#but it wasn’t a great trip for me personally for loaded reasons | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

calicozmbie · 8 months

Note

Hi! First of I wanted to say I loved your social media blurbs! If you can could you do a social media blurb or a one shot of y/n at Harry’s finale show with Gemma and Anne and you get engaged at the end :)

Notes: Heyy, thank you so much! Of course I can, I wasn’t too sure if you wanted the engagement to be publicised or in private so I did private. Also I apologise for posting this so late! And, don’t forget my requests are open so if anyone wants something wrote, send one!

Thanks for the request! ❤︎︎

ENGAGED

Pairing: Harry Styles x fem!reader

Summary: It’s the final show and Harry has been extremely nervous for this particular night, but not for the reason you think.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟

It’s the final show, and you’re stood here with Anne’s and Gemmas arms wrapped around you as Harry plays his piano Ballard . Your eyes a filled with adoration, tears threatening to fall. It gives you a moment to reminisce on the most special moments you’ve shared together. The best moments.

June 2009, the revelation

“Harry!” You squeal out, running towards his open arms. Them wrapping around your waist, lifting you into the air with a spin. He places you down gently with a soft smile.

“How’ve you been doin’?” He asks, you smile brightly.

“I’ve been great! I’m glad you’re back though, I got lonely.” You let out a nervous laugh, he laughs along with you—making you feel slightly less nervous. “How was the trip? Did you see any cool sights?” You ramble, he gestures you to slow down and your cheeks heat up.

“I saw loads! It was awesome.” He beams, before his face becomes serious. “I’ll tell you all ‘bout it, but I want to speak to you about somethin’ yeah?” Your brows furrow and you give him a look of confusion, you lead him to your room where it’s more private.

“Soo..what’s up?” You sit crossed legged on the bed, him eventually joining you with a shaky breath.

“I need to tell ‘ye something but I don’t want you to freak out,” Harry explains, eyes avoiding you until you softly grab his hand with a reassuring look.

“I promise I won’t freak out, you can tell me anything.” Your voice is soft, calming and gives Harry a familiar feeling once he hears it. He’s nods, exhaling loudly before looking you in the eyes with a nervous look.

“I like..you. I have for a few years, y/n, I’ve liked you for so long. I mean, what’s not to like? You’re smart, pretty, funny and your personality..if I start now I don’t think I’ll ever stop.” He breathes out, a slight smile on the corner of his mouth. “You don’t have to say that you like me back..I mean how could yo-“

You cut him off with a small peck on his lips, pulling away and both of your cheeks are bright red. “I like you too Harry, a lot.” You giggle, he lets out a sigh of relief and leans in to place another kiss on your lips.

“I don’t want this t’a sound too cliché but do you wanna..I dunno, go out with me?” He speaks, looking at you hopefully with his dough eyes that you could just stare at all day. You nod, smiling widely which is immediately mirrored on his face.

“How could I ever say no to that question?”

July 2014, the promise

“Okay..you’re worrying me. What’s going on?” You ask with a light laugh, though a frown settles on your features. Harry is currently dragging you by the hand down a dimly lit path to the ‘beach’ near your house. You reach the end where he sighs, dropping your hand as you feel the now cold feeling in your hand. “You okay baby?”

“I love you, so much y/n. I always have and I want you to have something to show you that I promise to always love you. That I promise no matter what, I’ll always love you and be by your side.” Harry says, tone full of love and honesty making your heart flutter. Butterfly’s fill your stomach as he pulls out a small box.

He chuckles lightly, “don’t worry, I’m not proposing just yet but this is a promise that one day I will.” Your heart warms, smiling at him softly before letting out a small gasp when he opens the box to reveal a gold, flower engraved ring.

“Oh..Harry it’s beautiful.” You gasp out, looking at him with wide eyes.

“It’s a promise ring, I promise everything to you y/n. I’ll never leave your side, not once.” He takes it out and holds it at your finger, giving you a look which you understand in a second. You nod quickly, smiling widely as he places it on your hand and squealing as you jump into his arms.

“I love you, so much.” You whisper whole-heartedly.

August 2021, the surprise

“Oh! Harry where are we going?” You giggle out, following him inside one of your houses together. It’s dark, the dim light reflection from the moon settles in the living room—you gasp out when you see a box full of animal toys and a few other accessories. “What..what is this?”

He gives you a lazy smirk, walking to the side for a moment to grab a cardboard box. You furrow your brows trying to take a peak at the box but he laughs a hides it away, until you hear a small sound emit from the box.

“Harry..you didn’t,” you gasp out in shock, awe and just a mix of many different feelings.

He nods, placing the box down in the wooden floor and he’s about to open it but a small paw peaks out—followed by a quiet ‘meow’ as a little kitten struggles to climb out of the box. “Surprise lovie.”

You let out a breath, getting down onto your knees and opening the lid and immediately tearing up at the sight of the animal. “Oh my god! You’re so precious..hi sweetheart!” You say softly, taking the kitten out. “Is it a girl?” He nods and you smile widely, cooing as she leans into your touch.

You stand up after placing her down, watching as she waddles around the new area with a curious sniff. You smile at Harry lovingly, his arms coming to wraps themselves around your shoulders—love and adoration shared within the room. He kisses you softly, smiling into it. “Do ‘ye like her?” He asks with his soft eyes.

“I love her..just as I love you.” Your hand caresses your boyfriends cheek and he smiles widely.

“I love you too y/n.”

Present time

You’re so caught up in your own thoughts you haven’t realised the shows over, until a security guards hand is guiding you backstage where Harry is waiting patiently for all of you.

“Oh..he did so well, I’m so proud of him.” Anne says, still in shock with tears rolling down her cheeks. You smile at her softly, stroking her hand as Gemma holds one of your own.

“We all are,” Gemma says wholeheartedly, eyes also glistening. You look forward with awaiting eyes when the three of you stand together backstage. Harry emits slowly, his face still damp with tears from one of the greatest moments of his life, but he still looks nervous?

Anne let’s out a sob-laugh before jogging into his open arms, he kisses his face repeatedly as he laughs lightly. “Oh my boy I’m so, so proud of you!” He’s out of his outfit now, dressed slightly more fancy in black slacks and a white button up; the top few buttons undone to reveal his chest.

Why hasn’t he changed into his regular comfy clothes?

“Thanks mum.” He breathes out in the midst of her tight hold, Gemma soon joins the hug and you grin at the family. His eyes meet yours over their shoulders and they tell you everything you need to know, they pull themselves away so you’re able to run into his arms with a happy sigh. “Hi lovie.”

“Hi baby, you did so well out there—I’m so proud of you.” You whisper into his neck, pulling away so you’re able to angle your neck just right to give him a small kiss.

“Thank you..will you take a walk with me?” He asks, a shaky breath following his words, which makes you frown with concern. You nod, stealing a glance at his family and friends who all have a knowing look on their face.

After walking for at least twenty minutes, security with you for the most part as they have only just finished the show, you reach a small secluded path that’s lit up with multiple candles and fairy lights. The hue of the sunset is hitting his face perfectly, making him look like an Angel in disguise.

You giggle softly, Harry’s arm tightening on you when you almost trip over, “Harry, where are we going?” Though he doesn’t answer, you gasp out-loud when you reach the end. Flower petals lining the floor, a few pictures of you both from all the moments you’ve had together decorating the railing. “Oh..this is, Harry what is this?”

You then turn around expecting him to be stood there where he was but you get a whole different view. He’s kneeling..on one knee.

Your hands come up to cup your mouth in shock, unable to say anything when he reaches into his back pocket and pulling out a small black, velvet box.

“Y/n L/n..I love you so much I can’t put it into words, if I even just began to talk about how much you mean to me and what makes you, you..then we’d be here forever,” he speaks with a shaky breath and looks down quickly with a light laugh before looking back up to you—his eyes glistening along with yours.

“I really don’t know what I’d do without you, I don’t think I’d be able to survive without you,” he pauses for a moment, anxiety still clear in his movements, “will..will you marry me?”

You suck in a deep breath, tears falling as you stutter out words. Looking into his hopeful eyes full of love you nod slowly, humming, “yes, yes of course I will!” A breathy laugh, tears and a small squeal coming from you when he gently slides the ring onto your finger. You jump into his arms, both of you whispering small affirmations to each other.

“Y/n Styles..has a ring to it right?” He says breathily after placing you back onto your feet, a lazy grin on his lips. You nod, kissing him deeply which he quickly responds to. “I love ‘ye, so much.”

“I love you too, Mr styles.”

—

#fanfic #harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles blurb #harry styles fanfic rec #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagines #harry styles one shot #harrystyles x reader #oneshot #harry styles concept #engaged #imagine #harry styles x you

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makethiscanon · 1 year

Text

SnowFall: Krel & Fem!Reader [Part 1]

'Krel wanted to stay home, but his ski trip turns out to be far more interesting than he'd ever thought it could be.'

Rating: G

Word Count: 900

Warning: none

Tags: General Fic, Plot Focused, First Meetings, Friendship, gotta squint to see any romance, Third Person, Winter, Skiing, Canon Typical Violence.

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“Ay-yi-yi,” grumbled Krel.

The grandeur of the ski resort’s lobby was lost on him when he categorically did not want to be there. “It is bad enough you drag me away from Mother. I should not have to see … that.”

He pointed at Aja and Steve accusingly. They were currently wrapped in each other’s arms over by the check-in counter, ignoring everything around them in favour of mashing their faces together. Varvatos shook his head, his booming voice at odds with his stout, geezer body.

“Varvatos promised the king and queen he would protect you both. He cannot do that if you are apart.”

Krel scoffed.

“You could have said no to this trip.”

“The queen-in-waiting assured me her ski-resort tickets were none-refundable.”

Krel waited for the rest of it. He couldn’t believe that was the reason they were here. But nothing came. He watched Varvatos turn to the check-in counter, slamming his wrinkled hand on the desk to demand the clerk do his job quicker. Then Krel’s gaze fell back to the lovebirds.

It wasn’t long before he was sure he would puke.

“Great Gaylen, this is ridiculous.”

Refusing to watch any more of the mushy spectacle, Krel turned to walk away, but fell into someone immediately. He stumbled, but she stumbled harder. She looked ready to fall over, but managed to catch her footing and only lost her chunky headphones instead. They clattered to the parquet flooring with a heavy thwu-tu-tunk.

“Sorry,” said Krel hurriedly, though he held Aja and the blonde oaf responsible. He picked up her headphones, held them out as if to hand them back, but paused when he heard the song playing out of them. “Hey! I know that music. You like Tiësto?”

He was surprised to find someone on his musical wave-length. But instead of reciprocating, the girl looked wide-eyed nervous. She nodded, but took the headphones from him then dashed off as quickly as she had come.

Krel watched her go, raising a puzzled eyebrow.

“Smooth move, buttsnack.” Said Steve, his voice dripping with its usual cockiness. Of course. The only reason he would break away from Aja’s face for a few seconds would be to interject his unwanted opinion.

“My movements are always smooth, thank you.”

After checking in, the quartet retired to their room on the tenth and highest floor. It was a room more akin to an apartment. Originally, Steve had booked a double just for him and Aja, but Varvatos had insisted on upgrading to one large room. He insisted everyone be within rescuing distance should the moment arise. It had left the clerks with very little choice but to put them in the penthouse, equipped with three bedrooms, a lounge, kitchenette, and cushy balcony hot tub. Krel’s digitally-adept fingers had made swift work of the resort’s membership cards, loading one with enough points to pay for the entire trip upfront.

“If I must be dragged away from fixing Mother, I should at least be comfortable.” He said, flopping down onto one of the large, sunken couches surrounding their personal fire-pit. Aja was over by the floor-length windows, looking out at the grand, snowy mountain peaks.

“So lively.” She cooed. She could see people on the hills, zipping down them on poles attached to their feet. “I want to try that.”

Steve came up alongside her, slipping his arm around her waist.

“That’s why we’re here, babe. We’re going skiing tomorrow.”

“Glorious!” Bellowed Varvatos, his hulking Akiridion body pressing up against the glass next to them. “We shall battle these who-mans on their powdered-water terrain. Varvatos imagines he is even more terrifying speeding towards his enemies on pointed sticks.”

The others laughed, hardly willing to tell him that skiing was not a contact sport.

The next morning, two of the Akiridions eagerly transducted into their human guises, while the third had to be bullied into it by his sister.

“I upgraded your serrators so you could go out whenever, and this is the thanks I get?” Complained Krel, shifting into his human form after Aja’s endless pestering. “Go without me! I have no desire to be cold or wet on some hill.”

“Please, little brother.” Aja begged, already wrapping up in thermal gear on the couch. “It will not be the same without you.” She paused to punctuate her point. “You need a break from duty, too.”

Krel knew she was right, in essence. But his idea of a break was something separate from the outdoor escapade she clearly wanted. But when she looked at him like that, he could hear his mama and papa telling him that all they had was each other. And with a sigh, he caved in.

“Fine. It should be no harder than riding your hoverboard.”

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PART 2: [Click here]

[WRITING MASTERLIST]

#tales of arcadia #toa #krel #tarron #x reader #friendship #imagines #x you #x yn #Christmas #Winter #Aja #varvatos #steve palchuk #skiing #snowfall #arcadia #3below #trollhunters #MTCfics

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auspicious-manner · 2 years

Note

Hi,can you write promt "sharing a bed" for mike faist x reader?

mike faist my beloved <3 i absolutely love newsies era mike so i used that for this story!

female reader x mike faist

warnings: none

Up All Night

•

being on broadway was always a dream of Y/N’s. for her, when she landed the original role of katherine in the production of newsies at the papermill playhouse, she was beyond excited. she knew that the musical was good enough to make it to broadway.

what she didn’t expect, however, was to make lifelong friends along the way. she grew particularly close to jeremy jordan, who played opposite her every night in the show as jack kelly. they became fast friends, and he made every show better for her with his humor and poise.

along with making some great friends, there were also those that she wasn’t fond of in the cast. for whatever reason, Y/N never quite clicked with mike faist, who understudied jack kelly.

she wasn’t completely sure why they never clicked. maybe it was their personalities, maybe it was their attitudes, but regardless, the two did not care for each other.

after newsies made it to broadway and the show grew insanely popular, they would do guest performances on tv shows, in parks, and other places to promote the show. Y/N loved traveling to different places around the country with her newsie boys, she never knew what to expect with them by her side.

however, one day, the crew was scheduled last minute to fly out to the mall of america for a few performances, interviews, and meet and greets. little did Y/N know, it would end up being her worst nightmare.

after their last show before they all headed off to minnesota, Y/N approached jeremy in his dressing room. “hey jer, you excited for mall of america? i heard they have rollercoasters there, and i can’t wait to try them all out.” Y/N excitedly told jeremy.

“Y/N, i’m not going.”

her face fell. “wait, what? why? who’s going to play opposite me during ‘watch what happens’ and ‘seize the day?’”

jeremy sighed, and gave Y/N a look. she knew exactly what that dreaded look meant.

“oh no, no you can’t be serious. jeremy, you know i don’t like him!” Y/N said, getting more upset by the second.

“i know, Y/N, believe me. but this is probably good for you,” jeremy started, trying to calm her down. “the audience’s response and the reviews of critics go down when you and mike are on stage together. why? because there is no chemistry. have you two even had one real conversation?”

Y/N avoided eye contact with him. “umm…no. not really.”

jeremy smiled. “exactly. take this as an opportunity to get to know the guy and who knows, maybe you’ll work out your differences.” he said before turning to his mirror in his dressing room to begin taking his stage makeup off.

“fine. i’ll only put up with it for you, though.” she replied back with a smile, patting jeremy on the shoulder.

“that’s what i like to hear. now go pack your things for the trip.” jeremy said, lightly shoving Y/N towards the door.

all of the boys and her were to pack their things, load onto a charter bus to the airport, and fly in to minnesota. since they were leaving after their night show, they wouldn’t even get to their hotel until about one o’clock in the morning.

Y/N changed out of her katherine costume and threw on plain sweatpants, a t-shirt, and sandals. she had packed her things before she got to the theater, and she grabbed all of her suitcases from her dressing room and walked towards the front doors of the theater.

“hey, Y/N,” a voice called from behind her. she turned around to see ben fankhauser, who plays davey.

she was close with ben, too. him and jeremy were her go-to’s for anything she needed.

“hey ben, what’s up?” she asked as he walked over to her.

he came in close, and spoke quietly. “just so you’re warned, the cast has a plan to keep you and mike together for the entire trip.”

Y/N turned to ben. “ben, what the hell!” she whined.

“i know, i know, i’m sorry, but i thought it would be better to tell you now than have it be a surprise.”

Y/N took a deep breath. “i appreciate you telling me. can i at least share a room with you?”

ben cringed a bit. “well, actually…”

“now i have to share a room with him?!”

“yes, you do, i’m sorry!” ben exclaimed. “but at least you’ll have separate beds.”

she groaned. “this is going to be a long trip.”

ben gave her a pity laugh. “you’ll survive. it’s only for two days.”

“the longest two days of my life.”

as the bus was being loaded and everyone decided who their seat partners were going to be, Y/N stood and watched as the other newsies had conversations with their seat mate. she just happened to look over and see mike walking slowly towards her.

“hey.” he said.

“hi.”

the two went dead silent.

“i don’t want to sit next to you.” Y/N said.

mike scoffed. “i’m not thrilled about sitting next to you either.”

“can we both mutually agree to talk the least amount possible to each other for the next few days?” Y/N asked.

mike was quick to answer. “yes please.”

she nodded and followed the rest of the boys to the bus as everyone found their seats. Y/N took the window seat, and mike tiredly sat down next to her.

she reached into her purse and pulled out her earbuds to listen to some music and hopefully sleep before they got to the airport.

Y/N rested her elbow down on the arm rest just as mike was doing the same thing.

“my elbow was here first, mike.” Y/N said sternly.

“no, mine was.” mike fought back.

the two argued back and forth before ben turned around from the seat in front of them. “will you two shut up? people on this bus are trying to sleep.”

Y/N harshly glared at mike. “tell him to shut up! my elbow was there first.” she whisper-yelled.

“how many times do i have to say it? mine was!”

“oh my god, you’re insufferable.” Y/N laughed, exhausted from arguing.

“so are you.” mike replied back, turning his body as far away from her as he could.

they stayed quiet for the rest of the ride to the airport. and the whole way through the airport, they were quiet as well.

Y/N and mike both managed to get some sleep on the long three hour plane ride, and after arriving in minneapolis and taking another bus to the hotel, the two finally shared words.

“here is the key to your room!” the front desk worker said to the pair. mike said a quick “thank you” before they found the floor the newsies were all staying on.

they found their room and mike unlocked the door, and after swinging it open, both of their jaws fell to the floor.

“no way.” mike whispered under his breath.

walking into the room, the worst thing imaginable happened: there was only one bed.

“this can’t be happening.” Y/N exclaimed.

“don’t worry, i’m going to go talk to the front desk. this had to be a mistake. maybe they can get us separate rooms.”

Y/N waited for mike to come back, and when he did come back, he stormed into the room.

“they said this is the room that was booked for us, and they cant get us separate rooms because everything else is booked.”

“can’t you go share a room with one of the guys?”

mike shot her a glance. “you don’t think i tried asking already? everyone else has either said they don’t have room for me or they haven’t replied because they’re already sleeping. we’re stuck here.”

Y/N sighed. she hesitated before saying something, and then she went quiet. “i’ll give you the bed. i got a lot of sleep between the bus ride and the plane ride, so i’m not even tired. i’ll just take a pillow and one of the blankets and go sleep in the bathtub or something.”

he took a deep breath in. “truth be told, i’m not all that tired either. i slept almost the entire plane ride.” mike said back, his anger gone.

“so…what should we do?”

mike shrugged. “not sure.”

Y/N sat on the bed and looked down at her hands, scared for what she was going to say next. “we could, i don’t know, talk?”

mike showed a glimpse of a smile. “that’s not something i thought i’d ever hear you say.”

“me neither.”

she moved so her back was against the wall, and mike sat on the bed across from her. “what should we talk about?”

“anything, i guess.” she replied back.

“we could start with actually getting to know each other?”

Y/N nodded. “sounds good to me.”

“how old are you? i’m just now realizing that i don’t even know.” mike asked her.

“i’m twenty. you?”

mike smiled. “me too. i didn’t know we were the same age.”

“i’ll ask a question. how did you get into show business?” Y/N said.

“i danced in ohio growing up, and i did local theater productions. after high school i moved to new york, followed my dreams, and here i am now.” mike explained. “it definitely was not easy. before newsies i was living out of my car.”

“that’s actually pretty similar to my story. i danced recreationally until high school when i started to explore acting and singing, and last minute i applied to some arts schools out in new york, and when i got in to one, i moved there.”

mike paused for a short moment. “why did we dislike each other from the second we met?”

Y/N bit the inside of her lip. “i thought you hated me, so i hated you.”

mike looked at her, shocked. “i thought you were the one that hated me, so i hated you in return.”

Y/N couldn’t help but laugh, and when she did, mike did too.

“i was always so confused as to why you ‘hated’ me out of all people,” Y/N started. “i saw how nice and fun and well-respected you were with everyone else in the cast, and i felt a little left out because i assumed you didn’t like me.”

mike shook his head. “no, not at all. i thought you were too entitled to speak to me, so i just never spoke to you.”

“i’ll ignore the fact that you thought i was entitled.” she said with a laugh.

“who would have thought that one simple conversation could have ended our feud?” mike asked.

the two talked for hours into the night, about anything and everything. they had an early rehearsal and had to be awake by seven o’clock, and it was already three in the morning by the time the conversation died down.

Y/N let out a yawn. mike frowned, and said, “oh no, don’t tell me you’re getting tired.”

dazed, she looked at him and just nodded. mike let out a sigh. “our conversations were just getting good!”

Y/N yawned again, and grabbed a pillow and the comforter off the bed. “i know, i’m sorry. but at this rate, we’re only going to be getting four hours of sleep and we have a big performance tomorrow.”

she started walking to the bathroom, and before closing the door, she placed her pillow and blanket in the bathtub. “goodnight, mike.”

“wait, Y/N, you’re not actually sleeping in the tub, right?”

“i mean, i was going to.”

mike shook his head. “you don’t need to do that, i’ll take the tub.” he said, standing up.

“what if we both share the bed?” Y/N asked quickly before she could stop herself from saying it.

mike stopped. “are you sure?”

“i’m okay with it if you are. we can obviously have our own separate sides of the bed so nothing, uh, happens during the night.”

“oh yeah, of course, separate sides.” mike thought about the idea. “okay, that’s fine.”

Y/N took the pillow and blanket out from the tub and put it back on the bed. they both got under the covers and Y/N reached over and turned the lamp off.

“goodnight Y/N.”

she smiled lightly. “goodnight mike.”

as she tried drifting off to sleep, mike rolled over and accidentally kicked her, but didn’t move his leg.

“mike.” she whispered. when he didn’t answer, she said his name louder. “mike!”

“what?” mike whispered back.

“you kicked me, and now your foot is on my side of the bed.”

“oh, sorry.” he moved his leg and rolled over.

just as she was about to drift off once again, she immediately got cold and pulled the covers over her.

“Y/N.” mike whispered.

“ugh, what now?” she said back.

“you stole my covers.”

she looked over her shoulder and saw mike without any blankets over him, as they were all on her side.

“my bad, here you go.” she whispered, giving him some of the covers back.

the rest of the night, incidents like that kept happening, and they had to keep waking each other up to get the problems resolved. overall, they probably got two and a half hours of sleep.

promptly at seven, the two woke up, greeted each other, and went down to the lobby where breakfast was being served and they met up with the rest of the boys.

they sat down at a table with ben and tommy. “mike, i can tell you’re a dancer because holy crap, you kick in your sleep, like, really bad.”

“don’t you even talk about that. you stole my covers all night, and the more i tried to take them from you, the harder you held on to them. i was freezing my ass off the whole night!” mike said, laughing.

“i’m going to have bruises all over my legs from you and your long praying mantis legs.” Y/N said, trying her hardest not to laugh.

mike laughed harder. “praying mantis legs, huh? well, i have a lot of skin to cover due to my long praying mantis legs and guess what? i couldn’t cover up because you had all the blankets.” mike said, pointing his finger at her.

Y/N erupted into laughter, causing the rest of the newsie boys to look at them in awe.

ben took a sip of his tea and watched their conversations unfold. “well, looks like our plan worked.”

#mike faist #newsies #newsies imagine #jack kelly #jeremy jordan #mike faist imagine #mike faist fanfiction #mike faist x reader #newsies x reader

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blissfulalchemist · 2 years

Text

20 OC Questions!

Thank you @florbelles for wanting a full clear and being patient with me as I took my time with it! I have answers for both her main universe and the new Final Fantasy AU Carly!

💀 Has your OC ever lost anyone to death? Multiple people? People close to them? How does the loss make them feel?

Main universe Carly has lost a lover to the second world war while still human. This was a devastating blow to her as this man was her way out once the war was over. Joining up and being a part of the USO for entertainment was her first step in getting out of her mother’s abuse but had she ever gone back she’d be roped in and most likely forced to marry the first person her mother found, had the man come back they’d have been married in Europe, so that even when going back to the states her mother wouldn’t have a hold on her any more. She’d be free. The other person she lost while human was Stasia. Or at least thought she lost her as Stasia simply was reverted back to a human from her vampiric state. It was this event that prompted Carly to become a vampire so she could be the one to protect Stasia as she couldn’t to the same degree she once did and there was no hope of her ever turning back to her original state.

When it came to her being a vampire she lost people that she knew over the years as they aged and many she didn’t care for, save for her brother who also suffered in his own way with their parents, she took care of him in his older days and his children there after.

[Spoilers for various parts of Final Fantasy 14 below the cut]

In the Final Fantasy AU Carly has once again only majorly lost her love, person of her affection, one of the reasons for living Zenos. The first time this happens she’s already worked with Stasia on a plan to bring him back from the dead because how dare that be his ending. However unknowingly his body was commandeered by Elidibus. Carly went in search of just what happened to his soul and found him once again to help him gain control of his own body once more. She loses this man once again after his battle with the Warrior of Light at the end of the universe and by this point he did push her away in an attempt to keep her alive so she may continue on with her life to find fulfillment. This is a no go for Carly and as a backup just in case she couldn’t be there, she placed a soul crystal on the WoL to collect him once perishing and is waiting for the day she can make the trip out to either get his body or finding him a new one he would be satisfied with.

🙏 Is your OC religious in any way? Why or why not? Do they have other beliefs that govern them in any way?

Carly was never religious. She went when required by her mother but this act stopped once the great depression hit and they lost everything.

FF: Also not religious or having much of a belief in anything other than people are all the same and it pays to be the strongest.

💍 Does your OC have a specific item that is priceless to them but may (or may not) be completely worthless to someone else? Is there a story behind this item or is it just because they like it so much?

Even as a human Carly wasn’t very sentimental, which can be traced back to the fact that she grew up in a time where anything she valued was taken from her and most likely sold off to prevent them from having to eat with those homeless people.

FF: She does hold onto the first weapon bestowed upon her by Zenos once he saw her worth and prowess. While it never became her main weapon of choice in battle she still carries it with her, saving it for the right opponents (ie the WoL).

☄️ Does your OC believe in fate and destiny or do they think it’s a load of garbage? Would they ever get this fortune told? What would a fortune-teller tell them about their future?

Carly doesn’t believe in it really but she likes the phrase and takes a grain of it in her crossing paths with Stasia. In any universe she sees this alone being an act of destiny for them to meet and then everything after that is by her own actions and determination to make it happen. They prefer to not get their fortunes told if it's going to be bad or call her out because uhm what’s the point clearly it's wrong and there are only ever good things in her future.

📓 Write a typical diary/journal page by your OC! (or if you’d rather not, describe their journal. Do they keep one, why?)

The best way to describe the kind of journal that Carly would have is just her Insta. This woman documents so much with her social media that it may as well be a journal. She did have some when she was human and younger but she burned them once she met Stasia and started to work for her. She didn’t need the reminder of just who she was back then, she’s a new woman now! Never again would she ever be that meek and weak little girl that allowed herself to be ordered around. They were very informative in terms of giving you a bit more of an idea of just how Carly saw herself as she documented the things she did to stay on top when with the ballet company but always, always she made herself the victim as if she had no choice but to poison the prima, break the knees of a younger and prettier dancer that came in, and she definitely had no choice but to threaten one of the male dancers with a knife into dropping another girl that was moving in on the director in what truly had to be that woman’s ploy to sleep her way to the top which Carly would never stoop so low to do, she had some morals you know.

FF: She doesn’t keep a journal in this universe either as she doesn’t have room to carry it and Stasia is so good at remembering all the details of her life and deeds that she and Zenos have done.

⚖️ What is the biggest crime your OC has committed? Are they a thief, a cheat, a liar? What is the smallest, most petty crime they’ve committed? Or do they not do crime at all?

Pretty sure in a legal sense its murder. 60% justified and the rest is for feeding and the occasional need to spill blood. She’s committed other crimes such as tax fraud, theft, assault with a deadly weapon, etc. she has never been convicted of any of them and only arrested twice.

FF: See most of above (she doesn’t need to ingest blood to live in this au currently) and add war crimes to it. Legal systems vary between each nation and so it’s kind of hard to do anything about it though.

💰 If your OC had all the money they could ask for what would they do with it? Where would they go and what would they buy? Are they the only one who benefits from this wealth?

Carly does whatever she feels like really. She goes on trips, buys designer, bribes people, just lives it up! She no longer has to be frugal and she’s helped in making this wealth (like a tiny fraction as most of it is from Stasia being 500 years old) so she has no qualms about spending it. The most self indulgent thing was giving funding for a certain CW show that was only promoted to be made quickly once her niece finally passed away. She personally hated the Archie comics, but her niece loved them and so in the lingering passive affection for her niece she waited until they couldn’t live in a world where their favorite piece of media was butchered.

🤕 What is the worst injury your OC has ever suffered? Do they have any scars or lasting physical reminders of it? Do they get sick often or have any lasting medical conditions?

Carly never suffered any serious physical injuries in her human or vampiric life (dying being the only one). However one can say that her lack of food is the only major lasting ailment she has. Once coming back to the states Carly was never able to eat properly and her stomach could only accept soups/stews and high calorie sugar based foods for quick energy. While she could have regular meals it would sometimes be to the detriment of being thrown back up an hour later.

FF: Woman has been in battles against bigger opponents than her and has left them with broken bones, cuts, bruises, the occasional internal bleeding, and gaining many small scars for days. She has no noticeable scars that can’t be hidden easily but they are there once you see her naked.

🍵 Are there any rumours about your OC hanging around? Nasty ones or just good humoured? Got any gossip to share about them?

There are…..too many about this woman to list in either universe honestly. From the notion that she started her own conspiracy of being immortal to she slept her way to the top of the Garlean Empire. While some have some notion of truth to them many don’t and are simply said out of malice. She’s also a woman in charge who takes no shit and even in the ff au she worked her ass off to get where she is and has the bite to match the bark, but you try telling people that and having them accept that with grace.

🎨 Is your OC artistic? Can they draw or paint or do they prefer another medium? Are they a writer or musician or do they do something else? Give us a quick run down of what they can get creative with!

Carly is a dancer and always has been. It was her best way to express herself until her mother took that away. She never stopped dancing but the joy she once had for it left her when her mother decided it was their ticket to fame and once the Great Depression hit in her main universe became a way to garner the financial security they were once used too and then some. She gets some love for it back once the war ends and she’s living in Vegas but it’s never the same.

FF: Most of this is the same in the sense that she loved to dance and would have loved to have been able to travel the world with it. However much like her main universe self her mother also ruined this dream of hers saying Carly started much to late (not her fault the dance troupe she wanted her to be a part of was on another continent basically), tried to pressure her to dance privately once she was old enough, and isolated her making dancing the only thing that she focus on.

💧 What makes your OC lose hope, what makes them give up and feel helpless? Have they ever given up on something really important or let go of a dream? What are some of their biggest regrets? Would they ever try again (if they’re able to)?

The minute Carly loses some kind of control or power that she’s gained, even if that involves other people that have given her power or some kind of strength. While she has her own inner strength she needs people around her that allow her to tap into it as there’s still that voice that sounds too much like her mother and wanting to control every part of her. This is the same in both universes. In her main universe this happens when she loses the man she was planning on marrying once the war was over as she saw him as her ticket out of her mother’s grasp for good. This happens again once She’s (mutually) separated from Stasia and it settles in that she won’t call her. In her FF universe she hits this wall when she hears of Zenos’ plan to meet with the Warrior of Light at the edge of the universe and isn’t going to take her with him, despite having a back up plan already in place for this very reason. She falls into a pit of depression and hopelessness when her back up plan doesn’t seem to have worked, despite trying to look for something to fix it and bring back that which is rightfully hers.

🧠 Talk about your OCs mental health! Do they have any specific triggers or ways to practice self care? What are some things that are more difficult for them to do because of their mental health?

Carly as a human had disordered eating due to living on the streets during the Great Depression and her mother refusing to accept the help given from others. Even when they managed to get back on their feet a bit in New York she was still denied food because she finally lost all that baby weight and she needed to be skinny anyway for ballet. Then she was stationed out in England during her time in WWII, which caused more issues with her eating habits. Once coming back to the states she couldn’t hold much anything down only in small quantities if it wasn’t some type of stew/soup. Due to this Carly needed a lot of quick sugars throughout the day and she found the best solution was to have bits of desserts that had plenty of simple sugars to help keep her from fainting. If you ever saw her eat anything else you can bet it was going to be thrown up (against her will) within the hour. You could also make the argument that Carly suffered from antisocial personality disorder but that is something that would have to be confirmed by a professional and she’ll never do that. Jokes aside she does exhibit some of the symptoms of the disorder but it is not something that I had intended to be a part of her (I simply came across the symptoms again in researching something else and went “Oh hey look at that” nothing more), nor is it the excuse and sole reason why she does what she does, she very much feels that she has good reasons to do so many of which tie back to survival of her household.

There is a different mentality that is gained when she is turned into a Stigoi and I have just provided the wiki explanation as it sums it up nicely:

Mentally and emotionally, a Strigoi is thought to have inner clarity, having no worry or care and the inability to have mental or emotional pain, such as sadness, fear, or guilt. Their humanity is removed by their transformation and they become highly immoral. In general, Strigoi become evil and murderous, taken by animal like instinct to hunt, kill and feed, though they are able to think and speak. While Strigoi lose their good qualities, any wants and desires that are strong enough will continue into their Strigoi self. Through force of will, a Strigoi can develop greater self control, though it will usually become corrupted by their evil nature.

FF: Carly really is mostly the same but there is much more emotional reasoning behind her actions. Simply put, much of her violent tendencies are bred from protection of herself, protection of others that she loves and cares about, letting the world feel her pain, and her goal of feeling like Stasia and Zenos’ equals in terms of power as she has to work hard for such things. She has many more outbursts and really it's quite funny to watch her get creative in how she decides to kill Fandaniel almost every few hours as he’s truly the bane of her existence with his….personality. Truly I implore you all to look up some of his cutscenes to just see for yourself. Given the ending of Endwalker though….Carly is in for some changes pending on just what lore I get in the future as well….she’s not very happy with how Zenos’ friend treated him in the end. :)

✨ If your OC were a deity of some kind, what would they represent? What do they look like? How are they worshipped and what offerings would they expect? What are their places of worship like? Their followers? Their teachings?

Carly as a god would be one of change and revenge. She’s the one you pray to in order to be granted the strength to take control of your life and to inflict punishment on those that have wronged you. She very much expects you to perform the act yourself (she’s simply there to give you strength) and asks to be paid in blood, more specifically the blood of those that you’ve hurt. She will also take gold jewelry (doesn’t have to be real, just really cute and fashionable) if you’re just looking for change in your life/the strength to leave a bad situation.

🎁 What would be the perfect gift to buy your OC? What would be the worst gift? Are they themselves any good at gifting things or are they really indescisive? How do they wrap their presents?

Honestly there isn’t a perfect gift for her unless it’s a person when she’s on the blood sucking route. The worst gift would be anything relating to ballet or things that reflect her mother’s style and tastes.

Giving gifts….she’s not good at it. She doesn’t care enough to give a physical item. If she wants you to know she cares about you she’s doing something for you. This can range from simply buying you coffee, killing on your behalf, finishing paperwork, locating a certain Warrior, terrorizing a person, or just drawing you a bath. You know normal things to show that you care.

💗 Relationships? Who are their friends, their family relations, lover(s), foes? What sort of personalities really tick them off and what others do they like? Is there anything that’d ruin a friendship for them?

Carly in main universe has a younger brother that she cares for, her parents she’ll tell you are dead cause well they deserve it and her brother takes the same answer. Her most significant relationship is the one she has with Stasia. She’s been infatuated/in love with her since they first met in the diner, it was probably the worst kept secret and Stasia was more than fine in using it to her advantage. They had something of a strictly physical relationship to start until Stasia was reverted back to human where Carly’s love sped up the decision to join the undead to protect Stasia. While she becomes incapable of feeling the love as it once was it’s still there just transformed into continuing the relationship they started with. These two do spend years apart due to differences in viewpoints but they always come back together in the end.

FF: Carly is wholly devoted to Stasia and allows them to engage in a sexual relationship knowing it will never go farther on Stasia’s end. However, this all changes when she puts her sights on Lord Zenos and she begins to work harder to gain his attention in turn. When she does, the two find they have similar views on the world and a deeper relationship between them forms and you eventually never see one without the other.

While in both universes Carly has foes that boils down to everyone that isn’t a select few people there’s one person that stays living. Granted it’s gonna take a lot to kill him but Fandaniel is just….sigh he’s annoying and finds him to be useless, but Zenos is using him so therefore she’d have to restrain herself. He only is killed once a day (on a good day) because he just comes back to life, therefore she’s free to enact her violence and anger on him. He’s also a reason why the rift between Stasia and Carly begins as Stasia is pissed that he brought down an empire that she worked so hard for down for his own selfish reasons, but Carly finds herself more loyal to Zenos and also desires to gain the power Fandaniel promises. Look a girl sometimes has to enjoy the few times she gets to have her cake and eat it too.

🕰️ Has there been an event that happened in your OCs past that affects their future or one that they think about still? Is this a bad event or a good one? What are a few of their childhood memories they can recall?

Carly would very much like to forget her childhood and adolescence as she was abused by her mother in many forms. The trigger for it getting worse was the Stock Market Crash of 1929 that led into the Great Depression as her mother no matter what would have emotionally and verbally abused her. She doesn’t have any good memories from childhood as all the ones she did have became tainted once she realized that her father was severely passive in what was happening to both her and her brother despite him showing some favoritism to her brother.

FF: The event that set into motion her eventual meeting of Stasia and Zenos was killing her mother. While it was easy to say that it was an impulsive act as Carly simply came to her breaking point, she actually had thought about just how she would kill her mother many times over. It was only when she finally gained access to the sharpened blades of a dancer that she was able to enact it. While it can be seen as a crime of passion or even an accident it very much wasn’t there was just that much blood and carnage. Much like how her main universe self killed her mother, she made sure that woman was in pain until the very end.

🗣️ What are the most painful words that can be said to your OC to utterly break them? What are the words that you could tell them to cheer them up? Maybe some advice to give them the boost they need!

Not so much words but if you bring someone that surpasses her and becomes more useful to you then that will break her quite easily. Carly has worked hard in any universe to get to a place of equality with Stasia and Zenos. She has done her damndest to make up for her flaws and inabilities to do what others can (mainly magic), so for you to bring someone that’s better than her in every way and someone that she can’t best or still has your affection even after she has bested them well that’s a woman that no longer wants to live. It brings back the voice of her mother repeating over and over again how much of a failure she is and how she’ll never be good enough, she has to work harder to be the best, if you can’t beat the best then you will never be worth anything.

While her instinct is to fight, hearing that voice that controlled her for so long and made her feel so weak just breaks her down and she becomes that woman again. You’ll never see it, the only one to have seen it is Stasia in the FF universe when Carly comes crawling back to be in her good graces again when Zenos doesn’t return. It takes a little time to come back to her old self but once she does you can be sure that she’s going to start fighting back again.

👽 Describe your OC as if they were an urban legend or myth!

You know the song “#Selfie”? Carly is talked about as a horror creature in that kind of tone/its how people talk about her when seeing her in public and they don’t know its her. She is given a little bit of a Bloody Mary vibe as she will appear in the bathroom behind you laughing asking you to continue as she stalks towards you readying to bite down on your neck. I cannot tell you how many social media influencer wannabes have died by her hand.

FF: Carly is talked about like she’s a warning to Lord Zenos’ coming as many see her as his vicious and loyal pet. They say that if she comes to you with a smile you better hope that your affairs are in order as you may not live after this encounter. The same goes for a very visibly angry face, though that will be a quick death you’re told. If you see her with a woman dressed in black robes and a black half mask with red accents you have a higher chance of living but it can either be a godsend for your troubles or you’ve wronged those with the red masks.

🗺️ Does your OC like going on adventures? Have they ever discovered something really interesting and significant or are they just too busy getting lost? Where is their favourite place they’ve been? Least favourite?

Carly does and it’s what glamorized the notion of becoming a famous dancer, all so she could see the world one day. While in both universes this turns sour she does get some semblance of it back in partnering up with Stasia. This is a big reason why her Instagram in the main universe is so full of pictures as its a catalog of all her adventures in her new life!

⚡ What are your OC’s phobias? Is there any reasoning behind these? How do they calm themselves down after getting scared? What are they like when they’re afraid? Is there any chance of them overcoming their fears?

Carly doesn’t really have any tangible phobias. Hers really boils down to being locked up, tied down, forced servitude, and just being controlled by anyone. While both she and Stasia have this fear of no longer being in control it plays out differently with Carly’s stemming from her abuse more than perception like Stasia’s. Carly gains her control by lashing out and letting the world feel her pain, the more dangerous she is the less likely it will be that anyone could control her against her will or those around her (she was very disappointed that she couldn’t join in the battle in truly offing Fandaniel as he manipulated Zenos which is a very big No, No to her).

Carly learned very early on that you couldn’t share your fear on your face and you can really only tell when she shuts down and her arms begin to hang and stay at her sides. While she moves out of this habit as she gets older she exchanges it for lashing out, getting feral, aggressive, and just very much animalistic due to her having some power to fight back. However the minute you start to see her shut down…you mayyyy want to reevaluate the situation as that means Carly really is and truly afraid at this point in her life.

#It really was a good amount and I hope it is acceptable stella!#fan club founder deserves to know as much as possible about my girl #carly oc #carly chara ask #x3: how to rule an empire

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stringeralong · 8 months

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Netherlands, Feb 2023 - Day 3 of 4

The BIG day, most of the reason I had been so desperate to travel to Amsterdam one day. The Van Gogh Museum.

I was incredibly lucky to be able to buy tickets such short notice, as word is they sell out fairly quickly and it’s nearly impossible to get tickets on the day. I bought my ticket for Sun 5th Feb on Thurs 2nd as soon as I had booked my coach.

But first, breakfast. And in true British spirit, I had to try an ‘English Breakfast’

Majestic: €20.50 (£18.41) for: fried egg, slightly toasted bread, mushrooms, baked beans, roast tomatoes, crispy bacon bits and small sausages + apple juice.

They saw me coming, right? I dropped the ball on this one by walking through a pretty touristy square with an empty stomach and heading towards the first place that did something resembling food. The food wasn’t bad, mostly pretty nice, but the price was unfortunate and I didn’t actually really want it but I had already sat down and been encouraged to order a drink. It filled a hole.

I hopped on the Metro and then a Tram using my pass from the day before and headed to the zoo!

Artis €27.50 (£24.70) entry. I think this also includes the aquarium but it was closed for refurbishment at the time :(

I love a good zoo, but my bad zoo habit is that I’m mostly interested in the random local birds that just happen to be hanging out. They had some cool animals such two beautiful huge Jaguars, a golden and a black. I couldn’t get a decent photo of either of them but I managed to get a video of the wonderful chuffing sound.

After managing to avoid spending any money in the gift shop, a true achievement for me, I hopped back on the tram and headed to the Van Gogh Museum.

I was early, obviously, so I went for a spot of lunch.

Irish Coffee + panini: Small Talk €14.20/£12.75

Then it was time, for Clare to drown in the sweet sweet sorrow of the Van Gogh Museum. The (almost) the entire reason I had made this trip, why I had suffered on a coach packed in like sardines, why I had drained my bank account. I actually felt nervous as I walked to the entrance.

What if it didn’t live up to the hype?

It was everything I needed it be to.

I got to see many paintings for the first time in person. Everything was a totally different size than I was expecting. It was overwhelming and emotional being so close, getting to see the texture and brush strokes. There were some paintings and sketches I had never even heard of, and it was great getting to hear and read the stories behind them. I fell in love with these lil guys.

The audio guide was interactive and had visuals to accompany the segments. It wasn’t actually too busy either, as if the museum has capped it a good amount. Realistically, they could have sold more tickets to churn a profit but everyone would have had a worse experience so I was pretty impressed.

My entry was from 15.00, but the kind people at the door let me in from 14.45 (although it seems to be something they do often as a standard rule rather than a special acceptation for me), and I was there until just before close at 17.00. So I spent about 2 hours wandering around, sobbing quietly.

Here I am looking like a doofus with my tattoo and the work that inspired it. Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette by Vincent Van Gogh and the Tattoo by Kate. Shout out to the poor lady I wrangled into taking this for me (she took a load which was very kind).

Vincent Van Gogh Museum €20.00/£17.91 online + Audio Guide €3.50/£3.14

Completely worth every cent. I understand that enjoying the Van Gogh Museum is not exactly a unique thought or experience but there we have it. Lives up to the hype, and for me personally it surpasses it. But that's just one mans opinion.

After emotionally recovering on my journey back to the hostel, I had a few drinks in the bar and bullied a stag do. I did buy them some shots to make up for it though.

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gilthairpins · 1 year

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Book 1 Chapter 12: A Kind of Lovesickness, Alone

48th year of Kangxi’s reign. June, Rehe.

Kangxi only brought out the crown prince and Eighth when he traveled beyond the Great Wall this time, but for some reason this wasn’t to take care of pets.

On one hand, Eighth, who was reprimanded for forming a self interest party after the crown prince was abolished, was still a powerful contender for the crown prince position.

The ministers who had a good relationship with him often met to voice their complaints about the crown prince’s immoral behavior. Important officials in court, such as Li Guangdi, have always disagreed with the crown prince as his talents and virtues couldn’t convince the public. So they sided with Eighth who had always been known and Eight Wise King in court. He wasn’t close with the nobles of the same clan and had an excellent reputation among the literati of the south along the Yangtze River. His attendant, He Zhuo was a famous scholar, bibliophile, and calligrapher. He studied under Qian Qianyi, Feng Bao, etc. He was also influential among Jiangnan literati and would often search for books for Eighth there. He was a native of China and treated scholars with courtesy, so scholars in the south praised Eighth as a “virtuous king”. Everything about Eighth made Kangxi, a monarch who ruled ‘everything at my discretion’, intolerable and unable to be assured with Eighth in the capital. So he ordered Eighth to come and kept Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth to stay behind. They were not to be in communication in order to prevent any incidents while away from the capital.

On the other hand, since the crown prince was restored, he began to actively make friends with the minsters and assist the ministers who followed him. Often discussing matters in his manor. His position had been seriously weakened.

This made Kangxi uneasy about leaving him behind. The trip beyond the Wall was to last 5 months, April through September. How could he keep the crown prince in the capital when the master was away, lest he be forced to abdicate? So Kangxi took him with him.

All affairs were reported by Kuai Ma every day. Kangxi had personally decided at the beginning of the year that Fourth, proclaimed as a prince, was trusted because of his stable virtue during the “crown prince incident”. Kangxi allowed him to act on his behalf.

Second [crown prince] hated Eighth very much. He was always watching him with a gloomy expression and dagger-eyes glare. Eighth treated everyone as usual, with gentleness and kindness and humility. He respected Second, as if he didn’t notice his hostility at all.

I often see the two of them and when I think of Kangxi, I sigh. I am too tired. The father is not the father, the son is not the son, brother is not the brother!

One day when Kangxi returned from horseback riding, I happened to be serving tea. He was chatting with his sons and ministers. After he took a sip, he suddenly smiled. “I kind of miss the iced fruit juice you made during our trip last year.” He looked over at the crown prince and continued. “I still remember that you had given me the chrysanthemum and the peony to Yinfeng.”

The crown prince quickly laughed and said, “Your son is exactly like the peony. And your son is also concerned about it. It looks exquisite and very hot when drunk.”

“Since the emperor thinks of this, I will prepare it tomorrow.” I quickly bowed.

Kangxi nodded and asked again, “I remember you asked permission to learn horseback riding. Have you learned it?”

“Barely. I learned a little bit.” I replied.

“I’ll allow you to continue learning, until you have learned it well.” Kangxi said with a smile.

I didn’t want to spoil his interest so I forced myself to smile and look overjoyed. “Thank you, emperor!”

Kangxi couldn’t help but laugh when he saw me. I looked like a small boat that couldn’t carry a heavy load. The ministers laughed along with him. I backed out quietly after finishing my salute. Eighth was watching me during the whole exchange with a smile. I didn’t dare look back and pretended to ignore.

This time I shared a tent with Yutan. Since I listened to her confide in Yuexia last time, I started treating her differently from the others. The relationship between us was really good. I really cherished her like a younger sister in my heart.

She saw I had the will, but didn’t ask for a horse to ride. So she couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “Is my sister learning horseback riding again? Why didn’t you learn it? Do you like horseback riding?”

I sighed to myself. Asking the sergeant to teach me will be probably as perfunctory as Niman’s teaching. Which is to say, not. The goal would be to not have any surprises rather than actual riding. Unless he were like Fourth and didn’t care about identity and taught me.

I was shocked to recall vividly Fourth with his seriousness and concentration while teaching me to ride. How could I remember that so clearly? His every move and word, every action was perfect. I quickly shook these thoughts from my head and smiled at Yutan.

“I’ve been tired these last two days. I’ll study after I have rested.”

This time with only the two brothers, there was an odd atmosphere in the camp. The ministers were awkward around each other and the centrists were unwilling to show off so easily. Everyone was in a dilemma, treading carefully, lest they offend someone who would make things difficult for them in the future. Although the mongols came to see him, they were not happy with the crown prince. The results were dire.

Everyone still had to sing and dance and act in front of Kangxi. He had already perceived the weird atmosphere of the camp, but truly didn’t know, in a good way. It was rare to be confused.

One afternoon while I was out strolling I saw Minmin, still beautiful. I stood aside to let her pass but she walked right up to me and looked into my face. “I saw you last time.”

I hadn’t paid attention last time, but I had noticed that her Chinese was not up to standard. After I listened to her, I deliberately slowed down my words and replied, “Yes, this servant did accompanied last time.”

She couldn’t help but laugh when she heard my slowed speech. “Although I don’t speak very well, you can listen to me, but it is okay for you to talk as normal.” I nodded.

Minmin looked off before asking, “If you have the time, would you walk with me for a while?”

I was idle, but happy to chat with this sharp mannered Minmin. She seemed to have something on her mind, and hesitated to speak. If I had something to do with Thirteenth, she had to ask. So the two of us started to hang out together.

“Why doesn’t Gege go riding?” I asked laughing.

“We ride all day, unlike you people from the Forbidden City. I have to specially look for an opportunity to ride.” She replied. I just smiled and didn’t answer.

“Are you riding well?” She asked. “You are asking the wrong question. You should ask me, can you ride?” I smiled.

“Are you Han Chinese?”

“I am Manchurian. I don’t know how to ride a horse, but I want to learn to.”

Minmin became interested and said, “Let me teach you! I haven’t taught anyone to ride a horse yet, but I promise I can teach you well.”

I agreed happily thinking that there was nothing better.

She was really impatient and wanted to teach me as soon as possible. As she is explaining, she is already dragging me to the temporary stables. We got there before long and saw there were riders there already. Mongolian and Manchu. Seeing Minmin and I, they dismounted quickly and greeted us.

“It saved us a lot of work.” She smiled at me and picked two horses at random with the Mongolians agreeing wholeheartedly with her choices.

The two of us rode out in a slow walk. Minmin glanced at me from the side and asked, “You’re not an ordinary court lady, are you?”

“It’s just to give face as I serve in front of the imperial court.” I replied.

“You’re so beautiful, why are you not a court lady? None of my father’s concubines can catch up to you.”

Minmin speaks straightforwardly, but the people in the palace are always cautious in word and deed. I liked meeting her today very much. I just smiled at her and didn’t reply.

It was a pity that this was my first time on such a talk horse. Minmin taught so seriously, but I was a bit scared and kept trembling. She kept talking off to the side. I should just ride boldly, with no fear. She also said who doesn’t fall off a horse when learning to ride. She had fallen off plenty of times when younger, you get over it.

What Minmin said was reasonable. While I agreed with my head, my heart was determined not to comply. I still held the reins tightly as the horse trotted slowly.

Suddenly she laughed at me. “Sit down.” And whipped my horse’s ass. Before I could react, I felt the horse rush forward. I leaned back shouting, and then I was screaming.

Minmin laughed somewhere behind me. “Sit still. Don’t be afraid.” The horse ran really fast. I didn’t know when I had loosened the rein and started clinging to the horse.

I gripped both sides of the mane and it was running wild due to its temper. When it felt pained it tried to buck me off, the reins were not in use to restrain it.

I didn’t have the strength to scream so I closed my eyes tightly and only knew to use all my strength to cling to the horse. It galloped and bucked, trying to throw me off. I feel my grip loosen. The mane slick and my hands sliding away. I thought to myself, how could I travel through time and space to ancient times only to be killed by being thrown from a horse? It was with that desperate thought I heard a familiar voice telling me, “Hold on a bit longer, Ruoxi!”

Hearing him call my name snapped me to my senses as I clasped onto the horse’s neck. He kept calling my name over and over again “Ruoxi, Ruoxi!”, heavy and powerful. My frightened heart calmed, knowing he would definitely not allow me to come to harm. There was hope in my heart and strength in my hands.

He hooked my horse’s bridle with his whip, reining it in slowly. “Ruoxi, let go and wrap your arm around the horse’s neck.”

I felt the speed decrease and the horse not behaving as wildly as it had been. Slowly I released my left and and touch its neck, holding on tightly. “The other one now.” He urged.

I was able to grab the reins and the horse slowly stood still. Before I could open my eyes I was lifted up into a hug. My limbs were weak and I could only lean into him.

Minmin arrived right next to me and jumped down. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” I said quickly.

“You scared me! Why did you let go of the reins?” She was patting her chest.

There was little strength in my body and I attempted to straighten up. He also let go of me and backed away. That feeling of peace and warmth left me. My heart was at a loss.

“What’s wrong with you?” Minmin saw my strange expression and asked in concern. I quickly shook my head and she glanced at Eighth. “Minmin hasn’t greeted Lord Bei’le yet.”

Eighth just shook his head with a smile. “No.”

“Thanks to Eighth, I would have otherwise been in trouble.” She smiled, not quite greeting him and turned back to me. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to learn today. Go back first and rest. I can teach you again later.”

I glanced back and felt I was a long way away from my tent. I worried that I would have to walk the distance back. I didn’t have the strength to. Besides, how long would it have taken? I’m still in shock and absolutely could not ride back. I dared not.

Minmin noticed my embarrassed face. “We’ll share a horse. I’ll ride back with you.”

I was about to agree when Eighth cut in. “Don’t bother. I’m heading back now and I’ll send Ruoxi back. Minmin Gege can continue riding.”

I didn’t think this was appropriate and wanted to say no, but the word wouldn’t come out. All I could do was remain silent. Minmin saw I wasn’t responding and said, “Then thank you, Eighth!”

She got back on her horse and glanced at me again. “I’ll come see you again when I have time.” She then raised her whip and rode off.

I stood quietly, Eighth just behind me watching Minmin vanish into the distance. Eighth took my hand and looked at it frowning. “Does it hurt?”

My hands were bruised and abraded from the horse’s mane. I shook my head trying to remove my hand from his. He tightened his grip, holding my hand to his chest. A pained groan escaped me and he relaxed his grip. Finally I was able to withdraw my hand.

“What should I do with you?” He sighed. I turned away from him. He mounted his horse and drew me up into his arms.

My heart became weak. The sky was blue, the clouds so white, the grass so green, and the breeze gentle. Just let me indulge just this once! Let me forget he is Eighth, forget he has a wife. Forget my sanity. Slowly close my eyes and lean into his embrace.

He rode slowly. I closed my eyes and felt his chin against my head. I could feel his breath. Numb, crispy, and itchy, as if scratching lightly at my heart. He held me in one arm and the reins with his other hand. I felt as if this was now my whole world, we could be like this forever. We could find happiness on horseback. I was immersed in my happiness unable to determine real or fake.

“Your heart is mine.” He whispered in my ear. He was confident.

I opened my eyes and stared at the distance. But my gaze was hazy. My heart skipped hearing his declaration. My head was telling me ‘no’ but my heart wouldn’t let the word escape me.

He laughed loudly and pulled me into an aggressive hug. “Your heart is mine. You have me in your heart!” He said this softly against my ear. No matter how much I struggled and how painful I knew it to be, I melted into his embrace. I chose to close my eyes and not think about it.

He dismounted and carried me down. His smile reached his eyes as he watched me. I ducked my head, embarrassed and lacking the courage to look him in the face. I turned quickly and made my way into camp. He chased after me, leading the horse with a chuckle.

He tugged my sleeve and told me to go more slowly. Although my pace slowed, I didn’t look at him, staring straight ahead. He changed the topic after seeing my face. “Why were you and Minmin Gege talking together?” He asked with another smile.

“It just happened that way. She saw I wanted to learn to ride and offered to teach me. But fortunately that you came along! Thank you for saving me!” I replied.

“I happened to be passing by at the time and glimpsed you in the distance. I had originally hesitated to go and look, but I’m glad I had. Next time you want to learn to ride, ask me. I will teach you.” He said.

Along the way, people gave way and greeted us. Eighth handed over his horse to one of the soldiers and asked them to return it to the stable. I asked to take leave and he bowed his head in thought. After a moment he said “Go”

I turned quickly and hurried back to my tent. Once there I threw myself onto my woolen blanket. I closed my eyes. My heart was pained. It’s true, I had him in my heart. How could I not be moved by his dedication over the years? But I couldn’t face that feeling. I had too many fears. He has grand ambitions and too many women.

I lay on my stomach for a long time. I wasn’t sure how long. Suddenly there was a tap on my shoulder and a hoarse male voice I didn’t recognize calling my name. “Ruoxi!

I was going to cry out in shock and alarm, but a hand covered my mouth. “It’s me!” The voice whispered in my ear.

I was horrified. I tried to turn my head to face the stranger and saw a man in Mongolian robes, felt hat and beard sitting next to me. One hand still to my mouth, the other on my shoulder to steady me.

Someone dared to infiltrate the emperor’s camp! I struggled hard.

He watched me helplessly. It suddenly struck me that he looked very familiar. I slowed my struggle and was shocked when I recognized him. Fourteenth!? When he saw my recognition, he grinned at me and removed his hand.

Quickly, I got up and rushed to the window and looked out, and closed the screen. I returned and sat next to him, my heart calmed a bit. While I was still nervous, he didn’t even seem to care. He was all smiles.

“Are you crazy? You dared to disobey an imperial decree! Aren’t you afraid the emperor will be angry that you came out? You were ordered to stay in the capital!” I tried to suppress my anxiety.

He laughed, not answering me. I tried asking again. “Why didn’t you stay in the capital?”

“I’m here to see Mynah, but we are surrounded by people who are very familiar with me from Royal Father and the crown prince. I’m afraid they would become suspicious when seeing me from behind. So I am asking you to help find a way for me.” His voice was hoarse. I was silent, trying to recall what was to come. I had no idea. I was someone who didn’t really study too deeply into Qing era history and only knew the basics- not every specific event. What was the next big event? The crown prince won’t be deposed again until the 51st year of Kangxi’s reign. I could only ask, “What happened in Beijing?”

“Nothing big. I just have somethings I need to discuss face to face with Mynah. It would take too long to send messages back and forth and someone could always read them.” He said.

I wanted to ask but was cut off. “If you don’t understand specific things, don’t ask.” He glanced at me and softened his tone. “I’m doing this for your own good.”

His beard really was an eyesore. I suddenly reached out to tug on it. He quickly turned his head to avoid my hand. I tried to grab it again and was blocked. “You won’t let me pull. But I will keep trying!”

We fought and laugh. I wasn’t as strong as him and didn’t practice martial arts. He held me by the wrist. “If you want to pull, I won’t let you.”

I stared at him silently, pouting. He watched me a moment before letting me go. “Well, you can pull it if you want.” He said as if I were to kill him.

I immediately smiled at him and faked a move as though to reach out for his face. I withdrew my hand and said, “I will have to think of a way to avoid everyone’s eyes and ears so you can meet with Bei’le.”

His eyes were full of smiles again, until he caught sight of my hands. “I knew you would have this in hand. What happened to your hands?”

“I was learning how to ride again and accidentally strangled them.” I replied.

He frowned taking a closer look. “Mynah will be distressed.”

Suddenly I had an idea flash across my thoughts and I couldn’t help but laugh. The more I thought, the funnier it became. I didn’t dare laugh out loud. Instead I held myself, doubled over in silent laughter. I ended up laying on my side weak from laughing.

Fourteenth had no idea what I found so funny and he pushed me. “What are you laughing at?”

“I have a good idea, one that no one will doubt.” I tried and failed at suppressing another laugh.

He snorted. “Well, say it. You seem to think it’s really good.”

“It will be better to dress you as a woman. That way anyone who sees you wouldn’t connect you to being the dignified Fourteenth, pretending to be some woman.” The idea of him in skirts and makeup was enough to send me into another fit of giggles. I was already out of breath again.

Fourteenth was shocked into silence. He couldn’t believe the disrespectful things I had mentioned. After all, in this era, men were superior to women and wearing women’s clothing would be considered unlucky. After a while, he shook his head and started laughing.

“I should punish you today. How dare you make fun of me.” He teased, reaching a hand out to my face.

“I was wrong! I was wrong!” I hid a smile. But he didn’t intend on forgiving me and really made as if to pinch my cheeks.

I quickly raised my hands defensively and said in a pitiful voice, “Master Fourteenth, it hurts when you touch my face.”

He had no choice but to let me go as he straightened up. I saw his face was still serious and I suppressed another smile. “Don’t worry about this, I was only teasing you. I don’t have enough heads to make you pretend to be a girl. Besides, this matter isn’t too difficult, just be careful.”

Only after I said this did he relax a bit. He gave me a puzzled look when I sighed. “Eighth having a younger brother like you is more precious than anything else.”

His face became a little sad. “Royal Father can only call me the righteousness of Liangshen.” I didn’t dare comment on Kangxi’s words, but I shrugged in disapproval. I thought he had changed in the palace. I didn’t expect the same sample.

“Where will you be staying tonight?” I asked.

“Can’t I stay overnight?” He got up making to leave the tent. “Think carefully. I will be back by nightfall.”

I grabbed his hand. “Wouldn’t it be more noticeable if you keep leaving and entering my tent? Everyone knows I like the quiet and few people come by during the day. Why don’t you stay here first and I’ll come back and get you in the evening?”

Fourteenth looked thoughtful. “Who else lives with you?”

“Yutan. But don’t worry. We have a good relationship. I will think of something to drive her out for tonight.”

“Yutan.” He said softly. He nodded after a moment and sat back down.

I thought about the hardships Fourteenth faced in coming here. He had to avoid all eyes and ears. I was afraid he hadn’t eaten or slept well these last few days. His voice was really rough. I went out to gather some snacks and some warm milk with honey. When I returned, I found Fourteenth sprawled on my bed, fast asleep.

Lightening my steps, I put down the food. He woke with a start. “Drink this warm milk and go back to sleep. I’ll keep watch. Nothing will happen.” I said to him quickly.

He drank the milk and laid back, falling asleep again. I covered him with a light blanket and took a cushion for myself. I glanced at the screen. I couldn’t see through it from the outside so there would be no problems.

Finally I took my cushion and a book and attempted to read. I didn’t get anywhere though. I kept just staring at the words. I kept trying to think of ways to have Fourteenth and Eighth meet without attracting attention. I may just have to go see him first.

“Miss Ruoxi!” Someone called from outside.

My hands shook and the book snapped shut. I quickly stood up and checked the curtain to the tent making sure it was shut before looking out. My heart was pounding. It turned out to be Baozhu, Eighth’s servant. He greeted me.

“The lord sent this girl a gift of medicine.” I reached out to accept and he continued. “Use twice a day, morning and evening. Wash with warm water and apply it for a few days.”

After that, the congestion in my heart dissolved. I didn’t even know what it was like in there so I just nodded. Baozhu had turned to leave when I asked him to wait a moment. I retreated into the tent to speak with Fourteenth.

He was already sitting up and waiting. I whispered to him, “Is this person trustworthy?”

Fourteenth had nodded. “Yes, why else would Mynah send him with medicine for you? These things may not seem important, but to Mynah anything concerning you is important. He winked at me.

This person still had time to tease me! I glared at him. I was about to leave when he caught my arm and drew me back.

“Although he is reliable, I did go against decree. The less people are involved the better. Otherwise I wouldn’t have come to you.”

I nodded. Even though Fourteenth and I quarreled, he still believed in me.

Baozhu bowed when he saw me exiting the tent. I thought a moment and then asked, “What does Eighth usually do at night?”

“I’m not too sure. Sometimes he reads, sometimes he plays chess by himself.” He smiled apologetically.

“Go back.” I dismissed him with a smile.

He was a bit confused about why I had asked him about Eighth’s routine. But he couldn’t say anything and he left quickly.

I returned to the tent. “It won’t be dark for some time. Why don’t you sleep a while?”

He shook his head. “I won’t sleep any more.” He grabbed one of the snacks from the table and took a bite. “Go use your medicine.”

I got up to clean my hands and apply the medicine. I then went to ask a little eunuch for a double meal for myself. I was used to ordering meals for myself and other female officers so this wasn’t questioned. The sky became dark as the two of us had dinner.

At the appointed time, I exited first and looked around. Confirming no one was around, I signaled for Fourteenth and he came out. He left at a leisurely pace.

I waited a while before heading to Eighth’s tent. Li Fu was guarding outside. The area was quiet. I approached normally and he bowed in greeting and pulled back the tent flap for me. I nodded and entered.

Eighth was writing at his desk. He smiled catching sight of me and motioned for me to sit down. He continued to write a while more before putting his brush down. He walked over to me and glanced down at my hand. “Can you be on duty tomorrow?”

I didn’t answer his question, asking instead, “Is it convenient to talk here?”

His expression froze. “There are people guarding outside. I knew you would be coming tonight.”

I nodded but still leaned over to whisper in his ear. “Fourteenth is here.”

His face became serious and he lowered his voice to ask, “Why did he come here? Is this why you came?”

I shook my head and I told him how we had met that afternoon. He thought for a while and then said, “You go back first. I will see him myself.”

I nodded and turned to leave. When I got to the tent door I turned back and said, “Be careful.”

He smiled said, “It’s alright. You can go back with an easy heart.”

As I exited I caught his whispered words. “However, I am very happy you are worried for me.” I froze and then ran out of the tent.

Although I had returned to my tent, my heart wasn’t calmed. I paced inside my tent, anxious. Outside I heard a voice. “Gege, this is Ruoxi’s tent.” It was Minmin! I pulled back the tent flap and saw Minmin who smiled at me.

“I’ve come to check on you. How are you?”

I laughed. “Lao Gege missed you. I was a little startled at that time. I’ve been fine for a while. In love.

She stared at the ground hesitating. “Would you like to go out for a walk?”

There was only so many things I could do in the tent. Waiting would be the longest one. Besides, it seemed she had something she wanted to talk about. So I smiled and agreed.

We walked shoulder to shoulder. “I just found out through inquiring that you are quite the big celebrity in front of the emperor.”

“What’s red or not? It’s just serving the emperor wholeheartedly.” I smiled and turned my head several times before glancing back at Minmin. I walked along quietly waiting for her to ask. Walking further away from camp, the number of people decreased.

Finally she asked, “Why didn’t Thirteenth come out this time?”

This really was about Thirteenth. “It’s not his decision on whether or not he comes out. It is dependent upon the emperor and what he wants.”

She didn’t answer and we continued on in silence. After a while she asked, “Is Thirteenth’s Fujin beautiful?”

I sighed to myself. A song by Thirteenth had planted lovesickness for the most beautiful flower on the grasslands.

“In my opinion, there is no gegemei.”

“Really?” She looked overjoyed.

I nodded, serious. They were all silk flowers in the Forbidden City. Tightly wrapped in silk and satin, bound by rules for every movement. While Minmin is a flower that blooms freely in the prairie world, dancing with the wind. Lively and fragrant.

“Don’t you think I am rude and lack manners? I mean, compared to you, you can tell. You speak neither fast nor slow, high or low. And your manners are delicate and refined.” She watched me nervously.

I felt a bit silly. I don’t know when I had changed from a wild girl into a young lady. Is it really living in the air and raising the body? After living in the palace for four years, have I also gained a noble air? After thinking about it, I couldn’t help but laugh. The clear laughter rang across the grassland.

“I don’t know whether I am delicate or not, however I can defiantly tell you with certainty, that you are a definite beauty.”

Minmin couldn’t help but join in, laughing heartily. “All the girls I have seen laugh softly and dignified. I didn’t expect you to laugh like this.”

Both of us continue to walk, smiles on our faces. How long has it been since I had laughed like this? Since I’ve heard a girl laugh like this? Women in the Forbidden City have to hold back their words. I like Minmin more and more. And she can see Thirteenth, which shows she has vision. The more I think about it, the more I like her.

After thinking it over, I thought she could handing this, I asked her directly, “You like Thireenth?”

The smile on her face froze. “Is it that obvious?”

“Quite obvious.”

Minmin was silent again before bursting into another smile that eclipsed the stars. She stared over the grasslands before answering. “Yes, I like him.”

She glanced at me sideways and I gave her an encouraging smile, approving of her. She faced forward again, facing the vast distance with a sweet and melancholy smile.

“I have never heard such a beautiful singing voice. He stood there watching me sing and my heart had never jumped so fast. I had never seen a man smile like that before. Smiling but not seeming to smile, as if he didn’t care about anything. But it’s like a flame and you can feel its heat.” Her mood was still immersed in that night were she lost her heart to him. After a while she turned to face me abruptly and said enthusiastically, “I have never seen a man like him!”

Love! I know it and I understand it, but I am still moved by it again. Only those who have loved could understand those sweet and sour feelings. No matter what lay ahead, she was in love now. She was happy because of her love and distressed. All I know is to smile and share her feelings. When she saw my smile, she turned away in embarrassment.

“Thirteenth is a person worthy of liking.” I say watching her.

She turned to face me, smiling brilliantly like a morning’s glow and full of pride. But just as quickly her smile dimmed. My heart tightened seeing her smile disappear.

“But father doesn’t want me to marry him.”

“Why?”

“Don’t tell the others,” she frowned a moment and I nodded quickly, “Father said that few women in the Forbidden City are happy. He said I was a flower of the grassland and by being on the grassland only could I bloom.”

My mood started dissipating. Her father really did love her and what she said was correct. She was a princess of the eternal grassland, but once she enters the Forbidden City, she would be only one of Thirteenth’s women. And I still don’t know what Thirteenth means. Who could guarantee that he would cherish her? Also, thinking about his fate, Thirteenth being imprisoned in the future was most depressing.

She smiled sadly seeing my gloomy expression. “I didn’t want to believe what my father had said was true, but now it seems that it was true.” I took both her hands in mine. Both of our hands were cold with no warmth.

We walked hand in hand silently. “Do you have a crush on anyone?” She asked.

My heart aches and I didn’t know how to answer. While I was hesitating there was a sudden commotion and many torches were moving in the dark. That’s not where we were supposed to meet, huh? I panicked and ran towards the crowd.

“What’s the matter?” Minmin didn’t understand what was going on, but she ran along with me. My heart clenched. I didn’t have time to answer. I just ran with all of my strength.

The closer we got, the louder it became and harder to make out what was being said. I grabbed someone to ask what was going on. The person turned to greet us, but I was impatient and cut him off. “No, hurry up and answer.”

“The crown prince said there was a thief and ordered people to search.”

“Where is the thief? What did they look like?” I quickly asked, my heart pounding.

“It was too dark to see their face, but they weee wearing Mongolian robes. The crown prince released an arrow, but I don’t know if it hit or not.” He pointed to the front. “It was said to have gone there.”

The arrow was released! My vision went black and my heart sank. I staggered back a couple of steps. I quickly tried to collect myself. Now was not the time for weakness. Taking a deep breath I started running again.

“How could there be such a courageous thief? He knows about our camp and there would take a lot of effort to search everywhere. He is quite good at hiding!” Minmin chased after me.

I was too concerned thinking, had he been injured by that arrow? Where was Eighth? I just ran wildly with Minmin amongst the crowd. The torches were not very clear and it was really dark out. No one really paid us any attention.

This was the Mongolian camp and I wasn’t too familiar with it. Pulling Minmin aside I asked her what sort of places were good for people to hide. Rather than continuing blindly to go between tents.

The crown prince’s people just finished negotiating with the mongols and the mongols had gathered together to search as well.

I became increasingly anxious and could only keep searching. I didn’t have half an idea of where he could be. Minmin accompanied me. Suddenly I was dragged into a tent. This startled me, but switched to being overjoyed. I called out softly, “Fourteenth? Are you injured?”

I could feel him shaking my hand. “No, but Mynah blocked the arrow for me.” I quickly blocked my mouth to prevent a scream. I began shaking as Fourteenth gripped me.

“It wasn’t a heavy injury, Ruoxi. There is no danger to his life.”

Although Fourteenth held me tightly I still trembled. I squeezed his hands and he squeezed back harder. The bruising was painful, but I felt nothing. I kept shouting at myself to calm down. The most important thing right now is I have found Fourteenth. He is fine with only minor injuries.

Outside Minmin called for me. “Ruoxi! Ruoxi!” She must have realized I disappeared and turned back to look for me. “Have you met Suwan Guerja Minmin?”

“No.” I quickly lifted the tent flap and gave a low call to her, “Minmin!” I was certain this would work. Fourteenth’s grip on my hand tightened again.

“She will definitely help us!”

Minmin quickly stepped into the tent. “Where did you…” she asked puzzled.

I had already considered and knelt down and kowtowed to her. “I beg Minmin Gege to save this servant.”

She startled seeing me like this and bent down to help me stand back up. “What is going on. Tell me first. I will definitely help if I can!”

Fourteenth also came forward to help me stand, but I shoved him back and scolded, “I told you not to follow and you followed me anyway! Now how can you explain this? You know palace maids are not to have outside affairs, both of us will die! If you can’t explain this, both of us will die. If you can’t explain, how could I survive alone?” I said this with tears in my eyes, still worried about Eighth.

“Ah! Is he your lover?” Minmin asked.

“Yes! We don’t usually see each other in the palace. We had unexpectedly met and the crown prince decided he was a thief.” I said quickly.

Minmin suddenly laughed softly and drew me up next to her. “He came to see you at the risk of being caught, so you can see his sincerity. How could you blame him? Don’t worry. I can keep him safe!”

As I got up, I couldn’t help but feel guilty for using her kindness. This matter was urgent and I had to take advantage of it. I’m sorry Minmin! I will try to repay your kindness in the future. Women immersed in love are often softhearted to lovers. Because of this, I hope that all lovers can get married.

Fourteenth caught on to what I was trying to do and pretended to be a noble’s son from the capital. Minmin fired off questions at him with great interest. What are you afraid of? Have you ever endured hardship? When did you meet each other? When did you get together?

Fourteenth coaxed Minmin with great ease. He came up with lies with no flaws and his face showed his feelings towards me, deeply in love. Minmin’s face was filled with amazement and emotion.

The soldiers that we met along the way hurried to greet Minmin. Who would suspect that the accompanying Mongolian was the thief?

When we got to the fork in the path, I faced them. “I won’t continue with you so as not to draw suspicion from others. People will pay attention.”

“Don’t worry, I am here! I will guarantee you a good tomorrow with your lover. Go back now.” She replied with a smile.

Fourteenth and I shared a complicated look and he nodded at me. I tried to feel relief, and forced a smile as I quickly retreated.

Author’s note:

In the 48th year of Kangxi’s reign, when Second was re-established as the crown prince, Kangxi was very happy and granted the crown princes. Eighth was canonized as Bei’le, and later he was named Shen Bei’le, but his relationship with his father remained tense. In April of that same year, Kangxi was on tour outside the Great Wall, and because he was worried that Yun and his gang would gather a crowd to make trouble, he ordered Yun to write his attendants to prevent Tenth, Fourteenth, and Yun from being followed. But Fourteenth managed to go with Eighth. He “had the enemy’s old clothes, took a small cart, and pretended to be a trafficker, and sent them out privately. During the day, he would follow them secretly, and at night he would stay in Eighth’s tent, whispering all night, traces are strange.

This story evolved from this text. I searched through a lot of information and asked those who knew Qing history, but they couldn’t answer me. Why did Fourteenth disobey the emperor’s order and go to old Eight? The real history has been obliterated, leaving only infinite conjectures for future generations.

[This was the translated note from the end of chapter 12, I tried to place the names where I could, but some were not clear and I left them as they showed]

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esandcasg · 1 year

Text

Big A went to the Lake District and here is my blog

Overview

I’ll not give loads of details but I went as part of an annual trip my brother in law and some of his mates do. They’ve been going for years. Varying levels of fitness - three very fit (including my brother in law, regular walkers and cyclers), two in the middle, two slow.

The Walks

Three of them all told. The first one was about 23km - from Patterdale up over St Sunday Crag, across to Fairfield Peak, down and round Griesdale Tarn and then up to Dollywaggon Pike. From there we walked down the valley back into Patterdale.

Second one was I’m told about 20km - a walk from Patterdale round the east side of Ullswater to Pooley Bridge. Low elevation, mostly keeping to just above the water level.

Third one was from Patterdale up past Angle Tarn to High Street, then back down via the valley to Harstop and then Patterdale. Dunno how far as I’d left my watch at the airbnb but we were out for about 7 hours.

The Good

I survived.

Endurance-wise I was fine. My legs got pretty tired towards the end of the second walk, but by then I think I was as hungry as I was tired. More on that anon. But certainly even after the exertions of the first walk - including a direct slog up Dollywaggon - I still had plenty left in the tank for a brisk walk to the pub down the valley, getting there with the first group.

The last time I went I was very slow, and I wasn’t sure whether this was down to having had a stomach bug about a week before. I was faster this time, very much in the middle of the pack and, on flatter ground, able to set the pace or be in the starting group.

I didn’t get any blisters, and my karrimor boots continued to perform well; though the right one had developed a weird clicking sound which became the source of amusement.

The Bad

A number of things here.

Layering. I got this wrong on a couple of occasions. The first walk I wore no base layer on my legs and a wicking tee as a base on my torso, under a fleece and a shell. At the top of ridges/fells it was cold and very windy. Part of the trip was to launch the ashes of the father of one of the lads off Dollywaggon Pike in a firework, which was great, but involved much standing around. By that point I swapped my shell for an insulated jacket but I started shivering. I had my ME thick gloves on as well. Warmed up quickly on the descent, but still. Put on my merinos, top and bottom, for the next two walks; much better. BUT - I could probably make a reasonable case for investment in a) a new hat (the elastic has almost gone in my OR one) and b) a thicker fleece to carry around and whack on as necessary. A belay jacket would be good - maybe I could get one of those £60 down ones from Uniqlo that stuffs down to a small size.

Food. Did not bring nearly enough. I should have brought a lot of chocolate or other sugary/carby snacks. Didn’t. I can’t pretend it would have helped me be quicker or stronger but it would have stopped me flagging which became an issue particularly on day 3.

Knowing my own limitations. I worry about balance a lot. Exposure makes me feel a little uncomfortable, and steep downhills worry me. I constantly worry about slipping or losing my balance. I don’t know whether I have balance issues, mild vertigo, or am lacking strength in stabilising muscles, but this became a problem on the third walk. We came down a direct route from High Street to a valley and I slipped over 4 or 5 times. Only once particularly painfully, thank goodness. My legs were tired, my left knee hurt. I don’t know whether it was just a walk too far, or whether I would have struggled with anything steep. Anyway, it might be worth having a walking pole for such eventualities.

Uphill struggles. Anything vaguely steep slowed me right down. I had to do 30 steps then stop for breaths. Sometimes less than this on very steep bits. I think part of this is down to just not doing this sort of thing much. But I also think some is down to muscle strength.

In conclusion

Hmm. Am I the sort of person that is going to do this sort of walking on the regular? I don’t live near anything like this, not really. I don’t have the means to travel that regularly to somewhere like the Lakes. So I don’t know how much I need to put pressure on myself. I think I could realistically do a bit more. I could get out on my bike more. I could also do more squats. Leg strength probably wouldn’t be that much of a chore to develop.

Big A

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whitetickle-sl · 2 years

Text

build up to the Gigmig Trainer RP

It was a dark Evening in the country side when they jumpded me. i DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO react, they shined lights in my face and through a bag over my head and the pined me to the ground before shackling my ankle and tying my hands behind my back and linking them to a belt they put around my Waist. I could feel a person at both my sides as I was held up and dragged overe to where I felt my self being stood between 2 other captives. I feel a pole slide across my back under the my arms and another pair of poles slid between loops of the ropes that binded my legs. I felt my legs and my full body being lifted off the ground. I feel my self being suspeneded by something holding up the poles on each end and then light spots fill my eyes as the bag is torn off my head and I gasp for air. As I’m taken aback before I can even make a statement I feel a Ball gagg shoved in my mouth. When my vision becomes more clear I saw people of different ethnicity. sure I saw some white men and women who were helping them but I saw black men and women and asian men and women. I also saw the other captives be they man or woman were all white. I saw symbols that indicated the reason were even here was because we were white or atleast that seamed to be one of the reasons. But what did I do, what have I done? why had they come for me and who were they? Didn’t seem to matter because verry sone that bag that was over my head was replaced with some kind of box and the last thing I saw before that were some trucks with some odd looking kind of truck beds set before us. When that box came on I could atleast still brieth but they had it now shut and locked around my head and neck. I was feeling claustrophobic but my muffled complaints fell on death ears. there were these little camers mounted inside the box to look at my face. Why?

ALL i KNOW IS NEXT they were cutting clothes off me and the though going through my mind is they are stripping us. SO THE WORST went through my head.

The good news is they didn’t nuder me or doing anything to my man hood or my anus. ...........well the first part for the most part. See they used these tools on us like vibrators and so on. but they never went in to deep thankfully. they basically got grabby and frisk with all parts of me, but thankfully never with anything oral of their own bodies. Didn’t matter, I was nude, getting spanked and whipped but that part was just to get me nice and tender. for the most part they groped and tickeld me and forced me to laugh they used back scratched and hair brushes to dig into my senstive skin. They graded my laugh as perfect and ideal but they ridiculed my body shape and also claimed I needed more softenign up as well. I wasn’t that fat but you’d think I would be soft. apparently I was to much of the former and not enough of the latter. whatever that means. Anyways they then said I needed to be sent to the Training Camp, which doesn’t sound good. Training for what?! They also said I looked like I’d be popular, because my views are going up. My views? is that what those camera were for, they were showing me off? for WHAT?!

Anyways I’ve been labled as too fat, not soft enough not pale or pink enough. cute eyes, nice hair. quality feet, spectacular laugher. They slid me in the back of a truck still suspended up by those poles and I could feel the weight of 2 layers ov people stacked on top of us. I’m aleast greatful somewhat for the sheets they covered each layer with. I’d rather not feel you know what on my back side especially after I got whipped and tickled. it’s bad enough they sprayed us with something before they loaded us, that makes me feel extremely itchy! The trip would be long and unbearable. But where are being taken? I wouldn’t know it yet, but basicly you could call it tickle hell for White captives.

There I would find myself under the tuttoring if you could call it that of a private trainer. A trainer’s whos job was make me thinner, fit a specific look that was wanted from me. intensify my sensitivity, increase my submissiveness and teach me obedience. Oh and that CRT stuff you hear about combined with something called TRT WHICH STANDS FOR Ticklish Race theory, though they tought both like their both fact rather than theory. and I’m not getting out of here until I’ve been branded IDEAL! and then when that eventualy happens I apprantly have some potential buyers. Is this even legal? My guess is no one know’s what is going on or don’t even care. Either way I don’t get a happy ending , I am the happy ending for someone else. And so this is my story of how I would be defeated and be put in my place.

(So who’d like to Role play the conclusion? You can role play as the trainer or as the person who got ahold of me after words. I prefer f/ms since I’m male but I can permit fm/m as well. meaning I’m fine with not only with being dommed by women but also couples as well.)

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tsukishumai · 3 years

Text

pairing: miya osamu x gn!reader genre: fluff, strangers to lovers, slow burn word count: 3.2k summary: In which Osamu finds that the stranger lurking outside his store window has a connection to his restaurant that he could have never expected.

Osamu remembers every single face that has walked through the doors of Onigiri Miya since the day they’ve opened. He has yet to hire another worker, manning all stations of his business himself. The rush hours always provided him with a bit of a heavy work load, but Osamu has learned a lot about diligence and patience. Business had been good enough; traffic was steady throughout the day, and he had his fair share of regulars whose orders he had already memorized.

The stuffy, salt-and-pepper haired man in the pressed three-piece suit always ordered two umeboshi onigiri and a medium iced green tea. The kind old woman that ran the shop across the street would come in for his salted salmon, and if he had extra, Osamu would throw in an extra tuna mayo. She’d always smile and give him a pat on the shoulder, her eyes crinkling in a way that reminded Osamu of his grandmother.

It was when the shopkeeper had slowly walked out of his establishment and back to her own that Osamu noticed you standing a few feet away from his storefront. You had been wearing a face mask, but Osamu could see that you were staring at his sign. Your eyes squinted at the block letters that looked down at you, before they trailed down to land directly on Osamu. You seemed a little startled at the fact that his eyes were already staring at you, but you were standing outside his restaurant, weren’t you?

Before he could lift a hand to wave you in, you quickly turned and walked away.

Every few days, either during the dinner or lunch rush, Osamu would catch a glimpse of you outside of his restaurant. You’d stare at his sign for a few seconds; maybe glance at the menu board that stood a few feet away from his entrance, or look at the pictures of his full menu taped to the restaurant window. he would see the way you studied each item, yet you always walked the opposite direction.

It bothered Osamu. Why didn’t you want to come in? Did his menu look boring? Was his sign uninviting? Is his decoration too traditional? Should he have made it look a little more modern? He grumbled to himself about it each time you peeked in, and walked away. Why do you bother coming so often if you didn’t want to try his food? Osamu huffed.

It wasn’t until four weeks later, when Osamu had posted three brand new flavors on his menu board that you finally deemed his restaurant worthy enough to step in.

You had stopped by a little bit later than usual today, the dinner rush had come and gone, and the only ones left in the restaurant were you and Osamu. He stood patiently waiting behind his counter, desperately trying to look busy and as if he hasn’t been waiting for this moment for weeks.

He waited until you were close enough to his counter to say his greetings. You nodded at him in acknowledgment, taking a seat at the bar in front of him. He handed you a menu, and your eyes roved over the words as if they hadn’t done so dozens of times prior.

“Can I get ya anything to drink?” He asked, and you took off the baseball cap you had been wearing, setting it down on the counter beside you. Your finger hooks along the ear loop of your face mask and Osamu realizes he’s seeing your face for the first time. You place the piece of cloth in your pocket, and Osamu fights the heat across his cheeks.

“Just water,” you said, and Osamu was quick to set a fresh glass down in front of you.

“What’ll it be?” He asked after a few moments, adjusting the bill of his hat and settling his hand on his hip.

You hum a little, tapping your finger against your lips before you reply. “I’ll have the combo #2 with the gyoza.”

Osamu nodded, “What two flavors onigiri would you like?”

“For the first one, I’ll have your most popular flavor,” you say, before closing the menu and handing it back to him, “I’ll let you choose the second one.”

Osamu raised an eyebrow at your odd request, but nods anyway, putting the menu away and walking back to give his hands a quick wash.

He begins to gather his ingredients when he noticed you take out a notepad and a pen from your bag, placing it on the counter in front of your water.

“So,” he says, starting the process of making his number one seller (salted salmon), “What was it?”

“Excuse me?” You asked, pausing the drink that was half way to your lips. “What was what?”

“Well, ya stood outside for weeks, so I gotta know,” Osamu said, placing the delicate filling into the ball of rice he was kneading in his palm, “What made ya decide to finally come in?”

You tightened your lips, awkwardly setting the cup back down on the counter and placing a palm on your forehead.

“I was that obvious?”

“Were ya trying not to be?” He laughed, looking at you expectantly.

“It was the flavors on your board,” you finally replied, leaning back in your seat, “There was one that my grandfather used to make.”

Osamu smiled to himself, wrapping his first finished onigiri in the seaweed he had roasted earlier that day, placing it gently on a serving platter and moving over to make the next rice ball.

“That’s a coincidence,” Osamu said, “Your grandfather must have had great taste.”

“He used to own a restaurant,” you blurted out, and Osamu hummed.

“You’re kidding,” he said, “Whereabouts?”

You nibbled on your bottom lip, shifting your eyes side to side as if debating on whether you wanted to divulge him in your greatest secret. Eventually, you leaned forward, resting your elbow on the counter and placing your chin in your palm. “Actually, it was this one.”

Osamu’s fingers froze. “Ya don’t mean—?”

You nodded excitedly. Osamu lets out a scoff. “Now you’re just messin’ with me.”

“No, I swear!” A bright smile erupted across your cheeks as you jumped a little in your seat, “My grandparents used to own this restaurant.”

“I thought this was a boutique before I bought it?” Osamu questioned, putting his final touches on the second rice ball.

“It was,” you agreed, taking a sip from your water, “They owned this place until I was in high school, and sold it before they retired somewhere in the mountains. It’s been a few different stores since, but this is the first time it’s become a restaurant again. I was pretty surprised when I first saw it.”

Osamu felt an odd sensation of pride began to brew in his chest, shown in the way he sprinkled his sesame seeds a little extra forcefully.

“Well,” he said, placing the plate of two perfect onigiri right on the counter in front of you, “I hope I do this place some justice.”

You smiled, and Osamu found himself smiling with you. He pointed out the shake on the left, and the surprise flavor on the right. You nodded, intrigued, picking up the onigiri lying on the left side.

Osamu makes the gyoza while you take your first bite, nearly pumping his fist in victory when he sees you close your eyes in satisfaction, the tension he didn’t even know you carried slowly melting from your shoulders. He sees you quickly jot down comments on the notepad next to you, and Osamu tries to peek at what you wrote when he gives you the gyoza.

“Ya jottin’ down comments about my food?” He joked, and you jumped a little at his voice, “Got any suggestions, then?”

You smile sheepishly, “It’s just a little hobby of mine.”

He nods, grabbing a towel and wiping down the counter that he had just used. “Well, ya let me know if ya need anything else.”

“It’s just you working tonight?” You ask, grabbing your chopsticks and picking up a piece of gyoza.

“It’s just me every night,” he chuckled.

Your eyes widened as you chewed on your food, swallowing with a loud gulp.

“Doesn’t that get exhausting?” You ask, quickly jotting down your notes before diverting your attention back to him.

Osamu just shrugged. “I poured my everything into something I didn’t love half as much as cooking. This is just how I know how to do things.”

You tilted your head to the side, “What did you do before this?”

Osamu takes a deep breath as he lifts his hat up a little bit to ruffle his fingers through his hair. He flips the cap around and puts it on backwards, his vision no longer half covered by the bill of his hat and he can now look at you fully. He almost wants to laugh because no one has ever asked him that version of this question before. It was always, ‘What are you going to be doing after volleyball?’

He hated the fact that any answer other than ‘I’m going to play professionally’ was deemed a shame, or a waste. For Osamu, he didn’t want to waste another second not pursuing his passion.

So it was refreshing to tell you about volleyball as if it was just a footnote in his food journey; something that he had done prior to finally recognizing his actual potential.

You gawked at him in disbelief, “Volleyball? Were you even any good?”

Osamu actually recoiled in offense, “I’ll have ya know I was on a team that went to nationals three years in a row.”

You raised your eyebrows appreciatively, and Osamu straightened a little.

“So why food?” You question him again, and Osamu wonders if you’re always this inquisitive. He’s answered this question hundreds of times, swore up and down that he would shoot the next person that even dared to say ‘Why food?’ in front of him. Yet for some reason, he felt more than happy to divulge you.

“Because food is more than just something ya eat when you’re hungry. It’s coming back from a long trip, and it’s the warmth that spreads through your body when ya eat your mom’s cooking for the first time. That taste of victory that spreads across your tongue when ya go out for a meal with your pals after a game. The sensation of closing your eyes in satisfaction when ya take a bite out of a fresh onigiri after a long day,” you pause your scribbles at that moment, looking up to shoot him a playful glare. Osamu chuckled and continued, “It’s laughter shared around the table, and memories made over a plate that makes food more than just nourishment for our body, but also for our soul.”

Osamu feels his cheeks heat up as he finishes his speech, embarrassment beginning to sink in at the end of his long tangent. You looked at him with a soft look on your face as you finished the last bite of your first onigiri, and dusted your fingers from any stray grains of rice.

“Words to live by,” you commented, lifting your glass of water up in agreement before tilting it back for a drink.

He let out a breath of relief that lasted only a second when he saw you reach over to pick up the onigiri with toppings he picked out for you. He held his breath as you took a bite, not expecting to see your eyes widen so fast, snapping your head down to the innocent rice ball that now sported a bite mark.

“Shio kombu cheese?” you say hurriedly, holding the onigiri closer to your face.

Osamu steps forward, “Do ya like it?”

You take another bite, chewing slowly, savoring the flavors as they melded in your mouth, and your eyes nearly begin to water.

“I never thought someone other than my grandfather would be weird enough to come up with this,” you laughed, scarfing down the rice ball in less than two seconds. “Yet here it is.”

“It’s not weird,” he defended, “It’s refined.”

You laugh as you dive into a story from your childhood spent sitting in this exact restaurant. Osamu listens intently as you recount how many different failed recipes your grandfather had forced you to ty and review, helping him decide what to put on the menu, or which combinations would bring in the businessmen that always seemed to just walk passed the restaurant.

He tells you of the tantrum his brother threw when he told him he was quitting volleyball, but still, Atsumu was his first sale. You pester him about his secret ingredient, and give him an incredulous look when he says it’s the rice. (“My old volleyball captain is a rice farmer.” “… what an interesting volleyball team.”)

The furniture was different, and the lay out was unfamiliar, but the atmosphere around Osamu’s counter had brought you right back into your childhood, reminding you of all the reasons why you loved what you did in the first place.

Long after your plates had been emptied, and the hour hand on the clock had extended way passed closing time, you finally paid for your meal, stood up from your seat and prepared to take your leave.

“Thank you for the meal, and the conversation,” you lean forward to read his name tag, “Miya-san.”

“Osamu,” he corrects, and raises an eyebrow at you.

You tell him your name, and Osamu repeats it in his mind over and over again.

“Come back soon,” he calls out his usual greeting as you walked out the door, but it felt different when he said it to you.

“I will,” you smile, waving a hand before stepping into the night, leaving Osamu with a dizzy head and fluttering stomach.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

In the following weeks since his late night encounter with you, Onigiri Miya had ceased to be a simple stop along someone’s route to work, or an afterthought on the way home.

One could imagine Osamu’s surprise when he arrived an hour and half before he was due to open, and already a line began to form down the sidewalk. He thought, perhaps it was a fluke, or maybe there was some sort of business convention in town nearby – something to explain the sudden spike in popularity.

Yet day after day, the crowds of people came to him by the dozens, climbing over each other to get a taste of his cooking. He couldn’t stop to wonder how long this was going to last, barely having the time to stop and give himself a break.

He finally realizes it’s not merely coincidence when the lines get longer, yet the faces he sees stay the same. Osamu remembers every single face that walks through the doors of Onigiri Miya, and it’s the ones that he sees over and over that truly give his restaurant its meaning.

The last customer of the dinner rush left thirty minutes ago when Osamu’s phone rang.

“‘llo,” he greets, sandwiching the phone between his ear and shoulder as he sweeps the floor, thinking about how he needed to start looking for someone to hire.

“Hey, asshole,” the voice of his twin comes through loud and clear, “When were ya gonna tell me ya invited that food blogger to your restaurant? And how the hell did ya get them to like your garbage cooking?”

Osamu stops in confusion, grabbing the phone and holding it up himself. “Did ya finally get hit in the head a little too hard at practice? What the hell are ya talking about?”

Atsumu curses at Osamu, telling him to hold on a second as he sends him the link.

Osamu pulls the phone away from his ear for a second, quickly pressing on the blue url that popped up from Atsumu’s chat bubble.

It took a second for it to load, but when it did, Osamu’s jaw dropped

ONIGIRI MIYA IS AN ONIGIRI MUST HAVE by L/N Y/N

Beneath the obnoxious title was a photo of his sign, shining brightly against the wooden panels of his building, looking very much like a beacon for those searching for the perfect plate.

“Your shop is all over the internet and I had to find out about it on my news feed?! What the hell kinda brother are ya...”

Atsumu’s voice faded into the background as Osamu read the flattering words you had written about his restaurant. You complimented the decoration he had been insecure about, and he chuckled at the way you had described the fluffiness of his rice. He was captivated by your use of prose, painting the perfect picture of exactly everything he wanted his food to convey.

It wasn’t until he got to the last paragraph when he felt his breath hitch in his throat.

Though the years have passed, and the season have changed, the sentimentality of this particular shop had never lost its meaning for me. For the first time in years, I felt the soul of my grandfather, the curator of my inspiration and passion, all around the atmosphere of what is now Onigiri Miya. I have every faith that the new owner has already done him justice.

“Excuse me, are you still open?”

Osamu tore his eyes away from the screen, the very author of the only review that will ever matter to him stood a mere few feet away from his counter.

“Call you later, Tsumu,” he said hurriedly.

“Hey, wh—“

Osamu slips his phone back into his pocket, turning his attention back to you. You had a cheeky smile on your face as you waited patiently.

“Welcome to Onigiri Miya,” he says dryly, and you laugh at his tone.

“Should you be on your phone while you’re on the clock?” You joke as you settle in the same seat you occupied the last time you paid him a visit.

“I don’t know,” Osamu crosses his arms, “Should ya be writing articles about people without telling em?”

You winced a little at his words, holding your hands up in surrender. “You saw it then?”

Osamu nodded.

You looked to the side, rubbing the side of your arm. “Did you like what I wrote?”

Osamu smiled, uncrossing his arms and walking to the back to wash his hands. You watch him curiously as he walked back to you, and pointed to a spot on the wall directly to your right.

“That’s where I’m gonna put it,” he said, “when I print it out and frame it.”

You laughed at the seriousness of his face, and he smirked in satisfaction.

You ordered the combo #2 with a side of gyoza, letting Osamu pick the two flavors. You mentioned how you tried to visit a couple of times, but the line was always so far out the door. He realizes that he has you to thank for that, and you blush deeply when he sincerely tells you so.

“So,” you say as you munch on the honey garlic pork onigiri he prepared, “Aren’t you glad you did this instead of boring, old volleyball?”

Osamu nearly chokes at the insult. “Volleyball is not boring.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he says, clearing his throat, “Let me take you to a game some time. We can eat something other than rice balls.”

You look up from the half eaten onigiri at the chef who made it so carefully, looking so bashful and nervous you couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah. I would love that.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

thank you for reading! reblogs are highly appreciated <33

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takenbyheartstrings · 3 years

Text

Project Parker | peter parker.

part one: IN YOUR EYES || series masterlist

[ enemies! peter parker x fem!reader || warnings. fluff & swearing, sexual innuendo || wc. ]

a/n. WELCOME TO MY NEW SERIES <3 i hope you enjoy reading this!!

YOU WERE SAT AT YOUR desk in class as MJ wrote in her notebook. She looked over at you, as you looked over at Peter Parker to which she was having a staring contest with as he walked through the door, he flashed her a smirk, “Y/n! Looking great today, I just love it when people embrace their flaws.” He chuckles before going to sit down, you hold your foot out as the boy trips, looking at you with a slight fire to his gaze.

You chuckled, “Oops,” You pouted your lips giving him a sorry look, but it wasn’t true. You didn’t like Peter and he didn’t like you. You don’t know when you started hating Peter. Maybe it was when he started being better than you at certain things. When you got bumped down to second in the class?

Your teacher coughs trying to get the classes gaze away from you and Peter, “Okay, we’re doing a science project!” She smiles cheerily, “Now, this is going to be different this time, I’m partnering you up,” The whole class groans angrily.

“Don’t expect me to be lenient either, okay,” Miss Grundle claps her hands together, “Uh first up we have Flash Thompson and Ned Leeds.” Ned looks like he could just about shit himself.

“Michelle Jones and Harrison Osborn.” Harry smiles and winks as Michelle rolls her eyes even if she has the slightest of crushes.

The teacher reads through the rest of the names and then you notice that everyone has paired up except for you and one other person your eyes meet Peter’s like they did at the beginning of the class. “NO!” You practically scream, “No! No! NO!”

“Miss Grundle!” MJ speaks up, “It’s really not a good idea, she hates him and he hates her. I don’t know if you’ve picked up on that.”

Peter smirks, “Am I really that repulsive?” he asks nobody in-particular, “But if it’s any consultation, Miss Grundle, I say ‘No! No! NO!’ too.” He mocks your voice.

You roll your eyes, and open your mouth but Miss Grundle interrupts, “No, no’s.” She hisses, “You guys are partners, this is your problem now.”

The two of you had to discuss the project, but you sat there drawing and he sat there staring at the clock waiting for the godawful task to be over. But you couldn’t wait out the awkward silence anymore. The two of you had to discuss something otherwise the you would fail.

“What the fuck are we gonna do?” you asked Peter suddenly.

His eyes went wide at your choice of words, “Woah! Okay, uh…” You chuckled at the way he was flustered.

“What? Can’t handle the word fuck?” You questioned him getting in close, whispering the word in his ear, “Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck.” You spoke as his cheeks went a deep crimson red.

“No, no! I just-” The poor boy cuts himself off, “Let’s just focus on the project. Did you have any ideas?”

You blew a raspberry and you rolled your eyes, “No.”

He grins, his smile full of that sarcasm that you just loved, “Keep rolling your eyes and maybe, just maybe you’ll find a brain back there. I can’t make any promises though,”

You go to roll your eyes once more, but you catch yourself in the act, “Whatever,” You mumbled, “Maybe we could take something simple and put a twist on it. I mean, it is science, we can mix whatever we want and make an explosion.”

Peter looks at you thoughtfully, “I don’t think that’s how it-”

The bell cuts him off and as he goes to continue what he was going to say, so does your voice, “Look, Parker, we’ll go to the library after school,”

The boy sighs, hating himself for what he’s about to offer, “Why don’t you come over?” He asks you, “My place is closer than the library. That’s like a forty minute walk, fifteen minute drive. Mine’s only a five minute walk away.”

You stand up and made your way toward the door, stopping before you could exit, “If I didn’t know any better, it sounds like you’re trying to get me in bed.” And with that you finally left the room, leaving Peter to blush once more.

At the end of the day you met Peter by his locker, you got stares but you waved them off, he opened his locker and you were met with the sight of a little lego man, a whiteboard and a whole load of notebooks and like three backpacks. You didn’t know what to say, so you didn’t say anything. You just observed. Peter finally shut his locker, and swung his backpack over his shoulder. He started walking and you took that as a signal to follow, your pink and white air max’s pressing onto the floor. The two of you didn’t speak on the way to his house, nor on the way up the stairs or as you walked into his room. It was odd seeing it. He had a bunk bed, you didn’t know what for since he was an only child.

Maybe for when Ned sleeps over? You thought to yourself.

He had multiple Star Wars posters on his walls and a desk covered in papers and notebooks and more backpacks were sat in next to it. How many backpacks does this kid have? What didn’t help you was the fact that they were all the same, same style, same colour. You didn’t speak on it though, if the kid collects backpacks, he collects backpacks.

Peter was sat on his desk chair and noticed you just standing there, doing nothing, but before he could say anything you took a seat on his plaid sheets. Looking around the room you made eye-contact with his things, his trinkets. His LEGO Star Wars figures. You had only ever talked to Peter in class so when you were in his room it made it seem all different and weird, you felt squirmy sitting in here. Like you couldn’t.

“So we should start on the project, right?” Peter questioned you.

“Uh,” Was the only thing that came out of your mouth. You looked over at the door and picked up your black and white backpack and stormed out of his apartment. You didn’t know what was happening you but you couldn’t sit in there anymore. You couldn’t deal with looking at Peters things, the things that make him more than someone you just made snarky and mean remarks to.

Peter followed you down the stairs, “Y/N WHERE ARE YOU GOING WE NEED TO DO THE PROJECT.” By the time he made it down the stairs he saw you sitting next to the stairs in front of his building. Your head in your knees.

“What’s wrong?” He questioned, you didn’t know what to say to him and he didn’t know what to do. So he sat down next to you and put his hand on your shoulder, and he expected you to shrug it off - but you didn’t.

“I’m sorry.” You speak, and he looks sort of surprised, he never expected you to ever say it. The girl who had picked on him for so long even when he started picking on her back, “Look, I’ve just- I- I never,” You didn’t know how to speak, “I was always jealous of you. You get good grades, you’re cute, you always know what to say, have the right answers. You’re just perfect.”

“Did you just call me, cute?” Peter laughed, and you whacked him softly.

“Shut up,” You smiled softly.

He returned the soft grin, “I could say the same thing,” Your grin got slightly wider, as you looked down at your hands. “Let’s truce.” Peter speaks up.

“Really?” You questioned him, “Don’t you hate me?”

“Look, Y/N, you’ve never been anything but rude, or mean, or snarky. But, I never actually hated you.” Peter talks, “Everything you said about me, I could say about you - I think the reason we always hated each other was because of everything that we have in common, so let’s think about what we don’t have in common and go from there, maybe we can actually be friends.”

“Okay,” You smiled, “Let’s be friends.” You stood up, “So let’s think of this as our project first and then we can do the actual project. We’ve got weeks.”

“That’s probably cause the project is supposed to take weeks.” Peter retorts.

“Shut up, Parker!” You laughed.

When the two of you got back up to Peter’s room, you took a seat on his bed once more, all of a sudden it wasn’t scary anymore. It didn’t seem like the world was closing in around you as you looked around.

“So let’s start, clearly, your favourite movie is Star Wars - mine is Now You See Me, there’s something about hot magicians that turns me on. Does Leia do the same to you or?” You comment with a smirk.

Peter’s eyes go wide at your comment, “I- uh- I’m-”

“Relax, Parker, I’m kidding.” You lay back on his plaid sheets, smiling up at the ceiling.

You and Peter start brainstorming ideas of what you could do, building off of what you had said earlier, something simple with a twist on it. It seemed like a good plan, but simplicity is often the hardest thing to do. You sighed as you looked up at the wood planks of the bunk bed, you don’t catch it but your eyes start to close, until they do and you doze off, falling asleep. You hadn’t noticed it but night had fallen over New York, and then you woke up, Peter nowhere to be found. You were still in your clothes from the school day, but your hair was fucked up and there was mascara and lipgloss smudged on your face, a blanket was over you though, a blanket that wasn’t there earlier. However, your breath tasted foul.

You stood up feeling slightly lightheaded as you saw the texts from your mother on your phone from not too long ago, 10mins it read next to her name, so you clicked on the contact and called her.

“Hey mum, sorry I’ll be home soon I just fell asleep at MJ’s is all.” You explained, you didn’t want to tell your mum you were at a boy’s place. Especially Peter’s, after you talk your mouth off about how much you hated him.

Your mum lets out a sigh of relief, “Okay good, I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.” You can hear her smile through the phone.

You picked up your black and white backpack for the second time that evening, walking out the door to be met with a lady with large frames on her eyes, “Who are you?” She asks, “I knew Peter told me he had someone over, now I know why he wouldn’t tell me who.”

“My names Y/N,” You told her almost regretting it when her jaw dropped.

“OH MY GOD, no way, you’re the last person I expected to see here, Peter never shuts up about how much he hates you, honestly, I think he has a crush on you. I’m also his aunt May by the way,”

You laugh at her rambling, “Well, I’m the last person I’d expect to see here too, but Miss Grundle put us together for a project.” May nodded, “Speaking of Peter where is he? I wanna say bye before I leave.”

She tenses a little, but then relax’s, “He’s at the store buying us a chicken, because I can’t cook to save my life.” She smiles, “You’re welcome to stay.” She offers but you shake your head.

“My mum is expecting me home, so I’ve gotta go, but thank you.” You smile kindly.

“Well, maybe next time then,” She returns a smile.

“Yeah, next time.” You walk out of the apartment, closing the door behind you, you didn’t know why you felt so happy but you did.

You and Peter Parker were friends and you were happy about it.

#Peter parker x reader #peter parker x reader imagines #peter parker #peter parker x reader imagine #peter parker x reader one shot #peter parker x reader angst #peter parker fluff #peter parker angst #peter parker smut

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iamverysmall-andihavenomoney · 3 years

Text

Suna + Miya Twins Overhear You Talking About Them

I just did the Inarizaki boys that I’m most comfortable with writing for. But I don’t mind doing more of them, if you guys want to see them!

Haikyū!! Masterlist

Pairings: Suna Rintarō x Gender Neutral! Reader, Miya Atsumu x Gender Neutral! Reader, Miya Osamu x Gender Neutral! Reader

Warnings: Fluff, you are a badass in Atsumu’s part, strong language

Suna Rintarō:

Suna didn’t have afternoon practice, for once.

Kita had been drilling them pretty hard lately. And even the dedicated Captain needed a break, every once in a while.

So, he’d given the rest of the team off as well.

So, your boyfriend had decided to surprise you.

With how hard he’d been working recently, he honestly couldn’t wait to walk you home and take a nap with you.

It was something he’d been looking forward to, since the moment he’d found out that they wouldn’t be having practice today.

Walking through the halls, he soon locates your classroom, smiling lazily as he spots your classroom, taking longer strides as he nears your classroom.

He steps aside to let your classmates pass him by, before then stepping in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe as his eyes scan the room for you.

Once he locates you speaking to your friends, he finally steps into the room and begins to walk over to you.

Holding a finger to his lips to silence your friends, he gets ready to hug you from behind.

Though, he stops short when he hears you say his name, suddenly tuning to your conversation with your friends.

Listening you brag about him

Listening to you brag about the date he took you on

Listening to you brag about the male who did your eyeliner in the morning and who you picked out jewelry for, in the morning

The biggest smile spread across Suna’s lips.

“- Yeah, so when we got there Rintarō made me put a blindfold on, which I was kind of suspicious of, of course, because I trust him and all, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is still very much friends with the Miya twins. He’d set up a picnic under the cherry blossom trees, for us.” You grin as you brag about the date your boyfriend had taken you on. “He says Osamu helped him with the food, but I think he was only saying that to be modest.”

“He’s just so perfect. I love him so much,” you let out a breathy laugh, wearing a huge grin on your face. “And did you see his fucking eyeliner today? Boy is about to make me act up. Not to mention that whenever I stay the night, he pulls me into his lap so he can do my eyeliner like his. He’s so cute.”

Rintarō couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh, wrapping his arms around you from behind and resting his head on your shoulder. “Hey, baby.” He cooes in your ear. And there was no hesitance in the way you sunk back into his arms, leaning in to kiss his cheek with a sheepish grin.

“So, how much of that did you hear?” You ask quietly.

Your friends, having seen and heard enough of the lovey-dovey moments you shared between you and your boyfriend, decide to finally take their leave. “Well, he walked in, about the time you were ranting about how you wanted him to teach you to skateboard,” one responds with a smirk.

Though another finishes, “No clue when he finally started paying attention, though!” With a chorus of laughs, they wave as the small group begins to leave.

Turning in his arms so you can face him, you smile up at your boyfriend, to which he grins right back down at you. “So... You talk about me?” He raises an eyebrow.

Though his voice had a teasing lilt to it, looking in his eyes, you didn’t see condescension or judgement. Just adoration.

“Yeah, all of the time, Rintarō.” You respond with a smile. “Why wouldn’t I want to brag about you, to anyone that would listen?” You bring your hands to his cheeks, grinning at the way he looks towards the floor, almost in embarrassment.

“I love you, Y/N.” Rintarō cooes to you, before leaning in and pressing a sweet kiss to your lips.

“I love you too, Rintarō.”

“Please don’t stop,” he says, placing a chaste kiss to your forehead.

You furrow your brows, “What, bragging about you?”

He shrugs in response, “That... Being you. Loving me.”

“Never.” You state firmly, making him grin as he incircles you with his arm, ready to take you home so he could curl up in bed with you.

Miya Atsumu:

So, he wasn’t supposed to overhear you.

Definitely not.

Usually after his games, it took them a while to load up the bus, for the trip back to their own gym.

Sometimes you helped them, sometimes you stayed to talk with friends.

Today, it was talking to friends... Or a friend, rather.

This two day tournament was to continue tomorrow. The team that would be playing against the winners of the last match of the day had come to scope out the competition.

Boy were they surprised when they saw someone as attractive as you, sporting an Inarizaki jersey.

Wanting to not only antagonize whatever team member you were here to support, but also flirt with you, a few of the players waltz over to you and your friend.

Imagine Atsumu’s surprise when he comes to pick up his partner and another team is flirting with them.

His temper got the best of him and he took a few steps forward.

Though, he was stopped by Osamu and Suna, who had joined him in coming to get you.

Suna pulled his phone out and started recording, Osamu telling him to listen with an amused grin on his face.

And as he finally tuned in to what was being said, he just grinning proudly.

“Hold on, hold on... Did he just say what I think he said?” You glance at your friend, who just shakes their head in amusement at your rhetorical question. You laugh and shake your head, “My boyfriend was the setter. And I dare you to keep running your mouth about him.”

You take a step forward, crossing your arms. “Well, go on tough guy. You were saying something about him, weren’t you? You’re talking about Japan’s best high school setter. Not to mention, he’s a pretty damn good server, as well. And on top of that, he’s been invited to the All-Japan Intensive Youth Training Camp. So, before you start running your mouth, best get your facts straight. You’ll lose tomorrow. And that’s that. Inarizaki is going to hand your ass to you.”

“Come on, F/N. We have a bus to catch.” You state, turning around to walk away. As you spot your boyfriend and his two closest friends standing there, watching you with prideful grins, your eyes widen a bit.

How long had they been there? Was Suna recording you? Rolling your eyes, you walk over to the three boys, easily pulling your boyfriend’s arm over your shoulders, Atsumu making sure to flip the shit-talker off, before turning to walk away with you, your three friends following shortly behind.

Atsumu smirks as he looks down at you. “Brag about me like that often, do ya’?”

“All of the time,” your friend groans from their spot behind you, in between Suna and Osamu.

You feel your ears growing warm as you shoot them a short glare, though Atsumu just grips your chin, stopping your walking to pull you into a kiss. Grumbling comes from the other three, so they just continue on to the bus, leaving you both in their wake.

“You know... It means a lot... That ya’ brag about me..,” he tells you as he separates from you momentarily, gently stroking his thumb against your temple as he cradles your cheek in his palm.

You smile and lean your face into his hand. “Good. I wasn’t planning on stopping, anytime soon.” You whisper, closing your eyes as you press a sweet kiss to his palm, adoring eyes watching you.

Despite him acting the part of a hot-headed ass, quite often... No one could deny that you made him absolutely melt. The male couldn’t help his tenderness with you. “I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you too, Atsumu.” You open your eyes to look at him, catching his soft gaze, just looking up into his eyes.

Until Osamu broke the moment by screaming at you two to get on the bus, with the rest of the team.

Miya Osamu:

It wasn’t often that you hung out with Suna and Atsumu, without Osamu around.

Not that you didn’t enjoy their company, but you were around your boyfriend pretty often.

With Atsumu prying about whether he’d made a better boyfriend than Osamu or not, he ended up provoking you into bragging about how great your boyfriend was.

But here’s the kicker.

This wasn’t the first time you had bragged about Osamu to his brother and best friend.

But every time you did, Suna couldn’t manage to get it on video

And Osamu didn’t believe his brother, when Atsumu teased him about having an S/O that was so proud and bragged about him, all of the time.

You always seemed so calm and nonchalant around him.

So of course he doubted Atsumu when he told his brother how you’d animatedly bragged about him.

So, Osamu waited (hidden) in the closet in the gym, while Suna and Atsumu sat with you on the bleachers ‘waiting’ for him.

Osamu has never grown so red, so quick

Because he was wrong.

You did, in fact, brag about him, and he found it to be absolutely adorable and sweet of you.

He swore, he had hearts in his eyes.

“No, Atsumu. Did you cook a six course meal for your significant other? Did you take them to a carnival the next night? Do you play with their hair and let them sleep with their head on your lap, risking getting in trouble for it, in class? Do you leave notes in their locker and bring them their favorite homemade foods where they’re sick?” You huff, narrowing your eyes at the blonde challengingly. If anyone could provoke you, it would be Suna and Atsumu. They were such fucking assholes and knew which buttons to prod at, every time.

“Don’t open your mouth to speak. You know he’s the more romantic of you two.” You huff, crossing your hands over your chest. “Don’t you already argue with him enough about this? Who’s got the partner, right now, Atsumu? - That’s right, Osamu. It’s a losing argument.”

So what if you were a rather competitive person? It was one of the many reasons that Osamu had been so attracted to you, in the first place. You didn’t hate Atsumu and you meant it as nothing more than banter - and he knew that, by the look of the smirk on his face. You and Atsumu argued almost as often as he and his brother did. Only, it didn’t get as heated, between you both.

You didn’t even hear your boyfriend coming next to the bleachers, not even realizing he’s there, until he’s wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you down from the bleachers and into his arms. “Oh yeah? Ya’ think so, doll?” He cooes in your ear, grinning at the way you glare at Atsumu.

“You set me up. Just you two wait until I get my hands on you, alright?” You watch as Suna suddenly finds himself standing.

“You know, I think that I hear my sister calling for me.” The brunet nods, before lazily saluting you both, taking his leave.

Atsumu takes the hint with wide eyes. “I think I hear his sister calling me too... See y’all around, alright kiddos? Don’t have too much fun, ya’ hear?”

You roll your eyes as they leave, before looking at Osamu, who’s still staring down at you with a cocked eyebrow and a lazy smirk. “Ya’ know, I didn’t believe ‘Tsumu when he said that you bragged about me... Kind of glad I didn’t, ‘cause then I got to hear ya’ do it first hand.”

“You enjoy hearing about me brag about you that much?” You raise an eyebrow at him, curiously.

With a sheepish shrug, Osamu nods. “Yeah... I’ve never had anyone... Y’know, brag about me like ya’ do. It means a lot to me, ta’ here ya’ brag about me like I’m something special.”

“You are special, ‘Samu.” You tell him, placing a hand on his cheek. “Really special... And I love you, you know that?”

He places his hand on top of yours, pressing his cheek into your warm palm. “I love ya’ too, Y/N... A whole lot.”

General Taglist:

@thathoneybee3

#saffron’s works #🤍.suna #suna rintarō fluff #suna rintarō #suna fluff #atsumu miya fluff #atsumu miya #atsumu fluff #osamu miya #osamu miya fluff #osamu fluff #suna x reader #suna rintarō x reader #atsumu miya x reader #atsumu x reader #osamu miya x reader #osamu x reader

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hangezoeenthusiast · 3 years

Text

Totem of Undying

gn!reader

person: c!technoblade

word count: 1,852

warnings: blood, yelling, cursing, failed execution (art not mine, SAD-ist on youtube)

One day, you were pacing across Techno’s floor, wearing out the carpet, wondering were he was. He was gone for 9 days, and normally he isn’t out for that long.

He specifically said before his little expedition, “I won’t be gone long, I just got to get something for Phil.” “Ok, have fun honey.” you said, not looking up at him from your book. “You’re sure you don’t need anything?” he asked, trying to find a way to spend a little more time with you before he left. “Yeah, I’m sure, just tell Phil that I said hi.”

“Ok, bye my Aphrodite.”

Ever since, you haven’t gotten any messages on the comms, no messenger birds from him, or any sign of communication between the piglin hybrid and you.

“If he was going to Phil, then I should call Phil.” you murmured under your breath. How could you forget, he said he was going to get something for Phil, so he must be with him.

You looked for you phone, and called Phil’s number. “Hello, who is this?” replied on the other side of the phone. “Phil, is this you, I need to talk to you.”

“Oh hey Y/n, how are you doing?” “Not particularly well, um I have a question, is Techno there, he isn’t answering my calls.”

"Umm, well, he isn't here right now." he states, regret lacing his words. "Well where is he, it's urg-" Phil cut you off, "Y/n, you don't know?"

"What do you mean Phil?"

"I don't wanna say this, but he got captured by the Butcher Army." "Are you fucking kidding me, when he get caught?" you questioned. "IThey came to your house a few days ago, didn't you see them?" "No, I don't think so."

Then you suddenly remembered, “I think they might have came to our house. I was on a trip to get some spider eyes, so I guess that’s when they came over and got Techno.”

“Yeah, they haven’t come back yet, they tried to interrogate me, but I said no, and then they put an ankle monitior on me.” “They decided that if I wasn’t going to tell them anything, they would confine me to my house.”

You apologized to him, “I’m sorry Phil, hopefully you get that off soon enough.” “It’s fine Y/n/n, right now, what I’m concerned about is Techno. The Butcher Army built something, it’s a little cage with an anvil, I watched them build it, but it was kinda vague to me.” "I'm coming to L'Manberg Phil, I'll be there in a hour or so." "Ok, be safe."

You arrived in L'Manberg, looking for Phil's house. "Hey Y/n." he spoke. "Right back at you Phil, how are you doing today?" "I'm doing eh, I'm just worrying about Techno." "Me too, hopefully he turns up soon."

So then you stayed with Phil for a while, drinking tea and talking about random stuff. You were trying to buy your time until Techno popped up somewhere, preferably unharmed.

“Yeah Phil, there was-” Hooves stomped on grass, triumphant talking covering every sound outside. The people that cut you off was the Butcher Army, who was boasting their victory over their fight with Technoblade.

Techno, blood all over his skin, bruises on his face, barely showing any sign of his true skin tone. Chains rapping all over his body so he wouldn't escape. You felt devastated, what had they done to him? Behind them was Quackity riding Carl, holding him hostage so Techno couldn't escape on his steed. "What did they do to you?" you whispered under your breath.

They led Techno to the stage, when he looked up at you and Phil, suprise basking his face. "PHIL, PHIL, WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU PHIL, Y/N, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he yelled from under you guys. "I'M FINE TECHNO, THEY PUT AN ANKLE MONITOR ON ME." Phil screamed back.

They dragged him away from the house, bringing him onto the stage. "LEAVE PHIL AND Y/N ALONE YOU HEAR ME, LEAVE THEM ALONE." he retaliated. They locked him in the cage, where he was waiting his impending doom.

"Technoblade, this is actually not a trial, if you look up, you can see an anvil hanging down. When we press that lever down there, what it's going to do is drop on you and it's going to fucking kill you."

After Quackity's little statement, he demanded Tubbo to explain to everyone what was happening, but what they didn't know was that there was an ally, or friend of Techno's that would help him sooner or later.

After Tubbo spoke about how Techno betrayed the country, and how he had to pay for his wrongdoings, Punz swooped in, throwing snowballs to distract the Butcher Army. With his armor clad self, he started to attack them, momentarily trying to buy time for Techno. He splashed potions all around himself and the Butcher Army.

Then he started to load up the stage with unlit TnT, sending a warning to the Butcher Army not to fuck with him. Quackity yelled in scaredness, hoping that Punz wouldn't light the TnT. "PUNZ, PUNZ, CHILL THE FUCK OUT PUNZ, CALM DOWN." Quackity begged. He didn't stop, and that lead to the whole Butcher Army attacking him with their axes.

While they were chasing Punz, they didn't realize that he slipped Techno a totem of undying. That's right, one of the only things that can prevent death if someone was to kill someone else. So when Punz left the scene, and Ghostbur came to the stage to secretly tell Techno that he named his sheep "Friend", they started to prepare for execution.

"Ok, no more, I'm pulling this fucking lever." Quackity stated. And there is was, he pulled the lever, and the anvil went crashing down on Techno's head. But Quackity didn't know that he had a totem of undying in his hand, so when the anvil came down on Techno, there was a flurry of green and yellow sparks all around him, protecting him from his death.

During the little show, Techno escaped the iron cage, and ran for his life. The Butcher Army was confused, why did Technoblade die, he was supposed to perish, right?

He ran to the little hole in the ground, and was meet by Dream, riding Carl. Dream started to block up the hole, while Techno rode Carl to victory. As he rode Carl, he reached a control room, where there was chests filled with stuff for specific people. There was Eret's, Tubbo's, his, and many others.

He looted his chest, put iron armor on, and started to prepare for his journey. He splashed potions onto his body, giving him strength for a few minutes, and swiftness. When he realized that the pathway wasn't large enough for both him and Carl, he started to break blocks so he and Carl wouldn't suffocate in the walls.

While he was doing that, Quackity sneaked up behind him, taking him by suprise. “Techno, you’re not leaving this place, how didn’t you die?”

“None of your business Quackity, how about you leave me alone.”

“You’re my business Techno, and as long as you’re alive, this server is going to go to shit.” And this the fight began, Techno only donning a pick axe for a weapons, and iron armor, and Quackity, with full netherite and all the tools you could ever need for a fight.

Their weapons clashed together into a disgusting sound. “I’M GOING TO DEFEAT YOU TODAY TECHNOBLADE.” shouted Quackity, thinking he was going to win. “NOT A CHANCE.” Techno answered.

Quackity was clearly arrogant in this matter, even though he had the good stuff, and Techno had the shitty stuff that would be easily broken, he forget something. He forgot that he didn’t have technique, and Techno was the great night Blood God. Technoblade could’ve easily, if he wanted to, take down an entire village.

But he didn’t, and that’s what Quackity didn’t realize. Yes, Techno did some shitty things in the past, but he declared that he was going to retire from the fighting, from everything that related to violence. It wasn’t necessary to try to execute him.

So when the final swing hit, Quackity with his ego to a high capacity, at almost half a heart, Techbo easily defeated and killed Quackity, taking one of his canon lives.

You paced across the wooden floor for 10 minutes. “Phil, is Techno ok, where is he, why isn’t he here right now, Phil-” you cut yourself off, “Phil, is he dead?” “No he isn’t Y/n/n, I know Techno, he’s still alive, trust me.” he assured you, trying to comfort your thoughts, but it wasn’t getting to you.

Techno had to be dead, an anvil fell on him. “But what was the green and yellow sparks, what was the reason for that?” you thought. Was that a distraction, or was it something more significant.

“Phil, are you sure he’s-” he interrupted you with a shush. “Do you hear that?” he asked, not sure what’s was happening outside of his home. “No, I don’t, what’s wrong?” “Stay here Y/n.” he ignored your question.

He sneaked toward the door, trying to quiet his footsteps. He slowly opened the door, looked around, and saw Techno standing there, covered in bloody armor. “Holy shit Techno, what are you doing here, they could come any minute.”

“I need Y/n for a second.” he calmly said, trying to ease Phil’s nerves. “Mate, what about the Butcher-”

“I killed their leader.” “Heh?” “I killed Quackity, unfortunately it isn’t permanent.” he sighed. “Ok, first of all, weirdchamp, and secondly, please come inside, you’re worrying me right now.”

Phil let Techno in, and offered him a cup of tea. “No thanks Phil, so back to what I was saying, where is Y/n?” “Oh, they’re in the back, I thought you were someone else.” “Thanks.”

He stepped towards the direction you were in, and opened the door to find a frantic, worried Y/n. He put his body on the doorframe nonchalantly, “You missed me?” You turned around from your pacing, and looked at Techno, relief coating your eyes, “TECHNO.”

“Y/n.” he replied. You hurriedly walked to Techno, and gave him a bone-crushing hug. “Oh my goodness I’ve missed you so much, why did you have to leave, I don’t want you to die, fuck Quackity and the rest of them...” You rambled on and on about how the Butcher Army should be convicted, and a whole bunch of other things, when Techno cut you off, “Calm down my Aphrodite, I’m back, and that’s all that matters.”

"Ok, well are you hurt anywhere, Phil has some healing pots as well as some bandages." "I'm fine, but are you ok, did they hurt you?" he put his hand on your shoulders. "I'm ok, they didn't acknowledge me."

"Well, I'm glad that was the case."

You severely hugged him again, "Please never leave without me, I don't want this happening again."

"Never Y/n, never."

#dream smp #dream smp x reader #dream smp x you #dream smp x y/n #mcyt #mcyt x reader #mcyt x you #mcyt x y/n #technoblade #technoblade x reader #technoblade x you #technoblade x y/n #c!technoblade #c!technoblade x reader #c!techno #louistommosnesquickmilk writes #louistommosnesquickmilk

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missymurphy1985 · 3 years

Text

The Extra (part 9)

Warning - illness, mentions of death

Authors Note - I have personal experience of this horrific disease - I hope I don't upset anyone with it, but it's a topic very close to my heart.

Taglist @queenshelby @margoo0 @being-worthy @peakyscillian @peakyciills @janelongxox @elenavampire21 @ysmmsy @cloudofdisney @lauren-raines-x @namelesslosers @misscarolineshelby @screemqueen @cilleveryone @peaky-cillian @misselsbells06 @datewithgianni @heidimoreton

A month had passed since you'd deleted his number and blocked him. You were staring at the letter in your hand, shaking. You knew this day was coming, but you'd pushed it so far down that you had only truly thought about it when Cillian had told you he loved you.

You'd told Liane the truth. Why you couldn't commit to him, even though you desperately wanted to. Truth be told you'd fallen for him just as hard - and that's exactly why you'd pushed him away. It was bad enough you had to live with this, you couldn't force someone else to. She'd encouraged you to get tested - and you knew she was right. It was time you took your life in your hands once and for all. You'd spent too many years since your mother's and sister's untimely deaths burying it.

Picking up the phone, you dialled the number, heart pounding. The receptionist answered.

"Morning. My name is y/n y/l/n. I had some tests. I've had a letter to say the results are in?"

"Can I ask what the test was for?" The receptionist asked.

"My GP referred me. It's for the breast cancer gene. I'd like to know if I carry it."

"Let me check our records Miss Y/L/N. Yes, I have your results here. Would you be available to come in this afternoon? We've had a cancellation?"

"Can you not tell me over the phone?"

"I'm not allowed to, the doctor has requested to see you in person." Your heart lurched, that was never a good sign.

You immediately wanted to call Cillian, but remembered you didn't have his contact details any more. You called Liane instead. She would pick you up at 2pm and go with you to the appointment.

Sat in the waiting room, Liane held you hand to calm you. Your nerves were in tatters. This disease had already taken so much from you - your mum, your older sister, two cousins... You knew there was a strong chance it was going to take you, too. The doctor called you through.

"Your results are here y/n. And I'm pleased to inform you -"

"What?" You gasped. The doctor smiled and took your hands in hers.

"Y/n, you don't carry the gene. It isn't there - your chances of developing breast cancer are no higher than mine, or Joan Bloggs on the street. You're going to be okay." Even the doctor had tears in her eyes. Liane was gobsmacked. You just burst into tears.

"I'm not going to die?"

"Oh honey if I had the cure for that I'd be a millionaire!" She laughed, you did too. You felt like the world had just been lifted off your shoulders, taking a dark cloud with it. A dark cloud you'd been living with for nearly 10 years. The real reason you'd split with your ex. The reason you refused to get your breasts out for auditions. The real reason you backed away from a life in acting. You didn't see the point if you weren't going to be here for the long haul... But now?

Now you'd been given a new life. A new start. And your thrown away the best chance of happiness you'd ever had in one stupid click of a button.

Liane noticed your sadness in the car on the way home. You suddenly realised you weren't actually heading home though, you were on the M6 heading to Wolverhampton.

"Erm.. where are we going?" You asked, seeing the sign for Wolverhampton fly past.

"Road trip."

"Destination?"

"It's a surprise!! Do you trust me?"

"Always..."

"Then don't ask questions."

You rolled your eyes and figured you were probably en route to Bicester Village in Oxford. That was your happy place - a day of shopping, good food, few drinks in the evening... Before long though, your eyelids grew heavy. You always fell asleep on car journeys, this one was no different. Within ten minutes you were out cold.

You felt Liane nudge you gently, waking you. Opening your eyes, you looked around, expecting to see the car park. Instead you saw terraced houses, a green park, and a street sign with 'London Borough - Kilburn' on it.

"Why am I in London??" You asked. Liane shrugged her shoulders.

"Fancied a change - never been before! Just got on the motorway and drove. Been years since we've done that hasn't it! Just drove with no destination?" You grinned, remembering the random road trips you used to take years ago. You'd ended up all over the UK, even catching a ferry to Amsterdam one Friday night just because you were bored!

"So what's the plan?"

"Let's go explore!" She paid for the parking via an app on her phone and you both climbed out the car. The houses were all Victorian style and beautiful. The park was glorious - the sun shining on it beautifully. Liane suggested a picnic in the park first to line your stomachs, then cocktails.

"Aren't you driving us home later?"

"Yes - I'll be on the mocktails! Come on, let's go find food... There's loads of little deli places over there!"

Picnic done, it was cocktail time. Sadly, there didn't appear to be a cocktail bar anywhere near... But there was a nice looking pub over the road. Settling on a normal G&T, you both made your way over. Liane sent you inside to get the drinks while she sat in the beer garden out the back.

Heading outside with two G&Ts, you looked around for her but she was nowhere to be found. You quickly scanned inside again just to make sure you'd not missed her. Setting the drinks down on a bench outside, you waited. Must've gone to the toilet. Taking your phone out you sent her a text letting her know where you were.

Ten minutes passed - still no sign. You were worried now. A ping on your phone.

"For god's sake woman open your eyes and look in the corner!!" Liane... What the hell? You looked up and nearly dropped your phone. Sitting ten feet away from you, on his own... Holding his phone in his hand and staring at you the same way you were staring at him. In complete disbelief.

He looked back at his phone and shook his head. Both of you realising you'd been set up. Completely played.

He stood up, you were convinced he was going to leave but he didn't. He sat opposite you instead.

"Hey," he smiled.

"Hey..."

"Can I talk before you do?" He asked. You nodded.

"I know... I didn't... Fuck this makes so much more sense in my head..." He laughed.

"Can I talk instead?" He nodded. You took a deep breath and told him the truth. About your family. The deaths. The illness. The tests.. and the results.

"That's why I pushed you away. That's why I push everyone away. But you were the first one I pushed that I regretted... I regretted it so much because no one had ever made me feel as alive as you did. No one made me float on air like you did. No one made me forget about this cloud hanging over me like you did..."

"You thought I'd leave you if you had the gene?"

"My Dad left when my mom was diagnosed. He couldn't handle it so he bailed. Wasn't a great role model."

"Your dad's a dick. I'm not." His brutal, dead pan response made you laugh. In fact you didn't just laugh, you were in hysterics. He laughed with you, and took your hands in his.

"If I promise not to tell you I love you, will you let me see you?"

"No."

"Erm... Okay?"

"I want you to tell me you love me, if you mean it. Then I'll decide."

"Y/N... I. Love. You. I fucking love you. I adore you. I've had the most miserable four weeks of my life thanks to you!" He laughed.

"Yeah I'm sorry about that.."

"It's okay. You can make it up to me."

"You're giving me a second chance?"

"I never gave up on the first one. But this time, we take it slow. Get to know each other. I'll start by asking if I can take you out to dinner tonight?"

"I have nothing with me... All my stuff's at home..."

"Fair enough. Then we have two choices. You go shopping with Liane and get yourself something.. or go home and we can arrange to meet another time?"

"I'm already here, and shopping was on our to do list. Dinner tonight sounds lovely."

"Unblock my number. I'll text you the details later, okay?" He finished his drink and pulled his jacket on, quickly typing a text as you unblocked his number. If only you'd known it was that easy to get his contact details again... The message pinged through.

"Thank you..." You smiled reading it. He leaned over and kissed your cheek softly, before walking away. Glancing back, smiling, as he left the pub.

Liane was with you in seconds.

"You sneaky little shit, how did you do this??" You laughed.

"Anto contacted me last week, said he was sick of Cillian moping. We kinda worked together... Are you mad at me?"

"Not at all. Where's Anto?"

"Right here." Anto appeared out of nowhere and you threw your arms around him.

"Thank you. For everything?"

"No need to thank me. This was Liane's idea. Bit of a rush to sort once you'd got those results but luckily you live 3 hours away and you sleep like the dead!" He laughed. "Now get yourself gone - you have a date to prepare for!"

#cillian murphy #cillian smut #cillian x fem!reader #cillian fanfic #cillian x smut #cillian murphy x smut

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ultimatetrashyfanfic · 3 years

Text

Non-despair AU! And ever since I watched that thirty minute anime clip with Nagito’s perspective on things, I’ve really liked the idea of him being buds with Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko. And Nagito openly talks about his past trauma on a plane so… what better way to bond than bonding over trauma? Anyway, I love these three so much. Also Komahina because I love them - Circle

(Also forgot to add this, sorry, but it’s on AO3 too) https://archiveofourown.org/works/33483538

Warning: descriptions of panic attacks, nausea, motion sickness, very mild vomiting (like barely any).

Fuyuhiko always thought Nagito was spouting a whole load of bullshit when he lamented about his talent being useless; he would’ve loved having Ultimate Luck right now.

“Haha! You got the short straw, Fuyuhiko!” Akane crowed. “Tough luck!”

“Wait, no! Can’t we do a best of three?”

“Somebody has to sit with them, man,” Nekomaru said. “You guys are already friends, it’ll be a great bonding experience.”

“I don’t want to bond with them in that situation. Because you all know it’ll be a shit show. That’s why we’re fucking doing this,” Fuyuhiko growled, glaring at each of his classmates in turn. Only two were missing, the pair who’d triggered this whole unfortunate drawing of straws in the first place.

“Why can’t you sit with them, Hajime? Nagito is always hanging off you anyway. And Kazuichi is your friend too,” Fuyuhiko said.

“I’m afraid I can’t, Fuyuhiko.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“Because I didn’t draw the short straw.”

“Go fuck yourself.” Fuyuhiko stomped away, his classmates’ laughter echoing behind him. This class trip was already more trouble than it was worth and it hadn’t even started. He was almost tempted to skip the plane journey with the rest of them and hop on a different flight to Novoselic, just to show them. It wasn’t like he needed Sonia to pay his way. But she’d been so enthusiastic about taking her friends to see her home country, and Fuyuhiko couldn’t think of any way to tell her without causing offence. He couldn’t really say he just didn’t want to be stuck babysitting Kazuichi and Nagito on a flight.

It wasn’t that Fuyuhiko didn’t like Kazuichi and Nagito. Sure, Kazuichi could be a real pain in the ass sometimes, and Nagito would go all weird and self-deprecating if you didn’t watch out, but Fuyuhiko still considered them close friends. But the flight to Novoselic was long. Kazuichi could get motion sickness on a fucking bicycle, and Nagito hadn’t set foot on a plane since his parents died on one right in front of his eyes. There was no way it could possibly go well. Fuyuhiko pictured hour after hour of Kazuichi puking and complaining and Nagito… well, he wasn’t sure what the hell Nagito would do. He’d never seen Nagito get flustered before. Hell, that was much more terrifying. He had to get out of this.

In the days before the trip, Fuyuhiko kept trying to convince his kinder classmates to take responsibility for at least one of the other men. “It’s gonna be impossible to help them both,” Fuyuhiko said. “It’ll be better for them if you help me.”

“You could sit between them,” Mahiru said. “And I’ve already promised Hiyoko I’ll sit with her. Sorry.”

Asking Twogami was a no-go too. “It’ll be more considerate to the other passengers if they’re both in one area,” he said. “To limit the disturbance if they become distressed.”

“I’m the one who’ll be feeling fucking distressed,” Fuyuhiko snapped.

Peko overheard, and came over at once. “I’ll take your burden, young master.”

“No, not you!” Fuyuhiko hated the whine in his tone - and he hated the smirk on Twogami’s face too. “You don’t have to do it. You sit with Gundham and pet his hamsters or something. I… I want you to be happy,” he mumbled, blushing fiercely.

Damn it. He could be as bad as Kazuichi sometimes.

There was no way to wriggle out of it. The morning of the trip dawned bright and sunny, and Fuyuhiko’s ticket set him directly between Kazuichi and Nagito. Fantastic.

At least check-in and security went by reasonably peacefully, the walk to their gate quiet. Only Akane and Nekomaru seemed to be properly awake this early in the day, and they stuck with each other. Fuyuhiko glanced at his two friends. Kazuichi still seemed half-asleep, curled on one of the uncomfortable chairs by the gate, watching the planes take off and land in the distance through the huge windows. Nagito was much more concerning. He was smiling brightly… but he didn’t look happy at all.

“Hey, Fuyuhiko, want to know how a plane engine works?” Kazuichi asked.

“No,” he said, but he sat down with a sigh as Kazuichi started talking anyway. He tuned out after a second, though Nagito looked like he was listening.

“Seeing you talk about your ultimate talent is so inspiring, Kazuichi,” Nagito said - and smiled. That weird smile again, desperate and strained.

“It’s nothing. I just think planes are interesting. From an engineering point of view. I really wish I didn’t have to fucking ride one,” Kazuichi groaned.

“Aha, I can’t help feeling apprehensive too. The last time I was on a flight, both my parents died.” Nagito spoke emotionlessly, as if reciting a shopping list, but that smile was still fixed on his face. “But it’s okay. That bad luck brought me a lot of good luck later on. You just have to have hope that things will work out.”

Kazuichi stared at him, mouth open. “Um. Okay. Sorry.” He caught Fuyuhiko’s eye and mouthed what the fuck? Fuyuhiko wasn’t sure if Kazuichi was just now hearing the story or if he was confused by Nagito’s weird behaviour. He shrugged helplessly.

There wasn’t much conversation after that. You couldn’t really carry on your casual chit-chat right after somebody brought up their dead parents. Fuyuhiko kept an eye on Nagito. He was bolt upright in his seat, his eyes staring straight ahead, hands clasped so tight in his lap his knuckles bleached white. With his pale hair and ashen face, he looked like all the blood had drained out of him completely.

Their flight number was called far too soon, and Fuyuhiko dragged his motley crew to the right aisle, pondering where to put everyone. Kazuichi should probably be on the end if he’d be passing vomit bags to some poor stewardess. Fuyuhiko needed to be in the middle, so that left Nagito by the window. He’d have to keep the shutter pulled down.

Hajime passed them on the way to his own seat, and stopped short when he saw Nagito’s face. He leaned right over Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko, ignoring their complaints and curses, and took Nagito’s hand. “Are you alright? You look… off.”

“Don’t worry about me, Hajime.”

“Your hands are clammy.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. How disgusting for you,” Nagito said, smiling. Always smiling.

“That’s not what I meant… Look, do you want to sit with me?”

“Can we move it along please?” somebody called irritably down the aisle.

“You’re holding up the line, Hajime. Don’t worry about me,” Nagito repeated. Hajime looked like he was worrying dreadfully, but he was forced to move along. Nagito clasped his hands again and fixed his gaze on the seat in front, smiling smiling smiling. It was freaking Fuyuhiko out. He looked like he was wearing a mask and his eyes were the only real part of him, swirling with turmoil.

“Hey.” Kazuichi nudged Fuyuhiko’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. “Are Hajime and Nagito… you know. A thing?”

“Mate, you told me you’ve seen them leave Hajime’s cabin together in the mornings.”

“They could just be having a sleepover. As bros.”

“I don’t think it’s that, Kazuichi.”

“Are you sure? ‘Cause I don’t want Hajime to get a new best friend,” Kazuichi said.

Fuyuhiko sighed. “I think you’re safe.”

There was a pause. Then another shoulder nudge a second later. “So Hajime and Nagito? Seriously? Am I the only person on my own in this class?” Kazuichi muttered.

Fuyuhiko was spared from responding by the flight attendants starting the safety briefing, demonstrating how to use the oxygen masks and the life jackets in case of emergency. He had to admit, it was pretty eerie to think that you could, however unlikely it may be, crash into the ocean or need extra oxygen to live long enough to get to land. He glanced over at Nagito nervously. His arms were now curled across his chest, hands gripping his elbows. His head was bent, a cloud of puffy hair hiding his face. Maybe that was for the best.

“Can you try not to puke as long as possible?” Fuyuhiko whispered to Kazuichi. “I feel like I might have a situation to deal with.”

“I’m never trying to puke,” Kazuichi said, but he seemed worried too, glancing past Fuyuhiko. “Hey, Nagito, you doing alright?”

“Don’t worry about me, Kazuichi,” Nagito said, eerily calmly.

“That’s not the same thing as saying you’re fine, is it?” Kazuichi whispered to Fuyuhiko.

“He’s clearly not fucking fine,” Fuyuhiko snapped.

“Should I ask Hajime to swap?” Kazuichi asked.

Fuyuhiko nodded, but before Kazuichi could even undo his seatbelt, the plane jerked and started reversing out of the gate. Fuyuhiko heard Nagito draw in his breath sharply - then he was the one fumbling for his seatbelt, standing unsteadily.

“What the fuck are you doing, man?” Fuyuhiko yelled, catching onto the back of Nagito’s coat as he tried to clamber over the seats. “Sit down!”

“I’m afraid I need to get off,” Nagito said, voice still calm despite his frantic movements.

“It’s already moving, for God’s sake! Sit down before a flight attendant sees you!” It wasn’t hard to force Nagito back into his seat - he seemed light enough for a strong gust of wind to knock him over - and Souda hastily got the belt fastened again just as the plane rolled onto the runway.

“Okay. It’s fine. You’re fine,” Fuyuhiko gabbled, trying hard not to shout or swear or scream at all his classmates for making him deal with this. “Just sit still and… I dunno, plug your ears. The takeoff part is the worst.”

There was a cacophony of whirring as the engines roared to life and Fuyuhiko would be very grateful for all that noise in a second, because Nagito started to laugh. Dry, hysterical laughter, his eyes over-bright and manic, lips bared in that grisly parody of a smile.

“Has he lost his fucking mind?” Kazuichi asked, sounding genuinely frightened.

“You must really hate me, Fuyuhiko,” Nagito gasped. “To restrain me here… You must despise me.”

“I’m not restraining you!”

“Then let me off.” He locked eyes with Fuyuhiko and for a second the manic grin faded. “Please…”

The engines roared to a crescendo and the plane shot forward so quickly everyone was pinned to their seats with the force, zooming on and on until they could feel the entire structure lurch into the air. Kazuichi groaned softly, shutting his eyes, but Fuyuhiko was far more focused on Nagito. He had his eyes squeezed shut too, but his hand clamped hard onto Fuyuhiko’s arm. Really fucking hard. Shit, maybe Nagito wasn’t as weak as he looked. Fuyuhiko cursed as his terrified companion started digging his nails into his skin, actually drawing blood. The pain prompted Fuyuhiko to try prying the hand loose a little, but Nagito clamped on harder, carving several new scratches. Fuyuhiko didn’t dare attempt again; he’d get his arm cut to ribbons.

When the plane was flying high and the swirling, disoriented feeling had eased, Fuyuhiko checked on both men. Kazuichi had his head in his hands, but he gave a shaky thumbs up when Fuyuhiko prodded him.

“‘M okay,” he mumbled. “Got through takeoff. Gets better when it’s levelling out.”

“Right, good. Try to stay that way, yeah? I’ve got a lot to handle right now,” Fuyuhiko sighed. Nagito was still shredding his arm up, but he could feel one finger tapping for attention.

“What? What do you need? Please, no bullshit, Nagito. I don’t know what the fuck I’m supposed to do,” Fuyuhiko said. He was practically yelling in his panic, and the people across the aisle turned to glare.

It was several seconds before Nagito could gather enough breath to speak. Fuyuhiko saw that awful smile stretch across his face again, like somebody had twisted his frown the wrong way round. “Aha, I’m sorry to trouble you, Fuyuhiko, but I think I might be having a panic attack.”

“What?” Fuyuhiko felt like he was going to have a panic attack too. “Why? What’s going on?”

“I can’t seem to catch my breath. And the cabin has been spinning for several minutes.”

“Jesus Christ! Why didn’t you say anything?” Fuyuhiko hurriedly pushed Nagito’s head down as far as it would go before it bumped the seat in front. “Fucking… think of things you can see or something? Shit, I don’t remember.”

“Five things you can see,” Kazuichi chimed in. “Is he really gonna pass out? Hajime is gonna kill us.”

“I’m gonna fucking kill him for leaving this shit to us! How stupid can you get?”

“Ahh, I’m such a nuisance. If I’d known I’d react in such a shameful way, I’d have been sure to take a seat away from all the Ultimates. Why are you taking care of someone like me?”

“Nagito, shut up, this isn’t your fault,” Fuyuhiko said shortly. “Stop babbling on about ultimates and do the panic attack thing. Listen to Kazuichi, he knows how to do it.”

Nagito did as he was told, working through the grounding techniques with Kazuichi while Fuyuhiko held onto his shoulders feeling helpless. Nagito was shaking so hard it was difficult not to drop him altogether. He didn’t pass out, but even after the grounding Nagito looked far from what you’d consider calm. He was grey-white when Fuyuhiko carefully hauled him back upright.

“Are you okay..?”

The smile came back, though it seemed a lot more tired than manic this time. “Ah… I don’t think so, Fuyuhiko.”

“Well. At least you’re honest. Can you tell me how you’re feeling? Physically, I mean. Clearly I see you’re fucked mentally. And please stop smiling like that, you’re creeping me out,” Fuyuhiko said.

Nagito finally released his grip on Fuyuhiko’s arm, his nails coated with blood. He bent forward slowly, carefully, like he was terrified any sudden movements would send him spiralling again, and let his elbows rest on his knees. “I still feel slightly lightheaded. And nauseous. I’d still like to get off.”

Fuyuhiko examined the long scratches on his arm, sighing and mopping the blood with his sleeve. “Well, you’d have a long drop if you tried to get off now. You should cut your damn fingernails too. I’m going to get Hajime.” He turned to Kazuichi. “Watch him for a minute, okay? I don’t fucking care about drawing the short straw anymore, I can’t handle this.” Fuyuhiko scrambled over Kazuichi’s lap into the aisle, ignoring the flight attendant yelling for him to remain in his seat until the seatbelt signs went off.

“Hey! What did you mean drawing the short straw?” Kazuichi called behind him. Fuyuhiko didn’t look back.

“Hajime!” Fuyuhiko yelled when he was still more than six aisles away from the startled man. “You’re swapping with me!” He lowered his voice when he reached Hajime’s seat, but only marginally. “I can’t handle this. I don’t know how you expected Komeada to react to this shit, but whatever you thought, it’s worse. Way fucking worse. And I can’t help him. So go fucking do it yourself.”

“Well, I was going to swap as soon as the seatbelt signs were off,” Hajime said pointedly.

“I don’t give a shit. Look at my arm! Your fucking boyfriend nearly ripped it off at the elbow.” Fuyuhiko brandished his scratched, bloodied arm, and Hajime looked genuinely shocked.

“Oh my God…” He stood up hastily, clinging to the seats in front as the plane was still slightly off-balance. “I’m sorry, Fuyuhiko. I didn’t expect him to panic so much. He never said anything much about it when I asked.”

“Yeah, well, no offence, Hajime, but you can be as thick as three short planks sometimes. So if he implied anything, I don’t doubt you missed it,” Fuyuhiko snapped, taking Hajime’s empty seat - next to Chiaki, thank goodness. She hadn’t even looked up from her Switch this whole time. Perfect.

“I have taken some offence…” Hajime mumbled, then turned to go back down the aisle, trying hard not to catch the eyes of the other passengers staring like they were all part of a circus act. He was pretty sure the whole class was going to get banned from this airline. Gundham had been in trouble already for taking his hamsters out of their little travelling cage - several times. He was insulted by the insistence of the staff that all pets had to be contained, both by their labelling of his hamsters as mere pets and from their implication that his dark devas could ever be contained.

Hajime followed the sounds of more disgruntled passengers to Nagito’s seat. He was in the middle now, hunched over one of those white sick bags, while Kazuichi awkwardly patted his back. He looked relieved to see Hajime, beckoning frantically. “Come help me! I think he’s gonna spew. Weird that it’s not me for once.”

Hajime sighed, struggling to shuffle past his friends to get to Nagito’s other side, squashed by the window. Nagito didn’t acknowledge him. Hajime could see he had his eyes closed, his face strangely calm and smooth, though his breathing was erratic.

“Hey, Nagito? You hearing me?” Hajime called, tapping the other man’s pale cheek.

“Did I drive Fuyuhiko away?” Nagito said, voice strained. “I’m not surprised. To bother the Ultimates with the problems of an insignificant nobody like me.”

“Dude, shut up,” Kazuichi groaned. “Nobody thinks that. Stop being so weird. Fuyuhiko just doesn’t know how to look after people.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit up? I doubt you’ll throw up, you wouldn’t eat anything this morning,” Hajime said.

At that exact moment, almost as if to pointedly prove him wrong, Nagito made a choked retching sound and ducked his head down further, cringing.

“Oookay. Or not. Um. You’re okay,” Hajime muttered, placing a wary hand on Nagito’s hair to keep it out of the way. It was strange hair; soft yet thick at the same time, and it poofed up determinedly no matter how many times Ibuki tried him out with different hairstyles.

The seatbelt signs were now off, so Kazuichi stood up hastily, trying to shield Nagito from the people hurrying up the aisle to the bathrooms. Hajime was grateful, but part of him wished he could switch places with Souda. He didn’t think he’d be having to coach Nagito through something so strangely intimate so soon into their… relationship? They’d never come out and actually said they were boyfriends, not even to each other, but their classmates seemed to think they were a couple.

As Nagito really hadn’t eaten much of anything all day, the actual vomiting didn’t last too long, but the dry heaving continued for several agonising minutes, and the nausea remained indefinitely. But Nagito felt safe to lift him head, his pale cheeks dusted with pink. He smiled shakily at Hajime. “How embarrassing. I caused a scene in front of all these people. You must be lamenting the day you set eyes on me.”

“Stop,” Hajime sighed, taking the soiled bag and handing it to Kazuichi.

“Hajime!” Souda squealed, hastily handing it off to a flight attendant, who offered a bottle of water for Nagito in response. Her smile didn’t slip once. Hajime was impressed by her poker face.

“Drink,” Hajime prompted, forcing the bottle into Nagito’s hands. “I want you to try eating something later too. You’re going to pass out.”

Kazuichi sat down again, glancing at Nagito. “You feeling… okay now? Like as okay as you can?”

Nagito took a long drink of water, eyes blank. Then he smiled again, that strange, forced smile. “I really am pathetic, aren’t I? Causing such a dramatic spectacle over something that happened years ago. I don’t deserve such attention from the Ultim-“

“Stop!” Hajime took Nagito’s face in his hands, forcing him to meet his eyes. Hajime thought he saw something flicker in them, some semblance of an honest emotion. “Nagito, can you please stop trying to act like you don’t have feelings. I know you’re scared. And you know what? It’s okay. It’s completely fucking normal to feel like this right now. I shouldn’t have left you. That was me being dense, and I’m sorry. But you can stop pretending. It’s just me here - and Kazuichi, but he’ll understand too. He’s scared of everything.”

“I am not!” Kazuichi cried, outraged.

Hajime didn’t break eye contact with Nagito, both breathing heavily. Nagito glared back at first, his face twisting into a scowl, but Hajime didn’t falter.

“Let me in,” Hajime muttered. “I know you, for God’s sake. You’re not gonna scare me off. It’s okay to need help. Please.”

Another silence for several long, tense seconds. Then - finally, amazingly - Nagito made a soft frustrated noise, lunged forwards and wound his arms around Hajime’s neck so tightly that for a second Hajime thought he’d messed up so badly Nagito was trying to throttle him.

“Hey, careful,” Hajime said, but his voice was gentle and he didn’t try to pry Nagito off. Nagito let his forehead rest on Hajime’s shoulder, his hair falling to shield his face completely. Hajime snaked his own arms awkwardly around Nagito’s slender waist. He could feel Nagito shaking, feel the warm puff of his breathing against his shoulder. The shaking never eased, but as time passed the breathing seemed to calm slightly.

Nagito didn’t speak as he clung to Hajime for dear life. Not a single word. But Hajime hadn’t really expected him to. This was already a degree of vulnerability that Nagito was completely unaccustomed to showing anyone, let alone his almost-boyfriend, his classmates and an entire plane full of strangers. It was a good place to start.

Kazuichi watched them slightly bitterly. “It’s alright for some. I wouldn’t mind someone to cuddle up to,” he muttered.

“That’s your other talent. Ultimate Third Wheel,” Hajime quipped.

Their row of seats was reasonably peaceful after that, though Hajime could hear the laughter and yelling from their classmates further back. He hoped the sensible members of the group could stop them causing too much trouble. Hajime couldn’t go tell them to knock it off himself; whenever he moved at all Nagito would tighten his grip.

He sat there, hour after hour, until he had to pry Nagito off him for a bathroom break. It wasn’t easy. Nagito fought him and clung on as much as he could, though Hajime explained he’d be back in five minutes.

“Look, cling onto Kazuichi while I go pee,” Hajime suggested. Kazuichi didn’t look overly enthusiastic about that idea, but he didn’t protest.

Nagito sighed. He slowly drew back his arms, and whispered three breathy little words into Hajime’s shirt before he went, perhaps the most raw, vulnerable words Hajime had ever heard Nagito say: “Please come back.”

“I will. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured.

Nagito shifted shakily in his seat, turned to Kazuichi and lunged at him too, wrapping his arms around his neck. Kazuichi squealed and whined that he was being strangled, but he didn’t shove Nagito away. Hajime almost felt like they were new parents, passing their newborn between them: “I’ll hold him for a bit, you go to the loo.”

There was a queue for the tiny airplane bathrooms. Hajime stood impatiently, wriggling his cramped shoulders and rocking back on his heels; he was glad Nagito seemed to be trusting him more, but he was pretty stiff after sitting in the same position for hours.

Two women ahead of Hajime in the queue seemed to be having an animated discussion about something, and when Hajime caught the word “school” he started to listen properly.

“I don’t know what sort of school they come from, but they’re a strange bunch,” one lady hissed. “There’s an odd boy in the row ahead of me, one of that lot, who has a collections of rodents, all free from their cage! Running all over the seat trays! Well, that’s not very hygienic, is it? But when I told him as much, he gave me the most incredibly rude answer.”

“Young people have such foul mouths these days,” the other lady agreed.

“No, he wasn’t swearing. It was ever so strange, almost as if he was… well, you’ll think I sound silly. But it was like he was cursing me.”

It was a good job for Hajime that the toilet became available and the lady rushed inside, because he was biting his cheeks to contain his laughter. When he’d used the loo himself and gone back to release Kazuichi from Nagito’s vice grip, he recited the story for both of them.

Kazuichi laughed, poking Nagito gently. “There you are, Nagito. No need to worry. No matter how weird we are, we can always count on Gundham to be weirder.”

Nagito didn’t respond, but Hajime saw a hint of a smile - a real smile - on his lips before he buried his face in Hajime’s neck again.

#super danganronpa two #danganronpa 2 #emeto tw #nagito komaeda #hajime hinata #kazuichi souda #fuyuhiko kuzuryu #panic attacks #past trauma #komahina #fear of flying #non despair au #mod circle #our writing

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gucciwins · 3 years

Text

it’s your birthday?

As luck would have it you once again find yourself in a breakout room with Harry

Word count: 3296

A/N: Hello friends, it’s a new semester and it felt only right to continue breakout room, a story that was well loved by you. The inspiration once again came to me during class and also because it’s Harry’s birthday. Thank you to the lovely @soullikestyles for reading this over. Here it is, enjoy!!!

I hope you love this, it is a continuation from Breakout Room

Please shoot me a message of what you thought!!!!

i love you, take care xx

_____

It's the start of a new semester. It's safe to say you did not make any friends last semester due to this ongoing pandemic, but what you did manage to get was a 3.9 G.P.A for the Fall semester. It was probably because you did not leave your apartment, and when you did, it was to go grocery shopping with your roommate, who would be dead without you because, as she liked to put it, you're the chef, and she's the taster.

Well, you maybe did make one friend.

Harry Styles.

He was the person to talk to you during a zoom breakout room in your women's gender studies course.

Sure, you were never in the same room again, but you might or might not have pinned his face during one of the professor's long ramblings that is no longer related to the course.

He was pretty to look at; you would never deny that.

No, with the floppy curls that he almost always seemed to run his hand through, then stopping when one of his rings got caught in a knotted ringlet. His camera would instantly turn off, and in thirty seconds, he was back as if nothing had happened. The glasses framed his face just right, making his eyes look soft and inviting. Also made his dimples stand out. He almost always wore a different colored cardigan. Your favorite from the semester was when he wore a multicolored cardigan. That looks like it was knitted; there was a hole by his heart. Honestly, you were hoping he had, would have made him even more endearing.

Also, might one day ask him to make you one, or he could even teach you. You're a fast learner and have patience.

He's got a great choice in clothing from what you was able to observe in such a short time—also a lovely personality.

After his initial email, you decided to answer, thus creating a chain of messages back and forth. He was honestly funny, and that was just on paper. He had asked for her number and said no, and he respected that. It doesn't mean they never helped each other in the class; Harry asking for more help than Y/N. She sent him over her notes and explained the readings he found harder to grasp.

As soon as finals week hit, she received her last email from him with the subject as Goodbye. It took you by surprise, and you erased the draft you had waiting for him that had your phone number wanting to keep talking to him. Still, clearly, he thought of them as just classmates for the semester, so without even opening his last email, you trashed it.

You felt guilty about it, so you then transferred it to your archives, where it sits with other unwanted emails.

_____

The holidays are over, and since you could not make the trip home, you celebrated with Amy, your roommate. You both help each other buy your family's presents, looking for the best discounts and adding extra items to get the free shipping. Together, well, mostly you as she handed you pieces of tape you wrapped present after present in brown wrapping paper. It was harder to tear and more comfortable to decorate in any way you wanted. On each box, it had everyone's name written in beautiful handwriting, courtesy of you. Then you would add snowflakes or stripes to make it stand out.

It was a success from their looks when each gift was open through the zoom call.

The month break flew by, and the next thing you knew, it was time to be back at your desk for hours of learning. It was fun until it wasn't sure there was a lot to look forward to, but you would miss sleeping all day and eating snacks in bed with no fear of forgetting to submit an assignment.

This semester you had four major courses. Psychology of Personality and Psychology of Aging were the two courses you were most looking forward to. You decided on taking the women's gender studies class called Politics of Sexuality. You had gotten the recommendation from the department's head to take it and did so without a second thought. Yes, fifteen units was a lot, but you were close to graduating, and you knew you could handle it.

The first week flew by because it was merely going over the syllabus. You had your camera on, but you did not bother to look at your other classmates. Sasha, a fellow person in your major, would be your study partner as she had been all semester. Sasha might not always be in the class section, but she did take the same professors and courses. It makes studying and taking notes easier. You know you won't always have Sasha, but having a study partner has ever made you do better.

February 1st. The start of the second week of the semester.

You woke up at seven, got the tea that Amy had ready for you, and were sitting at your desk by eight. Your professor droned on about the first chapter of the book. You felt confident knowing you understood the significant points.

It's 11:30, and your second course of the day is going to start. You were not looking forward to the class simply because Dr. Rossi had warned you he would be putting you into breakout rooms of two. That person would be your partner for the semester. You had a project due at the end of the semester, and he wanted you to be acquainted with someone rather than having a person working alone.

You sat there, Baby Yoda ceramic mug in hand, as you waited for your breakout room to load and to see who you were destined to work with for the next fourteen weeks.

There was a knock on your door that distracted you from seeing the video of someone else load.

"Sorry, I know you're in class, but I was wondering when lunch was to see how big of a snack I should have." Amy shoots you a small smile.

"No worries, Ames, I'm out at 12:45 and will need half an hour to cook, so roughly 1:30. Is that okay?" You tell her feeling a little awful, making her wait.

"It's perfect. Have a good class." Amy shuts the door.

As you hear the click, you turn back to your computer, and they're staring at you in a lavender cardigan with a white shirt underneath is the one and only Harry Styles.

His curls are shorter, meaning he recently got a haircut, and they are just growing back. You wished he had let it grow out, wanting to see how much more ruly they would have gotten.

You feel your face heat up, remembering you did not do your hair, instead of letting it sit messily in a low ponytail, small hair framing your hair. You were sure the black sweatshirt you had one had a hummus stain but too afraid to look down to check. You weren't even aware he was in this class; it shows you should be paying attention more to your classmates.

He shoots you a small smile, and you grimace, trying to force one out, but you're still a bit shocked.

You see his microphone go white, meaning he was about to speak. You leaned forward in anticipation, a bit desperate to hear his smooth accent through your computer speakers.

"Hello, it's been a while." Harry raises his glasses to hold back his hair.

You reach forward and unmute yourself. "Hello, Harry. It has been a while. It's a new year and everything." You joke.

He chuckles, scratching his chin. You aren't sure what to do; it was never this awkward the first time you chatted.

"Guess we're partners, huh."

"Apparently." You sigh, a bit loud, forgetting he can hear you.

"Ouch, don't need to sound too excited." He tells you not at all hiding his frown.

"No, I didn't." You stop not knowing how to go back from that. "Sorry, that was rude of me."

He nods, not saying anything more, and you take it as a sign to continue.

"I-i, well, after our last class ended, I figured that was that. You said goodbye in the last email, so I figured that was the end of our friendship, if you can even call it that."

"I thought my email would give the opposite impression, but not everything can translate as smoothly when talking." He tells you, which causes you to pause.

"Your email literally said goodbye," You blurt out before you can stop yourself.

He hides his smile, "My subject said goodbye, the content said quite the opposite. You did read it, right?"

You duck your head, not allowing yourself to meet his eye even through a computer screen, too embarrassed to be caught. "Well, no, I didn't. Hurt my feelings, just seeing the goodbye." You look up and see his eyes soften, giving you just a bit more courage to continue. "I've always struggled to make friends, I have like three good friends, and it's hard putting myself out there, and I didn't actually if you considered me a friend or not."

"Y/N" He breathes out your name.

You stop him before he can continue. "Do you mind if I read it now?"

Harry shakes his head.

You restore down the zoom and open up your Gmail on the split-screen. You find it reasonably quickly; you look up at him to see him patiently sitting back chipping at his nails. They are a pastel yellow; it makes you smile, knowing just yesterday you went from that color to a deep red.

[email protected]

Subject: Goodbye

Y/N,

It's been enjoyable emailing back and forth. I honestly would not have passed this class without you. I think you are brilliant and if I had you in every course, I would finish with A's in them all. So, thank you for having the patience to teach me.

Also, thank you for being my friend. I know we mostly talked about school work. Still, you did help me decide on what coat to buy for my sister, so I know that makes us friends, and I did help you get that switch for your little brother. (That was like trying to buy floor tickets for Lady Gaga.)

On another note, after emailing for twelve weeks, I was wondering if I could have your number. I would like the chance to give you a call and formally ask you on a date. I know we're in the middle of a pandemic, and dating is hard, but we can do zoom dates before we try in person.

I understand if it's a no, but I am really grateful to have met you.

Your friend (although I do want to try to be more)

Harry Styles

City Pointe Apt 32 (in case you want to send a care package, I would gladly return the favor)

"Oh, Harry," You inhale, "I'm so sorry."

"No worries." He shrugs.

You pause, thinking your next words. "I live in Rose Villa." Those were not the words you wanted to say, but you don't take it back.

"That's across the street from my building." He gasps. "We could have run into each other."

You nod. "Small world."

Harry brings his focus back to something you skipped over. "I realize you didn't mention the part of asking you on a date."

"Oh, I figured you over that now. It's been well over a month since I ignored your email." You grimace, starting to feel awful about it all over again.

"I guess it was email abandonment this time." He jokes.

You laugh, and it gets Harry laughing as well. He was always good at that, making you laugh and not be so serious even if he didn't know it.

"Y/N," Harry's voice was strong, no signs of laughter in his trace. You lock eyes as best you can through a computer screen. "I would still very much like to take you on a date."

A date with Harry.

You want to say yes, but it's like you're frozen.

"Can I say something else before you give me an answer?" You nod, waiting for him to go on. "Sarah Jones, do you know her?"

Sarah Jones, you rack your brain trying to place her.

The theater composer. She's written original tracks for the theatre department for the original plays they've done and remakes. She's won countless awards.

Sarah even won the talent show. Played a killer drum solo that no one else could ever think of topping.

If you're honest, she's the definition of your girl crush.

"We follow each other on social media. We met at a paint night; she was really easy to talk to." You tell him, remembering how sweet she was to you when she saw you walk in, and just as you were about to walk out, she introduced herself to you, asking to sit with you.

He nods. "Sarah is my roommate's girlfriend. Mitch and Sarah practically live together; he's so in love with her it truly is the sweetest thing. Back to the point, she overheard me talking about you to Mitch and spoke how she knew you. Then I proceeded to stalk your Instagram on her account. I hope that's not weird."

You laugh, and it causes Harry to calm down, "Not weird at all. I would have done the same thing, but as you can see, I rarely upload anything."

"Well, the things you do have, I think, are wonderful." He rambles on explaining how your beach photo on a bike with a pretty pink basket was one of his favorites and how cute you look wearing sweaters.

As endearing as Harry was being, you decided to put him out of his misery. "Harry," you interrupt.

"Yes."

"I'd love to go on a date with you."

"You would?" He gasps in surprise.

"Yes."

"That's fantastic. I think this is the best birthday gift I could have received." He tells you, but you're stuck on the last thing he said.

"It's your birthday?"

Harry smiles sheepishly. "Yes."

"Happy Birthday, Harry." You tell him softly, a big smile on your face.

A blush overtakes his face; you can tell he wishes to cover up his face with hands but holds back from doing so. "Thank you."

"Do you have any plans?"

"No, well. Mitch and Sarah are coming over for lunch in a bit. Then they are off to study at Sarah's for the week. Her roommates are gone for the week."

You frown, not liking that he'll spend the rest of his birthday alone.

"Would you-never mind" You stop yourself from being able to invite yourself over to celebrate with him?

"Hey, it's okay. Whatever you wanted to say, I wouldn't judge you, love." His voice was soft and reassuring.

"Well, I'd love to come over and hang out with you if that's okay. I can make us dinner, I make delicious enchiladas. Also, my carrot cake is to die for."

Harry is surprised at her offer but nods his head quickly. "That sounds wonderful, but you don't have to cook for me. We can order takeout."

She shakes her head. "Consider it my gift to you."

"Well, okay. Is six okay for you?" He bites his lip, not believing this is happening.

"Perfect."

You sit there smiling at each other.

When a message pops up overhead, "You have five minutes left before we join back as a group."

Your eyes go wide, having forgotten you were in class. "We didn't even discuss the assignment."

Harry shakes his head in laughter, a smile spreads over your face. He has an adorable laugh that just rings through your ears, and you can't wait to hear it in person.

"We've got time, now that it seems we'll be getting to know each other better."

You relax, settling a bit, you have weeks before the assignment is due.

"I'll email you my number, love. Easier to communicate for later."

"Sounds great." You respond.

_____

It's five-fifty, and you're standing outside his door. You're more than a little nervous. You're wearing high waisted jeans paired with a black off the shoulder top with floral embroidered sleeves. You decided against a sweater knowing the short walk would keep you warm enough. Your mask is red, with three small hearts stitched on the lower right side. Perfect for February.

You shift the items in your hand to the right and lift your hand up to knock. After three gentle knocks, you hear footsteps and take a step back.

"Hi," Harry breathes out, a big smile on his face.

"Hello, Harry, happy birthday."

"Thank you." He smiles wide, blessing you with his dimples. Definitely look better in person. "Please come in." He grabs some of the items from your hand and allows you to step in before locking the door behind you.

"Your mask is lovely. Did you make it?"

"I did!" You share excitedly. "My roommate, Amy, and I spent lots of our free time making a different kind. We took old shirts we no longer wanted and used for the material. It was a lot of trial and error, but we're pretty solid at it now. My embroidery could use some work, but I think it's lovely.

"It really is. Would you make me one?" He asks, staring at you as you pocket your mask. No longer needing it in his home.

"Yes, I'll send you pictures of the fabric I have, or you could come over, and I can teach you as well." You tell him, excited at the prospect.

"Sounds like a wonderful date." You nod, feeling your body get warm at the word date because today could also classify as a date.

Harry knocks you out of your head when calling your name. "Turned the oven on like you requested." He informs you.

"Thank you, my mom showed me how to make them, but I learned about the melted cheese on my own. She wasn't a big fan of it, but everyone else I know loves it, so I hope you will as well."

Harry grabs your hand and gives it a squeeze. "I'm sure it's wonderful." He bumps your shoulder gently. "Go finish up; I'll set the table."

He pushes you into the kitchen, and you go in and place your stuff. Harry is whistling, settling down on the table two glasses and two forks when you turn back around towards him.

Harry turns around just in time for you to wrap your hands around his waist. You fit perfectly in his arms, taking in his musky scent. "Happy birthday, Harry." You whisper against his chest.

He squeezes you tighter, leaning his head on top of yours. "Thank you, love."

He pulls back, holding you by your shoulders. A big smile on his face, you reciprocate it feeling his happiness warm your heart.

"Run along now; I'm starving." He jokes.

You walk backward, creating distance; as his left-hand trails down your right hand slowly until he's touching your fingertips, do you pull away. Although you, more than anything, wanted to hold his hand. You want to feel the weight of it in yours; you want to know if his hands are soft or calloused. How cool his rings will feel against your palm. All in due time.

"I'm happy to be here."

"Me too, love. Me too."

It's safe to say you were more than luckily going to have yourself a valentine for the first time in a long time.

#harry styles #harry styles blurb #harry styles x reader #fluff #harry styles fluff #zoom university #zoom online #harry styles writing #harry styles uni #my writing #harry styles fanfic

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