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pitchsidestories · 20 days

Text

flowers II Ona Batlle x Lucy Bronze x Reader

a/n: hi, this is purely fiction but we were inspired by Lucy's instagram story at Diada de Sant Jordi, we hope you guys like it. 😊

warnings: mostly fluff, it's only slightly suggestive at the end of the oneshot.

masterlist I word count: 1628

Despite the loss in the champions league half final against Chelsea on saturday, you observed that the atmosphere in the team wasn’t too bad at the start of the training, perhaps because it was Diada de Sant Jordi.

It was one of your favourite festive days of Catalonia as it concluded two of your favourite things next to football which were flowers and books. Plus you were looking forwart to spend some quality time with your two girlfriends Lucy and Ona in the evening.

“Bona Diada de Sant Jordi.”, the woman who was filming the team for social media chirmed while you all were slowly entering the pitch.

“Feliç Sant Jordi“, you wished into the camera smiling, Ona next to you waved silently with a huge grin on her face.

Right behind you two Lucy and Keira passed the media person, the English defender shouted: “Happy Jordie-Day!”

“Jordie-Day?”, Ona asked, rising an eyebrow in question.

“Jordan Nobbs Day?”, the older woman explained laughing.

“Ignore her, Oni. She knows exactly what today is about books, roses, and dragons.”, you winked at her.

“And Jordan.”, Lucy added with a childish smile.

Curiously Mariona turned her head to face you and your girlfriends properly:” Do you three lovebirds have planned something special after training?”

“No, not really, except for dinner tonight. Also, can’t believe they let me do the grocery shopping alone.”, Ona groaned.

“Hey, someone has to take Narla on a walk.”, the older English woman defended herself.

“And Mapi needs my help with book shopping.”, you added, throwing innocent looks at her.

“Excuses!”, the youngest of the three of you replied.

“We’ll do the cooking and cleaning afterwards I promise.”, you told her in a soothing tone.

“I hope so.”, she nodded satisfied.

“Now that everyone knows what to do after training.”, Lucy begun before picking both of your pairs of football boots and running away from you.

“Lucia!”, Ona and you scolded her.

“What are you waiting for?”, the dark-haired woman questioned you giggling looking more like the little girl she once was instead of the over thirty years old person she was now.

This gave you the chance to catch up with her.

“We got you.”, Ona cheered as the three of you tumbled to the ground laughing out loud.

“Here are your shoes, Oni.”, you said before you put your own boots on.

“Thanks.”, she muttered, still with a big smile on her lips.

Slowly Lucy got up, padding both of your backs encouragingly:” Come on, girls.”

“Coming.”, you exclaimed excitedly. The weight of the loss on your shoulders felt lighter when you three were able to laugh about silly moments like this.

Right after training, you said goodbye to your girlfriends and met up with the still injured Mapi in a bookshop. The two of you strolled through the shelves, browsing for the perfect books.

Excitedly, you picked out a book and held it up for Mapi: “Have you heard about this one?

Your teammate eyed the book curiously as she took it: “No, is it gay?“

You smirked. Typical Mapi.

You pulled another book from the shelf and handed it to her: “No, but this one is.“

It was a poetry collection by Mary Oliver which Mapi took with an uncertain look on her face.

She flipped through the pages: “Do you think Ingrid would like it?“

“Hm, wait. Here’s one about three women of a family. It’s set in Barcelona and a café plays an important part in it. I feel like that’s more an Ingrid-book, don’t you agree?“, you said as you gave her the third book.

You knew you found the perfect match when you saw Mapis eyes lit up.

She skimmed the blurb of the book and looked at you with a bright smile: “That is so Ingrid!“

“You should gift her that one.“, you suggested happily.

The defender pressed the book to her chest: “Thanks. I know why I asked you to help me with that.“

You could feel your cheeks turn red so you turned back towards the books: “You’re welcome.“

Mapi watched as you picked up the poetry collection again: “Are you getting it for your girls too?“

You nodded as you walked towards the checkout: “Yes, we love to read out loud to each other in the evenings.“

“That’s disgustingly sweet. Didn’t Lucy was into stuff like that.“, Mapi scrunched her nose.

You giggled: “Don’t tell anyone. Lucy wants to make everyone believe that she’s so tough.“

“Promise. I won’t say a word about it.“

“Thank you but Ingrid and you should try that too. It’s very relaxing.“, you suggested.

Mapi only winked at you: “We’re busy doing other stuff.“

“Oh, trust me, we do that too.“, you laughed, knowing full well that your girlfriends were insatiable.

“Oh, I bet you do.“, she smirked.

You tried to switch the topic quickly when you realized that other people might be listening: “Now that we’re done book shopping… Coffee?“

“Please. I need some caffeine!“, Mapi laughed.

“Me too.“, you agreed. But a small flower shop next to the book store caught your attention. They were selling gorgeous bouquets of roses.

“Wait here. I’ll just get those flowers.“, you told Mapi before walking into the shop and reappearing with the wrapped up bouquet just a few minutes later.

“That’s a huge bouquet.“, the defender commented, watching you carry the unwieldy package.

“It’s beautiful though, right?”, you said, looking almost as admiring at the pretty flowers like you usually did at your girlfriends.

“Very.”, Mapi admitted before she pulled you into the direction to the café, the smell of fresh coffee beans already promised a delicious coffee and a fun chat about everything and nothing.

Meanwhile, Alexia celebrated the special day with the girlfriend and the dog by walking at the Passeig de Gracia. It might have been a bit too busy for her taste, but the midfielder wanted to get her love something she only could get there. Both admired the Casa Batlló which was decorated with roses in front of them when the Barcelona player spotted someone very familiar:” Hi Narla and Lucy.”

“Hi.”, the English woman grinned, holding proudly the dog leash in one hand and in the other beautiful red flowers.

“Oh, the roses are stunning.”, Olga remarked smiling.

“I hope my girls like them too.”, Lucy responded, her cheeks turning slightly pink which didn’t get unnoticed by her club captain.

“Who thought Lucy Bronz is a romantic.”, Alexia teased the defender.

“I’m not but those two are. So, I’m delivering.”, the slightly older woman explained.

“That’s cute.”, Olga hummed.

“I know.”, Lucy laughed.

“See you, Lucia.”, the blonde said goodbye, so did her girlfriend and the English player.

Glancing at the watch around her wrist Lucy realized that was time to slowly return to her home.

Almost at the same time Ona and you arrived on your front door. The Spanish player happily exclaimed while entering the appartement:” Hi girls, you can start cooking I bought the goods.”

“Perfect., you nodded, after a moment you couldn’t hold it back any longer and added, look, I got you two those flowers.”

“Hey, get those out of here. I bought some already.”, Lucy joked.

“What, no, I got some too!”, Ona chuckled.

“Are you saying we have different bouquets of flowers now?”, you lifted an eyebrow in amusement.

“Yes, we do.”, the youngest of you three smiled sheepishly.

“One for the kitchen, one for the living room and one to put into our bedroom.”, the English woman decided.

“Sounds like a plan.”, you agreed with her before Lucy, and you started cooking.

The dinner that followed was filled with laughter and love. Because it already was quite late you three moved your conversation into your bedroom which smelled of fresh linen and lightly of fresh cut flowers.

“Y/n, show us the book you got from shopping earlier.”, Ona demanded excitedly.

“Alright make yourself comfortable.”, you told the women you loved.

“Wait. I’ll make us tea before you start.”, the English defender got up from the bed quickly, suddenly remembering what she wanted to do to make the moments especially cozy.

“She’s so British sometimes.”, the Spanish player muttered amused.

“Honestly.”, you giggled.

Patiently you waited until Lucy returned with her tea cup in hand. She placed the hot beverage on the bedside table and made herself comfortable next to you.

Ona planted her head in your lap.

“Ready?“, you asked.

Lucy took a sip of her tea before she gave you a nod: “Ready.“

Smiling, you opened your book and started reading a few poems.

Your girlfriends listened quietly.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life.“, you read.

“Easy. Making you stop reading now so we can do other fun things.“, Lucy smirked, putting her hand across the page to keep you from continuing.

Ona sat up in excitement: “Right. We’ll continue with the poems tomorrow.“

You groaned: “You two are always so impatient. At least let me put the book away.“

Carefully you set down the book on the bedside table, next to Lucys now cold tea.

“No, time for that!“, Ona protested, pulling you back on the bed with a grin.

You raised an eyebrow: “Excuse me?“

Lucy just shrugged and slipped her hand under your shirt: “You heard her.“

“Okay, okay.“, you laughed, letting yourself relax under her touch.

“Finally.“

Ona moved closer to you, starting to suck on the sensitive skin of your neck while Lucys hands continued to move across your body. You enjoyed every movement. Your girlfriends knew how to make you feel good and you could not wait to give it back to them.

“Wild and precious life indeed.“, you sighed.

a/n: would you guys be interested in just a Luna fanfic ? <3

all pictures are from pinterest.

#woso x reader #woso fanfics #woso imagine #woso one shot #woso oneshot #woso #woso community #lucy bronze #lucy bronze x reader #lucy bronze imagine #ona batlle #ona batlle x reader #ona batlle imagine #barca femeni #barca femeni x reader #woso fluff #lucy bronze x ona batlle x reader

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hatsunemitskislobotomy · 4 months

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“…𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙙𝙖𝙮..

𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮…”

╴╴⊹ꮺ˚ ╴╴╴╴╴⊹˚ ╴╴╴╴˚ೃ ╴╴

well that was one way to be broken up with.

she couldn’t even be mad at the guy. he had been very sweet and patient but she had spiraled and started missing texts that turned to missing calls— which turned to missing dates. wasn’t the first time either, she just was that much of an exhausting person to keep up with.

in the sense that she was always behind.

she let out a sigh as she rid herself of his footprints, deleting his texts, deleting any photos, unadding him on socials— the whole nine yards.

but when it came to that dreaded voicemail.

her finger hovered over the red trash can button, taunting her.

and then she pocketed her phone, she supposed it would serve as a reminder.

that it was always her fault.

she rubbed at her face before emerging from her room.

“ah, you’re awake.” her raven haired roommate looked up from his book

“and to think we thought you were just about to sleep through your date.” her snowy haired roommate chimed in from his position laying across the raven’s lap

“ah, about that… i just got broken up with.”

“…”

it was quiet between the three of them, then again when was it not? she never made much efforts to communicate with them past their typical chores and roles in the housework.

the two in a friendlier than most relationship were seeking a third person to help take up the lease and that’s exactly what she did, nothing more nothing less.

and when it got awkward…

“yeah…” she murmured looking at her hands

“do you… want to talk about it?” it was a cheap attempt, she appreciated it nonetheless

“i’d rather not, i think my first proper conversation with you two shouldn’t be me bitching about my ex.”

satoru’s airy laugh sounded as he got up from his lover’s (?) lap.

“please, we wouldn’t be opposed.”

“speak for yourself satoru, only you are a fiend for other people’s affairs.” suguru tsked, closing his book slightly

“but please, if you need someone to talk to— we’re both willing.”

“i thought i was the fiend suguru—”

“you are, i’m offering as a concerned roommate.”

“i’m fine.” her words a lot harsher than she intended

and then came the unconvinced, concerned glances.

“sorry.”

and then she retreated back to her room.

if she kept this up she’d find herself out on the streets.

she let out a sigh, it was what she deserved right? no boyfriend, no roommates, no friends, nothing.

on her birthday no less.

she let out a sigh, she might as well distract from this pitiful day.

————————————————————

nothing beat rearranging your room instead of confronting your feelings.

she shook her head, she didn’t have a right to feel anything more than empty. the only thing that she felt was the need to rearrange her room and rearranged it was.

she needed a new change of scenery, after all she was another year older.

and yet still none the wiser.

the brutality of reality seemed to sting more as one got older.

she sighed, at least she can mope in a clean room.

a knock pulled her from her thoughts.

“it’s open.”

and then there stood her two roommates.

“i don’t think we’ve ever seen your room—ack! ow…”

“seriously satoru?”

“what? it’s true…”

she stared at the two bickering before the raven sat his eyes on her.

“y/n… we wanted to see if you were free later—“

“please, she’s always free—“

a smack, then a whine.

“we’ve realized that you haven’t been properly introduced to the area… we’d love to do you the honors.” he offered a half hearted smile

she supposed it was true, aside from her dates once in a while— she never really was familiar with the area.

“i suppose i can accept.”

“i told you suguru now we have to drag her ou— wait what?”

she chuckled, for the first time in a long time, a genuine chuckle tumbled out from her lips.

the two men were in awe.

“i’ll join your endeavors to wherever, i… i could use the fresh air.” she swallowed

the bright blue eyed man seemed ecstatic as he left her room pumped, the more subdued raven gave her a soft smile before leaving her to get ready in peace.

“thank you for humoring us.”

she should be thanking them, but she wouldn’t say that part out loud… at least not yet.

—————————————————

she couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward as she was wedged between the two men who insisted.

something about her being too small and easily losable in the crowd.

apparently these parts were known for having winter night markets where the cold winter streets would warm to life with street food and vendors.

she hardly had a chance to process the sights and the atmosphere as they dragged her from stall to stall, sampling food, eying trinkets, playing games.

she’d be a liar if she said she wasn’t having fun.

“wait guys— i’m gonna get some of the dango from earlier.” satoru was bouncing away before the two could even respond

“well his dentist certainly has their work cut out for them.”

suguru had to process her snark words a little before letting out a chuckle.

“believe it or not, satoru has the most elaborate brushing routine that I’ve ever seen. he’d rather die than develop any sensitivity to sweets.” he hummed

“i see.” she hummed, starting to rub her hands a bit

“getting cold?”

“a little, it’s fine— i’ll probably invest in gloves one of these days…” she sighed a little

“here, let me.”

he gently took her hands in his, letting her much smaller hands rest nice and warm in his own.

“your hands always this warm?”

“i’d have to say quite the opposite for you, and here i thought satoru’s was bad.” he chuckled lightly

“speaking of— if it’s within my boundaries… what are you two?” the words just tumbled out of her mouth

they weren’t married, and they seemed very comfortable in each other platonically as well.

it was obvious that they loved each other, but she couldn’t help but wonder in what way?

he tilted his head slightly.

“perhaps soulmates, life partners. he’s practically my everything.” he smiled

“oi! quit being so cryptic!” suddenly satoru was back with his dango in one hand and the other around the raven

“he’s my person— not much else to it.”

“that wasn’t any better than mine in the slightest.”

“yeah but you go into the poetics of it too much, just call it as it is.”

and she was left with more questions than she had answered, but in a way she sort of got what they meant.

they were each other’s person.

“i’m glad you two have each other.” she gave them a smile

“ah shit— she just got broken up with… are we being too much?”

“satoru!”

and there it was again, that airy laugh that made the boys still. they were still in awe that she had it in her, not when she constantly looked miserable in their eyes.

“guys, guys it’s fine— you don’t have to change anything for my sake.” she sighed, a small smile still playing at her lips

“ugh you’re so sweet! your loser boyfriend didn’t even deserve you like that!” satoru whined as he shook her a little

“especially dumping you on y—“

an elbow to the ribs and his hands were immediately off you.

“suguru…!” he groaned

“you have a big mouth.”

“oh but you like that~”

another elbow.

she couldn’t help but snicker at their antics, one moment they were like an old couple in love and another moment it was almost as if their were your typical best friends who’ve known each other forever.

she thinks she’s starting to understand what suguru meant by them being each other’s person a little bit better.

“sorry about talking about your relationships so carelessly.” suguru gave her a sheepish smile

“it’s alright, nothing that wasn’t my own fault.” she shrugged

they looked at each other.

she couldn’t just leave it at that.

“i have the tendency to just… withdraw..” she bit the inside of her cheek

“at some point it’s exhausting for the other person, dealing with me disappearing every so often— although it’s not intentional… it’s not hard for someone else to think i’ve lost interest or i’m being unfaithful.” she gave the two a half hearted shrug

“i suppose there’s just a lot i need to work on myself before i put myself out there.”

the two seemed conflicted, it was good she could recognize the areas she needs to work on…

“…but aren’t you being too harsh on yourself?” suguru blurted out, satoru immediately nodding

“there’s nothing wrong with working on yourself… but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to love and be loved.” satoru gave her a look

she knew they were right, but sometimes it was just easier to be miserable without having to think about another— only thinking about herself and her misery. she was selfish like that.

and they could tell by the conflict that flashed on her face.

before the conversation could progress any further she felt something cold prick at her nose, and then she looked up.

a gentle snow was falling.

“well would you look at that.”

she wore a wistful expression as she looked up, letting the snowflakes gather on her lashes as the warmth of her skin melted the ones on her face.

perhaps it was the universe letting her have this one thing, the first snow.

suguru and satoru seemed thrilled as well.

“suguru— look!”

“i see it satoru.”

but everyone seemed so far away as it was just her and the gentle snow.

it was beautiful.

but beautiful things hardly last.

“…!”

she looked back at the two who gave her a look, suddenly she was back on the busy night market street.

“you’re shivering.”

she didn’t notice until another one wracked her body.

before she could speak she felt herself being dragged along by satoru, suguru trailing behind the two.

“wha..? where are we going?”

“somewhere to warm up!”

——————————————————

when the two dragged her off, she expected for them to go back to their shared apartment or a restaurant.

but she was sitting down on a couch in a dim room with a microphone in hands while colored lights danced around the room.

“i… i have a few questions—”

“come on! it’s nice and warm and you can sing your heart out about your shitty ex!”

“he wasn’t shitty though, it was my fault we broke up.”

“that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to feel some type of way about it.”

which was true.

“come on you know the classic breakup songs right? it’ll get whatever off your chest—“

and before she could protest satoru was already queuing up a song.

and that’s how the rest of the night went, although hesitant at first it wasn’t long before the three taking turns in singing songs and ballads. from cheesy classics to songs of yearning and heartbreak that suguru sang a bit too well for satoru’s comfort.

“i’ll never make you feel like that!” he whined clinging on to the raven who gave him an exasperated look

“i know.”

she couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, it was nice to be around other people.

“i’m going to the restroom.” suguru hummed before peeling satoru off of him

“can i come with~”

“no.”

she snickered a bit at satoru’s clingy behavior.

“he’s so mean to me!” he huffed

“i think he knew if you two went together you wouldn’t be coming back out any time soon.” she mused

he let out a dramatic sigh.

“i suppose you’re right.”

“also we couldn’t leave your mopey self all by your lonesome.” he gave her a little nudge

she shook her head with a smile.

“i think i would’ve managed.”

“yeah yeah don’t lie— you’ve been all sad about your lame ex. y’know if you said no earlier sugu and i would’ve just dragged you out one way or another.”

“i’d like to see you try.”

“suguru manhandles me on the daily— we’d get ya.” he snickered

a comfortable silence fell between the two.

“do you feel better?”

she pondered his question a little.

“i do…”

but.

“but..?” he tilted his head

“it’s not even the breakup at this point…” she sighed a little

it was the prospect of getting older, and not a damn thing changed.

life itself was a fickle thing, ever changing.

so why hasn’t she?

gripping onto the ways of her past, she joked that she peaked when she was younger and it was all downhill from there… when did it start being actually true?

her past, her youth— it took all the best parts of her.

and now she was someone despicable enough to be broken up with on their birthday—

she felt cold hands on her cheeks, snapping her from her thoughts.

“you got lost in your head.” bright blue eyes staring down on her as she blinked

just how long did she spend ruminating looking like a complete nutcase in front of him?

“suguru was right— your hands are cold.” she mumbled out

“you alright?”

“i’m not sure yet.”

“…you wanna sing one more song?”

she sighed.

“pass me the mic.”

she got up to go queue up the next song, her back towards satoru— he didn’t need to see her inner turmoil boil up once more.

she heard the door click open, she figured suguru was back.

“ah— suguru. you wanna join the last—“

the words on her lips died as she turned around to meet his gaze, only for it to fall on a cake.

a birthday cake.

“welp— cat’s out of the bag! woooo! happy birthday!”

she was still processing it.

“satoru that’s hardly appropriate,” suguru rolled his eyes at him before turning to face her once more

“come, sit down.”

so she sat down on the couch in between the two as suguru set the cake down in front of her on the table.

“we weren’t sure what flavor you’re into but as a self proclaimed confectionery connoisseur, all the cakes from this bakery are really good so it should be alright.” satoru hummed as he pulled out candles from his pocket and expertly placed them around the cake

she finally found her words.

“how… how did you know…?”

suguru gave her a small smile.

“well at first we didn’t, but then we did some extensive research—“

“we were snooping around your socials.”

“…yeah that.”

her lips couldn’t help but quirk up at that.

“we knew something was up when you bothered to speak more than five words to us.” satoru shrugged before being met with a smack to the head

“owww…! it’s true!”

“forgive satoru, he’s bad at handling delicate situations.”

“i’m just saying it how it is! you looked more down than usual and we snooped around! can we talk about how shitty your ex is for dumping you on your birthday?” he ranted which earned him another smack

she was overwhelmed with emotion, she didn’t even realize the tears that started to stain her cheeks.

“you made her cry.”

“shit— i’m sorry!”

“no no,” she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand

“i’m grateful i promise, just processing… y’know?”

“we hope you know that you deserve this, having a birthday worth celebrating.” suguru put a hand on her shoulder

she offered him a watery smile.

“hug? you look like you could use one.” satoru offered

typically she would’ve refused, she wasn’t big on physical gestures but she couldn’t stop herself from nodding softly wiping her face some more.

she let herself be caged in between the two, taking in their scents and warmth. she relaxed into their holds, letting out a sigh once her sniffling subsided.

“thank you.” she whispered softly

“i know we’re still sort of strangers but we’ve grown a liking to you, if you ever think you’re alone especially here… we’re here for you.” suguru murmured

“you’ve already been welcomed in our lives aside from the roommate formality stuff, it’s just up to you if you want us in yours.” satoru chuckled lightly ruffling her hair a little

“i’d… like that.”

and they held on for a little bit longer, she held on for a little bit longer.

“now how about we blow out some candles?”

❀° ┄───╮

this one is dedicated to all the girlies who feel some type of way (wanting to die lol) on their birthdays, including me today :,)

╰───┄ °❀

#happy bithday to me #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk drabbles #jjk geto #jjk gojo #satosugu x reader fluff #platonic satosugu x reader #satoru gojo #suguru geto #satosugu #jjk x reader #lowkey self insert whoops

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luneariann · 1 year

Text

Bsd headcanons!

- Kouyou, 27 yr as of current canon

- Kouyou started dressing in traditional clothing in an effort to seem older/inspire more respect when she first became an executive, and it stuck. now instructs all the people under her wing to do the same

- Actually a huge fan of romance novels, Chuuya started reading them cuz of her

- Tea snob

- WILL judge you to your face in the most convoluted language, you will only realize you were insulted in like three business days

- She has freckles but she covers them up w makeup, Yosano loves them

- Yosano, 27 yr old

- When she was first adopted by Fukuzawa she tried doing things she thought kids her age did in an effort to feel more "normal" it didn't rly work

- Has won scariest ADA member four years in a row, shes both very proud of that title and very protective of it, actively does scarier shit once the elections come back around each year

- Wine snob!

- Veryyy blunt, she got it from Ranpo (Fukuzawa would call him a bad influence except he theyre both saying what hes thinking so)

- Dazai, 26

- Has tried to be a plant dad to win a bet w Ranpo, failed miserably, none of his plants are alive but theyre all lovingly named anyway, he talks to their decomposing corpses sometimes

- The worst fashion sense known to man, he KNOWS how to dress he just makes the active choice to dress like a bowling alley carpet when given the chance

- When Atsushi made him a friendship bracelet and he had to be excused to go to the bathroom and compose himself

- Hes Yokohamas local cryptid

- Chuuya, 26

- Loves romance novels, its his greatest secret

- Dazai gave him a bunch of plants as a surprise gift during his brief plant dad phase, he frantically learned everything he could abt them so he could take care of them properly

- He cuts his own hair, yes it is uneven on purpose, he thinks he looks cool (he does, but only because hes Chuuya so he can pull off literally anything) (yes i am biased why do you ask)

- Fantastic cook

- Piercings <333 he would get a tattoo but he doesnt rly do well with needles (cough trauma cough)

- Atsushi, 18

- Had a "sleepover" with Kyouka when he realized neither of them had ever had one, it was great they did eachothers nails and watched romcoms together, Kyouka decided she didnt really like them but Atsushi did so they watched them anyways

- Made everyone friendship bracelets one time on said "sleepover"!

- ALSO has an atrocious fashion sense, its Dazais influence <//3

- Kyouka has made it her personal mission to fix his haircut over time (he cuts his hair with kitchen scissors, she was horrified when she saw)

- Akutagawa, 19

- a full on trad goth, he goes simple for work tho

- Hes a gatekeeper, sorry yall </3

- Carries around an umbrella in the sunlight cuz he burns rly rly easily

- Gets cold REALLY easily too

- The most socially inept man you will ever meet, Gin had to cover for him A LOT when they were children

- When he first realized he felt something for Atsushi he not only did not realize that his heart speeding up around him was a crush thing, but thought it was excitement for a fight, so he just ended up challenging him to an absurd amount of fights, going as far as to go to the ADA to pick fights

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fuctacles · 9 months

Text

Eddie, not panicking: Henderson's older brother is a little broken and now it's my fault, apparently? :/ [Part III]

[Part I] [Part II] [Part IV]

"I smell popcorn. Do you smell popcorn?" Dustin asked, sniffing the air.

Eddie stuck his nose up in the air, imitating a rabbit to his best abilities.

"Indeed I do."

Dustin was already opening his door and stomping down the stairs.

"They're watching the new Karate Kid!" he yelled from the living room.

They could have been watching a documentary about shrimps and Eddie would gladly join them anyway just to be an annoying menace to the older Henderson. Besides, his alternative was the algebra homework in front of him. So, like a properly feral trailer creature, he buried it deep beneath Dustin’s blankets and dumped a stuffed cat toy on top of the pile before leaving the room.

The living room curtains were already drawn to create an illusion of a cinema experience. The whole room smelled of popcorn and Dustin’s smugness because he managed to plant his ass comfortably into the only available armchair.

Eddie was doomed to share the couch with the older kids - Steve and his girlfriend Robin whom he’s seen in passing before. He waved at her, and she waved back, which was their usual routine. Steve patted the empty seat on his other side, grinning.

“So glad you are joining us.”

“I’d rather be studying, but my therapist advised human interactions,” Eddie sighed heavily, falling against the cushions. His hand was immediately buried in the huge bowl of popcorn Steve was holding. The boy put it in the air instantly.

“Wait for the movie to start!”

Eddie chewed on his stolen kernels, looking him dead in the eye before shifting his gaze and raising his eyebrows pointedly at something behind him. The realisation hit him immediately.

“Robin!” he swirled around to scold her. She was sitting up on her knees to reach the bowl.

“Just start the movie!” Dustin yelled, throwing at him ammunition from his own, smaller bowl.

“Unbelievable,” Steve murmured, reaching for the remote.

Eddie exchanged a glance over his back with Robin, snickering at each other. He liked their company, despite his initial reservations. The Hendersons' house was quickly becoming a second home to him, and he was slowly but surely accepting it. Maybe ‘86 was going to be his year in more than just academics; He already got a bunch of freshmen he was embarrassingly fond of, and while he did not actually have a therapist to tell him that, he knew expanding his social circle wouldn’t hurt. A good party of adventures needs variety. And it’s so hard to find a healer. Maybe Robin would be down? Steve was probably more of a tank, which was also an asset.

The movie has been on for maybe ten minutes when a Dustin-shaped blob tried to squeeze itself between him and Steve.

“Hey!” they both protested in unison. Steve shoved himself into Eddie, squeezing all the air out of him as he was now shoved between him and the armrest.

“You have your armchair!”

“Well, it’s at the wrong angle. It’s not optimal for watching,” the boy whined, trying again to squeeze himself between Robin and Steve this time. He did the same thing though, pancaking her between himself and the couch.

“Come on!” Dustin groaned.

They did some back and forth, shifting in front of each other like in Wayne’s stupid basketball matches, until Robin decided to be a dumbass and reached for the remote to pause the still ongoing movie. Dustin saw his opening and dipped to his right, sliding between her and the armrest. Suddenly, Steve’s elbow was in Eddie’s ribs.

“Shit, man, I’m sorry- Dustin!”

“What!? Just take Robin on your lap and don’t be a pussy!”

“Ew, fucking gross-!”

“We are not fucking dating-!” they protested simultaneously, their voices overlapping with a similar sense of exasperation and annoyance.

“How bout you sit on my lap, little brother?” Steve offered, saccharine coating his words.

“Ew, I’m not a baby, Steve!”

Eddie patted Steve’s arm, the one still wedged way too close to his very bruisable ribs.

“There, there, Stevie, don’t cry. I’ll sit on your lap,” he said, sending him his best pitying smile.

Steve’s eyes were on him again, the tree bark brown of the oak tree little Eddie hung his first birdhouse on. They weren’t rolling though. Why weren’t they rolling and annoyed in that heavenly entertaining way?

“Great,” Steve said, a small relieved breath escaping him. And then his arm was living his space.

Oh, of course. Eddie overdid it this time. The joke went too far, and he was going to get his teeth knocked out again, but this time no new ones are coming to replace them.

The arm landed behind him, circling his shoulders. The other landed on his legs and in the next second he was being lifted off the couch, expecting a close encounter with the floor, or being dumped onto the armchair in the best scenario.

But then he’s not, he opens his eyes, and he’s surrounded by warmth and softness and the movie is being rewound to the point before the sitting argument.

He is embarrassed and mortified, looking at the screen like it could somehow tether him back to his previous reality. The one when he was not sitting on Steve Henderson’s lap.

He took a cautious look at the others, who didn’t seem bothered by the fact that Eddie just got manhandled into another man’s lap. He was the only one freaking out. Maybe it was a normal occurrence for Steve, maybe he was exaggerating?

He was sitting a bit to the side not to obscure Steve’s vision. The man’s arm was brushing against his spine, thrown around the back of the couch behind him to make room. He could feel the rise and fall of Steve’s chest. He could feel Steve everywhere.

It was his idea, his stupid mouth said it, and so he couldn’t back down now, even if his skin was on fire.

Everyone but him seemed to be focused on the movie, so he decided he was not gonna be worse. Just imagine it’s still the couch. A very warm, breathing couch.

Steve moved under him without warning, and Eddie stiffened up. He pressed a hand against his mouth not to make a sound, the other one gripping the flesh of Steve’s thigh, hard. There was a hand against his waist, a futile attempt not to jostle his body.

Then the world was right again, Steve settled under him. With a peace offering in his hands. He had wrenched Dustin’s mini bowl of popcorn to give it to Eddie.

He accepted it but made the mistake of looking at Steve.

There was no tree brown in his eyes, it was all technicolour reflexes of the TV, reminding Eddie of neon signs in the dark.

“Thanks,” he whispered in the dim room. Steve smiled at him, a hint of teeth shining right next to him. He stuffed his face with popcorn and reminded himself Steve was Henderson’s brother and Eddie was comfortable sitting in his lap.

And he was, for the majority of the movie, until Steve forgot himself and his hand landed on Eddie’s knee, thumb rubbing against the denim. Eddie eyed the movement, then subtly glanced at the man’s face. He was watching the movie, relaxed like none of his limbs were moving against his will. Eddie scrunched his nose, looked away and jostled his leg. Steve squeezed him gently and let go.

“Sorry,” he whispers, too quiet, too close to Eddie’s ear.

He shakes his head.

“‘s okay,” he whispers back, even if it didn’t feel okay.

He survived to the end of the movie, but as soon as the credits started rolling, he jumped up and off Steve, eager to open the curtains, let some fresh air in, and sprint across the yard as far away as possible from Steve Henderson’s thighs. The flowers beneath the window would make for a great landing spot.

Before he could leap into freedom, a familiar heat, smell and shape of a human approached him, gently pressing against his side.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” Steve said, his voice quiet below a whisper. Eddie turned away from freedom, putting distance between himself and the heat.

“You should be sorry,” he scoffed, giving him his best death glare and stepping away.

He had an algebra textbook to dig up from underneath blankets.

It’s not that he was uncomfortable with touching. He was a very tactile person himself. But this level of closeness was not something to share easily, not with someone he barely considered a friend. Steve was a weird person.

Said the freak.

He was wrangling the blankets when someone coughed behind him. He was so whirred up, this time he did scream.

“What!” he turned around to find Dustin, who was positively fuming.

“What did you say to him?”

“Nothing!”

“No, he looks like a kicked puppy. So you must have said something.” Dustin’s frown deepened.

Eddie frowned back.

The boy sighed, closing the door and coming closer to lower his voice as much as his vocal cords could manage.

“Listen, we are still working with Steve to open up and be himself. Which, apparently, involves a lot of hugs and shit. So like, if you do anything to fuck this up, even unintentionally…” He scrunched his face like he was in physical pain saying it. His eyes were big and more childlike than ever. “I can’t have you coming over.”

There was a lot to process there, none of which Eddie expected. Being banned from the Henderson household? No fucking way.

“Shit.”

Dustin nodded solemnly.

“Shit. He’s in the kitchen right now if you want to have a word,” he looked at him pointedly. Eddie winced.

“Now?”

If eyes could kill, Eddie would be ten feet underground and rotting.

“Fine,” he scoffed. “I’ll go apologise to your brother.”

“Atta boy!”

Eddie threw him the middle finger and left the room. He stomped down the stairs to announce his presence and then knocked against the kitchen door frame for good measure. Two pairs of eyes turned towards him.

Of course, Steve’s not-girlfriend was with him.

“Can I have a moment with you?” he asked, searching Steve’s eyes and, oh shit he did look like a kicked puppy.

Steve nodded, but not at him. He nodded at Robin and walked towards Eddie to steer him back into the living room.

“Dustin told you to do this?” Steve guessed immediately.

“Yes,” Eddie admitted. “But he’s right. I overreacted. Just,” he bit his lip, because damn where was his script? What was Steve’s AC and where were the dice?

“Warn me next time?” What fucking next time, Eddie? No, there was going to be next time, because Steve needs hugs to heal, and you need Dustin to graduate. “Like, in the BDSM community, consent is the most important thing. You know?”

There was a soft sound somewhere from the house like someone facepalmed. Which, fair, Eddie would too if he didn’t have to actively participate in the disastrous conversation. So, thanks, anonymous eavesdropper for being unhelpful.

“BDSM?” Steve repeated, the corner of his lips twitching. Even the other participant in the conversation was laughing at his expense. Great.

“Yeah?”

“And you are… part of that community?” Steve cocked his head with curiosity and a curious cat was better than a kicked puppy, so Eddie was doing great.

“No,” Eddie scoffed. “I mean kinda? But not really. Hey, listen, how about we don’t talk about this,” he offered, laughing awkwardly.

Steve nodded, no traces of sadness on his face. Meaning if all else fails, Eddie could at least go around humiliating himself for laughs.

“Anyway, sorry for being a dick, ask next time. Okay?”

“Okay.” Steve smiled his warm smile, the one that always reminded Eddie of his delicious cookies.

“Can I touch your hair?”

“Really running with it, I see, but okay.” Eddie didn’t like his hair being touched but this one time he’d make an exception. Kind of like he was appeasing a toddler to stop whining.

He was expecting Steve to tug at his hair, he was kind of used to it. Maybe run a finger through them, rub at the split ends and complain about how he doesn’t take care of his curls. Eddie saw his hair products collection, and noticed the judgemental stares, alright? He knows.

Instead, Steve’s fingers brush somewhere near his ear and come back with a piece of popcorn.

“You should check if there’s more before you leave,” he said, before leaving Eddie to rejoin Robin in the kitchen.

Eddie ran.

He ran into Dustin’s room, ran from his incredulous question about using BDSM as an argument, then ran with his textbooks under his arm, towards his car and far away from the Hendersons' house.

User tags: @i-have-three-feelings @mblogs @awkwardgravity1 @imacowboy3 @just-a-tiny-void @clumsiluni @shotgunhallelujah @halfadoginatank

[Steddie masterpost] [Ao3] [ko-fi]

#steddie #eddie munson #stranger things #ff #mine #st #steve harrington #stranger things 4 #steddie fanfiction #Older brother steve #The hendersons #steve x eddie #platonic stobin #dustin henderson #steve/eddie #the hendersons #The Hendersons

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stellar-constellations · 9 months

Text

An Alliance (Part 6)

Fem! Spy! (Y/N) x Yuri Briar

Parts: One, two, three, four, five, current part, seven, eight, nine, ten (to be continued when Spy x Family has more Yuri content!)

(Y/N) is given her own backstory that is important for the story!

The setting for this story is based off West and East Germany's (because Spy x Family is heavily based off Germany in the 1940-1950) laws (or at least replicated to the best of my abilities since it's unknown what time period Spy x Family is exactly in, we'll go with 1950 for the sake of this story).

Historically-accurate women misogyny and mistreatment! Only small comments and historically-accurate laws (replicated to the best of my ability).

The story, plot, and settings might not match up to the Spy x Family manga as it's not completed and the manga is still being crafted.

This series contains spoilers for the manga and anime!

My dad read the Westalis newspaper where the headline was: “Ostania Threatens Westalis with Nuclear Warfare!” as me and my siblings played outside. He was outside on the porch watching us play in the sun. It was springtime, a nice and warm day where there were lots of clouds in the sky that helped with shade. My mom's nowhere to be seen, she's been gone for a while now. She left us when we were young so we didn't have a two income household, it made it hard to pay bills or cook dinners; but it taught me a lot about the real world, so I'm a glad I can see the bright side of it.

I had the rest of the day off from working at the bakery. The lady owning it told me to enjoy myself since things were really starting to look bright for us ever since Westalis and Ostania made that peace pact with us. I agreed, taking my paycheck and running home to go play outside with my siblings.

My two younger brothers both chased my older sister around, playing tag and enjoying their youth. My older brother sat in the background (he wasn't much for socializing with us).

My older sister had a pure heart and loved to spoil me as I was her only little sister. My two younger brothers were both troublemakers that very often got away with stuff (somehow nobody ever looked their way when things went south). My older brother never liked to hang out with us much, but I know he cares about us (he's just in his "I'm independent and don't need no family" phase).

I don’t know why, but I decided to look up at the sky that day. Maybe because I wanted to see how long it'd be until sunset, but I found myself looking at something else. The clouds parted a path for a weird yellow thing in the sky. I gawked at it in amazement, before smiling and running to my dad in uneven zig-zags as any child does when they've not properly mastered balancing.

“Dad! Dad!” I called out. “Is that a shooting star?” I questioned, pointing up to the sky.

He looked up at the sky, trying to see what I was talking about before his eyes widened.

“Oh no.” He muttered, utter fear in his eyes and voice. “Everyone, get inside now!” he shouted.

I looked at him confused, looking up at the sky in curiosity.

“Why?” I questioned.

“That’s a nuke!” he exclaimed, grabbing my arm as everyone ran inside due to his panicked voice.

I quickly squirmed out of his grasp, scared of his sudden change of attitude. I didn't understand what war was; if anything, I thought it was good! Why else would neighboring kids be running around and playing games such as "cops and robbers" or "army"? Why would kids be playing a game that glamorizes the death and suffering of others?

“N-no! I have to make a wish, otherwise it won’t come true! That’s what sissy said.” I spoke, making a dumb excuse.

“We don’t have time, come here!” he spoke, lunging for my arm.

I quickly retracted, turning and running away with the excuse of “at least let me get my chalk!”

I was scared and confused of his sudden change of attitude. It won’t hurt me, I’ve never heard of shooting stars crashing into Earth. I was set it was a star, not a nuke (not that I was even aware of what nukes were at the time). Besides, the star will be tiny! When it falls, I can pick it up and keep it in my pocket as a pet. That's how naive I was as a child.

“(Y/N)!” my father screamed, frustrated.

I turned around, seeing how the star went from over my to hitting something I couldn’t see from far behind the house. I looked at it, shocked at the sky flashed red for a second, before it returned normal. A blackish gray mushroom cloud appeared behind the house, growing big by the second.

“Woah.” I spoke, shocked.

It took a second, staring amazed at it, before I was hit with powerful winds as the sound of glass broke and the sound of trees getting ripped from their weakened roots. I barley heard the screaming of people before I was taken in the powerful wave of wind as my ears started to hurt. My body slammed against a tree, knocking the wind out of me as I hit my head.

The wind stopped and I fell to the ground, not defying gravity anymore as I cried, covering my ears. I could barely even hear my own cries, just the sound of a church bell that hurt the headache I was immediately forming. I smelt something awful as I realized my vision was completely gone.

I held my ears, desperate to hear the ringing stop, and cried, curling myself into a ball from the pain. I don’t know how long I sat there before I tried standing up, swaying side to side as I took a blind step forward, only to trip on something thick and fall onto my knees. I crawled around, desperate to find a sense of familarity, before feeling a sharp pain stab into my hands. I wept louder, not knowing what hurt me as my vision didn't approve.

I stayed on the ground longer, waiting for something, anything, to happen. Eventually, I regained my vision from this light, but darkness. It was black and white, I really can't explain it in words. It's just not something you can explain.

I looked down at my hands and noticed blood that came from my ears. I ran to go tell my dad, but saw my house crushed, barely standing. I looked around in the rubble, trying to see if my dad or any of my siblings were alright.

I saw a hand from the rubble and notice it was my dad’s from the size and skin tone. I tried to move the bricks and debris but couldn’t. I tried to tug his hand but to no avail. I gave up, sitting down on the ground next to the hand and resulted to screaming and crying, hoping somebody would hear and save my family and I.

I don’t know how long I was there, crying as my ears rang miserably and how my body ached, but I eventually heard shouts and the sounds of heavy tires and machinery, and looked up. People in green and huge, huge tanks came around.

I realized it was the military and cried, standing up and running to them.

“Oh, shit. A kid’s alive!” someone shouted.

They had a terrifying gas mask on their face as they looked at me.

“My dad! My family! They’re trapped under the house!” I cried, pointing. "You gotta help them. I can't do it on my own!"

The man looked over and sighed, kneeling down.

“I’m sorry, kid, but we can’t save them. You can't be there, the Ostanian army is here.” He spoke as another man came up with a gas mask in his hand and on his face. “Here, wear this. It’ll help you breathe.” He spoke, taking the mask.

“It’s a miracle we got here when we did. Ten minutes more out here in this radiation and you could’ve died, that, or the Ostanians...” The other man spoke, muttering that last part to himself.

Even though I was seven at the time, I knew what death was; however, I didn’t know how gruesome it was. I didn’t know how cruel people could be. When I thought of death, I thought of old people with gray hair dying peaceful in bed, not young people robbed of their lives and lying in their childhood home's bricks and their own blood surrounding them.

“W-what’s gonna happen now?” I questioned.

“The military has a shelter going on right now. We’ll bring you there. After that, the state government is gonna take care of you. Probably put you in an orphanage.” The first man spoke.

And yet, even though I was seven, I had no idea how kids could live without a parental figure. I had no idea how someone could live in a house full of strangers. I had no idea how to accept their death, or my own that would probably be nearby.

The tank’s hatch opened up, revealing another guy in a gas mask.

“Then after we’re going to go kill those Ostanian fuckers for this!” he bellowed loudly, obviously angry.

"Rancher, could you shut the hell up?! A kid is present!” the second man yelled back at the third one.

A white van pulled up, their windows tinted, iron prison bars covering them as the door opened.

“Hurry up and get into the van. Keep your gas mask on too while you’re in there for extra safety.” The first man spoke, pushing me into the van.

I entered with my head racing and my heart pounding. There wasn’t many survivors they’ve found. Five people out of the sixty seated bus must’ve been here. Some napped while others cried, and some stared outside of the window with disappoint and rage to see their homes and families gone.

I sat down alone, deciding to be another one of those people who bottle up their emotions and stare out the window as their head bangs against it from the bus’ movements.

I’m going to destroy Ostania for everything they’ve done to us. I thought to myself. They'll atone for what they've done. . . It wasn’t long after that nuke dropping that I found myself in a large shelter where alive civilians and the military were huddled down. I saw those guys once and thanked them for saving me, to which they said it was their jobs.

I was still mad at losing everything I had in just thirty seconds, so I decided to try and find a way into the military to help Ostanias downfall. Despite my many attempts to get into the military, they declined me each time for being under 18 and for being a girl.

I slammed my head on the metal table, ignoring the sting on my forehead as a military officer came up to me.

“Hey, Net.” I sighed, lifting my head.

“You keep doing that every time you don’t get in you’re gonna kill yourself before even getting your application accepted.” He spoke, taking a bite from his food.

“It’s no use. I’m a girl” I groaned.

“You’re still trying to get in?” he questioned.

“Not try, I am gonna get in.” I stated defensively.

“Here.” Net spoke, sliding me a piece of paper.

“What is it?” I questioned, picking up the paper.

I recognized the form instantly from stealing it so many damn times.

“Woah. Dude, why are you giving me this? You could be in serious trouble!” I whispered.

“Instead of remaining calm and peaceful like how you'd normally fill the form out, just fucking obliterate the thing.” Nat spoke.

“Oh.” I muttered. “Thanks?”

“No problem. Hurry up and get to Gerald. But if anyone asks, then you stole it…again.” Nat ordered.

“Yes, sir!” I chuckled, standing up from my chair and stealing a pen from Nat’s pocket.

I ran to the military counselor’s tent, sitting down and quickly filling out the form with the most unprofessional and colorful vocabulary I never even dared to utter alone to myself. I reread it proudly, determined to get that position in the Westalis military. I opened the tent and sat down, seeing the military counselor was there with one of the squad captains.

"Excuse me, sir and sir." I acknowledged, bowing to show my respect.

I handed the paper to the counselor as he groaned, already knowing why I'm here and what this paper meant.

"Yet again, you show up in my office like the stubborn little brat you are. I told you, children, and especially girls, aren't welcome in the Westalis mil–" Gerald gasped loudly, his face going pale as he stared at the paper with white-shot eyes.

He quickly flipped the page, and the next page, rereading the papers over and over again.

"Y-you..." he spluttered. "The audacity of you!" he shouted, grabbing a nearby yard stick and slapping my wrist with it.

"Oi! You fucking wad of earwax!" I yelp, retracting my hand back as his face went even paler.

"In front of the recruiter too?! Brats like you have no chance into the Westalis military!" Gerald spoke.

"You bet! I'm done with your fucking shenanigans! You better count all your lucky pennies because if I don't get that position in the military, I'm gonna sneak my way into them tanks and rapid fire your tent to match my hometown!" I shouted, slamming my hands on his desk and taking his yard stick, slapping it against his wrists instead of mine.

I ripped the paper out of Gerald's hands, giving it to the recruiter instead.

"Take it. You read it instead, you're the boss; not this leprechaun." I spat.

The recruiter kept a straight face before taking the paper. He read it, unamused and blank faced as I impatiently tapped my foot.

"Twenty-six times I've entered this tent within two months, and no results. I'm not going to stop until I join your squad." I stated, standing my ground as I stood straight and tall, hoping to seem determined enough to make up for all my weak strength and sour attitude. "I know that I don't look like much, nor do I act it. I'm seven and a quarter. I'm not very strong or tall, and I've barely lived long enough to even be a pre-teen, but I'm smart enough to understand the government and give advice of a seventy-year old, and I swear to whatever God there is that there's no fucker in Ostania that going to want to cross me after they see what I'll do with their soldiers." I spoke. "So if you could give me a chance and prove myself to you, that'd be really fucking fantastic." I spoke, allowing the colorful word to brighten my sentence.

"You're seven?" the recruiter spoke.

"And a quarter." I spoke. "I can be useful! I'm fast and stealthy and my size helps me hide good. Ostania would never expect a girl to fight in the military, let alone a kid." I smiled.

"You realize you'll most certainly die within two days, maximum?" the recruiter questioned.

"Sometimes you just gotta jump to know what's there." I replied, determination filling every ounce of my soul and body.

The recruiter stared at me for a second, before looking at Gerald.

"Do you have this kid's other application forms?" he questioned.

"You're not seriously going to allow this brat? Out of everyone?!" Gerald questioned.

"Shut the hell up, Gerald." I snapped, slapping his wrist with the ruler. "Ain't nobody gonna join; everyone's too afraid to die or they're suffering from some major PTSD. You aren't gonna find a gal as determined as me to get this job."

"Give me her recent form." The recruiter demanded.

Gerald mumbled alienated words under his breath as he searched through his desk, pulling out a paper packet I gave him last week. The recruiter scanned through the papers for a good three minutes, before setting the papers down.

"You're recruited. Welcome, (Y/N) (L/N), to the Westalis Military." The recruiter spoke, a small smile on his face as he held out his hand.

I shook it proudly, cackling as Gerald tried his best not to break down to tears in the background.

A month went by with me in the military. It felt longer than it was, and it was absolutely exhausting. Just because I was a kid doesn't mean that the recruiter took any mercy on me.

("You've got the body of a crazy kid, and the mind of an even crazier adult.") The recruiter once told me. ("If you give up now, I'll kill you myself for making me look like a fool to have you join us.")

I experienced many bombings, tank firings, gunshots, and many comrades die. Nat and Hujo (that second man that helped me when Nat found me in Luwen, Eastern Westalis) both died in combat, their bulletproof vests being false advertising. I saw ####, a boy from my hometown, here.

I feel like I should’ve been happy to see someone I know alive, but me and #### never really got along well, even before the war. While he was seven years older and a quiet kid, he was a total pushover and aimed to please people. I was the rowdy and opinionated kid, ready to kick someone in the stomach and shout insults if they decided to pick on me.

We both lived in the small poor town of Luwen, the more poorer side of Westalis, but we made it work. And despite our many differences, we both had one common goal: to appease our parents. It amazed me how I never once saw him cry despite everything we've been through. He was older, taller, and stronger than me—something I was extremely envious of—and he became a squad commander after too many deaths, of my damn squad!

I hated him for being tough. I hated him for being an amazing liar. And I despised that he knew how to keep his emotions to himself, while I frequently lashed out and cried. I was predictable; and he was a closed-book, and it pissed me off beyond belief.

Rations were getting smaller and smaller, but it wasn’t too much of a problem for soldiers since they kept falling like dominoes, but it was a problem for the survivors we kept finding. The survivors came with missing fingers, broken limbs, and charred faces, it was almost like Ostania wanted the civilians of Westalis to suffer, and that just pissed us off further.

I sighed, resting my head on the cool metal table. My body ached from the training I’m out to before having to be dispatched out for another rescue mission.

“You should eat that shit. You’re getting glares.”

I sighed, lifting my head.

“Sup, Rancher?” I spoke.

Rancher was off-duty for a few days after Nat and Hujo died. Rancher was best friends with the two of them for years, so he really took it to heart when they died. He was the loud and rowdy guy in the tank when Nat and Hujo found me. He looks like total shit too. His tanned skin got paler and his brown eyes seemed dull and darker then before, the death of his two buddies really took a toll on him.

“You look like shit.” I admitted.

“Not like you look any better.” He chuckled.

“I’m still growing, so I have a chance at being tall and pretty; you’re too old to keep growing and you still look like a rat’s ass, just worse.” I laughed.

“The bigger the bark, the smaller the dog is.” He smiled, causing me to glare at him.

“Yeah? W-well…the stupider you are…the uglier!” I retorted, having no idea what I said as he laughed.

“Alright. Well, hurry up eating. I’m going to join the rescue mission before I get kicked out.” Rancher spoke.

“You sure, dude? I can come up with something for you. Like, something you ate went bad and you have food poisoning or some shit like that.” I suggested.

“Nah. I figured Hujo would be pissed off and Nat would be scolding me if I stayed in bed any longer.” Rancher smiled sadly.

“Take it easy, man. I’ll look out for you during the mission.” I spoke, patting his hand on the table before quickly shoveling my food down my throat, ignoring the plain and slightly repulsive taste it had.

I took a large sip of water to drown out the taste, then stood up.

“Rightie-oh!” I spoke, faking a British accent to cheer Rancher up. “Shall we go?”

“Yeah, sure.” He stood up—stretching and complaining about back problems—and walked out of the shelter’s roof to join the other soldiers.

The squad was—unfortunately—led by ####, who took the fake name “Roland” from Luwen to join the military. I was already in a sour mood thanks to #### and we haven’t even left! . . A total fail. That’s what the mission was. Rancher was down, clutching his arm as he looked down at the wound. He had a hole in his chest and another in his forearm. The gun must’ve not been sighted since they missed all vital organs.

What an amateur… I thought, stuffing the wound in his chest with gauze.

“The bullet is stuck deep in there. It’s not something I can remove, but the nurses at camp will get it. Show me your arm.” I demanded.

I grabbed his arm, slapping his other hand that tried to stop me.

“Kid, you gotta get out of here. They’ll find you soon.” Rancher spoke, taking heavy breaths.

“Shut the hell up, Rancher. You and your big ass mouth. I know they’ll come here!” I snapped.

“Then fucking abort the mission. You shouldn’t even be in this whole mess.” Rancher sighed.

“Don’t try and give me final words like you’re dying; you’re going to live and I’ll make sure of it.” I spoke, determined as I stuff gauze into his arm, causing him to hiss at the pain.

“You need to live and do whatever you can to complete that goal you decided to join the military for.” Rancher argued.

I heard a branch snapped and quickly grabbed my gun, listening and shooting into the trees, as someone screamed and fell onto the ground not to far from here.

“Shit. I’m low on ammo.” I sighed.

“Just get out of here.” Rancher ordered.

“No.” I defied. “If I die, then I die. But I won’t. That mission can be postponed 'cause we’re both going to live. Now stop bitching.” I spoke, wrapping his arm with bandages to hold the gauze.

“You’re stubborn.” He growled.

“You’re stupid.” I retorted. “Can you stand?” I questioned.

“If I stand, I’ll pass out.” He spoke.

I nodded, grabbing his walkie-talkie from his belt and switching it to the channel our military agreed on using.

“I need medical assistance. Soldier was shot twice and I’m low on ammo. His wounds have been caused and wrapped but he needs professional assistance. Over.” I spoke, repeating the line over and over until I heard a voice.

“Affirmative. What’s the coordinates? Over.” The voice questioned.

“Uh. Shit, probably...” I pulled out the map I had, fumbling with it. “Like... like 50°46'46.8" North 10°00'09.1" East? Over.” I spoke into the walkie-talkie.

(Author note: These are random coordinates I found in Germany and are no means accurate.)

“Negative. We can’t send anyone there, over.” He spoke.

“Well why the fuck not? Over!” I questioned.

“Enemy territory. Abort the premises with or without the soldier. Over.” They spoke.

“We’re in enemy territory because you fucking sent us in this mess, fucker! Over!” I hissed.

The line went silent before speaking: “Abort the mission with or without the solider. Over.”

“This is (Y/N) (L/N)! I can’t carry him! Rancher is down, over!” I informed.

“Oh, shit. You’re the kid? The seven-year-old kid?” the radio spoke, surprised that he didn’t even say “over”.

“Yes! And I can’t get Rancher to a safe place with my size and strength. I need either back up or medical assistance! Over.” I hissed.

“…Leave Rancher and get the hell out of there. War isn’t something a kid like yourself should be in. Over.” The man spoke.

“I'm sick of everything telling me what I should be doing! I chose this path. And I’m choosing to save Rancher, and I swear to god if you don’t help us I’ll haunt you when I’m dead because mine and Rancher’s blood will be on your hands. Over.” I spat.

The line went silent for a bit, before it picked up: “We’ll see what we can do. Over.”

I sighed, grabbing my gun and unloading the magazine chamber to check how much ammo I have.

Five bullets. As long as I don’t run into any trouble, I can make it. I thought to myself.

I grabbed Rancher’s gun to see how much ammo he has, not too surprised when I saw he had blew through it all. He's always been unsparing in our resources, whether it was food or ammo.

“You can leave. They said they’ll probably do something, so I’ll be fine.” Rancher sighed, his face pale as sweat ran down it, whether from the heavy uniform we’re wearing in this heat or the blood loss.

“Probably." I shrugged. "However, I told you I ain’t leaving. I told you I got your back, man.”

There’s no way I can turn back and leave, that’s how Nat and Hujo died.

“And do you have an off switch? Can you just shut up before the enemy finds us?” I sighed.

“Can you not be so stubborn?” Rancher retorted. “And I’m not the one that was yelling in the walkie-talkie two minutes ago.”

“And?” I dared, causing Rancher to roll his eyes.

I heard a branch snap and immediately raised up my gun.

“Wait! It’s Roland! I’m on your side.”

#### stepped out of the bushes, causing me to groan and roll my eyes.

#### looked like shit. He had a small stubble and had large eyeballs, obviously his sanity has deployed ever since the war officially set off, but so has mine, I supposed.

“You’re so damn lucky I didn’t shoot you.” I sighed, placing my gun down on the dirt.

“Yeah…” #### sighed, relieved that I actually didn’t. “Is Rancher okay?”

“He got shot twice; in his chest and arm. The bullets are too deep to get by hand, we need medical assistance. I’m afraid if we don’t get help, either he’d die from blood loss.” I sighed.

“Smart thinking. Good job.” #### spoke.

I ignored the praise and the fluffy feeling in my chest, glad to have been seen as useful and smart, but I don’t want to here praise from that prick.

“Yeah. I know from the med class I had to take to join...” I muttered.

Not like you didn’t take that class too. I thought, sarcastic.

Gun fire broke out nearby as you can hear stomping from not to far off.

“Crap…” #### muttered.

“Pick him up and let’s go!” I whispered harshly.

“I’m not going to be able to carry him with the heavy uniform and run and shoot.” #### stated.

“Of course you can, you have to save him. That’s why you’re here!” I whispered, ignoring the tears that started to build up in my eyes from the hopeless feeling in my chest.

“We have to go.” #### spoke, calm and collected despite the gunfire and steps getting louder.

“No.” I hissed.

“(Y/N)!” Rancher hissed. “Fucking go. I would never forgive myself if I’m the cause of your death; not when you have so much left to do.”

“B-but… I can’t abandon you…” I whimpered.

“I want you to listen to me. Leave and go do whatever you want with your life. Please. Do something I’ve never done and continue your legacy.” He chuckled.

“No….” I muttered, unsure of my words.

“We have to go!” #### whispered harsh.

“No!” I hissed back.

#### stared at me for a good second, our eyes rivaling each other before he swiftly scooping me up, balancing me on his shoulder, and running.

“Hey! Let go!” I squirmed. “We have to go back and get Rancher.” By now, the panic and hopelessly fully took over, causing the dam in my eyes to break. “Please. We have to go back…” I whispered, my bottom lip trembling as more tears fell.

“Sorry. I’m sorry.” #### spoke, his voice shaking.

I could tell it was hard for him to leave Rancher too. Despite not knowing Rancher well, he was ####’s teammate, an ally, an amazing tanker with an amazing sense of humor, and a human. But for me, most importantly, he was my friend, and he reminded me of myself; stubborn and ready to fight no matter what. It’s hard to trade one’s life, even if they asked for it.

“I’m sorry, (Y/N).” He repeated. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything for Rancher, or our families. I can’t change the past to where I was stronger or where this war never happened, but I can at least change the present. And I want us to live.”

“I hate you.” I whimpered. “I hate how tough you are. How calm you are. And how you always know what to do and say. You stupid pushover and golden goose. I hate how you’re always Hercules.” I whined softly as more tears came down my face as I listened to the gunshots and yelling fading away as #### ran.

“I’m not as perfect as you think.” He chuckled poorly.

His tone surprised me, and I turned around to see his face. His blue eyes crying out their own sorrow as he focused his eyes ahead. I focused my attention back to the blurry ground as I allowed myself to cry some more.

Sometimes. Me and #### are different people; stubborn and smart, strong and weak. Other times, we’re the same person with the same goal; trying to appease our parents, or just trying to survive.

He stopped, placing me down and catching his breath as I sat on the ground, tears still in my eyes.

“You’re not injured, right?” he questioned.

“No.” I muttered. “Why’d you join the military?” I questioned.

The question came out of nowhere, yes. But I wanted to know why #### joined. What could his reason be?

“When Ostania crossed the border. In just 60 seconds, everything I cared about was taken away from me. All that was left, was thing I despised. And that’s more than enough for me to pick up a gun and destroy Ostania.” He admitted.

“We’re pretty similar…. Same reason I’m here.” I chuckled, wiping the tears out of my eyes.

“How’d you even get in?” he questioned. "You're too young. I had to fake my age and name."

“I had to do a lot of pestering and cussing.” I laughed.

A shuffle in the bushes was heard, causing me to stand up and #### to draw his gun as someone appeared out of the brushes. It was a man with curly brown hair and circular glasses and a piercing on his left ear.

“Bwah! Time-out! Time-out! Stop! Don’t shoot!”

Did that grown-ass man really just “time out?”

Surprisingly, #### held his fire, sizing up the man.

“You’re Ostanian Infantry, yeah?” #### spoke.

“Gah! Westalis soldiers—is that a kid...?” he muttered the last part confused as he held his hands in the air.

I glared at him and pulled my own gun out, causing him to begin freaking out again.

“Where is your gun?” #### asked.

“I don’t have one! I’m unarmed! I surrender!” he quickly spoke, then sighed. “I… look, I deserted. I just couldn’t take it anymore. But I got lost and have been wandering around in these mountains for two whole days… so please can you give me something to eat?!” he shouted, putting his hands together and begging.

“I don’t have rations to spare on dead men. Say goodbye.” #### spoke calmly.

“Wait! Please! I’m begging you! I don’t wanna die having never been with a woman!” he screamed loudly.

Men are so simple minded… I thought to myself, yet chuckled as #### did.

“All right. I can give you one cigarette.” #### spoke.

“Oh, thanks.” The man spoke, taking a cigarette has #### lit it.

“I didn’t know you smoked.” I spoke up.

“There‘a a lot of things I do that you don’t know.” #### commented.

“Oh, okay, creep. Like that wasn’t weird.” I commented myself.

“What’s with the kid?” the man asked.

“Are you the one holding the gun? No? Don’t question it.” I huffed, holding up my gun.

“Sorry, sorry!” he quickly wailed.

Soon enough, #### and the man started to click together, a weird combination in this war.

If I go back now, I wonder if Rancher would still be alive, if unspotted from the Ostanian military, that is. I thought to myself, sighing as I drew my focus back to the conversation.

“But you know, they actually do some interesting research at that university!” the man spoke. “Like, they got all these test subjects and showed ‘em a film of a guy getting slapped, right? And they showed signs of discomfort ‘cause their brains emphasized with the guy’s pain. And that means its human nature to avoid violence.”

“But the thing is they ran the experiment again, and this time they told the subjects that the guy gets slapped by his lover because he cheated on her. So what do you think happened? When they watched it, the subjects brains showed signs of pleasure!” he explained.

I think if I saw someone get slapped, I’d laugh without even knowing the reason. I thought to myself. Maybe if I convince #### to slap this guy, we can see. I thought impulsively.

“I mean, doesn’t it freak you out? They have no idea if they’re being told the truth, but once the idea’s in their head, they do a complete 180°. Weird, right?” the man spoke.

I feel like this is going somewhere. But I can understand what he’s saying. I thought to myself. I looked at my gun, feeling the weight in my hands and the heavy burden it was to carry it.

It’s be easier to drop it and walk away. I can barely hold this weight on my own. Someone else can; someone stronger and less sensitive.

I looked at ####, who seemed slightly frustrated.

“Just say what you’re trying to say!” he ordered.

“I’m just saying, isn’t it stupid? This whole war between East and West, it’s all the result of some diplomatic fiasco. So why is it that all of us worthless peona gotta be the ones to clean us their mess?” he sighed. “They tell us to hate each other. So we fight. And then we die. It’s the most pointless thing in the world.”

I didn’t know it at the time, but I was playing as a small cog in the machine—we all were. But the things with machines, is that they’re specially designed and assigned certain tasks. But once a cog is lost, the machine cannot perform its chores unless another cog takes the place of the previous one. It's easy to replace an old, broken cog with a new, naive one.

To put it in simple terms, the government, the war, needs us in order to win, and when we die, we’re easily replaced by another solider.

I’m surprised I’m not dead yet. I thought to myself. I have no major injuries and I still have a comrade with me—I doubt most of our soldiers have that.

All of the soldiers sent on this rescue mission are probably dead (with the exception of me and ####).

“Yeah, except it’s you Ostanians that started this war.” #### pointed out.

“In the East, they say it was the West that started it.” The man stated. “They say that first bombing of Luwen was a false flag operation. They’re even rumors Westalis got operatives from some other country to incite the Ostanian Army was doing it.”

I turned my head to ####, curious of his reaction.

I’m an open-minded person when it comes to politics or law as long as it doesn’t go against my moral code. I’d rather research to the ends of the Earth for the truth rather than believe in a simple lie. I’ll take this man’s words and place it on the back burner for when the time is right, to where I can find the truth, whether it’d be today or tomorrow or years from now.

Some Shakesphere I am, I thought to myself, watching has #### held his gun to the man.

“That’s just blatant propaganda to get your country off the hook!” #### shouted.

“Yeah! Yeah, right, of course it is! I’m just saying, how could a bunch of foot soldiers like us know the truth about anything?” the man immediately spoke, putting his hands in the air to prove no threat as I groaned.

#### isn’t really all that open-minded, though.

“That day! That bombing! Those bombs killed every last one of my friends! There’s your truth!” #### spoke.

“Our families died in that bombing. Whether Westalis or Ostania started it, it’s no way for anyone to die.” I spoke, closely eyeing ####’s finger as he held it on the trigger.

“Well, I’m in the exact same boat!” he spoke.

#### gritted his teeth and kicked the man down to the ground, his glasses getting knocked off his face. Just then, gunfire from the bushes danced in the wind, causing me to yelp and duck to the ground, helpless as a I felt a searing pain in my side and leg. A bullet hit ####’s helmet, but luckily it didn’t pierce it.

“Gah! The Ostanian army squad that’s been chasing me! You just had to try and shoot me and give our position away!” the man complained. “Well, no way in hell I’m letting them catch me! See ya! Thanks for the cigarettes, I guess.” He yelled, running away.

I crawled to #### using my body to protect his down body.

His ears are probably ringing since the metal helmet just got hit. I thought.

“If you can run, go away. I’ll be fine.” I spoke through the gunfire.

#### huffed, getting up on his knees and picking me and his gun up.

“I’m not gonna abandon you! Not when I have the power to save you!” #### yelled through the bullets.

I sighed.

He’s just as stubborn as me. But he should really let me die. It’s not like there’s anyone alive who’d miss me, and ####’s using me as a replacement for the friends he couldn’t save. So there’s no point for me to live, and all I’ve been is useless and problematic. I couldn’t save any of my friends, family, comrades, or even myself.

“Thanks for being such a suck-up.” I spoke, wincing at each step he took since it threw my body around like a rag doll, hurting my wounds.

“Let’s save the tears for when we get back alive.” He gruffed. . .

What am I doing? Getting emotional like this? I hate getting emotional. I thought, snapping out of my thoughts and rubbing the tears from my eyes. I guess that's another reason I quit being a spy. I thought.

I don't really like to use violence anymore. I'll fight and shoot if I have to, but I don't like turning to it unless it's necessary. I'm afraid if I pick up a gun again, then all of my anger and sadness would return and control my actions just like it did before.

...That's stupid. I can't believe I just lied to myself in my own head.

The real reason I don't want to fight is because it hurts more than anyone can imagine. When people see war movies or read the books, they always think "yeah, I can do that." But once the first bullet flies, they all follow. When the sky has turn gray from tank smoke and fires from the bombings. When the bullets fall from the sky like rain and you're ordered to engage in battle; you don't want to. Who would want to?

Nobody wants to actually die. When they're in the face of danger, they're looking for a way to fight or a way to flee. When you're actually experiencing something as stressful and traumatic as that, you realize that every plan you've been brainstorming inside that little head of yours had ran away with your bravery and rationality. The only thing you'll be thinking of is a way out, a way away from the men in guns, a place to hide or a weapon to protect yourself with. Humans are made with fear; it's how we survive.

Fear is a human's best friend and worst nemesis. Fear navigates you away from danger, and it also forces you to think unclear. Fear is one of the human's survival instincts, so when you find it hard to breathe or your chest starts racing; don't ignore it.

I sighed, turning my body to Yuri and observing his face.

He's seriously so annoying. He's always so focused on work and how I'll betray him. He's probably always thinking about his sister, I wouldn't be surprised if he was dreaming about her. I thought, reaching my hand up and letting my intrusive thoughts win as I poked his injured forehead lightly, just barley any touch.

"You. Are. Stupid." I spoke, believing the words I said with every poke. "But..." I paused, thinking of what to say to the unconscious Yuri. "I don't think I'd want to be anyone else's wife." I admitted. "Don't think it's a compliment though, jerk." I huffed, going back to poking his forehead until I got bored.

I sighed again, trying to close my eyes and sleep, but the silence and the dark really started to bother me. I could hear the steps of the neighbor's above us, or is there something crawling on the ceiling and watching me. I could hear the air conditioning, or is it a monster breathing? Or the neighbor's opening their doors, or is that our front door?

The bedroom door creaked open and I froze, my arms immediately latching onto Yuri as I kept quiet, my heart in my throat as I could hear it beat loudly.

Wait? What the hell am I doing?! I should be protecting Yuri since he's unconscious!

I gathered my nerves and opened my eyes, almost screaming once I saw a face staring down at me. They quickly covered my mouth, then spoke.

"Don't scream. It's me." They spoke.

I recognized the voice as Twilight's and immediately felt angry and relieved. I carefully got out of the bed, gripping Twilight's sleeve and dragging him out to the living room, delicately closing the door as to not disturb Yuri.

"I almost pissed myself, asshole!" I hissed, slapping his arm.

"Sorry..." he whispered, then cleared his throat. "I just wanted to know why you're quitting the spy industry." He spoke.

"Oh ho ho! Is the ever so great Twilight actually caring about me?" I teased, then cleared my own throat. "In actuality. I don't like risking my life all the time. It's not fun to get hurt and worry about if you'll ever see the people you love again." I sighed.

"What are you talking about? You don't have a lover—" His eyes widen, voice silently before he looked at me, mouth gaping open and shut like a fish. "Y-you actually love Yuri?! I thought you were kidding!" he questioned.

"Tsk! Of course not!" I exclaimed, slapping his hand. "I want to be able to live long enough to have a lover, and in this case, Yuri is my 'lover!'" I spoke with quotation marks on my fingers.

"How'd you meet him?" he questioned.

"Oh yeah. Some mole ratted me out like a little bitch to the SSS when he got caught, then they caught me after a long chase that lasted a few weeks, next thing you know, I'm being interviewed and signed a contract to work with the SSS in order to keep my life—" the words came out of my mouth before I could think of the consequences from them.

I started to open and close my mouth like a fish (and like what Twilight did earlier).

"So, you're leaving because they've got you hostage?" Twilight spoke.

"No! No!" I quickly shut down the idea. "Well. I mean, I don't want to work with the SSS, and I don't want to work with Westalian Intelligence either. I just want to live a normal life, but then this happened." I sighed.

"So there's nothing between you and Yuri?" he questioned.

"Nope." I spoke, popping the p.

"And you're sure?" Twilight questioned.

"Of course I'm sure, why do you care so much?" I questioned.

"Because he's the enemy!" Twilight hissed. "That, and he's the one killing off our spies. You don't care about that?" he spoke.

"Of course I care." I snapped, offended that he would think I wouldn't. "But I'm not going to mope about the past and get myself killed. Besides, it's not like the Westalian Intelligence cares about if I ditch or not." I sighed. "But they'll kill me if they know I'm in the SSS, so you better not spill it. I told them absolutely nothing about the people in charge or even you, Twilight. So you better keep your mouth shut because I don't care if we've known each other for years or if you're the greatest spy, you cross me and I'll find a way to make you regret it." I threatened, pointing my nail to his throat.

"Alright. I understand." Twilight spoke calmly. "But you're sure there's no feelings attached?"

"Yeah. I don't need to be worrying about that stuff. I'm only here so I can live, and trust me, he doesn't care about if I live or die either." I smiled.

"I don't know, you two were quite something today." Twilight spoke, causing my face to heat up.

"W-well, of course! I didn't just work on hacking into databases or gathering information inside forces, you know. So, you're not the only one who can lie and disguise themselves. Remember, I trained alongside you, so I know almost everything you know." I spoke, turning my head away to hide my face. "Besides, he's more of a jerk behind closed doors."

I sighed, remembering his douche personality.

("Just so you know, I'm not looking for this to be a real thing. When we're in public and at work, we'll act close—but don't expect anything kind of special treatment behind closed doors. Our 'marriage' is just a piece of paper that can easily be destroyed. The only thing that we have in common is work; nothing else." The second-lieutenant spat harshly as he walked closer to me, standing tall as he looked down at me in more ways than one.)

Yeah, he's a mega douche. I thought. I still wanna know his damn problem...

"Alright. Good." Twilight spoke.

"What about you and Yor. I don't know about you, but I almost facepalmed eight different times in five minutes. You need to get Yor to work on her acting skills." I pointed out.

"I know." He sighed. "But she's just so..." he paused, thinking. "She's a little...simple-minded, I guess."

"It runs in the Briar family." I laughed. "Now, you should leave before Yuri wakes up and freaks out. He doesn't really like you, if you haven't noticed."

"Yeah." He spoke, fixing his coat. "Thanks for your hard work at the Westalian Intelligence. I hope we'll meet again."

"Don't think because I'm leaving the force that you're never going to see me again. You've been a close friend of mine for years now, so I consider you my family. Besides, we're in-laws." I teased. "And even if we never see each other, I'll just haunt your ass from beyond the grave." I joked.

Twilight chuckled. "I wouldn't expect anything less. Goodbye, (Y/N)." He spoke.

"Bye, ####." I responded.

He stood there for a second, shocked to hear his birth name after so long of using Twilight, before smiling and parting.

I'm not too sure why they gave #### the codename "Twilight" but I know they gave me the codename "Vixen" because I usually went undercover, disguising myself in the night and manipulating others to get information out of them (I'm not too fond of it either, but I convinced myself that business is business).

When we got our codenames, we were told that our old names meant nothing and that our old lives don't matter anymore. I agreed to the terms, but there was no way I was gonna forget my past, not when it's made me the person I am today.

Twilight left, closing the front door as I locked it. I looked at the time, noticing it was 1 A.M.

Damn. Tonight's been a long one. I thought, sighing as I stretched and walked back to the bedroom.

Yuri was still dead asleep. I carefully observed his face to make sure he wasn't faking it in case he heard the conversation. I grabbed Flower and dangled it over his head, seeing for a reaction, but none. I poked his cheek, making sure his eyes didn't twitch before concluding he wasn't faking it.

Good. It must be the alcohol that made him pass out. I thought.

I crawled back into bed, placing Flower in my arms and lying on my side to face away from Yuri. I concluded I didn't like the position, and switched to facing Yuri. He was still in the same spot as earlier, still facing me. I grabbed his hand and held it, believing that his position was comfortable enough before sleeping.

Parts: One, two, three, four, five, current part, seven, eight, nine, ten (to be continued when Spy x Family has more Yuri content!)

Want more Yuri content? Check out these headcannons and one shots!

Yuri Briar x Sick! Fem! Reader

Slightly mean! Yuri Briar x Fem! Reader

Yuri Briar x Fem! Reader headcannons + other fandoms!

Have any requests? Check my masterlist to see the characters I write for: Masterlist (Please request, I have too much free time and too little fics).

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imagineanime2022 · 2 years

Text

He Comes To Your Rescue *Part 2*

Atsumu Miya X Reader, Osamu Miya X Reader, Rintarou Suna X Reader, Kei Tsukkishima X Reader

Summary: You get caught up in something and he defends you

Part 1- Toru Oikawa, Hajime Iwaizumi, Kotaro Bokuto

Part 3 - Kuroo Tetsurou, Wakatoshi Ushijima, Tendou Satori

Part 4 - Yuji Terushima, Kiyoomi Sakusa

Part 5 - Tobio Kageyama

Atsumu Miya

🍣 Atsumu had always been popular with the girls, you had known him since you were in school but you only started dating when you started to manage the Jackals. 🍣 While you were all over Atsumu’s social media but everyone just thought that was just because you were the manager, you were close with everyone after all. 🍣 That was okay for a little while, the people that mattered knew you were together and the fans vying for his attention was normal and the ones that did put it together honestly didn’t care all that much. 🍣 The problem came when people he met professionally seemed to flirt with him or try to steal his attention for some reason that was what got under your skin and this interviewer for some reason really wanted to get to you.

You were in process of filling up water bottles for the boys, the match was close to ending and it was looking like they were going to win but you never celebrated to early, you managed to get back in time to see the winning point smiling to yourself as the boys jumped around, the scream from the crowd overpowering everything else until you felt a tap on your shoulder, you turned to see a interviewer, you recognised her as the one that had taken to using all of her time to question your relationship the Atsumu. “They’ll be off the court in a moment, I’ll make sure you guys are the first people that they talk to.” You said. “Actually we wanted to talk to you.” She smiled and you nodded slightly confused, you passed the water bottles off to the couch so that he could give them to the boys, who at the moment were still celebrating. “What can I do for you?” You asked. “Well you're the manager, it’s nice to hear from you every now and again.” She answered. “So first question, are you proud of them for everything that they’ve accomplished in this tournament?” She asked and you nodded with a smile. “They’ve all worked so hard, they show up early, they leave late and they’ve all sacrificed so much. Most of them have families that they haven’t really seen properly because of the practice schedule so I’m sure it’s nice for them to see the results are worth it.” You answered. “Who are you most proud of?” She asked. “I can’t choose one of them, they all work so hard.” You answered with a shrug. “Huh… Funny.” She mumbled more to herself and you rolled your eyes, you were sure that the interview was going too well. “What?” You asked. “Well I was sure that you were going to say Atsumu.” She answered. “Why?” You asked. “Well considering you seem to do anything to stay on his good side, you seem a little bit clingy for a manager.” She answered but before you could say anything you were turned away from her and the camera. “What ya doin’ hiding over here beautiful?” Atsumu asked, pulling you closer by your hips. “I’m in the middle of some ‘Sumu.” You pointed behind you with a thumb over the shoulder. “Don’t worry about her.” Atsumu mumbled. “‘Su-” He cut you off by pressing a kiss to your lips, if your eyes had been open you would have seen the glare that he was giving to the woman behind you, he pulled away and pulled you into a hug before mouthing ‘leave’ to the reporter behind you. “Come on, the others were looking for you.” He pulls you back towards the team, arms firmly around you when you weren’t hugging another team mate, he can’t have you believing what that reporter had said after all.

Osamu Miya

🍙 Osamu met you because your parents worked at the restaurant when he was younger and they used to bring you down sometimes, as you got older you’d help out with serving and such and ‘Samu was always in the kitchen you both became close because you were the same age. 🍙 Osamu didn’t actually realize that you went to the same school for a long while, that is until ‘Sumu pointed you out in the crowd of people that made up one of their new classes. 🍙 He fell in love with you when you immediately told the two twins apart and walked straight up to him (before they dyed their hair). You guys became official after you left school and you helped him run the restaurant helping with all of the paperwork so that he could do what he liked, the cooking. 🍙 Osamu would never tell you when it was getting busy so every now and then you’d show up to make sure that he didn’t need help and when he did you’d help.

When you walked into the restaurant it was complete chaos, you tied your hair up as you walked into dodging and greeting people as you walked through the kitchen looking for your boyfriend. “What are ya doin’ here?” He asked as he noticed you. “You stopped answering your texts, figured it was getting busy.” You answered. “I owe ya dinner after this.” He mumbled pressing a kiss to your cheek and you waved him off as you started working, most of the customers were regulars who recognised you and stopped you to ask how you were doing while you poured drinks or placed food, for the most part the night went fine, it was still pretty busy when you walked back into the kitchen you were walking towards one of the guys in the back to ask about one of the orders, as you did someone came from behind you knocking you off balance as she barged past you, your hand went straight into a pan of boiling water as you tried to steady yourself. “Get out of the way, the only reason you're here is because you're dating ‘Samu, you don’t even know how to do this job.” She said as she moved past you, you heard her asking about the same thing you were but she didn’t get an answer as the person that she was talking to rushed over to you. “Are you okay?” He asked and you waved him off smiling. “I’m fine, what’s the update on that order?” “It’ll be next out.” He smiled as he went back to his work station though you could feel him glancing at you as you picked up some other plates and headed back into the restaurant.

As the night came to an end, Osamu was cleaning up his station when “Hey boss.” He looked over at one of his long term chiefs, Ren. “What?” Osamu asked as he looked at him. “I think you should check on (Y/N).” He scratched the back on his neck. “Why?” He asked as he looked at the door that led out to the restaurant where you were cleaning tables and putting up chairs. “She bumped into Yuka, the new hire earlier, she insisted that she was fine but I don't know, the ovens were all on, I think she burned her hand.” He explained, Osamu didn’t wait to hear the rest of it, he walked out in time to see Yuka knock your shoulder as she passed you again but you didn’t say anything you just continued to clean everything. “Hey Yuka! Go home and don’t bother coming back, you're fired!” Osamu called after her, she turned to him almost as if she was going to argue but the look on his face told her not to. “‘Samu what are you doing?” You asked as you walked up to him. “Show me your hands.” He ordered putting his hands out palms up, you put your hands out and he could see that one of them was red raw and starting to blister slightly. “Why did you tell me this happened?” “It was busy we needed to-” “You were hurt, that's always more important!” Osamu didn’t mean for his voice to rise but it did and he regretted it immediately as he saw the tears welling in your eyes, he pulled you into his chest careful of your hand. “Ren lock up!” He yelled, pointing to the spare keys behind the counter. “Sure thing Boss.” Ren called back through the small window leading back to the kitchen. “Come on, we need to sort out your hand, then there's dinner I owe ya.” He mumbled against your hair before leading you out.

Suna Rintaro

🦊 Rin trusts you but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t keep tabs on you, he knows where you are at all times and if he doesn’t know where you are your phone is blowing up till you answer him. 🦊 Rin was aware that you had an Ex that liked to lurk around you if he spotted you out on your own but when you texted him asking where he was he knew that you needed him wherever you were, he texted the same question to you, you answered him immediately. 🦊 He told you he’d be there in 20 minutes and he made it in 10. 🦊 He couldn’t see you at first but the moment his eyes landed on you and registered the distressed look on your face and the guy's hand latched around your wrist he knew what he needed to do.

You hoped that Rin wasn’t too far away because there was only so long that (Y/E) was going to try convincing you by talking, you were brought out of your thoughts by a grip on your arm “Hey are you listening?” He asked. “Oh yeah.” You answered. “So?” He asked. “Look I’m waiting for someone, maybe we can catch up some other time.” You suggested not meaning a single word that you said. “They’re not here yet, we have some time.” He smiled as his grip on your wrist tightened slightly. “They’ll be here soon.” You argued trying to pull your arm away. “I’d love to meet this friend of yours.” He smirked as you continued to try and pull away from the man. “He doesn’t want to meet you.” You heard the low timbre that you had come to love. “You ready Sunshine?” “Mmm.” You hummed. “Do you mind?” Rin asked, eyes moving to his hand but he frowned. “We weren’t done talking-” “You’ve got three seconds to remove your hand before I do it for you.” Rin warned him, he looked at him for a second before dropping your wrist and waving a hand. “She’s not worth all that.” He waved off, Rin launched forward as if to grab him but you stopped him. “Let’s just go.” You pleaded. “Alright, what did you come here for anyway?” He asked. “Just needed some stuff for the house.” You answered. “Come on, let’s go get everything and then we can go home and get some rest yeah?” He asked. “Weren’t you at home resting anyway?” You asked. “Mmm.” He hummed “and now I can relax with you.” He pressed a kiss to your head before leading you towards the shopping center.

Kei Tsukishima

🧂 Tsukki cares about very few people’s feelings and troubles. This had been the case for a very long time, there were only a few people that he actively protected, you were one of them. 🧂 You weren’t all that confident but you wanted to support Tsukki in his volleyball matches so you finally built up the courage to one, he noticed you the moment that he was out on the field. 🧂 His view of you was blocked by a group of boys coming to stand in front of you, he didn’t recognise them so he watched as best he could through warm ups but then he saw you flinch away from them. 🧂 Tsukki pushed his water bottle into Yamaguchi’s hands and told him that he’d be back in a minute.

You looked down at the floor as the leader of the group of boys sat in the chair next to you, his arm around the back of you as he smiled “so what do you think, you don’t look like a sports kind of girl, how about we all get out of here and have some real fun.” He suggested as he squeezed your shoulder, you shook your head as you searched for a way out of the situation that you found yourself in but no matter what you did, it seemed that one of the many boys standing around you stopped you from leaving. “Hey Pipsqueak what are you doing all the way over here?” You heard Tsukki in your ear on the other side of you, you felt him remove the arm from your shoulder before pulling you up and into his chest. “Who are you?” “We were just trying to show her a good time.” The guy smirked and Tsukki looked down on him for a second and smirked. “Well let me save you the trouble, you're not worth her time.” He answered before turning away, you heard shuffling and for a second you thought that a fight was going to break out but Tsukki looked back at them and the ice in stare stopped them in their tracks. Tsukki walked over to the group of people there to support Kurasuno, you recognised his older brother. “Keep her here with you until the end of the match, I’ll come get her afterwards.” “Tsukki you don’t ha-” “If I’m going to play, I need to make sure that I’m not worried about you the whole time.” He said as he pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Okay,” You said softly. “I’m proud of you.” He said it so quietly you weren’t even sure that he had. “Proud?” You asked. “Of me sitting there like an idiot?” “You were standing your ground.” He mumbled before pushing you into the open seat and ordering you to stay “I’ll be back later.”

Request Here

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garlichoisan · 8 months

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𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡 [4]

[an ATEEZ social media au]

🍓 Characters/Pairing: San x reader, Wooyoung x reader + more in the future 🍩 Genre: fluff, angst, suggestive 🍰 AU info: social media au, university!au, named reader 💌 Word Count: 1.5 k ⚠️ Warnings: ❌

💟 if you wanna be added to the taglist, please just send an ask!

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Hongjoong was nervously pacing around the art gallery, waiting for the event to begin. He was re-reading his own speech over and over again, as if he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to memorize it all, even though it was written by him. He was holding the piece of paper so tightly that it began looking a little crumpled which reminded Hongjoong to soften his grip.

When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned around quickly.

"Are you okay, Joong?" San asked.

"You startled me," Hongjoong said, sounding as if he was almost out of breath.

"Don't be nervous. You're gonna do just fine! Your photos are literally breathtaking," San reassured him with a smile. "Still, you're the one who is out of breath."

Hongjoong just sighed and nervously fixed the collar of his shirt.

"Wooyoung and Mingi are on their way. Please remember to breathe," San reminded his older friend, patting his shoulder, and left the young photographer alone.

Not too long after people started coming to the art gallery and soon the place became quite noisy. It was time for Hongjoong to get over his fear of public speaking and begin with his welcome speech. He got to the podium, trying to avoid looking other people in the eye but his own eyes were searching for Mrs. Seo, the woman who was his mentor and who made this art exhibition possible by investing both time and money in him and his art. She warned him that she was going to be late which made Hongjoong even more nervous, but he was still hoping to see her soon so that his mind can be put at ease. Instead, his eyes found his friends - San, Wooyoung and Mingi were all there, smiling and waving at him, even making finger hearts, which made Hongjoong crack a smile. Even though they were bantering a lot when they were together, it was at moments like these that he realized just how lucky he was to have them in his life. That also gave him an unexpected amount of energy and confidence.

"Hello, my name is Kim Hongjoong. Nice to meet you all," he started talking shakily. When he finished his sentence, he took a deep breath, which calmed him down a little, and continued with his speech. "I've been taking photos of everything I found beautiful since I was a kid. It has always been helping me express my emotions properly and convey them into art. It’s so amazing to be able to capture the world’s beauty, because there are so many things that deserve to be appreciated. And not only places, I’m talking about people too, but I still haven’t found a model who fascinates me, so I’m currently only taking photos of places.”

He fixed his gaze on the people in the hall to make sure they were still listening to him and when he made sure he had their full attention, he continued with his speech.

“Anyways, I'm so happy to be with you all right now. I want to thank you for being here and supporting me… Your motivation is so inspiring to me and I promise I’m going to do everything I can to show you even better photos in the future. I’d like to thank to everyone who is here tonight, as well as my great friends and my family. Last, but not least, I’d like to thank the amazing woman who made this exhibition possible, even though she’s not here yet: and this is Mrs. Seo, my amazing mentor. I hope you enjoy today’s exhibition."

Then he added a couple more conclusive sentences and the room suddenly erupted into cheers and applause. Hongjoong's heart was beating fast because of the adrenaline of having publicly spoken in front of so many people. He was truly proud of himself.

When he got off the podium, he went to his friends.

"You were great out there!" San exclaimed. "We have the coolest friend in the world."

“I second that. However, how could you say you had no good model to take photos of? Don’t you remember how many times I offered to be your model and let you take photos of me? I can pull of every vibe you want me to and let you take your most aesthetic photos ever.

“If Joong lets you become his model, no people are gonna come to his next exhibition because no one would want to see your face,” Wooyoung said mockingly as he looked at Mingi.

Mingi only scoffed in response.

“You’re not that handsome either.” Mingi retorted.

“You can’t appreciate my beauty. And the only reason I’m not letting Hongjoong take photos of me is that he won’t be able to afford taking even one photo of me. You know, this face is not for free,” Wooyoung pointed at his face cockily, as all of his friends seemed more than a little skeptical about his claims.

Then Hongjoong saw Mrs. Seo and his eyes lit up.

"Ah, I’m so tired of your endless bickering. See you later, idiots," Hongjoong said and went to the older woman.

"Hongjoong! Sorry for being so late. I had to drive my daughter to her piano lesson," Mrs. Seo apologized as she hugged Hongjoong.

When they moved away, Hongjoong spoke.

"You don't have to worry," the photographer reassured her with a soft smile.

"I'm sure you did great, didn't you?"

"The feeling was amazing, but I need a drink," Hongjoong laughed.

"Go get it then," Mrs. Seo answered in the same light-hearted way.

Hongjoong went to the table with snacks and drinks and got himself a glass of champagne which he chugged at once. When he felt another presence next to him, he turned to look at the person.

"What is Seo Daeun doing here?" San asked, trying to avoid being seen by the older woman.

"She is my mentor, the one I told you about. She made this photo exhibition possible," Hongjoong explained patiently. "Why? How do you know her?"

San opened his mouth to speak, but stopped as soon as he saw Mrs. Seo in front of him.

"San! I can't believe I see you here. You've grown up so much! You're really becoming more and more handsome."

Hongjoong seemed really confused.

"Uh, yeah, hello, Mrs. Seo," San bowed slightly, showing his respect.

"You're as respectful as always! Good manners and good looks, Jina really missed her best chance."

Hongjoong listened to them talk, trying to understand what they were talking about, before he realized he should probably leave them alone.

"Should I go somewhere else so you two can talk?" Hongjoong asked, trying to be mindful.

"Please don't," San whispered, grabbing his wrist.

Mrs. Seo looked at the interaction with confusion.

"Actually my boyfriend and I would like some time alone."

"Boyfriend?!" Hongjoong and Mrs. Seo spoke at the same time.

"Yes, babe. Didn't you know you were my boyfriend?" San laughed nervously, nudging his older friend playfully.

He finally realized San didn't want to talk to Mrs. Seo at all and actually wanted to avoid her, but he couldn’t express it properly since he was too good mannered, and maybe that was the reason why he said something so ridiculous. So Hongjoong quickly got into his role as he wrapped his arm around San’s broad shoulder.

"Sorry, darling. I'm still a little excited because of the exhibition and I can’t fully grasp what’s happening around me."

San sighed with relief.

"It's okay. So, will you show me around?" San asked with a flirtatious tone, running his fingers along Hongjoong’s arm, wanting nothing more than to run away from Mrs. Seo.

"It would be a pleasure for me," Hongjoong continued playing along, holding San’s body even closer to his.

"It was nice seeing you, Mrs. Seo. Tell Jina I said hi," San bowed again, then took Hongjoong's hand and led him to the entrance of the art gallery. When they stopped walking and they were far enough, San took a deep breath.

"Ah, finally, that was intense."

Hongjoong just raised an eyebrow questioningly, waiting for some sort of explanation, but when he realized San wasn't going to give him one, he decided to break the silcence himself.

"What was this madness all about? And who is Jina?"

"Jina is my ex-girlfriend and Mrs. Seo is her mother," San explained. "I didn't expect to meet her here. Sorry if I made you look bad in front of her."

"It's okay, San. But don't use me as your fake boyfriend ever again," Hongjoong laughed.

"I can't promise anything, babe," San winked at his older friend, receiving a sharp smack on his shoulder, then he burst out laughing. "I’m gonna get some drinks. Thanks for helping me out, Joong.”

When San made sure Mrs. Seo wasn't near the table with snacks and drinks, he made his way there, pouring himself a glass of champagne, then another one, until he lost count.

╔═══════════ SUMMARY ═══════════╗

San was often told that he was everything a girl wanted to date: handsome, funny and smart. That was until they got to know him better. Then he was told he was too much, too overwhelming, had too many emotions and was too chaotic. Thus his experience with dating was not as good as one would have thought. The problem: he has the biggest crush on a girl he met whilst studying abroad. But every time he messages his crush, he seems to mess things up further and further. With the help of his hyperactive friends he tries to win Ara's heart but before that, he has to convince her he doesn't actually hate her.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

💟 taglist:

@violets-are-vladi @chocochannel @ateezcbk

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daughter-of-melpomene · 2 months

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𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧 𝗕𝗨𝗡𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗦

So, after posting my fancast the other day, we have finally arrived at the OCs that go with it!! Honestly, I’m so excited to share these babies with you guys; Monster High was one of my first hyperfixations ever, and despite how long it’s been since I properly interacted with it, I’ve never stopped loving it. So without further ado, please observe my beautiful freaky babies!!

(Also gonna tag my beloveds @manyfandomocs and @ginevrastilinski-ocs, because I know they’ve been waiting for this!! <3)

Nyx Darkfeather, a fallen angel, Jackson/Holt ship. The daughter of two angels who fell from Heaven. A new student at Monster High because her parents homeschooled her for a long time, scared of her being hurt for what she is since fallen angels are so rare. Very stone-faced, blunt, and closed-off, but eventually gets pulled into Frankie’s friend group after they make it their mission to befriend her, and winds up slowly being endeared by Jackson and Holt. Pretty powerful as the child of two angels, with umbrakinesis and some psychic powers, but she doesn’t use them very often. Also becomes besties with Twyla, since they’re both very used to the shadows.

Aiko Inoue, daughter of the Slit-Mouthed Women, Deuce ship. An exchange student from Japan who eventually decides to stay and learn at Monster High. Kind of has a bad reputation at first because of her mother and how quiet she is, but eventually people start to warm up to her. Gets close to Deuce after she gets assigned to tutor him in History of the Undead shortly after he and Cleo break up, and they eventually wind up becoming a super cute couple. Intensely shy and awkward and often uses her spirit powers to turn invisible or disappear for long periods of time, but also very caring and loyal. Becomes really good friends with the hybrids, especially Neighthan and Serena.

Chester Hoppington, a wererabbit, Gil ship. Only attends Monster High in person part-time because he cares for his eight younger siblings while his parents work. An incredible artist who meets Gil when he decides to go swimming in the school pool while Chester is there doing a drawing of the water. Incredibly sweet and caring as a result of having to be a babysitter so often, but also surprisingly stubborn and never afraid to speak out for the people he cares about. Has bunny ears and a little tail, and also has a habit of rapidly tapping his feet when he’s frustrated or angry. Eventually gets pulled into the ghouls’ friendship, and even becomes really good friends with Lagoona despite her and Gil being exes.

Matthew Steam, a robot, Frankie ship. Robecca’s “twin” brother since Hezekiah built them at the same time, and got dismantled shortly after her when he tried to confront the Gargoyles about what they did to her. A lot more socially awkward than his sister, but surprisingly adjusts to modern life a lot easier because he was always more interested in science and mechanics and he gets incredibly excited about all the new advancements. A total nerd who goes on a lot of excited rants about his interests, which Frankie is only too happy to listen to. Also an iconic sibling duo with Robecca.

Bonita Calaveras, a skeleton, Heath ship. Skelita’s older sister by eleven months, so they’ve always been in the same school year. Does the transfer with her sister and Jinafire, because she’s always seen it as her job to protect Skelita. Tries to keep Heath away from Skelita when she learns how much of a flirt he is, but just winds up falling for him instead. Fiercely loving and protective of those she cares about, but also sometimes forgets to take care of herself. The best sibling duo with Skelita, and also comes really good friends with Jinafire because they enjoy judging people together.

Dabria Yelps, a zombie, Draculaura ship. Ghoulia’s younger sibling who uses they/she pronouns, and definitely the more creativity-minded of the two; an incredible writer who wants to publish romance novels one day. Also a hopeless lesbian who falls in love with Draculaura almost the moment they meet her, but it takes a while for them to get together because Draculaura still needs to get over her breakup with Clawd and Dabira is way too awkward to properly confess for the longest time. She’s also best friends with Howleen and Twyla, and kinda goes through it for a bit during the whole Shadow Genie ordeal.

Gaia Nature, child of Mother Nature, Abbey ship. Homeschooled in the forest for a good portion of their life, but finally allowed to attend Monster High because they’ve always wanted to meet more kids their age. A total and complete sweetheart because they’ve always been taught to be kind to all living creatures, but also tends to be kind of naïve and overly trusting because they haven’t really been around actual people very much. They and Abbey are a total opposites attract couple, but Abbey is very soft for them and also manages to toughen them up a bit, so they work very well together. Definitely besties with Rochelle, Robecca, and Venus, and frequently teams up with Venus on environment-saving endeavors.

Chord Nightingale, a siren, Manny ship. Head of the Monster High choir, which Manny is forced to join as a punishment from Headmistress Bloodgood after beating up another student. Totally outgoing and sunshiney, which doesn’t allow him to get long with Manny at first. Mostly confident but also scared of ever accidentally enchanting someone with his siren song after an incident that happened when he was a kid that he’s never told anyone about. Eventually grows close to Manny and the two of them start to open up to each other, until they finally get together. Doesn’t really have many friends despite being a social butterfly, but eventually becomes pretty close with the ghost crew - Operetta, Scarah, Serena, and Johnny Spirit - and they become kind of an iconic group.

#randomness #plot bunnies #monster high ocs #oc: nyx darkfeather #oc: aiko inoue #oc: chester hoppington #oc: matthew steam #oc: bonita calaveras #oc: dabria yelps #oc: gaia nature #oc: chord nightingale

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spicysix · 2 years

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long story short (part 1/3) | eddie munson X reader

this fic is part of a series: masterlist

summary: "Eddie’s pale face was still all you could see. It had completely replaced all your other usual haunting images - Will’s funeral, his screams as your mom turned up the heaters, that demogorgon feasting on Bob’s limp body, El’s shriek in pain as Jon tried to pull a piece of the Mind Flayer from her leg. Probably because you knew they were safe now, out of the woods. But Eddie wasn’t."

warnings: fem!reader - no physical description. no use of y/n. post s4 - canon divergence. spoilers, i guess: max is not in a coma and eleven killed vecna and closed the portals because i said so. angst with a happy ending.

word count: 4.5k

a/n: this is not betaed! english is not my first language. if there are any absurd mistakes please let me know. i dunno how many parts this will have, but i promise to try not to take too long to post the rest. if you enjoy, please reblog and comment! 💞 this story also has a playlist!

day one

09:19 a.m. His arms were tight around you, grounding you, comforting you - and you wished you were giving all that reassuring back just the same.

“It was so scary.” He said, quivering a bit. You pulled him even closer, as close as you could. “I was so scared. So scared. I didn’t think we would walk out alive. I really didn’t.” You felt his tears wetting your sweater. He was almost hurting you from all the strength he was putting into his lithe arms.

You closed your eyes, attempting to block out the images trying to form in your head - nothing you’ve actually seen, but your imagination was never one to be shy. But you had to stay strong, to not let creations of your mind frighten you, because you had to reassure him. He had to trust you.

You breathed deep before answering him. “I can only imagine, love. But we’re here now. You don’t have to be scared anymore. Everyone’s here. We’re safe. You’re safe.”

Lucas let go of you after another final squeeze and a sniff, and you turned around to properly see everyone else. The room was crowded, filled with so many people. The smell of disinfectant was uncomfortable, but the sight of all your friends united again melted your heart.

Max was awake now, still very shaken but much better than what you thought she would be. Both her legs were on casts and you couldn’t begin to imagine what that recovery would be like. The poor girl… But at least she was alive, that’s what you kept saying to yourself over and over.

Lucas went back to his seat in front of the window as you, El, Will and Jon went closer to the bed the redhead was lying on. The younger ones shared a hug, your siblings being careful not to hurt their friend.

Your hand went to her fire hair in a caress and she turned to you. “I’m so happy y’all are here.” She said, her voice a little dragged probably from all the medication she was on.

“We’re very glad too.” She reciprocated the smile you gave her as her eyes closed from the gentle touch on her head.

09:44 a.m. Not long after that, as the kids were catching up and resting on Max’s room, you gathered with all the older ones in the hospital cafeteria as you recounted everything that had happened since march 21st. The Cali crew, as you were calling yourself and your family (plus Argyle, bless his heart) went first, taking turns in explaining. You tried your best to retell everything El had described to you from the time she was on Nina, but told the others if they wanted they could ask her more about it later. The important part was that it was there that she learned about Henry/Vecna/001 and when she got her powers back.

As the Hawkins crew started their own version, some blanks in your story were beginning to be filled in. You felt bad about Chrissy, she was a very sweet girl from the little you knew her from the cheer squad. Another one of those rare pieces amongst so many rotten people who thought social status in high school was the most important thing ever.

“…and then! Dustin and Max were busting into Family Video and basically kidnapping our phones because they wanted to find where the supposed killer was, because they were already sure whatever was done to Chrissy was not made by human hands!” Robin had been monologuing for a few minutes already, but all of you were used to it at this point. She had no pause button.

“Didn’t help that the guy was Dustin’s friend. He was doubly worried.” Steve was able to interrupt his coworker, rolling his eyes. “Mike and Lucas also know the guy. He’s the leader from their dragons dungeon thing.”

“Dungeons and Dragons.” You corrected. Steve murmured ‘whatever’.

Nancy’s brows were furrowed and she was looking at her hands intertwined with Jonathan’s on her lap as she spoke. “Poor Eddie. Thrown into it head first. He did not deserve any of this.”

Your heart stopped.

I mean, there could be other Eddies in Hawkins. Of course it could. But why was the feeling in your gut so sickening?

“What’s his name now?” You asked. Your voice was trembling, and Jonathan immediately turned to look at you. He knew you too well.

“Eddie Munson. He’s a triple senior. Sells drugs.” Steve answered.

Fuck.

Fuckity-fucking-fuck.

Your heartbeat was a thousand miles per hour, your mouth was suddenly dry and for some reason your longs were no longer capable of doing their job.

“Eddie Munson? Metalhead? Long wavy hair? Fingers filled with rings? Huge brown eyes?” Your voice was about three pitches higher, but you needed to be sure, and Robin nodded to confirm.

This couldn’t be happening.

“El didn’t mention him. She didn’t mention anyone new when she saw you in the Void to make sure you were okay. She didn’t, did she?” You needed Jonathan’s reassurance, but didn’t give him time to answer. “She didn’t mention him!”

Your brother called out your name. “What’s going on? You’re freaking me out.”

“I… I knew him. Fuck, I knew him!” You looked at him and was sure the fear in your eyes could be recognized from miles away.

“Knew who?” Dustin’s voice was as excited as always and you turned to see him approaching your table with the rest of the teens - except for Lucas, who probably stayed with Max.

“Your friend… Eddie…” You were still shaking a bit, even though Jon’s hand on your shoulder was somewhat calming.

Dustin’s smile went away immediately with your answer. That was not calming at all.

“Where is he?” The entire Hawkins crew gulped at your question, sharing concerning looks between each other. “Where is he?!” You all but screamed, your body already filled to the brim with agonizing fear.

10:10 a.m. The smell of bleach made your nose itch.

He was so pale. So much paler than that last time you saw him, under the not-so-bright lights of a random girl’s pantry.

Standing so still. So different from all the gestures you had memorized. The tilt of his head when he was teasing you. The shake of his shoulders when he laughed. His dramatics as he explained something he was passionate about.

His hair was no longer shiny and soft, just opaque and disheveled. His lips were no longer pink and plumb, but almost purple and cracked. It was all paleness. Stillness. Quietness.

The worst part was his eyes. They were closed. You were deprived of those beautiful chocolate pools that you really wanted to dive into.

A single tear rolled down your cheek. Its heat so contrasting to the cold of your skin.

But your skin was no colder than his, though. Your hand, clasped desperately to his, felt warmer in comparison.

There were tubes and wires all over him, and the constant beep, beep, beep of the machines was almost driving you crazy. But you had no strength in you to even be mad or sad about anything else besides the fact that Eddie Munson, the boy who was able to basically steal your heart in only one night, was laying in a hospital bed, unconscious.

After you yelled at them, Dustin and Steve told you what happened to Eddie. The sacrifice he tried to make. Almost being eaten alive by demobats - great, all you needed was a whole new type of demowhatevers from the Upside Down to worry about - to try and win some more time for your friends - to save a town that hated him. How they were barely able to carry him through the portal and to the first hospital they saw - how they wanted to go further to another city, away from Hawkins and their hatred, but that they probably wouldn’t make it in time and Eddie would’ve died.

His arms were handcuffed to the bed’s metal bracings, because he was still suspect number one to all the murders. They couldn’t deny him medical care, but they could deny him minimal comfort. Even though he couldn’t go anywhere, as for he has been in a coma for almost three whole days already. The police officers guarding his hospital room almost didn’t let you in, but apparently already knew Dustin enough to understand that he wouldn’t give up until they authorized your entrance. He’s probably been doing that, annoying the fuck out of the officers, for the last three days. The officers didn’t let more than one person at a time, though. So you were alone with Eddie.

You could hear the rest of your friends talking in the hallway, the Hawkins squad finishing their side of the story. You caught snippets of it every once in a while, but you could hear the whole thing later. The details of whatever had already passed were no longer of primary importance.

You squeezed his hand tighter in yours and got as close to his bed as you could without disturbing any wires from the machines around him. Still holding his hand in one of your own, you slid the other one through his hair. Bending down, you touched your lips softly to his cold forehead.

“Please wake up, Eddie. I have so much to tell you.” You could feel your eyes burning and more tears escaping them, falling into his face. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I never told you anything when we’ve met. I’m so sorry you had to go though all this.” At this point you were sobbing already. “If I had known, I… I don’t know, actually. I don’t know what I would have done. I don’t think I could have done anything.

“But I asked, you know? I asked god, the universe, whatever there is. I prayed that you would never have to know about any of this. Maybe I was the one that jinxed you.” You let out a humorless laugh. “I’m sorry. I’m gonna do everything I can to help you when you wake up. So please wake up. Please.”

You cleaned your tears from your cheeks and from his before getting back up. A deep sigh left your lips and you caressed his hair one last time more before turning to leave.

07:26 p.m. Dustin, Robin and Steve went to the school, where a shelter was improvised to aid those whos houses had been destroyed by Vecna’s portals’ ravishing of the city (dismissed by the police and media as an earthquake). The rest of you went to Hopper and Eleven’s old cabin, to where any of you haven’t stepped foot on since that 4th of July the year prior.

A government agent dropped off your parents at the door at some point from their trip to the Soviet Union. That was definitely insane.

Your house was no longer yours and Hoppers still had a hole through its ceiling, so you had to book some rooms in the only hotel that was not destroyed and still had vacancy. Eleven and Jonathan could have gone to the Wheelers’, they were invited, but decided to stay with their parents. Thankfully, the hotel was not too far from downtown to Hop’s liking, as he wanted to help with anything he could within the city - you know, get his job as sheriff back - as soon as the sun rose.

You ordered pizzas to your hotel rooms to celebrate your parents success in invading and escaping a russian prison, and the Hawkins-Cali gangs success in stopping a murderous asshole from completing his evil plan. Your head was still buzzing the entire time, though. You tried to be present, to interact, to act normal, but every few minutes you were haunted by the image of Eddie’s pale body cuffed to a hospital bed, in contrast to the image of Eddie asking to kiss you over a package of stolen cookies.

The first thing you asked you mom and Hop after you’ve all filled your bellies was if they could call that government lady who had dropped them off at Hopper’s cabin in the first place.

Yeah, okay, in hindsight, it was kind of rude. Jim had literally just returned from the dead, and your mom just went through an insane amount of danger in a enemy country. But you’ve already accepted that that was the primary importance: to help clean Eddie’s name.

They’ve been informed of everything over dinner, and you finally explained how you had met Eddie. You didn’t linger on the kissing part, didn’t even mention the smoking weed part (that one would be later told to Jonathan and Argyles’ ears only, while Will was showering, in your shared room down the hall), just said he was very helpful in calming your anxiety attack with his wit and gentle soul.

“Wait, so you’re telling me you want us to get the FBI to cover up a story just so this boy you’ve met once and apparently fell in love with, god knows how with only one fucking night together, is no longer the suspect of a killing spree?” Hoppers voice was in that very judgmental tone. You were not fond of it. Your mom slapped his arm.

“Okay, first of all, I’m not in love with him. Second of all, I’m not asking you to do this for myself, I’m asking you to do it for Eddie, a guy that had the world’s biggest lack of luck ever to fall into all of this mess, not only as a victim, but to be blamed for everything on top of it. I’m asking you to do it for Will, and Dustin, and Lucas, and Mike, who also play the very same game people are claiming to be the reason why Eddie is supposedly a satanist. You think these same people won’t go after them next? Target them as the next freaks, possible murderers? They’re already bullied in school! You don’t think it’ll get worst?”

You saw you youngest brother shrinking into himself beside you, but you were just telling the sad, miserable truth. And you had to convince Hopper.

“Dr. Owens and his team were able to come up with excuses for the mall fiasco last year. He was able to move us to California and erase us off the radar so we could have a chance at a new life. You’re telling me they can’t do that again?”

“Someone has to be pinned responsible for the murders, though.” Hopper claimed. He was right.

“Blame it on Chrissy’s boyfriend or whatever! He’s dead anyways!” You knew you sounded insensible, but to be honest, you couldn’t care. “Please, Hopper, I don’t know how they’ll do it but I’m sure they can find a way. We can’t let him be judged and most probably arrested when he’s innocent!” Your tone was desperate. You were desperate. “With how violent the kills were, he won’t be out of prison maybe ever. Do you get that?”

Your mom got up from the bed she was sitting across from you and you met her halfway, feeling her embracing you tightly. You felt Will’s hand on your arm. You hadn’t noticed when you’ve started crying again. They were trying to calm you down. You didn’t think they could, though, but you were thankful nonetheless.

“Shh, it’s okay, pumpkin. We’ll try our best, okay. I promise you.” Joyce whispered right into your ear, and you closed your eyes as you felt the tears falling down your face.

You heard Hopper sighing. “Okay. I’ll call her.”

10:57 p.m. You couldn’t sleep. Argyle was snoring loudly in the bed he was sharing with Jon beside yours. You knew your brothers were sleeping as well, from the sound of their peaceful breathings alone. Will would sometimes fidget and kick your shin under the covers, but would rapidly quiet down again.

You, on the other hand. Was probably going mental.

Eddie’s pale face was still all you could see. It had completely replaced all your other usual haunting images - Will’s funeral, his screams as your mom turned up the heaters, that demogorgon feasting on Bob’s limp body, El’s shriek in pain as Jon tried to pull a piece of the Mind Flayer from her leg. Probably because you knew they were safe now, out of the woods. But Eddie wasn’t.

You kept replaying those last minutes with him in that pantry, him asking to see you again and remembering how you wished more than anything that you could’ve said yes, but how you couldn’t. How you’ve had hoped he would never come to know of those things that gave you nightmares night after night, and how that hope was completely useless as he was a center piece in everything that has happened in the past week.

How you were now hoping that this was the end of it all, and how you crushed your own hopes by thinking that you hoped that every single time, only for something worse to come back later. How there was always something worse. How it never seemed to end.

God, you were exhausted. You needed this to end. You needed some peace.

You got up from the bed as quietly as you could and reached for a flashlight in your bag that was on top of a desk by the window. You searched for paper and pen and scribbled a note about where you were going before grabbing a change of clothes. You quickly got changed in the bathroom and brushed your teeth before exiting the bathroom, putting away your pajamas, putting on some shoes and leaving the hotel.

The hospital parking lot was almost entirely full, but you were able to find a spot - far away from the entrance, but still better than having to park outside altogether. As you entered the building, you thanked the gods for the fact that the receptionist was taking a snooze over her desk (you guessed she’s been pretty busy with the ‘earthquake’ victims) and slipped past her to the stairs.

You went straight to Eddie’s floor.

The guards did not seem happy to see you. “You’re the girl that’s been here earlier.” One of them said. Didn’t ask: said. You just nodded, trying to peek into the room. “His uncle is already inside, you can’t come in.”

You let out a sigh and looked around. There was a bench right in front of the door, so you settled for that. The door wasn’t closed, probably an order from the police, but it wasn’t fully open as well. You could see Eddie’s uncle’s silhouette - you think his name was Wayne from what Nancy had told you -, sleeping in the chair next to his nephew’s bed.

“What’s with this murderer being so popular? Those kids are here all fucking day and now this girl too.” Maybe the guard thought he was whispering to his colleague, but he wasn’t as quiet as you’d wish.

“Maybe he’s some kind of Ted Bundy or whatever.” The other one answered.

“Or maybe he’s innocent, you assholes.” You snapped and they went quiet, even though one of them let out a scoff. You just rolled your eyes and rested against the wall. Your eyes were getting heavy… You fell asleep before you noticed.

02:17 a.m. You felt hands on your shoulder slightly shaking you awake. Your eyes bolted open. Eddie’s uncle was hovering above you, his expression a mix of confusion and caution.

“I’m sorry to wake you. Who are you? The guards didn’t know, and I’ve never seen you here before.” He wasn’t rude, just polite, but you could’ve understand if he was suspicious.

“Oh, I’m sorry, mister Munson.” You sat up straight and ran your sleeve over your face, pretty sure you’ve been drooling. You said your name. “I’m a friend of Dustins. I’ve met Eddie last year, only briefly, but I… care about him. I was worried, couldn’t sleep.”

You looked past Wayne into Eddie’s room, the door now wide awake and you could see clearly that he was still in the same position you’ve seen earlier. Unfortunately.

You continued. “Me and my family moved away after the mall fire last year, so we weren’t around for everything that’s happened this past week, but we came as soon as we heard.” He was listening carefully, his eyes locked on yours. “I could… I could leave if I’m making you uncomfortable.” You didn’t want to leave.

“No, it’s okay. I’m glad he has more friends to pray for him.” His smile was small, but it was still there. “I’m going to grab a bite, do you want something?”

“No, thank you.” As he walked down the corridor, you got up from your seat. “Can I go in now?” You asked the guards, who only nodded before letting you pass.

You sat on the same chair Wayne was before you. The beep, beep, beep from the machines sounded louder now, maybe because the whole hospital was so silent at this hour. Your eyes seemed to trick you into believing Eddie was a little less pale, though you easily dismissed it as your brain trying to hold onto some hope.

You held his hands into yours again. The shiver down your spine from the cold of his skin was still the same as earlier.

You thought about Max on the floor below you. You would visit her later. You wondered if Lucas was still there too.

A sigh escaped your lips and your eyes closed again. Everything was quiet, but you couldn’t sleep again. It was fine by you, being used to a terrible sleep schedule for years now, a three hour nap was enough to make you feel a little more rested than you were before.

So you just stood there quietly, your eyes closed and the sound of yours and Eddie’s breathing in unison being enough to make you calmer. At some point, after a few good minutes, you heard some noises but figured it was Wayne and/or the guards on the hallway.

Until you felt movement within your hands.

Your eyes widened immediately and you swore that minor frown on Eddie’s face was not there before. You stood as still as you could, trying to figure out if you were only imagining things, but his hand, still clasped in yours, squeezed - delicately, but still strong enough that it could not be mistaked by some creation of your own head.

You were completely frozen in place as Eddie’s eyes fluttered open… So. Very. Slowly.

He tried to move his head to look around, but grimaced as it probably hurt him.

His irises settled on you.

There was the tiniest of smiles on his lips.

“Hgnn” He actually tried to speak, but spiraled down into a fit of coughs. That was when you finally came into your senses and acted upon it, getting a bottle of water (it probably belong to Wayne) that was still closed on the nightstand, opening it and handing it to him.

You helped Eddie drink the water he obviously couldn’t drink by himself before setting it back where it was.

“Pantry girl.” He called you, his voice hoarse, and yet you almost swooned. You still hadn’t muttered a word though. Didn’t make a sound. You wasn’t even sure you were still breathing. “Hm, I’m glad you’re visiting me right now.” His smile grew just a bit as he rose his eyebrow. “Wait, does that mean I’ve died and gone to heaven?”

You cleared your throat and laughed softly. “No, Eddie. You’re not dead.” Your own words hit you deeply.

He was not dead.

He was alive.

He was alive, and awake, and talking - teasing you. Man’s first words after a three day coma made you blush.

“Hah. That was an almost. Thought I was a goner.” He coughed again, but showed you the palm of his hand when you dived to get the bottle of water again.

“You shouldn’t talk so much, Eddie. You’ve just woken up.” You looked back at the door. How did the guards not hear him waking up? And you talking to him? “I should call a doctor.”

His hand clasped around yours, still resting on his bed. “Please, no. Wait just a bit more. When they come in, you’ll go away.” He looked so sad for a second, his eyes pleading. “I don’t want you to go away. I need you for just a few more minutes. Please.”

He needed you.

You couldn’t say no.

So you adjusted yourself further in the chair, your elbows now resting upon your knees as you caressed his hand with your thumb. He closed his eyes and you were afraid he would lose his conscience again, but he let out a soft hum.

“This almost feels real. Must be all the drugs.” His words were dragging. That was definitely the drugs. But…

“Almost?” You asked. “Eddie, it’s real. I’m real.” His eyes opened again, meeting yours.

“Yeah, right. As if the universe would be that kind to me.” The smile on his lips now felt sad somehow. “I’ve dreamed of you enough times already, sweetheart. I can tell.”

He dreamed of you.

For fucks sake.

You were smiling now too, trying to make yourself clear as you repeated. “Than your telling kinda sucks, Eds, because I’m real.” You squeezed his hand harder, trying to prove it to him. “I’m right here.”

“You’re here?” His smile faltered and his voice trembled. “You’re really here? I’m not dreaming of you again?”

You felt a lump forming on your throat, but your smile wasn’t going anywhere. “Yeah, man, you’re not dreaming.”

“But, how… How did you know? Where? How?!” He was trying to ask, but his mind was probably so fogged he was making no sense. His heart rate was rising, worrying you.

“I swear I’ll explain it to you. But I should really call a doctor, Eds. You’ve been asleep for quite a while now.” He closed his eyes shut and held your hand tighter. “I’m not going anywhere this time. I promise.”

His eyes met yours again. So soft. So big. So beautiful. Hopeful. God, you’ve missed those eyes.

He nodded slowly, kinda uncertain, and you got up from the chair and calmly let go of his hand. You walked backwards to the door, never ending eye contact. He had a frown, still concerned you were going to disappear before his eyes at any minute now.

You introduced yourself. “That's my name, by the way.” He repeated it, savoring the sound of it on his tongue. The beep, beep, beep of the machines was faster now, his heartbeat faster once more.

You smiled at him one last time before stepping out of the room and asking the guards to call for a doctor. Wayne was sitting on the same bench as you were before, one of his hands holding a new bottle of water.

“He’s awake.” You simply told him. The heart-melting smile was a genetic feature, apparently.

115 notes · View notes

thelunarbar · 2 years

Text

So Few Come And Don’t Go

:Patience series part four:

In which: they receive their second placement and hard conversations are had.

Word count: 3506(it’s a long one)

TW: illusions to abuse. I can’t think of any others but if you see any let me know and I’ll be sure to tag them.

A/N: this came out way longer than expected. Also I feel like I’m lying to y’all bc I said this wasn’t gonna be super angsty and legit every part has been angsty. I don’t know where all the angst came from, but the story refuses to get as fluffy as I wanted it to. And the other parts I’ve got planned are also pretty angsty. Sorry. As always no beta we die like goose. And a fun fact for y’all I almost always misspell naval as navel which are in fact two very different things.

-/-/-/-

Ice is sitting at the table, hands folded, phone laying before him. He hasn’t been able to breathe properly since the call. The second his eyes meet Mav’s he deflates. Ice doesn’t know what Mav sees in his eyes, but he doesn’t seem to like it.

“Are you ok? You look like you might pass out.” Mav drops his keys on the table and steps around so he can place both hands on Ice’s cheeks. Ice grabs one of them and squeezes gently.

“They have another placement for us.” Ice finally tells him.

“Oh.”

“Her name’s Natasha. She’s fifteen and pregnant. No one will take her in. Not since she found out she was pregnant.”

“We will.” Mav says, voice firm. His heart breaks at the knowledge that no one wants to help this poor girl. Ice smiles at him.

“We will.” Ice agrees. “She’ll be here by dinner.”

“We need to go shopping!” Mav’s eyes light up and Ice gets that puddly feeling he’s come to associate with loving Mav. Mav tugs him from his chair, grabs his keys and pulls him toward the door.

“I love you.” Ice says. Mav stops to turn and look at him, study his face.

“I love you too.”

-/-/-/-

Mav goes a little crazy with the shopping, but Ice has no plans to stop him. They buy things for Natasha and a few things for her baby with plans of buying more.

The bedroom is still decorated from when they were expecting Josie so they take some time to adjust it for an older girl. The picture books and easy readers are carefully placed in boxes and shoved into the hall closet for a later date. They fill the shelves instead with some classics and a few of the current popular books for kids Natasha’s age as well Mav’s old record player and bin of vinyl.

They also purchased a selection of toiletries for her and a duffel bag, which was something that only occurred to them after Bob showed up with the saddest excuse of duffel bag either of them had ever seen.

Mav wishes he could do more to customize to Natasha’s likes, but that will have to wait until they get to know her.

At ten to five Ice starts prepping dinner, just a casserole and rolls, nothing fancy, but it’s still a homecooked meal.

Natasha and her social worker show up at five thirty. Natasha is carrying a black trash bag, holding it like she’s afraid they’ll take it from her. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail that does nothing to hide how matted it is. Her clothes are dirty, full of small holes and threadbare around the edges and her shirt is small enough that it does nothing to hide her small baby bump. She refuses to make eye contact with either of them.

Her social worker, Mira, smiles apologetically as she encourages Natasha to walk inside.

“Natasha these are the Kazanskys.” Mira says, resting her hand on Natasha’s shoulder. Mav doesn’t miss the way Natasha flinches at the contact.

“You can call me Tom.” Ice smiles and starts to offer her his hand, but stops when she doesn’t do more than glance up.

“I’m Pete.” Mav introduces himself. Natasha doesn’t say anything. “Why don’t I show you where you’ll be sleeping?” Mav suggests, smiling at her even though she has yet to look at him. She nods though and follows him up the stairs.

-/-/-/-

“Thank you so much for taking her in on such short notice. No one will take her now for fear she’ll be a bad influence in their kids and none of the in between houses have any space available.” Mira says, there are dark circles under her eyes.

“Of course.” Ice says giving her a smile. Mira starts rifling through the bag hanging off her arm. She pulls out a manila folder and offers it to him.

“That should have all the information you need, including all the info for her doctor.” Ice nods, flipping it open and scanning the first page.

“Thank you.” He tells her. She smiles, tired and sad.

“Mm. My number is in there. Feel free to call any time if you questions or . . . anything. I’ll check in in a few days.” With another tired smile she leaves.

-/-/-/-

Upstairs Natasha stands in the doorway to her bedroom, taking in all the details.

“Are-are you sure?” She asks, voice soft and tinged with fear. Mav understands and smiles in what he hopes is a reassuring way.

“Absolutely. We’ll take you clothes shopping at some point in the next couple days. And there’s a gift for you on the desk.” He nods at the large pastel gift bag covered in zoo animals and emblazoned with the words Oh Baby! Hesitantly Natasha steps into the room, trash bag still clutched in her hand. She shuffles over to the desk and carefully peers down into the gift bag. She gasps and let’s her bag drop to the floor beside her. She begins examining things from the bag, mostly neutral colored baby clothes, but there’s also a package of diapers, a soft yellow blanket and couple packages of gender neutral pacifiers.

“Wh-why?” She asks, turning to Mav, blanket held to her chest.

“Well, we figured you probably didn’t have anything for your baby, so we thought we’d at least help you get a start.” Her eyes are glassy with tears and Mav wants so badly to pull her into a hug, but he won’t initiate physical contact until she does.

“You-you didn’t have to do this.” She says, glancing back at the gift bag, guilt is written across her features and Mav hates it. “And you don’t need to take me clothes shopping.”

“We want to.” He promises. “We’re here to take care of you.” She holds the blanket a little tighter, “and that means helping you take care of your baby too.”

-/-/-/-

Natasha wants so desperately to believe him, but she’s not foolish enough to actually do it. A large part of her refuses to believe it isn’t some trick, that they won’t take it back later. It wouldn’t be the first time a foster family had done that to her.

She’ll hide it all later, when he leaves. It’s all she has for her baby and she needs it. It may very well be all she ever has and she can’t afford to have it taken away.

Pete shows her where the bathroom is and the linen closet and tells her she can take a shower before dinner if she wants. The idea of a shower does sound nice. She’s not sure when she had one last. Pete even offers her a clean t-shirt and a pair of sweats. He tells her to put her dirty clothes outside the door and he’ll wash them for her.

She takes a short, tepid, shower (afraid she’ll get in trouble for using hot water without permission) and gets dressed in the soft blue t-shirt that’s several sizes too big and slips off one shoulder, and the grey sweats that actually fit pretty well all things considered. There’s a comb on the counter and she hesitates for a minute before deciding there’s no way they could find out if she uses it so long as she cleans her hair out of it, and sets about trying to detangle her hair. When the comb’s teeth snap as she’s tugging at a particularly large knot she wants to cry. She collects up the broken teeth and the comb and leaves the bathroom.

In the hall she bumps into a small boy with dark hair and glasses. They stare at each other in silence, sizing each other up. He glances down at the broken comb clutched in her hand. She moves her hand behind her back and walks past him.

She knows from experience that punishment is likely to be less severe if she comes clean immediately. And if she comes clean herself before the boy says something.

She finds Pete and Tom in the kitchen. Tom is mixing a collection of things in a casserole pan and Pete is sitting on the counter, swinging his legs a little and and eating shredded cheese straight from the bag.

“Hey!” Pete smiles at her, “get the shower figured out? It can be kind of temperamental.” She nods and then holds out the broken comb. She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t meet his eyes. “Oh. Don’t worry about. We have more. They’re pretty cheap.” Pete looks at Tom. “We really should by a couple nicer combs. And a hairbrush.” Tom hums in agreement and throws the spoon he’d been using into the sink.

“You’re-you’re not mad?” She asks, so soft they barely catch it.

“Of course not. It’s a comb.” Tom says.

“But I used it without permission and then I broke it.” She says, finally making eye contact with Pete. Pete slides off the counter and steps closer to her, but still stays arms length away.

“I know how other people have reacted in situations like this, but I promise we will never be those people.” The sincerity in his eyes makes Natasha choke up. She blames it on her pregnancy. Stupid hormones.

-/-/-/-

Dinner is an unassuming affair for the most part. Natasha doesn’t move to fill her own plate and Mav doubts she will so he serves her and fills her glass. She looks afraid to touch it, like she thinks it’s all a trick.

“You should eat that while it’s still warm.” He tells her. She glances at him and then at her food before picking up her fork. After the first bite she shovels the food in faster than Mav or Ice would’ve expected. When her plate is clean she stares at the casserole dish longingly.

“Would you like more?” Ice asks, moving to grab the serving spoon. She nods hesitantly and slides her plate closer to him. While she resumes eating like it’ll be her last meal Ice turns worried eyes on Mav. Mav just mouths later.

Ice and Mav try to make conversation with her, but when it becomes clear she doesn’t want to talk they move to talking about school with Bob.

After dinner is consumed and the dishes clean Ice settles in his overstuffed brown leather rocker/recliner and Mav drops into his lap. Mav picks up their battered copy of East of Eden and starts to read. Bob sits on one end of the couch and begins working a beginner model plane. Natasha sits on the other end of the couch, arms wrapped around herself and listens until she eventually falls asleep.

Ice gingerly carries her up to bed and tucks her while Mav gets Bob settled then the two of them meet in their bedroom.

-/-/-/-

Mav wakes around two am. A nightmare this time, and he pads downstairs to make himself a cup of tea.

He’s sitting at the table, hands wrapped around his mug, waiting for his tea to steep when Natasha rounds the corner. She stops, eyes wide, looking very much akin to a deer in the headlights.

“I-I just wanted a glass of water.” She says.

“Oh. Yeah, sure. D’you want some hot chocolate?” She looks uncertain, but nods after several seconds. Mav smiles and stands to make her a cup of hot chocolate. And Mav makes real hot chocolate. None of that prepackaged crap that barely tastes like chocolate.

He places the mug on the table across from his own before sitting down. She joins him, placing her glass of water beside her mug. They sit in silence for a few minutes, until Mav decides to break the ice.

“My dad died when I was seven.” He starts. She looks up at him, confusion written across her features, “And my mom died less than a year later. I spent the next eight and a half years bouncing around foster homes until I landed with the Bradshaws. I lived with them until I joined the Navy. They were so good to me. Better than any other foster family I had. It was the first time that the word family actually meant something to me.” He’s getting sentimental as he gets older. Just mentioning the Bradshaws makes him get misty eyed. Memories of Nick flood his mind. He sips his tea and watches as Natasha tentatively lifted her mug a took a sip, eyes going wide as she tips the mug a little more. She licks her lips and gazes down into the mug. “Tom and I want to be those people for kids like you and Bob. Whether you’re here for a week or a year. We want to be a family you remember fondly. I know how often foster families are unkind and downright mean. We want to take care of you, Natasha. While you’re staying with us we want to love you like you’re our daughter.”

Natasha doesn’t say anything, just keeps her gaze on her mug. She sniffs and wipes her nose on the back of her hand.

“I promise,” Mav says, holding her gaze so she can see how serious he is, “while you’re in our care no one is going to hurt you. And if anyone tries Ice and I will kick their asses for you.”

“Ice?” She asks. Not what Mav was expecting. He smiles.

“Short for Iceman. It’s his callsign.” When she still looks confused he continues. “We’re naval aviators.” She nods slowly before taking another long drink of her hot chocolate. “And whenever you need someone to listen or a shoulder to cry on I’m always here. And so is Ice. He doesn’t understand quite the way I do, but he’ll listen and try his best to help.”

-/-/-/-

“Can I make a phonecall?” She asks the next morning. Ice has just left to take Bob to school so it’s only her and Mav.

“Of course.” He hands her the landline. She watches him as she walks toward the living room and when he doesn’t stop her disappears down the hall. When she comes back it’s obvious she’s been crying and she proceeds to spend the rest of the day in her room.

-/-/-/-

The next morning she sleeps in which Mav thinks will probably do her some good. He has errands to run, but Ice has taken Bob to school and Mav doesn’t want to leave her alone without telling her.

He putters. Does some housework, writes out a grocery list and a list for the hardware store. The phone rings and if he’s honest he doesn’t know who he’s expecting, but certainly not the automated female voice on the other end,

“Will you accept a collect call from Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility?”

Curiosity gets the better of him and he accepts.

“Nat? Sweetheart?” It’s a man voice, an older man if Mav’s guess is correct, “I’m sorry. Really I am.”

“Uh, I’m sorry, Natasha can’t come to the phone right now.” He replies.

“The fuck are you?” The man asks.

“I’m her foster father.” The man hums, but doesn’t say anything. “Who am I speaking to?”

“Nat’s father. Just tell her I’m sorry. And I’d really like to talk to her again.” There’s a click and the line goes dead. Mav’s head is reeling. How the hell did Natasha’s dad get their home phone number? As soon as the question forms the rational side of his brain reminds him that she made a call the day before. The second question he has remains unanswered, what did her dad do that wind up in prison? Mav hates mysteries.

-/-/-/-

It takes her about a week to settle into their routine. She still doesn’t really speak unless it’s absolutely unavoidable, but she’s willing to make eye contact with Mav and that’s a good first step.

And then after dinner Friday night things get . . . interesting. Bradley shows up for the first time since Ice kicked him out. Ice is the one to answer the door and he almost doesn’t let Bradley in the house. But Mav grabs his arm gently and tells him it’s ok. Ice narrows his eyes at Bradley, but nods and let’s him in. Mav can’t help but roll his eyes at Ice’s antics.

“Give us a minute?” Mav asks. Ice looks ready to protest, but a stern look from Mav has him heading up the stairs. It’s clear Bradley has been drinking, he’s swaying and his eyes are a bit glassy.

“Mav, I-shit. Don’t even know what to say.” Bradley has the decency to look embarrassed. “‘M sorry. For all the shit I said to you the last time was here. Was uncalled for and I-you didn’t deserve that. You always try to do what’s best and sometimes you fuck up, but you try and that’s gotta matter more, right?” His speech is a little slurred, but Mav is fairly certain he isn’t actually drunk, just tipsy. “I’ve, uh, I’ve been trying to get my shit together and I think I’ve had some sense knocked into me,” he grimaces and Mav has a sneaking suspicion he’s talking about his conversation with Ice, “‘m still kinda pissed you pulled my papers, but I think I understand more why you did it and ‘m trying really hard to move past it. ‘M sorry I pushed you away and I-I’ve missed you Mav. I can’t stand feeling like this anymore. I hate who’ve been while holding this grudge against you and I can’t-I don’t-”

Mav pulls him into a hug, holding him as tight as he can. Bradley begins to cry and Mav has to blink back tears of his own.

“God, I’ve missed you too, kid.” Mav tells him, one hand pressed the back his head, the other rubbing circles on his back.

They end up on the couch, talking, apologizing, crying(not that they’d ever admit it) and finding the foundation to rebuild their relationship.

It’s late by the time they’re conversation turns to more mundane and boring topics and Bradley is starting to yawn consistently. Mav invites him to stay the night and goes to find a pillow and some blankets. It doesn’t even occur to him that he’d head up what used be the guest room, until he hears Natasha scream, followed Bradley yelping and a door slamming.

Mav runs up the stairs, well, walks as fast as he can. Bradley is staring at Natasha’s door while rubbing his chest. There’s a large hard back book on the floor at his feet.

“Sorry, rooms are all taken. You’re gonna have to bunk on the couch.” Mav shoves the pillow and blankets into his hands.

“The fuck’s goin’ on out here?” Ice asks, voice heavy with sleep, hair flattened on one side.

“Nothing, baby, go back to bed. I’ll be there soon.” Ice stares at him, eyes narrows for several seconds before turning and shuffling back into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Mav sends Bradley back downstairs and then knocks gently on Natasha’s door.

“Natasha?” He says, just loud enough he knows she can hear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize he’d come up here.” The door opens a crack and she peers out at him, terrified eyes looking up at him.

“Who was that?” She asks softly, voice trembling. Mav feels awful that Bradley scared her so bad.

“Bradley. My godson. He’s spending the night. He’s not used the guest rooms being occupied. He didn’t know you were in there.” Mav tells her. “Did you throw a book at him?” He asks, picking up the copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

“Didn’t know who it was.” She glances down and can’t be certain because of how dim the hallway is, but he thinks she’s blushing. “Sorry.”

“Hey, no, none of that. You have every right to defend yourself against strange men coming into your space. And he won’t hold it against you. In fact I promise he’s gonna feel really awful about this in the morning.” Mav smiles in what he hopes is a reassuring way. “If you feel unsafe you can always lock the door if you want.” She nods. “Are you ok?”

“Mmhm. Gonna go back to bed now.”

“Sure. Night, Tasha.” She nods and meets his eyes for a second before closing the door. Baby steps.

Mav runs back down to check on Bradley and is unsurprised to find him conked out on the couch, snoring like a freight train. Mav smiles and shakes his head before flicking off the living room light and going to bed himself.

His life certainly isn’t boring, even if he is retired. In fact it’s probably good he is retired. If he was dealing with the excitement of being active duty as well as taking care of all the kids he’s pretty sure he’d have an aneurysm. He misses flying, but for this? For his kids? Totally worth it.

-/-/-/-

Taglist! Lmk if you’d liked to be added for future updates.

@pollyna

#top gun #top gun maverick #pete maverick mitchell #bradley rooster bradshaw #tom iceman kazansky #robert bob floyd #natasha phoenix trace #angst #mine mine mine #rie writes #patience series #anyone wanna make any guesses who’ll show up next???#also I apologize I don’t think I did real well with Mav and Bradley reconciling but idk #I might do some editing later and clean it up a bit #maybe #we’ll see #icemav #this was actually the first part of this series I wrote #so it’s been sitting in my drafts unfinished for awhile now

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