#long ass oneshot

[cassayeee]

MY LITTLE SECRET (FINNICK ODAIR X FEM!READER)

warnings: porn with quite a bit of plot (i can never just write a oneshot), emotional sex, p in v, oral (f receiving), virginity loss, slight marking, mentions of killing, death, and suicidal thoughts (this is the hunger games), just be wary fr - minors stay away

notes: so this was a request from @theBridgetopanem on ao3 and, ugh, it's just so cute. love me some soft boy finnick. once again, very quickly edited so sorry for any grammatical mistakes. anywho - make sure to like, reblog, and comment! love u all <3

word count: 9.4k

summary:

No one truly understands the deception of humanity more than those who have the power to take it away. To push innocents against innocents and make sure nothing more than blood and broken souls remains where hope and naivety once stood.

It was a horrible nightmare in your mind – trying to think like them. Trying to survive. And the shadows that followed you out of that arena as people congratulated you for being a victor? Well, they knew what the absence of humanity really brought.

Fear.

OR

Finnick Odair is your mentor for the 70th Hunger Games and you can't help but find comfort in the man who is in your life solely to make sure you don't die.

The 70th Hunger Games, ready to begin.

Your name, reaped.

All hope, lost.

Voices flickered in and out of your consciousness as you made your way up to the stage. Of course, this happens to you in your last year of eligibility, why wouldn’t it? Time sped and slowed as it pleased, having no regard for your ticking thoughts. Nor did it care for your unwillingness to let it pass.

This can’t be happening. This isn’t happening. Why is this happening?

You weren’t a Career. You had no special talents besides swimming and spearfishing. Swimming. How for fucks sake was that going to get you through the Games? News flash: it wouldn’t. Maybe spearfishing? But that was hardly a skill that could contend with previous victors. And it definitely wouldn’t help you against the Careers.

I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.

As you curled into the dark spot floating at the edge of your vision, you barely heard the name of the male tribute announced beside you. Isaac? Ethan? Ian? Why does it matter anyway? You weren’t going to make it out of here. This was it. The ocean was draining, and you were being sucked down with it.

You barely noticed the Peacekeepers usher you off the stage and saying goodbye to your family was now a flicker of a memory. Siblings would never see you again. You would never be able to make them laugh in your family home or try to eat your mother’s insufferable cooking again. You would never be able to brush off fishing duty to go swimming with Annie or visit the town tavern with her again.

Oh, Annie.

Best friends since birth, the two of you were practically inseparable. Many of your other friends and family joked that the two of you must have been a soul split because of how alike you were. You did everything together, but the shining break in this storm was the fact that she wasn’t standing where you were. That your siblings weren’t. If it had to be any of you, you were glad that it was yourself.

But, fuck – you wish it would have been anyone else’s name picked out of the grim bowl.

---

Stepping foot on that train was probably the hardest decision of your life. Not that it was much of a decision, really. If you wouldn’t have gotten on yourself, the Peacekeepers would have gladly thrown you on there themselves.

You couldn’t say that you were too impressed with the interior of it. Honestly, it just looks like the Capitol threw up all over it. Yes, your family home was nicer than most of those in the other Districts due to the wealth of the area, but you didn’t care about all of that. The people made a house a home, and this train was nothing more than a moving coffin.

As your Capitol lapdog, Jorge, showed you and your fellow tribute into the lounge car, a head of bronze hair caught your eye. His arms were spread wide on either side of him as he lounged on the travel sofa – seeming to be as content as a summer’s day. You could almost laugh at the absurdity of it. But, before that mocking gaggle could make its way out of your throat, the man before you turned.

Oh, shit.

Finnick Odair. You needed no introduction of his, everyone in District 4 was aware of him after his victory in the 64th Games. Youngest ever and all that, you had to respect him for making it through. What you couldn’t respect, however, was his enjoyment of his Capitol fame. He appeared on screen at least five times a month at some prestigious party, the arm candy to some Capitol prissy who you really couldn’t bother to care about. Why should you when they laugh and cheer for children to die for their amusement? It was absolutely disgusting. 

Flashing you with a stunning smile, he popped a sugar cube in his mouth as Jorge motioned for the two of you to sit across from him. His sea-green eyes followed your movements as you stiffly sat before him, like a prized pet for sale. Your shoulders were locked tight as you stared back at the man before you. Tanned skin from hours on the coast and beauty that even the old Gods would envy, you couldn’t discount his looks. But you knew those could be deceiving. And anyone who wins the Games knows how to be deceiving.

“Hey, you two,” he began as he looked between you and… Ian? Yeah, let’s go with that. “This isn’t a position I want to see anyone in, but I’m here to help make sure you make it through whatever hellscape of an arena they have planned for you and get you used to the culture of the Capitol.”

You could feel your hands shake as this terror became more real with every word he spoke. He’s my mentor. I have a mentor. I’m really a tribute.

I’m going to die.

Every ill thought you had of Finnick was immediately disposed of. He was a lifeline in this – he knew how to win. And if you had to be deceitful, manipulative, hell, even seductive through this, you’d take whatever advice he had and hold onto it with your life.

Quickly grasping your hands together to try and still them, you showed nothing but vulnerability as you slouched in your seat. You could feel another panic attack coming on, but you shoved it down to deal with later so you could talk with Finnick. You weren’t going to waste a single moment on this train that didn’t provide you with some sort of opportunity to gain skills that would help you make it out of the arena.

Finnick saw how your composure changed as soon as he started talking and his heart broke a bit from the horribleness of this. He meant it when he said that he didn’t want anyone else to be in this position, for the Games to be a reality, but he would be damned if he didn’t make sure that one of you wouldn’t come out a victor. So, the three of you got to work and talked through the whole ride to the Capitol.

---

Finnick was betting on your spearfishing skills to get you through.

“The other tributes will be spread between those who know how to hunt, how to hide, and how to survive. I need you to be all three.” He stated.

The two of you were working together before your training began in the Tribute Center, stealing your last little bit of train time to work on hand-to-hand skills. Ian was off resting since Finnick was already aware of his expertise with tridents. Apparently, the two had known each other prior to all of this. Finnick wasn’t worried about him. No, he was worried about you.

“I’ve never hunted another person before.” You reminded him. “Fish are different.”

He was showing you maneuvers that could be used for deflection at this point. Utilizing the strength of the staff would be crucial, but since the Capitol provided metal ones in the arena, there was no worry about it breaking. Being in the proper position to block vital spots was up to you, though.

“Fish are small targets,” he nailed his trident against your spear, the reverberation racing up your arms. You continued to hold on. “Humans are bigger. More places to aim for.”

“But they can fight back.” You remarked as you readjusted your hold on the spear. “They can kill me just as easily.”

“Then be faster. Be quiet and quick and they won’t know you’re there until the damage is already done.” He urged. Setting his trident against the wall, he stripped off his shirt from the exertion and reached for a bottle of water to rehydrate.

Your mouth watered at the view. He was, in the simplest of terms, gorgeous. Taunt muscles built from years of experience stretched across his expanse as sweat trickled between the valleys of them. His Adam’s apple bobbed in tandem with his swallows and you were entranced by the movement. You don’t know what he did in a past life to be graced with a body like that, but you had to appreciate it if even for this one moment.

Shaking your head to rid yourself of the distraction, you grabbed a drink of water as well, taking the time to think of your odds. They’ve been getting better with Finnick’s instruction, but it was your intelligence and timing that would get you to the victor’s circle. Confidence was starting to brew in your veins, and you didn’t want it to go away.

Setting the bottle down, you grabbed your spear once more and took a fighter’s stance with it. Finnick noticed and lifted a well-manicured brow at you.

“I’ve got the defense positions down,” you started. “Now show me how to win.”

---

You tried not to stand out amongst the other tributes as much as you could, in hopes that they would view you as nothing more than some meek and useless girl. Your plan was that if you kept your head down, they wouldn’t view you as a threat. While that could cause some to view you as an easy target, it would also keep the element of surprise tidily tucked in your back pocket.

However, you stuck close to Ian as Finnick urged the two of you to attempt an alliance – granting the ability for at least one person to keep an eye on your blind spots. You weren’t naïve, though. Alliances were unsteady, especially if it came down to saving your own skin over the others. And there was no proof that Ian would even keep his word about meeting in the arena, let alone keeping you alive long enough to hear the first sounds of cannon fire. If you were a betting man, you wouldn’t bet on him.

But he did bring in two more members to your shaky alliance, Della Remfar and Billy Churl from District 10. Not Career-material by a long shot, but they were both highly adept with an array of knife work. And, to your knowledge, both knew the cleanest and quickest ways to stab, slice, and gut something – which could definitely come in handy.

Even after surrounding yourself with the three, you weren’t entirely sold on the idea of putting any sort of trust in them. You didn’t speak of anything personal, nor did you even attempt to learn anything about them. It would be easier this way. There can only be one victor in the end, and the memories of the fallen tributes should be left to be carried on by their own friends and families, not by someone who was an instrument in their death.

And, selfishly, you just didn’t want the chance of actually liking any of them to arise. It would be hard enough to kill strangers – killing friends would probably destroy you.

---

The training scores were being announced as you sat between Finnick and Ian. Nervously, you kept bouncing your leg up and down on the plush seat as you waited for your name to pop up on the screen.

Your show to the Gamemakers may not have been anything extremely special, but you would be damned if your new prowess with a spear would go unnoticed. Finnick’s teachings were nothing short of a blessing, and every time you lifted that metal bar, you had the unrestrained thought of making him proud.

It was strange, to find comfort in a man whose sole purpose in your life was to keep you from dying. He would do all he could to keep sponsors coming your way and leave you with all the knowledge and tricks he gained from his own Games. And you would survive. If you wished hard enough that you would live through it, perhaps you could wish it into existence.

A fool’s thought, but it didn’t stop you from looking up to the night sky every night and doing just that. It wasn’t a prayer, not by a long shot. If there was a God out there, you’d hate them with every fiber of your being for allowing their “children” to do this to one another without fear of repercussion. You were already in a living hell – it couldn’t get much worse than this.

Silencing your mind, you peaked with interest as Ian’s name flashed across the screen along with his score. An 8. That was solid. Enough to show the sponsors he was someone worth rooting for and kept the Careers off his tail for being too much of a threat. But it’s not like you cared that much when your name and picture finally appeared.

From pure desperation and worry soaking your veins, you grabbed Finnick’s hand in an attempt to calm yourself. You couldn’t even look at him, not as your eyes were glued to the screen in front of you. But Finnick looked at you.

He saw how scared you were – not just from the placings, but from the whole event. He couldn’t be surprised – hardly anyone made it through the Games without being completely terrified. Even in his own Games, he was fearful. Petrified, more like. No one wants to die like an animal and, besides the vicious, no one wants to kill another human being like one either. So, tightening his own hand around yours, softly rubbing his thumb on the back, he waited with bated breath for your score.

9. Oh, fuck.

“That puts you right around the Careers,” Finnick whispered to you.

You nodded your head, eyes still staring straight at some unknown point in front of you. Your hand was still wrapped around Finnick’s, neither one of you wanting to let go from the worldly anchor. In truth, you were surprised you had placed that high, and by the slightly jealous façade that rested on Ian’s face, you could tell he wasn’t too happy about it either. But Finnick, he just seemed to watch your facial response to it, ready to help you through.

There was no overwhelming emotion of happiness or disappointment, he just wanted to make sure you were okay. And, after turning your face to drown into his oceanic eyes once more, you were.

---

This was it. The clock was counting down as you and the other tributes stood atop your respective platforms waiting for the blood bath to begin. For humanity to disappear and pure unrestrained carnage to take its place.

Your whole body was shaking. Anxiety and dread were filling you up and overflowing at the top. You wanted to be anywhere but here. You wanted to be dead already to get it over with. You wanted to be with Annie and your family playing on the beach.

You just didn’t want to be here.

So, for a split second, you let your consciousness cover your mind with a memory. Something warm and happy that could perhaps get you through the next minutes or hours or days. And you indulged in it.

“Oh, yeah. My parents took us swimming all the time. For ‘exercise’ and all that, but really, I know they just wanted to spend time as a family whenever we could.”

You and Finnick were lounging in the main sitting area within your deck of the Tribute Center. While he probably should have made his leave already, he wanted to check on you after your training, and, without admitting it, desired to spend time with you.

The two of you were currently sharing memories of your families and friends and life. You don’t quite remember how the conversation happened, but it was just too easy to get lost in the words with him. A bittersweet thought of how you would miss him materialized, but you quickly threw it to the wayside so you could luxuriate in the presence of Finnick Odair.

“My mom was always about making sure that between work on the docks, out on the waves, or just helping with the catches, we prioritized one another. Blood is thicker than water, she would always remind us.” You couldn’t help the bright smile painting your face as you thought about how kind and, sometimes scary, your mother was. She truly loved life and insisted on making sure everyone in your family could see the beauty in it as well, if not a little aggressively.

“She once threatened my younger brother, Kade, that she would take away his slice of chiffon cake if he didn’t go out and play with his friends for a bit.” You disclosed. “She ate it right in front of him when he refused.”

You both laughed at the story, going on to tell him more about your siblings and Annie, who was practically your sister at this point. With each passing story, you grew less enthusiastic. He saw the way you started to deflate from the stories, sadness taking its place due to your current predicament of perhaps never being able to see your loved ones again.

He didn’t want those memories to sour from this, he wanted you to keep them treasured – shrouded in a golden cloud of light and love. With a sense of duty, he moved over from his armchair to join you on the loveseat you were curled into.

Your doe eyes followed his movements, curious as to what he was doing. He sat beside you; stern vulnerability layered on his features. With shrugged eyebrows and a twinkle of some unknown emotion in his eyes, he placed his hand on the side of your face, tenderly holding you in position.

“Don’t let them take this from you.” He softly insisted, fingers warming you where they rested. “They want to break you, to dull you, but don’t let them win.”

You blinked. Once. Twice. Before your brain registered that you should reply to him.

“Wh- What?” You stuttered out in a hushed voice, much less of a conversation than you intended, but you were still confused by his words and actions. He continued to look at you, stealing glimpses into your soul through your widened eyes.

“Your memories, your love. The Games are built to destroy you of it all, leaving nothing more than a walking corpse empty of thought and emotion.” He asserted. “But don’t let them win. When you walk out a victor, hold onto what you love most and remember that the Capitol can’t take that. They can try to take your humanity, what makes you, you, but they won’t.”

You were stunned into silence, thoughts running rampant, but one began to overshadow them all.

He thinks I’ll win?

“I know we’ve only truly known each other for a short while, but I’d like to think I’ve become a great judge of character over the years.” He confessed with a small smile. “And when I look at you, I see a genuinely good person. Someone who shouldn’t have been forced into this, who should have lived their life out in peace and bliss but will win because they have something to fight for.”

You didn’t want to speak, to breathe, for fear of stopping his expression. But your eyes encouraged him, so he went on.

“You. Fight for yourself, Y/N L/N. Fight for the memories you hold in your heart. Fight for the love you have to give. Fight for whoever makes your head rush. Fight for the feelings.” He whispered out, only for you. “Just, please, fight. I know you can win. You have the skills, the intelligence, everything. So, fight for everything and nothing at all.”

Silent tears were streaming down your heated cheeks from his honesty. You knew Finnick to be manipulative and cunning when he needed to be, but there was nothing but a boy who wanted to be heard in front of you. What did he have to lie for anyway? You’d be going into that arena either way, friend or not.

Your own smaller hand covered Finnick’s as he continued to hold your cheek. Your lids gently shut as you pushed yourself into the warmth he was offering, staying close to him. He watched you hold the part of himself he presented to you, and decided he should gift just a little bit more.

Lifting his left hand to sit on the other side of your face, he pulled you close to rest his forehead against your own. With shut eyes, the two of you breathed in each other as the intimate moment closed over you.

Even in this short period of time, you’d never felt as close to a person as you did to Finnick. He knew the position you were in, for he had stood there before. He knew your emotions better than you did and encouraged them as a power, not a weakness. He was a light in this dark world, and you’d protect that flame with your life.

Pulling his head back but still staying close, he expressed one last thing. “My secrets, Y/N. I’ll give you all my secrets if you come back to me. If you fight for me. I’ll fight for you every day of my life and it still won’t be enough if you don’t come. Back. To. Me.”

He practically shook with the truth of his words. He wanted for nothing more than time. Time with you. Time to truly learn everything about you. Something in him yearned for you since the moment you had met. Your strength, your smile, your brilliance. He wanted to bathe and drown in it all at once. So, he needed you to win. To dirty yourself as he still is. Then, perhaps, you could both learn how to wear the past together. 

For a short moment, all you could do was look at him. To take him in as he was, no mask atop his face. To see what Finnick Odair looked like when there were no secrets to steal. And then you quickly tucked yourself into his torso as you wrapped your arms around him.

“I’ll fight for you, Finnick.” You declared into his chest. “I’ll fight for more moments like this.”

He hesitated for just a breath before he enveloped his arms around you, holding you tight and taking in your presence. He would make sure that you get anything you need in that arena. And that he’ll be there to pick up any pieces you left behind when you come back to him.

---

Della was dead. Ian was dead. Tributes from all the districts were dead.

The only ones still living were you and Billy, and the clock was ticking away.

Ian stuck true to his word and met you far from the Cornucopia as the two of you ran for your lives. The arena was a swamp – dirty and thick with a putrid smell that you would never forget. But the cypress and tupelo tree bunches gave what cover they could as you deftly made your way through the duckweed covering parts of the watery surface. Della and Billy attempted to steal a supply pack out of the slaughterhouse, but only Billy returned. Sticking close to one another, you made it through your first night.

Finnick also did as he promised and made sure the sponsors gave you anything you needed: spears, bread, ointment for Ian after he ran through a thorn-filled brush and ripped his leg open, even just extra blankets and water bottles – he made sure you were always supplied. His heart was in his mouth every time he saw you on screen, each day fitting you worse than the last. Exertion and fear were already taking their toll on you with mud-caked skin, chapped lips, and hair that was matting faster than a sunset. But none of that mattered as long as you made it to the end.

Ian was the next to go with a slit throat as your group battled head-to-head with the Careers. Two of the four were down before it happened, giving you all a false sense of hope. It was in that second of distraction that the girl from 2 sprinted around and tore Ian’s neck open before you could even blink.

Without even thinking, you launched your spear right into her chest as Billy finished off the District 1 boy. The two of you were unaware that each had defeated a tribute, but as your breathing slowed and you turned toward him, the realization hit you like a train.

I have to kill him.

It was a sickening thought, one you wish you’d never have to think about, but one that was entirely fueled by survival. You made a promise to Finnick that you would return. That you would come back. And even with aching limbs and short breaths, you would fight.

So, fight you did.

Billy started making his way to you as you reached the District 2 girl and yanked the spear from her concaved chest. There was no time for sympathy, no time for feelings. Billy wasn’t your friend. Sure, he may have saved you from the guy from 6 and always made sure that you got your share of food, but he wasn’t your friend. He couldn’t be your friend.

You locked down your thoughts as the two of you met in a patch of hip-deep swamp water. The muck below was forcing your feet to sink lower and gave you little grasp, but you lived in the sandy ocean. You knew how to maneuver well enough to use it to your advantage.

You were smaller than Billy as he towered over you at some number over six feet – a sturdy build for a butcher’s life. Which was a disadvantage for the environment. As you could navigate across the ground without fear of adhering to it, he was stuck, weighted down into the pit of swamp.

As he struggled to turn to follow your movements, his hands were briskly releasing knives your way. Try as you might, you couldn’t miss all of them. One lodged in your upper shoulder as another grazed your cheek, nipping off the tip of your left ear. But he wouldn’t have an infinite number of knives, and you could be patient enough for them to run dry.

And when they did, you advanced. Flittering over to him, you adjusted your stance just as Finnick taught you – bracing your arms apart so they could give and move as needed. You caught him in the side at first, until he grabbed onto the other end of the spear and pulled you toward him. He was stronger than you. If he got his hands on you, he could choke you out or drown you as hastily as he wanted, so you couldn’t let him touch you.

As he hauled you closer and closer to him, you steadied yourself. You’d only have one shot at this, and if you missed, it was all over. Taking a deep breath and focusing on the one moment you would have for this to work, you waited.

Not yet.

He was reaching the end of the spear.

Not yet.

He was loosening his grip on one hand to stretch out toward you.

Not yet.

You could feel the heat of his palm as he began to place it on your good shoulder.

Now.

In a flash, you jumped up and around him, securing yourself on his back and throwing him off balance so he couldn’t lay hold of you. Spear forgotten; you grasped his knife still stuck in your shoulder. With a cry, you yanked it out of yourself and stabbed it into his neck. And you stabbed again. And again. Tears were streaming down your face like a river flooded as you made sure he was well and truly dead.

As his heavy body dropped, you released your death grip but not before you fell into the water with him. You closed your tired eyes as you floated in the combination of blood and sludge. Nothing felt real. You were a victor, and you didn’t feel real. For a moment you could almost see your consciousness floating above you in a haze, like you were the one to die rather than Billy. But as soon as it was there it was gone. Instead, a transporter floated just where you had been, and now it was grabbing the winner of the 70th Hunger Games up into its claws once more.

---

Finnick was the first to greet you with nothing but concern on his face. As everyone else tossed cheers and ‘congratulations’ at you, he held onto you and walked you from the crowd. And he didn’t let go even when you sobbed into his shirt, staining it with tears and blood.

A doctor had to stitch your shoulder and cheek and wrap your bleeding ear, but with the Capitol’s technology, it took less than 2 days to heal. And Finnick never left your side for those days, talking about nonsense and the sponsors and the Games and how your family came to visit but you were unconscious from the medication and everything else he could think of that he couldn’t talk to you about before.

You told him about your heart-wrenching fear at every waking moment and nightmares you would have each night in the arena. Sleep was unwilling to take you, and you hardly wanted it to. Not when the arena croaked and screeched with animals and tributes on the prowl. Nothing but pure survival was in your veins, and that feeling was reluctant to leave you even now.

When you were dismissed from the hospital, he didn’t leave your side then, either. He talked to your family and Annie like they had known each other for a lifetime already. It made you happy watching them together. All the people you loved right in front of you, and you were still alive to witness it.

Even with the dark cloud looming over you, they were still the sun’s rays shining through. Small, but strong enough to keep you going.

---

Weeks after the Games and your victory tour concluded, you were nestled in a small reading nook in your home in Victors’ Village. The Games still haunted you, but you found solace in books. In romantic novels that didn’t have death sentences or tyrannical leaders – just two people who were in love and determined to display that in any way they could.

It was a way for you to escape reality, if even for a fleeting moment. Surrounding yourself with friends and family could only help for so long, and more often than not, being around so many people had you reliving the fight between your group and the Careers. The heaviness of the air and the cacophony of sounds had your stomach turning and chest tightening. Usually, Finnick would notice and quickly relieve you of the event by sheltering you outside.

It was a rather common occurrence, which is why you were happy to be in solitude. You told your family that you’d like to live in the house alone, if only for a couple of months, but they were more than welcome to visit you – which your mother did. A lot. She’d bring attempts at dinners and pies, but you were grateful for her and never discouraged her love. You couldn’t imagine the pain that she went through watching her daughter almost lose her life in the arena, so you entertained all of her antics. Almost every time she visited her eyes would drift to where your shoulder scar lay beneath your clothes, and she always kissed the mark on your cheek before she left as well. The reminders were plain to see.

But your solitude was never truly lonely.

“Hot chocolate?” Your eyes broke from the pages in front of you to look at Finnick, who was now offering the delectable drink to you.

You smiled at him and nodded, shifting your position to reach for the mug of cocoa. He sat beside you, offering more warmth than just that in your hands as he glanced at the book resting in your lap.

“Pride and Prejudice, again?” He smirked. “You have a library full and you’re reading this for, what, the fifth time this month?”

You hit his shoulder with your own as you giggled into your cup. Taking a sip and humming as the warm liquid traveled down your throat, you set your cup aside to face him.

“It’s a wonderful story, what can I say.” You confessed to him.

“And,” He reclined back in his seat as he regarded you. “Highly illegal. I still don’t know how you got your hands on that.” Shaking his head, he took his own drink of the hot chocolate and evaluated you with a raised brow.

“Perks of being a victor, as you should already be aware of.” Your smile vanished. “You get secrets, and I get tales to bury myself in.”

Any trace of playfulness withdrew from his manner. Soft eyes looked into your own as he set his cup aside, reciprocating the action to yours.

“Y/N,” he whispered softly.

Before he could say anymore, you snuggled into him, hurting for the man before you. “I’m sorry, Finnick. I didn’t mean to bring it up, I just– I just can’t understand why they would do that to you.”

Your watery eyes finally traveled back up to his, as he caressed your head with a tender touch. Finnick had finally told you what his days consisted of as a victor – of forced touches and unwanted attention; he was used in the Capitol for his looks and composure. You didn’t take it well, seconds away from marching to President Snow and killing him yourself for putting loving, sweet Finnick through that pain.

It wrecked you even more to know that he dealt with it all for the people he cared about. For his family. For his friends. For you. And that there wasn’t anything you could do to stop it without putting everyone else in danger. The worst that was done to you was parading you around like a show dog on a leash to different events. Perhaps if you weren’t scarred, they would have wanted the same for you, but for once, you could count yourself lucky that Billy hadn’t fully missed.

“Y/N,” he spoke once more as he lifted your chin to gaze down into your eyes. “Please, don’t suffer for me. You know I would do anything to protect you from them, and if this is the cost, then so be it.”

You shook your head as you wiped the tears from your eyes. “You don’t deserve this. You shouldn’t have to do anything else for them. Especially not that.”

You couldn’t even say the words out loud, it was so repulsive. It made sense now, why he was always with new and different Capitol citizens at those parties. Why he never looked truly there in the way he handled himself. And it made you want to shove your spear into anyone who would ever try and do that to him again.

“It’s okay, Y/N, really.” He gently smiled at you the way he reserved only for you – with all the love and radiance he could put into it. “I get to spend the rest of my time– the rest of my life with you. That’s all I could ever ask for.”

“Finnick,” you whispered, hardly knowing what to say to him.

He gingerly brushed the hair back from your forehead as he placed a kiss upon it, hushing you. “For you, my love, I would do anything.”

Your body trembled in his hands from the emotion tumbling around inside you. After the Games, it was hard to let yourself get close to him, for the honest fear of losing him. But he was patient. He waited for you and took his time working through the tremors of the Games that still resided within you. It was hard, it still is, to make it through a day without finding yourself back in that arena, but being around him made it easier – more manageable. He was the part of you that kept you afloat and you were hanging on with both hands to make sure he stayed.

You lost yourself in his eyes – green and blue twirling in an intimate dance, the most beautiful you had ever seen. Truly, there was no other place you would rather be than with him. Every ounce of comfort that you felt stemmed from Finnick, and he felt just the same. To part with one another now would be to rip a heart in two, never fitting the pieces to another.

I love him.

It was a scary thought and, really, shouldn’t have shocked you as much as it did. You knew for a long time already that you did but admitting it to yourself was the true challenge. Everyone knew it, hell, Annie would constantly ask you when the two of you would just marry already – she had never seen two people as made for the other until she saw you and Finnick. But you were slow to let that part of yourself go. He already had your heart, but now, you would finally allow yourself to have his.

Tenderly, you reached your hands to cup his face – the slight stubble growing on his cheeks tickling your palms. As not to scare him off, you so slowly pulled his head down to yours. Only an inch apart, your mouths breathed onto one another, painting your lips with his scent.

“Y/N,” he ground out in a whimper.

“Finnick,” you echoed back. “I love you.”

The sharp inhale was the only sign that he had heard your small voice. That, and the urgency at which he bridged the gap between your mouths. A whine escaped from the back of your throat at how soft he was – how his lips molded into your own as if fated to do so. You were already addicted to the feeling.

Finnick wasn’t faring much better. His whole head was fuzzy with love and reverence for you as he pulled you up to sit on his lap, bringing you as close to you as he could. Tenderness soon turned into something more as he began to map out the curves of your body with his hands. As you gasped from his touch, he took the chance to sneak his tongue into your mouth, charting that territory out as well.

Happily returning the favor, you too began exploring the body of the glorious man before you. Tongues twisting, hands moving, both your breaths became labored as the need for even more started hazing both your minds. Pulling away for just a moment, you took your chance.

“Y/N,” he practically growled out as you began to shift your hips over his growing hardness. “We don’t have to do anything if you’re not comfortable yet.”

And you knew he meant it. While the two of you had never crossed that line before, you wanted to use more than just your words to show him how much you love him. You wanted to cherish him, to give him all of you.

“I want to.” You pleaded. Then, you quickly pulled away as a thought occurred to you. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think about how you might feel about this. Fuck, Finnick, I–”

Before another word could leave your mouth, Finnick covered it with his own, pushing all the love he has to give into you. He coaxed you right back into the kiss, cradling your head close, softly rubbing the flat scar on your ear’s tip. Through a deep breath, he broke the tender instant to glance back at you. Your mind clouded until he spoke.

“Don’t ever think I don’t want you, Y/N,” he reassured. “There is nothing in this world that I want more than you. What happens in the Capitol doesn’t leave me broken, not when you’re still here. And, if you want me, you already have me – I just don’t want you to feel forced into it.”

As he explained his thoughts to you, his hands were delicately rubbing up and down your sides as to console any feelings revolving around your head. He loved you without needing something physical. You were more than enough for him without anything else than just your presence.

“I love you, Finnick Odair,” you confessed for the second time aloud. “And I want to be yours – mind, body, and soul. For as long as you should have me.”

As Finnick’s eyes grew watery from the words torn from your heart, he acknowledged just the same. “I will love you forever, Y/N L/N. And should I die tomorrow or fifty years from now, my thoughts will be filled with you. Only you.”

And with the words spoken and sealed in a lover’s embrace, you sculpted your lips around each other once more. Finnick was slow to undress you, taking the time to truly admire the woman that you were. Removing your top, he trailed his lips from your neck to the scar on your shoulder and drifted further down to your breasts.

You held your breath as you watched him take your nipple into his mouth, suckling and teasing the bud with his tongue. Sighing, you tangled your hands into his hair, urging him to continue his actions. Doing just that, he reached one of his hands up to fondle your untouched breast, coaxing out more whines from you from the feeling.

Unaware, your hips continued to grind down on his lap, searching for some sort of friction for the growing heat in your core. While you had reached highs on your own hands and fingers before, you never touched a man like this – let alone felt the urge to have every part of him in you. And damn it, did you ever want to feel Finnick fucking Odair.

As he switched between ministrations on your nipples, he groaned into you every time you caught on his swelling cock. His head was filled with nothing but the thoughts of you and how he wanted to taste and touch you. How he wanted to tempt out every little noise you could make as you reached your peak over and over again. How he wanted to drown in you.  

Giving into his raging thoughts, he flipped the two of you around so your back lay comfortably on the cushions beneath you. Hot chocolate cooling and book thrown to some corner in the room, it was just you and him. Nothing else mattered.

Wandering down your body once more, he rid you of your pants and undergarments, leaving you bare in the sun. You were a goddess to him. A picture of perfection. He would never get tired of gazing upon you. Even when the two of you had grown old and grey, you would still be the most beautiful thing, sculpted by the poets themselves.

You watched as his eyes traced your body, and you began to grow self-conscious. Before you could even attempt to close yourself off from him, he grabbed onto your thighs and looked deep into your lust-blown eyes.

“Please, don’t hide from me.” He begged you. “You are the most exquisite being, never forget that. I feel like the luckiest man in the world to be able to even glimpse your beauty.”

Sentiments swelling your throat, you nodded up to him and relaxed into his touch. Seeing your newly eased state, he kneeled on the ground as he pulled your legs over his shoulders. Gazing upon your core, a growl emerged from the back of his throat. Your slick heat was practically begging to be filled by him, and who was he to deny such a pretty little thing?

He kissed up the innermost parts of your legs, inching closer and closer to where you needed him most. Before you could issue a complaint to stop teasing, he licked a warm stripe up your pussy, and you gasped. Head thrown back and hands immediately finding purchase in his hair, you were hooked.

He nuzzled his nose into your clit as he began to touch your core with his tongue, forcing out mewls and whines from your mouth. Reaching up his hands, one gripped onto your legs to prevent them from wrapping around his head, while the other spread your lips so he could dive even deeper into you. Flicking and cooing, his tongue continued to taste your slick as he moaned into you from your flavor.

You began rubbing your hips up and down his face as you continued to chase your high. He was too good at this – you’d never last long at this rate.

“Finnick, ahh,” you chanted his name like a choir of angels, and your voice went straight to his cock.

Wanting nothing but his name on your mind, he inserted a finger to begin loosening you up. The slight stretch already elicited a whine of pain from you. His digit was so much longer and thicker than your own, and you had a feeling his length was even more so.

As soon as he felt you relax around one, he slipped in a second. Scissoring around your cunt, he sucked on your clit to keep you slackened. You already felt so full. But as soon as all the discomfort turned to pleasure, you wanted more than just his fingers in you.

“Fuck,” you moaned out. “Finnick, I, shit, I want to feel you.”

He sighed into your pussy at your pleading state. Closing his eyes, he continued slipping his fingers in and out of you, getting you even further toward your orgasm.

“Not yet, love.” He insisted in a gravelly voice. “I want to taste you on my tongue first. You can do that, yeah baby? Want to cum in my mouth? I know you can do it. You’re such a good girl.”

You whined as you shut your eyes and continued stirring your hips on his face. He placed his lips back over your clit and thrust his fingers even faster into your heat. The sound of his knuckles squelching against your wetness was driving him insane, but he wanted to– no, needed to taste your essence before putting his cock into you.

As you felt your climax crawling nearer, your pussy clamped down around Finnick’s fingers, not wanting to let go. Your hips became erratic as you felt the familiar tightening in your lower abdomen – rising from your toes to the tip of your head. Finnick moved and slurped like a man starved, aching for you to lose yourself on him.

With a few more movements and a cry loosened from your lips, you released right into Finnick’s waiting mouth. He cleaned up every last drop, not wanting any to go to waste. You continued to ride out your high as he removed his lips from your bud. Once he felt you tire from your spend, he slipped his fingers out of you.

You watched with hungry eyes as he licked his fingers clean, eyes rolling back as his cock leaked from the wonder of your taste. Moaning as he popped them out of his salivating palate, he quickly moved to rid himself of his shirt. Reaching his arms back behind his neck and tearing the shirt from his torso up around his head, his eyes never left yours.

“I knew you would taste absolutely fucking divine.” He proclaimed to you as he started stripping his pants off. “I bet you feel just as good.”

Gasping, you finally laid eyes on his cock. Thick and girthy, you had no idea how it was supposed to fit in you. While it wasn’t ridiculously long, the stature of it made up more than enough. And as Finnick saw you fixed upon his hardened length, he twitched, which made you whimper up to him.

Bending back down to hover over you, he covered your mouth with his lips, allowing you to taste the salty remains of your own release. Moaning into his mouth, you gripped onto his bronze locks once more, lifting your hips to graze your now swollen clit against him.

He groaned and swiftly grabbed onto your hips to push you down. Backing from the kiss, he asked you one last time, “Are you sure?”

Breathless, you answered. “Yes. Please. I’ve never been surer about anything.”

Staring into your eyes and seeing nothing but certainty, he nodded.

“This is going to hurt, at first.” He stated. “Just try to stay relaxed and I promise you, you’ll start to feel good soon enough.”

Bobbing your head, you dug your nails into his shoulders to brace yourself as he glanced down and began to line himself up to your still-sweating heat. As he pressed the tip into you, you inhaled a sharp breath. Finnick immediately looked up to your face.

“It’s okay. Breathe, my love.” He took his hand and caressed your face. Settling a tender kiss on your lips, you started to breathe normally once again. Taking it as his cue to continue his insertion, he pressed back into you.

Slowly, so achingly slowly, he rocked his length into you. Taking the time to pull back and forth, he was easing you through the tight pain in your cunt. You were biting down on your bottom lip and your eyes were sealed shut from the sting of it.

“Fuck,” he breathed out. “You’re doing so good, baby. Just a little bit more and, shit, I’ll be all the way. God, you’re so tight, fuck.”

Finnick was trying his hardest to go slow for you, but the way that your cunt was compressed around him was like a drug. He wanted more, he wanted to move, but he would never place his own needs above your own. He watched your face for any sign of unordinary discomfort, but he saw none, so he inched further and further until he was fully sheathed into you.

Groaning, he dropped his head into your neck and panted out. As you adjusted to his size, the discomfort subsided. Sighing out as well, you started to lift your hips in your attempt at receiving friction. Finnick moaned and bit down into the softness of your neck.

“Move, Finnick, please.” You whimpered into his ear, already drunk on the feeling of his cock in you. You were so full, practically pushed to the brim, but you wanted more of him. You wanted him to make love to you.

Listening to your words, he dragged his cock through your walls as he moved in and out of you. Feeling your warmth rub against him was nothing short of amazing – there wasn’t anything that would ever compare to the feeling of you.

The two of you moaned in tandem as he thrust a particularly harsh plunge into you. You were scraping his back, leaving red angry lines as you wrapped your legs around his fit waist. Even in your inebriated state, you couldn’t help but admire him. For more than just his handsomeness, Finnick was the most gorgeous thing inside and out, and you couldn’t believe that he was yours. You would do anything for him to smile at you, to give you soft kisses to your temple, to just be.

So, you took hold of his head from where it was leaving marks on your neck, and you clashed your teeth together in a heated kiss. He was quick to reciprocate and grip onto your ass as he continued drilling himself into you, mouth never leaving yours.

You were the one to break the kiss as you leaned back to moan from the feeling.

“Fuck, Finnick. I love you so much.” You were rambling now, high off nothing but the way he was making you melt into his arms. “Please don’t leave me. I couldn’t, ah, live without you. Need you here. Always here. Mmm, my Finnick.”

He continued his movements as he gazed at you, love and lust battling for dominance in his sea-green eyes. “I’ll never let you go, Y/N. You are mine as I am yours. God. I was made to be by your side. Oh, Y/N. To always be with you. Would never leave you. My heart, fuck, is yours forever.”

The two of you were incoherent, rambling sentiments of love and sweet nothings to the other. Both of your climaxes were approaching, wanting to cum at the same time as the other. Skin on skin and sweat dripping upon each other, this was a plea of love, a confessional. Never to leave, always to stay – your hands were tied together as Finnick kissed you softly once more.

In contrast, his hips picked up the pace, as his fingers found your throbbing clit once more, pushing you to reach the top with him. His movements became inconsistent as he grew closer, knowing you were on your way as well by the way you were clenching down on him.

“Come on, baby,” he cooed at you. “Cum with me. You’re so close, love, I can feel it.”

“Yes, yes!” you whined at him. “Wanna cum, wanna cum with you. Ah, almost there, Finnick, don’t stop.”

Moving your hips with him, you both panted as the light grew brighter. He sped his twirling fingers up around your bud, begging you to peak with him. And as the two of you whined and whimpered louder and louder, Finnick thrust hard and deep into you. With this one last push, you both roared a moan as you came in and around the other.

Slowing his motions, Finnick allowed you to ride out your orgasm as he spilled his seed in you. Your legs twitched around his hips as you came down from your high. Head tilted back, you breathed hard and fast as your heart pounded. Finnick wrapped his arms around you as he held you close, still buried inside you.

For just a bit, the two of you stayed like that – together as one. Your pants eventually withdrew and were left with nothing more than the beating of the blood in your veins. He tenderly pulled out of you, leaving you empty of nothing but the soreness in your hips. Rubbing small circles on the aching joints, he kept his head close to yours. He then started kissing all over your face, making you giggle.

Chuckling along with you, he saved you from the attack by pulling away and looking at you with pure love and adoration. Mirroring his visage, you tenderly stroked his cheek as he sighed into your palm.

“I’m going to marry you, Y/N.” It wasn’t a question, but a fact he knew true in his heart.

Your eyes widened at his words, stilling your actions for a moment.

“Not tomorrow,” he laughed at your shocked expression. “Perhaps not a week or month from now, but one day I will. And that day will be the happiest of my life.”

Tears brimmed along your eye line, but it wasn’t sadness blurring your vision. Joy, excitement, and love were making their presence known in this strange way, and you didn’t know how else to respond to his worrisome look except to smile at him. Smile with your heart and soul to the man who was everything to you. And he smiled back the way Finnick Odair only smiles at you: uninhibited and overflowing with fondness.

Nestling into him as he repositioned you both on the seat, you contently sighed into him. This is what you fought for in that arena. This is why you promised that you’d win.

For vulnerable moments like this. For nothing between you and the man you love except the warm skin of your bodies. For the chance to live and not survive. For him.

With those thoughts in your mind, there was only one way you knew how to respond to him: with your truth, not a secret, and not in fear.

“Yes, I will marry you, Finnick Odair.”

#finnick odair x reader #finnick x reader #finnick odair x you #finnick x you #mentor finnick #tribute reader #fem reader #hunger games #finnick odair #smut #finnick odair smut #long ass oneshot

[junosmindpalace]

Kento needs something good in his life.

For most of his life he was fairly indifferent to a lot of things, his face often, if not always, chilled or some kind of annoyed. This seemed to be on the surface, perhaps, but Kento found pleasure within and among many things. Sakura trees, baked goods, the feeling of warm sand beneath his feet and cool ocean water washing it away.

They're the little things, even just thoughts of them, that keep Kento moving through this god awful world. As he gets older, goodness is found in even more trivial things, because with age also comes additional burden and various disappointment. Restock of a favorite product. Flowers in bloom. Small things that bring colour into a life that very frequently threatens to drain it all until he only knows to identify shades of grey and black.

The withering of leaves and flowers hanging onto dying branches amidst chilling winds, threatening to leave them completely bare, is when Kento is reminded more than ever that he needs you. He needs something good, something to work toward. Something to come home to. Something pleasant to fall asleep to. Something beyond material means to motivate him.

His work, in theory, serves him well enough. Pays him well enough if he sacrifices enough of his physical and mental strength to commit to working with difficult people and staring at a blue light that drains his energy almost as much as the routine of it all itself. In the end, he gets a paycheck, and that's what matters.

But truly, it makes Kento a little sick when he thinks that just can't be all life is. Meant to constantly choose which is the more daunting path. Meant to rot at some miserable desk around miserable people in a world that thrives off misery. When the leaves wither and gain spots, when the baked goods don't taste right, when even the thought of a satisfying future isn't enough to push out the nauseating images of curses, he needs something constant. He needs a good thing. He needs you.

You need something good in your life.

Beyond academics, beyond a 9/5, beyond completely busy and hectic days where, by the end, you struggle to remember half of it. Something besides validation from others, besides the constant need to catch up.

A rest would be good, perhaps. A rest from your responsibilities, a rest from the nonsense and vileness that spouts out of people's mouths on the daily, from the streets to your work to the bubbles on your phone. A rest to remind you that in this world, there was still something worth going on for. Something that made all the work worth it. That there was still time to do you, to be with someone who appreciated you. You need something good in your life.

And you've had something good, both of you: you've had each other. For quite some time.

Neither of you would've been able to predict that your futures would intertwine in such a personal and intimate way. Neither of you would've been able to predict from your high school years that you'd steadily fall in love with each other over trauma bonds and shop run-ins and whatever else there was. Neither of you would've fathomed sharing a home together, a small one, but yours, nonetheless.

Never would you both think that the good thing would consist of each other.

But it's been good. It's been grounding, it's helped you retain some semblance of identity and hope in a world that seems adamant on stripping it from you. Besides late-night conversations about bad memories and the heaviness of the world, there were joint cooking sessions. There were silly debates about nonsensical topics. There was reading together. There was indulging in each other's hobbies, when time made room for them. There were attempts at movie marathons: such as the one you were attempting tonight.

It usually never worked out because often you and Kento both came home exhausted from work, but sometimes a shower, a light dinner and a change of comfortable clothes was enough to wake you both just enough to want to spend the remainder of your energy together. So, you agree on trying a movie you've wanted to see for a while, making yourselves comfortable with blankets and pillows.

Your legs are sprawled over his lap, hugging a cushion pillow close to you as the arm of the couch supports your back. Nanami's slouched and still with his arms crossed over his chest. They'll occasionally come down to settle on your knees. It's a little after midnight, the only light resonating throughout your living room being the blue light from the television. The more time that passes, the more Kento becomes aware of the power it has over his senses, lulling him in and out of sleep. When he tilts his head against the cushion toward you, he can see from the crescents in your eyes that the effect was the same.

"Hey," he mutters quietly, gently nudging your side. "Don't doze off on me, now."

You object with a groan as you sit up against the cushion, lulling your head to look up at him. "M'not."

"Didn't look like it."

"Oh, don't start. I saw your eyes close."

"And you thought that'd save you?"

"Maybe."

Kento has never, but especially not since high school, believed that anything has any real permanence to it, besides maybe death. Everything is fleeting. Life is fleeting, he sees it in the shrivelled lines and drained colored from plants through the changing seasons as well as in the creases of skin and unusual paleness of corpses from the morgue. Routine is not always consistent, it's reminded when he's forced to work overtime, to take a detour to a location, when he falls behind some sort of schedule.

But when he looks over at you, takes in the small smile on your lips, the glow on your skin from the TV lights, he thinks of how badly he wants this good thing to last. Even though it's selfish, even though there was no guarantee that it would no matter the thought of a ring on your finger, there was something in him that wanted it anyway.

The only thing that holds him back from letting the question fall from his lips is the guilt he’d feel for not being more thoughtful in the gesture. No ring, no nice day spent together. Truly, he’d resent himself if he were to propose to you in such an undeserving, unaffectionate and unromantic way. But when he watches you with his head lolled to the side, your own eyes cheerfully boring into his as you sit in the dead of the night trying to enjoy some semblance of peace in your togetherness, he wants so badly to just say it:

Marry me. Let’s have something good.

You know, for good.

He holds his tongue though, and instead gives you a smile of his own, a small but meaningful curve of his lips. The TV light illuminates the sides of your faces, and soon enough the blue light and dialogue will lull you to sleep, and you’ll both abandon your movie session in favor of some much-needed rest. So he stands up from the couch before it could get to that point, letting your legs gently swing to the side to accommodates the sit up. He turns toward you, and offers both of his hands out. "Come on. Let's go to bed."

You whine in protest. "But the movie..."

"We'll finish it another time, promise. I have a day off, soon."

"Really?" A quiet gasp escapes you, and your smile gradually widens as you take hold of his hands as he aids in pulling you up and leading you down the hall.

"Next week, I'm pretty sure. We can do something."

"Not spending the whole day in bed."

"Awfully tempting."

He has a good thing, Kento thinks as you swat his chest, but he doesn't move his hand from your lower back to block at all. He has a goddamn good thing, he thinks when your chuckles break the silence within your home, and through the good, bad, and ugliness of it all, it'll be something that keeps some order and hope in his life.

#hi everyone wow has it really been WELL OVER A MONTH since ive written #Im sorry this in NO WAY COMPENSATES for my long ass absence i just havent had ANY ideas #But i had this randomly #And its awful as always #But i miss nanami </3 #i went to see the hq movie today so i might have some inspo for hq!! #kento nanami x reader #kento nanami fluff #kento nanami oneshot #nanami kento x reader #nanami kento fluff #nanami kento oneshot #nanami x reader #nanami oneshot #nanami fluff #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen fluff #jujutsu kaisen oneshot #jjk x reader #jjk fluff #jjk oneshot

[xxlady-lunaxx]

Unspoken affection | {SaneGiyuu}

Theme: FLUFF

Note: i, for the first time, will see if I can try writing this as if it wasn't a oneshot meaning they won't already like each other bc it'll end up like 3 words if they do

A sprinkle of ObaMitsu

I started this Feb. 23, apparently 😭 mar.29 when i finished ;;

×××

Giyuu had been one of the first Hashira. The third, in fact. After Tengen and Gyomei.

He gotten along well with them, although... 'getting along' were relative words. More so, they tolerated each other. Giyuu didn't really talk much, opted to stay silent. Gyomei was comfortable with that and Tengen appeared not to mind because, though he was very talkative, he preferred when it was quieter as his hearing was sensitive.

So, Giyuu got along with the Hashira, mostly. Kanae came along sometime later. She was very cheerful and the polar opposite of Giyuu, but she was kind and didn't mind his quietness. He found that he didn't mind her presence much, albeit he still acted the same.

And then Sanemi arrived.

He was like the disruption of the peace created within the Hashira. It was irritating.

When he went to his first meeting, he had erupted in anger at Kagaya and had been shouting at him. It was loud. And then, after the meeting had ended, the other Hashira had berated him for this. 

Giyuu had stood by the side, deciding not to meddle with Sanemi. If he was always going to be an... explosive pomeranian, Giyuu should steer clear from this man.

Which was what he did. Mostly.

But it became obvious that it wouldn't be very easy when Sanemi decided to start bothering Giyuu, pestering him about being so quiet and unanswering. Normally, Giyuu would've ignored these irksome questions, but Sanemi was annoyingly persistant. And so, so very loud. Which was why he worked up the courage to respond, only to be talked over. 

And thus began Giyuu's hate for Sanemi. 

×××

When Sanemi had first become a Hashira, he had found himself in an almost feverish state. He was constantly tired and worked almost like a robot, doing things as if he had been programmed to. There were few times he felt like he could escape that, feel actually human again.

He found anger was a nice fuel of humanity to him, so he took it out on others, reveling at the feeling of temporary normalcy that came with it. It went away quickly and silence often brought back his numb, robotic state back, so he snapped at nearly everybody, making himself rather loathed personality-wise.

He didn't mind, not really. The only person he could care about what they thought of him was Masachika. And he was dead. So it really did not matter.

There was one Hashira whom he had decided to bother more than the others. Giyuu Tomioka, the Water Hashira. He was a really quiet person, rarely responding or speaking unless necessary. Because of Giyuu's ignorance, Sanemi found himself hovering around him more, feeling almost refreshed when immediate mirrored anger wasn't repelled back at him. It was annoying, of course. But annoyance meant he could feel. And feeling meant being... as okay as he could be.

Giyuu spoke only a couple times to him in response. Four, to be exact. His voice was quiet and collected, but a hint of irritation could be detected if you really paid attention. He was an interesting person, so full of mysteries and so closed off. Something else, besides his unbroken silence, drew Sanemi in. Like an old box in the far corner of the house, waiting to be opened and explored, except nobody was allowed to open it. Nobody was willing to, either. As if afraid something horrid would come out. Albeit it looked innocent on the outside, there was the small chance it would be filled with something terrible. To the point that even the box itself feared it's own being and refused to open up.

But Sanemi was curious.

Time flew on as usual—it never did stop, not for anyone or anything—and Sanemi grew less mechanical, more human. He found himself able to make skips in his usual schedule, able to live a bit more freely, despite his tightly programmed daily life.

He would use his occasional free time to wander around. He rarely actually spoke to anyone, only giving or following orders, occasionally engaging in small talk with some of the Hashira. But other than that, he kept to himself.

He was curious about Giyuu, however, which brought a bit of searching into his free time.

He would walk around, down random paths, looking for new places. Giyuu was one of the few Hashira's houses whom nobody knew where it was. Kanae's was free for anyone's knowledge, given that it was used for nursing people back to health often. Tengen invited the Hashira to his house from now and then, Kyojuro—who had become a Hashira recently—wasn't closed off about sharing and, though he didn't display it to the world, he did tell people if they asked.

Even Sanemi's, a select few knew.

But Giyuu's.

Giyuu's was only known to his crow, at this point, as he usually declined giving the knowledge to anyone. And something about that was peculiar to Sanemi. Like, what if there was an emergency? Would Giyuu simply live with the fact that whatever could happen might happen because nobody knew where he lived?

Although, it wasn't the worst thing possible, it was just something that set Giyuu aside from the others.

There was a lot that separated the Hashira from each other, of course. But Giyuu had something else that just... caught Sanemi's eye. Over and over again.

×××

Giyuu found himself growing more and more distant with the Hashira with each passing day. They already kept to themselves mostly, none of their schedules really overlapping, so it wasn't much different. But he started to avoid more so than mind his own business.

As the years past, more Hashira joined. Giyuu didn't feel connected to them, didn't feel like he could be like any of them. It was noticeable. And some of the Hashira tried to include him.

Although, include was a relative word. Some of them were kinder with it, but there were obviously those who were more... forceful. Like Sanemi.

Sanemi was, and had been since the day he'd became a Hashira, one of the most—or the most—irritating Hashira. He seemed apt to making Giyuu's life feel like that of a rat being chased by a cat, but not as life-threatening. Unless you counted going insane as life threatening. 

One day, Sanemi had gone up to Giyuu—somehow having found him as he finished training somewhere in the clearing of a forest.

"Oi, Tomioka," he shouted, over the rush of water. There was a river, a loud one at that, that cut through the forest and skimmed along the edge of the field that Giyuu had found.

Giyuu turned. The weather was hot, so he had taken off the top of his uniform, folding that and his haori and placing it aside. 

Deciding not to question why Sanemi was here, he cocked his head in question. "What?"

Sanemi seemed taken aback that he'd been responded to, but went on. "Uhm. Kanroji said that she wanted to invite all the Hashira on some shit sleepover and said I had to ask you to come," he said impatiently, his eyes flicking up and down, as if inspecting Giyuu.

"Oh. I won't go," Giyuu murmured. There was no reason to. It wasn't like the Hashira would actually want him to go.

Sanemi raised an eyebrow. "I figured."

"Then why did you ask?"

"Because Kanroji would get mad if I didn't. Which would induce ear-piercing cries about why," Sanemi snorted, rolling his eyes. He crossed his arms. He was sweating and the air was humid today, causing his hair to stick onto his skin. 

"Ah." 

Giyuu sheathed his katana, pulling his hair out of the ponytail to adjust it.

Sanemi watched him curiously, as if there was something to figure out. 

"What?" Giyuu asked, upon noticing this. 

"You never take down your hair," Sanemi said simply. 

He was a lot less shout-y today, it was unsettling, almost. 

"Okay." 

They lapsed back into silence as Giyuu re-tied his hair back up, his hands sticky with sweat. The only sounds were of the rush water and the occasional bird from up ahead.

Sanemi wasn't leaving, which was curious. Especially since his eyes seemed to be tracking Giyuu, as if he was put in charge to guard him.

"...do you need anything?" Giyuu asked finally, growing uncomfortable.

"No," Sanemi murmured, turning away. 

Confused, Giyuu watched as Sanemi left, without so much of an explanation. Odd.

×××

Fuck.

That day, that one day, that one stupid fucking day.

The sleepover thing was a lie. There hadn't been any sleepover. It had been an excuse to find Giyuu. 

Sanemi hadn't figured he'd have any luck, so when he'd seen Giyuu there he'd instinctively called out to him. He'd managed to hide his surprise enough and masked it with the question he'd made up. Luckily, Giyuu had shot it down. Because if he hadn't...

But that was beside the point. It wasn't the question that made Sanemi panic. No, of course it wasn't.

It was the fact that when he had seen Giyuu there, he had... felt. Something. Something different.

Usually, anger was his key to reality. But, then, he hadn't been angry then. He had felt something else, something true. He couldn't distinguish it, being in some stupid trance when he'd felt it. But he knew that it was different.

So now he was tearing at his hair, wishing he'd figure it out because it was eating him alive now, and had been since the day he'd seen Giyuu there. 

Giyuu without his-

No.

No, he wouldn't think about it. He wouldn't picture how Giyuu looked with his hair down, no shi... Shit. He shouldn't be thinking like this. He wouldn't!

Fuck.

Sanemi stood and grabbed his katana, pushing it into his belt and gritting his teeth in frustration. He stomped to the front of his house, slamming the door open and unsheathing his katana. 

He brought the sword above his head and slashed down.

One. Two. Three.

Don't think about Giyuu. Don't think about him.

Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen.

You hate him, remember? He's stupid.

Thirty six. Thirty seven. Thirty eight.

His boring responses and his way of ignoring.

Sixty four. Sixty five. Sixty six.

The way he distances himself, how he doesn't talk.

Ninety eight. Ninety nine. One hundred.

His stupid blue eyes and stupid black hair.

One hundred and forty one. One hundred and forty two. One hundred and forty three.

His stupid voice you want to hear every day. His stupid mouth you want to-

Sanemi threw his katana down in frustration, kicking the handle and making it skid away, hitting a small boulder a few feet from him.

He ran his hand through his hair, biting his bottom lip furiously until it bled.

"Goddammit," he hissed, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. 

He sighed and sat down, burying his face in his hands. Fuck. What the fuck was he supposed to do now?

×××

Sanemi's uncharacteristic behavior had caught Giyuu's attention. It wasn't in his full interest, of course, but it was enough to make him curious. Yes, the weather had been hot and it made some people drowsy but... it hadn't ever visibly affected Sanemi enough to make him so quiet and... yeah. 

Which made Giyuu wonder, was Sanemi ever quiet? The only time he could think of the scarred Hashira being silent was... when in Kagaya's presence. Meaning, only twice a year. Which meant it was very rare. 

So, upon this realization, Giyuu decided he would try to figure it out. It wouldn't hurt to try getting along with Sanemi, right? Besides, maybe that would mean less yelling. And he would have something to do.

For a while, he forgot he was going to find out the reason of Sanemi's random personality slip, as it had completely left his mind; Sanemi wasn't exactly a priority to him.

But then he ran into Sanemi again one day, who seemed to be in a subdued mood, not even bothering to acknowledge Giyuu.

They were in the middle of a town, though, so it wasn't completely unreasonable. 

Giyuu watched Sanemi carefully for a bit, before turning to continue buying his food.

Once he had paid and left, he turned back, noticing Sanemi instantly. He approached him cautiously, looking up curiously at the store the Wind Hashira had walked into. A sweets store? For pastries, mochis, and bread? Was he buying something for someone?

Giyuu hovered inside the store uncomfortably. A woman glanced at him and he quickly adjusted his haori over his katana; when people saw it, they usually called for security. He would know from experience.

Sanemi appeared to have noticed him immediately as he gave Giyuu an annoyed look, picking up a box of mochi that had been put down for him on the counter.

He walked towards the exit, muttering to Giyuu as he passed. 

"The hell are you doing here?" he hissed between his teeth, his voice low.

The store was filled with a low chatter by the people around them and Giyuu quickly followed Sanemi out, deciding he didn't want to stay in this enclosed space with an almost intoxicating smell of sugar.

Back outside—and thank god for the fresh air—Giyuu and Sanemi walked quietly, side by side, through the streets.

The box, Giyuu noticed, was full of ohagi. Who liked ohagi? Mitsuri, maybe? He wasn't aware that Sanemi and Mitsuri were on good terms. 

They continued in silence for a couple minutes until they reached a part that wasn't as crowded.

Sanemi stopped then, resulting in Giyuu stopping as well. They turned to each other and Sanemi glared at him.

"Were you stalking me or something? I saw you staring, earlier," Sanemi said, crossing his arms, the box of ohagi clutched in one hand.

"I wasn't," Giyuu mumbled.

"Right." Sanemi rolled his eyes. "Why'd you follow me into the bakery, then? You didn't buy shit."

Remembering the ohagi, Giyuu changed the subject. "Who is the ohagi for?"

"...The fuck does that have to do with anything? And it's not for anyone, I'm eating it"—he uncrossed his arms here, tapping the box—"And you didn't answer my question, dipshit." 

Completely ignoring the last part, Giyuu said, surprised, "You like sweets?"

Sanemi raised an eyebrow. "And you like ignoring me. What the hell does my taste in food have to do with shit??"

Giyuu frowned. If Sanemi ate things like ohagi often, why wasn't he nicer? Like Mitsuri! 

"Oi, you going to answer my question?" Sanemi snapped, waving the box in front of Giyuu's face.

"What question?" Giyuu asked, drawing blank. 

Sanemi groaned. "I can't tell if you're really that stupid, or if you're just pretending."

"I'm... not pretending," Giyuu mumbled, confused.

"Goddammit, never-fucking-mind," Sanemi sighed, turning. "I'm going to go. Don't follow me."

Giyuu's frown deepened but he nodded, watching Sanemi walk away.

Sanemi was in a peculiar mood that way. Although he was still as fiesty as ever, he didn't shout as much as usual. His voice was quieter. It was almost pleasant. Almost.

×××

Giyuu had been quite talkative that day. Had a randomly curious nature, followed by a million questions. Sanemi couldn't tell if he liked this or if he hated it. On the one hand, it was nice to hear Giyuu's voice a bit more. On the other, he was being ignorant and nosy as fuck. But... he seemed curious as to what Sanemi was doing. Was he interested in-

No. That was stupid thinking, and being a Hashira did not allow stupid thinking! 

Sanemi had been deep in thought about all of this for a couple hours now and was eating his ohagi whilst he walked towards... Where was he again?

He looked around, confused, and found himself standing admist a bamboo forest, water from a supposed river could be heard in the background. There was a house, a little ways forward, which was nestled comfortably in a small man-made clearing in the forest. The ground was gritty, like thickly packed sand, and it made a slight crunching sound as Sanemi walked towards the house, curious.

He'd never been here before. 

He looked around, his eyes catching onto everything. Then he realized there was approaching him from behind and he turned, noticing the motion of a person, entering the clearing. He quickly hid by the side of the house, waiting for the person.

Their footsteps were moderate but precise, and they grew closer to the house before pausing and suddenly moving quickly to where Sanemi hid.

Fuck.

But then the person came into view and...

"Tomioka?"

Giyuu blinked at him, his hand dropping from his katana. "What are you doing here, Shinazugawa?" he asked quietly, his brilliant blue eyes flicking over Sanemi as if he was searching for an answer written upon his body.

"I was just walking and ended up here somehow." Then, with a realization, Sanemi said, "Do you live here?"

Giyuu gave a hesitant nod. "I wasn't aware I told anyone of this place."

"You didn't. I don't know fuck where I am," Sanemi said, retreating from his hiding spot to stand in front of Giyuu. 

"Ah. Hello, again," Giyuu murmured. He turned, walking to his front door and unlocking it, opening the door. 

Sanemi nodded, standing awkwardly.

Giyuu glanced at him. "Are you busy?" he asked.

"No," Sanemi said. "My next mission is just patrol shit, and it shouldn't be too far."

"Okay. Do you want to come in?" Giyuu offered, stepping inside.

Sanemi raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to drug me with tea?"

"...What?" 

"Nevermind. Sure." 

Giyuu nodded, motioning for him to come inside.

The interior of Giyuu's house was modest, kept mostly simple—which made sense given that the Hashira didn't usually devote their time to decorating their house. Except Mitsuri, maybe.

Sanemi closed the door behind him, looking around. "Why do you never tell anyone about your house?" he asked, absentmindedly.

Giyuu didn't respond, getting something from a different room.

Sanemi sighed. "You don't like responding, do you?" he asked pointedly, following Giyuu into what appeared to be the kitchen.

Giyuu glanced at him, then handed the albino male a teapot. Steam was filtering through the top, making Sanemi's hand feel humid and hot. He placed it on the knee-high table, confused why he'd been handed it. Giyuu gave him two cups in following and he poured the tea into them, watching the steam swirl and dissipate into the air.

Sanemi picked up one of the cups, the warmth from the tea seeping through the cup and warming his hands. Giyuu sat down across from where Sanemi stood, picking up his own cup.

It was silent as the two Hashira sipped their tea, neither having anything to say. Sanemi looked up, taking in the sight of Giyuu who sat quietly, his cup clasped in his hands, his eyes cast down, watching the swirl of the liquid. He looked cute this way, really. He always looked so subdued but it was adorable.

Honestly, something must be horrible wrong with Sanemi if he was thinking like this. He couldn't stop, somehow. Which was irritating to himself, almost worrying, really. Mostly annoying. He didn't want to be thinking about Giyuu 24/7, didn't want to be unable to look at Giyuu without falling into a fucking puddle.

He was fighting so hard to keep his composure at the moment, hoping beyond hope his face wasn't red. It was so fucking stupid, to look at Giyuu and think, God that man is so beautiful. Had he, or had he not, hated him before? Albeit, it hadn't truly been hate...

"What?" 

Sanemi looked up at the sound of Giyuu's voice, startled by the sudden noise in the previously hushed room.

Giyuu was staring at him, his eyes wide. It was tripping to see him whenever he showed emotion. It was unnatural on his face.

"What?" Sanemi asked. He placed his cup down on the table, having finished his tea a couple minutes ago.

Giyuu's mouth opened and closed soundlessly before saying, quietly, "You... think I'm pretty?"

Sanemi blinked. "The fuck are you-" ...Oh. Oh, oh god, he must've said it out loud, he must've told Giyuu without even realizing that-

Giyuu put his cup down as well, biting his lip. His face was mostly impassive, though, and it made everything... so much worse.

"No. I, uhm, I didn't... I didn't mean to say that-" Sanemi stuttered, worsening matters. He should've just said it was a joke, or something, what the hell was wrong with him? He was stumbling over himself, backing away. Why was he so nervous? This was Giyuu, for fucks sake! He didn't actually care! ...Right? 

Giyuu stood as well, nearly knocking down the table in the process. He steadied it and moved forwards, reaching an arm out to grab Sanemi's wrist—instinctively, most likely—but Sanemi had retreated already, was out the door and heading towards the front. 

Giyuu followed him quickly, stopping him before he opened the door.

"Shinazugawa?" 

And then it was like words suddenly stopped existing and Sanemi froze, his eyes flicking around nervously. "W...What?" he asked, his voice meek and timid. Disgusting. Why was he being like this? God, he needed help. What the fuck.

"Did you... Did you mean it?" Giyuu mumbled, his hand clasped around Sanemi's wrist. The feel of his palm was warm and, though his hands were calloused from years of training, his hand was almost soft. 

"Mean what?" Stupid. This was stupid, Sanemi was stupid, everything was-

"What you said about... me." 

Yes. He meant it. Meant more than that. 

"No."

"Oh."

Giyuu let go of Sanemi's wrist and his arm fell to his side.

There was an awkward moment of silence and then-

"...sorry. Bye, Shinazugawa," he said quietly, opening the door for Sanemi and backing away slightly.

Sanemi didn't move for a second, his body feeling numb for no reason. 

"Are you leaving?" Giyuu asked uncertainly.

"...Yes," Sanemi said, regaining feeling in his body and quickly making his way out. 

He shut the door behind him, walking quickly through the clearing and back onto the path outside of it. He looked from his left to right then, deciding he didn't know where the hell he was, turned left and broke out into a slow run, his pace quickening by the second.

As he ran, he felt as if his lungs had deflated, and he breathed heavily through his mouth, as if suddenly he had lost the ability to run. 

What the hell was that? Why had he acted like that? What the fuck was wrong with him?

×××

Giyuu was in a panic. He was panicking because:

1. Sanemi had found his house somehow.

2. Sanemi had been quiet for the longest time possible for him.

3. Sanemi had been drinking tea with Giyuu inside Giyuu's house... quietly.

4. Sanemi said that Giyuu was beautiful... then went on to deny it.

5. Sanemi had been so awkward.

6. Sanemi had then proceeded to run away after Giyuu had caught hold of his arm.

What the hell had just happened?!

×××

Sanemi was also panicking. Waaay worse. 

He found Obanai quickly and, in the most incomprehensible way, recounted what had happened.

Obanai stared at him, confused and irritated. "What? Will you slow the fuck down and catch your breath first?"

Sanemi ignored him, deciding to explain in a faster way. "I think I like Tomioka."

Obanai crossed his arms. "Okay?"

"'Fuck you mean, 'okay'?!" Sanemi snapped. 

"It was obvious that you liked him, idiot," Obanai said. He rolled his eyes. "Is that all? A stupid revelation everyone but you already knew? If so, I will be with Kanroji, thank you very much."

"Oh my god, think about something other than your girlfriend for once!!!" Sanemi groaned. "And what the fuck do you mean, 'everyone already knew'? I didn't even know!"

"Riiighttt, this is a massive waste of my time, I'll be off now," Obanai said, turning away. 

"Bitch," Sanemi grumbled, watching Obanai practically skip off to Mitsuri.

He sighed, sitting down on the ground, leaning against a random tree that just so happened to be there.

He buried his face in his hands, wishing he knew the answers to the world. And wishing he wasn't thinking about Giyuu.

×××

Sanemi had suddenly become a person that Giyuu could be more than mildly interested in, someone he needed to find something out about but he didn't quite know what. And given that Sanemi had basically run away from him the last time they'd met, Giyuu opted to talk to Obanai about Sanemi.

Upon approaching him and asking him about Sanemi, Obanai simply said, "He fell in love with someone," and gave no other explanation before leaving.

Almost frustrated by this response, Giyuu searched for someone else who could tell him a little something about the Hashira he'd always wanted to avoid.

He went to Mitsuri next, whom was known for her friendliness and perhaps she had managed to speak a bit with Sanemi before.

She didn't say much, only burst into a fit of giggling when he asked about Sanemi.

Giyuu just stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do. 

Mitsuri told him, then, that perhaps Sanemi was acting like this because he liked someone.

Which only made it all the more annoying.

Shinobu, Tengen and Kyojuro only gave similar answers to those of Obanai's and Mitsuri's. So, Giyuu gave up asking the Hashira and quickly tracked down Genya.

Genya was surprised to hear the question.

"Aniki?" he'd said. "What do you mean?"

"Yes. That's what he said. Then he left," Giyuu said blandly.

"Oh. Uhm." Genya hesitated. "I don't know. I don't know him as well as I used to." 

"Oh."

There was a moment of silence.

"What do you know about him, then? Be it not of his present self," Giyuu asked.

"Uhh... He's really good with children! He cared for me and my younger siblings really well, as if he was our father," Genya said, a smile slowly spreading on his face. "He was really kind. I remember he would do anything to help Mother when she needed it, even did most of the things she usually did just so she could sleep well that night."

Giyuu raised an eyebrow. "He sounds very different."

Genya frowned. "I'm sure he's still like that..."

"Mhm. Go on."

"Alright. Uhm..." Genya then proceeded to go on a rant about the most random facts about Sanemi, from his favorite food—ohagi—to the friends he'd had in the past.

Giyuu listened with interest, not realizing there could be so much character to a man who seemed to make it his life goal to annoy people.

At the end of Genya's rant, he had said, "he might like you, you know, if he said that. Or he was thinking about someone else?" Genya concluded, referring to Sanemi calling him beautiful—then claiming he didn't mean it.

"Like me?..." Giyuu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Mhm!" Genya waved, walking away. "Tell me if anything happens!"

"Alright..." Giyuu watched him leave, then turned back to his own thoughts. 

Like him? Why would anyone like Giyuu? And, of all people, Sanemi! Although, it would tie together with what the Hashira had said, given that they'd all said that Sanemi had 'fallen in love.' 

But... how? And why?

×××

Sanemi successfully managed to avoid Giyuu for about three days before he was found. He had been walking down a path after his mission, on his way home, when he ran into Giyuu. Giyuu, as it turned out, had had a mission near Sanemi's and had also been on his way home. 

"Shinazugawa?"

Sanemi's heart stopped. Fuck. 

Giyuu was standing there, his expression all innocent and unassuming and... God. Yes, yes he looked like a fucking god. 

"What?" Sanemi snapped, fighting against the heat that rose in his body. Goddammit.

"I've been looking for you..." Giyuu said, stepping forwards to be face to face with the Wind Hashira, his gaze curious, a contrast to his usually impassive expression.

"...Why?" It's not because he's interested, it is not. Sanemi's eyes flicked anywhere but to Giyuu's face and he pursed his lips uncertainly.

"I wanted to ask you about something," Giyuu replied, tilting his head slightly. "...Why won't you look at me?"

"Why the fuck are you so talkative?!" Sanemi asked, his voice coming out more irritated than he'd intended. His heart seemed to be working again; or maybe not. It beat quickly, too quickly, and his breath came out forced and quick. 

"Are you okay?" Giyuu's voice was concerned, he frowned. "Your face is red..."

"Fuck off. It's... 'cause I was running a lot. And you aren't answering me," Sanemi mumbled, turning his face away.

"Oh." Giyuu paused, seemingly forgetting what he was doing here. "I wanted to ask you some-"

"I get it, you want to ask me something. Get the fuck on with it! I don't have time to waste on your shitty ass," Sanemi said, crossing his arms. Why was he acting like this, as if he could barely control his emotions anymore. It was stupid, and annoying.

"...Sorry." Giyuu pouted. "Do you... like me?"

Sanemi froze. "What?" 

"Do you like me?..." Giyuu repeated.

"No, I heard you, don't fucking repeat it," Sanemi gritted out. "Why the hell would you ask that?!"

"...I was... wondering about your behavior. It was peculiar and I... couldn't fathom why you had acted like that," Giyuu said quietly. "I asked the Hashira and your brother and... they all said you liked someone—though Genya said that, more specifically, you might like... me?"

"I..." Sanemi was at loss for words. He couldn't like Giyuu! Not that stupid, quiet, bitchass bastard! Except, it would make sense. It would explain why he always felt so... Oh my god, he needed to get out of here. He couldn't bear having Giyuu's annoyingly pretty eyes staring at him curiously, as if he hadn't just dropped the worst question he ever could. 

"No. No, I hate you! I don't like you! Fuck off!" Sanemi shouted, turning and quickly running off, not looking back.

Fuck.

×××

There was something wrong with Giyuu.

When Sanemi had left, shouting that he didn't like him, Giyuu had felt a pang in his chest. As if he was disappointed.

Why would he be? He'd never cared much what Sanemi said before. And yet... 

And yet now he suddenly cared, suddenly wished to know why. Why what? Why everyone claimed Sanemi had fallen in love? Why Sanemi had called him beautiful? Why Sanemi seemed to hate him so much? Why he felt like it all actually mattered? 

He had trudged home, nearly bumping into several trees in the process. Then he had flopped onto his futon and proceeded to stare at the cealing, re-thinking his life. The image of Sanemi from earlier flashed in his memory. Sanemi, his cheeks flushed,—from running???—his eyes averted and face scrunched from anger. He looked like an angry dog, really. But cuter. 

Wait. What?

No, no, not cute. Sanemi was never cute.

Giyuu sighed, dropping a hand onto his forehead and running his hand through his hair, closing his eyes. What the fuck was wrong with him?

×××

It was dark and raining, though the air was warm. Sanemi was trudging through a muddy forest without a clue to where he was going, exhaustion dragging him down. He was soaked to the bone and shivering despite the warm weather. As he walked, he noted that somebody was somewhere around him. He kept his guard up, quieting his footsteps as he continued on. Then, at an intersection of the path, he bumped into... Genya.

Genya had his arm over his head and had apparently only just noticed Sanemi, skittering backwards in his surprise. "A-... Aniki?!" Genya said, startled. 

Sanemi grumbled. Of course it was him. "What?" he asked, irritated.

"Uhm. I was on a mission," Genya mumbled.

"What, are you going to bleed to death now??" Sanemi said, noticing the blood staining Genya's clothing. "Quit the fucking Corps if you're going to be so useless at your job."

"No! I'm fine! It's a light wound. And I won't quit!! I'm not useless!" Genya insisted, pouting.

Sanemi rolled his eyes. "Then get your ass to Kocho's. I don't want to deal with you right now," he said, turning away from his (not) brother and stalking away.

"Wait- Aniki-" Genya called out, following him.

"Fuck off! And I'm not your brother!" Sanemi snapped, not turning to look at him.

"Please-"

"Shut the actual fuck up," he said, turning and pushing Genya to the ground.

Genya slipped on the mud and fell on his back. He frowned but stopped following Sanemi who walked away, through the forest.

Sanemi looked around, trying to figure out where the hell he was. He noticed a path that looked vaguely familiar to the left and he followed it, his steps slow. He let out an exaggerated sigh every now and then, wishing he could just stop Genya from being Genya for once.

He looked up and found that, as the path went on, there was one part that entered into what looked like a bamboo forest. Ah. Giyuu's house.

He contemplated going inside for a minute before deciding to just walk past it, not wanting to deal with Giyuu asking if... No, he wouldn't finish the sentence.

So he trudged on. Then, to his luck, he heard his name being called out. He turned with a sigh, meeting Giyuu's gaze. "What is it?" he asked, his voice coming out harsher than intended.

"Uhm. Shinazugawa, what're you doing outside now?" Giyuu asked. "It's raining, you should get inside unless you want to get a cold."

"Yeah, well, I have no fucking idea where I am. I'll be fine," Sanemi said, shaking his head. 

"Come inside!" Giyuu insisted. "I have a mission I have to get to in a bit, I think, but it'll be fine. You can stay here so Kocho doesn't kill you for getting sick."

"Fair enough..." Sanemi sighed, caving in. He followed Giyuu inside, slipping off his shoes. 

"You should bathe and change," Giyuu said, looking Sanemi up and down. "I'll put extra clothing and a towel in the bathroom and make an extra futon for you."

"Alright. Thanks," Sanemi said, wondering why the hell Giyuu was talking to much.

Giyuu nodded and went off to do what he had said, leaving Sanemi standing in the hall.

×××

After Giyuu had made sure that Sanemi had everything he might need—putting out a tray of food next to the futon as well—he quickly wrote a note explaining that he would be out on a mission and that Sanemi could sleep or whatever he wanted while waiting.

He left the note on top of the futon and grabbed his haori, slipping it on. He picked up his katana, pushing it into his belt, and heading outside into the rain.

The mission was easy—the demons being surprisingly incompetent for a Hashira to be called there. And, after making sure the surviving rank-and-file Demon Slayers were alright, he made his way home. Unfortunately he'd been held up by the other Demon Slayers so dawn was already approaching. 

The rain had settled to a light sprinkle, almost non-existent, and the sky was brightening as the sun slowly arose.

Back home, Giyuu quickly bathed and changed, then went to look for Sanemi. He entered his room and found Sanemi entangled between the sheets of his futon. The food was half eaten and the note sat on the tray.

Giyuu almost smiled at the sight. It was really nice to see the humanity in Sanemi; it was rare. He slipped into his own futon and closed his eyes, falling asleep soon after.

×××

When Sanemi awoke, light was filtering through a window. He ran a hand through the mess of his hair, moving the blankets off of him. He looked to his left and saw Giyuu fast asleep. He smiled—then quickly frowned at himself for smiling—and turned to his food, which was mostly cold now. Regardless, he ate the rest of it. Once he finished, he picked up the tray and took it to where he presumed the kitchen was, washing his bowls.

As he dried his hands, he heard Giyuu walking and turned.

Giyuu was at the doorway, looking quite illegally adorable in all his sleepiness, his hair messy as hell. He blinked wearily at Sanemi. "Good morning."

"'Morning," Sanemi returned, nodding. "It's strange to wake up actually in the morning."

Giyuu nodded back. "Mhm."

"Are you hungry?" 

"A bit."

"Want me to make something?" he offered.

Giyuu raised an eyebrow. "You can cook?"

"Don't look at me like that. Of course I can, what kind of eldest sibling would I be without knowing how to cook??" Sanemi scoffed. "I'll show you."

"I wouldn't want to bother you, it's fine," Giyuu murmured. "I can make myself something."

"What, canned tomato sauce? I'm making it. I took your question as a fucking challenge," Sanemi said, pushing Giyuu out of the kitchen. "I'm going to use whatever the hell you have in here, by the way!!"

Giyuu called back a complaint in response. 

Sanemi grinned and started scouring the kitchen for ingredients, deciding he would make the most elaborate food he could with what he found. Literally for no reason at all.

×××

Sanemi had called Giyuu in to eat—after he had waited for an hour—and now, sitting before him, was... The most food he'd seen in front of him in his life since... Since he was thirteen. No, well, not the most. But it reminded him of when Tsutako had guests over and she wanted to make the food be the best it possibly could be.

"Uhhm. Thank you..." Giyuu said, still in shock.

Sanemi smirked. "Who can't cook now?!"

"It wasn't even a challenge!" Giyuu whined. 

"Mhmmm, well now it is! Whatever you don't eat I'm sending to Rengoku probably. Or Kanroji. Either of them will eat it without a question," Sanemi said, crossing his arms. "Now, eat."

"Why're you feeding me???" Giyuu huffed, though he sat down and picked up a fork that Sanemi had laid down for him.

"Because I never do this anymore and I was bored. And I didn't feel like training yet," he said simply, sitting down across from Giyuu. "Why, do you not want to eat?"

Giyuu shook his head. "No, no, I do. You're just being so nice today-"

Sanemi rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll stop being nice." He stood and walked to the other side of the table and smacked Giyuu's head. "Eat!!"

"I... I preferred you when you were nice..." Giyuu admitted, quickly starting to eat. 

"Exactly. Besides, you can't be questioning me when you're talking as much as Rengoku today," Sanemi pointed out.

"No' af mush," Giyuu mumbled through mouthfuls of food. 

"Hm. True. And don't talk with your mouth full or I'll squeeze the food out of you," Sanemi threatened, going back to his side of the table and plopping down.

Giyuu glared at him but finished chewing before responding. "What are you, my mom?"

"Yes, I'm your mom now. Manners!!" Sanemi shouted, picking up a piece of bread and chucking it at Giyuu.

"Hey- Parents don't do that- I think-" Giyuu whined, picking up the bread and putting it on the table. 

"You 'think'??" Sanemi asked incredulously, starting to eat.

"My sister raised me," Giyuu said with a shrug—then realized what he said and quickly stuffed food in his mouth, wishing he wasn't being so open suddenly. Something about Sanemi's atmosphere today just made him so comfortable, though. His teasing manner—and not in a rude way. Like... Sabito.

"Ah. Nice," Sanemi murmured, picking up a cup and filling it with tea. 

"Mm. Thanks for the food, again," Giyuu said, giving him a slight smile.

Sanemi raised his eyebrows at the smile, but said nothing of it, simply nodding. "Sure."

×××

Back at his own house, Sanemi was changed in his uniform again. He laid the clothes Giyuu had let him borrow down and- Oh shit, he had taken them home- He contemplated going back to Giyuu's house, then decided he'd rather not bother and headed outside to train.

His mind was filled with thoughts of Giyuu—Giyuu's smile, his house, just him in general—and he found it hard to concentrate on his training. So, only ten minutes after he'd started, he promptly gave up, deciding to do something else and set out on a walk. 

Over the next few days, Sanemi found himself mostly alone. Although there was the occasional nod from Obanai when they passed by each other, he was mostly solitary. Days were busier now, with demons multiplying each second. The past dull of life seemed to have faded recently, however, which made him not mind the constant missions. In honesty, he felt relieved. But he had a feeling Giyuu had something to do with his life feeling like life again, a fact which he preferred to ignore. There was no way in hell he would ever admit to anyone that he liked Giyuu, because it was Giyuu. If it were literally anyone else, he would've just told them. But Giyuu?? The 'I'm not like you' quiet-ass bastard who was way too cute than he should be allowed to be—who was a stupid, oblivious fuck??? Him??

Nah.

Honestly, Giyuu seemed to have it figured out though. So hopefully Sanemi wouldn't have to clarify. Because if he did, then they were better off not interacting at all. 

×××

"He likes you, it's obvious," Shinobu said, rolling her eyes. She taped the bandage around Giyuu's wrist and let go of his arm. "Anyway, I'm done. Don't force your arm past its limits, know your own strength, idiot. Or weaknesses, if you may."

Giyuu blinked. "I don't think he likes me. He said he didn't."

"Does Shinazugawa seem like the type to be honest when it comes to this?" Shinobu asked, raising an eyebrow. She stood, putting away her supplies. 

"He's annoyingly honest," Giyuu murmured, standing as well.

"Fair point. But! Keywords, 'when it comes to this.' He wouldn't just straight up say, 'Hey, I like you.' Doesn't sound like him," Shinobu said, picking up a pen and tapping Giyuu's nose with the tip of it. 

Giyuu batted the pen away, shaking his head. "No, he seems like the type to do that."

"Hm. Not with you, then," she said, grabbing his non-injured hand and forcing the pen into it. 

"I don't need this," Giyuu said, trying to give it back.

"You do. Sign this," Shinobu said, shoving a paper in his face.

Giyuu eyed it. "What is it?"

"You're overworking yourself. This gives you permission to have a break," she said impatiently. "Write your name there." 

"...No. I'm alright," he said, frowning. 

She sighed. "Worth a shot. I'll just forge your signature. Anyway, back to Shinazugawa."

"Hey-" Giyuu whined as she snatched the pen and paper back. 

A smile as sweet as a lemon spread across her face. "Yes?"

"...You're a pain, Kocho," he grumbled, sitting back down.

"That's all? Very well, let's go back to the topic of your boyfriend. Now, tell me, do you like him?" she asked, leaning closer to him.

Heat seemed to flicker into his cheeks and he fidgetted with his sleeve. "No..."

She laughed. "I'm not Uzui but I could hear your lie from miles away."

"I'm not lying..."

"Okay, well, tell me this. Since all of this"—she waved her hand over him, as if it would explain anything—"has happened, you've been, one, talking more, two, a lot more expressive, three, more distracted. And... four? You're blushing. When I asked you, you turned red."

"I did not!" Giyuu said indignantly, although he was sure he only turned redder.

"You're annoying. You're like a child," she said, exasperated. "Fine. Be it your way. But he does like you, mark my words. So if you two end up dating, I get to say 'I told you so.' Also, I better be the first person you tell."

Giyuu frowned. "We won't date. I don't like him, and I'm sure he doesn't like me."

"Suit yourself." She hit his head with a ruler that she'd apparently conjured out of nowhere. "Now get out. I have more important things to deal with."

Giyuu sighed and stood, quickly leaving before she decided to bother him again.

There was no way what she was saying was true. Why the hell would Giyuu fall for... Sanemi?! And vice versa. It just didn't make sense...

×××

"You're going to be the death of me," Sanemi said, sighing. Giyuu was currently on his back, clinging on for dear life, as Sanemi stalked to the ravenette's room. 

Sanemi had finally decided to bring back Giyuu's clothes—once he'd worked up the courage to willingly visit him—only to find Giyuu collapsed on the ground having apparently been training for some hours and hadn't been hydrated enough. 

"I'm sorryyy," Giyuu mumbled into Sanemi's shoulder.

"Save your apologies for Kocho, you better hope she doesn't barricade you in your room," he said, rolling his eyes. He kicked down Giyuu's bedroom door and marched inside, dropping the Hashira on his bed. "Sleep."

"I'm convinced you're trying to mother me," Giyuu said, a hand drapping over his forehead and obscuring his eyes. "First you cook me food and now you make me sleep."

Sanemi scoffed. "Your fault for being so incompetent. And I'm not your mother. What, do you want me to be? Want me to kiss you goodnight?"

Giyuu raised his arm to look at Sanemi. "Would you do it?"

His eyes were curious, a striking blue. Usually they seemed to hold no life in them, no emotion, no passion, no nothing. But there was a glint to it now, seeming to light up Giyuu's face like a beacon. 

Sanemi swallowed. "Would you ask?"

Giyuu's lips curved in a small smile. "Touché."

Sanemi sighed, shaking his head—more at himself. "You're stupid." 

"I'll sleep now," Giyuu informed him, pulling the sheets over himself. 

"You better. I'm staying here 'till you sleep."

"What?! You creep," he whined. 

"Either that or I tell Kocho," Sanemi said, set on his decision.

"...Fine, stalk me all you want," Giyuu said, frowning and closing his eyes.

Sanemi smiled to himself, leaning against the wall and waiting.

The room drew to a quiet hum, the only sound being the two Hashira's breathing.  After a while, Giyuu's breath finally calmed into a slow, settled sleep, his face relaxed and soothed.

Sanemi stepped towards the bed quietly, hovering over him. He knelt beside Giyuu and, once he decided that he really was asleep, started to step away. Then he paused, his eyes trailing to Giyuu's lips. 

He immediately struck down the idea, mentally berating himself for even thinking it. He parted the dark locks resting on Giyuu's forehead, placing a gentle kiss there before quickly fixing the Hashira's hair and retreating from the room, making his way outside. 

The cool air hit his face as he stepped out, but he barely noticed it, heat flickering in his cheeks as he walked out of the clearing and into the path that would lead him back. God, why was he such a mess...

(i loved writing that sm)

×××

Giyuu was a light sleeper. 

Anyone in the Demon Slayer Corps had to be, or they wouldn't even pass Final Selection. So, of course, he had awoken. Though he had been too sleepy to comprehend why he had woken up so randomly, and so quickly, at the time, he quickly realized it once Sanemi had left.

Now he lay, curled up in a ball, his face buried in his palms, mentally screaming. Because.. what the hell had just happened?! But... he wasn't complaining.

Wait- Why not-

He pulled the blanket over his head, engolfing himself in the darkness. No, this wasn't better. It only made his face hotter. He sat up, the cool air bursting upon him. He fanned himself, trying to calm his heartbeat. 

Fuck, he was in love, wasn't he. He was in love, he was in love with Sanemi Shinazugawa. He was a fucking mess.

×××

"...You look like Tomioka just kissed you," Obanai said, crossing his arms and leaning back against a tree.

Sanemi had found him, after a while, and was trying to get his thoughts together, pacing up and down on the side of the path. "He didn't! I did!"

"Wait what-" Obanai said, standing up straight and leaning towards him. "What do you mean?!"

Sanemi let out a half-sigh, half scream, raking his hand through his hair. "Not... Not fully, just on his forehead. And he was asleep. BUT STILL!!"

Obanai slumped back against the tree, rolling his eyes. "Coward," he coughed.

"Oh, shut the fuck up. It's not like you have kissed Kanroji yet," Sanemi spat, stopping in front of Obanai.

"Yeah, well, unlike you, I have still been way more successful!!" he retorted. "All you have done is eat breakfast with him!! Meanwhile, I've eaten lunch and breakfast with her many days, gone on walks with her, bought her gifts, hugged her..."

Sanemi rolled his eyes. "Yet you haven't told her that you like her."

"Hey! You haven't told Tomioka either!!" Obanai pointed out. 

"Righhttt, and who, exactly, has liked their crush for longer?? Hmm? Oh, right! You!" Sanemi laughed. "Your arguments are pitiful."

"You're freaking out about kissing Tomioka on the fucking forehead when he was asleep, don't call me pitiful," Obanai grumbled.

"Hm. Fair enough," Sanemi decided. 

"Look, take Tomioka out on a walk or something equivalent to a date, for all I care. But if you keep ranting about how you kissed him on the forehead without him knowing then I'm going to find Tomioka and tell him how you feel. I don't give a fuck anymore," Obanai told him, moving away from the tree and walking back onto the path.

Sanemi turned towards him. "Consider it the same for you. I don't know how long I can stand hearing you talk about Kanroji. 'Oh my god! Kanroji told me we can eat lunch together, just like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before, and the day before, and the day bef-'"

"I GET IT!!!" Obanai snapped, rubbing his temples. "Fine. You stop, I stop."

"Deal."

Sanemi grinned. "Have fun eating lunch with her again. Or, rather, watching her eat lunch."

Obanai pushed him. "Fuck off." 

×××

Sanemi had kissed him. He'd kissed him, he had kissed him, oh my god, Sanemi had-

Well. It could've just been to the joke from before. About 'kissing him goodnight.' BUT STILL. AND GIYUU HAD BEEN ASLEEP(ish).

Which made it all the more... Confusing. Maybe Sanemi saw him only as a sibling or a child or something. He did keep taking care of him, which didn't even seem coincidental anymore. As if, assuming one could believe in fate, they were being purposefully brought together. Constantly in each other's ways. ...Not that Giyuu minded.

In fact, he liked spending more time with Sanemi.

The fact of which was a huge shock to himself. Hadn't he just hated Sanemi?

Well. Things always changed, no...?

Maybe this change wouldn't be bad, though. Maybe he should try embracing it.

Giyuu found himself constantly distracted by these thoughts as he went on with his days. But, surprisingly, he didn't come across Sanemi for a while. Either Sanemi was avoiding him—which was reasonable, yet disappointing—or their schedules just kept them apart from each other. Whatever the reason was, Giyuu ended up going in search of Sanemi, wanting to clarify the ki...

No, he wouldn't say it. Wouldn't think it. He preferred not to feel as if he would have a heart attack—an abnormal heartbeat and flushed face...

He sighed, mussing up his hair so it covered his face, continuing to walk briskly down the path. He avoided some Demon Slayers who had seemingly popped out of nowhere and were attempting to talk to them, mentally berating himself for not being careful and getting unwanted attention. Just as he was about to give up and let them talk to him, he noticed Sanemi somewhere in the close distance.

He sped up, ignoring the calls of the other Demon Slayers who trotted behind him.

Sanemi looked up upon all the noise and seemed to be holding back laughter at the sight of Giyuu's pleading gaze. He cleared his throat, grabbing Giyuu's arm and pushing him behind him. 

"The hell do you want?" he asked the others, glaring at them.

They all shrank back. One of them spoke up timidly, his voice shaky. "W... We just wanted to talk to Water-Pillar-sama..." 

"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. See, I need him somewhere. You all can go now," Sanemi said, waving them off.

"But-" 

"I said I need him. You said you wanted something from him. Need is more important than want, fuckers. If you don't leave now, maybe we can see how well you can weild your katanas against a Hashira," Sanemi said, a hand hovering over his katana handle.

"Shinazugawa, there's no need to-" Giyuu started.

Sanemi shushed him, turning back to the Demon Slayers. "So? What will it be?"

They seemed to hesitate for a second before deciding it wasn't worth it and collectively agreed to leave, scampering away.

Sanemi turned back to Giyuu, a smirk growing on his face. "Got people falling on themselves for you now, hm?" he teased. 

Giyuu sighed. "Will I have to find someone else to shoo you away?" he asked.

"I was joking- The hell did they even want from you, though?" Sanemi said, crossing his arms.

"I don't know," Giyuu murmured. 

"Right." An awkward silence spread between the two and they stared at the ground, unsure what to say.

"Uh. Now that you're free, guess I'll be taking my leave-" Sanemi said, appearing to want to dash away. His cheeks were dabbed in a dusty pink as he stepped back.

"Wait- Shinazugawa, I wanted to ask you something," Giyuu said, grabbing Sanemi's wrist as he remembered why he had been outside in the first place.

"Which is?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Giyuu paused, glancing down at his hand which was still clasped around the scarred wrist of the other Hashira. Sanemi's pulse was fast. Why?

"Uhm. A few days ago... when you told me to sleep," Giyuu started quietly, unsure how to go about it. Then, deciding that there was no use stalling, he blurted out, "Why did you kiss me?"

Sanemi stared at him, in shock apparently, then let out what sounded like a muted scream, burying his face in the hand Giyuu wasn't holding. "God, you were awake...?" he mumbled, sounding as if he was regretting everything. Which he probably was doing.

"I... woke up when you did that," Giyuu murmured. 

"...Of course you did," Sanemi said.

Giyuu cocked his head to the side. "Can I ask you something, Shinazugawa?"

"What now...?" he said with a sigh, running his hand through his hair—or, more, tearing at his hair.

"Why is your heartbeat so fast?" Giyuu asked.

Sanemi looked up, glaring at him. "Stop asking questions I'd rather tear my chest out than answer," he grumbled.

Giyuu raised an eyebrow. "What-?"

"Nevermind."

"Okay..." Giyuu let go of his wrist. "Will you answer the questions?"

Sanemi hesitated. "What happens if I don't?"

"I'll... ask Genya for help?..." Giyuu said slowly, knowing it would irritate Sanemi—and hopefully convince him to speak.

Sanemi's eyes narrowed. "Fuck, fine." He let out an exaggerated sigh, then without warning reached up and clasped his hands on either side of Giyuu's face, pulling him closer.

Giyuu's eyes widened and he felt himself flush at the proximity, his stomach deciding to do some acrobatic trick of Mitsuri's, followed by what appeared to be a bunch of Shinobu's fluttering around.

"Shinazugawa...?" he mumbled, his voice muted from his own shock.

×××

Do it. DO IT.

Sanemi let out a breath, his eyes searching Giyuu's. He found no sign of resistance, only question and surprise. 

"Listen. If you hate this, just push me away. I won't resist," Sanemi advised, his tone as serious as he could force it to be with his heart flying circles in his ribcage, as if trying to break free. 

"Do wh-"

Before Giyuu could finish, Sanemi fit his mouth against the Water user's, one hand tangling in the dark locks of Giyuu's hair, the other slipping down to his waist. He paused when he got no response, and started to move away, but then arms wrapped around his body, pulling him closer and back into the kiss.

They stumbled through the embrace, their legs tangling with one anothers. He didn't know who finally pulled away, but when they did, the two stood there, Giyuu resting his head on Sanemi's shoulder, their breaths harsh and quick—not solely from the kiss.

Then, as if just realizing what they'd done, they scrambled away from each other, looking like embarrassed puppies.

Giyuu was the first to speak, his voice meek—not that Sanemi could blame him. "Do you... like me?" he mumbled.

Sanemi frowned. "I thought I told you to stop asking me questions like that."

"Like what?"

"Questions that I'd commit seppuku before answering," he said, crossing his arms. 

"...Sorry," Giyuu said, pouting.

"You better be. Also, the answer should be fucking obvious. If it's not, then you're stupid." Sanemi rolled his eyes, stalking towards him and grabbing Giyuu's arm. "We're going somewhere private now. C'mon."

Giyuu nodded quickly, following him. "I'm not stupid," he muttered, more to himself

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

×××

Since then, Giyuu and Sanemi avoided each other. Mostly from embarrassment and neither wanting to bring up the topic again. After they had left the public eye, they had made out for a bit, being too shy—which was definitely not a word that would usually describe either of them—to talk about anything. It had been exactly a week, two days, four hours, and thirty one minutes since they had parted ways—yes, Giyuu had been counting.

But—finally—they had decided to meet again, talk about it more formally. Rather, Sanemi had invited Giyuu to lunch and Giyuu had agreed. He stood, waiting, in front of a restaurant. Apparently Sanemi had reserved a table but had forgotten to tell Giyuu, so now he was awkwardly hovering in front of the restaurant wishing Sanemi would hurry the fuck up. 

After a few agonizing minutes of waiting, Sanemi appeared at last, looking out of breath. His hair looked oddly neat and well kept—unlike usual—and he had a smell of flowers wafting around him. 

"Hey," he said, nodding to Giyuu. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. Iguro wanted me to help him with something then Kanroji came by, carrying like fifty bottles of perfume and wanted to test them out on me..." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

A smile crept up Giyuu's lips. "So that's why you smell as what I'd imagine a bee would during the summer?"

"Shut the fuck up," Sanemi said, opening the restaurant door and tugging Giyuu inside.

After they had found their table and ordered some food and settled down, Sanemi rested his arms on the table, clasping his hands together and turned to Giyuu. "So!" he said, as if trying to say something he most definitely did not want to say.

"Hm?"

"...I hate how little you talk," Sanemi grumbled. "You only ever talk to ask the most embarrassing shit ever."

"...sorry??"

Sanemi laughed, sounding uncharacteristically nervous. "Yeah, no, nevermind. Let's just wait for the food."

Giyuu nodded, his heart beating faster than a humming bird's wings. 

They waited in silence, conspicuously avoiding each others eyes.

When the food finally arrived, they took the opportunity to busy themselves with eating, pretending like they both had things they wanted to discuss but couldn't bring it up. Halfway through the meal, Giyuu gave up and said, abruptly, "Are we dating?"

Sanemi all but choked on his food, grasping for a cup of water. Giyuu hurried to help him, panicking.

After he had calmed down, Sanemi said, "I'm convinced you're trying to kill me, Tomioka."

Giyuu apologized again. "I didn't mean for that to happen..."

"I know. I was joking. Seriously, you really are stupid," Sanemi deadpanned.

"I'm not!" Giyuu whined.

"See, that was also a joke. Okay, maybe it wasn't. Also you sound like a child. But, uhm, back to the topic," Sanemi said, his tone switching completely.

They lapsed back into silence, staring at each other awkwardly.

"...are we, then...?" Giyuu mumbled, unsure what to make of the atmosphere.

"Uhm." Sanemi coughed, trying to think of a response. "Do you want to?"

Giyuu frowned. "Yes... Do you?"

Sanemi pushed a bowl of salmon daikon towards Giyuu, folding his hands on the table. "Then we're dating."

"What? But you never said if you-"

"I literally did, just not directly. But if you need me to spell it out to you then, yes. I do. And since you do too, apparently, then we're dating," Sanemi told him. 

"...okay!" Giyuu said happily, taking the bowl with a small smile.

"Mm. How is your smile so small yet it lights up your whole face..." Sanemi said, resting his elbow on the table and head in his hand, laughing gently.

"I'm smiling? Sorry," Giyuu said, his lips quickly curving to its usual neutral state.

"Why sorry? Your smile isn't terrifying," Sanemi said, frowning. 

"Kocho said it's weird," Giyuu mumbled. 

"Well fuck her, then! It's not weird, it's... cute." 

He flushed. "It's not cute!"

"Says you." A playful smirk rising upon Sanemi's face. "Anyways, hurry up and eat. I don't feel like waiting forever."

"Aren't you going to eat?-" Giyuu asked, looking up from his bowl.

"I finished."

"...oh."

××× (it's js sillyness from here on out)

Sanemi and Giyuu had come to a mutual agreement to not tell anyone of their relationship, or mostly keep it private. Both for the reasons of disliking gossip. From Tengen and Shinobu in specific. They were 99% sure that, if by any way, their relationship would become public knowledge, Tengen and Shinobu would have fun making up theories and teasing them day and night.

So, despite everyone somehow knowing that Sanemi liked Giyuu, the only people that knew of their relationship becoming real were Obanai and... Obanai. Just him. 

Sanemi had said that they could tell their closest friends—as long as they swore not to say anything. Giyuu said, quite exactly, "I don't have friends."

Which... lead to Sanemi having to comfort him. 

But all was said and all was done and the two found ways to meet in private between missions and training, managing to keep their relationship a secret for a surprisingly long amount of time. Of course, nothing ever lasts, and the Hashira eventually caught on. 

Sanemi was a lot better at hiding it, just snapping at Giyuu all the time like usual—which he assured Giyuu that whatever he said wasn't what he truly meant, until they were alone. But Giyuu, on the other hand... Well, Sanemi assumed that he'd be alright at acting given that his face was always so irritatingly impassive. He'd assumed wrong, however, and eventually found that out.

In his attempt to fulfill Sanemi's wishes to not get the word spread out—and Giyuu was dreading the time when Shinobu would find out—Giyuu kept up the act for a good couple weeks. But, since Sanemi would act a lot more affectionate with him, he was less and less used to the previously usual aggression shown to him by his boyfriend (in public) as the days past.

Needless to say, Giyuu was the reason they were exposed. Which unfortunately happened in front of the whole Hashira—right before one of their biannual meetings with Kagaya.

×××

Giyuu had entered the garden a few minutes after Sanemi, on the opposite side, not wanting to cause suspicion. He stood by a tree quietly as the other Hashira trickled in.

Mitsuri bounded up to him, talking about something he wasn't necessarily listening to, his gaze set on Sanemi who was trying to obscure Obanai's eyes from seeing that Mitsuri was talking to another man. 

Supposedly noticing the gaze, Sanemi looked up and glared at Giyuu, raising an eyebrow as if to tell him to snap out of it.

Shinobu noticed this. 

"Ara ara, are you two fighting again? I'm surprised you haven't shouted at him yet, Shinazugawa," Shinobu commented, a sly smile forming upon her lips.

Sanemi rolled his eyes. "Shut the fuck up, Kocho."

"No need to be so harsh," Shinobu tutted, crossing her arms and shaking her head disapprovingly.

Gyomei agreed. "And please refrain from swearing."

Mitsuri had stopped talking, looking from one Hashira to the other.

Tengen laughed. "Well, there's been a lot less tension between Tomioka and the dog," he remarked, grinning at Sanemi.

"WHAT DOG?!?!" Sanemi shouted, stalking over to Tengen.

Obanai rolled his eyes. "Stop shouting."

Giyuu stood watching everything and wondering if he should speak given that he seemed to be apart of this argument. "What dog?"

Sanemi pointed at Giyuu, though he faced Tengen. "SEE?? THERE IS NO FUCKING DOG."

Gyomei frowned. "Do not shout, you will disturb the Master."

Sanemi let out a breath. "Fine."

Giyuu walked over to where Sanemi and Tengen stood. "Is Shinazugawa the dog?" he asked quietly.

Sanemi let out a gritted scream, looking ready to explode. Tengen looked equally like a timed bomb at its last second, although for completely different reasons.

"I'MNOTADOG!!!" Sanemi screeched, grabbing Giyuu by the shoulders and shaking him.

Giyuu ducked down, stepping away from Sanemi. "Okay."

Gyomei let out the longest sigh in history as Shinobu supressed a laugh.

"My, my, you're talking a lot today, Tomioka-San!" she said, looking up at him.

"Oh."

Sanemi rolled his eyes. "Well he should stop talking, he sounds like Uzui when his wives get a paper scratch," he said, crossing his arms. 

"Is that supposed to be an insult?!" Tengen gasped, looking mildly offended.

"You're the one panicking when they so much as cough!!! You're all 'OH NO ARE YOU OKAY?! Nooo, KOCHO HELP ME!! DON'T DIE ON ME, PLEASE DON'T DIE ON ME—'" Sanemi said, pitching his voice higher. 

Giyuu frowned. "I don't sound like that," he and Tengen said in unison—although Tengen with a considerably larger amount of theatrical flair.

"Oh yes you do! And I mean both of you!" Sanemi said, placing his hands on his hips.

Gyomei shook his head and went to go stand next to Muichiro who was staring at a beetle in his hand.

"...I do?" Giyuu whined.

Tengen seemed to have gotten over it quite quickly and was completely unfazed now.

"And worse!" Sanemi said, a mocking smile curving his lips.

Giyuu bit his lip, looking down.

Obanai sighed. 

"The fuck are you looking at??" Sanemi asked, raising an eyebrow at Giyuu who wouldn't meet his eyes.

Tengen's mouth curved into an 'o' and he backed away quickly, whispering loudly to Kyojuro, "Shinazugawa just made Tomioka cry-"

"He cries??" Kyojuro whispered back, seeming to think they were actually being quiet.

Tengen shrugged and leaned against a tree, watching.

"...Why are you crying-" Sanemi said, fighting the concern that rose in himself. "You a baby???"

Giyuu looked up at him, pouting, unwilling to respond.

"Ara ara, looks like you shouldn't have said that about his voice! I would be offended as well if you compared my voice to Uzui's," Shinobu said, shooting a mischevious look at Tengen who appeared wounded.

Sanemi frowned. "It wasn't even that bad of an insult," he scoffed, trying with all his might to make Giyuu act fine without saying anything. 

Giyuu sniffed loudly, ignoring Sanemi. He promptly turned away, stomping to the back of the garden and crossing his arms, acting as if he was waiting for Kagaya.

"Oooohhh-" Tengen said, a tone of amusement entering his voice. "I didn't know Tomioka could be so petty."

Shinobu raised an eyebrow. "Neither that he could be so affected by what Shinazugawa said."

Sanemi, fed up, sighed and stalked towards Giyuu, pulling him into a hug. "Giyuu, I didn't mean shit, I like your voice, okay??" he murmured, placing a kiss on Giyuu's nose. "Don't ignore me."

Giyuu seemed to brighten up instantly—which made Sanemi irritated because it had probably been an act then—and nodded. "Okay!"

"...ARE YOU TWO FINALLY DATING-" Kyojuro said, much too loudly.

"I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO!!!" Shinobu shouted triumphantly.

Obanai shook his head with a sigh. "Well it was going to get out sooner or later."

Sanemi shot a glare at them. "Oh, fuck off."

Giyuu rested his head on Sanemi's shoulder, a small smile playing on his face.

×××

"I thought we agreed to keep it a secret..." Sanemi whined, as he and Giyuu were on their way back home.

"I'm sorrryyy," Giyuu said, pouting. 

"Mmmhmm, well, I'm not giving you cuddles for three weeks now!" Sanemi told him, quickening his pace.

"WHAT?? NO-" Giyuu shouted, chasing after him.

Sanemi laughed, turning and abruptly stopping Giyuu, placing a kiss on his cheek. "I told you to work on differentiating a joke from a serious comment, Giyuu."

"...Well I'm trying!" Giyuu insisted, huffing. "...you're not going to take away my cuddles, are you?"

"No. That would be taking away my own, anyways. But! I'm still not letting you off. Which means I'm not making you salmon daikon for the rest of the week," Sanemi said, dragging Giyuu down the road.

"Awh..." Giyuu whined, trotting after Sanemi.

"Be glad it's Friday."

××× (this last part is completely random and has nothing to do with anything but I js wanted to write this)

Sanemi pushed Giyuu down, pinning him to the floor. He fit his lips to Giyuu's, closing his eyes. Legs wrapped around his waist as Giyuu clung onto him and Sanemi tangled his hand in the tangled mess of his boyfriend's hair, pulling him deeper into the kiss. 

"Sa...nemi," Giyuu breathed between kisses, his face dusted in pink. 

Sanemi pulled back, letting him breathe. "Yes?" he murmured, resting his lips upon Giyuu's forehead in a gentle kiss.

"I love you," Giyuu said quietly, his arms tightening their embrace around Sanemi's torso.

Sanemi smiled. "I love you most," he said, pulling Giyuu back into a kiss.

"Tha's... not fair...!" Giyuu whined, trying to avoid the kisses.

"Mhmm, I'm not fair at all then?" Sanemi said, peppering Giyuu's jaw with kisses.

"Nooo..."

Sanemi laughed. "Do you not love me, then?"

"I love you!" Giyuu insisted, turning back and catching a kiss on his bottom lip. 

"Love you too, darling."

×××

 « Word count: 11,420 »

ELEVEN THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY WORDS OF PURE FUCKING FLUFF. 

anyways back to writing angst ;v;

will y'all forgive me for getting lazy and making it rushed because it took me over a month to actually finish this (loss of motivation+procrastination+rereading+editing+long asf+stalling)?

#kny #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #fluff #hashira #sanemi x giyuu #sanegiyuu #kny fanfic #oneshot #ds #sillies #gay #gays #lgbtq #sanemi shinazugawa #giyuu tomioka #giyuusane #floof #fluff fanfic #sorta requested #real #giyuu #sanemi #giyuu x sanemi #long ass post #rushed #kny fanfiction #fanfiction #water hashira #wind hashira

[thetopichot]

•°♧ Late Night Phone Call P. 1 ♧°•

A little idea that I had last night that I wanted to write about. In this silly little group of headcanons about our beloved Yuuriboys, you have trouble sleeping & the boys offer some help with a nice phone call to help you sleep.

•°◇ Alphonse ◇°•

Al was working a little late tonight at his shop. One of his candy shelves fucking broke & like a shit-load of candy in the jars broke. Now, he's gonna have to spend all fucking night cleaning this up. He sent a text to you saying:

sorry boo

gonna be late coming home

my goddamn shelves broke on me as I was fucking leaving

You didn't mind that he sometimes came home late since he always lets you know why he's late. He doesn't want you worrying so much about him. So, you got ready for bed as usual without him. However, for some reason, you had trouble getting yourself to fall asleep. Was the bed always this freezing cold?

Normally, you would be able to fall asleep without him, but ever since you guys recently moved in together, you kinda had a harder time sleeping whenever he's not with you. So, you decided to check up on Alphonse to help soothe your worry.

Hey babe?

yeah boo? u alright?

Yea, I'm okay. I just miss you right now.

aww ya miss me?

Of course, I do. You ding dong. 🙄

jeez you're so mean to me 😔

but I love you too boo 🫶

You smiled at the text, but it didn't really soothe you completely. You wanted more than that. You wanted to hear his voice.

Do you wanna get on a call?

I'm bored and I can't sleep.

sure boo

Alphonse is calling...

"Hey, boo." You hear Alphonse's tired voice from your phone. You frowned slightly.

"Are you okay, Al?" You asked him.

"Not gonna lie to ya, boo. I feel like ass right now." You hear the sound of shattered glass being moved by a broom. "I just wanna go the fuck home but this glass is a hazard & I don't wanna get sued because of this shit."

"How did that happen, bae?"

"I don't fucking know." He huffed with both frustration & confusion. "As I was gonna close up shop for the night, I heard this loud ass crash from the back. Then, BAM!" He clapped to mimic the sound of the falling shelves. "Then, I was like, 'The fuck was that?' & guess what the fuck I see?" You hummed in response. "The fucking shelves fell off & I'm here cleaning this shit up." He sighed.

Then the call got quiet. "Hey, boo?" No response coming from you. "Boo?" You hummed. Alphonse chuckled. "You finally getting sleepy, boo?"

"Hmm-hm." He couldn't see your smile, but he felt it. "I like your voice. It makes me feel..", you paused as you tried to fight back your sleep, "..safe."

"Really?" Alphonse felt flattered by that statement. He started grinning like a goober as his face flushed a little. "I'm glad to hear that. Maybe I should rant more often."

"That would be nice.." You yawned. "You got another.. rant?"

"You know I do, boo, you know I do."

•°♤ Auron ♤°•

Auron was working late tonight due to the abundance of paperwork. Celebrities did stupid things & did reckless shit. Now he's sitting in his office, trying to tie all of the loose ends created by them. Of course, he's pissed as fuck about it & he's quite close to bang his head on his desk. However, he must show restraint & poise.

He felt bad. You were waiting for him at his penthouse & he would very much rather cuddle with you in bed than to be stuck at his desk. Earlier, you wanted to have a nice movie night with him, but before you were going to prepare some coffee for him, he sent you a text.

I'm sorry, darling. I don't think I'm going to be able to join you in our little movie night.

You frowned as you started to text him back.

Why? What happened?

Just some unfinished paperwork caused by celebrities who know nothing about decency.

I will be here for quite some time, dearest.

But in the meantime, you should head to bed. I don't want to catch you sleeping at your desk, understood?

Sir, yes, sir! 🫡

He smiled softly at the message as he placed his phone down on his desk. However, it was going to be a long night for the both of you. You began your bedtime ritual without Auron & got as snug as a bug in a rug but for some strange reason, you couldn't fall asleep. The bed felt more... emptier & colder than usual. Yeah, sure, there were nights that he would come home late, but this night made you long for him more than normal.

You felt nervous about texting him. You didn't want to come off as too needy, but he did say that you could come to him if you needed anything. You decided to push down those thoughts & just text him.

Hey, hun?

Yes?

Would it be alright if we got on a call?

Of course, Rook.

Auron is calling...

"Good evening." Auron's voice spoke. "Shouldn't you be sleeping by now? It's not like you to be up this late, my dear."

"I should be asking the same thing." Auron chuckled.

"To be fair, I've already told you why," Auron sighed, "However, I could go into further detail if you like." You hummed a 'Yes'. You hear Auron adjusting himself as he prepares to rant. "Well, our most recent celebrity was caught in a controversy with the others. Being quite abrasive towards fans & collaborators. Now, I'm here trying to help sort everything out since this all came last fucking minute." He groans. "I'm trying to at least organize everything now, so it won't be such a pain the ass at work tomorrow."

Auron paused as he heard a light snore from his phone. "Rook?" No answer. "Rookie?"

"Hmm?" You answered sleepily. Auron laughed.

"Am I boring you to sleep, dearest?"

"No. It's just... your voice is really soothing." You admitted. You couldn't see it, but Auron's face flushed slightly. He was giddy inside, but he was trying to hide it.

"Oh, really? You enjoy the sound of my voice?" His voice got softer. "I might as well talk to you to sleep."

"Yes, please." You felt Auron's unseen smile.

"Very well, then. What should I discuss?"

•°♧ Big Red/Lucien ♧°•

You were visiting family for the holidays & you told Lucien to babysit your home for the weekend. As much as you loved your man, bringing a big demon boyfriend would raise a shit load of questions & neither of you are feeling up to answering all of them. Lucien is also learning how to use a phone since, in Hell, they don't really have phones & he has big ass hands which makes it harder for typing.

did u male it tg your parenys house yet?

Yeah, I did. Is there something you need, baby?

i wass just woreied about you angel

Aw, don't worry. I'm fine.

Are you doing alright without me?

yeah i jist moss you so much :(

I miss you, too. ❤️

Shit, wait. I gotta go. I'll see you later, babe.

stat safe angel

"What are you smiling about?" Your cousin asked while grinning devilishly. "Is it your boyfriend?"

You rolled your eyes. "Yes but, that's none of your business."

"Are we gonna meet him one day?" They asked. You looked nervous but, you still remained calm.

"He's super busy all of the time but, maybe one day." They smiled at the answer. Thank god. Your cousin, well at least this one, doesn't really ask as many questions. If it was your other cousins or any of your other family members, you would be genuinely fucked. Your parents prepared a room for you since you didn't like sharing rooms with your family & you enjoy your personal space. You unpacked your luggage & started make your temporary room more to your liking.

You went straight to bed after a long night with your family at dinner. You didn't really have the energy to do jack-shit so, you just flopped onto the bed & curled into a ball. However, you felt.. uncomfortable & goddamn this bed was so fucking cold. You got up from your bed to check if there was a heater anywhere.

There was! You turned it on &..! Uh.. it's warm I guess? It didn't really feel warm. Eh, maybe you should give it time to heat up & maybe the room will be finally warm. Well guess what my friend? It's been nearly 30 minutes & you've been staring at the ceiling in a cold ass room. You're genuinely pissed off.

You turned over to your side to look at the empty spot next to you. You missed him. You missed him so much but for his safety, you don't want anything terrible happening to him. Your thoughts were soon interrupted by your phone ringing.

Big Red is calling...

"Angel?" You heard his voice & the sound of something sizzling.

"Yeah, babe? You didn't burn down our house, did ya?" You raised your eyebrow.

"Oh, no no no. Everything is fine! Surprisingly. I'm starting to believe you have no trust in me, love." He laughed. "Oh, shit! Hells!" He hissed in pain.

You looked at your phone concerned. "You alright, babe?"

"Hmm. I'm fine. I just burned myself trying to flip my omelet with my hand." You stared at your phone like 'The fuck?' & you starting laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You." You smiled tiredly. "I'm glad that you called me. Speaking of which..., why did you call me?"

"Oh, I just wanted to check up on you. I kinda had a small feeling that you would be still awake. Ooh, Saffron!"

"A feeling?" You tilted your head.

"Well, you do really like my warmth. I assumed you would hard time sleeping without me." You tried so hard not to smile. You hated how much he was right. "I take that silence as a yes."

"No."

"You sure?"

"Fine. Yes, I am having hard time sleeping without you." You admitted & you huffed sadly. "I miss you, Bigs."

A short silence followed after. "You know, there's something I can do that can help you fall asleep."

"Yeah, what's that?" You asked.

"I've been watching those cooking asmrs that you like so much & I feel so mesmerized by it. It's like being put under a spell." He did jazz hands behind the phone. "I'm also cooking right now so, I was thinking it would be the perfect opportunity!"

"That sounds nice.." You heard Lucien opening the fridge & the sound of a bag crinkling.

"Now, should I throw in some bacon bits?"

•°♡ Charlie ♡°•

Charlie had to head home after a long night with you & you both had work tomorrow so, you both had to wrap up your little smooching session for the night. You both hated saying good-bye but, there was always something you both did that helped eased this pain. The magical thing called texting. God bless technology in this scenario, am I right?

Are you home yet?

almost casper

i left 5 minutes ago n' you already miss me?

Well, yeah. Is that a problem? 🤨

no no

i dont mind cas i think its just sweet

cause i miss you too 💛

I'm glad that we feel the same.

And love?

yea?

You are watching where you're going, right?

yea im fine y?

Good. Cause I don't want you to get hit by a car.

Because last time, you didn't watch where you were going and I had to save your ass from getting run over.

So, please don't almost die.

Again.

i would say no promises

but for you cas? i promise

I love you, Charlie.

i love you even more casper

You smiled at his last text. Jeez, you loved that boy very much & he loved you very much in return. You guys are practically inseparable ever since you both found eachother years later. The reason you both hated saying good-bye was because of the "What if?" questions. They would both plague your minds whenever you were apart.

What if something really bad happened to Charlie? What if you guys never spoke to eachother again? What if? 'Fuck that shit.' You thought as you laid in bed. 'Charlie is fine. I just texted him so, I know he's fine.' You tossed to the side. 'Everything is okay.' You closed your eyes & that was it for night.

...

Was it though? You're wide awake so, yeah that was not it for the night. The bed was uncomfortable as shit without Charlie but, you felt like you had to suck it up. You didn't want to come off as too needy & clingy. You hated that. What if that scares him off?

Then, the goddamn 'What If?' questions plagued your mind again. 'This fucking sucks.' You laid there. 'I wish he was here. If he was here maybe this shit would stop.' Ding! A notification from your phone. It would be wise to pick that up, ya know?

It was like if he heard your thoughts. It was a text from Charlie.

hey cas?

u still up?

Yeah, I am. What's up?

o nothin its just

i cant sleep

Me, neither. Lol.

wait y?

i thought u b sleepin by now

dont u have work tmr?

I should be asking you the same thing.

yea ur right

but u get up earlier than i do

I know.

I just fucking miss you, rn.

And I just feel..

So goddamn lonely.

I'm sorry.

There was a long pause after that message you've sent. Shit. You scared him off, didn't you? That was what you thought until.. Ding!

u don't have to b sorry cas

i miss u a lot too

how about this

we can get on a call

if ya want 2

I'd love to.

Charlie is calling...

"Cas?" It was Charlie.

"Yes, Chuckie?" Your voice sounded relieved but at the same time, tired out. Hearing Charlie's voice made you feel so much better.

"Are you doing okay?" He sounded concerned. "I saw the messages. Of course, I fucking did. Damn it, Charlie. Anyway, that don't matter. I just wanted to call you to help ya maybe?"

"I'm just-" You sighed. "I'm sorry." You placed your phone back down your drawer.

"That's the thing, Cas. Whatcha' sorry for? You didn't do anything wrong. Well, I hope ya didn't."

"I'm sorry for being so damn clingy. I was just worried that I scared you off or some shit." Charlie was taken aback by this.

"But you haven't been clingy? Like at all actually." Charlie paused to think for a moment. "Wait? Are you talking about earlier when you said ya missed after I left?"

"Yes." He heard the hurt in your voice.

"Casper." He said in a serious tone. "You checking up on me is not being clingy! It's very sweet of you that think about me & care about me. I care about you a lot too, Cas."

"So, I'm not being too much?" You asked.

"No. No, ya not." Charlie reassured. "If you were being too much, I would've let ya know. It's the whole point of boundaries! You set boundaries & I set boundaries but that don't mean that you're bad. It means that you're uncomfortable or I'm uncomfortable & we can improve on it."

"Life is all about improving & many people in my life helped me learned that. You helped me learned that, Cas." He says reassuringly. "You're amazing. So, don't be a jackass to yourself."

"Thank you, Charlie." You smiled. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime, Cas."

Then a silence followed after but you broke the quiet barrier.

"Hey, Chuckie?"

"Yeah, Cas?"

"Would it be okay if you could stay on call with me? Until I fall asleep?"

"Of course, Casper. Anything for you."

☆ミ Author's Notes Underneath 👇 ☆ミ

🩷 - Whoop! Whoop! Part 1 is done. Originally, I was going to make like the whole thing in one go but this is like collection of one shots into one post. I wanted to get this out before 2024 but you know, I had other plans. So expect Part 2 to come out next year technically since it's not gonna come out until 2024.

I was also trying something new & creative with this so expect this to not be good because it's probably ass but if you like it, I guess I did good. I tried my best & I'm glad I did.

#the cat speaks #yuurivoice #alphonse yuurivoice #yuurivoice alphonse #auron yuurivoice #yuurivoice auron #yuurivoice big red #big red yuurivoice #yuurivoice lucien #lucien yuurivoice #charlie yuurivoice #yuurivoice charlie #fluff #writing #fanfiction #oneshot #one shot #long ass post #sleepy vibes #we love that

[m0ther-of-p3arl]

HEY HUMANS

ANYONE GOT ANY GOOD FIC RECS?!?!?? HELP IM LOST I NEED MY GAY LITTLE ROMANCES

I NEED THIGNS TO READ

edit:: i have gotten so many amazing fics shown to me on this post, in fact enough that this may now be considered a FIC REC POST :000

if you enjoy the ships please do reblog to save them to your own blog /nf and again thank you all so much for the recommedations!!! it's been a lot, but i'll never say no to a couple more...

#scarian #mumscarian #desert duo #ethubs #flower husbands #flower ranchers #it doesn't matter to me if it's on tumblr or ao3 #either works!! #and can be of any length #a oneshot or a long-ass novelly thing #PLEASEEEEE I JUST NEED THINGS TO READ THAT I AHVENT BEFORE #IM A SAD LITTLE BEAN HELPPP #felix and his rants #mean gills #read later #saved

[puhpandas]

Veering Off Course

(2,305 words)

Gregory and his family get a call that Vanessa, whos in a different state for college, has gotten hurt. Gregory calls Evan, and Evan is able to use the things he's learned about himself since meeting Gregory to help his friend with his emotions regarding the situation.

Its early in the morning on a Saturday when Evan gets the call. It woke him up, so all he does is blink groggily and swipe at the screen blindly while propped up on his elbow until his thumb hits 'answer' on his phone. "Hello?"

"Evan." It's Gregory, and the serious tone to just that single word clears up Evan's brain as fast as lightning. He scrambles to prop himself into sitting up and rubs at his eyes with one hand.

"Gregory?" Evan asks, looking at the little icon he set for Gregory's contact of a picture of Evan and him at an amusement park. "Is everything okay?"

It takes a second for Gregory to respond, and it causes the anxiety that had steadily began to bubble inside of him to surge. "Gregory?"

"Sorry." Gregory finally answers. "I-- Uh... can you..." His friend struggles for words, and Evan tries to be as patient as possible as it becomes clearer every second something is wrong. "Can you come over? Like right now?"

Evan flounders for words for a second, but manages to force his mouth to say, "Of course."

"Okay." Gregory replies, and a surge of worry shoots through his chest when Gregory sounds like he might cry. He takes a breath on the other end, then, "Please hurry."

After that, Evan only lingers enough to respond with a short confirmation and goodbye before hanging up the phone. It takes him record time to shoot out of bed, sling on some shoes, and get down the street a few houses to Gregory's own.

His mind had played multiple awful scenarios of what terrible thing could have happened the entire time, but his worry does not ebb when he makes it to the porch and knocks on the door to a teary eyed Gregory.

Evan's immediately herded inside. Freddy has his phone in his hand pressed up against his ear, and he's pacing around the room. Aunt Chica and Aunt Roxy sit in the living room. Bonnie is sat in a dragged-over dining chair by Freddy and frowning.

It's dead silent in the house; even the TV and seemingly endless energy flowing through and causing bustling noise is snuffed out to nothing. Evan watches as everyone sits completely seriously and quiet, hands held in their lap or thrumming against something.

Impatience, is what Evan first thinks of. They're waiting for something. News, maybe? Freddy is on the phone. It's so silent you could hear a pin drop. Or somebody else's phone vibrate.

Evan's dread and anxiety only get worse when Gregory shuts the door behind him and tugs on him a bit. Evan follows without struggle, thousands of words and questions on his tongue when Gregory leads him to one of the unoccupied seats in the living room; a loveseat.

He sits down with him, and Gregory's face is scrunched up in barely restrained worry. Evan watches his friend, who's been an anchor for himself for so long, tremble and hunch in on himself. "Gregory?"

Gregory's eyes dart to him, and Evan leans down, hunching forward with his elbows rested on his thighs like theyre their own personal bubble. Evan's own brows furrow, and he feels the familiar thickness in his throat just at watching his friend be upset.

Evan grabs at his hand, squeezing it tight and lacing their fingers together. "I'm really worried, Gregory... please tell me whats wrong." Evan pleads. "Please?"

Gregory nods unsurely after a moment, and Evan watches him swallow thickly before turning to him fully. "Dad got a call from the University of Oregon today."

Evan's brows raise, but he nods to keep going. The University of Oregon is the college Gregory's sister, Vanessa, had left home to go attend. Evan hasnt gotten the chance to meet her, yet. She's already been gone two years strong, with a seemingly bright future. Evan's heard Gregory and his family talk about her enough to know her talents.

Gregory's breath hitches, and Evan wraps his other hand around Gregory's, the one he already has ahold of. He sandwiches it in-between his own and hopes it's enough comfort.

"Somebody called us and told us Vanessa got into a car crash today. On campus."

It's like a bucket of ice water is poured on Evan's head. His feet go cold, and his eyes widen to saucers. Fear shoots like an arrow through his stomach. When he stops reeling from the news, he watches Gregory begin to shake and lose the carefully gathered composure he'd put up since Evan arrived.

"They said..." Gregory's brows are furrowed so much it looks like it hurts. Theres a clench in his jaw and a wetness to his eyes Evan isnt used to. "They said she's already been taken to the hospital and is in surgery." He frowns, and theres a twist in his lip that Evan is so familiar with. "They... a-all we can do is wait. They told us they'd let us know any updates."

The house is thrown back into such jarring silence after Gregory stops talking that Evan's ears start ringing. Which makes it clear as day when Gregory's breath turns harsh beside him.

Evan tears his eyes away from the floor and ignores the twisting feeling in his chest to look at his friend. He has his face buried in the hand that isnt held by Evan and is shaking in a way where you can tell theyre trying so hard to keep it together. Gregory's angled away from him, but Evan can see the panic on his face even from where he can see.

Evan's breath hitches, and the thickness in his throat begins to turn into burning as he scootches closer to Gregory on the couch and sets a hand on his shoulder. He tugs a bit until Gregory gets the message and let's him wrap his arms around his middle and hold him close.

Gregory makes some sort of horrible, upsetting hitching noise that causes the dam to break for Evan, before he sort of flops against him and brings up his own arms to clutch at his T-Shirt. Gregory's head thumps against his shoulder, and it's one of the only times Evan really becomes aware of the height he has on his friend.

"Its okay..." Evan says into Gregory's shoulder, because it's all he knows to do in the moment. He glances around and sees that Gregory's family has shifted to the dining room, leaving them alone. Evan finally feels the tears slip from his eyes as he presses closer, hugging him like his life depends on it. "Its okay, Gregory. It'll be okay."

"It's--" Gregory says, and Evan can hear how much his voice shakes with barely contained tears. "Its not. I can't-- We can't even go see her. We can't go and wait for her to wake up, or anything... we just have to--" He cuts himself off, and Evan feels Gregory shake harshly against him.

"We just have to sit here." Gregory says, voice thick. "I dont know what to do, Evan. I don't know what to do."

And its only that sentence that causes Evan to grapple at what to do, if his friend can't. And all he can think about is how himself would react if it were Gregory getting hurt.

All he'd be able to do is cry, he realizes. He wouldnt be able to do anything. Just wait and be scared.

But that's what Gregory is getting at, isnt he? He can't do anything. That's the thing. Evan has known Gregory long enough to get him. To know, him. Evan knows that Gregory doesnt sit around and cry like Evan does. He prefers to get up and do something about whatevers wrong.

Hes a problem solver instead of waiting around. A fighter instead of a crier. No wonder hes so bent out of shape about this. To have a loved one in danger, and when you're so used to getting up and making a plan to fix a problem and are forced to sit in standby...

Evan eases them down against the cushion of the couch, not once untangling themselves from eachother. Gregory shakes, but he does not cry. "So what would you do if you could?"

The hair from Gregory's bangs brushes against Gregory's neck as he moves his head. "I'd... I don't know. I'd at least try to get to her." Gregory says, voice unbelievably quiet. "At least get to her. Then figure it out from there. Just so I'm not waiting on phone calls."

Evan nods against him, his chin scrunching up Gregory's hair. His tears have long since stopped falling, but he knows he has dry tracks on his cheeks. "You have a plan."

Gregory makes some sort of noise that would sound like a snort in any other circumstances. "I would if I could." Gregory replies, squeezing his arms a bit tighter. "But I cant" He sighs, shuddering and heavy. "I just have to wait."

Evan hums. "You're worried, and you're stressed." He makes the same noise Gregory just did. "I know how you feel... I really do. Maybe not your exact situation, but... I get what it's like to feel helpless." He says. "You know what I would do?"

Gregory hums this time, questionative. Evan rubs circles into his back. "I'd sit there and wait, and wish for it to different. And when it wouldnt be, I'd cry."

Gregorys head shifts against that crook between Evan's chin and chest, almost like hes trying to look him in the eye but the hug prevents him from being able.

"All I ever did was cry." Evan says when Gregory doesnt respond. "Its the only thing that I could do to cope."

"...So..." Gregory asks, and his voice is thick again. "You mean..."

"You're stressed." Evan answers. "You're stressed and you're worried. So... why dont you let it out?"

Evan, out of anyone, knows how valuable emotions can be. He didnt, once upon a time. When everyone would just tell him how annoying it is. How useless it is. How he's asking for it. How he should have toughened up by now. When instead of comfort, he'd receive ridicule and prodding.

That's changed. Ever since a certain someone entered his life. He doesn't think of his emotions, himself so little anymore. So worthless. So maybe that's why Gregory perks up ever so slightly in understanding.

And that's all it takes.

Gregory's trembling turns into shoulder shaking sobs like the snap of a finger. He cries, open and unadulterated, and Evan just hugs him close and rubs his back, offering reassurances like Gregory has done for him so many times.

His own eyes burn when his best friends sobs are heard so openly and he can feel every shudder of his body. Evan's chin scrunches, and the tears fall right along with Gregory as Evan hugs him close, tucking his face into his hair.

"Im--" Gregory cries. "I-Im just so worried about her."

"I know." Evan responds, his own voice breaking as he pets Gregory's hair. His shirt is damp with tears but he doesnt care. "Itll be okay. It'll all be okay."

They stay like that for a while, and Evan can tell Gregory needs it. He needs it. The worry he felt that morning doesnt ever really leave, and it stays ever-present as Evan watches his friend fall apart. They stay stuck together like magnets, eventually only shoulder to shoulder with linked hands on the loveseat, and none of Gregory's family try to peel them apart when they eventually wander back into the living room.

They stay in a state of constant agonizing limbo all day. At 8:00pm, Freddy calls it a night. Gregory protests immediately, but Aunt Roxy calms him down almost seamlessly and convinces him to go to bed.

Of course, Evan follows him. He cant imagine a world where he doesnt. The air mattress stays deflated in Gregory's closet as it has been most of the time nowadays. All Evan has to do is kick his shoes off since he left home in his pajamas anyway and they're wrapped around eachother, tucked in Gregory's bed under his comforter in the dark.

Gregory is silent all throughout the night, even though Evan knows he's awake. Evan just hopes that... he did the right thing. Something knows is that suppressing how you feel isnt good. It never works. No matter how much you want it to.

Gregory taught him that. He just wants to return the favor. Not because he owes Gregory, no. Gregory has long since hammered it into Evan's thick skull that he has nothing to pay him back for. That his kindness is not a deed to Evan, but rather that Evan himself deserves to be treated kindly.

Gregory does, too. Evan knows this with all his heart. Gregory is his best friend and has done more for him than anyone else ever has.

Evan... all Evan did was change. Change for the better. And hopefully he helped the most important person in his life with the things he learned. The things that person taught him.

He hugs Gregory's middle a little tighter, not daring to break the silence. Gregory needs time, but doesn't want to be alone. Evan understands. He does. He just hopes to convey what he truly feels through the one action.

Thank you. I'm here for you. I'll always be here. You're my best friend. I'm so glad you trust me. I trust you as well. So much.

Gregory himself wraps his arms tighter around Evan in turn, and Evan feels like the single movement lso has a deeper meaning he cant read.

They dont speak. They just lay in silence until eventually they fall asleep, stuck together like two puzzle pieces.

ao3 link

#this oneshot is mostly just to focus more on gregorys character and how i imagine him (not headcanon #his actual canon character) to handle problems. #ive always seen gregory as instead of letting fear/emotions take over #he pushes past to get a task done/fix whatevers wrong. so i wanted to translate that into the flashlight duo universe with the emotional/pr #especially because of how important emotions are to evans growth and how gregory is the reason for that growth #and i also just wanted to finally write a bit of evan helping gregory since ive written so much vice versa. #i needed something for gregory to be super worried over and well. this universe is already family centric. poor vanessa. #its a normal ass world okay theres not much i can do #vanessa is okay btw. #the next day theyre supposed to get news about surgery and recovery and plan to go on a road trip to oregon to see her while she recovers #(i actually already wrote some of it but cut it out because i didnt like where it was going. #just veered (ha) too far away from the core of the fic) #so you can imagine that happening. #anyways hope you enjoyed! still need a better idea to showcase evan helping gregory but i think this is okay for now. #i have some other plans for this duo (as always) having to do with love languages so im excited about that. #lets see how long itll take me to actually write it lol #pandas writes #my fics #flashlight duo #flashlight duo oneshots #gregory #evan #the fazbears #oneshot #kinda feel like this is cringe #but whatever im cringe and im free two cakes etc #not my favorite work ive done but whatever #its okay

[daintykacchan]

okay so like, i NEED a fic where kudou saves yoichi and what happens on THAT two months they were together.

#my hero academia #mha #mha kudou #mha yoichi #kudoichi #chaptered or a long ass oneshot idc #i love them #afo u homophobic bitch

[milksnake-tea]

i need to be put down.

#thinking out loud 🏵️ #that aventurine oneshot is still marinating trust its just taking a long ass time to cook iswear

[tamaharu]

i love reading fan-translated manga bc one group will make it sound incomprehensible due to the lack of localization, one group will make it sound completely normal, and one group will make it sound incomprehensible due to the extremity of localization. never change.

#love this one vampire oneshot who kept using britsh-isms. balls.. i made up my mind i wouldnt drink it yeah..? #but im reading one that got a new translator who started going OFF THE RAILS. okay this character is a 30yo accountant right. #one chapter hes talking normal. the next: 'as long as the miasma lingers the strength of the barrier becomes crucial baby! #we're gonna have surveillance team stationed in the forest baby! theyll be rockin those raincoats; regularly layin down the law to prevent #any nasty toxic fumes from escapin. its gonna be a 40 out of 10 no doubt! in short its a matter of 'wipe your own ass'!' #WHAT ARE YOU SAYING IM GOING TO THROW UP LAUGHING #and then his love interest (stoic; LOVE INTEREST I WANT TO EMPHASIZE) #is like 'youve been hanging around the miasma core for quite a while today dude!' #dont call him dude before you fuck are you crazy!

[peonycats]

every time I read your ao3 name I think of Whitney Chewston aka the homophobic dog

this is the greatest compliment I could ever receive as a writer

#ask #anonymous #as for anyone whose following my anthology fic sorry for the long hiatus ive been in a bit of a writing slump LOL #wrote some mongolia/tibet oneshots but i need to get off my ass and write vietchu cuz thats the one i wanna post next

[prince-liest]

Heya! I really appreciate how manage to get each fanfic you write to really carry the voice of the character youre writing about! Like how in the lucifer/angel fic a lot of the text is packed with lucis inner monologue compared to how much dialogue goes on, really gets to how lucifer is really in his own head, and just from the words you use and how you write a reader can see a lot of that inner monologue consists of overthinking and all his other little quirks hes gained from so much isolation and rejection over the years.

When I thought about it, compared to the vox/alastor fic you wrote, its much more dialogue, and a lot of the internal thoughts and text is more observations about vox (some of them sarcastic, others analyzing things like vox's body language) and amusing descriptions of the situation.

Im just wondering, do you plot all these details in your head, or do you jot them down on paper? IMO it seems like in general some fanfics struggle with keeping the character's voice when describing things outside of the dialogue ,and tend to sound like its being narrated/observed by the writer, rather than a look inside how the character thinks/talks. It can be a tricky thing to really get a characters voice down TBH

Thank you VERY much! You've basically just gone and told me, "Hey, you know that thing that you really enjoy doing and is important to you? Yeah, that's great!" hahaha, so please know that this message is greatly appreciated. I LOVE.

I am a huge outliner for every single fic I write, except the occasional single-scene NSFW oneshots that kinda write themselves! But character voice is usually actually not heavily involved in that outline, haha.

I think for my first Proper Fic (TM) on AO3, The Sword of Damocles is Swinging, which was a 60k word character study of Hawks from My Hero Academia, I did do a lot of outlining regarding his characterization and how I wanted to portray that because I felt like if I didn't write all of it down then I wouldn't be able to wrap my head around him. But this type of thing has very quickly become a matter of "code-switching" into a character's head for me, basically. Characterization has always been really important to me, and I remember back when I was in my "1k words is an accomplishment I'm genuinely very proud of" stage of writing, it was the thing that made me the most nervous, because I was afraid of not being able to write characters that felt like themselves.

What actually really helped with this is that I spent like 4 years doing Homestuck fantroll OC roleplay, haha. It was the perfect combination of "these are my characters so I automatically know all there is about them" + "but they are their own distinct characters with different personalities and inner voices, so it's still great practice," and then ofc roleplay being a very rewarding, collaborative, and social activity as well that gets posted in smaller, easier-to-write chunks than an entire fanfic.

For the Hazbin characters, I mostly rewatched some of their big scenes (like most of the Angel episode, or Lucifer's intro) for a reminder and a point of reference, paying particular attention to their body language, the intended vibe of how they're portrayed, and the way they talk, but it's less note-taking and more like that moment before a choir starts singing where the teacher blows a whistle to remind them where that note is, haha.

Anyway, basically, we're all reaping the rewards of me being a long-term roleplayer who's really into writing in third-person limited rather than omniscient. 🤭

An example of one of my actual outlines below the cut if you're still interested! It's chapter one from Happily Ever After, and Other Shit Nepotism Can't Buy because I am Not sharing my nsfw outlines, HAH:

As you can see, some moments are quoted almost directly bc I thought of neat lines while outlining, while others are fairly loosely outlined because I know it's going to be easy to write once I get there and I'm not accidentally already writing it in my brain. Sometimes large chunks of scenes write themselves, like the entire ending to this fic:

#ask #personal #my writing #writing advice #kinda #long post #t #anonymous #the real blessing is that I'm writing in third person y'all #because you can bet your ass I spent ALL those four years writing in Ye Olde Homestuck Second Person POV (TM) #switching over to third person was a doozy #I actually have a couple old fantroll oneshots on my AO3 feel free to check them out if you're curious #I'd say mind the cannibalism but. y'know. you all know what you've signed up for.

[sku11s1asher]

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jake riley x male reader

he may be ooc as I don’t know him that well but I tried

FEM DNI (you will be blocked)

this is smut (surprising ik) ALL CHARACTERS ARE 18+. this is my best try at making a feminine male reader (there will be more feminine pet names and reader is imagined w/ femine clothes) so if you have any suggestions to help me pls tell me! alsoooo mention of drugs (just ppl having them at school, reader isn’t drugged nor takes drugs) .

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Your last class of the day finally finished, it felt like forever when it was maybe 40 minutes long. You and your friends started talking while walking down the stairs until, you looked over and saw the same cop look at you. You rolled your eyes, “Whoever he is he’s such a weirdo.” Your friends laughed, “Or maybe he thinks your a druggie.” One said and punched your cheek. “Get off me weirdo.” You lightly pushed them and walked away. “Awww we’re sorry our little baby, did we offended you?” You stopped and glared at them, “Meet me outside right now.” Sadly you didn’t see the cop next to you, “No violence.” You took a deep breath and looked at the cop to realize it’s the one who keeps looking at you. “It was a silly little joke, you think he’d honestly try to fight us?” One of your friends said. The cop just walked away.

“Guys he’s totally a creep, you gotta listen to me.” You said. “My boyfriend isn’t a creep you dumbass, don’t be jealous you can’t pull any bitches.” You acted offended, “Did YOU, just say I can’t get any bitches? I can pull anyone I want.” Your friended looked at you like you were stupid, “Go talk to them guys over there and get their number.” You looked and saw two guys who went to your school, “Them are the ones who always has the drugs.” You looked back at your friend, “Are you trying to make me get free drugs for you?!” Your friend playfully hit you, “NO! Just go talk to them!” You sighed but got up, you were going to prove all of them wrong, you can pull bitches.

You were starting to regret even getting up. As soon as you went to them they looked at you like they were about to eat you alive. “Hey I was wondering if I could get both of your numbers..” you gave them a sweet smile. “Sure.” They both gave you it and you chatted a little more until you felt someone glaring at the back of your head, you turned around and thought it was your friends waiting for you but they were just talking. You excused yourself from them and went back to your friends, “We’re y’all staring at me? I swear I felt someone like glaring at me.” They all said no and you went on with your day.

When you went home that night, you felt something was off but you couldn’t stop thinking about that officer, you would never admit this to anyone but he does magical things to you for some reason.

══

Rumors were going around about the cops talking to students and some other stuff, you didn’t pay attention because well, you didn’t do any drugs nor interact with the people who do them. So you should be safe, well at least you thought. You were walking back to your class after using the bathroom and heard someone say your name, “Are you Y/N L/N?” You turn around and see the officer you thought about last night and maybe jacked off to last night, “Yes I am, why?” You felt your pants get tighter the more you heard his voice. “Follow me, I’ve got to ask you some questions.”

You followed him into this room you had never seen before, you were guessing it was an old room they decided to clean up for now. “Sit down.” You didn’t think twice before complying, all you could pay attention to was his muscles and the way his mouth moved, you even pretended to tie your shoe just so you could get only look at his crotch. God, you’re such a weird pervert. You didn’t know he knew everything you were doing, all he had to do is act like he didn’t notice. “So do you know anyone here that might sell anything?” He asked, you shook your head no. You couldn’t bring yourself to speak to him. “Well I hope you know, some officers caught you speaking to them, are you perhaps selling drugs?” “No! I was just asking them for their numbers.”

After answering the rest of his questions he dismisses you, “Well I shouldn’t keep you any longer, you’re free to go. “You didn’t want to leave, so you had to quickly say something,” Well, I do know something else…” He looked at you with a raised eyebrow, “What are you waiting for..? Can you tell me?” You glared at him, “Well I WOULD tell you if you didn’t have an attitude, now you gotta work for it.” You smirked. “No sweetheart, you can go ahead and tell me. You brought it up in the first place.” He looked at you with a glare. You wanted to say so much risky stuff but you thought he wouldn’t show any interest in you, at least you thought so. If only you paid more attention to his eyes.

══

You don’t know what happened much after that but, at the moment you do know you are on your knees in front of him. “Don’t be shy, go ahead and suck, I’ve seen your eyes looking the whole time I was talking to you.” You unzipped his pants and pull down his boxers just enough for you to be able to suck his cock. You looked at it and wondered how you were going to fit that in your mouth, he grabbed your head and pushed it closer, “The more you stare, the more impatient I get.” You slowly put his tip in your mouth and swirled your tongue on his tip before putting more in your mouth. You were only halfway and felt like gagging, your mouth was too full for you to handle.

You felt him run his fingers through your hair, it felt refreshing even though you were practically choking on his cock. You looked up at him and saw that he had his eyes closed. “You are doing so good, princess.” His hand suddenly pulled you back by your hair, “Why’d you make me stop?” You asked. “I don’t want to cum first.” He picked you up and placed you on the table, “Have you ever had sex? Or a better question, have you had at least some type of dildo inside you?” Straight to the point, you thought, “What do you think?” “I don’t know, I’m asking you for a reason, love.” Does he think you just gave him the most amazing head in the world without any experience?! “I have obviously, use that cop brain of yours.”

“You have a nasty attitude.” He said after bending you over quickly. You didn’t have any time to think before you felt your pants and panties get pulled down, “Aw, these are so cute.” He wouldn’t let you speak a single word and just stuck his fingers in your mouth. “Get them nice and wet, unless you’d rather me go in dry.” You felt drool drip on your chin, gross. Once he pulled his fingers out of your mouth, he circled them around your hole. “Are you ready?” He asked, “Now you are asking? Just hurry up already before someone comes in here.” He complied and didn’t waste a second before shoving them in you. A moan ripped out of you, “You sound beautiful, princess.”

══

Your hands were gripped onto his shoulders, leaving marks but neither of you cared. You tried to hide your moans but couldn’t, his fingers were hitting all the right spots, “Please-” Begging for no particular reason, “Please what?” “Don’t stop!” He smirked, “I wasn’t planning on it.” You were about to cum, he felt you tighten around his fingers so he went faster. After a couple of seconds, you cummed for the first time that night. “Good job, love.” He reached for something and pulled out a condom. “You have condoms but not lube..?” He just looked at you and didn’t respond with words but with his actions. The condom was on and he slowly pushed into you, making sure to hold your hand in the process even if you didn’t ask for it. Once he was in fully, he waited until he felt some movement from you before pulling out and slamming back in.

This may be yalls first time fucking but, he knew all the right places to hit. “Jake!” You were starting to moan a little too loud, and even though he loved you moaning his name, he didn’t want to get caught. He somehow took off your panties when you were on cloud 9, and shoved them in your mouth. Mumbled words and moans came out of your mouth while he continued to fuck you like no tomorrow. His thrust were starting to become faster and harder, indicating he was close. You squeezed around him which made him groan, “Fuck, calm down a little bit.” In reality, he didn’t care how hard your hole clenched around him, you were so warm and soft inside that he got lost in the feeling. Before he knew it, he cummed. You still were erect, so he gave you a short handjob to finish the job.

You were calming down while he started to clean up the place a little bit, “I hope you enjoyed our little session.” He whispered in your ear. You let out a short moan as he cleaned you up as much as he could. He handed you some water, “I don’t have anything to eat on me sorry.” “It’s fine, you can just take me out on a date later tonight to make up for it.” You replied with a smile. He quickly scribbled down something on a piece of paper and put it in your pocket. He gave your ass a squeeze, “Cant wait to see you tonight, princess.”

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

This was requested by: @weepingsandwichenemy

Sorry for taking so long to upload, I’ve been all over the place with some stuff. I’m trying to get back into writing so I’m sorry if the smut/ending is disappointing ☹️

#jake riley #containment #police #gay #male reader #midshot #mxm #oneshot #request #smut #this is so gay #feminine male reader #Jake Riley x male reader #I’m sorry if this sucks ass #requested #this took so long for what #IM SORRY FOR THE WAIT

[mattluvr]

✧˖*°࿐ masterlist!

🕯️matt sturniolo

✧ home alone

✧ the car

🦢 chris sturniolo

✧ vibrator on vacation

#sturniolo triplets #matt sturniolo #chris sturniolo #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo smut #masterlist #chris and matt smut #oneshots #long ass oneshots

[andipxndy-writes]

caught

fandom: abbott elementary warnings: none requested by: anon word count: 18.1k

cross-posted to ao3

summary: Of all the ways to get caught, this was probably the least likely way Janine had expected. Maybe holding hands in the break room, or brushing hands in the corridor. Or even kissing in the janitor’s closet, as in one of her nightmares (which hadn’t been as bad as the nightmare of them being caught in his bed—). But standing on the middle of the school field, clothes soaked from rain and cheeks soaked from tears, Janine had expected the school building to be empty. She definitely hadn’t expected anyone to come out and spot her and Gregory on the field, in the middle of a very heated conversation. And yet, someone was there, forcing her to tear her attention away from him and to the other person. “Look, I can explain!” she begged the other person, eyes wide, hoping that it at least bought her some time to get her story straight before she fixed things. Or rather: five times Gregory took Janine on a date, and the one time she realised it was one.

caught

Of all the ways to get caught, this was probably the least likely way Janine had expected.

Maybe holding hands in the break room, or brushing hands in the corridor. Or even kissing in the janitor’s closet, as in one of her nightmares (which hadn’t been as bad as the nightmare of them being caught in his bed—).

But standing on the middle of the school field, clothes soaked from rain and cheeks soaked from tears, Janine had expected the school building to be empty. She definitely hadn’t expected anyone to come out and spot her and Gregory on the field, in the middle of a very heated conversation. And yet, someone was there, forcing her to tear her attention away from him and to the other person. Something that very clearly frustrated him — she could see it on his face.

She couldn’t deal with this all right now.

“Look, I can explain!” she begged the other person, eyes wide, hoping that it at least bought her some time to get her story straight before she fixed things.

***

1. Ice Skating

There were a lot of things Janine enjoyed doing with other people — ice skating, attending parties, going for meal. And, usually, she had someone to take with her to group activities like this, or even just invite along. But now that she’d split up with Tariq, things were a lot more… lonely. She lived alone, ate alone, and had no one to invite out to things like that. It made things awkward when she was actually invited out, because people who knew her gave her pitying looks because she was single and had left her boyfriend, and people who didn’t know her gave her pitying looks because she was single and didn’t have a boyfriend at all.

It was a lose-lose situation, really.

But Janine was trying to look on the bright side, own her singleness and all that. She was following some of Melissa’s tips, trying to just enjoy the fact that she didn’t have to take care of Tariq anymore. And to be honest, she enjoyed only having to manage the bills for one person, knowing that he wasn’t going to waste resources for no reason other than he simply wanted to. It was a lot cheaper.

It was just… lonely.

It was even worse when the people she knew and trusted, like Jacob, decided to go ahead and make her feel like an odd person out by inviting her out with his boyfriend… when she was single. She knew he meant well, she really did, but it still sort of… hurt, you know? She didn’t like being reminded that she didn’t have anyone to go on dates with or anything.

“Hey, are you alright, Janine?”

Janine’s head snapped up when she heard her name being called, and she forced a smile on her face when she saw who it was. “Gregory! Hi!” She quickly slipped her phone into her pocket. “What’s up?”

“I just… came in here for lunch…” he said slowly, before raising an eyebrow at her. “What’s up with you?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing…” Janine knew it wasn’t nothing, and she was pretty sure that Gregory could tell it wasn’t nothing. At least, she thought he could tell it wasn’t nothing. She wasn’t completely sure. Ever since he’d got with Taylor, things had been hit or miss with him.

Not that it bothered her, no. Of course not.

He stared at her for a few moments, as though he wanted to say something, before nodding. “Alright, well.” He paused for a moment, before pointing to the fridge. “I’m gonna grab my lunch, so…”

It was at that moment that Jacob decided it would be a very good idea to burst through the door to the staff room, a smile on his face. “Janine! Just the teacher I wanted to see!”

Janine had to keep that forced smile on her face when she realised Jacob was also there to talk to her. “Hi, yes, I’m here. Having my lunch. Just wanting some peace.”

“Great, then I can interrupt.”

Janine pursed her lips to stop herself from saying anything.

“Okay, so, I really need your answer for tomorrow about the ice skating.” He moved to sit down at the table opposite Janine, ignoring how she looked straight at Greg as though he could help her out of that situation. “I’m trying to book a time slot for us, considering it’s closer to the holidays and people are going to be taking their kids more on a weekend…”

“Oh, I…” She gave a little laugh. “I don’t know, Jacob. I’m still giving it some thought…”

He sighed. “Oh, come on, Janine. You’ve had a whole week to think about this.”

“Yeah, and I still need more time, alright? I might have plans.”

“Like what?”

“Like…” She looked around the room, trying to think about it. “Like watering my plants!”

Jacob stared at her for a few moments. “You don’t have any plants.”

“I could have plants!”

“You didn’t when I last came over.”

“Well, maybe I’ve bought some since you last came over.” Her eyebrows rose in a challenging manner, watching him as he stared at her for a few moments before sighing.

“Well, Janine, I’ll need your answer by tonight so I can book enough spaces for all of us.” Jacob offered her half a smile as he held up his phone, waving it a little in the air. “Text me by tonight?”

Janine sighed, but nodded. “Yeah, sure. I will.”

“Thanks.” He smiled at her one last time before getting up and heading out of the room. “Gregory! My man!” He shot Gregory finger guns on his way off, and Gregory could only offer him an awkward wave in response. As soon as the door closed, he turned to Janine with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re going ice skating with Jacob?”

“And his boyfriend,” she corrected, before pausing. “Well, I’m meant to. But, well…” She offered somewhat of a shrug. “I don’t really want to. It feels like I’m just going to be a third wheel on their date, you know?” She ran her fingers over the table nervously. “I don’t… well, I don’t want to be a third wheel. When I had Tariq, if he didn’t come along, I at least knew I had someone to go home to… you know?”

There were a few moments of silence as Janine really thought over her words, really considered how she was feeling about the situation, before she just sighed and pushed her hair back behind her ear. “Anyway, I might just message Jacob and say I’m not up for it. Let them have a date night together or something.”

“No, no, you should go.” Gregory took the seat Jacob had welcomed himself to, frowning at Janine with his coffee in his hands. “You should get out there. Enjoy yourself.”

“No, I think it’s best if I just… stay at home and focus on myself, you know?”

He stared at her for a few moments. “Don’t you do that every day anyway?” he asked. “Come on, Janine. You should get out, have some fun with friends. Actually do something outside of your apartment.” When she didn’t respond, he continued, “I haven’t heard you talk about doing anything other than apartment maintenance for ages.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

She huffed out a small laugh, a smile growing on her face. “I… well, I don’t know…”

He pursed his lips for a brief moment as he thought, looking down at his coffee before back up at her. “Look, if you really want… I can go with you so that you don’t feel so lonely around Jacob and his boyfriend.”

“Really?” Janine’s eyes widened at those words, not expecting them at all. Gregory didn’t seem like the type to go ice skating, or even go out with Jacob. He seemed more like the type to steer well clear of the guy, as much as Jacob loved to hang out with him. “You’d do that?” For me? The words were unspoken, but they hung in the air regardless.

“Of course.” Anything for you. Gregory’s smile finished off the sentence the way it was supposed to be spoken, giving Janine a feeling of… warmness in her chest. Something that she hadn’t felt since Tariq left. “Just give me the day and time, and I’ll be there.”

A smile grew on Janine’s face, and she looked down at her hands shyly before back up at him. “Thank you.”

“Well… it wouldn’t be fair to let you sit at home alone on your own when you could be out enjoying yourself, right?” He gave half a shrug. “Just… don’t leave me alone with Jacob for any extended period of time.”

“Got it.”

***

Janine was very glad when neither Jacob nor Zach made any sort of “double date” comments when Gregory had said he would also come along for their fun little ice-skating session. In fact, Zach somehow managed to make sure that Jacob stayed well clear of Gregory for the whole afternoon, meaning that Gregory got that breathing space he’d been asking Janine to make sure he got.

He was ecstatic.

Of course, because of that, it meant that Janine ended up spending far more time just with Gregory than with all three of the guys, but it wasn’t like she was complaining. She was right in assuming that Gregory wasn’t the type to ice skate, considering he looked incredibly unsure on the ice to start off with, but she was very sure that after a few rounds on the ice he was a lot more comfortable. Maybe not comfortable enough to let go of her arm or the walls of the rink, but comfortable enough to actually, you know, move.

It didn’t stop him from almost slipping over multiple times, though, which is how Janine ended up laughing half the time and keeping Gregory upright the rest of the time. She tried to ignore how her stomach churned… excitedly. Her skin felt warm where Gregory made contact with her. She felt butterflies whenever he smiled at her, even though his smiles were more on the awkward side and were ones of fear, fear of what would happen to his body and his reputation if he was to fall over.

Not that Janine saw anyone who could risk his reputation there. Sure, there was her, and Jacob, and Zach, but none of them would speak to anyone about it if he did end up falling over, and it wasn’t as though there were any of the kids in their school there to laugh at him and gossip about it with any of the other students. It was just them; they could trust each other. No other friends, no family, no one there to bother them.

And that was how they ended up being one of the last groups on the ice. Well, technically, Janine and Gregory ended up being one of the last pairs on the ice, considering Jacob and Zach had left the ice earlier to warm up and grab some drinks. Gregory, by that point, was getting the hang of being able to skate around — maybe not always on his own, but he definitely wasn’t just holding onto the half walls that surrounded the rink, and had even spent some time in the middle of the rink with Janine.

He’d given her a look at her “encouraging words”.

“Could you try not to use the same voice you use on your second graders on me?” Gregory asked. At any other time, Janine would’ve thought he was offended by the way she was speaking to him, by what she’d said. But there was a smile on his face, and just a couple of minutes before he’d been laughing at her attempt at spinning on the ice (only for her to fall on her ass and end up cackling because she now had a wet backside).

“Hey, I thought that tone was really encouraging!” she protested lightly, a smile still on her face. “It helped you to skate better, too!”

“I skated better so that I wouldn’t have to hear any more of that.” He was holding onto her arm as they skated slowly around the rink, making the most of the fact that the rink was practically empty now. Janine couldn’t really explain it, but she didn’t want to stop. She wished that they could just keep skating together, laughing with each other and chatting about anything and everything that came up. After all… the longer they skated, the better Gregory got at skating, right?

“Janine!”

Both of them looked over when they heard Jacob’s call from the other end of the rink. The way he was waving over at them told Janine exactly what she didn’t want to know.

It was time to go.

She nudged Gregory lightly, smiling up at him. “Hey, let’s go. We can get something to drink, right?”

“Like water?”

The look on her face told him that water definitely wasn’t what she’d been thinking about, and he held his hands up defensively.

“I was kidding, I was kidding.”

“Good.” She smiled brightly at him as she began to skate off. “Hot chocolates?”

His arms were spread wide as he tried to keep up with her, following her over to the end of the rink. “Hot chocolates sound good.” He paused his thinking for a few moments as he tried to focus on his feet. “Well, they sound good if I make it off the rink.”

“I’m sure you’ll make it!”

“And we’re back to the second-grade encouragement again.”

“You need the encouragement!”

***

2. Dinner

Janine sighed as she looked through the homework she had left to mark that day, and the lesson plans that needed to get done for the next day. There was so much to check through (which she was sure she could get done in the next few hours), but just looking at that pile made her think.

There was nothing in the fridge at home. At least, there was nothing that she could recall being in the fridge off the top of her head. And her cupboards were pretty empty as well, if she was remembering correctly. By the time she finished going through it all, she was pretty sure the grocery store wouldn’t be open, meaning that she’d have to go to the supermarket to grab some stuff for dinner. And the stuff at the supermarket was sometimes a whole lot more expensive than what was available at the grocery shop, which really made her wonder… how much she’d be able to buy for dinner.

God, tonight was going to suck.

“Knock, knock.”

Janine looked up when she heard the “knocks”, her eyebrows rising when she saw who it was. As quirky as Gregory could be, he was usually the type to actually physically knock instead of just… saying the words.

Did that mean he was really relaxing around her?

“Hey, Gregory,” she greeted, a genuine smile growing on her face as she turned in her desk chair to face him. “What’s up?”

He leaned on the door frame, hands in his pockets as his satchel slung over his shoulder. “I was just coming in to see how you were doing.” He gestured with his thumb towards the school entrance. “I’m headed off now, with everyone else, so…” That was when he realised that her stuff wasn’t packed at all, and a frown grew on his face. “Aren’t you getting ready to go? Everyone else is.”

“Oh, uh…” Janine looked back at her computer screen and at her desk, at everything she had left to do for the day. It was a lot, and sure it wasn’t all stuff that needed to be done in time for tomorrow, but she knew that if she got it all done it would leave her enough time later on.

Plus, she didn’t exactly want to go home and spend time on her own.

“You can’t seriously have more to do.”

“Well, I have lesson plans,” she offered weakly. “All of that needs preparing. I can’t just leave that all to tomorrow.”

“You had all your lesson plans prepared at the beginning of the week. You told me that already.”

Well, he had her there.

“I have homework to mark—”

“Your kids aren’t getting any homework until the end of the week.”

“How do you know all of my timetables?” she asked, a confused frown on her face.

He blinked at her. “You told me.”

“I told you?”

“You told me.”

She could not remember in the slightest whether she’d actually told Gregory that or not, but if he said that she had then she probably had. It seemed like the sort of thing she would end up bringing up in conversation, anyway.

“Oh, well…” She couldn’t think of any more excuses, any more reasons as to why she couldn’t just leave to go home now. And really, it was probably in her best interests to go now, so that she could hit the grocery store on the way back and grab dinner so that she could cook for herself when she got home.

Just herself.

Ah.

“Don’t you want to go home?” Gregory asked with a raised eyebrow. Janine didn’t know how, but she could tell that there was a teasing tone to his voice, as though there was some honesty in his asking but it was still something light, so she could joke along with him if she wanted. But, for some reason, she didn’t want to. She had to be honest with him.

“Not really,” she said quietly. That was when all semblance of joking melted off his face, and he moved to half-sit on the edge of her desk, watching her with a frown on his face. His satchel rested on the desk, relieving some of the pressure on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

Looking up at him, she could see the genuine concern in his eyes. A genuine desire to know why she wasn’t happy, to know why she would rather stay there doing work that she didn’t need to get done for another couple of days at least. If it was anyone else, she would be hesitant to say anything, but with Gregory it was different. With Gregory, he didn’t push like he needed to know. He asked because he wanted to know, but if you didn’t want to say… he would leave you be. At least, that was the vibe she got from him. He wasn’t intrusive.

“I… don’t really want to go home and cook for myself,” she admitted sheepishly. Saying it out loud, she realised how silly she sounded. She couldn’t just sit around here because she didn’t want to go home and cook a meal for one. “It’s a little lonely, and reaching the higher shelves for plates is not exactly… well, not exactly the safest, really. I just… I don’t like having to cook for myself.” She looked down at her hands in her lap. “I kind of miss eating with someone else, you know?”

Gregory was quiet as he listened to her speak. She didn’t say much, really — not as much as she usually did when she started rambling on about something — but… it was enough. At least, Janine thought it was enough. There wasn’t really anything she could add to that. What she’d said was pretty much everything.

“Why don’t I come over, then?”

Those words were the last words that she expected to come from his mouth. From the look on his face, he hadn’t exactly expected to say that himself.

“Oh, no, no, no!” she said quickly, holding her hands up and waving them in front of him as though to tell him ‘No’. “I can’t ask you to do that! I wouldn’t want to force you to eat my cooking…” She laughed awkwardly. “I mean, I need to pass through the grocery store on my way back, grab some ingredients after I’ve decided what exactly I want to cook, then grab extra stuff because my cupboards are absolutely empty and I’ll need stuff to eat more…”

“I don’t mind.” He folded his arms as he gave her a half smile. “I’ll even pay for my share.”

“I can’t make you do that…”

“You’re not making me if I’m offering.”

She stared at him, watching him carefully for a few moments. She just… she didn’t get it. Why was he offering to eat with her? To keep her company? Was he making sure that she actually ate? Because if that was the case, she was pretty sure she could just tell him that she would eat dinner and it would be enough to convince him. If he wanted to keep her company, though… well, if he wanted to keep her company, who was she to object? The company would be nice.

“Okay then.” A smile grew on her face. “Okay. You can… you can come over. For dinner. To eat with me.”

“And you’re going to close up shop and go now?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah, I’m coming, I’m coming.” As he got off the desk, though, she couldn’t help the smile that grew on her face as she turned to turn off her computer and pack everything away. She couldn’t even recall Jacob doing anything like this for her, making sure she left to go and eat instead of finish off all her work for the day.

Gregory was honestly one of the sweetest people she knew.

***

Opening her apartment door, Janine flicked the lights on, revealing what lay beyond to herself and her guest. It still felt weird to have someone coming over to her place like this — she’d had Jacob coming over once or twice, but Jacob coming over wasn’t the same as Gregory coming over. Particularly because Jacob coming over was more like him picking her up for something and coming in for a cup of coffee before they left, whereas Gregory? Gregory was coming in for more than just ten minutes. Gregory could end up being there for hours if he actually liked the food she was going to make.

Oh god, Gregory was going to sit on her ratty old couch until she was done cooking. She really hoped he didn’t notice the patched-up holes in the material.

As they walked in, she didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know that he’d slowed down and was talking in her space, looking around slowly. With the dark neutral colours, browns and beiges and olive greens, her place seemed a little dark inside when there was no extra light coming in through the windows. Sure, light could usually get in with how thin her curtains usually were, but then there was the added fact that her curtains were thin so any heat in the apartment easily escaped in the winter.

Basically, her place was pretty crappy. Maybe she had a lot of clutter to block out heat leaving the room.

“The kitchen’s just through here,” she said as she led him through the living room, past her little cloth couches covered with so many pillows that there didn’t even seem to be space to sit down on them. Janine knew she had a problem when it came to pretty upholstery. That didn’t mean she was going to change her habits straight away.

Heading over to the nearest counter, she set her two grocery bags down and moved aside so that Gregory could set his two down beside her.

Standing back, she brushed down her hands and took a deep breath, looking around. She knew all of her food cupboards and the fridge were basically empty, so everything needed to go away, but she also needed to cook so that Gregory didn’t need to stay longer than he needed to. After all, he’d only offered to stay over for dinner so that he could keep her company, right? She didn’t want to keep him away from his own home from too long.

Especially since, well, he had a girlfriend that he might want to call and check up on, and being there at her place would stop him from doing that. She didn’t want to cause any arguments between them, or anything.

“So, what are you making for us tonight?” he asked curiously as he began to unpack the grocery bags, like this was his own place. Like it was his own kitchen, and he knew where everything was going to go.

He had no idea where everything was going to go.

“Spaghetti Bolognese with garlic bread. What are you doing?” Her eyes were more focused on his actions than on trying to spot the ingredients she needed for dinner tonight. Her meal plan was short, and easy, but that meant she didn’t have to pull everything out of the grocery bags to actually get dinner ready. Which meant that he didn’t have to pull everything out of the bags so that she could get dinner ready.

He paused for a moment, looking at her over his shoulder. “I’m unloading your groceries…?”

“You don’t have to do that,” Janine sighed as she approached him.

“Would you rather I help you cook dinner?”

Her eyebrows rose at that one. Hadn’t the whole agreement been that she would cook and he’d just accompany her to eat?

“Just let me help you out, alright?” He offered her a small smile. “It’s not much to put away. And you wanted to start on the cooking, right?”

Dammit, he had a point. He had a point, and she couldn’t argue against it without admitting that he had a very good point and that she was about to make a far more stupid suggestion.

“Yeah, I did.” Her cheeks puffed out as she let out a slow breath. “Okay, fine. Fine. I’ll start on the cooking.”

He raised an eyebrow as he stopped unpacking, turning to look at her. “…Are you alright, Janine?”

She took a moment to really think about it. Was she alright? No. Hell no. She was nowhere near alright. She was barely admitting it to herself, trying to push her way through it. She’d made it this long without admitting it, by pushing through everything because she could. She could make it all the way, until she forgot about Tariq and their relationship. She would get there, and hold it together like an adult, and everyone would be impressed. Because she was that kind of person. She always had her shit together.

“I’m fine.” She smiled at him, before rubbing her hands together, clasping her hands together in front of her. “I’m definitely fine. But, you have no idea where everything is meant to go, and I also want to start on the cooking.”

“So, you’re going to tell me where everything goes and start on the cooking?”

She rolled her eyes a little at him. “Yeah, sure.” Then a bright smile grew on her face. “But you’ve got to leave my stuff out for me. And you’ve got to organise my cupboards.”

“Well,” he said thoughtfully, “I do like organising.”

Janine laughed in response to that comment. She knew that he did. In fact, she was very sure that everyone at the school knew that he did — she’d be surprised if there was someone who didn’t know.

Either way, soon enough she was pointing out what went in which cupboard, what went into the fridge, and what she needed out so that she could use it for cooking. And the two of them settled into a pretty easy rhythm as Gregory put everything away, trying to keep everything to lower shelves so that she could reach them easily when she needed them, whilst she got started on making enough dinner for two. It didn’t feel like an hour had passed when they finally sat down at her little dining table to eat together, plates of Spaghetti Bolognese dished out between them along with glasses of water. Simple, easy, cheap.

And yet, with the conversation and the company she had that evening, it ended up being one of the best dinners she’d had in months. She couldn’t remember laughing or even smiling that much at a dinner in so long, even something so simple as spaghetti with a friend.

She would always be grateful for Gregory and his kind self.

***

3. Walking Home

Repairs. Her car had to go in for repairs. She didn’t think that the car itself was so bad, but apparently her mechanic thought that it needed a lot of repairing… a lot of repairing that she didn’t have the money for right then.

Which meant that they were keeping her car until she could afford to pay it off. Which, of course, she was not impressed with.

She needed her car to get across town. She needed her car to commute to work. She couldn’t walk everywhere. That was simply ridiculous. She needed to drive so that if she bought supplies to bring in, she could carry them in without having to walk the forty minutes it took to get from her apartment to the school. But clearly her mechanic thought she could walk everywhere, because they hadn’t even given her a courtesy car or anything like that. It was ridiculous — at least, that was what Jacob had told her when she’d explained her dilemma to him. In the same breath, he’d pointed out that he lived in the opposite direction from the school to her, so it wouldn’t be as convenient for either of them for him to give her a lift to the school. She got the feeling it was more about him not wanting to wake up that little bit earlier to pick her up, but she could at least respect that. They were best friends, but she couldn’t expect him to be able to help her out with everything when they both had other commitments.

It would have been nice to get him to agree to the lift, though.

Thinking about it, though, she couldn’t really think of anyone on staff that she could ask for a lift from. Carpooling wasn’t always fun, and all of them probably had their own plans and routes every day after school that she really didn’t want to disrupt. And it wasn’t as though her own place was on the complete other side of town, or anything. Sure, her mechanic was making her walk places, but it wasn’t all bad. It was a decent walk, and it gave her time to think and mentally plan for her lessons the following day. Plus, she got some exercise. It was a win-win situation.

Well, it wasn’t for her feet, but she wasn’t paying attention to those.

Regardless, it meant that heading to and from school? She tried to leave as late as possible. It wasn’t as though she was embarrassed or anything… well, actually, she kind of was. But it was more like she didn’t want to make anyone feel as though they had to give her a lift home. She had legs. She had feet. She could walk home every day until she’d saved up enough to get her car back. She didn’t need to have people offering to give her a lift constantly. She didn’t want them to be pitying her because she wasn’t doing as well as she was letting them know.

The main issue with that was whilst everyone else left at a decent time, and they all ridiculed Janine for staying a lot longer than she needed to (even when she still had her car about), Gregory didn’t. Gregory was the one member of teaching staff that could rival her for how late she could stay in the building. He was the one other member of staff who liked to stay late, who would stay in the building until Mr Johnson put the lights out just to prepare for the next day’s lessons.

She liked the idea of being in the building with someone else. No kids running around in the corridors, barely any of the other teachers going around chatting to everyone (looking at you, Jacob). Just her and one other teacher. One other teacher who occasionally dropped by for a chat before going back to what he was doing. It was nice.

Now, it was a pain.

All she wanted to do was walk home and she got the feeling that the ever-chivalrous Gregory was going to-

“Hey, Janine.”

She jumped when his voice appeared beside her, his presence sudden. She wasn’t expecting it at all.

Why did he do that?

“Gregory!” She put her hand to her chest, a smile growing on her face to hide the fact that she was currently trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. “Don’t sneak up on me like that! You scared me!”

Gregory had a small smile on his face, and Janine was pretty sure he almost let a small chuckle escape, but then his eyebrows were raised as he looked between her and the door, where she was clearly heading. “You’re heading off?”

Janine had to try really hard not to tense at that, not to give anything away. They were heading towards the main doors. She was almost free. She could very easily head home and he wouldn’t know the wiser. “Yep! I managed to get everything done for the day, and everything is prepped for tomorrow, so…”

“Oh, nice.” He gave her a smile. She almost thought that he was going to say that he’d done the same, but she got the feeling that he always did the same. It was always like that. He always left the school no less than prepared for the next day at work. That was just the way Gregory was.

She admired that about him.

“How are you heading home? I didn’t see your car in the parking lot today.”

It was very hard not to tense at that. “Oh, I, uh, got a cab in this morning.”

Gregory’s eyebrows practically disappeared into his hairline. “You got a cab? Here?”

She gave a half shrug, hoping the lie was believable. “Yeah. It wasn’t too bad. The driver was really nice, actually. We got to have a really nice, long chat about-”

“Have you been getting cabs for the past few days?” he cut in, and when Janine looked at him, her heart melted. He was worried - genuinely worried. There was a concerned frown on his face, and his lips were a little bit pursed, and his eyes had narrowed a bit as though he was trying to figure out some sort of solution to a problem that wasn’t really his so she should really stop him before he did something stupid like offer to give her a ride home or-

“Are you kidding me?” Okay, she’d left it far too long, and now he’d stopped and was staring at her incredulously. “Janine, how much does that cost? Cabs here aren’t cheap!”

“It’s no biggie,” she tried to brush off, even though it was very much a biggie. “As I said, nice cab driver.” She opened the front doors to the building and headed straight through, pausing to let him pick his jaw up off the ground and catch up. She wasn’t the kind to let the door shut in someone’s face. “Besides, I’m not getting a cab home today, so-”

“So how are you getting home?” he demanded.

She paused for a moment, considering whether she really wanted to answer that question. If she did answer it, he’d probably man-handle her into his car and give her a lift home, which she didn’t mind but also didn’t exactly want. If she didn’t, he’d keep pestering her until she did, and then he’d man-handle her into his car and give her a lift home, which she didn’t mind but also didn’t exactly want.

It was a tough decision.

“I thought I’d get some fresh air,” she admitted, though she hoped that plastering a bright smile on her face and trying not to look guilty would make it seem more like something that was spur of the moment and not what she’d been planning to do all week. “So I’m walking home. No biggie. I’ll be fine. It’s not that far.” She was already walking off as she was speaking, not giving him the chance to get a word in edgeways. If she did, he’d try to talk her out of it, or man-handle her into his car and give her a lift home. Basically something she didn’t want him to do. “It’s good exercise. Plus, it gives me time to think about everything that went on during the day, what could’ve gone better, how to improve my kids’ schedules and let them enjoy learning more because learning is meant to be fun and not a pain and it’s meant to be fun for everyone, not just those who are more academically able. And there are some really cute coffee shops on my way home-” not that she’d been into a single one of them, “-which means I can grab a coffee on my way home and have something warm or cold to drink depending on how I feel, so I get to stay hydrated as well and it’s really encouraging me to explore my neighbourhood a whole lot more than I’m used to doing.”

By this point, she was nearing the gates. She hadn’t realised how quickly she’d been walking, but obviously she was in a rush to get away from Gregory so that she could walk home in peace and not have him nagging at her to let him give her a lift, and then she could focus on herself and trying not to worry about her car still being in the shop for whoever knows how long-

Her thoughts were cut off when she heard a set of footsteps fall into step beside her, and she looked up to see that it was Gregory, the exact person she’d been trying to escape from.

And he was walking next to her.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice sharp and quizzical. He had a car. He should be driving home. She was very sure that he didn’t live in the same direction she did so this was probably going to be a problem for him-

“I’m walking you home,” he said simply, and the look that he gave her practically dared her to tell him to turn around and go back.

If she told him that, he’d probably pick her up and carry her back with him so that he could man-handle her into his car and give her a lift home.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to find something to say that could make him turn around and go back, that would make him turn around and go back, but her mind was blank. Her mind was rarely ever blank. She usually had something good to say about situations like this, things that were coming up against her.

This time, she had nothing.

Which was why she ducked her head a little as they walked, avoiding eye contact with him. “Thanks, I guess.”

She could practically feel the eye roll he gave her as they continued to walk away from the school building.

***

Janine didn’t want to admit it, she really didn’t want to admit it, but walking home with someone else was so nice. It was just… it was just really nice to not just have herself to talk to, to have someone else to bounce ideas off. And Gregory was good at ideas. He was good at planning, and at making things work - a whole lot better than she was, in her opinion. She basically managed to evaluate the day in half the time it took her usually, and already had ideas on what to do better before they reached what Janine later realised was a stop that he had probably planned the moment he decided to walk with her.

A coffee shop.

She blinked as he pulled her to a stop in front of it, her eyes wide. “Wait, why are we here? I kind of need to get home-”

“Don’t you usually stop here to rehydrate?” The small smirk on his face told her that he knew he’d got her there, and she sighed, rolling her eyes at him.

“Okay, fine,” she relented (after not too much convincing, admittedly). “But I’m b-”

He was already inside before she’d even finished speaking. She got the distinct feeling that she was not going to be buying anything in that coffee shop. And whilst she wanted to be annoyed about that… a small part of her found that it was actually pretty sweet.

She tried to make that part of her shut up.

The best part of it, though, wasn’t the fact that he was buying her coffee. It wasn’t the fact that they’d stepped into a very cosy, very comfortable coffee shop and he’d made her take a seat whilst he ordered drinks for them. It wasn’t even the fact that he ordered her a blueberry muffin to have with her drink (and she’d even offered for him to share it with her, not that he’d taken her up on the offer, of course).

No, it was the fact that when he returned with their drinks, he had a plain hot chocolate.

And she had a hot chocolate with whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, and toasted marshmallows.

And it was like heaven in a to-go cup.

“Gregory! You honestly didn’t have to!” she protested, though her eyes practically sparkled as they focused on the beverage in her hands. She almost didn’t want to drink it - it looked so beautiful; she didn’t want to ruin it by drinking it all. But it also smelled so delicious that she had to be careful she didn’t try to swallow it all in one gulp and burn her tongue or her throat or something.

“Well, you did mention getting coffee on your way home,” he pointed out, “but I thought, since it’s late and you don’t need that much caffeine, you might like something hot and sweet instead.”

Janine was very sure that the teasing voice in her head was Ava’s, she could only hear it in Ava’s voice, which meant that she blocked it out before it could say anything that would make her blush. Except then her own voice was pointing out that he’d gone ahead and bought her a drink, which was really sweet of him, and he’d done it without her even asking him. She hadn’t even wanted to ask him. He’d done it out of his own volition.

Janine felt her cheeks heat up a little at that. She hadn’t expected Gregory to decide to bring her to a coffee shop and buy her a drink because she’d mentioned doing it in passing! She hadn’t even expected to walk into a coffee shop! She’d thought that she would be at home, on her own, dressed in her pyjamas and a decent book with a cup of tea so that she could wind down a little before bed, maybe even making a phone call to her sister or something like that. But this? This was different.

This was… actually kind of sweet.

“Well, thank you for the hot chocolate anyway,” she said with a smile, taking a sip that resulted in a whole lot of whipped cream, some marshmallows and sprinkles, and the tiniest bit of actual hot chocolate heading into her mouth. It was heavenly.

She only realised that she must have had some sort of look on her face when she spotted him smirking out of the corner of her eye, and she narrowed her eyes at him. “What?”

“Oh, nothing,” he said quickly, though the smirk switched into a smile. “It’s nothing.” He glanced down at his own hot chocolate before back at her. “We should probably get going, though. It’s getting later so-”

“Oh!” Janine glanced out of the coffee shop window and realised that Gregory was right - it was getting dark, and even the usual rush hour traffic was beginning to die down. She usually got home before it died down, even when she was walking.

Had she been taking her time walking with Gregory?

Before she could even think of an answer to that question, he was heading to the door of the coffee shop. She rushed to follow him out, her eyes widening when he stood aside and held the door open for her. She brushed past him as she walked through the open doorway, pleading herself to let her cheeks cool down.

“Thank you,” she told him with a smile, and she wondered whether the look on her face was as soft as it felt. He gave her his own smile as he followed her through the doorway, letting it shut behind him.

Glancing around, Janine was tempted to tell him that it was late and that he should head home. After all, he had to walk back to get his car, right? And she didn’t need anyone to walk her home from there. She’d be okay.

But then she looked at him, properly looked him. Watched him sip on his hot chocolate, maybe grimace a little at how sweet it was, before a thoughtful look appeared on his face as though he was actually considering trying to like the taste. And a voice in her head told her that it was cute, it was endearing.

She couldn’t send that away.

“Should we get going?” she asked, looking up at the evening sky. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t make it home before nightfall. By the time she turned to focus on him, she realised he was standing right beside her, ready to go.

He smiled and nodded his head in the direction they were headed. “Let’s go, then.”

Janine didn’t regret getting home late. Walking with Gregory was much nicer than curling up on her own in her pyjamas.

***

4. Spontaneous Mall Lunch

Janine was sad.

It wasn’t a serious sad, no. It was… admittedly, it was more of a “superficial” sad, but she was still sad.

She was sad because her favourite sweater had a hole in it, and it was a hole too big for her to patch up. (She also didn’t have the right materials to patch it up, and that sweater would not look good patched up. Not when the hole was right over her boob. No, she didn’t know how the hole got there - she’d only seen it that morning.)

Anyway, because she was sad about her lost sweater (may it rest in peace, or in pieces if she decided to make it into a quilt or something), she decided the best thing for her to do would be to cheer herself up.

And the best way for her to cheer herself up was to go out and buy a new sweater as a replacement, of course!

Most people say that it would not be a wise way of spending her salary. After all, she had food to buy, and bills to pay, and her rent would be due soon so she really couldn’t be frivolous with her money… but she also really needed a new sweater. It was her aesthetic! She needed to be the cute and cosy boho teacher! She couldn’t do that when she was down a sweater and had one less option in her wardrobe.

Plus, the thrift shop usually had something cheap and cute that she could wear. Hopefully she’d find something there that would last her a good while, because sometimes they had genuinely good things there that she actually liked. She just had to pop into some non-thrift shops first so that if anyone saw her, it wouldn’t just look like she was there to buy cheap clothes and nothing else.

Although, if she went into the normal shops and then the thrift shop afterwards, it would probably look like she browsed the clothes and realised she couldn’t afford anything (which was true) and went to the cheapest option available.

Maybe she just needed to learn how to knit her own clothes so people didn’t ever have to see her shopping for cheap clothes in public. She’d just make them all herself. Much easier.

Oh, and people would love that. They’d ask her where she got her clothes, and she’d tell them that she made them herself, and maybe they’d ask her to make some for them and she’d be making cute matching sweaters for the entire staff at Abbott Elementary and she could team up with Ava, even, and make her own little clothing line to sell the clothes so they could earn money for the school, and—

“Oof!”

Janine was, unfortunately, so busy in her own head that she hadn’t realised she was walking straight towards someone until she crashed into them. She stumbled back, her body not expecting to hit a solid wall of muscle, and she blinked a good few times to clear her eyes and work out who exactly she’d walked into.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry-” she started, only to recognise the voice that was starting to apologise to her as well.

“Gregory?”

He blinked, before a small smile grew on his face. “Oh, Janine. Hey.”

Janine knew Gregory was a tall, muscular guy. She knew he probably worked out to get all of that muscle, because there wasn’t a single person in the world that naturally had that sort of muscle. She’d always meant to ask him about it, actually, but in all of their conversations she hadn’t found a time that was right to bring it up.

Except now, because he was in a tightly hugging grey t-shirt that definitely showed off his muscles and perfectly suited his skin tone (as though the shirts he wore to teach didn’t show off enough… whilst still being completely respectful, of course), and he was using those gorgeously muscular arms of his to carry what looked like a gym bag over one shoulder. His loose shorts did nothing to hide the fact that his thighs looked a good level of muscular as well.

It took a good few seconds for Janine to actually remember that it was rude to stare at people like that, and she should start a conversation to bring her brain of the topic of Gregory looking very good right then. “There a gym in here?” Yes, good. Good conversation starter. Makes staring at him for too long far less suspicious.

“Uh, yeah, top floor.”

“Nice!”

“You were the one who recommended it to me.”

Well, that flopped.

“Really?” She definitely didn’t remember saying anything like that. Maybe it had been one of the many things she’d mentioned in passing, considering she talked a lot and didn’t always remember the things she said. Though, she was very sure she was the kind of person to remember that sort of detail about someone else. Very sure. She would have remembered if he said he was starting the gym at the mall. “Well, how are you enjoying it?”

“It’s decent,” he nodded his head a little, as though he was using the time he spent bobbing his head to actually think about more he could say. “I’m not entirely used to using machines, I prefer actual weights and using your own body to increase your strength, but it’s a decent place. The staff there aren’t too bad either.”

There were a few beats where neither of them spoke, but it was enough. The silence that stretched out between the two of them after he spoke was kind of awkward, admittedly.

Janine needed to fill it.

“What are the staff like?” she asked, trying to sound interested. She wasn’t the kind of person who would go to the gym, ever, but she liked to keep fit and healthy. In her books, that meant going to walks and the occasional jog so that she didn’t get too out of shape or anything of the sort. But there were just some questions that you asked to keep a conversation going, right?

Gregory opened his mouth to answer, and then raised an eyebrow at her. “The staff?”

“Yeah, the staff. You know…” She trailed off when she recognised the look on his face.

That was the look of a guy that couldn’t believe she was actually asking what she was asking.

“It’s a legitimate question!” she protested, reaching over and pushing his arm lightly. His light chuckle told her that he was… okay? With the physical contact.

At least, she hoped he was okay with the contact. She wasn’t sure whether they were close on that sort of level, yet (she could punch Jacob in the arm whenever she wanted to), but if they’d reached that level now, then she was going to be more than a little pleased.

“That was definitely not a legitimate question,” Gregory countered, his voice light. Janine liked it when his voice was light. It meant he was joking around with her, feeling comfortable around her. She got the feeling that sometimes he didn’t feel comfortable around some of the other members of staff.

The silence that followed this time was softer, and more comfortable, not one that Janine was in a rush to fill, which was nice. It was Gregory that actually broke it this time.

“So, what are you doing here?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Oh, I’m just here looking for a new jumper,” she admitted, giving a little shrug. “I found a hole in a really awkward place in my favourite one, so I’m getting a replacement one.”

“Wait, what?” His eyes widened. “How did that happen?”

“I don’t even know! I just spotted it there as I was putting it on! I had to find a whole new outfit!” A pout grew on her face at the idea of changing her whole outfit because part of her outfit was too damaged to wear. “Hopefully I can find something similar enough in the store, though. I got it years ago - I don’t know whether that style would even be sold anymore.”

“You want me to help you search?” he asked.

It was a simple question, a casual question, something that should not have meant so much to her. After all, he was just a friend offering to help her out with finding a new jumper, right?

That was why a bright smile grew on her face. “That would be great! You remember what the jumper looks like, right? I could do with some help finding something that looks good on me, too.” Before he could say anything else, she stepped beside him and linked her arm through his, ignoring the raised eyebrow he was giving her. Most people gave her that sort of look when she did this anyway. “Come on! I also want to hit the thrift shop as well, and they don’t have unlimited stocks of the good jumpers.”

***

The shopping trip ended up being a lot longer, and a lot more fun, than Janine had initially intended for it to be. First of all, there was the fact that she wasn’t doing it alone - Gregory was there with her, and whilst he didn’t always make comments, he gave… well, he gave decent opinions on what she was looking at. Maybe some of them weren’t exactly the opinions she’d been hoping for, but it was better than shrugging and changing the subject, like Tariq used to do whenever she needed his opinion on something. He also sensed that she didn’t really want any of the jumpers she found at the actual clothing stores, and actually browsed with her when they moved on to the thrift shop. Maybe she only found one jumper than she actually liked, but Gregory was there. He was present. He was offering her opinions and asking her whether the clothes she was picking out were actually clothes she wanted and not things she was picking out because the price tag looked nice to her.

He made her think before she bought. He made her think before she did anything.

It was nice.

Regardless, at the end of that little shopping trip, once she’d bought a jumper that would hopefully last her another few years, it was Gregory’s turn to direct her in a specific direction.

Which happened to be towards the food court.

“Before you say anything, I know you haven’t eaten today,” Gregory said quickly, guiding her with a hand on her upper back. “You’re easy to read.”

“Damn it,” Janine hissed as they approached the food court. She hated the fact that her friends (at least, she thought they were her friends) could read her so easily, because it was like she couldn’t get away with doing things she used to be able to do before. Like, forgetting to eat before running out to the mall to find a cute jumper.

She would’ve eaten eventually. It was just that Gregory was making her eat now.

And that was how they ended up sitting in the food court, a thin crust margherita pizza on the table between them and a hot dog next to Janine. Because, of course, when she started smelling the food, her stomach rumbled so loudly that she couldn’t deny herself to get a hot dog and a pizza.

She was pretty sure that Gregory was amused by how hungry she actually was.

“So how much of this pizza am I going to get?” he asked. His tone was light, teasing, and it brought a wide smile to Janine’s face on an occasion where she would usually feel awkward.

“Well, that depends on how much you’re actually going to eat,” she teased right back. When his eyes narrowed at her, she had to hold herself back from laughing.

“I’ll have you know, I treat my body like a temple,” he countered. “I eat what I like-”

“What you like is bland.”

“Don’t insult my basic tastes.”

Janine only had a grin on her face as she reached over and picked up a slice of pizza, taking a large bite out of the cheesy, greasy food. The fact that Gregory was grimacing a little at her only amused her more. “Mmmmm! Tasty!”

He shook his head, looking down at the pizza before back up at her. She was still grinning, still waiting for him to dive in.

“I went to the gym today-” he started.

“Then you need to recover all the energy you lost! With good pizza.”

“I’m pretty sure Melissa would murder you for calling this good pizza.”

“You still need to recover your energy.” She gestured down at the pizza between them, watching him expectantly.

He sighed, pursing his lips. His fingers twitched a couple of times, as though he was still unsure about whether he really wanted to pick up a slice. And then he reached down and poked at the crust on the slice closest to him.

Janine had to really resist the urge to roll her eyes. “Just take a slice already. You’ve eaten pizza before.”

“Fine, fine.” Gregory sighed before reaching down and picking up the slice. The cheese trailing from the slice back to the pizza made Janine’s mouth water.

From the look on Gregory’s face, it definitely did not have the same effect.

He stared at the slice in his hands for a few moments, seemingly hesitating, before he finally took a bite, chewing slowly.

Janine felt like she wanted to celebrate at that. After all, it wasn’t often that Gregory went ahead and ate something that was out of his comfort zone. And no matter how many times they’d eaten together, pizza was always out of his comfort zone. As if it was something his mouth and stomach couldn’t quite get over. But she also knew that they were far from alone in the food court. They were surrounded on all sides, people who’d decided to take a trip to the mall all enjoying the various foods that were being served there for people to buy. She saw a couple of other tables with large pizzas on them, shared between three or four people who were chattering amicably. There were some with that cheap, fast Chinese takeout, most of those people eating with chopsticks to seem sophisticated.

The ones that stood out the most were the people eating hot dogs and burgers with fries. Janine hadn’t got fries herself, knowing that she was also going to be having a pizza so she wouldn’t have the space for fries as well. But all of them looked so good, and most of the people eating them had buckets of fries shared between them. Plain fries, sweet potato fries, dirty fries. All different kinds of fries surrounded them, Janine could smell them all.

They smelled amazing.

“You don’t need to look like you’re being forced to eat something that could kill you,” she teased as she took another bite of her own pizza. “It’s not that bad.”

He crinkled his nose at her.

“Oh, come on! The cheese is cheesy, the crust is pretty fresh, the tomato base tastes nice and tangy and compliments the cheese perfectly. You’ve just gotta-” She took another bite, smiling widely at the taste. “Mmmmmm…”

Gregory was shaking his head as he set his slice of pizza down, though his lips had quirked up a little.

“Besides, if you dislike pizza so much,” Janine started as she swallowed, about to take another bite of the slice of pizza in her hand, “why do you always eat it when you hang out with me?”

There were a few moments of silence where Gregory said nothing. He didn’t even look up at her, instead deciding to focus on the slice of pizza in front of him. Janine was almost worried that she’d asked him a question that he couldn’t answer, or that he would refuse to answer. Which he was well within his rights to do, of course. He didn’t have to answer everything she asked. She knew that she sometimes asked too many questions… or, rather, she usually asked too many questions, and some of them were too invasive. So she didn’t mind it when people refused to answer, because it told her where the boundaries lay. She’d had many boundaries established by Barbara and Melissa - they liked to do that sort of thing constantly with her-

“I guess it’s the company.”

Gregory’s answer to the question brought Janine out of her thoughts suddenly, and she blinked owlishly at him, as though she was trying to work out what he meant by that. What did he mean by that? Why did he say it like that?

“The company?” she asked slowly, her hands lowering to put her slice of pizza down.

He gave half a shrug as he lifted his slice to his mouth again. “The company.”

She didn’t know whether he was going to elaborate, whether he was going to be specific about exactly what company, but then she saw the look on his face. The way he was looking at her, how he was smiling a little in that way that meant that she knew the answer, she definitely knew the answer.

And a smile grew on her own face.

She was glad that her company at least got him to broaden his eating horizons.

***

5. Payday Treats

“So you’re definitely coming, right?”

Janine was standing at the door to Gregory’s classroom, waiting for him to pack up and grab his satchel so that they could all go. “Everyone’s already at the main doors. We’re leaving in a couple of minutes.”

When he turned to look at her, the look in his eyes told her everything she felt he was going to say. It was late. It was a Friday. He wanted to go home and sleep. It had been a long week. He didn’t particularly fancy going out drinking with some of the staff on payday considering some of them had a tendency to blow their money and then ask him to pay the rest.

His eyes told her a lot of reasons why he shouldn’t be going.

She was going to ignore them.

“I don’t know…” he started, only for her to cut him off.

“Come on,” she said, her voice practically whiny. “It’s payday! You can’t honestly want to sit around and do work on a Friday when you just got paid and could go out and enjoy yourself.”

There were a few moments of silence where they both just stared at her, and it took a few moments for Janine to actually realise how she sounded. It was almost as though Gregory realised just before she did, because then he had an accusatory raised eyebrow as he looked at her.

“That’s kind of hypocritical coming from you.”

Janine felt her cheeks heat up at that. Okay… that was completely called for. She definitely deserved that, and she knew it. “Okay, but at least I’m trying to have fun and actually go out…” she started, before realising how she sounded. She sounded just like Jacob when she thought he was being really bitchy and horrible and unnecessarily rude about her working habits. Maybe she’d been spending too much time around him recently. “Look… I just think it’ll be fun! It’ll be a really good bonding opportunity to get to know some of the other teachers! And to talk to them in a more relaxed atmosphere!” When doubt clouded his features, she pouted at him a little. “You’ll enjoy it, I promise.”

He huffed out a laugh. “That’s a big promise to make.”

“You’re worth big promises.” She spotted something flicker across his features, but as soon as it was there it was gone, and she shook it from her mind. It probably wasn’t important enough if whatever it was didn’t stay on his face for longer than a couple of minutes. “Come on… please Gregory?”

He let out a long, slow sigh, and Janine was beginning to think that he was going to turn her down, that he was going to point blank refuse to go. Which she understood - there was no requirement to come, he could come if he wanted to, and if he was busy or had plans elsewhere-

“Okay, fine,” he responded, cutting off her thoughts right there. A huge smile grew on her face as he began to pack everything away, and soon enough he had his satchel ready, slung over his shoulder as he got ready to head out of the building with her. And the rest of the staff. Yeah, them too.

The way he was getting ready kind of reminded her of the times he walked her home, after that first time.

Anyway, as soon as he had everything, the two of them were turning off the lights to his classroom and heading out to the main entrance. Even from down the corridor, she could see Jacob waiting impatiently, checking his watch and tapping his foot. He looked up and spotted the two of them heading towards him, and gave one of his usual over-dramatic sighs.

“Oh my god, guys, what took you so long?” he demanded once they were close enough for him to speak without yelling down the corridor. “I asked you to call Gregory! It shouldn’t take you that long just to say, ‘Hey, Greg, buddy, we’re going.’!”

Janine scoffed as she slowed to a stop in front of Jacob. She got the feeling that Gregory was giving him some sort of look over her shoulder, because Jacob was acting pretty disgruntled for no particular reason. Instead of looking at Gregory to see whether he wanted to say anything about Jacob’s behaviour, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. He was her best friend.

She did not appreciate that tone.

“First of all, that is not how I would talk to Gregory,” she pointed out. “If that’s how you want to talk to him, then that’s on you.”

“I don’t want him to talk to me like that,” Gregory commented quietly from behind Janine, but she tried not to react to that. If she reacted, she would probably end up laughing.

This was a serious situation.

“Secondly, some of us actually do work after school and have to pack our things away instead of running straight out of the door,” she pointed out. “We like to prepare for the next day of school instead of planning in the mornings. So maybe you should cut him some slack for wanting to be prepared for his kids instead of getting mad at him for not showing up at the front door like five seconds after sending me off to grab him.”

When Jacob had the decency to look chastised, Janine felt a small bit of pride swelling in her chest. “Oh, well, uh…” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “I guess I didn’t think of that.” He looked over her shoulder at Gregory. “Sorry about that, Gregory. I’ll try to be, well, more considerate next time.”

There was a moment of silence where Janine was pretty sure the guys were having some sort of silent exchange, and then Jacob was looking between the two of them with a smile.

“So, are we ready to go? Everyone’s waiting.”

“Sure,” Janine said, and the three of them headed out to meet the other teachers, Jacob walking a few steps ahead of them. As they reached the front door, Gregory reached over to hold the door open for Janine.

Before she could even say “thank you”, though, he was talking. “So since you’re making me come out with you, are you going to buy me a drink?” His tone was teasing, lightly so, and it made her smile.

“Only if you buy me one first,” she joked back, looking over her shoulder at him with a twinkle in her eyes.

The smile that grew on his own face, a challenging one that she rarely got to see, gave her butterflies. “Deal.”

***

She didn’t expect him to actually follow through on their deal.

She’d actually thought it was a joke.

And yet, one of the first things that Gregory did was set down a fruity cocktail down in front of her at the bar.

“Your turn.”

They hadn’t ended at the first drinks either, and Janine was very sure of that. Sure, she wasn’t the kind of person who was particularly good at holding her alcohol, being pretty tipsy after three or so cocktails, but that didn’t seem to stop Gregory from buying drinks for her. And it certainly didn’t stop her from buying drinks for him at the bar, ordering him a good couple of whiskeys before switching up to cocktails.

She hadn’t thought that he would actually drink the cocktails. Especially since he’d turned down doing shots with everyone else.

(Janine had done a couple of shots. She definitely regretted the shots.)

By the end of the evening, she was very sure that she couldn’t walk in a straight line. And she was very sure that the world liked to spin every once in a while. And everything was actually kind of funny - she kept giggling at it all, regardless of what it was. Jacob laughed with her.

Gregory said something like he thought it was cute? She wasn’t completely sure, she couldn’t remember. The whole night was blurring into one and she couldn’t separate one conversation from another.

At one point, she was very sure that she took a Tequila shot with Ava, and she’d actually had fun with her.

Regardless, considering the whole night was starting to blur together, the next thing she remembered was actually standing out in the street in front of a local ice cream parlour.

“Why are we here?” she asked, leaning on whoever was standing next to her. Her tongue felt a little bit heavy, like it was hard for her to talk properly without slurring her words or something like that. The world was spinning a little bit, but when she looked up, she realised exactly who she was standing with.

It was Gregory. He looked like an angel, but it was still Gregory.

Wait, since when did she think he looked like an angel? No that was weird, that was really weird.

“An angel, huh?”

And she’d said that out loud, of course.

“I meant it in a completely figurative way,” she managed to say, casting him what she hoped looked like a genuine smile and not a goofy one. Either way, he was smiling back at her, and she felt her cheeks heat up in response.

“You want to get that ice cream you asked for?”

“Ice cream that I asked for?” She genuinely could not recall asking for ice cream, but there was no way she would turn down the sweet, cold and creamy treat now. Not when they were standing right in front of the parlour, and the store was open, and they could go in and get some ice cream. There were probably a million flavours for her to choose from.

Before Gregory could say anything, she was dragging him towards the store, her determination to get ice cream suddenly making her a lot steadier on her feet. “Okay but we have to try as many flavours as possible. As long as they don’t make me puke.”

Some small part of her told her that if she looked over her shoulder right then, Gregory would have a very concerned expression on his face simply because there wasn’t a chance in hell that he wanted to deal with her puking. And she didn’t blame him - she wouldn’t want to deal with her puking either.

Eventually the two of them reached the counter, Janine practically pressing herself up against the glass as she looked at the different gelato flavours that were available. They all looked so good. “Okay, but, that blueberry cheesecake would absolutely go with pistachio, and birthday cake sounds so cool but also so weird—”

“You’re not going to pick more flavours, are you?”

Janine was pressed up against the glass separating her from the different flavours of ice cream, looking through the various options to see what else she could have, or rather she was thinking about whether there were any other flavours that would go better with the ones she’d picked, whether there were any she should have switched out in case they tasted better together. There were so many flavours, though, and she honestly couldn’t be expected to pick between just three…

Her thoughts slowed to a stop when she realised something was set on the counter in front of her, and she looked up to see there was a little pot set there, with three scoops of ice cream in it - one of blueberry cheesecake, one of pistachio, and one of birthday cake. She blinked, her eyes wide as she stared at the ice cream in front of her.

How did it get in front of her so fast?

“Janine?”

She looked over her shoulder to see Gregory standing there, a small pot in his own hand with three scoops of what definitely looked like vanilla and chocolate and something else. Plain. Simple.

Very Gregory.

“Come on,” he held out his elbow to her, for her to take. Gentlemanly. Sweet. “There’s a free booth over there.”

She blinked a few more times, letting the words register in her mind properly, before she picked up her ice cream and followed Gregory, placing her hand in the crook of her elbow. She couldn’t help smiling as he guided them over to the booth, her cheeks heating up as she glanced down at the ice cream in her hand.

Had he paid for it? Did he buy it?

Oh, she was going to have to buy him an ice cream now, just like how he’d bought her drinks and she’d bought him some back.

How many drinks had she had?

Before she could answer that question, the two of them reached the booth Gregory had been pointing out, and she set her ice cream down before sliding into the booth. Gregory slid in opposite her, setting his little pot of ice cream right opposite hers.

Oh, oh he was sitting right opposite her.

She could watch his handsome face all night.

“You do know you aren’t keeping your thoughts in your mind.”

She felt her cheeks heating up at that. “Oh.” She looked down at the pot of ice cream in front of her, before laughing a little. “I’m such an idiot when I’ve had too many drinks,” she giggled, looking up at him with a smile. “Sometimes I forget to say things only in my head, you know? You get that sometimes, right? Where you verbalise your thoughts instead of just keeping them in your head.” She paused for a moment, before realising that this was Gregory. Gregory didn’t say anything that was unnecessary. Gregory only ever said the things that were important. He didn’t randomly say whatever was on his mind. “Oh no, you don’t. You always think first. You’re smart like that.” Her eyes widened. “Not that I’m saying that bitterly or sarcastically or anything! I just realised it’s something you do, that’s all. You always think first. I’m not annoyed with you about it. It would just be nice to know what you’re thinking sometimes, you know? It would be fun, even! You might have some really interesting or funny things on your mind, but you hold it back and the rest of us can’t hear your thoughts, and it’s sad because what if we could have had an interesting conversation based on your thoughts? What if we could have laughed over what you were thinking? What if-”

Janine was very aware of the fact that she was rambling. She was incredibly aware that that was the case. But part of her didn’t want to stop - the part of her that wasn’t inhibited due to the alcohol in her system was keeping her going, letting her say anything and everything that comes to mind without thinking twice. Not that she thought twice on a usual basis - usually she thought once, and that was enough to filter out what she should and shouldn’t say. It was just that a lot of the time, people didn’t particularly want to hear what she should-

Her thoughts and her rambling were both cut short when she felt a hand on top of hers, and her eyes widened when she realised exactly what had happened.

Gregory had softly set his hand on hers, and he was smiling at her. Smiling at her like she was rambling and sounding silly, like she was making him laugh.

Was she making him laugh?

“I like to think through my thoughts,” he commented quietly, “because I like to say only the important things. Only the things that need to be heard.”

“How do you know what needs to be heard? How do you know that you’re not holding back something important?”

He gave a small half-shrug. “I just do.”

She stared at him for a few moments, before pulling her hand away with a small huff. She picked up the small spoon for her ice cream, scooping some onto it. “Well, you know what?” She popped the ice cream into her mouth. “One day, I wanna hear all those thoughts. Then I can figure out how important they are.”

He pulled his own hand away beginning to focus on his ice cream. But Janine didn’t miss his next comment, no matter how quiet he said it.

“Maybe one day, I’ll tell you.”

***

+1. Date Night

“I can’t believe you actually got a table booked at this place.”

Janine’s eyes were practically glued to the restaurant they were parking in front of, its sophisticated air leaking out through its lit windows. Even through the closed car windows, she could hear the soft music being played from within the restaurant - sweet notes that very clearly accompanied the dinners being served in there very nicely. She’d never been to this place before - seen it a couple of times whilst either driving or walking past, but she was very aware of the fact that it was not a place she would have been able to afford going to even whilst Tariq had been living with her and earning enough to pay part of the rent.

Gregory had, apparently, managed to book it for a date night with Taylor.

She turned to look at him with wide eyes, finally tearing her face from the restaurant. “And I can’t believe Taylor bailed on you when you were coming here.”

He gave one of his little, slightly-awkward-but-not-that-awkward shrugs, smiling at her. “Work.” It was a simple enough answer that clearly had a lot more to it than a single word, but it was enough for Janine. If Taylor was saying that it was because of work, then she wasn’t going to argue — she didn’t know what was going on in the other woman’s life, they weren’t friends. And besides, her bailing meant that she got to go to one of these really nice restaurants with a really good friend. It was a winning situation for her, really.

Though, it kind of concerned her that Taylor was bailing on date nights like this. She swore she remembered Gregory saying something about her bailing on another date before…

Putting his car into park, he turned off the ignition. “She just asked me to remember to get her some takeout afterwards, you know? Something small, so she knows what she’s missing out on.” Something on Gregory’s face told Janine that he didn’t really think that that was all Taylor wanted from missing the date, but he was going to do it anyway because he cared about her.

It made her worry that little bit more about how things were going with him and Taylor, but then he was opening the car door and stepping out, shutting the door behind him before rounding the car to Janine’s side and opening her door for her.

Her eyebrows rose at that, at him simply being more than enough of a gentleman, and then smiled brightly at him. “Thanks!”

He smiled back at her. “No problem.” Holding a hand out, he helped her out of his car before shutting the door behind her, locking the car and turning to the restaurant. “You ready to try this place out?”

“I sure am.” Her eyes stared up at the restaurant, the light from the restaurant name glittering in the dim evening lighting. It looked pretty, fitting right in with all of the other glittering lights along the street, and Gregory passed her to hold the door open for her.

Walking inside, the smells of fresh Italian food were what hit Janine first. Not like pizza, not like those cheap pasta places that Melissa was always recommending for them to visit (although she’d been to one of those with Jacob, and they were actually pretty decent). No, it smelled of freshly made pasta, home-grown tomatoes cooked down into unique twists on sauces that had probably been passed down through generations.

Janine honestly couldn’t wait to see the menu.

“Good evening, sir, madam.” The host suddenly appeared at the booth, smiling at both of them pleasantly. Janine smiled right back, but before she could say anything, Gregory was speaking.

“Good evening, I’ve got a table booked under Gregory Eddie?”

The host glanced down the list in front of him, checking through the various reservations, before nodding. “Ah, yes, Mr Eddie.” He looked up at the pair with a smile. “If you’d like to follow me, I have a table prepared.”

Gregory nodded and the two of them followed the host, Janine walking between the two of them as they walked through the restaurant. Eventually, they reached an area of the restaurant mostly secluded from the rest, a couple of small tables set up in the area. One of the tables for two was prepared, a candle set on the table and giving a beautiful atmosphere.

It was very romantic.

Janine began to feel a little awkward.

“Is there any way we could get rid of the candle…?” she asked, her tone hopefully coming off as awkward as she felt. The host looked at the two of them with a frown.

“Sir, did you not ask for the candle for your girlfriend?”

Both Janine and Gregory’s eyes widened.

“Oh, we’re not—”

“He’s not my—”

The host looked between the two of them, slightly confused. “Ah, okay, well.” Have gave the two of them a nod. “I will get that removed from the table for you straight away. I apologise for the mistake.” He pulled a seat out for Janine as Gregory sat opposite her. “Please, enjoy your evening, and I will have that removed for you as soon as I can.”

Sighing, Janine looked between the candle on the table between them and Gregory, who looked slightly apologetic at the fact that a simple candle on the table had made things a whole lot more awkward for them.

“Sorry—”

“Hey,” she interrupted, holding her hand up to silence him. “Don’t sweat it. I wasn’t the person you were meant to come here with originally. They didn’t know that you weren’t going to come here with her — she pulled out pretty last minute. And it’s an easy enough thing for them to fix, right?” She gestured to the candle. “It’s just a candle.”

He stared at her for a few moments, before nodding and smiling, looking down at the table. Janine was very sure that she could see his cheeks flushing in the candlelight, but she couldn’t be sure. “Yeah, I know.”

“Besides, we’re friends. What’s an awkward situation or two between us? That’s the way life works, right?”

He laughed a little. “Right. Can’t get through life without a couple of awkward situations along the way.”

“Exactly!”

The two of them looked up as a waitress approached the table, a jug of water in hand for the table. “Ma’am, sir,” she greeted, setting the jug down before reaching for the candle. “Let me just remove this for you both. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Oh, no, it’s alright,” Janine brushed off as the candle went out and promptly disappeared, the waitress taking it away with her. She smiled at Gregory. “See? Fixed. Easy.”

He chuckled lightly, before picking up one of the menus set on the table. “Anything seem interesting to you?”

She tilted her head a little as she picked up one of the menus, not really noticing how Gregory was watching her. “Well, that depends. How much are you willing to splurge on me?”

“Well… this was supposed to be a date…”

Her eyebrows rose at him. “Are you being serious?”

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t be?”

“This place isn’t cheap.”

He raised an eyebrow at her.

“I can’t afford much on this menu.”

“Janine, this was meant to be a date.” Before she could say anything, he leaned forward and pushed her menu down a little, making sure she looked him in the eyes. “It’s on me.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

“You think I’d be telling you that if it wasn’t?”

There were a few moments of silence where they stared at each other, her in surprise and him… well, he had an expression on his face that Janine couldn’t quite read. Maybe it was interest, maybe it was amusement, she couldn’t quite tell. Whatever he was feeling was hidden in some small way, which she found interesting because Gregory was usually so easy to read. It was easy to tell when he was stressed, or confused.

She relented, though not reluctantly. “Fine.” She looked through the menu. “I can order anything?”

“Anything you think you’ll enjoy.”

“That doesn’t really narrow down the menu.”

He laughed. “Really?”

She looked down at the menu and smiled up at him brightly. “I have an idea! Whatever starters I order, you have to try with me. Deal?”

He seemed to pause for a moment, looking through the menu to see what he would actually like. Janine knew that his tastes were picky, that he wouldn’t always eat what was in front of him if it had too much of anything in it.

She was testing him.

He leaned back, a small smirk on his face. “Fine. I’ll take that challenge.”

“Great!” She grinned at him, before calling over the waitress that had served them earlier. “We’re ready to order!”

***

The rest of that dinner was, admittedly, really good. Not that Janine didn’t expect it to be good, because the place looked posh, and the portion sizes weren’t particularly large — as was usually served at posh places — but… she hadn’t exactly expected Gregory to go ahead and pay for the whole meal. It hadn’t been cheap when she’d ordered two starters, on top of their mains, and then she’d picked out two desserts. Gregory had, bless him, at least tried the starters. He’d eaten more than a little of the calamari, but he pretty much brushed everything off the bruschetta before eating it.

Janine had thought the tomato salad that he’d brushed off had been really tasty, so she’d just added it to her pieces and scooped some onto her calamari, even though she was very sure that that wasn’t the way it was supposed to be eaten. It tasted good, though, so there wasn’t any real reason for her to stop doing it.

(The dessert had also been delicious, and Gregory had actually managed to finish it… but not without drinking a whole lot of water with it, because he said it was really sweet or something like that.)

Regardless, Gregory hadn’t let her see the bill before he’d paid, and once it was all paid the two of them were heading straight out of the restaurant and to his car. Ever the gentleman, he held the car door open for her until she was settled in the car, and then made sure she was comfortable as they headed back to her place.

The drive back was quiet, but it was a comfortable sort of quiet. Janine didn’t feel any sort of need to speak when the silence was so comfortable, and all she could think about was how nice the meal had been. It was sad that Taylor hadn’t been able to make it, but at least she got a nice dinner with a friend out of it, and the food had been amazing. And Taylor still got her takeout out of it.

Though… now she wanted to sort of ask about what was going on with them…

“Gregory?” she asked, looking over at him.

“Hmm?” he asked, glancing over at her before back to the road.

“Is everything alright with you and Taylor?” He didn’t respond to that, and she frowned a little. “I mean, she cancelled on you pretty last minute…”

“We’re fine,” Gregory dismissed with a small smile. “She was just really busy with work, that’s all. Honestly, this is the first time she’s done it.”

Janine thought she was pretty good at reading Gregory. That was the only reason why she thought what he was telling her right then was a lie. But she wasn’t going to push him on it, deciding that it was better to let him just… tell her that. Maybe they were going through a really rough spot. Maybe it wasn’t any of her business. Maybe she should just drop it.

“Thank you for taking me along, though,” she said with a small smile. “The food was really good.”

“Hey, don’t thank me for it,” he responded as they pulled up to her apartment block. “Thank you for agreeing to come along with me. Not everyone would’ve agreed to do it last minute, you know?”

“Did you ask anyone else?”

“Jacob said he was busy.”

Another lie. “Oh, okay.”

Parking in a free spot in front of the apartment building, Gregory put the car in park and got out, helping Janine out of the car. Like a gentleman. As he’d been doing the whole evening. Which was sweet, but… but he didn’t have to. They were friends. She could get out of a car by herself.

He even walked her up to her door. Which she could do by herself. Sweet, but she could do it by herself.

“Thanks again for the evening,” she said, turning to face him as she stood in front of her door, the key in the lock. “It was a lot of fun.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He gave her a smile as he gestured to her outfit. “I forgot to tell you earlier, your dress looks really good.”

“It does?” She looked down at it and smiled. “Thanks! I— oh.” She frowned a little as she began to brush at a spot on it. “I got some bruschetta on it.”

“Oh damn.”

“It shouldn’t be hard to get out, but I was hoping I’d got that in my mouth at least.”

“You had a whole lot of bruschetta, though.”

“It was really good, bruschetta.”

He was smiling, laughing even, and Janine was glad that he at least had a smile on his face after being ditched for work by his girlfriend. There was no point being sad about that sort of thing. She’d had to learn that the hard way, after she’d split up with Tariq. Not that Gregory was splitting up with Taylor or anything — she was just working.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Gregory said, giving her a small wave as he began to back away slowly. “Got to get a good night and all.”

“Of course! The kids are gonna be so hyped tomorrow.” She unlocked her door and leaned against it, smiling back at him. “Tomorrow’s going to be great, though. I can’t wait!”

“See you tomorrow, Janine.”

“See you tomorrow!” She stepped into her apartment after giving him one last wave, shutting the door and leaning back against it. And even though she was smiling, excited to rest for her next day of teaching, one thought kept going through her mind.

Something wasn’t right with Gregory.

And she needed to find out what.

***

The next day at school was… probably a whole lot more underwhelming than Janine had thought it would be. Sure, the kids were excited about everything, as they usually were, and they had their whole routine and were absolutely adorable as usual… but it was underwhelming.

It was underwhelming because she didn’t get to speak to Gregory straight away. She was worried for him, but between teaching and chatting with other teachers and Ava being nosy, she didn’t get the chance to talk to him.

Not until the end of the school day.

“Gregory, can we talk?”

Gregory looked up from where he was marking his class’ pop quiz to see Janine standing at his door, leaning on the door frame. He had a look of interest on his face, initially, but maybe there was something on her face that told him that this was going to be a serious conversation. Either way, the look of interest on his face disappeared, making way for one of concern.

“Is there something wrong?”

“We need to talk.”

“Talk?” There was a flash of something in his eyes, as though talking was one of the last things he expected to be doing with her. It made her wonder, what sort of talking did he expect them to be doing? She only wanted to ask him about what was going on between him and Taylor.

Unless he was expecting that sort of conversation.

She moved into the classroom, grabbing one of his students’ chairs before sitting opposite him. The two sat there in silence for a little while, Gregory glancing between the pop quizzes he was still marking and Janine who was sitting there quietly, as though she was waiting for him to finish.

And then she decided that if she didn’t speak now, she wouldn’t speak at all.

“Is everything okay with you and Taylor?”

Gregory paused for a moment, his pen hovering above the students’ sheets of paper, and then he was looking up at Janine.

The look in his eyes was enough to tell her that there was something going on, whether or not he decided to admit it to her. The trick now was getting him to actually admit that there was an issue and tell her what it was, unless he was also ignoring the fact that there was an issue and was in denial.

Then she’d just have to talk him through it. Like a good friend. (Or a therapist!)

There were a few quiet moments where neither of them spoke, just staring at each other, until Gregory put his pen down with a sigh.

“You’re not going to believe me if I say things are fine, are you?” he asked, his voice softer than it usually was. It was different to what she was used to, but… a nice sort of different.

“I didn’t believe you last night,” she pointed out. Which, of course, served to remind him that she wasn’t going to believe him now. Because why would she believe him now when she didn’t believe him before? If anything, she was going to believe him even less.

He looked down at the desk in front of him, almost as though he was trying to decide what to say, before he finally spoke.

“We’re… just going through a rough patch, that’s all,” he finally said with a shrug. “She needs a bit of space, and she got offered the chance to go on a business trip, so we’re taking the opportunity to have some space.” He gave a little shrug. “It’s nothing that serious, really.”

For some reason, Janine got the feeling that to Gregory, it was more serious than he was letting on. The fact that Taylor had bailed on him was more important to him than he was letting on. But she also got the feeling that he wasn’t going to admit how much it was bothering him, because he was Gregory. He didn’t tell people those sorts of things. Which made her sad, because she was there to help. She really was.

“Did you decide on it together?” she asked, her voice soft and sympathetic.

“It was more her decision, but… yeah.”

“So that’s why you took me on your date night instead?”

Something flashed in Gregory’s eyes, some sort of nervousness that Janine couldn’t quite read, but then it was gone, and he gave her a small smile.

“I couldn’t waste the reservation.”

“I didn’t mind! It would’ve been nice to know first, though. I just thought, you know, since you said Taylor wasn’t going with you that you’d called ahead and changed everything…”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine!” She smiled at him brightly as she pushed herself to her feet, smoothing down her skirt. “Really, it’s fine! Actually, it was a lot of fun! We should do it again sometime.” She moved around his desk, ignoring how he was watching her suspiciously, before leaning over him and giving him a hug over his shoulders. She grinned and squeezed a little when he tensed up, before letting go. “Lighten up a little, though! It’s not like you’re broken up. She’ll come back to you, I’m sure of it.”

Gregory didn’t exactly respond to her comment, but he turned to her, giving her a half-smile. “Thanks, Janine.”

“Janine!”

Janine turned when she heard her name being called from out in the corridor, and she spotted Jacob standing there with his satchel over his shoulder, leaning on the door frame.

“You ready to go? You owe me pizza.”

“I do not,” she laughed.

“Yes you do, now come on!”

Janine glanced over her shoulder at Gregory, who was smiling at her a little.

“Go. I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t stay too late,” she chided, giving him a smile before heading out with Jacob, grabbing her bag from her classroom on her way past it. She was very sure that she didn’t owe Jacob any pizza, because she couldn’t recall any time when they’d actually spoken and it had ended with her owing him pizza, but even as they were walking something bugged her. Something was poking her mind.

“Hey, Jacob?” she started as they reached the main doors to the building. He paused with his hand on the door handle, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah?”

She was going to regret this — a part of her was very sure that she was going to regret it. “Say… say a guy has a reservation at a really posh restaurant—”

“What kind of restaurant?” Jacob cut in.

Janine couldn’t even find it in her to be annoyed. “Italian.”

“Okay, continue.”

“Okay, so the guy has a really nice reservation, but the person he originally going to go with bailed on him, so he asks you instead.”

“Is he hot?”

“Does it matter?”

“Janine.”

“Kind of hot.” At the look on Jacob’s face, her cheeks flushed. “Pretty hot, yeah.”

“So hot guy takes you on a reservation to a posh restaurant after someone else bails on him?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s a date, Janine.”

That was the answer she’d been hoping not to hear. That was the answer to the second question that had plagued her mind for most of the night, since she’d seen the candle at the restaurant.

Gregory had taken her on a date.

And she’d liked it.

Turning a little, she looked back over her shoulder towards Gregory’s classroom, to where he was still finishing off his work. He’d taken her on a date? Why had he taken her on a date? Why had he taken her instead of telling Taylor he wanted her to be there and going with her?

“Janine?”

She turned when she heard Jacob call her name, only to see him standing there, door open, eyebrow risen.

“You good?”

Was she good? Not really. Not really, because she’d pretty much gone on a date with Gregory when he was technically still in a relationship with Taylor, another woman. She’d been on a date with a taken man, let him take her to dinner and treat her.

“Yeah.” She forced a smile onto her face, one that she hoped looked as real as she wanted it to be. “I’m good! But I still don’t owe you pizza.”

Jacob scoffed as he held the door open for her, letting her through ahead of him. “Are you sure? I can tell you the exact situation where you actually do owe me pizza.”

Even as they headed to Jacob’s car (because if he was so sure that she owed him pizza, then he was driving her to get it for him), Janine realised something.

She’d liked the date with Gregory. He’d taken her on a date, treated her how she’d wanted to be treated, and made her feel appreciated.

And if he took her on another one? Whether he was still dating Taylor or not… she wasn’t sure she’d turn him down.

***

Caught

“And that’s all you have to say for yourself?”

Janine was staring at Barbara as she and Gregory stood there, still soaking in the rain, whilst the older kindergarten teacher stood under an umbrella. What else could she say? She couldn’t think of anything else.

She’d already told herself that if Gregory asked her again, if he’d decided to take her out on another date (and pretend that it wasn’t one), she would willingly go along with it and act as though it wasn’t one. She would sit there with him, converse with him as though they were friends, but at the same time as though they were on a date and they were both single. She’d told herself that this was something that she was going to do. She’d made it clear to herself.

There was no way she could come up with any sort of excuse to Gregory’s girlfriend’s mother when she had that sort of train of thought running through her mind.

And yet, of all the people to catch them going to restaurants together, of all the people who had spotted them giving each other lingering glances, of all the people to see the lingering touches, the soft smiles, the tension of wished kisses in secret rooms, it had been Barbara going shopping.

Whilst Taylor was out of town, of course, but it was still her.

And Janine, knowing what was coming, hadn’t been able to handle it. Sure, Gregory was done with Taylor, and he was going to try and end it with her, but it was too late. He looked like a cheater. Barbara wasn’t pleased.

“What else do you want us to say?” Gregory’s question was sharp, sudden, and it made Janine tense.

She did not want to be on her work mom’s bad side.

Barbara just stared at them for a good few moments, as though she was working out what exactly she did want to say. Janine knew what she would have wanted to hear if she was her. She would have wanted to know how long this had been going on, when Gregory had been planning on telling Taylor the truth and breaking it off with her. She would have wanted to know what Janine was thinking, going for a guy who was already in a relationship and encouraging infidelity. She would have wanted to know why, if there was so much chemistry between the two of them, they hadn’t thought of starting this earlier, instead of letting Gregory lead Taylor on and keep her in a relationship for months longer than necessary.

Janine would have wanted to know all of that.

Barbara was asking none of that.

“I’d have thought that you’d work that out, Mr. Eddie,” Barbara responded simply.

Janine felt her heart beating faster. No, an apology wasn’t good enough, and it wasn’t for her. The apology was for Taylor. And was she even really sorry? Yeah, she was sorry that he was taken, but… she wasn’t sorry that it was Gregory, of all people.

When she’d said that she’d go on another date with him if he asked, she’d been completely serious, and she’d followed through on it.

She wasn’t completely proud, but she was honest.

“I’m not going to stop seeing Janine, if that’s what you want to hear,” Gregory responded, and although he was trying to look confident, Janine thought she could spot that little bit of hesitation in his frame. Like this was the first time he was admitting it out loud.

“So, you’re going to stop seeing my daughter?”

“Yes.”

Barbara looked between the two of them, and Janine felt an intense urge to speak up and say something. Maybe not apologise, but… okay, yeah, she wanted to apologise. Before she could say anything, though, Barbara was speaking again.

“You keep your business outside of school hours, and we won’t have any issues.” Janine couldn’t exactly read the expression on her face (was she getting worse at reading people?), but Barbara was looking between them as though she expected them both to follow her instruction.

They both nodded earnestly.

“And make sure Taylor knows, because I’m not the one who’ll deal with that mess.”

“Yes, Mrs. Howard,” Gregory said quickly.

She gave them one last look, before turning and heading back into the school building. Janine thought she could see her shaking her head under that umbrella, but before she could comment on it, Gregory had turned to her. She looked over at him.

“That went… significantly calmer than I expected it to go,” she muttered, surprised. She definitely hadn’t expected that sort of response from Barbara.

Gregory looked as though he agreed with her. “I’ve got to call Taylor, though,” he muttered.

“Yes, you absolutely should. In fact, you should’ve done that ages ago.”

“I know.”

“I cannot believe—”

“Let’s not start this again, please? We’re soaked enough.”

She pursed her lips shut as she stared at him, the man who had revealed his affections for one woman and risked his relationship with another. Gregory Eddie.

“You think we could’ve gone on longer without getting caught?” Janine asked suddenly. Gregory was quiet for a while as he seemed to consider this, trying to work out his answer. And then he responded,

“Even if we had, I’d rather be caught with you than anyone else.”

#writing: mine #writing: fanfic writings #fandom: abbott elementary #abbott elementary fanfiction #gregory x janine #Gregory Eddie #Janine Teagues #Abbott Elementary #written for: anon #oneshot #long ass fic

[a-lonely-tatertot]

important question:

#tater rambles #polls #hi im writing a long ass oneshot bc thats just what i do and i was thinking hmmmm what are other ppls thoughts on this #my max is like 30k everything else gimme chapters pls also #who are u writing all of this at once #ao3 poll #ao3 #?? dunno what to tag this

[bambino1294]

it’s a never-ending summer (it’s getting way too hot)

A Hunger Games AU

16k Words | Rated M

“You’re okay.” It was a voice he’d recognise anywhere and instead of yanking away as he once might have, Sokka sat and breathed quivering breaths as Zuko ran a thumb along his neck and eased him through his breakdown. “You should hate me,” he whispered, broken and cracking. Zuko squeezed, “I know.” He was gone by the time Bato found Sokka again, nothing left of their encounter besides the warmth still etched into his neck and an odd feeling settling into his gut.

OR

As Victors of the Hunger Games, Sokka and Zuko navigate a complicated relationship in a world just waiting to watch them tear each other apart.

#bam writes #it’s a never-ending summer (it’s getting way too hot) #ianes(igwth) #zukka #zukka fic #sokka #zuko #hunger games au #but not in the way you think lol #oneshot #title from a stela cole song #I went with the whole lyric because fics with some tragedy deserve a long ass title #I haven’t written zukka in a hot minute so cut a girl some slack #this isn’t… fun #but I feel like that’s guessable by the setting #just idk prepare to be a bit upset #at least a smidge #(if I did my job right) #am I sorry? #a little #ITS 4AM AND ITS FINISHED WOOOO