#LETS GOOO WE FINALLY FINISHED IT SKIP!!!

[bobafish]

Collab with @skipblebee !! She did the coloring while I did the messy ass lineart, but I still think the finished product looks cute <3

#LETS GOOO WE FINALLY FINISHED IT SKIP!!! #after what felt like so long lmao #But still :)) #moomin #Mumble jr #too ticky #Mymble #moominvalley #moomin fanart #Idk the tags helpppp #the sound of music #Reference btw

[joshbruh10x]

Who is your favorite FNAF character?

Ohhh boy, ok I'm that type of person who if you'd ask who their favorite was, I'd weigh facts about characters and compare them only to say yeah I don't have a favorite but I adore all of these guys!!!

(this is gonna be a long read so you can scroll away rn if you wanna)

So imma explain it but it's chopped up into different parts

Fnaf 1, my favorite was most definitely Foxy. He was like everyone's favorite at the time, I never really knew why but he just clicked in my head and he was ofnwjdjsj yes

Fnaf 2, I really got used to drawing at this time so I'd usually draw Toy Bonnie, Toy Chica or even BB but my favorite in this game was The Puppet, would you believe me I dressed up as the Puppet in Halloween once, and my previous friend dressed up as BB

Fnaf 3, I didn't really play it much considering how I got stuck at night 3 but all I gotta say is Phantom Foxy, one because I was still obsessed with Foxy and two, all the Jacksepticeye memes about him

Fnaf 4 was Nightmarrione, it's design was so cool. I played the Halloween update and instead of getting scared I just gushed over Nightmarrione and how it's design was so cool

Fnaf SL dropped and even with just the teasers and trailers I instantly went crazy over Ft. Freddy and Bonbon, eheheh BONBON GO GET EM

Fnaf 6 rolled around and unlike all the other games, I've never played it before but I have watched all gameplay, lore, endings, etc. And my favorites would be Lefty or Rockstar Foxy, Lefty was like really mysterious but also pretty calm and was a nice add to the roster of characters and Foxy FINALLY had a bird partner.

We're gonna skip Fnaf AR and VR because they didn't really add much characters except skin variations and stuff

Fnaf SB Les gooo, so this is the game tht gave the animatronics more emotion and I love it for a REASON. Anyways as the trailers and teasers released, I really liked Glamrock Chica and was excited for what they would look like since this time they only posted the dark silhouettes of the animatronics on stage. So then FUNKO of course, Funko released what the animatronics looked like and then fanart started rolling in. I really then got attached to Freddy's design. Then I saw Monty and I went to my friend and was like Lmao people be simping over this gatorcrocodile/dinosaur, bet...

Few months later and I got to play the game and we can all guess what happened? BOOM GIVE THIS GATOR ANGER ISSUES AND A TROUBLED PASS WHILE HE TRIES TO HIDE IT AWAY WITH UNHEALTHY COPING MECHANISMS

You got yourself a character I'd love till my heart's content, the fact he was sorta portrayed as buff and hot was all from the fandom so him being a giant loveable himbo was just a cherry on top for the character.

Let's finish this off with a few more facts

As much as I love Monty's character, the fandom giving in made me obsessed with Freddy and somehow, Bonnie who wasn't even in the game. So creating the Fazcule ship for my 3 favorite characters was just swell

Favorite Human Character I'd have to say is Gregory or Cassidy, Cassidy is a chaotic little shit that won't leave William alone and Gregory is also a chaotic little shit that probably won't leave the animatronics alone until they are decommissioned enough.

Least favorite character? Ballora and Rockstar Bonnie

Ballora because of Fnaf SL's NIGHT 4 and UCN jfbejdnsns

Rockstar Bonnie can go fuck his guitar somewhere else

Anyways sorry for the long post I just felt like doing that lmao

#fnaf #five nights at freddy's #foxy #foxy the pirate #the puppet #marionette #phantom foxy #fnaf sl #fnaf sister location #funtime freddy #bonbon #rockstar foxy #leftyfnaf #lefty #ballora #rockstar bonnie #fnaf sb #montgomery gator #glamrock freddy #glamrock bonnie #gregory sb #fnaf gregory #cassidy #fnaf cassidy #fazcule #askjosh #joshrants #im sorry for the long rant fjdnsn

[doomstypewriter]

Excuse me while I panic

Final chapter, let's GOOO.

This has been a really nice thing to write, so I wanted to say thank you. There has been a lot of support and nice comments to this fic and I can't be appreciative enough about it.

I'd like to specially thank @extraintrovertedalien , @winterwynd and @simplestoryteller for all of their lovely comments!! You guys gave me so much motivation to keep writing this!

Word count: 1402 | AO3 | <<Previous

Chapter Masterlist

Summary: The moment we've all been waiting for, Virgil more than anybody, Roman admits he isn't perfect. Well, no, it's actually them kissing. I will not apologize for all of the flirting that happens in this chapter.

CW: Insecurities, very mild angst.

Getting together, but make it messy and silly

Roman laughed awkwardly.

“What do you mean you already know?”

After a pause where the other just blinked and stared at him, Virgil pulled out a chair and sat straddling it. He leant his elbow on the backrest, committing to a facepalm of sorts and a sigh.

“Princey, I’ve known for ages now. I mean, you’ve been super obvious for, what? A year maybe?”

“But--”

“It’s fine” he cut him. “I get it, so you don’t need to explain yourself. At least I’m glad you told me, even if it’s now”.

Roman frowned and stared at the floor.

“Oh”.

The chair creaked as Virgil leant his chest further against the backrest, following some kind of sunflower logic that required him to get closer to Roman in the least efficient way possible.

“Hey, why are you sulking like that? Isn’t this, like, better for you?”

“Well, that depends, if you’re rejecting me right now, then, no. I’ve only known that I’m in love with you for a few weeks, but, if what you say is true, I guess I’ve been feeling this way for even longer”, Roman paused, rethinking his words. He quickly glanced up at Virgil, gesturing with his open palms. “I mean, I will honour your choice, I don’t want to make you feel like I’m pressuring you into anything”.

Now it was Virgil’s turn to frown.

“But… aren’t you... I thought you just felt ashamed of me…”

Roman observed Virgil’s tense body language, getting the sense the other was feeling quite self-conscious, if anything because he recognised it from seeing it quite often in the mirror.

“What? Why would I ever--”

“Oh, well I don’t know Princey!” he exclaimed, sounding more upset than he intended. “We didn’t exactly start with the right foot, and then you were so unwilling to be nice to me, but then we became friends, and you’ve been getting closer and closer. You look at me with that stupid Hans from Frozen expression all of the goddamned time, but you never make a move, despite being all about romancing people. So, what else could I think? If you weren’t going for it, there had to be a reason”.

“And you thought I was ashamed of you of all things?”

“Well, yeah”.

“But I still hanged out with you anyway”.

“Princey, in my defence I have to say you’re pretty stupid, so it makes sense for you to do something like that instead of just ghosting me”.

Roman smirked.

“I can’t exactly ghost you if you’re haunting me”.

The pair of chapped lips pursed into a line. Virgil’s eyes looked at the top of the armrest with a worrying amount of interest for a plain piece of plastic.

“Virge, are you blushing?”

“Wouldn’t you like that, weather boy”.

“Well… yes I would like that very much, because if you are”, Roman walked up to him and held one of his hands in his, “maybe you like me too” he finished, hopeful.

“Jesus Christ, Roman, how are your hands so soft?” Virgil murmured.

Roman leant even closer to Virgil, bending almost to his eye level. He could feel his breath tickling against his neck. His body quivered at the sensation. When the warm air began to come in faltering intervals, Roman felt worried.

Was Virgil crying?

His hand moved towards the other’s face on autopilot. Before he could cup his cheek, though, Virgil looked up at him.

The smile he received had something so attractive to it, an air in between smugness and tenderness.

“Are your lips just as soft?” Virgil whispered and got closer.

Roman felt like he was made of jelly. His silly feelings had decided to leave Virgil in charge of all of his body strength, not that the Prince complained. How could he under that gaze?

Virgil finally surged forward.

Roman’s heart skipped a beat.

And… he yelped as Virgil bit on his collarbone like a wild animal.

“Ow!” he jumped backwards.

Virgil stood up from his chair holding onto his sides. His torso bent forward erratically, heaving.

When Roman finally saw his expression, his heart felt even weaker.

He bit his lower lip hard, the corners of his mouth were stretched forming a tiny dimple on the right cheek. His eyes arched and crinkled, giddy. Underneath, his eyebags shimmered with a bright shade of purple.

At that very moment, Roman couldn’t help but think Virgil was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, and he was on that list.

“You are unbelievable” Roman complained not sounding bothered at all.

“And you are ridiculous”.

“You make me ridiculous”, he said without thinking.

Virgil’s laughter slowly died down, settling into something soft.

“I do?” he asked.

Okay. Roman could do this.

Ignoring how shaky he felt, he once again approached him. A smile took over his entire expression all on its own. Roman nodded.

“You’re making the Hans face again, just so you know”, Virgil said while biting some dry skin on the left side of his lower lip.

The prince’s eyes went straight to Virgil’s mouth. If this went on his brain would melt before he’d managed to say anything.

“I am not ashamed of you, Virgil, I--”

“I’m sorry… I just thought that, since you weren’t addressing it, you might not like feeling like that about me. I’m…” he gripped the back of his neck, recoiling from Roman’s gaze. “We’re just so different. It kind of made sense, thinking you wouldn’t want to be with someone who dresses like me and is just so…”

“Come on, Taylor Swift, you’ve always belonged, well… once we were friends. I was just very stubborn, but you were too”.

“Princey, are you admitting you’re not perfect?”

“Hey! I’m trying to make you feel better and you’re attacking me!”

“Well, since you’re putting me at your level… just how badly do you think of me?” Virgil teased.

“I am actually wonderful, so, unlike you, I’m not trying to get sassy, because if I’m perfect then so are you!” the words came out of his mouth with no forethought.

“Oh”.

“I mean…”

“Are you blushing, Princey?”

“What if I am? Red is my colour after all”.

Virgil grinned.

“Not gonna argue with that”.

“You must be in a good mood… is it because of me?”

“I…” Virgil paused. He took one steady breath and rushed to get a hold of Roman’s hands. “Are you sure you want this? We… I am not riding off into the sunset material, and I know you care about that, and… I care about you too… what I mean to say is I like you, but I don’t want it to cost you the fairytale you’ve always wished for”.

Roman took a deep breath. This was going to be something.

“But Virge, I can’t have that without you. Anything we do together already feels like that”.

Virgil blinked a few times, trying to stop himself from tearing up completely.

“Pff… you’re such a sap”.

“You like it”, Roman said, raising his tone a bit at the end to make it ambiguous whether it was a question or not.

“Yeah… don’t let anyone else know, thought”.

A rush of adrenaline took over him. Roman swept Virgil into his arms and pulled him into a dip, leaning about an inch away from his face.

They stared at each other awkwardly, almost going cross-eyed from the proximity. Despite that, it felt kind of magical.

“May I kiss you?” Roman asked.

“You better” Virgil smiled, his eyes still watery.

Both ended up laughing at that. Roman shook nervously whilst cackling. Suddenly, his grip went loose and Virgil fell ass first on the floor, ending splayed face-up. His mouth opened in an ‘o’ shape.

“You dropped me!”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry--” Roman began to apologize.

Virgil got onto his belly in the blink of an eye and crawled. He grabbed Roman’s leg and pulled hard. Roman’s pretty face met the floor in less than a second.

“You childish prick!” Roman said as he got on top of Virgil.

“Takes one to know one” Virgil replied, pushing him to the side.

They rolled around the floor of the room like idiots until they hit Virgil’s chair. Roman felt the wheels sticking into his ribs, as he laid below Virgil, who smirked victoriously.

Finally, Virgil grabbed his hair forcefully and met him halfway in a less than perfect kiss.

<<Previous

Taglist: @itsjust-la-me , @bard-in-blue , @simplestoryteller , @winterwynd , @some-fander , @extraintrovertedalien , @the-sad-strawberry

#prinxiety #sanders sides #prinxiety fanfiction #ts roman #ts virgil #virgil sanders #roman sanders #doomstypewriter #doomywrites

[wincore]

act iii, incomplete | ten

pairing: ten x reader

summary: it’s the same vivid dream every time — you, a feline constellation that keeps smiling at you and a boy who won’t ever forgive you. autumn, spring and everything in between come to save part of that but the truth is this: no amount of time spent at your small town theatre with your once best friend is going to speak the words for you.

alternatively, 

best friends aren’t meant to be lovers and ten, despite the millions of roles he’s played, keeps trying for the one role he won’t ever get.

genre: childhood best friends to lovers, slight theatre au, reincarnation themes, fluff, angst

warnings: alcohol consumption, mentions of injuries, mentions of death

words: 23.9k

a/n: hello i’m so glad i actually completed this !!!!! i’ve never written something like this before !!! also longest fic let’s gooo ahaha special thank you to miss cat for reading this and making it at least infinity times better i am in indebted to u <3. playlist here.

part of the almost collab by @hyucksie !! (thank you for hosting this, it was lovely to be a part!!)

ACT I: HOMESICK

act i scene i. 

For the first time in years, you hold your breath at the local theatre, the walls more and more debilitated each year. It’s the only place, perhaps, that is so vibrant in its dull shades. The key is memories. Memories keep you alive in a way death and life and sickness cannot interfere. 

A single drum beat resounds through the theatre. A second one follows before a tune from a flute sets the mood. A voice speaks out, that of a woman, and it strikes you as somewhat sad. In that moment, you believe Ten would have pointed out to you that she is meant to do that, she is meant to play the part of someone sad. The curtains stare at you as undulating as a calm sea of red and you hold your breath. 

This is a modern play and you’ve only kept up with them for the sake of watching Ten play a part in them. As for other plays, high school Shakespeare was the most formidable text you’ve ever read and you’d rather not fight for your life again.

“Has the world ever seen a woman’s love unrivalled?”

A projector displays a flower, peonies, on the curtains.

“She once fell sick, dreaming of a lover; and once sick, she grew worse. Love is not love at its fullest if one is not willing to die for it.”

You don’t think that’s quite right. The curtains are drawn right then, their velvet sheen accentuated under the bright theatre lights and two characters appear on stage. 

Your first thought is that he’s grown far too much. The second is that he hasn’t changed much. Ten stands in the character of a play you haven’t finished reading yet, in clothes that accentuate his dancer’s figure and with the look of someone that isn’t him. You had tried to read  the play earlier but you might have gotten a little too excited to complete it. 

You bounce your legs in anticipation, the music and his voice fading out—it’s not like you can focus much with the high school kids giggling and making out in the seats right behind yours. You could always make a scene but it’s not like you to steal the spotlight away from your dearest friend. Besides, you need to reiterate through the list of things you have to help him catch up on since he’s been gone. Ten wouldn’t want to miss out on some spicy gossip. You chuckle to yourself, pressing your palms to your cheeks to cool yourself. 

Ten likes overwhelming responses. You like to be overwhelming. You’re the perfect pair. 

The play ends in a way you can’t tell if it was a tragedy or a comedy. You could have if you paid more attention but this isn’t literature class. You can do whatever you want now and you’re a little preoccupied with your own thoughts. Ten. Your best friend is back from Broadway after a year of barely talking. You can’t wait to hear the stories.

You get up as soon as the lights are on but when no one else does, you sit back down. The curtains part now and the cast comes on for their final bow. You shift around to see if Ten is looking at you, the older people beside you grunting in annoyance and muttering something about the youth. He’s not but Sicheng is and when you send a wink his way, he shakes his head.

You pout at the lack of attention but it’s time to make your way backstage now. The crowd is exiting and you need to get there before Ten leaves. 

Once outside, you make a beeline to the back of the theatre building and mess up Sicheng’s hair as he leaves for home. 

“He’s inside,” he informs curtly and makes as much distance possible between the two of you.

“Oh, don’t be shy, Sicheng,” you coo to annoy him. “You performed so well. Not as good as Ten though.”

Sicheng rolls his eyes. “Were you even paying attention?”

You cross your arms and push him onto his track. He shrugs and you watch his figure disappear behind the corner before taking a deep breath. With anticipation, comes a little unrestrained droplet of anxiety. You shouldn’t be worried, you tell yourself. This is Ten, after all.

The crows sing a song to themselves under the purple evening sun and you feel annoyed at the sound. It’s a song for ghosts. You hate the sound of it. 

You rub your temples, trying to hush away the headache. You can’t wait to see Ten.

You swing the door open in an attempt to sneak up on him. However, you take a few moments to see him barefaced, the stage makeup washed off and a red undertone running through his nose and cheeks. That dark mop of hair sticks out every which way, and no attempt has been made to rectify it. It was once your job, actually. He rubs at his sleepy eyes, a yawn escaping his lips as he stuff his belongings into a worn-out satchel bag. You gave it to him when you skipped prom night. You smile. 

“Ten!” you yell at the top of your lungs. You’ve missed him so much—an old greeting should warm him up. This town started feeling more like home once you heard the news Ten’s back.

He looks at you so cold that you stop dead in your tracks. You freeze up, the words suddenly collapsing into themselves like wilting flowers. You don’t recognize Ten all of a sudden. He wears a deep frown and empty eyes, something you cannot understand no matter what angle you look from. Everything’s changed now, hasn’t it? You truly understand what that means when you meet his eyes.

“Ten,” you repeat at a more respectable volume. “Hey. I… I missed—”

“Hey,” he responds a little too quickly. Eyes less sharp than usual, he averts his gaze. “I- I need to get home early.”

Ten grabs his bag and leaves the room, his shoulder brushing against yours. You stand there for a few extra moments, breaths shallow and quiet. When you regain the sound of your heartbeat, you leave the practice room, throat dry and a frustrated sigh on your lips. Consequences, every time it’s the consequences biting back.

The crows’ song goes unheard.

act i scene ii.

“So… you want me to get Ten to talk to you?” 

Sicheng looks at you in disbelief, the ice cream in his hand starting to melt. You’ve never met anyone who enjoys ice cream in mid-autumn as much as he does. Sore throats are foreign to him.

You nod, crossing your arms. “I don’t know why he’s avoiding me.”

Sicheng scoffs, choking on the ice cream and taking a few moments to regain his composure. 

“Thanks,” he says when you rub his back in pity. “But… you really don’t know why he’s avoiding you?”

You shake your head. It’s a lie. But the only thing you can think of is the summer he left, when he confessed his feelings and you rejected him after a few seconds of contemplation. You had good reason. You just can’t tell him that. You’re still young and there’s so much to look forward to.

"You obviously have feelings for him!"

"Yeah, anger! Why would he just ignore me like that? We've been friends for, uh…"

"Stop counting, you suck at math."

You punch his shoulder and his ice cream almost falls off. He looks at you with a glare so strong, you have to take a step back.

“Sorry,” you mumble. “I thought we were like any other pair of best friends.”

Sicheng snorts. “Yeah, best friends in love with each other. Didn't you suggest getting married once?”

“As a joke,” you interject, feeling heat on your cheeks. “Actually, do you know how useful a marriage of convenience is? It's got convenience in the name. Think of all the tax benefits.”

Sicheng rolls his eyes. “The way you looked at each other wasn’t a joke—you know what? I’m not going to be the supporting act to your whole romance charade. You figure this out.”

You pout. “So you’re saying you won’t help?”

He shrugs. “Maybe. You won’t know if I did.”

You furrow your eyebrows, groaning in exasperation. This was supposed to be a happy reunion and yet, you’re here moping to a theatre kid, hoping he helps you. You expected Ten to not take it well but right now, you wish you weren’t so blunt. You could have said it nicer.

You’re joking, right? Haha, nice one. Best friends don't fall in love.

Oh, this is all your fault. You knew him better than anyone else. You should’ve known the consequences too—you could scream right now. In your defense, you thought college made him lose a few brain cells. You still have to make it right. 

“Fine. Whatever you might do, better do it soon.”

Sicheng shrugs, turning back to his ice cream and browsing lazily through one of the magazines. He’s supposed to be watching the store—he gets paid for it but he couldn’t care less about this place. Sicheng is something of a theatrical actor too, traveling around and performing with his theatre group. He never cared for Broadway as much as Ten did.

However, you’re all here now. This autumn is going to be spent with your best friends no matter the cost. You smile as you think of the time you and Ten surprised Sicheng with a whole bag of ice cream and he cried although most of it ended up melting. Sicheng raises an eyebrow at your expression but doesn't question.

“There’s a reunion party by the woods,” he announces. “Next week. Saturday. You have to make up before that. You know they’re going to be brutal.”

You shudder. Your classmates certainly won’t let go of the idea of your relationship with Ten. Teasing aside, they’re going to be making either one of you uncomfortable. All your excitement drains itself. Your shoulders slump and you think that perhaps, asking for forgiveness would be a better out. You recover quickly though. This has to work out, Ten has to be your best friend again—what choice do you have? You missed him and you’re going to let him know.

//

The first attempt begins right in the evening. Sicheng texts Ten after his shift, asking him to get some snacks. Lucky for you, you work at the local snack store, also called the convenience store. There’s nowhere better to get snacks. There’s also nowhere else to get snacks.

You stand behind the counter, fiddling with the drawstrings of your hoodie while your eyes trail to the hands of the clock on the wall. Sicheng texted him half an hour ago. Ten might not be the most punctual but you know he listens to Sicheng, even if it’s reluctantly.

Your impatience gets the better of you and you leave the counter to peer out the glass door. Unfortunately, someone pushes open the door right then and you clutch your nose, eyes watering at the painful impact. 

Ten looks petrified for a moment before turning around and leaving. You furrow your eyebrows, tears brimming from the pain in your nose and mixing into the exasperation from getting so bluntly ignored. Come on, Ten. You curse on your way back to the lonely counter. There goes the only thing you were looking forward to this evening. Sicheng walks in a while later, a sour look on his face.

“He actually gave me a mouthful,” he mutters angrily. “Can you believe that? Me. Who’s listened to all his lovesick ramblings about y—theatre.” 

You slump onto the counter further, the bright orange background of the store more headache-inducing than optimistic. 

“God, this is so much more difficult than I expected.”

“What happened between the two of you anyway? I thought you promised to call him every day.”

“I tried, okay? He wouldn’t pick up.”

Sicheng raises an eyebrow. “Woah. Haven’t heard about that one.”

He places the single pack of Lays onto the counter. You get up to pull the chocolate ice cream from the cooler.

“Don’t bother. It’s so depressing getting shut out like this.”

Sicheng mutters something under his breath you don’t quite catch. It’s his complaining voice though, so you don’t question him. 

“He’s going to be at the Bridge tomorrow,” Sicheng notifies. “Something about getting fresh early morning air. Now, there’s no way you can run into him and call it coincidence. So don’t do that.”

You cross your arms. “So what do you suggest I do?”

“I mean, if you’re accompanying Mr. Yang to the dahlia fields for flower shop business… that’s a different story.”

Your eyes brighten and you sit up. “You’re a genius!”

“I’ve been telling you guys since—”

You hug him and he chokes, almost dropping the Lays pack. The door opens and you hurriedly wave at Yangyang, who’s here for the next shift before running out the door in a hurricane of bad decisions and good intentions.

“I hate being the middleman,” Sicheng mutters to Yangyang who offers him a pitiful look. The evening returns to its pink skies and you race your feelings to your destination.

//

“Mr. Yang,” you whine. “You don’t need a single dahlia? I’m offering to help.”

The older man scratches his spotless white beard and looks at you in confusion. “I gathered a whole cartload just three days ago. There’s no way I need more. You know this place—no one buys flowers anymore.”

“I’ll buy them! A whole cartload.”

“And where will you get the money, child?”

“Uh.”

Mr. Yang shakes his head at your immaturity. “If you’re so eager, get me some chrysanthemums from Mrs. Leong’s sh—”

“No. It has to be from the other side of the Bridge,” you interject. 

Mr. Yang is further perplexed but you’re glad he doesn’t ask further. Having to explain your love and friendship troubles to a senior citizen has never been an ideal situation. You make a face at the thought.

“Alright,” he says and takes a few moments to ponder. “You want an errand to run, right? Could you get me some sunflower seeds from Goodwin Park?”

“That far?”

He sighs. “Do you want to go or not?”

You nod reluctantly, checking your phone to see the time. It’s early as fuck and the only person you’d wake up this early for doesn’t even know you’re doing all this.

“It’s to feed the birds, isn’t it?” You raise an eyebrow. 

Mr Yang nods.

“You know, you don’t have to do all that to get Mrs. Leong to notice you.” You offer him a cheeky grin.

“I’m assuming it’s also a person you’re doing all of this for,” he hums in reply.  

You drop your grin and take the errand money, heat rising in your cheeks. Exiting quickly, you check the time again. Ten better not have left early.

Shortcuts are better when there’s someone with you, you decide. You have gained around five long scratches at five different places on your body trying to best the hill beside Maple Street in order to get to the Bridge faster. If Ten were here, he'd laugh at you for being so graceless. 

The Bridge is empty when you arrive and you sigh deeply. You’re not sure if you’re early or he’s late or you’re astronomically late. The grass is still a golden green in colour, for autumn never truly comes in when you’re expecting it. The little stream below the Bridge is almost dried up but the wooden structure stays. You remember Sicheng broke his leg once, trying to catch Ten’s family cat pawing at fish in the stream when it used to be fuller.

You greet Mr. Santello at his garden and buy the sunflower seeds. Your errand is complete but the rising agitation in your chest makes you kick a rock on the way back to the Bridge. This side of the town is bleak except for the garden and the only fun you’ve had here is when a beehive dropped on Yukhei’s head (he poked at it himself with no provocation from your side whatsoever). The scenery is much prettier with someone to appreciate it. You, on the other hand, cannot wait to leave this town. You walk back with certain memories playing in your head, the smell of nostalgia rising with the sun. You’ve always hated early mornings; but you did have fun in them when you had to wake up for school trips. You hold your breath, stopping right before the beginning of the Bridge.

Ten leans against the wooden rails of the Bridge, Starmill Bridge, with eyes gently closed and white earphones plugged in. You smile to yourself. When the sunlight draws across his cheeks, he seems brighter than golden skies and softer than late afternoon clouds. You see the boy from your childhood, messy unbrushed hair and his favourite grey sweater. He’s so full of colour. You wouldn’t mind staring at him for as long as you can.

You take a step and your hoodie catches onto a stray nail, making you stumble onto the wooden floor of the Bridge. You look at your scattered boxes of sunflower seeds with horror but not before finding Ten plucking out his earphone to look at you. He’s so pretty even in a daze.

“Hi?” you offer. “I was on an errand, promise. Not stalking you and trying to get you to talk to me or anything. Hah.”

Ten shakes his head at you and quietly stares for a few more moments.

“I don’t want to talk to you right now,” he answers finally. “Stop trying.”

You look at him with a flickering guilt though you’re not sure why. He sighs and walks toward you, frowning. He takes out the cloth of your hoodie stuck in the nail with tentative care. Gathering the boxes of sunflower seeds scattered on the floor, he glances at you once before getting up.

You grab his hand before he can walk away again. 

“Ten,” you say, your voice coming off more pitiful than you would like. 

He turns back at you with lips pursed and a sorrowful look in his eyes. 

“Sorry,” he whispers. “I need to work some things out.”

Ten leaves you hanging for a third time in your life and you pull yourself together enough to stand up. You can’t imagine—you don’t want to imagine how much longer this’ll go on. Ten used to be an amenable boy; it shouldn’t be taking this long.

Somewhere the wind comes tumbling in, whispering the words that everything has changed and everything is still changing.

//

The third and last attempt is outside his house. Ten’s mother is bound to notice you at some point, right? Considering you’re camping out like a homeless man from the nearby gas station, that is. You hope she’s out for grocery shopping and you can just pretend you were on your way home and ‘accidentally’ bumped into her. Being the kind soul she is, she’s going to invite you to dinner since it’s late already. And where else can you spend your time while she cooks but in Ten’s room? It’s perfect and there’s no way he can avoid this.

“(name)!” Ten’s sister yells in glee. 

“Tern!” You smile at her.

“Mom’s sending me for grocery shopping. Do you wanna come help?”

You want to go inside the house but patience is quite possibly a virtue. You haven’t tried it out yet. 

“Sure.” You grin. “I’ve got time to kill.”

So, you are aware that Ten’s sister tends to shoot off at the mouth with the right person but you somehow cannot get her to talk about Ten. Apart from his life in New York, that is, which you had hoped to hear from him. 

“So… how come you’re not in our house already? No offense, it’s just you and Ten… you know.” She looks at you with an inquisitive quirk of her eyebrow. 

Ten must be a really good actor. Not like you ever doubted him but for his sister to be so blissfully unaware, he must have put on quite the show. Either that, or he really has forgotten you. You try not to feed fire to that thought.

“Uh, you know, been busy with the snack shack. We’re redecorating. Mr. Kim is going to boil me alive if I slack off.”

She giggles at your expression. “I heard it from Yangyang. He said the redecorations are ugly though.”

You raise your eyebrows. “Ten let you talk to Yangyang? A boy?”

She crosses her arms with a disbelieving laugh. “He can’t tell me how to live. Besides, he doesn’t care.”

You laugh. “Right. You have no idea how overprotective he can actually be. Older brother instincts or whatever.”

She suppresses a laugh. “And you must be facing the boyfriend instincts.”

You stammer out a response but it doesn’t make any sense. It’s alright to get laughed at, you suppose, if Tern is in fits beside you.

The rest of the conversation is about things less important. It would be rude to not engage though so you talk with enthusiasm all the way back. Part of you sees Ten in his sister. How terrible of you to see someone else in a person right beside you.

“(name)!” 

Ten’s mother looks pleasantly surprised. 

“Good evening, ma’am!” You curtsy in an exaggerated manner, and she laughs, patting your arm. 

“How come it took you so long to visit? You hardly ever came over these few years, and I’m a little upset about that by the way, but I thought for sure, you’d be in the house the day Ten came back.”

You scratch the back of your head sheepishly. “You know. Work and stuff. Mr Kim is redecorating the store.”

She exhales in annoyance. “Is that man exploiting you children again?”

“I’m—uh… I’m an adult—”

“Hush,” she instructs, voice strict and you zip your mouth immediately. Never question a mother’s statement.

“Ten’s in his room, by the way. Should I call him?” she asks, after a minute of complaining about Mr. Kim, which you would have loved to join but there are other matters at hand. She has all the gossip in town and yet, she’s somehow blissfully unaware of the silence between her son and his best friend. Are you not as important? It makes you pout but you quickly neutralize your expression.

“Ten!” she shouts when you don’t respond, a little lost in your own thoughts.

“Uh—oh no, you don’t have to do that!” you say quickly. “I’ll just go to his room.”

You hurry up the stairs, just in time for Ten to open his bedroom door and jump back in fright.

“Oh my fucking god,” he mutters, like the soul has been kicked straight out of his body. In any other situation, you would’ve loved to give him a scare.

You walk into the bedroom and lock the door behind you. 

“Ten. We need to talk.”

“I don’t wanna talk,” he says, furrowing his eyebrows. You notice the change in his features—his hair has grown out, his face is more chiseled and he has an angry quirk to his brows. “I told you I need some space. You never know how to listen, fuck.”

His voice is a low whisper, in the short space between you. You don’t move from your spot, with your back against the wall and feet nervous. You shift from foot to foot and look him in the eye before looking away. You’ve never felt this way around him. You’ve never actually pissed him off this bad. You don’t know what to do.

“Just leave. God. I can’t believe you think you can just walk in!”

You frown at his words. “Ten. I just wanted to talk to you again. We’re friends—”

“How does it matter if we are? Everything’s changed. This whole place has changed. I’ve changed.” 

“But… that doesn’t mean we have to pretend we’re strangers—”

“Leave. Please.”

His voice is so low and odd that you don’t recognize it anymore. You sigh. You can’t convince him when he’s so defensive. You open the door to his bedroom to find Ten’s mom and sister in the hallway trying very hard to pretend they weren’t eavesdropping. You offer them a sad smile and thank his mother for the dinner before taking your leave. You feel too ridiculous to cry.

How do people put in all that effort in romantic comedies? You don't even know where to start. Maybe you should follow the King's advice from Alice in Wonderland. 

Begin at the beginning and go on until you come to the end; then stop.

No. No, you can't be thinking of ending scenes right now. There's a much bigger problem at hand. Saturday. You better brace yourself for the unpredictability of former prom queens and class presidents, and the predictability of this small town that never changes. 

act i scene iii.

High school reunion parties here aren’t exactly mawkish affairs. There’s alcohol, people who are meant to be adults but haven’t quite grown into it yet, the looming woods, and more alcohol. There's no room for sentimentalism when your former classmates, seniors and juniors—those who could be here, at least—are back together and it feels like nothing has changed at all. However, college-age boys always pose problems. 

“Look, if Johnny can do it, so can I,” Yukhei tells you. 

Johnny smacks his shoulder encouragingly, and a few of your friends giggle at the two lanky men, looking like they’ve discovered something priceless beside the campfire light.

“This beer tastes like crap,” you mutter before returning to a regular volume. “But go ahead and try chugging two bottles in under a minute if you want.”

Your backhanded statement backfires almost immediately because he does exactly as you said. Pinching the bridge of your nose, you try not to peek at Ten, sitting beside Johnny and looking rather sleepy. It’s the bedhead, you think to yourself. It’s cute.

“Alright, who’s next?” Yukhei asks, voice booming enthusiastically. 

Yeri sighs beside you, tired from the late night and not so much from the alcohol. Speaking of which, the alcohol table is somehow still stocked and Sicheng stands beside it, looking sour from being forced into guard duty. 

“Tell him to pipe down,” Yeri mutters, pressing her forehead against your shoulder and you look at her apologetically. 

“(name) hasn’t answered anything yet!” Sooyoung pipes up and you shoot her a look she ignores. “Neither has Ten, by the way.”

A bunch of “ooh”s pass through the crowd of roughly twenty people, and you would bury your face in your hands were it not for that stubborn pride of yours. 

Truth or dare is quite possibly the worst game in the history of mankind. Ten looks somewhat flustered under the attention but he just sighs. 

“Get it over with.” He looks at Yukhei expectantly.

“Kiss (name)!”

Your heart drops and you glare at Yukhei. You should have expected it. There is no one more unimaginative than drunk boys. His cheeks are flushed when he grins at you, encouraging you with a thumbs up gesture. 

“He doesn’t have to do that.” You cross your arms. “Consent is important even in fun and games.”

The sentence is so didactic of you but you hope the seriousness in your voice makes him back off.

“But you guys are, like, in love with each other,” Yangyang blurts before covering mouth as if he said something scandalous.

A bunch of chuckles follow, though Johnny shows some concern towards Ten. You remember why you hate high school reunions now. Apart from the fact that almost everyone gets to tell their stories of big cities and big dreams they get to live in, everyone turns into a child again when at a reunion. Perhaps it’s the burst of memories or the vivid glow of old connections returning but you can’t stand childishness. Even if you’re the one to act like a child sometimes.

“I’m gonna go drink,” you say. “That’s the punishment, right? I’m not playing anymore.”

Yukhei groans. “Come on, (name). You wouldn’t be such a bore.”

“I would,” you snap and get up from your seat, Yeri muttering in annoyance before leaning onto Sooyoung’s shoulder.

Ten is glowing in the cheeks, you find when you look at him. He meets your eyes once and looks away, playing with his fingers. 

You pour yourself some beer into a cup and lift it up to show to Yukhei before striding off to a place farther than the warmth of people and the campfire. The giant log is a nice enough seat by the edge of the woods. It is cold and mossy though, and you hug yourself, sticking your hands into the pockets of your cardigan.

The sound of footsteps over dried leaves catch your attention and you look up. Ten takes a seat beside you in silence. You move the cup of beer so that it doesn’t spill from any sudden movement. It’s quiet for even longer, your pulse the only rhythm to follow.

"Ten." You smile, looking away from him and into the ceaseless stretch of woods. He hums in response, as though a habit yet to get rid of. It makes you bite down your lip to prevent the smile from turning into something sadder.

You miss him. You miss the years you spent with him. You're drawn into him, into something old, familiar and safe. 

No one can save you when you’re homesick. 

However, you do not give up easily. What is broken can be mended with enough love and care.

Ten sighs, taking the cup from you right before it touches your lips. "Don't drink that. You hate the taste and it makes you go crazy."

You pout, but can't really find something snarky enough to say. Not when he looks like that—with dry, still-red lips and tired, apologetic eyes.

“Your forehead is so oily,” you mutter.

Ten looks at you, furrowing his eyebrows. He proceeds to hesitantly wipe at his forehead with the sleeve of his sweatshirt before shaking himself out of it. Instead he just glares at you.

“It’s not oilier than your nose,” he shoots, annoyed. 

“At least my nose isn’t titan-sized.”

“My nose is perfect. Do you- do you know how many people fall in love with my perfect nose every day?”

You laugh, covering your face. His features soften and he returns his gaze to the comfort of the endless forest. It does have an end, at the fences by the railway tracks but in believing that something can be infinite, you find comfort. 

"New York treated you well. Too well. But then again, you were always a narcissist."

You smile smugly at him and he gives you an unamused look.

"I'm… I'm glad we're talking," you offer after a few moments of unacknowledged silence.

He tenses ever so slightly, running a hand through his already messy hair and looks at you. He looks away again as if in an internal debate.

“You rejected me, (name),” he says, exasperated. “How do I recover from that? Don’t answer. It was so embarrassing.”

You close your mouth. If only you could tell him the truth. You had to reject him or your sentimental boy would never leave for acting opportunities. He doesn’t have to know that. You’re fine with loving him quietly. You’re fine with loving him quietly.

But the truth is, it’s too scary to think about. You’ve been refusing to look at your feelings for a long time now. It’s only a cliche; it doesn't happen in real life. You’re too good of friends to be in love. Isn’t that right? It certainly couldn't have been you to fall in love with Ten. There were a million other people to do that in your stead. You feel shy all of a sudden.

“That was pretty embarrassing,” you mumble, pressing down your smile and he rolls his eyes.

After a few moments in silence, a sigh escapes his lips. “I’ve had enough time for closure though. I can’t believe I actually said that. Oh, the over-sentimentalism. Yikes.”

He makes a disgusted face.

You giggle. “I can’t believe it either. You do look cute blushing, by the way. You find any lover in the big, scary city? Any rebound?” 

Ten rolls his eyes. “Too busy. And are you going to tease me forever about this thing?”

You laugh. “That’s the Ten I know. You’re always working. Sometimes you should have fun.” 

“I have plenty of fun. You’re the one that used to cry at birthday parties.”

“I was six years old and it was one time, holy shit.”

The two of you break into laughter. The cold makes you draw nearer to him.

“Hey, wanna go to the mall this weekend?” you suggest.

“Wait, it’s still there? Wasn’t it supposed to get knocked down?”

“Yeah but the townsfolk didn’t want that so they delayed it. There’s, like, barely any employees though. It’s like a ghost mansion at night.”

Ten makes a face. “The afternoons there were so bright, like, there was so much sunlight, remember? I remember you always drinking my banana milk at the food plaza.”

You laugh. “I miss skipping class to go there. Now there aren’t any classes to skip.”

“Oh my god, remember when Mr. Wilson actually caught us?”

You laugh louder. “We had to pretend we weren’t his students. Which was futile acting because he knows every student.” 

Ten sighs. 

“I missed you. God, I’m so fucking sorry—I was in over my head. I thought I ruined everything.”

“Hey.” You scoot closer, wrapping your arms around him. “I missed you too. Besides, it’s not you if you’re not being a bit of a drama queen.”

Ten elbows you in the side at the comment and you yelp, moving away and glaring at him in response. 

“Just because I’m in theatre doesn’t mean I’m a drama queen.” He mocks the tone of your voice and you giggle.

“So any special Broadway stories you have in mind? I wanna hear something funny.” You rest your head on his shoulder comfortably.

"Well, one time this actress' dress caught on fire—"

"That's not funny, that's horrifying."

Ten purses his lips. “Okay. Uh… I got told to fuck off by an eighty year old man in drag after I threw raw steak at his window?”

You snort, eyes widening and Ten throws up his hands in exasperation. "How is that remotely funny?"

"I'm pretty sure that's as funny as it gets with you."

"I can't believe you're pretending I didn't carry our sense of humour on my back for all of middle school and high school."

“I missed you," you say quietly, and he flusters, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Really? You're not just saying that?"

You sigh, inching closer. "Yes. I did miss you, you know? I called."

"And I didn't pick up. I know. I'm sorry."

"I think you've apologized to me more times now than you have in our first twenty years of friendship."

Ten rolls his eyes. "And I mean it. It's not the 'sorry I ate your cookies' apology."

"I fucking knew you were the one eating stuff from my bag back in high school."

Ten presses his lips, making a zipping motion and you push him in exasperation. The two of you laugh, loud and clear, before Johnny's voice comes in, telling the two of you to "stop fooling around near the woods" and that it's "unhygienic".

Seasons change but people don't. You walk home with Ten for the first time in a year and suddenly, you’re in love with the idea that things can just lie in complete peace once they fall back into what was always meant to be. Perhaps it’s the writer’s utopia, but you think it’s much more meaningful this way. Ten's hoodie smells just like home.

prologue.

It was a sunlit morning when you first met Ten, but it was only a sunlit morning. There were no birds chirping or faceless adults on that sidewalk or even your friends because you don’t recall them. You recall a child with two very important teeth missing and your sudden urge to run to his side. You’d pulled his cheek with a huge grin on your face because, and you still stand by this, they were too cute and plump and red to resist.

You were three and a half years old when you met Ten and you parted when you were twenty. One year later, you're back to linking arms, joking about each other and talking about life as though it's a passing stream. 

You were six years old when you cried at Ten's birthday party because no one was talking to him. It gave you an evening's worth of attention and a huge smile on Ten's face. You still think kids are mean as hell but they care for things like they have never cared before. 

You were eleven years old when you started to lose a little bit of touch with yourself. You talked less, you looked at people more. Ten's face was still the most comforting out of all. He said he liked to listen no matter how annoying you sound. Somehow, by the time sixth grade was over, when you were almost twelve—you talked at least twice as much. 

You were fourteen years old when you dated a boy out of curiosity and left on an awkward note when he moved away. You weren't sad for some reason. The idea of life passing meaninglessly by was engraved into you, like the waves that carve the beach. Ten was distant the whole time, with a scowl and more sarcastic remarks than usual, only warming up when you showed up at his door with a homemade cake. It tasted horrible and had the texture of a mossy pebble but you laughed over it anyway. Suddenly, life wasn't meandering but a river full of vigor in spring, beside a garden of fresh crested irises. 

You were sixteen when you were pushed to audition in a play by your best friend. The play was about life and death and love, and it didn’t make sense to you the way it did to him. You had good fun backstage with the costumes and the makeup, and it was all that mattered to you. However, some part of you didn't like it, hated it even when he kissed the female lead of the play with eyes full of adoration. You looked on as Villager B and you hated every part of it.

When you were eighteen turning nineteen, you decided to save up for college. It would take time—years perhaps but you would get there. You would get an apartment with Ten in New York City or any city full of bustling, busy life and you would tend to your rooftop garden. Small town dreams, however, die and they die and they’re buried in unloved, unplanted soil. 

You finally understood what your tenth grade English teacher meant when she said everything is theatre. 

The night he left, you had a nightmare. It was a play and you were the protagonist. You couldn’t make it in time for the night of the performance, anxious and afraid as you arrived. You’d been replaced. You hated to see him on stage with someone else. You hated it. You hated it. You hated it so much. 

Of course, you knew it would be a showstopper the moment that fight broke out between you and your replacement. You were cruel in that dream—almost as if you were someone else. But you felt comfortable in that skin, like you were meant to play that part after all. As if you were the villain all along and not the sweetheart of the show. You felt comfortable and it scared you so much that you woke in cold sweat and cried for an hour straight.

It hurt how lonely you felt. It hurt without Ten and you hate that you let him go. Something took shape inside the cavity of your chest, the shape of a weed sprouting in the pulsing garden of life—you won’t make the same mistake again. You’re going to hold on with all your might, till your hands ache and till your heart has had enough. 

ACT II: YOUTH 

 act ii scene i.

“Have you ever actually shoplifted in your life?”

“Oh, shut up.”

Ten tries to suppress his smile and fails, moving so that his back covers you from view instead. A conversation about New York subways led to a conversation about anarchy which led to… this. You’ve been trying to swipe the butterfly pin from the display for the past half an hour. You weren’t actually going to steal it—you just need to prove you can.

The mall is always eerily empty. It shouldn’t be this big of a hassle. Ah yes, apart from the fact that the souvenir shop has stationed the most number of employees for some goddamn reason. You’re not even sure why it’s there; a souvenir shop for your town might as well be a forgotten relic.

“What? No,” he says quickly. “I’m not doing that. Causing trouble is your thing.”

You snort. “Right. Because everything we got into trouble for was done completely by me.”

“That’s actually true.”

You elbow him, giving him your most offended look.

“You can’t be serious about never causing trouble. You broke Mrs. Leung’s famous ruler, remember? And you always stole your mom’s Halloween cupcakes. Those were for all of the theatre crew, by the way.”

“That doesn’t sound right, darling.”

When you look up at him with eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, you find him smiling in somewhat tranquil thought. It has been rather long. 

“Yeah, I helped you way too much,” you respond, distastefully. 

The two of you straighten at the cashier’s call. Responding that everything’s fine, Ten turns to you with a pointed look.

“If you’re going to do it, better do it before she gets suspicious.”

The hint in his eyes reminds you that he is indeed the devil you know, and you quickly pocket the little butterfly hairpin. This is not ethical in any way and even so, you feel the childish exhilaration. This is to prove a point to your dear friend.

“See?” you whisper to him, exiting the shop. “I could totally pull this off.”

“Not if I start screaming ‘thief!’”

“Did you ever get to play a villain at Broadway? It’s closest to your personality,” you jab.

He sends you a sardonic smile before sticking his tongue out. You should always beware a childish man and his childish smile. You never know if he’ll take you seriously. Ten is the absolute worst and you love him all the more for it.

“Are you actually not gonna pay for it?” he asks, tilting his head. 

“And let all those proceeds go to our corrupt overlord mayor? Nuh-uh.”

Ten laughs. “We should go vandalize his campaign posters again.”

The mayor has had, you don’t know how many, little scandals accusing him of embezzlement and every time, he’s escaped easy as pie. All the things you can do with money and you decide to hoard more money; you will never understand people like him. Besides, you won’t have to worry about that any time soon.

“See? You’re the troublemaker. I can’t even vandalize good enough.”

“It’s not my fault you have zero artistic talent.”

You place your hands on your hips. “I’m sorry? I’m pretty sure I taught you how to paint.”

Ten rolls his eyes, a sneaky smile on his lips. “Yeah. You taught the whole class how to paint when you smacked Mr. Cheng with that paintbrush.”

You can’t help the laugh that comes to you, despite trying your best to hold a serious expression.

“You’re a disaster,” he adds, staring incredulously at your fit of laughter. 

You look at him and start laughing again.

“Oh my god, what’s so funny? I wasn’t even trying to be funny.”

“Okay, emo boy,” you say, finally straightening and messing his hair.

“I was going to get a haircut.”

“Don’t. You look pretty.”

Ten hums, raising an eyebrow. “But I wanna look hot.”

“That’s going to take a lot of effort.”

Ten grabs you in a chokehold, messing your hair with his hands in the most obnoxious way possible. Finally able to loosen his grip on you, you look at him with your most fearsome glare. He has to stop treating you so gracelessly.

It’s not unusual for him to behave this way; in fact, you welcome it when he’s warm and much lovelier than the usual. But something feels amiss, something dangerous like the passage of time. 

“Ten?”

“Yes?”

“I thought you’d be talking much more about New York instead of our boring old town.”

He hums, eyes scanning the vicinity of the mall’s first floor. There’s an ice cream shop opposite to the souvenir shop, unvisited due its lack of variety in flavours, and a spacious marble floor with most of the shops closed for renovation. The other two floors are closed off completely but you’re sure that with enough effort, you could sneak in. The glass ceiling at the centre allows for sunlight to wash in as gentle waves, settling on your heads like golden crowns. There are little potted plants lining the walls to make the mall space look less dilapidated but it gives off the same effect as that of something abandoned, left alone and waiting. 

“You want me to brag about it?” He addresses you with a slightly cocky grin.

You roll your eyes. “Never mind.”

The mayor wanted to turn this place into some sort of religious campus but you detest the idea of that man getting his way. He’s the very same man to reprimand little girls for their outfits and to say “dancing is not manly” so you do owe his nauseating sexism for your distaste for him. That, and he has absolutely no sense of aesthetics. You would die before you let him remove the gardens or the livelier buildings blessed with the only colours you can bear to look at. 

“Hey, (name)?”

“Yeah?”

“I think Angry Cashier is making her way towards you.”

You snap your head to the souvenir shop and the cashier is indeed eyeing you suspiciously. You reach to pat your pocket but you’re stopped by Ten.

“You are, by far, the stupidest thief I’ve ever known.”

You puff your cheeks in annoyance, crossing your arms instead. Just when you think the cashier is going to call you out, the two of you sprint over to the mall exit with a plausible enough speed.

“We didn’t have to run, you know?” Ten complains as soon as you’re out and a street or two away. 

“What’s the fun in committing a crime if we don’t get to run?”

“I don’t know, it could be a brain exercise—oh wait. You don’t have one.”

You stick your tongue out at him, walking faster to get away from him.

“Hey!”

He jogs up to you, eyebrows furrowed and ready to spit some sass at you, no doubt.

“I thought you’d be more athletic. Dancing and all.”

“Yeah, no.”

You fix the hair in front of his eyes as he leans over on his knees, a look in his eyes as though caught off guard. They’re a lovely shade of honey, his eyes. They look at you with emotions you can't quite fathom and with the innocence of a love borne between friends who have been forced to endure the mediocrity of this town together. It’s a good reason, you believe, to be friends. Friends are meant to help each other, to save each other and to be there at the lowest. You can check all the boxes. It might have been a while but you’re friends and friends that grow up together stay together. The idea is naive but you cannot possibly look into a future without Ten. There must be a reason behind everything that is given to you. Even right now, as the silence starts to nip at you, you believe you were meant to make full circle. Fate is a funny thing and you wouldn’t believe in it ever, even for a surprise twenty dollar bill vending machine miracle, but it’s comforting enough to let settle on the two of you. 

The lead actors go hand in hand.

“Are you going to keep staring at me? I know I’m tragically beautiful—”

“No, you’re beautifully tragic. Your face, that is.”

“I stopped listening after beautiful, so I believe you agreed with me there.”

You roll your eyes. 

“You and your unyielding confidence can go fuck itself. I’ve seen you cry over a cat movie.”

Ten sputters out a response. “But- but Garfield saved that dog despite every fiber of his being telling him not to. He could’ve lived a happy, peaceful life but he saved him. How is that not incredibly touching?”

“You’re weird. Garfield’s cute though.”

“Like me.”

You wrinkle your nose. “What are we, twelve?”

“I was having my rebellious punk phase then, so no. I would never have said that when I was twelve.”

You laugh. “God, you looked so funny back then.”

“I thought we agreed to not bring up stuff from our teenage years.”

You press your lips together in an attempt to stop the laugh but a tiny giggle comes out anyway. The sun is going to set in an hour. You better make use of your time.

“Ready to go vandalize some posters?” you ask, grinning.

“You know what? I have a better idea. We should go pick some flowers.”

You blink at him. “That’s not remotely punk or rebellious.”

“Shh. You like picking flowers. Remember how we used to joke you should be hired at weddings instead of the flower girls?”

You make a face. “Why on earth would I fling flowers in the air at weddings? That’s not even a respectable job.”

“It suits you.”

“We should be kinder to our arboreal friends.” You cross your arms. “I’d rather tend to a garden than pick flowers for stupid occasions.”

“Tree-hugger.”

You pull up your middle finger and he laughs, fixing his hair right back into the messy waves.

“Why do you hate weddings?” he asks all of a sudden.

“Oh, you know. Icky stuff.”

“No one’s having sex at the wedding.”

“That’s not what I meant by icky stuff. It’s that gross feeling in the air. What’s it called?”

“Love?”

“Please, there’s hardly any love at weddings. It’s all pretend.”

Ten rolls his eyes, chuckling. “You think all the brides and bridegrooms in the world are pretending at their own weddings?”

“If you say it like that…” You grumble. “I don’t believe you need to celebrate love, that’s all. It’s always there, you know?”

You look up to see Ten pressing his fist to his mouth to keep himself from laughing and scoff in disbelief.

“What’s so funny? Seriously, stop laughing—oh for fuck’s sake.”

Soon enough, Ten is crouching by the sidewalk in a fit of laughter which causes a hot flush rising over your neck. You weren’t trying to be cheesy. Now, your best friend is hellbent on making you feel embarrassed. 

“It wasn’t that cringe. Come on. Get up, asshole.”

“You were- you were just so—” He takes a moment to catch his breath, a few short laughs erupting from him nonetheless. “You looked so serious when you said that.”

Your face is hot enough for you to look away now. “Whatever,” you mumble.

“It was cute. You looked really cute,” he continues, somewhat sobered up. “And brave. You always say things with so much confidence that it’s brave. I’m glad you are the way you are.”

You look at him, slightly dazed before your cheeks puff up to prevent yourself from laughing.

“I regret saying that. You are the big, hideous regret of my life.”

“I thought I was cute?” Your snickers turn into laughter again.

“Fuck off.”

“Thanks, Ten. You’re really good to me.”

Ten shakes his head before walking away, leaving you to call after him in phrases of ‘wait up!’ and ‘when did you get so fast?’ as you try to catch up. You sometimes wonder if he likes being chased. You reach the busiest crossing in this town, with about four cars waiting at the stop sign. You’re not sure why anyone follows the traffic rules if there isn’t even any traffic.

Looking up, you gasp at the moon peeking over a still young sky. You're suddenly reminded of those afternoon naps you had in Ten’s room, the both of you fascinated by the idea of waking up and seeing the sky a whole different colour. The idea that time changes everything was still fresh in your minds then, the impact gentle if not loving. It’s quite late you found that time can steal just as much as it gives.

“Remember when we dyed your hair red?”

“I will, and I shit you not, physically assault you for saying anything about that.”

You laugh at the memory of his awkward hairdo. “No, the other time. When we were seventeen.”

“Oh yeah, I received like eight love letters for that.”

“No, you didn’t.”

He did look pretty, and just in time for Valentine’s day’s theme of red roses and nauseating pink hearts.

“I have proof.” Ten leans his elbow against the street lamp, missing it completely and stumbling backwards till he regains his balance. He gives you an impish smile, running a hand through his hair and breathing out. 

You roll your eyes, ignoring his words. “I think we never took pictures of that.”

“So… what are you suggesting?”

“One good picture,” you answer, pulling out your phone and taking a picture of him off guard. Looking at it, you pout. It’s so unfair that he gets to look nice even in a hazy evening picture. 

Ten rolls his eyes, snatching your phone. “Let me show you how to take good pictures. Not whatever crap you have going on.”

You cross your arms, huffing but agree nonetheless when he forces you to pose by the street light. He blabbers on something about composition and colours that goes straight over your head but you can’t deny that the picture came out ridiculously well. You might have to change all your socials with a new profile picture.

“See? You can thank me with a kiss,” he says, a cheeky smile across his face.

You press your lips to his cheek in a swift motion, a smack sound resounding from it. It was uncalled for, you think, because Ten freezes for a few seconds in an uncharacteristic manner. He shakes his head, a scream dying in his throat before turning to you with the most scandalized look.

“Oh my god, what did you do that for?” he says, rubbing at his cheek in a teasing manner.

You wrap your arms around him, furthering his protests although he ends up smiling wide. “You asked for it, honey.”

“Nicknames are my thing. Stop trying to copy me, it’s embarrassing.”

"Okay, now let's take a picture together," you suggest pulling him closer.

He clicks his tongue and takes the phone from you, and when his hand rests upon the small of your back, you try to freeze up. His face is near yours, not unlike the usual but you feel your heartbeat hike up. It's a strange feeling.

"Now, can we go home?" Ten asks, handing you your phone. "I can't believe your background is rilakkuma."

"I'll change it," you respond, voice strangely quiet. You're only half smiling but Ten's smile is full and bright, eyes honey-pure. "To us."

Ten hums in satisfaction and offers his hand like a gentleman from another century, something you tend to exaggerate and you take it with a laugh. The two of you walk with entangled arms and playful skips over the pavement, getting the same old looks from passersby as you did as children and teenagers. The traffic lights glow a gentle hue below the mature blue evening sky, fading easily. You realize as gently as waves lapping at the shore that you missed Ten so bad it still hurts in the hole he left. 

act ii scene ii.

Any weekend in a boring little town of flowers starts with the news of parties. It used to be Johnny sending invites but now it’s mostly just Yukhei calling people for impromptu college parties. Now, you are aware that college parties are horrendous in every shape and form; you are also aware that the two hour car ride to the city college isn’t safe. But it’s easy to ignore hackneyed advice to stay away from parties and alcohol and weed when you’re young and have a ridiculously large group of friends.

The drive isn’t the worst part. At least the drive to the party isn’t; the drive back is usually too hazed to be memorable. Sicheng’s driving this time and with a lot of grumbling but he gets enough pitiful pats to the back and cheek to stop it. Ten has his feet up on the dashboard, having called shotgun before you by one fucking second. You’re stuck with Sooyoung and Johnny in the backseat, sandwiched uncomfortably at that, but you lean forward enough to nag Ten the whole time.

“(name),” Sooyoung calls in a sing-song voice. “Your overly affectionate looks for Ten are showing and it’s not even eleven yet.”

You furrow your eyebrows, stammering out a response and regretting it immediately. “You’re- You’ve been teasing me about this forever.”

“No, she’s right,” Johnny joins in. “Come on, there isn’t even alcohol involved. Yet.”

You roll your eyes, shrinking into yourself as the two of them laugh on either side of you. Sicheng says something along the lines of ‘nauseating’ and ‘idiotic’ but he gets an elbow jab from Ten.

“I’m driving,” he hisses.

“Into every sidewalk we come across?” Ten shoots back.

Another bout of laughter rings through, and this time you can smile too. It’s not that you’re particularly bothered by the teasing; it’s just uncharted territories you have no desire to chart. You always thought you’d meet Prince Charming on a balcony in a summer evening, and this is optional, but it should happen with ‘Love Story’ by Taylor Swift playing in the background. It’s quite inane to assume it would be your best friend, whom you have spent countless summer evenings listening to old Taylor Swift songs with.

Before you were aware of college house parties, you thought things like these would be more of a less-people-more-booze sort of situation. Turns out, the alcohol to people ratio is nearly the same. Stumbling out of the entrance to the frat house, Yukhei greets the lot of you with a dazed smile before promptly throwing up into the bushes. Rolling your eyes, you pat his back while Sooyoung gets some water from her purse.

“How many drinks was it this time, Yukhei?” Ten teases. “Half? Three-quarters? No wait, that’s a stretch.”

“Very funny,” Yukhei mutters, somehow still upbeat despite his continuous retching. “I bet you’d be drunk after a shot of whatever the hell I had too.”

Adjusting his jacket, Ten narrows his eyes at Yukhei with an incredulous look. “Okay, you’re on. Let’s go.”

Sicheng raises his hands alarmed, but Ten has disappeared into the swarms of people before any sound can leave him.

“He was supposed to drive on the way back,” Sicheng complains. He opens his mouth in sudden realization and then turns to you. You look from him to Johnny and Sooyoung who share a look and walk briskly into the party with a thumbs-up gesture.

“Oh. Oh no,” you say.

“No, yes,” Sicheng responds.

You shake your head and laugh before sprinting inside, Sicheng’s yells of protest fading out.

Yukhei wasn’t kidding when he said his frat hosts the craziest parties. There’s far too many people here, at least far too many for Ten to have fun. You like the energy of the crowd though, all in their own zones and dancing to old party pop songs. The smell of alcohol hits you so strong at first that you have to take a breather in the little garden space they have. It’s more of an overgrown shrubbery instead of a garden but any green will do. Walking back in, you feel much more comfortable when you take a shot of vodka from a girl passed out on the couch. Laughing, you look around for familiar faces. Parties, however, are not the place to look for faces at all. You think you just spotted a fur neck warmer tied around a dude’s waist while he performs some Neanderthal variant of belly dancing.

You bump into a guy of fairly tall stature, a polite apology tumbling from his lips.

Furrowing your eyebrows, you chuckle in amusement. “You’re not a party kind of guy, are you?”

He stares at you with a placid expression, intrigued. “And how would you know?”

“First, you’re not drunk. Two, you look grossed out by those dudes on the bar table. Three, you’re making conversation with me instead of dancing.”

“So you’re saying I can’t make conversation and dance at the same time.”

“I’m sorry, Mister, but you look like you’d rather not dance at all.”

He laughs. “That’s your way of saying I have a stick up my ass, isn’t it?”

You shrug, giving him your friendliest smile. “I prefer talking to drinking too. What’s your name? I need to know the name of the only sober guy in here.”

“Doyoung,” he answers. “Something tells me you’re not going to give me the same pleasure of knowing your name.”

You smile, pressing your index finger to your lips. “Names at parties are better left unknown.”

Something about him is inherently attractive, and you find yourself drawing nearer. Perhaps you could have a more fun night this way. “It’s much more fun to guess. Now, I’m guessing your party-loving best friend dragged you in here so you could get laid.”

He sighs, smiling at you. “I’m actually part of the frat.”

You gasp, hand covering your mouth. “No way.”

“Someone sober has to oversee whatever the hell’s going on here.” He shrugs. “Now, and this isn’t a guess, but you’re not from our college.”

“Nope. I’m from that little flower town nearby.” 

“Ah, I heard there’s a lovely dahlia field there.”

You nod. “And me. Just as lovely.”

You bite your tongue. That was certainly not sexy enough flirting. Ten has been rubbing off on you with his lame comebacks. Doyoung, however, laughs really loud at that. He must have a worse sense of humour than you thought.

You turn sharply at the sound of your name. Ten seems to be waving at you from a table of beer pong, looking rather distressed. You wave back with a bothered look on your face, aggressively signaling for him to handle his shit alone. He pouts and signals more desperately for you to come. Sighing, you turn to Doyoung.

“Sorry,” you say. “My friend seems to be in a pinch. Either that or he’s attention starved again in a record time of eight minutes.”

Doyoung laughs. “I liked talking to you.”

“I liked talking to you too, plot twist.”

“Is that what you’re calling me now?” Doyoung smiles at you. "Ah, I tend to forget but someone always comes along and shows me how friendships are made."

With one last smile, you leave him and walk halfway through to Ten before realizing you forgot to ask for Doyoung’s number. It’s too late to turn back now for the crowd blocks your version and you begrudgingly make your way to Ten. So much for your fun night.

“What was so important that you had to pull me away from the only attractive dude in this party?” you say, crossing your arms.

“Who, Doyoung?” he asks. “I’m at least six times hotter. And anyway, help me win this.”

You roll your eyes. If Ten knows Doyoung, you can somehow finagle your way into getting his number.

“I suck at this game,” Ten mutters. “How the hell is it supposed to hit its mark when the cup is so far away?”

“You have shitty aim,” you say, taking the ping pong ball and throwing it right into the cup. Smirking at the dude who’s already wasted on the other side, you turn back to Ten.

“That’s how you play.”

“Maybe you just have magic hands. Kiss my balls for good luck—wait, fuck, I didn’t mean that.”

You throw your head back and laugh at the disgusted look on his face. Sometimes Ten forgets to think before he opens his mouth and it might be surprising, but he does think before most things he says. He’s always been careful in the subtlest ways.

“I hate this game,” Ten says after missing the cup again. 

“Let me teach you,” you say, moving behind him and taking his hand holding the ball. He stiffens before letting you guide the angle of projection as you throw. It lands right in despite the wobbly beginning and you grin at him.

“I’m so done with this party,” he whispers, hands on his hips and stretching much like a cat after a nap.

You giggle. “I didn’t drink enough to forget everything that’s ever hurt me though.”

“You’re hurt?” he asks, before clearing his throat. “If you wanna stay, I’ll stay too.”

“I’m not a child, you know?” you say, smiling incredulously. “I don’t need you babysitting me.”

“I don’t need you talking to any more Doyoungs. You know his body count?”

“That guy?” you ask, jaw dropping.

“It’s not that much actually,” Ten continues, smiling deviously. “More than what you expect from a guy in law though. You can shut your jaw.”

You huff. “How do you know though? Did you sleep with him?”

Ten wrinkles his nose. “I would rather eat your baking than sleep with him.”

“Hey.”

Right then, the two of you are approached by a now-sober Yukhei. He must have vomited enough alcohol out of his system by now. Johnny stays beside him with mild worry across his features. Sicheng on the other hand looks like his social battery has drained out already.

“It’s time for a drinking game!” Yukhei tells the two of you. “With the… uh… not so drunk people.”

“So just the five of us? Where’s Sooyoung?”

“Doting over Yeri,” Johnny answers.

“Ah.”

“Let’s play something if you guys actually want me to stay and not die of boredom,” Sicheng mumbles in annoyance.

"Truth or drink?" Yukhei suggests. 

"Hell no," you mutter. "I've had enough of that."

"What, no dare this time," he insists with a wide smile and arms outstretched.

You hum. "What are you curious about anyway? I know you wanna know something."

Yukhei scratches the back of his head before glancing at Ten. "Well… have you two ever… I don't know, experimented with each other? Like you're best friends, right, so no hard feelings."

Ten furrows his brows, a gaze that's somewhere between a glare and a confused look.

"Experiment…?" He asks, almost afraid to.

"In bed," says Yukhei bluntly.

Ten turns a few shades darker in the face, noticeable even under the multi-colored party lights. You, on the other hand, pray your stunned expression isn't mistaken for the embarrassment you feel. You're not sure why the feeling arises.

"(Name) wishes," Ten jokes, playing it off.

You roll your eyes. "You wish, asshole."

Yukhei pulls a face and raises a hand to interrupt. "Please don't start another lover's quarrel."

Sicheng snickers at the side, although you thought he wasn't listening. How on earth does this joke not get old to them?

"Anyway, my question is answered," Yukhei says. "Best friends who are in love with each other cannot sleep together but friends who are not… they can right?"

Sicheng hums in response, a teasing smile already on his lips. Ten groans and places his hand to the back of Sicheng's neck, almost threatening.

"What would you know about sex, Sicheng?" He bickers. "You're like virgin supreme."

You narrow your eyes. "And what would you know?"

Ten opens his mouth then closes it promptly. Sicheng and Yukhei on the other hand break into laughter, mentioning something about digging graves before taking their leave from the two of you. You really don't think either of them should be drinking—considering Yukhei's a lightweight and Sicheng is supposed to drive.

Ten smacks the back of your head and you yelp, smacking his shoulder as hard as you can.

"I was trying to help us there," he complains. "You're so unfun."

You mimic his statement and he tries to pinch you in the cheeks, which you expertly avoid.

"So tell me," you say. "Have you or have you not had sex?"

Ten sighs. "Okay, yeah fine. Guilty. Whatever."

"What happened to no flings in New York?"

"Didn't feel like telling you."

"Oh, I'm so hurt."

The two of you look at each other and burst into laughter, easy to forget the scores of people around you in the moment. 

“So you definitely had a few flings in New York,” you say, crossing your arms with a smug smile.

“Like three, yeah,” he answers, shaking his head. “What does it matter?”

Some part of you is satisfied with the way he doesn’t look too interested. It’s the ridiculous part of you. The clementine light over his features make them seem even gentler than usual and you smile, pressing the back of your hand to his cheek.

“Wha—”

“Mhm. Your cheeks are so warm.”

“Oh, so now I’m your personal heater.”

Ten places his hand over yours and your heartbeat hikes, and so easily too when he looks at you with his honey eyes.

“You know what, you’re right. This party’s getting boring.” You look around, as though pretending will help you any better. But then again if Shakespeare was onto something and all the world's a stage, then you never stop pretending, right?

Ten looks at you for a suggestion and the moment pauses, contemplation on both of your faces. 

“Let’s just get Sicheng to drive us back,” you say finally. It’s not like you can stray too far for fear of Sicheng leaving behind the two of you (he’s done that before).

Sicheng jumps at the idea of going back and all of you have to participate in dragging drunk Sooyoung into the car and away from a slightly worn out Yeri. Thanking you and fixing her disheveled hair, she walks back into her own corner to what seems to be aggressively coding on her laptop and flipping the finger to any dude who approaches her. When work calls, you simply cannot hang up.

You and Ten are forced to sit together in the backseat now for Johnny sits shotgun, massaging his forehead from whatever hellsent concoction he made for himself and his friends. The drive is mostly quiet and you lay your head on Ten’s shoulder while Sooyoung snores beside you. It’s quiet like the laps of water between ripples. It feels so secure to stay like this, like the world cannot interrupt. You’ve missed your best friend. You’ve missed him so much.

You and Ten part ways with the others at the crossing and you don’t skip over the path as you used to, with the jovial youth you contained then. No, your steps are slower and perhaps more mature but still in pace with Ten’s just as ever. A cat waits by the entrance to your door, the same calico that has won over your mother’s heart and now waits patiently for treats. In a way, you kept feeding it because you thought of Ten whenever you did.

It seems these days, the only way to get kisses from Ten is to be a cat. He pets the cat with tender strokes and presses his face to its forehead with no fear of cat-borne diseases. 

“Hey, Ten. What about me?” You pucker your lips at him and he presses his palm to your lips instead, snickering.

In these short moments, moments that barely last, do you feel the three years he’s been gone. It’s funny how people change and never realize they do. It’s funny how you’re in awe of every person he becomes.

“I missed your rooftop the most in New York,” Ten says. 

You chuckle. “You hid there when your mom was mad at you.”

“Do you know how many slippers your rooftop has saved me from? I think your rooftop is more of a best friend to me than you are.”

You place your hand over your heart in mock hurt and he shakes his head, grinning.

“Well, let’s prove I’m more worthy of the best friend title then,” you say, grabbing his hand, the skin so soft to you, and dragging him into your house in quiet tiptoes. You remember coming up here back when you pretended to be pirates, when you acted out Shakespeare and when you wanted to forget the world, the terrible, cruel world you found yourself hating often. This is your hiding spot, a safe place. Ten makes it more so. 

Lying down against the rooftop, you trace the sky from star to star. The good thing about small, dimly lit towns is the clear view of the stars. So far from troubles, it must be easy to play the audience. 

“That looks a little like Felis,” Ten says, taking your hand and tracing a particular arrangement of the stars.

“Is that a… cat?”

“Yeah. It’s not a constellation anymore,” he tells you. “But I like to think it is.”

“I wish things never end too,” you mumble. “Like Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Or that new Taylor Swift song. I wish some things went on forever.”

Ten laughs airily. “I wish too.”

You turn to look at him. The curve of his nose is pretty as ever, eyelashes hanging close to the skin of his cheeks as he breathes with eyes closed. There’s a significant number of words you haven’t exchanged yet. There’s so many words you’re holding back.

“You seem tired,” you note.

He hums in response.

“Was New York that hard?”

He opens his eyes to look at you. “A little… tiring, yes.”

“Well, I’m glad you can rest now.” You smile and he returns it. 

“I’ve been running for so long and telling myself I’m still dancing,” he says, a sigh escaping afterwards. “I don’t even know where I am anymore.”

“You’re with me,” you respond. “Right here. On my rooftop.”

“Watching the stars again,” he completes, laughing aloud. “God, I wish we were kids again. All I cared about were the flavour of my cereal and how many constellations I could memorize.”

“The stars don’t give a shit about you, Ten,” you tease, repeating the line you used to tell him.

“The stars might not give a shit about us,” he agrees, “But that’s why I’d like to watch them a little longer.” 

“Me too,” you say softly.

You take a deep breath and let it out. These are the moments between the bloom of a flower and when it is picked. These moments are serene and warm and gentle, however ephemeral they may be. These are the moments between the flapping of a butterfly's wings—times when you and Ten fell asleep in detention in fifth grade for something that was very much your fault, or when he pets your head with the biggest grin after pissing you off on purpose or the proximity of the baby blue sky after your latest shopping mall mischief. But the flower will be picked someday. To live is to live in fear, and no matter how you try to buzz out the idea of it, it will come and it will prove itself.

“Sometimes I wish I were an angrier person,” you say quietly.

“What for?”

“They just seem so much more driven.”

“You’re driven enough. I think you do everything right already.”

“Working at plant nurseries, maybe. I’m not even a good enough cashier.”

“Flowers suit you.”

“You know, I could spend my life picking flowers and arranging them if I could,” you say, sitting up. “Everything moves so fast that the garden’s gone by the time I get to smell the flowers. You get me?”

“Yeah,” he replies. “I wish time could stop. Sometimes it does. When I’m on stage.”

“What’s that like?”

“It’s very beautiful,” he whispers, eyes fixed on you.

It's quiet, the sounds of the night filling the space between you and him.

"You know, in dance," he starts, "the most powerful thing you can be is still. It's also the most difficult."

You hum in response. "I find it easy to be still with you though. It's like I don't have to perform anymore, you know?"

Ten laughs. "I know. I wish I could say that about my ambitions."

You place your palms against his cheeks, holding his face gently. You're not sure if it's because you're a little tipsy or Ten's lips that are driving you crazy, but you smile wide.

"You are like a flower," you begin rather wisely. "And spring hasn't arrived yet."

Ten blinks before snorting and then laughing like you just said the stupidest thing ever. 

The downside to getting along like a house on fire is that the house is still on fire and you don’t know what to do about it. Your heart is burning and you want to tell him the words you’re holding back. But if they escape your mouth, the wind might carry it away and leave you with a heavy response. You can’t say anything yet. Not until you’ve mustered enough courage to leave this town behind with him. Not until you have enough financial confidence to fall in love.

“Hey, Ten.”

“Hm? Don’t ask me something stupid and ruin the night.”

You giggle. “Will you stay with me wherever I am?”

“A little overdue but yes, until death do us part.” 

The two of you laugh, shoulders shaking and eyes brimming with an unsaid emotion. This is how you fall in love. You fall in love like flowers blossoming and withering, like you have only each other to withstand the test of time. 

“Should we dance?” Ten offers. “This time, maybe you’ll finally learn to not step on my feet.”

“That just makes me want to step on your feet more.”

It's so easy to fall in love that you fall asleep to the feeling—like the nights after you watched cartoons well past bedtime and thought that Ten was the prettiest boy you'd ever seen, after reading illicit internet horror stories in seventh grade that only made you huddle closer, after creating a pillow fort in the name of memories the night of your graduation when you couldn't say out loud that Ten really is the prettiest boy you know. The feeling slips in like you slip on your night clothes and you forget they were ever off at all. Comfort is a fleeting thing but in that moment, it felt forever.

act ii scene iii.

Halloween is undoubtedly the greatest time to spend with friends. There’s spooky stories shared, an abundance of favourite candies and if you happen to be friends with theatre kids, there’s most certainly a fun play going on. The crisp autumn air is vaguely nostalgic, brimming with memories in this town. 

Evening creeps in and once you’re done with the day’s chores, you get dressed with such speed that your mother has to convince you to slow down. It’s like you’re a kid again, and you'd like to enjoy this morsel of your childhood before you're forced to grow up.

Greeting Ten’s mother as you rush into the house, you run up the stairs and into Ten’s room, opening the door with a loud bang. Somehow, Ten’s scream is louder than that. He’s wearing a towel around his waist (only a towel), hands covering his chest with a horrified look on his face.

"Stop screaming," you say, hands on your hips. "We've seen each other naked, what's the big deal? Actually, do that pitch again, you sound like Meryl Streep from Mamma Mia."

Ten chokes, covering his mouth with his knuckles while he coughs.

"We were like four and a half! How does that count?"

You giggle, turning around. "Change. Quick."

"I mean, you can see if you like, darling," he calls, liltingly. "I know you can't resist me. Ugh. Can't stand all this pining from a friend."

You make a gagging sound and he laughs. It seems like he’s gotten over the initial shock of you barging in. The sound of the wardrobe opening and Ten shuffling through clothes follows. You are glad, however, that he can't see the look on your face. You must be looking ridiculous. You wonder if he can see how tense your shoulders and torso are. This is not the way you wanted to start the evening. Can he tell apart the distinct nervousness in your voice? It's suddenly difficult to play it cool. And isn't playing it cool something you do in front of a crush?

You catch a glimpse of his naked back and it makes you shake your head violently to get rid of the thought. How ridiculous. You can’t be lovers yet.

“Alright, you can turn around. What the fuck are you even supposed to be?”

"Say hello to the wicked witch of the West!" You exclaim, grinning ear to ear when you jump around.

"Oh, you don't have to dress up for that."

Your smile turns into a pout and you pull hard at his still-soft cheeks. He lets out a pained whine, grabbing your wrists and gently tugging them off. His skin turns red easily, however, and you're left with an image of rosy-cheeked Ten just like when you first met.

“You’re a demon spawn,” he hisses, rubbing his sore cheek. 

“No, that’s definitely your thing. Can’t borrow that,” you say, crossing your arms and smiling smugly. “Why aren’t you dressed as one? Actually, why aren’t you dressed as anything?”

Ten shrugs. “I have to wear some ridiculous ghost outfit for the play so I decided I’d rather play the part of a sexy pirate ghost.”

You snort, looking at the half-buttoned white shirt tucked neatly into black trousers. “You? A ghost? A poltergeist is the word you’re looking for.”

Ten rolls his eyes. “If I were a ghost, I’d definitely haunt you for the rest of your life.”

“Okay, ghost boy, let’s get going.” You loop your arms through his and pull him out, leaving in just as much a whirlwind as you walked in. You do walk back in though—to stuff a few of the cookies Ten’s mom baked in your mouth and walk right out with a muffled ‘thank you’ and your hand still around Ten’s wrist.

Arriving at the theatre, Ten catches his breath though he tries to not look worn out before squinting and making a show of searching for something.

“What are you looking for?” You ask, furrowing your eyebrows.

“The train you thought we were going to miss.”

You stick your tongue out and finally let go of his hand. He pulls it to himself, rubbing at his wrist with an exaggerated look of pain. 

“Oh, it’s still intact. Thought I’d have to bid farewell to my dreams of being a professional calligrapher.”

“Eat ink, Ten.”

“Ooh, it’s the rare PG-13 (name). Nice.”

A loud bang emanates from the back entrance, Sicheng looking like a rather mortified Count Dracula (which is strange because Dracula is immortal, right?) with fake blood splattered across his jaw and two little fangs poking out. Ten no wastes no time in complimenting them, making Sicheng rather flustered.

“It was bad enough having to listen to your flirting through the door,” Sicheng mutters. “Get in. Quick. Sooyoung pulled out and we need someone to fill in.”

Your eyes light up and Sicheng is about to deny your wishes when Ten intervenes.

“(name). You get to play a slightly deranged witch with a most definitely existing bloodlust. You in?”

“You bet I am! I was born ready. Except in sixth grade when I had that meh phase and I wasn’t born ready. Then I was born ready again!”

Sicheng makes a face. “Yeah sure, just get in.”

“Aren’t you glad I’m dressed for the occasion?”

“Not really, no.”

Ten whistles when he walks in. “How much fake blood did you guys get?”

“Enough to re-enact Red Wedding from Game of Thrones,” Johnny answers from a corner, in a costume which you can’t tell if it’s a werewolf or just a fursuit. You can never seem to guess when it comes to Johnny.

Ten laughs before turning to you, the sound tuning out. “I have never watched Game of Thrones.”

You pat his shoulder, laughing. In the next moment, Sicheng pushes a script towards you, expecting you to actually read.

“Sicheng, you know I’m going to improvise.”

Sicheng groans. “Shakespeare was right. Hell is empty and all the demons are here.”

Throwing a pointed glare at you when he says the word ‘demons’, he crosses his arms. It’s easy to convince him though—he’s quite amenable when he’s stressed out about details and both you and Ten know he just needs some reassurance and good, gentle shove.

You and Ten sit on either side of him on a really, really worn out couch that you’re not sure can hold the weight of the three of you.

Sicheng holds up his hands in both of your faces before you can open your mouth.

“I feel like the child of a really immature couple who is forced to grow up at a tender age because his parents are so immature.”

“Uh,” Ten starts. “That’s very specific.”

“The character I’m playing has daddy issues,” Sicheng responds casually, and a little out of it. “Actually he’s got mommy issues too. Why am I playing an eight year old?”

“Because children are crap at acting,” Ten answers and you reach your arm to smack the back of his head.

“What? Ow, that hurt.”

“Sicheng, it’s our stupid Halloween play. We do it to have fun,” you say, placing your hand 

“You going all motherly is freaking me out,” Sicheng says, wide eyes staring at you.

“You’re right,” you say, dramatically sighing. “Motherhood changed me. I can’t do evil black magic anymore. Aha! That’s a good dialogue, isn’t it?”

“Harrowing, actually, but I guess that’s what you’re going for.”

You and Ten share a fond smile, laughing to yourselves till Joohyun calls you and gives you basic stage direction. She’s almost never home except for Halloween and it makes the holiday even more exceptional.

“Ready, Wicked Witch of the West?” Ten nudges you before he has to go on stage. 

“Wait, is that actually my character?”

“No. No, it isn’t. For the love of cats—the animal, not the musical—please just keep speaking and make it worse on stage. I need a recording to laugh at.”

You roll your eyes and push him on. He looks so at peace there, the conversation from that night coursing in remembrance. It’s like everything is still, the lack of motion driving him to move. 

You never understand it yourself, however, when you’re on stage. You blabber like an idiot, as Ten says, and the audience laughs and that is it. You don’t experience what he does and it sometimes drives you a little crazy. Of course, you adding a pregnancy narrative to your witch does throw the rest of the cast for a loop but they handle it well. You just have to make sure you run as fast as you can from Joohyun after the play is done.

“Good job there,” Ten snickers after you duck behind a curtain as Joohyun passes by with furrowed brows and a frown. 

“I know right? I’m literally Oscar-worthy,” you whisper-yell and Ten shakes his head.

“Come on.” This time his hand grips your wrist. “I know the best way to sneak out of this theatre.”

Taking a flight of stairs that you were previously unaware of, you plunge into the darkness of what seems to be an attic. Ten turns on the flashlight of his phone and you yelp, the lighting not helping his already spooky makeup. He laughs before navigating through a bunch of boxes. 

“I heard they used to use this room as an execution chamber,” Ten whispers.

“They did not. Get the fuck out of here.”

“Okay fine. I did cry here though after reading an internet article about ill-fated lovers in ancient Asia.”

“Ugh. Truly horrifying.”

“Yeah, yeah. Emotions terrify you.”

“They do not.”

Ten stops walking.

“Oh yeah? Got any proof?”

You stop yourself before you can do something embarrassing. The first thought that came to you was to kiss the smug look off his face and it does terrify you. The bastard is right. 

“I… cried at your birthday party.”

“You were six. Everyone cries when they’re six.”

“Alright, fine. I cried after you left.”

The silence makes you look up and for once, you don’t really want Ten to be so speechless. You punch his shoulder lightly.

“I missed you a lot,” you say quietly. “Is that so surprising?”

He opens his mouth but no sound comes out. 

“Hello? Anyone inside?” You knock at his forehead before holding his face between your face. “You’re shivering. It’s pretty cold here.”

“I’m not cold,” he says quickly, the red rising in his face.

“Of course, you’re cold. Your cheeks are aflame, that’s how cold it is.”

Ten shuts off the flashlight and you scream at the abrupt darkness.

“It’s not from the cold,” he mumbles.

Now left with only Ten’s warm hand around your wrist, you let him guide through wherever the hell it is you are before emerging onto the second floor of 1075 Building. 

“What the hell?” You gasp. “Why wasn’t I aware there was a secret passage here? Is this what archaeologists feel like? ”

Ten smiles, in some sort of victory. “You don’t know a lot of things.”

You walk into the empty room, or rather wiggle in through the window—this building used to be some sort of housing apartment before being torn down halfway for renovation. Some ghost stories spooked the workers too much to continue. However, having been here long enough, you know that the only thing haunting this place is the abundance of cats. In fact, you can see a few eyeing the two of you from the other windowsills. The room is fairly well-lit and maintained so you guess the renovation will start again soon.

“You got us pizza?” you exclaim at the pizza boxes and cans of cola resting over a little picnic blanket.

“Yes, I did. Wait, crap, I forgot the candy.”

“Nah, that’s okay.” You show him the Reese’s peanut butter cups and Snickers you had pocketed from some unsuspecting children. They get way too many anyway. This is completely morally justified—you’re doing this to save them from cavities and poor health.

“I can’t believe you’d ever want to escape a theatre,” you say before humming at how good the pizza tastes. Pizza is always better when you’re having it someplace you’re not supposed to be in.

“Sometimes, it’s suffocating.” He finally bites into his pizza, an unreadable look over him. You don’t like it. Shifting closer so that your knees touch, you lean in a little.

“Oh, really? After all that talk about how beautiful it is.”

“It is. It just wears me out sometimes. Like you.”

Ten flushes red immediately. “I didn’t mean it—I, I… uh.”

“Aw, you think I’m beautiful.”

“Gah, I knew you’d say that.”

There’s a pause. 

“I got kicked out, actually,” he says quietly.

“What?”

“I had some disagreements with the writers and… and here I am.”

You look at him in stunned silence. “They did fucking what? I’m going to kill them.”

“No, (name). I was at fault. I overstepped. I guess city air made me a little greedy.”

“You were always greedy though.”

“If that’s your example of sympathy, you are horrible at it. Never try again.”

“Well.” You smile reassuringly. “You’re quite beautiful on stage. Too. Like me, as you said.”

“I’m a performer,” he says, a hint of satisfaction in his voice when he leans in. “You can’t beat me at that.” 

“Then put on a show for me, darling.” You raise an eyebrow, a cocky smile over your lips.

Ten’s cheeks colour. It’s silent for a few moments and you take notice of the lack of distance between your noses, your lips. He seems to lose touch with reality when he gently cups your cheeks and presses his lips to yours. A soft gasp escapes you, not quite ready for the contact.

Ten pulls apart immediately, a look of horror in his eyes.

“I- I’m sorry… I got caught in the—I’m sorry.”

He gets up abruptly and you still sit there in shock. When your senses are back, the room is empty and you hug yourself, feeling colder. God, you’re an idiot. For the first time in your life, you’ve come to your senses and you decide to let the only person you’ve loved walk out the door.

Your texts to him that night aren’t even left on read but you know he’s read the notifications. He always does when he’s avoiding someone. You feel the weight slithering in, pinning you down and making it hard to sleep that night. You have so many things you want to say to him and this time, you’re ready. Even if fate doesn’t let you, you will speak the lines you should have chosen much earlier.

act ii scene iv.

You don’t have anyone to show it to but the news broke you.

The idea of him keeping it all to himself, bearing burdens that are better shared makes your heart collapse its walls into itself. You’re supposed to be there. You were supposed to be there from every pitfall to the top of the world. You were supposed to be at every stage, at every afterparty and for every bout of performance high. You didn’t mean to leave the seat empty.

You were supposed to be there at every rejection and every failure, making fun of all the troubles. 

You get a text from Ten two mornings later to meet up at the new cafe everyone’s been talking about. It takes you the rest of the morning to practise what you’ll say, what you won’t and how you’ll say it. You’ve never done this much for actual plays. But you’re not acting—you just need the words to come out right.

The wall of the cafe is covered in ivy, but you cannot waste time admiring it. Your nerves have the best of you. You stop at the entrance, backtracking to say your entire speech in your head once again. The most important friendship of your life depends on this stupid monologue you came up with a night before in front of the mirror.

“(name).” 

You jump, finding Ten behind you. His nose is a little red from the cold but he looks fine apart from that. You can’t believe you’re early. This might be the first time in your life and you breathe out, slightly more confident.

“Can you… uh, not block the door?”

“Right. Sorry.”

The two of you walk in, a nervous tremble over your fingers but you clasp your hands together tight. He still remembers your favourite drink and you take a moment to try and understand why it’s surprising at all. You wish he never left.

“Ten,” you begin. “If you want to talk about that kiss—”

“Stop. I’m sorry. That was so out of line.” He lets out a distressed sigh, leaning back in the chair. 

“It’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be,” you say quickly. That was not in the speech.

He sits up. “I… Am I taking things too seriously? You’ve been my longest friend, (name). You should tell me.”

You frown. “I didn’t mean it in a harsh way. You just think it’s bad because you kissed your best friend and—”

“No. What do you think?”

You gulp.

“See, (name)? I lied because it fucking hurts right now. I don’t want to play this part.”

“No, Ten. I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you so many things but there’s the city, your job—oh. I- I don’t mean to bring it up if the wound is still fresh. Ten—”

“You don’t understand,” he cuts. “You’ve always been happy here. You’re happy wherever.  I’m not… like… that.”

There’s a pause. You pull your jacket closer, the temperature dropping despite the smell of warm baked goods and hit coffee.

“I thought you knew me,” you whisper coldly. 

Ten looks away. “I don’t. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about you. I don’t know anything about anything.” 

You breathe sharply. “Ten, I know the city was tough but it’s all you ever wanted.”

“I don’t know what I want,” he whispers. “I don’t know where I belong and- and it just keeps getting harder.”

Your eyes soften. “At least, you were there at Broadway. You took the first step and maybe… maybe you can make a priority list, you know? Work things out.”

“(name), stop. You keep trying to cheer me up in the wrong way.” He dips his face into his palms, rubbing at it and sighing.

You purse your lips. This conversation is going nowhere and you’re holding onto the last shred of your empathy. You just want him back with you.

“You got to go out there, Ten. You went to college, you went to New York. You got to go out there and live your dreams, for whatever it was worth, while I’m stuck in this nothing town. Forever.”

“That’s… that’s not true,” he says, voice breaking. “You were saving up for college. We would live in the same city, in the same apartment with the cats and the hot pink curtains and a coffee maker—oh god, I’ve ruined it.”

It’s painful. You don’t know what to say. If this were a movie, the beautiful, romantic kind, you’d be confessing your long-kept feelings. But you don’t know. You don’t know anything about anything. It’s been a year and he’s changed in a way you don’t know and you can’t throw it onto him like this. This isn’t a movie, and you don’t have a script. Your practised words are forgotten as soon as they reach the tip of your tongue. 

People change, and you’re holding onto someone he’s already buried. He’s not in love with you; teenage love is shaky, wobbly at the foundation. He misses the years, not you. You’ve known him your whole life and yet a year’s difference makes you see things differently. You were lonely without him. You were lonely when you had to keep yourself from calling him, when you finally decided to stop sending daily texts, when you couldn’t find the same comfort in any of your other friends. You hurt him and now, you have to face it.

You pick wilting flowers at an overgrown garden. 

No, even if it isn’t you, you want him. You want him and him only, the years be damned. The past pales in comparison to what is now.

“I’m in love with you,” you blurt. “I was just shocked last night because I didn’t think you were in love with me.”

“You’re not in love with me,” he counters. “You’ve been in love with so many people but none of them were me.”

“You. It’s you—oh my god, it was always you.”

Ten glances at his untouched cup, yet undecided on what to do with his fingers when they stop tapping against the bright red plastic table abruptly.

“So what? So what if it was me? I don’t know what it’s like to play that part.”

You breathe out. There’s a silence between the two of you, one which you remember hanging stars upon. Now it's quiet in a way that has nothing to do with astronomy, or art, or music or anything, really. It’s empty. Like every other silence.

“I loved you,” you whisper in an attempt that is more delirious than for closure. “Do you really not know what that’s like?”

Ten shakes his head. “I… I don’t.”

The memories of him smiling under the sun, only memories keep your tears from brimming up. There was meant to be closure. There was meant to be an explanation. You were supposed to be closing that door you opened into each other. Ten looks at your shaking hands and for a moment, you think he might even reach out and warm them up with his sunlit ones. You press them to your face and breathe into them.

“You brought me all the way here to lie to me?”

Ten furrows his eyebrows.

“I’m not lying—I can’t care about you. You know that, right? I’ll ruin your life. Like I’ve ruined mine.”

You laugh, partly in exasperation and partly as an attempt to alleviate the pain in your chest. 

“You’re my boy. I know you better than anything else I know.”

“Don’t- Don’t do that. Don’t make me want something more.”

"Why would you kiss me?" You bite down your lip to stop yourself from crying.

Ten seems at a loss for words, looking at you with parted lips and guilty eyes. 

"I love you. I'm sorry."

With your eyes downcast, you take a shaky breath. It's now or never. Never, never, never. The word chimes like wedding bells and you think for a moment, to lie. If you pretend, if you act, you'll live it out. He cannot stay and you cannot leave. What a ridiculous pair you are.

You squeeze your eyes shut, get up and lean over the table to place a kiss against Ten's mouth. You pull away with reluctance, looking at the quiet surprise in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," you whisper. "I got… I got caught in the moment."

Ten stares at you soundlessly, mouth moving and yet no words come out. Instead, he runs his fingers through your hair before placing his hand on your cheek and leans in again. There's a red flush over his cheeks and it makes you feel at ease.

"I didn't want to hold you back," you say after parting. "Or at least, that's what I told myself. But this year without you has been so painful."

Ten doesn't say anything.

"I… I didn't know what I felt and- and I was so scared… I didn't mean to hurt you. I hate that I did."

“I was afraid,” he says, breathing out like he was holding it in. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t care if I came back.” 

Time treats everything poorly. This time, you’ll try your best to win against it. Ten breaks into a wide, relieved smile and you laugh, rubbing at the tears that collected. God, you were so afraid you wouldn't ever be able to talk to each other anymore. Every room you’ve been in without Ten has been so empty that you had stopped opening doors at all. The coffee is hot and tastes better than ever.

//

You dream of something as ridiculous as the love you feel for Ten. 

There's a cat in the sky, made of stars and with a booming, deep voice—and you, you are little and insignificant on a forgotten rooftop. It is serene, in quiet contemplation, and you are looking at it like a neglected child at its mother. You ask something without words and it responds without words. 

All of sudden, the image disappears and you find yourself in a garden, picking flowers. The clothes you wear are not yours, the face you wear is not yours. But Ten, you'd recognise him anywhere, any time, in another lifetime.

You could see the clear distinction between the two of you however. You wore robes of royalty, the auspicious gold embroidery glistening, and he, that of a performing artist in quiet sage green. The blue irises that grew around you paid no heed to your colours and you had the thought that you should be like them. Vivid, smiling and never alone.

Ten greets you with a smile first and then stretches out his arms. You run to him, with enough force to knock the two of you onto the soft, grassy ground. No one will find the two of you here, in this flower bed. You remember thinking that royalty puts on just as much a show as theatre actors.

You didn't have to remember all of it to know that the story was a tragedy, carefully crafted by divine writers and painters. It was cruel, as is every writer's hand. You see him last under a beautiful sunset before an execution, the words ‘please’ on his lips and no hint of resentment in his smile. It was unlike him. It was so unlike him. 

You hug yourself. He shouldn’t have forgiven you so easily. It takes you a few moments to come back to your senses; this is not you. That person in your dreams wasn’t you—why did you have to feel all that pain? That person in your dream watched their lover die—no, let their lover die as though discarding a messed up sketch. Cruel. It was so cruel. 

The burning idea sprouts in your mind that it was the original script. That perhaps you were cruel and he was not and it’s been that way since forever. That if you don’t do something about it, you’ll be the villain once more. It's as scary to be young as it is lively—and not for once, did you ever think that villains were children too.

ACT III: HAPPINESS 

 act iii scene i.

If the world were to end tomorrow, Ten would spend tonight dancing with you. He says it so easily that you forget to tease him about it.

“Not like that,” he instructs, eyebrows furrowed. “Do this.”

“I am doing this.” You huff, crossing your arms.

“No, you’re not—holy shit, your arms are made of lead.”

You punch him in the shoulder and he stumbles, losing his balance. He sits down on his bed, leaning back on his arms and laughs. You join him and sit down on the fuzzy rug. He gets off immediately to sit beside you.

“I mean, you’re not that bad,” he says with a shrug.

You mimic his statement, rolling your eyes and he attacks your side with an unannounced bout of tickling. The last time you did this, you were a foot shorter and no high school dating rumours were flying around. The last time you did this, you didn’t end up kissing, limbs entangled with each other. December feels like June.

Ten pulls away from you, hovering over to kiss you once again before kissing turns into giggling which turns into laughter.

“I like this," you say quietly.

"Kissing me?" He asks with a sly grin.

"It's actually a little disappointing. Thought you'd be a ten at kissing."

"Atrocious. Disgusting. Vile. Never say that to me again."

You stick your tongue out at him and he does the same, the afternoon torpor settling in heavy as you cuddle into each other. It’s nostalgic almost but at the same time, so very new. You want to talk to him for hours and hours but when the hours end, it never feels enough. An ending is what you despise. Your thoughts meander.

“I had a nightmare,” you confess suddenly.

There’s a very brief pause. Before Ten even says anything, his arms reach out, pulling you into him. It’s warm and you smile.

“Was it your own face you saw?”

“Fuck you. You ruined the moment.”

“We were having a moment?”

You elbow him in the gut and he lets out a grunt of pain, the two of you moving away from each other just to glare. Ten caves first, sliding closer to you and placing his palm against your cheek.

“Can we resume our moment?” he asks, eyes crinkling when he smiles.

You press your forehead to his, your breathing in perfect coordination. This feels easy. This feels right. You pull away and look at him, the silence encasing your moment with him.

“I saw you in it. I… I lost you in it.” You bite your lower lip, avoiding his gaze.

“Hey. It was just a bad dream. I’m right here.” Ten draws closer, his breath mingling with yours and the warmth seeps into you just enough to forget the cold night. 

“You know what would cheer me up from a nightmare?” You nudge him.

“If you say visiting the graveyard—god, fuck, you’re gonna say visiting the graveyard. My suggestion is that you see a therapist.”

“I would if I had the money,” you retort.

Ten shrugs before furrowing his eyebrows. “Are we actually going to the graveyard? You know there are like graves there.”

“That’s… why it’s called a graveyard.”

“Don’t get smart with me, you failed seventh grade English.”

“You failed sixth grade math, Ten. Sixth grade. They teach you like fractions and shit then.”

“Do I look like I need to add three-fourths and one-eighths ever in my life?”

You shake your head before getting up with a burst of energy, and pick up your jacket from his bed. 

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” You start to chant at Ten until he reluctantly gets up. The sun is quite far from setting down yet and everyone knows the perfect time to visit a grave is twilight. Maybe the stone will give your life enough perspective to ease your anxious thoughts.

//

The town cemetery is located by the bed of dahlias which have withered in the seasonal cycle of life and death. There’s a light breeze and your jacket is just enough to withstand it. The sky is orange and pink and the graveyard doesn’t seem as looming as it does in the dead of night (which you know because you’ve visited at two in the morning on a stupid bet with Johnny and somehow Ten was the one scared shitless). You’ve heard stories of the soldiers who were buried here, the women who led the first revolution and everyone else who never got to grace history books. You’ve never enjoyed history much but you can’t gainsay that it puts everything into perspective.

Nothing else matters at the wedding altar and at the grave. 

Ten makes a face at the iron gates of the cemetery. “Okay. We’ve had our adventure. Can we please go get our evening snacks?”

“I love it when you’re antsy, Ten.”

He gives you a sardonic smile. “And I like it better when we’re in my bedroom.”

You gasp dramatically, placing your hand in front of your mouth lightly. “That’s quite scandalous of you, good sir.”

He smiles, eyes crinkling. “I consider myself something of a modern man, you see?”

You skip over the steps to the gates and do a curtsy before gesturing to the entrance. He complies with a sigh of reluctance and lets you take his hand as you pull him in. 

A loud voice startles the two of you and Ten smacks his mouth before he can scream and embarrass himself.

“What business do you have here, trespassers?” The voice echoes through the graveyard.

You look around at the trees and squint at what seems to be some children wearing masks and giggling to themselves. You roll your eyes. Johnny told you some of the town kids were mucking about near the graveyard to spook passersby. 

“You really should get back home for dinner, kids,” you say, crossing your arms.

“Silence, trespasser! You will answer our questions to pass.”

Ten bites back a laugh. “Alright, kids. Shoot.”

“Are the two of you criminals married?”

Ten wrinkles his nose. “Do we look that old?”

“Okay! Next question. Did the two of you ever… do it?”

“What?” you ask, tilting your head. 

Ten groans. “You can say sex, you know? Don’t be pussies.”

You elbow him in the side and he yelps. 

“Those are kids,” you whisper.

“I think they’re old enough if they’re asking,” he whispers back.

“No,” you answer the same time he answers “Yes”.

“What?” You look at him in surprise. 

He shrugs, somewhat guilty. “New York,” he responds in a meek voice. “You know?”

You snicker before it turns to laughter. “Why do you look like that? It’s not a crime to have sex—how the fuck did you even get some though?”

“It’s called having sex appeal. Ever heard of it?”

You roll your eyes, opening your mouth to say something when one of the kids clears his throat.

“Okay! You may pass.”

You furrow your eyebrows. “You really just the wanted to ask us about sex, didn’t you?”

“Let’s go, boys!” The kid declares before stopping abruptly. “And girl.”

A group of kids emerges from behind the trees and flock to a hole in the stone wall, laughing amongst themselves as they run out.

“Wow. Kids these days, huh?” Ten says.

“When we were their age, we convinced Yukhei to poke a beehive.”

“Okay, we were asshole kids but no one ever really told us bees were deadly.”

You walk further into the graveyard, beelining towards the same graves you visit often. They’re unnamed but they died sometime in the nineteenth century. Time passes in a way that is hard to comprehend—all these people and stories are never remembered and time is the only witness. Perspective is a luxury to those who have the time to look.

“Why do you like coming here?” Ten asks quietly, eyeing the gravestones with an unreadable look in his eyes.

“For perspective,” you answer truthfully.

He hums, a somewhat understanding note in his voice.

“They only lived for twenty-four years,” you note.

“The world ends too soon sometimes.”

“Kind of sucks.”

“Really sucks.”

The wind is cold when it passes the two of you by. Ten shivers and zips his jacket before checking up on you, fixing your jacket to cover you better.

“When I leave this place, I hope I have a nice farewell,” you whisper.

Ten raises his eyebrow. “Don’t you want it to be an awful, everyone’s-crying sort of affair?”

“No,” you respond, giving him a confused look.

“I want at least one person to be crying,” he replies, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“That’s kind of—wait a minute.” You glare at him. “You don’t have to use that against me. I wasn’t crying crying.”

“I’m not! I mean it. Like, I want to mean something to someone.”

You draw near enough to link your arms, sighing at the warmth emanating.

“And you’re lying. I know you sobbed right into the pillow like a dramatic ass Disney princess.”

“You’re the one with a flair for drama.” You chuckle.

Ten makes a reluctant sound of agreement, crossing his arms. As he looks at the graves, there’s an expression on his face you can’t quite fathom. It could be mourning—but the graves are nameless, or it could be pity—but he believes that pity is not a positive emotion to feel. You want to ask but something keeps you from it. Something tells you that the answer won’t be pleasant for either of you.

“I hope I cry too,” he whispers. “When I leave and the curtain falls and the world ends.”

You look at him, pondering.

“When I leave,” he begins again, “I want it to hurt. When everything changes, I want it to hurt bad. Then I know it meant something.”

You slip your hand into his and squeeze. “If it means anything, you know I’ll cry if you leave.”

Ten laughs. “Yeah. So when you cried, was it the ugly snot cry or the silently sobbing kind of cry?”

“Fuck off.”

He opens his mouth to retort but gets a full kiss on the mouth instead, good enough to make him forget it. It’s a nice thing to get used to. If time permits, you could do everything together forever.

You return at twilight, grabbing some snacks and arguing whose Netflix account to use and the sun sets before you come to an agreement but it’s not winter anymore inside his room. In fact, it doesn’t feel like winter at all till you look outside and see the naked trees and darker skies, and you remember when you decided last year that you don’t like winter. 

Before you can have a change of heart, you turn to him with sparkling eyes.

He smiles before you even say anything, reading your face as easily as the back of his hand. “You have good news? Or, like, a gift?” Chuckling in breaks, he runs his fingers through your hair.

“I just wanted to talk about our future.”

“Hm?” He seems a little surprised.

“I’m sure we’ll work something out for the both of us. I have faith in you. And in us.”

Ten’s smile falters but he doesn’t let it fall. “I’m glad you do.”

His ringtone startles the two of you just as you lean in, Ten muttering curses at the device. Pausing for a bit when he takes out his phone, he signals you that he needs a minute and leaves you alone in his room. 

Nothing much has changed. There's his cluttered ash wood desk with sketchbooks of varying sizes and colours, shelves with small plushies and, you notice carefully, the butterfly pin you stole. Beside it is the panda soft toy you had found at the side of the road walking back from school and felt so bad, you had "adopted" it. You let out a chuckle.

“Ten?” you call, holding the little panda soft toy.

Ten paces outside his room, speaking in a hush. His features are tense, shoulders stiff and eyes focused when he talks to the caller. Noticing you, his eyes soften for a bit and he makes his way towards you.

“I’ll- I’ll talk to you later,” he speaks sharply into the phone.

“Who’s that?” you ask, walking up to him.

“Sicheng,” he replies briskly.

“Oh.” You remember the doll in your hand and pick it up to show him. “Remember how we got this?”

He smiles but something is amiss in his eyes. “Of course I remember.”

Whatever it is, it must not be important. After all, he’s your best friend and best friends tell each other everything. Morning will come and everything will be alright.

//

The night is cold and the moon is missing. The clothes you wear are not your own once again. This dream begins when the sun has just set and you can taste bitter defeat, but of what battle you don’t know yet. 

All you know is that there is a war and you are caught in the crossfire. It hurts; you can’t feel your limbs anymore and another injury won’t matter anymore. Maybe this is the only life you won in.

No one dies in a way that matters. No one dies for anything at all. It just happens and that is a truth lying within the reach of the universe. Yet then again, when you find your last breath escaping you as you hold hands with the love of your life, you think there must be some meaning to it. You’re only twenty-four and you will be buried in a nameless grave for a war that was the fault of neither of you. 

It dawns on you the moment you wake up, brushing away the tears on your cheeks. The universe is forgetting you, and the universe is being forgotten, until there is nothing left to be remembered.

All you can think then is that you will miss Ten in the next life, and in the next and the next. 

act iii scene ii.

Ten has to tell you. He knows. He knows how the story ends. 

But he’s afraid. He didn’t know how long he’d been walking facing forward till he’d turned around just to find you gone. New York was fun and he made new friends but it’s difficult to be anywhere without you. You’ve been attached at the hip for so long, it’s become strange to be apart.

Ten thinks about the call. The director was very particular about his role and chances come by as rare as diamonds. Ten breathes out heavy in annoyance, covering his eyes with his forearm. He loves sunny winter mornings and this is the worst one he’s ever experienced. He can hear his mom cooking downstairs, the sound soothing and he groans, running his fingers through his hair. 

He should tell you. He knows he should tell you. But fear never walks in on stage with full gusto, it creeps in, slithers in till he feels a shadow behind him on stage and suddenly, he can’t see the lights anymore. Ten is afraid. He is afraid of losing his sense of self to the millions of people he’s played, and to your vibrant world of flowers and colours. You are always front stage centre. You are at the bottom of everything and he can’t let himself fall deep enough. He’s not enough.

Ten turns to face the collection of DVDs on his shelf, untouched since he'd left. What did he start performing for again? Was it the time you and him pretended to be pirates in his room, his bed your gallant ship, or the time he watched his first movie on a sweltering hot summer day, or the time he sang to you the first time (it was a birthday song remix, made by Ten himself). Surely, it was for something beautiful and not for something like greed. At that time, he thought that maybe if he stole enough lives and stuffed it into the gaping hole, it would sate his envy of the people around him. The bright vibrant colours, he made his own and yet still, he feels like a thief with his nimble feet and a stash of paint bottles in his arms. He's not satisfied at all.

It was a sunlit morning and Ten thought to himself, wouldn’t it be nice if he could paint with all the colours of the rainbow? You, who are so full of vibrance, couldn’t understand this epiphany of his.

"You keep getting on my nerves," he mutters in this empty room of his. "Everything you do gets on my nerves."

Ten decides that he’ll tell you this evening. After all, best friends tell each other everything. The theatre means the world to him but the whole world is out there, ready to be his stage. Eventually, this loneliness will turn into a performance and he’ll be grasping at identities trying to find familiarity. He will take his masks off over and over again, and he knows he’ll still be wearing one. He wants to greet you with his real face.

The world spins at the rate of a thousand miles an hour. It never stops, and that must mean everyone on it can’t stop either. 

//

The crows are singing a song, or talking amongst themselves. You can never know. The song is dyed red as the evening, and with a splash of purple. It’s the season to miss flowers and warm hands and the sweet taste of ice cream. You don't know why but the "let's go to the gardens" text from Ten gave you the most awful feeling, much like the morning after your nightmares.

“I have to go back to New York.”

You look up at Ten from the park bench beside the dahlia fields. The flowers are asleep, not in bloom until next autumn. 

“What?”

“I got a call… from someone I know.”

Your first reaction is to smile wide and jump up. “That’s great! You’re not jobless anymore.” You laugh.

But then the corner of your lips twitch and your smile drops. The word ‘goodbye’ hangs at the tip of your tongue and you look at him, slightly perplexed. Ten, who looks at you with so much kindness, will never understand this envy of yours.

“When… when do you come back?”

“I don’t- I don’t know. It depends on how well I do.”

You laugh despite the heavy feeling settling in your chest. “That- Let’s hope your acting is shitty then, hm?”

Ten frowns. “This isn't a joke. For once in your life, can you look at me with sincerity?”

You grit your teeth at his words. 

“I’m trying to lighten the mood, god dammit,” you murmur bitterly.

“And I’m saying you don’t have to.”

There’s something looming over the top of your heads, something eerie like a clock that never stops ticking or a clock that never ticks.

“Can I kiss you?” you ask, surrender in your voice already. 

If you kiss him where you hurt him, will everything be alright? Can you grow the flowers he likes over his scars? Flowers… flowers—which were his favourite again? Irises or daisies? It must have been the prior; you’ve glanced over a hundred times at the endless fields of sleeping blue irises in his sketchbook. And yet, you doubt. Were those flowers chrysanthemums? You’re grasping onto memories and your knuckles are starting to hurt.

Ten looks at you with a gaze that is of the past. He looks at you like he’s mourning, like he’s keeping something grave from you. So you lean in, your lips brushing against his before you can kiss him fully. You want to feel him and for him to feel you, the idea of a relationship foreign and close to you as ever. Even so, you feel like a ghost as you run your fingertips over his skin and through his hair. He knows how to kiss you, how to hold you—and he’s known you for years.

Ten pulls apart for a few moments, breaths weaving into each other. It’s only five centimeters between your lips but it’s still five centimetres. You don’t know if you were meant to be apart or if you were not. The show must go on.

You brush the hair from his face, a lingering smile on your face from the kiss and the way his features align so perfectly. It’s easier to avoid his gaze that way. 

“I’m tired,” he whispers. “I’m so tired. I feel like my skin is losing its grip on my bones. Everything’s falling apart.”

You hum, choking up at the sound of his voice. Soft and yet, so heavy.

He takes a sharp, shaky breath. “I don’t want to go.” 

Forever is the sweetest lie you’ve told each other. 

“You’re going to go,” you pronounce the words into realization. “You’re going to go away again. And I’m going to be right here.”

Your broken heart is making it much more difficult than it should be.

“Don’t go,” you whisper hoarsely. Maybe if this time you didn’t lie. Maybe you’ll be his number one, his lead finally. 

His breathing gets erratic, and he takes a step back to cover his face with his flushed hands. It’s painful to watch him this way and you want to take your words back. But you knew. You knew what the words would result in, what the words would grow into. You feel cruel.

“I… I can’t give up,” he says finally, “I can’t- I can’t. I’m sorry, oh god. Why can’t you come with me? Why do I have to go back alone?”

You swallow, your eyes downcast. 

“I’m not going to wait,” you say finally. “We should… we should stop now. It’s been long enough for us to go our own ways.”

Ten doesn’t move, at a loss for words.

“You… I'm sorry,” he says, choking on his own words. 

Your lips tremble and you wipe at your eyes. He cups your face, thumbs swiping away the tears before you can muster enough strength to push him away. You’re a complete mess, in a way you haven’t been before. Even now, he’s the only one you can face.

“We’re not,” you say, regaining some control over your tongue, “We’re not supposed to be like this. Do you think we would even be friends if we didn’t grow up here together?”

“What- What does that matter?” He furrows his eyebrows, drawing nearer.

“I’m saying that everything could just be a coincidence and maybe… maybe things should just end sometimes.”

You just want to kiss him, in the way a romantic story ends in a sweet kiss and it’s a happy ending.

“You don’t mean that,” he whispers. “But if you want distance, I’m giving you thousands of miles of it.”

You clench your jaw. “Don’t blame me for pushing you away.”

Ten throws up his arms in exasperation. “I’m not blaming—why are you so defensive all of a sudden?”

“You made me that way,” you answer, pitch low. Your throat hurts. 

Ten looks at you with disappointment in his eyes, baby pink lips in a frown you hate. "I'm sorry. I have to leave."

You nod and let the words 'see you tomorrow' slip the same time 'goodbye' slips his. He turns his back and walks forwards as he always has, and you look in from the same place as you always have. 

Eventually, you get the energy to go home. You greet your colourful room with the same look you always have before something catches your eye. The colour of your room mostly comes from the polaroids stuck to your wall—you and Ten at your high school graduation dancing to Nicki Minaj, Yukhei and you looking done holding the caricatures Ten painted of you, Sicheng and Ten and you after your first theatre performance together. There are so many smiles that you end laughing, a little crazy with the sound. Perhaps spring isn't as far as you think it is. Perhaps you will be okay.

Everything has an end. You know that. It hurts so fucking bad.

Ten was right. Because it hurts this bad, you know it meant something now. It meant the whole world to you. Winter tumbles upon you at full force even as you hold autumn dearly in your arms.

//

This time, you close your eyes to find yourself in a field of dahlias. The dream is meandering with colours and sounds so quiet that you feel like you’re stuck in time. Then a loud vibration resounds throughout the field; it is not a field at all. 

You are sitting atop a bed of stars, in the belly of something much larger than you are. There is a place in the universe for everyone but you cannot find yourself in it. 

So you sit at the places you’ve always known, at gardens and children’s parks, waiting till your hair turns grey and your skin starts to wrinkle. Time flows around you, faster with each second but you sit so still that you're not breathing anymore. You're so jealous of those who move, dance and play. Does it have to be this painful? You don't want to be all these people in your dreams. You want to paint your own mask.

The world is so busy and you are completely still. You think of sunshine in New York and how he must be loving it and for a moment, your plastered lips quirk upward. 

When you wake up, Ten is on a flight to New York with a text that reads: "I'll come back. I promise." The sunset after a farewell—even you understand the beauty of it and so, you watch him chase his dreams into the sunset.

act iii scene iii.

You know an ending scene when you see one. It’s the only scene you didn’t end up sleeping through. But this doesn’t feel like one, no matter how deep the despair runs through you. This third act love was never supposed to work out and yet, something is amiss.

Ten doesn’t come back even when the billboards proudly show his face and he’s the star of the show. In your opinion, he always has been. But people get comfortable in the present, sink their feet into it, and when they do, they forget the past. 

The world spins at a thousand miles per hour but nothing seems to move for you. Everything stops and life goes on.

epilogue.

Your youth starts to run out.

Sorrow grows into anger, then into resentment. You’re not sure what you hate so desperately but you hate it nonetheless. You’re pissed and you don’t know what to do with yourself except wake up shaking and wanting to shout and cry at the world. You were supposed to have Ten by your side even then. Even when you’re against the world, he was supposed to be there. Now you’re all alone in a world that’s crashing and burning, in a world of your own making and in a world that is no longer in the palm of your hand.

You wish you were an angrier person, you wish you could curse and scream and fight as easily as they do in movies. At least he didn't make a villain out of you when he left first. 

You don’t really have nightmares anymore though. When you have nothing to lose, you start to fear less. You tend to a little garden of your own making after Mr. Yang passes away. There’s a quiet funeral and a will written with your name on it. You did spend most of your time there after Ten left. It’s your flower shop now and you can tend to whichever flowers you want to keep alive.

Sometime in your late twenties, you get a call from an old friend. You meet Doyoung at a coffee shop near the college he went to, and he tells you he got your number from Yukhei that night you met. He says he’s glad your number hasn’t changed in all these years—he found it going through his contacts. You find it cute the way he becomes flustered when trying to explain himself. He’s a lawyer now, finished all those tough years to complete his dreams.

It makes you smile. You think that dreams shouldn’t be kept in a bottle but your shelves are full.

You go on dates at the cutest new cafes and the most ambient restaurants, sometimes to amusement parks so you can laugh at his fear of scary rides. It feels like having a friend once again and you cheer up for the better. 

But Doyoung doesn’t understand history the way you do. He doesn’t understand a lot of things—but it’s not something you expect anyway. He’s rich and he doesn’t know what small towns are like. You think you can be in love again. He proposes to you on a yacht and you nod, paralyzed from your fear of the ocean. Your parents are so happy for you that for a brief time, you feel happy too in the shadow of their joy.

You don’t visit your hometown anymore after the wedding. You don’t visit theatres at all.

Sometimes you remember the night at the rooftop after the party with Ten and smile. But it was one night, one thing you did in a lifetime of nights and things you did. It dawns on you just then that loneliness makes you fragile, fragile enough to push people away instead.

Every time you close your eyes, you’re still dancing with him on the rooftop below the stars that are yet to fade from your memory. You now pick wilting flowers at a wilted garden.

“A play?” you ask, confounded. Doyoung has never been one for theatre.

"Your mom said you liked theatre," Doyoung answers, eyes inquisitive.

"Did she now?"

He smiles. "If you've grown out of it—"

"No. No, I've always wanted to watch a show on Broadway."

"That's settled then."

You start to understand the meaning of this place to Ten. You haven't called him in years and you didn't keep in touch after the first year. Life was as busy for him as it was still for you and you understand some of it now. After all, who would ever want to leave this place?

Being a part of the audience runs a chill up your back, with certain memories drawing to the surface of your thoughts as you sink into the seat. It's a popular musical but you can't say you've ever heard of it. Time runs differently in your little bubble. 

It hurts just about as much as you expect it to. Watching Ten on stage hurts so bad you almost look away. The nostalgia scratches at your throat, filling your head with memories you shouldn't be entertaining anymore. You should've kept in touch. You should've done something. You were friends before everything else.

All you want from him now is forgiveness. You’re fine with loving him quietly. You’re fine with loving him quietly. You’re fine with—

You start to cry before you can do anything about it. Doyoung doesn’t notice beside you, dozed off already to the soft orchestral music.

You must seem delirious, mourning as though you’ve buried a loved one. With a shaky breath, you force yourself to look. It is the tombstone of your childhood love that stands on stage. You were rash. You were so, so young and rash. Your lips tremble again and you cry, chest rising and falling as you remember something so forgotten that it seems a dream, something so warm that’s now six feet under in the cold ground. You mourn.

But he seems happy—and that's all you ever really cared about. That's all you should have cared about.

The play ends on a wonderful musical note and you find yourself in better composure. Shaking Doyoung awake by the shoulder, you look at him expectantly. He seems partly embarrassed to have dozed off and partly apologetic.

"You want to meet Ten?" Doyoung asks quietly.

You blink in surprise.

"You grew up in the same town, right?"

"Yeah… Yeah, we did."

Doyoung smiles. "We went to college at the same place."

"Oh, I know. Most everyone from my town goes to college there actually."

Doyoung hums. 

"He invited me, actually," he says after a while.

"Oh."

It hurts only a little that he didn't invite you first. Did all those years mean nothing beyond a little romance? If you were years younger, you could be chiding him for it. If he were years younger, he would greet you with a Cheshire cat smile.

Backstage smells of sweat. A little perfume and powder but mostly sweat. You know that already. It's just that even the backstage here is grand. 

Ten looks as pretty as ever, even with half the makeup off his face. He looks as pretty as billboard posters, where he was meant to be, and in smiling Instagram posts and articles about how perfect his smile is. He's pretty but in a different sort of way.

Ten doesn't seem surprised. In fact, he greets the two of you with a poster smile. 

"Doyoung," he says first. "(Name). I hope, no wait. You guys better have liked that."

Doyoung laughs. "You'll bully me into liking it even if I didn't."

Ten rolls his eyes. "Law makes you so boring. Or maybe you were always boring."

Doyoung sighs, shaking his head. "Not everyone wants to be the life of the party. There's quite a bunch of wild stories about you on the internet."

Ten snorts. "I don't know why but you saying 'the internet' makes you sound thirty years older."

"There's no arguing with you, is there?"

"Learnt from the best."

You clear your throat. "If the two of you are done with your homoerotic banter…"

Doyoung chokes the same time Ten makes a gagging sound. What the two of them have in common is that they easily become flustered around you.

"I'm going to go wash my face." Doyoung excuses himself, exiting the backstage. 

In any other time or place, it would be fine being just the two of you.

"Ten," you acknowledge. "You look good."

"I always do."

You roll your eyes. "You don't have to mask everything with humour."

"Like you did?"

You fall silent.

“Does it hurt?” you ask.

“It does,” he whispers before raising his voice something more audible. “When I look at your—our old pictures, it does.”

"You've kept them?"

"Of course."

You look at your feet. The reality settles. You’re not going back to the way things were. You’re married to another man. Ten’s not in love with you anymore. If you had taken the step forward back then, if you had kissed him before he took that step back—would things have turned out differently? 

The stars will now gaze at lonely rooftops and empty flower gardens—an audience you never wished to entertain. But now, you're glad to have been part of his play, part of the play you made together.

“Are you happy these days?” he asks. There is no malice, no resentment in his voice.

“Almost,” you answer. “There’s just one thing missing.”

To ask for forgiveness does not mean erasure. You can't move on by letting it go and pretending it was never in the palm of your hand.

“I’m sorry it wasn’t me,” you say quietly, rubbing your forearm.

Ten smiles. “We were a little confused, I think. We wanted to be loved, appreciated and found the easiest way.”

You smile back. “Yeah. It was always easiest with you.”

Ten pauses, looking around with a familiar feline look in his eyes before whispering, “So, Doyoung? Really?”

You straighten, crossing your arms. “He’s really nice. And he’s always asking me how I am, what I ate, and he buys me all the soft toys I want. And he’s a better kisser, by the way.”

Ten places a hand over his heart in mock indignation. “Now, we both know that’s not true.”

You roll your eyes before a short giggle turns into chuckling into laughter, and the two of you find yourself with smiling eyes, the look of childhood on your faces and memories unkempt. 

It is better to grieve than to never have loved anyone enough to. 

It doesn’t hurt anymore but maybe it stopped hurting a long time ago. But it meant something to you, meant so much to you and that's all that makes sense now.

notes.

the words to the play at the beginning of act i scene i is taken from tang xianzu’s preface to his own play, the peony pavilion, however they are not exact quotations. the graveyard scene and the “when everything is gone, i want it to hurt” dialogue are inspired by indie game night in the woods by infinite fall studio and i love that game pls check it out if you have the time and money!!

#wayv x reader #wayv scenarios #nct x reader #nct scenarios #cznnet #neowritingsnet #nct ten x reader #wayv ten x reader #nct ten scenarios #wayv ten scenarios #nct fanfic #wayv fanfic #nct imagines #wayv imagines #nct ten imagines #wayv ten imagines #wayv fluff #wayv angst #nct fluff #nct angst #moonwrites #ok 20k+ never again gn <3 #it's so painful to write small towns bc even if im from one (almost) my brain is permanently in a busy bustling city

[heyitsyn]

Keeping Up With Seijoh Ep. ∞

a/n: this made me tear up a bit ngl bc haikyuu always hitting us with ‘theres no next year for us’ typa bull like BLS TAKE PITY ON MY SOUL AND STOP TIME AND KEEP MY BOYS TOGETHER :(((((((

it has an infinity symbol bc this is in the future so there isnt really an episode number 

for more seijoh content, check this masterlist out!

anon:

the third years coming back to seijoh the following year for a surprise visit, and watching over practice cuz they were in town for break. being impressed on how kyo has calmed down (a bit), kunimi actually giving a sh-, yknow the deal. just the growth of their kouhai makes them 🥺🥺 but THEN- Y O U walk in with the team’s bottles n the small gasp that comes out of your mouth when you see them. they GAWK cuz you’re maturing SO well (stfu oikawa- my eyes up are here) and just 🥺🤲

SO LIKE UNLESS YOURE NEW TO MY BLOG YOU KNOW THIS FINNA BE A SAD ONE BC SEIJOH THIRD YEARS ARE MY FAVORITE BOIS AND THEM GRADUATING MAKES ME :(

oh god here comes the tears

so

it was something you knew was coming since yanno, third years and all that

but you were so sure you had more time left before it happened

didnt you just join the team and met them like yesterday?

nope love you met nearly a year ago

and they made quite an impact on you in the short term you were together

so during the day of graduation

it wasnt really a school day since it was mostly for third years and the whole ceremony but kouhais could come so they could send off their senpais

you already called each third year the night before, nearly 2 hours per boy, to talk to them and cry with them so you didnt have to cry during the day

but ofc

you were sobbing already when you saw your captain walk up and get his tube with the diploma inside

they tried to remain strong as they sat in their seats but a single glance at you and the team at the stands above, the tears were already either forming or full out slipping

i know yall finna beat me up for this but im not really familiar with the other third years in the team bc theyre not really shown in the anime or manga that much so i dont have a good grip on their character so can we pls pretend theyre not in here?? omg pls dont kill me though

the ceremony felt like a long time for the seniors but when it was finally over, they ran out of that building and yall did too and you bolted yourself into the arms of your captain

oikawa held you tightly against him and he didnt care about being seen by his fangirls, who were waiting outside for him, or the others who wanted to have you to them too

‘i love you, y/n-chan’

he mumbled and you nodded

‘mhm. i love you too, oikawa-san. i love all my boys’

YALL MY HEART IS BREAKING BC OIKAWA ACTUALLY MEANT IT THIS TIME AND YOURE STILL OVER HERE THINKING THAT HES JUST SAYING IT AS A FRIEND LIKE IM-

iwa ripped you away from him and your face was buried into his chest

but it didnt last long since the others got a little impatient and just joined the hug turning it into a group hug

‘i dont want you to leave!’

kindaichi sobbed and kunimi sniffled, holding on tighter to the backs of his senpais

even kyo was sad but hes a tuff boy so he easily hid that behind his usual frown and glare

after seeing their parents and reassuring them they would be home soon, you started your trek towards your usual hang out spot

the second and first years were walking ahead of you while the third years fell back in step with you in between them

mattsuhana flanked your left while iwaoi were at your right

the tears were now gone but sniffles still filled the area and everyone was still down in their spirits

you held tightly to the warm big hands of iwaizumi and the soft touch of mattsun’s hand as if you were clutching your life-line

but you knew no matter how tightly you held on to them, they would still go and eventually leave you behind

the ramen shop was filled with another round of tears as everyone realized that this would be the last time seijoh og would have ramen here

‘WE DONT WANT YOU TO GOOO~~~~!!!!!!’

kindaichi sobbed while kunimi aggressively shoved noodles in his mouth to hide his hiccups

you refused to eat because you were so sad that you were scared you might end up throwing it all up later so you settled on relishing your time with the boys

oikawa was busy talking to yahaba and telling him tips and tricks for next year while iwaizumi was consolling the others who were crying

that left you to harshly wipe off the tears and focus on the jokes that matsuhana were telling to help and lighten up the mood

‘think of it like this! you won’t have oikawa and iwaizumi fighting anymore!’

well,,,,,

that kinda made things worse

geez makki stfu!!!!

you bursted into full tears and you sobbed, loudly and freely

‘WAAAAAHHHH!!!!!’

you wheezed and then continued to cry

everyone flinched and got startled at the sight of you crying

theyve seen you cry before but not this intensely and sadly 

‘DONT GO!!! OU-OUR FAMILY’S GONE!! ITS B-BROKEN NOW!!!!’

you wailed

everyone is so used to seijoh antics that they didnt even bat an eyelash when everyone started crying

‘damn it, i was trying not to cry!’

iwa growled and buried his face into his hands to hide the pain in his eyes

‘come here, y/n-chan’

mattsun cooed while sobbing and you went straight into his arms and his arms tightly wounded around you

he pressed kisses on your neck to calm you and he whispered promises to keep you from thinking that you would be alone

the boys were all still crying even when you paid for them and at the exit, everyone wouldnt let go of each other

ngl it was a weird sight of seeing these boys just hanging on and hugging the others and you were tightly pressed against makki’s chest 

‘dont cry, y/n-chan. we’ll be here, always. just a 4-hour ride to tokyo’

he promised but you shook your head

‘--too far’

you mumbled and he was able to make out a few words and he laughed

‘i swear you’ll see us in a few hours’

it took a few words of assurance from makki and eventually mattsun and iwa joined

oikawa stayed back because he already wanted to walk you home and iwa knew you were the one that was the hardest for oikawa to tell his plans to

waving them good bye, you fussed and made sure everyone was not crying anymore

‘you text me the moment you get home, all right? and kyo-san, let the food in your stomach settle before-’

‘before i take a bath-yea i know’

he rolled his eyes but he smiled lightly before hugging you

‘go home now, y/n’

he pushed you towards his captain but you pulled away one last time to give each boy a kiss on the cheek

their lips trembled, especially the third years, and wanted to keep their tears in but they rocket launched to space

yanno that one part in season 1 when kiyoko told them to work hard and then they just snot-rocketed and cried

oikawa interlaced your fingers as you both walked towards your house and it was quiet

you were sus bc it was too quiet and oikawa would usually be either skipping, humming a tune, or just yapping his ass off

but right now

he was quiet, slouchy, and,,,, not oikawa

you looked up to see his face and you knew it wasnt just the graduating part

it was like,,,, he was nervous

you squeezed his hand and that got his attention

‘oikawa-san, whats wrong?’

he suddenly stopped and your linked hands caused you to also stop so you watched him stare down at his shoes and you blinked at him in confusion

‘oika-’

‘y/n, tell me to stay’

he,,, sounded like he was begging

pleading

desperate to hear you say it

‘why should i?’

you asked and he finally lifted his eyes to stare into your eyes

he gulped before further explaining himself 

‘coach got me a volleyball scholarship’

he whispered and your eyes widened before you launched into him for a hug and pulled back to cup his face

‘oh my god! tooru! a scholarship?! im so proud-’

‘in argentina’

he finished and your eyes dimmed, the lifted corners of your lips falling into a frown

‘o-oh’

you stuttered and pulled your hands away but he grabbed them, placing them back to his face 

‘but if you dont want me to go, i wont-’

‘NO! what?! tooru, its your dream! you and iwa-san wouldnt stop talking about that match with argentina and-and you want to go there! dont you dare let that slip away!’

you scolded frantically however oikawa’s face scrunched before he started crying

‘i-i can’t! y/n, i’ll be alone! its so far away! far from iwa, far from you-’

then you reached to your tippy toes and kissed his nose then leaned back with a big smile

‘no matter how far, ill always be right here. im always going to be here, waiting for you’

you mumbled and oikawa hiccuped then leaned his forehead against yours, eyes clashing that was so full of love and fear

‘then dont you worry, y/n-chan. oikawa-senpai will work really hard and he will come back and make you happy’

he whispered and you pulled him even closer to give him the biggest hug

‘im looking forward to it’

TIMESKIPTIMESKIPTIMESKIPTIMESKIP

ONEYEARONEYEARONEYEARONEYEAR

truth to be told with guilty conscience, the third years havent really been in touch

yes theyve called and messaged but there wasnt a normal kind of communication, especially with oikawa

but they decided to go over there during a simultaneous week break for universities in tokyo and iwa, makki, and mattsun pressured oikawa to fly back to japan just for a week to visit

‘iwa-chan im so broke righ-’

‘fine, we’ll see y/n ourselve-’

‘OKAY FINE! HERE! IM BUYING THE TICKET NOW SEE?!’

bahahaha im sorry i love oiks so much its not even funny

they agreed to not tell anyone, even coach, to surprise you all and to see your faces of surprise bc mattsuhana are little shites and they love to mess around

it was a normal day during practice

yahaba was teaching some first years how to serve while watari was giving exercising tips on how to bend their knees without shrieking in athritis

kyotani was doing jump serves while kindaichi and kunimi tried to block him

it was a normal day

the former third years knew the ins and outs of the place and oikawa still had his keys of the gym since he never gave it back so they were easily able to sneak in

they sat on the bleachers and observed everyones growth which really blew them away and took them aback by how much they improved in little time

like kunimis actually huffing and throwing a mini tantrum bc hes so into it and hes mad he didnt get that block right

they also noticed the larger amount of new recruits and based on their practice, it looks like they would be in good hands for the next few years

however, the true shock settled in when this happened

kyotani cursed loudly when the ball hit out but yahaba scolded him for saying a bad word in front of the first years

‘kyotani, dont say that anymore! its not good to teach the babies bad words!’

he ranted and the college boys shared a look of caution and fear, bracing themselves for kyotani’s normal screaming and tantrum for being called out

but they were the most surprised when the bleach-haired boy simply glared at him and turned away to go pick up another ball to hit

‘did,,,, did kyoken-chan-’

‘was he just calm right now?’

‘oh my god iwa-chan kyoken-chan got abducted by aliens!’

I SWEAR TO GOD ITS LIKE THE CURRENT THIRD AND SECOND YEARS GOT AN OIKAWA ‘IWA-CHAN’ SENSOR BECAUSE THE MOMENT HE SAID THAT, THEIR EARS TWITCHED AND THEY JUST KNEW

THEIR SENPAIS WERE HERE

their eyes were wide and their attention snapped towards the bleachers where indeed, their 4 fathers sat

‘OIKAWA-SAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!’

kindaichi screamed and he NYOOMED towards the stairs but kunimi grabbed him by the collar

‘come down here, senpais!’

yahaba urged and coach and naoi shared a look of initial shock but then transformed into happiness

it was nice to see the family together again

they quickly turned into a dog pile with the hugs that were given around like kyotani actually giving iwaizumi a hug and makki and mattsun affectionately ruffling everyone’s hair

the other first years were just staring in awe at the legendary third years of seijoh that theyve heard so much about

‘everyone, these are your seniors!’

yahaba presented and the 3 third years became very flustered but ofc attention whore oikawa soaked it up

‘yes, hello, my little disciples! you are my legacy so work har- IWA-CHAN!’

he was cut into his famous line when his best friend bonked him for being too self-absorbed again

‘waaa, l/n-senpai was right’

some first year mumbled at the scene and their ears perked up at the name

‘l/n?’

‘where is she?! y/n-chan!’

oikawa shouted and looked around

BECAUSE OF FATE

YOU AUTOMATICALLY MANIFESTED THERE

‘YES YOU CALLED’

okay no but you actually walked in just in time, carrying the crate of water bottles, focused on not dropping them so you didnt really see the others

they were silent not because they wanted to mess with you and see how long youd figure out that they were there

no

they were silent because of how BEAUTIFUL you became

you gained a few inches and your hair is now longer with your baby fat slowly melting away and you were also finally showing your growth with your body

the eyes that used to gleam with childish innocence was now mature and poised like a perfect lady

even the way you walked with a crate made it seem like a ballet performance with the grace at every step and the flowery aura you exuded

you have turned from a ridiculously cute and pretty girl to a beautiful goddess

AND YOU WERE ONLY IN YOUR SECOND YEAR HOW THE HELL ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO HANDLE IT WHEN YOURE FINALLY A THIRD YEAR?!

CAN YOU IMAGINE THE AMOUNT OF BOYS THEY HAVE TO WARD OFF?!

‘my god’

iwaizumi mumbled, flushing red and turning away to hide his fluster

‘beautiful’

oikawa whispered and he gulped, not remembering how strikingly attractive you are

‘have mercy’

makki whined softly, clutching his heart as it started beating fast and made his stomach feel all funny

did they act like this back in the day?

mattsun doesnt have control so he ran forward and you were just putting the crate down when you were lifted off of the floor and twirled around

so like yahaba waved off the others to go back to practice so its like not awkward to be standing around and see this happening

there was only one person who did this to you

‘mattsun-san?!’

you shrieked and you giggled happily as he put you down so you were able to hug him properly and eventually, catching sight on the others behind him

your gasp made them smile widely and you pressed a hand to your mouth to hide the shock and your overjoyed laugh

if they could take a picture of this and remember the amount of love your eyes held and the pure unfiltered happiness that swirled in those orbs

it was like they felt themselves falling in love with you all over again

‘oh my god everyone’s here too!’

you ran to them and jumped at the awaiting arms of iwaizumi and he was still the bara arm babie you remembered

‘i missed you, doll’

he whispered

‘hmmm,,,i missed you more’

he let you go and you skipped over to makki who engulfed you in his arms and you felt his soft brown hair because you remembered he loved it when you ran your fingers through his hair

‘youve grown! so much! you got even more beautiful!’

he exclaimed and you giggled, bashful at his compliment

‘hmm~, no i didnt’

he gave you a deadpan look and you chuckled before scurrying away towards the one you wanted to hug the most

he definitely got more toned and he got taller too

you didnt have any time to react since he grabbed you and squished you against him

‘youre here, oikawa-san’

he nuzzled his head against your neck

‘mhm, im here now, y/n-chan’

he placed a kiss on your nose and you scrunched your face but there was a big smile that was clear

then oikawa’s eyes trailed from your face to your,,, ahem,,, girls

‘jesus, y/n-chan really grew, huh’

he complimented and you blinked confusingly before trailing after his eye’s gaze and it landed on your chest and you punched him

‘urusai, oikawa-san! my eyes are up here! youre so perverted. pervert oikawa-san’

you pouted and moved to seek comfort in the arms of makki

‘hmm, oikawa’s perverted as usual. i think it got worse with all those argentinian women’

makki teased and mattsun joined to poke fun at their captain

oikawa whined and told iwa they were making fun of him to which his own best friend betrayed him and starting teasing him too

you simply watched on and your eyes watered, your sniffles catching their attention

‘eh? why are you crying, y/n-chan?’

oikawa asked while approaching you to wipe your tears with his thumbs

but you shook your head with a teary smile

‘n-nothing-just,,,, i missed you guys. an-and im so happy because its like our f-family’s back together and i just-i-’

you cried but it was out of happiness and their hearts warmed

ofc they felt guilty because they were aware that they werent as in touch as they shouldve been so you probably felt lonely and casted aside without any contact from your boys

but they know now to make sure you feel loved and cared for because as you keep saying, they were your boys

they were a family

seijoh is a family 

and you love them 

but they love you more

a/n: okay im sorry this is probably trash and all over the place and im crying and stressing but ive been writing in between my college alg homework and its been so hard like WHY IS NUMBERS SO HARD LIKE WHAT-?! but this has kinda been the baby of my break time and relaxing few minutes bc i procrastinate too much and i want to do something i like before i actually go insane and i promise PROMISE that once everything is cleared up i will edit this and im already working on the other requests so expect a few to be out by the end of the week or something like that!!

#haikyuu #haikyuu!! #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu!! imagines #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu!! headcanons #aoba johsai #aoba johsai x reader #aoba josai x reader #aoba josai #seijoh #aoba johsai imagines #aoba josai imagines #seijoh imagines #seijoh manager #haikyuu manager #haikyuu!! manager #aoba johsai manager #aoba josai manager #seijoh x reader #aoba johsai headcanons #aoba josai headcanons #seijoh headcanons #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu!! fluff #aoba johsai fluff #aoba josai fluff #seijoh fluff

[aarcanechaoss]

☆ Dazai has a girlfriend? ☆

☆ Smut + a little bit of crackheadness

Hearing the giggling of his coworker was normal, at least that’s what Atsushi told himself. The suicidal maniac was particularly chipper today and everyone noticed.

“Atsushi could you finish my paperwork for me.” His eyes widened and he pouted, “pleaseeee.”

“Dazai do your own.” Atsushi sighed.

“Ugh please! I’ll be late and then I’ll get in trouble and then I won’t get my present.” Fake tears welled in the man’s eyes.

“What are you on about now?” Kunikida piper up, clearly over Dazai’s weird mood.

“Ko will be mad I gotta gooo.”

“Who’s Ko?” Kenji asked. Naomi and Kyoka looked towards him with wide eyes, they wanted to know as well.

“Hm? Ko is my girlfriend.” He said nonchalantly.

Beat

“WHAT!” The agents yell. Dazai laughs, throws the last few pages onto Atsushi’s desk and slips towards the door.

“What’s the racket?” The President appeared around the corner with a raised brow.

“I have a date and must be off!” Dazai exclaims. Fukuzawa merely nods.

“Dazai.” Naomi called, he turned and tilted his head. “Why didn’t we know this? Who is she? What’s she look like? Is she beautiful? How long have you been together?”

“So many questions.” He smiles. “I can spare a moment to talk about my wonderful Ko!” If sparkles could appear in the air they would have.

“So-“ Ranpo prompts. What? He was intrigued as well- he hadn’t deduced that Dazai was in any kind of relationship.

“Well firstly, I like to think of work and private life separately. She’s a criminologist and I a private eye, we don’t really talk about work so I guess I just didn’t here. We’ve been dating nearly a year and she’s the most perfect woman ever.” His eyes gleamed in excitement. “She knows so many suicide methods it’s wonderful and she doesn’t think I’m weird!”

At that comment the ADA looked at Dazai with annoyance of course his girlfriend knows something about suicide methods to deal with him.

“Then why do you keep asking other women to die with you?” Atsushi asks.

“Hmm? Because I have to practice before I ask her. It’s a proposal after all.” The ADA stood still in shock as the man happily left the office on his way to his date. Once gone they erupted with questions.

“Do we follow?”

“He didn’t say what she looked like?”

“He seems pretty happy.”

“Wonder how they met.”

The president smiled at the mess but stood in thought. Dazai had unintentionally reminded him that he had to meet with his daughter in a few days to meet her boyfriend finally. That should be interesting.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Dazai walked along merrily, Kosuke was waiting at her apartment for him. His hands were tucked into his pocket, his fingers playing with the small Present in his left pocket. He bought her a necklace, nothing super fancy just a silver chain with two birds on it. Small, pretty and perfect for his favourite person.

The apartment door was beckoning him closer, his fingers twitched around the keys in excitement as he unlocked the door. Kosuke was waiting patiently at her dinner table, the food was warm and ready to be eaten when she heard the door unlock. Dazai walked in and grinned at the silver haired woman who quickly stood and ushered him to the table.

“How was work?” She asked.

“It was good but not interesting, just paperwork.” She rolled her eyes, she knew he’d probably give the paperwork to someone else to do. “Don’t roll your eyes I actually did most of it except like five pages. It was just signing things anyway... you?”

Kosuke sat beside her lover and smiled. “No new cases to look over nor and criminals to understand their minds. Anyway no more work talk eat up and then I’ll give you a gift.” She winked.

“Oh my my Kosuke I am indeed excited. Here for you.” He passed her the necklace box and opened it. She smiled and blushed, she loved it.

“It’s gorgeous... actually Osamu.” She bit her lip towards the handsome man. “How about we forgo dinner and get take out later? I’m not the best cook anyway.”

“My darling Ko, I’d love to skip to desert.” He reaches forward and captured her lips in a deep kiss, his fingers trapping themselves in her silver locks. Her metallic blue eyes closed slowly as she moved into the kiss, her own hands reaching forward to tug at him. “Bedroom.”

The adventure that was making it to her bedroom was difficult when making out and attempting to strip oneself of unnecessary clothes. Beneath her green dress was lacy underwear that he’ll have to remember she owns so he can toy with her another night tonight was something sweet and passionate, relaxing and needing. Finally being able to remove his pants he stood before her arms and neck bandaged while Kosuke herself wore a bandage around her neck.

Last week they’d spoken about this, how they wanted to show everything- yes they’d been together nearly a year but sex more often then not involved still wearing the bandages and they wanted to remove them, even if just for tonight.

Kosuke moved first, her hands trailing Dazai’s toned stomach, thumbs grazing small scars and bumps before beginning to undo the first bandage on his arm. His arms were scarred, his neck held a perpetual bruise from his hundreds of attempts and he knew she didn’t pity him, he knew she’d never say anything to push him away just as she knew he’d not be disgusted by the scar on her neck. He was lost in thought, staring at the underwear clad woman, he didn’t notice she’d undone the other arm. Her hands rested on his chest and she looked at him.

“I don’t have to take off this bandage.” She said. He stared at her.

“Take it off, I’ll take yours off too.” A hand cupped her cheek as he kissed her softly. Her smooth hands were quick and skilled as she removed the wrappings around his throat. Her thumb rubbed over the darkened skin before cupping his cheek instead. His own hands moved on their own, it felt strange not having the bandages on, he reached her neck and undid the bandage. The pink scar at the base of her neck spoke volumes and the rope burn that wrapped around her neck spoke even louder. If anything he thought Kosuke looked even more beautiful like this.

“You’re beautiful.” He whispered resting his hands on her hips as his lips pressed against her neck. She sighed. He lightly bit the soft skin to elicit a moan. Quickly he removed her bra and palmed her chest, moving the heat from his palms around her body. She melted into the touch, her own hands dancing around his body before trailing to his briefs. She snapped the elastic against his skin and he hissed softly.

Being that she was slightly taller she had to lean a tiny bit towards him not that he minded, in fact he loved it, he loved her and everything about her. She pushed him towards the mattress and landed beside him, he rolled over till he was above her and between her thighs. His length twitched and hips bucked forward when his lower half met with hers.

For a few moments that’s all they did, grinding against each other while their hands exploded the others body. Kosuke’s hands knotted themselves in his hair, holding him close as their tongues fought for dominance. She let him win. Dazai sat back on his calves and Kosuke raised a brow.

“What’s up babe?”

“Can’t decide if I want to eat you out or fuck you.” He shrugged.

“Fuck me now and then wake me up in the morning with that tongue of yours.” She smirked, he reflected her face with his own and quickly moved to remove their last article of clothing each. His hands smoothed over her thighs, spreading them a little.

“So impatient and wet my love.” He giggled. Kosuke went to speak but Dazai oh Dazai had swiftly entered her till he was balls deep.

“Osamu!” She exclaimed with a rather loud whine. He’d never get over those gorgeous sounds nor the way she’d claw at his back (or chest when she rode him). Did her nails sting? Yes. Did he love the sting? Also yes. Slowly he rocked into her a moan sitting in the back of his throat. Her back arched up as he made one quick movement to thrust into her just right, she exposed her neck and he couldn’t control himself as he began scattering kisses and hickies over the soft and sensitive flesh, he was going to mark her good and he hoped she would too.

“Fuck fuck.” He growled as his pace picked up, his hair stuck to his face with sweat, his arms shook as he lent over the tall woman and moved to kiss her again. “You’re so fucking beautiful you know.” He moaned.

“Osa-mu.” She moaned against his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you... I love you too.” He groaned, she clenched around him and fuck did that make him wild. His thrusts became quicker and more erratic and her legs flung around his hips pulling him closer, heels digging into his lower back. He moaned, loudly. “Are you close?”

“Yes... yes yes can I Osamu?” She pleaded.

“Cum for me.” He breathed, one hand snaked between their bodies and rubbed against the sensitive bundle of nerves and she lost it. Her body twitched and shook and clenched around Dazai’s as she came. Dazai followed quickly pumping into her sloppily as he came inside her. “Kosuke.” He moaned before collapsing beside her.

Somehow, someway they pulled up a blanket and fell asleep together- Kosuke would clean the sheets in the morning.

When morning came Dazai was delighted to see Kosuke was still beside him, breathing slowly with a hand on his heart. She liked to know his heart was still beating, it’s cute. Suddenly his mind flashed with images of the night before and a sneaky smile made its way onto his face as he looked to the woman cuddled to his side.

“Fuck me now and then wake me up in the morning with that tongue of yours.” She had said and oh how he planned to as he slipped beneath the blankets and from her grip.

Waking up like that was absolutely wonderful- she’d admit unabashedly as his tongue worked magic against her core. And by the time she’d returned the favour of course someone had to call right as he’d finished in her mouth.

“Ugh it’s Kunikida.” He groaned and pressed answer. “Yes?”

“You are late for work.”

“No I’m not I don’t work today.”

“Yes you- oh... I see your schedule apologies.”

“Could he not call so early in the morning.” Kosuke grumbled.

“Now now Ko you have plenty of time to mark me before tomorrow.” Dazai giggled.

“Oh I- uh... is that your girlfriend?” He kind of wished he was at work now, just to see the uptight mans face.

“Yep. Now excuse us we wil continue where we left off BYE.”

Back at the office Kunikda was brighter than a tomato as he stared at the paperwork in front of him. Atsushi waved a hand in his face to get his attention.

“Kunikida?”

“After a brief phone call we can assume those two have an active lifestyle and I called them in the middle of it.” He cried. Atsushi, Kenji and Kyoka blinked in confusion whilst Yosano laughed so hard she was doubled over.

Ah what a lively bunch.

#bsd #bsd smut #Bungou Stray Dogs #Bungou Stray Dogs smut #Dazai smut #Osamu Dazai smut #Kosuke Fukuzawa

[hoekaashi]

a/n: I had this for a while and kept forgetting to post it so here we gooo. again, this is post time skip so these characters are aged up. i feel like it’s rushed so if it is, lemme know so i can work on my shitty pacing skills. i hope you enjoy! pairings: ushikags x reader warnings: road head, fingering, rough sex, face fucking, tired and bratty reader, semi-public (?) sex, spanking, creampie taglist: @suckersuki​, @babydabi​, @bakugoustanaccount​, @animoozies​, @bleedinqhearts​

You fell asleep in the back of the car while your two boyfriends were up front, listening to music quietly. You had suggested that the three of them go somewhere during your short vacation from work since the boys were given some time off from practice too. Unfortunately, they had gotten into an argument during their last match and there was still so much tension between them. Things were awkward at home so you hoped that this trip would help them move past their dumb fight and things would go back to normal.

A sudden swerve of the car woke you up. Sitting and rubbing your eyes, you asked what was happening. But you understood once you looked at them. Kageyama was leaning over with his face in Ushijima’s lap and from the way the latter was gripping the steering wheel, you knew what was happening. At some point while you were sleeping, Kageyama decided to give Ushijima a blow job. You were sad you missed it, but moving forward, you got a better view of what was happening. Ushijima’s left hand was steering the car while his right hand was tangled in Kageyama’s hair. His jaw was tense and you could tell he was close. As much as you wanted to join them, you preferred to watch as Ushijima tried to drive normally while Kageyama deepthroated him. 

The sight of the two of them made you wet and you pushed your thighs together for some relief but the sounds Kageyama was making made it impossible for you to sit still. Sitting back with a view of Kageyama’s head bobbing up and down, you pulled your shorts and underwear down. Spreading your legs, you began to run your fingers up and down your slit. Your quiet moans caught the attention of Ushijima who looked back at you slightly before turning his attention back to the road. You pretended that you didn’t notice and moaned louder as you began to rub your clit. You saw him push Kageyama’s head down and held him there, knowing that your moans were the final push to get him to cum.

Kageyama sat up after swallowing everything and looked back at you. His eyes were watering and at the corner of his mouth there was a mix of saliva and the cum he couldn’t swallow dripping from it. From the look in his eyes, you could tell that he was still hungry. Unbuckling his seat belt, he climbed into the back of the car as Ushijima yelled at him for his reckless behavior. You shifted until your upper back was resting on the car door with Kageyama between your legs. He placed a hand around your neck, pulling you into a hungry kiss. You were surprised by his intensity but all it did was make you more horny. His other hand quickly rubbed your clit and you moaned into his mouth. His actions were fast and rushed, but his eagerness turned you on even more. You pulled at his shirt. He broke the kiss and took it off before diving back in. You could taste Ushijima still on his tongue.

One of his fingers pushed into you and just that small motion made your hips buck up. You pulled back, your nails digging into his shoulders, both of you extremely needy for each other. You told him that you needed more and Kageyama smirked. He commented on how tight were and how just watching him give head made you this wet. You let out a breathy moan when he added another finger and nibbled on your collarbone. The tank top you were wearing had shifted and Kageyama used this to pull one of your bra cups down so he could mark up your breast. A hand found purchase in his hair while the other grabbed the door handle behind you.

Using his thumb, Kageyama circled your clit as his fingers sped up. He could tell you were getting close. Your moans were getting louder and you arched your back higher. Biting down on your sensitive nipple had you cumming on his fingers. He helped you ride out your orgasm, but from the way he was looking at you, you knew he wasn’t done. He cleaned up his fingers as he shifted lower until his face was hovering over your pussy. The feeling of his tongue licking up and down your slit had you moaning his name. He ate you out like a starved man, alternating between sucking on your clit and licking your folds. Kageyama gave no warning as he pushed two fingers inside of you and curled them to rub that sweet spot. Your hands were gripping his hair for dear life and his name fell off your lips like a mantra. You came for the second time just from Kayegama’s fingers and mouth alone, the sensitivity from your first orgasm helping the second one arrive faster. From the way his mouth was still working, you knew that it wasn’t going to be the last time.

You tried to push him off of you, the overstimulation too much, but his grip on your thighs was solid and your pleas for him to stop soon turned into moans once again. You didn’t notice that Ushijima had parked the car in a secluded area until the door opened and he caught your head so you didn’t hurt yourself. The sight of you - Kageyama in between your legs, your arms pushing your newly marked breasts together, your back arched, and your mouth open from silent moans - caused Ushijima to twitch in his pants. Hearing Kageyama eat you out mixed with your moans caused him to become instantly hard again, but he refrained from touching himself until he could park the car.

You opened your eyes and saw Ushijima staring down at you with the same hungry look Kageyama had. The tension between the two of them turned sexual at some point over the last two weeks and they had finally snapped. Ushijima pulled his dick out of his jeans and you could see the dark spot left behind by his precum. He told you to open your mouth, and as much as you wanted you, you hated being easy. Kageyama still had his fingers knuckle deep in you as Ushijima glared down. He hated it when you acted like a brat and spanking usually did the trick, but this was not the time nor place for him to get you to behave. He also didn’t want to be forceful with you especially since he was still mad from the fight he had with Kageyama.

The latter had a plan to get you to comply though. He replaced his fingers with his cock, filling you up in one quick motion and causing you to open your mouth wide as you moaned from the sensation. Ushijima used this opportunity to shove his dick down your throat. Your moans were instantly muffled as Kageyama kept thrusting into you from one side and Ushijima from the other. You gagged around Ushijima’s dick, the tip constantly hitting the back of your throat. Kageyama could feel you getting close and leaned forward to wrap a hand around your throat. He groaned when he could feel Ushijima’s dick moving under his palm. You had tears in your eyes from how Ushijima was fucking your mouth. As Kageyama tightened his grip on you, and both of them picked up their pace, you felt yourself cumming for the third time. The vibrations from your moans had Ushijima’s eyes rolling back and he had to brace himself on the car. Kageyama stopped moving because of how tightly your walls were squeezing him.

Once your orgasm had finished, the two men pulled out of you leaving you feeling completely empty. Ushijima gently lifted your head, your neck sore from the position it had been in and Kageyama shifted back to give you space. Ushijima told you to get on your hands and knees for them. You were tired and sore and wanted a break. So when you simply sat on the seat and relaxed, both of the men grew irritated. Kageyama grabbed your hair by the base of your neck and pulled you closer to him and Ushijima grabbed you hips and forced you on your knees. The roughness of how they were handling you turned you on even more than before. Kageyama grabbed your chin and placed his thumb in your mouth. Your lips wrapped around it instantly and sucked while you looked up at him with doe eyes. They were still watering from earlier and a part of him wanted to give your throat a break, but another part of him wanted to make sure you wouldn’t be able to talk the next day. He watched as your eyes rolled back before you closed them and your mouth fell open slightly. Ushijima had pushed himself in and began pounding into you. His dick was big, the stretch always hurt a bit, but he refused to give you the luxury of adjusting to his size after your bratty actions. His hands were on your waist, pushing you down. The pressure forced you onto your forearms and Kageyama readjusted so he was sitting with his dick right under your mouth. At this point, you were too blissed out and tired to focus on anything so Kageyama guided your head to his dick and you obediently began to suck. You could taste yourself on him still as your tongue worked along the underside of his dick. His hands were tangled in your hair and continued to gently guide your head up and down his shaft. His actions were a stark contrast to Ushijima’s who had begun to slap your ass as he fucked you. The harder he slammed into you, the tighter you felt around him. The sight of Kageyama face fucking you caused him to move his hips faster.

Kageyama, by now, had you choking on his dick, the tip of it repeatedly hitting the back of your throat. The way your throat constricted around him and the vibrations of your moans caused him to cum in your mouth and you worked hard to swallow it all. He pulled you off of him and rested your head in his lap, petting your hair as Ushijima began to rub your clit. The two of you were close and he refused to cum before you did. It didn’t take long before you were crying out from your fourth orgasm with Ushijima cumming inside of you immediately after. He slowly pulled out and watched his cum drip out of your pussy. If he wasn’t still holding up your hips, you would’ve collapsed by now. He took off his shirt and used it to clean you up, telling you over and over again how you did so well for them. Once you were clean, they helped you get dressed and laid you back down on the back seat. The two of them fixed their own clothes, Ushijima rummaging for a new shirt in his bag, and got back on the road. You fell asleep quickly, muttering an ‘I love you’ to the both of them, barely being able to say the words. Kageyama simply reached behind him and gave your leg a gentle squeeze, not wanting to disturb the wave of sleep washing over you.

#ushijima wakatoshi #ushijima x reader #ushijima x reader smut #kageyama tobio #kageyama x reader #kageyama x reader smut #ushikage x reader #haikyuu!! #haikyuu fic #haikyuu smut #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x reader smut #ushikage smut

[peachyydesires]

the keiji fic you posted was amazing, may I request a part two maybe e e e? (ty!!)

The Party (Pt. 2; Keiji x Reader)

a/n: hi there anon! i definitely didn’t expect anybody actually wanting a part two to that fic, but tysm! luckily i got to cover up a lot of plotholes i missed in the first one, so i hope you enjoy this one too! also to the other request in my box (the bad girl x keiji), i’m really excited to write it and i already have an outline for it! i also forgot to mention this to everyone but all of my fics will have a female reader (unless requested otherwise). if this bothers anyone, please let me know and i’ll switch to gender neutral terms (unless requested otherwise). 

summary: after walking out of the station, you come to the realization that you’re stranded in the middle of town until keiji finds you.

   You didn’t exactly plan this out well.

   As you walked out of the station with a large smirk still spread out on your face, you walked a few feet away from the building before you stopped dead in your tracks as you realized that you were stranded in the middle of town with no car. And even if you had one, it would’ve been illegal and dangerous, considering you were technically drunk. 

   Well, shit. You thought, your smirk slowly shrinking into a defeated frown as you patted your pockets. Somehow, while you were busy playing your act, you had forgotten completely about your phone on the way out. Luckily, you still had around $20 on you because of your wallet, but there was no way you could call a taxi at this hour. 

   You walked a few yards out into the city and found the local convenience store not too far from the police station. There was only one employee at the cashier, but he was half-asleep on a chair behind the counter. You carefully slipped in and grabbed a case of cheap beer; you were probably being irresponsible by focusing on alcohol rather than a ride home, but you didn’t really care. All you wanted to do was to drink your worries away and hope for the best.

   Once you were at the counter, the mere slam of the beer case on the glass was enough to wake the cashier up. Without a word, he drowsily scanned the case of beers as you requested a pack of cigarettes from the shelf behind him. He stared at you blankly for a moment before sluggishly turning around, unlocking the case, and scanning the brand of cigarettes you requested. You impatiently tapped your foot against the tile, crossing your arms as you waited for him to finish.

   As soon as he had given you your change, you immediately snatched the case and box of cigarettes and left without a word. You were definitely irritated, especially with how the night was turning out. You had almost forgotten about Keiji, especially as you popped open a bottle of beer and began to down it quickly. 

   The hour was filled with bad decisions as you finished beer after beer and lit cigarette after cigarette. You sat on the curb right outside of the convenience store, staring up at the night sky in blissful wonder. All you really wanted was to get high and have a good time, but cheap beer and cigarettes weren’t exactly the best way to go. 

   Meanwhile, back at the station, all Keiji could think about was you. Oh, how your act had made him swoon; he had never really encountered anyone like you, especially on duty. He was distracted as soon as you had left the station, and he debated in his head whether or not to text you straight away or wait. 

   Just as he was getting off of his shift and getting ready to go home for the night, he froze; how had you gotten home when you were intoxicated? Sure, you weren’t underage drinking, but driving under influence was just as bad. Then again, he had driven you to the station in the first place with no way back.

   Damn it. I should’ve let her call bail. He thought, gritting his teeth as he seized his jacket from the coat rack and jumped into his car. Maybe she called a taxi? No, that’s impossible, and she left her phone on that couch. 

   He started up his car and began to drive toward the local convenience store; all he wanted was a coffee before he got home, considering he usually pulled an all-nighter on these types of late nights.

   As he pulled up to the parking lot, he noticed a hunched over figure on the sidewalk. Looking curiously out the window, his jaw dropped as soon as he realized it was you. His car made a loud screeching noise as he quickly turned around and parked in the nearest parking spot.

   You were too busy admiring the few blinking stars in the sky to notice him. It wasn’t until Keiji shouted your name that you snapped your head back to look over at him in shock. A goofy smile spread out on your face as soon as you recognized him, and you waved energetically, “Hi Mr. Policemaaaaan!” 

   “You can’t trick me again, silly. What are you doing out here all by yourself?” He mirrored your smile, his eyes focused on only your face as he shoved his hands into his pockets. 

   “Pffft, I’m nottt tricking youuu, scout’s honor!” You eagerly patted the space next to you on the curb as you took another swig of beer, which he definitely hadn’t noticed earlier. “I… I couldn’t find a way back home, soooo one thing led to another and heere I am!” You slurred, but this time you couldn’t control your words as the alcohol began to really kick in. 

   He looked at you with a concerned expression on his face as he went silent; he studied your uneven posture and the empty case of beer plus cigarette box at your feet, and it didn’t take him very long for him to put two and two together, especially with the convenience store being right behind you. There were cigarette butts stranded all over on the sidewalk, along with half-smoked ones that you had somehow put out in exchange for more beer.

   “Do you… Need a ride home?” He slowly asked, motioning towards the parked car behind him as he continued, “You really shouldn’t be out here all night.” He didn’t want to hurt your feelings by telling you smoking and drinking was bad for your health, even though you were drunk and probably wouldn’t remember anything by morning. 

   However, you shook him off easily as you stammered, “O-Of course not! I’ll be fineee, it’s almost sunrise anywayss. I..I don’t see the point in sleeeping now.” You tried to take another large sip of beer, but you put down the bottle in distaste once you realized it was empty. 

   A chuckle escaped from him as he shook his head, a frown tugging at his lips but he just couldn’t stay mad at you. He reached down a hand and ruffled your hair, “Oh yeah? And how are you supposed to get home then afterward, huh cutie?” 

   You pouted, lightly smacking at his arm as you made a fuss about your now messed-up hair. “I… I don’t knowww! I’ll figure it out laterrr, I just wanna have fun now, partypooper!” You whined, crossing your arms as you looked up at him with your signature puppy-like expression.

   Keiji rolled his eyes as he sat down next to you, looking up at the scattered stars lighting up the midnight sky as he tried to think of a way to convince you to get off the curb. An idea finally popped up in his head as he looked over at you, “I’ll order you a pizza as soon as we get back to your house if you go with me, okay?”

   At the word ‘pizza’ your dreamy expression immediately turned into an excited one as you turned to look at him. “Really? W….Why didn’t you say that in the first place, dummy? Let’s gooo!” You stood up too quickly as you talked, but it was too much motion at once for your already woozy head and you stumbled immediately in your heels. 

   Before you could fall onto the road face-first, he stood up and caught you again. You tried to swat him off, insisting you could walk for yourself but he didn’t listen and instead scooped you up bridal-style into his arms. Your face flushed instantly, the moon reflecting down on your dark pink cheeks as you locked eyes with him. 

   He stared at you for a moment, his face soon mirroring yours as he quickly looked away and headed over to his car. He was glad you didn’t mention anything about the case nor pack of cigarettes he left back on the sidewalk, but all he could really think about was you. 

   You unconsciously pressed your side closer into his warm chest as the night breeze began to pick up. You were in the middle of studying his face when you noticed he still had his service cap on, and a mischievous idea crept into your head.

   When he least expected it, you reached up and grabbed the hat in one swift move and put it on top of your own head. He looked down at you, first in confusion before it quickly morphed into affection as he rolled his eyes. 

   “Really?”

   “Why noooot?” You giggled, pretending to salute to him as he opened the door to the backseat. He settled you into the seat, even as you protested, “Awww, no shotguuun?”

   “Not this time.” He winked at you and took his cap back before shutting the door and getting into his seat. You strapped yourself in, bouncing your legs enthusiastically at the thought of finally getting something to eat and, admittedly, going home. 

   Because the GPS had saved your address, the ride home was rather quick especially with the lack of traffic at that hour. As soon as the car was parked, you unbuckled your seatbelt and practically jumped out of the car. You almost fell, but you managed to keep your balance at the last second even in heels.

   Keiji got out of the car and watched you stumble, shaking his head as he let out a dragged-out sigh. As soon as the car was locked, he was at your side and helping you unlock the door.

   You soon kicked it open with unnecessary force and looked up at him, a big grin on your face as you sang, “Loook’s like it’s your time to diaal!” You took a moment to take off your heels at the front door, and once they were off you were skipping around the house giddily. 

   “What kind?” He asked as he shut the door and took out his cell. He personally enjoyed several toppings on his pizza, even mushrooms, but he wanted to make sure he cared for your needs first.

   “Hmmmm,” You hummed, stopping in your tracks for a moment as you took the time to think before you loudly exclaimed, “Plain!”

   He accidentally let out an amused snort at your answer but didn’t comment on it as he began calling the delivery place. Meanwhile, you were in the process of wobbling up the stairs in order to get changed out of your party clothes. You clung to the banister for dear life and somehow managed to slip upstairs without him noticing.

   However, karma wasn’t exactly on your side. 

   After changing into your usual pajamas, a sudden gut-wrenching feeling washed over you. Nausea hit you almost a second later, and your vision was a blur as you ran across the hall towards the bathroom. You barely managed to get the toilet seat up before you began wrenching your insides out. The combination of the party food and alcohol was too much, and the stinging pain of bile in your throat overwhelmed your senses as your stomach protested against you madly.

   A few moments later, you felt a pair of strong hands gently pull back your hair in order to keep it out of your face. You were mostly done throwing up, and at this point, you were only hovering over the toilet in case anything decided to come back up last minute. 

   “S-Sorry.” You finally managed to stammer out; you were genuinely embarrassed, but somehow your mind felt a bit clearer.

   “For what?” Keiji softly asked, tilting his head to the side as he kept your hair clasped in his hands lightly, “You did nothing wrong, we all get drunk every now and then.”

   “I…I know, but it’s just so… so embarrassing.” You looked over your shoulder at him, your glossy eyes giving away immediately how you were on the verge of tears already. Alcohol made you rather emotional when you weren’t at your high, and it was easy for you to swing into several different moods in a matter of minutes while you were drunk.

   He squatted down so he was at level with you, letting go of your hair in the process as he locked eyes with you. “Don’t be embarrassed. I’ve been in your position once or twice, and it’s not the end of the world.” He leaned in and planted a delicate kiss on your forehead, pushing back a stray strand of hair behind your ear before he pulled back with a lazy smile, “Come on. Pizza’s going to be here soon.”

   He stood up and reached down a hand, his light pink cheeks reflecting yours. You quickly put down the cover and flushed the toilet before taking his hand, letting him pull you up. Your knees were a little wobbly from having to crouch on them for so long, and you still felt a bit lightheaded. Damn, how am I gonna get down the stairs like this? 

   Keiji seemed to have noticed your distant expression, and he could tell you were pondering something. He eventually figured out that you were most likely  worrying about the stairs. Well, there’s an easy solution to that problem. 

   “Do you want a piggyback ride down?” 

   “E-Eh?!” You looked up at him in surprise; by now you knew that he could clearly read into other’s emotions quite well, but you weren’t expecting him to offer that. Yet you quickly regained your flirty attitude as you smirked, “Weeell, I’m not complaining.”

   He snorted, rolling his eyes as he noticed your change in mood. He lowered himself down, allowing you to climb steadily onto his back. He gave you a moment to secure yourself as you clung onto his shoulders and hooked your legs around his midriff before he stood up.

   “Oof. You sure are heavy,” He playfully joked, slipping his arms under your legs to give you more support. You elbowed him in the shoulder lightly as you whined, “I ammm nooot!” 

   He quickly carried you downstairs and let you slip off his shoulders and onto the couch. A second later, the doorbell echoed through the living room as the delivery man arrived. Grabbing his wallet from his pocket, he swiftly answered the door and secured the pizza. 

   As he set down the box on the table in front of you, you gave him a suspicious look. “Y-You’re not going to leave already, right?” You asked, attempting to hide the worry in your voice; you weren’t ready for him to leave just yet, and you secretly hoped that he would be staying the night.

   A wide, laidback grin spread out on Keiji’s face as he ran a hand through his hair, “Oh? You really don’t want me to leave, huh?” He teased you lightheartedly, making your cheeks flush pink as you sputtered for any words to defend yourself with, but it wasn’t necessary anyway as he continued, “Wasn’t in my plans to anyways.”

   He plopped down on the couch next to you, reaching over and grabbing the remote off the table before handing it to you, “Movie?” 

   The corners of your mouth tugged your lips into a large smile as you shook your head, “Never thought you...you’d ask.” 

   You soon found a cheesy romantic comedy to watch, and you traded the remote for a slice of pizza as the movie started. You were practically starving and almost went through the entire box. 

   Despite your seemingly endless hunger, you ended up falling asleep half on top of Keiji’s chest before the movie could even hit its climax. Your head was up against his heartbeat as you used him as both a body pillow and a teddy bear, hugging him closer to you as you quietly slept. 

   If it wasn’t for your long, deep inhales, he probably wouldn’t have noticed the fact that you had passed out. Once you stopped responding to his jokes, he looked down at you and a soft smile covered his face as he snaked an arm around your thin frame.

   He didn’t want to reach over for the remote again, afraid that he would accidentally wake you up. He watched you carefully for a few moments, the dramatic dialogue of the movie soon fading into mere background noise for him as he began to get tired himself, a feeling he hadn’t felt in weeks.

   But he let it come willingly, and eventually fell asleep peacefully cuddling you. 

   And for the first time in a long time, he didn’t experience a single hallucination or nightmare the entire night.

#keiji shinogi #keiji shinogi x reader #yttd keiji #yttd #your turn to die #kimi ga shine #yttd imagines #yttd imagine #ficlet #x reader #yttd x reader #yttd headcanons #a pizza place open at 2AM? never heard of her before #i feel like this is too rushed but thats ok #keiji is hot in his uniform pt. 2

[edelvonhresvelg]

What about doing a 5 and 24 edeleth (misteltoe and kiss) with Dorothea basically putting misteltoe everywhere, dodging Hubert vain attempts of stopping her, Edelgard understanding the meaning and becoming redder every misteltoe she see and Byleth being oblivious to all of its meaning? xD

ohhh okay! this is actually very similar to an idea I’ve already had (Dorothea trying to get them to kiss under mistletoe) but this is a niiice take on it. this one turned out very long though, so have put most below a cut so not to annoy people who dislike long posts. ^^; here we gooo~

( the usual context for people who haven’t seen the prompts: 5 is “That’s mistletoe we’re standing under.” and 24 is “Is this the part where we kiss?” )

– – – – – – – – – –

“I honestly do not understand what you hope to achieve with this endeavour...” Hubert watched blankly as Dorothea, standing on a small stool, secured a piece of mistletoe to the top of the doorway leading from the dining hall out to the fishing pond. Subconsciously, his hand tightened around the crushed piece of mistletoe he had already pulled down from above the door of Edelgard’s room.

Before he had found it, he had spied another piece in the Black Eagles’ classroom, though thought nothing of it; and on his way to search for the culprit, had cursed under his breath upon seeing another hanging at the doorway of their Professor’s quarters. 

Never did he imagine he’d be so lucky as to catch the perpetrator in the act -- nor had he thought of Dorothea as a plausible suspect.

“Well, of course you do, Hubie,” Dorothea practically sang as she finished securing the mistletoe. “Love is such a beautiful thing, but sometimes it’s a thing that just needs a little nudge.”

Letting out a sharp ‘hmph’, Hubert turned, dropping the crushed piece of mistletoe from his hand as he did, and made a sharp exit -- much to Dorothea’s amusement.

* * * * *

Walking from the training grounds down towards the greenhouse, Edelgard did what she always did when passing by and glanced towards Byleth’s quarters. It was something she simply couldn’t help but do -- how and why the habit had started, she couldn’t say -- though she could only hope nobody noticed her eyeing the door of her Professor’s room. 

Yet never before had she been brought to a halt by the sight. Stopping suddenly, her eyes were glued to the door -- or rather, what had been hung above it. The house leader felt her cheeks burn. Mistletoe! 

Edelgard pictured her Professor hanging the mistletoe above her door...yet the picture simply didn’t stand. Why would she do that? It didn’t make sense; yet the alternative was that someone else had placed the mistletoe there. Still it didn’t make sense, because to what end would someone do such a thing?

Clearing her throat and shaking her head, Edelgard made herself look back in the direction of the greenhouse and resume her stroll. It would surely be nothing worth overthinking...though the pink tint in her cheeks stubbornly disagreed.

* * * * *

Dorothea had retraced her steps after the dining hall, finding that -- as she suspected -- Hubert had indeed gone to tear down some of her work. Though even as she pouted each time she found a piece of mistletoe missing, ultimately she was left grinning in triumph, for much more mistletoe remained than the brooding man had managed to pull down. So far, anyway...

“Everything alright, Dorothea?”

The girl jumped and turned, wide eyes landing on none other than the Professor. She exhaled, relaxing, though hastily hid her small bag of remaining mistletoe behind her back. “Professor! You startled me. Everything is fine, though, thank you for asking.”

“Sorry,” Byleth apologised with a sheepish smile, “I didn’t mean to scare you. You just seemed a little...troubled.”

“Well, not to worry, Professor. All is well.” And going better than expected, Dorothea thought to herself as she tilted her head. “Say, I don’t suppose you’ve seen Edie at all today?”

Byleth shook her head. “No, I haven’t yet, though as a matter of fact I was just on my way to look for her.” A slight frown pulled at the Professor’s brow. “Why, is something the matter?”

“No, no, nothing of the sort!” Dorothea blurted the words, attempting to contain her childlike excitement. “It’s just I saw her earlier, and she mentioned she was planning to meet you at the garden gazebo.” The same gazebo on which Dorothea had hung a piece of mistletoe -- and had only minutes before seen it still hanging, despite Hubert’s sweeps of the monastery. “I suppose if you haven’t seen her yet, that might be the place to look.”

For a moment, Byleth was silent -- there was something about the way Dorothea was acting, though the Professor couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Quickly, however, she shrugged it off. It was surely nothing. “Thank you, Dorothea.” Offering the girl a small smile, Byleth nodded and got on her way.

Once she was out of earshot, Dorothea giggled to herself. Oh, it was perfect! Now all she had to do was find Edie and orchestrate the perfect meeting under the mistletoe…

Just as she turned to go her own way, however, she caught a flash of ginger hair -- Ferdinand. Another brilliant idea suddenly sprang to mind, and Dorothea had to stop herself from practically skipping over to the noble. “Ferdie!”

The tall noble turned, flashing a smile as he did so. “Dorothea! What can I do for you this fine day?”

“Oh, Ferdie, always one with words.” Shaking her head, Dorothea kept her hands behind her back, clutching the bag of mistletoe -- though if all went to plan, she wouldn’t need any more of it. “I’m just a messenger. Hubie has been looking for you. He said he’d wait around in the dining hall, and asked that I tell you.” 

Ferdinand raised a hand to rub at the back of his head. “Hm. Whatever could he possibly be wanting me for? And why not continue to look for me instead of sending you? You were able to find me easily enough.” The noble let out a sigh, before nodding his head and renewing his smile. “Apologies, I did not mean to rant. Thank you, Dorothea. I shouldn’t keep Hubert of all people waiting a moment longer!”

With that, he was off -- and Dorothea was left grinning to herself, remembering the additional pieces of mistletoe she’d hung around the dining hall after Hubert’s hasty exit.

* * * * *

Edelgard wandered aimlessly through the reception hall, keeping her head low, frustratingly aware of the burning in her cheeks. It seemed that everywhere she looked, there was mistletoe! Well, perhaps not everywhere, though certainly in a lot of places…but why? She had heard nothing of any plans to decorate the monastery. Even then, that one had been hanging at the door to her Professor’s quarters made the whole thing stranger. All she knew was that with each piece she saw hanging, her cheeks turned a darker red at the thought of Byleth somehow being involved in the shenanigan -- and she could do nothing to stop it.

“Lady Edelgard!” Hubert all but ran to the house leader’s side as he finally spotted her in the hall.

Edelgard turned sharply at the call, lilac eyes widening in sudden concern as she saw Hubert approach her with such haste. “Hubert! What’s the matter? What’s happened?”

The man took a moment to catch his breath, before shaking his head -- having caught sight of Edelgard’s blush. “Well, nothing has happened, though I expect you have seen the sudden burst of…decorative greenery around the monastery.”

“You mean the mistletoe,” Edelgard stated matter-of-factly with a nod of her head, before frowning at Hubert. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about it, do you? Such as how it all got there.”

“As a matter of fact—”

“Edie!” Dorothea really did run that time, as she saw Hubert talking intently with Edelgard. “There you are, I’ve been looking for you! Oh, you too, Hubie.” Lifting her gaze, she looked obliviously at him with an innocent smile. “I met Ferdie on my way here. He asked me to tell you he needs to speak with you, and will wait around in the dining hall for you.”

Hubert seemed to sense that the words weren’t the whole truth, his brow pulling down into a suspicious frown. “If he really needs to speak with me, he can find me himself.” 

“Well, he did try that. Besides, it works out rather well,” she shifted closer to Edelgard, standing at the house leader’s side -- making the whole situation seem very much like ‘two against one’. “I need to talk to Edie. Alone.” A pause, before she leaned forward slightly. “Girl stuff.”

Still frowning, Hubert looked between the two women, though it was Edelgard who broke the silence: “If Ferdinand really does need to speak with you, you should go, Hubert. It must surely be more important than what we were discussing…and we can always pick that up again after.”

A faint grunt passed Hubert’s lips, though, after only a moment’s hesitation, he bowed. “As you wish, Lady Edelgard. I will come and find you once my business with Ferdinand has concluded.” He straightened again, glancing at Dorothea one more time before making his departure from the hall.

The two watched him walk away, and eventually Edelgard turned her attention to Dorothea. “So, Dorothea, what is it you need to speak to me about?”

“Hm? Oh! Well, actually, it’s not really me that needs to speak with you.” The house leader raised a brow questioningly, and Dorothea smiled innocently once more. “The Professor was looking for you. It seemed rather pressing, and she looked distracted… She asked me to tell you she’d be waiting in the gazebo, getting fresh air.” 

Edelgard leaned to one side, hand on hip, and tilted her head. “You seem to be playing the role of messenger quite a lot today, Dorothea.”

The girl chuckled. “What can I say? It just brightens people’s days to get a message from me. That and I suppose people know I can be rather persuasive, if the recipient isn’t overly keen.”

A moment passed, before Edelgard let out a sigh and shook her head. “Well, I suppose I should go and find the Professor. I hope everything’s alright… Thank you for letting me know, Dorothea.”

* * * * *

Dorothea had went an alternate route to the gazebo area of the gardens, and had found a suitable place at the far end of the hedge from which to peek around and watch events unfold. Oh, how exciting! The butterflies were dancing in her stomach. She could only hope Hubert didn’t intrude…

Byleth had been leaning against a pillar of the gazebo, looking upward, though glanced down at the slightest movement and smiled to see the house leader approach. “Edelgard,” she greeted, to which Edelgard nodded in response. Then, the Professor pointed upward to where she had previously been looking. “Say, what is that? I’ve never seen it here before…”

Waiting until she’d reached the Professor’s side, Edelgard then followed the pointing finger upward -- and immediately felt her cheeks turn crimson once more. Wide lilac eyes could only stare at the hanging plant, near identical to the many others she’d seen that day. “That’s…” Her voice failed her, and it took a moment before she was able to clear her throat and try again. “That’s mistletoe we’re standing under.”

Byleth had noticed the reddening of Edelgard’s cheeks -- it was a deeper shade of red than she’d ever seen cross the house leader’s features -- though was completely oblivious as to why. When no further explanation was given, she could only ask further. “So…why?” That seemed to draw Edelgard’s gaze, though the young woman looked at her with a mix of embarrassment and confusion. “I mean, why would someone put it there?”

Suddenly, it all clicked in Edelgard’s mind: Dorothea! The way she had been acting and sending her and Hubert different places; the way she’d kept her hands behind her back, and all the places Edelgard had noticed mistletoe hanging around the monastery. 

“Well,” Edelgard attempted, though words quickly failing her. Even as she avoided Byleth’s gaze, just feeling the Professor looking at her expectantly was almost unbearable. What was Dorothea thinking?! “Traditionally, when two people stand together under mistletoe…” Feeling her cheeks get redder with every word, Edelgard would’ve given anything to wake up from a dream right then—

—or would she have? Wasn’t this scenario exactly something she had daydreamed about? Her and the Professor, meeting under the mistletoe…

“Traditionally,” she started again, attempting to meet Byleth’s gaze and barely succeeding, “when that happens…they kiss.”

A silence fell over them. Slowly but surely, Edelgard was able to meet her Professor’s gaze, though she was unsure of what the silence meant. Was it good? Was it bad? Had Byleth also daydreamed about this scenario? Was she appalled by the implications and about to walk away?

Byleth, for her part, was simply thinking about how cute Edelgard looked when she blushed and stuttered. It took a good few moments for the reality of the house leader’s words to hit home, and eventually, the Professor cleared her throat. “So…” She glanced up at the mistletoe again, hanging directly over their heads; then, she looked back to Edelgard. “Is this the part where we kiss?”

The question was asked with a complete obliviousness that only her mysterious Professor could manage, and Edelgard was left stunned and stammering. “I— Well, traditionally…” In that moment, she really did manage to meet Byleth’s gaze, without immediately looking away again, and something stilled Edelgard. The Professor was being sincere. In fact, her smile seemed to widen at the stuttering of ‘tradition’ again; and Edelgard realised that’s all it was. Tradition. One moment. Albeit an orchestrated moment, but a moment nonetheless…

“I mean, yes.” Edelgard somehow spoke the words without falter, though her cheeks continued to burn and she had to swallow a lump in her throat. “I suppose it is.”

Something in Byleth’s smile warmed then, and Edelgard could only stand motionless -- paralysed -- as the Professor leaned forward. “Well then…”

Before she knew what was happening, Edelgard felt a hand cup her cheek, and an instant later Byleth’s lips were pressing softly against her own. Edelgard felt like her heart may just burst from her chest; she couldn’t recall a time it had ever beat so ferociously. Yet somehow she stayed standing, even as she closed her eyes and leaned only slightly into the kiss.  

It seemed to last a lifetime: Edelgard somehow managing to worry that someone would see them (completely unaware that Dorothea, still peeking around the hedge, was only managing to keep herself contained by biting down on her cuff); though in an instant, there was distance between them again and the hand had disappeared from her cheek.

Swallowing, Edelgard opened her eyes, suddenly nervous beyond words. Yet Byleth still stood there, smiling sincerely -- somehow, not the slightest tint in her cheeks. Then, with the casualness that again only she could manage, the Professor almost knocked Edelgard over: “I think that’s a good tradition.” 

#I tried my best to post this before the New Year ahhhhhhhhhh I failed #but by less than an hour though so!! happy new year prompt!! #Edelgard #Edelgard von Hresvelg #Byleth #F!Byleth #Edeleth #Fire Emblem #FE3H #Fire Emblem: Three Houses #Fire Emblem Three Houses #My Writing #Answered Prompts

[berriebun]

Purple Hearts

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia Pairing: Shinsou x Uraraka Character(s): Uraraka Ochako, Shinsou Hitoshi Rating: SFW Word count: 1,327

A/N: @shinchakoweek​ prompt - 03. Reflections & Memories. Quirkless AU, College setting!~ It’s a little late! but just ignore that. asfhglkj

"Babe! Don't forget about your bag." Ochako called as she pulled her sweater over her head and grabbed a brush. She reminder didn't receive an answer so as she was brushing her hair out she wandered out to the living room. She wasn't at all surprised when she found her boyfriend fast asleep in the corner of their loveseat, wrapped up in his own sweater. She smiles as she picks up his phone from the counter and takes a picture of him before sending it to herself through texts. After she finished brushing her hair and grabbed both her purse and his messenger bag. All she needed now was her boyfriend to wake up. She made her way over to the couch and reached out to gently run her fingers through his bangs, pushing them back from his face before leaning in and kissing his cheek. "Hey, come on sleepy head. If we don't leave now we can't stop to get coffee and we'll be late."

"Hmmm."

"Come on. If you don't have any coffee then you'll fall asleep there." She giggles, softly ruffling his hair as he stirred and stretched. "And I'm not carrying you home again, sloth." She continues, teasing him as he pulls himself from the comfy corner.

"But it's so romantic." He argues weakly.

"Only because you like showing off the fact that your girlfriend lifts." She laughs, rolling her eyes.

"Listen, when your heart and soul starts working out and building muscle, I'm socially obligated, as your boyfriend, to show off how ripped you are." He states in a 'matter of fact' tone as he takes his bag when she offers it to him. She doesn't respond to him but her smile and the rosy pink of her cheeks show him that she appreciates his flattery. 

"Alright Casanova, lets gooo!" She laughs, ushering him out the door of their apartment as she earned herself a small grin in return.

-

They were back at the Coffee House, waiting for their drinks to be made as they shared an everything bagel between the two of them while scrolling their phones.

"Mina's losing her shit, it's like she has no faith that we'll make it." Ochako chuckles, rolling her eyes as her friend spammed her inbox with messages asking how far they were from the festival.

"It's not like it's even time-sensitive. She's going to kill herself from all this unnecessary stress." Hitoshi shrugged, leaning his back against her shoulder as he lurked in the group chat he had with his friends who were also waiting for them to arrive.

"I don't even know if it's stress." She shrugs a little, resting her head against the back of his own, flattening some of his hair.

Silence fell between them as they munched on their breakfast and chatted with their friends. The cafe was a comfortable background ambiance around them since it had become their place to go when they weren't sure what to do. It was never crowded, and it was isolated enough that they didn't have to worry about people trying to butt into their conversations. 

"Hey." Ochako looked up at Hitoshi's voice, turning to nuzzle into his hair. "Hm?"

"Remember our first date here?" And she could hear his smile as he continued to scroll through his phone as if he hadn't just poked a constant- affectionate- squabble topic between them.

"Our first date was at Darla's Diner." She corrected him, swatting his shoulder a bit as she went back to her phone.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it was here. You came in to order a latte and you asked for my number. Then I brought it over and sat and talked for my entire lunch break. And you ate the rest of my bagel." Hitoshi stated, seemingly correcting her correction.

"Oh my god, that doesn't count as a first date."

"Sure it does." 

"Toshi, nooo. We've argued about this already."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Why would we fight about when our first date was?" He played up the argument, sounding confused when she knew that he was just fucking with her.

"I'm not doing this." Ochako laughed, reaching up to tug at his ear playfully before going back to her phone.

"I think I lost my breath when I had looked up and seen that my next customer was you. Out of everyone, it could have been, and fate brought you back to me." He mumbled softly.

"And I had been unconsciously looking for you too. I was making my way towards the club without realizing it. But I came here instead, and there you were. All dressed up in your uniform, looking cute with your hair pulled back in a visor cap." She hummed softly, smiling at the fond memory. "Your expression was so soft and just, my heart skipped. I was so happy and panicked at the same time."

"It was cute." He chuckled, remembering how her face turned red while she seemed to flounder in her reaction. 

"It still doesn't count as our first date." She counters, putting her phone down to reach around and tug on his cheek.

"Hm, I guess. Our first date at Darla's… You wore a really cute pair of overalls that had some planets on the front pocket, with a pastel yellow oversized sweater underneath. And you thought you were having a difficult time breathing. I remember not being able to fully believe that we were actually out together. You're so beautiful, I could hardly accept that you'd be interested in someone like me." Hitoshi hummed, reminiscing quietly. Lost in their personal bubble at the table.

" 'Someone like me' what are you even talking about. You seemed so effortlessly put together like it was no big deal. I thought you were still just testing the waters. I had been subconsciously nervous the entire date, even though I was having such a good time. And then you started joking around and your sense of humor is something I didn't think I'd find so attractive. But then you were laughing and smiling and just. I was gone." Ochako smiled, putting her phone down as she nuzzles into his hair a little. 

"You smiled back. You were so genuinely interested in me the entire night and I was baffled, honored… I was lucky."

The two of them sat there at the moment, the cafe seemed to disappear into the far, far background as they just enjoyed the company of each other.

And then their moment was ruined when their names were called, causing both of them to jump slightly as they were instantly dragged back into the noisy ambiance of the shop around them; their bagel left stranded on the table for the time being. 

Ochako waited until Hitoshi was up, not leaning on her anymore, before standing to follow and grabbing the rest of their food. Once their drinks were collected, the couple made their way back onto the main street and hailed a taxi to drive them up to the festival. The two of them were careful this time to not get lost in their memories from a year and a half ago.

After they arrived and made their way into the festival, texting their friends that they had finally made it, Ochako put her phone away and took Hitoshi's hand with a smile. "I'm glad Denki dragged you out to the bar that night. I'm so grateful to have you in my life."

"Mush." Was all he responded with, though despite that he still lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. "I'm grateful too." Was all he was able to get out in time before their massive group of friends converged on them, surrounding them on all sides as everyone came together as one big group and made their way into the culture festival together- Ochako and Hitoshi sharing private glances over the heads and shoulders of their friends.

#Ochako Uraraka #Hitoshi Shinsou #shinchako #shinchakoweek #penned #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Little Exposure

Pairings: Sam x Age Regressed!Reader

Warnings: Age regression, fluff

Word Count: 1,201

Little Masterlist

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

“We’ll take one room.” Dean said to the woman behind the desk.

“No, we’ll take two. Just a king for me.” You grumbled over him as you stepped up to the wood counter and slapped down a wad of cash without another word. Sam looked at you confused as you impatiently held your hand out for your room key. The moment the plastic key tag hit your palm, you turned on your heel and stormed out of the office with your duffle over your shoulder. 

The hut you had just finished had been absolutely excruciating. You and the boys had met up to tackle a changing and no matter how hard you tried you had still lost 3 mothers and a child. Now that the dust of the case had settled the only thing you wanted to do was relax and forget. You found your room quickly, ducked inside and locked the door. The second the sound of the deadlock turning died in the room you let your other half take over.

An hour later, you were sitting on your bed with your chocolate brown teddy bear, Mr. Bear in your lap surrounded by coloring books and broken crayons completely lost in little space. The outside world no longer existed; monsters were something you colored in your books and the only thing you hunted was Minnie Mouse bandaids to cover the little cuts and scrapes you and Mr. Bear had. You had Peter Pan playing on your laptop and you were contently signing along to the words when a loud knock echoed through your room. Expecting your pizza, you didn’t bother to cover up your Monster’s Inc sleep shirt as you skipped over to the door.

“Here ya gooo…Oh!” You exclaimed as your sort-of boyfriend turned back around toward you. A smile spread across his face as he looked at your shirt and he chuckled.

“Well don’t you look cute, babe.” Sam teased. Your face flushed red and you tried to close the door but he stopped you. “Wait… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make fun…”

“It’s nothing.” You said dismissively as you tried once again to close the door to keep your secret hidden. The sudden sound of Following The Leader blaring from your laptop made you sigh and you threw your hands up in the air as the little side of you begged to be able to dance with the music. “It’s just… whatever, I guess.” you tried to vaguely explain as Sam hesitantly stepped into the room. His brows were furrowed as he took in the mess of books on your bed. 

“What is all this?” He asked as you sat back down in the middle of the bed. You shrugged as you paused your movie and grabbed Mr. Bear. You sighed as tears welled in the backs of your eyes.

“I have Borderline Personality Disorder so when life gets too hard on me, I tend to slip into a regressed mentality; almost like a second personality taking over for a while. Well… actually, I tend to function most of the time in some sort of regressed state but that’s a whole different story.” Sam nodded as he took a seat in the chair at the table by the window.

“So is it like ‘are you gunna be daddy’s good girl’, spankings and kinky sex?” he inquired and you shuttered and shook your head.

“Not at all. A lot of that is main-stream media propaganda; though the daddy/caregiver part does carry over in a sense. Age regression is a coping mechanism for me. It’s kinda like… um, well say for this case, yea? With a case like this, your first thought is to go and take a long hot shower, eat a big meal and sleep it off.” You gestured to the cluster of chaos on the bed in front of you and shrugged. “This is kinda like my long hot shower. I let my little side take over and the “adult side” takes a break.” Sam nodded slowly as his eyes continued to look at the coloring books and stuff on your bed.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” He asked after a minute as he finally looked back up at you. You gave him a half mouth smirk and cocked your eyebrow.

“Yea, Sam. I’m gunna tell a guy who depends on me to have his back that after the hunt, when he and his brother go to the bar, I’ll be having a tea party with Mr. Bear here.” You said as you held up your stuffed animal slightly. “It’s not something that most 20 somethings talk about with people they are kinda sorta dating.” Sam got up from the chair and walked over to the bed. He gently moved some coloring books out of the way before sitting down in front of you with a smile.

“If you think that because you have a little side as a coping mechanism is going to change how I feel about you, you’re sorely mistaken.” You looked up and met his eyes completely as a couple tears spilled over and he chuckled. “Come on, babe. We have been toeing that line of dating for two months and I already take care of you on hunts and when you are not in this mindset of yours. Did you honestly think I would turn you away because of this?” With a small shrug you hugged your bear to you and looked down.

“I just thought you would think it was weird.” You told him softly. Sam reached up and put his hand under your chin and gently lifted your face so you would look at him.

“It’s not weird, babe. While it is not in my typical wheelhouse, if it is something that makes you feel better at the end of the day, I think I can get on board the train.” You smiled and nodded weakly as Sam looked around the bed. “Now, you mentioned tea? I could go for some tea right about now.” The little in you leapt for joy and after only a moment of fighting it, you let her take over and you scrambled off the bed.

“You have to know. Mr. Bear makes the best tea in the whole wide world!” You exclaimed as you grabbed the small, broken, mismatched tea set from the bottom of your duffle. “But you have ta be careful because sometimes he makes it too hot.” You could see the slight look of unease at the situation for only a moment as Sam nodded before he let himself fall in to the caregiver role he saw you needed. You crawled back onto the bed with a bottle of water, a plastic teapot and one pink and one green tea cup. You handed him the small pink cup and grinned at how silly it looked in his large hand. “I’ll share my cup with you cuz Mr. Bear doesn’t like to share.”

“Well thank you for sharing with me.” You nodded as you pressed play on your laptop and with a smile plastered on your face, you let yourself get lost in the escape you needed. 

#Sam Winchester x Reader #Sam Winchester x Age Regressed!Reader #Little Exposure #Little Writes

[kawahageshii]

Karakuridoji Ultimo VOLUME 12

What’s poppin’, Ultimo friends?!!!!!!!! I got this volume on the day it came out last year, but life happened and I havent gotten the chance to read it until now. Aaaannd I’ve been inactive on tumblr for pretty much a whole year, and I come back and I see the fandom looks to be dead T-T. So I dont even know if anybody will even read this. But!! I wanna finish this little series I had where I read every volume and liveblog it lol. So LESSS GOOO

So yeah can we just talk about how beautiful this artwork is

I actually have not read any translations of the final chapters, so I’m going into this completely blind. Tbh I barely remembered what happened last volume (and this summary doesn’t really help lol)

Okayyyy I remember now. Yamato and Rune had just completed their Love Battle, then Sayama comes in all of a sudden and is about to erase Rune’s memories.

BUT YAMATO BEING THE GOOD MAN HE IS STILL LOVE HER (AND RUNE) REGARDLESS

AWWW SAYAMA LIKED YAMATO TOO. Also oh shit that’s right she’s Dunstan’s daughter and Yamato found out!

Murayama Musashi (I’ve forgotten a lot of things, but I can NEVER forget that name) knew too because of his #policeboy skills

OHHH that’s right Sayama joined Vice too! Wtf is going on I forgot everything LMFAO

Aww Sayama. So she knew this WHOLE time about her father and the experiment he was doing? She didn’t suddenly become aware of it when Eco gave all the good doji masters memories of the past? Wow that’s some heavy shit

Drag them Sayama it’s been 12 volumes and they still haven’t made any real progress

NO NOT A GOOD PLAN

Hana & Eater, Sumako & Desir, and Mizho & Paresse arrive all of a sudden!!

Aww Sayama. Yamato is such a good person.

Oh shit Dunstan and Milieu are here now!!

‘Reeducated” okay that isn’t creepy at all. 

Soo Dunstan took Sayama to the year 2989 and now everyone’s fucked.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Vice is having an existential crisis it seems

Awwww this chapter cover is so nice

I love how K immediately jumps to asking about Vice’s well-being while that little brat Jun is like “dafuq is wrong with you”

Nooo Vice nooo Jun is.....seriously disturbed

I’m crying K noticed Vice didn’t poke his eyes out like he normally does. ALSO LITTLE KID K IS SO CUTE LMFAO

Deep thoughts from K’s grandma, making K realize something....but what?

Awww Fussa Fusataro (a name I also can never forget) is a real MVP for sticking around.

Lmfao Rage is like “Oh. Thanks. Thanks for informing me that we’re staying here. Thanks fam”

So Vice goes out and finds Ultimo all alone???

OH SHIT ULTIMO USED TIME STOP ON VICE TO KILL HIM

But was deterred because Jun is Vice’s master now so there’s extra evil to stop his attacks (right? that’s how it works? I don’t even remember fam)

OH SHIT

Omg but Vice is hesitating when attacking Ultimo

I forgot how creepy this kid was

LMFAO EVEN VICE IS LIKE “Nahhhh that’s not cool”

AWWWW THAT SELF-AWARENESS

OH SHIT ULTIMO TOOK THE CHANCE AND STABBED VICE

BUT NOW JUN IS SHOOTING VICE??? LMFAO LET’S ALL GANG UP ON THIS POOR DUDE TODAY?????

I literally said “Yaaaaaassss” out loud. K really is the hero we deserve

Vice has learned to love I’m crying (also K’s grandma actually seems to be the real hero here)

HOLY FUCK JUN SHOT K???? CAN THIS KID STOP

BUT YAMATO AND THE WHOLE CREW SHOWED UP SO NOW I GUESS WE’RE GOING TO THE FUTURE

Oh wow. It’s the final chapter. 

But we still got half of the volume left??

Anyways, here’s a familiar scene

OH the ending already happened??

ULTI IS GONE IN THE ENDING?? EXPLAIN

Ohhh so that’s why Musashi has literally NO body in the future. Wow

OKAY I GUESS WE’RE GOING TO COMPLETELY SKIP OVER THE FIGHT BETWEEN VICE AND EVERYONE RIGHT AFTER THAT

Lmfaooo Mizho is speaking the truth here nothing happened to her at all. Because I can count on my fingers the number of times she has appeared in this manga. #tragic

Okayyy so they all combined and are now going to fight Dunstan

War. War never changes.

YAAAASSS YAMATO SAVE SAYAMA

YAAAASSS  Universal Milieu has come into the fight

Andd wiped everyone out with Dimension Hammer lol

OH SHIT IT’S YAMATO, K, VICE AND ULTIMO FROM THE 21ST CENTURY. That’s a fucking squad right there. So I guess Dunstan destroyed future!Yamato and crew, but not our Yamato?

OH MY GOD THEY’RE COMBINING IT’S HAPPENING

That’s deep guys

OH MY GODDDDDD EVERYONE’S COMING TOGETHER

(interesting how the Evil Doji are naming their attacks after the planets?)

YAAAAAAAAASSSSSS chills

wait what?????

What

Okay the fuck is going on lol

HUH??????

So all the doji are human now....I remember learning that when I read the raw last chapter, but it’s part of the experiment? Dunstan’s endgame this whole time was to create Ideos Ultimo therefore making the doji human?????

Okay??? I guess that’s the ending???

Milieu’s face is my reaction

Okay......... I guess.... at least it was a happy ending??? (even though it was total cop-out)

so let’s move onto the profiles

Takei gives us all the God/Demon Icon forms of the doji, included their combined forms and Ideos Ultimo

Jun’s Demon Vice actually looks pretty cool. Lol @ the crossbow being included in the design

Ohhh so that’s why the Evil doji has that planet naming

Aww they even included the karakuri soldiers

And here’s a cute afterward from Takei

so....that’s it...wow. That was the final of Karakuridoji Ultimo. I’m glad it was a happy one, though I do feel it was very abrupt. But what can you do

It’s been a wild ride. A wild, and often confusing ride. But I had tons of fun reading, loving, and obsessing over this manga all these years. I already made an emotional post about how much KDU means to me, so I’ll just leave this at that. I hope this isn’t the last time we hear about this manga (anime in 2040 anyone? I predict it now),and I def hope the fandom continues to live on~

#ultimo #karakuridoji ultimo #please dont read this on mobile lol #ultimo chapter reactions #stan lee #hiroyuki takei #karakuridouji ultimo

[heyitsyn]

Manager!Seijoh KYO ROUTE

a/n: AAAAA HERE IT FINALLY IS!!!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!!!

THIS IS KYO’S ROUTE AND TBH, I REALLY WANT TO MAKE AN IWA ROUTE BUT I ALSO WANT TO MAKE AN OIKAWA ROUTE BC IT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT SOMEONE’S FAVORITE IS ACTUALLY OIKS AND I WANT TO GIVE HER THAT ENDING AND I WANT IWA TO HAVE AN ENDING AS A PERSONAL REQUEST HEHEHEHEHEHE

REMINDER, THIS IS A WHAT IF SCENARIO LIKE WHAT IF SHE ENDS UP WITH KYO AND HOW WOULD IT HAPPEN SO THIS IS NOT REALLY GOING TO BE PART OF THE MAIN MANAGER!SEIJOH SERIES

anon requests:  

 -i love the seijoh manager one and i was just wondering if i could please request one where she ends up with kyoken

-OH MY GOD Can y/n-chan and kyoubabie end up together and like how would the team react wawlndksndkfnkdndkfnkd im so soft

-I kinda like the idea after the time skip that Kyo and the manager end up together, he's still such a softie for her. I feel like after seeing how Kyo acts around her the team wasn't surprised that they ended up together and kinda expected it.

- what if manager reader and Kyotani kiss 😳👉👈

- hi I love your seijoh manager aus! They’re so cute and wholesome but also very chaotic 😭 I have a request,, if yn and kyo end up together then can you do a scenario where the boys find out and are like 👁👄👁 huh, u choose the dog?? NDJJS IDK KYO IS SO UNDERRATED BUT N E WAYS ILY AND YOUR SERIES YOURE SO TALENTED 😭💕

i totally not already planned this part from the last part 

tw: hint of abuse

ALSKDFJASDKJAFKLDSJFLKA HINATA SAID NYOOM 

so,,, yep lets start

hehehehehehehe kyo is so protective like bls be mine

even though miyo has been expelled and doesnt mess w you anymore, he still looks out for you and makes sure no one messed w you

like he actually goes to the first floor immediately and leans on the wall outside your class so he could walk with you to the gym or to lunch

at first, you thought it was bc oikawa told him to look out for you but when you found out it was competely all him, you were so soft for him and appreciative at him taking the time to go to you

like one day after class, you were planning on just eating lunch inside the classroom with kunimi and kindaichi but you were thirsty and felt stuffed in the room so you excused yourself to go eat at the roof

as you opened the door, you came face-to-face with the blonde upperclassman and you were so shocked that you closed the door on impulse

you said haha not today satan

but you realized who he was and hurriedly opened it

‘ohmagod im so sorry kyo-san!’

he shrugged

‘its fine’

you smiled apologetically and cleared your throat

‘so,,, what can i do for you, kyo-san?’

he shoved his hands in his pockets bc in truth, he didnt really know, but he caught sight of your bento on your hands

‘the roof?’

he asked making you look at him, impressed

‘howd you know?’

‘if youre not eating in there, the roof would be the only other place youd eat, right?’

you leaned against the doorway and reached forward to rub his arm

‘you stalking me now, kyo-san?’

he narrowed his eyes and looked away

but he grabbed your hand before interlacing your fingers and you were shocked to be dragged with him to somewhere in the school

‘the roof’

was all he said and you quickly kept up to pace with him until you arrived your destination at the top of the school

it was quite a cloudy day so the sun was actually out of view but it wasnt going to be a rainy day

the temperature was slowly getting colder since you were now transitioning from fall to winter but you didnt care bc it was still fresh air

you hurriedly tugged him forward and sat him down next to you so you both were seated together

‘do you not eat lunch kyo-san?’

‘no. i dont have time’

he pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them while you laid your legs on a straight line in front of you so you could rest the box on your lap

kyo laid his cheek on his arm as he watched you excitedly unwrap the cloth and open the mint-green lid to reveal the rice and tamagoyaki with chicken bites inside

‘itadakimasu!’

you softly clapped your hands then positioned your chopsticks but you paused, head turning to kyo

he felt like he was caught stealing something lmao stealing glances get it so he quickly averted his gaze to the railing that surrounded the roof

you delicately placed a hand on his arm which gave you his attention and you raised a piece of the egg dish

‘one?’

you offered and he shook his head but you pouted at him making him sigh then open his mouth

now you were no gorgon ramsai im cackling sorry but you could cook since your mother believed that you werent a girl unless you knew how to cook

his eyes were shining as he chewed and you giggled before holding up another piece which he quickly snatched up

‘ill bring you your own bento tomorrow kyo-san~!’

and you did

the next day, you waited for him at your class and when you caught sight of him walking from your class window, you bounced up in your seat, startling kindaichi from eating his noodles

‘y/n?’

kunimi questioned but you werent even looking at him

‘ill see you later, aki!’

you waved and opened the door to go to kyo, who lowkey got scared when you just ran up to him

he raised his hand to ruffle your hair and you got closer to him and held out the blue box

‘here. as promised’

he held the box and stared at it, like it was the first time someone gave him this

you took his surprise as gratitude and grabbed his hand, swinging it as you talked about your lessons on your way to the roof

when he opened it, he lifted the first container and saw what was hiding at the very bottom shelf

it was a serving of famima chicken with its wrapper stil intact

‘how-’

‘saw you eating it when you first joined the team. then i started noticing you eating it whenever we go to the convenience store’

the fact that you were so perceptive towards him brought an unfamiliar feeling inside him that made his heart thump and stomach to tickle

‘dont worry, kyo-san! i made sure everything was good!’

your eyes closed due to the intensity of your grin and you raised a thumbs up to prove your word further

he blinked at you and truly thought you were an angel

an angel sent down to help a lost hope like him?

was that you?

were you his angel?

during practice, he was actually very calm and collected and wasnt pushing anyone at all which surprised everyone

iwaizumi even stared at him confusingly and if iwa was looking at him like that, the entire team knew something was up

‘oi, kyotani, you good? you sick?’

rip 2020 would like to know your location

the fake blonde turned to him and shook his head, face free of any glare or irritation

in fact, he looked like a completely different person if not for the hair

‘im good’

he answered

‘did they have a buy one get one sale on that chicken of yours?’

oikawa tested

if he answered him, something was definitely wrong

‘no. i dont think so’

yep, something was wrong

oikawa was screaming and shouting that the world was going to end while the others were laughing, panicking, and worrying while iwa just stood there, staring at his underclassman

you returned from filling up the bottles and was confused at the state of the team

‘i-um-what happened’

kyo’s ears perked up at your voice and he bounded up to you like a doggie seeing its owner come home

you smiled and reached up to place a hand on his shoulder with ease bc he was one of the shorter players therefore easier to reach

‘did oikawa-san break again?’

you asked and he nodded

‘hes being an idiot’

he mumbled

‘hes just being oikawa-san, kyo-san. you still have to respect him as your captain, remember that’

you said and he rolled his eyes but nodded anyways

‘fine. only because you said so’

iwa was watching this interaction with very wide eyes and his confusion only grew like 10 million times

kyotani kentarou never answered to anyone and if he did, that must be earned

as far as iwa knew, kyo was just so soft to you and treats you so different than the 7.8 billion people in the world

no person in the world could ever get kyo to act like that except you

and there had to be a reason

and iwa was pretty sure he knew

after practice, you were scheduled to look after the cats in shinsou’s house so you were going to walk with kyo

he was impatiently waiting for oikawa to finish talking to you until his patience just snapped and he grabbed you and lifted you up to his arms then just started walking, surprising everyone in silence

you instinctually wrapped your legs around him and held on to his shoulders tightly while his arms were bounded around your waist

‘OI! KYOKEN-CHAN! HOW DARE YOU STEAL Y/N-CHAN!’

oikawa was punching the air

you placed your cheek on his shoulder and let out a breathy chuckle

‘you couldnt wait for another second, kyo-san?’

‘the trash was starting to reek’

you laughed and grimaced at the laughter that bubbled out of you

‘so mean, kyo-san!’

your laughter made him subconsciously smile and he held you closer, placing his chin on your shoulder as he continued on the trek to the familiar purple house

once you did arrive though, kyo refused to let your hand go

ope reference?

‘kyoooooo~! cmon! let me gooo~!’

‘no’

he grumbled and continued to hold your hand tighter as you tried to tug it free so you could walk up the gates to your employer

‘i need to work~! pleeeease~!’

you whined but he scrunched his nose in distate, pulling your hand forward so you stumbled into his chest where he wrapped both arms to cage you in

‘no. i dont want you with that grape head’

he growled lowly making you laugh and you turned so your ear would be right above his heart

it was beating fast

his scent travelled up your nose and you closed your eyes, snuggling even further

cherry blossoms and vanilla with the slightest hint of sandalwood

‘i need to go’

you mumbled but he gripped your tighter

‘stay with me’

he whispered 

tbh you wouldve if literally hizashi-san didnt catch you at the front of his house cuddling

it was quite an embarrassing encouter when he wouldnt stop talking about it and you had to actually push him and aizawa out the door 

‘we were really rooting for hitoshi but do what makes you happy, dear!’

‘hizashi-san, please!’

you werent really aware of how clingy kyoken was and it only caught your attention when during one of your lunch (dates), he clinging on to you

your position has now shifted so you were sitting between his legs while you fed him food and he would rest his chin on your shoulder to watch the clouds and sky

‘kyo-san, did something happen? youre clingier than usual’

he shook his head and buried his face in your neck

‘allergies’

he whispered and you leaned your head on top of his, continuing on eating your food

‘hey, kyo-san, do you think it will snow soon? we’re getting into december already so it would snow soon, right?’

you asked and he emerged from his spot

‘i hope so. that would be nice. we need a little more snow now and then’

im SCREAMING RIGHT NOW AND TEARS ARE WELLING UP IN MY EYES HELP-

‘yea. yea. when it falls, i want to go out and stand in it. if we’re lucky, we could have a snowball fight up here. whaddya think, kyo-san?’

pls dont blast at me with the timeline bc tbh my timeline is so messed up and if i was to fix that, id basically have to scrap this entire series bc of how messy with the timeline it is

‘yea. we will’

he hugged you tighter that day

when he didnt show up for practice, you were frantically looking for him

did he skip?

you knew how he struggled not being able to play with the others and missing this opportunity wasnt something he would do

and you were worried where he was and he might be hurt somewhere

you ran out of the gym and out of the school grounds, running through the alleys and any secluded area bc he mustve had a bad day and wanted to get away

indeed, you found him in the alleyway and you were horrified at his bloodied face and ruffled clothing

he was seated on the floor, head leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, even oblivious to the dogs and cats that were worriedly nudging him

‘kyo-san!’

you shrieked and his eyes flew open and he quickly stood up to run but you were quicker and restrained him with your arms around his middle

it was so bad

his foster family,,,, everything was such a mess

he trembled in your arms and you felt his fear, his terror, and you gently, but firmly, held him so you could look at his face

he was staring at the floor angrily, tears welling up in his eyes and you shakingly placed a hand on his cheek, bringing it down so he could rest his forehead against yours

assuring words would fall deaf to his ears so you didnt even bother

instead, you tried to hold his hand, ignoring the flinching, but gently held it and brought it up to rest on top of where your heart would be

his eyes closed and your forehead nuzzled against his 

‘feel my heartbeat. recognize me, as it beats for you’

you whispered to him, his other hand shakingly touching the hand that was on his face so he could caress it and he moved his head, placing a kiss on your palm

‘its beating for kenta-kun,, no foster family, no volleyball team, nobody else and nothing else matters but my heartbeat, so focus on it. because this is everything i could give you so treasure it, please’

you whispered, your own tears falling, hurting for your love

okay im full sobbing

‘and the snow. it will snow soon and you and i,,, we will go outside and we will play in the snow. the world will turn white but your colors will still paint my sight. let my heartbeat be your colors and let me color your canvas during the snow, kyo-san. it will beat for you, and only you, for as long as you let it. your heartbeat has painted mine already and its the most beautiful colors ive ever seen’

he cried for the first time that day, not in pain or sadness, but in happiness, because he can finally see it

your love and your colors starting to brighten the black and red hes grown accustomed to and helping him see, indeed, the world was beautiful

but it was truly your colors that made him realize that

kyotani and you stayed in that position for a long time and yahaba, who went after you, saw and quickly ran back to the gym to assure that you were alright and kyotani was safe, in your arms

after the natsu fiasco, he was a frequent visitor in your house and your family gets the gist of yanno, his home life, and your mother even gave him the spare key of the house

‘if y/n-chan trusts you, i do too’

yall what 😭

at night, you would lay out at the backyard, laying side-by-side and pointing at the stars and making up stupid stories as to why that star was brighter than the other or why the moon was built like that

but kyo was more focused, much happier, that he can see everything so much clearer and better

he turned his gaze from the stars to you beside him, your hair spreading out beneath you and your eyes sometimes disapperaing when you would laugh too hard

‘i wonder why the night sky is blue instead of black like the universe’

you wondered out loud but kyotani whispered something you didnt think youd ever hear from him

‘because you let me paint everything with my colors and i refuse to let you see something that i suffered seeing my entire life’

you returned his gaze and this was the real kyotani kentaro

not kyoken,

not kenta-kun

kyotani kentaro

and my god was he beautiful

he kissed you that night

it wasnt anything lustful, nothing aggressive, but not exactly gentle

it was a perfect balance of need yet hesitance that made it so much more powerful and important because it relayed the unspoken words that he had the hardest time letting out

and that was okay with you

kyo’s eyes and touch said everything he wanted to say

there was no one in sight, no body to judge the violent boy and the kind girl, just you and him with the man in the moon, gently smiling that the so-called lost cause finally found his redemption

okay that serious and sad stuff is finally out of the way and no more crying this time so dont be sad anymore :(

your relationship was never something you flaunted around or bragged about bc you and kyo were pretty private people so nobody really knew bc kyo still acted the way he would when oikawa would flirt you but yahaba noticed

oh lordie he noticed

he noticed kyo was much angrier when oikawa does his antics and he would stick closer to you, exchanging bashful smiles with you

the team only noticed when you seemed to just glow

like not like a glowstick 

but like your,,, aura,,, 

you laughed more, you smiled more, you teased everyone more

you were so,,, you

they had a hunch that something happened between you and kyo but they were never really sure

but ehehehe they confirmed it alright

the third years: mattsun, makki, iwa, and oiks were walking down the hallway when again, someone peaked out the window and saw you and kyo by the shade and you were perfectly angled so they could see the two of you

you were pressed against the wall while kyo was hovering over you with an arm beside your head while his hand was caressing your hip

makki let out a chortled scream that caught the attention of the others and he pointed at you two wordlessly

omg WAS KYOTANI SMILING

they watched as kyo smiled then teased you by kissing your nose, then your cheeks

‘kyo, kiss me right!’

you whined but giggled

kyotani had a teasing smirk but continued kissing you everywhere but where you wanted

‘hm? here? or here?’

right below your ear was your ticklish spot and he knew that so his kisses there tickled you and sent you on a giggling spree

‘kyo~~~!’

finally, he relented and gave you a sweet, yet passionate kiss that always managed to leave you breathless

that was when oikawa went on a rampage

well, he waited until classes were over but during practice, oh girl he went on a rampage

‘Y/N, KYOTANI!’

everyone knew he was serious when he didnt call them with those ridiculous nicknames

ngl you were scared too but kyo just glared at him

‘what’

he grumbled but you instinctively placed a hand on his arm

‘are you dating now, y/n, kyotani?’

iwa gently asked but oikawa was being oikawa

oikawa glared at you then pouted

‘OUT OF EVERYONE HERE, YOU CHOOSE THE DOG?!’

everyone gave each other nervous looks bc they kinda expected this but oikawa asking it like that made them sweat

they expected kyo to blow up but it was you who glared at oikawa, standing protectively in front of kyo

‘and what about it?’

you hissed and oikawa jumped, a hand over his heart

‘REALLY, Y/N-CHAN?! HIM?!’

‘yea and whats the problem with it? how is it your business? why do i need to validate my feelings for him? who do you think you are?’

oml kyo had to drag you out of there bc you were seriously about to fight oikawa for even having the NERVE to say that to you

like kyo held you up with his arms under your armpits as you were kicking the air and wanting to go back in there

‘no! let me go! kyo! i will hit him! come on! baby please!’

you whined and continued kicking

as much as kyo wanted to see you violently hit oikawa, he knew you would feel bad about it later and be guilty for hurting your captain

‘puppy, please. youre too angry right now and i will not sit there and listen to you whine and be sad that you hit oikawa tonight’

you hmphed and crossed your arms

he finally set you down but he wrapped his arms around you from behind and he placed a kiss on your cheek

‘but im really happy though. im really happy that you would fight for me’

but you stayed mad, pouting and looking away with your arms crossed

it was a cute sight honestly

‘of course i would. i would fight anyone who says stuff about you because i love you’

you ranted, just realizing what you said when you finished

no one has exactly said the ‘L’ word yet so you were partly scared that you said it

but kyo laughed then kissed your neck affectionately

‘i love you too, but my puppy is a nice, gentle, kind, little angel’

every compliment earned you a kiss and your tough and angry act finally slipped and you were giggling in his arms

‘yanno, if someone were to see you like this, they would think youre an impostor’

you commented in between giving him little pecks

he shrugged

‘meh. i dont care. i have you so i dont really care what they say about me. but now about you on the other hand-’

you slapped him on the chest

‘you hypocrite! youd fight someone for me but not me fighting someone for you?! how mean!’

you faked a look of surprise but he silenced you with a last kiss

‘youre so cute, y/n. my baby’

the team was a little bit in shambles while you two were away with the third years basically crying and pouting but they really did see this coming so no one was genuinely surprised, even oikawa

‘she really picked him, huh?’

iwa mumbled, a sad smile on his face as if he was just realizing it now

it was something they shouldve easily seen coming and accepted as kyo was so different around you and you treated him so much more than the rest

but why did it hurt so much?

as i mentioned before, they were all really hurting though because in a way, you were their first love

but they wish you to be happy and for kyotani to treat you right because you deserved the universe and more

TIME SKIP!!!!

OH YES I LOVE THIS!!!!

so basically, from my estimation, the timeskip is about 9 years after the third years graduate

so you are like 25 while kyo is 26

lets say you got a job as an editor alongside some guy named akaashi keiji while kyo was still playing volleyball

you got,,,, married quite early like tanaka and kiyoko and you have some minis running around

god decided to give you twins as children like a year after yall wed and currently, you were,,,, having another one??

ehehehe this part made my heart balloon up

imma make it so that kyo actually went to see the olympics with you and your kids are like 3 and theyre actually volleyball fans due to the influence of their uncles and father and partly you

it was easy to get tickets bc iwa literally works for the team and tooru is literally a player and they really wanted to see their godchildren

ngl the team was salty bc you picked them two as godfathers but next time, theyre making you pick out of a hat for your future child

so here you were, each parent carrying a child, lets say the girl is naomi while the boy is naoki, and the girl was wearing a mini argentina oikawa jersey that he specially got for his goddaughter while iwa got naoki a mini kageyama jersey just to spite oikawa

they each were wiggling in excitement to see their uncles and omg imma switch it again that the whole seijoh team is literally there like the og gang is there and watching the olympics

naoki and naomi were excitedly looking around at the unfamiliar faces and kyo was laughing when naomi tugged his collar when she saw her godfather’s picture upclose

‘papa! its kawa! kawa!’

she giggled and he ruffled her mini pigtails

‘it is, isnt it, mimi-chan’

while your son was calmly in your arms, you watched your husband and child interact with each other and her giggling as he tickled her nose

‘y/n-chan! kyoken!’

a familiar shout from only one person made you turn and see oikawa with the others at the back

of course he was huddled in a jacket to not attract attention but the og seijoh volleyball team was back together after so many years apart

‘kawa! hi!!’

naomi wiggled and she told her dad to let her down so she could run up to oikawa who was a few feet away

naoki also caught sight of his idol and you let him run after his sister but crash into the strong arms of iwaizumi

‘hello zumi’

naoki mumbled

‘hey little man! how are you?’

you gave everyone hugs and went to go to a restaurnt nearby to be away from the chaos of the people and kyo could tell you were getting tired standing

he helped you sit on a chair but you kept on grumbling to him

‘kenta, ive been pregnant before, with two! im fine, okay? so stop worrying’

kyo scrunched his nose but flicked your forehead

‘of course i have to worry. you have a literal human being inside of you’

‘well-’

but he used his hand to scrunch your cheeks to prevent you from speaking

‘what? hm, what was it, doll?’

the team gagged 

‘seriously! we suffered 3 years of this already! stop it!!’

kindaichi whined 

you stuck your tongue out at him and everyone got settled on their seats before ordering their food

the children were being entertained by the others and you were giggling at the antics of your friends

‘honestly, you all are nearly 30 yet you still act like children’

you scolded but had a smile on your lips to show you were actually teasing

‘and you act like youre 50 just because youre married with kids’

kunimi countered with his tongue out

you gasped before trying to reach over the table and snatch the tongue out of his mouth

‘come here you litte-’

but kyo gently sat you back down with a stiff smile

‘baby, doll, darling, love, i swear you forget youre not 18 anymore. please youre gonna send your husband to an early grave if you keep acting like this’

he whined, fake crying and the team was so shocked to see him still acting like this 

‘oh my god, y/n-chan, how did you ever get kyoken-chan to be like this? did you brainwash him?’

oikawa mumbled

‘papa dont cry’

naoki tried to reach over the table from iwa’s arms to his father who he thought was really crying

yahaba shook watari in cuteness and mattsun turned to makki

‘can we get one?’

makki scoffed and hit him but still laughed

‘papa is worried that mama will hurt your baby brother, nao-kun’

kindaichi choked on his drink while oikawa screeched, holding naomi tighter

‘BROTHER?! ITS A BOY?!’

the guests in the restaurant were startled by the shriek from the argentina player and you gave kyotani a betrayed look

‘urusai, oikawa!’

kyotani snarled, face turning red at his blunder

‘CAN I BE GODFATHER THIS TIME?!’

‘YAHABA YOU IDIOT! ITS ME!’

‘WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! YOU SHUT UP MATSUKAWA! ITS ME!’

‘OIKAWA YOU GREEDY LITTLE BIT-!’

‘SHUT UP OR I SWEAR TO GOD!’

you slammed your hands on the table, on your feet and glaring down at the men

naoki and naomi were already used to their mother yelling at uncle mattsun and uncle makki so they were snickering at their uncles terrified face

‘mama, they scared’

naoki commented, fiddling with iwa’s jacket zipper

‘its like y/n-chan and kyoken-chan switched personalities or something’

oikawa muttered, still looking wide-eyed at you

‘that’s it. kenta, hold my purse-!’

‘BABY, WHAT-!’

oh my god it was a sight to see

you have this <6 feet professional olympic volleyball player being hit by a pregnant short woman with her shoe and a bleach-blonde man trying to hold her hands so she alternated to kicking

‘y/n-chan! wait!’

‘nearly a decade later and 2 children later, y/n-chan still knows how to hit’

watari watched with a fond smile, reminiscing their old volleyball times

‘will y/n-chan be okay?’

yahaba worriedly asked but naomi gave him a smile that was a copy/paste of her father’s

‘no, uncle baba. its if kawa would be okay’

while everyone else laughed,

oikawa screamed

AND THATS A WRAP! if its not what you guys wanted, not gonna lie, i was even hesitant to write this part because as much as i love kyo, hes quite a hard character to understand and write for, but i didnt want him to be the typical brute caveman child, instead i wanted this to be like him showcasing that hes not just a screaming man but hes a scared boy whos awkward and doesnt know how to express himself. also, its not canon in the manga or the anime, but i put that he was in the foster system and they werent,,, nice,,,, so thats why he knew first aid bc he had to do it on himself and why he was so calm about her getting hurt and treating her. but thank you for reading this one and im about to write an iwa and an oikawa so expect that in the future!!!

#haikyuu!! #haikyuu #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu!! imagines #haikyuux reader #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu!! headcanons #aoba johsai #aoba johsai x reader #aoba josai x reader #aoba josai #seijoh #aoba johsai imagines #aoba josai imagines #seijoh imagines #seijoh manager #haikyuu manager #haikyuu!! manager #aoba johsai manager #aoba josai manager #seijoh x reader #aoba johsai headcanons #aoba josai headcanons #seijoh headcanons #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu!! fluff #aoba johsai fluff #aoba josai fluff #seijoh fluff

[moonprincess92]

The Rebelcaptain Food Travel AU round robin: GUIDELINES

As promised, these are the guidelines for the Rebelcaptain Food Travel AU 

Wait, what the heck is this?????  Check out this post here :) 

PLOT GUIDELINES - I’m going to outline some basic plot, but essentially there’s no limits here hahahahahhaha like you can write anything really! 

- Beginning: Cassian and Jyn meet for the first time in England, just before they are due to start filming. Like canon, they typically have chemistry and hit it off. 

- Middle: as the story progresses throughout their travels, they fall in love. Maybe it happens quickly, maybe it happens slowly, it will all depend on what we write! I’m kind of imagining that this is a fic with ultimate Mutual Pining but lets gooo with the floooow 

- End: the fic ends back in England when filming wraps. They have to say goodbye to each other and they are unreasonably Sad. 

- obviously, the local food of your location should be included somewhere, since it’s kind of the whole point of the fic! 

- since you’re writing about a country you feel experienced with, feel free to include lots of info/descriptions of your setting! 

- Cassian and Jyn are not food experts. You don’t have to be either. If you don’t know much about food, you can focus on the country/relationships/anything else really and of course vice versa :) 

- clearly this is a fic about their relationship and how they fall in love, so like, that should probs be included lol, We can include all the tropes! Maybe they get stuck in hostel accommodation at one point and have to share a bed? maybe their chemistry sizzles through the camera so much that their director decides to play it up for more views? the choices are endless! 

- another concept of this fic that Jaded and I once talked about is the idea that once it kicks off, about 3% of the show’s viewing audience are watching it for the food, another 7% are watching solely because they think Cassian is hot, and the remaining 90% are watching because they ship Cassian and the camera girl who comes on screen every now and then hahahahaha :DDDD 

- in terms of timeline, I’m completely open to setting this fic during literally any time of the year. If you have a request of when you’d like the story to take place, just let me know. 

GENERAL GUIDELINES  - there is no word count minimum or limit to your chapter 

- each installment should be episodic. To make it easier on the authors, each chapter can act as a kind of stand-alone oneshot. Think of it as a tv show with an overarching theme (food travel), yet each episode tells an individual story 

- your chapter doesn’t have to reference and relate back to things that have already happened in previous chapters, but can if you want it to! (I am personally a slut for continuity, but that’s just me hahahahaha) 

- all of this being said, please be aware and respectful of what has already been written. Technically these chapters will be all within the same universe and will be at the very least loosely connected in some way, so it would make sense not to completely contradict or retcon something that has already been written. :) 

- I’m figuring now that this entire thing is probably going to be more complicated than we originally thought hahahahahaha, but hopefully we can sort out any issues as they come up! 

- use whatever writing style works for you. I typically write in third person past tense and that’s how I’ll start the fic, but if you want to write yours differently, go for it 

- same goes for POV. Literally any POV you want! 

- no time limit/deadline. Basically, I’ll post the first chapter when/if this gathers enough interest. I’m a full-time worker and I know a lot of other people are too with busy lives, so I don’t want this to be stressful at all for you guys! 

- if you happen to find yourself up next and with absolutely no time/motivation/etc to write your chapter for whatever reason, it’s totally ok. We can skip you and move onto the next person. Since chapters are episodic, we should be able to come back to you if you want! (again, we’ll figure this out along the way) 

- if you saw this post late and we’ve already started writing, it’s also ok! Again, chapters should be basically just connected oneshots, so you should still be able to write a chapter that fits into the narrative somewhere. 

- to cohesively organise everything, I think I’m gonna have to finally learn how to make a sideblog lol. That will be the one collective place to put all the different installments of this fic on tumblr. 

- once the fic is completely finished, i’ll make sure it’s in chronological order and hopefully figure out a way to put it on AO3! 

- if you don’t want to write, but want to make art/graphics/anything else, by all means! You can do this whenever the urge strikes you :D 

That’s it!  Hopefully that’s not too many guidelines hahahahahaha, I don’t want to scare anyone off or anything! If you think there’s something I’ve missed or have any questions/comments/suggestions, please feel free to let me know! 

xoxo 

#rebelcaptain #food travel au #food travel au guidelines

[myteline]

•//▪Mysterious artist▪//•

<<¤BTS FF¤>>

《♡Taehyung x Reader♡》

●☆Word count: I DONT even know… ☆●

■♢Genre: Romance, Drama, Angst(future chapters ;)) ♢■

○Description: Your name is Kim Y/N. You are 18 years old. You are Korean but moved to America 2 years ago, your dad made that decision he just wants to run from his problems -_-. Anyways you’re moving back to Korea today! You were planning on finishing high school in the school you started before moving in America however you eventually got news that Portman high school( your first high school in Korea before you moved to America) was shut down due to poor teaching system and no teachers available to teach. So your dad sent you to Soung Highschool which was a high school closer to your home than Portman. Everything goes well till you meet a guy and he acts weird around you and he always acts like a dick around you. I wonder why?

Previously in Chapter 2:

The boys were so happy to have you back and you were happy to be back. You texted the girls the night before and agreed to go out to buy school things. Clothes, supplies, etc. You got up and got ready. You stopped for a second and looked in the mirror... Was this reality? Was this really you? You couldn't believe that it was reality... How could your life go back to normal after that day? It never would... it was always an act. You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn't notice the doorbell ringing multiple times and Mark shouting at you to open it.

Chapter 3:

Lisa: Hey gurlll! Jisoo: Hiya!! How are you gorgeous!! Y/N: Ohh PpPLEasE pfffttt. Hi guys! Mark: Byeee nuggets! You waved at Mark and left. You went to the mall with the girls and bought multiple things.

-TIME SKIP TO BEDTIME- toooo lazyyy to type ;))

Mark: Tomorrows your first day back! Are you nervous? Y/N: Nahhhh *you said confidently although on the inside you were endlessly shaking*. Suddenly you felt warm. Mark was hugging you. Y/N:???! Mark: Don't ever lie to me *he said softly* Don't keep it inside you, talk to me, I can't lose anyone anymore... You felt weak and fell to your knees, silently sobbing. His words hurt you cause you knew you were the cause of this in the first place. No one else is to blame except yourself... Mark hugged you even tighter. His hugs were the best, they were comforting. 

Mark POV:

I hugged Y/N I didn't wanna lose her but I could tell she was lying to me. How can she not be nervous on her first day back to her old high school? suddenly I felt a weight on my shoulder. Y/N had fallen asleep. I picked her up and put her into her bed. Mark: Goodnight Y/N *kisses *forehead*.

Y/N POV:

You woke up. Suddenly you remembered what had happened the previous night. Mark... Does he still blame?

-FLASHBACK-

You woke up on the hospital bed, confused you asked the nurse what had happened. She told you everything... You started crying... You felt like screaming and then heard him shout. Mark: WHAT NO! WHY! WHY! *He was breaking down* He entered your room and said, “ I HATE YOU! YOU CAUSED ALL OF THIS! JUST DIE ALREADY” His words penetrated your heart. You felt like jumping off a bridge. He wanted you to die and he was the closest family to you after your mum died so when you heard him say that you were in utter shock. Your heart was beating too fast, you were feeling dizzy, tears were streaming down your eyes. Mark was forced out of the room and that's all you saw till you blanked out. One day you woke up and saw a nurse with a worried but excited expression. Nurse1: Miss you're finally awake! She hugged you tight* OH MY WE THOUGHT YOU WOULD EVER WAKE UP! Y/N: How long was I asleep for? Doctor1: Almost 2 weeks and we thought because of your trauma you would never wake u as your body started shutting down... Y/N: So I almost killed myself unknowingly? Nurse1:  Kind of... yes... Y/N: Did anyone come visit me during this time? Doctor1: Yes a group of girls came and spoke to you every day with hope youll wake up and a boy came but he could never enter the room he always said that if you wake up to say that he was just upset he didn't want to hurt you and he never meant those words. But I'm not sure what he meant...  Although the doctor and nurse had no idea you did. Mark didn't mean those words but you know he did. He had never spoken to you that way so you knew he was genuine. 

- END OF FLASHBACK-

Mark: Y/NNN  ARE YOU READY WELL BE HEADING OUT IN 15 MINUTES UNLESS YOU WANNA WALK! He shouted from downstairs. OK Y/N breathe everything will be fine! Your first day is going to be a good one! Y/N: COMINGGG

- TIME SKIP TO ARRIVAL AT SCHOOL- (too lazy to type) All eyes were on you. This is what you were wearing.

Everyone was in awe.  Y/N:  BYEE MARK! Imma go get my schedule! You left Mark and as you were running indoor you bumped into someone. Y/N: IM SO SORRY! ???: Do you ever watch were your going chubbs? The boy hugged you. Y/N: SAMUEL!? OMG, I MISSED YOU SO FUCKING MUCH! Samuel: Me too chubsss!!! You and Samuel were childhood BFFs but after you left Korea you lost contact the only updates you got were through the girls. And the other way around the only updates they got was from the girls. Y/N: Wanna come with me to get my schedule? Samuel: Of course lets gooo! You went to the office and found out you had most classes except English and some other boring ones with Samuel. The bell rang and you went to your first class which thankfully was art. You entered the class and as before all eyes were on you. Teacher: New student! Please introduce yourself! Y/N: Hi I'm Y/N and I hope we can all be friends! You sat down next to Samuel and an empty seat. You took your sketchbook out and as you were about to open your sketchbook someone entered the class. They were almost late but as from their gasp for air, you could tell he ran to get here. He was probably running late. ???: Sorry miss I had to drop my little sis to her first day at kindergarten and she woke up late! He apologised and you could tell he was sincere. Teacher: Its ok Taehyung, just don’t let it happen again. She sad in a sweet tone. You looked at him... Do I know him from somewhere? You ignored your thoughts and drew. After half an hour or so the teacher asked you to show your drawing. You went up and showed the class your drawing. Everyone's jaws dropped. This is what you drew:

Teacher: Woah! It looks like we have another good artist in here! *Bell rings* Teacher: OK everyone please pack up. Y/N AND Taehyung please stay behind! You stay behind as the teacher asked you to. Teacher: Y/N this is Taehyung. Taehyng this is Y/N. You two are the best artists in this class so, Taehyung you already know this, but Y/N if I am ever in need of a student to represent our school in competition is going to be you two who will be picked for it. Is that ok?”You both nodded.”Well, then you're free to go unless you wanna say anything to each other...” Y/N: Hi I'm Y/N nice to meet you :)) Taehyung: Whatever... he said as he left the classroom but he accidentally pushed you as he turned around. You fell and were in utter shock. Why is he such a dick? He looked like such a sweet boy! W-w-wait co-could i-it be that he's jealous or is he afraid ill beat him? But I'm nowhere near his level! UGH, whatever.  Teacher: OH MY! Y/N I'm so sorry he isn't always like this i dont know whats gotten into him ately. Hes been acting strange and coming late to cass... Y/N: its ok! Ill take my leave now see you next time teacher! You exit the class and head to lunch. As you enter the cafeteria you see four girls sitting at a table giggling. You go behind one of them and cover her eyes. Jennie: I know its you chubbs! she said as she smirked. Y/N: WHAT? HOW? Lisa: We have known you for over 9 years of course we would recognise you! Y/N: OH. Well how were your lessons? BP: They were fine! You? Y/N: Well, uhm-uh they were fine i guess... *they gave you stare which indicated that they knew you were lying-  UGH FINE it was actually bad cause this guy is acting like a dick! HEs HES SO- You felt cold water down your back... TO BE CONTINUEDDDD

#bts #BTS jimin #bts ff #BTS jin #bts namjoon #bts yoongi #bts taehyung #bts jhope #BTS jungkook #bts fanfction