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alottiegoingon · 2 months

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totally my fault

lottie matthews x fem!reader

summary: after winning the state championship, you and lottie decide to celebrate it by baking cupcakes for the team and it goes awfully amazingly wrong.

warnings: fluff, lottie being a brat, reader is a yellowjacket, established relationship, characters are aged up and in college, the yellowjackets are also in uni, reader and lottie being awful bakers, nsfw content (mdni), vaginal fingering and oral (lottie receiving), praise kink?, cursing, reader being slightly mean during sex but a softie overall, prob a bunch of english mistakes

you were beyond excited! the yellowjackets had won one of the most important matches ever, the one that would decide if you guys would go to the nationals. it wasn't very common to see many women playing soccer and you were more than proud to be part of the team and also prove everyone how you were just as good as the stupid boys from wiskayok high. (you guys were so much better).

to celebrate, you and your girlfriend lottie decided to bake at your place after practice. even before meeting lottie, baking was your thing. it first started as a way to have fun as a kid, creating new recipes and seeing the results of it. you would feel like doctor frankenstein wearing pigtails. then, as you grew older, it became a way to deal with every single feeling of yours. happy because you did well in a test? brownie day. upset because you got grounded? that's okay, you didn't need tv when you could have warm cookies coming straight out of the oven.

"shit, we forgot the cupcakes!" you gasp, practically jumping out of the couch to run towards the oven. you and lottie had just put the first batch of vanilla cupcakes in the oven and decided that it was a good idea to put something to watch on tv. except that thid was at least half a hour ago and lottie's messy hair and your puffy red lips made it very clear that paying attention to the screen was the last thing that you guys were doing.

you step into the kitchen and you could barely see the oven. the entire kitchen looked like a cloudy storm and the alarm would probably go on if it had taken you a few extra seconds to find out. lottie was right behind, hiding like a scared little kid, when you open the door and immediately stepped away to avoid inhaling any of the thick smoke. you quickly put on the gloves and desperately took the burnt cupcakes from the oven to place the tray on the counter. "maybe they are still edible." lottie whispered, peeking from over your shoulder. you slowly turn your head around to face her with wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

maybe it was your girlfriend's fault. you couldn't focus and think straight when she was wearing that cute blue uniform right on your couch. but you also couldn't blame her entirely. lottie matthews had money. a lot of money. and thanks to that she had daddy issues and a bunch of people designed to do whatever she wanted to. a butler, a housekeeper, a maid, a private chef. that girl had an assistant by her side since she was a baby. you would never see lottie doing anything that someone else could do for her faster and better. that's why you decided to bake at your house. no pair of extra hands to help except for your own and things were doing pretty well until you were practically devouring her mouth.

"it's really not that bad, look!" lottie was still trying to convince you even though the cupcakes were darker than the grey baking pan. "we could decorate it with some blue and yellow frosting and the girls will love it!"

"yeah, they will. until they take a bite and decide to expel us from the team after we attempted to poison them." your words came out in a sarcastic tone but you weren't mad. it was actually quite funny to imagine how the girls would react to that. Besides, the desperate attempt of lottie's to fix the situation was adorable. "it's okay, lott. it was just a silly mistake. we still have some batter left." you comfort your girlfriend by gently pressing your lips against her forehead.

thankfully, there was enough batter in the bowl to give it a second try and lottie was eager to prove that she could do things by herself. she didn't need help to do such a simple thing as baking. that's why you let her step in, patiently waiting for her to fill the cupcake paper cups using a tiny spoon. she spilled a bunch between a cupcake and another but you were still proud. being completely honest, you would still be proud even if she burned your house down to the ground.

you would be even prouder if you weren't distracted again. you had your back resting against the wall while lottie was slightly bent over the counter. she was too tall for that. you definitely weren't looking at how that shorts could make her legs longer or how her ass seemed much bigger today in this position. you really tried to look away. you did! but lottie wouldn't stop moving her body and seeing that focused expression on her face while she was biting her own lip was slowly driving you crazy.

"what do you think? do you think that this is good enough?" lottie forces you to leave your own thoughts when asking for your opinion. she was staring at you with hopeful eyes and it took you an embarrassing amount of time to realize that she was talking about how the paper cups were filled. you barely took a look at them before shaking your head in agreement almost immediately, feeling your cheeks getting warm at the possibility of lottie noticing how you were staring at her as if she was a piece of meat. "y-yes! those are so good, baby!"

lottie looked at you with furrowed eyebrows and slightly parted lips, ready to say something. you weren’t the best at hiding your feelings and especially not from lottie. your girlfriend had the power of knowing exactly what you were feeling and could read you like an open book. “are you okay? are you… sweating?” lottie’s focused expression shifted to a smug smirk on the corner of her mouth. you actually were. the edges of your forehead were already glistening with sweat and your entire body felt like it was being burned by flames.

“i’m fine. just finish those so we can put it back in the oven.” you did your best to sound convincing but the panic in your eyes thanks to the millions of thoughts about different ways to fuck your girlfriend was making it evident that something was wrong and lottie knew exactly what it was, but she didn’t say anything.

instead, she just agrees briefly, not looking to fond of your lie but not caring enough to confront you. maybe you could pull it off, you thought to yourself. but then, thanks to lottie using the tiniest spoon she could find, she ended up spilling it all over the edges and groaned in frustration. except that the groan sounded a lot like a exaggerated whine and every single sound that lottie made had a deep impact on you.

"okay, that's it." you whisper and immediately moved away from the wall to walk towards lottie, making the loud noise from your heavy steps echo through the kitchen. you didn't care if it was a complete mess, you would deal with it later. you grabbed the pan and threw it inside the oven, slamming the door hard enough to make lottie's eyes widen. but when you look at her, she isn't scared or confused anymore, she's smirking.

"is that funny to you?" hissing, you place both of your hands on lottie's hips to spin her around and make her face you. you push her against the counter and you notice how her breath was already catching in her throat. "hm... kind of." lottie shrugs. she had the dirtiest smile ever on her lips.

you clenched your jaw at the same time as lottie let a weak and whiny moan out caused by your fingers unconsciously gripping her hips tighter. "is that what you wanted? you wanted to be treated like a slut?" you growled while pushing yourself further against lottie even harder to make sure that she was trapped. your eyes were completely filled with lust as they would mirror lottie's. her smile vanished and she was completely speechless. she couldn't say a word even if she tried to.

"what? you were brave enough to tease me before but can't say anything now? so pathetic." you mock your girlfriend while your hands were busy with her body. your fingers were digging into the covered skin of her waist now as your other hand moved up to her neck. your fingertips first scratched the sensitive skin in a slow pace, being a bit too rough once or twice, before you had her jaw wrapped into your hand. you made lottie look straight into your eyes, waiting for an answer impatiently.

"y-yes..." lottie speaks in a broken whisper. with no warnings, you lift your right leg up just enough to make your bare knee in contact with your girlfriend's core. even covered by the fabric of her uniform, you could feel her warmth. a gasp comes out of her lips and it sounded like music to your ears. you pushed it further but stood still and your fingers let go of her jaw to hold her neck tenderly. lottie's body was covered in chills. "please..." she whines.

"aw, lott... i don't think you deserve it." your voice is calm and soothing but you're not exactly being sweet now. there was a kind of confident arrogance hidden under it. you leave her neck to run your fingers through her messy dark hair. after every single practice, lottie's hair would go wild no matter how tight her low pigtails or ponytail was and it was the hottest thing ever. you absolutely loved it. "but i'm very proud of you, so maybe..." you move your knee just an inch or two to the side and lottie immediately squirms against you. she had nowhere to run.

lottie closes her eyes and her lips slightly parted when you begin to move your knee and put more pressure on it. you could feel your skin getting damp by your girlfriend's wetness and it only made you want to rub your leg faster. lottie was an absolute whiny mess. her hands were gripping the counter behind her, desperately trying to hold onto something for support. her breath was heavy and coming out in short shallow bursts while her squirming hips were moving on their own. you had to keep them in place by holding firmly onto them and your girlfriend wasn't very happy. her eyes were drowning in anticipation when they opened to stare into yours.

"more..." lottie manages to spill her words in a breathless beg and you knew exactly what she wanted. here's the thing about lottie; ever since you two started dating and you found out that she was a touch starved girl, she became obsessed with your fingers and it's not like you would complain about it

you played with the hem of her clothes for a few seconds just to tease your girlfriend as long as you could, slowly removing your knee. in a swift move, the palm of your hand dig inside the plaid shorts that she was wearing, touching her exposed pelvis. lottie moaned quietly at the sight of your fingers disappearing between her legs. your firm fingertips slipped down slowly until they met the wet and warm spot still covered by the last remaining thin fabric. "god... you're so wet already." you whisper feeling like your own body was boiling and lottie whimpers softly at first feeling your light touch. she knew that. she could feel it already running through her thighs.

your hand goes even further this time underneath her panties and you finally feel her soaked pussy against your fingers. lottie held her breath when she felt how easily it was for you to touch her. she squirms again and this time you don't stop her. her legs were slightly trembling from so much tension and pleasure combined. "does it feel good, angel?" you whisper gingerly with a mischievous little smirk on your lips, knowing the answer for that. it's not like lottie's increasing moans that were filling the entire kitchen weren't already an answer to your question. lottie doesn't say anything but desperately nods.

your fingers found their way into her puffy clit and began to rub slow circles straight away. lottie's hips jerked carelessly searching for every extra crumb of your touch that she could find. her lips were fully parted now and the only sound she could do were based off in whiny moans and pathetic little sounds of how well you were fucking her even though you had barely started.

you took your time while touching lottie. your fingers were slippery like soap when rubbing her pussy and the squelch sounds that would come out of it was too much for both of you. "you look so pretty like that... such a good girl." you murmured right against lottie's ear, knowing very well that praising was one of her biggest weakness. lottie moaned louder and you noticed how her legs were shaking harder now, that's not how you wanted her to cum. "hold on, pretty girl. not just yet." you press your lips against your girlfriend's cheek and before she could blink her shorts and panties were on the kitchen floor and you had your hands gripping tightly on her waist to lift her up and make her sit on the counter.

"jesus christ, y/n..." lottie exhaled when she realized what you were about to do. her eyes were shining with desire. your hands touched her thighs and spread her legs wide open. you almost fell backwards when you saw lottie's glistening folds and your mouth was suddenly full of saliva. you wrapped your arms under lottie's thighs and pulled her closer to you, making her body half bent as her hands were support her weight by holding the edges of the cold counter. your tongue met her pussy, exploring every inch of her patiently before going back up to focus on her swollen clit. lottie was seeing stars and she couldn't keep her whimpers and moans to herself even if she wanted to. her hands moved straight to your head, getting lost between your hair strands and pulling you closer to her dripping core.

lottie's stomach was contracting and releasing over and over again just like the rest of the muscles in her body and it only got worse. while your tongue was moving eagerly and frantically, you placed your left hand on her inner thigh at first just to move it further and play with her entrance for a couple seconds before shoving two fingers inside of her. lottie screamed your name and you feel her insides clenching against you. "d-don't stop!" she begged and it only made you thrust your fingers relentlessly in and out of her, curling them up exactly on her sensitives spongy spot.

"oh god..." lottie squirms and you roughly fuck lottie through her orgasm, looking up to see the expression of pleasure in her face while still eating her out with amusement. her eyes were rolling back along with her toes curling and her hips were rocking along with your fingers. her chest was moving like crazy at the same time she was fighting for her life trying to breath properly. you hear a loud animalistic moan escaping your girlfriend's lips as she tilts her head backwards and tightens her fingers around your hair. you could taste her cum in your mouth perfectly.

you both were so lost into each other that the unpleasant odour of burning cupcakes went unoticed and just like a clock right on time, the loud beeps of the smoke alarm went off making you both flinch. lottie starts to giggle as she realizes what just happened and you pull away from her core with a cheeky grin and a husky voice.

"okay. this time was totally my fault."

#yellowjackets #lottie matthews x reader #lottie matthews #yellowjackets x reader

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freesia-writes · 11 months

Note

C-can I pick Howzer for #1, mmmaybe? 👉👈

ANY EXCUSE TO WRITE FOR HOWZER, my love! :D This follower celebration was SO FUN because the variety of prompts and people I have waiting to be written about are just... *chef's kiss*. This one was super fun. It was one of those times where the writing just kind of falls into place as you go along! Hope it's a fun one. <3

#1 - You hear [clone] tell the waitress that they are nervous for their blind date, but no one shows up. So you sit down to act like the date.

Howzer x Fem!Reader Word Count: 3.5k Content Warnings: Kissin and drinkin ;)

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He caught your eye the moment he walked in. He was immediately recognizable as a clone, but he just had a little extra *somethin* that immediately had your attention. Whether it was the tousled undercut he sported or the curving scars across his cheek and chin, you were thoroughly enjoying the view from your perch at the far end of the bar counter. It was always fun to see clones free of their armor, enjoying their scarce free time.

You’d had to stay late after your shift at the restaurant, covering a baby shower that stretched for hours through the day and into the afternoon, and now the dinner rush was already starting. You were free to leave, of course, but an extra dirty martini and some of the mistaken food orders were too good to pass up. Plus, the bartender was your best friend, so when she had a break between customers, there was always good conversation to be had.

“Did you see that test tube specimen walk in just now? Right up your alley…” she asked, waggling her eyebrows at you while she shook a steel canister.

“It’s not ALL clones, Dee…” you said in mock defensiveness. Okay, so you had a type. And there happened to be millions of them. But they weren’t all the same… not that it was worth getting into it with her again. “But yeah,” you admitted, peering over your shoulder again, watching him sit and gently take the menu from his server, “He’s got a sweet vibe.”

“You’ve watched him for fifteen seconds and you already think you can tell his vibe?” Dee challenged, pouring the drink. Without waiting for an answer, she bustled off to deliver it, leaving you to wait for his server to come back to the station next to your seat. As soon as he approached, you were speaking.

“So what’s the deal with table 44 over there?” you asked, earning an immediate snarky grin from Barnes, who was quite the tall drink of water himself, but he’d made it quickly known that he wasn’t interested in women.

“Ohh, you noticed, huh?” Barnes laughed, tapping on the register screen to enter a drink order, which you leaned over to peer at, curious what he might like. “Yeah, he’s a treat. All cute and nervous, too. He’s on a blind date.”

“Ahh, damn,” you said, leaning back to your food. “Well let’s see who he got set up with.”

* * *

You lost track of time, nursing your martini and accepting an extra appetizer that had been ordered and then changed. Dee had been regaling you with a tale from the last party she’d been to, although it was delivered in bits and pieces as she went about her job. It wasn’t until Barnes gave you a tap on the shoulder that you remembered to look for the clone’s hot date. Surprisingly, however, the chair opposite him was still empty, and he was leaning his chin into one hand, elbow on the table, the other hand idly twirling the straw in his drink. He looked so smart in his dark grey uniform, and you noted the way it fit snugly around his chest and arms, tucked neatly in to a belt around his narrow waist.

“Get this,” Barnes said conspiratorially as he tapped on the register again, “He just asked for the check, for just his drink. I think he got stood up. Should I quit and go join him?” he paused, as though he were genuinely asking you, then chuckled. “Ehh, I’m not into the military type. Also, it’s getting busier -- you should get out of here before you get wrangled into serving some tables.”

“Good point,” you said, not really thinking about what he said because you were so surprised and distracted at the fact that Mr. Handsome over there had been stood up. What kind of idiot… Suddenly, an idea popped into your head, as the rest of Barnes’ words finally processed, and you decided to act on it before your rational brain (and cowardly second-guessing) kicked in. “Wait, Barnes, don’t give him the check…” you said, putting a hand on his arm as the receipt printed in front of him. “I’m gonna do it.”

His genuine laugh of delight was infectious, and further fueled your slightly bubbly mood. “Well you’d better come up with a good excuse for making him wait so long… And make it worth his time,” he said, giving you a suggestive wink that earned him a smack on the shoulder. You stuffed your apron into the cabinet below the server stand and rushed to the refresher to see what could be done. The smell of a full day’s work in a restaurant was heavy on your clothes and hair, and the barely-remaining makeup was sparse. Grateful for the little basket of hygiene items kept under the sink, you pulled your hair down, tousling it with your fingers after spraying some refreshing powder through it. You got some paper towels wet and wiped your armpits, laughing at the thought of the clone seeing you now. There was nothing to be done about your outfit -- black button-up shirt and black pants -- but at least you could untuck the shirt now and roll up the sleeves. You made one last stop by the bar, making two rushed requests of Dee.

“Hey -- real quick -- I need that gold necklace from the lost and found drawer, and can you make a dirty martini and another of whatever he had?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, shaking her head fondly as she fetched the necklace that had been left a few weeks ago. “I mean, what the heck. Sounds like fun, and probably nicer for him than going home sad.” Armed with two drinks and as much courage as you could muster, you headed for the table, running through all the possibilities in your mind.

“Hi! Blind date, right?” you asked, wanting to be careful not to lie. His brown eyes lifted to you, expression unreadable. He’d been patiently waiting, but was he the stiff sort who would be indignant at being made to wait? Or was he a pushover so desperate for attention that he’d put up with anything? It remained to be seen.

“Yeah,” he said in that smooth clone voice you’d heard so many times. “Howzer,” he said, standing to greet you. He awkwardly offered a hand, realizing you had a drink in each of yours, and gave a breathy chuckle of relief as you quickly set the glasses on the table and took his hand, giving it a gentle shake. You froze, unsure of whether to use your name, or if he knew the name of the person he was expecting…

“And you’re Xena, right? Here, please, sit?” he continued, standing behind your chair and smiling in such a kind way that the guilt settled heavily on your shoulders. He’d been made to wait an awfully long time, and yet here he was, offering a kind and graceful introduction…And it was also way too much work to try to figure out how to continue the deception as further details would be questioned.

“Erm, no…” you admitted, once he’d cordially seated you and taken his place across the table. His furrowed brow and crooked smile made your heart skip a beat, and you blundered on, “I’m sorry… I work here, well, not right now, but I was hanging out, and I heard you were waiting for someone, and I saw it had been a long time, and I was… well, yeah, I was totally creeping on you from over there… And I just didn’t want you left here hanging cause you’re just… Well you seem really nice… And honestly, you’re really cute… Ohhhh man. This is not a good start,” you laughed nervously, burying your face in your hands. What HAD you been thinking?

Howzer put two and two together and leaned back, running a hand over his tousled hair. You grimaced, hoping it wouldn’t all fall to pieces, and gently pushed the drink toward him once you were willing to show your face again, despite its bright red color. “Here… I brought the same thing you ordered, and… you can just enjoy it, if you want… Sorry, I don’t know what I was aiming for here,” you fumbled, starting to rise to your feet.

“No, wait -- it’s alright,” he offered, raising a hand to accompany his words. “I guess Pivot didn’t paint me in the best light to whoever I was supposed to meet here,” he chuckled dryly. “But it was kind of you to take pity on me… I think? Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving, so what do you say to some dinner?”

Relief cascaded down at the invitation, and your shoulders dropped a few inches with the release of tension. You smiled, letting out the breath you didn’t know you’d been holding, and nodded.

“You said you work here?” he continued, opening the menu as if he hadn’t spent the last thirty minutes reading it about eight times over. “What’s the good stuff? Oh, and I suppose I should ask your name too.”

You filled him in, on both points, and had just began sharing about how you got this job when Barnes interrupted you by sliding right up to the table with an air that absolutely demanded attention. “Welllll hellooo again. I see your date showed up?” he said, mock innocence painted all over his face. Howzer gave you a smirk with a raised eyebrow, and you blushed bright red again, chuckling anxiously once again.

“I told him, Barnes,” you said, holding your hands up in surrender. “I’m not cut out for this sort of thing.”

“And yet you’re still here,” Barnes pointed out, pursing his lips at you before sending Howzer a rather flirty glance. “I mean, I don’t blame you. But you’re not skimping on my tip if you’re gonna make me serve you,” he said, turning back to you. His charisma lightened the mood even further, and you assured him that he would not be slighted in any way. After some discussion about the dishes and a few suggestions, both you and Howzer had the food ordered and were left to stare at each other once again. You were trying to figure out what kind of date this was meant to be, what type he may be looking for (or what type he was himself). But instead of trying to make yourself into something you weren’t, you decided to just be authentic and see where it went. You didn’t really have much to lose, anyway.

“So. Howzer,” you said, “How’d you get the name?”

He leaned forward again, stirring his drink again and appearing to be much more relaxed, and began sharing stories from his life so far. It was decidedly different than yours, especially with the fact that he aged twice as fast. You tried not to think about the actual number of years he’d been alive, as that would make you a total pervert by regular human age standards. He told tales of his brothers, their personalities and quirks, and the adventures that his military life had taken him on so far. He shared his thoughts about the world, musing about ideas for the future -- if or when things ever changed. The minutes melted away, punctuated only by Barnes appearing occasionally to refill drinks, bring plates, or clear them away.

You’d always had a soft spot for the clones, but you loved seeing them open up. The unique complexity of each individual was always a delight, and Howzer seemed to have more depth than most. He was simultaneously ambitious yet reserved, steady yet bold. You were finding yourself more and more enthralled, and in a bit of disbelief at your luck. Somehow you’d chatted away the entire dinner rush, and the restaurant was now growing quiet, filled with only a few lingering guests.

The conversation took a bit of a flirty turn, and you found yourself reaching across the table in a fit of laughter, clapping your hand on top of his. He smiled, still chuckling, and turned his hand over to gently take yours, sending another spark through your body. His gaze darkened a little, taking on a suggestive edge that suddenly made you ready to take him home right then and there. His thumb traced softly across your knuckles, and his eyes dropped to your hands on the table.

“Well, things didn’t turn out so badly tonight after all, did they…” Howzer mused. His smooth voice and the thrill of the last couple of hours of conversation and connection had you feeling as though you were living a dream. You smiled, giving his hand a little squeeze, and shook your head.

“Want to get out of here?” you asked, perhaps with more of a seductive tone than you’d intended.

“Oh, ahh, sure… But… well, I mean…” he stuttered, sheepish and hesitant all of a sudden, and you wondered if you’d crossed a line somehow.

“I just meant for a walk, or glow pops, or something to change the scene,” you offered brightly, and though he tried to hide it, he looked visibly relieved.

“Sure -- yes -- sorry,” he continued, running a hand through his hair again. “Look, this has been super fun, and I’m so glad you took the initiative to sit down. I’m just… I’m not much of a one-night-stand kind of guy. I know it’s lame, or whatever, but… I guess I just take a while to warm up that way… The guys make fun of me for it all the time.” You felt your heart swell in your chest at his vulnerability. You definitely hadn’t been expecting that, and somehow it made you crave him even more. Respectfully, of course.

“Don’t apologize!” you insisted, leaning forward and picking your hand up from his to place it on his bicep, emphasizing your words with a smile. “I’ve really enjoyed this. And would like to continue to enjoy it.”

“I mean, I’m not a total prude,” he said, laughing self-consciously, still with that glint in his eyes that hit you right in the soul.

“I don’t know,” you said playfully, being careful to keep it lighthearted, “We’ll have to see about that.” You bit your lip, hoping it wasn’t too much of a jab, but he smirked, primly setting his napkin on the table and rising to his feet, extending a hand to you.

“Well let’s start with a walk.”

After fighting over the bill for a few minutes, since you “weren’t the one he asked on a date” but he “had indeed taken you on a date” but “it was where you worked” but “it still needed to be paid” but “you wanted to be fair”… You let him pay with the insistence that you’d be getting the next one, which gave you a little thrill at the thought that there would be a next one. The coat closet was in the middle of a long, narrow hallway that branched away from the host stand at the main entrance, and the hallway included a few other doors that led to the refreshers as well as the kitchen. Howzer leaned in, scanning the hangers for his coat, and suddenly you heard a loud voice as the restaurant door slammed closed behind someone.

“Hello! I need to be seated immediately. Oh, it’s been a ROTTEN evening. The stupid taxi driver got lost twice, and the train was held up by some idiot old lady, and now I’m incredibly late to meet someone here!” a sharp female voice announced, catching the attention of everyone within hearing range. The realization hit you like a gallon of ice water dumped over your head, and as Howzer leaned out of the closet door to peer at the disturbance, you moved without thinking, pushing him back into the coat closet with so much force that both of you lost your balance and tumbled in, kept on your feet (barely) only by the row of jackets hanging up along the back wall.

Howzer’s arms went out to the sides, hitting the wall with an ungainly thump, and you fell into him, landing against his chest in the most fortuitous way, hands splayed across his shoulders to try to break your fall. You couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation, and heard him chuckle quietly once the initial surprise had passed.

“I wasn’t aware I had this effect on women,” he said in a low voice, and you held a finger to your lips with urgency, tilting your head toward the loud voice still ringing outside.

“What do you MEAN, he left?!” she said shrilly, and you could hear Barnes smoothing things over. “You can’t hold a table longer than two hours? That’s just ridiculous.” You sent up a silent prayer of thanks for his quick thinking and willingness to cover for you. You slowly pushed yourself to your feet, freeing Howzer from beneath you, though you were quite loath to do so, and watched him slowly stand straight as well. His eyebrows raised at what he was hearing, and he looked down at you in amusement.

“I may have dodged a bullet tonight,” he whispered, and you stifled a giggle.

“Fine, well at least tell me where the refresher is, and I’ll be on my way!” the woman demanded, and the quick click-clack of her heels coming down the hall sent you both into a panic again. There was nowhere to hide except behind all the coats, and you both immediately dove into the row of fabrics, pushing them out in front of you and flattening yourselves against the wall, side by side. Now you were trying really hard not to laugh, at the utter ridiculousness of this turn of events, and you clapped a hand over your mouth to avoid making a sound.

“You know she doesn’t even know what I look like, right? We’ve never met,” Howzer breathed in your ear, and you gave him a little push.

“There weren’t any other clones in the restaurant tonight, were there?” you whispered right back, and he tilted his head in concession.

“Good point.”

The sound of the refresher door closing was a welcome one, and you pushed the line of jackets in front of you apart, taking a deep breath of the fresh air that was a nice change from the stuffiness of your hiding place. You were getting ready to head out when you felt Howzer pull your arm, and you turned back toward him questioningly.

“We don’t want to risk it. Better wait til she leaves,” he said, shrugging as though he had no choice in the matter. But the soft croon of his voice and that little shimmer of a reflection of the dim closet light in his eye took away absolutely any reason you may have to argue, and you leaned back into him, facing him now, as he rested against the wall. Jackets were stuffed all around you, draped over your back and undoubtedly sticking out a bit, but his breath caught in his throat as you drew near and the sound made you forget about everything else.

“I don’t want to push you past your comfort zone,” you said softly, feeling the tingles growing as he ran his hands up the outsides of your arms, and you brought your hands up to rest on his broad chest.

“I appreciate that,” he breathed, leaning in a little closer, “But I told you I wasn’t a complete prude.” He was so close now that you could smell him, an intoxicating mix of aftershave, soap, traces of scents from dinner, and the slightest hint of musk underneath it all. His proximity was electrifying, and you lifted your face to take in the fondness in his eyes and the gentleness in his expression. You were hopelessly lost at this point. “Can I kiss you?” he whispered, and your cheeks curved into a smile at his gentlemanly request.

“Yes please,” you whispered back, and as soon as the last syllable had left your lips, his mouth was against them, arms wrapping you in a firm yet tender embrace. As if the closet weren’t stuffy enough, the sudden heat of the moment, combined with the two of you pressed together, had you completely flushed with warmth. His kiss was unfathomably sweet, and when he pulled away with a soft smack of the lips, he rested his forehead against yours with a small smile on his face. You lifted a hand to his scarred cheek, reveling in the moment.

The silence was broken by the refresher door opening again, and an aggressive tapping of heels echoed down the hallway as the narrowly-avoided blind date from hell clattered out the front door. You pulled back a little to better meet Howzer’s eyes, though you could have stayed there forever.

“Now how about that walk?”

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hlficlibrary · 5 months

Text

HL FIC LIBRARY ✤ AUTHOR REC

AO3: phdmama

Tumblr: @phdmama

STATS:

✤ Number of fics: 208

✤ Posting Since: 2016

TOP 5 FICS:

1️⃣ Hold My Heart {E, 14k}

“Excuse me, mate, I’m the window seat here.” The voice was soft, apologetic, and accented in something a bit unfamiliar — northern England, maybe, Harry thought.

“Oh,” Harry jumped to his feet and moved aside, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you standing there.”

The other man laughed as he swung a bag into the overhead compartment and slid into the seat. “You were well caught up in that book, mate. What are you reading?”

Harry paused, wondering how to explain the fact that he was reading an epic and x-rated romance that was the story of a relationship between a prince and the man he’d enslaved. “Oh, you know, just some fiction my sister recommended.” He turned to look at the man and froze.

Sitting next to him was Louis Tomlinson.

Or, the one where famous Louis Tomlinson offers his hand and a lot more to his seat mate on a transatlantic flight.

(Co-written with @a-writerwrites)

2️⃣ Feels Like Coming Home {E, 60k}

The last thing Harry Styles expects when he's hanging out at the Someday Cafe in Somerville one rainy October day is for his ex, Louis Tomlinson to walk through the door, but that's exactly what happens. After a spectacularly ugly break-up three years prior, Harry hasn't heard one word from Louis, and he's moved on. Gotten over him. But having Louis back in his life, not to mention working at the restaurant where he's a chef, isn't easy, and the feelings that Harry thought he'd left turn out to be not so easily forgotten.

This is a story about love and the power of forgiveness, and how the hard choices we make define us, and change our lives.

3️⃣ On the Go {T, 2k}

From this post because I could not resist.

4️⃣ It's a Better Place (Since You Came Along) {E, 51k}

When Harry Styles, a mid-level talent, Finder, and small business owner, sets off on the vacation of a lifetime with his best friend, Niall Horan, he has no idea the changes his life will undergo over the next nine days. He's got it all planned - there's going to be shore excursions, lounging by the pool on the deck of the luxurious cruise ship, not to mention margaritas. What he does not plan for are the new friends, new bonds, or the mystery from his past that comes back to haunt him, and he certainly hasn't planned for Louis.

5️⃣ For Better and For Worse {M, 12k}

Harry and Louis have been together for 5 years and they've been getting questions when they would be getting married and start a family. Bur Harry doesn't have the time. They were arguing one morning when Harry had enough and left for work. He's a doctor and works at the a&e there is a call that there has been a bad car crash and that there is more than one patient coming in. Harry does his job good and works on the first patient and everything goes great until his next patient is Louis.

HIDDEN GEM:

💎 Unveiled {M, 65k}

The train grinds to a halt and Harry leans forward in his eagerness to take it all in. It’s a gorgeous Spring day, the sky the same intense blue that he knows from home, which comforts him. There’s much here that looks almost familiar, but then so much that is new and strange to his eyes. The bustling station platform and winding streets beyond paved in cobblestones look much like home. There are vehicles ranging from small to very large, some with strange and unusual shapes of which he can only guess the purpose. But most surprising are the people. There is a crowd gathered, filled with men and women, some in what looks to be a military uniform, some in what must be the street clothes in this Land.

There are no robes. And not a single one of them is veiled.

#ficrec #phdmama #authorrec #hlcreators #hljournal #trackinghome #trackinghappily #ficsfor4am #1dficvillage #hlsource #tracksintheam

87 notes · View notes

queenmea604 · 9 months

Text

➪➪➪ Title : STAY WITH US

➪➪➪ Pairing : Idol!Skz ot8 x F!reader

➪➪➪ Genre : Poly!Skz, Romance, Fluff, Smut, Angst, SlowBurn

➪➪➪ Words count : 5.5k

➪➪➪ Warning : MDI!!, Curse, Mistreat, Toxic father

➪➪➪ Synopsis

Masterlist Previous / Next

Let me know if taglist not working, I will fix it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2

No One pov

Stray Kids at their own dance studio while practicing their dance for a show that will be in two weeks more, and Danceracha carefully observes the members dance with sharp eyes. Suddenly, their manager gets inside the dance studio with one envelope in his hand and a big smile plastered on his face.

" Guys, I have good news for you guys " Junghan tells Stray Kids, and he makes them pay attention to him.

" You guys must know about Lotte hotel, right? " Junghan asks them.

" We knew " Seungmin said, nodding his head along with others.

" Ok... " Junghan paused for a few seconds.

" The hotel invites all the staff and artists under JYP Company to have dinner at the hotel tonight " Junghan said with an excited tone.

Stray Kids looked at each other before shifting their eyes back to their manager with a bright smile, and all of them cheered loudly.

" Yes, yes " All of them say.

" We get to meet with her " Felix and Jeongin said, running around the dance studio with a really happy face.

Junghan confusedly looked at them while scratching his head with questions, filling his head with Stray Kids strange behavior.

" Uhm... Make sure to prepare yourself for tonight " Junghan warned the chaotic kids before getting out of the dance studio, Stray Kids still celebrate the news with happy dance.

At night,

Everyone entered the luxurious hotel with an amused expression on their faces, and Mrs.Jang, the director of Lotte Hotel, welcomed everyone with a happy smile.

" I'm glad all of you came to our hotel. I will show you guys the table we prepared for all of you " Mrs.Jang guides all of them to their tables that have been prepared by the staff of the hotel, and not far away from the table, the chef and their assistant are standing with a soft smile towards JYP staff and artists.

Mrs.Jang introduces the entire chef staff at JYP Company while Mrs.Jang introduces them. One figure comes running to Mrs.Jang before bowing at her with a red face.

" I'm sorry, Mrs.Jang " Y/n bows her head at the older women.

Mrs.Jang's face lit up after she saw Y/n stand in front of her, and she pulled Y/n body to stand in front of everyone with a big smile.

" Everyone, this is one of our best chefs here and the youngest chef we have " Mrs.Jang introduces Y/n.

Y/n bowed at people in front of her.

" Annyeonghaseyo ( hello ) my name is Kang Y/n " Y/n shyly rubbed her arms.

" How old are you? You look really young " One of the JYP staff asked her.

" I'm 22 years old " Y/n answered the question professionally.

Mrs.Jang let the waiter and waitress take their order, so the chefs got back to the kitchen, including Y/n. Stray Kids stared at the faded figure of Y/n with a sense of adoration when they saw she was wearing her chef's uniform, which was really suitable for her.

{Time Skip}

Y/n cleans all the stuff she uses after cooking for the client, but Y/n's assistant stops her from doing that and pulls the girl outside of the kitchen towards a few people in the lobby. One of the females in the group notices Y/n's appearance towards them and gives the girl a sweet smile.

" She's here " She spoke and gained others attention.

" Hai Y/n - ssi, I'm Sana from Twice, and I want to say thank you for the wonderful food that you cook for us " Sana holds Y/n hands.

" Yeah, your food is really delicious, I will definitely come again to have you cook for us " Jihyo, the leader of Twice, says to Y/n.

" I'm happy if everyone enjoys the food I cooked for everyone " Y/n politely said while bowing at everyone.

The staff and artists of JYP Company give Y/n a compliment until she feels shy with all the compliments she receives, and after that, everyone says goodbye to Y/n before retreating back home.

Y/n helps her co-workers clean the table, even if they scold her for helping all of them.

" Y/n, don't bother to help us. We all can handle this, and you still need to clean the kitchen, so just leave it " One of her co-workers gently pushed her body away.

Y/n looks dumbfounded by her co-worker's action to not let her help them all clean the table after the clients were gone, so Y/n stands with a pout in her face.

" Go clean the kitchen, you always go home late if you help us " Another co-worker of Y/n told her.

" Ok, fine " Y/n goes back to the kitchen after being chased away by her co-worker.

After Y/n shift is done,

Y/n groans while massages her shoulder and legs, which feel sore after standing for a long time today with many things she has to do, but Y/n sees someone running to her.

" Y/n - ssi " Jeongin said, taking a breath before speaking again.

" My brother told me to drive you back home because he can't do that " Jeongin said, looking at the girl standing in front of him with a flustered face.

" Ahh, it's ok, I don't want to cause trouble for you, so I will just grab a bus or taxi " Y/n refuse Jeongin in a tender way.

Jeongin shakes his head before giving Y/n a warm smile.

" No, you are not causing trouble for me. Besides, now that it's almost 12 a.m., I'm scared that you don't have any transport to get back home "Jeongin shyly scratches his head, and Y/n bites her lips before she looks at Jeongin.

" I'm sorry for troubling you " Y/n bows her body at Jeongin.

" It's ok, let's go " Jeongin wanted to hold Y/n's hand, but he didn't because he thought Y/n would feel uncomfortable with that.

Jeongin brought Y/n to the car not far from the hotel and opened the door for Y/n to get in, so Y/n got inside Jeongin car, which smelled good and was refeshing. Y/n told Jeongin her address and that it would take only 20 minutes from the hotel to arrive at her house.

" By the way, today food is really delicious, and all of us really like it " Jeongin starts a conversation while driving the car.

" It's nothing special " Y/n cheeks tinted with red color after Jeongin complimented her.

" How long do you work at Lotte hotel? " Jeongin question.

" I started working at the hotel four years ago " Y/n responds while fiddling with her fingers.

" You start working at the age of 19 years old? Before you and Hyung date? " Jeongin asked with a disbelieving expression.

" That's right, I just was friends with Jeongbin Oppa that time " Y/n smiled after thinking about that memory.

" So you don't decide to continue studying until university? " Jeongin glances at Y/n before focusing back on the road.

" About that, actually, I am already in my last semester this year " Y/n sheepishly answered him.

Jeongin almost choked from his saliva after hearing that from the girl beside him, and without both of them noticing, they already arrived in front of Y/n condo. Y/n unbuckled her seatbelt and thanked the male for driving her back home before she got out of the car and got inside her condominium, while Jeongin stared at her until she was fully safe and got inside before he decided to drive back home.

Author pov

Jeongbin and Y/n hang out at Starbucks because Y/n wants to study for her last semester, which will end in a few more months.

" Jagiya " Jeongbin tried to grab her attention.

" Hmm " Y/n don't look at Jeongbin at all.

" Jagi " Jeongbin tried once again, but it was still the same.

Y/n still doesn't look at his face but focuses more on her studies.

" Jagiya " Jeongbin whined at Y/n and made Y/n laugh at his whiny behaviour.

" What? " Y/n finally lifted her face to face Jeongbin, who was sitting opposite her.

Jeongbin gave her a sweet smile until his dimple was visible.

" Nothing, I just want to make you feel annoyed " Jeongbin grins at Y/n.

" Cish " Y/n playfully glares at her boyfriend and focuses on her studies back.

Jeongbin took this chance to admire Y/n's beautiful face without blinking his eyes, but suddenly something grabbed his eye, and he gasped in surprise and made Y/n look at him with curious eyes.

" Heesu, Rowoon " Jeongbin waved at Y/n brothers.

Rowoon runs at Y/n when he sees her, while Y/n's third brother is trailing behind little Rowoon to go at both of them.

" Noona " Rowoon raised his hand for Y/n to carry him.

" Rowoon " Y/n takes the little brother of her to sit on her lap.

" What are you guys doing here? " Jeongbin looks at Heesu.

" I take this little boy out " Heesu answered while showing his finger at Rowoon and taking a seat beside the older male.

" Y/n, you ate already? " Heesu asks Y/n.

" Yes, Oppa " Y/n smiled at Heesu.

Rowoon tried to grab Jeongbin's cup, so Jeongbin gave his water to the little boy to drink, and Rowoon's face was bright after drinking Jeongbin's water. Heesu receives a phone call, and he answers the call while the couple, along with Rowoon, only listen to Heesu.

" Y/n, can you take Rowoon with you? I have work to do " Heesu asked Y/n after he hung up the call.

" Sure " Y/n answered with a gentle expression.

After that, Heesu rushed to get out from Starbucks and leave his little brother with the couple.

" Rowoon, do you want to go eat dessert? " Jeongbin asked Rowoon.

Rowoon nodded at him with a very happy expression, and three of them went out from Starbucks together with a happy Rowoon in Jeongbin's arms.

A little time later,

Rowoon is looking at outside the big window with a curious face when people pass by the restaurant they are in, while Y/n takes videos of Rowoon as a memory for her.

" We should bring him out more often, he looks really happy " Jeongbin spoke, and Y/n agreed with him.

" Hyung " A familiar voice spoke.

Jeongbin saw Stray Kids stand in front of their table.

" Ooh, Innie " Jeongbin greets his little brother.

" What a coincidence we met here " Bang Chan says while laughing.

Rowoon saw Stray Kids before he hid at Y/n legs and shocked his sister with his unexpected action.

" Why did you hide? " Y/n carries Rowoon in her arms.

" Why, baby? " Y/n tenderly ask him.

Rowoon peeks at Stray Kids member before he hides his face at Y/n chest with a shy smile, and Rowoon says something from Y/n chest.

" What? " Y/n try to listen to what Rowoon says.

" Stray Kids " Rowoon speaks with tiny voices.

Y/n and Jeongbin look shocked with words coming out of his mouth, so Y/n looks at Jeongbin, but Jeongbin waves his hand repeatedly at her.

" I'm not teaching him that " Jeongbin strongly denied.

Rowoon showed up on TV while saying the same words, and Minho got the clue after seeing that.

" You know us from TV? " Minho tries not to scare Rowoon, so he asks kindly.

Rowoon nodded with a happy face while Stray Kids members melted looking at the cute Rowoon, and Y/n finally got what Rowoon tried to tell them. Jeongbin told Stray Kids to sit together with them at one table, and the food all of them ordered arrived at the same time, so Y/n fed Rowoon the rice she ordered for him. Jeongbin saw how Stray Kids gazed at his girlfriend but decided not to say anything about that and let it be.

{Time Skip}

Stray Kids attached to Rowoon day by day after they met that day and made Rowoon see them almost every weekend, but this weekend Rowoon couldn't meet with them when the flu attacked him suddenly and Y/n took care of him at her parents house. Jeongbin sometimes came to help Y/n take care of Rowoon if he wasn't busy with work.

" Noo..na " Rowoon weakly looked at Y/n while trying to grab her hands. Y/n took Rowoon's small hand and softly caressed his head.

" It's ok, you will get well soon " Y/n smiles at Rowoon, and the little boy also gives her a smile.

" After you recover, I will bring you to eat very delicious food " Y/n told Rowoon.

" Promises? " Rowoon shows his pinky finger at Y/n.

" I'm promise " Y/n linked their pinky fingers together.

Y/n make Rowoon sleep back while Mrs.Kang stares at them from the doorway with a gentle face.

" Y/n, let's go eat first " Mrs.Kang said to her only daughter and rubbed Y/n's shoulder.

The mother and daughter get out from sleeping Rowoon's bedroom and go to the dining room that has all Kang's family, and Mrs.Kang makes Y/n sit beside Hyeonjin. Hyeonjin gives Y/n food to eat after a long day and takes care of sick Rowoon.

" Rowoon flu is almost recovered, you should get back to work " Mr.Kang stared at Y/n, and Y/n stared back at her father before nodding her head.

" You're going back to your condo? " Hyeonjun asked Y/n.

" Yes, I have to finish my work there, so I will drive back " Y/n slowly eats her food.

" That's good, drive carefully " Mr.Kang says without looking at his daughter.

Y/n eat quietly without bothering to reply back at Mr.Kang, and everyone goes quiet after that. Y/n and her father are really distant with each other since Y/n is young because Mr.Kang was so focused on his son's until he abandoned his only daughter. That's why, when she grew up, she avoided talking to her father and would not stay too long at her parents house, and Y/n's brothers always tried to make her feel comfortable at home when Mr.Kang was just ignoring her existence, and right now Y/n is holding her tears.

Hyeonjin caressing Y/n back to comfort the hurting girl towards their father's behaviour.

" I have to go. Tell me if something happens to Rowoon " Y/n didn't finish her food at all, and she got up from her seat.

Mrs.Kang saw Y/n's eyes glossy with tears, and she wanted to coax her daughter right away, but Y/n already went to her car and drove away without looking back. Y/n stopped her car in a quiet place before she burst into tears that she had been holding.

" Why can't he look at me? Am I disgusted until he has to do that? What's wrong with him? I'm also his child " Y/n hides her face while sobs escape her mouth.

Y/n just needs her father to love her and care about her, but Mr.Kang completely does not care about her, and Y/n feels disappointed and hurt deep in her heart.

Next day,

Y/n goes to work with swollen eyes, and her best friend notices that, so she grabs Y/n to go to a quiet place.

" Why do you cry? Your eyes are swollen " Hani asks her.

Y/n shakes her head and refuses to talk.

" You're father treating you badly again? " Hani directly looked into Y/n's eyes, Y/n's eyes became teary, and she cried on Hani's shoulder until Hani had to make her calm down.

" I swear to God if I meet your father, I will kick his ass for treating you like this " Hani muttered with an angry tone.

Hani let Y/n cry until she was satisfied on her shoulder, but one male approached both of them.

" Y/n - ssi " Y/n look up at Bang Chan standing in front of them with a concerned face.

Bang Chan fee like someone stabbed his heart many times after seeing Y/n eyes that still have tears.

" You knew my friend? " Hani looks at Bang Chan with suspicious eyes.

" I'm her friend " Bang Chan himself said, sounding unsure.

Hani looked at Y/n to see if it was true, but Y/n nodded at her. Bang Chan approached Y/n and braved himself to wipe Y/n's tears.

" What happened to you? " Bang Chan's eyes softened. Look at Y/n's face.

" Nothing " Y/n replies with a hoarse voice.

Bang Chan knew something was bothering the girl but decided not to push her because he is not her boyfriend to be noisy and someone was calling for both of the girls in front of him.

" We need to go " Hani and Y/n excuse themselves from Bang Chan.

Bang Chan only stared at them, then went away from him, and Bang Chan suddenly remembered the reason he was at that hotel, so Bang Chan turned to walk away from there.

Chan pov

I set my laptop in front of me, but something in my mind made me feel uneasy after I saw Y/n cry on her friend's shoulder this morning. I rubbed my face while letting out a heavy sigh. Just thinking about her made me go crazy, so I decided to take some fresh air for a while and get out from my studio before locking it, and I walked out from company with a mask and a cap to keep me away from reporters or fans.

While I was walking, I bumped into Jeongbin hyung, who almost dropped his drinks.

" Oh gosh! I'm sorry, Hyung " I quickly apologized to him.

" No worries, Chan " Jeongbin Hyung smiled at me.

" You alone?? without your bodyguard or manager? " Jeongbin Hyung look around.

" Yeah, I just want to take some fresh air " I let out a small laugh.

I actually want to ask him about Y/n, but I feel hesitant. What will he think if I ask about his girlfriend?

" Hyung, can I ask you about Y/n? " I braved myself to question him, and Jeongbin Hyung looked kind of shocked about my question.

" Sure, go ahead " Jeongbin Hyung replied.

" I don't want to be noisy, but I saw her cry this morning. Was Y/n sick or did something happen to her? " I ask while biting my lips.

Jeongbin Hyung exhaled some breath before he answered my question.

" I shouldn't tell you this matter because this is her private life, but I will tell you, you just need to promise me not to tell any single person about this " Jeongbin Hyung seriously talked to me.

I gave him a trusted nod, and we both sat down on one bench before Jeongbin Hyung told me about the reason why Y/n cried this morning. I frowned and kind of regretted it after Jeongbin Hyung told me the full story of the tears Y/n shed this morning, and now my mind is empty from any thoughts at this moment. I didn't notice that I was already in front of my studio.

" Channie Hyung " Someone is calling me from a distance.

" Ahh, Felix " I stare at one of my boyfriends, and I give him a questioned face.

" We are looking for you, but you're not at your studio, nor did you pick up the call " Felix said.

I rummage in my pocket and realize I didn't bring my phone with me either.

" I'm sorry, I go outside to take some fresh air " I scratch my head with a shy smile.

" Nevermind, come with me. The other was waiting for us to eat " Felix pulled me to go to the dance studio while the others were inside there.

From a distance, I can hear Changbin whine, which makes me smile at his whine.

Author pov

Jeongbin looks at the view in front of him when someone wraps their arms around his waist.

" Oppa " Y/n hid her face at Jeongbin's chest, and the male would cover her body from the cold wind.

Both of them are at Namsan Park, where there are not too many people today, and Y/n didn't question Jeongbin when he suddenly brought her here without telling her why. Jeongbin enjoyed the qualified time with Y/n after a long day for both of them.

" Jagi " Jeongbin looks down at Y/n.

" Hmm " Y/n responded to him.

" If one day we both break up, will you still accept me as your friend? " Jeongbin directly stares into Y/n's eyes.

Y/n let go of the hugs before giving him a mad look.

" You have another girl? " Y/n gave her boyfriend a serious look, and Jeongbin hugged her back.

" I don't look at other girls or women after I have you, I just wanted to know if something happened in our relationship, and I wanted to know if we could still be friends after we broke up. I still want to be your friend if we break up, and I will support you as a friend if one day you find a new lover, because to me, no matter what happens in our past relationship, I want the girl I once loved to be happy with her new life without me beside her " Jeongbin speaks with a soft tone.

Y/n almost burst into tears when he spoke like that to her, so Jeongbin tightened his hold on Y/n body with a sad smile on his face without Y/n knowing.

One week later,

Y/n went to Yang's house for a visit, but she didn't know that Stray Kids were also going back to Busan, so Y/n was shocked to see Stray Kids in the living room.

" Y/n - ah " Mrs.Yang gave the girl a welcomed hug.

" Oppa told me to give you this " Y/n give Mrs.Yang an expensive chocolate from Jeongbin.

" I already cleaned Jeongbin's room, so you can rest well in his room " Mrs.Yang told her.

" I'm sorry for troubling you with me. Stay here for a few days " Y/n muttered with an embarrassed tone.

Mrs.Yang reassured her with comforting words and told her to go rest first after driving for hours. Y/n took a rest when Mr.Kang called her, and Y/n hesitated to pick up the call, but she still answered with a long breath.

" Hello " Y/n spoke first.

" Y/n, why do you go to Busan? You know that today someone wanted to meet with you at our house. Why do you go to your boyfriend's family house? " Mr. Kang's voice was full of anger towards Y/n.

" Appa, I come to Busan for my work, not to enjoy it here " Y/n tried to explain to her father, but the next sentences coming out from Mr.Kang made Y/n feel hurt.

" BULLSHIT, is the stranger more important than your family? You knew my client wanted to meet you today, but you made me feel ashamed with your stupid action today " Mr.Kang shouted at her.

Y/n fought back her tears and shouted back to Mr.Kang.

" FOR YOU, ALL OF THEM MAYBE A STRANGER BUT NOT ME. THE YANG'S IS THE ONE WHO COMFORTS ME WHEN I HAVE A HARD TIME AND THEY THE ONE TREATEN ME LIKE A FAMILY, NOT YOU " Y/n shouted with tears flowing in her cheeks before she ended the call.

Y/n rushed to get out from the house without anyone having a chance to stop her after the argurment and Mrs.Yang knew that Y/n just had a big argument with her father over the phone, but she didn't get to stop the girl. Stray Kids saw Y/n's red face along with tears in her eyes, and they all got up to chase after her, but Y/n had already disappeared from the house.

" Eomma, what happened? " Jeongin gets inside and questions his mother.

" Y/n don't have a good relationship with her father, and I think she argues with him " Mrs.Yang told Jeongin.

Stray Kids faces changed to worry after that.

" We separate and look for her " Bang Chan ordered his members, and they separated to look after Y/n.

{Time Skip}

After an hour of searching for Y/n, Seungmin found her at Gwangalli Beach while hiding her face at her knees, so Seungmin slowly walked to Y/n figure.

" Y/n " Seungmin kneeled in front of Y/n while Y/n didn't lift her face at all.

" Everyone is looking for you and worried about you " Seungmin softly told her.

Y/n didn't reply to Seungmin, but she showed her face at him, and Seungmin's heart broke after seeing Y/n's swollen eyes with a red face after a few hours of crying non-stop.

" Let's go back home, hmm " Seungmin tenderly made her stand up.

Y/n doesn't protest when Seungmin carries her to the car, and the whole ride back home is so quiet until they arrive at Yang's household. While Stray Kids and Jeongin family wait for them both to arrive, Seungmin carries the sleeping Y/n inside the house and makes everyone exhale relief breath to see Y/n is safe without any harm to her body, and Seungmin puts Y/n in bed before getting out of the room.

" She's sleeping " Seungmin tells his other boyfriend.

" We should go to sleep now. It's late already " Jisung said, and everyone nodded their heads.

Stray Kids go to their rooms and sleep since it's already late at midnight.

Next morning,

Y/n feels someone hugging her body, and the familiar cologne hits Y/n nostril and makes Y/n nuzzle at him. Jeongbin holds Y/n body in his arms with secure.

" You wake up " Jeongbin says, giving Y/n a kiss at her nose.

" Why are you suddenly back in Busan? " Y/n asked, but she didn't look at Jeongbin in the face.

" Hyeonjin told me that you and Uncle had a big argument yesterday, and Yoon told me what happened here last night. You make me really worried about you when Yoon tells me about you going missing for hours " Jeongbin utters and makes a small circle at Y/n's back.

Jeongin knew that she had been crying for a few hours alone without bothering to call him and made him feel slightly sad about that after knowing what she had been through for a year and that he failed to be there with Y/n while Y/n felt glad he's here with her now.

" Let's go have breakfast, Eomma waited for us " Jeongbin got up and made Y/n groan while covering her face.

Jeongbin forced Y/n to get up before both of them went to the kitchen, which was filled with everyone, and both of them sat down together while everyone saw that Y/n's eyes were a little swollen from crying yesterday.

" Eat well, don't think about yesterday " Mrs.Yang said with a motherly voice towards Y/n.

Y/n ate the food quietly without talking to anyone, and after being done with her food, Y/n excused herself to get ready for a day while Jeongbin stared at Y/n with a concerned expression, and Mrs.Yang rubbed his shoulder with a sad smile.

" Give Y/n a little time, the wounds won't be treated in a short time " Mrs.Yang advised Jeongbin.

Stray Kids didn't say a word about the situation right now because they didn't want to make it worse than this, and Jeongbin decided to give his girlfriend time to heal.

Jeongbin pov

I sat down in my family yard while thinking about many things in my mind. Without notice, my younger brother slowly walked to me.

" Hyung " Jeongin's voice makes me snap back to reality.

I looked at him when he sat down beside me in front of our yard.

" What have you been thinking about? You look stressed " Jeongin, give me a question.

" So many things happen " I reply without looking at him.

" You're worried about Y/n, right? " Jeongin guessed, and I nodded at him.

" She will be fine, Hyung " Jeongin coaxed me.

" Jeongin - ah " I called his name.

Jeongin looks at me after I say his name.

" Can you take care of Y/n for me? If I happen to break up with her or break Y/n heart, look after her for me " I said.

Jeongin looked at me with a frown on his face.

" You want to break up with her? Why? " Jeongin confusedly asks me that, and I shake my head before I explain to him.

" I will not break up with her. If the situation forces me, maybe I have to break up with her, and I have a reason for breaking up, but... " I paused a little bit.

" I want someone who I really trust to take care of Y/n, and I trust you because you are my brother " I stare into Jeongin's eyes.

" She's really been a sweet girl since I first met her, and Y/n always comforts me if I have a hard time. Her father is a toxic parent for her because he always forces Y/n to meet with his little client to make a good deal with them, and he never thought about Y/n's feelings after all. I see with my own eyes how she has been treated by her own father. When I see all of that, I feel so scared if one day I have to hurt her " My tears fell from my eyes.

" I really love her, but if I end up hurting her feelings, I will do the same with her father, and Y/n will hate me " I sob, and I feel Jeongin hug me.

" You will not hurt Y/n when you both loved each other. I believe you must have big reasons for breaking up with her, and I know Y/n will forgive you, so don't worry. I will look after her for you, Hyung " Jeongin says with a soothing voice.

I gripped his arms and let my tears out while Jeongin gave me comforting words.

{Time Skip}

I text Hyeonjin about Y/n's current moods and tell him about how she has been doing.

Hyeonjin

Y/n still crying?

Nope, she looks fine now, but she is still sad over it

Hyeonjin

That's good. You should bring her up to date

I will bring her to dinner tonight

Hyeonjin

Good. Have fun with her

Of course

I put down my phone before I searched for clothes for dinner later with Y/n.

" Oppa " Y/n peeks a little from the door.

" Ooh, why do you peek like that? " I turn to her.

" I thought you changed your clothes " Y/n slowly got inside and sat down in bed while staring at me.

" I'm looking for the clothes for tonight " I tell her. I rummage through my wardrobe when Y/n gives me a back hug.

" Oppa, Mianhae ( I'm sorry ) " She spoke suddenly, and I became bewildered by her behavior.

" Why? You are not doing anything wrong to me, Jagi " I tried to turn, but Y/n didn't want to let go.

" I did, I make everyone worried, and I make you come here even though you are busy with your work " Y/n muttered from behind.

I gently breathed the hug before face-to-face with Y/n, and Y/n showed me a guilty expression while pursed her lips.

" Y/n look at me " I raise her chin to look at my face.

" It's not your fault, and I'm the one who rushed back to comfort you after what happened. You always spend your time when I have a problem, and now it's my time to be here with you when you have a rough day " I give Y/n a bright smile.

" That's why you don't call me because you are scared that you will bother my work, hmm? " I ask with a soft gaze.

I softened when I saw Y/n nod her head at my question, and I chuckled softly while I brought her to sit on the bed and kneeled in front of her.

" You silly girl " I booped her nose and saw Y/n scrunch her face at that action.

" I'm your boyfriend, and you should lean on me, you have a right to bother your boyfriend with your problem because that's what your partner has to do " I lightly scold her while making a fake mad face.

Y/n giggled when she saw my face, and I felt glad she was back to herself and laughing without a force or fake laugh to not make people worried for her, so I tickled her down to make sure she laughed loudly until everyone heard her laughter. Our laughter echoed in every corner of the house, and I forgot about other people inside the house.

To Be Continue

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Author's note : Hai, Sorry for the late update but i wanna tell you that i maybe update the story two weeks once on three weeks once because i want to focus make oneshot so i'm sorry for the late update & thanks for waiting the next chapter

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veillover19 · 2 months

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Some time ago her stepfather lost all of their money after he tried to run a Ponzi scheme, tried to recruit the Sheikh and got caught. What little remained was taken in fines after he was sent to jail and now she's stranded in a far away land without money for a ticket home. But luckily the Sheikh offered to front her the money for a ticket if she worked as a Maid at his palace for a month. That was three months ago but with cost of living being so much lower here (and all her bed and board provided gratis) and with literally no job prospects back home she's stuck around. It wasn't as if the work was that hard, the uniform was actually quite flattering and the pastry chef had taken her on three dates. Even though women were second class citizens here she almost feels more at home than she did where she came from. She still expects to go home eventually but for now she is content...

(AI art made with Stable Diffusion)

#ai sexy #aiart #caricature #hijab #hijabfantasy #hijabiselegant #hijabfashion #burqa #hijabi #niqab #maid

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thesullengrrrl · 6 days

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We'll Meet Again

When retired time traveler Elaine Byrne accidentally goes back to 1941, she meets Robert Rosenthal on the eve of his enlistment.

Author's note: I wrote this fic few weeks ago and I only now had the guts to post it here in Tumblr. Thank you to the lovely people who read and commented my work in AO3. If you prefer to read there, I got you...here's the link. I've not written for a long time, so I hope you will enjoy this. Thank you! ❤️

Chapter 1

For the past three years, Elaine Byrne avoided being alone in dark enclosed spaces or visualizing vivid sceneries with her eyes closed. Whenever she feels bad about life, she smokes in the nearest smoking area or writes it down in her journal.

However, this time it was different.

This time she forgot that she’s not supposed to go inside the restaurant’s cold room on her own. It was Friday and the chef was chewing her ear off over a wrong order. Her energy was already depleted and all she wants to do is go home. Almost instinctively, she went straight to the cold room to shed some tears.

As she walked back to the dining area, faint jazz music could be heard. It grew louder as she continued on, and Elaine does not remember a band being hired that night. A male waiter almost bumped into her, half-shouting, “Hey! You can’t be here!” She took note of his uniform. It was a shirt with a bow tie, black pants and a white apron covering half his pants.

The sight of her destination surprised her.

It was the same dining area, with stage and piano in it, except that the people now are wearing clothing from a bygone time. Men were in suits, women in knee length dresses with slightly defined shoulders. The upholstery and furniture are no longer the same color. The air was filled with smoke and the smell of alcohol and sweat made her gag a little.

She has done it again. The very activity she avoided for the past three years. With this realization, she went to the bathroom and luckily, it’s still in the same place where she remembered it.

Picking the last sink in a row, she opened the faucet, and splashed some water on her face. When she finally faced the mirror, her mouth fell open. Besides from the water droplets falling from her face, her makeup is not her usual. She now has a redder lip and defined eyebrows. Her brown hair is now curled and pinned in ways she would never do.

She took some paper towels on the side and dabbed her face in it. This time, Elaine took a longer moment to observe the image in the mirror. Aside from the makeup, she finally noticed her change of clothing. No longer in her trusty vested white polo and black slacks, but now she’s donning a dark red dress with slightly puffed sleeves and triangular cut outs on the collar. It was slightly figure hugging, which highlighted her curves that were often lost in her waitress uniform. Elaine held up her hand and touched the mirror’s surface. It’s me. This makes me feel like Peggy Carter minus the combat skills.

She was about to go when she heard heels clicking towards her direction. For some reason, she locked herself in one of the stalls and someone started sniffing and a vague ‘There, There’ could be heard.

“Oh Mabel,” a high pitched voice said. “At least he let you down gently and did not lead you on. You know Beth in Accounting? Her man just left her without a word!”

“That’s because he’s just feeling sorry for me!” Mabel cried. “I already thought about the wedding we could’ve had, Jo.”

Jo audibly sighed. “Mabel, you know you were only seeing him for three weeks, right?”

“He’s dreamy and nice! A lawyer! And my cat even likes him!”

Mabel’s own statement made her cry even more.

“I know, but at least he let you down gently. He has a point. You don’t have to wait around for him anymore,” Jo comforted.

The two women she was eavesdropping kept quiet for a little after that. Then she heard the faucet running and paper towels being ripped off. A few clinking more and she heard someone exhale loudly.

“Are you ready to say goodbye?” Jo asked.

A sniff. “Okay, let’s go, Jo.”

“That’s more like it,” Jo replied. Their heels started clicking away from the bathroom. Elaine waited for a minute or two just to make sure they weren’t coming back and she emerged from her stall.

She gazed at the mirror one last time and exited. Inhaling the strong scents of tobacco and alcohol, she scouted for a place to sit in. It was hard to see who’s sitting alone or not at first glance, so she slowly dragged her feet, hoping for the one.

Instinctively, she touched her side and thanked the heavens for its pockets. She reached in and instead of a phone, she felt a small notepad, a pencil and coins. Helpful .

Finally, she saw her target.

The one was a lone, mustachioed man with a half-empty glass of beverage in front of him. He seemed to be in deep thought while his fingers were tapping the table in tune with what was being played on stage. He looks nice. Taking a deep breath, Elaine strode towards his table and pulled a chair beside him. He was startled with the sound of chair legs against the floor.

“What–”

“Hi there,” Elaine greeted, flashing her best smile. “Great night?”

“It was until I heard the news,” the man replied. She was about to ask what was the news but he beat her to it.

“The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.”

“Oh, that’s what it is,” Elaine realized. “A woman in the bathroom was crying because her boyfriend was enlisting.”

The information made the man perk up and turned to her. “Was she blonde? In a purple dress?”

“I don’t know. I was hiding in one of the stalls.”

This amused the man beside her. “What? Why were you hiding?”

“I was having a moment, then I heard them come in. They were coming in fast, click click click, so I hid. Then someone started crying and I didn't want to intrude, so I stayed there.” Elaine explained.

“‘They’?” he asked.

“Yeah. Two women. Jo and Mabel,” she shared.

“Ah, yes. They were with me earlier. Mabel wanted to go home, so I guess it’s official now.”

Elaine scrunched up her nose. “Ah, that sucks, man. Too bad her cat loves you.”

“Hmmm. Yeah, Mr. Giggles.”

“Although,” she started. “You do know you could be in a relationship while overseas, right?”

He shook his head. “I can’t afford to have any distractions. And I don’t want life to pass her by because she was waiting for me. What if I never return?”

“What if you do?” she countered. “Have a little faith.”

“How do you know that?”

She kept quiet, feeling like his question was rhetorical. He has a point. When he’s on the battlefield, the chances of him coming back are slim to none.

As the band played another tune, the upcoming war entered her mind. This man is enlisting in the army tomorrow to fight Nazis. Jesus Christ, what was the closest thing she could experience to that? The thing that came to her mind was nothing compared to going to war on the other side of the world.

“Oh well. You’ll meet other women,” she assured him. Then she proceeded to scan his appearance. “You’re tall, handsome, and that pornstache would definitely rake in the girls.”

“Porn-what?” he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

Elaine closed her eyes at her words. Her hand went to her head, scrunching her eyes to think of what to say. Of course, the day she dreaded finally came. The day where her weird attraction to 70s mustaches will be her downfall.

“Never mind. It’s your mustache,” she corrected, motioning his face. “And those baby blue eyes? Ridiculous.”

Her companion was about to answer when a blond man came to their table.

“Good evening, Miss.”

It took her a moment to realize that a man standing on their table was referring to her. She smiled at him. The man she was with eyed the stranger with suspicion. “Hello there.”

“The tune’s pretty swell, can I dance with you? Miss…?”

Elaine scanned the man’s appearance. He was tall and thin with wide shoulders and almost white hair. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties. Who are you supposed to be, Draco Malfoy?

“I’m Elaine,” she introduced. You are?”

“Albert.”

For a moment, her mission of attempting to know which year she was in felt futile. What’s a little dancing when you’re time traveling? Without taking a second look to her companion, she nodded and took the man’s hand and made their way to the dance floor. With their hands on their proper positions, they started swaying to the music.

They were having a nice conversation until the guy started to lean in for a kiss. She managed to avoid this and his lips landed on her cheek. The reek of alcohol from his mouth made her wince. She gave him a fake smile, hoping that all of this will be over soon. They swayed once again, but this time she felt his hand moving from the small of her back to her butt and grabbed it.

Her eyes widened and pushed him away. This made a mini domino effect on the other couples on the dance floor, earning them weird looks and glares.

“Back off,” Elaine warned.

This did not deter him and took it as a challenge instead.

“Aww, baby, you’re feisty. I like that,” Albert taunted, cornering her like a prey.

Elaine took short breaths to calm herself, her right hand slowly turning into a fist.

Suddenly, a loud thud of falling tables was heard. The music stopped.

“Fight! Fight!”

He rushed where the scream was. He was observing her in a distance to somewhat guard her, as if she was someone he needed to look after. The man she was dancing with did not seem trustworthy enough for him, especially when he saw his companions laugh at them for some reason.

The blond man was bleeding out of his nose while she was grunting in pain.

“Fuck you!” Elaine yelled.

He went to her and took her hand. “What happened?”

“That asshole,” Elaine growled, pointing to the man on the floor, “was feeling me up!”

A small crowd gathered where they were. One older man lunged at Elaine’s curly haired companion and started throwing punches. He missed and continued pursuing. Elaine jumped into the brawl, attempting to break them apart. Few patrons, probably thrilled with this sudden turn, dove in as well, unknown whether to pull her out of the commotion or punch the other guy.

It continued on for a few minutes until someone blew a whistle.

The crowd departed and it revealed a portly, semi-bald man with a whistle hanging on his neck.

“WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING HERE?” he roared. Those in the brawl slowly detached themselves from each other. Everyone was in varying degrees of bleeding and pain, most especially that man who felt up Elaine.

The portly manager glared at all of them then his eyes filled with recognition. “Robert? Is that you, boy?”

Elaine looked at who he was referring to.

It was the lonely, mustachioed man who broke up with Mabel. His name is Robert.

He does look like a Robert, Elaine thought. The carefully gelled curly hair, neat mustache, smell of manly perfume with hints of tobacco and alcohol…It’s like she was transported to a 1940s movie with Cary Grant as the lead star and she’s the fast-talking femme fatale.

“Minty!" Robert smiled and shook hands with the man as if there were no two slightly injured persons in front of them. The manager pulled him from the floor and when they stood up, he towered over Minty.

“Minty, I’m so sorry about the mess. This guy made moves on my friend and she just defended herself. I had to jump in,” he explained.

“Picking fights already? Save some for those Nazis!” Minty exclaimed. He snapped his fingers and two broad men appeared. He ordered the troublemakers to be taken outside the club.

Robert only smiled sheepishly. Minty seemed charmed by this and asked both of them to follow him. Elaine looked at him suspiciously. “Where are we going?”

“I know him, don’t worry,” he assured her.

The trio entered a small office. The walls were painted red and there was a sturdy table that is the main piece of the room. It has a matching leather chair behind it and several crates of alcohol stacked up to the ceiling. Papers are haphazardly piled up and a clothes rack near the window. It felt like a claustrophobic’s nightmare.

“Sit down, sit down, kids,” Minty motioned to the two leather chairs in front of the table. The two sat and Elaine’s eyes laid at the calendar hanging behind Minty.

DECEMBER 1941

Ah, fuck. Wrong guess! All of the numbers on the first row were crossed except for number seven. They watched Minty pour three glasses of whiskey (or scotch?) and gave them one each.

“What’s your name, doll?”

“I’m Elaine. Elaine Byrne.”

“So, how did the two of you meet?” Minty asked, eyeing the two of them.

“Um–” Elaine started. Robert covered her hand and started talking.

“We only met tonight. Mabel stormed out when she found out I was enlisting. Told her I don’t want her waiting for me while I fight.”

Minty nodded in understanding. “I wouldn’t take it away from Rosie to meet a girl after breaking up with one!”

Elaine glanced at the two men curiously.

“Why is that, Minty?” she questioned. “Is Rosie here a player?”

This made Rosie blush a little. Minty shook his head.

“No, doll, he’s a lawyer! He sweet talks for a living!”

Elaine turned to her companion. “A lawyer, huh? Interesting.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rosie confirmed. “Although, I don’t sweet talk anyone, Minty.”

“Tell that to anyone who would listen, Rosie.”

“Why is he called Rosie?” Elaine wondered, looking at Minty. “Is it the rosy cheeks?”

“Ah, it’s because of his surname. Rosenthal. Only friends and family are allowed. That’s why I only called him that in here,” Minty informed her.

Elaine listened to the two men catch up with their lives. Rosie confirmed his enlistment tomorrow, and Minty seemed to be worried about his young friend. Rosie is a strapping young man of twenty-four and Minty said that America joining the war will be a bloodbath.

“I will be fighting for my people and country, Minty,” Rosie solemnly reasoned. “These people we will be protecting, they can’t fight for themselves, can they?”

“You seem like you made up your mind quite fast,” Minty observed. Rosie only nodded.

The three of them sat in silence. Elaine was feeling a bit uncomfortable with it, so she downed the glass of amber liquid given to her. She coughed a little, for she rarely drinks this type of liquor. Call her childish, but she would rather sit happily with her colorful drinks with an umbrella in it than pretend to be like Don Draper. “What is it, whiskey?”

“Scotch,” the older man confirmed. “Too strong for you?”

Elaine agreed. “Yeah.”

When she finished the drink, Rosie stood up. “We better be going now, Mint.”

“Say hi to your mother for me,” Minty told Rosie. He nodded.

“Thank you for the scotch,” Elaine said, waving Minty goodbye. The two made their way back to the dining hall. They did not see Minty smiling at the sight of them.

The band was playing something more slow, and the atmosphere felt like no brawl happened. However, it felt more somber. Maybe it’s the music that the band was playing. The dance floor seemed shinier, the lights dimmer, and couples are dancing closer than ever. It was probably the news of the Pearl Harbor attack that made them rethink the time they have.

For them, it’s only the beginning.

For Elaine, it’s only looking at the past at a closer look. Beyond the bigger picture that history books offer. She is no longer reading these big events in a book, but the individuals that will soon be affected by this attack.

For a night, she’s one of them.

Rosie was observing her as she watched the dance floor. Her hair is still quite a mess after the brawl and yet, the out-of-place hair strands seemed to be framing her face instead. She seemed oblivious to any of the music being played, but then maybe she’s not a fan of jazz and prefers something else.

This strange, pretty woman felt like trouble. Minutes within meeting her, and he was already fighting in a brawl for her. He never did that to any girl he went out with. He felt guilty about what happened between him and Mabel and maybe he’ll think about it tomorrow still.

But he cannot deny wanting to get to know Elaine more after tonight.

“Let’s dance, Rosie,” Elaine invited, extending her hand to him. Rosie gazed at her hand, thought about it, and took it. She pulled him into the dance floor, slightly squeezing in among the sea of couples. He placed his hands on its proper positions and she did the same. Slowly, they swayed along, closer than ever.

“Is it okay if I call you Rosie? Minty said only friends and family are allowed to call you that,” she wondered aloud.

“You’re already calling me Rosie anyway, so go ahead.”

“What were you thinking about earlier?”

“When?”

“When I asked you to dance, you’re deep in thought. Any thoughts you want to share?”

He sighed. “You won’t let this go, won’t you?”

“Nope,” she smiled. “I want to hear it.”

“I was thinking about what you said. That maybe I’ll come back from the war alive? Have a little faith?”

Elaine glanced at her side, suddenly feeling shy. She was only trying to encourage him to take a chance on romance during the war. She did not realize he would pick on it and discuss it further.

“Well, going to war alone seemed like a sad thing to do. Sure, it might be invigorating for you as a man, getting in combat and all, but what happens when you’re all alone in some trench?” Elaine explained.

“I can write letters home,” he reasoned.

“But can you share what you’ll see in the field with them?”

“I can’t share it with my imaginary girlfriend either, Elaine.”

With no answer to give him anymore, she rolled her eyes. Rosie caught it and found it endearing.

“Speechless? No rebuttal?” Rosie challenged.

“Shut up, Robert.”

“So it’s Robert now when I annoy you?” he teased.

“Yes, Robert,” she pointed out, trying to hide a grin.

Rosie pulled her a little closer and she felt his hands get a little sweaty. She tried not to chuckle, but her body reacted before it was too late. The band played another new song, and when she glanced at him, she watched him mouth the words.

“Do you know this song?” she asked.

“We’ll Meet Again,” he replied, looking down at her.

“I doubt that, Rosie.”

Rosie chuckled at her. “Silly. I mean, it’s the title. We’ll Meet Again.”

She rested her head at his chest, once again embarrassed by her blunder. “Oh god. I’ve been just an embarrassing person all night, am I?”

“This is the most interesting night I’ve had for a while. Don’t worry about it,” he assured her.

She only nodded. She took in his scent, and wondered if he noticed it. I hope he didn’t. But maybe he did. My inhale was pretty obvious. As the song went on, Elaine thought of why she is here at this very moment. She could’ve been back in Minton’s by now by going back where she came from—in the cold room.

Instead, she stayed and now slow dancing with a man she just met.

Elaine stopped time traveling on purpose three years ago. It was once an exciting thing to discover at eighteen, but now at twenty-six, it felt like an unhealthy coping mechanism. She made mistakes on those travels and made her run away from her life. She stayed far too long in some places and saw the consequences blow right up to her face.

However, tonight, she did not time travel on purpose.

And there must be a reason why it happened.

The song finished and everyone clapped. Rosie and Elaine removed their hands from each other and joined the crowd. Backing away from the dance floor, they sat in an empty booth.

As she stared at Rosie, she knew she had to go home. Rosie felt her eyes at him and they spent a good few seconds memorizing each other’s details, like taking a photograph. Elaine took in his blue eyes and the styled curly mop of hair, while Rosie gazed at her hazel green eyes and a small scar on her forehead. She wondered how it would appear if not styled with sticky gel. Rosie blushed a little at the intensity of her gaze, smiling shyly at her. Elaine chuckled at how ridiculous and romantic it all must have looked like.

A gentleman with a big camera managed to capture this romantic scene. The blinding flash surprised the two, making them jump in their seats. The bulb was still smoking.

“I’ll send it to Minty once it’s developed!” the man with a camera said. “You’re one good looking couple!”

“That’s one big camera,” Elaine observed. “That flash almost blinded me!”

He laughed at her observation. “Will they ever make a flash bulb less blinding?”

“I don’t think so,” she answered, smiling.

They settled for a moment and Rosie waved at a waiter. The waiter was quick at his feet and reached them. However, Elaine grabbed his arm to stop him. “I need to go home now.”

“Oh, is that so?” he asked, a slight disappointment in his tone. The waiter seemed to sense this and looked at Elaine. She lifted her head to dismiss him, which the waiter did.

“Yeah, it’s quite late and I’m on opening shift,” she reasoned. It was true though.

“If that’s the case, I’ll take you home,” he declared. “Where do you live?”

He can’t take you home! You don’t live in 1941, girl!

“Just a few blocks away, but I’ll be fine. I’ll walk.”

He looked at her with disbelief. “Elaine, I’ll walk you home. Or at least call you a cab. You can’t walk by yourself at this hour after what happened.”

“I can. I can throw in a punch, you know.”

“Elaine, no.”

The way Rosie said her name made her melt a little. That deep dulcet tone with a hint of concern (or was it disappointment with hardheadedness) made her rethink about her decision to leave. One more drink can’t hurt, right?

“Fine. But first, I need to go to the ladies’ room,” she said.

“All right. I’ll wait here.”

Elaine made her way to the ladies’ room, her heart beating so fast it’s the only thing she could hear. This is the moment she leaves him. It has to be. Damn that dulcet voice for making her doubt. When she reached the ladies’ room, she took the notepad and pencil inside her pocket and quickly scribbled. After that, she folded it neatly and got out. She waved to the same passing waiter who almost took their order earlier.

“Yes, ma’am?” the waiter said.

“Can you pass this to the gentleman with the mustache?” she requested, pointing him to Rosie who was chatting with an elderly man.

“You mean Rosie? No problem, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. When the waiter was out of sight, she made her way to the turn. She wondered if she would take one last look at Rosie. But she decided against it.

The storage room was there, waiting for her. Sighing, she took one last look at her surroundings, checking if she was being watched. Then she slid the door and entered.

She murmured and closed her eyes.

Moments later, there’s knocking at the door. “Elaine! Get out! I need some supplies!”

Maybe we’ll meet again, Rosie.

“Coming, Bunny!”

—

When Elaine left to go home, the new busboys were left after they cleaned up the place. They sat to rest before actually going home. One of them, Jerry, was looking at the wall filled with pictures and memorabilia from old patrons and past owners from different decades. Their jazz club had been open since the late 1930s and it could feel like a museum sometimes.

While he was scanning the frames, one picture stood out to him. It was a photo of a couple in a booth, staring at each other adoringly. The picture seemed like straight from a movie scene, which made Jerry think if it was a screenshot from an unknown movie of the time.

He leaned in closer and noticed the woman in the photo. She looked like one of their waitresses. Elaine! But the woman in the photo was with better hair and of course, wearing vintage clothing. She was gazing at the mustachioed man as if studying him, and the man was doing the same to her. They looked cozy and adorable.

“Hey Bunny, look at this,” Jerry called. The woman he was calling came to him almost immediately.

“What is it, Jer?” she asked.

“She looks a lot like Elaine, no?”

Bunny leaned in as well to check the photo. “Oh yeah, she does. Maybe her grandma or something?”

“Maybe,” Jerry replied.

“We’ll tell Elaine tomorrow,” Bunny said.

What the two failed to notice was the small inscription at the lower right edge of the photo. It said:

Rosie & Elaine, 1941

#masters of the air #we'll meet again #mota #mota fic #masters of the air fic #rosie rosenthal #time travel #oc: elaine byrne #time travel au #rosie rosenthal x oc

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mariacallous · 2 months

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Down the road from where I live a friend came across a man tearing down pictures of Israeli hostages. You’ve probably seen the portraits by bus stops and railway stations. Activists print them off from sites highlighting the hostages’ plight and fly-post pictures of the men, women and children Hamas kidnapped.

As the hostages are civilians, my friend asked why would anyone want to destroy their pictures.

He was beaten up for his pains. Defending innocent Jewish civilians makes you an accomplice of Benjamin Netanyahu in London today.

And not just in London. Anti-Jewish hatred in the UK has exploded since Hamas attacked Israel – recorded incidents have doubled. The violence my friend experienced is still rare, thankfully. But the fear of Islamist terrorism or just everyday thugs running riot is everywhere in the Jewish community, and to a lesser extent in wider society as well.

A drumbeat of stories builds the tension.

Belatedly and reluctantly, the Labour party disowned its Muslim candidate in the forthcoming Rochdale by-election. He had all the usual prejudices, and a few I had not heard about before.

He imagined that “people in the media from certain Jewish quarters” were targeting pro-Palestinian politicians, and that the Israeli state had allowed Hamas to rape, shoot and burn alive 1200 of its people because it wanted a pretext to invade Gaza.

As I am writing this piece, there’s news of a (white) comedian, who describes himself as an “experimental fusionist” and an “absurdist laughter chef,” and is just as stupid as his description implies. In a scene redolent of medieval prejudice, he encouraged the audience at the Soho Theatre in central London to chant “get the fuck out” and “free Palestine” at a Jewish member of the audience.

Incidentally the Soho Theatre is on the site of the old West End Great Synagogue, built at a time when Jews were welcome in London

Before that Rabbi Zecharia Deutsch, the Jewish chaplain of Leeds University, his wife and two kids were moved to a safe house on police advice after receiving hundreds of death threats.

Online “activists” pointed out the rabbi had served in the Israeli Defence Force, and so presumably any number of violent threats were justified.

The justification, such as it is, would have carried more plausibility if incidents of hatred had not exploded as soon as the news of the Hamas massacres broke in October. They were celebrations of anti-Jewish violence not a reaction to the violence of the Israeli armed forces.

If you doubt that there are reasons to be frightened, go to your nearest synagogue and see the guards. Or talk to the parents of Jewish children and hear them describe how Jewish schools tell pupils to discard uniforms that allow potential attackers to mark them out as targets.

All of this and much more is causing deep alarm in the Jewish community, and a dangerous reaction among right-wing Jewish pressure groups, who are getting the response to racism about as wrong as they possibly can.

Here’s how.

The Jewish right is caught up in the same paranoid ideology of the rest of the modern British right, and indeed of the Trumpian right in the United States. It sees the woke mind virus everywhere. It assumes that progressives have marched through the institutions and made them borderline antisemitic, if not all-out racist.

In the case of violence against Jews, the supposed triumph of wokedom means that ideologically compromised police officers will not protect Jews by standing up to far leftists and Islamists.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism, has encouraged its allies in the Conservative government to introduce ever-greater restrictions on rights to protest. This week it was welcoming new punishments for demonstrators who desecrate war memorials (who could already be prosecuted under existing law) and who wear face coverings to conceal their identity.

I do not want to condemn the campaign out of hand. There’s no doubt the pro-Palestinian marches in London frighten Jewish people. Some 90% of British Jews say that they would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was underway.

There is no doubt, too, that fear of violence is not just confined to Jews. It is everywhere, although we don’t like to talk about it.

People disappear in the UK for offending Islamists, and respectable society looks the other way. Before the rabbi at Leeds University, there was a religious studies teacher at a Yorkshire school. Three-years ago he showed his students a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. He still remains in hiding and is unlikely ever to return home.

The UK is nowhere near being the free country it pretends to be. I understand why so many are frightened. That said, you can still look at right-wing politicians and organisations and wonder where they are heading.

While praising Conservative ministers’ trifling changes to the law, which are little better than PR stunts, the Campaign Against Antisemitism denounces the police.

“For months now, we have been asking for tougher restrictions to be placed on these protests, which have made our urban centres no-go zones for Jews. While the police have failed the Jewish community and law-abiding Londoners, the Government, to its credit, is listening. These new laws will help address the mob mentality that we have observed in these protests. There is no justification for such scenes, and now, there will be no legal defence.”

Jewish leaders who work to protect the community told me on condition of anonymity that the attacks on the police make no sense. They consult with officers regularly, they say. The idea that the police are part of some woke conspiracy to ignore radical Islam and turn a blind eye to potential terrorism is ridiculous.

So it is, and it conceals a dangerous desire.

For if you think that conservatives are yearning to ban peaceful demonstrations, you are not wrong. Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman, his radical right home secretary last year, tried to force the police to do just that.

Braverman fell into anti-woke conspiracy theory and accused the police of taking a tougher approach to right-wing groups than to “pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour”.

The Met to its credit refused to buckle under the pressure. Officers told the politicians they could interfere with freedom of assembly only if there was a threat of serious disorder, and that the "very high threshold" has not been reached.

The right has not given up. Here is the Campaign Against Antisemitism again.

“The people of this country expect the lawlessness on our streets to be brought firmly under control, and with these changes there are now even fewer excuses for police inaction.”

The attack follows the Campaign’s previous denunciations of London’s liberal Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan (which I covered here). Khan has gone out of his way to defend London’s Jews, but is the centre of a far-right and at times a fascistic hate campaign from Donald Trump and others, simply because he is a Muslim.

Yearning for bans is hopeless from both a moral and practical point of view. Tactically, it is all wrong. I can think of nothing more likely to fuel conspiracy theories about Jewish power than the banning of demonstrations.

If they were turning into riots, it would be another matter, and they should be banned regardless of the conspiracy theories.

But they are not degenerating into riots, and in a free country, people should be free to protest. We do not want to be governed by the Western equivalent of Hamas, after all.

Equally if protestors are not engaged in violence or the incitement to violence, it is a waste of police time suppressing them: police time which – and forgive me if I am labouring the obvious – could be better spent countering authentic threats to Jews and everyone else.

For who on earth do right-wing Jewish groups think stand between them and Islamist terrorism? The Tory party? The comment desk of the Daily Telegraph? A professional loudmouth on GB News?

Or the police service they waste so much time and energy denigrating?

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theviceadmiralswife · 5 months

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Alignment fever chapter 1 part 1

Salute recruits and soldiers to this moaning Monday🌊⚓🌊⚓🌊⚓🌊⚓🌊⚓🌊⚓🌊

Today I spoil you all with the first chapter of a Vice admiral Dalmatian x reader fanfic. Because of restrictions on word count i have to split it in 3 posts, you can also always vist my blog for every other part. So cuddle in fluffy blanket and enjoy this story of the furry vice admiral.

Alignment Fever

chapter 1 fated to meet in heat

Dalmatian the zoan vice admiral looks up as the door opens “what do you want?”, he softly growls as he had just got back from being on the seas. Marineford was hit by a heatwave like none other before and Dalmatian didn't like this at all. Y/n entered the office, she was a short somewhat curvy women, nice curves, half his size shoulder long strawberry blonde wavy hair tight into a bun, the woman was wearing a HQ kitchen uniform, one of the new servers or cooks no doubt. "Hello vice admiral Dalmatian , y/n here I've been ordered to bring refreshments to all higher officers and vice admirals, would you like some cold water?", she says in a friendly professional tone as not to disturb the vice admiral for too long, y/n cracks a small smile. “Oh hello, y/n was it?, yes yes sure… desk please and… if you could leave now Id appreciate it.”, he waved his hand not looking up from his paperwork, but he could hear her footsteps as she got the water and brought it to him. polite and professional she placed ice cold water in a jug and a glass on his desk carefully: "Yes sir, Sorry just bringing water to everyone in this heatwave orders of the head chef she's very strict". as y/n placed the water on his desk as she did her scent hit his nostrils a mixture between perfume and hormone and pheromones, Dalmatian recognised the scent as heat, but he was taken aback by the fact that it was so powerful almost intoxicating. He watched her do this as he felt his heart rate go up slightly and his tail slightly wagging up and down, he took a huge sip of water it was refreshing indeed, but her smell remained in heat. "I'm glad you like to be offered water.", she said that noticing his tail wagging. He realized it was wagging and it stopped immediately as he blushed slightly: “I ah- uh- uh- I- just, thank you.”. She blushes a bit her face going red, it was obvious like everyone else she was suffering from the heatwave, but Dalmatian knew this woman was also in her heat cycle she was hot for more then just the weather reason. Dalmatians tail started wagging faster flicking with desire. She needed a mate and he wondered about if she had a mate already then it would soon be time to do it, very soon, but then again she was pure human….. Y/n blushes even more as she seemed to be entranced by Dalmatians tail and for a moment time stood still. "Here !", Dalamatian refilled his glass of water and handed it to y/n , " Drink your hot too!". He hoped that this wouldn't be taken the wrong way by her. "Oh sir, I possibly couldn't drink your water..", y/n replied blushing even harder now, this heatwave was a drag but in uniform she found it to be unbearable, feeling like she was sweating every second. y/n being so flustered made her scent of heat all the more intoxicating to Dalmatian , pulling and enticing his instincts to surface. He stood up from his desk, towering with his large frame over y/n , she smells SO good to him his pupils dilated, his tail started to flick some more. " No I insist have a glass of water you must work hard bringing water to us all on this floor!", Dalmatian said with as much confidence as he could muster, speaking became incredibly hard. y/n drank the water in a few gulps she was feeling feverish for a while now and thought the heatwave got to her really badly, she was happy and grateful for a bit of kindness shown by the large vice admiral. Dalmatian watched as she closed her eyes and drank the water every image of her drinking called out to his primal nature, her scent how she moved, how she sounded, how she looked.

#one piece #one piece marines #One piece vice admirals #one piece x reader #Vice admiral Dalmatian #Dalmatian x reader #One piece marine fanfic

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inter-fandomfollower · 1 year

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*Leonardo x Fem! Reader* A Princess and a Frog Au pt 2

Story Prompt: Leonardo was the second eldest prince to the Kingdom of Shangrao. You're a woman who works to make a dream become a reality in New Orleans.

Who could guess that with new experiences, new dangers lurk around every corner?

Italics + 🎶 means singing

Years Later

As the same door to the bedroom opened, in walked you, but as a grown 19 year old woman and you were exhausted from work.

You begrudgingly closed the door with your back and kicked off your shoes with a tired look on your face. You then took off your apron and walked over to your dresser.

As you opened the top drawer, canisters of coins and some dollars could be found inside it.

"Well, that was a rough night, but every little bit helps."

You emptied the money out of one of your aprons pocket and closed the drawer. You reached into the other pocket of your apron to find the same picture your dad gave you.

A smile was plastered on your face as you placed the picture on your mirror. Right next to the mirror was a framed photo of your father when he went to war, and a medal hanging on a corner of the frame of the photo.

"Don't worry, Dad."

You placed a kiss to your pointer and middle fingers and pressed it against the framed photo.

"We'll be there soon."

Tired and fatigued, you trekked over to your bed. Not even bothering to take off the rest of your apparel, you body slammed onto your bed, almost immediately dozing off into slumber.

However, the sweet release of sleep never came, as the alarm clock rang not even a minute later.

You pressed your toes onto the alarm clock to shut it off. You reluctantly got up and opened your wardrobe closet. You hastily took off your night waitress job's little bonnet.

"Good night, Cal's."

You grabbed your other waitress uniform from the small wardrobe closet.

"Good morning, Duke's."

Time quickly passed as you left the house and caught up to the trolley as it headed into town.

~🎶In the south land, there's a city🎶

🎶Way down on the river🎶~

You were reading a magazine on cooking, not noticing a man looking at you.

~🎶Where the women are very pretty🎶~

Just as the man was about to you a flower, you got off at your stop. And much to the man's disappointment, another guy on the trolley wasn't to fond of the flower, seeing as how it looked like it was being gestured to him.

~🎶And all the men deliver🎶~

Just as you stepped off the trolley, a brass band accidentally cut you off from getting to your job.

~🎶They got music, it's always playing🎶

🎶Start in the daytime, go all through the night🎶~

Just as the brass band seemed to end, a man with a trombone caught you off guard.

~🎶When you hear that music playing🎶~

Another member of the band began to dance with you but you excused yourself form him to get to your job.

~🎶Grab somebody, come on down🎶~

You flawlessly handed out each order to the people at the front counter.

~🎶Bring your paintbrush, we painting the town🎶~

You began adding honey drizzle to some freshly baked beignets.

~🎶There's some sweetness going 'round🎶~

Just as you finished adding the powdered sugar tot the beignets, you handed them to a serious looking military soldier.

~🎶Catch it down in New Orleans🎶~

As soon as the man took a bit out of a beignet, he smiled ad saluted to you.

You smiled and saluted back, but not before you were tapped on the shoulder by the cook, Chef Rupert.

He tossed the ordered food and drinks to you and thankfully you were able to catch them all.

~🎶We got magic, good and bad🎶~

A man by the name of Baron Draxum, more commonly referred to as the Shadow man, was performing a Tarot card reading for a man.

~🎶Make you happy or make you real sad🎶~

The man turned out to hide his bald head under a hat, to which Baron Draxum gave him something that would give the man hair.

~🎶Get everything you want🎶~

The man soon afterwards tried to flirt with a women with his new look.

~🎶Lose what you had🎶~

The women screamed in fright and smacked the man with her purse, to which he could see his reflection in a window and he turned out to hair all over himself!

~🎶Down here in New Orleans🎶~

Baron Draxum chuckled at the man's reaction and flicked the coin he received as payment into his inner coat pocket.

~🎶Hey, partner! Don't be shy🎶~

The honking of a car horn caught Draxum's attention, and it turned out to be Mr. La Bouff.

~🎶Come on down, yeah and give us a try🎶~

A kid was giving out newspapers and Mr. La Bouff paid him with a big stack of cash and he drove off as the kid thanked him.

~🎶If you wanna do some livin' before you die🎶~

Draxum's shadow opened his jacket, took out the coin, and gave it back to his physical self, both feeling angry.

~🎶Do it down in New Orleans🎶~

As Mr. La Bouff was reading the newspaper, it read; Prince Leonardo comes to Crescent City - The second eldest, and eldest twin prince of Shangrao arrived this morning in Crescent City, as it is his final stop on his whirlwind tour of the US. Rumor has it that the eligible prince is looking for a bride.

The scene changed to Prince Leonardo making his debut at the docks. As quick as a flash, he ripped his formal attire off to reveal casual ones underneath.

The prince quickly grabbed his ukulele from his royal valet, Warren. He then slid down the railings to some ladies at the bottom. As the brass band was walking by the pier, Leo decided to join them, with the women following along.

As Warren was trying to get down the stairs with all the prince's luggage in his hands, he slipped on the prince's crown. He came tumbling down, as the crown landed right side up on his bum.

~🎶Stately homes and mansions🎶~

The La Bouff mansion came into view as Mr. La Bouff's car pull up to gate and Lottie got into the car.

~🎶Of the sugar barons and cotton kings🎶~

Mr. La Bouff gives his daughter the newspaper and she squeals reading that a prince was visiting Crescent City.

~🎶Rich people, poor people all got dreams🎶~

You were currently outside, giving a man his coffee and cleaning up another outside table. Leo happened to be passing by and tried to flirt with you, but you just rolled your eyes with an amused smile on your face.

~🎶Dreams do come true in New Orleans🎶~

#Rottmnt Leo x reader #Rottmnt Leonardo x reader #Leonardo x reader #Rottmnt fanfiction #Rottmnt x reader #Leo x reader #Leo PF Au #A Princess and a Frog Au #Rise Leo x reader

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deathmetalunicorn1 · 11 months

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Eri!Reader Fan Art!

I tend to write a lot around my doodles/art

Eri!Reader dressed as Luffy

Eri!Reader dressed as Zoro

Eri!Reader in Straw Hat Theater

Eri!Reader dressed as Sanji (She feels ‘Fancy’)

Eri!Reader dressed as Usopp

Eri!Reader dressed as Nami (Happy she looks like her big sister Nami)

Eri!Reader dressed as Chopper (With a shirt matching Chopper’s hat)

Eri!Reader dressed as Robin

Eri!Reader dressed as Franky (Nami smacked Franky thinking he put her in something revealing, only to sign in relief it’s just a cute bathing suit)

Eri!Reader dressed as Brook (Feels fancy again)

Eri!Reader dressed as Jinbei (Likes the pattern)

Eri!Reader in the 2 Year Time-Skip (Shorter hair and has a more positive outlook on life and her power)

Eri!Reader in a Nurse Uniform (On Whitebeard’s ship learning from Marco, however her presence along has led to both high ‘casualties’ of Heart Attacks to everyone instantly feeling better)

Eri!Reader as a Kamuro (Very popular and men and women believe she’ll blossom into a very beautiful lady in her future)

Eri!Reader as a Kunoichi (Apple Kimono)

Eri!Reader in a Chef Uniform

Eri!Reader in the clothes Katakuri got her (Pudding Burned them because it is hideous)

Eri!Reader in a Santa Clause Outfit (Is learning about Holidays)

I have another one but it’s Straw Hat Theater, I hope you like these! (I’m naturally very embarrassed and shy about showing my art since I criticize myself to a high caliber on if it’s good or not)

OH! MY! LORD!!!!!!

THESE ARE ALL SO CUTE!!!

I know for a fact when any of the Straw Hats see Eri dressed up as them they are clutching their chests from cuteness overload!!

Her kunoichi outfit with the apples is so cute! I squeed when I saw that and I laughed out loud when I saw that Katakuri got her the best outfit in the world!

You are amazing my dear! I love these so much!!

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thedepthsoffandomminds · 4 months

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The lost Princess of the ocean - ten

Masterlist

The following day you stayed in your cabin reading through a book Nami had left behind. You could hear the men on the higher decks working with Buggy to get closer to Nami. You hear Usopp calling out for land. Relieved to once again be on dry land you decided to change into some simpler clothes, a pair of Khaki knee length shorts and a white linen shirt tied up at your waist. You pulled your long hair up into a twisted bun at the back of your head. Several shorter locks fell loose around your face before long, the five of you were walking toward a small village, the houses were barely more than sticks and straw. When Zoro tried to walk beside you, you quietly fell back to walk between Sanji and Usopp. He wanted so desperately to tell you how pretty you looked, to marvel in the confidence you were beginning to show. Zoro hated what he had done, his words wouldn't come out right. He hated that you felt safer beside the chef than him now. His hand clamped around the hilt of his white sword, trying to push all of his feelings down.

“Never seen that before.” he says looking at an upturned shack.

“What could have done this?” Luffy asked.

“Maybe I should head back, make sure the Merry's secure.” Usopp frets.

“Arlong did this.” Luffy's voice was angry as he stated the obvious.

“Hey, shit-hat!” Buggy called from inside Sanji's shoulder bag, “I think we can all agree that Arlong's a bad fish But why don't we quit lollygagging and get my body back?”

‘Pipe down in there.” Sanji bit back.

“Or what? You gonna whip me up a soufflé?” The clown head taunted him.

“How about you take him for a while?” He looks at Usopp.

“Ooh, new guy carries the clown head.” Usopp scuttled away. With a shake of your head you take the bag from the chef and hike it over your shoulder.

“Everyone! Please!” A voice calls from around a corner. ‘Please, everyone. We don't have much time, and we're short again this month.” The uniformed man spoke.

“Is it enough?”

“Do we have time to get some more?” The villagers asked.

“No. You don't.” Her voice cut through you all.

“It's Nami.” One of the women whispered. Luffy made to step forward but Zoro held him back with a hand on his chest.

“You've got a lot of nerve showing your face here.” A woman with Blue hair and tattoos across her chest and shoulders scowled at Nami. She spat at the latter's feet. Everyone in the village remembered the day Arlong came into town, bringing distraction and fear. Nami took the box and looked inside.

“You're short.” She says flatly.

“Nami, please. This is all we have. Arlong has bled us dry.” They plead with her.

“Then find more blood.” She turns on her heel, stopping when she sees you all.

“Luffy? What are you doing here?” She hisses at him.

“I could ask you the same thing.” He. Replies.

“This is where I belong.” She briefly glanced at the rest of you.

“ I don't believe that. This is not you.” Luffy feels his heart breaking seeing her this way.

“No. This isn't the me you want me to be.” She berates him.

“Nami if you need our help-”

“No, I don't need any of you. Arlong wanted the map, and I conned you into getting it for me and you bought it. I was never part of your stupid crew.” you can hear the break in her voice as she speaks.

“You don't mean that.” You step forward slightly. Nami looks at you, her dark gaze faltering for only a second.

“Take the rest of these clowns and sail away from here. I never want to see you again.” She spun and stormed away. Your hand found Zoro's arm for a moment. You both look at it, then to each other, your eyes meeting in sadness. Zoro brushed his fingers over your own. You didn't want to watch her walk away again.

“Okay, that went about as bad as it could.

So back to the boat before the fishmen find us?Sail the hell out of here? Okay."

“There's something else going on here.” Luffy mused.

“She was very clear she wants us to leave.” Zoro stated.

“You don't know women.” Sanji quipped, “They never say what they mean.” You gave him a pointed look.

“Tell me again why the cook gets a say.” Zoro rolled his eyes and stepped away from Sanji.

“Don't you guys get it? She's one of them. She's a bad guy. The villagers are terrified of her.” Usopp argued.

“Not all of them.” You say looking back to the villagers. Luffy smiles at you, showing his top teeth. He grabbed your hand and dragged you all towards them.

“Hey! Scar guy. Who was that lady? You know, the one with the cool hair?” He spoke quickly to the uniformed man.

“Who wants to know?” the uniformed man asked with a sigh.

“I'm Monkey D. Luffy. I'm a pirate.”

“Hunter. Pirate hunter.” Zoro interrupted. “We're here to collect Arlong's bounty.”

“You?” He almost laughs, “I've seen men twice your size and with twice your number

go into Arlong Park. None of them ever came back.” There is more than sadness in his voice. You had known men just like Arlong all your life; this would be more than just a fight.

“We just want to talk to her.” Luffy pressed.

“Trust me, you don't. But if it'll get you out of my town, try the house down that road, on the edge of the tangerine grove.” He waves you all off. Luffy still has hold of your hand as he marches away from the village. He is walking fast, you have to skip every so often to keep up. You curse your shorter legs when you see both Zoro and Sanji striding with ease.

“I think I got more of a boat body than a long-journey-on-foot kind of body. Anybody else missing the ocean?” Usopp spoke incessantly, “No? Okay. I could go bring the boat around if we don't want to walk all the way back. Whoa!” he's stopped by a gun pointing at you all.

“Turn around and leave. Now.” The woman with blue hair scowled at you.

“That's what I've been saying.” Usopp agreed, throwing his hands in the air.

“Hey, I saw you earlier. I think maybe you and I have something in common.” Luffy said.

“I've got the gun, and you're standing in front of it. What could we possibly have in common?” Her eyes were narrow and her grip tight.

“Let's start with Nami. Seems you know her very well.” He continued.

“She's a thief with no conscience and when there's no more left to take, she leaves and doesn't turn back. Now get off my property.” You catch the quiver of her lip, this runs deeper than she wants to show. Her fingers readjust on the rifle.

“Nami's part of our crew. She's our friend.” Luffy says hopefully.

“My sister doesn't have any friends. The sooner you realise that, the better.” The woman rolls her eyes.

“ Sisters. That makes sense. Both as beautiful as each other.” Sanji flashes a smile at her.

“ Give it up.” Zoro said to him.

“I can tell she really did a number on you guys. You're not special, and I can't help you.” She growled.

“How about a meal?” Sanji put in a last attempt. It peaks her attention.

“An exchange of sorts for your valuable time and information.” Sanji continues.

“You cook?” She asks.

“He's a waiter.” Zoro adds.

“Best cook in the East Blue. You never tasted anything better in your life. Usopp's word!” Usopp stated gleefully. The woman looks through all of you, her mind finally settling in words.

“Ain't got much to cook with.” she begins to soften.

“You'd be surprised how much I can make with very few ingredients. What do you say?”

She finally agrees and lets Sanji inside her house. You all sit around the small building as he begins to cook. Zoro sits beside.

“y/n I-” he began.

“Zoro, it's fine, don't worry about it. I won't be a distraction.” You get up and move across the room asking Sanji if he needs help. Usopp stifles a laugh with his hand in front of his mouth.

“You messed up good there.” He says. Zoro simply grunts, folding his arms over his chest.

“Wait. Nami's working for the pirate that killed your mother?” Usopp asks when Nojiko finished her tale.

Luffy's face showed every bit of sadness he felt for her as he stood up and walked out. You and Zoro follow him.

“She was just a kid.” he said looking up at the moon.

“She's not anymore. She made her choice.” Zoro said.

“I'm tired of hearing about Nami from other people.” Luffy grumbled.

“She told you to leave, Luffy.” Zoro reminded him.

“So did you.” Luffy looked up to him like a child looking for approval. Each of them recalled the day they met, Zoro had implored Luffy to leave him. He'd have to thank him one day for making a different choice.

“How do you know she's not one of Arlong's crew?” Zoro asks.

“Same way I knew you weren't gonna kill me

when I cut you down from that cross. Same way I know you want only the very best for y/n. Same way I knew about Usopp and Sanji.”

“Yeah, I don't know about that waiter.” Zoro quipped.

“I know Nami's good. She needs to know it too.” Luffy looked back at the sky. You and Zoro meet each other’s eyes once more.

The four men decide to go get Nami back by charging into Arlong Park, the pirates hideout. Usopp was filling his smoke bombs and arguing with Buggy. You stood outside, your shoulder pressed against the porch.

“Here.” Sanji handed you a cup of warm tea.

“Thank you” you sip the warm liquid, relishing the gentle citrus taste.

“You okay?” He asked you.

“I wish people would stop asking me that. I'm supposed to be free, you all keep telling me I am but here I am waiting to be killed by more pirates.” You huff.

Sanji wasn't sure how to answer you. He pressed his lips together.

“You know, if you want we can find you somewhere, when this is over we could…anywhere you want.”

“Yeah, imagine me living in a little cottage, I'd be back with the assassin's within a week.” You actually laugh. Sanji lifts his arms.

“I'm going to hug you now, okay?” He asks, taking a step toward you, you nod and rest your head on his chest.

“You know, I quite enjoy you giving Moss head a hard time, but I really don't think he meant to hurt you.” he says to the top of your head.

You pull back to look up at him.

“I'm not sure how I feel about him, he has been so kind and gentle with me, but the way people talk about him. The duel, he was a different person.”

Sanji pulls in his eyebrows, studying your eyes for a moment. He lets out a long breath when he understands.

“You're frightened of him?”

“In part I suppose. I was a princess of the ocean, then I was a prisoner. I knew how to be those things. I did as I was told but now, with him. I just…”

“I get it, Zoro is just a hard arse, he doesn't know what's best for him, but he does care about you. Everyone can see that.” He reassured you. You nod and replace your head to his chest.

“Luffy wants us, time to go.” Zoro's voice was harsh and angry.

At the edge of tha tangerine grove Nami drops to her knees, using her dagger to stab at the swordfish tattoo on her shoulder. Luffy gripped her wrist stopping her self attack.

“I told you to get the hell out of here.” She tried to growl her words.

“You did.” The captain said.

“Then leave. You don't know anything about what's going on here.” Her tears fell freely.

“I don't.” he admits.

“Luffy. Help me.” Nami cries. Luffy takes of his straw hat, placing it on Nami's.

“Of course I will.” He agrees walking back toward you the others, “Of course I will. Of course I will!” He throws his hands in the air and you all feel that surge of confidence from him.

“Let's go.” He says walking last you.

“Right.” The men reply in perfect unison.

“What's that?” Usopp looks at the gunfire and flames.

“They're attacking the village.”

#zoro x reader

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kulemiwrites · 2 years

Text

𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬 | 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐰𝐚

Genre/Content Warning: Work-related Angst, Fluff

Word count: 8.7k

Character(s): Masato Aizawa, gender-unspecified Reader

You're caught at your miserable job during a typhoon without an umbrella.

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The rain pelted down against the gray cobblestone, obstructing the view of the cars that lined the street and the row of shops behind them. The dark gray clouds stretching across the sky had been shielding the sunlight all day and now that the sun was setting, evening approached with a quickness. The usually vibrant, ostentatious city was enveloped in monochrome. This week was the start of typhoon season, and the reflection frowning back at you in the window had the great displeasure of working through the worst of it.

On days like today, the name “Restaurante Sol”, ‘sol’ meaning ‘sun’ in Spanish, was nothing short of ironic at best and ludicrous at worst as the place was anything but sunny nor did it serve anything remotely close to Spanish cuisine. In order to maintain an elegant ambiance (and distract from the poorly polished glass and silverware) the lights were kept dim and tired jazz tunes croaked through a set of timeworn overhead speakers. You had been playing a silent game with yourself, a bet on when they were on their final encore. You gave them a solid month more but the thick layer of gray dust surrounding the loose bolts suggested a few weeks max.

Uniforms consisted of stale black and white articles from head to toe; men were to wear their hair slicked back, unless buzzed off and white cotton dress shirts with black ties and vests and a black apron tied at the waist. As for women, their hair had to be tied back in low ponytails, unless cut short, in which case, would need to be pinned behind the ears. They were to dress in white buttoned blouses, black skirts with opaque stockings underneath and a black apron tied at the waist.

In a few words: wholly, utterly uninspired.

Before the most recent change in management, every table was clothed in white and the center boasted beautiful seasonal bouquets that were intricately culled by a local partner, a small-town florist. These days, it was decided that a single, clear candle votive in the center of bare, lacquered dark walnut tables was ‘good enough’. It wasn’t uncommon to have guests complain about the film left behind on the tabletops when they hadn't been polished or cleaned with care, which was often.

There were a few pops of color that came in the form of a swamp green carpet with crude splashes of yellow and orange swirling around in a pattern that no one could ever make sense of. In addition to that, there were a few ‘abstract’ paintings hanging up on the walls which were all made by the owner’s third wife, who was certain that she was the planet’s gift to art. And these ‘statement’ pieces were her gift to Restaurante Sol.

You were to be sure to thank her whenever she decided to grace you all with her presence; her and her rich housewife friends who never ordered from the menu.

Soga, the current manager as of four months ago, might have been the worst thing to ever happen to Restaurante Sol and it wasn’t just because of the lack of flowers and tablecloths. After this many personnel changes, it was an open secret that there was a hefty quarterly bonus for management and it was clear that his business model was based on that fact. His budget cuts could only be described as self-serving. Despite the countless complaints by staff, he continued to skimp on necessities, forcing you and your coworkers to become innovative when it came to side work. Setting up for dinner service had been far more strenuous than it had ever been and rushes during service could be a nightmare if you weren’t prepared for anything. You weren’t sure how he got away with it but he did and you were positive that if he had control over the sous chef, the food quality might’ve suffered too.

In truth, you weren’t too fond of most of the others on staff tonight either. The lanky bartender, Watanabe was alright; perhaps a little temperamental but he wasn’t too bad. Your two fellow servers however, generally added to your anxieties and you couldn’t stand it when you had to work with them both at the same time. Yamamoto, the thin-lipped older woman who’d been working there for nearing a decade, never missed an opportunity to micromanage you despite being on the same level as you, albeit far more handsomely paid.

Interestingly enough, she’d been offered the role of manager multiple times but she always turned it down. And then there was Akari, a 1st year college girl whose hobbies included ignoring her tables and skipping out on work whenever the opportunity presented itself to blow her money at host clubs. She whined at you to help her whenever she was in the weeds, which was often, regardless of how much you had on your own plate and she insisted on being called ‘Akachan’ much to everyone’s (but especially your) dismay.

It wasn’t as if you hated them, no, that would require far more energy than you could spare. You just… preferred to spend your free moments alone and it would seem that tonight would be yet another night where you would have plenty of it. So, instead of pretending to be amused by Akachan’s latest host club exploits with the others around the bar, you opted to stand at the foggy picture window near the entrance admiring the hideous weather.

It was funny… You were sure to check the weather report before leaving for work this afternoon: warm with cloudy skies and perhaps a few scattered showers here or there.

This might have been the heaviest “shower” you’ve ever seen.

You chuckled bitterly at the thought as you pressed your fingertips against the glass, cool from the air conditioning. Your body heat created a small pool of fog around them, insignificant compared to the fog on the exterior. You squinted past it, desperately attempting to make out what lay beneath the angry downpour. Turbulence along the curb took the form of a mini river, pushing along what looked to be a crumbled paper cup.

The corporate crowd should have been invading the streets by now, scouring for a spot to unwind after a long day of kissing their bosses’ asses. Old, married chumps should be lining up at the door with pretty young college girls who play secret girlfriend by day and hostess by night, hoping that one more insanely expensive dinner will be enough to earn them a peek at her perky talents. Young street punks should have been on the prowl for their first unsuspecting nobody to shakedown in a back alley.

But at the start of typhoon season, there were no alcoholic salarymen and no pretty women bravely ignoring natto breath. All there was to watch was the occasional umbrella wielding passerby. They were frantic and faceless, probably rushing to the station and Restaurante Sol was the last thing on their minds.

Nothing but ten minutes had passed since you learned that the silver wall clock that hung above the entrance was broken. You knew that because you had a habit of checking your wristwatch against any clock you hadn’t set yourself. Swiping your thumb across the face, you smiled to yourself, watching the second-hand tick away as the one overhead stood still. For the briefest of moments, you– very briefly, considered letting Soga know about the broken clock but quickly decided against it. You wanted to add it to the list of things that were wrong with the place that no one but you seemed to notice.

Besides, this restaurant needed a symbol to really solidify how miserable it was and a broken clock was absolutely perfect. After all, in Restaurante Sol, time always stood still.

During what should have been the peak of the evening, your section was as dead as your will to get out of bed in the mornings. Before hanging out at the window, you busied yourself with yours and Akachan’s side work but now there wasn’t one thing to do to pass the time.

You checked your watch– a single minute had passed since you last checked. If you didn’t find some way to distract yourself from the silence, you would go crazy! Inspired by the frenzied pedestrians, you conjured up a new game: you could count the color of each passing umbrella and whichever color reached 5 first, won.

One, green. One, polka dot. One, purple… Two, green, One blue, One– oh.

Shit.

You spotted an umbrella that was nearly identical to your own and no sooner than you realized did a sinking feeling find its way into your gut and a chill tickled your spine. Your gaze lingered on that familiar umbrella as you recalled passing your own and the jacket that had been left hanging up near the front door for you before you left for work. You studied the dark sky, much darker now than it was when you first acknowledged it.

At this rate, your commute would be downright horrendous. You could picture yourself schlepping through puddles, your hair- an absolute mess, clothes- sodden and clinging to you while you practically swam in your shoes all before you even reached the station. You could call a taxi, but the soul suckers in this town tended to hike up the rates for long distance trips during storms. You didn’t have that kind of money to waste.

“It’s really comin’ down tonight, huh~?” Akachan said in the singsongy way she always did, startling you out of your deep trance as she came up behind you.

Grinding your jaw, you pried your eyes away from the window to face her. “Yeah…”

“The boss’s thinkin’ ‘bout cuttin’ one of us early if things don’t pick up.” she said, whipping her long ponytail over her shoulder so that she could twirl the ends across her thin, manicured fingers while she batted her false lashes at you; and you knew what was coming. “Man~ it’s the third time this week. The weather’s so miserable~! I can’t even bring myself to get all excited ‘bout it.”

You repeated a half-hearted, “Yeah.”

She chewed at her round bottom lip for a moment before she continued, “But, ya know~… I could really use a hot bath an’ nap. Since you left the other day, would ya mind it if I left tonight?”

Fighting back a sigh, you shrugged and turned back to the window. It wasn’t like you were thrilled about rushing home in these conditions anyway. “Go for it.”

“Cool!” she said, turning on her heels to leave.

Now that there was nothing more to possibly ask of you, there was no longer any need for small talk which was just as well.

Yet another ten minutes had gone by. Only seven patrons had come in all evening and not a single one of them belonged to your section. So, you continued to stand at the window. You noticed your reflection staring back at you again and this time your lips were tucked and your jaws were clenched. You tried to loosen your brows but no matter how hard you fought the expression you couldn’t iron out the worry. Regardless, you remained drawn to the window, mesmerized by the rain pelting against it as if it were meant only for you. Perhaps it was a precursor for what you would experience on your way home?

There were a set of fingerprints lingering behind from when you last touched the glass. So, you returned them to their designated place and imagined how the water might have felt if you could reach out and touch it from there. Directly beneath the curve of your hand, you spotted a large figure slinking past a dark colored car. It was too far across the street to make out much of it but even so, you couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity you got when you looked directly at it. Narrowing your eyes, you leaned in and your forehead thumped against the cool glass as you fought to focus on it. It didn’t matter though. Just as quickly as the figure appeared, it disappeared, leaving you with a pang of longing in your chest and a cloud of hot breath shrinking on the glass. You stepped back from the window, wrapping a wistful hand around your wristwatch and you could feel your heart pounding.

How did such a bleary figure invoke so much emotion?

As the thought began to settle, the door swung open and the gust of hot air that followed was enough to disorient you but still you felt an excitement. Once you faced it, the odd feeling dissipated. Two patrons had entered: a short, elderly woman and what might have been her grandson. There was no host on staff tonight to greet them. So, they stared expectantly while your disappointment set in. You felt silly; to think for the briefest of moments that he might have shown up here of all places at a time like this was just….

Well, silly.

Using your faint reflection in the window as a mirror, you smoothed your apron and straightened your collar with a heavy sigh. As rotation would have it, this table belonged to you. Great. You hoped it would be the first of many. You didn’t need Soga to have any excuse to send you home as well. Not tonight. Straightening your shoulders, you approached the pair with your best customer service smile.

“Good evening and welcome to Restaurante Sol.” you bowed with clasped hands, “Might there be anyone else joining you this evening?”

“No, dear. Just my grandson and I. Thank you.”

“Splendid. Well, my name is ______. I’ll have the pleasure of serving you this evening. If you don’t mind, please allow me to show you to your seats.”

. . .

The typhoon's unforgiving winds pushed hard at the backs of pedestrians until they had no choice but to filter into the various shops and restaurants along the avenue. Restaurante Sol was one amongst the lucky, meaning that everyone on staff tonight were to remain. Though Akachan made it a point to pout at you whenever you looked in her general vicinity, you were quite happy that it picked up. A full house meant that you were no longer under threat of being thrown out to fend for yourself at the height of chaos by yen-yanking Soga.

By the end of dinner service, the storm seemed to have relented enough that patrons felt safe trying to hurry home again before it got worse but it still wasn’t welcoming for someone as unprepared as you. You were on your final table and as you were headed to the terminal to print their bill, you noticed another team huddle taking place at the bar. You might have ignored it too had not everyone been staring anxiously at the door. Originally, you assumed that perhaps a soigné reservation had just been called in, or maybe an inquiry for a party of 15 or more but even Yamamoto seemed shaken– and she was relatively fearless. After overhearing the word “yakuza'', you decided it might be worth your time to hear what the anxious whispering was about.

“Hey,” you interrupted, handing off a recovered bar mop to Watanabe to butter him up in case he’d fallen into one of his moods. “Something going on?”

Yamamoto’s beady eyes flashed toward the door. “There's a yakuza standing outside of the restaurant… Big, scary looking guy.”

“How do you know he’s yakuza?” you asked plainly.

Her thin, red lips stretched back in a frown, showcasing her fine wrinkles. “You kidding me? You can look at him and tell! If you can’t look at a guy and know he’s bad news by now in this town, you’re in real trouble.”

Ignoring her snarky tone, you looked toward the wooden door now that the window was too foggy to see through but unless the man walked in, there was no point.

“S-should we call the police?” Watanabe asked, clutching tightly at the towel you had just given him.

“And tell them what, exactly? There’s some gangster outside waiting for us to close up so he can shake us down?” Yamamoto mumbled, tucking her delicate hands beneath thin arms.

“That’s exactly what you tell them!” he argued. “You kidding me?!”

“Shh! Be quiet!” Soga interrupted; his expression slightly sour as he joined you at the end of the bar. “Watanabe-san, what on earth would possess you to believe that it is appropriate to raise your voice during dinner service?”

You stared at his flat profile for a moment before questioning him, “Soga-san, did you pay the protection fee?”

His eyes widened, lifting his sparse brows with them. The lines in his forehead showed with prominence. “Of course, I did! I’ve never once missed a payment!” he said, unable to hide his offense.

“Then why’s there some yakuza muscle standing guard outside our door?” the bartender challenged, throwing the towel on the bar. “I say we call the police!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That will only cause a scene and we cannot afford a scandal.” he frowned, “Relax yourself. I’ll take care of it.”

Akachan fell into a giggling fit, covering her mouth as she looked up at the older man. Her brown eyes glimmered with delight. “Sorry, that’s too funny! No offense, Soga-san but that guy’s gonna wipe the floor with ya. Maybe we should leave this one up to the cops. Besides, he could probably be waiting on his boss or something for dinner. S’not like we don’t serve yakuza types here on the regular.”

“Enough.” he huffed; his mind clearly made up. “Disperse. Get back to your tables or finish your side work. There’s no excuse to be standing around doing nothing.”

Funny he would say that considering that was all you were doing before it got busy. You wondered if he was simply trying to distract you all from the action in case there was a scuffle. He wasn’t one for losing face and you were willing to bet that the man had never even been in a fight before. A sadistic excitement filled you and you could tell by the way the others’ heads bobbed as he stepped out of the door, that they felt much the same.

Side work be damned. Was Soga going to get beat up tonight and if so, who was your mysterious hero?

You kept an attentive eye on your watch, counting each minute that he was out there. After about five minutes, he returned paler than usual with his cold eyes fixed upon you and nothing else. The others seemed to have noticed as well because soon you could feel their eyes on you too. The closer he got, the more confusion and perhaps even concern, started to play upon his features until he stood at your side. With his body facing away from the others, he spoke only high enough for you to hear.

“I need to speak with you right this instant.” he muttered.

You shrugged and nodded for him to lead the way, pretending not to notice the passing glances beside you. It was obvious that they were thrilled for you to leave so that the speculative chatter could begin despite no one, not even you, knowing what had just transpired outside that door.

Good ‘ol Restaurante Sol.

Leading you away from prying eyes and into the privacy of an empty breakroom, he carefully locked the door behind you before finally speaking up.

“Are you in trouble of some kind?” he asked.

You shook your head slowly, brows tight as you searched his dark eyes hoping that you might be able to guess what would lead him to such a conclusion. When it finally hit you, there was a chuckle forming in your chest and you fought to keep it there.

“The man out there asked for you… By name. I attempted to throw him off your scent by informing him that you no longer worked here but he laughed and insisted I let you know that he would be waiting for you to get off.” he said, growing slightly more frantic with each word. “You’re aware that I don’t make a habit of getting involved in my employees’ affairs. However, it proves quite bothersome if those affairs happen upon my doorstep… I would prefer it if you didn’t come to any harm. So, if you’d like, you may use the back exit to avo–”

“Soga-san, relax and just… try and describe to me what the guy looked like. I might be able to let you know if it’s cause for concern or not.”

He stroked his naked chin as he recalled the mystery man’s traits. “Well, he was b-big. Very big and tall. He’s got an almost foreign look to him. Oh, but he spoke perfect Japanese so I’m unsure. His voice was deep and he was surprisingly polite… Right, his suit; his suit was white, pinstriped with a purple shirt underneath. I couldn’t tell if he was from one of the local families or not as there was no pin on his lapel. Of course, that was the first thing I looked for–”

“Did he give you a name?” you asked, though, hearing the description alone told you everything that you needed to know. Suddenly, you were reminded of the bleary figure from earlier and that warmth returned. Now there were butterflies fluttering in your belly and you were so giddy, you almost couldn’t hide it.

Shaking his head, he held up a small cola flavored lollipop. “No, but he gave me this… He claimed that you would somehow know what he’s here for if I gave this to you.”

You’re forgetting something.

Soga was hesitant when he passed the candy off to you. You wondered if for a moment, he considered keeping it for himself for some reason. It was all you could do to not snatch it out of his hand.

“I understand. Thank you, Soga-san.” you said, feeling the corners of your eyes lifting for perhaps the first time today.

Not once did he take his eyes off the candy. From the crease in his brow, it was clear that he was trying to understand how something so seemingly insignificant could make you gleam this way.

“Will you be alright?” he asked finally.

Rolling the stick in between the pads of your fingers, you nodded. Your smile became more and more pronounced by the second. “I’ll be just fine.”

He stared at you in silence for a moment then returned to his usual pompous air with a sigh, “Fine… Then, close your checks and clean your section. The sooner you can do that, the sooner you can leave. We don’t need those types hanging around. It’ll give the wrong impression.”

You slid the candy into your apron with care before returning to the floor. As you danced about, your eyes would occasionally shoot toward the door in hopes that it would open and you would see him but no dice. While you were watching the door, inquiring eyes were watching you but somehow, it didn’t bother you. Not when you knew that there was a ray of sunlight waiting out in the rain just for you. You hasten your pace; you couldn’t delay him any longer.

. . .

You were met with a heavy resistance as you pushed open the door and for a moment, you considered that maybe someone had been leaning on it. However, it was simply the wind welcoming you into its dreadful gale. It showed no sign of relenting, not an ounce of mercy for you or anyone else; and despite standing beneath the safety of the yellow awning, an occasional warm mist would coat you.

Your neck snapped in either direction in search of the man who’d promised to brave these conditions for you. The cola flavored candy was clenched tight between your fingers as if you thought it to be a good luck charm and perhaps it was so as you spotted him just a few shops over. He’d been leaning against the masonry of a loan business that had recently been shut down, protecting himself from the rain beneath black awning. Even from where you stood, you could see a white stick hanging out of his mouth and knowing him, there was a lollipop of his own tucked in his cheek. He was in a daze, lightly kicking at the puddle of water pooling at his feet.

“Masato!” you called for him, waving the candy over your head to catch his attention.

Almost as if the storm wanted you to help you find your way into his arms, it slackened and you thought it was the perfect moment to run toward him. Instead, he called back at you, “_____, hold tight! I’ll meet you over there!”

You waited for him with a smile. Your toes drummed in your shoes while you watched him jog your way. His hands were buried deep within his pockets and his smile bit down on the white stick. With each step, his black hair bounced; perhaps, he’d decided against using his usual mousse or the rain had washed it away. Either way, it was a welcome change. Once he finally reached you, he removed the candy from his mouth and leaned in to press a sticky, cola-flavored kiss upon your lips.

“Good evening, amor.” he whispered, then pressed his sticky lips against your cheek and chuckled out an apology after realizing just how sticky they were.

“Hey there, you.” you said, caressing his stubbly cheek while he hovered in front of you, admiring your eyes. “Did I forget something?”

Straightening his posture, he popped the candy back into his mouth as you waved yours at him. He smiled, biting down on the stick again. “Good job. I’m proud of you for figuring it out.” he said, lightly placing his large hand at the crown of your head.

Masato always kept something sweet in his pockets. It was his vice ever since he gave up smoking years ago. They were generally hard candies or lollipops but every now and then he was fishing out a chiroru chocolate or two. He would always offer you some of what he was snacking on. However, even if you were to decline certain types of candy, he would insist that you take it anyway.

For later, he would say.

There was a box of candies you had stored away in your kitchen; the “for later” collection. Not long ago, you found yourself unintentionally cracking the code when you added a plum candy he’d given you to the box. There were four flavors that were most prominent in the box and they happened to be amongst his favorites. You racked your brain trying to figure out why he would insist on giving away his favorite candies until it hit you. Thinking back on the circumstances in which he gave many of the pieces to you, you realized that each candy had meaning.

What you had pieced together was that chocolate was given to you as a sign of affection, an “I love you” of sorts. He typically gave you green tea flavored candies after an argument or disagreement, an apology almost. When he finally got to see you after a long while (or just a difficult day) he would slip a plum flavored candy into your pocket which you interpreted to mean that he missed you. Cola flavored candies were the hardest to figure out, so you needed to wait on him to give you more in order to piece it together. After some time, you figured out that he’d give you cola flavored candy when you made plans together, it was to serve as a reminder. “Don’t forget.”

However, when there were no plans, it meant that you were forgetting something but of course, he wanted you to remember on your own what that something was.

“So,” you smiled, bouncing on the tips of your toes. “What did I forget?”

He carefully slipped the lollipop out of your hand and took the liberty of unwrapping it for you. “Care to take a guess?” he asked.

His deep voice under the sound of pouring rain was like a relaxing massage for the soul or comforting song. Those few, simple words were almost enough to melt away the tension you regularly left the restaurant with from your shoulders. The sweetness of his brown eyes was what really did the job though. You had to break away from them, a bashful smile playing upon your lips.

“My umbrella, maybe.”

“Bingo.” he said softly, pressing the now unwrapped candy against your lips which you happily accepted with an ‘ahn’. “Well, lucky for you I didn’t forget.”

He discarded the wrapper in his pocket then lifted the back of his white coat, presenting the foldable umbrella you’d left behind at his place.

“Thank you, Masato.” you said. “I can always count on you.”

He stared at you for a moment, his forehead wrinkling the longer he looked. Finally, he broke away with a shake of his head. He tucked the umbrella beneath his right arm as he maneuvered out of his coat. Once it was off, leaving him in his well fitted purple shirt, he assumed possession of your work bag then draped the coat over your shoulders. A dark, woody musk lingered off it, his cologne and yet it was still as sweet as the candy pressed against your check.

“If I’d known you didn’t bring a jacket, I would’ve brought a spare along.” he sighed. “It’s typhoon season. You shouldn’t be so careless.”

He ensured that the coat was secure before stepping back and staring out at the rain. Its slack long revoked. He was likely thinking the same as you: this coat, as comfy as it was, and a single umbrella wasn’t going to be enough to keep the both of you dry.

“When was the last time you ate, _____?” he asked, checking his wristwatch. It was a match to the one around your own wrist.

You hesitated to answer, knowing that you skipped lunch today. Food just didn’t taste right when you were there and because of the storm, it was impossible to stop elsewhere for a quick bite. His frown hurt but this had become something of a habit now and though he could empathize, he clearly didn’t approve.

“What am I gonna do with you?” he mumbled, not really expecting an answer. “Let’s take care of that empty stomach then. Are you alright with Cafe Alps? It’s nearby and since they’re open late, we can wait out the storm before we head to the station. Or are you in the mood for something heavier?”

You shook your head, “No, that’s okay. I don’t mind Cafe Alps.”

“Alright…” he said, working at the strap of your umbrella. “We’ll need to get you a spare umbrella and probably a raincoat or something to keep in your locker here.”

“I would have brought something... I just thought it was gonna be a cloudy day.” you pouted, knowing that he was preparing a well-meaning lecture for you. “I mean, that’s what the news said this morning.”

“I hate to say it but,” the umbrella popped open beside him, “the forecasts might not be so trustworthy for a while. You have to make sure you’re prepared no matter what the news says. If you kept spares in your locker, tonight would’ve been a breeze.”

“I know that.” you said with an exasperated sigh.

“Do you really?” he nagged.

Slipping a strong but gentle arm around your shoulder, he pulled you close and you naturally melted into his large frame. His cologne seemed warmer, even more comforting when it lingered directly off of him. You reached for the stick hanging out of your mouth, swirled it across your tongue before slipping it out with an audible pop as you looked up at him.

“You’re real fussy tonight, Masato.”

He chuckled, lightly squeezing at your shoulder, “Oh well. Maybe if you didn’t make me worry so much, I wouldn’t have to be.”

You nodded, slipping the candy back into your mouth. “That’s fair.”

“Let’s get going, amor.”

“‘Kay.”

Lifting the umbrella over your heads, he led you away from the security of the awning. A long silence lingered between you as you carefully strolled along the sidewalk, listening to the rain drum against the umbrella. Whenever a heavy gust would whip at you, you could always count on his protective arm to keep you from staggering against it.

“It’s really coming down tonight, huh?” he said, following a whistle.

Your neck nearly snapped when you looked up at him and after a while, he returned your odd look.

“What?”

Finally realizing that you’d begun to stare, you shook your head. “Nothing. My coworker said the same thing a little while ago. Hearing it again from you just felt weird for some reason.”

“Hmm,” he hummed, swiping his lollipop to the opposite side of his mouth using his tongue alone. “Which one?”

“Akachan.”

“Oh, your favorite little sister, right?”

“Ha ha ha.” you laughed sarcastically.

“Guess not.” he shrugged. “Hey, watch out for this puddle coming up, ok?”

You nodded, “Oh, by the way, you spooked all of my coworkers. They definitely think I’ve got shady yakuza ties now.”

“What makes you say that?”

“They all thought you were standing outside waiting for us to close so that you could rob us or something.”

Masato laughed heartily.

“And when my boss came back in after talking to you, he looked like he saw a ghost and kinda made a big deal about speaking to me in private in front of everyone. When we talked, I told him it was fine but I never explained how I knew you.”

“Didn’t need to. It wasn’t his business.”

“I know.” you said, biting through your lollipop. “Oh, but he had me leave as early as I could because he thought letting you stand outside was a bad look.”

“I figured. That’s why I walked down to the loan place afterward. Guess it didn’t matter much in the end but I’m glad I got to meet him. Maybe now he’ll think twice about giving you a hard time.”

“Somehow, I doubt that. He thinks you’re ‘surprisingly polite’.”

“Well, I guess that means I’ll have to come back another day to really shake the place down to get the message across… When’s your next day off?”

You stopped walking for a moment to frown at him.

“Relax, it was a joke.” he laughed, pulling you back into him.

You swatted at his broad chest, “Well, it wasn’t a very good one.”

“Maybe not but I saw you in there.”

“What does that mean?”

“I saw you through the window.” he said thoughtfully. “Before he came out, you looked so miserable I almost couldn’t recognize you. I really thought about going in and busting heads for a second… Lately, you’ve been coming home with an expression similar to that and I don’t know… It got to me. When that asshole of a boss of yours came out here, it took every fiber of my being not to bash his face in.”

“Masato…”

“I looked at him and thought, ‘This is the prick that’s been making _____ miserable.’ I was barely listening to anything he was saying. I was just trying to keep myself calm for you… I really wish you would stop going there.”

You reached a crosswalk light and he took that moment of pause to look down and take you in but you did everything except meet his gaze. You chomped away at the hard candy until nothing was left but the stick and then you chewed at that as you processed what had just been said. It was a weekly occurrence by now so you knew what was coming but you were too stubborn to hear it.

“______, you know that I don’t mind taking care of things until you find a new job. You don’t have to keep working there. It’s obvious that you’re not happy. I know you dodge the question every time I–”

“I’m sure it was just the weather… draining me.” you lied, just like you lied to yourself every day to bring yourself into work. You didn’t want to admit outright that you hated the job. Admitting that, even to yourself, felt almost akin to admitting failure. It seemed that no matter where you worked, you were never happy. And that thought left you with the very uncomfortable question: have you crossed the point in which you had to admit that perhaps, you were the problem?

You weren’t brave enough to approach that topic.

So, for now, you would continue to suffer under the hopes that maybe, just maybe it would get better again. Perhaps, all it would take was another change in management.

He didn’t press you on it. He never did and it made you wonder how much longer he would offer his support without you actively looking to make a change.

“I thought you had a work meeting tonight?” you asked, changing the subject and as usual, he didn’t skip a beat.

“I did but something more important came up. So, I decided to tend to that instead.”

“Oh, really? What was it?” you asked, finally meeting his eye.

“This.” he smiled, patting the top of your head with the hand that had been holding onto your shoulder.

The light changed and he was ready to take a step forward, securing his hold on you again until he noticed the mini river raging along the curbside. His brows furrowed as he watched the waters roll, he removed the white stick from his mouth and then he chewed at his inner lip.

“Hold this a sec.” he said, crouching just a bit as he passed the umbrella off to you. “Make sure you’ve got a firm hold of it, alright?”

You nodded, wrapping your fingers around the handle. Your knuckles pressed into the plastic while you studied his steeled expression. You weren’t certain what he was thinking until a soft grunt escaped him and he was already cradling you in his arms leaving your legs dangling in the air. You were pressed firmly against his chest and from this seat of leisure, you could see his long, thick legs cautiously striding across the street. His soft dark hair bounced with each step. Occasionally, his focus would shift from the crosswalk to you, checking in to make sure that you were okay.

Once he’d carried you to the other side of the road, he was just about to put you down but something made him hesitate. “Are you alright?” he asked, his breath smelling of the candy he’d just finished. His brown, deep set eyes were gentle when they scanned your features. The corners of his wide mouth lifted into a smile, sending back his deep laugh lines.

It used to be a joke before, that there were hearts in his eyes whenever he looked at you but today there was no other phrase for it and it sent your own heart leaping. You nodded, aiming to look anywhere but those spellbound eyes. Your gaze landed on his muscled chest; and it lingered there until you noticed something subtly off about the color of his shirt. It was hard to see under the moonlight and the curtain of rain obscured the town’s gaudy lights from shining down on you. So, you reached out to touch it, his eyes following your hand and after you felt the damp material clinging against him, they went back to sparkling at you.

“What about you? Look, your shoulder is getting drenched!” you panicked, the stick from your lollipop accidentally slipped from your mouth. You shifted the umbrella to offer him more coverage but he immediately corrected your hand, keeping it exactly the way you held it before.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Well, why not?” you argued.

He met your frustration with another gentle smile and you narrowed your eyes at him.

“Because I don’t get sick. I’ll be fine.”

That wasn’t true. It was the furthest thing from the truth. In fact, if you were put on the stand to testify as much, you could rattle off exactly five recent instances where he’d gotten sick; and despite his stubborn refusal, you’d taken it upon yourself to care for him until he recovered.

Your face twisted at the thought and before you could fix your mouth to argue with him, he cradled your head and leaned into you for a sweet kiss. With your bottom lip caught in between his, you wondered if he could taste the artificial cola on your lips the way that you could taste it on him. Masato pressed his tongue into your mouth, a single swipe of it against yours before he abruptly stopped as if remembering something.

Perhaps that you were still caught out in the middle of a storm?

Even so, before he showed up to save you, the thought alone of being caught in this weather was enough to drain you mentally. But now, in his arms, with his lips tenderly pressed against yours, you thought that you could stay this way for hours.

With one more soft peck, he parted from your lips and sighed. Then, he pressed another against the tip of your nose. At some point, your fingers had begun to clutch at his damp shirt and when you realized that, you slowly released him. There was no way you could avoid those eyes now. While you sat there, staring back at him, his smile from before returned this time shaped more so by arrogance.

“So? What was it that you were gonna say?”

You shook your head.

Was that it? Who knew that all it took to shut you up was a cola flavored kiss?

The bottoms of his pant legs were totally soaked by the time he put you back down on your own dry feet. He took back the umbrella, made sure that his coat was still properly draped over your shoulder then he wrapped his arm around you again. You could still feel the dampness of his shirt lingering on your fingertips and the concern from before returned. You reached for the lapels of his coat, prepared to slip it off until he stopped you.

“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked, tugging it back down.

“Don’t you think you should take back your coat at least?”

“What for? So, it can get wet too?”

“I mean, your shirt’s so–”

“Listen, I appreciate that you’re worried but right now, all I need is for you to keep walking with me. The cafe’s just a couple more blocks away. If we get there quickly, everything’ll be fine. Alright?” he said, maneuvering the umbrella back into its original position before his decision to carry you across the street bridal style. “Come.”

The argument was solid enough but still, Masato’s insistence on keeping you safe from even a drop of rain came at the expense of his silk shirt and calfskin oxfords. You couldn’t fight the guilt that crept up every time you thought about it; and if– no, when he inevitably caught a cold from wandering around town soaked from head to toe, you knew you’d have a hard time forgiving yourself. Be that as it may, moping or arguing him down about it wouldn’t change his mind or dry him any sooner. Once you accepted that, your arms dropped back down to your sides and you allowed yourself to melt into him once more. He must have felt your hesitance slip away because he chuckled out his gratitude and went on to inquire about the day you had.

You told him all the usual things: how you went into your shift with inadequate supplies needed to complete your side work and so you were left needing to improvise by the time rush came, how the boss’ decision to cut all of the dining room attendants from the floor early led to chaos is the dish room and how you were berated by the line cooks when they thought you’d left a plate on the expo for a second longer than they needed to be.

He told you all the usual things: how, even though he’d never worked in a restaurant before, he can empathize with your frustration, how your boss was just as inadequate as the supplies he offered you and how much he really wanted to catch that one line cook in a back alley someday to see if he still talks as tough. It didn’t matter that much of this conversation was under threat of sounding like a broken record at this point. His support was one song that you didn’t mind listening to on repeat. It was the reason why you were able to fight on and face that place yet another day.

The rain was far less harsh by the time you reached Nakamichi Street, he joked that the storm wanted to lure you into a false sense of security so that you would believe that it was safe to head straight to the station, only to start up again; and worse than before. The safest bet was to stick to the plan and now that you could see the sign shining above Cafe Alps, it was like finding the light at the end of the tunnel. Masato removed his arm from around your shoulders and smiled to himself when you unconsciously pouted at the loss of his affection.

He took your hand, guiding it up to his umbrella-wielding one. “Take this and get us a table. I’ll meet you there in about 15 minutes, okay?”

“Wha– Where are you going?” you asked, brow rising as you watched him duck from underneath the safety of the umbrella.

“Since the rain’s not too bad now, I’m gonna stop by Don Quijote for a few things.” he said, then immediately jogged off before calling back, “Did you need anything?”

“N-no!” you called. “Just... Don’t spend too much time out here in the rain!”

Without looking back, he waved a hand up above his head and watching him shrink away was like watching the sunset once more.

. . .

You shifted uncomfortably in your seat, head jerking toward the door every time you heard the bell above it ring. Eventually, that bell would ring and it would be him walking through that door. So, you kept glancing until it finally was. His eyes scanned the cafe for you and once he spotted you, he lit up. On his march toward you, you quickly registered his change of clothes: a black V-neck tee, some dark jeans and black sneakers. At his side was an umbrella and a plastic bag, where you could imagine his purple and white ensemble had been stored.

“Well, hello there.” you smiled.

“Didn’t get too lonely without me, did you?”

“I think I managed ok.”

“Oh yeah? Damn, and here I was in a rush to get back to you too.”

“Don’t pout. It was a joke. So, I see you did some shopping.” you said, nodding at the plastic bag.

He looked down at himself as if it was news to him, “Oh, yeah. Yeah, I had to. My feet were soaked and so was my shirt. Do you like it?”

Your eyes lingered on the gold chain resting beautifully against his warm olive skin then admired the way the material of his shirt clung to his chest and arms as he lowered himself into his seat. The shirt teased you with his physique, showing you some of his best assets yet still not showing enough. You imagined for a moment, the rain getting this shirt wet too; how the drenched material would hug him and would leave him with no choice but to take it off as well.

“It suits you.” you said in a nonchalant tone as if you weren’t mentally undressing him.

“You think so? I’m glad.” he said, sliding the bag beneath his seat. “You didn’t order anything?”

“No, I wanted to wait on you.”

“How thoughtful.” he smiled, “So, what are we gonna get?”

You shrugged, rubbing your hands together. “I’m not sure I have much of an appetite but I know you’re not going to accept that so…”

“You’re right about that.”

“I think I’ll start off with a coffee for now to warm me up. It’s so chilly here compared to outside.”

“I like the way you think.” he said, waving over a waiter.

Your decision to warm up with a cup of coffee inspired him to order himself a latte with heaps of flavored syrup and though he wasn’t quite hungry either, you knew that he could always make room for dessert. So, after your insistence on repaying him for his valiance, he ordered a strawberry parfait as well.

The sweet treat wasn’t on the table for all of thirty seconds before he started to dig in. There was a gentleness in his expression each time he went for a spoonful that wasn’t dissimilar to the way he looked at you. That was how you knew that he was truly enjoying himself. You smiled at him, hunched over the table in a seat that was almost too small for him with a smear of whipped cream at the corner of his mouth. Had the table not been a factor, you wouldn’t have hesitated to kiss it away. Instead, you were forced to settle for wiping it away with your thumb and as if he had been reading your mind, he pressed a kiss against your knuckles before you pulled away.

“Hey, I’m sorry.” he swallowed down his mouthful, then pushed the stemmed glass to the center of the table. “Wanna share it with me?”

You shook your head, stirring at your lukewarm coffee. “Oh, no. It’s alright. Don’t worry.”

“You sure? Looks to me like you really want some.”

You giggled, “No, I was just thinking about how happy you look eating it. I imagine it must be pretty good.”

He licked his lips and smiled at you, scooping up a far less generous spoonful that he’d been before. “I think it’s just because I’m in good company.”

“Geez, c’mon. Masato, don’t be sappy.” you laughed, waving a dismissive hand at him.

“It’s true. Stuff like this tastes so much better when you’re eating with someone you love. Here, have a small bite.” he said, guiding the spoon toward your mouth. “Come on.”

You’ve had parfaits here before but you were never the biggest fan. The moment the bit he fed you landed on your tongue; your mouth filled with drool. The strawberries were nice and sweet but something about the cream really packed a punch. It was indescribable and your palette mourned the loss of it the moment you swallowed it down. It left you questioning yourself: had the staff changed recently or was this truly the effect of being here with him tonight?

“Good, isn’t it?”

Your enthusiastic nod elicited a soft chuckle from him as he helped himself to another bite. “I’m glad. Here, let’s finish it together.” he said, preparing a second spoonful for you.

As much as you hated the idea of making him share what was supposed to be a gift of gratitude, there was something about lovingly being fed one of his favorite treats that felt almost wrong to refuse. Just like the candies in the “for later” box. So, you were sure to open your mouth and graciously accept each bite, enjoying the way those brown eyes would glisten as your lips wrapped around the spoon. Perhaps it was simply the bright bar lights beaming down overhead but you preferred to believe that was his affection shining back at you and your cheeks burned at the thought. No matter what the weather, a simple smile from Masato was just as warming as bathing in sunlight. And that was a feeling that you never wanted to end.

Please do not reupload/repost/rewrite but reblogs are ALWAYS appreciated. Thank you for reading!

#yakuza 5 #yakuza fanfic #yakuza x reader #rgg x reader #kulemiwrites #aizawa masato x reader #aizawa masato #masato aizawa x reader #masato aizawa

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