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goggles-mcgee · 3 years

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Too Late: Tom & Sabine (Commission for miner249er)

This is a sequel to Revolt of the Akuma, also a commission from @miner249er this will be multichaptered!

Summary: Sequel to Revolt of the Akuma. How Paris and everyone there deals with Marinette’s akumatization and the many things born from it.

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Business was slow but that somehow became the normal for Tom and Sabine, at first they resented it, they truly were busy bodies and they loved to work, needed to work, but then Marinette was akumatized and disappeared. Their baby girl was gone and it felt like there truly was nothing they could do about it. The worst part was they hadn’t even realized she was the akuma at first, they didn’t know things at school had been so bad that Hawkmoth was able to take advantage of their little Baguette’s emotions, and they hadn’t been there to help her through it. Their days seemed routine now, they would wake up at 3 AM instead of their regular 4 AM because of the guilt and the nightmares, they would prep the kitchen then Tom would start on the bread with his father Roland helping out since everything had taken its toll on Tom and he started to become forgetful in things to do with the bakery, even his timing was off. Meanwhile Sabine would attempt to do her morning meditation. The meditation was never successful nowadays because she truly could not clear her mind or calm her heart and memories of Marinette both good and bad would surface and she would be thrown into a fit of sobs that Gina tried her best to help calm.

Roland learned the hard way that he no longer could hum his and his son’s song while making bread as it had reminded his son too much of Marinette and the larger man would break down in tears if he even heard the slightest bit of the song. He would call out for his daughter while hugging whatever he had in his hands close to his chest. Roland had never been the most affectionate of father’s, he wasn’t even affectionate with his wife, but when he broke down like that, Roland felt the urge to just hold his boy and comfort him. It pained him to see his son in so much pain, but Tom and Sabine were strong people and they picked themselves up in order to get through the day.

Well, they tried their best and really that’s all anyone expected of the grieving parents. The day Marinette was akumatized and disappeared had been a normal day for them and maybe that’s what filled them with so much guilt. Their bakery was always busy and that was something they took pride in, before Marinette was born, the bakery had been their baby. They made it, helped and watched it grow, and they got to see it flourish. It was a lot of work and sometimes they would just get into this work zone where nothing else could grab their attention. Working with so many ovens and having to prepare so many things, there was only so much you could multitask before your brain felt full. Though those were only excuses, they had been neglecting their daughter and hadn’t realized it. Marinette knew how much they loved their bakery and how busy it could get and she always seemed to understand but now looking back on it maybe she had just pretended to be fine with it all. They tried their best to always ask how her day was when they would all have dinner together, but Tom would be the first to admit that sometimes even that just became routine rather than actual curiosity about their daughter’s day.

They had deluded themselves into believing that Marinette’s world was rose tinted, and they had taken comfort in the lie. Maybe they truly just wanted to believe that Marinette was their always smiling baby girl and she had no problems to worry about because it would be easier to deal with than the reality. When Marinette had become fascinated with fashion and that fascination grew, Sabine and Tom had been happy and supportive of their daughter, yes their hearts hurt a bit since they had hoped that maybe she would take over the bakery for them, but then they noticed how much time her designing took up. It hurt to think about now but Sabine could remember thinking that it was a blessing that Marinette was distracted and busy because it meant they had more time for the bakery. The more they remembered their shortcomings, the more they felt. They felt too much now after not being able to for so long because of Hawkmoth.

After having to shut down any and all negative emotions, finally being able to express them was like breaking a dam. Crying was never just a little tears, it was always these heart wrenching sobs and it could be for the littlest of things like a broken toy or missing a bus. Anger, now anger was the scariest in everyone's opinion, once someone started yelling it was like they couldn’t stop, they would break things, maybe hoping to see a butterfly, then there was the crying. Everything ended in tears. Anger came quickly nowadays, more so than sadness, though maybe they worked hand in hand now. Tom had found himself more on the depressed side of things, everything made him miss his little Baguette, sometimes he still expected to hear her footsteps racing down from her room and out the door with a shout because she was running late. Sabine on the other hand, everything just made her angry, every little thing. She would even snap at Tom but she would immediately apologize because she knew it wasn’t his fault. If anything she was angry at herself, angry at the school, at Hawkmoth, Hell, even at their bakery.

Some days she hated waking up to the work and the mingling, there were times where she was so close to just begging her husband to closing the shop for a while and taking a break or maybe closing it permanently. She hadn’t decided yet, but she just told herself to hold on, just hold on till their closing period or ‘vacation time’ as Marinette would say. Perhaps that was the reason why she wasn’t really giving it a serious thought, the whole giving up their boulangerie idea. It held memories, both good and heart-aching, of Marinette. Sabine would never talk about those memories with anyone but family now, but everytime she was working she couldn’t help but look over at their ‘Artisan Boulanger’ sticker at their storefront that was slightly crooked because Tom had been putting it on when Sabine had told him she was pregnant and he had slipped in shock and the sticker was forever a bit crooked. She couldn’t help the way her hands would clench over a box or bag when giving a customer their things, Marinette had designed them and each time she handed them over it felt like she was giving away a little piece of her daughter each time.

“Have a wonderful day.” Sabine muttered to the latest customer of the day not even caring that her voice came out monotone.

“You as well! Merci Madame.” The young boy who had come in thanked her but Sabine just watched impassively as he hurried over to his friend. “Dude can you believe it? We get to eat pastries that the Protector ate!”

“Correction, we get to eat pastries that Ladybug ate.” His friend responded.

“That hasn’t been proven yet. That’s all just speculation man.” The first boy laughed as they made their way to the door and Sabine had to take in a deep breath or else she might have thrown something. How dare they come into their shop and talk about their daughter as though she wasn’t a person. How dare they treat her akumatization as some spectacle for them to worship and admire. How dare them all.

“Speculation? You are sorely mistaken bro, look at all the evidence! I’ll send you all the links then you’ll see.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Sabine just stared at the young men even after they had left until she no longer could make them out. This. This was why she no longer wanted the bakery, it no longer held the same joy it had when Marinette was there and Sabine and Tom hadn’t even known it until she was gone.

“Bonjour Madame.” Sabine was ripped from her musings by another customer walking in, a regular in fact, Mlle Josephine Bernard. She had been coming to their boulangerie since they first opened and had always been very kind to Marinette. In fact, she commissioned Marinette a few times as well.

“Bonjour Joséphine." Sabine greeted with a small smile, the most she could manage.

“One rhubarb tart please and a pain de campagne. I’m making stew tonight and my fiance loves when I pair it with your bread.” Joséphine said with a kind smile as she took out her money and change and placed it on the saucer on the counter.

Sabine couldn’t help the soft chuckle that escaped, Joséphine always had exact change and honestly it was a welcome habit to Sabine. “Are you going to share the tart for dessert? It is small, are you certain you would like just one?”

“Oh no, that’s just for me. Our little secret okay?”

“Your secret is safe with me.” Sabine promised as she swiftly gathered Joséphine’s order, once she made her back to the counter to hand everything to the woman she was caught off guard when said woman placed her hand on top of Sabine’s.

“How are you holding up Sabine?”

First instincts were yelling at her to lie, to say everything was fine despite everyone knowing it was not, but another part of her was yearning for reassurance that wasn’t from her husband or his parents. “I...I’m trying. But it’s hard. It’s hard when people come in and talk about my daughter as if she’s this thing that is more than human, more than just a teenager. They don’t even say her name anymore. Tom and I have had to move and lock away her things because...because people have broken in and stolen her belongings in order to steal or collect them. The police have been no help on that front. They told us to just get better locks. As if it is our fault that people are breaking in.” Sabine took in a shaky breath before continuing, “We get people who leave “gifts” instead. They are letters to Tom and I, accusing us of abusing Marinette...of neglecting our baby. They seem to think we don’t care about what happened to her Joséphine. We’ve had to replace some windows after one incident with a rock and some spray paint.”

“Oh my goodness Sabine! I’m so sorry. You and Tom don’t deserve any of that.” Joséphine gasped out, but Sabine wanted to argue that maybe they did. “That is just cruel and disgusting. If you two ever need anything please don’t hesitate to ask, or if you just need to talk or get out of the house for awhile, call me okay? Things...things will get better.”

“Merci Joséphine...maybe I’ll take you up on that. Enjoy your treats and tell me how Stephan likes everything okay?” Sabine responded after a while.

“I will...I will keep you and Tom and Marinette in my prayers. Merci Madame.” Joséphine said before leaving.

Sabine’s movements felt robotic as she walked over to the door, locked it, and flipped the sign letting everyone know they would be closing for lunch. It was a small mercy that they were already at the middle of their day. Thankfully Roland and Gina would have lunch ready for them, they had been so helpful through everything but sometimes Sabine couldn’t help but feel like even they blamed Tom and Sabine for what happened to Marinette. Sabine knew how much Gina adored Marinette and she could see how much getting to know Marinette had meant to Roland, to have their granddaughter gone so all of a sudden, they too were grieving in the way they best knew how. They parented and distracted themselves with helping out Tom and Sabine as much as they could, that would be why they were staying with them. She knew how Roland was about them being late to lunch so Sabine made her way to the kitchen to see Tom baking but it looked like he was doing everything on autopilot, she wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t even heard Joséphine come in.

“Tom. Sweetheart. It’s lunchtime, let’s go eat with your parents.” She mumbled as she placed a soft hand on Tom’s shoulder stopping him from decorating the last of the cupcakes he had made.

“Oh...Lunchtime already?”

“Yeah. Here let me put those on display then we’ll head on up.” She took the tray of cupcakes gently from him and went out to the front again to put them on display where she saw several people looking in their shop. She decided to just ignore them...and the camera flashes, though maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pull the security gates down just while they were upstairs for lunch. In fact that’s exactly what she did. “Ready to head up dear?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, ready. Let’s go eat. It’s been a long morning.” Tom said with a small smile. She felt like it was more for her benefit but she still appreciated it all the same. Once they went upstairs they went through the motions of eating lunch and if someone asked Tom and Sabine what they had eaten, they wouldn’t have been able to answer, but they gave the obligatory remarks of, “This is so good thank you,” and,” So good. Maybe you can make it again sometime.” Maybe Roland and Gina saw through them, they probably had and the fact they made no comment about it truly was a blessing. As a way to avoid conversation if they needed to Sabine turned on the television and it just so happened to be the news.

“And as promised viewers video footage of The Protector in action. This footage was donated to us by an anonymous source who had happened upon The Protector out in the open when she was akumatized. I want to warn everybody, the footage may be shocking to some viewers. Roll the clip please.” Nobody spoke. How could they? Sure they knew people still had some weird fascination with their daughter and granddaughter’s akumatization but the news stations had stopped reporting on it or at least they thought they had. Nadja certainly hadn’t given them a heads up about this little ‘special’ of theirs like she had done previously, and yet here they were watching her and Alec talking about their daughter and they wouldn’t even say her name. She has a name. Sabine robotically pressed on the remote to see more info on the program and had to swallow back bile, ‘The Protector Really Paris’s Protector?’ that was the title and already Sabine could feel her anger rising. She didn’t bother reading the summary, she already knew what this special was about.

She watched as her daughter, her baby girl, bent down in a patch of butterfly bushes crying her eyes out, sobbing out her hurt for anyone and everyone to hear. Her baby, even in the distance of the camera, looked so angry, so torn, she should never had to have felt like that. The video continued on with this person slowly zooming in on Marinette and Sabine had to wonder why this person was recording at all. She could never understand people’s obsessions with filming akumas, at least many filmed from a distance other than Alya and sometimes Nadja but it was always after the fact the person was akumatized. Maybe that’s why this particular video was bothering her so much, this person, whoever they were, they were filming her daughter breaking down because they knew at any moment she would be akumatized or, and the idea made her sick to her stomach, they were hoping she would be akumatized. They were hoping for a chance to have a video go viral, maybe they weren’t but that’s the only thing that Sabine could rationalize why they would be filming her teenage daughter in the first place.

The video was a bit shaky as it seemed like the person filming didn’t want to be seen even though there was no one else there. Sabine hadn’t realized she started crying until she felt the tears hit her hand. She hated seeing Marinette in pain and her not being able to comfort her. She, her husband, and his parents watched with bated breath as they saw an akuma finally fly into frame and slowly make its way towards Marinette. Sabine wanted to shout out a warning, do something, but she knew it was pointless and that just made the tears fall more. Everyone watching could tell that Marinette hadn’t noticed the akuma at all as she was still sobbing and wailing, Sabine could feel Tom squeeze her hand and she squeezed his right back. Then the akuma landed and merged but that wasn’t the shocking part, they had to watch their daughter stare at nothing with too-wide eyes and the familiar symbol of Hawkmoth over her face sit there as dozens...no, maybe hundreds of butterflies, white butterflies surrounded Marinette and landed on her body.

Then a bright light flashed, it was so unlike any akumatization anyone had seen, the butterflies were gone but if you looked closely at the fading light surrounding Marinette you could see the faint flutter of wings. Then she stood up, the Protector stood up. Sabine sobbed and not for the first time cursed at her daughters classmates, they had been around Marinette the most, they knew her daughter, she did everything for them and yet they treated her like that. To the point of akumatization. Sabine prayed that her little girl wasn’t actually Ladybug like it was speculated, even if it made sense, because that would mean her daughter had been suffering through more than just everything going on at school and really, Sabine wasn’t ready to face all of that just yet.

“Now before we discuss everything in that video I will say we do have many more to share so stay tuned Paris!”

Next Chapter

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that-foul-legacy-lover · 3 years

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sir, ma’am, person, or other pronouns, you cannot just post good writing ideas right before I sleep /j

I’d like to see that golden house prompt as a short story,,, possibly????😳

-💃

spoiler! i ain't good at choreographing fights but uh i THINK i was poetic enough so it still sounds cool??? hope that's ok!! this is also inspired by some of the brainrot i've been having and getting in the past few days so i can definitely make a part two!! also normal Childe’s there for a bit original prompt was of FL Childe injuring you during the golden house fight!! read Part Two here!!: The Sky’s Tears ~ * ~ Golden House is Falling Down Foul Legacy Childe x Reader Gender Neutral (no pronouns mentioned) Angst Warnings: Worrying, descriptions of anger, fighting (battles), a corpse, allusions to blood, pain, potential death, lightning, electrocution

~ * ~

Sometimes Childe worried you. It came with his job, you supposed. You were well aware of his status as a Fatui Harbinger, although you’ve never personally seen him at work- it had been a casual accident when you walked into him discussing plans with his subordinates. The two of you hadn’t been close back then, only acquaintances, and he made you swear to secrecy. Well, technically he had threatened you, but you didn’t particularly mind. You weren’t as in love with Liyue as some of your friends were, and you, unlike many people, understood the importance of a well-paying job. Having his position exposed to the public could very well get him fired. Those had been your concerns, so long ago. But now, as you hurried after the Traveler in all their glory, those pitiful worries seemed so far away, replaced instead by anxious thoughts flurrying by about life and death. You weren’t anyone of particular importance in the harbor, but you always made sure to pay careful attention to any rumors and gossip you heard. You always took them with a grain of salt, of course, but you had long ago learned that it was good to keep things you heard in your mind as potential possibilities. Liyue had a habit of having “impossible” events happen anyways. It really got on your nerves sometimes. Last week’s whispers had been full of a Fatui plan about meddling with the panicking government, after Rex Lapis had allegedly fallen from the sky, his status as the oldest living archon gone. Seeing that the Fatui’s reputation wasn’t particularly good, you had filed the thought away to consider later. A few days later, it came true. And Childe seemed to vanish into thin air, shifting your worries instantaneously over to him. It was funny, how close the two of you had gotten in the weeks he’d been in Liyue. At least, you were close to him. The Traveler was kind enough to let you accompany them to the famed Golden House, just to cover all possible leads. Their steps are light and quick as you approach the elegant building, all lined with gold and jade, and you can almost hear the tinkling sound of mora within. The Traveler stares up at the enormous door, clutching their sword. They seem prepared for a fight. You gulp, hoping that their stance is just how they stand as a default. The doors to the Golden House swing open, and the Traveler gestures for you to follow them, a determined look in their eyes. You enter together, and momentarily you’re distracted by the piles of mora scattered around the floor- probably more mora than you’d see in your entire life. Your eyes scan the room as the glimmer of coins snatches your attention, a tendency that friends and family had always teased you lightheartedly about- they’d call you a crow or a magpie. You didn’t mind being a bird. It sounded fun, to fly away from all your problems. Finally your gaze lands on the corpse of Rex Lapis, floating in the center-back of the room like a morbid decoration put on display. Despite it being very, very dead, it emanates an aura of power, and you involuntarily shiver, the temperature seeming to drop by a few degrees. Suddenly you hear the great doors of the Golden House slam shut, and someone’s voice questions why they, the Traveler, still lingered. The three of you, little Paimon included, turn in surprise. It’s Childe, the very person you were fretting over and looking for. You sigh quietly in relief, but your fleeting moment of calm is quickly dashed as the Traveler silently challenges him to a duel. Hastily you scramble to get out of the way, and just barely find yourself “out-of-bounds” when the arena for their fight flares to life as they both ready their weapons. Childe retrieves his bow with a twisted smile, a counterpart to the Traveler’s iron stoicness. But it seems his gaze lingers on you, and softens for a brief moment, something you tell yourself is just your imagination, because you doubt he was ever your friend to begin with. As someone whose work isn’t associated with adventuring, your knowledge of combat is limited, but even you can see the

skill of both the Traveler and Childe as their blades clash. Several times a burst of elemental energy strikes the burning walls of the arena, and you’re thankful for the barrier between you and them, because you have very little chance of surviving the power of their abilities. When Childe’s clothes darken and the mask falls over his face, you remember hearing something about a far more powerful and dangerous version of Visions- Delusions, items the Tsaritsa, Cryo Archon and ruler of Snezhnaya, rewards to her most loyal and deserving followers. Childe’s is Electro, and the crackle of static energy he slashes towards the Traveler makes your hair stand on end. You shield your eyes from the bright lights dancing around the arena, and when you reopen them, Childe has disappeared. And he reappears next to Rex Lapis’ corpse. Several things happen at once. The Geo Archon’s Gnosis is gone, taken by neither the Harbinger or the Traveler. Paimon looks worried, the Traveler looks shocked, and Childe enraged- You blink and he’s changed. Suddenly several feet taller, he now floats, some sort of terrible creature you’ve never seen before. Everything is loud, too loud, and you clap your hands over your ears, as the floor breaks away beneath you. And you fall with the Traveler and Paimon into the chamber below. You feel something catch you- an enormous clawed hand- and set you down more or less gently into a single large room. The room is the arena, an arena you stand in with no escape. The Gnosis is gone, and Childe is a monster, one of both Hydro and Electro and a foreign, starry magic that makes your skin crawl. And the battle only continues. Luckily the Traveler is adamant on staying away from you, drawing Childe’s attacks to the other side of the arena entirely, and for a majority of the fight the most you have to do is dodge falling arrows and water amalgamations. Childe’s furious questions about the Gnosis soon fade into hisses and growls as he loses himself more and more into the horrible joy of battle. You lean over, coughing slightly from the water that splashed you as a consequence of his attacks and the exertion from dodging and keeping your balance in the Hydro-soaked room. The Traveler screams, and you look up too late as a burst of electro slashes across your chest. Then everything goes white and high pitched, your senses bursting alongside the elemental energy as it runs up your damp skin and clothes. The pain from the combination of Hydro and Electro in your veins brings tears to your eyes, and it’s only amplified around your torso as you vaguely feel something warm and sticky dripping down. Someone shakes you, panicking, calling your name, but everything is white, cold noise. The sounds around you are muffled as the battle slows to a halt, and all you hear is ringing. Another hand, sharp and clawed, brushes against your arm, but it retreats when someone starts shouting. A blade is brandished as someone yells at a monster to stay away, he’s done enough damage, how dare he, and you hear a mournful, desperate chitter through the haze of static. Ah, that curious sound, it makes your heart ache. But what, or who, is it? The sword slices through the air as the monster is pushed away by a blonde-haired Traveler’s rage, and it soon joins into the pitching, ringing note in your ears before it tapers into silence and sorrow, leaving only the inky abyss of darkness crawling up to your eyes as the pain fades into weightlessness. This time, you let yourself fall. In the harbor, the Fair Lady is informed that the Golden House is falling down, falling down.

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lettrespromises · 4 years

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> LettresPromises informs you : You have one notification.

> Letter object : The cry of the heart.

Zoro Roronoa sent you a letter, would you like to read it?

@me11orine sent a letter : ❝hiii! i hope your currently feeling well and staying safe! may i pls request an angst but a happy ending with zoro? its not really specific so you could do whatever you’d like! pls take your time!❞

author’s letter : ❝dear reader, i’m so, so, so, so, sorry for being so late regarding this request! i hope you’ll be able to forgive me. i really had a lot of fun writing this request and showing my undying love for zoro love my birthday twin, i missed writing for one piece so thank you for sending me this and thank you for trusting me with your request!! love you and take care.

sealed with a kiss, nikki.❞

Warnings : Cursing, blood, injury. Genre : Kinda angsty, kinda fluff. Word count : 1.6K.

The weather was hot in Dressrosa, perhaps too ideal for a kingdom ruled by the living and breathing personification of evil, or maybe was it just another trick played upon the Straw Hat crew : how could this kingdom possess the weather of heaven and, paradoxically enough, be ruled by the new face of evil?

Although the sunny weather complimented the thoughts of relaxation, enjoying the sinful pleasures of life and whatnot, the reality drew a sharp contrast with these ideals— it was a hunt led on the scale of an island, a literal hunt, where the horn would only be blown once all of the targets will be taken down. It was a race against time, a permanent sword of Damocles was dangerously hanging over each member of the Straw Hat crew as a reminder that every action taken had a consequence— some reduced drastically the distance between the tip of the sword and their head, and others helped to deliver the last blow to their opponent.

Sword of Damocles or not, Zoro Roronoa could handle any situation with the help of his very own swords, that is… Almost all of them. His expertise regarding the art of fighting his opponents with both his most cherished and lethal weapons seemed like poetry in motion to the common eye— he was the living testimony of empiricism, each of his experience added yet another step-stone on the ramp to become the best swordsman alive.

Nonetheless, the legendary prowesses of his swords could not fix the deep wounds caused by the poisonous mix of emotional numbness and physical pain. His sole valid eye was entirely focused on your small form (or at least, from his point of view, it did seem smaller given the fact you were bending under the echoes of pain) caught in a whirlwind of distress. He should have trusted his guts, after all, trusting his instinct came as a second nature to him, and not let you face one of Doflamingo’s pawns on your own. Yes, the victory was yours, but was squirming in pain really worth having the bragging rights of a success?

Isolated in an alley, away from the preying eye of the Donquixote family, but certainly not isolated from the sounds of agony echoing from certain areas of the kingdom, you were left bruised and out of breath on the ground. Your palm was delicately covering the wound in your arm, while being careful enough to not apply to much unwanted pressure on it, your mouth was set agape, a position needed to allow several unsteady breaths to fall free from your lips in cascade. And although Dressrosa was moving under the rhythm of the cries of pain, the alley you and Zoro was stuck in was eerily silent, a form of silence imposed against your will, but perhaps was it because none of you knew what to say.

The wound was deep and blood was flowing a bit too freely out of the cut— you considered is a medal, Zoro saw it as a mark of inattention. His facial expression reflected almost too perfectly the vivid emotions rushing through his mind : a dash of sadness, a pang of guilt and a generous dose of anger. His brows were furrowed, teeth clenched, his eye never left your figure, he was hoping his stare alone could make you feel his rush of emotions.

« What the hell were you thinking? What’s wrong with you? You could have died if I hadn’t shown up at the right time! » Zoro barked, anger lacing his every word, you winced at the harsh tone of his voice.

« What the fuck was I supposed to do? Let you do all the dirty work and stand back in silence? Hell no! » You responded, with the same amount of volume and acerbity coating your voice.

« You knew damn well you couldn’t have beaten him on your own, why the hell do you have to be so reckless? » It was a rhetorical question coming from him, there was no answer, just the will to sting you where it hurt the most.

« Because I’m sick of you seeing me as some kind of person in distress, because I’m not! I had him right where I wanted and you let your savior complex get the best of you. I could have handled it on my own, I didn’t need you! » Now, now, talk about letting your emotions dictate your speech.

His eye widened in surprise, mostly because he was not expecting that such rage could have ever possibly takeover your wording, but he regained his composure almost immediately. His jaw felt tight as your haunting words kept repeating themselves over and over again in his head like a broken record.

« You don’t need me, hah? Fine by me, next time I’ll let you suffer on your own, and remember that you asked for it. »

Maybe you were right, maybe you didn’t need him. For the first time, he laid his eye elsewhere, he couldn’t muster the strength to look at you, nor stay close to you. And with that, Zoro had already made the decision to leave you in this alley.

Willing to mimic his actions and indirectly compete in this silent war of prides, you tried to get on your feet to go back to the Sunny. Your plan, however, did not match with the reality— as soon as you stood up, a cry of pain left your lips without warning, your knees gave up under the pressure and eventually you found your original position : sat on the floor. Zoro stopped abruptly in his tracks once this sound of torment connected to his eardrums. His pride yelled at him to continue on his way out, to leave you alone because you ‘didn’t need him’, but he was only a mere man to try resisting his pride.

« Don’t move, you can’t help being so damn reckless all the time, can you? » the anger lacing his words had faded away and instead, a hint of comfort replaced the former vivid emotion.

Zoro was back kneeling in front of you, his stare was once more focusing on you and you only, as it always has been. You, on the other one hand, couldn’t seem to gather enough strength to look elsewhere but on your wound, and oddly enough, the more you looked at it, the more it hurt. Why did it hurt? You ignored the real answer to the question, nonetheless, pearls of tears running down your cheeks, a sweet mixture of salt and guilty.

« Oi, oi, oi, what are you crying for? » You knew he didn’t mean to sound this harsh, but ‘Zoro’ and ‘delicate’ were oxymorons.

Your thumb was still brushing invisible forms near your wound, in a desperate attempt to ease the pain and distract yourself from Zoro’s acerbic words which had finally sunk in, it was similar to being caught in a whirlwind of pain without any escape. You couldn’t help these tears from falling free on your face, it was the aftermath of said whirlwind, and the consequences of regretting your poor choice of wording.

Zoro’s calloused fingers came right beneath your chin, forcing you to look elsewhere but on one of the many causes of your suffering, and instead, engage a new discussion. His attempt to earning an answer felt short against the deafening silence on your end, a silence, however, often broke by the sounds of your whimpers.

« I-… I shouldn’t have said that earlier. What I said about not needing you, I didn’t mean any of it. » You released a sigh you ignored you were holding, a manifestation that you felt a burden come off of your shoulders.

« Save your saliva and your breath, I got it. And even if you didn’t want my help, you’re not in a position to refuse my help right now.» A hint of a smirk was plastered upon his face as a sign of a silent victory against you.

Zoro was right, you had no choice but to give in to his help. His arms snaked around your knees and shoulders (while making sure not to enter in contact with your injured arm and let the wound free from any touch) and cradled your head against his chest in a modified version of a bridal carry. Perhaps, just perhaps, you should have accepted his offer to help you earlier on.

« Zoro? » You asked, your breath coming to crash against the skin of his torso.

« Mhm? »

« You’ve always been the person I needed, I was just afraid that you would get injured too. » A confession emanating from your heart, after all, you deemed this moment as the most adequate given the circumstances.

Said confession only comforted Zoro in the nature of the feelings he was holding in your regard, and also demonstrated that the nature of your anger was actually coming from a place of care and attention for him.

« I told you not to mention it. Besides, I’m never letting someone lay a finger on you ever again. » A victorious grin still plastered upon his facial features, this time, it wasn’t because he had won the argument against you, it was because he realized everything he had always wanted, everything he had always needed, was here in his arms.

#one piece x reader #zoro roronoa #pirate hunter zoro #zoro x reader #zoro roronoa x reader #op x reader #zoro imagine #zoro one shot

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nekomasmngr · 3 years

Text

“bring the bitter taste to a halt”

➳ inspo: sweetener with sugawara koshi

➳ synopsis: With the little to no experience you had in the kitchen, what could go wrong with your attempt to bake pastries for your lovely boyfriend, koushi?

➳ genre: fluff, chaos, slight angst!

➳ word count: 3,943

➳ fluffvember masterlist

➳ author’s note: sorry for the delay! this took longer than I thought it was gonna be, usually I’d aim for a simple 1k words, but I got inspired after rewatching some episodes to capture more of Suga’s character and well, tada! halfway through writing this, i didn’t even think of yato’s audios when I had Suga call you ‘sugar’. eye—,,lord, forgive me I am listening respectfully. please enjoy and I hope I did this prompt justice! and i’m always open to criticism, just be polite about it!

Not even 10 minutes into your baking project and you already cursed whoever thought that sugar, salt, and flour should be the same color. Sweat started to form along the sides of your head from the thoughts that were running through your mind as you went back and forth to your recipes and to the countertop on the table. No matter the labor, heat, and stress you put yourself through, you wanted this to be perfect. After all, you had this whole plan to surprise your boyfriend, Sugawara Koushi, with a delicious dessert for him to eat after his long week training camp with the Karasuno volleyball team.

You knew you wanted to make something for him, but you wanted something a bit practical. Lucky charms would usually be a go-to gift, but you thought it held more meaning when given during tournaments or for huge matches. What you had in mind was something that reminded him that even the harshest bitter days or salty losses can easily be brighted with a little sweetness. For all the moments life put you in such a rough patch, Sugawara was there by your side, reminding you of the brighter side to things.

You decided on making a batch of fruit tarts, since it seemed like the healthy choice for an athlete. It included different fruits, a creamy sweet filling and a firm brown crust; seems pretty easy and simple. Yet, as you scanned the bright screen of your phone, reading through the list of ingredients and simple instructions for the crust, you started to rethink your own choices.

You liked the simple process of the first recipe you saw; it was made for one big tart, as big as a pie and had an assortment of berries that you thought tasted better. This recipe also claimed to only take fifteen minutes to prepare. Although, you came across another recipe that had multiple tarts instead of one big one. In your head, you saw the benefit of having multiple small tarts instead of one big one.

Suddenly, an image of a cheerful Sugawara happily munching on a small tart came into your mind. He’s praising you for the deliciousness of the fruit tart, while holding another in his hand bringing it to your mouth with the intention to feed you. Blinded by your excitement, your inexperience was forgotten in the attempt to combine the two recipes. All you had to do was to follow the instructions, have the right measurements, and don’t eat the ingredients before cooking right?

What could go wrong?

Apparently, many, many things can go wrong.

In the first batch, the crusts seemed to break as soon as you tried to take it out of the pan. You suspected that you mistook one ingredient for another and mixed the wrong one in the dough, which caused the base of the crust to fall apart. Annoyance started to fill your mind as you thought of whoever had the audacity to make flour and cornstarch look the same.

For the second batch, the crusts came out darker than it should be. You grimaced as you took out this batch of burnt crusts out of the oven, fanning your mittens over the smoking heat it gave off. You cursed yourself as you admit that this disaster was caused by your negligence. Seeing as, you did get a bit distracted washing the fruit to prepare for cutting.

You were on your third attempt to make the right crusts, being extra careful on the measurements and the time the pan lay inside the oven. You suspected that Sugawara would arrive at any minute, just as he sent a text to you that the team had just finished their last practice match of the day, marking the end of training camp.

In an attempt to pre-heat your oven faster, you set the temperature to 400 degrees instead of 350, what difference would it make anyway. You didn’t spend more time thinking about the consequences of your decision, as you carefully sped up the process of placing your dough into the tart pan. You put your focus on making sure that each tart would get the right amount of dough in order to maintain the consistency of the crust as it should turn golden brown on time. As you opened the door to the pre-heated oven, your ears suddenly heard a sharp buzz from the front gate.

You hurriedly placed the tray of uncooked dough into the oven and closed the door with a small jump. You turned the timer to 20 minutes and quickly washed your hands right after. You rushed to dry them onto your apron, not having time to take it off. You darted across your house to the front door, opening it wide to see the third year waiting right outside looking all-undeniably cute and surprisingly fresh despite having finished training.

“Hi” you broke out in a smile as you tried to calm yourself from the sprint that you had to do in the last few minutes. “Hey,” Sugawara gave you a swift peck on the cheek as he entered, “were you cooking?” he asked, taking off his shoes and placing them neatly beside yours.

You started to stammer out any excuse to buy you some time to lure his attention away from the kitchen entrance, but you slowed down as his soft brown eyes kept looking to the side of your face and a mischievous smile spread across his lips. One of his hands seemed to inch towards your cheek as he swiped his thumb across the small side of your face right at the base of your chin. He brought his thumb to his lips and gave it a soft suck, all without taking his eyes off of yours. You had to refrain yourself from giving him any sort of weak reaction to his suggestive actions, yet you couldn’t stop the rapid beating of your heart that you were sure he could feel for himself.

“Sweet like sugar, sugar.” He winked at the playful nickname and suddenly, all traces of the teasing persona he put on just a few seconds ago was gone. Bright eyes and an innocent smile deceived your heart as you shook your head at his attempts to be smooth. “That’s because that probably was sugar.” You pulled yourself out of the blissful moment as you caught a wiff of a familiar burnt smell.

“Is something burning—” You barely gave Sugawara the time to finish his question as you dashed inside the kitchen to turn off the oven and opened the door of the oven to let out the smoke. In your rush, you forgot to lower the temperature when you set the oven to preheat earlier. You opened the nearby window to let out most of the dreadful burnt smell. You sheepishly looked back at your boyfriend, who was standing at the kitchen door with his eyes wide and mouth open in shock.

“Ah, um,” you shifted your eyes to anywhere but his face as it filled with your own disappointment, “I tried to bake something.” You confessed as you dejectedly stared at your mess. “It was supposed to be a surprise and a little reward for you.”

He hummed in understanding, his keen brown eyes surveying the damage you had brought upon your kitchen counter, not missing the broken crumbs of past attempts at the perfect golden brown crust. He could clearly see the work you had put into this and wanted to smile at how much love you tried to show.

Sugawara was about to tease you for the mess, when you gave out a heavy sigh; one he was familiar with as it was something you’d do when you were extremely disheartened, which you were at yourself. “I can’t believe I messed up a simple recipe for fruit tarts,” you bitterly uttered as you glared at the ground and remembered how ambitious you were to even decide to bake with no experience or supervision.

You felt his presence suddenly wash over you as he stood right by yourself, reaching out a hand to lightly stroke your cheek, calling you to rest your eyes on him. “Can I take a look at the recipe?” he asked. You purse your lips and bite the inside of your cheek as you brought out your phone and showed him the two recipes. You started to grow nervous as your hands started to fidget with the hem of your apron. Your eyes not leaving his figure as he took a glance at the two sets of recipes written down on your notes, widening his own eyes in surprise at your attempt to break down and combine the two.

As much as Sugawara wanted to laugh and tease you for what you had done, he was overwhelmed with your intent to surprise him. “You wanted to make this for me?” he asked as he lifted his stare away from your phone to your bashful face.

“Yeah, but it didn’t turn as well as I’d hope. I don’t think I should have impulsively combined two different recipes together,” your eyes suddenly shifted to your untouched mess as you started to explain, “I think I got all the measurements and ingredients mixed up, cause the crust kept breaking and I couldn’t even cut the fruits ye—” You were interrupted by a strong arm wrapping around your waist. With a soft pull of your body, Sugawara tugged you towards his strong torso.

A soft smile rested on his lips as he gave you a genuine look that made your heart clench at how he kept his eyes on yours. “Thank you.” your boyfriend said with words dripping with sincerity.

“But, I messed up. I—,” you chuckled at your own actions, “I didn’t even get to make one batch out of the three attempts I’ve made.” The setter shook his head and smiled at you, “No one has done something like this for me and I guess, I’m thankful that you made your way to even try to do it.” His arms tightened his hold around you and your heart seemed to weigh even heavier with love.

“I wanted to do it.” you fondly sighed. “You’re important to me Koushi,” you brought your hands up to his cheeks and cradled his face in your hands, “and I’m so proud of you and how far you’ve come. I just wanted to somehow show it.”

“Well, I have an idea. Why don’t you take a small break? You go freshen up and I’ll clean up around here, then we can just go snack on the fruits you have—” You interrupted him with a timid hum. “I still wanna bake for you though,” you said as you directed your pleading look onto your boyfriend’s eyes, with a hint that you wanted to bake something with him.

“Do you wanna bake together then?” you eagerly nodded at his question, a smile occupied your face immediately as this meant you both would spend more time together. You would be able to truly show him your good intentions in this new dessert, while showing that you were actually capable of not messing up the kitchen.

Sugawara matched your smile with his own as he brought his hands together with a clap, “Then it’s settled!” You crouched down to one of the cabinets to find a spare apron. As you looked, the athlete started to say, “Let’s maybe start with something easier, babe. I appreciate the thought for the fruit tart but, you have no experience in the kitchen to begin with, why did you want to start with that?”

Your actions halted at his teasing knowing he was trying to mock you for your inexperience in the kitchen. Without a reply, you slowly stood straight and looked menacingly at the naive setter and raised your leg to give a soft kick to his thighs. He let out cry as his knees buckled at the sudden force.

After you had both calmed down, and you had accepted his apologies for your lack of cooking skills, you decided to go bake some cookies. Sugawara let out a cheer as he found a recipe for matcha and white chocolate chip cookies. “This is perfect! We can use the matcha powder that you already have!”

“No,” you gave out a small whine, “those have white chocolate in them. They aren’t healthy at all.” You tried to reach for his phone to try and change the recipe, but his long arms and taller stature rose the device high above your head and out of your reach.

“Ah! These are for me anyway so I get to pick!” He brushed off your whine and gave small pats on your head, “Besides, matcha is a great substitute for caffeine! I think it’ll give me an energy boost when I need it.” He gave you one of those smiles that made your heart melt and left to gather the extra ingredients you needed. You pouted and grumbled as you fought the blush rising to your cheeks. Sugawara’s smile would always make your heart soften, making you give into his wishes.

As he brought down the can of matcha powder from the cupboard, he took a glance at your pout and gasped at the sight, “Oi! Throw away that frown, away with the negativity!” You let out a yelp as he gave a firm chop onto your side, not even his girlfriend could be spared by his firm chops to the side. You narrowed your eyes at him as you rubbed your waist. You got back at him for it, giving him your own chops on each side of his torso. If there’s anything about you that Sugawara loved, it was definitely the fact that you easily joined in on the fun and his teasing.

Baking with Sugawara proved to be more effective than doing it by yourself. He knew you still wanted to prove your skills for this, so he let you take the lead on most of the instructions. Instead, he made sure all the ingredients were properly measured and did not get mistaken for any other ingredients, despite them looking the same. With someone to keep you and your actions in check, the cookies were in the oven in no time.

“So, how was the training camp?” you asked as you leaned onto the kitchen counter, keeping an eye on your phone’s timer, but giving your attention to your boyfriend’s response.

Sugawara wiped his hands on the hand towel as he answered, “It was pretty good. We’re a new team, so it will take a bit of time to get used to each other.”

“I can’t wait to attend your matches! It’s the Inter-High Tournament soon right?” your excitement died down as you noticed arms suddenly slowed their motions as the setter brought down the dishes he was wiping.

“Koushi? Is there something wrong?” You stood by his side and gently placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, waiting for his reply. His eyes seemed sullen, it’s usual brightness gone. He took a deep breath and put on a sad smile on his face as he turned to you. “I’m not the starting setter,” he confessed.

Puzzled by this revelation, your eyebrows knitted together in confusion, “But, you’re a third year. You’ve been on the team since your first.”

“I-I know.” Sugawara said.

“Y-You have experience.”

“I know.”

“Why didn’t—,” Sugawara sighed and placed a tender hand on your cheek, his eyes asking you to listen to his next words. “It’s okay,” His serene smile seemed to calm your rising nerves, “The strongest are the ones who stand on the court. I just have to work harder to be stronger.”

You couldn’t believe that he was talking this awfully well. If you were in his place you’d definitely feel cheated on by being taken away the opportunity to play for a sport you dedicated your high school years to. Your eyes searched his own, for you knew, despite his words of reassurance, he was hurt. Of course he was. But right now, he needed your support in this. He must have thought this through to be this collected while breaking the news to you. You nodded for him to continue.

“I’m not giving up. Our coach knows this. Even if I’ll be on the sidelines, I still want as many chances as I can get, but that won’t happen if I’m on the court as a regular,” Sugawara sighed, “I just wanted to tell you, because I didn’t want you to be disappointed when you see that I’m not starting.” His voice softened as he averted his gaze away from you.

“Oh Kou,” you felt your heart burn from his words, “I could never.” You took his hands into yours and brought them to your lips, giving them a soft kiss. “Please believe me when I say that I will never be disappointed in you.”

“You may not be on the court,” you continued. “But, please remember what you’ve been through, what you’ve experienced. Who you are and how you grow is what matters. You are strong and you are more than good enough to be their setter.”

Your relationship with Sugawara may be pretty fresh, having gotten together with him officially in the middle of your second year. However, even when you were both first years, you knew how hard and dedicated he was to this sport. You were also aware of what he and the other third years had to go through when they first started out; training everyday, agreeing to every practice match they could have, getting laughed at by other schools, sometimes even by the other clubs at how they had become the fallen powerhouse or flightless crows of Karasuno High School— you knew about it all.

Seeing them grow from the baby crows they once were to who they are now was something that brought so much warmth to your heart. Every morning from the start of your third year, you would walk to school with Sugawara. Every morning without fail, you’d listen to him animatedly talk about the promising first year students and how amazing and talented they all seemed to be. You would never get tired of how he radiated with joy and spirit for his team.

You locked eyes with him, determined to bring out the usual light in his eyes again. With the most heartfelt smile you could make, you claimed, “I’m always gonna be proud of you.” You smoothed out a thumb across his cheek as a stray tear fell escaped from his eyes. “And I’m gonna be there at every match for you. I’m always gonna be cheering for my setter.”

He brought you into an embrace full of passion and emotion. “Thank you.” You both stayed in each other's arms for awhile, making the most out of this moment you two have. Placing your head on his chest, you secured your arms around him and squeezed his torso with the intention to remind him of all of the love and support that you could give. He wouldn’t be alone in this, he had his other teammates and he was smart to begin with. You were sure he’ll be able to stand on the court with his friends as well.

You lifted your head from his chest and took a glance at his face, your heart flipped in triumph at the familiar smile resting on your boyfriend’s face. “There’s that sweet smile I love.” you teased. Sugawara let out the most precious laugh. You hummed and gave him a taste of his own teasing looks, “Maybe I should start calling you ‘sugar’ too.” His cheeks glowed even more red at your comment.

It wasn’t long until your phone rang with the timer flashing as it came to the end. You both peered into the window of the heated oven, excited to see the green and white sweets in all its glory. Every single one of them looked absolutely delectable as a soft golden brown lined along the rim of each cookie. The long-awaited desserts were brought out of the oven and were left to cool for a few minutes.

Biting the inside of your cheek, you allowed Sugawara to take the first bite out of the first cookie. He gave a glance at you and smiled at your ecstatic nature, he already knew the cookies would taste great as his senses were filled with sweetness. With a slow chomp and a chew, he took his time assessing the food, definitely prolonging your anticipation on purpose. “So?” you couldn’t help but ask. you were patiently waiting, as you always were, observing the exaggerated gestures on his face as he tried to mask his enjoyment.

“There’s this thing we say in volleyball as someone makes a good serve,” he placed his cookie near your mouth for you to bite on. You were taken aback for a moment, reliving a sense of deja vu, as you recalled your little daydream earlier, now having brought to life. You graciously accepted his offering, taking it out of his hands, and took a bite out of your creation. Your boyfriend took a step back and brought one leg up and striked a pose. With a wink directed at you, he shouted, “nice serve!” You tried to stifle your laughter, but failed, as you looked at his form even longer. He raised both his hands up to give you a double high-five, to which you gave in return.

You’ll never forget how much of a dork your favorite person really was. It was definitely strange to compare a good serve to a good cookie, but you’ll take it! You smiled in victory at the success of the batch of cookies you two had made. “Ah! That smile!” Sugawara wanted to use your own words against you, but of course, he added his own spice into it. With exaggerated gestures, he clutched at his chest and pretended to faint to the ground, “I don’t think I need the cookies anymore, babe. I’ve got all the sweetness to win all of our matches!”

He wrapped his arms around your frame and squeezed your sides, swaying your bodies slightly. You rolled your eyes at his antics and lightly pushed his arms away to make him stop, “Shut up!” you said while giving out light laughter.

“No, I’m serious!” At his declaration, his hold on you got even tighter, “I don’t need them, all I need is your smile, your laugh— all I need is you standing right there on my side of the court with your eyes on me!”

Your heart swooned as his words, at the same time, your laugh grew louder at his persistence. You stretched out your arms to reach out for the cookies. “Guess, I’ll just give these to Daichi-san and Asahi-san then.” you teased. At this, the playful athlete shook his head and buried his head onto the crook of your neck, whining, “No! You made these cookies for me! We made them together! They won’t get a single bite!”

You let out a laugh at how utterly adorable Sugawara is. You adore special moments like this with him; times when you both can be completely goofy with each other, but at the same time, know when the other needs comfort and solace. You can’t ever imagine what your life would be like without him and you’d hope that everyone else would be able to experience the kind of sweet and pure love that you both shared together.

#fluffvember 2020 #fluffvember #haikyuu!!#sugawara koushi x reader #sugawara koushi x reader one shot #haikyuu fluff #fluff #sugawara koushi #baking with suga!#haikyuu sugawara #koushi sugawara x reader #sugawara x reader #kuroosonetouch's fluffvember

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