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noosayog · 3 months

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003 an unexpectedly sweet valentine

❥ warnings/content: kuroo tetsuro x reader, sfw, slight angst if you squint, mostly fluff, jealousy

❥ wc: 3.4k

❥ valentine's masterlist, regular masterlist

“Good morning, senpai!”

Your senior of one year turns around as he changes from his outside shoes to his inside shoes. “Huh? Oh, morning.”

“It’s raining hard today, huh?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure is.”

“Did you bring an umbrella?”

“Nah, forgot it.”

“Aw, too bad! I remembered mine today!”

“Good for you.”

The conversation comes to a lull. Senpai stands there looking at you, as if to ask, anything else?

Somewhat awkward, you wave to him. “Have a good day, then!”

He nods, turning away to make his way to his first class of the day.

“Wowwww,” a voice from above you drawls. “That was a painful watch.”

You swivel around to face Kuroo, your classmate.

“Shut up, Kuroo,” you growl at him.

“‘Morning Senpai! Have a good day Senpai!’” He mocks you in a high pitched voice.

You give him a swift kick in the shins, satisfied when he bends over to cradle the spot.

Kenma appears from behind him, shaking off the stray droplets clinging to his hair. “You deserved that.”

“Morning, Kenma,” you snicker.

Kenma returns your greeting, heading off to his own class in the year below yours and Kuroo’s.

A tap on your shoulder gets your attention. “Sorry about him. He’s just in a bad mood because of the rain.”

“Kai-kun!” you greet. “It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize for this idiot.”

“Hey!” the idiot in question protests.

Another head pops out from behind Kai. “What’s going on? Talking rooster head trash? That’s a conversation I can contribute to.”

“Morning, Yakkun.”

“Can we not talk about me like I’m not here?” Kuroo complains.

“Shall we head to class?” Kai asks, easily ignoring him.

“Yep!”

“Hello? We’re all in the same class here!” Kuroo wails as he runs after the three of you.

In your homeroom, Kuroo, Yaku, and Kai all head to their seats as you take yours by the window. You greet your friends who sit by you, excited to ramble about your encounter with the cool Senpai from the basketball team whom you’ve recently developed a crush on.

“What do you like about that guy anyway?” your friend asks.

“What do you mean? There’s so much to like!”

She gives you a dubious look. “For example…?”

You start counting on your fingers. “Well, he’s captain of the basketball team, so he’s tall-”

“You like him because he’s tall?”

“He’s older, so he’s more mature-”

“Right,” she nods sarcastically. “Being a year older makes him so mature.”

With two fingers up, you’ve run out of reasons. Your friend rolls her eyes at you.

“Personally, I prefer the volleyball guys in our class.”

“Kai-kun?” you nod empathetically. “I can totally see that. He’s kind and smart. Yakkun, too. He’s energetic and outgoing.”

“Kuroo’s included in that group too, you know.”

You wrinkle your nose.

“What’s your beef with him? He’s tall, smart. Lots of people in our grade would say he’s funny too. He’s actually pretty popular.”

You shake your head, “the most that guy has going for him is his friendship to Kenma. I can totally see someone getting close to him so that he’ll introduce them.”

Your friend just shrugs patronizingly, like you’re beyond reasoning with.

“Anyway,” you switch topics. “Senpai forgot his umbrella today, and it’s going to rain all day. I’m going to watch basketball practice afterschool and offer to share my umbrella with Senpai on the way home. Wanna come with?”

“Pass.”

You shrug. “Suit yourself.”

–

“Did you hear that?” Yaku elbows Kuroo, whispering not very quietly.

Kuroo swipes at the elbow, rubbing his ribs and mumbling for Yaku to keep it down.

“Damn, what’d you do? She thinks you’re such a loser.”

“Gee, thanks,” Kuroo grits out.

Yaku holds his hands up in surrender. “Just pointing out the facts.”

“Hey, now. Let’s not be too hasty,” Kai cuts in. “It might just be a temporary infatuation with the basketball club guy. There’s still hope!”

Kuroo groans and slumps forehead first onto his desk. Even when Kai is trying to be nice, it makes him feel so pathetic.

–

When the final class of the day ends, Kuroo lingers in the classroom, still racking his brain for an excuse to keep you from going to the basketball club. He trails after you as you get up to leave the classroom.

You’re taking a drink of water when Kuroo watches your friend shoulder into you a bit too hard, leaving you to stumble backwards, hands flailing to keep your balance. The uncapped water bottle in your hands goes flying into Kuroo, dumping its contents into the bag in his hands, containing the spare jerseys the volleyball team had planned on using for practice matches today.

Kuroo drops the bag, arms coming up to support your back and keep you upright.

When you’re stable on your feet, you quickly pick up your water bottle to staunch the flow of water, though it doesn’t matter much anymore given the jerseys are all soaked through.

“Hey! What did you do that for?” you scold your friend. You turn to Kuroo, “thanks and sorry…” you trail off, not knowing how to remedy the situation.

When Kuroo catches the wink your friend sends him, he catches on. “Aww man, now what’re we going to do for practice?”

Yaku cuts in. “Oh, it’s fine. We can just use the spare-”

Kai slaps a hand over Yaku’s big mouth, dragging him off towards the gym. “We’ll head to practice first. Why don’t you figure out the situation, Kuroo?”

“Kuroo, I’m so sorry, but this was all her fault. Hey-” You turn to where your friend was standing, but she’s gone.

“We needed these for today’s practice. You’re just gonna have to help me out with the laundry to get these dried before the 3v3 drills then.”

You pull a very displeased expression, mumbling something Kuroo can’t quite hear but is definitely a curse out of your friend.

“Can’t I please make it up to you some other way? I have really important plans today.”

Sure, as if trying to suck up to that basketball captain counts as really important plans.

“All you have to do is toss these in the dryer and wait until they’re done. It’s the least you can do.”

You offer a begrudging, “fine,” hauling the wet bag and following behind a triumphant Kuroo.

As promised, it takes you less than an hour to dry the jerseys, passing the time by watching the volleyball club boys warm up and run drills. As you pull the jerseys out of the machine, Kuroo meets you by the locker room.

“All done! Now can I-”

“Man, it took too long to dry them. We had to restructure our drills since it’s too late to start practice matches now.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose. “Look, Kuroo. I’m sorry, but I have no say over how long a dryer cycle is.”

“I know. It just really put us in a hard spot, especially given that Nationals are around the corner…” he sighs audibly. “But it’s fine, I know it’s not totally your fault.” He sighs again.

“Ok, ok” you give in. “What can I do to make up for it?”

It takes all of Kuroo’s willpower to suppress a victorious grin. “Hmmm,” he pretends to deliberate. “Aha!” he exclaims. “You could be our manager until Nationals are over. That’d help the team and Coach Nekomata out a lot.”

You hesitate. “Manager? Why don’t you just find a permanent one? Everyone says you’re all popular-”

“Everyone?” he smirks.

“Yeah. Personally, I don’t really get it, but,” you miss the slight dimming of his grin. “I’m sure there’s someone out there who’d be more willing… I mean, more helpful than I would be.”

“Figures that you’d try to weasel your way out of this.”

“Weasel my way- wait just a second-”

“It’s fine,” Kuroo cuts you off, turning around to leave you there. “You’re right, we’ll just find someone who’s more responsible.”

“Hold on, Kuroo!” you grab the back of his jacket, pulling him back.

This time, the grin on Kuroo’s face spreads in full force.

“I’ll do it. I am not irresponsible.”

“Great, you can start tomorrow.”

You cross your arms over your chest, huffing indignantly like you’re satisfied that you’ve restored your reputation, your plans to be alone with basketball-senpai completely forgotten.

Hook, line, sinker.

–

Your job as the volleyball club manager is actually enjoyable. Save for the extended time you now need to spend in Kuroo’s company, you make friends with the rest of the team, especially the enthusiastic younger class.

During lunch time, Kuroo will often request that you join Kai, Yaku, and him on the roof.

“Why? I deserve freedom from you outside of volleyball club hours.”

“Interesting that your commitment to taking the position of manager only extends to certain hours.”

“What? Slander! I’m committed-”

“We were going to discuss and review our plays from previous games, but I guess we’ll manage without you. Just hand me the notebook and we’ll review without you-”

You stand abruptly, slamming your palms on your desk. With the notebook in question in hand, you storm past him, making your way to the roof access stairs without another word.

“Well?” you demand when Kuroo doesn’t follow. “Are we going or what?”

Kuroo grins. “Coming.”

In your indignation, you fail to ever catch the grins from Yaku, Kai, and your friends.

Sometimes, those lunches end up being just you and Kuroo, Yaku and Kai often being called away halfway through. Once all volleyball business is complete, you and Kuroo finish eating in relative peace. Often, he lies down to spend the rest of break napping. You tell yourself it’s too awkward to leave him there without a word, so you sit quietly to keep him company.

One time, you had awoken to a sound of a camera shutter, realizing belatedly that you had fallen asleep on Kuroo’s shoulder. When you crane your head to face the boy in question, eyes wide and swiping at your lip in case you were drooling, you’re met with the usual smug grin on his lips, but his eyes are warm. Instead of smacking him and throwing a scatching remark, your cheeks heat up and you avert your eyes like an embarrassed schoolgirl.

–

When February rolls around, the entire student body is buzzing with the excitement of Valentine’s Day. You haven’t had any more development with basketball senpai, with your time mostly preoccupied with volleyball, but you’ve long standing plans to make Senpai chocolate. You’ve done research by asking around to find out that Senpai likes dark chocolate.

“Have you thought about making the volleyball boys chocolate?” Mari asks you.

“Yep, I plan to.”

“And Kuroo?”

You choke on your water. “Why would you single him out? Of course… because he’s a part of the volleyball boys…” you trail off.

Your friend props her chin on her palm, expression bored but the corner of her lips twitch. “Uh huh,” she says in obvious disbelief.

Your inner turmoil is exacerbated when Kenma says to you, the day before Valentines, “despite his looks, he likes sweeter chocolate.”

“Who?”

Kenma just gives you a look, waving as he makes his way home.

The following day, you show up to school, hands full with all the chocolates you made the night before. Each bag is wrapped in an individual baggie with a white ribbon except for one that is wrapped special, in a small box with red ribbon.

For Senpai, obviously.

Your first stop of the day is your friend. You hand her a bag and she smiles, quickly opening it and popping it in her mouth right in front of you.

“What do you think?” you ask.

“Mmmm,” she closes her eyes, savoring the sweet treat. “So sweet. Milk chocolate? Weren’t you going on about how Senpai likes dark chocolate?”

“I… made different batches.” you lie. You brandish the box with the red ribbon. “Senpai’s was made special.”

“Still sticking to giving that boring Senpai chocolate, huh?”

“He is not boring!”

“Sure, whatever.” She peeks into your bag to look at the array of all the baggies you plan on giving out today. She looks up at the red ribbon box in your hands then back into your bag. “Just that one box? And it’s for Senpai?”

“... yup.”

“What was that pause?”

“What pause?”

She just rolls her eyes and turns back to her textbook.

–

“Did you hear that? It’s for the basketball guy.” Yaku elbows Kuroo’s ribs.

“Can you stop elbowing me?”

“That’s not important right now! She’s still going to give that guy chocolate!”

“I know, I heard,” Kuroo hisses.

Kai gives Kuroo a pitiful look that ticks him off. “What are you going to do?”

“What is there to do?” Kuroo replies, keeping his eyes focused on the homework he has on his desk. “I’m going to grab a drink from the vending machines. Be right back.”

He gets up to walk to the furthest vending machine in the courtyard. Maybe the walk and the winter air from the garden will help him cool his head.

When he gets back with a can of tea in his hands, Kuroo sees you standing at his desk, where Kai and Yaku are still loitering around before class starts. He watches you hand each of them a bag tied tastefully with white ribbon. He lingers in the shadow of the doorway, watching Yaku and Kai thank you, then you walking back to your desk without leaving a third bag for Kuroo.

He feels like he could use another walk right then, but the teacher catches him in the doorway and pushes Kuroo into the classroom to start class for the day.

He makes eye contact with Kai and Yaku, who shake their heads at him, answering his unasked question.

–

At lunch, Kuroo disappears on his own. He thinks to himself that he just needs the time to cool down, in fear that he’d embarrass himself in front of you by asking where his portion of chocolate is. He would feel bad enough if you just handed him giri-chocolate that you have everyone else. He would die, though, if you said you didn’t prepare him any at all.

As he sits alone in the rarely frequented stairwell of the west wing of campus, he sighs.

What does that guy have that he doesn’t anyway? Every conversation Kuroo has overheard between you two has been terribly boring. He gives dry, one-worded answers. He’s not funny nor particularly smart. He’s tall but so is Kuroo? Maybe he’s good at his sport, but Kuroo is taking his team to Nationals. He’s obviously not into you, whereas Kuroo himself? You get the picture.

Anyway, he doesn’t think it very presumptuous to think of himself as a better match for you. The two of you joke and laugh together. You get along with his closest friends. Despite your sharp tongue, you seem to be comfortable enough around him. He reminisces of the one time you fell asleep on his shoulder on the roof. He had been wide awake and frozen solid, scared that even breathing too loudly would shatter the moment. He would never tell anyone that the photo Yaku had snapped of you drooling against his shoulder was saved in a password-protected folder in his phone.

He sighs again, all the tension leaving his body as he lets himself feel all the feelings he’s been holding back. A heavy arm rests over his eyes, squeezing them tightly when he feels the sting behind his irises threatening to surface.

Unable to pull himself together enough to face you in class, he ends up at the infirmary for the rest of the day, citing a headache. The nurse offers one of the beds and Kuroo gladly takes it, napping the afternoon away, a temporary escape from thoughts of you.

The break is short-lived as he wakes up just in time for the last class of the day. Not even the prospect of his favorite subject, science, can improve his mood as he drags his feet to the lab classroom. He makes his way to Yaku and Kai’s table, not meeting your eyes. His teammates give him questioning looks but say nothing when Kuroo shakes his head and immerses himself in the lesson for the day.

Class goes by even more quickly than normal and before he knows it, the dreaded time of day has arrived. He packs slowly, hating himself for wanting to eavesdrop on your plans for the rest of the afternoon.

“So, what’s the plan?” he hears your friend ask you. “Volleyball or basketball?”

“Not sure,” you reply. “Gotta go, see you tomorrow!”

Kuroo watches as you hastily grab your things and leave the classroom. He ignores your friend’s prying eyes on him as he walks out after you.

In the hallway, he spots you speeding away towards the shoe lockers. As he contemplates chasing after you, he hears a call of your name.

Kuroo watches in mild horror when he finds that the voice belonged to the captain of the basketball team. His eyes stay glued to the boy who approaches you, all charming smiles and grinning snake eyes. The two of you are too far for Kuroo to hear your conversation but he can see your expression morphing into one of bashfulness.

All his emotions spill over as the scene unfolds right in front of him in slow motion. He watches your hands dig into your pocket, making the motions to pull something out and likely hand it to your senpai. It all happens so quickly, but before he knows it, Kuroo’s grabbing your hand and dragging you away.

Something - wind? His boiling hot jealousy? - roars in his ears, any protests you let out going right over his head. It’s only when the two of you reach the garden behind the gymnasium that he lets go.

He freezes, back still turned away from yours.

It hits him then. He drops your hand like a hot potato, almost giving into the overwhelming urge to bury his face in his hands, crouch down so low that he’s buried in the ground.

“Kuroo?” he hears you call tentatively.

How was he going to get himself out of this one?

So he does what he does best with you.

Cower.

He turns around, putting two hands behind his head to feign nonchalance. He forces out a laugh and in the lightest voice he could possibly muster at a time like this, he sticks his foot in this mouth.

“You were gonna give your chocolates to that senpai, huh? You better be glad I interrupted and saved you the embarrassment of getting rejected in front of the entire student body.”

You blink at him. “Excuse me?”

“I mean, I really saved that guy back there. Knowing your cooking skills, you might as well have poisoned him-”

A box thrown at his face interrupts him. He catches it before the fall to the ground, staring at the offending hand that launched the item. He then looks to you, thoughtless as your eyes begin to water.

“They’re for you, asshole. If you don’t want ‘em so badly, go throw them away for all I care.”

As you turn around and storm off, Kuroo sees one of your hands coming up to rub angrily at your face.

He gives chase once more today. It’s easy to catch up as he gets in front of you, face craning to look at you, to validate that he’s not going crazy and you’re really crying over him.

You turn away stubbornly until Kuroo grabs your arms, holding them up in the air to trap you.

“Let go!” you thrash.

But it’s easy for Kuroo to keep them still, unusually quiet as he looks and looks until he gets his fill and confirms that he’s not dreaming.

“They’re for me?” he asks.

“Yes, you idiot. Do you wanna add deaf to your list of defining characteristics? It can be right up there with moronic, insensitive, stupid-”

He chuckles; he doesn't even know where it came from, really.

Relaxing, he lowers your arms back down but keeps his hold. “And are they the ones you made for all your friends? Or are they…” he trails off, staring into your eyes to get his meaning across.

You cringe, neck shrinking to retract your face into your scarf. Averting your eyes, you mutter, “the second one.”

He suddenly engulfs you in his arms. The squeeze he gives you forces a little squeal from you.

“Oh my god,” he rubs his cheek against the top of your head like an overgrown cat. “You’re so cute, I could die.”

Your cheeks feel hot as you repress the urge to smile.

Instead, you mumble, “die then.”

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nochukoo97 · 1 year

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boyfriend drabbles (pt.2)

pairing: Jungkook x Reader

summary: reader has crampss, but jk is a sweetheart and is there to help, a lot of fluff

word count: 400+

boyfriend drabbles masterlist!

You snuggle deeper into the muscular hold wrapped around you as you breathe in your boyfriend's faint scent of cologne. A hand comes up to card through your hair as Jungkook groans, body now stretching as he slowly wakes up from his slumber.

You wince slightly as a sharp pain shoots through your abdomen, a reminder that you were currently on your period. Your cramps were always significantly bad on the first few days, and it was to the point you would not be able to get out of bed when it became really bad. Your boyfriend observes your curled up figure as he brushes the strand of hair covering your face, whispering, “You okay?”

You shake your head slightly as your eyebrows furrow and eyes squeeze shut. Today’s start is already a bad one. Jungkook covers you with the comforter as you hear your boyfriend mumble something about getting stuff from outside, but you were currently in far too much pain to comprehend his words.

Jungkook re-enters the room with your mug and some pills in his hand as he sets it down on the bedside table, leaning down to observe your face that was currently half covered by the duvet.

He pulls down the duvet to reveal your pain-stricken expression, eyes softening as he watches you whimper in pain. A kiss is placed on your forehead gently as his hushed voice sounds out, “Come on, sit up and drink your medicine first okay?”

You comply with his words, holding onto his arm for support as you prop yourself up against the headboard of your shared bed.

“Do you want me to go and buy a hot water bottle? Your previous one broke right?” Jungkook softly questions after you swallow your pills, he props himself up, getting ready to go and buy it for you, when he finds his shirt being tugged by a hand sticking out of the blanket.

“No, stay,” you whine as Jungkook chuckles at you, nodding his head. He slots himself in your blanket burrito, arms holding you as you whine into his chest, and Jungkook can only watch in sympathy, waiting for the medicine to take action.

“Let’s watch a movie ‘kay? Maybe it’ll distract the pain for a bit,” Jungkook reaches over to grab the TV remote on your side of the bed, switching to where you last left off on My Neighbour Totoro.

Your head is propped up on his chest as Jungkook wraps an arm around you, hand softly carding through your hair. He spends more time staring at you rather than watching the show, the TV screen casting a soft glow on your features, eyes lighted up as you smile when the familiar grey character appears on the screen.

“Thats you,” You point towards Totoro walking across the screen, and then followed by the smaller white totoro that trots behind him, “And the white one’s me,”

Jungkook swears his whole world stops as you peer up at him, your smile making him giddy as you ramble on about the cartoon. He willingly accepts that he’s been assigned to Totoro instead of Tatsuo, who had been his favourite character in the film, nodding and pressing a kiss to your temple.

After a moment of silence, you whisper ever-so-quietly, “Thank you,” grabbing his tatted hand and brushes your thumb over the purple heart, “For taking care of me,”

You can hear his frantic heart beating fast in his chest, as Jungkook smiles giddily at you, whispering against your lips, “I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life,”

#jungkook fluff #jungkook #jungkook au #jungkook ff #jungkook smut #jungkook x oc #jungkook x reader #bts #bts ff #bts fic #bts jungkook #jungkook comfort #boyfriend jungkook

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sebsbarnes · 3 months

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inked || tangerine

tattoo artist!tangerine x shy!freader

summary: you meet tangerine's friends for the first time

warnings: language

word count: 1.7k+

masterlist

a/n: def not my best work but i needed to post something to get me out of my writing slump :/

"f'the love of god, please," tangerine pinched his nose, "i'm not askin' for much."

lemon snickered before cooing at tangerine's pleading eyes. tangerine was desperate to get lemon, ladybug, and maria to not be crass fools for once in their lives. just a few minutes was all he was begging for, yes begging, tangerine begging that his friends be nice.

"first of all dude," ladybug started, chewing loudly on a piece of gum, "how did you even get a girlfriend. no offense but you're kind of a prick. secondly, you, with someone shy? no way, man."

"yes, she's shy," he hissed, "that's why i'm asking yous to not bring it up or make jokes 'kay?"

maria placed a hand on tangerine's arm, "we will be nice. stop stressing it's weird to see."

tangerine sighed, slumping further into the chair. he was anxious for you to meet everyone. it was a big step for him, he'd never introduced anyone, to, well- anyone and your personality was much different than the group's, a stark contrast to be exact. your appearance was warm and inviting but you were incredibly shy while the people you were soon meeting were intimidating and outgoing.

tangerine's eyes wandered over to his co-workers-turned-friends all hunched over either drawing on a sketchpad or setting up their station. maria was sanitizing some tools for her first appointment, lemon was crafting new designs for his portfolio, and ladybug was instructing his canvas on how to sit in the chair. all of them were covered head to toe in tattoos and piercings, often using their downtime to decorate each other's skin with new ink. tangerine's appearance mimicked his friends. he, too, was covered in ink that scattered up his thighs and torso to his arms and neck. most people raised a brow seeing the two of you together.

tangerine walked out the steps of the building and leaned against the wall. he placed a cigarette between his teeth hoping the nicotine would ease him. he felt bad, in a way, he didn't want to force you to meet his friends even though you insisted it was okay. he'd talk so highly of them and it felt good knowing tangerine was willing to take the steps to further the relationship.

"hiya hun," tangerine grinned, flicking the cigarette to the pavement as he saw you approach.

"hey tang," you smiled sweetly, placing the bags you were holding on the floor and wrapping your arms around his waist. tangerine raised a brow at all the bags you were holding to which you let out a small chuckle.

"well, this is the equipment that i came here for, and i know it was probably stupid of me but i felt like i needed to bring your friends something. i just want them to like me and really this is no big deal i wanted to. not-not just to win some sort of brownie points but because i... wanted to...?," you rambled, slightly cringing at yourself. tangerine looked down at the bags you had pulled open and inside was food from a place he had mentioned to you previously that he and his friends would often stop by after work.

"you're too sweet, love," tangerine placed a kiss on your forehead, "let's go inside, 'right?"

you pressed your lips in a tight line suddenly feeling anxious to step inside. tangerine propped the door open for you while holding most of the bags you brought. inside the tattoo shop, you were greeted with punk music and the sound of needles vibrating. no one picked their heads up at the sound of the door opening and you felt slightly uncomfortable, not knowing whether to say hello or wait for a pair of eyes to land on you.

ladybug picked his head up from his client and saw you, "ahh. so you're the girlfriend?"

"really, ladybug," tangerine hissed, irritated with his so-called greeting.

ladybug defensively raised his gloved hand while the other continued to shade in the tattoo he was working on, "i didn't mean it in a bad way! it was simply a question, right? i wasn't being mean," he peered up at you.

a small laugh escaped your nose, "no you weren't being rude and yes i am the girlfriend."

"see!"

tangerine excused himself to the back quickly, taking the new tattoo gun that was accidentally shipped to your apartment to a back closet. you stood idly observing the shop. there was sketch paper framed across the red walls displaying each of the artist's works, statues of skulls and ravens, and some dated concert posters taped to the ceiling. you felt yourself shrinking in the longer tangerine took to come back.

"tangerine's never mentioned a girlfriend before, how long ago did you start dating?" the only girl in the shop asked, who you could only conclude was maria.

"it's been a few months now," you replied, playing with your fingers.

lemon rolled over on his chair, "with the utmost respect, why the hell are you dating my brother? isn't he an asshole?"

you couldn't help the small laugh that bubbled up, "well, to other people yes, but he is super sweet to me," you noticed their raised eyebrows, "actually a complete gentlemen. i was stuck on the side of the road with car troubles and he pulled over and helped me out. we managed to get my car back to my apartment and tangerine even offered to come back the following day to continue working on the issue. from there, things progressed. i didn't know he had this asshole persona until we ran into one of his old friends, carver? carter? one of those. and that's when i learned he isn't always the nicest."

"yeah you're nothin' like him, i'm just surprised by-"

"the fuck did i say about interrogatin' her?" tangerine snapped at his brother, coming back over to you.

"tan it's okay," you said gently placing a hand on his arm, "they are allowed to ask questions."

lemon and him stepped to the side, hearing tangerine hiss that lemon was an idiot. they continued to bicker as you looked down at the table next to you, the words 'maria's portfolio' were scribbled on the cover. with every page flip you saw another beautiful tattoo or a photo of a fresh piercing.

"do you have any?" maria's voice startled you.

you glanced back over the picture of a heavily pierced ear, "no. no piercings or tattoos. kinda lame right?"

maria tsked, "not at all! everyone has their style preference. i didn't get my first piercing until my 20s and most people would guess otherwise."

she tucked her hair behind her ear showing off the metal and you noticed the rings looped around her lip and nose. it looked good on her, as if they had been there her whole life. tangerine always wore dangly earrings that you'd help pick out and he had more daring ones like his tongue.

"i've always wanted some, i think the nose ring looks cute but i'm too nervous," you sighed slightly. you were too intimidated to go to a piercing and tattoo shop to get it done and you never wanted to bother tangerine with the request. he didn't do piercings but if he did, you had a feeling you would have a few by now.

"well if you are feeling adventurous one day let me know or let tangerine know and i'll do it for you! it'd be an honor," maria winked.

"i appreciate that," you smiled.

"plus it would give me some girl time and i wouldn't have to entertain these losers the whole day," she pointed a thumb behind her shoulder.

you suppressed a laugh as tangerine joined you once more. though you found yourself at ease in maria's presence, you relaxed once tangerine's arm was situated around your waist. sure on the outside looking in you and tangerine didn't seem to fit but with him you've never felt more like yourself. with him, a better version of yourself comes out and a better version of tangerine comes out when he is with you. in a whisper, you told tangerine you needed to leave and he took the clue to announce your departure to the group.

"let me know if my brother is an ass to you!"

"nice meetin' ya!"

"i'm serious about that piercing! tell tangerine to let me know when you wanna get it!"

"it was nice meeting you all! and i'll be sure to tell tang!" you waved them goodbye as you exited the door and you heard ladybug cooing at your nickname for tangerine.

"how are you, doll? everything alright? how'd ya feel?" tangerine asked you, running his hands down your arm as you leaned against your car, the coldness of the rings adorning his fingers leaving goosebumps.

"they all seem nice, i was nervous," you bounced your head up and down, "but i'm glad it was brief. i-i think next time i'll be okay to be around them all longer," you hummed, "maria is cool and i think i'd enjoy hanging out with your brother. ladybug... he..."

"yeah," tangerine laughed, "he is a dick most of the time. he is too nonchalant and it doesn't always translate well. but, i am sorry they all kind of grilled ya a bit. i warned them, i said if they make a fuckin' scene i'll-" tangerine was starting to go red in the face as his voice became angry.

you quickly cut him off, "babe, i'm not offended at all. everyone has different personalities, 'kay? i'm fine, you're fine, and they are fine. i promise you. don't be sorry for anything."

tangerine sighed a bit rubbing circles on his temples. you leaned forward pressing a kiss to his lips. it's like you could see the stress and anger vanish from his body as his shoulders and jaw relaxed.

"make sure you all eat and if not then we will actually have a problem," you joked.

tangerine wrapped his arms around your shoulders, rocking you both gently. "i'll see you later today, drive home safe. love you, hun."

when tangerine walked back inside he saw his friends circling around the bag of food with questioning looks on their faces.

"yeah you assholes sat here interrogating the poor girl and she brought you lunch. dickheads," tangerine said pointedly, giving a slight shove to ladybug's shoulder.

the friends went quiet for a moment before lemon spoke up, "honestly, mate, you seem proper happy with her. she seems like a sweet girl and i'm sorry if i fucked up the first impression."

ladybug popped open the lid to one of the to-go containers, "yeah dude, your whole aura is different when she's around. you seem happier."

slowly a smile spread across tangerine's face. he felt his face run hot thinking of how happy his life has been since he met you. tangerine nodded his head, "that's my person."

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calummss · 6 months

Text

Him & I | Kai Anderson

masterlist

summary: you came to kai like you were an angel sent from god. he finally met his match. you wanted to get revenge and he cleared the path

pairing: fem! reader x kai anderson

words: 2.9k

a/n: kai is everything i despise in a man yet i cannot stop thinking about him. fuck my rights i’ll make you a manwhich like the woman i’m supposed to be NOT PROOFREAD TBH

Gluttony is a sin. So is sloth. Eating an entire bag of chips was not healthy. Sitting on the couch from dawn to dusk, only getting up to relieve yourself, was not good. But who listens to God these days anyways.

knock knock

‘Be right there!’ You yelled, hoping whomever was at the door could hear you and would wait until you had mentally prepared yourself to get up from your nest. You pressed pause of Golden Girls, placed your bag of gluttony on the table and brushed the remaining crumbs on your finger on your back thigh. Thankfully you showered this morning so whomever you greeted wouldn’t be welcomed with the smell of your tiredness. It was just one of those days where doing nothing was the most satisfying for the soul. Keeping the ripples of the sea of stress at bay, hoping that the storm wouldn’t take over.

Through the small peephole of the front door you saw an unfamiliar man with kool aid blue hair in a suit who was swaying his body as he waited to face the owner. ‘Jesus christ,’ you cursed under your breath, letting your hand slide over your face. Not Jehovah witnesses again. You had told them to not come back but when life serves no purpose we mainly cling to the unimportant aspects of life and let small parts become our worst traits.

You opened the door, dropping your droopy expression and replacing it with a hostile smile. Kindness: America’s number one trait making it an aggravating society.

‘Hi,’ you grinned at him, ‘not interested.’

The man blinked at you, wrinkles on his forehead reminding you of the ripples in your soul as he breathed out a laugh. ‘You don’t even know what I was going to say, Ma’am.’

‘Call it my gift.’

‘You must think I’m in some kind of cult,’ he smiled, ‘I can assure you I’m not. My name is Kai Anderson and I was hoping I could talk to you about my plans for this town so I might be able to persuade you into voting for me to become a member of the town council.’

‘Oh.’

‘Can I come in?’

‘I suppose…’ You were unsure but the thought of your pepper spray in the kitchen drawer made you feel safer, in case anything went wrong, so you resorted back to the smile you first gave him. ‘Of course. Come in…?’

‘Kai Anderson.’

‘Right, Kai. Can I call you Kai? I’m Y/n Blythe. You can call me Y/n. Oh my I am rambling,’

Kai came in as you stepped aside to open up the door for him. He kindly took off his shoes. A rule you had but hadn’t seen most Americans do. You looked back at him as you started to head to the kitchen to make sure you wouldn’t lose him. You immediately opened up the cupboard to grab a mug.

‘Tea or coffee?’

‘Coffee would be nice. Black please and thank you.’

‘No problem,’

‘I have to say,’ he placed his folded hands on top of the counter as he watched you get his coffee ready. ‘You are the first person in this neighbourhood to invite me in and to welcome me so kindly.’

You watched him as you grabbed another mug to make yourself a drink too.

‘Most think my ideas are too radical. Too oppressive. Too different. These people preach about change every day but when I give them a chance to vote for change they ignore me.It’s like these people get off on living in his prison courtyard they’ve created.’

‘So what are your goals, Kai?’ You took a sip of your piping hot drink after handing him his own. ‘To strengthen this town’s safety? God forbid this cluster of people need to be…polished.’

Kai’s face somewhat softened. ‘That’s exactly what I said…’

So when Kai talked about his idea you listened. To every word, to every detail. Kai was going to make this town safe again. And for some reason you couldn’t explain, you believed him. Every single word he said to you in the confidence of your own house, you believed.

‘By the hope you don’t mind me saying this but you are so beautiful and I would hate myself for not asking but am I able to take you out to a café this week ‘ He asked, his hazel eyes burning into your soul, making those ripples turn flat as he gazed at you like a had witnessed a deer in the wild. ‘I just, you’re really beautiful and kind and your beliefs about this town have drawn me to you,’ Kai had gaped at you the moment you had opened the door to him. Eyes shining in the sunlight; you looked like an angel. Perhaps an angel God had sent him to. Like he was supposed to find you. For him to find his own angel.

When you went on that date with Kai, it had turned into three more the following two weeks. He mentioned that he had a group of friends that are helping him with the campaign and the more he revealed about it, the closer you got to the truth, at least that is what you thought. It sounded like a cult whenever he rambled on about anything that involved these ‘friends’ and whether or not it was true, it was something you wanted to find out. It took Kai persistent asking and a little push to allow you to ultimately bring you to his house where for some reason you felt weirdly comfortable. The friends or members you came to know were Winter, his sister, Beverly, Ivy, Gary, Samuel, Meadow and Tex, who had been tending to Kai like servants since you had entered his house which instantly confirmed your suspicions. But it didn’t scare you away. A man able to convince the partly smart people had to confirm some sort of high intelligence and if Kai wanted to make you part of his team or not, in your heart you had already made up your mind: you wanted to join. What did you have left to lose? A life? Family? Job? Perhaps.But when does another opportunity like this present itself. To become infatuated with a dangerously powerful man? Never. Maybe you could change him if you truly wanted to but right now, he was perfect. You would become his angel and he’d be your cult leader.

‘Kai,’ you said as you all gathered across the couches, some of their heads tuning your way. ‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Of course, Y/n. Anything,’

‘Are you guys behind the murders that have been happening?’

Now every head turned your way. You could hear the outside wind blowing through the trees, uneven breaths as you uttered your question. Why was it so shocking? They were the murderers. You knew it and sooner or later someone else would’ve found out.

‘It’s fine if you are. You don’t have to deny it.’ You saidly, letting out a small chuckle. ‘I saw a clown costume stashed on the couch and I saw one of them go into Chang's house.’

You saw Meadow stare at the ground. Must’ve been her. Kai looked back at the costume you had nudged your eyes at and confirmed it was Meadows when he gave her a cold stare she didn’t notice.

‘Why?’ Kai turned his head back to look at you with a weirdly twisted smile that made your stomach churn. ‘Do you like that we kill people? Does that excite you?’

‘Honestly I like it and yes. I mean I was attracted to you before but now I really fucking like you,’

His eyebrows softened as you said your words.

‘Can I come and watch a killing?’

Kai had given the others a look to which they all started moving towards the stairs, further confirming the authority he had over them. In a matter of seconds the basement was empty and his presence within the walls grew dramatically. Like smoke he expanded into every crevice of the room, hovering over you like poisonous gas that crept into every cell of your body. Watching your every move like he was a deity. ‘You want to watch a killing?’

‘Yes.’ You replied.

‘What if you were to pick out the person to be killed?’

‘I think I’d like that even more,’ you could feel a tinge of warmth collect on the apples of your cheeks, avoiding eye contact as Kai’s eyes held the most sinful stare you had seen.

‘Who?’

You looked up from between your eyebrows, ‘My ex-boyfriend,’ you started already seeing Kai’s nostrils flare with jealousy. ‘Cheated on me when I gave him nothing but the woman I thought he deserved. Now he deserves to die.’

Kai came awfully close, a chill taking over your body as he placed his large hands on your arms with a firm grip. Tighter than normal; possessive, like a hunter holding its fragile prey. ‘Tonight. Meet us here at 11pm and I swear you will get your revenge, little angel.’ Lust protruded between your frames, like hot heavy steam that fogged up your glasses if you go too close, but went back when you stepped back trying to calm your nerves. Like a priest in a confessional booth he made you nervous. Like he could see into the most intimate parts of your soul; feel you; see you like no one could. The way his voice penetrated your ears telling you what to do. Siren-like commands that you had complete control over yet wanted to treat him like your leader.

Later that evening when you returned back to Kai’s house, you saw everyone dressed in the clown costumes you had seen entering and exiting the Chang’s house only now there were less red stains than before. Meadow lifted up a black trash back with a fading smile. ‘Kai only gave me a few hours' notice. Hope it fits.’ You opened the bag to find a sort of skirt and top with pink and black stripes with a mask that reminded you of a scarier version of a childhood clown you had once encountered at an amusement park where you momentarily got separated from your parents leaving you terrified and vulnerable. Getting changed went by quick and by them time you had gotten into your new outfit, Winter hd already started the van so that as soon as you entered the back of the vehicle, Winter started driving down similar streets you took whilst dating the boy who was in for a sweet treat tonight. Kai kept eyeing you the entire time. Maybe he tried to find a momentary weakness; a flinch of regret, anything he deemed not worthy, but he never found an ounce of repression, only the focus of a woman who knew exactly what and how she was going to do it. The walk to your ex’s house was filled with a relaxing quietness. The calm before the adrenaline would rush through your veins ready to lift you to the clouds as you took in the feeling of satisfaction. The lights were on in his bedroom, the room you had found him in inches deep in the girl you had thought to be your friend at the time. The door creaked almost too loud as Samuel pried open the door with a bolt, waving the rest of the group towards him as he checked the inside of the kitchen. Samuel let you lead the way with the floor plans ingrained into your mind as you had the others on your trail awaiting you to let them know when you stood outside his door. Marshall—said ex-boyfriend was blasting old rap music so you knew he was showering. He said the shower provided him with the need to rap and listen to old hip hop. One of his quirks you had learned to love but now loathed. With the song changing to Eminem’s discography, the music you sang together later to find him fucking her to Evil Seed brought up a fire in your stomach ready to unleash. Kai came up behind you and placed his hand on your shoulder telling you to go in. Feeling a bump of confidence, you opened the door and walked across his room to where his bathroom door stood shut. You decided to not wear the mask Meadow had given you to let Marshall feel calm before real intentions were laid before him.

You opened the door, Marshall’s shower steam covering his body behind the glass, eyes shut, mouth moving to the songs. You walked over slowly, yet he never noticed anything until you had said Hello, inches away from him. Marshall jumped back almost losing balance, wide eyes and raised eyebrows relaxing when he realised it was you, a faint chuckled escaping him as he reached for the music box to turn down the music.

‘What are you doing here?’ He asked nicely, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

‘I missed you.’

‘You left me.’

‘I know. I think it was a mistake.’

He didn’t answer.

‘I wasn’t good enough and should’ve been better so that you wouldn’t have to look for the missing part of me in other women. My fault for not being good enough.’

‘You really want to get back together?’

‘Yes,’ you came closer, reaching for his cock to palm him. He lifted his head, lip quivering as he fought to keep his eyes open. He lowered his head to say something by the way he had opened his mouth but when he opened his eyes again, his knotted eyebrows staring past you had made you aware that the others must’ve been behind you by now.

‘Who are they?’

‘My friends.’ You continued to pump his cock, giving you complete control over him with a single motion. You could feel Kai’s eyes slicing into your back but it didn’t matter. You weren’t enjoying stroking his cock because you wanted him, all you needed was control and for a man irresistible to a handjob it was the perfect weapon to be used. ‘They’re here to help me.’

‘With what?’

‘To kill you.’

‘What.’

‘You hurt me, Marshall. You tossed me aside and fucked another woman. You broke my heart.’ Your grip tightened around him, the pressure inching him closer to coming. ‘Now I have to do the same. To move on.’

‘What—What the fuck are you on about, Y/n.’ He tried to push you away but you pulled him closer with a tug. ‘Get out.’

‘No.’

‘Leave or I’ll call the fucking cops.’

‘Fine,’ you said. ‘Can I take what’s mine at least?’ You stared past the others into the old room you were sure still had a few of your items you had forgotten about.

‘Sure but after I want you to fucking leave.’

‘Okay.’ You smiled.

A low-pitched scream filled the bathroom door as you stared at Marshall whose eyes rolled into the back of his head, hand flying to his front only to find his cock in your hands, red dripping from both of you as you threw it over your shoulder. ‘I’ll take the rest of you with me.’

After you had gotten your revenge on Marshall, you stood around him in a circle, covered in blood splatters and sweat pearls.

‘That was the most beautiful thing I have ever done and seen.’ You breathed, catching your breath as you stared at the bloody sight.

Kai stared at you with heart eyes. He could’ve gotten down on one knee that second and asked you to marry him but the thought of you palming Marshall less than twenty minutes ago had made his eyes go dark, a wave of anger and jealousy consuming him entirely as he stormed off downstairs. You immediately followed him to see him slide off his clown head, baby hairs sticking to his temples, nostrils flaring like they had before at his home. He was angry.

‘Why did you do that?’ He growled.

‘I did it because Marshall cannot say or do anything when his cock feels good. I wanted to control him one last time. Why? Did it make you jealous?’

‘Yes it fucking did?’ He bellowed, spit coming from his mouth as he strutt towards you, pushing you into the wall, his hand around your throat as he came dangerously close. ‘You tell me you basically like me and then touch another man’s cock. Are you a whore? Why did you do it!’

‘Would it make you feel better if I touched you now?’

‘Don’t play with me.’ He snarled, his grip on your throat now so tight you could feel the air thinning. ‘You’re mine.’

‘I know.’

‘Say it!’

‘I’m yours.’

‘And don’t you forget it.’ He pulled you to his lips by your throat, releasing the pressure that had bound you to half breaths.

He was your leader and you were his angel. In the end it was him and you. Only a love that you could understand and that was fine because you didn’t want to share any part of him anyway.

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sachirobabe · 2 months

Text

Chapter 4

Kuroo Tetsurou x reader

Wc: 2758

Summary: You, a dedicated member of the girls' volleyball team, find an unexpected connection with Kuroo Tetsurou. Igniting a bond over shared passions and stolen moments, love blossoms on the court; all because you met him at a captains meeting.

<— Previous | Masterlist | Next —>

Taglist: @merlucide, @lemurzsquad, @02shuuu

"So?" Yaku sits down at the lunch table, slamming his lunch, making Kuroo jump a little in his seat.

"So what?" Kuroo pretends to not know what the blonde is asking for.

Yaku clicks his tongue, "Can you believe him?" He gets Kai's attention, "He doesn't shut up about this girl for almost 3 years and when he finally hangs out with her, suddenly he has nothing to say?!"

Kai chuckles, "I hate to say it Kuroo, but he's right."

"Shhh!" Kuroo looks around, making sure nobody is listening, "Will you shut your big mouth? Somebody will hear."

"Like everybody doesn't know." Kenma rolls his eyes.

"They don't! Only you guys do." Kuroo frowns.

"Not true." Yaku shakes his head.

"The other guys on the team know as well." Kenma says before focusing back to his phone. Kuroo continues to roll his eyes.

"Well, are you not gonna tell us?" Yaku says, still speaking very loudly.

Kuroo can't fight the smile creeping up on his face, just thinking of you makes his entire being swoon.

"He's blushing." Yaku nudges Kai, "God, you're so down bad." Kuroo ignores him and continues to eat his lunch.

"C'mon Kuroo, we've endured 3 years of you talking about her, just tell us what happened." Yaku is still determined to get this man to talk.

"After the captains meeting, we got some food and talked for a little." Kuroo stays quiet, remembering how pretty you looked the entire time you were with him. "She got onigiri and I payed, I wish I could've seen her surprised face again, it was adorable." He continued to ramble on.

Yaku was deeply invested on his captains love life, he listened to Kuroo go on and on about you.

"The way she had her hair suited her so well, and she even playfully nudged me, I swear my skin is shining from the spot where she touched me—" He goes to show his teammates the spot where you touched him, but he was interrupted.

"Okay okay, lover boy, I asked for how it went, not for you to declare your love to her for the millionth time." Yaku rolls his eyes, already hearing him talk about how pretty and nice you are.

"You asked, I'm simply just telling you how it went." Kuroo crosses his arms over his chest.

"No, I didn't ask for you to gush all over her." The blonde glares.

"Alright, doesn't matter." Kai intervenes, "What happened after eating?"

"I was going to walk her home, but we heard thunder so she quickly left before I could offer." Kuroo's smile falters a little.

"That's why you don't have a girlfriend." Yaku shakes his head.

"He doesn't have one cause all he does is talk about

Y/n, but never makes a move." Kenma quietly says. "You guys are being loud." He pockets his phone and begins to walk away from them.

"Who waits 3 years to finally talk to their crush? I thought you were more bold." Yaku goes on.

"You've never had one either." Kuroo rolls his eyes, "Plus I get nervous around her. Look at her."

Yaku and Kai groan, not wanting to hear him go on again. It's no hate to you, they think you're kind, but their friend is a wimp who is making them suffer by not doing anything to advance your guys' non existent relationship.

You're sitting on top of a desk near your coach, Himari right next to you as she chews on some pocky.

"Don't you guys have better things to do?" Coach Mori raises an eyebrow at the two of you.

"No." You both say in unison and she rolls her eyes, you two spend way too much time together. You're basically psychic.

"Tell us some drama." Himari has a glint in her eye.

"There is none. And if there was, I wouldn't be allowed to tell." Mori glares and continues to type on her computer.

"Aw, come one. Just a little? What about that guy you were talking to?" You swung your feet.

Mori turns in her seat, "What about the boys' captain?"

Himari looks confused, "Kuroo Tetsurou? He's cute."

"He's flirting with her." Mori points her finger to you.

"No way." Himari is baffled.

"What? You're delusional." You laugh. "He is cute, though." You whisper to Himari and she lightly pushes you.

"You should've seen them at the captains meeting."

"Bro, change the rules so vice captains can go, I need to see this." Himari laughs.

"We were being friendly!" You raise your hands as if it's obvious. "You never used to bug me about the previous captains."

"Because the previous captains didn't look at you the way he does." Mori rolls her eyes. "Now shoo, the bell is about to ring."

"Nothing is going on." You clarify and your coach plugs her ears, not wanting to hear any of it. "Can you believe her?" You say to Himari as the two of you walk out of class.

"I'd have to see for myself." Himari shrugs and you gasp.

"You believe her?" You feel betrayed.

"Mori is never wrong when it comes to guys." Himari says confidently.

"Oh yeah? Well she was wrong about the last guy she went on a date with, he stood her up." You furrow your brows.

"I meant for other people." She laughs, "Remember when Izumi got cheated on last year? Mori called it."

How could you forget, she warned her just by meeting the boy once. "Coincidence. I mean, look at him." You open the door for class and walk in.

"Or when she knew my cousin was gonna marry her boyfriend. After they dated for a week." She emphasized.

You roll your eyes, "Uh huh."

"She's never wrong. Now I know Kuroo Tetsurou has a crush on you." She winks and pokes your cheek. You continue to deny, you had just gotten to get to know him.

Classes trudged on, it was the second week and you're already sick of it. You were looking forward to practice today, the practice match with the boys had you almost on the edge of your seat.

The lineup you drew during the captains meeting was the one being used for this practice match. It wasn't completely set in place, your coach would make tweaks where ever needed.

You and a few other members began to change, you could barely hold your excitement, you were basically buzzing. Without a word, you quickly left the club room and made your way to the gym.

"She's happy." Misaki, your libero laughs.

"The girl's been begging for 3 years for this." Himari sighs, closing her locker and leaves.

A few boys were already in the gym setting up, you figured they had it down.

"Um, excuse me?" You hear a voice and turn, seeing Kenma stand before you. "Do you want us to put the net at the girls height?"

"No, the men's is fine. We practice with it anyway." You say and continue to look at the rotations on the clipboard. Kenma's a little surprised, but goes to the others to tell them to raise it a bit more.

"You seem ready." Coach Mori chuckles, taking her clipboard from you, "You got them down, don't worry."

"I was just memorizing the others', in case we get confused." You say.

"Go stretch." She rolls her eyes, you begin forming a small circle of your teammates as they slowly join.

"Wait so in the 2nd rotation I serve, but once we lose the point Rikako comes in for me?" Emi, your right side asks. Rikako was a first year, and a damn good one, her passes were amazing.

"Yeah, we need your serves." Himari says, watching you from the corner of your eye trying to decide who's got serve and who's receiving.

You jog back to your coach, who orders the team to huddle up. "We got serve." You say.

"You finally won a coin toss!" Aiko slaps your back, she was another passer.

"I don't always lose?" You frown, your coach gets all of your attention again and begins to go over rotations quickly.

"Go out there and play." Your coach breaks you all out and the starters head onto the court. You started off in the right front, Himari behind you with the ball, next to her was Keiko; a middle blocker, she was waiting for Misaki to sub in for her, Naomi was next to her in left back, Emi in left front, then Mei standing in front of the net, checking out the boys' heights. She was 6'1.

Kuroo started in the left front, then Kai, and Yamamoto in right front. Yaku was in right back for Inuoka, Kenma was in middle back, and Fukunaga was in left back.

Your coach hides her hand behind her back, telling Himari where to serve.

"You nervous?" Kuroo asks you from the other side of the net.

You scoff, "Not in the slightest." He smirks and pulls back to hide Kenma so he doesn't have to pass. You get ready to switch with Emi, as soon as the whistle blows you're in the left position with your arms ready by your head.

You watch the ball go over the net and aim for Kuroo, he passes the ball with ease, giving Kenma an easy ball to work with. You watch Kenma carefully, dissecting his every move.

His back was arched slightly in mid air, giving you the hint that he was going to give it to Yamamoto, "Right!" You yell and were correct when the ball left his hands.

You and Mei get ready to block him, she takes away his cross shot easily because of her insane height, meanwhile you were really only good for getting touches.

"Straight!" Naomi yells and prepares to receive the ball.

Yamamoto yells something you didn't quite catch, but he hits right through Mei's block, she wasn't expecting such a hard hit. The ball begins the fall short in front of Misaki, but she saves it with one hand.

"Himari, left!" You yell, knowing the original play was out of the question when the receive was wonky. Himari knows she can count on you, she sends the ball your way and you wait for the ball to reach its peak, then beginning your approach.

You may have been on the shorter side of your team, but you worked a ton on your vertical. You soar into the air, seeing Kai and Kuroo's strong arms, you decided to give it your all and try to break through the block.

Which you did, it landed in front of Kenma after it ricocheted off of Kai's hands. You land back down and begin cheering with your team.

"Nice save, my bad." Mei apologies.

"Don't worry, you'll get it." Misaki encourages.

"Great set as always, Himari." You smile, giving her a high five and she blows you a kiss as a joke.

"Nice job, ladies, get another Himari." Your coach nods to her. You roll the ball towards her and you face forward again.

You watch Kenma bring his team together and say a few things.

"I know you were scared to try and hit through my block." Kuroo sassily said, walking back.

"Oh please." You laugh. "I could any day."

"We'll see." He gives you a wink then goes back to pass.

The whistle blew and the ball was sent over, you perceptively watched Kenma, you knew he liked to play tricks with his eyes and fake body movement.

This time Yaku gave a perfect pass to Kenma and he sets it to Kuroo, he gives a powerful hit in between the gap of the block.

It slams right in between Misaki snd Naomi, both fail to get a hand on the ball.

"Sorry, I'll do a better job of closing the gap." Mei cringes at herself for such a stupid mistake.

"It's all good, focus on the next one." You pat her back.

"We'll do better too!" Naomi nods to Misaki.

"We're good guys, cmon let's go, next point." Himari says. The rallies were back and forth, to be honest you weren't really looking at the score too often, you were having so much fun despite how competitive you could get.

Point after point, you all learned something and were able to adapt for the next point. Both sides had great back and forth rallies, but ultimately, you lost the first set.

"Don't be too down, we've never played a boys team before. This is new." Your coach said.

"We're not too far off in height, it's mostly just Kuroo and Kai we have to worry about." Himari states, out of breath, but a huge smile on her face. You can tell she's having fun too.

"We got this next one, guys, let's go." You break the team out and begin the second set. This time your team is the one to back it up by one rotation. You're in middle front, Emi wasn't the best at receiving serves, so you pulled back to hide her further in the back.

You wipe your shoes to make sure they weren't slippery before getting into position. Yamamoto is now up to serve, you are now starting to question why Kenma wasn't their first server.

He serves to you, it was very powerful, but you were able to read it and direct it towards Himari, your arms stung a little after receiving it.

It was a perfect pass, so Himari went for the quick attack with Mei, which successfully made it over the net, despite Kuroo being amazing at blocking. It was received easily and thrown back at your team by Fukunaga.

The game ended with you guys taking the second set, but they took the third. You all shake hands, out of breath. Even though your team lost, you were happy to finally be able to play with the boys. It was definitely great practice for both sides.

"What happened?" Kuroo says, finding you after the practice match, you were drinking from your water bottle talking to your coach, a few members were taking down the net.

"I believe you lost a set." You shrugged and laughed. Your coach eyed the boy, watching his mannerisms with you.

"I believe you lost the game." He chuckled and you deadpan.

"Next week. Just you wait." You say, "Oh, I was meaning to talk to you about your lineup." He turns his head like a confused puppy. "Why don't you have Kenma serve first?"

"Yamamoto has a good serve." He says.

"You should try having Kenma serve, that way he gets more back row time and you'd have 3 hitters in the front for longer." You explain.

He thinks for a moment, "That could work. I'll tell coach." He smiles, "Thanks. You play good, by the way. I haven't been able to watch many matches, but I've heard some things."

"Bad things?" You raise an eyebrow.

"No," He laughs, "of course not. I've heard your hits are powerful and you read the ball well."

"Thank you, Kuroo." You say. "You know, we'd always go and support your games, but I see that's not reciprocated." You jokingly roll your eyes.

"Hey, cut us some slack," He chuckles, "We'll be present more often." He promises. Coach Nekomata calls Kuroo over and he gives you a small smile before leaving.

You're left with your coach and Himari, who you didn't realize came over to gossip with her sister. You deadpan looking at them.

"She's telling me what her great mind is predicting." Himari smiles widely.

"Oh shut up." You roll your eyes. "I don't believe your so called gift."

"I'm never wrong, hun." Coach Mori shrugs and begins to pack up. "You're always welcome to ask for my opinion."

"Yeah sure." You narrow your eyes at her, "You ready?" Himari nods and takes one last sip of her water bottle before putting it with the rest.

"You FINALLY talked to her in person, wow." Yaku smiles at his tall friend.

"Will you be quiet?" Kuroo looks around.

"Everybody knows, dude." Yamamoto says, "I'm surprised she doesn't with how much you look at her." He laughs. "Can't blame you, though."

Kuroo turns his head so quickly at his teammate, "Nuh uh, you're not allowed to be jealous when you haven't done shit." Yaku laughs and walks away.

Kuroo rubs his forehead, his team was going to make him age so quickly with how much they stress him out.

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rookthorne · 5 months

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⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞

Bucky was a sweet talker; able to get every last thing he wanted if he just used the right words or tone with anyone. It was part of his charm. Though you thoroughly enjoyed it, he tended to weaponize it against you at the least convenient times; up a ladder and decorating the tree one of them.

჻჻჻჻჻჻჻჻ 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 ♆ Pornstar!Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

჻჻჻჻჻჻჻჻ 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 ♆ 675

჻჻჻჻჻჻჻჻ 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 ♆ Fluff, Clingy and Needy Bucky

჻჻჻჻჻჻჻჻ 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 ♆ He's too soft and too damned cute for his own good, I swear.

჻჻჻჻჻჻჻჻ 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 ♆ @rookthorne's Merry Buckmas — Masterlist

𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

“Baby girl…”

“Yeah?” you grunted, stretching further towards the top of the tree. “What, Buck?”

Heavy footsteps approached, then you felt the soft caress of Bucky’s hands over the outer side of your thighs. “Vixen, baby—honey love,” he cooed. “Why are you up there, huh?”

The small step ladder creaked as you moved your feet closer together — an ancient thing you found at a sale when you first moved into the apartment. “What does it look like I’m doing,” you replied, looking down at him from your vantage point. “I’m decorating the tree; it’s Christmas and I also love the lights—so I thought why not.”

Bucky’s eyes reflected the lights that ran along the cove of the ceiling and the tree beside you; light blue and grey turning to reds, greens, and golds. You smiled hesitantly under his intense gaze. “What?”

“You’re jus’ so damned pretty, Vixen,” he said quietly. “Need any help?”

You snorted and shook your head. “Such a sweet talker, but I’m okay—I got this.”

The warmth from his hands disappeared, and he walked over to sit on the lounge to watch you work — until he grew restless.

There were only a few minutes of peace between him sitting down on the lounge and him huffing with apparent boredom, and you rolled your eyes, resolutely ignoring him while you wrapped tinsel around the top of the tree.

“What is it, drama queen?” you asked eventually, after he flopped dramatically on to his side with a heavy sigh. “I’m busy.”

“That’s the problem,” he whined, and you felt the heat of his gaze rove over your body. “I’ve got the prettiest girl not payin’ any attention to me–”

“I am putting up the Christmas tree, you animal,” you interrupted, and you shot a sharp glare at his slumped figure. “You can wait; you won’t wither away to nothing while I finish this. And when I’m done–” You reached further over, around the back of the tree, tinsel and lights still in hand. The position moved your back into an arch and your thighs stretched. A low whistle cut off your rambling.

“Now that is a sight I wanna see for the rest a’my life, kitten,” Bucky purred, the proximity of his voice startling you. “Fuck. I love your thighs, and your ass.”

A startled sound escaped from your throat when Bucky’s hand gripped the back of your thigh, only for him to move it up and cup your ass with his palm and squeeze. “Buck!”

“What?” He pouted and widened his eyes for the full effect. “I jus’ wanna love on my girl—that a crime, huh?”

“It is when I am on a damned ladder,” you snapped, slapping his wrist playfully. “Away with you, you animal—you can make it up to me later.”

“No.”

“Bucky–!” Your squeaked protests fell on deaf ears as Bucky wrapped his arms around your waist and hauled you close. “Let me go–”

“No,” he repeated, squeezing you for emphasis. “You can work while I hold you—I jus’ want my girl.”

You sighed and shook your head. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“Yes.” The muffled reply came from somewhere around your back. “I know I am, but you love it, Vixen.”

“You’re right, I do,” you murmured, resting your free hand on his shoulder, over the soft material of his sweater. “Just don’t knock me over while I work.”

“‘Kay.”

For the entirety of the time that you continued to work on the tree, with all of the tinsel and lights, Bucky somehow managed to stay plastered to your side — even when he became cumbersome at points, you kept your mouth shut in favour of running your hand through his loose, dark hair to calm down again.

All he wanted was to be close to you, and you couldn’t fault him for it.

Not even when he grumbled when you put tinsel in his hair, or when you placed a star on the crown of his head and told him he was the brightest one in your night’s sky.

⠁⠂⠄𝐢𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐱 | 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 | 𝐚𝐨𝟑 ⠄⠂⠁

⠁⠂⠄𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 ⠄⠂⠁

#bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x f!reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x female reader #bucky x f!reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky barnes fluff #MB #rookthorne's works

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hyuuukais · 9 months

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✧˖°ʚ🍓ɞ♡ SUNSHINE AND STRAWBERRIES

pairing ☆ lee felix x fem reader

synopsis ☆ Y/N is a new streamer. after months of planning, and her best friend & now fellow streamer han jisung convincing her, she makes a twitch and youtube account. thanks to jisung giving her a shoutout to his own huge following, she gains some unexpected overnight fame. but what was more unexpected was waking up to see her long-time favourite comfort streamer _sunshine.bbokari_ following her.

warnings ☆ swearing

[TAGLIST -> CLOSED]

MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

☆partially written chapter, 6 screenshots☆

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE ☆ COMING CLEAN

When you look up, your eyes lock with Kai's across the room, who gives you a thumbs up. The backup plan was he'd act like he just came in, notice you, and make up something normal enough to seem believable, rambling while bringing you out leaving no room for questioning. While you feel ready to tell Jake, you have no idea how he'll respond, so an out was needed.

After a few minutes of waiting, someone slides across from you. Your eyes stay on the table, too nervous to look at him. It's been so long... what if you look up and all you see in his eyes is disappointment? Or anger? Or hate?

He could hate you, you think, if he doesn't already, he will after this. Y/N, how could you?

The little voice in your head doesn't stop, breathing becoming shallow. A hand rests softly on your wrist, bringing you back to reality- it's Jake, of course it's Jake.

"Dont listen to the voice," He says softly, eyes knowing. "Just tell me what it is."

"I..." You rub your collarbone with your free hand. "Promise you won't hate me?"

Bewildered, he shakes his head, looking away briefly only to look back more intensely then before.

"Y/N I could never hate you." His voice is low. "You could break my heart into a million pieces, I still wouldn't be able to hate you."

Tears prickle at the edges of your eyes. A waitress is about to approach, but seeing your expression and the way Jake's hand is still resting on yours, she turns to another table. Part of you so desperately wants- no, needs- an interruption.

Kai watches the two of you from afar, wondering if he should step in when he sees your panicked look. But you said wait for the signal, two taps to your right temple.

"C'mon, Y/N, you've got this..." Kai sips his drink, leg bouncing, anticipation coursing through his body.

Your eyes brush over him, but quickly look back to Jake with a deep breath.

"When you told me how you felt, I panicked. I didn't know how to respond, so I..." You break eye contact sheepishly. "I made something up. The boyfriend thing it... wasn't true. At the time, I thought it would hurt you less! Saying I had a boyfriend instead of just saying straight up, 'hey I don't like you like that! Sorry to break it to you!' But I know now how stupid that was-"

"You and Felix though-" Jake takes his hand away finally, and you could see the gears in his brain working. "It was all fake?"

When he looks up at you, you see more confusion than hurt.

"Um, yeah. But it's real now."

"Wait, wait, wait," He holds up his hands in a stopping motion. "What?"

"We were fake dating and now real dating?" You shrug.

There's a beat where no one says anything. Silence heavy, anxiety high, Jake's hands still in the air before suddenly dropping in a laugh.

"How the hell did you manage to actually pull the Lee Felix?!" He shakes his head more, leaning back with a smile on his face. "That's actually- wow. I can't- wow!"

Now you're more confused then ever.

"You're not... mad?

"Mad? No- well, maybe a bit upset you lied, but then I have to think, would I have done different?" Jake pretends he's deep in thought, hand rubbing his chin. "Yeah, probably. But who knows for sure that I wouldn't have faked a girlfriend?"

You laugh, tension easing away slowly.

"I'm sorry for blocking you," Jake's tone turns serious, causing the tightness in your chest to return. "Not my best idea, but I didn't know what to do. It was hard seeing you everywhere, and I needed to clear my head, feel my feelings." He looks away, cheeks flushed. "What if I told you I met someone while we weren't talking? And that she helped me a lot with getting over you? Like talking through stuff, helping me realize I'd rather have you as a friend over anything else... and in the process I may have... fell for her?"

He looks so embarrassed you can't help the giggle that escapes you.

"Oh my god?" You gasp, trying to contain yourself. "That's so- of course you would!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jake's cheeks burn a brighter shade of pink.

"Nothing, just- that's so... almost sweet?" A disgusted look crosses your face. "You didn't hear that from me." He laughs. "I'm happy for you, but damn did blocking me hurt. I might need some time before we get back to normal, but this is a good start."

"I totally understand that," A small smile forms on his face. "Why don't we go ahead and finally order? Oh, and tell Kai he can join us."

"You- you knew he was here?!" It was your turn to blush.

"He's kinda hard to hide..."

You both burst into giggles, signalling Kai to join your table.

☆~☆~☆

notes ☆ it's out in the open !!!!! i was like hmm i COULD make this kinda sad, but decided not to bc y/n deserves a string of good things rn

taglist ☆ @marcillfll @toplinelix @neri-ner @tfshouldidohere @imasimplol @samvagejkflxhrt @yennifersgeralt @aestheticsluut @cherryuqii @tenebrisirae @roseidol @veryjeongintxtkid @amara-mars @chrizzlaptop @bmnyy @sheeshhhhfelixsworld @ellelabelle @gini143 @mrsseals16 @veedoesntknaur @channiesstars @daydreamer5006 @luvvvash @amesification @skzswife @blamemef0rit @soulphoenix1618 @lovingmny @stvrfir3 @boo-ven9eance @adestayskz @rag-iii @enchantedgrunge @mytherapisttoldmenotto @strawberry-dreamland @oh-my-fancan @lucktales @cookielino @fantasyaddict123 @sleeplessmin @alexxxxxthebitxh @flirtyskzbutterfly @vixensss @hannahs-docx @hash2013 @jellsxox @sserafimez @theblindhag @liknws @hannahhbahng

pink means i can't tag you

#✧˖°ʚ🍓ɞ♡ SUNSHINE AND STRAWBERRIES #skz #stray kids #skz smau #social media au #lee felix x reader #stray kids smau #lee felix #lee felix x fem reader #non idol felix #non idol au #stray kids streamer au #felix streamer au #streamer au

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kaismasterlist · 3 months

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Being Daddy!Jakey's Little Baby 🩷❤️

Rescue Shenanigans and Bratting With Ex-Marine Daddy!Curty 🩷

Dark!Daddy Rafe Does Not Like It When You Smell Like Anything Other Than Him 🖤

#kais non-marvel rambles masterlist #kais masterlist #jake jensen smut #curtis everett #curtis everett smut #rafe cameron #rafe cameron smut

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lualuabestningdungie · 10 months

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Heart Shaped Webs | Huening Kai

Genre: fluff, Spider-Man au, non idol au

Pairing: spiderman! Huening Kai x gn!reader

Warnings: mentions of blood, injuries and medications, might contain grammar mistakes, English is not my first language.

Lua’s note: Hello! I’ve been thinking a lot about making a Spider-Man series for txt, so Huening Kai will be the first !! Credits to @kang_beatrix for the Spider Huening Kai edit!

Masterlist<3

It was late at night, you were trying to study for your chemistry exam. You were supposed to study with Huening Kai, since he was the best at chemistry in your class, but he canceled last minute because he had a doctor appointment or something like that.

You had already studied with him last semester since your chemistry teacher suggested it because your grades were very low, and surprisingly you understood everything he explained to you and you passed the final exam.

You were very excited to receive tutoring from him again, you had always find him very interesting and wanted to know him better, plus he was really handsome. You might’ve developed a small crush on him throughout this year. Every time you saw him walking down the stairs of the apartment complex you both lived in he would smile and wave and some other times if you were lucky he would walk with you to school.

You snapped out of your thoughts when you heard something outside your room. You stood up from your desk chair and went to check what the noise was. You went to your kitchen and realized the noise you heard was only your cat trying to reach his food container. You sighed and gave him some food and caressed his head.

“Try not to be so loud, I’m studying.”

With one last pat on your cat’s head you went back to your room. You opened the door and turned on the lights. But as soon as you did you realized there was someone else in your room.

A loud scream left your lips, and your eyes widened at the sight of this other person.

“Spiderm- Kai?!” You were so confused. In front of you there was a bruised and bleeding Huening Kai in a Spider-Man suit.

“Yn! What are you doing in my room?!” He said surprised and made an attempt to cover himself with his hands.

“Your room?! This is my room!” What are you doing in my room?!” You responded in his same surprised tone.

He looked around and his eyes widened. “Oh…Oh! I’m very sorry! It was so dark outside and I didn’t see where I was going, or climbing… well it doesn’t matter-“ he started rambling and muttering things until you stopped him.

“You’re Spider-Man?” He stopped talking and looked at you.

“Uh… well I guess there’s no point in denying it.” He scratched the back of his head but he winced at this.

“Are you okay?” You walked closer to him. “You’re all bruised and your lip is bleeding…”

“Oh, it’s nothing, I’m okay.” He smiled awkwardly.

“Let me go get my first aid kit.” You left your room and went to get the kit and some ice cubes. When you entered your room you saw Kai sitting in your bed.

“Oh I’m sorry, I don’t know if it’s okay if I sit here…” he chuckled nervously and stood up.

“It’s okay, you can sit. You seem really tired.” You sat besides him and opened your kit and took out some bandages and stuff to clean his wounds.

“Yeah, it was a long night.” You nodded and started to clean the dry blood from his face. His eyes went shut when you brushed an open cut on his cheek, and he winced in pain.

“I’m sorry!” He muttered a small “it’s okay” and you continued to help him. You were in silence but it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. After a few minutes you finished. “There. Just continue putting ice in your head so it doesn’t hurt too much.” You smiled and he nodded.

“You didn’t have to, you know?” He said holding the ice package on the side of his head.

“I know, but take as payback for helping me study.” He smiled and nodded.

“Thanks…” both of you stayed quiet while you put everything back in the kit.

“I’ll get you some water.” You stood up and went to the kitchen to get him a glass of water.

When you returned to your room you saw Kai with your cat on his lap, he was stroking his head gently while your cat purred.

“Seems like he likes you.” He chuckled and looked at you.

“I guess, not many cats are fond of me, but yours seem to like me.” He gave you a smile and you sat next to him.

“He’s an introvert, he usually hides when there’s people here.” You said and you handed him the glass of water and he gladly accepted it.

“I thought you were going to be more surprised about… you know.” He said after he took a sip of water.

“Well yeah i was surprised, but I was more worried about how bruised you were.” You chuckled. His cheeks turned into a soft shade of pink.

“Thank you yn…” he said and you smiled. “Can I ask you for a favor?”

“Sure, what is it?” You turned to face him.

“Please don’t tell anyone about it, I don’t know what would happen if everyone finds out I uh, am Spider-Man…” he sighed.

“Yeah, don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.” You smiled at him and he returned the smile.

“I guess I should get going, we have school tomorrow.” You nodded and he stood up leaving your cat on your bed.

“Yeah, you should get some rest.” You stood up and he opened your window. “You’re going out the window? Don’t you prefer using the door?” You said with a puzzled expression.

“Oh, um you’re right.” He awkwardly said and closed the window. You led him to your door and opened it.

“Well, um I’ll see you tomorrow Kai.” You turned ti face him and he walked outside.

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow yn.” He smiled and waved goodbye. He walked away and you closed the door.

You went back to your room and smiled to yourself.

“What the he’ll just happened?” You asked yourself. After a while you went to bed and fell asleep.

The days went by and every other day Kai would enter “accidentally” to your room, with the same excuse of mistaking your apartment with his. But he really wanted to see you. He wanted you to clean his wounds and spend time with you. He started spending more time with you at night, and it turned into an every day thing.

One day you woke up due to the sun rays peering through your window, you got out of bed to close the blinds but you realized there was something outside your window.

There was a spider web covering part of your window. You would normally get scared and start looking if there was a spider, but this spider web was different. It had a heart shape.

“Is that even possible?” You asked yourself.

“Could it have been Kai?”

#tomorrow x together #choi beomgyu #choi soobin #choi yeonjun #kang taehyun #fluff #huening kai #fanfic #hueningkai #lualuabestningdungie #Spiderman au #hueningkai x reader #txt #txt imagine #huening txt #txt scenarios #txt x reader #Spiderman

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lovelyhan · 10 months

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i have three more jeonghan fics in the works 😨 rightfully claiming his title as my ult i see

#💬 kai rambles #cheol and wonwoo watch ur fucking backs #my masterlist will be oversaturated w jeonghan instead soon #soon = when i get the steam to write again lol

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starshipsofstarlord · 10 months

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“If you do that again, I’ll throw you out that fucking window you - what are you doing?”

“Checking how high the drop is, see if it’s worth it.”

Summary -> whilst on the hunt for a loose hybrid that is killing people, your friends pair you up with Kai, who has recently gotten his sister’s magic (1k)

Warnings -> death, murder, dead body, blood, fluff, swearing

kai parker works other tvd works masterlist

He was getting on your last nerve, it was infuriating that the scooby gang had paired you up with the homicidal sociopath. They had told you that it was necessary to have his help to find the rogue hybrid that had killed numerous people already, Kai now has Jo's magic, he could siphon away the monster's ability long enough for you to take it out without injuring.

And once again you had found a body in the victim's apartment, confirming the suspicions that you had that the murders weren't random. They were selected, chosen prey for the animal that had a hunger to rip their guts out. "Someone had a messy meal." Kai laughed, smearing the blood from the bottom of his boots onto the threaded rug in the living space.

"God Kai! Somebody's dead, now isn't the time for your sadistic jokes!" Although he struggled with emotions, he could at least have pretended to have some sympathy in your presence. The sight of blood was making you feel queasy, but you had to remain strong for the task that was at hand. "See if you can find anything that can tell us who this thing is."

"I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but we've still got nothing on this hybrid. But there is something that I want to see..." whilst he rambled you turned your back to him. It was so darn annoying how cute he was, it was a waste of a perfectly good face considering that he was anything but attractive on the inside. He was the bad guy, and you weren't supposed to like those kinds of men.

They were dangerous, and just being close to them... him, would end in you being harmed. "Boop." A finger nudged at your back causing you to roll your eyes at his antics. He never let up. "I've never met a faerie before, so tell me, can you fly?" It was the same old questions, emitted from the witch's voice this time.

This was exactly why you had tried your best to stay away from Kai without additional company - you were frightened that he would corrupt you. And there was no going back for a faerie that had gone dark, they relied upon the shadows rather than the light, and they craved power, an endless supply of it. That wouldn't be you, you wouldn't allow Kai or anyone else to unlock that side of you.

"No Kai. We don't fly and we don't have wings." Boop. He touched your back with the tip of his index finger again. "Stop. Please." But he didn't, he repeated it again and again until you finally snapped, which was a brave move on your part considering how fragile of a creature you were. "If you do that again, I'll throw you out that fucking window you- what are you doing?"

Being paired up with him was like babysitting a child you swore. "Checking how high the drop is, see if it's worth it." He smiled as he looked out of the window before something on the sill caught his eye. A red fingerprint. "Listen to me before you get all temperamental will you Y/N?" His hands were raised in a surrender, and thus you tilted your head at him. "As a faerie, what is that you can actually do?"

You sighed, knowing that Kai would uncover your special talent sooner than later. "I can see things from a perspective, if there's evidence that the person or being was there. Why?" Kai beckoned you over to him and then you saw it, the bloody proof that the hybrid had been there. It definitely was the mark of the hybrid, as there was no blood stained on the victim's hands.

You felt so happy, and you relieved, before you knew it you were pulling Kai into an excitable hug. "We did it. His name's Tony Matthews, and he's..." you felt as though you were going to puke, "killing faeries." Kai's eyes widened, as he grasped your elbows, and you surprised yourself for not feeling afraid or weary. "We have to get you out of here." He began pulling you to the exit, but you stopped him.

"Why do you care Kai? I can't exactly fly away from this, it's going to find me if he's still in Mystic Falls." You pulled your arms back, crossing them over your chest in an unimpressed manner. He rolled his eyes at your behaviour, nervously licking his lips as he thought of you being hunted. For all he knew, you could be next.

"Because- because I care about you Y/N! You're the only person who makes me feel something, and I'm not going to let you die because you're a stubborn little princess who will do the exact opposite of whatever I say!" His voice was loud, echoing off the walls as his eyes burned into you. "Now will you leave here with me, please? I need to get you somewhere safe." Kai held his hand to you, he was anxiously awaiting your reply. If you refused he was prepared to hoist you over his shoulder and take you far away, even to Portland if he had to.

"Not until I do this." Kai was about to argue his case but he was postponed from doing so when you pulled him down to your height and pushed your lips against his. The blood around you was distant from your mind, you were lost in Kai Parker, but you didn't feel any different. There was no darkness drowning your insides, only a spark of everlasting joy.

Kai was annoying, but you liked it when he rattled your patience. It was the attention that he reserved for just you that caused you to secretly swoon. You'd go anywhere that he wanted to, as long as he was by your side. He wanted to protect you, and when Malachai put his deranged mind to something, he was insistent with it, and so you felt safe.

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thiniceofeternalyouth · 1 month

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MISLEADIN' ME SERIES: CHAPTER NINE

ROAD HOME

⊳ Gojo Satoru x f!reader

series masterlist

Genre: angst, fluff, sci-fi, cosmology.

Words count: ~14k

⊲ previous

Standing in the alley between the huts, you had already nailed the last sheet to the wall, creating a small but hidden space. Inside, there were already a few water bottles, a bar of soap, and a makeshift stool. "There, all done," you chirped, admiring the result. You peeked out from behind the curtain. "Come in," you nodded, inviting Nora inside. Without raising her head, she strode past you in small, uncertain steps.

Feeling awkward, you averted your eyes and wanted to leave the makeshift shower, but you were stopped by a subtle touch of a hand. "Don't go," Nora mumbled softly.

"Uh?" you rambled, and your eyes rounded at the surprise of her request. The girl's head was still down, and her tangled hair covered her face.

"I...," Nora began, but immediately stopped. Her breathing became so ragged and loud as if she was beginning to choke. "I don't wanna be alone," her voice shook. "Don't go."

You gently grabbed Nora's chin and lifted her head, forcing her to look at you. "It's okay. Breathe," there wasn't panic or fear in her eyes, there was desperation in them. There was still no way Nora was going to calm down. "Come on. Inhale," you sucked in air with persistence and noise and waited for her to repeat after you. "Exhale," on your command, she exhaled so hard it flung strands of hair from your face. "Sit down," you moved the stool closer to her.

Nora sat down, and the stool creaked dangerously, but it didn't give up. The girl leaned her hands on her knees, and you could see her vertebrae protruding.

"Hands up," you tried to keep your voice as soft as possible, making the words sound more like a request than an order. She obediently raised her limbs, and you grabbed the edges of her shirt and pulled it off. You'd tried not to look at her injuries before, but there was little to look at now - some of the wounds had healed, others were almost invisible.

Nora took off her wide pants in a hurry for some reason - you didn't even squeak before they were on the ground. You gathered up her clothes and hung them on a rusty flimsy nail.

The girl froze. It seemed as if she had forgotten how to do ordinary household things because of everything that had happened. Sighing and trying not to look at her gaunt body, you moistened your hands with cool water and picked up the soap. As soon as you touched the girl, she jerked, making the stool rattle with renewed vigor. "Just... Cold," Nora mumbled guiltily to herself, dispelling any speculation you might have had in your head.

You did not answer, only silently continued to soap her skinny back, and Nora did not lag behind - you could see how she weakly washed the front of her body, now and then adding water.

You'd thrown her tangles over her shoulder so many times, and they'd come back as annoying as flies on a sweltering day. "Listen," you started as if in between. "Ya mind if I cut your hair a little?"

"Is it that bad?" she mumbled quietly.

It wasn't that bad. After a few rinses, a russet or brown color was even beginning to emerge behind the dirt, and judging by the length of her hair, she'd taken good care of it in her former life. However, there wasn't even a hairbrush in the place. "Nah," you shrugged mundanely, lathering and massaging the nape of her neck. "It's just more comfortable this way, don't ya think?"

Nora hasn't even given you an answer yet, and you've already tried on how much to cut. Shoulder blades? Shoulder length? Or maybe cut it all off? You doubted that you could do it like the heroines in the movies and video games - a couple of cuts and you'd have a professional model's haircut. "Lemme cut it somewhere at the level of your neck, 'kay?" you asked, not even noticing that she still hadn't agreed.

As soon as she nodded her head weakly, the dagger was in your hand. You squatted down, divided the hair into strands, and began to cut it off carefully, trying it on. The more you cut, the more Nora trembled, and she was no longer embarrassed to cry. All the tangles fell to the ground. Eventually, the dark sand will sweep them away, too.

The haircut was uneven, with hairs sticking out here and there, but you didn't dare touch them for fear of hurting Nora, for you couldn't stop her body from shuddering. You rested your head on her shoulder. "Don't cry like that," you said softly, parting her strands as gently as you could with your fingers. Nora pressed her face into her palms, making her sobs muffled and her tears invisible, only the pain seemed to remain unchanged. "It'll grow back."

To give her time to cry, you began to wash her hair. Gently, so as not to tangle it further, you massaged her scalp, rubbing in the foam from the laundry soap, and with each passing moment her body relaxed. She even yielded a little. Nora's wet body touching your clothes, her arms fell limp, her eyelids fluttering closed. Neither dark nor empty. Calm.

"..., hey," you gently shook her by the shoulders, and she immediately straightened her back. You picked up some relatively clean clothes and held them out to Nora. "We're done here. Come on, get dressed. Let's do some shenanigans."

She looked at you questioningly rather than suspiciously - but your head was already hidden behind the sheet and your fingers were tapping against the hut wall. Nora, wiping the water from her body and pulling on a stretch hoodie and wide pants, snuck under the sheet and stared in the same direction as you, trying to see what was wrong. "Pick one," your tone was preternaturally excitable, which made Nora frown. "That one over there," you nodded at the demon that stood on the roof of the far hut. "Or that one over there?" you pointed to another that stood nearby, seemingly cooing something to a young boy with blotchy cheeks sitting on the ground. There was something spread out on tattered sheets in front of him, and you could make out a few water bottles, a pair of old boots, and a flask.

Something seemed to boil above your ear. You turned around, and for good reason - Nora's gaze was on the second, and her face was contorted with anger. You smirked, but slightly covered it with your hand. Still, rage was much better and more productive than despair. "That one," the girl hissed, watching as the demon nearly buried its nose in the cheek of the boy who was trying unsuccessfully to distance himself from it. The demon was clearly whispering something, and anxiety and despair were becoming clearer and clearer on the boy's face.

"Okay," you agreed. "How about this. I'll distract him, and ya come up from behind and hit him right here," you poked between your collarbones.

"What?" blurted out Nora in a panicked whisper, staring at you with big eyes. "You out of your mind? How could I... How could you...," she gasped and shook her head. "I don't even have a weapon!"

You impatiently began to tap the toe of your shoes against the ground, keeping your eyes on the one Nora pointed at. "If that's all ya care about, then hurry up," the girl gasped quietly as a dagger appeared in your outstretched hand. "Take it."

Nora tentatively reached for the dagger, and the haze that enveloped it enveloped her fingers. She found no reason to recoil, for the smoke was surprisingly soft and warm, though it had no physical form. The dagger seemed to lure her as people lure anyone with sweet promises - the most earthy or impossible, it didn't matter. For as soon as Nora grasped the hilt, each of them felt realizable to her. "Oh yes," you clapped your hands together playfully. "If ya don't kill him, he'll kill me. That's it, I gotta go!"

You waddled toward the boy, clutching your side desperately. "What I have to do?" you heard a worried whisper in behind, but you just waved your hand. You strained your throat and started coughing - until your throat was clammy. No one even noticed.

When you reached the boy, you bent over with difficulty and clung harder to your side. "Water!" you begged in a hoarse voice. "Please ... I can't pay ya anything, but... just a sip, please!"

The black eyes made it unclear where the demon was looking, but you didn't need to - as soon as you'd uttered your pleas, you felt a strong grip on your hair. "I guess no one taught manners to backstreet scum," he whispered the words so close you could feel the slimy teeth on your cheek. "It's not nice to interrupt," his grip only tightened, and for a moment, you felt like a naughty dog being pulled by the leash again. "You have to apologize," the demon's whisper drifted into the steel that bound his voice. "On your knees."

The last words weren't even out loud - they were a precise, invisible trickle that flowed into your mind, making your knees go weak. You, in turn, began to resist, not his order, but your own stubbornness. It didn't work. You remained standing, though you wiped the willfulness from your face.

As you tried to catch a glimpse of Nora moving quietly albeit clumsily behind his back, you received a resounding slap. "Look at me," the demon commanded, and tugged at your hair for persuasion. "Rebellious, aren't you?" he asked wryly, but the dark eyes reflected wariness. "I was just trying to have a good time with this young man," he nodded toward the kid who was huddled harder with his back against the hut wall. "You ruined the whole atmosphere, though. Kinda... romantic. That's what you call it, isn't it?" for a moment his eyes became normal - neither dark nor horrible, but the eyes of someone whose body had been taken away. "You have to compensate."

Everyone around him seemed to freeze, afraid to take a single step to the side. Nora stood at the demon's back literally a couple of feet away, clutching a trembling dagger with both hands right in front of her; whether it was from the girl's excitement or the lingering anticipation of the blade itself. When would she strike?

It was so quiet that you could hear the ringing of silence - the demon probably felt it, too. As soon as he wanted to raise his head, you immediately clutched at his clothes. "I just wanted water! Have mercy! Please!" your sobs grew louder and louder.

"Let the girl go!" came an uncertain but loud exclamation behind you, drawing attention.

"She didn't do anything wrong!" shouted an unfamiliar woman from a nearby hut.

The hooting grew like a snowball of resentment and discontent. Those who didn't dare to shout glared angrily at the demon, and he could feel it, for you couldn't think of any other reason for the claws digging into your scalp. If Nora still didn't dare now, you'd have to take that opportunity away from her. "Thought we'd do this in private. Okay, that'll be a lesson to everyone," he hissed. "Get undressed."

The way you grabbed the edges of your shirt without thinking reminded you of why people left with demons without a lot of noise and desperate screams. Of course, they were restrained by fear or the grip of frozen horror, but that didn't happen silently; the reason lurked elsewhere - as soon as the demon said a single commanding word, any unprepared person became a puppet in the power of absolute obedience. Even the fact that not all of them possessed such an ability was no consolation.

Something in your throat made you cough, but it didn't take long for your throat to sore. You looked up to see the black tip of a dagger sticking out of the scattered ashes, and then, when the shroud of the dead man had dissipated, Nora's terrified face. "Geez," you sighed in relief, throwing back your head. "Finally! I thought that prick was gonna rip my hair out!"

"I'm sorry," Nora said with trembling lips. "I'm sorry, I'm...," tears sprang from her swollen eyes again, and you could even feel how hot they felt on her cheeks.

You stood up and put your arm around her shoulder. "It's okay," you assured her, pulling her closer to you, and Nora's nose burrowed into your collarbone.

"I can't believe it," she still sounded confused, every nervous twitch in her voice audible. "I can't believe it!" she threw her head up and stared at you with big eyes, and the corners of your lips crept upward because it wasn't from fright at all, but from excitement. "Holy shit! I really killed him!" Nora's smile, like the morning sun, dispelled the fog of endless tears.

The people around you didn't make a sound, but they weren't in a hurry to leave, either - you could see them watching you from the huts. "I'm not sure whether or not I'm glad ya're talking about it in that way," you clicked your tongue softly, and pulled the girl closer to you. Nora, on the other hand, dazedly sucked in air and looked at you guiltily as the dagger disappeared from her hands. "Don't worry," you waved it away. "Let's go get something to eat before someone else comes running."

Nora's palm instantly flew up to her mouth, and she stared at you in utter shock. "What if... what if one of them saw all of this? Or someone tells them?"

You chuckled relaxedly, feeling her shoulders tense. "We'll figure it out," you assured her, not mentioning that in a case like that, beholders and snitches would have to be made dead.

Beep-beep.

The wind didn't rush in through the open window or make the curtains rustle, but it was cold in the room nonetheless. An unknown movie playing quietly on the laptop threw lights on the walls - smooth and faded, then so sharp and bright that you had to squint your eyes. The chair you were sitting in added to the discomfort - it was the same as yesterday, but you felt like you were sitting on a lumpy rock.

Beep-beep.

The quiet noises from the side were so annoying that every time they made you fake hope that they were coming from the person in the bunk, but no. It was Rachel, sitting on the other side of the bed. She shook her leg restlessly and kept hitting the metal stem, and you thought you could hear her chewing on her nails.

Beep-beep.

"Stupid movie," Rachel mumbled, still holding her finger to her lips. Her gaze was fixed on the laptop, but the images reflected clearly in her eyes, making them look glassy.

"Uh-huh," you muttered absently to yourself, trying unsuccessfully to rub your aching legs.

"He's stupid, too," Rachel nodded at Kyle, and this time it wasn't a mumble; the words were clearer, angrier. "And weak," you glanced at Kyle who was still unconscious, but his peacefully heaving chest and the heart monitor's steady heartbeat made it look like he was sound asleep. "I went right back to work after giving birth, and this asshole can't even get through isolation for the fifth time."

Beep-beep.

"In the seventh," you corrected.

"Who the fuck cares?" hissed Rachel angrily, and you begged, albeit reluctantly and disbelievingly, that her hissing wouldn't turn into screaming. "If he really cared about us, he'd forget about this whole thing! Why do we have to sit by this fucking bed every time," she kicked the metal bedpost with force. "And wonder if he'll make it this time?"

"No one's forcing ya to sit here," you shrugged, and though you kept your eyes on the laptop screen, you still caught a glimpse of Rachel standing up, her silhouette looming dangerously over the bed.

"Don't ya think ya should watch your mouth sometimes?" her voice grew threateningly closer.

You rolled your eyes involuntarily. "Ya know, Kyle may be weaker, but ya the one who's gonna take a fucking dirt nap first," you grumbled, reluctantly parting your lips, but it was in vain - you'd already fallen for the provocation.

"What did ya just say?" she snapped back.

Beep-beep.

You jumped to your feet and mirrored her pose, resting your hands on the bed - you were breathing in each other's faces right over your brother's body.

"I said," you started to say loud and clear. "Kyle may be weaker, but because of your shitty temper, ya'll die first," each word you said was louder than the last.

"Ya little bitch!" roared Rachel and grabbed your throat with her sharp nails, but there was no time to do anything - you were pushed against each other.

"Ouch," you whimpered quietly, rubbing your forehead and settling back into your seat.

"Both of ya!" a disgruntled husky voice yelled back at you. "What if I hadn't woken up?" Kyle tiredly plopped back onto the pillow. "Would ya have fought right on top of me?"

"It's good to see ya awake," Rachel didn't hug him, didn't even look at him - just muttered wryly. "Maybe ya can set that brat straight," she pointed her finger in your direction, and even though Rachel was already in the doorway, you felt like she was poking you in the eye.

Rachel slammed the door shut with such force that you immediately looked at the hinges to make sure they were still in place.

Kyle exhaled and then sat up, giving you a warm look. "So, what's going on again?" he asked softly, giving you a gentle tap on the forehead. You pursed your lips and absent-mindedly threw up your hands - if you only knew. "Okay," he grinned, trying to get comfortable. "She'll be cool down by tomorrow."

"I...uh, I don't think so," you gulped, watching the sheets move due to Kyle's fidgeting.

"What ya talking about?" he raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Ya know her, she'll be back with snacks in maybe a couple hours, and she'll probably start nagging us about Rob putting the cotton swabs on the wrong shelf again."

Your limbs were unpleasantly numb - you couldn't move a finger. And before your voice went numb, you decided to ask the question that had put you in this state. "Kyle," you began cautiously. "What's the last thing ya remember? Ya know... Before I put ya into isolation."

He opened his mouth, but immediately shook his head thoughtfully, and closed it back. "Honestly... Hmm," Kyle tried to survey his surroundings and even himself in it - he examined his hands, his feet, everything his eyes could see without a mirror. "I think I taught ya this morning what cycle to wash your white sneakers on," that didn't tell you anything - you asked him that every time you started a load of laundry. "Also... I think Rob and I were supposed to take the kids to an amusement park tonight? Disney Sea or whatever..."

You were afraid your voice would go numb, but your heart did it instead, skipping a beat or two. You and your isolation ate up about a year of your brother's memories this time. It remains to be seen just how huge a piece of pie you ate this time. "Kyle...," you exhaled convulsively, smearing the remnants of courage in your voice. "I think we went a little overboard this time. It's been a while."

"Well, the last time didn't pass without problems too, right?" he tried to cheer you up, but he didn't seem to have the right words. You reached out and took his hand, the one with the shimmering silver bracelet on it, and began to rub it slowly and methodically. "Y/N," he grinned nervously, watching you play with the bracelet you'd grown tired of. "What is it?"

"Rob...," you accidentally bit your tongue in frustration. "Rob's dead."

God knows you didn't want to look up, but your eyes did it themselves. It was the same picture as before - Kyle's pale, gaunt face. It was like he'd lost a quarter of his weight in a second.

Who had it harder? The person who felt like everyone had already been through it or the person who was put through it a second time?

"What about...," his glittering eyes darted from side to side. "What about Rachel? What about her and Rob's baby? Did something happen to them?" he was already starting to fidget to get out of bed, but you stopped him, pressing him back against the bunk with your hand.

"Mike- uh, the baby's fine," you held your hand on Kyle's chest, trying to make sure he stayed in that position. "She's had the baby for two months now. It's a healthy baby boy. So...," you purposely stammered, trying to contain the rest of the memories within you, leaving them unspoken. "Yeah, it's fine."

The answer was immediate. "Got it," Kyle said soberly, but turning to you again, his voice was went softer. "I'll take a little break, recover, and we'll try again."

"Hmm?" you raised your head dumbfounded. "Again?" seeing that Kyle nodded, you started to shake your head. "Look, enough already. That was your seventh try, and ya only getting worse each time. It's probably time to... well, dunno. Get over it. Your body's conductivity isn't increasing, and ya still can't go into the void. Let's just leave it, 'kay?"

"Seventh, then... Wow," he chuckled, but he didn't see the shadow of a smile on your face. "Look, if Rob's gone, does that mean there are fewer voidrunners, too?" he quipped, and you clutched at his bracelet so tightly that it nearly broke. "No arguments. I'm not Rachel, and I'm not gonna yell or prove anything. Ya should know your place. After all... In our position, it's your job to lead anyone through isolation who's expressed a desire."

He was right, but what about your desires? Was it really so selfish to want to protect at least the people you love from danger?

You quit fiddling with the bracelet and carefully climbed onto the bunk and snuggled under the blanket. "Hey," Kyle chuckled softly, peeking under the blanket and meeting you face full of childish annoyance. "Come on out of there," and with that, he stretched out his hand on the pillow.

You shook your head stubbornly, which made him smile even more. "I'm sorry. I was really rude when I said that. If ya come on out of there, I won't do it again," Kyle said, and before he knew it, your head was on his forearm.

"Sometimes I do wanna be selfish," you muttered quietly through pouty lips. You could feel his calloused fingers stroking your arm as if trying to push the bitterness away.

"I know," Kyle kissed the top of your head. "Ya just wanna protect us, but... Y/N, we're all adults, and we make our own choices. You've warned us a hundred times about the consequences, so if something happens to us, it won't be your fault - we signed up for it ourselves."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" you raised your head and glared at your brother - your wrinkled nose made him chuckle, but apparently he was trying to restrain himself - all that came out was a squeezed sound through his nose. "Let's talk about something else," you muttered.

"Okay. What's more news?" he asked serenely, stroking your hair - the touch was so light, it was like Kyle was barely touching it.

"Well...," you drawled thoughtfully. "I used to think that I just didn't understand something or that it was just the dioreacts hiding so well, but I guess not. They don't have consciousness. Or maybe I'm just missing something after all. Dunno," hearing a dubious hum, you added. "I can't sense their consciousness in isolation."

"Otherwise it would be too easy for us...," Kyle snorted annoyed. "Will there be any good news?" he asked, spitting and puffing on your hair, which he'd, electrified himself.

You peered slyly out from behind the hut's wall, watching Bjorn. The poor thing, unsuspecting of your return from the sortie, was sitting on the floor, counting his cigarettes, humming to himself in his overgrown beard. You quietly stepped inside, and involuntarily began to giggle. "Bjorn," you addressed to the man, smiling ridiculously, but only got an annoyed wave back. "Bjo-o-orn," you drawled mischievously, and the sound of clanking made him raise his head sharply.

You appeared before his eyes, holding a pair of shears - his fear. You deliberately made a couple or three more cutting motions, and Bjorn jumped up like a stung man. "Don't you dare!" he hissed, and saliva seemed to fly through the hole where the tooth should have been. The man as if in a fight between two predators began to circle around you, never turning his back on you - all to get closer to the exit. Keeping your eyes on him, you clanked your scissors threateningly again, cutting the air "I'll rip your arms off, witch," he growled, backing away.

You were in no hurry to catch up with him, but only wished he were in the opening. As soon as he was there, his back was against something huge. "Oter, seize him!" you shouted, and Oter, on command grabbed the man under the armpits, lifting him into the air, and only then did you begin to approach the writhing Bjorn - if it had not been for his weight you might have said that he looked one and all like a frightened ferret.

"Conspiracy!" Bjorn yelled, but there was no escape from Oter's grip - his arms were so strong that Bjorn felt as if he were being squeezed by a golem. "They wanna kill me!" his voice had already reached its highest possible pitch when you were close to him and ran your hand through his beard.

"Stop squeaking," you tried to concentrate so you wouldn't cut off anything else including Bjorn's skin, but he was preventing it by shaking his head and body relentlessly in all directions. You glanced meaningfully at Oter who was as bald as a baby after the similar manipulations you'd done, and just as satisfied. Oter squeezed Bjorn harder, so hard that all the air went out of him.

"What's going on here?" came a panicked and panting voice from behind Oter's back, and he immediately let go or you could say dropped Bjorn to the floor. You immediately put the shears behind your back and skulked to the drawers, pretending to look for something.

"Those two...," Bjorn mumbled, trying to cough and crawling back into a corner. "Those two wanted to kill me!"

"That's not true!" you frowned immediately. "We just wanted to give ya a haircut!"

"Liar!" roared Bjorn, still clinging to his precious beard.

"Jonah!" you whined, stomping your foot. "Tell him!"

Jonah was still standing in the doorway, leaning his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "You guys completely crazy? I thought someone was getting killed in here..."

"Right in front of you is the victim of a crime," Bjorn didn't relent.

"Shut up," Jonah muttered irritably, taking his backpack off his shoulders. "You really need a haircut. It's taking too much soap."

"It's natural thermoregulation!" he objected indignantly, spreading his arms apart.

You pouted and picked at the floor with your toe as deliberately as if you were convinced something precious was lurking there. "Lice's breeding ground," you muttered to yourself. "Where have ya been?" you asked Jonah, coming closer to the shelves.

"At the huckster's," Jonah replied, pulling bottles from his backpack. "With all your hygiene, there's no water to spare."

"Well...," you drawled meaningfully. "Just because we live in the middle of a dump doesn't mean we have to smell like one."

"Your moral compass is costing me too much," the man muttered, though he was glad he smelled like laundry soap instead of decaying flesh for the first time in a long time.

"Sorry," you said guiltily. "I'll make it up to ya. I was going back anyway."

"You know, I was sure you weren't a robot just because I saw your blood," Jonah grinned nervously. "Now I'm not sure of anything anymore. Why don't you get some rest, just for a little while?"

"I'll rest after this sortie," you sighed, and noticing how skeptical Jonah was staring at you, you added, putting your hand over your heart. "Promise."

"Relocate."

"Yeah, sure, why should we say goodbye..." sighed Jonah unhappily as he continued to arrange what he had bought into the crates.

***

When you first came into this room, you couldn't even take a step. All those piled towers of stuff covered with sheets stood so close together that you couldn't even squeeze between them - any movement you made would cause them to sway threateningly. Therefore, sortie after sortie, you cleared these debris, starting at the entrance.

The room looked different now, and though much of it was still unexplored and shrouded, it was now organized and everything you could get your hands on was boxed up for its intended purpose. You had boxes of bath supplies, expired medicines, clothes; you even had a little box where you put jewelry - as you searched you found everything from cheap costume jewelry to expensive one. 'Ya don't need it anymore, and I still have a dozen hungry mouths to feed,' you thought each time you put another ring in the makeshift jewelry box. There was even a box where you naively hoped to put the chargers, and every time you put a new one in there or just looked in it, you literally saw the evolution. They were all motley, some of them, judging by the connectors, were from the twentieth century. Only one of them fit your phone, and all it did was make you want to tear it up because you didn't even have a chance to check if it was working. There was no electricity.

Kicking the box of wires away, you threw the sheet off another pile of stuff and sat down to start sorting it all out. The monotonous work was soothing and even enjoyable as if you were getting into a routine, and it felt like you were closer to home.

You arranged the things you took out around you, mentally categorizing them. On the right - leisure, toys and surviving books, on the left - everything that could be thrown into the furnace (like old notebooks and other waste paper, and everything that was somehow made of wood), behind - jars, plates, bowls, knives, forks and spoons. Long story short, everything that would help you not to turn into pigs.

Remembering Nora, you kept thinking you'd find a hairbrush, and if you were lucky, maybe this time you'd find a nice shampoo to replace the tired bar of soap. You excitedly pulled out item after item, and if you thought it didn't fit anywhere, you tossed it to the far corner. It was like that until your palms hit something big, hard, and cold.

You tried to pull the object out, but either it was too heavy or you had lost all your strength. You furrowed your brows, buried your hands deeper and strained, trying to pull something out, but it only came out jerky as if you were trying to pull a stubborn carrot out of a bed.

The more strength you exerted, the more the object wobbled and moved away from the place it was stuck to, and with one more clumsy tug, you fell on your back. On top of that, the heavy object you were so desperately clinging to crushed your chest.

Your eyes met a metal box with housings, various levers and bolts. "Why the fuck do I need a carburetor for?" your voice broke with frustration, and you sounded so resentful as if the universe itself had wronged you. Putting the carburetor aside, you stared into the hole you'd made. It was almost impossible to see anything, but the thief's eye caught a fleeting glint.

Humming to yourself, you knelt down and tried to fumble for whatever it was that glinted so strongly in the depths of things. When it was in your hand, you pulled it out. It was copper wire. "Holy shit," you exhaled quietly and immediately put your palm to your mouth, a high-pitched squeak coming out of you. You felt like a mischievous five-year-old who'd rummaged through Santa's sack while he was harnessing the reindeer.

There was a whistling in your ears with such force it was like drinking five cups of coffee with already high blood pressure.

"It's just that as one of their punishments. Demons make us eat a pack of salt."

You already had electrolyte. The very packet of salt that no one had ever touched was still on the shelf in the hut. All you had to do was find iron. At least aluminum.

You jumped to your feet and started sharply tossing the sheets off, and your movements were sharp but unsure - you didn't know where to start. Before you knew it, the room was in the same condition as it had been at the beginning, with piles of scattered garbage piled tightly together, leaving no space.

Nevertheless, there was nothing here. Not a single piece of tinfoil.

Positive thought is always selfish - it fills all of a person's thoughts, leaving no room for anything else. Negative thought is so welcoming that it invites its 'friends' for a stroll through the mind, causing the person to jump frantically from one bad thought to another. They intertwine with each other until they form a tight knot of despair.

"You mean he made a deal with ya a year ago?"

You knew the first thing you'd do if you got out of here. You'd check out each and every one of those snakes that were crawling above. Whether or not they die in the process was not your problem.

Trying to suppress the trembling in your knees, you sat down right in the middle of the mess. Your foot, living a separate life, was tapping a fidgety nervous rhythm against the floor.

A sickening lump started to rise in your throat. Just a few moments ago, it was as if you'd been given a delicious Belgian chocolate to sniff, and as soon as you reached out to break off a piece, it was snatched away with an ugly laugh.

Your foot came to an abrupt stop. The last thought that ended the chaos in your head was about the chocolate bars.

***

It was getting harder and harder to relocate precisely - your body was letting you know about the overload, and sometimes it was even physically impossible to take a breath. Every day it became more and more painful. Therefore, you accidentally moved far away from the huts and ran to yours as fast as possible, with an overflowing backpack shaking behind your shoulders.

Once you were in the doorway, you couldn't quite make out those present through the joyful veil - it was enough that they were just there. "Bjorn!" you exclaimed running over to the shelf and starting to open your backpack - a huge amount of chocolates, a charger cable, copper wire, and a wristwatch flew out. "Where are all the bottles?"

"What do you mean? I sold them," the man said in a tone as if he were stating the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ya did what?" you asked disbelievingly, and the look on your face was as he hadn't sold a bunch of plastic, but your relative.

"Well, excuse me!" Bjorn apologized sarcastically, bowing. "I wanna smoke, and you can't even conjure up a cigarette!"

"Fine," you hissed, tearing the wrapper off the chocolate bar with a jerk; though annoyance had just boiled up inside you, you immediately softened and almost jumped on the spot - there was foil inside. "Now we're all gonna go rummage through the garbage."

"Why should I?" muttered Bjorn.

"What are you up to?" asked Jonah quietly, leaning against the shelf that held the chocolates.

"Ya wanna get out of this place?" you turned to him in a conspiratorial whisper, but the people behind you heard and immediately perked up their ears.

"Is this some kinda bad joke?" grinned Jonah nervously and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're such a bullshitter!" bellowed Bjorn angrily, and seemed to toss something aside.

There was a satisfied mooing from the side, and you turned to see that Oter and Nora were sitting in the corner; the giant was teaching her how to handle a needle and thread. "I wanna," Nora whispered quietly, and Oter nodded vigorously. You glared at Nora, and grabbing your jackets from the forgotten nails in the wall, nodded your head toward the exit.

[April 29, 2020; 9:09 pm; Hopetown]

It is a truism that the spring air changes everything around people. Even the taste of tea on the tip of Frank's tongue felt different with the green grass, the buds in bloom, the flapping of migrating birds' wings. In spite of his imposing figure, he felt a lightness inside that only dimmed or disappeared when he thought of you, but he was careful to keep those thoughts out of his mind with the cares and chores of the household.

Frank had just finished examining the cattle, and had not forgotten to feed the smaller cattle as well - his legs were buzzing from such a seemingly small walk; the man scolded himself for this, for only a few years ago he might have undergone such exertions that people had doubts about his mortality.

As he sipped from his large mug, Frank looked out the window watching the children all the time. He'd never been able to catch the moment when he'd changed from the absentee father to the overprotective one, and no one could tell him which was the better of the two evils.

Noticing dusk approaching, Frank sighed, set his mug aside, and opened the window. "Mike! Tris! Get home now!" his voice was so booming that the mountain tops didn't shake thanks only to a miracle. It was only when two tiny silhouettes ran toward the hill that he calmed down and was about to close the sash, except that there was someone else on the horizon, and that someone else was also heading toward Frank's house.

Frank hastily replaced the sweat-soaked T-shirt with a clean one, for no matter what his guests' intentions were, they were to be greeted in a proper manner. He heard Tris and Mike rush in like a tornado, laughing as they swept through the girl's room.

Literally a minute later, there was a knock on the door.

Though Frank had seen the figures through the window and could mentally make out who it really was, still a surprised interjection escaped him. "Oh," said Frank dully, flapping his eyes. "What a surprise," the man shifted his gaze from Gojo to Danielle.

"Hey," greeted Gojo, waving his hand carelessly. The girl stood beside him, huddled and not lifting her gaze from the floor. "Dany said she can't stand to stay in that house, so...," he scratched the shaved back of his head thoughtfully. "I brought her to you. What are you standing there for?" he shoved Danielle lightly in the back, intent on bringing her out of her stone statue state. "Come on in."

Frank looked worriedly at the girl who was going up to the second floor. "Dany, what's the matter...," Frank muttered quietly, hesitating whether to follow her or not.

"I wanna be alone," she mumbled over her shoulder, after which she disappeared from sight.

"Uh," Gojo began, hiding his face in his high collar. "I hope you don't mind if Megumi shows up here too? He's on a mission right now, and when he gets back and won't see Danielle... He'll start making those nasty faces again."

"No problem," Frank shrugged cordially. "Why don't ya come in?"

"Nah, it's fine," Gojo fussily waved his hands in protest. "Gotta go."

Frank looked him over meaningfully, dressed in his black uniform, and what was still new was the blindfold over his eyes. "Work, huh?"

"Kinda," Gojo chirped into the fabric of his robes. He was already turning on his heels, waving at Frank one last time. "I'll bring souvenirs!"

"Ya really think I'm just gonna buy that?" shouted Frank after him. "That ya just took off work to bring Danielle here? Kyle, Rachel, or even Doc could have done it," Frank watched with a kind of amusement as Gojo froze in place. "Since ya're here, come in. Have some tea at least after your journey."

Gojo walked into the house to an elderly snicker - it gave him goosebumps. Of course, he suspected there would be only two possibilities: he would either be stopped or not, and both felt equally fatal to him. "Sit down," Frank nudged Gojo toward the couch with a heavy hand, and handed him a mug.

Gojo took a small sip and grimaced, setting the cup down on the coffee table. There was no sugar in the tea. "Look at ya, picky," Frank chimed in, taking a seat beside Gojo. "Sugar's over there," he pointed to a beige sugar bowl on the kitchen counter. "Help yourself."

"So welcoming," Gojo sarcastically remarked, clapping his hands and standing up from the couch.

Frank watched as the man walked over to the kitchen counter and began to rummage around. "Well, tell me about it."

There was a reason Gojo had volunteered to accompany Danielle - Rachel wasn't home, and no one was bothering him with questions. But Kyle's hard and intrusive stare was hard to bear, and Gojo had the good sense to keep quiet or it would have ended in a little scuffle - in his mind, a fight that would have left the house a stone unturned. "I don't know how to say this."

"As it is," Frank said, and Gojo really didn't want to go back there - to the couch where your protective father sat. He continued to pour sugar into the mug in silence with only the occasional tapping sound.

Gojo didn't know if he was being mature or immature. Would it be honest to tell Frank or was he just going to turn the whole thing on Frank's head, absolving himself of all responsibility?

His words were always ahead of his thoughts, and Gojo didn't consider that a disadvantage or an advantage - maybe it was always just for the best, so why now did he feel like his tongue had caught in his throat?

So as not to arouse more suspicion and doubt, Gojo returned to the coffee table and seated beside Frank, but dared not look at him even through the piece of cloth over his eyes. He stared at his hands, but could see neither the mug they held, nor the coffee table, nor the rug beneath it. "Uh, here's the thing," Gojo chuckled nervously. "I kinda hovered around your daughter for a reason. At first," on the last word, he accentuated his index finger upward. "I... Well, how can I put this..."

Frank gently took the mug from his hands and set it on the table. "Son, look at me," Frank asked in a soft baritone.

As soon as Gojo raised his head through his inner protests, he immediately felt a sharp pain between his eyes followed by an aching sensation in the bridge of his nose. His hand instantly flew to the sore spot, and he watched Frank involuntarily, fearing another punch.

Frank calmly walked over to the fridge, rummaged around in the freezer, and nonchalantly as if nothing had just happened walked over to Gojo and held a bag of frozen vegetables to his nose. "Put your head back."

"Well," Gojo muttered into his nose, cradling the bag with one hand and wiping the blood off his upper lip with the other. "I'd say it was deserved, but I didn't even finish the sentence."

"Ya didn't have to," Frank muttered angrily, helping to wipe away the blood with absorbent cotton. "Now ya'd better say something in your own defense so I don't make ya fertilizer in my garden," Gojo wasn't afraid, but he activated infinity just in case, and Frank's arm was immediately thrown aside. In fact, the size of the pain he had just experienced was nothing compared to the size of the weight that had just fallen from his soul. "If ya think a trick like that is gonna stop me-"

"They promised to bring someone back to me," Gojo said absently, tossing the bag of vegetables back on the table, and then stuffed the absorbent cotton deeper into his nostrils. Noticing Frank's look, he added: "Your higher-ups."

"That's how it is," sighed Frank dejectedly. "Well, that's all right. I almost fell for a trick like that once myself."

"So it was a ruse after all," there was no sadness or despair in Gojo's voice - only complete understanding with humility read between the lines.

"Dunno. I never agreed to it in the end," Frank said, stroking the watch on his hand gently, which didn't go unnoticed. "Maybe it was a bluff. I haven't met anyone with resurrection powers yet."

"You don't know all the abilities of your world?" blurted out Gojo his question suspiciously, yet indignantly.

"What about ya?" Frank began, squinting his eyes more and more and moving toward him. "Like ya know all these damn techniques yourself?"

"Cursed," Gojo corrected Frank. As a reminder to keep his mouth shut, the pain in the bridge of his nose recoiled with a new throbbing.

"I said what I said, don't ya correct me," muttered Frank, and immediately pulled away.

"Well, actually you're right," Gojo said meekly and with a barely perceptible shrug. "I don't. What, then... Uh. Why did you refuse?"

"Because the dead must stay dead," Frank retorted sharply, but when he heard such a boorish tone come from his lips, he softened at once. "Who knows what that might do?"

The image of Kenjaku still smiling at him immediately popped into Gojo's mind. Wasn't it a resurrection? Perhaps Frank was right, and the realization had come to Gojo a long time ago, but it formulated and took a clear image only now, when it came out of someone else's mouth.

Frank quietly but unexpectedly broke the silence. "How's your nose? Lemme see."

"It's fine," Gojo waved it away and pulled out the bloody absorbent cotton and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, making sure it wasn't wobbling. "It's all healed now."

"Not bad," hummed Frank approvingly

Gojo's face had a smug expression on it like a click. The only thing that remained unchanged was that he was still watching Frank's fingers run over the wristwatch strap. "So, uh... your wife, huh?"

"Son, ya either have a spare nose or a sense of tact," Frank noisily blew the air out of his nostrils, but the years of accumulated and unreleased grief immediately made itself known. His shoulders slumped and slouched, the mug in his hands shook, and who knows whether it was safer in his fingers with white knuckles or on the floor. "Yeah, wife."

Gojo had already put his foot on his leg in his customary manner, leaning back against the back of the sofa. He felt too strange. Like home. "And the watch? Her present?"

"It was Shaya who asked me to marry her."

It was amusing to watch such a big man blush and see it all over his face - down to his ears, but that wasn't what made Gojo laugh out loud. "Look at you, you big, shy man. I wonder what kinda woman she was," he said wiping away a tear with his finger.

"Hmm," Frank drawled slyly. "Actually, I was thinking of showing ya Y/N's childhood pictures, but since ya're acting like that," he watched out of the corner of his eye as Gojo stretched out of his previous position in a second. "And she's in there without a mask, eh..."

"I'll behave!" blurted out Gojo almost in the man's face.

"Oh, no-no, that's not the point," began Frank pathetically, rising up and rubbing his lower back. "I haven't got the carrot weeded yet, and with my back it takes a long time, ya know... Well, some other time-"

Gojo squirmed in place with even more vigor. "I'll do anything!"

"All right," Frank sighed, maintaining a distressed look with all his might. "Come on then, get the box from the top shelf," the man barely had time to point to the closet before Gojo was immediately beside it. "The black one."

It wasn't hard to find - the box stood out against the background of old hats, mittens and scarves. But on his way back, Gojo overexcited and bumped the chair leg, and the entire contents of the box fell right into Frank's feet.

Trying to calm him with a look, Frank began to pick up things from the floor; there weren't many of them, just a small scrapbook, three braided bracelets, and…

"Where's the watch?" murmured Frank anxiously, looking around at the few items put back in the box. "Where's the..."

Gojo, who until then had been standing nearby with a guilty look, noticed a velvet box rolled under the table. "You mean this?" he asked, picking it up from the floor.

"Thank goodness!" blurted out Frank in relief taking the box, and after opening it and making sure the watch was in place, he put it away with everything else. "Sit down," he clapped the seat beside him, and as soon as Gojo sat down, Frank immediately froze, staring at him. "Get your rag off."

"What?" asked Gojo, confused by the swap of Frank's behavior.

"I said take your rag off your eyes," Frank hissed, and that voice, similar in sharpness to the end of an obsidian arrow, made Gojo's spine tingle.

He took off his blindfold, and as soon as Frank saw the blue eyes, he immediately assumed his usual good-natured look. "What," chuckled Gojo nervously. "You really thought I was one of those?"

"Well, why?" shrugged Frank. "Ya come sniffing around here..."

"I just wanted to see a picture!"

"I know," Frank said, opening the album. "What should I show ya..."

"Can't we look at everything?" whined Gojo boyishly, trying to peer into the album Frank had opened.

Frank immediately blocked the view with the lid of the box. "The deal was for one picture!" he reminded, and Gojo immediately flopped down resentfully and sank into the back of the couch, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, ya can't actually see her here," Frank muttered, looking at the fishing picture - all he could see was the back of your head and the rod. "Here either," Frank looked at your back and the soldering iron in your hand - he'd taught you how to solder that day, having previously broken every silver chain in the house. "And here she's too far away," he said, turning the page and facing you who was hanging by one arm from some rock, looking at the camera and waving with your free hand. "And this one's not for ya to see yet," he quickly turned the page as there you were - swimming in the bathtub surrounded by ducklings. "And this one's okay... She's barely into puberty here, so she's a little different, though..."

"Stop teasing me!" exclaimed Gojo, trying to pull the lid off the box, but Frank clutched it tightly.

"Well, ya ready?" Frank asked suddenly, taking his eyes off the album, and Gojo's breath caught in his throat - he wasn't ready. He realized it only now - would he really see your face? He wanted to ask Frank to pinch him, but his tongue refused to move. Gojo nodded silently and briefly, and Frank raised his eyebrows in surprise, but held out the photo.

Gojo tried his best to defocus his vision and not look at the photo. He squeezed his eyes shut as hard as he could, holding it in his hands in front of him. It was so stupid of him to let you get any closer, even though you weren't even here. But he didn't blame himself for wanting to cross all your possible personal boundaries - you were already a part of his life, regardless of your presence.

Maybe he should have delayed this moment and waited for you to remove the mask yourself.

Maybe you were right when you said he was quite altruistic exactly as long as it didn't involve his selfish desires.

Maybe he wasn't ready. But he'd already started.

Gojo opened his eyes. All the precious things he had touched - whether it was the black rope, the inverted heaven spear, or the candy were immediately destroyed, but what he was holding in his hands now was priceless to him.

It was you. You were wearing a yellow raincoat against an overcast, dark gray sky. Your wet strands falling from under the hood over your shoulders, and you were looking away, laughing. Your lips spread in a wide smile that bared your teeth, nose wrinkled, eyes half-open. Your features were soft - not childish, but you couldn't be called an adult. He could see someone's tanned hand reaching out to you in the shot, which was probably Rachel's. What did she do to make you laugh so hard? What did she say?

It seemed to Gojo - no, he was sure - that he had never held anything so carefully in his life. Where would he put this picture now? In a frame? In a purse? In his chest pocket, perhaps? "Random shot," Frank's satisfied voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "We were supposed to go to the river, and the forecast said it was only gonna be a drizzle, but I got called into work. When I got back, it was pouring... My kids were coming back from the river, and I had time to take a couple of pictures. Rachel came down with pneumonia..."

"Do you think she'll come back?" asked Gojo quietly, stroking your cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"I dunno how to answer that question, son," Frank echoed his muffled tone. "But I do know that she's been missing for a lot longer than that."

"What was the maximum?"

Frank started counting something on his fingers. "Hmm... A little over three years."

"What?" spat out Gojo indignantly, but immediately relented feeling that he had crumpled the picture a little. "I'm not getting any younger here, actually," he muttered to himself, looking directly at the image as if addressing you.

"Why should ya care?" resented Frank with his arms at his sides. "Ya're in your fourth decade, and ya look like a kid in his twenties!"

"You could use a drop of cream, too," he said, smiling cheekily. "When is your birthday, by the way?"

"Brat," groaned Frank menacingly, shifting his gaze from him to the photo.

Frank's gaze, as if reading his intentions, caused Gojo to clutch the picture to his chest and begin to slowly pull away. "You know what else I've noticed?" he was well aware of the danger of this, but the excitement could not be taken away. "You care so much about your wife's things, about her wedding present and her watch, but where is your wedding ring? Did you take it off? Or maybe you found someone?" Frank tried to grab him by the shirtfront, but his hands stopped a couple inches away. "He-he."

The joy was gone at once. The man was suddenly so depressed that it was clear that it was hardly because he had failed to set Gojo straight again. "What a fool ya are," Frank mumbled, resting his elbows on his knees. The disheveled gray hair that had come loose from his ponytail covered his face. "The watch is that ring."

"What?" asked Gojo confusedly and almost helplessly, shifting his gaze to Frank's wristwatch.

"That's how it is with hunters," Frank began, carefully adjusting the velvet box that rested in the black box. "I have no idea why. Probably because time is the most precious thing we have after all. And since they opened the entrance to the void, it has sacred significance for me personally, even though I've never been there. Dunno about the rest," Frank didn't sniffle, but Gojo noticed the man wiping something off his face with his sleeve. "It wasn't even a new watch that was valued, but one that the owner had worn for a long time before. Here, they say, 'I'll always wait for ya at home'."

"It's just a watch. If it bothers you that much, you can just return it later."

Gojo took the same pose as the man, while turning your picture. He was embarrassed to even look into your painted eyes. "Okay, I went a little overboard. I'm sorry," the apology may have come out through force, but it sounded sincere. "Would you mind... You know. Slap me on the back?"

"Son, ya all right?" asked Frank worriedly, looking at Gojo's slumped figure.

"What if I told you I just need support?"

"Why didn't ya say it sooner!" exclaimed Frank, and slapped him on the back with such force that Gojo nearly hit his forehead on his knee.

"Much better," he said, straightening up. There was a crunch in his vertebrae. "And, uh... Can I keep the picture?"

"Well," Frank drawled meaningfully. "I've still got some unfertilized roses standing out there..."

Gojo grinned while carefully tucking your picture into an inside pocket. "Got it."

There really was a lot of trash here. The only downside was that it was all piled up, guarded by those who had the nerve to keep the others away. "You brought water, what do you want with those bottles?" grumbled Bjorn, stepping behind you.

"We need the empty ones," you pointed out, eyeing a bigger pile of trash. "We only have four, and we'd need... Dunno, fifteen, I guess?"

Nora trotted along beside you, and you had to speed up because Oter was already kicking up your heels in his usual gait. When you stopped at one of the huts and looked through the fence netting, you noticed only two people who were looking through the local 'treasures'. They were so engrossed that they didn't even notice the five persons walking up to them. "Excuse me," you politely called attention to yourself, and the person who was sitting with their back to you flinched and turned around. It was a woman. She looked like everyone else - dirty and putrid. Her eyes widened with fright as she faced you, who smiled welcomingly, Nora, who drew your dagger in her direction with shaky hands, Bjorn, who stroked his stick of nails affectionately, Jonah, who tried his best to give himself a menacing look and glared at the woman, and, as the icing on the cake, Oter, who hovered over your backs. "Really need your dumpster. Just bottles, we won't take the extra," you stated cheerfully, noticing how she was backing away. The other man was nowhere to be seen.

"Get out of here," growled Bjorn, and spat thick saliva on the sand. "Or else I'll shove this stick in-"

"I think she gets it," you said through gritted teeth, shoving Bjorn's shoulder and continuing to smile. "No, honestly," you turned to the woman again, throwing up your hands. "Give us fifteen minutes," she nodded or shuddered in response, but began to move further and further away from you without turning her back. When the woman rounded the corner of the hut, she sat down and began to watch you, apparently not really thinking much about stealth. "Well, come on. Let's get to work," with that said, you started digging through the trash.

"Nah, you deal with it yourself," Bjorn muttered lazily, taking a seat and leaning against the hut wall. "I didn't sign up for this at all."

Nora glanced at him in disgust. "You sure you're a man?"

"Why?" he grinned, licking his lips greasily. "Want to check it out?"

"Hold your horses," you warned him, tossing either a rotted banana skin or a piece of flesh in his direction. "She's got a dagger in her hand now, and I might go blind for a couple minutes," you glimpsed Nora, but the muscles in her face seemed to be relaxed. "And ya can do whatever ya want," you added quietly, and she chuckled weakly.

Bjorn snorted irritably. "Women have never understood humor," you let that phrase pass your ears, but you were still worried about Nora, but she just kept digging through the junk.

"Here's the first one," Nora chirped contentedly, holding out the bottle to you, and you never seemed happier - it wasn't just a piece of slick plastic to you, it was a step forward.

***

You all sat in a circle as if to perform a ritual. You placed chocolates, salt and six bottles of water, a pile of empty bottles, a coil of copper wire, and the charger cable suitable for your phone on the floor. You sat across from all this wealth with your legs tucked under you and your clasped hands to your lips. Something kept you from starting. You tried to retain every slightest sense of that awe, and as you shifted your gaze from object to object, all you could think about was that you had never held such precious things in your hands before - no artifacts or jewelry could compare to them. "So... what's next?" Jonah's voice seemed unusually loud in this silence.

"We should unpack all the chocolates," you muttered, nodding your head involuntarily. "Get the foil out and distribute chocolates. The quicker - the better. And make sure it gets eaten as fast as possible, because if the demons notice, we'll be in a lot of trouble."

"Okay," Jonah said and started unwrapping the chocolates, placing the foil next to you. He glanced at you every now and then, wondering and worrying why you were just sitting there.

"What are we even doing?" turned Nora conspiratorially to you

"There's such a thing as the electrochemical activity series of metals," you muttered, scratching your chin.

"Your black magic again," Bjorn snickered huskily, taking a bite of half a chocolate bar at a time.

You lazily and grudgingly clucked your tongue, and your eyes rolled back. "I won't go into details. I'll just say that if you put two pieces of different metals in an electrolyte, you can always get electricity."

"Come on, Bjorn," laughed Jonah, seeing the man begin to boil over. "It's just physics," Jonah pressed his lips together guiltily seeing Bjorn jump up. He grabbed a couple more bars of unwrapped chocolate and flew out of the hut, muttering something to himself. "Uh... What's electricity gonna do for us? We seem to have light anyway."

You pulled your phone out of your pocket. "With electricity, I'll be able to charge this thing, and this thing will in turn show me my date and time," your insides clenched painfully as you wondered for a moment how much time might have passed. "And I'll be able to get out. And get ya out of here, too."

Oter gave a satisfied mumble, and it was clear from the way he waved his arms that he was getting attention. You looked at the way he poked at himself first, and then at the pile of stuff. "Grab the shears and start cutting the empty bottles exactly in the middle, 'kay? The edges aren't that important, they can be crooked too, so don't worry too much about it."

Oter nodded happily, and started doing what you had instructed him to do - he seemed so focused that he wanted to stick his tongue out, and only now did you notice that there was only half a tongue.

You and Nora began to cut the copper wire - exactly into such pieces that you could crumple a 'ball' out of a piece, and that one end of the piece of wire was sure to stick out.

Everyone did their things in silence and as carefully as possible as if a word or a sudden movement might break the magic that had entered the hut. There were fifteen bottles, so you had to measure by eye so that there were fifteen pieces of wire with the end sticking out. There was enough tinfoil already accumulated, that should have been enough too.

"Jonah, ya know...," you drawled, looking at the stack of chocolates. "I'll take one with me, though. As a souvenir," planning anything before it was even a possibility was presumptuous and usually a failure, but you couldn't deny yourself that.

He nodded briefly and noticed the look on your face - it wasn't focused or anticipatory at all, it was like you missed someone.

"Okay, good," you summarized, seeing everyone finishing up their business. "So now, we take the container," you slid half the bottle toward you. "And we cover the inside walls with foil. All the way around. Only beforehand, one end of the foil should be twisted into a bundle, and covered a container inside so that this bundle sticks out of the bottle," you carefully twisted one end of the foil into a bundle, covered the inside of the container with foil, trying not to tear the thin metal material, and put it on the floor in front of everyone. "Here, see? It's the same as the aluminum can, except this thing should be sticking out," you rubbed the flagellum with your finger.

"I don't know what's going on, but I like it," Nora squeaked excitedly, grabbing another container and foil.

The corners of your lips crept upward when you heard such Nora. "Now... Jonah, do we have any old rags left? Any old rags that we can spare. Even my uniform will do."

"Yeah, sure," Jonah said and taking a nail opened one of the floorboards, whereupon he took out your form.

You tore it into pieces, after which you wrapped pre-prepared bundles of copper wire in separate scraps of cloth and placed them in a container so that the tip of the copper wire would stick out of the bottle on the pair with a flagellum of foil.

"You seriously tore your uniform for this?" asked dumbfounded Jonah, putting emphasis on the last word.

"An insulator. It needs to keep the metals from touching each other or there won't be any current," you shrugged, correcting your creation. "Need electrolyte," you announced, picking up a packet of salt. You poured three big spoons of salt into each bottle of water and shaking everything well began pouring the solution into an aluminum foil-lined container. "Too bad there's no voltmeter...," you sighed, admiring your made battery. "In a thing like this, uh, I dunno… about half a volt? Anyway, the more we make batteries like this, the stronger the current will be."

"So what are we waiting for then?" blurted out Nora, hastily grabbing the next container and foil.

The room was filled with rustling and puffing. Jonah, as it happened, was doing everything very slowly, but you didn't blame him seeing how hard he was working and carefully covering the bottle with foil. Nora, on the contrary, was in such a hurry that she had torn several thin layers of aluminum, but you didn't make any remarks to her either, for you understood her zeal - you were burning with it too. Oter, as if afraid of breaking everything, only watched your actions mesmerized.

When it was done and you had fifteen identical batteries in front of you, Jonah slammed himself on his knees with particular enthusiasm. "So, what's next?"

"Let's connect," you suggested, and slid the three batteries toward you. "See, copper connects to aluminum," you explained, weaving the tip of the copper wire of the first container with the aluminum harness of the second. "And aluminum connects to copper," you wrapped the aluminum harness of the third container around the copper wire of the second. "No copper-to-copper or aluminum-to-aluminum, it won't work. We should end up with an open-circuit with the aluminum harness at the first container and the tip of the copper wire at the last."

It wasn't a difficult task, so why were your hands shaking so much?

When the open-circuit was finally complete, you cut the charger cable without thinking, plugged it into the phone and set it down in front of you. Oter and Jonah crawled over your back and peered out from behind your shoulder; Nora, however, watching such a picture, chuckled. "It's just a phone."

You carefully removed the outer and inner sheaths from the cable, and four wires showed -white, green, red, and black. "Okay... If this is done to standard, then red is plus, black is minus."

"And the white and green?" asked Nora, laying her head on your shoulder and watching.

"They're kinda for data transmission," you pondered, trying to remove the insulators from the two wires. "So they're not really needed right now."

When the conductive strands of the red wire were bare, you intertwined them with the copper wire sticking out of the last container. The black wire was not so easy - unlike the thin copper wire, the aluminum harness of the first container was too thick and not so bendable, so you had to hold it by hand.

The conductive strands of both wires were finally connected to the battery. Your hand was shaking, and the black wire's core kept popping off the aluminum, so you put your other hand around your wrist, telling it not to move. "What do we do next?" whispered Jonah, peering out from behind your shoulder.

"Pray," you replied in a cracked voice.

Everyone looked at the phone with a heartbeat, but with each passing second, the rapid heartbeat normalized, bringing with it a taste of disappointment. You could hear Nora sighing heavily, you could hear Oter crawling back to his corner, and you could see Jonah drumming his fingers disappointedly on the floorboards.

If you were a believing person - you'd recite a hundred prayers in a second, if you were a non-believing person - you'd pray for the first time, but your phone screen lit up.

And then it went out.

"Oh my God," your chest constricted with exultation, but you couldn't say the words, only incoherent babble. You bent down and rested your forehead on the floor. "It's working! This shit is working!" A passing person might think you were praying to a deity, but it was just a phone in front of you.

Maybe your compass did break when you got stuck here, but it always stayed on autopilot.

Nora shook you by the shoulders forcing you off the floor, and when you lifted your body with a loud gasp, she hugged you as hard as she could. You giggled involuntarily as she nuzzled her nose into your cheek. "Okay, guys," you barely audibly said from behind Nora's tight embrace. "There won't be anything else interesting anyway, so go get some rest."

"And you?" anxiously threw up her head Nora.

"And I'll stay to hold the wires," you said taking the core in your hands and bringing it back up to the aluminum.

The charging was very slow, and the screen of the phone went out from time to time - it seemed that the current in the battery was dropping at times. The hand that held the wire was getting stiff so was the rest of your body, so you tried not to move too much. You sat there with your legs tucked under you. This was accompanied by a wonderful musical accompaniment in the form of Oter who had been snoring for a long time.

Every time the phone screen lit up again, you caught a glimpse of Nora looking in your direction, and if the first time her eyes were wide open, the tenth time they were already clumped together and her eyelashes were twitching.

Jonah was awake. He couldn't sleep - he didn't understand what you were doing, but he knew in his gut the importance of what was happening. You said this thing would help you get out of here, but why is that look on your face now as it always was in those moments when you thought no one was looking at you? "Hey," Jonah quietly called out to you, taking a seat next to you. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure," you replied idly, keeping your eyes on your phone.

Jonah blanched, swallowing the confusion and shame. "What helped you not to give up?" the question sounded timid, almost inaudible. In fact, what helped you? You put it down to your temper or to the nature of the job, which didn't tolerate the weak-willed, or maybe because of the people you'd met here, or... "There's someone waiting for you out there?"

Why is it that the most common truths only come to people through other people's mouths? "I...," your voice broke as you realized for the first time what had been pushing you forward all this time. "I have no clue," you whispered quietly, pressing your chapped lips together. "But ya know what?" just as you'd been prepared for the inevitable failure of someone close to you to return one day, you'd also expected yourself to be lost one day and hoped that the others would take it the way you would - as a given and without much drama. "This is the first time I've really hoped so."

The first time he'd heard you speak like that, and trying to find words of encouragement or comfort, Jonah peered at you through the darkness of the hut. "Hey," he began warily. "What's wrong with your eyes-"

The door swung open with such force that it knocked all previous emotions experienced here recently out of the hut. "Hey, you fucking scientists," Bjorn said drunkenly, and seeing the bottle of cheap whiskey in his hand, you were already going over in your mind what he'd sold in exchange for alcohol this time. "They've brought in some newcomers, let's go see."

You glanced at your phone's screen - eighty-eight percent charge. "Newcomers?" you asked dumbly, frowning and tucking the gadget into your pocket.

There was no answer, but Bjorn walked back outside and flopped awkwardly on the porch. You and Jonah looked at each other. He shrugged embarrassedly and stood up, heading for the exit. You followed him.

When you were outside, you stepped outside the fence and rested your forearm on one of the flimsy fence posts, barely missing Bjorn's foot. Everyone had come out of the huts. A rumbling, tense whispering stung the back of your neck.

A column of people did appear at the beginning of the street. They were walking slowly and could be seen being pushed forward at times. The demon ahead of them was clearing the road of people lying motionless on it - with each careless sweep of his hand, their bodies flew into the fence with a loud clang, and some of them were left with only their internal organs which crumpled into the sand.

As the column neared you, your body tensed. Twenty-three people in all. What a strange thing -no different from the ones already here, except that they were clean, frightened but ruddy, all young - about the same age, with no visible defects, and their physiques were just right: neither fat nor dystrophic, and if you looked closely, you could even see that they had a toned bodies. "Holy shit," you blurted out with eyes widened with insight. These were the people for the merge.

Diomorphea is here.

You looked up sharply at the demon buildings, and then looked down at your bony hands, your lips curved in resentment. "Fuck!" you roared kicking a fence support, and it flew out of the sand. There was such bitterness in that action that if that beam had been human, it wouldn't have taken offense, but instead would have started to comfort you. "Why now?"

That story about the elephant being afraid of the mouse was nonsense. You needed to get home and show the place to the others as soon as possible, and then you were ready to give the doc all the rights to manipulate your body just to get you back in shape. Let him pump you up with whatever he wanted, let him use his powers to rebuild every structure until your bones started to crack. You hadn't even gotten out of here yet, and you wanted to get back in here sooner. "Are you okay?" asked Jonah seeing you rubbing your forehead with your fingers as if your head were splitting.

You grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the hut. "I gotta go. So listen carefully," Jonah was so taken aback by what was happening that he couldn't get a word in edgewise. "Every three days, one of our people will come here and live with ya. Each time we will bring medicine, food, water, we will heal people whenever possible. Ya will recognize the others. They will be in the same uniform as me. We'll live in your hut. The most important thing is that we will start taking out two or three people with us, and your task is to decide whom we take out. I suggest ya start with those who are very sick. Lure them into your hut any way ya can, but don't say anything to anyone," you said the last four words as firmly as possible. "I don't want people to start whispering. Do ya understand?"

"W-why it supposed to be me?" Jonah began to stammer.

You looked at him as if he were a fool. "Who am I supposed to trust with this? Oter, who doesn't speak? Nora, who's still reeling from the trauma? Or maybe a drunk prick who pisses himself?" you shook him by the shoulders. "Pull yourself together," until recently Jonah never dared think he could get out of here, and now he's being told he has to decide who gets to go back to the old, familiar, and beloved world first. He looked at you, but saw nothing through the wet veil that covered his eyes. "It's okay. It's fine," seeing the grown man break down, you tried to reassure him. "I'm worried too," you took his fallen hand and leaned it against the artery in your neck. "Do ya trust me?"

He nodded weakly and turned away, wiping his wet cheeks with his sleeves. "S-sorry. I just..."

"It's okay," you gently splayed your hands. Deciding to give him some privacy, you decided to finally work up the courage to turn on your phone.

You pressed the power button quickly, but when the logo appeared, you wanted to throw the gadget into the sand and bury it as deep as possible. What if you'd been here too long? As long as you didn't know the date and time - everything seemed possible and fixable. You could just keep looking and keep letting yourself hope and wish. What kind of fool would agree to break it all with his own hands?

The logo disappeared. The lock screen lights up.

08:31 PM

Friday, May 29, 2020

You pressed your lips together tightly, stopping a convulsive inhalation. People were probably hang out at a bar now, or shopping for food and goodies for the weekend; maybe someone was at an amusement park, or just watching their favorite show, sipping wine or soda pop.

What were the people you cared about doing? You bit the knuckle of your index finger, trying to suppress the squeak that came out. You could go out and see it for yourself. "Friday," you tossed over your shoulder, grinning.

It was as if Jonah had been pulled out of a long coma that resembled a dream mingled of joys and sorrows. "What?" he asked in confusion.

"It's Friday," you were already giggling stupidly, looking at the date.

Jonah stepped closer and stared at the screen with you - even an uneducated person could see what it said. "Nice stuff," he smiled, still sniffling.

You took out the wristwatch you'd stolen from that room, and staring intently at the phone's screen, began to adjust it twisting the crown. When the times finally matched, you turned and handed it to Jonah. "Take care of it," you said, gazing into his flushed nose and swollen face, but he did look happy now. "I gotta go," you said quietly, not looking away.

Jonah smirked sadly, taking the watch and slipping it on his arm. "Aren't you going to say goodbye to the others?"

"They're asleep," you said, hoping he'd believe your good intentions. In reality, you just didn't know how to say goodbye.

"Wait a second, you forgot something."

He came back, holding the backpack in his hands. When you looked inside, you saw a chocolate bar lying there alone. "Thank ya," you whispered quietly, trying to calm the blush creeping up your cheeks with your mind.

The air was knocked out of you as he pulled you against him in a bear grip. The hug was strong, but the surprise was stronger. You didn't feel like pushing him away, and disgust didn't burn your stomach, making nausea come up your throat. "Take care of yourself," he murmured into the top of your head, and loosening his grip a little rested his forehead against yours. "Run, girl."

Not daring to look the man in the eye, you nodded erratically and took a step back running your fingers along the line from your chin to your cheekbones. Jonah had already forgotten that you once wore that black thing on your face. "See ya," seeing him nod, you turned and rushed towards the nearest rift.

Even though you couldn't feel your legs, you kept running. As you got farther away from the settlement, the cold air, even without the wind, whipped harder and harder against your face. You could not get enough air in your lungs, but you would rather die than stop one-step away from the exit.

Sand between the toes of the naked feet, in the eyes and hair, in the mouth and even in your stomach. You ran through the void with nothing but guts and one chocolate bar on your shoulders in the backpack. You didn't even want to turn around and see if you were being chased.

The rift was getting closer and closer, your hand reached forward on its own, and as your fingers disappeared in a purple glow and your lungs filled with oxygen, you fell.

[May 29, 2020; 8:57 pm; Hopetown]

You were lying on the ground. It was the same place from which you had last entered the void, but now, barely conscious, you could feel that it was much warmer than it had been then. The forest didn't seem so scary anymore, the trees swayed serenely from side to side, lulling your already exhausted gut to sleep. Your hand tried to cling to the greening grass, but to no avail - as soon as you crossed the line, there was no strength left to pluck even a single blade of grass.

'Fine,' you thought resentfully, watching through half-closed eyelids as your fingers refused to move. The grass was soft like a bed, so you didn't mind lying there for a while longer.

You mumbled unhappily as your body suddenly began to levitate, an ability you'd never studied, so you had nothing to do with it. When your body flipped, you realized that you weren't just floating in the air - you were being held by someone's hands. A shade of gray hair glistened in the tired light of the nearly gone sun. "Hey, Frank," you greeted the man with a weak smile.

You felt like you were riding in a carriage over huge bumps. It was nauseating. "Hush," Frank held you tighter against his chest without slowing his stride. "Hush," he repeated, and only then did you hear his voice shake frantically.

"Frank," you mumbled rubbing the collar of his T-shirt. "Don't tell anyone I'm here yet. I really want a hot bath," the sound of your voice muffled against Frank's neck sounded weary and exhausted - the man couldn't stand that tune. "I want shampoo, I want conditioner, I want body wash, I want body scrub, I want moisturizer, I-

"I got it," it was no less than a God joke - Frank didn't cry even at his own wife's funeral, but when you started listing what hygiene supplies you wanted, tears themselves streamed down his face. "I'll get everything. Just be quiet already." You obediently fell silent, and a marvel swirled in your mind - indeed, nothing could destroy your desire for life.

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