. “I slandered your name to anyone who would listen. Eventually my friends got sick of hearing the name Colson Baker come out of my mouth, but they all knew how hurt I was.”
“Do you still hate me?”
I shook my head. “No. I never truly hated you. I just wanted to hate you, because hating you was easier than still being in love with you and watching you fall in love with someone else.”
He started to reach for my hands, but pulled away just as quickly. He sat back in his own chair, putting as much space between the two of us as possible. “There could never be anyone else. You’re my one and only, (Y/N), you always have been.”
I let the silence wash over the two of us. I wanted to let his words hang over us, to try and digest them and decide how I felt in that moment.
“I had a dream while you were on tour,” I said after a moment. “Well, a nightmare really. We had fallen asleep watching TV on the couch, and when I woke up I couldn’t find you. You weren’t in the house, you weren’t answering your phone, none of your friends or Casie knew where you were. I began to panic. I went driving and drove the entirety of Cleveland looking for you, but I couldn’t find you. Around the end of the dream, I was screaming your name and I could hear you calling back to me, but the more I ran to find you the further away you got. I eventually woke up drenched in sweat and crying because I thought it was real.”
“That was the night you called me,” he said. “I remember I was having a bad night mentally and all I wanted was to have you on the tour bus with me, in my arms. Then you called, and I thought it was like...a sign or something. Something good.”
I couldn’t help but smile at this. “I never told you because I thought it was a stupid nightmare, and I didn’t wanna be one of those girlfriends that calls in need of constant reassurance about their relationship.”
“I would’ve reassured you no matter how many times you called me.”
I looked down at my own glass, nearly empty as well.
“Can we ever go back from this?” Colson asked. “Can we try to start over after what happened?”
“How do you start over after spending five years with someone?” I asked. “We were basically married, how do you just go back to square one after that?”
“Well...you try and gain that trust back, then you try and get things back to how they were before,” he explained. “I don’t expect it to happen overnight, but I can’t be without you anymore (Y/N). It’s driving me crazy, you drive me crazy.”
I felt tears stinging my eyes, and I realized in that moment that Colson was now freely crying in front of me. God, we were both just messes. I wished none of this had ever happened.
“You really hurt me,” I said, my voice just barley a whisper.
“I know,” he said. “I know I did. I don’t expect you to ever forget that. I don’t deserve to be forgiven, I know that.”
“I’ll never forget it,” I confirmed. “But knowing the reasoning makes it easier to forgive.”
When he reached for my hand this time, I met him halfway.
“It won’t be easy,” I told him. “You know that, right? I’m not going to come running into your arms again after a few nights. You have to work for this, Colson.”
“I know,” he repeated. “I’ll do anything, (Y/N).”
Despite my better judgement, I sat forward and looked into his eyes. God, I loved those beautiful blue eyes more than anything in this world.
“You can start by kissing me.”
He nearly jumped over the table at this. He took my face in his hands and pressed my lips against his. I had missed this feeling so much; the pure passion that came with every kiss. I put a hand behind his neck to keep him close. I never wanted to let go ever again.
He pulled away first and rested his forehead against mine. “I’m so sorry, (Y/N).”
“I don’t want to hear those words out of your mouth ever again,” I told him. “We’re forgetting this, remember?”
He smiled. “Okay, then how about these words: I love you.”
I couldn’t help but smile back. The magic words I had longed to hear for so long, they sounded so right coming from his lips. “I love you, too.”
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