Tumgik
#Both because of each other's bad luck or because they have a single braincell each and they do not share it to make two
kosmic-remnant · 2 years
Text
“Every time I’m found by you, I get sucker punched in the face with an F in my tests. Just what do you want this time, Constantine”
Au in which Phantom and Constantine are bastard friends, and they hate each other’s luck to get into trouble.
Without even a greeting, the bloke of a man just point backwards with his thumb and said, “Pest. Yours. Not my problem.” just to disappear in a flash of light right after.
Danny groaned as he saw the building somehow both on fire and freezing cold on the walls, “Mark my words you asshole,” the ghost grumbled, “I will make you pay for this,”
.
A full thermos later and a little bit of sightseeing done, Danny too, disappeared into a flash of light, though this time a brightly green one.
With a sigh, he went back to his house. At least the Watchtower was one space.
Bastard.
--
It was a disorienting-nauseous feeling in his gut that made Constantine realize that payback was today. He groaned outwardly, making his cigarette fall to the finely tiled (and glowing, he might add,) floor, which in turn made him groan again.
Accepting his fate, he decided to look up. “Ya got something to call me on, mate?”
Phantom just sat there in his throne, looking bored to death and with the same expression he’s sure he had when he realized that he had to take care of the pests of the Watchtower.
“Welcome to disaster, ya old bastard. I’m here to make you pay,” Phantom said with a roll of his eyes. Looking as bored as he felt.
“Yeah, yeah. Just get it done mate. What happened now, Your Highness?”
“Ghost Duty,”
“-No.”
“You have no option, really. You’re a witness on this shit.”
Constantine groaned, passing a hand on his face as he did so. “Can I smoke at the very least?” he pleaded.
“Not a good idea. Trust me, you don’t want to make this longer by making an ‘offence’ to the judges.”
The magician sighed. Ghost jury duty was the worst. Not only it was long as fuck, it was also filled to the brim with weird rules and shit. “I fucking hate you, you know...”
Phantom just patted him on the back.
"Damned asshole,"
335 notes · View notes
tasklinemgr · 3 months
Text
My Satellite Investor Headcanons:
The Satellites have like, a sibling relationship to each other. They've known each other since childhood, but whether or not they grew up in the same household is something that they themselves keep ambiguous. Even in my more-serious-than-canon interpretations of them, they have this goofy evil henchmen vibe, and are very prone to bickering amongst themselves.
Although there's no serious animosity between them, the Investors can get a bit rough with each other, and have all been seriously injured by another Satellite before (and have gotten yelled at by Cosmo for doing this to each other). However, when they actually get their heads on straight and work together, they're a force to be reckoned with.
In my headcanon, skelecogs can't thermo-regulate the way other cogs can, and the Satellite Investors specifically are adapted to run best at lower temperatures. A reasonably sunny day could probably take them out.
Okay, onto each specific Investor:
Charon:
This guy's the oldest of the five, and is quite protective over his younger siblings. He's the one who's in charge whenever Cosmo isn't around, and is usually the one playing mediator in the Satellites' arguments. He's "the braincell" of the group, and (one of) the most charismatic, but his ego often gets in the way of both his intelligence and his charm. The man is a risk-taker, who tends to overestimate himself.
Charon feels more secure in his position than he probably should, and will often take the blame when his siblings do something to piss off the boss. He actually tends to butt heads with Cosmo, and won't hesitate in telling him when he disagrees with something he says. (Cosmo doesn't like this, but recognizes the utility in having an underling who will point it out if he messes up.)
Also, Charon has strabismus; he can't see very well out of his bad eye. He used to be insecure about it, but now, he actually treasures it as one of his unique features.
Hydra:
This is the type of guy who looks chill, in the single second before he opens his mouth and says the meanest shit you've ever heard. He's the second oldest, and is the type of brother who told his younger siblings really stupid things that they went on believing for years. He's argumentative, but unlike Charon, who genuinely thinks he's always usually right, Hydra does it just to get a rise out of people.
He'll be respectful towards Cosmo, but anybody else with any power over him is not necessarily safe from his aggression. (He does have some sense of self preservation). Hydra often insults the other Satellites in an attempt to encourage them to do better.
He always seems to be getting into Situations™️. Some of these involve other people, since he does have a bit of a "target on his back" but a lot of times it's just bad luck. Elevators love to get stuck while he's inside them.
Hydra has a tendency to chew on things; this is one of the reasons why he wears a bowtie, because he wouldn't be able to keep a necktie out of his mouth.
Kerberos:
This dude seems intimidating, but he's more bark than bite. I'm honestly torn as to whether it or Nix is older, and I'm tempted to say that they're the same age. Kerberos tends not to speak more than he needs to, and one of his favorite activities is to wordlessly pick up and carry his siblings in its arms. (In fact, Styx can often be found riding his shoulders).
He's just as prone to roughhousing as the other Satellites are, and while it actually tries not to seriously injure them, Kerberos tends to forget that throwing its siblings through windows is a bad idea. (And then he'll sweep up the broken glass with an sad look on his face).
He's an actions over words type of man, and while he never verbally apologizes for any transgressions against the rest of the Family, it will make up for them. Conversely, Kerberos expects any slights against him to be made up for, and if payback isn't given, he'll find a way to take it.
I like to imagine Kerberos being a little larger than he is in canon, just for fun. He has a pet dog, literally a normal-ass dog, that nobody knows where it came from.
Nix:
You may have noticed that I've never referred to the Investors as "brothers", only as "siblings". This is because Nix is a woman to me. She's the most independent of the five, and is the most likely to be off doing her own thing while the others are hanging out.
She likes to keep a bludgeoning instrument on her person, and is probably the most violent Satellite. Much like Kerberos, she'll retaliate when she feels she or the Family's been wronged, but she won't even give you a chance to make it up on your own terms. Nix is impulsive, and has a bit of an obnoxious side.
She's a secretive person, who doesn't really like talking about herself. Though the Satellites are very close, she doesn't trust her siblings the way the rest of them trust each other, and is a rather emotionally isolated person. Nix often speaks in rambling anecdotes, and she and Hydra both love telling embarrassing stories about their siblings.
Nix walks unusually quietly, especially for a cog, and will often use this to scare people, or to jump out from the shadows and bash someone's head in.
Styx:
The youngest of the Satellites. Styx likes to act like he's just an innocent little fella, but he's vicious. He'll make you think he's your friend, and then he'll stab you in the back and throw you under the bus. He's the most playful among the Satellites, but his games are often pretty cruel. Being around his siblings really brings out his childish side, and they all regard him as an "ankle-biter."
Many cogs find his natural demeanor uncanny, but he can turn down the weirdness if need be. Styx is a very powerful networker, who knows how to tell people what they want to hear. He's not ashamed to be a suck-up, if it'll get him what he wants.
Of the Family, he's the one who can most often be found working in the Pizzeria itself, hence why it's in his name. While it started as just some busywork assigned to the young and inexperienced guy, he's grown quite skilled and passionate about cooking. (If you break spaghetti in his vicinity, he will find you.) Also, he's great at turning on the Customer Service Mode.
Styx' body is built rather uniquely, in that he can very easily be taken apart and put back together. This makes him weaker, but also better able to bounce back from injury. (It's kinda like a cartoon skeleton who's always falling apart and reassembling himself). He's always missing a couple fingers, and Nix loves stealing his limbs and using them as weapons. There's usually a few spots of rust on him.
(psst, this took a couple hours of my life to write! if you think my opinions on characters are cool, you should consider reblogging !)
20 notes · View notes
rambling-stardust · 1 year
Text
THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE DIRTY
headcanons w mini drabbles for one piece's monster trio on the different sides of dating them.
afab! reader implied, gender neutral pronouns except sanji's portion
characters: luffy, zoro, sanji 4.4k words a/n: thought this would be a good first post for my new writing blog<3 my drafts have been piling up forever lol
Tumblr media
❥ monkey d luffy
the good
so in tune with his emotions
what he likes, dislikes, etc. he makes very clear, so pleasing him is such an easy task!
tbh i see him still being surprised even when you outright ask him what he wants
why is he so starry-eyed from the plate of bacon you're offering him? he said he was hungry, and sanji did tell you to help yourself to the leftovers from breakfast...
similarly, the strawhat captain isn't afraid to just go for it when he wants something
once it's clear you're both experiencing the same kind of feelings, this only doubles
physical affection is the perfect example of this
the sudden urge to hold your hand? he's reaching to lace your fingers together without a second thought. rubbery limbs are constantly wrapping around you in loops, luffy putting his whole heart into embracing you like he does anything else
in his mind, it's something that makes you both happy— so why fight it? especially when everything is "sooo much funner with you around!"
"You'd think they were attached at the hip," Zoro's grunt of a remark cut through the quiet on the upper deck. With the sea breeze teasing their clothes and hair, Nami brushed a few stray locks from her peripheral to follow the swordsman's gaze— only to land on their captain some distance away, with his arms hooked over your shoulders so he could cling to your back.
The added weight clearly disrupted your lounging, the navigator having seen you peacefully cloud-watching alone minutes prior, but there was no scolding or shoving like there would've been with some of the other crew. You seemed fine with it actually.
Rolling her eyes, Nami looked back down at the log pose that adorned her wrist. "If that's surprising to you, you're more clueless than I thought."
Oblivious to the now-bickering onlookers, you shot a small smile over your shoulder at Luffy. Though the signature hat on his head blocked most of his face from view at this angle, you could still see the edges of the dazzling smile that immediately surfaced in turn.
"You sure you don't wanna fish with Usopp and Chopper instead?" you softly question, fingers reaching up to trace invisible patterns across Luffy's arms, then wrists, then knuckles.
The captain insistently shook his head, ducking further into your neck until you felt the slight scratch of straw and the tickle of air from each exhale. "I like spending time with you." The answer was said simply, leaving no room for debate. It made your smile grow.
"Even doing nothing?"
Laughter, then— the kind Luffy did when he thought a question was silly. You knew it all too well.
"It's always something! Because we're together. Duh!"
the bad
not a single functioning braincell
okay, cutting the poor guy some slack, luffy isn't exactly stupid. in fact, there are plenty of times he's caught onto things faster than others
but don't let this convince you he's the next philosopher of our era
this oblivious man can miss signals that are the equivalent of a giant neon sign. this causes misunderstandings like no other
which brings me to the subject of the captain's stubbornness
you'll never understand how someone with so little patience can still manage to be one of the most stubborn pirates throughout the sea
it'd be amazing if that stubbornness could be used for the benefit of the crew, if you could somehow make him sit out battles, or stand off against his monstrous appetite...
however, what luffy often refuses to budge on are matters of the heart. good luck introducing any kind of logic to that
The symphony of battle was one you never quite got used to. Even now, after all the progress you've made, the adventures you've been on and endured... Sometimes it could still be overwhelming.
The clanging of swords and cries of rage. The explosions, both close and far. The shuddering sobs of the dying.
But right now, all you could hear was your own desperate begging— reverberating around your skull.
"Don't do this, Luffy. Please."
"I've made up my mind." The captain's answer was low, rough. Fitting, considering the anger twisting his features. Regardless of the fact it wasn't directed at you, the raw power in that stare made you shudder.
You had a terrible, terrible feeling about this.
"Please, Luffy! Don't—" you were choking on the words. You didn't want to say it, but you were grasping at straws. Nothing was working, none of the usual methods you'd learned over the months spent with the crew to distract or redirect Luffy's recklessness had any effect right now. "Don't be stupid! We need more time, more help! If we can just get back to the—"
"Shut up! I'm gonna end this now. I'll make it back, I promise." This was clearly the limit to his patience; the rubber man throwing an arm out, stretching it far in preparation to slingshot himself right to the heart of the enemy. Right to the strongest enemy he's faced yet.
You knew you should have faith in your captain, knew you should cry out in support of his strength and determination, but all you could feel right now is dread. Nothing was going to plan.
Before you could get another word in, your lover is gone, soaring across the sea of fighters.
the dirty (nsfw tags: public sex, alluded creampie, slight size kink)
a common war within luffy is the previously-mentioned obliviousness versus that naturally sharp set of instincts that have miraculously kept him alive
he's probably aware of sex in a roundabout way— sometimes people get together, touch in certain ways, and then go about their day?
definitely had some companions try to explain it to him, for his sake and safety, but didn't listen AT ALL because it just didn't catch his attention
however, with some hands-on experience... let's just say it has more impact on him
suddenly there are all these fun things to do, in different ways, in different places even! the combinations and experimentation get him hooked the most
good luck trying to keep any of your sex life private though
not only is he a blabbermouth, answering questions honestly without any hesitation— but it's also way too easy to give in to his spontaneous (and risky) whims...
your "secret" is out maybe a week or two after his introduction to this new, addicting pleasure
Nami owed you big time for this.
The money-hungry thief had set her gaze upon a new mark that was quite typical for the crew's adventures. The Strawhat Pirates were currently being honored with a royal banquet— and banquets usually meant castles or strongholds of some kind, which meant treasuries.
So the plan was mind-numbingly simple: keep the party going until your gracious hosts were robbed blind by your navigator.
The thing was, another common thing with these banquets was the hero treatment. So really the plan was easier said than done when your dear captain hated being called a hero and often jumped at the chance to leave such affairs after having his fill of food. Luffy never liked to sit in one place for long, and the plates had cleared out long ago. Only guests drunk on mirth and booze remained— cheering and shouting and singing.
When the captain's gaze combed through the crowds, landing on his various crew members, you immediately recognized the pattern: he wanted to find his companions and leave.
Thus came your role.
It was always easiest to capture your captain's 'attention' after he won a fight. It made sense, really: a post-battle celebration hosted all sorts of emotions from the aftermath of combat. Adrenaline, relief, desperation...
And never before were you more aware of the latter, your chest flush against the stone wall as muscle caged you in from all sides. Luffy's hands were gripping desperately onto your waist as he thrust into you like his life depended on it, a mix of cum and slick arousal clinging to the inside of your spread thighs. His gaze, though half-lidded, was intensely focused on where the two of you joined.
The plan initially involved a room, but in hindsight you'd already been a little needy for your boyfriend, so you may have done your job a little too well. You'd reflect more on it, but that coiling feeling in your core was far more compelling, especially when the hips behind you stuttered in their rhythm— Luffy shoving his throbbing cock deeper with small, broken circles. This time he'd pull you over the edge with him.
With the noises he was making into your neck, you had the fleeting thought that you were sure to get caught any second: after all, you'd only turned a few empty halls before settling for the wall. But you couldn't help it at this point. How could you deny yourself when the both of you were just so close?
❥ roronoa zoro
the good
this swordsman is the epitome of security
say hello to your new favorite safe space: zoro's arms
after an especially long or hard day, words don't even need to be spoken— he's folding you into his arms, and the familiar drum of his steady heartbeat echoes in your ears
you can always count on him for refreshing alone time
need a getaway from it all? you've got the strawhat's first mate around your little finger, dear, just give him that look and he'll be pulling you away from the group to have some space to breathe
he understands the demons one can mentally battle while the outside world remains ignorant, the weight of intrusive thoughts
which, despite being abrasive about it, zoro will always make sure to express his gratitude to you in small ways
it might feel passive aggressive, the way he's shoving a coat over your shoulders, but would you rather catch a stupid cold?
poke fun at these subtle generosities and the swordsman will get so pouty and pink
Maybe you were just weird, but there was something melancholic in the aftermath of a marvelous adventure. In the departure and days after, as you ease back into the quiet in-between moments on the sea.
Sometimes there's a restless itch under your skin during these weeks when the action is sparse. You know the rest of the crew can relate in their own ways.
But you think Zoro understands a little better than the others.
The first couple of times you'd squirreled away in the crow's nest on his watch, the swordsman would shoot you a weird look or even grumble about peace and alone time. However, he never explicitly asked you to leave, and so you remained.
It became a habit, these quiet hangouts, until one day you broke the silence.
"Does the training help?" you inquire aloud. Later you'd blame the exhaustion you'd felt at the time— it was late into Zoro's overnight watch, and he barely broke a sweat over the entire weight training period.
The faint rattling of metal sounded when the bar abruptly stopped, and Zoro met your curious gaze with a confused one. "Hah? What are you on about?"
Nervously, you fidgeted. "I know training makes you stronger. But... I guess I'm just asking if sometimes you train because it's something to... to keep yourself busy. Y'know," you gestured vaguely. "That restlessness thing."
Green brows relaxed, something in his eyes softening. Or maybe you were just sleep-deprived.
"I train to get stronger, and stay stronger," he answers, resuming the lift and drop of the barbell. Then another pause, although briefer. "But it's not too bad for that either."
"Hm..." Somehow you felt dissatisfied with the answer, but you didn't push. Instead, you balanced the weight of your head on your palm, fingers curling over your cheek.
"So does watching help any better?" It was facetious, teasing even. Heat immediately spread across your face.
It... Kind of does.
the bad
literally SO prideful it's infuriating
teaching this man vulnerability will be a full time job with no vacation pay, no 401k, nada. zip. might as well be raising a teenage boy who's father is toxic masculinity
also on that subject, i feel like he doesn't know how to handle emotional situations very well
gets better over time in the relationship, with guidance, but at the beginning?
ohhh boy, better reconsider going to him for coddling. chopper or robin would be a better pick for that...
double goes for trying to ask in front of others. i can just imagine you asking for reassurance and he'd just offer shallow, borderline inconsiderate advice only for nami to beat some sense into him...
power through his fear of emotional intimacy with him and you can get through ANYTHING bestie
good luck though because this man would rather shoulder the world for eternity than admit he needs help
The patience of a saint would still not be enough to handle this situation, is what you tell yourself. It's understandable if someone doesn't want to talk about something upsetting.
Last week had been hard for everyone. The entire crew grieved in their own ways, the Sunny a little quieter following the troubling loss you'd suffered at the last island.
A reminder to constantly improve, because there are always stronger foes to face.
The realization that you'd not seen Zoro since the incident struck you like a physical blow, winding you and making the next breath a little rushed. One could only imagine what was going through his head.
So, as his... friend— a complicated subject, really, and a headache you didn't need right now— you searched for him. To make sure he was alright.
However, you weren't expecting this much hostility in response to a simple inquiry. You just wanted to know if the dumbass was alright.
Whatever happened from his end of the battlefield must have been particularly triggering. Your brain ran wild with theories, speculating if it dug into his past. Maybe even his childhood. What kind of grief and scars were reopened by the things he witnessed that day.
At the very least, you wanted to offer some sort of companionship in the pain and misery. Remind the swordsman that he's not alone on the bitter nights.
Clearly, that invitation wasn't welcome.
"I don't need anyone's pity! If you want someone to cry with go bitch to Chopper or something," Zoro barks, all scowls and tension where he sat cross-legged on the deck.
Angry tears sting your eyes, and you don't know if you'd survive the humiliation of them being seen and confused for something they're not. So instead, you spin on your heel, taking his advice.
You retreat to the women's quarters, heart twisting painfully in your chest. Eyes practically burn their gaze into your back as you go.
the dirty (nsfw tags: possessiveness, rough play, degradation, praise)
zoro is a one night stand that turns into two. which turns into three. which then becomes a situationship i don't make the rules
i imagine both of you manage to convince yourselves that it's what the other wants, followed with further delusions of 'i can totally do this without catching feelings'
spoiler alert: there's already feelings
this is really evident when jealousy and possessiveness slip through— zoro is particularly susceptible to fucking out his frustrations after withstanding jealousy for so long
loves to mix degradation and praise. "pretty slut" is a favorite, but new terms come into play from time to time
will play rough and leave marks, even if you have to compromise and convince him to scatter them where you can easily cover the bites and bruises up
ask him to be gentle and he'll try
You couldn't say how you'd wound up here again. The situation was familiar, one that was surely getting too comfortable to be safe— but it was hard to say no to something that felt this amazing.
Joining The Strawhats was an adventure: an exhilarating one that you could only predict in your wildest dreams. But what you've found amidst the crew was a more dangerous, more... carnal thrill.
It was unexpected, but Roronoa Zoro was beginning to be your absolute downfall.
You could— and often did, these days— find yourself getting lost in the way your bodies meld together, head swimming from the unpredictable filth that would spew from his lips.
Why did it feel so good to be called a whore? To be demeaned and then uplifted in a whirlwind of lust? It was undeniable, the way you would clench desperately around Zoro's length each time he retreated from your heat with mean taunts; and the way he'd chuckle, the sound pure sin, before filling you once more. The little praises he'd sneak in, gems among the insults, only serve as better kindling to feed the fire raging in your lower stomach.
Though you had to admit you enjoyed this as much, if not just a little more. Seeing the swordsman beneath you as you ride him, hypnotized by the occasional strain of corded muscle, settles the icky feeling that had been lingering behind your ribs earlier at the bar. When some of the women from the town your crew was visiting tried to chat him up, batting their lashes and tossing their hair.
Another obscene noise is pulled from the man below you, and you can no longer fight the urge to collide your lips with his in a brutal kiss.
It's messy, full of teeth and drool and whines that are pushed from you each time Zoro snaps his hips up just right.
"'M gonna cum," you warn after putting a few inches between your lips and his, the words rushed and desperate. It's the only chance you get before he's pulling you back into that kiss with a harsh grip on your hair— tingles of pain simply sparking into a new, unique kind of pleasure.
"Do it," Zoro hisses against your ear. "Be a good slut and say who you belong to."
Maybe it's not so crazy that his kiss feels like it's claiming you, too.
❥ vinsmoke sanji
the good
might as well start introducing yourself as royalty because you're never getting anything less from this lover boy
he will pamper you and do his best to fulfill your every whim! would serve you the universe on a shiny silver platter. no, gold! no, an entire diamond eatery set!
honestly, no one will boost you more. sanji is your number one fan and will constantly strive to make you love yourself as much as he does
you won't ever have to even fathom being undesirable because this chef will not stand for it for even a second
could list a million different characteristics he adores about you for every single negative remark you could come up with
all he asks for in return is your attention, and to be around you<3
"It looks like someone's got an admirer," came Robin's amused voice from your left, startling you from your reverie.
"Robin! You just love sneaking up on me," you dramatically sigh, recomposing yourself before making a scrunched-up expression of confusion. "Admirer?"
The archaeologist simply laughed under her breath, peering at you from over her sunglasses as she tipped them down. "I can't even say a secret admirer. I'm afraid it's quite obvious— Nami and I noticed immediately."
You weren't above pouting. "I have no clue what you're talking about."
With one brow arched, the woman pointed a delicate finger down to the table before you.
Out on the deck, a table with a fancy cloth and delicate glassware was oh-so-carefully set; and the metaphorical cherry on top was the mouth-watering delicacies stacked atop. Sanji— obviously the one behind the romantically-designed dinner— had to physically fight off the ravenous Strawhat captain as the gluttonous pirate stalked the meal like a starving predator.
Not one to turn down a delicious meal, and hating the thought of Sanji's efforts as food bodyguard against Luffy going to waste, you didn't waste time asking questions and simply enjoyed the gift. The renowned chef, all the while, gushed and cooed in the background after Luffy finally realized there was no food for him.
"C'mon, you're smarter than that. You really think he doesn't mean anything out of all this?"
Heat prickled at your cheeks. Sanji's behavior was certainly flirtatious, but it was easy to understand why outsiders would confuse it for a genuine advance. But Robin? She should've understood your fellow crewmate better.
"It's not like that. Sanji treats every woman like this!"
Robin was giving you that amused, I-know-something-you-don't expression again. "Perhaps. But I've never seen him quite so smitten with every little reaction before, either." Her gaze left yours, roaming slightly to the right, and instinctively you were turning your head to follow it.
Meeting eyes with the ship's cook, you swear your heart skips a beat as his face immediately falls into a lovesick look, eyes practically hearts as he swooned and darted to your side.
"Everything was to your satisfaction, my dear?"
the bad
regardless if you mind clinginess or not, i can guarantee even you will need a break from him at some point or another
he's happy being together every second of every day without pause. sleep, wake, eat, shower together— the more time to cherish you, the merrier, so if you want personal space... you're gonna have to break his heart
just a little bit! only for the hour, or day. he'll sulk and pout every moment you're away, not unlike a puppy.
which reminds me: you will have to keep a tight hold on this man's leash
don't get the guy wrong, a committed relationship is sacred to keep! he'll keep certain things special for just you two, however...
sanji could never ignore a gorgeous lady. single or not
beauty is meant to be admired, right? well, he'll certainly admire them
If someone asked why you'd fallen for Sanji, any other time you could give them quite the winding list of qualities your boyfriend portrayed. In fact, despite the rough day, it's with startling clarity you realize you still could list those things about him.
Sanji was sweet. Romantic. Considerate, gentlemanly, talented, and generous.
Too generous.
Sometimes you seriously questioned how you managed to develop feelings for a total pervert. It felt like you'd gone through every stage of grief with this characteristic of his: denial, bartering, depression...
Currently? You're in the anger stage and would prefer to keep a five-mile radius between yourself and the blond.
"Princess, please," Sanji's apologetic whining can be heard from behind the door, the handle remaining untouched as his mannerly side showed face: he wouldn't cross that boundary, you would open the door when you were good and ready.
You wanted to be. God, you did. But... it was just so infuriating, the way he fawned after that dancer on the street.
...However beautiful she may have been. You weren't totally spiteful, even you could admit the woman was drop-dead gorgeous.
The frown on your face only deepened. You didn't want to sound like an insolent teen: you think she's prettier than me! So instead, you decided the best option was some time and space. You could get over your jealousy, then go back to your love when you were ready.
A little voice in the back of your head nagged that would probably happen before lunchtime.
the dirty (nsfw tags: praise kink, oral & fingering, switch dynamics)
an absolute service switch. sanji is there to please, indulging in the entire experience from start to finish.
like fine dining, you don't messily inhale all the food on your plate: first you revel in the aroma, admire the texture, sift through the different flavors and how they tickle the palette
this is just a way of saying he could wax poetic about using his mouth on you
doesn't matter how— whether his tongue is between your thighs, across your skin, or between your teeth. you're a delicacy meant to be savored from top to bottom and back again, in his head
when the tables are turned and it's his pleasure at focus, though?
baby boy gets so shy, ahw
nevertheless, so needy. will not stop rambling about all the (amazing, stunning, reverent, miraculous, etc.) things you make him feel. he sings your praise until his pleasure is too much for words
Island stops were always... interesting. Some of the crew's most chaotic shenanigans stemmed from the simple dispatch of a grocery shopping trip. At this point, you counted your blessings when everyone would meet back at the ship successfully— a quick head count reassuring you that no, Zoro did not get lost again and yes, Luffy somehow managed to stay out of trouble. And if Robin didn't mysteriously disappear just to reemerge with world-toppling news?
Close to a miracle.
But nothing would best the island pit stops where you got to stay behind on the Sunny with its famous cook. There was a wonderful, honeymoon-esque bubble that would suddenly surround your world when the rest of the crew left the ship and headed into town.
Honeymoon indeed, with the way Sanji becomes so taken with you during those hours of privacy. When there's time to be used, he spans out every second to bring forth as much pleasure for you as possible.
It was nearly overwhelming, at first. You'd had the strange urge to cry, the evening had been so intimate. No one ever focused on you for so long.
Despite the time that has passed, the sentiment still lingers today.
Emotion swells inside your chest like a giant tidal wave, thighs trembling against hands that held you as though you were an offering to the heavens. Sanji had lost himself what feels like hours ago to the essence between your legs, the very first taste sending his lashes aflutter before his eyes fully closed and he divulged in his favorite feast.
He'd once told you he couldn't help it— he wanted to see your beauty for himself, but he truly lost control the moment his tongue fell upon your sex.
Goosebumps trailed in the wake of the hand that caressed down your hip to your inner thigh. The touch was featherlight before Sanji was pulling back, much to your disdain, only for that touch to drag across every slick and sensitive inch of skin he'd previously tasted.
"Just let me continue to make you feel good, baby. I can do this as long as you'd like," he coos as his fingers slip inside, curling to reach that toe-curling spot he knows will drive you crazy.
Why would you ever decline such a beautiful offer?
Tumblr media
likes & reblogs appreciated<3
author homepage // masterlist (coming soon)
240 notes · View notes
astaroth1357 · 3 years
Text
The Brothers as Angels of Virtue
My Brain: Stop thinking about the Angel!Brothers. The Angel!Brothers aren’t real. Like, they’re even less real than usual.
Me: But they are real!! *puts hand over heart* They’re real to me… in my heart…!
My Brain: “Your heart” ain’t in the canon but whatever, good luck with your delusions…
Me: Oh yeah?? Well I’ll show you, Brain!! I can FORCE this to work with the canon!!!
Brain: Nani!?!
Angel of Humility, Lucifer
Lucifer obviously wasn’t the first angel, Michael and Gabriel were there before him so those two had the most hand in “mentoring” him as he grew up.
Lucifer was always Michael’s favorite from the beginning. He was a very mild-mannered and studious kid from the get-go, even if he could be a bit blunt... 
He seemed to always be willing to learn something new and even after he would all but master whatever he practiced, he’d never forget to give credit to the people who taught him along the way. His willingness to step out of the spotlight, despite his many talents, eventually earned him the virtue of “Humility.”
Lucifer was around his pre-teens when Mammon was finally created, slightly too old to be able to grow up with him super closely, but still young enough to be more approachable than Michael or the others when he needed help.
Lucifer loved little Mammon with all his heart and would try to give him advice when he could, but since Michael would keep him busy helping him on most days Mammon was left with little people to socialize with… at least until Levi came along anyway.
As time passed and he grew even older, more and more siblings became added to the family. Lucifer never ignored or forgot about a single one of them. While Michael and others concerned themselves more with the day-to-day work, he’d be the one to check in on everyone and be sure they were alright.
Michael would arrange for a lot of “family activities” while they were all still together and Lucifer would actually enjoy participating. He’d usually volunteer to be the person who’d help the youngest at the table learn how to play a game since he wasn’t very competitive himself. A lot of the goodwill his family still has for him comes from these kinds of memories… No matter what happened afterwards.
Angel of Charity, Mammon
Mammon came around a fair amount of time after Lucifer so he was the youngest angel for quite a while. 
This led him to grow up a little… wilder than the others because he used to do things to get attention. Not big things, but like break a rule here or there to get people noticing you know?
Despite his “problem child” tendencies, no one ever considered Mammon a bad apple or anything. He probably had the most compassionate heart out of all the angels, the kind of kid who offers you one of their toys when they see you’re upset, you know?
As more siblings came into the picture, Mammon had a nasty habit of spoiling them silly. Especially Levi, who was much closer to his age, and ultimately got most of the toys when they would play together and gifts afterwards. Mammon’s selfless attitude towards giving gave him the virtue of “Charity.”
Over time, Mammon began to get more and more dissatisfied with how nice the lives of angels were compared to those of humans and he started making secret trips to the human world to help out the less fortunate. Since this was tiptoeing dangerously close to meddling with human lives, Lucifer was brought in to give Mammon a different outlet for his frustration...
Lucifer placed Mammon in the guardian angel program, allowing him to pick one human whom he could help as much as he liked, so long as he followed the rules. As it would turn out, Mammon took to guardianship swimmingly and stayed in the program right up until their eventual fall… and sort of afterwards too if you think about it.
Angel of Kindness, Leviathan
After Levi was made, Mammon was SO excited to have someone close to his age around that he became his main playmate.
Levi adored Mammon back then, the two were practically inseparable when they were young. The other angels would find them running around together, the more extroverted and lively Mammon leading the way for his his shy, but sweet brother in for whatever they were doing.
When Mammon would come up with any big project ideas, Levi would be the first person he’d ask to be his “partner-in-crime.” Unfortunately, it was still very much one of those “they’re a pair, but they have two braincells between them” kind of dynamics so things would always go south quick.
One day, Mammon was determined to make breakfast for all the other angels so Michael could take a break, so he pulled in Levi to help him. Because neither of them actually knew how to cook, the kitchen turned into a disaster and they both were covered in eggs and flour when Lucifer found them...
As Levi grew up, he more or less became of the unofficial helper and confidant to all the other angels, his siblings included. In time, because he was always so willing to lend a hand with everyone else’s projects, he became pretty skilled at a lot of things as a result. People eventually took note of Levi’s good-nature and named his virtue “Kindness.”
When Mammon started acting up more and more, the other angels would try to discourage Levi from associating with him as much but he’d always be the first to stick up for his older brother. No matter how much he bent the rules, he knew that he had a good heart and always meant well in the end. That, unfortunately, wouldn’t always hold true down the line...
Angel of Chastity, Asmodeus
There was another gap between Levi’s creation and Asmo’s so yet again there was a young angel without anyone their age to play with…
Unlike Mammon’s situation, however, Asmo was at least fortunate enough to have older brothers who understood what that felt like and tried their best to play with him when they could. Lucifer did this in particular because he was worried that Asmo could start acting out like Mammon had all those years ago...
Because of the extra attention, Asmo took to Lucifer very quickly. He saw him sort of how Luke sees Michael for quite a while and wanted to help him as much as he could. Sometimes people would even joke that Asmo was like his shadow, because the little angel would follow him around and mimic whatever he did.
Because they were together so much, Lucifer did a lot to shelter Asmo from the less savory things in life... It wasn’t so much out of prudence as it was brotherly concern for the boy, Mammon was still quarreling with him about the state of the human world and he didn’t want Asmo to go down a similar path... Due to this, Asmo had a very sheltered view on life and his perpetual wide-eyed innocence earned him the virtue of “Chastity.”
After he got a little older, he started wanting to find his own identity apart from Lucifer and that was around the time that the twins were made. 
Though everyone adored the twins, Asmo loved them both most of all! He took on the role of their babysitter and wouldn’t hear anything to the contrary, though he was a much more relaxed guardian than Lucifer had been to him (mostly because he was just so soft for their cute little faces).
Angel of Temperance, Beelzebub
It was a big deal when the twins were created because it’s very rare for two angels to be made so close together, on the same day no less. Beel came first when the sun rose then Belphie second after it fell. 
Asmo was ecstatic to have a younger sibling at last and all of the other brothers were equally delighted. Though Asmo did a lot of their babysitting, Beel was still more closely drawn to Lucifer whenever he would watch them. During those times, he would notice how tired Lucifer would be whenever he got to play with them… this would come to affect him later on.
The twins were always close to each other, naturally, but there were still big differences in their personalities even back then. Beel had always been known for his even-temper and awareness of both others and himself. If Mammon was the kid who’d give you his toys, Beel was the one to listen to your problems (even if he didn’t understand them, like at all).
From a young age, Beel would quietly watch those around him. The Celestial Realm was a demanding environment and a lot of angels had a good deal of work to do... Beel connected the dots that doing all this work all the time led to a lot of stress early on.
Being a caring soul, Beel used this knowledge to intervene when he saw his brothers getting overworked and helped remind them of their limits. This would apply especially to his twin (who was pretty much his patient zero) and Lucifer, who eventually grew to rely on Beel’s advice so much he  made him part of his personal guard. His guidance and insight beyond his years eventually gave him the title of “Temperance.”
Though Beel was protective of everyone, Belphie often got most of his attention because of his tendency to push himself farther than he needed to. It was his desire to see his twin take more breaks that led him to asking Mammon if Belphie could start going to the human world and well… We know where that ends up.
Angel of Diligence, Belphegor
As the younger of the twins, all the other angels considered Belphie to be the baby of the family and treated him as such. Asmo adored him because he was just so cute, so he got coddled A LOT when compared to everyone else.
Belphie differed from his brother by being the more active of the two. While Beel would be comfortable to sit back and watch then lend a hand, Belphie always felt more better just getting up and doing whatever needed done himself, usually with a smile in the process. He would actually have to lean on Beel quite a lot because of this, since his twin could remind him to rest and take breaks.
Combine his cheerful attitude with his cute face and “baby brother” status and Belphie could always get away with quite a lot, even back then. Of all the boys, even Lucifer couldn’t bring himself to be too hard on him. That didn’t really become a problem until he got a little older though...
Beel was worried that Belphie wasn’t getting enough rest, so he convinced Mammon to start taking Belphie out with him when he went to the human world as a guardian angel. He figured that if Belphie was away from work, then he had to rest, right? Mammon agreed and that’s what sparked Belphie’s fascination with the human world to start with.
After getting to go a couple times, he would start working extra hard in order to suck up to Lucifer, Michael, or whoever he could so he could go again. When the other angels started getting concerned that he was spending too much time there, they tried to put a limit on it to keep him home. However, that just lead him to sneaking out and leaving notes for Beel on where to find him if people started noticing...
Beel tried his best to curtail his twin’s trips, but even he couldn’t really tell Belphie no when he needed to hear it. By the time Lilith came around, Belphie was already making regular trips there and back and well… That’s how the story goes.
687 notes · View notes
Aaaaa headcannons!
Claytro edition! (purely based on my personal thoughts)
(note: feel free to enjoy, but if this ship is not something you are interested reading about then I totally understand, have fun scrolling the Nexo Knights tags! ❤️)
-Clay is the only one that has actually managed to touch Jestro's hair, but it was a lot shorter when they were still kids
-These two have regular sleepovers since after Jestro started training to be a royal Jester, they couldn't be roommates anymore
-Yes they were roommates for a few years and Merlok would read them bedtime stories
-Jestro gets cold in his sleep often so Clay would sleep with them to help them feel warmer along with the pile of 3 blankets
-The two also sleep together whenever they feel bad (had a nightmare, stressed, emotional). Less so as adults though since now they barely ever sleep
-Surprisingly, Jestro doesn't fear the cold too much. He doesn't enjoy it more so because of the memories of cold winters in the streets and not because of how cold he's feeling right now.
-Jestro and Clay treated each other with colorful bandages as kids since Jestro used to bruise easily and Clay would get bruises from training
-Jestro and Clay would occasionally text each other in seasons 1-2, more so when there's some celebration. Both wanted to know how the other is doing, but Jestro was far more reserved in giving out info
-Clay even called him on his birthday and snuck to the lava castle to leave a gift l without anyone knowing.
-Jestro did a similar thing, but he just threw a gift at them in the middle of battle because he didn't want to seem suspicious by gifting it genuinely. Clay still understood it and was very pleased
-They made friendship necklaces for each other back when they first met and wore them the whole time
-Clay was the first one to rip off the friendship necklace. Specifically, stone Clay when he first was woken up and still hadn't yet had the chance to remember his bond with Jestro
-Let's pretend Jestro wasn't hurt for the sake of our hearts since that hurt a l o t.
-Jestro had to be zapped after that emotional ride, so fresh with Mondtrox' magic, he too took it off, but kept both his and Clay's necklaces.
-Not long after, these two grow close together again as a duo
-Stone Clay and Corrupt Jestro was the thing that haunted everyone since they worked together and became terrifyingly good at causing mass destruction
-From the outside it didn't seem like they always got along since Stone Clay had some definite anger issues. Jestro always made sure not to talk to him too much during battles since that's when they're most riled up
-The time after battles between the two is spent well. They just hang out and talk, often plotting because they can and Jestro making fun of the knights, as well as giving Stone Clay more reasons to dislike them
-Both of their memories were iffy at that point, so wherever they remembered, they told each other
- Stone Clay was like Jestro's bodyguard who sometimes did a poor job at being one
-Not a day passed where Stone Clay didn't end up carrying Jestro in his arms
-Absolute power duo
-Honestly could've taken down the kingdom
-There's not much Clay could to to stop Monstrox from zapping Jestro
-The first time, he even made sure Jestro wouldn't move, not knowing what to expect and not realizing Jestro felt things completely differently since we'll, he wasn't stone
-The other times Clay just looked away since he still saw Monstrox as the superior out of everyone
-Jestro absolutely loved Clay's new violent nature and Clay absolutely loved how un-hinged Jestro was. The echo to Jestro's voice could even give his stone body shivers
-Jestro treated Stone Clay exactly how someone would treat their ex after he returned to the Knights
-After Season 4, Jestro looked like he'd need life support from how much of a negative impact Monstrox' magic left on him so Clay would occasionally secretly check up on how he's doing even if he's not supposed to interact with Jestro
-Jestro was absolutely not glad to see Clay because he knew that he woukd be the one to get in trouble for it, not the knight.
Now to something happier again!
-Clay always takes any chance given to him to carry Jestro in his arms
-Jestro takes any chance possible to praise Clay's work
-Clay allows Jestro to paint their nails
-Clay is just an absolute himbo, who only has enough braincells to be a knight and leader
-These two have terrible social skills
-Their first kiss was back in their academy days, on one of their last years
-They were both sort of curious is all. But it didn't change much to their friendship since the two didn't feel like they were quite enough for the other
-They still don't have any spoken relationship.
-It's just been mutual simping for each other since their academy days
-The two would be completely content with never being in a relationship their whole lives
-Which is why they need encouragement from others to actually get a move on with their relationship
-Everyone in the academy thought they were a thing. Every single person. But it wasn't spoken about much since it became the usual thing.
-At the start however, there were many rumors and a lot of gossiping. People were worried for Clay's reputation when he himself didn't even feel worried about it.
-Clay is comically stubborn when it comes to seperating him from Jestro.
-Jestro let's go a lot easier, even if he doesn't want to.
-The amount of times Clay had cornered Jestro with both his arms and thought it was a casual thing to do is ridiculous.
-Jestro learns a lot more when Clay helps him study than when he studies in class
-Surprisingly, both performed a lot better whenever they had a task to do together.
-Since Clay doesn't brag about himself, Jestro makes sure to tell as many great things as possible about Clay. Like he'd tell heroic, almost over the top stories about whatever Clay does to other students
-Clay has definitely used Jestro as a weight for an exercise before
-Jestro seems like a mom whenever something bad happens to Clay. He always takes care of them and scolds them on a caring matter
-The amount of shock the teachers were when Clay had gotten into a fight with other students was definitely something.
-But Jestro definitely understood why Clay acted out. Yes he's a model student, but Clay always has to force himself not to speak out, frustration can build up.
-Jestro only wishes it wasn't because some students went overboard on throwing hurtful words towards Jestro and then later Clay. This happened when they were still quite young
-Jestro would wait for Clay when he had to sit through multiple detentions because of that one event
-Jestro's language is words
-Clay's love language is acts of service
-These two till this day have to hug at least once a week
-Clay only dares to show all of his sides around Jestro and Jestro gladly helps them express their frustrations and such. Clay even feels comfortable enough to openly complain about people that have been getting on his nerves.
-Jestro doesn't understand why Clay treats him almost like a porcelain doll. The knight doesn't even dare to hold his hand too tightly and always waits a second to be sure if he can touch Jestro in any way, like a hug.
-Clay is just very worried of causing even the smallest bits of discomfort to Jestro
-Jestro meanwhile doesn't hesitate for a second and nearly tackle hugs Clay instead of going for the careful approach
-Both often times speak out their minds about each other unintentionally so it would go like
"Clay I could just hold your face and kiss you right now!... Wait-I just couldn't think of a better way to explain my joy for my bestest friend ahahaha, yeah-"
"Jestro I'm, so glad to see you're doing well, I couldn't have handled seeing someone I love hurt by that-...because you're my best friend... Yes!"
-Jestro from the very start was a shameless hoarder of Clay's clothes. Whatever he gave them, he gladly accepted
-Whenever Jestro made something for Clay, Clay would spent half an hour staring at it, afraid to ruin it some way by using the thing gifted to him. Same goes with whatever pastries he gets, he feels almost guilty for eating them
-Clay has a few Plush toys that Jestro got him and Jestro's collection mostly consists of the ones Clay got him
-Jestro hasn't moved out of Knightonia only because Clay gives bear hugs and he absolutely loves them
-If given the chance, Jestro would sacrifice much more than Clay could for him even if it doesn't seem like it
-These two would always play hide and seek in Merlok's library and around the castle even as teens at times
-Both of them encourage each other to be childish when they want to be
-Clay has pulled a Romeo so many times and came to the castle late in the evening just to talk to Jestro through their balcony
-Jestro can actually play violin. He's not perfect, but he definitely knows how to play it. He convinced himself he's bad at it since his bad luck always causes the strings to snap
-Jestro has played violin for Clay whenever they're sick to keep them amused
-Jestro once thought about running away in the academy and Clay was so ready to run with them so Jestro immediately threw that idea aside
-These two are like baby ducklings, they follow each other closely almost all the time
-Clay used to always be the one to say "He asked for no pickles" but after Season 4 and Jestro's absolute disappointment in the kingdom and it's people, he became the one to say "he asked for no pickles"
-Clay is glad that after season 4, Jestro started paying almost no mind to how people of Knightonia view him, but it makes him a bit worried even. Especially when Jestro just uses the people's own feelings towards him for his own advantage:
.
Shop keeper: YOU! Came here to steal all my baked goods, burn the place to the ground???
Jestro:... yes.
Shop keeper: what-
Jestro: I just said yes. Now can I get some of those caramel croissants.
Shop keeper now worried for their life: o-oh! Here! They're on the house!!!!
Jestro coming out of the bakery: Here Clay, I got us some of those fresh baked ones!
Clay:...was it on the house again?
Jestro:...mmm...yes?
Clay lightly sighing and going in to pay for it.
.
-Jestro feels sour enough towards Merlok that after season 4, he feels the need to protect Clay from whatever they might say and makes sure there isn't anything they decided to keep secret from them
Last, but not least:
-no matter what happens in their lives, these two will always find a way to keep close to each other, even if it takes time. Couple or not, they're soulmates that will never move on from each other. Inseparable by fate itself.
80 notes · View notes
etoileholland · 4 years
Text
Why must I meet you in a secret rendezvous?
@rosieholland​ asked “Hey I love all your imagines! Maybe you could do one where the boys are stuck at home during quarantine but Harry’s best friend y/n is staying with them. And Tom and y/n and secretly start dating and don’t say anything because they don’t know how Harry will feel about it.
Pairing: Tom x female reader; bestfriend! Harry
Warnings: a lil argument, I think that’s all
Word count: 2.8k
A/N: thank you so much for requesting this, and I really hope you enjoy! As always, requests are open, and let me know if you want to be added to the tag list.
Tumblr media
It was a dangerous game to sneak around your best friend’s back, especially since you weren’t very good at keeping secrets.
You and Harry were nearly inseparable, and it seemed as though when someone saw one of you, then the other was somewhere nearby. When he began to work on his short film project and needed an actress, he called you first. You had known Harry for almost two years, and you met over what you call “the frozen yogurt debacle”. This needs no elaboration since it’s not important to the plot, but it’s important to note that a terrible shared experience can bring two people together.
A week into filming, it was announced that the UK would go into lockdown, and that meant filming had to be postponed. Since you spent more time at the Holland residence than your own, Harry asked if you would quarantine with them.
Naturally, spending so much time together with people for a few months would make it so that you get very comfortable around everyone.
The boys knew that you were physically affectionate, so no one batted an eye when you were cuddled up next to someone. Most of the time you were always with Harry, or sometimes Sam, and occasionally Tom.
That’s why no one suspected that you and Tom were secretly dating, especially Harry. You had vowed to keep it a secret from him because you didn’t want him to get mad at you for dating his brother.
Sneaking around was quite fun though, and it was becoming more and more like a game.
“Baby” you trailed off, moaning as Tom trailed kisses down your neck. You were both in his bedroom with the door locked, trying not to make any noise. Harry’s room was right on the other side of the wall, and it was a dangerous game to be making out in Tom’s room.
“Love, I need you-”, he placed a kiss on your shoulder, biting lightly as you moaned, “to be quiet.”
“You’re making it quite difficult.” You breathed back and he let out a breathy laugh.
“Good.” He kissed you deeper, and you heard Harry say something from the other side of the wall.
“Tom.” You were trying to untangle yourself from him, but he just kept pulling you closer. “Harry said something.” You managed to sit up, and Tom just pouted.
“So? He’s probably playing fifa or something.” He said, lifting his head slightly to kiss you on the lips.
“What if he knows?” You asked and he just shook his head.
“You’ve gotta tell him eventually. As much fun as it is to sneak around, you should be honest with him. He’s your best friend.”
“And he’s your brother.” You replied. “I don’t know, I guess I don’t want him to hate me for being with you.”
“I really doubt he’ll hate you, if he really loves me then he’ll be happy for me being with someone as lovely as you.” He stated and you nodded.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Now if you’ll excuse me,” you cupped Tom’s cheek with your hand, placing a light kiss to his cheek, “I did promise Harry that I would bake cookies with him.”
“Alright darling, cuddle later?” Tom looked at you with wide, puppy dog like eyes and you let out a small laugh.
“Of course, see you later, secret boyfriend.” You whispered while holding up finger guns.
“Back at you, secret girlfriend.” He winked as you quietly left the room.
——
“Earth to Y/N, why are you so distracted?” Harry waved his hand in front of you, gently slapping your cheek. “What is going on in that pretty little mind of yours?” He smirked as he let out a small laugh.
You two were supposed to be baking some cookies, but you’ve been lost in your thoughts for the duration of the activity.
“I’m just thinking about how in Italian, when you want to describe a loving boy with a good heart, you say “è buono come il pane” which literally means “he’s as good as bread” and I think that’s beautiful.”
“Actually, yeah that is beautiful. Would you describe me that way?” He looked up from the cookbook and you nodded. “Yeah of course, they must’ve had you in mind when they came up with that term.”
“Aw gosh I love you.” He put his hand over his heart and smiled, “but really, what are you thinking about? Hmm?” He prodded and you felt yourself already start to panic. He took a long drink of his water bottle, while continuing to stare at you.
“Okay fine, I was thinking that the guy who’s in the “Adam.” vine and the “hi, welcome to chili’s” guy are not the same person, but twins and I don’t know what to do with this information.” You rambled and Harry choked, gasping for air.
“Girl, you have got to use your one braincell for something more important than that. You’ve gotta be kidding.” He said but you shook your head no.
“Dead serious, why would I lie to you?”
“I don’t know, sometimes you don’t always say everything.”
“What do you mean by that?” You inquired and Harry remained silent.
“Nothing.” He choked out the word, and began to stare straight ahead. “Anyway can you just pass me the vanilla?”
“We can’t continue to do this anymore.”
A few days had passed since the baking incident, and you were convinced that Harry knew about you and Tom. You two were making out in the hallway closet, since it was one of the furthest points away from Harry’s bedroom, and far enough away from the living room so no one would hear you. You had begged Tom to not show any affection in the main parts of the house so that you wouldn’t get caught, so you two often ended up here.
“Whoa whoa, what do you mean by that?” His eyes scanned your face, and he rubbed your arm as you stood there silent.
“Baby please say something, it’s killing me. What do you mean we can’t do this anymore?” He whispered.
“I can’t sneak around behind my best friends back anymore, Tom. Okay? He’s gonna find out and he’ll be mad and I don’t want that. I don’t want to lose either one of you but if I had to choose-” you stopped yourself, and Tom looked at you with wide eyes.
“Finish your sentence.” He insisted, but you shook your head no. “I don’t want to finish it.”
“Say it.” He pleaded, and you looked down so he wouldn’t see a tear escape your eye.
“Say it!” He screamed and you flinched.
“I didn’t want to choose, but if I had to pick then I would pick Harry, alright?” You choked out the last word, and took a deep breath before finishing your thought. “I want a relationship with you but just because I want it, it doesn’t make it right. I love being Harry’s friend, and I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship just for a relationship with you.” Tom backed away from you, speechless as he reached for the door handle.
“Tom I’m sorry, just wait one second.” You grabbed his hand and he stood there, waiting for you to break his heart again.
“Let’s not make things weird between us, yeah? Then everyone will know for sure what happened.” You stated.
“Right, because now we care so much about what others think.” He added as he left, closing the door and leaving you in the closet alone.
You knew this day would come, and you braced yourself for it, so when it crumbled you were prepared for it. You just felt numb, and the shock almost hasn’t registered yet. You left the closet and walked into the living room, where Harry and Sam were playing video games.
“What’s with the long face?” Sam asked as Harry looked up at you.
“Oh nothing, I was just thinking about how once I got a fortune from a fortune cookie that read ‘fortune not found: abort, retry, ignore?’ and I think I’ve been destined for bad luck ever since that fateful day.”
“Ah, cool. Hey would you want to play a game with us?” Harry asked, completely ignoring what you had just said.
“Sure, what kind?” You asked, but before you had a chance to find out what it was, Harry bolted past you.
“Tom, Tuwaine, Harrison, get over here!” He ran up and down the hallway, trying to get everyone’s attention.
“What in the world?” Harrison asked.
“Did someone die?” Tuwaine inquired, peeking his head out of his bedroom door.
“It’s nothing bad, wanna play a game with all of us?” He asked and everyone groaned and rolled their eyes.
“Well what kind of game?” Harrison said hesitantly as Harry just grinned.
“I’ll explain once everyone comes into the living room because I don’t want to explain it twice.”
Everyone made their way into the room, and Harry instructed them to sit on the floor in a circle. Just then Sam downed the last of his beer and set the bottle on its side in the middle of the circle.
“Alright, it’s truth or dare, but with a twist. Technically it’s more of a spin, it’s regular truth or dare but instead of singling each other out, it’ll be more fair with the spin the bottle aspect.” He rambled, taking a seat right next to you.
You noticed that Tom was sat as far away from you as possible, and dodging your gaze. You looked back to see Harry resting his hand on your knee.
“Are we ready to play? I’ll go first.” Harry spun the bottle and it landed on Harrison.
“Alright mate, truth or dare.”
“Dare.”
“Okay.” Harry paused, “I dare you to read the last text message you received.”
Harrison unlocked his phone, and after a few seconds spoke. “Aha, it just says “Your amazon package is on its way.”
“Dang I was hoping it would’ve been juicier than that.” Harry remarked as Harrison spun the bottle. It landed back on Harry and he just smirked.
“Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Last lie you told?” Harrison leaned his arms back and propped himself up with them. Harry thought for a minute and just shrugged his shoulders.
“I told Sam that I really liked his squash soup recipe but it’s utterly disgusting.” He gagged and Sam punched him in the arm. “Oh come on, it’s not that bad, right?” He asked and everyone remained silent.
“Whatever, spin the bottle asshole.” Sam crossed his arms over his shoulders as Harry spun the bottle, landing on you.
“Oh god.” You blurted out and Harry replied “Oh god, indeed Y/N. Truth or dare?” He grinned like the Cheshire Cat and your fight or flight instinct immediately kicked in.
“Truth.” You spit out, and Harry just looked you dead in the eye and said “I dare you to tell everyone that you’re dating Tom behind my back and decided not to tell me about it, even though I trusted you completely and entirely.”
“I-I’m, um, not, well-” you stammered. Your vision was becoming blurry and you felt a panic attack coming on. Without warning you jumped up and ran out of the room.
“Okay I think he had that one rehearsed.” Tuwaine remarked, and the room became silent again. Everyone looked at Harry disapprovingly, and the tension in the room was so thick you could cut right through it.
“Why would you say that?” Harrison asked and Harry was silent. “How do you even know she’s dating Tom?”
“Was dating, we’re not together anymore.” Tom added and everyone looked at him.
“What?” Harry asked, and Tom replied, “You heard me, we’re not dating anymore. She broke up with me earlier because she knew it was wrong that we didn’t tell you. She felt so guilty about it that she tossed her happiness aside to make sure you would still be her friend. She chose you over me, and now I’m starting to think she may have regretted that decision.”
“I’m a terrible friend, aren’t I?” Harry whispered and everyone nodded their heads collectively.
“I’m afraid so.” Tom said quietly.
“I gotta go talk to her.” Harry got up and ran out of the living room. He sped walked around the house looking for you, until he found you sitting outside next to the chicken coop. You were sitting with your knees to your chest on a lawn chair, holding a blanket and looking at your phone.
He hesitantly stood at the glass doors, and cracked the door open. You looked up to see him standing there, and you averted your gaze away from him.
“Hey, can we talk please? I come in peace.” Harry said and you remained silent. He pulled up a chair next to you and sat down, and cleared his throat.
“Listen Y/N, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that in front of everyone. I should’ve talked to you about it in private, and I’m sorry. I know that was a dick move, and I regret doing it.” His gaze was soft as he looked over at you, but you were avoiding his gaze, and pulling on a loose blanket string.
He sighed and continued to speak. “Tom said you broke up with him because you felt guilty for sneaking around. I’m sorry I made you feel like you had to sneak around, though. If he makes you really happy then I want what’s best for you. After all you’re my best friend, and I love you. And if your happiness means dating my brother then go for it, I genuinely mean it.”
You two sat there in silence for about a minute, until you finally spoke.
You knew?” You asked.
“Oh yeah, it was obvious.”
“What tipped you off?” You tilted your head slightly to look at him, and he met your gaze.
“When I came up behind you while we were baking cookies, I noticed you smelled faintly like Tom’s cologne, and how else would you smell like that if you weren’t constantly close enough to him?”
“Well, I also cuddle with you and Sam, so that’s not the best indicator.” You said flatly and he smirked.
“I also heard you two kissing outside at midnight. You were making right above my open bedroom window, of course I could hear you. Look, my bedroom window is right there.” He pointed upwards and you could clearly see his potted plant in the windowsill. “Also, Tom isn’t a silent lover if you know what I mean.” Harry lifted his brow as you began to choke. He patted your back as you tried to catch your breath, which resulted in him breaking out into a fit of laughter.
“I should’ve asked you if it was alright that I dated Tom. I’m sorry I went behind your back.” You had your head low and Harry shook his head.
“You shouldn’t have to be sorry. I shouldn’t have made you feel like you have to sneak around, just to be happy. Do you like him?”
“Of course, I mean sure, he gets on my nerves,” you let out a small laugh, “but I really do like Tom. He makes me happy and I enjoy spending time with him.”
“Then you have my blessing.” He stood up and bowed dramatically.
“Are you sure, Harry? I mean I-”
“Little one, I want you to be happy, even if it means you dating my imbecile brother.” He laughed and you pulled him into a tight hug. “Thank you.” You whispered against his chest, and he whispered back “You’re welcome. Now go get your man.”
“I love you Harry.”
“I love you too, Y/N. Now go.” He ushered towards the door and you made your way back inside.
It didn’t take long to find Tom, who was sitting on his bed, eyes focused on his laptop. He looked up to see you standing in the doorway, and he shifted his gaze back to his laptop.
“Tommy?” You walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down. He continued to ignore you, and you felt as though you could cry.
“Please look at me? I’m sorry I broke up with you. I shouldn’t have and Harry said I have his blessing so that we-”
“Wait what did you say?” Tom cut you off, closing his laptop and sitting up. He scooted closer to you and put his hand on your knee.
“Harry said that he’s okay with us dating, so-.” You were cut off again by Tom crashing his lips onto yours. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you closer to him, your chest flush with his. Breathless, you pulled away for a second, but Tom only pulled you in again.
“Are you mad-” you tried to speak but he cut you off yet again. “Don’t speak, okay? We’ll talk later. I just want you now.” You crashed your lips onto his, Tom moaning as he kissed you more passionately.
——
Mes petits anges (taglist): @scarletxwidow​ @starkissedholland​ @fangirlwithasweettooth​ @lmaotshollandd​ 
627 notes · View notes
Coming Home Chapter 2
Hello fuckers I know I promised this chapter yesterday but then I fell asleep because I was incredibly exhausted. So I'm posting it today because I deserve it Also, the song for the last chapter was Revolution Radio by Green Day, which no one guessed! I'll give you a hint for this chapter- it's very far off from Green Day or My Chemical Romance.
Title: Coming, Coming Home
Chapter Title: Cause I’m with you this time
Chapter Wordcount: 3333
Chapter Summary:
Cherri Cola settles into living with Dr. Death Defying and White Lily, figures out that someone actually cares about him, and makes some reckless decisions.
Warnings: implied/referenced past abuse, referenced past misgendering, light panic/anxiety attack, non-graphic/canon-typical violence and injury, uhhh i *think* that's it? (If you want to know what parts to skip, go to the end notes on AO3- I also put a brief summary of any important info in those parts. Stay safe!)
Taglist: @wishiwasthemoon-tonight @sleevesareforlosers @stressed-depressed-emo-mess @tasteofamnesia @dagger-queen​ @no-braincells-here @piratecherricola (message me, send an ask, or reblog/reply to one of my posts if you want to be added or removed)
AO3 Link
Chapter 1 AO3 Link
Chapter 1 Tumblr Post
(Actual fic under the cut)
It took a few months for Cherri to really settle in to living with the other two. He was younger than them, and lacked the shared experience of fighting in the Helium Wars. But all three of them had the shared understanding of having grown up too fast, the pain and weariness in the other’s eyes mirroring his exactly. Not to mention that running a pirate radio station and attempting to spark a rebellion did tend to bond people. Having each others’ backs in firefights, fixing the radio equipment together, and eating their meals as a group only aided that process.
So 109 WKIL slowly got off the ground, heading into the sky just as promised. Their transmitter was fairly decent, and so their range was large even if few listeners were tuning in right now. But the rebellion grew daily, neutrals and Battery City folk abandoning a more peaceful life under the hand of Better Living Industries for the wild world of a killjoy. White Lily spoke over the radio at least weekly, encouraging them to fight, to not let themselves be squashed under bli’s heel. 
“Power is not given, but taken. If you hate oppression, you better be ready to fight against the oppressor and give it everything you’ve got.” 
Cherri was sitting in his usual spot under the broadcast desk, making sure that all the equipment was running smoothly as White Lily spoke above him. Her voice didn’t have the deep, gravelly weight of D’s, but the fire in it was inspiring. There had always been something about White Lily that made people want to follow her, D had told him. Some spark in her spirit that kindled fires in others, bringing them together under her leadership. 
“Better Living may have bombs, and gas, and more ray guns than we can dream of getting our grubby little killjoy paws on. But we have something they can never replace: spirit. You can’t make a fiery heart with pills and white walls. They can take our bodies, shoot us full of plasma and throw us to the wolves. But they can never touch our spirit. Never. We will rise again, as many times as they try to throw us down.
"The spirit of the desert is something they can’t kill with any amount of laser beams. Any size of bomb, any number of exterminators. None of it will squash our spirit, and that’s what makes us invincible. As long as a single killjoy rises to fight, Better Living Industries cannot win. So get out there, crash queens! Get your vehicles, motorbabies. Angel kissers, grab your med kits, and kerosene saints, your matches. We’ve got a corporation to overthrow, and we’re not stopping at just nipping at their heels. Killjoys, it’s time to make some noise!”
She clicked off the radio. “How was that?”
“Good,” Cherri told her. “Inspiring. Makes you want to fistfight an exterminator.” 
“Oh good, that’s what I was hoping for.” Lily paused. “No fistfighting exterminators though, that’s a bad idea.”
“You can’t stop me.”
“Oh yes I can,” Lily laughed. She was still grinning as she reached to help Cherri out from under the desk, a grin both achingly close and achingly far to one he remembered. There were days when she looked so much like his sister it hurt, not in her features but in the way she laughed and her teasing grin as she and D bantered back and forth. 
Cherri tried not to think about it as he pulled himself to his feet. “And how do you plan on stopping me?”
“Hmm…I think I shall tackle you.”
“Then what?”
“Make D lecture you nonstop until you fall asleep.”
Cherri laughed as they headed back into the house. "Good luck with that."
So far, they hadn’t had to move the van from its position in front of their home in Zone Four, but all of them knew it was only a matter of time before bli would be breathing down their necks.
“We have some time,” D said that evening. “Our signal will be hard to track, and we don’t have a wide enough reach to be a threat to Better Living Industries yet.”
“We’re getting there, though,” Lily commented, digging around for the last bit of power pup in her can. 
“True, we’ve got a lot more listeners now than we did before.” Cherri was already finished with his, playing with his dented spoon and reflecting the sunlight across the room idly. “It’s going to be hard to stay hidden for long, not when the other killjoys whisper about our station and spread the word between themselves.”
“The more people who know, the easier it is for Better Living to find us,” D agreed. “Of course, we need people to know so they’ll tune in, but we’ll have to be careful as we get larger.”
“Careful, careful, you’re always careful.” Lily leaned back in her chair, setting down her spoon. “I’m not saying we abandon all caution, but there’s going to be risks running a rebellion. A lot of the time, we’ll just have to decide if they’re worth taking.”
Cherri nodded, still examining the spoon. “And a lot of the time they will be.”
“Didn’t know you were such a daredevil, Cher.” He made to glare at Lily, but she went on. “You’re right though. Everything’s a risk, and we’re going to have to take a lot of them.”
“I don’t like that,” D put in.
“None of us do, except maybe Cherri the daredevil over here. But we’re doing it.”
“We’re doing it,” D agreed tiredly. 
“I’m not a fucking daredevil,” Cherri muttered. That was….mostly true. Risk for the sake of risk wasn’t exactly his thing, but risk for any other sake was. As long as only his life was at risk, it was a risk worth taking. He figured, at least.
“You’re pretty fucking daring, Cher.”
“Only risks that are worth it, though.” He pretended not to see the two older ‘joys exchange glances. 
-
True to their predictions, the rebellion grew. Their radio was a contributing factor, Cherri hoped. It certainly seemed to have grown in popularity as more killjoys entered the desert and more neutrals lay down their peaceful ways and took up arms alongside the killjoys. WKIL was something whispered about in killjoy circles, told to the newbies, the undergrads of the desert.
Cherri knew because he was the one who went and talked with them, the lesser-known face. Everyone recognized at very least the voices of D and Lily by now, the two radio speakers who rallied the rebels, but Cherri Cola was not a name whispered in legend yet. He was just a sixteen year old with a shitty ray gun and a bad haircut, which had advantages and disadvantages. 
One of the advantages was the ability to go talk to random people and be seen as relatively harmless, just a teen with a bright pink mask. There was nothing about him to suggest that he was an incredible shot with a ray gun or a dangerous fighter, not in the slightest. He wore oversized clothes and perpetually looked disheveled, so he had been told. And if you didn’t look too closely at his eyes, you wouldn’t even see the fire in them. 
So Cherri used that hidden advantage, appearing perfectly harmless to anyone who didn’t know him well. It was helpful for White Lily and Dr. Death Defying, since neither of them could go anywhere where there were a lot of rebels without being recognized.
And the rebellion grew and grew. Their voices were growing louder, their colors brighter even as Better Living Industries tried to squash them down. The spirit of the desert truly was rising, and a faint sense of hope had started to permeate the air. White Lily never promised that they would win. But she promised that Better Living Industries wouldn’t, so long as a single killjoy stood, and that was enough for most of the desert. 
They were teenagers, mainly. The bulk of the force that was forming the current rebellion was either teenagers, running from their pasts in Battery City, or twenty-something former soldiers of the Helium Wars, running from what they had done or trying to put it right. They were young and invincible, so it seemed. The reality that they could easily die doing this hadn’t sunk in for most of the younger population of the desert, intoxicated on freedom and the thrill of the desert.
D and Lily knew that reality all too well, Cherri knew. He knew they knew what all of them were up against, had watched death in their own right in the Helium Wars, had wrought it with their own hands. 
He knew what the consequences were too, a memory of bli employees in clean white suits coming to respectfully ‘recruit’ the person he loved most hovering behind a door in his mind. That door would remain closed, Cherri had decided. The past was the past- but he fought because of it anyways, knowing the horrors Better Living Industries had done.
Cherri might have been young, but he was no fool. He knew quite well that he could die, and he couldn’t be bothered to give a fuck, as Lily would put it. There were things more important than living to some grand old age, and this rebellion was one of them.
He would be lying to himself if he said that some part of him wasn’t in this for revenge, maybe a larger part than he was willing to admit. 
“If you take away someone’s world, they might just burn yours down,” Cherri muttered to himself, aiming his shitty old ray gun at the empty cans Lily had set up that day. Despite how long he had already been out here, they still hadn’t managed to locate him a better weapon. That was fine, he thought, he was deadly enough even without one, but D and Lily both insisted that it would be a lot easier for him with something that wasn’t outdated by at least three years. 
“What?” Cherri jumped as D came to stand next to him, aiming his own black and blue ray gun at the cans. “Did you say something, Cherri?”
“Oh, uh. Nothing.”
D shrugged, tilting his head to take aim. “You don’t have to tell me, I just figured I’d ask in case you were trying to tell me something.”
Cherri lowered his ray gun, glancing down. “I said if you take away someone’s world, they might just burn yours down.”
“Ah. True, and insightful.” Cherri didn’t have to glance over at D to know his face would be gently concerned. “Somewhat dark though, you could say.”
“Guess so.”
They were silent for a moment, apart from the zap of ray guns.
“Pasts are something to be forgotten here,” D said finally. “But if you need someone to talk to about yours, Lily and I will support you.”
“Thanks.”
“I mean it, you know.”
Cherri fiddled with his ray gun. “Yeah.”
“Just putting that out there.” D turned back to their target practice.
Despite D’s words, there was a silent agreement amongst the three of them that pasts were not to be spoken of or asked about. Occasionally, D or Lily would tell a few stories, mainly from their childhood. They rarely talked about the Helium Wars, only occasionally with each other. And Cherri said nothing about his past. Instead, he pretended not to notice the days when the other two flinched at any loud sound, and they pretended not to hear him cry out in the night, when everything was silent and there was no buffer against the memories. It was a courtesy more than anything, a way to keep each other from having to speak about their darkest times. Usually, Cherri appreciated that, finding it easier to deal with any hurt alone than worry about burdening the others.
Tonight, however, was different. No matter how much he tried to calm himself down, his breath kept coming too quickly and he couldn’t drown out the voices of his past. Worthless, never going to amount to anything…should be more like Samantha…your grades are slipping again…never going to be a boy…
Cherri shivered violently, even though the blanket was tucked safely over him, and climbed off the window seat he had been using as a sort of bed, picking up said blanket. It was cold in the desert at night, no use leaving it behind. 
It took him more rests of leaning against the wall and trying frantically to draw a single breath than he wanted to admit before he was down the hall to the room D and Lily had claimed. Their door was cracked open, but Cherri pushed it open a little bit further to see both of them seemingly sleeping peacefully as he stood in the doorway.
“Cher?” That was White Lily, lifting her head a bit from the mattress. “Everything okay?”
He managed to shake his head, and she gestured for him to come sit. 
“What’s going on, friendo?”
“Bad dream,” Cherri whispered.
“Ah. Those are no fun. Wanna talk about it?”
“Not really.”
Lily nodded as if to say that didn’t surprise her, and she looked dreadfully like someone he used to know in that moment. “Come on then, lay on down. D won’t mind if you elbow him, he gets up at ass o’clock in the morning anyways.”
Cherri was quite certain D would, in fact, mind, but he did as she asked anyways, settling down on the creaky mattress. Lily put her arm out in what was clearly an offer, but didn’t touch him until he rolled over towards her. When he did, she wrapped her arm around him fully, pulling him closer, and Cherri felt like he could breathe for the first time since waking up. 
Lily didn’t say ‘I love you’ or anything of the sort, but she did ruffle his hair and give him a quiet “Goodnight, Cher.”
And Cherri didn’t say ‘I love you’ either, but he leaned into her embrace. “Goodnight, Lily.”
-
True to Lily’s words, it was, in fact, what Cherri would qualify as ‘ass o’clock in the morning’ when D woke up and proceeded to wake the other two up while getting out of bed.
“Is it even light out?” Cherri questioned as Lily gave a massive yawn.
“No, which is why D’s being an asshole.”
“I didn’t mean to wake you up, Lil. Or you, Cherri.” He didn’t question why Cherri was there, much to Cherri’s relief.
“You did anyways,” Lily grumbled, but she released Cherri and sat up. “I guess it would be time to get up soon anyways.”
“Exactly,” D huffed.
Lily just yawn-laughed as she got up, and Cherri reluctantly followed the others downstairs. They had quick breakfast in the predawn light, followed by a bit of fussing around as they got ready for D’s morning broadcast, organizing all the news and things that had come in yesterday. Killjoys had started to send them news of the desert, to the point where they got almost as much from what people sent in/dropped off/radioed to them as what Cherri found out on his almost daily runs. It was starting to pass what he could find out on daily runs, really. But he went anyways because they still needed his info, and they needed to eat.
“Bye, Lily, D!” 
“See you, Cherri,” Lily hollered back. “Be careful!”
“I will!”
The three of them split the tasks that living in the desert and running a radio station required. Today, D and Lily were taking the radio station van to drive around and talk to people, encourage them to join the cause. Cherri was taking the motorcycle to get any news and see if he couldn’t grab some power pup from a supply truck.
He sped down the road, getting in position to raid the supply truck. A one-killjoy raid was a dumb idea, for sure, but Better Living Industries hadn’t started to arm their trucks very heavily yet, and Cherri was confident enough in his ability to think he could pull it off. This was a small one, anyways. The initial raid went off without a hitch- the driver and few accompanying dracs were dead before they had time to see the teenage killjoy who hurried down from the dune to pull out as much of the contents of the truck as would fit in the sidecar of the motorbike. It was afterwards that became the problem, as a full two cars of bli employees came rushing towards the site.
“Fuck,” Cherri hissed under his breath. He quickly assessed his odds. One teenager with a shitty ray gun and a motorcycle against what must be at least one scarecrow and probably at least eight dracs was not good odds, but he doubted running away would be any better. They would chase him down, and then he wouldn’t even have the advantage of his higher vantage point. Hiding wasn’t an option either, given that dracs would search the entire area, so Cherri crouched behind the motorcycle and got ready to fire.
When the first person hopped out of the car, Cherri almost swore out loud. Not a scarecrow. An exterminator. He was so fucked. 
Cherri’s hands shook slightly as he lifted the ray gun and aimed. He had to take down that exterminator as soon as possible, or he was dead. The shakiness proved his undoing, as the shot whistled past the exterminator, missing by barely half an inch and causing the Better Living operative to turn.
Fuck it. Cherri got out from behind the motorcycle and ran directly towards them, firing off shots indiscriminately. His best shot now was to overwhelm and confuse them. It seemed to be working, given that one thing they did not expect was a teenager in a bright pink mask to come running directly at them. In fact, most of the dracs froze, enough that he was able to get in a few good shots before they realized what was happening. One shot even hit the exterminator in the shoulder, but unfortunately not their shooting arm, leaving them perfectly capable of raising their gun to retaliate. 
Retaliate they did, and Cherri screamed as a shot hit him in the side. “Fuck! Fuck you!” He was shaking too hard to shoot back as the exterminator held up a hand, quite calmly.
All the dracs stopped, and the exterminator strolled casually towards Cherri. “Greetings, rebel.”
Cherri spit at their feet. 
“Rather rude of you, wasn’t that? I’m tempted to kill you here, you ill-mannered rebel scum.” They reached out and tilted Cherri’s chin up to look them in the eye, letting him see the cold fire that lingered there. 
“Get fucked,” Cherri spat out as they took his ray gun from a shaking hand and tossed it over their shoulder. 
“I do appreciate the suggestion, but I suggest you keep your mouth shut if you want to live.”
Their ray gun was positioned at his neck, and Cherri knew he had a low chance of surviving even a stun shot to that spot at such a close distance.
“I would kill you now, ill-mannered rebel, but I think I’ll let you live for one reason and one reason only- I want you to go to that ‘Doctor D’ and his friend White Lily, and tell them they will not win. We will find the radio station you killjoys speak of, we know your precious leader is hiding out in Zone Four. So go, tell them. And pray you survive that shot.”
They shoved Cherri, and he stumbled away, ignoring the pain in his side as he climbed onto the motorcycle. He revved the engine, throwing it into action and barely caring if some of the supplies fell out of the sidecar. 
The exterminator watched him go with a cruel smile.
14 notes · View notes
mythologyfolklore · 4 years
Text
Ares and Athena through the years - Ch. 06
Chapter six: Grief and reconciliation
.
The Olympians had now got a new member: Dionysos, the new god of wine, madness, theatre, parties, vegetation and the afterlife.
But it wasn't celebrated as much as it would have normally. The young god didn't mind; he knew why and he understood, that this was no time for a party.
They would have been thirteen now, but Hestia had given up her place in favour of him, thus they stayed twelve. Athena found, that the round looked kind of … incomplete without Hestia.
But her chair wasn't the only empty one.
Two other deities, who were still here, but hardly showed their faces these days, were leaving their places at the table vacant. Yet, when they did show up, they often killed the mood in the room, just by looking like the Algea¹ themselves. Zeus tolerated it, as he could relate to their grief.
Ares and Aphrodite looked strange in mourning attire.
Crushed, far less alive, mere shadows of their former selves.
Clad in black from head to toe, no jewellery or armour, they even were wearing ashes.
Aphrodite's lovely hair had been shorn, the way mortal women did, when mourning. It was odd to see the bright love goddess wear nothing but black. Her duties no longer delighted her, nor did the other Olympians ever hear her bell-like laughter these days.
Ares was neglecting his job entirely and never looked anything but weary, broken and defeated. He had dark rims under his eyes and always seemed close to either tears or a fit of anger. And he had taken to wearing a brooch with Harmonia's face engraved on it.
Dear, blameless Harmonia, Ares' and Aphrodite's beloved daughter and sunshine, who was gone, gone forever, who would never come back, who had forsaken divinity … who was dead.
It was still so hard to believe for everyone.
Goddesses didn't die.
Only once had Athena seen a goddess die: her first friend, whose name she had adopted to honour her. Except that Pallas had simply become one with Pontos² again.
She was, in a way, still there.
Not so Harmonia; she was really, truly dead and nothing would ever bring her back.
.
Ares knew, that the rest of the family had trouble stomaching this too.
Even for him and Aphrodite it was hard to believe, and even harder, if not impossible, to bear.
My lovely daughter, my little sunshine, my joy and pride, my sweet child, she is gone, gone, she will never come back, she is dead, dead, dead-
Both parents had fallen silent.
They rarely spoke anymore and if they did, it was always about Harmonia. They didn't know how else to cope with their grief.
For their divine children it was the same.
Once they'd had a fight with their youngest sons Phobos and Deimos, who had confronted them and doubted, that if one of them would die, their parents would be remotely as affected. The fight had escalated into screaming, shattered earthenware and broken furniture, but had ended in tears and a group hug.
Ares could understand and relate to this, his children's worry, still he didn't want to hear such an accusation ever again.
There were moments, when the pain got too overwhelming, that Aphrodite would randomly burst into tears or wails and Ares would clench every muscle in his body, trying to suppress his emotions.
They both knew why things had come to this.
Ares had known before Aphrodite had.
The necklace … the necklace Hephaistos had once given Aphrodite (after their divorce, after the incident had happened), who in turn had given it to her daughter as a wedding gift.
That cursed piece of jewellery that, as Ares soon had found out, had been made with malicious intent.
Dionysos (this boy, who was both his half-brother, his nephew and his daughter's grandson, this god of madness, who had caused part of the trouble) had been the one to point it out.
And once Ares had actually taken a look at the necklace of Harmonia, it had dawned on him.
The necklace had been made by Hephaistos, obviously, but he had also recognised the handiwork of Eris, the baleful essence of her and her children. Whatever way the blacksmith had persuaded her and the Kakodaimones to help him was beyond Ares, but that wasn't the point. It was oozing with misfortune and woe.
And then he remembered overhearing a conversation between the smith and his new wife, Aglaia.
The thing was fucking cursed.
The maker had wanted her to suffer for her parents' crime.
My Harmonia, my child, he wanted her to suffer for something that was mine and Aphrodite's fault, he wanted to hurt her, because she reminded him of the incident.
The realisation had made Ares burst into dreadful laughter, terrifying every living being within a hundred mile radius.
Of course.
How could he ever have assumed, that his brother would possibly gift something to the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, to the girl who had been conceived on that disgraceful day.
How could he ever have hoped that Hephaistos would forgive them?
.
Of course Hephaistos hadn't forgiven them.
He hadn't forgiven Ares and Aphrodite for betraying him, so how could he have forgiven their daughter to come from it?
At first he had wanted to take his wrath out on them directly, but had quickly noticed, that they themselves left no opening for the curse to work (then again, Ares was friends with Eris and her brood of evil, so he was probably completely immune to their vibes).
Aphrodite giving the accursed necklace to her daughter had just been a stroke of luck; Harmonia, a third generation goddess with a mortal husband and children, had been a lot more vulnerable to the baleful curse of her wedding gift.
Deep down, the smith had felt sorry for his niece, even though under his friendly facade he had always loathed her for being spawned under such circumstances. Still there had been no denying, that she had been sweet and innocent and hadn't deserved to suffer.
Yet, his pity had been drowned out by the grim satisfaction of seeing her parents heartbroken over their daughter's misfortune and subsequent death.
Maybe one day he would regret, what he had done, but that day was yet to come. For now his heart was flint.
.
As Athena followed Aglaia through the smithery, the Kharis seemed to be far more sober than usual.
“Approach him with care”, she warned the wisdom goddess, “He's in a really bad mood today.”
“I can imagine”, the taller woman muttered. “Don't worry. I can handle this, I know what to do.”
Aglaia nodded in acknowledgement, but whispered: “Alright. Just don't say their names. And don't mention the incident.”
She bowed courteously and saw herself out.
Athena took a deep breath, before going deeper into the workshop.
Don't say their names … that would be impossible, because she was here on their behalf.
“Hey, Athena. I know you and I hate each other, but can you do me a favour …?”
Once Ares had told her, she hadn't been able to refuse.
The blue-eyed goddess needed to look for a while, until she spied Hephaistos hunched over a desk, doing precision work. His face was stone and he was currently burning brightly, not bothering to keep his flames inside his body.
In a really bad mood, Aglaia had said – what an understatement! If the normally composed smith was on fire, that could only mean that he was on the verge of exploding!
It was only when his hands were free, that Athena knocked on the door frame to make herself known.
He turned his head.
Holy Khaos, if looks could kill even gods, she would have dropped dead on the spot!
“Your shield isn't done yet!”, he snapped at her and sparks fell out of his hair.
She swallowed her agitation and replied: “I'm not here because of that. I'm here, because someone asked me to give you a letter and didn't trust Hermes to do it.”
Hephaistos stared at her and his flames died down.
After muttering an apology for his rudeness, he pushed his wheelchair around the desk and offered her a stool.
“Do you want some nectar?”
“No, thank you. As I said, I'm only here because of the letter.”
The smith was obviously still extremely pissed off, but he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before speaking.
“Athena, if this is a letter from Ares, give it back to him and tell him to shove it up his-”
“Listen to me!”, she interrupted him. “I didn't read this, but he came to me, even though he hates me, and asked me for help. So this has to be important!”
“… Fine.”
“When he gave me this, he mentioned another letter he sent you before.”
Hephaistos scowled and confirmed, that he had indeed received a letter – more than a millennium after the incident.
Athena lifted an eyebrow. “You didn't read it, did you? He suspected it too. Said, that this time he wants you to read it in my presence. I hate to admit it, but sometimes he does use the single-digit number of braincells he has.”
The smith snorted at the jab, but told her to wait here, rolled out of the room and came back with another, seemingly far older scroll of papyrus.
“You are both right, I didn't read it”, he admitted. “But for some reason I couldn't bring myself to burn it either.” A sigh. “After all, no one has ever gone through remotely as much trouble as to write me a letter.”
“Maybe you want to read that one first”, she proposed.
Hephaistos scowled down at the scroll in his lap. But after unrolling it, he blinked.
“Huh. The prick sure has clean handwriting.”
Oh. That really was unexpected. However, it didn't matter right now.
“What are you waiting for?”, Athena urged.
He puffed his cheeks. “I still don't see a point in reading it. It's probably something really offensive about me stealing his girl or some shit.”
She chuckled. Yes, that sounded like something Ares would have written after the incident.
“Well, can he make you any angrier than you already are at him?”
“I guess not.”
“Then read it anyway. And if it pisses you off, burn it. But at least you'll have read it.”
The blacksmith rolled his eyes, but gave in. “Alright.”
Clearing his throat, he began to read:
“Dear little brother,
since that golden net incident, you have never given me the chance to tell you, how I feel. And because you won't listen to me, I'm sending you this letter. I beg you, read all of it. When you've finished, you can burn it, if you want, just … hear me out …”
Athena looked over his shoulders, as he read it to her.
She was actually impressed.
Never ever would she have pinned Ares to write something even remotely as deep.
If she hadn't known better, she would have thought it was Aphrodite's hand – but it obviously wasn't; her writing was cursive and ornate, as opposed to Ares' clean, but plain hand.
Except that what he had written was so genuine and candid … alright, it was definitely Ares.
Hephaistos read everything, but his voice grew shakier with every paragraph.
By the end, he was full-on crying.
“Fucking arsehole!”, he choked and burned the letter in his hands, “First he gives me a lesson about love, rubs his relationship with Aphrodite in my face and then he tells me, that he loves me?! Of all the things he could have written, this …”
Gently Athena stroked his back, as he sobbed into his hands.
It took him a while to compose himself.
.
The goddess of wisdom had left, after reading the second letter to him, as he had asked.
Hephaistos just needed some time alone.
He … he didn't know how to deal with this.
Everything was way too much and too confusing and he needed distance.
The other gods could wait for their stuff. Or they could just ask his assistants to finish the crap.
He would go on a holiday trip.
Far away from Olympos.
Preferably even away from Hellas.
Sicilia?
That was the place.
He hadn't seen Vulcanus in a while.
.
“… And that's basically, what happened.”
“Hm …”
Vulcanus peeked at his Greek colleague from behind his cup.
“Let me check, if I got this right”, he spoke, “You avenged yourself on the adulterers by placing a curse on their innocent daughter. A girl, who never did anything to you aside from that one flaw she can't help – that she was conceived through adultery – which, as I just said, really isn't her fault, who was pretty much as pure as the rays of the sun above”, the Italian god commented. “Well, I'm not going to question your motives. But do tell me: are you proud of yourself and of what you have done to Harmonia?”
Hephaistos didn't answer immediately. He was just stubbornly staring into the fire.
Alone, Vulcanus already knew the answer, long before the older god spoke.
They didn't meet often, but knew each other oddly well – as if they were brothers.
Perhaps in a sense they were.
Finally Hephaistos admitted: “No, I'm not.”
The Italian god cleared his throat: “Y'know, I have found, that time can fix that kind of shit. Revenge isn't always needed. Besides, you already exposed and publicly embarrassed them and divorced Aphrodite, it was not necessary to get back at her. Why make a cruel and complicated revenge plan, when you can just … let it go? I know it's easy to say and hard to do, but it's true. Think about it; is she that important to you, that you cannot forgive their betrayal, even after thousands of years? Trust me. Revenge isn't always the right thing. It doesn't make you a good person in any way.”
The Greek god sighed in obvious frustration.
But his facial features gradually softened into a pensive expression.
Eventually his face became determined, he muttered a begrudging “Ugh, fine”, rolled his wheelchair around and bid his colleague goodbye.
“What will you do now?”, Vulcanus wanted to know, as he stepped aside to let his colleague out.
Hephaistos turned around and was (surprisingly) smiling.
“Travel to Illyria. I'm going to meet with an old friend.”
.
“Thank you for the ride, Helios”, Hephaistos thanked his driver.
The sun Titan laughed merrily: “Hey, anything for my best buddy! Besides, I understand what you're up to, man. You sort things out and if you need a ride back to Olympos, just call me up, 'kay?”
The blacksmith god smiled: “Sure.”
“Alright!”, the Titan exclaimed and jumped back onto his chariot, “I'll continue my trip across the sky, before your king gets the vapours.”
The younger deity could only giggle.
The Titan grinned, before spurring his horses and riding off.
With a fond smile Hephaistos looked after Helios. The gods could say about that guy what they wanted, but he was a really good and reliable friend.
But his smile faded immediately, as he turned to the temple that contained the petrified remains of his niece and her husband.
This would be incredibly hard and he wasn't sure, if he actually knew what to say.
But he wasn't a coward and he definitely was no quitter.
He wasn't sure, if Harmonia could hear him, but he definitely owed her an apology – even, if he had to give it to a rock, since her and Kadmos' remains had turned to stone through Zeus' will.
That's my fault … it's all my fault …  
“Alright”, he murmured to himself. “Time to finally man up and face the shit I've done.”
He entered the building and to his relief found, that it was empty.
Good.
It would be Tartaros to explain to a mortal priest or visitor, what a tan, young-looking man with long black hair and a wheelchair (it wasn't like the mortals knew those yet) was doing inside a funerary temple with an offering of incense, cinnamon, holy water and a bouquet of white roses. Bringing flowers was silly; the goddess turned mortal was now dwelling in Elysion, where the flowers grew fairest, but she would have been happy either way, he knew.
She was a real sweetheart … I have to give it to her parents, they raised her well.
He looked around the interior.
It was a plain, almost minimalistic temple and behind a simplistic altar, on an elevated pedestal stood a statue of two medium-sized Drakones³, entwined in eternal embrace. Thus the couple had passed on and thenceforth their petrified bodies had remained this way. It was both romantic and tragic.
He sighed: “Hello, Harmonia. It's been a while. The last time we saw each other was at your wedding, I believe?”
He set his offerings on the altar with some effort.
“I'm sorry I took so long. Well, for that and a lot of other things. This is kind of stupid, because I'm here talking to a rock, when I should be saying this to your face. But I can't, so this will have to do. I don't know, how much you knew. Or if you can hear me, for that matter. Still I owe you an explanation … and an apology.”
Suddenly he was startled by a gust of wind, but when he looked around, no one was there.
After looking around cautiously, he just assumed, that it had been the draft and turned back to the stone.
“Well, there really are no words to make up for what I have done to you to get back at your parents, but I will try anyway.”
He began with an explanation, then a confession, before attempting to apologise.
Eventually he said: “So … that's it. That's kinda how I ruined your entire family out of petty revenge. I know that a sorry won't cut it. But I'll try anyway. I'm sorry. I had no right to do what I did. Because of my grudge against your parents, I destroyed your every chance at happiness. Because of the circumstances you were conceived in, I hated you, even though you never did anything to warrant it. Back then I did it to make them suffer and didn't care about how you would handle all of this.  Today I know, that I was in the wrong. I should have just let it go and instead I made an innocent woman suffer out of selfish spite. What I have done is unforgivable and I do not ask for your forgiveness, that I don't deserve. Still I want you to know, that I regret what I did. So I hope that you can hear this. If you hate me now, that's fine (you have all reason to), but if you can find it in your heart to believe me, that would be more than I could already ask for. Please believe me, when I say … I'm sorry. I deeply, truly am.”
Finishing his apology, he took a deep breath.
There. It had been done.
Suddenly he felt a lot lighter, even though he had been talking to a rock.
For a moment the temple was quiet.
Then a voice made him almost yelp.
“That was a beautiful apology. Would've been better, if you had said it to her face, though.”
Hephaistos turned his wheelchair around as quickly as he could.
“How long have you been here?”, he gasped.
Ares shrugged: “I saw Helios drop you off here, when I came, so I think it's safe to say: the entire time.”
The smith frowned; so that had been the gust of wind from earlier!
The war god shook his head and approached.
He too was carrying offerings in his hands and arms; a giant, quite colourful bouquet of exquisite flowers, a bottle of perfume, a peplos, incense and a bowl with fruit.
Ares set his rich offerings down on the altar, next to the one Hephaistos had put there earlier.
Then he crouched down next to the younger god's wheelchair with a sigh.
For a few minutes, they sat in awkward silence, before Hephaistos cleared his throat.
“Ares, maybe you should fold your wings away, before-”
“May they see 'em”, the older cut him off. “They already have before. They know the father of their late queen.”
Hephaistos could see the other's wings tense up and the fingers claw at the stone floor, before Ares composed himself.
“You have some nerve, showing your face here.”
“I know.”
“Was about fucking time though.”
“Yes, it was.”
“I've read your letters.”
“Have you?”, Ares muttered.
“Yes. In Athena's presence, like you wanted.”
“Good.”
“I've burned them thereupon.”
The war god's mouth quirked upward. “Figured you would.”
“Those letters were crap.”
“Sure, whatever you say. And still you cried, before you burned them. Daddy's Owl told me. If you really had thought they were crap, you wouldn't have shed a tear.”
Hephaistos couldn't help but be surprised, that the red-eyed god knew him so well, but he didn't voice it.
Apprehensively he watched his older brother.
Ares was grinning lopsidedly, but his red wings rustled and twitched in irritation, giving away that he wasn't remotely as casual or amused as he was pretending to be.
To be fair, neither was the younger.
“I still think that you're a prick, Ares.”
“I know. And you're right. But I'm gonna level with you, brother – you've been an arse too.”
Hephaistos smiled bitterly: “Yes, there's no denying I was.”
“Ya know, when Aphrodite and I first realised it … that thing with the necklace … we were really mad at you, both of us.”
“I don't blame you.”
“Good.”
Ares craned his neck to look his brother directly in the eyes.
“Why did you do this to Harmonia? How could you? Why to her? She … she …”
His toneless voice wavered and he quickly looked away again.
“It wasn't my intention at first”, the smith whispered. “The necklace was meant for her mother.”
Ares didn't respond. He didn't have to.
Hephaistos knew, what he would have said, if he'd had the words to say it. He also knew why he still wouldn't have said anything, even if he could have.
“I'm sorry”, he finally whispered.
Ironic, really; never would he have imagined, that he would apologise to Ares of all gods.
The red-eyed god didn't answer beyond a heavy sigh.
The blacksmith god didn't know how long they sat in silence hereafter.
But at some point Ares placed his left hand onto the armrest of his brother's wheelchair – cautiously, as if to give the other the option to just slap it away, if he didn't want it there.
Hephaistos' brown eyes widened.
That was a rather tentative and gentle gesture from the abrasive, warlike madman that was Ares.
Then again, who was he to complain?
With a tiny smile he took the hesitant hand and gave it a firm squeeze.
.
---
.
1) Algea: the Greek Daimones (spirits) of pain, suffering and grief, bringers of weeping and tears, daughters of Eris, the goddess of strife. 2) Pontos: the primordial personification of the sea, a son of Gaia. 3) Drakones: serpentine dragons (mostly just enormous snakes)
11 notes · View notes
tobiomlk · 4 years
Note
those tsukki fluff hcs? i am LIVING. could i get general dating hcs for tobio? 👉👈 good luck with your blog - 🐸
— kageyama as your boyfriend
LISTEN kageyama has a condition where brain is filled by (2) things: volleyball and food. relationships? that doesn’t exists. you’re gonna need either a miracle or a saint’s patience to get anywhere with this nerd, whichever works best for you.
i hope you’re well aware that your luck is on a negative count from the get-go, since 1) his knowlodge about romance is next to none and 2) he’s dense as fuck. even if he’s the one to develop feelings first, he wouldn’t act on those any sooner because he doesn’t even gets what’s going on. he just goes ( ??? ) whenever you smile at him and there’s this funny feeling around his ribcage and he’s 100% sure it’s hunger. so, unless you have the guts to fess up first… get ready to simp over this boy for the longest time.
that or until his teammates ( namely, suga ) do a divine intervention ‘cause damn, he’s so grossly in love, and if kageyama was already in the dark we fucking lost him, because what does it means to be in love??? that’s not a position or a game tactic as far as he’s concerned.
he even goes as far as to seek the textbook definition on dictionaries and spiel to himself like a damned mantra in the hopes he’ll get it but guess what? he doesn’t. if anything, he just further confused with the poor intent of describing such abstract concept with big words.
the whole process of realization is so agonizing and infuriatingly slow, it has gotten to the point where all da fucking team is up to date with the tragedy and they’re even making bets as to how it’s going to end ( tanaka and noya are putting all their money to kageyama not ever knowing about his feelings, ennoshita and the third-graders still have a bit of hope for their son. the first-graders are just enjoying the shitshow. )
but when it finally hits him… that there’s no better place than the one by your side and he couldn’t possibly have it otherwise… then it’s over for both of you.
once tobio is set his way, there’s no stopping him. hell, he might as well blurt it out as soon as he sees you, for all he cares. “it seems like i’ve fallen in love with you”.
but now you returning his feelings??? the most unrealistic and unlikiest scenario. his monkey brain definitively didn’t think out this far and now he’s in shambles. you’ve to spent half of an hour explaining to him that, all of it apparently means that you can be “a couple or something” and you can literally see his braincells combusting through his eyes.
are you going to clown him for his confession for the rest of his life? yes. do you hold the moment close to your heart regardless? Yes You Do.
needless to say, kageyama as a partner is awfully awkward. the boy’s barely familiar with platonic relationships, dating it’s like walking blindfolded onto unknown territory. he’s going to need you to teach him the ropes !!! ( not that you’re complaining, of course you’re not complaining )
being as unapproachable and volleyball-crazy as he’s known to be, i think many people depict kageyama as someone who doesn’t fully invests himself onto his social relations, especially the non-platonic field; because yes, to kageyama, volleyball comes first and foremost, but he’s just as devoted and earnest when it comes to his teammates and friends, and more importantly, you. once there’s something that means a lot to kageyama, he’ll give everything he has to offer, and you aren’t the exception to the rule.
while volleyball still takes most of his time and that won’t change under no circumstances, you can tell he does his best to spend the scarce time he has to spare with you. juggling between his passion and his loved one is not an easy task, but kageyama knew what he was applying himself for and there’s no way he’ll be half-assing, no sir!
at the very least, he always makes sure to walk you home. even if that means he’ll have to return afterwards to the gym, because he always trains ‘til very late and there’s no way he’s gonna keep you waiting that long for him ( you keep telling him it’s fine, that you don’t mind waiting, but he doesn’t relents “no. im taking you home first, then practice. and that’s final. now come here, dumbass.” )
he also calls you every single night before heading to sleep! he can’t stay long on the phone because he needs to go to bed early for morning practice, but just being able to hear your voice… to know about you and your day… is more than enough for him.
honestly it never fails to melt your heart when he begins talking in this raspy, low voice and you can tell he’s sleepy by the way he mumbles his words so you tell him that it’s ok for him to go to sleep now but he just shakes his head in spite of the fact you can’t see him and goes like “i still have a couple of minutes left. i want to hear your voice.” like honestly GET FUCKED !!!!!! HE’S SO LOVELY I’M-
kageyama understands if you have different interests and things you’re passionated about ( in fact, he’ll even try it out just so he can something to share with you! ), but, truly, nothing would make this blueberry as happier than you showing the tiniest bit of interest into volleyball. sometimes, the topic creeps onto your talk and unavoidably, tobio switchs to full nerd mode and starts geeking out about the matches and stuff and he’s just so giddy about it but then he freezes, and realizes he might be info-dumping you about something you probably don’t even care about, so he kinda cuts himself before going on… but the look of sheer happiness he offers you when you encourage him to go on? how his big, doe-eyes lit up once you ask him to explain you more carefully? can you possibly fathom how joyous it makes him to know he can get the best of his favorite things together?
to be honest, you’d expect him to be less considerate and act more fit of the self-centered, entitled king role he has been granted— not saying that he doesn’t slips and has his bossy moments of no filter, because he does, but the thing is: he’s surprisingly open to your opinions, too. over time, he’s been taught that communication is of utmost importance and the only way to understand others and have them understand you, and he’s firmly sure that applies to every aspect of his life. he wants you to know that, just as he speaks his mind, you’re free to do the same.
it’s ok if you argue, it’s ok if your points of view don’t match, because that means you’re talking to each other, and that’s way better than letting things sink without actual closure. kageyama learnt that the rough way. his speech might not be the most articulated or refinated, but he tries his best to get his points accross without unecessarily hurting your feelings. communication is so crucial to him, please, keep it in mind.
with that being said, kageyama’s prone to be unromantic and even insensitive at times with how he voices his opinions, because he’s no concept of sugar-coating and won’t hesitate to tell you if you suck at something, or flawlessly ignore your efforts to put on a lovey-dovey mood. but if you talk him about it and express that you’d like him to have some more tact, he’ll take the note! “tact? ok, ok. i’ll.  try to be as tactful as possible from now on and… read the mood? but i make no promises” ( spoiler alert: he keeps telling you that you suck but now he lets you have a sip of his milk and pets your head to soften the blow. )
and speaking of physical affection… god, kageyama is an utter stranger to pda. i mean, the boy is just a prude, unripe blueberry. he doesn’t know how it works, he’s not used to it, and the last thing he wants is to go and do something that’ll put you on a tough spot. your comfort is one of his main priorities, so you have to let him know what’s ok and whatnot, then he’ll start getting the hang of it. once he does, you’ll find out that kageyama is, as a matter of fact, one of the most touch-starved persons you’ll come accross with.
he just can’t seem to get his hands off of you, in the most literal and non-sensual way possible. be it small gestures like your hands brushing together, shoulders bumping, or your heads resting against each others’, kageyama just craves the feeling of your skin against his. despite how bad he denies it, he’s pretty clingy.
you’ve picked on how much he apparently enjoys holding hands, and petting your head, for that matter. you don’t know why, but his hand would always makes its way atop your head. it has even gotten to the point in where he does it out of habit, and when you ask him what’s wrong he just replies “nothing? why do you ask?”
i think kageyama has two stages while he’s on a relationship. the earlier ones, where he cannot lock eyes with you for more than give seconds before going all blushy and stiff, and the advanced ones, in where physical contact has practically become a must and one of his primary functions as a human being to operate naturally.
kageyama’s hugs are so freaking awkward at first… there’s no guides about this. does he just envelops you with his arms ??? and then stay still like that ??? what if he hurts you by holding you too tight ??? oh my god he’s even holding his breath while he’s at it SOMEONE FREE HIM-
and don’t even get me started on the kisses. LISTEN YOU DEFINITIVELY CLASH YOUR TEETH DURING YOU FIRST KISS AND YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT CHANGE MY MIND ON THIS ONE !!!!! knowing him, he needs weeks of mental preparation and advice from his god-send suga-senpai before going for it, and when the moment comes… he goes too hard for literally no reason and right after you’re both on the floor whimpering ‘cause that shit HURTED.
“ow, ow… tobio WHAT the HELL” “oh, PISS OFF”
well, at least he has an excuse for rehearsing!!! don’t worry, he’s a fast-learner ;))))
cuddling is just about the same you guys spend all day squirming in order to find a comfortable position and it’s just a mess™ of limbs and giggles.
“wait… maybe if i put my arm around here…” “wait, tobio, you’re tickling me-” “??? don’t laugh !!! STOP LAUGHING THIS IS NOT FUNNY”
but once you finally manage to settle down, god, it’s so pure… kageyama loves to have you in his beefy, setter arms as much as he loves being hold by you. the crook of your neck? a heavingly place for him to rest his head and which belongs to him and him only !!!
look kageyama is so weak for physical affection i’m not even kidding. all you need to calm him down is to rub his back soothingly and he’ll even forget why he was so mad about to begin with. the amount of power you hold over this boy… it genuinely surprises people to see how tame he’s when it comes to you. everyone can agree that if kageyama has a weakness, that’s you.
tobio is not the one to get particularly cheesy or romantic, everyone knows at least that much. however, he has this thing in where he genuinely voices out how great he considers you to be without batting an eyelash which of course makes you super flustered because “why are you getting so cheeky for?” “??? it’s the truth though” SHUT UP IM SOBBING.
you know how slow and oblivious your boy is, so the last thing you expect is him being able to read you as easily? it takes its sweet time, but within the years, kageyama steadily learns to understand you and how do you operate. your habits, your body language, what makes you happy or upset, he knows all of it. he can tell when something’s off just from a glance, yet he’s so nonchalant about it— like it’s obvious to know what’s on your mind. now, does he know how to act knowing this? not really, but give him props, he tries his best!
with all that has happened to him, it should come as no surprise the fact kageyama can get pretty insecure in the relationship. it’s not like he doesn’t trusts or you ( god, the boy could trust you with his life ), but you can’t blame him for letting his insecurities get the best of him. he’s just so, so afraid… that one day you’ll notice how unlikeable he truly is and you end up leaving him, like most of the people have done to him in his life…
tobio desesperately needs the reasurrance, the words of affirmation, to bask on the feeling of knowing he’s so deeply loved, and that he’s no such thing as an unlovable person. i hope you let him know that, just as he lets you know how grateful he’s for having you in his life.
all in all, kageyama can be a blunt, awkward and more than a bit dense partner, but he’s striving to become a better version of himself day by day, so, he secretely wishes you’ll put up with him a little longer.
23 notes · View notes
letstalksymphogear · 5 years
Text
Symphogear, Ep. 6 (Cont.)
Tumblr media
Hibiki, having seen a horror upon horrors, immediately asks Tsubasa if she’s okay. Tsubasa points out she’s a hospital patient, why would you ask this question, you insensitive prick. Hibiki points to the following scene:
Tumblr media
Now, you may be asking yourself. “How does a formerly comatose person who is now bedridden on an IV drip manage to do this much damage?” Simply put, Tsubasa has a very chaotic aura. She doesn’t even have to take stuff out of her room; the places she goes to just naturally wind up like this. It’s a metaphor for how much of an absolute mess this person is simply by existing.
Tumblr media
“l-look i just- its hard to organize things and- im more of a visual person and-”
Tumblr media
“BITCH YOU LIVE LIKE THIS?”
Tumblr media
Hibiki unwittingly gets her revenge on Tsubasa. She doesn’t realize it, but her lecturing Tsubasa on what an absolute mess every facet of her life is could possibly be heralded as her lowest point in the entire series.
No, wait. Thinking about it now, this is her second lowest. We won’t see her lowest until GX comes along.
Tumblr media
“hibiki, every single bone in my body is broken, you dont have to break my pride too”
Hibiki, being an absolute darling, actually picks up Tsubasa’s mess. This is more than she can say about her own messes.
Tumblr media
“haha, miku usually does this for me! wait- wait a minute.”
Tumblr media
“i dont get it. i tried to kill you. i tormented and ignored you. i refused to help you for months. i failed to train you on any facet of combat as your senior. i nearly let you get kidnapped and, failing that, nearly killed myself while making you watch, which ALSO didnt help you not get kidnapped aside from scaring the shit out of that weird lady. why are you... helping me?”
Tumblr media
“because either we’re going to be very good friends or im going to toss you out the window personally!”
Tumblr media
“oh god, that aggression screams kanade. i cant not like her.”
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Absolutely annihilated. Just kick her while she’s down in her Taco Bell spiral of humiliation and self-discovery, Hibiki.
Tumblr media
“it’s okay, tsubasa! you may be a terminal dumbass, but im sure if we all work together, we can share our braincells and become collectively smarter, for each other!”
Tumblr media
“interesting theory. how many ya got?”
Tumblr media
“ZERO!”
They trade the kind of banter two people with 0 brain cells would have and then Tsubasa points out Hibiki is doing a great job in her place.
Tumblr media
“hey hey HEY HOLD THE PHONE IVE LEARNED MY LESSON IM NOT TRYING TO REPLACE YOU OKAY IM NOT YOU, IM JUST HIBIKI, DOING HER JOB, ALRIGHT”
Meanwhile, in the library, Miku is looking at books, as she does what she says she’s gonna do, unlike a certain other person cavorting with cute idols.
Tumblr media
“The Gay Way: How to Get Your Same Sex Relationship Back On Track, by Dr. Lesbe Honest. wow, this one is right up my alley.”
Tumblr media
Okay, I’m gonna be honest with you. I literally forgot they show you the title in this. Imagine my face when I made up that title on the spot only to be hit with this little number. Holy shit, Symphogear. There’s this thing called subtlety. I’m begging you. We get it.
OH, AND IT GETS BETTER, BECAUSE
Tumblr media
THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK IS THE WRITER OF THE SHOW
IT’S LITERALLY GOT HIS NAME ON IT
THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF WRITING A STORY AND THEN INSERTING A BOOK CALLED “LEARN THE PLOT” WRITTEN BY YOU, IN UNIVERSE
KANEKO STOP THIS BALONEY, PLEASE
Tumblr media
AND LIKE FUCKING CLOCKWORK SHE JUST- SHE TURNS HER HEAD AWAY FROM THE BOOK TITLED “THIS IS THE PLOT MOTIF” BY “AUTHOR” AND THEN FUCKING
Tumblr media
SHE CONVENIENTLY LOOKS OVER TO THE DISTANCE
Tumblr media
AND SHE SEES HIBIKI WITH THE HOT IDOL MIKU WAS INTO, THAT THEY WERE BOTH A FAN ON, AND SHE’S JUST CHILLING THERE AND MIKU WAS TOLD HIBIKI’S ON SERIOUS BUSINESS
Tumblr media
AND THE HOSPITAL QUARTERS ARE SOMEHOW CONVENIENTLY CONNECTED TO THE FUCKING LIBRARY ON FULL DISPLAY BECAUSE GOD KNOWS EVERYONE IN A LIBRARY HAS TO WATCH SICK PEOPLE DIE IN REAL TIME
Tumblr media
AND NOW MIKU IS THINKING “OH MY FUCKING GOD IM BEING CHEATED ON” AND HER FEELINGS ARE HURT FOR THIS TOTALLY CONTRIVED FUCKING COINCIDENCE
Tumblr media
AND SHE’S ALL “BOO HOO HOO I’VE BEEN NTR’D! THIS WAS A CUCKING PLOT THIS WHOLE TIME! WOE IS ME!” FUCK YOU. THIS IS THE WORST. THIS IS ABSOLUTE GARBAGE WHY WOULD YOU- WHY DO YOU EVEN NEED TO SET THIS UP? THERE’S SO MANY BETTER WAYS TO DO THIS!
Tumblr media
AND SHE’S JUST STARING BACK AT THE BOOK WRITTEN BY THE SAME ASSHOLE WHO WROTE THIS ENTIRE DAMN SCENARIO IN THE FIRST PLACE, AN EVIL GOD MOCKING HIS SUBJECTS IN THE FACE OF SCRUTINY FOR DRAMA WITH THE MOST CLICHE LOVE NOTES IN A GODDAMNED SOAP OPERA
Tumblr media
AND HIBIKI IS NONE
THE
FUCKING
WISER
SYMPHOGEAR SURE IS GREAT, HUH? I SURE DO LOVE SYMPHOGEAR WITH ALLLLLL MY HEART. WHAT A WELL WRITTEN MASTERPIECE! FUCKING BELONGS IN THE FUCKING MOMA!!!!!
Okay. Okay. Let’s get that out of our system. The worst is over. This is the, uh, crescendo of the bad side plot as it inevitably sets itself on the road to resolution. I’m not going to have an aneurysm. My brain is not going to split itself in half. We’re good. I swear, we’re good.
Tumblr media
Tsubasa, meanwhile, wants to understand why Hibiki fights, wrestling with the Da Vinci code that is her own emotions. She points out the fight against the Noise isn’t a game, and it ain’t no comic book bullshit either. It’s real, it’s out there, and it’s not pretty yet easily marketable as cute mascots. And what does our protagonist say? No making it up, she literally says:
Tumblr media
“i dunno”
Not a damn brain cell in her body, but props for keeping it real. I’d likely say the same thing.
Tumblr media
This is the face of someone currently sucking air through their teeth at the raw frustration that someone would be dumb enough to risk their life for the sake of only helping others.
Tumblr media
“listen. im gonna keep it real here. i suck at literally everything. math. social studies. writing. helping people is all i have, because its not a competition. you just... you do it. you dont get better at helping people, you just help. like, thats it. i dunno what else to tell you.”
Tumblr media
Then Hibiki points out that she feels it all started with Kanade saving her, and the speech implies its a ‘pay it forward’ sort of affair. She was saved, and so she should save others. Unfortunately, it comes off more as a guilt complex. “I lived, and I feel bad about that, so I gotta save everyone else” kind of stuff.
Tumblr media
“its my coping mechanism for my countless traumas!”
Tumblr media
“i get it now. you’re just as much of a mess as i am. you just dont show it as much. that kinda thinking’s gonna get you killed.”
Tsubasa then correctly points out that it is a kind of survivor’s guilt, where she wants to be released from the pain of old wounds, completely unaware of the irony of her statement.
Tumblr media
“yeah. i get ya. we’re both wrecks. but... we can be wrecks working together.”
This would be the part where she says I’M SORRY but apparently we just don’t fucking do apologies in Symphogear, huh? Too good for ‘em, eh?! God.
Tumblr media
Then they go outside and talk more about stuff and Durandal. The summation:
Tumblr media
“do you have the capacity to live a life forever kicking ass?”
Tumblr media
“yeah”
Hibiki, coming to terms with how she wants to deal with shit, manages to sharpen (haw) her resolve as to who she is and how she uses her abilities.
Meanwhile...
Tumblr media
youtube
Tumblr media
“i cant believe hibiki is having an affair with an attractive idol popstar. especially my favorite one from their old band. not only is she cheating on me, but she’s cheating on me from one of the five people on my lists id immediately get with if i had the chance. it feels like a double betrayal. a real life one, and a fantasy one... why do i find this weirdly hot...?”
Tumblr media
“HEY NEWCOMER WELCOME TO THE CUCK AND BUCK WHERE WE SELL FRESHLY FRIED CUCKS FOR ONE BUCK, REAL EASY, REAL CHEAP, GOOD OL’ FASHIONED JAPANESE SOULFOOD”
Tumblr media
“ive come to take my throne. i’ll take the ‘one flew over the cuckoo’s nest” and have the three eggs over easy with the ‘easy sleazy pancakes’”
Tumblr media
“make it an extra lonely helping. this is gonna be a long afternoon.”
Tumblr media
“ahhh. a freshly cucked newcomer coming to the cuck and buck to duck amongst their bad luck run amok, huh?”
Tumblr media
“listen dont sass me about my busy girlfriend with your dr. seuss antics just gimmie the food and lets get this over with”
Tumblr media
“no problem! sorry, they just come easy. it’s hard to buck at the cuck and buck when rhymes you huck make you wanna fu-”
Tumblr media
“FOOD. NOW.”
Miku then ponders about how her feelings may have spiraled from a process of over thinking, or possibly hunger. Maybe both. Maybe Hibiki isn’t cheating on her. Maybe the reasons are more complicated than she knows. She briefly contemplates communication; a futile gesture when it is Hibiki safeguarding a secret she is forced to keep for incredibly stupid reasons.
Tumblr media
“thanks for the food, miss. it really helped sort my feelings out.”
Tumblr media
“no probs, kid. here at the cuck and buck, the only thing we cuck here is... our hearts.”
Meanwhile, Hibiki is still hanging with Tsubasa. Hey, if you’re gonna hang out with a critically acclaimed popstar, might as well squeeze every minute out of it, right?
Tumblr media
“so... taco bell, huh? im surprised you actually like taco bell now. maybe you just like fast food styled psuedo-mexican restraunts? have you tried chipotle?”
Tumblr media
“i... maybe you’re right, actually. i’ve grown to love taco bell, but... maybe i should expand my horizons. kanade did say... singing makes you hungry. maybe thats what she meant. i should take to new life experiences...”
Tumblr media
“yeah! i can take you to all the good fast food places i know!”
Tumblr media
“dont you have a girlfriend?”
Tumblr media
“she can join us! she’s a big fan of you after all!”
Tumblr media
“hey- hey wait! m- more friends? more... more friends... more friends.....”
Tumblr media
“more friends...”
Meanwhile, a crisis develops.
Tumblr media
Chris, having heard the f-word (friendship), is heading immediately to do the exact opposite of this.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
She’s taken some pointers from Tsubasa, t-posing to assert dominance.
Tumblr media
“how the fuck is she even flying”
Tumblr media
“i cant wait to tell hibiki how much i love and appreciate her despite the weird NTR aura surrounding this whole situation”
Tumblr media
“yeah, that’s right! i’m meeting the Gremlin in the park for an asskicking, don’t worry!”
Tumblr media
“oh, speak of the devil! hibiki! i love and appreciate you despite the weird ntr auras!”
Tumblr media
“miku- wait. oh no. i saw this happen in sam reimi’s spiderman 3. im fucked.”
Tumblr media
“YOU GUESSED CORRECTLY, PIDGEON BANGS”
Tumblr media
I know I’ve joked about homewrecking, but this is ridiculous.
Tumblr media
Chris realizes there’s someone else around she may have potentially hurt. This is surprising, given murder is not something she has shyed away from, but she’s slowly climbing that ladder of morality, so cut her some slack for taking it one rung at a time.
Tumblr media
“im losing my girl. losing my grip. now im about to lose my life. this NTR business truly is the worst.”
Tumblr media
Chris has accidentally employed the Dio Brando style of disposing of people, which consists of throwing a vehicle and smashing them until dead.
Tumblr media
“you’ve taken one step too close to my heartstrings, Gremlin, and for that you’re about to understand the full definition of an ass kicking.”
Tumblr media
Hibiki fucking punches the car. Everything is forgiven in this episode for now.
Tumblr media
“i... hibiki... are you... a street fighter character? holy shit. oh my god. hibiki oh my god you’re a street fighter character. thats been the true problem here. you’re a street fighter character now. oh my god. cheating? how could i have thought cheating was involved? you were literally just becoming a straight up superhero! oh my god. the abs! the washboard abs! the signs were all around me! the only thing you went to do behind my back was kick ass!”
Tumblr media
“i’m sorry. i need to go kick ass now.”
Tumblr media
The good news is all that tension just got evaporated. Miku sorta gets the truth now: her girlfriend hasn’t been cheating on her, she’s just been trying to save the local tri-county area from the grips of inter-dimensional alien eldritch entities controlled by a Gremlin and her Mistress. It’s a lot to take in, though.
Tumblr media
These two are about to fight head to head. Last time, Hibiki was but the pupil. Now, she is the Master.
Tumblr media
“can’t touch me, goldie locks. lemme do you a favor and CRACK THAT WHIP!”
Tumblr media
“oh my god hibiki’s gonna fight that weird looking person”
Tumblr media
“naruto running deeper into the woods isn’t gonna stop me from beating your ass senseless, fists for brains”
Tumblr media
“thats because i wanna talk, asshole”
Tumblr media
“wait. wait, what? you... you want to talk? to me?”
Tumblr media
Hibiki proceeds to aggressively describe herself to her. Name, identity, blood type, age, the works. This is because she’s trying to befriend her, because Hibiki feels fighting people is bad, and that talking is more useful than fighting. This is a recipe for suicide, normally, but in this instance...
Tumblr media
“what in the goddamn hell... i... um... nice.. to meet you...?”
Tumblr media
Hibiki deploys a counter-T-Pose to show kinship, feeling that they don’t have to fight like this since they’re not Noise.
Tumblr media
“talk may be cheap but it’ll make kicking your ass all the more easier, nerd”
Chris learns this, in fact, does not make the ass kicking all the more easier. Hibiki’s fresh new moves manage to dodge whip after whip of Chris’s attacks, and it’s really starting to annoy her a lot.
Tumblr media
“pain in the ass. so you learned how to fight, huh? fine. you’ll tire out eventually.”
Tumblr media
“let’s just talk, seriously! or maybe we can bond over board games-”
Tumblr media
“i FUCKING hate board games. the fuck are you, a grandma? just fight already! people cant understand each other anyway!”
Tumblr media
“JUST DIE ALREADY!”
Tumblr media
“i was told to kidnap you. but im exerting a loophole today; no one told me to do it alive”
Tumblr media
“the only kidnapping going down is me, sleeping in on a thursday afternoon forgetting class exists, you neon porcupine. so come at me. can’t kick me ass if you dont come any closer, right?”
Tumblr media
“WITH PLEASURE!”
Tumblr media
“ive watched the entirety of dragonball z, i know exactly how this fight’s gonna go down”
Tumblr media
“finally. looks like i got y- hey, wait, what?”
Tumblr media Tumblr media
“ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY JANKING MY LEG? THIS BITCH IS LITERALLY GOKU? PULLING KAMEHAMEHAS AND SHIT? WHY? god. its me. yukine chris. why do you hate me. why do you drag me through all this shit only to be hit in the head with some real anime baloney. why. please. have some mercy.”
Tumblr media
“i dont know what a goku is but sure, yeah, why not”
Tumblr media
“im going to kill her. oh my god. she doesnt even know who goku is.”
Tumblr media
“get that tentacle shit away from me. im not fucking around anymore. we’re going to have a heart to heart whether you like it or not!”
Tumblr media
“oh shit she found my weakness. really close melee combat.”
Tumblr media
“MADE A FRIENDSHIP GIFT FOR YA. IT’S A FRESHLY MADE KNUCKLE SANDWICH, STRAIGHT FROM THE DELI”
Tumblr media
“OH GOD, PLEASE, NOT MY FACE”
Tumblr media
“REQUEST ACCEPTED, PAL”
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Hibiki punched her so hard that she physically destroyed the entire armor Chris was wearing in a single blow.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
“she... she doesnt punch ME like that... i mean, probably because she loves me, but..”
Tumblr media
“did... did she just kill that person...? hibiki...? you, uh... you alright...?”
Tumblr media
38 notes · View notes
restlessmaknae · 5 years
Text
beware: woman on board!
Tumblr media
When the mighty pirate captain, Koo Junhoe, has no choice but to take an annoyingly talkative rich female on board, he immediately regrets his decision. Yet, money is more important to him than his own pride.
♦ Pairing: pirate captain!Junhoe x rich!Minji (OC)
♦ Genre: fluff, comedy, slight angst in one scene
♦ Words: 4.8k
♦ Dedicated to: @binkygee aka my beloved twin soul who deserves the world! Thank you so much for being in my life, I’m so happy to have met you! You are such a wonderful person and I wish you all the best! Have a beautiful Christmas, dear! ❤️
Koo Junhoe had never had any luck with women. Especially not with women who had a lot of money, and especially not with women who not only had a of money but who were also annoying blabbermouths.
But Koo Junhoe was a man who didn't give up easily, and one woman could not break his persistence. Not even Ryu Minji who was a pain in the ass, the nuisance he didn’t need in his life. Even though she had promised him a very generous amount of money to be shipped to the furthest island possible (for that, Junhoe was pretty sure she was either exaggerating to look more dramatic or she had lacked more braincells than he himself did), her crazy rich antics were slowly getting on everyone’s nerves.
“Cap’, do we really need to keep up with her behaviour?” Chanwoo, the youngest member of the crew, inquired rather indignantly, quirking a brow at the captain of the ship.
Junhoe merely let out a frustrated sigh in response.
“She has a lot of money,” he reasoned as if it would have made up for all the things Ryu Minji had done ever since she was on board with Junhoe’s crew, starting from demanding a cup of hot tea when she arrived, asking a dumbfounded man to wipe the dust off the wooden place she would have wanted to sit on and wanting to have lunch precisely at 1pm every single day. She was lucky that Yunhyeong, the chef, had the heart of an angel, and he was rather glad to be able to share his food with someone who would finally appreciate it. It’s not like anyone else on the ship didn’t like his food, but they were boys, they didn’t compliment each other so easily.
“How much did you lose on that last bet?” Chanwoo inquired a bit too curiously for Junhoe’s liking, even though he knew that all of his crew members knew about his deals; he bragged about them whenever he won, and he kept his mouth shut when he lost.
Small wonder the others got suspicious when they hadn’t heard about his bets for a while.
“A lot, matey. A lot,” Junhoe admitted honestly, patting the younger boy’s shoulder. He didn’t like having Minji on the ship either (especially because it was his ship, his territory), yet money was what he needed in that moment, and if she was willing to give him money, he would endure the way Minji acted up.
Of course, he should have known that something like this would happen from the moment the obviously rich female showed up in the port, quite short of breath and with a surprisingly little luggage. She looked like she had just run away from someone, her hair in a complete mess, her features alarmed. Even though she had flipped her hair back several times while she was talking down to Junhoe and his crew members to convince them to get her on board, Junhoe could sense that something was wrong. Why on Earth would someone as obviously rich as her who could have easily bought a ship for herself would ever deal with a pirate? He had made it very obvious that he was one, so either she was completely stupid (which wouldn't have come as a surprise) or she had an exceptionally good reason to run away. From whoever and for whatever reason she wanted.
However, he decided to shrug his unnecessary questions off since he had nothing to do with the petite female’s business. Not like he would have wanted anything to do with her, except her money. For a while, he could listen to his crew members complain about the girl, but when one day she started whining because they sailed too fast for her liking, Junhoe couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
“Look! This is my ship, and I’m the captain, so I do what I wanna do. Whether you like it or not,” he practically spat the words, scoffing at the absurd request of Minji.
She looked obviously hurt by his tone and the way he told her that her opinion didn’t matter in the least, yet instead of asking herself why would he treat her so poorly (like any other intelligent human being), she counter-attacked him instead.
“This is how you treat a lady’s request?” She raised an eyebrow at him, her voice rising. Donghyuk was merely passing by at that moment, but he couldn’t stop himself from glancing in Junhoe’s direction, seeing the way the girl stood in front of the captain, her hands firmly on her hips, looking amusingly bossy for such a short woman.
“Aye, wench, and I’m not even gonna change the way I act.”
Minji couldn’t believe her ears; her eyes became twice as wide as before, burning from fury and frustration. She was trying so hard to say something back to him, opening her mouth several times, anger boiling up inside of her. In the end, she only managed a sentence out, and even that seemed ridiculous.
“You uneducated buff!” She shouted at him, throwing her hands into the air. Donghyuk found this the perfect opportunity to leave the scene, knowing all too well that Junhoe’s reaction to the girl’s outburst wouldn’t mean any good anyway.
Junhoe merely laughed it off. He had been called a lot of things in his life (including some particularly nice and some not so nice ones) despite his surprisingly young age as a captain, and not so despite his job as a pirate. So hearing her (kind of) polite cursing, he laughed like there was no tomorrow.
“Blow me down!” He pretended to be shocked, the words rolling off his tongue ever so naturally. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he added, theatrically saluting to her before he went back to steering the wheel as casually as he always did.
“Do you even know what the word ‘buff’ means?” Minji retorted, challengingly wiggling her eyebrows.
She acted like a total know-it-all, probably to cover up the fact that she wasn’t the most intelligent girl on Earth. She may have been educated, but to Junhoe, intelligence didn’t equal knowledge. She was stupid enough to trust pirates, so he wouldn’t actually call her intelligent. Even though Junhoe’s crew didn’t like to use force against woman until it was completely necessary, it didn’t mean that she couldn’t be called names or be looked down while she was on the ship with them. (Both of which had already happened, but she was the one to blame for that, not his mateys.)
“How would I know?” Junhoe shrugged his shoulders, focusing on the vast sea stretching out in front of him instead of the girl. “I’m the Scourge of the 7 Seas!”
“The what?” The woman gasped, and the sight of her knitted eyebrows were much more hilarious than they should have been under other circumstances.
“See, we don’t speak the same language, wench.”
“Don’t call me wench!” She protested right away, puffing her chest out as if she had wanted to prove a point. “It’s making me feel inferior,” she added with a disappointed pout.
“Well, you are inferior here,” Junhoe admitted without a blink of an eye. Though he may have expected her to get mad at him, seeing her flushed face and the way her body was trembling in anger made it all worthwhile. She was such an amusing sight, whether she was annoyed, frustrated or confused. He was sure she could have made a really good street comedian.
“You… you…” She pointed a finger at him although her hands were trembling, so the effect she wanted to leave on him was anything but intimidating.
“Yes?” He quirked an eyebrow, enjoying the situation way too much.
“Just ship me to the next island and you’ll get your money.”
“With pleasure.” He tilted his head a little to add to the effect, making the woman fume even more as she turned on her heel and left the captain alone, throwing some deadly glances in his direction that he couldn’t see because he was staring far ahead, grinning to himself like the smug idiot he was.
 Minji was a real pain in the ass. Seriously. Junhoe had never had more headaches in his whole life than he did during the last week while Minji was turning the life on the ship upside down. She was acting like she owned Junhoe's most precious treasure, and he couldn't have hated her more for that. If there was something he couldn't stand, it was the people who made him feel like he wasn't the owner of his own his ship.
The other guys were obedient, that's true, and he was glad he managed to recruit such a crew. Yet, it didn't mean that they had to be obedient when it came to Minji too. But that's exactly what they did.
They did what she asked even if it was ridiculous, totally unnecessary or almost impossible. It was as if everyone had been under her spell except the captain of the ship himself. Junhoe tried to convince himself that he would get rid of her soon, yet he knew that considering the alarming weather conditions and the area they had sailed through, it would take a couple more days until they could reach any habited island. It didn’t help either that even his crew members tried to talk him into understanding the girl a bit more. He didn’t lead a charity organization, he didn’t need to show empathy towards a woman who acted like he owned his ship.
Though it was definitely interesting what Yunhyeong had told him one day.
“You know, she’s not that bad of a person. She just wanted to get away from her family, and I can totally understand why,” the chef remarked as if he was telling a story, looking up at Junhoe at the end of the sentence.
“What? Are you on her side?” he huffed, putting his hands on his chest. Wasn’t it enough that the other crew members were against him, now even the closest ones were trying to ask him to act nice? Hell no.
“No.” Yunhyeong shook his head immediately and raised his hands in front of him to indicate that he wasn’t there to cause any kind of misunderstanding or start a war of words. “I’m just saying that it couldn’t have been easy on her that she was forced into a marriage with a man who was treating her in an inappropriate way,” the chef babbled on and on, spilling the beans without noticing the slight raise of Junhoe’s eyebrows.
“What?”
“Maybe if you hadn’t been so obsessed with arguing with her, you could have got to know the same.”
With that being said, the chef went back to his own territory aka the little kitchen on the upper floor of the ship, and Junhoe was left dumbfounded in the middle of the open area, lips slightly parted hearing the other boy’s words. Sure, Yunhyeong could always get along well with others, he didn’t have that defensive mechanism in him that the captain of the ship had built during the years to avoid getting hurt and feeling guilty for every sinful thing he had ever done. He wouldn’t have become a respectful leader if he had left his emotions get in the way.
However, the fact that Minji was willing to share something so personal with Yunhyeong surprised him. But of course, it could have also happened that she had just spilled the beans without intending to tell him anything. She was a real blabbermouth after all.
After their conversation, Junhoe examined the woman a bit more in depth, looking for any sign that would indicate what she must have gone through before she got on the ship. On the other hand, he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, anything that would prove that she had a better reason to run away than to order the members of a pirate ship as she pleased.
Not until the day they had encountered some sirens did his opinion change.
 Minji was downstairs, looking at her nails, calling for someone (anyone) for the fifth time already. She was getting bored without a book, without anyone to talk to and without anything to look at. The ship felt like a prison sometimes, and she was definitely missing her grandiose room. Though whenever she thought of her home, a chill ran down her spine, reminding her why she had run away. She didn’t need a man in her life, let alone a man with no feelings, a man who would only use her to give birth to their child and a man who was also 24 years older than her.
Minji knew that not anyone can get what they want but she couldn’t stand it anymore. Her father had literally sold her to that old man just for the sake of more money, that’s why it wasn’t a surprise that she wanted to escape before she could even be properly sold. She didn’t want to step a foot into the old man’s mansion.
As stubborn as she was, she was willing to do anything to achieve what she wanted, so even if it meant that she had to bear multiple noisy and uneducated man drinking whisky and sometimes speaking a totally different language, let it be. It was still better than her arranged marriage.
Though it didn’t mean that she didn’t have her own requirements and preferences. She didn’t like if she was left alone for a long time, that’s why speaking to the ship’s chef was a pleasant pastime for her.
However, she was now left alone in one of the cabins downstairs and the ship was quieter than ever. She had no idea what must have happened, so she tried to call out for someone – to no avail.
“Come on! Can’t anyone tell me why we are slowing down? And why we had just stopped right now?” She shrieked as the ship had seemed to come to a halt. She immediately started suspecting that something was definitely not going as planned, but she couldn’t suppress her sarcasm either. “I swear these men can’t do anything without a woman on board.”
With that being said, she got to her feet and walked up the stairs to reach the upper floor. What she saw there made her blood run cold in an instant. All the crew members who were there seemed to be hypnotized by some unseen force, their faces showing no emotions, their features numb. They either wandered by themselves or looked at the waves of the sea very, very close to the edge of the ship.
As Minji walked closer, she realized what exactly they looked at. It wasn’t the sea they looked at; it was what was in the sea. To be precise, who were in the sea.
The waves hid their bodies well, but Minji could tell that they were sirens; sirens with flawless skin and seducing gazes. To her, their voices sounded awful but to the men around her, it seemed like it was like a lullaby; they were under its effect, they were ready to throw themselves off the edge just to get closer to the beautiful creatures.
Minji didn’t think her plan through when she noticed Junhoe walking closer to the edge of the ship. She rushed to his side, trying to wake him up, gently (and then not so gently) punching him, his face, his chest, his side… Junhoe still acted like she was invisible, not taking notice of her presence, nor her attempts to stop him. She had no idea how to get him out of this state, she had never even seen sirens in the first place. She wasn’t used to such dangers situations, that’s why she was helpless when it came to good solutions.
In the end, she did what seemed like her only choice. She didn’t think it through, she merely kissed the pirate with all her might. It wasn’t pleasant, of course, it was more like desperate. But it had an effect because Junhoe’s eyes widened as soon as she sealed his lips, and he seemed to have come back to life judged by his dumbfounded expression.
Minji was the first to back away after she saw that she had succeed, taking a few tentative steps back.
“Wait, what? What’s going on? Why did you kiss me?” he asked confusedly, looking at her with countless questions in his eyes. He was just coming out of his whole hypnotized state, so Minji knew she should have been a bit more patient, but he wasn’t the only one who needed help.
“I’m trying to save your life if you can’t see!” she shrieked, gesturing wildly but the pirate’s eyes could only see her and her rosy-coloured lips.
“By trying to kiss me?” He raised an eyebrow in question, her statement obviously making him even more confused. Minji’s patience was already wearing thin, she didn’t need the pirate’s useless questions to add more to her building frustration.
“If you looked around you instead of arguing why a pretty woman like me ever laid her lips on your dirty ones, you could see that we are in the middle of a siren attack!”
“Hey, my lips aren’t even‒” Junhoe protested fervently, but stopped halfway when he realized what she had tried to imply. “You said what?”
“Oh, these bloody men!” Minji huffed, not believing that she was the only one who had more than two brain cells on this damn ship. Men really thought of themselves as the dominant sex, but she wasn’t sure they could ever be able to lead anything without asking for a woman’s help. Seeing Junhoe and the other males on the ship, she started questioning how they even got there without losing a member here and there.
“Just help me distract your crew members or tie them to something until we are out of the siren zone!” Minji practically ordered him because he didn’t look like he took the situation seriously even though his eyes were roaming around.
“Do you want to distract them too by kissing them?” He turned back to her, slight amusement plastered on his annoyingly handsome face.
“You ungrateful buff!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll handle it from now on! Get anyone you can from downstairs, and ask them to help us out!”
“With pleasure,” Minji spitted as she rolled her eyes, not believing that it took so long for the captain to come up with a reasonably good plan.
She hurried down the stairs, looking for anyone who might be able to help them. Luckily, she found a sleeping boy on one of the wooden beds, so even if he wasn’t particularly happy to be woken up, he immediately ran upstairs when he heard what was going on. Then, Minji even found Yunhyeong who was in the middle of cooking (probably coming up with a new recipe), small wonder he didn’t realize that there was something going on outside of his precious kitchen. When he alarmed the chef, he looked so guilty as if he had been the one who asked the sirens to come by. Together, they went back to assist Junhoe as he finally came back to his senses and did everything he could to save his crew members. After they took care of the hypnotized boys, Junhoe focused on navigating the ship instead, so that they would be out of the danger zone sooner.
When all males were back to their own selves, Minji couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh. Maybe she did care about them after all. Maybe that kiss with Junhoe was worth it after all.
 Minji didn’t want a proper thank you. She didn’t even want a nice sentence coming from Junhoe’s mouth, but at least she wanted a good damn word for saving the males’ asses. She may have been looked down because she was a woman and she was whining like a child (she was aware of that, bad family example, that’s it), but she felt like she deserved better after the siren attack, especially from the captain of the ship.
On the other hand, he seemed to be the only one who wasn’t thankful to her. Everyone on the ship thanked her or at least treated her better after they got to know what she had done for the crew (except the kiss part, neither Junhoe, nor Minji wanted to highlight this particular piece of information). Everyone but Junhoe himself.
It wasn’t until after a quite uneventful day that the captain did say something about what had happened before.
Minji was reading by herself in her “room” (a random corner that was said to be her room), elbows resting on the wooden table with the book in between. She didn’t fancy joining the pirates’ nightly conversations because they usually ended up in overexcited pirate songs and too much rum. Instead, she liked to have the time to herself, wondering about the what ifs just like this particular night.
“Hey. Can I sit down?”
The all-too-familiar voice asked from behind and she couldn’t help but let out a weary sigh. No matter how uncharacteristically gentle the captain’s words were, she really wasn’t in the mood for a conversation with him. Not after complete days of radio silence.
“It’s your ship, isn’t it? You do what you wanna do. Isn’t that right?” She raised an eyebrow challengingly, quoting the words the young man had spitted at her not long after she got on the ship. Well, he wasn’t the most hostile captain but at least he didn’t throw her out.
Junhoe also let out a sigh. Indeed, when two adamant people got together who could suffocate each other any minute, it was difficult to find a balance and let both of them have a say in the matter without trying to kill each other.
“Look, wench…” The captain started and not until he caught Minji’s dead glare, did he realize how he had called her. “I mean, look…” He hovered over the last part of the sentence but decided to drop his idea in the idea. It didn’t matter how he addressed her, what he was about to say was more interesting than mere nicknames. “I think we misunderstood each other,” he admitted bluntly, his sincerity not moving the girl’s heart.
“I would say we have quite different manners.”
“We can put it that way, too.” Junhoe was quick to react as he didn’t want to anger her even more, especially because he knew she deserved a proper thank you after the siren attack or at least she deserved to feel valued.
Yet, as an emotionally malfunctioning jerk he was, it was difficult for him to reach out for her after she had practically saved their asses. So what did he do? Instead of trying to talk to her somehow, he didn’t say anything. So typical of the almighty Koo Junhoe. He really didn’t know how to act around females.
“So uhm… thanks for what you’ve done for the crew.” For me, he wished to add but the confession was already weighing down on him, and his heart wasn’t sure it would be able to bear even more.
Minji’s features softened a bit upon hearing his words, but she was still more tense than usual, and he had no idea why. He really didn’t know how to approach women, so it was no surprise he couldn’t decipher Minji either.
“I may be annoying, and I may be just a woman, but I have a heart, and I couldn’t just let you all suffer like that. Let me be the only woman who causes you headache. You don’t need sirens for that,” she explained with a playful edge to her words, making the pirate laugh for the first time they met.
Even though he would have said it differently himself, he was sure that in her own annoying way, the gorgeous female was really taking care of them. They may have been upset at her for telling them to stop drinking too much rum or to stop shouting at the seagulls when they had already become tipsy, but maybe she did it in a loving way, they were just not used to such form of affection.
Though he was more interested in her future plans now that she seemed to have let go of the grudge against him.
"What are you gonna do?" Junhoe inquired, subtle curiosity easily detected from his voice.
"What do you mean?" She counter-attacked although she knew what he was trying to imply. She merely wanted to save herself some time until she could properly think over her answer.
"What are your plans after you leave the ship? Cause we'll arrive at a port city soon," the pirate explained, his intense stare piercing through her heart. She knew that it was a question she couldn't avoid, yet deep down, she didn't want to think about the future.
She was already accustomed to Yunhyeong's childish whining when the boys didn't compliment his new creations, she grew fond of Donghyuk's smile that outdid even the Sun itself, she was used to seeing Bobby sleep anywhere and everywhere he could, she didn’t even blink an eye when Chanwoo was telling childish jokes, and she was no longer unfamiliar with Junhoe's grumpiness in the morning. Or the way his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped comically when something didn't go as he had planned. Or the deadpan expression he fathomed when someone said something slightly insulting to him. Or the duality of his interior and exterior. Or the way he raffled his hair when the wind blew too strong. Or the smooth way (even smoother than usual) he talked after drinking too much rum.
Maybe she would miss all of these if she decided to leave the ship and with it the crew itself.
"I don't know, I didn't give it too much thought." Minji shrugged, her fingers playing with the hem of her dress. She knew it was her time to go, but the captain’s soon felt too soon all of a sudden.
"You can stay, you know," Junhoe offered rather seriously, but before she could comment on it, he added something more, taking back the serious edge of his words. "We won't throw you out of the ship."
"That's very kind of you." She let out a little giggle, letting the conversation soothe her nerves. She could see the sincerity in the pirate’s eyes (something that she had never expected to see in his orbs), and even if she wouldn’t admit it to herself, she was glad that he would like to see her on the ship in the future as well.
Maybe she wasn’t the only one who didn’t regret that kiss.
“I’m serious,” Junhoe stated matter-of-factly, earning yet another giggle from the girl.
“I know.”
“But of course, we won’t keep you back from leaving the ship if that’s what you want.”
“I know.” Minji nodded, her lips raised into a cheeky smile as she watched the always so confident and smug captain babble in front of her. It was a rather comical sight, and she enjoyed every moment of it, especially because she knew he was being embarrassed because of her.
“But if you want to stay, I can’t take it anymore and I have to tell you that‒”
“I know.”
“But I didn’t even finish my sentence,” Junhoe quirked an eyebrow in question, examining the girl’s features. She may or may not have known what he was about to say, but it didn’t really matter who would take the first step. She was willing to do it. After all, she saved his ass already, why wouldn’t she save him from another five minutes of embarrassment?
“I know.” She bobbed her head, then rose from her seat and closed the gap between her and the pirate. Junhoe was seemingly taken aback by her bold move but he couldn’t deny the way he tried to gulp down his nervousness.
Minji sealed his lips in the next moment, their kiss definitely more passionate and less desperate than the first one. Now, Junhoe was also having his fair share, enjoying it to the very end. The kiss was just perfect this time; it was exactly what they both needed after the recent events and what their hearts yearned for ever since they met.
After all, love and hate were only a tad bit apart.
49 notes · View notes