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iblameashley · 4 months

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Dating Simon 'Ghost' Riley

Civilian | Male | Gay

Content: Headcanons, Gay stuff, First dates, Budding relationship, Pre-relationship, Alcohol use, Mixed emotions, Military stuff, Guns, etc.

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley | Male

!!!SFW!!!

Note: This is kind of an in between of short-story and bullet point dating headcanons. I've wanted to write this for a while, but lacked motivation to go full story mode... sorry! Also, I do not know UK Gun Laws or how Gun Ranges work there, so just... go with the flow, OK?

It happened weeks ago; Simon stared down at his phone with a sense of dread, though you'd never have known just looking at him. He didn't even know why he had agreed to download this fucking app to begin with, though as usual it was at Soap and Gaz's insistence... and pestering. All he had wanted was some quiet on his day off, not to be harassed by yet another chatty man looking to suck his dick in an alley.

Sighing, he scrolled to the message that had just come in – a handsome young lad with a wide smile and kind eyes. It had started innocently enough, the usual pleasantries first, briefs answers after, and the long wait to see how long it would take to either receive a dick-pic or have a request for one.

Neither happened. In fact, the lad had actually carried on a decent conversation over the course the last few weeks, inquiring about hobbies and interests, career and what he was looking for. But then the lad had asked that they meet up on the upcoming weekend.

It's ironic that Ghost decided to ghost the poor lad. He didn't block him – frankly, he didn't know how – he simply didn't respond and closed the app. It was for the best, at least that's what he told himself, though he had blatantly lied to Gaz and Soap when asked how it was going, claiming all he could find was horny men looking for a quick hookup. Not that Gaz or Soap understood why that was a problem; they assumed Ghost getting laid couldn't make him worse.

But then they found out he lied, a casual glance at his phone when a message came in, and then another, asking about the date and apologizing if he had offended Simon.

Its rare that anyone could corner Ghost, but that's just what Soap and Gaz did, hounding their commanding officer until he ran out of excuses.

“Ye owe the lad an explanation.” Soap chided him, a finger pointed in his face.

“Agreed, you can't leave the lad hanging!” Gaz chimed in with a disgruntled look on his face.

So Simon agreed to apologize and reply to the poor lad, and even agreed to a date. He was ready for this, he knew he was charming and could flirt with the best of em', he just had no need to before. He simply wasn't interesting in dating.

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Cuppa

Simon: He felt nervous for this date, in many ways it felt like a blind date since he had only ever seen your face in a few pictures. He dressed nicely (Button-down, fitted jeans, boots and some cologne was dabbed behind his ears where the mask hooked), He was confident, pleasant, charming and funny throughout the date. But he saw the way you looked at him with every passing question and answer and was beginning to think this was a mistake. You weren't compatible... but why did that bother him?

You: You arrived early and found a nice little table at the cafe to wait for Simon. To say you were surprised by the giant of a man who appeared would be an understatement. As you both settled in and ordered drinks, you attempted to dive right into it. Your talk walk halting and awkward as Simon dodged most questions about himself with grunts, shrugs or one-word answers. His insistence on using terrible puns and dad-jokes made it more difficult to get to know him. It was frustrating, to say the least, but you persisted. He did at least ask some questions about you, which eased things, but you knew that if this was all he was willing to give, it would be difficult to go on more dates, let alone start a relationship.

Movie and Dinner

Simon: Of course Simon would agree to a movie date followed by dinner. It meant that he got to sit in silence and darkness for about two hours, and then could have a bite to eat after where you would likely do a majority of the talking. He had already tried his best on the first date, it was up to you to pick up the slack this time. The movie went fine for the most part, except when you grabbed his arm during a jump-scare that made him roll his eyes.

Over dinner, he picked away at the curry on his plate while you discussed the movie. He was surprised by your review of the movie and its themes and found himself agreeing with you on many points. Maybe you weren't such a terrible date after all. He decided to pay for dinner, despite your protests.

You: It was stupid of you to choose a thriller for a movie date, but you really wanted to see the movie and no one else would go with you. Since Simon agreed, you made it a date and added dinner after. Thank the good Lord it was dark in the theatre; you turned bright red at the jump scare and felt bad for grabbing Simon's arm. You felt the way he tensed, but were too embarrassed to apologize to him.

Dinner went much better and Simon actually became more engaging as you discussed the movie and its plot. He seemed to enjoy your nerding out and even cracked a small smile.

As dinner came to an end, you thanked him for the (genuinely) enjoyable night and get ready to pay, since the date was your suggestion. Simon wouldn't allow it and ended up paying regardless. Maybe this lumbering, awkward man wasn't so bad after all.

Pub Trivia

Simon: Simon's intelligence isn't limited to Military knowledge, so he decided to take you to a pub trivia night, though he couldn't understand why he had this continued desire to impress you. You. Just some civilian who had taken an interest in him.

In between the rounds and pints, he started to talk to you about his mates Gaz and Soap who gave him the idea for this date. You'd like them, he was sure, but it was too early for you to be meeting his friends, he was sure to remind you.

You: You couldn't deny the Simon was an encyclopedia of general knowledge, his brain was like a sponge, it seemed. He had filled in the sheets of answers rather quickly each round, but you got the chance to flex your brain full of useless pop culture knowledge in the last few rounds.

What really entertained you though, was that the drunker this man got, the more he was willing to open up to you... you should have got him pissed sooner. You laughed when he reminded you it was too early to meet his friends, despite never asking to. This man was ridiculous and in its own way, it was endearing.

Aquarium

Simon: He had agreed to a date with you a few weeks prior but had to cancel due to deployment. He promised he'd take you out when he got back, but by the time the mission was over and he returned to base he didn't want to do the obstacle course. You surprised him when you offered a less energy-intensive option, and here he was at the aquarium now.

As you two strolled leisurely through the dark hallways of glass staring at a multitude of sea creates, Simon found himself actually relaxing; something he was unaccustomed to after a long mission. You stood unreasonably close, but he allowed it, figuring you were uncomfortable with all the other people wandering close by.

A brief stop at the aquarium cafeteria (for an unimpressive meal that would have made the mess hall staff on base look like Michelin Star chefs), filled the both of you up enough to know you'd make it to dinner and something more satisfying.

You managed to convince Simon to take a walk through the gift shop, and ended up buying him a pack of face masks with a shark-teeth pattern on them. He was surprised and delighted, though he wouldn't admit that to you.

You: Your heart sank when Simon tried to cancel the date - but you also understood he just came back from deployment. Maybe you were getting to know him better between the dates and texting, but you could feel his exhaustion, so you offered an alternative; a stroll through the aquarium.

It was rather cold in the building and you found yourself drifting towards Simon... that's how it started anyway. He smelled good too, and you felt comfortable with him. You desperately wanted to hold his hand, but figured that was a boundary too far for right now.

You treated him to food in the cafeteria, swallowing it hard and trying to hide your dissatisfaction with the offerings while he ate everything on his plate with his usual impassive face.

There was no plan to buy anything from the gift shop, you just liked wandering them to see what was there... but the sight of the face masks was too good to pass up. Simon always showed up to a date in a mask, and only took it off when eating, drinking or for a quick smoke. So it seemed fitting and perfect get these shark-print ones for him. You thought you could see a smile under his current mask as you handed them to him.

Shooting Range

Simon: Simon was absolutely intent on showing off his sharpshooting skills to you. It was the closest thing to 'giddy' that he allowed himself to feel as he drove you to the range. Simon is an expert in his field, matched only by sparingly few men - and several good women too.

But there was also a feeling of caution and anxiety as you both signed in and got your gear ready. Simon watched like a hawk as you eyed the guns over before making a few selections. A Glock 17, Mossberg 500 and M4 Carbine... Interesting selections.

This was as handsy as Simon had ever been with someone, ensuring that your safety gear was secure and that you followed instructions to the letter. He was already hesitant about this activity to begin with, but you seemed genuinely interested.

Simon ensured that you paid close attention, and that he assisted you with aiming as well as stood close by as you fired. What he wasn't expecting was your proficiency with the Mossberg. You each took turns firing at targets, and to no surprise to either of you, Simon was the winner... though there were no winners, it was all in good fun. But if there were, Simon would have won.

You: You chose the Glock because it had always fascinated you, the Mossberg because you grew up in the country and were familiar with similar shotguns and the Carbine because it seemed the most military of the selection.

You couldn't stop the thrill that ran through you as Simon checked all your gear and guns, ensuring everything was secure and safeties were on before going straight into his lecture about gun safety. You listened to him speak with confidence and authority, happy to see him in his element. You wanted to make sure you gave him and the guns the respect they deserved and did everything he said without question - or at least with very little question.

Your heart raced as Simon kept close. You knew very little about guns overall, but the way he pressed himself against you to help you aim, the calm voice he spoke in as he guided you, the feeling of his hand on your back as he stepped away to let you take the shot. You were melting with happiness.

The biggest thrill was when you fired the Mossberg several times. The look on Simon's face was priceless as you expertly handled the shotgun and even gave him a run for his money with your accuracy, but that was a secret to share another time.

You gracefully conceded your defeat to the expert in front of you, but couldn't help but notice what might have been pride in his look as he reviewed your targets one last time.

Cooking Class(es)

Simon: It's not that Simon is bad at cooking - he's really not - but he didn't have the opportunity to flex his skill often, and he had a select few dishes that he excelled at. So when you suggested this date, he was a bit apprehensive.

But Simon was a man used to following orders - usually - and listened intently to everything that was explained to him, so he settled in at the table next to you and took charge.

He needed a bowl? You had it for him already. Needed something washed? It was already done and drying. Missing ingredient? Nope, on your left. Simon appreciated your own attentiveness to the task, and how you made it go so much more smoothly.

And then the dessert section came up, and Simon floundered. Hard. Main courses aren't a challenge for him, but Simon doesn't bake. Not for a lack of interest, but a lack of time usually.

You picked up the slack though, and he reluctantly ceded control to you, letting you guide him in making the Zeppole.

Simon's demeanour softened as the class came to an end and you both sat there sampling the homemade ravioli, a glass of wine and eventually the Zeppole.

Before you parted ways, you gave Simon a tight hug, demanding he return it otherwise you weren't letting go. Simon decided to simply return the hug instead of forcing you off him.... not because he actually liked the hug from you.

You: Simon seemed to be taking this class very seriously from the moment he arrived. He stood in a typical rigid manner while listening and nodding along as instructions were given. The only thing missing was a few 'Yes sir!' replies.

The man made a complete mess though, and you found yourself quickly cleaning up after him in an attempt to keep up with his pace. But even still, you had fun. You got him the things you both needed for the meal, made sure the table was tidy and even engaged in some small talk.

It took everything in you to not laugh out loud as you say the panic in Simon's eyes as he read the instructions for the dessert. It was like he was reading a completely different language and, after a few failed starts, you took over and guided him.

As the class came to an end, and you could both indulge in the meal you created together. You clinked your wine glass against his and took a bite of the ravioli that was mostly his handiwork. It was good! Dessert wasn't too bad either and Simon gave a contented smile as he ate the last of the Zeppole.

You both relaxed on a nearby bench after the class for a few minutes, letting the meal settle in your stomachs before Simon explained he needed to get back to base. You stood up to say your goodbyes, but noticed how he lingered. How he hovered over you; closer than you were accustomed to from him. Taking the chance, you stepped closer and wrapped your arms around his waist and lowered your head into the crook of his neck. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, and you begin to worry you misread the situation; joking that you weren't going to let go until he reciprocated, and gently his hands found their way to your backside and pulled you into the best hug you've ever had. Simon held on longer than you did, though you never truly let go until his hands fell to his sides.

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yandere-daydreams · 1 year

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ayaka and ayato never really learned how to share.

it made sense, once you'd been in the kamisato clan's employment long enough to fully grasp the extent of their wealth. why would they have to? as children, their parents were more than able to provide two of everything either sibling may want, and as they grew up, their interests diverged, their schedules deviated, and they were never so lucky as to encounter a scenario where, say, ayaka took a liking to ayato's favorite sword or ayato decided he was fond of a material ayaka had set aside for her next kimono. they rarely fought, and on the few occasions when they did find themselves at odds with one another, it never seemed to result in anything more than a few quiet meals and a particularly impassioned sparing session. they were too mature for juvenile disagreements, too regal to squabble over toys like children. they didn't fight, but they didn't have to, either.

which must be why they seem to have so much trouble dividing your time amongst themselves.

you owe the most of it to ayaka, technically - something she's quick to point out whenever ayato asks you to help him sort through letters from the other clans or offers to accompany you on your near-daily trips to the marketplace. you're her attendant, her companion, and she's possessive of you as a swan would be possessive of the whiteness of its feathers - unwilling to let you be marred by the filthy hands of anyone aside from herself. she doesn't need your help, and you know she'd be able to survive an hour or so without your company, and yet, she clings to both, makes excuses to keep you by her side despite how clear it is that she doesn't need you to help her dress or brew her tea. you'd never think of complaining, not on a salary like yours, but still. you could afford spare more time for ayato's paperwork, if she allowed you to.

ayato's claim to you is less legitimate, but boosted by his position as one of the shogun's commissioners. ayaka doesn't need your help, and neither does ayato, not really, but it's more plausible when he claims he needs an extra pair of hands for... well, for whatever a commissioner does all day, when he's not fighting treasurer hoarders or giving poor thoma food poisoning. he's willing to employ more underhanded methods, too, to catch you the moment you leave ayaka's sight and keep you occupied until you're forced to return to her. he'll slip you notes asking you to visit his personal chambers in the dead of night, leave silk-wrapped jewelry and bouquets of white roses on the foot of your bed, openly ask you if you'd rather be his or his sister's when he knows that ayaka's well-within earshot.

they still don't fight, or scream, or let their own pettiness affect anything beyond the internal dynamics of their household, but you're not left as unharmed as the rest of the world. it's tiring, being pulled between two bodies of impossible strength and resolution, having to live between the sharpened ambition of water flowing downhill and the quiet attrition of ice splitting open solid stone. it's hard not to imagine yourself split in half, a piece of you lodge on the ends of each of their blades. you'd leave if you thought you were able to, but that's just not plausible. they're both so unyielding, you couldn't imagine ayato or ayaka ever letting the object of their desire go without a fight.

it's all you can do to smile, try to keep the peace, and hope that eventually, they'll learn how to share something without tearing it apart.

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bookofbonbon · 2 months

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creatures from within the woods - aemond targaryen.

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x Reader.

Warnings: Kidnapping. Imprisonment. Paralysis. Witchcraft. Implied assault.

Summary: Aemond had often been warned about the strange and dangerous creatures from within the woods who looked like humans but, he just had to have you.

Word Count: 1049.

A/N: Old fic from over a year ago that I posted then immediately deleted.

Blood weeps from the open wound, an unnaturally steady stream of red flowing from the cut in your palm and pooling at the edge of the make-shift altar you arranged with what materials you had.

Chanting quietly to yourself, an uneasy feeling goes down your spine. You sense his presence before he makes himself known, body vibrating with the weight of each of his steps as he draws nearer to your cage, wait- no. Your chambers as he so kindly put it but, a gilded cage is still a cage.

When he enters, he does so quietly so as to not disturb you and you don’t allow him to either, remaining as distant and stoic as you always do when he’s around. The few times you did pay him mind however, you never showed him your true face, only the one you had carefully crafted for him.

Aemond's gaze wanders the apartment that was once occupied by his elder half-sister and her family, concern growing in the pit of his stomach when he notices that you’ve once again opted to eat little to nothing.

He thinks nothing this time.

“You’ve barely eaten since your arrival, I do not wish to see you harm yourself in this way. Please, you must eat,” Aemond pleads.

“I will,” you mumble, distracted. “Soon.”

You roll your shoulders, trying to loosen the stiff muscles in your arms - manacles weighing heavy on your wrists; you could’ve easily removed them but, you were drawing from them - as you watch your blood prickle as if a thousand needles moved through it before it begins a slow slither to the altar’s centre.

You were too weak to do this on your own.

Satisfied, you rise from your knelt position with a slight wince, still not quite used to the rigidity of human bones.

“You know,” you begin, rubbing at the shedding skin of your hands. “Your mother visits me some... she speaks oft of your visits to the Sept?”

Aemond nods, the gesture unseen but felt. In the same way that you could feel his longing gaze at your back; willing you to look at him so you may see the depths of the love he holds for you. He knew in his heart that once you did, all your resentment for him would disapparate.

“Yes,” he finds his words.

This was simply not the way he wanted or imagined things to be and they wouldn't have been if you had just come willingly with him when he found you in the woods.

“Tell me… what do your Gods whisper to you in the quiet of the Sept?”

Aemond’s eyes widen, surprised by the question but quick to answer.

“They offer me forgiveness,” he tells you softly. Careful still not to disturb the peace and, oblivious to the way your skin shimmers oddly beneath the moon's light. “They tell me in time that you will too.”

Your body stills, head turning slowly toward him with narrowed eyes. The wickedness that lurked beneath your beautiful face threatening to reveal itself.

Gliding inhumanly across the room, you leave the smallest of spaces between the two of you. Aemond’s gaze wide-eyed and foggy, unshed tears lining the edge of his eye as he peers down at you.

How pleased you were that you no longer had to wait. If you had to spend a minute more with the bumbling fool, you would sooner kill yourself than him.

Sliding your hands from the manacles, you reach toward him and caress the side of his face with your bloodied hand. The heavy thud going unnoticed by Aemond as he leans into your touch and presses himself against you, his forehead touching yours. He’s careful in his next moves, his nose brushing gently against yours, breaths intermingling for a few moments before he hesitantly closes the gap between your mouths and you allow him. With closed eyes, he presses the softest of kisses to your lips, savoring the feeling of your willing lips against his. But, with each second that passes his kisses grow hungrier, his lust making itself known as he presses himself harder against you - the young Prince too caught up in the moment to notice the odd tingling sensation starting in his mouth.

Pulling away from him, Aemond’s lips try to follow you until you press a firm hand on his chest. You feel the rise and fall of his chest as he remains dazed, eye still closed as he commits the feeling of your lips to memory. But the sweet moment is snatched away when you bring those same lips to his ear.

“Your Gods may forgive you but, I never will,” you hiss.

Aemond rears back, a cold feeling washing through him as you raise the fog clouding his vision and reveal your true self; a low hiss emanating from your chest as a forked tongue flickers out from between your lips and serpentine eyes stare back at him.

It’s only then that Aemond smells the blood on his skin and sees the red of your hand. His gaze following the bloody trail that drips from between your fingers and leads to the altar behind you. Horror setting in as he finds the socket of his eye hollow, the blue stone sitting in the altar's centre.

“What have you done?” Aemond roars, slamming you against the nearest wall.

He pushes his forearm into your neck but it isn’t you who begins to gasp for breath.

Body weakening, Aemond’s arm drops against his will, the limb too heavy to hold. He steps dizzily away from you, thoughts moving quicker than he could; his legs turning to lead as he dives desperately toward the altar. An attempt to stop whatever it is you've set into motion but, it's too late. His body ceases and he falls to the ground with a heavy thump.

Aemond had always been warned about the strange and dangerous creatures from within the woods who looked like humans but were not. But he couldn't help himself, he had to have you and, now with his head laid beside the altar, regret courses through him as he stares in unblinking terror as your blood finishes coiling its way around his sapphire and seals his fate.

All fics are my own work - I have not posted my work anywhere else.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters/places mentioned above.

Do not copy. Do not translate. Do not repost.

#aemond targaryen fanfiction #aemond targaryen x reader #hotd fanfic #aemond targaryen #ewan mitchell #aemond oneshot #aemond x reader #aemond fanfiction

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geminimoonmadness · 1 year

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𓅀PET ASTROLOGY𓅇

Copywrites reserved ©️Gemini Moon Madness

Like humans, animals have unique natal chart placements. This post is in regards to your pets sun sign, though if you are aware of their moon sign, you may see those traits come through as well.

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Aries pets like to lead the way and be in charge, especially when on a walk! (They’re the dogs tugging on their leash) These pets will be harder to train than most and are known to not come when they’re called. Even though they have highly independent traits, they will still want to be the centre of your world. These pets may always be injuring themselves in accidents quite often and get to know the vet very well lol. They are confident & strong no matter what kind or size.

Taurus pets are extremely laid back. They love food to the point they’ll always check whatever you offer them out even if they’re not hungry or in the mood. They love to take regular naps! They appreciate affection but only when they’re in the mood. They can also be shy & don’t like be shown off to strangers. Loud noises and chaos stress them out so they need a peaceful environment.

I had a Taurus dog that was terrified of thunderstorms & lawn mowers. Even the noise of the builders 2 doors down was enough to force him out of his element.

Gemini pets can get moody. They can be passive and agreesive, have their good and bad days, sometimes they are outgoing, sometimes they’ll be reserved and distant. They are a quick learner as they are quite smart. They prefer to form a bond with more than one person rather than following the “ownership” dynamic. These pets are prone to separation anxiety/nervousness, they can be indecisive in their eating habits, love going for walks and are affectionate. They also love social environments and being spoken to.

Cancer pets are loving and may need continuous attention and reassurance. They are such sweet pets, very sensitive. They like to comfort eat & can become overweight/unhealthy easily. They make friends with other pets, as if they were a companion to them also. Moving home or visiting new and unfamiliar places can make these pets uncomfortable and a lil annoyed with you - They may not seem like themselves for a while until they settle in or get over it.

Leo pets have a pride about them, they’re warm, generous and the most loyal pets out there. They have energy to burn and will always be up for an outdoor adventure (their favourite!!) They love being heard and are known to regularly bark, even for no reason lol. This pet will enjoy to be the centre of attention wherever you take them, whether you’re at home, a friends house or the park, this pet is happy in the spotlight. Other pets may bully your Leo pet due to jealousy & feeling the need to assert dominance.

Virgo is the calm and quiet pet. They love routine and don’t like change, though these pets can handle stressful situations quite well. They like to follow you around, they will be a loyal travelling buddy as they tend to stick by your side when they are outdoors. Very intelligent and analytical which makes them easier to train than most pets. They enjoy it when you talk to them throughout the day, they may even try respond with their voice.

Libra pets are indecisive, one day they may like a treat, the next they will turn their head up at it. They will usually eat when they want to. They need structure and going with the flow won’t work for these pets. They also may suffer from a short attention span, (similar to ADD) which makes them slightly harder to train. These pets are extremely loving and need gentle discipline to feel safe & secure.

Scorpio pets are highly emotional but also strong willed. They usually get what they want and tend to stand over other pets, maybe even people! They require structure, because without it they will take advantage of everyone and everything they come in contact with. These pets would benefit from daily exercise/activity to relieve stress and built up tension (dog: walks, bird: let out of cage, cat: backyard time, toys). These pets love being groomed and in your company. They know what’s bad company and don’t forget when they’re wronged, they may make it known when they dislike someone.

Sagittarius pets love a challenge. These pets have such a happy go lucky vibe to them, they’re very outgoing and kind. They radiate positivity, maybe even with a visible smile on their face. These pets have a tendency to be picked on by other pets, so keep an eye on them. They believe you’re their one true love and will adore your affection. They are very loyal and will want to be with you at all times, this sometimes turns into separation anxiety with some Sagittarius pets. They love to have another companion in the house, they like company so the more pets the merrier for them.

Capricorn are the clean pets, they are extremely grounded and will act the way as you’d typically expect the species/breed of pet to act. Very easy to train though they do have a mind of their own. They always want to be working as they enjoy keeping busy. They love to run around! These pets don’t sleep as much as other pets do and they also suffer from anxiety in stressful situations. Capricorn pets may not like having a companion and will take their time to get used to any new pets or people.

Aquarius pets are highly intelligent and intuitive. They are unpredictable and can go from 0 to 100 real quick! They like to do what they want and when they want. They make for extremely loving and friendly pets. These pets will befriend another companion despite what it is whether you get a dog, cat or chicken. (They’re the pets you see in those cute videos where a pig and cat are besties or dog and duck, etc 🥹) Aquarius pets need their space and enjoy alone time to plot their next surprise for when you least expect it!

Pisces pets are the most sensitive out of the lot. They are very sweet and need a tranquil atmosphere to flourish as they can get stressed out easily. These pets usually get bullied by other pets for their non-aggressive nature. They are independent in the way that they do what they want without attracting attention. Pisces pets are sensitive to your emotions and may require gentle training and when they become afraid they want you to be there comforting them. They know what you want and will have YOU well trained 😉

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꧁꧂ That was fun to create, how was it to read!? Who wants to see more Pet Astrology?

ღ I appreciate all interactions & feedback ღ

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katerina-marie · 16 days

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Don't Go Slowly, Tell Me If You're Lonely (Series)

Chapter 5

Gojo Satoru x Reader & (Past) Geto Suguru x Reader

Your relationship with Geto Suguru came to an end somewhere between the day of his betrayal and the day of his death. Your relationship with Gojo Satoru began somewhere in the midst of it all, even without you realizing.

WC: 11.8k (whew)

Content: Canon Divergence, Gojo x Female Reader (referred to as such but left descriptively vague), (past) Geto Suguru x Female Reader, Geto's canonical death, friends to lovers, angst, eventual happy ending, fluff, reader is a sorcerer (left vague tho), no use of y/n, vaginal sex (though not super explicit) so please avoid accordingly! More notes below.

Chapter Count: Chp 1, Chp 2, Chp 3, Chp 4, Chp 5, Chp 6 (Final)

Notes: Peep the cw, because in case you missed it there will be 18+ content in this chapter. But warning, I do not have the talent to write explicitly detailed sex so it's more narrative/vaguely described. I applaud all authors that have that ability! Also, this is 99% fluff and vibes because that's what we all need, right?

P.S. If anyone recognizes where part of the title/included line is from.....no you don't and I'm sorry, not sorry lol

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Chapter 5: Heart of None, Heart of One (Don't Be Afraid, I Feel It Too)

Neither you or Suguru were dressed for the affluence of this particular part of the city, the two of you wearing light and airy clothing to help ward off the oppressiveness of the summer sun. Names of restaurants and boutiques that you hardly recognized lined each side of the street full of ostentatious vehicles, and you couldn’t help but wonder why exactly Suguru had dragged you to a place neither of you had any real business being in. His fingers were twined through each of yours and had been since the two of you hopped off the train to begin your stroll towards a destination unknown. You weren’t sure if he was being intentionally vague with where you were going, or if Suguru had failed to think any further than necessary and inform you of your day’s plans.

Men and their inability to consider five minutes ahead of themselves for anyone else’s sake.

You passed a building with black bricks and golden writing emblazoning its name above the door, and you felt your mouth begin to water as you recognized that the style of the restaurant lended itself to your favorite foreign food. A certainly more upscale version of it anyway, if the valet’s podium and immaculately dressed patrons were any indication.

“We should come here one day, Suguru,” you told him wistfully, inhaling deep the scent of rich food before it faded from your nose as your steps took you further and further away. Suguru huffed a noncommittal chuckle and gave you an incredulous look of question.

“Sure, I’ll just swipe Satoru’s credit card when he isn’t looking and we’ll have ourselves a night out.” His voice was full of sarcastic humor and you rolled your eyes at him, because of course you were aware that your meager student allowances couldn’t afford such luxury, nor would Satoru be willing to part with his card without an invitation to join what would have been a date night for the two of you. The idea of it was fun to imagine in the least, and you filed the name of the restaurant away in the back of your mind for an unspecified day in the future somewhere.

“So what are we doing here?” you asked, peering around the city as you both came to a crosswalk and minded the traffic currently flowing through it. “I can’t say that I have a suspicion, and I would like to enjoy the last afternoon of the weekend together if you don’t have something already planned.”

Suguru was quiet as he glanced up and down the street once the vehicles cleared the road, and he tugged at your hand to spur you into movement once the signal had been given to ensure your safe crossing.

“We are having to make a quick stop to retrieve something,” he said, intentionally avoiding your narrowed eyes by keeping himself one step ahead of you. You’d yank your arm back and hold your ground in a juvenile display of defiance at his reticence, but you didn’t favor being run over in the middle of the street, nor were you confident of your victory in strength should it be put up against his; you’d count on being pulled along no matter how hard you dug your heels in.

“And what is it that we are retrieving?” You grew annoyed at Suguru’s reluctance to speak anymore than what was barely necessary, and now that the two of you were again on the safety of the sidewalks, you had half a mind to start testing his patience as he was doing yours. Your boyfriend must have been able to pick up on the change in your disposition, and he turned to you with a weary sigh as the two of you came to a stop.

“Satoru called me earlier,” Suguru admitted, and your face dropped into distaste, mouth open to offer your dissent for whatever moronic task your boyfriend’s best friend has saddled the two of you with, but he shot you a warning glare that stayed your tongue. “He’s still on that assignment, but he forgot to finish up his reports for the last one and Yaga’s going to have his ass if he doesn’t turn them in first thing tomorrow. I told him we’d take care of it this once.”

You scoffed, offended disbelief fueling your ire for the white-haired sorcerer, and you fixed your withering look on Suguru.

“You coddle him,” you hissed, promptly snatching your hand from his and marching forward on your own even though you hadn’t the faintest clue to where you were. The surrounding buildings were no longer fancy restaurants and expensive retailers but instead towering, dark-windowed monoliths with impressive double glass doors at their entrance. Still swanky, but more unassuming.

“I’m helping,” Suguru argued, jogging up to your side to keep pace with you. “Friends do that for each other.”

“I mean, yeah they do, but this feels more like Satoru is intentionally being lazy, unable to deign himself to possibly do his own work and would rather put it off to the less fortunate of us.” Your tone was scathing and your words mean for meanness sake, even if they held a scant bit of truth, and from the look on your boyfriend’s face he didn’t appreciate the disparaging of his best friend’s character. You supposed Satoru could now be considered your friend as well, now that nearly a year and a half had passed since you met your significant other’s “other”, but it had been slow building between you and Satoru, if not for the complete opposite personalities and upbringings you each had then for becoming accustomed to sharing Suguru.

“Cut him some slack,” Suguru said, his expression knowing and slightly irritated, but his voice for you was softer than it was moments ago, and he brought you to a halt with a hand on your shoulder. “I’m not ignoring the fact that Satoru is not the most apt student when it comes to his paperwork or always considerate of other people’s time, but he has a full plate and even heavier burden attached to his name, so I’ll let it slide sometimes.”

You weren’t sure if you’d agree, but you didn’t want to taint the afternoon with Suguru just because of your disdain for Satoru’s lack of planning, so you gave him a half-hearted shrug and glanced over his shoulder at the building the two of you came to a stop in front of.

“This it?”

Suguru nodded and took your hand again to lead you through the frosted glass doors serving as the entrance. “He has an apartment here for when he wants solitude, so we’ll just pop in to grab the reports and then be on our way. We’ll stop for lunch after, how about that?”

The noise of affirmation you made lacked enthusiasm, mostly because you had been thoroughly chastised by your boyfriend and not because you didn’t want to share a meal out with him, but Suguru was undeterred and you turned your attention to the details of the front lobby. The high walls were painted alabaster and arched over certain hallways you guessed lead to various amenities. The slightly darker beige floors gleamed under rich lighting, leaving the forest green and muted mahogany fabrics of plush looking couches and other luxe decor to stand out in their superiority. You and Suguru continued through an archway and came upon an older man situated at a stately wood desk sandwiched between floor-to-ceiling glass doors that prohibited your entrance. You bristled at the idea of having to convince someone to allow you through to somewhere the two of you didn’t look to belong, or worse, have to stand by the desk as other residents came and went while Suguru beckoned Satoru to pick up his phone and petition you two through. However, to your shock, Suguru simply smiled and waved at the gentleman—who returned his greeting in kind—and he had the glass doors sliding open with a touch of a button just in time for the two of you to walk through them.

“A silver spoon Satoru does use,” you commented wryly. The two of you stepped into an open elevator, and you were pleased to see a stifled grin on Suguru’s face.

“That I won’t deny,” he said, pressing the button for an obnoxiously high floor. You chattered between yourselves about lunch options and other plans for the rest of the day whilst traveling up, and your arrival to Satoru’s floor was announced with a pleasant trilling of a bell. As you walked down a hallway, you took notice of the distance between the doors of each dwelling, marking the considerable size of each one. Suguru came to a stop at the very end of the hall and pressed a series of numbers into a shiny keypad before motioning you through the now opened door.

Satoru’s apartment was as beautiful as you imagined, with its sprawling living area and enormous windows the first thing to appear after making it through the entrance, and then an extensive gourmet kitchen was located on the left. There were a couple other hallways you assumed lead to various rooms, and you had a thought to explore (snoop) when you felt a hand at your back.

“Satoru should have some sweets in his fridge,” Suguru said, dropping a brief kiss at your temple and then another at your cheek as he brushed by you. “I’m going to his office right quick if you want to help yourself. It’s the least he can offer.”

That brought a grin to your face, and you immediately turned towards the kitchen as Suguru’s footsteps faded in the opposite direction. Satoru’s fridge was nearly twice your height and the stainless steel was polished so perfectly that you could nearly see your reflection in it. It was all so grandiose, but the excitement immediately abated when you opened the fridge and saw nothing but a couple bags of sweets and water bottles taking up a minute amount of its expansive capacity. You grabbed one of each and brought them to the large island across from the fridge and tucked into your snack. As you munched, you let your eyes drift from space to space, everything meticulously placed and artfully decorated. Though you couldn’t help but notice the absence of anything that made it personal. There were no photos or cookbooks or trinkets of any kind. The copious amounts of furnishings and state of the art appliances all made up an impressive looking home anyone would be thrilled to make use of, but there was not one sign of usage or life that would indicate that Satoru did anything of the sort. The thought humbled your opinion of him a touch, and the quiet melancholy of his apartment made the sweet in your mouth taste oddly of cardboard.

How lonely.

Now, years later, as you marveled up at the building that scraped the sky, you wondered if Satoru was sitting in the quiet of his apartment cutting a lonesome figure and feeling as such.

You had taken most of the morning to scour the school grounds in pursuit of him, but no evidence had turned up to support his stay there. Megumi had confirmed it when you ran into him in your frenzied search and mentioned that Satoru had texted him to cancel their end-of-week training because he’d be off campus. The thought of having to transport yourself all the way to that part of the city where his apartment was located felt daunting in your exhaustion, but when you closed your eyes or let your mind wander, the images of Suguru and Satoru walking away from you after turning their backs superimposed over each other and sent a new wave of panic over you every time.

So you cleaned yourself up the best you could in the least amount of time you were willing to give, and then set out on a train. After that, the walk from the station to his apartment was about ten minutes, but you had only been there once, and you had started to worry when recognition of the area still hadn’t struck. You were only half certain you had found the correct building until you made your way inside the lobby and found familiarity in the arch of the walls and luxuriousness of the furnishings. Ahead, still seated at the same wooden desk, was the gentleman from the one time you had visited with Suguru. Age had greyed his hair and added lines under his eyes, but you recognized him the same. As you walked up to his desk with a nervous smile, you hoped you looked more put together than you felt, and you had just opened your mouth to try and convince him to let you up when he grinned at you.

“For Gojo, right?”

You were taken aback at the friendliness in his voice and the expectant way he looked up at you from where he was seated, and you were sure your mouth had flopped open inelegantly. “Uh, yes, but how did you—,”

“Years ago, he left me a photo of you and a man with black hair and explicit instructions to let either of you up at any time without questions asked.” The gentleman glanced down at his desk and you could just make out his hand scribbling at a large notepad. When he looked back up at you, his gaze was inquisitive. “I just barely remember you from the one time you came with him—the boy appeared often enough that I recognized him—but I haven’t seen either of you since.” There wasn’t any judgment in his voice, just simple observation, but the whole encounter was picking at the fraying threads of your already frail emotions.

“Yes,” you bit out, swallowing to clear the hoarseness of your voice, “it’s certainly been, uhm, a long time and…” There wasn’t anything you could come up with to fit into a brief enough explanation, and thankfully the gentleman picked up on that fact.

“Would you like me to call up to him and let him know you’re here?” He offered, his hand already drifting towards a phone on the edge of his desk. You shook your head and flailed your hands in an effort to dissuade him from doing so.

“No, no, please. I’m…surprising him.”

The man smiled gently and gestured with his head towards the glass doors as he opened them with a push of a button. “Off you go then.”

You gave him a hurried thanks and rushed off through the doors before you could lose what little courage remained in you, and when the elevator shut just after you stepped through it, you leaned back against the wall of it to take in large mouthfuls of air. Satoru was definitely home, and you maybe had two minutes to compose yourself into something presentable before you were face to face with him. You took it as a positive sign that he hadn’t immediately revoked your extended invitation into his building (unless he had simply forgotten to and now you had another idea to fret at) and you hoped that when you knocked at his door he would neither ignore you entirely or answer and then proceed to slam it shut in your face. If you made it far enough that he welcomed you in, you had absolutely no idea what you were to say to him, and the pinging of the elevator bell signaling your arrival to his floor made it clear you were running out of time to come up with anything.

Your steps on the tile echoed loudly in the empty hallway, and you were positive it was your tired mind that made them sound reminiscent of Satoru’s name. By the time you came to his door, it was ringing in your ears and beating to the same rhythm of your pulse, and you wondered if Satoru could hear it from wherever in his apartment he remained hidden from you. The stress of it had you wanting to linger outside to come up with a speech or some kind of plan before you knocked on his door, but the thought that he could sense you waiting—hesitating—drove you deeper into embarrassment, so you lifted your hand to knock your knuckles against the door without a second consideration. The time it took for him to answer left your thoughts to scramble.

Would he look at you with the same anger he surely saw reflected in your own eyes just hours prior? You figured you both had a right to feel such a way, but whereas you had hurled word after word of condemnation at him without ceasing, regardless of their truth or lack thereof, he hadn’t been given a moment to offer scant more than a stuttered reply. Was it presumptuous to have the hope that he would repay you in kind? That he would offer what you hadn’t and listen to what you had to say? Never again did you want to live with the regret of last words unspoken.

The beeping of his door unlocking snagged your attention, and you inhaled sharply when the knob began to turn. Through a small crack in the door, you saw Satoru peer his head around it, just offering you a sliver of a singular blue eye and the glimpse of a closed off expression on his face. You tangled your fingers together in the hope he didn’t see them shaking, and you gave him the barest of contrite smiles.

“May I come in?”

Satoru didn’t hesitate to give a single nod of his head and you took a step back when he pushed open the door wide enough for you to walk through, murmuring a small ‘thank you’ as you passed by him. You didn’t wait for him to continue further into his apartment, eager to get out of the small entryway and into the openness of his living space if only so you could feel slightly less confined. In a quick glance around, you noticed that Satoru’s apartment looked nearly identical to how it did the one and only time you visited it. There was still a museum-esque quality to the cleanliness of it, but you could see a half-full glass of water on the island in his kitchen, and you had spied his pair of black shoes by the door next to where you had toed yours off.

The susurration of his house shoes on the wood floor could be heard coming up behind you, and you turned slowly to face him. You took in his casual clothes, a dark grey sweater and navy lounge pants, and noticed him doing the same to your similar but more feminine outfit. When your eyes met, it pained you to see how his were guarded, lacking their usual brightness and enthusiasm, and you knew it was somewhat your fault.

“I should have let you talk more,” you blurted, head cleared of any logical thought. “I was within my right to be angry with you, but I should have heard you out, and I’m sorry I didn’t.”

Satoru’s expression eased and you wrung your hands. “I want to respect your space. I’m willing to give that to you, but I’m afraid of leaving things unsaid and—,”

You were horrified when your eyes began to sting and the inside of your nose burned. You flicked your focus down to the floor in the hopes that not looking at him would keep you composed enough to get the rest of your words out. “If you’re willing, I’d like to talk this out with you. I would hate for things to end the way they did.”

When you looked back up at him, his eyes were wide, and Satoru shuffled forward to reach a hand out to press against the back of your arm. “Of course,” he said, his voice so emphatically eager that it panged your heart. “Of course I’ll listen to you.”

The pressure of his hand guided you towards the ample seating in his living room, and the two of you made yourselves comfortable on the sofa placed in front of a massive entertainment system. Satoru sat just far away enough that two of you wouldn’t touch, but he laid out his arm along the back of the sofa, turned on his hip, and leaned forward slightly on his thigh so he could face you. You mirrored his position but kept your hands in your lap.

“I don’t hate you. I never could,” you breathed out, and a part of you died inside when relief slackened Satoru’s features and his shoulders lowered as tension bled out from them. “I was angry, and maybe even felt a little betrayed, but it wasn’t you I hated.”

There must have been a stricken look on your face, because his hand that rested on the back of the sofa lifted and hovered in the air for a moment before he moved it close enough that he could just graze his fingertips along the top of your arm.

“I think I hated him. I hated Suguru in that split second.” The words felt heavy and disjointed in your mouth, not quite understood by your brain, but you felt palpable liberation once they were out. Satoru kept his eyes on you attentively, and you were powerless to the words that spilled from your tongue.

“I hated him for what he did. I hated that he left me, and I hated that he chose to speak with you one last time instead of me. I hated that you had to kill him, and that we have to wake up everyday to live in the aftermath of it.” You were interrupted by a hiccuping cry that forced its way through your teeth, and when you looked up at Satoru helplessly, his hands shot out to take yours into his own.

“But not you, I would never hate you,” you said once you had regained your composure, “and I would like to hear what you have to say. To help me understand what you were going through and why you made the choice to keep what Suguru said a secret until now. I’d like us to be completely understanding of the other, with the intention of being able to move forward.”

Feeling much like you had just finished a sprint, you drew in a few deep breaths to steady the racing of your heart and calm the adrenaline running through your body. Satoru didn’t look angry or upset. He had an open, albeit cautious, look on his face and he studied your hands in his grasp momentarily before gently releasing them, and you both withdrew your hands to let them rest on your respective laps.

“It was panic,” he started, pausing to meet your eyes. “I was so panicked that evening, about what I had just done and how I was supposed to reveal that to you. I could barely think straight enough to tell you I killed him, and I couldn’t stomach the idea of having to relay to you what Suguru said when I could hardly make sense of it myself.”

You watched Satoru closely as he wiped his hands down over his legs and you both heard and felt the stuttered breath he pushed out from deep in his chest.

“I’m not saying that to excuse my behavior, but it felt like the easiest thing to do for myself at that moment, and I regret it. If I could go back…well, I don’t actually know what I would have done.” Satoru inched a little closer to you and raised a questioning brow. “Would you have been okay if I had told you that he had said something, but couldn’t yet share it with you? Would have it been better to tell you everything he said, but warned you that I didn’t have the capacity to explore the implications of it right then with you? Or—god—I should have told you at any point between then and now.”

The ideas Satoru was presenting caught you by surprise. You hadn’t ever really considered before what you had wanted to hear in the moments when your entire world was collapsing around you. Surely you would have wanted to know, but the anticipation of waiting to hear what those words would have been had you chosen the first option probably would have driven you to madness. In regards to the second, knowing what Suguru had said would have prevented the whole mess the two of you were in now. However, knowing yourself, you very well might have fled the school like you did to avoid discussing things with Satoru once he was ready, keen on never once touching such a topic for the rest of your life, and who knows what outcome would have resulted from that. And him revealing what Suguru said any time after that day and between now would have mostly likely played out the same way it did last night.

“I don’t know,” you answered honestly, and you couldn’t help but let out a tired laugh. “Either alternative has its merits and its corresponding negatives. In the future, I think open communication would be best, but for things past I don’t see much point in dwelling on what should have been.”

Satoru nodded, seemingly agreeing with what you had said. You chewed your lip, considering the weight of the question you wanted to ask him before ultimately deciding that he deserved the chance to let himself be heard.

“How have you been?” Your inquiry had his mouth opening to respond, but he was silent in the aftermath, and you assumed that he needed time to condense his thoughts into words.

You empathized with that particular plight.

“Tired,” he said finally, solemnly, and you moved closer towards him until your knees knocked against each other. “I would give anything to have a night’s rest where I didn’t dream about killing my best friend.” This time, you reached out your hand to grip his fingers in yours, and his answering smile was full of gratitude. “Or have a nightmare where you hate me,” he added, squeezing your hand to balm the sting of his words.

The two of you were silent after that, each of you taking turns glancing at one another and then back at your tangled hands before focusing on anywhere else in the room. However, there was a collective sense of expectation hanging above you both, and you had a good idea of what topic was waiting to be broached.

“Satoru,” you murmured, biting down on the inside of your cheek as he lifted his head to listen to you. There was trepidation in the way he held himself, and you wondered if he anticipated what you were going to say next. “I tried to kiss you.”

He was rapt in his attention on you, his face giving away nothing as to what he was feeling, but he fiddled with your fingers and ran his thumb along the inside of your wrist. He ducked his head just barely, and when his hair shifted over his forehead, it was just enough to conceal his eyes from you. “You did.”

Satoru’s evasion grated you, but you set aside your frustration to focus on what you were trying to convey to him, to get him to understand what you couldn’t even quite wrap your head around fully.

“I don’t want you to feel obligated to me because of what Suguru said.” His head snapped up and his brows furrowed at your words, but you kept going before he had a chance to interrupt. “I think you probably have an idea about what I feel for you, but I don’t expect you to reciprocate just because you might have some misguided sense of duty or responsibility towards me, and I can forget about that near-kiss if that’s—,”

“I want you,” Satoru said on a exhale, and he looked to be fighting a bashful grin that pulled at the corners of his mouth. Your noise of surprise filled the heady silence following his declaration, and you felt as though the two of you teetered on the edge of some great precipice.

A quiet “oh,” was all you could get out, breathless in a mounting giddiness, and he chuckled at whatever flush warmed your cheeks before his features smoothed out into something more solemn.

“I do,” he insisted, and you could sense the ‘but’ following his statement and it made all the butterflies that had erupted in your chest fall leadened into your stomach, “but I can’t help feeling a little…unsettled about it, maybe? Not in a bad way necessarily, never with you—,”

Satoru stammered, an overwhelmed breath heaving his shoulders, and you watched him with a pang of sympathy as he struggled to grasp at the words clearly evading him. “I don’t want you to think I feel entitled to you, and I don’t feel like I’m betraying Suguru by wanting you. I don’t even think I need his permission or anything like that. In fact, he seemed to give it in his own twisted way that night, and it’s just…you were his, once, and now you’re…”

He trailed off, at a loss for the proper words to adequately explain a concept you both seemed to wrestle with, and the look he gave you was helpless and beseeching in a way that was delightfully captivating to you: eyes wide, lips slightly parted, and if his gaze could be anymore adoring you’d melt into the fabric of his fine linen couch.

What was previously off limits had become an alluring possibility. A person who had always occupied a strictly friendly role had begun to appear in a way not thought of before. It was overwhelming, exciting, terrifying in what it could mean to want someone who had once been unobtainable, who you had not once considered for yourself before the loss of someone precious to both of you. But Suguru was gone now, and what more could be owed to the two of you than indulging in a shared happiness?

You giggled, catching your bottom lip between your teeth to try and contain the smile that was surely about to overtake your face, and you tugged on Satoru’s hands to pull him in close to you.

“Don’t be afraid,” you whispered, your voice light and playful while the blue of his eyes danced and his cheeks went round in elation, “I feel it too.”

————————————————

Later, as you contemplated your existence in the quiet sanctuary of your room, you would berate yourself for not taking the opportunity to kiss Satoru senseless. Alas, you had remained dutiful to your mutual agreement to let the enormity of the morning settle before getting carried away with frenzied touches and the mingling of panted breaths. Instead, the two of you stayed seated on his couch for another hour, close in the way you had both drifted to lean against the other while chatting idly about anything ordinary.

You had taken moments to gently lift strands of hair from his eyes, goosebumps erupting over your skin when his focus couldn’t decide whether to fix on your face or follow the movement of your hand. When you had later regaled him with a forgotten tale from your time abroad, Satoru had spent his time listening by swirling a finger over the top of your kneecap before letting it drift just slightly over your thigh so he could squeeze it gently. The pressure had you stuttering over your words, and you used the increased need to jump from your skin as an excuse to leap from the couch and beg for a glass of water. Satoru smirked at you in that annoyingly smug, but persistently charming habit of his, and had simply sauntered off to his kitchen to leave you to follow in his wake.

When the afternoon sun began to push shadows further into the depths of his apartment, you begrudgingly announced your intended departure, pointing out to Satoru the exhaustion that clung to you both when he began to protest. A much-needed nap was in order, and he only surrendered his disagreement when you let out an exaggerated yawn. He followed you to the door with your sleeve caught between two of his fingers. The two of you stared at each other after you had slipped on your shoes, neither quite ready to bid the first goodbye. You eventually took the initiative to rock onto the tips of your toes and wrap your arms around his neck, resting your cheek on his shoulder as you squeezed him to you. Satoru arms circled your waist and after nudging his nose against the top of your head, you heard him breathe in deeply before letting it out in a long exhale, and the yearning of it made you ache.

You had to pry yourself from him, and you didn’t turn to look back as you walked down the hallway lest you lose any remaining self control and skip your way back to Satoru. It was only once you crossed the threshold of the elevator that you heard the click of his door closing shut. If you had a dopey look on your face as you made your way home, evidenced by the knowing grin on the mouth of the gentleman working the door in the lobby, then who were you to deny it?

As you lay in your bed, huddled under blankets and your head cushioned by pillows while waiting for the swiftness of sleep to weigh down your eyes, you stared at a couple of pictures now decorating a small cork board hanging above your desk. None of them contained a singular person more present than the others and were all full of various friends and toothy grins. For once, the appearance of black hair and pierced ears didn’t evoke a dull throb in your chest at a future lost, but instead welcomed a feeling of contented nostalgia for memories treasured. When your eyes started to flutter and you sensed that your battle against sleep was coming to an end, the sight of brilliant blue from the corner of one photo held your fading attention and beckoned the prospect of enduring happiness by a relationship newly minted.

————————————————

A dreary midmorning wasn’t something that could keep you cooped up on a Saturday free of obligation, and in an endeavor to make the most of your spare time, you busied yourself with errands in the city. If you found yourself standing in line outside the building of your favorite sweet shop, you would insist it was only to fill your own belly. Any extras that made it into your bag would surely serve as a snack over the rest of the weekend and not linger in your room in the hopes a certain white-haired man would make an appearance and find them.

The thought of Satoru had you reaching for your phone as you shuffled another step further in line. You had texted Satoru a simple ‘good morning’ right before leaving your room then promptly threw the device into the bottom of your bag to be forgotten until after your errands. Otherwise, you would have worried yourself beyond what was considered healthy about whether or not that message presumed too much in light of yesterday’s breakthrough.

Maybe overkill would lend itself to your passions too.

To your dismay, your phone remained disappointingly devoid of new messages, but the sudden appearance of small raindrops on your screen took your attention before you could waste more time wishing it would flash with Satoru’s name. While the sky looked quite grey in your perusal of it, the drops never fell faster or increased in size while you waited for your turn to step into the shop, and you hoped the weather would stay its course until you returned home. Because you, in your distraction, had forgotten to snag your umbrella as you scurried out the door that morning. Instead of dwelling on your possible misfortune, you gave a cursory glance at the shop’s menu board sitting by the door and when you were nearly halfway through reading it, a shadow came over you.

“Dessert for breakfast again?”

You jerked your head towards the familiar voice and came face to face with Satoru. He hovered close enough to you so that the large umbrella he carried could shelter both him and yourself from the faint pattering of rain, and you met his beaming smile with one of your own.

“Satoru! What are you doing here?” His arrival wasn’t at all expected, but you drank in the sight of him no less, pleased to see him in casual clothes instead of his uniform and sporting a black coat to ward off the last of the morning chill.

“You know, just out and about,” he offered, and mischievousness made the corners of his mouth twitch. You suspected his eyes would twinkle just the same if you could see them through his blindfold.

“Right,” you drew out, not quite sure if you believed that he just so happened upon you by chance, but you were too preoccupied with the fact he was standing in front of you again to question it any further. “Are you busy? Or do you have time to join me?”

He was quick to nod, and you reached out to wrap your hand around his bicep when someone cleared their throat pointedly from behind. You jolted, heat flushing your neck and cheeks when you realized that there was a large gap in between you and the door to the shop, and you scurried forward. Satoru beat you to the door, swinging it open for you before you had a chance, and you ducked in while he sat his umbrella off to the side.

You came to a stop a reasonable distance from the person in front of you and crossed your arms with a small huff as you pretended to study the variety of different sweets sitting in their display cases. Satoru’s coat brushed against your back as he came up behind you, and you prayed he didn’t notice the shiver that shook your shoulders when he leaned down to whisper right by your ear.

“Distracted?” he asked, voice deeply flirtatious, and a scent a bit spicier than the mild soap you recall him smelling of wafted to your nose and made your thoughts hazy.

“Nope,” you said as casually as you could manage, trying your best to make a mental note of what options you wanted to order so that you didn’t look like a bumbling fool when it was your turn. His answering chuckle was not only heard, but felt against your back.

“You sure about that?”

You whipped your head to the side to glare at him out of the corner of your eye, and your cheek nearly made contact with the tip of his nose. “Positive.”

There would never be any certainty with his eyes hidden, but you swore you could feel his gaze on your lips, and if you ignored the thought and turned your attention back to what was in front of you, it was only because there was nothing you could do about it in a crowded little sweets shop.

Thankfully—begrudgingly—it was your turn to order, and you stepped away from Satoru and approached the counter while taking in a much needed deep breath. He didn’t stray far from you, however, and you were conscious of how he lingered at your side while you ordered a couple things for yourself and one or two for Nanami in exchange for the few times he had bought you something from the bakery.

You were just about to pay for your portion when Satoru came up and bumped you aside with his hip and a smirk on his face, and you watched with mild horror as the employee set down a bag of sweets nearly bulging in its fullness.

“You have a problem,” you commented warily, imagining the amount of sugar in that bag alone and feeling phantom pain in your teeth. You eyed Satoru as he placed down his card to pay for both orders.

“If you say so.” His shrug was light hearted and drenched in boyish charm, and you shook your head at him. Before he could find any more opportunities to indulge random acts of chivalry, you swiped your bag off the counter and made haste for the exit, pausing only to throw a wink over your shoulder as you stepped outside the door. You barely caught his indignant protest as he finished up his transaction but paid it no mind as you bent down to grab his umbrella and trotted off down the sidewalk. You only made it to a cross walk a couple yards down and had to come to a stop before he was jogging up to your side.

“Rude,” Satoru pouted, sidling up next to you to slip the opened umbrella from your hand.

“I can’t let people think I willingly associate myself with someone who has the taste buds of a child.” You giggled and snuck your hand in the slim space between his side and his arm to curl your fingers into the crook of his elbow. Something fluttered pleasantly in your belly when the action softened the deepening frown on his face.

“Not all of us can have such sophisticated palettes,” he grumbled, but you could see the hint of a smile on his cheeks, so you leaned just a little further into his side. The delicate kiss he dropped onto your temple had you choking down any retort you were prepared to give him back, and the two of you stood in shy silence until the traffic signal changed in your favor.

“Follow me to the school?” you asked, already in motion by the time the words left your mouth, and the answering look Satoru gave you made it clear that he never intended anything else.

————————————————

Twenty minutes later had the two of you back at the school and seated on Satoru’s coat under the large tree nestled in the corner of the campus training grounds.

“Leave my bag alone,” you hissed, slapping at the wandering hand Satoru kept trying to sneak into your own stash of sweets.

“I wanted to try one of yours. They’re different,” he whined. He stretched over your lap in an attempt to grab said bag from where you had moved it to your other side, but you stopped his progress with a hand on his chest. You pushed back against him until he was seated again.

“No, what’s left are mine and the ones I bought for Nanami.”

“Nanami?” he asked in offended disbelief. “And you didn’t think to get any for me?”

“I’m surprised they aren’t already in your bag, Satoru. I think you bought the whole store,” you said, feeling a little sick to your stomach when you took note of the dwindling size of his own purchase. He scoffed in disapproval and hunched down further against the tree the two of you were resting against. His antics had your eyes rolling, but you went ahead and pulled one of your treats out from the bag as you had intended to do before he decided to try and pilfer them on his own.

“Here,” you told him, feigning the exasperation in your voice. You held the treat out in your hand, expecting him to take it from you with his own, but Satoru—with uncovered eyes gleaming—leaned forward and ate the snack right from your fingers. You had a brief second to register the heat of his lips and the way his teeth had just grazed your skin before he was sitting back with a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

“Tasty,” he said, looking all too pleased with himself, and all you could do was sit there with your heart pounding. The thought of kissing Satoru had been plaguing your mind since even before the two of you had fought, and now, when his lips were flushed pink and there were crystals of sugar caught on a corner of them, you were weak in your resolve.

You curled your fingers into the neck of his shirt and pulled him in to meet you, eyes already closing so you didn’t scare yourself out of the idea if there was a shocked look on his face. Your lips met his with an urgency, but you were mindful not to clash teeth or press too hard, and you felt marginally better when Satoru knocked his nose against yours in order to tilt his head and deepen the kiss. His chilled fingertips were a shock to your skin when they settled on the edge of your cheek and under your jaw, and he hummed pleasantly into the kiss when he felt you jump. Satoru’s other arm came to wrap around your back, and his fingers dug into your shirt when you used the tip of your tongue to swipe away any remaining sugar on his lips.

You were vaguely aware of Satoru pressing closer to you, inching you back incrementally, but you were too lost in the feel of his mouth moving against yours and slipping your arms up and around his neck to pay much mind to it. So when you felt yourself falling back against the ground with Satoru’s hand bracing the back of your head it didn’t trigger the urge to stop, especially not when his free hand landed heavily in the dirt next to your head so he could lower himself down and chase after your lips. However, you could only avoid the cold wet of the ground seeping through your collar for so long, not to mention the fact you two were in public, and you ducked your chin slightly to break away from Satoru.

“It’s unlikely,” you murmured, feeling him trail his mouth over your cheek to press a kiss just below your ear, “but any of our students—or our peers—could walk by at any given moment.”

The noise of disagreement he made tickled the skin under your ear that he was nibbling at, but you didn’t have to tell him twice before he was pulling away just hair. All you could see above you was white eyelashes framing bright blue eyes, and the tips of his hair tickled your forehead when Satoru lowered himself just a little so he could nudge his nose into your cheek affectionately.

“You’re not wrong,” he sighed, sitting himself back up and tugging you along with him by your arm. You pat down your hair and brush some dirt from your sleeves while keeping a watchful eye on his expression from your peripheral. Satoru didn’t seem particularly disappointed or upset at your words, but you, in your habit, worried about the implication of them anyway.

“I’m not embarrassed,” you reassured him, drawing his focus as you hurried to get your thoughts out to him. “I’m not ashamed to be seen with you either, but this is…” you trailed off as words failed you.

This was new and something precious to you. For the first time in years, you had someone by your side that cared to know everything you thought and longed to be near you. It was all a touch overwhelming to fall for someone you hadn’t ever pictured in a romantic role, and you were eager for the time to understand it fully yourself before allowing others to fix their attention on it.

“Don’t worry,” Satoru said, and he was cheerful and giddy in the way he smiled while he dragged a finger across the back of your hand. “I feel it too.”

————————————————

Your burgeoning relationship carried on in secrecy for the next three months. In between classes and training of students, you and Satoru would find yourselves in an obscure hallway or forgotten classroom to share whispers and fleeting touches. It was nothing torrid or salacious as of yet, but everyday you longed for the moments you had alone with him to bask in muffled laughter and give in to lingering kisses that he would pull you into when you would try to leave for the umpteenth time. More than once you caught his head following you as he and the students walked by you on school grounds, and the previous week Kugisaki had commented on how keenly you studied Satoru while he demonstrated a fighting technique to Itadori.

And now, when the school day was long over and the sun was beginning to set, you felt at ease walking through the door of Satoru’s office door to surprise him with spoils from your day.

“Knock, knock,” you called out gently, peeking your head around the doorframe to find Satoru already looking up at you, blindfold nowhere to be seen. Fatigue clearly was gnawing at him. His head dropped from where his chin was propped up in his hand, and there was the faintest hint of purple under his eyes. A pen was clasped in his right hand where it rested on a large stack of paperwork, and you took notes of the various others crowding his desk as you walked in. “How are all the reports coming along?”

Satoru groaned and threw himself back against his chair. “It’s been terrible! I’ve been stuck here finishing these reports since this morning. I didn’t even have lunch!”

You laughed at his plight as you came to stand next to him and lean back against his desk before pulling a small brown sack from your bag. “Here,” you said, passing it to him, “I got you something while we were out today.”

His face lit up in excitement ,and he eagerly snatched the bag from your grasp and buried his hand in it to pull out the pastry located inside. “You’re incredible,” he said, pausing to express his gratitude before he shoved half of it into his mouth.

“You’ll choke one day,” you warned, vaguely impressed when he ate the other half in just as big of a bite. Satoru shook his head, and his grin told you he was proud of himself.

“Was that from our bakery?” he asked, and you were grateful he had swallowed before speaking.

“Yup. The first years did so well in training today that Nanami and I decided to end things early and treat them. We ended up running into the third years on the way, so they joined us and we all had a happy time together.” Satoru’s face fell somewhere in the beginning when you started talking, and by the time you were done his mouth was turned down into a full blown frown.

“Without me?” He pouted, and the sad, puppy-esque face he gave you would have worked if you didn’t know what would be awaiting you if he didn’t finish his reports.

“Ah, ah, ah,” you tutted, shaking a finger at him, “you needed to get these done, or else it would have been me taking over the extras and then we would both be miserable.” Satoru scowled, but the sigh he let out was resigned.

“You’re not wrong.”

You reached out and ruffled his hair. “Of course I’m not,” you teased, “but I brought you a treat to make up for it.”

Satoru cocked a brow and stood from his chair so he could take a step towards you. Your lower back was already pressed into the edge of his desk, so you had to crane your head back to meet his eyes. “That’s true,” he said playfully. “You do make everything better.” He closed the space between your chests and the audible hitch in your breathing made him smirk.

“Cheesy,” you muttered, but exhilaration flowed through you when his hands came up to cradle your jaw and he lowered his head enough that you could feel the warmth of his breath against your nose. Satoru hummed an amused sound before finally taking your bottom lip between his. You tucked your arms below his so you could fist your hands into the fabric of his uniform as his sides and a fluttering burst into your chest when he started stroking the apples of your cheeks with his thumbs.

It wasn’t wrong to say that Satoru had transfixed you. Everything about him—the way he smelled, the depth of his laugh, how his fingers felt when they danced over your skin—was alluring to you, and you couldn’t help but clutch him closer as your lips moved against his. In response, Satoru’s hands dropped down to grip at your waist, and you let out a noise of surprise in the brief moment your lips disconnected when he lifted you up, only to set you back down on his desk. He was quick to kiss you again, chasing you when you leaned back to make space for him in between your legs.

His hands seemed like they were everywhere at once: between your shoulders to press you into him, cupping your chin to angle it up and allow his lips to ghost over your neck, and then spread over your thighs to grasp and knead. The room was quiet except for the heady exhalations and gasping breaths of the air you shared, and you heard the rustling of paper being scattered as he cleared a spot behind you.

Somewhere deep in your mind, your brain supplied you with the thought that Satoru’s office was not the ideal first place to do this—to have him. Certainly not as his hand started to sneak under the bottom of your shirt or your fingers toyed with the button on his pants, but every inch of him was plied against you and it would take something monumental to separate—,

“Ahem.”

As it turned out, your principal clearing his throat outside of the wide open door of Satoru’s office was catastrophic enough for the two of you to spring apart at something close to the speed of light. You propelled yourself off Satoru’s desk to stand rigid at the side of it while turning your head to gawk accusingly at him, because surely the honored one should have sensed Principal Yaga way before he ever arrived. But from the way he immediately dropped straight into his chair to conceal himself from the waist down proved that, astonishingly, Gojo Satoru could be caught unaware.

Neither of you three said a word. Principal Yaga eyed you and Satoru with his arms crossed and brow furrowed, and you couldn’t decide whether hurling yourself out of the window behind you would be less painful than the scrutiny coming from the large man at the door.

“There’s paperwork for this. You two can each get a copy from my office tomorrow,” he said eventually. You were relieved to hear a lack of judgment or disappointment in your principal’s voice and decided you could live with the resigned finality that colored instead. He didn’t offer anything else and had just begun to turn away with a shake of his head and a hand rubbing at his temple when he spun back around suddenly, making you flinch from where you were still rooted next to Satoru’s desk.

“I want those reports finished and on my desk first thing in the morning, Satoru.” His tone brokered no discussion and—in all the time you’ve known him—you witnessed the loud-mouthed sorcerer at an apparent loss for words. He simply nodded in agreement and then Principal Yaga was gone.

“Well,” Satoru started slowly, turning to face you in his chair, “I think that makes things official.” His mouth then tilted upwards into an unbothered grin, and he looked at you expectantly. Strained laughter died in your throat.

“I guess so.”

————————————————

In an effort to help make up for last week’s incident , Satoru called you midway through the Friday afternoon to, not ask, but summon you for a late night dinner date. In exchange, you got to pick where the two of you would eat and what dessert you would share at the end. It had taken little to no convincing on your part to get you to agree, and when the name of a restaurant in the upscale part of the city near his apartment slipped from your mouth, you were surprised to find that no guilt came along with it.

Once upon a time, you might have wistfully imagined yourself seated and dined at that particular restaurant with Suguru, as you had told him when the two of you first passed it on the street. However, that daydream never came to fruition, and you refused to let a faded prospect with your long-lost ex-lover get in the way of creating new memories. So, in order to do just that, you took time getting yourself ready and slipped into a new dress before taking a train to the city to meet Satoru.

The restaurant was everything you expected, and you took in with a small smile the low light atmosphere and your secluded table illuminated with flickering white candles. Waiters bustled to and fro, and the soft plinking of a lounge piano underscored the muffled murmurings of the restaurant’s patrons. You and Satoru talked about anything and nothing as you looked over the menu. The establishment wasn’t overabundant in the options it provided, instead taking great care to provide a few exceptionally well crafted meals, but you still had a difficult time making your decision nonetheless. Satoru offered to select one of the two dishes you went back and forth between for himself so you’d have the opportunity to try it, and while the idea melted your heart into a little puddle, you urged him to pick what he wanted for himself.

A waiter came by and presented you with an extensive wine list, and while Satoru didn’t partake, he guessed with unbridled enthusiasm at which type you’d choose. His answer had been wrong, but the determined gleam in his eyes told you he’d never again make that mistake. After eventually making up your mind and successfully placing your order, the rest of the dinner flew by. The two of you spent time exchanging bites of each other’s food and sharing stories about the progress of the first year’s training.

When you were brought the dessert menu, you both leaned over the table towards each other to look over it together, and when the two of you couldn’t decide on just one, you suggested ordering two. Satoru had raised a brow at you, having already heard twice by then how you were too full to have your own dessert and, despite his protest, insisted on sharing one with him. He relented, and you ordered two. When the waiter was out of earshot, you told him in a pointed few words that you had every intention of sharing that second dessert with him as a middle of the night snack. Satoru immediately sat straight in his seat, eyes flashing with heat and want and a whole other amalgamation of emotions that set your blood alight.

By the time dessert came, you were two minutes shy of snatching the check and hauling him out the door, sweets be damned. But Satoru simply laughed and passed you a spoon while he situated the plate of dessert halfway between you two. When you were two bites in, stomach protesting and your eyes feeling just a bit heavy from the dimness of the restaurant, you tucked your foot under Satoru’s to rest it against his ankle. His answering smile was tender and maybe a little bashful, and while it could’ve been the second glass of wine that caused the stirring in your chest, you wouldn’t have been surprised if it was your heart expanding enough to make room for him.

————————————————

“I want to go there again next week,” you said blissfully, both satisfied from a delicious dinner and feeling relief from the cold floors of Satoru’s apartment on your sore feet. If you never again picked up the heels you had kicked off at his door, it would be too soon. You meandered into his kitchen and plucked a water bottle from his fridge to down in just a few swallows.

“I suppose we could go back once a week until we finish trying every dessert and dinner option available,” Satoru responded, coming up behind you to curl one arm around your waist and press a kiss into your hair. “Thank you for being my date.” You lifted your arm to reach behind you and drape it around his neck, and he let his mouth glide across the skin that he could touch.

“Always,” you murmured, and while the implications of the word felt a little heavy and maybe a bit presumptuous for the early stages of your relationship, it didn’t diminish the truth of which you spoke it with. Satoru didn’t seem to have an objection to it and merely pasted every inch of his front against your back.

“If you’re tired, or if the second glass of wine was too much, I’m happy to lend you a change of clothes and offer you a guest room for the night. We can make breakfast in the morning if you’re willing to supervise.” His laughter tickled your skin, and you were quick to shake your head and turn in his hold.

“No to the guest room, but yes to breakfast.”

He smiled into the kiss he placed onto your lips and you fisted your fingers into the collar of his shirt in an attempt to keep him against you when he stepped back and nodded in the direction of a hallway. You caught his hand from behind when Satoru turned to walk towards what was presumably his bedroom and held on to it as he led you. He glanced back at you over his shoulder, eyes promising and mouth slightly parted, and when he whirled around completely to tug you through the open door of his room, you caught yourself on his chest and giggled.

While Satoru busied himself with nuzzling his lips against the curve of your shoulder and fiddling with the various clasps and a zipper at the back of your dress, you peeked around his arm to study the vastness of his bedroom. It was as expertly put together as the rest of his home, but still mostly lacking in its signs of life. The high beamed ceiling and towering window framed by lush dark curtains created a feeling of openness, but the plush comforter on his bed and the stone fireplace set across from it helped cultivate a sense of coziness. You spied his uniform draped over the back of a chair nestled under a desk, and a thrill went through when the computer sitting atop it flashed a screensaver familiar to you—the picture of your dessert from the cafe a thousand miles away.

You had the mind to ask Satoru about it, but before you could he was peeling your dress off your shoulders and down your arms. His eyes flicked up to yours in silent permission and it only took a subtle dip of your chin before he was pushing it the rest of the way down your torso, and you squirmed when his fingers danced over your ribs in a way that tickled. Hands started to move in a hurry after that point. Yours flew to the buttons of his shirt while his traveled up your arms to cup your cheeks so he could kiss you again. When you divested him of the fabric concealing his chest, seeing it land in a flutter next to your dress on the floor, you immediately started in on his belt, taking pleasure in the stuttered breath Satoru let out above you when you yanked on it in your efforts to get it off.

As soon as he stepped out his pants, Satoru was turning you to the bed and he just barely caught himself above you when the two of you fell back against it. You grinned up at him as you shuffled up towards the pillows, and he followed obediently to settle between your legs when you opened them for him. It wasn’t until Satoru had already shimmed your underwear off your legs and did the same to himself did you feel a prickle of nervousness in your belly at the sight of him. There had been a few others in the time between Suguru and now, but they all had blended into faceless bodies and blurred memories of dark bedrooms, none ever so important that you bothered to recall them in times of loneliness. But this—Satoru—would be different, and you had only ever known one other man in such a deeper level of intimate feelings.

“Comparing me to someone?” The sarcastic quip from Satoru reclaimed your attention and nearly had you leaving the bed altogether, but the hidden undercurrent of vulnerability in his voice kept you under him. One day, the two of you would have a discussion about appropriate boundaries and how to express one’s emotions with proper words, but for now, you would reassure him that he would not have to spend his entire life worrying that he would never be enough for you.

“No,” you said pointedly, cocking an eyebrow at him, and he actually looked chagrined. “I was actually thinking about how you were longer than I expected.” You punctuated your words by reaching down and wrapping your hand around him, and all the air rushed out of his lungs in a forceful exhale. It wasn’t a lie on your part. Where Suguru had been impressive in his width, Satoru excelled in his length, but that wasn’t any of his particular business.

“I always thought you’d wear some expensive cologne everyday,” you continued in a whisper, tightening your grip around him until he sagged against your chest and let out a low moan in your ear, “but you smell faintly of clean scented soap and that surprised me.” You trailed the hand not currently occupied over the ridges of his spine and had to bite at your lip when Satoru shuddered against you. “Your skin doesn’t run as hot as I imagined it would, but I don’t mind it.”

He chuckled a bit at that, and the breathless sound of it made you shiver. In a strained voice he asked, “anything else?” You let out a questioning hum, feigning your need to contemplate the idea, and Satoru nipped at your neck in retaliation.

“Okay, okay!” you squealed, wriggling under him as he continued his assault up over your ear before replacing them with soft kisses over your cheek. “Your hair feels as soft as it looks and not a day goes by that I don’t think about running my fingers through it.” To emphasize your point, you raked your nails over his scalp and a pleased grumble sounded low in his chest. You debated sharing your next thought with him, but he was searching your eyes in a way that was a little desperate and heart wrenching, so you obliged.

“The night of that failed date, right before we fought,” you began quietly, tracing your finger over Satoru’s cheek and the bridge of his nose, “I spent the whole time wishing it had been you.”

The admission must have taken him off guard because his eyes widened and a pink flush took over his cheeks. His chest brushed more firmly against your breasts as his breathing accelerated in the slightest, and you reached up to nudge the tip of your nose against his. You didn’t bother waiting for his reply, and arched your hips upwards to grind them against his, this time you both let out echoing moans. Much of what came next happened in blurs of frenzied movement; his hand slipping between your legs and moving about in a way that had you throwing your head back into his pillows until his room was filled with the sound of you chanting Satoru’s name. When you were breathless and panting, he trailed back up your body with his lips straying to the dip of your waist, the curve of your breast, and then back to your mouth.

When he finally made space for himself inside you and pulled your thigh higher over his hip, all you could do was grasp at his back and grip at his arms while he murmured your name into the crook of your neck. His movements stole your breath and overwhelmed any other thoughts in your head, but you didn’t mind how much room Satoru took up. Not when his fingers traced your features in delicate awe and wonder, and not when he had you calling his name in response to the sudden burst of warmth that poured over you a second and third time before he followed in kind.

Satoru rolled the two of you over when your chests were still heaving and limbs were trembling, wrapping you up tightly in the breadth of his arms so you could rest your cheek just under his collarbone while he whispered soft affirmations and praises in your ear. You decided then, when he was still nestled inside you and spoke excitedly of a midnight snack in a plastic to-go bag and of shared breakfast in the morning that Gojo Satoru would never be too much for you.

————————————————

When Satoru blinked awake, the first thing he noticed was the calmness with which he came out of sleep. His skin wasn’t slicked with sweat, nor were his blankets tangled around his legs. He hadn’t thrashed into consciousness, tormented by an endless loop of nightmares filled with his dead best friend’s face or your vehement ire. Instead, his eyes opened drowsily to take in the blue-black of twilight peeking through his curtains and became instantly aware of the sound of rhythmic breathing to his left. You slept soundly on your side facing away from him, but with your back pressed against his arm. Satoru let out a long breath, feeling more rested than he had in months, but he was in no hurry to find his way out of bed and away from you. In an attempt to coax his mind back into slumber, he shifted onto his side and wiggled down into the bed until he could snuggle his face against the back of your neck. You made a sleepy noise of annoyance when he wrapped his arm around your hips to pull you against him, but you didn’t wake and Satoru sighed in contentment before letting his eyes fall closed.

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I hope y'all enjoyed this sweetness as much as I did!

The next chapter with be the last, but will not be nearly as long and will wrap things up and give a happy ending to our couple. I'm excited to share it will y'all soon<3

Have a good weekend!

Taglist: @paprikaquinn & @kafanizdakicokiyi

#gojo satoru #gojo satoru x you #gojo satoru x reader #geto suguru #geto suguru x you #geto suguru x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jujutsu kaisen x you #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x you #jjk x reader #gojo x reader #gojo x you #geto x reader #geto x you

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sminiac · 3 months

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Congrats on 400 followers🎉🥳🥳. Could you do a scenario for Piwon and how they would break up with you/ their reaction to realizing that they don’t love you anymore?

💌 — Thank you sm sweets! <3 I loooove writing angst even though I don’t get reqs for it, BUT YES. Was lowkey excited to pull up my feels playlist for this :b

⋆ Y. Keeho

So, so quiet, and diluted. He’s very naive when it comes to loving someone so in the first flicker of insecurity he’s immediately calling it quits in fear of dragging something out that’ll possibly never lead to anything deeper, or getting too attached to a point where it’s unnecessarily difficult and painful.

Curls in on himself more and more in the days leading up to him finally talking to you and when he does it, it’s not the most surprising thing. Hearing him abruptly cut off from his words and backing away from his train of thought because the tears find home in his throat so easily. Seeing him like this is rare, you’re so used to the talking being passed off to one another so seamlessly but he just continues struggling through his sentences no matter how many deep breaths and attempts to compose himself he takes. He really tries to communicate with you, lay everything out, plain and simple, but unfortunately he just can’t, his emotions get the best of him which both you and him know is completely unlike him.

He’s able to explain everything to you at a later date, which is just salt in a fresh wound, but he knows he can’t go on living like nothing that serious happened, especially after leaving you in the dark. Asks if you can meet up for coffee or call or something, is willing to write a handwritten letter if that’s what it takes to get you to hear him out. His reasonings for seeing you again are partly in best interest of himself, but he likes to think it gives you some sense of closure too, or at least a solid placement on your feelings towards him. The conversation goes quite smoothly compared to his first attempt, he even finds himself comparing the two of you now to when you first got together, it’s bittersweet, but he still cares for you so he doesn’t force it away. Holds your hand over the table while reminiscing, sharing old funny stories before parting ways.

Remainder of members under the cut!

⋆ C. Taeyang

Doesn’t realize nor feel the gravity of the circumstances that follow his decision to leave you. In fact, in the beginning he plays with the idea as it sparks to life, figures that the cons probably far outweigh the pros anyways, so why is he really playing along with you? Hes just so busy and caught up in the limelight that he realistically can’t even begin to remember all the details, the good points in your relationship, he’s far too fast to make a concrete resolution for his own absentmindedness, and inevitably it comes back to bite him in the ass.

Very straightforward, although there’s a tenderness to his disposition the more he lets the words flow. The more he talks the more he realizes how absurd this all sounds, and he’s quick to point out any of his faults and ignorance right in front of you. The conversation does nothing but solidify his point, but it also helps him understand just how gracious you are to him, how you’ve always been, and that keeps him on track because he knows that if you were to stay that you wouldn’t be able to find that growth if your own. Sets you free in a way, even if that sounds cringy and silly, he just doesn’t want to keep you to himself- nailed to the ground when you have so much ahead of you in your life, and the life of an idol wasn’t always so easy or kind to exclusivity.

Towards the end he recalls all of the milestones he’s hit with you by his side, behind the camera, always his number 1, reminds you that if you weren’t here he probably wouldn’t have made it this far. He literally counts his blessings whilst calling himself an idiot for not realizing it sooner.

⋆ C. Jiung

The type of ex you can be friends with and be completely platonic with after breaking up let me just say, even if there’s lingering feelings he’s never acting on it or allowing you to either. He’s very quick and precise, as soon as he’s sure, even confident in telling you he’s just not quite in love with you like that anymore then he’s calling you up, telling you to come over. Jiung’s just a very comforting and easy going individual, there’s obviously going to be a palpable sense of sadness in the air but he tries to keep things light instead of saying things to further fuel the tears- it’s kind of silly though, because no matter what he’d unintentionally do just that.

Comes right out and tells you, very straightforward at first,, almost a little too blunt, but he treats the wound with a gentle dressing, reminds you that he does love you, that it’s been there for days and days, that he’s walked with it, ate with it, sang with it, that his love for you won’t just disappear in the matter of seconds because of a change of labels.

Tells you that he understands if distance is what you want, that he won’t overstep or prod if that’s not what you’re comfortable with, so dedicated that he’d make sure any mutual friends don’t speak of him to you if the topic is much too sore to touch on. But! If your boundaries don’t come with a secure extent then he’ll merely act as a friend, not one you’d go to for every rant or life experience, but one that’s there whenever you need him to be. He’d still reach out to congratulate you on every achievement, milestone, every significant date too with a fitting paragraph in thorough detail about whatever it is he’s messaging you abou :,)

⋆ H. Intak

Terribly bitter. Becomes so self deprecating and the jabs at himself are sharp, like- would actually make himself miserable about losing feelings for you. Tries to ignore it, initially he doesn’t even want to acknowledge it, but the longer he lets it sit and fester the more it mercilessly eats away at him. Takes the time to sit and talk with Keeho, sorting his thoughts and tackling the much tougher questions he couldn’t bring himself to face alone, I think he wouldn’t come to the conclusion of breaking up with you himself, it would definitely have to come from someone. The situation doesn’t feel that weighty, or lucid until someone like Keeho is telling him that it’s the only option he has.

“I’m sorry” is said quite a lot when he has the time alone with you, his eyes already bloodshot around the edges and his lips swollen. The time passes by fairly quick in retrospect, but in the moment it feels like it just drags and drags.

Intak genuinely can’t bring himself to touch you or get so close to because he knows that’s when the tears will start again and there will absolutely be no consoling him to get them to stop. Maybe you’ll think of him as being one for dramatics, but he’s just such a lover that it’s crushing to even reach this point that he’s absolutely torn on your behalf. Only makes contact with you for the last time when you’re saying your last goodbyes, your personal belongings back in your care and his shoved into a corner in his room because he physically can’t take them out and sort through it. The hug only lasts for so long before he’s letting you go, choking out a goodbye with a forced smile. He just hopes you can’t see the tears building against his lower lid.

⋆ H. Shota

Soul knows you probably wouldn’t understand, but he tries to wait it out, the feeling of doubt every time he questions himself about loving you. He realized as the days past he grew more and more uncaring about what you were doing, who you were with, he found himself eager to end calls and to be left alone, purposely ignoring any questions his members had about how you were, when they’d see you again.

As soon as he stopped questioning why you didn’t text him or call, how he wasn’t repulsed by the thought of you loving someone else the way you love him, that it was time he broke things off. He deals with his emotions quite simply, chronologically, uses his brain more than his heart because then things are strategical and easy, but things weren’t quite as painless as he expected when finally confessing to you that he wanted to break up.

He knows the tears will come, the resentment, he hates the thought of you ever thinking about him with only a sour taste in your mouth and a shell of his current self kept frozen in your memory, he wants you to know the future him, the bad and the good, but it’s an incredibly selfish thing to ask of you, to stay even if he no longer loves you romantically, it leads to his emotions doubling in size, making his own tears unceasing as he holds you, scared that once he lets go you’ll disappear forever, completely. He goes through with it of course, despite his fears and insurmountable worry, he knows better than to ask you to stay.

⋆ K. Jongseob

Seob Is fairly well acquainted with the ‘you’re so mature for your age’ approach when being complimented on his sterling dedication and drive that keeps him moving forward in the music industry, because, well duh? But the good aspect of knowing how he handles early adulthood gets a little too into his head, therefore he lacks the emotional intelligence to navigate through his feelings when it comes to a point where he’s questioning himself and your relationship because he just doesn’t have the time at his disposal to face it.

He tries to work on himself at first, his doubt, the lack of security you have in place of his side— like a sample track he’s not confident or content with, he tries and tries to make it better, and that’s inevitably the downfall of his efforts, it’s the fact he has to try to keep loving you to begin with.

He’d like to think that he redeems himself by being an open book with you when he sits you down, pouring out all of his bottled thoughts and feeling, but the crushing truth does nothing but keep your aversion to his lack of self understanding stagnant. He’s soft when telling you that the two of you should break up, gentle, because he can’t bring himself to fathom the betrayal you probably feel now knowing how he’s felt under the layers of his forced affection and uninterested feelings.

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wannabe-fic-writer · 6 months

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Wanda Maximoff x Reader : Christmas Break

Summary: You plan a fun outing for your family. Covers the ‘Sledding’ square of Holiday Bingo.

Warning: None.

Word Count: 2k

* * * * * * * *

The house is quiet, incredibly so. Given the fact that your children are home due to the holiday break, you were expecting quite a bit of noise.

At the beginning of the week, when you came home around noon, you found them having a blast on their day off. You were certain their excited energy of not being in school would last until the very last day of break but now you’re not so sure.

Leaving your home office, you stroll down the hall to the living room where you find your boys, Billy and Tommy, slumped on the couch with bored expressions as some cartoon plays on the TV screen. The scene causes a frown to form on your face, curiosity and the tiniest bit of worry coursing through you. Before bothering them, you go looking for your wife for possible answers.

Wanda, your gorgeous wife and mother of your children, is in the kitchen standing over the stove. She slightly sways to the soft Jazz playing from her phone as she stirs the contents of a pot on the stove.

Unable to fight the smile that forms on your face, you sidle up behind her and wrap your arms around her waist.“ Hi, my love.” You greet her, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek.

“Hi, milaya.” Her soft voice flows straight into your ear as she turns her head towards you.“ You finished already?”

You hum,“ not yet but it was oddly quiet so I came to check on things.” Reluctantly parting from her, you move to lean against the counter beside her, arms crossing as you look through the space at the boys.“ Those two have never been that quiet. Everything okay?”

She sighs, lowering the burner, then turning to look at them as well.“ They’re fine, just really, really, bored.”

“Well, with the way they’ve been tearing through this place the past few days, I’m not surprised.” You admit, knowing that within the first three days of their vacation they played every game they could think of.

Wanda nods, mentally agreeing.“ I know but they just look so sad. That’s their favorite show and they’re barely even reacting to it.” Your wife’s insanely soft spot for them bleeds through.“ I offered to make them hot chocolate to lift their spirits. The smell usually has them running over before it’s even done.”

A hefty sigh sounds from you, eyebrow furrow as you take in her words and start thinking.

Christmas Eve is two days away and while you have plenty of fun activities and things planned for then, you hadn’t given much thought to what to do before. You figured they’d be able to keep themselves occupied until you finished up the last bits of the work you had before your time was completely free. Now though, the ever present need to make sure every member of your little family is happy causes your brain to kick into overdrive to find a plan to cure your kids’ boredom.

It’s with a glance outside, seeing the snow fall from the sky and further cover the streets, that inspiration strikes.

“Wanda, I know what we’re gonna do today.” You beam, quoting one of the phrases from the very cartoon on screen.

She rolls her eyes, lightly slapping your arm with the back of her hand.“ What is it, goofy?”

“A surprise.” You stick your tongue out at her.“ Get that hot cocoa into some thermoses, I’ll tell those two to go get ready, and then grab everything else we need.”

Loving the enthusiasm in your eyes and always willing to have some fun with her three favorite people, Wanda nods.“ Will do, mama.” She says a little teasingly.

“Thank you.” You slap a soft, quick kiss on her cheek before heading to the boys.

When you step around the couch into their view, they don’t move a muscle but their eyes follow you as you take a seat on the coffee table in front of them.

“Hi my beautiful boys.” You greet.“ I hear we’re havin a bit of a boredom problem around here.”

It’s Billy who speaks.“ There’s nothing to do.” He practically groans.

“Well, what if I told you I have something really fun we can do,” your words cause them to perk up a little, faces showing their curious excitement,“ it just requires you two putting on your snow gear.”

“Snow gear?” Tommy asks, fully sitting up now.“ What’re we gonna do?”

You smile, eyebrows wiggling playfully.“ Go get ready and you’ll find out.”

Not needing anything more than a mysterious promise of fun, they hop up and run off upstairs to get ready.

Sharing an amused look with your wife, you shake your head and go off to get ready yourself. After having pulled on your boots, coat, hats, and gloves, you dipped out the backdoor to the shed to grab a few things.

With your truck warming up and the things you needed in the back, you slip back inside the house, stomping the snow off your boots on the rug at the door.

“Oh Mrs. Y/ln-Maximoff,” you sing softly, smiling at the beauty that is your wife.“ You also need to go get ready my dear.”

“I will, love. Was just packing a few snacks along with the hot chocolate.” She informs you as she packs a few more things into the lunch bag you usually use for family outings.

When she finishes, you go to grab the lunch bag, smirking as she runs a flirty yet tender hand across your chest. She gives you a wink as she heads up the stairs and you push away the hundreds of thoughts that fill your head with a deep breath, then take the bag out to the car.

Shortly thereafter, your sons come running down the stairs, the swishing of their snowsuits sounding loudly.

“Aye, no running on the stairs. Not safe.” You lightly scold them, making both boys nod as they’ve been reminded of this a few times before.

“So, where are we going, mama?” Billy asks, coming to a halt at your side. He looks up at you with those eyes that are strikingly similar to Wanda’s and you are quick to smile.

Cupping his cheeks in your hand, you lean down and say,“ it’s a surprise,” before planting a kiss on his forehead.

He giggles, wiggling out of your grasp just to send a light and playful punch to your arm.

Immediately going with the flow, you begin play fighting with the boy, his brother jumping into the fray as well.

The scene of you on the floor, both boys laying on top of you, letting out shrieks of giggles as you tickle them, is a warming sight for Wanda. She smiles, pulling her phone out and snapping a few pictures of the three of you. She sends one to the group chat containing your former teammates with the message, ‘Avenger taken down by twin boys’, attached to it. Then she pockets the phone and calls for your attention.

“Boys, your mama can’t take you to your surprise if you never let her up off the floor.” She tells them, which has the 7 year olds scrambling up off you and even assisting you to stand as well.

You chuckle, brushing yourself off and straightening your clothes.“ Thanks for the save, gorgeous.” You wink at Wanda, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

Taking her hand, you shepherd the boys outside and into the truck. You’re all more than happy that the truck is already warmed up, the blasting heat pushing away the chill you felt from the front door to the vehicle.

After everyone’s seat belts are buckled, you turn on your usual playlist for riding with your family, and pull out of the driveway.

Singing along to the songs keeps the boys distracted for about ten minutes, then they shift to repeatedly asking what the surprise is and where you’re going.

Instead of helping you deflect or dodge the heat, Wanda merely watched in amusement, letting out the occasional laugh.

Luckily the drive isn’t long so, in a few more minutes, you’re pulling down a snow covered gravel path and parking off to the side, the bed of your truck facing the destination.

With nothing but trees and a rather large hill in sight, the boys are a little confused. That quickly fades away the second they see the sleds you pull from the bed of the truck.

“Sledding?!” They both exclaim, running closer to take a look.

You know they’d seen kids sledding in movies, having made mention of wanting to do the activity a few times. Before winter last year you’d purchased the sleds but hadn’t had the time to use them until now.

“Yup, sledding.” Turning to them, you pass a smaller plastic sled and a helmet to each of the boys and they happily accept them and take off towards the hill. You turn to Wanda, noting the smile she has just at seeing them happy, and say,“ don’t worry Mrs. Y/ln-Maximoff, they won’t be the only ones having fun.”

When you pull out a larger wooden sled, Wanda can’t help but admire how beautiful it looks. The dark wood shines and the red accents and straps add a nice pop to it.

She takes your hand after you pull it out, tugging as she heads to the mountain with excitement that nearly rivals the twins’.

Atop the hill, you run through some simple safety precautions with the boys(and Wanda) and tell them the fairly simple instructions on how to ride. Everyone gives a confirmation that they understood you completely and in no time you’re all seated on the sleds.

The boys are at your right, giddy beyond belief, while Wanda sits between your legs gripping the red straps with excited anticipation.

“Everybody ready?” You ask.

“Yeah!” They boys and Wanda cheer.

“Alright. 3! 2! 1! GO!”

Pushing off with your hands, all of you slide forward a little slowly, then shoot down the slope of the hill.

Despite the cold wind whipping across your face, you still smile at hearing the happy shouts and giggles from your family.

You all skid to a stop a few feet away from the bottom of the hill.

Dismounting, you check over your family. Smiles are still present, even as their chests heave and their faces redden from the cold.

“Fun?” You ask with two thumbs up.

“Yes!” Wanda exclaims hands landing on your shoulders and slightly shaking you.

“Oh my god that was so cool!” Billy exclaims as Tommy yells,“ we went so fast!” Then they look at you with big brown eyes and ask,“ can we go again?!”

Still matching their energy, Wanda gives you the exact same bright brown eyes.

“Of course we can. Let’s go.” You wave for them to head back up the hill.

You lose count of how many times you all sled down the hill. At some point Tommy even gets a little air which you panic over until you confirm he’s okay. You then have to tell them both not to purposely try to push themselves into the air.

Eventually you and your wife grow tired, so you leave the boys to keep going and head back to the truck.

You prop the sled against the tire before opening the trunk. Spreading a blanket out over the bed of the truck, you nod for Wanda to get up and sit before going to grab the lunch bag from the front and going to join her.

With cups of hot cocoa in hand and the snacks Wanda packed set out, you watch the boys sled with your woman under your arm.

She cuddles into your side, happily sipping from her cup. Unexpectedly, she raises her hand for a high five which you accept.“ Great idea, mama.” She tells you.

“Why thank you, my love.” You respond, placing a kiss on her head, then resting your head against hers.“ They’re gonna be out like a light when they get in the car.”

She snorts.“ I’m not at all opposed to that inevitable future.”

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Taglist: @owloftheshadows @blackxwidowsxwife @b-5by5 @lostandsearching @iliketozoneout @alotofpockets @storiesofsvu

#wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff fic #wanda maximoff fluff #wanda maximoff imagine #wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff x reader #mcu #mcu x reader #marvel #marvel x reader #storiesofsvuholidaybingo2023

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deathmetalunicorn1 · 1 year

Note

Hi hi!!! It's been a while since I requested! And I wanted to say I'm incredibly impressed on how fast you get your requests out!!

Anyways my request was the gods and humans of your choice (just as long as you add jack) whose s/o is like poison ivy, they still dislike humans but will fight for them because they were once human themselves. They are incredibly patient and love kids (ik canon poison Ivy probably doesn't like kids but meh)

Thanks in advance!!!! ❤❤❤

-You mostly kept to yourself, attending to your quiet garden in Valhalla, not really willing to interact with others, except for the few children who sought you out to ask you questions about plants, which you didn’t mind.

-You didn’t mind kids, at least those that were not destructive, but many of the children who visited you were curious and eager to learn from you, which you did with easy going patience.

-If you taught them young to respect plant life, to respect the earth, then they wouldn’t harm it, and wouldn’t piss you off.

-You stunned many that you decided to fight for humanity, despite your intense dislikes of them, but your reason was simple to you and humbling to others, “I was once one of them myself. It is the least I can do.”

-Your opponent was quick to underestimate you was you walked out, ignoring the catcalls from men in the audience as you were only in a dark green crop top and a pair of red bikini bottoms, roses in your flowing hair, green skin, and creeping vine tattoos in darker and lighter shades all over your body.

-You liked it when you get underestimated, it’s more fun for you when you toy with your pray.

-Many of the gods were stunned by your powers, you were like a goddess yourself, being able grow monstrous sized plants, ones that were even sentient, use even the smallest parts of plants, like leaves, as knives.

-You easily won your fight, only take a couple of hits yourself and you did have to admit, getting cheered was rather nice, and you did smile as you saw many of the children you’ve become friends with cheering out your name.

-You returned backstage so you could head back to your garden when you heard someone call out your name.

-You turned and a soft smile appeared on your lips, seeing your lover there.

-Jack- He normally would have taken your hand to peck the back of it, his normal greeting for you, but he surprised you by immediately embracing you, holding you tightly, as if you would disappear. You enjoyed the hug, your arms going around his chest before he pulled back, lightly brushing his thumb over your cheek where a bruise, one of only a few, was. Your hand cupped over his own and he inhaled, “Forgive my unmannerly greeting, my love, but I grew worried when he harmed you.” You smiled up at him, “I will heal, Jack, just like you did.” He chuckled softly before brushing your hair behind your ear so he could peck your cheek, his mustache tickling your cheek. He turned, offering you an arm which you took, holding it close as he grinned down at you, “I saw that attack you did with the leaves, Y/N~” you instantly giggled warmly, leaning your head on his arm, “I learned from the best~” he laughed warmly at your praise as you two continued to your room.

-Odin- He instantly had you in his arms, holding you up princess style with one arm while the other cupped your face, scowling up at the forming bruise from the lucky shot your opponent managed to get, “He’s lucky he’s dead. How dare he put his hands on you.” You cupped his cheeks before pecking his forehead, “It will heal, my love.” Muninn and Huginn left his shoulders for your own, cuddling up to your, the two shouting out their own anger while you cooed at them gently, trying to soothe them. Odin turned as your arms went around his neck, scratching the back of his neck gently, trying to calm him down as you smiled up at him, “And I told you that I was going to win. There’s only one man I’ve ever lost to, and he wound up being an ally later in my life and he’s the only one to ever hold that honor.” Odin just hummed quietly but enjoyed your gentle kisses, basking in your affection.

-Kojiro- He beamed brightly at you, his hands on your waist as he was quick to lift you in a twirl, “You were amazing!!” your giggled as he pulled you down into his arms, your arms around his neck as you planted a kiss on his cheek, leaving a lipstick mark, but unlike your normal kisses, Kojiro was immune, so you could kiss him as much as you want without either of you worrying too much. He held your hand in his own, giving you a small squeeze as he beamed down at you, “I had some food and drinks brought to your room, if you’re up for a celebration!” you smiled up at him, leaning your cheek against his arm, “Of course I am my love, both of our fights have been won, now it’s up to the other humans to win their own and to win our salvation.” He leaned over and pecked your forehead, making you smile softly, “All we can do is wait and enjoy ourselves! No wait- I didn’t mean it like that!” you grinned up at him, batting your eyes as your arms went around his neck with a coo, “Enjoy ourselves huh~” he was quickly flushing bright red as you flirted up at him. He was just too much fun not to tease!

#record of ragnarok #ror x reader #ror jack the ripper #ror odin #ror kojiro sasaki

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paperweight91 · 8 months

Text

Dream a Little Dream of Me Part 2

Summary: Your mission with Captain Rogers doesn’t exactly go to plan.

Warnings: Death (not major character), no others really.

A/N: this part has been reworked a couple times to get it to flow better. Please let me know what you think!!

You awoke the next morning to the buzzing of your alarm. Today was the day, your mission with Captain America. You purposely set your alarm early so you could go get a workout in before the briefing and getting ready to leave. Rolling out of bed you pulled on a pair of comfy yoga pants and a sports bra with a tank over top.

You stopped in the kitchen on the way down to the gym to grab a protein bar and some water, saying a quick “Good Morning” to Bucky before slipping out of the room. When you arrived at the gym you were surprised to see Steve and Sam running on the treadmills. You gave them a short wave then put your earbuds in to start your pre-workout stretches.

You sighed as you shifted and felt the bruises still left on your hip. How could you have done that yourself? No, not the time to think about that. Focus! You wrapped up your stretches and made your way over to the furthest treadmill from Steve and Sam. Sam raised an eyebrow at you, but said nothing.

As you programmed in your usual pre-mission run you felt eyes on you. You looked up to see Steve staring at you. He hadn’t noticed that you saw him looking at you yet. The look on his face was different from what you were used to. Not the fierce anger, or the sneering scoff. You weren’t sure what to make of it really. You shrugged it off and continued with your workout.

After showering and grabbing a quick bite to eat you met Steve in the briefing room. He was already suited up, and ready to go. You hoped this would be a quick in and out mission.

“So glad you could finally make it to the briefing,” his tone set you on edge. If anything you were early, what was he trying to do? You scoff but take a seat across from him at the table. Not willing to give him the satisfaction of arguing.

Steve ran down the mission details. It was fairly straight forward: release the hostages and grab any Intel. No kill mission, unless of course yours or the hostages lives were in danger.

You nodded along as you scanned through the tablet with the additional information. The hope was you both would be in and out before anyone even noticed you were there.

“This is a mission I would generally do on my own, but I think this will be good practice to see how you work with your teammates.” God he was such an ass!

“Right,” you replied, keeping your voice even, and trying but failing to keep the edge out. “So how do you want to split this? Or are we working through this whole thing together?”

“I think it’s best if we don’t split up unless necessary. Go suit up, we're wheels up in twenty.” You nod, surprised to find yourself agreeing with Captain “stick-up-his-butt.” Not knowing each other well enough meant splitting up was much riskier than sticking together, even if you could complete the mission quicker.

You quickly don your suit, and race to the Quinjet. Hoping to beat Steve there, if only for the satisfaction of being there first. You’re not sure who’s looking out for you today, but by some miracle you manage to make it there before Steve. You drop your duffle of supplies in the back and grab a seat. As soon as you sit you feel that slight wave of dizziness crash over you. No, no not now!

You shake your head and the feeling passes. Thankfully, it’s then that Steve climbs up the steps of the Quinjet. He nods to you before taking his seat in the cockpit.

The trip is quiet, letting you run through the information over and over in your mind. It was Steve’s voice that drew you out of your thoughts. “What are you doing?”

He was looking back at you, intrigued. At least he’s not annoyed. “Just running through all the intel, making sure I have everything memorized. I hate going into places blind.” You picked up the tablet to go over the layout of the building for the 10th time. “You suspect they’re keeping the hostages on the lowest level, right?”

Steve nodded, it looked like you were closing in on the location. He was definitely descending. “Do you have an ETA once we land?” You were nervous, and had trouble keeping the warble out of your normally confident demeanour.

Steve nodded as he guided the Quinjet closer to the ground. “It’ll likely take us thirty minutes on foot once we land. You have your supplies?” Was he being nice?

You nodded even though he wasn’t looking at you, going through your mental checklist of all the weapons and gadgets you were bringing with you. Nothing crazy or flashy, but enough to protect yourself and definitely enough to download any Intel you could find quickly. You ran your hands over each item you had equipped to your suit. Physically checking that everything was in its place as Steve finally landed the Quinjet.

There was enough cover that you could likely be back before anyone noticed a rogue Quinjet, but still Steve turned on Tony’s tech that made the jet near invisible unless of course you knew what you were looking for. You walked side by side with Steve as you approached what appeared to be an abandoned hospital.

Your mouth twisted as you looked over the place, “Are you sure this is the right place, Captain?” There were no vehicles or any signs of life. No smoke from an errant fire, nothing. This whole situation was starting to feel off.

Steve hummed, “Doesn’t look very promising does it?” You shook your head in response. “We’re here, let’s check it out and if there’s nothing we can regroup back in the Quinjet.”

Together you scoped out the building, and found a hidden entryway. Once inside, the mission seemed slightly more promising. Steve tapped his ear then pointed down the long hallway, indicating he could hear something you couldn’t. Damn super soldier hearing. Your pulse picked up as you realized this was likely the group that was holding the hostages. You needed to find a way to gain access to them without alerting this group to your presence.

Suddenly a thought occurred to you, the fire routes. That was going to be your easiest way to navigate any hostages out of this situation. You pointed to the map across the hall, Steve’s eyes followed and he nodded. As quietly as you both could, you entered into the fire stairwell and made your way down to the lowest level.

Upon opening the door to the hallway the first thing you noticed was the smell. It smelt like that one time your mission had gone sideways in Brazil, turning your three day mission into a month long stay. When you had returned home everything in your fridge was so rotten you had been worried you would never get the smell out. Except this was worse. It was stronger, more pungent and definitely was more than some rotten food left in a fridge for a month.

Steve preceded you around the corner, his shield held high in anticipation of an enemy. Until he suddenly deflated infront of you. You walked around him to see what had changed his demeanour so quickly, and gasped at the sight in front of you. Bodies. Dead bodies. There was no telling how long they had been there. A while judging by the smell. You let out a whimper as your eyes scanned the faces. Women, men, children. They had taken all of these people from their lives, just to what, kill them?

Steve’s hand on your shoulder stopped you from moving. You had started walking towards the bodies, searching for any sign of life. You shook his hand off, and started walking forward again. It was a whisper of your name off Steve’s lips that stopped you in your tracks.

“It’s too late, they’re gone.” He said, voice wavering on the last syllable.

A choked sob left your mouth before you could stop it. The knowledge that you were too late, too much for you to bear. You raised your hand in front of your mouth. The sight in front of you triggering a memory, or is it a dream?

Before you can react any further Steve starts pulling you away. “C’mon,” me mumbles, “let’s get the intel and get out of here.” You stumble as he pulls you, still caught between the sight in front of you and the distant memory pulling at the edges of your brain. You fall into him and he holds you close. “I’m sorry,” you murmur into his chest, knowing he’ll still hear you. “I don’t know why it’s so bad this time, can I-could I have just a minute to…” you trail off, not quite sure what you’re asking for.

You feel Steve nod his head as he holds you close. This isn’t a position you ever expected to find yourself in. Showing Steve this vulnerability, but there was no way you could continue this mission without getting your head back in the game. His large paw-like hands ran up and down your arms in a soothing gesture, it was then you realized your heart was racing and you were crying. He guided you both back to the stairwell, away from the sight and horrific smell.

“Feeling better?” His voice was a murmur into the top of your head. You nodded, and shyly looked up at him. “I’m sorry Captain, I don’t, I’ve never been this emotional on a mission before. I-I promise it won’t happen again.” You can barely look him in the eye as you take a step back, and decide to focus instead on the chin strap for his helmet.

Steve opened his mouth to respond when suddenly a wave of dizziness unlike anything before hit you. You felt like your skin was burning and your head spun until you couldn’t tell up from down. “S-Steve…help…I’m…”

It was all you could get out before passing out, feeling the warmth of strong arms briefly before the world went black.

You felt your skin start burning again as you came too. This time from cold. Except for how you normally woke up here in the clothes you had begged, borrowed and stolen, you were still in your stealth suit. Not only that you felt the strong arms of Steve Rogers wrapped around you holding you tight.

Before you can untangle yourself you see the flurry of movement up ahead. Curtis. You jump to your feat Steve doing the same. He looked around confused, then stared at you shocked.

“Sweetheart,” Curtis looked like he had seen a ghost when he saw you. “How? Where? What’s going on?” You’d never seen him so flustered. But you were also confused, what was he talking about?

“I think I have the same questions as you. Captain Rogers.” He held out his hand for Curtis to shake. Curtis looked at him like he had the plague before begrudgingly shaking his hand. “Is there somewhere private we can talk here?”

Curtis nodded and lead you both back to where he and Gilliam would plan the rebellion. There wasn’t much privacy in the tail, and this was the closest you ever really got.

You sat atop an overturned crate shakily as Steve stood beside you. His arms were crossed and as you looked up at him you could see his no nonsense Captain America face was on. You hugged yourself trying to figure out where to start.

“Start from the beginning.” Curtis’ voice shocked you. You must have said that out loud.

“I-I don’t know what’s going on. Ever since I was a kid I remember dreaming of this place. It wasn’t every night, but most nights…I always hated this dream.” You looked straight at Curtis. His face was always easy to read. For a man who said so little you could always tell the emotions right from his face. He looked confused, and a little hurt if you were honest with yourself.

Although you spoke to Curtis it was Steve who responded to you, he said your name barely above whisper, “I don’t think this is a dream, maybe it never was…” he trailed off as he looked around. Turning his attention to Curtis he spoke next, “where are we?”

“This is Snowpiercer, a train built to house the remnants of humanity after the planet became too cold to be habitable. I’ve been here for 19 years. I wasn’t able to afford a ticket at the time, none of us in the tail were.” Curtis still looked confused as he turned his attention to you. “I remember when we boarded you were there. Alone. You seemed so small, and scared that day, like you had no idea what was going on…you didn’t did you?”

You nodded as you took in a steadying breath. You remembered it vividly, the first time you dreamt of the train. You had come home from school to find the house empty, your parents still at work. You had done some homework and made yourself a snack before finding yourself asleep in bed before they even got home.

You remembered the biting frost of the air. The people begging to be let on the train. The dizziness that surrounded you as you stood on the platform, looking around helplessly. You remembered a young man, a few years older than you, making sure you got on the train with a flash of blue eyes.

“None of it was a dream?” Your voice shakes, along with your shoulders. Your head starts to pound as all the memories of both your lives rush through you all at once.

The pile of bodies on the mission, it was so similar to before you had the protein blocks. People just started dieing from hunger. No way to help, nothing you could do, but just wait until they removed the bodies.

“No sweetheart.” Curtis sinks in front of you to wrap himself around you. “I was so scared one minute you were right there in front of me. In my arms. And the next, you were just gone, like you had never been here in the first place. That was days ago. No one has seen you since.”

You sob into his shoulder. It’s too much. You look up to see Steve standing behind Curtis now. His Captain America facade is gone, and his face showing more concern then you’ve ever seen him direct towards you before.

“You didn’t know this was happening? The SHIELD screening didn’t pick up on it?” You shake your head no to both of his questions trying to gather yourself. You cling to Curtis, your safety in the tail. Here you always felt weak, not like in the Avengers compound. Home. A tiny voice whispers in your head.

Steve nods once before starting to pace, “we have to figure out a way out of here. These people, they look like they’re malnourished, and freezing we have to get them to safety.”

Curtis snorts and stands to his full height. He stands equal to Steve in height and build. You never noticed before, but they are almost carbon copies, besides Curtis’ dark hair and beard. They could almost be the same person.

“And how do you expect to do that? There’s nowhere to go outside of the train. We’ll all freeze to death the moment the doors open. Not to mention, the disabled and the children. The only way to ‘save us’ is to help us rebel against the front. To take the train.” Curtis gestures around as he speaks to show the state of the tail.

You nod then stop. “Wait if this is real, and I brought us here,” you gesture between yourself and Steve, “couldn’t I just bring everyone else back?” You stumble as you get to your feet feeling the gnawing hunger in your stomach. The dizziness you always felt here is a constant buzz behind your eyes.

Curtis immediately pulls you close with an arm around your waist. “Careful Sweetness, can’t have you hurting yourself.” He murmured into your crown.

“Before we do anything I need to have a look at you.” Steve pointedly looked at you, and you nodded. How do you explain everything here? How you always felt unwell here. “Can you give us a minute?” He asked Curtis.

Curtis hesitated looking at you first, before nodding and leaving you and Steve, closing the curtain behind him. Steve stood before you his hands on his hips. He was scowling at the floor trying to put his thoughts together. You swayed on your feet again, but there was no Curtis here to catch you now. Steve quickly lowered both of you to the floor pulling you close to him.

“I need you to tell me everything, I’m blind here. And you look like you are getting sicker and sicker by the second. Is it always like this?” You had already been vulnerable with Steve once today, might as well spill everything you knew about the tail and yourself here.

“I’m weak here, vulnerable,” you started shakily, the dizziness was coming in waves. It felt like they were crushing you every time you got a gasp of fresh air. “Curtis has always protected me. I always thought it was my brains way of letting me be vulnerable, you know? Like a coping mechanism for what we do. A place where someone looked after me, rather than…” you trailed off as visions of the corpses you saw with Steve floated into your mind.

Steve didn’t say anything, simply rubbing your arm and nodding. He urged you to continue with a small smile, “I don’t know much, but we have nothing here, very little food and no exposure to the rest of the train. Curtis and Gilliam have been planning, I don’t know exactly what, but it’s going to be big. A rebellion. They have a plan, a way for us to take the train and reclaim some of our dignity if nothing else.”

Steve hummed as he processed your words. Before he could respond Curtis was pulling the curtain behind you open. “You two should try and sleep, they're going to be coming by with protein block rations soon. I’ll make sure you both get some.”

You smiled up at Curtis and he offered you his hand to pull you to your feet. You let him pull you into his chest, and you nuzzled into him. Although you only had rationed showers in the tail, Curtis’ scent had always meant safety, and you gulped down his scent like you would never smell it again.

He walked you and Steve over to your cubby. Steve watched as Curtis gingerly helped you into the cubby, then leaned in to kiss your forehead. There was a dusting of pink on his cheeks when he pulled back enough to allow Steve to climb in behind you. He made sure to leave his shield on his back, in case of any more unexpected departures.

Surprisingly Steve cuddled himself up to your back. An arm thrown around your waist and his face buried in the back of your neck. “I hate the cold,” he whispered. It was so quiet you weren’t sure you even heard him correctly. “How can you stand it here?”

You snorted a short laugh, “I mean normally I’m wearing way more than just a stealth suit…” you trailed off. Steve had never been this open with you. This whole day, it was like you had been with a totally different person, more like Curtis. Not to mention this was the most physical contact you had had in, god how long had it been?

“So are you and Curtis…?” Steve let his question trail off. You felt heat raise in your face at his words. What were you and Curtis?

“I don’t know. I didn’t even know he was real until twenty minutes ago, I thought he was figment of my imagination. He’s - he’s a good man, and a strong leader. He wants to protect us all.” You knew that didn’t really answer Steve’s question but you also didn’t have an answer. None of this was supposed to be real!

Steve simply nodded and tucked himself as close he could. You could feel him shivering from the cold of the tail section. The guilt began then. It was your fault Steve was here, your fault he was likely reliving a terrible moment, the moment he thought he was going to die. You slowly turned yourself over so you were facing him. Steve only looked at you curiously, not sure what you were doing. You reached for him and he let you pull him close offering your warmth and comfort as best you could.

It was then you felt the crash of dizziness, much like it had hit you at the hospital. “Steve…ugh I think…” your vision was narrowing, but you made sure to keep a firm grasp on him. Not willing to leave Steve behind in what would likely be his worst nightmare. Before the blackness took you over completely you felt him grip you tightly.

And then nothing.

#dream a little dream of me #chris evans #steve rogers #curtis everett #curtis everett x reader #steve rogers x reader #reader insert

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chaiiitime · 7 months

Text

It Happened One Summer Night

Summary : A broken car. A sleepy little village. It was a scary feeling to see all the excuses you made to hate each other slowly crumble away. Wild curls. Inked skin. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let go.

Stranded together off the beaten path, Adriana and Daniel realised it was too easy to give in to the feelings growing between them.

Pairing : Daniel Ricciardo x OC!Fem

Masterlist | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Chapter 4

They woke up, limbs tangled on the cotton sheets. Adriana pretended she was still sleeping and Daniel let her pretend as he slipped out of bed, both of them grateful for the extra moment before they had to actually face what had happened yesterday.

Adriana had been so wrecked after her orgasm that Daniel had had to literally tow her out of the water. He had carefully pulled her straps back in place while she’d held on to his shoulders in a daze. They’d stumbled home without saying anything, and drowsy from the sun and wine she’d had at dinner, Adriana had fallen asleep before they could talk.

Yesterday, she’d felt embarrassed that she had so easily given in after … after all she had accused him of. She’d fallen so easily, but she would be lying to herself if she denied that everything that had happened between them had been almost inevitable. They’d been building towards this since Adriana had walked out of the airport and seen Daniel leaning against the car, waiting for her.

As soon as she had felt Daniel’s breath ghost over her skin, seen the molten honey of his eyes, she’d been all in.

Her hand drifted down to her breasts, softly cupping over her flesh still sensitive from the way he had coaxed pleasure from her body. He had left a bruise there, just above her nipple, the purple blooming over the swell of her right breast as she had stood in the shower yesterday — an ephemeral evidence of the white-hot desire they’d shared.

She couldn’t possibly regret it when it was the hottest encounter of her life — not that it was much of an encounter given how she was the only one who had come. She’d never been the type to engage in casual sexual relationships, but maybe now was the time for her to be more free, to let things flow, to finally be impulsive.

If this thing with Daniel led her to a few more orgasms while on holiday, it wouldn’t be so bad, would it?

Daniel opened one of the travel-sized bottles Adriana had left lined up in the shower and sniffed — it smelled citrusy and sharp, it smelled like her.

Would it be wrong if he lathered it over his hand and reached down to touch himself? He’d been hard since yesterday, since he’d touched Adriana and seen how beautiful she looked when she let go. And then, this morning he’d woken up surrounded by her scent, her hair sprawled out over the pillows, her softness against his hardness.

He closed the bottle in frustration, picking up the generic bar of soap to lather himself in quick economical moves. He cursed at the tepid pressure of the water in the old plumbing because he desperately needed a harsh cold jet spray to get his dick to behave.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, Adriana was out of bed, ruffling through her suitcase.

“Hey,” she flashed him a soft smile as she looked up.

Daniel cleared his throat, “— hey.” He had been expecting words of recrimination, had expected her to rightfully call him out for taking advantage of her yesterday. So he was a bit taken aback by her calmness.

They stayed suspended for a moment in awkward silence as they both tried to think whether or not to broach the one thing on their mind.

“About yesterday, I’m sor—“

“Daniel —“ Adriana cut him off as she got up and walked towards him. “You don’t have to apologise, we’re both consenting adults. I was a hundred percent willing participant, so …”

Daniel was oddly quiet as she trailed off.

“Not that I am entertaining any notion of a relationship with you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she added quickly. Wouldn’t it just be embarrassing if Daniel thought she expected a commitment from him now?

“Don’t worry I’m not going to demand that you marry me to protect my virtue or anything like that.” She tried to joke in the hope she sounded blasé, like she had casual sexual encounters all the time.

“Damn —“ Daniel flashed her a lopsided grin as he tucked his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “I was about to demand that you marry me for taking advantage of me. I guess, I’ll have to find a way to go on living in society with my ruined virtue.”

His little joke had the effect he wanted as she smiled, looking adorably young.

“I mean I sort of did take advantage of you because you know, you didn’t — ” she stammered.

“I didn’t what?” His smile was wolfish as he watched her blush.

“You didn’t get to —“ her eyes briefly flitted down to his crotch, “— come.”

The breathy way she said that last word had Daniel instantly hard in his shorts. He wished she would stop sneaking glances at his little friend because he didn’t think he would be able to stop it from making an appearance much longer.

“Do you want me to —“ her tongue snaked out to wet her lips as she gestured wordlessly towards his crotch.

“What kind of an asshole do you think I am?” Daniel stepped closer to her, eyes all dark and serious. “I’m not going to ask you for anything in return just because I made you come.

“I enjoyed making you come.” His voice was lighter now, faint laugh lines playing around his eyes. “And I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”

ADRIANA WAS MAD AT Daniel. He couldn’t just say something like that and walk out of the room. There was a bed right there that they could have put to good use.

Was that how it was to be around Daniel Ricciardo, she mused as she lazily turned the page of her novel, you thought about nothing but sex?

She’d sat through breakfast, feverish with desire as Daniel had chatted easily with the Gonzales. Miguel had suggested they take his small boat out to sea and Daniel had laughingly declined, joking that with their luck, they’d somehow end up capsized. So, they’d naturally found themselves back at their little cove from yesterday.

It was a bit alarming how quickly Adriana had come to think of it as their cove.

A shadow fell over her. She looked up, squinting at Daniel hovering over her. He deliberately shook the water from his curls, letting the droplets fall on her.

“What are you, five?” She said as she shielded her eyes from the sun.

He smiled innocently at her, his dimples making an appearance. It was quite the contrasting combination — the boyishness of his dimples and the not-so-innocent kind of thoughts his stubble inspired. He flung himself down on her towel, jostling her shoulders as Adriana shifted to make space for him.

“You need to top up your sunscreen,” Adriana said as she ruffled in her beach bag for the sunscreen. The bridge of his nose had turned slightly red, making his freckles even more prominent.

“Lather me up,” Daniel said as he scrunched up his nose. So, Adriana reached out, smoothing the coconut-scented lotion over the bump of his nose, tracing the slanted curve of his brows, his stubble tickling her hand.

“Your turn now,” he said as he took the bottle from her and shook some lotion out onto his palm. He carefully rubbed the lotion into her skin, along the bridge of her nose, his thumb grazing her Cupid’s bow.

Adriana’s breath hitched, Daniel’s touch igniting a delicious burn wherever he touched her. She made to move away, but Daniel gently grasped her chin.

He tsk-tsked as he said, “I think I missed a spot.” His fingers drifted down her throat, circling tormentingly over her fluttering pulse, trailing along her clavicle and dipping shamelessly into her cleavage.

“There, you’re all good now.” Daniel said in the most infuriating drawl as he watched the flush spread over her skin. She’d swapped the one-piece for a bikini today and those scraps of barely-there material were taunting him.

He could press her down on the sand right here and have his sweet way with her, with the waves lapping at their feet and the sun beating down on them, but one thing racing had taught him — sometimes the reward was a bit sweeter if you were patient.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but —“ Daniel shifted on his side as he propped himself up on one elbow to look at her, the chain around his neck catching the sun. “Is your book even any good?” He asked as he watched her fiddle with the pages. “Looks like you’re still stuck at the same place as yesterday.”

She surprised him with a bashful laugh.

“I guess not,” she said as she gave up the pretense of reading. “I think I just wanted a book with a pretty cover.” She turned the book towards him, showing him the sparkly trail of stars painted on a deep blue.

“I thought the first rule about books is not to judge one by its cover,” he joked.

“Well, this one fooled me,” she said as she placed the book aside and leaned back to mirror his pose.

“Not even a nice cover can get me to read a book.”

“Not a fan of reading, are you?” She teased.

“Nopes,” he popped the P at the end as he smiled. “Can never sit still long enough to read one —

“And I know what you’re going to say. Sitting in an F1 car for two hours to go round a circuit is very different.”

“I’m trying to imagine teenage Daniel sitting through English class.” She made a mental note to google pictures of younger Danny later — there must be quite a few out there, right?

“Oh I was a terror!” He said with a laugh. “I think my teacher had PTSD from having me in her class.

“I was so disruptive,” he said, almost wistfully. “In fact, one time they had to call my mum in to ask if I had, you know, any learning difficulties and then, this, in turn, made my mum even more anxious about me.

“She used to threaten revoking my karting privileges if I didn’t study.”

“Did you then — study?”

“Ah, hell nah!” Dimples flashed. “I used to copy stuff off this girl that sat in front of me. She was —“ He reached out, twinning a strand of her hair around his finger, looking at the burnished copper that the sun brought out in it. “— just like you. Nerdy, smart, the hottest little miss know-it-all.”

“Bold of you to assume I was a know-it-all,” she said almost indignantly, playfully knocking him on his shoulder.

Daniel lifted his eyebrows at her, as if to say really?

“Okay, fine,” she rolled her eyes at him as she relented. “I went to an all-girls school, we were all know-it-alls.”

Daniel shifted closer to her, the look in his eyes lambent with the simmering desire between them. “But did you wear glasses and those tiny pleated plaid skirts?”

“I’ll have you know, my skirt was by no means tiny. It was exactly the length that the school rule book stated,” she said primly.

Daniel smiled at the image of prim and proper Adriana and wondered what it would have taken to ruffle her. He looked at her now, all loose and almost carefree, so different from the woman who had gotten into the car with him in Barcelona.

He wanted to be carefree with her, he realised. Just for the span of a few days, he didn’t want to think about racing, didn’t want to worry about the championship fight, didn’t want to think about anything but this right here. He just wanted to laugh, drink good wine and make memories that he would think about when he would be alone in some hotel room in some random corner of the world.

“Wanna go climb that cliff?” His voice was scratchy when he spoke again.

“Can’t sit still for too long, can you?” Adriana laughed as he sheepishly shrugged.

She looked at the cliff over her shoulder. “It’s quite steep,” she said apprehensively.

“Come on,” Daniel said as he got up and stretched his hand out to her. “It’ll be fun. Think how good it’ll feel when you make it to the top.”

Halfway up the bluff, Adriana made the mistake of looking down and seeing the jagged edges — it would be an ugly tumble from where she was.

“Don’t look down,” Daniel said from right above her. “Keep your eyes on me.”

“Yeah, well —“ Adriana was going to kill him when they got to the top. “I can’t see much of anything with your whole ass in my face,” she said sarcastically.

“And isn’t it a nice view?” He joked with a little wiggle of his hips.

He crouched down towards her, his brown eyes serious for a moment. “Feel the rocks under your hand, Adri —“ There was something about the familiarity of him shortening her name. “They’re warm and sturdy, they’re not going to crumble under your hands. We take one step at a time, yeah?”

He waited for her little nod before continuing on, patiently guiding her where to step, letting her take the time she needed. When they reached the top, he reached down, his hand wrapping securely around her wrist as he pulled her up.

“The view’s worth it, isn’t it?” He breathed into her ear, his arms around her waist anchoring her to him, his body buffering her from the light wind that had picked up.

The weathered rock was warm and rough under their feet as they carefully moved closer to the ledge, Daniel letting out a nervous huff as they peered down at the waves.

“I’m actually scared of heights, you know,” he said with the biggest smile.

“That’s very reassuring, thank you very much,” Adriana said wryly as she watched him step even closer to the edge.

“Ever been cliff jumping?”

Uh oh. Adriana was coming to know very well what that glint in Daniel’s eyes meant. She let out an incredulous chuckle as she shook her head at him.

“What?!” Daniel said.

“How do you go from ‘oh I’m scared of heights’ to –” She gestured almost in disbelief, “‘yeah, I should definitely throw my body off this cliff’? Like, what’s your thought process here?” Adriana imagined it was the same thought process that pushed this man to fling a car at 300KM/H on a tight twisty circuit as his day job.

Daniel shrugged, almost too matter-of-factly. “It’s just, I’ve tried to push myself over time to reduce my fear. Like, once every two weeks, I try to do something that scares me –”

“Oh, like out-braking another car around a corner at insane speeds is not scary enough for you?” She interrupted him and he laughed.

“Ok, maybe I am an adrenaline junkie,” he conceded with a smile, “but conquering a fear –” His eyes were serious now, his hand lightly thumping his chest “– that sort of stuff makes you feel alive, and it challenges you, and tests you. And once you’ve done it, you’ll feel so proud of yourself, and trust me, it feels fucking awesome.”

“You in?” Daniel silently held his hand out and Adriana placed hers in his.

“Ready?”

“No,” she said shakily as they took a few steps back, then they were running at full speed over the edge, Daniel giving a whoop of excitement as Adriana screamed.

There was a moment of breathless weightlessness, then the wind was engulfing them, their bodies vibrating with tension and the rush of danger as they fell, the ocean below cushioning their fall.

It was terrifying. It was exhilarating and liberating.

Muscles trembling, her heart beating furiously as adrenaline raced through her blood, Adriana swam to the surface. She broke through, gasping for air as she sought out Daniel. He swam towards her with a smile, his hand snaking around her waist to bring her closer.

“Admit it, you loved it.”

Adriana’s lips brushed the tattoo on his shoulder as she tried to catch her breath, an almost feather-light kiss. Of love and life. She looked up in his eyes, feeling so exuberantly alive in the moment.

“Yes. Yes, I loved it,” she murmured as Daniel bent down, his lips catching hers in a kiss, slow and deep.

“ONLY A PSYCHOPATH would choose passion fruit gelato,” Daniel scoffed as they left the tiny ice cream shop.

“Fruits have no place in desserts, that’s like a crime. It has to be like a caramel or a chocolate flavour–” He stopped to lick his rapidly melting cone of ice cream. He’d gone with one scoop of caramel and one scoop of vanilla, like a normal person. “Even like a vanilla is acceptable. I would even forgive a person who chooses anything strawberry-flavoured, but passion fruit?” He shook his head indignantly.

Adriana hummed as she enjoyed her gelato. Much to Daniel’s horror, she’d gone with a scoop of mango and a scoop of passion fruit. It was light and refreshing – a favourite summer combo of hers. “Well, don’t diss it until you’ve tried it,” she said as she held her cone out to Daniel.

He bent down, his tongue tracking along the swirl that her own tongue had left behind. Adriana watched in amused silence as he exaggeratedly smacked his lips, his eyebrows raising in surprise as the tanginess hit his taste buds. She laughed as he bent down, unable to resist another taste of her passion fruit gelato. “See, it’s good, isn’t it?” She said as she held out her cone for him. “It’s the acidity, it makes you want more and more.”

“Ok, you win,” Daniel conceded. “It’s actually very good.”

“Stick with me, Ricciardo. I’ll teach you the finer things in life,” she joked as they walked towards the beach.

The night sky was streaked purple with the last rays of the dying sun. They were both filled with that kind of dopey tiredness that came from spending the perfect summer day. They’d ended up exploring the village after their swim, walking the little alleyways and taking respite in the church when it had gotten too hot. Daniel had stopped each time to take a picture of something or the other and each time, he’d proudly shown her his shot. Every single picture had been out of focus and a bit blurry, just a random assortment of shapes and shadows, but he’d looked so proud of himself that Adriana hadn’t had the heart to tell him the truth about his photography skills.

They sat down, toes curling in the still-warm sand. Adriana tipped her head back, watching as the stars appeared one by one in the sky. She was filled with a strange kind of melancholy in that moment. The mechanic had sent word with Miguel that their car would be ready by late morning tomorrow. She should be happy – they would be able to make the rehearsal dinner after all. This was all she’d wanted since the beginning, so why was she sad that this interlude with Daniel was coming to an end?

She laid back in the sand, clasping her hands over her midriff. “You never get to see the stars like this in the city,” she said with a sigh, a strange lump forming in her throat.

Daniel laid down next to her, his arm brushing hers as he did so. “You should come see the stars on my farm,” he said as he propped his arms behind his head. “They look even brighter than this there.”

Adriana smiled wistfully at him, her heart thundering at the possibility of them existing beyond this moment. It was a throwaway comment, one made in the moment, she reminded herself. There would be no ‘them’ when they would get out of the car tomorrow. And it was fine, because that was how it was always meant to be.

She shifted on her side, looking over at Daniel. He looked soft in the dying light, almost drowsy, his body and face devoid of his usual nervous energy. The sleeves of his t-shirt had slipped down and Adriana could see the dense springy hairs of his armpits peaking past the hem, the interlocking letters of his LA tattoo getting almost lost in the dark growth. Just below it, usually hidden from view, was his tattoo of a baby carrying a skull and sword.

Unable to resist, she reached out, her fingertips gently tracing the outline of the skull then slipping down to the cowgirl inked on the outside of his biceps, her thumb coming to rest just over the imaginary cowgirl’s lips.

“Does it hurt, getting a tattoo?” She asked in a whisper.

Daniel watched the way her fingers fluttered over his skin, her touch eliciting a ghost prickling sensation along his nerve endings. He hummed in answer, “it’s the addictive kind of pain. I guess it’s the whole pain and pleasure thing. You get through the pain to get something at the end.”

She propped her chin on his shoulder as she continued her exploration of the ink on his arm. “I like this one,” she said, her fingers coming to rest on the little cherub on his forearm. She loved how his belly button was aligned with one of the moles on Daniel’s arm, creating a sort of weird symmetry. “Does it have a meaning?” She asked as her nails scratched along the surprisingly detailed wings.

“Red Bull gives you wings?” He joked, but she was looking at him intently, still waiting for an answer. “You know —” he shrugged, wanting to escape her searching gaze. “Cupid, god of love and all that,” he stammered, not wanting her to know how much thought he’d actually put in choosing every single one of his tattoos. He wished she took him at face value, like all other people seemed to do, like how they all thought he never stopped to think before doing something.

He looked down at her, where her face rested in the crook of his neck. She had a knowing smile on her face, as if she’d seen to the core of him. “Which one’s your favourite then?” She asked, her questions endless.

Daniel smiled, his hand snaking around her waist to bring her closer. “Maybe the little ‘3’ here,” he said, showing her where it was tattooed on his pinky. If he ever became world champion, there was no chance that he would ever ditch his beloved number ‘3’ for the number one.

“Or, maybe the ship and lighthouse on my knee,” he said as he shifted his leg towards her. “It was my first one. I thought if I got a big one, that would be it, but I was wrong,” he said with a laugh.

Of course, her hand slipped down, Daniel watching her trace the familiar blue of the waves etched there. “I was young and idealistic. I wanted to get something that represented me leaving home and my whole journey to reach F1.”

He looked down at the rolling script inked there. No regrets, only memories. Even after all the shit of the last few years, it still rang true.

“Was it scary leaving home so young?” She looked up at him, her hand warm where it still rested on the inside of his knee.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice rough. “But nothing would have stopped me. I was hell-bent on racing.”

“You know you’re one of the lucky ones, right?”

“Why?” He asked, “because I made it to F1?”

“No,” she said softly, “because very few people are lucky enough to have this kind of passion for something in life and on top of that, to actually get to live it everyday.”

“The rest of us,” her voice was muffled, her face pressed against his shirt, “we just drift through life. We get up and get a job because that’s what society expects of us.”

Daniel didn’t agree. It must take a lot of dedication and discipline to get to where she was in life. He tightened his arm around her, his lips brushing the top of her head. “That’s not true. I know for sure the other side is shitting their pants when they see you walking into a room. You’re a bad-ass lawyer, Adriana. Like a slayer of justice.”

“That’s the thing,” she said with a huff. “I didn’t go into law for any altruistic or passionate reason. I mean, I like the challenge of my job, but I’m not doing anything much other than make my clients money.”

“Why did you choose the law then?”

She was quiet for a moment and Daniel thought she was not going to answer.

“We grew up very privileged, Carmen and I,” she said quietly. “Our family was well-off, our friends were well-off. Money was never an issue until my dad made some bad investments and we lost nearly everything. I don’t think Carmen knows to this day how bad things were, but I was older, I knew. I saw how it nearly killed my dad, nearly broke my parents’ marriage even. So, when I got the opportunity to study law in England, I took it because all I wanted was a stable job that paid well.”

“Money doesn’t have to be the evil that most people make it out to be,” his voice was more animated now as he spoke. “I mean, I know people think I left Red Bull for Renault because of money and honestly, I couldn’t care less what they think.

“That money allowed me to set my parents up for the rest of their lives after all they’ve sacrificed to send me to Europe. It’s about me ensuring a secure future for my kids once I’m retired, and I know people will be after me if I ever say this in public,” he said with a laugh, “but I’m bloody proud that I was able to give my mom a Birkin. I know it’s materialistic, but nothing compares to the fucking pleasure I get from spoiling my family and seeing the delight on their faces. So, if your job gives you the stability you want, I just think you shouldn’t feel guilty about it simply because you’re not out there curing world hunger or whatever.”

Adriana reached up, placing a soft kiss on his chin. “Thank you,” she whispered against his stubble.

They lapsed into silence for a moment, letting the sound of the waves drift around them.

“I really brought the whole mood down, didn’t I?” She choked out with a laugh, burrowing her face in the crook of his neck.

“No, you didn’t,” Daniel said, brushing his lips against hers.

“I think you should get your mom a Kelly to go with her new Hermès collection.”

“I will,” he said, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “I’ll even get her one in the ugliest shade of neon green or something, just to keep with the new-money athlete look.”

He shifted closer to her, the hand around her waist moving down to rest on the curve of her ass, “I’m thinking –

“This is our last night here, so what do you say about one last dip in the ocean?” He said with a wink.

Adriana lifted herself up on one elbow. “Daniel Ricciardo,” she poked him in the chest, “I have already thrown myself off a cliff for you today. I am not going to go for a swim in the dark.”

“Come on,” he pouted at her. “It’s going to be fun!” He said as his hands slipped to her sides to tickle her.

“No!” she laughed as she slapped his hands away. He got up, whipping his shirt off and taking her by surprise, effortlessly threw her over his shoulder as he carried her towards the water.

The night echoed with the sounds of her shrieks and his laughter as once again, the waves engulfed them for a final time.

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