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catboyshinsou · 3 years

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nightmares

pairing: shinsou x gn!reader

warnings: graphic descriptions of a nightmare, blood, death, panic attacks ?, kitty nickname, pro hero shinsou (sfw)

summary: you just moved in with shinsou but somehow nightmares have been plaguing you. one night you have the worst one yet

a/n: ty for 200 followers!! <33

Shinsou didn't sleep much. There was too much on his brain for him to waste precious time on sleep, there was too much to do, too much to think about. He knew it wasn't the healthiest thing to do but it's not like he deprived himself of sleep, his body just didn't let him and there wasn't much he could do about it. As an active Pro Hero there were just some sacrifices to be made for the job and if sleep loss was one of them then so be it.

You, on the other hand, managed to maintain a quite healthy sleeping schedule next to him. At least you tried to get continuous six hours of sleep every night, even if that still wasn't nearly enough for an average human being. But what could you do, there was a lot to do and not enough time to do it.

For some reason, Shinsou worried about you not sleeping enough. You chuckled when he brought it up to you at breakfast when you moved in with him.

“I don't think you're one to speak, Hitoshi.”

“Are you saying me not sleeping is something to not be worried about?”

You rolled your eyes and drank your tea. “I get enough sleep, don't worry about it okay?”

The dark circles under your eyes rivaled his, earning a frown from your boyfriend. He didn't like seeing you tired. He never has. Even though you were always tired, according to you, he could tell when your sleep quality was declining.

“Have you been having nightmares again?”

His purple eyes met yours as he swirled the coffee in his mug. Rain hit against the window and you heard the trees rustling in the wind.

Waking up in cold sweat, panting and almost crying before rushing to the bathroom to shock your system with cold water. It was a picture and feeling you knew too well. Nightmares and terrors did indeed haunt you like a little girl haunted a house. You've tried everything to ease them; medication, meditation, yoga, asmr, everything and still you had one at least once a week.

With the move into Shinsou’s apartment (because he was almost always working and wanted to see you more and his place was closer to your workplace anyway), it didn't really get better either even though his arms afterwards were always comforting. It felt more like symptomatic help not like you were finding a cause to make it stop though.

You took a deep breath. Was there a point in lying when he'd find out soon enough that you laid in bed almost scared to fall asleep when he was on night patrol because he wouldn't be there to calm you down if you did have one? Well, was it lying since you in theory didn’t currently have any nightmares?

“You know that no answer is an answer as well, kitty...” His low and soft voice crept up your neck as he put his arms around you. In the moments you were contemplating how much lying made sense, he'd finished his coffee and made his way to you for a lazy hug from behind.

He smelt nice, his slightly damp hair against your cheek as he rested his head on your shoulder. The purple tuffs tickled you as he got comfortable in the crook of your neck. You put his arms over his, on your tummy and took another breath.

“So you haven't been sleeping at all then?”

The only time you've been feeling comfortable and safe was when Hitoshi came home at 4 in the morning, slipped out his hero gear and got into bed with you. You, always pretending to be sleeping so he didn't worry, just waited for his whispered “goodnight kitty, i love you” as he put his arms around you for three or four more hours of sleep with you. Only then could you close your eyes and let yourself sink into your feared REM phase.

“You worry too much for me, 'Toshi…” With an exhausted sigh you leaned back, your head on his shoulder behind you. You traced circles on his forearm, feeling his goosebumps as you did.

“I'd be a crap hero if I cared for the general public but not for my love at home, wouldn't I?” He placed a kiss on your temple. “So?”

“I've been sleeping fine.”

“Y/n.” He stretched the last part of your name, his voice vibrating up your neck.

“You're free for the weekend right?”

Shinsou sighed at your attempt of changing subjects, not having enough energy to insist on you telling the truth. He hummed in response.

He had a two day break from hero work or at least from patrolling and going in. There was a ton of paperwork sitting on his desk for him, as well as 50 unread emails he had to get to. But he didn't complain. At least you were there to keep him company while you did your thing.

The two of you finished up breakfast and started into your day of free time which was actually just work in disguise.

Before you knew it, the day had passed and both of you laid in bed together, attempting to sleep. Well, you did. It was already well past midnight, everything around you quiet except for Shinsou who hummed a tune next to you and tapped on his keyboard.

He had his laptop on his lap, answering some more emails and scheduling their sending for 7am while making sure you knew he was there. You could feel his warmth under the blanket but the auditory reassurance helped.

You were on your tummy, facing away from you while hugging your pillow since your actual boyfriend wasn't up for cuddles right now. With closed eyes, you rolled over to face him.

“Hitoshi, go to sleep”, you said in a drowsy voice, half asleep yourself. “You can send the emails when you wake up…”

Shinsou just gave you a quick chuckle before kissing your head. “I'll be done in a minute, kitty. I just need a few more and then I’m all yours, I promise.”

His humming continued and he put his hand on your back, stroking it up and down until you were completely asleep. Your breaths got deeper and you moved around less, making your boyfriend smile.

It felt as if he had just gotten a toddler to sleep after watching a superhero movie, even if you had not been staying awake because you were restless but because you refused to go to bed if he wasn't in it. He had promised you that he would come to bed as soon as he could but both of you were stubborn. It was just a staring contest until Shinsou got up and carried his laptop to the bedroom with you pulling him at his hand.

Now, you laid next to him in peaceful manner, breathing, recharging.

"Toshi?”

You ran down the staircase, struggling with the heavy doors that separated each floor.

“Hitoshi?”

It never seemed to end, doors after doors after doors after doors. It was just doors going on. Heavy metal doors, painted white with cheap paint. It still smelled like paint in some of the staircases.

Your hands started slipping off the handles, sweat covering them like a thick layer of honey. You could hear a faint voice behind this even heavier door, needing your whole strength to open it up.

The clear sweat on your hands started staining the handle red. You pulled them back and stared at the blood covering your palms before looking back up and seeing Shinsou bloodied up in front of you.

He was panting, his face swollen and bruised and his hands tied behind his back. On his knees, he fell towards you with his capture weapon now a bright red instead of the usual dirty white.

“OH MY GOD, HITOSHI?”

You pushed him back to find the source of the flood, opening his hero suit and trying to untie his hands before he spat out blood all over you.

“You'll be fine okay? Everything is gonna be okay, you just need to stay awake and I'll find where you're bleeding from and it's gonna be fine, you can't leave me okay?”

A waterfall of words left you as you laid him on his back and examined his body. He just laughed and stared at the ceiling, his usually bright purple eyes now dull and almost grey.

You located his wound at his tummy right above the belly button, splurging out blood with his heavy breath. There was a faint whistle whenever he exhaled, you examined his chest and could feel a clearly broken rib.

Oh god, you weren't any type of medical care practitioner, what were you supposed to do?? Think, think, think…

“Kitty…” Shinsou put his cold hand on your tear stained cheeks.

“Shhh, don't talk okay??? I just need a second to figure things out, you'll be fine just- just stay awake okay??”

A hoarse chuckle left him. “Sorry for staining your white shirt… I know you always complain about how it never properly washes…”

He faded away, the cold of his hands on your cheeks leaving you last before you were met by a blinding light.

“Hi-hitoshi??? HITOSHI???”

You looked around. There was a field of red roses around you, the bloodstains gone from the scene of a few seconds ago. It smelt metallic.

There was a sticky feeling beneath your shoes. Something told you to not look down. Not avert your eyes from the endless field of roses in front of you. But you were stubborn and never learned out of your mistakes.

You were met with a puddle of blood, Shinsou’s dead body at your feet along with your close friends and family. They surrounded you, eyes open and skin drained of any blood. The roses dripped with their blood, dancing in the wind.

You tried screaming but the only thing that left you was silence, a dreadful high pitched beep in the distance. The tears fell like you did to your knees to touch your loved ones for the last time.

A deep breath forced you awake, eyes fluttering open as you checked your surroundings. You gripped your bedsheets, hoping to find Shinsou next to you but the space was empty and cold.

The tears started falling as you got on your feet and tumbled towards the bathroom.

It was only a dream right? Not a flashback or a future forecast, right? Your quirk didn't have anything to do with looking into the future or past, so it couldn't be, it couldn't be…

“Hi-hi-hitoshi??” With a weak voice, you called out as you doused the nape of your neck with cold water, your head in the sink in a position that was more than just uncomfortable.

Your mind was too foggy to remember who it was that advised you to “shock” your system with cold water but whoever it was saved your life more than once. The tears kept falling as you lost feeling in your neck from the overbearing cold water.

“Please just stop, I can't take it anymore…” You sobbed into the sink as you turned off the water.

Heavy footsteps came your way. You sank onto the floor and hugged your knees, feeling the salty tears dripping onto them.

Shinsou lowered down next to you. With more than concern on his face he cupped your face and forced you to look at him. You could only sniffle as he spoke, his words only grazing you. You barely heard him, only saw his mouth move and his head nod.

“I.. can’t... hear… you…” You sniffled between every word, struggling to get air properly. Your body didn't allow you to take a proper breath, only shallow breaths leaving your chest.

It wasn't like your ears suddenly stopped working. You could hear the dripping of the water in the sink and cat pawing at the bathroom window to be let in. But somehow your brain had a hard time processing what Shinsou was saying, somehow translating it to gibberish.

Shinsou watched you, looking at his face and trying your best to stop crying. His thumb caressed your cheek as he tried figuring out what to do. It's been a while since you had a snap out this bad. Last time he used his quirk to make you realise that the dream wasn't real while also calmly easing your body into relaxation. Though he tried keeping his quirk usage on you to a minimum to avoid any type of complications.

Instead he took your hand in his and pressed it as tight as he could without actually hurting you. Sudden pain was one of the easiest ways to snap your body out of panic, physically and mentally. It reminded the body to snap out of it while telling the person that they were indeed real.

“It's over kitty okay?” He kept his tone low and as calm as possible. Even if you couldn't hear him, his tranquility would help you relax as well or at least not stir you up more. “I'm here and you're here. It was only a dream, you're okay now.”

He pressed your hand to his heart. “You feel that? That's my heartbeat, I'm here with you. It was just a dream…”

You focused on your boyfriend and his warm hand around yours. Your breaths got deeper and deeper, Shinsou breathing with you until the tears stopped.

“Hey, see that wasn't so hard was it?” Shinsou smiled, a small sigh of relief leaving him.

Almost immediately, you flung your arms around him and just took him in. He was real. Not dead or a hallucination. He was here and had his arms around you while rubbing your back.

Shinsou had only left the bed for 5 minutes to finish up his emails and put away his laptop. You had been asleep for a while, he was sure that you wouldn't notice his absence so he just got up and finished up his work. Next thing he knew, there was water running in the bathroom and some stuff falling from the shelves.

“You were dying… dead…” You mumbled into his shoulder, eyes still wet. “I couldn't help you and-”

Tears soaked his shirt as you recalled the nightmare. Your tummy turned inside out when you thought back at the grotesque imagery.

“It's okay now. I'm not dead, right?”

“N-no…”

“Can we go back to bed or do you wanna stay awake a little longer?”

It was around 2am now. Even if neither of you had to call in for work in the morning, Hitoshi still wanted to get you to sleep as fast as possible so you could recover from that horrible nightmare.

“Are you gonna be in bed too?”

“I'm all yours…”

You nodded and got on your feet before wiping away the tears. Shinsou followed and patted your back as you washed your face. He liked keeping his hand around you just to put your mind at ease. Around your waist, in your shoulder, in yours… Anywhere just so you knew he was there.

Both of you laid together, you on his chest with his hands on your back. You heard his heartbeat and felt his chest rise and fall. Your arms were wrapped around him and gripped onto him tight.

“Sleep now okay? I'm not going anywhere…”

The drowsiness kicked back in and you closed your eyes, struggling to keep them that way whenever graphic scenes came up again.

“I'm scared…”

“That's okay… Nightmares are scary but they can't do you any harm… And even if they can, I'm here to protect you okay?” Almost like a whisper, he breathed the words into your ear and kissed your forehead. “I'll be here for you all night long until you wake up again…”

You took a quick breath and closed your eyes again. “Can you hum?”

“Of course…”

Maybe it was quirk related, maybe it was just you but Shinsou’s humming always had a relaxing effect on you. He had quite the singing voice actually, though he rarely ever used it outside of home. But any type of music that left him worked like a natural relaxer on you. Combined with his back rubs and temple kisses, your eyes stayed shut and you drifted back into sleep. This time without staircases, roses or blood.

#bnha shinso hitoshi #bnha x reader #bnha imagines #bnha writing #bnha fluff #shinsou x you #mha shinsou #shinsou hitoshi #shinsou x reader #shinsou x y/n #shinsou fluff #nightmare comfort

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theshatteredrose · 6 years

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Happiness - Etrian Odyssey 3 Fanfiction (Agata/Inn-keeper)

Summary: Inn-keeper Cress enjoys listening to Agata’s stories. But he prefers spending time with him more.

Pairings: Agata/Inn-keeper (Cress)

AN: A birthday oneshot for @thispleasestormod~! Happy birthday, gorgeous! Sorry it’s a bit late. Wanted to write something different for you, something you wouldn’t have expected :3 It was a surprise for me, too. It was also an experience as I haven’t written anything about EO3, let alone Agata and Cress. But it was fun, so enjoy~!

~*~*~*~*~

Cress was always more than happy to help out at his father’s inn. His favourite role was the meeting and greeting of customers and patrons. But he was also happy to do the cooking and cleaning, even sorting through the storage for requested items. Anything to make the lives of his explorer clientele easier.

It was hard sometimes, though. Getting to know his patrons and admiring them greatly only for them to…not return again. He tried to reassure himself that they were just camping in the labyrinth for a few days. Or were out sailing the seas and exploring the shores of Armoroad. Or had even acquired a place of their own. They were out there somewhere, alive and well.

That was just the nature of an explorer, right? Always on the move. Always wandering about, going on adventures, experiencing new and exciting things. They’ll have new and exciting tales to tell him when they return. He just had to wait.

Cress was friendly and chatty with any guild or explorer who walked through the doors of his father’s inn. He found great joy in listening to their tales of bravery and courage, of facing down impossible odds. Their stories were exciting and scary at the same time. How vast the labyrinth was, how large and menacing the monsters. To Cress they were amazing to keep going back, day in and day out.

There was one guild that he adored the most, however. Guild Aurora. He tried not to have favourites, but with this guild he couldn’t help himself.

They didn’t stay at the inn. Maybe a couple of days, or when they couldn’t be bothered to trek back to the observatory that acted as their guildhouse. But they would visit him every day, show him materials they’ve gathered, tell him stories about what happened. He looked forward to their visits every day.

There was another person who he looked forward to visiting just a little bit more.

Agata from the Murotsumi Guild.

Guild Aurora would always downplay their bravery. Trying not to scare him, make him worry about the true dangers of the labyrinth.

But Agata didn’t.

Every day Agata would stop by the inn and tell him everything that had happened that day in the greatest of details. Especially in regards to his heroic deeds and unwavering bravery. How he was able to face the odds and come out smiling the other side. His descriptions were always so whimsical and wonderful. Full of colour and excitement. He more he spoke, the more excitable he got. So excited he would even act out some of the scenes.

Cress enjoyed listening to his tales the most. He hung on every word, believed everything down to the smallest detail.

Others didn’t, though. His father and sister didn’t. Though they liked Agata, they often would pull Cress aside and tell him gently that Agata was…embellishing his stories. Some days they would even tell him that he was lying.

But to Cress, Agata wasn’t lying. Agata wasn’t a liar. He was a story-teller. There was a difference.

And Cress enjoyed listening to his tales so much. Perhaps as much as Agata did telling him.

Agata didn’t have a set time to which he would visit Cress at the inn. Sometimes in the morning. Sometimes in the afternoon. Sometimes at lunch where he would eat all the food he could get his hands on while still talking.

It often left Cress in awe how Agata was able to eat, talk, and breathe all at the same time!

Other times Agata would visit him late at night, sneaking into his bedroom through the window. No matter how tired Cress was when Agata essentially broke in, he always listened intently to his animated prattling.

Agata would often get kicked out soon afterwards by his dad for ‘freeloading’ and for being loud and obnoxious, and disturbing other guests. Depending on whether or not Agata was in the middle of a story, he would either whine loudly as he’s thrown out, resulting in dad chasing him down the street. Or he would scurry away, laughing and loudly promising to return.

And he always did.

“Y-yeah, he’ll visit again,” Cress murmured to himself as he paced his room and glanced sporadically at the clock sitting on his bedside table.

The clock was ticking close to midnight, yet Agata still hadn’t visited him that day.

Needless to say; Cress was getting worried.

He was sure everything was fine. Agata was just out on one of his many adventures. Getting himself in and out of trouble. All in a day’s work for Agata. He was a ninja. He could handle anything, right?

Right…

Cress rapidly shook his head and put on a brave face. “It’s only five minutes to midnight. Agata will be here, soon!”

“Hey, just before midnight? Score. Made in time.”

Cress immediately squeaked out a sound of surprise and spun around to face his window. His heart was up in his throat, but he was oh-so relieved to see the high-visual ninja haphazardly hanging over the window sill.

Although Cress was relieved to see him, he felt a twinge of concern as well. Agata looked haggard; hair messier than usual, his eyes tired and half lidded, and his smile didn’t hold its usual exuberance or mischievousness.

Pushing his concern aside, Cress immediately rushed over to Agata and grabbed his arm to tug him inside. Though he had only the briefest of knowledge in regards to healing (he was going to become a medic one day though!) he immediately started to looking Agata over for any injuries. There were a few small tears in his clothing, and a few superficial grazes on his hands and arms. But no significant injuries, thank goodness!

With Agata safely standing in his room, Cress puffed his cheeks out at him in feigned annoyance. “You’re late. What trouble did you get yourself into?”

Agata managed to smile widely and scratched the back of his head. “Heh, well, kinda got chased around by a couple of FOEs today and got cornered, and maybe I kinda forgot to buy an Ariadne Thread and maybe I had to wait for an hour or…four for them to leave. But, you know, nothing too dangerous and stuff.”

He was being blasé about it…

That wasn’t like him. It must have been more dangerous than he was letting on. And that scared Cress. More than any other time.

“Agata…”

“Ahhh, it’s fine!” Agata immediately said, his broad grin thankfully becoming more genuine. “I’m here now. Got a totally new tale to tell.”

Usually, Cress was eagerly nod his head and ask him to tell him everything. Sit himself down on the edge of his bed and watch while listening intently as Agata flamboyantly go through the motions of telling him his story.

But not tonight. Agata was exhausted. Cress could tell. Though he tried hard to remain carefree, happy, and full of energy; Cress could see the small signs of his fatigue. His eyes lacked their usual lustre. His grin drooping slightly. His movements sluggish.

“It can wait,” Cress said with a smile. “I can listen to your story in the morning. I’m sure you have a lot to tell me. You might even think of more details.”

“My stories are true,” Agata insisted huffily as he folded his arms across his chest. But a pout soon appeared on his lips and he gaze to the side at the floor. “For the most part…”

“Even if only half of what you say is true or have been greatly exaggerated, I still believe in you,” Cress said with a large smile as he moved forward to hug him, and rested his cheek against Agata’s shoulder. “Hearing your stories make me happy. And you sound happy when you’re telling me stories, so that makes me happier. I’m happy when you are.”

Agata was completely silent and still, though Cress did hear a sudden inhalation of breath. A second after that, however, Agata had flung his arms around Cress in a purely exuberant and over the top hug.

“Awwww, you’re so cute!” he cooed loudly as he rubbed his cheek a top of Cress’ head. “You’re the only one who appreciates me!”

Cress giggled. That was the Agata he was fond of; high-spirited and affectionate.

“Shhh! Dad might hear you and chase you out of the inn with a broom again!”

“I outran monsters today; I can outrun your dad.”

“If he doesn’t hear you, he might smell you. Whew, you stink!”

“It’s a manly scent!”

Cress giggled again as he tried to wiggle from Agata’s arms and instead push him toward the bathroom. After he got him cleaned up, he’ll get him something to eat. After that he’ll make him get some sleep. He can share his bed tonight; he doesn’t mind.

He was just glad that Agata was visiting him. That meant more to him than his stories.

#Etrian Odyssey #etrian odyssey 3 #fanfiction

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