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sicjimin · 4 months

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— Fever Weather —

a.n : hi! i just discovered that tumblr wont let me edit my answer as a draft soooo i messed things up and can't put the story as an answer .. i hope you see this, anon ! as always im sorry for taking sooooo long and i hope i can fulfill your expectation about this request. And im sorry i can't put all of ot6 as the caretaker .. thats a lot of people but im trying my best 🥲 i hope you guys like it !

tw: emeto

"Hyung .. are you okay? Do you need help?", he asks cautiously towards the oldest, that earlier has been cooking for their dinner in the kitchen. He looks tired—way too tired for someone that's just done cooking. If he looks closely, he even get to see beads of sweat forming around his forehead, dampening his already long dark brown locks. No—Jimin didn't actually need to assess that much, because there's an obvious one.

Jimin cocked his eyebrows as someone plops on the couch beside him, and the crease between his eyebrows getting deeper as he take a good look of his hyung.

Jin is wearing a quiet thick hoodie. While cooking. And it's not winter.

"Mhm .. i'm done with the cooking", Jin mumbles, not even moving from his position to talk to the younger. His eyes closed—burried under his arms that he thrown accross his face. "I just .. need to sit down. I'm tired"

Jimin hums, slowly closing his phone and put it on the table. He scoots closer. His hyung is definitely not looking good. "Are you feeling okay hyung?", he asks once again, but it's getting the same result—a low hum. "If you're tired, you can rest in your room hyung. The others still taking their time to arrive", he shrugs, leaning against the couch.

Jin perks up at that, before pushing himself up, "Mhm, i'm going to sleep for a minute .. call me when they arrived?"

"Sure hyung, sleep well", Jimin bids his goodbye as the older retreats up to his room. When he hears a soft click from his room, he opens his phone again. Brushing any thoughts that something is up with Jin—maybe he's really tired. They did a lot today if he digs it. Or maybe today is just one of his hyung's bad days ; everyone has it once in awhile.

Jimin shrugs, decides to let the older take as much moment of peace as he can before other 5 persons filling their space again.

***

"Where's Jin hyung?", Taehyung asks, as five of them starts hovering around the kitchen. They all arrived one by one an hour ago. All of them—except Jimin—still damp from shower and visibly hungry. Jimin perks up from the plate that he's setting on the table. "Oh, hyung is sleeping", he realizes, "Kook-ah, can you wake hyung up?"

"I will do it", Yoongi chimes in from the living room before the youngest can answer.

"Thank you hyung!"

If Yoongi can feel Namjoon and Hobi's knowing gaze and quiet snickers burning holes into his skull as he trudges upstairs, Yoongi gonna pretend it doesn't make his cheeks blasting a faint red.

"Hyung?", Yoongi knocks when he arrived at the door beside his room. It's silent.

"Hyung? Wake up", Yoongi tries again, "It's time for dinner, everyone is waiting hyung"

Silence.

Yoongi frowns. Seokjin is a light sleeper, so there's no way he doesn't wake up after 10 knocks straight on his wooden door. "Hyung?"

Additional 5 knocks, and he still meet with silence. Yoongi pushes his ear on the door—trying to detect any slightest hint of life there, but he meets with nothing. Not even the sound of air conditioner.

He frowns. Is Jimin messing up with him? What if Jin actually going somewhere and not in his room?

Yoongi sighs, knocking the door again, "Hyung? Are you there? Wake up", still silent, "Ah fuck it", he mumbles before turning the knob, "I'm going in hyung, you better not doing anythi—hyung?"

Yoongi grunts caught up on his throat as he meet with a pitch black room. It's quite warm in here as the air conditioner isn't on and the window definitely locked. But what surprised him the most is a big lump on the bed, that emmiting a low groan and shivers.

Yoongi quick on his feet, turning on the light—gaining an even louder groan as the lump moves, curling himself small. "Hyung .. are you okay?", he rushes to the bed, and tugging the blanket that engulfing the oldest up to the tip of his hair down.

"Fuck", he curses under his breath, as he sees Jin shivering—teeth clattering, his lips chapped, and his cheeks flushed. He's sweating under the thick blanket and hoodie—but he still looks cold as he tries to tug the blanket up again, "Hyung .. you have a fever. Gosh .. why don't you tell one of us if you're sick?", Yoongi rambles as his adrenaline spiked.

Jin groans at the sudden exposure to the cold and bright world. He's cold. Extremely cold. And his head hurts. "Cold ..", he groans, trying to tug the blanket up again and curls inside it until he feels better. "No shit you're burning up"

He hears someone grumbling. Jin wants to open his eyes and chatters whoever decided to turn on the light and peel the blanket away from him, but his eyes feels like it's weight a ton—he's too tired to do so. "Mhm ..", he mumbles instead, hoping that it would come accross as his protest. He hears someone pacing around before it's quiet again, and there's nothing holding his blanket down. So Jin takes the opportunity to hides himself again, his knees going up curling against his chest—trying to make himself as small as possible as everything hurts for him.

He feels awful. He knows he's going down with something—he means, after a month full of works from dawn to dawn again as he preparing for his solo .. it's definitely predictable that his body is going to crash. He already feel the telltale of it coming since yesterday, but brushing it off as a mere flu. It's only this afternoon things going downhill for him. He almost faint when he was cooking earlier. His fever has spiked up and the heat from the stove and pan around him act like a gaslight. He saves himself from an embarassing fainting accident as he quickly finish up everything and rushes to the couch when he feels cold sweats forming up inside his hoodie and there's black spots at his peripheral visions.

"Hyung?", his brain-rambling got cut off as someone tugged his blanket down—Again—and suddenly there's a cold hand pressed against his forehead. "Whaat .. ", he whines, actually feeling annoyed now. Can't he just sleep in peace?!

He vaguely hears someone—no, few someone .. murmuring around him.

"You're right hyung .. he's burning up"

"See? Fuck .. what should we do, Min?"

"Do you think we need to bring him to the hospital? Or we should call manager-nim and ask him to bring doctor?", then there's a groan, "I don't know hyung, you're the older one from us"

Min ..? Jimin? And is that Yoongi?

Jin moans as he shifts, wanting to see what's the commotion that makes him can't sleep in peace. His eyelids feels like weight a ton, and the roof is spinning when he opens his eyes. He squints, trying his best to get his consciousness together. "What are you guys doing here?", he croaks out, and it hurts. His mouth tastes funny and dry, and there's a throbbing pain on his temples like some people have slapped him a few times there.

He finally manages to open his eyes. It's pitch black and blurry.

"Hyung .. you're awake? How are you feeling?", Jimin asks, concern clearly visible in his voice. Jin tries to speak but can only grunt in response. "Like shit", he huffs, closing his eyes again as his room seems like it's spin harder and starts to make him nauseous. "My head hurts .. and my body feels cold", he adds, his words slurred. "think i caught something"

He feels someone patting his forehead. "You're running a fever, hyung", this time Yoongi chimes in, finally finding his voice to speak. "Have you eaten something hyung?"

The mention of putting something in his mouth making his stomach churn with nausea as he shakes his head. "Not since breakfast"

"Then let's get you some food, and then you can take some medicine to help your fever", Yoongi offers. There's rustle behind the younger before they heard footsteps rushing back down stairs. "We'll be back in a minute hyung", he says before Jin can argue.

After a few seconds, Jin hears loud chatter outside the room, and his nausea intensifies as he feels something wet dripping onto his side—he must've fallen asleep. He grimaces, surprised with the sudden temperature change. But the cloth on his forehead feels nice actually. "Ssshh .. it's just a cold cloth hyung, your fever is quite high. Yoongi hyung is preparing your food", Jimin says beside him, as he keeps smoothing the cool towel on the other's forehead. The action calms him a little bit, which is good, because his organs inside feels like it's on a race and working overdrive. Everything hurts and feel awful.

"I dont know if i can eat", Jin huffs, "I feel nauseous"

Jimin frowns, "Do you want to throw up hyung?"

"I don't know .. not yet i think", Jin shrugs , "I mean.. I guess. It feels really gross though. I feel like something is stuck in there", he pats his stomach with a wince. Before Jimin could say anything else, the door creaked open, and Yoongi steps inside carefully.

Smell of the food waft through the air. Jin gulps, already feeling full from it. "Hyung .. let's eat?"

"I'm not hungry", Jin answers truthfully, and Yoongi scoffs, "You're sick, you won't feel hungry hyung. Let's eat something, please"

Jin shakes his head.

Yoongi rolls his eyes, "Jimin-ah, help hyung sit up", he orders, gesturing Jimin who quickly helps the elder sitting up. Yoongi walks next to Jin and sits opposite the eldest on the edge of the bed.

"Do you want me to feed you?", Yoongi taunts, reaching for the spoon.

"Nope", Jin immediately denies with Jimin giggling beside him. "Just take a few bites hyung, you don't need to eat it all up", the younger teases as Jin huff, glaring at them as he grabs the spoon from Yoongi's hand.

It takes a few minutes to eat some of the food in front of him before his stomach protest. Jin closes his eyes as he slowly put his 5th bites down and take a big inhale.

"Hyung?", Yoongi calls him worried, watching his brother leans back, breathing heavily. And going paler by seconds, "Do you feel sick?"

Jin just nods, eyes fluttering shut as he clutches his blanket closer, tries to fight the urge to gag. He tries to swallow and force the vomit in his throat back down. But it's futile as a burp slips from him and his sense filled with what he just ate—the taste, the smell, the texture—he sucks a breath, flies his fist against his lips, "I'm going to puke"

"Shit", he hears Yoongi mutter behind him. And then, there are hands gripping his shoulders. "Jimin-ah, trashcan"

Jin 's mind goes foggy as nausea coccooned him like a heavy blanket. He feels like he's not in control of his own body. His ears ringing—but he still can hear the youngers panicked gasps when another gag, a deep and wet one, racked through him. "Jimin, quick!"

"Sshh .. hyung, here", Jimin's voices were barely audible as there's a faint weight on his lap. He feels a wave of nausea hit him hard—his stomach heave and bile came rushing out from the back of his mouth. Jin gasps, his head throbbing as he felt the warm liquid run down from his lips. A second later, he hears Jimin's soft voice beside him asking something, but he can barely register anything about it as he gags one more time and belches. His stomach muscles suddenly contract, heaving out more vomit. 4th bitss of food he manages to put in, come out in one big wave, adding a significant weight onto his lap.

"Gosh ..", he moans, "I feel so sick"

"It's okay hyung let it out", then he felt someone rub circles between his shoulder blades. "Do you want water?"

He shakes his head as he takes a deep breathe, preparing himself for the next round as he leans in and starts to retch, heaving out all whatever was left over from this morning or even the night before. It doesn't take much energy to bring everything up. "Oh... oh gosh...", he groans between heaves. His fingers digging into the blankets tightly as his whole body trembles from exertion.

"Breathe hyung ... you will feel better soon", Yoongi's words seem like they're coming from far away, muffled as he pants, still hugging the trashcan tightly.

"Drink ..", he croaks out , and he's pretty sure that his voice sounds hoarse and gravely. He watches as Jimin passes the straw from the bottle of water in his hand to his mouth. He drinks slowly, letting the water run down his dry throat. His headache seems like it's getting worse, and his body is sore, too.

"Done hyung?", Jimin asks as he hands the glass back to him. Jin shakes his head, huffing, as he rest his head against the pillow. He closes his eyes, focusing on the soothing touches against his skin rather than the turmoil inside his guts.

"I'm going to puke again", Jin whispers after few minutes of silence between them.

"Here", Yoongi suddenly speaks, pulling Jin forward, helping the older to sit up, "Don't worry, I'll hold the trashcan up"

"Okay", he puffs out before another round of gag taking over him. This round is shorter than the first one as his body seems like it's only need to reject the water he just took.

"Okay .. i'm done, i think", Jin sniffles, pushing the trashcan away as the smell filled his entire room. Yoongi nods, taking the trashcan away to the bathroom, while Jimin helping him laying down again. As soon as Jin lays flat on his back, Jimin climbs on top of him, wrapping a soft blanket around him and holding him close. "Are you alright?", he looks at him. And then Jin nods, his eyes closed again, still a little weak from being sick, and his body aching and tired from vomiting, but otherwise he's fine.

Jimin hums. "Do you want me to stay here with you?"

Another nod. Jimin smiles, immediately wraps an arm around Jin's body and pulls the older towards him, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. And just like that, Jin falls back into sleep.

Yoongi's eyes widen at the sight in front of him as he's back from the bathroom. "Is he sleeping?", he whispers at Jimin that makes eyecontact with him. Jimin nods, "Just let him hyung .. he must be tired", he replies quietly, "He can take his medicine later"

Yoongi sighs, sitting at the edge of the bed as he watches the half eaten food and medicine on the nightstand. "Okay, i can heat up the food later, or i will just bring him something light", he mumbles quietly. "His fever still high?"

Jimin chuckles nervously, "He is. I can feel it against my shirt"

Yoongi hums, taking the wet cloth again and wiping Jin's pale forehead gently before placing it on his forehead. The older sighs in relief, eyes still closed, relaxing into the touch. Unconsciously, Yoongi's lips curls up a little at that, "You're so whipped hyung", Jimin scoffs and earns himself a playful punch on his arm. "Ow!"

"Be quiet", Yoongi says before turning his attention back at Jin, "Keep the cloth, okay? If you need something, or when hyung wakes up, text me"

Jimin chuckles at that, "Get it hyung .. or you want to switch places with me?", he teases.

Yoongi rolls his eyes—but again, his face betrayed him. "No, i will not do that", he snatches the tray back from the nightstand, "But if you need anything just call for me okay, i'll be outside", he grunts before quickly closes the door, ignoring the little brat laughter from inside.

***

Jin didn't know how long he has been asleep—all that he know that his room still pitch black, no sign of sunlight, there's still quite lot of noises outside that means some of the members are still awake—it's not that late yet, and someone has been cuddling with him. He groans, stretching his body as much as he can as it feels sore all over. His joints and muscles feels like it's been tied to a knot, and his stomach been rumbling —that he can't differentiate if it's because of hunger or nausea.

Jin peels himself away, wanting to freshen himself up that's covered in sweat, and maybe make a warm tea to fill his stomach. He frowns when a cloth fall on his lap as he get up. He looks around and then meet with a bowl of water and Jimin that still sleep soundly beside him. It's all clicked then—with how his fever already going down too.

Jin smiles, trudging to the bathroom as quiet as he can to not wake up the younger on his bed. He deserves a little more sleep for taking care of him.

"Hyung! You're awake? Feeling better?", Jungkook chastises when Jin walks down the stairs. The youngest quickly rushes to his feet as he sees his hyung flatters on the last step. "Hyung .. slowly"

Jin sighs, "Thank you, Kook-ah .. hyung is fine. Still dizzy", he ruffles the grey hair, "Why are you not sleeping yet? Where's the other?"

"I was just done playing with Taehyungie, my brain still can't shut down yet", Jungkook shrugs, trailing behind the older as Jin walks into the kitchen. "You can sit hyung. You're still swaying on your feet", he chuckles, watching Jin rummaging through the cabinet. But there's a concern lacing on it. "What do you want?"

"Just a tea, please", Jin says before giving up and sits on the stool instead. "Coming right up", Jungkook turns around, running to the cabinet and pulling out a tea and sugar. It didn't take long before a warm cup serves in front of him. Jin wraps his palms around it, taking a sip of it. It's a sweetened green tea with honey and coconut milk. It warms his entire body up, sending shivers down his spine. He inhales deeply, closing his eyes.

"I got you some medicine", Jungkook says and holds up the small plastic pill container, shaking it lightly, "Yoongi hyung told me earlier to give it to you"

Jin scoffs, taking the pills in one swift motion—not letting his body reacts. "He's so stubborn"

"He's worried hyung", Jungkook giggles, "You should look at him when he knows you're sick"

Jin sighs, can't help the tip of his ears that reddened in instant. "I don't know what you're trying to say"

"Sure hyung", Jungkook grins.

They stay in silence for a while as Jin tries to finish his tea—and a slice of bread that Jungkook threatened for him to eat. "You can go to sleep, Kook-ah. Hyung will stay here a little longer", Jin says softly while reaching out his hand to pat Jungkook's legs as they lounge on the couch. "No", Jungkook protests, shaking his head to get rid off the sleepiness that starts getting on him. "I'm staying with you", he yawns, "I'm going to get more blankets"

Jin snorts softly, nodding as his gaze stays on the younger. Jungkook disappears upstairs to get some more blankets and pillows for Jin. After that, he goes back downstairs. "You don't want to go back to your room hyung? Sleep again? The medicine should make you sleepy", Jungkook chatters, yawning in between his words. Jin shakes his head in response as he bundled himself with blanket—he can feel the fever spiking up again. "Jimin is sleeping there, and i literally just woke up from hours of sleep", he chuckles, "I'm not sleepy yet"

"Mhm", Jungkook hums, "I can bring Jimin hyung out. One scoop and he's back to his room"

Jin laughs, nudging the younger with his toes, "He's your hyung!"

"But he's small! It's easy!"

"Jungkook!"

***

They have been lounging in the living room for an hour—Jungkook has loses his fight against his sleepiness a minutes ago, curling up on the other side of couch—when Jin feels nausea coming back. He groans, trying to ignore it with rubbing it slowly and taking a counted breath.

It only lasts for 5 minutes before he sits straight upright as his hands start trembling slightly; his throat closing up and a loud gag escapes his lips. He can taste liquid on the back of his throat. The sudden moves and noise made Jungkook stirs, squinting his eyes as he tries to adjust the light, "Hyung .. what? Are you okay?", he asks, sitting up too and rubbing his eyes. "Yeah.. i think i'm gonna throw up", Jin replies with a shaky voice before he quickly slaps his mouth as his stomach contracts to let out another gag.

As he stands up and wobbles towards the bathroom, he hears Jungkook calling after him but Jin doesn't answer—can't answer. The door slams close after a couple of steps and Jin closes himself inside the bathroom. He crouches over the bowl and without needing much energy, pukes pouring out of his lips. It's brown—literally the tea he takes earlier. Jin gasps, feeling himself choke on the vomit he just threw out of his mouth. Tears prickled at the corner of his eyes as soon as he felt another wave hitting him, throwing him further to the bowl.

"Hyung! Jin hyung .. let me in!", Jin can hear the door knob jiggling as the younger bangs his fist against it. But Jin can physically do anything as his stomach takes control. All he can hear is his own gagging and sounds of vomit hitting the water, and his focus is on emptying everything out. Suddenly, there's another weight pressed against his arched back, and few steps entering the bathroom.

"Jin .. breathe", A hand brushing his hair back, and another massaging his nape when he chokes out on particular harsh wave. "Ah ..", he moans when his stomach gives him a rest. He looks around through his glassy eyes.

"Joon-ah? .. Kook?", he slurs. It takes him a few seconds to realize that Jungkook is next to him, holding his shoulders, and Namjoon is handing him a glass of water. How did they get in?

"Jungkook was running to my room and wake me up. Luckily i was still reading, and .. the spare key did the job", Namjoon explains like he can read his mind .. or Jin suddenly voicing it out loud? He can't be so sure.

" 'm sorry .. just don't want you guys to see this .. it's—", Jin closes his eyes as wave floods him again, and lurch forward as his stomach heave up a second load of stomach acid, bile, and the remnants of the bread he ate earlier. After a few dry heaves, Jin wipes his mouth again and groans weakly, "It's so gross"

"You're sick .. it's normal hyung", Namjoon chuckles lowly, "Better?"

"Yeah .. i think i'm done", Jin peels himself away from the soiled toilet, letting Namjoon to do what he needs to do as he feels increasingly weak. "Kook, help Jin-hyung back to his room", Namjoon says suddenly after he's done cleaning up everything and helped the oldest rinses his mouth. It only gains a hum from the latter.

"Kook? You there?", Jin croaks out, wondering why the youngest that pressed against his body since earlier didn't say anything.

"Mhm ..", Jungkook hums, looking away from Jin.

Namjoon chuckles, "He's sca—"

"Namjoon hyung!", Jungkook hisses, "Let's get you back to bed hyung. Jimin hyung is up and waiting too", he grunts, helping Jin stand up. He can tell the elder can barely keep his balance even if he tries. Jungkook takes his time to steady Jin's weight while leading them to the bedroom.

"Kook?", Jin calls when he already settles on the bed after letting Jimin fussing over him. "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly quiet?" , he asks softly.

Jungkook doesn't reply, only averting his gaze elsewhere, fiddling with his fingers. It feels like an eternity before Jimin chimes in, "He was afraid hyung. You were suddenly get sick and lock the door at that", he smiles, ruffling Jungkook's.

"Jimin!"

"It's hyung you brat"

Jin stares at the pair, before burst into a giggle, "Ah .. you're worried about hyung?", he grins, "Want to cuddle the sickness out of hyung?", he teases further earning a glare from the latter.

"I'm going to sleep, bye hyung", Jungkook says and leaves the room quickly.

Jin laughs at that, but it cut off quickly when Jimin suddenly speaks as he pressed the newly wet cloth back to his forehead, "You can't tease him if you're just as red as him hyung"

Jin swats him away, "It's the fever!"

#bts sickfic #bts emeto #tw emeto #tw vomit #sick!seokjin #caretaker!yoongi #caretaker!jimin #caretaker!jungkook #a little of caretaker!namjoon

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cdyssey · 1 year

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Barbara and Melissa (Pt. I)

Summary: When Barbara and Melissa discover that their husbands are cheating on them—and with each other, no less—their lives as they have known them are suddenly and dramatically upended. Grace and Frankie AU.

CW: Heavy Discussions/Mentions of Infidelity, Alcohol Use

AO3 Link

—

It’s just another Saturday night for Barbara, Melissa, and their spouses. Rather than watch the Penn State game at one of their places, though, they’ve opted to go out to Stu’s, their favorite hole-in-the-wall bar that unfortunately looks like a derelict crack house from the outside. But the inside is cozy enough—if a little worn with wear—and the eponymous Stu is Melissa’s third cousin seven times removed or something ridiculous like that, but he gives them all family discounts anyway.

Anything for his cousin Mel.

Barbara and Melissa have already grabbed their usual high top table in the corner, waiting for their husbands to return with drinks (draft beers for the boys and Melissa, a neat cosmo for Barbara).

“Gerald said that he and Joe have something to tell us,” Barbara remarks, idly wiping down the table with a sanitizing wipe from her purse. She trusts Stu well enough to keep the bar generally clean… but who knows what kinds of germs accrue when he’s not looking? Some of his patrons aren’t exactly the most reputable for their hygiene.

“Bet they want us to go on a trip again,” Melissa rolls her eyes, one elbow on the table, her chin propped up on her fist. “Y’know they couldn’t get enough of the Smokey’s last time we went.”

“Hiking fools,” Barbara shakes her head with a small, reminiscent smile at their joint vacation last spring. While Melissa and Barbara spent most of their time in Gatlinburg proper shopping and seeing the sights, their husbands had hiked nearly everyday, only returning to the cabin when it was time to get dressed and go to dinner.

Not that any of them had particularly minded that arrangement, of course.

Sure, the four of them all get along swimmingly—such has been true from pretty much the beginning when Barbara and Melissa first became close friends at work and introduced their spouses to each other. It’s simply just that in their personal dynamics, the women pair off quite nicely and so do the men.

“All I’m sayin’ is that my dumbass husband better think twice before he pisses in the woods again,” Melissa huffs, now looking at the nearest television. The game’s about to kick off. (Barbara personally thinks that Penn State doesn’t stand a chance against Alabama, but Melissa and the boys are nothing if not delusional team loyalists, always believing that their alma mater can somehow take it home.) “Took forever to clear up the poison oak.”

“Mmmmm, girlfriend,” she scrunches her nose distastefully, splaying a raised hand in the other’s direction. “Too much information.”

It’s going to take her a full week to get that unsavory image out of her head.

Melissa only chuckles—perpetually delighted by her own crassness—as the boys finally arrive, drinks in tow. Gerald presses a light kiss against Barbara’s cheek, his mustache tickling her skin, as he hands her the cosmo, and she works to disguise her surprise at the unexpected gesture. It’s been awhile since he’s extended such a casual moment of affection towards her… in fact, she cannot quite remember the last one. The last little comfort or quiet intimacy. Sliding his arms around her waist. Lacing their hands together at the dinner table. Telling her that she looked nice in this blouse or that one. Calling her dear.

As he sits down next to Joseph on the other side of the table, she smiles at him so gratefully that she feels a little bit like a beggar, thanking him for his scraps.

He doesn’t catch it, though, his dark gaze averted.

And in the yellowish lighting of the bar, her husband almost seems a little wan, shadows turning circles beneath his eyes.

Barbara frowns gently. She hopes that he’s not getting sick. She keeps telling him that his boss is overworking him lately—thinks that this is the source of all their most recent marital strife even. He’s been home past ten more often than not for at least a year, his company’s latest welding contract demanding a lot out of his team.

Too much.

And without proper financial compensation either.

If they’ve had one disagreement over his inability to set work aside for a few days, then they’ve had two dozen of them, all of them ending with Barbara sleeping alone in their king-sized bed.

He apologizes every time, an effortless gentleman, her Ger.

But somehow, he never seems to learn from this one mistake.

He never touches her anymore.

Barely even looks her way.

“Something wrong, honey?” She asks, reaching across the table and placing a hand on his wrist, right above the watch that she’d given him last year for Christmas.

“Oh, no—nothing,” Gerald smiles at her quickly, gently shrugging away from the touch. Stung, she widens her smile to avoid ever showing it. “Just a long day at work…”

There’s still something in his eyes that makes Barbara suspect that she’s being lied to, but she doesn’t want to press the issue in front of their friends, doesn’t want to argue, so she nods thinly and lets it go. She’ll talk to him on the ride home…

The game starts, and by the end of the first quarter, Alabama is already twenty-one points up with no intention of stopping.

“Fuck!” Melissa swears when the Penn State quarterback nearly throws another interception, slamming her fist on the table. “C’mon, dude. You nearly lobbed it right into his hands.”

“I’m not sure why you’re so surprised,” Barbara laughs, always faintly amused at her friend’s team fervor. “Our boys haven't had it together in years now.”

“We just need a better offense,” Melissa insists, shaking her head at the replay of the near screw up.

“And throw in a new defense too while you’re at it,” Stu grunts playfully as he drops off yet another round of drinks. “Ain’t that right, Joe?”

He elbows Melissa’s husband, who, for some unknown reason, violently bucks at the touch, nearly sending Gerald flying off his barstool in the process. But her own spouse thinks quickly and catches himself on the edge of the table in time, and the only casualty is the little bit of Corona that sloshes over the top of Melissa’s glass and onto her shirt when the table shakes.

“Shit, Lissa,” Joe flushes, grabbing a bunch of napkins from the dispenser at random and chucking them at his wife with characteristic recklessness, causing Barbara to purse her lips. She doesn’t say anything, though. It isn’t her place.

(As Melissa has emphatically let her know time and time again.)

“I’m sorry. I was just lost in thought—“

“I’d say so,” Melissa scowls indignantly, toweling off the stain as much as she can. Barbara thanks Stu when he returns with a dry rag, and she cleans up the rest of the spillage on the table, trying her best not to eavesdrop. It’s hard, though, when they’re at such a tiny table… and, well—God bless and forgive her—she’s unfortunately rather nosy.

“What the hell’s gotten into you tonight, Joe?” Melissa goes on, exasperation in her voice, clear concern. "Why are ya acting like someone’s shot your cat?”

Now that she mentions it, Joe—like Barbara’s own husband, has been a little off-color this evening as well. Usually, he’s knee-deep in the trenches with his wife, yelling pointlessly at the TV about the young men in navy uniforms, but he’s been strangely quiet throughout the game, only offering commentary when Melissa has sent some teasing remark his way.

“Long day,” Joe blusters, clutching his beer glass with reddened knuckles.

“Don’t just steal Gerald’s answer,” Melissa snorts, tilting her head towards Gerald, who has been staring up at some speck on the dirty ceiling for the past minute or so—since almost falling over.

He’s always been non-confrontational, her dear partner—perhaps even to a genuine fault.

They never exactly fight, the Howards.

They just trade words with slightly raised voices in the kitchen.

“Goddamn, Lissa. More than one person can have a long day.”

As Melissa angrily opens her mouth to respond, a foul word almost surely forming on her lips, Barbara, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her useless husband, decides it’s high time to step in before the couple really hits their stride. She knows they love each other, but dear Lord, the two of them can brawl like recent divorcees.

“Enough,” she says sharply, affecting her best teacher voice as she looks between them. “Let’s just return to watching the game, shall we? Joe?"

She levels him the same glare that she gives her kindergarteners when she catches them picking their noses.

“Fine by me,” He grunts inelegantly, picking his beer up again.

"Melissa?" She asks—much more kindly—sensitive to the hurt in the younger woman's eyes. Joseph can be so careless with his profanities sometimes...

“Whatever.” Melissa crosses her arms over her chest—always made uncomfortable by her own vulnerability—before violently turning away.

Granted, it isn't so much of a game as it is an utterly pathetic affair.

Alabama steamrolls Penn State forty-nine to zero, and the four of them watch the last quarter in near total silence, the tension between them thick and unpleasant. Barbara, throughout it all, doesn’t know who to attend to—her husband, who keeps getting paler with each second that ticks down on the game clock, her best friend, who is too angry to even finish her buffalo wings, or Joseph, who keeps knocking back beer after beer until the table is littered with empty glasses. She ends up doing her best with Melissa, briefly squeezing her knee beneath the table, consoling her through touch alone.

They can talk about it later.

“Well,” she smiles tightly when the display mercifully flashes the final score, “that was fun.”

“Pfft,” Melissa only mutters beneath her breath, still determinedly looking anywhere but her husband. “Yeah.”

Barbara glances at her own spouse meaningfully, tilting her head towards the door.

Let’s get out of here.

But Joe, who’s been absently nursing his sixth Corona for the last few minutes or so, suddenly stops Gerald from standing up by throwing one of his muscled arms across his chest.

“Wait,” he intones in his deep voice, his cheeks blotchy with drink. “Not yet… there’s somethin’ we gotta tell you two.”

“Joe, no,” Gerald shakes his head vigorously, his face bloodless. Horrified. He makes a weak attempt at shoving the other man’s forearm away. “Not tonight. It’s hardly the time.”

“And when will it ever be, Ger?” The firefighter shoots back. “Another ten years from now? Twenty? How long do we gotta make fucking assholes outta ourselves, huh?”

Barbara can’t make sense of what’s going on between the two men, the tension in their eyes, the familiarity of this incomprehensible conversation—like it’s one that has been had many times before.

Over and over and over again.

All she knows is that they’re damn well not about to ask to go on another vacation.

“What the fuck are you two yabbering on about?” Melissa asks, never one for social niceties, cutting straight to the point, and the bluntly phrased question finally seems to bring their husbands back to the awareness that there is such a thing as other people in the room. When Joe in particular finally breaks his gaze to look at his wife, his expression immediately softens—becomes pained even, full of utter sorrow.

“I’m sorry, Lissa,” he starts, reaching across the table, weaving between the labyrinth of beers, to place a hand on Melissa’s where it’s now resting on the table. “I didn’t mean t’pick a fight with you… I just wanted us to all to have one last good time together.”

“What’s all this horseshit?” Melissa rasps, eyes only for her husband, but she jerks her hand away from his as though stung. “What’s going on?”

Barbara’s stomach turns as she stares between the two of them—unable to look away from the devastation that’s unfolding before her—but then, out of the corner of her eye, she sees that her own husband is covering his face with both of his tall hands.

And it only hits her then that he isn’t wearing his wedding band.

That there’s an imprint on his fourth finger where it used to be.

Where it has unfailingly been.

For thirty-seven years.

Joe had said there was something they needed to tell both of them.

“Gerald Samuel Howard,” she breathes, cutting across whatever drunk and idiotic reply that Joe had surely been stringing together in his lump of coal for a brain. “Where in God’s almighty name is your wedding ring?”

She can feel the other couple’s eyes snap towards them, and the weight of their scrutiny makes Barbara want to calmly lean back, take a deep breath, and smile as though for an invisible camera, but something inside her breaks and refuses to instantaneously mend itself when Gerald, without uncovering his eyes, silently shakes his head.

Coward.

Always.

“And where the hell is yours, huh?” Melissa snaps from somewhere next to her, the sound less angry than it is terrified, perhaps desperate for an explanation other than the one that is starting to form right before their eyes.

But no, it can’t be.

Joe and Gerald, they’re not—

They can’t possibly be—

It’s absurd to even—

“We’ve done both of you so wrong,” Gerald croaks, the sentence muffled behind his hands. “I’m so sorry.”

Tears glistening down the worn crevices of his face, Joe makes a vague noise, seemingly about to elaborate, but Barbara, just as she had playfully done to Melissa earlier, raises her hand.

But there is nothing of laughter in this gesture.

She feels ancient, like she hasn’t laughed in a hundred thousand years.

Like she will never do so again.

“No,” she says coldly, the syllable wrenched from some ugly place deep within her soul. “I want to hear it from him.”

“Hear what?” Melissa demands frustratedly, apparently still in denial. Her friend is so alert about most things in this life, shrewd and street smart, hypervigilant even to the point of always needing to sit facing the door, but she’s always had a blind spot when it comes to Joe.

Has always excused the most ridiculous of his antics with a shrug.

Gerald, with the deliberation she has come to expect from him—that she shares in common with him even—slowly peels his fingers away from his face, and then his calloused palms, until he’s staring at Barbara from the depths of sunken eyes.

“Go on then,” she hisses, digging her fingernails into her thighs beneath the table. “Say it.”

And she watches, with her own two eyes, as Joseph Lombardo places a comforting hand on the small of her husband’s back, supporting him as though there’s a lifetime in the infinitesimal action.

A long-established and carefully nurtured intimacy.

“Oh, Jesus.” Melissa has finally arrived at the midnight hour alongside her. “Oh, my fucking God.”

“We’ve been cheatin' on you,” Joe says it in the end, lobbing the horrible words on the table between them like a lit fuse. “With each other. I’m sorry.”

It was at once both thoroughly important and agonizingly unnecessary that he added with each other. She’d gotten the gist from their barren fourth fingers and Joe’s hand on Gerald, but she wouldn't have been able to fully believe it until she heard it articulated aloud.

And among the thousands of others of pains and questions and horrors seizing through her system in simultaneous succession, it’s somehow the fact that Gerald couldn’t do it himself that simply excavates her.

She finds that she cannot bear to look at him.

She equally discovers that she cannot look away.

“How long?” Barbara asks incisively, harshly swiping at the traitorous tears that are threatening to form at the corners of her eyes. Half of the bar is looking at them now. Stu’s glaring daggers at the men from behind the bar, looking vaguely murderous. She can’t cry in front of all these people, can’t dissolve under their finely-trained microscope.

She spares a glance at Melissa and sees that she’s been stunned into silence, her red mouth a gaping maw.

“A year?” She presses, holding her stomach, as all of Gerald’s late nights suddenly come into perspective. He hasn’t been working overtime.

Oh, God.

He’s been with Joseph.

“Ten,” Joe offers meekly, his hand falling away from Gerald’s back in such a way as though he’s finally realized that it was a thoroughly inappropriate gesture to begin with. “Since our trip to Vegas.”

Ten years.

The days, the weeks, the endless months upon months cascade through her head like a vicious assault of rain. She tries to do the math in her head and finds that the numbers are untenable.

Unbearable.

They do not compute.

She cannot hold them within her without wanting to scream.

So she decides not to believe him.

It is her last available defense against total dissolution.

“You’re joking,” she retorts, her voice barely audible, choked upwards from the constricted column of her throat.

But Joe wordlessly shakes his head in place of an answer, staring at her with wide, watery eyes, and she can see the veracity plainly etched in his face.

The man might be many things—drunkard, potty-mouth, serial gambler—but he’s never been a liar.

Barbara racks her brain for the now hazy memories of that joint vacation. They’d gone for Melissa’s fiftieth birthday, even though the four of them could barely afford it with their abysmal salaries, but Lord, how she, Joseph, and Gerald had all insisted anyway—their beloved Sicilian fireball deserved it. And they’d had such a good time, shopping during the day, casino hopping at night, and eating some damn fine meals in-between. They’d even helicoptered out to the Grand Canyon at some point and cried at God’s glorious majesty sprawled out before them in vast configurations of clay and stone.

They couldn’t actually afford to spend the night at any of the casinos, so they had booked rooms at a La Quinta within taxi-distance of the strip. Barbara, emphatically not a gambler, never stayed out too awfully late, and Melissa often accompanied her back to the hotel, more circumspect than her husband when it came to the slots.

But Joe and Gerald, they lingered behind.

At the bars.

And the casinos.

In the dance clubs.

Telling their wives they’d taxi home later.

So there had been time enough for something to happen—stretches of unaccounted-for moments. She sees it very clearly now, that one night when Gerald stumbled into their hotel room at three in the morning, already sober, but he had inexplicably showered for two hours nonetheless before slumping into their shared bed. He didn’t touch her that night, even when she attempted to curl into him for his warmth.

She now understands that he absolutely couldn’t.

“And you didn’t think there was any time between then and—oh, I don’t fucking know—the last ten years to tell us this?” Melissa seems to have found her voice again, and it’s raw and visceral, another knife wound in Barbara’s side necessitating an outpouring of blood. “Any particular reason you wanna shoot your shot now?”

“We love each other,” Joe immediately replies, glancing at Gerald, who looks like he’s about to wretch, with worried eyes. “We wanna get married.”

“Married?!” Barbara didn’t know her vocal cords could form such a shrill sound. Somehow, even though she had been quick to process that her husband is cheating on her with one of their best friends, it has slipped her grasp that the only logical conclusion to this revelation is that it goes somewhere beyond an initial confession.

Separation can only follow.

Divorce.

She’s sixty-six years old—so close to her twilight years if she hasn’t reached the beginning of them already—and she’s going to be alone.

Oh, God—he’s going to leave her, and he’s just sitting there, like a monolith, like a log, not saying anything. And how can he not say anything? How can he let their nearly forty-year marriage go out with a whimper as his boyfriend or partner or whatever the hell he calls Joe says all of these unconscionable things with a bang?

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” She demands, and she hates how it sounds more like a plea. “Or are you just going to let Joseph do all the talking for you?”

“Don’t have a go at him!” Joe growls protectively, placing his arm around Gerald again, and it makes Barbara utterly sick.

“Bastard! Stronzo!” Melissa snarls, abruptly standing up, knocking over a half-empty beer glass in the process. The amber liquid diffuses across the table, drenching all of them with its bitter tang. “What do y’mean don’t have a go at him? You two have cheated on us for ten years. Humiliated us. Hurt us.”

“Lissa—“ Joe’s feral expression softens again. “I’m s—“

“You complete”—Melissa picks up one of her uneaten wings—“chickenshit of a”—and she chucks it at her husband— “coglione! Figlio di puttana!”

“Melissa, goddammit! Don’t throw—”

But she’s already grabbed another and thrown it at him too, while Barbara hasn’t taken her eyes off Gerald, tears openly leaking down her own face now. She forgets to swipe at them, a stranger in her body, non-operator of any of her frozen limbs.

“I’m a coward,” he finally utters, the three words nearly lost beneath the sound of Melissa and Joseph now apparently cursing at each other in Italian.

“Barbara…” He cradles his head in his hands, his voice breaking on every syllable of her name. “I’m a coward.”

Barbara doesn’t know what to say to this, barely remembers how to breathe, her ribcage a shattered temple.

Ruined and ruinous deep within her body.

The pillars eroding.

This immaculate sanctuary of herself undone.

She opens her mouth, but everything refuses to come out.

#work wives #melissa schemmenti #barbara howard #s: abbott elementary #reginianwrites #this is the most hioshoihfosihdfoifd #i don't know how to describe it #brainrotted thing i have ever written

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brandwhorestarscream · 1 year

Note

I suppose it makes since in the Hindsight AU that Orion would stay Orion. Megatron was a big affect on him. He would probably stay within the Archives without inspiration to act maybe never suspect he had leadership potential.

Meanwhile my heart broke a little for the parents. They all lost their babies.

Any ideas what happened to our other favorites? Is Arcee gonna accidentally involve one of the new cons in her search to make things right with the promise their child would live? Does Galavatron have a Cyclonus? Would Ratchet have joined with the Autobots or are they called something different here?

Like do we have any unexpected additions who sided elsewhere with the murder of children being the driving force along with corruption and Optimus's charisma not being a factor?

I have so many questions. I love alternative timelines.

Ok, SO! Orion's story veers off very, very differently from canon. It kinda draws from the 'feral Orion' ideas that circulated in the fandom awhile back. Because the war started so much earlier, Alpha Trion didn't find Orion until much, much later. He mever made it to being an Archivist. Orion grew up alone in the wilds of Cybertron, and was well into his youngling phase before he was discovered

Alpha Trion was one of the only council members that the Destructicons spared. Mostly because Senator Electroshock was still made to come into work on the morning of the Altihex bombing crisis. She had just been promised bereavement leave to support her wife and grieve the death of her son, but then the new emergency overrode that and she had to report for work. Alpha Trion basically went to her and said, 'Go home, I'll cover for you, it's completely fucked that they made you come in, we can handle this, just go rest'. He even said he's attend the memorial, if she'd have him. His compassion in that moment made her spare him later.

Alpha Trion isn't exactly a Destructicon, but he works with one of their branches. Due to the overwhelming grief of losing his son, sparkling and youngling protection is something Galvatron takes very, very seriously. There are a number of sparkling sanctuaries scattered across Cybertron, and offworld once the exodus finally occurs. Alpha Trion stays at one of the sanctuaries hidden under the surface of the planet, outside of the Iacon, helping protect the sparklings. On one of his expeditions into the wastes for energon or building materials or smthn, he stumbles upon feral Orion who is very, very much not into the idea of going back with this stranger.

Orion gives him hell for the next several momths or even years; taming him is hell. But, well, AT has been dealing with a gaggle of toddlers at the sanctuary for awhile now. Oh, he's biting me? He won't sit in a chair to refuel? He's trying to climb the walls and escape?? Yeah I bet he is, this isn't new behavior.

Even after Orion settles down (learns to talk, stops biting people, etc) he's still kinda wild and independent. He spent a significantly longer time alone this time around, with no interaction, no contact with society. He eats raw energon crystals and will fight even the largest meanest mechanimals with his bare hands. He kinda becomes the cool older brother at the sanctuary; all of the sparklings look up to him, and even after Cybertron goes dark, he remains there with his gaggle of like 20 kiddos and a couple caretakers, scavenging the wastes so he can take care of them.

Ok, next! Time tobanswer those other questions

Yes, Galvatron does have a Cyclonus, he serves as a high ranking officer and is head of aerial security under the Winglord. In the first draft he and Galvatron were actually mates, but I think Terminus fits the role of Megatron's sire much better.

Ratchet still became an autobot, though his choice was kinda made for him. He was already living in Iacon at the time, still a med school student when Altihex was bombed and the war technically started. He wouldn't see combat for quite awhile, but as things progressed and the Destructicon movement spread, the government began 'incentivizing' people to help. Aka they paid off all of Ratchet's student debt in exchange for him serving, and being young and scared and stupid, he agreed. Now he's an autobot less because his spark's behind the cause, more because there's safety in numbers and he wants to make sure First Aid is well fed and protected.

As for surprise faces, yes! A lot of loyalties have changed. Praxians ane Vosians are distant relatives, and regard one another kind of like cousins. The two cities had a treaty, and a symbiotic relationship: Vos's Rainmakers brought Praxus the acid rains that let their crystals grow (one of their kost important exports) and in return, Praxus supplied the flyers with energon. When the news of Vos' tragedy reached them, rhe Praxians were firmly on their side. As a result, Praxus stands until very near the end of the war, and the vast majority of their people ended up siding with the Destructicons. That means Prowl is on their side, and his ice-cold tactical skills are a great asset to them.

Another is Bumblebee! He was orphaned by the war and raised in a destructicon sanctuary. There are whole swaths of cons dedicated to child protection; their primary objective is to shield them from war and keep them safe and happy. A lot of the kids that grew up in those places became soldiers upon reaching adulthood, because the Cons are all they know. Their family, surrogate parents, of course they wanna fight for them. Bee is on earth, and is in fact the first person Arcee encounters upon returning to the present

#feel free to ask more questions tbh I have sooo many thoughts #also! if you have any ideas or thoughts or anything like that i want to hear them #hindsight au

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oxangejuice · 2 years

Note

Chase x reader Chase is quite stressed about a project he has been working on for a long time and the reader treats him to rest and relaxation with sweet hugs and kisses.

this is becoming a chase davenport stan account

♯. A-O-K — chase davenport

warning: none

y/n and you/yours pronouns are used!

CHASE DAVENPORT was smart. He was ridiculously smart and knew everything about everyone, every subject known to man.

But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be stressed. With stress brought Spike and it was something that he really didn’t need or want in his life right now.

Especially when Chase had good in his life. His family had been strong and supportive and he had a significant other who cared about him deeply.

So, rather than coming to you about his stresses he just stayed down in the lab and if Spike showed, he would have time to calm himself down.

But that only concerned you. Chase would hide away when he was stressed and you honestly couldn’t say why.

Of course you knew he was bionic, but you had no idea about Spike and Chase wanted to keep it that way.

But with the lack of that information about Spike, you still when to the Dooley-Davenport residence to check up on Chase.

Leo gestured towards the lab and you headed down there.

As soon as the doors opened, you saw Chase sitting in a chair, viciously writing something down. He hasn’t even noticed you coming inside.

“Chase?”

He turned in his chair, standing quickly when he saw you.

“Hey,” He smiled, pecking you lips gently, “what are you doing here?”

“Just making sure you’re okay. I haven’t heard from you in awhile.”

“Yeah, I’ve been working on some stuff.”

You could tell something was bothering him but he obviously didn’t want to worry you about it.

“Can you take a break?”

“I wish, but I have—“

“Do you have to get it done right now?”

Chase glanced back at his work before facing you again, a smile painted on your face.

“It can wait.”

You smiled bright as you dragged Chase out of the lab and to your home.

He sat in your bedroom waiting for your return.

Once you had, you held two cups in your hands and a bag of chips in the other.

“What are we doing?” Chase asked.

You sat the cups down on your dresser and threw the bag of chips on your bed. You stretched your arms out for him to embrace you in a hug, but he continued to sit there.

You groaned, wrapping your arms around him as he sighed at the touch.

“You’re stressing yourself out.” You said, “We’re going to have an us day.”

“An us day?”

“Yeah! Just you and I.” You smiled, “And maybe a movie.”

“Y/N, I can’t—“

“Why not?” You asked, “Your working all the time. Some of this stuff you work on isn’t due until next week. I barely see you anymore.”

Chase knew that this had been bothering you for some time just by the tone of your voice.

He didn’t want to disappoint you or anything of the sorts.

He stood from the bed and cupped his hands on your cheeks, “I’ll stay.”

“You will?”

He nodded, kissing you softly.

You sighed, backing away, “I know you’ve been stressed out. So, I just… wanted to make you feel better.”

“You’re already doing a great job.”

lucy’s notes: I NEVER KNOW HOW TO END THESE

broskis love chase davenport <3 chase davenport got a little schwifty here

kinda hate the word pecking 👎

i have one request in my draft (when typing this) request :)

reminder: request are open :) check who i write for just to see what i can try and do :)

#chase davenport #lab rats #disney channel #lab rats imagines #chase davenport x reader #disney channel imagines #chase davenport oneshot #chase davenport imagines #lab rats oneshots #lab rats x reader #disney xd #lab rats bionic island

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limenysnocket · 3 years

Text

A Little More Than a Hug

Negan x Reader

Summary: (Y/N) has quite rough day at work and comes home to find a very unexpected friend on her couch, with a suggestive look and an open bottle of liquor.

Warnings: Smut, alcohol, foul language, unsafe sex, rough sex, fingering, teasing, praise kink. 18+ ;)

Request: @kukka-roo

Author's note: THIS HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY DRAFTS FOR ALMOST A YEAR. IM DONE.

●■□●■□●■□●■□●■

It's been a long, hard fought day, but you made it. Your feet ache, your head hurts, and your work clothes just aren't cutting it anymore. You looked pretty at the beginning of the day, dressed up in a neat, black skirt the hugged the line of your hips and a flattering blouse, but now you were at least decent. The feeling had worn itself out.

The first thing you did when you got home was jam your keys in the front door to unlock it, only to find it was already unlocked. At first you freaked the fuck out. Did you leave the house like this, or was someone inside stealing all of your possessions or waiting to kill you? You didn't know.

You kicked off your heels next, wanting to actually be able to run if someone decided to charge at you, the moment you stepped into your abode. The lights were on inside, just in the kitchen, and you could see the warm glow of a lamp in your living room. You didn't have much on you. Your work regulations didn't allow anything as dangerous or above a knife. So, you had pepper spray tucked in your swollen pocket book. You crept through the house, trying not to be like one of those idiots you see in horror movies.

You check the kitchen first. Nothing bad been stolen, that you could see. All of your fancy china was still tucked away neatly and every small cast iron skillet hung from it's rightful place. You considered taking one. You thought against it, and slowly walked to the living room, just a doorway away. With your dominant hand extended with the pepper spray in your grip, you launched yourself into the living room, and surprise, surprise.

You found your perp.

Negan was sitting on your couch with his legs spread eagle and his leather jacket draped over the arm of his seat. One of his hands was resting way to high up his thigh and considerably too close to his crotch, while his other arm was swaying lazily behind the couch. He was holding something, you suspected. He was stone faced at first, but the moment you came in, up rose that shit-eating grin.

"What the fuck?" you spoke before he even had a chance.

Negan just shrugged, and drew a thin lick over the front of his teeth. "Heard you had a rough day. I did too, but had nothing else to drink in my house."

"Since when do you ever run out of drinks?" you snort at him, tucking your tiny bottle of pepper spray away.

He just shrugged at you again, that smirk still all over him. He lifted up his hand from behind the couch and displayed a bottle of bourbon he must have snagged from one of your cabinets. "I thought about opening one of those fancy bottles of wine you have, but that wouldn't have been polite, would it?"

You hated him sometimes. "Is a drink all you needed?" You asked, setting your pocket book down where you would remember it.

"Sure," he chided, pursing his thin lips outwards.

It had been awhile since you'd seen him. He was always so busy working five days out of the week. You assumed he was working an actual job, and not the corner. He'd pull it off, either way, you bet.

His hair had grown out, as well as his beard just by a little. The white patches were a little more prominent than you remembered, and he seemed a little more bolder, even though he had always been quite bold. A jackass, really. The fact that he remembered where you stashed your emergency key surprised you. When was the last time he used that thing? When was the last time you used it?

"Next time you want to rummage through my cabinets," you walked over to him and grabbed the bottle of bourbon right from his hands, before continuing, "fucking ask me next time."

"Rude. I was expecting a warm hug and a thank you," he scoffed.

You tilted your head back and took a hearty swig from the bottle. It burned on its way down your throat, but you didn't care. Maybe if you drank enough, you'd forget he was ever here, and this night never happened.

Negan didn't even try to stop you as you walked away to your office with the bottle in your hand. He just sat there for a little while, thinking with a smirk on his face.

You weren't in the mood. You were so stressed out about everything, you felt like you didn't have time to stress out, which made you stress out even more. You start searching through bookshelves, eventually losing your train of thought and forgetting why you looked through them in the first place. You didn't think there was an actual reason, other than to keep busy, keep moving, and don't stop moving unless you pass out or die. That's just how work was from time to time.

You got to sit down at your desk, a mountain of books stacked high over various different topics. Maybe one might put your brain to sleep, you thought. One of these had to be boring enough to keep on a dusty shelf you never touched.

You grabbed the first one on the pile and start flipping through. How To Take Apart and Reassemble Your Truck...

Too technically challenging.

Cat Whisperer...

Too... weird.

Pride and Prejudice...

Too dramatic, fo fucks sake. You'd rather march your way back to work and quit your job than read about mildly attractive men with sideburns.

You decidedly buried your face into your hands instead. Palm reading, maybe, instead.

Negan heard your distress and had come to the rescue. He leaned against the doorway, tucking his hands into his pockets and propping his foot up.

"Maybe you should drink more liquid courage," he mused. You knew he was smirking, just by the sound of his voice. You fucking hated that smirk of his. "I heard it makes headaches go away pretty quick."

You sat up, smacking your palms down on your desk and looking up at him, so tired. "Yeah, but it doubles the pain in the morning."

"Ibuprofen does the same thing, yet we still take it. What's the difference? Do you get hammered off of Ibuprofen?" Negan cocked a brow. He was staring at you through his eyelashes, head tilted down just a smidgen much. It was to hide the hungry look in his eyes.

"Look, I don't know why you're here, out of all times you could have come. What did you do? Memorize my entire schedule? Did you know I was going to get home this late and just show up at the perfect fucking time?" You wanted to rip your hair out.

All Negan did was shrug. "I actually showed up too early, and made you some dinner. It's in the fridge, by the way," he hummed, leaving you blank faced. "Oh, and I said hello to Mrs. Knoffle across the street while I watered the flowers out front." He sucked on his teeth once, twice, then decided to slowly looked up. "Those pretty little plants missed you... looked like they hadn't had a drink of water in days."

You could feel your heart thrumming in your chest, hard and fast. It played an unsteady beat against your quaking ribcage.

"And you know who else missed you?" Negan started to slowly stand up fully, but his hands never left his pockets. "I did."

You hated the way his face looked so soft and caring in that moment. It couldn't be true. If a man like him could care, he wouldn't have walked out on you so suddenly before...

"I don't have time for this," you mutter quietly and look away to start going through books again. You never hear him walk away. You only hear him get closer, and come up behind you. All from the sound of the heels of his boots clicking on the ground.

His warm, rough hands grabbed onto your shoulders and started to tenderly massage the tension out of them. You close your eyes, and the book you had open to the first page. His cologne wafted through the frigid air, and his patterns of movement left goosebumps running down your arms.

Negan's leather jacket softly squealed as he leaned down. His breath brushed past your ear and waved a loose lock of hair.

"You should know I didn't just come here for drinks," he murmured, and his massaging didn't stop. "I came here because I missed the wet feeling of your pussy... I wanna fuck all that stress away for you, doll."

The air you breathe is no longer as bitter and cold as you were to him. It started to get hot. Sweltering hot. Your breathing got deeper and heavier, which was easy to notice while you fought off moans as his thumbs dug deeper into a particular knot between your shoulder blades.

"Asshole," you whimper out, and your nails dig into the mahogany desktop.

"I'm considering that to be an invitation," Negan purred with a deep, brown chuckle. One hand left your shoulder and slipped down, way down, and to your front. He slipped your skirt steadily up your thighs and the moment his fingertips brushed lightly against the crotch of your panties, you shot up out of your desk. He latched onto you so fast, you couldn't move. His hand was still up your skirt.

"What makes you think this is okay?" you sneer, and you jerk in his hold.

"Oh, honey," Negan tsked in your ear, pressing his palm flat against your soaking folds. "I know you good and well... and if you didn't want this too, you'd be fighting like hell right now."

You shuddered, lips twitching just the slightest bit with your hands balled into fists. "Maybe I'm just tired tonight..." you say it through clenched teeth, and of course, he doesn't believe you.

"Come off the attitude, (Y/N). You say the same shit every single time, but I know for sure that pussy of yours is never too tired to take in my rocketship of a cock and go for a ride," Negan nipped at the back of your ear, and you froze up. He took advantage of this and bent you right over the desk like you were a stick in need of breaking.

He pushed your chest to be flat against the cold surface and raised your hips nice and high. "You're so fucking pretty..." he spoke darkly. He could get your panties to soak off of the brawn in his voice alone. You could feel your skirt hiking up the back of your thighs, being pushed and scrunched up on your waist.

"You're always like this," you whimper, "such a fucking dick..."

Like that, his hand cracked down on your ass, making a bright red handprint. "Oh yeah, baby, insult me harder. Gets me real fucking hard." You had to listen to the sarcasm dripping from his tongue. You wouldn't mind that inside of you right about now.

Negan started to slowly drag your underwear down your legs, and he took his sweet time with it. He stopped them right above your calves, not bothering to take them fully off. You were surprised he actually slid them down instead of just pushing them to the side.

Your body tensed upwards when his fingers came into contact again. They slid into your folds and ran all along your clit and sopping hole. He was humming a sweet tune, all the way, probably not even paying attention to what his hands were doing. He was admiring the intense glow of your skin.

You whined for him. You knew that's what he wss waiting to hear, just to stick something inside of you. What you got was a fat finger. That was enough for the time being.

Your hips rocked back, and your jaw dropped.

"So fuckin' needy..." Negan clicked his tongue, and smacked your ass again, on the opposite cheek. Only then, did he start pumping away, in and out, endlessly having you gallop towards an orgasm on a single fucking finger. "Love it when you sing for me, princess..."

You sang your heart out, moan after moan, and you got louder for him once he added a second finger. Nothing that came out of you was fake and meant to pleasure his ears. It was all genuine, because of all the time he has spent with you. Every hour he spent hunched over you or sitting next to you at a dinner table in a crowded restaurant, playing with you, and finding those special spots. It all paid off here and now.

The peak was so close and near, your stomach was wrenching around his two digits. He was down on his knees, watching the lovely little show, and especially loving how your legs split further and further apart every seconds because you couldn't handle the impending orgasm.

He let you have it, instead of just keeping you there and making you lose it over and over again, like he's done before. You were seeing white, and he was seeing the beautiful live portrait of your dripping cunt, captured perfectly in the frame of your legs. He was feeling generous tonight. Only for a moment. His mischief came right back to him, after he took the time to lick his fingers clean of every last drop you had spilled on him. The fact that you were making a small puddle on the floor beneath you fueled his fire.

His breath circled all over your back and your neck, making the hairs raise, despite your best efforts. Your legs had already begun to shake at just the sound of his belt dropping to the floor, as well as his jacket. The front of his legs pressed to the backs of yours, once he raised your hips high up again, and you had to stand on your toes just so you could just barely scrape your ass against his dick.

After a time of grinding, moaning, and compliments, he took it out. It was hefty and sure as shit was hard. It smacked against your back, as soon as he lifted it out and let go. The loud smack it made, had you jumping, like a domino effect, making him laugh from behind you.

Your fingers were curled around the end of the table, gripping so desperately. You couldn't take much more of this.

Negan whistled, lifting his boulder dick off of your back and sliding the tip between your cheeks, all the way down to your sensitive folds. He started to slowly thrust through them, collecting wetness on his shaft to lube himself up.

Seconds turned into forever, while he kept doing this, and rubbed his tip along your clit from time to time. Just to hear you say his name again. Little did you know, all of these little sounds would ring in his head later, when he beat himself off to the thought of you.

You began to beg, aching to feel him inside, and the more you begged, the more you melted him down. A low growl vibrated through him and unto you. You forgot his voice could get that low. It turned you on.

A split second later, and without warning, he's shoving the entirety of his length inside of you. No hesitation. No patience. Nothing slowed. All in at once, because he knew you'd cry... and that's exactly what you did. A wail of need followed his actions, even as he started to cock his hips back and forth. He could feel you splitting open over and over again, with every precise and timed thrust, and a piece of his confidence went with each one. You were always talking about his damn ego. Now was the time for him to show off what his ego might help him with.

He grabbed at your shirt and shoved that up higher, just so he could feel the naked skin of your back and grab on for dear life while he worked his way through you. Just like a jackhammer.

One of his hands started to claw at your desk, while the other tried to keep you in place, but that was a struggle. You kept bouncing back and hitting the desk every time his hips collided with your ass. It would draw a moan of pain and pleasure. A fluid mixture that drove you insane. His name rang and ruled your office, constantly. Your neighbors would have heard you by now. Even Mrs. Knoffle from across the street.

The puddle at your feet grew and grew as Negan kept going, sending you on a rollercoaster of emotions. It was addicting as a cigarette. After those first few tastes, you couldn't stop. Not for a moment.

Moans turned into cries and cries to wailing, to fidgeting, to twitching, and to cumming so hard over his cock, you were sure you wouldn't be sitting right for a very long time.

"This pretty little pussy is fucking soaked for me every single time," he panted a laugh behind you, making you grit your teeth. "I know you miss me, baby~. You wouldn't be soaking the floor otherwise."

You've made quite the mess, just with him, but it was a mess you just couldn't help. He was always there at the right place, at just the right time, like he was a hound. He probably talked to some of your friends too, just to know when to step in.

What a big fucking dick.

You were lost in the feeling of it all, not even caring for how sporadic your breathing had become, but just the constant bliss of him tearing you apart. Piece by piece. Limb by limb. You reached another climax, your third, and after a few thrusts time, he finally reached his.

He yanked himself out, right on time, and there was a new sound in the room. A disgusting, filthy sound that made your ears stop ringing. Negan groaned your name nice and loud, while his cum splattered against your ass in long, thick ropes. His warm hands were pressed against you, preventing you from moving the entire time he got over his high.

"I hate you sometimes," you murmured, just above the loud panting. "And clean up your god damn mess..."

"You fuckin' love me," Negan cooed, snickering behind you. "And I consider this a work of art, more than anything else..."

#negan fanfiction #negan #negan x y/n #fanfiction #the walking dead negan #negan fic #negan x reader #negan x you #twd negan #here's negan #smut #negan imagines

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nekomas-kuroo · 3 years

Text

an old friend

ft terushima yuuji

request: can you do an hc with Terushima where the reader is a childhood friend but goes to Karasuno and is the manager for the boys vbc and he had already known he had fallen for her and so shows off hard during the match against Karasuno and even tho her team won she goes to cheer him up and they hang out a lot after and then she falls for him and whatever else you feel like should be added?? i love Terushima sooo much!💜

a/n: oh my god this request is over a year old i’m so sorry. this has literally been sitting in my drafts this entire time cause i loved it but i wanted to do it justice

masterlist

terushima yuuji

you and terushima have been best friends for as long as you could remember

however, you two picked different high schools when the time came, but you didn’t let it change your friendship, despite not being able to see each other as often as before

so when you found out that both karasuno and johzenji had made it to the spring qualifiers, you were both extremely excited

you both had been harboring feelings for each other for quite awhile, but neither had said anything since 1. you’re both kind of oblivious and 2. you didn’t want to ruin anything

you two don’t have much time to talk before the game, with you helping karasuno get ready, but you’d be lying if you said you weren’t looking for him

you lock eyes and send each other a smile, catching the attention of a few members of your team, but no one says anything

as the match starts, you anxiously watch, cheering on your own team but silently cheering on terushima as well

you notice he’s playing harder than you’ve ever seen him play. he’s always been a little bit of a showoff, but this is more than you’ve ever seen before

you can’t help but gasp at his insane spike, causing sugawara to look over at you

“does y/n have a crush?” he asks playfully

“he’s an old friend” you reply

you can’t keep your eyes off him the entire match, even when timeouts are called you glance over at him occasionally

once the match ends with a win for karasuno, you happily congratulate your boys before running over to where johzenji is gathered

“yuuji!” you call out, immediately putting a smile on terushima’s face

you quickly run over and hug him, gaining attention from your own team

“you did great yuuji! you’ve gotten a lot better” “thanks y/n. i had to impress you, didn’t i? can’t let you fall for one of those karasuno boys”

you talk for awhile before kiyoko comes over and lets you know it’s time to go

you two hug again and part ways, but as you turn to leave, terushima grabs your wrist

“y/n, what do you say we go out tomorrow? after all your tournament stuff is done?” “oh yeah, we haven’t hung out in awhile--” “no, i mean on a date y/n”

your brain kinda breaks there. both terushima and kiyoko are staring at you, waiting for you to respond

kiyoko eventually ends up bringing you back to your senses, when you finally respond “yes, of course!!”

terushima may have lost that game, but he still went home smiling knowing he was gonna go on a date with you

#ri writes #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#terushima yuuji #terushima #terushima x reader #terushima yuuji x reader #terushima imagines #terushima headcanons #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu headcanons #hq x reader #hq imagines #hq headcanons #hq terushima #haikyuu terushima #johzenji

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heyiwrotesomethings · 3 years

Text

Lepidopterophobia Prt. Two

Shinobu Kochou x She/Her Reader

A/N: People seemed to like that oneshot so I made a part two! Here is a link to part one if you want a refresher or something (Link). Word Count: ~11,329 (Again, holy shit. I do not know how I wrote so much. I blame the demon encounter that I forced myself to put in this fic and the totally unnecessary OC interaction lol) Hope you enjoy!

Shinobu was getting worried now. It may have been hiding behind sweet smiles and teasing words, but the worry was there nevertheless, churning deep within her like an undercurrent of a seemingly calm ocean cost.

She and (Y/n) had made it a habit to write each other at least once a week since they met about six months ago.

Such letters always made Shinobu feel extremely happy and giddy. Even the estate residents could determine when a letter came simply based on body language alone, although the melodic humming also helped on that front.

Giyuu had even witnessed the change first hand by chance one day and he admitted that it was the freakiest thing he had ever experienced. Especially when she walked past him and actually gave him a compliment before continuing to hum and glide down the hall. Giyuu did not know how to conduct himself in this Shinobu’s presence.

However this week was different, Mochi had not arrived, there was no letter. Shinobu quelled the initial disappointment and anxiety. Surely (Y/n) just had a tiring mission and fell asleep while drafting her message. It wouldn’t have been the first time after all. But when the second week was nearing its end, Shinobu was starting to crack.

She was admittedly a bit unfocused. Her honey sweet tone was still there, but her speech was sharp and clipped. She spent more time in her lab doing research well into the early hours of the morning, becoming more unkempt as another new dawn brought no news.

Aoi made sure Shinobu would eat. She also made it clear that the Hashira needed to be taking better care of herself in general as the young woman sulked her way into the infirmary.

“You’re worrying the younger girls because you look like you’ll collapse at any second and Kanao might not say it, but you’re worrying her too. You’re causing us all distress,” Aoi had told her, not pulling any punches. “(Y/n)-san would not be happy to see you like this.”

“Well, she isn’t here now, is she? She hasn’t been here since her first visit. Why should I care what makes her happy?” Shinobu’s seraphic voice laced with poison replied, an insincere smile painting her lips.

Aoi scoffed and rolled her eyes. “If only I knew, Shinobu-sama. I don’t quite understand you’re attraction to her myself. Maybe you should try writing her again.”

“I’ve already sent two letters. I’m not so desperate for attention to try for a third,” Shinobu responded rigidly. “My crow has always come back empty handed so I know someone is getting my messages. What more is there to do?”

“Didn’t she say in her last letter that demon attacks were becoming more frequent in her sector? Just give her some time. She isn’t that big of an idiot to ignore you on purpose.”

“I’m growing tired of this conversation, Aoi,” Shinobu sighed. “I’ll be going to the lab and I do not wish to be disturbed.”

“As you wish, Shinobu-sama. I’ll send someone over with your dinner later though, and you better eat it.” Aoi replied as Shinobu walked out.

Kanao came to stand by Aoi’s side and flipped her coin, heads. “I have not seen Shinobu-neesan seem so visibly upset in a long time.”

“Yes, she must really like (Y/n)-san a lot, huh?” Aoi frowned, making another bed.

Kanao flipped her coin again, but remained silent this time around.

“Well, that idiot better respond soon. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

***

Shinobu drowned herself in her research well into the night. Balancing equations, messing with beakers and microscopes and reading copious amounts of botany and organic chemistry texts. She was so absorbed in her work that she didn’t notice the faint tapping at the door that led out onto the engawa from her lab.

The tapping persisted almost frantically as Shinobu inked down some notes until a loud squawking caused her hand to jerk across the parchment and ruin her page. She almost didn’t care though, she leapt from her chair and slid the door open with enough speed for it to clack against the stopper hard enough to echo across the garden.

She beckoned the familiar raven to take perch on her arm, cooing and lightly stroking the feathered breast of the large bird with a sincere smile and hopeful eyes.

“Good evening Mochi,” she cooed softly. “What have you and (Y/n) been up to these past few weeks?”

“(Y/n), (Y/n)!” The bird mimicked, enjoying the head scritches Shinobu was supplying him. He held a leg out toward Shinobu and she deftly untied the parchment from his leg.

“Thank you for this, rest here for awhile. I’m sure my crow wouldn’t mind sharing some snacks with you.”

Mochi cawed excitedly, flapping his way into the corner with Shinobu’s crow who seemed a bit miffed by the disturbance, but ultimately did not mind the presence of the larger bird she had come to know over the last few months.

Shinobu sat back in her writing desk and unfurled the parchment with a slight tremor running through her hands. As she began to read through the letter, concern laced through her features. (Y/n)’s tone was there. The words came off like hers, but the handwriting was unfamiliar, completely off. Each character was shaky, and stray ink splattered the parchment throughout the letter. There was no way (Y/n) actually wrote this.

The suspicious letter contained an apology for tardiness that was spun in a way that made it rather humorous and light without downplaying the seriousness of the apology, a skill Shinobu only knew (Y/n) to have mastered so well. The message continued on to talk about the high number of demons still running rampant in the area and addressed points made in Shinobu’s previous letters, but she still couldn’t get over the hand writing, it just didn’t sit right with her.

“Mochi, did (Y/n) write this?” Shinobu asked, knowing she was asking a lot of the bird to actually try to hold a conversation in a human language.

“No write, can’t write,” the bird croaked while happily eating some berries.

“Why can’t she write?” Shinobu asked, her brow wrinkled with concern.

“Forgot, can’t say, not supposed to,” the raven replied nervously.

“Mochi, what happened, is she hurt?”

Mochi shifted uncomfortably. “Healing, will be okay. Resting.”

“Is that why she didn’t reply sooner, she got hurt?” Shinobu was mostly just saying that to herself as she began eyeing one of her medicine cabinets intently. She walked over to it and opened the cabinet doors now going into full-on healer mode. “She hasn’t said anything in two weeks so it must be serious,” she turned back to the raven who jumped at the intensity of Shinobu’s gaze and attempted to hide behind the much smaller crow. “Tell me what happened Mochi. I need to know what I must bring.”

“Bring?”

“Yes, now how bad she Mochi, please focus.”

“Arms broken. Head hurts. Feverish. I worry, but she says fine.”

“Fine she says, I’ll show her fine,” Shinobu muttered as she packed the necessary materials, a vein protruding angrily from her forehead. “I need to grab some other supplies from the infirmary, don’t move a muscle.” she commanded before practically teleporting out of the lab.

Shinobu grabbed additional medicines and medical supplies, rustling about the cabinets like a tornado until Kanao came in with an inquisitive sheen to her eyes.

Still unnoticed by her adoptive sister, Kanao flipped her coin and only when she was sure of the result, she spoke.

“Nee-san, are you going somewhere?”

“Oh, Kanao,” Shinobu spun around, “I’m glad you’re still up. I’m going on a mission for a few days, maybe longer. Take care of things while I’m gone please.”

Kanao stared blankly for a moment before flipping her coin once more. Looking back up at Shinobu she asked, “Is this about (Y/n)-san?”

Shinobu faltered in her movements slightly, almost undetectable, but not to Kanao’s sharp eyes.

“How could you tell?” Shinobu smiled almost sheepishly, a faint dusting of pink coloring her cheeks. A sign she knew she had been caught.

“You never bring that much medical supplies on missions for simple demon slaying,” Kanao stated plainly. “I know you have been worried about (Y/n)-san lately. Aoi said it was only a matter of time before you took matters into your own hands.”

“I can’t get much past my smart and observant girls, can I?” Shinobu gave her usual default smile, though it looked a bit more prideful than usual. She closed up the final cabinet and secured her medicinal bag over her shoulder. When she approached Kanao she squeezed her shoulders affectionately. “Look out for each other, make sure Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo keep up with their studies as well. I’ll try to be back in two days tops, but it may take longer if (Y/n) insists on being difficult. Goodbye for now, my little sister,” Shinobu released Kanao and waited patiently as the girl looked at the coin in her hand.

“Bye Nee-san, be safe,” Kanao said after a moment. Shinobu’s smile grew especially warm when Kanao had decided to speak on her own without the aid of the coin. With one last nod, Shinobu left the infirmary with a new energy about her.

***

Shinobu ran through the trees until dawn, following after Mochi as he flew above. As much as she wanted to get there as soon as possible, the many sleepless nights over the past two weeks had taken a toll on Shinobu’s physical state. She admonished herself for being so careless. How could she take care of (Y/n) if she couldn’t even take care of herself? She called for Mochi to stop for a moment and the unusual duo took roost on one of the trees thick and gnarled branches.

“How much further?” Shinobu asked, trying to disguise a yawn hidden behind a small hand.

“Be there by midday if rest short,” the bird replied.

Shinobu nodded, drinking a bit of water and stretching before resigning herself to continue on despite her muscles’ protests.

When the sun was at its highest and hottest was when Shinobu saw the weathered home Mochi was circling over. On closer inspection she recognized the insignia of the Wisteria Houses and she couldn’t help but quietly scoff to herself.

“Oh? Hello young lady, how may I help you?”

Shinobu turned and found herself looking down at a frail old woman who was even smaller than her. Realizing she had been staring, Shinobu began to answer the patient woman.

“Good afternoon, I believe you are currently looking over the demon slayer (Y/n), is that correct?”

“(Y/n)-chan? Ah yes, poor girl. She had a rough mission awhile back, she’s lucky she was with a team that night or I’m not sure she would have made it. She’s resting now I believe, but please do come in,” the old woman replied with the sweet raspiness of someone who has lived a full life and turned back towards the house, her hands trembling as she pushed the door open. She ushered Shinobu into a chair and fixed some tea for the exhausted Hashira who graciously accepted the cup.

“It is a rare honor to have a Hashira in my home, may I ask what brings you here?”

“I’m here for (Y/n),” Shinobu answered, assuming that the old woman had simply forgotten already due to her age.

“Yes, is she training under you, a Tsuguko perhaps?”

“Ah, no. She isn’t training under me,” Shinobu denied.

“I apologize, I suppose I just don’t understand then, why a Pillar of the demon slayers is taking time out of her surely busy schedule to tend to a slayer of a lower level who isn’t even under her instruction.” the old woman questioned.

“I’m afraid that is none of your concern.” Shinobu answered with a tight lipped smile. Perhaps this old woman wasn’t as senile as she had previously believed.

“I’m sorry deary, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just that I saw you hopping after (Y/n)-chan’s raven and I thought you may have been the recipient of her sweetly composed letter. She asked me to write it for her you see. She had been fretting over what to say for days the poor thing,” the old woman tutted, raising her own teacup to her lips with a shaky grip.

“I see,” Shinobu nodded. “You are correct though, the letter was for me. That is how I knew that I should come.”

“That’s wonderful, Insect Hashira.” the old woman smiled.

“Hisa-san?”

Shinobu turned expectantly in the direction of the voice she hadn’t heard in months, unaware of the knowing smile the old woman was directing at her.

“Well, come with me young lady. The patient is in no shape to leave her bed,” Hisa explained motioning fo Shinobu to follow her down the hallway. Hisa approached another door and gave it a courtesy knock before sliding the door open.

“Hello (Y/n)-chan, how nice of you to join the world of the living again and look who’s here to visit you...”

Hisa made room for Shinobu to enter the room and the Hashira could feel butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she stepped forward.

“Shinobu!” (Y/n)’s eyes gleamed. She tried to sit up, but Shinobu glided over and pushed her back on the futon.

“Hello (Y/n), we have a lot to talk about,” Shinobu said with a smile, however the dark aura did not go unnoticed by (Y/n) as the heavily bandaged girl shifted her eyes nervously to another corner of the room.

“I’ll give you two some space. Have fun with your girlfriend, (Y/n)-chan,” Hisa waved before shutting the door behind her.

“Sh- We’re not- She’s not my girlfriend!” (Y/n) called back, clearly flustered.

“Oh my (Y/n), have you been embellishing the nature of our relationship?” Shinobu gasped, hiding a teasing smile behind her hand, feigning shock.

“No, of course not!” (Y/n) shook her head, trying to look anywhere that wasn’t Shinobu. She shook her head a bit too furiously, causing her to wince and groan.

Shinobu’s face turned serious as she inspected the bandages wrapped around (Y/n)’s head. Her arms were also tightly bound, slings kept the arms crossed firmly over (Y/n)’s stomach. Shinobu pushed (Y/n)’s hair away from her forehead to get a better look at the blood stained bandage. “When was the last time, Hisa-san was it? When was the last time she changed these bandages?”

“Um, maybe yesterday I think? I’ve been kind of out of it so I’m not totally sure.”

“Someone needs to hold these wisteria locations to higher standards if we really expect anyone to survive in their care,” Shinobu tisked, noting how the loose bandages easily came undone in her fingers.

“Hisa-san does her best, she’s really good honestly, we’ve just been dealing with a lot of demons lately so supplies are thin and more demon slayers have been coming and going than usual,” (Y/n) defended, taking a sharp intake of air when Shinobu’s fingers examined her head wound.

“I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it... This may sting a bit,”

(Y/n) hissed as Shinobu dabbed the head wound with a cold, wet cloth. Washing off the dried blood that was caked there so she could better see the wound. It was more like a large scrape, not a gaping wound as Shinobu had initially feared. “So, care to tell me how this all happened since you neglected to mention it in your letter?”

“Um,” (Y/n) paused to clear her throat, “I’ll try but it’s all kind of fuzzy in my mind.”

“Take your time,” Shinobu encouraged, replacing the bandage on (Y/n)’s head.

“Well, I was with an improvised squad, which isn’t uncommon, but this one guy was not having it,” (Y/n) sighed. “He was acting high and mighty all night. Talking about how the rest of us were slowing him down and just being an arrogant jerk.” (Y/n) recalled, an annoyed look upon her face.

“And how exactly is this leading up to how this all happened?” Shinobu smiled, moving to (Y/n)’s arms to get a proper look at the damage there.

“Oh trust me, he’s a major player in this mess,” (Y/n) huffed. “So anyway, we were tracking this demon, right? We followed its tracks to a cave in the side of the mountain range near a village and turns out there was a whole bunch of them in there—AGH!” (Y/n) jolted, a sharp pain caused by Shinobu yanking her left arm hard and fast, making it crack loudly. “Why the fuck did you do that!?” (Y/n) wheezed.

“Your arm wasn’t properly set. It may push your healing back a bit, but at least when your arm heals it will be in the proper position,” Shinobu explained, now moving her attention to the other arm. “Please continue your story.”

“Alright then,” (Y/n) grumbled, still feeling the bone throb under her skin, “So there was a bunch of them in the cave that came out to attack us and we were outnumbered, but they were relatively low level so it shouldn’t have been a problem. Then that arrogant jerk began using breathing techniques without any regard for the rest of us. He was using stone breathing I’m pretty sure, just one technique after the other and he caused a rockslide!” (Y/n) turned away from Shinobu and had a brief coughing fit from getting so worked up.

“Here, drink this,” Shinobu paused her re-wrapping of (Y/n)’s arms to hold a waterskin of medicated water to (Y/n)’s lips and the slayer graciously accepted, downing almost half the bag.

“Thanks,” (Y/n) sighed.

“You’re welcome,” came Shinobu’s sweet reply.

“So we were having to dodge boulders and fight the demons at the same time. One girl got her ankle slashed, ripped right through her tendon and she couldn’t get out of the way of the rockslide so I was trying to carry her away from the battle zone, but then that idiot got thrown in my direction and had the audacity to use the back of my head as a goddamn springboard to fling himself back into battle and I lost balance and fell forward face first into the dirt. The girl flew out of my arms and rolled a few yards and my arms were out in front of me. Before I could move, a boulder came in and crushed my arms,” (Y/n) explained, looking down at her newly wrapped arms.

“I think I would like to have a word or two with this slayer, is he still in this sector?” Shinobu asked calmly, a dark aura contrasting her tone.

“He is, but I’m afraid he wouldn’t be able to hear what you have to say, he was killed in the battle,” (Y/n) explained. “I didn’t see it, but that’s what Watanabe-san and I were told once we were brought back to safety,”

“Watanabe-san?”

“Oh, she was the slayer with the slashed tendon. We’ve been teamed up a few times in the past. She came here for medical attention but she had family nearby so she’s resting there.”

“She must have be grateful for your help that night, even if you ended up hurt as well, I’m sure she appreciated the effort,” Shinobu smiled as she finished whipping up a tonic for (Y/n)’s aching bones.

“She did, she offered for me to come with her to her uncle’s house but I told her I’d be fine here. I didn’t want to over burden her family.”

“You should have accepted, this place is kind of a dump,” Shinobu whispered with a conspiratorial smirk.

“Shinobu, that’s so rude!” (Y/n) whisper-yelled back at the mischievously smiling Pillar.

“Drink this, you’ll need to build up your strength before we can leave,” Shinobu commanded, pressing the lip of the cup to (Y/n)’s own.

(Y/n) nearly choked on the bitter medicine as Shinobu poured the contents down her throat. She shivered and made a disgusted noise when she finished chugging the mixture.

“That was terrible,” she wheezed, resting her head back down on the pillow.

“Don’t say that (Y/n), you’re hurting my feelings,” Shinobu mocked distress, “I worked so hard to make that for you after all.”

“I’m sorry, did I say terrible? I meant... tolerable, terrific! Thank you for helping me!” (Y/n) fretted, falling for Shinobu’s false grief.

“I’ll forgive you if you come quietly when it’s safe to move you,” she smiled, resting her palms on her knees.

“You keep saying we’re going somewhere. Where are we going? I’m not exactly in fighting shape at the moment,” (Y/n) lifted her slung and bandaged arms off of her stomach for emphasis.

“You’ll continue your recovery back at my estate of course. Did you really think I was going to leave you in this squalor?”

“I really wish you would stop insulting this place, Hisa-san works super hard and she is crazy fast and quiet so she could be anywhere!” (Y/n) shifted her eyes around the room before returning her gaze to Shinobu who seemed unbothered by the information. “I’m fine here, really. You don’t need to worry about me when you probably have more important things to do.”

“Are you questioning my discretion as a Hashira?” Shinobu’s smile grew, but failed to reach her eyes as she peered down at the slayer as if challenging her to speak against her plan again.

“No! Not at all, I just-“

“Great, we’ll leave tomorrow depending on your condition!” Shinobu clapped.

“But, the... the butterflies,” (Y/n) whispered, almost as if just speaking of them would be taken as an invitation to appear.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to protect you in your vulnerable state,” Shinobu smiled more kindly, “Who knows, perhaps we could add exposure therapy to your rehabilitation training.”

“Please don’t,” (Y/n) pleaded.

“I still don’t understand why you dislike butterflies so much. Surely when given the option to fight alone against a demon moon or be in the same room as a butterfly you would pick the latter,” Shinobu cocked her head at (Y/n) who seemed to genuinely be mulling it over and the sight exasperated Shinobu. “Really, (Y/n)? Do you really need to think about it?”

“They just freak me out, okay!” (Y/n) shrugged the best she could, “They flutter around and I can never tell where they’re going! They have those long, skinny legs and creepy eyes and weird curly tongue things it’s just— ugh!” She shuddered.

Shinobu couldn’t help but laugh, making (Y/n) pout and narrow her eyes at her. Even as the tinkling laughter died down Shinobu’s soft expression remained and she allowed herself to smooth over (Y/n)’s hair before gently running a cold knuckle over the bruised skin of the girl’s cheek.

“I’ve missed your antics.” Shinobu sighed, her seraphic voice betraying how tired she was as the small statement slurred together ever so slightly.

“You seem tired, have you been sleeping well?” (Y/n) asked while basking in the attentions of the cool, calloused touch.

“You know how our work goes. I’m fine.”

A knock on the door brought the two girls out of the moment and Shinobu turned her head just as Hisa came in with two bowls of rice and vegetables. Shinobu was briefly impressed by the old woman, of whom she had not sensed an approach.

“Lunch for you two, please enjoy,” Hisa crooned as she set the tray on the low lying table nearby. “And here is bedding and a change of clothes for you should you wish for them Insect Hashira.”

Again Shinobu was a bit perplexed over the old woman’s ghostly ability. How had she not noticed the bundle of fabrics Hisa only now seemed to have carried? Perhaps she was too tired Shinobu mused, watching the old woman set up the futon for her.

“I’ll be there in just a moment to help you eat, (Y/n)-chan.” Hisa smiled as she patted the covers smooth.

“No need to trouble yourself, Hisa-san. I can take everything over from here,” Shinobu politely waved her off. “Please leave the rest of (Y/n)’s care to me.”

“If that is what you wish. Call if you require anything.” Hisa finished setting up Shinobu’s sleeping arrangements before slipping out of the room and sliding the door shut behind her.

Shinobu hummed quietly and got up to collect the food from the table, opting instead to set the tray at (Y/n)’s bedside. She lifted one of the bowls and pinched a sprout with the chopsticks and held it before (Y/n)’s face. “Say ahhhh,” She taunted playfully, waving the food before (Y/n)’s lips.

“You don’t need to feed me I can do it myself.” (Y/n) could feel her cheeks heat up as Shinobu persisted with her actions.

“What a bold faced lie, (Y/n). Or perhaps you hit your head harder than I thought? You do see how tightly I bound your arms, correct? Now open up, we don’t want to make a mess now do we?”

(Y/n) looked down at her covered arms slung snuggly over her stomach and made a soft sound of embarrassment. She turned shyly to Shinobu and received the bite, looking away bashfully as she chewed and swallowed.

“See that wasn’t so bad. Have some more, your body needs fuel to help it heal.” Shinobu spoke cheekily and raised the chopsticks again.

Shinobu continued feeding (Y/n) bite after bite until the bowl was empty. Then she replaced the used bowl with the full one waiting nearby and began eating her own lunch. She still sat by (Y/n)’s side and shared in conversation as she ate. Despite the plainness of the small meal, Shinobu felt like it was the best thing she’d eaten in a long time. Though she suspects it was as Mitsuri often told her, it’s the company with which one shares the meal that makes it taste so much better.

Shinobu’s lips curl into a small, sweet smile as she watches (Y/n)’s eyelids droop. When (Y/n) attempts to hide a yawn with her shoulder, Shinobu helps her lay back down from her reclined position. She only teasingly stroked (Y/n)’s hair three or four times before the slayer passed out. The smile grew a bit more proud as she realized (Y/n)’s total concentration breathing persisted even in her sleep. Shinobu studied the exhausted yet, peaceful expression. Drinking in the face she hadn’t seen in months, she wondered how a girl she had only met in person for a short period of time could already have such a prominent place in her mind.

Shinobu stretched her arms over her head and popped her spine, releasing a relaxed sigh as the tension escaped her back. The many nights of minimal, restless sleep had really taken a toll. She shuffled over to her own bed roll, only taking a moment to remove her blade, hairpin, and haori before slipping into the covers and succumbing to a deep, dreamless sleep.

***

It was well in to the next morning when Shinobu finally stirred. She fought with herself to sit up, a soft groan of displeasure left her mouth as she left the heat of her blanketed cocoon. She lazily scanned the room, her eyebrows knit together once her gaze landed on the empty futon a few meters away from her own. Her ear picked up the faint sounds of a struggle coming from the next room and her senses went into high alert.

Shinobu got up and grabbed her saya, a practiced hand poised over the hilt of her nichirin blade, she edged the door open with her foot and—

“Ahh!” (Y/n) squeaked and turned away from Shinobu to cover herself with her rumpled uniform top.

“Oh, (Y/n),” Shinobu laughed, “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to get dressed, obviously. Can you leave please?” (Y/n) asked, trying to shoo the Hashira away.

“How long have you been trying to fit your fitted sleeves over those thick bandages?” Shinobu asked instead, smirking and leaning against the door frame.

“...I don’t want to talk about it.” (Y/n) mumbled, her shoulders slouched.

Shinobu giggled and made to approach, picking up the discarded kimono that (Y/n) had worn the previous day. “Your uniform would probably make traveling more comfortable, but I really rather not have to unwrap your arms. I recommend you keep wearing this, at least until we get home.”

“But it’s not practical, what if we encounter a demon?” (Y/n) worried.

“No offense (Y/n), but no matter what you wear, you won’t be much help with a fight in your condition,” Shinobu gave a sympathetic smile as she held out the kimono and discretely eyed (Y/n)’s scar, the previous injury that had brought them together. “Of course, if you’d rather go topless who am I to judge?” She teased.

“Oh my gods, give me that!” (Y/n) took the kimono from an all too pleased Shinobu and nudged her toward the door. “It took me twenty minutes just to put on pants, sorry that I would rather not let that struggle go to waste.” (Y/n) grumped, frown deepening at Shinobu’s tinkling laughter.

“If you need any help, just ask. I’d like to leave while it’s still light out.” Shinobu called through the door.

Shinobu took her time fixing her hair and packing up her supplies, but once that was done she was pretty much ready to go. She pulled on her haori and accepted a late breakfast from Hisa and she casually taunted (Y/n) through the door as she ate.

Finally, the berated girl emerged from the separate room wearing the kimono and her haori draped over her shoulders, looking almost as exhausted as yesterday. (Y/n) loosely held onto her uniform which Shinobu took from her to pack tightly into her bag.

“Oh dear,” Shinobu tutted, “You already tired yourself out haven’t you?”

“I can still walk, despite everything else my legs somehow are fine.”

“In that case,” Shinobu reached out and pinched (Y/n)’s thigh causing the other girl to let out a surprised, slightly pained yelp.

“What was that for?” (Y/n) hissed, gingerly rubbing the sore spot through her kimono.

“For removing your slings. You could have upset the alignment of your arms.” Shinobu scolded gently as she moved to fit the slings back around (Y/n)‘s arms and neck. Once she was satisfied, she helped (Y/n) eat breakfast, which was technically lunch at this point.

Shinobu gathered the rest of (Y/n)’s meager belongings, most noticeably her nichirin blade, and hefted her bag over her shoulder. (Y/n) offered to carry it, but Shinobu refused. Once they were ready to leave, Hisa created sparks for them and wished them good fortune during their journey. Shinobu and (Y/n) thanked Hisa, bid her goodbye and headed out.

Mochi cawed joyously and flew circles around the girls as they walked through the nearby village. He was causing a scene, but (Y/n) let him have his fun. He was just excited to be out and about with his slayer again.

“(L/n)-san!”

(Y/n) stopped and turned her head, prompting Shinobu to do the same. “Oh, Watanabe-san, hi!”(Y/n) greeted the girl hunched over a crutch with a couple small children circling her. They had also stopped to stare up at the boisterous raven.

“You aren’t heading out on a mission right now are you?” Watanabe asked, worry evident as she hobbled closer. She hadn’t even acknowledged Shinobu’s presence, instead focusing her wide eyes solely on (Y/n).

“Oh no,” (Y/n) shook her head, “Just transferring health care facilities. Kochou-sama’s orders.” (Y/n) half joked, turning to the Pillar next her and finally tearing Watanabe’s eyes away from her to look over at Shinobu.

“Kochou-sama!” Watanabe gasped and bowed clumsily at the waist. “I’m sorry I hadn’t realized sooner-“

“It’s fine, your off duty. Relax.” Shinobu gave the girl a small smile. Watanabe released a relieved sigh and a polite ‘thank you’ before eagerly turning her attention back to (Y/n).

“Well, this was good timing seeing as you’re leaving already,” Watanabe chuckled nervously. “I was just coming by to thank you again for saving me that night.”

“No need to thank me,” (Y/n) replied bashfully. “We both ended up in bad shape by the end of the night. If it wasn’t for the others we wouldn’t have made it back anyway.”

“It still means a lot to me. We’ve been on quite a few missions together now and it feels good to know that I can trust you to have my back.” Watanabe explained, a small dusting of blush appearing over her cheeks caused Shinobu’s smile to subtly twitch. “And I love to have yours too of course!” She said. Then she paused a moment before trying to amend her statement, “I mean like, you’ve got my back and I’ve got yours when we’re killing demons and stuff!”

“Yeah, I got it.” (Y/n) laughed. “I’m glad.”

“Kawa-nee,” one of the young children spoke up, tugging at Watanabe’s clothes, “Is she that girl you talk about all the time? The one you think is really pre—“

“Is really pre, pre- professional and good at her job? Yes, that’s our (L/n)-san haha!” Watanabe squished the little boy’s cheeks until his lips were pouty and protruding harshly. “Little cousins, such a handful!” Despite looking horrified, she tittered and blushed, her hands still smushing the poor boy’s face.

“Can I pet your birb?” Another child asked from behind Watanabe, pointing to Mochi still screaming in the sky.

“Uh-“

“I’m afraid we need to keep moving along,” Shinobu interjected before (Y/n) could speak. “(Y/n) is already quite tired in her weakened state and I’d hate to have her traipsing around in the dark longer than necessary. Surely you understand.”

“Of course Kochou-sama, forgive us,” Watanabe ran a hand through her hair, her face beet red with a sheepish expression. “I guess this is goodbye for now, (L/n)-san. I wish you a full and speedy recovery. I hope to be fighting by your side again soon!” The girl spoke sincerely, “And you know, maybe hang out sometime...” she added quietly under her breath. It was something that clearly wasn’t meant to be heard but it didn’t escape Shinobu’s acute hearing as the Pillar fought to not roll her eyes.

“Thanks, Watanabe-san. I wish you an excellent recovery too, rest well,” (Y/n) beamed, seemingly unaware of the effect she had on her poor fellow slayer.

“Yes, goodbye now. Lovely meeting you,” Shinobu waved with one hand and placed the other at the small of (Y/n)’s back to usher her along. Even as (Y/n) got into a steady gait, Shinobu persisted with her touch and gave Watanabe a plastic smile over her shoulder before redirecting her attention to (Y/n), her fingers pressing a hint further into the fabric at (Y/n)’s back as she gently pushed her out of the small, bustling village.

***

They had traveled a few decent kilometers and the sun had passed its highest point. Mochi had finally grown tired of his circling and took a precarious perch on the slant of (Y/n)’s shoulder as she and Shinobu continued to walk through the twisted woods.

“Do tell me when you need to rest, (Y/n). I don’t wish for you to pass out on me, I’ve got enough things to carry as is.” Shinobu spoke, breaking the comfortable silence that had surrounded them for awhile now.

“I’ll be fine,” (Y/n) spoke with an ill timed cough.

“Perhaps a quick break is in order after all.” Shinobu frowned, placing the back of her hand on (Y/n)’s scalding forehead she winced internally. “You’re burning up. We’re pushing too hard, rest.”

“I can keep going Shinobu, really. I don’t want to slow you down any more than I already have.”

“(Y/n), I’m out here because I want to be. There is nothing more important to me in this moment than your well-being. Now sit under this shady tree, drink some of this medicated water, and rest.” Shinobu commanded, helping (Y/n) lower herself to the ground and offering a waterskin for the girl to drink from.

“Mmm ‘kay.” (Y/n) mumbled, too tired to argue further.

Shinobu simpered at the injured slayer then stood and turned to take in her surroundings. She looked to the trees above and counted veiny offshoots of the sun illuminated greenery above, killing time until (Y/n) could travel more ground.

I’m going to need to be especially vigilant tonight.

“ShinobuShinobuShinobuShinobu!”

Shinobu whipped her head around back to (Y/n) heart racing she was by her side in an instant and cupped the quivering girl’s cheeks in her hands. Her eyes switching between (Y/n) and the surrounding environment rapidly to try to understand what could possibly have upset her so- oh.

“Shinobu!”

“I see, I see. Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Shinobu released the tension she had been holding and moved to shoo away the small black butterfly that was happily perched on one of the roots of the tree. She watched as it fluttered a few meters away to the trunk of another tree before Mochi spooked it even further away. She wanted to be mad at (Y/n), to scold her for scaring so badly over something that couldn’t possibly hurt her, but instead she smiled tenderly and crouched down to sit next to the quaking girl and pulled her into a caring embrace, having (Y/n)’s head rest in the crook of her neck.

“Don’t worry. I’m watching it, just focusing on your breathing. I’m here.” Shinobu cooed as (Y/n) hid her face in Shinobu’s chest.

True to her word, Shinobu watched the insect flutter around as Mochi attempted to chase it away. She found it odd that the butterfly would continue to stick around after being repeatedly dive bombed by the bird, but she didn’t think too much of it. Shinobu shifted her position ever so carefully to get a bit more comfortable since she could tell (Y/n) had fallen asleep. Whether out of stress or just plain physical exhaustion she wasn’t quite sure, but she’d wager that both played a part.

She allowed the girl to sleep a while longer, enjoying the simplicity of this rare peaceful moment and committing it to memory. They only had a few hours of daylight left now, so Shinobu begrudgingly patted (Y/n)’s back.

“(Y/n), it’s time to start moving again.” Shinobu’s seraphic voice called out.

(Y/n) groaned and shook her sleep addled head from her position on Shinobu’s shoulder, her nose grazed the side of Shinobu’s neck as she did so.

“(Y/n), night will soon befall us. We must go. However, once we get back to the Estate, you may sleep on me all you want if that’s what you desire.”

(Y/n)’s head shot up and she fell back against the roots away from Shinobu’s flirtatiously teasing smile, feeling the heat radiating off her face increase ten fold.

“Sorry!” (Y/n) stuttered out. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep!”

“No need to apologize, you looked very cute. So cuddly too,” Shinobu teased as she helped the poor girl to her feet. Before (Y/n) could reply, Shinobu pushed (Y/n) forward, her hand taking a now familiar perch over (Y/n)’s obi. “Let’s be on our way! Mochi, you can stop tormenting that butterfly now,” she spoke over her shoulder to the raven and watched him dive at the insect one last time before soaring above their heads.

“Why do you keep guiding me by the waist? I know how to get to where we’re going,” (Y/n) asked while staring warily over her shoulder at the black butterfly dodging a beam of light to continue lurking in the shaded grove.

“The forest floor is covered in gnarled roots and jagged rocks. I’d hate for you to trip and not be able to break your fall.” Shinobu explained. “Like that,” she giggled her whole arm now curled around (Y/n)’s waist as she pulled the girl back up before (Y/n)’s tripping could completely fell her. “You should really watch where you’re stepping.”

“But I need to watch the butterfly!” (Y/n) insisted, still looking back despite Shinobu’s advice.

“I’m standing right beside you.”

“What are you- oh, I see what you did there, Insect Pillar.” (Y/n) chuckled.

Shinobu continued to distract (Y/n) from her fear as they walked on. Telling (Y/n) about the last visit Tanjirou and his squad paid to the Butterfly Estate as well as an embarrassing story about Tomioka Giyuu that had both girls snickering at the poor man’s misfortune.

As dusk fell over the forest, Shinobu estimated they would make it home in a couple more hours. To travel by darkness wasn’t safe for numerous reasons, but at least they had a lovely full moon to light the way.

The conversation between the two girls naturally died off as the pinks and oranges of the sunset disappeared and night fell. It was necessary for them to stay alert of their surroundings, to be able to hear even the slightest shift in the wind beneath the near deafening songs of cicadas and crickets. Even Mochi flew high above the trees, silently searching for anything amiss.

(Y/n) shivered as a cool breeze shook the leaves of the trees and wished she could pull her haori more tightly over herself. She casually glanced to her left but soon did a double take, swiveling her whole head to the side and pausing in her footsteps. This alerted Shinobu as her hand stayed at (Y/n)’s back.

(Y/n) thought she had saw something. Something small and dark crossed the edge of her vision but whatever it was, if it was anything at all, was gone now. She turned to shake her head at Shinobu to communicate the momentary pause before they continued on the path with near silent footfalls.

They weren’t much further along when another dark shape crossed (Y/n)’s peripheral. Another chill overtook (Y/n)’s body and she could feel the little hairs on the back of her neck prickle to attention. She pursed her lips and side stepped out of Shinobu’s touch and stopped walking.

(Y/n) flickered her eyes between Shinobu’s and her blade twice. The Hashira interpreted the expression easily and poised her now free hand over the hilt of her blade as she scanned the thick woods around them. This part of the forest let in precious little light from the moon, only a few sporadic beams managed to kiss the cold earth below.

The cicadas and crickets had gone quiet.

Another particularly strong gust of howling wind rattled the leaves and pushed at the young slayers’ clothes and hair, yet still nothing emerged from the darkness. Shinobu and (Y/n) knew better than to lower their guard now however.

A few tense, painfully quiet minutes passed before (Y/n) heard it. A faint ‘fwtfwtfwt’ steadily growing in intensity. (Y/n) looked over to Shinobu who nodded in her direction. The Hashira had lowered her bag and (Y/n)’s sheathed blade to the ground in the nook between two roots of a nearby tree before withdrawing her own poison laced blade from its saya and holding it at the ready.

The noise grew louder, sounding like paper flapping rapidly in a windstorm and (Y/n) couldn’t stop the scream that shot out from her throat and escaped through Shinobu’s hastily placed finger tips that had been slapped over her lips.

Butterflies, at least a hundred if they had to guess, emerged from the darkness with the same inky black color of the one they encountered in the earlier that day.

(Y/n)’s lips quivered against Shinobu’s hand and the rest of her shook just as violently, yet her feet remained as firmly placed as a statue. Too consumed by fear to even think about bolting away.

There was nowhere to run anyway, the butterflies flew around them from all angles, more waiting just beyond the trees.

“You found my dinner have you, my lovelies?” A gravelly voice called from the darkness, followed by a sound that was like a dusty cackle mixed with a cough. “She moves rather quickly for being in such a weak state.”

A looming figure finally caught a beam of moonlight and (Y/n) wished desperately to have missed the state of such a miserable looking creature. It was a decrepit looking thing, a grotesque demon with two obscenely large, vacant compound eyes that protruded far from its face. The demon’s faded blue kimono was torn and frayed at the hem, revealing bare feet caked in dried blood and dirt. It was an old, ragged relic that paid homage to humanity long since lost.

“Ahh, there’s the damaged goods,” The demon smiled sinisterly at (Y/n), its bulbous eyes unmoving, “Just the scent of your fear alone is oh so delectable. I can’t wait to taste the rest!” the demon’s voice crackled, its neck craned to scrutinize (Y/n)’s form, a long, wire thin tongue escaped chapped lips for a moment in a poor attempt to wet them.

“Ara, what an abomination you are,” Shinobu taunted, stepping in front of (Y/n) to obscure her from the demon’s view, “You’ve really made a mess of things you know? I was going to help (Y/n) get used to butterflies but showing your repulsive form has surely driven her further into fear. I’ll have to dispose of you quickly for causing such a setback.” Shinobu spoke, her lips quirked upward in a kind of smile that somehow radiated pure anger and disgust.

“Be gone, slayer. Your blood is no good. My babies have whispered of you. They assessed you in the daylight, the girl is slowing you, leave her to me. You cannot protect her while fighting my kaleidoscope, leave her now and you’ll live to see another sun.” The demon spoke as if it was being most generous, even chivalrous, with its proposal.

“My, what ludicrous words you speak. I have half a mind to cut out your tongue over such a suggestion. My blade may not be suited for chopping heads, but for this purpose it should work just fine!” Shinobu leapt up into the trees, the sudden movement was followed by a swarm of black butterflies.

(Y/n) was breathing heavily, trying to regain total concentration with no success. She had no idea what to do. She had no way of helping Shinobu in her condition. There was nowhere to go-

“Mochi!” (Y/n) yelled out into the sky. The raven was busy avoiding a smaller swarm of demon insects, performing various swoops and dives to stay out of their way. “Lose those butterflies and go to the Estate! Get help!” The raven released a distressed caw, reluctant to leave his slayer behind, but with a few well made aerial maneuvers he spun away from the insects’ traps and flew off into the night. But not before squawking an ominous warning.

“Careful, draw much blood so sharp!”

“Blood, sharp? What-“

“Troublesome girl, by the time anyone gets here the only thing left to help with will be cleaning your entrails from the moss and roots!” The demon lurched forward, the motion encouraged (Y/n) to finally find her legs, bolting just before the demon could reach her with its gnarled claws. She could feel the displaced air from the missed swipe at her neck.

“Fuck, fuckfuckfuck!” (Y/n) must have yelled the expletive a thousand times as she stumbled away from the hungry beast, between the length of her kimono and the binding of her arms her efforts alone would surely not be enough to escape.

“Run all you like, my babies show me all. Even now I see the other human hopping amongst the branches above looking for an opening she won’t find. It’s all hopeless.”

As the demon slowed its pursuit, butterflies flanked (Y/n)’s sides as she continued to run. She made a particularly hard turn and fell forward, having just enough forethought to twist so her back hit the ground rather than her slung arms.

As she tried to bring herself back to her feet, something caught her eyes that made them blow wide open. The butterflies that had been hot on her trail had been embedded deep into the bark of the tree she had ducked behind. As she processed the information the demon drew closer in the moonlight until its shadow loomed over (Y/n) who was still struggling to get up.

“You’re mine!” The demon snarled, unfurling its whiplike tongue.

“Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter!” Shinobu had re-emerged from the shadows of the trees at lightning speed, her blade poised to strike deep within the demon’s back.

The demon grinned wickedly, (Y/n) could see herself reflected in its gargantuan eyes, as well as another wave of butterflies flying around her in a beeline towards Shinobu.

“Sharp!” (Y/n) finally understood, but everything was happening much too fast. “Shinobu, stop!” (Y/n) screamed.

Shinobu’s breath hitched and she changed her trajectory at the very last moment to take a forward tumble and land a few meters away from the demon’s side. She quickly burst forward once her feet made contact with the earth and less than gracefully scooped (Y/n) from the ground, half carrying her as she continued to hop away.

“I hope you had good reason for that little outburst,” Shinobu’s voice strained as she tried to maintain her grip, her arms already aching. A familiar self loathing at her lack of physical strength bubbling to the surface.

“Shinobu, the butterflies’ wings are sharp enough to slice into trees. You would have been cut into ribbons if you flew into them!” (Y/n) hastily informed. “The demon said it could see through the butterflies, so even if its not looking directly at you, if there is a butterfly tailing you it knows where you are!”

“What an annoying creature,” Shinobu huffed, as she struggled to lean (Y/n) against a large boulder to help her regain her footing. “Long range battles are less than favorable.”

“It’s only a matter of time before it catches up again, what can we do? Mochi probably hasn’t even made it to the Estate yet,” (Y/n) murmured worriedly, mind whirring as fast as possible to come up with a solution.

“You needn’t worry, (Y/n),” Shinobu brushed her fingers over (Y/n)’s jaw and tilted her head so their eyes would meet, “I merely stated that long range unfavorable, in order to kill this demon, I’ll simply have to move so fast that it won’t matter if it can see me coming and remove those pesky eyes.” She smiled.

“But Shinobu-!”

“(Y/n), I certainly hope you aren’t doubting my abilities. Perhaps in your very lax use of titles and honorifics you’ve forgotten that I hold rank over you, yes? The highest rank a demon slayer can achieve?”

“I’m very sorry, Kochou-sama! That wasn’t my intention!” (Y/n) bowed awkwardly, a nervous sweat rolling off her brow.

“I didn’t say you had to stop being informal with me, just trust that I know what I’m doing, silly girl,” Shinobu smiled affectionately at her chagrined companion before spinning gracefully on her toes to face the dark abyss that was steadily growing louder, her nichirin sword at the ready, “Now, listen carefully and do as I say...”

***

A few moments later, they were under attack once again, the butterflies descended upon them in a flurry, but they were ready.

(Y/n) and Shinobu split off, a majority of the demon bugs swarmed after Shinobu as (Y/n) clambered back to where Shinobu had discarded her bag. It was still quite a ways off and (Y/n) could only hope the demon was as slow as Shinobu believed it to be. Sure, it seemed to take pause during a few points in its chase, but it could just as easily be toying with them.

(Y/n) nearly tripped due to a shallow hole in the dirt, but was lucky enough to regain her balance and keep going despite the disruption of her forward momentum. She must have cursed her useless arms over a million times in the last ten minutes alone.

“I really hope you know what you’re doing Shinobu!” (Y/n) hissed to herself as one butterfly got to close and managed to swipe her cheek, a streak of blood mingled with stinging sweat.

Finally she saw the discarded bag and her sword which she wished desperately to be able to use. She had no time to stop and figure out how to pick the bag up so she made a little prayer that her uniform would cushion the valuable vials Shinobu said were inside and kicked the bag high into the air, managing to catch the strap in her teeth, and kept running.

(Y/n) made a large arc around another thick grouping of trees and began making her way back into Shinobu’s general area. (Y/n)’s head and heart were pounding and her vision was blurring dangerously. And that was the least of her problems. Adrenaline or no, (Y/n) was sure she was at her limit and was going to crash very soon.

“I have grown tired of this game!”

(Y/n) cried out as the demon lunged from the shadows and tackled her to the ground, it’s mouth frothing and dripping foamy saliva onto (Y/n)’s kimono. (Y/n) managed to kick the demon off and she scooted frantically backwards, watching the angry monster crawl after her with its tongue lashing at her retreating ankles.

“This wasn’t part of the plan! This wasn’t part of the plan!” (Y/n) chanted to herself as she ripped one of her arms free from its sling, wincing through the pain as she straightened it and dug through the bag while still scrambling backward.

“Uhehehe! You’re little friend is busy with a special addendum of this demon blood technique of mine. I left her with enough of my babies to make a clone of myself. There are no obvious differences to be found, she will die believing she was truly facing off with me,” the demon cackled, fully clutching onto (Y/n)’s ankle and dragging her back, “little did she know I was really here, devouring her friend!”

“Devour this, bitch!” (Y/n)’s arm withdrew from the bag with a surgical syringe in her bandaged fist and stabbed it deep into the nearest eye of the miserable creature, draining the purple liquid into the gelatinous mass.

The demon roughly pushed the girl back and released a most horrendously shrill scream into the night. It reeled back on its haunches and clutched at its face.

“What have you done to me! My eyes! My eyes!” It bellowed, its eyes had begun to deteriorate at a rapid pace, a purplish red puss leaked from its tear ducts as it blindly grasped at (Y/n)’s legs. “I’ll make you wish you were never born!”

(Y/n)’s eyes clenched shut, she had no strength left to continue fighting, everything hurt so much she couldn’t even move to defend herself any longer. She could feel the hot breath against her neck, but then the sensation was quickly replaced with that of the cool night breeze and her eyes shot open to see a pure white haori flutter against her cheek.

“Kanao-san!” (Y/n) cheered, her expression one of euphoric disbelief.

“Where did you go you slippery little worm!” The demon shrieked, ripping madly at the ground with its claws.

Kanao stopped a safe distance away from the ranting beast and laid (Y/n) onto the grass and began assessing the beyond beat up slayer before her.

“Wait, Kanao-san, the demon needs to be dealt with and we need to find Kochou-sama.” (Y/n)’s speech was hurried and a bit slurred, it was becoming increasingly more difficult to stay present in the moment and (Y/n) was trying very hard to stay lucid to update Kanao on the situation.

Kanao stared down at (Y/n) then up at the writhing demon, then back down at (Y/n). She gingerly adjusted (Y/n’s neck and head so that she was looking back at her tormentor of the night and could see what was about to take place. (Y/n)’s heart filled with relief as a familiar blur, that was truly very blurry at this point, ambushed the demon from the trees. “She’s okay...”

“Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon!” Shinobu speedily stabbed the demon multiple times, injecting it full of her poison. She was absolutely furious. Not only had the demon wasted her time with that cheap parlor trick clone, it had left (Y/n) in worse shape than Shinobu had found her in the care of the Wisteria House.

She dug her heel harshly into the demon’s ribs once she got a good look at (Y/n) as Kanao tended to her. Shinobu’s jaw set tightly and she glared darkly at the demon writhing and gasping under her foot.

“You,” Shinobu spoke lowly. “I wish I could kill you a hundred more times, but this will have to do. I’ve used my most agonizing blend of poison after all.” She waited for the demon to release one final wheeze before stepping away, crushing a wilting remnant of a demonic butterfly into ash beneath her foot as she made her way over to Kanao and an unconscious (Y/n) with a visibly pained expression.

“Thank you for your impeccable timing and diligence. When I heard that scream I thought... You got to her just in time,” Shinobu knelt down opposite Kanao, beside (Y/n), checking over the girl’s body for any injury that could not wait to be dealt with.

“Mochi was invaluable. I wouldn’t have even known to come to the forest without him. He’s guiding a couple Kakushi here as we speak,” Kanao reported as she would upon completing a mission.

“I’m glad,” Shinobu twined her idle fingers with those on (Y/n)’s left hand and closed her eyes wearily. “I’ve done nothing but put her in danger tonight. She needs to be kept in hands stronger than mine.”

Kanao hesitantly reached out and covered (Y/n) and Shinobu’s joined hands with her own, meeting her sister’s curious gaze a bit nervously. “I... I don’t think (Y/n)-san could be in more capable hands than your own, Neesan.”

“She’s right.”

Kanao and Shinobu blinked at each other before tilting their heads downward to find half open (e/c) eyes staring back up at them.

“It was a strange and clever demon, it targeted me specifically because it observed my injuries and knew I’d be easy pray. If I had been at the top of my game, or if you didn’t have to worry about me, you would have been able to take out that demon much faster. It took advantage of us, so don’t belittle yourself, please.” (Y/n) smiled warmly and weakly squeezed Shinobu’s fingers.

“You’re too kind,” Shinobu gave a small smile in return, “Don’t strain yourself now, rest.” She spoke softly, but (Y/n) continued to babble in her feverish, exhausted haze.

“I just don’t want you to be sad, you know? You work so hard and you’re so cool and smart and beautiful so, yeah, gods I’m so tired. Imma take a nap righ’ here. Night.”

“(Y/n), (Y/n)!”

“Ah!”

Mochi had swooped in from high above the trees and landed on (Y/n)’s chest with wings outstretched and proceeded to hop around her torso and cry with relief.

Shinobu gently admonished the bird, offering her arm as a more acceptable perch as (Y/n) groaned and turned in on herself.

“Kochou-sama, Tsuyuri-sama!” two Kakushi called as they emerged from the trees, one cradled (Y/n)’s sword in their arms as they made their hasty approach.

“Oh gods, you again?” One of the Kakushi griped once he caught sight of (Y/n) on the ground. “You aren’t going to fight me when I pick you up again, are you?”

(Y/n) pouted and shook her head slightly, fighting to keep consciousness despite claiming that she was going to sleep.

“Shinobu promised to keep the butterflies away, it’s fine.” She mumbled, forgoing usual formalities that she would normally use in the presence of others.

“What do butterflies have to do with anything?” the other Kakushi wondered aloud, scratching their head with the hilt of (Y/n)’s blade.

“Just ignore her, it’s been a long night and I’d like to get home,” Shinobu waved them off, trying to distract from (Y/n)’s slip of her self proclaimed, ‘most embarrassing secret’.

The gruff Kakushi picked (Y/n) up and with a little help from Kanao, got her slung over his back.

“Ugh, everything hurts. Don’t bounce so much,” (Y/n) whined, her voice muffled by the Kakushi’s back.

“Quit complaining I-“

“Do be gentle with her please,” Shinobu interjected, she gripped the Kakushi’s shoulder and gave him a dazzling smile that shook him to his very core.

“Y-yes ma’am!”

***

(Y/n) awoke several hours later. She was disoriented, but clean and warm in the comfort of the Butterfly Estate’s infirmary.

“(Y/n)-san woke up!” Kiyo exclaimed from (Y/n)’s side, startling the girl from her haze between sleep and wakefulness.

“Hey, Kiyo, how long was I out?” (Y/n) asked the small girl at her bedside who was quickly joined by Naho and Sumi scurrying over from the opposite side of the room.

“You’ve been asleep for over three days since you got back. Shinobu-sama slept a lot too. Not as much as you, but once she had you taken care of she slept almost all day!” Kiyo informed. “It’s been awhile since Shinobu-sama has slept so soundly.”

“I’m glad she’s been resting. That fight was, kind of intense to say the least,” (Y/n) shuddered just thinking about that battle. She was sure she’d be seeing long, whipping tongues, bulbous eyes and razor sharp butterflies in her nightmares from now on. She needed to become even stronger. “Has Kochou-sama said anything about when my recovery training will begin to you girls?”

“Hmmm no,” Sumi shook her head.

“She just asked to make sure you don’t leave your cot and to call for her if your condition worsened.” Naho supplied.

“You are in no shape to even think about recovery training right now.”

Everyone jumped and turned to the door, observing Shinobu as she crossed the threshold into the infirmary. The younger girls parted for Shinobu, the Hashira took ahold of (Y/n)’s chin and jaw in one hand and gently turned it this way and that to check the cuts and bruises that marred the slayer’s face. She released a quiet, satisfactory hum seeing that nothing appeared infected. As she continued her evaluation, she continued to speak, “Your body has been through a considerable amount of stress to say the least. The way I see it, you’ll be out of commission for a couple months at the very least.”

“A couple months? But—!”

“Shhh,” Shinobu adjusted her hand to cover (Y/n)’s lips and stifle her protests. “I will hear no ‘buts’ about it. This is not up for debate. Now you will not leave this bed until I have personally cleared you to do so. Have I made myself clear?” Shinobu’s eyes stare relentlessly into (Y/n)’s, almost threateningly so, as she slides her hand to rest on the bedridden slayer’s shoulder, awaiting an answer.

“Crystal clear,” (Y/n) squeaked, trying to sink further into the bed. Shinobu squeezed their shoulder gingerly before withdrawing her hand completely with a satisfied smile.

“I’m glad you understand,” Shinobu hummed approvingly. “Now, you must be hungry. Girls,” she turned to Sumi, Kiyo and Naho, “see if Aoi needs help with dinner, please.”

“Yes, Shinobu-sama!” the girls nodded vigorously, waving goodbye before disappearing out of the room and down the hall with the soft thuds of tiny feet on wood.

“Can you tell me how you’re feeling?” Shinobu asked, directing her attention back to (Y/n).

“Hmm? Oh, I’m okay. Just, tired. Sore.” (Y/n) startled a bit, hoping it hadn’t been too obvious that she had been staring at Shinobu while the youngest girls of the estate took their leave.

“I see,” Shinobu hummed, setting herself to sit on the edge of the bed, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” (Y/n) flexed her ankle, hitting her foot against Shinobu’s side, “I wish you would believe me when I say that.”

“It’s hard to argue the contrary. I did take you away from the Wisteria House after all. As shoddy as the building is, at least the wisteria would have kept you safe.”

(Y/n) moved to kick at Shinobu again, but the Hashira blocked the foot, leveling a warning glance at the bedridden slayer.

“You know, I was really surprised when you came.” (Y/n) admitted, turning to look out the window. She flinched when she noticed the butterfly on the other side, but kept her eyes on it, watching. “It made me really happy, actually.”

Shinobu blinked, unsure of how to proceed. She didn’t need to however as (Y/n) kept talking.

“I had been looking for an excuse to come by, to visit. I didn’t know what you’d think. I thought that you were just fine with being pen pals and me showing up would be weird, and then I thought about the butterflies and I just lost my nerve every time I thought about it. And then I got hurt again and I thought the letter I had Hisa-san write would be good enough for you, but you came to see me for yourself,” (Y/n) paused and gulped nervously, still watching the butterfly as it was joined by another.

“I’m rambling, aren’t I? I just wanted to tell you that it meant a lot that you would take time to come look after me when your so busy. Even when it got dangerous, I can’t say that I regretted it because I was just happy to be with you— Eep!”

Shinobu moved from her perch at the end of the bed to lay over (Y/n)’s body, her face hidden in (Y/n)’s neck.

“Shinobu!”

(Y/n) felt rumblings over her neck and chest growing in intensity and although it hurt, she smiled brightly as Shinobu’s laughter racked her body.

“Thank you.” Shinobu chuckled once she had reined in her laughter. “That was very sweet of you to say. Aren’t you embarrassed to speak so candidly?”

“Should I be?” (Y/n) asked, nervously. “Oh gods, I didn’t read this wrong, did I?”

Shinobu rose herself to rest on her elbow, her other hand raised to silence the girl below her before her second guessing got too out of hand and tapped her nose playfully. The action drawing (Y/n)’s up to Shinobu’s filled with mirth and warmth.

“You have nothing to worry about. Relax, don’t over exert yourself.”

“So, you...?”

“Mhmmm,” Shinobu smiled, curing a lock of (Y/n)’s hair between her fingers, “so don’t stress. After all, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other while you heal over the next few months. And then, once you heal and are able to take on missions again, maybe you won’t have to think twice about coming over for a visit, hm?”

“I- I suppose not.” (Y/n) smiled bashfully at the butterfly goddess above her.

“Shinobu-sama, you’re going to crush her!”

Shinobu and (Y/n) whipped their heads to the door where Aoi, Kanao, and three mildly concerned young girls stood with food trays in hand.

“My, I’m not that heavy am I? Choose your answer wisely,” Shinobu cocked her head playfully in (Y/n)’s direction, watching her shake her head and laugh.

“Not at all my lady. No more heavy than a blanket really.”

“Ugh, is this what I’m going to have to put up with now?” Aoi groaned and rolled her eyes, placing a tray on the nightstand beside (Y/n)’s bed while fighting the smile that threatened to tug at her lips.

Aoi watched as the younger girls cheered and giggled, crawling on to the bed to chatter on about anything that came to mind as they ate their own dinners. Even Kanao had pulled up a chair, a relaxed smile on her face. Aoi begrudgingly pulled up her own chair, basking in the warmth of the moment despite the strange seating accommodations that certainly weren’t befitting of a proper dinner.

“So annoying.”

#kny oneshots #kny x reader #demon slayer oneshots #demon slayer x reader #shinobu x reader #shinobu kochou x reader #shinobu kocho x reader

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ultraintrovertedgryffindor · 3 years

Text

WPP - Kenny (We’re The Millers)

This has been sitting in my drafts for months and I was struggling to finish it, but, a bright light ascended from the heavens, in the form of an angel, and that angel’s name is @gladerscake

Big thanks to them for helping me out and finishing this imagine. Go follow them and give all the love and support you can muster!

~~~~~~~~~~

Being in the witness protection program was...interesting.

It definitely was not what you were expecting, but then again, you didn’t know helping out a person you cared about would get you involved in a murder, yet here you are.

You had to leave everything behind, not that you had that much of a life to begin with, but it was comfortable. Now, everything was different. New home in a new state, even a new last name. Thankfully, you got to keep your first name, you were grateful for that at least.

You were surprised to find the most annoying thing was the neighbourhood that the program placed you in. It’s like it was made for Mormons or something, your neighbours were too nice, at least the house to the right of yours. You didn’t really know who lived in the house to the left, working from home had the benefit of never going outside and the only reason you knew who lived to your right was cause those neighbours were the type of people to introduce themselves.

Yuck.

But still, you couldn’t help but be a little curious.

You did know, however, that they had only recently moved in since the one morning truck woke up before your alarm rang that morning. You were grouchy the rest of the day, thus you’ve been slightly petty towards your “new” neighbours since then. You definitely needed to work on your attitude...one day.

After being inside your house for more than a week, you decided you wanted some vitamin D, which you rarely ever did so you must’ve been seriously deprived.

You walked out of the door leading to the backyard with a book in hand, frowning when you saw how overgrown the grass was from your laziness. You told yourself you’d do it later, and by later you meant you would mow your yard when you started to hate yourself enough to the point where you felt too guilty leaving it alone.

You huffed as you sat in one of your lawn chairs that you bought when you moved in, lying to yourself that you were going to spend more time outside when you knew you wouldn’t. A first for everything, you supposed.

A few chapters in, you heard a door open and shut in your neighbour’s backyard, but you thought nothing of it, almost too entranced in your book.

You smiled to yourself when you started to hear 1990s R&B playing softly, not your cup of tea but you enjoyed it occasionally. Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls had just started playing when you heard the neighbour’s back door slammed. “Dude, turn that shit off! You’ve been playing that song constantly and I’m actually getting sick of it. God.” You heard an angsty female voice.

Oh no...you lived next a family.

“Hey!”

You flinched, noticing a blonde girl was talking you. “Uh, hey?” You slowly closed your book, reluctantly walking over to the fence separating the backyards when the girl motioned you over.

“Haven’t seen you around before, just move in?” She asked, smirking slightly, looking you up and down.

You mocked her smirk, not liking the almost condescending look she was giving you. “No, been here for awhile. That’s how I know you’ve only just moved in a few weeks ago.”

The girl’s smirk only grew. “What’s your name?”

“Y/N. Yours?”

“Casey, and that loser is Kenny.” She pointed to the table behind her, seeing a blonde boy sitting somewhat dejectedly in one of the chairs fiddling with a small CD player. “Hey, TLC, get over here!” The boy looked to Casey with a panicked expression, visibly looking like he wasn’t sure if the girl meant it or not. She rolled her eyes, “Come on, dude!”

The boy nodded, frantically walking away to join Casey at the fence. “Hey.” He stuttered, blushing when he noticed your eyes on him.

Casey rolled her eyes yet again. “Yeah, this is Kenny.”

Kenny waved quite adorably, giving you a tight lipped smile. “Did you just move in?”

“No, I-”

“We’ve already had this talk, she’s been here longer than we have.” Casey interrupted, making your blood boil a little bit, her attitude almost worse than yours.

Kenny frowned slightly, but covered it up with a smile. “Oh.”

“Yep. We’ve already become besties.” You said sarcastically, grinning widely, making Kenny genuinely smile a little.

“Kids!” A middle aged man with a stupid haircut, to you anyway, walked over with hesitant look on his face. “Who’s this?”

“Y/N, your neighbour that’s lived here longer than you have. Saved you the trouble of telling him yourself, Casey.” You sneered.

“Oh. Well, I’m David and we’re the Millers! My wife, Sarah, is at the market right now, but I’m sure she’d be glad to meet you sometime.” He smiled widely, making you uncomfortable.

“Uh, dad, chill out. You’re gonna scare away the only girl I find suitable to be friends with in this shit neighbourhood.” Casey whispered harshly.

You didn’t really want to be friends with Casey, you never really got along with girls. Clearly, reading outside was a bad choice...

“Ha ha, if you sass me one more time today, you will be grounded young lady.” David forced another smile.

“Uh, Dad...”

“Shut up, Kenny.”

You quickly realized where the Kenny kid was in the family food chain. It was a shame, the dude was pretty easy on the eyes and seemed nice from what you’ve seen. “Look, I’m just gonna go. Nice meeting you fine folks...” You waved awkwardly, turning around and practically speed walking inside your house.

Well, that was fun...never going outside ever again.

The overall encounter put you in a sour mood, so when the doorbell rang you prayed to god that it wasn’t the yearly check in with law enforcement cause you’d probably get yourself in trouble with that attitude of yours.

You were mildly shocked to see that awkward Kenny guy outside your door, his eyes trained on his feet before you opened the door. “Kenny Miller, right?”

“Uh...yeah, Miller. Uh, I just want to apologize for my, uh, family’s behavior. They don’t have the best of manners, but they’re good people, I swear!” He ranted at such a quick pace that it almost flew right over your head. “So, yeah, sorry.”

You chuckled at his nervousness. “You don’t have to be sorry, especially on the behalf of your family. They don’t seem like the type to appreciate it anyway.”

His eyes widened, holding up his hands and shaking his head. “No, no, no, it’s not like that! They, uh, appreciate me.” You kept your mouth shut, giving him a sympathetic look with a soft smile. He sighed. “It’s that obvious, huh?”

“To me, it is. I’ve been in that situation before, so it’s not that hard to notice.”

“Oh...well, they can be nice sometimes I guess.”

“I hope so. Well, it was nice to meet you, Kenny.” You stuck your hand out, smiling when he hesitated but shook your outstretched hand gently.

A week later, you and Kenny actually became friends despite the two of you being almost complete opposites. He was able to poke through your cynical exterior, which was extremely rare for someone to do. He made you laugh, smile, and actually enjoy life when you were with him. You didn’t like it at first, but his adorkable personality won you over.

Kenny was more than overjoyed, he finally had a friend, not one out of pity anyway. The first time you two had hung out, he came “home” with a huge grin on his face. Of course, Casey had to tease him about it all the time.

“I still don’t understand how she can be friends with that loser and not me!” Casey ranted. “It doesn’t make sense!”

“Casey, stop calling Kenny a loser, please.” Sarah sighed, tapping away on her keyboard.

As soon as Sarah said that, Kenny walked through the door with another grin on his face. “Hey, Ma!”

“You don’t have to call me that here, hon.” Sarah voiced, shutting her laptop and walking out of the kitchen, but she smiled to herself.

“Pop your cherry yet?” Casey smirked evilly.

Kenny immediately blushed. “I told you, we’re just friends...”

She rolled her eyes. “You obviously want to be more than just friends with her. You should just ask her out and get it over with.”

“But...Melissa...”

Casey huffed loudly. “Dude, I already told you, she’s probably moved on by now. She was a total babe, she can and probably has done way better than you.”

“Hey...” Kenny frowned, to which Casey just shrugged, her eyes training back to her phone. He sighed as he sat down across from his “sister.” “I do like her...but I don’t know how to bring it up. I’m awful at talking to girls about...that kind of stuff.”

Casey snorted. “Yeah, no kidding.” But she dropped her amused smirk when she saw Kenny glaring. “Sorry, sorry.” She sassed. “I mean, it did work out with the ginger to be fair, but we have to stay in this shithole until further notice. But I really do think you should shoot your shot with what’s her name.”

Kenny rolled his eyes. “Y/N.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just-”

“That girl is bad news.” David suddenly voiced, walking into the kitchen.

“What do you mean by that?” Casey asked.

“Uh, hello? Pay attention to your surroundings instead of that stupid phone of yours to see that we are in witness protection. We can’t trust any of these creepy neighbours.”

“Uh, I think you’re a tad bit paranoid, father dearest.”

“Y/N’s really cool though!” Kenny expressed.

David rolled his eyes. “But we don’t really know her, we don’t know if she’s a snitch or something.”

Casey laughed. “Wow, you really are paranoid, dude.”

“Ha ha, very funny, just go to your room and listen to your Metallicas and AC/DCs.”

Casey’s face contorted into a disgusted scowl. “I don’t listen to that garbage.”

“Shut up.” David simply replied, making Casey stand up and storm out of the room and up the stairs. “Look, Ken, I get you like this girl, but you need to be careful. Don’t say things you shouldn’t and all that. You have a tendency to not know when to shut your mouth. So, don’t do that, kay?”

Kenny nodded curtly, avoiding David’s eyes as he felt his face heat up in slight anger. He knew he had some...issues with keeping his mouth shut about things that should be kept a secret, but he grew up, right? He’s not as naïve as he was before they went to Mexico, but his “family” still treated him like he was five. Plus, he knew you weren’t the type to be a snitch.

While Kenny was dealing with feeling underappreciated, you were having your own set of issues to handle. Today was the day for a check up with law enforcement to make sure you were on your best behavior. You always were, but it still made you anxious to no end. And you prayed that Kenny wouldn’t rush in to your house like he got into the habit of doing when you were interrogated.

Of course, that didn’t happen.

“For fuck’s sake...” You muttered under your breath when you saw Kenny’s shocked and scared face when he saw you sitting with a couple local police officers.

On your end, it just looked like he was scared of police officers. But Kenny’s mind immediately went haywire, thinking that you called them over to investigate them even though the police were already informed of “the Millers” situation.

“Kenny, now’s not a good time.” You sighed.

“No, no, it’s okay.” The police officer in front of you said. “We’re done here anyway.” He walked out of your house with his partner, leaving you and Kenny in an awkward silence.

“What was that all about?” Kenny asked, not being able to control the bitter tone in his voice. “Did you think we’re that bad or something?”

“Kenny, I-”

“We’ve been doing really well here!” Kenny interrupted. “No problems with anybody, been on our best behavior.”

“Kenny.”

“I don’t wanna go to jail. I can’t go to jail. We’ve only been here for a couple months.”

“Kenny, stop!” You finally yelled, losing your temper. “They were here to check up on me, for fuck’s sake.”

Kenny’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but still had a slight expression of panic. “Here for you? B-But-”

“I’m in witness protection, you dweeb, same as you.”

“Oh...Wait, how did you know I’m in witness protection?”

“Your family,” You finger quoted, “looks nothing like you. All of you don’t look anything alike. How paranoid and secretive that David is, it wasn’t too hard to put things together. You rambling off like an absolute moron a minute ago just reaffirmed my theory.”

Kenny frowned. “Dang, I thought I had worked on that.”

You smiled slightly. “It’s alright, Ken. I’m no snitch, and I’m not very judgmental about someone’s past. What did you even do though? You’re definitely not the type to break the law.” You chuckled.

“Oh, well, we kinda smuggled some drugs across the Mexican border.” He stuttered.

“Holy shit, dude! That’s sick! What was it? Was it coke?” You grinned, eager to learn.

Kenny blinked at your excitement, but obliged to all your questions, sitting down next to you. “No, it was marijuana.”

Your face slightly dropped in excitement. “Oh. I really think weed should be legal. It’s stupid, it’s not even a hard drug.”

“Well, we’re lucky we even made it out alive. But what did you go through to get yourself here?”

Now, you definitely didn’t judge past crimes of others, if they’ve atoned for it and changed that is, but you had no idea if Kenny would judge you. You actually found yourself not wanting him to look at you in a different light, and you’ve never felt that way before.

Kenny seemed perfectly sweet, almost too sweet to judge anyone, but on the other hand...the stuff that had landed you in the program was definitely heavier than some weed smuggling.

Maybe it would be too much for him. Maybe it would be best to just make something up, something less horrible, something he wouldn’t be too shocked by. As tempting as that route felt, the idea of lying to him weirdly didn’t sit well with you, though.

Kenny was quick to notice the lengthy pause that followed his question, as well as the way your shoulders tensed and your eyes averted to the parquet floor. Oh no. Had he pried into something too personal? Was he an idiot for asking?

“Oh, um...you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to!” Kenny hurried to assure you, slight panic beginning to etch his bluish-green eyes, his fists clenching and unclenching involuntarily. “I was just curious, is all! I’m sorry if it’s too persona-“

“It’s okay!” To his surprise, you pulled on a tight-lipped smile, giving him a look as nonchalant as you could manage at the moment. “Really, you don’t have to apologize for asking. Plus, you already told me about your thing, so...” You trailed off, softly, wondering how to proceed.

As much as you resented the thought of Kenny seeing you differently, you decided even that unpleasant outcome would still be better than lying to him. You’d rather not. You liked Kenny. Despite not having spent a tremendous amount of time together, you could tell he was a genuinely good person, and you definitely enjoyed his company. Not to mention, it would be a blatant lie if you said you weren’t at all attracted to him.

Casey may have spent most of their interactions calling him a “loser” in some form or another, but you couldn’t be farther away from agreeing with her. A part of you was positively annoyed with the way she treated him. Then again, taste is subjective. It wasn’t Casey’s fault if she didn’t have a good sense of it.

With a deep intake of air, you nervously flipped a loose strand of hair over your shoulder, still avoiding direct eye-contact with Kenny. “I, uh...It’s a rough one, really. And kind of a long story. I wouldn’t wanna dump something like that on you, if you’d rather not hear it”

He tentatively pursed his plump lips, but nonetheless nodded for you to keep going. “I’m sure I can handle it! Whatever it is, I’m not gonna judge you, Y/N. I promise!”

Promise, huh? Guess you were going to have to see about that.

Trying to ignore the rapidly increasing pace of your heart and slight tremble in your fingers, you began your story.

You didn’t want to go into too much detail, for the fear of oversharing, but you did tell him as much as you felt you could. About how you used to have a friend...a pretty close friend, who you cared about a great deal, who had always been kind and generous, alas, a bit of a troublemaker.

About how she had fallen in with the wrong crowd, something you admittedly failed to see coming. How that crowd turned out to be a notoriously vicious gang that had it out for some other poor girl, who had apparently slept with one of the gang leaders’ boyfriend without realizing it.

How that gang, your friend included, lured her onto a rooftop to “fuck with her” and “teach her a lesson.” Only that night, they went too far and ended up pushing her off. The girl died instantly, and due to the heaping pile of evidence, it wasn’t a particularly long investigation. Almost everyone involved were arrested shortly after, and you, having been brought in as one of the witnesses, had a choice whether you wanted to testify against your friend or not.

At first you weren’t sure if you wanted to do that and make matters worse for her. However, after some much-needed reflection and consideration, you decided it would be the right thing to do. Someone had died, and your friend played a part in it. You couldn’t turn a blind eye to something that big simply because you two were close.

Your friend was put away, along with several other gang members. Still, quite a few of them were still out there, and they definitely seemed like the type to hold serious grudges. You were no longer safe at your former home, and now...well, there you where.

Kenny listened intently all the while, not once daring to interrupt, not even to ask a question. By the way your breathing had hitched and your lips had stuttered at certain parts, he could tell how hard that must’ve been for you to go through in the first place, and how unsettling it was for you to revisit those moments in order to share your story with him.

You didn’t notice, but as you were nearing the end, Kenny had inched to sit closer to you, his large hand carefully landing on your shoulder with a soft but warm-hearted squeeze. He had briefly hesitated in making that move, but the need to offer you comfort and reassurance overpowered his nervousness. His only hope was that you wouldn’t flinch at his touch, and so he felt a huge wave of relief wash over him when you did no such thing.

“So...that’s about it. Sorry, I know it’s a fucking bummer story, compared to your weed smuggling adventure.” You attempted a chuckle, only it came out as more of a sad scoff.

Your heart was still pounding and you were still reluctant to look up at him. Although, as you finally noticed Kenny’s warm hand gently squeezing your shoulder, you felt a soothing brush of comfort spread through your limbs, and you couldn’t deny how nice it felt.

“Whoa...that’s...I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” Kenny frowned, unsure of what the right thing to say could be.

“It’s okay, really. I’ve had some time to process it and move on. Well...not completely, but I’d say I’m doing much better now.”

Kenny went silent for a minute, clearly still digesting the information, and the worries you had about him looking at you differently came back in full force. You opened your mouth to ask him about it, but he beat you by a millisecond, speaking first. “Why...why were you so nervous about telling me?”

So he had noticed. Figures. The art of the poker face wasn’t something you’d ever truly mastered. It sometimes annoyed you how easy your anxious state was to spot, but there wasn’t much you could do about that.

“I don’t know, I...I guess I didn’t want you to see me as a snitch or judge me-“

“Judge you?” Kenny interrupted, sounding confused about the mere insinuation. “For what, not sticking up for your friend when she had got herself involved in a murder?”

“I mean, she was still my friend, so...”

“So what? That doesn’t change the fact that she got in the middle of something so horrible, that could’ve been avoided, if she had paid more attention to who she hung around.”

You couldn’t say you had expected that. It was almost weird hearing Kenny talk that way, but you were definitely relieved to hear where he so firmly stood in regards to the whole “judging you” idea.

You bit your bottom lip in agitation as a thought you had been wrestling with for a while creeped its way into your mind again. “Sometimes I feel like maybe I could’ve done something...could’ve checked up on her more or somehow stopped her from hanging out with them...maybe I could’ve kept her from having anything to do with it.” Your voice grew quieter, sounding barely above a whisper as guilt flashed through your eyes, your muscles tensing, uneasily, at the thought. Kenny was immediately closer, his arm wrapping around you, as if trying to shelter you from your own thoughts.

“Come on, don’t do that to yourself, Y/N. You can’t control the actions of others, not even your friends. Least of all your friends, probably.”

You allowed a small smile to touch the corner of your lips as you instinctively leaned into Kenny, his closeness calming you, his soft reassurances shushing the self-deprecating thoughts he could sense looming over you.

“Yeah, you’re right, I guess. I just try not to think about it often, it really sucks diving into that stuff.”

“Of course it sucks. I just hope you know that none of it was even a little bit your fault. From what I can tell after spending some time with you...you’re a really good person, Y/N.”

You looked up at him, noting the way your faces were only a few inches apart by that point. The close proximity brought a rosy tinge to your cheeks. “You think so?”

“I do! Why wouldn’t I? You’re smart, you’re funny when you want to be, you’re great to be around, and heck, you’re one of the very few people I know who doesn’t make me feel like I’m constantly doing something wrong.”

Hearing that made you simultaneously happy and sad. With the way Kenny’s “family” treated him almost around the clock, it was no wonder he felt that way. You wished he didn’t have to. You believed someone as wonderful as him deserved so much better. If only he had at least one person close to him who would tell him how much better he was than most guys out there, how anyone should be lucky to call him a friend... or maybe more than just a friend.

In that moment, you found yourself thinking what it would be like if you were that person. You imagined it would feel the same way it always did when you were around Kenny, only better. In all honesty, you couldn’t find a single reason not to try. What harm was there in trying? Oh, that’s right...something could go badly wrong, and then whatever friendship you had with him would be in shambles.

That’s what the pessimistic side of you thought about it. But the other side, the more hopeful and affectionate side, had other ideas.

Even though you and Kenny were brought into the witness protection program by very different circumstances, you were still in it together. You didn’t have to hide your true identities or your past, at least not from each other. That had to count for something, right?

While you were taking a second to collect your thoughts, Kenny was facing some inner turmoil of his own. With the newfound closeness of the two of you, his cheeks were positively crimson, his pulse quickening, heart thumping against his rib cage. Any doubts he’d had about whether or not he wanted to ask you out had vanished - he absolutely wanted to do that. But how? When? Would now be a good time? He wasn’t sure. Yet, he was very aware of the fact that if he were to lean in just a little bit closer, he could just kiss you right then and there...

Kenny briefly remembered David’s “count to three” method, but for some reason it didn’t feel right to use. Not with you, not like that. All he wanted was to just go with the feeling, and that feeling was beckoning him to your lips.

Oh, screw it. If you were to push him away, so be it. He would probably die a little inside and never attempt to do anything like that ever again, but at least he would know your immediate answer.

“Kenny...?”

Your soft questioning voice reached his ears as his gaze trailed over your delicate face, taking in every feature, and with a soft but resolute breath, he leaned in.

Your eyes went wide when Kenny’s lips landed on yours. You froze for a second, not knowing what to do. Luckily, your instantly skipping heart gave you the hint you needed to flutter your eyes closed and melt into it.

He kissed you so gently, so carefully, but not like he was afraid of scaring you away. More like he wanted you feel completely safe and give you every chance to stop it the second you wanted to.

You didn’t.

Instead, you wrapped an arm around his neck, your fingertips brushing the ends of his short sandy hair, your lips moving seamlessly and warmly against his own.

Kenny couldn’t believe you were actually kissing him back, but damn, he was thrilled that you were. He felt the affection in him surge as the softness of your lips put his mind in a haze. His hand timidly slid down to your waist, bringing you closer to him, and you willingly went, deepening the kiss as you did.

After a few blissful moments you finally broke away from his lips, your noses nearly brushing each other as you looked up at him through glimmering eyes. “I was almost convinced I would have to do that myself...”

Kenny breathed a soft chuckle, not taking his gaze off of yours. “To be honest, so was I...”

You grinned at his burning cheeks, releasing a light chuckle of your own before reconnecting your lips for another kiss, swallowing the muted grunt that rumbled from Kenny’s throat.

Things were going to get better now. For both of you, you were sure of it. Kenny was finally going to have someone who would show him what it’s like to be truly wanted and appreciated, and you were going to have someone who wouldn’t dream of hurting you and who you knew would always do his best to understand you, give you everything he could give.

Maybe this whole witness protection program thing wouldn’t be such a tedious affair, after all.

~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks again for helping me @gladerscake , you’re the sweetest ❤

#we're the millers #kenny miller #kenny miller x reader #kenny miller imagine

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ramblingsekai · 2 years

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So I’ve had an AU idea that I’ve been sitting on for awhile. I’ve tried writing a few drafts for it, but I always ended up deleting the post bc I could never quite get what I wanted. But I wanted to pose a question of, what if you had taken the left path instead of the right? Or as I’ll call this AU, the Left Path AU.

I only really have like ideas for this AU for 3 groups: MMJ, VBS, and 25ji. I know I know, my bias is showing, but they’re the ones I know the best. So here’s Part 1 of the Left Path AU. (I was originally gonna do all the groups but the 25ji one is just getting so long I have to divide it again).

Anyways, with 25ji, I want to see the possibility, what if Kanade had gone to school instead of being homeschooled? Kanade’s grandma convinces her that she has to go to normal school so that she can get some social skills as well as trying to make sure Kanade lives a somewhat normal life (spoiler she does not). Honami still checks up on her as a housekeeper though bc let’s face it, Kanade is a mess. And this path further divides bc I’m conflicted on whether if Kanade would go to Miya or Kamiyama. I think she would go to Kamiyama since I think Miya is a private girls school which costs more money and idk how much money Kanade’s grandma has since she’s paying for Kanade’s living conditions and her dad’s hospital bills probably.

Kamiyama route: so Kanade would probably be a 2nd year at the start of the story. She wouldn’t probably talk to her classmates much so she’s labelled a loner. Idk if people would think she’s a jerk like they did with Shiho but I’d guess that people would just leave her alone. I think Kanade would also go to school consistently. Maybe not all the time, but more than Mizuki at least. She doesn’t seem to neglect her studies while being homeschooled so I think that Kanade would go enough times to be an alright student and makes sure to study enough to get good grades. But she would absolutely be writing notes about songs and other things during class and outside of class at school. (takes place 1st year b4 story) Rui might find her interesting since I think that Kanade would work on her music at school too when she has time and he hears it one day and tries to talk to her after noticing her demeanor. He sees the look in her eyes (similar to Mizuki’s back then) and probably tries to be nice to her, make sure she’s not too lonely, etc. At first Kanade would try to brush him off, but I think that she’d eventually open up to him after she sees he’s not trying to be mean and is trying to be helpful. On the other hand, I think it’d be interesting if Kanade disliked Tsukasa at first (and then this would change post main story with Tsukasa eventually apologizing to Kanade after Rui tells him why Kanade avoids him). Kanade wouldn’t try to keep her musical abilities a secret so Tsukasa hears her singing and the songs she’s working on. Tsukasa would be amazed at her musical ability (and jealous maybe at her natural talents) and try to get her to help him. The thing is, this is pre-character development Tsukasa so he’s asking all of this from a purely selfish perspective and tries to do this just to elevate himself. At this point of time as well, I think Kanade is already working with Mafuyu/Yuki so Kanade would probably reject the notion since she doesn’t need anything he has really (music-wise I mean) and I think Kanade would notice after all that Tsukasa is doing all this for himself. Their interests wouldn’t align (she wants to save people w/ her music vs he wants to be THE star). So Tsukasa would basically try to hound Kanade and Kanade keeps avoiding him. By the second year, she’s gotten good at it. Also by this year we get the other Kamiyama students we know. I don’t think she’d interact much with Akito/Toya/Nene. With An, I think that she notices how An is actually able to stand up to Tsukasa and Rui as a disciplinary committee member so maybe she just talks to An and tattles about Tsukasa every once in awhile. Or maybe she hears An singing one day and the passion in it. So they talk about music, give advice to each other about singing, and so on. An has shown that she is actually pretty considerate and observant so she tends to seek out Kanade as well bc she wants to try to cheer up Kanade and help her out somewhat. And then Mizuki. I’m not completely sure if Kanade had recruited Ena and Mizuki, but I’m gonna assume that by the time Mizuki arrives at Kamiyama, they’re all together already. So maybe bc of Rui, maybe Mizuki hears about this loner girl who is good at music and they end up bumping into each other at some point. And then Mizuki recognizes Kanade’s voice and realizes she’s K. So they end up talking more and being friendly. At first, Mizuki tries to distance herself from K bc they are scared of Kanade’s reaction to the rumors about them, but I think Kanade would sit Mizuki down and tell them that the rumors don’t matter and that they’ll always be friends. So the ultimate change would be the closer friendship between Kanade and Mizuki since Kanade would know about Mizuki’s secret. Maybe Mizuki shows up to school more now that they know they have a close friend in Kanade. Maybe Kanade opens up more to Mizuki. (I think this all gradually happens and even extends to past the main story and to events). Now I know, Ena also goes to Kamiyama, but she never really shows up during the day bc of her night classes, so I don’t think Ena would find out about Kanade earlier than the normal story. The thing I wonder about is if Ena and Mizuki’s relationship also change as a result of Mizuki’s closeness to Kanade since Mizuki may not feel as scared around Ena finding out about Mizuki’s secret if Kanade already knows. So I think Kanade/Ena/Mizuki might end up closer as a result of this path, but I wonder about Mafuyu. I have no idea. I think things would ultimately remain the same with Mafuyu, but maybe at some point she ends up feeling envy(?) bc of the closeness btwn the other 3, which would later get addressed and they all assure her that she’s just as important. So this then leads to the other path.

Miya: what if Kanade goes to Miya? Kanade’s grandma splurges and decides to try to get Kanade to a good school so she can excel. Who knows, maybe Miya would have a good music program or club or something so that Kanade can join that maybe. I say maybe bc I have no idea if Kanade would bother to do that. She’d honestly just be a loner again, but I think that bc Miya is a private school (more expensive) she’d skip classes less since I think Kanade would feel guilty if she did since her grandma paid more for her to be there. She’d be a second year ofc, but the biggest change would be her relationship with Mafuyu. Assuming that Kanade and Mafuyu are the same year, I think that eventually they would encounter each other. I think they met online sometime after the start of their first year so that probably still happens. But after they do start working together some more, I think that they would eventually recognize each other’s voices. Maybe Kanade notices Mafuyu’s voice first since Kanade is probably a loner who doesn’t talk much and one day she goes up to Mafuyu and asks “Yuki?”. Now this would catch Mafuyu really off guard since only one person would know that name and then after hearing Kanade say that she would realize that K is standing in front of her. At first I think that they wouldn’t interact much after realizing they go to the same school, but Mafuyu ends up noticing Kanade more and more after realizing who she is. Kanade would be the complete opposite of Mafuyu and Mafuyu realizes this. But I think after awhile, Mafuyu just ends up gravitating towards Kanade after seeing how lonely Kanade is. Kanade realizes that she’s seeing Mafuyu more and more and well they just end up close. Now I don’t think Kanade realizes that Mafuyu is faking her smiles until the main story happens, but I do think that Kanade opens up to Mafuyu earlier and reveals her past. Mafuyu sees the despair and other emotions in Kanade and maybe starts subconsciously bonding with her more afterwards since she knows that Kanade is similar to her. And after the main story, they get closer. Mafuyu starts dropping the mask around Kanade more and Kanade pays attention to Mafuyu more closely. Maybe tries to swoop in to help when she notices Mafuyu is getting pressured to help by students and teachers. Kanade I guess just being around more for Mafuyu so that she can be herself more often. Maybe Kanade even tags along to Mafuyu’s archery practice every once in awhile to see how Mafuyu is doing and just observing her mindset. Also bc it would cause her to interact with Shizuku somewhat. Another thing is that after they reach their 2nd year, Kanade also probably hangs out with Honami sometimes. Eventually after the main story for L/n, Honami introduces her to the rest of L/n and they bond over music too. And Ichika gets to meet Kanade sooner which is also a plus. But yeah, I guess the biggest change would be that Mafuyu and Kanade end up closer since they get to hang around each other more often.

The ultimate idea with this AU, is also just that Kanade would have more opportunities to interact with her peers and live out her teenage years. At Kamiyama, she ends up helping out at the school festival and talking to her classmates. At Miya, she’d try helping out at the sports festival but would probably end up more in a cheerleader role. It’s just kind of sad to me that Kanade’s teenage years are her ultimately staying cooped up in her house. Plus there’d be more group interactions since the schools are the prime places for that. Anyways, thanks for reading! What are your thoughts? Am I way off base on some stuff?

I’ll get to the other groups too at some point. Note, with MMJ and VBS, they’ll be kinda sad. I started off with 25ji bc this was the one AU idea with positive change since 25ji are really dark already. So instead of doing an angst route, I made a lighter route for them. Bc god do they need something to help for once. With MMJ and VBS, I think that I will also have crossover with the og timeline. So basically the original characters seeing/reacting to what happens in the AU since I think that would be more interesting. Kind of I guess like a Christmas Carol scenario, where the groups end up seeing another possibility and appreciating what they have now. With 25ji we can already imagine what a more depressing scenario would be and we don’t need that and I wouldn’t feel comfortable writing that. And honestly if I had OG 25ji reacting to this AU version of themselves, it’d be even more depressing for them since I made happier-ish versions of themselves. So yeah that’s the idea I have for how I’ll portray the other 2 groups. However, that’s all I’m revealing. I’ll let you guys think about which group member from each group will be the ones who took the left path.

#project sekai #project sekai rambles #25 ji night code de #nightcord at 25:00 #left path au #me making another au #but this is more of a 'what if' scenario #kanade yoisaki

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lemonboyjosten · 2 years

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—tw//health deterioration, mva, depression

wow it's been awhile since it posted anything huh, hi i'm alive. i've got so much to say while i was away. personally, this year has been an extreme struggle for me and i can't express how much i needed this platform to confide in you precious beings. i sincerely hope you all have been well, and those of you who usually hang around in my comment section, i havent forgotten the lot of you. you can stick with me on this rant or choose to scroll away. either way i need to get this out of my chest so to those who have wasted your time reading this, thank you, i appreciate it.

if i calculated right, i've been off social media for give or take, 4 months now. this year started off sluggish for me because i got tested positive for covid early march and being immunodeficient really affected my health which pretty much deteriorated since then, not to mention my already suckish lungs were failing on me. hence, i wasn't able to continue with classes so med school was put on hold and then came the early signs of depression knocking on my door as though it was personally invited. i needed some sense of normalcy so i thought i would be healthy enough to get back to the flow of writing and i was, even had my thought process in order and my tiny lungs even started recovering slowly after a month. so i started writing again and even signed up for the aftg exchange and everything with full confidence that i'll be able to deliver and give back to the fandom. i had the whole draft ready to be proof read and posted, with a few other projects i was working waiting to be published but all that went to hell when i was involved in a motor vehicle accident that day which cost me partial function of my leg.

3 months of physiotherapy helped me recover some of my strength but my ambulatory power has reduced for the time being. to add fuel onto the fire, the accident injured my lungs further and i was unstable for quite a period of time. to say i was devastated would be an understatement , i thought of giving up altogether. plus, i lost my scholarship because i wasnt able sit for my exams due to being absent for many classes and that really brought me down. the thought of being a constant dissapoinment and burden to my family members was something i couldn't process the thought of having failed those who've constantly had hopes for me and that hurt even more. i failed to even to contribute in the fandom after receiving my exchange gift made me feel like shit but then i had the best support during these last few months which helped me get back into shape and the right mindset. they even encouraged me to get back on track, start with your close friends circle, family then on my socials and actively engage with others and as cliche as it may sound, it worked wonders, i'm not even joking.

hell, i thought all my socials would've evaporated but based on the number of interaction i've received despite not showing any signs of life made me so happy. (our tiny not so tiny fandom is throving huh) my irls couldnt care less about my absence but the dms that came in through this account asking about my obsession with a stupid sports/mafia series really brought up my spirits and i will to continue my efforts because apprently it's a way to get rid of thoughts of self harm or loneliness; they say it's some kind of positive reinforcement or something like that. so here i am after months of suffering from hell and back. anywho, that's all for my sob story. i didnt want to go detail into some things but if you're interested to know more,feel free to dm me and i'll be more than happy to talk. here's to hoping 2022 would suck less and i'll have the capacity to write more. i miss you guys so much. either way, get ready for more aftg headcanons and fics coming your way. happy new year lovelies! take care and stay safe:)

#aftg #happy new year fuckers #all for the game

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rukia-writes · 3 years

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✨SNK Daddies x Ghost! Reader✨

✨setting: Modern AU✨

✨Crackfic- A lot of characters are in here too✨

“Why are we here again?”

“Hanji wanted us to try this supposed haunted bar and it’s Hanji’s birthday.”

Erwin responded back to Levi as he knocked back a shot glass full of brandy like it wasn’t anything. Levi rolled his eyes as the table behind him cheered, his uncle and Hanji was the main reason as the two won a drinking game. Mike had just walked into the restaurant as his nose sniffed the air smelling food being cooked, walking up to the bar he sat beside Erwin and ordered himself a drink.

“Hanji’s birthday huh?”

“Mhmm.”

Erwin and Levi hummed in response as they downed another drink, as another round of cheers erupted. As the night went on, more guests arrived such as Moblit, Zeke, Kruger, and Keith Shadis. Soon, everyone had left the restaurant except for Hanji’s guests. It was almost midnight when Hanji managed to get all the equipment needed for tonight, cameras, EMF readers, spirit boxes and monitors the whole nine yards.

“Alright guys, so are you all ready for a lockdown?”

“..Pardon? I thought this was just a party? We are actually staying in this haunted place?”

“Place isn’t haunted.”

Levi added in to Zeke’s surprise, Hanji on the other hand nodded in agreement to Zeke’s questions.

“Yes, until morning. I asked the owner Keith shadis to let us do this for the night, for my birthday.”

“Don’t worry, the ghost is pretty calm. But there have been strange occurrences.”

“Such as?”

Levi asked a relaxed Keith Shadis who sitting at the bar enjoying a drink, Keith only looked up from his drink with a serious expression after finishing his drink.

“You’ll find out.”

Keith simply stated as Hanji then proceeded to setup everything with the help of the guests of course. Hanji was pretty excited for the most part, until Hanji stopped completely at hearing footsteps coming up from behind. A cold chill made Hanji shiver, not from the cold but from excitement.

“What is wrong?”

“I think it’s starting.”

Moblit asked as he watched Hanji get a big smile, and that’s when the clock struck midnight making an eerie “Ding” noise.

“Okay, let’s do the spirit box first-“

Hanji was cut off by Erwin yelling and jumping up from his seat in fright. Scaring everyone there finding out Erwin could scream quite loudly.

“What’s wrong Erwin?”

“...Felt like something grabbed my thigh.”

Erwin huffed with his hand placed on his chest trying to calm his rapidly beating heart, Hanji was quick to move everyone out the way. Placing a hand near Erwin hips then gasping at how cold the air around Erwin was now.

“Amazing.”

“This isn’t a ghost. It’s probably just draft or something.”

Levi tried to reason with Hanji only to hear his uncle cussing up a storm, and with good reason. Kenny’s hat was levitating in mid air, just simply floating. Zeke had seen enough as he was already trying to get out as he twist and turned the door knob trying to open the door but it was locked.

“Open this door. Who has the keys? Because I’m going home-“

At that moment one of Hanji’s spirit boxes picked up a message on the monitor scaring everyone, except levi that said “Home” and then “Handsome.”

“Hanji? What does this mean?”

“It means...I have no clue. What’s your name, spirit? Tell us your name?”

Everyone waited for awhile listening closely only to panic when The EVP monitor screen showed another message saying “(Name)”. Even Shadis was starting to panic as he never knew the spirit’s name that was haunting his restaurant.

“No fucking way. Let me see that.”

Levi grabbed the spirit box making Zeke nervous and everyone else there nervous.

“Okay, (Name)? What’s my name?”

It was quiet for a second or two until another message showed up on the screen “Levi Ackerman”, Everyone started to panic especially when Levi yelled himself and dropped the small spirit box as he had a hold of his ass now. Making Kenny ask worried for his nephew,

“What’s wrong boy?! What the hell is going on?!”

“Something touched me on the ass, I swear.”

Mike and Erwin were at the door trying to open the door as this was too much for them, only to have the lights flicker on and off then it was now Kenny and Kruger’s turn to yell in freight while holding on to their asses. Levi knew that look and asked the two men,

“You too?”

“Yeah.”

“This ghost better stop playing around. I’ll fight it.”

“You can’t fight air Kenny.”

Levi corrected his uncle as Kenny already had his pistol out ready to shoot, that is until the spirit box turned on by itself that was in moblit’s hands. Then quickly saying “Handsome men.”

“No way. No fucking way.”

Levi was now also at the door ready to leave as Moblit was freaking out at the spirit box just turning itself on and speaking.

“Hanji, this place is haunted.”

“I told you it was haunted.”

Hanji replied back while recording the whole thing on several cameras while carrying one, then looking at the spirit box with the camera.

“Who do you think is handsome, (Name)? Who are you attracted to?”

“It’s a spirit Hanji-“

“All of you.”

Everyone screamed as Moblit tossed the spirit box and headed for the door ready to bust it down if need be. Hanji and Kenny then heard the spirit box say “friendly” and even the word was up on the monitor.

��Aww hey guys, I think (Name)’s trying to be friends with us.”

“Well, it’s a bit too damn friendly if you know what I mean. My ass still stings.”

Kenny added in as he rubbed his not caring if anyone sees, Mike walked up to Hanji and leaned speaking directly into the spirit box.

“If you’re friendly, spank my ass.”

“Mike!”

Everyone yelled except for Kenny who was simply looking at Mike like he had lost his mind and when he heard Mike yell and grab his ass Kenny felt his pain. This ghost had a strong hand.

“I say we split up. Maybe there are more spirits here.”

Hanji suggested and being that it was Hanji’s birthday they all agreed. It was now almost three o clock at night as the restaurant was completely dark as the only lights that were that of the bar where shadis was drinking at. Hearing all sorts of screams and yells throughout the night.

(Name) was very active tonight, Shadis had never seen this level paranormal activity before.

Zeke had his ass smacked, Levi had his smacked again, Kenny had his hat float again as well as his gun taken away, Mike had his thighs smacked but he wasn’t phased it was Erwin’s screaming that scared him, Erwin had his ass smacked and he felt a cold gust of wind go down his back, Kruger saw several dark shadows thorougout the restaurant and would also have his thighs rubbed.

Finally, It was three o clock and everyone met back at the bar where shadis was still drinking.

“Have fun?”

“We got all sort of paranormal activity! (Name) tickled me!”

Hanji happily replied back while holding a camera looking back at the footage, everyone seemed to have gotten used to this friendly ghost. Everyone was now sitting around the table with Moblit recording everyone with a Kinect's 3D motion tracking camera, which is able to specifically seek out and read human forms.

“Okay to wrap things up, I think we should ask our new friend some questions and since this is my birthday I’ll go first...how are you today, (Name)? Are you happy?”

Everyone was quiet and waited for (Name) to speak and soon enough (Name) did speak a “Happy” in the spirit box, Moblit began to freak out a bit as the screen showed a figure floating over the table kindly weird like.

“Ask another guys, (Name)’s on the table.”

“Oh, Really?”

Kenny asked intrigued as he started moving his arm all over the place making figure disappear, making Hanji and Moblit mad. Zeke tapped the spirit box a few times like a comedian testing the microphone.

“Are you going to follow us home?”

Everyone was quiet until a “Yes” was heard on the spirit box, Moblit became happy as he saw (Name)’s figure back on the screen. Zeke wasn’t surprised but Mike and Kruger were. Levi on the other hand wasn’t too excited about the news.

“I want to shit in peace, you can’t come home with me.”

Mike busted out laughing even though Levi was serious, Erwin chuckled a bit before he asked his question.

“Is there something we can bring you? To make you happy, (Name)?”

Once again everyone was quiet until a “Everyone...Come back..to see me.”

Everyone “Aww” in unison as Levi felt bad knowing (Name) must’ve meant as a joke about coming home, so Levi decided to ask a question of his own.

“Do you like tea?”

“That’s your question?”

“Hush, bushy brow. (Name) is trying to speak.”

At that moment a “It’s good” came thru the box and Levi made a mental note to bring tea next time, Kenny asked the next question.

“Was that you who was humming when I was upstairs? It was rather nice.”

Everyone was quiet until a “Yes” came thru, making Kenny “Ha, I knew it.” As he downed a shot glass full of alcohol. Levi thought Kenny was hearing things when the two were upstairs, chopping it up to Kenny’s hearing going out. Kruger was next to ask a question,

“Are you the one who took my cigarettes?”

“Yours came up missing too? I thought i just misplaced mine.”

Zeke added in as he patted his pants pockets knowing full well he came in with a pack of cigarettes, a “Yes.” Came thru the box making Zeke and Kruger pout a bit until Mike leaned towards the spirit box even though it wasn’t necessary.

“Was that you who touched my ass when we were upstairs?”

Everyone was silent until a “No..Not me.” Came thru the spirit box surprising Mike quite a bit as he was positive that it was (Name) until he heard someone clear their throat.

“Sorry, that was me Mike. I couldn’t see in the dark and um.. it was me. Wasn’t (Name).”

Erwin scratched his neck while blushing a bit, Kenny started laughing until Levi elbowed his uncle in the rib cage. Hanji and Moblit were holding in their chuckle as Mike simply said “Oh, that’s okay.” While scratching his neck as well. Time went on and everyone stayed up until the sun came up as lockdown was now over.

While lock down was over everyone came back to the restaurant, (Name)’s presence was still there and everyone from that night could feel it.

(Name) had a unique touch.

✨Rukia-Writes✨

#the snk daddies x reader

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puckmeupfam · 4 years

Text

Emotion | Andre Burakovsky

Word Count: 3064 Note: I’m a sucker for soulmate AUs and this has been in my head for awhile. Excuse any spelling/grammar errors because I barely edited it. Sorry I couldn’t find a way to include Burky getting into a random car thinking it was his Uber or Backy calling him his “baby boy.”

Growing up, no matter how confusing everything else seemed to be, you knew one thing for certain: everyone had a soulmate. You could purposefully communicate with your soulmate no matter how far away they were and any especially strong emotions were shared whether you wanted them to be or not. There were some rules that had always seemed rather nitpicky to you. You couldn’t communicate where in the world you were, or your full name, or anything too identifiable. But other than that, the whole thing always seemed amazing to you - there was someone out there who you would know better than you knew yourself, someone meant for you.

There was one major problem in your personal circumstance. Your soulmate was much, much further away than you would like. As early as pre-school you remembered getting feelings of your soulmate’s emotions before dawn. Excitedness at breakfast. Boredom while you brushing your teeth in the morning. Sometimes you would even be woken up as early as three in the morning with exuberance and for hours you would be too jittery to get back to sleep.

Around the time you started school ou had begun receiving messages from him. You were forced to the conclusion at just six-years-old that your soulmate was a complete idiot. The messages he was sending you were in utter gibberish. Your first real encounter with your soulmate consisted of him waking you up early with his words that made no sense. It was annoying and you had to go to school tired. In the car, there was more and you sighed. But by the time of your spelling test, you had had enough. You were trying to focus and there was a voice in your head interrupting your thoughts. No one had ever officially taught you how to send communications but you couldn’t sit back and let him bother you any longer. You closed your eyes tightly and focused as hard as you could.

“Could you please shut up!” Yes, you had been taught not to say things like that to anyone let alone your soulmate but drastic times called for drastic measures. Luckily for you, your soulmate finally stopped talking. You did feel a wave of… something, but while it was odd and made you feel slightly shaken it was now time for recess, and all of your soulmate problems were soon forgotten as you ran for the swingset.

Later, as you grew up and learned how to articulate the millions of emotions that encapsulated your life, you would be able to classify that feeling better. Apprehension.

The next day was a Saturday and the weather was nice enough that you got to color outside. You sat criss-cross applesauce on the grass even though it made you a bit itchy. As you were deciding which shade of pink to use you felt a tumbling in your belly that you usually associated with the first day of school or singing a song at camp all by yourself. Nerves.

That’s when it came through. The stuttered, “hi.” The word didn’t sound like you had ever heard it before. Not clear like your teacher or confident like the boy who sat across from you in class. But whether or not it sounded like he was eating saltwater taffy, this was an improvement to you. So you squared your shoulders and sent back a hi of your own. Unlike the first time, the feeling that washed over you felt good. This time it felt… cheery. The feeling egged you on so you sent another message.

“My name is (Y/N).”

His response came, still not clear but slightly less timid, “‘m Andre.”

—

Over the years your Andre had become more and more fluent in English. After you’d grown up a bit you had asked him enough roundabout questions and done enough research that you had determined that what he was speaking was not gibberish but rather Swedish. While the difference between the two wasn’t that big to eight-year-old-you, it was still an improvement.

It was when each student in your class had to do a report on a country of their choice that you had to come to terms with the logistics. When the teacher announced the project you had been quick to raise your hand and request Sweden. But when you sat down to do the research you discovered the startling fact that you were about five thousand miles away from the country. For Andre, it was around dinner time when he must have felt your thunderstorm of emotions. Disappointment. Frustration.

“What is wrong?”

You sighed and replied sadly, “you’re far away.” His response was slow and when it came back it was just a solemn, “very far.” For a minute you just sat and stared at the wall. Before Sweden had seemed like this fun, magical place where your soulmate would live until the day you were both ready for him to appear on your doorstep. It wasn’t until this random Monday that it occurred to you that it might not be that easy. That you were separated by oceans not streets. That you may very well never be able to find him.

That’s when his words came, “It is very far. But we are soulmates and I will come to you.” He sounded more certain in those big plans than he ever was before and you genuinely felt like if anyone could make something like that happen it would be Andre.

You tried your best to transmit all of those feelings and hopes to him and thousands of miles away, on a completely different continent you knew he would sense it. Reassurance.

When you were in your teenage years it was a definite fact that Andre was your best friend. He had always been your soulmate and you’d always had a certain affection towards him with his goofy jokes and dumb ideas. But over time he had become your confidant and he had become yours. You’d become decently proficient at Swedish- enough that he could complain to you about his parents or his totally unfair and definitely rigged penalty. It had also become your party trick at school to teach everyone the Swedish swear words that you had learned from Andre.

You knew that he played hockey and that it dominated his time and his thoughts. You’d felt waves of excitement, disappointment, and pure adrenaline throughout his games. But it was in 2013 that, together, the two of you came to terms with the fact that he was going to be drafted. While you were so proud that he was going to be living out his dream, another part of you was full of nervous excitement because not only would he be playing professionally… he would be playing professionally in North America.

In the weeks leading up to the draft, there seemed to be a constant flurry of nervousness coming through your connection. You did your best to take deep breaths to send back as much calm energy as you could muster. There were times when you knew he was sitting awake. Trepidation.

“It’s going to be fine, ‘Dre,” you would tell him, “you’ll go where you’re supposed to be.”

“But what if no one takes me,” you would hear in his nervous whisper.

“From everything you’ve told me about yourself you’re really good so unless you’ve been lying to your dear and beloved soulmate, someone will pick you,” you were trying to come off as cheeky, trying to make him smile even if you couldn’t see it for yourself. His anxiety was starting to diminish but your own mind was filling up with something else… something that you spurred you on to say more. To make him understand.

“Andre. At the end of the day, if all else fails, just know that I will always pick you.”

Both of you were swimming in emotions. There was a crushing weight of something in your chest that almost brought tears to your eyes. The feelings were all new and unfamiliar and it made you feel too overwhelmed to try and categorize. So you chose one of the simpler ones. Bliss.

The day of the draft you had practically glued yourself to the TV. You swore you could feel Andre’s nausea. As it was all gearing up you made sure to tell him how proud of him you were no matter what happened. You sat through most of the first round chewing your lip before the twenty-third pick came up and with absolutely no preamble you heard it.

“Washington takes Andre Burakovsky.”

The camera panned to the player and his family. Your jaw dropped as you practically drowned. Disbelief. Glee. Euphoria.

You knew but asked anyway, “is that you?” You swore you saw him laugh before he said “yeah.” The voice in your head was full of happiness and tears sprung your eyes as you laughed. Anyone watching would think you were deranged but there he was. Still not with you, though you chose not to dwell on that, but he was real. And you had to say it, “you’re so hot.” Through the screen, he shook his head jovially while the wide smile seemed unable to leave his face. As the Canucks took the stage for their pick you were still stunned. Andre was chattering to you happily but you couldn’t quite focus. “It’s you,” you were interrupting his rambles and he paused. While you had already established that the Andre on the TV screen was your Andre, he knew what you meant.

“It is me… and it’s always been you.”

—

During his time on the Otters you let him focus on hockey while simultaneously teetering on the edge of Something. He was on the verge of making it and you didn’t want to complicate that, but you were both acutely aware of each other. For as long as you could remember Andre was yours and him being in the NHL didn’t change that. Over time you’d gone from kids who could barely conceptualize that the voice in their head was a real person to teenagers who were friends and now you were adults who were a bit more. You were falling for your soulmate.

On the night of his debut with the Caps, you were bubbling over with delight. You were sitting on the floor in front of the same TV that you watched him get drafted on. The camera followed him as he did his first lap on NHL ice and like the first time your mind went blank except for Andre. You were enraptured watching him during the anthem and when the game started your eyes didn’t follow the puck, instead they stayed trained on number sixty-five.

Suddenly there was a turnover by the Canadiens and there was Andre with a one-timer and you actually screamed as you watched your soulmate score his first goal just six minutes and forty-three seconds into his NHL debut. As he jumped the boards you did your best to focus enough to send him a clear message. He was tackled by his team so you weren’t even sure if he got it until he emerged to high five everyone on the bench. That’s when you heard him. Short and tooth-rottenly sweet.

“For you.”

Pride.

—

Not every day was as rejoiceful as that one. His upper-body injury during their 2018 Cup run hit him hard. He had missed time due to injuries over the last two seasons and he had been hoping to prove himself. Healing during the playoffs gave him far too much time to overthink. Every time he told you about a pass that missed or a shot that was saved you did your best to talk him down and convince him to focus on healing. The trouble came when he was finally back in the lineup but seemed to psych himself out of every scoring chance. You watched as he went back to the bench after barely five minutes of ice time. Anger. Desperation. Normally you avoided communicating with him during games but you could tell he needed more than even Nicke or Tom could give him.

“Andre, don’t beat yourself up. Just focus on the team.”

“You’d pick me?”

“I will always pick you.”

Later that night, even though Andre hadn’t scored, the game was one to remember forever. Your jaw hung open as you listened to John Walton cheer, “The demons have been exorcised! Good morning! Good afternoon! And good night Pittsburgh! We’re going to Tampa Bay! The Capitals have done it!”

Shock. Thrill.

When Washington won the Cup final against Vegas you were overpowered by Andre’s triumph and ecstasy. You couldn’t even tell where his excitement ended and yours started. While he spent the rest of the summer drunk on happiness and an unbelievable amount of alcohol you found yourself oddly jealous. The two of you had never really discussed a plan for meeting. But now you were selfishly upset that he had gone through this momentous life event without you. That he had gone so much of his life without you by his side. You told yourself it was because you didn’t want to distract him. You told yourself it was because you had to make your education a priority. But Andre was out there.

When the season started again with the team affected by their Cup hangover, you could feel Andre’s stress. And though you were wallowing in your own cowardice, you pushed it aside to support him and let him focus on hockey. You did your best to congratulate him on every goal and reassure him about every loss. Even though the team was doing well, even clinching their division title, it was a tough time for your soulmate. He only had twenty-five points through seventy-six games. While you were so proud of him and content with the progress he was making with his sports psychologist, you could feel how heavily it weighed on him. Everyone was telling him that he was supposed to be on the first line besides Ovi. Andre was invaluable on the rush but the constant pressure seemed to do nothing but push him further and further away.

It wasn’t until July that everything changed. You were calmly stirring honey into your tea when it hit you right in the chest. Dread. It felt like the air had been knocked out of your lungs. Something was clearly very, very wrong. Worry settled in your stomach and you took a moment to steady yourself before reaching out.

“Are you okay?”

“I got traded.”

You felt vaguely hollow. Another major life event that you weren’t there for. And this time it wasn’t jealousy that you felt but sadness. He needed you and you weren’t with him.

“I’m terrible. The Capitals dumped me because they knew I wasn’t good enough.”

“Andre, could you please shut up,” you said, quoting the first time you ever spoke to him, “you’re fucking amazing, I know it, and maybe now you’ll finally get the chance to show everyone else.”

His grief dispelled a bit and he replied, “I miss you.” Your eyes stung as you tried to contain your emotions so he didn’t feel the need to worry about you.

“You can’t miss me, you don’t even know me.”

“I do know you, though.”

Heartache.

You composed yourself enough to ask him where and when his voice replied Colorado it felt like the decision was made for you.

—

As soon as the Burakovsky number ninety-five jersey appeared for sale you bought it. When the dates for the pre-season came out you sprung to buy a ticket out to Denver. The travel website asked you when you would like your return flight to be and without even thinking you clicked one-way.

Your knee shook as you sat on the plane, waiting for takeoff. The cabin was tight and full of chatter but you were too busy imagining what it would be like when you finally met your soulmate to care. Eagerness.

“Everything good with you?” Andre asked. He could feel your nervous energy, but you wanted to keep the surprise.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just excited about your first game as an Avalanche,” it wasn’t untrue and you hoped he wouldn’t press for more.

“When I score it’ll be for you,” he replied. It mirrored his first-ever goal and you laughed lightly, “I have a really, really good feeling.” Giddiness.

You dressed in his jersey and spent longer than usual on your hair wanting everything to be perfect. Standing outside of Pepsi Center hours before the game you took a deep steadying breath as you thought about how your life was about to change. Your soulmate was somewhere in that building and holy fuck this was really happening.

“I’m here,” you told Andre after you had willed yourself inside. Despite your best efforts, your voice shook on the words.

“What,” his shocked reply was immediate, “no… where?” You looked up and communicated all of the signs you could see, just hoping that he had learned enough of the building to know where you were. Within minutes you heard the sound of someone running. The door flung open and there was your Andre. Amazement.

For a minute the two of you just stared at each other. He was dressed in a crisp game-day suit with his usual swoopy, messy hair and he looked so tall in person. You took one step towards him and that seemed to wake him up enough to hurriedly get over to you. Right before he actually reached you, with just a few inches distance between your bodies he stopped again. Looking up at his astonished brown eyes that were so clear even in the harsh fluorescent lighting you saw everything going through his head. It felt different than when you felt his emotions through your connection because there he was right in front of you.

“Hi,” you whispered. Andre smiled and if you weren’t absolutely gone for him before you definitely were then. “Hi,” he murmured back.

Joy.

You reached out and tangled your fingers with his. They were warm and calloused from years of hockey. Andre tightened his grip on your hand and squeezed your hand as if to check if it was really there.

“It’s you.”

“It’s me… and it’s always been you.”

Love.

#andre burakovsky #andre burakovsky imagine #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #Colorado Avalanche #hockey imagine #Hockey Fanfiction #nhl fic #colorado avalanche imagine #i am a washington capitals fan first and a human second #emotion fic #a.burakovsky

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