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lfc21 · 2 years

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A storm to remeber

The UK had been hit with the worst storm for 30 years and you couldn't help but think you where going to get blown away into another century. You had been woken up about 6 times throughout the night thinking someone was trying to get Into the house when it was just the wind whistling through the windows or slamming the letter box open and closed. You knew it would be bad as it was all over social media for days, but not this bad. It was possibly one of the coldest nights of your life and it was only going to get worst. Trent had been a pain throughout the whole night constantly asking you if you had heard something or wanted to go to the window to have a look like a child in a sweet shop.

"Babe the dogs wount go outside for a wee" you laughed at the patio doors as your two French bulldogs where barking at the wind and rain that accompanied the outside. Yours and trents dogs where two of the laziest and stubborn dogs to walk the earth, so forcing them to go out in the rain was going to be a task with very bad results.

"I'm not surprised! If someone asked you to spend some time outside in this storm im guessing your going to say absolutely not!" Trent said getting higher pitched each time words fell from his mouth as he felt abit to protective over the two dogs. He had spent his whole morning watching you and the dogs sat at the patio doors watching the word go by as you had never witnessed such madness.

"Well I know that but I don't want them to do anything inside because I know for a fact you wount be the one who has to clean it up" you said looking at him as he sat on the kitchen island watching your two small dogs run away from you causing you to slam the patio door shut, partly due to your patience and partly due to the 40mph winds. You turned your head to yours and trents garden which looked like a scene from a horror film. Your table had been launched across the garden smashing Into a large tree, your 6 chairs that paired with it had gone walk about up the patio and what seemed to be a thousand and one dogs toys where either over the fence or sat in a bush.

"When do you think it will stop?" Trent asked genuinely concerned as he didn't know how he could drive in this weather meaning there may not be any training for a few days.

"Not got aclue but I know its getting worst tonight" you admitted with a tight smile knowing it would play on his mind slightly at the thought of missing a day of training. You walked over to the kettle starting to make two cups of tea to warm yourself and trent up. You where currently wearing trents oversized under armour hoodie and leggings and Trent had gone for shorts and a dressing gown. Truth be told you thought the winter months would be coming to an end and the sun would start to peak out but it was just going in the opposite direction.

After making the cups of tea you and trent had decided to sit on the couch and watch the BBC news that had not stopped speaking about the current storm. You had your legs resting on trents until the phone started ringing.

"Ooo who could that be" you said surprised swinging your legs off trents to grab your phone of the coffee table. The sound of your phone caused trents eyebrows to fall together as he didn't know who it could be.

"Hello andy" you churped up at the sound of your familiar bestie. Trents eyes had lit up as his wingman was speaking to his girlfriend and not him causing him to feel slightly jealousy.

"Hiya love just wanted to let you know me and Rachel have no power so expect yours to come off soon" andy said laced with anger as he knew his kids where going to be running circles around him and Rachel due to no YouTube and TV. Robbo and trent had always been updating each other on random situations that would go on in your houses as you lived in the same road. The wingmen had always told you and Rachel it was not planned to live so close together but it definitely was. What a bromance.

"Oh god ok well we seem to be all good at the minute! I'll check the lights hang on" you rambled jumping up and placing the phone down on speaker next to trent as he wanted to hear andy more. You ran over to your light switch expecting it to be fine, infact it was the complete opposite. No light was coming from the ceilings and you started to repeatedly flick it up and down but you had no luck.

"Great! Just great! The electricity has gone!" You shouted over to your phone and trent slapping your hands down on your hips. Trent looked at you from over the back of the couch in real confusion, he liked how you had become so indulged in the storm and its problems because without you he'd be fucked and probably crying in the closet upstairs.

"Are you sure babe? the tv seems to be still work-" trent said pausing at the sight of the tv going black.

"Yeah it's fucked" he admitted getting up as he wanted to see if he could fix it. You quickly thanked robbo for his concern and sent him on his way as you tried to think of a way to fix your falling apart house. Trent had layed himself under the cabinet where the tv was placed to see if pulling every single wire would help but it was as useful as painting underwater.

After a stressful afternoon you and trent had decided to play a game off scrabble in order to pass the time as you had gotten news that the electricians where working on getting everything sorted.

"Oooo this is hard" you said placing your hand on your face as you tried to concentrate on all your letters. Scrabble was not designed for you at all you didn't have the patience or intelligence for it.

"Shhhhhh!" Trent shushed you as he starting to move lots of letters around.

"Yes!!!!! I've done it!!!" Trent screamed jumping up causing you to snap your head up at him due to his sudden outburst.

"Bloody hell" you laughed as you wasn't expecting such an exciting win. Trent smiled as wide as he possibly could as he would of fell into a shitty mood if he lost as he is basically a child.

For the rest of the day you and trent had baked a cake and cleaning every room in order to do something useful whilst the storm was taking over. This weekend would definitely be something to remeber as it was a storm that was as dramatic as you sometimes.

#trent alexander arnold x y/n #trent alexander arnold x reader #trent alexander arnold imagines #trent alexander arnold imagine #trent alexander arnold

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fics-n-stuff · 3 years

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Home - Pt 2

For @glowstick-lesbian, request here

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x Reader

Summary: After Y/N finally gets out hiding, it's time to sit down with Kaz and talk through whatever it is that's going on between them.

Word Count: 5.1k

Warnings: Brief talk of Jordie and Kaz's trauma and touch aversion

A/N: Wow this ended up being longer than I intended! I'm so sorry it's taken so long, I was focused on The Bastard's Shadow and Affluenza pts1 + 2, and then I started picking up more shifts at work and got writers block at the same time. I really hope you like how it turned out!! ❤❤

Pt1 here

After the very enlightening visit from Kaz, the days seemed to drag on even slower than before. The next two months went by in a crawl, and no matter how much you buried yourself in work you couldn’t distract from the longing you felt to get out of your apartment.

When your messenger came to deliver the news that your pursuers were willing to come to a truce you had been so happy that you’d gone straight to pour yourself a glass of whisky to celebrate. From then, you counted down the days until the meeting that you set up, the result of which should mean that you were free to roam the city again.

Inej had shown you how to get out of the window and onto the roof months ago. It was your escape route in case of an emergency, but you had used it every now and then just to sit on the roof and enjoy a taste of the outside world. That night, you had climbed out with intention and dressed in your finest coat.

You travelled over the rooftops towards the Government district, where your meeting had been arranged to take place near the Stadhall. The presence of the stadwatch would serve to protect you in case the deal went south.

You had been jittery with a mix of anxiety and excitement when you descended to street level and wended your way through the streets to find three men waiting for you at the Stadhall, all of them tall, broad and commanding. Barrel businessmen that you had crossed one too many times, and no doubt they had been angered that forcing you into hiding hadn’t put a stop to your business.

You were too smart to have not found a way around it; you had to be to run the business that you did. You owned three boarding houses and two bars in the Barrel and two ships that brought in imports from Ravka and Novyi Zem, a squaller as a permanent fixture on the crew of each to whom you paid a fair salary. You’d had Kaz put them under the protection of the Dregs to keep them safe from slavers. On top of all of that, you used your contacts in Ravka, Novyi Zem and other parts of Kerch to help get kids out of the Barrel and into honest work elsewhere. You might operate from the criminal underbelly of Ketterdam, but you made a mostly honest living.

The meeting took longer than you had anticipated. The three men were eager to negotiate territories that you couldn’t conduct business in and items that they didn’t want you to import because it was cutting into their own business. You held firm, you knew what was fair and you would be damned if you let anyone bully you into submission.

In the end, you essentially just agreed not to get in their way, which was easy enough to do. You wouldn’t actively compete with them in the sale of imported goods, and you wouldn’t try to convince any of the lads that they used as runners and grunts to get out of the Barrel. As long as you kept your distance from them you’d be fine, since they were clearly tired of chasing after you.

“Alright then, the deal is the deal.” You said, holding out your hand. All three shook hands with you in turn, echoing the phrase as was customary. When the man in the middle – clearly the leader and the last to shake with you – took your hand, you tightened your grip and leaned forward. “If you try to cheat me after this deal, you will have Dirtyhands to answer to.” You said lowly. He tried not to show his reaction but the fear in his eyes betrayed him, and you released his hand. It wasn’t often that you involved Kaz and his reputation in your affairs, but sometimes it paid to be friends with the most ruthless man in Ketterdam.

You left the meeting with your head held high and took a gondel back to the Barrel. You were approached by a few people who stayed in one of your boarding houses or drank in one of your bars on your walk to the Crow Club, telling you that they had been curious or worried about having not seen you around for so long. You didn’t engage in any conversation beyond polite acknowledgment, too eager to get to the Crow Club.

Inej was the only one that knew that you were getting out tonight. You had told her when she had come to deliver your food for the week and she had promised to try and keep everyone corralled at the Crow Club so that you could make a big entrance, but the later it got the less likely it was that she could keep them all there without raising suspicion.

You practically ran down the last street towards the Crow Club, bursting through the open door and searching the crowd for your friends. Jesper caught sight of you at the same moment that you spotted them all at the bar, and you saw his jaw drop in shock. A huge grin spread on your face as he set his drink down, his sudden change in demeanor getting the attention of the rest of the group and causing them to turn to follow his gaze.

“Y/N?” Jesper called, prompting you into as much of a sprint as you could manage across the crowded floor of the gambling hall. You vaulted yourself into him, wrapping your arms tightly around his lanky frame. “You’re back! How?” He exclaimed, and you laughed as you felt him hug you back and sweep you off of your feet.

“I had a meeting to call a truce. As of tonight I am a free person!”

“We missed you so much!” Nina grinned, prying Jesper’s arms off of you so that she could pull into a hug herself. “Why didn’t you tell us that you were finally coming out of hiding?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” You grinned, pulling away so that you could move to hug Wylan next. “I missed you guys so much too, you have no idea.” You caught sight of Kaz over Wylan’s shoulder, his eyes wide as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. You pointed your smile at him and his lips twitched upwards before he cooled his expression and gave you a simple nod.

Your reunion was spirited to say the least, even Matthias couldn’t help but smile at the fact that you were back. You made them tell you about all of the most significant things that you had missed in the year that you had been trapped inside and update you on any power shifts between the Barrel gangs. Jesper wouldn’t shut up, Wylan was excited to tell you about all of the new explosives and weapons that he had developed, and Nina was making a list of places that she wanted to get lunch together to make up for lost time. It felt amazing to be with them all again.

“Okay! I want to play a few hands of Three Man Bramble before I go.” You announced, pushing your glass away from you after downing the last of its contents.

“Don’t have to ask me twice.” Jesper grinned, slinging an arm around your shoulder and guiding you to a table.

It seemed apt that fortune seemed to be in your favour, winning so consistently that you continued to play even though you knew that you shouldn’t. It felt like every time that you looked up from the table you caught Kaz watching you, and his unashamed gaze made your heart flutter.

After a while you saw him give a slight nod towards the door, an action that meant that it was time to go, and you tucked you lip between you teeth as you gave a subtle nod back and turned your attention back to your cards.

“Unbelievable!” Jesper exclaimed upon seeing that you had won again. “I guess you’re catching up on a year’s worth of luck.”

“Perhaps, but I’m going to quit while I’m ahead.” You smiled, gathering up your winnings. “I need to go and breathe some more fresh air.” You pocketed half of your winnings and pushed the other half around the table to Jesper. “Not too much fun.”

“There’s no such thing as too much fun.” He beamed and pulled you to him so that he could plant a kiss on your cheek. “Good to have you back, Y/N.”

“Good to be back, Jes.” You winked before bounding back to the bar to say goodbye to the rest of your friends. Kaz had already disappeared, no doubt in an attempt to avoid drawing attention to the fact that you were leaving together.

“We’re going to get waffles tomorrow. I will break your door down if I have to.” Nina asserted, practically crushing your ribs in a hug. “Inej, you’re coming too.”

“What about me?” Wylan pouted, and you laughed.

“Everyone’s invited.” You replied, holding his face and turning it towards you so that you could press a soft kiss on his forehead before pulling him in for a hug. “I just got out, I want to spend time with you all!”

You kept your hug with Inej pretty short, considerate of the bad feelings that too much contact could stir up in her, and even managed to coax a hug from Matthias before you headed out. Kaz was waiting not far from the entrance and you smiled as you quickly made your way towards him

“Hey.” You chirped.

“You wanted it to be a surprise, huh?” He questioned, starting towards the Slat. You chuckled.

“I know you’re not a big fan of surprises, Kaz, but I thought this might be a fun one. Why? Were you offended that I told Inej and not you?”

“Did you have anyone go with you to your meeting?”

“No, I didn’t need any backup.”

“Things could have gone badly, and you didn’t tell anyone about it.”

“Well things didn’t go badly.” You rebutted. “I’m here, I’m fine, and I surprised you all.”

“You shouldn’t put yourself in danger like that.” Kaz said flatly, ignoring your point, and you groaned loudly at his stubbornness.

“If it makes you feel better, I made sure to drop your name in to intimidate them. But I can handle my own business.”

You hopped along the cobblestones playfully, irrationally happy to be back out on the filthy and foul smelling streets of the Barrel, but even the stink couldn’t dampen your joy at finally being free. You were sure that you and Kaz probably looked like a bizarre pair walking together now, him with his stoic exterior and identifying limp next to your childlike joy, though you had taken after him fashion wise with your smart attire and well-fitted, black coat.

Walking back to the Slat with Kaz took you in the opposite direction to your home – now that you were out of hiding you could finally return to where you actually lived in a house on the boundary of East Stave and the Zelver District – but you wanted to talk to Kaz, and he wouldn’t have asked you to leave with him if he didn’t want to talk to you too. Nevertheless, you continued the rest of the walk in silence.

When you got to the Slat, Kaz continued straight up to his room while you lingered on the ground floor to say hello to some of the Dregs that you were more friendly with. The noise of the Slat was unfamiliar to you after so long, but you had kind of missed the rowdiness of it.

You followed upstairs shortly after. Kaz had left his door ajar for you and you could see him sat at his desk through the opening.

“Shut the door behind you.” He said as you slipped inside, and you heard the door click as you push it shut after yourself.

“You wanna talk to me?” You questioned, walking over to lean on the side of the desk casually. “Or did you just want some time to look at my gorgeous face?” He did look up at you then, his eyes darting around to take in the entirety of your face, and you felt your heart flutter.

“How did your meeting go? What deals did you make?” He asked. You sighed. It wasn’t new that Kaz was asking about your business, he liked to know about what you were doing the same way that he liked to know about literally everything else, but you had hoped that this conversation would be a little less mundane than that. You had hoped that he might express an iota of joy that you were back.

“I can’t dock my ships in 3rd Harbour anymore.” You shrugged. “So I’ll stick to 2nd for imports going into the morning market, mostly 5th for everything else. There’s a few streets that I need to keep my business off of, and obviously I can’t try and undermine their operations anymore. That doesn’t mean that I won’t, it just means that I’ll be smarter about not getting caught.”

“And what do you get from them?”

“They leave me alone. I don’t need more than that. I mean, their terms are hardly going to impede my business anyway.”

“And your insurance?”

“You.” You smiled sweetly. “Very few people are bold enough to cross someone that has Kaz Brekker on side.”

“I thought you prided yourself on running an honest business.”

“I do. My association with you doesn’t make my business any less legit. I’m more honest than most of the Merchant Council anyway.”

“That’s fair.” He conceded with a slight nod.

Kaz had visited you a few times since the night that you had both let on about how much you cared about each other, but you hadn’t talked about it. It felt like the tension between you had been building and building like an elastic band ready to snap. It was driving you crazy.

“Anything else that you want to talk about?” You hinted. Kaz let out a long breath, his eyes sliding away from you for a moment. You could tell that he wanted to talk about it but he was struggling to get it out. “Because you haven’t told me that you’re glad I’m back yet.”

“I am glad that you’re back.” He affirmed, then he took a hard swallow. “We all missed you.” You smiled brightly at that.

You could hear the crows moving around on the half-roof outside of Kaz’s window and crossed the room to perch on the windowsill. There hadn’t been anywhere for the birds to land in the apartment that you had been cooped up in.

“Can I stay here for a while? I don’t want to be alone again just yet.” You said softly, tucking one knee up against your chest as you watched the birds through the glass.

“Sure.” Kaz answered.

You sat in silence for a while after that, which wasn’t unusual for you two. Before you had gone into hiding, you had spent many evenings with Kaz in his office just like this. Tonight felt different though. Something had opened between the two of you and now you couldn’t close it. The feeling permeated every corner of the room until you felt like you might explode if you didn’t break this silence, but, to your surprise, Kaz spoke first.

“I’ve been thinking about that day that I saw you outside the Crow Club.”

“Why?” You asked, blinking in surprise. Kaz was still facing forward at his desk, back turned to you, but his pen had stilled over the page.

“I watched you for a while, deciding whether to chase you off or recruit you for the Dregs.” He continued, ignoring your question. You were used to that too. “You were good at pickpocketing – you could spot a good mark, distracted them by pretending to beg for pennies – but you stayed in one place for too long.”

“I know, you told me at the time.” You smiled amusedly.

“I was just planning on telling you exactly that, but after I got your attention and you looked at me I knew that I had seen you before. It was in your eyes.” He turned around to look at you then, his gaze finding yours immediately. “Your eyes never changed.”

Kaz’s eyes had. Maybe that was why you hadn’t recognised him. Kaz Rietveld had eyes full of wonder and warmth, that were curious about everything and shone when he was happy. Kaz Brekker's eyes were cold, they held secrets. The curiosity had become analytical, and the shine had turned into a devious glint. Kaz Rietveld didn’t exist anymore, the R tattoo on Kaz’s bicep was the only relic of him, and you were the only one left to remember him.

“Crows remember the faces of those that are kind.” He finished softly.

“And that’s why you took me in? Because I was kind?”

“Because we were friends. We are friends.”

“Just friends?” You murmured, a challenge in your eyes. It wasn’t a provoking challenge, more of an encouraging one. You wanted to know where he stood and you wanted him to be able to tell you. He was silent for a long stretch.

“Would we ever be able to be more?” He asked. You knew what he meant. Kaz had built up so many walls that he didn’t know how to let down, and he knew that about himself. It was how he had survived, but it was a way of being that wasn’t very conducive to relationships. He didn’t think that he could do it.

“That depends on you.” You answered with a soft smile. “Because I’m not looking anywhere else.” Kaz swallowed and looked away quickly, but you swore that you had seen a hint of a blush in his cheeks.

A knock came at the door, and you cursed whoever was on the other side in your head.

“What is it?” Kaz called.

“There’s a man downstairs says he has a job for you.” Specht’s voice came through the wood. “Won’t talk to no one else but you.”

“I’ll be down in a minute.” Kaz replied, then muttered something under his breath bitterly. You heard the creak of Specht's retreating footsteps and Kaz turned to you. “Will you wait until I get back?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

You watched Kaz leave the room and let out a long sigh once the door had closed behind him. You were finally talking about whatever it was that was between the two of you and you just had to get interrupted.

You shed your coat, dropping it lazily on the floor next to you, and rolled up your shirt sleeves. Despite the pressure put on you from some members of the Dregs, you had never gotten the crow and cup tattoo on your forearm. You had known from the start that you didn’t want to belong to the gang, no matter how thankful you were for the help that Kaz had given you.

When you had realised who it really was that had approached you that night outside the Crow Club, you had been shocked. He knew your name when he spoke to you, though he had seemed unsure of it, and you had furrowed your brow and asked if you knew him.

“It’s Kaz.” He had said, and you had blinked.

“Kaz Rietveld?” You had whispered in disbelief. His jaw had clenched, his shoulders stiffened.

“That’s not my name anymore.” He snapped. “It’s Kaz Brekker now.”

When you asked him why he had changed his name he had simply told you that it was easier that way. When you asked him about why he was in Ketterdam he had answered that his father had died and they had sold the farm. When you asked about Jodie he didn’t answer.

He had walked you to the Slat, told you not to talk to anyone, and brought you up to this very room. You had trusted him enough to follow. Despite his proud presence in the Barrel, despite the fact that he was walking you into the den of a gang, despite the fact that he was almost unrecognisable from the Kaz that you knew as a child, you had trusted him. And in the years that followed, he had never broken that trust.

He had helped you pay for the first boarding house that you purchased, come with you to the bank when you took out the loan to buy your first ship, had come to the harbour to see you off the first time that you had gone to Ravka.

Kaz had once reminded you of something from your childhood while around the other Crows, and once it had slipped that you and Kaz had been friends when you were young, people were constantly asking you about what he had been like. He never told anybody anything about himself and people had been eager to find a source of information on him, but most people had quickly come to realise that you weren’t going to say anything either. Kaz had never thanked you for your discretion, but you knew that he was glad for it.

If you were honest with yourself, you had found yourself drawn to him ever since you got your first glimpse through his cold and uncaring exterior and saw his loyal and protective nature. The pull had only grown since.

Your thoughts were broken by the sound of the door opening, and you looked over to watch Kaz enter. The door clicked shut behind him and he moved to the wash basin directly across the room from the window that you were sat in, set down his cane and pulled off his gloves .

“A good job?” You asked. He shrugged.

“A job that I’ll do.” He answered and began unbuttoning his shirt. You tried not ogle as he pulled it off and picked up the washcloth from the basin, but you caught sight of a reddened stripe of raised skin across his side and furrowed your brows.

“When did that happen?”

“A few days ago.”

“How deep did it go?”

“Not too deep.”

“It doesn’t look like you stitched it up properly.”

“It’s fine.” He dismissed. You rolled your eyes and got up from the window ledge. Kaz never took proper care of himself but he was always too stubborn to admit it.

“Let me see.”

“I said it’s fine, Y/N-"

“Kaz.” You interrupted sternly, meeting his eyes in the mirror. “I said let me see.” He held your gaze for a moment before letting out a huff and raising his arm so that you could get a better view of the wound.

You kept your distance as you looked over the injury, but you could clearly see that the stitches were sloppy on the end of the gash towards his back; the side that he couldn’t reach easily himself.

“You’re keeping it clean?”

“I know how to treat a wound.” He grumbled.

“I know that you know how, that doesn’t mean that I actually trust you to do it. You didn’t even have it bandaged or anything, what if it gets infected?”

“It won’t, Y/N, stop worrying so much.”

“Well, if you’re not going to worry about yourself then somebody else has to.” You exasperated. “At least bandage it.” You didn’t wait for a reply before you crossed over to the cabinet where he kept his impressive stock of medical supplies and grabbed a roll of gauze. Kaz caught it grudgingly when you tossed it to him and set it to the side while he finished washing his torso.

“You worry too much.” He muttered.

“It’s good for you.” You smiled.

You watched him as he unrolled the gauze and wrapped it around his body, carefully laying it over the wound with pale fingers that you rarely saw. He was precise, but he couldn’t see his back and the bandage twisted as he moved it between his hands.

“It’s folded.” You told him softly, taking half a step towards him. “I can fix it... if you want.” There was a beat of silence before Kaz nodded slightly.

You moved towards him slowly and reached for him even slower, your eyes constantly flicking back to the mirror to gauge the reaction on Kaz’s face. Your fingertips barely brushed over his back as you unfolded the downturned piece of bandage and you immediately stepped away when you were done. It took no more than a few seconds, but you could hear Kaz’s short breaths and when you looked at him in the mirror you could see that he had paled.

You picked up the clean shirt that was laid on his bed and held it out to him at full arms length. His hand shook as he took it from you. He pulled it on quickly, making short work of the buttons, and pulled his gloves back on hastily.

“Sorry.” You mumbled, though you weren’t exactly sure what you were apologising for.

“It’s because of Jordie.” Kaz’s voice was hoarse when he spoke, his eyes trained on his shoes. “Why I can’t touch anyone. It’s because when he died...”

“You don’t have to tell me, Kaz.” You said softly when he trailed off. He shook his head slightly and cleared his throat, squeezing his eyes shut for a few seconds.

“When Jordie died, I was sick too. It was the Queen's Lady plague. One night, I fell asleep in an alley and woke up on the Reaper's Barge.” He swallowed thickly, wringing his hands together thoughtlessly, and you could see sweat forming on his brow. “When my fever broke, I had to swim back to the harbour, and Jordie... whenever someone touches me, all I can feel is those corpses.”

Silence hung between you as you tried to find the words to respond. It was a lot of information to take in, but suddenly things made sense. Now you understood why Kaz had become the way that he was; why he was prone to shutting people out, why the light behind his eyes had dimmed.

“Kaz, I... I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say.”

“That’s okay.” He muttered. “I have work to do. You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.” He crossed the room to sit down at his desk, his movements tense. You watched him for a minute, unsure of what to do. It felt wrong to leave him alone right now, but you didn’t know if he would want you to stay.

“I’m sailing to Novyi Zem next week.” You said. It was the first topic that you could think of. “I’d really appreciate it if you could look over the rent ledgers while I’m gone.”

“Sure.” He replied flatly. Silence again.

“Will you come with us all to get waffles tomorrow?”

“I have work to do, and Nina didn’t invite me anyway.”

“Yeah, well, the celebration is for me and I’d really like for you to be there.” You smiled slightly. “She probably didn’t invite you because she knew you’d say no.”

“Smart of her.” Kaz responded, and you let out a frustrated huff.

“Don’t do that, Kaz. Don’t shut me out.” You complained. He didn’t answer at all. You folded your arms over your chest and went to stand beside his chair. “I don’t care that you can’t touch people, it doesn’t bother me. You went through trauma and that’s not your fault. What is bothering me is that you’re choosing to stay closed off to everyone. You can’t keep your walls up forever, you’ll kill yourself trying.”

“I can’t handle it, Y/N.” He snapped, his voice low. The gravel in his voice might have intimidated you into backing off if you weren’t so adamant on getting through to him.

“You’ll never be able to handle it if you don’t start trying.” You insisted. “Maybe if you’d just admit to yourself that you care about people it wouldn’t be so hard to see that we care about you too.”

Kaz pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes shut tightly, and released a long breath. You watched him, waiting for a response, not backing down. After a moment of silence, he glanced up at you.

“I can’t need anyone.” He said slowly. “Not after Jordie. I can’t let myself need anyone else.”

“You don’t have to need me, Kaz. You just have to want me.” You replied softly. His head snapped towards you and you actually saw his pupils dilate for the few seconds that he held your gaze before quickly turning away again. You hadn’t meant it like that, but you weren’t upset that he’d heard it that way.

“I don’t deserve you.” He muttered. You leaned against his desk, a sympathetic smile on your face even though he wasn’t looking at you.

“I’ve been around this long, I’m not going anywhere.” You promised. “There’s more to love about you than you think.”

Kaz tapped on his desk with a finger, a nervous action that he would usually suppress. Then, he took a sharp inhale and turned back to you.

“Okay.” He breathed. “I can try.” You bit down on your tongue in an attempt to suppress your grin, but you couldn’t stop the smile that stretched across your face.

“That’s all I ask.” You lilted. You stood up straight, pushing off of the desk and starting across the room to the window. You rolled your shirt sleeves down and snatched your coat up from the floor. “I’m going to head home. I expect to see you at my door promptly at eleven bells tomorrow morning, ready to get waffles.”

“Alright.” He nodded, breathing a single light laugh.

“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”

“Here, Y/N, these are for you.” He said quickly, picking up and couple of envelopes from his desk and holding them up for you. “You’ll have to make sure to notify your business partners of your change in mailing address.” You chuckled, going to take the letters from him, and he gave a small smirk as he handed them over.

“Thank you.” You smiled, before turning and heading to the door. “Eleven bells, Brekker. I know you’re a punctual man.”

“I’ll be there.” He affirmed. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Goodnight, Kaz.” You echoed softly before stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind you, a fond smile on your lips.

#six of crows #six of crows fanfic #shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix #kaz brekker #kaz brekker fanfic #kaz brekker fic #kaz brekker x reader #shadow and bone fanfiction #grishaverse #leigh bardugo #crooked kingdom

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treya-barton · 5 years

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Not sure if you're taking requests based on those starters, but if you are... "You've got a fever. Of course I'm not going anywhere." pretty please? 😍(Feel free to ignore this though)

This trip, which was supposed to be the sequel to the bestday of his life, was instead an utter disaster. It had started off well enough. On their wedding night they had spent a lovely time cuddling in the luxuryhotel room Rise had gifted them with, too tired to do anything more strenuousafter their long day. They had woken up,nice and well rested, before heading out on the flight Yu’s parents had bookedthem for their wedding gift – a trip to Hawaii. Yosuke had been looking forward to it almost as much as the wedding since it would be his first timetraveling outside of Japan. It was alsohis first time on a plane, and although he was a little nervous especially withit being a 7 hour flight, he didn’t let it deter his eagerness.

Really, Yosuke should have been paying attention to thesigns early on in the flight. Instead,he had been too busy staring outside the window as they flew into the sky,gazing out in amazement as they floated above the vast sea of clouds, feeling awethat something so large could feel as if it was weightless as it appeared todrift above the Earth. He knew they wereactually flying at an incredibly fast speed, but it was hard to tell with theclouds drifting all around them. He wasso enthralled by the sight, that he totally didn’t pick up on the fact thatseveral other people on the flight were sniffling, sneezing, and coughing. Not that there was much he could do about it35,000 feet in the air. By the time theywere about to land, however, Yosuke was beginning to pay better attention ashis head began to feel foggy, and he started to get a scratch in histhroat. “When we get to the hotel room,I’ll probably need to drink some water,” he commented, not mentioning his othersymptoms to his partner. Yosuke was toowrapped up in thinking about all the activities they had planned for the day toreally pay attention to his warning signs.

Yu, however, was paying much better attention, and had beenworried by the number of people wearing face masks he had seen on theflight. While Yosuke hadn’t verbalizedhow he was feeling, Yu could tell he looked a little flushed and when hementioned needing water it definitely made him concerned. Yosuke managed to maintain his high energylevel once they stepped off the plane, excitedly telling Yu that he couldn’t believehe was actually in another country as they headed to pick up their luggage, butit didn’t stop Yu from carefully watching him. Once they got into the taxi that would take them to their hotel, Yosuke definitelybegan to show signs of illness, and Yu could tell he was trying his best tofight it. Yu waited until they wereactually in their hotel room to approach him, reaching up with a cool hand andpressing it against his forehead, holding steady when Yosuke tried to shy awaylast minute. Yu frowned. “You have a fever,” he said, going into his bagand searching through for the small box he had brought with first aidsupplies. He always liked to be preparedand knew he had some medicine Yosuke could take.

“I’m fine!” Yosuke lied. “It’s just really hot here so I’m a little warm. It’s not a big deal –nothing a dip in the ocean can’t cure!”

Yu shot him a cold look, and Yosuke immediately snapped hismouth shut while looking guilty. Hesighed and sat on the bed, starting to feel achy and chilly at the sametime. “Dammit,” he said softly, acceptingthe bottle of water Yu handed him along with the packet of aspirin. He popped the medicine into his mouth beforetaking a sip of the water and swallowing it down. He really began to feel the scratch in histhroat after that and let out a light cough, before realizing just how foggyhis head felt. He couldn’t take thechill anymore and crawled across the bed before sliding in under the covers, tremblinga little as he curled into a ball for warmth. “Dammit,” he repeated squeezing his eyes shut as he buried his head betweenthe pillows.

He suddenly felt a cool hand on the back of his neck beforeit carefully drifted to his shoulder and tugged gently until Yosuke was forcedonto his back. Yu was kneeling next tohim and had pulled out a cool compress pack he had brought along. He carefully placed it on Yosuke’s forehead. His hand trailed along the side of his face,before feeling at the hair at the back of his head, noting that it was alreadystarting to get damp with sweat from the fever. “I can’t believe I’m ruining the honeymoon,” Yosuke coughed, and Yushook his head.

“I believe our vows included “in sickness”,” he gentlyreminded Yosuke, encouraging him to drink more of the water before he cappedthe lid and set it on the bedside table. “You are certainly not going out today though. I’m sure later I can get room service to setus up something nice for dinner though. You should definitely sleep for now.”

Yosuke coughed again. “Take lots of pictures of the dolphins,” he said glumly, since they hadplanned on going on a dolphin watching boat tour that afternoon.

Yu stretched out next to Yosuke, reaching out and tiltingYosuke’s head until it was resting on his shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere,” he replied, runninghis fingers through Yosuke’s hair soothingly even though his locks were dampwith sweat.

“I don’t want you sitting around stuck here with me,” Yosukeprotested. “I’m just going to fallasleep. Go and make sure at least one ofus enjoys this trip!”

Yu shook his head. “You’vegot a fever. Of course I’m not goinganywhere,” he said firmly, and Yosuke pouted.

“You’re so stubborn,” he complained, and Yu grinned at him.

“I have to be around you,” he hummed, before kissing the topof his hair. “Rest. I’ll make sure when you wake up you’ll have somethingwarm to eat. Hopefully by then you’ll behungry.” Their last meal had been lunchon the plane; Yosuke had definitely been looking forward to eating somethingmuch nicer on the island.

“If you’re going to stay here, stop hovering around mebefore I get you sick,” Yosuke replied, shoving Yu lightly. “You’re crowding my space anyway.”

Yu didn’t want to leave his husband’s side, butknew Yosuke had a point and reluctantly got up and headed to the smallcouch. He pulled out his phone tomessage the others and update Yosuke’s parents, while keeping an eye on thebrunet, not relaxing until his eyes finally drifted closed. It was certainly unfortunate that Yosuke hadgotten sick on their first day, but Yu honestly didn’t mind spending timehaving Yosuke to himself, even if the other man was sleeping. He watched his breathing slow as he fell asleep,occasionally interrupted by a light cough, before switching over to pull outhis kindle for some light reading as he relaxed. He knew Yosuke would recover quickly – healways did – and be fine by tomorrow and that they’d be able to enjoy the restof their vacation as planned. But fortoday he was content to watch over his husband and nurse him back to health.

#souyo #hanamura yosuke #narukami yu #p4

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chamomilehoneytea · 7 years

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I recently read through Kimi Ni Todoke and I'm embarrassingly invested in Ayapin, and now I'm so impatient waiting for more! I was wondering since it seems like you have good taste and read a lot of stuff, is there anything you can recommend that might tide me over until more KNT comes out? Are there any manga you know of with pairings that are kinda similar? I'm seriously in love with their dynamic but I'm embarrassed to ask other friends, romantic stuff is kind of a guilty pleasure for me...

Hi @mobstersought! Thank you for your message, and welcome to the ayapin life! It’s a majestic existence, full of waiting, swooning, daydreaming about big hands and hoping! :)

But mostly waiting lol - I feel your pain!

While nothing I’ve read quite fills the huge ayapin shaped hole in my heart, there are a few series that help tide me over during the long waits. Ayane and Pin have a very special dynamic that I haven’t seen anywhere else, but I’ll try to recommend some series that are kind of similar. This is a pretty long answer, so let’s continue under the cut…

1) Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii by Fujita

This is a great romantic comedy series about an otaku couple: a mid-20s gamer and a fujoshi artist who work at the same company. Their relationship is really fun and cute, but I think you might enjoy the “side” couple even more. Tarou Kabakura and Hanako Koyanagi are both in their late 20s and are also otaku, but they have a playful love / hate dynamic (see the hate side above). They give each other a hard time, but at the end of the day they’re really in love with each other.

The series is a fairly realistic portrayal of otaku relationships (more or less haha), and there’s a great balance between the comedy and romance. It’s hilarious and really sweet!

Bonus: there’s an anime adaptation coming out in Spring 2018, and Miyuki Sawashiro (who plays Ayane in the anime version of Kimi ni Todoke) is going to play Hanako Koyanagi!

2) Takane to Hana by Yuki Shiwasu

This series has an old-school shoujo set-up, plus a ton of amazing sass. The story begins with high schooler Hana Nonomura attending a marriage interview in her older sister’s stead. Her partner is the 26 year-old scion of a huge and successful company, Takane Saibara. Their personalities clash and the matchmaking meeting is a failure…until an “interested” Takane shows up at Hana’s school!

Takane to Hana is also a really funny series - Takane and Hana come from very different backgrounds and have very different ideas about the world, but they’re both incredibly proud and stubborn. Takane tries to provoke and impress Hana with absurdly lavish gifts, but she’s always ready to knock him down a peg.

It also has plenty of heart-pounding moments! The teasing dynamic between the characters means there’s a lot of tension and they’re slow to recognize their feelings.

3) Shiota-sensei to Amai-chan by Kumiko Nakatoka

I recommend this manga about a student-teacher relationship because of the way it’s handled. The two main characters, Shiota-sensei and Yayoi Amai are already in a secret relationship before the start of the manga, so we don’t see a lot of drama and pining. The series is also pretty funny, and focuses on cute little episodes in their daily lives. Their dynamic isn’t like Ayane and Pin’s, but they do enjoy messing with each other.

I will warn you though - the scanlation only covers 7 of the 27 chapters in the manga and it hasn’t been updated since 2016. I ordered and read the Japanese volumes to finish the available story (it’s still ongoing). The art is really retro and fun, and the story is also great, so I’d still recommend checking it out!

4) Dengeki Daisy by Kyousuke Motomi

Dengeki Daisy is sort of a modern day Daddy Long Legs story. Teru Kurebayashi is a high school student who lost her beloved older brother a few years ago; before he died, he gave her a cell phone so that she could communicate with his good friend, “Daisy”. She doesn’t know Daisy’s identity, but she exchanges emails with them and receives moral support and encouragement from this mysterious surrogate brother. One day, after accidentally breaking a window at school, she’s suddenly forced to work under the school’s 24 year-old janitor, Tasuku Kurosaki…who may or may not be her precious “Daisy”…

Teru’s personality is a bit more like Chizu’s from Kimi ni Todoke, but again, she and Kurosaki have a great teasing relationship. They’re also similar to ayapin in the sense that Kurosaki watches over Teru and provides her with gentle words of encouragement through his role as “Daisy”. This dual relationship causes a lot of tension as he starts to fall in love with her, and it becomes increasingly difficult to hide his secret.

It’s a pretty touching story that explores guilt and forgiveness, in addition to the romance. There are a ton of heart-pounding scenes, but there’s more to it than that, which is what I think makes it especially great. It’s also the only series I’ve recommended that’s complete, so you’ll be able to read it from beginning to end without having to wait (I think we’re already doing enough of that as ayapin fans, right?? Lol).

I also wanted to recommend another series that I’m in love with, but that isn’t anything like Kimi ni Todoke.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni by Jun Mayuzuki

This is right up there with Kimi ni Todoke in terms of favorites for me. I will warn you that the subject matter is pretty problematic - however, I enjoy the complexity of the story and I think it’s beautifully done. The story centers around Akira Tachibana, a 17 year-old girl who was the ace of her high school’s track and field club, until an injury to her Achilles tendon during a practice meet left her unable to run. One day, alone and depressed, she seeks shelter from the rain in a family restaurant - while waiting for the rain to stop, the 45 year-old manager brings her a free cup of coffee and cheers her up with a magic trick. Touched by his kindness, Akira gets a job at the family restaurant to be close to him…

I can’t recommend this enough. The two main characters help and heal each other, and their relationship is really sweet, complicated, and well-done. Even when he knows how she feels, he tries very hard to discourage her and maintain boundaries, so it’s not a story about an older man taking advantage of a teenage girl. If you like unconventional friendships / romances, forbidden love, and difficult situations, this is definitely a must! The author has a very unique art style and approaches her story almost as a work of literature - it’s probably one of the best romance manga series I’ve read. Though it can be very serious, there are plenty of light comedic moments too, and all of the characters are really interesting - the series focuses on more than just the potential romance between the main characters. It’s also getting an anime adaptation in January, so that’s really exciting!

Sorry for the super long answer, but I hope these recommendations help tide you over as you wait for more ayapin!! :)

#kimi ni todoke #ayapin #mobstersought #asks #recommendations #manga #thanks again for asking me!!#I had a lot of fun doing this #trying to enjoy the knt waits since we don't have very many left #sobbing

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