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fairyoftbz · 3 years

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aquaphobia | k. sunwoo

(n.) : an irrational or disproportionate fear of water, especially anxiety in deep water or when submerging one's face in water.

🌊 pairing: shy! sunwoo x fem! swimming teacher! reader 🌊 word count: 4.6k 🌊 genre: slight angst, fluff, mentions of suggestive themes at the end. 🌊 tw: aquaphobia, mention of claustrophobia and agoraphobia 🌊 synopsis: a young man approaches you while you give children swimming lessons. you’re far from expecting what he asked you. 🌊 a/n: happy birthday sunwoo! ❣ seeing him so scared of going underwater broke my heart, so i had to write about it! miss swimming so it felt so nice to write something like this!! i hope it’s any good and enjoy!

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Hands resting on your hips with the whistle in your mouth ready to blow, your eyes followed the children you were teaching to swim, walking at their pace on the side of the pool. Some parents were sitting in the cafeteria, watching you doubtingly and judgmentally from their seats, nervously sipping on their coffee as they were scared of the safety of their kids. They probably hadn't expected you to be this young, but your lifesaving and diving credentials could prove them otherwise.

You inhaled and blew your whistle, the children picking up the pace, making you squint as their feet tapped harder on the surface of the water, splashing it everywhere. You glanced at the clock on the wall and whistled again, ordering them to stop, before repeating this twice until they arrived at the other end of the pool.

"Alright kids, we'll end there for today," you paused your stopwatch, giving them a little time to catch their breath and get a grip onto the edge of the pool with their little hands.

"You're going to swim one last lap, starting in pairs. Once the first pair gets to the other end, two more will leave, etcetera, etcetera," you explained while gesturing everything under the watchful eyes of the parents. Smiling at some to reassuring them, you focused back on your students and calmed down the nervousness creeping in your veins under the parents' watch. "On your mark... Go!" you yelled, the first pair starting to swim. You kept the whistle close to your lips and followed them with your gaze, clapping your hands to encourage them.

You helped them out of the pool after everyone had finished the activity, the children scampering towards their parents. You waved with a smile to the few people who greeted and thanked you for your work, and you began to put away the different things used for the class.

"Hum, excuse me?" a voice coming from behind startled you, letting go of the pair of fins you had in hand. "Yes?" you replied in an uncertain voice, still surprised at the young man in front of you.

“I saw you training children just now. Do you happen to teach adults as well?" The question seemed to bother him, but he regained confidence when he saw the kindness and the smile on your face. "Classes are for everyone, no matter how young or old you are," you smiled, and he nodded before briefly looking to the side to escape your gaze. "A-Are you interested?" You dared to ask, and he blinked several times, taken aback by the question. "Let's say… how to put it," he started, and you nodded encouragingly, a smile forming on your lips.

“There is no shame in wanting to take lessons, even the biggest swimmers began with those." "No! This is… it's not it. I actually can't swim,” he confessed in a whisper, and your eyes widened briefly before picking up your towel that was lying on the stack of floats. “It's okay, you know. It's good that you want to experience this new sport," you tried to cheer him on, but it seemed like something was wrong, his gaze didn't light up when you accepted his request. "There’s no rush, I'll give you time to think. But if you want to take the plunge, you can sign up at the pool reception," you beamed, and he nodded another time, thanking you for giving him time.

A few days later, while you were having a coffee next to Sangyeon, your best friend - which was also the volunteering pool lifeguard - the young man who had come to talk to you at the end of class reappeared, a lost and anguished look painted on his face.

“Ah, looks like your first student of the day has arrived,” you laughed as you handed him your cup of coffee, opening your lifeguard jacket before walking down the first few steps to the main pool where the young man was eyeing the water, his face growing livid. "Ew, your coffee is disgusting, it's too sweet," Sangyeon put the mug back on the table with a disgusted look, his grimace making you burst out laughing. "Nobody forced you to drink it though," Sangyeon rushed over to a bottle of water and opened it, lightly waving at you as you started your day.

"Sunwoo, right?" The young man got startled as you announced yourself, causing him to turn around quickly, nodding. "Y-yes, it's me," he put his towel on his bag, and you nodded, setting your belongings next to his. "Good. I'm Y/N, and I'll be your teacher until we reach your goals, okay?" You started to walk towards the small stairs that went into the pool, but Sunwoo stayed on the first step with his feet in the water, muscles visibly clenched. You looked at him with furrowed brows, glancing briefly at Sangyeon in his cabin, who was also looking at you with furrowed brows.

Sunwoo fiddled with his hands, his index finger scratching the skin around his thumb. You could see in the side of his neck that his heart was pounding, and immediately understood what was wrong.

You then got out of the pool and put a hand on his shoulder, leading him back to his belongings. How do you get him to explain the situation without scaring or triggering him? His breathing was jerky and panting, your presence not reassuring him at all.

"Sunwoo? Sunwoo, look at me, please," You pressed your hand further onto his shoulder to force him to look at you, trying to make the young man understand that you didn't mean any harm to him. "Can you tell me what's going on? Are you afraid of water?" You asked in a whisper, and he swallowed hard, giving you a clue that you had hit a nerve.

“You know, it's not a shame to be afraid. Your fear is as acceptable as someone afraid of heights or confined spaces. Just because it's a tad bit less common doesn't mean it's less valid," Sunwoo nodded, your heart skipping a beat when his eyes swelled up with tears. "Do you want to postpone-" "No. No, I want to try," you nodded at his shaky words, relieved that he had built up the courage to overcome his fear. "It's-it's just that..." "You don't need to tell me the reason you're scared, that's none of my business. But simply tell me what scares you, so we can work on-" "I'm afraid to drown," he cut you, and you looked at him, encouraging him to continue, "I almost kicked the bucket once and ever since… I'm afraid of going back in the water. It can be the sea, a lake, a swimming pool, I hate it all." You nodded and stood up, motioning for him to follow you.

"We've already moved forward, you told me the reason for your fear, we can take the problem step by step. Now, would you feel reassured to have the lifeguard by the pool? He's my best friend, and he was a coast guard before he moved to come here, so he can save people in any condition," you suggested while pointing at Sangyeon, the latter standing up immediately. Sunwoo shook his head, and your friend sat back down, giving you a knowing smile that he would come down at any sign from you. "Great, then. Let’s try to get into the water, shall we?” You extended your hand, which he took without hesitation, squeezing your palm tightly.

You helped him take deep breaths to calm his pulse and train of thoughts, feeling his hand gradually loosen from yours as you encouraged and reassured him. You walked down the second step of the stairs, and he followed you, swallowing hard as you congratulated and cheered him on again.

"Take the time you want, even if you have to spend the session here, it's fine, okay?" He joined you on the third step, water now above mid-thighs, his hand tightening around yours. "It's alright Sunwoo, I'm here. You're okay, we'll get there eventually. Look at me, please," his firmly shut eyes relaxed, and he blinked several times, sighing as he wanted to cheer himself up. "Remember to breathe deeply and clear your thoughts. And if you feel like stopping, tell me, and we’ll do something else," his eyes never left yours, as if he were caught in a trance. A slight smile decorated your face, your eyes filled with kindness acting like a tranquilliser on his heart.

You looked away from Sunwoo for a brief moment to look at your best friend, who gave you a thumbs up with a big smile from his cabin, encouraging you to be the good teacher you were.

"Are you doing fine?" You asked in a soft voice, and he nodded, jaw clenched. The poor boy. You didn't know what had happened to him, but you truly could see that behind his brown eyes laid years of the trauma he had never been able to heal. "Y-yes, I think so," he whispered, taking a deep breath. "Good job. Do you want to try the fourth step, or should we wait for the next lesson?" You asked as you walked down the second to last step, not letting go of your student's clammy hand. You saw his foot hesitate above the step, but he took a step back, then another, letting go of your hand to take refuge on the first step. At least there was something positive, he hadn't run out of the pool completely.

"I-I am sorry," he whispered, and you stepped out of the water too, the wet part of your swimsuit sticking to your skin. "It's okay, Sunwoo. You've made some good progress already," you comforted him with a smile he barely surrendered in return. “It all takes time. Remember, it's better to take small steps than nothing at all." He nodded, but you could tell he wasn't listening to you, a veil of anxiety appearing in his eyes. "See you next week then!" you put your jacket back on, leaving him sitting next to his bag. "Thank you, Y/N," an unconvinced smile spread across his face. You gently pat him on the shoulder before heading back to your best friend, who was standing up to watch the young man you left behind.

"His distress makes me so sad," you said with a sigh, sitting in your best friend's unoccupied chair. Your gaze fell on Sunwoo again, who was staring at the ground as if he were drained of all the energy he had in him. "But I'm sure you'll be able to get him to overcome his fear," Sangyeon was leaning against the window of his cabin, the soft crackle of the radio occupying the silence. “I'm not as confident as you are, but I'll try."

The more Sunwoo came to the pool, the more anxious he seemed, despite making some progress from the previous lesson. He now knew how to stay in the water, all alone where he was, without having to hold onto you or the side of the pool, but it took several weeks of hard work. He still had that panicked look on his face, but he seemed to have mastered that part of his phobia. Sunwoo even confessed to you that he had tried taking one or two baths, which was a big step forward on his part.

"And? How did it feel being in the bath?" “It was weird… I felt a bit uncomfortable, but the hot water felt good. I even wanted to try to put my head underwater, but I didn't have the courage." “Do not forget what I keep telling you over and over, small steps. There's no point in wanting to go too fast, plus you were all alone. One misstep and we can start all over again, so be careful,” you took on a more severe tone to make him understand that he shouldn't let himself be overwhelmed by a sudden rush of confidence, at the risk of losing all the progress you've made so far.

"Do you want to try to float on your back?" He took his gaze away at your suggestion, his eyes moving all over the place as if he were looking for an escape.

He knew you were only suggesting an activity, but he couldn't help but create horrible scenarios in his head. Sunwoo was reassuring himself as best he could: he had researched you on the swimming pool website, as well as your university, and he had come back more confident than the last time. The sight of all your life-guarding and swimming diplomas featured in the pool staff description reassured him and made you completely trustworthy in the young man's eyes.

"I'm going to ask you to move back, and you bring out your abdomen. Think you want to show everyone how great your abs are,” you explained, and he chuckled through his nose while nodding, dimples appearing on the side of his mouth. You slightly pulled him a little further from the edge, but still close enough in case he panicked. "Remember that you can always set your foot on the ground or grab the pool edge if you don't feel like doing it anymore," he agreed, and you moved closer to him, slipping an arm through the middle of his back to accompany him.

He had his eyes closed, and he was shakily controlling his breathing, a flinch seized him as his head touched the surface of the water, but he kept going nonetheless.

"You can do it Sunwoo, I believe in you," you whispered, and he nodded weakly, feeling your arm behind his thighs, holding him to the surface.

He stayed a moment, but he felt a wave of anxiety crash onto him, his heartbeat echoing violently in his ears not helping him to calm down. He opened his eyes, struck dumb with fear, but you caught his gaze instantly. He managed to make out encouraging words coming out of your mouth despite the thickness of the water.

"I'm here, don't worry, I got you, Sunwoo, I got you," you repeated the words over and over to engrave them in his memory, his phobia unfortunately still present despite your ongoing efforts. You moved closer to the edge and rested your knee against the wall, still maintaining Sunwoo on the surface of the water, allowing him to hang onto the edge to feel safe.

"I'm never going to make it," he whispered, rubbing his face, putting his foot on the ground. "No, Sunwoo, it's not the time to let your fear take over and make you give up. Not after all these efforts.You have to pull yourself together and overcome your fear." You let go of him and replaced your hair behind your neck, observing your student. "Easier said than done." He spat involuntarily, his anxiety speaking for him. "I know it's hard, I know it, and I see it, but I'm sure you can do it." "How can you be confident of something so uncertain? What tells you I'm gonna get there?” Sunwoo slightly raised his voice, the frustration flooding his veins.

"Because you are ready to face your fear! Look at yourself, you came of your own free will to the pool to take lessons, which means you want to progress. If you wanted to remain so fearful of the water and drowning, you wouldn't even have made the effort to get here, let alone be in the water with me. I know it is hard, everyone has a phobia, but you have to be patient and allow time to do what it needs to do. I also have a phobia. I am afraid of confined spaces, elevators, and large crowds. Being stuck on the subway with hundreds of other people always feels like I'm going to suffocate or getting crushed to death. It's a different phobia, but it's just as valid as yours," Sunwoo sighed and folded his arms over his chest, listening wearily.

"Okay Sunwoo, I think we're going to stop there for today," you gave him a slight smile which he didn't answer, lost in thought.

You didn't understand. Yet he was on the right track, making progress, but he was now on the verge of giving up everything. How could you make him enjoy swimming and water again?

This question ran through your mind for the rest of the day, your hand gripping the bar of the subway train as you patiently travelled home. Music at full volume in headphones, you tried to create a safe bubble around you to forget the situation you currently were in. As if talking about it this morning with Sunwoo had triggered something for it to happen.

The subway stopped at a fairly popular station, your eyes widening as you noticed the mass of people who were waiting to climb into the train. You squeezed the bar even tighter, your fingers turning white as the doors opened. Closing your eyes, you internally cursed yourself for not waiting for your best friend to finish his shift. You took a deep breath, now feeling the distress Sunwoo experienced when he was in the water. This feeling of suffocation and helplessness in the face of this fear was starting to take over your whole body. You lowered your head to look at the ground to avoid meeting all eyes and the bodies around you. Chills ran through your spine, and your throat tightened, making your breathing, and swallowing a struggle.

You opened your eyes when a hand grabbed your free one, turning your head sharply to the right as fear rose your heart to your throat. Your grip on the bar slightly relaxed as you recognised Sunwoo beside you, holding your hand as tight as he did when he stepped into the water during your first class. You were ready to cry, but you gritted your teeth, looking away as you felt your eyes fill with tears. Sunwoo shuffled around you, a few people groaning as the coach was packed. He managed to make his way to the automatic doors, where he guided you to the window so that you could focus on something other than the mass surrounding you. His hands were on both sides of your head for him to stand upright, subconsciously creating space for you to have enough room to breathe a little easier.

"Thank you," you whispered, and he smiled compassionately, understanding your distress. He moved closer to you to whisper in your ear, his action making your heart skip a beat. "You did it for me at the pool, I don't see why I shouldn't do it for you on the subway," he wiped a tear away with his thumb and weakly smiled as you fidgeted with your hands.

The more your classes continued, the closer you got with your student, the subway event from a few weeks ago having acted as a trigger. Sunwoo understood that you were on his side, that you weren't doing this because you wanted to make money or because you had to. He felt that you genuinely wanted to help him surmount his fear, just as much as he wanted to help you with yours.

Outside of lectures and meetings, you would start spending time together over coffee or chatting, sensing that a friendship was forming. Sunwoo was a very gentle guy, passionate about music and dancing, activities that had helped to drown out his trauma and move on. He was very talented, his ears turning red despite his beanie when you watched his dancing and rapping performances on his phone at a cafe.

___

You took a break from training for a while, you and Sunwoo having to focus on your studies. Despite your part-time job at the pool, you also had a degree to achieve, and it was by far the easiest. You were in law school with Sangyeon, and your student happened to be in biology in a building a few feet from yours. You didn't have time to spend time together. Sangyeon, his girlfriend and you almost lived in each other's house, studying together for your final exams.

Once that affliction was over, you could finally relax, and for both of you, that meant jumping into an Olympic-size pool and swimming laps until you could no longer be able to move. When swimming was your stress reliever, Sangyeon and his girlfriend had some spicy intercourses that allowed them to get rid of the built-up pressure together. Since they were not as tensed as you, Sangyeon gave up earlier than you, wrapping himself in his towel before sitting down to watch you swim.

As you were getting rid of all your frustration and exam stress by pounding your feet in the water, a familiar face appeared from the changing rooms as you lifted your head to breathe. You briefly smiled before putting your head back under the water and swinging your arms above your head, waving your pelvis before repeating the movements.

"Nice to see you here, Sunwoo," you said, stopping at the end of your lap with a smile on your face, lifting your goggles. He sat by the pool and dipped his feet in the water, looking at you with a smirk. "I was bored now that the exams are over, so I thought I could drop by and see you," you placed a hand to your heart, acting fake touched by his words. You started swimming again as not to lose your energy nor the rhythm you had managed to keep after a few laps.

Sunwoo watched you go to the other end of the pool, your movements and form hypnotising him. He desired to become as graceful and comfortable in the water as you were, but he still had a long way to go. You got introduced to swimming as soon as you could walk, your parents wanting to pass on their passion to you.

The lifeguard gently smacked Sunwoo's shoulder and winked to greet him while he was leaving. Your student nodded while shifting his attention back to you, who was coming back to finish your training. Putting a tried hand against the edge of the pool, you grabbed the bottle of water before taking a few gulps as you caught your breath. A sudden, swift movement surprised you, your eyes widening as you saw Sunwoo's figure dive above your head, coming back to the surface with a smile on his face. He laughed when you choked and spat out the water you had in your mouth, shocked at his sudden, magical progress.

"Sunwoo, what the fuck! You were still hesitant to put your head underwater the last time we saw each other! What happened?" You yelled in confusion as you approached the young man, who smiled and ran a hand through his wet hair to get a better look at you. "I… lied. I took classes with Sangyeon while you were studying. I wanted to give you a nice surprise at the end of the exams…" you shook your head, scoffing, slightly offended at the amazing progress he had made with Sangyeon, as you followed him for months. "You made more progress with my best friend in a few weeks than with me in several months," you said, and he chuckled, a big smile on his face.

Were you doing something wrong?

Sunwoo saw your slightly crestfallen face and moved closer to grab hold of your forearm. You looked at him sideways for long seconds, finally smiling when you saw the teasing look that decorated his eyes.

"You did most of the work, Sangyeon just took the opportunity to show me other things." “Obviously. That fucker always does what’s the easiest. He certainly isn't going to bother to get his hands dirty," Sunwoo laughed at your statement, noting that this wasn't probably the first time your best friend's done this to you. You sighed and instantly lifted your head as your friend took off your swim cap and brushed the baby hair out of your face. "I wouldn't think twice if all of this had to happen again. I would take lessons behind your back with Sangyeon if I had to, again, because nothing can replace the surprise that shone in your eyes when you saw me dive. It was priceless,” you rolled your eyes and looked away, Sunwoo's fingers grabbed your chin to make you look at him in the eyes.

Not only did Sangyeon teach him how to swim, but now he's a huge flirt! Where did the shy guy that was terrified of water go?

"Whatever," you retorted, and he arched an eyebrow. "Oh. You don't believe me?" "Not so much, no. It sounds like a crappy plan any-" a soft source of warmth rushed to your face, feeling pressure against your lips, allowing you only milliseconds of what was currently happening.

Sunwoo's arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you to his slender body. One hand running around your curves to come to rest on your cheek, cradling it tenderly, contrasting with the fervour of the kiss you were exchanging. Pressing your hands against his chest after making out for a few minutes, his lips left yours, leaving you both breathless, the workout you had just done not helping you in this situation.

"I wanted to confess to you another way, but you talk too much, I had to do something to make you quiet," you pat him gently on the forearm, laughing, a wave of embarrassment seizing your body. "You're done? Can I start swimming again?" You changed the subject, and Sunwoo smirked, leaning against the wall of the pool.

The rays of sun hitting the water gave his skin a luminous complexion, his beautiful eyes turning a lighter shade of chocolate brown as he looked at you with a thin, satisfied smirk. He watched you silently, his eyes unrestrainedly longing for your lips. You moved closer to him and planted your eyes in his, finding their dark colour again. He grabbed your cap and threw it behind him, landing near your bag so you couldn’t go back to swimming.

"If I was mean I'd press your head underwater, but I don't want to ruin our efforts, so you better run fast," you threatened him, but he didn't move an inch, always watching you with a teasing look as his elbows rested on the edge of the pool. He cleared his throat and stared at you, a new sparkle lightning his eyes.

“Sangyeon told me about a technique that helps reduce stress well, tested and approved by him and his partner. Do you want to give it a try?" You quirked an eyebrow and your tongue poked the inner part of your cheek, rolling your eyes before staring at him, moving closer to his ear. "I'll meet you in the showers, you better be good if you don’t want me to kick your ass," you said, and he hoisted himself out of the water in no time.

“Noted,” he started and went on one knee to near his face with yours, “teacher,” he winked and threw your towel around his neck before confidently walking towards the showers, sending you an explicit wink as you scoffed at his behaviour, shaking your head as you rushed out of the pool.

What has Sangyeon done to your student…

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cheelduh · 3 years

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How to bet your way into someone’s heart. (Highschool AU)

Pairing: Childe x fem!reader

Warnings: Fake weed. Poor Signora smh. Oh yes, lots of swearing. UNEDITED ASF IM LAZY BYE.

Synopsis: Childe is being an infatuated idiot, Lisa has eyes for vending machine chocolate, and Kaeya is desperately in need of a pencil. With all these distractions, there’s no way in hell you’ll be able focus on the task at hand.

This is crack.

I don’t have time.

You think as you race down the hallway, shoes slapping against the floor as you expertly dodge multiple students in your way.

Bullet. You're as fast as a bullet, because everyone around you is a blur and you don't stop, can't stop, not until you meet your target.

It's funny how one can accomplish many challenges and feats they were unable to, merely due to pressure. Pressure is a twisted ugly thing that can gnaw its way into the pit of your stomach and grow like a parasite. Pressure is a parasite that can either bring the best in you, or the worst, but at the cost of one's peace of mind.

"Move it Signora!" You shouted a warning at the senior blocking your way. There wasn't any time for you slow down at that point, and you'd risk bumping into the breakfast club's stall if you swerved to the side, sending juice flying everywhere.

Signora's eyes widened momentarily, getting the gist albeit her anger, and choosing to back up flatly against the locker.

Her lipstick nearly slips from her fingers as you swerve past, a thick gust of wind in your wake.

It messes with the hair she woke up two hours early for.

Signora plots her revenge. You still don't have time.

You nearly kick the door to your home room down, but you can't risk the perfect image your teachers have of you. So you pat down your t-shirt, take five tempting deep breaths, and tentatively knock the door.

The door opens and you're met with a young man, familiar amber pupils welcoming you.

You try not to huff and puff at the cost of your stamina. Thinking back, there's no way in hell you could have physically been that fast.

"Good morning Y/N," Your homeroom teacher gives you a small smile, moving aside to let you in. "Class is just about to start."

You check your watch, then turn to him with an apologetic tone, trying not to crack under the eyes of your classmates. "I'm so sorry Mr.Zhongli, I slept through my alarm."

Your idiot ass forgot to set one because you studied till four in the morning.

"You're like thirty seconds late, cut the shit." Beidou boos from the back, causing your stance to stiffen.

"I don't wanna hear it Beidou. If anything, you're two periods earlier than usual." Ningguang calls her out for you, but you have a feeling it's more so on behalf of a personal vendetta.

Ignoring the two bickering, Mr.Zhongli gives you the handout. "Take a seat. Do not fret over such minuscule things dear."

Relief washes over you. Your impeccable attendance is not on the line.

Childe tries to flag you down next to him but you send him a pointed glare and sit next to Lisa instead.

"You should give him a chance you know." Lisa doesn't even have to open her eyes to know what's going on.

"Please," You scoff, digging through your bags to collect your notes. "As if I have the time to fool around with a shady kid like him."

Your friend sighs in disapproval, and makes no move to take out her own notes as Mr.Zhongli begins the lecture on the Archon war.

"You should really pay attention." It bothers you that she doesn't, but then again it's not your place to tell her what to do or not to do.

"I don't need to." She yawns, blinking an eye open towards you. "I have you after all."

"I'm tired of saving your ass." You groan and pull a pen out of your pocket to get started on the exercises as Mr.Zhongli talks in the background.

The course outline contained all the topic, and you made sure to teach yourself as much as you could before class to stay ahead.

Immersed in the worksheet, you blinked away your sleep and tried to answer as many questions as you could at the moment. You didn't hear the slight shift next to you, and the change of breathing, or the rate of which time went by.

A familiar scent makes its way into your nostrils.

"Lisa. Why do you smell like mango juul juice." You know the scent from when Signora blew a mango flavoured fog in your face yesterday at lunch when you said you were hungry.

A chuckle erupts and you freeze in place. "That's because I'm not Lisa."

You blink. Once, twice, and then crane your head to the side to meet a pair of teasing cerulean eyes.

Fingers loosening in shock, the pen drops on the desk with a short thud.

You whisk your head towards the front of the classroom, and Mr.Zhongli is nowhere to be seen.

"There's no saving you now." Childe's smirk widens, and he scoots closer to you. "Mr.Zhongli had to get something from the staff room. The staff room is near the cafeteria."

"Which is also near the merch stall." You grumbled, bringing both hands to massage your temples as a headache is beginning it's reign.

"Tsk tsk. Smart girl. I'd like to add that he's forgotten his wallet in his office as well, which is in the south wing."

"Son of a..." You mutter underneath your breath, and opt to scoot further back, but your efforts are futile because your desk is in a corner.

Your next beacon of hope is Lisa, so you scan the room full of chattering students, only to find her pestering her crush, Jean.

Shit...there's nothing getting you out of this one.

"What did it take?" Is your only question, the despair starting to brew. How much did it take for your best friend to betray you?

"A dollar and fifty for vending machine chocolate."

You take a moment to breathe, calming your nerves and burying down the urge to screech. "What will it take?"

"For what?" Childe replies back innocently, and you can't believe how fast he can change masks. You almost give in.

"For you to leave me alone."

"Aww come on girlie," He whines, closing in the distance. "Don't be so cold."

What did your mom tell you that one time? Oh yes. That if you were ever backed against a wall, then just break the damn thing down.

Too bad it's figurative. You're just about ready to sock him in the face if you didn't know he was into that sort of thing.

"I'm serious about you," He says, and it sounds so real, so genuine, nearly makes you sputter. "See? I've even bought school supplies.

He unzips his light backback and spills the contents on the table.

A lone piece of paper flies out, a lighter, and a mechanical pencil with no lead that follows straight after. There's also a pocket knife that you choose to ignore.

You're not the least bit surprised.

"First of all, how the fuck are you passing this class. Second, do you really think I'm into nerds?"

"Well, considering that you are a nerd—"

"You're making things worse."

"My bad, my bad." He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "But on a serious note. I'll do anything."

You cross your arms. "I'm not just another one of your conquests Childe. It's not like I have the time. There are better things to do."

"You need to relax." He says so simply, with complete disregard as to what you are trying to say.

"I am relaxed." You reply, picking up your pen to continue your work. If he's going to annoy you, then you might as well get shit done while he's at it.

You're not wasting any more time.

"When was the last time you got a full eight hours of sleep?" His voice is soft, too soft, and it's not at all like the Childe you know.

Your pen stops momentarily, but you will yourself to continue writing. The words look fumbled, but you don't care. The best thing to do is get your work done and ignore the idiot next to you.

"C'mon, Zhongli won't be back for another half an hour at least. Let's go." He kicks the bottom of your chair to urge you.

The pen shakes in your hand, and you narrow your eyes at the paper, digging holes into poor question eight. "I'm trying to work here. Let me work." You'll say anything to get him off your back.

"Fine fine fine..." He raises both hands in mock surrender. "I'll stop bothering you."

Your ears perk up at that, and you turn to him so fast he has to hold in his laugh. "Really?"

"Yeah," Childe nods along, bringing your hopes up. "If you win a bet, that is." And they're back to ocean level.

You roll your eyes. There's always a catch. That doesn't mean you're any less interested.

"What's the bet?" You ask curiously, all your focus now on him. Just as he longed for from the very start.

He flicks a thumb towards the door, leaning closer to whisper next to your ear. "We bet when Zhongli comes back."

"Are you kidding me?" You aren't bothered at all at the close proximity, mainly because you're too tired and only care about the freedom that will come with your win.

Childe, however, is a completely different story. His heart is beating a thousand times a second, but his face doesn't show it. Not one bit.

Kaeya leans in from the seat behind you two, interested in what's going on. "Ooooh secrets."

"Shut up Kaeya." Childe and you monotonously drone in sync, still having your little staring contest.

The captain of the skating team smiles, about to ask—

"No. We don't have an extra pencil. Even if we did we wouldn't give it to you." Childe finally breaks his gaze to scare off Kaeya.

Kaeya raises a smug brow, and leans back in his chair like the jerkwad he is. "Then don't let me keep you two love birds."

That's all it takes for him to earn Childe's unwavering respect and loyalty for as long as he lives.

After the two are done creating an elaborate handshake as a mark of their newfound friendship, you decide to just forget about the handout. It's not like you're getting anything done anyways.

"Anyways, back to the bet." Childe says, resting his cheek on his fist as he stares at you dreamily. You try not to break under his gaze.

"If I win, you have to go on a date with me."

"No way in hell—"

"Then I'll bother you for the rest of highschool."

Highschool is eternity. You don't want to live through an eternity of this.

"Fine." You answer, and for the first time he sees genuine fear in your face, it makes him waver slightly. Not enough for him to pity you.

"If I win..." You trail, thinking loud and clear as you ignore the excited chatter of your classmates. "I want you to pay attention to class."

"What?" He exclaims incredulously, blinking in disbelief. "I thought you'd get me to stop talking to you altogether."

"If you're paying attention in class, you don't bother me as much and your grades go up." You grin smartly, and oh archons it livens his entire day up, and it's only nine in the morning.

"You care about my grades?" Childe bites back a smile.

"Not at all." You lie, and quickly look away. Woah the floor tile looking trippy.

He decides it's better to get on with the bet without causing you any more distress. After all, you've given him such cute facial expressions today. He's feeling quite generous.

Pulling out his cracked-as-shit latest model phone, he unlocks it and tinkers with it a bit before turning the screen towards you.

"We'll be using this to time both of our predictions at the same time. Whoever has the closer time to when he finally swings by is the winner." The rules are simply put, no room for error.

You tilt your head in confusion. "Why am I seeing a slime review?"

"SHIT!" Childe fumbles with his phone, aggressively tapping on the screen. He lowers his head and voice as if he's been through fifty consecutive hits in the face. "It's uh, Teucer's account."

"Yeah...okay." Is all you can say.

"Ok what do you bet?" He changes the topic to unfuck the situation.

Putting a finger in your chin, you think for a minute, calculating the average of all the times Mr.Zhongli has left the classroom for a considerable amount of time.

"Fifteen minutes." You're sure of it. It's like clockwork every day.

"Hmm..." Childe crosses his arms, seemingly in deep thought. "Five minutes." He places his bet, and both timers start simultaneously.

Five minutes?! Is he serious?

You laugh inwardly. This challenge is in the bag.

The sense of victory you feel dulls when your ears pick up the echo of footsteps nearing the classroom.. Both your heads snap up to the doors.

There's something scary about Childe once his competitive side comes out. "Looks like I've won." He turns to you, eyes darkening evilly.

"What? There's no way in hell a ginger is right." Your palms are clammed up, eyebrows furrowed in panic. You calculated every single variable, how could this be?

You race to the front, Childe right on your tail as the entire class clamps up. The footsteps get louder, causing even whispers to become total silence.

Then it hits you. The shitty music about getting bitches and bars playing on the other side.

The door is swung open by Childe, and you're face to face with an idiot sophomore with a speaker in his pocket.

Childe’s grin is long gone, and you sigh in relief.

The false alarm encourages the class to return back to their idle chatter.

"Scaramouche?" Childe spits, narrowing his eyes at the unamused boy. "I thought it was Signora's shift today."

By "shift" he means being a complete dickwad and scamming fake weed to students in return for their souls. It only really works on the freshmen.

The only reason the club still runs is because Signora threatened the principal with some sus pictures she snapped of him and his assistant.

"Apparently she had an emergency." Scaramouche explains, lowering the volume on his outdated beats pill. "Something about a hair appointment because she got ran into by a, and I quote "lecherous imbecile.""

You steer clear of the conversation, finding the whiteboard far more fascinating and worth your while.

A loud cough is heard from behind the kid, and you're met with a crestfallen look on your beloved teacher's face.

You go through a whiplash of emotions, becoming completely numb towards your loss.

"They were out of slow cooked bamboo shoot soup." He sighs, handing a stack of papers to Childe, who is wearing the fattest smirk on his face at his victory. "Please hand these out to your classmates Childe, and we will begin shortly."

You check down at the timer despite knowing who’s won. Five minutes and twenty five seconds. Somehow, you don't feel as dejected as you thought you'd feel.

Maybe the date will be fun. Maybe Childe isn't so bad. Maybe...you do have time to indulge in these sort of things. If he’s so hell bent on getting your attention, perhaps it’s possible that you can make some room in your heart for him.

However, all those thoughts fly out the window when Childe hands you the new worksheet.

“I hope you're ready for our date tomorrow. We'll be sparring till sundown, and after you’ll be feeding me with chopsticks." He winks, and it makes your heart flip even though all you want right now is to go to the bathroom and barf your guts out.

Feelings are complicated.

You smile back at him nauseously, tight lipped and all, then you pull out your phone, go on maps, and search for the closest cliffs to jump off of.

After he's done, Childe slouches back in his original seat with a different kind of enthusiasm, and opens up his messages. He texts Zhongli a "thank you <3".

#childe x reader #genshin oneshot #genshin impact oneshot #genshin imagines #childe #tartagila #kaeya alberich #fanfic #genshin impact #genshin tartagalia

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ohkiyo · 4 years

Text

pairing: Sugawara Koshi x Reader

warnings: none

word count: 1.6k

a/n: was feeling a bit under the weather lately, so here’s a sick fic, with no other than the pretty boy himself. Also, here is Sugawara singing under the sea to bless your ears. hehehe

(f/b)-favorite bread

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karasuno navigation || main navigation

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When you woke up that morning, you did not expect to be greeted by a pounding headache, partnered with an itchy throat, a sore body and your ears ringing. Aside from that, your eyes hurt as well to the point that just by opening them for a few seconds causes it to sting resulting in tears building up, so you had no choice but to close them again.

Even the tiniest sounds, dorks barking, doors closing, causes your headache to worsen, basically everything hurts and you can’t even do anything about it.

“(Y/n)! wake up or you’ll be late!” your mother called from downstairs, preparing your breakfast. You groaned, wrapping your blanket tighter around yourself as the wind from the air conditioner blew past you, your body hurts so much, you can’t even stand up to turn it off.

Minutes past and your mother haven’t called you again, that was until you heard your door opening. Soft footsteps padding over the carpeted floor as your mom walks towards your miserable form “(Y/n)?”

“Y-yes?” you croaked out, your voice scratchy, you felt the side of your bed dip a little. Your mother’s cold hand presses your forehead to check your temperature. She frowned, your body temperature too high for her liking.

“You might be having a fever sweetheart” she stood up, walking into your bathroom and opening the medicine cabinet. Taking out a thermometer, she went back out, urging you to open your mouth and place it inside. While waiting, she grabs the remote and turns off your AC, adjusting your curtains to fully cover your window.

Hearing the device beep, she took it out and checked. “40.1 degrees celsius” Her existing frown deepened “I’m taking you to the hospital”

You shook your head, slowly opening your eyes to meet your mother’s concerned ones “No…hospitals please”

She knelt down, brushing the hair out of your eyes, your body visibly relaxing at your mother’s soft touches. “(Y/n), your temperature’s at 40. That’s considered high already”

“N-no” you sink lower into your bed, covering your head with your blanket once again. You never liked hospitals, the smell of antiseptics, the trays of medicines, the needles from the injections, and the patients you see roaming the hallways, it never sits right with you. Whenever you step foot inside a hospital, it just smells like death you found it disturbing, so unless you’re dying, you will not agree to your mother’s decision to take you there.

You heard her sigh, before she gently patted your form from over your blanket “Alright, no hospital. But you’re drinking all the medicines I’m giving you. Is that a deal?”

You nodded your head, you’re fine with anything as long as hospitals aren’t involved.

“I’ll call your school to inform them of your absence and cook you something light to eat”

With that, she left your room and you fell back asleep.

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“(Y/n)’s not answering her phone” Sugawara had been trying to contact you since break started. He didn’t see you during your shared class in the morning, and when he asked your friends, none of them know where you were or what happened to you. He assumed you were running late, so he decided to call you again during lunch, unfortunately you weren’t answering his calls.

“Maybe she didn’t go to school today” Daichi offered, walking beside him with Asahi following right after. Making their way towards the cafeteria, maneuvering through the rest of the students wandering the hallways as they go about their lunch break.

“Sugawara-kun!” he paused in his tracks, watching as your friend walked towards the door of the classroom she’s currently in “(Y/n)’s absent today because of a fever. Her mom called to inform our homeroom teacher this morning”

If Sugawara wasn’t worried then, he sure is now. Sick? But you were just fine yesterday, he saw no symptoms of possible illness. You look perfectly healthy. “I’ll visit her later after school, thank you for telling me”

“I’ll give to you later the notes and school works the teacher’s gave”

Then she went back inside to rejoin her lunch companions as Sugawara jogs to catch up to Asahi and Daichi, who didn’t even notice he wasn’t with them anymore, too engrossed in their conversation.

The day went by fast, faster than any other days, mainly because after Sugawara was told of your absence, all he could think of was your well being. You rarely get sick, probably like once or twice a year, and when you do, it was severe, it’s not just some light fever that would go away the next day. No, yours would last for days before it would completely disappear, and if you’re lucky, sometimes it will only last for a day.

Questions were already running through his head, how are you doing? Are you taking your medicines? Are you eating? Who’s taking care of you? His mind was filled with nothing but endless questions, those thoughts stayed throughout the day that during practice he was distracted, nearly receiving a ball to the face after Tanaka tried to do a jump serve.

Once practice was over, he informed the others he would be going ahead. Promising them to explain later and hurriedly exited the school campus, the notes your friend promised to give to him already in his bag.

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“Ah Sugawara-kun, are you here you visit (Y/n)?” your mother opened the door wider, stepping aside as Sugawara removed his shoes.

“Yes (L/n)-san, how is she?” he trailed behind her, his hand filled with snacks he bought from the convenience store and the paper bag filled with your favorite bread that he bought from the bakery you two frequent near Karasuno, it was still hot, just recently been out of the oven.

“She’s doing a lot better than she did this morning” your mother answered, opening your door as they stood beside your bed. Your position is still the same from this morning, your muscles ache so bad that just by turning around hurts like hell. “I was just about to go buy her so more medicine, thankfully you arrived just in time Sugawara-kun”

“I’ll watch over her (L/n)-san”

“Thank you so much, stay over for dinner alright?”

Your mother exited the room to go run her errands while Sugawara took a seat on one of your chairs. Placing the snack on your nightstand and his bag on the floor just beside it, he took the basin that was placed on the floor beside your bed and changed the water, dipping in the towel and placing it on your forehead to help lower your temperature. He saw your body stirred in your sleep, your face scrunching up in discomfort.

“Mom?”

Sugawara chuckled, adjusting the towel on your forehead to avoid it from slipping “Your mom went out to buy you more medicine (Y/n)-chan”

The familiar sound of your boyfriend’s voice answered, it was soothing, gentle to the ears unlike the ones you have heard from right outside your window. “Koshi?”

“Mhmm” He dip the towel into the basin again before putting it back on your forehead “How are you feeling?”

“Terrible” you let out a sneeze, slowly sitting up on your bed then taking the tissue Sugawara offered you as you blow your nose “It hurts everywhere”

“It will go away soon once you drink your painkillers” He took the bag from the nightstand and placed it on his lap, opening the paper bag as the delightful smell of freshly baked bread wafted through your nose.

“Is that (f/b)?” he nodded his head, giving you a piece just in time to hear your stomach grumble from hunger. Sugawara opened the other bag and pulled out an orange juice, giving to you the bottle as he too takes a bite from his own snack.

You never realized just how hungry you were until your stomach was begging for more food, you’ve been throwing up most of the food you ate earlier and when you do eat, two spoonfuls are already enough before you feel nauseated again.

“Go back to sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up” Sugawara tucks you in, giving you a kiss on the forehead, humming a tune from under his breath as your eyes slowly closes, the side effect of the painkiller you drank finally kicking in.

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The next time you woke up it was already 9pm, and you felt much better than you did that morning. Your headache was gone, the body pain subsided and you throat doesn't hurt anymore, your cold was still there but at least your nose wasn’t runny anymore. Overall, you were slowly healing and it’s all thanks to your mom and your ever loving boyfriend.

“Feeling better?” you turn your head, Sugawara still seated beside you, already changed into the spare clothes he left in your closet for him to use whenever you two had a sleepover, notebook in hand as he reviews his notes. He leaned forward, feeling your forehead.

“Much better, thank you” you took hold on his hand, kissing his knuckles. Grinning at the blush forming on his cheeks, the words he had in his mind coming out of his mouth in nothing but stutters. You chuckled, lifted up your arm scooting over to create some space “Come lay here with me”

He closed his notebook and went under the covers with you, tucking your head under his chin as he pulls you closer to him, snuggling your small body, his scent calming you into another round of sleep. “Goodnight (Y/n), I love you”

You smiled, burying your face on his shirt “Goodnight, love you too”

#haikyuu fluff #sugawara fluff #haikyuu x reader #sugawara x reader #sugawara koshi x reader #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu oneshot #sugawara scenarios #sugawara imagines

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bananaink · 4 years

Text

KeGo December Day 11 - Loud

Izuku was running as fast as he could, ducking and zick-zacking his way through the flood of students. Heart hammering in his chest and turning around a corner, he barely evaded Aizawas scarf zipping by his waist. Panting, he glanced over his shoulder, finding Aizawa a good distance away but quickly catching up. The adults’ hair was down and his eyes not flashing red so Izuku used that to his advantage, slapping the next student he saw with his palm.

A surprised yelp, then he felt the ground just behind his feet shake and lift up. He didn’t care what the other students quirk did, he just jumped to the side, sidestepping a floating tile and then running around another corner in a very tight curve. He smacked against the wall there but after running for a few more seconds he didn’t feel the angry glare digging into his neck, so he quickly and carefully crouched low behind a door and glanced back.

No Aizawa. Just confused students rubbing their heads.

Suspiciously squinting, Izuku scanned the hall, but no enraged black jumpsuit bulldozed his way through the many different students, so Izuku tentatively decided that he had left the underground hero behind for now. Somewhere at least. But he couldn’t be sure and as experience had taught him – standing still was a death sentence. He looked up and was met with the big dining hall and a good number of stares send his way. The older students were used to him running around the school and only gave him a small wary glance, but the new ones, the fresh ones, here for a few days, openly stared at his disheveled look. Hair askew, wet with red paint on one side, yellow on the other, shirt muddy and pants covered in even more paint. Who would have thought painting an All Might mural would have to use up so much paint? Now – where should he hide?

“There you are.”

Izuku squeaked and rolled to the side, scrambling up to sprint as Aizawas scarf got hold of his foot.

“Shit!”, Izuku gasped and face-planted on the ground. He turned around, kicking his legs out and trying to entangle the scarf, but Aizawa managed to get his other foot and reeled him in like a very big, wriggly fish. Izuku had barely a second to estimate the true scale of the trouble he had put himself into before he found himself staring up at his guardian, lying flat on his back. A red splash of paint dripped down Aizawas face and hit Izuku on the cheek. Nervously grinning, Izuku put both hands together, palm against palm and took a breath.

“Heeey, what’s up? Didn’t see you there! Like what you’ve done with your costume!”, he babbled high-pitched and subtilty tried to kick his legs free but his guardians eyes had a dangerously red glint to them. So Izuku gave him two little jittery finger guns, trying to sound casual.

“Suits you.”

Aizawa just glared some more, blue splatters thankfully taking a little bit away from the burning picture of anger in his face and Izuku felt sweat running down his neck.

“Um, so, okay, let me just say that I didn’t mean for the paint to explode like it did and that I have an excellent explanation for the question I can feel coming. The answer might surprise you.”

But Aizawa didn’t want to hear it. Instead he blew a breath out of his nose like a bull in front of the color red. Izuku gulped.

“Aizawa, uhm, you look kinda, you know, murderous and I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to look at your helpless, innocent and hardworking foster child like-”

Suddenly the loudest, piercing alarm screamed through the cafeteria and Izuku clasped both hands over his ears. For a very confused second, he thought that Aizawa was responsible for the sound – patience finally snapping -, but then he saw Aizawa straightening up. Despite the colorful splatters of paint over his jumpsuit Izuku immediately recognized the underground hero coming forth and his nerves thrummed with the sudden change.

Izuku kicked his feet in earnest and tried to stand up – get up get up get up, away from the ground – when AIzawa gripped his scruff and pulled him to his feet. The scarf entangled itself and wrapped back around Aizawas throat, while Izuku took a step closer to the hero. He didn’t let go of his scruff.

“Security Level 3 has been broken. All students - please evacuate in an orderly fashion.”, echoed a prerecorded message through the speakers and Izuku instinctively looked at Aizawas face, searching for a sign if he needed to freak out as much as he was.

“What is that?”

“The alarm?”

“What happened?”

Suddenly there was so much movement around them, everyone jumping up and racing to the exits, stumbling over themselves in a hurry. Izuku startled at the students running so close by and even got an elbow to the shoulder before he pressed his back at Aizawa, still holding his hands over his ears.

The pro hero let him, loudly speaking over the alarm to the students closest to them.

“Someone infiltrated the building.”, he said and frowned over the panicked students, obviously displeased with the rapidly growing mass of people blocking the exits. He pulled himself up to his impressive height.

“Calm down.”, he commanded loudly to the students turning to him for guidance and grabbed a girl that had been pushed from behind. Steadying her, he frowned after the kids pushing their ways to the doors.

“I’ll find out what's going on. In the meantime, stay calm and evacuate.”

Aizawas scarf shot out and caught a boy who had fallen to his knees.

“And help your classmates.”

With that he started pointing and ordering and generally dictating the kids around him to stay calm, move, stop pushing – but Izuku was too busy fighting off his fight or flight response jerking in his limbs, the only thing keeping him grounded was the strict hand holding his scruff. The alarm, combined with the bodies drowning him in sound and touch and movement threatened to sweep him away, out of the now and into the then. The room full of bodies, stuffed together like sardines, moaning, screeching, crying and pleading, Izuku right in the middle because he had been bad, had opened his big mouth and said something his father didn’t like.

He felt himself slipping, hands twitching over his ears, losing his grip on his birth quirk in a mass of agitated quirked people - and when another elbow dug into his sternum, he pushed it away a little bit too roughly. A shout and he dumbly watched a boy almost twice his height shrinking down to the size of his boot. Immediately Aizawas hand left his scruff, but before Izuku could truly panic - don’t leave me here don’t leave me here don’t leave please – two strong hands grabbed him under his armpits and lifted him from the floor. Rigid and tense he suddenly sat on top of Aizawas shoulders and out of the living mass around them.

His guardian hadn’t stopped shouting and directing but now he had two hands to do so, without the threat of an unstable liability setting of people's quirks at random. Izuku felt his breaths coming in short rattling gasps, but his ears had stopped ringing for now – or he had stopped hearing in general because the high pitched whistled couldn’t be healthy. Healing already buzzed through his whole body and he crossed his ankles over Aizawas chest to better hold on to the moving pro hero. He buried his hands in Aizawas hair, without tugging too hard at him, and felt for his quirk, the familiar glow of sight, the piercing prickle in his fingertips, as if holding a weightless little hedgehog with too long spikes.

Aizawa startled as his hair lifted itself up but kept working despite his active quirk. Izuku knew he should let go, shouldn’t use his quirk on his guardian, busy with directing the evacuation - but he couldn’t stop his birth quirk from reacting to the stress, from reaching out out out and holding onto something he knew was good and comforting and safe. He caressed Aizawas quirk awake despite the pins and needles it send out, curled in on himself as much as he could and waited the panic out.

It really didn’t take too long, someone somewhere screaming about journalists and false alarms and that everything would be fine. Aizawa patted his right leg as the general panic simmered down to a nervous chatter around them, so Izuku reluctantly let go of Aizawas quirk to stuff his hands in the scarf instead, rubbing the material between his fingertips - away from the quirk and away from reaching out again. He found the color blue staining his hands and stared at it. Everything was fine. They were fine. Aizawa was already moving on and talking to one of Ectoplasms clones to find out what had happened. There was no reason for his ears to still ring, for his heart to hammer its way out of his chest. No reason for him to stay up on Aizawas shoulders, curled around him and eyes blinking away the resurfacing memories. But Aizawa didn’t set him down and Izuku didn't feel like getting down on his own. So, he focused on breathing and staying as still as possible.

Everything was fine.

If he had taken a quick look outside, as Aizawa was beelining for the principal's office, he would have seen the crumbled entrance, reduced to a mere pile of dust

_________

So, now that I have taken care of most of my earthly duties as a human, I want to write today to at least get another prompt in.

I’m so far back, guys, send help ᕕ(◉Д◉)ᕗ

But before, check out @banashee - her day 15 is so cute, I loved it! Short and sweet and everything good!

Also, as usual, this chapter is crossposted on AO3 :D I will now fade back into my cave, thank you for your patience.

#bnha au #imprint au #midoriya izuku #aizawa shouta #dadzawa #prankster izuku #and his not good day #panic attack #but he doesnt understand them #aizawa is a good dad #but he also has a school full of kids he has to take care of #and he's on his way to murder the press for scaring his kid #gotta get permission from the principal frist though #kego december #kegodecember #writing challenge #day 11

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lunarfanfics · 5 years

Text

Hey, Mister No Name Kid

Words: 2,121 | Rating: G

Pair: Eren Jaeger & Annie Leonhardt

i was a bit inspired by the song “Fight For Me” From Heather's the Musical. So here's some HIgh school AU!

[ FF.net / AO3 ]

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Why was it that High School fights seemed to garner more attention than most tussles that happened outside of the school vicinity? Was it that teenagers were just more generally aggressive, and full of raging spirit and hormones? Was it that the loud hooting coming from the ring of Freshmen, Juniors and Sophomores surrounding the two boys grappling at each other incited the hype? Was it that the teachers attempting to break up the fight only caused more of a commotion that further riled the kids up?

The cafeteria became more of a screaming jungle the moment a fist collided with a cheek.

Annie found it ludicrous, annoying… And yet so-very intriguing. Being a senior, she sat with the rest of the disgruntled older teens at the back of the Cafeteria, she sipped idly at her milk, watching with the slightest bit of interest as the darker haired youth tackled the taller blond boy, knocking him to the ground. Loud “Ah’s!” and “Oh’s!” erupted from the crowd of teenage spectators.

“Check it out. Jean punched that kid out twice, and yet he still gets up! Kid’s got more fight in ‘em than anybody here.” Reiner, the famed quarterback of Maria Highschool commented, folding his arms.

Bertolt, a tall quiet young man who looked more twenty-five than eighteen shook his head solemnly.

“They’re so loud. It’s almost the end of the year. Couldn’t they have waited until schools out?”

“As if!” Reiner chortled. “What would they have to fight about then?”

Bertolt shrugged, he stood grabbing his tray. “I’m going to head to class early, meet me after school.”

“I’ll tell ya’ who won!” Reiner called after him as Bertolt slipped away among the chaos.

Annie could see the dirty blond youth, the one called Jean who tried so hard to be the bad boy of the school, trying desperately to break free from the darker-haired boy’s chokehold. His gasping red face almost made him resemble a fish out of water. The corner of her lips curled just slightly.

Not bad…

The darker-haired boy seemed to have the upper hand now. He blew strands of chestnut hair from his face, his forearms tight around the other boy’s neck. Annie shifted to the side as another student got in her line of vision.

That kid does kind of have nice arms…

Reiner tutted. “Shit. Look whose coming.”

Annie turned her head, just as the raven-haired dean of Maria Highschool strode through the cafeteria doors, looking for all of intent and purposes, pissed off. The crowd of students sensing impending doom hastily stepped out of the dean’s way as he made a path through to the center of the excitement with a hard-earned glare.

The darker-haired boy still had his arms wrapped around Jean’s neck, but Jean had rolled them both onto their backs, so that the other boy was pinned underneath him, Jean tried to elbow him in the gut when two finely polished leather shoes stopped in front of his face.

“Jaeger. Kirstein.”

The boys inclined their heads to meet the steely gray eyes of Mr. Ackerman. The taciturn, short yet terrifying when furious dean of Maria Highschool. She couldn’t see too much, what with the sophomores milling about, but Annie was sure both boys had gulped the moment Mr. Ackerman spoke their names in that calm tone of his.

“Both of you. In my office. Immediately.”

The boys released each other. Staggering to their feet, Jean nearly tripped twice over those steel-toed boots of his. Both appeared haggard and out of breath. Sporting scratches and bruises here and there. Jaeger’s shirt collar was stretched across chest, and two band patches hung from loose threads of Jean’s biker jacket. Mr. Ackerman fixed them with that clipped stare, before turning to the audience who watched them with rounded eyes.

“if any of you wish to accompany Jaeger and Kirstein then I suggest you get back to your tables.”

Even if the threat seemed far-fetched to Annie’s ears considering there was no way Mr. Ackerman could apprehend all of Maria Highschool’s students, Mr. Ackerman had enough of that cold ferocity in his eyes that he could scare students back into their seats. Soon all the Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors were back to conversing with their friends, eating their slightly cooled down lunches and sneaking peeks as the dean marched both boys out of the cafeteria doors.

Reiner blew air out of his nose. “Damn, just when it was getting good.”

Annie looked down at her own forgotten lunch as the jungle became a forest full of ambient noise and mindless chatter once more. A Peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a fruit cup. She sighed, Annie had to survive just a couple of more months before it was bye-bye to this hectic zoo and hello to the fresh start of University. She was sure there was not one thing she was going to miss here.

“Hey Annie?” Reiner gazed down at her as she fiddled with her straw, a smirk playing at the edges of his lips. “Who do ya’ think would have won that fight? Jaeger or Kirstein?”

“Bold of you to assume I care.” She droned.

“Aw, don’t lie. You totally do. I saw you checking out the fight. That Jaeger kid was copying some of your moves too!”

Annie blinked.

He was… He was copying my techniques, wasn’t he? Or at least trying too.

“More like he was fumbling around trying to land a hit.” Annie tucked platinum fringes behind her ear, before standing up with her tray. “And don’t compare him to me.” She side-eyed Reiner as he snatched the fruit cup from her tray.

“Fine. Fine. But y’know… Maybe he has eyes on you. You never know.” Reiner waggled his eyebrows. Annie sneered at him, walking away from the big oaf.

Sure, he does. Not. If he did, he would’ve noticed that I had my eyes on him all along…

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

The skin beneath his left eye was an ugly plum color, bad enough that his left eye had swelled to the size of one too. It still ached, and he could barely see through it.

Dammit!

Eren slammed his locker shut, the metal clatter echoed throughout the near empty halls of Maria Highschool. Mr. Ackerman had kept both him and Jean—the horse-faced asshole—Kirstein after school hours, berating them, and even calling Jean’s mother since he had claimed to insinuate the fight, much to Jean’s horror.

Their detention lasted until 6:00pm. When the afterschool activity clubs where finished. Eren was glad to see that Jean had all but ran out the classroom the moment the last bell rang.

Good. I would’ve kicked your ass out of school anyway.

Unfortunately, while they weren’t suspended or even worse… Expelled. The two still had to attend another week of detention and be forced to sit near each other because apparently it was suggested by Miss Hange, their biology teacher, that the boys wouldn’t be so hostile towards each other if they spend another week in each other’s company.

Fat chance. Eren gritted his teeth at that.

The hallways were mostly empty now, with only one or two afterschool students gathering their things from their lockers, office attendees clipped posters for summer events onto the boards that lined the hallway, and the school custodian was busy mopping up some spilled Pepsi while jamming out to 70’s rock.

At least it was more peaceful during this hour. Eren exhaled as he pushed through the heavy double doors of the school entrance.

“Hey.”

Eren startled, whipping his head to the voice. He saw a blonde girl sitting crossed legged to his right, on the stone steps. She held a busted looking guitar in her hands, wearing her usual ripped stockings, a checkered skirt and the school standard shirt. One of her ears were pierced several times.

Oh. Eren came a little closer. It’s her.

“Hi.” He stopped just when she looked up at him with those clear blue eyes. That punk girl.

She narrowed her eyes at him, looking him over in a way that felt he was being assessed. Eren didn’t like being judged by anyone… But, for once he kept his mouth shut about it.

“You’re that kid that fought Jean in the cafeteria.” She stated matter-of-factly.

“I am. What about it?”

She shrugged. “Nothing. What was that all about anyway?”

Eren tilted his head. He didn’t even know this girl’s name, yet he saw her all the time. Sometimes in the hallways, sometimes in the school yard, sometimes in the cafeteria line or even the gymnasium. He knew she was a senior. He knew from his dear cousin Ymir, that she was bred a fighter too. The best of the best when it came to women’s lightweight. Eren knew this girl had better things to do than involve herself in childish confrontations. Yet his seventeen-year-old mind couldn’t fathom not showing off in front of the punk girl.

He shrugged casually, playing it cool. “We just exchanged a few words, some insults, it got out of hand when I said something about his mom, then he swung at me. I obviously didn’t mean it, but Jean’s a big softie for his mom.”

At this, the blonde girl snorted. “Most boys are.”

“So, uh—” Eren shifted from one foot to the other. He nodded to her guitar. “You play?”

She looked down at her beat up instrument. “I wouldn’t bring a guitar to school if I couldn’t play it.”

“Ah—right, right.”

“Hey, why don’t you sit down. You look fidgety.”

“Sure.” Eren mentally slapped himself. Looking nervous in front of a senior girl. Jean would laugh that hyena laugh of his if he saw this.

He plopped himself down onto the second stone steps, not too close to her, but not too far either. The blonde began mindlessly strumming the taut strings of her guitar. The spring breeze picked up and ruffled their hair, more afterschool kids were piling out of the school, some parents were parked in front of the building, waiting for their sons or daughters.

“So, Jaeger. Huh?”

“Huh?” He raised a brow at her.

“Jaeger?” She inclined her head, peering at him through light colored fringes. “That’s your last name. right?”

“Uh… Yeah?” Eren became puzzled. “You, uh—don’t know my name?”

“Should I? I don’t know most Junior names, honestly.” She pursed her lips in thought. “Hm, but I do see you around a lot.”

“You do?!”

“Oh, yeah. You’re that quiet kid, always keeping to himself. Not really getting involved with any cliques or clubs. A real nobody.”

Eren deflated. “A nobody?”

“Don’t worry.” The punk girl waved a hand. “It’s good to be a nobody sometimes. You don’t get into much drama er—” She looked closer at his bruised eye, “—at least not too much drama.”

Eren flushed. More at their proximity than anything else.

Her eyes are a very bright, and cool blue. Pretty…

“Mister no-name kid.”

“Huh?” He turned to her again. She had gone back to strumming her guitar, only this time the uneven notes took to a soft tune.

“It’s what I call you. Because I never knew your name, yet I always seem to notice you out of everyone in this school. I don’t even care for the seniors I hang out with much, so it’s kind of… Strange.”

Eren felt something like butterflies burst in his gut.

God, I hope that’s not gas…

“Strange, huh?” He cleared his throat. “Well I—I’ve always noticed you too. But I don’t know your name either.”

She stopped strumming for half a second, and in that half-second, he saw something akin to a smile adorning her pink lips.

“You can call me Annie. Leonhardt, Annie.”

Eren grinned crookedly. Smiling made his left eye ache like a bitch, but he was feeling a tad to giddy right now to care. He held out his hand to the punk girl—to Annie.

“Annie. I’m Eren. Eren Jaeger.”

She took his tanned palm into her own. Surprising Eren by just how small her hands were.

And yet they can pack quite a punch or, so the tale goes.

“You sort of held your own in that cafeteria earlier, but your grappling was sloppy.”

Eren laughed. “Heh, yeah I mean—I wasn’t really putting any effort into it, y’know?”

“How about,” She tugged at his hand, so she could lean in to him, “I teach you a thing or two about real fighting, Eren?”

Eren swore he could hear his own heart beating like a drum in his ears. “I—I would like that.”

This time she gave him a genuine smile.

#Eren Jaeger #Annie Leonhardt #ereani #EreAnnie #wwwyfic #snkfic

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wonderwomanfantasy · 6 years

Text

waves of Jealousy

If you look closely you can see the exact moment I forgot where I was going with this story.

Bakugou x reader Todoroki x Midoriya (it’s like one sentence)

word count: 1,300 (about)

Warnings: swearing, sexual harassment but other than that it’s pretty fluffy

Summary: Bakugou doesn’t understand his own emotions especially when they relate to you

Bakugou didn't get Jealous, you weren't dating or anything so he had no right to act like you belonged to him so he didn't get jealous even if you drove him crazy on a daily basis. Like today, for example, you were just there in your desk looking stunning as always. He didn't know what it was but it was almost like the light was hitting you perfectly on purpose like even the sun couldn't help but think you were beautiful. You were just sitting there but then that fucking Icy hot prick walked over to you and started talking to you. In the beginning, he didn't care who the fuck you were friends with why would he? But now it felt like the half and half bastard was flaunting his relationship with you for the whole world. “Are we staring at (y/n) again?” Kirishima asked surprising Bakugou so much he actually jumped.

Bakugou was yelling again startling you out of your conversation with Todoroki he was loud and brash but you couldn't help but find him cute. “ you're staring,” Todoroki nudged you lightly.

“Shut up,” you turned away from Katsuki trying to hide your blush. Todoroki was the only person in 1-A who knew about your little crush on Bakugou, although you suspected that Kirishima was starting to catch on.

“you should just tell him,” Todoroki said still watching as Katsuki who was now setting off explosions in his palms.

“Oh don't even try to give me advice about love,” you snapped, jerking your head in Midoriya’s direction. It was his turn to blush and tell you to shut up. Class started and Bakugou calmed down. It was a pretty normal day until lunch started. You were walking down the hall to the cafeteria. The hall was loud but the low wolf whistle caught your attention, there was no way for you to be sure that the Whistle was aimed at you until you felt the hot breath of a stranger on the back of your neck.

“hi baby,” they leered at you, you spun around to confront them, you had never seen him before but he was a massive boy who’s sheer mass could put All Might to shame, in other words, way too big for you to take on by yourself.

“leave me alone,” you snarled picking up your pace trying to lose him in the crowd, but he staid by your side.

“Come on now you wouldn't be dressed like that if you didn't want attention,” he reached out to take your wrist but you jerked away in time so that his hand clamped down around thin air.

“it's literally the school uniform you fucking pervert,” your patience was wearing thin and it didn't matter if this jerk was twice your height you were going to kick his ass in the middle of the hall. You were almost at the cafeteria but what would you do once you got in? What would stop him from following you still? Then you saw a ball of Spiky red hair, thank god for Kirishima. “besides I don't think my boyfriend would like me talking to you,” you didn't stay to see how he responded to your lie choosing instead to book it to Kirishima. It was only when you reached his side that you saw that Bakugou was also there but you wouldn't worry about that right now.

You took Kirishima's arm and forcefully put it around your waist “I need you to roll with me, please” you begged and before either of them could ask you what the fuck you were doing, the Jerk from earlier caught up to you.

“Don't run away from me when I'm talking to you,” he snapped. Kirishima's hand tightened on your waist. He turned to Kirishima and asked “are the Boyfriend I've heard so much about because if you are they can do so much better,” Kirishima gave you look that clearly said 'you owe me for this'.

“Oh yep this is my sugar pie honey bun are you the dick who's been bothering them?” the boy eyed Kirishima before turning back to you

“whenever you need a real man hit me up,” then he left, relief rushed through your body as he turned and left. You relaxed untangling yourself from Kirishima.

“Thank yo-”

“what the fuck was that?” Bakugou cut you off glaring daggers at you both. You quickly explained how he had been bothering you and how when you saw Kirishima you had panicked and acted quickly without thinking. Bakugou didn't seem like he was satisfied with your explanation if anything it was like he was getting angrier as you went on. You sat at the table with the two of them but Bakugou was as silent as a stone while you talked with the others at the table. “whats up with you,” you asked prodding his sleeve lightly.

“nothing you bastard,” he snarled moving his arm away from you.

“Bullshit,” you snapped right back. “you aren't eating or talking so what's wrong?” you provided further wishing you knew what was going on in his head.

Katsuki didn't know how to say what he wanted to say. He wanted to ask you why you had let Kirishima put his arm around your waist hell you had practically forced his hands onto your body. He was pissed off enough that that bitch had been harassing you, but it made his heart twist when Kirishima called you pet names. Jealous, he was Jealous that he wasn't your first choice to be a fake boyfriend. It was an odd realization

“that dick shouldn't have been bothering you,” he mumbled his eyes blazing with pure hate. What? Was Bakugou, Bakugou of all people showing that he cared about you?

“yeah it sucked, I hate when guys act like that,” you shrugged.

“don't fucking brush it off like that you fucking deserve to be treated better than that,” you heart skipped a beat.

“was that a complement Bakugou?” sure it would have been a shit complement from anyone else but you would take what you could get.

“WHAT NO!” he shouted loud enough to get the attention of several tables.

“It was!” you cried, “Are you blushing Bakugou?” you asked in mock surprise. he clearly wasn't blushing but you wanted to tease him. Sero caught on and joined in

“he is blushing look at that!”

“SHUT UP ELBOWS,” Bakugou slammed his hands onto the table top causing you all to laugh.

“awe it's okay I think it's cute,” you said with a wink this sent an actual blush to creep up to Bakugou's cheeks.

“fuck off I'm not cute,” all the bite had gone out of his words, which was another first for him.

“go easy on him guys he's a little hot under the caller cus (y/n) chose Kirishima to be their fake boyfriend,” Mina chirped the rest of them laughed, now it was your turn to blush and tell the group to fuck off.

“oh you two are so cute when you pout,” Sero Teased. Bakugou blew up the table. Luch was pretty much over after that. Everyone filled out while the sprinkler system worked to put out the burning embers of the tables. You felt slightly guilty for teasing him, you went up to him to apologize, but it wasn't ‘sorry’ that fell from your lips.

“Do you think you could walk with me, I don't want that creep bothering me again,” you had no idea where the words had sprung from because they couldn't have come from you. Bakugou didn't say anything putting his arm around your shoulders in silence. You pushed yourself closer to his side and left for class.

#bakugou katsuki #bakugou #katsuki #bnha bakugou #bakugou x reader #imagine backugo #my hero academia #my hero academia imagine #mha #bnha #boku no hero academia #sfw

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lifeofbouyd · 5 years

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Heart Broken

Heart breaks, I’m sure we all know how that feels. No doctor can prescribe a treatment to ease the pain we feel inside. We’ve spent days and nights crying; crying for people who we thought were the one, people who promised to stay. Where the fuck are they today?. Are they still there, do they still love you?. If they do then consider yourself lucky.

I've grown to realize the only person who will always be there for me is me. I’m the only one who’d never hurt me, cheat on me nor lie to me. People tell you to move on and be with someone else but that doesn’t fix shit. You can’t take back the tears, you can’t take back the sex and you sure as hell can't take back the time you invested. I’d never say I know how your heartbreak felt or that I can relate to your pain because, for every time my heart broke, it was a totally different feeling. Sometimes I wanted to rip my heart from my chest as the pain was unbearable. Pillows drowned in tears, feelings running wild, emotions unstable, mental state deteriorating. Sigh, the more you live the more you learn.

I met this girl while in 8th grade. The perfect virgin I called her. In my eyes, she could do no wrong. I left the chicks I was banging just to be with her because I had fallen in love with her attributes. Behind her beautiful face was her ambition to achieve great things in life. She had her life all planned out. The guy, the house, the job, the family. I admired that because not many girls back then thought like that. Even today most of these girls hair cost six times their bank bank account. Be patient she said. You’ll be the one to take my virginity, I’m just not ready yet. I patiently waited for about 3 months; I had high hopes of claiming her trophy. We had kissed several times but I had only rubbed my hand against her buff once. Said she didn’t like it so I didn’t do it. My friend came to me one day and said: “she’s a bitch, dump her”. I got all defensive against my friend, speaking for my “girlfriend”. She’s a virgin so that’s not possible. We debated until he told me he saw her having sex near our weed spot. Shocked out of my life I nearly kicked his ass. How could he say such things about her?. I’m sure she’s not with anyone but me. After all, he hated her guts so he had to be lying. He was the one who tried at her first. A few days later he came again and told me to follow him to see her for myself. My tummy got tingly and my nerves scattered all over the place. Even though I trusted her, I was afraid I was about to witness something I really didn’t want to see. I followed him, hoping I could hit him in the head for lying. I rolled a scliff and took two puffs and walked slowly to the spot only to see that it was true. My perfect virgin girlfriend in the bushes taking dick like someone who’s had sex a million times. I watched her ride his dick before he placed her on her back. Steady strokes made her climax twice before I walked away. 🤦‍♂️I really don’t know how I managed not to faint. It was too much. The more he shoved his dick inside her the more my heart crumbled in my chest. Where did I go wrong?. I was patient, honest, loyal even loving. Was that not good enough?. I rolled another scliff using one to light the other then walked away. This girl had the audacity to wanna kiss me in the evening. Calling me baby and bragging how she loved me. “What a gyal wicked man”She didn’t know I saw her. I walked away from her that day, not even a word as to why I left. She blew up my phone with messages telling me how she loves me and she would never do anything to hurt me. Sigh, I guess she fucked him because she loved me. I wondered at what point did she realize that she loved me; was it before, during or after he fucked her. That shit haunted me for months. It replayed in my head so many times; I couldn’t even sleep without seeing it happen again. I got weak in the knees every time I saw her. My heart grew cold and my hatred for love became a bolder in my chest.

It wasn’t too long before I met another chick who wiped my tears, kissed my lips and told me she’d make everything ok. She was perfect, she went above and beyond to make me fall for her. Eventually, she won. I was all up in my feelings, again ((((sigh)))). She had mad me believe she was different. Jane made me drop my guard with expectations of a fairytale life. I had forgotten how Belinda fucked me over or in other words didn’t fuck me at all. I was head over heals for this chick. I saw forever. She got me a necklace for my birthday as a promise to forever; but that forever was short lived. We had only had sex once.

Jane: We need to talk

Me: About?

Jane: Us. This is not working out. I started talking to my boyfriend again. I’m braking up with you.

Me: Are you kidding?

Jane: Bring my necklace tomorrow

I didn’t reply to her after that message cause I was short-tempered and I didn’t have time for jokes. Especially those kinda jokes. I went to school the next morning with no recollection of what she had said. I had seen her at break time under our Almond tree but couldn’t get to say hi; I was being escorted to the vice principal’s office for smashing someone’s face in at the cafeteria. Fuckers sent me home early, claiming I was a wild gun and needed anger management. I waited for her that evening; hoping she would say it was a joke and she’s sorry. This dude came up to me saying Jane sent him for her necklace. I laughed cause he was either crazy or ready to die; you better go home son, or you go be second on my knockout list today. The dude decided he was gonna take the necklace. He attacked me but I had already premeditated his reaction and timed him. Before he could grab me I gave him a throat slam and kicked his feet off the ground. He laid on his back gasping for breath. Turns out this dude was her boyfriend. She came rushing on the scene as if someone had died.

Jane: Why the fuck you hit my boyfriend, this is exactly why I can’t be with you. You can’t be controlled.

Me: He attacked me

Jane: If he attacked you how comes he’s the one gasping for breath

Vendor: A yu man attack Bouyd and Bouyd fuck him up.

Jane: Give me my necklace. It’s over between us. I regret meeting you, you’re worthless. I wish I never met you. I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking when I decided to talk to you. I never wanna see you again.

I died that day. To hear her say that to my face felt like a knife running through my heart. Again my heart got broken and it felt way worst than before. I couldn’t sleep, I hardly ate and I was angry at the world. I hated everyone and everything; why did I get hurt again, where did I go wrong, was I too nice, don’t I deserve happiness like everyone else?.

I grew ice cold, heartless and emotionless. No care in the world for anyone or anything. I decided I’d hurt every woman and let them feel the way I did. I’d fuck her and forget her right after. No call, no text, no communication. I burnt my feelings in blunt and drank my emotions with vodka. I dated so many girls since then and I couldn’t open up. No matter how they cried and begged for me to change I could care less. I wasn’t gonna let another chick hurt me. The only person I was still emotionally connected with was Apple, and after her sweet 16, I swept my feelings under the rug. I hadn’t loved any since until I met my baby mama but like everything else in my life that got fucked too. Since then, I’ve given up on finding love. I consider everyone a potential liar and a flight risk. If it comes I accept it and if it doesn’t then fuck it. Most these chicks could care less about my feelings either way, all they think about is my dick. (((Sigh))) I’ve realized a woman will be crazy for your dick and have no interest in your heart. I see other people happy together and I wonder if I don’t deserve happiness too. Will I ever get married, is there someone out there for me? Will someone ever love me for me or will I keep getting fucked over each time I open up?. These are unanswered questions I have and the sad thing is; the only way to find out is to put myself out there, in the line of fire. I guess I won’t find out, I ain’t going back out there. Until I can fix me as a person I’ll keep my feelings tucked away and my dick close by, after all; that’s all they want right. I’m just fed up of getting all up in my feelings and getting hurt in the end. I guess I’ll forever be a broken hearted boy.

Some shit will happen to you that you’ll just never get over. No matter how hard you try. Never forget, the only person who’ll always be there for you is you, so always put you first. Whatever, whenever, wherever you do, do it for you. Don’t be pressured into mediocre relationships and stop placing temporary people in permanent positions. Just fuck a little, a one night stand ain’t go kill no body.

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im-not-a-what · 7 years

Text

The Witch Doctor on Main Street, Ch. 6

Title: The Witch Doctor on Main Street

Summary: Mr. Gold runs Storybrooke’s herbal shop. He sells remedies that some people consider miraculous, although he’s earned suspicion from florist Moe French and distrust from professionals like Dr. Whale. When Moe’s daughter Belle moves into town, she gets caught up in the rivalries and mysteries surrounding Gold’s line of work. Little do any of them know the true power of Gold’s “magic touch.” But a warlock making herbal medicine may not be the only extraordinary secret hiding in Storybrooke.

Rating: G

Genre: Friendship, drama, modern-day with magic AU

Chapter: School Scuffle [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

AO3 link

Neal tried not to think on when he might get the word that Principal Nottingham was, in fact, going to suspend him. He checked in with Lily on the bus to see if her mom had gotten further word. Ms. Vincent hadn’t heard anything, or hadn’t shared anything with her daughter. Lily and Neal agreed to keep their heads down. Apprehension over a run-in with August at school petered off when it became clear he wasn’t in attendance. That still left the fallout of fellow classmates, who watched the pair like they were wild animals. Some sympathy, some unease, mostly perverse curiosity, like the students half-wanted another fight to break out. Neal wouldn’t have been surprised if some were thrilled to know a fight had happened at their school.

There was one person who didn’t look happy about the fight or his part in it. As he got out of fourth period for lunch, a blond girl swerved up to him from the other side of the hall.

“We need to talk.” Her green-blue eyes punched him in some place Neal didn’t know he had.

“And you are?” he asked.

“A friend of August’s.”

Oh, crap. Maybe she was sweet on August. Maybe she was the type of girl who would throw down anyone who hurt the boy she liked. Neal cleared his throat. “Look, I know I shouldn’t have fought him. I’m sorry. That’s what you want me to say, right?”

Her glare didn’t soften. Instead, she grabbed his arm. He wanted to extricate himself, but the moment he hit August flashed in his mind, as did the embarrassment that followed facing Nottingham and his father. His body stiffened, a semi-voluntary paralysis while the blond girl pulled him down the hall to a small alcove, a window facing the courtyard. The light of day only added a burning glint to her gaze.

“Why did you hit him?” Her voice, though rough with anger, stayed level.

“He shoved Lily into a table,” Neal said, not giving thought to the words. They came as a reflex.

“I heard she punched him first.”

“Yeah, but he said something he shouldn’t have.”

Her head tilted, briefly intrigued. “What did he say?”

“I’m not going to repeat it. It’s not . . . appropriate.”

The implication caused her face to scrunch and her cheeks to redden. Then it relaxed into grim if reluctant acceptance. “I know August can be an asshole.”

Neal’s brows popped up. He hadn’t taken her for a cusser. He smiled. “I don’t know him that well. From what I’ve seen, I won’t disagree.”

“Then I’m sorry for that. But you still kicked the crap out of him. He’s not here today. Was he suspended? Hospitalized?”

“Hospitalized, no! Suspended, I’ve no idea. If he were suspended, Lily and I would be suspended, too. Nottingham made it clear we were all to blame.”

The blond shuffled on her feet. “I heard your dad and Lily’s mom are . . . tough customers.”

He frowned and squinted. “Whereas August’s dad is a decent man. So that must mean . . .”

“I’m not trying to judge, but I don’t like people getting away with something when others have to pay for it.”

“So, you’re protecting August.”

“You could say that.”

“I was trying to do the same for Lily.”

“Then you won’t object if I end up punching you in the face?”

Probably not the wisest thing to laugh, and Neal did try to resist out of politeness. A half-stifled chuckle got through. “You would’ve done that already, or you don’t want to get suspended yourself.”

The girl harrumphed. “Don’t tempt me. I wouldn’t mind getting away from here.”

“Why?”

She sharpened her stare. “Why would anyone want to get out of going to school? You a nerd?”

“That’s neither here nor there. You know a suspension goes on your permanent record.”

“Obviously you weren’t worried about that when you punched August.”

“Neither were Lily and August. We all make mistakes when we’re upset. Look, if you want to punch me, go ahead. I wouldn’t blame you.”

She scanned him over. Neal’s stomach clenched in preparation. The stomach would be the ideal target. His mouth and jaw tightened, too. Just nothing below the waist, he prayed.

A sigh blew out of the girl’s mouth. “Relax. I’m not gonna hit you. Not with so many witnesses.”

“That’s a relief,” he said dryly.

“I haven’t decided about Lily yet. She did hit August first.”

“Yeah, but—”

“I know. What I really want is to know he’s okay. You’re not gonna go after him again, right?”

“Not with Nottingham on our backs. And when I said I’m sorry for what happened, I meant it.”

“Okay.” She inhaled, a little shaky and baffled. The crease between her frowning eyebrows turned her intimidating expression into an endearing one. She was kind of cute. Not the best time or circumstances to notice that fact.

“Um, I don’t think I caught your name,” Neal said.

“Because I didn’t throw it,” she said with a quirked eyebrow.

“Right. I’m Neal, in case you didn’t know.”

She chuckled. “I’ve been in this town barely a month and I know who you are. Everybody does.”

He couldn’t help the frown, but he pushed it away along with the comment. “And you? Or does that need to be secret?”

The girl shook her head. “Emma. Emma Nolan.”

“Nice to meet you, Emma. Still planning to go to lunch?”

“Yeah. On my own.”

“Okay. Mind if I walk with you?”

She considered before shrugging. “It’s the same route for us both, right?”

He took that as a speck of hope. With a subdued smile, he strolled down the hall just a step behind Emma. As they got close to the cafeteria, she slowed so he could match her pace. He thought about asking how she knew August, why be friends with a kid most everyone knew had a bad habit of getting drawn into trouble. The questions never came.

Both he and Emma stopped, stiff with shock, at the sight of Cora Mills. She was walking and chatting with Principal Nottingham. He was doing his best to appear charming and confident. At least his hair looked washed today. Her pantsuit was so black you couldn’t see the texture from where the kids stood. The only color was her button-up blouse—blood-red.

“Is that the mayor?” Emma asked.

“Yeah,” said Neal.

“What’s she doing at our school?”

“No idea.” The only thing Neal knew for sure about Mayor Mills was that she shouldn’t be trusted. He didn’t have much confidence in people in authority, but there was something about the way the woman talked, walked, carried herself that was too neat, like a well-made mask. What most bothered him was that she found occasion to drop by Pop’s shop. He’d only seen her twice; both times, she wasn’t there to buy anything. His father had either escorted her to the backroom or asked to take a short walk with him outside. The man wasn’t warm with strangers, but he reserved a wary countenance for certain individuals, and he advised Neal to stay away from them. Ms. DeVille, a fancy-dressed woman who lived only part of the year in Storybrooke, was one. The Millses fell in the same category. Cora’s daughter owned most of the property in town. Neal had seen Regina Mills around enough, often glaring or dicing someone with words, to spot a temper that shouldn’t be tested. Even her smiles made him want to dash out of her path. But Regina didn’t alarm him the way Cora did. Maybe she wore her nature more openly; Cora was harder to read.

“She’s Regina Mills’ mother, right?” Emma asked.

“Yup. The mayor and the landlady. Dad says the Millses think of Storybrooke as their little kingdom.”

Seeing as how the mayor and the principal were crossing the cafeteria straight toward them, Neal gently nudged Emma and wordlessly directed her to a nearby empty table. They slipped out of the way just as the adults passed. Cora’s gaze dropped from Nottingham to Neal—or maybe to Emma—for half a second. It felt double the time, like the world was slowing just to make the kids feel the mayor’s prying yet veiled glance for as long as possible.

Cora and an oblivious Nottingham kept walking. When the two were out of sight, Neal sputtered out air. Neither he nor Emma needed to comment. Judging by her scowl, Emma knew enough about Mayor Mills or Principal Nottingham. Her question about Regina pointed to Cora as the source of unease.

“You know the Millses?” Neal asked.

“Not personally. Just heard about them.”

“Like you’ve heard about me.”

Emma laughed shyly. “Not exactly the same. People have mixed feelings about your dad. No one likes the Millses.”

“That’s quite the compliment.”

She chuckled more confidently, but her smile dropped when she looked up.

Neal followed her eyeline. Oh, Lily was coming over, laden with her backpack and a tray of food. Nothing foreboding about that, unless Emma hadn’t forgiven her part in the fight. As Lily approached, Neal realized why Emma was frowning and darting her eyes up and down. Lily widened her eyes and rapidly examined both Emma and her oldest friend.

Neal waved and made sure to smile. “Hey, Lily!”

“Hey.” Her tray came down with a forceful clap, plastic on laminated particleboard. “What’s going on?”

“Uh, this is Emma. She’s a friend of August.” Hard to say that without it sounding like a criticism or a warning. “She wanted to know how he’s doing.”

Lily aimed a hard but still uncertain stare at Emma. “No idea. Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

“He’s not answering my calls.” Emma spoke with a steely edge that could’ve fallen in a reprimand, too. Maybe she wanted to blame someone other than August for his silence. Or she wanted to be sure Neal and Lily hadn’t bullied him into it. That thought made Neal’s nerves bristle. They weren’t like that!

“Maybe he’s embarrassed about yesterday,” Lily said. She took a seat, unapologetic.

“Are you?” Emma asked.

Lily turned her head to show her bruises, brown-purple blotches with yellow coronas on the cheek and chin. “Does this look like the face of embarrassment?”

Emma rolled her head, acknowledging yet unfazed. “August looked worse last time I saw him.”

Lily nearly tore open her soda can. Its pop sent a shudder through Neal like a tiny gunshot. “I’m not gonna waste my breath defending myself or apologizing for what I did to him. He had to learn some manners.”

“Yeah, I’m sure punching him taught him a lesson.”

The wry, withering tone warmed Neal’s face, but he also felt a weird tickle of repressed laughter in his throat.

“He knows not to cross me again,” said Lily. She smirked before taking a sip, then popped a fry in her mouth.

Emma leaned in. “If you punched me, I’d hit back harder.”

The remark that reasonably caught Lily was obliterated by laughter. Genuine, unfiltered laughter. Neal almost giggled, too. Emma didn’t appreciate it. Her face flushed. Her shoulders locked. She looked ready for a fight this time.

“Hey, I believe you,” Lily finally explained. “You might make it a worthwhile scrap. Believe it or not, I don’t go looking for fights.”

“You just start them when the mood takes you.”

“So I lost my temper.” Lily threw up a hand, then put it to better use by delivering more fries to her gnashing mouth.

“That’s all you have to say?” Emma scoffed. “You’re unbelievable! You learn to control your temper!”

“What is this, a Disney life lesson? When people talk shit, they get hit.” Lily emphatically brushed crumbs and salt off her hands before picking up a bleeding meatball sandwich.

Emma shook her head. “Forget it. I’m getting lunch.” She pushed herself up like she was trying to rocket herself into space, as far from these two kids as possible. Off she jogged to the cafeteria hot-lunch line. Neal sighed, zipped open his backpack and pulled out a simple, black, thermo-sealed lunch bag.

“No Round 2 in the lunch room, after all,” Lily said between marinara-filled bites. “Okay, Neal, you’ve got to convince your dad to give you money for lunch.”

“Nah. Dad’s lunches are better.” They were relatively simple, too—today, a bagel with cream cheese, a cup of soup, a thermos filled with herbal tea, baby carrots. And a sprig of sage. Not for eating, just to make the inside of his bag aromatic. Neal was careful to not let anyone except Lily get a decent look at his bagel as he unwrapped it from the wax paper. It look freshly toasted, despite sitting in the bag for the last four and a half hours.

Lily smiled, bittersweet. “My mom can keep things warm, but even she can’t make a toasted bagel hold up. She usually burns it.”

Neal nodded. “Just as well Emma didn’t stick around.”

She frowned at him. “Don’t sound so disappointed. She’s not our friend.”

“I know that. She grabbed me in the hallway. I thought she’d deck me.”

“Yeah? Why didn’t she? Too chicken?”

“She realized it wasn’t worth it. But I don’t think this is over.”

“Ooh, I’m shaking.” Lily giggled while wiping her mouth.

“Lily, please, just be smart about this.”

Her levity evaporated. “Whose side are you on?”

“Yours! Which includes keeping you from getting into more trouble.”

“I’m not getting myself into trouble on purpose! And I’m not some poor girl you need to rescue.” With a squaring of the shoulders that said, ‘We’re done talking,’ she set herself on ingesting the rest of her lunch.

Neal had little choice but to do the same. When she got like this, it was best to let Lily boil off. He used the silence to reflect further: was he treating her as a damsel in distress, or a problematic pet that needed leashing? Being a friend didn’t mean condoning fights. It didn’t mean snarling off anyone who had a legitimate issue with Lily’s actions. He sure hoped it didn’t mean those things. Lily was his best friend, but sometimes she boxed him in, made him feel he had to be on board when she wanted to skip class or start an argument with her classmates or teachers. Lily didn’t have a sparkling record. Even so, the fistfight crossed a line, and a part of him wished he hadn’t followed her. But maybe he had to break some of his own rules to understand how much her friendship meant to him. It still mattered. He still cared about her. He just hoped sticking by her wouldn’t take him down a path of no return.

When the bell for the end of lunch period rang, Lily all but bolted from her seat with her tray. Neal closed his lunch bag and gathered his own trash to toss out in the same can.

“See you later,” Neal said as Lily walked off.

She said nothing. She didn’t even make eye contact.

“Lily!” Neal called.

She spun around. “What?”

He waved to her—a simple motion. A retreat and an olive branch.

Lily held his eye as she resumed walking. She broke it off when she reached the hall and took a sharp turn.

Neal’s hand dropped like an anchor. With a headshake, he turned around. Off to his next class. Are they all like this? he wondered. Maybe his pop could give him tips.

#nealfire #lily page #swanfire #emma swan #ouat fic #the witch doctor on main street

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