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seokmthw · 1 year

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give me love | zhang hao

⇢ pairing: zhang hao x reader

⇢ warnings: friends to lovers, college au, slight angst, fluff, explicit language, mentions of alcohol

⇢ word count: 9.06k

⇢ synopsis: you unexpectedly meet someone at a party who was also on sober friend duty, and soon you were desperate for him to give you the same love you felt for him.

⇢ notes: this is one of my most beloved works and i thought it would be really fitting to hao! i know i said in my initial post that i wouldn't typically post lengthy fics, but this one is definitely one of my few exceptions. i hope you enjoy!

you certainly did not think you would be starting your sophomore year of college at a party your best friend, gyuvin, was throwing in his apartment to “start off the year right.”

yet, here you were.

you’d been long forgotten about the moment a massive influx of people showed up to gyuvin’s front door. it’s not like you really cared, though, because he was definitely the social butterfly of the two of you and you were more than fine being crammed on one of the bean bag chairs in the corner of his living room. it’s not like you didn’t want to watch people drunkenly make out on the couch in front of you, anyway. definitely not.

you’d been nursing the same drink gyuvin handed you five minutes before people began to arrive for the past hour, hoping to god you could find something interesting to look at in the liquid to keep yourself occupied, considering you had been ransacked by boredom the entire time the party had been going on.

truthfully, you wanted to either bash your head into the wall or you wanted to go back to your own apartment and crawl into your bed with your laptop and a show on the television. you would never admit that to gyuvin though, because you knew that he was happy to have you at every party he threw whether he actually spent time with you or not. you didn’t have the heart to leave until you were able to make sure he was in bed and his apartment was semi-picked up after everyone bid their - always slurred, by the way - farewells.

you could have sworn even thinking gyuvin’s name seemed to lure him to you sometimes, because the brunette was calling out your name over the music, a goofy smile on his lips and his arm slung around a boy that you’d never met before. said boy looked extremely uncomfortable as well, and you felt painfully sorry for him as the pair approached you.

“y/n!” gyuvin exclaimed, a small giggle emitting from him. you rose to your feet and practically pried your very wasted best friend off of the poor boy he was clinging onto with an apologetic smile.

“i love you!”

gyuvin crushed you in a hug that made it impossibly hard for you to breathe. you grunted in surprise, patting him on the back, “i love you too, gyu.”

he turned to face the other boy, his smile never leaving his face as he stuck his hand out and said, “this is zhang hao, he’s hanbin’s sober friend, just like you’re mine! i figured you two could sit and talk or something. you always look like you want to die whenever you’re at one of my-” he cut himself off mid-sentence, “oh! hao, this is my best friend, y/n!”

each and every syllable that left gyuvin’s mouth was almost impossible for anyone to make out, but you’d grown so accustomed to how he spoke when he was drunk that you could understand everything he was trying to say. you couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at him, slipping out of his arms enough to reach down to your drink that was shoved beside your bean bag chair. you held out the cup to gyuvin and patted him on the shoulder, telling him to search for hanbin and that you would be in the same exact spot if he needed you for anything else.

“i take it you deal with him like this a lot?” the boy finally asked, though you jumped at his words because you had pretty much forgotten he was watching that entire scene unfold in front of him.

you turned to face him, your gaze finally meeting his without a drunk gyuvin between the two of you. you only smiled, “yeah, gotta make sure he doesn’t manage to get himself arrested. or hurt. it really just depends on the night.”

“i feel that one,” he laughed, “hanbin is almost always the exact same way.”

by now you had taken your spot back on the bean bag chair, motioning for zhang hao to inhabit the open one next to it if he wanted to. he sat down next to you, both of you angled in such a way you were able to talk face to face, “i’m surprised we haven’t met yet, to be completely honest. i see hanbin at these parties every time gyuvin hosts one.”

zhang hao nodded, “me too. he drags me to every single one even if i practically beg him not to. he’s a menace.”

you laughed at his choice of words for his friend, “same, but i’m pretty much legally obligated to attend them all otherwise i’ll get my head ripped off. i get ignored the entire time anyway so i’m always stuck here hoping my phone won’t die.”

the awkward beginning of your conversation quickly faded away as you got more comfortable with each other. you learned that zhang hao was majoring in music education with the hopes of being able to work with children across korea and hopefully internationally someday. you’d informed him that you were majoring in film production and hoped to someday take part in filming and editing music videos for groups across the country.

everything flowed so easily between the two of you, from what you hoped to get out of your future careers to what you each thought was arguably the best ben & jerry’s ice cream flavor to whether or not you thought water was wet. your night was pleasantly filled with giggles and newly formed jokes, much different from your typical experience at one of gyuvin’s infamous parties.

you had been talking for so long that you almost didn’t realize how quickly the time was ticking by until the amount of people in the apartment started to lessen and before you knew it, the only people who were left were you, gyuvin, zhang hao, and hanbin. you rose from your seat, grateful to finally be able to stretch your limbs without the fear of tripping someone and getting alcohol spilled all over you. you and the brown haired boy next to you made your way over to your friends who were clinging onto each other for dear life and giggling like no tomorrow. you cleared your throat, “i think it’s time to get you to bed, gyu.”

“but i’m not tired yet,” he pouted, his brows furrowed in annoyance at your sudden demand for him to leave the embrace he was currently engulfed in. you sighed, “come on, dude, it’s three in the morning and i’m tired.”

gyuvin reluctantly detangled himself from hanbin and wrapped his arms around you instead, though this time you accepted him with open arms in hopes of making your time easier. you glanced over at zhang hao, who was struggling just as much as you to even get hanbin out of the house. you couldn’t help the lighthearted laugh, “you guys can stay here tonight if you want.”

visible relief washed over zhang hao, “really?”

“yeah, i think both of them are too out of it to really notice anyway.”

you tilted your head to the side, indicating that gyuvin’s room was just down the hallway. zhang followed in behind you as you pushed the door open, revealing gyuvin’s spotless living space - which was starkly different to the rest of his house - and the plush bed that was shoved up against the wall farthest from you. gyuvin gleefully laughed, bounding toward the mattress with a wide grin as he flopped down onto the comforter and pillows.

you closed your eyes, trying like hell to grip onto the little bit of sanity you had left, and took a deep breath through your nose. gyuvin looked up from his spot on the bed, his bottom lip now jutted out and his eyes glimmering with unshed tears.

“fuck,” you muttered under breath, gaining the attention of zhang hao, who was trying to suppress the grin tugging at his lips and who was having it a lot easier than you were right now. hanbin was practically already asleep while he was standing up.

the universe was almost always kind to you when it came to gyuvin being trashed. he almost always cooperated with you when you tried to get him in bed, albeit he was clingy beyond belief, and he never, ever pitched a fight with you. being eternally grateful for that was something you hoped carried through the wind because if the world hadn’t been so kind, you would be put through hell more often than you would like to be. sometimes your gratitude wasn’t enough.

your biggest pet peeve was when gyuvin cried while he was drunk. it was almost impossible to get him to calm down and he usually wailed at the top of his lungs like a child would after falling off their bike. the look he was giving you now told you everything you needed to know about how the next twenty minutes of your time was going to play out.

you scrambled over to the boy, cupping either side of his cheeks. you were going to try your best to prevent this from happening, “what’s wrong?”

“why don’t you ever have fun at my parties?” his voice quivered.

no, you thought to yourself, please, for the love of all things good, don’t do this to me right now.

“gyu,” you started, “i do have fun at your parties. you’re just never around me enough to see me having fun because you’re with your other friends.”

his lip quivered slightly, and as he blinked, the first tears of the night began rolling down his cheeks, “then how come you always hide in a corner and sulk?”

“because i never had any friends at these parties other than you and hanbin, so i had nobody to talk to,” you see more tears stream down his cheeks. you quickly spat out, “but look! i have a friend now and he’ll be able to keep me company whenever you can’t!”

you threw your arm out toward zhang hao, who gave gyuvin a small wave and a reassuring smile, “i’ll make sure they don’t sulk anymore!”

gyuvin sniffled and wiped at his tears with the sleeve of his sweater, nodding at your words. you pushed some of his hair out of his face and wiped his tears, “are you ready to sleep now?”

“yeah,” he grumbled, pulling the covers back and crawling underneath them, his frown slowly turning into a smile, “i love you, y/n.”

“i love you too. now get some rest, okay?” you waved zhang hao over, who practically drug hanbin to the bed and tucked him in beside gyuvin. the two were asleep the moment their heads hit the pillows.

you breathed a sigh of relief and followed zhang hao back to the main part of the house, making sure to close the door quietly behind you. you could barely hear the chuckle he gave you, “that was a close one, huh?”

you began picking up some of the litter around the couch, “close is an understatement. when he cries it’s the worst.” you shoved the rest of the forgotten cups and various other garbage off to the side with your foot and pulled the couch out, revealing a thin mattress and creaky frame that you had grown accustomed to seeing as gyuvin refused to get a new one. he was attached to it, he would always say, he couldn’t bear the thought of parting with it. you gave zhang hao a look, “this is all we have for sleeping options, sadly.”

“that’s okay,” he reassured you, “it’s better than the floor at least.”

you went to the storage closet by the front door of the apartment and pulled out a pillow and a blanket for each of you, tossing zhang hao his share and making your way over to the bed. exhaustion was starting to catch up to you the more the night drug on, the heaviness you felt in all of your limbs was a telltale sign of that. you made sure to turn off the lamp in the living room before you crawled into the bed next to zhang hao, a blush creeping onto your cheeks out of embarrassment. you had never felt more grateful for the darkness that blanketed gyuvin’s apartment.

as if on cue, zhang hao remarked, “i definitely didn’t think i would be sharing a bed with someone i just met when i agreed to come to this party.”

“i was just about to say the same thing,” you said, “leave it to gyuvin to cause the weirdest things to happen.”

the two of you stayed up for a while longer, talking about anything and everything. you told stories from your high school days and freshman year of college, laughing at each other’s misfortunes and bonding over some of the weirdest experiences you’d had. talking to zhang hao came so naturally to you, it almost felt as if you couldn’t stop. soon, however, sleep was starting to overcome your body.

the last thing you remember was feeling content in the warmth that radiated off the boy next to you.

ii.

“kim gyuvin, i swear to fucking god i’m gonna kill you!” you screeched, scrambling to grab your things off of the table in front of you before anything was soaked in the hot coffee he spilled.

this is most definitely not what you signed up for when you decided to drop by the library to do homework and visit gyuvin on his break at work. there was a coffee shop tucked into the corner of the library, which was where he worked, and he stopped by to bring you a dose of caffeine to help you fly through the many assignments that had bombarded you. he had lost his grip on the coffee cup and somehow managed to practically throw it at you, resulting in your most recent panic and the burning hot liquid to be seeping through the front of your t-shirt.

“y/n, will you calm down?” the boy hissed, “you’re causing people to stare. besides, it’s not even that bad.”

you scowled at him, shaking all of your loose notes in front of his face, “says the one who’s graphic design notes aren’t in jeopardy and the one who didn’t get a single drop of it on him.”

one of the librarians was kind enough to bring you some of the cleaning supplies they had stored in a closet behind the desk. you smiled at her, muttering a quick apology before you attempted to soak up as much of the coffee as you could. gyuvin couldn’t suppress the smile he was adorning and he made sure to take all of your things from the table so they didn’t get harmed by his mess either.

“i don’t think it’s very funny.”

“you’re right, my dear best friend,” gyuvin retorted, “it’s hilarious.”

by now you had finished cleaning up the table, a mound of dripping paper towels now inhabiting your hands. you hurried over to the nearest trash can and let them fall inside of it with a plop, opting to just wipe your hands on your shirt since it was already stained. there wasn’t much more damage that could be done to it anyway.

as you neared your table once more, gyuvin was beginning to walk away from it. he gave a quick hug, “i have to go, my break is over and my boss is going to kill me if i’m late clocking back in again.”

“you owe me a new coffee and a new shirt, asshole.”

“yeah, yeah, whatever. i’ll see you later, okay?” with that, gyuvin was practically sprinting back to the cafe. you couldn’t help but laugh at him; he deserved to get chewed out. he ruined a perfectly good shirt.

you sat back down in your chair, pulling your notes out once more in an attempt to get this stupid project taken care of. it had really dampened your mood when the professor announced you had to make a detailed infographic over a topic that he assigned to you, which made it that much harder because you were given one that you could care less about. to top it all off, you now had no coffee and a damp shirt.

you heaved a frustrated sigh. you could only hope that this project would go well and your day would get better than it was going, because you'd had enough embarrassment in the past ten minutes to last yourself a lifetime.

“rough day?” you could hear a person’s voice to the right side of you, which caused you to visibly jump in surprise. you turned to face the owner, only to be greeted with the beaming smile of zhang hao. you hadn’t seen him since the party a few days ago, but the two of you had texted nonstop almost every single day since he left gyuvin’s apartment with a very hungover hanbin. you returned his grin, “you don’t even know the half of it. i take it you saw all of that?”

“it was kind of hard not to. it’s not everyday someone’s yelling profanities in the middle of the library,” he admitted with a chuckle.

you turned red at his remark. if you didn’t feel an ungodly amount of embarrassment before, you sure did now, especially knowing this all unraveled right in front of your new friend. you buried your face in your hands, “i’m gonna stab gyuvin someday. mark my words.”

zhang hao’s eyes flitted to your shirt, a look of sympathy flashing across his gaze while he sat down in the chair across from you. he quickly took his hoodie off of his body, holding it out to you, “here, go change into this.”

“are you sure?” you asked, your eyes wide at his offer. he only smiled, pushing it further into your direction until you finally took it from his grasp. you thanked him before making your way to the bathroom.

you weren’t sure if it was the way he seemed to go pink when he was handing you his hoodie or if it was the fact that you had it in the first place that made your heart flutter in your chest, but irregardless, it was still happening and you weren’t sure what to make of it. sure, you’d definitely grown fond of the boy in the short few days you’d been talking to him, but you didn’t think it was enough to cause you to feel the way you did right now.

you pushed into the empty bathroom and entered the stall furthest from the door, not wanting to risk the chance of someone trying to barge in while you had your shirt off. the walls were covered in countless messages written by people over the course of the years; obscenities, phone numbers, and _+_ written in the middle of poorly drawn hearts. your university clearly didn’t check the bathrooms regularly enough, or they simply did not care about what was written on them. you wouldn’t be shocked either, if you were completely honest. it was rare enough that the university apartments even had decent heat in the winter, god forbid they’re asked to keep their bathrooms looking nice.

you peeled your shirt off, grimacing at how gross it truly felt clinging to your skin until it was completely off your body. gyuvin definitely owed you a new shirt - though you were positive he owed you a lot more than just that; your dignity, perhaps? you made the attempt to fold it as neatly as you could, but there was only so much you could do when it was in the condition it was.

you now grabbed the soft cotton sweatshirt from the hook on the door, smiling fondly before you slipped it over your head. it still had every last bit of zhang hao’s warmth inside of it, which was a nice change from the cold air hitting your wet skin. it smelled faintly of vanilla and laundry soap, just what you would have expected from zhang hao. simple scents for someone who seemed like a simple guy.

feeling much better than you did just moments prior, you smiled to yourself and left the stall. you caught a glimpse in the mirror of how the hoodie seemed to fit you nicely you before you left the bathroom and cursed yourself for blushing so easily. it’s just because i’m embarrassed, you thought.

by the time you got back to your spot, zhang hao was already hunched over a textbook, his hand scribbling notes down on the paper beside him. he only looked up when you pushed your chair back and plopped down, shoving your shirt into one of the empty pockets in your backpack, “thank you for letting me borrow this, i feel a lot better.”

zhang hao was thankful that you didn’t see him nervously swallow, “it’s no problem, anything for a friend.”

a comfortable silence fell between the two of you as you both delved back into your work. you kept finding yourself getting distracted by every little thing, whether it be someone coughing or your interest in anything but the task in front of you. soon your mind was wandering further than you hoped for it to, your project shoved to the side and your eyes trained on the same part of your laptop screen. you mentally cursed yourself out for daydreaming so much; you never meant to, it just happened. more often than you’d like to admit, but still.

little did you know, it caught the interest of zhang hao and made him smile to himself as he continued reading the words printed on the glossy pages in front of him.

a couple hours later, you found yourself in one of the dining facilities with zhang hao, the both of you scarfing down your food like it was the last meal you would ever be able to eat. studying made you guys hungry, you told yourselves, you deserved it. zhang hao was the one who suggested you grab a bite to eat after all the hard work that you guys - mostly him, that is - did within the time at the library.

“i usually have time to actually eat lunch only on mondays and wednesdays. any other time, i have to get something from the grab and go portion of the dining facilities,” the brown haired boy informed you, his cheeks puffed out from the chicken he was currently working on chewing, “so i’m glad you got coffee spilled on you today. i have a buddy to eat with.”

“that’s usually when i’m free too!” you exclaimed, a grin lighting up your face, “maybe we can make it a part of our routine to eat together?”

“yeah, i’d love that!”

iii.

you kept up with your plans that you made with your friend for the past month now. every monday and wednesday out of the week you ventured to different dining facilities scattered across campus. each time you were filled with delicious food and pleasant conversation, but you couldn’t help but feel yourself start to get anxious.

you were developing feelings for zhang hao.

they had hit you like a truck, completely uninvited, though you had been suppressing them for longer than you would ever admit to yourself. it had been at one of gyuvin’s parties when zhang hao helped you with cleaning up the mess around the house for the nth time since the semester started.

“we always find ourselves in this situation, huh?” he’d remarked, “i wouldn’t want it to be anyone else, though.”

you had to stop yourself from dropping a solo cup full of beer all over the floor in gyuvin’s kitchen. you instantly felt your cheeks heat up, turning away from him so he couldn’t see you; there was no reason for you to look like a tomato in his presence.

you mentally screamed at yourself. it was the simplest of statements, but nonetheless it ignited a whirlwind of feeling inside of you that you hadn’t been able to figure out. you wanted to slap yourself to get it out of your head that you were just friends. nothing more, nothing less. friends.

“i wouldn’t want it to be, either.”

the moment you brought it up to gyuvin, he wouldn’t let you live it down. his best friend had a crush, whether you wanted to admit it or not, and he was determined to play matchmaker. many hits to his arm and a few choice words later, the brunette was swearing he would keep his nose out of it. besides, you knew that zhang hao meant it in the most friendly way possible. there was absolutely no way that he felt the same way as you, so there was really no need to dwell on it. surely you would get over it. right?

wrong.

you were now sprawled out on the couch with your head in gyuvin’s lap, your eyes closed, as he threaded his fingers through your hair. you’d finally broke down and admitted you had a crush, but you were almost positive it would go nowhere. sighing, you said, “i don’t know what to do, gyu. i know he doesn’t feel the same, so telling him will only ruin our friendship, and i like having him in my life.”

“you don’t know what his thought process is, dummy,” gyuvin snorted, “for all you know, he could be madly in love with you.”

“i highly doubt that,” your eyes were now open and were looking up at your best friend, who seemed to be deep in thought. he was silent for a while. too silent, might you add, because the boy hardly ever knew when to shut up. sometimes it was both a blessing and curse.

finally, he said, “maybe you should suggest playing truth or dare at the party this saturday. maybe i can even force you two to join if you’re too scared.”

now it was your turn to be deep in thought. you had been venturing out a little more at gyuvin’s parties lately, though zhang hao was always by your side. it wouldn’t hurt to at least see if he wanted to play, though you knew you would be too scared to even think about asking him. you sighed in defeat, “i don’t know… it seems like a good idea, but what would we even be asked to do if we picked dare?”

“you’re overthinking this,” gyuvin stated, giving your forehead a harsh flick.

“okay, mr. i can never make up my fucking mind about anything,” you countered, though you knew he was right, “can i trust you with this?”

gyuvin held his hand over his heart, mock offense clear due to his wide eyes and parted lips, “how dare you think i would do something irrational. shame on you.”

“i’m serious, gyu.”

his joking demeanor soon abided and now his face held a serious, more concerned look, “of course you can trust me. i’m not going to make you guys do anything like seven minutes in heaven or something stupid.”

you hoped you were making the right decision.

iv.

to say you felt like you were going to throw up was an understatement. saturday had rolled around far too quickly for your liking and you desperately wanted to go back to the beginning of the week. maybe you were making the wrong decision. maybe playing truth or dare was the worst idea you could ever make.

“hello? earth to y/n?” coming to your senses, you’d realized that people had begun to show up little by little, hanbin and zhang hao being some of the first to arrive. you felt your heart flip in your chest the moment you made eye contact with him, but managed to keep yourself composed.

you offered a small laugh, “sorry, i must have been daydreaming again.”

the group surrounding you chimed in with their own laughs, but you felt even more scared now that zhang hao was standing right in front of you. there was no turning back now, you supposed.

gyuvin was able to read you like a book, because the next thing you knew, he was shoving a red solo cup into your hand as well as zhang hao’s and sending you away without much thought. you took your spots on your usual bean bag chairs in the corner, looking over to see gyuvin letting even more people into his house upon hearing their knocks.

“you think he’s ever going to stop throwing these parties someday?” zhang hao inquired, snagging your attention from the door that was far too interesting to you.

you chuckled, “doubt it. he lives and breathes for these parties. it’s a way for him to de-stress.”

before you knew it, you were falling into your normal conversation with him once more. the reason you were so anxious faded into the back of your mind the moment zhang hao started showing you pictures and videos of his dog. things were always so comfortable with him. you cursed him for causing you to feel as if nothing else really mattered whenever you were around him.

the music thumping almost completely drowned out the rest of the chaos going on in other various parts of the house. you’d finished your drink for once - though you blamed that solely on the fact that he smiled at you and you forgot how to function - and you were feeling relatively good about the night.

gyuvin finally bounded over to you, and much to your surprise, he wasn’t totally trashed, “guys, come on, we’re playing truth or dare! it’s about time you actually play a game, yeah?”

you swallowed harshly, turning to gauge zhang hao’s reaction. he merely shrugged, rising from his spot and offering you his hand. you took it, hope to god that he wasn’t able to feel the insane amount of sweat you had accumulated within the few short moments of all of this. gyuvin was surprised to see zhang hao give in so easily, as were you.

you followed gyuvin into his spare room, which he used for an office, and sat down in the few open spots left in the circle. you were able to recognize a few people you went shared classes with, like seok matthew and park gunwook, as well as a few other unfamiliar faces. you felt relief to feel gyuvin sit down next to you and see hanbin make his way into the room as well.

the circle was rather large and you hoped you wouldn’t manage to embarrass yourself in front of everyone. gyuvin was quick to get the game started, asking you a harmless truth question to start out with. the game continued on, not getting too interesting within the first few rounds. the most anyone had to do was take their shirt off, which you honestly expected considering you were at a party and people had alcohol coursing through their veins.

“truth or dare, hao?” gunwook asked, now beginning what felt like the millionth round of the game. hao sat there for a moment, contemplating his options before finally stating, “dare.”

gunwook looked over at you and smirked. mischief lurked behind his dark eyes, his plump lips parting to say, “i dare you to kiss y/n.”

the lump residing in your throat made itself known within mere seconds of the words being spoken. gyuvin tensed up next to you, indicating that this is definitely not how he expected the game to go. you were frozen, at a standstill, really. zhang hao’s eyes met with your own and you could tell he was having an inner debate.

“i mean, we’re just friends, right? no harm, no foul?”

you could feel your heart sink in your chest. just friends. nothing more, nothing less. it wasn’t like you expected anything less from the universe, so you just decided to give in. you nodded, “right.”

you knew gyuvin was going to chew you out for this. you knew that you were going to beat yourself up every single day for it. but did that stop you from letting him come over to your side of the circle, squatting in front of you, and pressing his lips against yours? absolutely not.

kissing him was almost indescribable. it was the first time you had kissed someone and actually felt something. you leaned lightly into him, having to suppress a sad whine when he pulled away just as quickly as he kissed you. he gave you a small, close-lipped smile before he settled back down in his spot next to hanbin once more.

you swore you could feel yourself breaking.

gyuvin was able to rub small circles in your back without anyone noticing. it was the thing he always did when he knew you were upset, whether you showed it visibly or not. he could feel the sadness radiating off of you in waves and he hated it. he hated it because he internally blamed himself for this. he was the reason why you were hurting. if he hadn’t suggested this, you wouldn’t be feeling what he knew you were.

the game continued on and you were able to put on a front better than you expected. your laughs even seemed believable. but if you were being honest with yourself, you wanted nothing more to crawl into your bed and cry for the rest of the night.

which, you were able to do, except the crying part. the moment your head hit your pillows after the long night you had, you just didn’t have it in you to cry. instead, you spent the entire week wallowing in your own self-pity. you’d given zhang hao the excuse of feeling under the weather to avoid even being in his presence at all. you needed to figure yourself and your feelings out.

that proved to be a lot more difficult than it sounded, though.

even though you were in bed, either trying to grasp the little motivation you had left to do your assignments or stuffing your face with ice cream - it was a good coping mechanism, you told yourself - your mind was still riddled with thoughts of that night. with how right it felt to have his lips against yours, or how badly you wanted him to swoop back in for another kiss the moment he pulled away. you hated being like this, you really did, but for some reason you just couldn’t get yourself out of your funk.

“how long has it been since you talked to him?” gyuvin asked through the speaker of your phone, which was laying flat on your chest as you stared up at the ceiling above your bed.

you sighed, reluctant to answer his question, “if you mean in person, at the party on saturday. over text, then on monday. i made up an excuse to get out of lunch with him this week.”

you were greeted with radio silence on gyuvin’s end. if that was anything to go by, it certainly was never a good sign. it meant he was either scheming something or he was about to start yelling at you, though you weren’t sure which of the two was worse.

“gyu?” you finally decided to break said silence, hoping he would respond, but there was absolutely no movement or sound from his end. not even the soft whirr of his fan could be heard, which gave away the fact that he muted his mic.

it was uncommon for gyuvin to burst into your apartment like he owned the place, but it still caught you off guard every single time. your bedroom door swung open, your best friend standing between the frame for a moment before he charged to your bed and ripped all of the blankets from your body. you let out a yelp of surprise, scrambling to move away from his death grip as quickly as you could.

“what the fuck!”

“you,” gyuvin gripped onto your shoulders tightly, forcing you to look him in the eyes, “are going to get your ass into the shower and make yourself look presentable. and then you’re going to see if zhang hao wants to get dinner tonight. i’m sick of seeing you wallow in self-pity.”

he earned a groan of annoyance from you, “i don’t exactly want to see him, gyuvin. I’m worried things are going to be awkward between us.”

“you still care about him, don’t you?”

“yes.”

“you were also the one to tell me you enjoyed having him in your life, correct?”

“i forgot about that, but yes.”

“then you’re going to dinner and you’re going to continue to be friends with him,” gyuvin stated matter-of-factly. he was practically dragging you out of bed at this point, shoving your body toward your bathroom.

you softly sighed. you supposed he was right, but you would never admit that. zhang hao was still important to you and you’d rather be friendzoned by him a million times than lose him entirely. you flipped the bathroom light on, only to almost turn it off after seeing your reflection. you did look pretty bad, so maybe dressing up a bit and finally seeing zhang hao would make you feel a little better.

“where’s your phone?”

you squinted at gyuvin, “why do you need it?”

“because i’m going to cover for you and make the plans while you’re in the bath.”

you told him where it was and shut the bathroom door as he left, quickly discarding your clothes and stepping into your shower. the water felt nice running over your body, all of your worries and concerns washing away with it. maybe this was the better option, staying friends with zhang hao. everything still stung, but you were willing to deal with it. you had been giving the boy the cold shoulder as of late and you felt extremely guilty about it because it was you being selfish above everything else. he didn’t even know he upset you, so it wasn’t exactly fair for you to hold a grudge against him.

you quickly finished your shower, wrapped in nothing but a towel around your body and your head, walking into your room with a content sigh. gyuvin was sat cross-legged on his bed, presumably playing a game on his phone as you picked up your own to check the damage he may have caused in your conversation with zhang hao.

[you] hey, sorry for not texting much this week. i was feeling super sick but i’m better now! do you wanna get dinner or something and catch up?

[hao] i thought you were mad at me, to be honest. it’s a relief to know you weren’t. dinner sounds good though! does 6:30 work?

[you] yep, sounds good! maybe we can order pizza at my place and watch a movie?

[hao] sure! i can’t wait :)

“thank you, gyu,” you said, “i really don’t know what i would do without you.”

“i know. now get ready, okay? i’m gonna head out and let you do your thing.”

he gave you a hug and left your apartment a lot less violently than he came in, which caused a small chuckle to slip past your lips. you had only an hour or so until zhang hao was supposed to come over, so you opted for a pair of skinny jeans and a t-shirt adorning your college’s logo across the front of it. you looked at least a little more put together than you did not even an hour prior, so you were happy with the turn out, even if it was a bit minimal.

the minutes until zhang hao’s arrival ticked by painfully slow, even after you occupied yourself with ordering the pizza and pulling up the movie he had texted you about that he wanted to watch. soon, however, there was a light knock on your door and you were sent into a mini heart attack from the sudden break in silence.

you padded to the door, greeting the boy with a bright smile. you had to admit, seeing him in the flesh felt a lot better than you expected. however, the moment he pulled your body into a hug, you could feel the gears turning in your head. you pushed them away the best you could, “i’m glad you were able to come!”

“me too, lunch has been pretty lonely this week without you,” zhang hao replied, pulling away from the hug and giving you one of his beautiful smiles. butterflies went off in your stomach.

guilt now riddled your entire body. the thought of zhang hao having to eat alone on your designated days of the week made you feel a pang of sadness, especially since you were the one to cancel your plans. you really just needed to get over yourself; in the long run, your crush on him didn’t matter as much as seeing him smile did.

the pizza was delivered shortly after his arrival, and the two you dug in, filling your bellies and your cheeks more than you probably should have. he filled you in on what his crazy psychology professor had done during the week and you were able to easily lie and say you spent most of your time sleeping. things were finally feeling normal with him and you were hoping it would stay that way, that your feelings would be kept at bay. however, there was a voice in the back of your mind that was nagging at you to say something to him, anything.

you sighed softly, “hey, can we talk, you know, about truth or dare game?” not exactly what you wanted to say, but it was definitely too late to take it back.

zhang hao was quiet, turning his head to face you with a look you couldn’t quite read. you were just now taking note of how pretty his eyes were and how his hair was styled a bit differently than it normally was, a sliver of his forehead on display. he looked insanely good today, not that he didn’t everyday, but you were definitely swooning more than you wanted to admit. you blinked, slowly, finally ripping your gaze away from his.

“yeah, about that,” he started, “i just wanted to apologize for it. i wasn’t really thinking and didn’t realize it would take such a toll on you. i should have asked first.”

“It’s not that i was uncomfortable, i was just mainly worried about how our friendship would be affected,” you replied, your words holding the truth to them. you knew you would like his answer, but you got it anyway.

“nothing has to change or be awkward, yeah? we can just put it past us and carry on as friends like normal.”

your week of sulking and your talk with gyuvin had prepared you for accepting that, so it was easy to nod your head and say, “that sounds perfect.”

but little did you know, zhang hao was freaking out just as much as you were.

he’d beat himself up for even spitting out the words “just friends” saturday night, and he surely was for emphasizing it again. he took every word that hanbin lashed out on him, trying his best not to fight, because he knew he deserved it. he basically friendzoned himself before you could and it clung onto his every waking thought when he left gyuvin’s apartment that night.

a million thoughts raced across his mind, much like yours; did he mess up your friendship forever? did you even want to talk to him anymore? how were you feeling after everything unraveled?

after your conversation, he had no doubt in his mind that you didn’t hold any ill feelings toward him. sitting next to you on your floor, eyes trained on the television, he couldn’t help but feel like an even bigger idiot. surely he was overthinking everything because you certainly seemed fine. you acted as you normally did, cracking jokes left and right and listening intently to his every word when he was telling you a story.

he still felt the same fluttering in his chest that he’d had from the very first time he met you. he sighed, deciding to focus his attention back on the movie instead of dwelling on something he knew was definitely not true now.

the moment your head lulled to the side and landed on his shoulder, your eyes closed and soft breathing the only sounds he was able to hear from you, he nearly melted. he hoped that this isn’t something he would think about for the next week straight, but he knew deep in his heart that he would.

because when it came to you, he couldn’t seem to get his mind to shut off.

who was zhang hao?

he was the other sober friend you made at gyuvin’s start of the year party. he was your lunch date every monday and wednesday in various locations of campus depending on how the two of you were feeling. he was someone you found yourself turning to when you were having a bad week and gyuvin was unable to be there for you. he was the friend that made sure you took frequent breaks into the hours you put in studying for tests and working on projects. he was a friend you would cherish for the rest of your life.

and he was the friend you had undoubtedly fallen in love with.

you’d accepted your fate of unrequited love a long time ago. long after you admitted your crush on him to yourself and gyuvin. long after you knew you would be friendzoned for the rest of your time knowing him. you were okay with loving him in silence. it made you feel a lot better that he at least loved you enough as a friend.

the two of you spent a lot more time together as the semester passed by and soon finals week was rolling around. your stress levels were high and you were grumpier than you ever wanted to be, especially to poor gyuvin. he always tried his best to distract you from your work long enough to make your sour mood lessen, which you were eternally grateful for, but sometimes the boy got on your nerves.

it wasn’t like he meant to, and you appreciated him all the more for at least attempting his luck, but he really just didn’t know when to shut his mouth while you were in the middle of trying to perfect some of the fonts and layout of information on yet another infographic you had to complete for your graphic design class as your final project. you eventually asked him to, for the love of god, shut up, and he sealed his lips for the rest of the night.

you were nearing the end of finals week and gyuvin was expected to pull a double three days out of the week at work to cater to the caffeine deprived students going to the cafe to drown their sorrows in espresso and cold brew, so he was out of commission once you turned in your last assignment for the semester.

you decided to shoot zhang hao a text and ask how things were going on his end, and once he replied and said that he was finally free from the chains of hell, you suggested hitting up your favorite convenience store to get snacks and celebrate a successful semester. he was at the front door of your apartment within mere minutes.

the clothes that adorned his body were nothing special. just a pair of black sweatpants, the same gray hoodie he let you borrow when gyuvin spilled coffee all over you, and a white baseball cap to hide his hair - which you knew him well enough to know that it was a mess. though it was a simple look, it was something that was wholeheartedly zhang hao.

the two of you practically ran out to his car out of excitement, feeling relief wash over you at the realization that you didn’t have to worry about more assignments for a good month and a half. you were the first to check out with your things and you told zhang hao you would be waiting outside for him whenever he was done.

he came out with nearly two plastic bags full of his favorite snacks and drinks five minutes later, only to see you standing on the edge of the sidewalk with your eyes staring out into the vacant parking lot, your head spinning a million miles a minute.

“y/n?” zhang hao murmured softly, his fingers reaching out to touch your arm gently, “is everything okay?”

“yeah, my mind is just wandering again, you know how i can get sometimes,” you replied, finally tearing your gaze away from the peeling sticker on one the gas pumps. you looked up at him with a tired smile.

he peered down at you with a soft grin curling on the end of his lips. your stomach twisted at the sight, more so than it had before he showed up to your apartment. the more time you spent with him, the more your feelings for him felt amplified by a thousand.

he always had that effect on you.

“what were you thinking about? you ought to let me take a trip on one of your little mind adventures sometime,” his words were careful as his eyes searched yours, “but only if you want to, of course.”

a small silence clung to the chilly air of the night, the cheap tube lights above your heads flickering and caressing his facial features in the most beautiful way you could ever imagine. you decided to throw caution to the wind and be honest with him. you didn’t feel like yourself the entire time you were speaking.

“i was thinking about you, hao,” you muttered, poking his arm playfully all while still managing to keep your gaze locked with his.

he appeared taken aback by your sudden statement, confusion blooming across his features as he inquired, “thinking… good things about me? or did i do something wrong?”

you felt panic rise in your throat, hurriedly saying, “god, no, it’s nothing bad i promise. i would tell you if that were the case.”

zhang hao nodded, his lips swiping over his chapped lips in an attempt to distract himself from the confusion he felt at his words. nice going, idiot, you thought to yourself, now you really screwed this up. you sighed, scratching the back of your neck awkwardly as you looked down at your feet, taking the time to kick a loose rock before you finally questioned, “we’re good friends, right?”

you didn’t dare look up to see his answer to your question because you already knew he was nodding his head in reply, enforcing the friendzone for the final time he needed to in order for you to truly lose hope. your heart felt incredibly heavy at his response even if you knew that would be the answer. however, you didn’t expect the next few sentences he said next, “if you want us to be friends, of course. if not, that’s okay too.”

you really, really needed to stop ruining things. there was an obvious shift in his tone and you finally looked up to gauge his expression, but it was unreadable. it seemed he was fighting something with himself, but the frustrated sigh he let out didn’t give you much time to think about it, “that wasn’t meant to come out the way it did, i’m sorry.”

you cocked your head to the side in confusion, letting him continue to talk as he parted his lips, “i really do want to be considerate of your feelings and i want to stay friends with you in any way possible, but i’m not sure if i can keep this bottled up anymore.” you felt anxiety instantly begin to bubble in your stomach as he shuffled his feet nervously in front of him.

“i like you,y/n. i have since the very first night we met and had to share the horrible pull out couch at gyuvin’s apartment, and i’m sorry. you obviously don’t have to reciprocate my feelings, it’s just that i wanted to get this off my chest and felt like now was the right time. i don’t know why, but it did.”

you stood in shock, the snack bag in your hand almost falling from your grasp. you felt as if you were floating on cloud nine, your far fetched dreams of zhang hao liking you back singing in your ears as his words rang over and over again in your mind. you couldn’t help the bright smile that creeped onto your lips, your eyes sparkling brighter than the prettiest stars zhang hao had ever seen.

“i... like you too?” your words moved slower than you ever expected them to, but they felt good to finally say out loud, “i’ve had too many mental breakdowns on gyuvin over it because i was so afraid of ruining the relationship we already had, so that’s why i didn’t say anything.”

zhang hao’s entire face lit up, and the silent second in between your confessions slipped effortlessly into small bits of laughter before the boy was pulling your body close to his, your arms instinctively wrapping around his waist and his chin rested comfortably on top of your head, “here i was getting all worked up over this for absolutely nothing,” he chuckled, “i’m so glad you feel the same, though.”

“me too,” you replied with a content sigh.

it hadn’t been the dramatic kind of confession you’d see in a movie. it was just zhang hao and his warm heart and kind words in the middle of a chilly, stressful night. it was more than enough to make you feel a euphoria you never had, and not too much to make you sick of the feeling.

however, you were sure that it was enough to make you love him just a little bit more.

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aalyssah · 6 months

Text

Interesting Carnival Date

Pairing: Roman Reigns x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Angst/Fluff!

Word Count: 1,464

Request/Summary:⇩

A/N: This was requested by someone on Wattpad. Hope You Enjoy!

"Oh my gosh, this is so pretty!" You said, eyes reflecting the bright lights of the carnival rides.

After weeks of convincing Roman, he said yes to taking you to a carnival. He’s been so busy with work, and barely gets time off, but since his huge match against La Knight, Triple H let him have a week off.

"Not as pretty as you." Roman said, getting out the car and going to your side. He opened the door, holding his hand out for you. You slipped yours in his, standing next to him, looking around.

"I can't believe we're actually here!" Roman looked at you, seeing how happy you looked. You were glowing in the lights with your huge smile.

"Anything for you baby, you deserve it." You giggled as Roman leaned over and pressed a kiss to your cheek. He closed the car door and guided you both up the small walkway to where you could enter.

Of course he had to get vip wristbands for him and his baby girl.

You both walked to different games, specifically the bean bag toss game. "Oh, I'm a boss at this. Watch and learn, babe." You cockily said, cracking your knuckles.

You grabbed 3 bean bags before focusing on the hole. You threw the first one, missing completely. Roman gave you a look, basically saying 'Are you sure you're good at this?'

You were quick to make up an excuse. "That was just my warm up throw." Roman laughed at your excuse watching as you threw the second bag.

This time you were close, only missing the hole by an inch. "Oh come on, that should've gone in!" You complained with a huff. With the last bean bag in hand you took a deep breath before throwing.

This was the worst throw you've ever thrown because you missed the board. You actually threw a little too hard, the bean bag reaching over to whole other game.

"This isn't fair!" You whined, hands slapping against your thighs. Roman chuckled at your loss, handing the man a couple of bucks. "Now, let me show you how it's done." You glared at him at his mocking, watching as Roman threw each bag into the hole.

A loud ringing played near the worker, indicating Roman won. "We have a winner! Come pick your prize!" Roman went up to the guy, asking for a frog stuffed animal.

Without hesitation, he handed it to you, smiling at your reaction. "Thank you Ro, thank you so much, he's so cute!" You thank him, jumping in his arms, and hugging him.

Roman loved seeing you like this.

"What's next?" Roman asked. You looked around at the games and pointed out a spot. "Ooo, let's go play ring toss!" You suggested.

For that game you actually did better than bean bag toss. You won yourself, and ended up getting a prize for a small child who was crying.

Roman followed you around the carnival to many different games, holding many stuffies that Roman won after a little rage from you.

Although to anyone, it looked like a man was following some girl around, arms full of stuffies, but he didn't care. He loved you and would do anything for you, even if that means getting suffocated by stuffies.

Roman caught the eyes of a game he wanted to play. “I was thinking we can leave after one more game. I really wanna try that game where you have to shoot the water at the targets.” You nodded your head at his suggestion.

You and Roman walked to the water gun game seeing a guy standing there. His eyes locked on yours, a smile coming to his face. “Hello pretty lady, and man, what can I do for y’all?”

You ignored the man’s compliment, and began talking about the game. “Yes, me and my boyfriend would like to play this game.” The man’s smile turned into a frown at your words. “Oh, you got a boyfriend, I see.”

Roman gave the worker, who’s name was Mark, a questioning look. “Is that a problem, Mark?” Mark looked up at Roman with a bored expression. “Not at all. Anyways, hand some bucks over.” He demanded, holding his hand out.

You grabbed a couple of bucks from your pockets and slapped them in Mark’s hand. He looked at you with a smirk.

“You must be the rich one in the relationship. I love me a sugar mommy.” Your face scrunched up in disgust at the name he called you, but Roman was quick to put a stop to it. “Don’t call her that.” You got Roman’s attention after noticing how worked up he was getting.

He took his attention away from Mark before starting the game. “Players start spraying in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Squirt!” Mark looked at you as he said the last word. You brushed him off, focusing on the game.

You were giggling and yelling as Roman began to beat you. “Stop cheating!” Roman had a smile on his face as he took down more targets. “I’m not cheating, just get better.” You mumbled a curse word under your breath, trying to beat Roman.

Mark saw how much you wanted to win and tried to help. “Don’t worry, I’ll help ya out, pretty girl.” Mark started slapping Roman’s targets, getting more points for you.

You and Roman stopped playing, looking at each other in confusion. “Hey, stop, you’re ruining the game!” Mark didn’t listen, still hitting all the targets until a bell went off. “And the lady won!” You shook your head in denial.

The worker just ruined his own game. You weren’t having fun anymore. “Why would you do that?” Mark pouted at your whining.

“Awe, don’t cry. How about this, I’ll make it up to you. Go out on a date with me and we’ll play this game as many times as you want.”

Roman stepped in front of you, blocking your view of Mark. “Now I know you’re messing with me because I’m sure the first words she said to you was that I’m her boyfriend and now you got the nerve to ask her out on a date? In front of me?” Roman laughed, throwing his head back, not believing this man.

You grabbed onto Roman’s arm like earlier, trying to pull him away. “Babe stop, let’s just leave.” This time, Roman listened to you, grabbing your hand and walking away.

“Y/n, do you have the keys?” You and Roman searched for the keys in your pockets and purse. You both were only a few steps away from the water game, missing the way Mark watched the two of you.

Jealousy took over Mark as his body moved over to a water gun and started shooting water at you. You let out a squeal of shock, trying to cover yourself up. Mark had a plan though.

He was aiming at your top, making you almost drenched. Roman was shielding you, water drenching him as well. The water gun ran out of water, Mark standing tall and laughing.

“She might be your girl, but who’s got her wet?” After trying to hold them in for so long, the tears finally fell.

You spent almost 2 hours getting ready, wanting to look good for Roman, and even going out of your way to pick out a new skirt that he loved very much, just to look good for him, but Mark just ruined it.

When Roman saw your teary eyes looking up at him and heard the snickers from Mark, he lost it. He walked over towards Mark, with an angry look on his face.

“What’s wrong big man? Are you jealous that your girl wants me? You wish that she-” Mark’s words were cut off when Roman landed a punch to his face. Mark flew back, hitting the grass hard.

Roman was on top of him in an instant, punches after punches being thrown. People from around y’all watched as Roman laid it to Mark.

Security guards ended up coming and breaking up the fight.

Roman took you back to the car, getting a blanket, and covering you up. “I’m so sorry about his Roman. I didn’t know the guy would be so thirsty!” You cried out, apologizing.

“It’s not your fault. He’s just some prick that’s jealous cause he can’t no females.” You finally cracked a smile at his joke. “There it is. There’s that smile I missed.”

You stood up on your tippy toes and placed a kiss on his bearded cheek. “I love you and thank you for this very interesting carnival date.”

You sounded unsure of what to call what happened tonight, but you did know you had a lot of fun with your man.

#roman reigns #roman reigns fluff #roman reigns imagine #roman reigns x reader #roman reigns smut #roman reigns one shot #wwe roman reigns #wwe fluff #wrestling fluff #wwe smut

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boba-beom · 8 months

Text

Clay candy | c.yj

✧ pairing: yeonjun x gn!reader

✧ genre: fluff, tiniest humour? | drabble

✧ warning: established relationship, vague description of making out, mentions of food, spitting out food (the weird flavour), weird flavoured candy, not proofread, lmk if I've missed anything

✧ wc: 865

✧ a/n: happy yeonjun day!! I hope you guys show him so much love and support today by watching the vmas <3 I'm so excited for Back For More ^^ have fun reading, it's inspired by horimiya (s1 ep6) hehe

Yeonjun's phone rings, feeling it vibrate from his pocket while you're both sitting on a secluded park bench by his workplace.

"Hello? Oh Huening!" He answers with a certain amount of enthusiasm towards the younger male. "Right now? Yeah, sure. Me and Yn will make our way there."

You watch as he ends the call, shoving his phone back into his pocket. Dumbfounded, you stare at him with confusion in your eyes, not knowing what Kai must've said through the phone despite your closeness of proximity. Your boyfriend reaches out his hand and takes ahold of yours, giving it a light squeeze before showing his signature grin.

"Huening asked us to come over. He came back from the amusement park with the boys and they won a lot of different flavoured candy for us to try. You in?"

"'Course! Let's get going then." You get up onto your feet, hands still joined with his while you softly pull him off the bench, hearing his warm laugh fill your ears.

As soon as you arrive at the boys' shared apartment you and Yeonjun patiently wait outside until you were both met with a male of a slim build with pale, blue hair.

"About time you arrived, we almost finished the bag."

"Taehyun, we both know you guys wouldn't have been able to do that anyway." Yeonjun shook his head at the other young male, patting his back as he greets him and you enter the living area with him.

The boys were sat by the round centre table, watching them pour a paper bag upside down to reveal the pile of candy landing on the surface of the table.

You and Yeonjun decided to sit on the other side of the table, once again, sitting at your close proximity, thighs grazing and your arm instinctively linking with his.

"So how'd you manage to win so much?" Your mouth agape at the large quantity of plastic-wrapped confectionary sprawled out on the table, examining the range of flavours.

"I played this watermelon game at the amusement park, and I currently hold the highest score so I won... this bag of jelly beans." Hueningkai lost his excitement towards the end of his sentence, trailing off in uncertainty. "Thing is, some of these are really digusting flavours. But let's get bean boozled!"

Your face mirrors your boyfriend's and the rest of the boys', a confused expression mainly because you have no idea what watermelon game Kai was talking about, but also the fact that there would be a possibility of eating a really disgusting flavour.

"Here's this one for you Hyuka." Yeonjun passes Kai a cheese flavoured candy and the younger's face scrunches from the thought of sweet cheese. However, it may not be as bad as he thinks.

The other three guys, on the other hand, argue about giving each other decent enough flavours while their eyes are closed to make it fair.

"Yn, try this one." Kai passes you a flavour that you think is quite impossibly edible.

"Clay? That's a thing?" Your voice pitches higher that usual, quite in shock that there's such a thing.

"I mean, it is meant to be a mix of bad and good flavours, give it a try and let us know how it tastes!" Beomgyu chimes in before bickering with both Taehyun and Soobin on the other side of the room.

"I guess... here goes nothing." You say to no one in particular, but Yeonjun watches you pop the spherical candy in your mouth while Kai goes through the pile of confectionary on the table, too engrossed by the variety of flavours.

Your tongue swirls around the strange candy, making your eyes shut with no emotion on your face.

"Uhm... it's bitter." You turn to your beloved boyfriend with worried eyes, almost pleading for help.

This moment, you expected Yeonjun to pass you a tissue for you to spit it out, but instead he leans forward and lays his lips over yours. Your eyes widen from the sudden gesture, grateful that everyone was too occupied with their own little things to notice.

Your lips slightly part and so does his, deepening the sweet kiss a little more with the bitter taste interfering in your mouths. His tongue momentarily glides against yours and then he pulls away when you least expected it.

"Mmh— Yeonjun." You whisper only for him to hear, mouth slightly agape from whatever happened a couple of seconds again.

"Hyung, can you get us water please, these candies are gross. Thanks Kai, never get these again." Taehyun stated, pulling a sour face towards the youngest male in the room.

You're still sitting in the same spot by the table, watching the back of Yeonjun's grown out, black hair. A blank stare at nothing in particular.

"Huh? Yn? What's the matter?" Kai sees your frozen state, not having moved a single muscle since.

"Yeonjun— he.. he took my candy." Your voice quiet and you trail back to your thoughts.

Your boyfriend on the other hand, enters the kitchen, slowly leaning against the refrigerator and thinking while chewing on the bitter sweet.

"Hmm, it is bitter." He quietly says to himself.

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#k-labels #kflixnet #yeonjun fluff #yeonjun x reader #yeonjun scenarios #yeonjun imagines #yeonjun drabbles #txt fluff #txt x reader #txt scenarios #txt imagines #txt drabbles #happy yeonjun day!

168 notes · View notes

304blur · 6 months

Text

"a mere knock-off can never beat the real thing" they say..

pairing: yandere!dollmaker!antiqueshopowner!scara x gn!reader

warning(s): obsessive behavior, stalker, reader gets injured i'm so sorry, weird ass copies of you he does imaginary tea parties with.. gory situation :( happy halloween, everyone.

summary: ever since you've stepped in that little antique shop in your town, you've felt like someone's watching you. you tell yourself that "oh it's fine i'm just paranoid!" but, really, you couldn't sleep without having this odd feeling that someone's spectating your daily life. you couldn't just shrug this feeling off.

"I can't sleep."

you mumbled to yourself in your bed. Your bedroom was dark, and you can only hear your A/C blasting cold air into the area. it was one of the hottest periods of the year, and the heat was killing you. you cursed global warming for existing, and that coincidentally made your days even more hot and humid. you realize that you can't get a wink of sleep, and your eyes aren't feeling heavy yet, even though you've been watching tons of asmr videos for 2 hours. your clock shows that it's now 12:45am, and you have a dentist appointment at 7am. you're definitely gonna wake up grumpy. you stand up, feet on the ground, hoping that walking around your apartment and grabbing a glass of milk would somehow help you in this time of crisis. you open your door, the loud squeaking sound of the door irritates you, and you wonder if that woke the neighbors. you walk to your kitchen, bumping into some furniture in the process. you walk over to the fridge, hoping that milk isn't the only thing that you'll be consuming tonight. you opened the doors of your refridgerator, and inspected the inside. you only have.. juice packets, milk, cheese, wheat bread, water, an opened can of baked beans, raisins, and a box of chocolates..? it's one of the more expensive brands, neatly wrapped with a purple ribbon. you never remembered buying it, not even a fragment of a memory. but you were absentminded, and decided on the chocolate. it's better than the milk, anyways. you closed your fridge door, and sat on your kitchen counter stool. you placed the fancily packaged chocolate box onto the kitchen counter, and opened it, the chocolates were heart-shaped. how off-season. you didn't mind though, since they were cute. so, you popped one of those heart chocolates in your mouth, they tasted good, as expected of an expensive chocolate brand. but the aftertaste.. was odd.. sort of like.. a chemical taste. and before you could even begin to pick up anotber piece of chocolate, your eyes droop, and you steadily started to fall unconscious, you couldn't even move. but before you passed out completely, you felt someone catch you, and you managed to pick up their voice.

"gotcha."

... you wake up, in a old, and dimly lit room. weird, you don't remember there being an extra room in your cramped apartment. then, before you could look around to process the situation you're in, someone got up, and ran toward your direction. your fight or flight senses awoke within you, as you tried to move out of the way, but you realize you're tied to a chair, so you only fall down, helpless, and vulnerable. You couldn't speak, because.. well. duct tape was placed on your mouth. and you can't feel your lips.

"welcome to your new room!"

you look up at the owner of the voice. a man with dark indigo hair, with a single light purple highlight in his bangs, with berry-colored irises, red eyeliner, porcelain skin as pale as the moon and a round face, but he looks to be around his 20s. he grabs the sides of the chair, and places the chair (with you taped on it) upright. your many questions were muffled by the tape on your mouth, he smiles and roughly rips the sticky plastic off your numb lips.

"what the- who- let me go!"

you only managed to yell these words at him. he smiles sinisterly, cupping your face in his hands shamelessly, as he whispered these words.

"i'm your boyfriend, silly."

boyfriend? seriously? you've been pre-determined to be single ever since you came out of your mother's womb. he strokes your chin with the back of his palm, and offered,

"you hungry? you looked so cute when you were walking around, looking for food, like a starved puppy."

yikes. that's a really weird comparison. this guy is bad news, so you shake your head no. he looked a little sad, but he smiled at you again. what a creep.

"shame. i could've shown you how good of a cook I am."

he kneels down at your eye level and holds your hands carefully, like you're a porcelain doll he wouldn't want to break. you try to look around, and assess where the hell you ended up in, but he grabs your cheeks with his one hand, and makes you face towards him, his grip on your face tightening.

"if curiousity truely killed the cat, you'd be brutally murdered, right here, right now. but, if you REALLY want to see the imperfect works of art i've made of you, then i'll let you see."

he roughly lets go of your face, and walks out of the room, putting on a leather glove. you look around to find seemingly lifeless naked corpses, but as you squint your eyes to adjust to the sight, you quickly realize that they are handmade copies, of you. dolls, that look exactly like you. not only do they look like you in aspects of the face, but the moles on the dolls are eerily accurate. it's detailed, down to the bruises you accidentaly get when you wake up, and to the shape of your fingers, and length of your fingernails. but what you see out of that door surprises you. it's the antique shop you visited.

it's been about 4 months since you were taken from your apartment. you discover many new things about this guy, like how he runs the antique shop you dropped by, and how his mother came up with a crazy name like scaramouche. he changed your restraints from duct tape to shackles, and he feeds you, but he monitors your diet tediously, and he is very careful not to feed you anything that'll give your brain energy to think about escaping. he's starving you, but he says it's for your own good, because he's a good "boyfriend". he fed you his leftovers as a "reward", or so he says. he slobbered his saliva all over the remaining meat left on the bone of the meat, and made sure all of the things he left on the plate had some part of him you can eat unnoticed. it's quite ironic, since he beat you black and blue if you ever attempted to escape, he even watches you sleep. scaramouche was out for groceries, and the store was closed. you took this as the ultimate chance to escape. you were kneeling on the cold, damp floor of the little prison that scaramouche calls his back room, frantically trying to free themselves from your metal shackles. your right foot was aching. the metal shackles bound your foot tightly, and you were desperate to break free, despite being so tired. the room was humid, and you were sweating profusely. your own sweat acted as a sort of lubricant, as you try to squeeze your foot out. but your foot didn't fit through. then, you remembered that scaramouche left a metal pipe laying around after threatening you and to nail your feet to the floor if you kept trying to escape. you look around for it, and you reached out toward the tower of boxes it was on. the pipe fell onto the floor with a loud 'clang!' sound. and you had the craziest idea you've ever thought of.

you thought of doing it anyways, since having a crushed foot is better than staying with that psycho. you tore a piece of cloth off your shirt, and you put it in your mouth, acting as a sort of a muffler for the screams you're about to rip out of your throat. you grab the metal pipe, and with a deep breath, and a background sound check for any signs of your captor. you were on the verge of having a mental breakdown, the waves of heat radiating from the sun outside, seeping into the basement, your head spins, and it feels like the world's warping, the smell of your own body odor adds to your headache, it would be the worst thing you've ever smelled in your life. you shook your head, thinking that being in this pathetic state would be a waste of time, so you stretch your body to its' limits, without breaking any bones, so your body can still handle crawling on the floor after you shatter your foot. you sucessfully grabbed the metal pole, looking up to the wooden ceiling, praying to whoever would listen to minimize the pain of this. you inhale, exhale and bit into the dirty cloth in your mouth, prepared to hit the metal with all your might, and hit the spot in the shackles that had a gap.

it broke, and the sharp, agonizing pain that shot into your foot was incomparable to any injury you had before. you couldn't even bare to look at your injury, but you had no choice to, since you had to make sure your foot could squeeze through the newly made gap. the rusty metal had an opening now, and you could fit your foot through. you free yourself from the shackles, quickly making use of your freedom to stack boxes to the basement window. you whack the metal pipe against the lock on the window, the lock now broken, you sucessfully escape the dreadful basement, your pitiful, dirty hands gripping onto the grass and ground to lift yourself outside, you use the metal pipe to assist your weak muscles, and now you're on the ground, the smell of grass and the fresh air brought tears to your eyes, after months of only smelling the paint from the paint scaramouche stored in his basement, and your own body odor. you weakly crawled to the nearest open store you could see. a pharmacy. it seemed like the universe really was on your side the whole time. you tapped the glass door with the pipe you had in hand, then a green haired young man with glasses opened the door, looking down, to find you, a severely injured and malnourished individual, covered in bruises, and dried blood. he did not hesitate to help you, and asked for assistance from someone in his store, a little girl with purple hair. they handled you with care, the young man calling up some more help from the other shopkeepers, they carried you upstairs, to a bedroom, and they carefully laid you onto the bed. you knew that this was salvation, you didn't care if you looked like a mess, you passed out, on the soft mattress. you missed this, so, so much. you were too occupied relishing in this bliss of being saved, you never noticed that one of the people who saved you, was your captor, smiling behind a face mask, as he wrapped your injured foot with a bandage, tenderly holding your hand, whispering under his breath, as the others are busy helping eachother patch you up.

"i'm impressed."

notes: happy halloween, everyone! a gory treat from yours truly.

#scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #halloween #cw: gore #scara x reader #yandere #idk what else to tag #hope you enjoy

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nicherayyy · 1 year

Note

heyy! hope you're having a good day/afternoon/night so far! i've been enjoying many of your la squadra x child! reader drabbles, they're just so cute o((>ω< ))o

i was wondering if i could have some headcanons of the la squadra members letting their stands interact with the child reader (for the sake of this, we'll just say the reader is a stand user since it'd be impossible for a non-stand user to see stands)? idk, i think it'd be so cute seeing scenarios like: the reader giving little feet random useless things and just wanting it to shrink them or maybe the reader trying to teach baby face what they learned in school. not sure how the reader would interact with pesci or ghiaccio's stands since they're not exactly humanoid?? but i'm sure you'll come up with something awesome, haha. tysm!

Omg I’m crying

Child Reader interacting with La Squadra stands

Let’s just imagine that you were born as a stand user (which actually really surprised La Squadra), so you can see their stands. You’re a curious child, so the only thing you want is to communicate with your adoptive parents stands, I mean.. who wouldn’t want to.

When you first saw Man In The Mirror, well, you just stared at him. Don’t think that you were scared, just the opposite. The stand’s features were just.. so interesting. So interesting that you didn’t even blink while looking at him (this scared Illuso af). But after some time you started reading book with the stand. Meanwhile Man In The Mirror just watched over you:

“And then, a big-big hippo.. hip..”

“Hippopotamus”, Illuso corrected with pure amusement in his voice.

“Hush, I’m not reading to you”, you rolled your eyes and then looked at Illuso’s stand that was hiding in the mirror “Am I right?”, Man In The Mirror just nodded.

And when you found out that Little Feet can shrink things, oh boy. Formaggio is already used to these moments when his child asking him if he can “summon his friend because I want him to shrink this book for me”. This moments is so random the poor man doesn’t even know when you want to shrink something again.

Ghiaccio’s White Album is your personal cat. Blue haired man didn’t want you to interact with his stand at first, but he couldn’t stand you being upset so he gave up.

“Can I see a kitty?”, you asked innocently.

“It’s not a cat and my answer is”, Ghiaccio looked into your eyes full of hope “My answer is yes, you can see him” he said before summoning his stand. Ghiaccio is an angry gremlin, but even he can’t resist your wishes.

Fishing with Pesci is gonna be a thing. It’s your monthly tradition after all.

“And now pull”

“Like this?”, you asked while pulling Beach Boy out of water.

“Yes”, Pesci patted your head while smiling, “You did such a great job”

Baby Face is willing to listen whatever you say. Hears something interesting at school? He is already waiting for the interesting fact you’ll tell him today.

“Did you know that whale songs can be used to map out the ocean floor? Isn’t it incredible?”

Melone is just happy to see you so hyped up about something, so he just watches your interaction. In addition, such conversations will help develop his junior.

Risotto would never have thought that his stand can be cute to someone. Well, that was before he met you. Even just holding those little beans in your hands made you so happy.

“Can I hold beans?”

Risotto was distracted from his paperwork.

“Sure you can, just make sure not to make much noise, I’m still working”, he said before Metallica beans were summoned in your hands.

What about Grateful Dead.. well, you saw him just once. From a distance. And after that you keep asking Prosciutto to see him again.

“When will I see your stand again?”, you confront him, looking disappointed.

Prosciutto just sighed.

“I told you that never, it’s dangerous” he replied before putting you in his lap. Anyway you’ll be waiting for Prosciutto’s stand appearance, you even draw him a picture. He must feel so lonely because Pros won’t let you see him.

#la squadra esecuzioni #la squadra di esecuzione #la squadra x reader #la squadra #jjba part 5 #jojo bizarre adventure #jojo no kimyou na bouken #jjba x reader #risotto nero x reader #prosciutto x reader #pesci x reader #formaggio x reader #illuso x reader #ghiaccio x reader #melone x reader #jjba vento auero #vento aureo

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munson-blurbs · 2 years

Text

Thankful (Dad!Eddie x Mom!Reader)

You and Eddie celebrate Melody’s first Thanksgiving with the Hawkins crew.

Warnings: none

WC: 1.7k

Part I | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Taglist: @dylanmunson @tayhar811 @princess-eddie @briasnow-blog @eddielives1986 @lost-in-contingency @eddiesprincess86

“Are you ready?” You hear Eddie whisper through the bedroom door; the man was never good at keeping his voice low. “C’mon, let’s go surprise Mommy!”

The record store is closed on holidays, which means Eddie’s home, which also means that you can sleep in. Motherhood is more exhausting than you had anticipated. It’s one thing to pull an all-nighter once in awhile to finish some work or have a movie marathon; it’s another to wake up every two hours to feed, change, or rock a screaming baby.

Your husband has been nothing short of an angel: balancing work, a newborn baby, and a wife who feels like she’s falling apart physically and emotionally. You take care of Melody while he’s at the store, but he’s holding her as soon as he gets home so you can take time to rest.

You open one eye as the door opens and slip on your glasses. Eddie’s still in his pajamas, but he’s got Melody in an outfit you haven’t seen before.

“Hi, my loves,” you greet them sleepily. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving, Mama Munson,” Eddie replies, carefully shuffling towards you. “Mel wants to show you something.”

“I hope it’s not another diaper explosion,” you give a small laugh, sitting up to get a better look at your little family.

“Nope. Had one of those already this morning, but Super Dad took care of it,” he grins proudly. “This is much better.”

He hands you your little baby, her dark blond curls tickling your chin as you pull her close for cuddles. She’s wearing an orange onesie with a cartoon turkey on it, and the text below it reads “My First Thanksgiving.”

“This is the most precious thing I’ve ever seen!” you exclaim as she takes your finger in her tiny fist. “Eds, where did you get this?”

“What are you talking about? You gave birth to her!” he teases, kissing your forehead.

“You know what I mean!”

“Ohhh, her Thanksgiving outfit,” Eddie says, making you smile even wider. “One of my regulars gave it to me last week. Been hiding so we could surprise you.”

“I swear, every time I think this kid couldn’t get any cuter,” you kiss her little fingernails, and she looks up at you with her wide eyes. “Right? Every time Mommy thinks you couldn’t be a more adorable little baby, you prove her wrong!”

Eddie’s heart leaps watching you be a mom. The last few weeks have been hard on you, but he’s so impressed with how naturally you fell into motherhood. On more than one occasion you’ve questioned whether or not you can do this, but he reassures you that the feeling is normal, especially when sleep deprived. And while you’ve had no shortage of visitors, you haven’t really left the house.

Today, however, the three of you are going to the Hopper-Byers house to celebrate with everyone—and you mean everyone: Jim Hopper, Joyce, Will, Jonathan, and Eleven will obviously be there, as well as Steve, Nancy, Andy, Robin, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Max. A full house.

Eddie crouches down so he’s eye-level with his daughter. “What’s that, Melly Bean?” he asks, cocking his head towards her. “You want Mommy to come out to the living room so we can watch the parade together?”

You roll your eyes and laugh. “Only for my little turkey,” you place her back in his waiting arms so you can stretch. “And because I have to get up anyway and make a casserole to bring to Joyce’s.”

“I thought Joyce said not to bring anything?” He furrows his brows.

“Well, I’m not going over empty-handed,” you reply. “Besides, it’ll feel good to cook something again.” Your friends and neighbors had brought food to you after Melody was born, and you’d been subsisting on that and take-out since you got home from the hospital.

Eddie nods. “Okay. Just take it easy.” You give him a warm smile, appreciating his concern without being overbearing. God, you love him.

You wrap the hot casserole dish in tinfoil just as Santa Claus makes his way down 34th Street, signaling the end of the parade.

“Look, Melly!” Eddie coos, though she’s sound asleep against his chest. “That’s Santa! He’s gonna come to our house next month and bring you so many gifts.” He looks over at you sheepishly. “Speaking of which, I should probably pick up some extra shifts.”

You feign ignorance for your own amusement. “Whatever for? I thought Santa was bringing everything for her.”

“You’re so lucky I’m holding her, or I’d throw a pillow at your head.” Instead, he opts to stick out his tongue, making you giggle.

“C’mon, let’s bundle her up and…Eddie!” you cry out when you see that he’s still in his pajamas, with his hair mussed and his face unshaven. “How are you not ready yet?”

“I think a better question is, how are you ready?” he gawps.

“I showered and got dressed while the casserole was in the oven,” you explain. “Just need to throw on some makeup, cover up these bags under my eyes, and I’m good to go.”

“Fuckin’ Wonder Woman, I’m tellin’ you, babe. That’s what you are,” he muses, standing slowly and putting Melody in her bassinet next to the couch. He walks back to the kitchen and presses a sloppy kiss to your temple. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, stinky man,” you wrinkle your nose dramatically as you pretend to lean in for a kiss but lick his lips instead. He retaliates quickly, pulling you close to him and licking your ear.

“You’re gross,” you mumble as his jaw drops.

“Me? You started this!” he retorts.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, babe. Now go get ready.”

You pull up to the house half an hour later than you’d hoped, but considering you had a four-week-old baby, you were impressed that you weren’t tardier. Eddie throws the car in park and shuts off the engine, and immediately you hear a voice call, “They’re here!”, followed by a parade of people vying to be the first to hold Melody.

“Whoa! Hey, guys!” Eddie calls as he steps out and opens the rear door to get the baby. “Just give us a sec to get settled in and then you can fight to the death for her.”

You sling the diaper bag over your shoulder as Eddie unhooks the car seat. Melody stirs slightly and lets out a cry.

“Sorry,” you mutter as you make a beeline for the front door, “she might be hungry.”

Joyce pushes through the crowd to get to you. “Breathe. It’s okay. Babies cry,” she rubs your back gently. “You’ll feed her, and she’ll be good as new.”

You take a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth, and nod. “Thank you.”

There’s a soft tap on your shoulder as you walk in the house. “Uh, Y/N?” Mike Wheeler says. “I can give her a bottle, i-if you want. I used to help my mom when Holly was a baby.”

You’re reluctant to accept help, for the sake of your own pride, but you relinquish some control and smile. “That would be amazing, Mike.” The boy visibly relaxes as you bring him over to the kitchen so you can prepare the bottle.

Eddie places Melody in Mike’s arms, and she takes the bottle immediately. “She’s so cute,” Mike remarks, making silly faces at her while she drinks.

“Once that bottle is done, give her to me,” Dustin demands, and Max scoffs at him.

“You already got to meet her when she was born!” she argues, pushing him out of the way.

“Not my fault I’m a better friend than any of you are!”

“Hey, who says I’m giving her up?” Mike calls back from the sofa.

“Sheep!” Eddie’s voice stops their bickering immediately. “Here’s the deal: Wheeler’s gonna finish feeding her, then we’ll go in alphabetical order by people who haven’t met her yet,” he emphasizes, earning a glare from Dustin. “That means Eleven, then Jonathan, Lucas, Max, Robin, and Will.”

“So not fair,” Dustin mutters, but doesn’t put up more of a fight.

“Also, there’s a rule,” you add teasingly. “If she poops while you’re holding her, you have to change her diaper.” Surprisingly, no one seems fazed.

For the first time in nearly a month, you’re able to have adult conversations and eat a meal without having to tend to Melody. It feels strange, like a piece of you is missing, but you learn to enjoy the moments of freedom.

It’s Hopper’s turn to hold her, and he’s standing next to Eddie, who’s eating a slice of pie. You overhear a part of their conversation:

“Having a daughter is the best feeling, isn’t it?” Hopper asks him, waving a finger at Melody. She’s so good, you think with a smile.

Eddie nods vigorously. “I can’t believe that I get to be her dad. I feel like I don’t deserve it,” he admits.

Hopper glances over at Eleven before replying. “I know the feeling,” he agrees, “but trust me when I say that if anyone deserves this, it’s you.” You blink back tears, half because you don’t want to be crying at Thanksgiving, and half because you don’t want to get caught eavesdropping.

Joyce uses her hip to gently bump yours. “Look at our guys,” she says. “Almost hate to steal her away from them. Almost.” She marches over and motions for her husband to hand her the baby, heart melting the instant she holds her.

Eddie makes his way over to you, placing his empty plate on a nearby table. He brings his arm around your waist, and you rest your head on his chest.

“You good, baby?” he murmurs into your hair.

“Mhm,” you say. “I’m just really happy.”

He squeezes you even closer and brings his gaze back to his daughter, cooing in Joyce’s arms. “We made the cutest kid ever, didn’t we?”

“Oh, absolutely,” you agree. “Makes every other baby look bad.” You look up at him and he bends down slightly to kiss you.

Instead, you lick from his lower lip to the tip of his nose.

“Gotcha.”

#eddie stranger things #eddie munson #eddie x you #eddie x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #dad!eddie munson #dad!eddie munson x mom!reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x f!reader #fanfic #stranger things fanfic #eddie munson fanfic #dad!eddie series

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luxaryllis · 22 days

Text

My Friend

Note: I'm back!! I wrote this fic for @twst-charity , which is a Twisted Wonderland-themed charity drive for Palestine. Please do check it out and donate!! Their pinned post and blog in general has a lot of information, and they also have contributor sign-ups open as well! I really hope you guys can support in any way you can!

Here's the link to donate and send a request as well! The whole thing works rather similarly to giving a commission, except you simply have to provide a proof of your donation and then give your request.

Anyways, this is a fic focused on Rollo and the donor's oc, Robin! Fic is under the cut. I had so much fun writing this, especially since this was my first time writing for Rollo. Hopefully I can also get to work on other requests for the charity drive and the requests on my inbox as well! This is also full fluff so no warnings from here!

Chatter and laughter fill the cafe, filling the area with a lively and bustling atmosphere. The smell of coffee beans and freshly baked pastries waft through the air and easily excite the customers piling in. The door jingles lightly with every person walking in, and people all converse together happily. Groups of friends, couples, families, and even those alone are enveloped by the welcoming ambience of the cafe.

The bells jingle again, prompting the servers to enthusiastically thank the two people who were leaving. Rollo and Robin step out of the warm cafe, a cold breeze greeting them as soon as they step outside. Robin takes a small sip of his hot chocolate, smiling happily at the toasty feeling it brings to him. The shorter boy lets out a small hum of contentment as the hot beverage smoothly goes down his throat.

“Mmmh! Thanks for treating me, Rollo. This cafe really is good!” Robin grins up at Rollo in happiness and gratitude. Rollo only nods, using his handkerchief to cover his mouth a bit. Rollo’s voice is slightly muffled as he speaks from behind the cloth, “Of course. It’s my pleasure. This cafe is known for its authentic traditional food from Fleur City, so I thought it best to show you the richness of Fleur City’s culture.”

The two start to stroll together by the sidewalk, a peaceful silence between the two friends. A few butterflies flutter over, making Robin giggle slightly as he watches them fly about without a care. The butterflies then proceeded to fly away, the whimsical wings fluttering off. Just as the winged insects flew out of view, a small drop of water fell on Rollo’s shoulder, making him pause and look around to see whoever or whatever made the water fall on him.

With that one droplet of water, came another. And another. Until drops of rain were falling from the sky. Robin lets out an exclamation of surprise, not having anticipated it to start raining. It’s somewhat evident that Rollo didn’t expect it either, if his annoyed mutters into the handkerchief fully covering his mouth mean anything. The two quickly run back to the cafe, stopping just outside and taking shelter under the extended roof. Rollo heaves a sigh of relief and pockets his handkerchief, looking at Robin who was trying to dry his slightly damp hair.

Robin lets out a small chuckle and quickly downs the rest of his hot chocolate, setting it by the table nearby. The two take a seat and watch as Fleur City becomes a rainy wonderland. While it was a mundane and normal sight to Rollo, who has lived in Fleur City his whole life, it seemed almost like a life-changing experience to Robin. There was just something so beautiful about how the raindrops fell and made puddles in the ground, rippling with every drop that fell. How the petals of the flowers outside would bend a bit when a drop would fall on them, and how the bright sun still shines despite the rain and darkening clouds, making a wonderful scene.

Such a stunning sight should definitely be captured on camera.

The younger boy takes out his camera and turns it on, looking through the viewfinder of the camera. Robin squints in concentration as he fiddles with the focus and zoom rings on his camera, trying to find the best way to capture the wondrous moment. Rollo watches on in slight confusion, but doesn’t say anything just yet. He knows when someone needs to focus, and photography is a delicate art that requires all concentration. A shutter and click sound is heard, and Robin looks at the photo he took. A bright grin grows on his face as he sees the picture.

“Rollo, Rollo! You should take a look at this!” Rollo blinks a bit and leans over curiously, looking from above Robin’s shoulder to see the picture. It was just a standard picture of Fleur City raining; it wasn’t anything extraordinary. While Fleur City was a beautiful sight, was it really worth taking a photo of it while it was raining? It’s still the same city, after all; it’s not like there’s any change to Fleur City as it rains. The same buildings, the same flowers, the same people.

And yet... when looking at it through Robin’s camera, everything seems brighter, almost mesmerising. Rollo was used to the sight of Fleur City, though he loved his homeplace very dearly, but even he didn’t expect to see this beautiful sight. The camera caught even the smallest of details, and it was so wonderful to see that such a moment was perfectly captured and preserved. Rollo forces himself to hide the small smile growing on his face, but lets himself release a sound of affirmation and pride. “Hm, you did well. A beautifully taken picture. The beauty of Fleur City truly shines with this...”

It was rare for Rollo to give praise to anything or anyone, and is more seen showing his disdain for things more than anything else. Robin blushes a bit and sheepishly grins, puffing out his chest a bit in confidence, “Hehe I’m glad you like it! Oh! How about I print it out for you? You really like Fleur City, don’t you? I can print it out as a keepsake for you or something.”

Rollo blinks a bit in surprise, “Really? You would?” He pauses and hesitates a bit. His pride and ego is telling him not to accept it; after all, he shouldn’t seem so vulnerable in front of others. Especially not after what happened last time. He swore to himself never to let his emotions truly get the better of him. He’s been forgiven by the NRC students, but he’ll never forget their faces and the faces of the people who got hurt because of him. But then... it’s Robin.

It surprises him how kind Robin is, and he feels almost taken aback when Robin nods happily, his big grin brighter than even the sun. Rollo sighs in defeat, “I would like that. Thank you…”

Robin lets out a celebratory noise and keeps his camera. “I’ll print it out when I get back and give it to you, then!”

It was so surprising sometimes, how Robin can be so sweet to someone like Rollo. Rollo knows he can be too much. He knows he’s done so many things that are wrong. No matter how much he works, he knows he might never truly make up for it. He doesn’t understand how Robin, who has been so exposed to magic despite having none himself, can be so caring and understanding. How can Robin be so kind to him? Rollo is rather sure that, after what he’s done to Robin’s friends, he wouldn’t even want to be associated with him.

Rollo breaks the peaceful silence between them as he softly speaks, “Why? Why are you so kind to me?” Robin blinks and tilts his head to the side with a confused expression. “Hm? What do you mean by that?”

The older boy sighs and tries to explain, “I mean... certainly you should feel some sort of disdain towards me, shouldn’t you? It’s a wonder that you’re so kind to me. So why? Why are you…?"

“Huh?! Hey, don’t say that, Rollo! Why am I so kind to you...? Well, I guess it’s because it looks like you need a friend!” Robin musters up a kind smile to his companion. “I don’t see how it’s so special, though, but I’d be very glad to be the friend that you need!”

A friend… Rollo’s had close acquaintances before, maybe some people he’ll confide in sometimes, but he’s never really thought of anyone as a friend. After the incident with his younger brother, after he swore to himself to eradicate all magic in this world, he’s never had someone he can truly call a friend. He tries to keep his blush and smile hidden behind his handkerchief, muttering to himself as he averts his gaze.

Yet Robin thinks of him as a friend. Are there people out there who think of him as a friend too? Perhaps not, not with his terrible temperament. But Robin seeing him as a friend is a big surprise. Or, knowing the first year’s friendliness and kindness, maybe it isn’t so shocking.

“I don’t deserve someone as amazing as you…” Rollo mumbles out softly, his voice muffled by the handkerchief over his mouth. As Rollo watches Robin hum in confusion, asking what he just said, he swears to himself to not make the same mistake he made last time.

Robin makes him feel like a normal person again. Like he isn’t just Noble Bell College’s Student Council President. Like he’s just another person. Like he didn’t actually do so many terrible things in a fit of rage and revenge. Like he’s just a friend to someone. It’s hard to muster up the words to describe the warmth he feels, and Rollo’s pride and ego just can’t let him express his true feelings. Not now. Not yet. For now, he can only manage to say what he’s always wanted to say in his head.

“Thank you, Robin. You’ve saved me, my friend.”

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst fluff #twst x oc #twst charity #rollo flamme #twst rollo #twst platonic #twst x reader

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iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia · 10 months

Note

we had a chef MC headcanon, now how about M6 when MC made them a meal but it tasted just downright horrible and MC is just kinda oblivious to it, asking M6 with the brightest, most innocent smile "Do you like it?"

i hope you have fun writing this if you do choose this humble request

- 🌼

The Arcana HCs: When MC is a terrible chef

~ this reminds me of the time when teenaged me combined old rice, hot dog chunks, cold broccoli, and buffalo sauce (in one bowl!) for a late-night snack. thank you for the giggles this gave me, yellow flower friend, let's hope I pay them forward! - brainrot ~

-- to set the scene --

Somehow it's been one of those weeks when everything in your food supply begins to reach its end or expiration date at the same time. You know your regular grocery shopping is tomorrow, and you have an extensive list prepared, but dinner is up to you tonight and you don't have anything comprehensive planned. It looks like it's time for your famous "everything but the kitchen sink" stew. You've only made this in the past when it was just you in the shop and you were still figuring out how to cook, but you remember it being fairly edible.

(Continued below the cut)

You get some beans boiling (there hasn't been time to soak them), add a cup or two of vinegar to soften them faster, dice the not-molded parts of a tomato and onion you found at the bottom of a sack, and rinse the slime off of some wilted greens before throwing them in. You're craving something spicy, so you dump in the rest of your chili sauce, but when the steam makes you tear up you scrape out the rest of the mayonnaise to even it out. It was starting to smell funky anyways. Your hand slips when you add the salt, so you pour in some honey to counteract it, and in a final burst of inspiration, you plop in two bananas that have gotten too mushy to eat. The signature suspicious scum of your original dish is just floating to the top of your soup when your beloved returns, hungry from a day of work.

Julian

Too happy to see you to notice the poison on the stove at first

The words die in his throat when he does. Tell him it's a potion. Tell him it's a curse. Tell him it's a prank. Don't tell him, don't tell him it's ... it's dinner, isn't it?

He watches you happily ladle a generous scoop of your curdled concoction into his bowl and gulps. He loves you. He's got this. He will eat your food, he will tell you it's delicious, or he will die trying

He's starting to get caught up in the poetry of it as he sits down across from you. Like a lamb to the slaughter, accepting the sweet taste of death from his beloved's cruel hand - stew isn't supposed to be sweet, oh god why is it sweet

But for his darling's delight, he will overcome -

"Julian, is everything alright? You look like you're about to go on stage."

"Oh, is ah - is that what I look like, my dear?" He's pale and sweating at this point, poorly disguising the tremble in his hand as he brings his second glass of water to his lips

"It's my stew, isn't it?" you dolefully lift a gelatinous spoonful and watch it fall back into your bowl with a sickening squelch. "I remember it tasting weird, but not this weird ..."

"No, no!" His voice cracks against his will as he sees your sadness as proof of his failure. "It's delightful, delicious - worthy of the gods, even." You hear him mumble a prayer for forgiveness under his breath and drop your spoon

"I know when you're acting, Julian."

"Ah, so I - so I am. You know -" he stands abruptly, his chair falling behind him in his haste. "I just remembered that Pasha invited us for dinner tonight. Shall we?"

He's never been so happy to see you walk out his front door

Asra

They can smell it as soon as they walk into the shop and are immediately concerned. That is the smell of death. Why is the smell of death in your shop oh no - "MC? MC, where are you?"

"I'm upstairs!" Thank the patrons, you're okay

Then again, maybe you're not, considering how perfectly comfortable you seem standing over whatever monstrosity is releasing toxic vapors into the atmosphere. Is that ... soup?

Color him intrigued. He's doing his best to hide a laugh and find a way to ask what enabled you to create something so terrifying out of simple kitchen ingredients without insulting you

"So, is this recipe an MC original?"

"Yep!" You smile at him cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to the stomach-churning way that the chunks plop from the soup spoon into their bowl. "I always make this when we're running low."

"You've made this before?" They're starting to get concerned again

"Just a few times, when you were on a trip. Do you like it?"

He takes a bite, so intrigued by the way it seems to wriggle down his throat that he tries a second. "I've never had anything like it."

"What do you think of the mayonnaise? It smelled a little funky ..."

We have mayonnaise? They wonder, but on the outside they're still smiling. "It certainly adds to the experience. Is this ... banana?"

"Yeah, it seemed too mushy to eat on its own, so ..."

Asra sets down his miraculously empty bowl with a loving smile. "MC, you shouldn't have to do the cooking so often. Let me help out more often."

Nadia

She doesn't know how it's come to this. Nobody knows how it's come to this, when the Palace kitchen is kept fully stocked and there are chefs available at all hours

But you had said that you missed your home cooking, and she had given you full access to the backup kitchen to do as you pleased, and - ah, the only things kept in there are leftovers

That would explain the stench

Speaking of, her respect for your resilience has reached new heights. How you've been able to survive on your own is a mystery to her. Please tell her this isn't how you ate for three years -

But you seem as deathly serious as the radioactive sludge that's churning in her fine china like a lava lamp, and she realizes that this is going to be a labor of love. She must eat her fill and do so with elegance

You watch her bring the daintiest (read: tiniest) spoon of slime to her lips, pausing to test the aroma before setting her jaw and putting it in her mouth

Oh, look at that, she's already eaten her fill

"MC, my darling, what do you say to an evening walk? It seems I haven't the appetite to dine at this moment, how about a stroll around the palace gardens? The night is still young."

She's relieved at how easily you agree, deeply concerned by the fact that you've already finished half of your bowl, and eager to get you out of the palace so that the maids can make dinner disappear

She's going to lose sleep for the next three months about whether or not she should be honest about what happened to your soup

There's now a bald patch in the grass behind the kitchen that hasn't been able to grow anything in three years. There's a rumor that stepping on it will release a stench so foul that you won't be able to eat for twenty-four hours afterwards

Muriel

He's not too worried. He used to eat spoiled food out of the trash heaps all the time as a kid, he's sure he remembers how

But he's a little surprised that said rotting food is being actively cooked. By you. Seemingly in a choice made of your own free will

He wasn't expecting ... this, but a quick glance around the hut makes it clear to him that nothing terrible has happened, that you seem perfectly sane, and that you don't think anything's wrong

Well, you seem to trust your cooking, and he certainly trusts you, so ...

He side eyes Inanna's dramatic performance of whimpering and pawing at her nose, eventually turning to let her back out of the hut as you serve your bowls with a smile

He takes a glance at his serving as you dig in. Asra still talks about the time he ate a whole chili pepper without flinching - he can do this. He picks up his spoon, scoops up a jiggling chunk, and eats

You're a little surprised at how quickly his bowl disappears. You're not really enjoying your food yourself, but you're not going to judge his strange enthusiasm

"Muriel? If you're still hungry, there's more on the fire ..."

"I'm fine." He's getting out of his habit of depriving food of himself, but in this case, refusing to eat is a personal kindness

He drinks several glasses of water while you finish your dinner, asking you about your day and trying not to grimace at every silent burp that pulls the aftertaste back into his mouth

Inanna buries the rest after the two of you go to bed. Nobody knows how she managed it without opposable thumbs, but everything is possible for a wolf desperate to preserve her nose

Portia

Her brother might be an award-winning actor, but her flair for the dramatic only goes as far as silly little bits designed to make people laugh and pretending that she isn't about to punch somebody

She is a woman who knows her mind, her heart, her strength, and her limits. This is a limit, and she is doing her best to pass it

You can tell right away that she doesn't want to eat what you've made. You've never seen her smile look so uncomfortably tight, and you certainly didn't miss the way her stomach heaved when she leaned over the pot to take a closer look at your creation

But she's insistent on going through with your evening, even steering you towards the kitchen table and serving the bowls herself. She tries so very hard to mask the look of revulsion on her face when different chunks of stew jiggle at different frequencies

She places your bowls on the table and lifts her spoon, waiting for you to take the first bite in the hopes that your eyes will be opened and you'll insist on eating something else

No such luck. You're two spoonfuls in, so in the spirit of keeping an open mind, she loads up her utensil and shoves it in her mouth

You weren't expecting to be sprayed by the choke that seizes her, but sitting across from her puts you in the splatter zone and you're quick to give her your napkin and ask if she's okay

She nods weakly, looking slightly green. "MC," she says, "you are definitely stronger than I imagined." She takes another look at the gelatinous blobs on her table. "Stronger than you need to be."

She dusts off her hands and practically drags you out of the cottage. "Let's eat out tonight! My treat. And I just had the best idea for our next date night - we should take cooking lessons together!"

Lucio

He notices Mercedes and Melchior acting up on the way back to your campsite, but doesn't have any idea why until he gets a whiff and - oh, that is nasty

Some kind of skunk jacked up on magic must have done that, never fear, MC! He's here to save the day now - what do you mean that's dinner? That is not dinner. Dinner is not supposed to smell like that

He's not sparing a second to consider manners or acting. Lucio calls it like he sees it, and all he sees is poison

"MC, do we have to? It smells so bad, look at it MC, just loo - bleugh - no I'm not being dramatic! The smell made me gag for real, watch!"

And he leans over the pot again, just to take a deep lungful and subsequently let out the most visceral gagging belch you've ever witnessed

"See? It's bad, it's really bad, and I don't want to eat it! Why are you being so mean to me, MC?"

To be honest, you're not particularly excited to eat it either, but it's all you've got until you make it to the next town tomorrow, so you tell him as much as his pout slowly deepens

"Fine, I'll do it. I guess it can't be that bad if you made it -" He watches the way it slops into his bowl and gulps. "I take it back."

Sure it's a little spicier and clumpier and saltier and sickly sweeter than you planned, but you're able to stomach it just fine

And to your surprise, Lucio can too. He complains loudly the whole time, but his whining somehow grants him the ability to eat three full bowls

"See, you ate so much of it!"

"Well of course!" he puffs out his chest proudly. "I'm the best. At least it's not as bad as what we had in the army. But - MC?" he looks at you with pleading eyes, "please don't make that again."

#ask arcana brainrot #the arcana #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #asra the arcana #julian the arcana #nadia the arcana #muriel the arcana #portia the arcana #lucio the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana shitpost #the arcana crack #asra alnazar #julian devorak #nadia satrinava #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson

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lets-try-some-writing · 1 year

Note

Hi!! I absolutely adore your kids as sparklings series!! and just wondered since Jack tend to be one of my favourite if you could do a interact of him and Dad Optimus, he needs more love since he such a quiet bean XD

I will gladly produce more lovely bonding fuel for you dear anon! After writing about Miko and Raf, I intended to do Jack anyway.

Little Medic

After all the chaos with Miko and Rafael growing and rapidly gaining themselves Decepticon secondary Caretakers, Optimus had more time to focus on the eldest of his three humans-turned-sparklings. It had been eating at him for months having to work himself half to death to deal with being Prime and his sparklings. He had wanted to spent more time with his neglected eldest for the entirety of the time he had the sparklings under his care. But now that the workload was more evenly distributed, he finally had the opportunity to bond with Jack.

As such Optimus's lessons in history and culture with Jack grew more frequent and at the same time he rapidly found himself wrapped up in games of medic. While he had hoped somewhere deep in his spark that his eldest sparkling (excluding Bumblebee) would have a desire to be an archivist as Optimus once was, he was still proud of his little one. Jack had shown great interest in becoming a medic, contrary to his warframe build, and Optimus was incredibly happy for him. So when Jack began putting stickers that were modeled after welds onto Optimus's armor where he had scratches on his paint, he smiled and let it happen.

It didn't end there though. As Jack began taking simple lessons from Ratchet, he also expressed an even greater desire to play medic and stickers just didn't cut it for him anymore. And so using the new free time Optimus had on his servos, he pulled up some old knowledge from the Matrix and some of the tricks he had acquired over the years to make a little gift. With Ratchet's help and permission to take a few small tools, Optimus put together a mini medical kit for his sparkling. It had just about everything, with small (thankfully dulled) tools, mesh wraps for bleeding, thicker weld stickers (the novelty of which kept Jack enthralled for days), and small vials of glowing liquid not too dissimilar from energon in fake syringes. Then to top it all off, Optimus commissioned a field medic's battle-mask from Wheeljack. The wrecker of course did not hesitate the make the mask and even went out of his way to make an attachable surgical blade like Ratchet (which was promptly confiscated and turned offline before being given to Jack).

When everything was prepared Optimus gathered the team and knelt before Jack with the gift held behind his back. The team rapidly took photos as Optimus presented his gift and watched Jack's reaction go from confused, shocked, to overjoyed in less than ten seconds. Jack did not hesitate to accept the gift, reverently putting it on the ground before leaping into Optimus's arms in gratitude. He ended up crying from how happy he was with the gift, temporarily leaving Optimus and the team to worry that something was wrong.

The very next day Jack was outfitted with his new mask, his blade (which remained dulled and offline but still usable), and his kit. He marched directly up to Optimus after he returned from patrol and in his best doctor voice proclaimed his Sire needed a checkup, to which the rest of the team nearly perished from cuteness overload.

Jack: Sire! You need to get a checkup!

Optimus: Is that the doctor's order?

Jack: Yes! I will be your attending physician today!

Optimus: Very well doctor, please, tell me what to do.

Jack: Go sit over there please! We need to run scans!

Before anyone could really process the adorableness, Jack began giving orders to Ratchet and had Optimus lay down for a checkup. Not wanting to waste energon, Ratchet gave up his pride for a moment and made fake scanning noises while pulling up some old scans for Jack to use during his "checkup". The sparkling did not suspect a thing and accepted the comparatively huge datapad with as much grace as his small frame could afford him. He then looked down at the datapad knowingly and made some thoughtful hums before putting it down and pulling out his new medical kit.

He immediately pulled out a little scanner designed to only pick up basic vitals and looked at the results with the most adorable look of concentration both Optimus and Ratchet had every seen. Then once complete he nodded to himself and grabbed his tiny sander and other dulled tools. Jack's tools were made to only damage paint when used, so when the sparkling began powering up his itty bitty sander, Optimus merely chuckled quietly and endured the slight tickle that came as Jack clambered around on his frame using the tool on all his biggest scratches.

Optimus looked like a blotchy mess when Jack finished, a bit like a spotted leopard if he was being entirely honest considering the varying spots around his frame where his paint had been stripped away. But he did not stop Jack as the sparkling seemed so proud of himself for "fixing" the scratches. He kept a smile on his face as Jack then went about slapping weld stickers on the sanded parts of his frame to make it "all better". Then when Jack was completely content with his work he patted Optimus on the cheek and passed him an absolutely miniscule energon lollypop that Ratchet had provided. Being a good sport and not wanting to foul Jack's mood, Optimus accepted the lollypop as Jack began listing off what he had fixed and what his orders were.

Jack: I fixed up all your broken bits, so now you need to get lots and lots of rest.

Optimus: Of course doctor.

Jack: AND you need lots of cuddle time to help the pain go away too!

Optimus: Oh really?

Jack: Yeah! Lots of cuddles and hugs and kisses to make all the ouches better!

Optimus: *struggling to stay composed* If that is your order head medic.

Ratchet: *dying of cuteness quietly in the background* How many cuddles should he be prescribed doctor?

Jack: At least fifteen! But the more cuddles, the faster the ouches will go away!

Optimus obeyed his personal medic's orders and gave Jack lots of cuddles throughout the next few days. Jack was ecstatic and quickly took to having Optimus lay down for "check-ups" every time he began to feel lonely or had something to talk about. It was his way of stealing time away just for him and Optimus, and the Prime did not begrudge him that. Jack was always such a mild and well-mannered sparkling, so he did not object at all whenever Jack called him over and did his little diagnostic before prescribing Optimus anything from cuddles (to help with ouches), game time (to help with stiff cables, obviously), to story time (for memory retaining purposes of course).

Whatever he was prescribed, Optimus took the time to fulfill. If Jack ordered him to have cuddles, Optimus would spend at least an hour with just him and Jack in their little nest at the end of the day. When Jack ordered him to play, Optimus would sit with Jack and his siblings and play a little game of ball or blocks with them until the younger ones got tired. And of course when Jack prescribed stories, Optimus would take Jack aside and tell him tales of Cybertron and the old days with as much skill as he could work into his glyphs.

Jack also took time to do little "check-ups" with the rest of the team when he wanted something as well. It quickly became obvious who he liked best by how often he summoned them for medical exams. Optimus, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Ratchet, and Arcee were favorites by far, often being prescribed any of the things previously listed. Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Ultra Magnus got called every now and then, usually being prescribed something like "you need to find X in order to handle your mental stress" or something of the like as a way for Jack to get items from the outside. They never objected despite being made into effective messenger boys at best and fetch quest receivers at worst. The visiting Decepticons in Soundwave and Starscream didn't get "check-ups" as a general rule. But every now and then Jack would slap a weld sticker on a scratch on their legs and pass them a lollypop as a form of appreciation when they aided Optimus in handling his siblings.

As for Miko and Rafael? Jack didn't give them "check-ups" due to them not holding still long enough. Not that it stopped him from trying.

#maccadam #transformers prime #transformers #tfp kids as sparklings #jack darby #optimus prime #team prime #father son bonding #fluff #Jack is a little medic and I love the idea #I am the one writing this au and even I am sitting here giggling as I type #I love my little sparkling kiddos so much

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admrlthundrbolt · 5 months

Text

Sweet Tooth (Iruka x Chubby Reader)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iruka has a morning routine that includes your bakery. What will happen when a certain knuckleheaded ninja tags along?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys, I'm back at it again. I was recently rewatching Naruto and it resurfaced feelings for favorite characters. I thought that sweet Iruka would fit this idea perfectly.

I have an idea for a longer story for the 20th fanfiction. It's a concept I've been thinking about for a while, but will take a bit of research.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

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

With a heavy sigh of exertion, you dropped your hands from the whisk and bowl. While being a early bird, transitioning into the baker life was fairly easy. Mixing made up more of your prep than you’d like to think about though. But the happy looks on your customer's faces made up for it.

Especially a certain scarred sensei's.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Naruto, you seriously need to get your act together. A ninja must live a life of honor and sacrifice, not of childish pranks.” Iruka shook his head as he reprimanded the troublemaker. Hands on his hip, he leaned down to his eye level. “You need to take training and school seriously. It may seem like a game right now, but your future depends on your present actions.”

The blonde shuffled his feet and pouted at the ground. “It was just a prank.”

Shaking his head, he sighed. “No matter how innocent a prank may start. It can turn into a dangerous situation.” Putting a hand on the boy shoulder he said. “Do you understand.”

With a sullen nod he finally met his sensei's gaze. “Yeah.”

Patting the boy’s back, he let his stern expression drop. “Good.” Looking at his watch he cringed at the time. Glancing between the time and his pupil, he realized there was a decision to be made. If he escorted Naruto to class, he wouldn't have time to go by your bakery. Which would put a major damper on his day. On the other hand, he could take the troublemaker to the bakery. But what kind of mischief the blonde could get into, especially in your shop.

“OK Naruto, I’m going to make you a deal. “ He pinched the bridge of his nose at even the thought of what he was considering. “If I treat you to breakfast, do you think you can behave until we get to the academy?”

The boy nodded enthusiastically.

With a prayer the duo headed to your bakery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bell rang and you turned to the door. Smiling widely at the sight before you. “If it isn't my favorite customer.” A beeping came from the back and you clapped at the sound. “You guys couldn't have come at a better time. The Anpan is ready to come out of the oven. Excuse me while I go get it.”

Iruka could feel the heat building on his face. A love sick smile graced his mouth as he stared at the door you went through. He couldn't get over your kind nature and luscious full body. It was like you were crafted by angels themselves.

He was broke out of his fantasy by Naruto failing to hold back his laughter. “Wow sensei, they should change the name of the bakery to blush blush bakery.”

His blush spread even farther at the comment. But he didn't have a chance to reprimand his student.

You return with a tray full of red bean bun that smelled heavenly. As you faced them your eyes widened a bit. “Now Naruto, what have you said to make your sensei so flustered?”

Now the blush had crepted all the way up his ears. He quickly out his hands over the boy’s mouth. This kind of thing was exactly what he was afraid of. “Oh, trying to talk his way out of punishment. When sometimes the best thing to stay out of trouble is to just stay quite.” He gave the boy a pointed look to try and get his message across.

The blonde nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah yeah. What he said.” He rushed over to you and grabbed a bun. Then yelped when he realized how hot it was, juggling it between his hands.

you squinted in suspicion between the pair as you gave him a napkin to hold the treat in. “Uh huh.” Wrapping a second one you passed it to Iruka. “By the way.” You have the blonde your full attention. “What did you think of the milk bread with?”

His eyes sparked at the memory of the delicious bread. “It was so good! Did you makes any today?” Craning his head around the counter, to peak into the back room.

Swating your hand at the boy, you shook your head. “Not today, but I’d be more than happy to send you to class with lunch.” Facing Iruka your smile widened. “In fact, I would love to give you both lunch for the day.”

He waved his hands in front of himself. “We couldn't possibly take advantage of you like that.” His flush, that was starting to fade, flared back to life. Forget angel, this woman was a goddess. He had no idea that she was feeding Naruto. Though he had noticed his lunch containing baked goods more often than not.

With a hand on your hip you frowned. “I’m the one offering, so it wouldn't be putting me out.” Tapping your chin, you slammed a hand in your fist. “What if you paid for lunch, but I throw in desserts for free. That’d be fair, right? “

Seeing that you weren't going to back down without sending them off with free stuff, he nodded.

Clapping your hands together, you were beaming. “What sweets are you boys in the mood for?”

The blonde squinted at the display case. “What’s the sweetest thing you have?”

Without missing a beat, Iruka's mouth was faster than his brain. “She can’t put herself on the menu Naruto.” His blush had somehow doubled and migrated to you as well. “That is to say that you're the sweetest person in the village!”

“Oh.” You weren't sure how far the flushed travel, but your entire body felt as if it was a flame. Busying yourself with wrapping the lunches, with as many extras as you could sneak in. Including a note for Iruka to read later.

Thankfully by the time you had everything packed away, you both had calmed down a bit. “I hope you boys enjoy these.” Handing Naruto his along with a pat on the head. Then facing Iruka, you gave him another dazzling smile.

Your hands brushed as he took the box, they were as plush as the rest of you and warm. He fought off a shiver and gave what he hoped was a handsome smile. “Thank you.”

“Anything for my boys.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was glad that it was finally time for lunch. With the way his day was going, a break and your cooking was just the pick me up he needed.

Once he got over the shock of how much you had pack in the box. He noticed a note tucked into the corner.

Dear My Favorite Customer,

I mean it everytime when I call you my favorite customer. I was wondering if you would be interested in taking that relationship in a different direction. Call me when you're ready. XXX-XXX-XXXX

Love Your Baker

Rereading the note, he pondered if giving you a call tonight was to soon.

#naruto #chubby reader #iruka umino #chubby reader x iruka umino #naruto uzumaki #mutual pining #fluff #baking #caring

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e-dubbc11 · 4 months

Note

Be careful what you wish for…

Here I am, wondering…what were little Raven’s favorite things about thanksgiving? I really love that Billy is getting another chance at a loving family with his wife & baby. They have lots to be grateful for. 🥰

Well, I know it’s way past thanksgiving but this was so much fun to think about. It started out as a bunch of headcanons but sort of morphed into a little ficlet. I hope you like it and thank you for sending this in! ♥️

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Tattoo artist Billy Russo x F! Reader with their little Anna Raven.

• Anna Raven goes to daycare a few days a week and I remember when my little miss was in daycare and holidays would come around, her teachers would always have them make little art projects to go along with those holidays. So of course, the hand turkey is always a popular art project for little ones and little Raven would be SO happy and excited to give that to her parents. Billy may even take it to the studio to hang on the wall or put on his desk.

• A smile stretches across Billy and Reader’s face when they tell little Raven that you can make pie out of a pumpkin. The confusion in her narrowed eyes going from a pumpkin on the table to the pie that just came out of the oven. Watching her work that out in her little mind would definitely makes her parents chuckle.

• I can see her wanting to toss around the football with her Dad, Uncle Frankie, Lisa and Junior even though she’s still a little too young for it but they include her anyway. Anna holding the football while her Uncle picks her up and runs past everyone for a “touchdown.”

• And maybe she’s not quite steady on her feet to run and hold a big football at the same time so she stumbles and falls, her face hits the ground and when she sits up, one of the leaves that has fallen from the tree above is stuck to her cheek. They rush to her side to see if she’s ok but she’s a tough cookie, she doesn’t cry easily but has two tough marines wrapped around her little finger, fawning all over her and making sure she’s ok.

• I can picture Billy slinking around the kitchen with Anna on his hip while dinner is being cooked to see what he can taste. “Billy Russo, you put that pumpkin pie bar down right now!” You playfully shout at Billy while he holds little Raven in front of his face. “The baby wanted to taste it.” He says as Anna licks the pumpkin off of her chubby little fingers. You try to bite back a smile but it doesn’t do any good; little Raven’s eyes are wide like it’s the best thing she’s ever tasted. “Don’t use the baby as a cover for your sweet tooth, lieutenant.” You say pointing your finger at him, trying your best to not let that perfect smile of his get to you but it always does.

• Watching Anna’s face as she struggles to eat a green bean, her eyebrows pulled together while trying to chew it enough to be able to swallow. “Those are good for you, little Raven. They make you strong.” Frank says, popping one in his mouth. Anna hands her Uncle the rest of her green bean as if to say “Ok, well you eat it then if you like them so much.”

• During dinner, Billy leans in slowly to kiss your temple. He whispers in your ear how thankful he is for you, how much he loves you, and how much he loves Anna. Side note: I want to get back to these two as a couple. I love their little family but I think they’re due for some alone smexy time, what do ya think?

• Everyone is very amused watching little Raven eat her dinner. Mashed potatoes smeared across her face, her lips puckering when she tastes cranberry sauce, biting into a dinner roll and saying, “You a good cook, Mommy.” You let out a laugh, shake your head and thank her for the compliment. “Well, thank you very much, Miss. Don’t forget to tell Auntie Maria she’s a good cook too, she helped me put those rolls in the oven.”

• After everyone has finished eating, you all move into the living room to relax on the couch or a comfortable chair. Football is on the tv. Frank and Billy are on opposite ends of the couch with little Raven going back and forth between them before her eyes start to get heavy and she crawls into Billy’s lap and rests her little head against his chest. She tries to fight sleep but she doesn’t last very long before she’s out like a light up against her dad with her wild dark brown hair tickling his nose.

• Looking around the room, they appear to all be asleep except for you and Billy. “You and Maria really nailed dinner, my love.” He whispered. “Thank you, handsome.” You whispered back. “The little miss stole my spot.” You said with a warm smile. A slightly wicked smile stretched across his lips. “Ah, your spot is a little further south, sweet girl.” He said with a wink in a low sexy voice. You could feel the warmth rise to your cheeks “Bill, what have I told you about poisoning my goddaughter’s ears with your filth?” Frank interrupted and you let out a soft laugh. “She’s still asleep, Frankie. Relax.” Said Billy.

• With the lights dimmed low, you all sit around the coffee table, eating desserts while trying to keep quiet as Anna is still fast asleep on the couch. Pillows surround her so she won’t fall off. Noise doesn’t bother her either; she could sleep through anything. You and Billy enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving with the Castle’s; they are more than just good friends…they are family.

• Billy brushes the top of your hand, the one with the rose tattoo, with his long slender fingers, kisses your forehead, and whispers in your ear the things he wants to do to you when you get home. He always knows how to make you blush. “Are we keeping little Raven for the night? You two look like you could use some alone time.” Maria said with a kind smile. “You wouldn’t mind?” You ask. Frank glanced down at a sleeping Anna and said, “Nah, we don’t mind. But when you come back tomorrow, you’re makin’ me some of those Thanksgiving leftover eggrolls, y/n. Yeah?” You smile at Billy, gaze into his endless brown eyes and lean in to give him a gentle kiss. His beard tickles your chin as you pull away and reply, “It’s a deal, Frank…and thank you for taking care of her tonight.”

• Frank gazes at Maria, then down at his own children and back to little Raven. “Anything for family, kid.”

Tag List: @wheresthesunshinesblog @rafaelakelley @idaoftheburningmind @snowkestrel @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialams @k-marzolf @nutmeg17 @rosaleenablack @vaguekayla @qu1etwolf @danzer8705 @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes

Others that might enjoy: @itwasthereaminuteago @jvanilly @fluffyprettykitty @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend

If you’d like to be added (or removed from) my tag list(s) for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕 If I tagged you but you didn’t want to be, just let me know and I’ll never do it again.

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo fanfic #billy russo imagine #tattoo artist billy russo #billy russo au #billy russo x y/n #billy russo x you #the sweetest pain

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erenfox · 6 months

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Yellooo

I saw the Episode 3 of Loki Season 2!

Well I saw it back on Friday but there was some issue with my Tumblr so.

aNYWAYS-

HOLY CRAP THIS EPISODE WAS... something

It has to be the weirdest episode in both S1 and 2. Let me explain why.

spoiler alert 🚨🚨🚨

So. First off we have Victor Timely. Bro is really like most of my 'friends' - acting innocent and sweet and then being this conniving, craven worms who will backstab any second. I must say though, I actually felt bad for him in some parts - when he was being tossed around by Loki and Sylvie, when he begged for mercy to Sylvie, when he was having his heartfelt chat with Ravonna, being terrified of Miss Minutes.

Speaking of Ravonna ans Miss Minutes - OH BOY. To say I was NOT expecting them to crush and fangirl over HWR/Victor would be an understatement. I mean, ok, I must say his and Ravonna's talk on the boat and the shack thingy was really sweet, but his betrayal really made me groan in frustration. Come on, Victor x Ravonna is really wholesome in a twisted way (i read somewhere about their ship name being Timeslayer. honestly, that's just badass).

Miss Minutes. Oh my god, lady is straight up SIMPING for Victor. Her on the mannequin thing and her whole 'confession' terrified me AF. Like imagine having an AI Miss Jolly-Rancher-Bean Minutes simping on you. Terrifying, bro - I can't blame Victor for freaking out.

Let's talk about Loki and Mobius. It was really nice seeing them hangout as homies and for once putting the Multiversal and Loom chaos aside. And their argument about the popcorn-whatever snack was really fun to watch. It was rather sad watching Loki miss Odin and Thor. Also did they just confirm Baldr in the MCU?

And lastly, let's talk about Sylvie. I honestly felt really bad for her. Her pain is still there, and it was really sad seeing her pushing her feelings away for Loki; because that's what she had done all her life. The most heartbreaking parts have to be her asking that if her and Loki arguing over Victor reminded Loki of anything that had happened in the past; and when Sylvie almost broke down on seeing Victor's condition, because she KNEW how he felt - so much so she let the variant of the man she loathed from her core go because she knew at the end it wasn't (entirely) his fault... I really hope she and Loki get a happy ending, both have dealt with enough already.

#loki #loki laufeyson #sylki #sylvie laufeydottir #loki season 2 #sylvie #loki series #mobius #loki season two #victor timely #ravonna renslayer #miss minutes

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saltygilmores · 10 months

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Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls, Season 2, Episode 15, Part 2 (Lost and Found, Aka The One Where Rory Loses Dean's Shitty Bracelet)

Part 1 and all previous commentary here. I should start renaming these things "Gilmore Girls 10 Minutes At A Time" because right now that's about all I can get through per day before Lorelai has me grinding my teeth into a fine powder. Luke and Jess are checking out some houses because Luke is totally going to move out to a new house in the middle of season 2. Luke and Jess have looked at about a half dozen apartments and they squabble over minor imperfections of each one, whether it be pink paint on the walls or an excess amount of windows. To both Jess and Luke: I would implore you both to be a little less stubborn and just take anything with two bedrooms. Your lives will drastically improve with any two bedroom apartment. Better yet, keep turning down every apartment in Stars Hollow until you've reached the next town. Continue this process until you're both living in another state completely. Jess eventually whatevers- I dont cares- you pick the place out of the situation because he's due at Lorelai's in 20 minutes to get treated like used gum on the bottom of her shoe and get paid in stale jelly beans. And we get a SadBaby™ quote.

Let's play another game of "What the hell is that: early 2000's gadget edition"

What the hell is that? VHS rewinder thingymabob.

Oh. It's just a clock. A clock that plays cds and makes barnyard noises. Would you look at that. Another one of my favorite mini games to play while watching gilmore girls is "Determining how an object is going to be integral to the plot of the episode". This is Gilmore GIrls so we are seeing this clock for a reason. This clock won't just show up and disappear with no further explanation. It always means something. Please say Lorelai hides her squealing State of the Art CD player pig clock when Jess arrives because she thinks he is going to steal it. PLEASE. I promise it's been long enough since I've seen the show that I don't know if that actually happens but I put nothing past her. Nothing. Let's take a break to Admire The Baby:

Although he may flake out on dates with Rory and skip school, our little Employee of the Month is always on time for work.

Narrator: He would not be getting his own room.

#AdmireTheBaby #Quick #BeforeLorelaiShowsUp

Narrator: Lorelai Gilmore did not find Jess Mariano's arrival to be all that terrific.

Nevermind moving down the street in Stars Hollow, he's hoping for that Male Gilmore Characters California Wormhole to suck him up and transport him to the opposite end of the country to get away from this hell. He still has to suffer for another season and a half before that'll happen. Jess is this emoji: 😐

Narrator: She was not trying. Rory gives Jess the ol Razzle Dazzle: "Why don't you talk more?" or more precisely "Why don't you talk around my mother"?

Why is Jess supposed to trust and adore and respect this random woman he doesn't know, who he sees pawing at his uncle he also doesn't know, a random strange woman who is very transparent in her feelings about him, who is transparently suspicious of him for no reason, someone so full of shit that he can see right through her when no one else can or will admit to it. WHAT I'M GETTING AT IT IS: Is he supposed to be happy to be in her presence or something? Why should he have anything to say? He's only doing this because of a rock solid work ethic, and I’d say because he hopes to earn some money. But I’d hate to dash poor Baby’s hopes about making any money and inform him that his uncle and his uncle’s weird friend agreed he could be paid subpar wages.

I think everyone in Stars Hollow is two faced anyway. They act like they like her but you know Patty and Babette talk shit nonstop about Lorelai when she's not around. Kinda like me.

Honey, you can just keep your pretty little mouth quiet around her and let me do all the shit talking.

Why? Even Rory is still more or less a stranger to him at this point, an acquaintance or loose friend at best (we know this because minutes earlier, Lorelai had Lorelai Thoughts about Rory saying Jess was a casual friend). Why does he have to please her mom? Rory says she went out on a limb to try to convince her mother that Jess was a good person. This is true. But why is she even wasting her breath trying to convince Lorelai when her mother clearly refuses to listen. It’s a hopeless endeavor. Jess does not even owe Lorelai the time of day so stop asking him to be nice to her.

#AdmireTheBaby Rory: It wouldn't hurt you to be nice to my mom. Jess: Why? Rory: Because she's my mom and a friend of Luke's. Jess: So? Just because she's your Mom or Luke's friend doesn't mean I automatically have to get along with her. Thank you for doing the work for me, babes. Mwah.

Fixed it with some flawless editing. Rory: If you care about me at all you'll be mildly polite to my mother.

GOT HER! :) #SharpAsATack

Mmm. Do go on.

I just skipped ahead to see what was happening at the 20 minute mark and it's Dean and I can't complain because yesterday I was literally begging for him to show up to divert the plot away from Lorelai even for a minute. Thank you Dean. Thank you. I am eagerly anticipating your whining and sulking at the book fair.

#AdmireTheBaby

We have been blessed with another Milo Ventimiglia Okuh. An okuh is like a soothing balm that makes everything better.

#AdmireTheBaby.

YAYYYY ITS DEAN! HOORAY FOR DEAN! DEAN DEAN DEAN DEAN.

Taylor's back on his bullshit I see. What are we raising money for, err should I say what cause is Taylor stealing money from? Please tell me it's the Bridge so I can divert my Lorelai Rage into Bridge Rage and Dean Rage. I'm a bit delirious right now. Amy Sherman Palladino: This character Dean likes to read books. No, sports. No, books again. No, he rides a motorcycle. Wait, books again. Softball? Dean hates to read. HOCKEY. Here is Dean early in season 1 contrasted with Dean halfway into season 2 (still wearing that smelly leather coat too):

I am particularly delighted whenever the 3 Dean Forrester fans in existence try to use Dean telling Rory "I watched you browse for books for two hours" as an example of his devotion to Rory. As you can see by this display of unbridled enthusiasm, he clearly wants to be here with her. When Rory disputes that it’s been that long and feels guilty for boring him, he shows her his watch to prove to her its been two hours. Dean Forrester is a stale chicken nugget that's been laying on the floor for 4 days. You know what would make everyone happy? Jess and Dean switching places. Dean could go over to Lorelai's and spend some time "cleaning her gutters" and Jess and Rory could enjoy the book fair. God, in what universe is it fucking fair that DEAN is the one who gets to accompany Rory to a book sale and he just acts like a miserable turd. While Jess is missing the book fair to work for Lorelai? UGH. I hear Rory's voice screaming "WHAT'S UP QUIPPY! WHY SO SILENT!" at Paris but my inner monologue is screaming "WHAT'S UP AMY! WHY COULDN'T JESS GO TO THE BOOK FAIR? HUH? WHY SO SILENT?! AMY!" Literally the only thing to ever happen in Stars Hollow that he would enjoy and voluntarily attend and instead he's slopping some bitch's gutters. I maxed out my 30 screen shots and I can't delete any of Baby so this three ring shit circus will spill into a part 3. See ya soon.

#gilmore girls #lorelai gilmore #rory gilmore #denise rewatches gilmore girls #jess mariano #milo ventimiglia #gilmore girls season 2 #lost and found #luke danes

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dull-c · 3 months

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merry christmas, happy hols, and happy new year @itskotka !! surprise i'm your @cksecretsanta23 hehe! hope you enjoy this little robby story I wrote ya.

Ghosts of Christmases Past

In the memory he’s still a kid, ankle deep in polystyrene. Tiny bean bag beans cling to the Christmas tree, to his sweater sleeves, and a giddiness pinches his chest.

Robby’s not sure why he’s thinking of it now; his legs propped up on the arm of a sofa, a girl’s - he thinks she said her name was Carly - hand light on his arm. Someone at this house party must have been talking about the holidays, he thinks. Or maybe it was the rainbow-colored flashing fairy lights winding their way across the ceiling above him. Either way, the images keep resurfacing, floating through his mind. It’s a nice memory, or it seems like it anyway, but he can’t quite place the when and where - can’t tell who was around - if anyone was at all.

It occurs to him as he’s lying there, high as a kite, maybe a little buzzed too; bones vibrating with mishmash of shouting voices over pounding music, that it probably feels nice because of that missing context. His other childhood Christmas memories, even the ones that felt cozy and warm, usually went hand in clenched hand with recollections of his mom glancing repeatedly at her watch, at her phone. Tight line of her mouth, worrying deeper as the day went on. She’d stopped promising him time from his dad, knew better by then, but he’d been able to tell anyway when she was expecting him, and he didn’t show. Her disappointment and frustration bled through him like red wine into cheap tablecloth.

Someone walking by knocks against his feet hard, jerking Robby back into the present. The hand on his arm moves, pats his chest soothingly like he’s a startled dog, and it’s just overfamiliar; maternal enough to make him sit up and out of its grasp, head running cartwheels as he does. Robby stills for a moment, breathes deep and long, til he’s pretty sure he’s not going to headbutt the carpet when he tries to get up.

He calls his mom first, as he’s weaving his way through the drunken, dancing, handsy bodies in the hallway, but gets her voicemail. So, he tries the longer shot.

“Who’s playing that garbage music?” his dad asks, when he picks up. “Where are you?”

“Kenny’s place,” Robby lies, after a slightly-too-long moment of dead air. He slips out the front door and pulls his phone away from his ear to check the time. It’s still pretty early, still possibly within visiting your karate friend’s house hours.

There’s an even longer pause on his dad’s end, like he’s not buying it for a second, and is trying to decide whether to push it.

“Oh yeah? Miguel with you?”

Carmen says something in the background, and Robby can’t quite make out the words, but he’s sure they both already know where Miguel is, and he really didn’t drink or smoke enough to fall into that trap.

“No, just Kenny and a couple guys from class. Listen, I’m just calling because I need to ask you a question.”

“Okay.” He still sounds skeptical. “What’s up?”

“You know those tiny little balls that people stuff into bean bags?”

“Yeah right, the beans. Look kind of edible but they’re not.”

“Those, yeah.” Robby sits on a chair by the porch, rubs awkwardly at the back of his neck, no idea how to ask the thing he wanted to ask, now that he’s about to ask it. “I have this memory of like, uh, you know, - maybe it’s a dream, I don’t know. I’m standing in a bunch of them? And there’s this little Christmas tree and I’m like - were you? I don’t– Do you, uh, remember anything?”

“Run that by me again?” His dad’s voice sounds far away, pitchy through the phone. “You’re not making much sense. You’re standing where?”

It’s cooler outside than in, but Robby’s face is starting to crowd with heat. Why did he think it was a good idea to call about this again? Why is he fixating on one stupid happy ancient memory he’s not sure even happened? It’s summer for fuckssake.

“No, forget it, you probably weren’t even–” He blows out a deep breath. “I gotta go.”

“You good, Rob?” His dad’s voice has lost the distrust, it’s just concern now. “Is this about Tory?” There’s a beat, and then rustling on the other end of the call. “Tell me where you are, I can send someone to–”

Robby cuts him off. There’s a weird heaviness behind his eyes and a twinge in his throat. He thinks he might need to throw up or something.

“I’m good, Dad. It doesn’t matter. Enjoy the rest of your weekend away, okay? Tell Carmen I said hi.”

“Robby–”

He hangs up, and violently shoves his phone into the back of his jeans.

When Robby slips back inside, someone has moved into his dip in the couch and he can’t see Possibly Carly or her arm anywhere, so he downs another beer and heads out to the backyard. It’s marginally less hazy and loud and smells a little better. He settles into a cheap plastic lawn chair next to some rich kids talking increasingly loudly about their vacation to Greece and closes his eyes for a moment.

He opens them again maybe seconds, minutes, hours later. The rich, loud kids are gone, and someone is saying his name repeatedly. He looks up, disoriented; finds himself being stood over by the girl who featured in most of his juvie nightmares, looking paradoxically like something out of a teen romcom, in her cute, oversized sweater and big boots and scrunched curls. The pool light is framing her from behind, making her look kind of glowy.

Angel of the morning. Evening. Friday night, or whatever.

“Sam?” He lowers his voice to an almost-whisper. “Wait, are you real?”

Robby’s sure this must be another trip into his memories, another glimpse of something stored away from a time when things were good; easy, when they could still sense each other’s movement, wet boards under their feet, sun beating down in their sticky, sweaty bodies shifting together in complete sync.

Sam slugs him in the arm. “That feel real?”

“Ow, jesus.”

“Nope, just me.” Sam holds out her hands, and beckons impatiently. “Come on Fear and Loathing, time to go.”

Robby takes her hands, but when she tries to pull him up he holds his weight, leans back a bit.

“How’d you know where I was?”

“Karate spy network.”

Robby blinks at her.

“Your dad called my dad,” Sam elaborates, letting go of his hands. “And then my dad called me.�� She fishes around in her pocket and pulls out her phone. “And I’d made you activate the Find My app, after the last time you went on the run.” She waves her phone at him. “Fool me once, Robert Swayze.”

Sam takes his hands and tries hauling him to feet again, but Robby doesn’t resist this time and realizes too late that she’s expecting him to. She pulls hard, overbalances, and seemingly in slow motion, tips backwards. She pulls Robby down trying to stop herself, and he falls heavily on top of her with an oof; hips to hips, chest to chest, just narrowly avoiding smacking his forehead into her nose.

“Shit, sorry,” Robby says, rolling off her immediately, feeling humiliated now for maybe the third or fourth time tonight. “You okay?”

“I think,” she wheezes, visibly winded, “that was second base.”

Robby bites back a laugh and helps Sam sit up, brushes some foliage out of her hair while she catches her breath. When they’ve regained some balance, they pull each other to their feet again.

“Come on,” Sam shouts, as they make their way back through the house, over the noise and maze of teenage bodies. “We can grab a burger on the way to mine.”

He lets himself be pulled through it.

“Your house?”

“You’re not going back to your flat on your own.” Sam turns and looks at him over her shoulder, smirks. “Don’t ask my dad if he’s real though, or he’s gonna lose it.”

Mr. Larusso is waiting up for them, in his towel robe and slippers, bent over a book at the table. His expression relaxes a little when he sees them, and Robby’s not sure if that’s relief or if he’s purposely hiding a more unpleasant reaction, but he’s not yelling or kicking anyone’s doors in, so he’s just going to try and roll with it.

“Hi Robby, Sam.”

“Hey Mr. Larusso.” He swallows, and it feels loud. “Sorry to - I know it’s late-”

“It’s not that late,” Sam interrupts, waving her hand dismissively. “Don’t let Dad’s pajamas confuse you, he’s been in them since seven-thirty.”

“It was eight, at least,” Mr. Larusso mutters, sounding genuinely put out by the thirty-minute discrepancy. He gives Robby's shoulder a quick, friendly squeeze as he slips by him. “Sit down, I’ll make you a coffee.”

Sam hands Robby a glass full of water and nudges him toward the sofa, as Mr. Larusso disappears into the kitchen. The TV is playing some old Frasier reruns and maybe it’s the weed –he’s pretty sure it’s the weed– but it feels like he’s walked back into a memory of something he can barely remember. Something warm; gentle; missed tugs at his chest as Sam flops down next to him on the familiar sofa and tucks her head against shoulder, easy as breathing.

Sounds of the coffee machine groaning into life drift in from the next room, and then Mr. Larusso’s voice.

“Hey Johnny, just letting you know–” Mr. Larusso stops, heaves a sigh so long-suffering Robby’s sure he can feel his exhale half a room away. “What do you mean ‘who is this’? The caller ID is right on your-” Another long, exasperated sigh. “Of course you are. Yeah, he’s here.” His voice is a little warmer, softer now. “He’s a little glassy-eyed but seems fine. Yeah, yeah, I’ll put him on.”

Mr. Larusso hands Robby his phone, it’s hot against his ear.

“Dad?”

“Hey champ, everything alright over there?”

His dad’s voice sounds clearer than before, but there’s still an edge of concern.

“Yeah,” Robby answers. “Sam tracked me down on her stalker app, I’m good.”

He hears Sam tsk, but she stays leaning against him.

“Good,” his dad says. “Good. Listen, that thing you were asking me about earlier.”

Robby flinches.

“Yeah, that was weird, sorry.”

“No, I was thinking about it after you called, and I remembered what you were talking about.”

Mr. Larusso places a mug of coffee into his free hand. Robby starts to nod his silent thanks, but he’s already gone again, like a terrifying, coffee-bearing sprite. He sits up a little straighter.

“Oh yeah?”

There’s a rusting noise on the phone, like his dad’s moving around.

“It was when you were four - or five maybe. I can’t remember exactly, but you were just old enough to start calling me a deadbeat to my face.”

Robby’s grip tightens on the mug a fraction.

“I-”

“No, it's fine I was,” His dad clarifies, clearing his throat. “That’s not the point. It was December and I asked you what you wanted for Christmas, and I guess you’d been watching a bunch of TV specials or something and you said, all serious and shit, like it was a challenge, that you wanted a White Christmas.”

Robby laughs.

“Oh man, I wanted snow in the San Fernando Valley?”

“Exactly! As rare as hen’s tits!”

“Teeth,”

“What?”

“Never mind, sorry, go on.”

“Okay, right,” his dad continues, and Robby pretty much knows by now where the story is going, but he lets him tell it anyway. He wants to hear him tell it. “So, you weren’t going to get real snow, but I don’t like to back down from a clear challenge either - no matter how puny the challenger is. I went to Walmart, got as many of those packets of bean bag beans as I could carry, and filled up your living room with that shit.”

“You brought the snow to the valley.” Robby grins, takes a sip of coffee.

“Shan wasn’t super happy about the cleanup, but man.” There’s laughter in his voice. “You loved it.”

And Robby did, he remembers now, the spaces in his memory filling as his dad talks.

Remembers their tiny flat, polystyrene snow in every direction. His breathless giggling as his dad threw fistfuls of it at him. Looking up at his mom, who was smiling back at him; worries all smoothed away.

He remembers jumping up and down on their ratty sofa while snow rained down over him, and the dizzy happiness pinching his ribs. How, swept up in his joy, he threw his arms out wide and leapt into the blizzard; sure in that moment that someone would catch him.

#cksecretsanta23 #fanfic #robby keene #robby/sam (ambiguous or implied)#robby/happiness (ambiguous or implied)#deliberately vague timeline #addictive substance use or misuse #swearing teens #swearing adults #run on sentences #misuse of semicolons #unfortunately this is what the inside of my brain looks like #(messy)

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