#so many words that are not about jellyfish in a fic that has the main idea centered on jellyfish

[lauronk]

it took a lot of words

but jelly fic finally got mentions of the jellies 🪼

still got a ways to go though homies

#so many words that are not about jellyfish in a fic that has the main idea centered on jellyfish #i think - unless i take a hatchet to it - we’re looking at 20k #do i split it in half? or leave it as a monster? #decisions decisions #jelly fic #still gotta figure out an actual title #the last of us fanfiction #joel and ellie #but with Stardew valley vibes and maybe cameos 👀

[internalsealpanic]

Monster Monster

I wholeheartedly blame this pic for the existence of this fic. I just wanna hug him and ruffle his hair. 

Summary: Parent Teacher Conferences are very scandalous. 

a/n: This is actually one of my few fics where reading some of my previous fics will help. I highly recommend reading Of Midnight Smoothies and Murder Mysteries to get a better feel on Dick and Reader’s relationship but anything on the Dick Grayson masterlist works too. Special thanks to @littleredwing89​ and @americasmarauders​ for proofreading. Thanks to @littleredwing89​ and @batarella​ for help with the ending. 

warnings: A slur is mentioned but it gets shut down. Also, swearing. 

Main Masterlist

Series Masterlist

“Tt, stop staring at me.”

You bite back a smile and what was probably a laugh rising in your throat. “Hmmm, no.” You hum, carding your fingers through Damian’s curls. The corners of your mouth twitch into a frown when you feel an angry bump against your fingers. It’s dry and there seems to be no break in the skin as far as you could tell. You let a little sigh of relief escape you which has the unintended consequence of upsetting the gremlin in front of you.

Damian attempts to swat your hand away, snarling as he did. You grin at him, all sharp teeth and pettiness. You, being childish,  do not take your hand away and instead ruffle his hair more. An adorably petulant pout settles on Damian’s mouth making the kid look ten-years-old for once. It takes everything in you not to squeal in  delight. 

“Unhand me. I do not require your mothering and you would do very well to leave the scolding to Richard or Pennyworth.” You can easily picture Alfred scolding Damian but Dick? You try to picture Dick, hand on his hip, trying his damndest to be mean to the kid but you just couldn’t. Sure, Nightwing can be terrifying, even Batman but Dick? Especially with a kid? Not even feasible. You snort openly, the noise echoing in the deadly silent room. The woman on the other side of the room sitting next to a boy with a faceful of bruises and probably a couple of chipped teeth glares at you. Specifically, the woman scowls at your arm, skin festooned with bangles of coiled serpent tails and glittering blades. You fight the urge to stick your tongue out at her. Instead, you tug a bit at your sleeves, baring the golden lines streaked with old gashes. A low humorless laugh escapes you causing her scowl to deepen. 

Damian follows your line of sight. His face folds in utter contempt. The boy next to her flinches. Their size difference made this all the funnier.  “[What did he do?]” you ask in what you hope are the correct words in Arabic. Damian crosses his arms not meeting your gaze. His leg kicks out, the restlessness thrumming in his bones. “[Your accent is atrocious.]”

Your mouth twitches uncontrollably, edging into a fond smile. You tamp it down with a click of your tongue lest the little demon tear your head off. “[I’m out of practice, child,]” Damian grabs at a space beside him only for his hand to close on nothing. Something inside you dies when you stop yourself from cackling. Thank goodness, Bruce has--had--the good sense to take the kid’s katana away. 

“[Anyway, what did he do?]”

“[How are you so sure he did something?]”

“[Because you’re a brat but not stupid. You are by far the most annoyingly reasonable child I have had the displeasure of conversing with.]” Damian’s eyes widened in surprise. It seems the assumed hatred was mutual. You watch as he folds his face back into a glower, not quite fast enough to evade your attention but certainly fast enough to fool  the untrained eye. Unfortunately for him, you’re used to the acrobatics of faces, the chaotic cacophony of microexpression. Most people in your life are, after all, awful at broadcasting their feelings even when it was sorely needed. This is probably why you gravitated to Dick so easily. The man believed in openness, in communication.

Distantly, you can hear the woman across from you tap her foot impatiently against the carpet. A flick of your eye tells you she was sneering at both of you likely eavesdropping (and failing) on your conversation. Why she needs to know what you and a ten-year-old with a stick up his ass were talking about you weren’t sure. Damian turns his head slightly towards you, angling his chin upward to mask the uncertainty in his posture. “[If you must know, he-]”

“Gypsies”

The syllables ring like a loud staccato of gunshots despite how quietly she’d hissed it. You freeze. You can feel Damian stiffen right beside you. Understanding flowed into you molten and bubbling. You feel your throat itch, unkind words coalescing into a lump in your throat. You turn your body to Damian who was now still but you can feel the anger wicking off him. You sling your arm over the head of the chair behind him drawing his attention back to you. 

He arches a brow at you, challenging. The expression falters when the next few words leave your mouth. 

“[You’re off the hook.]”

Principal Jameson is a nasally man. It isn’t his anything to do with his voice. Though, you would be remiss to say that his voice was pleasant. You’re actually half tempted to turn your bad ear on him, block out the words coming from him but that would negate the point of you coming here. His voice isn’t that unpleasant but his entire demeanor rubbed you the wrong way. You’ve seen jellyfish with more backbone than this man. Then again, this might just be a by-product of your presence. Dick, and several other batbrats, have helpfully informed you that you were in fact pants pissing scary to civilians. You would like to say you couldn’t see it but standing in front of this man it was clear as day.  

“Y/n L/n,” you offer congenially. His shoulders ease a fraction but did not offer you a hand. You smother a sigh before offering an additional “I believe Mr.Grayson-Wayne had informed you that I would be coming in his stead to discuss this-” Shit show, your mind supplies but thankfully, your mouth was quick enough to bite it back. “- incident.” Beside you Damian scoffed. You stop yourself from kicking the kid because that really would not do. 

“Yes, well, Ma’am your-” Jameson halts frankly unsure of your relationship to Damian because of course, Dick would leave the leg work to your socially allergic ass. You make a mental note to kick him later. “- charge.” you supply, feeling a modicum of sympathy for the drowning man.Your eyes flick to Damian. His face is impassive, ire still directed at the thirteen-year-old sniveling behind his mother. The term is too cold for your taste but as of right now that’s all you were. Maybe you’ve finally found a Robin you wouldn't get attached to.

“Well, ma’am, you see your charge, Damian, he’s punched another student and has yet to even apologize. He even started a full on brawl.”

“Mhmm, I see,” you drawl tilting your head. You feel Damian stiffen at the ease of your response. You don’t have to look at his face to know that he was glaring at you with something in his eyes withering from the betrayal. The woman across from nods agreeably as if you had said something sensible. Jameson for his part nearly sighs with relief. You click your teeth a little irritable from their responses but more fascinated than anything. ‘I see’ is barely an answer but they each filled in the gaps with their own assumptions. “And has that young man over there apologized for what he said to Damian? Or for the lump on Damian’s head? Surely, you sent Damian to the clinic as well.” you voice out looking as scandalized as possible. 

The room froze. 

Your eyes will probably roll into the back of your head before your meeting is done. Judging from Jameson’s posture, they didn’t. They should have at least checked if the kid had a concussion. A familiar sort of ire rose in you. Oh boy, you’re going to have a field day with these people. You sigh in exasperation before continuing. “Not only did you neglect to send him to the clinic to check on the lump on his head, but you were also planning to let the other boy off the hook?” you accuse, voice rising with some effort.  Your voice has a tendency to draw low when your temper is flaring. It’s an intimidation tactic you'd learned from a while ago. It would probably be ill advised to use it on a man who looked like he was a second away from a heart attack. 

Jameson leans forward, reaching out appeasingly.“Ma’am, we-”

“From what I recall, Gotham Academy has a strict zero tolerance policy on derogatory language, does it not?” You cut him off, voice suddenly vicious. You shift your body in front of Damian putting yourself between him and everyone else in the room. He bristles at the gesture but you and your habits aren’t exactly concerned with his pride. 

“Ma’am I-“

“I rest my case. Please, feel free to contact Mr.Grayson-Wayne if you have more to say.” You settle a hand on Damian’s shoulder. You’re surprised he didn’t fight you or swat your hand away. Taking it as permission, you pull him closer to you as you leave the red faced woman and the paling man gob smacked and silent. Damian himself doesn’t make the sound as you made your way down the hall. You squeeze his shoulder gently hoping it comes across as a reassuring gesture. His posture does not loosen but you do not let him stray from you. You close your eyes as the elevator doors shut. 

“I did not require your assistance.”

“I know.”  Of course, he doesn’t. He is a Robin and an Al Ghul but that doesn’t mean he isn’t gonna get it. You drum your fingers against the steering wheel, the dull beat only serving to irritate your nerves. You swear the traffic in Gotham was somehow infinitely worse than everywhere else in the world even with working traffic lights. Maybe that’s why there were so many crazy people here. Maybe Bruce should have invested his money on better roads. Maybe-

Your eyes slide towards Damian who is somehow shrinking and pressing into the side door. Still, his face is twisted skeptically and braced for a continuation to your statement. You looked heavenward not even hiding the weariness in your smile. The brat is truly a bat-- suspicion and all.  You turn your body towards him, opening up your posture. You fold your leg and rest your chin on your arm. Damian meets your gaze head on, looking imperious as he crosses his arms over his chest. His posture is artificial, probably uncomfortable from the weight of your attention.

You roll your shoulders and reshape your features, reconfiguring yourself from understanding to teasing. “I know. I know but you see, they needed telling off and your tiny gremlin ass isn’t scary enough. And, I promise I won’t tell Dickolas that you defended him so vehemently.” you wink, a conspiratorial grin spreading across your face. Damian straightens, his body is bowed like he was about to spring for your throat but the shape his limbs took on was more natural and seemingly relaxed. The knot in your shoulder loosens. You reach over and ruffle his hair again.  He really is still a kid. You stare each other down. Your smile is as unwavering as his glower.

Both of your stomachs grumble. The sound was loud and abrasive in the closed space of the car. You check your watch and hum, shifting back into your seat. Wordlessly, you switch on your signal light. 

You leaf through the pages of the thoroughly used book in your hands, eyes skimming through the blocks of texts not really absorbing any of it. You  never really found the appeal in fiction. The stories are too neat compared to what you experienced daily. You suppose there is simplicity in them but you find that in nonfiction, the kind of books that explained the mechanics of things. They made sense of the world and were much more useful in your opinion. You’re much more interested in the messy scribbles on the margins, the etchings of a loud mind on yellowing pages. Jason’s notes were written in the same tone of voice he used when he spoke, deceptively layman but upon further inspection was frighteningly insightful. You smile at the little comments and complaints, the snarky little remarks. Remnants of the little boy he had been before. You frowned. You should probably give this back to him once you have the chance and maybe come up with some excuse of why you still have it. Or you can just keep it. 

You look up at Damian who is drumming his fingers impatiently against the lacquered table. His posture is artificially relaxed, likely something he learned from the league or maybe all nervous gremlins do it. You look down at the book again. The sight reminds you of Jay. You tip your head, the loud thunk of your skull is felt more than heard since it was your bad ear that is pressed against the glass. The sound startles Damian who was deep in thought. You hold out the book to him. He must be bored waiting for your order. He pointedly ignores you. 

"I don't need that childish drivel." He snipes. You click your teeth feeling a little defensive of the book. 

You sound exactly like your grandfather, you think but have enough sense to keep it to yourself. No child needs to be compared to Ra's Al Ghul even if he is a brat. 

"Not a fan of-" You look at the book's spine and frown. "-Robert Stevenson?" What kind of dork reads Robert Stevenson for fun? Oh wait, it's the same dork that quotes Shakespeare while bashing heads. 

"I have no need for such things." 

Of course, he didn’t. 

"No, I suppose you don't need anything with the actual text but the margins are quite fascinating." You hold out the book to him again. His eyebrows shoot up looking at you skeptically as he reaches for it. There is no  actual written indication that it was Jay's and the kid likely hasn't spent enough time with Jay to actually tell from the way it's written. You look out the window to turn your good ear to him, listening for any reactions he might have. Every now and then you hear a huff of amusement. You smother the smile threatening to form on your lips with your hand.

"Well, the person who owned this certainly had a lot to say." Damian says carefully, handing the book back. 

"Jay really was a mouthy kid."  

Damian looks at you, little face scrunching up in confusion. You suddenly notice just how easily the booth swallows him up. Why is he so tiny? "If this is Todd's, why do you have it?" 

You clasp the book in your hands, your thumb tracing over the creases. "He leant me this book shortly before he died. He-- Well, I told him that I wasn't fond of adventure stories. I prefer books about science and culture. They're much more useful, yanno?" Damian gives a slight nod. You relax into your seat with his understanding. "Well, he thought it was just that I've never read a good one so he gave me this one. Never quite finished it though." you admit a little sheepish after realizing just how sentimental you felt. Your eyes trace over Damian's expression. It's clear that the sentimentality bled through your words and some childish part of you winces at the vulnerability of it. Damian says nothing and doesn't even sneer in derision. 

You hum, the tune musical but offkey. “Jason, actually did what you did today awhile ago.”  Just like that you begin down a rabbit hole telling the little gremlin about all the stupid shit the older bats have gotten into. And oh boy, there’s a lot. 

“So do either of you want to explain what happened and why GAs headmaster called me sounding like he was gonna piss himself?”

“Hmmm, probably not ” you say around your spoonful of mahalabia, not even looking up from your book. Hilariously enough, Damian had also elected to leave Dick’s presence unacknowledged and busy with his own mahalabia.  Dick scoot into your side of the booth, purposefully squishing you against the wall with a shiteating grin. He loops his arm around you and pulls you closer, planting a sloppy kiss on your cheek. You blanch and push half heartedly at his chest as he laughs. That laugh makes your heart warm and a relenting smile spreads across your features softening them. Your body twitches forward to kiss but you still when Dick freezes instead you plant a kiss on his cheek as well. Dick relaxes at the familiarity of it and you two settle down. 

 Damian stares at both of you befuddled. A heat creeps up your cheeks realizing that Dick is practically sitting on you. Dick, on the other hand, seems perfectly content with your current lack of personal space, so you leave it alone despite the incredulous look Damian is giving both of you. Dick snatches up your spoon taking a heap from your dessert. You make an offended noise in the back of your throat which he simply answers with another broad smile.  Your lip twitches uncontrollably and your shoulders go slack.

“So what happened?”

You and Damian exchange a look. Damian rolls his eyes at you and you shrug at him performatively. “Nothing.” you two say in a chorus of nonchalance. It only succeeds in annoying Dick, so it was partially successful.   

Dick pouts taking another bite of your desert. You stare in disbelief as the grownass man sitting next to you attempts to give you the puppy dog eyes as he eats your desert. You sign on exasperation because it's working and the bastard knows it. Richard John Grayson-Wayne is a manipulative asshole and you are a certified sucker. 

You turn to Damian pleadingly begging him to please either help you or end you. Instead, he simply looks the two as if searching for an answer to a question forming in his mind. You run your hand over your face ready to concede when something clicks. 

"Man-Bat got into GA and Damian fought him off." you say, praying Dick would catch on to the game. For a terrifying moment, he doesn’t. He blinks at you in confusion and your stomach sinks then a smile slowly spreads across his face lighting up every feature. Your heart swells at the sight.

"Bullshit. What was Man-Bat doing in GA?"

"Dunno,maybe bullying students. I don't know what bat creatures get up to." you say grinning. The picture becomes clear from every outlandish story. To your surprise, Damian joins in with a few vague details of his own giving even more details than you'd initially gathered. 

Lunch passes pleasantly with outlandish stories and good food. 

“NEWS: Dick Grayson-Wayne, New Face of Wayne Enterprises, Caught in a Torrid Love Affair with a Mystery Woman. Who Could this Exotic Beauty Be?”

“NEWS: Young Wayne Heir Being Extorted by Mystery Woman?”

“NEWS: Wayne Heir with Secret Family?”

Dick wants to evaporate somehow. He stares at the headlines mortified beyond what he ever thought possible. Maybe the floor will be merciful and it’ll finally swallow him as Jason reads another headline in a ridiculous newsreel voice. 

“No, no wait.  This one is fucking priceless!”

“Jason, please, I am begging you. STOP.” Dick whines, his face flattening against his work table. Tim shrugs, an amused smile adorns his face. Dick is going to scream. “Tim, please please please, make him stooop.” Tim ignores Dick in favor of scrolling through his own tablet looking, frankly unsympathetic. 

“Oh a tryst!”

“Jason, you are making it sound so much worse.”

“Dunno, big bird, some of these make it sound like you fucked her over a table in the restaurant.” Jason watches in absolute delight as his older brother attempts to merge with the work bench, the tanned skin of his neck and ears burning a bright shade of crimson. Tim snickers, unhelpfully. Dick loved that his younger brothers were getting along for once. He just hated that for some reason they just had to be united against him. “All I did was kiss her on the cheek and eat her food.”

Jason gasps theatrically, feigning fainting. “Premarital kissing?! Dick, how could you? What’s next? Premarital hand holding? Think of the children.” Jason exclaims, dramatically pointing to Damian who at this point had been ignoring the ruckus Jason was causing. 

“Jason, you’re awful and you’re being extremely dramatic.” 

“Dick, you don’t exactly have any room to talk in that department.”

“Yeah, Mr. Pretty Man Down, Baby Bird has a point.” Jason says smugly as he offers Tim a fist bump which Tim reciprocates by shaking Jason's fist, a joking smile on his face. Jason snorts as if getting the joke or whatever movie reference this was from. 

Tim's face folds into a barely held back smile. The laughter bubbling in the back of his throat straining his features. “I will say it is really funny that they didn’t recognize Damian.” 

“You know how they are. They probably came up with something like the whole Damian being Bruce’s kid was actually just a cover up for Dick.” Somewhere in the background Damian makes a very displeased noise but Dick can't be bothered to lift his head to check. 

“Please no. That doesn’t even-”

“Here’s one, NEWS: Dick Grayson-Wayne’s Baby Mama? Who is this mysterious woman?” Tim reads out flatly. 

“The PR team is going to kill me. No, wait. Y/n is going to kill me first.”

“She won’t. She probably finds this hilarious.”

“How would she even find this funny?”

“Well, she does enjoy your suffering- Oh shit. This one might piss her off.” Jason clears his throat, sliding back into the newsreel voice. “DICK GRAYSON, HANDSOME PLAYBOY - WITH YET ANOTHER GIRLFRIEND - WILL HE EVER SETTLE DOWN?”

Dick is half tempted to throw his own tablet at the wall. What did he do to deserve this? You certainly don’t.  

“Hey, at least, they called you handsome.” Tim laughs placatingly. It doesn’t work, of course. 

Dick looks up at his little brother ruefully. “Oh yeah because the stuff about my looks was definitely the issue.” 

“Well considering your morning routine...”

“I haven’t even been on a date so who are these other girlfriends?!”

“Well, me and Jason thought the same thing.” Tim shoots down sneering. When did his sweet baby brother turn to the dark side? Likely, Jason’s influence but deep down he knows Tim has always been capable of evil. Jason is cackling proudly. 

“I don't see why you're concerning yourself with this drivel.” Damian says, swiping the tablet right in front of Dick forcing him to look up. Dick smiles at him wearily. “Dami, it’s a little hard when a photo of me kissing y/n on the cheek is plastered everywhere with weird headlines.” Damian tilts his head considering it but he shakes his head muttering something about pointlessness. 

“Goddammit, Disco Stick!” The sound  of your voice ringing out into the bunker sends their banter crashing to a halt. Dick feels his heart jump to his throat. He-- This was how he was going to die and for once  he wasn’t sure he deserved it or not. You stand at the doorway haloed in bright light. At least, his angel of death would be the prettiest one, he thinks-- all the oxygen leaving his lungs. 

Crumpled in your fist was a newspaper. Dick can feel his brothers take a step back as you draw near. Your footfalls were as steady as a pulse which made Dick’s own heart rate ratchet up. Your face is carefully impassive the way it always is when your anger was dosed with something else. Dick is sincerely hoping Jason is right about you being amused by the headlines. 

You stop in front of him, eyes narrowed and jaw tight. You glower down at him frankly looking murderous before you snort and your face breaks into a smile. The thick tension in the air dissipates and the room releases its collective breath. The smile on your face grows even brighter. Nope, this is how Dick dies, his breath catching in his lungs as his mind fizzes out from the sight of your smile. 

“I’m sorry?” Dick lifts himself off the table just barely, still bracing for any sudden wave of anger that will, justifiably, roll over you at some point.  

You lean your body on to the spot next to him, letting the table support your weight. Straightening the newspaper in your hands, you frown. “I look terrible in this.”

“You look beautiful.” Dick blurts out. You raise your brow at him incredulously. Jason folds over trying to hold back laughter, his shoulders trembling. Tim just shrinks from second hand embarrassment. 

“No, she is correct. She looks repulsive.” Damian says flatly as he snatches the paper from you.

You let out a breathy laugh. “To be fair, anyone would look repulsive next to professional pretty boy Dickie Wayne.” There was no sharpness in your teasing. You look at the photo over Damian’s shoulder. It was a cute photo actually. Dick’s arm loops around your shoulder as he gives you a kiss on your cheek as Damian blanches at Dick’s very public display of affection. It was hilariously easy to see where they got the idea that you two were a couple. You weren’t. You haven’t been for awhile.  The thought wrenches something a dull ache inside you. You flatten your lips preventing the edges from dipping into a frown. 

A look crosses between Jason and Tim. Tim leans over, asking in a hushed whisper, “I thought they were back together.”

“Dunno they act like it.” Jason shrugs watching your movement. As if to prove his point, you and Dick lean into each other’s space as you bicker about the merits of Gothamite photographers. Jason is half tempted to shove you two together.  

“What are you two talking about?” You ask, finally leaning away from Dick. 

“Nothing-”

“They were pondering the state of your relationship. I myself have been pondering it.”

For a moment, your eyes meet. For a moment, you are back in a drab hotel in Moscow. For a moment, you are crying your heart out in his arms trying to push him away. 

You click your teeth and stare Damian in the eyes not entirely sure what kind of emotions they were betraying. “We were a thing.” Damian’s brow shoots up. You hear someone’s hand slap against their forehead. 

You flush wanting to  disappear but hold your stance. You hear Dick chuckle beside you as he stands shoulder to shoulder with you. Something in you eases with the closeness, like a gap being filled. “We used to be a couple.” Dick supplies, saving you from your flailing. You tap your finger against the back of his hand as a silent thank you. He taps yours twice in reciprocation. You look down trying to hide a smile. 

Jason and Tim look at each other again and nod. 

“We should probably go.” Jason says carrying Damian under his arm.    

“Todd, unhand me! We are not done here!”

“We’ll see you two later.” Tim waves giving Dick a knowing smile. Dick’s heart jumps up to his throat while his stomach drops to the floor. Is this really the time for his brother’s to play cupid? 

You lean in, letting your body press into Dick’s side as you listen to their footsteps fade away. Your head settling on his shoulder hand bracing you against the workbench. You let the stillness settle and make everything around you more solid. 

Dick shifts a bit, his fingers lacing in with yours. The gesture makes your heart twinge, the chasm in your chest yawning with longing. You swallow. The air is thick with unspoken words like smoke clogging up your lungs. You think that if you could just pluck the right one out of thin air, you could clear the air. 

‘I love you’ itches in the back of your throat but what right did you have to say that to him even after all this time. 

Beside you, Dick is smiling and relishing your presence. The silver glint of your earring winking at him from beneath your hair. He had gotten you that on your first date, a little souvenir you got to commemorate the occasion.  

Dick pivots in front of you making your breath catch. His free hand brushing your hair behind your ear revealing the silver robin on your ear. Silver robins. You had at the time laughed at the absurdity of it but here they were years later. Dick’s hands settle on either side of you boxing you in against the table. Even when he’s got you trapped like this, you feel at ease knowing Dick would never hurt you. Dick leans his forehead against yours, his fingers still intertwined with yours. Your pulse is loud in your ears. You lean your forehead against his, eyes sliding close soaking up the contact. 

“It’s always been you.” Dick says breathlessly. The words do not register, too dreamlike in their conception. You always hoped and wished that you could take it back, that you had never left, that he would love you the same way he did before but you were never foolish enough to hold on to things like that with both hands. Yet here Dick was whispering things that you only let yourself dream of. 

“It’s always been you.” He repeats as if the repetition could make it more real. You swallow the lump in your throat trying to find your voice but you’re afraid that once you speak, the room would  catch fire and the dream would dissolve into harsh reality. 

Dick gently cups your face and for a moment you let yourself be lost in the sea of blue. The stinging in your eyes makes you blink even if you don’t want to. You lick your lips as if somewhere on them were the right words. 

You can’t even fathom the combination of words that could encapsulate the cocktail of longing and love you felt for him. 

Your tongue darts out, wetting your bottom lip as your eyes focus on his lips. You swallow again your throat feeling thick even as you lean into his space, pushing off the work bench. Your nose rubbing against his, his long lashes fluttering against your cheek and tickling your skin. Dick leans in, his lips on yours, the pressure barely enough to make contact. You twitch forward, lips melting against his.  The world around you stills and disintegrates leaving only him in its wake. 

The kiss is all tender softness, a promise of love and loyalty quietly exchanged between you. A delicate push and pull. Undemanding yet uncompromising in its gentle intensity. 

You both pull back, only barely. Your skins still thrum with hunger for contact. Dick leans in again, his lips brushing against yours making them tingle at the sensation. Murmured breaths exchanged between you. This time you both find the right words. 

Dick turning to reader seeing the familiar glint of her earing

“I still love you.” 

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

I was thinking it was just them in the cave standing next to each others fingers twining with each other leaning into each other's space

he brushes the strands of her hair away

After brushing her hair away he presses his forehead against hers and he just kind of comes out with it

like he'd been holding back on saying it but couldn't anymore

 Why not have the reader do something like this?

What if she nudges her nose against his? Or rubs her nose against his, like an Eskimo kiss? And it’s silent, her eyelashes flutter against his cheek. They say in Inuit, when you feel eyelashes stroke on your skin like that, it’s a way of saying “I love you” without actually saying it.

And maybe Dick knows that? Without her actually saying the words and he just smiled and captures her lips in a delicate kiss. And when they pull back, they both say it at the same time against each other’s lip, all hushed and murmured?

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Thanks for reading!

Taglist:  @batarella , @anothertimdrakestan , @lucy-roo , @multifandomgirl-us , @idkmanicantenglish ,@birdy-bat-writes ,  @boosyboo9206 , @americasmarauders , @l-inkage , @arestorationofbalance , @cloudie-skay , @wunderstell @hyp-oh-critical

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson #dick grayson x you #dick grayson imagine #Damian Wayne #batboys x reader #batfamily x reader #damian wayne x sister!reader #dc x reader #dc reader insert #merc!reader

[starshine583]

New Girl on the Block (8)

(Thank you all so much for your love and support during this fic! I hope that you all enjoy this next chapter and be sure to check out the mini series connected to this called Journal Entries!)

Ch.1 / Ch.7 / Ch.9

Chapter 8: Lost and Found

Lost. 

Felix was utterly and hopelessly lost.

He stalked the aquarium aisles, looking this way and that for the rest of the group. How did this even happen? Allegra had had an iron grip on his wrist. He was certain of that. Yet somehow, he runs into one person- one person! -and just like that, everyone’s gone! 

Felix tisked, annoyance quickly rising in his mind as he turned down another aisle. Briefly separating wouldn’t have been that bad. In fact, he welcomed the moment of silence at first. Aside from the occasional person who bumped into him, no one was yanking on his wrist or dragging him along. The problem arose, however, in the realization that he’d been aimlessly searching for them for thirty minutes now. After losing sight of them for a second! Did they truly walk that fast or did they leave him on purpose? It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened. 

His hands clenched into fists, and a scowl tugged at the corner of his lips. He was this close to climbing on top of heads- 

A light giggle caught his attention, faint but there, coming from the southern side of the room.

Felix whirled around, his eyes darting through the crowd. He recognized that laugh, but where was she?

His gaze landed on a pair of pigtails a moment later, and he nearly sighed with relief. Even with the dimmed lights of the aquarium, he could make out Marinette’s small figure standing in front of a smaller aquarium not far from him. He didn’t see anyone else with her, though. Where were the others? Did she get lost too or were the other people blocking them?

Felix moved forward to approach her. With the trio or not, he’d finally found someone from the group. That was his main concern. Besides, she didn’t seem worried about being alone, unless cooing at the glass and laughing was a sign of nervousness. (which, for her, it wasn’t.)

“You look like you’re enjoying yourself.” He commented as he stopped next to her.

Marinette jumped, as usual, and let out a squeak of surprise.

“Oh, Felix!” She gasped. “We were looking for you earlier.”

Felix hummed, glancing down at the octopus that was crawling along the rocks in front of them. “Yes, it would seem that ‘keeping up with the group’ wasn’t as easy as Allegra had claimed.”

A nervous chuckle tumbled from her lips, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her as she said, “Yeah.. we thought about texting you, but Claude said that you would catch up eventually.”

Felix scoffed. He should have known that Claude would be the one to prolong his suffering. Looking around for the brunette once more, he noticed that they were indeed alone. (Save for the large crowd swarming around them, that is.)

“How did you get separated?” He asked, merely curious. The group’s left him several times, but he doubted they would abandon Marinette so easily. Something else must have happened. 

“Well, I was originally trying to look for you,” she explained, “but then I ended up getting distracted..”

She snorted. “I swear I stopped to look at one turtle, and by the time I turned around, everyone was gone.”

Felix offered a nod. He knew all too well how that went.

“At least we found each other.” He pointed out. 

Marinette smiled up at him. “Yeah! And I found this adorable octopus!”

The way she said ‘adorable’ was similar to the babying tone of someone who was speaking to a dog, and she turned to the tank to wiggle her finger at the creature. Felix thought it to be somewhat.. endearing. 

“.. Did you know that an octopus has three hearts?” He asked, strangely wanting to encourage her enthusiasm. Normally, when Claude would start rambling or bouncing around about different subjects, it would annoy Felix. With Marinette, though, that.. simply didn’t happen. Perhaps it was because she was quieter about it?

Marinette gasped, her sparkling eyes shifting back to him. “Wait, are you serious?”

Felix nodded. “They also contain blue blood.”

Her jaw dropped open. “No way! How do you know that?”

“I’ve read a few encyclopedias.” He admitted with a half-shrug. “They’re a lot more interesting than people give them credit for.”

“That’s so cool!” Marinette nearly squealed. “Tell me another one.”

Felix stared at her for a moment. That might be the first time someone’s ever willingly asked for him to recite facts without a sarcastic tone. He didn’t think he would be this pleased about it.

“Well..” He began, mentally sifting through the pages of books that he’s read. “Their limbs are actually called ‘arms’, not ‘tentacles’. The term ‘tentacles’ is reserved for squid, cuttlefish, and nautilus.”

“What?” Marinette blanched. “No! My whole life is a lie!”

Felix smirked at her dramatic groan. It had been surprising for himself when he first read it too. 

“Tell me another one.” She said after rubbing her hands over her face.

Felix let out a small laugh. “Are you sure? You didn’t seem to like that last one.”

Marinette waved off the comment. “Yeah, yeah. I can take it. Tell me another one.”

“Alright, another fact..” Felix muttered, his gaze flicking upwards in thought. “Ah.  Each arm has a mind of its own. Some two-thirds of the octopus’ neurons reside in its arms, which allow the arms to react to stimuli and function at a fairly high level on their own. This fact applies even when one of the limbs is severed from the body.”

Marinette scrunched up her nose at the image of a severed, octopus limb still twisting about. 

“How do you remember all of this stuff?”

Felix clicked his tongue. “I think the information is interesting, and I enjoy being knowledgeable. So I make it a point to remember everything that I can while reading.”

Marinette nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense.. Do you know facts about other animals here?”

Felix tilted his head back and forth, trying to recall the animals he’d passed while searching for the group. “Most likely. As I said before, I’ve read a handful of encyclopedias, along with a book or two on Marine Biology.”

She lit up with a grin at the reply and reached down to grab his wrist. “Great! That means you can come tell me more facts!”

Felix was pulled forward, and a part of him held his breath, waiting for the indignation and disgust to set in from being grabbed. It always happened. Allegra, Claude, and occasionally Allan would jerk him around, and resentment would kick in without fail. Of course, the irritation towards Marinette certainly wouldn’t last, since she’d simply gotten excited, but it would undoubtedly come. So he waited..

..And waited..

..And nothing came.

Felix looked down at her hand, which was still firmly on his wrist, and frowned. She was dragging him through the crowd, yet he felt.. nothing. It wasn’t necessarily good, but it wasn’t bad either. He was just.. normal. 

How odd.

“Which animal should we go to next?” Marinette inquired, eagerly looking around. “I’ve already seen the jellyfish, the octopus, and some of the bigger tanks with the multiple types of fish.. Maybe we can see the big tank again so you can tell the na-”

He didn’t look up at her until her ramble abruptly cut off. She was staring down at his wrist too, her eyes wide with surprise. She must not have thought about what she was doing when she grabbed him.

“O-Oh!” As soon as she registered what she’d done, Marinette ripped her hand away from him. “I-I’m so sorry! I- uhm -I was just so excited, a-and.. I’ll try not to grab you again.”

“No, it’s..” Felix rubbed the part of his wrist that Marinette had grabbed, almost not believing the next words he was about to say. “It’s fine. We should probably be holding onto each other anyway, unless we want to get separated again.”

“Oh..” Marinette said, sounding a bit dazed. “Oh yeah.. Um.. How do you want me to..”

She held her hand out towards him again, and Felix hesitated. If they were to hold onto each other, holding hands would be the obvious option, but that was out of the question on account of the strange feeling that twisted inside him at the thought of doing such a thing. The next option would be holding onto his sleeve, or grabbing his wrist again. Would that be peculiar for her, though? He’s unsure as to why it would be peculiar, but it felt peculiar. 

Before he could decide what to do, Marinette tentatively took hold of his bag strap.

“I-Is this okay?” She asked, searching his face for discomfort or disagreement.

Felix blinked. That was actually..

“This is perfect.” He said, grabbing the part of the bag strap that was just above her hand.

A relieved smile passed her lips. “Good. Let’s keep walking then. I wanna learn as many facts as possible before we leave.”

The two set off, weaving around people and going from tank to tank. At each new animal they passed, Marinette would request a series of facts, and Felix would oblige when he could. Then, when he couldn’t recall any facts, they would look up a few for the sake of fun. He had a decent time doing it, as he got to learn some new things about the animals and himself. For example, the electric discharge of an eel can be stronger than five hundred volts, sea turtles apparently think jellyfish are delicious, and when Felix’s hand finally slid onto Marinette’s on the bag strap, he didn’t mind at all. In fact, he didn’t even notice that his hand was on hers until she jumped ahead to look at the shark tank.

“Wow..” Marinette breathed, staring at the enormous whale shark that was gliding through the water in front of them. “Look at how big it is..”

Although slightly distracted by the fact that they’d been touching and he hadn’t noticed, Felix joined her at the tank and watched the shark as well. With its large body and narrow tale, its movements were slow and graceful, and seeing it brought a soothing sense of calm to him. 

He glanced down at Marinette, curious how she might react to the gigantic creature. 

Despite buzzing about while looking at the other animals, she stood entirely still as she stared upwards through the glass. One of her hands was delicately placed on the tank, and her lips were parted with awe. She appeared to be mesmerized by the sight. 

The mix of water and the lights above brought a bright, blue glow to the room, and it reflected on her perfectly. Accenting her round cheeks and wide eyes, bringing out the deep blue color of her hair that was often hidden.. the illumination made her seem utterly.. ethereal. 

Felix sucked in a small breath, shocked by the swirl of warmth and enchantment that swelled within him. Why was he feeling this way? He didn’t recall experiencing it before. Was it something about the aquarium? Or was it something about Marinette? Why would she make such a difference, though?

“I know you enjoy her company.”

His mother’s words hit him like a truck as they resurfaced in his mind. Enjoying her company.. Was that what this was? He didn’t think something like that would be ‘warm’ or ‘enchanting’, but he supposed he’s never fully enjoyed someone’s presence before to know. Claude and the others- even his parents on rare occasions -would annoy or pester or drain his energy. Marinette, somehow, never did that. Maybe it was because she always listened to him, or because she would offer a smile or clothes or croissants- whatever he might need without ever asking for anything in return. She was selfless and didn’t demand his attention like everyone else, and that, Felix realized, made all the difference. 

“Know any facts about this one?” Marinette said, shaking him from his thoughts.

“Hm?” Felix dragged his eyes back to the whale shark. “Oh, yes. If I remember correctly, they-”

“There you are!”

Claude’s declaration barely registered in Felix’s mind before he was suddenly tackled by the brunette. 

“We’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

Felix scowled as he wrestled Claude off of him. There’s the feeling of revulsion that he remembered so well. 

“Oh, and you found Marinette!” Allegra chimed in with a smile. 

Marinette pulled a sheepish expression. “Sorry for walking off.. I got distracted.”

Allan waved off the remark as he joined them. “Don’t sweat it. This trip was meant to be fun. As long as you had a good time, everything’s fine.”

Marinette smiled. “Thanks. I had a great time.”

“Aw~.” Claude jokingly sang. “That’s good to hear. What about you, Felix? Did you have a good time?”

Felix rolled his eyes at the babying tone, but a chuckle brought his gaze back to Marinette. She was shaking her head at Claude, her eyes bright with amusement and her smile warm.

“Actually..” He muttered. “I did.” 

~~~~~~

The icy cold of the evening brushed over Marinette as she walked outside, but she smiled anyway. The aquarium had been more amazing than she could have ever predicted, which was saying something considering she’d already expected it to be great. She got to see turtles and whale sharks and octopi and all sorts of animals! On top of that, she got to see all of those animals with Felix, who was able to tell her little facts about them! Although some of the facts were hard to swallow.. like, who calls octopus limbs ‘arms’ instead of ‘tentacles’? That’s crazy!

Marinette chuckled at the memory as she nuzzled her nose into her white scarf for warmth. Yes, some of the facts were definitely mind boggling, but there was no doubt that they were the best part of the trip. 

Well.. She thought, glancing over her shoulder. Maybe not the best part.

The rest of the group was exiting the aquarium behind her, Felix being amongst them. The best part of the day had honestly been when he said that he had a good time. With all the scowling and his getting lost, she’d been kicking herself about inviting him to the aquarium, especially when she knew that crowds weren’t his forte. But then they went on that impromptu tour together, and his hard expressions softened into small smiles and quiet laughs. 

It was the first time she saw him fully relax (in a crowded room, no less!). Just knowing that she’d been a part of that brought her more joy and fulfillment than the whale shark she’d originally wanted to see. 

Of course, now that the tour was over and the group was back together, the hard expressions had returned, and he was currently chewing out Claude for trying to hug him “in the name of warmth”. Marinette couldn’t help giggling at the sight, though. Even as Felix was clutching his coat around himself and shivering, he refused to be touched by anyone. She vaguely wondered if he was against the notion for a specific reason or simply had an aversion to touch. He didn’t seem to mind them touching in the aquarium, though, so there had to be a specific reason then, right?

“I don’t know about you guys,” Allegra spoke up, taking Marinette from her thoughts, “but I had a wonderful time today.”

“Are you kidding?” Claude asked, finally stepping away from Felix with a smile. “Today was awesome! And that mermaid show? Incredible.”

“And completely generic.” Felix added with an eye roll. “They didn’t even bother to make it look as though she were breathing underwater.”

“Well, yeah.” Allegra smirked. “They can’t get real mermaids. Those are too hard to catch.”

“That’s because they don’t exist.” Felix stated flatly. “Which is another reason why they shouldn’t hold that show. It will give people the wrong idea.”

“Hey, mermaids could exist!” Claude- because if anyone were to fight for this, it would be him -insisted. “The ocean is huge, and we haven’t seen it all yet. You have no idea whether mermaids actually exist or not.”

Felix scoffed. “Please. A creature with a human half and a fish half that also lived in the ocean would be scientifically impossible. At the very least, the human side would perish from the low temperatures and prolonged exposure to salt water. The only way it might survive is if the creature simply had a humanoid half rather than a human half, and in that case, the creature wouldn’t look anything like the actor they had inside.”

“Who said anything about science?” Claude argued. “What if it’s magic?”

Marinette had been watching the conversation with an amused smile until the topic of magic came up. She knew it wasn’t a direct mention to her alter ego, but it still caused her stiffen. Thankfully, no one noticed, since they were too busy watching Felix raise a brow.

“That’s preposterous.”

“How come?” Claude retorted. “If we can have Ladybug and Chat Noir running around with their magical weapons and abilities, why can’t we have mermaids?”

Marinette faltered in her steps, but quickly regained balance. Now that was a direct mention of her alter ego. Should she try to change the subject? It definitely felt like it was time to change the subject. 

“Chat Noir and Ladybug gain their powers from the miraculous specifically.” Felix stated. “What you are suggesting is an entire species that is born and raised with the same ‘power’ that doesn’t come from a miraculous. That’s what I’d call grasping at straws.”

“You guys know the show is supposed to be for kids, right?” Allan asked, gaining a snort from Allegra.

Claude placed his hands on his hips. “Yes, but I still think mermaids can exist somewhere.”

“No, they can’t.” Felix remarked.

“You don’t have any proof of that!”

“Neither do you!”

“Okay!” Allegra interjected, stepping between the two boys with a barely contained snicker. “You two kids need to behave or you’ll both be put in time out.”

Marinette laughed despite herself, even as Felix glared at the blonde. 

Allegra ignored the glare, turning back to the group as she asked, “So where do you guys want to eat for supper?”

“We’re eating supper together?” Marinette inquired.

“Only if you want to.” Allegra smiled. “I just figured, since it’s seven o’clock, that our parents have already eaten. So we might as well eat together, right?”

“Yeah!” Claude agreed, the mermaid discussion slipping from his mind before Marinette’s very eyes. “Let’s go to Dairy Queen. I haven’t been there in a while, and an ice cream sounds so good right now.”

“You want to get ice cream?” Felix blanched. “In this weather?”

“Sure.” Claude smiled. “Anytime’s ice cream time for me. Besides, it’s not that cold.”

“Not that cold??” Felix retorted, his eyebrows furrowing in disbelief. 

Marinette chuckled, silently agreeing with Felix. Ice cream was nice when you weren’t already covered in goosebumps due to the cold, but right now, she’d much rather a nice, steaming cup of hot chocolate.

A gasp brought her attention to Allegra, who pointed towards the sky with wide eyes.

“Guys, look!�� She grinned. “It’s snowing!”

The group followed her gaze to the Eiffel Tower, which stood bright and tall in the blackness of the night. 

Sure enough, flakes of freshly fallen snow were passing the lights of the city and fluttering to the ground. It started out small, with a bit of snow here and there, but soon, a whole flurry began, quickly covering the sidewalks and roads.

“Aw, yeah!” Claude cheered, sticking out his tongue to catch some of the snowflakes. “Freshly fallen snow, man!”

Marinette giggled and stuck out her tongue as well, feeling a wave of euphoria as the snowflakes began hitting her tongue, nose, forehead and cheeks. It hasn’t snowed since last month, and she’d missed it dearly.

“C’mon, Fehix!” Allan urged, his words coming out in blabs because of his tongue sticking out. “Catch snowfakes wis us”

“Absolutely not.” Felix sharply declined. “Do you know how many pollutants are in the first wave of snow, especially with all of this wind? Sulfate, Nitrate, Formaldehyde, Mercury- you might as well drink a bucket of chemicals!”

Marinette paused, though she left her tongue sticking out. Were there really that many chemicals in snow? She’d known there were some, of course, but it couldn’t really be that dangerous, could it?

“Wow, Felix.” Allegra said with an amused smile. “I didn’t know snow could be so dangerous. Can you lighten up a little, please?”

Felix tisked. “I’m only stating facts.”

“Right, right.” Allegra replied. “You don’t have to stick out your tongue, but at least spare us on the ‘grim’ details, will you? It kind of dampers the whole ‘first snowfall of the year’ deal.”

Felix rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything else. Instead, he tilted his head towards the sky and closed his eyes. Marinette imagined he was trying to gather some semblance of calm or composure, if his deep breaths were any indication. What really caught her attention, though, were the snowflakes. Or rather, the way the snowflakes landed on him. They were crisp and frozen, and it created specks of white all across his features as the snow nestled in Felix’s hair and eyelashes. If she had been any less disciplined, she might have been tempted to take a picture of him. (Only to use the snowflake patterns later as a design idea, of course.)

“Alright, let’s head for Dairy Queen!” Claude abruptly declared, breaking the brief silence that had settled amongst them. 

Felix’s eyes cracked open, incidentally meeting Marinette’s at the same time. She averted her gaze, a strange sense of deja vu washing over her. Here she was, staring at him again. How many times was she going to feel weird about staring- or being caught staring -until she remembered not to stare? Granted, it shouldn’t feel weird in the first place. Staring was staring, especially when it was a stare between friends. The most he should say about it is, “what are you looking at?”, and that wasn’t a problem. That was a completely logical response, actually. So why did her stupid brain think it was a problem?

“I call dibs on driving Marinette!” Claude added, wrapping his arm around Marinette’s shoulders.

“What!” Allegra nearly yelled from shock. “You can’t call dibs!”

“Okay, then I call turns!” Claude shot back. “You got to drive her on the way here, so I get to drive her on the way to Dairy Queen.”

“Guys, you know she’s a human being, right?” Allan commented.

Marinette laughed. “It’s alright. I’ll go with Claude to Dairy Queen, and Allegra can drive me home.”

“Aw, she gets to drive you home?” Claude whined.

Allegra, however, pulled a triumphant grin. “Ha-ha! I get a good night snack from Mme Sabine!”

“I’m glad you two only value Marinette for her pastries.” Felix remarked.

Marinette snorted, but Allegra and Claude immediately let out an offended gasp.

“How dare you claim such a thing!” Claude said, now wrapping both arms around Marinette’s shoulders. “Marinette is amazing and wonderful, and I would choose her over pastries a thousand times.”

Allegra hugged Marinette as well. “Yeah, we’re not that shallow. Mme Sabine’s cooking is phenomenal, but Marinette is the one we truly love.”

“I hear that.” Allan chuckled.

The beginnings of a blush curled around Marinette’s cheeks, and she hugged Allegra and Allan back. She knew that she was the one they loved, not the pastries, and that’s why she wouldn’t hesitate to give them all the pastries in the world if they asked.

Tag list:  @artbyknigit @athena452 @nickristus-dreamer @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @arsaem @abrx2002 @neakco @pawsitivelymiraculous @too0bsessedformyowngood @nathleigh @lusicing @officiallydarkgeek @all-mights-asscheeks @tbehartoo @woe-is-me0 @raeuberprinzessin @lazuli-11 @miss-chaos27 @trippingovermyfeet @sadpotatoondrugs @ladybug-182 @jaggedheart11 @marinahrasauce @i-need-blog-ideas @thewheezingbubbledragon @crazylittlemunchkin @unabashedbookworm @moonystars14 @sunflowers-and-mooncakes @2confused-2doanything  @magnificentcrapposts  @moonnette @nickristus-dreamer @vixen-uchiha @casual-darkness @luxmorningstarr @jjmjjktth​ @kaithehero​ @itsme1598

#felinette #Felix Culpa #Quantic Kids #New Girl on the Block #Rosemary AU #Marinette

[lettersofwrittencollective]

Friendship and Fate {03}

Summary: You and Stiles have been friends for years. You’ve loved each other since you were kids but when Stiles presents as an Alpha and you never present at all… well you’re not going to let him not claim his omega when she comes along.

Author: @lettersofwrittencollective​

Pairing: Alpha!Stiles x ??!Reader

Word count: 5740

Chapter Rating: G

Warnings: I do not think this one has any?

Request prompt: Anonymous: could you do a fic of Alpha!Stiles and Beta!reader where they are best friends and they have to share a hotel bed together and reader and stiles slowly go into heat/rut together because of each other and they try to resist it because they want to be friends but give in and get together with ABO dynamics? (i know that was very specific i have so many ideas but can’t write for my life💀) also i life your work!- you deserve so much more recognition!

AN I am so sorry it's shorter than the others but it just felt like a good place to end it?

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Eyes opening, you attempted to stretch, only to discover that you couldn’t actually move. Just as panic was about to sink in, your foggy brain reminded you that you were sharing a bed with Stiles which meant it was his arms around you.

You were half tempted to roll over, snuggle into his chest and go right back to sleep but the smell of the ocean air and the soft sound of crashing waves reminded you that you were not, in fact, at home but on an island for the pack bonding trip.

Slowly, carefully, you moved tried to move Stiles’ arm from your so that you could go and get ready for the day but you froze when you heard Stiles groan behind you as he pulled you flush against his body and nuzzled into your neck.

Chuckling softly, you tried to wriggle out of his arms and whispered to him, “Sti… we need to get up.”

“Ten more minutes Harls,” he mutters, his voice thick and groggy with sleep, his breath on your neck making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and a shiver travel down your spine.

You bite back a small moan as you grab his arm before lifting it, “We don’t have a choice Bats. If we don’t get up Lydia is going to murder the two of us.”

Stiles’ reluctant groan fills your ears before you hear him give an exaggerated yawn and his arm lets go of you as he stretches out. Instantly, your body misses his touch but you push yourself off the bed and call the first shower.

The warm water of the shower was amazing on your body and you couldn’t believe just how relaxed you had found yourself this morning. Typically you had minor aches that the warm water would help with but this time there were no aches, nothing sore, no pains - just the comfort of a warm shower in the morning.

When you got out, you had thrown on a fluffy towel before you called out Stiles’ name, asking him what was on the agenda for today.

“Snorkeling and scuba lessons,” he reminded you as he passed you and you mentally rolled your eyes- Lydia had told you as much yesterday.

As you heard the water start up again, as Stiles jumped in the shower, you grabbed your duffel bag. Finding it empty you reminded yourself that you, Stiles and Lydia had unpacked all the clothing and you moved to the drawers. Quickly pulling out a couple of the swim suits, you decided to go with your most comfortable swim suit and after slipping into it you did your hair. You had enough time to grab Stiles a pair of his swim trunks before you heard him turning off thew water.

“Sti, I left you your swim trunks,” you called out as you slipped on some shoes and threw on a cover up, “I’m gonna get some breakfast with the pack.”

Making your way out to the kitchen, you most of the pack in the main part of the villa. Luke was making breakfast fo the group and Kira and Alex were helping him out.

“Anyone else notice that it’s the non-Alpha’s that are out here making breakfast?” Malia pointed out after a moment. You looked around and realized that she was right, it was you, Malia, Kira, Alex, Lydia and Luke.

“Mason’s not an Alpha,” Lydia pointed out and you heard Luke practically snort.

“It’s still us out here,” Malia scoffed and your small group had to laugh.

“Guarantee its only cause we were the ones to actually get up,” Kira points out, “Getting Scott out of bed this morning was a bear.”

“Jordan wasn’t much better,” Lydia confirmed with a shrug, “he seems to be exhausted.”

“Well we are on the other side of the world,” Malia said with a shrug before grabbing a water bottle.

“I pretty much told Stiles the same thing,” you said with a chuckle as you made your way over and grabbed the coffee pot and a cup and made yourself a cup.

Sitting at the breakfast table, sipping your morning coffee, you allowed yourself to just enjoy the time with your friends. It didn’t take long before the rest of the pack was up and about and after a decent breakfast, it was decided that it was time to make your way down to the docks to meet your boats.

You made your way back into the bedroom, thankful that Stiles had bought you a diving mask, snorkel  goggles, fins, and booties last year when the two  of you had decided to go to Cabo for the weekend and you were even more grateful that they still fit.

She and Jordan checked you in before you were split up into two groups of six. You and Stiles went with Theo, Malia, Lydia and Parrish.

Your instructor, Seru, took you on one of the smaller boats and out into the waters, to Beqa Island Lagoon and just far enough for you to enjoy what the waters of Fiji have to offer he says.

You were grateful that Lydia had booked this particular diving company. The group of you had been out snorkeling before but the way that this man explained things just made you feel more at ease.

It also helped that the company provided inflatable snorkeling vests because you hadn’t bought any while in Cabo and you’d forgotten to buy one before coming  and weren’t sure where to buy them on the island.

He checked with you, confirming that you knew what you were doing and you were aware of the basic safety procedures and risks involved with diving.

You were each paired off, coupled up of course, but everyone was planning on being the others snorkeling buddy. As a pack you took care of each other. It helped that Malia and Lydia were here with their mates which meant they were more attuned to each other.

It had been the reason that Scott and Kira had decided to go with Liam, Alex, Mason and Luke.  They were the youngest and newest couples. Ever since Liam had joined the pack, Scott had always treated him more like a little brother then just an Omega and once he and Kira had gotten back together - they treated the youngest members of the pack almost like their kids.

You were sure that you were going to meet up with them during your small expedition in the water and you and the rest of the pack would all end up looking after each other but your instructor was worried more about your small group and theirs would be worried about them.

After the safety protocols had been gone over and he had confirmed which of you were paired with who, the instructor had decided to go ahead and let you all get in the water.

Jumping in with Stiles and the others it took your body a moment to adjust to the waters but thankfully it wasn’t too bad, the warmth of the water was nice and after the water settled you could see the others in the water as well.

You felt a tap on your shoulder and turned around, Stiles offered you his hand and you placed your hand in his. The two of you started to explore and you find that the reef is absolutely beautiful. It’s full of the most beautiful coral formations you’ve ever seen. The colors are absolutely fantastic and with the sun reflecting around them you find yourself getting lost in them.

There’s fish that you’ve never seen and a part of you is tempted to reach out but you remember that the last time you’d been snorkeling Stiles had managed to get stung by a jellyfish.

So you kept your hands to yourself outside of just swimming.

Stiles tried to keep his eyes on the rest of the landscape he really did. He tried to pay attention to the fish they’d never seen. The coral formations, the sea anemones, even the turtles. However, his eyes kept getting dragged over to her.

Logically, he knew that the world around him was beautiful. He knew that they’d likely not get a chance to see the barrier reef again.. At least not this one… but he kept getting distracted by her.

He was unsurprised that he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Long before he’d ever presented, he was drawn to her like she was the sun.

It had gotten worse after he’d presented and he’d had a hard time staying away from her. Something within him had always demanded that he claim her. He’d wanted to but when she hadn’t presented after a few years… He hadn’t cared. He still wanted to be with her but  then Chris had told them about how Alpha’s could only be with Omega’s… that only an Omega would be able to take his knot.

So he’d waited… he’d waited for her to present as an Omega because that was the only thing that had ever made sense. From everything Chris had told them… With how much he wanted her, she had to have been an Omega.

But she had never gone into a heat… she had never presented as an Omega and Chris had confirmed that it meant that she was a beta… like the majority of the world.

Then she had decided that they should stay friends only. She didn’t want to stop him from being able to take an Omega should he find one.

But she didn’t stop… she was the only thing that he wanted. Nothing else had mattered and he’d gone to talk to her about it but he’d read it on her face. She’d asked him to leave it alone and he knew that it broke her as much as it broke him.

So he’d agreed.

Breaking his heart in the process, he’d agreed.

It hadn’t stopped him from  wanting her… hadn’t stopped the Alpha in him from wanting to claim her.

She was the absolute light of his life.

But Stiles loved her… he respected her wishes and so he’s done everything he can the last couple of years to make sure that he respected her wishes. He had done everything he could to just stay her friend.

There’d been Omegas that had thrown themselves at him but they’d always disgusted him. They never smelled as divine as she did.

He’d avoided her during his ruts because he knew… he knew that if was around her when he was that out of his mind.. He’d want her and he knew that his need for her… whatever that primal voice he was able to ignore, would win out and he’d claim her. He’d hurt her and that was the last thing he’d ever want to do.

It had worked for the most part…

But the last couple of weeks since his last rut… it had been harder to not think of her that way, of what she would look like with his marking on her shoulder. What she would look like as she presented herself to him and what it would feel like as he sank into her and stretched her to him, how she’d clamp down around his knot… he did his best to shut it down when those thoughts appeared.

So yes, his gaze kept getting dragged over to her, no matter how hard he tried and his shorts felt uncomfortably tight even in the water but he did his best to focus on the  world around them.

It wasn’t working and Stiles felt like he needed a breath of air. Looking around, he caught sight of Theo who gave him a knowing look. Sending the were-coyote a desperate look,  Stiles waited until Theo simply nodded.

Quickly, Stiles made his way for the surface. No sooner than his head had broken through and he was gasping for air, taking large gulping breaths as he treaded above water.

The sound of their instructor calling his name caught his attention and Stiles had to turn to the man. Taking a moment to actually focus he realizes that the mans asking if he’s okay. The boat isn’t making its way over but he can see the life ring has been tossed out, floating just a little ways away.

The boat won’t come any closer in case there are others also on their way up.

“I’m fine!” he calls out to the man as he waves his hand in the air before giving the man the okay signal they’d been taught. ‘

Taking a few deep breaths, he allows his body to relax, forcing himself to get back under control before he dives under again and while it takes him a second to actually spot the others, he does so quickly and makes his way over to them.

It’s as he’s swimming over to them that he can see you making your way towards him, Theo and Malia just behind you. It isn’t until you’re close that he can see your face is twisted in worry and it throws him off balance for just a second when your body almost slams into his.

Your hands are instantly moving and it takes him a moment to realize that you’re actually signing to him.

Thinking back to the classes you’d gotten him to take, he  realizes that you’re pointing at him and then one hand is flat while the other is parallel moves against it in an almost fishlike move before you point at him again.

You do this movement a couple of times and Stiles eventually realizes that you’re asking him if he’s alright. He can’t remember how to sign that he’s fine but thankfully, he knows you paid attention to the instructor and he uses the same signal to tell you he’s fine…

It had been a small school of Masked Butterfly fish that had caught your attention and you’d turned around to get Stiles’ attention so he could see them too when you’d realized you couldn’t find him. You’d been looking around, moving enough to cause a ruckus and Theo had caught your attention. Pointing towards the surface and waving his arms.

Without a second thought, you’d propelled yourself upwards when you’d seen Stiles making his way back towards the reef. It had taken a bit of effort and you’d thanked swimming lessons when you managed to not slam into him.

A quick signed conversation later you realized he was fine. He’d probably just needed a little more air and didn’t wanna disturb you.

The group of you had been down for about seven minutes and you’d thought he would have still had air in the little pump thing they gave you guys, after all it was supposed to last ten minutes, but you shrugged it off.

Turning around, you realized that you could see the Butterfly fish not too far off and you still wanted to show Stiles so you pointed it out to him. But your lungs were starting to need more air so you motioned that you were heading back up for air real quick.

He nodded and followed along with you. When the two of you broke water, you gave him a skeptical look and all he did was smirk at you before pointing out, “Buddy system.”

“You left me alone!” you reminded him, playing at outrage.

“First off, I  did not, I told Theo to keep an eye on you,” he rebutted, “and besides, you didn’t even notice”

“For like a minute!”

“A minute I could have drowned in!” he dramatically grasped at his chest, making you laugh at his antics.

“Alright point taken,” you told him as you splashed some water at him,  before asking “but let’s go see the Masked Butterfly school then?”

“Which ones were those?”

“The yellow ones,” you remind him with a roll of your eyes.

You can hear Stiles laugh but shake your head before making your way back into the water. You meet up with Malia, Lydia, Jordan  and Theo.

Eventually, however, Scott, Kira and the others joined you and the pack simply enjoyed an early morning of snorkeling. You found that it was some of the most beautiful sights you’d ever seen. One of the things that you liked about traveling was the sights that you didn’t get in California.

Sure Big Bear was pretty, the beaches could be gorgeous and Yosemite was absolutely breathtaking but getting out of your little world.. Getting to travel and see the rest of the world. Well it always left you a bit breathless.

The Fijian reefs were so different from the ones you’d seen in Mexico. Perhaps it was just your memory but the colors were a thousand times brighter and you knew that there were animals you hadn’t seen in the waters in Mexico.

Kira and Alex seemed to be having a blast with it. Dragging each other towards different things.

You, Lydia, and Luke all got together and explored the area.

It wasn’t long before the morning got away from you and you each heard your respective instructors calling you back towards the boats.

Once you were on the boat, you slipped on the cover-up before you had Stiles tie the backing straps and you slipped on his shirt.

Thankfully, the company had decided that they would honor Lydia’s request and decided they would drop you off on the other side of the island. It would take about 30 minutes to get to the other side.

You curled up with the girls and the three of you chatted away happily. While you didn’t mean to, you found your gaze kept sliding over to Stiles.

Having kept his shirt you had noticed that there were drops of water shining off his skin.

You could feel your breath catch in your throat and you must have been staring because a moment later, you can feel Lydia nudging you and when you look over, Malia’s giving you a knowing look.

You can feel your skin heat in embarrassment.

“See something you like?” Lydia teases you.

“Of course she does,” Malia chuckles and waggles her eyebrows at you.

“Shut up,” you mutter to the two girls.

You can hear both Theo and Jordan holding back a chortle and out of the corner of your eye, you can see both of the male's shoulders shaking.

Turning slightly, Stiles catches your eye and gives you a questioning look. Shaking your head all you can do is laugh softly because of course, this is how things work out.

Stiles merely shrugs at you before turning back towards the guys and the three of them seem to continue whatever conversation they’d been on.

You could feel your heart practically pounding in your throat and the girls just gave you knowing looks

Rolling your eyes, you shook your head.  It’s not like you weren’t actually aware of Stiles. Quite the opposite in fact.

Thankfully, they didn’t press the issue further and the three of you fall into your own conversation until, thankfully, you make it to the island again.  Scott, Kira, and the others are just behind you.

“Alright, let’s do lunch!” Stiles points out with a clap of his hands as you all get off the boat and his arm finds itself over your shoulders and you smile softly as you scoff softly.

Thankfully everyone agrees and you decide to go ahead and do some sightseeing after the fact.  The group of you find a smaller restaurant and, unsurprisingly, are advised that due to the size of your group, you’re going to have to wait for a little bit.

You catch up with Scott and Kira who are telling you about how their guide had actually suggested a pretty delicious family-owned restaurant for you to have dinner at. Apparently, they had taken a lot of the classic Fijian dishes and added American twists to them. Something they had learned the Americans appreciated.

The dishes were actually smaller dishes and served like samplers. You got to choose which one you wanted most. It would be a set of three, the dish that was the fusion, the American dish that it was fused with, and the classic Fijian dish that was the other half of it.

The idea sounded intriguing enough that mostly everyone seemed to agree with it. Theo, Liam,  and Alex were a bit more hesitant but they had agreed to it either way.

As the pack sat down and enjoyed their dinner, you all decided that you wanted to get back out in the water. Lydia had already suggested scuba diving and, thankfully, there was an area further out that you could go scuba diving in.

After some back and forth, Scott, Liam, and Theo thinking it would be better to get out there today, and Lydia, you, and Kira arguing that it would be better to get out there later this week as you’d already spent the morning in the water. Eventually, everyone agrees to go ahead and make it a trip for later in the week.

After lunch, the pack had decided that it would be good to explore the island a bit. After which, you would meet up at the villa before making your way down to Ivi Restaurant in order to enjoy a good night of food and some good old pack bonding.

Unsurprisingly, everyone kind of paired off with their significant others. You and Stiles started going through the small island where you knew you were obvious tourists, sticking out like a sore thumb in the crowds but you enjoyed it anyway.

You explored the little shops and made sure that you bought something from the locals. Things that were locally made. You’d promised yourself when Scott had taken the pack on their first out-of-country trip and Stiles had done a bunch of research about how some of the areas had issues with their own cultures disappearing because of tourism.

While buying the work didn’t fix the issue, it did help the people that lived in the area and you figured that was the  best possible action you could take.

While you were going through the shops you actually ended up meeting up with Scott and Kira, who had been doing pretty much the same thing. The four of you hung out for a little bit and as you moved through the island, you found yourself catching up with both of them.

You hadn’t actually realized how long it had been since you’d talked to either of them. So, linking your arm with Kira, pulling her closer to you with Scott and Stiles on either side of the two of you.

The four of you explored a few more shops and before you knew it, it was late enough in the day that you made your way towards the villa.  On the way, however, Kira wanted to stop and grab some groceries for the pack.

Nothing big, mostly just making sure there were some snacks and fruits that the pack could snack on. It had been something that she’d actually wanted to do yesterday but with how tired everyone had been and how much sleep she needed, she’d decided to hold off.

You had made your way through the island and had found a local outdoor market. Thankfully, you were able to get some items pretty quickly. It was mostly a lot of nuts and fruits but seeing as how that was something the entire pack was going to enjoy.

You and Stiles checked out a few different stalls for yourselves, trying to find something that you might want just for you. Picking up some strawberries and some nuts you were walking by a stall when a woman called the both of you over.

She offered you both a drink that was in a coconut shell. The thing was that it didn’t smell all that great and looked like maybe it was supposed to be water but it wasn’t actually very clear.

Looking over to Stiles, you knew he could see the question on your face and thankfully, he stepped in, clearing his throat, “Ummm what is it?”

“Kava,” the woman tells him, “It’s for you and your wife. It’s to relax, to smile, and for better sex.”

You can feel your skin heating up and you kind of want the ground to open up and swallow you whole.

Stiles’ face flushes a pretty red and you know that he’s feeling the same way. It’s the same look he’d had last night with the masseurs. He looked panicked and this time, you figured you’d save him.

Clearing your throat, you stepped forward, somewhat between him and the woman and cleared your throat, “Thank you… umm.. It will be good for relaxation.”

She looks between the two of you almost questioningly but you simply take the drink from her and shrug your shoulders.

Thanking the woman, you offer Stiles a soft, slightly embarrassed smile before the two of you make your way back towards the villa with Scott and Kira not far behind you.

Once you make it to the Villa you find that the rest of the pack was already there. They had apparently decided to make the most of their varying time with some intentional couple time.

It took you all of half a second to realize what that meant for some of them and you didn’t bother to bite back your laugh. After all, it had to be uncomfortable for the were’s in the group to have to listen to or smell some of the others.

Malia had shoved you with her shoulder, as retaliation, as she walked by her. Making you laugh even harder.

“Don’t be a jerk,” she mutters to you, “Too many scents.”

“You could’ve left,”  you point out to her, sticking your tongue out.

She merely shrugged her shoulders and offered you a wink.

“Well as wonderful as this all is,” Lydia’s voice cuts in, “We have reservations. Go get ready, all of you.”

You can see Stiles out of the corner of your eye and you know he’s rolling his eyes before he gives Malia a mock salute with two fingers making you laugh,

The two of you make your way back towards the room you’re sharing and you know that the others are making their way towards their rooms as well.

Rummaging through your clothes you realize that the last resort you had stayed at had a dress code when you went to the restaurants and you had no idea what this one was.

“Hey Sti?” You ask as you turn around from the clothes on your side of the closet and towards the brunette who’s holding up a set of different shirts, a regular t-shirt, and a button-up.

He looks up, meeting your gaze and he’s thinking the same thing because he smirks and asks you, “Dress code right?”

You nod your head and he’s practically bounding out the door, likely in search of Lydia, and you chuckle as you pull out a couple different options. Thankfully, you had brought a pretty stable wardrobe for the week with a few statement pieces that could either make an outfit more casual or more dressed up.

Grabbing Stiles’ flannel that you’d slept in and a clean pair of underwear, you made your way towards the bathroom

While you were showering, Stiles’ voice echoed through the bathroom,  “Lydia said they told her smart casual. But make sure you wear pants cause they’re expecting cold weather.”

“Got it!” you called out from under the water.

Once you were out of the shower, you walked out to find Stiles had changed into a pair of dark blue jeans, a black shirt, and a black button-up that he had thrown on top of the shirt. The sleeves were rolled up and you were treated to the sight of his forearms, one of your personal favorite features of his.

You must have stared too long because you can feel his eyes on you and you glance up to meet his eyes. He’s giving you a knowing look and you can feel your skin heat up.

“Don’t look at me in that tone of voice,” you tell him.

“I didn’t say anything!” he defends himself, a laugh on his lips,   and you can’t help but snort.

“Your face did,’” you tell him as you cross over to the closet and grab a pair of dark blue wash jeans, a white cotton shirt that’s loose and flowy in the front, scooping down further in the front but it’s not so loose that you drown in it.  Going through your shoes, it takes you a second but you settle on a pair of black sandals you had brought specifically for the beach. Everything else seemed either too casual or too… much.

You stick your tongue out at him, playfully, before you start to make your way over towards the doors when Stiles calls your name. A glance back and he’s lifting his jacket, a reminder that you need your own.

“Right…”

You make your way back towards the closet and grab the caramel-colored pleather jacket that he’d gifted you last year for Christmas and you shrug it on, happy that it’s just enough to keep you warm and comfortable enough that you can move mostly freely in the material.

The two of you met with the rest of the pack a few minutes later when Lydia got a look at your shoes and practically screeched in outrage. All you could do was raise an eyebrow at her and share a confused look with Parrish who just signed as he shook his head affectionately while the redheaded banshee ran to their shared room. Before anyone could actually say anything, she was out of the room again. A pair of nude heels with a thin strap across the toes and around the ankle with a thick chunky heel for you to use.

“Use these,” she practically hissed at you as she shoved the heels into your arms. Trying not to chuckle, you nodded your head and did as you were told.

You’d learned long ago that when Lydia was on one of her fashion moments, it was best to just follow along and do as she asked.

Finally, finally, after what had felt like forever - the pack made its way towards the main part of the island. You had to take another boat to get to Ivi Restaurant.

Thankfully, someone, likely Lydia or Mason, had had the foresight to call ahead and when you got there, you were only waiting a few minutes before your large group was being seated.

The table had a beautiful view of the ocean and you quickly took a seat on the side of the table where you would be able to see it. Would be able to watch the sunset over the beautiful water as you and your friends enjoyed the night.

Everyone ordered something. Luke had even asked for a possible vegan option - something that had thrown the waiter off for a moment before she asked you all to give her a second.

She came back with the chef a few minutes later who, after talking to Luke and getting his preferences, asked if he would trust her to put something together.

Luke had wholeheartedly agree before the woman had nodded and made her way back towards the kitchens. You all sipped on your respective drinks and talked about what you had done during the day… meaning most of the conversation was about Kira, Scott, Stiles and you as the rest of the group had made the most of their time just being a couple while the four of you had managed to actually explore.

You felt your eyes widen as Kira shared about your trip to the market. Apparently, she had overheard the woman about you and Stiles when she sold you the Kava and you couldn’t help but drop your head into your hands as the rest of the pack just laughed at your poor misfortune.

Thankfully, before you could scold any of them, the food came out.

The chef had made Luke something that looked like a taco that must have been tofu-based, something that looked for all the world to be green curry, a salad that was filled with local fruits that had to be in season currently, including oranges, and a rice dish that smelled like heaven.

The pack just spent the night together, the  moment settling something in your soul as you got lost in this moment.

With these people that you called home.

Time had flown by and the next thing that you knew, you felt a hand on your thigh. Looking over, you saw Stiles motioning towards the water behind Luke.

Following his line of sight, you felt your breath get caught in your throat at the site in front of you. You had seen beautiful sunsets before but there was something about the way that the sunset over the beautiful crystalline water took your breath away.

Stiles had to remind himself to breathe.  One of his favorite things was to just watch you. It always soothed something in him, made him feel warm inside in a way he couldn’t really explain. Looking at you now, he felt his heart catch in his throat, the way that your face lit up at the  sight of the sun setting in front of you.

Stiles couldn’t properly describe it but if he did have to put words to it…. Well it was like watching an old man, blind from cataracts, being gifted with sight again and seeing the world with an appreciation that most people would never know to have… that most people would never know to even consider.

That was just Y/N’s way though. When the rest of the world was too busy to notice the beauty in front of them. Hell even when the pack was too busy to notice the beauty in front of them, she always noticed it. She always took the time to see beauty in the world around her and, in return, the world gifted her with the most beautiful sights to exist.

-

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Do not copy and paste my writing anywhere without my consent. This work is the property of lettersofwrittencollective. Associated characters belong to MTV and are being borrowed for this work, all OC’s are the property of lettersofwrittencollective. These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher

Posted 17 Apri 2021

#Stiles x reader #Stiles Stilinski #Alpha!Stiles #Stiles Stilinski x reader #Stiles #Dylan O'Brien #Dylan O'Brien Character #Friendship and Fate #series

[woolieshubris]

Aquarium Date Fic !! Kagehina, but kag!asd. Kageyama pov. 2k words, oneshot. Tw : Sensory Overload! (it's present throughout the whole fic) Made partially for @spixi and partially so i could prove to myself that i can If there's a typo no there isnt <3 If you are an IRL this post doesn't exist <3

I typed out my message and pressed send, throwing my phone onto my bed.

Maybe I should go grab a snack or something... I think to myself, when I suddenly hear my phone buzzing against my pillow, and I dive to grab it. He replied to my message. That was fast.

Me : Hey we should go to the aquarium tomorrow.

Hinata : Okay :D sounds good 2 me!

Quickly, with my face quickly going beet red, I drop my phone and go to the kitchen to grab something to stuff my face with. I'm shaking, but as long as I walk quietly, I doubt my family will notice I'm even out of my room.

How should I reply? A thumbs up might be good, but it might be too cold. Any other reply is probably too much... Whatever. I'll go with the thumbs up.

I head back into my room and pick up my phone, typing a thumbs up emoji before covering my face again.

F/ck, I need to come up with something to wear, don't I..?

---

I arrive at the train station, feeling like I probably packed too much. I brought a backpack with an extra phone battery, 2 charging cables, (because Hinata has an apple phone,) and a bunch of snacks, as well as a water bottle.

Did I put on deodorant today??? I can't tell... If so, I'm probably already sweating through it. I start to feel sick to my stomach, but I don't have time to finish that thought when I spot Hinata walking in from a distance. He seems to be wearing basketball shorts and a t-shirt, and suddenly I feel overdressed in my jeans.

"Hey! Don't worry, I already bought my train ticket. You ready to go?" He asked while walking up to me. He didn't bring as much as a backpack, and I'm suddenly relieved that I brought so much.

"Yeah. It's coming in 2 minutes. I half expected you to be late." I stated, before realizing what I said. Sh/t! That was rude, wasn't it? I have to be nicer. Ugh. Hinata punctures my worries with a laugh.

"I'm not late that often, am I?" He states. This makes me feel a little worse about my comment.

"Hm. Just often enough." I state, carefully picking my words. I can't backtrack now, but I can try to redirect my speech to seem less biting.

"You only say I'm late because of last time!" He keeps laughing, keeping the mood light. I wish I could speak as easily as him.

"And possibly the time before that?" I reply. This is probably what he wants me to say.

"Shhhhh. What matters is I got here on time AND I have my ticket ready. Don't worry, I also brought enough for the aquarium ticket too!" He states, smiling. His smile is adorable, almost cute enough to distract me from what he just said.

"Oh, I was planning on paying for that." I reply without thinking.

"Ehh? Do you owe me or something? Should I be asking you for money?"

"No, no. I just thought...?" I'm really confused now. I was the one who asked HIM out, right? He knows how these things usually go, right? Maybe he just doesn't know...

"By the way, where are the others? I thought they would have arrived by now."

The... others? What others? The team??? This is a date, right? Wait...

I DIDN'T TELL HIM. I DIDN'T TELL HIM THAT THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A DATE. F/CK.

"I didn't invite them." I respond, my subconscious taking care of what my brain is trying to catch up to.

"You really find them that annoying? I know Tsukki and Yamaguchi can be a bit much sometimes but...?" Confusion flashes across Hinata's face.

"I just wanted to hang out with you. Is that a crime?" I answered before my brain could filter out that last comment. It would be useful in getting him to stop pushing, but it's far too rude for a date. Not that Hinata knows that last part anyway. I wish I could take my words back.

"You should be honored that I said yes in the first place." Hinata teases, my face turning red.

If only he knew what he said yes to.

---

Hinata and I managed to keep from fighting on the 30 minute train ride, which was a feat in and of itself.

I can't ruin this date.

"Hey, Kageyama? It looks like there is a student discount, and it also seems like there is a discount for groups. What do you think would be cheaper?" Hinata elbowed me, bringing me back into focus. I look up. He and I are both equally sh/t at math.

"Uh... Let's do the group discount? I'll pay for it. You can pay me back later." As if I'd let him do that. Hinata bought my excuse though.

"Okay! I can buy you lunch or something." He quickly walked up to the desk, and I followed him. "Can we have 2 tickets?"

Wait. Wasn't I supposed to buy them? If I was the one paying, aren't I supposed to ask? Is Hinata planning on paying???

"Oh, sorry, He'll be paying!" Hinata stated, gesturing towards me.

"Yes. Here's the cash." I quickly press down the bills that were almost getting damp from stress. I had already looked online at ticket prices, and made sure to set aside the perfect amount of money for two tickets in my pockets.

"Great! Let's head inside!" Hinata grabs the tickets, holding mine for me. We go up to the metal detector and I get my bag checked. Hinata, possibly because he has my ticket, or possibly out of kindness, waits for me.

"Can you hand me my ticket real quick?" I ask, throwing my bag back onto my shoulder.

"Sure, let's go in." We walk into the main lobby area, waiting to get our tickets checked. The aquarium is beautiful, and oh so huge. The high ceilings, and smell of saltwater, the giant whale sculpture that I can only assume is life size, and the concrete flooring, these things that on a glance are grand, start to give me a pit in my stomach.

"Kageyama! Come on!"

I look at the horizon line, and recenter myself. A quick yet deep breath and I'm ready to go. I walk up, and turn in my ticket in order to get a wristband.

"Kageyama?" Hinata states, causing me to look over at him. "Can you help me put this on? I can never do it by myself." He holds up the paper slip.

"Yeah, sure." I say without thinking. I wrap it around his wrist.

"Hey, make sure not to make it too tight. They are a pain to get off if you don't give them enough breathing room." I nod my head, and make sure to give him a gap.

"There you go." I let go of his arm, realizing just then how warm my hand is. I can feel my face getting warm too.

"Okay, let me do you now." He quickly fits the bracelet to my arm. "It's perfect! Let's go inside. I wanna see this penguin exhibit that I've been hearing so much about. I keep seeing ads for it and I've wanted to see it forever-"

Hinata kept talking. I don't think he ever stopped talking. It's nice though. It makes it easier to not focus on the huge building, or the shifting lighting, or the crowds, or the ambient music that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Yup. I'm not focusing on any of that. Not. At. All.

My feet keep walking, despite my worrying. Hinata eventually slows, stopping before the largest piece of glass I've ever seen in my entire life. A giant tank filled with fish. The glass is taller than my house, longer than 3 busses, and blue and endless enough to make my heart stop in my chest.

F/ck.

Hinata turns around, and finds a bench to sit on, patting the seat next to him, while staring into the blue void. You feel like you have to bow down to its majesty. It is terrifyingly blue, terrifyingly enormous. I have never feared the ocean before, but I fear it in this very moment. A spotted whale shark swims past, paying no attention to the many people standing right against the glass.

"I could sit here forever." Hinata practically whispers. The giant tank orders your complete and utter silence. Even amongst a giant crowd, even with the littlest of children, everyone is quiet. The large speakers playing calming bass tones over the crowd of people, barely vibrating the floor.

"Hm. Me too." I reply. I could sit here forever, I feel like I already have sat here for infinity. Like its presence is something I could never escape. The pit in my stomach grows further. I break eye contact with the tank, reaching in my backpack. The zipper can barely be heard over the ambient noise of people shuffling. Was there always that sound? I bend down to look in my backpack. What was I going to get?

"Do you want a snack? I brought some granola bars." I state as I feel Hinata's eyes looking down at me.

"Actually, that sounds really good right now. I was just thinking about food." He states, bringing his head down to meet mine. I rustle around in my bag, and grab out a bar. It is barely bent. Passing it to him over my shoulder, he grabs it and unwraps it, sitting on the bench with his legs crossed.

"Sooo, what exhibit did you want to see?" He asks, taking a bite after.

"What do you mean?" I reply, choking down the pit in my stomach.

"Like... you invited me out here. So, what was it that you wanted to see?" He takes another bite.

"Uh. I just like fish, I guess." I look over at the tank, trying to avoid his gaze. I doubt he'll buy it, but it doesn't really matter.

"Me too! Let's go into the jellyfish room next? I can see the entrance to the penguins here and it looks packed. Explains why it's so much emptier here." He set his feet back on the ground and stood up, waiting for me to join him.

I leaned back down to zip up my bag, and we walked through a doorway into a smaller, darker room. Blacklights lit up the moon jellies as they calmly glided across the tank. Hinata seemed to drift off, but I didn't mind. It would probably be a good idea to be apart for a bit. I could calm down and collect myself quickly.

I walk up to the tiny seahorse exhibit, and look into the tank. I can't see them at all... I thought, when suddenly, I felt my forehead bump up against the glass.

How did I get close enough to bump up against it?

I go to look for a wall to lean up against. Leaning against something should help keep the pit down. I do a quick glance around the room. There are no walls. Only glass, and only fish. I hate fish.

Taking yet another deep and quick breath, I go back to meet up with Hinata. He was looking at a different kind of seahorse.

"Okay, I think I'm ready to go to the next section now." Hinata said, glancing away from the fish and over to the exit door. I nodded, and lightened up the scowl that was forming on my face. I didn't even notice it was happening until I felt my eyebrows aching from the effort. I just hope he didn’t notice.

The exit of the jellyfish room led to a balcony overlooking a lower floor. This must be the back of the aquarium. Below us there seemed to be a small cafe overlooking the sea.

"Here, let's go get some food! I can pay you back for the ticket that way." Hinata pulled my arm over to the down escalator. I step on right after him, and look down at the cafe.

It was very large, and honestly reminded me more of a cafeteria than a cafe, with lots of seating. After we reach the end of the escalator, he walked over to stand in line and stare at the menu. Looking for a good seat, I grab one right by the large window facing the water and set down my bag. I pull out the small amounts of snacks I've already brought to claim the seat and go over to Hinata.

"Hey, so I'm thinking about getting a sandwich. What do you want?" He stood, facing the menu.

"Honestly, just get me whatever you think I'd like." I state. I can't focus on the menu right now; I just don't have the energy to.

"Hmmm... Okay!" Hinata walks up to the register, while I go back to our seats. I'll probably regret that choice very soon, but I have backup food anyways, and I'm sure he'll eat whatever I don't, so it's not like the food will be wasted.

---

What the hell did he order??

I look at my plate, not quite understanding what the dish is even supposed to be.

"You said to get you whatever." He said with a smile, taking a bite of his sandwich right after.

"Whatever I might LIKE. What even is this?" I poked my dish with a spork, and it seemed to swallow it whole.

"No idea. I just pointed at the dish in the buffet." He shrugged. "I thought it might be funny, but it's less funny than I hoped. I expected more of a reaction." He looked up with the last sentence, making eye contact with me, which I broke a moment after.

"Sorry."

"Sorry? What are you saying sorry for? Since when did you say sorry anyways?" There was slight worry behind his voice, though it was hard to tell through his wide grin. To avoid answering, I quickly shove the food in my face. It's not great, but it's not really all that bad either. It's a little cold from sitting out.

"It's.... good." I say with a stuffed face. This causes him to start laughing again.

"You look super angry! That's the sort of reaction I was expecting." When did I even start scowling again? When I took a bite of the food, probably.

"You try it." I say, stealing a chip from his bag.

"I was the one who bought it anyway. I was half expecting you to make me eat it." Am I really that predictable? He took a bite, and made a variety of expressions, before settling on confusion.

"I wouldn't call it good. Maybe okay? It's definitely at least okay." He nodded to himself, taking a sip of water after.

"So, where to after this?" I ask.

---

We ended up on the train home while the sun was setting. It's almost to our stop. It felt so short, but we ended up hanging out for 5 hours. I almost forgot that I wanted it to be a date. I had to give up on that a while ago.

"Hey, we have to get off soon, get ready." I say, tapping his knee.

"Hm? Oh." He wakes up, blinking a few times and leaning forwards in his seat. He glances out the window.

The train stops, and we walk off onto the station platform.

"See you at practice tomorrow!" He says with a large smile, walking backwards towards the exit.

"See you." I reply, gripping the shoulder straps of my bag. I looked down

"I had a nice time on our date!" and with the last word, he turned around, running out of the station.

My head immediately turned upwards to where he was, as I feel my blood starting to rush to my face.

He... HE KNEW?!?

#dont mind me constantly changing the tense #im terrible w word tense

[linaselandbasil]

The pebble comparison instance

Ibrahim that didn't fit into the main fic, its uploaded to AO3 too, of you like to read there

Trigger warning: painkillers, manic episodes, a little bit ofmedical stuff

Kassvin....

All he had on him were bloodstained clothes and a backpack. As he was taken to the infirmary he kept saying things that didn't make any sense. Normal as far as concussions go.

'Yo, the grim reaper slid into my DMs!' Was Valkyons favourite, but he'll never tell that to anyone.

The healers suspected that it's from brain damage since this rambling hadnt stopped yet. It gets exponentially worse with the painkillers too.

Of course, Valkyon could understand him somewhat. A feat noone else could achieve thus far, and it seemed that Kassvin took a liking to him because of it.

He spent a lot of time with the amnesiac, he confessed to his friends that he feels bad for leaving the poor guy alone because he reminds Valkyon of someone who's no longer here. And he's the only person who can tell the difference between his regular rambling and the drug induced gibberish.

He spent a lot of time with Kass, even if it hurt him, even if Kassvin hurt him... They went on little adventures so he didn't stay cooped up in the infirmary for days, he hated being there. Always on edge and anxious about all those people he could recognise.

Kass barely remembers the last meal he had on some days...

The beach is his least favourite place to visit yet they always end up going there, Valky deemed they forest way too risky. 'no, you're going to wander off and I'll never find you again. I'm not going to let that happen!' his reasoning.

Beach it is, then.

"Me." Kass said, pointing at a small pebble in the sand. He has a habit to speak as oversimplified as possible, still hard to understand but what is Valkyon if not an expert at 'if few word gud why many word'.

"Me." Valkyon said, pointing at a bigger pebble right next to it. Kass cracked up at that, covering his nose. The amnesiac lost none of his quirky expressions, who knows why he felt that his nose should be covered when he laughs.

The warrior smiles, it's a nice moment of lucidity. The golden hour when all the pain is dulled but the nightmare hasn't started.

He's almost completely here..... Like a normal person who dosen't live on painkillers.

Kassvin fell to his knees trying to retrieve the stones, Val following him to the ground, perhaps a bit too worried.

Kass picked the smaller one up. "it's coz I'm short, inni?"

"Don't take it to heart." Valkyon picked the other pebble up, revealing that it was actually bigger under the sand than it seemed.

"The universe is trying to tell me something about you......." Kassvin said, snickering.

"Snitches get stitches, universe!" Val laughed too. "Mood." He pointed at the dried up corpse of a beached jellyfish. Dark jokes are both of their favorite.

Kassvin let out a hearty cackle, then his expression turned completely blank.

This usually marks the beginning of the nightmare. The painkillers have a major side effect, they cause these episodes where Kass isn't there at all. But no matter what he says, how much he yells or how many times he hits Valkyon, the warrior refuses to leave. Even if it hurts, he refuses to abandon Kassvin at the darkest hour.

As he looked into those deep green irises he saw something change. It seemed like the light of recognition flashed in his eyes.

"I remember." Valkyon was caught off guard, he was expecting a breakdown..."I think I remembered something...." But instead got a ray of hope that Kassvin will regain everything he's lost.

#Kassvin of Blavio #Valkyon #Eldarya #fanfiction #beach episode #aadiftraf