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redtsundere-writes · 3 months

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Jinx | Sukuna Ryomen

Part 3: Medusa's Snake

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mmafighter!sukuna ryomen x femcoach!reader

Sypnosis: Sukuna is a world champion with anger issues. It's believed by many that he is untrainable. Yeah, you can't train him, but you can dominate him. Contents: Fighting. Sukuna being Sukuna. Female reader being dom. Jinx AU (the BL, not the character from lol) Yuuji, Choso and Sukuna are brothers. Toji is a nice parent. Praising. Warnings: Cursed words. Mentions sexual harassment. Word Count: 2685 words. Author's Note: I just finished and I could finally write this *cries happily*

Night was slowly falling over Tokyo. The small, cozy ramen bar stood out with its warm lights and glowing signs. The air was filled with the captivating fragrance of bone broth bubbling in the pots. The dim lighting enhanced the skill of the chef, whose expert hands moved gracefully as he masterfully prepared the noodles at the counter. The murmur of diners, mixed with the sound of steam and noodles cooking, created a gastronomic symphony.

In the middle of the stage, Yuuji, Megumi and I were there to relax after another day of hard training. The delicious broth and the comfort of carbs soothed the stress we had accumulated over the past few days. Sukuna and I have been training relentlessly for the past month for the fight that was coming up in a few days. Toji Fushiguro is a superb Muay Thai fighter, a real threat to a boxer like Sukuna. We had to be prepared.

"My brother didn't let you rest?” Yuuji asked me when he saw me stretching my neck with some help from my hands.

"Yes, he told me not to even dare to think about resting because he would kick me out of the gym,” I replied. The stress in my neck came back from just thinking about his tantrums.

I understood that he was nervous about the fight. He had an important title to defend, and every fighter in his weight class and in back-to-back weight classes wanted it. Sukuna is just a king protecting his crown, but this was already too much. All his tension was slowly creeping up on my back. I had to admit that his dedication is admirable. While we were eating a delicious bowl of ramen without worrying about ruining our diets, Sukuna was still training in the empty gym.

“Sukuna always acts like this. It only gets worse with every fight,” Megumi explained without looking away from his bowl.

“Doesn’t he have a hobby or something like that? If he keeps tensing his muscles like that, it could be bad in the long run.” I knew from experience.

“He does, but we can't help him with that.” Yuuji shook his head.

“What? Why not?” I asked. I was his coach, I should know.

Yuuji looked for a second at Megumi as if he was hesitating whether to tell me or not. It was little moments like these that made me understand why they were friends despite having two completely different personalities. They could communicate with just their looks and a few gestures. I wish I had a connection like that with someone. Yuuji let out a sigh and went back to eating, completely evading the question.

“Why don't you want to tell me?” I asked him directly.

“It's just… it's not like she relaxes with it. It's more like a good luck ritual,” he explained reluctantly.

Good luck rituals are common in any sport. There are soccer players who sing anthems before taking the field, baseball players who wear a special pair of socks, and fighters who tattoo talismans on their backs. I was used to that kind of thing, and I'm sure Yuuji was too.

“There's nothing wrong with that,” I said.

“It is because Sukuna doesn't know how to hold back,” Yuuji replied.

I could sense that he wanted to avoid the topic. I didn't know exactly why, but he must have had a good reason to do so, so I decided not to insist and continue eating, but we no longer conversed. It wasn't an awkward silence, we were just tired of the subject and needed to relax.

“Yuuji, she's his coach, maybe you should tell her,” Megumi commented after finishing his bowl…

“It's unnecessary,” his friend answered.

“Gojo knows about it, I think she should also know in case Sukuna tries something, don't you think?” With that comment, I knew that this was no ordinary ritual.

“You're right.” Yuuji sighed before looking at me. “The thing is… Sukuna must have satisfying sex the night before the fight for good luck,” he finally blurted out.

"That's not weird”. I commented before shoving another mouthful of ramen into my mouth. "Why didn't you want to tell me? You didn't want to embarrass your brother?”

“Because that's why he and Choso don't talk to each other anymore.” Yuuji brought up the story.

Days before the night Sukuna became the champion of the light heavyweight weight class, the three brothers had dinner with their parents. At this dinner, Choso excitedly introduced his fiancée. She was his love and pride, his better half. According to Yuuji, she was a very pretty and nice girl, and as usual, Sukuna avoided her like the plague because he was not interested in meeting her at all.

Since the championship was held in Las Vegas, Choso and his fiancée stayed in the same hotel as Sukuna because Choso wanted to show her how cool his brother was (despite being a complete jerk). The night before the fight, Choso woke up in the middle of the night and realized that his fiancée wasn't in bed with him. She wasn't in the bathroom, and she didn't take her phone with her, but she took her room key with her.

He went out to look for her and couldn't find her anywhere, so he went to Sukuna for help. As he was about to knock on the door, his fiancée came out of the room with her hair matted and her panties in her hand. He knew about Sukuna's lucky ritual, so he knew perfectly well what had happened. His fiancée cheated on him with his damn brother. Choso went crazy and jumped at Sukuna, but he knocked him out before he could do anything.

Choso woke up in the hospital bed with Yuuji next to him. According to him, he had never seen him so broken and betrayed in his life. He cried all night while his brother was preparing for their fight. He knew his brother could be many things, but he never thought he would be capable of being a traitor. Needless to say, despite everything, Sukuna won the fight.

"What a jerk.” I grumbled through my teeth.

"My brother doesn't care about anyone or anything. He can't be changed. I don't know where my parents failed in his upbringing,” Yuuji mentioned with a sigh.

"That's why you should be careful, Sukuna is capable of doing anything to win,” Megumi warned me.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for telling me.”

The days passed and the fight was one day away. After a tedious trip to Dubai and a quick stop to unpack at the hotel. The team, Sukuna and I headed out bright and early to the official weigh-in with the fight referee and judges. After Sukuna had lunch, we headed to the exhibition weigh-in at the hotel's convention center. This is where the fighters must appear to be brawling before the fight to get the public's attention. There is also a press round for them to publicize the event during the day.

Sukuna, Gojo and I were called to the stage along with Toji Fushiguro and his trainers to be the next to go on stage. Sukuna was wearing his headphones and had a very unfriendly look on his face. Gojo asked him to take them off, and he did so between tantrums as I mentally prepared myself to go on stage. This reminded me of the good old days.

As we walked out onto the stage, the press cameras began to flash and the murmur of reporters manifested itself in the room. I kept my face as serious as possible as Sukuna and Toji greeted each other and prepared for the weigh-in. I watched as he took off his hoodie to reveal his tribal tattoos proudly to the audience. The fighters reluctantly greeted each other and stepped on the scales. The weight was somewhat different from the morning, as both had eaten breakfast at the hotel buffet. Toji weighed 220 pounds, while Sukuna weighed 215.

The audience applauded when it was announced that both passed the weigh-in. The only thing left was the press round. After Sukuna and Toji exchanged threats, all of us on stage sat at a long table. Two coaches between the fighters to keep things from getting personal. The emcee asked if anyone had any questions, and the requests bombarded him. The emcee decided to give the floor to the reporter in front of me.

"I have a question for the Medusa’s Snake! How did the man-hating former welterweight champion of the women's division become the coach of the champion with clear anger issues!?” The reporter exclaimed so that everyone present could hear the question.

I could feel Sukuna's eyes drilling into my skull for me to turn around and give him explanations on the spot. I carefully approached the microphone to speak loud and clear.

"I may not like men, but I like champions. I always belong to the winning team," I answered while the photographers kept flashing me.

Medusa’s Snake was the nickname I was baptized with in the first fight I had against a man in the gym I used to belong to. That fighter was a disgusting man from my past who harassed me in and out of the gym. He would always watch me, try to touch me and follow me home. That was until one day I asked him to train with him, since he was so interested in me. He agreed and during the fight he tried to touch my tits, that was until I kicked him and knocked out a couple of his teeth. He ended up in the hospital and didn't wake up until a day later. From then on I was nicknamed that way, and my brand as a champion was to be mean to men but honest with women. Which wasn't too far from the truth.

"How is your neck? Can you train the world champion in that state?!” Another reporter asked.

I used to be the world champion in my weight class until during my fight with Maki Zenin, I fell badly on my neck and tore it. I won the fight, but I lost a lot of range of motion in my neck. The doctor ordered me to rest for an indefinite period of time. It's been like that for three years now.

"I feel fine, but I'm not fully recovered. My focus at the moment is on doing everything I can to keep Sukuna as champion.” I replied.

"Mr. Ryomen! It is known that you are very strict with the people who enter your gym and that there are no women! Why the change?!” Another reporter asked. Sukuna took a few seconds to think about his answer, I could already imagine what stupid thing he would say next.

"I chose her because she is the best.” He answered without further ado.

A small smile infiltrated my face before I could hide it. That response caught me off guard. It was the first time Sukuna had recognized me like that. I'd be lying if I said it hadn't been nice to be recognized for the first time in two months of work. In fact, it's the first time I've been recognized as a trainer in a long time. Being a woman in a male-dominated world is complicated. You have to be good enough to be accepted, but not be the best so as not to overshadow any man with fragile masculinity.

After a couple more questions and an exchange of threatening hints, we went back backstage. We were about to head to the hotel gym to warm up a bit, but Sukuna stopped me halfway down the hall to confront me. A move that not only seemed strange to me, but also to the team.

"Are you a world-class fighter?” Sukuna questioned me. He couldn't be serious. I was going to answer, but Nanami stepped in.

"Didn't you know that?” He asked him to make sure he wasn't joking.

"Did you think we just brought you some random pretty girl so you could finally learn floor techniques?” Gojo interjected in amusement.

"I don't waste my time watching female fighting,” Sukuna answered, slightly blushing with embarrassment for being the only one who didn't know who I was.

"That explains why she beat you up the first day,” Itadori commented with a chuckle.

"I'm not surprised coming from Medusa’s Snake," Someone said in a thick voice behind us.

He was none other than Toji Fushiguro. A tall, strong and powerful man. A fighter easily recognizable in the crowd. If you put a bag over his head, people could still recognize him by his large physique. Unlike his body, his appearance was quite plain. He had a haircut that was not so long, but not so short. He wore a black sweatshirt, gray shorts and sandals from the brand that sponsors him. Despite his dangerous reputation, he had a pleasant smile, decorated with a small cut on his lip.

"It's nice to finally meet you,” he greeted me directly, completely ignoring his opponent.

It felt strange for him to approach me in such a friendly manner, but I still accepted his greeting. Megumi appeared behind him, looking like he was wondering the same thing I was.

"Do you know her, dad?” Megumi asked him in confusion.

"Do you remember the fight your cousin Maki lost three years ago?” Toji asked without taking his eyes off me. Megumi nodded. “She finished the fight with a perfect Kimura*, someday you should teach me how to do that,” he flattered me with a proud smile, but it vanished when Sukuna came between us.

Kimura: A technique whose main objective is to exert pressure on the opponent's shoulder and elbow joint to achieve submission in various wrestling disciplines.

"Not in your dreams, old man.” Sukuna barked with a frown. “She signed a contract saying she belongs to me, so don't even try.”

Seeing Sukuna so defensive about keeping me on his side was strange. After the last two months, he has done nothing but scold me every time I do something wrong in his eyes. Toji didn't even flinch at his threat. I poked him in the ribs to get him to step aside and let me talk.

"Thanks for the compliment and the offer, but Sukuna is the only one I plan to train until I get back on my feet. I plan to return to the ring soon,” I explained with a smile.

“I understand. If you change your mind, you know where to find me,” he said while pointing at Megumi. Toji approached Sukuna and gave him a proud smile. “Take good care of her, snakes are great at escaping,” he advised him with a wink before walking away with Megumi and the rest of his team behind him. Sukuna muttered a curse under his breath and let him go.

Two big UFC fighters had recognized me as a good coach and fighter on the same day. It was a big step for my self-esteem and my career. My heart was beating like crazy with excitement, and the smile on my face didn't seem to go away anytime soon.

“You're smiling like an idiot,” Sukuna scolded me.

"Can't I be happy that the heavyweight champion just complimented my skills?” I said as we headed for the exit with the others once Toji left our sight.

"That better be it, and you better not be thinking about going with him,” he challenged me.

"Are you jealous?” I joked while nudging him.

"Of course not,” Sukuna answered while rolling his eyes.

"Don't worry, just behave, and I'll still be yours,” I said in a mocking tone. I was partly joking and partly not. I really wanted him to behave.

"Nice try,” he spat before picking up the pace to go with Gojo, leaving me behind. “Worth the shot” I thought as I followed them.

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ddarker-dreams · 1 year

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Tastiest Treat.

Scaramouche x Reader.

Word count: 1.1k.

“No.”

Scaramouche shuts you down the mere second you excitedly enter his line of sight. It isn’t an unexpected reaction, that incessant scowl often seen on his otherwise pretty face. You think looking grumpy might be a hobby of his. How pitiful is that? This is exactly why your presence in his life is a need, not a want.

You consider voicing this sentiment, only to wisely decide against it. To get what you want today, you’ll need to choose your battles carefully. This isn’t a fight you should pick.

… Maybe tomorrow, instead.

“Huh? I haven’t even said anything yet,” you reply.

He waves off your faux offense as if he were swatting a pesky bug. Which, if his current miffed expression is anything to go by, is exactly how he currently views you. That’d be hot water for anyone else. You’d say the temperature feels more lukewarm than anything. Comfortable enough to take a bath in.

“You didn’t need to. Your expression alone is enough to serve as a sufficient warning. Whatever strange request it is you’re inevitably about to ask of me, my answer is no.”

“I hope you’ll set aside your prejudiced misconceptions for just a moment to hear me out,” you reply without missing a beat. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose yet doesn’t attempt to stop you. He probably knows better than to try. “I only want to play a simple game with you. Something tells me you’ll enjoy it more than you think.”

The sales pitch must not have been as effective as you hoped, for he shakes his head. “Enjoyable for you, maybe. For someone who enjoys using the word ‘sadistic’ to describe me, you sure do take a fair share of delight in my torment.”

“It’s not torment, it’s character building. As the only person who isn’t at risk of an excruciating death for so much as breathing in your vicinity, I consider it my sworn duty to keep you humble. Or the closest thing you can get to it.”

He gives you a thin smile. “You sure do love testing my patience, don’t you?”

“I don’t think I love it nearly as much as you do. Now, for the game,” you pull out a thin biscuit-like stick covered in chocolate. “We both start eating from each end. You lose if your mouth comes off it or the opposing player gets to the middle first. Simple, right?”

Scaramouche eyes it warily. “You know I don’t care for sweets.”

“But you care for me, so let’s give it a shot anyway.”

(He noticeably doesn’t deny this).

“My answer is still no. Honestly, I can’t take my eyes off you… the second I do, you’re running off coming up with the most half-witted ideas. Should I follow through with that threat of tying you to my wrist after all?”

The grin he gives you is supposed to be menacing, you presume, but you’re undeterred. Such trials are the spice of life. Besides, you’re already well acquainted with his questionable sense of humor. “Thanks for reminding me to always keep a pair of scissors on hand. Anyway, if you really still don’t want to, then well…”

He inhales, bracing himself for the worst—

“That’s fine then.”

“What?” He blurts out, having all the grace of a newborn fawn trying to cross a frozen lake seconds after being born. Further forgetting the virtues of propriety, he points at you, his senses on the highest alert. “That… isn’t how this works. How you work.”

The Harbinger keeps you at arm’s length, as if you were actually any threat to him. Apprehension radiates off him in waves. You examine the treat in your grasp with something akin to yearning. Purposeful silence ensues, multiplying the already building tension in the air. He’s waiting with bated breath for whatever stunt you pull next.

You don’t keep him waiting long.

“I mean, I would’ve liked to play the game, since, y’know, it’s possible we might’ve ended up kissing,” you drop your shoulders while he processes the information being presented to him. “I guess I could look to see if someone else might take me up on my offer… well, sorry to bother you—”

“Hand it over.”

“Oh?”

“I forbid you from playing this ‘game’ with anyone else. After all, you said…” he trails off, his face flushing with color, “That… that a kiss could potentially arise as a result. I can’t allow that. Game or otherwise. Because I’m… ahem… the only person who has kissing privileges.”

You blink, finding the swiftness of your success unexpected. There were a few more plans hidden up your sleeve that will get to say there now. You underestimated how quick he’d be to disregard his pride so long as a kiss is on the table. Not wanting to waste any more time in case he regains his temporarily cast-aside dignity, you set the thin biscuit inside your mouth.

Scaramouche latches onto the other end with unrivaled vigor. You’d almost think his life was on the line by how seriously he’s taking this.

Your strategy is a simple one — the classic little nibbles that err on the side of caution. He mimics your approach, having to take a step forward to remain balanced from how close your bodies are becoming. From this angle, you’re treated to an unobscured view of his pretty features. The glassiness of his indigo eyes, the brushstrokes of red surrounding them, the cute creases from his nose being scrunched up in concentration.

There’s precious little you wouldn’t do to experience a sight like this.

You’re both making decent headway, though you’re the slightest bit closer to the middle. Victory should be within reach, so long as you keep this up—

Hm? What’s this pressure you’re feeling against your lips?

Soft, oh so soft. Warm too. Caressing, the slightest bit greedy.

Scaramouche is smirking at you, evidently very pleased with himself, savoring each second of your bewilderment. You mentally scour through the files of your short-term memory. He had moved so fast that your eyes could barely process the motion before them. In less than the time it took you to blink, he had taken a sizable bite, eliminating what little distance remained between your faces.

His teeth tug your lower lip toward him lightly when he pulls away, his eyes lidded. “I got to the middle before you did. Wouldn’t you say that means I won? What’s my prize?”

“Truthfully, I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” you admit, to which he snorts. “Uh… best two out of three?”

He wipes a few stray crumbs from the corner of your mouth with his thumb.

“If I get to keep doing that, then we can go through your whole stupid box. Try me.”

#i just wanted to write a lil something <3 #scaramouche x reader #kunikuzushi x reader #wanderer x reader #genshin impact x reader #scaramouche brainrot #my stuff

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zenxvii · 4 months

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hellooo can you make a kyungjun fic where it is a happy ending😭💢 thank you sm

Hiii! Okay okay okay sorry for the last one here’s a happy one🙏🏻

Character: Kyung-Jun x fem!reader

Kdrama: night has come

!!: thoughts are in italics

🫶🏻: -

y/n pov

I walked thru to corridors making my way to my classmates. Jun-Hee hd told me to come down and meet others.

I arrived down seeing I was the last one there. “Now that everyone is here I think we have a solution how to survive.” Jun-Hee started and many heads were turn to his way.

“We know that if we vote someone dies, but if we don’t it should guarantee nobody dying.” What a stupid plan. We can’t be 100% it would work.

“What do you mean. We can’t be sure no one would vote! What is someone votes in secret!” A girl from our class said and I nodded along.

“We’ll gather the phones so nobody could vote.” “What if the holder changes their mind and votes!”

Some people against Jun-Hees plan and others with him. “Shut up! For once the class president has a good idea.” A voice stopped everyone.

Kyung-Jun walked with his minions following him. He walked in the middle with a yellow dumpster(?) “Be reasonable and listen when I’m being nice.” He told and glanced at everyone his glaze stopping at me.

“We’ll put our phones here so nobody can take then and put the bin in the middle.” He said and started to walk around getting the phones with his minions telling everyone the be quick.

I was the last one and he looked straight at my eyes. “Put your phone here princess.” So annoying.

I sighed and handed my phone.

The yellow bin was put on the middle with white clothing around it and nobody didn’t have permission to cross over it.

I could sense everyone being tense and just waiting the clock tick. It was 11.50pm and the ten minute wait would be like hell. I sighed and decided to sit on the ground tired from all the standing.

I eyed everyone, people were quiet no one talking. It was a bit too quiet for my liking, but I didn’t feel like saying anything when everyone was so tense.

11.55pm the five minute wait still there. It felt like eternal waiting for the clock strike 12. I played with my thumbs just waiving them around waiting for the time pass.

The five minutes had now passed even tho it felt like hours. Nobody moved. “We did it!” Someone yelled as the clock struck 12.01am. Now everyone was hugging each others and smiling.

I let out a breath of relief even tho I had a feeling this wasn’t over yet. When people were celebrating the fucking purge sound started again. I knew it.

“Players must identifyand vote out the Mafia!”

People tried to go for their phones but were stopped by the class president telling them it may not mean they would die.

It was before a body fell. And another one.

“For breaking the rules Lee Soo Bia and Park Ji Hoon have been eliminated.”

“Lee Soo Bia and Park Ju Hoon were civilians.”

People were in shock just standing there nobody moving. I had fell into a complete shock, the bodies had fell just few meters from me.

I was still on the ground as I saw the red spilling towards me. Now the purge sound had gotten louder and the lights turned to red.

Everyone were rushing to find their phones to vote. I couldn’t do anything because of the shock. I just sat on the ground.

I knew I needed to find my phone so I used all the strength that I gad and pushed myself off of the ground and started to look for my phone with a wave of people looking for theirs.

The bin had fallen and all the phones were scattered around the ground as people were panicking. I couldn’t find my phone anywhere. I started to panic. More and more people started to get eliminated and some to vote.

I felt a hand tug me. “Haven’t you found phone yet!” Kyung-Jun stood in front of me. “No!” I yelled at him with a slight panic in my voice. “Fuck.” He muttered and started to look for something. I’m gonna die.

I saw as Kyung-Jun motion his minions over and said something to them and they all started to look for something. There!

I saw my phone in the floor but just as I tried to grab it someone accidentally kicked my hand and my phone in the same. “Fuck!” I cried out in pain and watched my phone slide. I held my hand in pain. It was a strong and hard kick.

Just as I got up to get my phone Kyung-Jun was standing in front of me with my phone nodding to Jun-Ha who was standing were my phone hand sled.

“Vote!” He told me and shoved my phone to my hands. I yelped as he shoved it to my hurting hand. “But for whom!” I said I didn’t have tome to think and I couldn’t think straight.

“Vote for me. Now!” Was all he said as he opened his phone too.

I gulped and voted.

“l/n y/n voted for Go Kyung-Jun”

“Go Kyung-Jun voted for l/n y/n”

I felt my heart pounding in my ears with all the ringing from the purge sound. My hand was hurting bad. I used my flashlight on my phone and saw my hand turning a bit purple. Fuck.

Many people had voted and the timer told us it was time.

“Baek Eun-Ha vill be eliminated with the most votes of 10.”

“Baek Eun-Ha was a civilian.”

“I told you it’s not me!” The girl screamed I turned my gaze to her. She cried on the floor looking straight ant So-Mi.

She cried and cried, yelling at people who voted for her telling them she was telling the truth.

I looked back at my hand and saw Kyung-Jun looking it too. “That’s bad.” He said and shook his head with anger. “Yeah.” Was all I could say. “Sorry.” I said and leaned my head against Kyung-Juns chest.

He didn’t say anything but slightly wrapped his one arm around my shoulders. This might’ve looked weird to others. Me leaning on him. But to us it was okay. I guess.

The ‘lullaby’ started ringing and I felt my body going limp and my eyes closing.

I woke up the next morning. My hand sore as I opened my eyes I saw Kyung-Jun in front of me with his eyes closed. He looked peaceful. His hand was supporting my head. what a lucky way we fell.

I sat up and poked him. People started to wake up with groans and some sobs. Kyung-Hun sat up and immediately stood up after to go to his minions.

I looked at my hand seeing it purple, it wasn’t broken. But a big bruise on it. It was sore and I couldn’t move it much, but it was good that it wasn’t broken.

- (sorry i’ll skip the morning😞)

I arrived at the cafe after Kyung-Jun had told me to meet him there. Jin-Ha neither Seung-Bin weren’t there. “Why did you wanna meet?” I asked just standing at the door. “Come closer I don’t bite.” He said and motioned a chair next to him.

I sat next to him. “Ah! I never got to say this. But thank you, you saved my life yesterday.” I said and looked at him. He didn’t say anything but pulled a med kit under the table and sat it on the table.

“Show me your hand.” He told me and I did. I showed my hand to him and he gently grabbed it. “You should be more careful.” He said and wrapped a bandage around my hand. He was surprisingly gently.

“Thank you again.” I told him as he was finished with the wrapping. “Don’t fall for me now.” He said and patted my head and left. I just might..

——

End😳

yes yes I know kinda copied the hyun-ho and na-hee scene but it was just so cute😞🙏🏻

#kyungjunxreader #kyung jun #kyung jun x reader #kyungjun #night has come #night has come (tv)#x reader

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gojos-thot-patrol · 8 months

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Some more supplementary material for the Frat Boy! Au, this time starring blorbo of the hour: Kento Nanami

Because he’s been heavy on my mind. Starting with his basic info!

Nanami grew up very middle class, not as poor as Suguru or Ryomen, but nowhere near as well off as Satoru.

He’s a business major not because he wants to, but because he feels he has too. If he had it his way, he would be a culinary student. But according to his father, there's no money in being a line cook, so accounting it is.

Still, he hopes to use his degree to open his own restaurant one day. His father would never approve of a line cook for a son, but maybe Nanami could sell him on a business owner for a son.

He says the main reason he joined the ABO frat was to try and make business connections, he knew that some people would hire one applicant over another just because they were alumni of the same fraternity. In reality though, he’d have more room in the frat and unlimited access to the kitchen.

His room is full of plants. Plants of all kinds everywhere, including some herbs. It used to kinda annoy Ryomen (his roommate) but, he’s grown to actually kinda appreciate it. It makes the room feel less dead.

Phenomenal cook who can not bake to save his life. Cooking is an art but baking is a science and somewhere along the way he fucks it up every time. Be it mixing the batter too much or too little, not letting it sit long enough or letting it sit too long- he doesn't know. He can handle box cake mix that’s about it.

Now if you want a steak cooked to perfection with perfectly roasted veggies and the creamiest mashed potatoes you've ever put in your mouth on the side he’s you’re guy. If you want an authentic lasagna with homemade everything including the noodles and sauce, he can do that for you. Do not ask him to make bread.

He’s also insanely good at fighting games. Every version of Nanami in my heart is a God when it comes to fighting games, there is not a universe in which Nanami exists where he doesn’t dominate at Tekken, argue with the wall if you don’t agree.

Adding to that, he’s also in love with D&D. He’s a forever DM that spends hours of time planning campaigns, hours he should be spending on his school work but shhhh. If you really want to make him swoon, offer to let him be a player in a campaign. He’d pull out a ring on the spot.

That being said, I think it’s time to get into some relationship headcanons ;)

HE’S A TSUNDERE! Look at that man, he has such big Tsundere energy.

Out of all his frat brothers, Nanami is probably the one that gets laid the least. Not from a lack of opportunity, nay nay, women (and men) throw themselves at him all the time. He’s just picky and not a fan of being touched by stragers.

You though? You’re different (of course you are, you’re the main character!) The two of you really started to click after you had to work on a pretty big project together. Little things you did softened his heart for you.

Small things like asking him more about his D&D campaign plans, excitedly showing him pictures of the plants that you kept in your dorm, and offering to help him out in the kitchen. Little moments of quality time and tenderness while you were working on this project together nurtured his small crush into full blown butterflies when you were around.

He finally admitted to himself he was in love with you when you beat him in Street Fighter. He wasn’t used to losing at fighting games. You bragged about using his tips against him (you listened to what he said) and laughed about the weeks you spent training to destroy him (otherwise known as taking a genuine interest in his hobbies.)

He asked you out on a date that night and you were taken completely off guard! You had no idea the fool even liked you! He was cold on the best of days, spending more time scowling at his notebooks than listening to what you said (or so you thought.) He never contacted you unless it was in regards to your project, and most of the time you spent hanging out outside of it was just because you had become friends with his frat brothers and happened to be at the house. You mean he liked you?!

Of course you said yes, if for no other reason than to see where the hell this goes. You were 40% sure it was a prank, but hey- a free meal was a free meal. It helped he was hot as hell, what was the harm in one date?

You saw a whole new side of Kento Nanami that night. He was warm and attentive, and fucking hilarious when he wasn’t just keeping all of his jokes to himself.

It was a simple date. A moonlit picnic in the nearby park, one where he brought his laptop and used his phone hotspot so the two of you could watch movies together.

That was the night when you found out Kento Nanami considered himself to be a hopeless romantic.

When he took you back to your dorm, he walked you to the door and actually asked if he could kiss you goodnight.

And now you’re both smitten!

Once you’re officially his girlfriend, You’re gonna find out he’s genuinely pretty chill. Happy to give you your space and recognize you’re a person outside of your relationship. That being said, let some asshole start getting a little too comfortable with you at a part and he’s quick to throw hands.

You would think nerdy little Nanami wasn’t that good in a fight, but nay nay, he was forced to play football in highschool and will leave a bastard concussed.

He says he’s not a cuddler, but every time you sleep in his bed you wake up with him cuddled close to you.

Nanami loves kisses, and is always planting them on you when you’re in kissing range. Your lips, cheeks, forehead, everything is fair game.

You’re the only person in the world other than like, his parents that can call him Kento. He’s always gone by his last name, to the point that his first name makes him feel like he’s in trouble. Only authority figures use it when they’re pissed off at him. But it hits him different when it comes from your lips. When you say it, it feels tender and intimate. It’s the closest he gets to liking his name.

He always tries to make time for you and your relationship. Even if that sometimes means that your date nights are just study dates, he always strives to make you feel like a priority.

He’s a soft guy that falls in love easily. You may not know it yet, but he has full intentions to marry you after graduation. A fact his frat brothers are quick to tease him about, while also making him promise to make them groomsmen.

#jjk #jujutsu kaisen #nanami kento #nanami x reader #jjk frat boy au #frat boy! nanami #frat boy nanami #nanami headcanons #kento nanami #nanami fluff #nanami x reader fluff

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dawnthequeen · 3 months

Text

ORANGES // LOVE GROWS

title: love grows :: chapter one

characters: haikyuu various x reader

notes: best friend iwa, ex oikawa, new girl y/n?!

summary: after you end up going to karasuno after a messy breakup, you're left by yourself for your first day. much to your luck, you meet a ginger sunshine boy who makes it less scary.

masterlist

You were Aoba Johsai bound.

That’s what your best friend and boyfriend– Well, ex boyfriend always said. The moment they were in high school you went to all of their games and were constantly around. Most of the team viewed you as an honorary manager, and you all thought you’d be an actual manager as soon as you got into high school.

And you thought wrong. After your breakup, you figured a change of pace would be good. As much as you loved everyone from Seijoh, it would be weird to be a manager for the team your ex is the captain of.

So, you settled on somewhere else in the Miyagi Prefecture. Karasuno high, home of the crows. Or.. The Flightless Crows from what you heard.

You figured trying for a managing position of the team would be good since you’d still get to watch and be a part of the sport you loved. You wouldn’t consider yourself a volleyball player, but considering your life long best friend was, you had grown a love for the sport.

Plus, it helped that the players were always super hot.

You had realized over the course of middle school that you had a weakness. A weakness for cute boys. And there were a. Lot. Of. Cute. Boys.

You found that the word “Simp” was probably the best term one could use for you, which is exactly what led up to you getting with your ex.

You were walking around at the end of a pretty good first day. You needed to find the gym to ask about being a manager. Before you could do that though…

You felt someone run straight into your back, knocking you onto the ground. “Ouch!” You whined, turning over and looking at your scraped knees. “Watch where you’re runni–” Your breath caught in your throat when you looked up, seeing a ginger boy.

He couldn’t have been much taller than you, and he had these big brown eyes..

He was adorable.

“I’m so sorry!!” The cute stranger quickly stuck his hand out.

“It– it’s fine.” You couldn’t help but go red, taking his hand and getting up.

“I was just trying to find the gym, and–”

“You’re looking for the gym too?” You tilted your head.

“Huh? Oh, yeah!! I’m trying out for the volleyball team.”

You looked him over. Yeah. There was no way he was taller than you. How was he gonna play volleyball? Weren’t those guys usually tall? Oh well, you’ve heard of the Tiny Giant. You grinned.

“Really? Me too!! Well, I guess I’m not trying out to be on the team, but I wanna be manager!!”

“Really?!” The boy gasped. “That’s so awesome!! We could be working together!!”

You bounced right off his energy, smiling brightly. “Right?! That’s so cool– We should walk together.”

“Heck yeah!” You both smiled. Your first friend at Karasuno! At least you could tell Iwaizumi you met someone and he wouldn’t be so worried about you. He didn’t say he was worried, but you knew him well enough to read him like a book.

The both of you went along while you pulled out your phone.

You let out a small sigh as you shoved your phone in your bag. You lied. You were mostly over it, but just the mention of Oikawa stung. It was a bitter reminder of what could’ve been, and what wasn’t.

You shook those thoughts aside. You couldn’t focus on Oikawa, not when you just made a new friend and when you were about to start managing a whole new team.

You and your new friend walked side by side for a bit before you looked at him. “So, why Karasuno?”

He looked at you before grinning. “This is where the Tiny Giant went!!”

“You look up to him?”

“He’s like, my idol!”

“That’s really cool!!”

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“Like– Why Karasuno?” He tilted his head.

“Oh! Well, uhm, I was going to go to Aoba Johsai, I was actually accepted but my um…” You rubbed the back of your neck. “My ex goes there.. And is on the volleyball team.”

“Aahh..” He hissed. “Rough. Well, hey! Karasuno is totally awesome, and we get to hangout, so, win-win!” He smiled.

He was such a little ball of sunshine. You grinned. “True!”

The both of you walked before arriving in front of the gym. The boy– Wait. You didn’t know his name. Before you could turn and ask him, he opened the door and his face immediately dropped. “..No way.”

You tilted your head before looking over. You spotted a taller boy with black hair and dark blue eyes. You squinted before the realization dawned on you. “Kageyama?”

He looked at the boy next to you first, then you. “Oh. You’re Oikawa’s girlfriend.”

“Ex! Ex girlfriend, but yes.” You huffed, putting your hands on your hips.

“I met you last year.” Kageyama turned his attention to the boy next to you, and the two of them began talking about something you tuned out of. You looked at Kageyama, kind of puzzled. You were sure he would go to Aoba Johsai. Why was he at Karasuno? He was the “King of the Court.”

Before you knew it, there were three new voices behind you and you squeaked a little, jumping.

There was a guy with a buzz cut, a guy with grey hair, and a guy with black hair. They were all tall and hoootttt.

You felt your face heat up as you stepped to the side and they started to talk to Kageyama. The small ginger started to walk around them, seemingly observing them before standing next to you again. “Hey so–” They didn’t hear him, in fact it seemed like they barely noticed him.

“I–” He started before huffing. “HEY!!”

Suddenly, all three boys’ eyes were on him, then you.

The boy with black hair looked at his keyboard. “Says here that the other person trying out.. Is Shoyo Hinata. I’m guessing that’s you?” Hinata. His name was Hinata.

“You were the short jumpy one!!” The boy with the buzz cut exclaimed.

Hinata’s eyes lit up when he realized that they knew who he was. “Oh!! Yeah!!”

“You were crazy, man. Too bad you haven’t had a growth spurt though.” The boy with the buzzcut walked over, comparing his height to Hinata’s.

The boy with the grey hair looked at you with a smile. “And you?”

You looked over, heat creeping up your neck. “Oh! Ah– I’m Y/N L/N. I was actually wanting to ask about being a manager?”

“Guh!” The boy with the buzz cut squawked. “We have a manager, and she’s–”

The boy with the black hair hit him on the shoulder. “What Tanaka means is while we do have a manager, a second one wouldn’t do any harm.”

You grinned. “Awesome!!” This was going great. You made a friend, and successfully joined Karasuno’s volleyball team as a manager. What could go wrong?

Oh a lot went wrong. You barely know how it happened, but all of a sudden Hinata and Kageyama were having a one on one match, and the ball had managed to hit the vice principal in the head. It also hit his toupe right off… And onto the boy whose name you learned was Daichi.

You stood with the other two first years when Daichi walked back in. “You’re lucky, he doesn’t even want us to apologize. But he did swear us to secrecy.”

You blinked at him before looking around at the other four boys. You let out a nervous giggle to yourself. This would be interesting.

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu various x reader #various x reader #karasuno x reader #iwaizumi x reader #hajime iwaizumi x reader #hinata x reader #shoyo hinata x reader #love grows #love grows haikyuu #x reader #ex oikawa #ex boyfriend oikawa #fem reader

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tealmaskmybeloved · 3 months

Text

My Unorganized Thoughts About Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC: Part 3

MOCHI MAYHEM

M̸̤͇̓͂̓͐̓̄̑̆̽͗ơ̸̡̧̧̛͉̻͈̮̹̥̤̠̤̿͌͆̏̅̐̒͋̽̄̉͜͜͝c̸̙̗̱͋́͋͌̾̀́͐̾͋̓̾͜h̶̢̩͈͕̮́̔̎į̸̢͓͎͕͕̱̆̉͗͜͜͝ ̸̼͔̑̈́̎̐̔͒͘m̸͈̜̠͕͙̱̣͕͐́̉͌͑̽́̑̐͊́̀̕o̶̧̢͉̪̦̊̈́̄́͐̉͐̐̚̕̚͠͠c̷̢͍̫͈̥͚̯̱̈́̿̀̏ḫ̷͊̿̊̄̌i̸̲̝̯̗̪̺̻̘̇̍̂̀͂̀͒͛̌̔̈́̕͜

T̸̘̽̈̐̈H̸̗̗̗̀̍Ë̶̥̰̯̥́ ̸͇̮̂̋̀̓S̵̊͘͜T̴͈̹̏̄̊̉Ȍ̴̬̬͖̄R̶̟̬͈̻̍̆͐̆Y̶̟̍̍͒͋

Probably my least favorite out of the trilogy.

Which is weird considering how much I love the possession trope and my boi Pecharunt.

But the way they just did it felt like a giant middle finger to me and everyone else who even remotely liked the Toxic Chain Kieran Theory.

First off, Kieran does not get possessed, in fact, he's the only one to NOT get possessed. Ironic.

Second, what the characters do when they're possessed... well... you've probably seen it by now

They do the fucking chicken dance while screaming "Mochi".

Which.... yeah. It's stupid, it's embarrassing, and I do not like it.

And yeah I can see why some people might enjoy it, but I just don't.

Oh but it gets worse (or better, depending how you feel about this)

So with the whole town under Pecharunt's control (and them doing the stupid dance) the player and Kieran go to stop this mayhem and get people back to normal. Boom, the end.

So, why don't I like it?

It's just... embarrassing. Gamefreak has hyped up Pecharunt and made them out to be a legitimate threat.

It could've been cool with Pecharunt slowly spreading its control to both people and Pokémon and wanted world domination.

We could've have an actual evil Pokémon in a main series game instead of an evil team! Pokémon are sentient, they're intelligent, they know the difference between right and wrong.

But, we didn't get that. In fact, this meme I made perfectly sums up how I feel

Point is, they hyped up Pecharunt out to be this puppet master, this shady manipulator, this evil Pokémon who desires control over people and Pokémon, but also gives them what they want. It stole Ogerpon's masks and killed her trainer for crying out loud!

Oh, which reminds me!

T̷͍͊̉̇͛H̷̩͂̒Ẻ̶̱͇͖ ̸̖̤̠̻͛Ṵ̵̱̊̑̑Ǹ̸͎̺̋̈̕T̶̟͒͌̀͝O̴̞͉͍̰̓͊L̸̦͗́̈́̕D̴̼͍͜͝ ̷̀ͅS̸̰̬͓̙͆̋͝T̸̛̯́̈͝Ỏ̴̲̠͠R̷̘̻̕Y̷̢̐ ̴̛̜̼͋́̓Ŏ̸̭̙͓̍̔̿F̶̢̫̦̄̔ ̸̨͙̘̇̀P̵̩̬̄͂̈̕Ē̴͓̟̘͓̓͘C̶͔̽͐̔H̶͖̜̓̎̉A̸̲̹͓̭͊̓̇̽R̸͖̔̓̈́U̷̘̖̫͐̂̅̏N̶͍̰̋̕T̸̢̿

If Mochi Mayhem was Gamefreak giving us the middle finger for liking the Toxic Chain Kieran Theory, then this is them curb stomping us to the ground.

If you had ANY more hope that Pecharunt was this manipulative evil gremlin, then it's better for you to just give up that hope so you don't end up crushed.

So, in this YouTube video we learn that Pecharunt was raised by an old couple and since Pecharunt wanted more love, it gave the old couple its mochi and it made them greedy. The couple then tasked Pecharunt to steal Ogerpon's masks and bring them back.

See guys? Pecharunt was told to get the masks by the old couple! The old couples greed were responsible for this!

They really couldn't have Pecharunt be evil by itself, they had to pin the blame on the old couple. And yeah, Pecharunt was greedy, it wanted more love. But STILL

And yes, I'm aware that the old couple is a reference to the Japanse story of Momotaro, but this shit SHOULDVE BEEN EXPLAINED IN-GAME

I should not have to go watch a YouTube video to figure out its basic motivation!

I even thought of an idea where if someone could take Pecharunt to the crystal pool they could see the old couple again. It would not only explain Pecharunt's motivations, and give Pecharunt some closure.

Ṱ̷̢͕̘̥̓̕H̶̤̽̈̂̈́̿͘E̶͉͎͇̮̼̭̟͒͒̆͑̅̄̀̚͠ ̷͇͉̭̝̘̹͖̼͇̙̹̲̺̦͌̐̌̏͂̌͛̄͌̾̃̕M̷̨̨̧͎̫̪̜̭̯̺̬̥͔̲͒̓̒̊͆̈́͌͗̐Ǔ̶̡̖̜̖̏̆̏́̎̋̈̓͑̕̚S̵̨̨͔̠̖͐͆̄͜Į̶̧̡̛̜̲̘̘̙̠̠͇̮̳̐͐͗́̀͗̐́̐̏̀̐͝C̸̪̖̜͖̱̜̰̻͚̟͍̮̋̇̏̀̀͋̐̂̒̾ͅͅ

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The music is a banger. I like how Pecharunt's theme is similar to the Loyal 3, it's about the few connections the game ever makes.

S̷̡̛̤̞̟̥̮̆͒̀̉̔̋̂̀͂͘̕͘U̶̪̰̯̞̲̟͖̭͖͓̺͚͇͋͛̈́̂M̴̨̨̧̛̟̖̖͙̞͙̀̄̄́̅́͗̓̏͘̚͠M̸̦̯̦̱͎͙̲̞̌̆́̍͘A̶̡̛̜̙̘͙͍̪͐̿̎̑͐́͐̾̍ͅR̷̢̩̘͇̳̭̺͍͙̮̬͉̱̰͐͜Ỳ̷̧̨̮̱͓̺͎͛̌

Is it finally over? Can I see the sunlight again?

Jokes aside, I'm ready to get this done with.

So yeah, Mochi Mayhem.... it wasn't the best in my opinion. It just felt too silly, and didn't take the whole possession thing seriously. I didn't really feel anything about canon Pecharunt other than a mild inconvenience.

I know some like Mochi Mayhem and that's fine! It's okay for people to like how things went!

I just feel a bit disappointed. But I suppose that's the danger with fan theories, it gets your expectations too high.

Nothing was really explained. I'm not expecting them to spoonfeed the audience, but I wish there was more things that were explained!

The Untold Story of Pecharunt, The Loyal 3 and Pecharunt's connection, what brought the Loyal 3 back, these are things that should've been explained in the game.

Gamefreak, if you're going to have some red herrings in a story, there needs to be some foreshadowing to help cancel it out. When all of the evidence points to Kieran getting possessed/influenced and Pecharunt being a legitimate and intimidating threat, you can't expect us to NOT be disappointed.

I guess the only positive I can say (besides the music) is the interactions between the Area Zero gang and the Kitakami siblings was fun. I enjoyed that.

But yeah, those are my thoughts.

Plot: 3/10

Characters: 5/10

Music: 100/10

Pokemon Lore: -2/10

Overall: 3/10 (I'm being generous here)

#pokemon #pecharunt #pokemon kieran #mochi mayhem #pokemon dlc #ari rambles #dokutaro #kieran pokemon #rival kieran #mochi mayhem spoilers #mochi mayhem review

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eightmakar · 2 years

Text

empty cups | n.m. | 18+

Pairing: Nathan MacKinnon x Original Character

Word Count: 6.2k

Warnings: drinking, mentions of underage drinking, swearing, smut (fem. oral receiving, protected sex)

A/N: inspired by empty cups by charlie puth. basically all smut so you were warned

tagging: @harlowhockeystick @bitchinbarzal @matbaerzal @taking-shots @fallinallincurls @jostyriggslover96 @burkymakar @flashyfucker @capsvsducks @xsyntheticsensation @double-j @hockeylvr59

Despite being explicitly invited, Chase Bauer felt incredibly out of place at the house party. Should she really call it a house party? It felt like a house party, with all the people milling around, the loud music, the kegs of beer strewn about, but not a house party she’d ever been to. The beer wasn’t the cheapest shit college guys could manage to purchase, the people she partied with were nearly all millionaires, and they held their liquor much better than college guys.

Gabriel Landeskog walked up to her in her little corner, a big grin on his face and a bottle of fancy beer in his hand. “Bauer, why’re you all alone over here?” he asked, patting her on the shoulder.

“I was waiting for EJ to pick some better music,” Chase replied. “Some songs from this century would be great.”

“It’s not for lack of trying on our part,” Gabe laughed. He pointed to her empty hands and continued, “You need a drink.”

“I don’t like beer.” Chase scrunched her nose.

“We’ve got a lot more than just beer. C’mon.” Gabe turned around and began to walk into Erik Johnson’s kitchen, so Chase followed him, making herself smaller to maneuver through the large bodies in her way.

The kitchen was brightly lit in comparison to the rest of the house with shining bottles of every kind of alcohol Chase could imagine. There were brands she’d never heard of peppered in with bottles of Grey Goose and other top-shelf liquor she vaguely recognized.

“What do you usually drink?” Gabe asked her.

“I like sweet drinks mostly,” Chase said. She reached for a familiar bottle of lemon vodka.

“I think EJ’s got something if you want a mixer to make it sweeter.” Gabe began rummaging through EJ’s cabinets as Chase looked around the party.

Erik Johnson’s home was always the party house. He owned a huge, isolated home with the most gorgeous views imaginable, and more guest rooms than anyone could count, which worked well for the wild parties he threw throughout the year. He always invited the whole staff, all the coaches and equipment managers and Chase and her coworkers, the athletic trainers, but this was the first Chase had chosen to attend, to celebrate the Avalanche winning Western Conference Final and going to the Stanley Cup Final.

Chase cracked a small smile as she looked over at Josh Manson sitting on a couch against a wall, waving a glass of something dark around and loudly telling a story to an apathetic Sam Girard. Mikko Rantanen sat across from them, his girlfriend on top of him, straddling his legs as they passionately made out like no one else was in the vicinity.

Small groups of wives and girlfriends littered the walls, holding delicate glasses of wine and champagne, though Chase knew they could put back as much alcohol as their significant others. Other groups of players were interspersed around, some chatting lowly, some loudly, and others barely at all. Alex Newhook and Logan O’Connor had started an enthusiastic game of beer pong in the middle of the wide living room.

“How the fuck does EJ only have Crystal Light packets in this huge fucking house?” Gabe said, returning to Chase’s side and making her turn around.

“That strangely makes sense,” Chase laughed. Gabe handed her the small box of lemonade packets and she immediately took two out. She filled a Solo cup to the brim with lemon vodka and mixed the two packets in. Taking a sip, she gave Gabe a thumbs up.

“If I see you back in your corner, I’ll drag you to the dance floor instead,” Gabe warned.

Chase took another long, burning sip of her drink. “Got it, Cap.”

Gabe rolled his eyes and wandered away, over to one of the pods of players, leaving Chase alone with her cup to gaze around the party again. EJ was dancing with his fiancée on the “dance floor,” which was just an area of the room that was wide open. The enormous Darcy Kuemper, his wife, Kurtis MacDermid, and his girlfriend all danced with them. Chase thought they all danced like dads.

“Looking for someone?”

“Jesus!” Chase jerked around and found herself face to face with a serious looking Nathan MacKinnon. Beer in hand, he gazed at her, blue eyes a little icy.

“Shit, sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s all good, I was kinda zoned out,” Chase admitted. She drank her lemony drink again, trying her hardest to finish it soon.

A drunken Mikko bumped into Chase before Nate could say anything, dragging his girlfriend behind him and giggling as they went upstairs, but earning a sharp glare from Nate. Nate protectively put an arm on Chase’s shoulder and pulled her out of the middle of the room, out of the way of his drunk friends and teammates. Her feet were beginning to ache in her heels, so she took the chance to sit down on a barstool. To her surprise, Nate joined her, pulling a barstool over for himself as well.

Chase was convinced Nathan MacKinnon hated her. She didn’t know what it was; maybe the serious passion he played with, maybe the intense specificity he demanded with his equipment and his body, maybe the high standards he held himself and everyone else to. If and when she had to treat him, like she did recently when he got in a fight with Dumba for Minnesota, his body tensed up and he pulled away from her touch, which made her job as an athletic trainer much more difficult. She thought it might’ve been the fact that she was a woman, but he fiercely protected her at games, practices, and really any time someone tried to make a comment about her gender. When she’d first been hired, he and the rest of the team had been asked numerous times how they felt about it, and his response made her feel the most welcome and the most at home: “She’s part of the team and we treat her that way. We really only care about getting our job done and making a run for the Cup and she’s going to help us.”

“I’m not gonna lie, Bauer, I was surprised to see you came,” Nate said, fiddling with the bottle in his hand. He looked up at her and anxiously scratched his beard.

“You were?” Chase asked incredulously, puffing herself up a little bit.

Nate winced at her tone. “Good surprised,” he clarified, and she relaxed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at one of EJ’s parties.”

“I usually don’t come, but this one seemed special,” Chase shrugged.

“You didn’t come to the President’s Trophy party last year. God, that one was a mess,” he chuckled low in his throat and half-smiled at her.

“So I take it I missed a lot of fun?”

“Oh yeah,” Nate laughed again, the ice in his eyes beginning to melt a bit. Chase was pretty sure in the two years she’d worked for the Avs, she’d never spoken more than a couple words to him, but here they were having a conversation like old friends.

“Who was the drunkest?” She asked, swigging her vodka and trying not to react to the burning in her mouth and throat.

“Honestly, a lot of guys were pretty close. Josty was so fucked up he fell outside on the porch, broke his nose, and ended up just sleeping there.”

“Jesus,” Chase breathed with a small laugh. “I’ve never been that drunk in my life and don’t wanna be.”

“I have,” Nate said, pressing his lips together to hide a smile. “In juniors and at World’s.”

“Wow, in juniors? Nathan MacKinnon, under age drinker?” Chase smirked.

Nate rolled his eyes. “You’re gonna sit here and tell me you weren’t an under age drinker too?”

“Genuinely, I wasn’t. I had my first drink on my twenty-first birthday. I know, how painfully boring of me.” Chase had heard it all, every comment under the sun about her dislike of drinking.

“That’s not boring,” Nate said immediately. “If you don’t like it, it’s not boring.”

“I don’t like the taste, unfortunately. Plus my tolerance is sky high, so I’ve only really been drunk twice in my life.”

“Really? What are you drinking now?”

Chase took a sip of her drink, almost to show Nate she wasn’t boring. “Don’t laugh, but it’s lemon vodka with lemonade packets. It’s surprisingly good.”

Nate cracked a smile. “That sounds ridiculous.”

“It is,” Chase conceded, “but I do wanna get drunk, so this is how I have to do it. Straight vodka.”

“Hold on.” Nate got up and retreated to the kitchen. While he looked through the bottles of liquor, Chase people-watched.

Cale Makar was drunkenly singing to the ABBA song playing over EJ’s sound system with his girlfriend, André Burakovsky had apparently decided to only speak in Swedish for the rest of the evening, and JT Compher stood with his chest against his girlfriend’s back while having a conversation with Darren Helm, tugging his girlfriend far too close to him.

“Goddamn,” Nate said as he returned clutching a partial bottle of vodka with a bar-style top that allowed for better pouring. “Cale is wasted.”

“Good for him, he deserves it.”

“He does.” Nate offered Chase the bottle. “I snagged this. EJ’s got a whole distillery over there, so he won’t miss it.”

“Oh shit, thank you,” Chase said. “What about you?”

“This isn’t just for you,” Nate grinned, then threw his head back and poured vodka straight into his mouth.

Chase tried not to drool as she watched him. She was starting to feel a bit fuzzy, and she could feel her reservations about Nate slipping away by the sip. There was no denying he was incredibly attractive, a fact she was painfully aware of every moment she spent close to him.

“Now my turn,” Chase said. She surprised herself, but she tilted her head back and opened her mouth.

Nate’s grin widened as he began to pour vodka in her mouth. She always thought vodka tasted like hand sanitizer, and the burning taste engulfed her mouth and throat. She tugged away, mouth full, and Nate accidentally got a bit of vodka on her chin. She swallowed and wiped her mouth with her sleeve, watching Nate’s eyes glaze over as she did. Fuck, was he into that like she was?

Chase shoved the thoughts out of her mind and chugged the rest of her lemonade combo. The liquid burned all the way down to her stomach, but the heat continued down her body and between her thighs as she watched Nathan tip his head back and pour more vodka into his mouth.

The song over the speaker changed. Cale clearly didn’t know it, but he looked over at Nate and Chase and waved enthusiastically. He came over to join them, creating a triangle with a third stool.

“You don’t know this one too?” Chase chirped.

“I’m too drunk,” Cale shrugged, holding his hand out to Nate and motioning for him to hand over the vodka bottle. Nate did, and Cale barely leaned his head back, just moving the bottle, not unlike the way he drank water on the bench during games. He paused, swallowed with a scrunched nose, then poured more vodka in his mouth. Swallowing again, he shook his head and handed the bottle back to Nate.

Chase took it and drank from it again. She could feel the alcohol she’d already drank slowly lowering her inhibitions, slowly loosening her mind, and she knew she had to continue to drink if she wanted it to stay that way.

“I’m impressed you’re here, Bauer,” Cale said as Chase drank.

Chase wiped her mouth again and handed the bottle back to Nate. “Thanks, me too. I’ve always been afraid to come to one of these things.”

Cale’s rosy face frowned in concern, his eyes trying to focus on her. “Afraid?” he asked sadly. Nate looked at Chase too, but the concern looked different on Nate’s face. Almost more protective? She couldn’t tell, and with how fuzzy her whole body was starting to feel, she was even more confused.

“Well yeah,” Chase started, feeling her mouth run without a filter of any kind, just words spewing and spewing. “There’s a lot of men here and some of you I don’t trust to not do weird things to me while I’m drunk and I don’t trust myself to not do weird things and fuck, I’m drunk.”

“Weird things?” Nate asked.

“Weird things like Mikko and Susanna do. Like right now, Nathan, I want to kiss you so so bad, but I know I can’t, because you hate me but I’d still kiss you.”

Fuck. What the fuck just came out of her mouth? She couldn’t stop it.

“But that would also be weird because I don’t just want to kiss you I wanna do so much more than kiss you but I’ve never had sex before so I’d be bad at it.” Chase sighed and gazed at Nate, who looked incredulous. His blue eyes were wide as he drank from the vodka bottle, finishing off what little was left in it.

“I’m definitely too drunk for this,” Cale said, shaking his head. He got up and returned to his girlfriend.

“Shit, Nate, I didn’t mean—fuck,” Chase said. Her body was floating and swimming and felt like static on an old television.

“I don’t hate you,” Nate said softly. “Why do you think that?”

“Well, you never talk to me, you flinch away from me if I have to treat you during a game, you don’t want me to tape you up before practice, you don’t want me to put the dumb pressure leg things on you, you always glare at me when I smile at you, you don’t smile back at me.” Chase paused to take a deep breath. “So you hate me.”

“Bauer, I—,” Nate cut himself off with a chuckle. “Oh god, I did not imagine tonight being like this.”

“What do you mean? You didn’t imagine having to hang out with me because you hate me and I suck and I’m annoying?” Chase pouted.

“No, listen, I—,” Nate shook his head, “I don’t hate you, Chase, it’s the exact opposite, in fact.”

“You called me ‘Chase,’” she said, blinking in surprise.

“I mean, that’s your name.”

“Wait.” Chase held a hand up, having processed what Nate said. “It’s the opposite? The opposite of hate is love and you definitely don’t love me.”

Nate shook his head again. “Never mind, Bauer. I’m going to get a drink.” Nate got up and stalked off to the kitchen, leaving Chase alone.

The opposite of hating her? Nathan MacKinnon couldn’t possibly like her like that. He was much too, well, him. He liked teeny, blonde supermodel types, not loud former hockey players whose job it was to keep him healthy. No, not Nathan MacKinnon, who kept his specific regimens of health, kept his body in top tier condition, who demanded excellence from everyone, including her and her team.

Gabe appeared in front of her, clutching a new bottle of beer and a tall glass of clear liquid. “Can I join you?” He asked. Chase nodded, so he sat down where Nate had just been and handed her the glass. “Nate asked me to bring you water.”

“Because I’m drunk and told him I wanted to have sex with him but that he hates me?” Chase clarified.

“He didn’t give me specifics, but I’m sure that has something to do with it,” Gabe laughed.

“Now he definitely hates me,” Chase mumbled. She sipped some water, but she didn’t feel any less fuzzy. In fact, she could feel the rest of the vodka starting to hit her and the idea of going over to Nate, who now stood chatting with Nazem Kadri, and kissing him was becoming more and more appealing.

“He acts like that to all of us. That’s just Nate. Whatever he told you is the truth,” Gabe explained.

Chase hummed. “Well, he didn’t say he wanted to kiss me and have sex with me too,” she said, her words beginning to slur together the tiniest bit, her brain working hard to put letters together. “He was stuck on the hating me part.”

“I can guarantee he doesn’t hate you.”

“You can’t read his mind!”

“Neither can you. Look, Bauer, I’m guessing he said he had feelings for you, right? I can guarantee you he does. The amount of things I’ve heard him say about you matches what you’re saying.”

Chase looked at Gabe with wide eyes. “Nate wants to have sex with me too? Even though I’ll be bad at it because I’ve never had sex? He wants to—.”

“Bauer, go talk to him.” Gabe used his captain voice on her.

“I’m even drunker than I was before,” she commented. “Even with the water. And we can’t have sex when I’m this drunk. I’ll be even worse at it. What if I puke on his dick when I try to blow him? God, maybe then he’d hate me.”

“Okay, Bauer? Go talk to him.” Gabe got up and walked away before Chase could say anything else.

Chase took a deep breath and stood up. Her legs felt like jelly and she could’ve sworn she was leaning to one side. She giggled at herself, at the fuzziness coursing through her veins, at the thoughts coming to the forefront of her mind. She made her way over to Nate, shoved herself in between him and Naz, grabbed his arms and looked up at him.

“Hi,” she said, realizing how close her face was to his face.

Naz excused himself, and Nate looked down at her over his crooked nose. God, Chase wanted that nose in between her legs.

“Hi,” she said again.

“Hi,” he replied shortly. His tongue darted out to wet his lips.

“I’m still drunk and I’m sorry I thought you hated me and that I said I wanted to have sex with you because I know we can’t have sex I’m drunk and you’re famous and we work together and you’re good at sex and I’m very bad at sex.” Chase squinted to try and focus on Nate’s face but it was very difficult. When did he have two faces?

“I actually do want to have sex with you,” Nate said straightforwardly. “I think you’re smart and cool and hot and yeah, I like you. But I don’t think this is exactly the right time to do this.”

“That’s why you didn’t want me to treat you? Cause you liked me?” Chase put together.

“Yeah,” Nate laughed. “I tried to keep you away so I could focus, but having you around the past two seasons has not been a distraction at all, it’s helped me focus.”

“Oh,” Chase said, standing there. “Oh.”

“So we’ll have this conversation again when you’re sober,” Nate said. “I think I’m gonna leave anyway, actually.”

“Wait,” Chase frowned. “Don’t leave yet. We haven’t even gotten to dance. I don’t want you to leave. I’m drinking water now and it won’t take me too long to sober up. Please don’t leave.”

Nate sighed. “Okay, let’s go dance.”

Chase grinned, took his hand, and led him over to where Cale and his girlfriend had resumed their dancing and loud singing of random songs that came up. A rap song came on, definitely one Nate had introduced EJ to, because it was on their warm up playlist.

Chase turned around, facing Nate, pressing her chest into his. Nate’s eyes glazed over again as he put his hands on her hips, dangerously close to her ass. Chase wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged his forehead down to touch hers, demanding his blue eyes meet hers. She ground her body into his, and relished in the small buck of his hips he responded with.

Nate let his hands slide down her body to grip her ass. His breathing was slowly quickening, his touch slowly tightening, as the song changed to another rap song and they continued their dance.

Chase gasped when Nate pushed her away slightly and nudged his thigh between her legs for her to grind on. She immediately did, dragging the seam of her denim shorts along the length of his thigh. Feeling herself clench around nothing, she clutched harder to the back of his neck.

“You like that?” he asked, eyes still drilled on her, a smirk dancing across his lips.

“I’m drunk and you’re hot and I like everything you do,” Chase replied softly. “Please don’t leave yet.”

“When we’re dancing like this? Not a chance.”

She had no idea how long they danced, but by the time they stopped, she was sweaty and desperately craving more water. She and Nate separated and she hurried to the kitchen to chug water. Chase felt herself sobering up, the fuzziness beginning to fade, and with it, the confidence that had been flowing through her quickly dissipating.

Nate came to join Chase in the kitchen to get water, too. He filled up a cup and drank long sips. Chase stared at his Adam’s apple as he swallowed. He put his cup down after he finished, his lips glistening from the water, and Chase made a split decision.

Chase stalked over to him and kissed him.

Her hands found his cheeks, tracing his playoff beard with her fingertips. His hands rested on her ass again, tugging her closer as she pinned him against the counter behind him. His lips were soft and wet and warm and tasted like beer. His tongue gently made its way into her mouth, softly dancing around hers.

Chase pulled back and looked up at his red, puffy lips. “Fuck,” she said.

“Mmhmm,” Nate replied, then pulled her in for more. Nate kissed her like she was his tether to the ground, like he was floating and the only thing that could keep him down was her lips. His fingertips dug into her ass, and she was sure she’d have bruises tomorrow, but she didn’t care. She traced his bottom lip with her tongue, then pulled away again, just enough to speak to him.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Chase whispered.

“You’re still drunk,” Nate whispered back.

“I’m sobering up.”

“The guys will have something to say. They’ll never let us live it down.”

“So? I don’t care what they think. They won’t even notice.”

“Chase…”

“We don’t need their permission. We’re both adults.”

“You’re still drunk.”

“And I’m still sobering up. Nathan, I’m good. I’m probably like, the equivalent of two shots drunk now.”

Nate bit his lip and looked over her head at his friends. Chase turned around too, and she was right. No one was paying attention to them. Everyone was in their own worlds. It was the perfect time to sneak away.

“Fuck it,” Nate muttered. “C’mon.”

Chase giggled as Nate clung to her hand and dragged her away, upstairs to one of EJ’s spare bedrooms. There were solo cups strewn everywhere, and Chase didn’t care to know whose they were. She fell onto the bed with more giggles as Nate turned on the T.V. hanging on the wall in front of the bed.

“Why the T.V.?” Chase asked.

“Well, not to brag, but I’m about to blow your mind, and I don’t want to get chirped for how loud I make you moan,” Nate said, his eyes darkening with lust.

Chase shivered, but said, “Well, the only competition you have is my vibrator, but I’ve learned to be pretty quiet.”

“Oh really?” Nate raised his eyebrows, then flopped on the bed next to her. He rolled on top of her, positioning himself in between her legs and said, “I take that as a challenge.”

Nate leaned down and kissed Chase sweetly, with none of the previous fervor from downstairs. He kissed his way down her clothed body, bunched her shirt up around her stomach, and kissed the soft skin as he unbuttoned her shorts and dragged them down her legs. She wore her only pair of sexy panties made of a comfy lace, and Nate dragged his thumb across the band.

“Nice,” he complimented. “Who’d you wear these for?”

Chase smirked. “Mikko.”

“That’s a lie and we both know it.” Nate kissed her covered core and she jumped, making Nate chuckle.

“Nathan,” Chase said softly. “I’m nervous.”

Nate laid his head on her thigh, gazing up at her. “We can stop any time, you just say so.”

Chase took a deep breath. “Just, uh, go slow?”

“Hang on.” Nate hopped up and left the room, returning a few moments later. He tossed an unopened box of condoms and a brand new bottle of lube on the bed next to Chase, then shut the door behind him.

“Where did you get this?” Chase sat up and grabbed the lube, examining it.

Nate shrugged, “I know where EJ keeps his shit. I’ll buy him more.”

Chase’s heart pounded as Nate repositioned himself between her legs. He wrapped his strong arms around her thighs, pulled her to the edge of the bed, then kissed her again through her panties, making Chase shiver.

“You ready?” Nate asked. He kissed her again and looked up at her through his eyelashes.

Chase took a deep breath and nodded, then Nate tugged her panties down in a swift motion, threw them on the ground behind him, and gently dragged his hands along her thighs. Chase watched him with bated breath, thinking he was going far too slow but also could go never fast enough. He ghosted kisses along her thighs, teasing her even more, and she pouted.

“That’s some mind-blowing head you’re giving me,” she said, rather annoyed.

Nate looked up at her, grinned, and rolled his eyes. He stuck his tongue out and traced it on the lips of her pussy, and she nearly leapt out of her skin. Nate chuckled, then let his tongue dip into her folds.

“Holy fuck,” Chase yelped.

Nate swirled his tongue around near her entrance for a bit, clearly avoiding her clit, but Chase didn’t care. The simple gesture sent heat waves and ice through her entire body. Finally, Nate softly wrapped his lips around her clit.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Chase yelped again. Nate’s tongue massaging her clit felt incredible, in a way she’d always imagined but could never have imagined, in a way she had started to believe she’d never feel. He looked up at her through his eyelashes and gently sucked on her clit. Chase’s legs began to shake and she could already feel how fast her orgasm was racing toward her.

“Use…use your fingers,” Chase gasped breathlessly.

Nathan unlatched his mouth from Chase, then shoved his middle finger into his mouth. He slowly teased her with it, gathering up more of her wetness, and slid his thick finger inside her, lips returning to her clit. He curled his finger to massage her walls, keeping pace with his tongue.

“Oh fuck,” Chase moaned, “oh fuck, I’m gonna come, oh fuck, fuck, Nate, fuck!”

Chase went sailing over the edge as her orgasm raked through her. Despite her legs shaking and her back arching, Nate kept his mouth on her as she fell apart for him. The constant stream of “fuck” that came from Chase’s mouth was so loud that she was grateful Nate turned on the T.V..

She finally came down, panting, and Nate slid his finger out of her and released his mouth from her. She grabbed his shirt and dragged him up to kiss him hotly, tongue immediately invading his mouth, tasting herself. Jesus Christ, he did what he said he would, and she was impressed.

“Where the fuck did you learn that?” she breathed.

Nate chuckled. “You did say earlier I was good at sex, if I remember correctly.”

“Jesus.” She was still trying to catch her breath when she realized Nate was still fully clothed, so she said, “You’re wearing clothes still. Let’s change that.”

Grinning, Nate stood up and pulled his shirt over his head. He unbuttoned his jeans and shoved them down his legs, along with his underwear, so he stood before her in all his glory. He was already semi-hard, and he clambered back onto the bed overtop of her.

“Do you want me to like, do anything for you?” Chase asked.

Nate quickly slid his arms under her and pushed her up on the bed, closer to the headboard. “Nope,” he said as he moved her. “I’m good. Are you good?”

Chase nodded nervously. “Y-yeah, I think so.”

Nate reached over for a condom and the bottle of lube. He stroked himself several times before he opened the condom wrapper, then slid the condom on. He grabbed the bottle of lube.

“Okay,” he said, opening the bottle. “If it hurts, tell me. If we use enough lube, we should be fine.”

“Yeah,” Chase agreed. “I’ll tell you.”

Licking his lips, Nate squirted lube on his dick, which he then spread around with his other hand. He squirted some onto Chase’s pussy, and she jumped.

“That’s cold, what the fuck?” Chase yelped.

Nate chuckled. “It’s not that cold.”

“Maybe through latex it’s not.”

“Alright, alright,” Nate conceded. “Do you want more lube or is that good for now?”

Chase brought her fingers to her pussy, spreading the lube around and inside her. “I think that’s good for now, but I’ll stop you if I need more.”

Nate leaned down and kissed her lips sweetly. “Please do. Are you ready?”

Chase nodded, biting her lip nervously. “Go slow, please.”

“I will.”

Nate straightened up, then guided himself into Chase. Her mouth fell open as he stretched her, slowly inching deeper and deeper. She flailed her hand until it found his so she could tangle their fingers together. His pelvis bumped hers, and she knew he was all the way in.

“Oh fuck,” Chase muttered. “Just stay there for a second.”

Nate did as she said, patiently waiting, looking amused as Chase tried not to squirm. Having him inside her felt so intimate, so delicate, and she never wanted him to stop.

“Okay,” she said after a moment, “move.”

Nate readjusted his position on the bed so he was laying overtop of Chase. He rested on one elbow, keeping his hand intwined with hers, then rolled his hips back so he slid out of her, then rolled them forward to thrust into her.

“Oh my god,” Chase moaned.

Nate established a slow, steady pace, thrusting in and out of her so she could feel every inch and ridge of him. She felt pressure, but not pain, and it was delicious, especially as Nate’s breathing became heavier and heavier on her neck and lips.

“Does it feel good?” he breathed, nipping at her earlobe.

“Fuck yes, it does,” she moaned back.

“Good,” Nate replied, straining a little. “Me too, it, oh, fuck, you feel so good.”

He kept the same pace and before long, they were both panting and sweating.

“Nate,” Chase gasped, “more, I need more.”

Nate obliged, attaching his lips to her collarbone and sucking hard as he increased the speed of his thrusts slightly and thrust harder into her. He released her hand and began to rub her clit. Chase’s free hand dug into his bicep, leaving tiny crescents on his skin.

Suddenly, Nate sat up, grabbed Chase’s legs, and pushed them out wider, stretching her hips, but also allowing himself to hit a different angle inside her. Chase’s mouth fell open and she couldn’t even moan; the pressure of Nate inside her felt so good it overwhelmed her senses and she couldn’t think clearly.

“Oh, fuck, Chase,” Nate grunted. “Oh fuck, I’m getting close.”

“I’m not sure if I’ll come,” admitted Chase, “but I don’t care.”

“I care. I’ll take care of you, okay?” Nate’s blue eyes were warm and lustful and genuine.

All Chase could do was nod in response. Her head lolled over as she scraped her nails from his bicep to his back, digging so hard she nearly made him bleed, and dragged her nails down his back as he fucked her. She swore she could feel him in her stomach, but then it began to hurt.

“Nate,” she breathed. “Nate, stop.”

Nate froze and brought his hands up to cup Chase’s face. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I think we need more lube. It’s starting to hurt a little. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Nate said, kissing her forehead. Chase watched, eyes hazy. He reached over to grab the bottle of lube again, squeezing some onto his fingers, which he then slid inside Chase. He spread the lube around and pulled his fingers back out of her. He squeezed more lube on his dick, stroked it to spread it across himself, then closed the bottle.

“I’m ready when you are,” Chase said and reached out to hold his forearm.

“Okay,” Nate replied. He spread her legs again, then gripped himself and guided his dick inside her. Chase’s back arched as he slid into her. She relished in the feeling of him, pressing her lips together. Nate leaned back over her and began to re-establish the rhythm he’d had.

“I’m sorry,” Chase breathed again. “I know you were close.”

“Shut up, Chase,” Nate breathed back, hungrily kissing her as he snapped his hips against hers. “I’m basically back where I was, oh, fuck.”

Chase placed her hand on the back of Nate’s neck. “You gonna come for me, Nathan?” she teased.

“Shit,” Nate said through clenched teeth. “Shit, I’m gonna come for you.”

Chase pulled Nate’s face close to hers and whispered, “Come for me.”

“Oh,” Nate moaned loudly, spilling into the condom, “oh, fuck, oh my god, fuck!”

Nate’s hips stuttered to a stop and he closed his eyes, panting. He kissed her sweetly as he pulled out of her, making her whimper from the loss of heat and contact. Without a word, he kissed his way back down her body to settle between her legs again. He licked Chase’s clit and she jumped.

“Shit,” Chase squeaked.

Nate slid his tongue down through her folds to her entrance, then pushed it into her. Chase moaned, hands grabbing at him until he offered her one of his hands. He moved his other hand to her clit, softly circling it, and within moments, he had her coming on his tongue, his name spilling out of her mouth.

“Oh fuck, Nate,” Chase breathed. Her body was exhausted and spent, and she didn’t know if she could move.

“Are you good?” Nate asked, laying next to her and pushing her sweaty hair out of her face. “Can I get you anything?”

“Fuck, maybe a Gatorade?” Chase laughed.

Nate chuckled, “I bet I can do that. Let’s get cleaned up first, though. You know you should pee like, soon, right?”

Nodding, Chase said, “Yeah, but I don’t know if I have the energy to walk right now.”

“Need help?”

“I think so.” Chase was embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

“Quit apologizing,” Nate said sharply. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Nate helped Chase sit up, then helped her to the bathroom. He pulled the condom off carefully and threw it in the trash, then took turns using the toilet and washing up. Nate went back into the bedroom and picked up Chase’s panties and his shirt.

“Here,” Nate said, handing it to her. “You can sleep in my shirt.”

Chase’s eyebrows furrowed. “Sleep? Here?”

“I’d, uh, I’d like to wake up with you, but I think we’re both too tired to go home.” Nate smiled softly.

“Oh.” Chase looked up at Nate. He was dead serious. God, he really did like her, huh?

“I mean, I can take you home if you want,” Nate added quickly.

“No no no. Let’s stay.” Chase stood on her tiptoes and kissed his nose. “But I definitely need that Gatorade.

Nate laughed, “I gotcha. Lemme get dressed.”

The two of them padded back into the bedroom, Chase pulling on her panties and Nate’s shirt, Nate pulling on only his boxers. Chase settled into the bed under the covers, grabbed her phone, and caught up on her notifications while Nate retreated downstairs for Gatorade.

Nate returned with his arms full of Gatorade, snacks, and phone chargers. “I thought you might be hungry,” he explained as he dumped the contents onto the bed, “and I know my phone is dead, so I stole a couple chargers too.”

“Thank you, Nate,” Chase giggled. “You’re very thoughtful.”

“Don’t tell anyone else that,” Nate joked as he climbed in bed with her. He grabbed one of the Gatorades, cracked it open, and drained it. He grabbed another and handed it to Chase, who opened it and took a few gulps.

Exhaustion hit Chase. “Oh shit,” she mumbled. “I’m fucking tired.”

“Me too,” Nate yawned.

“Can I, uh, can we cuddle?” Chase asked.

Nate smiled at her. “I was hoping we would.”

Chase grinned, put her Gatorade down, and scooted into Nate’s body, laying her head on his chest. His soft heartbeat was like a lullaby, and she knew she would be asleep soon.

“Nate?” she said sleepily.

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t let this be a one night thing.”

Chase felt Nate kiss her head. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Can I take you to breakfast in the morning?”

“Bold of you to assume I’ll be awake for breakfast.”

Nate chuckled. “Brunch? Lunch? Whatever meal we want when we get up?”

“That sounds perfect,” Chase giggled. “Goodnight, Nathan.”

“Goodnight.”

#nathan mackinnon #nathan mackinnon imagine #nathan mackinnon one shot #nathan mackinnon smut #nhl smut #nhl #colorado avalanche #nhl writing #hockey writing #hockey smut #colorado avalanche writing #colorado avalanche smut #avs

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bish-plz-haha · 4 months

Text

Just Pretend (a kagehina fanfic)

Just a little snippit of something I wrote a while ago and posted on AO3. If you wanna, you can read it here. (I also knew next to nothing about the ending so... OC's galore and OOC characters! That's my style. Lmao)

"Hey, Kageyama! What's up?" Hinata answered cheerfully. Kageyama could hear that stupid smile of his through the phone.

"Can I ask you a favour?" Kageyama cautiously asked. A pause on the other end of the phone made his heart pound in his chest. Kageyama wasn't sure why he was so nervous, but he was. And this was his last resort. He nervously waited for the reply that seemed to take forever to come.

"Sure!" Hinata finally said after a moment. Kageyama let out a breath and tried to figure out how to word his question but eventually gave up and just decided to go for it.

"Will you go on a date with me? Not like a real date or anything but like, my teammates invited me to this group date thing and I tried looking for a date but I cant fine someone and it's tomorrow and for some reason I thought it'd be a good idea to ask you. I understand-"

"Kageyama-"

"-if you say no. It's a stupid request anyway. Actually, you're probably going to say no anyway, so please just forget I ask-"

"Kageyama." Hinata tried again, his voice stern. It rattled Kageyama. This time, Kageyama paused and waited. "Don't just assume things for me. If you need a date that badly, I'd be happy to go." Hinata heard Kageyama sigh in what he assumed was relief. Or maybe Kageyama was just catching his breath. Hinata couldn't really be sure, but Kageyama definitely sounded calmer.

"Thanks, Hinata. I owe you one." Hinata couldn't help but giggle.

"Okay, what's the dress code and where and when do you want me to meet you?"

They sorted out the details and chatted a bit longer. Hinata had told Kageyama all about the team he was now playing with.

"You should see this one guy. He plays number 17 on our team. He's a wing spiker like me, but he's an actual giant! Last time we measured, he was one hundred and ninety eight centimetres!" Kageyama listened as Hinata rambled on about his teammates and his fans. He told Kageyama how, when he was in Europe for a vacation, he was recognised by a university student.

"So how have things been? I haven't really talked to you in over a year, Kageyama. You really gotta keep up with us more." Hinata asked as he finished rambling. Kageyama heard a voice in the background. "Oh, by the way, Suga and Daichi say hello."

Kageyama couldn't help but grin at their names. He remembered their days together fondly. Sugawara and Daichi followed them all through their high school career. They were always up in the stands, cheering Kageyama and Hinata on, along with the others, of course. Kageyama owed so much to Sugawara and Daichi as they reshaped him into a team player. They taught him how to fight alongside his teammates instead of with them. After middle school, Kageyama had an intense fear of teamwork. He would've rather done everything himself than rely on others. But Sugawara and Daichi really taught him the value of trusting in your teammates to have your back.

"Tell them I said hello back. I haven't seen them in a long time." Kageyama said sadly as he heard Hinata tell them what he had said. "But yeah. Um, I've been good. A lot of training. I've been running a lot in the mornings before practice. And when we practice, I usually work on my receives and spikes. They say that I should hone my setting skills more than anything but I'd like to be better at things that dont come as naturally - though we also got a lot of practice of that in high school." Kageyama chuckled at the memories of Coach Ukai making them do flying laps. And the training camps with tokyo powerhouse schools were no better.

"That's great, Kageyama! I just usually wait for practice to do my running. My coach, Hiragi Tamojikato, is very strict on everything we do. From our diets to how we train. He watches us and gives us meal guides and everything! It's a pain, but I'm glad for it."

Kageyama loved hearing about Hinata's life as a professional volleyball player. They had a match-up once before after they were recruited to their now-teams. But Kageyama liked to keep up with his best friend. Though, as Hinata had previously stated, Kageyama failed to do that in the past year as he had been super busy with travelling and training and playing matches. But he kept up with Hinata through articles and interviews from Hinata's current team.

"Ya know, maybe we could get the old team back together some time. Asahi works in Sendai. And Yamaguchi and Tsuki are together in Hiroshima - though I'm not sure what they're doing there." Hinata giggled. One thing Kageyama noticed through his conversation with Hinata was that the orange haired boy wasn't using that stupid grammar he used to. The words of 'fwah!' and 'bwam!'. He kinda missed it but knew that as they grew older, Hinata probably grew out of his adolescent speech. Well, Kageyama figured it was that, or he just didn't want to embarrass himself in front of professional players.

"Kageyama? Are you listening?" Hinata questioned from the other end of the phone. Kageyama hummed. "I said that I have to go now but I'll meet you at your apartment around four thirty okay?" Kageyama hummed again and smiled, saying his goodbye to his best friend and hanging up the phone. Kageyama laid back on his bed, the plush mattress combined with the soft duvet allowed his body to sink into it. Kageyama stared up at the ceiling, grinning to himself as he thought of what the next day would bring, completely in the moment and forgetting that Hinata was only coming over to be his pretend date.

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zazzander · 20 days

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Dosgred Disappoints: Character Bloat

One of the biggest downfalls of this manga is the sheer number of characters. The author loses sight of the main cast very quickly, to the point that it gets really confusing what’s going on in the story.

I’ve spoken about Chapter 1 already. In that chapter, we meet: Rou, Haruna, grandpa, Keiichi, and Koichi. This is, presumably, our main cast. It makes sense that they are all introduced in the first chapter.

As I said in my previous post, the story fumbled it’s introduction of the cast. By the end, we don’t know much about Rou and Haruna. We know even less about Keiichi and his brother, Koichi.

Chapter 2 gives more information. The brother’s dynamic is solid. They're on good terms, nothing much to see there. As for the twins, Haruna blogs about her brother which is lowkey kind of weird. She seems to have no hobbies outside of this – again, weird. Like she says ‘Rou’s going to a local middle school’ even though they are twins. Surely, they would both be going. So this blog is seemingly for the benefit of Rou's fans back home.

Everything going fine... until Page 22. Things start falling apart from here.

On this page, we are introduced to Rou’s middle school ice hockey team. Despite Rou and Keiichi both being walking distance from the same lake, they apparently don’t go to the same school. This isn’t crazy, it happens all the time, but it was a little confusing because it seems unlikely they live close to two middle schools considering this is supposed to be Hicksville.

(The author is inconsistent with the size of this town. For example, there isn’t any major shopping location nearby. It’s primary industry focuses on a single large factory. Yet we have evidence of multiple middle schools and apparently four skating rinks.)

The entire middle school team is introduced all at once – yikes – and here begins the character bloat. There are four main guys on this team. Their role in the story is basically to convince Rou to play a game of Ice Hockey. That wouldn’t be a big issue but for the fact that their story completely takes over the plot.

Considering that this is the first time Rou and Keiichi play agaisnt each other, you’d think that would be the priority. He’s the rival! Rou and Keiichi are the main characters and should be the focus. Instead, at the start of chapter 3, we meet even more characters. This time, some guys on Keiichi's team (but not Keiichi's friends).

Now, in chapter 3 we have a total of 11 "important" characters. I have to class these new guys as important because they get flashbacks. You heard me, these random kids get flashbacks but actually important characters like Rou and Keiichi don't.

It's a really strange choice. Yes, it explains why the match means something to these boys, but it feels like a waste of time for the overall story. Rou and Keiichi should be the most compelling characters right now! This kind of minor character exploration is something that should happen much later.

We get hints at Rou-Keiichi conflict in chapter 4. The members of Oino high’s team, including Keiichi’s brother, show up. Oino's coach watches the game. He’s got this unreadable expression. Considering how often we see him, and his involvement later, we probably have to call him relevant character #12.

Basically, he’s watching the game and he should be watching Keiichi BUT he's actually focused on Rou. Rou plays weird but he’s clearly got talent. This is potentially such a big deal for Keiichi and a means of solidifying their rivalry. If this coach expressed an interest in this random newbie over him, Keiichi could get all huffy about it. He might try to play better to get the Oino coach's attention.

That doesn't happen. The coach's commentary is unknown to the players themselves.

By chapter 8, we are introduced to yet more characters. This time it’s several guys on the Oino team. Plus, we get reintroduced to a figure skater who had been Rou’s rival before he quit. I didn't call this guy important before, but since he's here again and gets a speaking role, he gets upgraded. "Important" characters: 15.

Dogsred gives us no time to breathe as it mostly ignores Rou yet again to depict high school championship finals. Now, I do understand why we need to show this game.

Oino loses here. Suddenly, there’s a team even better than they are! And that’s crucial because this is going to be Rou’s team soon.

Rou makes the choice to go watch this game rather than the ice skating. This symbolises how invested he’s getting in the sport.

However, the choice to depict the entire game is where the story suffers. Hears an alternative way to present the same plot information but without losing sight of our main characters:

Haruna tells Rou about this ice skating tournament and he seems like he might go, missing out on watching the championship game.

POV switch to Keiichi, there’s a break in the game and he’s gone to get snacks with/for his friends (does Keiichi have friends? I assume so, he’s the captain of his middle-school team there’s so many characters it’s hard to keep track).

Suddenly! Rou shows up. He's here to see the game, after ditching his sister and the ice skating tournament.

The boys argue. This is a good chance to really establish why they hate each other.

Then, while they were distracted, the final part of the game starts. Oino is losing!

Keiichi ignores Rou in favour of cheering on his brother. The game ends in a loss.

Keiichi gets huffy at his brother. “I can’t believe you lost! It’ll win us the championship next year!”

Basically, we focus the story on the character interactions because the two main characters aren’t on the ice. We don’t know the people playing (outside of Koichi who is by-and-large just Keiichi’s older brother at this point).

Regardless, this choice can be forgivable. Chapter 12 however… cannot.

In chapter 12, the author decides to completely ditch the main plot to focus on the rival high school, Sameoh. We meet several members of the team. That's twenty characters with names, personalities, and the makings of a plot. Twenty!!!

Then for all of chapter 13, we focus on these guys as their hometown get hit by a tsunami. This is a big setback for them – and completely derails any tension that was set up by them ending that 19-year streak the main team, Oino, had going. LIKE WHAT. I’m so serious right now, that undercuts all the tension.

It is only now, in chapter 14, that we finally arrive at Oino high school and Rou signs up for the actual team he will play for. That’s so late, guys. Arguably too late.

I’ll use an example of a hugely popular sports manga that started the characters in middle school too: Haikyuu!! Do you want to guess what chapter Hinata arrived at Karasuno High? Chapter 1. That manga covered Hinata's entire middle-school journey in less than a character. Now, Dogsred doesn't have to be that quick, but at minimum this moment should have come within the first five chapters.

This is what I mean by character bloat. The plot has been bogged down by all these unnecessary characters.

The good news is the next few chapters focus on the try-outs. We meet no new characters and the reader has a chance to get their heads around what's actually happens. That ends in chapter 18, when we get the backstory of random two defence players on the team. Relevant character count #22.

That being said, after trawling through all of this, the story has several great moments. There’s a lot of potential here – I just think the manga needed some serious reworking before it got picked up for publication.

What do I mean by that? Typically with sports manga, the introduction has three main plot points to hit: why does the MC love this sport, some kind of set-back in middle school, and them joining up for their high school to achieve their goals. Now, Dogsred didn’t have to hit every one of these beats. Big Windup, for example, skips the first one.

In Big Windup, we start with the MC’s “set-back”. Mihashi was hated by his middle school team because he was a terrible pitcher. He signs up to his high-school team and is allowed to be the pitcher because they don’t have an alternative. Mihashi really wants to play baseball though, despite his shy demeanour. It's clear he loves baseball, even if we aren't given an exactly "why".

Within the first few pages, Big Windup jumps into it's MC joining his new team and fills in backstories later. Dogsred could have done the same. Start with a flashback of Rou’s decision to change sports and jump forward to him walking onto the field to join the ice hockey team. Everything else can be elaborated on later. To hint at the past, a couple characters could recognise him as “the Rabid Prince” but Rou brushes off their questions.

We could even have Keiichi recognise him from the lake and him go “but you’re a figure skater!” and have a brief flashback to their fight on the lake.

All in all, my point is that this manga meanders and runs breakneck at the same time. It tells us about all these random characters who don’t matter. Because of that, it got lost.

The good news is - Dogsred seems to have finally gotten back on the path! Now that Rou is in high school the plot is moving forward at a much more standard pace. I guess we’ll see where it goes from here.

#dogsred #dogsred manga #manga analysis #manga review

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darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght · 2 months

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Chapter 14- Part 16

No no, nononono, I don’t think she wants to be perceived right now, just leave her to pretend to be invisible like a ghost- that’s probably why her hair is white! Just look at Danny!

I’m sure Xera would very much like to be an intangible phantom right now!

I mean, to be fair, that one evil guy had the control of the whole PULSE Tangrowth, that’s way tougher to bring down than a trio of Grunts with Pokémon that are likely not as well-leveled.

Ooooh no, that ring is super important for some reason, oh dear, what have we done, oh no-

Yeah, now that I think about- probably difficult for a father to scold his pre-adolescent and rebellious child when said child can just…fly away in the middle of it.

Why is this a choice…? Does anything actually change if we say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ here? He said it’s non-negotiable, so I assume it’s one of those “the game won’t let you progress until you select ‘Yes’” things. Not that I’m gonna select ‘No’ here to test it, or as a joke, this scene is a bit too serious for me to want to do that…

Because, admittedly- okay, yeah, I’ve made my suspicions of Corey very clear by now, but this is still a painful moment, being forced to cut off contact with someone who seemed like an ally, not to mention Heather as well after having just gotten to bond with her over fighting bad guys, even if she’s a bit arrogant about her abilities (but with a Salamence on her team, I don’t blame her).

And those are just my feelings as the player, out-of-character. In-character? Heck- this probably feels worse for Xera. Again, she doesn’t suspect him of having a connection to Team Meteor, and while I wouldn’t say she feels as close with him as she does other characters (relatively speaking, given the outwardly cold demeanor I’ve assigned to her), I’m sure she at least respects and trusts him to a degree. And again- bonding with his daughter over fighting bad guys! So to break Corey’s trust to such an extent that he forces her to cut ties with them, to lose that connection like this…gosh, that’s gotta hurt.

But she’s not in a position to argue, either, and not just because she’s a silent protagonist here. So…

Man- the last two victories against Team Meteor had at least some sense of accomplishment or triumph to them, maybe bittersweet at worst (given what happened to Victoria last time). But this…I just feel sad, now. Just…Xera standing there, completely alone, only her Pokémon by her side at the end of the day…man.

But…with this, we should be able to access Beryl Ward now. And that, in turn, takes us one step closer to rescuing Victoria, hopefully. That’s what we should focus on- in-universe, I’m sure that notion will be what Xera takes some solace in.

Anyways, the sign in front of the Gym doesn’t give much info, just that this was the Jasper Ward Gym. But hey, with the vines cleared, we can finally go over and pick up that item!

Fitting, given we just fought a Tangrowth.

Now…let’s get out of this sad little forest, and back to sad little Jasper Ward and its sad little Pokémon Center.

And I think we’ve made more than enough progress for one play session- more than I was expecting, honestly, but I’m not gonna complain. Thank you all once again for reading, next time we’ll finish up any business left remaining in Jasper Ward, then make our way to Beryl Ward and- maybe, depending on how long other possible events take- take on the other PULSE!

Now that the creation process for these chapters has been greatly streamlined thanks to PicPick, progress and updates should be much more frequent from here on (barring any IRL things taking away free time). I’m really looking forward to that, I’m excited to keep going, and I hope you all are looking forward to it as well! So thanks again, and I’ll see you all in the next installment! Until then!

CURRENT TEAM:

Riptide

Species: Croconaw

Gender: Male

Level: 27

Ability: Sheer Force*

Item: Quick Claw

Brave nature; Alert to sounds.

Glare

Species: Arbok

Gender: Female

Level: 25

Ability: Intimidate

Item: Protective Pads

Naughty nature; Highly curious.

Prong

Species: Charjabug

Gender: Female

Level: 25

Ability: Battery

Item: None

Rash nature; Loves to eat.

Decibel

Species: Noibat

Gender: Female

Level: 25

Ability: Telepathy*

Item: None

Bashful nature; Often lost in thought.

Blizzard

Species: Snover

Gender: Male

Level: 25

Ability: Snow Warning

Item: None

Naive nature; Likes to thrash about.

Caldera

Species: Slugma

Gender: Female

Level: 25

Ability: Magma Armor

Item: Quick Claw

Jolly nature; Often scatters things.

CURRENT BOXES:

NUMBER OF RELOADS: 8

Back to index

#pokemon reborn #pokemon reborn spoilers #pokemon fan game #pokemon reborn screenshot let's play

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understandableparadox · 3 months

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bottom of the barrel isekai review #3

Todays review: Choose your heros carefully

two BLs in a row... i would make a gay joke at my own expense but i'll be real, gay trash is soooo much more palatable as a whole then straight trash and i'm confident enough in whatever nebulous concept i've adopted as my sexuality to say that with something resembling pride.

so what's on the chopping block? utterly psychotic middle aged men reincarnated in a world ripe for their exploitation? perhaps a swarm of hyper busty vixens parading about on the strings of someone who has no idea how to utilize them? a magic system based on some mmo where its way to clear the author was bullied in or vaguely believed a certain class should be the strongest?

SUPRISIE! WE ARENT EVEN LOOKING AT TRASH TODAY YOU UTTER HEATHENS, WE ARE LOOKING AT SOMETHING VAGUELY COOL, I FUCKING TRICKED YOU, WE AREN'T AT THE DUMPSTERS WE ARE AT THE FARMERS MARKET AND WERE HITTING THE ANTIQUE STORE, GENDER AMBIGUOUS PARENTAL FIGURE WANTS TO PICK UP SOME VINTAGE COOKWARE TO SPICE UP THE GODDAMN KITCHEN

Ramblings aside, my established format usually stats that we have a short opening related to the title then a not so brief summation of the story, but this time the summation of the story will in fact be nothing more than a summation, as I genuinely think you should go ahead and read through this title.

our titular hero shane has been bullied by his friend to play test his beta for a gacha game

a game in which you use magical stones to revive ancient heroes and command them to destroy a collection of horrors from some demonic realm.

shane awakens after a long day of Gameing and finds that he is now stuck within this world, a magical divine sheep provides him after some prodding some game functions, along with a single stone to summon his first hero. from there, the trio set off to solve the darkness of the world and find a way to return back to whence they came. solveing the other mysteries and oddities the world holds for them.

and that's it, you ain't gonna learn a single thing more about this story from me, get the fuck out of my house...

well i'm not done yet and a little bit of this will be spoilers.

ok so why do I like this? the action is bad, the art isn't anything to write home about, the armor and weapon design makes me want to curl up in a small hole, bury me gentle please...

Well as i think i've said prior, A lot of things can be hidden if you have enough meat on the bones of it, to the point where i can ignore the guts of it being playdough and the skin being saran wrap you splashed paint over.

the story itself is overwhelmingly interested in how a world that functions through mmo and gacha logic would work. what happens when you can summon someone who is truly the pinnacle of humanity through shear luck? what about the common rabble that are only lucky enough to be able to afford one pull and end up getting some D grade shitterton, Bob the Spackle artist, special skill Crack Spackle.

what about the fact that you can just tell them to attack things and you can take a nap in the middle of a low grade dungeon? the concept of auto play but introduced to the idea of the world at large.

now lets pull out form smaller game concepts, the heroes are the only ones that can defeat the shadows, and only the summoner can control the heros. meaning that the heroes can only be as heroic as the summoner. a brave man shackled by those who even the gods have abandoned.

what about the towns in games that dont have the right vendors? the ones that cannot give the player things they want, the areas without bazaars or weapon shops or summoning areas or shop functions, what happens to them if they have no draw to keep players in them?

these are the questions that the manhwa loves to explore and I love exploring them with it. now, on to our normal questions.

"Is the underlying story, barring any other concept, good?"

Yes, its both a compelling romance with both the main character and the main love interest being good fits for each other with interesting flaws and qualities. they are not perfect and that makes them fun to follow. even without the romance the story has enough aspects for you to follow if you want to ignore the twinks prancing around.

"on a sliding scale of min to max, how much is the author using this to explore fetish"

0, big goose egg. unless the author has a fetish for being held in their sleep then yeah i guess thats a thing.

"How many story crutches does the author use to explore the story"

I cant exactly see any noteworthy crutches, even the normal "game aspects" thing is something they have to specifically work towards within the story.

"Is the author attempting to use the story as a way to explain why he is not weird."

they are trying to say that gachas are bad and I for one believe they should say it fucking louder for the rest of the world to hear.

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

I am now going to be taking isekai requests to review on top of the ones I have set aside for myself to review. to submit an isekai, please send it to me as an ask with the site where I can read through it.

#shitty isekai #manga #manwha #manhwa recommendation #isekai review

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useless-bi-otch · 11 months

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Cookies'n Cream - Chapter 21

Last chapter / MasterList / art by @aneenasevla

Chapter 21 - Masterstroke

“I swear, you have no idea who you've messed with, schmuck!"

"You've been saying the same thing for three matches in a row, Okubo."

"This time it's for real! I let you win the previous ones, I wanted to study your movements, understand how your head worked. Now you don't stand a chance!"

"Yeah, sure thing. Just pay attention to the screen, I've already given you two combos and it hasn't even been two minutes since the match started."

"All part of the strategy! Now you'll see that Okubo Naoya isn't called the “King of Combat” only inside the octagons! Take this, and that e- aaaaaargh! Noooo...!," Okubo grabs his head with both hands and throws it back, wailing dramatically and making other players around them jump. "I got the combination wrong!"

"I said to talk less and play more," Kaneda smiles satisfied, raising two fingers of his right hand in a V for Victory while the screen of the arcade machine displayed his character's victory stand. "With that, that's four consecutive victories. Are you sure you want to continue betting? At this rate, there won't be any money left in your wallet, hahaha!"

"Shut up! I don't accept that I can't beat you in absolutely any of these games!," He points to him while yelling. "I'll find a game where I can beat you, even if we have to turn this arcade upside down, do you hear me?!"

"Seriously, Okubo, why do you still insist on challenging Kaneda on these things?," Himuro asks, bored, with his eyes glued to another arcade machine. "It doesn't matter what you play with him, he always wins and cleans your wallet dry. It doesn't qualify as a robbery only because you're the most willing victim I've ever seen."

"You shut up too, Himuro! You want me to give you hell on The King of Fighters too?!”

"As if you could. And watch your language, we have ladies in attendance. Okay, see? It isn't that difficult," Himuro smiles at the two girls who surrounded him, watching his demonstration attentively. "It's all a matter of motor coordination, knowing how to switch between the buttons and the lever, setting the timing..."

"Ooh, Himuro makes it look so easy!," The chubby one whimpered, pouting as she clung to his arm. The other, thinner than her friend, nods and squeezes his shoulders affectionately.

"I know, right! Nanao and I are going to need a few more demonstrations, maybe more direct help..."

"I'd be a terrible teacher if I said no, wouldn't I?," He laughs, opening space for them to approach. "Here. Who wants to be the first one?"

The two girls got into an argument over which one of them would be the first to receive arcade lessons, while Himuro grinned in the middle of them, delighted to be up for grabs. Kaneda sighs.

"Not even when we are killing time in the least conducive environment possible to get dates you guys abandon the hunter mentality..."

"Hey, don't put me in the middle of this! I'm here, minding my own business, just waiting for you to put another token in the machine," Okubo declares, frowning, his arms crossed. "I still haven't given up on my rematch."

“Heh… you'd probably have better luck hunting down for dates, to be honest."

"No chance. For the moment I'd rather crush your spirit until there's not even dust left to tell the story."

“Wow, that came straight from your heart!," Kaneda laughs, looking over his shoulder. "Are you listening to that, Rihito? Okubo found a motivation unrelated to women! You should follow suit-"

"I swear to you, there is nobody in this arcade capable of beating my record in OutRun! Stick with me and I'll teach you everything you need to know!," Rihito was saying, a little too loudly, to two other girls occupying an arcade machine, both staring at him with a mixture of confusion and discomfort. "Tell me, do you want some help? I can show you the best way to pull the lever, hehe... and then, later, we can go out for something to eat, how about that? Come on, don't be shy, I promise I won't do anything you don't want! Here, lady, your posture is kinda wrong, if you want I can help you correct it and- hey, where are you going? Hey!," He exclaims when the two girls walk away quickly, half shrunken. "Wait, I...! Uugh, how does Himuro manage to do that?! Fucking hell, I can't do anything right..."

Kaneda sighs again. "Eh, never mind. He's a goner. I'm just surprised you don't want to join him like you always do..."

Okubo looks to the side, his expression a little uncertain, before shrugging and returning his focus to the arcade machine.

"I already told you, I'm more worried about my rematch. Come on, Kaneda, I know you have more tokens there! Don't run away from me!"

Kaneda decides he isn't going to try to argue anymore. But Okubo better not think he didn't notice all that hesitation. He took great pride in his observation skills, and they were rarely wrong. He inserts another token into the machine, smiling to himself.

He wondered if Rihito and Himuro had also noticed how Okubo seemed so uninterested in the female clientele around them. Women made up a significant portion of arcade goers, contrary to what many thought, and when they decided to go and spend their free day in one, Kaneda had already been preparing for the inevitability of finding himself alone while his friends were going to hit on any creature wearing skirts nearby.

Not that he had much to worry about, as Himuro was the only one there who got lucky in those endeavors. Rihito and Okubo were too pushy and desperate, they always had been, and it didn't take more than half an hour for them to give up and come to him while licking their wounds. It had become routine by now.

Or at least it used to be routine. Now, Rihito was chasing women away by himself. Okubo, on the other hand, hasn't shown interest in absolutely any of them so far.

Kaneda knew very well why. He knew, but he wanted to hear it from the accused party himself before making assumptions. He takes a couple of steps away from the machine to let Okubo choose his character.

“Are you sure you want to keep challenging me? It's silly to throw money away like that because of a game..."

"It's not money thrown away if I know that one hour or another I'll end up winning," He declares with conviction. "And anyway, I want to gather more tokens. There are some cool prizes here..."

"Yeah, there really is," Kaneda looks at the area where the arcade prizes were displayed. "But you can try to win tokens by playing alone, instead of betting them with me..."

"I know, but now it's become a matter of honor, man!"

"Honor or masochism? I wish I had that much cash in the bank so that losing a few yen wouldn't be a worry...," Himuro grumbles, holding the hand of one of his newest friends while helping her with the lever. "But relax, girls, I still have enough for a few more matches with you, maybe even for dinner afterwards, haha..."

The girls laugh, and if Okubo had rolled his eyes more, he would have been able to see the insides of his own skull. Apparently, a pretty face was an essential factor for those stupid pick-up lines to succeed. He was glad he didn't need it anymore...

"If you're broke to the point of needing to warn your friends, Himuro, don't worry. Let's play and bet while we're at it, and if I win-"

"I'm not going to give you the number of one of my friends, forget about it."

"I wasn't going to say that! I was going to say that if I win, I want half your tokens."

"Oh…," Himuro blinks, exchanging a brief look with Kaneda before nodding. "That's all? Alright then. If I win, you'll pay my bill on our next night out."

"Deal!"

"And he still complains when I say he throws money away…," Himuro rolls his eyes. "Just don't complain after you make a fool of yourself in front of the ladies here."

"You're the one who's gonna make a fool of yourself! Just let me slay this lil' fucker here first," He declares as he also chooses his character. Kaneda doesn't even try to argue, shrugging.

"Okay. Let's just bet the tokens this time, Okubo, otherwise you won't have any money left over to pay the bet with Himuro..."

"Are you already assuming that I’m going to lose?! I won't say out loud what you are only because we have ladies present in the room!," Okubo snorts, and suddenly focuses his attention on the girls surrounding Himuro. "I want to ask you ladies a question, if you don't mind."

“Uh… sure, go ahead,” The chubby one exchanges a bewildered look with her friend before they nod, a bit hesitant, while Himuro shoots Okubo a warning look. If he even tried to rain on his parade...

"If you were to choose one of those prizes, what would it be?"

It was hard to say who had the more astonished expression there: if those two girls or Himuro himself. The three stared at Okubo as he pointed to the prize counter beyond, waiting for an answer. The girls look at each other again.

"Uh… well, I don't know," The thinner one looks sideways at her friend. "One of the electronics, maybe? I've been needing a new headset, but they cost a shitload of tokens..."

"Yep. But there are some more affordable prizes that are cute, like those keychains in the shape of arcade machines.

"Yes! And the teddy bears..."

"And the neon signs! They are a nice decoration for the bedroom, or for the kitchen area..."

"A neon sign!," Okubo exclaims, smiling excitedly. "Damn, how come I didn't think of that before? Now I know exactly what to spend the tokens I'm going to win on!," He turns to the arcade machine, even more determined. "Thanks for the female opinion, ladies!"

"Uuh…you're welcome!," They nod, still stunned, but also looking relieved. "Anyway… will you continue teaching us the mechanics of the game, Himuro?"

“Uh… oh yes! Yes, of course, excuse me...," Himuro nods quickly, returning his attention to the arcade machine, but not before exchanging a somewhat astonished look with Kaneda. The later just can't resist, wanting more details while he and Okubo go back to playing.

"Hey, don't you already have one of those neon signs in your apartment?"

"Yeah, in my reading room. There, take this sequence, sucker!"

"Oh, there will be payback! But seriously, why would you want a female opinion to get another sign?"

"Oh, the sign isn't for me," Okubo shrugs, almost pressing his eyes to the screen in his concentration. "It's for Tomori. Something cool for her to put in her kitchen..."

Kaneda had suspected that since Okubo started asking Himuro's friends questions, but it was good to hear confirmation. He smiles to himself, hoping that Himuro had heard that too.

"If that’s the case, I might let you win a couple of matches, just to increase your chances…"

"Don't you dare! How am I going to give her a gift that I got only 'cause my opponent pitied me?," He asks indignantly. "I couldn't consider myself a worthy man! Forget it, I'll get those tokens on my own merit!"

“Then you'd better step up your game, because at this rate you won't even be able to pick up pins from the prize counter. Aaand I won again!"

"Argh, no! Holy shit, you...! You distracted me on purpose!," Okubo points accusingly at him, furious, to which Kaneda shakes his head, smiling cheekily.

"Baseless accusations are the weapon of losers. Your tokens, please."

"Uugh… I'll get them all back, just you wait! But on another game, 'cause I already gave up on this one..."

Kaneda was still laughing when Rihito approached them, hands shoved in his pants pockets, face twisted in a spectacular frown.

"No luck on the hunt, I suppose," Kaneda deduces, to which Rihito snorts.

"What do you think? Even the nerds don't care about big, bulky guys! All they want is the pretty boys, with their lustrous hair and their sissy colognes..."

"If that's not an incentive for you to take more baths, I don't know what else would be."

"Shut up, Himuro! Look, he's just being an asshole, okay? I take lots of baths!," Rihito exclaims to Himuro's companions, in a rush that makes them take a step back. "Even when I don't have to!"

"Yeah, right. And relax, he looks like a gorilla in heat, but he's harmless," Himuro assures the girls. "And he won't participate in the lessons either, I'm a feminist teacher who values female education above any other, haha."

They laugh, leaning closer to him again, whereupon Rihito glares at him with a rage that would've set him on fire, if looks could kill.

"Ugh, I'm so fucking pissed!," He snarls, almost knocking over a nearby machine by abruptly inserting a token into it. "Are you guys seeing this? And he has the gall to complain when we get together to beat his ass, right, Okubo?"

"Yeah, he’s a narcissistic asshole," Okubo nods, then points "Anyway, let’s play OutRun, Rihito! I'm tired of fighting games for now..."

"Kaneda made you his punching bag again, didn't he?"

"Fuck off! Do you wanna play or not? I know I can beat you."

“Ohoho, you shouldn't have said that. I'll turn you into roadkill! C'mon," He makes room for Okubo to join him. “This way I can distract myself by destroying you so I don't have listen to that man-whore's cheap pick-up lines!"

"Yeah. It's a win-win situation," Okubo nods, and Kaneda watches as he concentrates completely on the game, while Rihito continues to throw irritated glances at Himuro and his friends from time to time.

"That fuckin' playboy… I'm sure he does that on purpose."

"Yeah...," Okubo just nodded, absorbed in the game.

"Rubbing his conquests in our faces… what would it cost him to lend a hand to his pals? It's not like he lacks female attention!"

"Yep..."

"He's picking up two chicks at the same time. Two! Y'know those documentaries about compulsive hoarders? That's what Himuro is! A hoarder, and he needs an intervention in the form of a beating!"

"For sure."

"Doesn't that make your blood fucking boil? I know Kaneda doesn't care but we're basically starving for pussy and he doesn't even take pity on us!"

"I know, right."

"... I mean, it's not your case anymore, right? You have Miss Uta now, you haven't banged her only 'cause you're a sucker..."

"Yeah..."

"I knew it!," He slams his hands on the panel, indignant. "You're not even listening to me, you asshole!"

"I was paying attention to the game! The game you just lost, by the way," Okubo points to the screen, smiling devilishly. "Who's the sucker now, huh? Finally I got something out of this shit, man!"

"What- did you do it on purpose? Have you became this lil' fucker's apprentice or something?!," Rihito points indignantly at him, and even Kaneda laughs at that, putting a hand on his chest and pretending to wipe away a tear.

"They grow up so fast!"

"Let's pray that he doesn't grow even more, otherwise he won't be able to go through any more doors..."

"Shut up, Himuro! Anyway...," Okubo huffs while Himuro's friends giggle. "I was really concentrating on the game, but I heard you muttering incessantly and concluded that I could use that to my advantage, hehe!"

"Son of a bitch."

"Hahaha! No, seriously, what were you talking about, man? It was something about Himuro..."

Rihito stares at him as if questioning his intelligence. Or his sanity. Probably both.

"Dude, are you serious? You always get as mad about it as I do!"

"Mad about what?"

"What do you mean 'about what'? About how easily Himuro picks up chicks, while the two of us are always left with crumbs!," He exclaims in frustration, opening his arms, and Himuro, further on, flinches when his two friends stare at him with wide eyes.

"Ahaha, he's exaggerating, that idiot... stop raining on my parade, you jerk!"

"Shut up, that's what you get for not being more humble! And you," He turns to Okubo again. "Since when have you been so indifferent to his conquests? Just because you already scored with one girl? Or..."

Rihito falls silent as Okubo widens his eyes a little, his face starting to flush, unmistakably red under the neon lights inside the arcade. Kaneda takes a step closer to them, curiosity getting the better of him. Even Himuro stopped paying attention to his new friends to listen to their conversation intently.

"Okubo...?," Rihito calls, starting to widen his eyes too. "You…?"

"H-Hey, what's this? Are you going to keep changing the subject instead of demanding a rematch like you always do?," Okubo interrupts him quickly, putting his hand in his pocket to pick up a token, which he almost drops in his desperate rush. "Let’s play more, c'mon! Unless you're scared of losing to me again..."

"What the- as if!," And with that, Rihito's attention is masterfully diverted,his fists clenching with determination. "Just you wait, I'll get my tokens back and rub your ugly mug all over that panel!"

They focus their attention on the game, while Himuro and Kaneda once again exchange a look that was worth many words. Rihito might have the attention span of a hyperactive child, but they weren't like him. They weren't going to drop that matter.

After some time of gameplay, name-calling and threats from one of the arcade employees that Rihito would be thrown out if he punched another machine, the four of them had won a lot of tokens between themselves, Okubo in particular. He happily counted them, ignoring Rihito's resentful glares.

"There's going to be payback, do you hear me? I’ll come back for more!"

"Of course, man, my ass beatings are quite addictive!"

"Shut up, you lost a match against Himuro and two against Kaneda!"

"And thanks to you I recovered all the tokens I had lost in them. Thanks a bunch!," Okubo pats Rihito on the shoulder, and walks away laughing when he threatens him with his fist. "Come on, Rihito, you also won enough tokens to get a prize at the counter!"

"Yeah, but not as much as you guys! Speaking of which, you got enough tokens for what?," Rihito asks Himuro and Kaneda, who were also counting their tokens.

"Enough for a mini-game, I think. But I also got two phone numbers, so I have nothing to complain about," Himuro comments, ignoring when Rihito flips him the bird. Kaneda, on the other hand, smiles excitedly.

"I think I have enough for that headset! It's what I wanted, so I'm satisfied."

"Lucky for you… if I manage to get a t-shirt with the arcade's logo, and one that fits me, it'll already be a lot," Rihito snorts, turning to Okubo next. "And you? What prize will you take?"

"One of those neon signs! There are some cute ones that I think will look cool in Tomori's kitchen... what?," He blinks when he sees his friend's disbelieving expression.

"Are you going to get a prize for Miss Uta? Aren't you going to spend that pile of tokens on yourself?"

"Of course I will, man! With what's left over, I can get that cool Ultraman keychain-"

"What keychain, man! There's so many cool things to choose from that counter, and you choose to spend your tokens on a gift for a girl who isn't even here playing with us?," Rihito insists on his questions, gesticulating agitatedly. Kaneda looks from one to the other, very interested, while Himuro rolls his eyes.

"If you followed that example, you'd get some phone numbers too..."

"Shut up! I know you wouldn't spend your tokens on any chick!"

"Yeah, I wouldn't spend it on chicks with whom I'm just fuck-buddies with, anyway. But in Okubo's case..."

"Ugh, leave me alone!," Okubo turns his back on them, the tips of his ears red. "What I do with my tokens is my problem, okay? If I want to spend them on someone else, it's my fuckin' right!"

"Yeah, but I don't see how you're going to be able to bang someone with a stupid neon sign..."

"Ugh, forget it," Okubo rolls his eyes. "Lets just go to the counter already, I don't want anyone passing in front of me and taking that Ultraman keychain..."

The other three don't argue, following behind. But Rihito continued to stare at his back suspiciously. Himuro and Kaneda just hoped it didn't take too long for him to get what was going on too.

The prize counter was currently full, the attendants having to split up to tend to the queue of players who wanted to claim their prizes. Fortunately, no one there seemed to have won as many tokens as they did. It was one of the perks of being fighters with superhuman reflexes.

"We need to come back here more often. This is the perfect place to get useless, cool trinkets," Himuro comments, and Kaneda nods.

"I know, right! How about we take a day to choose the most expensive prize and join forces to gather enough tokens?"

“The problem is, we'd have to share whatever the prize is in that case. But I'm up for it, if y'all don't try to be smart asses about it."

"We were the ones who should be telling you that! You're the one who most needs to learn the concept of sharing..."

"Is this about those girls' phone numbers? I won't give you one, stop insisting!"

"Come on, what would it cost you? You have five hundred others in your contacts!"

"I swear, Rihito, you're worse than those elementary school kids who want everything the others have in their hands..."

"You could at least arrange something with one of them for me! The thin one had a prettier face, but the chubby one had a nice ass..."

"Man, I swear I want to help you, but I can't do shit when you don't help yourself!"

"Aren't you going to ask for the phone number of one of those girls too, Okubo?," Kaneda asks, while the other two argue. Okubo looks to the side before shaking his head.

"Nah, I'm good. It's not like Himuro would give one to me, anyway..."

Kaneda nods slowly, his fox-like eyes fixed on him as he leans toward the prize counter, inspecting it with interest.

"Man, it's kinda hard to choose. There aren't many with a culinary theme," He comments, frowning a little. Most are gamer-themed..."

"Huh. I wonder why? The fact that we're in an arcade shouldn't have anything to do with it."

"Shut up, Himuro."

"Why not choose one with a broader theme?," Kaneda suggests, leaning over to inspect the signs, which were exposed on the wall just behind the prize counter. "The one where you read 'Smile and Smash' is funny, because the word can refer to both food and fights. .."

"You're right!," Okubo smiles, excited, taking the tokens from his pocket and depositing them on the counter as he called, raising his arm, "Hey, lady, excuse me! I want to exchange these tokens here for that sign-"

"Hey, no! I want that sign there!"

Okubo immediately looks over his shoulder in surprise upon hearing the voice that exclaimed in agitation. He assumes a defensive posture, placing himself in front of the counter, straightening his back so his height and width are clearly evident. He didn't enjoy intimidating civilians, but if he had to...

"Oh, come on, don't make that face! I swear I'm willing to negotiate for it, haha."

Okubo's determination to fight for the prize wanes a little when he realizes who his challenger is. A woman was approaching quickly while smiling sympathetically at him, carrying a bag full of cute pins and charms. She nods in a friendly way, and if it weren't for the words she used, he would never have guessed that she was talking to him.

“Uhhhh…” He scratches the back of his head, exchanging a brief look with his friends, to which they just shrug. He turns to the girl again. "Sorry, lady, but… do you want that sign? That one specifically?," He points to said sign on the wall, to which the woman nods.

"Yes! Sorry, but I've had my eye on it since I walked into the arcade earlier."

"Well, so did I," He frowns a little, looking to the side. "Look, can't you pick another one? There are some really cool models too, and some even cute, girlier-"

“Hey, that's stereotyping, you know?," She puffs out her cheeks a little, and the expression reminds him a lot of Tomori. "I want this one, it's the one that best matches the aesthetics of my apartment. Why don't you choose another one? There are much more masculine ones there-"

“Hey, now you're the one stereotyping!,” He complains, raising his index finger in warning. And to his surprise, instead of taking his cue and raising her voice, she laughed. And it was a very delicate, bashful laugh, a hand with well-painted nails over her mouth.

"Ahaha, fair enough! Sorry about that. It's just that when you see a man as big and strong as you, a cute neon sign isn't the first thing you associate with him."

Okubo blinks, taking a few seconds to understand her words, as well as the slightly ingratiating smile that accompanied them. He distinctly hears Rihito mutter a “you gotta be kidding me…” from behind him, and he couldn't help but share the sentiment.

Holy shit… he would've looked around for the cameras recording a possible prank if he wouldn't look ridiculous doing it. He clears his throat in an attempt to find his voice.

"Uh... yeah, I'm a little box full of surprises, haha ," He laughs a little too loudly. "But the truth is that the sign isn't for me…"

"Is it for a sister? A niece? Anyway, it's very sweet of you," She deduces, her smile widening, "I'm even embarrassed to keep insisting on taking the sign, in this case."

"Uh- no, actually it's for-"

"How about we make a trade then?," She suddenly suggests. And at his confused expression, she laughed again. "Oh, am I being too forward? Sorry, I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Hirata Chise, but you can call me just Chise. And you?

"Huh... Okubo. Okubo Naoya," He answers, without thinking too much. And his surprise only grows when her eyes widen in sudden recognition.

"Okubo… wait, isn't that the name of that famous fighter? The MMA one?"

... Seriously, was that some kind of delusion? Was he dreaming and he didn't realize it? Or was he suddenly transported to a universe where women recognized him and were interested in him as if he had switched places with Himuro?

He again looked over his shoulder, wanting to see if Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda were listening to make sure he wasn't freaking out, but the three had walked a good few steps away, seeming interested in what the prize counter was displaying. Or at least they pretended to be. He'd known those fuckers long enough to know they had their ears pricked.

"Ahaha… yeah. That's me,” He nods, scratching the back of his head again, and the girl lets out an excited gasp.

"Damn, I can't believe I'm talking so casually with a guy like that!l" She exclaims, clapping her hands excitedly. "One of my friends back there commented that she thought you looked familiar!"

"Wow... I'm flattered, being recognized like this by a group of pretty girls. It doesn't happen every day, haha!," He comments without thinking much; if he hadn't been able to control his silver tongue all those weeks, he wouldn't be able to now. "But in that case... do you think an autograph and a selfie are enough to pay for the sign?"

She laughs again, shaking her head. "Nice try. But I was actually going to propose a more specific exchange."

"Oh... I'll cover part of the price for the sign, if that's the case, no fuss-"

"No, that's not it," She turns her head a little. "I'm not interested in money. I'm more interested in knowing a little more about the guy offering it to me."

... Holy fuck. That was the only reaction his mind was able to conjure up at the moment. Just... holy fuck.

He now wondered if the girl's initial intention was really to convince him to give up the sign, or if it was all just a pretext to get closer. And he wondered, too, if he wasn't being too arrogant to consider that possibility. But after all those years, he couldn't conceive a reality where women spontaneously flirted with him. None had done so before.

None, except for...

“Uh…look, lady-”

"Chise."

"Chise," He corrects himself. "I… damn, I don't even know what to say, haha…"

"You don't have to say anything, just answer if you accept my proposal. What do you think?," She plays with a lock of hair, tucking it behind her ear, and again, Tomori's smiling face appears in his head. "Want to go grab food after we exit the arcade? Your friends can come too! One of my friends even wants the number of that tanned guy..."

Okubo distinctly heard one of the guys further back having a coughing fit. Rihito, probably. He, however, concentrated on taking a closer look at the woman before him.

She must've been a little shorter than Kaneda. She was dressed casually and a little heavy, considering it was summer, but with the arcade's AC running, it shouldn't have been a nuisance to her. A delicate white wool cardigan over a baby blue boatneck top, a pink slant skirt, tights and ballet flats. It all complemented her proportionate figure. Her hair was black and straight, framing a face with skin so fair it was almost freckled. Her eyes were large and expressive, and her pink painted mouth looked very kissable.

Verdict: she was a pretty girl. Beautiful, even. Hell, two months ago he would've accepted the invitation without even thinking twice! But now...

Well, now all he could do was look at her clothes and think that cute pastel style would look just as good on Tomori.

Holy shit, if he'd had any doubts before that he was really fucked, it was gone for good.

"... I appreciate the invitation, Chise, seriously," He assures, smiling with a certain guilt. "But I can't accept it. What I was trying to say is that this sign is a gift for a woman, but not a sister or niece. It's a friend. But she's still someone important to me.

“…Oh,” Chise blinks, and her disappointed expression manages to make him feel a little guilty. “Wow, I- I didn't know you had a girlfriend…”

"I don't. But..."

“But she is a candidate for the post. Got it," She nods, looking to the side while making a face. "Damn, that's kinda embarrassing..."

"Don't feel bad, you're pretty as hell! It's just that I-"

"I understood. You don't have to try to make me feel better," She interrupts him, waving a hand. "I'm late, that's okay. Life goes on."

"Uh… my tanned friend can still give you his number, he's available," Holy shit, when would he have thought that one day he would offer Himuro's contact information to random women without seething with rage and envy?

"Oh… well…," She looks from behind him, suddenly interested. "Yeah, he's really hot, wow!"

He didn't know whether to be relieved or offended that she had recovered from his rejection so quickly, and all because of that man-whore's presence.

"Yeah, that's what they all say. I can call him right now if you want-"

"Hey, lady, is that a number you want? Well, you can stop looking for it now!"

Rihito's loud voice, right next to his right ear, made Okubo jump, but not as much as Chise did. She takes a step back as Rihito claps his friend's shoulder in a friendly way, smiling a bit too enthusiastically at her.

"So, what do you say? My pal here is not interested, but I sure am! You're a knockout, y'know?"

“Uh…thanks, but I-”

"And you still came with a bunch of equally hot friends! Wonderful, so none of my pals will be alone. Let’s exchange numbers! Then we can schedule a mixer!," He offers. "In the meantime, do you want help choosing another prize, since my friend here wants that dumb sign?"

"No, no need to-"

"Come on, don't be shy! I just want to lend you a hand, be a gentleman. You like gentlemen, right? I can be that and much more with the right encouragement, hehe- hey, hey, where are you going? We haven't even exchanged numbers yet! Hey!," he calls, a little too loudly, as the girl hurries away with a grimace. He sighs. "Man, it's always the same. But hey, this time it was for a good cause."

Okubo imitates poor Chise's grimace.

"Wait, is this serious? Like, it's nice of you and all, bro, but there's no need to scare the poor girl away just so I wouldn't get in a tight spot-"

"What? I didn't do this for you, what the hell! I did it because Himuro already got two numbers, and I'd be even more pissed if he got a third."

"... Son of a bitch. A genius, but still a son of a bitch. And stupid, because you ruined a chance to go out with that girl, I could have introduced you, to her, dumbass."

"Wow," Rihito raises an eyebrow. "Were you really going to introduce me to her? You, the guy who's as pussy starved as I am? So does that mean you weren't interested in her?"

Okubo's eyes widen at his friend's question, but he takes a deep breath, both to avoid punching him in the face and dying of embarrassment. "I can't do two different things at the same time outside the octagon, I'm focused on getting my freakin' prize!," he points to the sign. "And really, if you're that desperate, go to Miss Rino's club and leave me alone!"

"Without you? Man, the problem with your dick is worse than I thought..."

"You're going to have a problem with yours if you don't quit your bullshit…," Okubo threatens, getting tense, the tokens in his hand crumpling. "Either you stop bothering me or I'll make you a punching bag and we'll never come back here again!," he looks Rihito in the eyes, showing his full height, the shadow passing over the other. Himuro and Kaneda knew that pose very well, but he had never threatened Rihito with such anger.

Rihito blinks, momentarily perplexed. But considering how his expression darkened as well, he recovered pretty quickly.

"Huh? Are you trying to intimidate me,you jerk? You're thinking I'm afraid of your fucked-up face or something?," He yells, advancing and pointing to the other. "You're big but so am I, fucker! Fuckin' come at me!"

"Not as big as I am, asshole!"

Both raise their fists.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!," Himuro's voice interrupts them, while he puts himself between the two with Kaneda. "Let's stop right there because things are getting very serious! Seriously, Rihito, dude's hung up on only one girl, so let him be. And you, Okubo... you can stop hiding it, we already know that you got it bad for Miss Uta. So calm the fuck down, grab that stupid sign and lets get the hell outta here, okay?"

If there was a more effective way to quell a heated argument, Okubo didn't know it. He stares at Himuro, dumbfounded, mouth gaping in mute shock. He turns to the other two, wanting to say something, but his voice just won't come out. Rihito crosses his arms, frowning and still breathing heavily, while Kaneda just sighs heavily, running his right hand through his hair.

"Look, Himuro is right. Let's just get our prizes and leave before the arcade staff come shooing us out for good. We can talk better once we're out."

Rihito lets out a disinterested grunt, shrugging, while Okubo can't think of anything to reply. The expression 'deer in the headlights' seemed to have been made for him.

They exchange the tokens for the prizes and leave the arcade very quickly, being followed by several pairs of eyes. Yeah, apparently their faces wouldn't be forgotten so soon. Once on the street of the shopping area, Okubo seriously considered running away, but decided against it after concluding that those three would easily catch up with him, considering the movement around them. He didn't want to look like a coward, either.

He winces as he feels the three pairs of eyes glued to his back, practically burning the back of his neck. He wanted to tell them to fuck off, Rihito in particular. What the hell did they want him to say?! That he was sorry for not saying anything sooner? As if they had an obligation to share every single detail of their lives with each other...

"So," Himuro sighs. "We already know, big guy. Spit it out."

He lets out a huge grunt, throwing his head back in an exaggerated motion. Kaneda sighs too.

"Don't be dramatic, Okubo, c'mon..."

"I'm not! Why do I have to spit out something?," He asks, a little too aggressively, as he glares at them over his shoulder. "Haven't you already figured it all out on your own? Aren't you hard-boiled detectives, the fucking japanese Sherlock Holmeses? So there's that!"

"Yeah, but we still want to hear it from your mouth..."

"Well, it ain't gonna happen! And you won't make me, not even if you threaten to beat the shit outta me, the three of you at the same time," He warns, pointing to them. Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda looked at each other, communicating non-verbally in a way that got on his nerves. And then Rihito snorts, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone.

"Oh, we won't? I didn't want to do this, but you gave me no choice."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"If you don't say what we want to hear right now, I'm going to call Miss Uta and spill the beans to her."

"What- No!," Okubo almost screams, turning around immediately, his eyes bugging out. "It doesn't- I mean- you're bluffing, you asshole! You don't even have her number!"

"And how do you know?," Rihito narrows his eyes menacingly. "I entered her house even before you did, remember? What guarantee do you have that I haven't had her number for a while too?"

"Rihito...!," Okubo growls, getting redder by the second, and Himuro and Kaneda move away to avoid the collision, in case he charges at the other. "I swear I'll rearrange your whole fucking face! Drop that phone!"

"Eh, I don’t feel like it," He slides his thumb up and down the screen in defiance. "My thumb is itching to press the call button..."

"I'm serious! Give me that shit!," Okubo reaches out, furious, but Rihito is faster, throwing the phone aside. The device is deftly picked up by Himuro, and Okubo just wants to scream in frustration. "Damn you...! What do you want from me?"

“We want the truth, man. That's all," Himuro shakes the phone from side to side as Okubo scratches his scalp hard.

"Ugh, why? Didn't you already figure it out on your own?!"

"Yes, but it's still serious enough to demand confirmation from the accused party himself," Kaneda declares, and when Okubo tries to steal the cell phone from Himuro's hands, he more than quickly throws it to him, and Kaneda puts it inside his garments. "Come on, just say yes or no. Are you in love with Miss Uta?"

"I..."

"Don't give me that 'I' crap, it's yes or no, dipshit!," Rihito rolls her eyes. "Go ahead, spit it out, or Kaneda will have a lot to talk about with Miss Uta on the phone.”

"Fucking hell, I hate you guys...!"

"We love you too. Now answer us, goddamn it, before-"

"YES!," Okubo finally shouts, throwing his arms up in absolute frustration and making some people passing nearby jump. "I've got it bad for her, damn it! So much so that it even scares me a little! I keep thinking about having the sappiest moments possible with her and I can't even be embarrassed about of it, for fuck's sake! I know this all started because I wanted to get laid, but now that's not all I want, okay? She's cute, funny, firm in her convictions and fiercer than half the guys I've faced in my matches! I want that woman all to myself, and if I have to give up the playboy lifestyle, then so be it! She's worth ten thousand others!," He faces his friends, furiously red, breathing hard. "There, I said it! Are you jerks happy now?!"

Rihito, Himuro, and Kaneda just stare at him, eyes wide and jaws slack. The uncomfortable silence lasts for almost half a minute, where they are sizing each other up, waiting for someone to make the first move. Some people on the street were watching them, curious, worried about the shouting, some even laughing as they sneered at Okubo. Did he have time to run to the light and throw himself in front of the first car that passed?

It is then that Himuro lets out a farting sound, turning his face to the side. Kaneda hides a chuckle by covering his mouth with the sleeve of his robes, and Rihito opens a huge devilish smile.

"Yeah, man, now we are. But you wanna hear something funny?"

"What?!"

"I was really bluffing. Miss Uta never gave me her number. Sorry about that, hehehe."

“Wha- oooooh, you fucking bitches!," Okubo almost squeals, barely making himself heard amidst the laughter of his friends. "You tricked me! You deceived me! You stabbed me in the back! You fucking traitors! You deserve to burn in Hell!

"Hell? After everything we've been doing to help our soap opera protagonist? Our little allotment in Heaven is already reserved!," Himuro declares, imitating his dramatic tone, and Rihito laughs mischievously.

"Reserved with all honors, because only a saint can endure all this sissy shit without wanting to pull his hair out, hehehahaha!"

"But our mission will only be complete when the main couple is made official, which I hope will happen without half of this fussiness, for the sake of Okubo's dignity," Kaneda comments, still laughing, and the three disperse between laughs while Okubo tried to kick them, mortified.

"I'm going to make your death certificates official, you assholes!"

"Don't do that, Okubo! You can't tell Miss Uta everything you told us from inside a prison cell!"

"No, he can! This will only make the soap opera even more dramatic and interesting to watch!"

"A statement straight from the penitentiary, guys, it's pure originality! It's just a shame that Okubo won't be able to remain faithful in that case, if the stories about what goes on in the showers there are true!"

"Seriously, can you guys remind me why we're still friends? At the moment I can't think of any reason! You shitheads...," Okubo gives up on his rage, putting his right hand on his furiously red face and groaning, trying to ignore how the other three laughed in his ear.

"Want a reminder, you jerk? Don't forget that we've been willing to accompany you all these weeks to that sugar shack, all the times you wanted to see this girl, without asking for anything in return," Rihito points at him, to which Okubo rolls his eyes.

"Anything? I've already lost count of how many cookies, donuts, croissants and nightcaps I had to pay you."

"And that, for your bank account, is the same as nothing!"

"You really think that I shit money, don't you?"

"Doesn't matter! The point is," Kaneda starts, raising a finger. "We've always been here, supporting you, haven't we? We helped you with every doubt you had about the best ways to approach Miss Uta."

"We even agreed to learn how to cook rice balls and research about flowers when you insisted on that complete bouquet shit," Himuro crosses his arms. "Is that being a traitor? You ungrateful asshole."

Okubo blushes again, remorse overcoming his anger and embarrassment. He presses the neon sign box to his chest.

“I… I'm sorry, guys. It's just that...," He then sighs, running a hand over his face. "I've wanted to be open with you for a while, but I couldn't..."

"Why not?"

"Because I knew you were going to make fun of me, damn it!"

"Of course we would! It's one of life's inevitabilities!," Rihito shrugs. "Even more so with that statement of yours now. We really didn't expect you to give in with such enthusiasm..."

"Give in? What does that... oooh, you...!," His eyes widened when he realized. "Was all that antics, from the arcade until here, on purpose? Even your teasing, you bleached fag?!"

"That's not what your mom called me last night! But yeah, it was on purpose," Rihito admits, not seeming at all ashamed of it. "After seeing you rejecting a babe like that, we had no more doubts. It was all about getting you to spit it all out.

"Yep! And there's no 'we', Himuro and I had realized it a long time ago," Kaneda says. "I just wanted to make sure that you yourself had realized it too."

“Yeah, I… I already had. It's been a few days, actually," Okubo admits, a little grudgingly. Now that he'd given himself away like an idiot, there was no point in trying to hide it. The four of them resume walking, still talking. "Since that day I entered her house for the first time."

"Jeez, since that day? But…," Himuro then blinks. "Wait, wasn't it the same day you found out about the posters in her room?"

"Holy shit, it is! So that's why you didn't bang her?," Rihito asks, a bit indignant. "Because you realized that you've got it bad for her? Was the poster thing a lie?"

"Hell no, it was true!," He reassures quickly. "I didn't send pictures to prove it only because I was too shocked at the time!"

"And because it would be a tremendous disrespect for her privacy, right?"

“… Y-Yeah, that too."

"Good lord..."

"Anyway!," Okubo shakes his head, his face red. "I did intend to finally get to third base with her that night, and the fucking posters got in the way. But then when I realized how I felt... I concluded that this was no longer my priority. I'm not saying I don't want it anymore!," He warns when Rihito opens his mouth to say something. "Because I really want to! It's just that this is no longer my main goal, but a consequence of it."

"So your main goal is for Miss Uta to be your girlfriend, is that it?," Himuro asks, and Okubo nods shyly.

"Yeah. My official girlfriend, the kind I won't hide even from paparazzi."

"You wouldn't have to, it's not like you need to worry about paparazzi on the same rate as Sekibayashi or Gaolang…”

"Fuck off, Himuro."

"Anyway, it's like Kaneda said, isn't it?," Rihito says suddenly. "The soap opera doesn't end while the main couple isn't made official. As long as Miss Uta is not officially your girl, this hullabaloo will never end. So in that case..."

"What? Are you- Are you still going to help me?," Okubo asks, surprised and a little emotional, "Even with the change of plans?"

"Of course! I mean, it's not like I can make a pass at her right after you any longer. I would be the biggest backstabber this side of Tokyo," Rihito shrugs, "And if you become a fallen soldier, there's less competition during our 'hunts'."

“And one less desperate idiot to bother me when I'm gathering phone numbers,” Himuro nods, and Okubo stares at them, unimpressed.

“I should've figured it was because you were going to get something out of it…"

"Yeah, we all got something out of it. You included. Come on, we still want to see you happy, and we've proved that to you from the start, haven't we?," Kaneda smiles, giving him a friendly pat on the back. "We're just going to keep doing what we've always done. Not even our strategies need to change. You've seen how good we are with them."

"Yeah! Thanks to our masterstroke, you spilled the beans," Rihito raises a thumb, smiling sharply. "We just need to maintain the quality of the service and Miss Uta will be yours in no time. And it's not like she doesn't want the same anyway."

Okubo swallows a little, trying to clear a sudden lump in his throat. Those fuckers managed to prove themselves the best of friends even when they were acting like self-serving assholes, holy shit...

"Yeah... thanks, guys... but do you really think she feels the same?"

"Bro, only an idiot wouldn't think so! She's been crazy about you from the start!," Rihito gestures, to which the bald man shakes his head.

"She was crazy about me from the beginning like a fan is crazy about her idol. But now things have changed between us. And even with the dates, kisses and fun times spent together, I don't know if her feelings are growing alongside mine, at least not at the same speed..."

"Dude, give us a fucking break!," Rihito rolls his whole head along with his eyes. "Worrying about this now will only get in the way of your plans. If she doesn't happen to feel that way now, just make sure she feels that way from now on!"

"Man, it's not that simple..."

“Actually, it is that simple. Yes, Rihito is right, as absurd as it may seem," Kaneda nods, ignoring when Rihito gives him the middle finger. "Even if by some chance she hasn't reached the same level as you in terms of how she feels, nothing prevents her from reaching that point eventually. Just keep doing what you're doing, it's been working so far."

"But I personally don't think that's the case," Himuro comments. "The way she was looking at you when Murobuchi showed up at the bakery that day... if that wasn't the look of a girl who was completely smitten, I don't know what else would be."

"Really?!"

"Trust me, I'm somewhat of an expert in that department."

"Stop using our pal's amorous afflictions as a pretext to boast, you man-whore!"

"Ahahaha!," Okubo laughs loudly, his free hand on his stomach. The other three stare at him in disbelief.

"He didn't give a shit about Himuro's exhibitionism… yeah, he's really fucked."

"Yeah, but he seems to be happy about it too. That's what matters, I guess."

"No, that's- that's not it! It's just that I…," Okubo coughs a little to try to control his laughter. "It's just that I'm feeling lighter, after finally telling you guys the truth. It's too good to know that I no longer need to hide, pretend, make excuses..."

“Yeah, well, now you're free to be the hopeless romantic you've always been inside. We're not going to judge you… too much," Rihito adds after thinking, and then he laughs at Okubo's frown. "Come on, man, isn't it enough that we're on your side? That we want this to happen almost as much as you? I said that day, making this girl yours is now a matter of honor!"

"Yes! Seriously, thanks, Rihito-"

"And if you want to thank me when you two are officially together, her friend's number is enough payment!"

"Holy shit, this obsession of yours reached pathological levels! You fucking nutcase!"

The four of them continued walking, laughing and teasing each other, normality returning with an ease that Okubo was very grateful for. In love or not, he hoped he never changed how he saw his best friends, and he hoped they wanted the same...

It is then that Rihito's phone, still inside Kaneda's robes, vibrates. Kaneda stops walking, taking it out of there and giving him back to it's owner.

"Here, man. I forgot about it during the conversation..."

"Well, it served its purpose and that's enough, hehe. Okay, let's see who's bothering me this time...," He comments without much interest, dragging his thumb up on the screen. "A message from Kazuo about the thing with the licenses, and... wow!," He suddenly stops short, widening his eyes, as the other three almost run into him.

"Damn, don't block the way like that, dumbass!," Himuro exclaims. "What is it?"

"It's a message from Koga!," Rihito clicks on the contact, opening a huge, excited smile. "They did it, guys! Miss Kanami and the whole gang from the bakery found an available location!"

"Wait, really?!," Okubo exclaims, a little too loudly, while Himuro, Kaneda and he run to crowd around Rihito, wanting to see the messages too. "They really did?"

"Yeah! Apparently Gaoh found an empty lot not far from the SJPW headquarters that is the perfect size for the new facility. They went to check with Kazzy to see if there was a way to get in touch with the lot's original owner, and then Yoshitake helped too," Rihito explains while sliding the screen upwards with his thumb. "Now it's official, the lot is now Auntie's property!"

"Oh, this is great!," Kaneda exclaims while the other three punch the air excitedly. "After all these weeks, their efforts finally paid off! They honestly deserve it..."

"For sure! And we were part of it!," Himuro exchanges a high-five with Rihito. "Miss Kanami must be throwing punches of joy around, hahaha!"

"As long as it's not at us, I support it!," Okubo laughs loudly. "Man, that calls for a celebration!"

"Koga and you thought the same thing, bro!," Rihito laughs out loud too, bringing the phone closer to Okubo’s face. "He’s already inviting everyone to a party at the sugar shack, that’s why he sent these messages!"

"What, today? Now?"

"Yeah! What do you say, gentlemen?," Rihito smiles invitingly. "Is there still room left in those bellies of yours for a feast?"

"Hell yeah!," Okubo, Himuro and Kaneda exclaim in unison, throwing their arms up. Hell, there would always be room in their stomachs for the wonderful food at the Heavy Bakery, especially when it had the sweet taste of victory going with it!

And for Okubo, that was another excellent excuse, because he could celebrate alongside Tomori! He could congratulate her on that achievement, eat and have fun with her in a happy and festive atmosphere and who knows, maybe even ask her to dance if they decided to play music...

It's then that an idea pops into his head, making him pause, arms still outstretched. He turns to his friends, his excitement building.

"Wait, guys, time out! I just had the best idea, but it's going to require us to go back to my apartment. We're going to need my car."

The other three stop celebrating and stare at him, curious.

"Oh yeah? Why?"

Okubo smiles in a hopeful way.

"Well, you won't want to carry our musical instruments on foot, on your backs, will you?"

NEXT CHAPTER

#Kengan Ashura #Kengan Omega #kenganverse #fanfiction #Okubo Naoya #Naoya Okubo #okubo x oc #kengan oc #Rihito #Himuro Ryo #Kaneda Suekichi #cookies'n cream #the heavy bakery series

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