#and this is your first introduction to the idea of putting pencil to paper | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

outerspacebisexual · 2 years

Text

Better Man - Billy Hargrove

Summary: You wished that Billy Hargrove was a better man, because then maybe things would have been all right.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Reader

Word count: 4.37k

Warnings: 100% angst, canon typical-billy violence, swearing, please don't read if you don't cope with reading dv/abuse situations like in the show

a/n: i'm not a billy hargrove apologist and this will probably be the only billy hargrove fic i will ever write. i personally don't vibe with writing him because he's so shitty, but this fic idea wouldn't leave me alone

SERIOUSLY recommend listening to Better Man by Taylor Swift which this fic is based on. seriously. will make so much more sense if you do.

Sometimes in the middle of the night, you thought you could feel him.

You knew that it was just the loneliness pressing in around you, not him, but if you closed your eyes and tried hard enough, then that empty space was replaced with his chest, moving in sync with yours as you breathed.

But as soon as the comfort came, it was gone, leaving you utterly alone as you curled into yourself, wishing with all your heart that he was a better man.

It hadn’t been a small-town fairy-tale romance story.

New boy on the block Billy Hargrove hit the Hawkins like a well-built, hot as hell freight train.

You hadn’t been immune to his sly grin and bedroom eyes. He was straight out of a magazine with his looks and demeanour, making the girls of Hawkins High fawn all over him the way they once did with Steve Harrington.

You had been content with watching from the sidelines as he made his way around the school flashing smiles and winks at every girl he passed. He was bold and perfect and gorgeous, according to Marsha from your English class. He had already made his introductions to the popular girls; already had them practically drooling over him.

Your paths hadn’t crossed until part way through senior year when he had been sat next to you in science class.

His cologne wrapped itself around you before you had even looked at him.

“Hi,” he said, leaning back against his seat as he eyed you up. He seemed like he wanted a reaction out of you. He might have been attractive, but you still had some self-respect.

“Hello,” you replied, turning back to your worksheet. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see him still sat perfectly still, just watching you. “Do you have a problem?” you questioned.

“Just trying to work out how I haven’t come across you before now.” His tongue played with the toothpick between his teeth. It would have been easy to follow along with his little charm game. But you wanted to have some fun.

“I’m sorry,” you said, fully turning to him. “What was your name?”

He blinked and you fought to keep back a smile.

At first, you thought he wasn’t going to answer, but he did. “Billy.”

You nodded. “Billy…”

“Hargrove.”

“Well Billy Hargrove, this worksheet needs to be completed by the time class ends, which is in—” you checked your watch. “—forty minutes. Better get to it then.” You fished through your pencil case, pulling out a pen and placing it on his desk. “I noticed you’re lacking in school supplies. Feel free to keep it.”

When you turned back to your paper once again, he adjusted in his seat to look down at the blank worksheet in front of him, but you could still see him eyeing you.

The rest of the lesson passed by quickly, and you were up and out of your seat before Billy could even try and talk to you.

He watched you leave though.

Two days later, he was sat in the same seat beside your desk. It had surprised you because if you were honest, you thought he’d leave you alone after your antics in the last lesson.

“Hey,” he said to you, and you nodded to him in acknowledgement.

“I see you still have my pen, Hargrove.”

He glanced down at the pen spinning between his fingers. “Yeah.”

“Better put it to good use then.” You gestured to the blackboard with the lesson instructions on it before leaning closer, as if you were going to conspire with him. “It was my favourite, so it’ll feel left out if you don’t.”

You couldn’t deny the rush that went through you as his eyes went to your lips. He stared at them for a long second before returning to your eyes. “Sure thing, dollface.”

It wasn’t until after the weekend that Billy accosted you in the hallway as you turned from your locker. “Hey, L/N.”

You stopped short as he stepped in front of you. “Hargrove. What can I do for you?” You knew people were watching you and you tried to keep your cool as their eyes bored into you.

“Meet me after school?” It didn’t sound like a question, and you narrowed your eyes.

“Why?”

“Because I want to take you out,” he said, as if it was common sense, like you were missing something.

You blinked. “What?”

He rolled his eyes, half huffing as he repeated, “I want to take you on a date after school.”

You should have said no, but that smile he was giving you made your knees weak, so instead you said, “Sure.”

The world was so quiet at four in the morning.

You wished that the inside of your mind was as quiet as the streets outside. But you could do nothing about the thoughts that raced through your mind as you stared at yourself in front of your mirror.

Your eyes were haunted, bags more purple in the dim light from your bedside lamp. Your cheeks were stained from the tears that you just couldn’t stop.

“You did the right thing,” you whispered to yourself, despite how wrong it felt in your heart. “You know you had to do it.”

You didn’t recognise the woman sitting opposite you. She was so far from what you had thought you would ever be. You seemed so sad, so lost.

It didn’t matter how many times you repeated those words, it didn’t reassure you. It kept feeling worse. You didn’t feel brave. You didn’t feel like it was what you wanted.

You did the right thing. You know you had to do it.

Your conversation with your co-worker was cut short as arms wound their way around your waist.

“Billy!” you said, nearly jumping out of your skin. “You scared me. What the hell is wrong with you?”

He laughed as you spun around in his arms. “Sorry, baby.”

You smiled and brushed the hair from his eyes, those eyes that were so bright today, so blue that you could almost drown in them. You felt like you had been drowning in them for the past six months. “What are you doing here?” you asked, eyeing the almost empty JC Penny.

“I came to pick you up from work.”

You rolled your eyes. “I said I could walk home today. You didn’t have to drive all the way here to pick me up.”

He pressed a kiss to your mouth, utterly shameless in the middle of the store. “I don’t want you walking home anymore.”

Your heart melted. “I like walking.”

“I don’t care. Front seat has my girl’s name on it from now on.”

You found yourself as brash at him, kissing him back as you wrapped your arms around his neck. “How lucky I am.”

You tried to keep your tears back as your pushed through the crowded house, drunk teens swaying back and forth to the pounding music, not a care in the world. Just how you had been until thirty seconds ago when you walked outside to find your boyfriend kissing another girl.

You slammed the front door open, finally out into the fresh air. The cool breeze felt so nice against your flushed skin, but you didn’t stop as you made your way onto the street. You didn’t know where you were going. You didn’t even know how to get home. You just needed to get away from him.

Unfortunately, he was faster than you, and significantly more sober. You stumbled as he grabbed your arm, spinning you to face him.

“Let me go, Billy,” you slurred, trying to pull your arm free.

He tightened his grip, making you wince. “Listen to me, let’s go back inside.”

You laughed in his face. “You think I want to go back inside after seeing you making out with Marsha? You’re—You’re delusional.”

“It was just a kiss—”

“Yeah, with a girl who isn’t your girlfriend—who isn’t me.” You tried to reef your arm away again. “Let me go.”

“No. Listen, it was a stupid rush after smashing the keg stand. It didn’t mean anything.”

You scoffed. “Is that supposed to make it any better?”

“Yes. It is. Because I said I’m sorry.”

“You haven’t, actually,” you spat. “And—And I don’t want to see you right now. I want to go home.” Your voice cracked and you looked away from him. You wanted to be anywhere but standing on the street where other people were watching you cry.

He didn’t say anything for a long moment, and when you looked back at him, he heaved in a breath. “Fine.” He started dragging you back to his car.

“What are you doing?” You stumbled over your feet, but he caught you before you could hit the ground.

He opened the door and helped you in. “I’m taking you home.” He slammed your door shut.

“You’ve been drinking,” you said as he climbed into the driver’s seat. Even in your current state, you knew that he had had way too much to be driving.

“I can still drive,” he said, his Camaro roaring to life, drowning out the blaring music from inside the house.

You shook your head. You wanted to get out. “Billy—”

“Enough,” he yelled, and you flinched, leaning away from him. He looked over at you, eyeing the shocked look on your face. He swallowed, closing his eyes for a moment. “I can drive,” he said when he opened them.

You just stared at him, his figure swaying as you tried to see him through your drunken haze. He didn’t say anything else as he sped through the streets, jaw clenched tight.

You had never been scared of Billy before. He was scary by nature, his cocky, arrogant nature rubbing people the wrong way, but you had never feared him. You had even seen him fight other people before, patching up his split lips and bruised cheeks. But you had never been on the receiving end of his rage.

And you never thought you would be.

The mall was packed for a Sunday afternoon, and you found yourself more grateful than ever as you closed up shop for the weekend. You only worked a half-day on Sundays, and you were excited to have the rest of the day off to catch up on some sleep.

You checked your watch. Billy would still be another ten minutes to pick you up.

You weren’t allowed to walk anymore, he reminded you every time you left for work. It didn’t matter that you actually enjoyed the walk. It didn’t matter because he always picked you up.

Your eye caught the Scoops Ahoy sign and your stomach was grumbling before you could even enter the store. The smell of all the sweet treats wafted into your nose. As you approached the counter, a familiar face came through the back doors.

“Steve?” you said, shocked to see him.

“Y/N, hey,” he said, smiling at you.

“I didn’t know you worked here.” You hadn’t seen him there at all in the months that you’d worked in the mall.

He nodded. “I started a few weeks ago. Punishment from my dad for not getting into college.” He sounded bitter and you grimaced. You had been friendly enough with Steve in middle school to know that his dad was the absolute worst. It honestly did not surprise you that he would make Steve get a job at the mall.

“That sucks, Steve. I’m sorry.”

He waved it off. “It’s all good. Do you want something.” He pointed at the selection of ice-cream in the display cabinet.

You smiled and ordered one for yourself and one for Billy.

He happily obliged and began scooping them for you. “How are things since graduation?”

“As good as they can be, I guess. I didn’t get into college either, so I’m thinking of finishing up at JC Penny and then getting a job somewhere else. Something more—” you hesitated.

“—Grown up?”

“Yeah,” you laughed. “Crazy that we’re looking down the barrel at the rest of our lives.”

He rolled his eyes. “Tell me about it.” He handed you your ice-cream, and you thanked him as he got started on the next one.

You went to ask him about his plans when you heard you name being shouted. You turned to see Billy walking towards you, making his way through the crowd of people milling about.

He was early.

“Hey, Billy,” you said to him as he approached.

“I waited for you at the store,” he said by way of greeting, and you could see the cloud beginning to grow behind his eyes.

You had become used to it, the sudden mood fluctuations. You quickly tried to diffuse the situation. “Sorry, I was hungry and wanted to get something for lunch.”

He raised a brow. “Ice-cream?”

You could hear the disapproval behind his voice, and from the way Steve faltered as he scooped, you knew he could, too. “I just thought it would be a nice treat.”

Billy’s eyes went to Steve, who surprisingly held his ground against the stare. After a second, Billy’s attention flickered between Steve and you. Your heart started to race.

“We’re going.”

You faltered. “I got you one, too,” you started, pointing at the ice-cream Steve was holding, but Billy didn’t look away from you. He grabbed your arm.

“I don’t care.”

He started to pull you along. “I haven’t paid yet. Billy, I need to pay for it,” you rushed. His nostrils flared, and you went to reach for your purse, but Steve spoke up.

“You already paid, Y/N. Don’t worry.”

You looked at Steve, but his eyes were on Billy’s hand on your arm. You silently begged him not to say anything. He thankfully didn’t, but his eyes didn’t leave you until you were out of sight.

You and Billy were silent as you got into his car. He gripped his steering wheel, knuckles turning white. “What were you talking about with Steve?” The question was poised like casual conversation, but the ice behind his words was clear to you.

“Just about work,” you said, keeping it as simple as possible.

“Work?”

“Just work. And about plans now that we’ve graduated.” You tried to keep your voice steady.

He was silent again, just gripping the steering wheel as he looked straight ahead. You tried to keep as still as you could. He nodded after a few minutes, turning the key, and tearing out of the carpark.

The wind blew softly against your skin as you sat on the edge of the hill, the clouds dyed a beautiful shade of pink with the sunset.

Max breathed in the fresh air from where she sat beside you.

You turned and looked at her. Her long hair was pulled back from her face, eyes closed as she relished in the feeling of the sun on her face. She looked so beautiful, you thought.

Throughout your relationship with Billy, you and Max had grown close for many reasons. You didn’t have a little sister, and Max became that for you, even if Billy didn’t like it. There was one big reason you were bonded so closely, but neither of you dared speak about it. Not even in private.

She turned her head to you, and you smiled. “You look so lovely, Max,” you said. Her smile grew bashful, and she turned from you. “I’m serious.” You nudged her. “Lucas is a lucky boy.”

She laughed at that, even as she fiddled with the grass beneath her. “I really like him. Like, really like him,” she admitted. You reached out and placed your hand on hers.

“I’m happy for you, Max. I know you were scared at first, but this whole first love thing is really exciting. Lucas seems like a really nice guy. You should enjoy it without being worried about anyone else.” The words felt heavy as they left you, that little voice in the back of your mind reminding you that you hadn’t taken your own advice.

She smiled brightly at you, and you squeezed her hand.

The sound of Billy’s Camaro roared from behind you before it crested the hill. His footsteps were barely audible on the grass.

“Hey,” he said as he sat down beside you.

You turned to him, but the words died on your tongue as you noticed the bouquet of flowers in his hands.

“These are for you,” he said, handing them to you.

The paper crinkled as you took them from him. It was a multi-coloured arrangement, the colours muted by the bright pink sky. Your eyes clouded as you noted it contained all of your favourites.

You pulled your eyes from the flowers to him, and he just sent you his signature Billy Hargrove smile. The one that you had fallen for. The one that you would fall for time after time.

“You didn’t think I’d forget, did you?”

You had only briefly mentioned to him this morning that it had been your first day at your new job. You hadn’t expected him to get anything for you, let alone your favourite flowers.

You swallowed a sudden lump in your throat and said, “They’re so beautiful, Billy.”

He shot you a wink that still made your stomach flutter. “Only the best for my girl.”

You turned your eyes back to the flowers, fingers ghosting the array of flowers. It had been months since he’d brought you flowers. You hadn’t known if he would ever buy them for you again.

“Thank you,” you said after a moment, turning back to him. You leaned over and kissed him, relishing in the softness of the kiss, his hand coming up to rest on your cheek. When you pulled away, he was grinning at you.

“What?” you questioned.

He chuckled. “Nothing, I’m just watching Max gag over your shoulder.”

You spun around to see her looking anywhere else but the two of you. You laughed, holding out the flowers for her. “Do you want to see?”

She gingerly took them from you, and you watched her inspect them all. You could hear Billy moving closer to you until he was behind you. You looked back at him with a raised brow, but he didn’t say anything.

He just placed his hands on your shoulders and reclined you back until you were resting in his lap. He ran his hands up and down your arms, tracing gentle patterns there.

It reminded you of when the two of you used to come to this very spot when you first got together, spending hours here talking and…not talking.

You placed a soft kiss to the inside of his forearm, the skin warm from being in the sun all day.

This was your Billy Hargrove.

You tried to reason with yourself as you sat on the curb outside Billy’s house.

It had been a big night. His father had been in one of his moods, and they always affected Billy. They always made him worse. You knew that he would be back tomorrow to apologise. He always came back.

But as you nursed your arm and hissed as the cold night air pushed against your reddened cheek, you weren’t sure you wanted to be there when he did come back.

Neil had been in a mood as soon as he opened the door. You and Billy did your best to stay out of his way when he was home. Neil had never been one to shy away from saying what he thought, especially about you.

Normally, Billy and you let anything he said go, choosing to leave the house when he was in a mood.

But Neil had been on a warpath as he stalked over to Billy and pushed him against the kitchen counter. He hadn’t held back when he started yelling about something you couldn’t even remember. He hadn’t held back when he started to bring you into it, shouting awful things about you into Billy’s face.

Billy had done exactly what he did every time: he just tried to stay still and give one-word answers. And you had done what he had instructed you to do: stand still and don’t say anything, except for one tiny comment to Neil. One comment where you tried to defend Billy and your relationship.

When Neil had finally tired himself out, he left, car tearing out of the driveway.

You and Billy had stood in silence; him listening for his dad’s car, and you listening to his breathing as it got more and more raggedy.

“What did I tell you?” he asked you, turning to where you were stood.

“Billy—” you started, backing up as he came closer to you.

“—No. What is the one thing I tell you not to do?” he yelled into your face as you flinched back, trying to get as far away from him as possible.

“Billy, please—”

He grabbed your arm hard, yanking you away from the counter and closer to him. Your arm burned as he twisted it, getting right in your face. His eyes were icy, nothing of the soft Billy he had been just thirty minutes before. But it was still your Billy. “What is it?” he screamed.

You felt something strain in your arm and you cried out, but he backhanded you across the face.

You sobbed as you finally said, “S—Stay quiet.”

He pushed you away, letting go of your arm as you crumpled to the ground, cradling your face.

You didn’t look up at him. You didn’t dare to even speak as he just stared at you.

You tried to get your breathing under control, but every breath just brought more tears.

He didn’t say anything as he stalked out of the room, front door slamming on his way out. His Camaro roared to life, and you only cried harder as it pulled out of the driveway. You could barely think anything other than that you were glad the Max was at El’s for the night and Susan was still at work.

You had barely been able to see as you stood and made your way to his room.

You had barely been able to lift anything as you started packing a bag with the few things you left at his house.

You had barely been thinking as you dialled Nancy’s number, begging for her to pick you up.

It was only now, after thinking about the last thirty minutes that you started to second guess yourself. That you started to reason with yourself like you always did.

It was still Billy.

Your Billy Hargrove.

Billy who took you on dates and loved you. Billy who picked you up from work and loved you. Billy who brought you flowers and loved you.

He loved you.

But all you resolve disappeared as Nancy pulled up. Her eyes shot to your face and your arm and the bag on the ground beside you. You knew that she knew.

And you felt so ashamed.

She didn’t say anything other than a quick, “It’s going to be OK.”, as she picked up your bag and led you to the car.

She was so gentle as she opened the passenger door and helped you inside.

You barely noticed that there were other people in the car. Your eyes darted over Jonathan Byers, Steve Harrington, and Robin Buckley. You wanted to ask why they were there, but you couldn’t bring yourself to speak as they looked at you with such pity and compassion.

You sat quietly until she had asked you what had happened. You gathered that they could already put two and two together, but you knew that she was asking because she needed to know if she was correct.

So, you told her. You cried as you told her—and the others—about what had happened.

It was the weeks afterwards that were the hardest. The weeks after you chose to run.

When Nancy had told you that you were brave—that it was the bravest thing you had ever done—but it hadn’t felt like it.

It just felt like you had left your Billy Hargrove.

He had come looking for you. To try and apologise, just like he always did.

But just when you thought about going back, you stopped yourself. Because you were tired of it.

You were tired of hanging on to every careless word, hoping that he would go back to being the kind, sweet Billy Hargrove that he was at the beginning.

It took you three weeks to realise that there had never been a kind, sweet Billy Hargrove.

He had only hidden those parts of himself from you. Until he decided not to. Until he decided that you didn’t get to do the things you liked anymore. Until he decided everything that you could and couldn’t do.

It took you four weeks to rally your pride up again, and you held onto it as tight as you could.

But no matter how hard you tried to ignore that tiny part of yourself that missed him, you couldn’t stop it. You still wondered about him. You thought about every moment of your relationship, trying to work out where you went wrong.

Because you would still love him, if he was a better man.

And you guessed that you would never know if he would have become that better man.

You wondered if he had grown out of his father’s shadow, would he have been the one? If things had been different, if he hadn’t let that awful and hateful part of himself fester, would he have been a better man?

You weren’t sure that he would have. Because deep down, you knew that he was a bad person. It just took you getting out to realise it.

#billy hargrove x reader #stranger things x reader #stranger things fanfiction #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove x y/n #billy hargrove angst #stranger things angst #billy hargrove fanfiction #outerspacebisexual

138 notes · View notes

jihyokang00 · 1 year

Text

Assignment 1.1

Paper prototyping - Fitness tracker for a wearable device

Introduction

The first assignment is basically making a fitness tracker for a wearable device. Among them, the first challenge is paper prototyping. My initial idea was to make a fitness tracker as simple and usable as possible using the model of the Apple Watch. For instance, I thought of a flow that allows users to see time, heart rate, calories, and speed, which are considered the most important factors, while running, and allows users to see these results even after running is over.

First prototype

My first prototype was made using paper and pencil. Overall, I created a category of fitness type so that users can select the exercise that they want. In terms of functionality, four functions that can be viewed while running are added to the fitness tracker, including the most basic start and stop running functions, and those four functions are time, heart rate, calories, and speed. After the running was over, information about users records and some information was made available.

Testing 1 and feedback

For the first testing with the first prototype, I set two tasks for testers. The first task was 'Can you start running and then show me your process from start to finish of running?', and the second task was 'If you want to check your result after finishing the running, can you tell me the result in detail?'. Before starting the test, I explained about this test briefly.

Based on these two testing, I got both good and bad feedback from tester who use 'I like, I wish, what if' method. For the good one, tester said, "I like this fitness tracker because it is clear to see the process of running." On the other side, testers said, "In general, I wish I could see this screen with obvious color to see easily." After I got this feedback from the first tester, I put color in my prototype so that users can distinguish all functions as a whole.

Testing 2 and feedback

According to the first testing, all screens were modified by adding colors, and the parts that needed to be emphasized were expressed using specific colors. With the second prototype on the above revision, I tested two more testers by using the same tasks that I did at the first testing.

What I got the feedback from the testers was more practical thing. I also requested them to give a feedback with using 'I like, I wish, What if' method. To summarize, all testers said, "I like the flow of running process. It is very clear and easy to use." However, they also mentioned about the factors that I could improve. They said, "I wish I could use the function that setting a goal before starting the running to motivate." I understood this feedback because users who use the fitness tracker through the Apple Watch usually start with their own goals when exercising, so it is more effective to show a function that helps motivate users more.

Testing 3 and feedback

After I got the feedbacks from the second testing, I added the function that setting a goal before starting the running. The third test was conducted with changed function. The elements that can set a goal are time and calories, and in particular, time is divided into hours, minutes, and seconds so that each can be set. I tested this prototype with two testers with different tasks than before. The two tasks were "Can you set your goal that 1 hour 30 min for time and 550 for kcal?" and "Can you check your result in detail after finishing your running and tell me about your bpm, kcal, and km/h?". In this testing I asked to give a feedback by using 'I like, I wish, What if' as well.

The testers gave me feedback about the third prototype. They said, "I like that I can control the time." But for the supplement, one tester said, "What if you change the button "continue" to "back" in the "ARE YOU SURE?" part?" "Because I think it makes me confused about whether I can go back to running or stop running when I wanted to stop the running." And the other tester said, "I wish I could use the button on the top right side to see my date quickly, because it took some time to view all of the data." To compensate for these problems, in the final prototype, buttons were added next to the four types of information that can be viewed after starting a run. Scroll through the information using this button to make it quicker and easier to see. In addition, the option of "continue" was changed to "back" on the screen shown after stopping running so that "back" conveys a clear meaning of going back to running.

Insights

Through the third round of testing, I found some insights in terms of my fitness tracker. The insights are users want to use the functions as simply as possible when they are exercising. In addition, the use of color on screen can have a significant visual impact on users. Furthermore, it is important to give clear information for users by using proper word.

Conclusion

Therefore, the prototype above is the final revision of my fitness tracker. While testers tested with my prototype, they told me that being able to set the time directly to hours, minutes, and seconds and being able to see four types of information while running were effective features. In addition, they said that it is convenient to see information about their record by each part even after running is over. As my first assignment was to develop a fitness tracker for a wearable device, I felt that the first idea could not be absolutely perfect, and that a process of continuously discovering, fixing, and developing problems was necessary. In addition, users found that 'simple' and 'convenience' are more important than complex functions.

0 notes

bukojuiice · 3 years

Text

— genshin boys as your late night study buddy

ೃ ft. childe, diluc, kaeya, zhongli, xiao and albedo x gn! reader

ೃ 200-299 words per character! (they are your bfs in this! bc MAN do i desperately want one of the genshin boys to cram school works with and shower me with luv and affection.) ♡

ೃ tags: college au, modern au, and lots of fluff.

ೃ thank you so so much for 1k notes on my very first batch of genshin hcs! i appreciate all the luv it received and i can never thank all of you enough 🥺 i’ll be making a genshin masterlist soon to compile all of my current and future works so pls stay tuned for that!

ೃ if you want to be a part of my taglist, answer this form! ♡

ZHONGLI:

– Zhongli would be a very chill study partner. He will always keep his cool and focus, never letting his attention stray away from less trivial things. If he can focus, he’ll focus. There’s always this sense of comfort surrounding him that brightens up your mood and productivity. The both of you are sat in this long table, papers, books, and cute matching pencils are sprawled about. You lean your head on his shoulder, as he serenades you with his deep and butter voice, explaining all the formulas to you. Being able to study in peace and quiet with him is always a blissful experience. He never fails to brew you green tea (as it helps the brain function) even if that meant going down to the kitchen at 2 in the morning. He always brings a small humidifier and some essential oils with him that can help brighten up the study mood and that emits a wafting vanilla pinecone scent to keep you happy. (He’s just fancy like that.) When he doesn’t understand the concepts right away, he’d turn to you, his sharp amber eyes gazing at yours with nothing but innocent and love, and asks: “(Y/N)... what reference is this supposed to be? pepe the frog? kermit the frog? here come dat boi? aren’t they all just amphibians? what are the differences between them? I am very intrigued.”

CHILDE:

– Childe loves a challenge. An academic challenge. He loves the thrill of finishing school works the night before the deadline, he loves studying for a pop quiz twenty minutes before the bell rings, and most importantly, he loves to pretend he doesn’t know how to solve point a to point b if that means getting to spend time with you as you tutor him on how to do so. He’s at the top of the class, He’s popular and friendly, He’s the captain of the Archery Team, and one of the vice council members of the Fatui Club. But, no other title will ever come close to being your study buddy. You and Childe always chill on the bed whenever you study. Especially when the both of you have the sudden urge to just laze around. Well, it is the wee hours of the night, so just lounging around and trying to resist the urge of sleep is pretty understandable. Sometimes, the two of you would take power naps in between study sessions. This meant cuddle times! Childe will always cuddle with you, (he’s the big spoon and you are the smol spoon) and often times you would be immersed into your textbook while he’s scrolling through his phone and looking for some of the current and popular memes. He’d poke you on the cheek and show you what he’s found. It was quite annoying sometimes and you would reprimand him for it, but it never fails to make you laugh. You jokingly suggested one time that the two of you sneak in the library after closing hours, and your chaotic boyfriend turns to you with the biggest smirk plastered on his face. “Let’s do it baby. I know the law.”

DILUC:

–You and Diluc are the cutest pair of night owls. So, studying late at night is never a problem with him because with the help of each other, the both of you are unstoppable. An actual power couple. Batman and his love interest who? I only know (Y/N) and Diluc. Mondstadt University should be giving you the title of #NoSleepGang for the “Campus Cuties” awards because the two of you are able to ace every test still despite lack of sleep. You and Diluc are very very organized. The both of you own matching couple planners (that the both of you had gifted to each for Christmas) and have your entire study schedule planned out already. Since the two of you prefer to study at night, your dates are usually done during the day. Which meant never having to worry about the upcoming finals whilst you’re at a cute little café with him. The both of you have respective desks whenever you study together, but you never fail to gaze at your crimson-haired boyfriend with the cutest pout and biggest puppy eyes. He always gives in and next thing you know, your swivel chairs are practically glued next to each other and the both of you are cuddling in your seats. One thing that Diluc never fails to do is pamper you with comfort food or little gifts that you love after a long and tiring week of hell (aka exams) It’s such a sweet gesture and the blissful relationship that you have can’t get any better than this.

“I got you some boba and that necklace from Pandora that you’ve always wanted. I-I’m so proud of you (Y/N). You did great, my love.”

KAEYA:

- You are the Lawful Good to Kaeya’s Chaotic Evil. Kaeya is always tempted to ask for answers from your professors. He’s quite the teacher’s pet, but with good intentions. That’s just how he rolls. Every time he jokes about going to the faculty to help out and the answer sheets are just out in the open, waiting to be snatched, you always glare at at him and punch him softly on the arm, every time he tries to bring up the idea. To which he would always reply with, “I’m kidding. Just kidding my love.” You and Kaeya have amazing study hacks. He is always able to find a movie that is somewhat related to the topics that the both of you are currently studying about. For example, when the topic was an introduction to different branches of science, Kaeya chose Big Hero 6 as the “Educational Movie Of the Day.” He is always able to find something fun and informative for the both of you to watch. Well, Kaeya does find fun and interest in everything. Another effective strategy that both of you do is every time you or him get an answer right, you reward each other with either a kiss on the cheek or a bear hug. Both of these affectionate gestures give you butterflies in your stomach anyway, so it doesn’t matter which is which. With the ideas that Kaeya constantly makes up every single day of your study sessions, there’s a high chance that you’ll never fluke a test ever again.

“Oh. That’s pretty cool of you (Y/N). You got 30 correct answers! If we count everything, so I basically gave you 15 forehead kisses and 15 bear hugs. Congrats! I know we’re going to ace our finals!”

XIAO:

– Xiao is extremely intelligent and talented in a myriad of things. However, he lacks self-confidence. You’ve sworn to your boyfriend that you’d help him gain confidence in his academic abilities. Which is why you became study buddies in the first place. It served as dates with him too! Although he stubbornly refused at first, his reasons being that he can do things by himself and he doesn’t need any help. You continued to encourage him that this was going to help the both of you and it was a way for the two of you to bond, and Xiao hesistantly agreed right after. As the captain of the soccer team, “The Liyue Adepti”, The only free time that Xiao has was during the evening which is the reason for your scheduled late night studies with him. This brought so much more intimate and sweet moments with him though! It meant sleepovers with him, midnight snack runs, and casual early morning strolls in the park. It became sort of a routine. Your hand interlaced with his, the crisp morning air, the little chirpings birds, and the tranquil swaying of the trees brought so much comfort to the both of you. Xiao would be the type of student to not speak up unless he’s called. Even if he knows the answer. The both of you sit on some floor pillows whenever you would study. So, whilst you read aloud, Xiao always hugs you from behind, resting his head on your shoulder.

“I don’t deserve the patience and love you give me, (Y/N). I am eternally grateful for everything you’ve done for me. I hope you know, that I’ll always be here for you.”

ALBEDO:

- Being the university’s library assistant has it’s perks. Access to infinite knowledge, quiet solitude within the library walls, and being able to hang out with your boyfriend. It was truly a perfect deal. After classes, Albedo would be heading straight over to the library to do his work. You’d meet him there and wait until he gets his work done, and then the two of you head home together or have dinner. Albedo likes to plan things in advance. He’s quite busy, being a part of university’s alchemist group and as a library assistant, but, he will always study with you. He even brings Klee with him at times too! She’s always an energetic and cute addition, + she tattles on and on about how in love Albedo is with you and how he would never shut up about you at home. Albedo puts a lot of effort into creating review materials for the both of you. He makes very intricate drawings of modules, dioramas of certain science models, and has all the formulas memorized for him to list down. He’s a genius after all, and although you’ve constantly told him time and time again that he doesn’t have to make a review paper specifically catered to you, he still insists. He always gifts you one whenever it’s exam week (he adds extra detail to them during your finals) The cutest thing about these papers are scribbled about in all of the pages. The cutest doodles of the two of you with hearts and flowers drawn all over. Albedo + (Y/N) is even written in the last page, along with a heartfelt message:

“I put all my faith and belief in you, (Y/N). I know you can do this. I’m proud of everything you’ve reached so far, my beloved. and I know you’ll reach greater heights. Let’s continue to excel and thrive together. I can’t wait to spend the rest of this journey with you.”

1K notes · View notes

berriniki · 3 years

Text

[8:34 AM]—park sunghoon

includes: transfer student! sunghoon, gn! reader, lapslock intended, cursing

wc: 534

the teacher gave you a worksheet to finish by the end of class. nothing too hard, just practice about the material covered last period so you breeze through it without much trouble. halfway through the worksheet, you hear your teacher talking to some other students, a desk over from where you were.

“we’re supposed to be getting a new transfer student today, but i don’t know when he’s coming.” the teacher looked at the time and then at the door, waiting for the moment the mystery student waltzes in. the girls he was talking to had their interests piqued, setting down their pencils and leaning on their desks.

“it’s a boy?”

the teacher rolled his eyes.

“this isn’t a baby shower, but yes, he is a boy.”

the girls laughed at his little joke.

“so where are you putting him?”

the teacher shrugged and looked around, making eye contact with you, grinning at the thought that popped in his head.

“maybe next to y/n, the seat next to them is empty.”

you startle at the idea.

“me? why me? half of the class is empty, he can have his own table if he wants to.” you gesture at the very empty classroom, only a handful of students inside. the teacher shrugs.

“why not? show the kid the ropes, maybe smooth talk him.”

you take a breath to say something but there’s a knock on the door, everyone’s head snapping to the door before one of the girls gets up to open it. you could see them from the window but when the door opens, you’re taken aback.

god he’s beautiful. can someone be this pretty? is this allowed?

he’s awkward, stepping into the classroom with his hands clasped in front of him with his fingers holding a hall pass and his schedule.

“uh, this is 3rd period physics right? with mr.lee?”

mr.lee immediately smiles and beckons him in closer, the girl closing the door and going back to her seat to gawk.

“and you must be sunghoon! come on over, introduce yourself to the class.” mr. lee brings sunghoon and nudges him to the front of the room, sunghoon shifts his weight from one leg to another.

“uh, i’m park sunghoon.” he looked like he desperately wanted to do sit down after he gave his very short introduction and mr.lee looked like he almost felt pity for making him introduce himself to the class.

“alright sunghoon, why don’t you sit…” mr. lee scaled the entire classroom with his eyes, ignoring the empty half before locking eyes with you, much to your dread. mr. lee smiled a shit-eating grin. “sunghoon, why don’t you sit next to y/n at the front there?” mr. lee didn’t have any pity for you, though. he nudged sunghoon to your direction, you freaking out internally as collected your papers to your side. sunghoon nodded, walking over and pulling up the seat next to you.

“hey, nice to meet you.” he tried to make the situation less awkward but you weren’t any better with new people.

“hi.” holy shit, you’re horrible with people, a lot worse than you thought. sunghoon puts on a friendly smile, and wow is that a dimple?

“can you tell me what we’re doing in class?”

a/n: hey hey hey *icy starts playing* this is my first drabble on tumblr😎 idk this has been rotting in by brain so i decided to figure out how to format on tumblr and write it lol

#enhypen #sunghoon #enhypen imagines #enhypen scenarios #sunghoon imagines #sunghoon fluff #don’t be mean to me i’m only so strong #enhypen x reader #enhypen sunghoon

145 notes · View notes

willyoulovemeinthemorning · 3 years

Text

The Prodigal Daughter Chapter 1

Summary: As the secret daughter of Jason Gideon, you’ve always had a certain proclivity towards profiling. After finishing the Academy, you finally have your chance in the BAU- only months after your dad’s passing. Will it all be too much? Will you find yourself sharing another proclivity with your father for a certain genius with big puppy dog eyes? A/N: Hello! This is my first fic in a very long time, but this story idea has been living in my head for upwards of 6 or 7 years! Please go easy on me, and I hope you enjoy! a big thanks to @candlesandsoftrain for being a great beta! Couple: Spencer Reid/Fem!Reader  Category: Fluff/getting to know you games with the team Content Warning: nothing in this chapter except lots of flirting, tension, sexually charged drinking games, etc. Later chapters will include NSFW Word Count: 4000+

Chapter 1

The years moved by much too fast for your liking. You were older than you were willing to admit, and the years had been hard. Time moved so oddly- it was so difficult and slow when it was happening, but when you looked back, it was as if it sped by like a freight train.

Today was your first day at your new job- you were 27 and you’d been waiting your whole life for this day to finally come. After hearing stories about your father all through your life; catching the monsters in the dark as well as those that hide in plain sight… you wanted to be a superhero too. And lucky for you, you had a certain proclivity towards reading people. So, you became a profiler. And after years of grueling school, training and fighting to earn your place with no one knowing the legacy in your blood line, you did it.

No, those weren’t tears in your eyes… it was just dusty in the bullpen, that was all. You could feel him everywhere. You knew this was where he lived and breathed and worked for so much of his life. Your mom never understood how you ended up being so understanding about never seeing him, while your brother spent so much of your lives incredibly bitter and angry at him for “abandoning” you both. You always told Stephen that dad spent every minute of every day trying to make the world a safer place for the two of you to grow up in. And now you could finally continue his life’s work.

You caught a few pairs of eyes looking at you when you entered the bullpen for the first time, walking through like you’d been there a million times before- because in your imagination, your dreams, you had. Dad was always so descriptive with his words, and it was never hard to get lost in his stories.

You walked right to the Unit Chief’s office, knowing that Agent Hotchner was already in there waiting for you. You were supposed to have your first meeting on Monday, but when the team didn’t get back in time from their last case- a strangler in Minnesota, he had called you and you rescheduled to accommodate those dang annoying serial killers. Now it was Wednesday, and you could feel the tired energy in the room. It was filled with the sounds of scribbling pens and pencils on paper, the groans and squeaks of chairs as everyone tried to stay comfortable while doing their paperwork. You spotted a few very attractive people around you, but tried to keep your eyes forward as you headed for your destination.

After knocking on the door, you heard a shuffling of papers as a low, gritty voice welcomed you, “Come on in.”

“Hello, Agent Hotchner. Nice to see you again.” You offered your hand, which he took with his baseball mitt sized one. It was rough and strong, and reminded you of your fathers when you were young. You could tell these hands had seen a lot of conflict.

“Y/N , you’ve grown up a lot since last I saw you.” He had a kind smile on his face, which surprised you, even after all this time. Aaron Hotchner was always such a serious man, even when you were younger. “And please, call me Aaron. You know that.”

You chuckled in response. “I know, but it feels weird to call you that now that you’re my boss.”

“Hotch will do then. Morgan will give you quite a hard time if he hears you calling me ‘Agent Hotchner’, I can promise you that. Sit, sit. Let’s get through all the necessary annoyances so I can properly introduce you to your new team.”

After all of the finalized paperwork and introductory nuisances, Hotch finally stood up, indicating it was time to enter the bullpen again, but with a promise of introductions to your new team. You felt a small pang in your heart. You wished your dad could have been here to do this instead of Aaron. He took notice of your second of discomfort- something you were sure to get used to quickly working with profilers.

“Y/N, he’s here… in you. I know how proud he would be of you.” He said to you with a hand falling to your shoulder.

With a smile, you accepted the comfort, turning to look at him again. “Would you mind… could we see Uncle Dave first? I think it would make me feel a little better to have him next to me for this.” That damn dust was at it again. You were fine, really. You’d been preparing for this emotion for months now- there was nothing to surprise you.

With a gentle smile, Aaron- no, Hotch, you remembered- nodded. “Of course. Follow me to his office.” It didn’t escape your notice that, as you followed him, you were on your way to your dad’s old office. Each step brought you to a place you’d heard about, thought about, dreamt about, but had never seen. But when you walked in behind Hotch, you knew this was nothing like your father would have kept it. It just screamed Rossi.

“Y/n! If it isn’t the smartest and brightest star from the Academy, falling right here into our laps at the BAU!” Dave cheered as he saw you, shooting up from his chair and almost running to you, pulling you into his arms while Hotch closed the door to offer you all some privacy.

“Uncle Dave, you can’t believe how amazing it is to have you here on my first day.” You said into his shoulder, holding him close. He was always such a big supporter of your career- there every step of the way whenever your dad couldn’t be. You always said that you were lucky- god blessed you with a loving, mildly helicopter mother, and two superhero dads so fight all the monsters for you.

“You’re gonna be great, kid. Unless your academy grades and reputation were all a lie to get you out of their hair!” He laughed, low and warm.

You giggled, pulling back from him and punching him lightly in the arm. “Rude.” You took a deep breath, and both men noticed that you were preparing yourself to say something important. “Aaron, Uncle Dave... I made it here on my own, with my mother’s maiden name and no one knowing who my father is. I am so proud to be the daughter of Jason Gideon, and I miss him every day… but I think I want to keep my birth last name a secret for now, if you’re both okay with that. They legally changed my name when I was a baby, and while I would be so proud to have his last name again, I’m- just not ready to hold up his legacy just yet.” You explained to them, hoping they understood. Your parents had decided very early on that they didn’t want you to have the last name Gideon. It was just- too dangerous. Your father had put away too many bad people, especially people that preyed upon little girls, to risk your life that way. So while you thought of yourself as Y/N Gideon in your mind, you’d never said it out loud before. Not once.

“Of course, kiddo. Whatever you want, we’ll follow your lead. Hopefully Garcia can’t find anything with your last name, but we’ll have Kevin keep an eye on her search history in case she finds anything. But if you’re worried about anyone finding out, I would tell her and promise her to secrecy though. Because if super tech genius finds out before you tell her… everyone will know.” He explained, and you laughed. You’d heard about Garcia. Your dad used to drive her crazy. You considered Rossi’s advice and nodded, understanding and deciding to think on it.

“Ready?” Hotch said after a moment, gesturing to the bullpen, where you could see several people grouped up at a desk, staring into Rossi’s office with curiosity and perhaps a little bit of uncertainty.

“As I’ll ever be.” Rossi squeezed your hand and you smiled at him, a big toothy smile shining back at you. With two men you knew you’d already trust your life with by your side, you walked out of the room knowing that these people who you already knew so much about would soon also hold your life in their hands. “Team, I’d like to introduce you to the new member of our team, Y/N L/N. She’s transferred in with top marks from the Academy, and she’s been highly recommended by all of her professors.”

You blushed at his compliments, rolling your eyes at him. “I didn’t have the highest marks in ALL of my classes. Shooting targets took me a while.” You smile, waving at the team awkwardly. “Hi everyone, it’s an honor to be here with you. I’ve heard so much about all of you. You’re all pretty famous around the bureau. I can’t wait to meet you all and get to know you as my team instead of people I’ve been idolizing for 10 years!”

Everyone laughed, and a tall, dark and handsome man walked forward with a giant grin on his face. “Hey, Y/N, I’m Derek Morgan. You are welcome to continue to idolize me as much as you’d like.” You could have snorted, he was so much like your dad described.

“Nice to meet you, Agent Morgan.” You said with a mildly flirty smile, holding your hand out to him happily. No worries for you, you were definitely going to like your job if you had him to look at all the time.

“That’s enough touching for now, little newbie,” a big beautiful blonde said from behind him. “That is my man-candy you’re ogling and groping, thank you very much.” There was no venom to her words, just something that you could only describe as adorable teasing. She was so colorful, it was almost as if there was a light shining around her. She was just a glowing ball of sunshine… You knew you’d be fast friends with her. “I’m Penelope Garcia, resident tech Goddess and most loyal beck and call gal.”

You took her hand and shook it, before doing a slight curtsy, earning you a giggle. “An honor to meet you, Tech Goddess Garcia.”

“Ignore her, they’re perfect for each other because of their over inflated egos.” You heard a blazé voice coming from the other side of Derek Morgan. “He’s eye candy for us all, much to her dismay. She’s never been one for sharing. I’m Emily, one of the few normal ones here.”

“Normal, pfft. She’s far from normal. You should hear her talk about her cat. Jenniffer Jareau, but my friends call me JJ.”

You took both of their hands in firm handshakes, grinning at them both. “Nice to meet you, and thank you for the permission to ogle, Agents. As far as normal, I sure hope not. Normal is vastly overrated.” You grinned at them. Damn they were cute. Was this whole team models who decided to become do-gooders and join the FBI?

“Halloweentown, 1998, said by Debbie Reynolds.” A small voice in the back of the group piped in, confident in words and speed, but somehow… demure and shrouded in uncertainty, too. The team parted so you two could see each other, and you swear your heart stopped beating for a few seconds. In front of you was the prettiest, most adorable, hottest guy you’d ever seen. He had a sexy professor thing going on, but simultaneously looked like he was an anxious teenager, terrified of being bullied by this newcomer.

You longed to hold him and protect this stranger from the rest of the world and heal any wounds he had succumbed to in the time before you. He was staring at you too, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights, pupils a little bigger than you can only assume they would normally be. After a snicker broke you both from the weird moment, pretty boy smiled a little and gave an awkward wave. “Hi. Doctor Spencer Reid.”

Oh. God. Your heart stopped a second time, and you swore, this is what a stroke felt like. You’d heard about Spencer for the last ten years. Your father loved him almost as much as he loved you and your brother. Maybe even more sometimes. The BAU resident genius, IQ of 187, eidetic memory, born in Las Vegas and wasn’t allowed in most casinos due to his card counting ability. Ability to empathize and love in a beautiful and incredible way- your father adored him, and because of how he spoke of him, you… you’d always had a crush on this faceless idea in your head with his wild mop of hair and tall, lanky frame. You had a general picture from all these years, but nothing had prepared you for this.

“H-Hi. I’m Y/N. N-Nice to meet you.” You said, trying your hardest not to sound like a little school girl with a crush on her teacher. You’d just met the man, for god sakes. You heard another snicker, and this time you knew it was from Morgan just from the proximity of the sound and the testosterone you could feel from the gesture. You tried to ignore your flaming red cheeks, and held out a hand a second before remembering that he hated being touched by strangers. A big germaphobe, always calculating the risk of what contact could mean for him. But before you had a chance to pull away, he reached out and took your hand, giving it a squeeze. You must have looked as shocked as you felt, but no one else noticed because everyone was staring at Reid with the same expression you were wearing. And to be honest, he looked just as surprised, if not more so.

Garcia made a breathy squeak sound, and somehow, that broke the tension of the moment, and you and Reid pulled away at the same time, both looking like you’d just been shocked by electricity. You stretched your hand out, staring at it, feeling on edge all over again, thinking about how good his hand felt in yours, and how good it would probably feel other pla-

“Well, I hope you all will be on your best behaviors, and treat Y/N like you would want to be treated as a newcomer in a team like ours, seeing what we see.” Hotch finally broke the silence. “Y/N, if you have any problems, come find myself or Rossi and we’ll help sort them all out.” Nodding, you looked at him and smiled, suddenly very embarrassed that your boss and your uncle just witnessed all of that. As profilers, they were going to come to so many conclusions, and each was more embarrassing than the last.

“Pretty boy and pretty girl, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-” You heard Derek sing-songing and he walked away, looking like the cat who got the cream. He was interrupted only when Emily punched him quite hard in the arm, looking at you with a wink and a smirk as she headed back to her desk as well. You tried to avoid looking at the genius again, but it was… difficult to say the least. You wanted to memorize everything about him. You wanted to pick his brain and listen to every fact he’d ever memorized. You wanted to experience him in all the ways your father had gotten to and more.

You watched as the team dissipated and then your eyebrows furrowed. “Rossi?” You asked, stopping him in his tracks as he was headed back to his office. “Where’s my desk?” He looked over his shoulder at you and you could tell he was holding back a shit eating grin as he pointed with his thumb to the desk directly across from Reid.

Fuck. You both looked at each other… or well, you looked at him, and he looked away like he’d been caught doing something and sat down, looking at his paperwork blankly. As you headed to your new desk, you’d give anything to know what was happening inside that massive brain of his.

Staring at your empty desk, you imagined what you could put there. Pictures of your family, pictures of your friends and your cats… One day you would put up a picture of your father… one day. For now, you grabbed your briefcase from your side and opened it up. You started unpacking some of your first day necessities; pens and notebooks, little toys and bright objects to remind yourself that there is good in the world. Your pile of books out; you always kept at least ten books on you at all times. One for every kind of mood you could be in- and at least three that you hadn’t read yet and were planning on.

As you prepped your desk, you could feel those eyes on you, analyzing your every move. You wanted to look up and see if you could find what he was figuring out within those eyes, but you tried to keep busy so you wouldn’t embarrass yourself again.

“Another book nerd, I see.” You heard that deep, caramelly sweet voice behind you. Derek sat on your desk right next to you and smiled a toothy smile at you. “Pretty girl likes to read, huh?”

Smiling at him, you raised a brow. “Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” You were about to quote the originator, but someone else beat you to it.

“Malorie Blackman. British children’s literature writer and science fiction author.” Your head snapped to the person in front of you, who wasn’t looking at either of you.

Smiling at him, you nodded, and then turned to Morgan. “Yup, Malorie Blackman. Empathy is a huge part of the job, right? Reading allows us to experience a million different perspectives- which, as proflers, is necessary to catch the bad guys. I read so I can try to understand as many perspectives in this world as possible.”

Derek looked a little impressed, at least, and you couldn’t get a read on the gorgeous mop of brown hair on the desk across from you. Derek picked up one of the books still on your desk, not organized in your little library yet. “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings?” He comments, and you catch Spencer’s eyes flick up at the title, curious.

“It’s my favorite. Not only do I love birds, but I’m a very big Maya Angelou fan. I’ve… always kind of felt like a bird stuck in a cage. Flitting about, trying to figure out what to do with my life and who I am... No book has ever made me feel more seen or understood as a human being.” You caught those big, interested eyes and you almost felt like you might have shared too much. You’ve always been an open book, but somehow, the way he was looking at you made you feel more vulnerable than you had… ever.

Derek nodded and smiled, putting the book down on your desk. “Well, lady genius, I’m going to try and get everyone to get together tonight for drinks, would you be interested in getting to know us in a more fun environment, or would you rather just go to the library with Pretty Boy over here and nerd out together?” He teased, making both of you blush.

“I-I don’t know. I’ve spent all of the years of my adulthood studying and sleeping and working to get here, so I haven’t really… spent a lot of time at bars?” Admitting that wasn’t the best feeling, but better to be honest than try to make up a lame excuse.

“Do I hear we have a light weight to peer pressure?” Derek said, loudly enough to catch the attention of everyone else. JJ and Emily looked enthused, and Rossi poked his head out of his office to chime in.

“Someone’s convincing Miss nose in a book Y/N to go out for drinks tonight? I’m in and I’m buying!” That was met with an uproarious approval from everyone on the team, with the exception of Reid, who was just looking at you, seemingly waiting on you to decide.

You bit your lip, noticing how Reid’s eyes fell to your lips in reaction. Well… if you could spend more time with the prettiest boy you’ve ever seen looking at you like that more… “Well… I guess. Sure. Sure, okay, I’m in.” You finally agreed, everyone whooping and hollering in celebration at you giving in. “Doctor Reid? What about you?” You looked at him through your eyelashes, and you could swear you saw his eyes dilate more.

“Oh, pretty boy barely ever comes out drinking with us anymore. He’s always holing himself up in his apartment- books from floor to ceiling, books in the fridge, freezer, on the bed, in his drawers and closets…” Derek teased, reaching over to Spencer and ruffling his hair.

Reid looked at Morgan and shoved his hand away and tried to fix his hair, rolling his eyes. “I do not have books in my freezer. That would be a terrible spot to put them, it would completely ruin the delicate spines.” You smiled at him in support, and he sat up a little straighter. “I… I’m in. For tonight.” He looked right at you when he said it, and you couldn't help but feel a little flutter in your stomach at the idea that he was going just to get to know you.

Morgan seemed to be thinking the same thing, and the face he gave Reid as he stood up and sauntered away said more than he needed to outloud. Once Reid looked away from Morgan, your eyes met and you both smiled again. “You’re a fan of Maya Angelou?” He asked, nodding towards your book.

“I am. I was always drawn to books that had birds on the covers, but then I actually read it and realized how beautiful it is on the inside.” You held the book in your hands gently. It was a mutual love, one your shared with your dad.

“The number of bird species in a person’s surroundings correlates directly to happiness levels.” He said, smiling at you like you were the most interesting thing in the world. The attention should have made you uncomfortable, but it just made you feel warm… important.

“Really?” You searched his eyes, wondering how much information was in that brain, stacked away for use when necessary. “That’s so interesting. I thought most people found birds annoying because of all the noise.”

He shook his head. “On the surface, they think it’s annoying, but once one becomes used to the sounds all around them, they find the background noise comforting. Most people find absolute silence much more disconcerting.”

“Absolute silence, for sure. But comfortable silence between two people who find solace in each other… I think that’s my favorite background noise.” He looked at you as you spoke, a small bit of hope flickering in both of your faces. You’d felt… alone, since your fathers spirit left this world months ago. It had been so hard to be at school and unable to go to his services, terrified of people finding out who your father was and that information altering your career. You hadn’t even applied to the bureau until you had your recommendation letters in order- you didn’t want Aaron giving you any false starts just because he knew. You liked to visit his grave once a month and tell him all the things you wrote in your letters to him. You carried around his private notebook as a reminder of the people in the world he saved, the people you wanted to save. You clutched your briefcase close, knowing you couldn’t put it in your desk with Reid watching you so closely. You’d find time to slip it in later, when no one was looking. With that eidetic memory, you knew he’d recognize it immediately, and you didn’t want his curious gaze to ruin your secret just yet. You wanted the team to form their own opinions of you before they knew... because the moment they knew, everything would change.

Next chapter

236 notes · View notes

everafterkeiji · 3 years

Text

Song: Paper Rings by Taylor Swift

Summary: Hanamaki finally seals your fate by proposing to you- with a crappy ring that is.

Pairings: Takahiro Hanamaki x fem! reader

Word count: 6.9k

Genre: absolute fluff and crack, curse words

A/N: not me screaming when i had this idea, I've never felt more single in my life- brb bawling my eyes out- also let's pretend their in the same classes✋

Well, fate isn't something to be entirely trusted upon and neither should Hanamaki.

"Aw, shit."

He cusses when you bump into him, considering his incredibly tall figure, you were caught off guard on who you even crashed into. A small clink sound lands on the floor as you immediately face the boy who was looking at the ground, quite weirdly searching his pockets.

"Sorry- wait you're Hanamaki right?" You asked him, familiar with his hair color. You've seen him play countless of times due to the support of the school for each of their games yet you've never been this close with him. With his state, you immediately question what's got him so frantic.

He eyes the pen that was dead on the floor and he pouts before crouching down to reach it before he dusts off the dirt on it. He opens the cap of it before mindlessly writing on his hand and frowning even more when the ink didn't held its usual consistency- every stroke of a word had it loosing its pigment.

"Man, 'Kawas gonna kill me." He sighs before putting his hands and pen in his pocket as he looks at you surprised. How can he dismiss that he'd bump into you? He immediately bows in a way to apologize to you, completely forgetting that you were the one to hit him.

You knew he was pertaining to the well known setter but you were solely confused in what he was so worried about. Looking at the pen in his pocket, you saw how the ink was full but there were black spillage in the inside. You raise your eyebrow in confusion.

Did he just drop a new pen?

"I'm sorry I dropped your pen- I can let you borrow mine." You propose to him as he takes the pen in his hands admiring it like a wound in someone's arm. Seeing how you were scrambling in your bag to reach for your pencil case, his eyes sparkled at how it contained numerous pens, highlighters and mechanical pencils.

"Looking at the murder you caused, I'm simply asking for more than one pen then."

You tilt your head in curiosity but instead you opened your pencil case as he digs his hand in there picking three pens making you want to scoff at how he picked the gel pens that were your favorite. He looked at each one, writing on his palm if everything was working. He raises an eyebrow at you making you question if this was a fever dream because of how random it was- he acted like he was in a stationary section and it benefitted him that this particular section was free.

He then takes your hand causing you to internally yelp at his actions. Your eyes trail to what he was writing, you noticed it was his name instead. You look up at him as he smiled. Once he finishes writing, he extends his hand out while with the other hand held a pen ready for you to take.

"What's your name?" He asks processing on your features and asking himself why he's seen you dozens of times yet he's yet to get your name.

"Y/N." You say as he gestures for his hand as if telling you to write it. Somewhat following your instincts, you write your name on his hand. After it, he peeks the spelling of it and then casually shakes your hand as introduction.

"See you around, Y/N! You saved my ass with those pens so I guess I owe you one."

"Those are expensive."

"Now hold on there-"

That was how you met and the universe couldn't even joke about how they put you two together.

Now here you two are, invested in a stare off as Matsukawas sleepy eyes often switch his gaze between you and his best friend.

"Makki, it's in a week."

"I specifically remember it's the week after that."

"You two are hopeless." Issei comments making you laugh as Makki pouts at how you agreed with him. Nevertheless, Matsukawa leans his head on his arm ready to fall asleep at any moment. You return to arranging your notes while Makki twirls a pen in his hands while glancing at you once in a while.

Truth be told, it seems that fate still worked its way to the both of you. Ever since your-rather unique- encounter, a friendship was bound to happen. He surely made an impression on you and how could you miss to not be around him? Soon enough, you were also introduced to his teammates and you disliked how it strengthened your bond with him. There was comfort in his presence and to see him fool around with his teammates always radiated an amazing energy between you and him.

You also wanted to thank Oikawa for being somewhat the reason your conversation led to where you are now.

"What'd the pen do to make you this- scared?" You asked as he puts both hands behind his head, leaning on the seat.

"It's a scary pen when it belongs to Oikawa." You turn to him confused as you rest your chin on the palm of your hand, ears perking up at how interesting it was.

"You're telling me you don't own a single pen and you always borrow Oikawas?" He scoffs with a smile before looking at you.

"Of course I bring pens, it's just better if it was from him." You let out a loud laugh, finding it hard to believe this was the sole reason Oikawa would commit murder on him. Hanamaki smiles at the sound of your laugh before shaking his head, at awe at the situation.

It was a coincidence how Oikawa always found a way to strike a nerve to Hanamaki when you visit them in the gym. He knew that beyond his teammates calm composure was a boy who undoubtedly likes you. Ever since Hanamaki returned the pen to him, he knew it wasn't his and in his mind, he asked himself who could've lent him a pen, more so that he had three brand new ones.

So when he sees you tagging beside him, he's taken his first lead to figure the two of you out. After a few more observations, he's convinced that you two were just blind to the feelings that were lingering around.

He's told Iwaizumi about it but all he got was a lecture on how he should let Hanamaki take it easy with asking you out. Which he also argued since it was taking too long, making Iwaizumi land him a smack to the head.

He had his boundaries, maybe not for himself, but for his friends he was more than willing to wait for this relationship to come together.

"So- a date? That's cool right? I mean arcades and shit."

"Makki, you're a loser."

"Arcades are awesome shut up."

"Yeah, for sure. Like Y/N is interested in 'arcades and shit'." Mattsun chuckles as Hanamaki lets out another pout as he sinks in his bed.

"I mean- we've gone on hang outs, she likes them anyway!" He argues making Mattsun shake his head with an amused smirk on his lips.

"So you're telling me you've actually had dates with her then?" Issei asks as Hanamaki shrugs making the other boy groan at the lack of response. Hanamaki raises his head, pursing his lips at the actual thought.

You have actually gone on multiple dates with him. If you could even call it that. To Makki, he thought they were just subtle friendly things but he realizes how he's actually grown some fondness in each place.

"Y/N no I'm telling you- if I were the mastermind, we'd be successful." He argues before taking a sip from his drink. You rolled your eyes as you let your mind ran through the scenarios of having a heist with him and the boys.

You two just finished a heist movie and now you had to endure Makkis fantasies of how it would go down if the characters were him and the rest of the volleyball team. He was so invested in it that you actually had an entire plot and characterization for each teammate.

He argued that he'd be the best mastermind to ever conjure a plan for a heist. A stealthy ninja is what he says he mimics. You tried to argue that Iwaizumi would be good at it, since you noticed how responsible and at control he was but it had Hanamaki listing his reasons.

"No one would ever notice me! Because you know what- their attention would be on Oikawa! Then boom, get in the getaway car with a shit ton of money and thanks to who? Me of course." You let out a laugh making him stop his occupied thoughts to take a look at you. He adores the sound of it too much, especially since he was the usual cause of it. He sees the way you were wiping your eyes with the scenarios he'd told you.

Then your laughter slowly fades when you started to eat again as Makki admires you and how you've effortlessly got his mind to set more dates just to see you this happy.

You look up from your previous position, looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Wait, where am I in the heist then?"

He looks at you, almost blurting out the initial idea he had for you in this specific role.

Honestly, I'd spend the money on you. Take you anywhere you wanted to go, Y/N.

That was what he wanted to say but his mouth translated it to a different saying.

"You could die-"

"Makki!" You shouted playfully, ruffling his hair. He laughs but unknowingly, his hand lands on top of yours when you sat back down.

"Excuse you, I can be a good distraction and assistance for action." You commented making him scoff.

"Yeah like you'd be able to hold a gun for a second."

"Please, I had Oikawa beg me to delete a photo of him."

"Okay maybe you are powerful."

You laughed once again, not even feeling how right it was for you to be holding hands like this. It felt comforting yet it brought your heart to speed up like it was in a marathon. You wondered if Makki felt the same, or was this another act of friendliness?

"I wouldn't want you to get hurt though." He whispers, making you smile and blush at the same time. As if it was another point on the score board for how many times he's had your heart go on a frenzy.

"Well, that's what the great mastermind is for right? To keep us safe and succeed?" You say, making him give a gentle squeeze to your hand, as you glanced down on them enjoying the way it looked.

As if I'm gonna let anyone lay a hand on you, Y/N. You're safe with me always.

After a few sly times where he'd hold your hand while you crossed the street or even tugging on your jacket when passing through a huge crowd so he doesn't lose you, he's realized he would absolutely drop the stars for you. He doesn't know whether he should feel terrified because of how he could put your friendship at risk but then he feels- almost relieved that the first person he could ever love is you.

It shouldn't even be difficult to ask you to hang out. You'd usually respond a second after he asks you, it's not even that big of a deal.

Now it's different.

He's finally gotten a clutch on his feelings and he thinks about his next moves. He often just let things happen, loving the way the moments just flowed naturally and perfect in some way but now he's choosing his words since he didn't plan on confessing in such a dorky way- especially when he just says it out loud without proper practice.

"Why don't you ask Oikawa for help then?" Issei suggests making the boy shake his head at the thought already.

"Do you know how much blackmail that idea comes with? He'll never live it down." Hanamaki says as he scrolled through his phone, almost frowning at the thought of humiliation coming from their captain.

"C'mon! He knows a lot of shit about flirting and dates! Maybe even help you in confessing, idiot."

He thinks about that deeply. Each member of the team would have completely diverse answers. As of the mean time, the only proper suggestions he'd get is from Iwaizumi, Oikawa and Mattsun. Though Mattsun has given him plenty of advices, he knew Oikawa was at the top for someone's idea of romance. The man has fangirls, he's obviously heard and experienced many hopeless romantic scenes in his life.

Iwaizumi would've actually been a lot of help knowing the guy is very good at maintaining control and responsibility. He'd give the proper date ideas, the mood to set. He looked like the perfect blueprint for Hanamaki to copy. He also believed that Iwaizumi would think nothing of these advices so it's a win-win if you ask him.

"Right, okay. I got this."

"Why me though?" Iwaizumi asks as Hanamaki spikes another ball.

"Look Iwa- I genuinely trust your judgment more. I just need help." Iwaizumi chuckles before collecting another ball.

"Fine fine. Just meet me after practice."

Hanamaki cheers when he hears him, even smiling now that he can figure out a way to show you how much he likes you.

Sure, he's doing it unintentionally sometimes. Tiny signs that should show you how he is absolutely in love with you. He'd show this in various ways as well. It comes as an instinct in some way. He'd hit you with a "let's have lunch" and you'd gladly accept. Mattsun has pointed out that Makki has already made a move on you countless of times but it had Makki questioning the depths of being friendly and going through courting you.

You haven't even made things official yet these so-called dates had your classmates wondering how your relationship started, even if it hasn't. Makki would always lean his head on your shoulder during lunch, to rest his brain from the lessons. For you, it's nothing. Makki has always been like this after you got comfortable with each other. This affectionate side of him even had Mattsun wonder why on Earth would he ask for help when he clearly doesn't need it.

The three of you are now seated in a lecture, boredom crossing your minds but Mattsun's mind was rattled by Hanamaki. After their conversation about asking help from Oikawa, he thought that Makki would actually go through the plan. Looking back on his motives with you, he just doesn't see a reason why he needs assistance from the setter. He can handle this all on his own, so scribbling down on a piece of paper, he throws it to Hanamaki who awakens by the action.

Hanamaki yawns as he opens the crumpled paper, his eyes widening and cheeks heating at the group of words.

'You can literally just confess to her now, even without shittykawa.'

He glares at Mattsun while the other boy shrugs with an expression that says "seriously, it's not that deep." He huffs before grabbing a pen and replying to his previous statement, then throwing it again.

'Try confessing to the girl you like during a lecture, Sherlock.'

Mattsun chuckles as Makki crosses his arms in front of his chest. His eyes land on you, who is fixated on the lecture. He smiles softly at the idea of a date with you, but this faint moment was ruined when Mattsun directly throws the ball of paper to Hanamakis face, earning a chuckle from some of his classmates.

He opens with eyebrows furrowed, annoyed at the shot.

'Not now dumbass, after classes. Just go up to her and say you like her, it's that easy dude.'

Hanamaki turns to him mocking his words while Mattsun rolls his eyes as Makki writes again. As he was about to throw the paper in Mattsuns direction, a student raised their hand hitting the paper and it suddenly landed on the floor beside you instead. The boys had their eyes widen as you saw the paper.

In a flash, Hanamaki picks up the piece of paper before you could grab a hold of it and you let out a gasp when he suddenly appeared in front of you. You blinked at him as he slowly walked away, wide eyed, to avoid conflict with the teacher.

You and Mattsun share a look together as you looked away, utterly speechless at what just happened. When you looked away, Mattsun hides his laughter by stuffing his face in his arm as Makkis cheeks never grew out of its red shade.

Meanwhile, Mattsun finally held a memory that he can never forget.

"It's not a big deal. You guys have been friends for so long. I don't think Y/N would mind." Iwaizumi comments making Hanamaki silent.

Can you really feel the same way?

A year of knowing you- should that be enough to fall in this deep? Is there even a requirement before someone can confess? Because in a span of time knowing you, there wasn't a moment where he regretted anything. He could thank the universe for one stupid pen, maybe even Oikawa. Everything that led to where you are now, he's never been more contented in his life.

During movies, your favorite spot was to lean your head on his shoulder. To just sling your arm around his waist on the way home, holding his hand while walking through crowds, it just fits. No matter where you were, what you were doing with him, it seemed like there wasn't an extra space in the puzzle pieces, it all connected.

But you two couldn't figure it out for yourselves.

"Well, does every confession need some sort of grand gesture?" He asks Iwaizumi. The ace bites his lips before kicking a rock on the path he was walking on.

"I don't really know. What does Y/N like anyway?"

"Hopefully me." Hanamaki jokes, but he deeply wanted it to be real. He figures if all of this asking for help was going to guarantee him something good, better yet, a yes from your lips. But first, he had to answer Iwaizumis question.

"She likes simple things- you know how she likes it when I like hold her stuff and all? She also likes those weird food thingys at one date-or hang out we had- you know that scent that reminds you of a romance movie-"

"Makki, you know her this well and you're nervous for nothing. I'm sure that she'll love whatever you do- you're friends for a reason." Iwaizumi says making Hanamaki sigh, hearing those words again.

"Exactly! That's the problem. Fuck- I can't even act like I don't like her. Am I being too obvious or friendly? I don't know where the line ends or starts. I shouldn't get nervous cause it's her- she doesn't care what I do- she's happy with whatever but I just want it to be.. perfect." He rants and ends it with a tired sigh. God, he was getting frustrated. At this point his feelings were overwhelming him, he just needed an outlet for it.

He can't just act like the sight of your smile doesn't make him smile as well, or even just seeing your sleepy state when you walk into class. If his heart didn't flutter whenever you were around, maybe by then you couldn't call it admiration but he just fell and there wasn't a way to stop him.

He didn't wanna stop either.

"Mattsun." You say as Mattsun lets out another laugh as you roll your eyes. It was after practice and since Takahiro couldn't walk you home because he told you he had to talk to Iwaizumi about something, Issei was the one to walk you home.

"This is gold." He states making you shove him a bit. He smiles when he sees you pout. This is where he decides. He could literally say how Hanamaki was asking him for advices like you are right now, but a side of him just wants to see what Makki could do. It was all too funny for him, even if hated how oblivious you two were.

If Hanamaki was falling for you with each day, you did the same. It was inescapable. You met him during second year and the fact that he had you tugging on your heart strings, it was something you can't ignore.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"I'm studying, 'Hiro. What's up?" You asked him as he raised an eyebrow at you. You stopped writing to look at him fully.

"We're at a mall." He states like you didn't know. It was bizarre to go to a mall cafe and your purpose was to study when you were with the spontaneous Hanamaki. That's on you for getting distracted on your strict teachers subject.

"Yes, Makki. I know that." He lets out a pft then takes the notebook of yours, closing it. Even putting on the caps of your pens and placing them back in your pen pouch. He also grabs your bag and placing all of those items inside.

You didn't stop him though. You've had enough with 'studying either way'. You'd die if saw how you weren't even taking notes, you were actually writing about how beautiful his eyes were. You were just purely lucky that he didn't care what you were writing because he thought it was about school.

"Happy now?" You asked him as he nods with a childish grin.

"Super. Let's go, cutie." Your eyes widened with his statement so you turn your head away to sling the backpack on your shoulder but he stops you before you could.

He removes his hoodie and hands it to you, making you stare at him.

"What for?"

"It's hot- well duh it's cold, Y/N. C'mon I wanna go to cinema. " He says nonchalantly as you take the hoodie and wear it. What causes you to stop midway was when he pulled down your blouse to prevent it from rising up when you wore his jacket. After placing your arms in, you blushed at minimal gesture.

It made Hanamaki let out a cough, when he did it like a reflex, not even thinking about it.

"Cutie huh?" You teased making him roll his eyes, though he was thankful that you broke the silence.

"Yeah no shut it."

There were many more memories that could list out why you liked him but maybe they just held the same reason.

"Leave him a note then if you can't say it in person." Mattsun suggests, even though he wishes he could've said something else. He doesn't know if that was a good suggestion or not. This could ruin whatever Makki was planning on doing. He should ask him about his plan later on so he can tell you what not to do in order for his best friend to succeed.

You reached the front of your house as you gave Issei a hug, to thank him. He pats your hair as your pull away from him.

"Hey, you've got this. It's you and Makki." He says smiling, assuring you. You nod at him as you sent a wave, him doing the same then walking away.

When you entered your room, your phone rang. Seeing Makkis name light up your room had you answering it in a heartbeat.

"Makki, what's up?"

"Hey, I just called to say I'm sorry I couldn't walk you home today. " He says running his fingers through his hair. He did want to walk with you but he trusted Mattsun. He couldn't waste the time Iwaizumi gave him for advice.

"It's fine, 'Hiro. Mattsun and I are fine." He smiles at what you said, while you left your phone on the nightstand you decided to change out of your uniform. While Makki decides on what to say next.

"Hey Y/N?" He calls for you, once you were done dressing up, you took the phone lying down on your bed.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go out, for real this time?"

"I'm gonna go sleep." He says, biting his tongue, despising how he couldn't say it. He hears you yawn on the other end of the line.

"That's a lie but night Makki Makki!" You said chuckling as his ears turned red at the nickname. He shakes his head with a smile.

"Goodnight, dumbie."

"Hey! I called you a decent nickname."

"Wow okay then. Goodnight, princess."

Hold up, he said what?

I said that?

He quickly ends the call before you could let out a comment on what he just said. A wave of panic rushes to him not knowing your reaction. You covered your face with the pillows the surrounded you, letting out a frustrated scream.

Fuck.

The morning comes and Hanamakis heart was racing like he going to attend a deadly match but in reality he was just going to confess. He's set all the things that he needed for today, mostly the materials but he himself wasn't nearly as ready.

He's going to wear a uniform. How the fuck do you make that look presentable and polished? Should he wear a new hoodie for you to wear afterwards? Just- how?

He's been staring at himself for too long then he hears his parents call for him saying that Mattsukawa was at his front porch. He sighs before grabbing his bag and heading out of his room.

"So you ready?" Issei asks as Hanamaki shrugs. He wanted it to end right away but then again he wants things to slow down while he sees your reaction when does it.

"Fuck no. Iwaizumi helped me with a few things, he said something about gifts so I searched for some." Mattsukawa nods, as he thinks about what you were up to. Can it actually happen now? The two idiots would finally have the guts to confess on the same day?

"Honestly, this will be very entertaining. What time?"

"I was thinking kind of like after school." He says making Mattsukawa agree with him. It benefits the both of you. Never in a rush to admit, it could also give Makki some time to accomplish some of his plans.

"Do you think it'll go ok?" Hanamaki asks, almost nervous for his answer. Mattsukawa only smiles, knowing the possible ending.

"Yeah."

Betrayer. Oikawa thinks.

He lets out a pout of annoyance and when he spots you, he immediately walks over to you before Hanamaki could.

"Morning Oikawa! Have you seen-"

"Y/N-chan! I'll walk you to class today!" He says sweetly making you question in what was going on. He sees you peer your head over his shoulder, looking for Hanamaki which made him scoot a bit so your vision was blocked. Realizing that Hanamaki probably hasn't arrived yet, you shrugged.

"Okay, Tooru."

As Oikawa slings his arm around your shoulder, he could feel Takahiros stare as he walked with you. Even Iwaizumi had to double take on what he just saw.

"What's with him?" Hanamaki asks, feeling a slight burn in his heart when he sees you laughing with the pretty setter.

"I don't know, maybe he's just bugging her." Iwaizumi comments, making Makki roll his eyes. Mattsun takes notice of his behavior and lets out a chuckle.

"Aww, seriously. It's Oikawa! He's not going to steal your girl." Hanamaki blushes at his words and the boys eye his reaction, making them laugh at the change. Makki rolls his eyes before letting out a sigh, an act as if to reassure himself that things would go according to plan.

When Makki enters the room and meets your eyes, you already flash him a smile gesturing for him to seat with them. Oikawa sends a glare in his way making Mattsun lazily raise an eyebrow to the setter. Oikawa turns his attention to you once again, his chin on his palm as he stares at you.

"You're so pretty Y/N-chan! Wouldn't want that to go to waste do we?" Your ears couldn't really believe what you just heard. A sea of gasps echoed through the room when the compliment left Oikawas mouth. Murmurs of how luck you were started to spread and Makki was stood frozen.

"Flirting with my best friend isn't cute, shittykawa." Hanamaki comments, a distinct tone in his voice that didn't sound all too jokingly. The word best friend rings in your head as you actually felt a strike to your heart with his words.

How can you confess like this when you're down to rejection?

You felt like Hanamaki gave you a wake up call. Is this really the farthest you could go? Just friends? You let out a sigh, suddenly throwing away your previous plans of admitting your feelings for him. You gripped the pen in your hand as you tried not to be controlled by the pain.

Mattsukawa sees how your hand was trembling, replaying what Makki said, he nudges the boy next to him who was busy giving a cold shoulder to Oikawa. Mattsukawa prays that Hanamaki realizes what he just said.

Hanamaki feels the harsh nudge of his best friend making him look your way, a downcast evident in your features. Before he could ask you what's got you upset, the teacher walks in making Oikawa and Iwaizumi leave. Oikawa passes by Hanamaki making the tension even more noticeable.

Mattsukawa grips Hanamakis arm, to stop his mouth from sending a snarky comment and to hold him back from a glare. Hanamaki sits in his usual place as he ponders on what's gotten you this down. Was it Oikawa? What did he tell you? Could it be something that included him?

He sincerely hopes it doesn't involve him or else his hearts going to keep aching with jealousy.

What the fuck?

That was the only question that lingered in Hanamakis head.

Throughout the day, he figured that he'd be able to avoid you without you knowing what he was doing but instead, he found himself getting distracted in the fact that you sat with Oikawa between breaks. He couldn't even focus where to put the gifts in, he's totally forgotten about his locker and the possibility of you finding about it makes him panic.

He just hated how he feels the envy consume him. It took him a while to not give in to it. He had to continue, if he didn't- he would cower away. He wasn't going to waste another chance because of Oikawa, he can promise you that.

"You think Oikawa knew something? Maybe he's actually stalling you." Mattsukawa suggests, to remind Hanamaki that he was sure the setter isn't a barrier to his plans.

"He said something to her- I just know it. She's distant with me." He says tiredly, Iwaizumi leans on his arm to whisper to Hanamaki.

"Maybe he figured out you were going to confess." Iwaizumi says shrugging, Hanamaki shakes his head.

Are you turning him down then if this was real?

A way to softly push him away and tell him that your friendship mattered more?

If this was the case, he's leading his heart to a trap.

And it went like this until Makki had to confront Oikawa, sick of the change in you. It was practice time so he had the setter to himself. He knew you were waiting for him so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

He just wanted to be yours already.

"Oikawa, what did you tell her?" He asks quietly. Even if his heart held its beat because of jealousy, he's sure that the boy he was talking to had no interest in you the same way he has. Oikawa has never shown you signs of love or any affection at all. Sure, it was fun to be around him but he looked at you as a friend, a company he can find comfort in but who's to say Makki doesn't feel nervous?

"I didn't tell her anything what are you talking about?" The boy answers making Makki sigh.

"She's avoiding me. It doesn't make sense then." Oikawa raises an eyebrow at Takahiros expression. He looked so- distraught. It starts to sink in him how the lack of your presence takes a toll on his friend and there was the tiny ounce of regret that hits his mind.

When he sees Hanamaki open his locker to reveal a boquet of flowers, his eyes widen. He then closes them immediately, cursing himself for the misunderstanding.

"Isn't that what you were supposed to give Aika?" He asks, his throat dwelling with nervousness. Hanamaki furrows his eyebrows, evidently confused in how their classmate who he is even close to, got dragged into the situation.

"What-"

"Shit."

"Oikawa!"

I hate running.

He says to himself whie doing it, he's never ran this fast before. God, now everything was at rush. He had to pack his things immediately, make sure the sweat didn't cling to him like it did. He even had to rummage through his locker to make sure everything was inside his bag. Mattsukawa was also frantic. Iwaizumi was calm enough to knock some sense into Oikawa after Hanamaki tells the news on what exactly happened.

So here he was running to your neighborhood, flowers and all because he'd be dumb enough to be the guy in Oikawas misunderstood scenario.

"Oikawa!"

"Wait okay fuck I'm sorry- I might have heard something wrong earlier." He says, a hand to the back of his neck. Hanamaki isn't sure if he should feel relieved that Oikawa doesn't have any admiration towards or feel the fucking rage to strangle him for whatever led to this.

"What exactly did you hear anyway?"

"I can't just give the flowers to Aika. I can't act like an admirer of hers, I have to confess to her myself." Hanamaki says sighing as Iwaizumi and Mattsukawa nods.

Oikawa turns his back on the trio as he frowns at the idea of you and Hanamaki not being a couple. It seems that his friendly gestures didn't actually hold anything else, he'd fallen for Aika instead. Though he feels slightly pissed that Hanamaki led you on in some sort of way.

Once he sees you, he immediately goes your way in order for you to not witness the heartbreak that was about to unfold.

"Oikawa, I was planning to confess to Y/N. Mattsukawa suggested that I try to give her the flowers anonymously at first by letting Aika bring it to her but like I said, I didn't wanna look like an unknown loser." Hanamaki lets out a puff of annoyance as Oikawa rests his hand on the boys shoulder, now that tiny ounce of guilt grew and grew.

"I'm really really sorry, Makki." He says sincerely, Hanamaki sighs before nodding at Oikaws, accepting his apology knowing Iwaizumi could lecture the boy after his slip up.

"I need to go to Y/N now." He says but Kindaichi looks at his teammate with a water bottle in hand.

"Y/N-san left hours ago." He says as Hanamaki sends a glare towards Oikawa then he looks at Kunimi just to confirm Kindaichis statement. Kunimi nods before returning back to his unbothered state. Hanamaki lets out a scream of frustration as he dashes towards Mattsukawa and Iwaizumi, Oikawa being dragged along by his shirt.

"Oi, did you two fight?"

"Long-story short he thought I was giving the flowers to Aika. Now please, lecture the damn asshole- I need to find Y/N." He basically hands Oikawa to Iwaizumi who already landed a ball to the captains head as he runs off to his locker to leave immediately.

He could never adore someone else when you remained to stay at the top of his list- since no other name follows it.

He pats down his sweat with a towel before drinking water then spraying his cologne all around him. He was in front of your room door since your parents gladly invited him in while he mentions to be quiet at the sight of the boquet of flowers in hand and now it's finally happening. He was either going to face a prize or a bucket of tears.

Here goes nothing then.

He knocks on the door as you continued to scroll through your phone but you spoke, "It's open!"

He opens it softly, before stepping in your room, closing the door in the process. You look up from your phone only to get the life knocked out of you when you see Hanamaki.

"Hey Makki-"

"Y/N please I just need to tell you something okay."

He takes the vacant spot next to you on your bed as both your hearts pounded loudly with each second. Your mind couldn't stop racing at what he was going to say if it was just flat out rejection, meanwhile Hanamaki doubts what he bought you. He carefully takes your hand with his, caressing it gently while your cheeks were heating at the moment.

"Y/N I-"

You roll your eyes before ending the call, not even caring to know who called. Meanwhile, Makki wanted to stop himself from coughing from the embarrassment.

The phone rings. Oh, fuck me.

"Go on- really sorry." You say with a slight chuckle, as he smiles, thankful you read the room at how nervous he was. Instead, he went to his bag to find a certain box. Once he finds the blue box, he takes your palm and places the object on it.

You smiled at him you opened the box, praying that you don't let out a squeal when you see what's inside.

"Paper rings?" You say chuckling as Hanamakis eyes widen, threatened to pop out of his sockets since he was in full disbelief. You laughed as Hanamaki tried to get the back from you but you ran from your bed to wear the damn thing.

"Y/N!" He yells trying to reach the box from your hands but your laughter echoes through the room.

You're too fucking cute for me. You think to yourself.

"It's a perfect fit on me, Takahiro." You say even holding out your hand with the paper ring as Hanamaki hides his face on a pillow, an attempt to hide the humiliation. He can never bounce back from this. Where was the actual matching rings that he bought? The one with yours and his initials were embedded on? Did he leave it on his desk when he was trying to figure out your ring size? He was truly fucked.

When you tried to reach for him, the ring broke since it was surrounded by tape and it didn't really held strength to it. Realizing that it was folded paper, you opened it seeing scribbles and doodles from Makki.

Y/N's ring size is 6 maybe 7?

Get the flowers that Iwaizumi suggested. Which flower was it again? The ones that symbols love? Fuck it.

Does she prefer me with this perfume or not?

She smells amazing all the time, I hate it.

God, I like her too much it's unbelievable.

I feel like I'm proposing to her but I'm not complaining.

You immediately drop the paper to look at him, switching your gaze between him and the paper. You hid your face in your hands as you wondered if this was actually reality. Hanamaki likes you back? Proposing? It was overwhelmingly cute.

Hanamaki lifts his head from the pillow and he sees you looking like you were embarrassed for him. He immediately goes to you, hands on yours as he tries to lift them off your face.

"Do you want me to kiss it better?" He teases, hopefully it was able to grab your attention, and it did. You slap his chest from how flustered you were as he laughs before taking you in his arms, playing with your hair as your mind goes blank.

"Okay maybe the secret is out but I'm serious, Y/N. I like you- so fucking much it makes me wanna buy all the shit you want if we succeed in a heist- and I never wanna stop feeling this. The ring is crappy but I've got the actual one in my room so" He pulls away from your embrace as he lifts your chin to meet with his face who was intoxicatingly close.

"Do you accept my proposal of being my girlfriend?"

"If I said no?" You teased with a smile as he chuckles before locking his lip with yours, his hand finding its way to your cheek as you immediately kiss back, the pieces finally clicking in its rightful place. He deepens the kiss as your hand finds its way to the nape of his hair, pulling him closer while his own hands make a trip to your waist who he soon finds addicting.

He pulls away, caressing your cheek as your forehead touched, smiles plastered on either faces.

"I gladly accept, 'Hiro."

"Not like I'll take no for an answer, princess."

#haikyu x reader #haikyuu!!#hanamaki x reader #mattsukawa x reader #mattsukawa issei #hanamaki takahiro #oikawa tooru #hajime iwaizumi #aoba johsai #xine's world of romance

101 notes · View notes

emilyoftheshadows · 3 years

Text

Person A catches a bus home everyday, but today, they're so exhausted that they fall asleep, suddely they feel a light tap on their shoulder and open their eyes to see a cute guy/gal/person smiling at them. "Sorry to wake you, bit this is your stop, i hope you slept well"

So, this is the first piece I have written and posted here! This is a fluffy drabble loosely based on the prompt above as well as some tik tok ideas i've seen. I hope you enjoy and don't judge too hard :)

~~~~~~

Aelin never knew that she could feel such a wide range of emotions in such a short amount of time. The hectic events she had endured earlier in her day had left her drained and in dire need of sleep.

She started out her mornings as usual - brewing her coffee with the help of an overly excited Fleetfoot. On the subway ride to work, coffee in hand, she explicitly remembered checking her emails for any important notices regarding her job. As an advertising agent, she dealt with multiple clients at one time. With her meticulously organized calendar and the help of her overworked assistant Marion, she was usually able to keep everything in check. Today was not one of those days.

As she entered her office, Marion greeted her with her tablet in hand- Aelin’s schedule color coded, labeled and sorted by hour.

“Good morning Ms. Galathynius, ready to hear your schedule for today?” Aelin nodded, sipping her coffee as Marion listed her client meetings for the upcoming day. As they entered her office, Aelin paused.

“Marion, could you please repeat that first meeting again?”

“The Havilliard Scotch pitch at 12?” And that was when Aelin knew she was fucked. This pitch was meant for a well known drinking company in New York, fast on the come up. Havilliard Sr. was known to be picky about his branding, scrutinizing most agencies that had helped him before. She had barely gotten this client, practically begging Nehemia for the job. As she worked the branding, she had become worried about the content she was producing.

She was so worried about this pitch, that she had taken her laptop home last night in hopes of triple checking her work for mistakes and to fine tune some details. And that's where her laptop was at that moment. At her apartment, across town, sitting on her desk, collecting dust. Her mind raced at how to solve her predicament. The subway ride to and from her apartment was too long of a trip to make before the meeting and, like an amateur, she hadn’t saved her files anywhere else but her laptop. She was completely fucked.

Marion stood in the doorway, confused on what was going on in Aelin’s head. Aelin decided to finally release herself from her stupor. “Marion, could you please go find Aedion for me? And tell him it’s an emergency.”

With a determined look on her face, her assistant went as fast as her short legs could carry her to Aedion’s office on the adjacent part of the building floor she was on. Within minutes, Aedion was standing at her door, panting like he had just sprinted the fastest race of his life. The good thing about having her overbearing cousin work with her, is that she knew that in any problem he would help in an instant. And this was one hell of a fucking problem.

“What happened Aelin? Are you okay? Were you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?”

“You idiot I am physically fine, but still screwed and I need your help.” Aedion released the first breath Aelin had seen him take since entering her office.

“You know, when Marion power walked into my office saying you had an EMERGENCY and she didn’t know what was wrong with you, I definitely thought you would be passed out on your floor with blood on your face. But, you know, thanks for the heart attack. Really woke me up this morning.”

Aelin rolled her eyes at him. He was more dramatic than her, and that spoke volumes in itself.

“Aedion, please it really is an emergency. I have the big pitch for the Havilliard Scotch today and I left my laptop with the presentation at my apartment.” Aedion’s eyes widened in surprise. He knew that Aelin had been obsessed about this pitch and that mistakes like this only happened to her once in a blue moon. Aelin saw understanding dawn on his face and took that as a sign to continue.

“Now, I know a while back I sent you the rough drafts of the branding from when I first got the pitch. Is there any chance that you have the email or presentation saved still? If I have the basis of the presentation, I have an hour to build on it and hopefully fix this.”

Aedion’s face fell at the request. “We can go look, but you know I’m not the best at organizing my files Ace. It could be anywhere on my computer or not at all.” With those reaffirming words, Aelin and Aedion walked at a brisk pace back to his office. Combing through Aedion’s computer was an agonizing process. There were files saved from years ago that should’ve been deleted, and backtracking through all the contents of his computer made Aelin want to stab her eyes out. But it was all worth it, because hidden in the depths of this man’s terribly organized computer was the presentation. With a quick click of a button, she emailed the document to herself. She gave a half ass hug to Aedion, then practically ran to her office to start reworking her pitch on the computer there.

Aelin believed it was pure adrenaline that enabled her to finish her pitch in time for the Havilliard meeting. With a strong foundation laid out before her from her first draft, she had constructed almost her exact pitch that was left at home. Aelin waited for the Havilliards in the boardroom, smoothing out her clothes as she paced at the front. Far too soon, Marion escorted Havilliard Sr., Dorian Havilliard, and their close friend and partner Chaol Westfall into the room for her presentation. The three men had sat down in silence with no introduction, except for a small encouraging smile from the younger Havilliard. Taking that as her sign to start, Aelin cleared her throat.

“Hello gentlemen, today I want to present to you the future of Havilliard Scotch…”

---

As the men had exited the room single file, Aelin finally allowed herself to relax. That had felt like the longest pitch of her life. Going into the meeting, she had known the men were notorious for being extremely serious and critical of their agents. What she had not expected was the whispered words between the men after she had finished her presentation. As she looked on, Dorian Havilliard had finally broken away from their circle to address her.

“Miss Galathynius, thank you for your time. We will get back to you shortly about our decision to run with this branding or not.” With a quick nod and gesture to his companions, the trio had stood up and left the room. She was utterly shocked. Aelin had poured her sweat and tears into this pitch, quite literally, and they had just thanked her and left. No critiques, no opinions, no nothing.

Quite honestly, Aelin was exhausted. She had spent most of her brain power reworking that pitch in that 45 minutes before that meeting and she had nothing left to give today. Yet, she still had a full schedule left to woo clients and work on her other projects. By the time Aelin trudged back to the subway, she was ready for a nice dinner at home followed by a restorative night of sleep with Fleetfoot at her side.

Now, as she entered the subway, she immediately noticed the mystery man sitting down a few feet away from her. The man was moderately built, with muscles that were outlined by the fabric of his long sleeve t-shirt. His style was simple with a pair of nice jeans and Doc Marten boots, but that just allowed one's focus to settle on the beautiful creation that was his face. Mystery man had a strong jawline, lined with a bit of stubble and scruff. His eyes were a beautiful shade of green like none that she had seen before, his head topped with luscious silver hair. As the subway started, Mystery Man continued to sketch drawings into his book. Now, Aelin was never one to back down from an opportunity to flirt with one of the most attractive men she had ever seen. She was a single woman in a big city, why the hell not. But her day had taken a toll on her, and she just didn’t know if this was the right time or place. So, she opted to put in her headphones as she waited for her stop, listening to relaxing music to calm her anxieties regarding the failed Havilliard pitch.

Seeing that her stop was next, Aelin rose from her seat to wait in line for the doors to open. As she waited, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Low and behold, there was the Mystery Man standing next to her with a piece of paper in hand. As she pulled her headphone out, the man silently handed her the paper. Looking down, she saw a pencil sketch of herself on the subway. The drawing was beautifully done with bold lines and harsh shading, contrasted by highlights created from the fluorescent lights of the subway. Her eyes welled up, immediately grateful for this thoughtful gift after such a horrible day. The Mystery Man saw her emotions, startled to see tears welling up in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude on your privacy. I just… I like to draw and when I saw you… I mean, it’s just you’re so stunning..” The man’s face flushed red as he tried to justify his beautiful art. Aelin laughed out loud for the first time today at his misunderstanding of her swell of emotions.

“Oh no, these are just tears of..uhmm.. happiness? I guess…” She started to flush at her own awkwardness, trying to explain her emotions this time.

“I just had a really rough day and feel like shit. But this drawing is beautiful and I really am grateful that such a talented artist like yourself chose me as your muse today.” Aelin watched as the Mystery Man reacted to such a lavish compliment, somehow developing an even deeper blush with a shy smile . Gaining confidence from his reaction, she decided to make her move before she exited for her upcoming stop.

“Hey, Mystery Man, why don’t I give you my number? Seeing that I am your muse and all, I would really like to learn more about your art.” It was a subpar pickup line at best, but hey, she had a long day and for the circumstance she thought it good enough. The man gave a deep timbered laugh at her pickup line, clearly enjoying their conversation now.

“I think I might be one step ahead of you actually. Flip the drawing over.” As she flipped the paper, she saw a messy scrawl with the name Rowan, and what she could only assume was his number. The sight of these two things brought her complete giddiness. Giddiness that made you want to jump in the air and pump your fist because you're so excited. She looked up at Rowan, smirking as she tucked the piece of paper into her purse.

As the subway doors opened and they were pushed apart by bypassers, she turned around one last time to look at the man who had brightened her day beyond belief. She winked at Rowan as she walked away, not missing the wide smile he gave in return as the subway doors closed and continued on to the next stop.

76 notes · View notes

olivia-anderson-fanfic · 3 years

Text

A Miraculous TikTok Account

Part 9

First

Chat laid back in his bed but, for once, he wasn’t tired.

He was set to go on patrols that night, so he’d pretty much done everything he’d wanted for the day earlier. He’d gotten all his sleep, watched every video, finished his skin and hair care routines…

Only to find out that, hey, he didn't actually need to do that because Hawkmoth had chosen today to akumatize someone.

So patrols were out of the question. Hawkmoth had a recharge time of a few hours it seemed, but he usually didn’t do multiple akumas on the same day. They were always less powerful when he did too many in quick succession.

Well, at least he could go fight the akuma, right?

Wrong.

Because it was quickly brought to his attention that he actually couldn’t go, because the akuma was Mr. Pigeon and he quite famously had a bird allergy.

So the three women had all headed out (Carapace had stayed behind to finish an essay) and Chat had been left behind.

He scrolled through TikTok for a while. The app was definitely watching him, because almost all the content on his For You Page was animal videos…

Not that he minded.

But he could only handle so much cuteness at once, so that only worked for a few minutes.

Next, he went on Twitter to see what everyone was currently arguing about. That was bound to be entertaining…

Unfortunately, it seemed everyone in Paris was more concerned with the akuma than anything else at the moment. He didn’t need action shots of his housemates or to know more about Mr. Pigeon’s new plan to take the birds to space or whatever so he can… feed them? What?

The only other notable app on his phone was Instagram, but he wasn’t about to go on that. He was supposed to be in Tibet at some fancy private school, if people saw he was active he’d have to come up with answers to the millions of questions he’d inevitably get.

Now what…?

He pushed himself up to a sitting position with minimal groaning and attempted to run a hand down his face despite his mask.

Screw it. He was bored. He’d go bother Carapace.

He shuffled two doors down. He knocked twice…

There was a scrambling sound before he got a yell to come in.

When Chat actually did so, he found Carapace fastening his mask to his face. He was sitting at his desk, the area around him littered with crumpled pieces of paper.

“Salut?”

Chat batted away some with his feet as he made his way towards Carapace. “Salut. Chloe would kill you if she saw how much paper you’re wasting.”

“Paper is biodegradable, isn’t it?” Said Carapace with a slight grin.

“True.”

“... is there a reason you’re here?”

Chat didn’t answer, instead he slung himself over Carapace’s lap and laid there like a giant housecat. Which he pretty much was.

Carapace wasn’t even all that surprised.

All of the miraculous holders were well aware that the miraculous had side effects for them. They seemed to have attributed his constant need to be in contact with others as one of the side effects.

Chat knew that wasn’t the case, he was just Like That, but who was he to tell them they were wrong?

Carapace reached down and gave his hair a tiny ruffle and then went back to work.

Chat pulled out his phone again and started scrolling idly through Twitter for something to do (also he was kind of curious about the space pigeons now). The sound of Carapace’s pencil on the paper and his tiny sighs and curses were the only noises in the room for a while…

His eyes slid over the room. The bed looked untouched, there were a few empty energy drink cans strewn about, but other than that...

“So, wait, is homework literally all you do when you’re in here?”

“It’s all I have energy for outside of working out and patrols most days. Why?”

Chat rolled over to look up at him. “It’s just… you’re so…” He tried to think of a way to phrase it nicely, but when he couldn’t he settled for: “boring…?”

Carapace frowned a little. “And you’re so annoying!”

Chat flinched. As most people do when someone insults them.

His face softened and he groaned a little. “... sorry. That wasn’t… I’m just a little stressed out about school. This paper is due at midnight and I don’t know what to write.” He cracked a half smile and motioned to all the wads of paper. “As you might have been able to tell.”

He relaxed as well. “Yeah. I hear school is stressful.”

“You hear…?”

He hesitated. They were supposed to keep most things about their lives as civilians a secret, but… there was no way he could figure out who he was from this piece of information, so: “I was homeschooled.”

Carapace raised his eyebrows, thought about it, then nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Huh?”

“You have sheltered rich kid vibes.”

“... thanks?”

“No problem,” he responded easily. He set his pencil down and stretched as much as he could with someone still laying across his lap. “So. You had to have had a good education. Have any tips for my essay?”

Chat yawned and closed his eyes. “Depends. What’s the subject?”

“Film history.”

“... I don’t know anything about that, I don’t think, sorry. Ladybug or Rena might, ask them when they get back.”

Carapace laughed a little. “I don’t need information, if I did at least then I could just look it up, I just don’t know how to… write?”

He blinked his eyes open and then looked at him. “I can help if you just need to get your thoughts in order.”

“Really?” Said Carapace, his face lighting up.

Chat groaned a little as he stretched out. “Sure. Let me get a whiteboard.”

“We have paper…?” He said, watching his housemate get up and start walking out of the room.

“Shhhh, it’s for the aesthetic.”

Chat walked to the fridge and grabbed the whiteboard and markers from it.

He took a quick picture of the board so he could put everything back on it when he was done. Rena had apparently been doing some calculations on it. He remembered, vaguely, that she had mentioned calculating Hawkmoth’s height…

Holy crap. That’s tall. Sure, Hawkmoth was tall, but was he really THAT tall?

He shook his head slightly and erased, then returned to Carapace’s room. He smiled as he held them up for him to see.

“Tada.”

“So… what are we doing?”

“You --” Chat pointed a marker at him. “-- are going to talk about everything you know on the subject. I --” He pointed at himself. “-- am going to put everything in categories and we can go from there.”

Chat very quickly discovered why he was having so much trouble getting anything down. Carapace was… let’s call it ‘passionate’. The moment he started speaking his words tumbled out so quickly that Chat had had to scramble to pull the cap off of the marker so he could start sorting.

But, really, it always is nice to hear someone ramble about something they’re passionate about. Chat had to fight an urge to just watch and listen to Carapace as he talked about how ‘absolutely insane the textbook is for not going that much into eastern theater when there’s so much to talk about about kabuki theater alone --.’

Two hours and many struggles to fit so much information into such a compact space later, Carapace had run out of things to talk about.

“... is there a page limit?” Said Chat as he tossed over a water.

Carapace caught it without even really looking and took a few sips before speaking again: “Uh… yeah. Five pages max. That’s… my main problem.”

Chat looked at the board. What was on there alone was probably two pages in itself and that was just the general names of the topics…

He tipped his head from side to side and then circled a part of it. “Behold. That’s probably around four, and then you can do a bit of extra plus an introduction and conclusion.”

Carapace looked like he was going to cry.

“Are you… okay?”

He sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Where have you been all my life?”

“Uh… being homeschooled?”

“Oh. Right.”

Chat slung himself over Carapace’s lap again as he got to work. He scrolled through his phone for a while.

He jumped a little when he got a text. Still not used to that.

He opened the message.

Ladybug: We’ve washed off and changed clothes so your allergies won’t be irritated. Heading home now.

Kittychat: Thanks :D

He got left on read by three people, but that’s fine.

“They’re on their way back.”

Carapace grinned. “Wow, they beat Mr. Pigeon? Shocker!”

When Chat laughed a little, Carapace’s grin got a little more mischievous.

“Seriously, though, imagine losing to Mr. Pigeon. Couldn’t be me.”

“I am allERGIC --!”

He was cut off by Carapace’s laughter and, after a moment, he joined in.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence…

Then Chat got an idea. A small smirk made its way onto his face.

“You said that your account was going to be showing the world that we’re all normal people under the masks, right?”

“Among other things…?”

“Want to mess with the others and get some footage?”

“You complete me. C’mon.”

Carapace snatched his phone off his desk and they headed down to the living room to prepare.

~~~

Taglist

@nathleigh @mialuvscats @sassakitty @th1s-1s-my-aesthet1c @blueslushgueen @woe-is-me0

#a miraculous tiktok account #chat noir #adrien agreste #carapace #nino lahiffe #ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #queen bee #chloe bourgeois #rena rouge #alya cesaire #miraculous team #miraculous fic #ml fic #rewriting miraculous #chloenette #chlonette #adrino

69 notes · View notes

pyox1 · 4 years

Text

A Team Effort - Liu Yangyang

When you learn from your teacher that the biggest project of the year will be a team effort, you can’t help but grow frustrated. Yet again, you’ll have to give double the efforts for an assignment that’ll be signed by two names that haven’t done anything close to equal work. You can’t help but be pleasantly surprised when you find out your partner is actually a fairly decent person.

Genre : Stranger to lover au, fluff

Pairing : Liu Yangyang x reader

Word Count : 3,2k

This goes out for the anon that requested a stranger to lover au with a shy yangyang confessing. Hope you like it <33

It had all started when you had been assigned to a project with a name you weren't familiar with. Your teacher had decided on making the biggest project of the year a team effort, which you found to be ridiculous. Your grades were something you were proud of; not like the usual student that attended your school. Even if you were in enriched classes, the vast majority of the class couldn't care less about their academic performance. All from rich families with contacts in almost every field, they didn't have to worry about studying, knowing their dream job was already waiting for them.

When your name had been called after the one of Liu Yangyang, you were everything but happy. You wanted nothing more than to be able to work by yourself, without having to constantly drag someone behind you, only to get a passing grade.

Not knowing much about the boy, you had been reluctant to meet up with him. You could already imagine how your first meeting would look like. Awkward silences followed by ideas the both of you wouldn’t agree on, and even more awkward silences. You had already come to the conclusion that you would have to do the work on your own.

Surprisingly, it had gone well. He had arrived ten minutes earlier than planned, with arms full of notebooks. You clearly remembered how he approached you with a warm smile since you were expecting the complete opposite.

"(Yn), right?" He asked, to which you nodded. "Hi, I'm Yangyang. I'll say it right now, I'm so happy to be paired with you. Now I won’t have to worry about Lucas leeching off my back for good grades." Relieved flooded through you. You let yourself relax into your chair as he sat down next to you.

"Okay, so, I did a bit of research this weekend since I had free time. I hope that’s okay with you." He said flipping through pages, already immersed in the work. To say you were in awe was an understatement. You couldn’t believe he was real. "Uh, hello?" He waved his hand in front of your face.

"Yes! Sorry- yes. It’s perfect." You said, trying to hold back a blabbering mess from spilling. "I just… I didn’t think I'd be paired with someone so enthusiastic."

"Is… that a bad thing?"

"No!" A loud shush resonated through the library. You swallowed nervously, repeating lower. "No, it's a great thing." Yangyang stared with a playful glint in his eyes.

"Good. I was joking by the way." With that, he continued explaining his ideas as if nothing happened. Your mind couldn’t process the situation. First off, you had been teamed up with a decent person. Well, decent was underplaying it. He seemed hard-working, interested, and even… kind? You concluded the next few weeks weren’t going to be so bad after all, and you were right.

In fact, the first few meetings in the library had gone so well that Yangyang had invited you to work over at his place instead. He had tried convincing you by saying that you’d be able to share your ideas more freely without the constant death stares of the librarian.

"Plus, I have an amazing variety of snacks and drinks at my place."

"Mmmh, I'm not sure if I'm convinced." You said with a teasing frown.

"Well, I also have a hot older brother that you can swoon over while you're pretending to listen to me." You through a pencil his way, trying to distract him from the blush that was slowly glazing your cheeks.

"You’re an idiot."

"I'll take that as a yes. We can walk there tomorrow together after school." and that’s exactly what you did. Walking down the streets of the neighborhood felt comfortable with him. The conversation flowed naturally, with jokes and teasing being the main elements. It was as if you had known him for a long time.

After walking through his front door, you immediately complimented the nice home. He had laughed a bit, promising to tell his mom. He assured you that it would bring her over the moon. You smiled thinking about Yangyang talking to his mom about you.

If you had thought that studying at his house would be a good idea, it had turned out to be a horrible one. Without the constant supervision of the librarian, you and Yangyang were left on your own. Almost no work was done that night. Instead, you discussed your favorite shows, meals, hobbies, and much more. You quickly realized you had a lot in common and that you liked being in his company. You hoped he felt the same way.

The rest of the week was spent forming a pattern. With you walking side by side with the grinning boy, arms occasionally touching each other. It was such a banal touch, but it still got your heart pumping faster. You were getting more at ease in his presence.

You had spent every afternoon over at his place. Sometimes you even forgot the main reason you were over, too occupied talking about anything and everything. It was so out of character of you to avoid finishing your school work, but here you were, captivated by the words of a boy you barely knew.

You usually left before his mom got home, trying your best to avoid any uncomfortable introductions. Each and every time, he’d walk you out with a twinkling smile and a promise to see you again tomorrow.

You always felt on cloud nine while walking home, reminiscing over every little detail that had stained your mind. For example, when his finger brushed against yours while reaching for the same pen at the same time. Or when he’d compliment your makeup and your clothes, although already seeing you that day.

Those small moments brought out the cliche school girl in you. You wanted nothing more but to stay in a constant state of daydream, with these little bits of souvenir being its main plot.

God, you were such a hopeless romantic. One more step and you were about to write his last name with yours in a journal.

It was only on Friday night that you told yourselves you needed to concentrate at least a minimum on the project due in a week. The both of you putting your mind at work for once, you had completely forgot about the time ticking by. It must had been around 6 o’clock when a little girl appeared in the dining room.

"Yangyang?" The girl called out. She could only be his sister, you assumed.

"Yeah?" She shyly walked up to him.

"Mom was wondering if your girlfriend was staying over for dinner." Shoot, you had overstayed your welcome. But wait... Were you hearing things right? Had she just called you his girlfriend?

"I don’t know, why don't you ask her." You felt as if you were on the edge of bursting. He stared at you intently, a smirk plastered on his lips. The girl inched towards your side of the table.

"Will you?" Her eyes held a hopeful glint.

"I- I, yeah. I mean- yes, sure." The little girl's smiled grew as she excitedly exited the room. You didn't dare to say a word until the sound of her skips resonated further in the house. "What was that about?"

"She wanted to know if you were staying over for dinner." He answered, unbothered, his attention glued to the screen of the laptop in front of him.

"Huh? Yeah, I got that part." You tried formulating your next words without sounding like an idiot. "She called me your…"

"You'll have to speak up if you want me to understand anything you're saying." He was playing dumb, you thought. Unless he was actually dumb but that couldn't be right. You crossed paths with a lot of stupid people in your life, and Yangyang wasn't a part of them.

Shaking your head, you let out a small laugh. It had probably just slipped out of his sister's mouth by accident. She probably called all of his female friends that and it just went over his head.

"Nothing. Don’t worry about it." You still weren’t sure if he was messing with you. He probably hadn’t heard it. Looking back at him, you swore you could’ve seen a look of disappointment flash on his face. You instantly tried lightening up the mood.

"Didn’t you tell me you had a hot brother?" You took the snicker he let out as a success.

"I only have a little sister… How else was I supposed to convince you to come over?" Definitely not the answer you were anticipating.

"Oh… I see." Silence followed. You had no idea how you were supposed to answer. You continued writing down on your paper until his voice interrupted you.

"The rosy cheeks is a good look on you." That's when you officially knew that Liu Yangyang would be the death of you.

After the dinner you had spent with his family, you felt that you couldn’t get closer to the boy. It was crazy to you that you barely knew of his existence a week ago.

His sister had shown herself to be way less timid at the table, blabbering her day away to you. You had listened carefully, adding jokes, where you thought, was necessary, earning high pitched giggles from the girl. You hadn't noticed how Yangyang was carefully watching the interaction.

His mom also noticed the way her daughter had opened up so easily to you. She also had caught the way her son's smile formed as he talked with you. She hadn't seen his smile get that big in a while. Peacefulness invaded her mind. She automatically knew that you were going to positively influence him.

When the dinner was finally over, you took the time to thank his mom for her kindness and the meal. You helped clean the table while the overjoyed girl insisted on showing you her doll collection.

"Don't bother her dear," Her mother tutted. "Y/n will have to go home now.” The girl crossed her arms, displeased with her mom.

"Yangyang, why don't you walk her up to the door?" Her mom sent you a wink, assuring you that you didn't have to clean up. She made it clear that you were welcomed whenever.

Arriving at the front door, the boy cleared his throat. "Sorry for my sister and my mom, they're a bit intense."

"Don't worry, they're super nice. I might come back next week just to see them again."

"Not me?" He let it out as a joke. He would have never admitted to it out loud, but he also wanted to see how you'd react.

"I think we've seen enough of each other for a while now, don't you think?" You teased back. He shrugged, his hands hidden in the pockets of his pants. Any trace of sarcasm had left him.

"It's nice spending time with you." He admitted. Your breath got caught in your throat. The expression on your face said it all. He took it as a win. "See you next week then."

The weekend succeeding that Friday night felt like the longest you had ever lived. Confined between the four walls of your bedroom, the minutes felt like hours. It was the first time you could remember being bored alone. Usually, you’d love having time to yourself, but now it seemed so pointless.

Still, an idea popped into your mind. You could take some advance on the work. That way, you'd get more time with the boy without this stupid project butting in.

“I’m such a genius.” You had mumbled to yourself, tipping furiously away on your computer. Even then, the subject had become dull and boring. You huffed and puffed through a few paragraphs before coming to a realization.

You wanted nothing more then to be in Yangyang’s presence again.

That’s why when you got to school Monday morning, the first thing you did was to scan the hallways, in search of his brown locks. When you had finally landed on his tall figure, putting his books in his locker, you felt an instant boost of happiness. Clutching the straps of your backpack, you walked up to him.

"Good morning!" You chirped. In response, he laughed gingerly. He was wearing a black hoodie and black jeans. It might not have been the finest fashion, but he shined in whatever clothes he was wearing.

"Someone seems to be in a good mood." You couldn’t even let his teasing get to you, too happy to finally see his charming face again.

"Your place tonight? I found more information, I think we might almost be done with this project!" The intentions behind your words were to be encouraging, but Yangyang had taken them like a blow to his guts. He didn’t want this project to end this fast. You, on the other side, we're working on the side to finish it quicker. Maybe he had read this wrong.

"Yeah, sure. I’ll meet you at the end of the day when the bell rings." With no other words, he walked further in the sea of students. You stood in the middle of the hallway, a pit forming in your stomach.

Something was wrong. You hadn't known him for long, but it had been enough time to know that the lack of emotion in his voice was not normal. You disparately wanted to run after him to know what was wrong, but ultimately decided against it.

You shouldn't have to push any information out of him. If he had something on his mind, you believed he'd come to you to discuss it.

In the meantime, you had continued your day as normal. It had gone by longer than usual, the itching thought of an upset Yangyang never quite leaving your mind alone.

As promised, when the last bell ranged, he was waiting beside your locker. The walk was different that afternoon. You had tried the usual small talk, but his answers were cut short. Even when you had thrown a few jokes, his reaction had stayed the same; serious and thinking, almost.

Arriving at his house, you were already making your way to the dining room until he grabbed your hand, stopping you from walking any further.

"Is it okay if we study in my room this time?" He asked. It was the first real sentence he had spoken to you in the last hour. His voice had a hint of a plea in it.

"Aren’t we going to finish the work in the dining room like we usually do?" The boy let out an exasperated sigh. There you were again with your fixation on finishing the project.

"Is that all you care about? Finishing the project and then going back to what it was like before?" He said, his grip on your hand tightening, almost as if he was scared you were going to disappear into thin air.

"Yangyang… I have no idea what you're talking about." He signed again.

"Can we please just go in my room, I’d prefer having this conversation in private, out of prying ears." He gestured to the side with his chin. You looked over to catch sight of his little sister's curious eyes peeking from the living room.

You agreed, following the boy in silence, your hand still in his. Entering his room, he closed the door behind him. His eyes wouldn’t leave the floor.

"Look, I know that you only care about the assignment at this point and all you want is to end it as quickly as possible, so here's what I suggest. I can finish it myself and you won’t have to come back-" You rapidly cut him off.

"Stop rambling, I won’t let you finish this thing alone." He had been bottling up his thoughts for the whole day and now they were coming out like word vomit. He bit his lip, annoyed with himself.

"Look, what I guess I’m trying to say, is that you don’t have to spend time with me anymore. It’s okay, I won’t take it personally." You held his arms as if to shake him out of his weird thoughts. His eyes finally met yours.

"I don’t know who or what made you think I didn’t want to spend time with you but it’s the complete opposite. I want to finish this project to spend some time with you, you idiot." Right away, you felt himself relax in your hold.

"So that’s why you continued working without me this weekend?" His tone was suddenly much gentler.

"Of course it is. This weekend felt like an eternity to me. The least I could do was to take some advance to spend some time with you doing literally anything else." The boy felt all his worries wash away. You knew exactly what to say for him to feel better.

"I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought those two days were abnormally long." You broke into a giggle. His expression quickly returned to a serious one.

"Y/n… I have to tell you something." You nodded, encouraging him to continue. " I- um, this is kind of hard to say."

He started playing with his fingers, trying the find a good way to deliver his feelings. You would’ve never thought you would get to see the boy grow so nervous. It was the first time you saw him stumbling over his words. Normally, you’d be the one in that position. You found the situation quite amusing.

"Stop smiling," He whined. "I’m trying to be serious!" You pressed your lips together, repressing a laugh.

"Sorry, sorry, go on." He walked around his room for a while before taking in a big inspiration. He stood in front of you, standing as still as a statue.

"I like you, Y/n." He said. His confession was remarkably anticlimactic that you couldn’t help but be confused.

"I like you too…?"

"No, you’re missing the point." He bit the inside of his cheek. " I like you, like you. I like the way you laugh or the way you’re so serious about your studies. I like your smile, your eyes, your nose, the way you giggle, or the way you roll your eyes when I say a stupid joke. I want to spend all of my free time with you. But most importantly- I want you to be my girlfriend." Your hands reached for his face, cupping his cheeks gently. He closed his eyes at the contact, his hands coming to layover yours.

"You’re in luck then, because I’d really like for you to be my boyfriend." You didn’t leave him the time to answer, instead choosing to press your lips carefully against his. He hummed, his hands diverting to your neck. His thumbs threw circles on your skin as he deepened the kiss.

His tongue swiped on your lip, to which you gladly let access into your mouth. Shivers ran through your body, the closeness being almost intoxicating. When he backed away for air, your lips mindlessly followed his, to which he chuckled, resting his forehead against yours. His lips landed one more time on yours, in a quick and chaste way.

"Don’t worry, when we finish this project, we can do all the catching up we have to do in that subject."

Aaand it's done! This is my longest work yet and I'm super proud of it.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read it. Feedback is always appreciated:)

#kpop #kpop drabbles #kpop imagines #nct imagines #wayv imagines #nct #wayv #nct u imagines #liu yangyang #yangyang #liu yangyang imagines #yangyang imagines #yangyang drabbles #yangyang scenarios #00 line #00 line imagines #yangyang fluff #00 line fluff #stranger to lover au

186 notes · View notes

thelordofdarkreunion · 3 years

Text

Family Business II

A follow-up to “Family Business.” More family, more Scoundrel shenanigans. If you want to see anything in particular or have any requests, feel free to tell me! As usual, no one except Drake belongs to me.

“I bring peace through superior firepower.” -Thomas Drake

After introductions were made, the various Scoundrels mingled throughout the room, speaking with the families of the only two among their number that really had them. Many of them knew that Kirk had a family, somewhere, and that his upbringing was quite good, especially compared to most of theirs, but he never spoke of them, and they never asked. Shepard stood near his mother, who was currently shooting ‘we’ll talk later’ looks in his direction. They were deep in discussion with Kirk, apparently speaking of the various intricacies and differences between the Starfleet and the Alliance Navy.

Vir was next to his parents, talking politely with Cooper and Quill. Solo and Cain stood in the middle of the room, holding drinks and generally mingling, but not speaking to anyone. Solo did this out of habit; he really had no desire to speak with anyone, and in most of the parties he went to, talking with others was a good way to die quickly. Old habits. Cain looked completely at ease, not wishing to speak with anyone. He found tensions flared quickly with the people of these new galaxies when they asked about the Imperium of Man. Best not to upset anyone.

To the surprise of every person present, a group of Vir’s nieces and nephews had immediately gravitated to the Chief. One of them grabbed him by the hand and outright insisted he come with her. Currently, the massive armored form of the Master Chief was sitting next to a gaggle of children as they played some sort of game. The more talkative were babbling to him as he simply sat, almost unmoving, watching curiously. The children thought he was great. Here was an adult that actually listened to them! It also helped that he was wearing a very cool set of armor. Children were odd like that, thought the Chief to himself. He didn’t have much experience with them, but he’d heard stories.

Thomas Drake found himself face to face with Thomas Vir.

“Thomas. A pleasure to meet you.” He stuck out his hand. Vir took it.

“And you as well, Thomas. A good name, Thomas.” Pale skin met black leather. Vir looked up, puzzled. He half-held a slip of paper to the light, slid to him during the handshake. Before anyone else could notice, Drake moved forward. In a completely unobtrusive and natural movement, he lowered Thomas Vir’s hand into the shadows.

“Don’t speak. Look natural. Talk to whomever you wish after this, but still, act natural. I know you can. In several minutes, excuse yourself. Go to the bathroom, and if there isn’t anyone there, look at the note. If there is, go in a stall, wait for them to leave, I care not. After this, quietly and unobtrusively tell them the contents of that note, and make sure they keep it a secret.” Drake flashed a grin. Vir looked worried. He’d been a part of things like this for far too long, and wanted to put it behind forever. “Relax, Thomas. It’s a party.” Drake made a move to pull away. Vir stepped forward to block him.

“Why me?” he hissed.

“Because I trust you to know what you’re doing. You and your father are the only ones with the skills to do this and do it correctly. There’s more to us than meets the eye, Thomas.” With a wink and swirl of his coat, Drake disappeared into the talking throng.

Twenty-ish Minutes Later

“So. You’ve been stationed aboard my son’s ship?” asked Martha Vir. Admiral Vir himself stood nearby, ready to quell any arguments about to start. He’d learned from almost bloody experience that the Imperials did not initially get along well with the citizens of the other galaxies, and vice-versa. He tried not to think of the beginnings of Imperial propaganda he’d seen springing up on his homeworld, and the people who might accept it… But he knew his parents wouldn’t. They were better than that. And, from experience, so was Cain. The Commissar stood across from Adam and Martha, resplendent in his dress uniform and far too much gold lace.

“I have indeed,” replied Cain. Gloved hands covered a glass of some sort of alcohol. He had no idea what it was, but if he wasn’t put in these new galaxies to sample all their drinks, then what was he here for, Throne-dammit? “It is a fine ship.” He pursed his lips, considering for a moment. “Very new, a bit small compared to most of the battleships I’ve been on, but a wonderful ship nevertheless.”

“Small? It’s one of the biggest ships in the galaxy!” teased Martha Vir. “Tell me. What’s the largest in yours?”

“I am by no means a naval expert, so I wouldn’t really know,” offered Cain apologetically.

“Nonsense! Give me your best guess,” insisted the Vir matriarch.

“From what I have heard amongst the naval officers and Astartes personnel I’ve had the pleasure of serving alongside, I believe the largest would be the Gloriana-class battleships assigned to some of the Space Marine chapter fleets,” said Cain.

“How big are they?” asked Admiral Vir, his personal and professional curiosity piqued.

“Gloriana-class battleships are extremely rare… and are usually about twenty kilometers long.” The silence was deafening.

In another corner of the room, Thomas Vir spoke with his father. He had discreetly gone around the room and passed on Drake’s message. It had been simple, two lines of pencil scrawled on a tiny piece of paper.

Do not speak of Eris. Do not speak of Adam and Sunny.

Thomas was an intelligent man. He realized the tensions between these new galaxies, but only now did he understand their full extent. If Drake had sought to warn them already, even against members of his own group… well. That wasn’t good. The bigger question was: how did he know, and what was he going to do?

“What do we do, Dad?” asked Thomas Vir. His father considered for a moment, frowning.

“I’ve talked to all of these people your brother works with. Especially that one.” He pointed to Cooper, currently speaking with Quill in underhanded tones. “He’s fine. Special forces. Seems like a good enough person. But the one who gave you the message…” he trailed off. He sighed and closed his eyes as he remembered. “I met a man like that once. During the war.” Thomas kept quiet. His father rarely talked about his time serving in World War III. “We saw him around occasionally. He said he was a clerk. He wasn’t. It was too obvious. He never had the skills or temperament of one. But no one ever asked, because there was something about him… some core of sheer violence behind his eyes that everyone knew they probably wouldn’t be around long if they questioned him too much. Some sort of special forces. Or a spy. We never really knew. But him,” Vir’s father nodded over to Drake. “He’s like that. He’s dangerous.”

“What about everyone else?” asked Thomas, not wanting this opportunity to go to waste.

“The other two that scare me are him,” he pointed to Cain and the golden Aquilia on his cap, “For obvious reasons, and him,” he pointed to the massive armored bulk of the Master Chief, “For also obvious reasons.”

“So why are we letting them play with the kids?” muttered Thomas. Indeed, both the Master Chief and Thomas Drake were over in the open space to the side of the ballroom entertaining the children. Thomas Vir and his father watched with slight trepidation, and, in the other corner, Han Solo, with amusement.

“And then James said he’d go with me and then we did and it was awesome! And there was a big hill and we played king of the hill and I won but I still rolled down the hill because that was fun and have you ever done that?” asked one of Admiral Vir’s nephews, continuing his story. Master Chief regarded him with solemn eyes behind his golden visor.

“I have,” he said shortly. Although, not in the particular way the child was thinking. There was a lot more gunfire and explosions involved.

“Great! So then after that we went near the river and we-” The Chief tuned him out for a moment. It wasn’t to say that the children were boring, but he was just so miserable at this party. He had no idea what to say to the adults, and the children had already grabbed him to make him sit with them. There was some sort of paper decoration on the top of his head, put there by one of the children. He didn’t move to take it off. It would fall off, eventually, when he stood up. He had run through every conceivable situation he could think of that resulted in the room being attacked, and gone through each combat simulation in his head. Twice. He had gone through what might happen if one of the wait-staff was hostile. Or one of the family members. Or the children. He looked down at the small boy, still babbling to him about things he did last week and how the starship ride to this planet was so cool. So, probably not the children. He couldn’t help it though. He was built for combat, built for death. He had no idea what he was supposed to be doing here.

“Why do you wear gloves?” asked one of the children to Drake. Another, her cousin, older and much wiser, tried to sush her.

“You can’t just ask people why they wear what they wear!” she said to her cousin. Drake laughed. You could fool adults, you could fool super soldiers, you could fool demi-gods, but you couldn’t fool children. Somehow, they always knew. He knelt down to the youth and removed his gloves by the fingers; first the right, followed by the left. In the corner, Solo watched with fascination. Come to think of it, he’d never seen Drake without his ever-present black gloves. He’d never thought about it until now, but it was rather strange. Even when eating, Drake never took them off. Why?

The two children recoiled, the younger with a slight shriek at the sight of Drake’s ruined left hand. The third and fourth fingers, along with the flesh beneath, were horrifically burned. The right side of the hand, fore- and index finger along with the thumb, were normal, unmarred flesh, though a shrapnel scar ran down the edge of the thumb. The smaller child stared at the hand in horrified fascination, as one might look at a particularly dangerous animal in a zoo.

“Don’t stare,” said her cousin. Despite her warning, she, too, was sneaking peeks at the burns. Drake chuckled at them again.

“It’s alright,” he said. He took his right hand, scarred, but not horribly burned as his left was, and traced the edge of the burn marks. “I look at it, sometimes. It’s interesting. Like a science experiment. Here,” he beckoned the two closer. “It’s really interesting, actually. Look at the contrast between the burned side and the regular side.”

“What is… contrast?” asked the younger one, her mouth still trying to frame the unfamiliar word. Drake smiled again.

“Contrast means difference. You’re learning about burns, you’re learning about words. You must be smart. I can tell that.” The two children watched in fascination as Drake told them about burns, what they did to the skin, and how to treat them.

In the corners, Solo and the Virs watched the two men, one a super soldier with an admitted zero amount of social skills, one a very dangerous gun for hire, play with small children, and did it well. Interesting.

Ten Minutes Later

It was with a not insignificant amount of hassle that everyone was seated. The children were at a smaller side table, talking amongst themselves, while the adults were seated at a massive long wooden table. It reminded most of them of some sort of medieval feast table. It was almost impossible to talk to the people on the other end, but, in the end, it somehow worked.

Vir and Shepard were next to their respective parents. Quill still looked as if he had no idea what was going on, and Solo was next to him, having no one else to talk to. Cooper had assimilated into the party wonderfully, and was next to the Virs. Cain was on one end, looking slightly uncomfortable with the knowledge that everyone else was uncomfortable near him. Poor Cain. Drake had his gloves back on, and was looking over everything like a hawk about to strike. The Chief was near the entrance door, having politely declined to eat anything. This consisted of a much kinder “no” from him. Oh, well.

It was after the first course was served that it happened. Everyone was talking, the idle dinner chit-chat so common amongst human parties. The waiters had moved out of the way, their job temporarily done. The double doors that led to the ballroom opened, ever-so quietly. An unmistakable human figure, dressed in an all-black jumpsuit and mask, stepped forward, pistol outstretched, pointed at the table. Before anyone saw him, it would already be too late.

His arm was twisted, knocked aside with such force he was left temporarily breathless. The gun dropped out of nerveless fingers, and the assassin screamed as the Master Chief broke the radius and ulna with a crush of his massive hand. The black-clad killer only had a slight second for shock and utter horror to register beneath the mask as the Chief’s gauntleted hand punched him so hard it left a dent in the wall where his body impacted.

A second assassin, wielding a much more powerful compact submachine gun, stepped into the space her fellow had vacated, weapon already raised and ready to fire. Master Chief was out of position. For all his speed, for all his lethal reactions, the Chief would be too low, and he knew it. Shots would be fired before he got there.

Gunfire rang out, the individual cracks! of pistol fire. Drake and Cooper stood, hands forward, clutching guns they had summoned from the recesses of their coats. The assassin’s head exploded, brains scattering in a ruined mess. Children screamed. The killer’s dead body slumped backward, into the hallway. The Chief grabbed her weapons and shut the door behind him.

The Scoundrels were all standing now, as was Hannah Shepard and Vir’s father. Drake slid out of position, pushing his chair back in, and opened his coat.

“Gentlemen,” his voice broke the eerie silence of the ballroom as everyone tried to react to what had happened. “Meet your dates for tonight.” Inside his coat lay a veritable armory. Pistols and full magazines hung from holsters and hooks. Dozens. Dear lord. Cain, Solo, and Quill were already on him, picking guns that looked closest to what they normally wielded. Drake slid the other weapons on the table, which were soon joined by those of the assassins. He grabbed most of the sharp steak knives off the table, and tucked them in his belt or gave them to his fellows.

“Drake?” asked Vir tentatively. “How is it possible to carry that many guns and still move normally?” Drake grinned as he pulled what looked like a sawed-off plasma rifle from his pants and assembled it.

“Cybernetics in the coat. And beneath.” He tossed a weapon to each of his comrades, and one each to Hannah Shepard and Vir’s father.

“You two know what you’re doing with these, I think,” he said. “Right. So, uh, yeah. I am going to take all the unstable maniacs, no offense intended as I am one, and we are going to kill everyone who dares interrupt this glorious dinner, while all of you who need catching up go catch up with your families,” Drake gave an elaborate bow to the still shocked table. “Please ignore any explosions, music, gunshots, and unpleasant gurgling noises.” He made a move to leave, followed by Quill, Solo, Cooper, and the Chief. Hannah Shepard held up a hand.

“Wait! I wouldn’t want you to get yourselves killed on our behalf,” she said. Drake only gave a lopsided grin in response.

“Haven’t you heard? Legends never die.” With a cackle of maniacal laughter and swirl of greatcoats, they were gone.

And there we have it. I hope you enjoyed the story. More to come soon! If you have any questions, comments, criticisms, concerns, or requests, feel free to tell me!

#magnificent scoundrels #story #writing #my writing #crossover #mass effect #halo #empyrean iris

12 notes · View notes

13-reasons-ideas · 3 years

Text

Once a Serpent? Part 2

The following week, I started school at Liberty. I went to the office for my schedule. There, I was greeted by a very cheerful girl. She had a black bob haircut. She stuck her hand and introduced herself. “Courtney Crimsen.”

“Kennedy Campbell.” I shook her hand awkwardly.

“I’m going to lead your tour.”

“Oh. I gave myself a tour last week?”

“Well, I’ll give you an insider tour.”

“Okay?” I wasn’t sure about her. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but she seemed to be overly nice. I followed her around the school as she pointed out various things. I had passed by most things in the main building the week prior. She pointed out where some of my classes were and then we went outside. She showed me some of the other buildings. My biology class was on the third floor of the science and technology building.

“Thank you for the tour.” I smiled.

“Of course. If you have any questions, I’m around. You’ll see me in the halls. Feel free to ask.”

“I will. Thank you again.” The bell rang. We parted ways and I walked to my locker. It took a couple of tries, but I got it to open on my own. As I was filling it up, I heard someone calling my name. I looked up and turned around. The voice called again. I looked in that direction up the hall and saw Montgomery walking towards me. Yup. Still hot. Even in regular clothes and not sweating. I waved. He stopped when he reached my locker.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” I pulled my algebra textbook

“How’s your first day going?”

“It’s okay. I haven’t had any classes or anything yet. Courtney gave me a tour.”

“That must have been fun. She’s pretty….”

“Cheery?”

“I was going to say uptight.”

“I got that impression, yeah.” I pulled out my schedule. “I should probably get going. Try to find my way to algebra.”

“Okay, I’ll see you around.”

“See you around Montgomery.”

As I was walking away, he called out, “If you want you can sit with me and the guys at lunch.”

“I have bio in room 347. Come find me.”

One nice thing about starting school at the beginning of the school year, was that you didn’t have to do the stupid introductions no one cares about. In algebra, I picked a seat near the back. I did fine in math. This made it easier to blend in. A boy with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes sat down next to me. He was wearing a blue and white varsity jacket. He took out his books and arranged them on his desk. He turned towards me. “Hey, can I borrow a pencil?”

“Sure.” I dug one out of my bag.

“Thanks. I’m Scott.”

“Kennedy.”

“You’re new here?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Not really. If you ignore the way you’re looking around like you aren’t prepared for this at all.” I sighed.

“Says the kid that asked someone for a pencil on the first day of school.”

“Touché.” I laughed.

Class started. We spent some time going over the syllabus for the semester. I circled some dates and points. When the teacher, Mrs. Smith, started teaching, I started to zone out a bit. Nothing too major. But I did miss a couple of operations. I turned to Scott and nodded towards his paper. He turned it towards me. I copied it down quickly. “Something the two of you would like to share with the class Mr. Reed?”

“No Ma’am. Just class notes here.”

“Sorry.” I said quietly.

“Keep up you two.”

“Yes Ma’am.” We said. The rest of class passed without incident.

When biology ended, Monty was standing across the hall. “You found me.”

“I did. Lunch?”

“Sure.” We walked to the cafeteria making small talk. I hated small talk, but it was better than being stared at. I followed him through the crowded room to a table occupied by several large jocks. I was right. I’m going to guess and say football.

“Guys, Kennedy. Kennedy, Guys.”

“Hey.” The boys nodded.

“Hey. Hey Scott.”

“Kennedy. How was bio?”

“It’s the first day, so boring.” I laughed. Scott laughed too. I sat next to him and reached into my lunch bag. I pulled out my carrot sticks.

“She’s in my algebra class.” He said to the table. They were watching us.

“He saved my ass when I wasn’t paying attention. I also apologize if anyone hates the sound of crunching. We only bought groceries for a few days.”

“Ah.”

While we were eating, I started getting warm. I wasn’t used to the heat here. I took off my sweater, not even thinking twice about the fact that I was wearing a tank top. While I picked at my wrap, sorry, I mean ‘rolled sandwich’, I could feel someone watching me. I had grown used to the feeling, especially in the last couple of years. “Yes?”

“What’s your tattoo supposed to be?” Scott asked.

“It’s personal. I got it a couple of years ago.” I could feel him examining it. “I’m probably not going to answer your questions.”

“Did it hurt?”

“Not really. It felt more strange than painful.” Someone else was looking at it too. I turned around. I caught a boy staring at me. He was wearing a worn in black leather jacket. Not wanting to cause problems on my first day, I ignored it.

“No tattoo questions. Can we ask general questions?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Where are you from?” Bryce asked.

“That’s a loaded question.”

“Oh?”

“My dad is a Major in the Army. Which ‘from’ would you like?”

“Lunch isn’t even half over yet.” Montgomery pointed out. It seemed his friends called him Monty. You aren’t his friend.

“Okay, well. I was born on the base in Germany. We lived there until I was three. Then dad got stationed in Denver. Lived there until I was about six. From there, we moved to Chicago. I was about eight when we moved to New York City. We were there until I was about twelve. Then we moved to Riverdale. My dad had requested to move upstate to have a change of pace. He could still commute. And then we moved here like a week or so ago.”

“So where do you consider home?” Charlie asked. He seemed like he was genuinely nice.

“Riverdale. Not just because we were there the longest. I put down roots there. I actually made friends. I dated. Some relationships were less serious than others.” You mean other. “I grew up there. It’s where I became my own person. It’s home.”

“How old are you?”

“Eighteen.”

“Why did you have to move then?”

“I haven’t graduated yet. My parents didn’t want to leave me there alone while I was still going to school.” If I had my way, I wouldn’t be here by now. I could feel someone’s eyes on me again. I looked and caught Monty staring. Maybe here won’t be so bad.

I got a text from Jughead as we were all talking. Hey Kenz. How’s California treating you?

Hot.

You love the heat. :P

I know. It’s the best. :P

Other than that, how’s it going?

It’s going okay. I met some people. My tour guide was… Happy with a capital P.

They made you take a tour?

Yup. And I still got lost looking for my biology class. I chuckled to myself.

“What’s funny?” Bryce asked.

“Nothing.” I put my phone down on the table. That evidently was a bad idea. My phone started buzzing rapidly. I grabbed it quickly and grimaced. “Sorry.” Fangs was texting me. He seemed to be in a great mood for the first day of school.

Kennedy! We have news. Good news. Great news. The best news. Of course, each sentence was a different message.

Oh? What’s happening?

They put soda in the vending machine again. That’s it? That’s the news?

“That’s it?” I asked, out loud.

“What?” A few guys asked.

“Shit. Did I say that out loud?”

“Yes. So now you have to share the reason.” Scott smiled.

“My friend is freaking out because they out soda in the vending machines at my old school.”

“That’s not a bad reason to freak out.” Monty shrugged.

“I don’t need six individual text messages about it.”

“Well. That’s a lot.” I nodded.

After lunch, I had a free period, so I wandered around the school a little more. My tour wasn’t exactly the greatest after all. Once I mapped out a decent route to my classes, I decided to sit outside. It was nice out. It’s California. It’s usually nice out. I couldn’t help myself while I sat. I pulled out my phone and started scrolling through pictures of Sweetpea and I. A lot of them were candid shots one or the other of us had taken. There were some at various gatherings. One of me the first time I put on his old jacket. IT had felt so foreign to me then. Now it felt like something was missing because I didn’t have it.

Approaching footsteps startled me. Instinctively, my hand flew to my front pocket. Then I remembered that my knife wasn’t there. I had left it at home. I didn’t need it here. It was safe. I wasn’t a target anymore. “Hey.” The voice said above me. I already recognized it as Scott.

“Hey.”

“Can I sit?” He motioned to the ground.

“Free country.” I watched him sit on the bench next to me. He left a respectable distance between us.

“How’s your first day going?”

“It’s okay. How’s your first day of senior year?”

“It’s okay. Doesn’t quite feel real yet.”

“It really doesn’t, no.”

“I’m going to apologize for my friends now. They can be a handful sometimes.”

“I know how to work with that. My friends back home were… a handful and half.”

We sat quietly for a few minutes. “Is Miss Smith always so?” I trailed off, unable to find the right word.

“Intense?”

“Yeah.”

“She can be. Usually at exam time. Nothing too out of the ordinary.”

“Good to know.”

“New York, huh?”

“Yeah. I was pretty young when we lived in the city, so I don’t really have a lot of cool stories.”

“But of Riverdale?”

“I have stories.”

“Like?”

“Can’t talk about them with strangers.”

“I don’t have to be a stranger.” I turned to him and raised my brow. “Oh. Oh

no. I didn’t mean. I have a girlfriend.”

“Is that how you asked all your friends to be friends?”

“No.” He didn’t sound very convincing.

“Friends then. I won’t cheat off you in math by the way.”

“That’s probably a good thing. You wouldn’t do great if you did.” We exchanged numbers. “So, since I’m not a stranger anymore, does that mean I can hear some stories?”

“Soon enough.” I smiled. Scott headed off to meet his girlfriend.

I pulled out my phone again and texted Jughead. I made a friend. My thumb hovered over Sweetpea’s text chain. I couldn’t bring myself to delete it or his contact. I had tried several times over the last two weeks. Something inside of me just kept finding reasons not to. My mind trailed off to the other boy who had caught my attention here. There was something about Montgomery that just made me want to know him. I couldn’t put my finger on it.

It didn’t start feeling like school until the second week of classes. Most of the week prior had been a lot of going over course outlines and review of the previous year’s material. Bryce and his friends had taken a liking to me. It was assumed by my third day that I would be a fixture within their group. Scott’s girlfriend, Melissa, was nice. She didn’t seem to see me as a threat. That’s a relief. I would have hated to have my first real friend here, not be able to be friends with me after all.

In the past couple of weeks, I found myself comparing this group of athletes to my friends back home. Bryce seemed to be the closest to Reggie. He-and everyone else for that matter-considered himself the ringleader of this group. Scott was an observer, much like Jughead. It took me a few days, but I realized that Jeff was pretty similar to Archie. People liked him and he was nice. For the sake of being nice. Charlie, now Charlie was quickly becoming a favourite. He was like a human golden retriever. He reminded me so much of Fangs I wanted to cry. Justin reminded me a lot of Toni. The glue in a way. When I thought of Monty-I was considered his friend now, so I could call him that- I only had one other person in mind. Sweetpea. Well, you can’t say I don’t have a type. I hadn’t assigned roles from my hometown to everyone in the group. Zach, for example was hard to pin down.

By mid-September, I started to get comfortable. Not comfortable enough to let my guard down. I had learned my lesson with Sweetpea. I was hanging out with Scott at lunch. We had both decided we could use a break from being surrounded by jocks all the time. “I don’t know Scott.”

“Come on. You said you didn’t share stories with strangers. I’m not a stranger anymore.”

“I know. Let me think.” I stopped to think about what stories I could share. Ones that didn’t involve outing that I dated a gang member. Or that didn’t involve Sweetpea. That didn’t leave a lot of recent stories. Most of my stories from the last two years involved him or the Serpents in one capacity or another.

“Okay I have one. So my friend, we call him Jughead.” Scott looked at me and shook his head, confused. “It’s better than Forsythe Pendleton Jones III.”

“Yes. That is better.”

“Anyway. He was my first real friend when I moved to Riverdale. We must have barely been thirteen at the time. I had spent the night at his place. we decided we wanted to make pancakes in the morning.” I paused and looked up when Monty sat down with us. What was I saying? I noticed a bruise on his cheek that hadn’t been there yesterday. I wonder what that’s from. No Kennedy. Don’t get involved.

“Hey.”

“Hi. Uh,” I paused.

“Did I interrupt?”

“No. Kennedy was just about to tell me a story about Riverdale.”

“Yeah. Uh, what was I saying?”

“Pancakes.”

“Oh yes! We wanted pancakes. We must have used almost every Tupperware dish in his place. It looked like a tornado had torn through the kitchen. His dad walked out, took one look at the kitchen, and shoo’d us out. We were watching tv until he started a fire in the pan.”

“His dad lit breakfast on fire?”

“Yeah. So, he gave up and took us to the diner for breakfast.”

“How did he set the pancakes on fire?” Monty asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” I shrugged. Scott didn’t ask for another story.

“What’s Riverdale like?” Monty asked.

“It’s a small town. I feel like it’s pretty standard for a small town.” I didn’t need to mention the Serpents or the Ghoulies or just how separated the North and South sides of town were. “The woods are nice that surround the town.”

“The woods are nice?”

“Yeah. Very… woodsy.”

“Uh huh. Anything else?”

“Pop’s Diner has the best milkshakes I’ve ever had.”

“You haven’t had the milkshakes at Rosie’s yet.” Scott interjected.

“No, I haven’t.”

“They have the best shakes. No argument.”

“I think I’ll be the judge of that, Scott.” I smirked.

32 notes · View notes

pishufics · 3 years

Text

study date(s)

"Bertholdt knows that he needs to start trying. It’s junior year, and he’d rather not stay stuck in the same class next year as a senior. If he fails the next test, he’s in some shit. So, he's going to ask you for help."

pairing - bertholdt hoover x reader

tags - high school au, fluff, humor, texting

warnings - none

author’s note - this was just a one shot but i kept writing lol it kind of switches between you and bertholdt, but i don't directly say his thoughts, it's kind of like 2nd person omniscient if that's even a thing LOL

lmk how the texting reads, i'll change it if it's weird

reblogs and comments are appreciated ! mwah

ao3

chapter 1 - two days

reinah: I swear if you don’t just ASK her

Do you want to be held back?

bertoto: relax okay i’ll do it :(

r: Okay, okay

Lmk how it goes

b: i never said i was asking today

Bertholdt sighs and locks his phone once he sees Reiner start to type a reply.

Bertholdt is struggling with English, which surprises him. He’s a good student in every other class, but the moment Mr. Ackermann starts talking, he finds himself dozing off, missing the lecture. Recently, though, he’s awake in class, but still not paying attention. All his focus is on you, who sat in the middle of the classroom while he sat in the back, due to his height (he didn’t really mind, though; better chance of not getting caught asleep).

One day, due to some miraculous occurrence, the short, stern teacher actually had the boy’s attention, but not for long.

“Does anyone have number three?” Mr. Ackermann asked. Bertholdt definitely didn’t. He hoped someone would raise their hand so the teacher wouldn’t resort to calling a random name.

To his relief, you did.

“I think what the author was trying to convey was…”

Bertholdt didn’t really get what you were saying, but he admired your intelligence. You knew the material and could explain it in detail, while he couldn’t even recall the book's name in question.

He started to admire more of your traits - he gazed as you would lightly, but briskly, tap your foot in frustration when you didn’t know an answer and smile at the way your face relaxed when you finally got it. Seeing your motivation in class kickstarted his.

Bertholdt knows that he needs to start trying. It’s junior year, and he’d rather not stay stuck in the same class next year as a senior. If he fails the next test, he’s in some shit.

So, he's going to ask you for help.

...Tomorrow.

“Girl, I don’t have any more fucking gum. I drove up to Costco, bought the value sized pack, and you somehow managed to chew all of it.” You say exasperatedly, shutting your locker.

Sasha pouts. “Are you sureeee? There’s prolly half a stick left in your front pocket…”

You swat her hand away. “There’s. Nothing. Left. I promise.” She continues to stare at your bag.

“Fuckin-” You mutter, reaching into your bag and pulling out a snack-size bag of Cheezits. They’re one of your favorite snacks, but you know you can’t win when it comes to Sasha and food. You reluctantly hand the bag to her.

“Thanks, y/n!” She smiles and tears open the bag.

“Yknow, you can be annoying as shit, Sasha.”

She winks at you and eats her stolen prize. You turn to leave and head to 3rd period. English.

Hm. You’re usually greeted by your other best friend around now-

“Yeoooo!!” Oh, there he is. Connie daps you up before wrapping his arm around your shoulders. “What’s good?”

“I don’t really wanna go to 3rd," you answer. "Sasha stole my Cheezits."

“Does anyone really wanna go to any class? And that's your fault, you know you can't bring food without Sasha's fatass taking it,” Connie replies, and Sasha punches his shoulder.

“Okay, I know...have you started studying for the test?”

He blankly stares at you. Guess not. You have the same teacher, but different periods, so you can’t keep an eye on him.

“Nevermind. I’ll see y’all later.” You throw up a peace sign and head in the opposite direction.

It’s not like you’re bad at English, but you just don’t like school in general. You go to class to get your participation grade, then go home.

There might be another reason you tolerate 3rd period, though, and it isn’t the professor. (He is pretty fine, but he's an adult, so you don’t let your thoughts escalate).

Mr. Ackermann didn’t like assigning things online, so most of the work in this class was on paper, contrasting your other classes where everything was digital. Kind of annoying, but you’ve learned to deal with it.

You mainly use mechanical pencils because you hate the way wooden ones write, but one day, to your slight dismay, you forgot them at home. Just your luck.

There’s a container of pencils and a sharpener in the back of the classroom, so you stand up to go retrieve one and notice a tall boy asleep in a desk not too far back from yours.

Bertholdt Hoover.

You knew him, of course. You find it a little rude to not know your classmates' names; you’ve dealt with numerous “who?”s in previous years and don’t want to put anyone through that, so you make sure to pay attention during introductions.

You chuckle at sight. The class has barely even started, and the guy is already dozing. In an awkward position, at that. One of his long legs is across the other, cramped underneath the desk. His head was laying on his right arm with his left against his hair. You thought to wake him up, but he looked so peaceful, you couldn't bring yourself to do it, plus, it's not your business. Mr Ackermann somehow didn't notice either, so Bertholdt always had a good rest in 3rd period English.

Every time you walked into class, you checked to see what weird position he would be sleeping in. You found yourself looking forward to it- he looked kinda cute when he was sleeping- but he stopped one day. You were a little disappointed, but glad to know that he was starting to pay attention in class. You still glanced at him as you walked in- he's a pretty attractive guy. No harm in just looking...

You shrug your backpack off and sit at your desk, stretching your legs out a bit. The walk from your locker to this classroom was kind of far. You reach into your bag, get your mechanical pencil out, and wait for Mr Ackermann to pass out the first assignment.

Just then, you hear someone walk up to your desk, and you glance over.

‘Oh, it’s Bertholdt. I don’t think we’ve ever spoken.’ You feel your face heat up, wondering what he wanted from you.

“Hey, y/n…” He nervously starts.

“Hey. Need something?”

“Yeah, actually...about the upcoming test.”

You hum in curiosity. “What about it?”

He clears his throat. “I’m lowkey failing this class, and if I mess up this test, I’ll have to retake this class next year. Do you think you could, uh…”

Bertholdt inhales in an attempt to calm himself down. It doesn’t really work.

“Could you help me study?” Phew. He managed to get it out pretty well and made a mental note to give himself a pat on the back later. But he hasn’t fully succeeded yet; you still need to agree.

You weren't opposed to the idea. You kind of figured he would be struggling in class a bit since he used to sleep all the time. It’s alright with you, and you wouldn’t mind a potential new friend. Sasha and Connie were exhausting at times.

“Yeah, sure. When?” You pause. “Actually, just text me.” You hold out your hand, asking for his phone.

Bertholdt was practically shaking in his sneakers as he reached into his pocket and handed you his unlocked phone with the contacts app open. You actually agreed! And you were giving him your number! Reiner was going to be so proud, he smiled to himself.

As you type in your info, you appreciate the cleanliness of his phone. That shows you that he’s at least hygienic.

“Aight. Here you go,” you return his device. “See you later.” You smile.

Bertholdt can’t believe this is happening.

Mr Ackermann’s voice interrupts his thoughts. “Oi, Hoover. Sit down.”

Startled, he jumps back a bit at the sudden acknowledgement. He was focused on you and tuned everything else out.

“Sorry, sir.” Bertholdt gives you a quick grin and turns to go back to his desk. Once he sits, he looks down at the new contact:

y/n :)

xxx-xxx-xxxx

Bertholdt can’t help but smile. Just seeing your name and number on his screen made him giddy, and he thought that the smiley face you added was adorable.

His thoughts are interrupted yet again, but not by the teacher. He looks down at his phone, which just buzzed.

| Messages

reinah

Did you do it yet bruh

Good timing. Bertholdt taps on the notification and goes to type a reply, but decides to send him a screenshot of your contact…with your number scribbled out. Reiner was a flirt, and he didn’t want to risk anything.

r: YOOOOOOOOOO HOLY SHIT U ACTUALLY DID IT

Bertholdt rolls his eyes and puts his phone in his backpack. He was going to pay attention- for real - today. He didn't want to seem too clueless when you tutored him.

“Can anyone tell me what rhetorical strategy is being used here?” Mr. Ackermann asked.

Bertholdt certainly could not. But that was changing soon, with your help.

“Okaay, we got Ms. Tutor over here now,” Sasha smiles in between bites of a burger.

“Do you even know how to, like, teach, though?” Connie gives you a skeptical look.

“It prolly isn’t too hard. All I gotta do is help him study. If he needs help understanding a concept, I’ll just explain it,” you defend yourself. “We still have two weeks. Ion mind making flashcards or something.”

“You’re getting into it, huh?” Sasha laughs.

Your face heats in embarrassment. “Girl, you know it isn’t like that.”

“And why not? You’re always bitching about how lonely you are. High school isn’t gonna last forever…” she replies.

“I have no recollection of saying anything like that.” You glare. But she isn’t exactly wrong. You’d like to experience the “high school romance” you’ve heard so much about, and Bertholdt is pretty cute. It’s not like dating is a significant concern, though.

“I’m always here as an option, y/n,” Connie winks as he takes a sip of his soda.

“Hell nah.”

Across the cafeteria, Bertholdt is trying to eat a sandwich, but Reiner won’t leave him alone. He was right about Reiner being proud, but Bertholdt almost forgot how persistent the jock could get.

“I didn’t think you had the balls, dude. I was ready to see English 3 on your schedule again next year,” He grins, arm around his taller friend's shoulders.

“...Can I eat?” Bertholdt sighs and shrugs his friend away.

“Have you texted her yet? What day are you gonna hang out with her? You gonna bring her anything? Flowers or somethin’? Girls like that kinda stuff.”

Bertholdt didn’t really think that was true.

“First off, no, not yet. I need to see when I can actually go. Second, no, I am not bringing her anything. I didn’t say it was a date. She’s going to help me study.”

“Fine, man. At least try to seem more interesting, yknow, so she can like...be interested in you.”

“Are you saying I’m boring? Ouch,” He jokingly pouts and rolls his eyes at Reiner’s double usage of ‘interesting.’

“You said it, not me.”

“Okay, I don’t wanna hear that from you...if it came from Annie, then I’d believe it.” Bertholdt looks in the blonde’s direction. She took a bite from her burger, looked up from her phone, and shrugged.

“Damn, for real?” Bertholdt sinks. He didn’t think he was that dull. He did lots of interesting stuff, like…

Like…

Bertholdt sighs in defeat.

“It’s fine. Maybe y/n likes boring,” Bertholdt huffs, taking another bite from his sandwich.

“Yeah, okay, keep telling yourself that and see where it gets you…” Reiner mumbles.

“Come again?”

“Nothing, man…”

School's been over for an hour or two. You’re aimlessly scrolling through your phone when you feel a buzz, and glance towards the top of the screen.

| Messages

xxx-xxx-xxxx

hey

it’s bertholdt 😁

where should we meet up?

Your heart starts to beat a little faster. ‘Relax, girl… don't act like he's asking you out or something,’ you tell yourself.

y/n: hey!

how abt the library?

+ what day/ time works for you?

You add his number to your contacts as you wait for his response.

bertholdt :^)

is saturday at 3 okay?

y/n: yep

do you need a ride or anything?

b: no, but thank you

see you then ☺️

y/n: alrighty :)

You smile at his use of emojis, send what he requested, then swipe down on your screen to check the day (what? It's normal to forget sometimes.) Wednesday. Two days.

You feel like it would be awkward to study with Bertholdt considering you aren’t really friends, so you decide to text him a little more so it isn't too bad when the day arrives.

----

“See? That wasn’t so hard!” Reiner exclaims. “You could’ve tried to talk to her more, but it went good!”

“I think it would’ve been weird if I did say anything else. Best to leave it at that…” Bertholdt exclaims, trying to calm himself down. He had two days.

He wonders what he should do now. Study so he could impress you? Do something to make himself seem more interesting? What would he even do...?

Bertholdt taps back onto the conversation to reread it for the 6th time. Was there anything he could’ve said different? Should he try asking you someth-

Oh, wait-? You’re typing?

“Oh shit- Dude, she’s saying something else. What do I do?” He begins to panic. Did you suddenly decide he wasn’t worth your time? Were you cancelling?

y/n: sooo

how’s your day been?

Whaaaaaatttt?? You actually...care to ask?

Bertholdt stared at his phone in surprise.

“What’d she say? Cmon! Don’t just look, dude!”

“She...asked how my day’s been-”

“-You gotta reply now! You were on the chat when she said it, so she knows you’ve read it!” Reiner urges.

Shit. He doesn't have enough time to think of a good reply.

good, but better since i’m texting you 😉|

The hell? No, that’s weird. And too soon. He tries again...

pretty good, thanks!

kinda stressing over the test, haha

how’s your day going?

There we go. He twiddles his thumbs as he waits for your reply.

y/n :)

oh, dw, it’ll be fine !

my day was okay

sasha took my last bag of cheez its :(

b: ah, i'm sorry abt that :(

+ yeah, you're right

have you as my tutor :)

“Nice job man! That was...kinda flirty? You’ll get there!” Reiner ruffles his hair in encouragement, and Bertholdt shoos him away. He stares at his phone in anticipation. Was that too much?

----

i have you as my tutor :)

You lean your head on your pillow and feel your face heat up at the compliment ( was that a compliment?)

It’s not like you’re dumb, so he’s not wrong to think that. Your lips curl into a smile as you reread the message. But how do you reply? Should you compliment him back? You don’t really know.

if you’re saying i’m smart, thank you :))

hoping that wasn't sarcasm lol

You wait a minute, and he doesn’t reply, so you decide to ask another question.

is there anything specific you wanna focus on?

You cringe at the double texting, but hope that it doesn't make him think you're weird. You swipe away from the conversation and scroll on various apps as you wait.

b: ofc it wasn’t sarcasm, you're really smart, y/n!

i'm mainly struggling with rhetorical strategies and logical fallacies, but i could

use a general review too

if that's okay with you

You bury your almost overheating face into your pillow. Why is something like that getting you flustered, you wonder. You sit up, take a deep breath, and focus on the second part of his message. You're pretty good with what he needs work on, and a general review should be easy to put together.

y/n :) okay, we can focus on the first 2 on saturday

we can review the unit on other days

see you at school:)

At this point, you really don’t know how this conversation could go any further, so you ended it. Bertholdt returns your goodbye.

You exhale and sit up in your bed. Hopefully tutoring him won’t be too awkward now that you’ve spoken to him a bit, and there's still tomorrow at school to speak to him. You find yourself excited for the study date tutoring session, since you could get your homework done too.

"Two days," you smile.

#bertholdt x reader #bertholdt hoover #bertolt hoover #bertolt fubar #high school au #texting #aot #attack on titan #shinkegi no kyojin #bertholdt fubar #ao3 #fanfic

55 notes · View notes

jalapeno-princess · 3 years

Text

Bad For You Chapter 1

Fuckboy Mark Tuan X Reader

Genre: Angst, fluff (in future chapters), smut(maybe in a future chapter I’m still debating how I feel about that)

Word Count: 4.4K

Summary: Being a senior in college with less than two semesters in your entire educational career, you try your best not to get stuck in situations that will bring you any kind of stress. Unlike most of your classmates, you never searched for entertainment and fun in the college nightlife; partying, clubbing, getting drunk, high and hooking up with random strangers. You believed in working towards what will benefit you in the future. One day, your English professor gives you the opportunity of a lifetime; to pass his class without having to do anything at all. Most students would jump at his offer without hesitation. But what happens when what he’s asking of you just so happens to be the last thing you would ever find yourself wanting to do? Tutoring the same person you vowed never to get involved with? Mark Tuan was bad news and you’ve sworn to yourself that you wouldn’t interact with him under any circumstances. However, the offer is too good to refuse, but will it really be worth it in the end?

A/N: Hey guys! So this is the first chapter of my new series and I already have an idea of how I’m going to go about with this story I hope everything works out the way I want it to. I’m expecting to have about 5-6 chapters, but then again I never go through with what I plan. This first chapter is just an introduction as to how the main characters meet and so it might be kind of boring and more of a filler chapter but I’m sure the next one will be more interesting. Please enjoy!

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

The sound of a clock ticking during a very important exam that was worth more than half of your grade had to be one of the most annoying and infuriating noises in the entire world; you were sure of it.

That damn clock on the wall mocked you—with each click, you could feel yourself getting closer and closer to the brink of insanity. Honestly, you wouldn’t be surprised if you were to scream out in frustration and cause every one of your classmates to turn and look at you as if you were a wild animal. You sure felt like one.

It was as though every time the big hand moved, you’d forget one important piece of information that you studied multiple hours for in order to memorize. No matter how many all-nighters you pulled in the last week, all the notes that you took and repeatedly looked over—nothing seemed to be clicking.

Your mind was drawing a blank and it was really upsetting you. Ever since you were a little girl, you ate, breathed and slept your education. All you ever wanted was to succeed and do well in school.

It didn’t help that your parents put this immense pressure on you to succeed—being the youngest and only daughter out of four children led your parents in to expecting a lot more out of you than they did with your three older brothers. They were also extremely overprotective when it came to you.

Your brothers could go out and do whatever it was that they wanted; attend all these college frat parties, go to numerous bars only to get drunk off their asses and have your parents go and pick them up, drive all around Los Angeles and even leaving your sunny state of California to travel around cities like Las Vegas, Chicago and even New York. Hell, you couldn’t even cross the street by yourself let alone do anything most people would consider fun and exciting.

Everyone who knew of your existence considered you to be a goody two shoes; the teacher’s pet. You found fun in reading and watching documentaries about murderous affairs. Most people your age were constantly partying, getting drunk, high or both. You never understood why anyone would waste their time and money on unnecessary substances such as alcohol and drugs, but you were never one to judge.

Every now and then, your professor would inform the class how much time everyone had left to complete the exam. To everyone’s dismay, the door was slammed open; all eyes turned towards the front of the room—curious about who just entered. As soon as your gaze landed on him, you rolled your eyes in irritation.

“Professor Lee, I’m so sorry I’m late. I—“

“I don’t want to hear it Mr.Tuan, no excuses. You have less than twenty minutes to complete your exam. There’s no retakes, so instead of trying to get out of this one, I’d suggest you take out a pen, piece of paper and start writing.”

The boy in question made his way towards where you were sitting and gave you a smirk before sitting right behind you. Anyone and everyone who knew Mark was well aware as to why he was tardy. His tousled hair and swollen lips gave it away; it didn’t take a genius to know exactly what he was up to.

You couldn’t care less about what he did; you hardly even knew the guy, so whatever he would do in his free time didn’t matter to you. As you began to finish up on your last few questions, you felt a tap on your shoulder.

“Pssst. Y/n.”

Ignore him and he’ll leave you alone y/n.

Every time Mark would try and get your attention, whether it was to borrow a pencil or to coerce you in to giving him the answers on one of your assignments, you’d find yourself groaning in frustration. It’s as though he got a rise out of getting under your skin.

In the three months that you’ve had him in your English 345 class, you observed the fact that he never seemed to bother any of your other classmates except you. He had classmates sitting on either side of him, yet he never once spoke to them.

You’ve known Mark since middle school; he was one year older than you and he lived down your road, but the two of you never really interacted with one another. You came from two different social groups; his group of friends were very well known throughout your entire campus.

All seven members were apart of a sports team and they had to be the most attractive guys at your university. They were also notorious for being quite the players; none of them were in stable relationships.

Mark and his friends were known to hook up with random girls whose names they’d never end up learning and none of them slept with the same person twice. That’s just who they were.

Every Friday night, they’d throw a party at one of their apartments, one of the sorority houses or they’d rent out a hotel room. You made a pact with yourself to never get involved with any one of them. The last thing you needed was to get your heartbroken by an asshole who could give less of a shit about you.

You refused to allow any one of his friends; Mark in particular, take advantage of your kind hearted and gentle personality. As much as you wish you could be a cold-hearted, selfish person; especially because so many people have done you wrong in the twenty-two years of your existence, you could never hurt anyone or do anyone wrong the way they would so easily do to you. It just never felt right.

However, Mark Tuan was someone you wouldn’t care about hurting. He obviously didn’t care about anyone but himself and his atrocious group of friends; so you never allowed him to irritate you for longer than a few minutes. Luckily, he never took things further than a couple of snarky comments and throwing paper airplanes at you every now and then, but you could do without all of his childish antics.

Sometimes, you wondered why he chose you of all people to pick on and disturb. Maybe it’s because you were one of the only people he’s known since childhood, or because everyone was well aware of your friendly and welcoming personality. You were also considered the teacher’s pet for most of your professors.

A few of them; your biology, calculus—and even your English professor for this class had asked you to be their teacher’s assistant because they were confident they could trust in you to help them with their classes. Unfortunately, you had to decline.

With having a full-time job and taking on five classes, there was so much on your plate already and you were afraid that you wouldn’t be able to give them the support and time they needed from their assistants. You had only three questions left to answer and you were more than happy to finally finish the test.

The word exhausted wasn’t even enough to describe just how tired you were. You worked a ten hour shift yesterday because two of your co-workers called in sick and you didn’t have the courage to tell your boss that you were tired from pulling an all-nighter the day before.

All you wanted to do was return back to your apartment and fall asleep for the rest of the week. The constant tap on your shoulder broke you out of your thoughts and for a second, you almost forgot that you were in the middle of an exam. A groan of disbelief was at the tip of your tongue; who did he think he was coming in to class just minutes before it ended, expecting you to help him because it was painfully obvious he had no idea what he was doing.

“Y/n, what did you get for number 5? Hey—pssst—y/n—“

You continued to scribble down a few more sentences on the last question; wanting nothing more than to get out of the lecture hall but Mark adamantly had other plans.

“Come on, please? I don’t know how to answer this—“

“Mark, this is an exam. I can’t help you—“

“Just this one time. I promise. I’m already doing bad in this class. I can’t afford to fail—“

“Well that’s not my problem Mark. You need to learn how to manage your priorities better—“

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean—“

Right as you were about to retaliate and make a comment about his fuckboy lifestyle, a new presence joined the two of you and you felt yourself tense up at his words.

“Mr.Tuan, Miss y/l/n, is there a problem here?”

You shook your head in disagreement and mentally cursed the older boy for putting you in this situation. Not once in your entire educational career have you ever been called out by one of your teachers for not doing what you were supposed to and that was because you never failed to accomplish whatever it was that you were expected to do. There was no way you would let Mark Tuan out of all people get in the way of the reputation you’ve worked so hard to maintain as one of the top students at your university.

“No problem here sir, I was just asking y/n to borrow an eraser.”

Absentmindedly, your eyes rolled to the back of your head at how easily the lie fell from his lips. This happened to be the first class you had him in, but you had a huge feeling he was like this whenever there was something he desired. Whether it was school related, or a way to soothe his carnal urges, Mark would do whatever in his power to get whatever or whoever it was that he wanted.

It was adamant that he wasn’t going to do well on this test no matter how hard he tried. He didn’t strike you as someone who studied, nor did he seem like he cared about his education in the first place. None of his friends did. College was more about the night life experience; the alcohol, constant partying, drugs, sex—school was the last of any of their worries and you believed that one day, it would all come back to bite them all in the ass.

“Hm, is that so? Well then, please return back to your exams and if you don’t mind staying back, I’d like to talk to the both of you about something.”

If looks could kill, Mark would be six feet underground with the glare you were now sending him. The universe was not on your side at all today. Not only did the coffee shop get your order wrong, but your botany professor assigned you a group project you weren’t at all excited for and now—you were in trouble for something that wasn’t even your fault.

To both his and your surprise, you turned around and flipped Mark off. You hated the fact that his stupidity and ignorance was causing you to do all of these spiteful actions that you have never once done to anyone else. He was just that big of a narcissistic asshole and with the way he smirked at you, it was all the more evident that he was enjoying himself.

Mark got in trouble many times in class—or so you’ve heard people talk about. Everyone talked about him; no matter who it was, every single student on your campus knew of him. Some had nothing but envy and respect towards him and others never understood what was so good about him that the boys wanted to be him and the girls wanted to be under him.

You were one of the latter; other than his devastatingly handsome looks and how much of an amazing volleyball player he was, Mark didn’t have anything else going for him. He was the definition of a prick; he was cocky and treated people like shit. He also had a brain the size of a peanut which came as a shock seeing as how his younger brother Joey graduated over a year ago and had his bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical engineering.

In fact, the entire Tuan family seemingly had great heads on their shoulders. Mark’s father owned one of the highest ranking tech companies in all of California. His mom and his oldest sister were realtors. You understood that his wealth and the success of his family were the only reasons why he wasn’t expelled from school. If it were anyone else, they would have been kicked out as soon as their g.p.a dropped below 2.0 like Mark’s was rumored to be.

“Good going dickhead.”

He cheekily winked at you before turning his attention back to his exam. You were going to make his life a living hell for what he put you through. Less than ten minutes later, your professor let the entire class know that time was up and one by one, your classmates began exiting the room. You could feel your blood pressure and anxiety levels rising at the thought of getting detention for Mark’s unintelligent disruption.

As soon as the last person left, you began to come up with what you were going to tell your teacher. You were willing to admit the fact that Mark was trying to cheat and get some answers from you. It wasn’t as though anything bad would happen to him anyway.

He’d get away with trying to get you to give him answers and maybe even torment you for throwing him under the bus. Oh God, what did you get yourself in to? Your professor sat on his desk as he motioned for the two of you to walk towards him.

A soft sigh fell from his lips and you were sure you could pass out because of how nervous you were. Even if you knew you didn’t do anything wrong, you were still freaking out about the consequences that came with helping someone on a test.

“Y/n, I just want to start off by saying you’re not in trouble. So, there’s nothing you need to worry about. However, it has come to my attention that you are looking towards getting an internship at the state capital. You’re majoring in law right? Well, I have a proposition for you, and I know—you might not like this and I’m sorry for asking you to do me such a huge favor like this. I’m sure you’re already busy as it is, but—“ He didn’t even have to ask just yet, you already had a feeling that his favor had to do with the remarkably inadequate boy on the right of you.

“Could you tutor Mark for me? Well, not just for me. His professors sent me emails about what they can do to help him.”

He turned over to Mark and released a soft sigh. You felt as though you were going to throw up. Tutor Mark? Seriously? You would rather rip out your eyelashes one by one. There was no way you would do such a thing. Sure, you were willing to stay after class and help your professors grade papers or you could come up with lesson plans in order to cut down the amount of work they had to do, but there was no way in hell you were going to do anything with or for Mark.

“I don’t like talking negatively about students. I know you’re a smart kid Mark. I acknowledge the fact that you do try; you’re such a great writer, but you don’t put your heart or mind in to anything beneficial. There’s honestly nothing else I can say or do to get you to try harder. You have so much potential, but you fail to use any of it. You could go far in life Mark, but you choose paths that will bring you nothing but destruction. Don’t get me wrong, you’re still so young and I’m sure you want to live your life to the fullest. But sometimes, you need to give up any kind of toxicity that will only bring you down. Y/n—a few other professors and I are willing to write you multiple letters of recommendation and I’m going to give you an immediate A for this class. You don’t have to worry about any other exams or assignments. Most of your time will be taken up trying to help assist Mark. I still expect you to listen in on our lectures just so you can understand and learn the course material, but you don’t have to worry about studying for any tests. I trust that you would pass all of them nonetheless. I know, I shouldn’t be asking you to help another student and please don’t feel like you have to do this. But just know that I and all your other professors would be more than grateful if you do decide to go along with my offer. I’ll give you a week to think about it. You may go now.”

All the blood in your body immediately began to rush to your head. Everything your professor explained to you went through one ear and out the other. You were being offered to pass the class with flying colors without having to worry about completing any assignments or taking quizzes—anyone in their right minds would willingly accept his proposition. It was the easiest A you could ever receive, yet in order to access it, you would have to go against everything you’ve set your mind to.

All the pacts you’ve made with yourself regarding Mark or any of his inconsiderate group of friends, were you really going to allow yourself to get involved with someone notorious for manipulating and taking advantage of other individuals without a care in the world? Sure, you wouldn’t have to worry about one of your classes and you’d have more time to focus on your more difficult subjects, but it would be at the cost of your morals and beliefs.

Mark Tuan was no good—even if it was only tutoring, you had a bad feeling in your gut that he would end up hurting you one way or another. You didn’t consider yourself to be the kind of girl Mark would mess around with or find attractive in any way, but then again—it didn’t matter what the person looked like or what their personality was like.

Everyone was just another body added to his count of poor unfortunate souls who were tricked in to finding their way in to bed with him. Once your professor excused you, you practically ran out of the building. Knowing that you were his only option, you were well aware that Mark would probably look for you and try to coerce you in to accepting the offer. If that did end up happening, you would stand your ground.

You weren’t afraid of Mark, nor did you consider him all that intimidating like everyone on campus did. He wasn’t going to get to you that easily, no matter how hard he would put in an effort to. Your professor gave you a week to think about it and there was nothing your school’s notorious bad boy could say or do to influence you to agree in helping him. As you were right about to unlock your car door, you heard feet running in the distance. It didn’t take a genius to know just who the footsteps belonged to. Hell, you picked up your pace in order to avoid him.

“Y/n, wait!”

If only you could continue your cold facade; there was a voice telling you to jump in your car and leave without giving him the time of day. You would just deal with him tomorrow. But you knew being brash wasn’t in your nature—you could never be mean to anyone. Even people like Mark who obviously deserved it.

There was no way you’d forgive yourself for showing him hostility; you’d only be sinking to his level. You released a frustrated groan—did he not even take a second to think about how much of an inconvenience he was right now? First, he bothered you during a very important exam, then he got you involved in catching the unwanted attention of your professor and now you’re being asked to tutor him.

Mark Tuan was the devil in human form, he had to be. There was no other plausible explanation as to why he is the conniving asshole you’ve grown accustomed to interact with in the last few months. It’s as if he had vengeance against you. Why else would he include you in his toxic way of going through school? You turned around to face him and crossed your arms in irritation. Right after he caught up to you, he placed both hands on his knees as if he was trying to catch his breath.

“What? Did you sprint here?”

“Obviously. I had a feeling there was a chance you’d want to talk to me about the deal our professor offered me, but I don’t have the energy to listen to you talk me in to doing so—“

“Come on y/n, you act like tutoring me is the worst thing on this entire earth—“

“Because it is. Look, I have a week to think about this okay? So if I were you, I’d watch how you act towards me and how you talk to me. Whether or not you graduate next spring is all on me. I’m going to warn you right now, nothing you can say or do will have an effect on my decision. If I decide to tutor you, it’s because I want to. Oh, and don’t think it’s because I don’t want to do work or tests. If anything, I would rather complete assignments and study for exams. The option he gave me isn’t an easy way out, so I don’t want you spreading bullshit lies about me just to make me look bad. If I say no, there’s no trying to get me to say yes. Am I clear?”

This was the first time you’ve ever seen Mark look worried in the many years that you’ve known him for. Almost everyone in his life, teachers, professors, fellow classmates, his friends and even some of his family members—they willingly gave him whatever it was that he asked for. You never understood why; why was everyone so afraid of him? He wasn’t all that muscular or buff. In fact, you’d mentally call him a limp noodle whenever he’d get on your nerves because he was quite the skinny guy.

But he’s always been like that. Mark was like a chihuahua; he was all bark and no bite. Maybe he used his family’s power and wealth against others, or maybe he would promise financial or social gain to make others succumb to his wishes. Whatever it was—you needed him to know that it wouldn’t work on you. It was obvious that no one has ever talked to Mark the way you currently were just by the way he looked at you in shock.

You were a force to be reckoned with. If Mark considered you to be a soft spoken, quiet pushover, then boy—did he have something coming for him. He wasn’t wrong to think like that; you were a genuinely kind-hearted soul. However, that was to those who deserved it. Mark wasn’t on that list, nor would he ever make it there. Ever.

“Fine. Just—please think about it? No funny business, I promise. I just—I want to know. Be honest with me. Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to cause you so much anguish and distress? Is it something I said? Did? Whatever it is, I’m sorry. Sincerely. I’m not saying that in order to win brownie points or to get on your good side, I mean it. You are the only person on this entire campus who seems to take a disliking to me and I want you to know that I’m sorry.”

As soon as the last word of apology fell from his lips, you could feel your throat getting choked up. You wanted to believe he was trying to come up with ways to make you feel bad for him; to get you to really think about helping him out. But there was no malice in his speech—his eyes looked so sincere. If he was lying, then damn—he deserved a fucking Oscar.

Deep down in your heart though, you knew he was being serious. Why were you now feeling bad that you were vehemently treating him like the scum under your toes? Obviously, you weren’t going to grovel at his feet the way most of the girls at your university did—but that didn’t mean you couldn’t be civil with him.

Mark hasn’t cared about his attendance or grade in this class since the beginning of the semester—so it really boggled your mind as to why he was trying to be involved in his education right now. That wasn’t your business to have knowledge of. You and Mark weren’t friends. You’d probably never ever be friends, so the reasoning for his sudden interest in putting his focus towards his education wasn’t your problem to deal with.

You brought your vision to the ground; your converse seemed like the most interesting thing in the world at the moment. There was no way you could look at him, you were sure you’d give him your answer if you were to look at him and see how distraught he was from your hostility. You opened the back seat of your car and threw in your bag and your books before making your way to the front seat.

Thankfully, Mark had a conscience and moved out of the way. He probably didn’t want to get even more so on your nerves and you appreciated his new timid nature.

Mark Tuan had finally met his match.

Once you pulled out of the stall, you rolled down your window and took in a deep breath—not sure if you were making the right decision as the words fell off your tongue; but it didn’t matter anymore.

“Meet me tomorrow in the library at three. Don’t be late or you can forget about having me as a tutor. Oh, and I don’t hate you. But don’t think so highly of yourself, I don’t think all that highly of you either.”

The soft smile that was now beaming on his face pulled on your heartstrings and soon you felt a warm sensation in your chest—wait. What? Oh God—no. No, no, no. What have you done?

You just sold your soul to the devil.

#got7 imagines #mark tuan #mark tuan imagines #got7 #got7 mark

61 notes · View notes

tomiokai · 4 years

Text

Agent Reid || Spencer Reid

Masterlist

A/N: I honestly have nothing to say but I write too much and I can’t stop as much as I try. When I watch anything I always have to do do something else along so when I watch CM I also write these. When I was first writing this I was going to set this all in one day but then halfway through I decided I wanted this to take place in a series of days so low and behold I deleted the whole thing and started over. Enjoy.

Please don’t copy my works, but if you do want to use it as inspiration please give me credit, at least tag me. I do read a lot and when I see my ideas getting stolen and then turned into new stories it really hurts me.

Summary: Y/n loves teasing Spencer by calling him Agent instead of Doctor.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Category: Fluff

Warnings: Extreme fluffiness. Some innocent teasing. Maybe it gets Kinky.

Word Count: 2.0k

Day 1 at the BAU

The first time it happened it was simply a mistake. It was my first day at the BAU and I was simply a rookie.

I walked behind JJ as she showed me around the BAU, the conference room, Hotch’s office, Rossi’s office, Garcia’s den, and finally my desk, that was also with a bunch of other peoples workspaces. JJ told me that we all worked as a team and I nodded along. JJ was very nice to me and acted as if I was her own child, perks of being young and likable I had thought to myself. At 8 o’clock sharp everyone started filing in. Before everyone poured in tho JJ had warned me I would be the youngest of the group which meant I was going to be the baby of the team.

I meet Aaron Hotchner first, he was as you would suspect the “alpha” man he gave me boss vibes, let’s be honest. He seemed nice enough but I could tell he was going to work me hard for the first few months.

Then I got to meet Derek Morgan, he, on the other hand, was not as uptight as Hotch, he seemed chill but he did warn me I better do my best but also be safe. I already could tell he and I are gonna get along well. He was cool.

Next was Penelope Garcia. She was the biggest sweetheart ever! She definitely had the best style. She wore funky clothes that I loved. She instantly loved me but I suspected she snooped through my personal life before she liked me, but can I blame her.

Next was the supermodel Emily Prentiss. She wasn’t a supermodel but she might as well be one. At first she was cold to me, like very cold to me, but you know like all ice they melt and now I proclaim Emily as my second mom besides JJ.

Then came David Rossi. He was very nice and funny. He acts tough all the time, but we all know on the inside Rossi is a big softie, he’s like a teddy bear. I proclaim him as my father. I think that since I am the youngest of the bunch I can proclaim anyone as my mother or father. Period.

The last person walked in through the doors and I felt like I was drooling let’s be honest. He was tall had dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was dressed in a purple dress shirt with black dress pants and a dark grey cardigan. In my eyes he was beautiful.

JJ and I walked up to the beautiful man and she introduced us.

“Y/n this is Spencer Reid, and Spencer this is Y/n Y/l/n.” JJ introduced.

“Hi, Agent Reid,” I said sticking my hand out for a handshake. First mistake I made.

“It’s actually Dr. Reid and I don’t do handshakes, It’s actually safer to kiss,” Spencer responded waving at me instead of taking my hand.

I looked over at JJ but she turned around to hide her laughing face.

I looked back to DR. Reid and lowered my hand. “Okay Dr Reid. Nice to meet you.” I responded going on my tippee toes to kiss his right cheek.

When I pulled away he looked shocked and I just laughed. “See you around Doctor.” I smiled and walked away with an innocent look on my face, but not before I saw Derek pat his back and mumble, “You should really try fixing you introductions kid.”

Day 9 at the BAU

The second time I called Spencer ‘Agent Reid’ it had accidentally slipped out. We had finished a successful case and I went in for a hug with Spencer. Spencer and I had gotten close over a week’s worth of time, he and I had become very good friends. We would often go to 24-hour cafe’s and we would talk about books and anything we were interested in over coffee.

“Good job Agent Reid. You did great,” I said to Spencer as soon as I saw him walk through the door to the Philadelphia police station.

Spencer hugged me back tight but when we pulled back Spencer looked at me sternly. “Remember Y/n it’s DOCTOR Reid not AGENT Reid.”

I let go of him with a small laugh and winked at him. “Okay doctor, I’ll watch my mouth,” I laughed.

Later that night when we landed back in Virginia we went to our favorite cafe together and talked till 12:47 in the morning before the manager kicked us out because we were “too loud”.

Day 68 at the BAU

It slipped again. It was an accident I swear! We just arrived in a small town in Canada and it was my job to introduce everyone to the deputy.

“Hi, I’m SSA Y/n Y/l/n,” I said walking into the police and shaking the deputies hand.

“This is SSA Aaron Hotchner,” I said pointing at Aaron. “This is SSA Derek Morgan,” pointing at Derek. “SSA Prentiss, SSA Rossi, Agent Jennifer Jareau, and Agent Spencer Reid.” I introduced everyone.

Everyone shook hands and when it was Spencer’s turn to shake the deputies hand he refused and said, “Actually it’s Dr. Spencer Reid.”

Shit, I had thought.

When we were sent off by Aaron to go investigate the crime scene I quickly apologized. “It just slipped I’m so sorry Spencer.”

“It’s okay Y/n just make sure next time you say, Doctor.” Spencer brushed it off.

“How about I buy you a coffee after the case to make up for it,” I asked as we walked into the Johnsons house.

“Only if you get me a refill too,” Spencer answered as he inspected the house.

“Anything for Dr. Reid.” I sang back.

Day 143 at the BAU

When we had a first-ever disagreement I called him ‘Agent Reid’ just to rial him up even more. We were arguing about who would do better with children. Honestly, the whole fight was just stupid but neither of us was going to give in to the other.

“I did so well with the children today.” I bragged as we got on to the jet, Spencer right behind me.

“I think I did the better job,” Spencer responded as we took a seat across from each other.

“No,” I drew out slowly looking at Spencer dead in the eye.

“Yes,” Spencer responded taking out a book from his bag.

“Whatever,” I said, rolling my eyes and turning away from Spencer.

“Okay Y/n, whatever you say,” Spencer said, rolling his own eyes then turning his attention to his book.

I started fidgeting with my fingers as I mumbled under my breath. “I know I did better.”

Spencer looked up from his book and turned to me, “You know I can hear you right?”

“I know, Agent Reid.” I shot back narrowing my eyes at him.

“It’s doctor. D-O-C-T-O-R,” Spencer spelled out.

“Actually I can call you Agent if I wanted to.” I sassed.

“I’d prefer if you called me Doctor, Y/n,” Spencer spoke, he was obviously annoyed.

“Nope I think I prefer calling you Agent more than Doctor,” I responded standing up to go get myself a coffee.

I walked over to the coffee pot and flicked it on to make some coffee. I glanced over to where Spencer sat and he had turned back to his book, but this time he was biting his lower lip. I wasn’t a profiler for nothing, he was thinking of something for sure.

I poured myself a coffee and added in creamer and sugar. Out of habit, I grabbed another mug and poured some coffee for Spencer. Darn my stupid habits and I. I grabbed the other mug and walked back to where Spencer was.

“If you admit I did better than you, I’ll give you your coffee,” I said sitting down both coffee’s in hand.

“Fine you did better, hand me my coffee now,” Spencer said not looking up to me.

“I’m not convinced,” I bluntly answered.

Spencer looked up at me this time, “You did better than me Y/n, you are better with children than I am.” Spencer deadpanned.

“Fine,” I puffed, handing him his coffee.

“Good girl,” Spencer replied taking a sip.

I don’t know why but my face immediately heated up and I quickly excused myself to the bathroom. That’s when I realized I had a crush on him.

Day 757 at the BAU: Current Day

Over the past 2 years, I have never dropped the ‘Agent Reid’ act because: A) It’s a tease and B) It’s hilarious because he always gets so frustrated. It simply clung to me and it won’t be going away anytime soon.

I sat at my desk and typed away on my computer, it was a quiet day at the BAU. Hotch, Rossi, and Prentiss were all out on their own business. JJ was sorting through files, and Garcia was in her office having a dinner date with Kevin. Spencer was reading at his desk across from mine waiting for me.

I had three more sentences to write for tomorrows report and then I’m done. Spencer and I had plans to go see a movie after work today so I quickly typed my last three sentences and quickly shut off my computer. I started shoving my papers into my to-go bag and throwing pencils into my desk.

“Calm down Y/n, I’m not going anywhere.” Spencer laughed putting his book away too.

“Oh, I know I’m just really excited,” I said back standing up and swinging my dark blue cardigan on.

We walked together to his car and we got in together. “So you wanna tell me what movie we are watching now?” I asked buckling my seat belt.

“I’m not telling you, it’s a surprise,” Spencer responded smirking as he sat into his seat.

“Alright Agent Reid.” I teased.

Before I could register what was happening next Spencer lunged forward to me and wrapped one of his hands around my neck. I was shocked truly, I always thought Spencer was vanilla even after prison. I starred at Spencer in shock as he held me by my neck.

“In the past two years, you have called me ‘Agent Reid’ exactly 432 times. The first few times I get it, it slips, but now you straight up tease me with it, and you won’t stop because you know how much it bothers me. Were you trying to get me to snap, buttercup.” Spencer asked his face dangerously close to mine. The nick name came out of no where I swear.

I bit my bottom lip and instead of an answer I gave him a small moan.

“Oh you naughty girl,” Spencer whispered a small smirk on his lips.

I leaned forward as far as I can and attempted to kiss Spencer, but he moved back and smiled. He let go of my neck and said, “We can’t do that right now, we have a movie to catch.” before he sat back into his seat and started the engine.

I slumped down in my seat and pouted at Spencer as he drove. I glanced at him once in a while to see if I caught his attention. But I suspected he knew what I was doing and smiled as he drove.

“Finally he looked over at me and laughed, “Tonight.”

I instantly sat back up in my seat, once again happy. Oh boy was I excited about tonight.

#spencer reid #spencer reid angst #dr spencer reid #spencer reid fluff #dr spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds #criminal minds fluff #criminal minds x reader

180 notes · View notes

amomentsescape · 4 years

Text

Request: Would possible to do a one where the reader is the new sketch artist that starts developing feelings for ed and leaves little doodles on his desk. Which leads to Ed catching her in the act of leaving another doodle and the last one was her asking him out. @sirlsplayland

A/N: I hope you like it! Oddly enough, Ed doesn’t tell a riddle in this one.

Doodle Confessions (Ed Nygma x Reader)

You grew up your whole life with an interest in art. It started with the smallest doodles in school during a boring class. Eventually, it escalated to full on portraits of your favorite things. And now, you still love it with a burning passion.

After moving to Gotham, you decided on a career path that would allow you to help the greater good while also sticking with your love: a sketch artist.

Your first day was a little nerve wracking to say the least. The moment you stepped foot into the GCPD, you felt your heart practically humming at the pace it was beating.

It wasn’t just the new environment that worried you. There was a big part of you that was concerned you wouldn’t be what they wanted. What if your talent wasn’t as good as you hoped it was?

These worries instantly flew from your mind when your eyes landed on him.

Edward Nygma.

You had, obviously, done your research before your first day. You got to learn a bit about the department and most of the people that worked there. It helped alleviate some of the anxiety since you got to know your situation a little bit before you went into it.

And here he was.

He was quite handsome in an unconventional sort of way, which you didn’t mind. He looked as intelligent as he was, and you couldn’t help but notice the little twitch of his lip as he focused on the microscope in front of him.

You felt your own lips begin to curve into a smile at the sight of him.

You always loved people when they weren’t trying to be something else. Ed was in his most natural state: focused on nothing but the work before him.

You decided to keep walking incase someone noticed you soon. It was your first day, and the last thing you wanted was to be the “creepy sketch artist” that couldn’t stop taking in the aura of Ed Nygma.

However, you could not get the image of him out of your mind. The small lines around his eyes, the way that one piece of dark hair wouldn’t stay put with the rest. It was all too perfect to not put on paper.

Since it was a rather slow day, you decided to start on the sketch right away.

It took all of two hours to complete. For the amount of detail that went into it, you were happy with the way it turned out.

You couldn’t help but admire the sketch. A smile formed on your lips as you took in each line and shadow that was created on the paper. Your hand was smudged with pencil lead and eraser shavings coated the desk, but the mess was worth it to you.

You were quickly taken out of your trance when you heard the sound of talking slowly becoming louder down the hall.

You closed the sketch pad as fast as possible in hopes that the person heading your way wasn’t going to your office.

The figure finally rounded the corner and you felt your stomach twist at the sight.

Edward Nygma was struggling to get a free hand out to open the door. His arms were practically filled with files, pens, papers, and a cup of hot coffee.

He continued to speak lowly under his breath. You could barely make out a few words at first, but then you realized that he was reciting a riddle of some sort. It only brought more warmth to your thudding heart.

You continued to watch as he struggled at the door, trying to fight the anxiety eating away at you.

Finally, you stood and made your way to the man, grabbing the door knob and lightly pushing it open.

“Oh, thank you. I appreciate the-”

He suddenly ate his words as he looked at you.

There was a slight gray smudge on your forehead and a piece of hair that wasn’t quite long enough to stay behind your ear. But he swore that the sight before him was something that he had never seen before.

“I- um. Are you... new here?” he practically spit out. He mentally cursed himself for seeming so awkward.

You made eye contact for a second but became too nervous under his gaze.

“Yeah, I am!” you responded, maybe a little too happily.

You two shared a few more brief introductions before you headed back to your own office.

You couldn’t believe that out of all places, his desk happened to be the one right across the hall.

You tried to scan over your papers in hopes of looking busy, but you couldn’t help but raise your eyes every once in a while, taking in his features from several feet away.

Eventually, he got up to go somewhere else, giving you a slight wave as he walked past.

You gave a small wave back as you suddenly noticed the time on the clock.

Your shift was over.

You began to pack your things away until your sketch pad caught your eye again.

Maybe I could leave him something? Just to make his day.

It took you a moment to think about what you wanted to draw him.

The idea to leave him a little doodle was kind of random to you, but he seemed like the type to appreciate these small actions.

You thought back to the steaming cup of coffee that was in his hand and the quiet riddle he seemed to be memorizing.

Why not combine the two?

You quickly sketched out a coffee mug, adding a little coffee riddle under the doodle as well.

You stepped out into the hall briefly, looking around to make sure he wasn’t anywhere close.

Once you felt it was safe to do so, you stepped into his office and set the piece of paper down, feeling quite accomplished.

This ritual of yours became a regular occurrence after that.

Every day, he would leave his office at the same time, offer you a wave and a smile, then be on his way.

Your doodles started out as rather innocent and playful. However, as time went on, you realized that the messages you placed with your sketches were becoming more honest.

Some talked about how his smile was the brightest one you had seen, or how his small jokes made your heart flutter.

Each small confession came with a drawing that only grew in complexity and personal expression.

You tried blaming this honesty on the fact that you were becoming more comfortable with the sketches. However, deep down, you knew it was something more.

As your time at the GCPD became more consistent, so did your interactions with the smart man.

You two would have brief discussions every day. Some talk of weather, some talk of interests, but a lot of talk about each other.

You got to know the little things about Ed. The way he quirked his nose up when he laughed, how he dislikes loud chewers in restaurants, and how riddles were a passion of his.

After weeks of this on going game, you became a little disappointed.

You felt that you two had a nice little friendship going. However, he never once mentioned the sketches that you left on his desk every day.

You knew that he probably didn’t realize who was leaving them, but you figured that he would have at least mentioned it to you by now. Especially because you felt like you two had grown quite close.

Your patience finally broke, and you decided to just shoot your shot.

The anxiety was bubbling inside of you all day, but you did your best to hide it around him.

When the time finally came to end your shift, you found yourself panicking a bit.

No inspiration was coming to mind for that day’s doodle. You didn’t know what to draw, nonetheless say to him.

You flipped through your sketch pad in hopes of striking some inspiration. Your eyes began to become out of focus as the constant flutter of paper became rather hypnotic.

Your eyes suddenly widened at the final image in front of you.

The drawing of Ed that you had created on your first day at the department stared back at you.

It hit you that this would be your last doodle to him. You wanted him to see how you saw him.

You carefully tore the sheet out of the sketch pad and tried to think of something to write.

You finally decided that a riddle wouldn’t convey what you wanted. You chose to just be upfront and honest with him:

Ed-

I couldn’t help but admire you from afar, but I think now I should let you know the truth... I hope that maybe you’ll feel the same. I have fallen for you over these last few weeks, and I would like to get to know you on a personal level- more than just work friends.

-(Y/N)

You sighed at the small confession on the paper. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.

In your haste and worried mind, you didn’t think to look down the hall like you normally would have.

As you went to place the paper on the desk, you didn’t realize that a figure was standing in the doorway behind you. The sudden break in the silence pulled you back to reality rather quickly.

“It was you?”

You spun around and felt your face go hot at Ed’s confused expression.

You opened your mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out. You were utterly speechless at the predicament.

Ed continued to look at you, waiting for some type of response.

You finally broke out of your shock and let out a sigh, your gaze falling to the ground.

“Yeah, it was me.”

You cleared your throat as you tried to calm your racing heart.

“I just thought that they could make your day. But I don’t know, it seems really silly now.” You raised your hand to the back of your neck, scratching at it slightly.

“I didn’t know what to do though. It started out as a nice sentiment, but it quickly changed to something more. But I didn’t think it affected you much because you never mentioned them,” you finished.

You managed to finally bring your eyes back up to his, noticing that his face had softened quite a bit.

“Open the first drawer of the desk. The right one,” he suddenly responded.

You furrowed your brows a bit but did as he asked. You reached out and pulled the drawer open, only to be met with a pile of papers, all of them being the doodles you had left him.

You didn’t know what to say in that moment, you simply looked back up at him again, hope swelling in your heart.

“I kept all of them, (Y/N). You have no idea how much they meant to me.”

He offered a smile that you reciprocated in return. You nodded a bit and remembered the paper that you were still holding in your hand.

He seemed to follow your eyes and slowly raised his arm out to you.

“Do you mind?” he asked gently.

You simply shook your head and carefully handed him the drawing, feeling the nerves pick back up in your chest again.

You watched as he opened it, his eyes scanning over the words in no time.

His gaze remained on the page for a while longer though, his smile becoming wider.

“I didn’t think I was quite worthy of such artistic beauty.”

You shook your head again and let out a gentle breath.

“Edward Nygma, I hope that one day you’ll begin to see yourself the same way I do,” you practically whispered.

He looked back up quickly, his face growing a faint blush.

There was a moment of hesitiation. He seemed to be contemplating something in his head, the blush already painted on his cheeks becoming darker with each passing second.

He began to make his way towards you, your face twisting in slight confusion.

Once he was only a small distance in front of you, he placed a soft hand on your cheek. You instinctively leaned into it, noticing him give you a look that was practically asking for permission.

Instead of answering, you simply closed the gap, your soft lips meeting his briefly.

As you pulled away, you felt a small chuckle vibrate in his throat.

“I was hoping the drawings were from you,” he sighed.

#gotham edward nygma #edward nygma x reader #edward nygma #ed nygma x reader #ed nygma imagine #Gotham #gotham headcanon #gotham imagine #gotham x reader

282 notes · View notes