#no matter how much schoolwork I bury myself in

[ruki--mukami]

You have a classmate who is very kind and smart, you and she are doing schoolwork together, it's a full moon tonight and you're horny and bloodthirsty; you couldn't resist and you bit her, she hugged you and said "It's ok, you can bite me, your secret is safe with me,stay calm and keep drinking my blood"

"Oh? What's this...? A willing sacrifice... How exciting. Does this not torment you? I can taste it in your blood... Both trepidation and the utmost arousal courses through your veins, sweetening your essence. Haah... I can't get enough of this... Livestock, you taste like heaven even when you don't resist. Far better than I imagined you to taste," praised the Vampire as he buried his fangs into her shoulder, exulting in the surprising warmth of her embrace. "How does it feel when your master claims you as his? If you let me take this much then I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back anymore. Tonight I shall make you mine."

With rekindled thrill, Ruki withdrew his sharp ivories to sink them in a new area, this time her breasts. The buttons of her shirt came flying, the ribbon once neatly tied at the collar quickly shredded, and his head soon lowered to inhale the comforting scent of fresh adipose. Lips besmirched in crimson, he repeated the same vociferous bite as before into her chest, moaning upon entry from the rich metallic flavor igniting down his throat.

"Yes... You taste very sweet indeed, sweeter than you could ever imagine..." he laved his wet muscle along the incision, "it's made even sweeter from not only how long I had to wait for this opportune moment, but also from how willing you are...! Just look at yourself," his steel-blues glanced upward, "you look like you want me to ravish you until we've both lost our senses. Even now, you don't seem too bothered by my actions... What an eager prey I've acquired."

Full moon shining high overhead, crepuscular rays filtering through semi-opaque curtains, Ruki swiftly scooped his dear classmate into his strong arms after draining several pints of the sanguine fluid. Towering over her, laying her flat across the bed, he separated fangs and flesh with a thin bridge of bloodied saliva. Rather than sating his fill a third time, their lips met in an open-mouthed kiss long enough for the young woman to taste her own blood on his tongue, long enough for the Vampire to explore her warm cavity with his unyielding, agile movements, and long enough for him to undo his own tie and uniform, bare chests pressed together atop the mattress.

"The way you squirm below me when I bite and kiss you is so cute."

Adrenaline and rapture intoxicated Ruki from the crown of his cinerous strands to the soles of his feet as he pinned both his classmate's hands above her own head, a sinister smirk gracing his visage.

"Since you've been such a good girl for your master, I shall take more than just your blood now. Engraving myself into you, again and again... Look forward to it. The rest of your life will be spent slowly withering away at my disposal as my personal livestock... But don't fret. In exchange for your blood, I will offer something precious of mine as well. I'll give you a hint: it's the color of the moon, it will fill you to the brim, and it has nothing to do with my fangs. Let's see if you will still take all of me of your own volition then. No matter how badly you want this, surely you can't deny how much it hurts."

Several frigid digits slowly traced the punctures he just inflicted on her skin in admiration, earning a faint chuckle from him as he relished in the marvel of his own bite marks on his newly branded possession.

"From here forward, you belong to me and only me."

#diabolik lovers #ruki mukami #mukami ruki #ask #react #diabolik lovers rp

[chuuyrr]

hello again! i hope you’re doing alright and not overworking yourself! <3

may i request a one shot with toji and gojo, where the reader goes to toji after small inconveniences with gojo (him yelling, arguments or stressed out from taking care of her) she that feels like gojo doesn’t want her as a daughter no more, so poor baby scarlet witch runs to find comfort with toji (since she brought him back to life 😭), only to ask why he left her and megumi, "they couldn’t been a happier family". obliviously she doesn’t know her own question breaks gojo’s heart once he finds out.

angst please, i love pain. 🥲

"couldn't be happier" — scarlet witch! baby fushiguro! reader

jujutsu kaisen x reader

masterlist of the series

warning(s): possible anime/manga spoilers for jjk, use of strong language, screaming, fighting, angst & low-key no comfort

helloooo im so sorry if the request took so long to get done, i don't have much time for writing lately due to school and i may or may not be struggling to write with angst, i don't mind getting angst requests—i just don't think im very good with em' 😭

no worries, im not overworking myself! i make sure to take breaks both from schoolwork and writing so don't worry :D thank you so much for the concern and requesting <3

(p.s. this was painful to write, i may or may not had tears in my eyes ngl and idk, i hate the ending fgdshwksja)

gojo satoru was no doubt the strongest. having been gifted with the six eyes and natural talent, he was burdened with expectations and hard work throughout his life. eventually, he had you too, some time when he was still barely a graduate. just as toji had asked him, gojo took custody of you and raised you as if you were his own. but sometimes, even the strongest people can fall, no matter how powerful and invincible-like they can be. just because gojo is strong, it doesn't mean he doesn't get tired or stressed out because he does.

exhaustion and stress are inevitable, and it became even more inevitable when he had you. not only did he have missions to do and students to teach and look after, now he had a little girl to parent and care for. all of those things tend to overlap, which is the very reason why you ended up running away from home.

you only wanted to play and get your father-figure's attention since he was so busy. you did get gojo's attention, just not the kind of you wanted.

"why can't you just fucking leave me alone for a second?!"

you could still hear gojo's booming voice; it was echoing inside your head. your couldn't handle it and you longed for comfort. with tears blurring your vision, you made your way towards the first person that came to your mind. fushiguro toji. the same person you brought back with your chaos magic as soon as you remembered who he was to you. although you were fully aware that toji was your biological father, you never lived with him and insisted on staying with gojo—maybe that could change today.

using your magic, you easily located where toji was living in an hour. you knocked on his door, almost banged on it from desperation. you watched the door swing open to see your biological father with an infuriated look across his face.

"who the fuck do you think you are banging on my do—toji's eyes widened when his gaze fell towards you. he cut himself off, completely caught off guard from the sight of your red-glowing eyes, which were puffy and red with tears streaming down your face. "[name]? oh god, i'm so sorry princess. i didn't know it was you."

before toji could even question you, you ran towards him and hugged his pant leg, clinging onto him and crying.

"hey, now. hey." toji took hold of you, picking you up to coddle you in his embrace and when he did, you buried your face against the crook of his shoulder, grabbing onto the fabric of his shirt pitifully.

"it's okay, angel. it's okay, i got you." his voice was hushed and soft-spoken.

toji brought you inside, opening the lights, continuing to cradle you in his arms, whisper comforting words in your ear and rub shapes on your back. he pressed a kiss on the top of your head in hopes of soothing your crying down. your cat-like grip on him was making his heart shatter. he could feel your nails digging and tears dampening the fabric of his shirt. 

you remained in toji's arms until you had completely cried your heart out. once you had calmed down, toji placed you down on the sofa in his living room, momentarily leaving you for a second to fetch you a glass of water. when he returned, your eyes were back to their [color] color, and the red vapor of your magic had dissipated. 

you practically gulped down the water toji offered you and almost coughed which prompted him to rub your back again. "easy, angel. easy, now. you good?"

as you nodded your head, you wiped the water that trickled down your chin as soon as you stopped coughing.

"how did you find me, angel? erm—how did you get here by yourself in the first place. where's gojo?" toji watched you visibly frown when he mentioned your other father's name.

you shook your head as your your [color] eyes fell at your feet. "he's not here.. it's just me."

"did something happen angel?" toji placed a hand on the top of your head and gently ruffled your hair. "you're not hurt are you? did you get lost? i can call gojo if you want?"

you shook your head once again, and this time, you were fiddling with the hem of your sleepwear. yes, you ran away in your pajamas. "i ran away from home." you admitted with a small gulp.

"you ran away from home?!" toji repeated your answer. "wha—why?" you flinched at toji's raised tone of voice but relaxed when he mumbled a quick yet short apology.

"i don't think he loves me or wants me anymore." you could feel fresh hot tears threatening to spill from the brim of your eyes, the lump in your throat now becoming hard to swallow. "i think.. i think i'm just a burden to him."

"it must be a misunderstanding, angel. how can gojo not love you anymore?" toji pulled you into his lap and let you curl up against his chest. he brushed a hand on your cheek and tucked your head below his chin. "you're not a burden. you are so loved, baby."

as you leaned against him for comfort, you silently enjoyed the warmth and affection toji was giving. you remained in his embrace when a question came into mind.

"h.. hey.."

you started quietly debating whether to call toji as is or dad, but just as you were struggling to find the right words, he responded.

"what is it, baby? do you want some more water?" toji gently pulled your head from his chin, brushing a loose strand of hair across your face.

you fiddled with your thumbs. your tear-glazed eyes suddenly became unable to look at his green ones. "why did you leave me and megumi behind?"

toji looked at you in surprise. he was clearly not expecting such a question from you. at that instant, the tables turned. toji was now the one who couldn't look at you straight in the eye.

"why did you give us away? did you not want me anymore too?" your lips quivered as your [color] eyes turned a glowing red color.

of course, gojo never told you. didn't he? toji swallowed thickly. he hasn't felt this nervous in such a long time. toji remembered the very reason why he refused to take you back from that limitless sorcerer, even after you ressurected him. the guilt was eating him up again.

"no, [name]. it's not that i don't want you." toji began and straightened his posture as he took a deep breath. "we couldn't have been a happier family."

"what do you mean?" a breathless question trailed from your lips.

"i gave you away because it was for the best. i did it for you, [name]. for you and your mother. you won't be happy with me. why do you think i never took you back from gojo even when you ressurected me?"

you don't understand was what you read from his mind, and he was right. in fact, you don't even know why you asked him such a question when you should already know the answer, but then again, you were just a kid. of course, you wouldn't understand why things are like this.

"couldn't be happier.." your lips quivered.

your frame began to tremble. gojo's shouting was replaced by toji's words instead, and it repeated inside your head like a broken record.

tears were streaming down your face again, just like earlier when toji found you outside of his place. "no.. you don't want me either. that's it." you shook your head, sniffling. "we could have always been happier, we're family. so, why are you saying that?"

it didn't take long for gojo to come find you. as long as you were emitting chaos magic energy, he could feel you, except this time, you were projecting a weighty aura. it is the type that feels as if you were being choked. just as your chaos magic began to involuntarily act on its own, making the entire place tremble and furnitures levitate with your power, the door swung open.

"[name]?" you turned your head to see the ever familiar snow-haired man you saw as your dad.

toji cleared his throat and almost scoffed when he addressed him, "hey, gojo."

"what.. what are you doing here?" gojo's tone hardened when his gaze met the person you were with. "why do you have [name]?"

"'why do i have [name]?' she stumbled all the way here, crying and needing comfort. don't speak to me with that kind of tone like i'm the bad guy here. do you even have any idea what she has been telling me?" toji scowled.

the chaos magic lingering in the atmosphere dissipated when toji lifted you from his lap, placing you down on the sofa before standing up to face the limitless sorcerer. "[name] told me she feels as if she's a burden to you and she thinks you don't want her as a daughter anymore."

gojo's heart sank to the floor. "what?"

"and now she's asking me why i gave her away." toji stressfully ran his fingers through his hair.

gojo turned to face you, but you adverted your gaze, not wanting to be seen crying with puffy red eyes and tear blotches all over your face. "[name], baby." he muttered.

"you promised me you would take care of [name] and you let her out of your sight. what if something bad happened to her, huh?" toji angrily snapped at gojo.

"stop telling me what to do. you have no idea how stressful things have been." gojo retorted back, "if you're so good at parenting then why don't you take [name] back?!"

"that's why i gave her away! i just want [name] to be happy, so make her happy. don't make her feel like she's a burden!" toji wagged his index finger at gojo, but with his infinity on all he could touch was the force between them.

everything was overwhelming your senses, and the grief in your chest was making you numb. why did you have to run away? why did you have to bother gojo when he was just stressed out? why did you have to ask toji why he left you and megumi? all of it was too much for your mind and heart to handle. maybe if you just kept your mouth shut and never left the house, then this wouldn't have happened, but now gojo and toji were fighting because of you.

you held onto the sides of your head. their yelling both in reality and in their thoughts. your chaos magic was so high that you were subconsciously reading their thoughts.

"stop fighting!"

toji and gojo halted and stumbled at the tremor that elicited from the immense energy you had expelled the moment you cried. they turned their heads towards you to see your eyes glowing a menacing red color as you stood up from the sofa.

"please, don't yell at each other." you sniffled, your voice sounded meeker this time. "i'm sorry for running away. this is all my fault."

gojo was the first one to react to your outburst. abruptly leaving toji, he went towards you and knelt down to your height. "no, no. kikufuku, it's not your fault. okay?"

"you don't want me anymore." you cried, your tiny hands attempted to push away gojo but failed.

gojo picked you up, coddling your in his embrace to cradle you. "no, baby. no. of course i want you. god, i'm so sorry. don't blame yourself kikufuku, it's my fault. i didn't mean to say any of those things to you."

"stop saying that. stop messing with my head." you continued to cry and push him away from you.

"[name], you will always be my little girl. you will always be my daughter. believe me, baby." gojo pressed a kiss on the top of your head and continued to cradle you. tears were now glazing his eyes at the words you were throwing and the way your hands were trying to shove him. "i'm sorry. i'm so sorry. i was just stressed out. i shouldn't have lashed out like that."

your crying lasted about an hour until exhaustion caught up with you. you had been crying out for the entire evening that you passed out in gojo's arms. gojo sighed in relief and pecked your forehead to see you sound asleep with your head pressed against his shoulder and arms hanging over his.

toji spoke up after some time. "please take her back home."

"i will." gojo answered back. his tone of voice was much softer this time compared to earlier. he gave toji one last look before disappearing with you in his embrace.

once gojo brought you back home, he tucked you in bed and sat on the edge. gojo's thoughts lingered on the words you told him, especially the question you asked toji. tears pricked against his eyes as he interlaced his hands in yours while you snored in your sleep. it shattered his heart and absolutely destroyed him. if only you knew how sorry gojo was.

he took hold of the blanket hovering you and slipped in underneath. gojo pulled you to his embrace and whispered silent apologies and promises to make it all up to you when you wake up. the guilt continued to rack him straight in the chest until he had fallen asleep right next to you.

#jujutsu gojo #gojo headcanons #gojo satoru x reader #gojo x reader #jjk #gojo x you #jjk x reader #gojo satoru x y/n #gojou satoru x reader #gojo angst #jjk gojo #gojo satoru x you #satoru gojo #gojo satoru #gojo saturo #gojo fluff #gojo fanfic #toji headcanons #toji x reader #jujutsu toji #toji fushiguro #toji x y/n #jjk toji #toji drabbles #toji x you #fushiguro x y/n #fushiguro x you #fushiguro toji x reader #jujutsu kaisen angst #toji angst

[honeypiehotchner]

intelligence & issues (Hotch x Fem!Reader) -- chapter eighteen

Helloooo I almost posted this yesterday as a thank you gift and then I totally got caught up in schoolwork. Gotta love finals season am I right

Anywho, thank y’all so much for 1.7k followers <3 Here’s a long ass chapter that’s a good ol’ mix of fluff and angst xx.

Chapter Warnings: waking-up-together kinda fluff, no sexytimes but there are some ~suggestive~ comments of course, ANGST at the end (i’m so sorry), the end of this case is very near on the horizon

Previous chapter || Fic Masterlist

Aaron wakes you when his first alarm goes off at 5a.m. It’s way too fucking early in your opinion, but you know he wants you to have time to go back to Emily and JJ’s room to get ready for the day.

Still, being woken by a kiss on your forehead is something you can see yourself getting used to. Not to mention using his chest as a pillow all night.

You tilt your head to capture his lips in a sweet kiss, not caring that the both of you probably have disgusting morning breath right now.

He pulls away first, nudging your nose with his before he rests his forehead on yours, looking deep into your eyes. “Good morning, sweet girl.”

You can’t help the smile that splits your lips. “Good morning.” You close your eyes in your flustered state, burying your face down into his chest. “I don’t want to leave.”

“I want you to stay,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “But we’ve got a job to do.”

“I know,” you sigh, opening your eyes to bring yourself back to reality. Then, you hook your arms around his neck, starting to grin. “Same thing tonight?”

He smirks, wrapping his arms around your waist. “Depends on how much of a good girl you are today.”

“Ooh, a challenge,” you tease. “I dunno…I’m feeling pretty bratty this morning.”

You feel his arm tighten around your shoulders, drawing you closer to him in warning.

“I’m just teasing,” you murmur, propping your chin on his chest, giving him your best eyes.

But he isn’t fazed. “I know. I’m keeping track.”

So, naturally, you pout. “Fine.”

“Strike two.”

“I have a feeling this isn’t like baseball. Three strikes and I’m out?”

“Are you trying to find out?”

“Mm, maybe?” You grin, but, as always, the FBI Agent part of your brain comes back to life. “If we didn’t have to be downstairs soon, I’d say yes. But I probably should go get dressed.”

“Understood,” Aaron replies, a small grin on his lips too. “I suppose even as your boss, I can’t keep you here.”

“As my boss, we’re technically not even supposed to be in the same bed together,” you remind him with a snort, but seriousness comes over him. “What?”

“We still need to talk,” he says quietly. “Really talk about this, but right now I just want you to know...I don’t regret this. I want this. No matter the consequences.”

“Me too,” you whisper, fingernails gently scratching the base of his skull, your weak attempt at comfort. “Do you think there’ll be consequences?”

He sighs, and you rise and fall with his chest. “I don’t know.” He pauses. “If Strauss finds out somehow, maybe. I don’t know if keeping it from her until she inevitably finds out is better than telling her ourselves, but…”

“We’ll figure it out,” you assure him with a small smile. “But you wanna do this?”

Instead of answering you verbally, he pulls you closer for a soothing kiss, coaxing all your worries away.

“I want to do this,” he says, knowing you need to hear the words from his voice.

“Okay,” you murmur, taking a deep breath. “What do we do about the team?”

His eyebrows furrow. “What about them?”

You give him a tired look. “Come on. They know.”

“What?” He blurts, sitting up a little, taking you with him. “Rossi knows.”

“And Emily and JJ and Garcia,” you chuckle. “I didn’t even tell them. Emily saw us at dinner one night. JJ figured it out from the phone call a few days ago. Garcia just...knows.”

“What about Morgan and Reid?”

“Are you kidding me? Morgan knows. Have you seen how he irritates the shit out of me every day?”

“Exactly,” Aaron says. “He does it every day.”

“Have you noticed how he’s been doing it especially when you’re around?” You raise an eyebrow. “Come on, you’re our supervisor! I thought you were a better profiler than that!”

“We have a rule not to profile each other,” he says sternly, obviously a little butthurt that he didn’t see that everyone else knew.

“A rule that none of us stick to, by the way,” you laugh. “We just don’t voice it. But we do. Trust me.”

“I didn’t think you’d figured that out yet,” he admits.

“Eh,” you shrug. “It wasn’t hard. I caught myself profiling everyone. I figured I couldn’t be the only one who does it by accident.”

Aaron only smiles. He’s amazed by you every single day. Sometimes he wonders if you even know how intelligent you are. If you even know the full scope of your mind. Maybe you don’t, maybe no one does.

“But anyway,” you swerve back on track. “I feel like it should be unspoken, but just...no PDA, you know? It’s fine that they know because honestly I think they knew before we knew, but let’s not make it a big deal.”

“Agreed,” he nods. “We still need to be professional.”

“Exactly,” you breathe, glad to be on the same page.

His second alarm goes off, the one for 5:30, and you groan, dropping your forehead to his chest.

“Why does it have to be so early?” You mutter, your lips brushing against his skin as you speak. It sends a hot wave through him, one that causes him to promptly shift your body off of him. “What are you doing?”

“You need to go get dressed,” he says. “And if you stay here wrapped around me any longer, I won’t be able to let you leave.”

You grin. “Point taken.”

You roll off the mattress, fully aware that he’s looking at your ass, and at your entire body, marveling at the way you look in his shirt.

“Oh,” you say, doing a dramatic turn, watching his eyes very quickly move back to your face. “Do you have any boxers? I probably shouldn’t walk down the hall in just a shirt.”

He’s scrambling for a pair of his boxer briefs, the thought of anyone else seeing you just like this making his blood boil frighteningly fast.

“Thanks,” you smirk when he hands them to you. And you put them on in front of him, partly for a show and partly because the look he was giving you demanded it. “I’ll see you in an hour or so?”

He nods. “Try not to spend too much time gossiping.”

“Oh, please,” you shake your head. “They’re getting all the details.”

You’re out the door before he can even catch you, and you just know you’re going to get it later.

+++

Emily and JJ are on you as soon as you open the door, both of them dressed and ready, arms folded over their chests like Moms whose daughter stayed out too late last night.

In a way, that’s completely accurate.

“And where have you been?” JJ asks, fully entering her Mom persona.

“Uhm, a friend’s house?” You play along, trying to inch your way to the bathroom.

But Emily knows your move, and stands in front of the bathroom door. “Is this friend named Aaron?”

“...maybe.”

And the façade falls, because they both cheer, pulling you into a hug.

“Finally!” Emily screams.

“Finally, what?” You laugh. “The night before I was also in his room.”

“Oh, we know,” JJ assures you.

“Finally, you admit it,” Emily clarifies. “So...details?”

“So...we have to be downstairs soon and I need to get dressed,” you walk past them to your bag. After grabbing your clothes, you turn back around to find them still staring at you. “What?”

“You’re in his shirt,” JJ says, still smiling.

“And boxers,” you laugh, pulling the hem of his t-shirt up a little. “Guys, don’t make this a big thing.” You pause, heading toward the bathroom. “He was a little upset that I knew everyone knew, and he didn’t.”

“How did he not?” Emily scoffs. “He can be so dense.”

You shake your head, shutting the bathroom door to get dressed.

When you emerge from the bathroom, now dressed and looking more presentable, Emily and JJ are finally getting ready, too. They still watch you like a pair of hawks stalking prey, though. You just hope they won’t make any comments later.

That’s wishful thinking and you know it. But hopefully the comments will be held in at least until you’re all on the jet, heading back to Virginia.

+++

When you walk out of the elevator with Emily and JJ, you find Hotch standing with Rossi, the former looking much more grave than you left him. And he’s on the phone.

“Shit,” you mutter under your breath, picking up the pace. You glance at Hotch, silently asking, and he nods. “There’s another body,” you fill in Emily and JJ, ignoring the strange look that Rossi gives you.

Once Hotch hangs up, he looks immediately at you. “There’s two bodies. Male and female.”

“What?” Emily blurts. “In the same location?”

He nods. “Same house.”

About this time, Morgan and Reid step out of the elevator, jogging over when they see the team’s faces.

“What’s going on?” Morgan asks.

“Two bodies this time, same house, male and female,” you explain briefly.

Hotch jumps in. “JJ: you, Reid, and Y/N head over to the precinct and get Garcia on the phone. Get her to find everything she can on these new victims.”

You nod, glad he’s not sending you to see anymore bloodied bodies. Just the thought has a chill running down your spine.

You don’t want to admit it, but it’s hard not to picture Trevor’s face. It’s hard not to feel the thrill of the possibility of revenge. But you know that’s only the irrational part of your brain. You know you wouldn’t really act on those thoughts.

But they’re still there.

+++

Back at the precinct, you’re dialing Garcia and stirring a cup of shitty coffee. When she picks up, she sounds about as frizzed as you feel.

“Good morning, my angel sent from Heaven,” she sings, sounding far too bright for seven in the morning. “What can I do you for?”

“Good morning,” you chuckle. “We’ve got two new victims.”

“Mm, I know,” she groans, and you begin to hear typing. “Morgan texted me their names, I was waiting for your call.”

“Yep, we just need you to work your magic, that’s all.”

“That I can do,” she replies, no doubt through a smile. “Speaking of magic…”

You already know where this is heading. “Seriously? Who told you?”

“JJ and Emily texted me,” Garcia admits. “But you know I was going to weasel it out of you eventually, anyway!”

“Yes, I know,” you roll your eyes, tossing the coffee stirrer and empty cream and sugar packets in the trash. “Listen, how about this: Once this case is over, we’ll all have a girl’s night at my place with a bunch of junk food and wine, and I’ll give all the details -- whatever they might be at that point.”

You can’t let yourself believe that you’ll still be together because who knows what could happen. Anything could happen. The universe has a bad habit of getting in the way of your love life.

“You know the way to my heart,” Garcia sighs dreamily. “It’s a date. Speaking of dates, it looks like our two victims were married.”

“Married?” You nearly yell. Talk about a plot twist. “And the guy brought our unsub home for a one-night stand?”

“Looks that way so far,” Garcia says with a grimace. “Caroline Merritt, 35, was the CEO of her own company and traveled a lot. It looks like she changed flights yesterday and landed around eleven p.m. She checked her car out of the airport parking lot at eleven forty-five.”

“Great, so she might’ve walked in on our unsub.” You rub your forehead from the stress. “What about the other victim?”

“Jasper Rhodes was 34 and a part-time worker at the local Walmart,” Garcia lists off. “They had been married for three years, but Caroline never changed her last name.”

“Don’t exactly blame her,” you remark. “Alright, which one had allegations?”

“I’m about to burst your bubble, babycakes. Neither of them.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Garcia echoes, just as solemn. “Caroline has a squeaky clean record, aside from one speeding ticket when she was seventeen for going forty-five in a school zone. Jasper also has a clean slate for a record, but he does have one DUI from when he was twenty-two. Nothing else since.”

“It’s been twelve years, so for all we know, he could be sober for a decade now,” you mutter. “Okay. Do they have any connection at all to our other victims? Please say yes.”

“Cross referencing as we speak,” Garcia says, typing furiously. “Almost done… Negative,” she sighs. “I’m sorry, babe.”

“Don’t be sorry,” you shake your head. “Thank you for being such a wizard, as always.”

“It’s my specialty,” she quips. “So...do I get some details about you and Hotch now?”

“Goodbye Garcia…” You chuckle, ending the call before she can ask anything else.

You walk back into the conference room, shaking your head sadly at JJ who looks up with hopeful eyes.

“Garcia found virtually nothing. Caroline got a speeding ticket at seventeen, and Jasper a DUI at twenty-two. Nothing since. And no connection to any of our other victims,” you relay the information, ending it with a sip of your coffee.

“This unsub is good,” JJ says, exasperated. “How is she always three steps ahead of us?”

“She’s not, really,” Reid says, and you can feel something else coming on. “It’s like she knows we’re closing in on her, so she’s going after those who have no reported allegations. She’s not as far ahead as we think, but maybe that’s what she wants us to think.”

“Reid, dude, you’re sounding like a fortune cookie right now,” you laugh. “I get where you’re going with this. But unless they find some DNA at the crime scene, we’re back to square one again.”

“Maybe…” He trails away, getting up to look at the map.

Something is going on in his head, but you’re not sure what. He’ll tell you when he’s finished with it, you’re sure.

In your pocket, your phone starts buzzing. Thinking it’s Garcia, you pull it out and answer without looking, but Garcia’s voice isn’t what you hear on the other end.

“I’m heading back to the precinct,” Hotch says.

“O...kay,” you furrow your eyebrows, mouthing, ‘Hotch’ to JJ. “Why just you?”

“I need to show you something,” he says slowly, like he’s struggling to get the words out. “The unsub left a note.”

“What does it say?” You ask, wondering why it’s like pulling teeth to get him to speak.

“It’s addressed to you,” he finally says, and all the blood drains from your body. “It’s in an envelope and sealed. Your… Your name is on the front.”

You’re not sure what to make of that at all.

“Okay,” you say, your brain unable to really process it. “Okay, we’ll look at it when you get here.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Aaron,” you whisper, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Don’t say that to me. You’re scaring me.” You pause. “What are you sorry for?”

“For this note,” he replies, voice quiet. “For this unsub targeting you, and now for scaring you.”

“What does the note say?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “I didn’t open it.”

“Okay. Just...hurry, I guess.”

“I’m turning into the parking lot now.”

“Okay, see you in a sec,” you murmur, ending the call.

You look up from the phone to find both JJ and Reid staring at you, concern swimming deeply in their eyes. You don’t even have the energy to offer them a reassuring smile. Nothing about this is comfortable for you.

Why would the unsub leave a note addressed to you?

Hotch walks through the precinct doors a few moments later, a man on a mission as he walks directly to the conference room. You’re explaining to JJ and Reid about the note when he walks in, and you fall silent upon seeing him.

He hates that he even called you to warn you, but he had to do something. His mind was racing on the drive. He had to hear your voice, and he knew you were bound to ask why he was coming back on his own, what’s so urgent, so he knew he’d have to tell you.

But the fear in your eyes right now is something he never wants to see again. Ever.

“Where is it?” You say, your voice wavering.

Slowly, Hotch pulls the envelope out of his jacket pocket. It’s in a plastic bag, which is standard protocol for evidence, and you begin searching for a pair of gloves.

You find a pair and start to slip them on, grimacing at the way your hands shake, and using your peripheral vision to see that Aaron is watching you closely.

Once you’re gloved up, he hands you the plastic bag. It feels much heavier than it should.

Carefully, you pull out the envelope, swallowing down the nausea you’re feeling. As Hotch said, your name -- Agent Y/N L/N -- is scrawled on the front in messy handwriting. Fortunately, Reid can examine that, and this letter if it’s handwritten.

You break the seal on the envelope, flinching slightly, and ignoring that you did. But Aaron saw it.

You pull out the note and half of you cries in relief because it is handwritten, and the other half of you feels sheer terror because your business card is taped to the top left hand corner.

“Shit,” you cuss, closing your eyes.

“What?” Aaron asks, taking a step closer, lowering his head to meet your eye level.

“My business card,” you say, opening your eyes again, hating the way things look blurry for a moment. JJ and Reid are just fuzzy figures at the table when you look around the room. “It could’ve been anyone at the meetings. I handed my card to as many that would take it. There’s no way I’ll remember everyone, or even half of them, I mean, I ran out of cards, I had to go stand by Morgan because--”

“Okay, okay, slow down,” Aaron stops you, putting both hands on your arms. “Look at me, please.”

Slowly, the world comes back into focus and you meet his brown eyes, finding your peace there like you have so many other times before. You focus on the weight of his hands on your arms, grounding you, bringing you back.

“I know it’s difficult,” he says. “But you need to breathe.”

You nod, sucking in a deep breath a little too abruptly, not even realizing you had been taking shallow breaths in the first place.

“Good girl,” he whispers, so low that he’s almost mouthing it, careful not to let JJ or Reid hear. And it’s not sexual or sensual this time. It’s comforting. “Can you read the rest of it?”

You nod. “I can help you end your suffering. I can help you avenge. I can help you heal. It doesn’t have to be this way.” You pause, looking up from the note, looking between Hotch, JJ, and Reid. “What does that even mean?”

“Did you talk about your experience during the meetings?” Reid asks.

“A little bit, but I barely scratched the surface of it,” you admit. “And I didn’t mention any names. I might hate him, but...I’d never send a serial killer after him.”

“I know,” Hotch says. “We’re not accusing you of that,” he adds gently. “It’s clear our unsub feels a connection to you now. Something you said must’ve resonated deeply with her.”

“But all I said was that he was my fiancé and that I didn’t report him, so that still gets us nowhere. She’s still a ghost.”

“She’s not a ghost,” he says sternly. “We will find her. You’ve already seen her once.”

“Yeah, but I don’t remember seeing her, Hotch.”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is she’s reaching out. Which means we’re close.”

“Not close enough,” you protest, tossing the letter back on the plastic bag on the table. “I need to take a walk.” You move toward the door, and he’s following you, so you add quietly, “Alone, please.”

Hotch nods, and watches you go, more worried than he’s ever been in his life.

+++

When Rossi, Emily, and Morgan return to the police precinct, they spot you sitting alone on a bench outside the front doors.

“I got this,” Morgan says, hopping out of the car and heading to you, gesturing for Rossi and Emily to head inside. They share a look and nod, disappearing into the precinct to leave Morgan alone with you.

You don’t even look up from your hands when you see Morgan coming over from your peripheral vision.

“What’s up, kiddo?” He asks, standing in front of you.

“I’m really not in the mood right now, Derek.”

“Too bad,” he shrugs, sitting next to you on the bench, stretching his arm out behind you. “What’s going on? You know I’m just gonna keep buggin’ you until you tell me.”

You snort. “I know.”

“So…” He pauses. “Tell me. It’ll save us both a whole lotta time. And it’ll save you a whole lotta stress, sittin’ there with all that in your head.”

You know he’s right. And you know he’s the only one who really gets it.

So, you tell him what’s wrong.

“The unsub left that note just for me. My card was taped to it, Morgan.”

“And?”

“What do you mean and? It means I laid eyes on her, maybe talked to her, handed her my fucking card, and I still didn’t know it was her.”

“We’re not superhuman, Y/N. We only see what they show us. She probably put on a mask while talking to you.”

“Well now she’s still out there--”

“Listen to me. I ran out of cards too, remember? We started using yours. I easily could’ve given her your card. Hell, I was there with you, I probably looked at her a dozen times, too. Are you gonna yell at me for not recognizing her?”

“No--”

“Then stop doing it to yourself, you hear me?”

“I just… She feels a connection to me. What does that say about me?”

“That you’re a relatable person,” Derek offers, causing you to glare at him. “Hey,” he raises a hand in surrender. “I’m just being logical. It doesn’t say anything about you. Because a serial killer’s view of you is not who you are. You are who you are.”

“Thanks for the fortune cookie.”

“Don’t get that tone with me, kid,” he replies tiredly. “You know you’re not really mad at me, so don’t take it out on me, okay?”

“I know, I’m sorry,” you rub your forehead. “I’m just…”

“It’s not your fault, Y/N.”

“I know that.”

“I know you know that, but you still need to hear it,” he says. “And I’ll always be here to tell you, got that?”

You look over at him with a small smile. “Got it.”

He smiles too, glad to see you’re feeling better. He shoves your shoulder lightly, playfully. “Come on. Let’s get back in there.”

“Yeah,” you nod, standing up.

He walks ahead, but you stay still, wondering if you should even ask what you’re about to ask. But Derek notices your hesitation and turns back around, studying you.

“Spit it out,” he says, knowing there’s something.

“The unsub is trying to talk to me,” you say, shrugging your shoulders nonchalantly. “So...what if we set up a trap.”

“What?” Morgan deadpans, raising his eyebrows, turning his body to completely face you.

“What if we--”

“Use you as bait?” Morgan finishes, incredulity coating his words.

You nod. “I wasn’t going to word it like that, but--”

He scoffs, looking more and more pissed off as the seconds go on. “Hell no. Are you outta your damn mind?”

“No, I’m not. I’m--”

“No,” he stops you, holding up his hand, pointing at you. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence. Don’t go there. We will find this unsub, and we will do it without you sacrificing yourself.”

“I wouldn’t be sacrificing myself!” You protest. “You guys would be there. You’d have my back.”

“We can’t predict everything this unsub will do, Y/N, you know that,” Morgan fires back. “And I’ll be damned if I let you throw yourself into danger like this. It’s not happening. You hear me?”

SIghing, you nod. “I hear you.”

“Have you even told Hotch about this?”

“No.”

“Good. Don’t,” Morgan replies. “You’ll just get a lecture and you and I both know you don’t need that right now.”

“I know.”

He pauses, shaking his head. He steps forward, wrapping you in a hug, eyes closing when he feels you burying your face in his neck. “I love you, kid,” he whispers. “And I know it’s hard, but you got this, we got this. And it’s gonna be okay. Okay?”

“Okay,” you nod into his neck, taking a deep breath. “Yeah.”

Next chapter

#intelligence & issues #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner x y/n #hotch #hotch x reader #hotch x you #hotch x y/n #fem!reader #aaron hotchner x fem!reader #hotch x fem!reader #angst #fluff #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds fanfiction #aaron hotchner fanfic #aaron hotchner fanfiction #hotch fanfic #hotch fanfiction

[dreamcatcherrs]

been loving the writing you’ve been posting! i’ve been nonstop thinking about cuddly sapnap🧍‍♀️he would wanna be little spoon so bad that mf... would it be possible to write about sapnap being a cuddly mf? love ur writing so much ❤️❤️❤️ ur doing great!!

thank you! <33 and yesss cuddly sapnap for the win! he’s soooo clingy I swear to god. hope you like this!

cuddle bug - sapnap

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: cuddly!sapnap x reader

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: nick is feeling especially touchy today, and just wants your sweet love and attention after having not seen you for a while.

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1.269

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: nothing but fluff🥴

song recommendation: lover - taylor swift

your eyes scanned the page for about the fifth time now, growing tired from the bright screen-light shining onto you from your laptop. you rubbed the sleep away from your eyes, knowing that you couldn’t take a break before you were sure that every sentence was exactly how you wanted it to be.

you let a sigh fall from your lips, moving your laptop off your lap to stretch your body out. you moved your head to rest on your pillow again, grabbing your computer yet again to scan through the many pages you’d written for an essay.

over the span of fifteen minutes, you managed to find a few spelling errors, correcting them as you slowly lost your will to continue on. you messed with the laces coming out from your hoodie, twirling them around your finger as you zoned out

“I’m done!”

you eyes shot up from your computer to the doorframe, stopping your fingers movements. nick had appeared from his bedroom - something you hadn't seen all day. he smiled tiredly at you, and reached back to scratch the back of his head. you smiled back, feeling a small weight lift off your shoulders just from seeing him.

he was already streaming when you had come over, and since he had his face cam on and your relationship was still not out yet, you had placed yourself on his comfy couch. that was three hours ago.

“yay!” you exclaimed, smiling at him for a moment before returning to your schoolwork. no matter how much you wanted to be with him right now, things had to be done.

nick tilted his head to the side, frowning slightly. it was obvious that something else had your complete attention (other than him!). after not having seen you for a while, he really just wanted to spend some time with you.

he approached you, taking a seat beside you when he got to the couch and rested his chin on your shoulder. he peeked at what you were doing, and once realising what you were so focused on, he understood why you were so caught up in it. he knew you had to perfect everything to the point where it was just too perfect, even though you didn't have to.

you turned your head to him, smiling sweetly as his eyes met yours. he placed his hand on your cheek, thumb brushing over your cheekbone lovingly. “y/n. cuddles. now.”

you laughed at that, rolling your eyes playfully. he gripped your hand in his before you could move it towards the keyboard, holding it to his chest.

“I have to finish this first, baby.”

you kissed his cheek softly, before focusing your eyes on the computer again. nick hated how hard you could be on yourself sometimes. he wished you could realise that people need breaks when focusing on something for long periods of time. and that included you too, of course.

you gave an attempt at untangling your fingers with his, but failed miserably when he just squeezed your hand harder. “that can wait.”

he closed your laptop, removing it from your lap and onto the coffee table before you had the chance to stop him. “wh- hey!” you reached out for it, but his grip on your arm stopped you from any further movements.

he moved over you and spread your legs out using his knees. he lay himself slowly on top of you, legs between yours, wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his head in your chest.

you sighed lightly, laying your head back on the pillow. you only needed to check a few more lines. that’s all you needed! yet your body was so tired and missed the warmth of another body… and oh god you just wanted to cuddle up with your boyfriend.

“nickkk…”

he hummed against you, moving his head so his chin was resting on your chest. you looked into his eyes, giving him the puppy eyes and lacing your hands together in a praying motion.

“pleeease can we just wait five minutes? I’m almost done, I swear!” you crossed your fingers, desperation lingering in your eyes. you sent him a toothy smile while he observed you with a raised eyebrow. he thought it over for a bit, before coming to a conclusion.

“no.”

your face dropped again and you pouted slightly at him. “whyyy?” you whined, sinking farther into the couch.

he sighed. “y/n. you and I both know that you won't just spend five minutes on that stupid thing. besides, would you really rather be doing homework than cuddle with your boyfriend who you, may I add, haven't seen all day?”

you groaned, covering your face with your hands, you knew he was right, of course. you’d give anything to not have to write anymore of that stupid essay and just cuddle up with him. you had missed him a lot…

he moved up from his place on your body, face now hovering over your covered one. a gentle smile pulled spread out on his face, hands moving yours away from your face.

“so?” he asked, waiting for an answer. you looked at the small glimmer of love in his eyes, hypnotised by the way they could so easily make your heart melt and send your whole body into a frenzy of tingles.

“no…”

he smiled wider at your words.

“that’s what I thought.”

all at once he got up, pulling you with him by your hands. you stumbled into his chest, his arms wrapping tightly around your body to keep you there. you smiled as well, closing your eyes for once in what felt like way too long. you let your hands rest on his shoulder blades, feeling the warmth of him radiating through his hoodie.

“you’re so cute,” he mumbled into your hair, hugging you even closer to him. your foot stumbled into his, moving you forwards more than you should. it moved him with you and he giggled lowly, the action adding to what he’d just told you. “c’mon, I want cuddles.”

he pulled away slightly, placing a kiss on your forehead. your cheeks heated up at the action, looking away from him with a smile. he grabbed your hand and excitedly lead you to the bedroom.

“is someone a little clingy today?” you asked teasingly, biting your lip as you lay down next to him on his bed.

“shut up.” the response went by without any cracks of his voice, but the shy smile on his face didn't pass you by. it only made you smile more. he moved close to you, laying his head on your collarbone, nose poking the crook of your neck.

you used that same arm he was slightly laying on to lightly play with his hair, twirling the strands around your finger as you pathed your way around his brown locks. he sighed pleasantly, wrapping an arm around your waist to pull himself closer to you.

with your other hand you reached for the covers, pulling them over you so the cold from outside couldn't reach you. nick planted a few kisses on your neck, almost so light that you could barely even feel them - just a tingling feeling left behind.

“thank you,” you mumbled against his hair, drawing small circles onto the palm of his hand with your other one. “I really needed this.” he caught onto your hand, holding it in his with a slight squeeze.

“me too, baby.”

you smiled down at him, before letting your eyes close, cuddling into the sweet embrace of your lover.

___________________________________

tag list✰

@zayenz @terribletoothbat @0t0n1n @0125cm @yukiuheh @shinee-is-5-forever @regularnoceur @b01nk-b0w@christhebish@nutritious-emo-crackkk@bookishreid@giavanna-707 @reddiesmcdonalds@cosmins@vixxzial@autumnpleaves@paradigmax@meaganjm@shiningsunrises@moralofwalls@username1212131@gxldentaestuff@innitdream @televisionpresent38 @bubblyanis@zurami @highoffhockey @popinjaytaylor@196os@livsbaby@doubts-of-gold@bunlina@retrav @mcyt-is-my-life@aleaisntcreative @my-shitpost-of-writing @my-shitpost-of-writing @clownsdrowning @pissbabywastaken@shiningsunrises @tie-dyed-dumbass @death-by-rats@simpfordraco @bippity-boppity-boopa@neongreendaydreams  @vibin-by-myself@littlepotatos0w0@christhebish @pipp-poppz@btsiguess-kpop@prettysmallfries@hiyoko-kos@kenmxskitten@fudrudy@weepingartanimespy@rhino-zucchini@goldenstarofthunderclan@melonmarz@ubeicecreamisthebest@polaroidinurroom @ady-yoo@isimpforeveryone@edenhollandd@ineedtogetoutofhere@glitter-night @hamilsandersfam@mothheart-witch @wrong-exit@trashcanfullofdork  @hellfirepheonixx @marshmallow-babe@isimpforeveryone @ky50621 @randomcloud@wormie4k@dinonuggies50 @p4rty-t4ttoos@aspenthegremlin@book-of-anarchy @jeyacore @thetattooink@gogywasfound @millavalntyne​ @junob1ade 

#mcyt #sapnap #sapnap x reader #mcyt x reader #sapnap fluff #sapnap imagine #sapnap oneshot #sapnap imagine fluff #sapnap cute #dream smp sapnap #dream smp fluff #dream smp fanart #dream smp imagine #dream smp fanfic #mcyt fluff #mcyt imagine #mcyt oneshot #mcyt sapnap #dream team #sapnap fanart #sapnap fanfic #dream team fanart #dream team fanfic #sapnap cuddles

[1plus1kiyoomi]

Chapter 9: Fried

[prev] [next]

[masterlist]

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

You groan as you look around your room, scattered paperwork and schoolwork all over the place. You have so much to do but you don’t know where to start. Out of frustration, you breakdown. Rice hears your sobs so he runs to you, and licks your arms. You take him into your arms, hugging him. He starts barking, worried about you.

“(Y/N), what’s wrong with Rice?” You hear Kita ask from outside of your room, causing you to cry harder.

The two of you haven’t been in touch lately since you’re trying so hard to distant yourself from him. You’ve always reasoned to him that you were busy, because you were, and you still are. But you’d be lying if you say that he isn’t one of the reasons of your breakdown.

You miss him so much. You want to cling to him like always. But you also seek reassurance from him. You need a label to your relationship. You’re afraid that he’s just leading you on because of his ex. What if he hasn’t moved on from her? Moving on from 7-year relationship is not easy, and from his friends’ words, he loved her a lot. Maybe he still loves her.

“I’m coming in,” Kita says and slides the door open. You grab a pillow and cover your face with it. You hear him sigh, and go around the room, probably picking up the pieces of paper. You feel him sit in front of you, so you jump in your mattress and hide under the blanket. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m just tired,” you say in between your sobs. Rice jumps on top of your covered face, making you pull the blanket down so the dog can see you. He gives you a puppy look, whimpering. You cry again, burying your face on Rice’s fur.

Kita stands from where he was sitting, then leaves the room. A few minutes later, he comes back with a tray of food. “Eat first, then get some rest.”

“I’m really fine,” you assure him, wiping the tears off your cheeks. He sets the tray down on the floor and you hold Rice tightly, not wanting him to devour the food. He takes a spoonful of rice with a piece of beef on top, then feeds you. “Thank you. I can feed myself.”

“No. It’s fine. You seem really busy nowadays. This is the least I can do.” He feeds you soup this time, which you reluctantly accept. You feel like you’re being babied and you feel a little bit of ease. “I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but you shouldn’t forget that you’re the most important dish on your plate.”

The metaphor he used makes you chuckle, completely stopping your eyes from tearing up. You nod enthusiastically, taking another spoonful of what he’s feeding you. The three of you stay silent as he feeds you and sometimes Rice. The silence is comforting. You can even say that it’s helping calm you down.

Finally finishing your dinner, Kita tucks you in bed. “Rice, let’s get out. Let your mom rest.” Kita orders the dog, but you and your furry son look up to him with pleading eyes, begging him to let Rice stay in your room. “Fine. Just for tonight.” Kita gives in, ruffling the tops of your heads.

Kita heads to the kitchen to the kitchen, leaving the dishes by the sink. He takes a seat on one of the cushions, then says his thanks before he starts eating. It has been exactly 10 days. 10 days since he last ate dinner with you. If it weren’t for Rice, he would have eaten alone.

Knowing that you’re busy, Kita doesn’t push you to eat dinner with him. He sometimes feels lonely, but you should prioritize your work. He admits that he misses you clinging to him and you annoying him every chance you get. He wants to tell you that he wants to share your burden with you, but it seems like you don’t give him the chance to talk.

Kita isn’t stupid. Aside from your busyness with the shelter and school, he’s aware that you’re avoiding him. You aren’t so subtle about it. Who stays at school until midnight? He also knows you’re purposely coming home after his bedtime. He waits for you every night just to make sure you come home safe.

Confusion is what he feels. He knows what you’re doing, but he doesn’t understand why you’re doing it.

After eating, Kita does the dishes then heads to your room. He checks you and Rice, and the two of you are sleeping soundly. He picks up your schoolwork, then decides to do them for you. It’s a little thing he can do to help you ease your stress.

“I’ll start with this,” Kita quietly says, taking your worksheet for Engineering Math. He takes his phone out and looks for a Youtube tutorial on how to do the topic you’re assigned to.

The next morning, you wake up without Rice around anymore. “He and Kita must have gone to the fields already.” You stretch your arms and see your schoolwork and paperwork arranged and in order. A note is on top of your binder so you read it.

(Y/N)

I finished doing your tasks for school. I also wrote some notes for your Systems Software class. I read that you have a test on it. I’ve also highlighted important notes in your other classes in case you have a surprise quiz.

Don’t forget to eat breakfast. I prepared a bento box for your lunch. Make you eat it. I will check later. Take a break, too. Stop overworking yourself. If you need help, I’m just there.

Rice and I are off to work. I hope to see you at dinner.

I miss you.

- Shinsuke

Tears come out of your eyes as you read his note. “What am I even doing? Why am I aimlessly avoiding him? He must have spent all night doing these.” You take your phone to check the time and you see that it’s almost lunch, which means all your morning classes are finished. “Kita is going to kill me.”

After a long day at school, you head home. You look for an easy recipe online, in hopes that you can make a decent dish for Kita. It’s your first cooking. You don’t even know why you thought of making him dinner as an apology gift. The kitchen is one of the places you’re forbidden to go to but here you are.

“Is 2 tablespoon really enough?” You ask yourself. You shrug, then pour more soy sauce. You forget about the recipe and make the dish using your instinct. If it’s meant to taste good, it’ll taste good.

“I’m home!” You hear Kita from the front door. Rice comes running to you at the kitchen, excitedly jumping on your legs.

“Hello, little boy. How was the fields today? Did you miss mom?” You coo at him, lifting him from the ground.

“You’re actually here,” you hear Kita say, making you look up towards him. Putting Rice down, you go to him. You wrap your arms around his waist, smiling at him with your signature grin. He missed that smile.

“Well, of course, baby. You said you miss me so I’m here,” you tell him, snuggling your face on his chest.

Kita hugs you back, placing his chin on your shoulder. The two of you stand like that for a minute. You realized that last night, it wasn’t the silence that was comforting you. It was Kita. His presence is enough to make you feel less stressed. He gives you a light squeeze before pulling away from you. You look up to him and see that his eyes are on the dining table.

“I made dinner. Look at my rice! It’s perfect!” You proudly say, pulling him to the dining area. He stares at the food you made, and you nervously wait for his comment. He takes a spoon and tastes the supposedly curry dish. “How does it taste?”

Kita doesn’t answer you but looks at you emotionlessly. “It doesn’t taste that bad. It’s edible.” You sulk but start eating anyway. “How was your quiz?”

“I got a perfect score thanks to your notes. You’re really smart! Were you in the top of your class in high school?” You compliment him.

“I had a scholarship,” Kita answers and your jaw drops. How can he be so perfect at everything? He’s athletic, he’s handsome, he’s talented, he’s smart, he’s well-mannered, his soft spoken. He has probably not sin. But he has to be bad at something. But what? Is he a virgin? Is he bad in bed? He seems like the type to wait after marriage. So you’ll have to marry him to find out. Your cheeks heat up just from the thought.

Due to your daydreaming, you don’t hear Kita talking. “Hmmm? What did you say baby?”

“I said I like my eggs fried in the morning,” he repeats in his usual nonchalant voice. His words cause you to short circuit, unsure of what you heard.

“Why are you suddenly saying that?” You hide your face in embarrassment, flustered by his words. Rice is at side, staring at you as if he’s judging you. He probably is.

“You asked 3 months ago,” Kita explains, eating as if didn’t say anything.

“I know I did! But why say it now?” You glare at him. He puts his chopsticks down and bore his eyes at yours.

“Because I like you back now.”

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

Facts:

Resting is very very important. No matter how busy you are, please spare some time to rest. Staying hydrated is as important. Don’t forget to drink your liquids. <3

Sleep is important in processing and committing new information to memory through a process known as memory consolidation. So pulling an all-nighter for a quiz isn’t really the best thing to do.

Sleep is important to overall well-being and mood. Sleep deprivation can often cause irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness.

Rest does not only involve physical relaxation, but mental as well. Mental exertion can also affect your body’s ability to cope or keep up and can cause you to feel overwhelmed and physically exhausted.

[prev] [next]

Taglist: @vicassa  @ptv-hades  @steggy4ever  @booklover240  @toripersonalacc @mkazuyuh  @smoltiddygf @adrasteiaxandromedaa @leinnah  @a-applepi @kellesvt @xxlightsaberxx  @youpieceofwasabi @bandolls @wheelzzzies @apollochjld @sakusa-simp @neomuxuxi @sempiternal-amour @tnu-ree @mindofess @alittlebitofrain @agaashesmilktea​ @aquzairus @ynjimenez @sempiternal-amour @diyosku @dinablossom @atomicpie1115 @lililiynx @onlyshinji @melodiamore @bunnybitesthedust @angrylittleriri @rogueofbullshit @8zmingi @aam1na @yuueisteria @4kaashl  @ohhoneyvee @kouffee-ink @amberisnotcrazy @shinyaluv

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu smau #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu series #kita shinsuke smau #kita shinsuke x reader #kita imagines #kita x reader #kita smau #haikyuu kita #kita shinsuke

[mxvladdy]

THE WAY YOU FILLED YOUR FIRST REQUEST SHOOK ME?!?!?!? YOU BLESSED US!? Would you mind also imagining how Mammon, Luci and Belphie would feel with a MC who's guarded with themselves and their feelings to avoid hurt, so they try to keep these brothers at a friendly arm's length as they don't believe the brothers don't really care about them? It would make me so happy, thank you so much!

EEEEK! Sorry for the wait. It took forever and a day to get enough time to seat uninterrupted and then try to edit ;.;

I hope you like it! Apologies if I didn’t get the prompt just right!

Mammon

He didn’t hide his disdain for his human protection duty when you first met. The fact that you kept him at an arm's length was a devil’s blessing. Good! He is a busy demon after all, he doesn’t have time for some human. At first.

Then he caught the feels and it’s all downhill for him at his ‘cool devil’ act. Not that you ever NOTICED.

He tries to flirt with you. Before you, he thought he was good at it too.

He’s never had someone so civil with his advances. You smile and laugh politely at whatever complement he throws at you. You might even give him a few back in a teasing, but clearly friendly manner.

You stress it heavily whenever he comes on too heavy with his advances. You stamp down whatever feelings he evokes and try to keep your line clean and precise in the shifting sand of your relationship.

He takes you out one evening after school, determined to get an actual answer from you over some made up snack he lied about. You don’t think anything of it, happy for an excuse to hang out. You walk and talk, not taking notice of his steadily reddening face as he keeps making swipes at your hand each time it brushes his.

You make an off-handed (get it) remark about the closeness and offer to walk behind this was bothering him.

He is miffed and throws out all semblance of “coolness”. Just flat out confess. Face flaming hot from embarrassment and sweaty palms now shoved into his jacket.

It was a blink and you’d miss it kind of moment. Mammon’s cheeks start to heat gradually. A staunch look of panic growing behind his eyes.

The words just slip off his tongue. His lips forming a sentence you were dreading. You didn’t quite catch it all; his declaration lost in the wind of the open market. You try to catch his gaze, to make him repeat himself clearly, for what purpose you didn’t know. You don't particularly want to hear it again, yet it would give you time to compose some kind of response.

He refuses to look at you. No matter which way you bob and weave beneath him, he dances around you. His face always looking in the opposite direction of yours. His gaze permanently pointing at his feet. The uneven cobblestone beneath his scuffed boots was suddenly very interesting it seemed. "I'm sorry? I didn't catch that." You ask once more, grabbing on to the crook of his elbow.

He buries himself deeper into the flipped collar of his coat and whispers it again. "I-I like ya, ok? Like like like ya know?" He stumbles over his thoughts.

Now how in the hells were you supposed to dodge this? It had been easier to evade his blatant affections when even he wasn't admitting to them. "No, you don't." You step away with a dry chuckle. "Don't be silly." You back away shaking your head in denial. You were sure Mammon could feel your heart rate picking up. You need some space, more space than the street could give you. Somewhere away from your tall, sweet, white-haired problem.

"Oi!" He makes a grab for you as you turn to flee. He spins you around leaning down to meet with you face to face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We are friends Mammon," You try to wiggle out of his strong, yet gentle grip. "You're just mixing up the feelings." Bullshit. With him touching you, your joint pack acted like an amplifier. You very much felt what he thought of you. The yearning from his newfound mental clarity mixes with the panic of your rejection. It makes a bittersweet taste bloom in your mouth, so hopefully yet reserved.

He was not so lucky. Your feelings felt like ash on his tongue, a sour tang of fear and self-doubt building on his sense. You were afraid of the inevitable, or what you presumed to be the inevitable.

  You were supposed to be friends then disappear forever once the school year was up. Him, down here, and you back to being just another nameless soul in the human realm. No need to get the storyline all tangled. "Hey-hey," Mammon speaks in a rush. "It ain't like that, really." He coos shuffling you closer till you are wrapped tightly in his soft leather jacket. He pours more of himself into the pack, opening himself up in ways he never thought capable of from his demonic form.

"I'm stupid." You speak into his chest. The warm reassurance of his unspoken pledge soothing you. It lessens the tight feeling of uncertainty that you had grown accustomed to.

"Ah- now, ain't that supposed to be my job?" The taste in his mouth dissipates slightly as you let out an indignant huff. He flinches as you poke his side hard between his rib cage.

"Told you to stop talking down on yourself Mammon."

The demon hums noncommittally keeping you close. He rocks you both from side to side, oblivious to the throngs of other pedestrians forced to walk around you two. "Guess I forgot. Maybe you could remind me? O-on a date?"

He smiles down at the little sliver of your face and eyes peeking up from the darkness of his jacket. He could damn near feel the smile trying to break from your forced scowl. "Just one?"

"Heh- don't bet on it."

Lucifer

Welcome to the ultimate game of pleasantry chicken. The two of you know this dance by heart, but your footwork isn't synching up.

Lucifer is trying to keep this whole debacle as professional as possible. You are an esteemed guest and pact holder for all of his brothers and himself. This should be business as usual. He totally has his emotions and growing frustration at your lack of interest in him in check.

Yup. He's fine. He's great; glad you two have such an unspoken understanding of your standing in his company and in the house. The same book, same chapter, same bloody page.

You are a good friend. Just. A. Very. Good. Friend.

He breaks first. Not that he will admit it. But the weekly coffee breaks become a bi-daily thing as he tries to court you. He draws these evenings out now. Have you finished your schoolwork? No, allow me to tutor you. Perhaps you would like to listen to this new vinyl with me tonight? It is a complete demon rendition of Wagner's Die Meistersinger. A classic, you’ll love it.

You take it all in stride. Thanking him innocently enough and going along with it. You buffer every little turn of phrase and slightly off-color hint of what he wanted from you with grace. So tactfully done he begins to doubt himself. You couldn’t be misconstruing his intentions right? He hasn’t doubted himself like this in a long time.

Diavolo catches on quickly to the kicked puppy look Lucifer tots around in your presence. He’ll tease, but try to help. He’s a decent wingman truth be told. “How has Lucifer been treating you? I haven’t seen him this happy in ages. He is a great friend to have, yes?” Kinda backfires when you agree that he is indeed a good friend. Oops.

He’ll crack one night over a glass (or bottle) of something strong he pulled from his study. You had slipped into his room unannounced asking for a quiet place to read before bed.  The interruption to his musings leads to him running his mouth and pile driving his pride into the ground.

He can’t say no to you anymore. He really should. You were hell bent on keeping him at an arm's length, so he should too. Lucifer watches you like a hawk from behind his desk. His ungloved fingers swirling the dregs of his drink. The cognac inside of it looking up at him, his scowl reflecting in the rich red liquor. Don’t judge me. He scoffs at himself, was he that far gone that he was arguing with his glassware? Should have switched to the bottle hours ago.

“Luci?” You say again waving a hand in his face. “You forget to sleep again this week?” Your smile was warm, a little twinkle in your eye drawing a heat to his collar that had nothing to do with the spirits. You sit on the edge of his desk in your sleepwear. The baggy shirt and sweats reeked of his brothers.

“No.” He lies pushing his desk chair away. “Did you need something?”

You shrug hopping off the desk. “Not really. Wasn’t feeling movie night. You ok if I hang out here? It’s nice and quiet.” You slink off to the couch in front of the fire before he could answer.

“You could not do this in your room?” Lucifer snips. He tosses back the rest of his drink and rises to his feet. He grimaces at the burn spreading across his throat. “I’m sure it is quiet in there too.” He catches your eyes looking over the back of the lounge. While everything lower than the bridge of your nose was blocked by the black velvet he could feel the frown growing on your face.

“Well, yes. But I still want some friendly company. Just not rowdy company, I thought you wouldn’t mind...”  

Devils. There was that word again. "You assume to know me?" He cannot hide the venom lacing his words. The liquor had dulled his senses enough that he could not hide his rancor.

“I’m-” You leave the chair coming around it to give him your full attention. This wasn’t like him. Not anymore at least. But you were used to the odd mood swings that plagued your companions. "I don’t assume anything about you Luci. But if you want to talk-"

“I don’t want to have some idle friendly chit chat.” He could feel the tantrum coming. “Have I not proven myself capable of-” His jaw snaps shut with an audible click that echoes across the spacious chamber.

“Of?”

A noticeable blush grows on his pale cheeks. “More.” He sighs deeply, he feels light-headed at the admission. Whether it was from the drinks or from going against his nature and swallowing his pride he couldn’t tell. “Am I not enough to be more than a friend to you?”

That takes you by surprise. You had speculated that he harbored feelings for you. Diavolo all but cementing the idea in your mind. But, this was Lucifer. It felt like just yesterday you were at each other's throats, before he recognized you as something other than a threat to his family. You wanted to respect that little bit of trust he had given you. “It’s not like I never thought about it.”

“But?” He perks up slightly hearing the unspoken word in your inflection. He could see your apprehension yet there was a shimmer of something else underneath. Something he could work with.

“I was- I am scared.”

“Finally, a reasonable response from being around demons.” Lucifer snorts.

“Hey! You know that’s not what I mean.”

“No, I don’t. Explain it to me.” He invades your space waiting to see what you would do. Run or stay. He would have his answer either way. You don’t move, instead, you wrap your arms around yourself. Guarding yourself yet standing firm. One of the many reasons why he admired you.

“I feel like we just became friends. I didn’t think you felt the same and I didn’t want to mess this all up.” You confess. “I just thought it would be easier this way.”

Lucifer absorbs your words quietly, nodding at the logic behind them. “Messes are not something I generally like true, but," He reaches for you, careful of your defensive stature to lead you back to the couch. “If you are willing to iron out the bumps with me I’d like to see what we can make of it.”

If it meant he could have you he would take as much time as you needed.

Belphegor

It takes him the longest to notice that you were trying to keep him at arm's length emotionally. It was hard for him to see at first since you still readily accepted his invitations to snuggle and hang out.

He thought he was very blatant with his desire for you and your affections. The head pats and evening is the planetarium or his attic.

The fact that he had apologized for that little murder mishap. He thought that was a big bright neon sign. Yet you always seemed to try to invite someone else along to chill or leave quickly after an hour or so. As much as he loved his twin and tolerated his other brothers he was trying to get you ALONE.

He starts trying to see you outside the house now too. Lunch in the cafeteria? Pffft. You are going to eat and nap with him in the courtyard. After School activities? Could you help him with some council stuff instead?

Yes, he will go out of his way to do work if you are involved.

You are still too closed off though. You act around him like you do around any of the other brothers and it drives him crazy. You are just so friendly and cordial with everyone. How come he is the only one that becomes a flushing mess now?

He becomes your second shadow, almost as bad as Mammon. You start to get an inkling of his intentions when he starts wanting to sleep in your bedroom at night instead of his or the attic. You let him but offer up the couch or split the bed with a pillow.

He snoops when he gets desperate. Did you like someone else? Was that why you were constantly acting like his advances were just him being overly friendly? He doesn’t find anything, you act like this around everyone else too.

He gives up. Stops interacting with you entirely. He is 99% sure he can sleep through the next century without being bothered. Maybe he’ll get over you by then.

“Belphie? You up here?” The demon in question opens a bleary eye to his locked door. He should stay quiet, leave you hanging. Give himself some vindictive pleasure in snubbing you.

“Hai~” He rises from his nest of blankets and pillows. “Hold on.” Unlocking the door he opens it ajar. You smile around the large stack of books and binders in your arms. “What is that?” Please don’t say homework.

“Work you’ve missed sulking up here.” You confirm his worst fear. “Satan and I thought we would spot you a bit though.” Belphegor watches you struggle for a second to pull a folded piece of paper out from the middle of the stack. “We got most of the answers done for you. Now you just have to fill the worksheets in with your handwriting.” You wave the paper expectantly.

Hearing his brother’s name makes him sour immediately. How long had you been hanging out with him now? “Thanks, leave them at the door then.” He goes to shut the door and return to his dreamless slumber but it’s blocked by your foot.

“Ouch.” You wince hopping back on one foot.

“Idiot! Are you hurt?” He wrenches the door open crouching down to take a look at your sock-covered foot.

“Nothing I can’t walk off. Though my arms are getting sore- weak human muscles an’ all.” You hint wiggling the stack in your arms. He takes the work this time, still eyeing your foot. “Relax, I’ve stubbed my toe with more force than that before.” You whisk by him, using his brief moment of distraction to slip by.

“Did I invite you in?” Belphegor eyes you with a frown. He kicks his door close and dumps the pile of papers on his already over-encumbered desk. Hmm. How many days had he missed?

You ignore him plopping down on the still warm sheets. “Nope!” You pop the ‘p’ with a grin. “But that has never stopped you from sneaking into my room. So fair trade all around.” You pat at the bed, clearing inviting him to join you. “Come on. I’ll help you finish that work then we can chill.”

Oh, now you want to hang out. He felt a rush of bitterness wash over him.  “Don’t you have something better to do?” If this keeps up he’ll need another nap, alone preferably. “Doesn’t Asmo need a shopping buddy or something?”

“What’s gotten you all worked up?” You frown, hurt by his accusatory tone.

Belphie shoots you a wounded look. "We never hang out anymore." He sulks. "Alone, I mean. I'm tired of you always inviting Beel or someone else with us."

He glances over to you idly thumbing at one of the books on his desk. It's frustrating. This game of touch and go he accidentally got himself into. Ugh- why did this have to be so hard. "I want to spend more time with you. Just us, so why are you always avoiding that?" 

"I.” You look down at your feet dangling off the side of his mattress. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I just felt like- like things were going off the rails between us.” You weren't oblivious to his advances.

He cocks his head in confusion. "Mmm? What are you afraid of?" You read a flicker in his eyes, a haunting memory of cruel fingers around your neck darken his gaze. "Ah-"

"No! No that's not it!" You panic waving your hands up. Of course, he would immediately go to that. "I'm just worried. I know you like me, and-just what if things don't work out? What if you realize what a mistake this could be?"

Your admission gives him pause. So you knew this whole time? Not surprising; he wouldn't fall for someone stupid. "So, are you admitting to liking me back?" He feels giddy when you nod, covering your heating face with your hands. " Well then, what’s the problem? It’s not a mistake if we both are making it.” He grins slyly. “How can it not work out if the feelings are mutual.”

“But what if you are mistaken?” He wraps you up into his arms, flopping you both over onto his messy bed. He takes one of your hands and places it on the top of his head all while burying his nose in your neck.

“Please,” He yawns, feeling his body grow heavy. “I don’t waste my energy on ‘mistakes’.”

#obey me fandom #obey me mammon #obey me lucifer #obey me belphegor #prompts! yay

[twonderland]

are the orders open? I would like to ask for a little imagines of the leaders of the houses reacting to discovering that daring is Crewel's niece

Ooooh shoot 😂 ♥️🖤🤍♥️🖤🤍

Dorm Leaders request

♥️ You have been partners for some time now, he likes your sense of style and thinks of you like someone elegant and with good taste, also really clever, something that captured his attention. You specially had ability for potion class , memorizing everything really fast and even sometimes exempting some tests for too many extra point you got in practices

♥️ You study together, some of the students in NRC think that you two are so powerful ! It’s even intimidating sometimes ...

♥️ Until one day in potion class Divus got to your place while you where mixing some herbs and weird stuff in the cauldron, it seemed to be that something was not right ...

“OMG (y/n) what did I taught you ? The fly wings go after the gnomes nails, not before !!! Bad puppie ! “

“UUGH UNCLE !! I know it, I just didn’t want it to have such a fluid consistency, I wanted to try - blah blah blah”

Meanwhile you two were discussing Riddle that was, as always, next to you was like “wait wHAT”

♥️ After that incident he was kinda nervous, -how should I approach her now ? How didn’t I noticed ???? OMG I ALWAS CASUAL AROUND HER MEANWHILE HER UNCLE WAS PRESENT- all this thoughts crossed his mind but didn’t say anything. You were no fool and noticed it, also proceed to clarify that yes you were his niece but there was no reason he should treat you differently, after that....he relaxed.... kind of 😂

♥️ Even if he knew that there shouldn’t be any difference in your relationship, he still gets kinda nervous around his teacher, not because you are in fact his niece, but because he wants to have a good impression with Divus

♥️ Fun fact : Divus already knew you two were dating but is pretty chill about it, actually really happy that his niece is dating someone so gentle and well mannered as Riddle ☺️

🦁 This one right here , he’s a person + lion = wich means he has some really acute senses such as smell and as weird as it sounds he kinda ... felt like your smell was kind of similar to Divus ...

🦁 This kept bugging his mind for some time now until he bluntly asked you “hey herbivore, if you have done something with that old bicolor man it’s better if you tell me now or else you are gonna face the consequences” ... to what you answered really confused that you didn’t have any idea of what was he talking about, and he also was being a jerk

🦁 “WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT??” “well I don’t now herbivore, maybe because hIS SCENT IS ALL OVER YOU !” “Ugh, Leona! How could you say that , he’s my UNCLE “

... 😳

Leona feels rlly stupid rn

🦁 Ashamed and confused, Leona couldn’t even process what was happening “u-uncle?”.

OK LET ME EXPLAIN, have you ever heard of how animals recognize their babies because they have a certain smell that makes them “part or the pack” ? Well, that’s what happened here 😂

🦁 Right after this happened everything made sense, your smell that was similar to Divus’s, your good fashion sense, etc. he apologized while holding you from behind, burying his face in the crook of your neck so you wouldn’t be able to notice the blush on his cheeks

🦁 Lets just say that the atmosphere of the next classes with Divus were strange, Leona is a confident young man, but this situation took him unprepared so he tries to avoid eye contact with his teacher, just give the big cat some days and he will come to his usual self 😂

🐙 He has knew it all this time 😂

🐙 no, but seriously, since the moment he met you Azul started to investigate your past, likes, abilities, after all you were the only girl in NRC and a possible client, he had the eel brothers on your back ...

🐙 The reason he has never come to talk or ask about it is because he doesn’t see the point in it, not to be rude, but he doesn’t care who your parents or relatives are, Azul likes you no matter what and if you are his profesor niece, then that’s no big deal

Until

“RAAAA LALA LA LAAAA RARA LALA LaaaAAAAA~ “ ヽ(´▽｀)/

“ASHEGRONTTO-SAN is it really necessary for you to sing throughout the WHOLE class ??? BAD PUPPIE , STAY STAY !!!!”

🐙 poor baby just wants to be good bf material and impress your uncle 🥺❤️

🐙 -is it possible to sign a contract with myself so I can become the perfect bf? - he thinks, while you are watching his serious face and somehow you feel like you know what’s he’s thinking “.....Azul, stop” 😐

🐙 You talk with him, making sure he understands that he’s in fact the perfect boyfriend. He feels more confident now that he knows he’s doing just great but that doesn’t stop him to win your uncle’s approval 😂 COME ON HE’S AZUL ! Actually, Divues comes to like him even more after he starts to doing favors such as helping him to care some papers, making sure the ingredients for the potions are in order, etc.

He’s as always really sly 😅

👑 OK

👑 Now , this is a power couple 😂

👑 SERIOUSLY like, imagine Divus’s niece walking through the corridor in high heels next to Vil FUCKING Schoenheit going to potion class just to excempt like a boss

👑 He ... suspected something when he saw you two interacting, Vil is someone really observant and actually noticed that you have some similar mannerisms to Divus Crewel, such as rising your voice when something is well done, specially potions, your fashion aesthetic, cof cof hair color cof cof Your way of speaking and laughing, your ability in potions in general, etc.

👑 The moment he asked was smooth yet he felt kinda nervous since the very thought of it was possible but nevertheless kinda awkward “darling ... is professor Divus .. a relative of yours ? “ you stoped for a sec, remembering that you never really told him about your blood relation with Divus but also noticing your bf amazing intuition

👑 “Y-yeah, he’s my uncle actually” “....I see” he’s a little bit silent, thinking about why wouldn’t you have told him earlier ? Maybe you still don’t trust him that much... he had a thousand thoughts but before he could get depressed about it you said “He’s my relative, but I never thought it was something really important to mention, after all I’m another student and I can assure you that he has never had preference for me just for being his niece !”

👑 He... actually didn’t thought about that last part, he knows you are someone brilliant and doesn’t need the help of preference of your professor even if he’s your uncle, watching the worry on your eyes he showed you a gentle smile and pated your head “ I could never think of you that way, you are perfect without any help”

👑 I think Vil would be one of the most chill bf if he knew Divus was your uncle, he gets nervous when your professor is present but is good hiding it, outside of that Vil doesn’t change his attitude towards you or Divus

☀️ This sunshine never noticed it 😂😂😂

☀️ One day he was doing schoolwork with Jamil and his friend told him “ Kalim, have you taught about what will you give to professor Divus for his birthday ? “Mm? Well... not actually, but I can think about something ! Help me Jamil ☺️” “ok, remember that making Divus happy will also make (y/n) happy” he’s not understanding what is his friend saying rn “umm... but why would that make (y/n) happy ? The present will be for the professor” “well I believe that seeing his bf giving a present to his uncle would be a good detail”

☀️ her what now?

☀️”W-WAIT A SECOND JAMIL WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!” “I said that it would be nice if you gave a present to- “ “NOT ABOUT THE PRESENT ! Is Divus (y/n)‘s uncle ?!” ...”I thought you already knew 🤨”

Devastated

☀️ Jamil has this info since the day you started dating Kalim, of course he had to knew who was romancing his master, looked for info and walla ! Look 👏🏻at 👏🏻that 👏🏻 you are Divus’s niece 😂

☀️ As I said before, it was Divus’s birthday, the day started quite normal, you two attended class when suddenly Kalim went as fast as he could to your place “(y/n) ! I WILL MAKE YOU HAPPYJUST WATCH !” You are like ...

“... uh hu .. what is happeni-“ but before you finished your sentence sunshine boy went as fast as wind again to Divus “PROFESSOR ! Happy Birthday ! I wish you have an amazing day and that this presents please you !” Confusion was clear on the teacher’s face, one second before he could even start to ask the young man what was he talking about a strong rumbling and also the sound of what it could be a stampede could be heard from the classroom

☀️ “THREE ELEPHANTS, FOURTEEN CAMELS AND SOME PEACOCKS !! Oh ! And some dancers !! The perfect present to enlighten a soul isn’t t it ? Gyahahaha ~ ! “

Meanwhile Divus had his mouth agape from the impression while he sees all his presents arriving from a window, you are in the back trying to understand the whole scenario

“KALIM WHAT IS THIS, WHAT IS HAPPENING ???!??”

☀️ long story short, the “presents” dissapeared , Divus was ... happy that his little pup thought about his birthday but was also really shocked, and well, you and your bf had to talk about this .... event. Kalim got the idea but sometimes still wants to impress your uncle

💀 Chill when he’s alone, anxiety attack when you are present 😂

💀 That was at least the first reactions he had when he met you, it’s just that your are so fancy and gorgeous... actually Idia sometimes finds himself wondering how could he get a bae that’s so WOW

💀 Idia being Idia wich means staying in his room 24/7 gave him LOTS of time to make theories about everything and anything, one of those was you. The investigation begun because he just wanted to know more about his gurl ☺️❤️ but ended pretty chaotic 😂

💀 Imagine walking throughout the corridor and when you walk pass Idia’s door you hear a what it seems to be a high pitch scream followed by other strange “human” noises

💀 YUP he discovered it 😂

💀 The next day he found out you approached him naturally, it was morning and just wanted to give your bf a nice and cute greeting ☺️💖 but when you are just some steps from him, Idia flinched... you thought it was normal since he is easily scared when he’s outside his room, but when it’s you he’s most likely to be relaxed 🤔

💀 It took him all day to ask you about your connection with Divus, it impressed you that he was actually pretty certain that you were his niece he had a whole document with photos and all that proved his point 😂

💀 Overall he listened to you carefully, Idia is a good boyfriend, let’s you speak and say everything you need to explain, you were astonished when he gave you a proud smile when you finished your story, telling you how amazing your bloodline is and that he is really lucky to have such a beautiful and brilliant girlfriend 🖤

🐉 Mal is also pretty chill about it, being the most relaxed out of all the dorm leaders

🐉 He himself has his family in NRC too, Lilia for example *you are my dad ! ~ Boogi Woogie Woggie* srry 😂

🐉 So he understands the feeling of having around relatives in school, Malleus gets interested in you even more after you bring Divus into the conversation, he admires all his professors since he a good boy ☺️💖

🐉 Also, being Divus’s niece means you have some similar traits to him which is true at some extent, he asks you about your likes for potions and Malleus listens carefully, with a tender smile on his face. He is fascinated by your aura and all the stories you narrate about Divus and you

🐉 Everything went smoothly until the next day after you have talked about your relation with Divus, you were reading a recipe to make a potion in classroom, waiting for Malleus to arrive. He was pretty puntual to all his classes, so it was kind of weird he took his time that day. The minutes passed and you began to worry about what could have happened to your bf, was he alright ? Where was he?

🐉 “Professor Divus” it was his voice, looking up from the book you saw him handling your uncle a giant green gem with a straight face

“I hope our relationship develops placidly and for the good of our beloved (y/n) we could get along well”

The entire class was like 👁 👄 👁

- What on earth just happened ?!- you thought, Divus was struggling to carry the beautiful gem, while Mall some seconds ago was holding it like it was a piece of paper. You didn’t want to embarrass or trouble your bf with more questions since all the class was watching him confused and amazed, making the atmosphere weirder than it already was

🐉 You waited until class was over to ask him what on earth happened, he told you about how dragons give a little piece of their treasures in a form of “alliance” with the beings that they think are trust worthy, and Divus being your relative... well, he wanted to get closer to him

🥺💖

🐉 You thank him and give him a bear hug, he couldn't be any more sweeter 💕

Thanks for your request

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

#twisted wonderland #twst #leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto #malleus draconia #riddle roseheart #vil schoenheit #idia shroud #kalim al asim #twst dorm leaders #twst requests #twst headcanon #twst headcanons #twst riddle #twst leona #twst malleus #twst idia #twst vil #twst vil schoenheit #twst azul #twst kalim

[lovely-angst]

I’m having such a rough week, is it possible for you to make a short Bakugou comfort fanfic? I’ve honestly been so overwhelmed with online schoolwork lately I just can’t help but feel so lonely and worthless. _(:’з」∠)_

of course! sorry it took a minute to get out, hope it gets better sweetie!

word count: 995

genre: fluff

summary: bakugou helps you out with your overwhelming school work

8:46 pm

staring at your laptop for the hundredth time, you sighed heavily before walking over to your bed to lay down. you knew you shouldn’t be lying on your bed when you had loads of work to finish, but you couldn’t help it.

you felt so overwhelmed and stressed. a thin thread ready to snap any minute, letting your tears flow free.

feeling a buzzing beside your head, you reached over to grab your phone, seeing bakugou’s name light up on your screen.

“hello?” you answer, staring up at your ceiling, bakugou’s voice flowing into your ears. “hey, i’m gonna run to the convenience store, wanna come?”

frowning, you turned toward your laptop, brightly illuminating your dark room, you let out a sigh, “sorry katsuki, i’m not done with my school work. i’ll pass for today,”

bakugou let out a short reply before hanging up the phone, leaving you alone in your room as you struggled to find the motivation to finish your work.

outside your dorm room, you could hear your classmates in the common area relaxing and having fun while you were stuck in your room with what seemed like a million unfinished assignments.

you wanted to ask for help, but it seemed as though you were the only one struggling. you didn’t want to have to burden anyone with your problems that you caused for yourself.

a tear slipped from your eye, falling to soak your bed sheet as you tried to get yourself back on track, but it was hard by yourself.

“(name), i’m coming in,”

without waiting for a response from you, the door swung open, revealing your boyfriend at your doorway, glancing around confused.

“why is it so dark?” he asked before his red eyes landed on you, “why are you looking so rough?”

sitting up, you wiped your eye with the back of your hand, “um, it’s nothing. im just exhausted,”

bakugou frowned, walking to stand in front of you. “doesn’t look like nothing. what’s got you so upset?” he asked again, tone slightly angry. “(name),”

glancing up at him, bakugou brought his hands to cup your cheeks, his eyes glancing over your features. “i’m so tired katsuki,” you confess, lip trembling.

“everything is so overwhelming, i-i can’t do it..” you say, dropping your head away from his large hands. “i can’t seem to keep up or understand anything from the assignments and no matter how hard i try, it’s not enough..”

bakugou is quiet as he watched you play with your fingers. “why did you never ask me for help?” he asks, but all you could do was shrug your shoulders. “i didn’t want to bother you.”

clicking his tongue, bakugou grabbed your hands, dragging you up onto your feet before settling you down on the chair in front of your desk. “well, it’s bothering me that you didn’t come to me for help,”

you followed his movements as he reached over towards the random materials you had laying around on your desk. picking up a pen and a post it note, he turned to look at you, “okay, what’s first on the list?”

you tilt your head confused before he rolled his eyes at you, “we’re making you a list to get you back on track. what’s first?”

“oh, um,” focusing back on your laptop, you scrolled down your assignments, listing things off for your boyfriend as he neatly wrote things down with little notes that you needed to remember.

“what else do you have?” he asked, glancing down at the multiple post it notes, pen spinning between his fingers. “that’s all for now,” you say scrolling through everything for the last time, you finally sit back, letting your self relax in your chair for the time being.

glancing over towards the post it notes, your eyes widen before you shrink back on the chair, your stress building up once again.

“hey, don’t worry,” bakugou starts, “you only have two assignments due tomorrow, we can focus on those first tonight,” you shake your head at his words before he begins to lead you through the assignments.

an hour passed as bakugou sat back on your bed, occasionally checking up on you to see if you were understanding the schoolwork. “how’s it going?” he asked, looking up from his book.

“i’m a little confused here,” you say, pointing to your screen as bakugou gets up from his seat to help. his eyes quickly scan before explaining and deconstructing the problem for you.

“oh, i see now. you’re so smart katsuki,” you say with a smile as you begin to focus back on your work. “i feel a lot better with your help, katsuki, thank you,” you say focusing back on your work.

his cheeks flush slightly before he grunts, “i’m just making sure you don’t fail.”

“and i appreciate it. honestly, i couldn’t have done this without you,”

not too long after, you were able to finish the first two assignments on your list before crossing them off happily. squealing, you jump into bed with bakugou, arms wrapped around him tightly before you buried your face in his chest.

“i feel really good. i was productive today and finished some work,” you mumble in his chest before lifting your head to look at him. “don’t forget that i’m here too, idiot,” bakugou says roughly before pressing a soft kiss on your forehead causing you to giggle.

“i’m sorry, katsuki. i just didn’t want to burden you with my school work. it was my responsibility, so i thought i should deal with it myself,” shutting your eyes, you let out a content sigh, “but having you here with me helped me so much more than i could have imagined.”

“well, now you know to let me help you, so stop dealing with things alone.” his words vibrated against you before he pulled the covers over the two of you.

“as long as i’m here with you, you’ll never be alone.”

#katsuki bakugou #bakugou katsuki #bakugou #bakugou katsuki scenarios #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou katsuki imagine #bakugou katsuki imagines #bakugou x reader #katsuki #katsuki x reader #katsuki bakugou scenario #katsuki bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugo imagine #bnha #boku no hero academia #boku no hero academia scenarios #bnha x reader #my hero academia #mha x reader #my hero academia x reader

[royalelusts]

a/n: I wrote this for myself cause I was sad but decided to share it

Stupid.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. STUPID. WHY AM I SO STUPID?!

I kept asking myself that question as music blasted in my ears. How long had I been here? When was the last time I showered? When was the last time I’ve eaten? Though it wouldn’t matter considering I had no intention of getting up. My phone buzzed notifying me that once again my friends were having the time of their life without me. It’s fine. It’s always been fine. They wouldn’t want me around to kill the mood anyway.

Sighing I put my phone on do not disturb deciding that a nap would be good for me. That’s all I seem to be doing lately. Sleeping away my problems instead of facing them. I gave up on schoolwork long ago thinking it would be fine if another assignment got turned in late. I mean would it even matter? It’s not like I’ve ever met up to any expectations. God, I hate it here.

A pair of warm arms wrapped around my waist. “Hey sweetheart.” It was Sugawara. When did he come in? I stayed in place not having the energy to move. Why is he here? Doesn’t he have practice? “I brought you some food. It’s from your favorite place.” I could feel his thumb begin to rub circles in my waist. I could feel my tension begin to leave my body but I didn’t want to. I don’t deserve his kindness. We stayed like that for what felt like hours.

“Why are you here?” I cringed at how hoarse my voice was. Fuck I’m a mess. “Because I care about you.” It was a simple reply. It wasn’t anything special. Just an honest answer. Then why was I crying? My body began to shake with sobs. I felt Sugawara turn me around pulling me into his chest. “Stop I’ll get your shirt wet.” I tried to push myself away but he didn’t budge. He just pulled me closer if possible, rubbing soothing circles on my back. “I’d rather have you crying into my shirt than by yourself in your pillow.” Eventually, I stopped pushing him away and completely surrendered to his embrace It was so warm and welcoming. It was addicting.

My sobs eventually turned into sniffs. “I’m sorry.” His movement came to a halt. “What for?” I debated whether I wanted to continue. To think I couldn’t be even more pathetic. “For making you take care of me. I should be able to take care of my basic needs and not break down at the small inconveniences in my life.” I felt his hand cup my cheek. “Sweetheart look at me.” Hesitantly I did what I was told. I knew I looked like an absolute mess but Sugawara’s eyes were filled with so much love and admiration. “You aren’t making me do anything. I will happily drop everything if it means I get to make you smile again. Please don’t feel like you’re a burden to me. I wouldn’t change anything about you. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

My eyes widened. “You’re really cheesy you know that?” I said burying my face in his neck. “Hey! We were having a moment.” I let out a laugh. “I love you.” “I love you too princess. Do you feel like eating?” Taking a second to think I shook my head. “Let’s stay like this for a little longer.” He kisses my temple. “Your wish is my command.”

#✰—writes!!! #suguwara comfort #suguwara fluff #suguwara x reader

[ofmermaidsandmarauders]

stolen dreams took our childish days - chapter 3

read on FF or AO3

I hope you all enjoy this next chapter in Jamie and Claire’s foster care adventure. It’s a bit shorter than usual, but... Enjoy! xoxo

March 2020 

It’s about three weeks before they’re able to arrange a visit after school for Fergus to see his mom. It means Jamie has a few extra hours to kill before he has to pick him up from the visitation center. He’s finishing up at the office when his phone dings. It’s on do not disturb which means the notification is from Claire, the only person whose number will bypass the setting.

Maybe you should pick up a treat for Fergus. I’m sure that he’ll be sad to be leaving his mom. He told me that he loves chocolate chip cookies. Or maybe ice cream. Or idk, Jamie, maybe he won’t need a snack and his mom will have brought him something.

He could sense Claire’s frantic energy in the text, a grin splitting his mouth wide open. 

Breathe, Sassenach. What a fine idea. I’ll pick him up something special. See you tonight.

Glancing at the time, Jamie decided the workday was done and that he’d need a few spare minutes to pick up a treat for the lad. 

It didn’t take long at the bakery to pick out a cookie, and before he knew it, Jamie was waiting patiently in a vinyl chair with no support. He kept glancing at his phone, answering a few emails before he heard a door open and looked up. A kind woman with cropped curly hair and dark skin with a badge around her neck stood in the doorway of one of the rooms just to the right. “Mr. Fraser?” she asked, at which he stood and nodded. “I’m Veronica, I’m the one covering the visits.”

“Aye, I am. It’s nice to meet ye as well,” he responded softly, taking a few steps toward her. 

“Fergus is having a difficult time leaving his mother. I’m not sure if you have a few minutes, the transition during the first visit is always the hardest,” Veronica explained, gesturing to the room.

“Would it be alright if I said a quick hello and tried to help ease the lad back to my home?” Jamie inquired, the bag from the bakery in his left hand, lifting it as if showing that he had brought bribery.

“Well, alright… As long as you’re comfortable.” Veronica turned back into the room and Jamie stepped toward it, stopping in the doorway as he saw Fergus crying in his mother’s arms, the woman’s own eyes appearing glassy.

“Fergus, lad?” he called softly, knocking on the dark wooden door. Fergus’ head peeked up before he started to cry harder, burying his face back in his mother’s neck. 

“I don’t wanna go!” Fergus cried out, his knuckles white from the grip on his mother’s shoulders. 

Jamie took a moment to observe the interaction. Fergus’ mother appeared younger than he expected. Very young, actually. Jamie was preparing to turn thirty-two in a few months and made the mistake of assuming that Fergus’ mother would be close to his own age, but she looked as though she couldn’t be older than twenty-five. 

Her curls were thinner than his wife’s, but she had the same dark hair. For a moment, Jamie envisioned her as a younger version of Claire, like a younger sister who had lost her way in life. Claudia was nothing like the monster that he had created in his head. She looked tired, her eyes were sunken in a bit. Her skin was pale and the lass was thin. Eerily thin. 

What Jamie then noticed was how fiercely she was holding Fergus, like she was afraid to let him go. He felt guilty, as if he was the one forcing the two apart, but he had to remind himself that this wasn’t the case.

“Och, lad. Are ye no’ going to introduce me to yer mam? I ken ye’re sad but I’d like tae meet the lass!” Fergus looked at Jamie and cracked a smile, likely at Jamie’s accent.

“Mama, this is Jamie. He talks funny, but he’s real nice. He and Claire… that’s his wife, you ken? They’ve been really nice. Claire said that maybe me and you could talk on the phone before bed at night if you’ve got a phone. And Jamie makes Mickey pancakes really good and…” Claudia held up a hand, a pained smile on her lips, though Jamie was sure Fergus couldn’t tell the difference. 

“Maybe I could introduce myself to Jamie, now?” Her smile became softer and more teasing as she kissed Fergus’ forehead before placing him on the ground, stepping tentatively toward Jamie. He squared his shoulders before holding his hand out.

“It’s a pleasure tae meet ye, lass. Fergus speaks verra highly of ye. He’s quite the lad. Brilliant and funny and charming,” Jamie trailed off, his cheeks going pink as he realized he was telling her about her own son.

“Oh, well… I thank you for that. It’s obvious he’s fond of the both of you.” Claudia looked at her hands, picking at the cuticles. She swayed on her feet before looking back at Fergus.

“I hate to say it’s time to go, lad, but ye have yer schoolwork to finish, aye? Say goodbye to yer mam,” Jamie instructed, feeling uncomfortable with the fact that he had to be the one to end the visit. Wasn’t Veronica supposed to step in at some point and do this? Why had he said that? Maybe he was being too forward?

“Mr. Fraser is right, Fergus, but I’ll pick you up from school again next week and you’ll get to see your mom again, alright?” As if on cue, Veronica stepped in and began tidying up the toys in the room, speaking softly to Claudia before Fergus gave his mother one final tight hug and kiss. Jamie picked up the lad’s knapsack in his free hand, gesturing for Fergus to lead the way from the room.

“I bought ye some cookies. Claire told me they’re yer favorite. Ye can have one in the car if ye promise to be careful with the wee crumbs. Do ye have a lot of work to do tonight?” Jamie filled the silence on the walk to his car, helping Fergus into the booster seat in the back. Fergus, normally chatty after a day at school, was noticeably silent as Jamie prompted him again with the question. Refusing to leave until Fergus had spoken to him, Jamie squeezed himself into the floor of the backseat, looking up at Fergus’ sad face.

“I don’t want to leave my mama. I don’t want to be apart from her anymore. It’s not fair!” Fergus sounded frustrated, and Jamie didn’t blame him. To only be eight and have to leave your mother not once, but twice. With no say in the matter, either. He didn’t blame Fergus for thinking it wasn’t fair.

“Och, weel, the both of us ken it’s not quite fair, but ‘tis what must be done until yer mam can keep ye safe and healthy. And in the meantime, ye’re always welcome with me and Claire, whether ye want to be there or not. We love having ye in our home, lad. I hope ye ken that.” Jamie was worried that his attempts at reassurance were a waste of time, but Fergus appeared to be comforted by them as he reached his small hands down to pat Jamie’s shoulders.

“Thank you,” the boy whispered softly, letting his eyes close as he sunk back into his seat. 

Assuming the conversation was over, Jamie moved back into the driver’s seat and began their journey home. He had much to discuss with Claire before bed that night.

_________________________________________

“Claire, ‘twas mebbe the most horrible thing I’ve seen in my life. The lad wouldna stop weeping. ‘Tis a shock my own heart isna torn in two at just the thought of it!”

Claire couldn’t contain a giggle at his dramatics, even if it was a depressing thought.

“Jamie, of course he’s sad! He had to leave his mom after finally getting to see her. I can’t believe you met her. What was she like?” she asked, the question coming out before she even knew it was one she had.

“Kind. And sad. Thin. Tired. Young. Verra young. Mebbe ten years younger than you, Sassenach. Sae thin, sae young. The lass looked like she would fall apart. She’s got a heid of curly hair just like her son. Much like yers, in fact. She was… She was just his mam.” Jamie’s shoulders felt at this last statement, his body settling into the mattress for the night. He hadn’t expected the thought to shake him so much. Jamie hadn’t even planned on meeting her, but something had pushed him to go in that room and coax Fergus out. Rolling onto his side, he thought deeply about what brought them to take in a child in foster care. Their goal had been to provide a safe and healthy home to a child in need. He thought he was protecting Fergus, but in fact, he was worried he may have been doing the complete opposite. Were they keeping the boy from the one person in life who would unconditionally love him?

Claire could sense that Jamie was deep in thought, and she took the opportunity to wrap her arms around him, climbing on top of him. Her cheek settled against his chest and she let out a little sigh when his hands found their place in the curve of her lower back.

“She’s just his mam,” Jamie repeated, the words causing a shiver to run down his spine.

“It’s not your fault that he’s here, Jamie. We’re just keeping him safe and giving him a good home until they can be together again, that’s all. You’re doing a good thing.” Claire peppered kisses along his skin between her statements. Her left hand rose to cup his cheek, thumb stroking over the curve of his upper lip. She felt her fingers start to dampen and realized that Jamie had been so shaken that he was crying. It was only then that she realized Jamie had lost his own mother, Ellen,  at Fergus’ exact age. 

“Oh, Jamie,” she breathed out, her hands going to his shoulders, holding tighter to him. “It’s alright. He’s going to be alright.” 

“I ken, I just hope we are more help than hurt for the lad.” Jamie’s voice was hoarse, his hands stroking at the soft skin on Claire’s back. 

“I love ye, Sassenach.” The words meant many things, more than he knew how to put into words, and he knew that Claire would understand the hidden meaning.

“She would be proud of you,” Claire whispered, the words coming out before she even knew they were there. Jamie stiffened beneath her for a moment before letting his body relax. His grip tightened for a fraction of a second before loosening his hold so that his hands could stroke beneath her t-shirt. “You’ve turned into an amazing person, Jamie. Ellen Fraser would be so proud of the man you’ve become.”

Jamie didn’t say anything else, just let the tears he had been holding in freely flow while his wife wiped them away.

#outlander #outlander fic #jamie x claire #JamieClaire #ol fic #foster care #foster care fic

[sooibian]

Dittany

✨ part of the Spellbound collab series with insanely talented writers @hkynm ​ @fullsuninbloom​ @blackberrykai​ and @j-pping​

✨ pairing: hufflepuff!kyungsoo x ravenclaw!oc/reader ft. ravenclaw!chen

✨ themes: fluff, mild angst, slow burn, cheesy couples

✨ genre: hogwarts!au

✨ description: broken bones and a tedious detention - can I still say that this is the best christmas i've ever had? it’s because I found magic in him - the big eyed, dark haired, hufflepuff boy. funny I say that as a witch! but sadly, good things don’t last forever.

✨ word count: 16.5k

✨ tag list: @eggsodose @christiandosworld @imgonweast @is-that-baekhyuns-shirt @changshapatrol @thatanonymousgirl-as14 @his-mochi-cheeks @charmedbaek @xiusoomygod @crescent-iak @gdaystays @mangobaek @keonaforever21 @staryyugy @hyckrens @yixing-jaebeom @halfbloodkjm @thepoeticfirefly​

With a baggie of Caramel Cobwebs grasped between her fingers, he saw her head towards Gladrags Wizardwear. He feigned untied shoelaces as his friends Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Chen made a beeline for a table at The Three Broomsticks. He stayed just so that he could see her for just a little bit longer as she walked down the quaint but bustling lane of Hogsmeade. It baffled him how different she looked to him every time he saw her. 

Yet she looked so familiar.

A sound of girls giggling reached his ears suddenly making him more aware. A jet of purple light shot in her direction and she stood frozen, right in the middle of the street, face buried in hands.

It enraged him to see her like this, weak and lost. With a flick of his wand he unbound her legs. Misty eyed, she hesitantly looked over her shoulder for a fleeting moment before hurrying into the safer confines of the shop as though nothing had happened.

This was their first ever trip to Hogsmeade and he thought J. Pippin's Potions worth the detour. 

Rat tails. Porcupine quills. Billywig stings.

The Hair Raising potion had its benefits, after all. 

A few drops of it in their pumpkin juice and those girls went around school with their hair standing on end. It made them the laughing-stock and not a single soul suspected the innocent looking, third-year Hufflepuff boy.

.

.

.

Professor Trelawney's got me feeling like I’ve downed an entire flask of Felix Felicis.

Maybe it was the fine sherry I brought her for Christmas and if I'm being honest she was most likely under the influence of some at the time - a bit too early in the day for such an indulgence but that’s just my opinion. Anyway, she has prophesied that today’s going to be a momentous day for me. She said it would “change the course of my destiny”. Jupiter has entered Pisces owing to which I’ll be able to open myself up more to the world. I shudder at the thought but her comically large, moony eyes bore a distinct hint of euphoria so I’ll take her word for it. And I don’t care what “opinions” other students - or even Professors for that matter - have of her but I’ll always believe that Divination is a highly compelling (albeit misunderstood) branch of magic. 

And Professor Trelawney is a truly gifted Seer.

With a spring in my step, I'm practically galloping down the Great Hall after a hearty breakfast and Professor Flitwick is unfeignedly in his element. A peppy tune on his lips, he blossoms golden baubles out of his wand, trailing them over the branches of the new dozen of frost covered fir trees akin to a Maestro weaving a symphony with his baton. Christmas has always been an ethereal treat for the eyes at Hogwarts. The Castle is covered in several feet of silver snow, in the Great Hall thick streams of holly and mistletoe criss-cross the ceilings and enchanted snow falls warm and dry from it. While I do feel a little lonely sometimes, I'd rather spend the holidays here than back home with Gran.  

Fourteen years of having to raise me all by herself after Mum and Dad passed away couldn’t have been easy. I reckon she could do well without having to unnecessarily fret over me during the holidays. And I could do very well without her persuasions, asking me to live up to the dreams my parents had had for me. Hopefully, she's enjoying herself with a cup or two of Firewhisky in the evenings in the company of her Ministry friends and gorging on those delicious Ugly Christmas Sweater Cookies and Liquorice Wands that she so relishes!

"Looks great, Professor!" I say to Professor Flitwick and with a cheery laugh he waves his wand bearing arm at me. I duck at the sudden attack of tinsels but one golden bauble nests in the loop of my topknot anyway. I think I'll keep it and use it for Hagrid's gift.

Hagrid!

A glance out the window behind the staff table and I resolve to brave the weather and pay him a long overdue visit. I have a little something for him and old Fang. I won’t lie, it helps to be the granddaughter of an influential woman for Hagrid’s Christmas presents don’t come easy. 

Another great thing about Christmas is that I have the castle all to myself. The dormitory is vacant and the Common Room is far emptier than usual. And I’m spared the everyday torment of hushed whispers and giggles and the occasional “practical jokes”. Carefully, I bring Hagrid’s present out of its little pen to measure it up against the stray bauble. Not his size. He rapidly blinks his beetle brown eyes at me and crawls up my arm with a certain urgency, nestling into the crook of my neck. “Aww Mr. Twiggles”, I plop the Bowtruckle down onto my lap and wrap a pink ribbon around its knobbly brown arm. Placing him under an airy bronze cloche, alongside a huge slab of butterbeer fudge, I bid him adieu. 

***

My butt is freezing, I’m pretty sure I heard something crack and it was definitely not the ice. A terrified Bowtruckle is smack in the middle of my face while I lie amidst crumbs of Butterbeer Fudge. Since this could be his only shot at freedom, Mr. Twiggles scuttles into the Forbidden Forest. Taking stock of the situation I realise that Fang’s present has now become one with the snow, I’ve lost Hagrid’s present to its natural habitat and probably snapped a few of my bones in the process. 

But this is the least of my concerns. 

My literal fall further down the school’s social structure has a witness - the Muggle-born Hufflepuff boy, who belongs to probably one of the most influential cliques in school. I don’t think much of them, to be honest. They’re just a babbling band of bumbling baboons. But can’t I have a day go by without being humiliated? Is that a lot to ask? Hagrid’s hut is barely ten feet from here. I wouldn’t mind breaking all of my bones in his company. He would’ve probably offered me some tea and his infamous rock cakes before carrying me to the Hospital Wing. Out of all the places in Hogwarts... out of all the places in the world...did this wide-eyed bloke really have to be here? Exactly in this moment? And just how many students is Hagrid friends with anyway? And why him? I swear I’ve never seen the boy smile. Not even when he’s with his rowdy friends. 

This can’t be it. 

This can’t be the ‘momentous day that changes the course of my destiny’. This is just like...any other rubbish day and it’s crushing my soul. I'm starting to believe that Divination is a whole lot of hogwash and Professor Trelawney is indeed a fraud. But at this point, I can’t feel my limbs and I really, really could use some help.

Squinting hard, the Muggle-born rushes to my aid. My lips begin to quiver and I feel warm tears trickle down my temples, further wetting my already damp hair. He stoops down and his eyes widen with surprise and recognition and he scoffs at my immobilized state. As he’s helping me up, I wrap my right arm around his shoulders. An imperceptible smile tugs at his lips as his left arm firms around my waist and before I know it, I’m standing on my own two feet - or one. My weight is supported by him and my good right leg. But before I can begin to thank him, a sharp pain shoots to my head and I see little stars buzzing around his ears. Maybe they are real! 

“Wrackspurts”, I mumble and observe his lips form the shape of a heart when curved into a wide smile. His smile is….bewitching.

And it's the last thing I see.

***

Madam Pomfrey strongly insists on keeping me caged in for the night. She’s implacable and my protests are met with a standard taut response, “Broken bones are particularly dangerous in winters. You’re staying the night.” How do I explain that I feel fine and keeping me in will only make matters a LOT worse for me.

I have to go see the Hufflepuff boy.

I have absolutely no memory of the events that unfolded after I literally started seeing stars. Not Wrackspurts. Did he perhaps carry me to the Hospital Wing? I have no answers and this isn’t exactly the kind of topic I wish to broach with Madam Pomfrey. My throat dries up at the thought of him struggling to bring me all the way up here and it makes me actively consider a transfer to Beauxbatons - if that is indeed possible. Because this cannot be happening right now! Sixth year has been quiet and I’d like to keep it that way, thank you very much. 

I don’t know if the Hufflepuff boy will keep it down for me. Will he tell his friends about it? Will I become the talk of the town even before school resumes? Will he keep it to himself if I cut a deal with him? I don’t mind helping him out with schoolwork or something.

My delirious train of thought is interrupted by three rhythmic knocks on the slightly ajar double door.

It’s him.

He’s standing in the doorway, twiddling a rectangular purple box in his hands, shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other. Does he expect me to invite him in? What’s the protocol? Smoothing out the wrinkles in my blanket, I sit up slightly and crane my neck to find Madam Pomfrey who seems to be in her Office. Pursing my lips into an awkward smile, I turn to look at him and shrug noncommittally. He takes it as his cue to enter.

“This is for you.” He says in a low mellifluous voice which tastes like honeyed milk and gingerly places the box at the edge of my bed. Caramel Cobwebs. My favourite! He finds a seat at the edge of the other end of my bed.

“Thanks, you didn’t have to...and thank you for everything. I -”

His deep brown eyes suddenly meet mine and I lose all sense of speech.

“It was Hagrid who brought you here”, he says nonchalantly, drumming his fingers on his knees while allowing his large eyes to survey the sterile, sprawling infirmary.

Then why is he here?

“Aren’t you missing lunch?” I ask, unwrapping the box and offering the constellate of bite sized confectionery to him. “I’m not too hungry”, he says, guzzling down a few anyway. A soft smile touches the corners of his mouth. 

Silence echoes in the Hospital Wing, save for our muted nibbling. It’s soothing in its sense of comfort as neither of us is particularly chatty. And that’s just as gratifying as the sweet treats.

“Looks like we have company!” The stern but kind Matron swooshes out of her office, scrutinizing the boy from top to bottom, making him shift uncomfortably in his seat. She’s never been too fond of visitors. I remember the day I tagged along with Chen last year to visit his human banshee of a friend - Baekhyun. 

A doxy had apparently sunk it’s double row sharp front teeth into his arm, injecting him with its venom. His dense idea was to experiment with doxy venom to appear ill just so that he could cut a couple of lessons with his dimwitted oaf - Chanyeol. While the latter went unscathed and even managed to extract an ounce of venom out of the doxy (cute fairies he liked to call them), the human banshee had to be brought into the Hospital Wing to be administered the Antidote to Uncommon Poisons. I only visited the boy who cackles like a goose to get a little look-see of what doxy venom could do to a person. But to my absolute dismay, he looked... peachy, with an annoying boxy grin plastered across his face. The Matron shooed Chen, me and the big oaf out in a matter of minutes. It’s not that I blame her. I would’ve probably done the same in view of the racket that ensued amidst their boisterous conversation.

Madam Pomfrey brings out a small vial of brown liquid and applies a few drops of it on my elbow. I hadn’t noticed the nasty wound my fall had left on it, up until then. A greenish smoke billows upward and it quickly clears out to make the wound look several days old and new skin stretches over what had been a deep cut.

“Dittany!” The Hufflepuff boy and I say in unison.

“Well done! 5 points each to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw!” Madam Pomfrey jokes as she peers over her spectacles and her gaze flits between him and me. I catch his heart shaped smile again. And for some reason, makes my stomach contract and my heart go into a somersault. Or maybe it’s the effect whatever Madam Pomfrey’s got me under.

The Matron raises her wand and points it at the table adjoining my bed. A large plate of sandwiches, two silver goblets and a jug of a cold beverage appear with a pop.

It's honeyed milk. 

She retracts into her office without pressing on him to leave and for that I am grateful. We share sandwiches in silence as a mildly bitter citrus aroma of Dittany wafts through the space between us. The plate endlessly refills itself but we’re both satiated by the third fill.

“I’m Kyungsoo, by the way. Sixth year.” He says in his dulcet tone and I take a huge gulp of the sweet nectar out of the goblet.

***

Madam Pomfrey sets me free with not one but two warnings. Avoid slippery outdoors if you’d like to enjoy the Christmas feast and Don’t count your owls before they are delivered. I’ll admit the second one is a bit difficult to stomach since I had my eyes trained on the door for the better part of the morning. It comes in fine print at the bottom of the letter of acceptance - steer clear of parent-less weirdos who believe in Divination and Nargles. Of course the sweet and quiet Kyungsoo received the same letter. 

After having sent Hagrid a Christmas greeting via an owl, I head over to the library. Its musty fragrance clears my mind off trivial sentiments. Sixth year is no child’s play and I need to read up on Apparition to avoid having a limb splinched especially after yesterday’s disaster. 

“Umm...HI!”, a chirpy voice startles me and I almost collapse into the Restricted Section. This voice is a little too sprightly for a deserted library and its owner looks like someone who does not belong in school during the holiday season. Her dazzling smile perfectly complements the twinkle in her eyes. She’s one of those girls but she seems nice? My puzzled expression asks her the obvious questions.

“Sorry! Professor Slughorn asked me to give this to you.” She hands me a rich parchment. It’s a letter addressed to me in the most exquisite cursive inviting me to dinner held by Professor H.E.F Slughorn.

Bleaaargh!

The girl is still here, eyes beaming with curiosity, “It’s for the Slug Club, right? What’s it all about? Well... I’ve always wondered.” Her voice trails off in an awkward giggle.

“Be my guest!”

It’ll help to have a slightly known, apparently friendly face in an obnoxious crowd.

***

I’m no stranger to the opulent ways of prestigious wizarding families but this isn’t something one would expect to see in a Professor’s office at Hogwarts. It’s barely even an office! It’s an enormous tent bathed in a dim orange of the sunset with its ceiling and walls draped in emerald hangings. The deep melody of violins drowns the frantic squeaking of house elves who are obscured by the heavy silver platters of the finest hors d'oeuvres.  

A circular dining area is set up right in the middle of the room where most of the invitees have taken their seats. There aren’t too many compared to last year. No Warlocks, no Vampires. Just a handful of students with their guests and a couple of past students - Slughorn’s proteges of course - who’ve managed to carve a name for themselves all thanks to the powerful connections he’d helped them forge through this very same Club. Or so he’d rather believe.

The tap on my shoulder strikes me with the realization that I’m still stood at the entrance. It’s my chirpy guest! The fifth year Gryffindor Prefect. One awkward small talk later, we find our seats at the ostentatious table.

Despite the grandiose, this is a rather intimate gathering. But judging by Professor Slughorn’s enthusiasm, the turnout is certainly not off-putting to him. He drones on about his overachieving handpicked students and I let my mind wander into the distance while Miss Prefect is certainly taken by the charms of this first-class motley. Well, at least someone’s liking it here.

“Kyungsoo, m’boy!” Slughorn jumps mid-feast at the sight of the newest entrant to this coalition, almost causing me to choke on my roast duck, “Welcome, welcome!” 

At a gesture from Slughorn, he sits down in the empty chair next to me and mutters a velvety ‘hullo’ in my direction and I’ve suddenly lost my appetite thanks to the butterflies in my stomach. He’s dressed casually in blue denims and a beige knit sweater yet he’s shining brighter than Sirius among all these boys in their finest ensembles.

“This young man is the only sixth year I’ve ever seen who’s managed to concoct the Draught of Living Death”, he takes a dramatic pause to peer at his guests over his spectacles before meeting my eyes, “flawlessly!”

Almost everyone at the table acknowledges Kyungsoo with a smile or a slight nod, save for a few overtly arrogant Purebloods who merely grunt in response or completely ignore his accomplishment. I, on the other hand, have my eyes trained on the roast duck to keep my erratic heartbeat in check.

Slughorn gears up for another act, “So tell us, Mister Doh, what exactly does your family do in the Muggle world?” His smile is cold, unwelcoming.

“My Mum is a chef, Professor...my parents own a restaurant.” Kyungsoo answers.

Slughorn contemplates on his answer for a while with a ‘hmm’, “A Muggle-born, eh?”, he lifts an eyebrow, “But the fumes from his cauldron almost lulled this old man into a deep slumber”, he chortles, wagging a sausage like finger, only to receive cold silence in response from everyone else except one invitee.

The feline eyed man laughs the loudest at Slughorn’s pathetic joke. One might think it’s probably out of sympathy. But it’s not. He seems to have actually found that funny.

Slughorn introduces him as Minseok Kim and goes on to sing praises about this former student of his. Slytherin. Excellent potioneer. One of the youngest registered animagi. 

His animagus is a cat. 

Minseok interrupts Slughorn’s discourse with an uncomfortable laugh showcasing his wide gummy grin, “You give me too much credit, Professor!”

“You’ve made me proud, my son! So tell us how your career as a Magizoologist is treating you? Well, I hope? Your uncle Soo Man Lee, a notable Warlock and a dear friend of mine, wrote to me saying that you happened to cross paths with an obscurus during one of your recent travels! That must have been...” Professor Slughorn shakes his head in horror and awe as his voice tails away.

“It’s certainly a story for a different occasion, Professor. Although, it happens to be one of my most memorable experiences.” Something about Minseok’s discomfit demeanour tells me he’d rather have a tête-à-tête with the obscurus than with Professor Slughorn. I take an instant liking to this man. 

“Minseok, we happen to have an aspiring Magizoologist in our company”, I loathe the nickname. It’s a garb. It’s a lie. But the conversation seamlessly steers towards me as a dozen pairs of eyes follow Professor Slughorn’s snivelling gaze. Clearing my throat, I say to Minseok, “I’m delighted to meet you - ”

“My dear, if I may ask and I hope you won’t mind”, Professor Slughorn interrupts me, per usual. Kyungsoo lets out a barely audible annoyed grunt and I hold my breath in anticipation of what he’s about to say next. Slughorn has a knack for broaching treacherous territories with utmost eloquence. I didn’t think it was possible for me to despise this gathering any more than I already do. I know where he’s going. I know what he’s going to say next. He’s going to play the Devil’s (Gran’s) Advocate. 

This is not a party. It’s an intervention which serves as an offhanded reminder of my parents’ gruesome deaths.

“You come from a lineage of Aurors par excellence. Your grandparents with whom I had the great fortune of exchanging notes and secrets in these very same classrooms. Your parents…. a tremendous loss to our world…” 

At this point, I’ve lost Professor Slughorn. 

He’s testing me again to see if I have any of my parents’ flair. I do not. Magizoologist is just a veil that conceals my seemingly purposeless life. I’m not sure what I want to be. Or who I want to be. If there’s one thing I know it’s that I don’t want to end up like my parents. Neither am I brave nor am I self sacrificial. Their deaths, I’ve come to terms with. It’s the torture they went through that keeps me up most nights - the unimaginable pain of the Cruciatus Curse before they were engulfed in blinding green light. My throat seizes up and I chew on the insides of my cheeks to feel pain that’s more superficial.

My sweaty palms clutch at the hem of my silk lilac dress. I feel hesitant fingers gently graze the back of my left hand, steadying the tremble. Judging by my lack of protest, Kyungsoo’s grip around my hand courageously strengthens. 

In subliminal comfort. 

I don’t feel cornered anymore.

.

.

.

KYUNGSOO

Oh I shouldn’t have. 

OH BOY I SHOULD NOT HAVE!

I’m not a pervert. In my defense her hand was right there! Trembling. Astray. Seeking shelter.

Asking to be held.

She didn’t say a word to me after that ridiculous party. I couldn’t muster the courage to say anything to her, either. What could I have said? I’m sorry? That would’ve been dishonest. I wasn’t sorry about it at all. Are you alright? I didn’t want her to feel any more uncomfortable than she already did. So I left it at that. Like I always do. 

Because I’m a coward. 

She swooped out with her friend as soon as the snoozefest was over, leaving her food completely untouched. In fact, I didn’t catch her taking a bite out of anything ever since I arrived. Her slender fingers were gracefully wrapped around a silver goblet the entire time.

It’s always been like that with her. She always needs something or the other to physically hold on to. The straps of her bag, books, remembralls, whatever she can find. I notice these little things about her. I always have. But to her I’m only a face in the crowd. The very same crowd she fights shy of. I don’t blame her. It is quite rare for pretty girls to notice me. 

And she’s ethereal.

Year One

My heart was hammering in my chest as I was ridiculously close to missing the Hogwarts Express. Partially because the oddly named Platform was nowhere to be found and I was starting to think of the entire thing as an elaborate prank. And when we did end up finding the way to the Platform by following a snooty wizarding couple who seemed to be seeing their daughter off, I quite frankly lost my mind at the prospect of having to run through a solid wall to get to it.

I said a final word of my goodbye to my teary-eyed mother.

Earlier in the day, her theatrical sobfest went on for hours after she progressed from outright denial and came to terms with the fact that witches and wizards do exist and that her only son is in fact a wizard. He wasn’t going to take over his parents’ restaurant business like she’d always hoped he would. Honestly, at this point he’s not entirely sure what his future beholds but he’s a wizard and is indeed very happy about it.

But I didn’t dare say this to her. 

I pretended to be upset about having to practically move out at the age of eleven. In all honesty, I was mildly upset but far more excited about this school I’d, obviously, never heard of before the Letter arrived - Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

But it wasn’t long before all of my bubbling excitement was reduced to a pile of rubbish.

I had lost my little pouch of wizard money which I thought I'd carefully tucked into the back pocket of my jeans only to find out about it seconds prior to having to pay for the strange but oddly tempting treats. I felt myself shrink under the kind old lady’s sympathetic gaze as I put my little confectionery treasure back to where it belonged. On the top of her trolley. Suddenly, the embarrassing rumble of my stomach was drowned by a welcome jingle of coins.

The second year boy in my compartment - who later introduced himself as Baekhyun Byun - paid for the treats instead. I didn’t like him at first since he had a permanent smile plastered across his face, was giggly and extremely chatty. He’d told me all kinds of sorting stories which made me want to take the same train back home. I discovered his annoyingly loud chewing habits while sharing a stack of Cauldron Cakes with him. But I guess a happy stomach makes one truly tolerant.

We tried to offer Pumpkin Pasties to the girl in our compartment who had her face buried in a book right since the moment she boarded. Baekhyun even tried to strike up a conversation with her, multiple times, but to no avail. She’d only respond in nods and slight smiles.

After a point, we gave up. There’s no cure to snobbery.

There was an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach even after having annihilated five Chocolate Frogs, a dozen Liquorice Wands, six Pumpkin Pasties and two Cauldron Cakes. It wasn't even the first day yet and I’d lost ten Galleons in wizarding money which equalled fifty Pounds in muggle money which equalled two meals at our restaurant.

The rain thickened as the train sped further north. Baekhyun pulled on his long black robe, gave me all of his Chocolate Frog cards and scurried ahead with his trunk leaving me alone with the oddball. We were nearly there.

“Here”, she said, thrusting a heavy, knotted pink cloth in my hands before exiting the compartment in a rush.

It was five Galleons neatly wrapped in a cloth that smelled exactly like the “farewell” cake Mum baked me. 

Vanilla.

***

We didn’t have to wrestle a troll or turn a fat rat yellow for the Sorting Ceremony like Baekhyun said we’d have to.

“RAVENCLAW!” the Hat bellowed and the girl from the Hogwarts Express found her place amidst the brains at Hogwarts (as Baekhyun liked to call them) and that didn’t leave me surprised at all.

When the strict witch called out my name I almost stumbled upon a step on my way up to the wooden stool. For no particular reason the word “Ravenclaw” rolled off my tongue and the Hat contemplated, “Intelligent and hard-working, eh? Hmm….where should I place you...I see. I see! HUFFLEPUFF!”

The table next to Ravenclaw cheered me on as a ghost, the Fat Friar, swooshed past me in what was supposed to be a bone chilling embrace. I caught her eyes and she gave me a little wave.

Ravenclaw...at least I knew where to find her. I’ll return her money but not the piece of cloth.

It is a reminder of home.

Year Two

Am I invisible to her?

Every time I’ve so much as smiled at her she’s returned it with an unreadable expression like that lady in the fake painting at our restaurant. If I approach her and she doesn’t recognize me, I’ll be making a complete ass out of myself. Anyway, she probably thinks I’m not good enough to be seen around with but third-year Chen is. People say she belongs to one of the oldest wizarding families and she sure does act like royalty. I guess, five Galleons to her is nothing but a drop in the ocean.

***

While Professor Sprout thinks I’m the next Tilden Toots - a celebrity Herbologist and Potioneer, Professor Snape’s way of expressing his satisfaction with my abilities in Potions was with a scowl and a barely audible “five points to Hufflepuff.”

Most of the students think of Potions as a lot of hard work but to me, it’s really not. I don’t entirely blame them. The classes are held in a dungeon and the Potions Master looms over us with a murderous intent but if you ignore all of that it’s just intricacies of timing and stirring techniques.

The Hair Raising potion was disgusting to concoct especially since one of the key ingredients was rat tails and three counter clockwise stirs left the cauldron with a sickening green residue causing the entire dungeon to smell like a dead rat.

I must admit, Hogwarts is one weird school. What on earth would I need this potion for?

Year Three

Whenever I’ve tried to avoid the joined at the hips duo Baekhyun and Chanyeol, I’ve found myself in their ear splitting company. By now, I’ve resigned to my fate. My fellow Hufflepuff Yoongi isn’t up for much these days. To be honest, he’s always liked to stick to the confines of the Hufflepuff dorm and that’s kind of a downer.

So I spend almost all of my free time in the company of the Perpetually In Detention duo and their Ravenclaw friend Chen. And I realise that I can never be Chen. Chen is perfect in every way. He’s polite, he’s intelligent, and at such a young age he’s got his life planned out. He wants to work for the Ministry of Magic. Which, I believe, is a cakewalk for the likes of him. He’s also kinda good looking. While we’re all struggling with embarrassing bulk sticking out of odd places and less than appealing skin, he could very well replace Gilderoy Lockhart for the next issue of Witch Weekly.

***

When I saw her head toward Gladrags Wizardwear, fingers clutched at a baggie of Caramel Cobwebs, I feigned untied shoelaces as Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Chen made their way into The Three Broomsticks. Suddenly, a jet of purple light shot in her direction and a sound of girls giggling reached my ears. She stood frozen in the middle of the street, face buried in hands and with a flick of my wand I unbound her legs. Misty eyed, she hesitantly looked over her shoulder for a fleeting moment before hurrying into the safer confines of the shop as though nothing had happened.

This was our first ever trip to Hogsmeade and I thought J. Pippin's Potions worth the detour.

Rat tails. Porcupine quills. Billywig stings.

The Hair Raising potion had its benefits, after all. 

A few drops of it in their pumpkin juice and not a single soul suspected the innocent looking, third-year Hufflepuff boy.

Year Four

Hagrid seemed quite proud of his crate full of Blast-Ended Skrewts. They were cuddly creatures, very useful and made for exceptional pets. 

If you looked at them with Hagrid’s beady brown, affectionate eyes.

Everyone in class was visibly disturbed at the sight of them. Yoongi was quite close to disappearing into the Forbidden Forest. But that’s just him - slimy, foul smelling, shell-less lobsters or not. I wouldn’t be surprised if he chose, out of the blue, to live as a hermit in the company of centaurs. Not sure if he’s aware that they’re averse to humans.

Smiling, she took two graceful steps towards the crate as the rest of us took two steps back. Then four, then six as her waist length hair rippled down her shoulders and sunlight bounced off the silver trinkets in her ears. Perhaps motivated by her deep affection for Hagrid and anything non-human, she dipped a piece of frog liver to tempt the freshly hatched Skrewts.

It was pointless. Skrewts don’t have mouths. Mine is carefully locked away in a little pen under my bed. Honestly, I don’t care whether it survives the semester or not. 

Anyway, she ended up earning a roaring applause from Hagrid and ten points for Ravenclaw.

I found myself following her to the hideous crate like my legs had a mind of their own while Yoongi gaped at me in horror. I don’t know what struck me but I’m pretty sure that I don’t love Hagrid enough to get stung by an ugly lobster. 

But she had her eyes lovingly trained on the Skrewts the entire time and my valiant battle against a six inch burning, biting and stinging hybrid went completely unnoticed by her. 

Would I have to transfigure into an ugly Skrewt to get her attention? Or gulp down a vial of Polyjuice Potion to look like Chen? 

I’d still lack his charm.

Year Five

How Chanyeol and Baekhyun managed to advance to the sixth year is anyone’s guess, really. 

Because at this point I wish I had a Time Turner. Twenty four hours in a day are not enough for what the O.W.L.s demand. I’ve got Potions, Arithmancy, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, History of Magic and Defence Against The Dark Arts. 

And Divination is entirely her fault.

There’s one thing, though, that Trelawney’s “Inner Eye” was right about - Everything is not as bad as it seems, my dear. It’s true. Professor Slughorn isn’t half as bad as Professor Snape. Although he’s a little vain and self-serving, I have a better shot at earning an O in Potions with him than I could have ever had with Snape. Where Snape would dismiss my nearly perfect brews with a grunt, I manage to earn some real points for Hufflepuff with Slughorn.

Professor Sprout, ever so confident in my abilities, had laughed away my Career Advice session by calling me the next Tilden Toots. Her face fell slightly when I told her that I aspired to be Tilden Toots the Potioneer and not Tilden Toots the Herbologist.

But my dreams won’t materialize if I don’t have near perfect scores in Charms and Arithmancy and these are the two subjects that have kept me away from my “happening” social life.

I’d been haunting the Hufflepuff common room with my fingers in my ears, muttering soundlessly and my dear friend Yoongi chose to “take a quick catnap for a refreshed mind” every chance he got. I haven’t seen them in a while - Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Chen and their Quidditch friends Kai and Sehun. With twelve (failed) study schedules strewn on the floor and six weeks left until the exams, I seized my copy of Defensive Magical Theory and stepped out of the dorm for some fresh air and mindless chatter.

Last I’d heard, they’d managed to earn themselves a week’s worth of detention for setting off Filibuster’s Fireworks in Filch’s office. 

What I witnessed in the corridor on my way out made me stop dead in my tracks. Chen had his arm around her shoulders as they walked along the hallway laughing and talking animatedly. This was the happiest I had ever seen her in all these years. At the sight of them, I felt a paralyzing dread seep into my consciousness. 

I hated it.

I hated to see her happy. With him. A part of me saw this coming but I could’ve never prepared myself for it and I immediately regretted leaving the unwitting confines of my Common Room. 

Seething, I went in the other direction, taking a detour for the Quidditch pitch, to find those clowns. 

With them, I could very well drift in and out of conversations. While I lacked patience for most of their rubbish and I usually brought my earmuffs along, today was different. I needed to hear something refreshing to get my mind off the horrible fragmented flashbacks of what I’d witnessed just minutes ago. It’s probably nothing and they’re just friends but the nagging rebuttal to my ‘just friends’ argument is making me restless.

To my absolute horror, Chen breezed into the pitch with an annoying grin on his face, cheeks flushed. I felt the knot in my stomach tighten.

“Guys! I asked her out and she said yes!” He announced to the world in his usual thunderous scream invoking a deafening response from the rest of them. Slamming my copy of Defensive Magical Theory shut, I rushed to the common room, ignoring Kai calling out for me.

Year Six

Study hard and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so and the consequences may be... severe.

And rewarded, I was. With 6 Os, 2 Es (Arithmancy and Defence Against the Dark Arts) and 1 A (Divination). Yoongi had managed to scrape through with a decent O.W.Ls score as well. And “Chen’s girlfriend” had topped the year, per usual. With 8 O’s and 1 E in Defence Against The Dark Arts, having messed up one counter jinx in the practicals.  She’s strangely under confident when it comes to this subject.

My house-elf friend Winky smuggled in a congratulatory vanilla cake - a Muggle recipe I’d helped her recreate.

***

So turns out “Chen’s girlfriend” isn’t Chen’s girlfriend. 

I mean, Chen has a girlfriend but it’s not the girl from the Hogwarts Express. It’s the Ravenclaw Head Girl. Because I spent nearly half a year sulking, slogging away in the library, feeling betrayed for no particular reason, despite my well above average O.W.Ls score I felt like a complete idiot.

The bearer of good news was Chanyeol Park.

Who enraged me and made me want to kiss a Blast-Ended Skrewt on its non-existent mouth at the same time with, “Of course he’s not dating that Ravenclaw oddball. He’s dating the Ravenclaw Head Girl.”

Smacking him on the head with my copy of Advanced Potion Making, I decided to spend the upcoming Christmas at school. 

It’s now or never.

***

She’s SUCH an idiot!

A freezing, injured, drenched, clumsy idiot. 

A Bowtruckle whirred past me into the Forbidden Forest as I rushed to help her off the ground. Tergeo, I muttered to siphon the blood off her elbow and hoisted her up not long before she collapsed into my arms.

She’s a cute idiot whose pain is… my gain.

.

.

.

“Why aren’t you home for the holidays?”

Howling, a chilly breeze engulfs us but the panoramic view of the landscape from the Wooden Bridge is well worth it. As is the mildly attractive Hufflepuff boy who’d asked, very shyly, if he could see me here.

“My parents are always busy with the restaurant during the holidays, anyway. Thought I’d use this time to prepare better in advance for N.E.W.T.s”, says a red-nosed, shivering Kyungsoo.

He’s ambitious as he is kind. “So, are you?”

“Hmm?”

“Preparing for... N.E.W.T.s?”

“No. Something’s kept me busy.” An imperceptible smile tugs at his lips and I find myself unconsciously mirroring him. It’s freezing out here but my cheeks are ablaze.

“What has?” My tone is unwavering but his rich pause has me dreading as well as anticipating the answer.

“The Patronus Charm”, he says, “All I can manage is formless silver vapour.”

Oh.

“I could help if you like.” I turn to face him to find his confused expression uncoil into a toasty smile.

“You can conjure an actual corporeal Patronus?” His excitable voice is not as deep as his regular talking voice but it’s melodic anyway.

Nodding, I say, “Let’s go.” 

Kyungsoo’s eyes aren’t exactly trusting. I’ve brought him to the seventh floor and we’re gawking at a tapestry of trolls ridiculously bent in a plier. If I were him, I wouldn’t trust me either. But Hogwarts is an ancient castle and I’ve spent a good amount of time recceing it’s rooms, hallways, and everything in between. Yet, I discover something new, every time. 

Last year, I discovered this - The Room of Requirement - or as Meady likes to call it - the Come and Go Room.

“Okay, so we’re going to walk past the area of this door, thrice, thinking clearly of what we need.” Pointing at the wall opposite the funny tapestry, I say to Kyungsoo but a look of sheer confusion mixed with worry clouds his face.

“We’re going to think of a large, dingy classroom where we can have our lessons without anyone disturbing us.”

His expression is short of saying, ‘You’re crazy. Goodbye.’ Despite that, he valiantly follows my instruction.

After the third pass we’re in a spacious classroom completely devoid of any furniture, save for two desks.

“Ahhh”, hands on hips, he gapes in surprise surveying the dimly lit room, “but...we could’ve practised anywhere. Why here?”

“For the effect?” My fingers clutch at the edge of the desk as a knot tightens in my stomach and I find myself hoping that he stays.

His ha-ha-ha echoes in the room and his voice is at it’s high pitch again, “Shall we?”

Nodding, I take the centre of the class, “So the incantation is ‘Expecto Patronum’”

“Of that, I am aware.”

“Great now concentrate hard on a happy memory. I know it’s going to be tough without an actual Dementor or even a Boggart to practise on. But let’s give it a try, alright? Professor Flitwick taught me using a Boggart last year. I didn’t leave him alo -- sorry I’m rambling. Okay, happy memory... now...go!”

Kyungsoo squeezes his eyes shut and his face screws up in concentration. With a swish of his wand he stutters, “Ex-expecto Patronus!”

Nothing except peals of laughter echo in the room.

“Lets go again. Together now.” I say patting his shoulder.

Signalling each other with a nod we try again, “Expecto Patronum!”

A lynx rises out the end of my wand, trotting across the room before diffusing into nothingness. While Kyungsoo manages to issue a not so tangible cloud of silver.

A few tries later, he manifests something visibly stronger but he’s not quite there yet. And we’re both exhausted. I fish for a Chocolate Frog in the pockets of my cardigan and hand it to him.

“This charm is ridiculously advanced! How about we try again after Christmas?” Leaning on one of the desks, he offers dejectedly, nibbling at the Frog’s head.

I gladly accept it.

***

Owing to the small number of students that have stayed back this year, the House tables have been put aside and a single table has been set up for the Christmas feast. As if it were the most natural thing to do in the world, Kyungsoo comes and sits next to me. I hope he doesn’t hold my hand like he did during Slughorn’s party or maybe I hope that he does. I hope we do get to hold hands often and discuss what happened at the party. But we’re both great at pretending that nothing unusual did. The Gryffindor Prefect is somewhere on the other end of the table, chatting to a fellow Gryffindor. And the spread, as always, is sumptuous. 

Digging into a delectable roast turkey I ask Kyungsoo, “What’s Christmas like in the Muggle world?”

“Isn’t half as exciting as it is here. For starters, we have no Wizard Crackers. Or silver Sickles hidden within puddings.” He says toying with the cardboard tube moments before it went off like a canon, covering him in a cloud of blue smoke. A flurry of white mice scamper down his legs and scurry out of the Great Hall.

His mouth drops, inviting a roar of laughter from the rest of the table and he chooses to steer clear of the Crackers for the rest of the Feast.

He insists on dropping me off to the Ravenclaw Common Room, “I’ll see you again tomorrow? Six in the evening, the Room of Requirement?”

It’s a date?

***

Today’s class wasn’t nearly as bad as the previous one but God knows Kyungsoo’s in a dire need of practise.

We sit on the floor after two scarcely productive hours with our stash of Chocolate Frogs pooled in the space between us.

“Here’s something I don’t get about Muggleborns. How are your parents okay with sending their children away to an entirely different world? Doesn’t matter what Professor Dumbledore has to say, I refuse to believe Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the world. We have moving staircases, a murderous tree, Quidditch, and Filch!”

His laugh reverberates in the empty classroom, “It’s not much of a trade off, really. The Muggle world has its own set of issues.” He unwraps a Chocolate Frog and offers it to me, “You live with your grandmother, right?”

“My fierce, retired Auror, grandmother. Yes. And you?”

“With my parents. I’m an only child. And you’re right. My mother wasn’t very keen on sending me away but she couldn’t risk their restaurant being reduced to a pile of ash every time I threw a temper tantrum.”

“You don’t look like the temper tantrum sort.”

“Ah you underestimate me.” He chuckles, “so the holidays end soon and I don’t have a Patronus which means our classes will have to continue. You’re okay with that, right?”

“Very much”, I nod but an upsetting finality pulls at me.

“Is there anything...you’d like to do on the last day of the holidays?” He fixes his gaze on my feet.

“Do you have something in mind?”

“Do you want to...well I was thinking if...I need to procure some Wolfsbane from the Forbidden Forest would you like to come with?”

“Are you daft? Do you have any idea what sorts of -”

“Creatures dwell in the Forest? Yeah, I’ve been there, multiple times.”

“And you haven’t been caught? Mauled? Battered?”

He sighs, “Unfortunately, not once.”

Meeting his unflinching gaze I welcome my impending doom, “Okay...maybe I’ll end up finding Twiggles in one of those Wiggentrees but don’t abandon me if Werewolves come for us.”

***

I guess there’s a first time for everything. But it’s my first time flouting a rule and getting caught. My adventurous friend from Hufflepuff seems absolutely unperturbed by the ghastly smile that’s spread across Filch’s face. And anything that makes Filch this happy can’t be good news. Kyungsoo shoves the bunch of Wolfsbane down the pocket of his jeans and I just stand there as an unwitting accomplice to his dumbassery. To my dumbassery. I should’ve never agreed to this. I didn’t even have any luck with Twiggles. But then again Bowtruckles are master camouflagers. What was I expecting?

“Follow me”, the sadistic old man wheezes and my legs feel bound by shackles. Kyungsoo tugs at my arm and teary eyed, I slowly shake my head. He laughs mouthing, ‘It’s nothing.’ Maybe it’s nothing to him considering the company he keeps. What if I get expelled? Where will I go? It’ll be enough reason for Gran to disown me but this bespectacled charming boy doesn’t have a lot to lose now, does he? He can waltz back into his Muggle world and work in his ‘restaurant’. Of course he’s an exceptional cook if he trades recipes with freaking house-elves! I can’t end up having a life worse than squibs. Boys are trouble unless they’re Chen. I literally never should’ve. What of this was a trap all along? I’m SUCH a fool!

I find myself in the part of the vast echoing Entrance Hall I’ve deliberately avoided in all these years. It’s foul smelling, really dull and a cat menacingly meows at us while curling around her Master’s feet. 

Room 234-00. Filch’s office.

Coughing, the caretaker points at the chains and manacles that are hung from the ceiling, “I keep ‘em well oiled in case they’re needed. The Forbidden Forest, eh? Brave enough for Acromantulas and Werewolves, are we?” His face is barely inches away from Kyungsoo’s and I feel a sudden pump of adrenaline, “Sir, please, it was a mistake. We promise to never venture into the Forest again. We promise to never venture out of our own dormitories again. Please, please just let us go!”

Filch is taken aback by my plea and Kyungsoo has pursed his lips, holding in a laugh and I feel stupid.

With the sound of a crack, Filch’s equipment of torture comes crashing to the floor. Mrs Norris’ tail shoots up in fear and a raucous laugh echoes in the room souring Filch’s mood, “PEEVES!”

“Nasty Filch! Leave the luuuuurve birds alone! Leave them alone! Loony woony filthy Filch!” An invisible Peeves’ annoying cackle resounds before ceasing with a deafening crack. 

Filch is boiling in rage. I tilt my head to look at the slightly experienced in disciplinary matters Kyungsoo and judging by his sullen expression, we’ve had it.

.

.

.

Does he think that I somehow jinxed his great expedition to the Forest? Because it’s been two days since the start of semester and there’s no sign of Kyungsoo. Neither in the Great Hall, nor in the classes I share with Hufflepuff. Is he avoiding me now that his friends are back? The lump in my throat aches.

“Oww!” 

Chen greets me with a smack of a book on my head, “I MISSED YOU, GOBLIN!”

I’ll never get used to Chen’s incessant need to announce everything to the world to get his point across but seeing him makes me realise just how much I’d missed him, too. Despite his dig at my height and an underhanded compliment to my brain. He slumps into the chair next to me, activating his ability to speak like a banshee. Not very different from his white haired Gryffindor friend. 

“So tell me. How was Christmas? Did you get the set of Wizard Chess I sent you? We should play sometime. Thanks for the Floo Connection, by the way! It was really thoughtful of you and I love it! My darling loved it a lot, too but I had a tough time explaining it to my folks. So how was Christmas?”

I wait patiently for my closest friend in school to finish babbling before telling him what I think he’d like to hear about my little adventures. Or the information Kyungsoo would rather have me share. The nagging feeling that he’s been avoiding me weighs me down like a rock. 

 “So you broke your leg, told Slughorn off and earned yourself Detention with a Hufflepuff boy who happened to be in the Forest at the same time as you. All of this in a matter of two weeks? Wait, why were you in the Forest again?” Chen is amused but also a little suspicious.

“I told you! I was bored. I went looking for the Bowtruckle!” I argue, needlessly.

“Bored? Didn’t you have to read up on Apparition? Also, you of all the people should know how elusive Bowtruckles are, Miss Magizoologist!” I cringe at the nickname. “And who is this Hufflepuff boy?” I wouldn’t be surprised if Chen were a Legilimens.

Letting out an exasperated sigh I answer, “Some Kwangsoo something?”

“Glasses? Kinda short? Squints a lot? Brooding?”

“So you know him, Mister Tall Guy?” I ask, inviting another smack on my head.

“Yes, through Baekhyun. I mean, haven’t you seen him with us? His name is Kyungsoo, by the way.” Chen’s not particularly suspicious now which bolsters my confidence to spew rubbish.

“No I haven’t. It’s probably because I can hear you guys before I can see you and I prefer not to violate my eyes like I do my ears when I’m around any of you. I hope this answers your question.” I think it was a bit much but Chen breaks into a fit of laughter.

“Then you’ve probably not heard him, either. He isn’t a lot like us.” He contemplates, “but don’t you look around in class? You haven’t ever noticed him before? He’s in the same year as you! You’re ridiculous!”

Of course I’ve noticed him. 

Every time he’s tried to talk to me, return my money, earned points for his house or even a sneer from Snape. Every time Madam Pomfrey has cooed at him. Even when he braved feeding a Skrewt. I’ve seen him in the hallways, in classes, in the Great Hall. 

But to know someone is to invite heartache and I’ve had my fair share of it.

“You mean he isn’t noisy like the rest of you. And no I haven’t. It’s probably because he’s not as attractive as a Merperson or as lithe as a Basilisk.” I lie. He’s not anything like the magical creatures I’ve studied about. He is a human. And humans are too tricky for my liking. Two weeks with him, two days without him and I seem to have lost my marbles. 

Guess, I am pathetic if not ridiculous.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him around either”, Jongdae ponders.

***

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

Maybe it was too direct but I need to get this weight off my chest. I can’t spend every Saturday until the end of term with him in close quarters, clearing out Filch’s old files (the Muggle way) with animosity looming between us. Peeves is enough trouble with his water bombs already. And Kyungsoo’s silent treatment is simply too much. 

He brings me Caramel Cobwebs, holds my hand and refuses to talk about it, insists on being tutored, spends Christmas with me, lands me in Detention and starts avoiding me as soon as his friends are back.

“I caused you trouble and you seemed so disturbed by it. I’m sorry. I’ve not been avoiding you...I just thought maybe you wouldn’t like to see me again.” Mumbles Kyungsoo, dropping Filch’s File Number 27 on the floor, leaving a mess of loose, dusty papers.

‘Butterfingers’ here isn’t right at all. I’ve been dying to see him.

I help him clear the mess by re-filing the records of the 27th file in alphabetical order. 

“I’m not mad at you. I was a tad bit worried, that’s all. This is my first time being...punished and none of this is your fault. I’m sorry if I made you feel like that.”

His little smile and an understanding nod makes my heart flutter. Snapping out of it, I read out an amusing record from a random file, “at least we’re not pickling rat brains in the dungeons.” 

His eyes grow wide in horror, “What?”

“Sehun Oh and Kai Kim for bewitching snowballs to hit Professor Snape!” I summarise.

Kyungsoo guffaws, “Yes! This was last year. Baekhyun had dared them to it and those idiots thought Snape wouldn’t notice. They ended up reeking of dead rats for two weeks after that. Nobody would go near them! Not even Baekhyun.”

I put the file back with an ‘ahh’, “So Kai Kim, Sehun Oh, Baekhyun Byun are your friends right? And Chen, too?”

“Yeah, Chen and Chanyeol Park. Why?”

Of course, the Great Oaf.

“Nothing, you’re quite different from them.”

“How so?” Resting his chin in his hand, Kyungsoo inquires and avoiding his eyes I reply, “Well, you’re not very noisy or mischievous?”

He chuckles, “I’m not noisy that’s true. But I literally took you to the Forbidden Forest and it’s the reason why we’re here today sifting through these records. Will you still say that I’m not mischievous, Miss Ravenclaw?”

“I take back my words, Mister Hufflepuff”, I need to get away from this sweet talker, “Now let’s look for more, shall we? Filch certainly has your friends’ adventures chronicled in these files.”

“We’ll probably find something on Chen, too.” He says quietly.

“No wayyy! Chen’s perfect.” I protest.

He throws a file onto the desk, creating a cloud of dust, “What if we do end up finding something about him here, in these records? Then what?”

“Then I’ll….do whatever you ask!” 

Why! Why?

“It’s a deal!”

***

Kyungsoo and I have been seeing each other fortnightly for the sake of Dementors. Let’s just say if he were required to actually fight one off today, he’d end up having his soul sucked out. Does the boy have no solid happy memory or what? Or maybe I’m just a terrible guide.

In class, we’re cordial. But somewhat distracted.

We spend all of our Saturdays together. Turns out he’s a couple of weeks older than me which means we both qualify for  Apparition Lessons. The lessons are scheduled for Saturday mornings and we spend the rest of the day in Detention.

The first lesson was...quite unforgettable. 

For Kyungsoo, me and whoever was witness to our idiocy. Professor Flitwick positioned Ravenclaws into a line as did Professor Sprout with Hufflepuff which had Kyungsoo and me standing next to each other with the requisite distance of five feet between us. The Instructor from the Ministry waved his wand and old-fashioned wooden hoops appeared on the floor in front of us.

“Destination. Determination. Deliberation!” The man who was a white wispy version of humans, squeaked.

“Concentrate upon the destination now. Which is within the hoop. Then focus on your determination to occupy the visualized space. And when I give a command, on three, turn on your spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation!”

Kyungsoo gave me one furtive glance and I lost all sense of Destination and Determination.

“On my command….one….”

I spun on the spot, lost my balance and fell over and Kyungsoo crash landed into my wooden hoop. With our Professors’ eyes on us, I felt myself melt into a puddle of embarrassment.

The inexplicable tension crowding the office during Detention that day left hardly any room for conversation. Which was kind of okay considering the ground we covered with Filch’s wretched files.

Although, the next lesson found us positioned at the two opposite ends of our respective House lines by Professor Flitwick. 

Despite being in the same room, I missed Kyungsoo.

Transfiguration hasn’t been particularly eventful with Kyungsoo. With Professor McGonagall’s hawk-like eyes on us, we don’t dare to so much as shoot a glance in each other’s direction. 

But last week was different.

In a lesson that included conjuring a flock of birds out of our wands, the entire class managed a few feathers, some gross mutations, and severed heads. Everyone except Kyungsoo. He’d succeeded in creating several twittering birds in his third try. Which was not so great for me since the little yellow chirpers zoomed in my direction and circled around my head, singing merrily. This continued even after most of the class, including Professor McGonagall, had already left. His idea of an apology for the inconvenience was flashing his heart-shaped smile. 

I guess it doesn’t take a lot for me to forgive him.

***

It’s nearing the end of the third month of the semester and there’s no dirt on Chen. 

Like I’d said, he’s perfect. We’ve found volumes on the other two, though. Chanyeol and Baekhyun. How they’ve not been expelled yet is anyone’s guess. These delinquents make my little Forest excursion look like a joke.

They’ve set off dungbombs in Snape’s dungeon, cursed each other and ended up having a slug attack right in the middle of their Astronomy practicals, got caught sneaking out of their dorms after curfew only eleven times, transfigured McGonagall’s desk into a ferret to ‘showcase their Transfiguration prowess’, set off Filibuster’s Fireworks in Filch’s office, distracted Filch by jinxing Mrs Norris with Tarantallegra - her legs spasmed wildly out of control, making her appear as though she were dancing. 

No wonder they’re the only students Peeves gets on with.

This little vault of information made Kyungsoo exceptionally happy after moping around for not having anything on Chen, yet. He’s going to use these embarrassing incidents (one of the punishments included cleaning out the bedpans in the Hospital Wing without using magic) against the two of them, he says. 

Detention and shared classes is the only time Kyungsoo and I get to see each other since sixth year is no cakewalk. 

Free periods come by few and far between and are used to keep up with the vast amount of homework we’re being set. We’re studying as though we have exams everyday and lessons themselves are far more demanding than they used to be. Especially since we’re required to use Nonverbal spells now in every lesson that requires incantation. I often catch Kyungsoo’s motley around school. Somehow, they’re everywhere but he’s hardly ever to be seen with them. Working hard towards his ambition to become a Potioneer, I suppose. I wish I were just as passionate about something.

.

.

.

Sixth year is an anomaly. 

Professor Sprout says we’re allowed to swear loudly in today’s lesson since we’re going to be dealing with one of the most dangerous plants ever - Venomous Tentacula - a green, spiky, toothsome magical plant with mobile vines that tries to grab living prey. Kyungsoo quietly stations himself next to me in the greenhouse inviting snarky sideway looks and hushed whispers from a couple of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws around us. “She’s latched on to him now”, sniggers a Ravenclaw boy and I notice Kyungsoo ears turn scarlet. 

A pair of thick gloves on, Professor Sprout takes her place behind a trestle bench in the centre of the greenhouse, “We’ll be extracting Venomous Tentacula’s essence for Professor Slughorn’s experimental Potion No 7 today. Now, who can tell me how we should proceed to extract essence out of a plant that could try to strangle you?”

Kyungsoo’s hand rose in the air like it always does during Potions and Herbology, “By using the Severing Charm, Professor.”

“Excellent. Ten points to Hufflepuff”, Professor Sprout beams at her favourite student, “We’ll use the Severing Charm but Nonverbally. Which will stun Venomous Tentacula and sever its mobile vines. Along with me, on three. One...two...”

I nearly squeal as one of the Tentacula’s sharp fangs grazes my arm. Kyungsoo notices and in a state of panic tries to stun my plant for me only to get seized and bitten by his own. “Diffindo”, I flick my wand at Kyungsoo’s plant, flailing it and flouting the nonverbal spell rule but it’s too late for any of that. The plant’s poison, although non-fatal, has started working on Kyungsoo. 

His skin turns bright purple, knocking the wind out of me.

Professor Sprout rushes him to the Hospital Wing.

***

On Professor Sprout’s special request, Filch has begrudgingly exempted Kyungsoo from this week’s Detention. I saw him for Apparition this morning and we’d both managed to, with Destination, Determination and Deliberation in mind of course, land into our own hoops. 

Kyungsoo looked perfectly fine. Which is to say the purple of his skin from yesterday has been washed over by the roses of his cheeks and the honey of his skin. Madam Pomfrey was required to keep him in only for the day as Professor Sprout was quick to act and the poison hadn’t caused much harm. I feel like a bad friend for not having visited him since lessons ended in the a.m. with Astronomy but he says he was out in a couple of hours at most. 

He’s planned to spend the rest of the day with his friends who he’d not had a chance to catch up with off lately.

By late afternoon I’d unexpectedly fallen into a state of blissful slumber on one of Filch’s old files. Coughing, I woke up engulfed by dust. I had to admit, Detention was boring without Kyungsoo and it’s honestly starting to scare me how used to I gotten to his presence, the faint scent of eucalyptus that trails after him and the ambrosial warmth that infiltrates through his seemingly tougher exterior.

But at the same time I regret misreading him. Mistrusting him or sometimes trusting him too much. He’s nothing like I thought he’d be. His simplicity is comforting but at the same time it is truly baffling. Maybe it’s okay to not give it much thought and let Jupiter do its celestial dance while I do mine by recreating damaged detention records.

#1116

>> Chen Kim

>> Lack of concentration in Charms resulting in production of a hoselike jet of water instead of a fountain from his wand, knocking Professor Flitwick flat on his face in the process

>> Lines - ‘I am a wizard, not a baboon brandishing a stick.’

>> Issued by Professor Flitwick

>> Points taken: None

I do a double take when I read the name. 

Chen! Chen? Chen in Detention? How did I never know about this? Even if it’s just lines it is still a punishment. And how did The (then) Ravenclaw Prefect Chen mess up a Charm in Professor Flitwick’s class? I must know. But Kyungsoo’s got to see this first! I quickly replicate the record on a spare parchment and shove it in my bag and with a flick of my wand, I place everything exactly where it belongs in Filch’s office. What’s he going to do about it when he finds out? Give me another detention? Bring it on!

Throwing caution to the wind I allow my feet to take me where Kyungsoo said he’d be. Swiftly descending down the staircase, I exit out the side door down the corridor off the Entrance Hall and run towards the courtyard feeling the harsh winds tugging against my skin.

It’s unusually cold for the first day of April.

Seated between Chanyeol and Baekhyun, he’s laughing away seemingly at the two lanky boys - Kai and Sehun who’ve got their wands at the ready. The courtyard is oddly vacant, save for these four rioters and Kyungsoo. 

Even Chen’s not here. 

All banter comes to an abrupt halt when Kyungsoo’s eyes meet mine, his expression solid as a rock. With a barely perceptible shake of his head he’s signalling me to walk away from here and maybe this is what it feels like being punched in the gut. Four curious pairs of eyes flit between Kyungsoo and me and I feel too numb to even get out of there. Did I make a mistake being here? Is he too embarrassed to acknowledge me in front of his friends? The frigidity of his expression is eating away at my insides. Moments of complete stillness later I sprint out of the courtyard amidst wolf whistles and peals of laughter.

Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I wipe the angry tears rolling down my cheeks and vow to never see this doe eyed pretender again.

KYUNGSOO

It’s been two weeks since the incident. 

Two whole weeks of her arriving after and leaving before me for our shared lessons. She’s even charted up a Detention routine which limits our interactions to curt nods and dismissive grunts. Needless to say, I still don’t know how to conjure a corporeal Patronus. She thinks she’s the only one I could’ve asked? Not Baekhyun. Not Chanyeol’s Slytherin friend. Just her?

So much for her big Ravenclaw brains. 

She walks around all high and mighty displaying her knack for embarrassing honesty but in the moments of truth she plays ostrich. I wasn’t trying to avoid her. I would never. But she’s a complete idiot who’d rather believe otherwise. An idiot who’ll never look into my eyes to feel what I feel. Even if she does, she’d just never accept it. It took me five and a half years to get her to talk to me. And if it takes just one misunderstanding to drive her away like that, I’m not sure if I want to try again.

.

.

.

The only two things I’ve gained out of my short lived acquaintance with Kyungsoo Doh are Detention and a new foul nickname “the girl who follows Kyungsoo around.”

I hear it everywhere I go. The Great Hall, the corridors and the Common Room isn’t very forgiving either. So all thanks to Kyungsoo, I’ve retracted into my wretched shell. I arrive late for lessons and swoop out like an owl as soon as it’s over. I spend every free period in one corner of the Library and try to avoid the Common Room as much as I can.

All these years I spent pretending like the cute, short, portly boy I met on the Hogwarts Express didn’t exist were far better than the last couple of months of letting him into my small Universe. In all honesty, I’ve started to loathe him. It takes immense self control for me to not have his pretty face eat slugs every time I cross paths every time I lay my eyes on it.

“Now, this one here….who can tell me what this is. My dear boy, Kyungsoo?” Holding a vial of liquid pearl in the air for us to see, play-acts Professor Slughorn. Another potential victim of my out-of-character slug attack.

“It’s Amortentia”, Kyungsoo’s voice reaches my ears from the far end of the dungeon. 

“It is indeed. It almost seems foolish to ask”, he says, bringing the vial to my eye level, “but I assume you could tell me what it does?”

“It’s a love potion, Professor.” I say.

“It’s not just a love potion, sir. It’s the most powerful love potion in the world.” Kyungsoo offers and I feel the heat rising up my cheeks. I hate having this volley regarding a love potion with Kyungsoo.

“Excellent! And how did you recognize it, my dear?” Slughorn directs his question to me.

“By its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen.”

“And?” His theatrics redirect to Kyungsoo.

“And the steam rising in characteristic spirals.” His dulcet tone echoes in the gloomy dungeon.

“Well, well, take ten well-earned points each for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw”, says Slughorn genially, “would you two please be kind enough to come forward?”

Kyungsoo and I take, in what it seems like, ages to be stood on either side of Slughorn, arms over our chests, looking in opposite directions.

“There is one more key characteristic --”

“It’s supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us”, Interrupting Slughorn, Kyungsoo and I garble.

“So to demonstrate”, Slughorn brings the vial closer to my face, “my dear?”

Consumed by the heady steam rising out of the potion, I clear my throat, “I can smell honey and...eucalyptus and….” Dittany. But I leave it at that, “That’s all Professor.”

“Very well, Mister Doh?” Slughorn quizzes.

“Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion…..Vanilla and …..Dittany.”

***

‘Evanesco!’ 

With that my last bottle of Sleekeazy vanishes in thin air.

“What are you doing up so late?” Chen’s groggy voice makes me jump but I counter, “What are you doing up so late?”

“Early. Up so early. It’s three in the morning”, yawning he waves his Charms textbook in front of my face, “Protean Charm.”

“Vanishing Spell”, I say pointing my wand at the empty table in front of us.

Chen relaxes into the chair next to mine and I let my gaze wander around the deserted Common Room. It really is a work of art encapsulated in all the blue and bronze. The stars painted over the domed ceiling, shine the brightest at this hour of the night, waltzing gracefully across the midnight blue carpet. If they were my stars, they’d wobble and fall owing to their two left feet. Could they, in the very least, give me a reason for this nagging ache in my chest?

‘Aguamenti!’

Drenched and dishevelled by a jet of cold water that shot out of Chen’s wand, I silence his raucous laugh and shower him with the choicest expletives before lifting the spell and drying myself.

“WHAT WAS THAT FOR!” I demand.

“You seemed so lost I was tempted. It’s what my dad uses to wake me up when I oversleep, you know? A nice cold bucket of water.” Chen’s snicker causes me to silence him again and he continues to blather soundlessly. How is this idiot so energetic at three in the morning!

“I’m going to bed”, wearily, I get up to leave and wave my wand at him.

“Wait! Stay”, says Chen, “It’s been quite a while!”

Groaning I slump back into the chair without further protest, “You’re right...so how’s our Head Girl doing?”

“She’s doing great. We’re doing great! She’s signed up to intern with the Ministry this summer under a certain Arthur Weasley...The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office.” Chen beams and making me want to pinch his cheeks in adoration.

“Congratulations Chen! Ah but I’m not surprised. She’s always been as bright as a button.” I can’t help but coo at these lovebirds. At how absolutely smitten they are with each other while I suffer with an inexplicable tug of longing.

“And you, not so bright. Stopped following Kyungsoo around, have we?” Putting on his ‘big brother cloak’ he quizzes me with a raised eyebrow and I shrink back into my chair out of embarrassment, “You know about it?”

“The whole school’s talking about it!”

“I’ve stopped ‘following him around’ now why isn’t anybody talking about that, eh?” My anger is misdirected at Chen.

“He’s been talking about that. About how you’ve been acting like he’s invisible. A notch below satisfactory behaviour, am I right?” The low rumble of his voice thunders.

“You’re defending your stupid friend here! So much for being unbiased, hah!” Seething, I argue.

“You’re absolutely right Dung Brains I am defending my stupid friend here which is you. Now tell me, airhead, what’s it called when two wizards have their wands pointed at each other, in a combative position.”

I groan, he can’t really be asking me that but the urging silence is uncomfortable.

“A duel”, I mumble.

“You, my dear, were walking straight into a battlefield of hair-brained blokes who were surrounded by stink pellets, dungbombs and fireworks. It was only natural for Kyungsoo to ask you to skedaddle, make a run for it...save your life! If only you’d have let him explain?”

Guilt courses through my veins and I find myself in the defensive, “But then why didn’t he just tell me instead of giving me that terrifying look? I thought he’s ...I thought he didn’t want to see me...and..and why didn’t he do anything when those great prunes started laughing at me? Also why do they keep causing trouble everywhere they go? Do they want to fill up Filch’s office with their records before they graduate? It only means more work for me. And for Kyungsoo.”

“They were celebrating a Muggle custom, April Fools’ Day as per the wise counsel of their frog brained leader Baekhyun and Kyungsoo was only trying to protect you. And you were too obtuse to see that. Why won’t you give him a chance? He’s one of the good ones, you know? And those prunes aren’t too bad either. They were laughing not at you but at him...they’re just happy for their friend.”

“Happy? Why?” My heart goes into a wild frenzy.

“You should ask him that. We’re going to be at the Three Broomsticks for Baekhyun’s birthday celebration on our trip to Hogsmeade this Saturday. So naturally, your Detention is suspended for the week. Come along?” He eyes me expectantly.

“Not in a million years”, I deadpan.

“Don’t be stupid”, with a flick of his wand he makes the three bottles of Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion reappear, “and live a little.”

***

On Saturday morning I went down for breakfast feeling thoroughly depressed but trying my best to act normal. Kyungsoo was seated with Yoongi at the Hufflepuff table. He was stealing glances at the Ravenclaw table before his eyes met mine. Pursing his lips he nodded slightly in acknowledgment. For a fleeting second I had a strange desire of joining him at the Hufflepuff table but I quietly slipped into my seat besides the fifth year girl who’s been tutoring Kyungsoo’s friend Kai and has been a tad chipper ever since.

The largest portion of my headspace has been occupied with an internal debate on whether I should apologize to Kyungsoo or not. But I’ve noticed how he’d not been trying too hard either. If I handed him the Detention routine he went along with it without a single word of protest. If I’ve been ignoring him in class he hasn’t been exactly forthcoming. The familiar sense of finality sets deep into my bones and I’ve lost my appetite. I gulp down my tea and slip out of the Great Hall to pay Hagrid a long overdue visit.

.

.

.

They never tire of it. 

The two boys from Slytherin provoked me to strike them with the Twitchy-Ear hex. They’d found it particularly amusing to call me by my stale nickname as I made my way down to Gladrags Wizardwear to buy Hagrid a new moleskin robe. 

He’d been exceptionally understanding despite my despicable behaviour. Not having visited him in nearly six months and communicated with him only via a flurry of owls, I had no idea Fangs had been suffering with distemper. Kyungsoo’s been helping out with a self prepared brew to keep him stable. Explains why he’s been frequenting Hagrid’s hut. Also explains why he didn’t come see me on the second day that I’d spent in the Hospital Wing.

And my attitude towards him explains exactly why he chose to keep the truth about helping me get to the Hospital Wing that day. 

I don’t know how to thank him or apologize to him. Maybe he’s just better off without me. 

I am here in Hogsmeade on a whim. 

As the sun fades into a deeper blue my feet stop outside The Three Broomsticks and I’m desperate to see him. But he’s at a friend’s party and I’d only be making it awkward for everyone.

“Hullo”, a familiar honeyed voice reaches my ears making me stop dead in my tracks.

Taken by surprise, I turn and tip my head back slightly to look up at the large eyed boy, his face bearing that lethal heart shaped smile. I hug myself despite the warmth of May wishing I could make myself smaller.

Having rehearsed an entire apology speech in the shower in the morning, I found myself strangely tongue tied at the sight of him. He prods me to walk the quaint streets of Hogsmeade by his side.

“I’m sorry”, staring into the distance, I muster with a giddy head and a seized up throat.

“No. I’m sorry”, says Kyungsoo as his hand slowly finds mine, inviting stares from passersby, “I should’ve...communicated better. But promise to never shut me out again? I couldn’t take it.”

Fireworks go off in my head at the sudden contact, “No, no I’m sorry I should’ve trusted you and… I promise to never shut you out again.” I couldn’t take it either.

“So what are we now?” He interjects, lacing his warm fingers with mine.

If only he could hear the thunder of my heart, “We’re friends again?”

“Friends who fancy each other? Isn’t that a bit odd?”

“I-- umm, I--”.

“I --- umm?” He teases, “Okay...I fancy you. I always have. In case you hadn’t noticed.”

Going up on my toes I plant a little kiss on his jaw, I don’t know what came over me. Maybe I’ve finally gone mad.

His fingers run over his jaw lightly and he chuckles, “If you attack me like this again I’d have to report you to Professor Sprout.” Letting go off my hand he wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. I feel a tingling sensation run down my spine.

Having circled the rural settlement for nearly an hour, we’re famished. We find ourselves on the High Street, right outside of Honeydukes, “After you, M’lady!” Crouching down in a bow, Kyungsoo gestures me to walk in.

M’lady?

Together we stare in wonder at the shelves upon shelves of the most succulent looking sweets imaginable. We’ve both, individually, been here countless times but together we feel like children lost in wonderland. I realize how light my pockets feel as Kyungsoo’s eyes wander around the shop ambitiously.

“Kyungsoo, I only have enough for Hagrid’s moleskin robe. I didn’t think I’d need a lot of gold for this trip...I could make a quick run to a Cashpoint first”, embarrassed, I admit.

“If we were to compound the five Galleons that I’ve owed you for six years now, I’m certain I could buy you half the shop!” The portly Ambrosius Flume, the owner of Honeydukes, clears his throat in annoyance at Kyungsoo’s comment, eyeing us suspiciously. 

Buy half the shop we did. 

Kyungsoo wasn’t entirely lucky with all the flavours of Berti Botts having sampled soap, dirt and earwax while I almost choked on a rotten-egg flavoured one. The Pepper Imps had us breathing fire at each other and a lock of my hair got caught in the line which Kyungsoo doused just in time and saved my scalp from going up in flames. We pigged on Peppermint Toads which made us sick after they literally started hopping frantically in our stomachs. 

Kyungsoo suggested we make a quick stop at Dogweed and Deathcap for a handful of leaves of a very foul smelling plant that were supposed to help us keep our barbaric fare down. When I absolutely refused to chew on them, Kyungsoo force fed me. The weird red dotted black leaves made our mouths go completely dry and left us with a pungent after taste.

“If you wanted me dead, you could’ve just used the Unforgivable Curse instead!” I cried.

We realized if we weren’t quick about it, we’d just end up breaking curfew so we sprinted to Gladrags Wizardwear to pick up Hagrid’s robe only to be tempted to by the thought of staying longer in each other’s company. Going back to Hogwarts meant being held hostage by the blue and bronze and the yellow and black. I’ve never appreciated Hogwarts’ divisive House system, even more so now.

“We’ll make it in time if we leave exactly at 9:30 p.m.” Kyungsoo reasons.

“How much longer do we have now?” I ask, dreading the answer.

“20ish?” he says sheepishly.

Burying my face into his warm and fuzzy sweater, I whine, “That’s not a lot.”

Squeezing me in a hug he says, “Then let’s make the most of it!”

We enter the shop that’s apparently been dressing ‘the Elegant Wizard’ for over two centuries with lurid socks and flashy robes. I chance upon a moleskin one which I quickly set aside for Hagrid and a furry red one with silver and gold stars that bounced off of it. I egged Kyungsoo to try it on over his all black Muggle clothing along with a bright yellow hat made out of chicken and pheasant feathers. He on the other hand picked out a black velvet robe with a high collar, a set of fake fangs and dragon hide boots that made me look like a vicar at something that the Muggles call a “rock concert.”

The disapproving help at the shop agreed to get our magazine cover worthy looks on camera. She said she’d get them printed and that we could get a copy on our next visit for fifteen Sickles.

Along with Hagrid’s robe, I purchased a pair of socks for the birthday boy Baekhyun. They were patterned with wolves that howled when the socks got too smelly.

And then, just like that, it was time for us to go back to Hogwarts.

***

Which came first; the Phoenix or the Flame?

The eagle knocker drawls and for the first time in six years I have no clue what it’s talking about. I’ve lost all ability to reason and all I want to right now is run over to the Hufflepuff Tower. A tall, thin boy who stood leaned against the wall next to the door comes out of the shadows ‘tsk-ing’ at me.

“Aren’t you supposed to be one of the smart ones? Did Kyungsoo really manage to dumb you down?” He chuckles before proceeding to answer the knocker, leading us into the Common Room. 

I choose to not answer him but he continues to look at me questioningly. He extends his arm and says, “I’m Sehun Oh, fifth-year.”

“I know”, I say, “I’m --”

“I know who you are. The pretty girl who’s captured Kyungsoo’s heart thus breaking mine.” He dramatically clutches at his chest, falls and rolls over on the floor. 

Excusing myself, I softly apologize to the elongated Flobberworm and head over to the Dormitory.

“Wait!”, he calls out, “I didn’t mean to weird you out! Are you up for a game of Chess? You’re practically a friend now… considering what you have going on with Kyungsoo. And I’m really bored.”

What do I have going on with Kyungsoo and what does Flobberworm know about it?

Unsure of my role here as a friend or an entertainer, I decide to indulge him with, “...just one game!”

“Wicked! Let me call Chen and you can ask his girl to join.. also Miss Ravenclaw!”

“Aren’t we all Ravenclaw?”

“Sorry...you know the girl who’s tutoring Kai?”

This is by far the most eventful day I’ve had in all of my six years at Hogwarts.

***

Resting his chin on my shoulder, he’s circled his arms around my waist as we stare into the distance from the Wooden Bridge. Every free period finds us together, somewhere very far away from prying eyes. The seventh floor and the Bridge are our usual haunts. Although, we think of these excursions as extremely detrimental to our upcoming exams, we realize there’s nothing to be gained out of fighting a troll. That is, our intense feelings for each other. But I’m not that brave and honestly neither is he. The shadows underneath his eyes are self explanatory.

“We need to chart up a study schedule. We barely have any time left!” I say bursting out of our saccharine bubble.

“Sure”, he nods, “whatever you say.”

“Kyungsoo!” Freeing myself from his embrace I turn around to face him, “We need to make it to the seventh year!”

“Who says we won’t?”

He’s loopy.

“Kyungsoo!”

“That’s me.”

“Kyungsoo!” 

He pulls me into a hug again and I’m close enough to see the constellation of moles on his neck. “Mmm Sleekeazy”, he hums, sniffing my hair. Distracting me.

“Do you need some?” I ask, immediately realising how his hair seems to be getting shorter each day. I run a hand over his head, “guess you don’t. What do you keep doing with your hair?”

“I like it like that. It’s more comfortable”, he sighs, “Wait! You don’t like it?”

“I can learn to live with it. Besides, more Sleekeazy for me. Keeps my hair from looking like a bunch of Flobberworms!”

Flobberworm! 

I have a Chess game to win!

“Kyungsoo! I have to go. I need to win this time. That Sehun boy is ridiculously good at Chess. Even Chen and I together don’t stand a chance against him.”

“Wait! You’re abandoning me for Sehun?” He asks, mock angrily.

“Noooo! I just….have to win this time. And you need to go chart up a study schedule for us. Also, what are you doing next week?”

“Whatever you’re doing next week”, he says, batting his eyelashes. And I try to suppress a smile.

“Have you ever watched a Quidditch match before?”

“Baekhyun’s Captain of Gryffindor, Kai is the Keeper. Chanyeol is the captain of the Slytherin team and Sehun’s the Seeker for Ravenclaw. And Yoongi is a lousy Beater. So yes, I have. Except I’ve never found myself rooting for my own House. And if you tell those Mandrakes this, I’m afraid I will have to break up with you despite you being the prettiest, smartest, nicest girl I’ve ever met. I’m sorry I don’t make the rules.” 

“Aww”, I tease, “Noted. And you could’ve just said yes. Let’s watch the Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw match next week?”

“We’ll be in different stands!” He cries.

“Oh! That’s absolutely terrible but can we go anyway? I finally have someone to root for.”

“You’ve always had Ravenclaw to root for!”

“No, silly! Sehun Oh.”

“Ah! Of course”, he says, putting his arms around me. Again.

***

On the morning of the match, I had my game face on. I don’t even know why.

Having successfully followed the study schedule that Kyungsoo had laid out for us, our mood was light, and we were ready to let our hair down. Which, for all practical purposes, wasn’t something Kyungsoo was capable of. We were walking up to the pitch until it was time for us to go our separate ways.

“You turn right and I’ll go left”, I instruct Kyungsoo.

“I’m aware of where the Hufflepuff stands are. Thank you for your consideration.”

“Okay then”, I giggle, “see you later?”

“No...you’re joining me in the Hufflepuff stands.”

“Do you want me to get expelled? Was that your grand scheme all along?”

“Of course they’re going to expel you for this. And if they do, I promise to voluntarily drop out.”

“What will we do then? Deal in stolen artefacts?”

“Looks like you have it all planned out.”

“No, I just know someone...great we’re off on a tangent again! No, I’m not joining you in the Hufflepuff stands. Bye bye Kyungsoo Doh. See you later!”

“You’re bound by law to break the law”, he hands me a neatly folded parchment, “Chen’s detention record. When you came to see me that day, it made me wonder. What was so important? So I went back to sift through the records you’d worked on and voila!”

“What’s ‘voila’?”

“Don’t digress. Come along, house-elf and find me a good seat.”

“Yessir”, I give up. And covering all the blue and bronze of my uniform with the black robe, I sneak into the Hufflepuff stands. 

The things I do for this bald idiot.

The pitch is pulsing with a contagious energy and I find myself completely engaged as soon as Madam Hooch’s first whistle sounds. All the whizzing and whirring players make my head spin so I have my eyes trained on the Ravenclaw goalpost except for when I’m checking up on Sehun’s progress with the Snitch. Ravenclaw hasn’t been doing too well and with the game down to it’s final few minutes, Sehun really is their only hope. Kyungsoo pulls me down everytime I jump or squeal for the Ravenclaw side, “Do you want to get thrashed?” he whispers.

And just then the commentator shouts, “Ravenclaw’s Seeker Sehun has caught the Snitch! RAVENCLAW HAS WON THE MATCH!”

My voice is hoarse from all the screaming. I turn around to face Kyungsoo pulling him in a tight hug annoying all the Hufflepuff fans around us. 

In a fleeting moment of exhilaration, his lips are on mine and the world stops.

***

"Happy memory!" I parrot for our last lesson before the year ends but Kyungsoo seems to be awfully distracted. That teasing smile on his face he's trying not so hard to contain is making my heart thump against my ribcage.

"Focus", I croon once again with mock annoyance but my brain is mush and I feel like I'm levitating because there's no way my jelly legs could be supporting my stance right now. He sways closer to give me a quick peck on the nose. 

"Happy memory", he whispers as his eyes search mine. Brushing a stray lock of hair away from my face, he allows his thumb to softly caress my cheek. His fingers pry for mine before they're intertwined in a steady grip. 

We take our positions, raise our wands and yell with a flick, "Expecto Patronum!"

Two lynxes dance around the Room of Requirement illuminating it with the gleam of their silver.

Dumbstruck, I tilt my head to face Kyungsoo, “Your Patronus...”

“Our Patronuses”, he whispers.

“We have the same --”

Kyungsoo reaches for my waist and draws me close, his plush lips an agonizing touch away from mine. Twirling my fingers in the seams of his robe, I close my eyes and feel my breath hitch in my throat. A tingling sensation spreads through every fragment of my being as his hand finds the back of my neck and his lips meet mine in a dizzying kiss.

.

.

.

Two Years Later

My house looks wonky.

And, no. It’s not the after effect of Apparating here. A wonky house held up by charms in the middle of nowhere was the only thing Kyungsoo and I could afford with his meagre pay at J. Pippin’s Potions and the modest “severance” I received after being practically disinherited by Gran for wasting my time with a Muggle-born.

I trudge the short distance from the shabby front garden to the main door, weary from my dismal performance in today’s Stealth and Tracking lesson. 

The door swings open and the pungent odour coming out from Kyungsoo’s makeshift Apothecary in our basement makes me want to barf. Putting a bubble around my head to avoid the smell, I traipse to the basement.

A bald Kyungsoo is bent over a cauldron, the steam from which has fogged up his glasses and has apparently made him go deaf. I poke him on his shoulder to grab his attention, making him jump. Therefore causing his little vials to smash on the floor.

I just set us back by twenty Galleons.

Kyungsoo is quick to clear the sloppy and shard-y mess I’d made and reverse the Bubble Head charm I’d put myself under. He covers up the putrid cauldron immediately.

Tears well up in my eyes and I lean into his chest. 

The world is bleak.

“You’re home”, he coaxes, gently running a gloved hand over my head.

“Remind me again why I chose to become an Auror? I could’ve done anything with my perfect N.E.W.T. scores. I’m disastrous at this!” I’m sobbing against his soft ‘t-shirt’ as he comforts me with a ‘shhh..it’s okay’. “The chickens have made such a mess in the coop, Soo and I haven’t heard back from the Auror Office on the internship yet. We have a piteous stack of gold in our vault at Gringotts….” sniffling I continue, “You know we could just keep our money in a safe here..those clever Goblins are making so much money out of our money! The vault is a bad decision...we’re losing more money because of it. I hate the vault and the chickens and this house! What if it crumbles down while we’re asleep? What will we do then?” I pull away from him, my wide eyes demanding answers.

“We won’t have to worry about much if the roof comes crashing on us”, He reasons with a slight teasing smile. 

“The very stringent Auror Office accepted you because you’re a brilliant witch and right, I believe you enrolled with them only to spite Gran. And honestly my love, you’re being too hard on yourself. You did really well on the Concealment and Disguise training, didn’t you?” He says, lifting my chin up.

“Also on the Memory Charm”, I offer quietly, making him chuckle.

“Exactly! What else is bothering you? Ahh the chickens and the vault?” 

“Also the fact that Gran hates you and your parents think I’m a sinister witch who has tied their son down”, my lips begin to tremble again.

He sighs.

“I promise to take care of the chicken situation tomorrow and my love, we finally have a reason to keep that vault”, his eyes enlarge into beautiful brown circles and his plush lips stretch into a heart. A shrill pitch betrays his otherwise deep, calm voice, “Dogweed and Deathcap has offered me a job with a pay raise and a free supply of ingredients! Which is a great thing because ever since you’ve started your Auror training you’ve practically emptied my Dittany stores!”

“KYUNGSOO! I’m so happy for you!” Screaming, I jump into his arms and he twirls me around, dancing and giggling.

Panting, he says excitedly, “Wait! There’s more. Apparently the article on the benefits of Confusing Concoction I co-authored with Slughorn’s Warlock friend’s daft grand nephew?”

I nod vigorously.

“That article really took off! One of the reviews called me a ‘promising Potioneer’! Gran apparently got a whiff of that article...”

My expression soured, “And?”

“She’s invited us home to discuss it!” He rummages for a letter in his desk drawer and hands it to me, “Take a look at this!”

The letter reads in Gran’s shrewd yet artistic handwriting. She mentions, to the best of her abilities, how proud she is of me for following my parents’ footsteps and that she’d like to see us for dinner to discuss our ‘future’.

“She’s coming around”, Kyungsoo crouches to peer into my blank eyes.

“Took her long enough.”

“There’s one more thing”, he says sheepishly.

It looks like an evening full of surprises. 

Kyungsoo gives me a glossy magazine with a still picture of a woman in the most garish outfit I’ve ever seen with the word VOGUE sprawled across her scrawny frame in big bold white letters.

“Soo, why are you giving me a Muggle magazine?”

“For Muggle clothing inspo.”

I hate it when he uses these ridiculous foreign terms like “inspo” and “voila”. “Voila” is definitely his favourite.

“Why would I need clothing inspiration, Soo? Do you not like what I wear?”

“I love what you wear. Even when you don’t wear --”

“Soo!”

“Okay umm we have to take a trip to London...my parents would like to have us over for the weekend….you’re”, he pauses, “you’re okay with that right?”

It’s a lot to process. 

What if they prosecute me by hanging? I’ve read about what Muggles do to witches. Idly running through the pages of the magazine which suddenly seems too heavy for my arms, I buy time. Kyungsoo patiently waits for my answer.

“What’s ‘goss’?” I mumble, eyes trained on ‘Vogue’.

“Gossip?”

“Ahh...I have some ‘goss’ on Baekhyun and his girlfriend.” I digress and let me.

His brows crinkle in concern, “Oh-kay?”

“They were caught snogging in one of the Training Rooms yesterday...”

“And what became of them?”

“I don’t know.” They were made to clean all the Training Rooms the Muggle way. “Kyungsoo, I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He pulls me into his arms and presses his soft lips to my forehead, “We’ll get through this.”

“Of course, we will. We’re soulmates”, I say into his chest, reminiscing the time we’d kissed while two lynxes waltzed around us.

Suddenly, with a loud boom, Kyungsoo’s cauldron went flying in the air. It’s bubbling hot contents splattered on the walls of our basement. The impact made us duck under his desk.

“I forgot to turn off the burner.”

#kyungsoo #exo #kyungsoo fluff #exo fluff #kyungsoo imagines #exo imagines #kyungsoo scenarios #exo scenarios #kyungsoo oneshot #kyungsoo oneshots #exo oneshots #exo hogwarts au #kyungsoo hogwarts au #ex aus

[anotherhamiltonblog]

Foreign Touch ch 7

Warnings:  Angst. Panic Attack. Talk of Character Death. Cursing. the boys being cute friends. Thomas being a Cute boyfriend.

Word Count: 2.638

Previously    Masterlist

A/N: I’m so sorry for the delay guys. I posted a few days ago that I was going through something and just needed to leave and take some time for myself. BUT I’m back and working on the stories! SO here you go! Chapter 7!!! 

Enjoy!

Two weeks after waking up and finding out about her parents, Y/N was starting to feel a little better. New Year’s came and gone; her grandparents almost never left her side. Sadly, Thomas, Alexander and her friends had to go back to school. Bringing cards, gifts and flowers each time they were allowed to visit. Mostly from her classmates, her cheer squad and her teachers. Something that brought a smile to her face, what didn’t make Y/N happy was the homework.

Late one afternoon, with notebooks, pens, textbooks and her iPad around her. Y/N felt like her head was going to explode. Her leg was itching and aching. Her head always felt heavy, her chest and ribs hurt. Yet, Y/N never asked for more pain medication. She knew what could happen if she had too much, being addicted was not a good sign for her. So instead she dealt through the pain.

“Hi sweety…” a female voice came from the doorway, Y/N looking up and grinning at the sight of Jane Jefferson and Martha Washington standing there.

“We came to bring you some homemade food… the boys should be here soon. I was visiting Jane here and came along to see how you’re doing.” Martha spoke and walked over, only to frown at the amount of homework Y/N had spread around the hospital bed.

“Now, I know that all this can wait…” but Y/N cut Martha off.

“It can’t… not if I want to get into a good college!” she frowned and looked down. “Julliard and the other Art Schools won’t accept me now that I can’t dance anymore.” She rolled her eyes and flopped back on the pillows behind her.

“Hey, none of that now.” Jane came over and both Martha and her started to clean up the schoolwork. “Thomas tells me you are one of the smartest students in that school. I’m sure no one will blame you for not putting your schoolwork as a priority right now.”

Once everything was cleaned up, Y/N felt like she could breathe again. “I just…” but she trailed off and closed her eyes. “I couldn’t attend the funeral… I get out tomorrow. I have this thing on my leg and stitches and I’m ugly and I just miss them so much!” she cried as tears started to slip down her cheeks.

Both women looked at each other and frowned before sitting on either side of Y/N, both trying to comfort the crying girl. Jane even mentioning for Thomas to get back out when he arrived at the door.

“You aren’t alone. OK?” Martha said softly, “I know for a fact that Jane here will allow you to go over to her home whenever you feel like it. My home is always opened for you as well, sweetie.” She whispered. “I knew your parents; they would have preferred it this way than having to bury their child. There is no greater pain for a parent than to have to say goodbye to their child. You will have so much support. George and I, Jane and her husband. You have your soulmate, Alexander and all your friends…”

“We almost lost you as well, Y/N.” Jane added now. “We only know this because your mark appeared on Thomas… both he and Alexander almost broke down.” She kissed the girls head softly. “You will never be alone. OK? We will all help you whenever you need. We’re all here for you.”

As she cried softly, Y/N nodded at their words and knew it would take some time, but she would be surrounded by people to help her.

By the time Y/N had calmed down a good amount, the two women left, and Thomas walked in with a small smile on his face. Y/N fixed herself on the bed and made space for her boyfriend to join her. Once he got on the bed, Y/N found herself cuddling with the man and closed her eyes.

“Your friends said they’ll give us about ten minutes before they barge in here…” Thomas said against her hair and smiled. The words causing Y/N to smile sadly.

She didn’t speak, feeling like she would cry if she even tried to speak. Instead she closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. Eyes closed and Y/N took in the silence and the cologne Thomas was wearing.

The scent being one that could always comfort her.

“I don’t wanna go home…” she finally managed to speak, her voice betraying her and cracking in the middle of the short sentence.

“I can’t go back there; I can’t be in the house without them… or with my grandparents… they’re old! They need to rest and look after themselves. I’m about to be eighteen! I can figure things out on my own…” her voice got softer at the end and she sighed.

“If you don’t want to go back home, no one can make you. Alexander has been staying with John ever since the accident.” Y/N felt his lips brush against her forehead as he spoke. “You can come stay with me and my parents. They won’t mind. They love you. There’s Mr. and Mrs. Washington. You know how much they love all of us over…” but Y/N cut him off.

“The last thing I want to do, is be a burden for anyone.” She snorted. “Fucking look at me, Thomas! I’m black, blue and stitched! I died for like a whole minute! I’m going to be walking funny, I can’t dance anymore! I can’t practice violin until my hand stops aching.” She almost snapped at her boyfriend. The two now sitting up on the bed. “I can’t even study, cause I don’t have a fucking clue what’s going on in class and no one to explain this shit to me. Alex and I have to bury our parents!

“I… I can’t… I don’t want to get in a car anymore! Or look at any bright lights!” she blinked a few times. Trying to stop the tears. “The doctor came in a few days ago… early in the morning to check me out. Flashed a damn light in my eye to test whatever the fuck they were testing, and I panicked! I saw the car coming and I heard the screams!”

Little did Y/N know, her brother and friends were outside the room listening in. Once things were quiet, they entered slowly.

The distraction helped. Alex saw Thomas standing beside the bed, Y/N sitting up looking stressed.

“Someone needs a sponge bath.” Hercules said with a sad smile, thankfully his words made a small smile appear on the girls face.

“God no…” she huffed. “What’s under this gown… not pretty” Y/N added a bit softer and looked down at her hands. A needle still stuck in her hand, tape and a bandage over it. Her other hand was bandaged up as well. Her body was still healing, her ribs mostly.

The cast she wore on her leg went an inch above her knee and down to her feet. Only her toes peeking out.

“I spoke to the nurse… we can wheel you around today…” Alexander spoke and that’s how the group spent the rest of the visitation time. Wheeling Y/N around the hospital, finding a garden and talking nonsense.

In the end, Y/N took up Thomas’ offer in going home with him. Her grandparents had been present at the time, having come around to visit her. They understood and allowed it.

That night, being the last night in the hospital. Y/N fell asleep somewhat easily, of course with some help of the antidepressants that had an extra kick to help with the anxiety she felt and the sleeplessness.

By the next morning, with the help from a nurse -much to her slight embarrassment- Y/N got changed into very loose sweatpants, sock and shoe on her bare foot and a long sleeve, loose shirt. Foregoing the bra, Y/N didn’t want to wear the thing and have it irritating her aching chest and back.

Messaging Thomas, she grinned at their little interaction. Y/N’s grandparents had signed her out and all she had to do was wait for her boyfriend to come. The room she had been staying in was bare once again, the decorations her friends had put up was taken down now, presents safely in her bag. 

The ring, the purple two hearted Dimond with a silver band. It was safely on her right-hand ring finger. Reminding her of the promise Thomas had made her when he presented the ring to Y/N.

Y/N sat there looking at the tiny ring inside the box in shock. “Thomas… this isn’t some kind of proposal….” But he chuckled and cut her off.

“No princess, nothing like that. We aren’t close to being ready for marriage.” He teased softly and took her hands in his. “This is just… a promise. That I’ll stick by your side. Thick and thin, I’ll always be here for you. OK? No matter what happens, and not just because we’re soulmates. I liked you even before we found out… finding out you were my other half, the girl I’m destined to be with? That’s fate.”

His words brough tears to her eyes, Y/N feeling like she spent a lot of her time crying. Only this time, the tears were ones of happiness.

“You know I’ve always been some kind of asshole. To Alex, to the other kids at school and the girls. When I got back from Paris, and the mark appeared on me. I doubted I would ever find the girl who was supposed to be with me. Then there you were, always running from me.” He laughed slightly. “I fell for you instantly, the first time you called me out on my bullshit and defended your brother. I thought god was punishing me, making me fall for someone as amazing as you and you not being my soulmate... but I must have done something right to be able to spend my life with you.”

Pulling Thomas in and pressing their lips together, the kiss was soft and sweet.

“Thank you… god I love you Thomas Jefferson.” Y/N spoke against his lips and held him close to her. The couple spending that night holding the other while the nurses allowed Thomas to spend the night. Having seen the interaction between the two.

Snapping back to the present, Y/N smiled and brushed her messy, dirty hair away from her face. Other than the horrible time trying to shower in the bathroom she had access to. Y/N was ready to head home…

It was than that she remembered she wouldn’t be going home. She was going to live with Thomas and his family. With a sigh, eyes closed. Y/N never noticed someone entering her room.

“Hey sweetheart…”

Looking over towards the door, Y/N smiled at Thomas standing there before rolling her eyes at the wheelchair brought in. Of course, Y/N already knew she would have to be pushed out in the wheelchair. Doesn’t mean she was happy about it.

“Ready to go?” he asked and stepped closer, grabbing her things so Y/N wouldn’t have to worry about anything.

With a nod, Y/N tried to hide how anxious she was feeling about getting in a car again. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Using the crutches, she was given, Y/N was able to sit down on the wheelchair and allowed Thomas to place a knitted hat on the top of her head before wrapping his scarf around her. Ignoring the unamused look Y/N was giving him.

“Just wanna make sure you don’t catch a cold.” He grinned cheekily at her and Y/N couldn’t help but smile at him.

Soon enough, she was being pushed out of the hospital building and after blinking a few times, trying to get used to the brightness of the sun hitting the snow. Y/N looked at the car and tried to calm herself down.

‘You’ll be alright… Thomas knows what he’s doing. He won’t let anything happen to you…’ Y/N thought as the wheelchair stopped next to the car and there was her boyfriend helping her into the passenger seat.

Bidding the nurse goodbye, the door was closed, and the seatbelt was on. Suddenly it all felt too real. Closing her eyes and taking deep breaths, Y/N softly spoke to herself. “In through the nose……. Out through the mouth.”

“You ready?”  Y/N heard Thomas ask and she just nodded her head. Refusing to open her eyes, though she didn’t need to look at Thomas to know he was staring at her.

As the car started to move, Y/N felt herself get choked up, her throat and chest starting to ache. She felt like she was starting to drown, she could barely hear the radio that had been on. Only when she felt a hand grasp hers, did she open her eyes and glance over at Thomas. Not noticing the tears that were slowly making its way down her cheeks.

“I got you princess…  I’ll go slow if that makes you more comfortable. OK?” Y/N heard Thomas say and she just nodded. Focusing on her boyfriend in the drivers seat.

Taking in his features, seeing the dark circles under his eyes, the beard that was growing and obviously hasn’t been taken care of in a while. His hair was tied up in a bun, reminding me of Lafayette. Chuckling softly at the thought, Y/N wiped at her eyes before lifting his hand up and softly brushing her lips over his knuckles. Giving it a soft squeeze.

“You doing ok, princess?” she heard him ask and Y/N didn’t speak, just gave a hum in response.

It felt like she was in the car for hours, her anchor for not falling into a panic attack being was holding Thomas’ hand. Hearing him softly talk to her and knowing that he never took his eyes off the road. Not once.

By the time they finally made it to the Jefferson’s home. Y/N allowed Thomas to carry her inside, not wanting her to end up slipping on the ice on the ground with her crutches. Being placed on the couch, Y/N couldn’t help but smile at her boyfriend. Watching as he rushed back outside to grab all her bags. By the time he returned, yelling that he was going to place her things in the room she would be staying in. Y/N shook her head and chuckled before lifting her leg up onto the couch and got comfortable.

Eyeing the ring on her finger, Y/N couldn’t help but take a picture of it and post it on Instagram. Giggling at the comment John put, she wanted to mess with Alex, so Y/N quickly got a hashtag going and laughed when comments started rolling in.

“Did you really make the same comment twice?” Y/N softly spoke when she saw Thomas come back down the stairs with his phone in his hand. A large smile on his face he nodded.

“Wanted to irritate your brother, and it worked.” Was his response, making Y/N softly laugh.

Fixing herself, letting Thomas sit behind her so her back was to his chest. The two watched some baking show on the TV before Y/N started to laugh and showed Thomas that Mr. Washington and Aaron also commented.

The rest of the day, with take out on the coffee table the couple spent watching TV and enjoying the silence. Y/N ended up falling asleep with a blanket over her body and Thomas with his arm around his girl as his head was tipped back against the couch cushions. That was how Thomas’ parents found the two teenagers when they got home that night. Making the two adults smile and let them sleep, seeing as they both looked comfortable enough.

Don’t forget to Like, Reblog and send Feedback! My asks are also opened and so is my IM! Much love from me to you!!  ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)

Tags: @thebitchiestnerdtowalktheearth @exquisite-dreamers @ballerinafairyprincess @thefandomgirl03 @criminallyhamilton @1elysium @slytherinsssss @youtxbemusic @i-honestly-dont-know-anymore @sabbrriiinnaa @yes-i-know-im-weird-blog @they-write-once-in-a-blue-moon @wtfevenismypage @namethathasnotbeentaken @cubedtriangle @a-hopeless-fan @namelesslosers @randomhunam @i-know-i-can @ryjo-92 @lunariasilver @mydearestlaurens @meganlpie​ @the-baby-bookworm​

Forever Tags: @itsjube @theroadtoeldorado @rottendaisies​

#thomas jefferson #thomas jefferson x reader #thomas jeffershit #thomas jefferson one shot #daveed #Daveed Diggs #lin manuel miranda #daveed x reader #daveed diggs x reader #daveed diggs x ofc #daveed diggs x yn #lafayette #marquis de Lafayette #John Laurens #hamilton lams #lams fanart #john laurens x reader #Hercules Mulligan #hercules mulligan x reader #lafayette x reader #marquis de lafayette x reader #alexander hamilton #hamilton #alexander ham #hamilton fanfic #hamilton au #soulmate au

[maddiethebull]

Lucifer (Obey Me!) - Prompt #9 - “I could quote a thousand poems, but none can describe what I feel.”

Lucifer was stressed. He had been looking over Mammon’s grades, which was bad enough, then he got to Levi’s grades and practically lost his shit. He sat in his room alone leaning back into his chair with his hands covering his eyes. If he saw the letter F again that day he felt like he would just start screaming. As he sat there being a) stressed about his brother’s grades and b) worrying about his brothers a knock on the door retrieved him from thought. He opened it and there you were, standing in your most comfortable oversized sweater and your favorite leggings. You looked like calm embodied as you offered Lucifer one of the cookies you had freshly baked. He looked like distress embodied as he loomed over you and just took the entire plate. 

“Woah, is something the matter?” you asked. He silently nodded and pointed to the papers on his desk. 

“Oh, that explains why you need all of those cookies, though Beel might have a different opinion,” you joked, trying to make him feel better. The hint of a smile graced his lips. He sighed, trying mentally to release some of the weight on his shoulders. 

“I thank you for the cookies, MC, and Beel is to know nothing of this.”

“Do you want to take a break? I was supposed to go to this new cafe with Ma-”

“UGH.”

“With mYSELF yes, all… alone. By myself. And I was wondering if you wanna join us- me I mean me, you want, yes?” you added a giggle on to your trainwreck of a proposal. You were so adorable to him, he couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Indeed,” he chuckled, “I want yes.” 

You two left for the cafe (as you rapidly texted Mammon to not come along if he wanted to live). Once you got there, it was pretty full, but seeing as you were with the second most powerful demon in Devildom, you guys were allowed to skip the line that ran around the quaint brick building. 

One very scared teenage demon spoke from behind the counter like a deer in the headlights,

“Good a- afternoon Mister- Sir- Prince Lucifer, what would you like to order?” 

In a baritone voice he replied, “black coffee,” and handed the kid money for the order. Even though you knew he wasn’t trying to, he exuded the most intimidating aura. The cashier’s voice cracked,

“And you, Ma’am?”

You gave the poor kid a sweet smile and a twenty grimm tip, “Hi, I’ll have a hot chocolate, please.”

Lucifer noticed the kid relaxing a little as he was taking your order. He tried dumbing down his intimidating nature, thinking, ‘I’m not that scary. Surely, not everyone can exude kindness like you, MC. I’m not scary, hmph.’ Though he was making fun of your caring and soft nature, it was the thing he admired about you the most. He thought you could bring all of Devildom to their knees with that precious smile alone. He felt so different from you, if he smiled it would most definitely scare whomever received it; he didn’t not like that, but around you, he hated it. Every once in a while, he wanted to make people feel the way you make them feel, the way you make him feel -- all… mushy. Ugh, you even ordered a hot chocolate, which was arguably the cutest of drinks! He frowned as the two of you went to the other end of the counter to wait for your orders. He looked at you tenderly, you were smiling and bobbing up and down in anticipation. He stood stagnant with his eyes focused on only you, as far as he was concerned, you two were the only ones in that crowded cafe. You whisper-cheered as your hot chocolate was handed to you and he grabbed his from where it was set on the counter. 

You sat at a small two-person table by the window. 

“We already know I’ve had a less than fortunate day, so, how was yours?” he asked.

You replied, “Oh, it was here and there. I’ve been feeling sort of down lately, so I didn't do much other than bake those cookies. Overall, it was okay.” You looked down at your drink. 

“I’m sorry to hear that, what’s been bothering you?” He was slightly shocked, you looked perfectly cheery the entire day. In fact, you always looked so happy. 

“Mmm, It’s nothing much, really, so don’t worry about it,” You added a smile to make it believable. But, what was bothering wasn’t just nothing. It was him, Lucifer. Lately, he’s been so stressed and irritable, you couldn’t talk to him much as a result of that. On top of that, you didn’t know that it was his brothers he was frustrated with and you began wondering if it was you he was irked at. Your mind was set at ease knowing that you weren’t the cause of his unpleasant feelings so right now, you just wanted to make him feel better. You wanted to spend more time with this Lucifer, not cranky Lucifer. 

He didn’t believe you, but he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by asking more about it so he nodded and politely sipped his coffee. 

In the awkward silence, you looked around the cafe and your gaze settled upon a set of bookshelves. One book in particular caught your eye. It was a collection of poems by Lord Byron. ‘This is a good way to change the topic of conversation,’ you thought. You pointed to the bookcase, 

“Hey, my favorite poem is by him,” you say excitedly before getting up to grab it. Lucifer’s eyes followed you, just seeing you made him feel better, you weren’t scared of him. At least, he presumed you weren’t intimidated by him. Luckily he was right. You came back with the book and eagerly searched through it’s pages to find your favorite poem.

“Here it is!” you turned to Lucifer who possessed a guileful smirk as he studied your features.

“Read it to me,” he said while maintaining his smirk. 

You blushed then smiled, “okay, I-I’ll read it. I’ll read it really good! Yeah! I mean, I’ll read it very well!” You shuffled in your seat, cleared your throat, and began,

“So, we’ll go no more a-roving

So late into the night,

Though the heart be still as loving,

And the moon be still be as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,

And the soul wears out the breast,

And the heart must pause to breathe,

And love itself have rest. 

Though the night was made for loving, 

And the day returns too soon, 

Yet we’ll go no more a-roving, 

By the light of the moon.”

(‘So We’ll Go No More A-Roving’ by Lord Byron)

“It sounds rather sad to me, I’m surprised that you would call it your favorite, MC.”

“No, it's not sad, it's endearing. It's about growing old with your love. The subjects of the poem are older; though their bodies aren’t as strong as when they were still young, their love persists in its strength. That’s why it’s my favorite.”

He gave it thought. He smiled gently, 

“I took it in a way that the subjects of the poem wish they were as energetic as when they were young. The way you described it, it’s quite beautiful isn’t it, hm?” ‘As bright and beautiful as you.’ He took a sip of coffee, “I also know my fare share of poetry.”

“Oooh, what’s your favorite?”

“I can’t say that I have a favorite, really, I just enjoy many different pieces.”

“Hmmmm, well, what about the first poem you like that you think of? You know, like one that describes how you’re feeling now or whatever.”

He paused for a moment to think. His deep red eyes that held such intensity were softened by the warm yellow light that shone onto them. He felt so soft looking at you. ‘I can be gentle too, I’ll just say what I’m thinking and I will have no regrets. Yes, Lucifer, you can do this. 

“MC, I could quote a thousand poems, but none can describe what I feel when I’m with you.” He said it so calmly, as if it were common knowledge, how could he be so poker-faced right now? You felt a hot blush rise to your cheeks. 

“Lucifer! Don’t make fun of me,” you said, burying your face in the ends of your too-long sweater sleeves, trying to hide how hard you were blushing.

‘It worked! Yes!’ He spoke with a joyful bump in his voice, “I don’t understand, I would say that’s a compliment.”

“A- and that wasn’t even an answer okay,” you said still too embarrassed to look him in the eyes. 

He pondered for a moment, wondering which one he should say.

“Okay, how about this one, 

“When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,

Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,

With what I most enjoy contented least;

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

(Like to the lark at break of day arising

From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate;

    For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings

    That then I scorn to change my state with kings.”

(‘Sonnet 29’ by Shakespeare)

You blushed even harder, which you didn’t know was possible. “You can quote Shakespeare?? Just like that? From memory?!”

He laughed, “of course, can’t you?”

“Oh, I see how it is,” you chuckled out. He laughed even more, a deep, bellowing laugh that struck you to your core. He looked so wonderful like this, so very wonderful. 

The rest of the afternoon and most of the evening was spent going over various poets and writers and even classical musicians, and at one odd point, different types of frogs. While he knew more about it all than you, you held your ground against him in knowledge and that filled him to the brim with joy. Maybe you two weren’t so different after all. 

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

BONUS: The original layout of the story:

The Damnit, Mammon,  Grade schoolwork, hes stressed, you come in, you start chatting, you make him feel better, he doesnt want you to leave his side he plays some music, this sounds like cafe music, you wnat to go to a cafe, he decides to go with, you make fun of his coffee choice (black coffee), you get up and search the you read a poem aloud to him (so well go no more a rvoing by lord byron) He saiys the Line, you roll your eyes but your heart is full, he takes you to the desert, youre in an rv, he starts cooking meth, you are jesse pinkman, he his walter white, this is breaking bad. 

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

Thanks for reading!!! 💙💙💙

#obey me! #obeyme! #obeyme #obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me! mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me! leviathan #obey me levi #obey me! levi #obey me satan #obey me! satan #obey me asmo #obey me! asmo #obey me asmodeus #obey me! asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me! beelzebub #obey me beel #obey me! beel #obey me belphegor #obey me! belphegor #obey me belphie #obey me! belphie #obey me! shall we date? #obey me lord diavolo #obey me demon #obey me diavolo #obey me! lucifer

[wichols]

Haruhi x Takashi fluff with "are you blushing?" Prompt. I'm so excited that you are writing again. Take your time and have fun with this and all your other prompts that you receive 💞

Love Over Reason

Pairing: Takashi x Haruhi

Word Count: 2,106 I went from staring at this prompt for weeks and having nothing to writing this down in one day and making a monster-sized one-shot. Hope this is fluffy enough for you! I honestly tried to make it as fluffy as possible! Nestled into the quiet corner of the coffee shop Haruhi sat idly behind her most current textbook watching other patrons chatter quietly amongst themselves. Year three of law school was turning out to be more difficult than she anticipated. Longer nights spent toiling over books and notes. Even less time for a social life outside of when she would be randomly drug away from her studies. And whatever time was left over was spent working her part-time job at a small supplies store at the edge of campus.

“Just one more semester, then bar prep.” She mumbled more so to herself than anyone in particular. A mantra that has circled around her head when she feels like slacking off as of late. Looking back down at her book she sighed before closing it and placing it back into her bag. 

“Fujioka?” The smiley barista chirped from behind the service counter. The girl’s ponytail swished back and forth looking for the owner of the beverage.

While she had debated for a while earlier about getting another cup of coffee she ultimately passed and opted for a glass of water while she continued her studies. Weird. Scooting her chair back she approached the counter to politely decline the drink. “I’m Fujioka but I didn’t order another drink. Could this possibly be a mistake.”

The girl motioned for her to lean in closer. “I know but tall and handsome bought it for you.” Making a subtle pointing gesture behind her hand to the man sitting in the opposite corner of the small cafe. “He’s been watching you for over an hour while you were distracted by your books!” The woman was practically bouncing herself silly.

Spinning the disposable cup in her hand she looked back up to the barista. “Could you tell me what’s in it at least?” “He said it was your favorite. A medium black coffee with two sugars.” Her eyes bounced quickly back to the man tapping away at his phone. “Do you know him?” “Yeah, but it's been a couple of months since we saw each other in person.” Grabbing the cup, she smirked and made her way up to the front window. “You didn’t have to do that Mori-senpai.” “I know but you looked like you needed another. Care for a few minutes of distraction?” Glancing back at her empty table in the corner she sighed. “Sure Mori-senpai.” “Takashi. Please?” Something seemed to linger behind his half-lobbed smile. “Takashi.” The familiar name slipped out of her mouth with painful ease. He watched her slide easily into the seat across from him. His mind racing a million miles an hour. His original intention was to slip into the calm atmosphere to check in on her and pay for her coffee but some small part of him wanted- no needed- to stay and look at her for just a while longer. She was in his favorite form today, her hair messily tossed into a bun on the top of her head accompanied by her favorite oversized hoodie while pouring herself into her studies. He loved watching her eyes scan the pages rapidly while bouncing her pen lightly against her lips. “Sorry I haven’t been around much, you know how year three can be.” Her voice sounded more distant than she intended. “How has work been at the firm?” “No need to apologize for prioritizing your schoolwork. We all know how important this is to you.” Bringing up his coffee he took a light sip while watching her nervously squirm in her seat. “Between everything else, it's been hard to make time for anything outside of what I am already obligated to not excluding personal relationships.” Silence hung between them as they looked at each other. “I told you I was a patient man.” Clasping his hands together on the tabletop he watched her eyes fall to her lap. “Even after all this time apart, my feelings for you have not changed.” Haruhi could feel her face heating up by his straightforward confession. Was he ever this blunt before? It wasn’t as though her feelings had really changed but she just couldn’t justify being in a relationship with him during her final year of school on top of everything else. “It seems as though we share mutual feelings towards one another.” “I’ve missed you.” Her voice hovering just above a whisper. “As have I.” He could feel himself beginning to slip back into those all too familiar feelings he held for her. The distance they created had made the absence more bearable but the heart yearns regardless of rational thinking. 

A shiver went down her spine as another person exited the cafe causing a gust of wind to funnel through the door. Her hands subconsciously cupped the warm beverage seeking out what little warmth it provided her hands. “I can see why your preferred spot is as far away from the door as possible, awfully breezy here.” He remarked softly, extending a hand towards her. “Let me help?”

Looking at his hand tentatively she felt her heart churn in her chest. Holding his hand was simultaneously the best and the worst idea. She would never admit it to anyone but Haruhi missed the physical touches that were given to her by her friends, the past few months without physical touch had eaten away at her soul. More than anything she wanted to bury herself into his embrace. To be held without end. To be utterly surrounded by someone’s presence. She missed him more than she thought she would. Holding his hand, right here and now, would be another reminder of their agreement. “We shouldn’t.”

They both knew that. 

He couldn’t help himself. “I know.” His brain has thought of no one other than her. Her expressions flooded his senses in the quiet hours of the morning. Touching her again would ignite his soul on fire. It would threaten to consume them both in a blaze of love and passion. He sat there watching her conflicted feelings flash across her face. He wanted her to choose him. He wanted her to realize that their love was something that could not be snuffed out by absence. Takashi wanted her to understand that the love he has held for her all this time has not diminished but grew. 

Haruhi felt her hand ever so slowly leave her cup and move towards the waiting hand. Her brain and her heart fought against each other. It’s only a few more months. It will be that much harder to be apart from him. But I miss him. I need this. Be strong for the both of us. Holding his hand will only hurt him more. The final though ringing loud and clear through her heart. His heart pounded hard in his chest at the sight of her hand moving towards his. Six months? Has it really been six months since we’ve touched? Six months since he felt her hands touching his. Six months of missing her touch. His mind silently screamed for hers. Please, just let me touch you? I won’t ask for anything else. Just let me touch you again. And just like that, his heart dropped into his stomach. Her hand was moving away from his. I need you Haruhi. Her fingers curled into her palm before she stuffed her hand back into the hoodie pocket. Lifting herself up from her seat she watched his demeanor change. Either way, I hurt him. He deserves someone who has time to love him as he should be loved. “I’m sorry Takashi.” 

Was I imagining it? Her hand was moving towards mine for just a split second, wasn’t it?

“Thanks for the coffee.” No matter how hard she tried, she was stuck staring at his profile. He was even more handsome than the last time they had seen each other. Leaning down, her lips pressed lightly against his cheek.

Takashi’s eyes fluttered closed. The warmth of her lips sent a wave of electricity ricocheting through his body. She was like the moment of silence he experienced before the crowd started to cheer after a victorious match against the toughest opponent. Being with her was indescribable. Haruhi broke off the kiss and leaned closer to his ear, her lips practically brushing against the shell of his ear. “Don’t let my personal goals hold you back from your own.” With a gentle squeeze on his shoulder, she moved away. He sat frozen watching her pack up the rest of her things and leave the cafe. Moments passed and again he was without her till god knows when. “Hey, handsome?” The barista called out from behind the bar. “Are you blind?” He looked back at her shocked at the accusation. “No.” He managed to sputter out. “Then go get her.” “Right.” His body rushed out the door in the direction Haruhi was walking. Stopping himself in the middle of the sidewalk he called out to her. “Haruhi!” He watched her hesitate before turning around slowly, her face hidden underneath the hood. “Haruhi, are you blushing right now?” The question seemed innocent enough.

Haruhi paused. She didn’t want to give him any more definitive proof that she was struggling with her feelings. “Yes,” she answered weakly, unable to bring herself to look at Takashi.

“So you felt it too?” “Yes.” “Then why did you leave?” “Because I love you.” Finally finding the courage to look at him she swiped a few stray tears away with her sleeve. “Admitting that I love you means that I have to admit to myself that I need you. And right now I can’t love you the way you deserve and finish school.” “Haru-” “Let me finish. Please?” Closing the distance between them he nodded for her to continue. “I cannot bring anything into our relationship other than myself. I do not come from money. I am a no-name girl who just so happens to be friends with some of the richest people in Japan. I don’t deserve your friendship let alone to be loved by someone like you. You deserve so much more than I can give. I thought by forcing myself away from you that you would grow tired of me and that you would find someone deserving of your love.” Takashi stood there breathless. His hands clenching open and closed was the only thing keeping his mind focused. I deserve better? He couldn’t stop from propelling himself forward to wrap his arm tightly around her small frame. “All I have ever wanted from you is you.” He said it so plainly, as easy as breathing. “From the moment we first met my heart was yours. No one before or after you has come close to making me feel the way I feel about you. You claim that I deserve better than you but anyone but you would be pale in comparison. What you are asking of me and forcing yourself to do is to live a life without the love we both deserve. You are asking me to choose a runner up. If you love me the way you claim then you have lived every day of this past six months in literal hell.” He felt her body shaking in his grasp. 

She was getting in the way of her own happiness and she knew it. “Yes,” she cried out into his coat. For the first time in six months, her heart hasn’t clenched at the thought of him with someone else. The raging fears of insecurity dulled by his touch and words. “Please don’t push me away again.” He leaned down to press a soft kiss on her forehead before cupping her cheeks between his chilled hands. “I don’t care how little time you have for me, anything is better than the utter silence I have been living. Please Haruhi? I will take crumble of your love than nothing at all. Don’t make me live with nothing for four more months.” Her eyes watched a single tear slide down his face. “Oh Taka, I’m so sorry.” Bringing up her hand she wiped away the tear, allowing herself to caress his cheek. Takashi could feel himself melt right back into her touch, leaning into her was all he wanted for so long and he would be damned if he ever let her go again. “Let me love you the way you deserve to be loved and I promise that from this day and on I will love you with the whole fullness of my heart.” She smiled sweetly back at him, teary-eyed and puffy cheeks. “Deal.”   

#Ohshc #Takashi x Haruhi #takashi morinozuka #haruhi fujioka

[ladyreggiewright]

Practice Challenge Part 1

Turns out I’m an impatient idiot. I don’t know how many parts i’ll do, I think 2? either way, here it issss. Ehm...hope you enjoy? Please enjoy. I beg you 

Higher Ambitions

It’s an obvious choice to apply. It would be a great opportunity. A national tradition. A historical event happening once every generation- if we’re lucky. In my opinion it couldn’t possibly be cancelled again, even if the Prince was in love. It would simply be unwise from a political point of view.  They must have agreed with me, since the engagement was cancelled and applications arrived this morning. In a perfectly pressed envelope, the Royal emblem on top of the page with that thick structured paper I favour. Regina Carla Wright, neatly typed in a regal, cursive font. It can’t be said the Royal family doesn’t know how to present themselves, even on paper. Of course I won’t accept if my courses have to suffer from it, but some arrangement can easily be made. Hansport University usually promotes outside experiences. Moreover, I’m sure it would look good on my resume, might I get in.  Do Royals write recommendation letters?

"You should sleep." I hear behind me.  I look over my shoulder to see my uncle Aran sitting in roughly the same position as I am, hunched over some papers. There's a fort of binders build around him, the soft desk-light enhancing the circles under his eyes. He’s a lawyer and working on a case. Has been for the last couple of weeks, and has gotten slowly more buried in work, his fort growing in size every day. My own fort is located at the dinner table at the moment. Some discarded coffee-cups form the front, followed by an impenetrable wall of books and notebooks. The wounded soldiers can be counted by the amount of ink spots I keep managing to end up on my hands. It's three in the morning.  "Hypocrite," I mumble, loud enough for him to hear. "Nerd," he fires back, not looking up from his work either. "Actually, I will have you know that I'm not doing any schoolwork right now." I smile a little smug, seeing how he starts to frown.  "Job?" I shake my head. "Extracurriculars?" "Wrong again." I tap the papers against the table to straighten them. "It's a Selection application." "What!"  He jumps from his chair, an excited smile on his face as he approaches me. A stack of his papers fall on the floor but he ignores it. He must really be excited. I should have known, and not just from his reaction when they announced it. At least once a year, he forces me to watch the previous ones, calling it quality time. I don’t know if becoming gradually more disappointed in the previous state of our country can be considered quality. Neither can the whole procedure. The candidates’ debate skills are mediocre at best, no matter how much they bat their lashes. Not that it matters.  But it should.  At least, if I get the chance to have any say in it.  “You never said anything about applying,” he says, pleasantly surprised.  “I wanted to research the procedure first,” I reply, filling in my whole name and age. "They're asking for the colour of my eyes and hair, but no essay whatsoever,” I comment, checking the front and back of the form twice to be sure. Uncle Aran looks with me from over my shoulder. “It's already ridiculous," I add. "Of course, how else can Prince Arin romantically compare your political viewpoints to a summer's day." He makes a twinkling movement in the air with his hand, as if he's coating me with glitter as my fairy godmother.  I grab a blank piece of paper anyway and write my name and date at the top. "Appearances shouldn't matter as much for the future freaking Queen of the country." "Says the pretty girl. Besides, if this were a democracy, people would be voting for whoever is most entertaining to watch, you know that." He shrugs. Considering how he roots for the same sassy mean girl every rewatch, I’m not surprised he’s indifferent to the Selection being what it is. Or was. It’s some time ago now. "Maybe that's why we're not a democracy," I state, starting my first sentence. He does not look amused and even somewhat disappointed. In me or the country, I'm not sure. I'd say the latter is more justified.  Sighing, he starts to walk to the stairs, picking up the cat along the way.  "I'm going to sleep, and so are you," he says. "I'm coming in a second," I reply as I continue writing on why I should be admitted to the Selection. Why I would be a great addition even. Why I- "You're putting that pen down right now or I’ll burn that essay of yours first thing in the morning." I begrudgingly comply. “Usually my second draft is better anyway,” I argue, though putting my pen down.  He shakes his head, mumbling something about craziness to the cat. She seems to agree. Of course she would.  Traitor. 

My hair drips a little on the table from my swim, wetting the morning paper. I catch up on the Globe’s articles- skipping the endless pictures of celebrities handing in their application forms- and drink my coffee. “Any news?” Aran grumbles, pouring his own coffee in a huge mug. He’s not a morning person.  “MRTFLR is doing good in the stock market, and they voted against-” “I meant about the Selection you’re applying for.” “Oh,” I answer, “Only about who is and who isn’t going to apply. So no.” He quickly throws back his coffee, already late for work, motioning for me to tell him anyway as he does.  “Alright, some Two named Angela is applying, she even broke up with her boyfriend for it,” I read, disinterest coating my voice. Who reads this stuff? My question is answered by uncle Aran’s genuine interest on his face. “She did?!” he brings out, knotting his tie around his neck quickly. Apparently she’s known for something. “Uh, yeah. Oh, and your favourite actress Tianna isn’t.” "Objection!" "You're a lawyer, you know that's not how it works. It should be used-" "I know, honey, but sometimes people try to be funny." He shakes his head like I’m a lost cause and kisses the top of my head, before he grabs his briefcase to go to work. I hate when he does that. Like I don’t know the joke I’m a part of.  One would expect I’ve caught on by now through trial and error. Yet somehow I fail to notice people make intentional mistakes to be amusing. My therapist said it was coming from my compulsive desire to be right.  I replied she was wrong. The sessions stopped shortly afterwards.  Besides, there was nothing left to discuss. My parents’ death had been talked about in excessive detail. I had told her about it enough times. I wasn’t going to cry about it anymore, let myself be miserable and useless. It wouldn’t make sense to let myself dwell on that any longer.  I mean, the whole thing is almost 10 years ago now. There is nothing to say other than that they were successful, hard working people. Going on what should have been a short political trip to Swendway. Dad was Hansport’s Mayor, mom started as his assistant and became his spokeswoman. They made the perfect team. They’ve raised me till the age of twelve to be just as hard working, just as ambitious and successful.  And I will be.  That’s the least I can do in their memory. Try to be even an ounce of what they had hoped for me. They named me Regina, after all. Though I prefer Reggie, the Latin meaning of it still stands.  Queen.  I suppose subtlety wasn’t their forté.  Uncle always says mom focussed way more on the second meaning: female ruler. Usually he adds that above all she wanted me to be happy. I don’t know what my dad meant by my name. I suppose fathers tend to call their daughters their little princesses anyway. However I don’t remember either of them focussing on me becoming anything other than successful. The most royal part about that were dad’s own ambitions to become an advisor in the Palace.  An ambition I follow.  Uncle never really talks about my dad much. A lingering resentment is usually audible in his words. What for, I don’t know. I know Mom wouldn’t have gone on that plane if she didn’t want to. He seems to think she was simply too loving for her own good.  But I’ve seen clips of her as my father’s spokeswoman. She could be ruthless. Uncle has different memories with her of course, being her brother. That’s why I’ve never understood why he has gotten rid of all their work, everything through the shredder or in the fireplace. I would have clinged to every piece of paper of them if I had the choice. Their handwriting, their way with words. Reading interviews in old newspaper just isn’t the same. Imagining the words as you look at pictures isn’t either. Aran just said it was better that way, and me being twelve and grieving, I nodded.  Now I find myself compulsively reading in archives or watching them make speeches at festivities. Trying to find advice in their political statements, their decisions for our Province.  It never works of course. 

The halls are surprisingly quiet. Or well, I’m not surprised really. It’s the second week of the new semester and people are still sleeping off their hangovers as usual. Already slacking. I don’t mind. I like it better like this. The ancient buildings, the statues and the dusty library just don’t feel the same when there’s people walking around bragging about their keg stand of the night before. How someone can walk among the same places that some of the most accomplished people of our country have walked and think only about their next sexual conquest is beyond me. Since a marble statue has some problem wrinkling their nose at those people, I take the liberty to do it for them.  So I don’t mind the thinner crowd. Besides, at least halls like these permit me to read and walk at the same time.   I finished my essay in between my Political Science classes and I go over it again now. I admit I am unsure about the quality, since there’s no clear assignment. Of course, there’s no real assignment at all. But that’s where they’re wrong. Therefore the extra effort could only work out in my favour.  Just before I can fully reread it, Ethan rips it out my hands.  “What’s this?” he asks, apparently too incompetent to read, “You’re applying? I didn’t know you had the hots for the Prince.” He looks surprised and amused, checking out my essay. Ethan Brookes.  One of the most promising students at Hansport University, on his way to graduating with honors and possibly at the top of his class. If it weren't for me, of course. It’s been this way since the very first lecture I attended. Whatever position one of us takes on a subject in class, the other will oppose it. Sure, it keeps me on my toes. But he’s also annoying enough to keep standing on my toes.  “You’re applying with an essay?” he lets out with a chuckle, “You know that’s not how it works right, it’s not college.” “If college did work like that,” I say, grabbing my papers back, “You wouldn't have gotten in here.” He rolls his eyes.  “Whatever.” Weak argument. “I just don’t think they make crowns big enough for a head like yours.” Never mind. Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes. “I don’t think Royal Advisors wear those anyway,” I counter, lifting my chin somewhat. “Ha!” he lets out, snapping his fingers at me, “Of course. I knew your heart couldn’t have magically thawed out for the Prince.” I scowl at back at him, much to his amusement.  “I’d argue having a heart of ice beats not having one,” I add coldly, sweeping my braid off my shoulder before I turn away, leaving him annoyed or entertained. Or both. Either way, I don’t have time for his antics.  I am on a mission.  It takes another couple walks in the area close to his office, but then I spot Professor Matthews. He is at the end of the hallway with a thick stack of papers under his arm, glasses on top off his head waiting to get tangled in his messy hair. Or what’s left of it. I power walk to catch up with him.  “Good morning Professor.” He jumps.  “Fucking hell,” he mumbles. Not very professional. “Morning Miss Wright.” “I wanted to talk to you about the-” “I really don’t have the time, Miss Wright,” he says quickly, turning to the hallway on his right and advancing his pace. I follow. “Of course, but I just wanted to ask-” “No, Miss Wright,” he sighs loudly, “I can’t give you extra bonus points because you’ve given me two papers on the topic. Yes, they were both sufficient.” “Sufficient?” “Good, they were good. Now leave-...I have to go,” he replies, swiftly going into his office to hide. Perhaps I should add persistent to my application, under qualities, I joke to myself, feeling accomplished.   I realise that that makes me unlikeable in the eyes of some. Nevertheless I tend to follow the thoughts of Niccolo Machiavelli. It’s almost impossible to be a good politician and also a good person. This proposes the age old question whether to be feared or loved. Both can be argued for, but in my opinion feared has the upper hand. A leader of any degree is not someone to love, it’s someone to look up to. Someone to respect, to trust and to make decisions for you. Someone who looks at a problem as a whole and can conclude what’s best when the people can’t do that for themselves. It’s impossible to be good at all things, yet a politician should be good at those things most of all. And in that sense it’s also impossible to be both loving and kind, as well as a good politician. So I won’t apologise for who I am.  I have higher ambitions than being loved anyway. 

#selectionoc #practice challenge 1 #challenge #fic #reggie wright

[hetacon]

I Have Worth Now

Word Count: 1,504

Pairings: Logicality, implied Platonic/Paternal Analogical, implied Platonic/Paternal Moxiety

Warning: Stress, mental breakdown, crying, Logan curses once, kissing (Lemme know if I need to note anything else)

Note: Before we get started, Logan is a little out of character but I promise it is for a legitimate reason. I will explain my creative interpretation of this decision at the end, promise. I still tried to keep to his character the best I could. Anyways, enjoy!

______________________________

“What does your schedule look like this year, Patton?” Logan asked, eyeing over his own school schedule before looking up.

Patton, his best friend since middle school, smiled and showed Logan the piece of paper with all of his classes on it. Logan scanned over it and nodded.

“I’m curious as to why you chose creative writing,” Logan mentioned.

“Oh! Well, I just like getting my feelings out on to paper you know? It helps make sure I’m not cooped up with everything tucked away,” Patton explained before looking over Logan’s schedule that was put in front of him. He made a face. “Are you going to be ok with all of those AP classes?”

“Of course. I’ve handled them before and so I think that I can handle these now,” Logan chuckled a little. Patton thought for a moment before beaming and hugging Logan.

“Ok, I trust you! Let me know if you need help with anything! I might not know about calculus but I can give you a break anytime you need it.”

“Yeah, I know,” Logan nodded. “I’ll be fine though.”

That ended up being massively untrue. It was senior year, and while many of the advanced classes that Logan had taken in previous years were manageable, this year took a drastic turn. Patton didn’t even notice until Logan wasn’t spending time with him anymore. It had been weeks since they had a decent conversation more than greetings and formalities. And Patton was sick of it. So after school a month in or so, he went to Logan’s house to talk to him.

As usual, Patton was let in without question and was told that Logan was in his room. Patton found Logan doubled down on studying, reading his AP economics textbook. He took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes before looking at the page again.

“Logan?”

The aforementioned’s eyes immediately flicked over to Patton and he could almost sense relief from the look.

“Is something wrong, Patton?” he asked, giving a genuine look of concern. Patton only shook his head.

“That depends on how you’re doing right now really..”

“I’m alright, thank you. Just preparing for a test tomorrow.”

“We haven’t spoken for weeks, I’m worried about you and whether or not you’re handling this alright,” Patton said, going over to the desk in the corner of Logan’s room. He sat down on the floor in front of Logan, placing his hand on the latter’s knee. “Logan, why do you do this?”

This was only met with a look of confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Why do you take all of these classes? You don’t need them, you’ve already met all of your requirements for college. Yet, you’re still taking AP classes in things that won’t affect anything if you took regular courses.”

Logan looked down at him, thinking for a moment. “I don’t have time for this Patton, I need to study,” he replied curtly before turning to his book again.

Patton frowned and grabbed it, snapping it closed. “You are not avoiding this. We are going to talk about this, it’s important, Lo,” he huffed.

“Why does it matter?”

“Because I miss you and you barely talk to me now!”

“I need to focus on schoolwork for impressing colleges. It’s our senior year, Patton. Grades are important.”

“To who?”

“To me.”

“Why?”

“I..”

Silence.

Patton looked to Logan, expression softening. He took a hold of Logan’s hands. “Lo, why?”

Nothing and then-

“What do I have if not my intelligence?”

“... What?” Patton asked, looking up to him with a sad realization.

“There’s nothing to me if I’m not intelligent or making use of it.”

“Do you really think that that’s all there is to you?” Patton asked, trying not to tear up. Logan only nodded and Patton held his hands tighter. “Oh Logan...”

Logan couldn’t bring himself to meet Patton’s eyes.

“You’re a wonderful, funny person. Your intelligence is not all that makes you Logan, it shouldn’t need to be the key trait either!”

“I don’t want to take them..”

Patton looked to him for an explanation, letting Logan just talk.

“I don’t want any of these classes. I never have. School is so stressful but I only am worth..” Logan started.

He paused, took a deep breath, and then rephrased. “I only feel like I’m worth something if I take all them. Everyone expects it of me. My parents expect me to be a fucking NASA scientist or a doctor or anything prestigious! I.. I don’t want to...” he admitted. “Patton please don’t make me, god don’t make me,” he whispered, tears starting to run down his cheeks. He let out a loud sob and Patton was quick to hug him close.

With a little coaxing, Patton got them to Logan’s bed, lying down as Logan cried into his shirt. Patton stroked his hair and let him cry it out. Logan was inconsolable for an hour. Patton just made sure he didn’t move from his hold on Logan, letting him know that he was there the entire time. Logan went silent afterwards as he just buried his face into Patton’s chest.

“You’re taking 7 classes and an extra course after school, right?”

Logan nodded.

“Are your last two classes APs?”

Another nod.

“Can you do me a really big favor and consider dropping them if you don’t need them? And then coming with me to creative writing during 6th?”

“I understand dropping classes but why the second request?”

“I have something I want to see. I think it could be good for you.”

“Alright, I can see. I’ve wanted to drop them since school started, I’ve felt obligated to keep them. Promised myself I wouldn’t give up on a class and chicken out.”

“How come, Lo?”

“Because that shows I’m not... I’m not able to push through and pass the classes..”

“I actually think it would be really smart of you to drop them rather than keep them. Logan, I know you liked learning when you were little but clearly something has made you hate it. If you keep pushing yourself, you’ll hate every single day for the rest of your life because you put people’s image of how intelligent you are over your own mental health and your feelings. I promise that you’ll feel better after the guilt passes ok? And if you don’t, I’ll do anything to make it up to you,” Patton smiled.

Logan looked to him and got up, going to the door.

“Where are you going?” Patton asked him.

Logan turned to him from the open door. “To tell my parents what classes I’m dropping.”

Patton couldn’t help but beam.

Logan actually dropped them with no resistance and decided to drop the extra class too. After that, Patton had the creative writing teacher make an assessment of Logan’s writing and Logan found it extremely therapeutic. It was too late to join the class but the teacher was more than generous to let Logan sit next to Patton in the back and let him write whatever he felt like.

Surprisingly, Logan took a gap year with Patton and became an author to the surprise of everyone, resulting in a lot of guilt for Logan. He realized, however, that Patton was the only person, he learned, that he actually wanted to be worthy of.

After finishing up a draft for the night, Logan went over to Patton resting on the couch and wrapped his arms tightly around his husband’s waist, pulling him into his lap.

Patton couldn’t help but laugh a little as he hugged back just as tight, feeling Logan relax at that. “Hi, Loggybear~” he hummed happily.

Logan raised his head and kissed Patton gently. Patton giggled more.

“I love you, you know,” Logan told him, smiling back.

“I love you too!”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Intervening before I went insane.”

Patton huffed. “You wouldn’t have gone insane and you know it.”

Logan gently kissed his lips again and Patton returned it happily, wrapping his arms around Logan’s neck.

“I would have and you seem to understand me better than I know myself. I would’ve hated my life if you hadn’t told me to stop striving for everyone else’s expectations of me. But because of you, I have a fulfilling job, a wonderful husband, and the best son I could ask for,” he smiled, kissing Patton again before breaking away. “You did all that, honey, not me.”

“Awwww, Loggybear!” Patton beamed, hugging Logan tighter, peppering his face with kisses. Logan returned the ones that landed on his lips and stroked Patton’s cheek, closing his eyes.

“I feel like I have worth now, Patton.”

______________________________

Hey guys! So as always, I’d love to hear what you guys thought of this! Feel free to leave me comments, I always appreciate it! Anyways, as I promised, I have an explanation for Logan’s OOC behaviors in this drabble. I’ve just started my senior year of high school and it’s been alright. However, out of the 5 classes I am taking, 4 of them are AP courses. I originally had 6 classes. The one I dropped was also another AP. So out of 6 classes, 5 were APs. I dropped the 6th class after the first day because I am already so overwhelmed by this year in general.

Recently I’ve realized that the one thing that I am only ever consistently praised for is how intelligent I am. I have received this compliment ever since elementary school and I always try to do my best. However, with my parents having such a view of who I am as a person, I only ever feel like they care about whether or not I take advanced classes and pass them. This has caused me to take on courses that I honestly don’t wish to and while I have always done really well in them, it takes a lot out of me. I am constantly stressed, I often don’t get as much sleep as I need to due to all the work, and I am just generally struggling. Along with dealing with some personal issues regarding my parents, it’s been hard to manage ever since going into high school.

That’s why I wrote Logan the way I did in this drabble. I know he is a tad OOC but that was a conscientious choice on my part. While as a side, he is the physical embodiment of logic, human AUs are different. Humans have emotions. Very complex, underlying, and confusing emotions. So it is not difficult to say that Logan would obviously be a little less guilty about having emotions in this type of world as he is not a part of Thomas but his own person. He’s known to be the most intelligent one and while in the series, he takes pride in it as it’s his job, the idea of this drabble was to draw an emphasis on just how this small bit of praise on how intelligent I am has caused me to struggle with seeing myself as anything besides my intelligence. Everything I have done in school is a result of this and I have heightened anxiety about missing anything when it comes to academics: due dates, days of school, and even extra credit assignments. I want to be an artist for a living and yet I feel that by wanting that, I’m disappointing people by wasting my intelligence.

Overall, this is just my way of saying that writing Logan in such a way was meant to help me come to terms with taking it easy on myself by dropping a class and wanting to have a creatively focused career rather than an intellectually focused one. It was meant to be therapeutic but regardless, I do hope you like it. And again, feel free to comment! I love you guys, thanks for reading!

#sanders sides #logicality #logan sanders #patton sanders #parental moxiety #parental analogical #stan writing